Tuesday, Oct 17, 2023 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Carbon capture and storage, or “CCS,” is a technology that captures carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions at their source and stores them deep underground. CCS is a proven and safe process and the Illinois State Geologic Survey has confirmed that our state’s geology is perfectly suited for this technology. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) enforces federal requirements to regulate the safety of the pipelines that will support CCS.
In addition to delivering a cleaner environment, CCS will generate $3.3 billion in value for the region and could spur 14,440 jobs. Now is the time to bring carbon capture technology and its environmental and economic benefits to Illinois. Policymakers must pass legislation to advance CCS and bring this opportunity to Illinois.
The FBI’s crime statistics estimates for 2022 show that national violent crime decreased an estimated 1.7% in 2022 compared to 2021 estimates:
• Murder and non-negligent manslaughter recorded a 2022 estimated nationwide decrease of 6.1% compared to the previous year.
• In 2022, the estimated number of offenses in the revised rape category saw an estimated 5.4% decrease.
• Aggravated assault in 2022 decreased an estimated 1.1% in 2022.
• Robbery showed an estimated increase of 1.3% nationally.
Click the pic for the entire graph, but this is the rate per 100,000 people, by year, with Illinois in blue and national rate in grey…
That’s quite a steep drop-off compared to the national numbers (287 vs. 381 per 100,000 last year)
Illinois Policy Institute polling found 60% of Illinois voters would not support Gov. J.B. Pritzker in seeking the Democratic presidential nomination in 2024.
The Lincoln Poll found 60% don’t want Pritzker to run for president, 28% do and 12% were unsure. The survey of 800 registered Illinois voters from Sept. 20-24 was conducted by Echelon Insights for the Illinois Policy Institute.
No reasons were given for why they don’t want him to run, but Biden is running, so the question is moot. The poll also found Pritzker’s job approval was at 48-47. It also found that 68 percent of Republican voters and 69 percent of Republican-leaning voters oppose vote-by-mail for elections in Illinois. Just 13 percent in both GOP categories strongly support mail-in voting. 89 percent of Democrats and 87 percent of Democratic-leaners support mail-in voting, while 7 and 9 percent, respectively, strongly oppose.
llinois Secretary of State employees will begin sporting brand new navy-blue vests at all 138 DMV facilities statewide as part of a rebranding effort aimed at improving the overall customer experience, Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias announced today.
As part of the announcement, Giannoulias’ office released a video displaying the new vests, which were union made in Illinois, that the more than 1,800 DMV employees started wearing today.
“The vests will make it easier for all DMV visitors to immediately identify employees as they walk in while creating a sense of professionalism and approachability that will improve customer satisfaction,” Giannoulias said. “They will also help build a sense of teamwork and enhance the workplace environment for employees.”
A few hours after sending out that press release, he sent out a fundraising email about the vests and other office improvements.
Crain’s should spend less time falsely attacking me from afar and instead focus on the real issues important to the future of the people of Chicago.
KEN GRIFFIN
Florida
I mean, if you’re gonna leave, then leave already.
* Thoughts?…
Results! In these states, this percentage of people believe they are in the Midwest. Chew on these results while we crunch the data down to the zip code level and get granular. What parts of these Midwestern states do you think will shade less Midwestern? All input welcome pic.twitter.com/jjS16CEDLk
* Background is here. I’ll finish with an animal story. Firefighters rescued a python yesterday during a fire at Miller Park Zoo in Bloomington…
* Isabel’s roundup…
* IPM | The Piatt County Board, with reluctance, approves the county’s first wind farm: The Piatt County Board voted 4-2 on Friday to approve a special use permit for a wind farm in the county. But several members made it clear they were approving the Prosperity Wind project reluctantly, as a new Illinois law gave them no real choice in the matter. That law sets statewide guidelines for wind and solar farms. County Board member Michael Beem said as long as the project meets those guidelines, Piatt County cannot refuse it. He said doing so could lead to a court battle the county would likely lose.
* WGEM | Agriculture Secretary visits Illinois, discusses sustainable farming: The U.S. has lost about 438,000 farms since 1981, according to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. Stemming that tide was the main topic of conversation during his visit to a Kankakee County farm Monday. Vilsack spoke about agriculture’s struggles and what’s being done to make things better.
* Herald-Whig | Illinois-led project to sequence soybean genomes, improve future crops: An ambitious effort led by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the U.S. department of Energy Joint Genome Institute will sequence 400 soybean genomes to develop a “pangemone” — an attempt to characterize all the useful diversity in the genome to create an even more robust and resilient crop.
* Journal Star | ‘What is in the food’: Peoria native creates documentary that explores farming methods: With the goal of demystifying organic agriculture, “Organic Rising” presents the two main forms of agriculture used in the U.S. and shows how truly different they are. The documentary delves into how agricultural practices impact both human health and the environment, and also explains the USDA organic regulatory process. Ultimately, the film aims to help consumers make informed choices to support a robust agricultural future.
* Shaw Local | First American Bank fires Kane County as banking customer, citing security concerns: Kane County’s primary bank, with more than $40 million on deposit, fired the county as a customer, warning Treasurer Chris Lauzen he has until Nov. 30 to find a new bank, according to an Oct. 6. letter. The letter, from First American Bank, follows an earlier letter on Aug. 24 from bank officials that cited concerns with the county’s banking activities
* Crain’s | Even with affordability shrinking, Chicago remains cheaper than most big cities: A buyer would need a household income of about $91,400 to afford that median-priced home in the Chicago area in August, according to a new report from Redfin, the online real estate marketplace. That’s the second-lowest income needed among the 10 largest U.S. metro areas. Only Philadelphians need a lower income — $75,003.
* WBEZ | Here’s a look at how Toni Preckwinkle plans to improve the Forest Preserves next year: Toni Preckwinkle, who doubles as president of the district and Cook County boards, is pitching a proposed nearly $189 million budget for next year. That’s $6.6 million or nearly 4% more than this year’s budget. (For comparison, Preckwinkle is pitching a $9 billion budget for Cook County government.)
* Sun-Times | Second-installment property tax bills in Cook County due Dec. 1: Cook County tax bills are sent twice a year. The first installment is typically due in March. In past years the second installment has been due in August, but bills were delayed this year and last year. Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi blamed the holdup on a lengthy assessment process and a computer system upgrade.
* WCIA | African cat owner asks for public attention and safety in Decatur search: Christopher Solomon bought the big cat in September and two weeks later it got out. He said after a week or so of it missing, he thought it was dead, but hearing about his pet’s sightings throughout Decatur reignited his hope and concern.
* NYT | To Save Monarch Butterflies, They Had to Silence the Lawn Mowers: For the past several years, Ms. Elman, 47, has been on a quest to help save monarchs, which are under consideration for the endangered species list. She does this by preventing milkweed, which grows wild in New York City, from being razed. […] Ms. Elman first started thinking about the wild milkweed four years ago, when she began rearing monarchs in her backyard in the Bellerose neighborhood of Queens. She was collecting the eggs from plants growing along highways in nearby northern Queens, but often she found the plants reduced to stubs.
* Columbia Journalism Review | Trouble in Wyoming: When a GOP megadonor didn’t like the coverage he was getting from Wyoming’s newsrooms, he funded a new one. Now it’s pushing anti-trans talking points and climate misinformation.
* I’m not trying to single out one person here. It just brings up an important point. From Block Club Chicago…
Ald. Jim Gardiner (45th) is facing financial consequences for instructing a city employee to ticket a vocal critic in his ward in 2019.
