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Isabel’s morning briefing
Thursday, Sep 7, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Here you go…
* Tribune | Prosecutors do not intend to call ex-Ald. Daniel Solis to testify in Ed Burke trial: Prosecutors notified defense teams via a letter Wednesday about the tactical decision to keep Solis from testifying, meeting a deadline set by U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall, sources with knowledge of the letter told the Tribune. Prosecutors did leave one caveat, saying they could potentially call Solis if Burke’s lawyers tried to present an entrapment defense. * Tribune | Michael Madigan relinquishing his remaining elected post as Democratic committeeman: His protege, 13th Ward Ald. Marty Quinn, confirmed Madigan was not running for the committee position and said that he planned “to circulate petitions (for the post) and see how it goes.” * WMBD | Weaver running for re-election in Illinois House 93rd District, Democrat challenger emerges: Weaver says he reached out to his first known opponent, Democrat Zoey Carter of Pekin, on Facebook after she announced her candidacy last week. He says he wants to keep the race cordial and respectful. “I think it’s important to have open lines of communication, because Zoey may say something at some point that I believe is untruthful or deceptive, and I’d like to be able to call that out,” Weaver said. “And I also empower Zoey to have that same relationship with me. * Patch | Darien Area Lawmaker Bowing Out: On Wednesday, Rep. John Egofske, a Lemont Republican, said he wanted to focus on his other elected job, mayor of Lemont. * WJBC | Head of Illinois Emergency Management blaming climate change for severity of weather: “We have seen over fifteen different billion-dollar disasters in the United States in 2022. That’s up from where it was in 2021,” said Gen. (Ret.) Alicia Tate-Nadeau. “We need to make sure that we are prepared to respond to those. And of that, there were $332 billion worth of damages. $181 billion of that was from uninsured folks.” * WTTW | 14 Chicago Public Schools Employees, Officials Connected to PPP Loan Fraud, Watchdog Report Finds: In one case, a district full-time employee who makes more than $140,000 per year claimed in their loan application to have earned more than $100,000 in 2019 alone by working as a chef. * Sun-Times | Civilian oversight commission poised to bury CPD’s error-filled gang database: Three years ago, CPD unveiled plans to upgrade and remodel its gang database to eliminate racial and ethnic biases and mistakes pinpointed by then-Inspector General Joe Ferguson. Those mistakes included two people listed as 132 years old and 13 people recorded as 118 years old. * Tribune | Aldermen, mayor and other Chicago officials set for another, albeit smaller, pay bump: This time around, the salary bump would be far smaller: 2.24%, according to a memo from the city’s budget office obtained by the Chicago Tribune. City Council members have until the end of Sept. 15 to reject the raise, or else it will automatically be applied to their salaries next year, the budget office informed them last month. * Sun-Times | Restaurant association offers alternative to ending subminimum wage for tipped workers: Armed with a survey showing a higher wage could be a death knell for smaller restaurants, association President Sam Toia is proposing a less costly alternative. He’s urging dramatically higher fines for restaurants that thumb their noses at the mandate that restaurant owners make up the difference whenever their tipped workers — now paid $9.48 an hour — don’t make enough in tips to reach the $15.80-an-hour mandatory minimum wage that applies to all other Chicago workers. * IBJ | Intersect Illinois looks to John Atkinson as board chairman: John Atkinson, managing director and chairman of Marsh Chicago, has been nominated as Chairman of Intersect Illinois’ board of directors. Atkinson will bring his vast leadership experience in both the public and private sectors to advance economic growth and help bring jobs to Illinois. In this role, Atkinson looks forward to partnering with Governor Pritzker to both engage Illinois’ business leaders, as well as drive economic development throughout the state. * SJ-R | Jacksonville man charged with threatening Biden, Obama, Hillary Clinton on social media: According to the initial complaint in the U.S. District Court of the Central District of Illinois, Mouser, under the account @tryntakeit, posted expletive-laced threats to Biden, his wife Jill, and son, Hunter on Aug. 10. Mouser then taunted police by saying that they were too scared to come to his house, as he was armed. * Sun-Times | Ex-Chicago Park District electrician gets more than 3 years for helping break through barricades on Jan. 6: Federal prosecutors alleged that Daniel Leyden of Chicago was among those “directly responsible” for the breach of a police barricade around the Peace Monument to the west of the Capitol, and that his actions helped set the tone for the mob that attacked the Capitol that day. Prosecutors say Leyden also raised his arms in triumph after he helped break through a secondary barricade made of metal bike racks, even though at least two officers were trapped underneath it. Both suffered serious injuries, authorities say. * SJ-R | Gwendolyn Harrison named Lincoln Library director pending city council approval: Harrison’s appointment was on first reading during council meeting Tuesday. Also on first reading was the extension of the contract of the library’s interim director, Kathryn Harris. Votes on both could come as early as Sept. 19. * Sun-Times | After 41 years covering sports, ABC 7 Chicago’s Jim Rose to retire: But for all that, Rose said, “I couldn’t have been more fortunate than to come to Chicago.” It has passionate fans, he said, and he got to cover Michael Jordan from the very start, getting a front-row seat to view six NBA championships and the greatest sports story of the era.
