Isabel’s morning briefing
Tuesday, Nov 7, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Week two of veto session begins today. Sun-Times…
- Sen. Sue Rezin plans to file a measure to counter Pritzker’s veto of a bill that would have lifted a moratorium on new nuclear power plants in the state. -Legislators also plan to try to approve an elected school board map that will divide Chicago into 20 districts. * Related stories… ∙ AP: Illinois lawmakers scrutinize private school scholarships without test-result data ∙ Daily Herald: Veto session last bet on lifting Illinois’ nuclear ban this year ∙ Sun-Times: Congressional Dems slam private school tax plan as state lawmakers return to Springfield for veto session battle * Isabel’s top picks… * Sun-Times | White House, state, city team up for pilot program to help migrants apply for work permits: A Biden administration pilot program, kicking off Thursday in Chicago, is designed to help new arrivals in shelters overwhelming the city apply for their work authorizations. The pilot program is a joint effort of the White House, Illinois, City Hall and the Resurrection Project, a social service agency that provides legal services for migrants. * WTTW | Aurora Officials Gave Long-Delinquent Aviation Company a Sweetheart Deal, Lawsuit Claims — Ahead of Sale to Company Now Backing Aurora’s Mayor: A federal lawsuit awaiting a judge’s ruling says that vision involves terms for Revv’s owners that illegally disadvantage one of their competitors at the airport, JA Air. The legal fight predates Revv — with JA’s suit arguing that the city long failed to hold Revv’s predecessor company accountable for potential safety hazards, unfair price undercutting and more. JA claims the lack of oversight has made it a financial underdog for nearly two decades — and has come at a cost to Aurora taxpayers. The two firms are both private companies that provide aviation services including flight lessons, maintenance, refueling and more. * Tribune | An Illinois judge reversed a sexual assault verdict he had rendered. A hearing will now decide whether he stays on the bench: “I was so ready to see him finally get what he deserved,” said Vaughan, now 18, who agreed to be identified for this story. Instead, in a decision that gutted the Vaughan family and stunned sexual assault advocates and survivors well beyond the downstate Illinois river town, Adrian reversed his guilty verdict, saying that the 148 days Clinton spent in county jail was “plenty of punishment.” * Some data to start your morning…
* Here’s the rest of your morning roundup… * Capitol News Illinois | Gun rights groups to seek Supreme Court ruling on assault weapons: In a statement Saturday, the Illinois State Rifle Association said it was not surprised by the 7th Circuit panel’s 2-1 decision, which said plaintiffs in the consolidated cases had not met their burden to show they were likely to win in a constitutional challenge to the law. “It has always been and is our intent to take our case to the U.S. Supreme Court where we believe we can get a favorable ruling for law-abiding gun owners in Illinois,” the organization said. “We will continue to stand up for the Second amendment and Illinois law-abiding gun owners and against our anti-gun Governor Pritzker and General Assembly.” * WCIA | State superintendent breaks down new statewide public school report card: Public schools in Illinois are recovering slowly from the pandemic, but there are still some lasting effects. Overall proficiency levels are on the rise, according to the report, but chronic absenteeism remains a big problem. * Tribune | Ex-Ald. Edward Burke finally getting his day in federal court as high-stakes corruption trial begins with jury selection: The judge and attorneys took the all day to question 20 prospective jurors. The judge has said they need to get about 44 people who make it through “for cause” strikes before proceeding to the next phase. * WTTW | Jury Selection Begins in Corruption Trial of Former Ald. Ed Burke: One of the first acts of Burke’s attorneys was to object to a large display in the hallway outside the 25th floor courtroom that memorializes the other high-profile public corruption cases that have taken place at the Dirksen Courthouse. U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Kendall said she would take that request under advisement. * Daily Herald | Food and drinks during Kentucky trip violated District 214 gift ban policy, ethics panel says: A Northwest Suburban High School District 214 ethics panel Monday ruled two employees violated