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Friday, Sep 13, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Con Brio…

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Isabel’s afternoon roundup

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.

*** 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?

  18 Comments      


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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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition

Friday, Sep 13, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)

Friday, Sep 13, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Live coverage

Friday, Sep 13, 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)

Friday, Sep 13, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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Isabel’s afternoon roundup

Thursday, Sep 12, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Capitol News Illinois…

As the federal corruption trial of former AT&T Illinois president Paul La Schiazza formally kicked off on Wednesday, prosecutors and defense attorneys painted two very different pictures of a political hire the telecom giant made in 2017. […]

But the alleged bribe was “more sophisticated” than an envelope of cash, Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Mower told the jury in his opening statement; it involved AT&T offering a nine-month do-nothing lobbying gig worth $22,500 to Madigan’s political ally.

“This is a case about a corporate executive paying off the most powerful politician in Illinois to help pass his company’s most prized piece of legislation,” Mower said, laying out the charges to the jury.

But attorneys for La Schiazza said their client was collateral damage in the feds’ decadelong investigation targeting Madigan, and that the government was misrepresenting how AT&T contracted former state Rep. Eddie Acevedo in 2017.

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

* Governor Pritzker…

Today, Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), Office of Tourism announced via social media platforms that it stands proudly with the LGBTQIA+ community after Visit Florida recently removed its LGBTQIA+ travel resources from its website, raising concerns about who is truly welcome in the Sunshine State.

“Florida’s decision to disrespect and disavow a whole group of tourists for how they live or who they love is disheartening and raises questions about who’s really welcome in the Sunshine State.Illinois stands proudly with the LGBTQIA+ community and offers valuable travel resources for destinations, experiences and events —365 days a year,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Here in the Land of Lincoln we embrace all that makes each of us unique and we celebrate it with pride. While Visit Florida removed LGBTQIA+ information from their site, we decided to make it even easier to access valuable resources for the community directly on our homepage at EnjoyIllinois.com. Consider this my personal invitation to come Enjoy Illinois, where all are welcome!”

“Tourism is a vital part of our economy, and by ensuring all visitors feel welcome, we’re supporting our communities and promoting Illinois as a destination for all,” said DCEO Director Kristin Richards. “We take pride in being a state that champions diversity.”

“By embracing inclusivity and making resources easily accessible, we’re proving that Illinois is a place where all travelers can feel safe and authentically themselves,” said Daniel Thomas, deputy director of DCEO, Office of Tourism. “Whether it’s through our Midwestern hospitality, annual Pride events, or diverse experiences, everyone is welcome in Illinois.”

EnjoyIllinois.com makes it easy to plan your next LGBTQIA+ adventure with its inclusive trip inspiration, showcasing vibrant neighborhoods and exciting experiences across the state.

* WTVO…

Illinois follows Connecticut’s lead after that state launched an LGBTQ travel campaign, also taking a swipe at Florida.

The change to Visit Florida’s website was first reported by NBC News, which noted a search query still pulls up some listings for LGBTQ+-friendly places despite the elimination of the section.

Florida is one of the most popular states in the U.S. for tourists, and tourism is one of its biggest industries. Nearly 141 million tourists visited Florida in 2023, with out-of-state visitors contributing more than $102 billion to Florida’s economy.

Before the change, the LGBTQ+ section on Visit Florida’s website had read, “There’s a sense of freedom to Florida’s beaches, the warm weather and the myriad activities — a draw for people of all orientations, but especially appealing to a gay community looking for a sense of belonging and acceptance.”

* Shaw Local…

When he first entered prison at age 19 to begin a 16-year sentence, Justin Knapp said he was angry, felt alienated and spent his time “dwelling on the mistake.”

He often got in fights with other inmates stewing in the same unhealthy frame of mind, which he said landed him in segregation for five years. […]

“I looked at myself through the eyes of my mother. This is not the person she raised,” he said. “I am not the representation of the good things my mother taught me. This is not who I want to be.” […]

Now 35 and living in Marengo, Knapp has been out of prison about two years. Because he prepared for life outside of prison, he now has a job helping others as a certified workforce development career planner for McHenry County Workforce Development.

Rather than hide from the mistakes of his youth, Knapp said he’s “owned it as part of my professional career.” He uses his story to help other formerly incarcerated people turn that corner as well.

Thomas Faber said his focus over the past 14 years has been to help people like Knapp. In his former role as business service representative at McHenry County Workforce Development in Woodstock, Faber assisted “justice impacted” people find work and re-acclimate into life in the free world.

***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 rep: When Michael McClain, the longtime confidant of House Speaker Michael Madigan and fixture at the Illinois Capitol, announced he was retiring from lobbying in 2016, it immediately caught the attention of people over at AT&T. “Huge news,” AT&T President Paul La Schiazza emailed to a colleague on the company’s legislative affairs team. “A shame Exelon was the one to benefit from (McClain’s) last big gig….Unfortunate for us.”

