Afternoon roundup
Wednesday, Oct 11, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sun-Times…
The governor also acknowledged the Illinois State Police is on alert for synagogues and gathering places for Jewish people across the state. He said there is no immediate threat that the FBI or law enforcement has detected.
“But they are remaining vigilant, as should all of you,” Pritzker said.
* WBBM Radio…
As the backer of the new state law penalizing book bans in Illinois, Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias says he is getting death threats just like some library officials have.
Giannoulias says it’s abhorrent that people are making threats against libraries because they have books on their shelves that some find objectionable. The new law he proposed withholds state grants to libraries that agree to ban books.
Now, he’s getting threats, too, Giannoulias said at a Union League Club of Chicago luncheon Tuesday.
* Click here to check out the replies…
* Bailey supported Donald Trump’s preferred candidate Jim Jordan…
* During last night’s University of Chicago Institute of Politics event, Gov. Pritzker was asked by the moderator: “There’s a sense that blue states are getting more and more progressive and red states are shifting in the other direction, getting more and more deeply conservative. Do you feel like we are at a point now where we are in essence living in two different Americas?”…
The great sort, as we’ve seen. Look, I do think that there are people who are choosing to leave places like Texas and Florida, which are taking away peoples’ rights. I mean, if you’re a parent of a transgender child, why would you stay in Texas? Why would you stay in Florida? If you’re a woman who’s seeking to exercise her reproductive health rights, why would you stay in Texas or Florida? And we can name lots of other states like that right now. Missouri or Iowa. The fact is that I do think it’s important for us to make the case to people that they should move to our state. But here’s what I would say to you. When you say, well, the red states are moving red and the blue states are moving bluer. I mean, does anybody think Georgia is getting redder? I don’t think so. Does anybody think Texas is getting redder? I don’t think so. And in fact, those two are great examples of a real shift that’s happening in the South, where if we can protect voting rights in those states, and many other Southern states have excluded people of color or tried their best to do that. And there have been case after case after case that’s been brought to protect their rights. And the more we do that, the more we’re going to see people step up and go vote. And believe me when I tell you that across the South that there are an awful lot of Democrats who, if they show up at the polls, we will win.
Please pardon all transcription errors.
* There’s a tendency among some in the Washington, DC press corps to blame Democrats for Republicans moving so far to the right, as if Republican voters and the people they elect have no personal agency. The Washington Post followed in that tradition over the weekend with an Illinois-related piece…
Illinois Democrats drew new maps. The changes pushed the GOP to the right.
The governor was asked about that as well last night…
I want to have you pay attention to one really important thing. We did not create the problem that Republicans are having now. They are extremists. Mary Miller, who is a member of that crazy caucus, and is a Representative here, US representative here in Illinois, legitimately beat another congressperson to win the seat. He didn’t run as good a campaign. Donald Trump was very popular in the area and chose to endorse her over the other Republican in that primary. That you know, that challenge is happening with Republicans all over the country. And they’re the ones who have this problem. I mean, they, like I said, there’s a fever in the Republican Party and primaries, you’re seeing it. There’s a race going on in Southern Illinois right now between incumbent Republican Mike Bost and his Republican opponent Darren Bailey. And I think one might say that what is going on here, this is the Republicans eating each other alive. So, that article, I want you to look at the chart that’s in the middle of that article. That chart shows the states that that they said were gerrymandered. You know, how many of them were Republican gerrymanders versus Democratic gerrymanders? It was like three to one Republicans over Democrats. So this is a national problem. If you’re going to solve redistricting, and the problem of redistricting, you have to do it at the national level. It cannot be done state by state because we would be unilaterally disarming.
The chart…
Deputy Gov. Andy Manar also commented on the WaPo piece…
And the idea that congressional districts in rural America should be molded around the (mostly Republican) incumbents that occupy them to save Republican Party from itself is so DC.
Your thoughts?
* Maybe now Bloomberg will stop its incessant claims about how Johnson had proposed a tax on electronic trades. Tribune…
But the vast majority of Johnson’s economic agenda that he laid out during his campaign and entailed a bundle of new taxes was not included in next year’s budget proposal. Those campaign plans, which were met with trepidation from the business class, included reinstating a $4-per-employee corporate head tax on large companies, boosting the jet fuel levy, instituting a charge on securities trades and increasing the hotel tax. […]
Closing the gap will entail Johnson taking a record $434 million from tax-increment financing funds, $39 million more than last year while $50 million more will come from the previous year’s surplus. Taking money from TIFs is a tactic previous mayors have used that has been controversial because it is a one-time fix.
The administration is also counting on an additional $112.6 million in “operational efficiencies within our departments as we look towards service deliveries without service cuts,” his budget director Annette Guzman told reporters in a Tuesday briefing. Another $89.2 million will be saved via bond refinancing, and $41.5 million will be trimmed from personnel expenses on health care management.
In an unexpected prediction, the city also is projecting $186.8 million more in revenue, mostly from local taxes, than it previously indicated while another $35 million in funds will come from revenue enforcement collections.
* Center Square gonna Center Square…
Police union president: Chicago crime ‘getting worse, not better’ […]
Catanzara said numbers may show crime is down in some areas, but perception is everything.
“We are taking suggestions and recommendations on what should be done because it is getting worse, not better,” Catanzara said. “Violent crime may be down, but the feeling of being less safe in this city is prevalent.”
* Tim Mapes has been reaching out to old friends and acquaintances asking them to send character letters to his judge ahead of his sentencing hearing. Click here to read it.
* Isabel’s roundup…
* Sun-Times | Illinois Senator Invites South Siders To Auburn Gresham Town Hall To Discuss Migrant Crisis: Preston will host the town hall 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Auburn Gresham’s Healthy Lifestyle Hub, 839 W. 79th St. Neighbors can share their feedback and learn more about “this predominant issue,” Preston’s office said in a news release.
* Block Club | Man Charged With Shooting Migrants Outside Police Station: Anthony Evans, 25, was arrested at the scene and charged with eight felony counts, including two for aggravated battery and two for aggravated DUI, police said.
* Sun-Times | Mayor Brandon Johnson gives budget address — here’s what to know on how he’ll spend on migrants, crime, mental health: The $16.6 billion 2024 city budget Mayor Brandon Johnson unveiled Wednesday will “begin the critical investments necessary” to deliver on his campaign slogan to “build a better, stronger Chicago.” Supporters also must wait to shift the tax burden to businesses and wealthy Chicagoans.
* Scott Holland | Walgreens debit card receipt at center of larger legal question: When is a crime a crime: When a law is broken? When the act is proven? When there is a victim? These and other big picture questions loom over a case heading to the Illinois Supreme Court. The litigation in question exemplifies how one person’s concerns can balloon until they influence or alter statewide policy.
* Crain’s | NASCAR, city still negotiating second street race deal: Mayor Brandon Johnson announced a new and improved deal with NASCAR last week to host the second Street Race event in downtown Chicago next July, but neither party has signed an agreement yet. The city would have gone public once it finalized negotiations, but NASCAR wanted to announce its racing schedule, according to a city official. The news came on the heels of an economic impact report on the event, conducted by the Sports Industry Research Center at Temple University and commissioned by the city’s tourism bureau, that found the race generated $108.9 million for the city. That’s about one-fourth of a Lollapalooza and below NASCAR’s own projected economic impact of $113.8 million.
* WCIA | Springfield Fire Dept. welcomes first Black female firefighter: When Springfield Fire Chief Ed Canny told Jackson, she didn’t believe it. Once it settled in, she thought about why it could be the case. Jackson said that barriers don’t exist within the department itself, and that it’s the perception built over years.
* Sun-Times | South Side cancer rates are among Chicago’s highest. The community needs more care options.: UChicago Medicine recently announced an $815 million project to build a state-of-the-art cancer facility. South Siders need more health care institutions to pay attention to Black patients’ needs.
* WJOL | Will County EMA Director Appointed to Lead State Advisory Committee: Allison Anderson, Will County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) Director, has been appointed Co-Chair of the State of Illinois Homeland Security Advisory Council’s Emergency Management Committee. In her role, she will be collaborating with experts to shape emergency preparedness strategies at the state and local level.
* WREX | Stateline Judge Joe McGraw Will Run For Illinois’ 17th Congressional District: In a statement to 13 WREX he said, “I’ve dedicated my life to law and order and serving the people of Illinois. I can no longer sit by and watch our country and our state go in the wrong direction. There’s something wrong when big-city liberals would rather demonize honest cops than crack down on criminals, when politicians in Washington care more about illegal immigrants than the safety and security of our own citizens, and when the exporting of good manufacturing jobs, combined with record inflation, crushes families’ economic viability. Eric Sorensen is part of the problem; he votes with Biden’s failed agenda nearly 100% of the time. In Congress, I’ll fight for our hardworking families and stand up to the out-of-touch Biden agenda.”
* Crain’s | Lori Lightfoot joins board of national LGBTQ PAC: The Washington, D.C.,-based group works to put more LGBTQ-identifying people in public leadership roles. According to the organization’s website, the board of directors oversees operations and guides its mission.