The Chicago Board of Ethics slapped the alderman with a $20,000 fine Monday, after ruling that Gardiner retaliated against Jefferson Park resident Pete Czosnyka.
Czosnyka, who has routinely criticized the alderman online, was hit with a $600 fine for overgrown weeds and rodents. He said his garden was not violating any city ordinances, and the city ultimately agreed with him. Block Club was first to report on the incident.
Byron Sigcho-Lopez, the alderman for Chicago’s 25th Ward, filed a complaint with the Illinois State Board of Elections (Board), alleging that his predecessor’s campaign committee, the 25th Ward Regular Democratic Organization (Committee), unlawfully paid personal legal fees from campaign funds. […]
Until the General Assembly amends the statute to, for example, specifically prohibit payment from campaign funds for legal fees incurred in defense of criminal allegations against a public official or candidate, the issue requires the Board’s consideration on a case-by-case basis, applying the plain language of the applicable statutory provisions. In this case, despite the parties’ arguments regarding legal defense fees incurred as a result of public corruption allegations, the record here reveals that Solis had not been indicted on criminal charges but only that he had worked with federal investigators using his official capacity to expose public corruption. Considering the evidence before the Board, we find that the Board’s conclusion—that Solis’s legal fees amounted to a proper expenditure not prohibited as “satisfaction or repayment” of a personal debt (10 ILCS 5/9-8.10(a)(3) (West 2018)) but incurred “to defray the customary and reasonable expenses of an officeholder in connection with the performance of governmental and public service functions” (id. § 9-8.10(c))—was not clearly erroneous. Thus, we affirm the Board’s decision, finding that the complaint was not factually and legally justified.
The State Board of Elections referred me to that ruling when it responded to my question…
Yes, he could use [campaign funds] to pay the fine but someone could file a complaint about it and our board might rule otherwise. … A complaint could be filed alleging that this fine did not result from customary and reasonable expenses of governmental/public service functions. … Just as with legal fees, there is no specific [state] prohibition on paying fines.
* The Question: Should the Illinois General Assembly specifically prohibit elected officials from paying governmental ethics violation and similar fines with campaign funds, and require them to pay the fines with their own personal funds, perhaps deducted directly out of their government paychecks, or should this be left up to the State Board of Elections? Explain.
More than 204,800 Illinoisans have lost Medicaid coverage over the last three months as the resumption of a nationwide eligibility process continues, according to data from the Illinois Department of Healthcare & Family Services.
* But, according to the article, almost half of those folks had other health coverage…
Of those that lost coverage, more than 86,000, or 42%, had another source of health care or liability coverage and about 14,300, or about 7%, had Medicare, HFS said.
Of those that lost Medicaid in August, September and October, about 62,179, or 30%, lost coverage because they were no longer eligible for Medicaid based on income requirements.
* And while 69 percent didn’t submit the required paperwork, a big chunk have filed paperwork to be reinstated…
Meanwhile, an additional 142,642, or 69%, residents were disenrolled because they did not submit required paperwork showing need for the program.
As of Oct. 6, more than 43,200, or 21%, of those who lost Medicaid over the last three months have returned redetermination paperwork to HFS, the agency said, meaning they may have the opportunity to be reinstated to the program.
It seems that many of those who didn’t submit the paperwork may have known they weren’t eligible anyway.
* This likely has as much to do with the situation in the Middle East as the migrants, or maybe even more. But if it helps staunch the flow out of Venezuela, that’ll certainly help. Washington Post…
The Biden administration and the Venezuelan government of President Nicolás Maduro have agreed to a deal in which the United States would ease sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry and the authoritarian state would allow a competitive, internationally monitored presidential election next year, according to two people familiar with the breakthrough talks.
The sanctions relief is to be announced after Maduro’s government and Venezuela’s U.S.-backed opposition sign an agreement to include commitments by the socialist government to allow a freer vote in 2024, the people said. They are expected to do that during a meeting in Barbados on Tuesday with U.S. officials in attendance.
Maduro, who claimed victory in a 2018 election widely viewed as fraudulent, would agree to a process for lifting bans on opposition candidates running, one of the people said, though it is not clear how quickly that process would take place. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the talks.
The deal, which follows multiple attempts at negotiation between the Maduro government and opposition, would be the most significant progress in Venezuela’s political stalemate in years. It also suggests a willingness on behalf of the Biden administration to provide incentives to Maduro in the hopes of ensuring free and fair presidential elections in 2024.
Mexico hosted multiple rounds of talks in 2021 and 2022. When the sides last met, in November 2022, they agreed to create a U.N.-managed fund to finance health, food and education programs for the poor while the U.S. government agreed to allow oil giant Chevron to pump Venezuelan oil.
Colombia and other countries have tried in recent months to restart negotiations between the sides, but Maduro has demanded that the U.S. drop economic sanctions and unfreeze Venezuelan funds held overseas as a condition of resuming talks.
Norway’s statement Monday said the two sides had decided to resume the dialogue “with the objective of reaching a political agreement.” […]
Earlier Monday, a U.S. official who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations said there was no “deal” between the U.S. government and Venezuela.
The official said the Biden administration supported Venezuelan-led negotiations and was prepared to provide relief from sanctions in response to concrete actions toward holding competitive elections.
Previous attempts at finding a way out of the political deadlock have stalled and while Mr Maduro struck an optimistic note on Monday, he provided little detail.
“We are on the verge of signing new agreements with the opposition, agreements beneficial for peace and the upcoming election,” he said, referring to presidential elections due to be held in Venezuela in 2024. […]
While the Maduro government frequently bashes the US in public, labelling it an “imperialist aggressor” and blaming it for Venezuela’s dire economic state, Mr Maduro is keen to come to an agreement with the Biden administration in order to have US sanctions on Venezuela relaxed.
The US, in turn, has a vested interest in the crisis in Venezuela easing as the dire state of the economy in the Andean country has driven more than seven million to emigrate, with many heading for the United States.
An unnamed US official told the Washington Post that the Biden administration was “prepared to provide sanctions relief in response to concrete actions toward competitive elections”.
Reuters reported last week that Venezuela and the United States had progressed at their own talks in Qatar toward a deal that could allow at least one additional foreign oil firm to take Venezuelan crude oil for debt repayment if Maduro resumed negotiations with the opposition.
Maduro said late on Monday his government and the opposition would sign a deal he said would be beneficial for a 2024 election, though he offered no further details.
Sources have told Reuters the deal will include an election date in the latter half of next year and allow the participation of opposition figures currently barred from holding office, among other things. It remained unclear whether all opposition candidates would have their bans lifted. […]
The United States imposed sanctions on Venezuela to punish Maduro’s government following a 2018 election that Washington considered a sham. Since 2019, U.S. sanctions have banned PDVSA from exporting its oil to its chosen markets.
* Leigh Giangreco and Justin Laurence for Crain’s…
In September, the city entered a deal to turn a 50,000-square-foot office building at 344 N. Ogden Ave. into a temporary shelter, Crain’s reported. While the shelter would operate out of an office rather than a residential building, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s emergency declaration allows more flexibility around zoning restrictions, according to Pacione-Zayas.
Commercial landlords have been calling the city to offer their vacant space because of the city’s ability to pay lease terms comparable to high-end office tenants even as the demand for office space has lessened. The pairing could prove beneficial to both parties as the city scrambles to find space to care for migrants in an effort to stop relying on the city’s police districts and airports. However, downtown council members like Burnett are pushing back, arguing that enough shelters have opened in his neighborhood. Of the 24 shelters in operation, at least three have opened in Burnett’s ward, including the sites at 344 N. Ogden, 1640 W. Walnut St. and 939 W. Lake St.
