A 73-year-old Illinois man was sentenced Monday to five years in prison for driving a car into a planned abortion clinic and trying to set the building on fire last year.
Philip J. Buyno of Prophetstown also was ordered to serve three years of supervised release and to pay $327,547 in restitution, prosecutors said in a news release. U.S. District Judge Colin S. Bruce handed down the sentence. […]
Buyno admitted that on May 20 he used his car to breach the front entrance to a commercial building in Danville. He brought several containers filled with gasoline to burn the structure down before it could be used as a reproductive health clinic, prosecutors have said.
* Planned Parenthood Illinois Action…
Today, legislators, advocates and reproductive health care leaders in Illinois gathered for a roundtable discussion about the increase in harassment and violence against patients and providers since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Senator Adriane Johnson and Representative Mary Beth Canty spoke with Jennifer Welch, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Illinois Action (PPIA) Yamelsie Rodriguez, President and CEO of Advocates of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri (Advocates), Michele Landeau, Chief Operating Officer with Hope Clinic and clinic escorts.
“As Illinois is now a beacon for abortion access in the Midwest and beyond, we have also become a target for violent extremists and harassment,” the Planned Parenthood organizations said in a joint statement. “The attacks on clinics across the state are intensifying. We will never stop fighting to ensure everyone can access the health care they need — free from harassment, intimidation, or threats.”
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, dismantling federal protections for abortion access, violence against abortion providers and patients has seen a sharp increase across the nation. According to a National Abortion Federation study there has been a:
100% increase in arson
20% increase in death threats
25% increase in health center invasions
229% increase in stalking related to abortion
A coalition of abortion providers and advocates, which include Access Health Ltd., Alamo Women’s Clinic of Illinois, Choices Center for Reproductive Health, Equity Clinic, Hope Clinic, and Rockford Family Planning Clinic, are united in their call for action to help address the increased harassment and aggressive tactics patients and providers are experiencing across the state.
— Sonia Anne Khalil has been endorsed by the Illinois Nurses’ Association in her bid for state representative in the 36th District Democratic primary. She faces Rick Ryan.
— Arad Boxenbaum has been endorsed by Run for Something. He faces state Rep. Matt Hanson in the Democratic primary for the 83rd House seat.
A national advocacy group pushing to raise the minimum wage for tipped workers sees smooth sailing ahead for legislation in Springfield following a victory in Chicago’s City Council last year.
The group, One Fair Wage, and state Rep. Elisabeth Hernandez, D-Cicero, unveiled a bill on Feb. 6 that would phase out the sub-minimum wage in Illinois over a two-year period. The legislation follows the passage of a similar law in Chicago that gradually raises the base wages for tipped workers in the city by 8% a year until 2028, when the sub-minimum wage will equal the standard minimum wage. […]
Illinois’ minimum wage stands at $14 an hour while its tipped minimum wage guarantees $8.40 an hour. Those wages will rise to $15 an hour and $9 an hour by 2025. Tipped workers are expected to make up the difference between the tipped wage and standard minimum wage with their tips, but employers must compensate them if they can’t bridge that gap.
Advocates for eliminating the tipped wage argue too many scofflaw employers cheat workers out of their full pay. The state bill proposes enforcement tools, including fining employers up to $1,500 per day per violation for violating the bill’s provisions, which would go toward a wage theft enforcement fund. Those penalties mirror fines proposed by the Illinois Restaurant Association during negotiations at the city level. At the time, the association had suggested raising fines for employers who failed to compensate workers in a bid to avoid increasing the minimum wage.
* Illinois Restaurant Association…
We wholeheartedly disagree with any decision to eliminate the tip credit. The removal of the tip credit will hurt tipped workers, restaurants, and customers across the entire state of Illinois when we should be doing what we can to help them. This legislation will do more harm than good as it will fundamentally change the way all restaurants operate, hurting our smaller, family-run and minority-owned businesses the most. The notion that tipped employees make less than minimum wage is simply not true. In fact, the median wage for full-service tipped restaurant workers is over $28 per hour. These changes will lead to job cuts, an increase in labor costs, and ultimately force restaurant owners to make difficult decisions that will negatively impact their workers and result in higher prices for customers. We are opposed to this legislation.
