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Friday, Sep 13, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Friday, Sep 13, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Illinois Federation of Teachers president Dan Montgomery and Illinois Education Association president Al Lorens…

In our ever-evolving society, education stands as the cornerstone of progress and prosperity. Yet, despite recognizing its paramount importance, we find ourselves in a perpetual cycle of underfunding, which preserves the systemic challenges that hinder our students’ potential – and hits our Black, Brown, and low-income students the hardest. […]

Established in 2017, Illinois’ Evidence-Based Model (EBM) for K-12 education was designed to equitably and effectively distribute resources. However, it falls short of its promise; it is not expected to meet adequacy standards until 2040—13 years behind schedule.

Since adopting the EBM, Illinois has only provided the statutory minimum of about $350 million annually, leaving a funding gap of $2.3 billion. Amid record inflation and shrinking government grants, this funding is increasingly insufficient. […]

Under Illinois’ school funding formula, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is owed over $1 billion per year from the state to meet adequacy standards. Elgin schools would need $219 million to reach adequacy, Peoria School District 150 would need $55 million, Cahokia CUSD 187 would need $10.5 million, Mahomet-Seymour CUSD 3 would need $14.5 million, and Carterville CUSD 5 would need $10.1 million to reach adequacy. […]

This is a pivotal moment for our lawmakers, who have the opportunity to be real heroes for our students by rectifying these disparities. Our plea to the governor and legislators is clear: we cannot afford to wait decades for adequate funding. The urgency of the situation demands immediate action to break free from this cycle of underinvestment.

* Tribune…

As the end date of Greyhound’s lease at its downtown Chicago bus station approaches, the company has begun routing more buses through Gary, Indiana, a new analysis of bus schedules shows.

The changes suggest a proactive response to the potential closure of the downtown station, according to the report from DePaul University’s Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development.

The institute and advocates have been sounding the alarm about the possible closure of the downtown Chicago bus station for more than a year, saying such a move would have repercussions for low-income travelers, residents of communities without easy access to train or airline service, and others who rely on buses to travel between cities, as well as Chicago’s status as a transportation hub. […]

The institute’s latest report, based on an analysis of bus schedules, found changes that have seemingly made Gary a hub for bus service. The city has been added as a stop on several routes, in some cases adding miles and time, the analysis found. […]

Such a move could also be a loss for travelers, said Joseph Schwieterman, director of the Chaddick Institute. The Gary station has a waiting room in a hub that also serves public transit buses and the South Shore rail line, but it could still mean longer travel times for intercity bus riders, fewer amenities and less overall service because of limits on the bus lines that might choose to serve the station, Schwieterman said. If fewer bus lines and routes run to Gary, that could mean fewer available transfers and fewer available destinations.

* Tribune reporter Kori Rumore Finley has a fun thread on Friday the 13th…

*** La Schiazza Trial ***

* Capitol News Illinois | On witness stand, former AT&T lobbyist describes how Madigan ally got $22,500 contract: La Schiazza wrote that getting AT&T’s bill passed “should be simple.” “And if our consultants can’t sell that then we should find new ones..…this should be an easy lift,” his email said. “Just saying.” A few weeks later, when one of those same colleagues forwarded news to La Schiazza about the retirement of ComEd’s longtime top outside lobbyist, the AT&T boss wrote back that it was “huge news.” The lobbyist, Mike McClain, was well-known in Springfield to be close to powerful House Speaker Michael Madigan, and therefore more influential than most.

When they told him $2,500/month, Selcke says Acevedo "did not respond favorably. He was upset. Commented that he thought he deserved more money than that. And that he would basically reject the offer."

— Jon Seidel (@SeidelContent) September 13, 2024

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Facing defeat, Johnson pulls plug on Sigcho-Lopez as Zoning Committee chair: The Zoning Committee has been without a permanent chair for more than a year. It’s former chair, Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th), was forced to resign after being accused of bullying and intimidating his colleagues in an attempt to block a City Council vote on a non-binding resolution that would have allowed Chicago voters to weigh in on whether or not Chicago should remain a sanctuary city.

* Tribune | Mayor Johnson shifts course on Zoning chair, picks West Side moderate over progressive ally: The decision, confirmed by a top Johnson administration official Friday, marks a sharp change in course for Johnson, who for months had tried to put Southwest Side Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th, into the important position overseeing development. Sigcho-Lopez’s appointment faced strong opposition from council opponents who argued he would be too politically radical and hostile to developers. In Burnett, 27th, a mentee of former Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White who is the longest-serving alderman in the City Council and is currently Johnson’s vice mayor, aldermen said Friday they see a more acceptable pick.

* Tribune | City to announce phase one of plan to combine homeless and migrant shelter systems: The event, held from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at 2822 W. Jackson Blvd., culminates months-long discussions between city and state officials and non-profit leaders about how to turn the two systems into a unified shelter structure, dubbed the “One System Initiative.” Homeless advocates have long championed the move, saying it will better serve unhoused Chicagoans and recently arrived asylum seekers with wrap-around services: employment, food, and health care. Some have pointed out, however, that providers helping asylum seekers may be new to housing and homelessness, which could pose challenges.

