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Friday, Jan 17, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Friday, Jan 17, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Isabel’s afternoon roundup

Friday, Jan 17, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Capitol News Illinois

But now, as he enters his third term as speaker, [Chris Welch] and the Democratic caucus he leads face several new challenges, including significant budget constraints and divisions within the caucus itself. Those divisions erupted in a closed-door caucus meeting during the recent lame duck session and spilled over into public view during contentious negotiations over a bill to regulate the hemp industry. […]

“Let me say that we had a caucus on a very divisive issue,” Welch said. “We’ve had three caucuses in three different years now on that particular issue, and it gets very emotional. And I have talked to members who, I think, crossed the line and asked them to apologize. And it’s my understanding, at least one member has reached out to a staffer and tried to apologize.”

As for the governor, Welch said, “our relationship is great.”

“I love and respect the governor. In my four years as speaker, we’ve accomplished some great policy victories,” he said. “I’ve got two more years here as speaker again, thank God, and we’re going to land more big policy victories. You know, the governor has a job to do, but I have a job to do too.”

* City Bureau

City Bureau spoke with more than a dozen migrant day laborers who said wage theft, sub-minimum wage rates and clashes with Home Depot security personnel — including off-duty Chicago Police Department officers — have made it precarious for them to look for work.

For decades, Chicago immigrants have turned to informal gigs, often solicited on street corners or in Home Depot parking lots, in hopes of earning money to survive. […]

Unlike publicly funded hiring halls in California and Texas, where day laborers can safely connect with contractors and negotiate pay rates, Chicago’s day labor industry is rife with wage theft, unsafe working conditions, physical violence and exploitation, City Bureau found.

People entering the day labor sector don’t always know about minimum wage laws. Some get paid far less than they were promised at the start of the day, while others might finish a full day of work and end up with no pay at all, organizers and workers said.

*** Statewide ***

* Press Release | Illinois EPA Bringing Recycle Coach To All Illinois Communities: Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) Director James Jennings has announced a new partnership with Recycle Coach to provide all Illinois residents in 6,835 units of local government a holistic, locally-tailored, easy to access recycling education platform. In the coming months, Recycle Coach will be engaging counties and municipalities across the state to ensure all Illinois residents are afforded the opportunity to have their community participate in this opportunity. Use of the program will decrease inbound contamination at material recovery facilities in Illinois, increase the amount of material diverted from Illinois landfills, prevent environmental contamination, and ultimately reduce emissions that contribute to climate change.

* NPR | Illinois students have sent over 5,000 tips to ‘Safe2Help’ school safety helpline since launch: Since its initial launch four years ago, Illinois students have submitted over 5,000 tips to the service. That’s according to a Freedom of Information Act request by WNIJ. The state says if students don’t have a trusted adult in their life, they can confidentially send in information online, through text, or an app. It’s then vetted by the Illinois State Police. They can get in touch with local law enforcement or school staff like a social worker.

*** Chicago ***

* Crain’s | United Center owners snap up nearby lots as Near West Side megaproject takes shape: A venture controlled by the Reinsdorf and Wirtz families that own the teams and arena paid nearly $36 million late last month for a series of surface lots within blocks of the venue, according to Cook County property records. The entity bought the lots from an affiliate of Red Top Parking, a longtime operator of parking lots near the United Center that has sold other land to the team owners over the past few years.

* Carole Brown and Julie Hamos | Money alone won’t resolve the region’s transit crisis: As a former state legislator and transit board chair, we strongly believe in the importance of the public transit services provided by CTA, Metra, and Pace. We are also intimately aware of the shortcomings of the current system, including fragmented and inefficient decision-making, a lack of coordination, rigid and outdated funding formulas, and unclear lines of accountability. So while it is important to address the looming funding crisis, we want to stress that funding alone will not address the very real structural challenges at the heart of the system.