Congratulations on topping the charts, Tracy Chapman! It was great seeing you on stage at the Grammys this weekend. I'm so glad a new generation is enjoying your terrific music. @tchapmanonlinepic.twitter.com/Bitf0RT75e
* SJ-R | Jordan Davis announced as latest Illinois State Fair Grandstand performer: Davis, a Shreveport, La., native, is coming off his sixth career No. 1 two-time platinum hit, “Next Thing You Know” — his third consecutive No. 1 cut from his album, Bluebird Days. He also received Best New Country Artist honors at the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards and Billboard’s Top New Country Artist in 2018.
* Crain’s | Former pilot Duckworth gave Boeing’s CEO an earful — and he listened: She’s been chair of the Senate’s aviation subcommittee for only a year, but Tammy Duckworth is making her presence felt. When the Illinois senator and former Army helicopter pilot told Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun he should drop his request for a safety waiver on a new, smaller version of the 737 that’s still awaiting FAA certification, Calhoun took her advice.
* Tribune | Jussie Smollett asks Illinois Supreme Court to hear case: The move marks the next step as Smollett works to exhaust all his appeal options after a jury in 2021 convicted him on five of six counts of disorderly conduct. He was sentenced to 150 days in jail, 30 months of probation and $130,160 in restitution. Smollett’s attorneys filed the petition to the high court on Monday, arguing that the questions raised by the case have the “potential for wide-reaching implications” across Illinois. The court has the discretion to decide whether to take the case, or leave the appellate court’s decision in effect.
* WGLT | Central Illinois nursing home company faces foreclosure on 17 properties: The company claimed Petersen’s lack of liquidity and use of money transfers to pay off other debts were putting resident health and safety at risk. U.S. District Court Judge Iain D. Johnson appointed Flanagan receiver two days later. Petersen Health Care says they still own those properties, and are working with the lender’s management company to minimize the impact to staff and residents.
* NCSL | 2023 Campaign Finance Enactments: All 50 states introduced 612 campaign finance bills in 2023, and 27 states enacted 62 measures. Highlighted below are the 2023 campaign finance enactments, with summaries of laws relating to contributions, disclosures, public financing, excess funds, crimes and penalties, and independent expenditures.
* WBEZ | Families and schools are rattled by end of state private school scholarship program: Critics of the 5-year-old program say it takes money that could go toward underfunded public schools and sends it to private schools that can discriminate. Advocates defend the program, saying it allows lower-income families to choose schools that are best for their children. They are aiming to try to revive the program in the spring legislative session, highlighting schools like St. Frances with large scholarship numbers to make their case for resuscitating Invest in Kids. Caught in the middle are people like Dela Mora. She is now questioning how she will afford to pay full tuition costs this fall for her son and younger daughter, who is at Trinity High School in River Forest.
* NYT | Mother of Michigan Gunman Found Guilty of Manslaughter: The trial became a lightning rod for issues of parental responsibility at a time of frequent cases of gun violence carried out by teenagers and children. […] The prosecutors argued that Ms. Crumbley should have noticed her son’s distress and stopped him from committing an act of unspeakable violence. Marc Keast, one of the prosecutors, said that she and her husband “didn’t do any number of tragically small and easy things that would have prevented all of this from happening.”
* CNN | What the border bill would and wouldn’t do: Once illegal border crossings reach a certain threshold, the Department of Homeland Security would be required to exercise a new emergency authority that bars migrants, except unaccompanied minors, from crossing the border between ports of entry. The authority would automatically kick in if crossings rise above 5,000 on average per day on a given week, or 8,500 in a single day. The authority sunsets after three years and there are time limits on how many days it can be used.
* WTTW | The Oldest Restaurant in Illinois – Where Even the Furniture Was Once for Sale: When it was known as the Zimmer Tavern and Wagon Shop, The Village Tavern in present-day Long Grove, Illinois was a place where travelers and locals could stop to get their horses shod, their bridles repaired, and their stomachs filled with hearty meals, mugs of ale, and whiskey straight from the barrel. Today, it’s the oldest restaurant in the state, having continuously operated since 1847 – only fourteen years after nearby Chicago was incorporated as a town, and 29 after Illinois became a state.
