|
Isabel’s morning briefing
Friday, Dec 13, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller * We’re thrilled to share that we’re nearing $26,000 in our annual drive to bring Christmas joy to foster kids! But there’s still work to do—so far, we’ve only covered presents for about 40 percent of the kids in Lutheran Social Services of Illinois’ care. Let’s keep this momentum going! Every little bit helps. Click here to donate and make a difference. Thank you so much! * ICYMI: Mayor Brandon Johnson calls off vote on 2025 city budget. Sun-Times…
- Johnson steadfastly refused to avoid layoffs of furlough days that would impact the unions that put him in office. Nor would he risk eliminating hundreds of police vacancies. - Johnson will now spend the next few days making additional changes in hopes of attracting the 26 votes needed to pass the budget at a meeting next Wednesday. * Related stories…
∙ WBEZ: As Mayor Johnson struggles to balance Chicago’s budget, he’s reserving millions for cops who’ll never be hired ∙ Crain’s: Fearing rejection, vote on Mayor Brandon Johnson’s $17.3 billion 2025 budget to be delayed * Tribune | The best images of 2024 by Chicago Tribune photographers : In 2024, Tribune photographers captured the emotions — anger and joy, determination and fear — that defined an unforgettable year. Through their lenses, our staff documented a 12-month period marked by social change, political extremism, human resilience, environmental challenges and moments of collective celebration. * NPR | Dixon State Rep. expresses outrage after President Biden commutes the sentence of former City Comptroller Rita Crundwell: * Axios | Illinois flag redesign: Readers pick their favorite: This week, the Illinois Flag Commission announced 10 finalists in the running to be the state’s new flag. We asked you to pick your favorite. 21% of you like No. 6 (above), which features a bust of Abraham Lincoln inside an outline of Illinois. * WICS | Clanin Creative honored as Illinois flag design finalist, highlights agriculture: Clanin Creative design agency right here in Champaign is one of 10 finalists selected by the Illinois Flag Commission. Their design was chosen out of 5,000 others. Clanin Creative says they were shocked to be named a finalist. And no matter the outcome this is a huge milestone for them. * Sun-Times | Growth of Chicago area data centers taking off with no signs of a slowdown: Data centers — sprawling facilities that help power the tech behind everything from online shopping to scheduling dentist appointments — are popping up across the country, and Chicago has been recognized as one of the leaders. Industry experts say Chicago and nearby suburbs will continue to be an industry powerhouse, with 30 data center projects planned over the next five years. Utility infrastructure will also expand as companies look toward the suburbs to fit their land needs. But if large companies like Microsoft, Meta or Oracle secure agreements for new data centers, it could eat up the region’s extra power capabilities. * Block Club | What Happened To Neighborhoods When Their Schools Closed? New Documentary Explores Aftermath: “Beyond Closure,” by Chicago-based Borderless Studio and On The Real Film, features local journalists and community advocates reflecting on the school closures and looking toward the future as some of the vacant properties are redeveloped. * Chalkbeat Chicago | Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson appoints a seventh school board member: * NBC Chicago | Lawmakers push for hearings on state’s hemp industry in January: Local lawmakers are pushing for hearings on Illinois’ hemp industry next month, highlighting a push for further regulation and more emphasis on social equity in the business. Chicago Ald. William Hall said Thursday that he will be seeking a public subject hearing on hemp shortly after the new year. * Sun-Times | IBM will join Illinois’ sprawling quantum park on South Side, state aims to be ‘the global quantum capital’: IBM’s decision is a huge win for Gov. JB Pritzker, who has for years sought to make Illinois a global leader in quantum computing and innovation. The announcement comes a day after the City Council gave the multibillion-dollar quantum computing campus final zoning approval. * CBS | Chicago firefighters’ union casts “no confidence” vote against CFD leadership: In a letter posted on the union’s Facebook page, Cleary noted that, even as firefighters were putting out a fire at the County Building and City Hall on Wednesday, the city’s contract negotiators “appeared unprepared to discuss anything relevant to the