*** Statewide ***

* Illinois Times | Law aimed at helping people experiencing a mental health crisis was originally set to go live in 2022: The Community Emergency Services and Supports Act, or CESSA, requires mental and behavioral health calls to 911 be handled by mental health professionals, rather than police. It was supposed to go into effect on July 1, 2022 – two years before Massey, who was having a mental health crisis, was shot by then-Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson. “I think if this system were in place, and emergency responders were trained and aware of what is available to them, then I think Sonya Massey would still be with us today,” said Candace Coleman, community strategy specialist with Access Living, a Chicago-based organization that advocates for disabled people.

* WTHI | Illinois seeking public input on how to shape next education budget: ISBE says past requests have led to more funding in certain areas, like early childhood education. The board especially encourages teachers, parents, and community advocates to make their voices heard. “Public advocacy is crucial in shaping the education experiences for all students,” said State Superintendent of Education Dr. Tony Sanders.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Brandon Johnson a ‘woefully unprepared’ mayor, City Council critic says: Ald. Brendan Reilly is in almost constant contact with business leaders, and “all they want to talk about” is finding a candidate to defeat Johnson in 2027. “Barring a dramatic turnaround — a miraculous turnaround, and I just don’t see that happening — Mayor Johnson is likely a one-term mayor,” Reilly said Thursday.

* Sun-Times | Chicago primed to pay out $15 million to more victims of police misconduct: The biggest settlement — $11.6 million — would go to Anthony Jakes, who falsely confessed to being an accomplice in a 1991 murder when he was just 15 after being beaten by members of Cmdr. Burge’s infamous “midnight crew.” Jakes spent 20 years in prison before being released in 2012.

* Tribune | First Watts accuser to settle lawsuit is in line for $500,000 payout, records show: The first settlement agreement between the city and an alleged victim of ex-Chicago police Sgt. Ronald Watts puts Watts’ accuser in line for half a million dollars, records released Thursday show. Alvin Waddy’s lawsuit was the first to reach resolution out of more than 150 that have been filed against the city related to Watts and his team. It remains to be seen how the agreed payout affects the rest of the cases, but given the sheer volume of lawsuits, the Watts scandal could become one of the most expensive in Chicago police history.

* Block Club | CHA Board Could Soon Have 2 New Members Who ‘Get It’: Mayor Brandon Johnson nominated Brian “Jawanza” Malone and Juliana Gonzalez-Crussi — both longtime community activists and nonprofit leaders — to fill two vacant spots on the housing agency’s board. Their appointments were unanimously approved by the Committee on Housing and Real Estate and now go before the full City Council, which is expected to sign off as soon as Sept. 18.

* Tribune | UIC pharmacy school gets $36 million donation from late Chicago pharmacy owners: The pharmacy school — which will now be called the Herbert M. and Carol H. Retzky College of Pharmacy — is the first college at UIC to be named after a donor. The donation is the largest ever received by the pharmacy college. It was given to the college as an endowment, meaning the money will be invested to generate income to be used by the college. That income will go toward merit-based scholarships for students and career development programs.

* Tribune | Cyclist completes world-record attempt in downtown Chicago: ‘I felt like I could just keep riding forever’: Celebrated endurance bicyclist Lael Wilcox finished a 108-day journey around the world at Chicago’s Buckingham Fountain Wednesday evening, completing a trip of more than 18,000 miles in a bid to break the Guinness World Record for fastest circumnavigation of the world on a bike by a woman. […] Wilcox rode roughly 160 miles a day with a heart rate monitor, a witness book and a power meter to document her as-yet unsubmitted bid to break the current record of 124 days. Her wife, 31-year-old photographer Rue Kaladyte, has traveled with her and produced a podcast, Lael Rides Around the World, and kept followers up to date via Instagram. She is also working on a documentary about the bid, she told the Tribune Tuesday.

* WBEZ | Chicago Park District board welcomes back Riot Fest – despite heavy community criticism: One activist bemoaned how the Park District was allowing “significant damage” to Douglass Park and said parks should be enjoyed by everyone instead of being “rented out to the highest bidder.” But Ald. Monique Scott, 24th Ward, lashed out at those critics as she gave her endorsement to Riot Fest, raising her voice to say that “most of the people that spoke against the Riot Fest, I’ve never seen you in my community.”

* NYT | Loyalty, history and $5 beers: Why fans still come out to see the Chicago White Sox: The White Sox sold 11,429 tickets for Monday’s game, though the true attendance count appeared to be less than half of that. There was a slight uptick Tuesday, maybe because of a $5 beer promotion or because fans wanted to snatch up some of the last Campfire Milkshakes of the season. Or there’s another reason, one that has grown in importance as this impressively bad season has worn on: witnessing the train wreck, one loss at a time.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Southtown | Homer Glen plans workshop to advise 143rd Street residents receiving eminent domain notices: Homer Glen officials plan to host an informational meeting with their village attorney to help residents who have received eminent domain notices from Will County over the planned widening of 143rd Street. Residents living along the route have protested the widening for nearly a year. While the road is under Will County’s jurisdiction, they have sought help from Homer Glen village officials, who also oppose expanding the road.

