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Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Wednesday, Jan 17, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Politico…
* Press release…
* Wieland announced a $500M expansion and modernization plan in East Alton…
* Daily Herald…
* Here’s the rest… * WTTW | Treasurer Conyears-Ervin Fired Employees After They Warned She Was Violating Ethics Ordinance by Using City Resources to Host Prayer Service: Inspector General Deborah Witzburg’s determination that Conyears-Ervin violated the city’s Governmental Ethics Ordinance is the second time in six months that Witzburg has found probable cause that an elected Chicago official violated city ethics rules. * Sun-Times | Illinois businesses must share ownership details under new federal law; here’s what you need to know: The Corporate Transparency Act of 2021 requires most companies doing business in the United States to file reports about the people who own them to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. * NBC Chicago | Texas bus company sues City of Chicago over migrant drop-off ordinance: A Texas bus company has filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Chicago alleging the city’s recent ordinance aimed at deterring buses from dropping off migrants unannounced is “unconstitutional” and “punishes” transportation companies who do business with Texas. * Sun-Times | Hilco to pay $12.25 million in class-action lawsuit over Crawford coal plant implosion: Residents who were affected must submit a claim by March 26. Those who want to object to the agreement or opt out of the settlement have until Feb. 26. Opting out is the only way a person can seek any other lawsuit against Hilco and its contractors. * WBEZ | Blankets, gloves, a tent and some propane protect some of Chicago’s homeless during ‘brutal’ cold snap: “Unhoused folks die from weather-related injuries. We understand that now is especially the time we want to be intentional about our work,” says Christian Zamarriego, director of Thresholds’ outreach program. * Tribune | Harvey residents in boarded up apartments being aided by Cook County Housing Authority, mayor says city has tried to help: The authority couldn’t say how many people it is working with, but said options offered include apartments with rental assistance in other authority owned buildings in Harvey and Homewood, a spokesman said Tuesday. * PJ Star | 11 WTVP board members resign amid financial crisis: WTVP-TV Board Chairman Andrew Rand and 10 other members of the WTVP Board of Directors announced their resignations Tuesday in yet another bombshell development at the embattled public television station. The board then accepted appointments of eight new members, including John Wieland, MH Equipment Company’s CEO, as the board’s new chair. * Daily Herald | Rolling Meadows could owe Arlington Heights $1 million over taxes received in error: In a 2-1 decision issued Friday, the First District Appellate Court reversed a lower court’s decision that initially dismissed Arlington Heights’ lawsuit seeking more than eight years’ worth of back taxes. * Crain’s | Dan McGrath: For Bulls fans, being cruel to Jerry Krause when he was alive just wasn’t enough: Jerry Krause could be a hard guy to like. That said, the booing that rained down on him during the Bulls’ “Ring of Honor” ceremony last Friday — on his memory, really, as Krause died in 2017 — was thoughtlessly cruel, an embarrassment to a city that fashions itself as classy, above the incivility that runs rampant in this country. * WGN | Lawmaker wants to entice Chicago Bears to move to Indiana: Indiana State Rep. Earl Harris Jr. (D-East Chicago) is looking to continue his late father’s dream of luring an NFL team to Northwest Indiana, and with the nearby Chicago Bears mulling the option of leaving Soldier Field, a short move across state lines might not be out of the realm of possibility. * Sun -Times | Illinois saw the most tornadoes in the U.S. in 2023, National Weather Service says: About 120 tornadoes were reported in the state, more than triple the amount in 2022 when there were 39. “We had a significant number of days where just … all the ingredients you need for tornadoes all came together,” said Victor Gensini, a professor at Northern Illinois University. * ABC Chicago | Chicago-area Tesla drivers stranded as charging stations not working in bitterly cold weather: At the charging station near 95th Street and Western Avenue in the Evergreen Park area, many Tesla owners were stranded with dead batteries from the cold. Drivers said there were not enough working chargers at that location.
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- Steve - Wednesday, Jan 17, 24 @ 1:56 pm:
JB has put the state’s money behind EV’s . I can see why the free market didn’t get behind it. It’s pretty risky to own an EV when it gets cold.
- Grandson of Man - Wednesday, Jan 17, 24 @ 2:06 pm:
The Wieland investment is more good economic news for Illinois that’s tied to the state’s better fiscal performance. It has nothing to do with what nearly wrecked the state to make it “pro-growth.” Imagine truly believing that financially starving the state if necessary is an economic growth plan. People like that have no business anywhere near public policy.
- Pundent - Wednesday, Jan 17, 24 @ 2:08 pm:
=It’s pretty risky to own an EV when it gets cold.=
Lot’s of things don’t work as they should in sub zero temperatures. But the impact is minimal as most owners charge their vehicles at home in their in garages. And the market will continue to move towards EV’s as the cost of technology continues to drop and automakers move away from ICE R&D.
- JoanP - Wednesday, Jan 17, 24 @ 2:22 pm:
= the impact is minimal =
Not if you’re the guy whose car had to be towed because it died while you waited in a long line to get it charged.
- Dotnonymous x - Wednesday, Jan 17, 24 @ 2:30 pm:
This puts the chill in potential EV buyer’s minds?