* Block Club | Humboldt Park Tent Encampment Residents Will Get Housing By December, City Leaders Pledge: “In collaboration with Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office, the Department of Family Support Services, and Chief Homelessness Officer Sendy Soto, we seek to house ALL tent encampment residents and help them move out of the park by December 2024,” Fuentes wrote in her newsletter. People in the park will be connected to 60 apartments later this month through Chicago Rents. The program is organized by All Chicago and aims to end homelessness by working with private property owners who volunteer their units to house people. The program launched in 2020 and has been expanding its reach to the Northwest, North and West sides within the last year as more landlords offer up their apartments, organizers said.

* Sun-Times | Mixed immigration status families around Chicago hope Biden’s ‘parole in place’ plan survives legal challenge: A program announced this summer by President Biden would let undocumented immigrants married to U.S. citizens remain in the country while trying to adjust their immigration status. But a legal challenge halted the program until at least Sept. 23.

* Sun-Times | ‘Three Senators’ mural celebrates Illinois’ Obama, Braun and Burris — all from the South Side: Installed in Mahalia’s Mile in Chatham, the mural by Mike Stidham features the state’s three Black U.S. senators and many other famous Chicagoans, landmarks and symbols, encouraging passersby to pause for a treasure hunt.

* WBEZ | Welcome to the CTA bus ‘rodeo’: The history of the bus roadeo in Chicago goes back to the early 1980s. Since then, the annual event has grown to include competitions in mechanical, janitorial and other categories as part of a larger CTA transit “jamboree.” After going on hiatus starting in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the jamboree returned earlier this month. We attended the fete and spoke with competitors, fans and event organizers about the history of the competition and what it means to them.

* The Athletic | Hawk Harrelson spent 3 decades calling the White Sox. Now he can’t stand to watch: “This team has no presence. After the pregame show is on, I basically watch part of the first inning to see if they get any presence. They don’t have a presence,” Harrelson told The Athletic in a phone interview this week, one of the few times he has spoken publicly this season.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* The Triibe | Family seeking answers about death of Chicagoland truck driver Javion Magee: One family is seeking answers from authorities about their son, Javion Magee, a 21-year-old truck driver from the Chicagoland area who was found hanging from a tree in Henderson, North Carolina. […] The case is under investigation.

* Naperville Sun | Naperville City Council to vote on $25.5 million settlement resolving federal civil rights lawsuit over wrongful conviction: With the six-page settlement, plaintiff Jeanne Olson — representing the estate of Amor, who died in 2023 — would agree to accept $25.5 million from the city “to resolve all allegations and claims,” the proposed agreement reads. To pay out the settlement, the city has $18 million in applicable insurance coverage, according to an agenda report for Tuesday’s meeting. The remaining $7.5 million would be accommodated as a one-time payment from the city’s self-insurance fund. The council is also scheduled to vote on a budget amendment Tuesday that would allow for the one-time payment.

* Daily Southtown | Dolton firefighters secure contract, trustees put temporary halt to travel by officials: The labor pact was announced Thursday at a special Village Board meeting, where four trustees who have battled Mayor Tiffany Henyard were joined by a fifth trustee who has been a staunch ally of the mayor. Trustees voted to put a temporary freeze on travel by village elected officials to curb costs, and said they hope to have a new village budget hashed out in about a month, although they warned job cuts are a real possibility.

*** Downstate ***

* WCIA | Illinois State Police Trooper returns to duty after being shot during traffic stop: The ISP trooper who was shot and injured in October of 2023 is back at work, with full duty status, according to Illinois State Police. Trooper Dakota Chapman-Green is back working for Illinois State Police sinceCristobal Santana is accused of shooting Trooper Chapman-Green during a traffic stop in Springfield.

* SJ-R | After two years of enrollment increases, here’s where UIS stands for 2024-25: Enrollment numbers at the University of Illinois Springfield held steady for the fall semester officials announced Wednesday, after the school had two years of increased numbers. A total of 4,628 students were enrolled at the 10-day count, compared to 4,661 students last year, a less than 1% dip, though the number of new first-year freshmen, first-time transfer students and online students all increased.

* WCIA | ‘I feel like he’s still helping me’: Former Danville mayor’s $100,000 legacy: For more than 40 years, Bob Jones owned and operated the Dairy Queen on Main Street in Danville. Although the former mayor died seven months ago, his legacy continues to live on helping employees going from serving ice cream to sitting in classrooms at Danville Area Community College. “He would also talk to his employees about attending DACC and how they can come here and get financial help,” DACC Foundation Executive Director Tonya Hill said.

* Smile Politely | Carle Illinois student team developing “space suit” to protect babies from radiation: Developed by primarily by CI Med student Annie Tigranyan, alongside fellow CI Med students Debora Nya and Madeline Minneci, and U of I chemical engineering student Katherine Park, the suit is meant to reduce the exposure in children in the NICU as some are subjected to dozens of x-ray screenings. Reducing the amount of radiation each baby receives is ultimately the goal, and the suit would be able to be worn in order to do just that.

