Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Monday, Mar 10, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

The cost of three days’ work preparing a report for the Metra board about alleged police department misconduct? Around $45,000, documents show.

But while the financials of the $1.57 million police department investigation are clear following FOIA requests, Metra is keeping the report by outside consultants confidential, and that’s troubling some Illinois lawmakers.

“Metra owes the ratepayers, their riders, and taxpayers an explanation on how they spent that $1.57 million,” state Sen. Laura Murphy said.

The Des Plaines Democrat plans to question the commuter railroad about the secret 2023 inquiry at a Senate Transportation Committee hearing this week.

* Pantagraph…

It’s not a Scooby Doo ghost town, though it could be mistaken for one. The 100-acre, 27-building site is the former Lincoln Developmental Center, a state-run facility for people with developmental disabilities that shuttered in 2002. […]

Within Gov. JB Pritzker’s fiscal year 2026 budget proposal is $300 million earmarked for a first-of-its-kind “Surplus to Success” program. The mission would be to develop old, unused or excess sites owned by the state into opportunities for economic development.

For those who represent communities like Lincoln, it is a welcome development, though promises have been made and not kept before.

“We’re gonna hold (Gov. Pritzker’s) feet to the fire and really, really push to make sure that this stays in the budget, because this is something extremely important to Lincoln and Logan County,” said state Sen. Sally Turner, R-Beason.

*** Statehouse News ***

* WCIA | CMS releases memo detailing next steps for state workers with Health Alliance insurance: Last month, Health Alliance announced they are ending their insurance offerings by the end of 2025. Now, state employees only have a few months before making a choice, officials said in a memo obtained by WCIA. […] All current coverage will stay in place until June 30. State employees will need to choose a new health plan or opt out of State of Illinois coverage during their open enrollment period between May 1 and June 2.

Click here for the CMS FAQ on Health Alliance insurance.

* Hyde Park Herald | Rep. Buckner forecasts looming Trump threats, Springfield session: Buckner said he hopes that Democrats don’t fall into the trap of “responding to the thunder that we miss the lightning.” Although he made sure to acknowledge the dangers of inflammatory rhetoric and condemn such speech, Buckner feels that a lot of Trump’s “nasty comments” about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, are “thunder,” meaning a scary distraction, and not “lightning,” meaning those actions which will do specific damage to people’s lives.

* WCIA | Broad coalition lays out impacts of potential cuts to Illinois Medicaid: “I think that the fact that it’s such a large amount, $880 billion over ten years, there’s no way they can cut that much out of the federal budget without touching Medicaid,” Rep. Anna Moeller (D-Elgin) said. […] “I think, this is performative. We don’t know what will happen. There’s a lot of things that we have no control over budget negotiations going on at the national level,” Rep. Bill Hauter (R-Morton) said.

*** Statewide ***

* Sun-Times | Putting Illinois’ big trees on the map: There is also a national register. Illinois has two national champs, both in DuPage County: Ohio buckeye (Aesculus glabra) inside the circle drive at the Hyatt Lodge in the old McDonald’s campus and a Kansas hawthorn (Crataegus coccinioides) at Morton Arboretum. On Wednesday, I went to find the Ohio buckeye and was justly rewarded with a massive sprawling tree that looked as battered as a heavyweight boxer at the end of 12 rounds. Just magnificent inside a decidedly urban circle of blacktop. Now, I’m inspired to find more champions.

*** Chicago ***

* WTTW | Want to Represent the 35th Ward on the Chicago City Council? Here’s How to Apply: A four-member committee of 35th Ward residents will advise Mayor Brandon Johnson on who should replace soon-to-be former Ald. Carlos Ramirez Rosa on the Chicago City Council. Ramirez-Rosa is set to leave the City Council March 31 in order to lead the Chicago Park District, where he will oversee the city’s 600 parks and 6,000 employees. State law gives Johnson two months to pick a replacement for one of his closest allies on the City Council, who will serve out the remainder of Ramirez-Rosa’s term.

* Steven Can Plan | If parking relief is granted to just about every development, why require parking in the first place?: The Chicago zoning code requires nearly every development, new or renovated, to provide on-site car parking. The code also provides relief from that requirement, most often in the form of cutting the requirement in half if the development is in a “transit served location”. Further relief – getting closer to zero parking spaces required – can be requested via administrative adjustment to the Chicago Zoning Administrator. […] Sometimes, however, that administrative adjustment must be converted to an application for variation that’s heard by the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA).

* WTTW | Chicago Launches New Dashboard to Track Vacant Positions After Budget Clash: The new database, which will be updated on the first of every month, launched one week after WTTW News reported that approximately 250 positions charged with implementing a court order that requires the Chicago Police Department to stop routinely violating Black and Latino residents’ constitutional rights are vacant.

* Tribune | Chicago’s storied U.S. attorney’s office at crossroads as indictments dip, search for leader underway: Through the turmoil of changing administrations and a global pandemic, scores of veteran prosecutors fled for private practice or judgeships, leaving large gaps in leadership. Morale has dipped amid a variety of issues, sources told the Tribune, including COVID-era hybrid work schedules that limited face-to-face time, a focus on one-off gun cases, and now a federal hiring freeze. The bleeding continued last week, with the announcement that Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu, the veteran boss of the Public Corruption and Organized Crime Section who led the prosecution of ex-House Speaker Michael Madigan, is leaving Friday.

* FYI…

* WBEZ | Rising rents aren’t just a problem for those living in poverty: A recent WBEZ examination shows the cost of rent and utilities has grown three times faster than income over the last two decades. And the tidal wave of rising rents has come crashing down hardest on Chicagoans who are least able to pay. Before the surge in rent prices, most of those struggling to get by were already spending more than half their income on housing costs and barely keeping their heads above water.

