Meanwhile, we lost one of the great ones yesterday…
“It is with profound sadness and heavy hearts that the Betts family announce the peaceful passing of Forrest Richard ‘Dickey’ Betts (December 12, 1943 – April 18, 2024) at the age of 80 years old,” Betts’ family announced in a statement to Rolling Stone. “The legendary performer, songwriter, bandleader, and family patriarch was at his home in Osprey, Florida, surrounded by his family. Dickey was larger-than-life, and his loss will be felt worldwide. At this difficult time, the family asks for prayers and respect for their privacy in the coming days. More information will be forthcoming at the appropriate time.”
“His extraordinary guitar playing alongside guitarist Duane Allman created a unique dual guitar signature sound that became the signature sound of the genre known as Southern Rock,” the band wrote in a statement. “He was passionate in life, be it music, songwriting, fishing, hunting, boating, golf, karate, or boxing. Dickey was all in on and excelled at anything that caught his attention.”
Although he was often overshadowed by Gregg and Duane, the brothers who gave the Allmans their name, Betts was equally vital to the band. His sweetly sinuous guitar style introduced elements of Western swing and jazz into the band’s music, especially when he was duetting with Duane. As a singer and writer, Betts was responsible for the band’s biggest hit, 1973’s “Ramblin’ Man,” as well as some of their most recognizable songs: the moody instrumental “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed,” the jubilant “Jessica,” and their late-period comeback hit “Crazy Love.”
A charity organized by Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard has been told by the Illinois attorney general’s office to stop soliciting or accepting contributions, and that it must register with the state.
Separately, a law enforcement source confirmed federal authorities, including the FBI, are conducting an investigation targeting Henyard. The source said the probe has included recent interviews by investigators both inside and outside of Dolton, but is in the early stages and no charges have been brought.
The attorney general’s letter, dated Wednesday and sent by certified mail, notes the Tiffany Henyard CARES Foundation is not in good standing and states the attorney general has sent multiple letters advising, among other things, that it is not registered with the state.
However, the foundation hasn’t responded “and we have not been advised why there has been a delay,” according to the recent letter, sent by Pasquale Esposito, deputy bureau chief of the attorney general’s Charitable Trust Bureau.
The FBI served subpoenas at the Dolton Village Hall on Friday amid allegations of corruption leveled against Mayor Tiffany Henyard and other city officials.
Four agents from the FBI paid a visit to Dolton around 2:30 p.m. They served two federal subpoenas. The first one was for employment records, personnel files, and disciplinary reports for 15 Dolton employees, including three police officers and Keith Freeman. Freeman, who is the village administrator, was charged with bankruptcy fraud on Monday.
The second subpoena was served specifically for Freeman, asking for records of all companies associated with him.
Illinois is now home to a federally recognized tribal nation for the first time after a decision from the U.S. Department of Interior placed portions of Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation’s northern Illinois reservation land into trust, officials said.
The decision placed portions of the Shab-eh-nay Reservation land into trust for Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, coming 175 years after the U.S. government illegally auctioned off nearly 1,300 acres of Prairie Band’s Reservation land in northern Illinois.
The auctioning occurred when Chief Shab-eh-nay traveled from his home Reservation in what is now DeKalb County to visit his family in Kansas.
According to a press release, the legal title of the land is transferred to the U.S., which holds it in trust for the Prairie Band. This move confirms the land as “Indian country,” ensuring the Nation can exercise sovereignty over the land.
Authorizes the Director of Natural Resources to execute and deliver a quitclaim deed to the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation for specified real property located in DeKalb County, subject to specified conditions. Effective immediately.
“We at Personal PAC are thrilled by the passage of the Birth Equity Initiative (HB5142) in the House, and applaud chief sponsor Rep. Robyn Gabel, Governor Pritzker, and Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton for their work. This initiative is an incredible step towards addressing the disparities in maternal mortality between Black women and other new parents in our state, and will end cost-sharing for essential healthcare services including abortion. We are excited to work with the Senate to pass this crucial legislation and send it to Governor Priztker’s desk as soon as possible.”
A Chicago investment firm lent millions to a South Florida real estate company that’s now being sued by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul for enticing struggling homeowners to sign 40-year contracts he says were designed to grab their homes’ equity. […]
According to Raoul’s lawsuit and bankruptcy documents, the business worked like this:
MV Realty offered “financially distressed” homeowners a onetime cash payment if they signed an “MVR Homeowner Benefit Agreement” designating the company as the exclusive real estate listing agent when the homeowner decided to sell.
Upfront payments were about 0.3% of a home’s value — as low as $365 to a couple of thousand dollars.
But there were a few big catches:
- If the homeowner died, the complicated, 40-year listing agreements extended to the homeowner’s heirs.
- Also, if the homeowner or the heirs listed the home with another agent, that violated the deal, and MV Realty was entitled to 3% of the home’s sale price.
* Crain’s | Chicago’s D.C. lobbyist departs, leaving office empty: Christopher Hoey, Chicago’s lobbyist in Washington, D.C., has departed, leaving the city’s post in the U.S. capital empty until the role is filled within the coming weeks. The mayor’s office told Crain’s the search is on for a new director of federal affairs, but the Johnson administration has not filled that position permanently for over a year now.
* Crain’s | Police oversight chief defends herself amid criticism from Snelling: Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling told reporters last week it was irresponsible for Andrea Kersten, chief administrator of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, or COPA, to raise questions in a private letter to his office and in media interviews about the initial justification five officers provided for why they pulled over an SUV before the driver allegedly shot an officer and was subsequently killed by officers returning fire. Kersten read a statement at a meeting of the Chicago Police Board yesterday, arguing that raising preliminary questions about the veracity of the claim that officers stopped 26-year-old Dexter Reed in Humboldt Park for an alleged seat belt violation is a core part of her responsibility as the head of the independent agency.
* Crain’s Editorial Board | Yes, CTA chief Carter needs to go. But that’s not all: When prodded by a reporter for Capitol Fax to clarify whether “an evolution of leadership” meant Carter should be fired for his handling of a service that’s struggled for years with crime, cleaniness and understaffing, Pritzker sidestepped: “As you know, I have appointments at CTA but they’re not a controlling majority. But the people that we appoint, of course, we’ll be working with the others on the board to evaluate and make changes in management.” Which should make Carter and anyone else in his orbit nervous — except that, inexplicably, Carter and his team have remained in charge at the beleaguered public transit agency despite its shambolic state under his leadership and despite the election of a new mayor — an event that created an opening to reassess whether leaders with better ideas should be put in charge of Chicago’s network of buses and trains.
* NBC Chicago | Man behind effort to recall Chicago’s mayor says he’s not ‘some dude from the suburbs’: Boland lives in Lakeview, where he is currently unemployed. He said he doesn’t want the mayor’s 5th floor City Hall office, but he would consider it if no other opportunities materialize. […] Boland will kick off his petition drive next week with a news conference. He said he is thinking about asking the mayor to attend. […] Even if the signatures are enough to put the measure on the fall ballot, it will not automatically trigger a recall. That would require another round of petitions and a vote conducted through a special election.
* Tribune | Chicago Public Schools launches a new, ‘more equitable’ funding model: The new approach will protect the robustness of the city’s “strongest schools,” while ensuring those in high-poverty areas aren’t starved of resources that helped produce recent academic gains, district CEO Pedro Martinez told the Tribune last week. But, with a $391 million deficit projected, something will have to give. And, central office expenses, such as vendor payments which surpassed $2.8 billion this school year as of March 15, according to CPS procurement data, are currently under review, Martinez said.
* The Telegraph | Chairman wants Madison Co. Board to revisit Illinois, Chicago split: Madison County Board Chairman Kurt Prenzler said Friday he will ask the county board to reconsider Wednesday’s approval of placing a non-binding referendum on the November ballot that proposes separating Chicago and Cook County from the rest of Illinois on the November ballot. […] “County board members don’t need the voters to tell them to talk to other counties,” he stated. “They can do that today — without a resolution. Just pick up the phone.” “Second, creating a new state is simply unrealistic,” he said. “The United States Congress will not put a 51st star on the flag for a ‘New Illinois.’ Congress is more likely to add a star for Puerto Rico or Guam.”
* WICS | Several lawsuits filed by the families of the victims of the Teutopolis crash in September: We have learned that several lawsuits have now been filed by the families of the victims. We know that seven lawsuits were filed against Prairieland Transport, Jacob Bloemker, the driver of the semi, and Ohio resident Hailey Case. Case was driving the vehicle behind the tractor-trailer that was trying to pass it. So far, we have only received six of the cases. But of the six lawsuits we have, four were filed on behalf of the people who died and two of those who were injured.
* Tribune | Glenda Miller, former McHenry County treasurer, dies at age 68: Miller, 68, died on April 17 in her home in Harvard of complications from a stroke she suffered in late January, her family said. Donna Kurtz, Miller’s successor as treasurer, said she met Miller at a victory party when Kurtz’ mother, Rosemary, won a seat in the Illinois House. She was quickly struck by Miller’s “spirit of fun and happiness and optimism.”
* 21st Show | Appreciating the bats of Illinois: You’re in luck if you missed out, as on today’s show we’ll be hearing about all the native bat species in Illinois, myths associated with bats, and when’s the best season to see bats. We’ll be learning all this from Macon County Conservation District’s Ashton Nunn, who’s also hear to talk about the upcoming “Going Batty” event that’s happening tomorrow in Decatur.
* Pew | It’s Time to Fix Housing in America: Start With Financing and Zoning: For nearly a century, homeownership has been the largest source of wealth for most American families. Safe, traditional mortgages have been pivotal to achieving financial security and independence. But as home prices and rents skyrocket — and because outdated policies make small mortgages expensive for lenders and often unavailable for borrowers seeking low-cost homes — many families are struggling to afford reliable housing. This is a serious problem for people across all demographics, but Black, Hispanic, rural and Indigenous households are particularly affected. And some have turned to riskier and more costly alternative financing arrangements, such as land contracts, seller-financed mortgages, lease purchases and personal property loans.