* Lake County News-Sun | Alleged Highland Park parade shooter ‘declined transport’ to court hearing: Lake County Judge Victoria Rossetti waived Crimo’s presence after his public defenders said he “declined transport” from the county jail, where he is being detained for the July 4, 2022 mass shooting that killed seven people and injured dozens more. The attorneys did not give a reason for Crimo’s reluctance to come to court, and Rossetti told them to remind the defendant that his lack of attendance would not delay the case.

* WBEZ | A new lawsuit alleges Hawthorne Race Course allowed horses to race after they’d been deemed ineligible: The Chicago-area’s longest-operating horse-racing track is being sued along with state regulators for allegedly allowing dozens of horses to race despite medical diagnoses from a now-terminated track veterinarian they were physically unfit to run. The federal lawsuit filed Thursday against Hawthorne Race Course, the Illinois Racing Board and others at the track and state agency comes from a former Hawthorne veterinarian, Christine Tuma, who alleges she was fired after reporting alleged misconduct at Hawthorne to state and federal agencies.

* Sun-Times | Haitian Americans in Chicago deride Trump’s false, racist claims of immigrants eating pets: The mention was also upsetting to Skokie resident Marleen Julien, a Haiti native who has lived in America for 35 years. She called it a way for Trump and Republicans to divide people — and she said it’s specifically targeting a humanitarian program under President Joe Biden that allowed Haitian Americans to come to the U.S. legally due to unrest in the country.

* Sun-Times | Vatican slaps down Joliet bishop’s efforts to close historic parish in far southwest suburb: The arm of the Vatican that “revoked” the parish closing in an order dated Aug. 20 raised questions about Hicks’ reasoning, including finances, mass attendance and the “near disappearance of the Slovenian community.” Michael Vidmar, who filed the appeal with support from numerous parishioners, was happy with the Vatican’s ruling but says, “We made it this far but we still don’t know what the bishop is going to do” from here.

*** Downstate ***

* PJ Star | Peoria student’s photos of mold on school lunch cause Facebook uproar: This is not the first time food quality at Peoria Public Schools has been a hot button issue for parents and students. In 2022, more than 100 parents shared their concerns with the Journal Star over the poor food quality at Peoria Public Schools, and state Rep. Jehan Gordon Booth, D-Peoria, even pushed a bill in Springfield that aimed to increase the quality of food served in schools.

* WCIA | ‘It takes a village’: Mahomet-Seymour schools to host event for special education students and families: Teachers and organizations are getting ready to build deeper relationships with Mahomet families who have students in special education programs. It’s all part of its inaugural “education and empowerment” event on Sept. 12 at Middletown Prairie Elementary. Tracy Patterson, a special ed teacher in the district, said it’s been in the works for years. She is one of many educators who want to ensure parents have the tools needed to help their kids succeed.

* SJ-R | Downtown Springfield business launches fundraiser to keep doors open: The fallout continues nearly three months after a fire in the 400 block of East Adams Street in downtown Springfield. While the anchor restaurant at 413 E. Adams St., Cafe Moxo, remains closed and other businesses have moved locations entirely, The Keep Store, a block away at 314 E. Adams St., recently launched a fundraising effort to help keep the business’ doors open.

*** National ***

* WSJ | Dumbphones and Fax Machines Are the New Boss Flex: If you think your new iPhone is a status symbol, prepare to be punked—or, rather, Punkt—by Benjamin Crudo’s dumbphone. The chief executive of Diff, which makes software for online retailers, calls and texts from a 4.6-by-2-inch brick with buttons called a Punkt MP02. Send an email or Slack message and the 41-year-old Crudo won’t respond until he is in front of his computer.

* ProPublica | “I Don’t Want to Die”: Needing Mental Health Care, He Got Trapped in His Insurer’s Ghost Network: Ravi didn’t know it, but he, like millions of Americans, was trapped in a “ghost network.” As some of those people have discovered, the providers listed in an insurer’s network have either retired or died. Many other providers have stopped accepting insurance — often because the companies made it excessively difficult for them to do so. Some just aren’t taking new patients. Insurers are often slow to remove them from directories, if they do so at all. It adds up to a bait and switch by insurance companies that leads customers to believe there are more options for care than actually exist.

* NBC Chicago | TSA proposes new rule that could change how REAL ID deadline is enforced next year: While the approaching deadline of May 7, 2025, remains in place, the TSA has proposed a plan that would delay full enforcement for another two years. That wouldn’t mean that travelers won’t need their REAL ID until 2027, however. “Travelers without a REAL ID compliant ID or another form of acceptable ID after the May 7, 2025 deadline could face delays at airport security checkpoints,” the agency said in a release, noting the potential for warnings or possibly “progressive consequences” for those without a compliant ID.

* AP | Average rate on a 30-year mortgage falls to 6.20%, its lowest level since February 2023: The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. fell this week to its lowest level in 19 months, reflecting a pullback in Treasury yields ahead of an expected interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve next week. The rate fell to 6.20% from 6.35% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 7.18%.

