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Isabel’s morning briefing
Friday, Nov 10, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Veto session wrapped up last night. State Journal-Register…
- “Karina’s Bill” failed to advance out of Senate committee. committee, it would’ve clarified that guns be taken away from an abuser after a judge grants an order of protection. - Invest in Kids, a program providing income tax credits to those supporting private K-12 school scholarships, was not renewed. * Related stories… ∙ Sun-Times: Unfinished assignment: Lawmakers leave Springfield without final plan for Chicago elected school board ∙ Tribune: Illinois lawmakers validate referendums creating mental health funding for 5 suburban townships and Will County ∙ WTTW: Bill Boosting Chicago Police Officers’ Pensions Clears General Assembly ∙ Capitol News Illinois: Governor, who vetoed previous nuclear power bill, supports new effort * Isabel’s top picks… * Injustice Watch | Most juvenile detention centers in Illinois are failing to meet state standards: In Winnebago County, teenagers in the juvenile detention center had their water shut off for hours “as a precaution to disruptive behavior.” In Cook County, children as young as age 13 who come into the detention center are inappropriately strip searched. In Knox County’s Mary Davis Home, young people are confined to their cells for 24 hours as a disciplinary measure. * Sun-Times | Despite internal police alerts, scant evidence of violent gang members among Venezuelan migrants in Chicago: A Chicago Sun-Times analysis, based on news reports, crime data and court records, identified more than 30 migrants from Venezuela who’ve been arrested in Chicago and DuPage County since April. More than half of the cases involved theft and shoplifting. Two involved violent crimes — a robbery and a stabbing. Records show that only one of those migrants, charged with domestic battery, is listed in Chicago police records as being a suspected member of the prison gang. * Sun-Times | Biden stumps for unions and himself during UAW celebration in Belvidere: Faced with declining poll numbers and a crisis in the Middle East, Biden leaned in to his chance to fire up a crowd rejoicing over the UAW’s historic gains from its targeted strike against the Detroit Big Three automakers. In its deal with Stellantis, the union secured a pledge to restart Belvidere, adding thousands of jobs. * Safe travels home, Cricket!…
* Here’s the rest of your morning roundup… * WAND | Illinois lawmakers approve solution for health care licensing delays: House Bill 2394 creates an expedited and competitive bid process for software to modernize the way Illinois processes professional licenses. The measure could also require the agency to extend the expiration date or renewal period for licensees if the department believes it is necessary to avoid undue hardship. * WBEZ | Illinois’ controversial private school scholarship program is ending: The controversial program allows taxpayers to earn an income tax credit by donating to scholarship funds across the state that send students from lower-income households to private schools. About 9,700 students across the state received scholarships last year. Students with scholarships this year will be allowed to finish out the school year. * Tribune | Lawmakers send Gov. J.B. Pritzker revised proposal to lift Illinois moratorium on new nuclear plants: On a bipartisan 98-8 vote, the House approved the compromise proposal, which was passed by the Senate on a 44-7 vote a day earlier. Pritzker’s office has voiced its support for the revised measure, and the governor’s signature would make Illinois would one of a number of states that have rescinded similar bans as policymakers are taking a fresh look at nuclear power as another alternative to generate energy without increasing carbon output. * Shaw Local | State Rep. Matt Hanson charged with DUI in Montgomery: State Rep. Matthew B. Hanson, D-Montgomery, was charged Oct. 27 with driving under the influence and driving with a blood alcohol content greater than 0.08%, according to police reports and court records. According to the police report, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, police found Hanson, 50, asleep in his vehicle in the parking lot where he lives, in the Holly Ridge Apartments, 2260 Jericho Road, Montgomery. * Crain’s | City Council OKs paid leave measure requiring 10 days off: Although several business groups supported the ordinance approved Thursday, the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and industry groups representing restaurants, hotels, hospitals, retail merchants and manufacturers criticized the ordinance as going too far, too fast and potentially exposing companies to lawsuits due to mistakes. * Tribune | Third city employee accused Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin of unethical conduct, records show: Newly released records also shed more light on previously reported ethics allegations surrounding Conyears-Ervin and her husband, Ald. Jason Ervin, 28th. Emails released by the city show Conyears-Ervin directly asked top BMO Harris Bank officials to issue a loan to her husband’s landlord, who is a longtime close family friend. * Sun-Times | Brandon Johnson wasn’t supposed to take campaign money from city contractors, but he did: Mayor Brandon Johnson isn’t allowed to take campaign contributions from city contractors under a City Hall ethics rule but has accepted them anyway. Asked about that, Christian Perry, Johnson’s political director, says taking the money was an “oversight” and that it’s being returned — about $46,500 in all. * WTTW | Food Insecurity is on the Rise Again. How Chicagoans Are Helping Meet the Need Ahead of the Holidays: The Woodlawn Community Food Pantry now opens its doors one extra day per week to help meet the demand. “The need has changed drastically from a year ago. … People have to choose between buying food or paying for housing, buying food or paying for medical services,” said Reginald Guy, director of the pantry’s Senior Commodity Box Program. “So this is really impacting our community.” * Block Club | Mystery Woman Who Started Winnemac Park Garden Finally Found By Volunteers: Neighbors began caring for the garden at the southwest corner of Winnemac Park, 5100 N. Leavitt St., in 2021. But they didn’t know who installed the garden beds and its hand-painted sign or planted the chives and single tomato that had survived among the weeds overtaking the area. The only clue neighbors had was the name “Gina” carved into a seat made from a tree stump at the garden. * Tribune | Burbank man accused of dousing cops with hornet spray during Jan. 6 attack on U.S. Capitol: He was arrested Thursday morning and appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheila Finnegan, who ordered him released on bond pending his first court date in Washington. Lewis is at least the 42nd Illinoisan to be charged in the Capitol breach, an ongoing investigation that has been described by prosecutors as the largest criminal investigation in the country’s history. * Sun-Times | Dr. Allison Arwady takes job at top U.S. health agency to curb overdoses, suicides: The Yale-educated pediatrician will work primarily in Atlanta but said she plans to keep a residence in Chicago. Calling Chicago her “long-term home,” she said she hopes to see patients at a community health clinic and lead architectural tours in the city when she has time. “I didn’t want to just pick up and be a commissioner in a different state or a different city,” she said. * Block Club | Giant Balloons Are Back At Chicago’s Thanksgiving Parade: Teddy the Turkey and other giant helium balloons are back after a pandemic-related pause. The balloons will travel up State Street from Ida B. Wells Drive to Randolph Street with the rest of the parade participants. Now in its 89th year, the parade will run 8-11 a.m. Nov. 23. * Crain’s | Illinois Chamber of Commerce appoints new president and CEO: The Illinois Chamber of Commerce has named Lou Sandoval, a business owner and consultant across a variety of industries, as its new president and CEO. Sandoval will start the role on Nov. 27.
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