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- Mayo Sandwich - Thursday, Sep 7, 23 @ 8:04 am:
The problem with the gang data base isn’t that they have the ages wrong, it’s that it was leaked out to civilians. Then those civilians have used that information to discriminate against those on the list, for jobs and housing.
Why couldn’t the gang database be designated for use by police only? Who was doing the leaking? If an officer leaks the name of a license plate holder to a civilian who doesn’t have a legitimate purpose he would be in big trouble. Why doesn’t the same standard hold true for the gang database?
- Leap Day William - Thursday, Sep 7, 23 @ 9:06 am:
== The problem with the gang data base isn’t that they have the ages wrong, it’s that it was leaked out to civilians. ==
Not to play semantics, but this business of referring to non-police as “civilians” just reinforces the us-vs-them narrative and expands the militarization of our police.
We do not live in a police state, we are not under martial law. They are not members of the armed services. Police are civilians, too; full stop.
- H-W - Thursday, Sep 7, 23 @ 9:22 am:
Re: SunTimes story on Restaurant Association
It would appear the org. wants to force restaurant owners to split the difference between minimum wages, and tipped wages.
Why not just pay minimum wages? The minimum wage in Illinois is set at the federal poverty level, more-or-less. So if we eliminate poverty generating mechanisms from the restaurant industry, we stand to save tax dollars and spending (a Republican Platform plank). We also save customers from paying tips, which are simply recouped as slightly higher prices. We level the social inequality of power between restaurant workers, and reduce the power inequalities between customers and wait staff.
- Hannibal Lecter - Thursday, Sep 7, 23 @ 9:25 am:
=== Why not just pay minimum wages? ===
Because it is expensive and not all restaurants can afford it.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Sep 7, 23 @ 9:30 am:
===Because it is expensive and not all restaurants can afford it.===
Are these the same restaurants that complain they can’t get enough staff and blame the “lazy” workforce?
Equilibrium is found somewhere.
- Hannibal Lecter - Thursday, Sep 7, 23 @ 9:40 am:
=== Are these the same restaurants ===
I don’t know Willy. I am not the expert on which restaurants complain and which ones do not.
- yinn - Thursday, Sep 7, 23 @ 9:53 am:
It’s evident to me that we’ve barely scratched the surface of fraud in pandemic-related financial aid. With PPP, there were way more hair salon owners than this little city could possibly support — some records look like the lenders went door-to-door in certain neighborhoods. I’m also trying to figure out how a local gov official received so much help with rent when the main tenant of his building was/is his own thriving business.
- Grandson of Man - Thursday, Sep 7, 23 @ 10:05 am:
“Mouser then taunted police by saying that they were too scared to come to his house, as he was armed.”
What do the “back the blue” people have to say about this?
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Sep 7, 23 @ 10:22 am:
===I don’t know===
You were quick on the “afford” aspect, but if you hit the “Google Key”… in 0.32 seconds you’d find this, from Block Club Chicago, August 2023;
===Turnover is so high some staff don’t stay longer than a month, Kim said. Staff make $15 an hour plus tips, taking home about $20-$25 per hour before taxes. But it’s still not enough to keep staffers showing up, he said.
“Everyone interviews really well,” Kim said. “They talk about dedication and talk about how hard they’re going to work, and then when push comes to shove … even just one busy night is too much for them to handle. I feel like there isn’t one reason.”
Seven out of 10 restaurants nationwide are understaffed and scrambling to retain and attract employees, according to the National Restaurant Association. The staff shortage has forced some Chicago restaurants to close permanently while others cut business hours, scale back service and push employees to work longer hours to stay afloat.===
So it wasn’t some aloof question I had. The National Restaurant Association data.
So, where is the equilibrium?
- H-W - Thursday, Sep 7, 23 @ 10:30 am:
Anonymous @ 10:29 is me. Sorry
- Friendly Bob Adams - Thursday, Sep 7, 23 @ 10:34 am:
Back in the day I knew several people who enjoyed working in restaurants because it paid very well. This was mostly a cash business then so only the server knew how much cash was left as a tip. If you made $100 in tips and reported $50, nobody else knew. Not so much today.