“We’ve got a number of vacancies in my community, and the builder-owners are asking the city and I’m telling them they can’t, there’s enough in our ward,” he said.
Thoughts?
* Related…
* ‘We feel unsafe’ – migrants sheltering at local police stations fear cold, shooting: The Martinez and Suarez families are among approximately 3,064 migrants currently sleeping on the floors or outside of police stations across the city, according to Cassio Mendoza, a mayoral spokesperson. The stations, officials have said, are temporary accommodations as the city works to relocate migrants to more than 20 city-run shelters. About 10,800 people are currently housed in these temporary shelters, according to Mendoza.
* City’s Spending Plan For Migrants Doesn’t Add Up, Critics Say: But alderpeople during Monday’s budget hearing remained skeptical the city is allocating enough for 2024, and they worried the council will be asked to come back to approve additional funds throughout the year. Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th), chair of the council’s Committee on Immigration and Refugee Rights, said the city should prepare for a “worst-case scenario” plan in case outside funding sources did not come through. “As people have been kind of mentioning almost ad nauseam, it looks like we’d run out of those funds before the year is over. I get that the answer we’re hearing is what we’re hoping that the state or the federal government are going to provide the funding and make up the gap. But hope isn’t a strategy,” Vasquez said.
* Renderings show proposed Chicago migrant base camp: There are multiple areas for housing, a few for sanitation, a central location for dining, and a spot for intake. The draft takes up almost an entire city block and borders residential homes as well as Metra tracks. The developments contradict what CBS 2 heard from Alderwoman Julia Ramirez (12th) whose office told CBS 2 she was unaware of crews working here on Monday. Ramirez’s office maintains the city only told her they’re “surveying” the area, though the Johnson administration does not need aldermanic approval to move forward with a base camp.
Tuesday, Oct 17, 2023 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
If the General Assembly fails to take action to save the Tax Credit Scholarship Program, then over 9,500 students from low-income families will lose their scholarships, causing many to leave their best-fit schools.
The kids who stand to lose opportunities are 20% Black and 30% Hispanic – proportions considerably higher than demographic populations in Illinois — and 100% of these students are from families with demonstrated financial need. Additionally, 26,000 more students from low-income and working-class families sit anxiously on the waitlist hoping to receive the same opportunities as some of their peers.
* NYT | Longer Commutes, Shorter Lives: The Costs of Not Investing in America: The speed at which people can get from one place to another is one of the most basic measures of a society’s sophistication. It affects economic productivity and human happiness; academic research has found that commuting makes people more unhappy than almost any other daily activity. Yet in one area of U.S. travel after another, progress has largely stopped over the past half-century.
* Crain’s | City reups contract with Jones Lang LaSalle to scout sites for migrant housing: In August 2018, the city inked a contract worth $2.3 million with JLL for site reviews, appraisals and brokerage services. That contract expired this year on Aug. 5, but was extended to 2025, spokesman Michael Grimm said in an email to Crain’s. The city’s contracting website does not list an extension and Grimm did not share further information on the cost of the contract.
* Tribune | Ald. Jim Gardiner hit with $20,000 fine for ethics violations: The Chicago Board of Ethics on Monday fined Northwest Side Ald. Jim Gardiner $20,000 after he was accused of retaliating against a constituent and vocal critic by directing city staff to issue bogus citations against the resident for overgrown weeds and rodents in September 2019.
* Tribune | As evictions tick back up in Cook County, new proposal aims to help renters who land in court: If the City Council passes the right to counsel ordinance, Chicago would join cities including Baltimore and New York, which have in recent years approved such legislation. Introduced Sept. 14, the proposal has been referred to the housing and real estate committee, where it is expected to be discussed in the coming months.
* WCIA | Don’t veer for deer, IDOT and IDNR remind motorists: “While your natural instinct is to steer quickly out of the way when you see a deer, remember to not veer suddenly because you could lose control of your vehicle and swerve into another lane or off the road,” Illinois Transportation Secretary Omer Osman said. “Always prepare for the unexpected. A deer might stop in the middle of the road or double back. They also frequently travel in groups so when you see one there likely are others nearby.”
House Staff and House Clerk Staff, we will be hosting a virtual town hall on Wednesday 10/18 and an in-person town hall Thursday 10/19. Take the survey below to answer a few questions!
The ILSA Town Halls will be a place to discuss what has been going on with ILSA, HB 4148, and give your input on what changes you’d like to see implemented. […]
Which provisional asks would you like to see implemented in the workplace prior to ILSA entering into a collective bargaining contract?
• Minimum monthly salary increase for all positions
• Proposed salary increases would preserve raises included above base pay
• Pay increases would be retroactive to the beginning of Fiscal Year 24 (July 1, 2023)
• Base payroll money for district staff being separate from district allotment funds
• Staff to member ratios increase to accommodate how many members in HDems Caucus
• Annual inflation COLA
• Comp time formula transparency
• Comp time formula changed to 1:1 if no overtime paid
• Comp time be awarded for all sessions (Veto, Lame Duck, Special Session, etc.)
• On non-session periods, minimum remote work 3 days per week without a special reason or additional requirements
• Flex hours (such as summer flex hours offered to Speaker’s Staff this summer) be extended as normal procedure during non-session periods and consistent through all units
• All staff receive one Friday off per month during non-session months without impacting leave balances
• Fully paid parental leave for all parnets (birthing and non-birthing) commensurate with the rest of Illinois state government (12 weeks)
• Rotating staff kept in office after adjournment, rather than arbitrarily keeping everyone in office
• Leaving at 4:30 p.m. on Mondays before a Tuesday session
• No doctor’s notes required for sick days
• Timekeeping be performed through TES only - not worksheets or other methods
• Training for staff is structured, comprehensive, and detailed–including for district staff
* The 2018 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best In-House Lobbyist goes to Adrienne Alexander with AFSCME Council 31…
Adrienne is smart and strategic and has great relationships. She understands politics and policy, from numerous angles. She’s been extremely effective as a lobbyist for years at both the state and city level. I wish I could steal her from AFSCME.
Alexander was listed as one of Crain’s Chicago Business’ “40 under 40″ today…
Union membership runs in Adrienne Alexander’s blood.
Her grandfather moved to Michigan during the Great Migration to work in a General Motors plant. Her grandmother served as a union steward in a hospital, and her other grandfather joined the ranks of the U.S. Postal Service. Those jobs, and their associated pensions, paved a path toward the middle class for a Black family, Alexander said.
“It was very clear to me the difference that it made for their lives,” she said. “They were able to send many of their kids to college and, in one generation, because of that union, it completely changed the family trajectory.”
It’s no surprise, then, that Alexander’s own career at the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees has focused on pension fight after pension fight in Illinois since she joined the public employee union in 2010. As a lobbyist for AFSCME, Alexander herds elected officials at the city, state and county levels in Illinois. While she describes their work on pensions as a team effort, she emerged as the point person for a Chicago City Council ordinance passed this spring— referred to by supporters as a “labor peace agreement” — requiring labor deals for human services workers.
Congratulations!