- cermak_rd - Wednesday, Jan 17, 24 @ 2:42 pm:
It’s always been known that cold weather was a weak spot for batteries and hence EVs.
Maybe hybrids are a better idea in cooler climates, something with a small gasoline burning engine or hydrogen burner as a fallback. Of course, more stuff under the hood, more weight, faster battery discharge.
Me, personally, I was more concerned about the risk of fire with the batteries.
Maybe bicycles.
- Pundent - Wednesday, Jan 17, 24 @ 2:45 pm:
=Not if you’re the guy whose car had to be towed because it died while you waited in a long line to get it charged.=
As an EV owner I can attest to the fact that this is poor planning. I would never head out in sub zero temps to charge. Most owners rely on home charging to meet their daily needs. Imagine having a gas pump in your garage but running out of gas. The criticism of EV’s is almost always from non EV owners.
- TheInvisibleMan - Wednesday, Jan 17, 24 @ 2:49 pm:
“It’s pretty risky to own an EV when it gets cold.”
It’s pretty risky, to continue to use the old habits centered around ICE engines like ‘going to a gas station’ - instead of just plugging your car in at home the night before and just skipping that entire fuel station stop the next day.
Technology changes faster than habits and familiarity. People generally run into problems like this when they carry over the habits of an old technology into using a new one.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Jan 17, 24 @ 3:08 pm:
===plugging your car in at home the night before===
Unless you live in a city and/or have no garage.
- Pundent - Wednesday, Jan 17, 24 @ 3:15 pm:
=Unless you live in a city and/or have no garage.=
Having to rely entirely on the public charging network makes EV ownership impractical and I would not recommend it.
- Suburbanon - Wednesday, Jan 17, 24 @ 3:20 pm:
GA needs to pass a comprehensive law governing migrant buses ASAP to eliminate patchwork of local ordinances and possibly forestalling any more Texas bus company lawsuits. Are Gov. Abbott’s people are funding lawsuit?
- NIU Grad - Wednesday, Jan 17, 24 @ 3:42 pm:
Lt. Gov. has some catching up to do…but that’s still not bad without an identified race that she’s running for in 2026.
- Just Lurking - Wednesday, Jan 17, 24 @ 3:57 pm:
I don’t think EVs are there yet, but extreme cold impacts diesel vehicles because diesel turns to gel and won’t pump if it’s cold enough. Rail switches and gates are also prone to problems in extreme cold. If Illinois waited for EVs to be a bigger market, we wouldn’t be able to catch up.
- JS Mill - Wednesday, Jan 17, 24 @ 4:21 pm:
Has anyone ever heard of a gas or diesel vehicle failing to start in cold weather? Area districts all had buses that wouldn’t start, so did we. These vehicles have been around for a century and still no real solution. So I wouldn’t get too down on EV’s if people let them run out of power. And no, I don’t own an EV. Taking advice from @Pundent, out in rural Illinois they are just not practical enough. Yet.
- Just a guy - Wednesday, Jan 17, 24 @ 4:36 pm:
I don’t know what’s worse - that somehow Conyears-Ervin is in charge of the money, or that somehow she’s still in office. How do politicians like this continue to find ways to remain in office? https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/ct-conyears-ervin-letter-released-20230905-jbglkr23nrf6nggww45pgbkb4m-story.html
- The Truth - Wednesday, Jan 17, 24 @ 4:55 pm:
I would bet that less than 5% of all EV owners don’t have a charging capability of some kind at their primary parking space.
- JSI - Wednesday, Jan 17, 24 @ 6:03 pm:
Surely it’s nearing time for Senator Durbin to retire. The field looks wide open with the statewide electeds.
- Grandson of Man - Wednesday, Jan 17, 24 @ 6:50 pm:
The sky was smoky last year over Illinois and much of America, repeatedly and for days, sometimes at dangerous levels, because of Canadian wildfires. Last year was the warmest on record, according to NASA, and mainly because of fossil fuels. Illinois is thankfully acting realistically (as are other states/countries) by investing in clean energy.
- Occasionally Moderated - Wednesday, Jan 17, 24 @ 6:57 pm:
And my Gremlin wont run right on this newfangled unleaded gas.
- RNUG - Wednesday, Jan 17, 24 @ 7:57 pm:
I’m a bit of an automotive hobbyist / automotive newsletter editor / publisher.
At one time about 110 - 130 years ago, EVs were the predominant source of automotive transportation, with close to 50% of the market. They had the same problems of weight and battery charging time back then. Internal combustion engines made up about 25%, with steam being the other major power source.
ICE didn’t start to dominate until Charles Kettering invented the electric starter for IC engines. Once that happened, the advantages of range, lower weight, and quick refueling led ICE to dominate the automotive market. We’ve since had 90 or so years of improvements to ICE technology.
While we’ve had some improvements in battery technology over those 90 years, there really hasn’t been that much advancement in automotive use of electric propulsion.
It’s getting there, but it isn’t quite where it should be to displace ICE in the marketplace without the forced government mandates. And you can’t always force scientific on your schedule.