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Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Tuesday, Dec 17, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Christmas is a week from tomorrow!. Thanks to your generosity, we’ve raised more than $33K to help LSSI buy Christmas presents for children in foster care. That’s an incredible start—but we’re not done yet! Your gift makes all the difference. Let’s make this Christmas unforgettable for children in need! Click here to donate. * Bloomberg…
* ABC Chicago…
Click here for the press release. * Alexi Giannoulias | Competent governance is a good political strategy: If Democrats are looking for a new political priority, we should consider administrative competence and innovation. It’s not very sexy, but in a world of increasing uncertainty, more reliable delivery of basic services just might be something people want right now. For example, for as long as most of us can remember, state departments of motor vehicles (DMVs) have been a shorthand joke about inefficient government at its finest. Getting a driver’s license or updating your vehicle registration has been likened to getting a root canal. When I became secretary of state in 2023, we were under no illusions that Illinois’ DMV could one day be a “fun” experience, but we hoped it might be something less than a frustrating, time-consuming inconvenience. We hoped it might actually be efficient. * Crain’s | Ascension, Prime hospital deal gets green light from state: As part of the deal, Prime will shut down one of the hospitals — Ascension St. Elizabeth, which serves the Humboldt Park and Wicker Park communities — because of low patient volume. It will be repurposed as something more valuable to the community. The health facilities board is slated to review that particular decision in March. Aside from Ascension St. Elizabeth, Ascension plans to offload Ascension Resurrection and Ascension Saint Mary hospitals in Chicago; Ascension Holy Family in Des Plaines; Ascension Mercy in Aurora; Ascension Saint Francis in Evanston; Ascension Saint Joseph in Joliet and Elgin; and Ascension Saint Mary in Kankakee. * SJ-R | Hundreds of new laws coming to Illinois in 2025. Here are 10 you need to know about: Employers with 15 or more employees will be required to disclose pay scale and benefit information in job postings. The change is result of an amendment to the Equal Pay Act of 2003 that was contained in HB 3129, passed by the General Assembly and signed into law by Governor JB Pritzker in 2023. * Block Club | Pricier Checkout Bags, Rideshares, Streaming: Here Are The Fee And Tax Hikes In Chicago’s 2025 Budget: During a post-Council press conference on Monday evening, Johnson defended the bag tax hike and other increases as necessary to continue funding city services, as well as expanding programs like his signature summer youth hiring initiative. “There’s no cuts to services, there’s no layoffs, there’s no furloughs,” Johnson said. “Services for garbage, for snow removal, for lights, those services are still being made available, even though that there are some individuals that wanted to cut those services. We didn’t do that. We protect working people in this city.” * Block Club | Chicago Promised Better Mental Health Care. Shooting Survivors Say They Haven’t Seen It: During The Trace’s second Chicago Survivor Storytelling Workshop, all seven participants said that survivors of gun violence should have easy access to mental health care and support groups — but despite officials’ rhetoric, resources are still falling short. In 2023, when Mayor Brandon Johnson took office, he promised to reopen the six mental health clinics that former Mayor Rahm Emanuel had shut down across the city. […] Getting a foot in the counseling door is not easy Before people can start counseling, they often have to overcome several obstacles, including cultural stigmas. In the Latino community, Rendon said, seeing a therapist can mark someone as “crazy.” Men, he added, often are expected “to be tough” and “let it go.” * Chalkbeat Chicago | Joshua Long has led Chicago Public Schools’ disability office for a year. What has changed?: Before Long took on this role, the district’s disabilities office faced significant challenges. During the early days of the pandemic, schools struggled to provide new Individualized Education Programs to students and to update existing plans. The district has also struggled to transport students with disabilities to schools, and advocates have filed several complaints with the Illinois State Board of Education for lack of busing and long transportation times. In 2023, the state found that the district’s restraint and time-out practices were putting students at risk. Speaking to Chalkbeat Chicago, Long reflected on the past year, shared what he’s working on, and opened up about his ideas for the future even as Chicago Public Schools even with tight budgets. * Sun-Times | Mac Properties diverts housing voucher holders from Hyde Park’s desirable apartments, class action suit says: In some instances described