* Crain’s | At 97, Chicago’s pioneering Black capitalist reflects on a career spanning from Afro Sheen to ‘Soul Train’: Johnson is not the first or last business owner to have second thoughts about heading to Wall Street. “Once we went public everything was exposed,” he writes. “Essentially, it meant taking our clothes off in public, in our personal life as well as professionally. The dynamics change when investors own stock in your company. The investors get to ask questions, and you’re there to answer them.”

* ESPN | Are NFL teams letting agents impact coach hiring? Why the league cares: Since 2018, agent and ex-Chicago defensive end Trace Armstrong and his agency, Athletes First, have represented two fired Bears head coaches, Matt Nagy and Eberflus; three fired offensive coordinators, Mark Helfrich, Luke Getsy and Shane Waldron; as well as current general manager Ryan Poles. “I’ve never seen one agent have so much influence on one team and had so little success, but they keep going back and taking his guys,” said one coaching agent, who requested anonymity to speak freely on the topic. “And we all kind of shake our heads like, have they not figured this out yet?”

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Lake County News Sun | Lake County business leaders told to expect ‘solid’ economic growth, despite uncertainties: Economic analysis painted a generally positive, if somewhat uncertain, picture of 2025 during the Forecast Lake County Luncheon Thursday, with Thomas Walstrum, an economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, walking local business leaders and officials through an assortment of economic data from S&P Global. “I would call it a good forecast,” Walstrum said. “GDP growth is near trend; unemployment is low. There’s the potential for a bump in inflation … but overall, I’d call it a forecast for solid growth.”

* Daily Herald | ‘He had been wandering all night’: Forest preserve police lauded for finding man missing in frigid conditions: Two veteran Lake County Forest Preserves police officers have been honored for their dedication and effort to find a 60-year-old man with autism who had been lost overnight while the temperature dipped below freezing. Sgt. Brad Ehrhardt was presented with the Service Award and Officer Michael Viramontes received the Lifesaving Award as special recognition during the forest board meeting Wednesday.

* Daily Herald | County, DuPage Foundation raise almost $400K to help shelter homeless this winter: County board members agreed in December to allocate $200,000 from the county’s affordable housing fund to support DuPagePads after President and CEO April Redzic highlighted the demand for shelter. The nonprofit’s board dedicated $150,000 — tripling the budgeted amount — to provide additional winter emergency shelter for people on a waitlist for rooms at an interim housing center DuPagePads operates in a former Downers Grove hotel. But that sum still wasn’t going to be enough.

* Crain’s | Northwestern posts surplus and near-record fundraising: The university posted a budget surplus of $54.6 million for fiscal year 2024, up from a surplus of $8.6 million in fiscal 2023, despite spending north of $200 million more on operating expenses in 2024 compared to the previous year.

*** Downstate ***

* ABC Chicago | Rockford becomes nation’s ‘Hottest Housing Market’ for first time, according to Realtor.com: Their rankings put Rockford in the top spot ahead of Manchester, New Hampshire. Manchester has claimed the top spot on the list for 31 times since 2017. Homes in Rockford, which list for a median price of $242,000, spend just 43 days on the market, compared to the national average of 70, according to Realtor.com. The national median listing price of a home is $424,900.

* WaPo | Only one coach beat Notre Dame this season. Let him tell you about it: The wonderland of this long college football season sits just off Interstate 88 way west of Chicago and just down a boulevard named for Annie Glidden, the famed farmer who lived from 1865 to 1965 while coaxing the soil into wonders. It’s a wonderland that went 8-5 but a wonderland no less, dammit, because of the storybook day it gave itself and the country Sept. 7. It proved how a sunny day can shine even into January when the horizon looks barren and the winter wind means serious business.

* BND | East St. Louis schools reopen a week after others as residents vent about still-icy roads: Most schools across St. Clair and Madison County were back in session by Friday of last week, with several smaller districts with fewer bus routes welcoming students back as early as Wednesday. “Belleville got the same amount of snow as East St. Louis and all of their schools are open. Their buses and cars are running. I’ve gotten stuck three times,” said resident April Jenkins. “I have hit so many pot holes because you can’t see the pot holes over the snow. It’s not fair to the city, the teachers, the students.”