the Arlington Heights-based district’s ethics and gift ban policy after going on an HVAC contractor’s all-expense-paid trip to Kentucky. The three-member ethics commission — composed of District 214 parents appointed by Superintendent Scott Rowe — made its determination after an internal investigation by district legal counsel Kevin Gordon of the Oakbrook Terrace-based law firm Kriha Boucek. * Block Club | At Vigil For 16-Year-Old Cyclist Josh Anleu, Family Urges Drivers To ‘Do Better’: Josh Anleu felt free when he bicycled through the Northwest Side, an activity that helped him escape the daily tasks of school and home life, his family said. That freedom was cut short when a driver hit the 16-year-old Schurz High School student on his bike last month at the intersection of Long and Waveland avenues. Anleu died two days later from his injuries, making him the second teenage cyclist in Chicago to be hit and killed by a driver in less than two years. * The Grio | Twin brothers sue NCAA over eligibility dispute involving NIL compensation: The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Matthew Bewley and Ryan Bewley, 19-year-old twins from Florida, in U.S. District Court in Chicago on Wednesday. The Bewleys spent two seasons at Overtime Elite Academy before accepting scholarships from Chicago State University in June. The brothers are seeking damages and an injunction that would clear them to play for the Cougars, who visit Bowling Green on Monday night for their season opener. U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman scheduled a hearing for Tuesday in the case. * WGN | Questions emerge over CTU president’s Indiana property tax claim: The head of the Chicago Teachers Union has claimed a home in South Bend, Indiana as her primary residence for the past sixteen years, according to documents reviewed by WGN Investigates. Indiana officials tell WGN Investigates they are removing the homestead exemption and may seek back taxes. * Crain’s | Johnson’s first budget easily clears committee hurdle: The lack of significant amendments to the proposal is reflective of the modesty of Johnson’s first budget, which held to a campaign promise to not raise property taxes while only delivering “down payments” on his spending initiatives to reimagine Chicago. * Tribune | City Council committee grills Peoples Gas ahead of ICC decision on proposed $402 million record rate hike: The Illinois Commerce Commission is expected to rule Nov. 16 on the rate hike proposal, which includes $207 million to continue funding the ongoing pipeline replacement program. If approved, the rate increase would add $11.83 per month to the average residential customer bill beginning in January. * Sports Handle | Illinois: The State With The $20 Million Sports Wagering License And No Takers: Now in its fourth year of conducting business and firmly established as a top-three market nationally, there is one area where the Land of Lincoln has yet to hit paydirt — finding an operator wanting to go through the full process of becoming an online-only licensee. While no licensing process is easy, the Illinois Gaming Board has as thorough a vetting process as any state before awarding a license. * Tribune | Yorkville’s Dallas Ingemunson, longtime GOP stalwart, dies: Ingemunson also served as a political mentor to Tom Cross of Oswego. A former assistant in Ingemunson’s state’s attorney’s office, Cross was elected to the Illinois House in 1992 and a decade later became the leader of the GOP minority in the chamber, where he served until August 2013. “Dallas was a true public servant who never failed to help a person with a problem regardless of their status in life,” Cross said. * The Berg | Illinois Joining Forces Launches Operation Connect-A-Vet to Empower Friends and Families to Link Vet: “As we approach Veterans Day, we must remember the sacrifices made by veterans and raise awareness of the support they truly deserve. Operation Connect-A-Vet embodies our nation’s spirit of unity and service. This Veterans Day, IJF is proud to unite our community to provide vital support for Veterans, Service Members, and their Families,” said Erica Borggren, Board Chairwoman of Illinois Joining Forces. * Bloomberg | WeWork goes bankrupt, signs pact with creditors to cut debt: The New York-based company said it had struck a restructuring agreement with creditors representing roughly 92% of its secured notes and would streamline its rental portfolio of office space, according to a statement. The Nov. 6 Chapter 11 filing in New Jersey listed assets of $15 billion.