- Hannibal Lecter - Thursday, Sep 7, 23 @ 10:37 am:
Willy - The minimum wage issue and the complaining about not being able to find people to work are two separate things. I am not going to waste my work day googling things so I can argue with you on the comment board.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Sep 7, 23 @ 10:44 am:
===The minimum wage issue and the complaining about not being able to find people to work are two separate things===
LOL, “sure, Jan”
Oh, complaining about not having time to argue “facts” as you drive by and type “afford” is silly.
Labor costs versus what Labor will work for in the marketplace and in the work environment *is* the discussion
You may not like it, but no business is guaranteed to succeed, competition increases wages.
- H-W - Thursday, Sep 7, 23 @ 10:46 am:
@ Hannibal Lecter
=== Because it is expensive and not all restaurants can afford it. ===
That is a truism at best. They actually can afford it, but they do not like the business model that would be necessary to enact a minimum standard of living for all their employees.
If a business cannot afford the costs of doing business in such a way as to ensure the dignity and sustenance necessary for living, they have no business doing business in the year 2023.
All restaurants can afford to do so, if they adjust prices slightly. That they resist doing so is a choice to accept the poverty they create in our communities.
- Big Dipper - Thursday, Sep 7, 23 @ 10:54 am:
== If you made $100 in tips and reported $50, nobody else knew.==
So because they can no longer commit tax fraud, they don’t want to work?
- Friendly Bob Adams - Thursday, Sep 7, 23 @ 11:11 am:
Dipper- I didn’t say anything about people not wanting to work. Just pointing out that one feature of the job has changed over the years.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Sep 7, 23 @ 11:13 am:
===So because they can no longer commit tax fraud, they don’t want to work?===
Maybe the real question is why it is/was necessary to approach work like that?
By their own definition they are sub minimum wage jobs relying on tips.
- Rudy’s teeth - Thursday, Sep 7, 23 @ 11:41 am:
Example of irony yesterday…Blago was speaking outside at the Dirksen Federal Building with cameras capturing his comments.
Next year Madigan is looking at spending considerable time on the inside of the Dirksen Federal Building next year. How things change.
- Benniefly2 - Thursday, Sep 7, 23 @ 11:55 am:
If it is impossible to run a restaurant without underpaying employees and relying on tips from customers to make up the difference, could someone please explain to me how so many restaurants seem to be doing just fine in Europe? They have family restaurants there as well the last time I checked.
- H-W - Thursday, Sep 7, 23 @ 12:03 pm:
@ BennieFly2
I would use a different argument. I would suggest if gas stations and drug stores and convenience stores and department stores and and hospitals and all other business are able to pay minimum wage to all workers, then restaurants should not be treated as a special category, with special exemptions.
Comparing Europe to the U.S. entails too many variables. But comparing restaurants to other businesses demonstrates that we have simply allowed one business a special exemption that is historically justified, but contemporaneously unjust.
- cermak_rd - Thursday, Sep 7, 23 @ 12:24 pm:
My father had a saying, if you can’t afford to tip you can’t afford to eat there. I would add in, if you can’t afford to pay your employees a decent wage, you can’t afford to stay in business.
- Big Dipper - Thursday, Sep 7, 23 @ 12:32 pm:
Restaurants claim that they won’t raise prices to pay a living wage because customers would have sticker shock. As if the customers doesn’t see the total that includes tip. There are a lot of restaurants in Chicago that are still charging a 3% “service fee” under this rationale also. https://rb.gy/xheaf
- Chicago 20 - Thursday, Sep 7, 23 @ 1:30 pm:
The National Restaurant Association, the other NRA, spends millions on lobbyists to keep their substandard wages.
The NRA’s income from its 4 day trade show at McCormick Place netted the NRA over $38.8 million which they reported on their latest 990.
If McDonald’s can afford to pay their workers minimum wage the other restaurants can pay it too.
- Lincoln Lad - Thursday, Sep 7, 23 @ 2:08 pm:
So you threaten the President, his family, a past President, the Secret Service, and local police… and the magistrate judge decides to release you? The secret service deems it to be a credible threat… and the local judge doesn’t hold you? You got to be kidding me…
- btowntruth from forgottonia - Thursday, Sep 7, 23 @ 2:19 pm:
“What do the “back the blue” people have to say about this?”
Grandson of Man,so far it has been either complete silence or they try to use “whataboutism” and bring up BLM protests,Kathy Griffin,or Madonna.
- btowntruth from forgottonia - Thursday, Sep 7, 23 @ 2:21 pm:
“and the local judge doesn’t hold you? You got to be kidding me…”
Considering the area involved it doesn’t surprise me a bit.