* WCIA | Senior workforce program coming to Decatur: An Illinois non-profit is tapping into a group that might be looking for a new opportunity. It’s offering free healthcare training for people 55 and over. […] The Hospice and Palliative Care Foundation said it will go on for 10-12 weeks. Classes will meet once a week for around 4 hours and teach what you need to know to become a community health worker.

* WSIL | MLK Love Train happening Saturday in southern Illinois: The program will open with a prayer by Darrell Wimberly with a musical performance by LaCaje Hill. Speakers for the event will be Julian Watkins and Ginger Rye Sanders with a performance by Clo Johnson. The closing song will be performed by Aveon Winfield and Anu Dai.

*** National ***

* Atlanta Journal Constitution | Federal loan for Rivian earns approval days before Biden leaves office: The loan, which comes as President Joe Biden exits the White House, will provide Rivian with the financial backing to build its plant in southern Morgan and Walton counties, roughly an hour east of Atlanta. The $5 billion project was first proposed in late 2021 and was initially supposed to open in 2024, but delays mounted as the upstart automaker slogged through supply chain issues and other challenges.

* WaPo | Antiabortion advocates look for men to report their partners’ abortions: The strategy propelled a first-of-its-kind lawsuit filed last month by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton that cited first-hand information from an unnamed “biological father” to accuse a New York doctor of illegally providing abortion pills to a woman in the Dallas area, according to two people familiar with the case’s origins.

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Transit fiefdoms ignored 2015 state deadline to streamline fares

Friday, Jan 17, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Carole Brown and Julie Hamos writing in Crain’s about mass transit reform

As just one example, many regional travelers are still unable to transfer easily between Metra and CTA or Pace (without having to pay twice), despite a legislative requirement to achieve this more than a decade ago.

* House Bill 3597 was signed into law almost 14 years ago

Provides that, by January 1, 2013, the Regional Transportation Authority, in consultation with the Service Boards (Chicago Transit Authority, Commuter Rail Division, and Suburban Bus Division) and the general public, must develop a policy regarding transfer fares on all fixed-route public transportation services provided by the Service Boards. Sets forth the requirements for the policy.

Provides that, by January 1, 2015, the Authority must develop and implement a regional fare payment system. Requires that the payment system developed by the Authority allow consumers to use contactless credit cards, debit cards, and prepaid cards to pay for all fixed-route public transportation services

And yet, we’re supposed to trust these same agencies to reform themselves now?

* Back to Speaker Chris Welch’s interview with the Sun-Times

I think it’s extremely important that we consider reforms to improve administration and rider experience. I think to talk about money before talking about reforms is irresponsible. […]

They’re not getting anything before we talk about reforms, everyone agrees that we need to implement some reforms first. We need to improve administration. We need to improve the rider experience. We can’t even have that money conversation before that. […]

They gotta get the trains to run on time. They gotta get people to and from work on time. They gotta get people around the city, around the suburbs, so that the transit experience helps our economy and not hurts it.

  7 Comments      


Question of the day

Friday, Jan 17, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Associated Press

The Supreme Court on Friday unanimously upheld the federal law banning TikTok beginning Sunday unless it’s sold by its China-based parent company, holding that the risk to national security posed by its ties to China overcomes concerns about limiting speech by the app or its 170 million users in the United States.

A sale does not appear imminent and, although experts have said the app will not disappear from existing users’ phones once the law takes effect on Jan. 19, new users won’t be able to download it and updates won’t be available. That will eventually render the app unworkable, the Justice Department has said in court filings.

The decision came against the backdrop of unusual political agitation by President-elect Donald Trump, who vowed that he could negotiate a solution and the administration of President Joe Biden, which has signaled it won’t enforce the law beginning Sunday, his final full day in office.

