Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Thursday, Mar 20, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Naperville Sun…
For the fourth time in just over six weeks, police have made a firearm-related arrest in or near the Naperville Topgolf parking lot.
Juan Ricardo Gomez, 43 of Griffith, Indiana, was taken into custody Tuesday night outside the 3211 Odyssey Court facility and charged with one count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, a class 4 felony. His next court appearance is scheduled for May 1, according to DuPage County Circuit Court records.
Officers were patrolling the Topgolf lot at about 10 p.m. Tuesday when they observed a handgun in plain view inside a parked black Kia, according to Naperville police spokeswoman Kelley Munch.
Officers watched the vehicle until Gomez returned, Munch said. Police recovered a loaded handgun with an extended magazine, which Gomez allegedly possessed without a valid concealed carry license or Firearm Owner’s Identification card, Munch said.
Apparently, the DuPage court clerk has not updated the title of the offense to unlawful possession of a weapon.
* Belleville News-Democrat…
In light of a $10.3 million budget deficit, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville administrators have proposed phasing out the physics major and minor over the next few years.
“This proposal has been carefully considered and developed in accordance with our policy and procedures and in coherence with the relevant collective bargaining agreements,” SIUE spokeswoman Nicole Franklin said. “The process for feedback and additional steps is currently underway.”
The proposal would allow all students currently declared as a physics major or minor — and those starting this fall — an opportunity to complete the program. It also does not eliminate all physics courses “given the important role these courses play in service to other majors,” Franklin said.
Students majoring in biological sciences, chemistry, engineering and pharmacy are all required to take physics courses.
* Governor JB Pritzker…
Today, Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) announced 88 awards totaling $57 million through the Community Solar Energy Sovereignty Grant Program ($7.7 million), Equitable Energy Future Grant Program ($10.3 million), and Energy Transition Community/Zion Grant Program ($39 million) - initiatives under the landmark Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA). These programs will catalyze energy efficiency and renewable energy projects that will help clean energy businesses grow and utilize Illinois’ clean energy workforce. […]
Through the Community Solar Energy Sovereignty Grant Program, $7.7 million is being awarded to 11 grantees to more equitably grow the clean energy workforce. The program supports community-based organizations and technical service providers in low-income and historically disadvantaged communities to plan, develop, and execute community solar projects. […]
The Equitable Energy Future Grant Program is delivering awards totaling $10.3 million to 12 grantees to provide seed funding and pre-development funding opportunities to equity eligible contractors to work on renewable energy projects in low-income and historically disadvantaged communities. The goal of the Equitable Energy Future Grant Program is to help remove barriers to projects, community, and business development in communities that have been historically left behind due to lack of available capital.
* From a friend: “Former state Rep. Cindy Soto unfortunately passed away last night in the hospital succumbing to cancer. … Cindy was a wonderful person and a force in the Capitol who got things done behind the scenes.” More information to come.
*** Statewide ***
* Center Square | Clash continues around federal ag funding impacts in Illinois: “We don’t have what right now looks like about $11 billion that we will lose to the state of Illinois. We don’t have $11 billion to fill in the gaps on education, health care,” said Pritzker. “Again, I want to remind everybody what the purpose of all of that is, of taking all that away is, it’s to give big tax cuts to people who don’t need them.”
* Sportico | Big Ten media deal must be revealed, Illinois AG says: This decision follows the university’s denial of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request made two years ago by Michael LeRoy, a U of I law professor who studies college sports. To date, the Big Ten’s seven-year, $7 billion deal with Fox, CBS and NBC, which took effect in July 2023, has remained undisclosed, despite numerous attempts by journalists and others to obtain the agreement through public records requests made of Big Ten universities.
* Tribune | HUD Midwest director, other longtime Chicago staff retiring early amid Trump administration threats, cuts to agency: Eight Chicago-based U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development staffers with more than 180 years of service collectively have retired or are retiring later this year as the agency undergoes scrutiny and faces cuts from billionaire Tesla founder Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency and President Donald Trump. Jim Cunningham, who oversaw the entire Midwest region from HUD’s Chicago office, is retiring early after nearly 34 years of service. Cunningham told the Tribune he had planned to retire at the end of 2026. Instead, he worked his last day Friday as he said he was concerned he might be terminated given the recent upheaval at HUD and, therefore, lose benefits such as health insurance.
*** Chicago ***
* WBEZ | Tense City Hall meeting on CTU contract, CPS budget vote ends with ‘handful of issues’ still unresolved: Feeling the crunch ahead of a pivotal Board of Education vote Thursday on the Chicago Public Schools budget dispute, Mayor Brandon Johnson summoned key players to his office Wednesday to try to settle the Chicago Teachers Union contract negotiations. Unlike past mayor’s office huddles that helped close out CTU talks, this one didn’t land a deal. It instead was another tense gathering that ended with teachers union and school district officials both walking out visibly angry.
* ABC Chicago | CPS Board of Education meeting Thursday to vote on $175M pension payment: “So, today’s conversation, the convening of today’s conversation, was to get both sides of the table to discuss the differences within settling in this contract with just a couple of issues, just to understand that. Today, I got that understanding, and as a part of our conversation, there are pathways to settle those differences,” Johnson said.
* Block Club | Lolla 4-Day Tickets Already Sold Out As 2025 Daily Lineup Announced: After selling out of four-day tickets in under an hour, Lollapalooza dropped its daily lineup Thursday morning. The mega music fest returns to Grant Park with 170 bands, eight stages and four days of music Thursday, July 31-Sunday, Aug. 3.
