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Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Tuesday, Feb 18, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Illinois Legislative Black Caucus Foundation…
* Meanwhile.. In Wisconsin…
* FYI: The Governor will deliver his State of the State address in the House chamber on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at noon. * In Memoriam | Craig Roberts: Craig was a fixture on Capitol Hill as the long-serving Chief of Staff to Congressman John Shimkus for twenty-four years. He also served from 2015-2020 as President of the House Chiefs of Staff Association and ended his tenure in the House of Representatives as professional staff at the Committee on House Administration. Craig hails from Madison County, Illinois and held several positions in state government before joining Mr. Shimkus in Washington. Most recently, Craig held the role of Senior Vice President at Milen, Wiener, & Shofe Global Strategies. We were honored that Craig dedicated his time to the Capitol Hill Club as a member of our board. * Farm Week | Illinois schools expand early ag education opportunities: The Middle School Discovery FFA Degree was established by the National FFA Organization in 1988, and agriculture education in Illinois included middle school students since 2009. Illinois FFA has expanded its programs even more in the last two years, growing from 1,135 seventh and eighth grade FFA members in 2022 to 6,279 members in 2024. * The 21st Show | How NIH funding cuts are impacting research at Illinois universities : After World War II, the U.S. decided that instead of building its own research buildings, it would carry out those studies at the nation’s universities with the government paying for indirect costs of the grants to support things like operations. But the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency decided to limit reimbursement to 15%. As of Tuesday morning, a judge has put that limit on hold, but there’s already fallout at universities throughout Illinois. * Sun-Times | After monthlong delay, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson names final member of school board: After being down an appointee for a month, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has named a Black Jewish mom to be the 21st school board member. Cydney Wallace will join the partly appointed, partly elected board. She has children in Chicago Public Schools and is a board member for the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, according to a news release. The Jewish Council is a progressive organization that focuses on local social justice issues, such as housing and fighting antisemitism and racism. * Tribune | With ongoing slowdown of police discipline in Chicago, department is turning to internal controls: Records obtained via the Freedom of Information Act show CPD supervisors, mostly sergeants, filed more than 5,300 Summary Punishment Action Requests — “SPARs” — in 2024, a sharp increase from the 2,700 SPARs initiated in 2023. The rise in internal CPD discipline comes as the external disciplinary process — where fewer, but more serious cases, such as those involving deadly force incidents, are handled — remains greatly curtailed as a legal fight carries on between the city and Fraternal Order of Police in the Illinois Appellate Court. No decision is expected any time soon. * Block Club | Residents, Advocates Fear An Encampment Clearing As Tensions At Gompers Park Rise: City officials have made it clear the upcoming Gompers Park AME, which is planned for March 5, is not the same as an encampment closure. However, as neighbors and elected officials continue to push for the park to be restored, some advocates worry encampment residents will be forced out. Sarah-Jayne Ashenhurst, of the group 39th Ward Neighbors United, said that when AMEs are followed by encampment closures “residents can easily end up being coerced into accepting housing that may not meet their needs for fear of being made to leave the park under threat of forcible removal or arrest.” * Bloomberg | Walgreens shares soar after report that private-equity deal is ‘alive’: The deal for the drugstore chain appeared “mostly dead a couple of weeks ago,” CNBC’s David Faber said Tuesday. He said he was now upgrading the deal to “alive. Walgreens shares gained as much as 15% in New York. They had risen 4% this year as of Friday’s close. * Crain’s | Special Olympics Illinois expands Chicago presence with Kinzie Corridor move: The move is the nonprofit’s first office purchase in the city. It previously leased a 6,000-square-foot office at 820 W. Jackson Blvd. Around 15 employees will be working at the new location. “It’s like an update and expansion on their Chicago office, and the multifunctional use of the building was everything they wanted,” said NAI Hiffman’s Aubrey Englund, who represented the nonprofit in the transaction. * Crain’s | Ireland and New Zealand rugby teams to play at Soldier Field in November: The Nov. 1 event, billed “The Rematch,” will be the second meeting of these teams in Chicago, with the first encounter in 2016 leading to Ireland defeating the All Blacks for the first time in their 111-year history. This outcome sparked a competitive rivalry, leading to 10 matches being played between the two teams since, with wins being evenly split. * Daily Herald | Can this interchange be fixed? Tollway wants to tame I-355/I-88 gridlock: The sprawling interchange connecting the Reagan and Veterans memorial tollways has been described by engineers as a “bottleneck on the system.” That’s why the Illinois tollway has launched a massive redo of the interchange, intended to relieve congestion, repair aging infrastructure and expand access and mobility, officials said. In late January, the agency approved a $35.3 million contract with Oak Brook-based Hanson Professional Services Inc. for master plan design services for the interchange. Work includes studying and designing improvements to the roadway, ramps, bridges and other elements. * NBC Chicago | Lawsuit filed after fight breaks out at Thornton Township meeting: “There’s this confrontation,” said Matthew Custardo, the plaintiff’s attorney. “Kamal Woods pushes and punches Lavelle Redmond. He takes a swing at him. There’s lots of video out there. … [Henyard] attacks Lavell Redmond first, hits him maybe twice. … And then she goes right in on Jedediah Brown.”Both Brown and Redmond say they were attacked and injured for exercising free speech. They also claim Henyard was a participant. The men have filed a civil lawsuit for assault, battery and emotional distress, naming Henyard, her boyfriend, a village of Dolton employee, Thornton Township and South Holland police as defendants. * Lake County News-Sun | Waukegan Democratic mayoral primary features a 2021 rematch between Cunningham, Rivera: Leaving elected office after one four-year term