Trump, mindful of TikTok’s popularity, and his own 14.7 million followers on the app, finds himself on the opposite side of the argument from prominent Senate Republicans who fault TikTok’s Chinese owner for not finding a buyer before now.

* The Question: Which social media apps do you use the most? Explain.

  37 Comments      


Today’s quotable

Friday, Jan 17, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* More from the Fran Spielman interview with House Speaker Chris Welch. This part focused on the Chicago Public Schools and state school funding

Q: Will the messy divorce with Pedro Martinez help or hurt the case for school funding?

Welch: Well, you know, school funding is always a debate in Springfield every year, regardless of what’s going on with the Chicago Board of Education. You know, since I’ve been speaker, we have increased education funding every single year. We’re well over a billion dollars in increased funding to the evidence based funding formula. And as we go through this year’s budget, that’s going to be a big topic of conversation. Again, coming from a school board, I spent 12 years on the school board. I know what school districts need, and they need more funding. They don’t need less. And so while I’m trying to be as helpful as we possibly can, but there’s a lot of pressures on us right now, Fran.

Q: But the Pedro Martinez fight, shouldn’t [Mayor Johnson] have waited until the elected board was seated? Isn’t that a distraction and show that there’s turmoil there, and there’s this feeling that he’s giving away the story to the CTU, his former union? Does that hurt his case?

Welch: Fran, I gotta stay focused on what’s going on in Springfield and state government, I gotta leave it to the mayor to decide what fights he wants to have in the city of Chicago.

Oof.

Also, Chicago is a hugely important city. But it’s only about 20 percent of the Illinois population. Everything can’t and shouldn’t be about that place.

  18 Comments      


Showcasing The Retailers Who Make Illinois Work

Friday, Jan 17, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Retail provides one out of every five Illinois jobs, generates the second largest amount of tax revenue for the state, and is the largest source of revenue for local governments. But retail is also so much more, with retailers serving as the trusted contributors to life’s moments, big and small.

We Are Retail and IRMA are dedicated to sharing the stories of retailers like the McKay family, who serve their communities with dedication and pride.

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It’s just a bill

Friday, Jan 17, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* HB1077 from Rep. Daniel Didech

Creates the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act. Applies the Act to a civil cause of action, including an action in federal court under its supplemental or diversity jurisdiction, against a person based on the person’s: (i) communication in a legislative, executive, judicial, administrative, or other governmental proceeding; (ii) communication on an issue under consideration or review in any of these proceedings; or (iii) exercise of a right guaranteed by the United States Constitution or the Illinois Constitution on a matter of public concern. Provides that the Act does not apply to a cause of action asserted: (i) against a governmental unit or an employee or agent of a governmental unit acting or purporting to act in an official capacity; (ii) by a governmental unit or an employee or agent of a governmental unit acting in an official capacity to enforce a law to protect against an imminent threat to public health or safety; or (iii) against a person primarily engaged in the business of selling or leasing goods or services if the cause of action arises out of a communication related to the person’s sale or lease of the goods or services. Creates a procedure for a special motion for expedited relief for a party being sued for issues covered by the Act to dismiss or strike the action in whole or in part within 60 days of being sued. Requires the court to rule on a special motion for expedited relief within 60 days after a hearing, and the court must conduct a hearing not later than 60 days after the filing of such a motion unless it continues it for discovery under the Act or for other good cause. Makes other changes. Makes a conforming change in the Citizen Participation Act. Effective immediately.

This would overturn a recent Illinois Supreme Court ruling that SLAPP suit protections don’t apply to news reporting. Click here and here for some background.

* HB3713 passed out of the House 68-35 last March before dying in the Senate


* Rep. Brad Halbrook introduced HB1400 yesterday

Amends the Time Standardization Act. Provides that daylight saving time shall be the year-round standard time of the entire State. Makes other changes.