*** Sports ***
* Globe and Mail | As sports teams grab billions in taxpayer funding for stadiums, Blue Jays president explains the strategy behind Rogers Centre renovations: Shapiro and I had first met last April, just before the club unveiled the first phase of the renovations, and he’d walked me through some of the math behind the project. I was curious about the numbers in part because the club was known to be exploring the idea of building a replacement stadium. How could a renovation – which last year was pegged at a little over $300-million before cost overruns pushed it closer to $400-million – make sense? He ticked off some of the revenue categories in which he expected improvements. “Ticket prices, sponsorships, F&B [food and beverage] – all the different areas that could be impacted,” he replied. “There’s a sophisticated [business] model, and it’s safe to say … it’ll get paid back long before we have to think about a new ballpark.” He figured a new stadium might be at least 10 or 15 years away; he expected the investment to be earned back in about half that time.
* WCIA | U.S. Dept. of Education announces rule clarifying athletes can’t be suspended during sex misconduct investigations: The U.S. Department of Education announced a rule that Terrence Shannon Jr. and the University of Illinois already litigated in court. The rule, part of the changes to Title IX, prevents colleges and universities from suspending students-athletes while investigators affiliated with their college conduct investigations into claims of sexual misconduct against them.
* Tribune | Tim Anderson looks ahead with Miami Marlins after time with Chicago White Sox: ‘I’m back on my journey’: Anderson is hitting .267 in 17 games as he looks to bounce back after batting .245 in 123 games last season. For years, the notion was “As Tim Anderson goes, the Sox go.” The shortstop doesn’t feel that needs to be the case with the Marlins. “I’m glad that’s definitely gone because it definitely takes a whole team to win,” he said. “To be from under that umbrella, now I can play the game free and just play my role.”
* AP | How Paris is preparing for the Olympics, from the venues to transportation to security: But behind the romantic veneer that Paris has long curated, mounting security concerns already have had an impact on the unprecedented open-air event. In January, the number of spectators allowed to attend the ceremony was slashed from around 600,000 to around 320,000. Tourists were told they won’t be allowed to watch it for free from riverbanks because the French government scaled back ambitions amid ongoing security threats. Then, on March 24, France raised its security readiness to the highest level after a deadly attack at a Russian concert hall and the Islamic State’s claim of responsibility.
Look, I think we ought to consider all the proposals out there. But let’s be clear: I have a sign on the other side of that wall that l’ve kept up ever since the very first credit upgrade that we got for the state. And the reason that we’ve gotten so many credit upgrades is we’ve been very careful about how we’re managing the fiscal condition of the state and our pensions, which are of deep concern to investors in our bonds. So when we consider sweeteners, we just need to be exceedingly careful about whether or not they really make sense from a fiscal perspective — and a fairness perspective too.
But from my perspective, let me just say that we’ve been going in the right direction; the percent funded of state pensions has gone up since I took office and it will continue that trajectory. We need, obviously, to make some changes to Tier 2 to make sure that we’re meeting the Social Security Safe Harbor. We don’t yet really know what that’s going to cost.
So that, in a way, is a sweetener in the sense that it’s going to cost taxpayers something. But we have to do it because the alternative would cost the taxpayers much more.
The House passed the Healthcare Protection Act by an 81-25 margin, with two members voting “present.” Several Republicans joined all Democrats in voting for the bill.
It overhauls parts of the health insurance industry in Illinois.
The bill would ban so-called “step therapy.” This is when an insurance company requires a patient to try and fail alternative medications before covering medications their doctor recommends. […]
“One of the major changes that we’re making with this bill is ensuring that when someone is having an acute mental-health crisis that they can’t be turned away from in-patient care in a hospital because of arbitrary insurance rules,” said state Rep. Anna Moeller, D-Elgin, the bill’s sponsor.
* Governor Pritzker…
Today, Governor JB Pritzker joined legislators, doctors, patients, and stakeholders in Springfield to celebrate the passage of HB5395, also known as the Healthcare Protection Act (HPA), in Illinois’ House of Representatives. The bill, first proposed by Governor Pritzker in his FY25 Budget Address, aims to put power back into the hands of patients by banning step therapy, banning prior authorization for crisis mental health care, improving network adequacy, banning junk insurance plans, and ending unchecked rate increases for large group insurance companies.
“I’m pleased that dedicated advocates and legislators have made further progress in passing the Healthcare Protection Act, a bill that will curb predatory insurance practices and empower both doctors and patients,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “I want to especially thank the HPA’S lead sponsors, Senator Robert Peters and Representative Anna Moeller, two outstanding partners in the longtime fight for health insurance reform. Both you and your cosponsors are doing important work to advocate for Illinois families, and I’m proud to have you fighting alongside me.”
The Governor was also joined by the bill’s chief sponsors, Representative Anna Moeller and Senator Robert Peters, alongside various cosponsors working to promote the sweeping health insurance reforms. Acting Director Ann Gillespie also attended on behalf of the Department of Insurance.
“The Department will hold insurers accountable for unfair business practices that undermine Illinoisans, requiring them to jump through hoops just to access the health care services that they pay for each month,” said IDOI Acting Director Ann Gillespie. “Protecting Illinois insurance consumers is our priority, and we stand ready to enforce the Healthcare Protection Act.”
The Healthcare Protection Act targets three primary issues with the healthcare insurance industry: utilization management, network adequacy, and rate review.
Utilization Management
The first goal of HPA is to eliminate harmful utilization management practices, which force consumers to wait for permission (also known as prior authorization) from their insurance providers before receiving doctor-recommended treatments. Often, utilization management causes patients to be denied care deemed medically necessary or delay the process and create barriers to care. Another example of utilization management is “step therapy”, which requires patients to try other less effective treatment options before their insurance company will approve access to the original prescribed treatment from healthcare providers.
To address unfair utilization management practices, HPA will:
- require insurance companies to adopt the same definitions of medical necessity as doctors,
- require insurance companies to post all treatments that require prior authorization to help consumers make informed decisions while shopping for plans,
- ban “step therapy” processes in Illinois, and
- ban prior authorization for in-patient adult and children’s mental health care (becoming the first state in the nation to do so).
Additionally, with the passage of HPA, Illinois will join twelve other states in banning “junk insurance” plans, or Short Term Limited Duration plans, which are dangerous and misleading to consumers: junk insurance plans do not have to comply with the basic standards of the Affordable Care Act, such as coverage for preexisting conditions.
Network Adequacy
The second goal of HPA is to improve network adequacy and standards for transparency across Illinois. The bill implements stricter standards for insurance companies as they update their in-network care directories, which must now reflect actual availability. To ensure consumers can find care where and when they need it, companies will be required to indicate whether or not doctors and specialists are currently accepting new patients. Companies will also be required to remove healthcare professionals who are not in-network anymore or no longer practicing in a timely fashion. If these standards are unmet, companies will face potential penalties.
Rate Review
The final initiative of the Healthcare Protection Act eliminates unchecked rate increases in fully-insured large group insurance carriers. This follows similar action in June 2023, when Governor Pritzker signed HB 579, ending unfair rate hikes in the fully-insured individual and small group insurance market. Now, large-group providers will be required to do the same, protecting Illinois consumers further.
* House Sponsor Rep. Anna Moeller…
Illinois families will have access to better and more affordable health care coverage under a new measure backed by state Rep. Anna Moeller, D-Elgin, aiming to reduce costs and hold big insurance companies accountable.
“The fact of the matter is that healthcare has for far too long centered the needs of large, multi-billion dollar corporations versus those of working families and underserved communities,” Moeller said. “This legislation makes sure that health plans don’t get between a patient and their doctor when they are making life altering decisions, or requires that patients try alternatives to the prescribed medication, because it’s cheaper for the insurance company. These practices are not conducive to protecting people. Rather, they’ve protected profits. I am proud to join so many of my colleagues, including Governor Pritzker, to pass these landmark reforms and safeguard the health and wellbeing of Illinois communities.”
Moeller introduced House Bill 5395, which delivers a series of major reforms to make health care coverage better and more affordable. The new Health Care Protection Act would create a rate review process requiring insurance companies to justify premium increases, and empowering state watchdogs to reject unwarranted hikes that simply pad profits. Additionally, the measure curbs practices insurance companies use to deny access to medically necessary treatments, procedures, and prescription medications; instead, doctors and patients would be empowered to make important medical decisions—not insurance companies. The bill also stops insurance companies from selling inadequate short-term healthcare plans that provide little or no coverage.
* More…
* WAND | Insurance Reform: Illinois House passes Healthcare Protection Act: “For far too long, insurance companies and not doctors have been free to determine what treatment options patients should have and how quickly they can receive it,” Pritzker said. “With this bill, we’re putting power back in the hands of doctors and patients.”Short-term limited duration plans, or junk insurance, that fail to cover basic treatments like maternal healthcare and pre-existing conditions would also be banned under the legislation.
State Senator Dan McConchie (R-Hawthorn Woods) passed legislation to help ease the stress and inconvenience of frequently going to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
“Nobody enjoys going to the DMV,” said Senator McConchie. “Offering an 8-year option in addition to the current 4-year option will save people time and the state money. It’s a win-win.”
SB275 will give drivers the option not to go to the DMV for as long as eight years to renew their license. Drivers can extend their license expiration date from four years with a fee of $30 (as current) to eight years with a fee of $60.
This legislation has passed the Senate without opposition and will now be moved to the House.
* The Question: What do you think of this and what other SoS changes would you like to see? Two-year license plate renewals? No front plates? Something else?
STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS CERTIFIES RESULTS OF MARCH 19 PRIMARY
Voter turnout for the March 19 primary election was 19 percent, according to the official vote total certified today by the Illinois State Board of Elections.
The official total showed 1,518,856 of the state’s 7,965,287 registered voters cast ballots in the primary, resulting in a statewide voter turnout of 19.07 percent. It was the lowest turnout in a presidential primary in several decades. (See turnout charts below.)
Democratic voters cast 891,342 ballots, accounting for 58.69 percent of the total. Republican ballots totaled 609,941 for 40.16 percent of the total.
The only statewide office on the primary ballot was for President of the United States. Incumbent President Joseph Biden won the Democratic primary with 91.48 percent of the vote while Donald Trump won the Republican primary with 80.5 percent. Voters in those primaries also selected delegates to party conventions from the state’s 17 congressional districts.
Also on the state primary ballot were 118 representative and 23 senatorial seats in the Illinois General Assembly, 17 congressional seats and judicial races at all levels including the first and fourth Illinois Supreme Court districts.
Complete results can be found on the State Board of Elections website and the complete Official Vote Totals Book is available for download in the Vote Totals section of the site’s publications page.
Winners in the primary elections will appear on the Nov. 5 General Election ballot. For offices in which a party did not nominate a candidate in the primary, managing committees of those offices have until June 3 to fill the vacancy in nomination for the November ballot.
Independent and new party candidates will file nominating petitions with the State Board of Elections June 17-24. SBE is scheduled to certify the Nov. 5 ballot on Aug. 23. Early voting for the General Election begins Sept. 26.
* Presidential primary election turnout, including party split of the total vote, back to 1972…
* Turnout figures and party splits for all primaries – midterm and presidential – back to 1972…
An increased moratorium on closing Chicago Public Schools – including charters – for an additional two years easily passed the state House Thursday night over the objections of the Chicago Teachers Union, which described the measure as “racist,” and despite protestations from Mayor Brandon Johnson’s appointees to the city’s school board. […]
All of the restrictions would be lifted come February 2027, when the board will for the first time be fully elected. The measure will now head to the Senate.
“We have a duty to protect the schools from irreversible damage until we have a fully-elected school board that will have to be accountable to the voters of Chicago as well as the parents and families,” said state Rep. Margaret Croke, a Chicago Democrat, who sponsored the measure (House Bill 303). […]
Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who previously lent his support to Croke’s plan to stave off major changes to selective enrollment schools until the elected board is seated, reiterated during a press conference on Thursday night that the concept has “merit,” while also blasting those who labeled it or Croke racist as “extreme.”
* CPS Parents for Buses statement on HB303…
1) CPS already closed both magnet and selective enrollment schools earlier this year to low income students who depended on the busing they were promised when they picked a school they love.
2) Halting an unelected school board from making drastic changes to selective enrollment schools is appreciated by many of our members who are parents of selective enrollment students….and our parents of magnet students, like parents of all students, look forward to learning more details on how this bill affects their children’s school budgets.
3) We note that Jianan Shi visited Springfield to oppose HB303, and saw his concerns ignored. Perhaps now he may be able to better understand parents who have seen him ignore their concerns.
4) State legislators and Secretary of State Giannoulias now need to act on behalf of those who have lost busing. The Safe Student Transport Act (HB3476), the Under the Hood Waiver, allowing CDL driver testing in Spanish, and providing more CDL testing dates will expand the pool of drivers for children of CPS and other Illinois districts.
A bill that would ban certain additives and chemicals in food has advanced in the Illinois legislature.
On Thursday, Senate Bill 2637 passed the Senate. It will now head to the House.
The bill, introduced late last year by Illinois Senator Willie Preston, aims to ban specific ingredients in candy, soda and other snack foods. These additives include titanium dioxide, brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, and red dye No. 3. […]
The bill includes provisions for manufacturers and distributors to adopt safer alternatives and update their recipes by Jan. 1, 2028. It also establishes penalties for multiple non-compliance violations.
Senate Bill 2637, known as the Illinois Food Safety Act, passed on a 37-15 bipartisan vote and will head to the House for consideration. The banned chemicals would include brominated vegetable oil, red dye No. 3, propylparaben and potassium bromate. […]
The bill had bipartisan support in the Senate with both Sen. Seth Lewis, R-Bartlett, and Sen. Steve McClure, R-Springfield, voting for it.
“(Red dye 3) was banned by the FDA for use in makeup over 30 years ago. So, the FDA doesn’t allow you to put it on your face for makeup. But yet kids are eating this in candy,” McClure said in the Senate Thursday. “That to me is outrageous. So, for that reason I am voting for this bill.” […]
Industry groups such as the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association have pushed back against the bill throughout the legislative process. In January, the IMA issued a statement in opposition of “this well-intentioned legislation,” claiming it would undermine the FDA and negatively impact Illinois’ economy as it would “create a confusing and costly patchwork of regulations.”
A priority piece of legislation in Pritzker’s budget proposal passed the Illinois House on Thursday. The Birth Equity Initiative will allow for “better access to affordable pregnancy, postpartum and newborn care services,” according to a statement from Democratic state Rep. Robyn Gabel, who carried the legislation.
From Pritzker: “Passage of HB5142 by the House moves Illinois one step closer to our goal of making all mothers and children safer and healthier regardless of race or financial status,” he said in a statement. “The Birth Equity Initiative will work to close the tragic gap in maternal mortality between Black women and other new parents, building an Illinois where everyone can feel safe in their decision to start and raise a family.”
Also passing the House: The Healthcare Protection Act, first introduced in the governor’s budget address. Its goal is to ban prior authorization for crisis mental health care, improve access to primary care physicians and end unchecked rate increases. The measure heads to the Senate after passing on a bipartisan vote in the House.
State lawmakers are making another attempt to create a state tax credit that would increase the production of affordable housing.
The Build Illinois Homes Tax Credit is a model of the federal low-income housing tax credit. The Illinois Housing Council says while federal credit is an essential tool used to develop and preserve affordable rental housing throughout the country, it never covers the entire cost of finishing a development project. […]
The House bill, supported by Rep. Dagmara Avelar (D), asks for a $20 million investment annually for six years that developers can apply for a long-term payment solution.
“Grants are a band-aid solution, very much needed, but they help us in the short term, and we need long-term solutions,” Avelar said.
State representatives passed a plan Thursday night to ban people from keeping servals, caracals, wallabies or kangaroos as pets.
House Democrats argue these animals are too dangerous for people to keep in their homes, and Rep. Daniel Didech (D-Buffalo Grove) said law enforcement and animal control professionals requested a change in state law. […]
This comes months after a serval escaped from a Decatur man’s apartment less than two weeks after he bought the animal. […]
The legislation passed out of the House on a 67-34 vote with three representatives voting present.
A bill carried by State Representative Jeff Keicher of Sycamore, which would help child trafficking victims, was unanimously passed in the state’s House of Representatives. House Bill 5465 would help juvenile victims of human trafficking receive resources to help them heal and recover from their trauma.
Keicher says the bill builds upon a law passed last year by simplifying the process of helping juvenile victims of trafficking with sealing or expunging any criminal records that occurred while they were trafficked.
Keicher showed appreciation to his fellow representatives fro their bipartisan support. Keicher has a personal attachment to this issue, as he had a family member who was abused who died due to a lack of resources available to help.
A plan moving in Springfield could require insurance coverage for at-home pregnancy tests.
Sponsors say insurance companies should provide coverage for prescribed urine-based pregnancy tests regardless of whether the tests are available over the counter. […]
If the measure becomes law, Medicaid will cover pregnancy tests for Illinoisans starting January 1, 2025. Illinois insurance companies would be required to provide coverage starting January 1, 2026.
House Bill 5643 passed unanimously out of the House Insurance Committee Thursday morning. Representatives could vote on the plan before the House bill 3rd reading deadline Friday night.
* The Illinois Harm Reduction & Recovery Coalition…
Today, the Illinois Harm Reduction & Recovery Coalition (IHRRC) brought together scores of advocates from across Illinois in response to the lack of urgency around necessary policy solutions proven to decrease overdose deaths. According to the CDC, nearly 4,000 Illinoisans died from an overdose in 2022, the equivalent of 10 people daily. People in self-defined recovery (including people who use drugs), families who have lost loved ones, peer harm reduction providers, religious leaders, treatment professionals, public officials, and more are contributing to Harm Reduction Week of Solidarity. Legislators will be able to learn from an on-site model demonstration of an overdose prevention site tent and mobile harm reduction outreach vehicles.
IHRRC commends the legislators leading the way to authorize a pilot overdose prevention site (OPS) in Chicago through House Bill 2/Senate Bill 78, led by sponsors Representative La Shawn K. Ford and Senator Sara Feigenholtz. The legislation has garnered support from Representatives Kelly Cassidy, Will Guzzardi, Anna Moeller, Senators Robert Peters, David Koehler, and Kimberly Lightford, and more than 24 co-sponsors. Yet, regardless of widespread support, IHRRC is dismayed that the General Assembly has failed to advance this commonsense and lifesaving policy.
“Despite decades of supportive data, hundreds of conversations with legislators, and impactful events like August’s Overdose Awareness Day Rally spirited by the courageous Angel Moms, stigma among legislators is delaying necessary public policy changes. It has been frustrating that legislators have limits to the type of life-saving harm reduction interventions they are willing to support. Sitting out on OPS is the equivalent of supporting safe driving without voting for texting restrictions or safe sex without funding condom distribution. We are talking about human beings - our friends, family, and neighbors,” said Jennifer Nagel-Fischer, Director of The Porchlight Collective in Madison County and a person with lived and living experience.
