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Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Wednesday, Jul 24, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Invisible Institute and the Investigative Reporting Workshop…
* WGN…
* WTTW reporter Amanda Vinicky…
* Crain’s…
* SJ-R | Here are 2 ways Illinois is trying to combat maternal mortality rates: Debra Tisckos, the director of maternal child health services at the Sangamon County Department of Public Health said that the rates of maternal mortality were high due to lack of prenatal and postnatal care, plus lack of education and access to proper care. “Things like hypertension, diabetes and just lack of prenatal and postnatal care are contributing factors,” Tisckos said in April during an interview with The State Journal-Register. “There needs to be more education out there on getting these things done, and more support and help for women that don’t know.” * WCSJ | Illinois treasurer’s office launches Spanish I-CASH website: Treasurer Michael Frerichs says that there are many Spanish speakers in Illinois who could benefit from the new site. Frerichs says unclaimed property can come in many forms, such as forgotten items in a deposit box or a forgotten bank account. He says in many cases, it’s simple to reunite the property with its rightful owner. * WSIL | Alcohol is Leading Factor for Deadly Boating Accidents in 2023, Illinois Officials Say: The Illinois State Fire Marshal stated alcohol continued to be the leading known contributing factor in deadly boating accidents for last year, totaling 79 deaths across the nation or about 17 percent of total deaths. * Tribune | A new north DuSable Lake Shore Drive? Long running idea takes step forward with a concept that leaves out bus lanes, includes more park space: That vision includes changes to the sharp curves and bottleneck-inducing traffic lights as the Drive enters downtown, and priority for CTA buses on exit and entrance ramps. It calls for adding lakefill in some places downtown and separating pedestrians from cyclists along the Lakefront Trail. It includes eliminating one lane of traffic north of Irving Park road. Missing from the concept are lanes on Lake Shore Drive that would prioritize the many CTA express buses that use the route. Transit priority lanes had been a key element of each of the other options that had been finalists for consideration. * Tribune | Authorities investigating break-in at Cook County state’s attorney’s office: Authorities are investigating a break-in at the administrative offices of Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, officials said. Staff with the state’s attorney’s office contacted the Cook County sheriff’s office on Tuesday to report that several computers were missing at their offices at the main courthouse in the George Leighton Criminal Court Building, according to a statement from the sheriff’s office. Police opened an investigation, which is ongoing. * ABC Chicago | South Side churches’ reading camp for Black boys getting national attention: Salem and Progressive Baptist churches started a pilot program to help improve the reading skills of young Black boys. It’s called Black Boy Literacy. The program was so successful last summer that the churches brought the reading camp back this year to prepare Black boys for the upcoming school year. What started as a pilot program– has become a model for other Black churches across the country. * Block Club | More Than $400,000 Raised So Far In Chicago’s 2024 School Board Elections: The money is a mix of small donations from candidates’ friends and family, sizable personal loans and in-kind and financial support from existing political and labor groups, according to a Chalkbeat analysis of state campaign finance records. The political fundraising arms of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, which has $3 million on hand, and the Chicago Teachers Union, which has around $175,000, are holding their fire for now, putting off making major donations to candidates. That’s not surprising: Many candidates are still sorting out challenges to their petitions to get on the ballot, and spending is likely to pick up once a clearer picture of the most competitive races and candidates emerges. * The Triibe | Black businesses are looking to benefit from the DNC in Chicago: Stephanie Hart, owner of Brown Sugar Bakery in Greater Grand Crossing, said she is already reaping benefits from the upcoming Democratic National Convention (DNC), which is scheduled to come to Chicago on Aug. 19-22. In May, she catered a welcome party for delegates and people working the DNC. She said she reached out to convention organizers with hopes to become a vendor during the event. * Tribune | As new Foxtrot owner plans to reopen stores, a former undocumented worker recounts his struggle to find a job and collect back pay: As a co-founder of Foxtrot and new investors plan to reopen about a dozen stores this fall, Mancera and most of the other 50 former immigrant workers who worked at the commissary continue to struggle to find new jobs to make ends meet. Mancera said that his quest for employment has been stymied by few opportunities, with competition from newly arrived migrants who are willing to work for extremely low wages and those who have legal work permits. Unlike former workers at the storefronts who qualified for unemployment, most of those who worked