* Sun-Times | Comparing 3 Bears stadium proposals in Arlington Heights, Bronzeville and the lakefront: The Bears and public officials have not come to terms yet on any stadium deal, but developers and the team are pushing bold (and expensive) ideas. All of them involve moving the Bears into a world-class stadium with a dome. Here’s how each of the three most prominent proposals — Arlington Heights, the museum campus lakefront and the former Michael Reese hospital site in Bronzeville — size up.
*** Cook County and Suburbs ***
* Daily Herald | State regulators block shutdown of psychiatric unit at Arlington Heights hospital: Corporate owner Endeavor Health’s request to close the 52-bed NCH Behavioral Health Center, 901 W. Kirchoff Road, failed to gain approval from the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board. The panel deadlocked 4-4 Tuesday on the hospital system’s formal application to discontinue the inpatient acute mental illness category of service on the Arlington Heights campus. Next steps, including whether Endeavor might appeal the decision, were immediately unclear.
* Daily Herald | Where’s my Metra train? Railroad updates progress of installing digital signs, ticket machines: So far, 285 signs have been installed at 110 stations, and the commuter railroad’s goal is to have one at every stop by the end of March 2026. An upgrade from Metra’s traditional LED displays, the latest versions show when trains are coming in real time using GPS technology on railcars and at stations. They also issue travel alerts.
* Daily Herald | Buffalo Grove approves selling Lake Michigan water to Long Grove: Long Grove is expected to approve an intergovernmental agreement Tuesday allowing the village to buy water from Buffalo Grove. Buffalo Grove trustees on Monday approved their end of the bargain, which calls for Long Grove to receive up to 260,000 gallons per day for up to 20 years. Buffalo Grove officials estimate initial revenue at $80,000 annually.
* Tribune | $45 million bond issue in Western Springs would fund infrastructure projects: Voters in Western Springs will be asked to approve a $45 million bond issue in the April 1 Consolidated General Election, funding village officials hope to have available to complete projects addressing aging infrastructure such as sanitary and storm sewers, water mains, roadways, sidewalks and street lighting. Village officials are hopeful the referendum will be successful. “We’re already doing engineering for some projects, projects that we’ve jumped ahead because we know that we need to do them,” said Casey Biernacki, deputy village manager. “One project in particular is Woodland Avenue.”
* ABC Chicago | NWS confirms tornado touchdown in Gary; storm cleanup underway in south suburbs: The National Weather Service confirms an EF-1 tornado touched down in Gary, Indiana. NWS teams are surveying the area to see if there were any other tornados. Residents across the south suburbs and northwest Indiana will be getting a closer look at the damage. “It was really something that can’t be put into words,” Gary resident Goityra Chamberlain said. “Last night sounded like a thunderstorm times 100.”
* Daily Southtown | Severe weather tears through New Lenox, rips roof off Steger building: Fire Chief Michael Long said the building was once a macaroni factory but was in the process of being converted to self-storage facility. The Fire Department was called about 5:30 p.m. and found large portions of the roof had blown onto adjacent railroad tracks, prompting officials to close to tracks until the railroad responded to clear debris, Long said.
*** Downstate ***
* Daily-Journal | School board candidate charged with misdemeanor battery: A candidate running for a seat on the Kankakee School District 111 board, Dajon Casiel, has been charged with Class A misdemeanor battery following an incident last year involving a current Kankakee High School student. It is punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500. Due to the incident, the 19-year-old Casiel has been temporarily banned from Kankakee High School during school hours.
* WCIA | Champaign County Sheriff’s Office looking to correct a hiring issue: If you’re looking to break into the criminal justice field — there’s new opportunities right here in Champaign County. The Sheriff’s Office is making a push to hire about a dozen people in their corrections department to fill an increased need. Sheriff Dustin Heuerman said they need more people to effectively open the renovated Champaign County jail. Inmates who are currently in other counties will be moving back in soon. Which means more correctional officers and behind the scenes personnel will be needed.
* Smile Politely | Potawatomi Band voices support for U of I’s new mascot: Last week, the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi released an official statement addressed to University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Chancellor, Robert J. Jones. This statement voiced strong support for university students’ efforts to replace the retired, outdated, and offensive chief mascot with a new one, highlighting the Kingfisher’s successful appeal to the U of I community. The Band acknowledges that the chief is technically retired, but points to the fact that, without an official replacement, its image has continually been used. The caricature of Native peoples that is the chief still appears on U of I sports merchandise and, of course, is still heralded as U of I’s “true mascot” by alumni and people who have no university affiliation alike. While implementing a new mascot may not completely halt some community members’ white-knuckled grip on the chief, it would mark the completion of the old mascot’s overdue demise.
* NBC Chicago | ‘Gustnadoes’ reported in severe thunderstorms in central Illinois: According to the National Weather Service, there have been “gustnadoes” forming out in front of a line of severe thunderstorms that led to a severe storm warning in Livingston County on Wednesday afternoon. Blowing dust is also being reported ahead of the storm, which could pack wind gusts of up to 70 miles per hour as it moves to the northeast, according to forecasters.
* WSIL | SIU’s Maple Festival set for this weekend: It’s an annual tradition that helps ring in Spring and celebrates a local tasty treat. It’s the 2025 Maple Syrup Festival, at Southern Illinois University’s Touch of Nature Outdoor Education Center, and it’s happening the weekend of March 22-23. The festival happens Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
*** National ***
* NPR | With Trump’s crackdown on DEI, some women fear a path to good-paying jobs will close: Sugerman, who later tended to elevators and escalators at Sears Tower, then the tallest building in the world, wonders if the small forays that women have made in the construction trades since the 1980s will simply vanish. […] The Labor Department did not respond to NPR’s request for comment on the impact the dismantling of EO 11246 may have on women and people of color.
