Afternoon roundup
Tuesday, Apr 25, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* More on this tomorrow…
* Crain’s…
President Joe Biden strengthened his Illinois connections as he formally launched his 2024 re-election bid with a three-minute video early today.
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., is one of his campaign co-chairs, while Quentin Fulks, a former political adviser to Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, will be the principal deputy campaign manager for the president’s campaign. […]
Fulks will be deputy to Julie Chávez Rodríguez, who will be campaign manager after serving in Biden’s White House as senior adviser to the president and director of the office of intergovernmental affairs.
Q has really come a long way.
* The city is run so poorly on just about every level…
The 14th District police station is one of several in the city where asylum seekers could be seen camping out Monday evening as Chicago-area shelters reach capacity. […]
A Venezuelan mother who spoke to WGN, who only wanted to be identified by her first name, Anngimar, said she has been taken back and forth between the 8th and 14th District police stations with her two daughters. […]
Anngimar said they’re waiting to be transferred to a shelter, but in the meantime, those they contacted over the City’s 311 helpline instructed them to stay at the police station to avoid missing pickup or transfer.
* Background is here if you need it. Rumors have been flying that Paul Vallas’ campaign owes money all over town. They just admitted it…
Vallas made sure to pay himself back the $100,000 that he loaned his campaign. The reimbursement was made on March 20, the same day he claims that Enyia submitted his first invoice.
* From a popular Redditor…
There are really two main issues that make the new Twitter verification system a complete nightmare.
The first is the userbase. Very few normal users are willing to pay for a free social media site. Moreover, the main “selling point” of the service is to boost post visibility. The service inherently appeals only to people who both a) care extremely deeply about their posts being seen, and b) make posts that inherently are unappealing to other Twitter users (since people with appealing/interesting/funny/not-weird posts would be able to naturally grow an audience on the platform if they want to). So pretty much every single blue check is a hyper-online weirdo who is deeply bad at posting, despite being obsessed with twitter metrics.
The second is that verified replies get promoted to the top of every post. You have to scroll through all the blue check replies to get to even the most popular non-blue check replies. This is true even for blue check replies that have zero engagement, are completely off-topic, or are just straight up spam or scams.
As a result, if you’re looking for relevant discussion on a popular tweet, you have to first scroll past the thoughts of some of the most terminally online, inherently unlikeable people on the planet. So normal users are constantly exposed to the most off-putting segments of the userbase.
It’s like if Reddit incentivized every antisocial weirdo to post as much as possible to get their money’s worth, and then forced every user to sort by controversial. It’s a horrible structure that makes the product practically unusable for non-weirdos. Which is just how Elon likes it I guess.
Click here and here for a couple of good examples of how the paid blue checkers obsess over metrics.
And here’s a taste of the type of posts which are now being promoted up by Elon Musk’s new scheme…
* Press release…
County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek announces DuPage had the highest regional voter turnout in the 2023 Consolidated Election compared with suburban Cook, Lake, Will, Kane and McHenry counties. DuPage County had 20.33% voter turnout, nearly three points above the next-highest county.
“A top priority of mine has been to increase voter turnout. In order to achieve that, voter access must be optimized. I wanted citizens to be tripping over voting opportunities,” Kaczmarek says. “The combination of actively promoting mail voting, doubling early voting locations, and DuPage being the only Illinois county to offer “Vote Anywhere” on Election Day made a difference.”
Today DuPage County sent certified results to the Illinois State Board of Elections that 124,033 ballots were cast from 610,092 registered voters – 40,842 mail, 21,890 early voting, and 61,301 Election Day ballots. DuPage beat its own recent consolidated election turnout high of 18.93% in 2013.
DuPage County 20.33%
Election Night Reporting (dupageresults.gov)
Kane County 17.42%
Cumulative Report.pdf (kanecountyclerk.org)
Will County 16.64%
Election Night Reporting (clarityelections.com)
Suburban Cook County 13.81%
Election Results - Cook County Clerk’s Office (cookcountyclerkil.gov)
Lake County 13.64%
Election Night Reporting (clarityelections.com)
McHenry County 13.50%
Election Night Reporting (clarityelections.com)
“A number of factors influence voter turnout including heated races and referendums with aggressive campaigning. Like DuPage, every county has their own races and campaigns driving turnout,” Kaczmarek says. “I believe advancing voter access deserves credit for DuPage’s turnout being comparatively high.”
“Of course, with DuPage being the leader, there’s plenty of room for turnout growth. Ultimately it is the responsibility of citizens to participate in democracy. I vow to continue helping citizens to not take their precious right to vote for granted,” Kaczmarek adds.
* Press release…
The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) today announced the grand opening of the Home Repair and Accessibility Program (HRAP) designed to assist low-income and very low-income homeowners with health, safety, accessibility, and energy efficiency repairs to their homes. HRAP will provide $15.3 million to preserve existing affordable housing stock, provide investment in underserved communities, improve the health and well-being of occupants, and help people with disabilities stay in their homes and communities. Eligible homeowners may receive up to $45,000 to cover necessary repairs through a five-year, forgivable loan. […]
HRAP will be administered locally through 36 local government and nonprofit organizations with experience operating and administering homeowner rehabilitation assistance programs. To be eligible, homeowners must be at-or-below 80 percent of the Area Median Income based on household size, current on their mortgage payments, and the property must be single-family.
* This comforting sign is just around the corner from the Senate’s temporary chamber…
* Isabel’s roundup…
* Elle | How Two History-Making Congresswomen (and Roommates) Made It Through 100 Days in Office: But Lee and Ramirez aren’t in school—they’re freshman members of Congress, helping to expand the U.S. House’s growing progressive “squad.” Lee is representing Pennsylvania’s 12th district, where she overcame millions of dollars spent against her campaign to become the state’s first Black congresswoman, and Ramirez is representing Illinois’ 3rd district as the first Latina congresswoman from the Midwest and the rare member of Congress in a mixed-status marriage. (Her husband is a DACA recipient.) “We’re both working class-background women, and it was very clear rent in D.C. is so, so expensive,” Lee explained. “It was a great choice to share space with another women from my generation who is taking on this fight.”
* News Gazette | Unit 4 board member asks: ‘Are we, Champaign, ready for me — a Black female — to be the school board president?”: “What makes me ready?” Baker asked before rattling off a lengthy list of reasons from a prepared statement, ranging from her commitment to “educational, societal and environmental justice” to to reviewing every district policy “with an equity lens” to filling in as an unpaid substitute teacher in a pinch. “I promise to be board president,” she said, “not superintendent, not mayor, not any of the other roles … and allow the board to be a voice of seven.”
