* IDES…

The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.7 percent, while nonfarm payrolls were almost unchanged, down by just -800 in December, based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and released by IDES. The November monthly change in payrolls was revised from the preliminary report, from +17,500 to +12,100 jobs. The November unemployment rate was unchanged from the preliminary report, remaining at 4.7 percent. The December payroll jobs estimate and unemployment rate reflect activity for the week including the 12th.

In December, the industry sectors with the largest over-the-month gains in employment included: Educational and Health Services (+5,200), Trade, Transportation and Utilities (+3,300), and Government (+1,800). The industry sectors with the largest monthly payroll declines included: Professional and Business Services (-3,000), Leisure and Hospitality (-2,500), and Other Services (-2,100). […]

The state’s unemployment rate was +1.2 percentage points higher than the national unemployment rate reported for December, which was 3.5 percent, down -0.1 percentage point from the previous month.

* I’m told there was a glitch partly due to human error and payments will be made on Monday. The department is also supposedly trying to revamp the voucher submission process. Press release…

Home Child Care Providers Ring Alarm about Missing Payments
Providers can’t pay their bills, will call for state to invest in a payment system that actually works.

IL - Of the 13,000 home child care providers who are part Illinois Department of Human Services’ (IDHS) Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), thousands are still awaiting payment for work done in December 2022 and many don’t know how they will be able to make ends meet and are struggling to keep their doors open for parents and children. Providers are calling on the State of Illinois DHS to immediately rectify the late payments and invest in a new payment system that actually works.

Greg Kelley, President of SEIU Healthcare Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Kansas, issued the following statement on Wednesday, January 18: “These same home child care workers that keep Illinois’ economy running have been experiencing payment delays that are unacceptable and that create serious hardship. Low wages force child care providers to live on razor thin margins without room for a missed paycheck. A delay in payment means home child care workers can’t pay for basic needs like rent, utilities and food.”

* IDPH…

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced today that the CDC is reporting 28 counties in the state are at an elevated level for COVID-19, compared to 61 in the previous week. Of those, three Illinois counties are at a High Community Level, compared to five the previous week; and 25 counties are at Medium Level, compared to 56 the previous week. IDPH is reporting 10,967 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in Illinois in the week ending January 15, and 78 deaths.

“I am encouraged to see COVID-19 community levels continuing to decrease across Illinois,” said IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra. “Rates of the XBB ‘Kraken’ variant, spreading throughout the East Coast, are slowly increasing in the Midwest, and we continue to monitor this new variant closely. However, we are fortunate at this time to see no increase in hospitalizations. IDPH is continuing to focus our efforts on preserving hospital capacity and protecting those Illinois residents most at risk for severe disease from COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses.”

County data is here.

* WTTW…

State Rep. Will Guzzardi, a Democrat from Chicago, also backed the graduated income tax in 2020. Now, though, he’s pitching a so-called “wealth tax.”

Guzzardi described it as similar in concept to property taxes. As the value of a home increases, the property tax burden goes up. His wealth tax would work the same way, but it would apply only to the financial assets of those worth $1 billion or more.

“We’re going to say to billionaires with all their assets — which aren’t so much properties as stocks, financial instruments, investments — we’re going to value their assets, and then when those assets go up in value, we’re going to tax them on the increase in value,” Guzzardi said. “So just like the property tax that we pay, this is a tax on billionaires’ property, which is stocks and financial instruments.”

Guzzardi said the Illinois Department of Revenue already has a decent accounting of these assets and that a qualifying Illinois resident’s assets would be taxed wherever they’re based. […]

Guzzardi said his plan would work like another form of an income tax. […]

Illinois’ income tax rate for individuals of 4.95% would be charged to what he said qualifies as billionaires’ income.

As subscribers know, that might run afoul of the Illinois constitution…

A tax on or measured by income shall be at a non-graduated rate. At any one time there may be no more than one such tax imposed by the State for State purposes on individuals and one such tax so imposed on corporations.

I requested a response from the state’s billionaire governor. I’ll let you know what he says.

* More heat in DuPage…

On Monday, January 23rd at 10am CT at the Danada House in Wheaton, U.S. Representatives Sean Casten (IL-06), Delia Ramirez (IL-03), and Bill Foster (IL-11), and other Members of the Illinois congressional delegation, county board members, and state legislators will host a press conference regarding DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick’s January 13th statement that he will not enforce the Protect Illinois Communities Act (H.B. 5471).