* Bloomberg | Walgreens names health care vet as next CEO: Tim Wentworth, the former CEO of pharmacy-benefits manager Express Scripts who led its 2018 merger with Cigna Group, succeeds Rosalind Brewer, a longtime retail executive whose 2 1/2-year tenure saw the shares lose half their value. Alongside restocking a depleted C-suite, Wentworth will take on managing initiatives such as Walgreens’ move to open hundreds of doctors’ offices in its stores. The appointment will take effect Oct. 23, when Wentworth will also join the company’s board.
* WMBD | Central Illinois Ameren linemen to compete in international competition: “The rodeo is all about our lineworkers competing to the best of their abilities in a safe manner,” said Craig Gilson, vice president of electric operations for Ameren Illinois. “It also gives family members an up-close look at what it takes to do this type of work on an everyday basis.”
* SJ-R | City gets sizable federal grant to plant trees in wake of storm; SPD promotes three: The city of Springfield won a federal grant of nearly $890,000 from the U.S. Forest Service to plant 1,000 trees and to hire a community outreach arborist and three student-worker arborists during the summer months, all over a five-year period. […] City arborist Jeff Reim told The State Journal-Register in July that 300 or more trees on city property alone were damaged by the June 29 derecho. In terms of tree damage alone, Reim believed the storms were worse than 2006, when a pair of tornadoes ripped through the capital city.
* Norman Reports | Six Months Ago NPR Left Twitter. The Effects Have Been Negligible: Last April, the company gave NPR a reason to quit — it labeled the network “U.S. state-affiliated media,” a designation that was at odds with Twitter’s own definition of the term. NPR stopped posting from its account on April 4. A week later, it posted its last update — a series of tweets directing users to NPR’s newsletters, app, and other social media accounts. Many member stations across the country, including KUOW in Seattle, LAist in Los Angeles, and Minnesota Public Radio, followed suit.
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* Tribune…
Police have arrested a suspect for making numerous bomb threats to public libraries, businesses, suburban governments and at least one police station during approximately the past seven weeks, according to information from the Niles, Morton Grove and Skokie police departments.
Jacob N. Spiro, 23, of the 4600 block of Davis Street, Skokie, was arrested Monday in Niles by Niles police with the assistance of Morton Grove police and the FBI Joint Terrorist Task Force, police said in statements. […]
Niles police said 11 threats occurred in Niles and Morton Grove police said 12 occurred in Morton Grove, including some directed at the Morton Grove Library, the Village of Morton Grove and businesses.
Skokie police said in a statement that 16 threats were made in Skokie.
During the investigation, detectives linked the suspect to all these incidents and identified him through digital forensics, police said.
* WGN…
Jacob Spiro, 23, of Skokie, is facing two counts of falsely making a terrorist threat and one count of disorderly conduct. […]
Throughout the area this year, several schools and libraries have been the targets of phony bomb threat calls.
Skokie police told WGN News the charges are connected to schools an additional charges for “other locations” are pending.
Niles police said 11 of the incidents took place in their community. He is also facing charges related to incidents in Morton Grove and Glenview.
* Patch…
Spiro, of Skokie, is due to make his first appearance in court Wednesday afternoon, and he is expected to face additional charges after prosecutors present the evidence against him to a grand jury.
Police said Spiro was arrested Monday at the Wendy’s in the Golf Milwaukee Plaza in Niles, where he was taken into custody by Niles officers with assistance from Morton Grove police and the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Spiro had threatened the Wendy’s, 8309 Golf Road, shortly before his arrest, according to Nick Zakula, deputy chief of the Niles Police Department.
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It’s just a bill
Wednesday, Oct 11, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Rep. La Shawn Ford filed HB4161…
Amends the Industrial Hemp Act. Changes the short title of the Act to the Hemp Act. Permits the wholesale and retail sale of cannabinoids, hemp concentrate, or any other intermediate hemp cannabinoid products. Provides that no person shall offer or sell cannabinoid products, particularly packaged hemp products, to consumers in the State unless the person applies for and holds a hemp retailer license issued by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Provides that no person shall sell ready-to-eat hemp products to end consumers without applying for and holding a hemp food establishment license issued by the Department of Public Health. Provides that no person shall sell cannabinoid product to any person under the age of 21 unless the person is a medical cardholder registered under the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Program Act. Provides that the Department of Agriculture may not limit the number of hemp farm licenses. Provides that no person shall cultivate or grow hemp for commercial purposes unless licensed by the Department of Agriculture and subject to the rules of the Department. Provides that hemp farms may not create hemp extractions without a processor license. Provides that hemp farms may not engage in retail sales without a hemp retailer license. Provides that hemp farms may not create hemp extractions without a processor license. Provides that hemp farms may not engage in retail sales without a hemp retailer license. Creates in the State treasury a special fund known as the Hemp Social Equity Fund. Provides that 25% of all moneys deposited into the Hemp Regulatory Fund shall be transferred into the Hemp Social Equity Fund. Provides that, beginning on July 1, 2024, a tax is imposed upon purchases of all hemp cannabinoid products (hemp cannabinoid products for inhalation, hemp cannabinoid products for ingestion, and ready-to-eat hemp cannabinoid products) at a rate of 5% of the purchase price of the cannabinoid products. Defines terms. Preempts home rule powers. Amends the State Finance Act, Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, the Illinois Noxious Weed Law, the Cannabis Control Act, the Use Tax Act, the Service Use Tax Act, the Service Occupation Tax Act, and the Retailers’ Occupation Tax Act to make conforming changes. Effective immediately.
The Sun-Times published an interesting article on how hemp could help Illinois go green. Click here to read it!
* Here’s another bill from Rep. Ford…
Amends the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act. Provides that by January 1, 2024, the Department of Agriculture shall adopt emergency rules and begin accepting applications for the conversion of transporting organization licenses to third-party transporting organization licenses. Provides that there shall be no applicable fees for the conversion application process, and the Department shall process these applications and convert qualifying transporting organization licenses to third-party transporting organization licenses within 60 days after application submission. Provides that third-party transporting organizations are subject to the same standards and requirements for transporting organizations under the Act. Provides that a cultivation center, craft grower, infuser, or infuser agent shall not transport cannabis or cannabis-infused products and shall use third-party transporting organizations for all transports authorized under the Act, unless (1) the licensee possesses a transporting organization license, (2) the licensee requires delivery within 36 hours, and (3) the licensee has offered a right of first refusal to all third-party transporting organizations and confirmed there are no available third-party transporting organizations to complete the delivery. Amends the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act to make a conforming change. Effective immediately.
* HB676 may get a redo in veto…
On Thursday, October 12 at 10:00 AM, domestic violence and gun violence prevention advocates will hold a press conference in Chicago urging passage of Karina’s Bill, legislation that would strengthen state law to protect domestic violence survivors from firearms.
Karina’s Bill would require a firearm to be removed from a home when a survivor is granted an order of protection with the firearm remedy from a judge. Advocates hope to pass the bill during the Illinois General Assembly’s fall veto session beginning in late October, which is also Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
The legislation is named in honor of Karina Gonzalez, who was shot and killed in July along with her 15-year-old daughter Daniela by Karina’s husband even though she was granted an order of protection that could have led to the removal of his firearm by law enforcement.
WHO: Expected speakers include:
State Rep. Maura Hirschauer (D-Batavia)
Amanda Pyron, Executive Director, The Network
Yolanda Androzzo, Executive Director, One Aim Illinois
Maria Ruiz, Executive Director, Un Nuevo Despertar
Pastor Brenda Mitchell, State Chapter Co-Leader for Mom’s Demand Action in Illinois and a Fellow with the Everytown Survivor Network
John Bouman, Director, Legal Action Chicago
* G-PAC…
Today, the Gun Violence Prevention PAC (G-PAC) was joined by national gun safety organizations Brady United, GIFFORDS and Everytown in expressing support for Karina’s Bill, a new measure which would clarify and strengthen the Illinois Domestic Violence Act and the Firearm Restraining Order Act to require guns be removed when domestic violence survivors are granted firearm remedies in an order of protection. The groups are standing with The Network, a coalition of organizations dedicated to improving the lives of those impacted by gender-based violence, to call on lawmakers in Springfield to immediately pass this measure.
“Full stop: women and children deserve to live free from the threat of domestic violence,” said Kathleen Sances, President and CEO of G-PAC. “By passing Karina’s Bill, we will keep firearms out of the hands of abusers, save lives, and continue to send a message to the gun lobby that in our state public safety comes first. The time to act is now.”
The proposed legislation aims to address the alarming rates of gun-related domestic violence injuries and fatalities in Illinois, and prioritize the wellbeing of survivors. According to The Network, in 2022, there were 106 total domestic violence-related homicides in Illinois, with more than 60 taking place in Chicago alone. Additionally, last year witnessed an increase in domestic violence-related homicides, specifically those committed with a firearm.
What’s more, the risk of intimate partner homicide taking place increases by 500 percent when abusers have access to a gun, especially when survivors file an order of protection with the courts. In addition to having guns removed from a home once an order of protection is filed, Karina’s Bill would also add intimate partners as petitioners in the Firearm Restraining Orders Act and close a loophole that would otherwise allow transfer of firearm ownership instead of removal per a relevant order of protection.
