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Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Tuesday, Sep 17, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller * House Speaker Chris Welch on the mass transit fiscal cliff…
* WAND…
* Block Club…
* Tribune | A crime or just political jostling? Jury hears arguments in former AT&T exec’s bribery trial: In the end, after all the sweating by AT&T President Paul La Schiazza over House Speaker Michael Madigan’s power to block favorable legislation and all the handwringing over secretly hiring a Madigan ally to win the speaker’s influence, it wound up being a “pretty successful” bribery scheme, a federal prosecutor told a jury Tuesday. AT&T got its bill to end mandated landline service, a national priority that stood to save the phone giant hundreds of millions of dollars. La Schiazza got the “white whale” he’d spent years chasing, backslaps from superiors and a nice little $85,000 bonus. And former state Rep. Eddie Acevedo got his $22,500 payday, in the form of a do-nothing “consulting” contract, the prosecutor said. * Sun-Times | Feds say AT&T president bribed Michael Madigan to land his ‘white whale’: Assistant U.S. Attorney Sushma Raju delivered a 90-minute closing argument at the end of the trial of former utility head Paul La Schiazza, laying out the evidence in Chicago’s latest corruption trial. And to show the exchange between AT&T Illinois and Madigan, she pointed to emails sent less than two weeks after the utility finally secured its legislative priority — and after it arranged $22,500 for ex-state Rep. Edward “Eddie” Acevedo. * WBEZ | CPS looks to improve neighborhood schools, backs off changes at selective enrollments and charters: Avoiding the thorniest topics around selective enrollment, magnet and charter schools is likely to go over well with critics of Mayor Brandon Johnson and his appointed school board following a board resolution last year that vowed to favor neighborhood schools. * Tribune | Illinois Supreme Court hears arguments in Jussie Smollett case: Largely at issue throughout the appeal has been a decision by the Cook County state’s attorney’s office to drop charges against Smollett, a move that at the time embroiled State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and her office in controversy. On Tuesday, Supreme Court justices fired questions at attorneys for both Smollett and the state, digging into the matter of what constitutes an agreement with prosecutors. * WTTW | Key City Panel OKs 6 of Mayor’s 7 Picks to Serve on Chicago Police Oversight Board: The City Council’s Police and Fire Committee unanimously advanced the nominations of Anthony Driver Jr., Remel Terry, Aaron Gottlieb, Abierre Minor, Kelly Presley and Sandra Wortham to serve four-year terms on the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability. Driver, a South Side resident, serves as president of the interim commission, which is designed to give Chicagoans real control of the police department as part of an effort to build trust in officers and police brass and put an end to repeated allegations of misconduct. * Tribune | Could Chicago lower its citywide speed limit? Aldermen weigh drop from 30 mph to 25 mph: The effort got its first look in the City Council Wednesday during a Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee subject matter hearing where experts praised the potential shift. They lauded the impact small decreases in speed could have to reduce crash deaths. No legislative effort to lower the limit has yet been made, and Ald. Daniel La Spata, the committee chair, promised there was no ordinance “sitting under the table.” * Crain’s | Chicago Sun-Times columnist Lee Bey joins ABC7 Chicago as architecture critic: During a conversation with anchors Rob Elgas and Cheryl Burton, Bey discussed designs for the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park, Bally’s permanent casino at the former Freedom Center printing plant in River West and a proposal for a new Chicago Bears stadium along the lakefront. Bey has written numerous works on architecture, including the book “Southern Exposure: The Overlooked Architecture of Chicago’s South Side.” In addition to his writing, he previously served as chief of staff for architecture and urban planning in the Mayor Richard M. Daley administration. * Tribune | Can we engineer our way out of the climate crisis? U. of C. hopes to find out: Could clouds be brightened so they reflect more sunlight back into outer space? If lab-grown seaweed is sunk into the ocean, how much carbon dioxide could it absorb? Would drilling holes into glaciers extract enough heat to slow sea level rise? The University of Chicago positioned itself as a leader in this emergent field — known as geoengineering — after recruiting renowned physicist David Keith to build out a climate engineering program with 10 tenure-track faculty hires and several young researchers. * Crain’s | Florida firm nears discount deal for distressed Loop office tower: No deal has been completed and the discussions could still fall apart at a precarious time for landing financing for office purchases, sources said. But a sale at roughly $70 per square foot for the 1.4 million-square-foot tower would be a fraction of the $375 million that a joint venture of Chicago-based real estate firms Hearn and GEM Realty Capital and San Francisco-based Farallon Capital Management paid for the building in 2014, according to Cook County property records. * Block Club | Chicago Needs A Shower: Why The City Smells So Bad Right Now: From Edgewater to Roscoe Village to Beverly, Chicagoans have said they’ve been smelling similar wafts of sewage this month. Online, a Reddit user said they were getting “gross, fishy wafts of stank” outside of a West Loop McDonald’s last week. The culprit: Lack of rainfall, said Megan Vidis, a spokeswoman for the Chicago Department of Water Management. * ABC Chicago | How the ‘Salsa King of Chicago’ turned his family tradition into a business: Salsa King of Chicago owner Marty Garcia grew up watching his mother make homemade salsa. Eventually, he and his brothers made it. […] “It wasn’t my vision to be on grocery store shelves. It wasn’t my vision to be in stores all over Illinois and Wisconsin and Wrigley Field,” Garcia said. But he is. Four years ago, Garcia was working in a downtown office, making salsa for lunch. His co-workers loved it so much that they helped convince him to start selling it. * ESPN | How White Sox clubhouse is coping as worst team in MLB history: Last week, hours after the Chicago White Sox’s latest attempt to win a baseball game fell apart in typically absurd fashion, Davis Martin could only chuckle. Every White Sox player has found a coping mechanism to endure the 2024 season, and Martin’s is laughter. Unlike much of the sports world, he’s not snickering at the team, but rather at how every day seems to invite something more farcical than the previous. Martin was the starting pitcher in that game, looking to secure Chicago’s first