contract issues that Local 2 leadership provided months to years in advance.” * Block Club | Meet The Death Doulas Helping Chicagoans Die — And Live — Better: The Chicago Death Doula Collective specializes in “death work,” helping people with end-of-life planning and emotional support through art, therapy, massage and other healing practices. * Daily Southtown | Tiffany Henyard, once seen as a reformer, now at odds with both her boards. What happened?: But not long after her election as mayor and even before her installation as supervisor of the state’s biggest township, Henyard began clashing with village trustees over spending and transparency. Her building and breaking down of intergovernmental relationships would continue in Dolton and at the township. Now she faces head winds as she seeks reelection as mayor in the February Democratic primary and tries to challenge being kept off the ballot in her run for a full term as township supervisor. * Daily Herald | School districts approve Arlington Park tax deal with Bears: Three Arlington Heights-area school districts have given stamps of approval to an agreement with the Chicago Bears that resolves a property tax dispute over Arlington Park and other issues. Boards of education for Northwest Suburban High School District 214 and Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 voted on the 12-page memorandum of understanding late Thursday, following the Palatine Township Elementary District 15 school board’s vote Wednesday night. * Sun-Times | Dispute between a landlord and city of Markham has young family paying the price: A dispute between the city of Markham and a landlord has left the property owner’s tenant and her four young children without water for nearly a month, a newly-filed lawsuit says. The lack of running water for Iesha Taylor made for a dismal Thanksgiving and has threatened to ruin Christmas as well, says Taylor, a single mom who’s been decamping to nearby hotels so her kids ages 4, 7, 13 and 15 can wash up, shower and sleep. * WCIA | Outgoing DACC president voted off board of trustees ballot: Community member Lynn McLinden filed an objection against Nacco’s candidacy. The board’s decision was based on Nacco not having the needed 50 registered voter signatures on his candidate paperwork. They disqualified 33 of his signatures because of incorrect addresses among other reasons. * BND | Lawsuit: East St. Louis allows sewage to spill into lake, Mississippi, despite EPA orders: East St. Louis Mayor Charles Powell III and City Manager Robert Betts could not immediately be reached for comment about the lawsuit on Wednesday. Attorneys representing the city also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The complaint alleges that untreated sewage spills from East St. Louis outfalls into the Mississippi River and Whispering Willow Lake during “high-flow conditions,” such as heavy rain. * WSIL | Three Polar Plunge events scheduled in southern Illinois for Special Olympics: The Polar Plunge started in Lake Bluff in 1999 with 150 plungers. This event raised more than $34,000. Since then, thousands of people plunged in the frigid waters across the state of Illinois, supporting Special Olympics Illinois for more than two dozen years.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
- Tim - Friday, Dec 13, 24 @ 8:19 am:
Didn’t have the votes to pass a budget. Hope no one on this thread, even the progressives are surprised by this. The people are tapped out. The budget has gone up about 50% in six years. The money that funded our poor spending habits is going away. No one should vote for any representative at any level of gubmint that really believes the problem is that they don’t have enough money to spend. The problem is how it is spent. As a fiscal conservative, it has been entertaining watching the mayor flail about these last few weeks.
- Phineas - Friday, Dec 13, 24 @ 8:31 am:
I really hope the flag commission used ranked choice voting or - even better - a March madness bracket. Otherwise we’ll get stuck with a lame plurality pick.
- H-W - Friday, Dec 13, 24 @ 8:46 am:
@ Tim
=== The money that funded our poor spending habits is going away. ===
What about the money that funded our good spending habits? Is that going away too?
One can be a fiscal conservative without being a political conservative. If you find entertainment in failed leadership, you are a sad person. If on the other hand, you find the problems surmountable, the build coalitions across party lines, rather than maintaining them. I am sure there are a lot of democratic voters who expect better management of the common wealth.