“Karina Gonzalez and her daughter, Daniela, should still be here today. Gaps in our gun laws have robbed us of their lives and so many more. A perpetrator’s direct access to a gun during a domestic violence incident increases the likelihood of a female victim’s homicide compared to other acts of violence elevenfold. Right now, Illinois’ current protections are not enough to protect survivors from abuse and retaliation, and Karina’s bill updates these statutes to save lives. Brady is grateful to our domestic violence prevention partners for their work fighting for these vital changes, and we urge lawmakers to do the right thing and swiftly pass Karina’s Bill.” – Kris Brown, President of Brady
“When domestic abusers have access to guns, the effects can be and often are deadly – a gun in a domestic violence situation makes it five times more likely that the woman will be killed. Domestic gun violence is a crisis, particularly for Black, American Indian/Alaska Native women, and Latinas, who experience the highest rates of intimate partner gun homicide,” said Pastor Brenda Mitchell, Survivor Fellow with the Everytown Survivor Network and Co-Lead of the Illinois Chapter of Moms Demand Action. “As we mark domestic violence awareness month, we look forward to supporting Illinois lawmakers as they strengthen our state’s efforts to disarm domestic abusers and stop this deadly cycle of abuse”
“Closing loopholes that allow abusive partners to access firearms must be a top priority for Illinois lawmakers,” said Sean Holihan, GIFFORDS State Legislative Director. “When it comes to the safety of women and children in abusive homes, every second counts. It’s common sense: People under domestic violence restraining orders should not be able to own a gun. Lawmakers in Springfield must pass Karina’s Bill swiftly.”
* Rep. Margaret Croke’s HB4156…
Appropriates $500,000 from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for a grant to the Chicago Children’s Museum for its Museum for All program. Effective July 1, 2024.
* Rep. Maurice West filed HB4162 yesterday…
Amends the Open Meetings Act. Provides that, except as otherwise provided in the Act or any other Illinois statute (rather than except as otherwise provided in the Act), a quorum of members of a public body must be physically present at the location of an open meeting or present by video or audio conference at the open meeting (now, members must be physically present at the meeting). Provides that a member is present by video or audio conference at an open meeting if the member can hear and be heard by all other members of the body who are participating in the meeting. Specifies that, if a member wishes to attend a meeting by video or audio conference, the member must notify the recording secretary or clerk of the public body before the meeting, unless providing that advance notice is impractical for the member. Repeals existing provisions concerning the participation of public body members in open meetings by video conference or other means.
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* Chicago’s constant flailing is quite evident to anyone half paying attention, so people see that and understandably fear that it will happen to their communities. But there are ways of getting things done and there are ways that make things worse. Joliet Township’s leadership essentially killed what could’ve been a decent idea…
Residents of Joliet Township packed Tuesday night’s board meeting after the township received the State of Illinois Asylum Seeker Grant.
Some of the residents were outraged and angered over what some said was a lack of involvement.
The $8.6 million grant issued to Joliet Township helps fund municipalities that are welcoming asylum seekers.
* If this truly was about helping people who were already there, then the township should’ve made that clear from the get-go. Instead, they tried to sneak it into existence and spectacularly failed…
Attendees did not mince words as they addressed concerns over the money.
“I don’t believe you’re fixing a problem, you’re creating a problem,” one speaker said.
“We need to take care of our own. We have issues here. We need to strengthen our foundation,” said another.
“The purpose of this grant was to help our community partners who serve individuals beyond the county township and city boundaries,” said Supervisor Angel Contreras. “This is a reactive request grant to address current issues, it was not intended to bring more people to our areas.”
* Rarely do you see such a total botch…
Some speakers supported the township on the grant and supported assistance for asylum seekers.
“Give them a chance to be part of your community, and you’d be surprised,” one said.
Another was virtually booed away from the microphone as she spoke in support of the grant. […]
The Joliet Park District rescinded a pending lease with the township for its Hartman Recreation Center located at 511 Collins St. after learning last week that the building had been proposed as a welcome center. A park official said the township had indicated it planned to use the space for office space and community activities.
Likewise, a spokeswoman for Duly Health & Care said the medical group did not know that its medical office building had been included as a potential welcome center or clinic in the grant application.
* Yeah, this is how to speak to people. Right…
Township Clerk Alicia Morales has claimed “the process was handled in the appropriate manner, nothing was violated.”
“People just don’t understand how government works,” Morales added.
*Facepalm*
* But some of the comments were just so over the top…
During nearly three hours of public comment, hundreds of people showed up both in support and opposition to the proposal, with township officials warning people would be asked to leave if they were disruptive during the meeting.
“We are seeking asylum from crime, from drugs, from gang activity, from homelessness. We have been asylum seekers,” one woman said. […]
The controversy has become so intense, a Joliet City Council member said there has been a threat made against a local social service agency that supports migrants.
And…
Joliet resident Brian Beck said that if the township wanted to come up with solutions, it needed to find solutions of “how to move these people out of here.” […]
Other residents said township officials had gone “out of their bounds” to invite asylum-seekers to Joliet and said that township trustees have no right to dictate where taxpayer money is spent.
Rev. Larry Ellis, a retired deacon from St. Mark CME Church, told trustees that residents were misled about the intentions surrounding the purchase of the Peter Claver Center. He said that he understood the meeting was for community outreach programs but that the “whispers in the neighborhood” said it was instead being used by asylum seekers.
“I’m upset, I’m p*ssed off simply because we have not been told – first of all, we weren’t told about the grant,” he said. “Second of all, we weren’t told about who was coming into our neighborhoods, and I think that’s disgraceful.”
Thanks, reverend.
…Adding… A buddy of mine took a photo outside the event yesterday…
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* Sun-Times…
An administrative law judge has recommended that state regulators approve a smaller rate increase for Peoples Gas than the utility asked for — but the increase would still add up to the biggest hike customers have ever seen in Illinois.
The proposed order filed Friday by Glennon Dolan, an administrative law judge for the Illinois Commerce Commission, recommended the panel vote to approve rate increases totaling about $350 million for Peoples Gas, which is seeking a record-high increase of $402 million.
Consumer advocates want to see the proposed hike slashed below $290 million, which would still top the state’s previous all-time high increase of $240 million approved for Nicor in 2021. […]
A $402 million increase would raise the average monthly residential bill by about $11.83 starting next year, a cost Peoples Gas says it expects to be offset by falling natural gas prices.
The proposed order’s $350 million increase would come out to an extra $10 per month.
While the commission has often followed proposed orders from its administrative law judges, Sarah Moskowitz, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board, said she’s not sure what to expect from the panel this year. Gov. J.B. Pritzker has appointed three new members since March, including chairman Doug Scott.
The draft decision is here.
* Illinois PIRG…
The newly constituted [ICC] has demonstrated on multiple occasions this year that it is prepared to take a more proactive, pro-consumer approach, ordering Peoples Gas to issue a $15 million refund to its customers in May and rejecting $31 million of infrastructure spending by suburban utility Nicor Gas in June. In both instances, the Commission overruled the judge’s Proposed Order.
The rate hike comes as the “QIP” law that has fueled large gas utility rate increases and shielded Peoples Gas from accountability expires at the end of 2023.
Among many other issues being litigated in the case, the Proposed Order:
• Does nothing to immediately address the failing Peoples Gas pipe replacement program, the budget for which has ballooned from up to $2 billion to $11 billion. Consumer and environmental advocates, along with the Office of the Attorney General, are calling on the Commission to enact immediate reforms, while also launching an in-depth investigation of the troubled program. Instead, the Proposed Order would require Commission staff to draft a report with recommendations within 6 months.
• Does nothing to rein in unnecessary and wasteful Peoples Gas spending going forward — the very spending that has led to this historic rate hike. Consumer and environmental advocates, along with the Office of the Attorney General and the City of Chicago, proposed a number of policies that would bring Peoples Gas spending under more scrutiny going forward. Instead of considering those specific policy proposals, the Proposed Order postpones consideration of them until an upcoming “future of gas” proceeding.
• Rejects almost all of the proposals made by the Office of the Attorney General to disallow tens of millions of dollars of unjustified Peoples Gas spending.
In more positive outcomes for consumers, the Proposed Order adopts a slightly lower profit rate than that proposed by Peoples Gas. The slightly lower profit rate is the primary reason the Proposed Order drops the rate hike from just over $400 million to $350 million. The Proposed Order also rejects the utility’s proposal to raise its fixed monthly charge to about $45 per customer. Instead, the order maintains the current fixed monthly charge of about $31, despite arguments from many parties that it should be even lower. High fixed charges discourage energy efficiency and conservation and increase affordability burdens.
Discuss.
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Do The Right Thing – Extend The Tax Credit Scholarship
Wednesday, Oct 11, 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.
This program is an investment in poverty reduction and economic acceleration, so lawmakers should do the right thing: Extend the Tax Credit Scholarship Program.
