For my money, Tony Bennett is the best singer in the business. He excites me when I watch him. He moves me. He’s the singer who gets across what the composer has in mind, and probably a little more.
Today Governor JB Pritzker joined Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, local officials, and business leaders to celebrate the official opening of Lion Electric’s newest electric vehicle manufacturing facility. The 900,000 square foot facility is the largest all-electric U.S. plant dedicated to medium and heavy-duty commercial vehicle production and builds on Governor Pritzker’s years of investment in EV manufacturing and production across the state.
“My administration has made investing in the EV sector a priority, because we know that the future of Illinois relies on dependable clean energy jobs as we transition to a carbon-free future,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Companies like Lion have recognized the many resources Illinois provides, including our uniquely talented workforce, and together we have set the state on a path to thousands more jobs and increased EV capacity.”
Governor Pritzker, Lion Electric CEO Marc Bédard, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth attended the event alongside Lion executives and other area representatives. The event was also attended by nearly 150 students from the Boys & Girls Club of Chicago and Com Ed’s Youth Ambassador Program, to tour the facility, ride a zero-emission school bus, and learn about future career opportunities in green engineering and manufacturing.
This event followed a successful week of meetings regarding EV’s and manufacturing during the Governor’s delegation trip to the United Kingdom. The Governor attended the Goodwood Festival of Speed and met with executives and government leaders from around the UK to promote Illinois’ many opportunities for business development and trade. Illinois’ burgeoning EV industry and the many incentives Illinois provides to EV manufacturers were crucial aspects of these conversations.
* Another press release…
Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) launched $37.9 million in funding for the Illinois Clean Jobs Workforce Network Program or “CEJA Workforce Hubs.” The program represents the largest training component of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), establishing a network of 13 community-based hubs across the state offering training, job placement services, barrier reduction support and more. The organizations that will run CEJA Workforce Hubs will be selected through a competitive Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) process.
“It’s been our priority since day one that as Illinois moves into the clean energy future, we make sure to continue to build strong career paths for those breaking into this growing industry,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Investing in these workforce hubs is a cornerstone of that commitment, working in collaboration with educational institutions and businesses to build on our successes as we move towards a greener and more equitable state.”
The CEJA Workforce Hubs are at the core of a highly interconnected set of statewide clean energy workforce development and community support programs. The Hubs will provide training and certification in alignment with the Clean Jobs Curriculum Framework to prepare people for entry-level clean energy jobs, including an introductory bridge training program and at least two job-specific training programs in the clean energy space, which will be selected by each Hub based on the local clean energy workforce needs. Participants can attend free of charge, receive a stipend, and access support services through barrier reduction funding.
* Farm Week…
JUST IN: Illinois @usdafsa Executive Director Scott Halpin says 5 counties — Adams, Hancock, Pike, Randolph & Schuyler — now authorized for emergency grazing on #CRP acres due to extreme #drought conditions limit. pasture quality/availability. Big deal for livestock producers. pic.twitter.com/JK98qHfXAm
From July 2 to July 18, more than 12,000 [Chicago] basement flooding reports were filed with 311, more than the number of basement flooding reports filed in all of 2021 and 2022 combined, according to a WBEZ analysis.
No other month since 2019, the earliest year 311 flooding data is available online, comes close to July’s current volume of reports.
“I’ve been here [at the Department of Water Management] for 19 years now, and we’ve seen some bad storm events before, and I mean bad, but this one was unbelievable,” said the department’s commissioner, Andrea Cheng, who was on the West Side on July 2 assessing the impact of the rainstorm.
Ward 6 Ald. Jennifer Notariano had some cross words for the Illinois Freedom Caucus and the Independent Women’s Forum, organizers of last Thursday’s rally against the YMCA of Springfield.
Notariano called them “outsider agitators” who had come to Springfield “to sow discord.”
“We all appreciate that the YMCA strives to offer a welcoming space, so I choose to highlight the staff, the administration and the members who make it that way, rather than the politicians who traveled 100 miles out of their way to use our community as a backdrop for their manufactured outrage,” said Notariano towards the end of the meeting. […]
Emails provided by the YMCA to The State Journal-Register also suggested Wheeler’s parents voluntarily removed her from the swim team and canceled their membership.
* Heh…
Tribune: "To feature your luxury listing of $1,000,000 or more in Chicago Tribune’s Dream Homes…" https://t.co/ukxqJEZ1FL
* ABC Chicago | Lion Electric opening electric vehicle plant in Channahon Friday: The creation of this electric vehicle plant is going to generate an estimated 1,400 and produce up to 20,000 vehicles per year. This is major news for Illinois and the greater Chicago area. The creation of Lion Electric’s new plant in Channahon is the first dedicated vehicle assembly plant in the Chicago metro since 1965.
* BND | Illinois Gaming Board files third disciplinary complaint against a businessman from Highland: Lucky Lincoln Gaming, which is owned by Jeff Rehberger Jr., has nearly 1,200 machines, officially known as “terminals,” in about 200 bars, restaurants, gas stations and other locations throughout Illinois. That includes 10 in the metro-east, according to its website, along with central and Southern Illinois locations in McLean, Livingston, DeWitt, Macon, Christian, Franklin, Crawford, Fayette and Marion counties.
* Dewitt Daily | Lincoln Mayor: Lincoln College Will Reopen: On the WHOW Morning Show Friday, Lincoln Mayor Tracy Welch told Regional Radio the school will reopen. What it will look like though remains to be seen. If it were to come to fruition, the Mayor calls the re-opening of Lincoln College a huge positive for the community.
* Crain’s | Toxic posts on economist job site traced to users from UChicago, Notre Dame and other elite schools: Economics Job Market Rumors, a site started in 2008 to aid newly minted doctorate holders in their job searches, has become notorious for hateful and damaging content, all anonymous. A trio of researchers from Boston University and Yale University said they unmasked internet addresses connected to two-thirds of posts and determined many of the users’ physical locations, though not their identities.
* Sun-Times | Beyoncé at Soldier Field: Bag policy, transit options, tickets: Soldier Field has a strict clear bag policy that does not allow any purses larger than a clutch bag, briefcases, backpacks or fanny packs. Any bag you bring into the stadium must be see-through and can’t exceed 12”x6”x12” — one-gallon clear plastic freezer bags are also permitted.
* Block Club | At Friday Morning Swim Club, Thousands Of Swimmers Go Jump In Lake Michigan: In the two years since, Swim Club has amassed thousands of attendees. Commuters on DuSable Lake Shore Drive can’t help but notice the crowds of Divvy bicyclists on the Lakefront Trail, draped with inflatable floaties over their shoulders and pool noodles sprouting out of their bags. Thousands of attendees crowd the harbor at Montrose Beach around 6:45 a.m. every Friday. Swim Club even earned a pin on Google Maps, marking exactly where swimmers meet to take their Friday morning plunges.
* Crain’s | Companies rushed to stake their claims on Threads. So what’s next?: “It’s important for us to be where the conversation is and planting the United flag early as a brand that’s utilizing Threads and having fun with it,” says Maggie Schmerin, who oversees advertising and social media at United.
* The Southern | SIU Foundation brings in record number of gifts, awards and scholarships: Through 38,621 gifts, the Foundation raised over $31.2 million. It also awarded a record number of scholarships (1,645) and total scholarship dollars ($4,931,584) to students. More than 14 percent of all SIU students received an SIU Foundation scholarship in FY23.
* Herald-Whig | Despite dry weather, expert not writing off Illinois crop year: Recent scattered rains throughout West-Central Illinois and Northeast Missouri have brought “a pretty remarkable revival” of the corn crop, said Emerson Nafziger, University of Illinois professor emeritus and a featured speaker at Wednesday’s Orr Agricultural Center Agronomy Field Day.