* IDFPR…
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (“IDFPR”) announced today that Camile Lindsay will serve as the next Acting Director of Professional Regulation, pending confirmation by the Illinois Senate. Appointed by Governor JB Pritzker, Lindsay previously served in the Pritzker Administration as First Assistant Deputy Governor for infrastructure, public safety, environment, and energy. […]
As First Assistant Deputy Governor for infrastructure, public safety, environment, and energy, Lindsay was responsible for overseeing several Illinois state agencies, including the Department of Transportation, State Police, Department of Corrections, Emergency Management Agency, and the Capital Development Board. Prior to joining the Governor’s office, Lindsay served as Chief of Staff and Chief Legal Counsel for the Illinois Department of Corrections. Earlier in her career, she worked as Supervisory Regional Counsel for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, Assistant Attorney General for the Illinois Attorney General’s office, and Assistant State’s Attorney for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office.
Lindsay has a big job ahead of her.
* I’m hearing at least two state legislators have tested positive for COVID ahead of veto session…
The Illinois Department of Public Health says that although COVID-19 hospitalizations are at a low level across the state, Illinoisans should not wait to get vaccinated against wintertime respiratory illnesses.
IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra said Illinois is beginning to see an increase in RSV activity, which will likely be followed by flu and COVID-19 over the coming weeks and months. Dr. Vohra says the best protection against these diseases is having vaccinations up to date.
“We are fortunate to have tools this season to protect Illinois residents from COVID-19, flu, and RSV,” he said.
Last month, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended newly reformulated COVID-19 shots for everyone over the age of 6 months. The federal agencies have given the green light for updated mRNA vaccines developed by Moderna and Pfizer that target the currently circulating strains of the COVID-19 virus. They also have recently approved an updated Novavax COVID-19 vaccine. These newly approved shots are considered safe when given at the same time as other vaccines for the flu and RSV.
* She reported giving her campaign $15,000 back in June…
#IL88 House candidate Regan Deering announces that she's raised $73K in the 3Q. Report hasn't been posted yet to @illinoissbe, so unclear how much of it was self-funded. She did receive $6,900 from conservative megadonor Dick Uihlein, however. #twill
NEW: Ald. Jim Gardiner reported another $8,073 to criminal defense attorneys at Loeb & Loeb related to the FBI corruption probe into the alderman. This brings his total expenditures on criminal defense attorneys (completely separate from his various civil lawsuits) to $100,771. pic.twitter.com/VRmG1FRpx8
* No mention of the hilarious spat with the Senate in this Fra Noi hagiography…
In a political landscape that’s bitterly divided, Illinois Rep. Anthony DeLuca is an increasingly rare breed of elected official.
“Anthony is a bridge builder. He’s a consensus builder,” Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans President Ron Onesti says. “His fellow legislators know that if their constituents have a need, Anthony will listen to them and do everything in his power to meet that need, regardless of their party, because it’s the right thing to do. As a result, he’s one of the most respected legislators in Springfield.”
Though rooted in principle, DeLuca’s approach has a significant fringe benefit. “When the time comes for him to need help, [his colleagues] are very interested in hearing what it’s all about and how they can be a part of it, even if their positions don’t directly align with his,” Onesti notes.
DeLuca drew deeply from that reservoir of good will to assure the passage of House Bill 1199, Section 1. The legislation finally achieved the long sought-after goal of permanently recognizing October as Italian American Heritage Month in Illinois.
* Sun-Times | Plainfield man fatally stabbed 6-year-old Muslim boy after listening to conservative talk radio, worrying about his safety, prosecutors say: In the 45-minute hearing, prosecutors explained how Czuba became increasingly concerned about his safety while listening to media about the Israel-Hamas war before violently attacking his Muslim tenants. Czuba’s wife told detectives that he “believed he was in danger and she [his tenant, Shaheen] was going to call Palestinian friends to come and harm them,” Michael Fitzgerald, a Will County assistant state’s attorney, said during a detention hearing Monday.
* Tribune | Man accused of fatally stabbing of Palestinian boy ordered detained on murder, hate crime charges: Meanwhile, federal authorities including the FBI and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice have launched an investigation into the attack. A statement released Monday said the FBI “takes the investigation of hate crimes extremely seriously” but did not provide further information, citing the ongoing probe. Federal prosecutors can seek the death penalty for defendants convicted of causing a death related hate crime.
* Daily Herald | Authorities: Landlord who killed 6-year-old boy ‘heavily interested’ in Middle East events: Fitzgerald said Czuba and his wife rented two rooms to the boy’s mother, Hanaan Shahin, for the last two years. Czuba’s wife told authorities that her husband had been listening to conservative news programs and was “heavily interested” in events in the Middle East and reports about the Day of Jihad in the United States on Oct. 13.
* Crain’s | Illinois politicians condemn anti-Muslim hate crime in Plainfield: “To take a six-year-old child’s life in the name of bigotry is nothing short of evil,” Pritzker said. “Wadea should be heading to school in the morning. Instead, his parents will wake up without their son. This wasn’t just a murder — it was a hate crime.” Around 85,000 Palestinians live in the Chicago area, making up 60% of the region’s Arab population, the website Arab America reports. Chicago has drawn Palestinian immigrants since the turn of the century, according to Marquette University sociologist Louise Cainkar.
* WCIA | IDHS agency holding listening session on homelessness in Decatur: The goal of the gathering is to hear feedback on what needs improvements, what is working well, and recommendations people have for homeless services and the Home Illinois Plan. All voices are welcome, especially those who have experienced homelessness themselves. The feedback is intended to help the state better serve the homeless and those who are experiencing housing insecurity.
* Tribune | Trial opens for 2 former Cook County state’s attorneys charged in fallout over infamous Jackie Wilson case: The former assistant state’s attorneys, Nicholas Trutenko and Andrew Horvatare so eager to prove their innocence, their attorneys have said, that they demanded a speedy trial at arraignment despite nearly 290,000 pages of evidence in discovery. The pair were charged in connection with the prosecution of a man who the courts have said was wrongfully convicted — Jackie Wilson — continuing the 40-year chronicle of the case against Wilson, who was charged along with his brother Andrew with killing Officers William Fahey and Richard O’Brien in 1982.
* Crain’s | Johnson’s ‘Treatment Not Trauma’ plans start to take shape: Budget documents show Johnson is allocating $4.8 million to specifically expand mental health services provided under the Chicago Department of Public Health, which includes opening two pilot clinics in existing CDPH buildings and adding mental health workers to support them.
* WCVB | ‘We do not have enough space’ in Massachusetts shelters, Gov. Healey says: Massachusetts’ emergency shelter system is “on the verge of reaching capacity,” and Gov. Maura Healey’s administration is implementing capacity limits while demanding more support from the federal government. Forty families have entered the Massachusetts emergency shelter system in the past 24 hours, according to state data that shows the total number of families in the system is now nearing 7,000.
* WMBD | Students ordered out of unlicensed facilities by Illinois Education Board: An ISBE news release shows that the three facilities are owned by Menta and function as therapeutic day schools for students with social-emotional disabilities. The Menta facilities had applied for ISBE approval in the spring of 2023. However, none had received approval before serving and enrolling students. […] Investigators discovered “troubling” restraint and time-out practices at the Springfield and Centralia locations.
* SJ-R | Dan Wright appointed as Seventh Judicial Circuit associate judge: It will be up to the Sangamon County Board to appoint an interim state’s attorney. There was no immediate word on when Wright was going to be sworn-in as judge. A Republican, Wright was appointed state’s attorney in 2018 succeeding John C. Milhiser, who had been appointed U.S. attorney for the Central District of Illinois by then-President Donald Trump.
* Daily Herald | Donald Trump Jr. to appear at McHenry County GOP committee fundraiser: Karen Tirio, chair of MCGOPAC, a Republican political action committee, said the party is “blessed with a very robust” group of presidential candidates. But the MCGOPAC is endorsing Donald Trump as the Republican for president in next year’s election, she added.