*** National ***

* NYT | Jon Bon Jovi Helps Woman Off Ledge of Bridge: In a video released by the police, Mr. Bon Jovi and another person, whom other news outlets have identified as a production assistant, slowly approach the woman, who is on the edge of the bridge, facing outward, on the far side of a railing. They are seen speaking to her for a minute or so, before she turns around to face them, and they lift her over the railing to safety. Mr. Bon Jovi then hugs the woman and the three walk together along the bridge, attended by law enforcement officials. The woman was taken to a hospital for evaluation, the police told CNN.

* CNN | America’s stores are winning the war on shoplifting: At first, retailers underestimated how much merchandise they were losing. When they adjusted their metrics to compensate, they overestimated their original losses in some cases. Stores have also added ways to prevent theft, which may have been effective at reducing the problem, even if they frustrated shoppers. Companies locked up products and removed self-checkout stations.

* ProPublica | The NYPD Is Tossing Out Hundreds of Misconduct Cases — Including Stop-and-Frisks — Without Even Looking at Them: In one instance, an officer punched a man in the groin, the oversight agency found. In another, an officer unjustifiably tackled a young man, and then another officer wrongly stopped and searched him, according to the CCRB. The incident involving the young man was one of dozens of stop-and-frisk complaints the NYPD dismissed without review this year — a significant development given that the department is still under federal monitoring that a court imposed more than a decade ago over the controversial tactic.

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‘Preliminary data’ released on Pretrial Fairness Act

Friday, Sep 13, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Amanda Vinicky at WTTW…

According to new preliminary data from the Loyola Center for Criminal Justice, shared with Chicago journalists Wednesday during a summit organized by advocates with the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice, crime has not gone up in Illinois since the Pretrial Fairness Act was implemented.

Loyola’s David Olson compared the first six months of last year with this year, and found property and violent crime down both statewide and in Cook County.

“We’re not saying that the Pretrial Fairness Act reduced crime,” Olson said. “We’re also not saying that the drop in crime might not have been larger (had the law not been in effect). But this is at least to put out that crime has not gone up.”

He also shared data that showed jail population decreases of 14% in Cook County, 14% in other urban counties and 25% in rural counties.

Olson found that in the 77 counties working through the state’s pretrial services office, when someone was arrested on a detainable offense, prosecutors did not ask judges for jail time in 43% of cases. Another 36% of nearly 9,000 cases for detention-eligible crimes resulted in detention, and in 22% of cases, prosecutors’ bid to detain an individual got rejected.

Those 77 counties do not include Cook and most of the collar counties. Click here and scroll down for the map.

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ADM leak a ‘wake-up call’ (Updated)

Friday, Sep 13, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* E&E News…

EPA has issued a violation notice to the operator of the country’s first carbon dioxide injection wells for permanent storage, alleging that the company hasn’t complied with its federal permit.

Agribusiness company Archer-Daniels-Midland — also known as ADM — operates a facility in Decatur, Illinois, that injects CO2 into deep rock formations for geologic storage. In a three-page notice, EPA said the company conducted activity that allowed injection and formation fluids into “unauthorized zones,” failed to follow an emergency response and remediation plan and did not “monitor the well in accordance with the Permit.”

EPA declined to go into detail about the violation notice, citing it as an “active enforcement matter.” But ADM said it relates to the corrosion of a monitoring well and not its CO2 injection well, which is still operating.

In March, “we detected some corrosion in a section of one of two deep monitoring wells at approximately 5,000 feet and below,” ADM spokesperson Jackie Anderson told POLITICO’s E&E News in a statement. That corrosion allowed CO2 and formation fluid to migrate into a formation where those liquids weren’t permitted to go, she said.

* From the violation notice…

Based on EPA’s inspection, review of the wells and the Permit, and review of monitoring reports submitted by you for monitoring periods from January 1, 2022, to July 1, 2024, you failed to meet the requirements of the Permit and the UIC regulations in the following ways:

• Construction, operation, maintenance, plugging, or conducting any other injection activity in a manner that allows the movement of injection and formation fluids into any unauthorized zones.
• Failure to follow the Emergency Response and Remediation Plan in accordance with the Permit;
• Failure to monitor the well in accordance with the Permit;

* Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition…

On Friday, September 13, E&E News reported that corrosion in one of Archer-Daniels-Midland Co.’s (ADM) carbon sequestration wells in Decatur, Illinois, allowed carbon dioxide (CO2) to leak. One month prior on August 14, the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) filed a Notice of Violation to ADM related to the company’s Class VI underground injection well facility, alleging that ADM failed to comply with federal regulations and the terms and conditions of its permit.

The Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition worked closely with Governor Pritzker and his administration, Senator Laura Fine, Representative Ann Williams, and industry stakeholders in the spring legislative session to pass a Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) protections law that ensures Illinois communities and our land and water are protected from the risks associated with new CCS projects. Bolstered by new federal taxpayer incentives, there are 22 pending applications for new CO2 injection wells in Illinois.

