* WBEZ public safety reporter Chip Mitchell…

BREAKING: @CCJLoyola reports on #Illinois’ Pretrial Fairness Act, which eliminated cash bail a year ago. Among findings, the percent of defendants detained at initial court hearings plummeted (see below), jail populations shrunk and crime didn't surge.https://t.co/1nvWC2TzYt pic.twitter.com/e4CPKATIzQ

— Chip Mitchell (@ChipMitchell1) September 23, 2024

* From the report…

Issues Raised. Prior to the PFA, in all counties observed, bond court hearings featured little individualized argumentation. Following PFA implementation, hearing argumentation was more varied and substantive. Both prosecution and defense raised a broader range of case-specific issues, there was more examination of the evidence and its weight, and the two sides were more likely to engage directly on a common set of factors acknowledged to be relevant to the detention/release decision.

Reasons for Decisions. Prior to the PFA, it was common practice for judges to issue bond decisions without citing any reasons for them: in the courts we observed, bond decisions were announced without articulated reasons between 49% and 88% of the time. After the PFA took effect, judges in the same four counties more often cited reasons for their decisions, and always in cases in which detention was at issue. And those reasons were more likely to relate to the facts and case characteristics raised by the parties.

* Illinois Municipal League…

The Illinois Municipal League (IML) elected new officers to lead the organization at its Annual Business Meeting, which was held on Saturday, September 21, as a part of the 111th IML Annual Conference at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.

IML membership unanimously elected Mayor Deborah Frank Feinen, City of Champaign, to serve a one-year term as President of the statewide association. Feinen has served on the IML Board of Directors as a Vice President since 2020.

“I am passionate about making a positive change not only for my community, but across the State of Illinois,” said Feinen. “It’s an honor to be elected as the Illinois Municipal League’s President, and I look forward to working with my colleagues as we continue to address the critical issues we face in our communities on a daily basis.”

Also elected during the IML Annual Business Meeting were Village President Sheila Chalmers-Currin, Village of Matteson, as First Vice President, and Mayor Gary W. Manier, City of Washington, as Second Vice President.

* Governor Pritzker…

Governor JB Pritzker announced today that the Illinois Department of Transportation has been awarded a combined $305.5 million in federal funding to invest in Interstate 290 (Eisenhower Expressway) as well as the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program’s 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project. Both projects will improve health, safety and quality of life for residents while creating jobs, enhancing mobility and modernizing the flow of goods, services and people throughout the region.

“Building on our progress with Rebuild Illinois, we’re working tirelessly in Illinois to fight for every federal infrastructure dollar so we can better serve people in every corner of our state,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “These federal MEGA Grants for the Illinois Department of Transportation will no doubt advance our mission to restore aging infrastructure and improve rail safety and efficiency for all.”

Made possible by the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s National Infrastructure Project Assistance (Mega) program, the funding is being awarded via competitive grants:

$209.9 million to rebuild track infrastructure, add tracks, fix or replace 14 aging bridges and viaducts as well as implement mobility improvements on local surface streets. The investment will help further one of the largest elements of the CREATE program, which includes Cook County, the city of Chicago and freight and passenger railroads as partners. The grant is the biggest in the history of the CREATE program.

$95.6 million to reconstruct portions of I-290, including upgrading the First Avenue interchange and adding signalized interchanges at Van Buren Street and Maybook Drive. Additional project elements include sanitary sewer upgrades along the expressway corridor.

*** Statehouse News ***

I grow increasingly weary of reporters advancing incorrect narratives bc they crave the clickbait of a headline with the words “Bears” and “stadium” in it. I truly beg the press corps to take @GovPritzker at his very consistent word on this issue. https://t.co/noXXp6hVTx

— Anne Caprara (@anacaprana) September 23, 2024

* She Votes Illinois | Mary Beth Canty, candidate for IL House of Representatives, District 54: She Votes Illinois is pleased to feature Mary Beth Canty, incumbent, running for IL House of Representatives, District 54. Follow our series, She Runs Illinois 2024!, leading up to election day as we showcase and uplift the voices of Illinois women running for public office in the upcoming election, November 5, 2024.

