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Isabel’s morning briefing
Monday, Nov 6, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Former Chicago Ald. Ed Burke’s trial begins today. Jon Seidel…
-Burke is charged with racketeering, bribery and extortion in a case that has been pending nearly five years. -The case is largely based on wiretaps worn by Burke’s former ally and alderperson Danny Solis. * Related stories… ∙ WTTW: Nearly 5 Years After FBI Raid of City Hall, Former Ald. Ed Burke Finally Faces the Jury Box ∙ Sun-Times: Edward M. Burke, ‘figurehead of the old regime,’ faces historic corruption trial ∙ Tribune: From Chicago machine maestro to indicted alderman, Ed Burke’s corruption trial follows half-century of clout * Isabel’s top picks… * Tribune | Proposal to extend stiffer gun offense penalty joins school tax credit, end to nuke moratorium on agenda of Illinois legislature’s final week: The penalty enhancement measure is not the only issue that could divide Democrats. Lawmakers also face a measure to extend a private school tax credit for another five years, which supporters say could prevent thousands of children whose tuition is funded through the program from having to leave their schools. Also on the agenda is a measure that would lift a nearly 40-year-old moratorium on new nuclear power plants across Illinois, which was passed in the spring but then vetoed by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Lawmakers could also vote on the boundaries of a proposed district map for Chicago’s first-ever elected school board. * Sun-Times | Why four trade unions want lawmakers to renew Invest in Kids scholarship: Since the passage of an amendment to the act in 2021, which allows kids with financial need to access scholarships toward a vocational trade school, we have been working with local partners to make such a school a reality. That opportunity would be jeopardized if the Legislature fails to renew the scholarship program. * Tribune | Homeless Chicagoans also living at police stations alongside migrants: With the arrival of another 20,000 migrants this year who need homes, the city’s existing shelter network — which never fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic when the number of beds decreased — maxed out. So city officials turned to police stations to be used as makeshift processing centers for migrants as Chicago scrambled to open shelters. But even as the city has repurposed old school buildings, warehouses and other vacant structures into places for migrants to sleep — often amid a serious backlash from neighbors — it’s not enough because the existing system wasn’t adequately equipped to begin with, said Douglas Schenkelberg, the executive director of Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. * Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa’s resignation statement after Chicago City Council members called for him to step down…
* From Mayor Brandon Johnson…
* Here’s the rest of your morning roundup… * Sun-Time | Temporary Bally’s Medinah Temple casino could stay open longer than expected under proposed law: Under the bill sponsored by state Sen. Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago, casino operators would be able to ask to extend a temporary stay by any “period of time deemed necessary or appropriate by the Board.” The Illinois House is expected to take up the bill this week during the General Assembly’s veto session. * Daily Herald | Will legislative fix end need for do-over mental health board referendums?: State legislators say a fix is on the way that would spare several townships and one county from redoing successful referendums last year that created new community mental health boards. Those results could be in jeopardy because the November 2022 ballot measures failed to include required language informing voters of how establishing new tax to fund the mental health board would impact property owners. * Alison Shames | Transforming pretrial justice for people, systems and communities: While the state’s elimination of financial release conditions has generated the most attention, the Pretrial Fairness Act upended decades of questionable practices and operations. But what is remarkable about the law – especially regarding its potential impact nationwide – is that it reconnected pretrial practices with foundational American legal principles. * Tribune | Craft cannabis growers in Illinois try again to overcome industry opposition to expansion: The Cannabis Equity Illinois Coalition, which was pushing for the legislation, issued statement saying, “Our lawmakers failed us by not advancing the cannabis omnibus.” “All they really wanted was to kill the omnibus bill and slow down the growth of social equity,” state Rep. La Shawn Ford said. * Sun-Times | Alderperson’s manhandling allegation caps ‘s- - - show’ City Council meeting: State Sen. Lakesia Collins, a Chicago Democrat whose district includes Mitts’ West Side ward, on Friday joined Lopez’s call for Ramirez-Rosa to resign. “This repeated behavior by Alderman Ramirez-Rosa in city council is unacceptable and requires immediate action,” Collins wrote. “No one should be prevented from fulfilling their elected responsibilities on