* Press release excerpt…

Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) today awarded $13 million to 30 recipients to expand the Illinois Works Pre-apprenticeship Program, which creates a qualified talent pipeline of diverse candidates in construction and the building trades. The program’s second year expands access to the program across the state and will serve up to 1,400 pre-apprentices – a 40 percent increase from the program’s inaugural year.

* Gov. Pritzker was asked today at the press conference to announce the Pre-apprenticeship Program expansion about the Chicago mayor’s race and his 22 aldermanic race endorsements…

As I said, first of all, I’m pleased to have endorsed people who are doing a good job. They’ve asked me to endorse them. I could have done it sort of one at a time. I just decided to release it all at once.

And with regard to the mayor’s race for the city of Chicago. You know, it’s very important to me that the mayor of the city, whoever that is, and the governor of the state, whoever that is at the time, work closely together. We saw what happened in previous years when we had a Gov. Rauner who couldn’t work with the Mayor of the City of Chicago, and that was not good for the city. It was not good for the state of Illinois. And so I want to make sure that a good working relationship exists. There is one now with the current mayor, but whoever wins the election, I intend to have a good relationship with them, too. And so I’m staying out of the mayor’s race, but I’m glad to support local officials who are running for public office.

* Vallas press release…

Mayoral candidate Paul Vallas is continuing to build significant momentum behind his surging campaign, and he is announcing today that he has now raised more than $2 Million since January 1. The massive fundraising effort has allowed Vallas to outpace all other candidates in television advertising spending, while also building robust communications, voter outreach and organizing programs.

* Back to Gov. Pritzker. When responding to a question, he had this to say about MAP grant funding changes…

Community colleges play such a critical and important role. And when I came into office, what was happening was we had MAP grants that were available that we were funding and they’re available to community college students as well as university students. But because of the fiscal year and the run of the fiscal year, university students were the first ones to apply and then we would run out of money each year. Everybody else applying later than that would be out of luck. So it turns out many community college students don’t apply in the same semester that the high school students or people who are seeking to go to university apply. So we changed the way we allocated those funds. So the community colleges would benefit to a much greater degree because we need people to get engaged in the trades to learn, to earn a certificate to earn an associate degree for example. And so, again, community colleges being just as important as full four year universities.

Interesting.

* AG Raoul…

Attorney General Kwame Raoul today announced he charged a former assistant Coles County state’s attorney with 32 counts of misconduct over interactions he had in his official capacity with three Coles County women between the ages of 18 and 35.

Formerly from Charleston, Illinois, Brady Allen, 33, now resides in Missouri but turned himself in to the Coles County Sheriff’s Office on Jan. 26 after a warrant was issued for his arrest. Raoul’s office charged Allen with nine counts of bribery, all Class 2 felonies; one count of witness harassment, a Class 2 felony; 21 counts of official misconduct, all Class 3 felonies; and one count of witness intimidation, a Class 3 felony. If convicted, Allen could face up to 7 years in prison and up to $25,000 in fines. […]

From December 2018 until he resigned in August 2020, Allen served as an assistant state’s attorney in Coles County. Raoul’s office alleges that within that time frame, Allen had inappropriate text, email, phone and social media communications that were sexual in nature with female defendants he was currently or had previously prosecuted. According to Raoul, Allen solicited sexual contact, photos and videos with an understanding that in exchange, the female defendants would receive preferential treatment in their pending criminal cases.

Even after Allen was assigned to another courtroom, Raoul alleges Allen continued to solicit sexual contact, photos and videos, suggesting to the women that he could influence his colleagues at the Coles County State’s Attorney’s office. Raoul is further alleging that once Allen’s behavior was discovered, he offered to pay one female defendant’s fines and court costs if she could convince another female defendant to not pursue claims against Allen.

* Press release…

The Park District of Tinley Park [yesterday] announced it has received support from 14 additional members of the Illinois House and Senate for its proposed plan for the site of the former Tinley Park Mental Health Center and Howe Development Center to transform the long-vacant property into a hub of athletic fields, track and field facilities, a domed sports complex and open recreational space.