In response, the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition released the following statement:

“This incident demonstrates how important strict CCS regulations are to protect our communities and environment, and is exactly why we passed the CCS protections act in Illinois this year. There are significant risks at every step of the CCS process, and it’s not a matter of if carbon sequestration facilities leak, but rather when.

“Neither ADM nor the USEPA have released any details about the nature of the leak or its impacts on the local community, groundwater, or the environment, and we are anxious to learn more. This is why we fought for more rigorous public notification requirements, emergency response planning, site monitoring, and to require that sequestration site operators are legally and financially responsible for sequestration sites in the CCS Protections Act. The total lack of public notification of the leak in the month following the agency’s alleged notice of violation to ADM is unacceptable and dangerous.

“When CCS protections passed this spring, we made clear that the fight to protect our communities, land, water, and climate, from the risks associated with every step of the CCS process was not over, and that these protections would likely need to be updated and strengthened as we learned more about these projects. There are real concerns from many legislators, community partners, and Illinoisans who rely on public drinking water about the need for even stronger protections, and this incident shows that these concerns need to be taken seriously to ensure Illinoisians are protected to the fullest extent possible.”

* Protect The Mahomet Aquifer campaign…

A recent leak at Archer Daniels Midland’s carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) facility underscores concerns for the safety of the Mahomet Aquifer, a critical drinking water source for nearly one million people across 14 counties in Central Illinois.

The leak, reported by E&E News to have occurred at ADM’s ethanol plant near Decatur, has raised fears about the long-term safety and viability of carbon storage in the region. ADM began sequestering CO2 on its site in 2011, and has injected and stored about 4.5 MMT CO2 over the past 13 years. The leak occurred about five miles outside of the Mahomet Aquifer.

This leak spotlights the risk to the Mahomet Aquifer if carbon sequestration is not banned through or under the aquifer.

This week, Sen. Paul Faraci (D-Champaign) and Rep. Carol Ammons (D-Urbana) introduced legislation that “would prohibit carbon sequestration activity over, under or through a sole-source aquifer.” The bills will be considered during the November veto session and HB5874 is already available on ilga.gov.

“This leak is a wake-up call. It’s a stark reminder that carbon capture is not the climate solution it’s sold as, but a dangerous gamble with our drinking water,” said Pam Richart, co-director of Eco-Justice Collaborative.

The Mahomet Aquifer was designated a sole source aquifer by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2015, meaning that contamination would create a significant public health hazard with no feasible alternative drinking water source available to the region.

“The proposals for storing CO2 under the Mahomet Aquifer and its recharge areas now under review by the U.S. EPA are over 50 times that already sequestered by ADM, and this could be just the beginning,” Richart said. “The Mahomet Aquifer, which sustains nearly a million people in Central Illinois, cannot afford to be put at risk by experimental technologies like carbon capture and storage. ”

“We applaud Senator Faraci, Representative Ammons, Senator Rose and Representative Schweizer for taking action to protect the Mahomet Aquifer. This incident demonstrates why a ban is the only way we can be certain that the Mahomet Aquifer will be protected,” said Andrew Rehn, Director of Climate Policy at Prairie Rivers Network. “We need clean water forever, and to do that, we must take action now to protect the Mahomet Aquifer before it’s too late.”

The U.S. EPA is reviewing several carbon sequestration projects across Central Illinois. Three of the projects aim to inject carbon through the Mahomet Aquifer and store it underground, potentially exposing the water supply to contamination from carbonic acid and harmful heavy metals.

The push for a legislative ban aligns with growing public sentiment against CCS projects. A recent poll conducted by Embold Research found that 71% of Illinois registered voters oppose carbon sequestration under the Mahomet Aquifer, citing fears of water contamination and the unproven safety of the technology.

ADM has received more than $281 million in federal funding for carbon capture and storage projects since 2009, in addition to tens of millions of dollars in tax credits.

Earlier this year, Governor JB Pritzker signed Senate Bill 1289 to regulate carbon capture and storage in Illinois. The law requires corporations to provide an alternative drinking source if it becomes contaminated by a leak. But there is one critical gap that wasn’t addressed in the legislation — sole source aquifers like the Mahomet. The sole source designation means that there is no reasonably available alternative drinking water source for users of the Mahomet Aquifer. Therefore, no company would be able to provide an alternate source.

The Protect The Mahomet Aquifer campaign is urging citizens to contact their local legislators and demand that the proposed legislation to ban CCS projects under the aquifer be passed without delay.

…Adding… Sen. Chapin Rose…

State Senator Chapin Rose released the following statement regarding the reported leak of a carbon sequestration well operated by ADM in Decatur:

“This is exactly what I was sounding the alarm about back in May when Democrats were ramming through their supposedly ‘green’ Carbon Sequestration bill. This is exactly why that bill should not have passed, why Governor Pritzker should never have signed that bill. Because it leaves the Mahomet Aquifer exposed to this exact danger. And this is why my legislation, Senate Bill 3963, which would protect the aquifer from CO2 injection, needs to be passed immediately.”