behalf of their constituents.” * Sun-Times | Highland Park massacre suspect’s dad’s trial starts Monday in possible preview of son’s trial: Prosecutors say they will call 10 witnesses and read transcripts from the son’s police interrogation in the trial against his father, Robert Crimo Jr. Prosecutors say they will show just a fraction of the 10,000 pages of evidence they’ve collected in the cases. Crimo Jr. faces seven counts of reckless conduct for signing his son’s gun ownership permit when he was too young. Prosecutors say he signed those papers despite knowing the son had expressed suicidal and violent thoughts. * Patch | Salary For Joliet’s New City Manager From Chicago Revealed: Beatty has worked for more than 20 years at one of the largest cities in the world, Chicago. Under Lori Lightfoot, Beatty was promoted to one of Chicago’s deputy mayors. Next week, Joliet’s Council will vote on paying Beatty a salary of $230,000, plus give her $12,500 in relocation expenses to leave Chicago and move to Joliet, the third-largest city in Illinois. * Tribune | After major data breach, personal information of 1.2 million Cook County Health patients at risk: Some patient information was stored on servers at Nevada-based Perry Johnson & Associates, according to statements from both CCH and PJ&A. The transcription firm was the target of data theft sometime between March 27 and May 2 and later determined CCH patient data had been stolen. * Chicago Reader | Arbitrating police terminations could result in a ‘decade of police impunity’: The change would allow most officers facing serious disciplinary charges—terminations and suspensions longer than a year—to have their cases heard by an arbitrator, rather than the Chicago Police Board (CPB). The CPB currently holds public trial-like hearings for officers facing serious discipline, and the board members consider those cases during monthly public meetings. * Block Club | Black Queer Chicagoans Fought To March In 1993 Bud Billiken Parade. Their Story Is Now A Short Film: “Why We Marched: Black LGBTQs & The 1993 Bud Billiken Parade” will be shown at Affinity Community Services, 2850 S. Wabash Ave., at 5 p.m. Sunday as part of a free event commemorating the march. A panel discussion featuring the group’s members will follow. Jano Layne, one of the organizers of the ’93 action, didn’t realize the impact one simple act would have on the city, let alone the country. When the Ad Hoc Committee of Proud Black Lesbians and Gays filed an application to march in the Bud Billiken Parade that year, some didn’t anticipate the rejection. * WBEZ | Paint is not protection: Chicago cyclists want barriers between bike lanes and roadways: With an average of five crashes a day, Teeghman’s was just one of the more than 1,600 cyclist-involved crashes in Chicago this year. And like Teeghman’s, more than 400 of those crashes have been hit-and-run incidents. Many of the cyclists are left dealing with thousands of dollars in bike repairs and medical bills and suffering from injuries such as lacerations and broken bones — some have even been killed. WBEZ interviewed a dozen cyclists — all of whom had been involved in one or several crashes — and many said these crashes can be prevented if the city redesigns its bike infrastructure to prioritize the safety and needs of both cyclists and motorists. * Sun-Times | With its curving canopy, suburban grocery store offers a special on good design: The canopy’s lowest dip sends rainwater into a garden in front of the store. And the garden is fenced in to keep adventurous souls from climbing on the roof, Theodore said. “I was warned somebody was going to try to climb it — and they literally did climb it,” Theodore said. “We were afraid somebody with a skateboard [would try].” * Crain’s | New local news initiative gets $10M, partly from some of Chicago’s biggest foundations: The funds designated for Press Forward Chicago aim to help alternative weeklies like the Chicago Reader, startups like Block Club Chicago and other publications mostly affiliated with the Chicago Independent Media Alliance to continue to grow their audiences, among other efforts. * The Atlantic | The Great Social Media–News Collapse: Last week, the Pew Research Center published a new study showing that fewer adults on average said they regularly followed the news in 2021 or 2022 than in any other year surveyed. (Pew started asking the question in 2016.) There’s some shakiness when you break down the demographics, but overall, 38 percent of American adults are following the news closely, versus a high of 52 percent in 2018. This tracks: In 2022, Axios compiled data from different web-traffic-monitoring companies that showed news consumption took a “nosedive” after 2020 and, despite January 6, the war in Ukraine, and other major events, engagement across all news media—news sites, news apps, cable news, and social media—was in decline. * Sun-Times | Chicago’s outdoor dining program ends for the season, but some restaurants think it should be year-round: “The short answer is yes,” a business owner said of making outdoor seating year-round more permanent. “The long answer is: It’s an analysis. We’d have to do all the math to see if we can even afford it.”