This week, the 14 legislators, who represent communities surrounding the Tinley Park area, sent a letter of support, including: Reps. Dagmara Avelar, Kelly Burke, Will Davis, Anthony DeLuca, Marcus Evans, Fran Hurley, Thaddeus Jones, Natalie Manley, Nick Smith, Larry Walsh, and Sens. Napoleon Harris, Patrick Joyce, Elgie Sims, and Rachel Ventura.

The Park District has also previously received the support of three legislators who represent Tinley Park: Reps. Debbie Meyers-Martin, Bob Rita, and Justin Slaughter.

Last November, the Park District formally bid on the property located at 7400-7600 W. 183rd St. and laid out its vision to meet the needs of the Tinley Park residents and expand opportunities for neighboring communities.

The Park District’s Phase 1 of development for the property includes playground and sports facilities fully accessible for people living with special needs, multipurpose athletic fields, a domed sports complex with a full-size soccer field, a stadium with a track, a splash pad, concession stands, spectator stands, lighting, ample parking, as well as a pond, picnic areas and open green space.

In their letter this week to the Park District, the group of 14 legislators said the Park District’s Phase 1 plans would create an opportunity for people across the Midwest to attend tournaments, games and events at the site.

“Additionally, transforming this site into a place for all to enjoy addresses a critical need for many of our communities that could benefit greatly from access to more recreation opportunities,” the legislators wrote.

* Leader McCombie…

House Republican Leader Tony McCombie (89th District- Savanna) announced the House Republican’s budget team on Friday, naming Deputy Leader Norine Hammond (94th District- Macomb) as Chief Budgeteer for the caucus for the 103rd General Assembly as well as announcing that Representative Amy Elik (111th District- Alton) will be elevated to Deputy Budgeteer.

“I am pleased that Deputy Leader Norine Hammond has accepted my appointment as Chief Budgeteer. Her in-depth experience in appropriations and policy makes her the perfect candidate for this important role,” said Leader Tony McCombie. “I have no doubt that she will work tirelessly to ensure that the budget benefits all citizens of Illinois and I look forward to the positive impact her input will have on the state. Furthermore, her dedication to serving the people of Illinois ensures that their needs and concerns will be considered in the budgeting process.”

As a member of the Higher Education Committee, Hammond has worked for increased funding for universities and community colleges throughout Illinois. She has successfully passed legislation to tackle the teacher shortage; keep Illinois students attending Illinois colleges and universities; and fairly fund public K-12 education. She has also been a strong advocate for procurement reform and other cost-cutting measures which keep dollars focused on strategic goals instead of overhead and administrative costs.

“Representative Amy Elik has spent the past twenty-eight years working as a Certified Public Accountant and auditor for businesses and government bodies. She is a valuable voice for sensible fiscal management and good government budgeting practices within our caucus. Representative Elik will provide critical support to the process and to Deputy Leader Hammond in improving the most important piece of legislation to come out of the State House annually,” Leader McCombie continued.

Rep. Elik has previously served on the House Republican budget team, the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, and other relevant financial committees which have prepared her to take on this role in the budget process.

* Press release…

To recognize the most outstanding engineering achievements and celebrate the exceptional work engineers provided to their clients in the past year, the American Council of Engineering Companies of Illinois (ACEC Illinois) today launched its 2023 Engineering Excellence Awards competition titled “Engineering Works.” The award is designed to honor the best infrastructure projects in Illinois and the engineering companies behind their design and construction. The competitive process to select a winner is now open to the public to learn about the projects and vote to pick a winner to be honored at the ACEC Illinois Awards gala in February.

Vote here.

* A fun Friday fact from the Pantagraph…

What is a Kellogg’s Frosted Flake shaped like the State of Illinois worth?

On eBay, a Virginia woman sold just that in 2008, originally found in her morning breakfast bowl … for $1,350.

…Adding… Fascinating…

Incredibly the answer appears to be GUNSMOKE which produced its last original episode in 1975.

Gunsmoke re-aired over 3000 times across multiple networks and amassed over 113 billion minutes of viewing in 2022. https://t.co/2HRTyXkirh

— Michael Mulvihill (@mulvihill79) January 27, 2023

Collectively, Hallmark Movies totaled 156 billion minutes of viewing which is kind of staggering. That's more than SNF, MNF and the FOX NFL 4:25s put together.