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‘I don’t see any method at all, sir’
Wednesday, Oct 11, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sun-Times editorial…
More than 17,000 asylum seekers have been sent to Chicago from the country’s southern border since the summer of 2022.
About half of the arrivals are housed in temporary shelters run by the city. But at least 2,500 are living — if you can call it that — in police station lobbies and floor space at O’Hare and Midway airports.
Given the pace of the arrivals, we can understand if the city was caught flat-footed momentarily and had to scramble for space while a larger plan was being developed.
But we see no evidence of a solid, workable plan forthcoming from the five-month-old Johnson administration. The Fifth Floor’s big idea so far is awarding a $29 million contract to private security firm GardaWorld to create and manage tent camps this winter for up to 1,400 migrants.
Tent camps in a Chicago winter are a bad idea on its face, but that’s not the only problem. GardaWorld had been in line for a $40 million contract to build a similar camp in Denver, but officials there gave the company the boot last May, citing abuse allegations against the corporation and its thin experience with housing migrant populations.
And as the Sun-Times’ David Roeder wrote Monday, the city seems to have left the Roman Catholic archdiocese and other religious organizations — many of which own scores of properties that likely could be converted into housing — idling on the sidelines.
Tents are now going up outside police stations to handle the overflow.
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Question of the day
Wednesday, Oct 11, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Gregory Royal Pratt at the Tribune…
In an extraordinary departure from usual practices at City Hall, the city’s $100,000 settlement agreement with whistleblowers who were fired by Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin prohibits them from publicly discussing their negative experiences in her office, records show.
Of more than three dozen settlements reached with city workers over the past five years, the deal that Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration reached with the treasurer’s ex-employees was the only one that contained what amounts to a gag order, the Tribune found. In a handful of cases, former employees agreed not to discuss the terms of their settlements, but they could still speak freely about their time in city government.
For the whistleblowers who had alleged that Conyears-Ervin used public resources for personal gain, the terms of the deal’s non-disparagement clause were so restrictive that they specifically included a ban on giving any “false and disparaging” statements to the media. […]
[The treasurer’s spouse, Ald. Jason Ervin] led furious battles against Lightfoot over legal marijuana sales in late 2019 and emergency contracting during the COVID-19 pandemic. But he slowly evolved into an ally and surprised colleagues when he delivered an early endorsement for Lightfoot’s reelection campaign in September 2021. The city signed the settlement agreement a month later.
* The Question: Should the state consider passing a law to bar state and local governments from entering into non-disparagement lawsuit settlements? Explain.
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Open thread
Wednesday, Oct 11, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* What’s going on in your part of Illinois?…
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Wednesday, Oct 11, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* ICYMI: The Quincy City Council denied a controversial ordiance that would have made the town a ‘Sanctuary City for the Unborn.’ WGEM…
- The ordiance failed 7-5 with two aldermen absent.
- Public coment lasted for more than two hours.
* ACLU of Illinois…
We applaud the majority of the Quincy City Council who this evening recognized that the ordinance aimed at limiting access to abortion care was unlawful and unenforceable. The vote came after Quincy residents – some of whom had never attended a City Council meeting – spoke up and urged the Council to reject the fantasies of anti-abortion activists, and focus on the needs of their community. Public participation at the local level clearly still matters.
* Related stories…
* Isabel’s top picks…
- SJ-R | Navigator drops CO2 pipeline for second time this year, plans to refile: For the second time this year, Navigator Heartland Greenway LLC has withdrawn its application with the Illinois Commerce Commission to construct a carbon dioxide pipeline through central Illinois. Navigator, a Nebraska-based company, filed its motion on Tuesday but does plan on reinitiating its application later with ICC after completing a full evaluation.
- Crain’s | NASCAR, city still negotiating second street race deal: The Johnson administration is still working toward a final agreement but has commitments from NASCAR to reimburse the city for costs at future races, according to the city official. However, the latest deal still leaves the city holding the bag from the 2023 race, which incurred $2.1 million in street repairs and another $1.1 million in police overtime, according to South Side Weekly.
- Tribune | Manteno EV battery plant promises 2,600 jobs. But far-right legislators are stoking fears over Chinese influence: “I really feel that all of you that think it is OK to have a Communist Chinese company here did not do your homework,” Manteno resident Amelia Cahill said at a recent village board meeting. “You are willing to jeopardize the health of everybody in Manteno and also surrounding areas.”
* Here’s the rest of your morning roundup…
* WTTW | State Lawmakers Seeking Community Input on Chicago’s Elected School Board Map. Here’s What to Know: Valerie Leonard, co-founder of Illinois African Americans for Equitable Redistricting, said her group’s proposed map will align city resources with CPS resources to support student outcomes. For Jessica Cañas, senior community engagement manager at Kids First Chicago, the issue with the Senate’s proposed maps is the lack of Latino representation. The maps are based on Chicago’s overall population, meaning fewer majority Latino districts.
* Sun-Times | Unveiling of city’s 2024 budget will be 2nd big test of Brandon Johnson’s leadership: Johnson will stand before the Chicago City Council and disclose how he plans to deliver on his campaign promise to make $1 billion worth of “investments in people” bankrolled by $800 million in new or increased taxes on businesses and wealthy Chicagoans.
* WBEZ | Boosting the wages of Chicago’s tipped workers could lift thousands out of poverty: To gain a snapshot of some of the region’s tipped workers and to get a sense of how the measure might impact those among them who work in the city, WBEZ analyzed data on wages and other variables from the U.S. Census Bureau 2021 American Community Survey prepared by the University of Minnesota. The numbers are the most recent data we could find that allows us to zoom in close enough to get a glance at tipped workers.
* Shaw Local | Tollway system looking ahead to billions more in construction projects: Although consisting only of 294 centerline miles, the Illinois Tollway system’s five roads span 12 counties and carry more than 1.5 million daily drivers. Other figures from the agency’s 2022 annual report reveal just how much happens on those 294 miles: Almost 80 million toll transactions each month – an average of 2.62 million per day.
* Tribune | Neighborhoods around the city are asked to house more migrants as number surpasses 18,000: Ald. Chris Taliaferro, 29th, said the proposed shelter at the Amundsen Park field house in Galewood was “fundamentally wrong” and that the decision by Mayor Brandon Johnson — who lives in the Austin neighborhood — to delay the move-in of asylum-seekers shows his commitment to listening and responding to the concerns of Chicagoans.
* Block Club | Austin Migrant Shelter Plans ‘On Hold’ After Fierce Neighbor Backlash, Alderman Says: Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29th) announced Monday that plans to use Amundsen’s indoor facility at 6200 W. Bloomingdale Ave as a migrant shelter have been put “on hold” as the city works to determine if a nearby office and warehouse would be a more suitable site for a shelter.
* Sun-Times | Venezuelan migrant shot while holding her son outside South Side police station: Romero, 28, a Venezuelan asylum-seeker who has been living temporarily at the South Side police station, was wounded in the buttocks. A man, also a migrant from Venezuela, got hit in his right thigh, police said. Romero said she’d been in Chicago for only a week when she was shot Saturday afternoon.
* Crain’s | Sheriff’s office turns to old-school tactics to combat Mag Mile retail theft: “We wanted to create high visibility,” said Lt. Michael Rivers, who watched as his fellow officers apprehended a shoplifter after the manager at the Walgreens in the Wrigley Building called them. “And not just high visibility, we wanted interactions with the businesses up and down Michigan and Oak Street.”
* Tribune | City settlement deal demands silence from whistleblowers fired by Chicago Treasurer Conyears-Ervin: Of more than three dozen settlements reached with city workers over the past five years, the deal that Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration reached with the treasurer’s ex-employees was the only one that contained what amounts to a gag order, the Tribune found. In a handful of cases, former employees agreed not to discuss the terms of their settlements, but they could still speak freely about their time in city government.
* Sun-Times | Cut recommended to Peoples Gas’ $402M rate increase request, but it’s still a record hike: Consumer advocates want to see the proposed hike slashed below $290 million, which would still top the state’s previous all-time high increase of $240 million approved for Nicor in 2021.
* Crain’s | Northwestern’s Kellogg gets $25 million in memory of Sam Zell: Zell, one of Chicago’s best-known entrepreneurs, initially funded the Zell Fellows Program at Kellogg a decade ago. Nearly 200 second-year MBA students have participated in the program, launching 127 ventures, Kellogg says.
* AP | ‘Ring of fire’ solar eclipse will slice across Americas on Saturday with millions along path: It’s a prelude to the total solar eclipse that will sweep across Mexico, the eastern half of the U.S. and Canada, in six months. Unlike Saturday, when the moon is too far from Earth to completely cover the sun from our perspective, the moon will be at the perfect distance on April 8, 2024.
* Tribune | A ‘Seinfeld’ reunion? Jerry Seinfeld hints that divisive finale might get a redo: “Something is going to happen that has to do with that ending. It hasn’t happened yet,” Seinfeld said to big cheers. “Just what you are thinking about, Larry [David] and I have also been thinking about. So, you’ll see.”
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Live coverage
Wednesday, Oct 11, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Click here or here to follow breaking news.