* WTTW | Registration Open for Chicago’s Home Repair Program. Here’s What You Need to Know: Starting Monday, eligible homeowners can register for a chance to apply for a city program designed to provide roof and porch repairs at no cost to homeowners. The program is open to residents who own and occupy a single family or duplex residential property as their primary and only residence. Households earning up to 50% of the area median income are eligible to participate in the program. View income qualifications here.

* Sun-Times | Concrete chunks fall from viaduct, damaging woman’s car: ‘It could kill someone’: Sections of the viaduct show obvious signs of deterioration. Paint is chipping away in spots. Some support columns have sections of concrete missing and visible cracks. And some of the overhead sections are missing large patches of concrete, leaving rebar exposed. The viaduct is owned by Union Pacific. A spokesperson for the company said such structures are inspected a minimum of twice a year, with inspectors examining each bridge component for corrosion or cracks in trusses and decking.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Southtown | Calumet City District 155 Board member censured for inappropriate behavior with students: The Calumet City Elementary District 155 Board recently censured one of its members, Lamarr Miller, after learning he previously was disciplined for inappropriate behavior with students. […] “One day, as I’m walking from the nurse, he put an arm around me and said, ‘I haven’t told you how fine you look in awhile,’ and he was squeezing me so I told him to move and he shouldn’t be telling me that,” the student also reported in the account.

* Daily Herald | Village resident tabbed as Antioch’s new parks director: Katie Kotloski was selected from more than 25 applicants for the position, which comes with an annual base salary of $110,000. The post had been filled on an interim basis by retired Highland Park District executive Jeff Nehila since Mary Quilty retired in August. Kotloski has overseen recreation programs for the Lindenhurst and Northbrook park districts and managed cooperative programs for the Highland Park-based Northern Suburban Special Recreation Association.

*** Downstate ***

* River Bender | Illinois Secretary of State’s Mobile DMV Will Be Offered at R.P. Lumber Center in April: The City of Edwardsville and the Illinois Secretary of State are teaming up once more to offer a Mobile DMV service in the city. It will take place at the R.P. Lumber Center on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. The Mobile DMV is part of an effort by the Illinois Secretary of State’s office to provide some of the basic Illinois Department of Motor Vehicle services, including REAL IDs, at easily accessible community sites. It’s an additional and alternative option to visiting a traditional DMV location. This service of the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office has been offered in Edwardsville several times since last year.

* Daily-Journal | Manteno police gun range tabled: Manteno Trustee Joel Gesky posted on social media Wednesday night that he and fellow Trustee CJ Boudreau met with resident Greg Olejarz and his wife after Monday’s Village Board meeting. […] When reached by phone Thursday, Gesky said the proposal for a gun range would be tabled for at least six months. “We’ve got to look at other options,” he said. “What else is there available, and what makes sense? And we’re asking for public input. … It was never a done deal, and we were exploring our options.”

* BND | Congressman tells metro-east leaders cuts to Medicaid, Social Security will hurt residents: A Chicago-area congressman traveled to East St. Louis on Saturday to meet with Black leaders who shared their concerns about cuts to federal programs by President Donald Trump’s administration. U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat representing the 8th Congressional District, told them to expect reductions in Medicaid benefits and Social Security services to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy if the president and billionaire Elon Musk have their way.

* WSIL | Boys and Girls club of Southern Illinois will host a Spring Break Camp: Carbondale’s Director Halston Lewis is helping to plan some of the fun activities. “We’re going to have the kids do a triple play. We’re going to have them doing basketball,” Lewis says. “And we get into the arts and crafts.” Lewis says he has grown with the Southern Illinois branch, starting as a member in 2004. He wants to make it feel like a second home for the kids.

*** National ***

* AP | Top US health agency makes $25,000 buyout offer to most of its 80,000 employees: Most of the 80,000 federal workers responsible for researching diseases, inspecting food and administering Medicare and Medicaid under the auspices of the Health and Human Services Department were emailed an offer to leave their job for as much as a $25,000 payment as part of President Donald Trump’s government cuts.

* Pew | Slowdown in Private Sector Jobs a Boon for State and Local Hiring: Since January 2023, more than 1 in 5 new jobs in the U.S. have been in either state and local government or public education, which is over twice the scale of public sector job growth seen in the decade before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an analysis of federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data conducted by The Pew Charitable Trusts. The public sector hiring surge marks a clear turning point from the years immediately after the pandemic-induced recession, when states and localities struggled to staff up and accounted for fewer than 1 in 10 new jobs. The shift in public sector hiring over the past two years also created a rare role reversal in which state and local government employment growth outpaced the private sector’s rate—a phenomenon not seen since the onset of the Great Recession in 2007. All told, states and localities have added more than 1 million employees since the start of 2023 and now employ more than 20.5 million people.

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New Hampshire ain’t what it used to be

Monday, Mar 10, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Do I think the governor is seriously mulling a 2028 run for president? Of course. But, unless the Democratic Party changes its rules, New Hampshire’s primary votes don’t count, so this Fox story is a bit over the top…

In a move that is sure to spark 2028 speculation, the New Hampshire Democratic Party on Monday announced that Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker this spring will headline their largest annual fundraiser.

Pritzker, the two-term governor of blue state Illinois, will deliver the keynote address at the New Hampshire Democrats’ McIntyre-Shaheen 100 Club Dinner on April 27 in Manchester, the state’s largest city.

The governor, a member of the Pritzker family that owns the Hyatt hotel chain and who has started several of his own venture capital and investment startups, is seen as a potential contender for the 2028 Democratic Party presidential nomination. And trips to New Hampshire – which for over a century has held the first primary in the race for the White House – are seen as an early indicator of a politician’s interest in running for the presidency in the next election.

