* Press release…

Today, Governor JB Pritzker signed HB2396, requiring each school board to establish a kindergarten program with full day attendance, beginning with the 2027-2028 school year. Under this bill, every district must also establish a half-day program that is developmentally appropriate and provides opportunities for play-based learning. […]

According to the National Education Association, children in full-day classes show greater reading and mathematics achievements than those in half day classes. Research also indicates that children’s early reading skills are enhanced with the additional instruction time provided by full day kindergarten programs. Alongside academic gains, full day kindergarten offers several social and emotional benefits to students.

Districts that currently do not offer a full-day program can apply for a waiver to extend the implementation date up to two years past the 2027-2028 school years if they meet certain criteria.

* Press release…

Governor JB Pritzker, TCCI, Richland Community College, and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) today joined local leaders and partners to break ground on TCCI’s new electric vehicle (EV) Innovation Hub in Decatur. A global leader in electric compressors for commercial, heavy-duty, and automotive specialty markets, TCCI’s EV Innovation Hub is a critical part of Illinois’ growing EV ecosystem. […]

Bolstered by the State of Illinois’ Reimagining Energy and Vehicles in Illinois (REV Illinois) incentive package which supports the manufacturing facility expansion, $21.3 million in capital grants were also appropriated to the City of Decatur and Richland Community College to build the first-of-its kind Climatic Center for Innovation and Research, as well as the EV + Energy Workforce Training Academy.

“This three-tiered project represents a historic investment in American manufacturing and a major step toward establishing a full EV supply chain in the US, from supplies to talent,” said TCCI President Richard Demirjian. “It’s fitting that Decatur, on the same site where we have produced compressors since 1984, will now play a critical role in driving the global transportation sector toward an exciting future of electrification.”

Headquartered in Decatur, TCCI’s state-of-the-art electric compressor line will produce the largest range of capacity and voltage of any compressor manufacturer in the EV automotive market. By manufacturing electric compressors locally, TCCI not only supports the growth of electrification but will also create high-wage, skilled jobs that fuel economic development in the local community.

Producing essential EV components at TCCI’s Decatur location will help solidify the state’s position as a manufacturing leader and expand the EV Innovation Cluster in central Illinois. Production is slated to begin by the third quarter of 2024, making it one of the first such production facilities in the U.S.

* Press release…

Governor JB Pritzker today signed House Bill 0780 to establish and administer a Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Pilot Program in Will County beginning January 1, 2024, through January 1, 2027. The Illinois Department on Aging worked in close coordination with Leader Natalie Manley to establish this legislation that amends the Illinois Act on Aging. It will require an intake coordinator for Will County to be responsible for connecting grandparents raising grandchildren to relevant resources and services provided by state agencies.

* The CTU-aligned left-wing has been claiming for years that Chicago and its school system are fiscally “broke on purpose” and that there is more than enough money to go around. Mayor Johnson is obviously still a believer, but reality is setting in…

Brandon Johnson strode into a conference room this month at Malcolm X College, where scores of mostly West Siders had gathered to hear how Chicago’s newly minted mayor will align his unapologetic progressivism with the dollars-and-cents realities of the city’s $16.4 billion budget.

The crowd of at least 100 at the community budget roundtable listened raptly as the mayor dared them to imagine: “How about a budget that creates more than enough for revenue?” It was a nod to his stirring orations during the campaign where he often promised his dinner table will be “big enough” for all Chicagoans.

But during another roundtable this past week, Johnson’s budget director, Annette Guzman, spoke in more cautious terms.

“Unfortunately, it’s sort of like a zero-sum game,” Guzman said. “OK, there’s only so much resources that we have. So we have to make sure that we’re allocating it amongst many, many competing interests.”

* Center Square headline…

Pritzker: No plan to deploy National Guard in Chicago

Lede…

As Gov. J.B. Pritzker weighs whether to use the National Guard in Chicago to help officers deal with crime, some city officials are speaking out against the possibility.

Scroll down…

Pritzker said he doesn’t plan to use the National Guard to combat crime.