win at Guaranteed Rate Field in a month. Going winless at home for so long is almost impossible for a Major League Baseball team. The White Sox seem to specialize in acts of futility: Sometime in the next 10 days, they could lose their 121st game and pass the 1962 New York Mets for the most losses in an MLB season since the dawn of the 20th century. Never in baseball’s modern history has the game witnessed a team like the 2024 White Sox, whose commitment to the bit of playing a positively wretched brand of baseball has not waned even as the season has. * Daily Herald | Lake Zurich facility set to become suburbs’ second DMV+: As part of the work, a confusing design with separate driver and vehicle services will be changed so customers can get a license and sticker, for example, at one counter rather than waiting at separate spots for assistance. At the single service counter, customers will be able to renew a driver’s license or state ID; apply for a REAL ID; register or renew vehicle registration and get vehicle stickers; convert a temporary driver’s license to a standard one; order a new license plate; register to vote; and join the Illinois Organ and Tissue Donor Registry. * Daily Herald | Hanover Park parks board president cited over verbal assault of teen referee: According to a partially redacted police report, which cited video footage of a U-14 soccer game between teams from the Hanover Park and Streamwood park districts, [Hanover Park Park District board President Mark Elkins] is accused of running onto the field during the second half and yelling at the referee for not giving a foul call. […] “I needed to make a show so that he knows I’m calling him out for not calling the game properly,” Elkins is quoted as saying in the report. * Daily Herald | Michael Jordan finally finds buyer for his Highland Park mansion: Basketball legend Michael Jordan has found a buyer for his ultra custom mansion in Highland Park and is on track to end his years-long saga to sell one of the most iconic homes in the area. The home in the affluent suburb went into contract on Sunday, according to Katherine Malkin of Compass Inc., the listing agent, who declined to provide further information about the deal. * Daily Herald | Pickleball boom continues with three new Picklr openings: Pickleball continues to be the fastest-growing sport in America. Participation grew 51.8% between 2022-23, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, and 223.5% in three years. New pickleball clubs in Mount Prospect, Mundelein and Villa Park will help meet the surging demand. * PJ Star | Why Morton decided to remove its fire chief after 25 years: The trustees voted unanimously to remove Joe Kelley as director of fire and emergency services after he moved outside village limits last month. He also had not been driving his village-assigned vehicle, which was also a violation of the municipal code. Village President Jeffrey Kaufman made the decision to remove Kelley on Aug. 29 and announced his decision at their Sept. 3 board meeting. A yes-no vote on reinstatement, required to complete the state-mandated, two-step process for removal or reinstatement of municipal officials, was tabled until Monday’s meeting. All six trustees voted no to Kelley’s reinstatement. * WCIA | DACC president on leave after investigation into mayor’s complaints: The board recommended job termination for DACC President Stephen Nacco. It came after a three-hour discussion period behind closed doors. […] The investigation began in August following a complaint to the Board of Trustees from Danville Mayor Rickey Williams Jr. It started when the mayor claimed Nacco used abusive language in text and during in-person communication exchanges — including claims Nacco called Mayor Williams “boy,” which Williams said is historically associated with racial slurs. * Capitol City Now | Budget process “bugs” D-186 president: A frustrated board president Micah Miller presided over Monday’s District 186 school board meeting, at which the board passed a deficit budget. “What kind of bugs me about this process,” said Miller, “and having had four different budget directors in the past five years, and then having had $107 million worth of ESSER money that’s been sprinkled into the mix, and all those nuances, is it gets really hard to keep track – apples to apples – each year, and also to assign any accountability when you are trying to look back at different years and where we are in this year.” * SJ-R | ‘Your hurting — we’ve heard it.’ Massey Commission holds first listening session: Several people expressed concern about the proposed makeup and representation of the 12-member Massey Commission as it held its first public listening session at Union Baptist Church Monday. While the full slate is expected to be announced later this week, one of the co-chairs of the commission, the Rev. T. Ray McJunkins acknowledged that nine people have already affirmed that they have agreed to serve, including a family member of Sonya Massey, the namesake of the commission, who was fatally shot in her home in an unincorporated part of Woodside Township after reporting a possible intruder on July 6. * Tribune | BrightFarms opens second Illinois greenhouse, plots nationwide expansion of hydroponic salad greens it sells in grocery stores: Hydroponic grower BrightFarms has opened a new greenhouse in Yorkville, about 50 miles outside Chicago, as part of a nationwide expansion it says will eventually increase its growing capacity seven times over. The greenhouse is the second in Illinois for BrightFarms, which grows leafy greens sold in grocery stores including Mariano’s and Jewel-Osco. * Vox | Are Americans generous?: For 20 years, experts have sounded the alarm on the decline of charitable giving in the US. Then came the pandemic, which led to a wave of new donations and volunteers to nonprofits. For some leaders, this was a sign that perhaps the retreat from philanthropy was reversing course. But it’s clear now, according to a substantial new report released today by a group of nearly 200 philanthropic leaders, that Covid-19 did not bring about any lasting reversal of declining charitable giving — and many of the trends identified in the 2010s have only since accelerated. * AP | Suspicious packages sent to election officials in at least 6 states: Powder-containing packages were sent to secretaries of state and state election offices in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Tennessee, Wyoming and Oklahoma, officials in those states confirmed. The FBI and U.S. Postal Service were investigating. It marked the second time in the past year that suspicious packages were mailed to election officials in multiple state offices. […] Several of the states reported a white powder substance found in envelopes sent to election officials. In most cases, the material was found to be harmless. Oklahoma officials said the material sent to the election office there contained flour. Wyoming officials have not yet said if the material sent there was hazardous.