* LA Times | The GOP is targeting ‘noncitizen voting,’ but experts agree it’s not a problem: This week House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., tried to tie a bill to extend government spending and avert a federal shutdown to a controversial GOP proposal — the SAVE Act — that would require states to obtain proof of U.S. citizenship when people register to vote. Johnson pulled the idea Wednesday due to lack of support from even his own members. But the issue isn’t likely going away.

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Showcasing The Retailers Who Make Illinois Work

Thursday, Sep 12, 2024 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

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 Brad, who serve their communities with dedication and pride.

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Question of the day

Thursday, Sep 12, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The setup…


* The Question: Should Jerry Reinsdorf sell the White Sox? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.

online polls


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Fun with numbers

Thursday, Sep 12, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Total electric vehicle counts for Illinois as of August 15th of each year, according to the Secretary of State’s office…

* I asked Isabel to make a couple of graphs…

* Crain’s headline…


* Scroll way down…

A big reason for slower growth in Illinois this year: New registrations of Teslas, which is the top-selling brand of EVs in Illinois and accounts for more than half of the state’s unit sales, dropped 18% in the first six months from the year-ago period.

Elon has been damaging his brand with his online antics…

Trump surrogate Elon Musk sends creepy tweet to Taylor Swift as campaign goes beyond weird

* Also, according to AAA, last year at this time, Illinois gas prices averaged $3.979 per gallon. Today, they’re $3.49 per gallon, a 12 percent drop.

* More from the Crain’s story…

Illinois has one of the lowest amounts of public chargers per EV in the country, according to data compiled by digital-mapping company Here Technologies and research firm SBD Automotive. Growth in EVs is outpacing the growth in charging capability, and the buildout of public charging points in Illinois has lagged other states, SBD says.

But the state is working to solve that problem. This week, Pritzker announced $25 million in grants to companies who are installing chargers along interstates as part of a nationwide program funded by the Inflation Reduction Act.

Illinois also previously awarded its own funds to build publicly accessible chargers. The state has spent $82.6 million since last year to fund 2,000 fast-charging ports and 638 Level 2 chargers, which will come online this year and next.

That’s still only about half the chargers the state needs, according to the article.

* If the current rate of a 40 percent annual increase holds (and it may not), Illinois will have 837,000 electric vehicles on the road by mid-August of 2030. That’ll obviously be short of the governor’s 1 million goal.

But, if auto manufacturers continue improving their products and Illinois’ charging infrastructure finally catches up with demand, then the goal is achievable.

…Adding… There are also 359,738 hybrid vehicles registered in Illinois. The last time I had a hybrid, I barely used any gasoline except for road trips.

  48 Comments      


After 20 years, Illinois’ neglected arson registry is no longer empty

Thursday, Sep 12, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* The Pantagraph in January…

Nearly 20 years ago, survivors of one of the worst school fires in American history brought a novel idea to Illinois lawmakers: an arsonist registry akin to the long-established database of sex offenders.

The concept was fairly straightforward. Convicted arsonists upon release from prison, plus those found not guilty by reason of insanity, would be required to disclose their address, place of employment and/or the school they attend. […]

Known as the Arsonist Registration Act, it passed the legislature with no opposition and was signed into law by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich in 2004. […]

“Currently, the act is an unfunded mandate,” said ISP spokeswoman Melaney Arnold. “In the 19 years since the act was passed, the General Assembly has never appropriated funding to ISP for this Act. ISP would need to create an extensive, new database (similar to the sex offender registration) and maintain it. This requires funding for setup and ongoing administration of the program.”

* Earlier this week from the Pantagraph…

A spokesman with the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal confirmed to Lee Enterprises on Monday that the Illinois State Police sent over the first set of names and associated information late last month.

As of Sept. 1, there are nine convicted arsonists on the registry, according to the publicly available database on the fire marshal’s website. The arsonist’s birth date, county of residence and information related to their case, such as court case number, charges and conviction date, are also included. […]

Though the number of convicted arsonists living in Illinois is believed to be in the hundreds, the amended law only requires that the registry include names of those convicted after Gov. JB Pritzker signed it earlier this summer. […]

Arsonists’ names will remain on the list for 10 years following their conviction.

  14 Comments      


Fourth time’s the charm: Chicago data residency ordinance moves forward (Updated)

Thursday, Sep 12, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Crain’s in June…

Envious of the data center boom in the suburbs and elsewhere around the country, Ald. Gilbert Villegas, 36th, thinks he has the ticket to boost the city’s share of the pie and increase property tax revenue.

Villegas, who chairs the City Council’s Committee on Economic, Capital & Technology Development, proposes 8% of the city’s new data spending go to vendors who are required to store the information in Chicago facilities. He predicts the ordinance would spur data center construction in the city that could one day generate $50 million to $100 million a year in property tax revenue, as well as jobs to build the facilities.

