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Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Monday, Oct 7, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Press release…
* After being interrupted by protesters, Mayor Johnson made this remark during his Chicago Board of Education appointment announcement…
* Also…
* ICYMI, Governor Pritzker is leading a trade mission in Japan…
* Daily Herald | Rivals for 46th District state House seat compare their motivating issues: As they face each other in a second consecutive general election, two Villa Park residents running for the 46th District state House seat are again comparing their different motivations for seeking the office. Democratic incumbent Diane Blair-Sherlock and Republican challenger Robert “Rusty” Stevens first ran in 2022 when they sought to succeed Deborah Conroy, who stepped down to run for DuPage County Board chairman. * WCBU | State looking for public opinions on future of natural gas in Illinois: The Illinois Commerce Commission is deciding the future of natural gas in the state of Illinois, and they want the public’s opinion. The goal of the proceedings is to create an action plan for future gas utilities investment. Scott Allen of the Citizens Utility Board said anyone can provide input. * WSIL | Illinois recognizes October 10th as “National Black Brewers Day”: The recognition came earlier in the month, in collaboration with the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild and National Black Brewers Association, was the first statewide celebration of its kind. It was also the successful introduction of nationally recognizing October 10 as Black Brewer’s Day. Both groups came together for the recognition, and found it was an appropriate celebration for the history and contributions made to beer breweries by Black community. * AP | Chicago mayor names new school board after entire panel resigns amid a fight over district control: Johnson has been trying to oust Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez, who was named to the job in 2021 by Johnson’s predecessor, former Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Johnson, a former Chicago Teachers Union organizer, has clashed with Martinez, including over how best to close gaps in the district’s nearly $10 billion budget. Martinez has declined to resign, citing the need for stability in the district. Rather than step into the fray, all seven members announced their resignations on Friday — a stunning move during the tenure of a mayor who has touted his experience with schools and education equity in the largely low income district. The outgoing members, whose resignations will take effect at the end of the month, were handpicked by Johnson in 2023, months after he took office. They haven’t said publicly why they are resigning. * WBEZ | Mayor Brandon Johnson names all new CPS school board after mass resignations: Johnson’s quick turnaround appointments will aim to project stability and control of a situation that has rocked the city’s political landscape, with a supermajority of City Council members signing a letter over the weekend signaling deep concern over the developments at the city’s school district. All but nine of 50 City Council members signed the letter, including several mayoral allies and 13 of 19 members of the council’s Progressive Caucus. * Tribune | Mayor Johnson unveils new Chicago Board of Education members after stunning shakeup: Facing a large CPS budget deficit this year as pandemic funding ran dry, the mayor’s team pitched the loan but Martinez refused, saying it would be fiscally irresponsible. Over the weekend, following the Board of Education resignation announcements, more than 40 aldermen agreed with Martinez. They posted an open letter blasting the mayor’s handling of the situation and warned against the loan. * Block Club | Mayor Nominates New School Board Members At Combative Press Conference: Johnson said the six members are the “first batch” of appointments he plans to make in the next few months. The Mayor’s Office had initially announced on Friday that seven members would be nominated on Monday. “When I ran for mayor, I promised to transform our public education system. I’m a man of my word, and that means bold leadership in a moment that doesn’t nibble around the edges and look for incremental gain,” Johnson said during a combative Monday morning press conference. * NBC Chicago | Johnson vows to ‘stand firm’ after protesters interrupt school board press conference: Johnson pushed back against those criticisms, pointing to his activism on behalf of the city’s schools before he was elected mayor in 2023. “The most legitimate existence of anyone in this country is the existence of a Black mayor,” he said. “I understand there are individuals who wish to use this as a political opportunity to sow seeds of doubt, but make no mistake about it: I’m going to stand firm and flat-footed to ensure that our students get what they deserve. I was legitimate when I took arrest against the administration when they were closing down Black schools. I was also legitimate when I went down to Springfield to fight for a fully elected school board.” * Chalkbeat | Chicago school board election 2024: Here are the candidates running in District 3: No schools in District 3 are among the top 10% in the state for academic performance, while five are in the bottom 5%, according to data from the Illinois State Board of Elections. Both candidates say District 3 schools should provide more resources to neighborhood families, who are socioeconomically and culturally diverse. * Block Club | 63 Humboldt Park Tent Residents Find Housing Through City Program: A two-day, city-run accelerated moving event at the end of September to provide services to residents and families living at the park connected 63 people to housing, officials announced. At the event, employees with the city’s Department of Family and Support Services and its partner agencies connected 41 households to housing and six to a Chicago Housing Authority voucher program with