Anyway, what are your thoughts on the governor’s plans?

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Question of the day

Monday, Mar 10, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* How are you holding up with the time change?

33 Comments

RETAIL: Strengthening Communities Across Illinois

Monday, Mar 10, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Retail generates $7.3 billion in income and sales tax revenue each year in Illinois. These funds support public safety, infrastructure, education, and other important programs we all rely on every day. In fact, retail is the second largest revenue generator for the State of Illinois and the largest revenue generator for local governments.

Retailers like Kristina enrich our economy and strengthen our communities. We Are Retail and IRMA showcase the retailers who make Illinois work.

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Annual survey: Illinois educator shortage eases, but staffing pipeline challenges continue

Monday, Mar 10, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* The Illinois State Board of Education…

New results from two statewide surveys show Illinois’ educator shortage crisis is easing. The Illinois State Board of Education attributes the progress to comprehensive statewide efforts to address teacher shortages, which include the largest-ever state investment in addressing teacher vacancies. The state’s Teacher Vacancy Grants provided $45 million per year in FY 2024 and FY 2025 to the 170 districts with the greatest numbers of unfilled teaching positions.

Grantee districts have utilized the funds to implement evidence-based strategies to address local challenges to teacher recruitment and retention. Early results have shown improved recruitment and retention in the state’s most understaffed school districts, including the hiring of nearly 5,400 new teachers, the retention of approximately 11,000 additional educators, and support for approximately 1,500 non-certified staff to pursue licensure and 450 certified staff to pursue further endorsements.

Both the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools’ 2024-2025 Educator Shortage Survey and the ISBE 2024-2025 Unfilled Positions Data Collection also confirm teacher vacancies remain a serious challenge for school districts across the state, speaking to the necessity of continued attention to and investment in solutions. Hundreds of school districts last fall responded to the surveys, which seek a variety of data points to drive state resources and policy changes for increasing the talent pool to lead classrooms in all 102 counties.

The ISBE results found:

* A 5.6 percent decrease in the total number of unfilled teaching positions from the 2023-2024 school year, while the total number of filled positions continued to increase, by 1.4 percent.
* Increases in filled positions and decreases in unfilled positions for school support personnel and paraprofessionals. Administrators’ filled positions and unfilled positions both increased.
* 3,864 teaching positions were unfilled as of Oct. 1, 2024, along with 996 school support personnel, 2,415 paraprofessionals, and 189 administrator positions.

“We are proud to see the educator shortage ease for the first time in years, with both an increase in filled positions and a decrease in unfilled positions,” said State Superintendent of Education Dr. Tony Sanders. “The state has recognized the severity and urgency of this crisis and has made investments that have made a difference – from Teacher Vacancy Grants awarded to the most understaffed school districts to a successful statewide teacher recruitment marketing campaign. However, our highest need schools are still experiencing critical educator shortages, so we must keep building on the progress we see today.”

IARSS SURVEY TOP RESULTS
For the eighth year, IARSS – representing leaders of Regional Offices of Education and Intermediate Service Centers in every Illinois county – asked school districts key questions around the depth and consequences of Illinois’ teacher shortage crisis. Goshen Consulting again administered the survey. They found the teacher shortage problem persists, while schools work to be creative and effective in addressing it. Out of the more than 750 districts that responded to the survey:

* 87 percent of schools say they have a teacher shortage problem.
* 91 percent of schools say they struggle to fill substitute teacher openings.
* 91 percent of school leaders report having fewer than five – and sometimes zero – applicants for open teaching positions.
* 65 percent of school leaders say half or less of their teacher candidates have the proper credentials for the position they are seeking.
* 71 percent of school leaders report their teacher position needs have increased since the last school year, and 80 percent expect those needs will grow over the next five years.

IARSS says this latest study confirms schools are making progress to fill open positions and provide the critical instruction students need, yet many challenges in the educator staffing pipeline continue.

“The latest report should again draw the attention across Illinois of educators, legislators and state officials on the progress we have been making to identify and rectify our shortage crisis, and the work we need to build on to help produce more qualified candidates to lead students in our classrooms,” said Gary Tipsord, IARSS Executive Director.

“In classrooms and buildings across the state, we have innovative leaders working tirelessly to meet children’s needs. Their hard work should be recognized. These problems have built up for generations. We must redouble our efforts to expand the entire teacher pipeline and provide the resources and support our schools need to continue to step up to the challenges of the teacher shortage crisis.”

NEW INSIGHTS
Both surveys confirm: the teacher shortage impacts each school district and region differently.

In the ISBE Unfilled Positions report, shortages occurred in roughly half of education entities (615 of 1,120), while 37 percent (414) reported zero unfilled positions in any position category. Further, the data shows that disadvantaged students disproportionately bore the brunt of these shortages. The education entities serving higher percentages of low-income students reported higher vacancy rates.

For the first time in the IARSS survey, school leaders were asked to offer more insight into what’s causing shortages and the impacts shortages are having in their classrooms, and how they are working to address those challenges. A limited pool of applicants, salary and benefit issues, and poor working conditions lead the shortage drivers, while improved teacher recruiting and incentives, and support at the state, federal and district level most help fill the gaps.

Schools report state policy changes, such as allowing retired teachers to return to the classroom without hurting their pension benefits and increasing the time substitute teachers can be in the classroom, are most impactful.

Schools report remedying more than 6,100 teacher position openings, from special education and early childhood to elementary education and bilingual education, in ways that go beyond hiring full-time, qualified teachers. They addressed the openings through a variety of approaches: hiring substitutes, modifying class offerings, using third-party vendors to find educators, or going virtual.