“National Guardsman and women are trained to kill people on a battle field. That is what they are trained to do. They are not police. They don’t know how to do crowd control,” Pritzker said.

What the heck was that all about?

* Isabel’s roundup…

* ABC Chicago | Pritzker signs new law establishing full-day kindergarten in Illinois: Under provisions of the bill, full-day kindergarten will need to be offered by school districts by the 2027-28 school year, though some schools could qualify for an extension of that date.

* WTTW | New Measure Aims to Protect Illinois Temp Workers, Move Them Into Permanent Jobs: Those temps often don’t know where they’ll be working from one day to the next, or even if they’ll be working. And it’s a group of workers that advocates say are more vulnerable to harassment and abuse — including so-called perma-temping, where workers are held back from getting hired full-time.

* WBEZ | New pick for top Chicago Park District lawyer accused in a civil rights lawsuit in Evanston: A lawyer who worked under top Evanston attorney Nicholas Cummings alleges she endured “racist and misogynistic harassment” and a “hostile work environment” at the northern suburb, court records show. An attorney for Cummings denied the accusations, and city officials say he was cleared in an internal investigation by outside counsel.

* WTTW | Illinois Has Recorded More Tornadoes Than Any Other State This Year: Colby Hunt, president of the McDonough County Farm Bureau, said he saw about $400,000 in damage from intense winds in June. Farm facilities like grain bins and sheds were “just blown away.” His corn crops were damaged.

* Crain’s | How St. Bernard flipped its safety grade from an ‘F’ to an ‘A’: The facility still struggles with industrywide problems of underfunding and low staffing. Nevertheless, St. Bernard’s commitment to better patient care shows in the hospital’s hallways dotted with bulletin boards detailing its quality improvement achievements and goals.

* WTTW | Chicago Street Outreach Workers Use Own Experiences to Reach Others in Their Neighborhoods: Vaughn Bryant, executive director of Metropolitan Peace Initiatives, says there are around 260 street outreach workers across the city — many of them from violent backgrounds themselves. “That’s what makes them credible, gives them the license to operate,” Bryant said. “They know the people, they have the relationships. They’ve lived that life but they’ve also turned their lives around to a positive direction.”

* Daily Herald | Elk Grove Village could go a year without a new police chief: That’s to allow enough time for Rich Mikel to coach and mentor the police department’s command staff who eventually might be considered for the top cop job, Johnson said.

* Daily Herald | ‘It’s putrid’: Residents air grievances about odors from local food plants: Residents in Mount Prospect, Des Plaines and St. Charles are up in arms about odors wafting from nearby food producers. And some worry that local governments, eager to attract industry, are turning up their noses at concerns.

* Crain’s | What’s behind the rise of downtown’s super-luxury apartment market: The apartment-building boom of the past several years has brought with it a miniature boom tucked inside. Several of the buildings, designed for the luxury market, have within them an even higher class of super-expensive penthouses, the kind of premier space that used to be available only for purchase in condo towers.

* WGLT | Illinois State University hires Brad Franke as top Springfield lobbyist: Brad Franke was hired Tuesday as ISU’s director of public affairs and policy, part of the President’s Office. He succeeds Jonathan Lackland, who left his role as ISU’s director of governmental relations in December, a few months before President Terri Goss Kinzy’s resignation. Aondover Tarhule is now interim president.

* WBEZ | Meet the couple taking on the opioid epidemic, one music festival at a time: They hand out the nasal spray, which can cost more than $100 without insurance, on lanyards so partygoers can quickly administer it in crowded spaces. They instruct attendees to do the following: Tilt a person’s head back, insert the nozzle into a nostril and press the plunger.

* SJ-R | Sensory friendly station, sunflower hours to be featured at the Illinois State Fair: “This year, we are taking steps to help those who feel overwhelmed by giving them a place to get support and make their fair a positive experience,” said Rebecca Clark, state fair manager. “The fair is a celebration of our state so I think if we can be accommodating to all, that’s what we should strive to be.”