Villegas is hoping the city can replicate the success of Loudoun County, Va., which has one of the nation’s largest concentrations of data centers just outside Washington, D.C. The county gets $800 million a year in taxes from property and equipment related to data centers, which it says has led to a reduction in the overall tax rate over the past 12 years, according to a presentation at a committee hearing in February. […]

The Chicago region is the nation’s third-largest market for data centers, the often-massive buildings that house computer servers required to run websites, process stock trades or route wireless calls and data.

But much of the local construction boom has taken place in the suburbs near O’Hare Airport, where land is cheaper and access to electricity and optical-fiber networks is plentiful. Despite having 29% of the Chicago metro area’s population, the city has just 21% of the region’s data center capacity, according to Intelligence & Strategic Advisors, a consulting firm based in Oak Brook.

* The ordinance was blocked by the mayor’s office and the business community in July…

The ordinance has been amended several times since it was first introduced by Ald. Gil Villegas, 36th, who chairs the committee. He says the incentive would encourage data center construction in Chicago, which would boost the city’s property tax base without burdening taxpayers. […]

Ahead of the vote, Johnson’s intergovernmental affairs team whipped votes against the ordinance, and the administration told the committee it was thankful for the amendments but still had concerns. […]

Brad Tietz, vice president of government relations at the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, told the committee the chamber appreciated Villegas’ attempt to lure data centers to the city, but argued the best way forward was through zoning and permitting reforms to make it easier to construct the centers.

Tietz also alleged the ordinance was meant to “support only one company, while simultaneously doing nothing to attract data centers to Chicago, yet imposing antiquated procurement requirements on Chicago government agencies.”

*The ordinance passed the Economic, Capital and Technology Development Committee yesterday. The Tribune…

An ordinance requiring Chicago’s data be stored within the United States and adding incentives to encourage data be stored locally is moving forward in the City Council. The measure passed the Economic, Capital and Technology Development Committee on Wednesday and is set to face a full council vote next week.

The ordinance broadly defines data, suggesting the information generated by the city in the many tasks it and its employees complete — such as issuing tickets, collecting fees, sending emails and more — would be affected. No rules govern where Chicago’s data is stored now and it is likely scattered at many locations, said Ald. Gilbert Villegas, 36th, sponsor of the measure and chair of the committee.

The bid to leverage the millions Chicago spends on data storage to spur storage center development is another step toward turning Chicago into the “Silicon Prairie,” Villegas said. State incentives for data centers have already sparked $3 billion in economic development, he added.

“How much of that has come to Chicago? I’ll tell you: less than 15%,” Villegas said. “We have to demonstrate that Chicago is open for business.” […]

The data storage incentives advanced Wednesday are lower than those proposed in a first draft of the ordinance Villegas initially shared. That version faced opposition from the Johnson administration, but the mayor’s team is now “neutral” on the ordinance after a series of changes, Villegas said.

* Sun-Times…

A single data center could generate as much as $13 million annually in property taxes, according to ordinance supporters. But many centers are located in Chicago’s suburbs such as Hoffman Estates, where construction has started at the former Sears headquarters to build a massive data center campus.

Advocates say that data centers would create short-term construction jobs and permanent positions, ranging from tech roles to security and maintenance positions. Data center jobs don’t necessarily require a four-year degree and are more accessible to diverse job seekers.

Craig Huffman, CEO of Metro Edge Development Partners and supporter of the ordinance, said in a statement, “As the only Black developer of data centers in Illinois, I am dedicated to paving the way for others who look like me to enter this expanding market, and create new career opportunities and economic growth in underserved communities.”

In 2022, Metro Edge announced plans for the company’s first data center in Illinois Medical District. The 191,000-square-foot facility will provide data storage for hospitals, healthcare providers, universities and corporations, according to the company’s website. A groundbreaking is scheduled for next year.

* Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce…

“The Chicagoland region has become a national and global hub for data center growth, which has led to billions of dollars of investment into our local communities, significant property tax revenues generated, and thousands of union construction jobs. However, despite claims made by proponents, the data residency ordinance before City Council today will give data centers a reason to cross Chicago off their list for site selection. This ordinance would be the first in the country to legislatively mandate data residency requirements and will result in unintended consequences, including increased costs on city vendors and city agencies at a time when the city is already facing a nearly $1 billion budget gap, decreased cybersecurity protections, and reduced efficiency, security and innovation. Data residency is a fundamentally flawed and antiquated concept that contradicts modern data processing and storage practices.

As Chicago nears a precarious fiscal moment, we urge members of City Council to instead focus on ways to actually encourage data center growth and grow Chicago’s tax base, like establishing tax credits for minority-owned data centers, employment incentives to hire from City Colleges of Chicago, and zoning and permitting reforms for data centers. We stand ready to continue working with Alderman Villegas and other members of City Council to ensure Chicago remains a leader in the data center space.”