WHAT’S NEXT
ISBE and Governor JB Pritzker are advocating for a continued $45 million investment for the third and final year of the Teacher Vacancy Grant Pilot Program in fiscal year 2026.

Other initiatives include Career and Technical Education Education Career Pathway Grants that have equipped nearly 12,000 high school students to pursue careers in education; the new Teacher Apprenticeship Program, which, in partnership with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, upskills paraprofessionals for successful placement into the teaching profession; and the “The Answer Is Teaching” teacher recruitment marketing campaign, which attracted more than 17,000 potential new teachers.

Each year, IARSS and its survey partners re-evaluate the major challenges still driving the shortage crisis and how best to address it – both in the short term and for the long run. Some policy recommendations for 2024-2025:

* Continue to increase state funding for K-12 schools,
* Release more data more quickly on the evolving educator pipeline to drive strong policy decisions and help school hiring managers find good teaching candidates,
* Invest in teacher and school leadership,
* Help create new opportunities for school support staff to become classroom teachers, and
* Focus on acute shortage needs with mentoring and administrative support, and financial incentives.

* From the ISBE report…

The Educator Shortage Survey also assessed leaders’ perceived causes for staffing challenges. The most frequent cause leaders mentioned was receiving limited applicants for their specific open positions (395 of 694), with reasons ranging from a general lack of applicants to issues related with certification. Issues related to salary or benefits were also frequently raised by leaders as a major cause of shortages (382 of 694).

In addition, education leaders shared current strategies they have implemented to address shortages. Improving recruitment through “Grow Your Own” programs, connecting with colleges, hiring incentives, and hosting student teachers was frequently reported as a current strategy implemented by districts (442 of 688). Providing incentives such as adjusting pay scales, supporting continuing education, providing student loan forgiveness, and recognizing all years of experience was another popular strategy adopted by education leaders (402 of 688). And finally, the Educator Shortage Survey queried leaders about possible policy solutions that would support their hiring and retention efforts. Support at the state or federal level that would provide alternative certifications for educators as well as additional funding and improvements to the retirement system were reported as the most common desired solutions (375 of 634).

Importantly, findings indicate that educator shortages are not distributed equally across the state, as 37% of education entities reported no unfilled positions. And for the education entities grappling with unfilled educator positions, many leaders perceive these shortages to be severe. Leaders then must turn to alternative remedies such as increasing class sizes, combining classes, and hiring substitutes, which ultimately affect the quality of instruction and services that students receive. Thus, in this report, detailed findings from ISBE’s and IARSS’s datasets are analyzed together with the goal of offering stakeholders a robust resource that is both a snapshot of the current state of educator staffing in Illinois as well as a resource from which districts can continue to devise targeted, diverse strategies to address unfilled positions. […]

For unfilled special education teaching positions, alternative measures included connecting virtually with remote personnel, hiring a retired educator, modifying services offered and/or responsibilities, outsourcing the position to a third-party vendor, and utilizing a university student in a clinical setting. As of Oct 1, 2024, education entity leaders in 354 education entities reported 1,458 positions that were filled using these alternative measures.

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It’s just a bill

Monday, Mar 10, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* WTVO…

Illinois Senator Steve Stadelman is pushing to eliminate degree requirements for state jobs.

The bill would stop state agencies from requiring applicants to have a bachelor’s degree to be eligible for hire going forward.

The requirement would not apply if the knowledge, skills or abilities required for the position can only be reasonably obtained through a course of study in pursuit of a bachelor’s or other degree. […]

The bill looks to provide working families and other communities who have been underrepresented with government jobs.

* The Pantagraph…

State Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, filed legislation earlier this year that would end the twice-a-year clock changes. It has been assigned to an Illinois House committee but hasn’t been heard yet.

Morgan has never gotten the legislation over the finish line, but he said he feels this may be the year.

“Families, businesses and health experts all have a stake in this conversation, and I expect a robust dialogue on how this change could improve the lives of all Illinoisans,” Morgan said. “While there’s still work to do, I’m optimistic that the momentum is growing to finally make this change.” […]

Permanent daylight saving time, which is what Morgan’s bill would achieve, would offer more light in the evening, while standard time would offer more light earlier in the day.

* Sen. Ram Villivalam…

State Senator Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago) will hold a Senate Transportation Committee subject matter hearing on Tuesday to hear from advocates and stakeholders about Senate Bill 5 and Senate Bill 1938.

Senate Bill 5 would combine the Regional Transit Authority, Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and PACE into one entity referred to as the Metropolitan Mobility Authority, as well as outline its responsibilities for public transit in the region.

Senate Bill 1938 would make changes to public transit that would provide improved service board coordination and accountability measures, coordinated safety measures, agency interconnection and a universal fare tool, service board composition and other governance changes, as well as create a Road Usage Charge Pilot Program.

Both measures make reforms to our public transit system to provide service that is safe, reliable, accessible, integrated, environmentally conscious, and economically impactful.

WHO: Chairperson Villivalam and members of the Senate Transportation Committee

WHAT: A subject matter hearing on Senate Bill 5 and Senate Bill 1938

WHEN: Tuesday, March 11 at 9 a.m.

WHERE: Bilandic Building Room C600, 160 N. La Salle St., Chicago and streamed live on ilga.gov.