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Today’s must-read

Friday, Sep 13, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Background is here if you need it. In These Times reporter Sarah Lazare spoke with people dependent on Belivdere’s Stellantis plant reopening…

While they are at the center of a brewing nationwide fight, Belvidere workers face limbo in their personal lives. Simms, who is 47, has been at the plant since 1999 and is just five years from retirement. But while out of work she’s unable to accumulate credits for her pension, and if she were to retire before her 30-year mark, this benefit would be significantly reduced. So she is forced to wait until there is a job to work. She went into this industry, she says, expecting to do “30 and out.”

This built-in limit is important, she explains, because assembly line work is hard on your body. Most recently, she worked in the chassis department, where she put the big parts of the vehicle model together. “When you’re in a factory building a car every 48 seconds, it takes a toll on your knees, shoulders, everything,” she says. “Some of the guns torque really hard, that’s stress on shoulders, elbows. You’re on your feet most of the day.”

Simms is one of 815 laid-off members of the local receiving health coverage (but not dental) and Supplemental Unemployment Benefit (SUB) pay, which supplements her unemployment benefits so that she’s bringing in roughly 74% of her previous salary at 40 hours a week, not accounting for lost overtime pay, cost of living adjustments or raises. (Under the contract, workers who receive this are technically coded to “temporarily” laid off.) This benefit, secured in the contract, is helpful, she says, but her current job instability — and that of her ex-husband, also a laid-off Stellantis worker — has already impacted their family.

Before the plant idled, her daughter had been looking at colleges as far away as Texas. But instead she decided to go to a community college in nearby Freeport so that she could “take care of” her younger brother, then a sophomore in high school, in the event their parents had to transfer to a different plant. […]

For some, the devastation was immediate — and extreme. Kristin Smith is the director of the B1 Food Pantry in Belvidere, which distributes food every Thursday from a local church. When I met her at the pantry, she explained that her own son worked for a Stellantis supplier before he lost his job, though he has since found new work.

She says that when the plant closed, new faces arrived at the food pantry from the auto industry. The need level is high. When I showed up at 2:30 p.m., they had just run out of food for the day. “Today, we served 526 families, but we could have served 200 more,” Smith says. “The need is bigger than ever.”

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It’s just a bill

Friday, Sep 13, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* WGLT…

A bill that’s pending in the Illinois Senate and backed by dozens of Central Illinois surgeons is aimed specifically at that latter part: Ensuring that surgical technicians, the right hand of surgeons in the operating room, come from accredited education programs and are nationally certified.

“What is happening is that there are hospitals… who are offering ‘on-the-job’ training and online programs and there is no formal education behind it,” said Melissa Jensen, a surgical technician and Illinois State Assembly board member. “Then, these individuals are getting placed in the OR [operating room], which is a very dangerous, important job.”

The Illinois State Assembly is a professional organization representing surgical technicians across the state, one of 50 similar organizations in the country. It’s also one of several organizations championing Senate Bill 2653, introduced in January, which would require hospitals to hire surgical technicians that have graduated from accredited education programs and have passed a national certifying exam. […]

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an average of about 8,600 surgical technologists and assistants will open each year over the next decade. Filling them will be the challenge, which is why the Illinois Health and Hospital Association [IHA], an advocacy and membership group for hospitals, said in a statement it opposes the legislation.

“IHA and the hospital community are concerned that SB 2653 increases the regulatory burden on Illinois hospitals and unnecessarily restricts pathways to certification for surgical technologists, which will exacerbate the healthcare worker shortage that plagues Illinois hospitals and presents significant challenges to maintaining health services in communities across Illinois,” the organization said.

* Tribune…

The recent fatal stabbing of a 2-year-old Joliet boy, allegedly at the hands of his 6-year-old brother, has bolstered calls to amend how Illinois’ criminal code handles young children. […]

The 6-year-old boy could be charged with murder because Illinois is one of 24 states without a minimum age for criminal responsibility. […]

A growing body of research on child development supports [Lisa Jacobs’, a law professor at Loyola University Chicago] doubts. Clinical psychologist and attorney Eugene Griffin told the Tribune that the abstract thinking required to conceptualize death and understand what it means to plead guilty doesn’t develop in the average person until age 12. Meanwhile, the area of the brain responsible for decision-making, impulse control and emotional regulation isn’t fully developed until at least 26, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. […]

Shortly after, Griffin was appointed to evaluate his mental fitness to stand trial. The clinical psychologist ultimately found the boy, who was 10 by that time, unfit to stand trial.

Griffin, however, said Illinois’ fitness test is inadequate for assessing children. It is the same test used for adults and has a strong focus on mental illness and intellectual disabilities. Griffin is part of a coalition advocating for a separate fitness standard for minors that considers developmental maturity and traumatic stress.

The bill the coalition has proposed would also limit how many times a child can be evaluated for mental fitness based on the severity of their crime. Currently, any child can be reevaluated every year until they are 21. The boy accused of the 2019 killings and fire was last evaluated in March 2023. He was 13 and living with his grandparents. The case is still ongoing, according to his lawyer, Peter Dluski.

After passing the House 71-38 in 2023, HB1294 was referred to Senate Assignments and has not moved.