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The Republican Party’s problem in the suburbs summed up by one article
Tuesday, Sep 17, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller * There are simply too many preposterous claims and ridiculous projections being made in a Daily Herald article about a debate in the 6th Congressional District to sum up on this website. So, go read the whole thing…
There’s even more in the video.
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Caption contest! (Updated x3)
Tuesday, Sep 17, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller * Background is here if you need it. Isabel posted this Sun-Times story earlier…
* Somebody I know took a pic as the boat went by…  Not exactly a huge turnout. …Adding… Yep…
…Adding… Republican Senator from Springfield…
 …Adding… House Speaker Chris Welch said today that he attended the event…
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Millions of Illinois election records were exposed by contractor’s unsecured databases
Tuesday, Sep 17, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller * WIRED last month…
* Capitol News Illinois today…
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Energy Storage Now!
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Today’s quotable
Tuesday, Sep 17, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller * Daily Herald story on the one-year anniversary of the end of cash bail…
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Open thread
Tuesday, Sep 17, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller * What’s going on? Keep it Illinois-centric please…
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Tuesday, Sep 17, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Developer mum on what pols, White Sox greats attended South Loop stadium pitch. Sun-Times…
* The Trace | More Than a Thousand Felons Have Challenged Their Gun Bans Since the Supreme Court’s Bruen Decision: The Trace reviewed more than 2,000 federal court decisions that cited Bruen over the past two years. More than 1,600 of them answered challenges to a wide variety of federal, state, and local gun laws — from assault weapons restrictions to bans on guns at the U.S. Post Office. The majority — some 1,100 — of the decisions included a challenge to the felon gun ban, making it the single most frequently contested statute by far. * Crain’s | Ty Fahner, former Illinois attorney general who mentored Lori Lightfoot at Mayer Brown, dies at 81: Fahner was president of the Commercial Club of Chicago and its Civic Committee from 2010 to 2017, when it wrestled with the still unsolved challenges of public pension deficits and other fiscal woes. He was an apostle of the late Gov. Jim Thompson, dating to their days in the U.S. attorney’s office 50 years ago. * Chicago Reader | ‘No new revenue without reform’: The CTA, Metra, and Pace leaders have all opposed merging their agencies and instead want more state funding. At the first of six public hearings held by the Illinois Senate Transportation Committee, CTA president Dorval Carter argued that “the governance model is not the problem here”—chronic underfunding is. Metra and Pace executives also argued against consolidation, saying the issues of suburban and collar county riders would go ignored under a single board. * Sun-Times | Madigan’s ‘bandits’ comment barred from trial again: The judge made his ruling during a hearing that lasted more than six hours Monday. U.S. District Judge John Blakey, prosecutors and defense attorneys reviewed logistics and evidence for the Oct. 8 trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan and his longtime confidant, Michael McClain. * Sun-Times | Ex-AT&T Illinois chief declines to testify in his corruption trial — closing arguments expected Tuesday: The trial over whether the payments to Acevedo amounted to a bribe has played out just weeks ahead of Madigan’s own trial, which is set for Oct. 8. In fact, Madigan spent much of the day Monday in a pretrial hearing five floors below the La Schiazza courtroom. * Capitol News Illinois | Prosecutors rest case against former AT&T Illinois boss accused of bribing Madigan: After years of pushing in Springfield, AT&T Illinois’ executive team was thrilled when the Illinois General Assembly in 2017 passed legislation that would get the company out from under expensive obligations to maintain its aging copper landline wires in Illinois. “Game over. We win,” AT&T Illinois President Paul La Schiazza wrote to a colleague after the final vote to override then-Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of the legislation on July 1, 2017. “I am very proud of our team persevering through the most difficult of circumstances.” * WTTW | Chicago Budget Director on Anticipated Shortfall, Hiring Freeze and City Services: On anticipating the deficit: “In January, beginning this year, we started to look at our expenditures, to better understand where our expenditures were going, as well as where our revenues were coming in. As we saw our revenues come in a little softer this year we started to contract on our expenditures. One thing that we didn’t anticipate that came to us a little bit later in the year was the non-receipt of a very critical revenue source that we use to support our pension obligations.” * Tribune | Mayor Johnson dismisses criticism after staff changes, controversy: The mayor defended former progressive organizer Kennedy Bartley, whose appointment to head up his intergovernmental affairs office set off the controversy. “Here’s someone who has apologized. She has sought atonement,” Johnson said. “I mean, isn’t that what this is about? Being able to have the grace of God, where, even when we say things that are harmful, that we can recognize those who seek atonement and then ask for grace and for forgiveness?” * Tribune | ShotSpotter fight continues as detection system’s days in Chicago dwindle: Wednesday’s meeting could offer two chances for the City Council to voice its support for ShotSpotter. The first is being led by South Side Ald. David Moore, 17th, who has signaled he will use a parliamentary maneuver to force a vote on an ordinance compelling the police superintendent to extend the contract. Meanwhile, members of the council’s informal pro-police caucus called for a separate special vote immediately following the regular City Council meeting on a measure allowing the head of the