* The Southern | Automatic license plate readers are currently being installed in Carbondale: The purchase and installation of the readers was approved by Carbondale City Council last summer. According to documents presented to the city council, the readers will expand the police department’s investigative capabilities by providing more tools to detect vehicles that have been associated with crimes.
* Sun-Times | Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson’s team moving quickly to find interim police superintendent: Among those likely under consideration to replace Carter — at least until Johnson chooses a permanent superintendent — are three newly departed members of the CPD’s leadership team: former 1st Deputy Supt. Anthony Riccio, former Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan and former Chief of Counterterrorism Ernest Cato.
* WICS | Bill seeks to create hunger-free college campuses: The bill will give the grants to campuses that meet the requirements for addressing student hunger. This can be campuses that create hunger task forces or have different programs.
* Tim Drea and Aaron Gurnsey | Death in Springfield a reminder of continued need to improve workplace safety: Gregory David Fields reported to work at Springfield’s Capital Airport on Monday, April 10, just like any other day on the job for this longtime HVAC service worker. But it was far from just any day at work. An explosion caused blunt-force injuries and cost Fields his life at the age of 55. His wife, children and grandchildren were left picking up the pieces: setting up funeral arrangements, writing his obituary, mourning his untimely passing.
* Ollie Idowu | State can, should do more to invest in community health centers: This spring, we are taking action at the Illinois State Capitol. In the recent run of strong state revenues, Illinois leaders have repeatedly and generously invested in core health care services and social service programs; community health centers have been grateful to be a priority. We are now urging the Illinois Legislature to make continued investments in community health centers through two important initiatives.
* Kam Buckner | It takes a village to raze a Chicago child — and a village to come together and raise the child again: Being a young person downtown or on the lake is not a crime, and we cannot treat it like it is. Chicagoans are interested in solutions, but it should first be said that when we talk about making sure that young people have things to do in their neighborhoods, it’s not because we want to keep them out of downtown. If you show me a downtown with no young people, I will show you a city that is dying. Young people on the South and West sides should have things to do in their neighborhoods because all kids and teenagers should be able to have fun close to home, no matter their ZIP code.
* The Triibe | Marshall Hatch Jr. eyes Brandon Johnson’s county commissioner seat: Marshall Hatch Jr., the 35-year-old executive director of the MAAFA Redemption Project and the son of influential Pastor Marshall Hatch Sr. of New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church in West Garfield Park, believes he is uniquely suited for this seat.
* WBEZ | A Brandon Johnson campaign consultant lost his own Chicago race by 1 vote but isn’t contesting it: Darius Newsome, who worked on Johnson’s faith-based outreach, won 2,245 votes, one fewer than Carmelita P. Earls, for the third of three seats on the Austin District council. Earls, a former Chicago Fire Department deputy district chief endorsed by unions for city cops and firefighters, will take office next Tuesday with two police reform advocates, Arewa Karen Winters and Deondre Rutues.
* NYT | The College Board Will Change Its A.P. African American Studies Course: The College Board said on Monday that it would revise its Advanced Placement African American studies course, less than three months after releasing it to a barrage of criticism from scholars, who accused the board of omitting key concepts and bending to political pressure from Gov. Ron DeSantis, who had said he would not approve the curriculum for use in Florida.
* Charles Burdick | Why do birds fly In V-formation?: The lead bird cuts straight through an invisible wall of air. This sets up flowing currents of air behind him, and the following birds take advantage of them. The leader’s work is hardest, and after a while he tires and hands over his pioneer work to another bird. He can then relax a little with the help of the currents and sheltering eddies which flow behind the lead bird.
* Block Club | New White Sox Mascot? Meet The Stray Sox Park Cat Adopted By Team Photographer: The cat, aptly named Beef, was seen wandering the stadium and swiping snacks from fans. “You don’t expect to see a cat playing center field,” one fan said.
* The Hill | They graduated during the pandemic. Now they face their first student loan payments: Graduates for the last three years all had the grace period, as the Trump and Biden administrations extended a pause on student loan payments amid the national health emergency. Now things are about to change: Payments will begin either 60 days after the Supreme Court rules on President Biden’s student debt forgiveness program or 60 days after June 30, whichever comes first.
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[The following is a paid advertisement.]
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* From the Illinois Reproductive Health Act…
A unit of local government may not regulate an individual’s ability to freely exercise the fundamental rights set forth in this Act in a manner more restrictive than that set forth in this Act.
* Danville Commercial News…
The Danville City Council’s Public Services Committee on Tuesday will consider approving an ordinance preventing the mailing, delivery and receiving of abortion medication in the city.
The committee meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Robert E. Jones Municipal Building, 17 W. Main St.
The ordinance is for “Approving the Addition of Chapter 142 to the Danville, Illinois Code of Ordinances; Requiring Compliance with Federal Abortion Laws.”
At an abortion clinic protest last month across the street from 600 N. Logan Ave. where a clinic is proposed, Mark Lee Dickson, director with Right to Life East Texas and founder of the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn Initiative, said he’d been working with city officials on ordinance language to incapacitate and stop the proposed clinic from opening.
* Press release…
The ACLU of Illinois today sent a letter to Danville Mayor Rickey Williams and members of the City Council warning that a proposed ordinance that would declare the community a “sanctuary city for the unborn” is illegal under the Illinois Constitution and Illinois law and must be rejected. Passage or attempted enforcement of the misguided proposal “will do nothing other than expose the City to significant legal liability and fees.”
“Illinois law protects and guarantees every person’s ability to make their reproductive health care decisions without governmental interference,” said Chaundre White, Senior Supervising Attorney at the ACLU of Illinois, one of the signatories to the letter. “Danville and every other community in Illinois are not free to violate that law.”
In recent weeks, Danville residents and leaders have discussed plans for the proposed ordinance in response to plans by a medical group to open a clinic that offers a full range of reproductive health care, including abortion care. The ordinance would place unnecessary requirements aimed at blocking the new clinic from functioning, including prohibiting the receipt of medications or instruments that can be used for abortions. This ordinance is being introduced in the Danville Public Services Committee, even though it is blatantly unenforceable under the Reproductive Health Act.