* Richard Day dug into the Metropolitan Mobility Act for Streetsblog Chicago…

The primary question that has been debated over the last year is how the [Chicago mass transit] should be governed. Right now, we have the three agencies that provide service, plus a fourth, the Regional Transit Authority, that is supposed to provide oversight. Even though the three systems provide service across municipal lines, the CTA is controlled by the City, and Metra and Pace are controlled by the suburbs. The RTA is hamstrung by a super-majority voting requirement that ensures either the City or suburban appointees can veto its decisions. […]

Then last year, and again this year, Senator Ram Villivalam (D-8th) and Representatives Eva-Dina Delgado (D-3rd) and Kam Buckner (D-26th) introduced versions of the Metropolitan Mobility Act in Springfield. The bill takes the most straightforward approach possible to reforming the system. That is, it eliminates the separate service boards, and consolidates them into a single Metropolitan Mobility Authority, responsible for transit in Chicagoland. The organization would be overseen by an 18-member board of directors, appointed as follows:

- 3 members appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Illinois Senate
- 5 members appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the City Council
- 5 members appointed by the Cook County board president and confirmed by board members
- 5 members (one per county) appointed by the boards of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will Counties
- 1 additional board member chosen as a board chair by the other 18 directors […]

The MMA would include some other important changes to transportation funding in the region. It would eliminates a current requirement that agencies fund 50 percent of their operating costs via fare revenue and other revenue sources, aka the farebox recovery ratio. That figure is untenable in the short term, given the post-COVID ridership drop. But it’s also been rendered kind of meaningless, as more and more costs, like security, have been carved out. In 2019, before the pandemic, the actual recovery share net of exclusions was only 39 percent. […]

The MMA could give us a better shot at delivering capital projects faster, and at lower cost. Right now, that’s an enormous problem. The Red Line Extension is currently projected to cost over a billion dollars per mile. At that rate, it’s the last rail buildout the CTA will ever make. The RLE is particularly troubling, but this problem is endemic. The CTA’s recently finished Damen Green Line station cost $80 million and was delivered four years behind schedule.1 Meanwhile, Metra took 15 years and $34 million to build an above-ground infill station at Peterson and Ridge.

Rep. Tracy Katz Muhl…

State Rep. Tracy Katz Muhl, D-Northbrook, is working to preserve access to clean drinking water by unanimously passing a bill out of the House Energy & Environment Committee expanding the use of treated water for industrial purposes in order to conserve our supply
of freshwater for individual use.

“In the near future, fresh water will begin to be of greater and greater importance to the economy and the health of our communities due to increasing scarcity,” Katz Muhl said. “Illinois and the Midwest currently have plenty of fresh water, but that doesn’t mean we should squander it. This legislation expands the number of use cases for treated municipal wastewater and thereby enables us to conserve more of what we have without sacrificing productivity.”

Katz Muhl’s House Bill 2391 makes it unequivocally clear that treated municipal wastewater can be put to industrial use. Current law permits it to be used for irrigation, but is unclear as to whether it can be used for industrial applications. The bill was passed unanimously by the 26-member Energy & Environment Committee and now moves to consideration by the full House of Representatives.

* Center Square…

Workers at companies that don’t offer a retirement plan are automatically enrolled in the Secure Choice Savings Program and the automatic contribution starts at 5% of the employee’s paycheck.

House Bill 1435 would amend the Secure Choice Savings Program Act and change penalty criteria for employers who fail to enroll employees in the program and remit contributions. […]

“It’s one time registering online on our website to then create an online access, an account that they can use,” [Christine Cheng with the state treasurer’s office said]. “It’s uploading their information on eligible employees, and if they have people who do want to participate, doing the payroll deduction process as they might for any other type of payroll deduction to make sure the money move.” […]

The bill passed out of committee with an eight to four vote.

* Daily Herald…

In the General Assembly, Senate Bill 257 would prohibit cat declawing statewide in Illinois. Initiated by the Illinois Humane World for Animals (formerly the Humane Society) and sponsored by Sen. Linda Holmes, an Aurora Democrat. […]

The Illinois State Veterinary Medical Association expressed concerns about the House bill. The association stresses that declawing should remain a last resort, but adds that the decision of whether to perform the procedure should be left to medical professionals. The association also claimed a complete ban could result in cats being abandoned or ultimately euthanized.

Once Democratic state Sen. Sara Feigenholtz of Chicago, chief co-sponsor of the bill, learned what declawing entailed and how it involved multiple amputations after one of her cats underwent the procedure, she said she could not “bear the thought of it and I would never do it again.” She said she discourages owners from getting the procedure for their cats.

“Educating people about this is what is going to win the day, whether this bill passes or not,” Feigenholtz said. “I would love for it to pass, but the simple fact that voluntarily, all of these veterinarians discourage this and say, ‘We’re not providing the service,’ it speaks volumes.” […]

Poll results from ALDF released last June revealed 70% of veterinary professionals oppose cat declawing. Half of veterinarians interviewed reported their practice does not perform any declawing procedures.

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Misguided Insurance Regulation Proposals Could Increase Premiums For The Majority Of Illinoisans

Monday, Mar 10, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Several bills proposed this legislative session seek to ban certain factors that insurance companies use to set fair and accurate insurance pricing for customers. The bills would ban the use of credit-based insurance scores, zip codes, age, and gender in insurance pricing.

An op-ed published recently in the Chicago Tribune explains why such bans could cause insurance rates to rise for the majority of consumers.

Case in point: When the use of credit was banned in Washington in 2021, more than 60 percent of Washington drivers saw an increase in their insurance premiums. Should similar legislation pass in Illinois, the majority of Illinoisians with better-than-average credit could see premium increases.

With stubbornly high inflation and high property taxes, now is not the time to pass bills that could end up hiking insurance premiums for most Illinoisans.

Click here to learn more.

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Foster care services in jeopardy: ‘We can’t let that happen’

Monday, Mar 10, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…

Advocates say a major storm is brewing that could overwhelm the state’s child foster care system.

The problem is legal liability insurance, or, more specifically, the lack thereof.

