Isabel’s morning briefing
Tuesday, Aug 1, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Here you go…
* NBC Chicago | Pritzker defends Illinois bill that allows non-citizens to become police officers: During a press conference where he spoke about legislation protecting reproductive rights in the state, Pritzker emphasized that the bill would be limited to individuals who are legally allowed to work in the United States, and who are legally allowed to possess firearms. * CBS Chicago | State Treasurer Michael Frerichs launches “First Steps” college savings program: “Illinois First Steps is an important step towards ensuring all Illinois children can access higher education in their future,” Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs said. […] All families can open a free 529 college savings account with Bright Start or Bright Directions and submit a claim for the $50 deposit from the state anytime before the child’s 10th birthday. * WGLT | Some Illinois lawmakers want to see U.S. call a constitutional amendments convention: Three Republican lawmakers plan to represent Illinois at an event in Williamsburg, Virginia, later this week that’s sponsored by a political action group that wants to trigger a constitutional amendments convention within the next three years. * Vermillion County First | GOP State Rep Mike Marron Announces He Will Not Seek Reelection: The statement closes with Marron saying “Thank you to everyone who was a part of my successes over the years. It really has been a humbling experience. It is time to focus on my family’s farm and spend more time with my wife and daughter. After all, there is so much more to life than politics.” * Daily Herald | ‘I own this’: Utility company leaders apologize for July water crisis in southern Lake County: “(I) want to convey that I own this, along with our operators at the base level,” Colleen M. Arnold, president of the Aqua division of Essential Utilities, told a large crowd during a special Hawthorn Woods village board meeting at St. Matthew Lutheran Church. “There are things we couldn’t control … but what we could control was our response.” * WTTW | Police Departments Are Gradually Adopting a More Detailed Program to Report Nationwide Crime Data. Chicago Recently Became the Largest User: Other large Illinois municipalities reporting data to NIBRS through the Illinois State Police system in 2022 include Naperville and Elgin, according to the ISP site and local officials. However Aurora, the state’s second largest community, and Waukegan, 10th largest, only reported one month of data in 2022. * Sun-Times | Weed giants Columbia Care, Cresco Labs call off plans for $2 billion merger : “In light of the evolving landscape in the cannabis industry, we believe the decision to terminate the planned transaction is in the long-term interest of Cresco Labs and our shareholders,” Charles Bachtell, CEO and co-founder of Cresco Labs, said in the release. * Tribune | Oak Park has promoted integration for more than 50 years. New challenges have local officials reevaluating their approach.: Over the last 50 years, Oak Park has succeeded in transforming itself from a majority-white enclave to a more racially diverse community through a series of policy measures aimed at promoting integration. But new pressures from a lack of affordable housing to sky-high property taxes and lingering racial tensions threaten to undo those gains, some community members and stakeholders say. * Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora City Council ratifies business done at ‘closed’ meetings held after doors to City Hall automatically locked: After the Committee of the Whole meeting, the council convened its regular meeting at 6:47 p.m. It was adjourned about 7:10 p.m. After the adjournment, members of the council encountered members of the public who were waiting outside City Hall and said the doors were locked. * Tribune | Cook County employee sues Clerk Karen Yarbrough over soured land sale: A new lawsuit filed by a Cook County employee against Yarbrough and her husband echoes much of the criticism. It alleges a mix of family, political and professional actions taken by Yarbrough — which the employee states were “wanton, calculated, and with malice and willfulness” — defrauded the employee out of hundreds of thousands of dollars involving the sale of two buildings in Maywood, Yarbrough’s political home base. * Sun-Times | Prosecutors seek contempt charge against former judge accused of stealing from Tuskegee Airman: On Monday, Cook County prosecutors served notice to Martin that they are seeking to have her held in contempt of court for allegedly transferring about $1,200 from cryptocurrency accounts she set up using money she allegedly stole from Wilkerson. Prosecutors