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Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Monday, Jan 6, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Tribune…
* WSIL…
Click here for the Ameren outage map. * Press release | December Illinois Flash Index increased after declining in November: The Illinois Flash Index for December showed strength, rising to 102.4 from its reading last month of 102. […] Illinois’ major state tax revenues, the primary drivers of the index, were strong in December. Both sales and individual income tax receipts were up in real terms from the same month last year while corporate receipts were down slightly. Nominal sales tax receipts recorded the highest monthly total in history, missing the one-billion-dollar level. * Crain’s | Illinois AG starts crackdown on weight-loss drug copycats: Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is cracking down on potentially unsafe copycats of popular weight-loss drugs, like Ozempic or Zepbound, issuing cease and desist letters to local medical spas marketing such medications and warning the public about their practices. Raoul’s office recently sent cease and desist letters to five unnamed medical spas in the Chicago area that were allegedly producing misleading marketing content for glucagon-like peptide 1, or GLP-1, drugs, which treat obesity, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. * Press Release | Collins pushes for expanded protections for nursing home residents: Under the legislation, House Bill 2474, nursing homes would be prohibited from retaliating against a resident who is exercising their rights. If a resident faces retaliation, they would be able to file a civil suit against the nursing home and potentially recover damages if proven true. […] House Bill 2474 passed the Senate on Sunday. * Herald-Review | Decatur in line for horse racing track, casino under proposed legislation: The legislation, which has yet to be filed, would specifically authorize an organization license for harness racing in Macon County. Though the license would technically be open to any group that applies for it, the legislation is aimed at opening the door for Virginia-based Revolutionary Racing to develop a more than 200-acre parcel of vacant land at the northwest corner of U.S. 36 and Wyckles Road into a harness race track. * What I’m Reading | These programs help Black students graduate. A federal complaint claims they’re discriminatory.: The Black Male Initiative, along with the Black Student Achievement Program (BSAP), are now targets of a federal civil rights complaint filed by the Equal Protection Project, a conservative legal group. The complaint alleges that the two programs, run by NIU’s Center for Black Studies, unlawfully discriminate based on race and sex in violation of the Constitution. * RiverBender | Illinois DCFS Offers Post-Secondary Scholarships to Current and Former Youth in Care: Through the program, a minimum of 53 academic scholarships will be awarded to current and former youth in care for the upcoming school year, with four awards reserved for the children of veterans and two awards presented to students pursuing degrees in social work in honor of Pamela Knight and Deidre Silas, two DCFS caseworkers who succumbed to injuries sustained in the line of duty. * ABC Chicago | Jury back in court after extended holiday break in former IL House Speaker Michael Madigan trial: The jury Monday got to hear prosecutors cross-examine the former Illinois speaker’s then-chief legal counsel: now appellate court Justice David Ellis. Ellis is one of the witnesses called by Madigan’s defense team, as they try to refute the government’s claims that Madigan ran a decade-long criminal enterprise designed to enrich himself and his political cronies. * ABC Chicago | Chicago Transit Authority deactivates X social media accounts: The agency confirmed to ABC7 Friday that two of their accounts are no longer active on the site formerly known as Twitter. The CTA and CTA service alerts X accounts now have disclaimers saying they are no longer active.