supportive services outside of the event, said Ald. Jessie Fuentes (26th). * WTTW | 2024 NASCAR Chicago Street Race Generated $128M in Economic Impact for City: Report: This summer’s NASCAR Chicago Street Race weekend generated an estimated $128.1 million in economic impact for the city — up more than 17% from the inaugural race last year, according to a report released by the city’s tourism agency. The NASCAR race, which transformed the streets of downtown into a 2.2-mile street course, is already set to make its return to the city next summer. * Tribune | Faith leaders rally support for gun violence ordinance at Lincoln Park vigil: “We are a mostly white congregation in a mostly white and quite wealthy neighborhood that was intentionally gentrified decades ago to push Black and brown people out,” said the Rev. Beth Brown, the church’s pastor. “It’s important we tell the truth about that. And because of that, we wanted to invite the Lincoln Park neighborhood many, many years ago to see each young person as our young people, as part of our city, and as a result, to want to get activated to address the myriad systemic issues that lead to gun violence. We wanted our neighborhood to understand that no one is free until we are all free.” This is the ninth year the church has held a vigil to accompany the display, bringing Chicagoans together to urge the City Council and Mayor Brandon Johnson to fund sustainable solutions that foster peace. These demands include calls to pass a proposed ordinance to establish a permanent Office for Gun Violence Reduction. * WBEZ | Organizers try to calm chaos at a South Side Home Depot where migrants look for work: In recent weeks, Luciana Diaz has been spending most time outside the Home Depot on west 87th Street in the Chatham neighborhood on the South Side. The Venezuelan native isn’t looking for work, like dozens of other migrants there daily. She is trying to ease rising tensions between the new arrivals and security guards, who want them off store property, as well as local residents who say they are intimidated by the presence of the migrants. Diaz, who leads Panas en Chicago, which advocates for Venezuelan immigrants, says she’s there trying to keep the newly arrived migrants out of trouble. * Crain’s | Blue Owl locks in $1B deal to buy Chicago data center fund manager: Blue Owl Capital has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the business of digital infrastructure fund manager IPI Partners from an affiliate of ICONIQ Capital and an affiliate of Iron Point Partners for a purchase price of about $1 billion. The purchase price will consist of approximately 80% in Blue Owl equity and about 20% cash, said an Oct. 7 news release. * Tribune | 3 men have run every Chicago Marathon since 1977. Now in their 70s, they won’t break the streak.: Burt is among just two other runners in this year’s race who can say they’ve run every Chicago Marathon since it began. George Mueller, 76, of the Streeterville neighborhood, and Henry Kozlowski, 74, of Wilmette, also were among the 4,200 runners in the city’s inaugural race through Chicago streets in 1977. “George Mueller, Randy Burt and Henry Kozlowski are a shining example of the spirit of the marathon, as they have run every Chicago Marathon since its inception,” said the race’s executive director, Carey Pinkowski, in a statement to the Tribune. “Their dedication to the race is a testament to the power of setting goals and working tirelessly to achieve them.” * Daily Herald | ‘Street takeover’ at car show prompts Cary law on nuisance events: The village of Cary has updated an ordinance requiring event permits with regulations for some gatherings, after a car show brought hundreds of attendees to a manufacturing area and took police off guard. The Cary Police Department responded to “several complaints” related to an event April 21 on the 700 block of Industrial Drive. Police closed down Industrial Drive until the crowd dispersed, according to village documents. Complaints ranged from dangerous driving to public urination, Police Chief Patrick Finlon told village board members. * Daily Herald | ‘A lot to fight for’: Homeowners resist developer’s offer: Mark Kiel’s neighborhood is just east of Route 83, near Bensenville and the outskirts of O’Hare International Airport, and yet life in Oakdale Woods is quiet, “like living in the country.” East of the subdivision, down Old Grand Avenue, is the Fischer Farm, a historic homestead that sells eggs. It’s a community where neighbors wave to each other. “The people that want to stay have a lot to fight for,” Kiel said. He and other residents of Oakdale Woods are opposing a developer’s attempts to buy homes in the unincorporated area. They’ve put up yellow yard signs against the “Transwestern Industrial Buyout.” * Daily Herald | McHenry County Board weighing small tax hike to hire deputies: A divided McHenry County Board is discussing whether to approve a small tax increase and fund three new sheriff’s deputy positions. Although taxpayers should see relief on the county portion of their tax bills after leaders upheld their pledge to remove the almost $11 million previously allocated to the Mental Health Board, some on the board have floated more cuts. * Lake & McHenry County Scanner | ‘Impact on the community is immeasurable’: Lake County judge retires after 22 years of service: Colleagues, friends and family gathered Friday to celebrate the retirement of Lake County Associate Judge Theodore S. Potkonjak. “Judge Potkonjak, we have known each other for a long time. I have had the privilege of trying cases with you and cases before you. You have been a model for many of us with your vigorous advocacy as an attorney and your equal administration of justice from the bench. You are truly going to be missed,” Chief Judge Daniel B. Shanes said. * The Times | FEMA opens Technical Assistance Center in Joliet to Support Residents filing relief applications: In coordination with the Will County Emergency Management Agency, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has opened a Disaster