* Press release…

Cristobal Santana, a suspect wanted in connection with the murder of Adrianna Lopez, was taken into custody today after allegedly shooting an Illinois State Police trooper in Springfield, IL. According to media reports, Ms. Lopez had an order of protection against Mr. Santana, her ex-boyfriend, after a recent altercation.

Amanda Pyron, Executive Director of The Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence, released the following statement:

“We grieve for the family and friends of Adrianna Lopez as yet again, the combination of domestic violence and firearms has resulted in a tragic, deadly outcome. Last year, Chicago saw 36 firearm-involved domestic violence homicides and 79 non-fatal domestic violence shootings. When domestic violence survivors go to the courts for an order of protection, we must ensure that protection works — especially when a firearm is involved. For Adrianna Lopez, we failed.

“While we are still learning of the specifics of this case, we again urge the Illinois General Assembly to pass legislation like ‘Karina’s Bill’ to help clarify and strengthen the law around firearms and orders of protection. The heart-wrenching murder of Adrianna Lopez is yet another devastating reminder of our collective failure to protect domestic violence survivors from firearms. We must act now.”

Related…

Recognizing the Illinois State Police trooper shot last night in Springfield by a murder suspect from Chicago, Rep. Fritts says the trooper is engaged to his legislative staffer. Called for leaders to pronounce support for police. Moment of silence recognized. pic.twitter.com/W8xmHvvwxS

— Bishop On Air (@BishopOnAir) October 25, 2023

More here.

* Press release…

Three months after Governor JB Pritzker vetoed a bill that would provide halal and kosher food options to students upon request in Illinois public schools in addition to those options being available at state facilities and the University of Illinois Hospital, State Senator Ram Villivalam passed a measure that was agreed upon by stakeholders and the governor.

“I am proud of our collaborative work to make the technical changes requested by the governor to ensure the successful implementation of this legislation,” said Villivalam (D-Chicago). “We are recognizing the cultural needs of our community and this is a big step for families who eat kosher or halal. Everyone deserves to have an option that fits their needs and feel included.”

Villivalam worked alongside the governor to pass an agreed-upon bill that will provide culturally appropriate lunches to those who request.

“This bill will allow students to have halal and kosher lunch options regardless of where they reside in the state of Illinois,” said State Representative Kevin Olickal (D-Skokie). “This is yet another example of Illinois’ commitment to being a welcoming and accepting state.”

Specifically in public schools, the legislation would require the Illinois State Board of Education to enter into statewide master contracts from vendors across the state and give school districts access to the contract so they can more efficiently provide meals to students. […]

The prepackaged meals for schools would be required to meet both state and federal nutritional guidelines for school lunch programs. […]

The bill would only require a school district to provide the meals as long as ISBE is able to enter into any master contracts they may have. […]

Senate Bill 457 passed the Senate Wednesday and heads to the House for further consideration.

* ILGOP…

The Illinois Republican Party is thrilled to announce that Senator John Kennedy will be the keynote speaker at the inaugural “Bank Your Vote” Gala. The event is scheduled to take place on Friday, February 9, 2024, at the Westin O’Hare in Rosemont.

The “Bank Your Vote” Gala is the first of a new annual tradition promoting the importance of utilizing early voting, vote by mail, and other pre-election day methods to energize the Republican base entering this election year.

Senator John Kennedy has been a strong advocate for conservative principles in the U.S. Senate, most recently putting Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias on the defensive regarding pornography in books available in public school libraries accessible to children.

The Bank Your Vote initiative is a national effort aimed at supporting early voting and Get Out The Vote programs. It’s a unified effort led by the Republican National Committee displaying the commitment of Republicans to facilitating early voting.

In her address to the nation, Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel emphasizes the significance of early voting and its crucial role in our democratic process. Watch the RNC video here.

Stay tuned for more details as the February 9th Bank Your Vote Gala approaches.

* Isabel’s roundup…

* WBEZ | Illinois is looking to overhaul how kids learn to read: The effort by the Illinois State Board of Education is part of a national movement to update reading instruction. A main goal is to match what science says about the way kids learn. To learn more, WBEZ talked to Tinaya York, a former Chicago Public Schools leader who now coaches school administrators. York worked with other educators around the state to write the first draft of Illinois’ literacy plan.

* Chalkbeat | Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announces new agency to oversee early childhood: An advisory committee will provide input and gather feedback. It will be led by Bela Moté, the chief executive officer of the Carole Robertson Center for Learning, the governor’s office said. Creating a separate agency focused on early childhood is another step in Pritzker’s work to make Illinois “number one” for child care access. In last year’s budget, the governor announced a $250 million four-year effort to expand preschool and child care.