at the commissary are ineligible for unemployment benefits due to their immigration status. * Daily Herald | ‘A game changer’: New pumping station promises to ease Des Plaines River flooding: A new $4.1 million pump station along the Des Plaines River in Mount Prospect will help neighborhoods that have been battered by flooding for decades, officials said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday. “This project is simply a game changer,” Mount Prospect Mayor Paul Hoefert said of the station on River Road north of Camp McDonald Road. “It will help provide an unprecedented level of flood protection for hundreds, if not thousands, of homes in Mount Prospect on the west side of River Road.” * Tribune | County to consider $7.25 million settlement for wrongfully convicted ‘Marquette Park Four’ member: On the heels of the Chicago City Council approving a record $50 million settlement to a group of men once known as the “Marquette Park Four,” the Cook County Board will consider a $7.25 million settlement for one of those men who accused county prosecutors of wrongful incarceration and detention. The Charles Johnson deal is one of several costly settlements the county’s Finance Committee approved unanimously Wednesday, the others related to county-run Stroger Hospital. All of them, totaling $24 million, will be considered by the full board Thursday. * Lake County News-Sun | Illinois catcher Camden Janik, a Wauconda grad drafted by Pirates, is ‘embracing the unknown’ as he turns pro: “You could tell that he was definitely on track to do something special, partly because he always just wanted to get better,” said Clay Kovac, Janik’s coach at Wauconda. “Playing pro ball was definitely in the back of your mind, but it’s not easy to play against great players day in and day out. I can’t say enough about him.” * WAND | Eastern Illinois Food Banks’s “Food Mobile” is hitting the road: The Eastern Illinois Food Bank serves over 18 counties, distributing food to over 100 people every day. […] “Our priority is definitely to provide as much inclusive, nutritious food to people as possible. We really want to be growing those stronger communities. Getting out into these communities and making it as simple as possible for people to receive food assistance. There’s no donation to small no, no way to get involved that doesn’t make too much of an impact.” * WCIA | Danville company fined $200k by OSHA for two labor accidents: Inspectors from the DOL’s Occupation Safety and Health Administration responded to two incidents earlier this year at Viscofan USA Inc.’s Danville facility. One employee suffered broken bones and lacerations on Jan. 25 when their arm was caught in a roller machine. On Feb. 1, another employee suffered chemical burns while cleaning a pump. In both incidents, OSHA determined that the company “lacked adequate procedures for energy control and failed to have them in place before the workers began their tasks.” The agency also said Viscofan failed to train its workers on machine safety procedures and on use of hazardous chemicals * AP | Experts say a twice-yearly injection that offers 100% protection against HIV is ‘stunning’: The shots made by U.S. drugmaker Gilead and sold as Sunlenca are approved in the U.S., Canada, Europe and elsewhere, but only as a treatment for HIV. The company said it is waiting for results of testing in men before seeking permission to use it to protect against infection. […] The prospect of a twice-a-year shot is “quite revolutionary news” for our patients, said Thandeka Nkosi, who helped run the Gilead research at the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation in Masiphumelele, South Africa. “It gives participants a choice and it just eliminates the whole stigma around taking pills” to prevent HIV. * The Athletic | Simone Biles is back at the Olympics, and no one is telling her what to do anymore: The Paris Games are being billed as a rebirth for gymnastics, the culmination of that long and painful process. The change, however, started even before this Olympic cycle. It began in Tokyo when Simone Biles said she couldn’t go on and no one told her she’d better go anyway. […] “My ‘why’ is nobody is forcing me to do it,” she said. “I wake up every morning and choose to grind in the gym and come out to perform for myself.” * ProPublica | He Was Convicted of Killing His Baby. The DA’s Office Says He’s Innocent, but That Might Not Be Enough.: Eaton read the journal knowing that in the years since the infant was taken to the emergency room, shaken baby syndrome has come under increasing scrutiny. A growing body of research has demonstrated that the triad of symptoms doctors traditionally used to diagnose the syndrome — brain swelling and bleeding around the brain and behind the eyes — are not necessarily produced by shaking; a range of natural and accidental causes can generate the same symptoms. Nevertheless, shaken baby syndrome and its presumption of abuse have served, and continue to serve, as the rationale for separating children from their parents and for sending mothers, fathers and caretakers to prison. It’s impossible to quantify the total number of Americans convicted on the basis of the diagnosis — only the slim fraction of cases that meet the legal bar to appeal and lead to a published appellate decision. Still, an analysis of these rulings from 2008 to 2018 found 1,431 such criminal convictions.