Overdose prevention sites are evidence-based health resource centers where people can use pre-obtained drugs under the supervision of trained staff. OPSs save lives, save money, and keep communities safe. They reduce the risk of harm related to drug use, including fatal overdose and HIV/Hepatitis C transmissions, and provide health services to people who use drugs, including medical assistance, counseling, case management, referrals to community services, education about safer use techniques, and much more.
* Sen. Mike Porfirio and Rep. Angie Guerrero-Cuellar…
Sen. Mike Porfirio and Rep. Angie Guerrero-Cuellar recently filed legislation to acquire a new police district facility representing their districts on the Southwest Side of Chicago. The current 8th Chicago Police District is the busiest and largest by population, ranking first for all crimes committed across the city.
Southwest Side residents voted overwhelmingly - at nearly 87% - for a new police district in the March 19 primary. A group of 15 elected officials representing the community sent Gov. Pritzker a letter last month requesting the state sell them a vacant building to be used as a new police district facility.
An amendment to SB386 and one filed to HB478 would transfer the Midway Flight Facility located at 5400 W. 63rd St. to the City of Chicago for the express purpose of a police district for $1. The payment would be made to the Department of Military Affairs, which currently owns the property.
“Our residents have spoken and we are moving forward with their wishes for a new police district for our community,” said Porfirio. “We hope Governor Pritzker and Mayor Johnson want to support us in this effort.”
The 8th District has the worst data points in the city on key police staffing metrics, which has led to slow police response times and resident frustration. At its current size, which hasn’t changed since the late 1960s, the 8th District is the busiest and third-largest police district in the city (at 23 square miles) and serves the highest population with over 250,000 residents. That equates to 10 officers for every 10,000 residents, which is the lowest officer to resident ratio in the city.
“It is past time that our community received the police support it needs and deserves,” Guerrero-Cuellar said. “We hope this legislation signals how serious we are about increasing safety and police presence on the Southwest Side.”
The legislation would be effective upon Gov. Pritzker’s signature.
* Rep. Jay Hoffman…
Responding to the rise in catalytic converter theft, state Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Swansea, passed a plan out of the House Tuesday that would classify catalytic converters as “essential parts” – subjecting them to enhanced tracking and state record laws that address hijacking and vehicle theft.
“Many residents have been frustrated by the cost of dealing with catalytic converter thieves who systematically damage cars to make a quick buck,” Hoffman said. “We have to continue to take steps to limit the ways these criminals make money on the crime, and this proposal would update how junk yards keep track of and handle catalytic converter sales.”
Hoffman’s House Bill 4589 would require recyclable metal dealers to acquire and maintain additional records involving catalytic converter transactions, including the vehicle identification number it was removed from as well as any other specific numbers, bar codes, stickers or unique markings on the part. Recyclable metal dealers must also require a copy of the vehicle’s certificate of title or uniform invoice clearly showing the seller’s ownership.
The same rules apply to other “essential parts,” which includes vehicle hulks, engines, transmissions, fuel tanks and other critical vehicle components. Hoffman’s measure further aims to clarify that catalytic converters can only be sold at licensed recyclable metal dealer locations. […]
House Bill 4589 received bipartisan support and will head to the Senate for consideration.
* Gov. JB Pritzker held a media availability Thursday night after the House passed his Healthcare Protection Act legislation…
Isabel Miller: Governor, do you have confidence in Dorval Carter’s ability to lead the CTA?
Gov. Pritzker: Look, a lot of changes are going to have to take place, there’s no doubt, at CTA. And I think that’s going to take some new leadership, and additional leadership.
It’s something the legislature and I, and of course the city of Chicago, and we’re gonna have to consider the plan that the CTA should have come forward with already, which we haven’t seen, but that may include changing fares and other things that will help us deal with what is clearly going to be a fiscal cliff here. We’re also hoping to see help from the federal government.
Isabel: ‘New leadership’ meaning Dorval Carter should be fired?
Pritzker: I know you all have tried to use the word ‘fired’ here. I think that there needs to be an evolution of leadership in order for us to get where we need to go with CTA.
So, that’s something that will be discussed. As you know, I have appointments at CTA but they’re not a controlling majority. But the people that we appoint, of course, we’ll be working with the others are on the board to evaluate and make changes in management.
The “additional leadership” comment is also interesting. Sounds like the proposed combined regional agency that the transit agencies oppose.
*Block Club | Is It Time To Fire CTA Boss? Gov. Pritzker Says ‘New Leadership’ Needed: Rather, over the last two years, Carter has largely governed himself by launching initiatives that measure his own success without much direction from the board, which has almost always gone along with him despite an onslaught of rider complaints coming out of the pandemic. Yet Carter has received at least two salary raises yearly since 2018. In the eight years he’s led the CTA, his salary has climbed more than 60 percent, jumping from $230,000 to $376,065 as of July, according to CTA records.
* Tribune | Gov. J.B. Pritzker says ‘evolution of the leadership’ needed at CTA: Though CTA is based in Chicago, Pritzker has some measure of control over the agency, appointing three of the transit board’s seven members. And the recommendations under consideration by lawmakers have heightened the importance of Carter’s relationship with state officials.
* ICYMI: Gov. J.B. Pritzker expresses support for expanded CPS school closing moratorium; House sends bill to Senate. Tribune…
- The moratorium extension is included in a bill sponsored by Rep. Margaret Croke it’s aimed at protecting selective enrollment schools, and would prohibit any admission changes for selective enrollment schools until 2027.
- Pritzker said extending the moratorium is the right call “so that decisions can be made by people who are representative of the people of Chicago.”
- The House passed the bill late Thursday in a 92-8 vote, with all eight no votes from Democrats. The bill now goes to the Senate.
* Daily Herald | ‘I’m begging you’: Distraught tollway workers ask board, Pritzker to avert potential layoffs: SEIU Local 73 members, who include former toll collectors now working as customer call takers, said they feared layoffs affecting over 100 people. They appealed both to the tollway board and Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who appoints its members, for help. “Losing my career with the Illinois tollway would be devastating,” Melissa Jacobson said. “It would affect me emotionally, mentally and financially. It would affect my opportunity to have my home, pay utilities and the list will go on.
* AP | Emergency rooms refused to treat pregnant women, leaving one to miscarry in a lobby restroom: One woman miscarried in the restroom lobby of a Texas emergency room as front desk staff refused to admit her. Another woman learned that her fetus had no heartbeat at a Florida hospital, the day after a security guard turned her away from the facility. And in North Carolina, a woman gave birth in a car after an emergency room couldn’t offer an ultrasound. The baby later died. Complaints that pregnant women were turned away from U.S. emergency rooms spiked in 2022 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, federal documents obtained by The Associated Press reveal.
Capitol news
* WTTW | Need a Notary? Now You Can Get One Online as Illinois Launches New E-Notary Service: Illinois had previously allowed portions of notarization to take place online, but Giannoulias’ office said a notary still had to sign and seal a paper document and that all parties still had to be physically in Illinois. As the National Notary Association describes it: “Notarization is the assurance by a duly appointed and impartial Notary Public that a document is authentic, that its signature is genuine, and that its signer acted without duress or intimidation, and intended the terms of the document to be in full force and effect.
* WAND | Plaintiffs file brief in challenge of Illinois public transit carry ban: “As noted in the brief,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb, “this case asserts the Illinois Public Transportation carry ban cannot stand unless it is consistent with the historical tradition of firearms regulation at the time of the ratification of the right to keep and bear arms. It is abundantly clear the defendants can’t provide such information, and in their response, they have failed to offer any Founding-era evidence supporting the ban.”
* Sun-Times | 25 years after my dad was killed, his murder is unsolved. Two bills could spur action on cold cases like his: There are two bills currently up in the Illinois General Assembly written specifically to address the issue of unsolved homicides and homicide data transparency. This legislation, sponsored by state Rep. Kam Buckner, aim to increase our homicide closure rates, deter future violence, and rebuild trust between communities and law enforcement. […] While we can’t legislate all our problems away, these bills could pave the way for a transformative future for Chicago. Solving unsolved homicides isn’t just about statistics; it’s about bringing closure to grieving families.
* WCBU | Illinois medical license system still plagued with delays despite new mandate: Republican Rep. Bill Hauter of Morton, who is also an anesthesiologist, said this issue impacts all healthcare workers, from nurses and doctors to pharmacists and physical therapists. He said the problems have only gotten worse with workforce shortages. “With this shortage we have in all the medical fields, with having temporary workers come from out of state,” Hauter said. “So therefore, it puts a great strain on the licensing process, because you’re having so many applications for licenses in Illinois from out of state workers.”
* Center Square | Hundreds of gun owners rally at Illinois Statehouse: State Rep. John Cabello, R-Machesney Park, addressed attendees after they marched through the capital city. He told the crowd that police want to help protect people, but they can’t always be there and that’s why he wants a “stand your ground” law as found in his House Bill 5803. “You should not have to retreat,” Cabello said. “You should not have to worry about a lawsuit if you’re protecting yourself or your family.”
Chicago
* Sun-Times | No cracks in Blue Wall? Top Democrats vow Chicago is ready for convention, despite party divisions: Hundreds of Democratic Party officials came to Chicago this week for tours and meetings ahead of the Aug. 19-22 convention, including an executive committee on Tuesday to select members of three convention standing committees. At a downtown news conference on Thursday, party leaders were joined by convention chair Minyon Moore, who sought to quell concerns that intra-party divisions over the war in Gaza could derail the convention — and Biden’s campaign. Biden won this year’s Democratic primary in Wisconsin but about 50,000 voters cast a ballot for an “uninstructed” delegation.