This press conference follows a letter sent by Reps. Sean Casten, Delia Ramirez, Jesús “Chuy” García, Mike Quigley, Raja Krishnamoorthi, and Bill Foster, requesting Sheriff Mendrick rescind his earlier statement and provide information as to what other laws he has chosen not to enforce based on his personal beliefs. You can find a copy of the letter here.

Earlier this month, the Illinois General Assembly passed the Protect Illinois Communities Act, subsequently signed into law by Governor JB Pritzker. The legislation bans the sale and distribution of assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and switches in Illinois. On January 13th, DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick announced that, due to his personal beliefs about H. B. 5471, he would not enforce the law in DuPage County.

* Heat starts rising in Kane…

2/ Not expecting calls for his resignation like what we are seeing in DuPage County. Emphasizing in Kane that Hain said he will not proactively enforce the law rather than being outright opposed.

— James Fuller (@TheJamesFuller) January 19, 2023

* A classic case of moral panic…

Awake Illinois became the center of controversy last year when Chicago mayoral candidate Paul Vallas spoke out against “hateful rhetoric” by one member after the group called Gov. J.B. Pritzker a “groomer” for adopting new sex education standards for the state.

The group also called “perverted” a kid-friendly drag show at Uprising Bakery and Cafe in Lake in the Hills. The cafe’s owner temporarily canceled but then held that event after saying it was the target of threats. A man was charged with smashing the cafe’s window.

Awake Illinois did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Adcock advocates on the group’s website for “academics over activism” in school.

“We must work together to stop an entire generation of children from being molded — via public schools — into illiterate, sexualized activists,” Adcock said.

Their “solution” is to essentially stop little kids from learning how to identify and fend off sexual predators.

* Speaking of which, Facebook can rot your mind…

Pink Floyd updated their profile picture to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Dark Side of the Moon, and the replies are… something. pic.twitter.com/e4zNZ2KGOS

— Travis Akers (@travisakers) January 20, 2023

* Jennifer Welch, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Illinois Action…

“On what would have been the 50th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, in Illinois, we are proud to be a leader in the fight for bodily autonomy and a haven for those seeking essential reproductive health care. When the Supreme Court stripped away the freedom for all people to have equal access to abortion, every state that borders Illinois has either severely restricted or outright banned access. Many of those states hostile to abortion care are also targeting the LGBTQ+ community. Thankfully, together with pro-choice legislators, Illinois now protects abortion care and gender-affirming patients and providers.

However, our work is not done. Senseless and damaging acts of vandalism have been on the rise across the country, and Illinois has become a target as extreme and divisive rhetoric increases. Several of our health centers have been targeted in the past few years, most recently in Peoria.

The damages in Peoria go beyond structural. The vast majority of Peoria Health Center patients depend on us for essential health care services, including family planning, STI testing and treatment, cancer screening, gender-affirming care, and more. While medication abortion was offered at Peoria, it was not a site for in-clinic procedures. This act of vandalism will have a devastating impact on the community’s ability to access the reproductive health care they need and deserve.

We will keep fighting forward for equitable access to essential reproductive health care like abortion and gender-affirming care because all people should have the freedom to make medical decisions that are best for their bodies, their lives, and their families.”

* Isabel’s afternoon roundup…

* Sun-Times | Lord Herald, dubbed the ‘world’s least adoptable dog,’ is just a ‘grump’ who needs the right companion, Chicago shelter says: Lord Herald, a grumpy, middle-aged Chicagoan, who also happens to be a Chihuahua, was tagged with the label by the New York Post last month after a social media post by the Chicago dog rescue that saved him from the city’s pound went a bit viral.

* Sun-Times | Mayor pledges action following WBEZ investigation into criminal registries in Chicago: The failure leaves people convicted of some gun, sex and violence crimes subject to arrest for failure to register. Advocates for survivors of sexual assault expressed concern that the overburdened office is indicative of a department that isn’t prioritizing their safety concerns. Lightfoot said she had been unaware of the problems due to staffing shortages but said she would be taking it up with Police Superintendent David Brown to ensure “we’re doing what we need to do to make sure that they have the ability to register.”

* Fox Chicago | New poll shows Vallas, Garcia as frontrunners: And, despite spending several million dollars on campaign advertising in recent weeks, incumbent Lori Lightfoot has fallen to fourth place, behind teachers union staffer Brandon Johnson. Pollster Matt Podgorski, of the political consulting firm M3, said, “The big takeaway that we saw is that Chuy Garcia and Paul Vallas basically flip-flopped spots. Now I’ve got Paul Vallas in first place with 26% and Chuy Garcia in second with 19%.”