The letter notes that both the Illinois Constitution and Illinois’ Reproductive Health Act make clear that our State policy is to protect reproductive rights. In particular, the letter notes that the RHA plainly states that:
(a) Every individual has a fundamental right to make autonomous decisions about the individual’s own reproductive health, including the fundamental right to use or refuse reproductive health care.
(b) Every individual who becomes pregnant has a fundamental right to continue the pregnancy and give birth or to have an abortion, and to make autonomous decisions about how to exercise that right.
(c) A fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus does not have independent rights under the laws of this State.
The ACLU calls on the Danville elected officials to reject the ordinance, noting that “it is without question that Illinois law protects reproductive rights––including the right to obtain an abortion within the state. The City of Danville is not above this law.”
“Abortion remains safe and legal in Illinois,” added White. “Danville should recognize their responsibilities under the laws of our state.”
The full ACLU Illinois letter is here. It’s worth a read.
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Trouble ahead?
Tuesday, Apr 25, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Crain’s…
Local economic conditions have taken a bearish turn, possibly suggesting that the long-awaited recession is near.
That’s the bottom line of the latest Survey of Economic Conditions by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, which found that conditions by some measures are the worst since much of the economy effectively shut down right after COVID hit.
The survey, based on questionnaires sent to key business leaders in the five-state Chicago Fed region, found that a measure of overall economic activity in April hit -37. That’s a sharp drop from -8 in March, “well below trend” according to the Fed, and the lowest since the COVID-sparked 2021 recession — except for July 2022, when it also was -37.
The decline in activity is particularly pronounced in the manufacturing sector, whose April rating of -55 was easily the lowest in three years.
* From that Chicago Fed Survey of Economic Conditions…
The Chicago Fed Survey of Economic Conditions (CFSEC) Activity Index decreased to –37 in April from –8 in March, suggesting that economic growth was well below trend. The CFSEC Manufacturing Activity Index decreased to –55 in April from –7 in March, and the CFSEC Nonmanufacturing Activity Index decreased to –24 in April from –9 in the previous month.
• Respondents’ outlooks for the U.S. economy for the next 12 months deteriorated and remained pessimistic on balance. Sixty-five percent of respondents expected a decrease in economic activity over the next 12 months.
• The pace of current hiring decreased, as did respondents’ expectations for the pace of hiring over the next 12 months. Both hiring indexes remained negative.
• Respondents’ expectations for the pace of capital spending over the next 12 months decreased, and the capital spending expectations index remained negative.
• The labor cost pressures index was unchanged, but the nonlabor cost pressures index increased. Both cost pressures indexes remained negative.
Chart…
Oof.
* Business story roundup from Isabel…
* Bloomberg | Wall Street boosts states’ credit scores even as recession worries loom: Illinois, Massachusetts and New Jersey this year have garnered higher credit scores from rating companies, including brighter outlooks for the states as well. The upgrades also helped shrink bond yield spreads in the primary and secondary municipal markets, signaling investor perception of state debt is improving. The better state ratings are due in part to the positive effect of federal pandemic aid, which some states used for one-time expenses while others set cash aside for the future. State treasuries also saw an influx of tax revenue from residents — bolstered by US stimulus money sent to individuals — who spent on services at home at the height of the pandemic, and on travel after Covid lockdowns were eased.
* Joe Cahill | Buyback returns are shriveling: The median “buyback effectiveness” rate, or BER, for the 363 companies in the study fell to -1.1%, a four-year low. The 24 Illinois companies included in the survey fared slightly better, with a median BER of -0.8. […] Some big names in Chicago business were among the least proficient share repurchasers. United Airlines posted a -8.5% BER on $3.2 billion in buybacks, and medical products company Abbott Laboratories logged a -15.2% BER as it spent $7.5 billion repurchasing stock. Zebra Technologies brought up the rear locally, with a BER of -32.1% on $1.1 billion in buybacks. What does low buyback effectiveness mean? In the simplest terms, it means a company’s buybacks violate a fundamental rule of investing: buy low.
* Crain’s Daily Gist podcast | How tech can level Chicago’s economic disparities: Crain’s contributing columnist Orphe Divounguy chats with host Amy Guth on making markets more free, fair and competitive. Verizon store closing adds to Mag Mile’s woes; as United eyes Europe and business travel, Newark takes center stage; the hot market for industrial space; and ComEd wants a $247 million rate hike on top of the $1.5 billion hike already pending.
* AP | McDonald’s first quarter sales boosted by higher prices: McDonald’s reported higher-than-expected sales in the first quarter as store traffic grew despite higher prices. Global same-store sales rose 12.6% compared to the January-March period last year, the Chicago burger giant said Tuesday. That’s well above the 8.7% increase that Wall Street had been forecasting, according to analysts polled by FactSet.
* Crain’s | As home prices drop in more big metros, they’re still rising in Chicago: Chicago-area single-family home values rose 3.6% in February compared with February 2022, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices released this morning. That increase is on top of a 13.1% increase a year ago, meaning prices continue to beat those from the boom time.
* Sun-Times | As Walmart pulls back, businesses and neighborhoods need to talk: The Walmart retreat follows other big chains that ventured into mostly Black and Hispanic areas here in recent years. Aldi, Target and Whole Foods come to mind. When it happens, there’s a certain repetitiveness to the fallout. Residents express shock and anger. Retailers express regrets, maybe, but shed little light on internal thinking or financial results.
* Daily Herald | With manufacturing booming, Schaumburg looks to modernize 60-year-old industrial park: A study of the area’s eligibility for a tax increment finance district is among the projects included in Schaumburg’s 2023-24 budget, which is scheduled for final approval Tuesday and will take effect May 1. Schaumburg Economic Development Director Matt Frank said the goal of the study — and the TIF district that could follow — is to modernize the six-decade-old area, not reinvent its identity.
* Crain’s | Ariel’s co-CEOs share their Buffett-style approach to investing during market turbulence: So anything that has any cyclicality to it has had a really tough time. Anything that has any ties to the housing market has had a very difficult time. So we’ve been leaning in those areas, buying more of our favorite names. So like in the housing area, a company like Mohawk that makes carpeting is an extraordinarily cheap stock to us. We’ve been adding to private equity firms, like Carlyle. We’ve added to the Bank of Oklahoma, taking advantage of the dislocation that we’ve seen in the financial services sector of the marketplace. And then in some of our light cyclicals, we’ve also been adding there and finding opportunities in companies like Resideo (a Honeywell spinoff that offers home automation solutions, such as smart thermostats). Those kind of light cyclicals we think are very cheap in this environment.