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Afternoon roundup
Tuesday, Oct 10, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* More trouble in Joliet Township…
Now, ahead of Tuesday night’s Township Board meeting, the Joliet Park District had issued a statement saying that it is rescinding the lease to the township of the Hartman Recreation Center, which was set to go into effect on Oct. 1. Park District Executive Director Brad Staab said in the statement that the township misrepresented what the township would use the Hartman Center for.
“Until we saw a copy of the grant application and saw the Hartman Recreation Center listed as a Welcome Center, we trusted they were going to do what they said, which was use it for community events, a farmers market, and moving some of their offices from Jefferson Street, NOT a migrant welcome center,” the park district statement said.
Unreal.
* 12th District Republican challenger Darren Bailey issued a statement on the invasion of Israel over the weekend. The NRCC responded…
…Here’s a quote below regarding Darren Bailey’s complete 180 on his stance with Israel/Palestine. As you know, he spoke in front of a map that erased Israel and depicted the entire region as “Palestine.” When asked by the Times of Israel if he would get behind legislation supporting Israel, Bailey “avoided providing an answer.”
“Terrorists are invading Israel to wipe it off the map—which is exactly what Darren Bailey endorsed in his shameless campaign appearance in Chicagoland last year. We live in too dangerous a world to allow flip-flopping politicians like Darren Bailey into Congress.” – NRCC Spokesman Mike Marinella
More background is here.
* Politico completely ignored the Illinois Legislative Jewish Caucus’ statement on Israel and the sharp push-back against Rep. Rashid’s counter-statement, and the resulting “clarifications” issued by at least four (now five) of Rashid’s own co-signers. Subscribers know more…
Gov. JB Pritzker condemned the “horrifying attacks on Israel” by the Palestinian Hamas group over the weekend. “In Illinois and across America, the people of Israel are in our prayers,” Pritzker said in a social media statement and reiterating his sentiments on CBS’ Face the Nation.
And 18 members of the Illinois General Assembly signed a letter calling for peace in the Middle East.
“There are people across Illinois, many of whom are our constituents, who are watching this situation unfold and experiencing deep pain as they worry for loved ones,” the members said. “We will not be able to achieve peace when millions of Palestinians are denied basic human rights.”
State Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid, the first Palestinian American to serve in the Illinois General Assembly, was among those signing the letter.
* WBEZ has a profile of United Working Families leader Kennedy Bartley…
Kennedy Bartley knows her way around 121 N. Lasalle.
Her group, United Working Families, has long sought to shape public policies passed through City Hall. They hold political action events there, attend council meetings to push their agenda, and work to elect grassroots organizers.
But for the first time since UWF’s ascension in Chicago politics, Bartley and the organization she’s been tasked to lead have an influential seat at the City Hall table, with the mayor they helped elect.
Same Kennedy Bartley…
“From the river to the sea” explained by the ADL…
Demanding justice for Palestinians, or calling for a Palestinian state should not also mean negating Israel’s existence. This chant can be understood as a call for a Palestinian state extending from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, territory that includes the State of Israel, implying the dismantling of the Jewish state. Indeed, this rallying cry has long been used by the anti-Israel terrorist organizations such as Hamas and the PFLP, which seek Israel’s destruction through violent means.
* On to other topics. Sen. Durbin had a knee replaced…
U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today underwent a successful total knee replacement surgery for his left knee. The procedure was performed this morning at RUSH in Oak Brook, Illinois. Durbin will remain in Illinois until he is cleared for travel to Washington by his doctor.
“As a result of my unremarkable high school football career, it was determined that I needed a full knee replacement for my left knee. I’m grateful to the medical staff at RUSH for today’s successful procedure and my new knee. I look forward to getting back to Washington as soon as possible.”
* Got any ideas?…
The Illinois Senate Special Committee on the Chicago Elected Representative School Board is seeking further input from parents, education advocates, community groups and other stakeholders regarding the transition to a fully-elected school board.
The committee will host a public hearing online at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 12 at www.ilga.gov to explore suggestions on how the transition can be done in a way that ensures equitable representation for all of Chicago’s diverse communities. Recent hearings have raised questions about a number of provisions required under current law, including the hybrid period in which some districts will be represented by members who are elected and others will be represented by members who are appointed, as well as the petition and election process for prospective board candidates.
Comments can be submitted prior to the hearing via email at ChicagoERSBCommittee@senatedem.ilga.gov, or online at www.ilsenateredistricting.com. That website also hosts an online map-making portal where anyone can draw and submit proposed district boundaries for consideration.
* Press release…
Governor JB Pritzker joined local and state leaders today to celebrate the ribbon cutting of Eli’s Cheesecake expanded facility. The $10 million investment and 42,000 square-foot expanded facility will increase space for packaging lines and bakery operations for the famous Chicago cheesecake company while creating 50 new jobs for the area.
“A family-owned bakery — three generations strong, Eli’s Cheesecake is an iconic Chicago-staple,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Thanks to a $10 million investment and competitive hiring incentives from our EDGE tax credit program, Eli’s Cheesecake was able to complete a 42,000 square foot expansion—bringing this facility size to a whopping 104,000 square feet. And, of course, more capacity brings jobs for the people of Illinois. More jobs, more customers, more cake: it doesn’t get much better than that.”
“With more than three decades of serving communities, the expansion of Eli’s Cheesecake is an example of how Illinois continues to grow,” said Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton. “We have the talent, the business and the infrastructure to keep our communities moving forward.”
The expanded facility – which is the company’s first expansion in almost 30 years – almost doubles the size of its bakery, allowing for increased bakery operations, including additional production and packaging lines, warehousing, and welfare areas. With a total of 104,000-square-feet, the expanded facility includes Eli’s Corporate Offices and the Eli’s Cheesecake Bakery Café, which is open to the public.
* Isabel’s afternoon roundup…
* Sun-Times | Pritzker says Illinois ‘unequivocally stands’ with Israel in battle with Hamas: The Democratic governor, who is Jewish, acknowledged that there are “peace-loving Palestinians, and we must honor them,” but he called Hamas an “Iranian-backed army of murderers” at a Jewish United Fund solidarity event in the parking lot of the North Shore Congregation Israel.
* SJ-R | Five county inmates face delayed transfers to mental health treatment centers: What to know: At the Sangamon County Jail, there are currently five inmates who have been deemed unfit that have stayed beyond the 60-day standard- one spending an additional 110 days behind bars. All told, the sheriff said 31 inmates have been kept in jail after 60 days since Jan. 1, 2023.
* Iowa Capital Dispatch | Navigator pulls its pipeline permit application in Illinois: Navigator CO2 on Tuesday moved to withdraw its carbon dioxide pipeline permit application in Illinois, effectively halting its project. The motion comes about a week before the Illinois Commerce Commission was set to hold an evidentiary hearing for the application.
* Crain’s | The rocky path for Black and Latino homebuyers in Chicago: Lenders are denying a higher percentage of Black Chicagoans’ mortgage applications (27%) than they are of Latinos’ (20%) and whites’ (11%). And of those who are approved, African American and Latino borrowers are generally paying more for their loans through what lenders call loan level pricing adjustments, or LLPAs.
* Daily Herald | ‘They can’t get people to work here’: U-46 drivers call for better pay to attract more workers: Days that start at 5:15 a.m. and end at 4:45 p.m. Workplace temperatures that hit 120 degrees in the summer. The possibility of being kicked, punched or slapped. Confrontations with students in possession of illegal drugs. Take home pay of $585 every two weeks.
* Block Club | Fewer Migrants Staying At O’Hare’s Bus Center As More Shelters Open: The makeshift shelter at the airport, which on Friday hosted 828 migrants, now has 632 people, according number released Tuesday morning from the Office of Emergency Management and Communications.
* Daily Herald | Why Elk Grove Village is going to court over O’Hare Fly Quiet plan: Village leaders on Monday announced they’ve filed a petition in the U.S. Court of Appeals for Washington, D.C., to compel the agency to analyze “reasonable” alternatives as part of an environmental review of changes to the Fly Quiet Program, which first was implemented in 1997.
* Naperville Sun | 95% of Naperville residents give city a positive quality of life rating, find little to criticize, survey shows: “If you’re looking (for) … the place where we’re screwing up and dropping the ball? Frankly, when I went through the data, I could not find (any),” Naperville City Manager Doug Krieger told council members.
* Sun-Times | Anti-abortion activist climbs Accenture Tower, gets arrested: Des Champs has climbed eight other buildings with the same goal, including the Salesforce Tower in San Francisco, according to a news release from Let Them Live. The climbs usually end with Des Champs being arrested.
* Tribune | CTA Brown, Orange Line schedules down more than 25%, even as other cities rebuild transit levels: As the CTA has cut back on schedules, facing a shortage of bus and train drivers that limits the amount of service it can run, the Tribune analysis of CTA data and a separate analysis of federal data by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning show exactly how much service has been cut, and where the CTA is trimming schedules the most.
* Block Club Chicago | Water Taxi Fully Back On Chicago River For First Time Since Pandemic: ‘I Hope The People Come Back’: The Chicago Water Taxi fully reopened last month, with service to Michigan Avenue, Ogilvie Transportation Center and Chinatown’s Ping Tom Park. Tickets are $6 each way. The scenic trips will run “until the river freezes,” Chyna said.