* WBEZ | CPS CEO says contract talks with the teachers union have not stalled: ‘In fact, it’s just the opposite’: Chicago schools chief Pedro Martinez pushed back Friday against the teachers union’s claim that contract negotiations have stalled in the two weeks since he was fired. “The urgency has never been higher,” Martinez said, who, due to a provision in his contract, will stay at the helm of the school district for six months. “There is no evidence at all (that progress has stalled). In fact, it’s just the opposite.” * Tribune | CTA to lock in federal funding for Red Line extension before Trump takes office: The CTA is set to formally lock in needed federal money for the extension of the Red Line before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, paving the way for the long-planned addition through Chicago’s Far South Side to move forward. A large, nearly $2 billion federal grant, key to moving the $5.3 billion project forward, had been promised to the CTA but the formal agreement not yet signed. That put the transit agency under pressure to finalize the agreement before the change in administration and a Republican-controlled Congress could potentially throw the commitment into jeopardy. * Tribune | Chicago, once again, ranks among the worst in the nation for traffic congestion in annual report: Roads are so snarled that the city once again ranked among the worst in the nation for the severity of traffic in 2024. Drivers lost an average of 102 hours to traffic last year, putting the Chicago metro area on par with New York City — and for Chicago, 2024 traffic was even worse than the 96 hours the average driver lost to traffic the year before, according to a new report from mobility analytics firm Inrix. * ABC Chicago | Thornton Township stops bus service for senior citizens amid government shutdown: The government there remains shut down over disagreements between Supervisor Tiffany Henyard and two township trustees. Residents who rely on the bus service feel stuck in the middle. “It’s a hardship on seniors, they rely on this service,” said resident Tya Robinson. * Daily Herald | Glendale Heights village president asks court to put him back on ballot: Khokhar filed a petition Monday seeking judicial review of the village electoral board’s Dec. 23 decision to remove him from the ballot and keep him from seeking a second term. Listed as defendants are objector Matthew Corbin and the three members of the board — village trustees Chester Pojack and Mary Schroeder, and Village Clerk Marie Schmidt. * Naperville Sun | Former Naperville Councilman Kevin Coyne named new DuPage County GOP chair: Former Naperville City Councilman Kevin Coyne is taking over as chairman of the DuPage County Republicans. He succeeds Jim Zay, a longtime DuPage County Board member. Coyne officially took the reins New Year’s Day. The change of guard comes in the wake of a strong showing by Democrats across DuPage County in November, the latest of what’s been a string of successes for local Democrats in recent years. * Daily Southtown | Judge restores opposition slate in Tinley Park after ‘clearly erroneous’ Electoral Board ruling: The objection claimed the nominating petitions were invalid because they included an array of six small U.S. flags on the top of each page. A three-person village Electoral Board ruled in favor of the objectors Dec. 9, removing a slate led by Michael Maloney in opposition to Mayor Michael Glotz from the ballot. Village Trustee William Brennan chaired the panel, which included board members Mathias Delort and Paul Karkula. Delort voted against removing the candidates from the ballot. * SJ-R | City of Springfield unveils first proposed budget for FY26. What you need to know: The public is getting a first look at the city of Springfield budget while departments will lay out particular programs in workshops beginning Jan. 14. The overall ask is $350,232,993 by agencies outside of City, Water, Light & Power. The utility is seeking $318,611,749. In both cases, that excludes American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, expenses.
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- Just Me 2 - Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 3:01 pm:
===where supermarket closures have left many residents with limited access to fresh groceries in their neighborhoods===
Why can’t we focus on the underlying problem of why these grocery stores have closed so that we don’t need to rely on taxpayer funding to solve a symptom of a larger problem?
- Steve - Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 3:09 pm:
A city owned grocery store sure would be a challenge. If Wal-Mart can’t make a profit in Chicago, why would anyone think the city of Chicago could do a better job?
- levivotedforjudy - Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 3:49 pm:
There are some examples of successful not-for-profit grocery stores. The key I think is not-for-profit. Maybe not a city-owned, but a public/private partnership that can get donations. Access to food is a legit response to promoting better health outcomes for people in terms of prevention and not waiting for them to get sick or develop a chronic condition because of lack of nutrients. Anyway, my mayor strikes (out) again.
- Three Dimensional Checkers - Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 3:54 pm:
Well, it’s clearly Gov. Pritzker’s fault that the City did not submit their application.
- New Day - Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 5:50 pm:
Watching MBJ on Chicago Tonight. Wow.
- Henry Francis - Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 5:56 pm:
The Mayor hasn’t learned a thing. I had hoped he would have used the holidays for some reflection and realize that he needs to change. Based on the WTTW interview, he’s a one-trick pony.