* Tribune…

In late 2018, [longtime University of Illinois at Chicago employee Sharon Feldman], who was at the time associate director for global health policy research at the school’s Institute for Health Research and Policy, saw something: documents she believed showed a colleague planned to misappropriate grant funds and university resources.

Feldman worried the proposal would violate university policies that prohibited conflicts of interest and the misuse of university resources, she would later allege in court filings. […]

The Ethics Act’s whistleblower provision says state employees shall not be retaliated against for reporting behavior they reasonably believe to violate “a law, rule, or regulation.”

But in her ruling dismissing Feldman’s case this August, Judge Cecilia Horan agreed with the university’s arguments that internal university policies did not constitute “rules” that would have afforded Feldman whistleblower status.

At a court hearing on Aug. 29, Horan granted the university’s motion to dismiss Feldman’s complaint. Horan did not issue a written decision but said in verbal remarks she did not consider university statutes to be “rules” as defined by the Ethics Act.

Just outrageous. The legislature really needs to fix this. Tragically, Ms. Feldman died last month of an illness.

* Sun-Times…

While deaths among pregnant women are rare, they have increased across Illinois — and the majority of them were possibly preventable, according to a new state report.

Black women continue to be disproportionately affected, and more pregnant people who die are losing their lives months after giving birth as they fall through the cracks of a complicated health system. […]

The third Illinois Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Report since 2018 from the state public health department provides a deeper look into what happened to 263 people who died while pregnant or within a year of giving birth from 2018 to 2020.

From the report…

• An average of 88 women died while pregnant or within one year of pregnancy, with the highest number 110 deaths, occurring in 2020. There were 83 deaths in 2018 and 70 in 2019.
• 43% of women who died while pregnant or within one year of pregnancy died from a cause related to pregnancy.
• The leading cause of pregnancy-related death was substance use disorder, which comprised 32% of pregnancy-related deaths. The other most common causes of pregnancy-related death were cardiac and coronary conditions, pre-existing chronic medical conditions, sepsis, mental health conditions, and embolism.
• Black women were twice as likely to die from any pregnancy-related condition and three times as likely to die from pregnancy-related medical conditions as white women.
• More than half of pregnancy-related deaths occurred more than 60 days postpartum.
• The MMRCs determined 91% of pregnancy-related deaths were potentially preventable due to clinical, system, social, community, or patient factors.

* Post-Dispatch…

An Illinois county’s quest to secede and join Missouri won’t be happening any time soon, according to a new legal opinion.

In response to a question raised by an official in Jersey County, located across the Mississippi River from Missouri, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said the county does not have “the authority to secede from the State of Illinois and join another state.”

Writing in an Oct. 17 opinion, Raoul said the state constitution does not provide a statutory procedure for the secession of counties from the state.

And, he added, there are federal issues that stand in the way too.

Full opinion is here.

* Press release…

Businesses understand that access to paid time off is crucial for workers and their families, which is why we reached an agreement earlier this year to provide 5 days of paid time off, for any reason, to every worker across the state beginning January 1 – an agreement that was praised by labor leaders. We made repeated efforts to negotiate in good faith to reach a paid leave policy at the City level that is fair and balanced for both workers and businesses, even offering double the State requirement, but labor groups refused to compromise meaningfully, with aldermen now set to vote on a policy that will devastate the very businesses they have been trying to attract to their communities.

The current proposal will force employers to pay three ways for every day of paid leave. As written, employers will need to provide five days of paid sick leave and five days of paid time off for every employee, pay employees for up to seven days of unused paid time off, and pay enhanced wages for anyone who covers the employee’s shift due to the City’s restrictive scheduling ordinance. On top of this, businesses, especially small businesses without robust human resources departments, will be exposed to the threat of private rights of action. The payout exemption for small businesses contained in the proposal does not extend to this dangerous private right of action language contained in the ordinance.