— Michael Mulvihill (@mulvihill79) January 27, 2023

…Adding… Press release…

On Saturday, State Representative Abdelnasser Rashid (D-Bridgeview) will be joined by friends and community at a district swearing-in ceremony and reception. The oath of office will be administered by The Honorable Judge Rouhy Shalabi.

“I’m eager to reaffirm my oath of office before family, friends, elected leaders, and the communities that make up the 21st District as I begin my first term,” said Rep. Rashid. “As the first Palestinian-American legislator in Illinois, it is especially meaningful that Judge Shalabi will be presiding over the oath.” Judge Shalabi joined the bench in 2020, becoming the first Palestinian-American judge in Illinois.

What: District Swearing-in Ceremony for State Representative Abdelnasser Rashid

Who: U.S. Senator Richard Durbin, Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, State Representative Dagmara Avelar, State Representative Mary Flowers, State Representative Norma Hernandez, State Senator Mike Porfirio, State Senator Celina Villanueva, MWRD Commissioner Eira Corral Sepúlveda, Board of Review Commissioner Samantha Steele, Cook County Commissioner Frank Aguilar, Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi, Lyons Mayor Christopher Getty, Cicero Trustee Blanca Vargas, Riverside President Joseph Ballerine, Riverside Trustee Cristin Evans, Berwyn Mayor Robert Lovero, Berwyn City Council Members Marybeth Arenella, Joe Carmichael, Richard Leja, Scott Lennon, Robert Pabon and Alicia Ruiz, North Riverside President Joseph Mengoni, Bridgeview Mayor Steven Landek, Countryside Mayor Sean McDermott, Summit Trustee Mayra Ortiz, Hodgkins President Ernest Millsap

When: Saturday, January 28th, 2023 at 12pm

Where: SeatGeek Stadium, 7000 S Harlem Avenue, 3rd Floor, Bridgeview, IL.

That’s quite a list.

* Isabel’s roundup…

* WCIA | State treasurers, comptrollers call on House Speaker, Congressional lawmakers to take action on debt ceiling: State treasurers and comptrollers across the nation including Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs are calling on U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other lawmakers on Capitol Hill to take action to reach an agreement on raising the debt ceiling. Otherwise, they warned in a letter to him sent Tuesday, it could have major consequences for their states, including Illinois.

* Tribune | 3 Chicago-area oil refineries that dump toxic chemicals into Lake Michigan and other waterways are among worst polluters in US, study shows: Even when limits are in place, oil companies often pay minimal fines for violating the law. Some aren’t penalized at all. The Joliet refinery, on the Des Plaines River southwest of the city, exceeded its permitted levels of pollution 40 times between 2019 and 2021, federal records show. Neither federal nor state officials have sued ExxonMobil or fined the company for its repeated infractions.

* Crain’s | Here are the committee assignments for freshmen of Illinois’ congressional delegation: Three of the Illinois congressional delegation’s four freshman Democrats are joining the House Agriculture Committee, including two from downstate and one from less rural environs—Rep. Jonathan Jackson of Chicago.The assignments were announced Thursday by House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York.

* Sun-Times | Walking with the victims of Chicago’s gun violence: Gunshot victims in Chicago are regularly sent home from hospitals without the supplies they need to properly care for their injuries. So Mannion travels around with her mobile medical supply cabinet, a sad symbol of the city’s inability to deal with violence and its aftermath. […] Mannion is part of a growing army of former gang members in Chicago working to prevent violence. Some try to intervene in gang conflicts to stop retaliation. Others, like Mannion, seek to stop the cycle by tending to the physical, mental and emotional needs of victims and their families.

* WICS | IDOC responds to lawmaker concerns over Graham Correctional Facility incident: Senator Jason Plummer sent a letter to IDOC earlier this week asking them to be more open about what happened when 25 people got sick inside Graham Correctional Facility last week.

* WaPo | Data shows student debt relief applicants in each state as auditors question cost: The most populous states had the highest numbers of applicants and automatically eligible people, with California leading the pack with 2.3 million people, followed by Texas with 2.1 million, the data shows. Wyoming and Alaska had the fewest, with 30,000 and 38,000 respectively. Locally, 685,000 Virginians, 522,000 people from Maryland and 72,000 D.C. residents have tried to take advantage of the program, according to the data.