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What Is A Credit Union?
Thursday, Mar 20, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
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* Background is here and here if you need it. But here’s a little something from Seth Stern, the director of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation, to get you started…
Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin wants to sunset Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects websites and apps from liability for posts created by users. Without it, the internet as we know it couldn’t function — the legal risks of interactivity would be too great.
* Sen. Durbin was in Taylorville today, so Isabel dropped by…
Isabel Miller: A first amendment lawyer said your plan to sunset Section 230 would stifle free speech. A reporter said that it would destroy the open internet. And my boss said that if 230 was repealed, it would put his website out of business. Why do you want to do this?
Sen. Durbin: Because of the sexual exploitation on the internet.
Isabel: Aren’t there rules in place to stop that already?
Sen. Durbin: Section 230 says the following: If your teenage daughter is exploited with images which I can’t even describe here, on the internet, and she discovers it to her horror and goes to that internet, social media source and said, ‘take them down,’ there is no legal obligation for them to do so. Why? Because Section 230 says they can’t be held liable for continuing to broadcast this filth at the expense of this poor girl and her family. That’s why 230 has to be revisited. 20 years ago, it might have made sense. It doesn’t make sense now. There is no reason why the people on the internet should get away with this, and what we say is, if they want to do that, then they’re subject to being sued. I think that will slow down the trafficking in this terrible sexploitation.
I totally disagree that you can’t force a social media company to take down child porn.
* Back to Isabel…
Isabel: Why not just tweak that? Why go after the whole 230?
Sen. Durbin: I have a bill to do that… it’s called CSAM, a children’s sexual abuse material, and it would say that the parents and the child can sue that social media outlet that didn’t take comment down that image and that they were notified. How in the world can we justify these people continuing these terrible images on the internet at the expense of this girl and her family? I mean, for goodness sake, there’s no excuse for that.
OK, then maybe focus on that bill, Senator. Don’t use a nuke when a smart bomb would clearly suffice.
* Isabel also asked Durbin about his future plans…
Isabel: Senator, when is your personal deadline to announce that you’ll either be running again or stepping down?
Durbin: Soon.
Isabel: This month, next month?
Durbin: Soon.
Q: What sort of factors help you make that decision?
Durbin: Whether I’m still physically able, mentally able to deal with the issues. This press conference is an indication that I still have my wits about me. And when it comes to the physical side of it, up and moving around, taking nourishment.
Thoughts?
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The ball is still in the legislature’s court
Thursday, Mar 20, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Chalkbeat…
Illinois advocates gathered in Springfield on Wednesday to push the state to release $50 million budgeted for after-school programs this year, saying the delay has cost some workers their jobs and caused parents to lose child care.
The Afterschool for Children and Teens Now coalition, known as ACT Now, is asking for the Illinois State Board of Education and Gov. J.B. Pritzker to distribute the money to after-school providers as soon as possible and continue funding programs in the state’s next budget. […]
Susan Stanton, executive director for ACT Now, told Chalkbeat that the coalition is seeing a “ripple effect” from after-school programs shutting down, with parents losing child care.
A spokesperson for the Illinois State Board of Education said the agency is waiting on “further guidance” from the General Assembly regarding how to distribute the $50 million appropriation since it was “not tied to an existing statutory program.” The funding was not part of the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning grants, the spokesperson said.
* I’ve written about this before…
The Democratic legislative leaders and the governor agreed to squirrel away $260 million in lump-sum appropriations to various state agencies last spring. But now some groups are figuring out that a big pile of state money is just sitting there and they are trying to stake their claims.
This came to light last month when the Chicago Tribune reported that people advocating to replace the lost federal money for after-school programs wanted to tap into two separate $25 million lump-sum legislative appropriations to the Illinois State Board of Education for “grants and administrative expenses associated with after school programs.”
Trouble is, the governor committed to the House speaker and Senate president not to spend that money until all three could agree what it would be spent on.
* From yesterday’s press conference…
Q: The governor’s office and ISBE [are] saying that the legislature appropriated $50 million but they didn’t provide any instructions for how that money is supposed to be allocated, and the discussion in the budget negotiations last year was that it would be distributed when legislative leaders provide them with direction. So the ball has kind of in the legislature’s court. What are they waiting on?
Sen. Celina Villanueva: Unfortunately, it’s been a back and forth, and there isn’t 100% clarity on exactly where everything is at right now. So the reality is this, we know that these programs are important, we know these services are important. I am a legislator, and I know several other legislators that have been here, this is about prioritizing as we’re having the conversations right now, because we’re also talking about next year’s budget, so it’s kind of a two-fold approach. We need to make sure that the money that is in the current fiscal year budget is actually coming out and getting to the places where it needs to get to. Unfortunately, this is like, there’s a lot of hold-up. But we’re also talking about making sure and continuing to fight for continued investment in these programs. So right now, there isn’t a clear answer to you to be 100 percent.
Q: What is contributing to that hold-up? Is that why you said it isn’t 100 percent clear right now?
Sen. Villanueva: There’s a lot behind that.
Please pardon all transcription errors.
The bottom line hasn’t changed: ISBE can’t release the funds until the leaders (mainly the House Speaker) decide what to do with the money.