* SJ-R | Playwright hopes original work about 1908 race riot can jumpstart conversations: A native of Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood who retired from the Illinois Education Association in 2017, Crawford said he knew little about the Springfield Race Riot until 2018 when he encountered a video of Peoria artist Preston Jackson telling the story of his mural depicting the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis caring for the victims. The mural was a centerpiece for an exhibit commemorating the centennial of the riot at the Women and Children´s Clinic at HSHS St. John´s Hospital.
* WBEZ | A world premiere on the West Side salutes three great jazz women, including Nina Simone: More than a tribute piece, Women Out of Time confronts a long-vexing inequity in jazz. Divas like Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, and Dinah Washington are highly visible — worshiped, even. But women in jazz are rarely showered with such praise for their compositional prowess, and it’s still woefully rare to see women on bandstands as instrumentalists. Even then, they might be pressured to pivot to singing instead, as Simone was.
* NBC Chicago | Chicago could threaten temperature record that’s stood for nearly 140 years: Those temperatures could even threaten longstanding records in the city. According to the National Weather Service, the record high temperature for Chicago for Feb. 8 is 62 degrees, set all the way back in 1925. Friday’s record could certainly be threatened, with the record of 56 degrees having been set in 1886, according to NWS officials.
* WGN | NFL commissioner in favor of new Bears stadium, believes dome feature could lead to hosting Super Bowl: With tax negotiations at a $100 million impasse, a new report said the Chicago Bears are shifting their stadium focus from Arlington Heights to the city’s lakefront. “I talked to the mayor of Chicago recently, he wants them in the city. I spoke with Arlington Heights, they want it out in Arlington Heights,” Goodell said.
* The University of Illinois System’s Institute of Government and Public Affairs…
A recent Policy Spotlight published by the University of Illinois System’s Institute of Government and Public Affairs titled “Working from Home in Illinois: Who Can and Does?” focuses on how Illinois workers adapted to working from home in the wake of the pandemic. Using the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, researchers describe the nuanced trends, challenges and opportunities surrounding remote work in Illinois.
Concentrating on this robust data set, researchers mapped out the geographic locations where the Illinois workforce is employed in occupations that can work remotely. By examining workforce trends driven by the loosening of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, the report reveals a significant increase in remote work prevalence — especially in management, business, science and arts professions. The shift is more pronounced in higher-income brackets, but remote work is more prevalent across all income levels in 2021.
“McLean County, for example, has a large proportion of its workers in finance and insurance occupations. In contrast, Kankakee County has a larger proportion of workers in health care and manufacturing,” said David Merriman, a co-author of the Policy Spotlight and interim director of the Institute of Government and Public Affairs. “The types of occupations and industries present in a county contribute greatly to whether the county’s labor force could work from home.”
Researchers explore the factors influencing who can and did work from home, including occupation types, geographic locations, gender and household dynamics, and access to high-speed internet. Focusing on gender and household dynamics, it appears that women with children were slightly more likely to work from home than women without children, but by 2021, men were still more likely to work from home regardless of whether they had young children. Additionally, the researchers highlight the importance of high-speed broadband infrastructure to facilitate remote work.
“Women under the age of 40 with children under five were slightly more likely to work from home compared with women without children under the age of five in both 2019 and 2021,” said Alea Wilbur-Mujtaba, a co-author of the Policy Spotlight and a Ph.D. student in public policy, management, and analytics at the University of Illinois Chicago.
Additionally, the researchers highlight the importance of high-speed broadband infrastructure to facilitate remote work
The report concludes that remote work is ingrained in Illinois’ workforce, mirroring national trends. It emphasizes the need for a comprehensive and equitable approach by policymakers, employers and society to address the lasting implications of remote work on state finances, economic disparities and work-life balance.
[Work from home] workers represent 13% of the Illinois work-force compared to 2.8% in 2019. In 2021, those in sales and office jobs represent close to 20% of the Illinois workforce, with 4% who are WFH.
Last year, five Illinois counties took part in the Benton Institute’s Broadband Breakthrough program. The effort coached local leaders on how broadband expansion happens, how to conduct community surveys, and how to get a better shot at these incoming federal dollars.