* Illinois Times | Repurposing MacMurray Hall:
Michael Woods and Tim Smith have purchased the old MacMurray Hall building, a large 1920s-era brick-and-stone science classroom structure on East College and South Clay streets and are transforming it into the Midwest Agricultural and Arts Complex. As the building’s metamorphosis continues, the two men have already started to teach farming and music through the educational edifice, and room by room they are setting it up as a vibrant community center for locally grown products, artwork and music.
* Sun-Times | Tony Bennett, iconic interpreter of the Great American Songbook, dies at 96: Tony Bennett, the eminent and timeless stylist whose devotion to classic American songs and knack for creating new standards such as “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” graced a decadeslong career that brought him admirers from Frank Sinatra to Lady Gaga, died Friday. He was 96, just two weeks short of his birthday.
* Bond Buyer | A tribute to Yvette Shields: The untimely death of Yvette Shields has left an irreparable void in the municipal bond business. This void may never be closed because it represents a deep pain in our collective hearts.
A recent study out of the University of Chicago showed high schools that prioritized social- emotional development had double the positive long-term impact on students as compared to those that focused solely on improving test scores.
As part of their work, researchers determined school’s effectiveness based upon its impact on students’ social-emotional development, test scores and behaviors. They concluded that the most effective schools provide a welcoming environment for students, an experience that shapes their later years. […]
Researchers drew their data from six cohorts of 160,148 of eighth and ninth grade students who attended CPS between 2011–12 and 2016–17: 42% were Black, 44% were Hispanic and 86% received free or reduced-price lunch, a key indicator of poverty. The college attendance-related data came only from those who attended ninth grade for the first time between 2012 and 2014. They totaled 55,564 students. […]
The study found that students who attended a highly effective school — one ranked by the researchers as being in the 85th percentile based on their collected data and student and teacher survey responses — saw their test scores improve more than those at other CPS campuses. They noted, too, that attendance increased for this group while suspensions and disciplinary infractions dropped. The likelihood of graduation by 2.41 percentage points and the chance of attending college within two years of graduation by 2.57 percentage points. They also were 20% less likely to be arrested on campus as compared to the average rate of arrest for all high schoolers in the district.
Three aspects of school climate—Supportive Environment, Ambitious Instruction, and Collaborative Teachers— were the strongest predictors of school effectiveness. These results are consistent with other evidence pointing to the importance of relationships in educational settings, which feature prominently in these climate measures.
One important implication of this work (and other work with similar findings) is that it may be more productive to understand rigor and relationships as functioning in concert rather than independently.
Consider, for example, a school community in which educators collaborate with one another to develop rigorous instructional strategies, teachers and students build relationships that enable the creation of classwork and experiences that feel relevant to students, and students feel empowered to deeply engage with challenging work given the support of their teacher and peers.
* The study also looked at the short and long-term impact of social-emotional development on students…
In the short-run, we examined the impact of attending an effective school on ninth-grade measures, including math and ELA [English, Language Arts] test scores, SED [social-emotional development], and behaviors. We found that, on average, attending a school at the 85th percentile of school effectiveness, vs. one at the median, improved test scores by 8.90% of a standard deviation, self-reports of SED by 10.2% of a standard deviation, and observed behaviors by 5.71% of a standard deviation.
In the long-run, effective schools promoted successful progression through high school and into post-sec education. Attending a high school at the 85th percentile of effectiveness, vs. the median, increased the likelihood of high school graduation by 2.41 percent- age points and college-going (within two years of high school completion) by 2.57 percentage points (see Table 2). It also reduced the likelihood of being arrested on school grounds by 0.80 percentage points. The average school-based arrest rate was 3.72%, and thus this seemingly small reduction in school-based arrests amounted to about a 20% reduction in the likelihood that a student was arrested on school grounds. […]
We found that relative to schools’ impacts on test scores, schools’ impacts on SED mattered about as much or more for students’ short-run trajectories. […]
The long-run impact of fostering SED was also greater than fostering test score growth. Fostering SED yielded nearly double the impact on high school graduation relative to fostering test score growth. Fostering SED was also 15–20% more impactful for improving enrollment in college and reducing school-based arrests relative to fostering test score growth. Comparing across all VAMs, fostering SED had the greatest impact on educational attainment and fostering behaviors had the greatest impact on reducing school-based arrest.
* Related…
* WTVO | Rockford educators learn how to better serve students with trauma: Over 170 educators from Northern Illinois were at Rockford University on Thursday of the first of its kind “Social Emotional Learning Conference.” The educators got exposed to more than 25 different workshops, diving deeper into things like trauma response.
* Daily Herald | DuPage County Regional Superintendent retires after 20 years of service: As the first female chief administrative officer of the DuPage Regional Office of Education, Ruscitti’s achievements in education have increased graduation rates, decreased dropout rates, and produced many of the top-scoring schools in Illinois. […] Because of Ruscitti’s relentless commitment to the most vulnerable student populations in DuPage, her work in Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) was lauded by the state of Illinois, and DuPage County was designated a “Hub” for providing professional development, training, and support to teachers and students. These inroads in SEL have significantly contributed to the promotion of mental wellness and a reduction of student absenteeism in DuPage schools.
* SJ-R | ISBE’s Tony Sanders wanted to be ‘the next Johnny Fever.’ He wound up in his dad’s office: The work that we’re doing already, investing in these social-emotional learning hubs across the state to try to empower teachers to help their students using trauma-informed care practices, is critical. The work that we’re doing to try to make sure that our students, the behavioral task force work that the governor established where ISBE is working with DCFS and DHS and other agencies that deal with youth around mental health, trying to make sure we’re meeting the mental health needs of kids, is also critical. That’s not an immediate fix. It’s a longer-term solution, but much like our students, our teachers also need to recall that they have resources available to them for counseling and support as well.
“The people that were currently in custody are going to have to file a motion for a hearing, to have their case considered,” Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell said. “And so it’s gonna be a tiered system depending on what charge you’re in here for, depending on your criminal history, depending on if you’re a flight risk, there’s a lot of components that come into that issue.”
On Tuesday, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled to uphold the SAFE-T Act, paving the way to eliminate cash bail in Illinois starting September 18th. When that day comes, people currently in pre-trial detention could get a hearing to be considered for pre-trial release.
“We have a lot of Class X felons that are not going to be eligible, a lot of flight risk, a lot of violent individuals, and that’s typically who we’re going to house here anyway,” Campbell said. “So I don’t think we’re going to be releasing a lot when it’s all said and done. But again, that will be up to the court to determine.”
Sixty-five state’s attorneys, including Bond County’s Dora Mann, were part of a lawsuit, arguing the act is unconstitutional. […]
State’s Attorney Mann was upset about the ruling and was asked about it at Tuesday night’s Bond County Board meeting. She said Illinois will be the first state in the nation to eliminate cash bail. She said while she will follow the law, she believes this move will be detrimental to the state. Mann pointed out detainees can only be held for up to 90 days and there is one individual currently in the Bond County Jail on a murder charge who has been in jail for 18 months. She said most of those who are arrested will not be held whatsoever, which will lead to staff in her office working seven days a week.
Mann said in addition to the strain on her office, it will put strain on all levels of law enforcement as well. The mandate is unfunded and she pointed out the county will experience a $600,000 loss in revenue just from not having bail fees. The State’s Attorney said she called the county jail recently, the staff member told her the detainees were having a party as they just heard the news about the supreme court ruling and they couldn’t hear her talking on the phone. [Emphasis added.]