Recovery Center in Joliet to provide technical assistance to residents applying for federal assistance from damage sustained during the July 13-16 severe weather. The center is located at the Will County Center for Community Concerns (2455 Glenwood Ave., Joliet) and will be open 8 AM to 7 PM on Mondays through Fridays and from 8 AM to 12 PM on Saturdays. It will be closed on Sundays. * BND | ‘Soup bowl’ of mine subsidence cracks homes and floods streets in Belleville neighborhood: Matt and Carolina Paul thought a well-built 1950s brick ranch home in Belleville would be a good place to start a family, so they bought one on Chaucer Drive and settled into the neighborhood. Then their newlywed bliss became a nightmare. In the past year, the home’s foundation, walls, ceilings, floors and caulking around doors and windows have cracked and shifted due to mine subsidence. Periodic flooding has turned pavement into muddy ruble on Queensway Drive, the street that connects to their driveway. * WCIA | St. Joseph man drives 600 miles, brings truck-load of supplies to Helene victims: Much of the Southeast is still recovering from the destruction of Hurricane Helene. Last week, a St. Joseph tattoo artist stepped up to help. Now, he’s making the more than 600-mile drive to bring essential supplies to those in need. Ryan Johnson has a 26-foot Penske truck packed to the brim with supplies. He and a friend left Saturday night for Lake Lure, North Carolina. Between road closures and the size of the truck, they anticipated the trip to take around 12 hours. * SJ-R | ‘A safe place.’ Rabbi looks to leave his mark on Springfield after leaving South Carolina: Rabbi Greg Kanter said he just wanted to live his life and raise his two daughters in Charleston, South Carolina. When more discriminatory action against the LGBTQ community there reared its head, Kanter and his husband, Mike Merrill, and their family made their way to Springfield. “We didn’t want to constantly feel like we were looking over our shoulders about, is it safe for our kids to go to school, is our marriage in jeopardy, things like that,” said Kanter, in a recent interview. “That was a big part of it.” * WCIA | Oscar Mayer Wienermobile returning to Central IL this week: The 27-foot-long hot dog on wheels previously stopped by Champaign this summer. If you missed your chance then, you can still see the famous vehicle between Oct. 10-13 in several different locations throughout the area. * AP | Spacecraft on its way to investigate asteroid slammed by NASA in a previous save-the-Earth test: The European Space Agency’s Hera spacecraft rocketed away on a two-year journey to the small, harmless asteroid rammed by NASA two years ago in a dress rehearsal for the day a killer space rock threatens Earth. It’s the second part of a planetary defense test that could one day help save the planet. SpaceX’s Falcon rocket quickly disappeared with Hera into the late morning clouds. An hour later, applause erupted in the control center in Germany as the spacecraft separated from the rocket’s upper stage and then called home. “It’s an amazing day,” the space agency’s director general Josef Aschbacher said afterward. * USA Today | Hurricane Milton grows ‘explosively’ stronger with 175-mph winds: “Milton explosively intensifies with 175-mph winds,'’ the National Hurricane Center said in its 2 p.m. ET advisory, urging Florida residents to heed the advice of local officials. The storm, now about 700 miles from the state, rapidly strengthened from Category 2 to 5 in just a few hours Monday. By Tuesday, Milton’s intensity “should be dictated by any eyewall replacement cycles, which will likely cause the system to gradually weaken but grow larger,” the NHC said. * New Yorker | Silicon Valley, the New Lobbying Monster: The super PAC and two affiliates soon revealed in federal filings that they had collected more than a hundred and seventy million dollars, which they could spend on political races across the nation in 2024, with more donations likely to come. That was more than nearly any other super PAC, including Preserve America, which supports Donald Trump, and WinSenate, which aims to help Democrats reclaim that chamber. Pro-crypto donors are responsible for almost half of all corporate donations to PACs in the 2024 election cycle, and the tech industry has become one of the largest corporate donors in the nation. The point of all that money, like of the attack on Porter, has been to draw attention to Silicon Valley’s financial might—and to prove that its leaders are capable of political savagery in order to protect their interests. “It’s a simple message,” the person familiar with Fairshake said. “If you are pro-crypto, we will help you, and if you are anti we will tear you apart.”
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- Friendly Bob Adams - Monday, Oct 7, 24 @ 3:15 pm:
Johnson continues to build quite a reputation for himself. It’s hard to avoid the impression that things will continue to go downhill for the city.
- Henry Francis - Monday, Oct 7, 24 @ 3:33 pm:
Someone should ask the mayor for a list of the companies that he is meeting with while in London.
- So Let Me Get This Straight - Monday, Oct 7, 24 @ 3:40 pm:
The Mayor plans his own business trip to London, while the Governor and leaders of the GA are in Tokyo. Then decides that he is going to dismantle the current school board while everyone is out of town, and he is offended by the question???
- TJ - Monday, Oct 7, 24 @ 4:10 pm:
I’m all for dogpiling on the mayor, but going to London to coincide with the Bears being in town and interest in Chicago hopefully being at a high point doesn’t seem like it’s that dumb of an idea.
Assuming that he actually does work over there, which is probably too much of an assumption admittedly.
- Three Dimensional Checkers - Monday, Oct 7, 24 @ 4:20 pm:
Can we get Mayor Johnson to do things if he thinks Gov. Pritzker is doing them? I hear Gov. Pritzker is planning to resign from being Mayor of Chicago.
- Parlay Player - Monday, Oct 7, 24 @ 4:40 pm:
The Mayor is exhausting.