in the suit, plaintiffs said they were denied apartment applications or tours of certain Mac buildings once leasing agents learned of their housing voucher. Other voucher holders said agents falsely told them that their desired property did not have any available units, only for non-voucher holders to inquire about the same units with success. * Daily Herald | Why you won’t be able to use Kennedy Expressway reversibles until mid-January: Pavement reconstruction on the reversible lanes went smoothly but the electrical and software aspects of the REVLAC work was challenging, Illinois Department of Transportation District 1 Bureau Chief of Construction Jon Schumacher said. The project included “removing and replacing 90,000 feet of power cable, installing nearly 150 feet of fiber optic cables, six restraining barriers, 120 swing gates and 54 cameras,” he explained. Final testing of the system should start Jan. 2. * WTTW | Demolition of Damen Silos Clears Key Hurdle, as Army Corps Lends Its Approval: Chicago’s Department of Buildings, in consultation with the Department of Public Health, still needs to weigh in on the demolition permit application, but the Corps’ approval was necessary due to the site’s location on the South Branch of the Chicago River. The massive silos — popular with urban explorers and famously featured in “Transformers: Age of Extinction” — date back more than a century but haven’t been used as grain elevators since the 1970s. * WTTW | Community Organizations Work to Combat Chicago’s Food Insecurity Crisis, Grocery Deserts: This year, the state of Illinois began offering grants to small grocers who open stores in food deserts through the Illinois Grocery Initiative. Chicago is also looking into opening a city-owned supermarket, but has not yet released a plan. Until then, nonprofit organizations said they will continue to fill the gap as much as possible. * Sun-Times | Advocate plans $1 billion investment in South Side health care, will replace Trinity Hospital: The new, 52-bed hospital will replace Advocate Trinity Hospital, a 263-bed hospital that’s been on the South Side since 1895. The hospital system hopes the investment closes Chicago’s 30-year life expectancy gap between residents on the South and North sides, Advocate Trinity Hospital President Michelle Blakely told the Chicago Sun-Times. * WTTW | Caught on Camera! River Otter Snapped for First Time in 15 Years of Monitoring by Lincoln Park Zoo’s Wildlife Cams: After more than a few false IDs and several tantalizing random hints of an otter-like shoulder or tail, one of the zoo’s cameras finally clicked at the right moment and, for the first time in nearly 15 years, caught an otter in full view. Twice. Staff spotted the photos of the elusive otter during a quick initial scroll through image files collected during the institute’s fall monitoring “season” — one of four conducted annually in January, April, July and October. […] Still, Chicago is 150 miles from the nearest place where otters were reintroduced in Illinois. The fact that they’ve ventured so far into urban territory is a testament to the health of the region’s rivers. * Courier-News | Elgin council to vote on plan to move tent city residents to hotels, tear down encampment: Elgin City Council members will discuss a proposal Wednesday under which the city would secure a block of 50 rooms at a rate of $65 per day for single occupancy over a four-month period. A scaled rate would be available for couples and those with pets. The estimated cost would be $390,000, which would come from the $614,400 the city has earmarked in the budget to help the homeless. Additionally, Elgin has $400,000 in Safe Spaces, Healthy Minds Affordable Housing grant money awarded through the Kane County Health Department, city officials said. * Daily Herald | Power station being built for Mount Prospect data center, legislative hurdles linger: Meanwhile, the village board at Tuesday’s meeting is expected to approve a maximum $60,000 contract for lobbying services with Mac Strategies Group. Former state Sen. Matt Murphy will be working in Springfield on behalf of the village. One of the issues the village is seeking help with is the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, otherwise known as BIPA. This legislation would affect data center operations like CloudHQ. * Sun-Times | Amazon workers in Skokie authorize potential strike: Amid the busy holiday shopping season, hundreds of workers at an Amazon delivery station in Skokie have voted to authorize a potential strike as they continue demands for a union contract with the online retail behemoth. Workers are not currently on strike, but a work stoppage could happen any time, said a spokesperson for the Teamsters labor union, which represents hundreds of delivery drivers at the Skokie facility. * Daily Herald | $13 million project to eliminate Buffalo Grove bottleneck complete: Construction included building an additional travel lane in each direction and a road median with left turn lanes. A multiuse path was built on the north side of Aptakisic