* Politico | Illinois corporate board diversity slow going: A state law designed to diversify Illinois-based corporate boards is having mixed results, though House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, who sponsored the legislation, remains optimistic about the data. The numbers are meh: While women’s representation on corporate boards has reached more than 20 percent on average, they are underrepresented in most companies compared to their workforce. And non-white minorities are even more underrepresented relative to the state’s population.
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Meanwhile, in Opposite Land…
Tuesday, Apr 25, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* NPR on Alabama…
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Friday announced she replaced her director of early childhood education over the use of a teacher training book, written by a nationally recognized education group, that the Republican governor denounced as teaching “woke concepts” because of language about inclusion and structural racism.
Barbara Cooper was forced out as as head of the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education after Ivey expressed concern over the distribution of the book to state-run pre-kindergartens. Ivey spokesperson Gina Maiola identified the book as the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Developmentally Appropriate Practice Book, 4th edition. Maiola said she understands that the books have been removed from the state classrooms.
“The education of Alabama’s children is my top priority as governor, and there is absolutely no room to distract or take away from this mission. Let me be crystal clear: Woke concepts that have zero to do with a proper education and that are divisive at the core have no place in Alabama classrooms at any age level, let alone with our youngest learners,” Ivey said in a statement. […]
The governor’s office said Ivey first asked Cooper to “send a memo to disavow this book and to immediately discontinue its use.” Ivey’s office did not say how Cooper responded but that the governor made the decision to replace Cooper and accepted her resignation. Cooper could not immediately be reached for comment.
* From the Sunshine State via Politico…
Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo personally altered a state-driven study about Covid-19 vaccines last year to suggest that some doses pose a significantly higher health risk for young men than had been established by the broader medical community, according to a newly obtained document.
Ladapo’s changes, released as part of a public records request, presented the risks of cardiac death to be more severe than previous versions of the study. He later used the final document in October to bolster disputed claims that Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines were dangerous to young men.
The surgeon general, a well-known Covid-19 vaccine skeptic, faced a backlash from the medical community after he made the assertions, which go against guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and American Academy of Pediatrics. But Ladapo’s statements aligned well with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ stance against mandatory Covid-19 vaccination.
Researchers with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and University of Florida, who viewed Ladapo’s edits on the study and have followed the issue closely, criticized the surgeon general for making the changes. One said it appears Ladapo altered the study out of political — not scientific — concerns.
* CBS News on Florida…
A Port St. Lucie gay pride parade has been canceled and other pride events have been restricted to people 21 years and older in anticipation of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signing a bill meant to keep children out of drag shows.
The Pride Alliance of the Treasure Coast posted Wednesday on Facebook that the decision to change this Saturday’s Pridefest events was made after multiple conversations with Port St. Lucie officials.
“We hope that everyone understands that this is definitely not what we wanted at all and are working with the city to assure our safety as well as produce a positive event,” the post said.
The Florida House sent DeSantis a bill Wednesday that bans children from adult performances, a proposal aimed at the governor’s opposition to drag shows.
* Maybe more than a little conflict of interest here…
* Texas Tribune…
Public schools in Texas would have to prominently display the Ten Commandments in every classroom starting next school year under a bill the Texas Senate approved Thursday.
Senate Bill 1515 by Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, now heads to the House for consideration.
This is the latest attempt from Texas Republicans to inject religion into public schools. In 2021, state Sen. Bryan Hughes, a Mineola Republican, authored a bill that became law requiring schools to display donated “In God We Trust” signs.
King said during a committee hearing earlier this month that the Ten Commandments are part of American heritage and it’s time to bring them back into the classroom. He said the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for his bill after it sided with Joe Kennedy, a high school football coach in Washington state who was fired for praying at football games. The court ruled that was praying as a private citizen, not as an employee of the district.
* Meanwhile, in Missouri…
Missouri this month became the first state in the country to severely restrict gender treatments for people of all ages, following a series of quieter moves across the country that have been chipping away at transgender adults’ access to medical care. […]
Missouri’s sweeping new policy took a different approach. Citing consumer protection laws meant to regulate fraud, the state attorney general, Andrew Bailey, issued an emergency rule prohibiting doctors from providing gender treatments to patients — of any age — unless they adhere to a slew of significant restrictions, including 18 months of psychological assessment. The rule also said that patients should not receive gender treatments until any mental health issues are “resolved.”
The onerous restrictions amount to a “de facto ban,” said Gillian Branstetter, a communications strategist at the American Civil Liberties Union, whose Missouri chapter announced its intent to file a legal challenge to the rule. […]
Missouri’s new policy goes into effect on April 27 and expires in February 2024, when the state legislature will be back in session. (Two bills that would have banned care for minors — and prohibited Medicaid from covering it for all ages — have not advanced in this year’s session.)
* Exactly the opposite of Rep. Cassidy’s HB1533. From Missouri…
The Missouri state senate recently approved a bill to block local ordinances restricting the practice of veterinary medicine, but it is specifically aimed at overturning St. Louis’s ban on cat declawing. If a House committee approves the bill, it will then be taken up by the full House.
State Sen. Justin Brown is the sponsor of the declawing bill—as well as last year’s trigger ban on most abortions. He argued that medical professionals and their patients should be able to determine what procedures are medically necessary or not, sans government interference. Unfortunately for anyone who doesn’t enjoy a good scratching post, it fully appears the irony is lost on him.
“It interferes with the patient-client relationship with the practitioner,” Brown said, echoing similar arguments made by doctors and other experts regarding abortion restrictions. “I think that needs to be between the practicing veterinarian and the owner of the pet.”
In other words, “we simply don’t want politicians in our emergency departments or exam rooms.” Oh, wait … (checks notes) … that one’s from an ad signed by 300 doctors opposing abortion restrictions. The arguments sound so similar, it’s easy to get confused!
* Mississippi…
The NAACP filed a lawsuit Friday to challenge new legislation signed by Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves that expands the state’s law enforcement reach in the city of Jackson and implements major changes to its judicial system.
The laws signed Friday “represent a state takeover of Jackson” and strip residents of their right to democratically elect leaders, the NAACP said in a statement.