Once again, proponents failed to recognize the compounding effect these policies have on businesses that are already struggling to make ends meet due to an alarming number of anti-business proposals by the City, continued supply chain and labor challenges, persistent crime, and skyrocketing property taxes. […]

- Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce
- Greater Englewood Chamber of Commerce
- Hospitality Business Association of Chicago
- Illinois Health and Hospitals Association
- Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association
- Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
- Illinois Manufacturers’ Association
- Illinois Restaurant Association
- Illinois Retail Merchants Association
- Little Village Chamber of Commerce
- Pilsen Chamber of Commerce
- Building Owners and Managers Association of Chicago

Press release…

The Chicago City Council Workforce Development Committee overwhelmingly passed the Chicago Paid Time Off Ordinance today in a vote of 13 in favor to 2 opposed. The Ordinance provides 10 total days of time off – five days of sick time and five days of paid time off – for all Chicago workers. The ordinance is expected to come to a vote before the full City Council as soon as next week.

Access to paid time off is critical to workers and their families who are struggling to make ends meet in a challenging economy. It gives workers time to spend with their families and care for their health. Paid time off also affords workers the ability to stay home when they are sick―preventing their colleagues from getting sick and missing work. Access to paid time off also improves worker retention, which reduces employer turnover costs.

“I am proud that Chicago is once again leading the nation in the struggle for workers’ rights, and strengthening the economic vitality of our city,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson. “My administration pledged to bring everyone to the table to hear concerns from large employers, small businesses, and worker advocates. We worked collaboratively to find a compromise, and we ended up with the most progressive Paid Leave policy in the country that will help businesses retain workers and help workers live full lives with dignity.”

* DeVore loses again…

Last hearing tomorrow in Federal Court against Tom DeVore who is requesting the judge to allow him to depose me after the deadline. Oh he’s also requesting all of my client books for the last 7 years. Fun times.

— Riley Craig (@ricraig1222) October 31, 2023

Tom DeVore lost in federal court AGAIN this morning LOL. His stupid motion he incorrectly filed on me got DENIED

— Riley Craig (@ricraig1222) November 2, 2023

* One of Danny Davis’ Democratic primary opponents is not getting a great reception…

Hey @knutson08. First, get a cell phone plan not paid for by mom.

Second, stop calling us for campaign services. It's really not that hard to figure out we're not available. pic.twitter.com/87ZODFU5PL

— Thomas C. Bowen (@thomascbowen) November 1, 2023

* Isabel’s roundup…

* WGN | Gov. Pritzker expands utility assistance for low-income homes: “With temperatures dropping and the winter season just weeks away, my administration is ensuring that every family has the assistance they need to keep the lights and the heat on,” Pritzker said. He continued, “With DCEO’s Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, we are providing utility bill support to thousands of income-eligible families—and I urge those who are disconnected or facing imminent disconnection to apply. Here in Illinois, we look out for our neighbors, and that’s exactly what LIHEAP is all about.”

* Center Square | Illinois finishes $18 million project to avoid regional flooding in Lake Forest: “Thanks to a more than $18 million investment made possible by Rebuild Illinois, we have entirely relocated and reconstructed the existing pump station, built two new detention ponds to handle any excess flow from the pump station, in addition to making multiple safety improvements that alleviate flooding and guarantee access to this major roadway,” Pritzker said.

* Press Release | Pritzker administration opens next round of Electric Vehicle Rebate Program for Illinois residents: Rebates will be issued to eligible applicants subject to availability of funds. The General Assembly has appropriated up to $12 million to Illinois EPA for the EV Rebate program for the current fiscal year ending June 30, 2024. Actual funding amounts will be determined by the amount of money available in the Electric Vehicle Rebate Fund.

* Center Square | Illinois manufacturing official says sector in for drastic changes soon: During a University of Illinois Extension webinar, Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center President David Boulay said Illinois should be a leader in all phases of manufacturing.“Illinois is just a manufacturing powerhouse regardless of what measure you want to look at,” Boulay said. “We’re pretty much a top 5 state whether it’s output, whether it’s jobs or the number of establishments.”

* Press Release | Mayor of Riverdale, Ill. Indicted on Perjury and Obstruction Charges: According to the indictment, Tri-State Disposal Inc., a waste management company in Riverdale, filed a civil lawsuit against Riverdale and Jackson in 2018, alleging that Jackson retaliated against Tri-State by refusing to renew its garbage collection contract with the city. The owners of Tri-State had spoken out publicly against the city’s issuance of a zoning permit that allowed a recycling and waste transfer business to operate in Riverdale. The recycling business was owned by an individual aligned with Jackson who had allegedly assisted the mayor in replacing Tri-State with a different garbage collection company.