a month ago had announced their intention to file the case at a hearing in Wilkerson’s lawsuit against Martin. * Sun-Times | Another one of Lightfoot’s Cabinet stars leaving Johnson administration: Gia Biagi ushered in the electric scooter era and pioneered the outdoor dining program that helped restaurants and bars survive the pandemic. * Sun-Times | Chicago Public Schools’ aggressive tactics for removing principals under the microscope: Nine principals have been removed pending discipline or investigations into “serious misconduct” in recent years. Of those, six are Black men. * Daily Herald | Some trees in the suburbs are in drought stress: What to look for and how to help: Trees in drought stress often display symptoms like wilted foliage, yellowing leaves and premature leaf drop. This year, tulip trees and river birches seem particularly sensitive to the lack of moisture, Yiesla said. * Tribune | Plant poachers damage Cook County forest preserves as demand for ramps and morels makes foraging more profitable: “Most people think it’s a harmless act,” said Martin Hasler, deputy chief of the Cook County Forest Preserves Police Department. “The forest preserve is for all of us and taking away anything from it disturbs the forest preserve from its natural state.” * Market Watch | U.S. stocks roar back in 2023 to book best seven months to start a year in decades: The Nasdaq saw its best first seven months of a year since 1975 when the index surged 39.1% over that stretch, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The Nasdaq went on to give up some of those gains in 1975, but still finished the year up almost 30%, FactSet data show. * Daily Beast | Elon Musk’s Lawsuit Threats Against a Nonprofit Prove He’s a Free Speech Phony: Under Elon Musk’s ownership, the platform has routinely used every tool at its disposal to push back on critics. And so it is not without precedent that attorneys for X Corp. recently sent a letter to the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) threatening legal action, after several of the organization’s publications revealed repeated failures to enforce X’s policies around hate speech. * The Hill | Leprosy cases surging in Central Florida: CDC: In a news release Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that Central Florida has accounted for 81 percent of reported cases in the state and almost one-fifth of reported cases nationwide. * SJ-R | Sacred Heart-Griffin football coach wins USA TODAY national coaching honor: Leonard, the winningest football coach in Illinois history, guided the Cyclones to a 44-20 win over New Lenox Providence Catholic last year to collect his sixth state championship. “I’ve been blessed,” Leonard said. “I’m from Chenoa, Illinois. My dad just taught me, ‘Whatever you do, be the best you can be.”
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- Um, No - Tuesday, Aug 1, 23 @ 8:18 am:
Mike Marron has represented his District and himself in a professional, responsible, exemplary manner.
A thoughtful, serious, kind, engaged, experienced elected official. The antithesis of all that is the Eastern Bloc.
Congratulations on a job well done!
- H-W - Tuesday, Aug 1, 23 @ 9:08 am:
Re: WGLT Convention of States
=== “There’s 12 1/2 million people in Illinois and our goal is to double the number of petition signers from about 75,000 to 150,000 in a short period of time,” Winters said. ===
If your goal is to go from just over 1/2 of 1 percent, to just over 1 percent of the population, you need to read the tea leaves. Illinois is not going to vote for a national convention to change the Constitution of the United States.
The fact that 30 Republican members of the state legislature have signaled support speak more about the Illinois Republican Party and its disconnect from the citizenry of the state, than it goes about the prospects of attempting to rewrite the Constitution of the United States.
- Big Dipper - Tuesday, Aug 1, 23 @ 9:09 am:
Add leper colony to Florida’s other attractions. Enjoy the Sunshine State, Rauner and Griffin.
- Demoralized - Tuesday, Aug 1, 23 @ 9:40 am:
==In the past four years, nine principals have been removed pending discipline or investigations into “serious misconduct,” according to CPS’s response to a public records request. Of those, six are Black men — who are already scarce among principals.==
That fact is completely irrelevant.
- Heat of Summer - Tuesday, Aug 1, 23 @ 9:55 am:
How is the fact this occurred over 4 years irrelevant?
- Demoralized - Tuesday, Aug 1, 23 @ 10:22 am:
==How is the fact this occurred over 4 years irrelevant?==
This is the part that is irrelevant to me:
“Of those, six are Black men”
- Dotnonymous x - Tuesday, Aug 1, 23 @ 2:52 pm:
Trump may build Trump Golf Clubs/Leper Colonies all over Florida?