One of the laws, SB 2343, will expand the state-controlled Capitol Police jurisdiction from its current boundaries around state buildings to a substantially larger portion of the city. The other, HB 1020, will establish a new court system within the boundaries of a state-created district. […]
Critics have strongly opposed the two bills as they went through the state legislature, saying such changes would put mostly White, conservative state officials in control over much of a Democratic city where more than 80% of residents are Black.
* Indiana’s bill on trans student name changes is heading to Gov. Holcomb…
Indiana schools would be required to notify parents if their child requests a name or pronoun change at school under a bill approved Monday by the state House despite worries that the step could out young transgender people to their families.
The Republican-dominated House voted 63-28 largely along party lines to send the bill to GOP Gov. Eric Holcomb for his consideration after it won the Senate’s endorsement two weeks ago.
The proposal would require school officials to provide written notification to a child’s parent or guardian within five business days of the child asking to be called a different “pronoun, title, or word,” according to the bill.
Supporters argued the approach would empower parents. Republican state Rep. Michelle Davis, a lead sponsor of the bill, said it would put parents in control of “introducing sensitive topics to their children.”
Opponents derided the proposal during legislative hearings as an attack on the state’s LGBTQ+ students, especially young transgender people. Like Indiana, Republican-led legislatures around the country have been seeking to curb LGBTQ+ rights, especially targeting transgender people’s everyday lives — including sports, health care, workplaces and schools.
* “Italy Strips Some Gay Couples of Parental Recognition” from the Wall Street Journal…
[Italy’s] crackdown on birth certificates [for children of married gay parents] is part of a broader campaign against same-sex parenthood led by Ms. Meloni, who has frequently spoken out against what she calls “the LGBTQ lobby” and in defense of Christian family values.
Ms. Meloni comes from a far-right background but has worked hard to burnish her credentials as a mainstream conservative, pursuing establishment-friendly policies on economics and foreign affairs.
At the same time, her government has sought to keep its right-wing voters happy with hard-line stances on immigration, gay rights and national identity.
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Question of the day
Tuesday, Apr 25, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I get emails…
Good morning, Rich,
I’m returning on behalf of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability and its research partner, Project for Middle Class Renewal at the University of Illinois, with the release of a new report, Reforming the Illinois Estate Tax to Advance Tax Equity and Fund Public Services, which recommends resetting the current Illinois estate tax exclusion of $4 million to a lower level to “strengthen the state’s investment in its residents by generating significant additional resources to provide essential public services.” The report says that Illinois is at a “fiscal crossroads”, with $10 billion in federal subsidies through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and the American Rescue Plan Act expected to be spent by the middle of FY 2024. “Further aggravating conditions for working- and middle-class residents, Illinois is noted for having one of the most regressive tax systems in the country, placing a much greater tax burden on low-income workers and middle-class families than on affluent individuals, when tax burden is measured as a percentage of income,” the report says. “From a fiscal policy standpoint, few tax options are available that would raise revenue while simultaneously making state-level taxation fairer by responding to the significant growth in wealth and income inequality. One such option, however, is the tax assessed on wealthy estates.”
Between 2002 and 2014, Illinois quadrupled the threshold for assessing the Estate Tax, called the “Exclusion Limit,” from $1 million to $4 million. “This has eroded the tax base with the number of estates paying the Estate Tax in Illinois decreasing from a 2001 peak of 5,100 to 860 in 2020, resulting in an estimated $5 billion of lost revenue over an 18-year period,” the report finds. “Reducing the Exclusion Limit would both broaden the base subject to Illinois’ Estate Tax— thereby generating new revenue from those with large estates—and enhance the tax fairness created by the Estate Tax,” the report says. Among key policy recommendations, which would increase annual revenue by between $150 million to $300 million:
• Lowering the Exclusion Limit to $1 million (returning the limit to its 2002 level) which could generate an average of around $300 million in new revenue annually.
• Lowering the Exclusion Limit to $1.5 million which could generate an average of $221 million in new revenue annually.
• Lowering the Exclusion Limit to $2 million which could generate an average of $151 million in new revenue annually.
The authors add: “We further recommend that the additional state revenue which would be derived from lowering the Estate Tax Exclusion Limits be applied to help fund an expansion of tax relief for low and moderate-income families, like the creation of a child tax credit.” […]
Many thanks, and all the best,
Rick
= = = = = = = =
Richard Melcher
Principal
Melcher+Tucker Consultants
* Text message from Sen. Jil Tracy…
Abolishing Illinois’ estate tax is about allowing family farms and other small family businesses to stay intact. With the estate tax, many are forced to liquidate part of their assets to pay the tax. The Illinois Estate tax doesn’t affect the ultra wealthy who use trusts and other expensive estate planning tools to avoid the tax. True, the Governor may want to avoid the optics, but it isn’t the reality.
She included this link to an Illinois Farm Bureau website…
The Illinois estate tax law is complicated, but in simplest terms, an entire estate in Illinois is taxed roughly 12% to 16% at death when the fair market value of the estate exceeds $4 million per individual. [Attorney Andrew White] finds that some farmers know only about the federal estate tax that they read about in national publications. At the current threshold of $12.92 million per individual, the federal estate tax shelters the vast majority of family farms.
But with farmland values at historic highs, the Illinois estate tax threatens almost every average- sized family farm in the state when a member of the farm family dies and wishes for the next generation to continue the family business.
“We are seeing central Illinois farmland estate appraisals come in as high as $18,000 per acre,” White says. “With farm equipment and a farmhouse that means a family owning as little as 160 to 200 acres could face a tax.” Families who make a living off the land commonly own 200 acres or more.
According to Illinois Farm Business Farm Management, farmers own an average of 23% of the land they farm, and the average size of a modern family farm exceeded 1,250 acres as of 2020.
* The Question: Lower the estate tax’s exclusion level, or abolish the estate tax, or leave it as it is? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
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It’s just a bill
Tuesday, Apr 25, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Chalkbeat…
Illinois may soon have to create a statewide literacy plan aimed at helping students learn how to read.
Several bills regarding literacy — backed by a coalition of education advocates, teachers, and parents — are currently moving through the state legislature. The bills would require the state board of education to create a literacy plan for school districts, create a rubric for districts to judge reading curriculum, and provide professional development for educators. […]
Members of the Illinois coalition have spoken at the State Board of Education’s monthly meetings and worked with legislators to create and push bills in Springfield this session. With just a month left of the legislative session, two of the six bills the coalition helped write are moving closer to passage.