Insurance companies, advocates and providers say, are not taking on new private foster care agencies as clients and some agencies are being notified that they’re losing their insurance, including some of the state’s biggest foster care providers. Some others are being forced into high-priced, low-benefit insurance plans. Many may ultimately find themselves out of business.

As of the end of February, more than 18,000 kids were in the foster care system, and only a minority of those are actually being cared for by the state. Many are placed with private, not-for-profit agencies. The state generally contracts out services like these, mostly to charities that can also raise additional funds.

If those providers are forced out of existence, the state would have to take the foster kids in, and the state simply has no room (or money) for them. The worst-case scenario would be disastrous.

Advocates say they’ve been warning about this for years and have been ignored. And then California made big headlines last fall when it became public that it is facing a foster care “cliff” this summer, when many private agencies will lose their liability insurance coverage. And now, as one person involved said, “It’s kind of cascading across the country.”

Two identical bills have been introduced to address the problem, Senate Bill 1696 sponsored by Sen. Laura Fine and House Bill 3138 sponsored by Rep. Suzanne Ness. The bills would grant the foster care agencies and their employees immunity from civil liability for a two-year period “unless the agency’s acts or omissions constitute willful and wanton conduct.”

This being Illinois, the politically powerful trial lawyers have a large seat at the bargaining table. They’re the ones who file the lawsuits.

“Foster youth in care are among the most vulnerable within our communities,” said Illinois Trial Lawyers Association Executive Director Jim Collins in a statement. “In the tragic event that youth in care are harmed or killed as a result of the negligence of agencies whose charge is to ensure their safety and well-being, the public policy of Illinois should be one that preserves access to justice for the affected youth. Proposals that reduce or erode access to justice for youth victims are as misguided as they are unjust; if there is an insurance ‘crisis’ that has been inflicted upon provider agencies, policymakers should focus on an insurance solution.”

And because of that opposition, numerous sources say the bills will not move forward as currently constructed.

Even so, advocates and lobbyists I’ve spoken with on and off the record said they’re optimistic.

“I don’t know that there’s agreement necessarily about what the solutions are,” said Andrea Durbin of the Illinois Collaboration on Youth, “but people are trying to come together, at least, to figure out what can we do in the short run and what can we do in the long run.”

Durbin said part of the challenge is the desire to “provide child victims of abuse, especially sexual abuse, with opportunities for recourse as adults, and I don’t have any complaints or beefs with that. But it means, as an insurer, you have a long tail of liability.”

“People want justice,” Durbin said. “They want justice for that child. And so they end up wanting to punish somebody. And the only person is the community provider. So, we end up sort of holding the bag for the systemic failures.”

One idea that’s been floating around is moving the private foster care providers into the Illinois Court of Claims umbrella. That court handles lawsuits against the state and it has a $2 million damages cap. The attorney general’s office has so far resisted the solution, citing staff capacity. But advocates say that DCFS is rarely sued in the Court of Claims, so the staff excuse doesn’t hold water.

Rep. Ness, D-Crystal Lake, the bill’s House sponsor, said she believes the negotiators “need to come up with a short-term solution to give the state some more time to look at longer-term solutions. I don’t think that this is a DCFS problem only. I think it’s also an insurance problem.

Ness said negotiators must find a way to come to an agreement so “these kids don’t have to be disrupted again and placed in other homes because the agencies they’re with cannot get insured. We can’t let that happen.”

I couldn’t agree more.

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Open thread

Monday, Mar 10, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Let’s belatedly kick off Women’s History Month with a big bang…

Three women have won Best Rap Album at the Grammys: Ms. Lauryn Hill (as a member of Fugees), Cardi B, and most recently Doechii. Both Hill and Doechii performed at Jazz In The Gardens Music Festival in Miami Saturday night, and during Hill’s set, she brought out Doechii to do “Doo Wop (That Thing)” together.

“Doo Wop (That Thing)” comes from Hill’s R&B Grammy-winning solo album, 1998’s The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill. Doechii thanked the Fugees member on social media, writing: “Thank you Miss Lauryn Hill. Thank you. My heart is so full. She is my hero. This is the greatest honor hip hop could give me. Praise God … my entire body is vibrating with joy right now. I’ll never forget this day!” She also shared, “I never been so nervous in my life 😭 she is a QUEEN.”

* Here you go…

Lauryn Hill brought out Doechii on stage to perform "Doo Wop (that thing)" together at Jazz In The Gardens Music Festival pic.twitter.com/awizpfWs0U

— Everything Doechii 🐊 (@EDoechii) March 9, 2025

Stop acting like boys and be men

* What’s going on in your world?

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Isabel’s morning briefing

Monday, Mar 10, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: Illinois joins lawsuit seeking to halt ‘illegal’ mass firings of federal workers. WTTW…

* Related stories…

∙ WaPo: Multistate lawsuit seeks to reverse Trump administration purge of federal workers
∙ Press Release: AG Raoul asks court to stop mass firings and seeks reinstatement of federal probationary employees
∙ Crusader: Attorney General Raoul asks court to stop mass firings and seeks reinstatement of federal probationary employees

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Tribune | Illinois patients, hospitals fear potential Medicaid cuts: ‘I hope people have some kind of compassion’: Outlaw is one of more than 3.4 million people in Illinois on Medicaid — more than one-quarter of the state’s population — who are anxiously watching discussions in Washington, D.C., over the future of the program. In late February, House Republicans passed a budget resolution instructing the committee that oversees Medicaid to cut $880 billion in costs over the next 10 years to help pay for new and existing tax cuts and enhanced border and national security, according to House Republicans.

* Sun-Times | As Medicaid cuts loom, patients, officials defend care for chronic pain, behavioral health and addiction: Current Illinois law would automatically end Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansions in the state if federal funding is cut, significantly reducing who qualifies for the coverage. State Rep. La Shawn K. Ford, D-Chicago, has sponsored legislation to repeal the law, though the issue of funding the care would remain.