*** Statewide ***

* Tribune | Illinois rental assistance program restarted, with $75M available for renters and landlords: The new program follows a federally funded, statewide program that assisted tenants who were facing financial hardship tied to the COVID-19 pandemic and at risk of eviction. The federally funded program — which began in October 2022 and was funded through the 2021 federal American Rescue Plan Act — helped more than 10,500 landlords and renters in Illinois and stopped accepting applications in May as the funds were nearly exhausted.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Chicago’s longest-serving City Council member Ed Burke is in prison: Edward M. Burke, the onetime dean of the Chicago City Council and its longest-serving member, has surrendered to a federal prison to begin serving his two-year sentence for racketeering, bribery and attempted extortion, authorities have confirmed. Burke is in custody at a low-security facility in Thomson, Illinois, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

* WTTW | 6 Months Later, Officers Who Shot Dexter Reed Remain on Leave: Police Officials: While none of the officers who shot at Reed, who was hit 13 times, have returned to active duty, Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling has refused a call from Civilian Office of Police Accountability Chief Administrator Andrea Kersten to relieve them of their police powers. Snelling’s rejection of Kersten’s recommendation means the officers have continued to be paid by the city. Three of the officers earn more than $102,000 annually, while the fourth earns $93,000, according to a city database.

* WTTW | Tensions Between Mayor Johnson, CPS CEO Martinez Escalate Amid Questions About School Closures: Martinez had been scheduled to join WTTW News’ “Chicago Tonight” on Monday but declined to appear hours before the show was scheduled to air. Martinez reports to the Chicago Board of Education, whose members — all appointed by the mayor — have the power to terminate his contract.

* WTTW | Police Misconduct Agency Rejects Watchdog’s Demand to Reopen 5 Probes Closed During Push to Clear Backlog: In each of the five cases, Inspector General Deborah Witzburg informed Civilian Office of Police Accountability Chief Administrator Andrea Kersten that the agency known as COPA had erred when it closed those cases because they involved serious allegations of police misconduct that were not eligible to be closed as part of what COPA called its Timeliness Initiative.

* Press release | Supermajority of City Council sends letter to the mayor calling for improvements in Chicago’s extreme weather response plan: “We’ve lost too many people to weather extremes that we have the means to predict and prepare for,” said Ald. Vasquez, who authored the letter. “Last winter, someone died outside overnight, on the steps of a closed city warming center. I can’t think of a more urgent call to action than that.” The goals of the working group would be to bring together the Mayor’s Office, members of City Council, homeless outreach and shelter service providers, healthcare workers, and people with lived experience of homelessness to work toward sustainable, measurable solutions to the city’s current gaps.

* Block Club | Lakeview Residents ‘Trapped’ In Apartments As Elevator Issues Plague Affordable Housing Complex: In one instance, Ed Dubray, a top-floor resident who uses a wheelchair, had to call the Fire Department to be carried up five flights of stairs after getting stuck on the second floor when building management left for the day. “I’m trapped up here,” Dubray said. “I can’t get to the doctor. I can’t get my medicine. I can’t go to the store. They all act nice, but they don’t give a damn about us.”

* ABC Chicago | United Airlines gives students behind-the-scenes look at O’Hare Airport for Girls in Aviation Day: More than 50 middle and high school girls got a special behind-the-scenes view of what it is like to have a front-row seat in aviation. “I’m having a lot of fun. I’ve never been on a plane, for real,” said Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep senior Neambi Walker. “I’ve never been in such a nice little business class area. The seat goes back. We get shoes.”

* Block Club | Uptown People’s Law Center Leader Stepping Down After Decades Fighting For Prisoners’ Rights: This year, Mills is taking a step back in his role at the center for the first time since the ’90s, transitioning back to being a staff attorney after a decade as Uptown People’s Law Center’s executive director and a previous 23 years as its legal director. During his tenure, Mills has taken on legal battles for healthcare benefits for Appalachian miners who migrated to Uptown and for prisoners unjustly in solitary confinement. His work has even helped lead to the closure of one of Illinois’ most notorious prisons.

* Crain’s | Calumet Fisheries maintains tradition amid change in aftermath of a fire: Not much changed at the famous red-roofed restaurant in the subsequent 75 years, at least not until an electrical fire damaged the interior in 2023. The blaze forced Calumet Fisheries to close up shop for seven months as the team brought in new display cases, walk-in coolers, electrical and plumbing systems, and a fresh roof. It reopened in June to many locals’ relief. There was a brief moment after the fire when current co-owner Mark Kotlick, son of Sid Kotlick, considered closing up shop. “Do we take our insurance money and call it a day?” he recalled thinking. But his pause did not last long. Mark Kotlick knew he needed to stay open for both his longtime employees and the restaurant’s loyal customers.

* Tribune | After a treacherous, monthslong journey from Venezuela to Chicago, migrant amputee marries longtime love: ‘She’s my life. My everything.’: Pedron’s family currently lives in a shelter run by the state in Little Village. They are hoping to stay here by pleading asylum, and haven’t received permission to work legally yet. They’ve received some housing benefits from the state, but Pedron worries because he and his wife don’t have stable jobs. They need to find something affordable for their family of six.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Southtown | Ford Heights mayor convicted of embezzling village funds: Ford Heights Mayor Charles Griffin was convicted Monday of embezzling village funds, though he was not held accountable for stealing the full $147,000 prosecutors claimed. Cook County Judge James Obbish said Griffin is guilty of a felony in the embezzlement of between $10,000 and $100,000 in public funds “to benefit himself, his family and his friends” from 2014 to 2017, both during and after his first tenure as Ford Heights mayor.

