* Cook County Record…

Illinois state officials say reforms put in place earlier have significantly eased the crushing burden that had buried state appeals courts under an avalanche of appeals from accused criminals seeking to use a controversial Illinois law that eliminated cash bail to challenge judges’ orders keeping them in jail while they await trial. […]

But Illinois Fourth District Appellate Court Justice Eugene G. Doherty, who chaired Pretrial Release Task Force, said the numbers of appeals are down 88% from their all-time highs at the beginning of the year.

“The Task Force wasn’t just trying to reduce the volume of appeals, but to ensure that the option of an appeal from pretrial detention orders remained viable,” Doherty said in a statement emailed to The Record.

“We think we found the sweet spot, meaning that the door remains wide open to appeal when trial counsel makes the reasoned judgment that an appeal should be taken. What has been lost are the rote, pro forma appeals that were contributing substantially to the volume.”

* Capitol News Illinois…

Early childhood intervention advocates are calling on the state to increase funding by $60 million to better support children with developmental delays and disabilities who are on long waiting lists for the critical services and care.

“Babies can’t wait” is the rallying cry for Raising Illinois, the coalition championing the request for new funding in the upcoming fiscal year budget. They held rallies from Oct. 22 through Nov. 1 in nine cities, including Champaign, Peoria, Aurora and Chicago, calling attention to staffing shortages and long wait times for families to access early intervention services. The coalition called attention to 3,500 babies and toddlers being left on waiting lists every day to receive early intervention services.

Early intervention is a state-funded program that offers families with infants, toddlers and children up to age 3 access to speech therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy and more support if the child has a developmental delay or disability. The goal is to help children and families get the necessary resources to address development, speaking and mobility, as well as physical, cognitive and emotional abilities they may need support to develop in early childhood.

The extra funding would help attract more therapists and providers in early intervention. According to a report published by Raising Illinois, around 500 early intervention providers have left the profession every year since 2019 in the state.

*** Statewide ***

* WTVO | More Democrats considering moving to Illinois following Trump victory: “You are seeing more migration patterns following politics,” said Conor Brown, CEO of the NorthWest Illinois Alliance of Realtors in Rockford. “And some of it could be social issues, whether it’s guns and abortion. Or, it could be economic issues like business and taxes and things like that.” Brown says the reaction by the public following this year’s election is nothing new. “I think we saw some acceleration during the COVID period, as well,” he said. “As much as it was a health care issue, it was also a political issue. And I think people moved to states that favored what they felt was their point of view on the issue.” … Politics aside, Brown said moving to Illinois can pay off for those who are willing to wait out the housing shortage. “Throughout our region, we are adding more jobs,” he said. “We have such strong demand for employees here that it is making it attractive for people to relocate.”

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Top mayoral aide says ‘world view’ has changed since she openly pushed to defund police: On Thursday, Bartley talked about the controversy that might have cost her the City Hall job she now holds if not for “the grace we give each other when we’re in tense moments,” she said. She’s “learned a ton,” she said, since making the transition from a community organizer demanding change to a City Hall insider with power to make things happen.

* Illinois Answers | ‘Empire of Neglected And Hazardous Vacant Lots’ Declares Bankruptcy, But City of Chicago Cries Fraud: City attorneys accuse Northbrook resident Suzie B. Wilson and her sister, Swedlana Dass, of concealing their wealth by transferring their local properties “around like candy” to businesses based in South Dakota, leaving the Illinois’ companies that owe the city millions of dollars “completely insolvent.” The transfers started after Illinois Answers Project and Block Club Chicago first revealed that their businesses owed the city more than $15 million in unpaid tickets for such violations as overgrown weeds and garbage on vacant lots the businesses owned.