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AG Raoul is a busy man
Thursday, Mar 20, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a national Politico story from last month entitled “23 Dem AGs think they’ve cracked the code to fighting Trump”…
The resistance meets daily on Microsoft Teams.
The country’s 23 Democratic state attorneys general log on at 4pm ET for a thirty-minute confidential video chat to coordinate their plans for pushing back against the Trump administration. They share updates on the seven cases they have moving through federal courts and argue about whether to treat Elon Musk as a lawful arm of the government or an uncredentialed interloper to it. They plot where to respond next, leveraging timezone differences to expand the workday. […]
“Right now in the United States, the Democratic AGs are the only group of people who are united and working to prevent some of these unconstitutional actions from continuing,” Hawaii attorney general Anne Lopez boasted in an interview. […]
“As you can imagine, everybody is the chief legal officer of their respective state, so everybody is used to being in charge,” said Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul. “When you’re working collectively on something there’s a desire for everyone to have a leadership role, but you have to put that aside sometimes in the interest of working together.”
Click here to read the rest. It’s a heckuva story.
* I told subscribers about this dispute the other day. Press release…
Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined three attorneys general on Wednesday in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration to preserve federal grant dollars flowing into Illinois for clean-energy projects. Raoul and the coalition filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Illinois Climate Bank, a state-created public bank whose purpose is to stimulate the development of clean energy and greenhouse gas emissions-reducing projects, and to help overcome existing market barriers to these projects.
The lawsuit also names Citibank, which holds the funds for the federal government, to ensure those funds are released as required by law.
“Congress appropriated billions to assist in transitioning to a clean-energy future, protecting our environment from carbon emissions and putting people to work in the process,” Raoul said. “The Trump administration’s decision to deny these critical funds will prevent the development of clean energy projects across Illinois, and I will continue to work with my colleagues to fight this illegal action that hurts our environmental and economic future.”
In their lawsuit, Raoul and the coalition allege that since February 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has pursued a highly irregular and illegal campaign to thwart the $20 billion appropriation Congress made to Illinois and other state green banks. The lawsuit states the EPA has terminated the grants solely due to the Trump administration’s opposition to the duly-enacted Inflation Reduction Act. Raoul and the coalition argue this violates fundamental constitutional guarantees of liberty in the separation of powers and flouts myriad statutory and regulatory controls on federal agencies’ management of congressional appropriations and finalized awards.
Raoul and the coalition further allege that Citibank, which holds the funds for the EPA in a financial agency agreement, improperly capitulated to a Feb. 17 letter from the FBI that demanded that Citibank freeze the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) it held, despite being required by law to release the congressionally-approved funds upon the request of grantees and subgrantees.
The federal government’s improper campaign against GGRF funding also included an attempt to seize the funds Citibank holds, which is an abuse of power that led one of the Department of Justice’s top criminal prosecutors to resign as they refused to proceed in the absence of evidence legally required to seize those funds. A federal judge has since denied the EPA a warrant in this matter, and two different U.S. attorneys’ offices have also declined the case due to lack of probable cause.
Joining Raoul in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of California, Maine and Minnesota.
The lawsuit is here.
* Press release…
Attorney General Kwame Raoul will join four state attorneys general today to participate in a Community Impact Hearing in Minnesota, where they will hear from the public about how the Trump administration’s executive orders and other actions are harming them and how they can fight back. This will be the second hearing in a national series of similar events hosted by attorneys general around the country.
Topics of the hearing will range from funding cuts, to mass firings, to attacks on public health. It will give the attorneys general the opportunity to hear about the direct impact that the Trump administration’s cruel, chaotic and frequently unlawful actions are having on the people of Minnesota.
Who: Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison
New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin
New York Attorney General Letitia James
When: Thursday, March 20, 2025
5 p.m. media availability
6 to 8 p.m. town hall
Where: Minneapolis/Saint Paul area: location provided upon RSVP
Livestream: www.youtube.com/@agkeithellison
* And another press release from earlier this week…
Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a coalition of 12 attorneys general, today submitted a comment letter to the U.S. Department of State opposing proposed changes to the passport application process that would prevent transgender and nonbinary individuals from obtaining a passport that matches their gender identity.
“This change in the passport application process is the latest of the Trump administration’s efforts to diminish the existence of transgender and nonbinary Americans. Prohibiting transgender and nonbinary people from having identification documents that align with their gender identity makes them less safe,” Raoul said. “Transgender and nonbinary individuals have the right to choose how their identity is reflected on their passports so they are not subjected to unnecessary confusion or delays while traveling. I am proud to stand with other attorneys general to advocate for and protect the rights of transgender and nonbinary individuals who deserve to live authentically throughout this country.”
On Jan. 20, the Trump administration issued an executive order declaring the United States will only recognize two sexes, male and female, and instructing the secretaries of State and Homeland Security to “implement changes that require that government-issued identification documents, including passports, visas, and Global Entry cards, accurately reflect the holder’s sex,” as defined by the executive order. Subsequently, the U.S. Department of State proposed changes to several passport information collection forms. The order and proposed changes break with decades of federal policy on gender identity, including the ability for individuals to change gender markers in identifying records and documents.
In the comment letter, Raoul and the coalition argue the proposed changes would significantly harm nonbinary and transgender people. Forcing a transgender or nonbinary person to have identity documents that do not align with their gender identity impedes their ability to live and travel. For example, when a person’s passport does not comport with their physical appearance, it could cause confusion, delays or harassment when they travel within the United States and internationally. These harms compound the psychological harm that could result from the new policy.