* Tribune | Lake County organizations getting aid to help with surge of migrants; ‘They deserve to be treated with respect and dignity’: Lake County recently disbursed just over $1 million in grant funds to Mano a Mano, HACES and the North Shore Legal Aid Clinic, to help those organizations’ efforts assisting migrants as they arrive in places like Waukegan, Round Lake and elsewhere around the county.

* Tribune | Key city panel votes to mandate 10 days of paid leave over opposition from major business groups: Mayor Brandon Johnson’s major paid leave package for Chicago workers moved to the cusp of approval Thursday after his City Council allies made some concessions that still didn’t allay the concerns of business owners who say the changes will be too costly.

* ABC Chicago | CTA bus tracker ‘ghosts’ are frequent issue for riders, agency says it’s caused by staffing shortage: If you have ever waited for a bus that was supposed to arrive but then never showed, you’ve likely experienced a “ghost bus.” The I-Team found that in the last year and eight months, the CTA had almost 360,000 canceled runs.

* Bloomberg | Biden offers $334 million to states and cities for crime crackdown: States and cities will receive $216 million for hiring new officers, $73 million for preventing violence in schools and $43 million to fund community policing, crisis-intervention programs and de-escalation strategies, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco told reporters.

* Block Club | After Student Comes To Class In Blackface, Parents Say Lakeview School Needs ‘Serious Intervention’: Two parents at Inter-American Magnet School, which has 15 Black students and no Black teachers, say school leaders have not done enough to educate students about the racist incident.

* Daily Herald | Prominent suburban attorney, businessman and Democrat Herb Franks dies: Herb Franks, who founded two banks, a prominent law firm and a Jewish congregation all while becoming an influential Democrat in the Republican stronghold McHenry County, has died. Franks, 89, died Tuesday at his vacation home in Florida, two months after being diagnosed with glioblastoma, a type of brain tumor. The illness was discovered when he had a seizure at the offices of Franks Gerkin Ponitz & Greeley, the law firm he founded in Marengo.

* ABC Chicago | Chicagoan students of color prepare for impact of end to affirmative action as they apply to college: “It’s not really a leg up. It’s really leveling the playing field and allowing students who don’t have access to other opportunities to be able to have some amount of access to that,” iMentor Program Manager Lauren Hurley said of affirmative action.

* Crain’s | 14-story Fulton Market hotel proposed: New York-based developer Cogswell Realty and Elmhurst-based investor Erol Stapleton are proposing the 14-story project at 1016-1020 W. Lake St. in the trendy neighborhood, according to a zoning application being introduced today to the City Council. The hotel would be developed on a parking lot at the northeast corner of Lake and Carpenter streets, which a Stapleton-led venture bought earlier this year for nearly $6.6 million, public records show.

* Sun-Times | Therapy for a high-stakes trial: Meet the dogs who call the Burke trial courtroom home: Birdie and Junebug are Bernese Mountain Dogs who have been fixtures at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse for years. It’s not uncommon to see them trailing Judge Virginia Kendall through the hallways or up onto her courtroom bench.

* Daily Herald | ‘We’re all shocked’: Billionaire donates $9 million to nonprofit with clinics in Palatine, Aurora: Aunt Martha’s Health and Wellness, which has facilities in Palatine, Carpentersville, Aurora, Chicago and elsewhere in the state, was awarded the money by MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving program via the Chicago Community Trust, a foundation that, among other things, funnels contributions from donors to recipients.

* WCIA | Not sure what do with pumpkin leftovers? Arthur farmer walks through repurposing ideas: “We’re here in Arthur and we have a lot of Amish neighbors and farmers for cows, pigs, sheep and goats,” he said. “All four of those farmers have reached out to me saying would we be able to pass along some of our extra pumpkins for their farms for their animals and we’re happy to do that.”

* Daily Herald | Got candy? Here’s how you can get rid of those mounds of Halloween treats: Texas-based Soldiers’ Angels has a Treats for Troops program explicitly for leftover Halloween candy. Soldiers’ Angels offers a searchable map of drop-off sites on its website, soldiersangels.org. From Addison to Woodstock, Naperville to Wauconda, 13 locations — dental offices, businesses, park districts — are collecting candy now.