* Crain’s | A French meat alternative startup chooses Chicago for its U.S. headquarters: The announcement comes as the company said it raised $34.7 million, bringing its total The U.S. headquarters here is expected to open in early 2024 with expansions over the year, according to John Hatto, managing director of Umiami and former vice president of strategy for PepsiCo. Hatto will oversee the company’s North American operations. to $107 million in three years.
* Daily Herald | Nonprofit SCARCE gives trash a useful future: The nonprofit is called SCARCE, which stands for School & Community Assistance for Recycling and Composting Education. There, things many people would toss in the garbage without a second thought are given another chance at a useful future. Plastic bread chips are sent to Indianapolis to be melted down and remade into hangers. Pill bottles go to an emergency relief organization near Cincinnati. Plastic bags go to the local Jewel-Osco for recycling.
The letters are stamped all over the hallways of Chicago’s giant skyscrapers and grand office buildings. DRW, IMC, CME, Cboe.
These are some of the derivatives firms that collectively handle trillions of dollars a year in trades, greasing the wheels of global markets with everything from stock options to corn futures. Most of them have called Chicago home for decades — providing thousands of jobs within the city’s $75 billion finance industry.
Now, the firms’ commitment to the Windy City is being tested by some $800 million in taxes proposed by a new mayor staring down a budget gap that’s swelled to half a billion dollars. One idea is a levy on financial transactions, which has alarmed companies already worried about a jump in crime that shows few signs of abating.
Behind the scenes, market makers and exchanges are working together to press their case with policymakers, with firms that typically compete with each other sharing data to help explain their economic benefits to Chicago. While executives haven’t explicitly threatened to leave, in private conversations it’s clear they will consider quitting the city if crime remains an issue and the financial transaction tax passes.
Abbott’s remarks follow reports that CME and other financial firms in Chicago, including CBOE Global Markets Inc. and IMC, are alarmed by Mayor Brandon Johnson’s idea for $800 million in taxes, including a levy on financial transactions.
Trading firms currently occupy more than 3.5 million square feet in the city, equivalent to 60 football fields. In the past three years, they’ve added about 700,000 square feet, and that doesn’t include the trading divisions of large banks such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. […]
[Johnson’s] administration has proposed new levies, including higher real estate transfer taxes and a financial transaction tax, prompting a reaction from Chicago’s trading community to push their case to the city.
CME Chief Executive Officer Terry Duffy’S] commitment to Chicago is being tested as stubbornly high crime rates and a slew of taxes — including a financial-transaction levy proposed by Mayor Brandon Johnson — have him considering his options.
* Johnson, as expected, did not propose a transaction tax. So Bloomberg found another way to get at the issue today…
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said he would veto any legislation to impose a financial transaction tax that could harm Chicago’s storied exchanges and cause them to leave the state.
“Let me be clear, there is no financial transactions tax on the table, period,” the Democratic governor said in an interview with Bloomberg News. “There will not be support. I would veto it.” […]
At a press conference last week, the mayor dodged Bloomberg questions about what taxes proposed during his campaign are still on the table, limiting his comments to what has been presented in the budget.
“What I presented on Wednesday is what’s actually on the table,” he said. “There’s nothing new that I’m hiding. That’s what’s on the table.”
Still, he is setting up a subcommittee in City Council to find new sources of revenue.
Monday, Oct 16, 2023 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
If the General Assembly fails to take action to save the Tax Credit Scholarship Program, then over 9,500 students from low-income families will lose their scholarships, causing many to leave their best-fit schools.
The kids who stand to lose opportunities are 20% Black and 30% Hispanic – proportions considerably higher than demographic populations in Illinois — and 100% of these students are from families with demonstrated financial need. Additionally, 26,000 more students from low-income and working-class families sit anxiously on the waitlist hoping to receive the same opportunities as some of their peers.
* Bailey is a different sort of candidate, so he doesn’t need to keep pace with a seasoned fundraiser like Bost, but this is still not great. Sorensen and Budzinski did well…
Some downstate congressional 3Q fundraising numbers (raised July-Sept / cash on hand):#IL12 Bost ($518K / $1.17M) Bailey ($156K / $108K)#IL13 Budzinski ($492K / $1.04M)#IL15 Miller ($211K / $451K)#IL16 LaHood ($365K / $4.74M)#IL17 Sorensen ($457K / $1.13M)#twill
U.S. Representative Mike Bost (IL-12) today announced that his campaign has raised $517,000 in the quarter ending on September 30th and is approaching $1.2 million cash-on-hand. Bost outraised his primary opponent Darren Bailey by nearly $400,000 over the last 90 days and has nearly 12 times more money cash-on-hand.
“The scale of our fundraising advantage and the strength of our grassroots operation prove we have the momentum heading into the final quarter of 2023,” said Bost. “Southern Illinois voters understand how important it is that we have a proven, conservative leader at the helm for the battles ahead in Washington. There is still a lot of work left to be done, but I am confident that our campaign has the resources and experience to win a competitive primary.”
* Bailey…
Darren Bailey: Woke corporations like Bud Light fueling Mike Bost’s campaign
Xenia, IL – Darren Bailey, candidate for Congress in the 12th District, is calling on Mike Bost to stop taking money from woke companies and to return the donations, or donate them to a 12th District charity.
“Mike Bost claims to be a conservative, but he is taking thousands of dollars from companies that are going out of their way to promote woke ideology and attack conservative values,” Bailey said. “He has accepted campaign donations from JPMorgan Chase & Co., which has publicly stated they will pay their employees’ travel expenses to go out of state to have an abortion if they live in a state with more restrictive abortion laws. He even took money from Bud Light! Mike Bost continues to demonstrate his most sacred ‘value’ is his own re-election.”
According to the newest FEC quarterly filing report, Mike Bost has recently received upwards of $50,000 from woke companies and prominent Joe Biden donors in just the 2023 third quarter alone. Bailey is calling on Rep. Bost to either give the money back or give it to charity.
“How are we ever going to restore our nation if our own leaders continue to do the bidding of companies and organizations committed to undermining the values and principles that have made our nation great?” Bailey said. “Mike Bost may claim he is not going to be influenced by his donors, but we all know he is aware of who is donating to his campaign. There is a price that comes with donations from these woke corporations. I am not willing to pay that price even if it costs me this election. Mike Bost apparently is willing to sell his values to the highest bidder. He should give the money back or give it to charity.”
Monday, Oct 16, 2023 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Carbon capture and storage, or “CCS,” is a technology that captures carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions at their source and stores them deep underground. CCS is a proven and safe process and the Illinois State Geologic Survey has confirmed that our state’s geology is perfectly suited for this technology. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) enforces federal requirements to regulate the safety of the pipelines that will support CCS.
In addition to delivering a cleaner environment, CCS will generate $3.3 billion in value for the region and could spur 14,440 jobs. Now is the time to bring carbon capture technology and its environmental and economic benefits to Illinois. Policymakers must pass legislation to advance CCS and bring this opportunity to Illinois.
* The pollster only surveyed 468 registered voters. Among those, just 108 were college graduates (excluding postgraduates), so we can probably ignore the subgroups right off the bat…
Joe Biden is losing college graduates to Trump. In Illinois.
The full Emerson College poll is here. Biden won Illinois by 17 points, and when the pollster asked respondents for whom they voted in 2020, Biden led by 17 points. But, again, this is a small sample size. Grain of salt, etc.