* The Software & Information Industry Association…

The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) urges the City Council of the City of Chicago to reject Ordinance 2-68-050, Data Residency Requirements for City Data (“the Ordinance”). SIIA is the principal trade association for those in the business of information, including its aggregation, dissemination, and productive use. Our members include roughly 375 companies reflecting the broad and diverse landscape of digital content providers and users in academic publishing, education technology, and financial information, along with creators of software and platforms used worldwide, and companies specializing in data analytics and information services.

The Ordinance would represent a shift in City policy toward data localization, something unprecedented in the United States. We believe the Ordinance would have significant unintended consequences. Chief among these are decreased cybersecurity protections and a reduction in the general efficiency of data storage practices that accompany localization. The Ordinance would also lead to an increase in data storage costs that will hurt the City’s revenue base.

First, the Ordinance would increase the risk that City data could be exposed to cybersecurity incidents. By centralizing all City data in centers located within the City or the state, rather than taking advantage of hyperscale cloud computing solutions, the Ordinance would in effect put a target on the local data centers readily knowable by a malicious actor. A significant percentage of cloud breaches target on-premises or localized systems as the weakest link. As such, the approach incentivized by the Ordinance would weaken the protection of all City data storage. It would also reduce the ability of service providers to use innovative technologies to improve cybersecurity protections and implement efficient data storage methods that can reduce costs.

Second, localizing data as provided for in the Ordinance would actually increase the City’s storage costs in several ways. Currently, data centers can reduce costs to customers by providing economies of scale. Requiring that data be stored locally would require increased costs to create local architectures and infrastructure to store data, which increases storage costs. This will inevitably have a negative impact on the City’s costs, hurting the goal of increasing the City’s revenue.

…Adding… President of the Chicago Urban League Karen Freeman-Wilson…

Dear Alderman Villegas:

I am writing to express my full endorsement of Ordinance 2-68-050, Data Residency Requirements for City Data, which I believe is an important ordinance that will garner many positive results in our communities, especially in the South and West Side neighborhoods. As the President and CEO of the Chicago Urban League, our organization has been at the forefront of providing strategic and impactful advocacy, programming, and outreach in education, economic development, and social justice. Born out of a national movement to meet the needs of Black people migrating to urban areas in search of a better life, the Urban League has been fearless in our efforts to remove barriers that prevent individuals and families from opportunities that enable them to strengthen their lives and their communities. And this is one of those moments, Alderman Villegas.

The proposed Ordinance for data residency offers significant benefits, particularly for communities of color and underserved areas. By localizing data storage and management, the city can generate substantial economic growth through job creation and increased property tax revenues. This influx of resources can be directed toward improving infrastructure, education, and public services in historically marginalized communities, thereby reducing disparities and promoting equity.

Additionally, local data centers can provide new employment opportunities in tech and related sectors, offering pathways to well-paying jobs and career advancement for residents. By fostering an environment that prioritizes local investment and community engagement, data residency can act as a catalyst for sustainable development and empowerment in Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods. The ordinance has the potential to foster partnerships with minority and women-owned enterprises. This approach ensures that the technology sector’s economic growth, driven by data center developments that prioritize inclusive opportunities for diverse businesses, thrives. By supporting local talent and businesses, we can build a more equitable economy.

The Data Residency Ordinance is necessary and creates accountability in our city agencies. This proposal will help drive economic growth and create opportunities for underserved communities, and I fully support this initiative and look forward to contributing to its success. Thank you for your leadership and dedication to making Chicago a better place for all its residents.

…Adding… Alderman Gilbert Villegas…

The data residency ordinance is designed to stimulate economic activity and create jobs at a critical time for our city. By incentivizing the storage of data in Chicago, we can encourage data center development which would generate new property tax revenue without raising taxes on working families and small businesses. It is bizarre to oppose a measure that drives economic growth, creates jobs, and doesn’t ask taxpayers to bear the burden of closing our almost $1 billion budget gap.

While we appreciate points around zoning and permitting reforms, that doesn’t mean we should pass on opportunities to compete with other regions to host data centers and create a reliable source of new revenue and good-paying jobs.

Also, the ordinance does not require that all city data get stored within city limits, as opponents claim. We’re simply looking to expand our piece of the data center pie and all the benefits that come with it by providing incentives to store more data in Chicago, which is neither a mandate nor a requirement.

We need to be innovative and find new ways to generate revenue without relying on the same old mechanisms of fines, fees, property taxes, and TIF surplus sweeps, which too often fall on the backs of everyday Chicagoans. It’s puzzling to see opposition coming from those who often ask local government to come up with revenue solutions that don’t involve tax increases.

I will continue to push for the passage of this ordinance and urge my colleagues at City Council to join me in positioning Chicago as a leader in the data-driven economy and investing in our city and residents.

Thoughts?

  22 Comments      


Open thread

Thursday, Sep 12, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* What’s going on in your part of Illinois?…

  11 Comments      


Isabel’s morning briefing

Thursday, Sep 12, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: End of cash bail in Illinois has not resulted in more crime, but has affected court system. CBS…

    - The biggest concern was that the abolition of cash bail would lead to a rise in crime. The bottom line from the first year of data since the Pretrial Fairness Act was implemented is that such a thing has not happened.