- Three Dimensional Checkers - Friday, Dec 13, 24 @ 8:46 am:
I thought Kennedy Bartley was a political genius. She cannot figure out how to pass a budget? In all seriousness, this is just embarrassing. It is hurting the Democratic Party and, more importantly, Chicago itself.
- Levois - Friday, Dec 13, 24 @ 8:52 am:
“Tiffany Henyard, once seen as a reformer, now at odds with both her boards. What happened?”
She’s terrible, that’s what happened.
- Tim - Friday, Dec 13, 24 @ 8:55 am:
HW - what good spending habits? For example, don’t spend temporary monies that you know to be temporary (federal covid dollars) on ongoing expenses, particularly new payroll. This mess is of the city and state government’s own making. The payroll you added with temp funds needs to go away. It’s that simple. There is no money for it. Same problem with the schools. Temp funding that you received from the feds shouldn’t be used to add new people. Should have paid one time items. CTU has created its own mess and expects someone else to fix it.
- H-W - Friday, Dec 13, 24 @ 9:04 am:
Are you really suggesting there is NO good spending?
Your problem is legitimate. Mismanagement. But the solution is not found in complaining. It is found in coalition building. Right now, at this moment in time, republicans and democrats in Chicago both seem to be in the same arena, if not of the exact same page. Find common ground regarding the common wealth.
There is good spending. Essential services must be maintained, and in some cases improved. Begin there. Rather than saying what is wrong and creating antagonists (enemies), start at the beginning. Build a new coalition of fiscal conservatives who belong to both parties. Work with others instead of damning others because of the failure of a specific leader.
- JS Mill - Friday, Dec 13, 24 @ 10:42 am:
For once I agree with Rep. Fritts. Commuting Crundwell’s sentence is an affront to the 16,000+ people she victimized.
- Lurker - Friday, Dec 13, 24 @ 10:44 am:
One thing I’ve liked lately about top level Illinois Democrats is that they have been sane and responsible fiscally. I get the Chicago Mayor is the exception.
- Lurker - Friday, Dec 13, 24 @ 10:53 am:
I agree @Tim. The starting point is everything that is being paid by temporary fund is cut on January 1. And I mean everything. I would not budge on that. Then, from there, if @H-W wants some coalition building, then ok.
- Tim - Friday, Dec 13, 24 @ 10:53 am:
Saying that Democrats that are recent are fiscally responsible is like saying the leak in the Titantic is slowing down. There is no such thing, particularly in the state of Illinois as a fiscally responsible Democrat. Tax and borrow and spend, rinse and repeat. Saying they’re doing better means they put a shovel of dirt in a hole they’ve been digging for decades. I have a few years left in the state and once I retire, we will be somewhere else because I’m not gonna be the one without a chair when the music stops.
- @misterjayem - Friday, Dec 13, 24 @ 10:58 am:
“if large companies like Microsoft, Meta or Oracle secure agreements for new data centers, it could eat up the region’s extra power capabilities”
And raise the price (or limit the availability) of power for current consumers and their families.
It seems unlikely that technology sprawl will be an unalloyed good.
– MrJM
- Lurker - Friday, Dec 13, 24 @ 11:01 am:
@Tim, if you think Rauner was more fiscally responsible than Pritzker, that position is inane (at best). Further, if you work closely with leadership in Illinois on fiscal matters across several Departments, you will easily come to the conclusion that one overspends without having the money (and just in case you do not know, it’s the GOP …. you know, the people that were in power, griped about spending, and never offered one idea in saving one dollar).
So, I’ll leave this argument saying you were right about the mayor but wrong about Illinois.
- @misterjayem - Friday, Dec 13, 24 @ 11:07 am:
“The best images of 2024 by Chicago Tribune photographers” is a graphic demonstration that — despite its parasitic ownership and retrograde editorial board — the Tribune still employs some of the highest quality journalists out there.
Well worth your time.
– MrJM
- Nick - Friday, Dec 13, 24 @ 11:17 am:
The Crundwell commutation is frustrating. A lot of people who did far less who deserve judicial relief than the lady who did the largest municipal fraud in American history.