The claimed county revenue loss is twice what was recently estimated by Goodin Associates, which provides judicial record-keeping software for most Downstate Illinois counties. And Mann’s 90 days claim is highly misleading, to say the least. From the actual statute…
In computing the 90-day period, the court shall omit any period of delay resulting from a continuance granted at the request of the defendant and any period of delay resulting from a continuance granted at the request of the State with good cause shown pursuant to Section 103-5.
“What we’ve seen is circumventing the people’s will, that’s been done by legislators and a governor who passed this law and then a supreme court using judicial review to, in effect, change the language of the Constitution,” Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Bullard told Fox News. “That’s not proper, that’s not lawful.”
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the court’s order was a “common sense ruling.” And, despite concerns of perceived conflicts of interest from the governor’s $1 million donation to each of two Supreme Court justices from when they were running for the job in 2022, Pritzker praised the jurists.
“I think every one of those jurists is a person of good repute. They’re bringing all of their knowledge and experience to the table to try and make good decisions,” Pritzker said.
Pritzker said Republicans lost on the issue in the 2022 election.
State Rep. Steve McClure, R-Springfield, argued ending cash bail would lose if put up to the voters. McClure decried the ruling and the justices who didn’t recuse themselves.
“I’m sorry, but those two justices should not be ruling on any case involving any major piece of legislation involving Gov. Pritzker. Period,” McClure said.
In April 2020 the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Pretrial Practices (Commission) published its report on pretrial reform after studying best practices in use around the country for two years. The Commission’s final report was approved by the Supreme Court in May 2020.
That report, approved by the Supreme Court long before redistricting and the 2022 election, concluded that bail did not historically mean “cash.” This case was a slam dunk.
Peoria County State’s Attorney Jodie Hoos said her office is picking up where it left off preparing for the elimination of cash bail on Sept. 18.
Local court systems knew the change was coming since last fall. The SAFE-T Act was supposed to fully go into effect on Jan. 1 of this year, but the challenges in the court delayed its implementation until now.
“We’re going to start it back up again mid-September. We’re ready,” Hoos said. “As far as Peoria County, I don’t think much is going to change. Most of the people in Peoria County Jail currently are going to stay there. I don’t think the SAFE-T act changed much of that at all.”
* Related…
* Non-profit applauds Illinois Supreme Court ruling on SAFE-T Act: However, Safer Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to helping former offenders transition to life after prison applauds the ruling. The organization has locations throughout Chicago, its suburbs and one in the Quad Cities. Public Policy Analyst Mark McCombs said eliminating cash bail levels the playing field. “We’ve been very happy with [the court’s decision],” McCombs said. “[Under the law] money and an individual’s ability to pay is not the criteria for whether or not they have to … linger in prison before they’ve been convicted.”
* We stand together, celebrating the end of cash bail in Illinois: As faith leaders from the Rockford region, we are united in celebrating the Illinois Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Pretrial Fairness Act. Ending the injustice of the money bond system is a significant moral victory that makes our state a leader in the movement to end mass incarceration.
* Background is here if you need it. The Illinois State Board of Elections’ website may be the worst piece of junk in the history of online junk…
The janky @illinoissbe website is killing me again. Took me *9* tries to pull up the full list of Illinois House candidate election results this evening. Nine. https://t.co/YNTdx9u2vR
A grand total of *23* attempts to get that janky site to load the state Senate primary results. I mean, it's after 9:30 at night. Imagine trying to get those results during a high usage period. Just awful. Unacceptable.
It’s also difficult to find things on that site, but the big problem is IT DOESN’T WORK. I am not asking for wowza 21st Century design. I’m just asking that when I click on a function, the website actually responds. This has been a problem for years, so the jankiness appears to be a choice. And the problems also appear to be getting worse and nobody over there seems to care enough to fix them.
Friday, Jul 21, 2023 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
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Homicides in Chicago were down nearly 8% from January to June compared to the same time last year, according to a report released today by the nonpartisan Council on Criminal Justice.
The council examined data from 30 U.S. cities and found there were 202 fewer homicides during the first half of the year — a more than 9% drop.
The study also found that motor vehicle thefts rose a whopping 130 percent in Chicago during the first six months of this year, compared to 33.5 percent nationally.
This study updates and supplements previous U.S. crime trends reports by the Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ) with additional crime data through June 2023. It examines monthly crime rates for 10 violent, property, and drug offenses in 37 American cities. The 37 cities are not necessarily representative of all cities in the United States. Not all cities reported data for each offense (see Appendix), and the data used to measure the crime trends are subject to revision by local jurisdictions.
This snapshot suggests that levels of nearly all offenses are lower, or have changed little, in the first six months of 2023 compared with the same period in 2022. The most notable exception is the large increase in motor vehicle theft. […]
Motor vehicle thefts continued their upward trend through the first half of 2023. There were 33.5% more motor vehicle thefts from January through June 2023 compared to the first half of 2022. The number of drug offenses increased by 1% over the same period. […]
Violent crimes remain elevated compared to 2019, the year prior to the COVID pandemic and racial justice protests of 2020. There were 24% more homicides during the first half of 2023 than during the first half of 2019 in the study cities. Property crime trends have been more mixed. There were fewer residential burglaries and larcenies and more nonresidential burglaries in the first half of 2023 than during the same period four years earlier. Motor vehicle thefts more than doubled (+104%), while drug offenses fell by 39%. […]
The authors conclude that crime patterns continue to shift as the nation has emerged from the COVID pandemic and that policymakers and communities must act urgently to adapt their strategies to meet the new challenges. Though the level of serious violent crime is far below historical peaks, it remains intolerably high, especially in poorer communities of color. Research has identified strategies that work to reduce violence and improve the fairness and effectiveness of policing. Intensive efforts on both fronts are essential to help cities achieve lasting reductions in homicide and other crime.
It is likely that much of this increase is the result of thefts of Kia and Hyundai models, but rates were already trending upward before these vehicles became popular targets.
Notably, violent crime has fallen at a time when many police departments are smaller than they were before the pandemic. While the defund the police movement, which grew out of the Floyd protests, lost momentum as crime rose, police staffing levels declined in many cities as officers retired or quit and as many departments struggled to recruit new officers in a competitive U.S. job market. The result for some major cities has been an unintended experiment in what a smaller police department looks like.
Los Angeles, for example, is down about 1,000 officers since 2019 — it had about 9,200 officers at the end of last year — and hundreds of civilian workers. And yet homicides are down more than 20 percent this year, and overall gun violence has fallen at a similar clip. […]
A similar dynamic of smaller departments and falling crime has also played out in Philadelphia, which had about 5,800 officers at the end of last year, more than 700 fewer than in 2019. The city saw homicides decline more than 20 percent and has spent millions of dollars in overtime.
Chicago’s police department has also lost lots of officers.
* State Week | Court upholds the elimination of cash bail: The Illinois Supreme Court’s landmark 5-2 decision means the end of cash bail in the state, beginning Sept. 18. Supporters have long called for bail reforms, saying it punishes poverty. But others have criticized the change as a slap in the face to crime victims and a threat to public safety. We talk about the arguments for and against cash bail and how the change will impact the justice system.
* Daily Herald | Cashless bail is coming. Here’s how two top suburban prosecutors will handle the change: We spoke this week with two of the suburbs’ top prosecutors — DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin and Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart — for a nuts-and-bolts look at how they plan to implement the change in Illinois’ second- and third-largest counties, respectively. Both say their offices have been gearing up for months and will be ready to go on Sept. 18. That preparation included beefing up their staffs of attorneys who work with police on new cases and decide what charges to file, a process often called felony review.