* WTTW | Wealthy Illinois Residents Would Pay More in Income Tax Under New Proposals: State Sen. Robert Martwick is well aware voters rejected the plan, largely he said, due to a lack of trust in government. But, as was first reported by Crain’s Chicago Business, Martwick wants to try again because he said the what the Fair Tax hoped to accomplish remains the same. “We are on course, a crash course, with our finances,” Martwick said. “Eventually we have massive pension debt that we have to pay down; we have commitments to fund public education. And the reality of it is, is that our revenue trajectories long-term don’t match our debt trajectories. And so if we don’t do something — whether this is the best idea of not — then we’re putting the next generation in the position where they’re going to be forced to make draconian cuts just to get by.”

* Block Club | Rogers Park Alderman Candidate Gets Cease-And-Desist From City For Hosting Parties, Charging Cover At Campaign HQ: Aldermanic hopeful Bill Morton’s campaign headquarters was hosting live entertainment with bring-your-own-beer service without having the proper permits, city records show.

* AP | ShotSpotter document reveals key human role in gunshot tech: A confidential ShotSpotter document obtained by The Associated Press outlines something the company doesn’t always tout about its “precision policing system” — that human employees can quickly overrule and reverse the algorithm’s determinations, and are given broad discretion to decide if a sound is a gunshot, fireworks, thunder or something else.

* NBC Chicago | How Illinois’ Psychedelic Therapy Program Would Work, if it Passes the General Assembly: “Illinois has an opportunity to be a leader in the Midwest for this kind of facilitated use of psychedelics and the demand is here, the research is out there,” said Jean Lacey, executive director of Entheo IL, a coalition that is advocating for the passage of Illinois HB1.

* Daily Herald | Boys & Girls Club Illinois Alliance names new CEO: The Boys & Girls Club Illinois Alliance recently announced that Awisi Bustos has been appointed the new CEO, effective Jan. 17. Bustos is first-generation Ghanaian American who was born in Benin Cotonou and raised in Ghana, Ethiopia, Cuba, Belgium, and the United States. She most recently served as Senior Policy Adviser to Secretary Grace Hou of the Illinois Department of Human Services, and previously worked as the Northwest Illinois coordinator for Sen. Richard J. Durbin of Illinois.

* News-Gazette | Business owner plans to live among homeless for two weeks: Warren Charter recalls a time, about a dozen years ago, when he was kind of afraid of homeless people. He’d see homeless people on the streets of Chicago, and would buy them orange juice and a muffin, set it down by them and slip away. These days, he spends much of his time helping people who live on the streets. And starting at 8 a.m. Sunday, he plans to join them for 14 days to broaden his understanding of what they go through.

* Rolling Stone | Little Richard’s Ugly Exploitation by the Music Industry Is Laid Bare: Little Richard: I Am Everything, a new documentary premiering at Sundance, traces the life of the pioneering musician — and how white artists and the record labels bled him dry.

* Crain’s | Allstate piles on another auto rate hike, with average premiums up $760: Allstate CEO Tom Wilson wasn’t kidding when he said the company’s relentless series of auto insurance rate hikes would continue into 2023. Less than a month into the year, Allstate is increasing rates on most Illinois drivers it insures by an average of 7.6%, according to a filing with the Illinois Department of Insurance.

* WSIL | New coats to be distributed to children in Southern Illinois: More than $12,000 was raised and 550 coats were ordered for this campaign making it the biggest year yet. Nearly 20% of Southern Illinois children live in poverty and a warm coat is an essential item during our long winters, according to a WIBH release.

* Block Club | This Week In Photos: Honoring MLK’s Legacy, First City Council Of 2023 And More: Take a peek at life in the city through the eyes — and lenses — of the Block Club Chicago staff.

* Tribune | Northwestern men’s basketball postpones another game because of COVID-19: The Wildcats were slated to host Wisconsin on Saturday, but they announced Thursday night that the game would not be played as scheduled. Northwestern (12-5, 3-3) said it would work with Wisconsin and the Big Ten Conference to find a new date.

* Crain’s | U.S. air traffic halt caused by ‘unintentionally’ deleted computer files: The latest preliminary findings by the Federal Aviation Administration indicate that “contract personnel,” who weren’t identified, were attempting to correct discrepancies between a live database and its backup when they accidentally deleted files, the agency said in an emailed statement.