- JS Mill - Friday, Dec 13, 24 @ 11:18 am:
=There is no such thing, particularly in the state of Illinois as a fiscally responsible Democrat.=
This is the type of hyperbole that makes getting things done so difficult. There are fiscally responsible democrats and republicans. There are also those that are irresponsible. Our current governor has proven that he is very responsible while his predecessor who was a “businessman” cost us billions with his ineffective battle to take power from public unions. Current democratic leadership in Welch and Harmon also have proven to be responsible. You may not like what they are supporting, but our overall budgets have been balanced unlike they were through many previous administrations. If the ilgop could elect candidates that appealed to suburban voters they might have a chance to get some of their fiscal initiatives enected.
Elections have consequences as OW used to say.
- froganon - Friday, Dec 13, 24 @ 11:42 am:
Pritzker and the Dems have produced balanced budgets every year he has been governor. Couple that with the credit upgrades and relentless GOP obstruction and it is abundantly clear which Party is fiscally responsible. Check out the Federal level and you have ballooning deficits with every Republican presidency since Bush senior. The IRS finally got enough funding to function and they have brought in millions of delinquent taxes. IRS funding is on Trump’s hit list and the deficit will balloon even more. Fiscal responsibility from
Republicans and Conservatives is a Fox News Fable. Read the numbers and face reality, if you want to reduce the deficit and grow the economy put the Dems in charge. They invest in people and infrastructure that creates jobs. They get stuff done that works for all of us.
- @misterjayem - Friday, Dec 13, 24 @ 11:57 am:
“There is no such thing, particularly in the state of Illinois as a fiscally responsible Democrat.”
When a commentator loudly proclaims himself to be nothing more than a common troll, I don’t engage with him.
Life’s much too short for that nonsense.
– MrJM
- George - Friday, Dec 13, 24 @ 12:18 pm:
On the data centers, yes it’s a ton of power, yes it’s a strain on existing resources, yes it makes clean energy goals harder.
However there is a big risk to a not in backyard philosophy. If they get built overseas, when you think about the kind of data on these servers there are some major security concerns there, and it won’t overall be better for the environment to have them powered by a coal plant in India or China, or Indiana for that matter.
- Buford Pusser - Friday, Dec 13, 24 @ 12:32 pm:
“…Crundwell was sentenced to nearly 20 years in federal prison for stealing more than $53 million dollars from the city over two decades.” Voters in Chicago and Cook County have no idea how corrupt the good old boy (and girl) system is in the small towns and rural areas.
Last year Gary Spencer, the former Whiteside County State’s Attorney, applied for judge. Spencer is the guy who let spree killer Nicholas Sheley loose to kill eight people in 2008.
- Two Left Feet - Friday, Dec 13, 24 @ 12:33 pm:
WGN has a good piece on Crundwell. Terrible decision. Apparent lack of remorse. Glad a large amount of money recovered. https://wgntv.com/video/rita-crundwell-stole-54m-then-returned-to-the-scene-of-the-crime/7105989
- JS Mill - Friday, Dec 13, 24 @ 12:41 pm:
=Apparent lack of remorse.=
I would say nearly a complete lack of remorse. Her family seems like they are offended when the topic comes up. And they benefited from her largesse.
=Glad a large amount of money recovered.=
It was and the biggest check came from the auditor that settled. Other than seeing her ill gotten property auctioned off (some of her family members purchased at pennies on the dollar btw) she did not lose out financially.
- Demoralized - Friday, Dec 13, 24 @ 1:11 pm:
==we will be somewhere else==
Good. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. You’re a partisan hack and it doesn’t surprise me you want to take your ball and go home.
- Just a Random Guy - Friday, Dec 13, 24 @ 1:15 pm:
=When a commentator loudly proclaims himself to be nothing more than a common troll+
EvErYbOdY I dIsAgReE wItH iS a TroLl.
=Don’t let the door hit you on the way out=
We need to have civil and adult discussions about things such as this and encourage people to stay, not shoe them out to leave.