An Emerson College Polling survey of Illinois residents finds President Joe Biden with a 35% approval rating, while 44% disapprove of the job the president is doing in the Oval Office. Governor J. B. Pritzker carries a 41% approval rating, while 35% disapprove of the job he is doing as governor.
President Biden leads former President Trump by nine points in a hypothetical 2024 general election matchup, 43% to 34%. Fourteen percent support someone else and 9% are undecided. […]
Illinois residents were asked how much of a problem, in terms of affordability, is it to rent or buy a home in their area. Housing affordability is a ‘big problem’ for 41% of Illinois residents, while 31% say it is a ‘medium problem.’ Seventeen percent say housing affordability is a slight problem, and 11% say it is not a problem at all. Idaho residents were asked the same question this October, and 67% of residents described renting or buying to be a ‘big’ problem, while 23% considered it a medium problem, and 7% considered it to be a slight problem.
The Emerson College Polling Illinois poll was conducted October 1-4, 2023. The sample consisted of 468 Illinois voters with a credibility interval, similar to a poll’s margin of error of +/- 4.5 percentage points; the sample of Illinois residents is n=489 with a credibility interval of 4.4 percentage points. The data sets were weighted by gender, age, race, party, and education based on the general population using a sample of n=489 participants and allowing the natural fallout to create the sample of n=468 voters. Turnout modeling is based on US Census parameters, and Illinois voter registration and voter turnout data by regions (IL SOS). Data was collected by contacting a list of emails provided by Aristotle, along with an online panel of voters provided by Alchemer.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker deposited another $12 million into his J.B. for Governor campaign fund earlier this month, his first personal cash infusion into the account since he won election to another term last November over Republican Darren Bailey.
Pritzker has put $335.55 million into his own campaign fund since March 2017, close to four times the amount that Bruce Rauner, his predecessor who briefly was the state’s top self-funding candidate, spent on his gubernatorial campaigns in 2014 and 2018.
There’s plenty more Pritzker money available, according to Forbes, which recently placed the governor’s net worth at $3.4 billion.
Fighter jets practicing for a routine flyover at Sunday’s Chicago Bears game caused alarm for many on Friday.
Four jets were spotted flying over the city just after 1 p.m., causing confusion and concern among residents.
Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications confirmed in a statement Friday afternoon that the city “has not received any actionable threats” related to the latest war between Israel and Hamas, and the fighter jets reported along the lakefront and over downtown were practicing for the flyover before the start of the Bears game against the Minnesota Vikings.
* Hard sigh…
UPDATE: Bears bosses have changed their mind on Sunday’s fighter jet flyover. They now say it’ll happen, if the weather doesn’t interfere.
learning to appreciate the Bears more as a long-running comedy of dysfunction and less as a competitive professional franchise is the only way I find any joy in it anymore.
Bears coach Matt Eberflus said Monday that quarterback Justin Fields is doubtful to play against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday after dislocating the thumb of his throwing hand.
Fields suffered the injury in the third quarter against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. X-rays came back negative and Eberflus didn’t have results from a MRI done Monday.
A federal judge on Friday denied a bid by immigration advocates to prohibit U.S. officials from turning away asylum-seekers at border crossings with Mexico if they don’t have appointments on a mobile phone app.
The ruling is a victory for the Biden administration and its approach to creating new pathways to enter the United States, while, at the same time, making it more difficult for those who don’t follow prescribed methods to seek asylum. […]
The government appealed a decision to block a new rule that makes it more difficult to claim asylum for anyone who travels through another country, like Mexico, and enters the U.S. illegally. That rule remains in effect while under appeal.
Another closely watched case challenges a policy to grant a two-year stay for up to 30,000 people a month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela if they apply online with a financial sponsor and arrive at an airport. Texas is leading 21 states to argue that Biden overreached, saying it “amounts to the creation of a new visa program that allows hundreds of thousands of aliens to enter the United States who otherwise have no basis for doing so.”
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson will visit the southern border with multiple alderpeople this week.
Johnson said earlier this month that he will be making a trip to the border to see the migrant crisis first-hand.
*** UPDATE 1 *** The mayor changed his mind…
BREAKING: Mayor Brandon Johnson *WILL NOT* travel to the southern border this week, the mayor's office tells @wttw News. Johnson has decided his time is better spent here in Chicago, grappling with the rapidly escalating number of buses arriving everyday, his spokesman said.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Johnson is still sending a delegation…
Mayor Brandon Johnson postpones trip to the U.S. border. But the city will still send a delegation this week. The Deputy Mayor for Migrant and Immigrant Rights will lead a delegation of state officials, alders and civic leaders. They will depart tomorrow.
City officials are considering building a massive tent to house the more than 3,500 migrants now living at police stations and O’Hare International Airport on a vacant, privately-owned lot in Brighton Park, Ald. Julia Ramirez (12th Ward) said Sunday.
In a statement posted to her official social media accounts, Ramirez said she was working to gather information from the mayor’s office about the city’s plan to open a temporary shelter on a vacant lot near 38th Street and California Avenue.
A spokesperson for Mayor Brandon Johnson did not respond to two requests for comment from WTTW News. Cristina Pacione Zayas, Johnson’s first deputy chief of staff, told reporters Thursday that an announcement of the location of what city leaders call “winterized base camps” was “imminent.” […]
More than 3,567 migrants are living in police stations across the city and at O’Hare International Airport with another 11,043 migrants living in city shelters as of Friday, according to city data. Johnson has said the crisis was caused by “right-wing extremists bent on sowing chaos and division in our city.”
Still curious how the asylum-seekers are gonna stay warm in those tents. Chicago isn’t exactly known for mild winters.
From almost the moment he took office, Gov. J.B. Pritzker has championed the state as a sanctuary for immigrants. But in his quest to keep Illinois a “welcoming state,” the welcome mat is becoming politically frayed as Chicago tries to cope with an influx of more than 18,000 asylum-seekers.
What was once altruistic idealism delivered 1,200 miles away from the nation’s southern border is now colliding with realism in how to temporarily house, provide for and resettle thousands of asylum-seekers in a crisis largely orchestrated by Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to use his state’s long-standing border issues to paint leaders in Democratic cities and states as hypocrites.
As each new bus arrives here from Texas and other locales, more political pressure mounts on Pritzker and on Chicago’s new progressive Democratic leadership under Mayor Brandon Johnson.
With no firm plans in place and the only concrete advice to incoming migrants being Pritzker’s warning that “it’s gonna get cold in Chicago and New York very soon,” cracks among the Democratic base, particularly among key ethnic and racial blocs, have emerged over spending taxpayer dollars and housing for migrants.
Even as temperatures drop, Yaritsa Leal and a dozen of her family members are sleeping outside the Town Hall District police station. There isn’t enough room for them inside.
They’ve jury-rigged a tent to shield them from the elements, but it’s not enough to keep out Chicago weather.
“We huddle under there and give each other warmth,” said Leal, 43. “I feel cold, I feel uncomfortable, and I feel scared, but I know that I can’t come here and demand too much.” […]
The North Side police station is one of the few where migrants have recently found some relief inside a city warming bus overnight, but that’s not offered at all stations, and those with little protection are facing a precarious situation advocates worry could become disastrous.
A judge said Friday he was “horribly disturbed” by accusations that a man opened fire at a group of migrants outside a South Side police station, wounding a man from Colombia and a Venezuelan woman holding her child.
Anthony Evans, 25, then led police on a high-speed chase that ended in a crash with serious injuries to an officer that may require amputation, according to prosecutors.