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- Oswego Willy - Monday, Nov 6, 23 @ 8:50 am:
===I cannot take away the mistakes I made last week. But I hope to be able to rebuild the trust we have in each other as we move forward as a Council that addresses the important issues impacting Chicago.===
Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa is exactly who I thought he was, *way* back to Biss, just not ready for the bright lights.
He just was never-ever ready for prime time.
“Like… ever”
- Taylor Swift, attributed
Also… a good example of that?
===Tensions were high at a chaotic meeting, and I let that get the best of me, leading me to act in a way unbecoming of a leader===
Not ready for prime time, part 3,266
I appreciate the recognition, but it’s a theme with him, not “one offs”.
He has learned nothing, but the apology and owning it this time is a better sign.
- Pragmatist - Monday, Nov 6, 23 @ 9:11 am:
Carlos Ramirez-Rosa was an odd choice to be floor leader. While committed to social justice, he’s always been a divisive and polarizing figure. Then again, that’s generally been the approach of all the elected officials from the CTU farm system. First Biss dropped Rosa, and now this. Hubris keeps taking down Rosa.
- Another Bad Week for Da Mayor - Monday, Nov 6, 23 @ 9:16 am:
The CRR fiasco should have been resolved by Friday evening. The mayor’s advisors and press lead are clearly lost time and time again on how to respond to any crisis. In the mayor’s absence the opposition and politically hungry had all weekend to pile on the mayor, CRR, and CTU team. This slow turtle-like pace is not fit for a mayor and has exposed how weak the CTU and UWD machine is.
- Kelly Cassidy - Monday, Nov 6, 23 @ 9:25 am:
From the ST Article: “When the mayor finally did reach her on Sunday, sources said Mitts told the mayor and her pastor that Ramirez-Rosa did not “put his hands” on her while attempting to prevent her from entering the chambers.”
It’s infuriating to see the classic discredit the victim play being used here. When a woman elected with this much seniority has her credibility attacked, the chilling effect on others being mistreated in their workplace is very real. It’s not ok.
- wowie - Monday, Nov 6, 23 @ 9:35 am:
Mr. Rosa has some demons he needs to work out
- wowie - Monday, Nov 6, 23 @ 9:42 am:
Of course, we shouldn’t forget when CRR was harassing a gentleman in a bar.
An odd choice for leadership indeed. He might need to take time to square away his problems.
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Nov 6, 23 @ 9:44 am:
I’d also add, on its own;
It’s about Carlos Ramirez-Rosa. That’s what this is about.
Making it to a bigger, broader discussion, or “CTU”, or an underpinning of a bigger movement failure… “no”
It’s actually no different than Biss, sometimes the people you choose make it difficult to the mission of actually governing. Personnel is Policy, Johnson chose a person, it was a poor choice. It’s also not much of a shocking surprise.
Carlos Ramirez-Rosa hasn’t learned all that much about himself or how to handle himself with new power.
The surprise would’ve been Carlos Ramirez-Rosa being effective, collaborative, a listener more than a yeller and a person consumed in finding consensus to govern effectively for the mayor who entrusted him to lead the floor.
If you stop for 2 minutes away from “CTU” (even when it’s quite easy to take the shots at all) and realize how alone Carlos Ramirez-Rosa is by being who he is, then it makes sense that instead of taking the Friday News Dump out, Carlos Ramirez-Rosa now has made this a “new week” discussion… because being selfless towards a better way is still not a thought.
- Sheila - Monday, Nov 6, 23 @ 9:59 am:
Ald Carlos Ramirez-Rosa really needs to be censured if he doesn’t resign his seat.