as Waukegan’s mayor and 19 years on the City Council, Sam Cunningham said he had “unfinished business” and is now seeking the Democratic nomination to regain the city’s top elective office. Miguel A. Rivera, Sr., who lost to Cunningham in the 2021 Democratic primary, is again seeking his party’s nomination in a rerun of the two-candidate contest in which Cunningham received 65.35% of the 2,204 votes cast and Rivera 45.75%. * ABC Chicago | Bribery charges dropped against former Cook County assessor: Likovski was one of two former Cook County Assessor’s Office employees charged along with the owner of a Chicago Heights fencing company in an alleged 2017 bribery scheme. Co-defendant Robert Mitziga, owner of Fence Masters, Inc., was acquitted following his trial last August. In the government’s motion to dismiss the case against Likovski, they cited the outcome of that trial as the reason for the dismissal. * Naperville Sun | As homelessness grows in DuPage County, recent grants to DuPagePads help pay for much-needed emergency shelter: ‘A complete blessing’: In early December, DuPage County Board member Paula Deacon Garcia raised the matter with the board’s Human Services Committee. Ultimately, to help bolster DuPagePads’ housing capacity, the board allocated $200,000 from the county’s affordable housing fund to the nonprofit. Concurrently, the DuPage Foundation also heeded the call, dedicating $190,000 to the effort. […] Funding allowed DuPagePads to pay for up to 70 area hotel rooms for emergency shelter, Redzic said. It’s an approach that the nonprofit forged during the COVID-19 pandemic. * Daily Herald | 10 suburban educators among Golden Apple Award finalists: The Golden Apple Foundation on Tuesday announced the 30 ninth through 12th grade teachers selected as finalists for the Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Teaching, out of more than 470 nominations. […] Northwestern University provides a spring sabbatical to award recipients at no cost. Each awardee also receives a $5,000 cash prize and becomes Fellows of the Golden Apple Academy of Educators, who play a role in the Golden Apple Scholars and Accelerators programs — initiatives aimed at addressing the teacher shortage in Illinois. * 25News Now | Illinois lawmakers meet with Peoria leaders to address healthcare worker shortage: “We need students to be able to get from where they are, whether it’s at school or home, to the place where they can learn the skills at issue, and then into a job,” Krishnamoorthi said. He noted the importance of “wraparound resources” which allow students to learn and earn at the same time. * News Gazette | Staff absences cause Danville schools to close Tuesday: There had been rumors that several school district staff members were going to have a “sick out” and not attend school on Tuesday, over what some have thought was due to the school board not taking action against Superintendent Alicia Geddis working remotely for months now. Possible action items are now on a Wednesday school board meeting agenda. * News-Gazette | Former Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Garman joins Champaign law firm: Former Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court Rita B. Garman has joined the Champaign law firm of Webber & Thies, PC. She plans to work closely with the firm’s litigation group, particularly its appellate practice. Garman served as a member of the Illinois Supreme Court from 2001 to 2022, including a term as Chief Justice that concluded in 2016. Prior to that, she served on the appellate court (4th District) and as a Circuit and Associate Judge in Vermilion County. The Vermilion County Courthouse now bears her name. * WCIA | Illinois State Museum looking for judges, volunteers for 2025 state History Day contest: Jenn Edginton, the director of the Illinois State Museum, said this program gets the younger generation excited about history. “National History Day in Illinois is such an important program for middle and high school learners to gain skills and confidence in the history and humanity fields,” Edginton said. “This program aims to inspire the next generation of future historians.” Judges at the Illinois History Day Competition don’t need to have a history degree, however they must be willing to give constructive and useful feedback to the students. All judges will receive training before the competition and then will be tasked to evaluate students’ projects and decide which one will advance to the next round of the competition. * WSIL | SIU legendary baseball coach Richard “Itchy” Jones passes away at 87: Jones took over the Saluki baseball program as the team’s head coach. He led the Salukis to 10 NCAA tournaments and three College World Series appearances during his time at Southern. His record of 738–345–5 is still the best in program history. * Chalkbeat | School diversity efforts could violate civil rights, Trump administration says: In a Dear Colleague letter intended for school leaders, the U.S. Department of Education’s top acting civil rights official said Friday that discriminatory practices had proliferated in American schools “under the banner of ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion.’” “But under any banner, discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin is, has been, and will continue to be illegal,” wrote Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights in the Education Department. * Crain’s | United Airlines turnaround pays off big for CEO Kirby, other execs: United CEO Scott Kirby and other top executives are getting a huge reward for the airline’s rebound from the pandemic that exceeds the run-up in its stock price. The long-term stock incentives Kirby was awarded in 2022 were worth $20.3 million when they paid out recently. Brett Hart, the airline’s president, received an $11.8 million award. Their payouts are four times what United estimated they’d be worth when the grants were made. United’s stock price is up 233%, or more than threefold, since then. It was the third-best performing stock in the S&P 500 last year, and last month the shares hit a record price of $110.52, a remarkable turnaround for a stock that has often been a laggard.
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- South of Springfield - Tuesday, Feb 18, 25 @ 2:40 pm:
RIP to Craig Roberts- one of the kindest and most generous people you could meet in politics and government. He’ll be missed.
- Annon3 - Tuesday, Feb 18, 25 @ 3:39 pm:
I was in Central WI over the Holiday Weekend, the ads for the Supreme Court race were non stop. The local stations will have a banner 1st quarter.
- Stu - Tuesday, Feb 18, 25 @ 4:19 pm:
RIP Itchy…
I sat directly in front of him at an Illini football game back in the 2000’s (probably in one of his last years with the Illini). I’ve got to admit I paid more attention to trying to overhear him tell stories than I did on the football game.