* WGLT…

Champaign-Urbana area lawmakers want legislation to ban carbon capture near the Mahomet Aquifer, the massive underground water flow that supplies nearly a million people with drinking water in Central Illinois.

Democratic State Sen. Paul Faraci and Democratic State Rep. Carol Ammons said they will introduce measures preventing carbon dioxide sequestration wells in 14 counties, including McLean. Those wells are supposed to help reduce greenhouse gasses and address climate change.

“This aquifer serves over 100 communities, businesses, industry, and farmers throughout Central Illinois. It is vital to our economy and well being. We need to ban sequestration activities in order to protect the Mahomet Aquifer from contamination in perpetuity,” said Pam Richart, co-director of the advocacy group Eco-Justice Collaborative. […]

“We must protect our water from corporate interests that prioritize profits over people,” said Ammons. “I fought for the sole source designation in 2015, and I’m standing up again to protect our Mahomet Aquifer, which supplies millions of gallons of water daily to our Central Illinois communities.” […]

Ammons and Faraci said the legislation could be introduced as early as next month’s fall veto session of the Illinois General Assembly.

* Cooley…

On August 31, 2024, the California Legislature passed Senate Bill 219, approving certain technical amendments to the climate disclosure requirements under Senate Bill 253 (greenhouse gas, or GHG, emissions) and Senate Bill 261 (climate risk), the most notable of which gave the California Air and Resources Board (CARB) an additional six months (until July 1, 2025) to issue implementing regulations for SB 253, but left the reporting deadlines in both laws unchanged. Covered entities now have greater certainty around timing and when to expect implementation guidance, but will have to wait longer for the substantive regulations themselves. […]

HB 4268, first read in the Illinois Legislature in January 2024, closely tracks the requirements of California’s SB 253. Known as the Climate Corporate Accountability Act, HB 4268 requires public and private US companies doing business in Illinois with greater than $1 billion in total annual revenue to annually disclose and verify Scopes 1 and 2 emissions for the prior calendar year starting on January 1, 2025. Under HB 4268, Scope 3 emissions reporting would be due no later than 180 days after Scopes 1 and 2 emissions are disclosed. The bill also provides that the secretary of state will contract with an emissions registry to develop and adopt rules related to the implementation, timing and oversight of the bill’s reporting requirements.

HB 4268 was referred to the Illinois House Rules Committee on January 16, 2024, but so far has not received consideration by any policy committee. Illinois’s General Assembly is now in recess and will reconvene in November 2024, but there is currently no indication that the bill will be taken up for consideration at that time.

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Open thread

Friday, Sep 13, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Happy Friday! What’s going on?

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Isabel’s morning briefing

Friday, Sep 13, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: The latest in the La Schiazza trial…

* Tribune | ‘Is there even a small contract for Eddie Acevedo?’: Jury sees emails from Madigan confidant asking AT&T to pay former state rep: “Eddie tended to go out in the evenings in Springfield after session and on occasion would have too much to drink,” testified Stephen Selcke, who worked for years as one of AT&T’s top internal lobbyists. “And when he drank too much, he could get belligerent and, to a degree, a little loose-lipped.” But it turned out Acevedo had something going for him that trumped even his more unpleasant attributes. He had Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan in his corner.

* Sun-Times | No job at AT&T for ‘loose-lipped’ Madigan ally — until exec ‘got a call,’ jurors hear: The push came when the utility was trying to pass crucial legislation. Selcke said he believed the request came from a Springfield insider named Michael McClain. And Selcke explained to a jury Thursday why the contract for Acevedo was likely so important to La Schiazza. “My impression was that Mr. McClain was advancing a request to [La Schiazza] after a presumed discussion that he had had with Speaker [Michael] Madigan,” Selcke testified.

If you want live updates from the trial, we’ve added a link to the live coverage post.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Tribune | Nostalgia and pride: The Chicago history of celebrating Mexican Independence Day by caravan: The event commemorated the cry of the Mexican people to rise against the Spaniards. It was the heart of the celebration for the growing population in Chicago and nearby cities. “It was a beautiful and heartfelt celebration even though there weren’t very many of us yet,” said Teresa Fraga, now the president of the Mexican Cultural Committee of Chicago.

* WAND | Treasurer Frerichs introducing lower fees, mobile app for Bright Start 529 program: Illinois families participating in the Bright Start college savings program will soon have lower fees and easier access to their investments. Treasurer Michael Frerichs announced Thursday that he is preparing to launch a new mobile app to help people prepare for their future college students. The Bright Start 529 is already among one of the lowest-cost savings programs in the country. Although, Frerichs said he wants to make it even better.

*** Statewide ***

* WGEM | Illinois Treasurer announces changes to Bright Start College Savings Program: Frerichs said the change will lead to lower management fees and give people more investment options. Bright Start will also be launching a mobile app for people to track their savings. “We’re proud of the progress that Bright Start has made over the past nine years but we’re not finished,” Frerichs said. “I want Illinois families to have the absolute best 529 program in the country.”