Also, the progressives on City Council should learn how to count votes before engaging in bullying procedural tactics and complicated maneuvers to kill votes on ordinances. They look horrible, they are losing badly, and they are drawing attention to issues that poll very poorly for progressive elected officials with Chicago voters.
- Lucky Pierre - Monday, Nov 6, 23 @ 10:38 am:
The CTU backed Democratic socialists in Chicago sure are alot better at winning elections than actually improving any of the myriad of the massive problems Chicago is dealing with.
Several seem to think they are also charged with solving the Israeli Palestinian conflict
- H-W - Monday, Nov 6, 23 @ 10:44 am:
An interesting twist on this scholarship situation.
Trade Unions teach trade skills. Were they to work deliberately with the public schools, I have no problem with using state funds to sponsor trade programs, but only in public schools.
On the other hand, helping 10,000 middle income household avoid public schools by offering “tuition adjustments” to private schools is a no go. Time to let the program end. The end has always been in sight, and the context has never changed.
If the private schools want to keep the children they have served and educated, they can always do so. But the burden is on the private schools and the families enrolled there; not on the taxpayers.
- Lucky Pierre - Monday, Nov 6, 23 @ 11:00 am:
How on earth can you describe all the 10,000 Invest in Kids scholarship recipients as being middle income households?
The median household income in Chicago for age 25-44 is $80,000
https://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/IL/Chicago-Demographics.html
Why is the end in sight for a popular program because a minority don’t like it?
- Rich Miller - Monday, Nov 6, 23 @ 11:06 am:
===Why is the end in sight===
71-36-1.
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Nov 6, 23 @ 11:08 am:
===71-36-1.===
I’d start with the Eastern Bloc folks that will likely sink the whole thing before it’ll matter how many Dems are Red on it.
- JS Mill - Monday, Nov 6, 23 @ 11:16 am:
=Why is the end in sight for a popular program because a minority don’t like it?=
Because it violates the establishment clause of the USSC. I can think of a few other reasons, but that is a big one.
The right to reproductive health is wildly popular, regardless or part, do you support that too?
- Demoralized - Monday, Nov 6, 23 @ 11:30 am:
==Why is the end in sight==
You sure seem to have a limited understanding of the legislative process. No amount of whining you do will change the fact that your side cannot find the necessary votes. A compromise plan was floated that members on your side said no to. It’s more of the same “my way or the highway” attitude.
- Frida's boss - Monday, Nov 6, 23 @ 11:46 am:
I think CRR has made bad decisions. He has decided not to govern but rather continue on a “quest”. Not sure what it is as it seems to change with every Twitter post.
He is not a serious alderman. He is not interested in governing, but rather pushing an agenda that political ties want from him. Using the city as their experiment for all of their policies.
You have your ideals, your political bent, your passion- you are however the floor leader which means negotiating, compromise, deal making, working together with people you may not ever agree with or like.
Carlos doesn’t have that in him. If he did he’d be able to do this by now.
- Back to the Future - Monday, Nov 6, 23 @ 11:53 am:
Interesting to see these powerful labor leaders supporting Invest for Kids.
Actually think 71 votes will be hard to get this time around, but it will be possible and I think it is important to see where the members of the General Assembly are at. The Parents and Children that support this program worked hard to lobby the GA and the Governor. They deserve a vote.
Con law was my favorite law school class and I like to follow the US Supreme Court history, but certainly no con law expert. Just not aware of a case that indicates this program is a violation of the US Constitution. At least 19 states have moved in the direction of giving parents options regarding their children’s education.
With reading and math scores so low in Illinois I appreciate the desire of parents to seek different options. Why not listen to the families involved in the program?
- Jocko's Prison - Monday, Nov 6, 23 @ 12:07 pm:
- Time to let the program end. -
The program doesn’t have wide spread support because the suburbs don’t want vouchers from the city coming to their schools. Other states want reforms in education , Illinois isn’t in that group.
- Pragmatist - Monday, Nov 6, 23 @ 12:54 pm:
The saddest part of the Carlos Ramirez Rosa saga is that progressives organized and fought diligently for the last 15 years, starting w/Karen Lewis, to get to this moment, and CRR and Stacey Davis Gates are blowing their shot. Here is to a fast recovery and reset for the mayor. He needs it as we head to winter, as the migrant crisis requires real leadership.