Judge Joseph Gump ordered Evans held in jail while awaiting trial on counts of aggravated battery with a firearm, aggravated driving under the influence and unlawful use of weapon.
* Crain’s | Chicago and Illinois call for faster work authorizations to alleviate migrant crisis: On Sept. 20, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced it would extend the work authorizations for 18 months to migrants who arrived in the United States from Venezuela before July 31. The extension would only apply to Venezuelan migrants, who make up the majority of those crossing the border, although immigrants have arrived from other countries in South America and Central America, as well as Africa.
* NBC Chicago | Chicago charged $7.2M to staff migrant shelters during four-week period, invoices show: As we previously reported, Favorite Healthcare Staffing billed the city $20,000 for a single nurse during one week last December. The new invoices show that despite hourly rates being reduced this spring, Favorite Healthcare Staffing still billed the city for $16,536 for that same nurse to work seven days in April. All told, in the four weeks we examined, the company charged Chicago more than $64,000 for the services of one nurse, who was working at the YMCA High Ridge shelter.
* Teen Vogue | A Day in the Life of a Teenage Asylum Seeker: I first met Christopher two days earlier, when his family visited my apartment for a video call with an immigration judge — their first meeting through New York City’s court system since they arrived earlier this year. They couldn’t rely on the shelter’s spotty Wi-Fi for such an important call, so the family of four piled into my studio apartment for their morning appointment.
* Block Club | How To Help Migrants In Chicago As Winter Approaches: City officials and community groups said they need temperature-appropriate clothing for the colder months. Also, some groups are trying to help people furnish new apartments as they transition out of city-run shelters and free up space for others.
* WBEZ | What does it mean for Chicago to be a sanctuary city?: But one expert says the term “sanctuary city” has been misused, and that lawmakers, the public and the media conflate the term with policies that provide public benefits and resources.
* We talked about the new Illinois Economic Policy Institute study the other day. From the Tribune’s coverage…
From 2013 to 2022, Illinois saw significant growth in its number of higher-paid taxpayers, including a 52% increase in those earning $100,000 to $500,000 per year, and an 80% surge in taxpayers earning more than $500,000 per year.
Inflation may have helped drive some of that increase. Raises in the minimum wage also may have helped reduce the number of people claiming the earned income tax credit by 11%.
People who moved into Illinois were better educated and more likely to come to attend college than those who moved out. In census surveys, the most common reasons people cited for leaving were work, such as a new job or transfer, along with shorter commutes, better schools, housing and family ties. The main reason most stayed was to be near family.
Those who left Illinois earned 16% lower incomes, were less than half as likely to be homeowners, and less likely to be married than those who stayed. Pandemic-related business closures may have driven some lower-income workers to leave, creating further inequalities between high- and low-income residents.
* I reached out to IEPI economist Frank Manzo to ask him about an Illinois Policy Institute examination of IRS data this past June…
Data from the Internal Revenue Service shows Illinois in 2021 lost residents of every age and income level, with the majority of them prime working-age adults and earning more than $100,000.
Of the residents who left, 51% made more than $100,000 per year, 25% made less than $50,000 and 24% made $50,000 to $100,000.
* What explains the discrepancy between the two looks at tax and other data? Here is Manzo’s response…
The short answer to your question is that the Illinois Policy Institute’s analysis is incomplete, leading to a distorted picture of migration changes in Illinois.
Professor Robert Bruno from the Project for Middle Class Renewal (PMCR) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and I examined a decade of Illinois Department of Revenue tax statistics and a decade of household survey data from the Current Population Survey to assess broad migration patterns (1). With this data, we are able to assess who is moving out of and into Illinois. Importantly, we also look at who chooses to stay. To ensure robustness, our report looks at multiple sources, looks over a long period of time, and includes more observations rather than fewer. I’ve bulleted a few methodological distinctions below.
• First, by focusing exclusively on “net domestic migration,” or people moving within the U.S., the IPI omits people from abroad—which includes active-duty military, students, and expatriates as well as highly-skilled immigrants, asylum-seekers, refugees, and the undocumented. Illinois is an importer of people from abroad, 62% of whom are foreign-born.
• Second, a missing group in IRS tax data is those who do not file taxes. People who don’t earn incomes are not included (but are in surveys). If those individuals are more likely to move out, then the average household income of leavers is lower than a reliance on IRS data would indicate.
• Third, tax return data can be somewhat misleading without understanding what happened to people who stay. As a simple example, let’s say a cook quits an Illinois restaurant and moves to Florida. Illinois loses that tax return. However, if a formerly unemployed resident is hired to fill that position, then there is no net loss in tax returns to the state. The restaurant may even increase the wage to attract a new cook, producing a higher income and more tax revenue. But in the net migration data from the IRS, all that shows up is the lost resident and lost taxes. It is worth noting that the total number of Illinois-resident tax returns grew by 200,000 between 2010 and 2020 and increased in 8 out of the 10 years.
• Similarly, the survey data—considered with economic data—dispels the mythology around why people stay or leave Illinois. The data show increases in taxpayers, lower incomes and disproportionate reliance on government assistance among those who leave, and that migrants tend to be younger (others find that “young people move more” as well) and move for job-related reasons—not because of estate taxes or state and local taxes.
• Finally, in reporting income changes, a focus on 2020 and 2021 is a potentially selective use of data during a once-in-a-century pandemic. We note in our study that post-pandemic dynamics may have resulted in new migration patterns that diverge from earlier trends, but recent data appears to show migration returning to pre-pandemic trends and levels.
Overall, complete datasets and additional context are required for a sound understanding of Illinois’ economy, migration patterns, and the likely impact of public policies.
People should remain wary about Census population estimates going forward. Unfortunately, the Census projections continue to rely on a mix of the official 2020 Census count (which likely undercounted Illinois by 2%), the “Vintage 2020 Population Estimates” (which only thought we were going to have 12.59 million residents, itself a 2% undercount from the official count), and net domestic migration data that led to the “wildly erroneous” projections last decade (2).
To be sure, our report supports a finding that the economy is in transition. As Illinois became a $1 trillion economy, its migration patterns made the state more urban and suburban, more educated, and higher paid. But we also detail how those who are being left behind in under-resourced areas are disproportionately leaving the state. It is for this reason that Professor Bruno and I include potential policy options to suggest how Illinois could better attract and retain people, based on a review of the data on who leaves, who arrives, and who stays—instead of relying on an incomplete picture with key pieces of the puzzle missing.
—————————————————-
1) The Illinois Economic Policy Institute (ILEPI) often partners with academic institutions to ensure that our approaches are methodologically sound and that we are calling balls and strikes in our analyses.
2) The Census’ net domestic migration numbers suggested Illinois lost 966,000 residents from 2011-2020. This means Illinois added at least 948,000 more people from births minus deaths and from net immigration in order to get to a minimum of -18,000 between the two Census counts. Where did these extra 948,000 people come from? Those who assume 100% accuracy of the net domestic migration data should be asked to answer that.
Gov. JB Pritzker and House Speaker Chris Welch both threw cold water on the idea of a veto session supplemental appropriations bill to help Chicago handle the increasing influx of asylum seekers from Venezuela.
Speaker Welch told reporters last Thursday he had “made it clear” to Mayor Brandon Johnson that “we were not expecting to do a supplemental budget in the veto session,” while the governor told reporters the week before that he hadn’t heard about any plans for a supplemental. Governors always know about supplementals because their office writes them.