* Block Club | Avondale’s Our Lady Of Fatima Church To Be Demolished For 3 Single-Family Homes: Demolition of the church and parking lot began Monday, when crews were seen securing the property with a fence and tearing up portions of the parking lot. A construction worker onsite Tuesday said the demolition could take a few days depending on the building’s condition. The church is most notable for being a mission church under the umbrella of St. Hyacinth parish to help relieve overcrowding at the main church a mile away between the 1940s-1990, said local historian and Polish advocate Dan Pogorzelski. A mission church supports and operates under another church that acts as the parish seat.

* Sun-Times | 48 hours aboard Amtrak’s new direct train from Chicago to Miami: We get underway exactly on time. A conductor comes by and scan’s everyone’s tickets while we’re briefly stopped in the Union Station yard. His face contorts in confusion when he sees that we’re riding all the way to Miami in coach.

* Block Club | 23 Migrant Couples Say ‘I Do’ At Mass Wedding: ‘I’m So Happy We Had This Opportunity’: Wearing a black suit and a smile, Gilson Rojas said he was happy to see his parents officially tie the knot. The Venezuelan family of five arrived in the United States three months ago, staying in California for a few weeks before arriving in Chicago. “I feel happy. I never thought I’d see them get married,” Gilson Rojas said in Spanish. All the couples at the mass wedding have been with their significant other for years and already have children. A wedding, however, was out of reach as they faced instability in their home country or had to emigrate — in some cases, more than once, some said.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Naperville Sun | Naperville council candidate removed from ballot because of nominating petition errors: Farid Malik Shabazz cannot run for the Naperville City Council in April because his nominating petitions did not reflect his recent name change, a city electoral board ruled Wednesday. Shabazz, a first-time candidate, says he does not plan to appeal. “I’m a little down,” he said after the ruling. “But it’s a teachable moment. This is a teachable moment.”

* Daily Herald | Geneva alderperson facing ethics complaint over Facebook post about pro-Trump businesses: A post in a private Facebook group that listed pro-Trump businesses and claimed they have “terrible politics” has resulted in an ethics complaint against a Geneva City Council member. There also are calls for her to be fired from her job with the city of Aurora. Geneva Alderperson Martha Paschke said that although she was an administrator for the Fox Valley Activists’ Facebook page, she is no longer. In addition, she says she did not create the list and did not post it.

* Cook County Record | 77 of 78 Cook County judges poised to retain seats on bench; O’Malley falling short: According to unofficial tallies posted by the Cook County Clerk’s office and the Chicago Board of Elections as of Friday evening, Nov. 8, Cook County Judge Shannon O’Malley, formerly known as Phillip Spiwak, appeared to be falling short of the threshold needed to win a new term. […] O’Malley, however, has spent most of the past week hovering just below that 60% threshold. According to unofficial returns, O’Malley stood at 59% voting “Yes,” as of Tuesday, Nov. 12. That would place him about 8,870 votes short of winning retention, according to Cook County Record estimates. Other judicial retention candidates who have so far failed to collect more than 65% voting “Yes” include: Lisa Ann Marino, with 64.9%; and Ieshia Gray, with 61.6%.

* Tribune | Maywood Park District employees working without pay as district faces financial cliff: Since early October, four of the district’s 11-person staff, including interim Executive Director Rod Chaney, have been working without pay while the other seven have either quit or are waiting to return to work. The park district runs four parks and after-school programs, athletics and senior enrichment activities for the roughly 23,000 residents of Maywood. The district has about $3,500 on hand, Board President Dawn Williams said. In January, the district defaulted on a $175,000 loan, Williams said. The district was supposed to use an installment of property tax revenue from that month to pay back the loan, Williams and Chaney said, but the money was instead spent on operating expenses, which includes payroll and bills.

* WTTW | Fermilab Announces Layoffs of 53 Employees Amid Budgetary Pressure: It represents almost 2.5% of its workforce. Fermilab reported about 2,160 employees including scientists and engineers on its website. “This was a difficult decision to reduce these positions,” said Tracy Marc, media relations manager at Fermilab. “They were thoughtfully assessed and focused on positions, not individuals. It was done as an essential step to align the lab’s workforce with Fermilab’s priorities, mission and future budgets.”