* AP | Alabama library mistakenly adds children’s book to “explicit” list because of author’s name: “Read Me a Story, Stella,” a children’s picture book by Canadian author Marie-Louise Gay, was added to a list of books flagged for potential removal from the children’s section of the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library because of “sexually explicit” content.
* AP | Biden is trying again on student loan forgiveness. Here’s where the process stands: President Joe Biden is making another attempt at student loan cancellation after the Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that his administration couldn’t forgive $400 billion in student loan debt using a 2003 law called the HEROES Act.
* NYT | Women Could Fill Truck Driver Jobs. Companies Won’t Let Them.: Trucking companies often refuse to hire women if the businesses do not have women available to train them. And because fewer than 5 percent of truck drivers in the United States are women, there are few female trainers to go around. The same-sex training policies are common across the industry, truckers and legal experts say, even though a federal judge ruled in 2014 that it was unlawful for a trucking company to require that female job candidates be paired only with female trainers.
* Sun-Times | 104-year-old skydiver, Chicagoan Dorothy Hoffner, dies days after becoming oldest person to parachute from a plane: Hoffner spent her entire life in Chicago, first living in the Humboldt Park area and later in Jefferson Park, and worked for Illinois Bell Telephone Co., Conant said. She made 25 cents an hour when she started the job. At age 104, Hoffner had spent as many years retired as she had spent working, Conant said.
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* The governor was asked today if he thought a supplemental appropriations bill would be introduced during the upcoming veto session. The City of Chicago is hoping to use such a bill to pry loose more state dollars for new arrivals, which isn’t exactly receiving a hearty welcome. Here’s Gov. Pritzker’s response…
I have not heard of a supplemental that will be introduced. That’s certainly something the legislature might think about doing. But there are plenty of other things to consider, including, as you know, looking at a better nuclear moratorium removal, and a few other things that are, you know, the purpose of a veto session.
Doesn’t sound promising. The governor’s office usually is closely tied to any supplemental. They administer the budget, so they know if they need any additional authority.
Please pardon all transcription errors.
* My associate Isabel Miller was also at the press conference…
Q: Governor, how many asylum-seekers are in the suburbs? And is there any word of the state taking control the situation through IEMA or any other state agency?
A: Let me be clear that the asylum-seekers are not required to tell us where they are moving to. They might choose to go to a suburb or anywhere Downstate, and some have without us even knowing. And so you would find out only if they’re applying for certain kinds of services, where they are. For us, in order to manage the major services that people need, working with the City of Chicago, we need to have them in locations where we can serve a number of people all at once, and not one family here, one family there, because there just aren’t too many services that many people need.
Sounds like he prefers to have them in Chicago. Also, they can track some of those folks who are being sent to the suburbs. [The governor’s office says that if the asylum-seekers leave the city it’s totally on their own volition, so they cannot track them.]
Isabel tried to ask a follow-up because he didn’t address the second part of her question, but got big-footed by a TV reporter. It happens.
* Asked if there was any news this week about the federal government cooperating on the migrant situation, Pritzker said…
A: I will say that they have moved quickly on a number of items. I think you saw that, shortly after our letter went to the White House, that the determination was made to expand the return of refugees who no do not qualify for refugee status. So that’s one thing. Another is very, very close to discussion about buses that are coming here, whether some of those buses are potentially breaking the law along the way, and working with the government about the logistics of those buses. Where would they go? Is Chicago the only place they can go? New York the only place they can go? And so those conversations are going, and the White House is taking action in a way that they didn’t before. So I’m very pleased about that.
Q: Were they breaking that midnight curfew? Is that the law you’re talking about?
A: No, no, no. This is just folks who do not qualify for refugee status. So remember, when they come here, they get temporary asylum status, they’re seeking asylum. And they have to go through a process. If they don’t meet the requirements for someone who could stay, we’re making sure, the federal government anyway is making sure those folks are returned.
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* Background is here if you need it. From today’s Gov. Pritzker news conference…
Q: Governor, should a person who was arrested be held in custody that was breaking windows at your home?
A: Should they be held in custody? They should if they meet the requirements. But let’s say, criminal property damage is one thing. Stalking, which is something that it appears that this person may be charged with. Also, this is not the first time they’ve come by our home. And so I don’t know what the state’s attorney is going to do with regard to that. But I can say that, collectively, those could lead to somebody being held in jail and not let out.
*** UPDATE 1 *** ISP…
Illinois State Police (ISP) Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) Zone 1 announces the arrest of 38-year-old Adam A. Dabash of Villa Park, IL for two counts of Stalking (Class 4 Felony) and one count of Criminal Damage to Property (Class 4 Felony).
On October 9, 2023, ISP DCI was requested by the Chicago Police Department (CPD) to assist with a Criminal Damage to Property investigation that occurred at Governor J.B. Pritzker’s residence in Chicago. CPD was able to successfully locate the suspect, later identified as Dabash, on POD cameras and took Dabash into custody without incident. ISP was subsequently able to identify Dabash as the same suspect who left letters at the Governor’s home on two occasions in August.
The joint investigation by ISP and CPD culminated in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office approving the above-mentioned charges for Dabash. Dabash is being held at the Chicago Police Department’s 18th District lockup until his pretrial conditions have been set by a judge. No further information will be disseminated.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Confirmed…
A Cook County judge on Tuesday rejected a prosecutor’s request to have a man who allegedly stalked and threw rocks at the home of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker jailed as a safety threat. Judge William Fahy decided that the public’s safety could be assured by releasing the man, 38-year-old Adam Dabash, on electronic monitoring instead, according to court records.
Assistant State’s Attorney Anne McCord Rodgers told Fahy that surveillance video showed Dabash walking outside the governor’s home in the 1400 block of North Astor around 9:45 a.m. Monday. Dabash allegedly stopped twice to throw baseball-sized rocks at the mansion’s windows, then returned to throw another rock at the windows. She said three of the governor’s windows were damaged, with one rock recovered from inside the mansion and two found outside. […]
Dabash destroyed the mattress in his police holding cell and told officers at the police station that Illinois has a “m****r f****r for a governor.” […]
Rodgers said he has no criminal background.
It’s unclear why they didn’t also charge him with threatening a public official, which is on the list of alleged crimes that qualify for detention.
…Adding… Stalking, I’m told, is also a detainable offense.
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COGFA: State revenue still growing
Tuesday, Oct 10, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* COGFA…
Year to Date
Through the first quarter of FY 2024, overall General Funds revenues are $39 million above last year’s pace. This comparison, however, includes $764 million in FY 2023 Federal reimbursements that will not repeat in FY 2024. Excluding these one-time revenues, FY 2024 “base” receipts are up a noteworthy $803 million or +7.0% through September. But, as mentioned in the previous paragraphs, Illinois’ revenue totals are aided by the timing of reallocations and transfers that slightly distort its year-to-date performance. With that being said, Illinois’ economy has avoided a significant downshift to this point, which has allowed its primary revenue sources to continue to generate respectable totals through the first quarter of the fiscal year.
Personal Income Taxes are up $391 million through September or +$321 million on a net basis. While part of this growth is due to the first of five “true-up” reallocation installments, most of the year-to-date growth stems from steady employment levels and higher wages. The previously mentioned adjustments, as well as modified percentages of current business income tax disbursements, have factored into the slight $12 million decline in Corporate Income Tax receipts through September [-$2 million on a net basis]. Without these adjustments, corporate income tax receipts would be modestly higher through September.
Sales Tax receipts have continued to stay in positive territory through the first quarter of the fiscal year with growth of $57 million [or +$22 million net of non-general fund distributions]. All Other State Sources have combined to grow $92 million through September. This growth is primarily due to the $105 million rise in Interest Income, which has benefitted from comparatively higher interest rates. Other first-quarter increases have come from the Inheritance Tax [+$39 million]; Insurance Taxes [+$12 million]; and the Corporate Franchise Tax [+$3 million]. Other tax sources that are lower through the first three months include Other Sources [-$32 million]; Public Utility Taxes [-$25 million]; the Cigarette Tax [-$9 million]; and the Liquor Tax [-$1 million].
General Funds revenues from Transfers In are a combined $233 million higher through September, again mainly due to the timing of this year’s Income Tax Refund Fund Transfer [up +$259 million]. As alluded to previously, a sharp decline in this transfer category is expected by the end of the fiscal year due to the size of the FY 2023 Income Tax Refund Fund transfer, which was completed in January. Lottery Transfers have performed quite well so far this fiscal year, up $65 million. On the other hand, Other Transfers are down $79 million, mainly due to significantly lower Capital Projects Fund transfers into the General Revenue Fund. Gaming Transfers from casinos are down $10 million, while Cannabis Transfers are $2 million lower.
Despite the September decline, Federal Sources (base) are up $137 million year to date. However, if the $764 million in one-time ARPA Reimbursements receipted in FY 2023 are included in the equation, Federal Sources are down $627 million through the 1st Quarter of the fiscal year.
