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Isabel’s morning roundup
Saturday, May 25, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Illinois Senate pitches budget, but talks continue into holiday weekend as Democrats struggle to reach consensus. Tribune…
- Flagship spending proposals the governor laid out in his February budget address were part of the Senate measure released Friday, which Pritzker spokesman Alex Gough said reflected “an agreement in principal” among the governor, Harmon and House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch - Despite ongoing uncertainty, a few details emerged Friday on the discussions between Pritzker and Democratic legislative leaders. * Related stories… ∙ State Week: A new budget within reach ∙ Sun-Times: As Pritzker, Dems hash out state budget, lawmakers tackle health care, abortion protections and digital IDs ∙ ABC Chicago: Illinois lawmakers working through holiday weekend on budget as spring legislative session ends * WAND | Legislative session helps pick up business in Springfield: “Typically when session is going on we see higher occupancy rates through the city of Springfield,” said Darin Dame, the President of the Springfield Hotel and Lodging Association. “We always want to see if they can stay another night to go visit the visitor sites or have a convention here.” Dame said the goal is to connect with legislators so they come back for a future vacation, or stay there when they return for legislative work. * WBEZ | CPS selective enrollment bill dead in Springfield after Johnson letter to Senate president: Johnson sent a letter to Illinois Senate President Don Harmon on Thursday asking him to hold House Bill 303, which had already passed the Illinois House and needed a final vote in the Senate. The mayor’s public pledge that he would not close or otherwise harm selective enrollment schools meant the bill would no longer be called in the Senate as the spring legislative session ends, according to two sources who were granted anonymity to share details about the legislative process. The bill could be revived in the fall veto session if the mayor reneges on his promises. * Tribune | Lawmakers angry about NRG plan to only cap Waukegan plant’s ponds; ‘They’re hypocrites, and … don’t want to be held accountable’: Now required by the EPA to deal with a Coal Combustion Residuals Management Unit at the Waukegan site known as the grassy area, state Rep. Rita Mayfield, D-Gurnee, hoped NRG would remove two coal ash ponds rather than the utility’s previously announced plan to cap one and remove the other. […] NRG disclosed in an email Thursday it is developing an application to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to approve its plan to cap both coal ash ponds at its Waukegan generating station now used only for backup purposes. * Tribune | Lawmakers vote to name Loop high-rise after former Secretary of State Jesse White: Lawmakers voted to name a state-owned Loop office building after Illinois’ longest-serving secretary of state, Jesse White. Set to turn 90 next month, White stood in the House chamber earlier this month before lawmakers voted to name the high-rise at 115 S. LaSalle St. the Jesse White State of Illinois Building. The resolution’s main sponsor, state Rep. Harry Benton, noted the rarity of a state building being named after someone who is still alive. * Capitol News Illinois | Measure targets ‘legacy’ admission at public universities: Senate Bill 462 would prohibit public higher education institutions from admitting applicants based on “legacy status” or relationships to donors, effective upon becoming law. […] It passed both houses unanimously and needs only a signature from the governor to become law. * SJ-R | Lawmakers pass 2 bills strengthening child labor laws in Illinois. What you need to know: Senate Bill 3646 introduced by Peters is designed to strengthen up and remodel the general labor laws of the state. The bill includes rules about the number of hours a minor can work during school days and weekends. A minor can’t work more than eight hours on weekends during the school year, and depending on the job they can only work a certain number of hours on a school day. If an employer were to violate the rules they may receive various fines. * SJ-R | Illinois took in nearly $70M on marijuana sales in the final quarter of 2023: Twenty-three states, along with Washington, D.C., have legalized recreational marijuana and generated more than $3 billion in tax revenue in 2022. In the final quarter of 2023, the states that generated the most revenue took in a combined $457.7 million. * Press Release | Illinois’ spring turkey hunters harvest record number of wild turkeys: Illinois hunters harvested a preliminary statewide record total of 17,208 wild turkeys during the 2024 Illinois spring turkey season. This year’s total compares with the 2023 statewide harvest of 16,123 and the previous harvest record total of 16,569, set during the spring season in 2006. * Tribune | Mayor Johnson, CPD announce Chicago’s summer safety plan ahead of Memorial Day weekend: Officials also encouraged parents to be watchful of their children once school lets out. It was unclear if Johnson planned to implement a youth curfew downtown, a tactic employed over the past two summers. In May 2022, a 16-year-old was fatally shot near the Bean, leading to a temporary ban