Further, the coalition argues the policy would cause considerable confusion between state-issued identification cards and federal identification documents. The proposed changes conflict with state laws that permit gender marker changes on identifying documents, allowing individuals to participate fully in society and obtain public benefits. At least 16 states, including Illinois, allow transgender and nonbinary people to correct their state-issued birth certificates to accurately reflect their gender identity. If identifying information on state-issued documents does not match with information on federal documents, individuals would likely experience delays when trying to access resources. In addition, states would likely be forced to expend needless resources to review mismatched documents.
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It’s just a bill
Thursday, Mar 20, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* WAND…
A bill moving in the Illinois Senate could protect families from evictions under crime free housing ordinances.
Most local governments have laws in place to allow landlords to evict renters if they are charged with crimes or call law enforcement for help. This legislation could prevent evictions for criminal activity tenants are not involved in or simply calling police to help after domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking.
“You shouldn’t be evicted from your home for calling 9-1-1 because you need help,” Senate President Don Harmon said Wednesday. “You shouldn’t be evicted from your home because your autistic child calls 9-1-1. You shouldn’t be evicted from your home because an uninvited person shows up at your front door.” […]
Although, the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police and Illinois Municipal League opposed the bill. Leaders from both organizations said they agree that people should not be evicted following calls for service. They noted there is no penalty included in the proposal for landlords refusing to correct an issue at their property.
* Tribune…
In 1963, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Gideon v. Wainwright that every person has a constitutional right to free legal representation in criminal cases, including poor people who are unable to afford a private attorney.
On Tuesday, the 62nd anniversary of the landmark court decision, an Illinois House committee approved by a 10-5 vote a measure that would create a statewide public defender’s office to assist under-resourced county public defenders throughout Illinois.
It’s the first time the bill, dubbed by advocates as the Funded Advocacy & Independent Representation bill, or FAIR Act, has moved forward since a version was introduced last year by Democratic Senate President Don Harmon of Oak Park. But lawmakers in favor of the bill, which is primarily geared toward rural counties, acknowledged it still needs some changes before advancing through the legislative process.
Advocates point to multiple reports from 2019 to 2023 that show about 60% of Illinois counties have no government office of public defense, and instead contract with private attorneys, often part time.
SB2264 passed out of Senate Executive on a partisan vote.
* Sen. Mike Porfirio…
A new initiative by State Senator Mike Porfirio could improve safety for thousands of first responders across Illinois, following the tragic passing of Andrew Price, a Chicago firefighter who fell through a light shaft while fearlessly suppressing a fire on the roof of a restaurant.
“First responders like Andrew risk their lives for us every day,” said Porfirio (D-Lyons Township). “We owe it to him and all those who serve us to take any steps we can to improve their safety.”
Porfirio’s proposed bill targets the risks firefighters face as they traverse roofs with light shafts, open courts and skylights. The bill would require roof openings to be covered or for a parapet to be built around them to increase their safety. The bill also would require local municipalities to complete a survey of buildings under their jurisdiction to share with local police and fire departments. Existing buildings with flat roof openings would be integrated over time and not require immediate modifications.
Price’s widow, Lara, spoke in support of the bill during the Senate Local Government Committee on Wednesday.
“Light shafts aren’t rare,” said Price. “There are deadly openings on roofs across the country, especially in buildings where firefighters are called most often.”
Senate Bill 1742 passed the Senate Local Government Committee.
* WAND…
A new bill by State House Democrats would look to remove move-in fees from Illinoisan when they rent a new home.
Right now, landlords are able to charge a move-in fee alongside a security deposit and other fees when renters move in.
State Rep. Nabeela Syed (D-Palatine) said these are junk fee’s that are unnecessary.
“I have not encountered a very legitimate reason thus far as to why someone would be able to charge a move-in fee that’s different from a security deposit,” Syed said. […]
The bill passed out of the House housing committee on a partisan 10-6 vote. It now heads to the House floor, where lawmakers could talk about it in the coming weeks.
* WAND…
A plan by State Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid (D-Berwyn) would limit the yearly rent increase on mobile homes to three percent. Rashid said hedge funds and big investment firms are buying mobile home lots in bulk to gain a profit from mobile home renters.
“One prominent park investor Frank Rolfe infamously likened his tenants to hostages,” Rashid said. “I’m quoting him. One of the big drivers to making money is the ability to increase the rent. If we didn’t have them hostage, if they weren’t stuck in these mobile home lots, it would be a whole different picture. We’re like a Waffle House where everyone is chained to the booths.”
While receiving support from his Democrat colleagues, some Republicans opposed the bill. State Rep. Mike Coffey (R-Springfield) said the limit on rent could make owning mobile homes nonviable in Illinois. […]
The plan passed out of the House housing committee on a partisan 10-6 vote. It now heads to the House floor where lawmakers could talk about it in the coming weeks.
* Illinois Environmental Council, Alliance for the Great Lakes…
SPRINGFIELD, IL – Following the anticipated Illinois Senate Environment and Conservation Committee passage of cornerstone legislation phasing out the use of certain types of single-use plastics statewide, State Sen. Laura Fine and environmental advocates part of Plastic Reduction Lobby Day will gather to discuss the significance of advancing bills, forecast next steps in the legislative process, and unveil the suite of plastic reduction bills being considered by the Illinois General Assembly this year.