city’s Office of Public Safety Administration to extend that same contract. * Jinx Press | “SheepdogCPD” Detective Shawn Popow faces termination: People’s Fabric and Jinx Press first reported on Officer Shawn Popow’s social media posts in November 2023. The South Side Chicago Police detective with more than twenty years on the force should be fired over dozens of social media posts disparaging “African Americans, migrants, Muslims, the LGBTQ+ community, and people who are disabled,” wrote investigators with the Civilian Office of Police Accountability in their full summary report. * Sun-Times | CPD slammed for ‘complete failure’ at traffic checkpoints during Mexican Independence Day revelry: The city promised to make sure area residents could get home and medical employees could get to work at Northwestern and Lurie Children’s Hospital. But that didn’t happen, said Ald. Brian Hopkins, and one resident said they slept in the car after being turned away by police on the way home. * Crain’s | Chicago morning news wars heat up as TV viewership declines: Local morning news stations are on a mission to attract and keep viewers in the face of decreasing ratings and economic challenges. Glen Dacy is stepping into the role of vice president of news content and streaming for Fox’s Chicago stations, WFLD and WPWR, with the aim of bringing fresh energy to the morning news landscape. He replaces Matt Piacente, who left the station earlier this year after eight years. * Sun-Times | Rules Committee backs Burnett as chair of City Council’s Zoning Committee: Ald. Walter Burnett, the Council’s vice mayor and longest-serving member, offered to “take one for the team” and accept the Zoning job after Mayor Brandon Johnson was unable to get the votes for his first choice, progressive firebrand Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez. * Sun-Times | Chicago’s National Public Housing Museum to co-present conversation on race events with Smithsonian: Before opening its new building on the Near West Side, the National Public Housing Museum will partner with the Smithsonian and other organizations to host the latest installment of the “National Conversation on Race” in Chicago. The nationwide series was created as part of a Smithsonian initiative, “Our Shared Future: Reckoning with Our Racial Past,” which examines the history of racism while working toward an equitable future. * ABC Chicago | Illinois Supreme Court to hear Jussie Smollett appeal Tuesday: In 2021, the former Empire TV star was convicted of faking a racist an homophobic attack in 2019 and then lying to police about it. His attorneys appealed arguing Smollett should not have been punished for the same crime twice. In 2019, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx reached a plea agreement with Smollett to drop the charges against him in exchange for a 10-thousand dollar bond and community service. * CBS Chicago | Chicago area center for homeless residents transformed with help of community: When CBS News Chicago first met Township Supervisor Bonnie Kahn Ognisanti last year, she gave out some hard facts about homelessness. “You don’t have choices,” Ognisanti said. “Where you’re going to sleep, what you’re going to eat, how you’re going to be treated, where you can rest, and if you don’t have these very simple things, it exacerbates everything else.” That’s why she founded the Niles Township Respite Center in 2022 in the basement of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Skokie. It’s a daytime space for people experiencing homelessness. * FOX Chicago | Dixmoor aims to end years of water woes with major water main upgrade: Officials announced the completion of the Dixmoor water main infrastructure improvement project Monday. In 2021, multiple water main breaks led to a system failure. Since then, the village has not had a reliable water supply, leading to multiple water main breaks * WCIA | Sonya Massey Commission holds first listening session, lays out roadmap: The commission was created by Sangamon County Board Chairman Andy Van Meter and Democratic State Senator Doris Turner to discuss, research and eventually propose policy changes for at both the local and state level in response to Massey’s death. “We wanted to look at systematic change throughout all of the systems within our community,” Sen. Turner (D-Springfield) said. “I know that in this situation and in a lot of situations, we focus on law enforcement. But there are so many other sectors that are involved that usually culminate with law enforcement or an instance with law enforcement. But we want to look at all of those different sectors and really focus and channel it into real change.” * WCBU | East Peoria Mayor Kahl discusses push for a new TIF district to spark future development on riverfront: “I call it visionary leadership. I look at TIF districts (creating) Town Centre I, Town Centre II,” said Kahl, referencing the shopping centers at the intersection of Main and Washington streets. “Back in the day, when I grew up in East Peoria, you had the old-style, four corners, and a lot of those buildings were dilapidated and some were vacant. […] The proposed area for what would be East Peoria’s fourth TIF district is east of Interstate 74 and along Illinois Route 116. Kahl says plans to have these properties developed have been in the works for a long time. * 25 News Now | Stark County starts 911 service, the last Illinois county to do so: “Stark County has finally reached the 21st Century with our 911… When you call 911, it’s going to show up on our map. We’re going to know right where you’re at. Where before, we didn’t have that. We had to be transferred from a different county,” said Stark County Sheriff Steve Sloan. It was an effort that took about 100 meetings over two years. Now, Stark County’s 911 service isn’t just online, it wound up with a next generation system with Geographic Information System Location and other enhanced call data. Illinois State Police hope to eventually bring this technology statewide. * WSIL | 14th Annual “Our Stories, Our Lives” African American Women’s Conference focuses on medical issues Black women face in Healthcare: Dozens of African American women traveled to Ullin, Illinois, to advocate for their health care needs. Lynne Chambers is the executive director of Legacy Training Incorporated and says they started the conference in 2010. “14 years ago we focused on