* Tribune | Democratic Convention organizers leaning on locals to handle possible migrant surge in August: So far, Johnson and Pritzker have not detailed how they’ll respond if Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas attempts to make political hay by busing a larger-than-normal number of asylum-seekers to Chicago during the four-day convention at which President Joe Biden is expected to accept his party’s renomination. […] “First of all, we can’t just look at these as migrants,” Minyon Moore, chair of the Democratic National Convention Committee, told reporters Thursday during a gathering of state Democratic Party leaders from across the country. “These are human beings. These are people that are being bused to places that some don’t even know where they’re going. And we have to show them compassion and the concern as a Democratic Party and a Democratic family.”
*Sun-Times | Howard Brown, union reach tentative agreement after 17 months of negotiations: The contract would include raises across the union body — including annual wage increases — a new minimum wage of $19.23, insurance for part-time employees, two weeks of paid leave for gender-affirming care, a union rights clause and protections against layoffs, among other things.
* Sun-Times | Pride Parade will now allow participants from schools, organizers say: The change came a day after the Sun-Times reported parade organizers denied entry to six Chicago schools that had a history of participating in the parade. Nettelhorst School will now coordinate with the five other previously denied schools, said Francis W. Parker School teacher Karen Liszka. The heavily attended parade passes by Nettelhorst in the heart of the city’s well-known LGBTQ+ area in Lake View.
* Sun-Times | Rainbow PUSH leader’s quick exit underscores challenge following Rev. Jackson: ‘It’s the most difficult job in Black America’: But former Rainbow PUSH insiders and longtime allies of the coalition agreed Haynes’ short-lived appointment was hamstrung from the beginning by a split commitment with his Texas megachurch — and it only raises more questions about the future of the organization. “For [Haynes] to be here and there — it was impossible,” said Hermene Hartman, founder of the Black Chicago publication N’DIGO. She worked alongside Jackson in the 1960s at Operation Breadbasket, a precursor to the groups that would become Rainbow PUSH.
Everywhere else
* Daily Herald | DuPage County Board members want answers on county clerk’s election invoices: Several DuPage County Board members are asking for answers about some no-bid contracts awarded by the county clerk. Each of the county board’s seven Republican members and one Democrat have signed a letter requesting discussion about the contracts be placed on the agenda for Tuesday’s board meeting. The contracts, which covered the printing of election material, total more than $250,000.
* Lake $ McHenry County Scanner | State’s attorney declines to file charges in 3 McHenry County inmate custody deaths; 4th case still pending: The three inmate deaths in a two-week span prompted the sheriff’s office to issue a lengthy statement saying they are “transparent” and “faithfully serve the community, promoting the safety and equal protection of all.” Illinois Department of Corrections Criminal Justice Specialist Sara Johnson conducted compliance monitoring at the McHenry County Jail on February 15. […] The report said the jail was in compliance with Illinois county jail standards and no recommendations were made for changes.
* WBEZ | Talking to your kids about race can reduce bias, a Northwestern professor found: In 2018, Perry began experiments in her lab. She brought in nearly 90 white parents and their 8- to 12-year-old children to discuss kid-appropriate situations dealing with prejudice and racism — and she measured whether those chats had any effects on the racial biases. The results were clear. “An overwhelming majority of them, their data points are showing a reduction [in bias]. It’s a very large effect,” Perry said.
As many as 1,000 people who are still in custody could be eligible for immediate release if they received proper sentence recalculations, according to Alan Mills, executive director of the civil rights law firm Uptown People’s Law Center. […]
Many of the records used to recalculate people’s sentences only go back to when the corrections department switched to a new digital information system in 2010. But most of the people like Rogers who would benefit from the new law have been incarcerated since the 1990s.
The law, which took effect in January, builds on 2021 criminal justice reforms that increased the amount of credit someone could earn for participating in programs behind bars. […]
As of March 21, 1,750 individuals had received earned time through the new law, according to the state. Of those, 1,341 were still in custody and 409 have been released.
* It’s just a bill, the House committee deadline has long past and the Third Reading passage deadline is tomorrow. WGN…
After protesters blocked a major traffic artery into O’Hare International Airport this week, an Illinois State Representative has proposed legislation that would make similar demonstrations a felony. […]
On Wednesday, Rep. Dan Ugaste, a Republican from Geneva in Chicago’s western suburbs, filed legislation aimed at amending the Illinois Public Demonstrations Law. Ugaste represents Illinois’ 65th House District.
Titled Bill 5819, the legislation would create stiffer penalties for individuals who block “an exceptionally busy public right-of-way” for not less than five minutes, or when these actions prevent the free passage of emergency responders.
Individuals who engage in these actions would be subject to Class 4 felony charges.
* Sierra Club of Illinois…
Yesterday, the Illinois State House passed HB5277, which promotes equitable access to parks, public lands, and waters while also reducing climate pollution by encouraging increased use of public transportation. This monumental legislation, which was championed by State Representative Justin Slaughter, establishes the Transit to Trails Grant Program to allow eligible entities to apply for projects that facilitate travel by public transit to public outdoor recreation sites for activities like hiking, fishing, boating, and wildlife observation.
The Transit to Trails Program focuses on populations that are economically disadvantaged and underserved. In Illinois, 80% of low-income residents and 77% of people of color live in areas without or with limited access to nature. Transit to Trails aims to close this nature equity gap.
“Illinois’ parks and forest preserves have beautiful woods, wetlands, and prairies, and a day in nature does wonders for our mental and physical health,” said Sierra Club Illinois Director Jack Darin. “Everyone can benefit from outdoor recreation, but too many communities cannot safely and easily access time in nature. By helping our transit agencies provide service to these beautiful places, the Transit to Trails program will reduce the “nature equity gap.” We urge the Senate to approve this legislation this Spring and move more Illinoisans closer to accessing public land and recreation across the state.”
“Everyone can benefit from enjoying our beautiful parks and forest preserves, but for many people transportation is a barrier to these healthy activities,” said State Representative Justin Slaughter, chief sponsor of HB5277. “The Transit to Trails program will help provide transit service to beautiful natural areas, helping more Illinoisans access outdoor recreation with safe and reliable transit service. This is an important step to providing more equitable access to nature, and all of its benefits, especially for communities that lack this access today.”
“We’re thrilled to see Illinois join states across the country taking action to close the nature equity gap,” said Gerry Seavo James, Deputy Director of Sierra Club’s Outdoors For All Campaign. “Ensuring access to nature and outdoor recreation will help all Illinoisans thrive, and this bill will help break down some of the barriers that underserved communities face when trying to explore and enjoy the state’s parks, trails, natural areas, and waterways.”
A resolution to place a nonbinding advisory referendum regarding separating Chicago and Cook County from the rest of the state of Illinois was passed 15-7 by the Madison County Board on Wednesday.
The vote came after numerous speakers both for and against, and sometimes intense discussion by board members.
Madison County voters in November will now be asked via referendum to answer this question, “Shall the board of Madison County correspond with the boards of other counties of Illinois, outside of Cook County, about the possibility of separating from Cook County to form a new state and to seek admission to the Union as such, subject to the approval of the people?”
* Here’s the rest…
* The Telegraph | Board avoids explaining support for Illinois, Chicago separation: Most of the people voting in favor of the resolution gave no reason Wednesday night for their support of the resolution. Dickerson, R-Worden, and Eaker, R-Bethalto, both said voters in their districts were “overwhelmingly” in support of the referendum.
* Illinois Times | Helping the Homeless. My journey and my blessing: “Miss Julie” retires from full-time volunteering on the streets of Springfield. […] I witnessed much in my eight years of being a boots-on-the-ground volunteer for my ministry, “Helping the Homeless in Springfield, Illinois.” I answered a call from God on Jan. 24, 2016, and became known as Miss Julie. Donations trickled in from Springfield and surrounding community residents individually, through churches, organizations and even functions with leftover food to help the homeless population. Back then I worked full-time at a private company and decided three years later to retire from there and be a full-time volunteer.
* Press Release | Preston’s measure to ban harmful food additives passes Senate: Following the recently passed California Food Safety Act, Preston’s measure would ban specific, dangerous food additives from being used in the manufacture, delivery, distribution or sale of food products. These additives include brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben and red dye No. 3. Additionally, the legislation calls for studies on the potential health risks of BHA and BHT, two chemicals commonly food in gum, snack foods and other common grocery items.
* WTTW | Who Decides Which Chicago Sidewalks Get Repaired? Patchwork of Programs Creates Geographical Disparities, Rewards Most Complaints: The city uses a patchwork of programs to maintain its sidewalks. The responsibility is split between residents, the Chicago Department of Transportation and local ward offices. To better understand how and where sidewalks across the city get repaired, WTTW News examined data, permits and repair records and spoke with those affected by poor conditions about how sidewalks are kept in shape and what they say should be improved.
* Crain’s | Hundreds of Walgreens pharmacists start monthlong protest all over Chicago: The workers, represented by National Pharmacists Association-Laborers’ International Union of North America, or NPhA-LIUNA, plan to host multiple demonstrations every day at various Chicago-area Walgreens stores, starting today through May 10, according to a statement from the union. […] “Despite the fact that we are essential workers that helped this country come out of the COVID crisis, Walgreens continues to exploit us,” Joe Pignataro, NPhA-LIUNA president and full-time Walgreens pharmacist, said in a statement. “We should be given a fair wage increase that reflects our contributions to the company. We also want more consistent and reliable scheduling and more staff support with proper training.”
* Crain’s | Shedd Aquarium workers announce intent to form a union: The workers, who announced their plans to form a union in a public letter signed by 60 Shedd employees, seek to be represented by the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees Council 31, or AFSCME, which has organized union victories at the Field Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, among others.