There is simply no appetite in the General Assembly to tackle any super controversial issues during the veto session, which runs from Oct. 24 through Nov. 9.
A big part of the reason for wanting a delay until the spring session is that veto session falls smack dab in the middle of petition-gathering season. The migrant issue is super divisive, legislators are getting an angry earful at the doors as they gather petition signatures, and a public vote on spending more tax dollars could very well cause some irate constituents to run against them.
It’s the same basic situation with extending the Invest in Kids Act, a $75 million income tax credit for contributing to groups that then pay for private and religious school scholarships. Teachers unions and progressives hotly oppose extending the program beyond its Dec. 31 expiration date, but some Democrats would still like to see it extended. Unless a reasonable compromise can be found, it’ll likely be kicked to next spring as well.
Plus, Johnson’s recent budget proposal cut the city’s earlier projected spending on the new arrivals by $50 million while increasing spending on other items. That didn’t go over too well with legislators, either.
The message did not seem to get through to City Hall, however. Members of the Johnson administration continued trying to negotiate their case through the news media, before ultimately abandoning their quest.
“Just because there isn’t necessarily a supplemental (appropriation) on the horizon — and I mean, I think those discussions are still happening — there’s ways that there can be funds redirected to the city,” Johnson’s deputy chief of staff, Cristina Pacione-Zayas, told reporters, according to the Chicago Tribune. She also said the city wanted the state to look at “reapplication” of certain state funds.
According to the article, CPZ, a former state senator, pointed to state funding of official Welcoming Centers, which she said could be repurposed to help the migrants. Among many other things last fiscal year, the Illinois General Assembly appropriated $31 million in additional funds for the city and more than $50 million for the state to help deal with the asylum seekers out of the Welcoming Centers program.
“Welcoming Centers are not for asylum seekers exclusively,” Pritzker spokesperson Jordan Abudayyeh emphasized to me. “There are other costs that appropriation has to account for.”
The legislature did approve appropriations for the city’s and state’s migrant responses in the current fiscal year, which will bring total state spending since the crisis began to close to half a billion dollars, the governor’s office says.
And since the city has not done a good job of standing up shelters and then moving people into housing, handing it money intended for the state’s response probably would likely not accomplish all that much. The situation is so bad that migrants are camped in tents outside of police stations now.
But it’s true that not every reallocation of state funding requires a supplemental appropriation bill. Budget items “like rental assistance, support for community-based organizations doing case work and HOME IL lines are increasingly funding services for the asylum seeker response,” Abudayyeh said. The HOME IL program is designed to alleviate homelessness.
This is a very tricky topic. Reallocating money to help asylum seekers only validates complaints by Black and Latino political leaders, including legislators, that their own constituents are being short shrifted by state government in favor of the new arrivals.
Finally, on Friday, Johnson got the message, telling reporters he would wait until next spring to ask for more state money. “When they pass their budget in May, we’ll have some very intentional asks about how we can align our levels of government to meet this demand,” he told reporters, according to Crain’s Chicago Business.
That should help lower the temperature a little by ending the lobbying via news media, which usually doesn’t work in this business anyway. Hopefully, everybody can now get together on the same page and find some actual solutions.
- Pritzker and his wife, M.K., reported $2.2 million in taxable income.
- His trusts paid $7.2 million in state taxes and 42.3 million in federal taxes.
* Shaw Local | Joliet Township pulls out of grant for asylum-seekers: Joliet Township on Friday announced that it no longer will pursue an $8.6 million grant to provide services for asylum-seekers. The announcement comes two weeks after the grant was announced, stirring a controversy that may have peaked at a raucous township board meeting this week.
* Tom Kacich | Pritzker replenishes his campaign fund: Gov. J.B. Pritzker deposited another $12 million into his J.B. for Governor campaign fund earlier this month, his first personal cash infusion into the account since he won election to another term last November over Republican Darren Bailey.
* Herald-Whig | Cass County Board member announces candidacy for Frese seat: Republican Eric Snellgrove will run for the seat in the 99th District, which covers parts of Adams, Brown, Cass, Morgan and Schuyler counties. In a statement released Friday, Snellgrove said residents need someone “that relates to us all and will represent all of us in Springfield.”
* Tribune | Democrats welcome mat for migrants is also fraying party’s base: With no firm plans in place and the only concrete advice to incoming migrants being Pritzker’s warning that “it’s gonna get cold in Chicago and New York very soon,” cracks among the Democratic base, particularly among key ethnic and racial blocs, have emerged over spending taxpayer dollars and housing for migrants.
* Center for Illinois Politics | Illinois Schools: Trying to Maximize on AI Promise Without Falling Prey to its Pitfalls: The Illinois Principals Association (IPA) has created a draft of a student handbook policy regarding the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), defining it as “intelligence demonstrated by computers, as opposed to human intelligence.” It provides examples of AI technology such as “ChatGPT and other chatbots and large language models.” The policy asserts that AI is not a substitute for schoolwork that requires “original thought,” and that using AI to “take tests, complete assignments, create multimedia projects, write papers, or complete schoolwork without permission of a teacher or administrator is strictly prohibited,” and “constitutes cheating or plagiarism.”
* Sun-Times | Burke’s lawyers now say they plan to call Danny Solis to the stand as trial of ex-City Council dean nears: Burke’s lawyers have also been clear about other potential defenses in recent court filings. For example, they’ve written that Solis was “singularly corrupt” and “untruthful.” Meanwhile, Kendall had ordered Burke’s lawyers to disclose by Monday whether they intended to present an entrapment defense. In their filing Friday, Burke’s lawyers said that is not their plan.
* Tribune | First month of bail reform: Challenges, benefits and a reduced jail population in Cook County: “When you implement an entirely new system, there’s obviously going to be a learning curve,” said Scott Schultz, the chief public defender in Calhoun and Jersey counties, two of Illinois’ smallest. Though early days, one anticipated result of bond reform appears to be taking hold: Cook County’s jail population has shrunk by more than 500 inmates, according to data maintained by the sheriff’s office.
* Daily Herald | Tornados in Illinois are increasing, and climate change may play a role, weather experts say: Climatologists say the concept of a tornado “alley,” or lane where the storms are most common, is a bit of a misnomer. It’s more like “tornado country,” they say, historically encompassing Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Oklahoma and northern Texas and reaching east to the Appalachian Mountains. That area itself, weather experts say, isn’t shifting, but they are seeing more tornadic activity in the more populated states to the east, and that means an increased risk of injury, death and property damage.
* Tribune | City considers Brighton Park vacant lot as a possible site for migrant tent encampment: The city of Chicago is evaluating a plot of land in Brighton Park as a possible site for winterized tents to house recently arrived migrants, Ald. Julia Ramirez, 12th, confirmed. “This is all very preliminary,” Ramirez said Saturday when asked about the site at 38th Street and California Avenue. “They’re assessing the lot to prepare for winterized tents.”
* SJ-R | Sangamon Link: A look back at racism Springfield’s hotels in 1881: Springfield hotels refused to house America’s best-known Black choral group in 1881. The result was nationwide condemnation, a rebuke from President James A. Garfield, and a scramble by embarrassed local residents to repair the city’s reputation.
* Shaw Local | Marijuana cultivation center coming to Fulton: Ground was broken this week on a marijuana grow operation in the Fulton Industrial Park.
Davenport, Iowa-based developer and Fulton Industrial LLC owner Dan Dolan, owner of The Dispensary and Rec Room, paid the city $814,750 for slightly less than 60 acres of vacant land at 31st Avenue and Fourth Street, according to Whiteside County property records.