- JS Mill - Monday, Nov 6, 23 @ 12:59 pm:
=The Parents and Children that support this program worked hard to lobby the GA and the Governor. They deserve a vote.
Con law was my favorite law school class and I like to follow the US Supreme Court history, but certainly no con law expert. Just not aware of a case that indicates this program is a violation of the US Constitution. At least 19 states have moved in the direction of giving parents options regarding their children’s education.=
They get one every few years when we have state-level elections. That is how a representative form of government works.
=With reading and math scores so low in Illinois I appreciate the desire of parents to seek different options. Why not listen to the families involved in the program?=
What is their curricular and or instructional expertise? I have never read any statements to that effect. Maybe they should spend a few nights helping their kids with their homework.
Maybe check out the school report card, pay special attention to the section on chronic absenteeism. If kids are not in school it is very difficult to learn. The excuses we get broder on the surreal sometimes. Add to that a state legislature that seemingly invents new reasons for kids not to be in school and gutting truancy funding. Now, tell me about instructional effectiveness.
=Con law was my favorite law school class and I like to follow the US Supreme Court history, but certainly no con law expert. Just not aware of a case that indicates this program is a violation of the US Constitution.=
This is someting you would have learned in 8th grade.
=At least 19 states have moved in the direction of giving parents options regarding their children’s education.=
Using your math, that means 31 do not. Seems like that is the more popular choice. And even that is a bit misleading since parents can move if they do not like the school system.
- Pundent - Monday, Nov 6, 23 @ 1:12 pm:
=Maybe check out the school report card, pay special attention to the section on chronic absenteeism. If kids are not in school it is very difficult to learn.=
I can’t tell you how many parents I know that don’t think twice about taking their kids to Disney World mid-term and are indignant because the schools aren’t more accommodating. Lousy parenting crosses all socio-economic lines.
Invest in kids was never about “the kids” (poor or otherwise) as it was a thinly veiled attempt to funnel money to private schools while providing a tax break. But any of theses benevolent donors are free to donate to private schools without the corresponding tax credit.
- JS Mill - Monday, Nov 6, 23 @ 1:37 pm:
=Other states want reforms in education=
Vouchers are not about reform. They are about sending public money to parochial schools. Or evading taxes.
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Nov 6, 23 @ 1:44 pm:
===Actually think 71 votes will be hard to get this time around, but it will be possible and I think it is important to see where the members of the General Assembly are at.===
Sure, lol
You run bills only if the desired outcome is the forgone conclusion.
You want it to pass, fail, if the bill will do as wanted “run it”
Watching the Mensa Group from the Eastern Bloc be Red and help sink it would be a big win for Pritzker… and again make the teachers’ union look ridiculous by going after Pritzker.
===Why not listen to the families involved in the program?===
Anecdotal isn’t data, otherwise we’d be inundated with data.
The kids are the vessels to fund private schools by helping wealthy folks get tax breaks.
The new bill intrigues me, but the Mensas already are going to sink it, so why even look at it?
- low level - Monday, Nov 6, 23 @ 1:51 pm:
Ed Burke is one of the most ornery elected officials you’ll ever meet. No one will miss him.
- Back to the Future - Monday, Nov 6, 23 @ 2:11 pm:
As they say, if you are not happy with half a loaf you really are not hungry.
Of course, with a waiting list of 26,000 kids and poor test scores expanding this program or going to some other idea will probably be on the table at some point, but time to vote on this compromise now.
If the Eastern Bloc wants to vote “No” on the compromise then they really are not doing much to move the ball down the field. They can explain their vote to their local voters.
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Nov 6, 23 @ 2:17 pm:
===They can explain their vote to their local voters.===
Meh, this is now a niche issue that being “against it” or against a compromise is playing to zealots of private education, not looking at any greater good.
A warped way I look at is it’s gonna be people who complained about stopping school sports during Covid.