The first bill, which has similar versions in the Senate and House, would require the State Board of Education to adopt a literacy plan for school districts by Jan. 31, 2024. The second bill, called the Literacy and Justice For All Act, would require the state board to create a rubric for districts to evaluate literacy curriculum and create professional development for educators.
* WAND…
There is an ongoing debate in Springfield about how Illinois should move forward with carbon capture and storage technology. […]
Sierra Club Illinois is also concerned about the future for farmers who don’t want pipelines built through their land. Advocates said House Bill 3119 could protect property rights, land, water, and livelihoods.
“Simply put, this debate is about whether Illinois will grant authority to large corporation to force land owners to have industrial waste transported near their homes and store it under their property and then leave the taxpayers of Illinois holding the bag for any disastrous consequences which may occur in the years to come,” said Christian County farmer Karen Brocklesby.
Meanwhile, Archer-Daniels-Midland has been at the forefront of carbon capture innovation since 2011. ADM operates two CCS projects at the corn processing plant in Decatur through a collaboration with the University of Illinois and the U.S. Department of Energy.
“These projects have successfully demonstrated the safety and effectiveness of CCS technology at a commercial scale and have collectively stored more than 3.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in a deep ceiling reservoir,” said David Rice, ADM Director of Innovation and Technology.
* Center Square…
Illinois Senate Republicans discussed six measures focused on reducing fentanyl deaths, protecting victims of domestic abuse, driving under the influence, and childcare center threats. […]
State Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, said Senate Bill 1086 would help victims’ families cope with their family member’s death by attempting to remove the stigma fentanyl victims face. […]
“That is why Senate Bill 1976 seeks to create a new offense of domestic assault, to cover situations where someone engaged in conduct that places any family or household member in reasonable apprehension of great bodily harm, permanent disability, or disfigurement,” Bryant said.
Senate Bill 1405 creates a new sentencing provision for aggravated driving under the influence where a victim is killed or severely injured. State Sen. Steve McClure, R-Springfield, said the measure is named after a woman who a drunk driver killed.
* Scott Holland…
As encouraging as it’s been to read headlines such as a recent Crain’s Chicago Business piece titled “Bears’ stadium-subsidy plans going nowhere in Springfield,” around the corner is something like Thursday’s Capitol Fax post: “New Bears bill drops, would reimburse Chicago $150 million, set up infrastructure fund.”
That proposal, House Bill 4040, already has 13 cosponsors and, according to an analysis posted online “maintains the foundation of the mega project/PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) concept that was proposed in HB 3565.”
The new idea does seem to improve on the original by erecting more safeguards and oversight, and what appears to be a focus on channeling any public money toward the public aspects of redeveloping 326 acres: highways, railroad infrastructure, environmental impact and long-term property tax implications.
Yet the big picture questions remain: One, absent a stadium intended to further enrich the private owners of an NFL team worth $5 billion, what of these public projects would be necessary? Two, what is the statewide opportunity cost of focusing development efforts on such a narrow geographic area?
* Daily Herald…
Beyond their popularity, e-bikes offer environmentally favorable, low carbon alternatives to motorized vehicles. Like EVs, e-bike purchases are also gaining traction regarding tax credits and rebates.
President Biden’s original “Build Back Better” legislation contained a 30% tax credit for e-bike purchases, now resurrected in the E-BIKE Act legislation (H.R. 1685) introduced by Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-California) and Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) in March (S. 881). […]
States have also entertained similar legislation, including Illinois with four e-bike bills introduced in March. State Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid’s (D-21) bill (HB3089) offers a tax credit equal to 50% of the cost of qualified e-bikes, up to $1,000. HB3447, introduced by assistant Majority Leader Rep. Kam Buckner (D-26), provides a schedule of rebates based on individual income, with point-of-sale rebates for bike shops in low-income neighborhoods.
State Sen. Ram Villivalam (D-8) introduced SB1700 to award rebates up to $750, while State Sen. Mike Simmons (D-7) filed SB2015 to provide rebates based on eligibility requirements.
* WCMY…
Illinois St. Rep. Jed Davis says pregnancy centers around the state will close because of a bill making its way through the Illinois General Assembly. A pregnancy center isn’t like an abortion clinic. It’s a place for women to get services to help them through their pregnancy. But Democrats who wrote Senate Bill 1909 say the centers are fraudulent, deceptive, and misleading. Davis says the bill would allow the Illinois Attorney General’s Office to fine a pregnancy center for advertising, soliciting, or offering pregnancy-related services. He says it’s grossly wrong for Democrats to criticize them for not offering abortion services when abortion is going to remain legal in the state.
The bill’s supporters say the non-abortion clinics don’t offer comprehensive health services. Davis says it’s not fair, especially when a person goes for services at a doctor’s office that doesn’t offer a CT scan or surgery. He says he doesn’t understand why such a pregnancy center can’t advertise pregnancy services when it’s in the name.
The bill was assigned to the Healthcare Availability and Accessibility Committee and could be heard this week.
* HB1527 hasn’t left the House. Illinois Radio Network…
Another attempt to outlaw vehicle kill switches in Illinois failed to get enough support. […]
House Bill 1527 would do away with the devices. The bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Theresa Mah, D-Chicago, said the switches are an invasion of privacy. [..]
But state Rep. CD Davidsmeyer, R-Jacksonville, said poor Illinoisans are the ones who will suffer if the bill becomes law.
“If we get rid of this as an option, the only other option is a repossession of a vehicle, which will be on this individual’s credit for years and years,” said Davidsmeyer.
* HB1578 is on First Reading in the House and has been re-referred to the Rules Committee. Illinois Radio Network…
The Illinois House Revenue and Finance Committee is evaluating a proposed measure giving $25 million in tax credits for research and development projects.
House Bill 1578 offers a credit on qualifying quantum information science expenditures related to research and development that takes place in Illinois.
Brad Tietz of the Chicago Chamber of Commerce told the committee there are three main points to the measure.
“House Bill 1578 does three things, extends the Illinois research and development tax credit from January 1, 2027, to January 1, 2037. It doubles from 6.5% to 13% the amount of the RND credit specifically for expenditures and investments made in quantum and information science,” Tietz said. “Lastly, modeled off of recent changes to the edge tax credit program, the bill makes the RND credit applicable against a startup company that is withholding taxes.”
