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Isabel’s morning briefing
Monday, Jan 22, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: White Sox and Related Midwest stadium pitch shows how a new neighborhood could be built. Crain’s…
-The stadium would be surrounded by a hotel and thousands of units of housing, 20% set aside at affordable rates. -The White Sox say that even if they abandon their century-long stay on 35th Street that the neighborhood won’t be left behind. * Related stories… ∙ Tribune: South Loop alderman throws support behind new White Sox stadium after meeting with developer ∙ Tribune: Rat Hole Park? Second City Stadium? It’s never too early to name the new White Sox Park * Isabel’s top picks… * Sun-Times | What New York’s migrant shelter limits could mean for Chicago: ‘Expect utter chaos’: “Be aware that this move is gonna throw away that tiny bit of stability that the families have had since coming here,” Mahmoodi warned in a phone interview from New York. “These are children who started school and are making friends — all those small things are ‘poof’ — out the window.” Governor Pritzker will be at the Nexamp Illinois offices on Wacker Drive at 10:30 am for a business development announcement. At noon, Pritzker will hold press availability following Roe v. Wade anniversary roundtable. Click here to watch. * Here’s the rest of your morning roundup… * Sun-Times | Chicago’s FBI boss preparing for threats in unusual election year that brings Democratic convention to town: “It’s just not good enough based on the new, the evolving, the breadth of the challenges, and the threats that we face nationally, globally, but specifically for Chicago,” Wheeler told the Chicago Sun-Times. “I feel like we have a more-than-our-fair-share of threat.” * Crain’s | Will a nuclear reactor spring up on the U of I campus?: U of I, which has one of the nation’s top nuclear-engineering programs, operated a research reactor on campus for nearly 40 years until the late 1990s. It’s now one of a handful of universities and national labs that want to build next-generation small modular reactors — also called microreactors — for research and test purposes. If successful, their work could create new interest in nuclear energy for the first time in decades and keep Illinois at the forefront of the industry. * AP | Illinois high court hands lawmakers a rare pension-overhaul victory: The court’s unanimous opinion rejected claims by three dozen working and retired police officers and firefighters from across the state that the merger of 649 separate systems into two statewide accounts violated the state constitution’s guarantee that benefits “shall not be diminished or impaired.” * WCIA | State to make cuts to care for developmentally disabled in Illinois: Service providers across the state are bracing for an 8.7 percent reduction in hours covered by the state. The money the state allocates to pay for those hours goes towards employee salaries, and without state funding, providers will have to find new ways to cover those costs, or reduce care hours. * Pantagraph | Lt. Gov. Stratton launches ‘We Thrive’ initiative in Bloomington, empowering minority women in business: Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton gathered with 25 minority women who own businesses Thursday in her first “We Chat” listening session held in Bloomington. * WTAX | Educator. Doodler.: The superintendent of the Illinois State Board of Education, Tony Sanders, has a plan to address underperforming schools, as designated by the state’s annual Report Card. “We’ve been working on rethinking our statewide system of support for the school districts that are really struggling the most,” Sanders said Thursday, “so we’ll be announcing in the next few months some strategies that we’re going to be taking at the state board level to really rethink how we are supporting schools and school districts that are either in targeted or comprehensive status.” * Daily Herald | State liquor tax revenues dropped last year. Will lawmakers raise tax rates?: For the first time in at least a decade, annual liquor tax revenue in Illinois declined. The modest 0.3% drop from $318.9 million in fiscal year 2022 to $318.1 million in fiscal year 2023 also ends a five-year run where the state saw annual off-premise liquor tax collections increase by at least $2 million a year. * Tribune | ‘Locked in’: Chicagoans who use wheelchairs, mobility aids struggle to navigate city’s sidewalks during snowstorm: Some Chicagoans who use wheelchairs and mobility aids say it’s challenging to navigate the city’s sidewalks when extreme weather grips the region, like last week. Wind chills descended to nearly minus 30 degrees on Tuesday, while the city saw 1.5 inches of snow Friday morning. Disability and transit advocacy organizations are calling on the city to improve conditions, referencing a program that could require the city to clear some sidewalks in winter. * WIFR | Despite new federal standards, Minnesota says funny and quirky traffic signs are here to stay: According to their statement, there is some leeway to what can be displayed on signs. Additionally, officials said they are aware of the new guide guidelines and that “we do not anticipate they will change the way MnDot shares creative highway safety messages.” The Federal Highway Administration also denied a request for an interview but did release a statement. * Casino | Golden Nugget Danville Casino Already Helping Charities, Public Pensions: While the city forecast $2 million in yearly receipts in casino revenue alone, the Golden Nugget delivered $1.332 million in just six months of operation, indicating the venue could surpass prior estimates for Danvile revenue. * The Guardian | Half of recent US inflation due to high corporate profits, report finds: Prices for consumers rose by 3.4% over the past year, but input costs for producers increased by just 1%, according to the authors’ calculations, which were based on data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and National Income and Products Accounts. * Sun-Times | ‘Chicago rat hole’ mysteriously filled in, then restored by neighbors — ‘Chicago takes care of its own’: Residents of the building next to the rat hole — who asked not to be identified for fear of “ratribution” from those who filled the hole — worked Friday afternoon to scrub away at what was left after some dedicated fans had scraped out most of what had briefly filled the hole.
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- James the Intolerant - Monday, Jan 22, 24 @ 7:55 am:
I have not seen the question posed to Reinsdorf yet concerning who is going to pay for this. I can’t imagine that all of a sudden the White Sox are going to go into their own pocket.