*** Statehouse News ***

* WGN | The Homeschool Act aims to implement regulations to protect kids in Illinois: An investigation by ProPublica and Capitol News Illinois discovered that children were being mistreated and neglected while being homeschooled. State Representative and Chair of the Adoption and Child Welfare Committee in the Illinois House, Terra Costa Howard, joins Dane Neal, filling in for Jon Hansen for Let’s Gel Legal. The two discuss homeschooling and the new bill that hopes to protect children’s education when they are learning at home.

* Tribune | Gov. JB Pritzker’s $300M proposal seeks to attract developers to abandoned sites that now draw only vandals: In a budget proposal that included no new taxes and cuts to key programs like health care for noncitizen immigrants, Pritzker is proposing the state invest $300 million to prepare the sites for private development. Funding would come from the state’s capital budget. The Pritzker administration said the program would create jobs and support community revitalization, and the project would attract new businesses, potentially leading to billions of dollars in private investment. The five sites in the proposal were identified as “high priority,” though others might be considered in the future.

* WTTW | Illinois Pitches Two New Prisons as a Way to Modernize and Address Aging Facilities. Some Advocates Aren’t Sold: Illinois’ prison population continues to shrink, with facilities now having a 26% vacancy rate, leading some of those inside and their advocates to question the state’s plan to build two new prisons. Some opposed to new prisons say if they are to be built, they should be small and close to Cook County for services and loved ones’ visits. Others look toward decarceration and consolidation of other decrepit facilities. The state, meanwhile, is pitching the rebuilding plan as necessary due to the high amount of deferred maintenance on existing buildings and the need for a modern, rehabilitative design.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | New data breach exposes thousands of CPS students’ info: The data breach affected roughly 700,000 students dating back to the 2017-18 school year, CPS said. Students’ names, dates of birth, gender and their CPS student ID numbers were accessed. Students enrolled in Medicaid also had their Medicaid ID number and dates of eligibility exposed. Social Security numbers, financial and health information were not exposed in the breach, CPS said.

* Sun-Times | Amid Loop vacancies, Chicago’s property tax burden shifts to neighborhoods: The property taxes paid by the once-bustling but now-struggling Water Tower Place, for instance, have plunged from $16 million annually to $6.8 million last year. With Water Tower Place paying less, that means other homeowners and businesses have needed to make up the shortfall to cover the taxes that pay for police, firefighters, schools and other services.

* Crain’s | Chicago makes its move to get in on the data center boom: Microsoft last year acquired more than 500 acres for a data center in southwest suburban Plano. Compass Datacenters is building a five-building campus on 200 acres at the former Sears headquarters in Hoffman Estates. CyrusOne is also developing a 230-acre complex near Yorkville. With the explosion of cloud computing and artificial intelligence, technology companies are racing to build data centers, a collection of servers and networking equipment that stores, processes and distributes electronic data, from personal email and entertainment programs to business payroll and sales functions.

* Tribune | Illinois clinic one of first places in the country to offer new device to spinal cord injury patients: The device, called the ARC-EX, delivers electrical pulses to his spine during his sessions at Next Steps Chicago, a neurological rehabilitation clinic in Willow Springs. The device was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in December, with some experts hailing it as a milestone in therapy for people with spinal cord injuries. Next Steps is one of the first two clinics in the country offering it.

* Crain’s | WFMT workers plan to unionize: Content creators at Chicago’s classical radio station 98.7 WFMT-FM intend to organize with SAG-AFTRA, a large union representing professionals in entertainment and media. In a press release earlier this week, SAG-AFTRA said the workers have faced “ongoing challenges” at the station for years and the only option to address them is through collective bargaining.

* Tribune | ‘A fun experiment’: Chicago White Sox get a close look at Automated Ball-Strike System testing at Camelback Ranch: According to Major League Baseball, ABS uses a set of cameras around the field to track pitch locations. Each team starts with two challenges, which can be used by the batter, pitcher or catcher. The challenge must be immediate and made without the assistance from the dugout or other players. A team retains a successful challenge, but loses it if the umpire’s call is confirmed. MLB is using the testing this spring to see whether ABS is suitable for use in the majors down the line. It has been tested in the minors since 2021. According to MLB, more than 60% of the 2025 spring training games will be played with ABS, including eight Grapefruit League parks in Florida.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* WBEZ | Even after guilty plea, Highland Park residents still trying to make sense of mass shooting: Some Highland Park residents still avoid Port Clinton Square, right across the street from the building where, nearly three years ago, a young man sprayed bullets into a crowd gathered for the town’s annual 4th of July parade. “This is the first time I’ve had enough courage to walk over there without breaking down,” Vincent N. Carani said on Thursday morning.

* Daily Herald | Metra asks feds for relief in feud with Union Pacific over ‘unreasonable’ costs to run trains on tracks: Metra filed separate actions with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board and in federal court seeking relief from what they called “windfall” rates proposed by UP to use its tracks. The issue dates back to 2019 when the freight railroad decided it was no longer feasible to operate trains on Metra’s three commuter lines, the UP North, Northwest and West.

* Tribune | DuPage County, sheriff agree to $11 million payout for jail death: Approved by a judge last month, the settlement caps a federal lawsuit brought by Aguilar-Hurtado’s daughter, Cristal Moreno Aguilar, accusing the county, Mendrick and 11 jail medical staff members or corrections officers of repeatedly failing to act as her mother’s health rapidly deteriorated. A county pathologist determined her death was due, in part, to “medical neglect.”