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Hey, why no periods in Vance’s name? (Update)
Wednesday, Jul 24, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller * Remember this funny little kerfuffle from 2019?…
Long story short, Pritzker told Brian Mackey that he doesn’t use periods in his name. Back to the story…
* The Associated Press (which doesn’t put periods in AP) continues to this day to refer to the governor as “J.B. Pritzker.” So does the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times and NPR, which, like the AP, does not put periods in the abbreviation of its own name. * Why am I bringing this up? Well, here’s an AP (A.P.?) story about another politician who doesn’t use periods in his name…
Sen. Vance’s full name is James David Vance. But no periods for the A.P. Odd. * The Tribune and the Sun-Times are also using Vance’s preferred spelling, while continuing to spell Pritzker’s name with periods. Same for N.P.R. USA Today, which also doesn’t put periods in its own abbreviation, spells their names “J.B. Pritzker” and “JD Vance.” The Washington Post is being consistent, however. The paper spells both Pritzker’s and Vance’s names with periods. * And, yes, of course this is a trivial matter. But these news outlets are all about words. The AP Stylebook is 524 pages long, for crying out loud. On the off chance that Pritzker is chosen as a vice presidential candidate and faces Vance, we’ll probably see a revisiting of this oddly contradictory policy. Until then, inconsistency will likely prevail. …Adding… The A.P. is the culprit here…
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Former AT&T president says no quid pro quo, no unlawful intent means Madigan-related charges should be dismissed
Wednesday, Jul 24, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Tribune…
All the motions are here. * From one of the filings…
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Groups ramp up ahead of Iowa’s 6-week abortion ban
Wednesday, Jul 24, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Some background is here if you need it. Press release from the Chicago Abortion Fund and the Iowa Abortion Access Fund…
* WGEM last month…
* KWWL yesterday…
* Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton…
* House Speaker Chris Welch…
* Illinois’ state party chair and state Rep. Lisa Hernandez…
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Biz types launch new PAC, 501c4 ‘One Future Illinois’ (Updated)
Wednesday, Jul 24, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller * Fran Spielman…
Their PAC’s statement of organization describes its mission as “To advance common sense solutions to meet the most significant challenges and opportunities of the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago.” No contributions have yet been reported. Mike Ruemmler, who was one of Rahm Emanuel’s top go-to people, will run both the c4 and the PAC, Fran reports. Go read the rest. …Adding… Crain’s…
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Open thread
Wednesday, Jul 24, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller * What’s going on in your part of Illinois?…
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Wednesday, Jul 24, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Sun-Times | Domestic violence deaths spiked in Illinois last year, adding to calls for passage of Karina’s Bill: Domestic violence deaths rose by 110% across the state last year, according to a coalition of advocacy groups who said the sharp spike is a somber reminder why lawmakers must crack down on abusers who own guns. “This increase really shows that we have to step up our efforts here in Illinois to reduce these preventable homicides,” said Vickie Smith, former executive director and consultant for the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence. “Because if they’re increasing that much just over one year, then what are we looking at over the next few years?” * AP | Survivors sue Illinois over decades of sexual abuse at Chicago youth detention center: Temarkus Washington says the sexual abuse he experienced as a teenager at a troubled Chicago youth detention center still gives him nightmares. […] “It’s actually not something that I like to talk about or even think about. I did what I had to do to survive in there,” said Washington, speaking at a Chicago news conference with other survivors. “I am here because I want to feel confident in myself again. For so long I doubted myself and felt so scared.” * Nik Hunder | Despite scrutiny, the CTA’s president rode the system only 58 times in 2023: Since data showing his 2022 riding habits was made public, Carter had eight months left in 2023 to improve how frequently he rode the system in 2022 (23 times). He did not meaningfully or consistently increase that figure in 2023. Fifty-eight times in 2023 is barely more than once per week. Looking more closely, 52%, or 30, of those trips came in June and July, with 34% (20) being taken in July alone, according to ridership data I received from a Freedom of Information Act request. * WAND | Illinois lawmakers, insurance leaders discuss challenges with pharmacy benefit