* WTTW | Illinois Child Care Advocates Say Higher Wages Needed to Overcome Staffing Shortage: The state has plans to invest in Smart Start compensation grants and the Illinois Department of Human Services has allocated federal COVID-19 funding, which officials say needs to be allocated by the end of this year and spent by the end of 2026. The lack of those federal dollars could add to the already growing crisis.

*** Chicago ***

* WTTW | Dirksen Courthouse Juror Kitchen, Public Cafeteria Tested Positive for High Legionella Levels; CDC Says Building Has Widespread Problem: WTTW News obtained information showing positive results for legionella bacteria across dozens of tests in 2023 and 2024. While many of those tests merely showed reportable levels of legionella, some found fixtures with potentially dangerous levels of the bacteria — including in a kitchen used by jurors and in the building’s cafeteria, which is open to the public. The fixture in the juror kitchen was found to be contaminated last year, while two cafeteria fixtures tested positive as recently as July.

* Sun-Times | Mayoral aide who called cops ‘f—ing pigs’ now accused of antisemitism: Ald. Debra Silverstein, the City Council’s only Jewish member, said two days after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, Kennedy Bartley tweeted, “From the river to the sea. Palestine will be free. Amen!” Four months later, Silverstein said, Bartley jeered her during Council debate on a Gaza cease-fire resolution.

* Tribune | Aldermen call on Mayor Johnson aide to resign over social media post, police comment: Ald. Matt O’Shea, 19th, said Bartley’s X post will renew concerns over the judgment of Johnson’s leadership team, given that it came weeks before Israel’s full invasion of Gaza on Oct. 27. “This is disgusting that someone could comment on social media about such a vicious, brutal attack of innocent people,” O’Shea, Johnson’s handpicked chair of the Aviation Committee, said, questioning “how this administration could not have known about this from a high-ranking member on their own social media account less than a year ago. This individual is not suited for leadership in government.”

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Fox Chicago | Dolton trustees meet without Mayor Henyard, address layoffs and budget issues: House also noted that the village must [Trustee Jason House] a new bank after Henyard allegedly refused to sign numerous checks totaling millions of dollars. House stepped in to sign them, but said Henyard disapproved. “The mayor’s office was disappointed in that they contacted our bank claiming false, false signatures on the bank account so the bank essentially said we are not playing this game we are tired of it and gave us a 60 day notice,” House said.

* WGN | With Henyard absent, an ally and trustee joins village board to help tackle fiscal issues: In the wake of WGN Investigates extensive reporting on Henyard and her allies’ lavish travel on taxpayer dimes – the trustees voted to approve a moratorium on reimbursing the travel for elected officials and employees. “Taking these trips to all of these conferences and bringing back absolutely nothing means you’re just taking trips on the taxpayers dime,” said Kiana Belcher.

* Tribune | Convicted ex-US Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. pushing for presidential pardon with help from suburban mayors: Jackson, who served about 17 months in federal prison after pleading guilty in 2013 to conspiring to defraud his campaign fund of roughly $750,000, has enlisted the help of south suburban mayors from his former congressional district and also put out a general call on his Facebook page for others to write letters of support to Biden. […] That was the same day NBC News reported nine south suburban mayors had sent a letter to the White House requesting Jackson be pardoned. Jackson shared the NBC story and a copy of the letter in one of his posts that day on Facebook. But neither Jackson, who served in Congress from 1995 until he resigned amid burgeoning controversies in 2012, nor the NBC story mentioned the letter was drafted with Jackson’s involvement and at his request.

* Daily Herald | ‘A lot of people have an interest in it’: What could be Lake County’s single largest road project advances: Untangling congestion centered in the Hawthorn Woods/Lake Zurich area along Old McHenry Road has been considered for years. Doing that will involve a railroad underpass and related improvements for what could be the single largest road project ever undertaken by Lake County.

* Action Network | IIlinois Gaming Board Renews Rivers Casino’s License: Rivers Casino, located in Des Plaines near O’Hare International Airport, is the top revenue generator among Illinois’ 15 casinos in operation, having reported $346.2 million in winnings through the first eight months of the year. That has resulted in $103.9 million in state and local tax revenue.

* Rock River Current | Hard Rock’s August Numbers Illustrate High Interest In Casino’s Rockford Debut: The casino had 57,047 admissions in August, according to data released this week by the Illinois Gaming Board. The most monthly admissions Hard Rock has had since opening its interim casino nearly three years ago was 58,379 in March. Specific grand-opening weekend numbers haven’t been released. The data comes from the gaming board’s regular monthly reporting.

* Daily Herald | Cook County leaders ponder future of programs begun with ARPA funds: Cook County received $1 billion in American Rescue Plan Act funds in 2021. After distributing $800 million of those ARPA funds to 73 community programs and spending nearly $200 million on county operations, county leaders are looking for input to determine which programs should continue and how to sustain them as originally funding dries up. Today is the last day for people to submit their thoughts to the Community Voices Survey about prioritizing potential future funding.

* Daily Herald | Why Des Plaines might change ambulance rates: The city council may switch to a federally subsidized system that would increase the city’s revenue without increasing most customers’ costs. The program’s fee for a participating fire department is determined annually by the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, based on a cost report that includes the department’s budget for ambulance service. The subsidized system’s current rate for Des Plaines would be about $2,647 for advanced life support service and about $2,756 for basic life support service, documents indicate.