* SJ-R | Illinois joins states filing suit against Facebook and Instagram’s parent company Meta: In the lawsuit filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the states say the company has profited from how it has designed Instagram and Facebook to maximize time spent on the platforms by teens and children, which led to increased advertising revenue. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said practices enacted by Meta have had major consequences on the mental health of young people, citing increases in depression, anxiety and body image dysmorphia.

* Tribune | Suspect in a Chicago homicide arrested after an Illinois State Police officer is shot in Springfield: A state trooper was shot in the leg while interacting with Cristobal Santana, 37, state police said, describing Santana as a suspect in a Chicago killing without detailing the crime in question. Santana was being held in the shooting of the trooper at midday Wednesday, authorities said.

* Daily Herald | Why land at center of fight in South Barrington could be headed to auction again: A Schaumburg-based nonprofit group called Fourth Avenue Gospel Building Inc. was the lone bidder for the property at a May auction, offering to pay about $1.7 million. […] Dozens of residents protested against the sale once the potential buyer was identified this summer, and eventually the deal was canceled.

* WCIA | Champaign schools seek second chance at ARPA funds, unveil new plan to curb gun violence: Earlier this month, some parents and students were upset when they found out they hadn’t yet used the money they got last year. The Champaign Unit 4 School District got $526,620 last year to help fix the root causes of gun violence in the city, but things didn’t go according to plan. The money was left sitting after the district’s plan fell through, which included hiring more staff to focus on the issue. Officials said they didn’t get enough suitable applicants.

* Elgin Courier-News | West Dundee to buy what remains of the Spring Hill Mall, including movie theater, for $7 million: The property will likely be marketed for a mix of commercial and residential uses, but the board wants to see “where the development community wants to go,” Nelson said. “There are certain things we will not entertain, like warehouses and intense uses that attract a lot of truck traffic. … There will still be some retail there.”

* PJ Star | Peoria won’t move forward with a water buyout. Here’s what led to the decision: Peoria will not be purchasing the city’s water infrastructure from Illinois American Water — at least for the next five years. The Peoria City Council voted 7-4 on Tuesday night not to move forward with buying the water utility from Illinois American, a decision the council must make every five years

* Block Club | Person Charged In Lincoln Square Halloween Decoration Fires: Someone has set at least 10 fires this month in the Lincoln Square and Roscoe Village neighborhoods, apparently targeting Halloween and autumn displays on sidewalks and residential porches as well as street-corner garbage cans, police said. […] It is not clear if Munoz will be charged in the other fires. Munoz is due in court Wednesday and more charges could be forthcoming, Ald. Matt Martin (47th) said in an email to constituents Wednesday.

* WBEZ | Is CTA getting better? We asked hundreds of riders.: Out of more than 460 riders who responded to a WBEZ survey in September and October, the majority said their opinion of CTA has either stayed the same (49.1%) or diminished (25.9%) in the last year. Only 20% of respondents say their opinion has improved. (The riders surveyed were among a larger pool of 2,000 who took an unofficial WBEZ survey about a year ago; we wanted to go back to the same riders and find out if things had improved.)

* AP | House chooses speaker — Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana has Trump’s backing: Republicans eagerly elected Rep. Mike Johnson as House speaker Wednesday, elevating a deeply conservative but lesser-known leader to the seat of U.S. power and ending for now the political chaos in their majority. Johnson of Louisiana swept on the first ballot with support from all Republicans anxious to put the past weeks of tumult behind and get on with the business of governing.

* Crain’s | American Airlines will dial up O’Hare service next year: American, the second-largest carrier at O’Hare, says it’s scheduled to fly 10% more seats in April 2024 than it did during the same month this year. With the launch of daily service from Chicago to Venice next summer, American says that it will have the same number of international destinations as it did before the COVID pandemic.

* AP | UAW appears to be moving toward a potential deal with Ford that could end strike: The United Auto Workers union appears to be edging closer to a tentative contract agreement with Ford that would be critical to ending the union’s 6-week-old strikes against the three major Detroit automakers, two people with knowledge of the talks said Wednesday. The people said the union made a counter-offer to Ford that proposes a 25% general wage increase over the life of a new four-year contract and said that negotiations on Tuesday extended well into Wednesday morning. Previously Ford, Stellantis and General Motors had all offered 23% pay increases.