* Tribune | To fend off potential state takeover, Evanston/Skokie District 65 may close schools, lay off staff: Robert Grossi, a financial consultant hired by the district, said the district is in danger of an Illinois State Board of Education takeover if the district does not find a way to balance its budget. The district has seen deficits of over $10 million in the last three school years due to increasing expenses and decreasing revenues, all as it prepares to build a school in Evanston’s Fifth Ward. Superintendent Angel Turner presented initial plans for an expense-cutting program to the Board of Education at its Board meeting last Monday. The plan’s specifics will be presented to the board in January 2025 by Grossi and the District’s chief financial officer.

* Shaw Local | McHenry cancels $2.8M land deal for scuttled plans for hotel, 500 apartments downtown: Second Ward Alderman Andy Glab asked that the final documents note that the Carey family asked for the contract’s termination, “not just that the city canceled it.” The wording was agreed upon by both sides, McArdle said, and any changes to the language would have to be approved by Carey representatives, but he added he would inform them of the request.

* AXIOS | Your guide to the Cook County State’s Attorney race: In Democratic stronghold Cook County, Republicans have held the seat only three times in the last 90 years, the last time being 1996. After a very close Democratic primary, Judge Eileen O’Neill Burke eked out a narrow win over former prosecutor Clayton Harris III, even though the County Democratic Party endorsed Harris.

* CBS Chicago | Kevin Bacon performs for inmates at Cook County Jail in Chicago: It’s part of a collaboration with Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart to bring art, music, and inspiration to those in custody. Bacon also took questions from the audience about his music and acting career. “I’m working on a TV show that’ll be out in the middle of the year,” he said. “I got a movie called — well, I don’t really know what it’s called. We’re still trying to find distribution for it, but you know, I’m still out there begging.”

* Aurora Beacon-News | Oswego OKs concept plans for nine-hole indoor golf course: ‘This is first on the Earth right in Oswego’: The 100-acre site west of Route 30 and north of Rance Road is currently in unincorporated Will County and would have to be annexed into Oswego and rezoned from agriculture to a regional business district, according to the proposal. Canada-based Megalodome Golf is proposing to build four 270,000-square-foot golf domes at the site. Three domes would contain a nine-hole golf course, while the fourth dome would be a practice facility, according to the plan.

*** Downstate ***

* WJBC | ISU selected as partner for Central Illinois regional simulation training hub by DCFS: The Illinois Department of Child and Family Services has selected Illinois State University as one of four regional training hubs when the university’s Child Protection Training Academy opens in early November. According to an ISU news release, the four-year $2.1 million grant was finalized back in June following months of planning. ISU says this partnership will support workforce development.

* SJ-R | Former Springfield police officer indicted on drug charges: A former Springfield police officer was indicted on drug charges. Clayton Hadley was indicted for possession of larger than legal amounts of marijuana as well as possession of testosterone. Deputies searched Hadley’s home on July 31 and found more than three pounds of marijuana along with multiple vials of suspected testosterone. Deputies also found roughly $5,000 in cash at Hadley’s home.

* Courier & Press | Evansville sports legend Clint Keown dies in Illinois car wreck: Clint Keown, who starred as an athlete at Memorial High School and the University of Evansville, died Sunday in a car wreck in Crawford County, Illinois. Crawford County Sheriff Bill Rutan told the Courier & Press that the investigation is ongoing, but he could confirm that it was a one-vehicle incident, and that the driver had died.

* Fox Illinois | Maroa-Forsyth’s Grant Smith commits to the University of Illinois: The Illini landed a new offensive weapon from Maroa-Forsyth this week when Grant Smith, the Troajn’s 6′5″ three-star tight end. The senior standout is just four games into his final Trojan campaign and already has 13 receptions for 225 yards and six touchdowns. His junior year saw a similar level of success, finding the endzone eight times with 535 yards and 30 receptions.

*** National ***

* AP | Americans Can Order Free COVID-19 Tests Beginning This Month: U.S. households will be able to order as many as four nasal swab tests at COVIDTests.gov when the federal program reopens. The U.S. Health and Human Services agency overseeing the program has not yet given an exact date when ordering can begin. An agency spokesperson has said the tests will detect current virus strains and can be ordered ahead of the holiday season, when families and friends gather for celebrations.