* ABC Chicago | Teacher allegedly calls Elgin middle school student racial slur; mother sues district: Amica Richardson said last year her then-11-year-old daughter was verbally abused by her math teacher who called her a racial slur. “She walked into the classroom, and the teacher immediately got into her face, and saying, ‘What should you be called? What should I address you as? The N word or Black?” Richardson told media on Thursday.

* Tribune | FDA calls out AbbVie over ‘misleading’ commercial featuring Serena Williams: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is taking North Chicago-based drugmaker AbbVie to task, warning in a recent letter that a migraine medication commercial featuring Serena Williams is “misleading.” The television commercial shows Williams in a talk show dressing room, appearing to experience migraine pain, closing her eyes and holding a hand up to her head. She then starts walking and a logo for the AbbVie medication Ubrelvy appears in a backstage hallway. Williams’ face relaxes and she holds up a single dose packet of Ubrelvy. She then says: “With Ubrelvy, there’s another option. One dose works fast to eliminate migraine pain.” She’s then shown in the dressing room laughing and smiling. The problem, the FDA says, is that a dose of Ubrelvy has not been shown in clinical trials to work immediately or for all patients.

*** Downstate ***

* WICS | School district to discipline rumor spreaders disrupting Jacksonville Middle School: Jacksonville School District 117 Superintendent Steve Ptacek sent a letter to parents regarding rumors of threats at Jacksonville Middle School: […] Here are the facts. A student did make a statement today after school, in anger, to a group of students that they needed to back off because he has a gun. The police are involved. They did a threat assessment of the student. It was determined that he does not have weapons and doesn’t have access to weapons in the home. Regardless, this student will face serious disciplinary consequences for his statement and for the disruption he is causing.

* WCIA | Springfield bridge to be renamed, decorated with mural to honor Sonya Massey: A bridge in Springfield may be dedicated to Sonya Massey, thanks to the support of the Springfield City Council. The pedestrian bridge over Clearlake Avenue and Jefferson Street has already been painted with a mural by Alex Wells, and now city leaders are working to add more murals on the bridge to remember her and officially designate the bridge as Massey Memorial Bridge.

* WIFR | Rockford’s ‘Go Team’ launches at The Music Box: At Thursday night’s launch party at The Music Box in Rockford, dozens of the community’s movers and shakers learned what they could do to become a ‘first friend’ to people who just moved to the area and really make the newcomers feel at home. ‘Go Team’ members will lead tours of the Rockford area and become a resource to those committed to making the stateline their new permanent residence.

*** National ***

* Washington Times | DHS designates Electoral College vote count as special national security event: The move comes in response to the 2021 count, which saw a mob storm the Capitol to try to head off the count that certified President Biden as the winner over former President Donald Trump. The vote counting joins other major events such as the national nominating conventions, presidential inaugurations and the president’s annual State of the Union address.

* AP | Boeing factory workers go on strike after rejecting contract offer: The strike started at 12:01 a.m. PDT, less than three hours after the local branch of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers announced 94.6% of voting workers rejected the proposed contract and 96% approved the work stoppage, easily surpassing a two-thirds requirement. The labor action involves 33,000 Boeing machinists, most of them in Washington state, and is expected to shut down production of the company’s best-selling airline planes. The strike will not affect commercial flights but represents another setback for the aerospace giant, whose reputation and finances have been battered by manufacturing problems and multiple federal investigations this year.

* Press release | AG Raoul calls for DOJ investigation into Texas raids targeting Latino candidates and campaign volunteers: In the letter, Raoul and the coalition argue the Texas attorney general’s office sought to intimidate voters of color by conducting raids and seizing the property of organizers and Latino candidates. Raoul and the coalition are calling on the DOJ to investigate the Texas raids to determine whether they constitute violations of civil rights, including the right to vote. There has never been evidence of widespread voter fraud anywhere in the United States, and by conducting the Aug. 20 raids to search the homes of Latino candidates and voting rights activists, Raoul and the coalition argue the Texas attorney general’s office is perpetuating a racist, baseless claim in order to intimidate voters of color.

* News Guard | Triple Hearsay: Original Sources of the Claim that Haitians Eat Pets in Ohio Admit No First-Hand Knowledge: NewsGuard identified and tracked down the two people central to the claim: Erika Lee, the Springfield resident who wrote the original Facebook post, and Kimberly Newton, the neighbor who had provided her with a third-hand account of the rumor, making Lee’s social media post a fourth-hand account: the alleged acquaintance/cat owner; Newton’s friend; Newton; and Lee, who posted it on Facebook. In exclusive interviews, NewsGuard spoke both with Lee, a 35-year-old hardware store worker who has lived in Springfield for four years, and Newton, her neighbor and a 12-year resident of Springfield. The interviews reveal just how flimsy and unsubstantiated the rumor was from the beginning — based entirely on third hand hearsay. Yet it quickly gained traction and, remarkably, found its way to Trump’s lips on a national stage.

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