HIV, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes. So we’ve still kind of kept those themes throughout the years,” Chambers said. * WCIA | Tuscola fertilizer plant nears construction after more than a decade: The company behind it, Cronus Chemicals LLC, has gained the approval of necessary air permits. That should be one of the last steps in making the ammonia production plant come to life. “Economic development is a long road, and the bigger the project, the longer the road can often be,” Brian Moody, Douglas County economic development corporation executive director, said. * AP | Postal Service insists it’s ready for a flood of mail-in ballots: U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy assured state election officials in a letter released Monday that he’ll work with them to handle their warnings of problems with election mail delivery during the primary season, while insisting that the Postal Service will be ready for the flood of mail-in ballots ahead of the November election. The Postal Service already dealt with most concerns raised by election officials, he said, after they warned that properly addressed election mail was returned — a problem that can cause voters to be automatically placed on inactive status — and that mail-in ballots were postmarked on time but arrived after election deadlines. * WaPo | Scientists just figured out how many chemicals enter our bodies from food packaging: These are just a few types of food packaging that surround humans every day. And a new study released Monday shows the chemical toll of all that wrapping — and how it might affect the human body. Researchers from Switzerland and other countries discovered that of the roughly 14,000 known chemicals in food packaging, 3,601 — or about 25 percent — have been found in the human body, whether in samples of blood, hair or breast milk. * ProPublica | Abortion Bans Have Delayed Emergency Medical Care. In Georgia, Experts Say This Mother’s Death Was Preventable: The most restrictive state laws, experts predicted, would pit doctors’ fears of prosecution against their patients’ health needs, requiring providers to make sure their patient was inarguably on the brink of death or facing “irreversible” harm when they intervened with procedures like a D&C. “They would feel the need to wait for a higher blood pressure, wait for a higher fever — really got to justify this one — bleed a little bit more,” Dr. Melissa Kottke, an OB-GYN at Emory, warned lawmakers in 2019 during one of the hearings over Georgia’s ban.
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition and the fundraiser list
Tuesday, Sep 17, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)
Tuesday, Sep 17, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Live coverage
Tuesday, Sep 17, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller * You can click here or here to follow breaking news. Click here to keep up with the La Schiazza trial. It’s the best we can do unless or until Twitter gets its act together.
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Selected press releases (Live updates)
Tuesday, Sep 17, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Monday, Sep 16, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller * WTTW…
* WBEZ…
* Tribune | ‘We are on the friends and family plan now’: Jury sees emails from Speaker Madigan’s son in bribery trial of ex-AT&T boss: In his donation request, Andrew Madigan made clear that “our good friend Mike McClain” had suggested he reach out to AT&T. McClain, according to prosecutors, was at the center of a scheme to have AT&T funnel payments to former state Rep. Eddie Acevedo, a Madigan ally, to help win the speaker’s support. In the email exchange shown to jurors, Barry told La Schiazza: “We are…and there is a sensitivity in that office about us going away now that we got COLR. That is something to keep in mind in rest (of) 17 and in 18 regarding budget and profile with the Speakers office.” * Tribune | Former Madigan aide to face cross-examination in bribery trial as Madigan due in court for pretrial conference: Longtime Springfield insider Tom Cullen will face cross-examination Monday in the trial of a former AT&T Illinois boss accused of bribing House Speaker Michael Madigan by funneling payments the speaker’s ally through Cullen’s lobbying firm. As Cullen is testifying, a pretrial conference is scheduled in Madigan’s own racketeering case in another courtroom at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse. * Tribune | Electric bill savings will be lower for some new Illinois rooftop solar owners starting in 2025: Starting next year, some new Illinois rooftop solar owners will see lower savings on their electric bills than those who got their solar panels earlier. The long-expected change — required under the state’s 2021 climate law — essentially trims a generous introductory offer, but ComEd and the nonprofit consumer watchdog Citizens Utility Board say that residential rooftop solar will remain a very good deal for customers. “You can still save an awful lot of money on your electricity bill by deploying solar,” said Scott Vogt, ComEd vice president of strategy and energy policy. * Crain’s | Illinois nursing home associations merging: The Health Care Council of Illinois, or HCCI, and the Illinois Health Care Association, IHCA, announced their plan to merge today. The combined organization will be called the Health Care Council of Illinois and become the Illinois affiliate of the American Health Care Association. The two parties have signed a memorandum of understanding to merge, according to a statement. The plan is still subject to due diligence and detail finalization. * Tribune | Onetime COPA supervisor slams agency leadership in whistleblower lawsuit: Matthew Haynam filed the lawsuit against the city last week, alleging that COPA chief administrator Andrea Kersten fired him in late August “in retaliation for Plaintiff’s good faith disclosure of Kersten’s outrageous misconduct to both the Office of the Inspector General for the City of Chicago and Civilian Commission on Public Safety and Accountability.” Haynam’s suit accuses Kersten of repeatedly tainting the public’s perception of still-ongoing police misconduct investigations. What’s more, Haynam alleges, COPA investigators have a practice of disregarding Chicago Police training materials that are critical in determining if an officer engaged in misconduct.