* Shaw Local | Should DeKalb enact a local grocery tax? Mayoral candidates weigh in: In an email to Shaw Local News Network, DeKalb City Manager Bill Nicklas said the loss of the tax from grocery stores including Jewel-Osco, DeKalb Fresh Market, Aldi and Schnucks would cost the city about $800,000 in estimated grocery tax revenue for 2024. Typically, the city allocates revenue generated from the state grocery tax toward departmental operations. “Any drop in such proceeds would have to be offset by an equal increase in some other general revenue to maintain the current level of operations,” Nicklas said.

* Shaw Local | La Salle County YANA to host gubernatorial candidate James Mendrick on March 13: The grassroots political group YANA (You Are Not Alone) is celebrating its four-year anniversary with an event at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 13, at Jamie’s Outpost, 602 Clark St., Utica. The keynote speaker will be DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick, the first Republican to announce his candidacy for Illinois governor in the 2026 election. Mendrick’s visit provides attendees with an opportunity to hear directly from a gubernatorial candidate and discuss the future of Illinois.

*** Downstate ***

* WCIA | Pritzker stops by Urbana restaurant with Democratic primary winner: “We’ve been doing this a long time and [to] have somebody of that high-profile come in and eat your food and that you share with the community that you grew up with and grew up in,” Baldarotta said. “It’s amazing what he ordered at the Guido. It was recommended by DeShawn because that’s where he gets a lot when he gets in here. But I couldn’t let him leave without trying our porketta.”

* Tom Kacich | Calling it a career: Now it’s time to give this precious space to the young journalists with their energy, enthusiasm, passion and dreams. They are practicing a noble profession (another term for underpaid) with the great responsibility to inform the public, shed light on government, institutions and culture, and call it as they see it. There are many reasons the task is much more difficult today than it was in 1975, not the least of which is misinformation on social media, including much from the government.

* BND | Tax incentive, new infrastructure part of proposed ‘transformative’ development in O’Fallon: Park Place is a joint effort by Bruce Holland of Holland Construction, Rich Gorazd of State Construction and Michael Hamburg of Pier Property Group that city leaders have said could be the biggest development of its type. As proposed, it would feature recreation, entertainment, retail, restaurants and a variety of housing options that could include 50 villas and 429 multi-family units. The cost is estimated cost of the project is $275 to 300 million.

* WCIA | Alcohol compliance checks will happen more often in Pana after 50% of businesses fail: 14 establishments in Pana were checked. Half of them sold alcohol to a person who was under 21 years old. The establishments inside City limits found to be non-compliant were given a City Ordinance Violation for Prohibited Sales of Alcohol with a $500.00 fine. The sellers outside City limits were cited for Illegal Gift/Sale of Alcohol to Minors. All seven establishments were served notice by the Illinois Liquor Control Commission Office and will be given additional fines for the violation.

* ESPN | Illini investigating allegations of ‘inappropriate comments’: The University of Illinois said Saturday that it is investigating allegations of “inappropriate comments” that were made toward Purdue supporters after Boilermakers star Trey Kaufman-Renn said his 13-year-old brother was subjected to racist language and his family was “cussed out” by opposing fans during his team’s 88-80 loss to the Fighting Illini in Champaign, Illinois, on Friday night.

* The Telegraph | Governor JB Pritzker congratulates SIUE basketball on historic NCAA Tournament berth: Illinois Governor JB Pritzker sent congratulations to the SIU-Edwardsville men’s basketball team and SIUE head coach Brian Barone for reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. “Huge congrats to Coach Barone and the entire SIUE team,” Pritzker said Sunday on social media. “Best of luck to you all in your first ever NCAA Tournament!”

*** National ***

* NYT | 30 Charts That Show How Everything Changed in March 2020: Decades from now, the pandemic will be visible in the historical data of nearly anything measurable today: an unmistakable spike, dip or jolt that officially began for Americans five years ago this week. […] Three million Americans filed for unemployment benefits in the first week, then six million the next, one of the earliest shockwaves to ripple through the economy.

* Santa Fe New Mexican | Assault weapons ban modeled after Illinois law now on the table: The Senate Judiciary Committee decided late Monday to take time to study a proposed assault weapons ban for the state modeled after an Illinois law that is currently tied up in the courts. “We’ll have you ready to go at our very next meeting on Wednesday,” Sen. Joe Cervantes, a Las Cruces Democrat who chairs the committee, told the sponsors.

* AP | Kennedy and influencers bash seed oils, baffling nutrition scientists: It’s the catchy description coined by internet influencers, wellness gurus and some politicians to refer to common cooking oils — think canola, soybean and corn oil — that have long been staples in many home kitchens. […] “I don’t know where it came from that seed oils are bad,” said Martha Belury, an Ohio State University food science professor. In a Senate hearing Thursday, Dr. Marty Makary, nominated to lead the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, called for a closer review of the products.

* Above the Law | Trump Signs Executive Order Calling Out Top 50 Biglaw Firm, With Intent To Wage War Against Other ‘Leading Law Firms’ Over Their DEI Policies: In a move that could seriously disrupt the very ecosystem within which Biglaw firms exist, Trump has directed the chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to “review the practices of representative large, influential, or industry leading law firms for consistency with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”

* MSN | The FAA’s Troubles Are More Serious Than You Know: Many FAA employees were prepared to follow that advice, agreeing to leave their government jobs and get paid through September, according to internal government records I obtained as well as interviews with current and former U.S. officials who spoke with me on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. More than 1,300 FAA employees replied to the email, out of a workforce of about 45,000. Most of those who responded selected “Yes, I confirm that I am resigning/retiring.”

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition

Monday, Mar 10, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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

Monday, Mar 10, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Selected press releases (Live updates)

Monday, Mar 10, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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Live coverage

Monday, Mar 10, 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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