* Sun-Times | Ex-Citi VP in Chicago who bilked elderly clients gets 30 months in prison: Helen Grace Caldwell, 59, who until 2021 was a vice president working in the South Michigan Avenue offices of Citibank downtown, acknowledging only that she “fell short” in her duty to protect her clients. The judge had a much harsher view. “The only difference between Ms. Caldwell and a bank robber is that she didn’t have a mask and a gun.” U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly said before ordering her to prison for wire fraud. “And actually, in some ways, it was worse because they trusted her — and she knew they trusted her.”
* Daily Southtown | Flossmoor responds to former police chief’s lawsuit, says performance reason for firing: Concerns over Jones’ performance began shortly after he started with the Flossmoor department in March 2023, the Chicago-based Sotos Law Firm writes in defense of the village, Mayor Michelle Nelson and village administrator Bridgette Watchel. “The 2023 Flossmoor Fest was beset with public safety problems including being forced to shut down early due to a ‘teen takeover,’” the response cites as one example of performance issues.
* Daily Southtown | Former Harvey strip club operator sentenced to 20 months in prison in tax fraud case: According to a criminal complaint filed in 2019, the club’s owner had been making biweekly payments of $3,000 and later $6,000 to relatives of then-Mayor Eric Kellogg for years to protect a prostitution racket being run out of the business. Last December, Rommell Kellogg, brother of Kellogg, was convicted by a federal jury in a yearslong shakedown scheme in which thousands of dollars were extorted from the club.
* Effingham Daily News | Illinois Deer Donation Program donates more than 12,000 pounds: Hunters came out in full force to harvest more than 300 deer, totaling 12,187 pounds of venison, for the 2023-2024 Illinois Deer Donation Program. The harvested deer were donated to more than 50 food pantries across a 16-county territory in east-central Illinois, providing 48,748 meals of nutritious protein to individuals and families.
* Block Club | Oz Park’s Giant Underground Rat Colony Getting Evicted For New Playground: Construction began this month, and it couldn’t have come soon enough, Ald. Timmy Knudsen (43rd) said. “The unsexy truth is that there is one of the largest rat beds in the city of Chicago under the turf of that playground,” Knudsen said. Park District officials were aware of the rat bed before demolition, Knudsen said. Part of the process includes abating the property for rodents. Contractors on site this week are working though that process, Knudsen said.
* SJ-R | US Rep. urges Biden to make the 1908 Springfield Race Riot site a national monument: U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, is calling for the 1908 Springfield Race Riot site to become a national monument. During an April 16 press conference, Budzinski was joined by Monuments for All in front of the U.S Capitol, to urge President Joe Biden to invoke the Antiquities Act and recognize the race riot location as a monument. “Today I’m continuing my call on the Biden administration to invoke the Antiquities Act and give the site of this event the recognition that it rightfully deserves,” said Budzinski. “Both for the Springfield community but also for our nation.”
Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford is working to keep families together by preventing children from being wrongfully removed from their homes due to an unfounded allegation of abuse or mistreatment.
“While we need to take child abuse and mistreatment seriously, we must also remember that kids will be kids and accidents happen,” said Lightford (D-Maywood). “Cases of abuse and mistreatment must be thoroughly, accurately and transparently investigated before making a decision to remove a child from their home.”
Families across the state have faced wrongful allegations of child abuse or neglect due to medical conditions, birth injuries and normal childhood accidents that result in findings that are misinterpreted as signs of abuse.
Lightford’s measure would set forth a number of protections that must be provided to a parent or guardian at the center of an abuse or neglect investigation. Under the measure, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services would be required to notify the parent or guardian of an investigation and give them the opportunity to submit a second medical opinion to be considered in the investigation.
Further, if a medical professional examines a child for the purpose of providing an opinion to DCFS regarding whether the child’s injury or condition is suspicious for child maltreatment, they must identify that intent to the parent or guardian and alert them that they may be required to communicate with law enforcement and provide court testimony.
Of the 142,000 investigations of possible abuse or neglect investigated by DCFS, 98,000 were not substantiated.
“As a parent whose child is in the hospital for medical treatment, you have the right to know when the doctor’s role shifts from caring for your child and providing you with information to the dual capacity role of examining and diagnosing your child and sharing information with a government agency that could potentially take your child away,” said Lightford. “At the forefront, the measure is about transparency and humanity.”
Senate Bill 378 passed the Senate Thursday and heads to the House for further consideration.
Emphasis added. Sen. Lightford’s numbers would mean that 69 percent of all investigations are found to be not substantiated. Then again, sometimes DCFS makes mistakes and those unsubstantiated findings are wrong.
* The Question: Could you support this concept? Explain.
* Chicago hasn’t updated its migrant dashboard since Tuesday, when it reported 9,137 people in shelters. That’s 34 percent lower than the 13,900 who were in shelters at the end of January.
Q: I wanted to ask you for comments… about a recent situation with some migrants being sent from Taxes now on private planes coming into Chicago. [Garbled]
Pritzker: I don’t think we’ve seen any of those for many, many weeks now. And we worked hard when they we saw that happening. You know, there were a few aircraft that arrived at O’Hare Airport, Midway, Rockford airport. But since, as we worked hard to make sure that that was very difficult for the state of Texas to do.
As a result, I have not heard of any, unless something’s happened the last 24 hours that I’m unaware of. But they don’t seem to be coming by aircraft. You can always buy a ticket on a commercial aircraft but that’s a more expensive endeavor than what the state of Texas was doing before which is chartering a plane, filling it with people, landing it sometimes in the middle of the night.
Q: Is this something you’re watching carefully?
Pritzker: Well, yeah, because the state of Texas is trying to create chaos. Not just in Illinois, they’re trying to do it in a number of states, by shipping people on buses, on aircraft in any way that they can, with no notice.
And remember, the state of Texas is receiving a lot of federal money to care for the people who are coming across the border. The state of Illinois is not. And so they’re shipping people and expecting us to care for these folks. And we will because we’re a state that believes in acting a humanitarian fashion. So we’re gonna do what we need to do.
And as I’ve reminded many people my family arrived here many years ago with nothing. Refugees, threatened with their lives. And in one generation went from not speaking English and having absolutely nothing, in that same generation my great grandfather becoming an attorney, raising a family and our family becoming successful right here in Illinois. It’s good for the economy of the state of Illinois for immigration. But we need to have controlled immigration. We need to make sure we have comprehensive immigration reform. And I favor that.
* More from Isabel…
* Crain’s | Johnson maintains migrant spending has not hurt relationship with Preckwinkle: In a post-City Council press briefing yesterday, Johnson insisted Preckwinkle’s lobbying effort wasn’t out of the ordinary. “As far as our relationship, our relationship is strong,” Johnson said. He added that he often talks across governments to state representatives, county commissioners and the governor. Johnson also pushed back on the assertion that because the city didn’t contribute its $70 million share months ago he had reneged on a promise to the county and state.
* Chicago Catholic | Migrant families expected to move into former school in May: The archdiocese is leasing the building, which is on the St. Bartholomew campus of Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, to the city of Chicago, which is, in turn, leasing it to the Zakat Foundation, who will be in charge of operations at the shelter at no cost to the city. Parishioners and other neighbors have, for the most part, been supportive of the shelter, and many have expressed interest in volunteering, Wollan said. “There appears to be an abundance of interest in terms of volunteers from the parish committee and the alderman’s office,” Wollan continued. “We want to be sure that we capture all of that. We don’t want to lose that momentum.”
* Chalkbeat | Chicago Public Schools estimates between 9,000 and 17,000 migrant students are enrolled, depending on who is counted: Chicago Public Schools says the district is currently serving 8,900 students who arrived since August 2022, including those who passed through the southern border and were bused to Chicago from Texas. The district uses five criteria to identify this cohort: students who speak languages other than English at home, have been identified as students in temporary living situations, are new to the district arriving after August 2022, were born outside of the country, or are listed on the city’s Department of Family and Support Services shelter roster. The Illinois State Board of Education, on the other hand, says any student not born in the U.S. or Puerto Rico who has been attending school in this country for less than three years is eligible for the Immigrant Education Program. Chicago estimates roughly 17,000 students fit this definition. Chicago just started to collect this data in November 2023 and school staff are collecting the birth country and enrollment date of students.
* Sen. Robert Peters | Chicago is ready for the Democratic National Convention: Like every other major city in America, Chicago faces its challenges — challenges that today’s Democratic Party is uniquely prepared to solve. We shouldn’t shy away from the problems we all know we face such as the migrant crisis and gun violence. The DNC is the exact moment Chicago needs to galvanize Democrats across the country to come together and nominate the only candidate who understands the complexity of these issues and is ready to help. Let us remember that Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is responsible for busing thousands of migrants to our city instead of rolling up his sleeves and finding sustainable ways to welcome migrants who’ve faced perilous journeys to get here. This is a political strategy in an election year that ignores human suffering for the sake of political jockeying on immigration policy, and it’s ugly, callous and un-American.
* Rep. Martin McLaughlin | Intentions may be good, but city, state policies aren’t fixing migrant crisis: The desire to care for undocumented illegal immigrants may be well-intentioned, but our response to this crisis is the very essence of a bad idea. It is time to end the Sanctuary State and Sanctuary City policies. It is time for our leaders to demand that the federal government secure our borders. The actions taken to house, clothe and feed undocumented and illegal immigrants fails to address the problems we are facing in a meaningful way. These short-term solutions are simply not sustainable.
* President of the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago Dorri McWhorter | Chicago faces a three-part humanitarian crisis. We can solve this for everyone.: At the historic Wabash YMCA in Bronzeville, local Y leaders welcomed and worked to empower Chicago migrants from the Jim Crow South through housing and job training for the newly arrived African American individuals and families. And no matter the country of origin, each wave of immigrants to the region since 1858 has been met with connection, resources and support from the Y. We are proud to continue that legacy through our partnership with the city of Chicago, assisting with sheltering our newest migrant arrivals since they began arriving in the summer of 2022. We have provided shelter to more than 1,500 individuals through this partnership, along with resources and referrals for many more. We are committed to doing so until a long-term solution is enacted.