In interviews with the Daily Yonder, participants said the program helped ready the counties for a “once-in-a-generation” funding opportunity, one that could help business owners like Braffet. […]
In Hancock County, at least two internet service providers have already applied for and will continue to apply for broadband expansion grants as the federal dollars become available, said Samantha Harnack, executive director of Hancock County Economic Development. […]
“The state is 100% not going to give anyone a grant that doesn’t have their ducks in a row,” Harnack said. “The federal government, same thing.”
It’s unclear just how long it will take to expand broadband access to underserved rural areas. Patricia Nordman, a district representative for the Ogle County government, said she’s thinking on a 10-year timescale.
The White House is pressing Congress to extend a subsidy program that helps one in six U.S. families afford internet and represents a key element of President Joe Biden’s promise to deliver reliable broadband service to every American household. […]
The Affordable Connectivity Program offers qualifying families discounts on their internet bills — $30 a month for most families and up to $75 a month for families on tribal lands. The one-time infusion of $14.2 billion for the program through the bipartisan infrastructure law is projected to run out of money at the end of April. […]
[T]he program serves nearly an equal number of households in Republican and Democratic congressional districts, according to an AP analysis.
Biden has likened his promise of affordable internet for all American households to the New Deal-era effort to provide electricity to much of rural America. Congress approved $65 billion for several broadband-related investments, including the ACP, in 2021 as part of a bipartisan infrastructure law. He traveled to North Carolina last month to tout its potential benefits, especially in wide swaths of the country that currently lack access to reliable, affordable internet service/
Beyond the immediate impact to enrolled families, the expiration of the ACP could have a ripple effect on the impact of other federal broadband investments and could erode trust between consumers and their internet providers.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers recently proposed a bill to sustain the ACP through the end of 2024 with an additional $7 billion in funding — a billion more than Biden asked Congress to appropriate for the program at the end of last year. However, no votes have been scheduled to move the bill forward, and it’s unclear if the program will be prioritized in a divided Congress.
* PBS | New tool gauges economic effects of expanded broadband in rural IL: A report by the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society estimates that, across 15 agricultural counties in Illinois, faster internet speeds could boost production of corn and soybeans by over $100 million annually.
* COStar | After Championing Remote Work, Dell Calls Employees Back to the Office: The Round Rock, Texas-based company told some of its employees that they must show up to a corporate hub at least 39 days a quarter, a mandate that shakes out to roughly three days a week, a Dell spokesperson confirmed to CoStar News. The new in-person requirement will apply to workers who have been operating on a hybrid policy, which the computer hardware company has gradually revised over the past couple of years.
Illinois State Rep. Blaine Wilhour, R-Beecher City, and Illinois 12th Congressional District candidate Darren Bailey railed against the immigration policies of the federal government and sanctuary cities like Chicago during a trip to the nation’s southern border this week.
Wilhour and Bailey held a press conference Monday at the border in Eagle Pass, Texas where they discussed immigration and border security as the city of Chicago continues to grapple with an influx of immigrants, many of whom are being sent to Illinois by the state of Texas.
The site of the press conference, Shelby Park, has become the center of rising tensions between federal immigration authorities and the Texas National Guard who recently blocked U.S. Border Patrol from accessing the park. The Texas National Guard has also been installing razor wire along the border there despite a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing the federal government to remove it.
“God bless Texas and the Texas National Guard and Gov. Abbot for having the courage and foresight to come in here and take over this park,” Wilhour said during the press conference, which was livestreamed.
Two Illinois Republicans, both competing in the March 19 primary, broadcast Monday afternoon from Eagle Pass, Texas, to call for completion of the border wall.
“Friends,” said Darren Bailey, “it’s time to vote for a secure border. It’s time to vote for a safe America.
Meanwhile, Bailey stressed that he would strongly oppose the current bipartisan border proposal if he was a member of Congress.
“It’s shameful that any Republican would join in any kind of talks putting this together,” Bailey said. “What I do support and demand is a single action bill closing the border right now and finishing the wall. Let’s protect our country.”
* Bailey’s opponent, US Rep. Mike Bost, is hitting the airwaves with another spot. Press release…
Congressman Mike Bost’s campaign today has released its third television advertisement of the 2024 election cycle. The ad, titled “Fighting Patriot,” will air district-wide on cable, broadcast, and satellite television, as well as on streaming services.