* Oak Park Journal | Oak Park plans for phase 2 of alternative police response: Between June 1, 2023, and May 31, 2024, Oak Park received more than 49,000 calls through 911. According to Kira Tchang, the village’s human resources director, more than 20% of those calls, or about 10,000, would have been a “good fit” for alternative response. The intent with phase two, she said, is to tackle most, if not all, of those types of calls. In a village-led second phase, there would be a community care team to respond to low risk behavioral or mental-health related calls and a co-response team to respond to high-risk ones.

* Daily Herald | United Way of Lake County president/CEO to retire after nearly 43 years with nonprofit: Kristi Long will be retiring from the post of president and CEO of United Way of Lake County, effective May 1, 2025. Long has spent 42 years with United Way, in various roles through five organizations in the United States. United Way is an international network of more than 1,800 local nonprofits dedicated to bettering lives. Its Lake County chapter provides resources for food, mental health, health care and jobs, and especially works to ensure children have access to education.

*** Downstate ***

* BND | Belleville considers demolishing 1887 building after rejecting proposal to renovate it: The city-owned buildings include an 1887 two-story brick storefront at 123-127 Mascoutah Ave. Last year, developer Kathy Mordini agreed to buy it from the city for $46,000 and spend another $200,000 to renovate it and turn it into an event center with office space. That deal collapsed after a long negotiation process and opposition by some Belleville Historic District residents, led by former congressman Bill Enyart. They argued that large gatherings in an outdoor courtyard would disrupt the neighborhood. Mordini blamed “politics,” stemming from her support of the late former Mayor Mark Eckert, who was defeated by current Mayor Patty Gregory in 2021. Gregory and other city officials denied that claim, saying the project had been subject to the same rules and procedures applied to any developer.

* WMBD | Lead for Spears in Peoria County judge race increases to 53 votes after Tuesday’s count: John Spears’ lead over Frank Ierulli is now by 53 votes after officials at the Peoria County Election Commission counted 425 ballots on Tuesday. There are two days left for counting, Thursday and then on Nov. 19 when the election results will become official. Only 45 of those were vote by mail. The majority were provisional ballots cast on Election day. There are still about 70 provisional ballots left to go through, said Elizabeth Gannon, the executive director of the election commission.

* Journal Courier | Illinois historical society symposium to honor 206 years of statehood: Sen. Doris Turner, D-Decatur, will give a talk on designs for the new state flag for Illinois during a lunch buffet. From 1 to 2:45 p.m., two speakers will give presentations on Native Americans in the state. Michael Wiant, former director of the Illinois State Museum and Dickson Mounds State Museum, will speak on “Native Americans in Illinois in 1818: Treaties and Treachery in the Path to Statehood.”

*** National ***

* Reuters | Many long COVID patients adjust to slim recovery odds as world moves on: The best window for recovery is in the first six months after getting COVID-19, with better odds for people whose initial illness was less severe, as well as those who are vaccinated, researchers in the United Kingdom and the United States found. People whose symptoms last between six months and two years are less likely to fully recover. For patients who have been struggling for more than two years, the chance of a full recovery “is going to be very slim,” said Manoj Sivan, a professor of rehabilitation medicine at the University of Leeds and one of the authors of the findings published in The Lancet.

* Bloomberg | Rivian, Tesla slide on report Trump plans to nix EV tax credit: Shares of US automakers fell after Reuters reported President-elect Donald Trump plans to eliminate the $7,500 consumer tax credit for electric-vehicle purchases. Trump’s transition team has been discussing ending the subsidy as part of a broader tax-reform effort, Reuters said, citing unidentified sources with direct knowledge of the matter. Representatives of Tesla Inc. also support ending the credit, according to the report.