* More…
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* From the City of Chicago’s aldermanic briefing on October 6th, which was this past Friday…
There’s more, so click here.
* Meanwhile, the mayor’s communications with alderpersons continue to be woefully inadequate. Block Club Chicago…
Officials are holding a community meeting this week to share details about a proposed shelter in Ukrainian Village that could soon house asylum seekers.
The city has identified an industrial building at 526 N. Western Ave. for the shelter, according to a map on a city data portal and Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th), whose ward includes the site. […]
Villegas said he’s waiting for additional information from the mayor’s office, but may not learn more until neighbors do at Thursday’s meeting.
“As of today, I don’t have details as relates to how many people are going to be sheltered, what are the plans to provide wraparound services, whether it’s singles or families, how they’re going to be interacting with local schools, the parks, etc.,” he said. “I don’t know what the plans are from the administration.”
Unacceptable behavior.
* It’s no wonder that people in Joliet are upset. All they have to do is look at Chicago and the lack of a coordinated response by the city, state and federal governments…
A state grant awarded to Joliet Township would fund services for migrants, but some residents in the southwest suburb are questioning whether the money should be accepted.
Community members say they were surprised to learn recently that Joliet Township applied for funding to aid asylum seekers. Word spread quickly when, on Friday, Sept. 29, Governor J.B. Pritzker announced that Joliet was selected to receive $8.6 million. […]
As controversy brews, a Joliet Township board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday at 5 p.m. There, Sheridan and Brown – among other residents – plan to share their concerns. […]
It’s expected to draw such a large crowd, that it was moved from Joliet Township Hall to the auditorium at Bicentennial Park.
Yikes.
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* Drew Zimmerman at the Northwest Herald…
Under TIF, property taxes in a defined geographic area are collected and, over time, as property values rise, the increased tax revenue which would have been collected normally, goes into an incentive pool to grow and be used for specific projects. Traditionally, TIF incentive pool funds go to development or other projects designed to improve buildings or areas within the TIF-defined region which are deemed ‘blighted’ by the TIF Act.
However, many municipalities use the tax dollars to augment their budgets, utilizing the money to pay for administrative and police salaries. Meanwhile, millions more are spent with no officially reported purpose at all, a Shaw Media review of tax increment financing records over the last 10 years has found.
The selective reporting requirements of the Illinois Comptroller’s Office make it nearly impossible to track these expenditures at best, and at worst may be helping to mask millions in misspending. […]
But an in-depth look into the financial reporting within a dozen counties in and around the Chicago area shows numerous other municipalities reporting their spending in a similar fashion to DeKalb and University Park without identifying how they are spending TIF funds – and whether those expenses are TIF-eligible.
For some municipalities such as Kirkland in DeKalb County and Geneva in Kane County, this amounted to hundreds of thousands of dollars in administrative expenses being covered by TIF. But for others, such as East Dundee in Kane County and West Chicago in DuPage County, millions have been allocated to staff salaries.
An analysis of tax increment financing reports filed with the Illinois Comptroller since the 2010 fiscal year identified roughly $10.3 million in unspecified administrative expenses, over $17 million in undisclosed fund transfers and $6 million in completely unidentified expenditures – primarily from University Park. Given the distribution of the Illinois property tax burden, the bulk of those funds would have gone to support public schools.
Go read the rest.
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* Tribune…
Contrary to concerns about an exodus of residents due to high taxes, crime and other factors, researchers report that the state has made noticeable gains in certain areas.
“Reports of Illinois’ population decline have been greatly exaggerated,” researcher Frank Manzo IV told the Tribune. “… Data show the Illinois population has been stable, with the Chicago area adding residents and taxpayers.” […]
The analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Illinois Department of Revenue was conducted by researchers at the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and the Project for Middle Class Renewal at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. […]
The new analysis shows that people who moved out of Illinois were younger, more likely to be Black or from downstate, less likely to be Hispanic, and have lower incomes. Nearly 100,000 African Americans left Illinois. Those losses were largely offset by growth in the Chicago area and immigrants from abroad, the report found. […]
From 2013 to 2022, Illinois saw significant growth in its number of higher-paid taxpayers, including an 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.
* ILEPI…
In their study, ILEPI and PMCR researchers first used Illinois Department of Revenue tax statistics from 2010 to 2020 to note that Illinois added more than 200,000 taxpayers last decade, an increase of 4%. The tax base grew in the Chicago area while it declined Downstate. The number of tax filers with high incomes grew substantially, as Illinois became a $1 trillion economy: Taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes above $100,000 per year grew by more than 50% over the decade, including an increase of 80% among those earning more than $500,000 annually. Meanwhile, the number of families claiming Earned Income Credit (EIC) government benefits decreased 11% over the decade.
ILEPI and PMCR researchers then used Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement survey data from 2013 through 2022. In this survey, the Census Bureau asks U.S. residents whether they have changed residences in the past year, the state of previous residence for those who moved, and their primary reason for moving.
People who moved into Illinois were better educated and more likely to arrive for college than those who moved out. They were also younger on average than people who have stayed in Illinois. Two-in-five movers cite job-related circumstances as their top reason for moving. Additionally, the data indicated that while Illinois lost residents to “net domestic migration,” or people moving within the United States, these losses were almost entirely offset by immigrants coming to Illinois from abroad.
While outmigrants were statistically more likely to be Black or African American, people moving into Illinois and people who stay in Illinois were disproportionately more likely to be Hispanic or Latinx.
Finally, the data showed that people who stay in Illinois have better socioeconomic outcomes than all migrants. Stayers averaged 16% higher annual household incomes than those who have left Illinois, were more likely to be married, and had homeownership rates of 70%—more than double the rate of those who left the state (30%).
The data revealed that people who have left Illinois tended to be younger males with lower incomes than those who chose to stay. Only 30% of those who left became homeowners within their first year in their new states, and 14% reported relying on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food stamp assistance.
The full report is here.
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* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
I sent a top Democratic strategist whom I respect a copy of the Venezuelan migrant-related poll I posted for my subscribers last week.
Among other things, the M3 Strategies poll of 659 likely Chicago voters found that pluralities said they opposed “migrants being housed by the city of Chicago” (49-46), while also saying it’s time to end Chicago’s status as a sanctuary city (46-39). The poll’s margin of error was +/-3.82 percent. This is a Republican pollster, but they very accurately predicted the Chicago mayor’s race results during the first round.
Black and Latino voters really helped drive those poll results, with 49% of Black voters and 57% of Latinos opposing the city’s housing of migrants, and 51% of Black voters and 48% of Latinos saying they want to end the city’s sanctuary system. Several Latino residents have told reporters that they resent the help given to migrants when they received nothing at all after coming to the U.S. Fifty-six percent of Latino and Black voters told the pollster that the migrants made the city less safe.
“Not surprised by any of this,” the operative texted back. Indeed, plenty of Democratic legislators have been getting an earful from constituents about the problem, and not just in Chicago.
The question, he said, “is whether this is just another ‘law and order’ issue that polls well and seems persuasive but actually isn’t,” when you match up actual Republicans with Democrats. He said it would probably have more impact on Democratic primaries.
I suggested that Black voter turnout could be driven down by numbers like these. Seventy-nine percent of Black respondents told M3 Strategies that the asylum-seeker situation is “negatively affecting current Chicago residents who may be in need,” which seems to check out when looking at the strong pushback against housing migrants in Black neighborhoods. And Black turnout was already way down last year.
“Maybe,” the operative said, but added, “Elections are an eternity away with how voters’ memories operate.”
I agreed about the voter memory aspect but countered that his prediction assumes the migrant influx would be resolved a year from now. Some analysts have predicted far more migrants next year.
“Oof,” he replied.
“Support for housing migrants and positive views of the impact on the city is strongest among young, white voters on the North and Northwest sides,” the polling firm reported. Everyone else, not so much.
If this keeps up, there’s no doubt that the anger will spread to suburban communities, many of which have no local sanctuary ordinances. And the migrants have already started to arrive there.
During the uproar after Joliet Township Supervisor Angel Contreras applied for a state grant and more than just implied that he had support from the Joliet mayor and the city’s fire department when he apparently did not, news reports revealed that 2,200 asylum seekers had already been helped by the Spanish Community Center in Joliet.
Rep. Fred Crespo (D-Hoffman Estates), who chairs an appropriations committee, told me that at least one school district in his northwest Cook County district is “looking at bringing back mobile classrooms,” to help deal with the growing influx, and more are complaining that they can’t sustain the pace.
The poll makes it fairly easy to see why the governor and his administration would like to continue defining this as a Chicago administrative problem.
When asked last week about how all these folks could possibly be housed, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said, “This is a challenge I think the city has been facing since the beginning. You know, we don’t do city planning at the state level. This is, you know, a question best directed at the city.”
Pritzker added that the state has been supporting the city “as they have developed plans and as they’ve implemented them.”
What the city has actually done is floated a lot of ideas, but not implemented them and flailed all along the way. And after receiving more than $300 million in state assistance, the city is coming back for more cash, issuing demands in the news media and meeting with legislators.