“I’ve been to Eagle Pass twice in the past 10 months, meeting with border patrol and reviewing security measures at one of our most targeted points of entry. I voted to build the wall, end catch and release, and hire more border agents. I introduced legislation to stop the Biden administration from facilitating healthcare for illegal migrants with money intended for American veterans. Unlike my opponent, who hastily planned a meaningless publicity stunt at the border because we’re one month from an election, I’ve always viewed border security as a top priority.”
“I’m a governing conservative,” Bost told members of the local farm bureau at a campaign stop in Belleville last month. “Governing means, yes, we’re still going to operate government. We’re not going to blow up the world. We’re going to actually allow government to do its job, and we’re going to be as wise as we can.”
On the other side is the House Freedom Caucus, a small, far-right, pro-Trump faction of House Republicans that sees bipartisan deals as failures. They block House business using procedural rules, and some of its members have said they’d let the government shut down to secure spending cuts, among other demands.
Bailey’s on that side.
“Shut it down and let the American people rise up and wake up, and see that failed leadership has created that,” Bailey said in January during an interview at his homestead in rural southeastern Illinois.
Bost appears to be moving away from his January comments about being a “governing conservative,” at least through March.
Whether section 18 U.S.C. § 666(a)(1)(B) criminalizes gratuities, i.e., payments in recognition of actions a state or local official has already taken or committed to take, without any quid pro quo agreement to take those actions.
The ComEd Four defendants believe the outcome of this case could overturn at least some of their convictions. And former House Speaker Michael Madigan was able to get his trial delayed until after this decision comes down.
* As noted above, the heart of this is the definition of gratuities. The US Attorney’s office believes gratuities are covered under the criminal statute in question. “I wish somebody would just read the language of the statute,” Assistant US Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu said last month.
corruptly solicits or demands for the benefit of any person, or accepts or agrees to accept, anything of value from any person, intending to be influenced or rewarded in connection with any business, transaction, or series of transactions of such organization, government, or agency involving any thing of value of $5,000 or more
Two of the key words there are “rewarded” and “corruptly.” The feds say Congress clearly meant gratuities when it used the word “rewarded.” The defense begs to differ…
The government obtained a conviction below on the theory that merely knowing that a gift was meant as a reward for official conduct qualifies as acting “corruptly.” Under that theory, it is irrelevant whether the gift is worth $1, $100, or $100,000; all that matters is awareness that the gift is thanks for official conduct.
The government now argues that “corruptly” refers to unspecified wrongfulness. But the government cannot defend a conviction on a new theory on which the jury was not instructed. And the government never says what separates innocuous from wrongful gratuities, let alone how ordinary citizens would have notice of that dividing line.
Keep in mind the federal law also applies to “private companies and nonprofits that accept at least $10,000 in federal funds”…
This Court has repeatedly rejected similarly sweeping and amorphous interpretations that would extend federal criminal law to commonplace conduct that States and localities ordinarily regulate. Congress did not plausibly upend the federal-state balance and impose potential ten-year prison terms on 19.2 million state and local officials, thousands of tribal officials, and millions of private employees for accepting gifts as thanks for on-the-job acts. It is even less conceivable that Congress subjected state, local, and tribal officials to such lengthy prison terms when the federal gratuities statute imposes a maximum two-year sentence on federal officials, whose ethics are extensively regulated by the federal Office of Government Ethics. Congress surely did not contemplate that federal prosecutors might treat every political contribution—a form of core First Amendment activity—as a potentially unlawful gratuity.
The far more natural reading of section 666 is simple: the provision criminalizes all forms of bribery. By prohibiting “corruptly … accept[ing] … anything of value …, intending to be influenced or rewarded” in official business, Congress employed all the hallmarks of a bribery statute. Bribery involves wrongfully and deliberately trading official conduct for money. Congress used “intending to be influenced or rewarded” to cover the waterfront of inducements. Using “rewarded” makes clear that officials still engage in bribery if they take money in exchange for official conduct and claim they would have acted the same way regardless, or take money after the fact. Those officials “intend[] to be … rewarded” with money in exchange for taking some promised action.
Congress routinely uses similar language in other bribery statutes, and routinely uses dramatically different language when criminalizing gratuities. Congress famously does not hide elephants in mouseholes, and Congress did not camouflage a gratuities crime deep within a provision targeting bribery.