* Rep. Kevin Olickal introduced HB1427

Creates the Prohibition of Algorithmics in Rent Act. Provides that in setting the amount of rent to be charged to a tenant for the occupancy of a residential premises, including determining any change in the amount of rent to be charged for the renewed occupancy of a residential premises, a landlord shall not employ, use, or rely upon, or cause another person to employ, use, or rely upon, an algorithmic device that uses, incorporates, or was trained with nonpublic competitor data. Defines “algorithmic device” to mean a device that uses one or more algorithms to perform calculations of data, including data concerning local or statewide rent amounts being charged to tenants by landlords, for the purpose of advising a landlord concerning the amount of rent that the landlord may consider charging a tenant. Provides that this definition does not include (i) any report published periodically, but no more frequently than monthly, by a trade association that receives renter data and publishes it in an aggregated and anonymous manner; or (ii) a product used for the purpose of establishing rent or income limits in accordance with the affordable housing program guidelines of a local government, the State, the federal government, or other political subdivision. Amends the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act to make a corresponding change. Provides that any person who violates the Prohibition of Algorithmics in Rent Act commits an unlawful practice within the meaning of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.

Some background from WBEZ

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined the U.S. Department of Justice and nine other state attorneys general in a lawsuit against real estate software company RealPage and some of the nation’s largest landlords.

The civil antitrust complaint filed Tuesday alleges the companies coordinated to keep rents high by using an algorithm to help set rents and privately sharing sensitive information to boost profits. […]

Together, the landlords operate more than 1.3 million housing units in 43 states and the District of Columbia, according to the Justice Department. All manage multifamily apartment buildings; several own some or all of the properties under their management. […]

The lawsuit accuses the landlords of sharing sensitive data on rents and occupancy with competing firms via email, phone calls or in groups. The information shared included renewal rates, how often they accept an algorithm’s price recommendation, the use of concessions such as offering one month free, and even their approach to pricing for the next quarter, according to the lawsuit.

  9 Comments      


Open thread

Friday, Jan 17, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* What’s going on? Keep it Illinois-centric please!

  6 Comments      


Isabel’s morning briefing

Friday, Jan 17, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: Madigan defense rests its case as landmark corruption trial winds toward an end. WTTW

    - Madigan’s team officially rested Thursday morning, nearly three months after opening statements and testimony began.
    - Closing statements are expected to begin next Wednesday, followed by jury deliberations the following week.
    - After the government rested, both defense teams for both Madigan and McClain renewed their motions seeking a judgment of acquittal — a standard move following conclusion of the prosecution’s case — but both were denied.

* Related stories…

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Sun-Times | Cook County judge reassigned from domestic violence cases after releasing man later accused of killing wife: Judge Thomas Nowinski made the request himself to be transferred to the court’s Third Municipal District in Rolling Meadows where he will hear misdemeanor and traffic cases starting Tuesday, according to a statement released Thursday by Evans. The move stems from Nowinski electing to release Constantin Beldie, 57, on GPS monitoring after he was charged Oct. 9 with choking and attempting to kidnap his wife, Lacramioara Beldie, 54.

* Silver Bulletin | Polling is becoming more of an art than a science: Natalie Jackson — pollster and Vice President at GQR Insights — thinks pollsters are hesitant to get too excited about this result but sees their mood as optimistic relative to the last few cycles — where large errors dominated the post-election conversation about the polls: “The good thing is it was better than 2020 and 2016. The not-so-good thing is that we still underestimated Trump, which is concerning. It’s concerning when the bias runs in the same direction three cycles in a row. So… it’s really nice that we don’t have a bajillion articles saying death to the polling industry, but I don’t think that means we’re home free either.”

* The Invisible Institute | Illinois law requires transparency when police kill people. Many cases stay in the dark: After fatal police shootings and other deaths at the hands of law enforcement in Illinois, investigating agencies are required to “publicly release a report” if no charges are brought against the officers. However, two Metro East prosecutors have proved to be reluctant participants in that process, giving up what should be public documents only after records requests and maintaining that they are following the law by doing so.