SB1531, a bill phasing out single-use foam foodware sponsored by Sen. Fine, and SB1872, a bill phasing out single-use plastic shopping bags at large retailers sponsored by Sen. Cristina Castro have strong bipartisan and stakeholder support going into the committee hearing. Advocates are pointing to the historic nature of their imminent passage, as no statewide retail phase-out of single-use plastics has ever passed in Illinois, despite the introduction of such bills for decades.
The Senate Environment and Conservation Committee is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. on Thursday, March 20.
* WAND…
Illinois House Democrats hope to require public universities and community colleges with student health services to provide contraception and medication abortion.
Campus health care professionals would be tasked with discussing contraception and abortion options with students before sending prescriptions to campus pharmacies.
The legislation also states that these services could be provided through in-person appointments, telehealth, or other licensed providers.
Rep. Anna Moeller (D-Elgin) said this is a top priority for the Pritzker administration this spring. Moeller presented the bill to the House Higher Education Committee Wednesday night with help from University of Illinois Senior Emma Darbo. The brain and cardio science student said she plans to go to medical school soon in hopes of providing equitable and inclusive reproductive healthcare. […]
House Bill 3709 passed out of the House Higher Education Committee on a partisan 7-4 vote. It now moves to the House floor for further consideration.
* Sen. Mike Simmons…
Continuing his work to remove barriers when accessing housing and state services, State Senator Mike Simmons is moving legislation that would remove a notary requirement for unhoused residents who apply for a free state identification card.
“A major barrier for unhoused folks is that they often have no form of official identification, which means they cannot apply for a job, a transit card, housing, and much more. In order to apply for a free state ID, the person is currently required to get the signature of a notary. This is simply too difficult,” said Simmons (D-Chicago). “Easing the requirement for unhoused residents to get ID cards means they can get back on their feet sooner.”
Currently, application fees for standard Illinois state IDs are waived for unhoused individuals, but their application must be accompanied by a notarized affirmation. This can be difficult for individuals with little financial resources, as notary fees vary but can cost up to $25. Under Senate Bill 1173, the notary requirement for unhoused individuals to apply for and obtain a state ID would be lifted.
“This is a simple fix to allow our unhoused neighbors in Illinois to get their ID cards without the burdensome process of finding a notary,” said Simmons. “Many daily tasks may require identification and we want to make sure all members of our communities can easily obtain IDs so they can access the services they need.”
Senate Bill 1173 passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.
* Capitol News Illinois…
A Senate committee passed a bill this week that would give specialized training on human trafficking and establish coordination across multiple state agencies and partners.
Advocate and Chicago-native Brenda Myers-Powell, who was a victim of human trafficking for 25 years starting as a child, spoke at the state Capitol on Wednesday in support of the bill.
“I wish someone had recognized the signs when I was vulnerable,” Myers-Powell said. “The expanded screening for youth in state care could have identified my situation before it escalated. The creation of standards of care means survivors like me won’t have inconsistent, sometimes retraumatizing responses I encountered.” […]
Senate Bill 2323 follows multiple recommendations from the state Joint Human Trafficking Working Group formed in 2023. The recommendations included victim screening, multi-agency coordination, victim-focused training and more. […]
If the bill is implemented, multiple state agencies would have to make new units that work across jurisdictions and have specialized training to work with victims and potential future victims.
“As a transportation hub, Illinois ranks among the highest in the number of human trafficking cases in the whole United States,” Sen. Julie Morrison, D-Deerfield, the bill’s lead sponsor, said Wednesday.
* Sen. Graciela Guzmán…
Thanks to a new initiative from State Senator Graciela Guzmán to expand the accepted payment plans for homes through community land trusts, more people may soon have the opportunity to become homeowners.
“Housing is a human right. We should be doing everything in our power to make it more affordable and accessible for everyday Illinoisans, including homeownership,” said Guzmán. “Community land trusts are a great pathway to make the dream of homeownership a reality and allow for folks to have more stability in their living situation. I am excited that this initiative will work to make this method of landownership more common, and to continue to build on the ingenuity of their model.”
Community land trusts, or CLTs, are community-based, nonprofit organizations that manage a parcel of land to preserve long-term affordability of homes created through subsidies. CLTs sell homes on the land they manage at affordable prices to a qualifying homebuyer. Oftentimes, they place limits on the incomes of people looking to purchase homes to ensure affordable housing is going to people in the most financial need. Driven by constituents, for constituents, this model aims to keep folks in the community that may otherwise be priced out by corporate rent and mortgage rates.
Senate Bill 1261 would further incentivize prospective homebuyers to invest in CLTs by making the IHDA Access Forgivable, Access Deferred, and Access Repayable mortgage programs available to people seeking property owned by a community land trust. These programs offer more flexibility for buyers to pay their mortgage, which may encourage people to invest in property with CLTs. […]
Senate Bill 1261 passed the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday.
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[The following is a paid advertisement and has been updated at the advertiser’s request.]
Advocates for senior care and nursing home frontline workers have been fighting for over 14 years to hold the nursing home industry in Illinois accountable for safe staffing levels.
Lawmakers established legal requirements for safe staffing levels, only to have nursing homes routinely ignore them. Then these legal limits were bolstered with enforcement measures—but the worst actors in the industry continue to staff at dangerously low levels. In fact, Illinois is worst in the country with the largest gap between care hours needed and care hours actually provided. Dead last among states.
And now after 14 years of time and again receiving warnings and incentives and second, third and tenth chances to staff at the legally required levels, the industry began accruing fines in January that are actually substantial enough to take the profit motive out of short staffing.
The industry’s response? HB 2922—designed to once again water down the existing fines and enforcement measures so they can continue to shortchange vulnerable seniors.