Three key officials in charge of coordinating the response to the ongoing migrant situation in Chicago met on Monday at City Hall, according to NBC Chicago Political Reporter Mary Ann Ahern.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle both attended the meeting with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson as hundreds of migrants continue to arrive in the city.
Johnson was in Los Angeles over the weekend to attend the African-American Mayor Association meetings, and also attended the Grammy Awards before returning to Chicago on a late night flight, according to Ahern’s reporting.
At least he was able to see one of the best Grammys in years.
These days, it is harder than ever to make ends meet for hardworking families in Chicago, particularly in our city’s Black communities.
Rapidly rising costs have exacerbated longstanding inequity and injustice rooted in our city’s historical and contemporary actions, such as redlining and discriminatory housing policies that stagnated Black homeownership rates and kept significant investment away from the city’s Black community.
Through redlining, banks declared certain areas as hazardous and unworthy of loans, and restrictive covenants, racist property managers and landlords, and homeowner associations kept Black families away from the city’s most attractive neighborhoods. In the end, Black families were essentially barred from qualifying for home loans and left unable to build generational wealth.
Families like mine were left essentially barred from qualifying for loans for homeownership and were not able to build generational wealth. As of last year, there are 90% more Black Chicagoans in redlined areas than in surrounding neighborhoods. It’s no wonder that a recent report put Illinois as the worst state in the nation for racial financial inequality.
We must take action to make it easier for Black Chicagoans to thrive, and our government can play a major role by helping more Black families keep more money in their pockets.
That’s why I have proposed the creation of a permanent Child Tax Credit (CTC), which would give Illinois parents who earn at or below the median income a $300 tax credit per child.
This policy will have a monumental impact on all communities, especially Black and Brown communities. Preliminary estimates provided by the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) and Economic Security Project show that 60% of the money set aside by the new credit would go directly to Black and Brown families. […]
The Child Tax Credit I’ve proposed alongside my colleagues and with the support of over 40 statewide organizations would also indirectly benefit small and large businesses across our state.
Research has shown us that 80% of tax refund checks are redirected to local businesses through purchases at local stores. In fact, a recent study conducted by the Illinois Economic Policy Institute has demonstrated that a CTC would generate close to $1 billion in new economic activity in Illinois.
Provides that the Act may be referred to as the Voluntary Do Not Sell Firearms Act. Amends the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act. Provides that a person may voluntarily waive his or her firearm rights by filing a voluntary waiver, in a form determined by the Illinois State Police, with the clerk of a circuit court. Provides that the person shall also surrender any current Firearm Owner’s Identification Card or concealed carry license that has been issued to the person. Provides that the clerk of the circuit court must request a physical or scanned copy of photo identification to verify the person’s identity prior to accepting the form. Provides that the person filing the form may provide the name of a family member, mental health professional, substance use disorder professional, or other person to be contacted if the filer attempts to purchase a firearm while the voluntary waiver of firearm rights is in effect or if the filer applies to have the voluntary waiver revoked. Provides that a person who has filed a voluntary waiver of firearm rights may file a revocation of the voluntary waiver if at least 7 calendar days have passed since the voluntary waiver was initially filed. Provides that a person who knowingly makes a false statement regarding the person’s identity on the voluntary waiver of firearm rights form or revocation of waiver of firearm rights form is guilty of a Class 2 felony. Provides that the Illinois State Police shall develop a voluntary waiver of firearm rights form, a revocation of voluntary waiver of firearm rights form, and instructions for the surrender of firearms. Provides that records produced pursuant to the amendatory Act are not subject to disclosure as public records under the Freedom of Information Act. Amends the Freedom of Information Act and the Firearm Dealer License Certification Act to make conforming changes. Effective immediately.
Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Provides that the Department of Corrections shall establish an Office of Workplace Safety. Provides that the Office shall assess the Department’s compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Act and any other applicable health and safety rules, and make recommendations for improvements to processes and procedures to improve safety in the workplace. Provides that the Office shall also prepare an annual report on the Department’s state of compliance with all applicable health and safety laws and rules, plans for the future to increase compliance and further promote safety in the workplace, and any serious accident which occurred resulting in serious injury or death including lessons learned from those accidents and remedial measures undertaken as a result. Provides that this report shall be sent to the Director of Corrections, the Governor, and the General Assembly. Provides that the Director of Corrections shall appoint the Chief Workplace Safety Officer to administer the Office, who shall have a professional background and training in industrial and workplace safety or industrial hygiene. Provides that the Chief Workplace Safety Officer may employ subordinate employees at the Chief Workplace Safety Officer’s discretion to assist the Chief Workplace Safety Officer in carrying out the Chief Workplace Safety Officer’s duties. Provides that the Chief Workplace Safety Officer or any designated employee of the Office may conduct a workplace safety inspection of any property, equipment, or workplace under the control or supervision of the Department at any time, and shall conduct random unannounced inspections as often as deemed necessary. Provides that any person who fails to cooperate with an investigation inspection or who gives false testimony or documentary evidence shall be subject to discipline, or in the case of a person committed to the Department of Corrections a loss of privileges. Provides that violent actions by committed persons and the use of force by correctional officers and staff shall not be within the purview of the Office of Workplace Safety. Provides that the provisions of the amendatory Act are subject to appropriations.
Creates the Digital Voice and Likeness Protection Act. Provides that a provision in an agreement between an individual and any other person for the performance of personal or professional services is contrary to public policy and is deemed unenforceable if the provision meets all of the following conditions: (1) the provision allows for the creation and use of a digital replica of the individual’s voice or likeness in place of work the individual would otherwise have performed in person; (2) the provision does not clearly define and detail all of the proposed uses of the digital replica or the generative artificial intelligence system; and (3) the individual was not represented by legal counsel or by a labor union acting in a specified capacity. Provides that the Act shall apply retroactively. Provides that any person who is currently under, or has entered into, an agreement with an individual performing personal or professional services containing an unenforceable provision shall notify that individual in writing that the provision is unenforceable by January 1, 2025. Effective immediately.
Creates the Paraprofessional Fast Track to Teaching Degree Pilot Program Act. Makes findings. Provides that the Paraprofessional Fast Track to Teaching Degree Pilot Program is created for a 2-year degree pathway by which paraprofessional educators may enroll to achieve the education requirements to attain a professional educator license in this State, which shall comply with the standards of the State Board of Education and the Board of Higher Education. Provides that, subject to appropriation, beginning with the 2024-2025 academic year or, if funds are not appropriated for the Program that academic year, beginning with the academic year in which funds are appropriated for the Program, the State Board of Education and the Board of Higher Education shall coordinate with each other to assign a qualified individual to serve as a Program director to develop the curriculum for the Program. Provides that one public elementary or public secondary school and one public university in this State shall be chosen to develop a program for transitioning paraprofessionals to teachers. Includes the core components of the Program. Provides that the State Board of Education and the Board of Higher Education must submit a report to the Governor, the General Assembly, and the Legislative Reference Bureau detailing the impact of the Program and then the Program is dissolved and the Act is repealed. Effective immediately.
* ICYMI: Pritzker, Johnson, Preckwinkle meet to discuss Chicago asylum-seekers. NBC Chicago…
- Mayor Brandon Johnson is expected to give an update today.
- Governor Pritzker said the meeting was productive and that the three officials got along well during the conversation.
- There are 13,442 asylum-seekers currently living in 28 active shelters. There are a total of 41 currently awaiting placement in those shelters, including 34 at the landing zone and four more in Chicago police buildings.
* Isabel’s top picks…
* Capitol News Illinois | Former GOP lawmaker’s trial again delayed amid last-minute hospitalization: McCann had been granted an extension of his trial in late November after ditching his court-appointed attorney the morning opening arguments were set to begin and announcing he’d instead be representing himself. At the time, he told reporters he was confident in his ability to defend his case because “God’s got this.” But 10 weeks later, McCann was missing in action in U.S. District Judge Colleen Lawless’ courtroom. His standby attorney Jason Vincent – the only one of his most recent team of court-appointed attorneys he’d allowed to continue being associated with his case – said his client was in the hospital having been ill over the weekend, including passing out on Saturday night.