    - But the law has, in fact, impacted the court system in other ways. Professor David Olson of the Loyola University Chicago Center for Criminal Justice said he’s hearing more about “strength of evidence” and “risk assessment.”

    - Of the nearly 9,000 detention-eligible cases in Illinois at which the team looked, 36% of defendants were detained.

    - Before the law went into effect, about 17% of defendants missed their court appearance. Now, it is 15%.

* Related stories…

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Sun-Times | All agree ‘King Madigan’ ruled, but jurors must decide whether speaker was bribed in latest corruption trial: Now La Schiazza is accused of bribing Madigan by hiring a Madigan ally in order to get crucial legislation passed. Though La Schiazza’s attorneys don’t dispute Madigan’s influence, prosecutors still hammered the point home to jurors as the trial began in earnest Wednesday. “Madigan exercised enormous control over Illinois politics and policy,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Mower said in his opening statement. “And that power was no secret, including to the defendant.”

* Tribune | ‘Everyone in the system is beholden to the speaker’: Opening statements kick off trial of ex-AT&T boss accused of bribing Madigan: Mower said Cullen and Selcke will tell the jury that “Acevedo was one of the last people that anyone at AT&T wanted working for their company,” largely because of his loose lips and lack of work ethic. “Acevedo talked too much, drank too much and was generally despised by Republicans in Springfield,” [ Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Mower] said. So they came up with a scheme to pay Acevedo through a third party — Cullen — and keep his name completely off AT&T’s books, Mower said.

* Tribune | Jerry Reinsdorf concedes the obvious — it’s a ‘very painful’ season for Chicago White Sox fans: With the Chicago White Sox drawing national attention as they close in on the modern-day MLB record for losses, Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf conceded the obvious Wednesday, calling it a “very painful” season. “Everyone in this organization is extremely unhappy with the results of this season, that goes without saying,” Reinsdorf said in a statement released after reporters left the clubhouse following the team’s 114th loss, a 6-4 defeat at the hands of the Cleveland Guardians.

*** Statehouse News ***

* 25 News Now | State government investing money to find the homeless population jobs, the planning starts now: Most of the program’s money is going to organizations near Chicago, but a team of groups in Central Illinois have received $841,190 to support their work. Career Link will be administering the grant, while United Way and Phoenix Community Development Services will work directly with unhoused people. […] They plan to provide job training and support services that will help people overcome barriers to employment. Some of their ideas are rapid rehousing, job readiness training, and adult education, but the planning process just began.

* KFVS | Illinois lawmakers hold hearing pharmacy benefit managers impact on specialty drug market: Wednesday’s state House Health Care Availability and Accessibility Committee hearing focused on PBMs and specifically how they affect the specialty drug market. Illinois Department of Insurance (DOI) Acting Director Ann Gillespie said the FTC report shows PBMs are classifying more drugs as specialty.

*** Statewide ***

* Crain’s | Pritzker wants to rev up EVs in Illinois, but buyers are tapping the brakes: New EV registrations this year averaged 2,457 per month through August, or about 12% less than during the same period a year ago, according to the Illinois secretary of state. EVs made up about 5.9% of all new-car registrations in Illinois through the first six months of this year, compared with 6.5% last year, according to S&P Global Mobility. There were 111,107 EVs registered in Illinois as of mid-August, according to the Illinois secretary of state. The total number of EVs is still growing, up 21% year-to-date. But it’s increasing more slowly than before.

* Sun-Times | Illinois DMVs now accepting contactless payment — with digital IDs coming down the road: State business services and index facilities have also been equipped with new credit card readers to accept contactless payments, including tap-to-pay cards that don’t require signatures. “More and more people are ditching their physical wallets for digital ones,” Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said. ““We are leveraging this to shorten waiting times, get people out the door more quickly and keep people’s information more safe from fraud in the process.”

* WTTW | WTTW News Explains: How Does the Illinois Assault Weapons Ban Work?: At a high level, the law describes an assault weapon as a semiautomatic firearm with the capacity to fire a lot of rounds quickly. That includes AR-15 style guns — like those used in the mass shootings in suburban Highland Park, as well as in Uvalde, Texas; Buffalo, New York; and elsewhere. The law prohibits high-capacity magazines as well, defining them as anything with at least 10 rounds of ammunition for long guns; 15 for handguns.

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | Mayor Brandon Johnson exempts police, fire from citywide hiring freeze after backlash: Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration announced Wednesday that a recent hiring freeze across city government would not apply to police and fire employees, following backlash and confusion from pro-law enforcement aldermen. Johnson’s budget team spokesperson, LaKesha Gage Woodard, told the Tribune in a phone call that public safety positions are in fact exempt from the hiring freeze enacted Monday but maintained that was always the plan. “No, it wasn’t a reversal. Absolutely not,” Gage Woodard said.