* Chalkbeat | Explaining Chicago Public Schools: The students: The vast majority are students of color, with 47% identifying as Hispanic, 35% as Black, 11% as white, and 4.5% as Asian American. About 70% come from low-income households, 16% are students with disabilities, and 24% are learning English. These demographics shifted over the past decade — as Black families left Chicago, birth rates declined, and new immigrants arrived. * WBEZ | More arts classes in CPS schools is an easy sell. Paying for it and finding teachers is the real feat.: In Chicago, arts education is determined by a school’s size and, critically, by how much an individual principal prioritizes it. But leaders are questioning whether it should be this way. As the school year starts, district leaders and the Chicago Teachers Union are putting a spotlight on arts education. In ongoing union contract negotiations “more art teachers” is a rallying cry. At the same time, CPS’ director of arts education is spearheading a new plan to replace the existing 12-year-old blueprint. * Tribune | Ex-National Association of Realtors employee files lawsuit alleging sexual harassment, discrimination: An ex-employee of the Chicago-based National Association of Realtors has filed a federal lawsuit against the trade association alleging a hostile work environment that included sexual harassment and discrimination, as well as retaliation after she was fired. Roshani Sheth, a former product manager for Realtors Information Network, a subsidiary of NAR, worked at company headquarters from 2014 to 2019 and was the only woman and person of color on her team, according to the amended lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on Sept. 10. Sheth was repeatedly subjected to comments about her body and other derogatory language, as well as sexual advances, by male supervisors, the suit alleges. * Daily Herald | ‘I wouldn’t wish that on anybody’: ’62 Mets hurler has sympathy for White Sox: As the White Sox appear destined to shatter the 1962 New York Mets’ modern-day record for losses in a baseball season, a suburban native who pitched for that infamous Mets squad has empathy — and encouragement — for the South Siders. “As I said many, many times, I wouldn’t wish that on anybody,” said Jay Hook, who grew up in Grayslake before going on to an eight-year Major League Baseball career. “I’m surprised I’m still talking about the ‘62 season.” * Daily Herald | Huntley chosen for stop on new Chicago-to-Rockford train line. But where will the station go?: Last year, Huntley was announced as one of the municipalities that would be getting a stop on the proposed Chicago-to-Rockford Metra line. The service is expected to launch in 2027, have maximum speeds of 79 mph and take about two hours from Rockford to Chicago, according to a presentation from the Illinois Department of Transportation to the Huntley Village Board. * ABC Chicago | Threat forces schools in Joliet, Plainfield to switch to remote learning: Disclosing the threats over the weekend, Joliet police said they surfaced online, adding that while there doesn’t appear to be any credible evidence to support them, additional security measures would be taken. Joliet Public School District 86 reverted to e-learning for Monday. As did Plainfield’s Troy Community Consolidated School District 30-C. * WCIA | Mahomet president not re-running, endorses board member: Sean Widener has served the community in different positions since 2006. First with planning and zoning, then on the board of trustees, and finally as the president starting in 2015. But now, he knows it’s time to focus on his day job at Clark Dietz overseeing engineering in Chicago, suburban Oakbrook and Champaign. * WCIA | Central Illinois airports improving infrastructure with FAA money: Officials said the money is being used to improve terminals to handle more passengers, modernize technology and improve the integrity of taxiways. Rantoul Airport used their $2.4 million to improve their north-south runway. “The runways are graded by a company called applied payment technology,” said Carson Vericker, the airport manager. “And they put a grade on what their asphalt is and the degrade that come off of runway 1836 was very poor.” * NBC | Cut up and leased out, the bodies of the poor suffer a final indignity in Texas: In the name of scientific advancement, clinical education and fiscal expediency, the bodies of the destitute in the Dallas-Fort Worth region have been routinely collected from hospital beds, nursing homes and homeless encampments and used for training or research without their consent — and often without the approval of any survivors, an NBC News investigation found. * WGN | REO Speedwagon to cease touring in 2025, citing ‘irreconcilable differences’: “To our fans: Bruce has intended to be Back On the Road Again by now. If it were up to just him, he’d be back on tour… but it’s not up to just him. The consensus opinion was that he had not recovered sufficiently to be able to perform at the level the fans have come to expect. Bruce respected that opinion and is grateful that Matt has been around to keep the Wagon rolling through the summer tour. Bruce never had any intention of retiring or walking away from the band, fans, and crew he has loved for almost 50 years.” * Tallahassee Democrat | Florida school board pays over $100K to defend ban on book about same-sex penguin pair: “The question is: Is that what you want your school district spending money on, which could go to providing services or books or hiring staff, rather than defending a decision to keep people from reading a book that some people don’t like,” said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom.
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Showcasing The Retailers Who Make Illinois Work
Monday, Sep 16, 2024 - Posted by Advertising Department Showcasing the Retailers Who Make Illinois Work Retail provides one out of every five Illinois jobs, generates the second largest amount of tax revenue for the state, and is the largest source of revenue for local governments. But retail is also so much more, with retailers serving as the trusted contributors to life’s moments, big and small. We Are Retail and IRMA are dedicated to sharing the stories of retailers like Tresa, who serve their communities with dedication and pride.
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Question of the day
Monday, Sep 16, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller * As the late state Sen. Vince Demuzio said, “Yard signs don’t vote,” but campaigns do rely on them. From The Hill…
* The Question: Do you regularly/occasionally put up campaign yard/window signs? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
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2024 Illinois State Fair breaks attendance record
Monday, Sep 16, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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Is this a war declaration?