* Daily Herald | Casten heading into primary with huge cash lead over opponents: With early voting for the March 19 showdown set to begin Thursday, Casten’s campaign committee reported having a little more than $1 million saved for advertising, consultants and other expenses that might come up in what’s left of the primary race, according to a year-end campaign finance report filed with the Federal Election Commission. In stark contrast, Democratic challenger and Oakbrook Terrace resident Mahnoor Ahmad’s campaign had less than $4,200 saved at year’s end, records show.
* WTAX | Bailey’s border broadcast: Bailey, the former state lawmaker and 2022 Republican candidate for governor, is now running in the 12th Congressional District in southern Illinois, saying U.S. Rep. Mike Bost (R-Murphysboro), the incumbent, has not done enough to keep the border secure. Joining Bailey was the vice chair of the Illinois Freedom Caucus. State Rep. Blaine Wilhour (pictured, left) (R-Beecher City) is facing a primary fight to keep his seat in the Illinois House.
* Daily Southtown | Park Forest use of drone in arrest is part of debate on use of unmanned crafts: Autonomous drones and the role they should play in Illinois policing continues to be debated in the nine years since the Freedom from Drone Surveillance Act was passed. Lawmakers in 2023 passed the latest amendment, allowing police to fly drones over large public gatherings without a warrant to hopefully stop mass crime events, such as the 2022 Fourth of July mass shooting in Highland Park. “When we pass legislation that allows law enforcement to potentially overstep privacy, I get a little wary about the slippery slope of what that could look like,” Democratic state Sen. Rachel Ventura of Joliet said after the bill passed her chamber in May. “At the same point, we have to find that balance on the spectrum between freedom and safety.”
* WTTW | Chicago Principals Association Leader Calls for Accountability After CTU President’s ‘Concerning’ Comments, Union’s ‘Divisive Campaigns’: In a letter written Feb. 2 to CPS CEO Pedro Martinez, Chicago Principals and Administrators Association President Troy LaRaviere wrote, in part: “On Thursday, January 25, 2024, (Hozian’s) safety and well-being were threatened by CTU President Stacy Davis-Gates, who encouraged two Stevenson teachers to “punch your principal in the face,” and then publicly celebrated this comment by repeating it to a room filled with approximately 200 people participating in the Sustainable Community Schools Initiative.”
* Center Square | Illinois legislators return to capitol Tuesday: Top of mind is the state budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Illinois taxpayers will hear more about how Gov. J.B. Pritzker plans to spend their tax dollars during his budget and State of the State address Wednesday, Feb. 21. He’s indicated there will be a lot of priorities legislators will have to balance.
* The Crusader | Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton launches Illinois Healing-Centered Task Force: Created by Senate Bill 646, the IHCTF will coordinate existing projects, identify the impact of intergenerational trauma to develop preventative solutions and facilitate broader community engagement. This work will be used to inform legislators on applying trauma-informed principles to the policymaking process.
* Block Club | Pilsen Lot Being Cleaned Up Ahead Of Huge Affordable Housing Development: The site is contaminated with total petroleum hydrocarbons and lead, the city said. total petroleum hydrocarbon is present from a leaking underground storage tank that was removed from a nearby former Go Time gas station, while the lead contamination is from a manufacturing plant that was on the site when it was owned by National Lead.
* Semafor | Leading US lawmaker on China committee says he doesn’t want a TikTok ban: Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), the ranking Democrat member on the House Select Committee on China, said he had concerns about TikTok’s U.S. operations but did not support a total U.S. ban on the app. “I don’t want to see a ban,” Krishnamoorthi told Semafor’s Morgan Chalfant at Semafor’s Principals Live event on Monday. “The concern is this: If it’s owned by a company thats beholden to the CCP, then you have a new level of concern beyond the social media companies.”
* Farm Week | IL farmers featured in Super Bowl commercial: Little did Matt Boucher know a social media post spotlighting three generations on his farm would springboard his family to a role in a Super Bowl commercial. The fourth-generation Livingston County farmer and his daughter will be featured in a commercial highlighting the fact that 96% of Illinois farms are family-owned.
* Crain’s | Rivian teases first look at smaller, less expensive electric SUV: The model, which Rivian executives have said will be a midsize SUV, is expected to be priced from roughly $40,000 to $60,000, and is slated to be available in 2026. The older R1 line has an average selling price starting at $73,000. The R2 will be marketed at a price point where there are currently not a lot of options, Rivian CEO R.J. Scaringe has told investors.