managers: “The healthcare conglomerates appear to be driving growth by generating increasing levels of revenue from their vertically integrated affiliates,” said Ann Gillespie, acting director of the Illinois Department of Insurance. “Said another way, these corporations are growing by paying their own companies more and more.” Gillespie said she will not tolerate consumers receiving less than the value of the benefits they pay for through insurance plans. * Tribune | Chicago leaders brace for as many as 25,000 new migrants ahead of DNC: ‘We just need to be prepared’: In the event of a surge before and during the convention, which starts Aug. 19, the city would first house new arrivals with its roughly 5,000 available beds, Ponce de León said. If that’s not enough, a mix of city, county, state and federal funding would open several “just-in-time” shelters,” she added. “Everything to be able to open these beds very quickly is beginning to fall into place,” Ponce de León said. * Active Transportation Alliance | Coalition calls for halting NDLSD redesign project: We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to not only reimagine our lakefront, but also to address some of the most pressing challenges facing our city and region. Despite this window of opportunity, the current proposal, called ‘The Essential,’ will largely rebuild the highway as it currently exists. * Sun-Times | Phillips fires state championship coach Paris Martin two weeks after he filed a lawsuit against CPS: Martin, Phillips’ boys basketball coach for the last two seasons, claims that Chicago Public Schools never has paid him and that he never officially has been cleared to coach by CPS. The school district requires that all coaches pass a background test. Martin filed a lawsuit July 8 against CPS, Phillips, Talley, Phillips athletic director James Daniels IV, Phillips operations manager Shelonda Mackey and Phillips girls basketball coach Larry Stokes in the Northern District of Illinois’ Eastern Division. Early Tuesday, Martin started a Go Fund Me page to raise money for state championship rings for Phillips’ boys basketball players. As of Tuesday afternoon, $200 of the $14,300 goal had been donated. * WBEZ | CPS is counting on hundreds of positions going unfilled to balance its budget: Faced with a budget deficit of more than $500 million, the school district is counting on vacancies to provide $220 million in savings in the spending plan being voted on Thursday. The district says it calculated these savings by looking at natural attrition, turnover, and the time it takes to hire and staff positions. * Chalkbeat | State ends scrutiny of Chicago Public Schools over long bus rides for students with disabilities: The state notified the district in April that it was ending a corrective action that required the district to “make every effort” to keep commute times for students with disabilities to less than an hour. The state imposed the monitoring in fall 2022, after district leaders acknowledged that roughly 3,000 students with disabilities had longer bus trips than that, with 365 of those students on trips longer than 90 minutes. In its effort to comply with the state plan and deal with a bus driver shortage, the district cut busing for general education students at the start of last school year, and reserved seats for students with disabilities, as well students who are homeless — groups that are entitled to transportation under federal law. It offered free Ventra transit cards to general education students who would have previously been eligible for bus service, largely those attending selective enrollment and magnet programs. * Sun-Times | Center on Halsted launches website for its HIV hotline, renews push to get people to call in: The Center on Halsted is making a renewed push to get people connected to its HIV hotline by debuting a website alongside it. “We’re continuing to amplify that this resource is available,” said Joli Robinson, CEO of Center on Halsted, which has administered the hotline for more than three decades. * Tribune | ‘Titanique the Musical’ parody show is headed to Chicago: “Titanique the Musical,” a critically acclaimed and highly successful off-Broadway parody of the famous 1997 movie “Titanic,” 1990s pop culture and the song stylings of Céline Dion, is sailing to the Broadway Playhouse (175 E. Chestnut St.) for an eight-week run next spring, from March 25 to May 18, 2025. The campy, comedic attraction will appear on the subscription seasons of both Broadway in Chicago and Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago. This will be, in essence, a Porchlight production developed for Chicago. * Chicago Records | Bridgeport Records builds on its blowout opening weekend: Chicago’s newest independent vinyl shop, Bridgeport Records, opened its doors on July 12 at 3336 S. Halsted. The store is the brainchild of veteran deep-house DJ and producer Vick Lavender and former union leader Jerry Morrison, who’ve both spent decades in the house-music scene but connected for the first time only a few years ago. Lavender founded Sophisticado Recordings in the mid-2000s, and Morrison spent 22 years with the Service