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ComEd Four trial coverage roundup
Tuesday, Apr 25, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Here you go…
* Tribune | Defense attorney calls ‘ComEd Four’ bribery case ‘collateral damage’ in feds’ quest to bring down ex-Speaker Michael Madigan: “There isn’t an envelope in this world big enough to fit all the money that they made ComEd pay out,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane MacArthur said in her closing argument to the jury. But defense attorneys scoffed at that notion, saying their clients were not only innocent, but that they were “collateral damage” in the government’s yearslong quest to bring down Madigan, the Democratic leader at the apex of Illinois politics who was long considered to be untouchable.
* Sun-Times | In closing arguments, feds hammer at ‘stunning’ stream of benefits to Madigan while defense calls bribery charges ‘collateral damage’: The prosecutor accused Pramaggiore and Hooker of lying on the stand last week, including when Pramaggiore said she didn’t grasp Madigan’s connection to the subcontractors until after she learned of the feds’ investigation. Though FBI cooperator Fidel Marquez told her in a recorded Feb. 18, 2019, phone call that the subcontractors “pretty much collect a check,” Pramaggiore testified that she didn’t realize he was talking about people tied to Madigan.
* Crain’s | Conspiratorial liars vs. Madigan-obsessed feds in clashing ‘ComEd Four’ closing arguments: “She said nothing in her testimony about this May 2018 (call),” MacArthur said. Indeed, by the end of that day, McClain was back on the phone with Madigan letting him know he could call Zalewski with the good news he would soon be paid $5,000 a month by ComEd, using Doherty as a conduit.
* Capitol News Illinois | ‘Corrupt influence’ or ‘collateral damage’? Jury to decide fate of ‘ComEd Four’: Before jury deliberations begin on the fate of four ex-Commonwealth Edison officials after a six-week bribery trial, an attorney for one of the defendants got emotional Monday afternoon when imparting the weight of the jury’s task. “Be the shield that you were meant to be,” Patrick Cotter told jurors after gathering himself. “The shield between an individual citizen and a very powerful government, in this case a very powerful government committed, dedicated and on a mission to get Mike Madigan.”
* WTTW | Closing Arguments Begin in ‘ComEd Four’ Trial: ‘Madigan Wanted, ComEd Gave and ComEd Got’: The prosecution also showed the jury a timeline of when folks recommended by Madigan got contracts with ComEd, and when legislation lucrative to ComEd and its parent company, Exelon, passed. Sometimes, jobs were given right before a bill succeeded, in which case the job was meant to influence Madigan, MacArthur said. Other times, it was right after, in which case she said it was a “reward.”
* Center Square | Prosecutor: ‘There isn’t an envelope in the world big enough’ for ComEd bribes: Another refrain from MacArthur’s closing was aimed at arguments from defense attorneys who said their clients were engaged in legal lobbying. “This was not lobbying,” she said. “This was not building goodwill. This was a bribe.”
* ABC Chicago | Attorneys deliver closing arguments in bribery case surrounding ex-Speaker Madigan: Defense attorneys argued that “there is no evidence that Madigan did anything for them.” They also argued that prosecutors “have no witness. They have no email. They have no tape that links them.”Defense attorneys also added, as they have throughout the trial, that ComEd often turned down Madigan’s job recommendations and, that it was real and legal lobbying by the utility company that caused legislation to pass and not a dozen jobs given over a nine-year period.
* CBS Chicago | Closing arguments begin in federal ComEd bribery trial: Pramaggiore’s attorney pointed out Madigan only cared about himself and his own political interests, not ComEd. They detailed witness testimony refuting the government’s bribery theory. Witnesses argued they don’t believe ComEd crossed the line.
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Chicago’s red tape problem
Tuesday, Apr 25, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This WTTW revelation is kind of nuts…
[Carmen Rossi’s] firm won a contract in February 2022 to operate parking lots on 13 properties owned by the Chicago Public Schools near the sports stadiums, including at 10 elementary schools and Lake View and Lincoln Park high schools.
But the firm was denied the business licenses it needed to operate those lots, prompting Rossi to send Business Affairs and Consumer Protection Commissioner Ken Meyer an email in March 2022 asking him to expedite the licenses.
Rossi’s firm got the licenses in June 2022, after the city’s municipal code was changed to allow private firms to operate parking operations on property owned by the Chicago Public Schools.
In 2022, Rossi was a registered lobbyist for four firms, but not for Chicago Parking Solutions, according to an online database of city lobbyists maintained by the Chicago Board of Ethics. Rossi has not registered as a lobbyist in 2023, records show.
In his response to the board, Rossi disputed that the email he sent to Meyer constituted lobbying, since Meyer did not have the authority to issue the business license his firm needed. Rossi also asserted he had a First Amendment right to communicate with city officials, whom he noted encouraged Chicagoans to reach out for help.
Let’s review…
1) Company with city contract can’t for some reason get a business license from the city where it has the contract;
2) Company owner sends email to city official asking him to expedite the license;
3) City official did not have the authority to issue business license;
4) City didn’t have a process for issuing the license, so it had to create one
5) Company owner winds up paying $5,000 fine to “resolve charges brought by the Chicago Board of Ethics” because the owner contacted a city official without being a properly registered lobbyist.
Carmen Rossi is a big guy who has been around a long while. He likely should’ve known better. But he does make a good point in the story: How in the heck are small business owners supposed to get by if they have to register as a lobbyist when they interact with the city on their own behalf?
Maybe this is a reform, but from a distance it sure looks like a reform masquerading as a full-employment mandate for paid lobbyists.
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Open thread
Tuesday, Apr 25, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* We’re back in Springfield for another week of session! What’s going on in your slice of Illinois?…
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Tuesday, Apr 25, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Here you go!…
* Sun-Times | One-quarter of detainees in Cook County juvenile lockup are shot, killed after serving time, study finds: Long-term research from Northwestern University finds that rates of firearm injury or death are higher for juvenile detainees than for the general population and those from similar demographic backgrounds.
* CBS Chicago | Rape crisis advocates say they are facing major funding crisis, need state’s help: As CBS 2 Political Investigator Dana Kozlov reported Monday night, rape crisis advocates are looking to Springfield for help in beefing up their funding – in part to make up for a federal funding shortfall. But that money is not guaranteed.
* Sun-Times | Illinois traffic deaths dip slightly in 2022, but fatalities are still above pre-pandemic levels: ‘Not a cause to celebrate.’: After spiking during the pandemic, Illinois saw 1,280 traffic fatalities in 2022, a 4% drop from the 1,334 deaths in 2021.