*** Statehouse News ***

* WTTW | Illinois Black Hemp Association Says Industry ‘Under Attack’ by Pritzker Amid Push for Stricter Regulation: Illinois’ legalization of recreational marijuana in 2020 was supposed to be a course corrective on the lopsided implementation of the war on drugs — an opportunity for Black people who were disproportionally prosecuted and imprisoned for drug-related crimes to get in on the ground floor of the legal cannabis industry. Giving Black and Brown people the opportunity was a priority for Gov. J.B. Pritzker, and he has considered it a crowning achievement — the state released a study last year showing that 60% of cannabis dispensary licenses went to businesses owned by minorities or women.

*** Chicago ***

* WGN | FBI Chicago sees bank robberies in city, suburbs plummet in 2024: New data shared with WGN News from the FBI’s Chicago field office shows a major drop in the number of bank robberies that happened last year in both city limits and throughout the suburbs within the field office’s geographic area. According to the data, there were 62 bank robberies in Chicago in 2023 compared to 31 in 2024, a sharp decline of 50%.

* Sun-Times | City Hall lobbyist repays $96,000 in tax breaks Sun-Times showed he never should have been given: Now, after a Chicago Sun-Times investigation uncovered the improper tax breaks, Saleh has paid up — $96,000 including penalties and interest. Saleh, a registered lobbyist for PepsiCo, won’t talk about why he repaid the money he saved as a result of the 34 tax breaks he’s gotten since 2017, along with the penalties and interest, and chose not to fight to prove he should have gotten them.

* Sun-Times | Chicago’s crypto ATMs are magnets for drug dealing and scams on elderly people: Legislation was introduced last year in the Illinois Senate to regulate crypto ATMs and cap usage fees, but the bills were never called for a vote. A state senator from Chicago says the issue may be addressed again after President-elect Donald Trump takes office. Trump has become a champion of cryptocurrencies and has promised to deregulate the industry.

* Tribune | Chicago Bulls’ and Blackhawks’ plan to begin remaking the neighborhood surrounding United Center wins commission approval: This initial step will include the privately financed construction of a 6,000-seat music hall, a boutique hotel and nearly 10 acres of green space, including play areas for all age groups. The initial phase also includes several parking garages topped by elevated parks open to the public, with retail spaces and cafes on the ground floors.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* WGN | Markham promotes home ownership with moratorium on new rental properties: Markham’s homeownership rate stands at 72 percent, higher than the rates in all of Illinois and Cook County, according to U.S. Census Data. But city officials say its growing number of rental properties account for a disproportionate number of police and fire service calls, as well as code enforcement and public works problems. […] Ideally, Agpawa said he’d like Markham’s homeownership rate to touch 90 percent. That goal may be challenging to reach, but Markham still took action by recently instituting a moratorium on new rental properties.

* ABC Chicago | Suburban school districts try to calm immigrant community’s fears of mass deportations: By law, Illinois schools must welcome students regardless of race, creed or immigration status. Most public officials in the state have expressed confidence that will continue. However, with the Trump administration about to take over leadership in Washington, some families in the immigrant community are on edge.

* Tribune | Winnetka house made famous by the movie ‘Home Alone’ sells for $5.5M: Now, the five-bedroom mansion has gotten its first new owners in 13 years — and seven years after the current owners renovated and expanded it. The home has six bathrooms, four fireplaces, an entry staircase that famously was showcased in the film, a recently added family room with 10-foot-high coffered ceilings, French doors and a kitchen with double islands, bespoke white cabinetry, a hidden pantry, an eight-burner Wolf range, a Sub-Zero refrigerator and a built-in banquette.

*** Downstate ***

* WCIA | U.S. Department of Justice, Sangamon County Sheriff settle investigation over Sonya Massey’s murder: The agreement they reached demands several changes from the county, but there is little in the way of punishments outlined in the deal for following not following through. […] The deal requires the Sheriff’s office to “review and update policies, rules, and procedures and provide training on a variety of topics, including non-discriminatory policing and interactions with individuals with behavioral health disabilities.”