This is despite the over $3 billion that Illinois pays to nursing homes annually for resident care—including hundreds of millions of dollars specifically earmarked to bolster direct care staffing levels.
It’s time for lawmakers hold firm and let the nursing home industry know that in Illinois, care comes first—not nursing home profits.
Oppose HB 2922—because safe, dignified, accountable nursing home care can’t wait.
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Open thread
Thursday, Mar 20, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* What’s going on in your part of Illinois?…
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Thursday, Mar 20, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* ICYMI: Federal DOJ launches probe into Illinois’ treatment of people with disabilities. Capitol News Illinois…
The U.S. Department of Justice has opened a wide-ranging investigation into Illinois’ treatment of people with developmental disabilities, examining whether the state provides adequate resources for community living and protects residents from harm in public institutions.
Tonya Piephoff, director of the Illinois Department of Human Services’ Division of Developmental Disabilities, informed employees of the investigation in a letter last week that was obtained by Capitol News Illinois.
“The investigation will examine whether the state unnecessarily institutionalizes, or puts at serious risk of institutionalization, adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” the letter stated.
The letter said the investigation also will probe abuse and neglect allegations of patients at the Choate, Jack Mabley and Samuel Shapiro developmental centers, three of the seven state-operated residential institutions operated by IDHS.
* BlueRoomStream.com’s coverage of today’s press conferences and committee hearings can be found here.
* Governor Pritzker will be at the Ovation Center in Romeoville at 2 pm with Congresswoman Lauren Underwood to call attention to potential cuts to Social Security. Click here to watch.
*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***
* Tribune | Bracing for budget crisis, Metra agreed to pay lobbyist as much as $4.65M for work on transit fiscal cliff: The five-year lobbying contract is in effect as the the region’s four transit agencies, including Metra, stare down a $771 million budget gap when federal COVID-19 relief funding runs out next year. Agency heads and advocates have warned that steep service cuts and fare hikes are at stake unless transit gets additional state money. Yet last year alone, Metra spent more than $602,000 on lobbyists for help with the budget cliff, along with work on Metra’s transition to a less commuter-focused service and advancing other Metra interests at the federal, state and regional level, according to public expense data and a copy of the lobbying contract, which took effect about a year ago.
* Bloomberg | Fed holds rates, sees slower growth and higher inflation: Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged the high degree of uncertainty from President Donald Trump’s significant policy changes, but repeated the central bank is not in a hurry to adjust borrowing costs. He said officials can wait for greater clarity on the impact of those policies on the economy before acting.
* Tribune | Sentencing for ex-Speaker Michael Madigan on bribery conviction set for June 13: A federal judge Wednesday set sentencing for former House Speaker Michael Madigan on bribery and other charges for June 13. The order by U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey comes more than a month after Madigan, once the most powerful politician in the state, was convicted by a jury on bribery conspiracy and other corruption charges alleging he used his public office to increase his power, line his own pockets and enrich a small circle of his most loyal associates.
*** Statehouse News ***
* WAND | Commission to find if auto insurance discriminates on credit score and race: A commission could be created by the Illinois House Democrats that would look to see if the auto insurance companies have discriminated customers based on credit score, zip code, race and age. The commission would take one year to write up a report and release that report out to the public. From there lawmakers can use the data to plan future bills.
* Chalkbeat Chicago | Illinois advocates call on state to release $50 million for after-school programs: Since funding has been delayed to after-school programs throughout the state this year, over 27,000 students have missed programming and more than 2,000 staff members have lost their jobs, according to the coalition. Susan Stanton, executive director for ACT Now, told Chalkbeat that the coalition is seeing a “ripple effect” from after-school programs shutting down, with parents losing child care. A spokesperson for the Illinois State Board of Education said the agency is waiting on “further guidance” from the General Assembly regarding how to distribute the $50 million appropriation since it was “not tied to an existing statutory program.” The funding was not part of the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning grants, the spokesperson said.
* Sen. Seth Lewis | Just trust Chicago? Not when it comes to public transit: Chicago’s leaders are asking suburban taxpayers to take a “leap of faith” — to trust them with the future of public transit. But after years of financial mismanagement, runaway debt and bailout demands, that trust has long been broken. A financial crisis is looming — one that could reshape public transit and strip suburban communities of their voice. Northeast Illinois’ transit systems — Metra, Pace and the CTA — are facing a $770 million fiscal cliff next year, and major decisions that will affect riders across the region.
* Transit union leaders | A new bill offers a path forward for Illinois transit funding: This issue is not just numbers; it’s about real people. Consider the essential worker who must catch a bus for their early shift, the student who needs the train to get to college or the retiree who uses public transportation to reach their doctor. On the business side, companies also depend on a solid transit system to connect with customers and employees. A safe and reliable system also provides benefits to those who enjoy the best of what Chicagoland offers, such as its iconic museums, dining, sporting events, shopping and festivals. If we do nothing, the effects will be severe.
* Crain’s | Civic groups step up calls for expanding Illinois sales tax to services: Illinois is facing a $3.2 billion shortfall in the fiscal year that starts July 1, in part because pandemic-era federal funds that paid for an expansion of Medicaid have run out. The outlook could be even more precarious because of recent actions by the Trump administration to cut funding to the state.