* Fox 2 | Illinois can serve summons via text: Amendment: Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis and the Illinois Supreme Court announced Monday amendments to Supreme Court Rule 102, which provides for the electronic service of summons and complaints in civil proceedings, “in recognition of society’s increased use of electronic methods to communicate,” a news release says.
* Crain’s | Illinois’ bill backlog at lowest level in 15 years: Comptroller Susana Mendoza today reported that the state’s accounts payable, essentially its backlog of unpaid bills for day-to-day government operations, was down to $943 million as of Monday morning. That’s the first time it’s been below the $1 billion mark in 15 years — specifically, since August 2008 — with the oldest bill in her queue all of 16 days.
* Tribune | As he prepares to be mayor, Brandon Johnson steering through city rules and supporters’ expectations: As Johnson prepares to take office in less than a month, one of the heads of his transition team has sought a waiver from the city’s Board of Ethics to avoid violating a policy designed to stop former employees from coming back to lobby or influence subjects they worked on for the city.
* WBEZ | Mayor-Elect Brandon Johnson’s new chief of staff is mum on policing proposals, but sees power staying with the mayor’s office: Rich Guidice, the former head of the Office of Emergency Management and Communications, was named as Johnson’s No. 2 this week, along with state Sen. Cristina Pacione-Zayas, D-Chicago, as Johnson’s first deputy chief of staff. As right hands to the mayor, chiefs of staff play a significant role in managing the mayor’s office, helping develop policy and maintaining relationships with city agencies.
* Crain’s | Meet Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson’s transition and leadership teams: As Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson’s May 15 inauguration nears, we’re starting to get a better picture of who will make up his inner circle. From labor leaders to a heavyweight City Hall insider, these are the people shaping the Johnson administration.
* Sun-Times | Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2 elects new president: Pat Cleary, who has spent the last 12 years as vice president of Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2, replaces Jim Tracy, the two-term president. Cleary easily defeated challenger Rob Tebbens, Local 2’s political and legislative director, with 67% of the vote.
* Tribune | Consultant sued by Paul Vallas calls $700,000 lawsuit ‘shameful and unfounded’: Vallas and his campaign organization sued Chimaobi Enyia in Cook County Circuit Court last Thursday, claiming Enyia ripped off Vallas when in the final weeks of the race for mayor Enyia was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to build support for Vallas in many Black communities but did little work. The lawsuit states that Vallas was the victim of fraud, unjust enrichment and “in the alternative, breach of contract” by Enyia.
* WTTW | Prominent Lightfoot Supporter, Business Owner Pays $5,000 Ethics Fine for Lobbying City Hall Without Registering: Carmen Rossi, who also owns several Chicago nightclubs and holds the liquor license for the Lollapalooza music festival, lobbied the city’s Business Affairs and Consumer Protection Department on behalf of his firm, Chicago Parking Solutions, LLC, even though Rossi was not registered to lobby for the firm, according to the settlement agreement he reached with the Chicago Board of Ethics.
* Tribune | ‘Horrific on all fronts:’ North Lawndale residents cry for wide-sweeping violence prevention: Zaiden A. Collins, of Berwyn, suffered blunt force trauma to the abdomen inside a residence in the North Lawndale neighborhood’s 1300 block of South Kedzie Avenue, police said. The death was ruled a homicide, but as of Monday afternoon, the investigation was ongoing. There are no updates beyond the original statement that Zaiden was put down for a nap and then found unresponsive. Violence Interrupters founder Tio Hardiman, longtime anti-violence advocate, called for more awareness from the media and a hastened police investigation at a news conference, where he gazed upon the small audience of reporters with conviction.
* AP | Singer R. Kelly moved to North Carolina prison from Chicago: Robert Sylvester Kelly was transferred from the Metropolitan Correctional Center Chicago to the federal correctional institution in Butner, North Carolina, on April 19, Federal Bureau of Prisons spokesperson Benjamin O’Cone said Monday via email. The bureau doesn’t disclose the reasons for inmate transfers due to privacy, safety and security reasons, he wrote.
* WBEZ | How Chicago became a hotbed of twang: “In the early era of string band music — before they even used the name ‘country music’ — it was a rural thing. It wasn’t a Southern thing,” Guarino said in an interview at his home in Lincoln Square. “It was music from rural people, for rural people. And the rural people had moved to Chicago. Chicago was the biggest city next to the rural area. You can drive an hour outside Chicago, and you’re in rural America.”
* WBEZ | The Chicago Yacht Club has a new commodore, a woman — the first in the club’s 148-year history: At the start of 2023, she took over the top job at the Chicago Yacht Club, becoming the first woman in the club’s 148-year history to hold the title. The job doesn’t come with a fancy hat or a double-breasted jacket with gold epaulets; it doesn’t come with an office or pay either. But the significance of the moment isn’t lost on the 4-foot-11 woman. Back in the mid-1990s, when she first considered joining the club, a fellow boat owner urged her husband to join — but not her.
* Tribune | Chicago’s barbecue revolution is here — if only the city would remove the red tape: But while offset smokers are gaining in popularity all over the country, you won’t find them in Chicago barbecue restaurants (with one known exception). While this could be mere pitmaster preference, especially considering how many kinds of smokers are available, that wasn’t universally true. “In a dream world, we’d be using an offset smoker here,” said Dave Bonner, pitmaster at Green Street Smoked Meats. “We have one for events. I like how they cook. There’s even heat distribution.”
* Daily Herald | From The Who to The Shadows of Knight, The Cellar was Arlington Heights’ ‘cultural zenith’: Fifty-five years ago to the date Wednesday night, Paul Sampson took the stage of his Arlington Heights teen music club — its decor of black lights and black netting hanging from the ceiling — and introduced a group that was to perform “White Room.”
* Daily Journal | Pickleball’s growth serves up new opportunities for play locally: “Our courts are constantly filled and the sport has grown rapidly since I started in my position in 2019,” said Mike Curren, sports director at the Kankakee Area YMCA. “Some have joined the YMCA just to be able to partake in pickleball.”
* Tribune | Beth Murphy, the Murphy’s Bleachers owner who battled the Chicago Cubs over the Wrigleyville rooftops, dies at 68: Murphy’s battles with the Cubs over rooftop owners’ rights played out in newspapers and on local newscasts for years, pitting the small business owners against one of baseball’s oldest and most valuable franchises. It made Murphy a local celebrity and one of Wrigleyville’s most respected business owners.
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Live coverage
Tuesday, Apr 25, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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