* Kansas City Star | ‘All are welcome’: Mayor Lucas invites migrants overwhelming other cities to work in KC: “All are welcome in Kansas City,” Lucas said Tuesday in a social media post in which he shared a Bloomberg.com article that quoted him saying the Kansas City area could use more workers for its burgeoning economy. “Proud to work with my fellow mayors like @MikeJohnstonCO and @NYCMayor,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter, referring to Denver’s mayor and New York City Mayor Eric Adams, “as we work to ensure decompression of new arriving communities and collaboration among cities, labor, non-profits, and federal officials.”
* Public employees are being encourage by social media posts and other ways to fill out an email form at the Illinois AFL-CIO’s website to “fix” the Tier 2 pension system. Here’s the pitch they get on that website…
In 2010, the Illinois General Assembly created a “Tier 2″ of separate, lower pension benefits for public employees hired after 2011, over the fierce opposition of a coalition of unions representing public sector workers. Since then, legislators have refused to act to fix the inequitable system they created, at a huge cost to our members and the communities they support.
During this legislative session, the General Assembly will be holding hearings in Springfield about the future of these “Tier 2” pensions. We must let legislators know how important it is that they fix this unfair system. By taking this action, you and other members of unions representing public sector employees can make your voices heard.
This action is the first step to push legislators in Springfield to ensure that all public sector workers have a fair, secure retirement after their service, and allow us to recruit and retain the essential workers who keep Illinois running.
Jim Belushi, the actor and comedian whose latest role is gentleman cannabis farmer and entrepreneur, says he gave Gov. J.B. Pritzker a friendly nudge about taxes on weed.
The state tax rate has long been a hot topic in the weed industry, and Belushi addressed it during the Cannabis Innovation Summit yesterday at startup incubator 1871.
“I had a conversation with Gov. Pritzker, who I really think is on our side. He’s a good guy,” Belushi said. “I said, ‘Last year, you guys collected $417 million in cannabis taxes, and you collected $207 million in liquor taxes. There’s a lot more liquor stores and bars than there are dispensaries.’ ”
I asked Pritzker spokesperson Jordan Abudayyeh if the governor supports a cannabis tax cut. Her answer…
• 2% to public education and safety campaigns
• 8% to the Local Government Distributive Fund, for prevention and training for law enforcement
• 25% to the Recover, Reinvest, and Renew (3R) Program
• 20% to mental health services and substance abuse programs
• 10% to pay unpaid bills
• 35% to the General Revenue Fund
This is not your usual tax. Lots of vital local programs directly depend on it.
Illinois’ adult-use cannabis sales for March soared to $148.9 million, marking a 9.81% increase from February’s $135.6 million, according to the latest figures released by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR). The combined total of adult-use and medical cannabis sales reached $174.8 million.
This growth stands as the second-highest monthly total since the state legalized cannabis in 2020 and is part of a consistent upward trend, with the number of items sold rising by 11.33% to more than 4 million in March from 3.6 million in February. While the IDFPR data signals robust demand from both in-state and out-of-state residents, a closer analysis reveals a decreasing trend in purchases by out-of-state residents.
The upward trend is not merely a monthly spike but signifies broader growth within the Illinois cannabis market. Year-over-year, adult-use cannabis sales surged by 10.45% from March 2023’s $134.8 million, indicating a maturing market and potentially expanding consumer base.
A battle has been brewing over sports betting in Illinois.
On one side, Gov. JB Pritzker is trying to more than double taxes on the revenue from bets won by sports betting operators. On the other, the betting companies are now asking their customers to get involved to stop it.
Companies like DraftKings, FanDuel, and BetMGM have all come together to form the Sports Betting Alliance. The competitors are united against Pritzker’s proposed tax hike – which he estimates would generate an additional $200 million for the state. They have sent emails to users urging them to write to their legislators and oppose the tax hike. […]
Sports betting companies said if approved, higher taxes would mean worse odds, and fewer promotions for users – which they warn could fuel the illegal market. The companies also warn the tax hike may drive all but the top three sportsbooks out of Illinois.
The “adjusted sports wagering revenue” tax is on industry profits. And even though New York has a 50 percent tax (way higher than the proposed 35 percent tax here), it has 9 sports betting companies.
A former technology salesman who lives in Lake View has formed a political action committee to raise money and at least begin the formidable challenge of putting a binding referendum on the Nov. 5 ballot asking Chicago voters whether they want the power to recall their mayor. […]
To get a recall referendum on the November ballot, he needs at least 56,464 valid signatures by Aug. 5. If it gets on the ballot, and the question is approved in November, Chicagoans would be empowered to recall any present or future mayor.
But Johnson still wouldn’t be removed. Boland would have to launch yet another petition drive, collecting at least 122,503 valid signatures . If he clears that hurdle, Chicago voters would be empowered to recall Johnson in the next regularly scheduled election — March 2026.
So, it’s not a recall referendum. It’s a referendum asking Chicagoans whether they want the power to recall mayors.
* Keep that explanation in mind when reading this tweet from Mayor Brandon Johnson’s new “chief strategy officer”…
MAA’s tweet wasn’t fully accurate, but going full-on patronizing bully right out of the gate against a reporter with a large and loyal viewing audience ain’t exactly strategic.
Apparently, things aren’t gonna change on the Fifth Floor.
Housing advocates are renewing a push to fund a $20 million state affordable housing tax credit in the upcoming state budget.
Supporters of the “Build Illinois Homes Tax Credit Act,” modeled after a federal tax credit program, claimed it would result in over 1,000 affordable housing units being built over its first six years. The push for the measure, contained in House Bill 4909 and Senate Bill 3233, comes one year after a similar to appropriate $35 million in tax credits failed to advance.
Its supporters said the money would replace federal pandemic-era funding that went to the Illinois Housing Development Authority over the last three years but has since run out. […]
This year’s push also has backing from the Illinois Manufacturers Association and the Laborers’ International Union of North America Midwest Region, two influential groups within the Statehouse.
Lawmakers are moving ahead with a measure that would make mental health professionals who get sent on emergency calls alongside law enforcement eligible for the same benefits as other first responders if they’re also hurt in the line of duty.
Mental health advocates for years have pushed for a more holistic approach to many emergency calls by having police officers team up with social workers, clinicians or similar practitioners to help quell potentially volatile situations.
When that approach is in practice, mental health workers should be entitled to the same benefits as the police officers who are putting their lives on the line, said state Rep. Lilian Jiménez, the main sponsor of the bill in the House. […]
Under the legislation, the mental health professionals are defined as those persons “employed and dispatched by a unit of local government to respond to crisis calls received on public emergency service lines instead of or in conjunction with law enforcement.”
Jiménez’s bill passed through the Democrat-controlled House on a 80-27 vote and now goes to the Senate for consideration.
Illinois lawmakers are advancing a bill that would prevent Chicago Public Schools officials from closing any schools or making major changes to selective-enrollment programs until a fully elected school board takes control in early 2027.
The proposed legislation is the latest and most significant backlash to a declaration in December by Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Board of Education that it would no longer prioritize selective schools and would refocus resources to neighborhood schools that have faced years of cuts and under-funding. […]
Perhaps more consequentially, the bill would prevent CPS from changing the “standards for admission” to any selective school.
For instance, CPS reduced the length of the high school selective-enrollment test to an hour last year to improve accessibility, particularly for students with disabilities who may have had trouble testing for three hours previously. CPS would have to halt those types of decisions.
* Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz…
State Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, D-Glenview, and members of the House Democratic New Arrivals Working Group are seeking to curb inhumane, politically motivated busing of migrants from border states with new criminal and civil penalties for dropping off passengers at unsafe locations and at unscheduled times.
“This measure is the result of months of work by the New Arrivals Working Group in conjunction with stakeholders from across the political spectrum. This bill begins to address the most egregious abuses we’ve seen from politicians who want to ship people across the country like cargo,” Gong-Gershowitz said. “Unplanned, unannounced and uncoordinated long-distance busing of migrants is a practice that totally neglects their wellbeing, while imposing burdens on the communities receiving them. This issue affects us all.”
Gong-Gershowitz passed House Bill 588 through a House committee Wednesday. Under this bill, commercial bus operators would no longer be able to leave migrants in unsafe areas, or at unscheduled times. Buses would face stricter regulation of where riders could be left, ensuring local officials have control over where and when drop-offs could happen. The bill also lays out stronger safety regulations on these drop-off locations. Bus operators violating these regulations would be subject to misdemeanor charges and fines for a first offense, with escalating fines for subsequent offenses.
Many communities in Cook County and neighboring suburbs have already enacted similar ordinances, causing bus operators and the politicians directing them to seek unregulated areas for these drop-offs. Gong-Gershowitz’s bill expands these regulations statewide in order to more comprehensively crack down on these political games.
State representatives passed a plan Wednesday to improve network adequacy standards for health insurance companies.
The legislation could require insurance companies to notify patients of the anticipated date health care providers will leave their network and publish the information on their directories within 10 days. This plan also calls on insurers to provide contact information for patients to dispute inaccurate charges with a customer service representative.
Consumers would also have the ability to recoup their out-of-pocket payments if they were charged out of network costs for a provider listed in their insurance network. Insurance companies could be required to audit their health care provider directories every 90 days and make necessary corrections as well. […]
Rep. Margaret Croke (D-Chicago) explained her measure would also require the Illinois Department of Insurance to randomly audit at least 10% of the health care provider plans annually.
Illinois state lawmakers are moving to ban dental insurance companies from denying coverage for procedures they’ve already approved.
The state House of Representatives passed a bill with broad bipartisan support Tuesday banning insurers from denying claims for procedures it already gave prior authorization.