Monday, Sep 16, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller * My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
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Open thread
Monday, Sep 16, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller * What’s going on in your part of Illinois?…
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Monday, Sep 16, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Downstate federal trial poses latest test for Illinois gun ban. Tribune…
- The state’s ban prohibits the delivery, sale, import and purchase of more than 100 high-powered guns including semiautomatic rifles, shotguns and handguns. -The bench trial is before U.S. District Judge Stephen McGlynn, who said last year the law was likely unconstitutional following a hearing over a request by plaintiffs seeking to temporarily block the ban from being enforced. * Related stories… * Daily Herald | ‘People who should be held are being held’: Pretrial Fairness Act marks first year this week: Supporters include Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart, who said cashless bail has not resulted in the release of accused murderers and rapists, as opponents predicted. “We are holding more sex offenders and all murderers under the new system,” Rinehart said, adding “crime is down in Lake County at a steeper rate of decline than the national average.” * Capitol News Illinois | ADM carbon sequestration project violated Safe Drinking Water Act, per EPA: Agribusiness giant ADM violated federal regulations, a federal permit and the Safe Drinking Water Act earlier this year when a monitoring well at their carbon sequestration site in Decatur leaked liquified carbon dioxide into “unauthorized zones,” according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In an August notice, the federal regulatory agency also alleged the company failed to follow proper emergency response and remediation plans after it identified the leak. * ABC Chicago | Increasing diversity in Illinois’ adult use cannabis industry: In July, a study by the Illinois Cannabis Regulation Oversight Office found that 60% of all cannabis business licenses went to minority or women-owned businesses. […] However, not one dollar of sales was documented going to Black or Brown owners when the study ended in 2023. Instead, white male owners took in 78% of recreational dispensary sales and 91% of grower sales. * Tribune | ‘People are desperate’: Illinois harm reduction organizations await settlement funding in effort to reduce opioid overdoses: Now, groups in Illinois providing harm reduction services are set to receive at least $15 million from settlements between states and prescription drug companies. Providers across the state say they could do much more with additional funding, but getting money from the remediation fund is complicated. “Unrestricted settlement dollars could really — I mean, there needs to be an investment in harm reduction supplies across the state of Illinois. People are desperate for them,” John Werning, executive director of the Chicago Recovery Alliance, said. * Press Release | Gov. Pritzker Announces James Jennings as Next Director of Illinois Environmental Protection Agency: Today, Governor JB Pritzker announced his appointment of James Jennings, environment professional and policy expert, as the next director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) pending Senate approval. James Jennings began serving as Interim Director in July. […] Before he was appointed Interim Director, Jennings served as Deputy Director of the IEPA, overseeing policy implementation and regulatory enforcement, as well as working in tandem with the federal EPA on initiatives impacting Illinois and surrounding states. * SJ-R | Former state board of ed superintendent who worked in the Bush Administration dead at 82: Ted Sanders, who served as superintendent of the Illinois State Board of Education and worked in the education department in the President George H.W. Bush administration, died Sunday, Sept. 8. He was 82. […] A towering figure, literally, at 6-foot-8-inches tall, and figuratively, Ted Sanders also served as the chief education officer in Ohio and Nevada and was president of the Southern Illinois University System. * Sun-Times | Ex-lawmaker became ‘borderline unprofessional’ when AT&T offered him money, jurors hear at corruption trial: Prosecutors are nearing the end of their case against AT&T Illinois President Paul La Schiazza. Attorneys say it could be in the hands of the jury by the end of next week. * Capitol News Illinois | In bribery trial, AT&T lobbyists detail contentious meeting with Madigan ally: On an afternoon in late April 2017, recently retired state Rep. Eddie Acevedo was called to a meeting in the state Capitol in Springfield. The 20-year veteran lawmaker had joined his sons’ lobbying firm and was looking for work. Meeting with a trio of lobbyists for telecommunications giant AT&T Illinois was a major step forward in Acevedo’s new lobbying career. But Acevedo grew agitated when the lobbyists offered him $2,500 per month, raising his voice to express that he was worth more, according to testimony Friday in the federal bribery trial of former AT&T Illinois president Paul La Schiazza. * Block Club | City Closes Gold Coast Homeless Shelter Used To House Tent City Residents During DNC: The Tremont Hotel shelter closed for good Sunday, Department of Family and Support Services spokesperson Brian Berg said in a statement. Prior to the closure, shelter staff worked to “slowly place remaining Tremont residents who have not yet moved to housing into other available shelter beds,” he said. “The Tremont shelter was a temporary operation, originally designed to expand shelter bed capacity during the winter months,” Berg said.