* those folks ain’t your voters anyway
* it’s not an issue that will lose seats en mass
* losing only strengthens fundraising for grifters
There were multiple chances (so far) to compromise. Pritzker will look like a genius as the Eastern Bloc let’s all who will hear “all or nothing, expand not retreat”
- H-W - Monday, Nov 6, 23 @ 3:12 pm:
===Why not listen to the families involved in the program?===
Alternatively, if there are 194.5 students enrolled in public schools for every 1 student receiving a tuition discount via Invest in Kids, then perhaps the parents of the 194.5 ought to have a stronger voice that the 1.
At a ratio of 194.5-to-1, we are talking about unequal access and differential treatment. Equality before the law might suggest the private schools need to create and addition 194 seat for the 1 seat they currently offer.
This program advantages 1 middle income families over the other 194.5 families that are not assisted in this way. And until the private sector is able to take in all who wish, and treat them all equal (and not proselytize), then this program violates the fundamental obligation of the state to provide equally and equitable for the education of all its citizenry.
- JS Mill - Monday, Nov 6, 23 @ 3:35 pm:
=poor test scores=
Where? Definitely not all. CPS has some of the worst and some of the best (in the nation) with schools like Payton, Jones, Young, and Phillips. And some of those schools with low test scores may actually be working miracles based on all of the hurdles they must surmount. Some of the schools with good test scores may not be coming close to maximizing.
The hyperbole gets old though.
- Back to the Future - Monday, Nov 6, 23 @ 4:00 pm:
As to taking into account the statements of parents and children that say they benefited from the Invest for Kids tax incentive program, I look at their statements like I would of calling or hearing from a witness in a court case who swears to tell the truth. I just find their “testimony” compelling. It might not be a poll or representative of 194.5 students, but it is their story and I believe them.
Let’s give these kids a chance to get an educational opportunity that will benefit these children and the rest of us in the future. Time to find and move toward compromise in the GA on this program.
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Nov 6, 23 @ 4:15 pm:
===I look at their statements like I would have calling or hearing from a witness in a court case who swears to tell the truth. I just find their “testimony” compelling.===
Then it’s a plea.
===Let’s give these kids a chance to get an educational opportunity that will benefit these children and the rest of us in the future.===
There’s nothing stopping the “Angels” from continuing to donate. They can even put it towards actual students.
Thing is, the real, measured, “bottom line” benefactors are the schools, getting full price scholarships when they could’ve been giving partial, it’s a monetary windfall for the schools.
There’s gotta be a list of the donors. Ask them.
The actual donors… they are measuring these students by tax write offs. They can prove me wrong by raising $50-75 million altruistically. Not one person is stopping them.
So, if it’s a plea, plea to the donors
- Back to the Future - Monday, Nov 6, 23 @ 4:31 pm:
Really not a plea, but support for a compromise that supports a common sense successful approach to start dealing with a system that is failing our children.
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Nov 6, 23 @ 4:37 pm:
===but support for a compromise that supports a common sense successful approach===
Ask the Mensa Group from the Eastern Bloc.
Without them, no compromise is happening.
They are nihilists, and you need them to get to 71.
Ask the donors, you have better chances with them, maybe.
- JS Mill - Monday, Nov 6, 23 @ 4:48 pm:
=but support for a compromise that supports a common sense successful approach to start dealing with a system that is failing our children.=
When you say compromise what you really mean is for the majority to do what the minority want because you want it.
Take money from most schools and give it to a few that don’t follow much in the way of rules and don’t take the same assessments or open their doors to everyone versus schools that do all of that.
Those test scores you refer to are impacted by the fact that everyone takes them, not ject a select few. Let me know when St. Ignatius takes everyone that shows up and they all take the SAT and the ISA then publish the scores.
- H-W - Monday, Nov 6, 23 @ 6:19 pm:
=== to start dealing with a system that is failing our children.===
I am not convinced ours is a system that is failing our children. Nor am I convinced we Illinoisans need a new system, much less a decoupled system that lacks accountability.
- Pundent - Monday, Nov 6, 23 @ 8:40 pm:
=to start dealing with a system that is failing our children.=
I think there’s ample evidence that parents are failing more than the education system.