* ABC Chicago | Amber Alert canceled for girl abducted in Rock Island; 5 arrested, police say: An 18-year-old man and four other teens were arrested and charged in connection to the kidnapping and vehicle theft, police said. Rock Island police said just before 3 p.m. a 4-year-old girl, who had been in her mother’s car when the vehicle was stolen Thursday morning, was later found safe. She has been reunited with her mother, and will be evaluated by EMS, police said.

* Capitol City Now | Monster Pawn at center of alleged retail crime operation: Two pawn shops in Springfield are named as part of an alleged organized retail crime ring, leading to charges against a Bloomington family and employees. On Thursday, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced charges against Monster Pawn owners Edwin Pierce, 65, and Kathleen Pierce, 58, as well as their son, Everson Pierce, 28. Four other employees also face charges in the case.

* WSIU | Governor Pritzker Announces Construction of Applied Technology Center for Olney Central College: Governor JB Pritzker announced that construction will begin on the $3.15 million Applied Technology Center at Olney Central College. The new facility will include additions to the college’s nursing and radiography programs. It will also feature new classrooms, simulation and skill labs, faculty office space, and a student lounge.

* WIFR | Zoning Board of Appeals denies Red Barn Golf Course’s request to build apartments on driving range: Barnes delivers an appeal to the board: allow his special use permit to build “luxury townhomes” on Red Barn’s driving range. The owner claims a 27% decline in business leaves him no choice but to pivot – potentially constructing multifamily housing on the property. In July, Summit Condos spoke out against Red Barn’s driving range: a TopTracer by Topgolf system that reportedly leads to golf balls crashing into nearby homes.

* WIFR | Illinois Snow Sculpting Competition preparation underway at Sinnissippi Park: The 39th annual Illinois Snow Sculpting Competition is back at Sinnissippi Park and organizers are preparing for the bitter battle. On Wednesday morning, crews were at the park constructing blocks of snow for participating teams to use as their canvases. Because of the lack of snow on the ground, the Rockford Park District had to make the snow earlier in the week.

*** National ***

* Bloomberg | Walgreens Replaced Fridge Doors With Smart Screens. It’s Now a $200 Million Fiasco: The digital displays had a distinct advantage over regular glass, at least for the retailer: ads. When proximity sensors detected passersby, the fridge doors started playing short videos hawking Doritos or urging customers to check out with Apple Pay. If this sounds disruptive—in the ordinary sense of the word, not Silicon Valley’s—that might have seemed a generous description in December 2023, when all the screens went blank.

* NYT | General Motors Is Banned From Selling Driving Behavior Data for 5 Years: The New York Times reported last year that G.M. was collecting data about people’s driving behavior, including how often they sped or drove at night, and selling it to data brokers that generated risk profiles for insurance companies. Some drivers reported that their auto insurance rates increased as a result.

* Mediaite | SCOTUSBlog Publisher Indicted for Tax Evasion, Accused of Misusing Funds to Cover Gambling Debts:
Tom Goldstein, the publisher of the popular Supreme Court news site SCOTUSblog and veteran practitioner before the nation’s highest court himself, was indicted Thursday for tax evasion related to a stunning series of alleged schemes to use funds from his law firm to cover millions of dollars of gambling debts, Law360 reported.

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)

Friday, Jan 17, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

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Live coverage

Friday, Jan 17, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

Click here and/or here to follow breaking news. Hopefully, enough reporters and news outlets migrate to BlueSky so we can hopefully resume live-posting.

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Selected press releases (Live updates)

Friday, Jan 17, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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* Reader comments closed for the holiday weekend
* SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - This just in...
* Isabel’s afternoon roundup
* Transit fiefdoms ignored 2015 state deadline to streamline fares
* Question of the day
* Today's quotable
* Showcasing The Retailers Who Make Illinois Work
* It’s just a bill
* Open thread
* Isabel’s morning briefing
* SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today's edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)
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