Unlike Mayor Brandon Johnson, the Pritzker administration has lots of experience dealing with crises. They’re not perfect, but they did manage to help get the state through the pandemic. And Pritzker’s sharp letter to President Joe Biden last month seems to have helped push the president forward. The White House announced it will resume deportation flights to Venezuela.
Despite the governor’s words, this is no longer a Chicago-only issue. And that means the state needs to start taking more of a lead here.
The poll is here.
* Related…
*Hard sigh*
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Open thread
Tuesday, Oct 10, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* I hope you all enjoyed the long weekend! What’s going on in your part of Illinois?…
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Tuesday, Oct 10, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* ICYMI: Chicago is elimiating submininmum wage for tipped workers. Summary of a Tribune story…
- The new law will shrink the gap between tipped and minimum wages by 8% each year until 2028.
- The legislation passed 36-19.
- Restaurant owners worry about the impact of high labor costs.
* Related stories…
* Isabel’s top picks…
* Capitol News Illinois | Nurses unions push for mandatory staff-to-patient ratios: The proposed Safe Patient Limits Act, by Sen. Celina Villanueva and Rep. Theresa Mah, both Chicago Democrats, was introduced in February and was the subject of a joint hearing last week in Chicago by two House committees. It’s an issue that has been discussed in the General Assembly since 2019 but has thus far failed to gain the necessary traction for passage. The latest hearing came just three weeks before lawmakers return to the Capitol for their fall veto session, which begins Oct. 24.
* Melissa Conyears-Ervin | I was a victim of domestic violence. Other victims should know they aren’t alone: Two days later, my mother and I filed a petition for an emergency order of protection in Coles County Circuit Court, which was granted and remained in effect until early January 1998. I ultimately decided not to proceed with a plenary order. I believed, as so many women do, that the system would protect him and not me. Since then, I’ve never stopped looking over my shoulder or fearing he would follow through on his threats.
* Tribune | Chicago spent at least $3.5 million for NASCAR weekend and got $620,000 in return: The $3.5 million figure stands in contrast to the $620,000 NASCAR paid the city to transform streets surrounding Grant Park into a 12-turn, 2.2-mile racetrack. NASCAR paid a base $500,000 permit fee to the Chicago Park District in April and in late September cut a final check for the 2023 race for nearly $120,000 to pay the city its portion of ticket sales as well as commissions for food, beverage and merchandise, according to city records.
* Illinois Republicans supporting Ron DeSantis for president announced their statewide delegate slate. Illinois will have 64 delegates, including Sen. Sue Rezin and Awake Illinois founder Shannon Adcock. Click here for the full release.
* Here’s the rest of your morning roundup…
* Sun-Times | Evanston mother, daughter missing in Israel after Hamas attack and are feared kidnapped: Natalie Raanan, 18, and her mother, Judith, 59, have not been heard from since around noon Saturday, the day Hamas launched its offensive, according to family. They were last in Nahal Oz, a kibbutz about 1.5 miles from the Gaza border that was attacked by militants.
* NBC Chicago | Gov. JB Pritzker to speak at JUF Israel Solidary Event in Glencoe following Hamas attacks: According to organizers, Pritzker is expected to speak at approximately 10:15 a.m. Other speakers include Rep. Brad Schneider, State Comptroller Susana Mendoza and JUF President Lonnie Nasatir.
* Sun-Times | As migrant crisis grows will faith groups step up and offer unused buildings?: The Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago “has been trying to figure this out as well,” said its executive director, Nisan Chavkin. “We don’t have anything official to share yet.” The council represents some 40 denominations and theological schools. Many groups are involved in assisting individual migrants or families. Some congregations have organized food deliveries to migrants. One is Santa Teresa de Avila, an Episcopal church on the Southwest Side that has provided sandwiches for people at the nearby Chicago Lawn police station, said the Rev. Sandra Castillo, a retired Episcopal priest who assists at the church.
* Sun-Times | Amundsen Park closure delayed as city looks for an alternate site for migrant shelter: Ald. Chris Taliaferro said the city was considering a site across the street from the park to house asylum-seekers. Community members complained about the potential loss of a valuable resource for young people.
* Sun-Times | Rocks thrown at Gov. Pritzker’s Gold Coast home, suspect taken into custody: The suspect is alleged to have thrown rocks at the home’s windows, breaking three of them, according to police. The governor and first lady were both home at the time of the incident, but no injuries were reported.
* Center Square | Illinois manufacturers the focus of statewide tour: The “Makers On The Move” bus tour started at The Boeing Company in Mascoutah on Friday, Oct. 6, and made stops Monday in Springfield, Jacksonville and Peoria.
* Tribune | Illinois population becoming higher-paid, more foreign-born, but state losing older, Black and rural residents, study finds: A net loss of 460,000 residents moving to other states was largely offset by incoming immigrants, researchers found. In addition, more arrivals are working, generating about 200,000 more workers paying income taxes over the past decade.
* Shaw Local | Are millions of dollars in TIF spending compliant with state law?: However, many municipalities use the tax dollars to augment their budgets, utilizing the money to pay for administrative and police salaries. Meanwhile, millions more are spent with no officially reported purpose at all, a Shaw Media review of tax increment financing records over the last 10 years has found.
* IPM | Champaign Police investigate ‘agency culture’ of not following domestic violence reporting laws: Conerly said her experience proved to her that the Champaign Police Department does not know how to handle domestic violence situations. “I didn’t feel listened to. I didn’t feel respected. I didn’t feel like they were going to respond to me appropriately,” Conerly said. The Invisible Institute generally does not identify survivors of intimate partner violence, but Conerly consented to tell her story on the record.
* Sun-Times | Millions in PPP, other COVID-19 relief funds went to gangs, fueled Chicago’s illegal gun market: “We’ve repeatedly seen a connection between violent crime, violent criminal street gangs and the COVID fraud space throughout the country,” says Michael C. Galdo, director of COVID-19 fraud enforcement for the Justice Department.
* Tribune | Marijuana dispensary in former Rainforest Cafe won flip-flop from state regulators, but remains on hold as one man fights against it: The holdup comes from one resident fighting against what he characterizes as an improper partnership in which social equity cannabis license holder Bio-Pharm LLC, is acting as a front for an established multistate company, Progressive Treatment Solutions, or PTS. In the meantime, no work has been done on the site, and the original plans to open this year have gone by the wayside.
* WaPo | Is Chicago’s NHL team supporting Native causes — or buying silence?: The late senator John McCain (R) and his Arizona colleague, former senator Jeff Flake (R), called it “paid patriotism.” The Pentagon, they discovered, funneled millions of dollars to sports, pro and college, drenching games in patriotic imagery, with color-guard presentations and tributes to soldiers and veterans that made our sportscape look like it harbored organic adoration for the military.
* AP | A workforce crisis is damaging families’ access to therapies for babies with developmental delays: Since all U.S. states and territories accept federal funding for Early Intervention, they are obligated to provide services to kids who qualify under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. But providers are scarce in almost all states. Some children wait months or years for the care they need, and many age out of the program before they access any services at all.
* StreetsBlog Chicago | From bad to worse: Unpacking the CTA’s latest schedule changes effective October 8th: In communicating its schedule changes, CTA has been very careful to avoid the term “service cuts.” Instead, through carefully crafted newspeak, it tells the public about “schedule optimizations.” One day, we hope to have a CTA that is straightforward to the public, and more importantly their riders. Until then, Commuters Take Action has assumed that role. We compiled comprehensive service cut statistics on our website for both bus and rail schedules. While publishing such data would be effortless for the CTA themselves, it deliberately chooses not to do it.
* STL Today | Missouri eyes electronic monitoring of inmates in state prisons: In documents submitted to Gov. Mike Parson, the Missouri Department of Corrections is asking for $12.5 million to place tracking devices on all inmates that can identify a prisoner’s location within the state’s 19 lockups. Along with saving time on head counts, which are necessary to ensure no one has escaped or is hiding, the devices could lead to improved reaction times during medical emergencies.
* Bloomberg | The Moral Case for No Longer Engaging With Elon Musk’s X: A man was murdered in my neighborhood on Monday. Ryan Carson was waiting at a bus stop with his girlfriend just before 4 a.m. when a man stabbed him repeatedly in the chest. The couple had been at a wedding. […] I don’t follow this account, but X’s algorithm makes absolutely sure that I see what it has to say. A senseless murder is apparently a content opportunity not to be missed. The user’s post on Tuesday contained all the ingredients for success: It was timely. It was shocking. It was an innocent 32-year-old man dying on the streets of New York City. It was a chance, duly taken, to write an inflammatory comment on Carson’s work in public policy, as though it had somehow led to this moment, as though he had it coming.
* NBC | What was Elon Musk’s strategy for Twitter?: Musk’s purchase of Twitter, the 3,000-word anonymous article said, would amount to a “declaration of war against the Globalist American Empire.” The sender of the texts was offering Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO, a playbook for the takeover and transformation of Twitter. As the anniversary of Musk’s purchase approaches, the identity of the sender remains unknown.
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Live coverage
Tuesday, Oct 10, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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