Employees International Union, where he played a major role building labor power in Illinois. * Daily Herald | How will suburbs respond to SCOTUS decision allowing cities to fine, arrest homeless people?: Arlington Heights officials are reviewing the Supreme Court’s decision, Village Manager Randall Recklaus said via email. In the past, police were called about people living in the parking garage located below the Arlington Town Square shopping center. In response, the village introduced an ordinance prohibiting “the use of village parking facilities for activities other than parking a vehicle or walking to and from that vehicle,” Recklaus wrote, adding that officers issue citations “when appropriate.” * WCIA | Newly released dispatch records detail confusion following shooting of Sonya Massey: James Wilburn spent days not knowing how his daughter Sonya Massey died. […] “I was under the impression that a prowler had broke in and killed my baby,” Wilburn said Monday. “Never did they say it was a deputy-involved shooting until my brother read it on the internet.” * WCIA | Sonya Massey’s family wasn’t immediately told her death was deputy-involved: Massey’s family is also calling for Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell to resign for hiring Grayson in the first place. State records obtained by WCIA show that Grayson worked at six different law enforcement agencies within a four-year period and that he has two misdemeanor DUIs in his background. County officials said they were aware of the DUIs due to required background checks but added that according to their knowledge, Grayson had not been terminated from any previous jobs. * SJ-R | Massey family meets with Pritzker; DOJ opens investigation into fatal shooting: The high-profile attorney who has been retained by the Massey family confirmed at a press conference at the Springfield NAACP Building that Massey’s mother and father and Massey’s two children were among those who met in private with Gov. JB Pritzker and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton on Tuesday. It was open “but emotional at times,” Crump admitted. […] Wilburn also pushed the governor, Crump said, to consider legislation that prevents law enforcement officers with blemishes on their records to be able to resign without having any findings and then go to the next law enforcement agency. * Capitol News Illinois | DOJ confirms it is ‘assessing the circumstances’ of Sonya Massey shooting: A spokesman for the Department of Justice issued a statement to Capitol News late Tuesday: “The Department of Justice is aware of and assessing the circumstances surrounding the tragic officer-involved death of Ms. Sonya Massey and extends condolences to her family and loved ones.” * WGLT | Bloomington pawn shops raided by Illinois Attorney General’s Office: “Investigators from the Illinois Attorney General’s organized retail crime task force executed a number of search warrants today as part of an ongoing investigation,” said AG Deputy Press Secretary April McLaren. […] The AG’s office declined further comment, including whether there are more business locations affected. McLaren only noted that there were a number of warrants in play.
* WCIA | Local filmmakers bring Central Illinois to movie screens: Central Illinois is working towards its Hollywood moment. One Danville filmmaker is ready to share his movie that features local actors and locations. He said they created this film independently and the mission was to keep it within the community. * EFfingham Daily News | 17th annual Effingham Artisan Fair provides oasis for area artists: In total, 35 artists participated in the fair which is five more than last year. This included both experienced and emerging artists. “I think this is one of the best years for novice artists that we’ve ever had,” said Kim Stanfield, one of the lead organizers of the event. * WaPo | Sunday was the hottest day ever recorded on Earth, scientists say: The results from the Copernicus Climate Change Service show the planet’s average temperature on July 21 was 17.09 degrees Celsius (62.76 degrees Fahrenheit) — breaking a record set only last year. The historic day comes on the heels of 13 straight months of unprecedented temperatures and the hottest year scientists have ever seen. * TND | FCC head seeks new protections against AI-generated robocalls: The head of the Federal Communications Commission wants to require callers to disclose their use of artificial intelligence. FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said it’s the latest effort from her agency to protect Americans from misleading uses of AI. “Bad actors are already using AI technology in robocalls to mislead consumers and misinform the public,” Rosenworcel said in a news release. “That’s why we want to put in place rules that empower consumers to avoid this junk and make informed decisions.”
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)
Wednesday, Jul 24, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Selected press releases (Live updates)
Wednesday, Jul 24, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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