on unaccompanied minors in the Millennium Park after 6 p.m. * WGN | Citing lack of ‘allies,’ mayor’s nominee to RTA board withdraws from consideration: Still, Acree’s nomination was passed by the committee 14 to 2, with the two no votes coming from Ald. Scott Waguespack of the 32nd Ward and Ald. Andre Vasquez of the 40th Ward. At the time, they said it was because Johnson’s staff had not prepared Acree for the meeting. “Our city is in need of leadership with the expertise and fiscal background to deal with the issues we are facing in this Johnson Administration,” Waguespack told WGN via text message. “There was no discernable vision for public transportation laid out in the appointment process by the appointee or the 5th floor and we have yet to hear one.” * Sun-Times | ComEd flips the switch on Bronzeville microgrid in latest push for electric power: One of the country’s first solar-powered electric grids of its kind is now operating in Bronzeville, and there are already plans to replicate the project in northern Illinois. City and state leaders as well as officials from the U.S. Department of Energy gathered Friday at the Chicago Housing Authority’s Dearborn Homes to flip the switch on the Bronzeville Community Microgrid, part of a larger push to make Bronzeville one of ComEd’s “smart communities.” * Crain’s | West Loop assessments show Kaegi’s rosier view of downtown offices: A Crain’s analysis of newly released assessments for more than two dozen prominent West Loop office buildings showed that recent valuations dropped by an average of just under 16% compared with Kaegi’s final estimates in 2021, the last time his office assessed all of downtown. * Tribune | Chicago White Sox suffer another loss to Baltimore Orioles, falling 6-4 to drop 22 games under .500: The Chicago White Sox first baseman on Thursday was ruled out on an interference call near second base, part of a controversial ending in a loss. On Friday, he hit a solo home run to even the score in the seventh inning. “(Orioles reliever Yennier Cano has) got a demon sinker, it’s really good,” Vaughn said. “Just tried to go up there and make a good swing on a good pitch.” * Daily Southtown | Cook County program to fund infrastructure, projects throughout south suburbs: The Build Up Cook program “aims to extend a helping hand to municipalities most in need,” according to the county. The county identified 46 projects in 22 communities, primarily in the south and west suburbs, for funding. With a $30.5 million total budget from American Rescue Plan Act Funds, the county said construction on projects can begin immediately and is expected to be completed by the end of 2026. * Daily Herald | Accountability, education keys to stemming campus antisemitism, say suburban undergraduates: The Highland Park Democrat opened the forum defending a person’s right to speak freely “no matter how much I disagree … But when it crosses the line to intimidation, harassment, isolation, exclusion,” he said, the administration has an obligation to speak out. University of Michigan student Hannah Dalinka agreed. “People have a right to free speech, but a lot of what’s happening on our college campuses is beyond free speech.” * Crain’s | ‘Home Alone’ house for sale in Winnetka: This is only the second time the house has been on the market since the movie was shot in the late 1980s. It joins another North Shore home with a cinematic past that went up for sale in recent weeks. The Kenilworth house that appeared in the Steve Martin and John Candy movie “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” is on the market at just under $2.5 million. * News-Gazette | County board votes to censure Danos: After at least a month of discussion on the subject, the Champaign County Board has voted to censure county auditor George Danos for alleged failure to act as an “independent watchdog” of taxpayer funds and actions “unbecoming an elected official.” The Champaign County Board voted Thursday night to approve the censure resolution. * WIFR | Winnebago Co. Board considers area-wide license plate readers: On Thursday, the Winnebago County Board votes on a five-year agreement bringing license plate readers across the area. The expansion in law enforcement technology arrives as the city of Rockford, Loves Park and Machesney Park have used them for years. “We put that in, if it goes through one of these LPRs, it flags immediately real-time, immediately,” says Winnebago County Sheriff Gary Caruana. * QC | Mississippi River at Rock Island expected to exceed 13-foot action stage by Friday: Due to the recent heavy rains the Mississippi River at Lock and Dam 15, Rock Island, is expected to exceed its 13-foot action stage by next Friday, said Meteorologist Andy Ervin of the National Weather Service, Davenport. […] However, that forecast did not account for the observed rainfall that fell Friday, May 24, or the predicted rainfall that is expected to fall Saturday night into Sunday. An updated forecast will be available on Saturday. * WAND | I-57 SB near Pesotum reopens after crash that caused 4 deaths: Illinois State Police Troop 7 was on the scene around milepost 212 where a truck-tractor semi-trailer was traveling northbound and crossed the median into southbound traffic. At least four people have been confirmed dead and one has been seriously injured.
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