* WTTW | Chicago’s Plan to Make Crosswalks Accessible for Blind Pedestrians Moving at a Crawl: Last March, the Chicago Department of Transportation said it was planning to install about 150 accessible pedestrian signals in 2022 and 2023. So far, only nine of those signals are actually up and running – and only eight of them are new, since one of those installations was an upgrade to an older signal.

* ABC | New US race, ethnicity standards proposed; first since ‘97: A Middle Eastern and North African category could be added to U.S. federal surveys and censuses, and changes could be made to how Hispanics are able to self-identify, under preliminary recommendations released Thursday by the Biden administration in what would be the first update to race and ethnicity standards in a quarter century.

* Herald-Advocate | Superintendent’s exit sparks parent fears in Park Ridge-Niles D64: ‘We are not stable… possibly not even civil’: Many parents and community members who addressed the board during public comment said they feared that Olson’s resignation would damage the reputation of the district, particularly on the heels of a rocky year that included conflicts over masking and vaccination requirements and changes to school traditions.

* The Atlantic | ‘We Used to Be Called Moderate. We Are Not Moderate.’: Early this summer, the federal government will, in all likelihood, exhaust the “extraordinary measures” it is now employing to keep paying the nation’s bills. As the country careens toward that fiscal abyss, Congress will face a now-familiar stalemate: Republicans will refuse to raise the debt ceiling unless Democrats agree to cut spending. Democrats will balk. Markets will slide—perhaps precipitously—and the economy will swiftly turn south.

* Sun-Times | The quest to visit all Illinois’ state parks and fully enjoy it: Stephanie Swieca and Emma Magrady are on a quest to visit all of Illinois’ state parks, then share their experiences, including the tangential visits around the parks.

* Journal Courier | Springfield museum debuting exhibit on Generation X this weekend: The museum’s “Growing Up X” exhibit will open Saturday at the museum’s downtown Springfield location. The exhibit will feature cultural touchstones for those who grew up in the 1970s and ’80s, such as Apple IIe computers, telephones with cords and Teddy Ruxpin toys. Visitors also will learn how Gen X was shaped by events such as the Vietnam War, the AIDS crisis and the War on Drugs.

* Sun-Times | Billy Packer, college sports broadcaster who covered 34 Final Fours, dies at 82: Packer’s broadcasting career coincided with the growth of college basketball. He worked as analyst or color commentator on every Final Four from 1975 to 2008. He received a Sports Emmy for Outstanding Sports Personality, Studio and Sports Analyst in 1993.

* David McGrath | How teachers can defeat ChatGPT-using students: If you’re a student, beware: 9 out of 10 who cheat with ChatGPT would likely be caught, earning an F for their trouble or outright expulsion. And the 10th student, smart enough to evade detection, is probably smart enough that they don’t need ChatGPT in the first place.

* AP | FDA eases rules again for gay men seeking to donate blood: The Food and Drug Administration on Friday announced draft guidelines that would do away with the current three-month abstinence requirement for donations from men who have sex with men. Instead, potential donors would be screened with a questionnaire that evaluates their individual risks for HIV based on sexual behavior, recent partners and other factors.

* Tribune | ‘I didn’t have a Plan B.’ How Leila Rahimi became one of Chicago’s favorite sportscasters.: Long before Leila Rahimi was named 2022 Illinois Sportscaster of the Year, she was a teenage girl calling in to her local sports radio station. But she wasn’t just calling in as a fan and avid listener, she was creating the lane to her future. “I had been calling in to the Dallas Cowboys postgame show on KVIL-FM 103.7 starting when I was a freshman because I loved watching the Cowboys, and then I started recording using a cassette,” Rahimi told the Tribune. “Once I had a body of work together, I submitted it to try to get a sports broadcasting scholarship in the name of Mark Holtz, the Dallas Mavericks and Texas Rangers broadcaster.”

* Crain’s | Chicago Cut Steakhouse expanding: The steakhouse will add 4,500 square feet on the floor above its restaurant in the glassy 300 N. LaSalle St. building, said Managing Partner David Flom. That second floor will be all private dining.

* WaPo | The military draft ended 50 years ago, dividing a generation: The announcement, 50 years ago Friday, brought immediate relief to American men ages 19 to 25, who were eligible to be drafted during the war. It also created an arbitrary but lasting divide between the nearly 2 million men who had been drafted and those who would avoid conscription by celebrating their 19th birthdays after January 1973.