* WCIA | SAFE-T Act lays out guidelines for people currently behind bars pre-trial to transition to no cash bail system: “The people that were currently in custody are going to have to file a motion for a hearing, to have their case considered,” Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell said. “And so it’s gonna be a tiered system depending on what charge you’re in here for, depending on your criminal history, depending on if you’re a flight risk, there’s a lot of components that come into that issue.”
* Center Square | Legislators discuss staffing issues at Illinois schools: State Rep. Janet Yang Rohr, D-Naperville, was asked if the issue is at all exaggerated. “I was in the K-12 appropriations committee, so we are looking at money that is going to schools, and one of the reports we looked at, all it did was looked at open positions and unfilled positions,” Yang Rohr told The Center Square. “So based on that, clearly, there are a lot of unfilled positions.”
* Rockford Register Star | We stand together, celebrating the end of cash bail in Illinois: As faith leaders from the Rockford region, we are united in celebrating the Illinois Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Pretrial Fairness Act. Ending the injustice of the money bond system is a significant moral victory that makes our state a leader in the movement to end mass incarceration.
* STLPR | 10% of felonies in Madison County come from Missouri residents. Is that a problem?: Just how significant the portion of Missouri residents, presumably from the St. Louis area, committing crime in the Illinois suburbs is another question, said Richard Rosenfeld, a criminologist at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. “While that percentage has grown over time, it still remains quite small,” Rosenfeld said.
* Illinois Times | Board reverses solar vote: The Sangamon County Board’s July 11 reversal of a May vote gave the go-ahead to a proposed $10 million solar farm near the rural Westview Park Subdivision, despite ongoing resentment by board members toward state legislators. Several board members said they don’t like the fact that a new state law, effective in January, made project approval all but inevitable by removing most county-level zoning authority over commercial wind and solar projects.
* Politico | ‘This Is a Really Big Deal’: How College Towns Are Decimating the GOP: In state after state, fast-growing, traditionally liberal college counties like Dane are flexing their muscles, generating higher turnout and ever greater Democratic margins. They’ve already played a pivotal role in turning several red states blue — and they could play an equally decisive role in key swing states next year.
* WSIU | CapitolView: A conversation with Illinois State Senator Dale Fowler about legislation he co-sponsored and the conclusion of the session. Plus: analysis on a variety of stories, including the recent state Supreme Court decision that allows Illinois to become the first state to completely eliminate cash bail.
* Daily Herald | Five arrests made, 10 women rescued from suburban sex trafficking ring: At a news conference at police headquarters, St. Charles Police Chief James Keegan and Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser described how a report in early spring of a brothel operating in a west side apartment in St. Charles led to a monthslong investigation of a human trafficking organized crime syndicate.
* Sun-Times | Chicago weed giant Cresco Labs claims in suit that competitor GTI poached a top-level employee: A GTI spokeswoman denied the allegations, saying the litigation is “aimed at preventing a former non-executive Cresco employee from finding a suitable career in the cannabis industry.” “Instead of investing to retain current employees or support former employees through their transition following a recent sizable layoff, Cresco is spending money on lawyers to monitor and sue its former employees for finding new jobs,” spokeswoman Rosie Mattio said in a statement. “This move is not only distasteful to their former employees looking to continue their careers in the cannabis industry, but also a total waste of Cresco’s capital and resources.”
* The Prairie Profile | Rebecca Clark: Illinois State Fair Manager Rebecca Clark says that if her younger self could see where she is now, she’d be surprised. “I’ve wanted to be a journalist for as long as I can remember,” Clark says. “I would put on fake newscasts in my grandparents’ living room with Kermit the Frog as reporter and Miss Piggy as co-anchor.”
* WBEZ | A record number of Chicagoans reported flooded basements in July: On July 2, a record-setting rainstorm dumped 9 inches of rain on some parts of the Chicago area. Green was among more than 1,400 Chicagoans who filed reports of flooded basements to 311, the city’s non-emergency helpline.
* Crain’s | Richard Barancik, architect of midcentury Chicago and last surviving Monuments Man, dies at 98: Late in life, Barancik gained another distinction: He was the last-known surviving member among nearly 350 “Monuments Men” who recovered art looted in Europe during World War II and shot to prominence with a 2014 film directed by George Clooney and starring Matt Damon, Bill Murray and Cate Blanchett. Barancik hadn’t talked much about the assignment before the movie, his daughter said, but once it came out, he was inundated by letters from schoolchildren and by autograph seekers and “World War II nuts.”
Illinois’ economic racial equity ranks worst in the nation, according to a recent WalletHub study.
Despite a rich history of minority representation and executive leadership at the highest levels of federal, state and local government, Illinois minority families are materially worse off here than in any other state. How could that be? […]
Illinois Democratic policies verifiably impair — in some cases, catastrophically hurt — many of the individuals and groups they purport to help. Here are just a few examples.
Our local and state tax burden is worst in the nation. Property and sales taxes are profoundly regressive, falling hardest on the shoulders of minority families.
* IDES…
The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that the unemployment rate is down -0.1 percentage point to 4.0 percent in June, the fourth consecutive monthly decline. Nonfarm payrolls increased by +8,400 in June. Both estimates are based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and released by IDES. The May revised unemployment rate was 4.1 percent, unchanged from the preliminary May unemployment rate. The May monthly change in payrolls was revised from the preliminary report, from +2,500 to +5,400 jobs. The June unemployment rate and payroll jobs estimate reflect activity for the week including the 12th.
In June, the industry sectors with the largest over-the-month job gains included: Educational and Health Services (+5,300), Construction (+2,900), Leisure and Hospitality (+2,900), and Government (+2,900). The industry sectors with monthly payroll job declines included: Professional and Business Services (-5,400), Manufacturing (-2,100), and Trade, Transportation and Utilities (-2,000). […]
The state’s unemployment rate was +0.4 percentage point higher than the national unemployment rate reported for June, tied with May for the smallest difference since February 2020 (pre-pandemic). The national unemployment rate was 3.6 percent in June, down -0.1 percentage point from the previous month. The Illinois unemployment rate was down -0.4 percentage point from a year ago when it was at 4.4 percent.
Compared to a year ago, nonfarm payroll jobs increased by +121,100 jobs, with gains across most major industries. The industry groups with the largest jobs increases included: Educational and Health Services (+42,400), Leisure and Hospitality (+33,800) and Government (+31,200). Professional and Business Services (-8,400), Information (-4,200) and Manufacturing (-1,400) reported declines in payroll jobs. In June, total nonfarm payrolls were up +2.0 percent over-the-year in Illinois and up +2.5 percent in the nation.
The number of unemployed workers was 258,100, the lowest level since the onset of the pandemic. The number of unemployed was down -2.7 percent from the prior month, and -9.4 percent over the same month one year ago. The labor force was down -0.2 percent over-the-month and down -0.3 percent over-the-year. The unemployment rate identifies those individuals who are out of work and seeking employment. An individual who exhausts or is ineligible for benefits is still reflected in the unemployment rate if they actively seek work.
The City Council has approved an effort to create a working group that will craft recommendations for a pilot program to publicly fund plowing sidewalks across the city. […]
The working group will include members of various city departments. It must meet at least three times before May 31, 2024 to determine the size, location and funding sources of the pilot, according to the ordinance. The actual pilot program will then still need to be approved by the full City Council.
Players have come forward with allegations of indecent acts in both the baseball and softball programs, according to civil rights attorney Ben Crump and Chicago-based law firm Levin & Perconti. […]
The allegations of hazing in the softball program, the details of which have not yet been reported, “seem to have been as toxic as the football (program),” said Crump during the press conference today. “There were young girls who were not even of age yet, and they were preyed upon from day one, in their words.”