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- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Nov 7, 23 @ 9:39 am:
===- Senate Republicans continue to pressure Democrats and Gov. J.B. Pritzker to extend the Invest in Kids program.===
“When you get the House Freedom Caucus to be ‘Yes’, then come see me”
- every Dem state Senator, maybe
- H-W - Tuesday, Nov 7, 23 @ 10:09 am:
RE: Tribune article of Illinois Judge
Hopefully, Judge Adrian will be sanctioned, if not removed from the bench. Hopefully, his order will be vacated rather than left to stand.
I do not know how the law works in such matters. But a young child was raped, according to Adrian himself. To declare that her rape was meaningless is an abomination.
- H-W - Tuesday, Nov 7, 23 @ 10:10 am:
Sorry about the anonymous post, Isabel.
- Amalia - Tuesday, Nov 7, 23 @ 10:38 am:
that article in the Tribune about Judge Adrian is comprehensive and chilling. the victim names herself and that she wanted to commit suicide. the judge blames everyone but the offender from the bench. while there may not be more cases like this with a terrible judge there are cases where the offender gets off with not much of a penalty. and anyone who has a juvenile for an offender, the attitude now is much like that of this judge, enough punishment, young offender. Victims matter. They did not choose to be a victim. Offenders choose to hurt.
- Blitz - Tuesday, Nov 7, 23 @ 10:43 am:
Also regarding the judge story. I continue to be absolutely baffled by the logic that because of something someone is wearing and drinking it is okay to commit crimes against them. It reminds me of the number of people who claimed that they got caught up in the moment on Jan 6 and that’s why they entered the building. I’ve yet to find that compellingly delivered in a way I can understand it.
- wonkie - Tuesday, Nov 7, 23 @ 10:54 am:
Anyone else think it’s odd that the public institutions that serve the most students of color– Chicago State, Governors State, and Northeastern– aren’t on that list?
- JoanP - Tuesday, Nov 7, 23 @ 11:15 am:
Fascinating story about Chicago’s first convicted alderman - and it wasn’t Fred Hubbard: https://roselandchicago1972.substack.com/p/who-is-chicagos-first-convicted-alderman
- Big Dipper - Tuesday, Nov 7, 23 @ 11:48 am:
It seems like we have so many kooky circuit court judges. Remember the right to fish? And he is now on the appellate court. Maybe we need to switch over to appointments like the federal system because it seems the voters are not doing their jobs.
- Leap Day William - Tuesday, Nov 7, 23 @ 12:53 pm:
== Anyone else think it’s odd that the public institutions that serve the most students of color– Chicago State, Governors State, and Northeastern– aren’t on that list? ==
IIRC these plates were all requested by alumni associations of the various campuses and need a certain number of commitments from people before the state will create a plate. It’s a rather large number of commitments (2000 applications), and takes a pretty strong grass roots effort. One of my siblings was on the Eagle Scout plate list for years waiting for enough people to sign up for it so they would get made.
There are several private institutions that don’t have plates - Knox College, McKendree University, Illinois College, Aurora University, Lewis University, Roosevelt University, and a few more - whose populations are or previously were predominantly white are also missing from the list. Interesting, Malcom X College is the only community college with a plate. It really comes down to involved alumni and their associations willingness to get 2000+ people to say “yes, I’d order a plate if it was available.”
In the context of this, I did notice that all of the Divine 9 NPHC fraternities and sororities have plates, whereas not a single historically white fraternity or sorority has its own plate.
https://www.ilsos.gov/departments/vehicles/license_plate_guide/pan_hellenic/home.html
That says to me alumni of color who are likely to get a specialty plate probably more closely identify with their GLO (if they were in one) than where they graduated, and that alumni offices and foundations on the non-represented campuses need to get working on having 2000+ people to sign up for a plate.
- Larry Sanders - Tuesday, Nov 7, 23 @ 12:59 pm:
The head of the Chicago teachers union lists there residence in Indiana? It’s almost like the rules don’t apply. Or taking school choice away from families is to “protect” them and not the union. Weird how that works.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Nov 7, 23 @ 1:11 pm:
===Weird how that works.===
Who is stopping the 71/36
That’s weird.