*** Chicago ***
* Crain’s | Johnson’s 11th-hour bid to broker an end to the CPS pension standoff falls short: Mayor Brandon Johnson sat down with Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez and Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates this afternoon ahead of an uncertain vote to amend the district’s budget. The City Hall meeting comes one day before the Chicago Board of Education is set to vote to alter its budget to accept an extra $139 million transfer from Chicago and on a separate agreement to reimburse the city for a $175 million pension payment City Hall made on behalf of non-teacher employees at CPS into the Municipal Employees’ Annuity & Benefit Fund. The parties all agreed negotiations on a new teachers contract had been narrowed to a small number of disagreements, but nothing was resolved.
* Tribune | Immigration crackdown leads to numerous reports of ICE agents near Chicago Public Schools, emails show: A look at emails from district officials in the weeks since the mistaken ICE report demonstrates that both panic and misinformation around ICE in schools has continued since the Hamline incident. The emails were mostly sent by officials at the CPS’ Student Safety Center, the district’s 24/7 command center for safety communications, and were obtained by the Tribune through a Freedom of Information Act request.
* Crain’s | Richard Roeper leaving the Chicago Sun-Times after 37 years: Roeper announced this morning he is stepping away March 21 after 37 years at the publication, a tenure that included serving as the late Gene Siskel’s successor alongside Roger Ebert on their TV show and later Ebert’s successor as the newspaper’s main movie critic after Ebert’s death. Roeper will continue reviewing films and TV shows on ABC7’s “Windy City Weekend,” hosting “The Richard Roeper Show” podcast and writing reviews regularly, according to a news release.
* Block Club | Neighbors, Activists Disrupt South Works Quantum Campus Meeting: ‘Don’t Poison Us’: A tense community meeting on the planned South Chicago megadevelopment — with a quantum research campus and a new hospital — highlighted neighbors’ mistrust over the project, driven by decades of divestment and “broken promises.”
*** Cook County and Suburbs ***
* Daily Herald | After no-confidence vote from officers, Wheeling police chief to step down: Wheeling Police Chief Jamie Dunne will retire this summer after nine years leading the department, the village announced Wednesday. Dunne’s decision comes nearly a month after most of the department’s unionized patrol officers signed a letter formally declaring they’d lost confidence in his leadership. The letter accused Dunne of undermining department readiness by cutting training, improperly changing the department’s field training program, misusing funds, discouraging officers from taking overtime pay and other unfavorable actions.
* Lake County News-Sun | Transgender-related locker room complaint puts Lake County middle school in national spotlight: In a statement, the school district said students are not required to change into gym clothes in front of others in locker rooms, and have “multiple options to change in a private location if they wish.” The district said its policies and procedures, including student use of locker rooms, are in line with state laws, the Illinois School Code and guidance from the Illinois State Board of Education.
* Evanston RoundTable | Gov. Pritzker backs Mayor Biss for reelection: In an announcement email sent by the Biss campaign Wednesday afternoon, Pritzker is quoted as calling Biss a friend, colleague and “a partner to me in fighting for working families.” Similar to the mayor’s earlier endorsement from Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, Pritzker cited the need for local leadership to “stand up and fight back” against threats from the federal government under President Donald Trump.
* CNN | Police end Democratic lawmaker’s town hall after fiery confrontations: A heated confrontation broke out at Democratic Congressman Sean Casten’s town hall on Wednesday in Downers Grove, Illinois forcing police to escort constituents out of the building.
*** Downstate ***
* News-Gazette | Budzinski, Pritzker discuss impacts of federal cuts at Urbana roundtable: “We don’t have the votes to change this,” replied Gov. J.B. Pritzker. “What we do have is our voices in local communities and the stories that we can tell about the devastation that has occurred.” It was with this aim in mind that Pritzker, U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, and Illinois Department of Agriculture Director Jerry Costello II held a roundtable Wednesday afternoon on how federal cuts and freezes have impacted farming and conservation efforts.
* NPR Illinois | Funding announced for Lincoln’s New Salem repairs: The Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Illinois Capital Development Board announced $8 million for improvements to the popular recreated log village where young Abraham Lincoln lived for six formative years from 1831 to 1837. According to an announcement, the funding is made possible through the Rebuild Illinois program. The funds will be used to repair up to 23 log village buildings and update the outdoor theater.
* Rockford Register Star | Golden principal: Golden Apple winner makes sure all ’students are heard’: Megan Forsythe is the kind of principal who greets all 500 students at Whitman Post Elementary School by name each morning. She has an infectious energy, and she reminds her students that they matter and belong at her school. During a surprise ceremony on Wednesday, Forsythe was named the 2025 Golden Apple Outstanding Principal.
*** National ***
* Reuters | Trump signs order to shift disaster preparations from FEMA to states, local governments: U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order that seeks to shift responsibility for disaster preparations to state and local governments, deepening his drive to overhaul the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The order, first previewed by the White House on March 10, calls for a review of all infrastructure, continuity, and preparedness and response policies to update and simplify federal approaches.
* The New Yorker | What Made the Irish Famine So Deadly: The novelist Colm Tóibín suggested, in 1998, that the problem “may lie in the relationship between catastrophe and analytic narrative. How do you write about the Famine? What tone do you use?” He speculated, moreover, that the Great Hunger had created a great divide even in Irish consciousness. If, he said, he were to write a novel about his home town, Enniscorthy, that took place after the famine years, “I would not have to do much research”—because the place would resemble the one he grew up in. But he would find the years before and during the event itself “difficult to imagine.”
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Live coverage
Thursday, Mar 20, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Click here and/or here to follow breaking news. Hopefully, enough reporters and news outlets migrate to BlueSky so we can hopefully resume live-posting.
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