* I just love how Block Club Chicago covers Tyrone Muhammed…
The vacant Near South Health Center will become the latest temporary shelter for migrants newly arrived to Chicago, city officials said Wednesday.
At a town hall meeting held by Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd) at the De La Salle Institute, 3434 S. Michigan Ave., city officials were met with strong backlash from community members who said they had received no notice of the plan. […]
Tyrone Muhammad, an activist arrested earlier this year for attempting to block the arrival of migrants at Woodlawn’s Wadsworth School, repeatedly interrupted Wednesday’s meeting. Muhammad expressed concern that migrants would not be individually monitored when leaving the shelter, and worried that some might be “former gang members.”
Ray Wences, a representative of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, stressed that all migrants going through the asylum process are given a background check by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and must demonstrate a “credible fear” of violence in their home country.
Muhammed doesn’t appear to even live in that neighborhood, and he’s well known for being a well-paid agitator for Paul Vallas and Dan Proft. He also broke up a rally to honor dead Black transgender women. Etc.
* Isabel’s afternoon roundup…
* Tribune | Gov. J.B. Pritzker touts Illinois’ clean energy policies during UK trade mission: In addition to seeking overseas companies to boost Illinois’ electric vehicle industry, as well as its standing in manufacturing, financial services, food processing and hospitality, Pritzker said he met with leaders in the quantum computing field, adding that he has a vision of making Illinois the “Silicon Valley of quantum development.”
* Jose Muñoz and Jennifer Crespo | Latinos deserve a seat on Illinois Supreme Court: Latinos deserve and are prepared to serve on the Illinois Supreme Court. The Cook County Democratic Party must epitomize justice and our shared values by slating a Latino candidate for the 2024 Illinois Supreme Court primary election. The time to embrace the inclusion of Latinos on the court is now.
* Gateway Journalism Review | Chicago media struggle to tell migrant stories as thousands surge into the city: What’s missing is reporting that brings together the whole picture. It starts with tracking how and why right-wing southern politicians began sending uninformed immigrants into liberal northern cities. We need a better understanding of the likelihood that the immigrants will find a haven in Chicago and other big US cities or be expelled – as New York Mayor Eric Adams did, sending migrants to neighboring counties. What happens if the new arrivals simply melt into the more than 400,000 undocumented in Illinois and the 11 million in the US?
* SJ-R | ‘Hands have been tied’ in several important matters with Lincoln Library: A Lincoln Library board of trustee said “a pattern of disrespect and disregard for the board” has made trustees question what their roles are. Geoffrey Pettys, reading a letter signed off by trustees at Tuesday’s Springfield City Council meeting, said the board has been left out of the hiring process for the library’s last three directors, a trend he would like to see reversed as the library seeks a new director.
* Chalkbeat | Chicago swears in new members to city’s last fully appointed Board of Education: As board members introduced themselves, Mariela Estrada, director of community engagement at the United Way of Metro Chicago, recounted being a “fierce” parent advocate. New board president Jianan Shi, former executive director of influential advocacy organization Raise Your Hand, noted that he is the first educator appointed as board president.
* Crain’s | Alight moving HQ downtown from Lincolnshire: Alight Solutions is relocating its headquarters from north suburban Lincolnshire to a dramatically scaled-down office footprint atop one of downtown’s newest skyscrapers, a move that notches a corporate win for Chicago but likely deals another heavy blow to the reeling suburban office market.
* Axios | Illinois corn growers face off against feds over emissions limits: The Illinois Corn Growers Association last week joined industry groups nationwide in pressuring the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to pump the brakes on proposed auto tailpipe rules. The rules would radically change our automotive landscape and improve air quality, but some growers in Illinois — the second-biggest corn producer in the nation — say they could also devastate the industry.
* Daily Herald | ‘It’ll be a great addition to town’: STEM school, subdivision planned for Naperville: Developers plan to build a STEM school and a subdivision on 12 vacant acres at the southwest corner of Diehl Road and Mill Street in Naperville. In addition to the 76 two-bedroom, three-story townhouses the Prosperita subdivision will bring to the housing inventory on the northwest side of the city, Orion STEM School, a 45,000-square-foot building, will open on the northern 5 acres of the parcel.
* Crain’s | Two Hollywood unions on strike: What does it mean for Chicago?: Today, hundreds of Hollywood writers and actors will rally in Chicago’s Millennium Park, joined by other city unions like the Chicago Teachers Union and local Teamsters members, almost one week after the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, or SAG-AFTRA, called for a strike after contract negotiations with Hollywood companies broke down.
* Crain’s | Tavern on Rush owner opening restaurant across from its former site: Less than a year after Phil Stefani closed his storied Tavern on Rush, the restaurant owner has signed a lease just across the street from the Gold Coast building his steakhouse occupied for more than 25 years. Stefani is set to open a restaurant at the base of the Thompson Chicago hotel, taking over the space occupied by Nico Osteria at the corner of Rush Street and Bellevue Place. Stefani said he does not know yet if he will resurrect the Tavern on Rush name.
* Brenden Moore | Slain Springfield organizer set shining example: Shafer, a Springfield community organizer and activist, was an agitator who had a penchant for stirring up “good trouble” in the interest of social justice. She was also a very dear friend of mine. Last week, I received a call no friend ever wants to receive. It’s never good when someone begins a conversation with “there’s no easy way to say this.”
Members of a state rulemaking oversight committee voiced concerns Tuesday that Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration didn’t sufficiently seek public input on its plan to cap enrollment in Medicaid-like health care programs for noncitizens.
The controversy centers on the Health Benefits for Immigrant Adults and Health Benefits for Immigrant Seniors programs, which provide health care benefits to low-income noncitizens who would qualify for Medicaid benefits if not for their citizenship status. […]
JCAR – which consists of six Democrats and six Republicans and is responsible for overseeing policy making within the state’s executive branch – didn’t take action on either the emergency or permanent rules Tuesday, although the committee can still take action at a future meeting. […]
Sen. Bill Cunningham, a Chicago Democrat and co-chair of JCAR, said the committee was frustrated at the lack of stakeholder engagement from several agencies. JCAR also discussed a controversial emission rule change for heavy industries Tuesday, objecting to two state agencies’ hurried implementation process. […]
Cunningham said the committee will “likely” have another discussion about the health care rules next month.
* Scott Holland breaks down what actions are available to JCAR…
The JCAR can take three actions. The first is essentially powerless, as it merely indicates the committee has concerns. The others are comparative sledgehammers.
An objection indicates the committee finds rules inconsistent with state law, has bad economic effects on small businesses, municipalities or nonprofit organizations or calls into question the rule-making process or the validity of the emergency. The agency has 90 days to respond, and any modification lasts for the rest of the 150-day window.
The committee also can add a suspension to its objection, stopping enforcement unless the committee withdraws its decision. This outcome indicates members find the rule contrary to the public interest, safety or welfare.
* Pritzker defended the move last month via the Tribune…
“We need to make sure that we’re living within our fiscal limits within the state of Illinois,” Pritzker said Monday during an unrelated event at Chicago’s Union Station. “That’s something that wasn’t done for a number of years in Illinois.”
The second-term Democrat, who campaigned for reelection as a progressive who supports providing health care and other services regardless of immigration status, pointed to the budget pressures a day after telling reporters at a Pride Parade event that members of the state legislature’s Latino caucus “knew exactly what we were doing.”
“And in fact, what we have done, and it’s in part because of their advocacy, is we’ve saved the program to provide health care for undocumented immigrants,” Pritzker said Sunday. “And it’s a paused program that I hope and intend to expand.”
Among those criticizing the governor’s actions, which include closing enrollment July 1 for people under 65 who are currently eligible and capping enrollment for people 65 and older, was U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, a Chicago Democrat. In a statement earlier this month, Garcia said that the moves by Pritzker were “wrong and will have life-and-death consequences.”