Dentists say they’ll submit a treatment plan to a patient’s insurance company before performing a potentially expensive procedure. When they submit the claim to be reimbursed for their work, an insurance company will then deny that claim. […]
If the bill becomes law, insurance companies would still be able to deny a claim if the treatment is vastly different from the plan originally submitted, if a patient’s benefit limit is reached or if circumstances changed making the treatment no longer necessary.
* Rep. Barbara Hernandez…
A measure requiring the nursing assistant certification exam be offered in both English and Spanish, authored by state Rep. Barbara Hernandez, D-Aurora, recently passed the Illinois House of Representatives.
“This progress is the result of a very real case of a person who was only fluent in Spanish being denied the chance to become a nursing assistant because the exam was only available in English. At a time in which Illinois is facing a shortage of caregivers, we are turning away people who want to do that good work without good cause,” Hernandez said. “This legislation will help address that shortage, while promoting equity in an important field; one which often calls for Spanish as a valuable skill to help give the best care possible.”
Hernandez crafted House Bill 5218 in conjunction with the Health Care Council of Illinois, who came to her with the story of a person who was unable to pursue a career as a nursing assistant because the test was restricted to English. It passed with strong bipartisan support and is now going to the Senate for consideration.
A measure prohibiting local news organizations from selling to out-of-state buyers without 120 days written notice of the sale to the state and their employees has passed the Illinois Senate.
State Sen. Steve Stadelman, D-Rockford, said in an effort to address what he said is a shrinking local media landscape, Illinois should pass the “Strengthening Community Media Act” found in Senate Bill 3592. One element of the bill requires 120-day written notice to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and the company’s employees if a local media outlet is looking to sell. […]
“Private equity firms are coming and buying newspapers, consolidating them until they provide very little local news content with no local journalist and sometimes those newsrooms are shut down as what happened in southern Illinois not that long ago,” Stadelmand said Wednesday. […]
The measure, which also creates a journalism scholarship program through the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, can now be sent to the Illinois House.
* ICYMI: Illinois considers carbon storage, pipeline regulations. The Pantagraph…
- New legislation was filed this week that would create a state regulatory framework for carbon capture, pipeline and storage projects.
- Rep. Ann Williams’ measure has the backing of prominent environmental groups like the Sierra Club and Illinois Environmental Council and emerges just over a month after business organizations and labor unions unveiled their own proposal.
- Under Williams’ proposal, all three aspects of the process — capture, transport and storage — would be subject to state regulations.
* Tribune | Stephen Colbert will bring ‘Late Show’ to Chicago during Democratic National Convention: The Democratic National Convention will have a new political commentator: Stephen Colbert is bringing his “Late Show” to Chicago and will broadcast from the Auditorium Theatre in the Loop from Monday, Aug. 19 to Thursday, Aug. 22, during the same days of the convention across town at the United Center.
* Capitol News Illinois | Education leaders seek added state funding to help districts accommodate influx of migrants: Kimako Patterson, chief of staff at the Illinois State Board of Education, said that in the last two years, a total of 62,644 “newcomers” have arrived in the state’s schools. Those are people age 3 to 21 who were born outside of the 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico and have been attending school in the U.S. for less than three years. […] In January, ISBE submitted a funding request for the upcoming fiscal year totaling just over $11 billion, or roughly one-fifth of the state’s entire General Revenue Fund budget. That included $35 million in new funding to support migrant students.
I’ll remember you like this - a happy moment from last month when this all still seemed a bit theoretical and distant. Thank you to everyone who made it to Lee’s reception last week. Seeing how many people wanted to wish him well meant the world. pic.twitter.com/OuUWbuWAbH
Gov. Pritzker will be in Decatur with Innovafeed to celebrate inaugral North American Insect Innovation Center at 10 am. Click here to watch.
* Here’s the rest…
* Illinois Review | Tim Ozinga Suffers Humiliating Defeat as Conservative Christina Clausen Dominates Will County GOP Chairman Race: A little over a week after Tim Ozinga’s shock resignation from the Illinois House of Representatives, the landscape of the Illinois Republican Party underwent a dramatic transformation during Wednesday night’s Will County GOP Convention after Christina Clausen secured her position as the new chairwoman of the Will County Republican Central Committee, garnering an impressive 12,220 votes to her opponent’s 6,234 – leaving Ozinga and his allies in shock and disbelief.
* Crain’s | Illinois is no exception when it comes to racial health disparities: Ultimately, this year’s data confirmed what past reports and other research has long shown: Black Americans and American Indians are more likely to die from preventable and treatable conditions than other racial groups. […] Commonwealth researchers say they hope the report helps policymakers target solutions to state health care systems, such as expanding access to affordable and comprehensive health insurance, improvements to primary care, lowering administrative burdens for patients and providers, and investing in social services that help keep Americans out of severe poverty.
* Center Square | State lawmaker under federal investigation reacts to Dolton officials being charged and accused: State Rep. Thaddeus Jones, D-Calumet City, who is also the mayor of Calumet City, was asked to react to the Henyard scandal and Freeman’s charges. Calumet City is 10 minutes west of Dolton and Jones’ house district includes the village of Dolton. “I heard Tiffany Henyard is down here in Springfield so ask her that question. I will just say let’s leave this to the authorities to investigate,” Jones told The Center Square.
* WCIA | U of I sticks with high budget request from the state: President of the University of Illinois System Timothy Killeen called for a 12 percent increase in the funding provided from the state. The Board of Trustees approved this ask back in the Fall, but since then, the Governor proposed his own version of the budget, which only included a 2 percent increase to the higher education funding.
* Crain’s | Stellantis avoiding plant shutdowns by paying Illinois supplier ‘under hostage threat’: Stellantis NV has avoided plant closures by making a $100,000 payment under protest to an Illinois supplier that threatened to stop shipping parts because of an ongoing cost dispute. It is the automaker’s latest disputed payment made to Mundelein-based MacLean-Fogg Component Solutions to keep pinions and gears flowing to a pair of plants in Kokomo, Ind., that build transmissions for the Ram 1500, Wrangler, Grand Cherokee, Charger, Durango, Pacifica and a dozen other vehicle platforms.
* Capitol News Illinois | Solar investments take center stage as questions loom on state’s renewable future: But even as solar projects have boomed in Illinois in recent years, the head of the state agency responsible for approving renewable projects said changes to state law may be necessary to phase out fossil fuels by 2050. G&W Electric Co., which installed a “microgrid” at its Bolingbrook facility, captures energy from the sun using eight football fields’ worth of solar panels and stores the electricity generated in a vanadium redox battery built inside 20 shipping containers.
* Crain’s | Advocates say a state tax credit would get thousands of affordable housing units built: Housing and labor groups say Illinois can spur the development of about 1,100 new units of affordable rentals each year by creating a state tax credit that mimics the long-standing federal tax credit. The federal government’s tax credit for affordable housing development, created in 1986, has funded development of an estimated 3.7 million affordable housing units nationwide. It’s usually a key piece of a developer’s funding stack.
* Crain’s | Johnson maintains migrant spending has not hurt relationship with Preckwinkle:
He added that he often talks across governments to state representatives, county commissioners and the governor. Johnson also pushed back on the assertion that because the city didn’t contribute their $70 million share months ago, that he had reneged on a promise to the county and state. “It’s not a strain. No one forced anyone to do anything,” he said. “This is a part of a collective operation and maybe it’s just something that some people are not accustomed to. But this is a part of our practice.”
* Crain’s | Why using ticket sales tax on new stadiums is a no-go for Johnson: On April 8, the two teams held a meeting with Johnson’s administration where the city’s chief financial officer, Jill Jaworski, rejected an idea that the city should give up a portion of its revenue from the amusement tax to help fund the new stadiums. “We rely on those dollars to make the necessary investments to build a better, stronger, safer Chicago,” Johnson said today at an unrelated press conference. “There are so many needs that we have in Chicago that it’s imperative that we do everything in our power to make sure that the lion’s share of those resources actually make it to the neighborhoods.”
* WGN | Cook County judge delays ruling in Ryan Field re-zoning lawsuit: A Cook County judge heard arguments for nearly two hours where attorneys for the City of Evanston and Northwestern argued to dismiss three out of four claims laid out in a lawsuit filed by Evanston residents and a non-profit organization called “The Most Livable City Association,’ or MLCA for short. […] In the end, the judge presiding over the case decided to delay a ruling until Friday, and attorneys in court Wednesday said they would not comment on pending litigation.
* Tribune | Uber rolls out blue checkmark system for rider verification in Chicago, 11 other cities: For accounts that aren’t immediately verified, the user can upload a picture of a government-issued identification card, such as a driver’s license or passport, and verify their account that way. Uploaded documents will be encrypted and not show up on a user’s profile. Heather Childs, chief trust and security officer for Uber, said in an interview Wednesday the new feature is “something drivers have been asking for” to promote safety on the platform.
* Crain’s | Jim Belushi nudges Pritzker to lower weed taxes: The state tax rate has long been a hot topic in the weed industry, and Belushi addressed it during the Cannabis Innovation Summit yesterday at startup incubator 1871. “I had a conversation with Gov. Pritzker, who I really think is on our side. He’s a good guy,” Belushi said. “I said, ‘Last year, you guys collected $417 million in cannabis taxes, and you collected $207 million in liquor taxes. There’s a lot more liquor stores and bars than there are dispensaries.’ ”
* Sun-Times | Early spring warming could be having an effect on bird migration: “A lot more, a lot earlier.”: Temperatures in March were six degrees above normal, according to the National Weather Service. “On average, a lot of these species are arriving four or five days earlier than they were 40 years ago,” said Stephanie Beilke, the senior manager of conservation science at Audubon Great Lakes. “It’s a little tricky to necessarily notice.”