and a sidewalk on the south. Other elements include new underground storm sewer to improve drainage, concrete curbs, guardrails and a wider shoulder to better accommodate on-road bicyclists, according to the division of transportation. * Daily Herald | ‘Such a force for good’: Renowned environmental lawyer Collins who fought for pollution victims dies: Collins, devoted family man and nationally honored litigator who fought corporate polluters and won millions for victims, died Sunday at age 67. The Naperville resident fought a “valiant battle” following a heart attack last month, relatives said. “He was a big personality, a big presence, and he just wanted to do something to make the world a better place,” Collins’ wife, Meg, said Monday. * Daily Herald | Why Glendale Heights village president could be thrown off ballot: A Monday hearing on a petition challenge was continued for a week so the Glendale Heights Municipal Officers Electoral Board could get a report from the DuPage County clerk about the validity of some contested signatures on Khokhar’s nominating petition. The same is true for a challenge to the petition of Ed Pope, who is also running for village president. * AFSCME | Workers at another Illinois library organize with AFSCME: They voted unanimously to form their union, which was certified by the Illinois Labor Relations Board on Nov. 6. The UFL has been Urbana-Champaign’s public library since 1874. Library employees were motivated to organize by a pattern of unfair and unequal treatment from management. “We were all frustrated, trying to understand why the people who actually make this library run were being treated like dirt,” said Callie Ferencak, a library assistant and a member of the organizing committee. * 25News Now | 800 Central Illinois kids will have a very Merry Christmas: The Baby Fold has served Central Illinois children and families since 1902, offering various services from intervention to post-adoption. Each year, the organization gets to fulfill Christmas wish lists for the children in their program, and this year, they are creating Christmas magic for 800 kids. * BND | Illinois State Police agent accused of hitting Swansea teen’s car and leaving scene: Shiloh Police Department records show that Sgt. Chris Flynn cited Feix on charges of disregarding a traffic signal and leaving the scene. In a police interview shortly after the accident, Feix reportedly told Flynn his grandmother was sick, and he was headed to see her in west Belleville when he “tapped somebody” at the intersection of Hartman Lane and Thouvenot Lane, which becomes Frank Scott Parkway. * ESPN | MLB study identifies factors for rise in pitching injuries: The study identified problems occurring at both the professional and amateur levels after interviewing over 200 people within the industry, including “former professional pitchers, orthopedic surgeons, athletic trainers, club officials, biomechanists, player agents, amateur baseball stakeholders, and other experts in pitcher development.” The study made broad recommendations — including potential rule changes — to address the increase in pitching injuries. MLB, however, said the study was just the first step in a process which needs even more examination.
* ProPublica | A Coast Guard Commander Miscarried. She Nearly Died After Being Denied Care: There’s also no exception for catastrophic or fatal fetal anomalies. In such cases, service members either have to pay out of pocket for abortions or carry to term fetuses that won’t survive outside the womb. Tricare does allow abortions in cases like Nakagawa’s, in which the fetus has no heartbeat. But even then, some doctors who treat military service members say that Tricare requires more documentation and takes longer to approve these procedures than other insurers, putting women at risk.
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- RNUG - Tuesday, Dec 17, 24 @ 3:14 pm:
== we hoped it might be something less than a frustrating, time-consuming inconvenience. ==
Regardless of who has headed SoS the past 25 years, I’ve generally had only occasional minor complaints. I’m generally in there 5 or more times every year, just because it’s convenient for me to drive-thru or drop in to renew stickers. And it’s gotten even better the past few years.
- Alton Sinkhole - Tuesday, Dec 17, 24 @ 3:35 pm:
I come from another Midwestern state and was shocked at how much better IL’s DMV services are. In fact, the state I left is now implementing a lot of stuff that works here in IL.
- clec dcn - Tuesday, Dec 17, 24 @ 3:55 pm:
My neighbor down the street was drafted a few years ago. He is a pitcher and is playing in pros in minor league so far. He can throw pretty quick above 90mph fastball. He ended up having arm problems and they did the Tommy John Surgery. I ask his about it and really this is now a very common surgery for pitchers. He is making a comeback and probably now at 24 will be a make-or-break year coming up. I hope he succeeds a nice kid. It does make you wonder if we are not pushing things harder at earlier ages?