House Bill 4098 would allow the Illinois treasurer and comptroller to transfer $500 million from the General Revenue Fund to the Pension Unfunded Liability Reduction Fund each fiscal year. The funds would be used for making additional contributions to the pension funds for retired state employees. The current budget already spends around $10 billion this year on pensions. That accounts for around one out of every five dollars the state takes in taxes.
The House Personnel & Pensions Committee discussed HB4908 Wednesday in downtown Chicago along with officials from the Teachers’ Retirement System and State Employees’ Retirement System.
Every fiscal year after all the bonds authorized by Public Act 93-2 are retired, the State Treasurer shall direct and the State Comptroller shall transfer the sum of $500,000,000 from the General Revenue Fund to the Pension Unfunded Liability Reduction Fund each fiscal year, which shall be used to make additional contributions to eligible pension funds in accordance with Section 8s of the State Finance Act.
I checked with the sponsor, Rep. Stephanie Kifowit, and she said those annual $500 million payments wouldn’t begin until 2031, eight years from now.
* The Question: Do you support this concept? Explain.
Sangamon County Judge Jennie Ascher ruled Tuesday that the firearm owners identification (FOID) card is constitutional. […]
Although, the Attorney General’s office said this was a straightforward case. Assistant Attorney General Isaac Freilich Jones noted that people apply for FOID cards and the Illinois State Police issue the identification cards if they are not found to be criminals. Jones said there is no difference between waiting for a FOID card and waiting for a background check before buying a gun.
[Attorney Christian Ambler] later argued that there is no historical support for a law allowing states to require people to have a license before they can purchase guns. He said people did not face this type of burden when the Second Amendment was approved by Congress in 1789.
Yet, the Attorney General’s office stressed there is no way to prove that people living in the 18th century would disapprove of the FOID law. They also claimed that there is no world where $10 is an unreasonably high fee to pay for a FOID card. However, plaintiffs said there is no historical context for fees people would face before purchasing their firearms.
Judge Ascher agreed with the Attorney General’s office that the $10 fee is not unreasonable for people to pay for a FOID card.
“The FOID card is destined to the dustbin of history because after all there were no FOID cards in 1791, and that’s the standard by which the judges and the courts are supposed to rule today,” [John Boch with the organization Guns Save Life] said. […]
Ascher did take into account the U.S. Supreme Court case from 2022 in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen.
“In particular, the standard for analyzing the scope of the Second Amendment ‘requires courts to assess whether modern firearms regulations are consistent with the Second Amendment’s text and historical understanding’ through a two-step process,” the judge wrote. “At the first step, a plaintiff bears the burden of showing that the ‘Second Amendment’s plain text covers’ the regulated conduct.”
The judge noted that Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly in his defense of the FOID card used Fordham University history professor Saul Cornell’s analysis of historic firearm regulation.
“There is ample historical evidence supporting the constitutionality of the FOID Act, and GSL’s facial challenge fails as the historical record demonstrates that laws ‘relevantly similar’ to the FOID Act have been part of American legal history from the Founding Era to present day,” the judge wrote.
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* The IPI has been running Facebook ads to recruit candidates…
The libertarian-leaning Illinois Policy Institute will be trying its hand at candidate recruitment this summer and fall, sending out at minimum tens of thousands of postcards to households the organization identifies as “high propensity voters” who also align with the think tank on issues of “economic freedom,” seeking out those who may be interested in running for office.
Sheriffs in southern Illinois say they are bracing for more crime and more victims that result from the end of cash bail across the state.
“Folks who live here are extremely concerned,” Franklin County Sheriff Kyle Bacon told Fox News. “It’s an experiment on the backs of victims of crime. I have serious concerns and so do the people that live here.”
A coalition of 426 organizations and individuals filed a document with the Illinois Supreme Court arguing that the elimination of cash bail will make communities safer. That coalition includes victim rights groups like the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence. They point to studies that show when reliance on cash bail was reduced in Cook County, there was no statistical effect on crime.
They write that when people are unable to pay bail, they “often lose their jobs, housing, health care, family and social ties, and potentially custody of their children.” And when people’s lives are destabilized, that makes communities less safe.
Advocacy groups including the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Explotation, The Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence, the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault have all shown support for the SAFE-T Act. CAASE’s website says the SAFE-T Act allows for more victim input in risk-based assessments.
* Meanwhile, let’s move on to TriStates Public Radio…
McDonough County Sheriff Nick Petitgout said that as a result, there will be no repercussions for crimes such as shoplifting, disorderly conduct, and petty theft.
He believes a lot of people will refuse to come to court if they don’t have to put up cash for bail.
“It’s difficult to get anything done the way the system is written now. I can imagine when it’s just simply handing people a piece of paper that says, ‘I need you to go to court on this date,’ and they already don’t go to court,” he said.
“I think it’s going to be difficult to hold anyone accountable for these low-level crimes.”
Petitgout said now they need to work on making the law better.
“We’re going to collaborate with the state legislature and try to fix some of the things that we’ve pointed out and they’ve pointed out that, ‘Hey, this doesn’t work,’” he said.
Full Petitgout quote…
I think some of your nuisance-type crimes where, you know, there will be no repercussions for going out and doing these, you know, shoplifting and stealing and being unruly, being disorderly, you know, petty theft. I think it’s going to create this culture where there’s just no consequences for some of those minor crimes. And I see that being an issue. I really do, because we already deal with a certain element of the community that tend to commit these low level crimes just over and over and over again. And it’s difficult to get anything done the way the system is written now. I can imagine when it’s just simply handing people a piece of paper that says, I need you to go to court on this date, and they already don’t go to court [laughs]. I think it’d be really difficult to hold anybody accountable for these low level crimes.
Judges are given discretion in the new law to impose certain conditions “needed to assure appearance in court & safety of other persons” on repeat offenders.
Texas’ abortion restrictions – some of the strictest in the country – may be fueling a sudden spike in infant mortality as women are forced to carry nonviable pregnancies to term.
Some 2,200 infants died in Texas in 2022 – an increase of 227 deaths, or 11.5%, over the previous year, according to preliminary infant mortality data from the Texas Department of State Health Services that CNN obtained through a public records request. Infant deaths caused by severe genetic and birth defects rose by 21.6%. That spike reversed a nearly decade-long decline. Between 2014 and 2021, infant deaths had fallen by nearly 15%.
The increase in deaths could partly be explained by the fact that more babies are being born in Texas. One recent report found that in the final nine months of 2022, the state saw nearly 10,000 more births than expected prior to its abortion ban – an estimated 3% increase.
In 2021, Texas banned abortions beyond six weeks of pregnancy. When the Supreme Court overturned federal abortion rights the following summer, a trigger law in the state banned all abortions other than those intended to protect the life of the mother.
But multiple obstetrician-gynecologists who focus on high-risk pregnancies told CNN that Texas’ strict abortion laws likely contributed to the uptick in infant deaths.
A hearing in a lawsuit challenging Texas’ abortion ban opened Wednesday with dramatic testimony from three women who experienced serious pregnancy complications but were denied abortions.
One of the plaintiffs in the suit, Samantha Casiano, vomited on the stand while discussing her baby’s fatal birth defect, which she said also put her life at risk. […]
Casiano is part of a group of 13 women and two OB-GYNs who are suing the state of Texas. The lawsuit, filed in March by the Center for Reproductive Rights, asks the court to clarify the types of situations that constitute a medical emergency under Texas’ abortion laws.
The Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision in June 2022 triggered a ban in Texas that outlawed all abortions, except to save the life of a pregnant woman. Prior to that, the state had banned abortions after the detection of a so-called fetal heartbeat — around six weeks into the pregnancy. Physicians who violate Texas’s abortion laws can lose their medical licenses, face up to 99 years in prison or incur fines of at least $100,000, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights.
A law that bans abortions at 12 weeks while also restricting gender-affirming care in Nebraska will stay in effect for now.
According to the Nebraska examiner, Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, who filed a lawsuit directed at the “let them grow act” had asked the judge to place a preliminary injunction on the bill due to its damaging impact on abortion providers and medical care.
A judge said yesterday she would take a request to block its enforcement under advisement.
Planned Parenthood and the ACLU of Nebraska had filed the lawsuit because they say it violates the single subject rule in the Nebraska constitution.
The Florida Board of Education approved a new set of standards for how Black history should be taught in the state’s public schools, sparking criticism from education and civil rights advocates who said students should be allowed to learn the “full truth” of American history. […]
The new standards require instruction for middle school students to include “how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit,” a document listing the standards and posted in the Florida Department of Education website said.
When high school students learn about events such as the 1920 Ocoee massacre, the new rules require that instruction include “acts of violence perpetrated against and by African Americans.” The massacre is considered the deadliest Election Day violence in US history and, according to several histories of the incident, it started when Moses Norman, a prominent Black landowner in the Ocoee, Florida, community, attempted to cast his ballot and was turned away by White poll workers.
Similar standards are noted for lessons about other massacres, including the Atlanta race massacre, the Tulsa race massacre and the Rosewood race massacre.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration said Tuesday that it has finalized new policies on the treatment of transgender students, guidance that will direct school districts to roll back some current accommodations and increase parental notification requirements about certain discussions involving gender identity.
Youngkin said the guidelines, which have been sharply criticized by LGBTQ+ advocacy groups since they were first unveiled last year, will empower parents while prohibiting discrimination and creating a safe learning environment.
“This is about doing what’s best for the child,” Youngkin said in an interview with The Associated Press. “And oh, by the way, also recognizing that we need to ensure the privacy and dignity and respect of all children and all parents in the school system. And that’s what I think we have … very carefully constructed here.” […]
The guidance says students’ participation in certain school programming and use of school facilities like bathrooms or locker rooms should be based on the sex assigned at birth, with modifications offered only to the extent required under federal law.
A bill similar to an unconstitutional Tennessee law prohibiting drag queens’ performances in public or where children are present has come to Ohio.
House Bill 245 was introduced at the Statehouse Monday to ban “adult cabaret performances,” defined as a show “harmful to juveniles” that features “entertainers who exhibit a gender identity that is different from the performers’ or entertainers’ gender assigned at birth.” The bill would prohibit these shows in all locations other than “adult cabarets,” meaning “a nightclub, bar, juice bar, restaurant, bottle club or similar establishment.”
Reps. Josh Williams (R-Sylvania) and Angela King (R-Celina) are proposing the bill with the support of 41 out of 67 Ohio House Republican representatives. The 43 lawmakers outline the following penalties if entertainers are found violating the proposed law:
- A misdemeanor of the first degree if a performance occurs in the presence of a juvenile under the age of 18.
- A felony of the fifth degree if the performance is “obscene.”
- A felony of the fourth degree if the performance is “obscene” and occurs in the presence of a juvenile under the age of 13.
Williams said the bill’s intention is to modernize Ohio’s revised code regarding obscenity viewed by minors, not to effectively ban drag in Ohio. The lawmaker stressed that the proposed measure only means to prohibit shows “harmful to juveniles,” with events like drag story time readings and plays like “Mrs. Doubtfire” covered under the First Amendment.
* I’ve never seen a press release quite like this one, but it appears to be good news for Illinois, so here you go…
Infleqtion and QinetiQ Win Award to Apply Quantum Computing to Logistics
Infleqtion, the world’s quantum information company, and QinetiQ, a leading defense company, are thrilled to announce their successful bid for the Quantum End-to-end Compilation for Combinatorial Optimisation (QECCO) project through Innovate UK. This groundbreaking initiative will focus on using quantum algorithms to solve complex combinatorial optimisation problems in logistics and deliver this crucial quantum software capability to the UK National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC). These optimisation problems are critical for national security yet often computationally intractable using classical computers, but quantum computers have the potential to provide significant speedups.
QECCO will address key challenges in the logistics sector, including job-shop scheduling, packing, routing, and satisfiability problems. These complex problems possess high business value, limited classical solutions, and tremendous potential for quantum solutions. Through stakeholder workshops and collaborations with end-users in logistics and transport, QECCO will identify specific high-impact target problems and refine algorithmic implementations.
The project team comprises experts in quantum software development, algorithmic implementation, and benchmarking, with a strong foundation from Infleqtion’s Superstaq platform, which has already demonstrated enhanced solution quality on real quantum hardware, along with the Supermarq benchmarking infrastructure for performance evaluation.
“We are delighted to be part of the QECCO project and collaborate with QinetiQ to unlock the full potential of quantum computing,” said Dr Timothy Ballance, GM of Infleqtion UK. “This project aligns perfectly with our vision of applying quantum technology to solve real-world problems. With our cutting-edge software capabilities and QinetiQ’s expertise in dual-use logistics applications, we are confident that we can deliver groundbreaking solutions for the UK.” […]
In May 2022, Infleqtion acquired Chicago-based Super.tech, a leading quantum software company that accelerates the development and adoption of quantum computing. The company was spun out of pioneering quantum computing research from EPiQC, an NSF Expedition in Computing at the University of Chicago. Super.tech is embedded in Argonne National Laboratory’s Chain Reaction Innovations program and also incubated by Duality, the first accelerator dedicated exclusively to supporting quantum startups, operated by the Chicago Quantum Exchange and UChicago’s Polsky Center.
“We are pleased to see Infleqtion’s software capabilities expand in the UK as the country has a strong track record of innovation in science and technology. We recognize the strong partnership between the UK and Chicago as global partners, and we look forward to working with our UK colleagues to accelerate the development and adoption of quantum computing,” said Infleqtion’s VP of Quantum Software, Pranav Gokhale.
“Quantum is unquestionably one of the most exciting new technologies in development, with the potential to reshape global solutions for generations to come. And that ripple effect comes from auspicious beginnings in the heart of Illinois,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Rooted in the groundbreaking quantum computing research coming out of the University of Chicago, Argonne Laboratory, and the Chicago Quantum Exchange, the impact of Infleqtion’s work will now stretch to our global partners in the United Kingdom to increase efficiency and continue to build the quantum network worldwide,” said Illinois Governor JB Pritzker.
The partnership is expected to last for three years and will result in the development of new software tools and applications for quantum-enabled systems. By compiling end-user applications directly to quantum hardware, Infleqtion aims to leverage the unique characteristics of quantum computing to achieve faster and more efficient solutions, making quantum technology more accessible and easier for various finance, healthcare, and national security applications.
* Gov. Pritzker talked to reporters yesterday about quantum technology and his trip to the UK…
I have to admit that although Goodwood was a great experience with all those executives together and being able to talk specifically about one industry [EV] that we’re working to attract companies, manufacturers, I have to say the meetings with quantum leaders here in the UK and bringing our quantum leadership from Illinois reinforced for me that Illinois, and Chicago in particular, are leaders in the world. We really are the leader in the United States that people look to. The University of Chicago, the University of Illinois, the duality accelerator at the University of Illinois, all of that, an exciting prospect for tremendous growth in something that I think will lead to Illinois being the Silicon Valley of quantum development. Again, you can look at what we have and think that we’re a leader, but to come to the UK and have people acknowledge that is quite exciting to me. And very importantly, we have already companies that are US-based that have opened an office here in the quantum space. And the same thing, quantum companies that want to come to Illinois and work with our university researchers, as well as, most importantly, to develop and sell their products into our industries.