* Crain’s | Chicago’s nonprofit leaders saw their pay surge in our latest ranking: Despite retiring from the Big Ten Conference in 2020, James Delany still managed to earn nearly $5.9 million in 2022, according to the organization’s most recent 990 tax filing. The former commissioner holds the No. 1 spot on Crain’s list of the highest-paid nonprofit executives in the Chicago area. The list, which excludes university and hospital executives, ranks 25 leaders by 2022 total compensation, which for most nonprofits is the most recent available data. These executives saw 2022 median compensation swell by 20% to $906,243. * Block Club | Muslim Families Outraged After Headstones Removed From Bohemian National Cemetery With No Notice: Last Sunday, Ayman Halim took his wife, his mother and his 8-month-old son to the Bohemian National Cemetery to commemorate his late father’s 77th birthday. It was his son’s first time visiting the gravesite of his grandfather, who died five years ago, Halim said. When they arrived, Halim found that his father’s headstone and dozens of others were missing. Returning to the cemetery a few days later, he discovered a pile of Muslim grave markers left beside a dumpster. Now, he and his family want answers. * Tribune | Evanston has paid out just over $5 million in reparations so far: The committee met in September to approve records regarding how the first round of reparations has been spent. Of the $5.03 million distributed to 141 people directly affected by unfair housing practices, which the program calls ancestors, and 71 people who are descendants of those who did, $1.36 million will be spent on home improvement projects, mortgage assistance, or be used in the down payment for a home. The remaining $3.69 million will be spent on direct cash benefits, with recipients eligible to receive a $25,000 check from the city of Evanston. Recipients will not need to pay taxes on the benefit, according to 2nd Ward Councilmember Krissie Harris. * Sun-Times | At event honoring K-9 killed in deadly 2023 shooting, Kane County sheriff rips Aurora police: Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain essentially blamed his agency’s strained relationship with Aurora police for the incident that killed a police dog and a carjacking suspect. Aurora’s mayor called the remarks ‘laughingly incredible and absolutely wrong,’ and the area’s top prosecutor says she, too, disagrees with Sheriff Hain. * WBBM | Replacement likely for historic Cenacle Bridge in DuPage County forest preserve: The bridge once led to the Cenacle Sisters commune near Warrenville. The retreat center was demolished years ago, but the bridge has remained in use by hikers and bikers as part of a trail system within the Blackwell Forest Preserve. At a recent planning meeting, commissioners weighed whether it would be best to repair the aging bridge or to replace it completely. The bridge features some visually striking elements, including large stone pillars and white handrails, but Forest Preserve District Civil Engineer Chris Welch said those elements actually present a few issues. * WCIA | Massey family meets with Congressional Black Caucus for police reform push: The families were joined by renowned civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who expressed frustration with the slow pace of change. A bill known as the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, introduced in 2021, remains stalled in Congress. * BND | Video of traffic backup in O’Fallon goes viral, prompts member of Congress to intervene: A viral TikTok video has gotten the attention of an Illinois congresswoman because it shows a “massive threat to motorists’ safety” on the Interstate 64 exit ramp to O’Fallon and Shiloh, according to the lawmaker. O’Fallon resident Tisha Crawley’s Aug. 15 video shows a line of cars on the Exit 16 ramp so long that it is spilling onto the interstate. More than 40 million TicTok users have seen it, including U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski. […] The Illinois Department of Transportation is aware of the problem, and the agency has plans to add additional lanes to the area to address it. But construction is years away, according to the agency’s project timeline published online. * PJ Star | Referendum on ranked-choice voting in Illinois: Voters in Peoria Township will make their voices heard on whether or not the state of Illinois should opt for ranked-choice voting in future elections. A non-binding referendum will be on the Nov. 5 ballot asking voters if the state should use the system, which is designed to prevent spoilers and allow a more accurate representation of voters’ preferences. * BND | ‘Politics’ by Belleville mayor threatens future of Art on the Square, directors say: Developments in the past few weeks have prompted the co-directors to speak out for the first time about a problem they say they’ve been dealing with for three years: Hostility from Belleville Mayor Patty Gregory, who co-founded the show and formerly served as executive director for 20 years. Gregory wanted to continue running the show after being elected mayor in 2021, but board members rejected that idea due to ethical, legal and practical concerns, according to Bartle and Dorris. “We had created our own little monster because none of us went up against (Gregory),” Dorris said this week. “We didn’t challenge her. She was used to getting her way.” * WSIL | The Jackson County State’s Attorney Office announces a new video camera doorbell program: Starting on October 1st victims and witnesses of violent crimes will be eligible to get a free video camera doorbell from the Jackson County State’s Attorney’s Victims Advocate’s Office. “Upon application, we can get these video doorbells out to individuals in the community to make them feel safer,” Jackson County State’s Attorney Joseph Cervantez said. * WAND | 13-year-old charged after making false threats in Jacksonville: Jacksonville concluded their investigation after speaking with all parties involved after finding the teen did not posses a gun at the time, nor did the teen have access to weapons at their home. […] The threats were shared across multiple social media sites. Shortly after the threats were reported, the Statewide Terrorism and Intelligence Center was able to deem them not credible. They say the online threats reported on the 11th were unrelated to the arrest of the teen for disorderly conduct. * WSIL | Two 11-Year-Olds Charged in School Threat Investigation in Southern Illinois: Two 11-year-olds face legal trouble in relation to an investigation of threats made at a Centralia school on Wednesday. The Centralia Police Department said they were informed by an school resource officer about a threat made at the Centralia Junior High School on September 11. * Nextstar | Do campaign yard signs even make a difference?: Studies have shown that when it comes to down-ballot races — usually non-presidential, like school board or a county-level representative — it’s important for the candidate to build name recognition. Yard signs can do that, even if the candidate is not real, one study found. * Nieman Lab | An AI chatbot helped Americans who believe in conspiracy theories “exit the rabbit hole”: The uncle who believes 9/11 never happened. The next-door neighbor who thinks Biden stole the 2020 election. The Nieman Lab editor who’s been known to wonder if aliens really do exist and the U.S. government is covering them up. You probably don’t want to talk to these people and convince them that they are wrong. But what if an AI chatbot could do it for you? That’s exactly what a group of researchers just did. In their peer-reviewed article “Durably reducing conspiracy beliefs through dialogues with AI,” featured on the cover of Science this week, Thomas Costello of American University, Gordon Pennycook of Cornell, and David Rand of MIT explain how they put 2,190 conspiracy-believing Americans in brief but detailed conversation with the large language model GPT-4 Turbo.
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)
Monday, Sep 16, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Live coverage
Monday, Sep 16, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller * You can click here or here to follow breaking news. Click here to keep up with the La Schiazza trial. It’s the best we can do unless or until Twitter gets its act together.
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Selected press releases (Live updates)
Monday, Sep 16, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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