- BC - Monday, Jan 22, 24 @ 8:09 am:
I’m sorry, but the “rat hole” stuff has quickly gone from cute to obnoxious. It’s developed that faux Chicago street credibility vibe, like drinking shots of Malort.
- 32nd Ward Roscoe Village - Monday, Jan 22, 24 @ 9:00 am:
It is actually a squirrel hole, not a rat hole. A squirrel feel out of tree and landed there before the concrete had set. This is on the next block over from me, on my way to my kids’ day care and those kids are now in their early 20’s, so this has been there for more then 2 decades. Ridiculous and absurd.
- Hannibal Lecter - Monday, Jan 22, 24 @ 9:13 am:
=== Ridiculous and absurd ===
Agreed. There is something wrong with people.
- LastModDemStanding - Monday, Jan 22, 24 @ 9:25 am:
White Sox at the 78? Sounds like a W for the City!
Who will pay is a great question, but I think there’s some TIF and infrastructure money dedicated to that project already so maybe JF would be willing to cough up some cash.
- H-W - Monday, Jan 22, 24 @ 9:26 am:
Lighten up, folks.
People have something more interesting to keep them upbeat. If they say they are worshipping an image of a rat, then it is the image of a rat they wish to maintain.
There are a lot of things that might matter in this life, but happiness is at the top of the list. Heck, I might suggest here that they are building community sentiment by worshipping the graven image of that rat, which some insist must be defined as a squirrel, because they live in the realm of scientific reason, rather than theh realm of happiness.
God Save the Rat!
- Amalia - Monday, Jan 22, 24 @ 9:32 am:
Come on the rat hole is fun. so is Chonk. rat hole the best fun to come along until Jason Kelce last night.
- Donnie Elgin - Monday, Jan 22, 24 @ 9:45 am:
Lot 78 ( a railroad lot) has the potential to have environmental issues as dirty as the previous owner Tony Rezko. The plan is already pitching under-sized parking lots which Suburban fans will hate. Have to laugh at the idea that water taxi access will help with parking…
“Instead of surface parking, the Sox could build a parking structure, though its exact capacity would vary depending on size, and not all parking would have to be on-site, he said…Sources said mass transit access — the nearby Roosevelt station serves the CTA’s Red, Green and Orange lines — could reduce the need for stadium parking. With the Chicago River just west of the site, sources also noted the possibility of water taxi service for game-day crowds”
- DuPage Saint - Monday, Jan 22, 24 @ 10:31 am:
I think Scabby The Rat should show up at the rat hole
- Rich Miller - Monday, Jan 22, 24 @ 11:17 am:
=== under-sized parking lots which Suburban fans will hate===
Doesn’t seem to keep anyone from going to a game on the North Side.
- Friendly Bob Adams - Monday, Jan 22, 24 @ 11:31 am:
Which project will be completed first? The Sox 78 stadium, or the Peotone Airport?
Or will both go the way of the Crosstown Expressway?
- low level - Monday, Jan 22, 24 @ 11:36 am:
Maybe when he puts a winning team on the field we could consider it. Its been almost 20 years since they won anything. Why should we reward failure after failure?
Right now, a new stadium seems like nothing more than an attempt to increase the value of the team before the family can sell it.
- BC - Monday, Jan 22, 24 @ 11:39 am:
== Lighten up, folks. ==
I’ll admit, the weather has me cranky. But when people are taking wedding vows over a rodent imprint on a sidewalk, we’ve entered “jump the shark” territory.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Jan 22, 24 @ 11:45 am:
===we’ve entered “jump the shark” territory===
Maybe just mind your business and let people have their fun.
- OZZIE - Monday, Jan 22, 24 @ 12:16 pm:
What happens to the old park?
what will the ISFA do with it?
- thisjustinagain - Monday, Jan 22, 24 @ 12:34 pm:
The married couple “jumped the rat” getting married there.
Another new stadium for rich owners at taxpayer expense?? NO.
The Peotone Airport: (Fail Trumpets). What passenger or cargo airline are willing to pay for it; they never wanted to before.
- lake county democrat - Monday, Jan 22, 24 @ 12:34 pm:
I totally think the water taxi can help with parking, as could shuttles from Roosevelt. Target Field does a great job with a shuttle train from downtown Minneapolis - why would a short boat jaunt be that much different?
- 32nd Ward Roscoe Village - Monday, Jan 22, 24 @ 12:37 pm:
I regret the crankiness. I was reacting to this being “discovered” more than 20 years after it had appeared. I must have been channeling Bill Murray at the beginning of Stripes: “Tito Puente’s going to die someday, and you’re going to be able to say ‘Oh, I’ve been listening to him for years…’”
- low level - Monday, Jan 22, 24 @ 2:34 pm:
==Or will both go the way of the Crosstown Expressway?==
You are definitely old school. Lets hope both projects get canceled like Crosstown.
- Keep it Real - Monday, Jan 22, 24 @ 4:52 pm:
What, no comments on pulling the rug out from people with developmental disabilities? Let’s see, the state budget is in the black for several years, rainy day fund is flush, pensions in the right direction… Let’s see, how can we screw things up? I know, let’s cut $$ from people with disabilities to make their lives harder and keep people in state institutions for the rest of their lives. C’mon DHS, get it together?
- Rich Miller - Monday, Jan 22, 24 @ 5:17 pm:
===let’s cut $$ from people with disabilities===
It’s a reallocation determined by a study that the advocates pushed for years to get done.