Yvette Christine Shields, longtime Bond Buyer reporter who spent decades building a stellar career as one of Chicago’s finest and well-known financial reporters with a national reputation in the public finance industry, died unexpectedly this week. She was 57.
Shields died early Wednesday at a Chicago hospital after a brief illness.
“Yvette was everything a reporter should be — perpetually curious, tenacious, whip smart, and unafraid to ask the tough questions,” said Mike Scarchilli, editor in chief of The Bond Buyer. “More importantly, she was a wonderful person, both personally and professionally, beloved by colleagues and industry sources alike. She was the lifeblood of our newsroom, the de facto captain of our reporting team. Yvette is truly irreplaceable, and she will be sorely missed.” […]
Shields was born, raised and educated in Chicago and its suburbs. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Columbia College Chicago and began her reporting career at the storied City News Bureau of Chicago, where she met many of her lifelong friends and sources.
Scarchilli is right. She’s irreplaceable. Nobody knew that beat like Yvette. She was so good at her job. And, while we never met (although we did promise to get together for drinks a few weeks ago), she seemed like such a fun person.
I’ll likely update this post later.
…Adding… Comptroller Susana Mendoza…
We are all heartbroken at the sudden and unexpected passing of the most knowledgeable reporter covering state finance in the Midwest, Yvette Shields. Her mastery of financial issues was matched by her larger-than-life personality; her kindness and her love for her sons. Yvette’s passing leaves a void in so many lives she touched. Her writing about municipal bonds; about Illinois’ financial challenges and progress; showed such a command of the issues. Coming on the heels of the loss of Civic Federation President Laurence Msall and Illinois Chamber of Commerce President Todd Maisch, Yvette’s death deprives us of yet another trusted voice on state finance. We send out love and condolences to Yvette’s sons and pray that she rest in God’s peace and eternal glory.
The family has set up the Yvette Shields Memorial Fund to primarily support the education of her 16-year-old son Wesley. The fund can be accessed through this link.
…Adding… Leader Sims…
State Senator Elgie R. Sims, Jr. (D-Chicago) released the following statement after the unexpected death of Yvette Shields:
“I am devastated by the untimely death of Yvette Shields. The journalism industry needs more honest, steadfast trailblazers like Yvette. She was bold and powerful yet she was calm and understanding. All who knew her or read her work were touched by her. Her legacy will live on for decades. My heart is with her family and friends during this difficult time.”
* Tribune | Gov. J.B. Pritzker touts Illinois’ clean energy policies during UK trade mission: In addition to seeking overseas companies to boost Illinois’ electric vehicle industry, as well as its standing in manufacturing, financial services, food processing and hospitality, Pritzker said he met with leaders in the quantum computing field, adding that he has a vision of making Illinois the “Silicon Valley of quantum development.”
* Tribune | Cook County property tax bills will be late again: Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced Wednesday that second installment property tax bills for the 2022 tax year are expected to be ready Nov. 1 and due Dec. 1.
* NBC Chicago | Gov. Pritzker considers bill mandating fentanyl education in Illinois high schools: A bill mandating fentanyl education in Illinois high schools is now on Governor J.B. Pritzker’s desk and some Chicago high school students say they now understand why it’s essential to raise red flags about fentanyl. “I realized it’s a massive issue and it’s only growing in the United States. And it’s really affecting people of my generation,” said Eliza McHale, who just graduated from Lane Tech High school in June.
* WAND | Illinois lawmakers hope to pass pension reform plan this fall: The Center for Tax and Budget Accountability told the Illinois House Personnel & Pensions Committee Wednesday that the legacy of the 1995 pension ramp is a very “backloaded approach” to handling the state’s debt service. “We have a fiscal system that really can’t put the money into funding this ramp without either a tax increase, a relatively significant one, and or cutting spending on services, neither or which are sort of the best outcomes for taxpayers,” said Ralph Martire, the CTBA’s executive director.
* Crain’s | McDonald’s DEI efforts target of firm co-founded by GOP presidential candidate: The firm, Strive Asset Management, sent a letter July 18 to McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski and board Chairman Enrique Hernandez Jr. It said that Strive wrote on behalf of its clients who are shareholders and expressed concern that some of McDonald’s diversity policies are illegal following the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision that Harvard and the University of North Carolina’s affirmative-action admissions policies are unconstitutional.
* SJ-R | Safety concerns raised at packed hearing on Navigator’s CO2 pipeline plan: Approximately 39 miles of pipeline collecting emissions from ethanol plants and storing them underground would run through the county, hitting portions of nine townships. Opponents are concerned a potential pipeline burst with this proximity to towns such as New Berlin and Glenarm could lead to a public health crisis exceeding what was seen earlier this year during the I-55 dust storm.
* WGN | City council members propose plan to eliminate sub-minimum wage for tipped workers: 26th Ward Ald. Jesse Fuentes and 35th Ward Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa introduced the ordinance. Basically, it would give restaurants two years to get all tipped workers up to the city’s minimum wage — which is currently at $15.80 per hour, plus any tips they earn.
* Crain’s | Auction set for Obama records depot in Hoffman Estates: The owner of a former Hoffman Estates furniture store reincarnated as a processing and storage facility for Barack Obama’s presidential records has decided to auction off the property Aug. 7 after trying for months to sell it the conventional way. The firm overseeing the online auction has set the starting bid at $4 million.
* WTTW | Kim Foxx Sees Elimination of Cash Bail as Step Toward Equal Justice: Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx has pushed for the elimination of cash bail, calling it “a monumental milestone toward achieving equal justice.” “What this is seeking to address is if you’re a threat to the public, no matter how much access to cash you have, you should be detained if you are a threat,” Foxx said.
* SJ-R | Richard Mills, Central District and Appellate Court judge, dies at 93: Mills was 93 years old, with the Sangamon County Bar Association announcing his death Wednesday. Mills was nominated to become a District Judge in the Central District in 1985 by then-President Ronald Reagan, after nine years serving as an Illinois Appellate Court Justice and ten years as a Circuit Judge. He replaced J. Waldo Ackerman, who had passed away in November 1984.
* Tribune | Oak Park Village Hall could be demolished despite historic status: Wrecking balls could be coming to Oak Park under a new plan to potentially tear down Village Hall, a municipal hub listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Earlier this month, the village board of trustees voted 5-2 in favor of a plan to demolish the building, which houses both the municipal government and the police department.
* Sun-Times | At 100, Lou Mitchell’s diner remains an iconic slice of Americana: And though the city that surrounds the diner has grown tall with skyscrapers over the years, little has changed inside. The original wooden stools at the multi-sided counters are packed with coffee-sipping, newspaper-reading regulars; couples cozy up in the wooden two tops; families share laughter over silver dollar pancakes in the larger booths. Shiny silver toasters pop up slices of bread ripe for a generous spread of butter, the salty-sweet smell of bacon wafts through the air, and servers swerve from table to table, gracefully balancing fresh-from-the-skillet omelets and steaming coffee pots.
* WBEZ | Sisters to sail the Race to Mackinac 100 years after their great-grandfather’s win was overturned: A century ago, their great-grandfather John P. O’Rourke and his brother James sailed the 1923 Race to Mackinac in their small Q boat — a once-fashionable model rarely seen today. The brothers fought their way to an improbable victory on behalf of the Jackson Park Yacht Club. But their glory was short-lived. Months later, the O’Rourkes were disqualified on a technicality. The story of a great win — and subsequent dismissal — has become family lore.