* Chalkbeat | Contributions start flowing into Chicago’s school board race: Campaigning in Chicago’s historic school board race is ramping up, and so are financial and in-kind contributions to candidates, which now total at least $650,000. Recent weeks have seen an uptick in support for Chicago Teachers Union-endorsed candidates and others who are drawing backing from political committees, labor unions, and other organized groups. Meanwhile, the Illinois Network of Charter Schools’ political arm is finalizing a slate of candidates to endorse and gearing up to enter the fray with a multimillion-dollar war chest at a time when the district has signaled a move away from school choice and charters are under growing scrutiny.

* Tribune | Court finds Trump Tower violated environmental laws and endangered fish in the Chicago River: “Effectively, what was found is, there’s no question that they have done all the things that they were accused of doing,” Margaret Frisbie, executive director of Friends of the Chicago River, told the Tribune. A lawsuit filed in 2018 by then-Attorney General Lisa Madigan alleged the cooling system intake structure at Trump Tower siphoned water from the river so powerfully that it sucked in fish and trapped them against its screens, resulting in the death of thousands of aquatic organisms. Because of the system’s capability to pull in more than 20 million gallons of water from the river per day, federal law required extensive studies of its environmental impact and of fish populations in the river. The building also pumps water back into the river that is up to 35 degrees hotter.

* Sun-Times | Mom of slain Chicago Police Officer Ella French confronts killer as he gets life in prison: ‘With our choices come consequences’: Kim Foxx, who as state’s attorney has championed exonerations for people wrongfully imprisoned and has overseen hundreds of cases overturned over police misconduct allegations, said Morgan’s case didn’t compare with those. Foxx told reporters she was sympathetic to “whatever reality” Flores had to create to process the consequences for her son but added, “I don’t think this is a sentence that anyone, outside of Mr. Morgan’s mother, would question as a just sentence.”

* Block Club | ComEd Cited For Giant, Unfixed Hole On South Side Block: City officials have cited ComEd in connection with an unfinished construction project that’s left a huge hole in the middle of a South Side block for months. The utility company is being cited for operating with an expired permit in May, when workers dug into the ground to fix earlier damage to its cable lines, Chicago Department of Transportation spokesperson Erica Schroeder told Block Club Chicago.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* US News | Chicago’s Suburbs and the Blue Shift in Illinois: Chicago’s four other collar counties, the nickname given to the five counties that surround the centrally located Cook County in the Chicago metropolitan area, have followed similar evolutions. In 2000, none of the five collar counties gave the Democratic presidential nominee a majority. By 2020, four of the five – all but McHenry County – backed the Democratic presidential candidate, with vote shares between 53% and 61%.

* Daily Herald | Elk Grove reverses rule aimed at deterring migrants from local motels: Since enacting the ordinance, Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson said there were no reports of migrants staying in local hotels, and none since nearly 100 Venezuelan migrants left the former La Quinta Inn in April 2023. The motel — since purchased and demolished by the village — was among the first suburban locations to host new arrivals in September 2022. […] Elk Grove is keeping a different part of its ordinance that aims to prevent owners of warehouses or vacant shopping centers from turning their buildings into temporary housing. Property owners have to get a village license and meet certain zoning and health and safety requirements, such as providing a complete bathroom including flush toilet, sink, bath or shower in each sleeping unit.

* Daily Herald | Naperville could settle wrongful conviction lawsuit for $22.5 million: Amor was sentenced to 45 years in prison in 1997, after he was convicted of arson and murder in connection with the 1995 death of his mother-in-law, Marianne Miceli, in a condo fire on the 1800 block of Bailey Road in Naperville. Amor maintained his confession was coerced and experts testified at his second trial that the way he confessed to starting the fire was impossible. The same year he was acquitted, Amor filed a lawsuit against the city claiming that Naperville police officers “reached an agreement among themselves” to frame him.

* Daily Herald | Mount Prospect ethics policy seeps into festival discussion: Mount Prospect’s recent passage of an ethics ordinance is already affecting village business. Two trustees, William Grossi and Vince Dante, withdrew from Tuesday’s public discussion about a new special events policy, citing potential conflicts of interest stemming from their involvement with the Lions Club. Grossi is current president, while Dante is a past president. The village supports such Lions Club events as the Bluesmobile Cruise Nights, the 4th of July Festival and the Farmers Market. The Lions donate annually to help stock the village’s food pantry.

*** Downstate ***

* WCIA | U of I service workers reach new agreement with university, members voting: SEIU Local 73, representing food and building service workers, told WCIA that it reached a tentative agreement with the university on Wednesday. Union members will be voting through the end of the week on whether to ratify the new contract. A union representative said they expect to have another statement available on Friday.

* WCIA | Central IL police investigating string of recent school threats: Several police departments across Central Illinois are investigating a series of threats that have been made against area schools this week. So far, it appears that the threats are part of a nationwide trend with no apparent connection to the area.

  16 Comments      


Live coverage

Thursday, Sep 12, 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.

  Comment      


Selected press releases (Live updates)

Thursday, Sep 12, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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