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Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Monday, Feb 2, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Law360…
* The Triibe…
* Capitol News Illinois | Election ’26: 4 Democrats seeking to replace Mendoza as Illinois comptroller: Mendoza herself has been an outspoken supporter of boosting the “rainy day” fund and has continued to advocate for ways to increase its size. The fund’s $2.4 billion balance only funds about two weeks of state operations, and lawmakers suspended the monthly transfer to the fund this year to free up money for other priorities in a tight budget year. “To continue to put money away for a rainy day when we’re in the middle of a tsunami, that’s not when we should be putting money away for a rainy day,” Villa said, adding “there’s no way to prioritize that in this budget.” * Capitol City Now | Amazon has donated 1,000 of the devices to Illinois survivors of domestic violence: “I would like to thank Amazon for giving 1,000 survivors in Illinois an added layer of security,” Raoul said at an announcement in Chicago. “These Ring cameras are for peace of mind to survivors who want to know who is on the other side of the door before opening it. The ability to monitor their homes when they are not there allows survivors to know whether a predator is waiting for them.” […] “For nearly fifty years, the (Illinois Coalition against Domestic Violence) has served as the statewide leader in domestic violence advocacy and awareness,” said the coalition’s president and CEO, Carrie Boyd. “With domestic violence homicides having increased by approximately 140 percent in the last several years, while other violent crimes have decreased, this public safety measure is needed now more than ever.” * ABC Chicago | 1K Ring cameras donated for Illinois domestic violence survivors as part of new initiative: “We launched a pilot program, with free devices and subscriptions, and just two weeks later learned that a survivor was quickly able to activate her safety plan, where she received a motion alert that alerted her that her abuser was approaching her home, with a weapon,” said Raquel Medrano, with Amazon Public Policy. * Sen. Graciela Guzman | Illinois families can’t keep paying the bill for climate change damages: Across Illinois, people are making hard decisions about what they can afford and what they cannot. A public works director weighs whether to repave a street or replace a storm drain after another heavy rain. A homeowner opens the mail and braces for an insurance premium increase that pushes a family budget over the edge. These moments are becoming more common, and they point to a system in which families and local governments carry most of the cost of a changing climate, while the companies that helped drive this damage continue to post profits. That is why I am introducing the Climate Change Superfund Act in the Illinois Senate. * Windy City Times | Equality Illinois leader at 2026 gala: Organization “built to face” political challenges: Equality Illinois’s new CEO, Channyn Lynne Parker, gave the keynote at the rights-advocacy’s 2026 annual gala the evening of Jan. 31, where she asserted that the event, which according to estimates hosted about 1,500 attendees, was “not just a gala—it is a sanctuary.” Parker praised both Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, both of whom were in attendance that evening at the Hilton Chicago, 720 S. Michigan Ave. Both politicians, she said, made clear that “dignity is not conditional” in the state. * ABC Chicago | New program offers volunteer opportunities for SNAP recipients amid new requirements: The non-profit launched “Snap Together Volunteers,” which offers accessible volunteer opportunities for seniors at the Nourish Chicago Pantry, located at 2102 W Ogden Avenue. This program is designed specifically for older adults, aged 55 to 64, who need qualifying volunteer hours. * Fox Chicago | Fight over multi-billion dollar quantum computer campus on South Side not over: With their sights now set on the November general election, they rallied on Wednesday, calling on the community to support a new ballot initiative that lets voters consider whether the microelectronics park currently under construction on the site of the former U.S. Steel plant should be relocated in favor of grocery stores, affordable housing units, and youth centers. * Bond Buyer | Chicago Transit Authority plans return to market with $575M deal: Wells Fargo Securities will price for the Chicago Transit Authority $575 million of first and second lien sales tax receipts bonds on Thursday, Feb. 5. * Sun-Times | Accused fake cop beats third impersonation case after defending himself in Cook County trial: Ellis was arrested twice in the 1990s for felony police impersonation and convicted of both offenses, along with arson in 1997. Ellis’ latest legal saga began in March 2018 when Chicago cops pulled over his car on the South Side for having an expired temporary license plate. When he opened his wallet to give them his driver’s license, the officers spotted a laminated identification card from the Pembroke Township Police Department. The officers couldn’t find any evidence of a Pembroke Township police department, so they arrested Ellis on a felony charge of impersonating a cop. * Tribune | Chicago Sky owner Michael Alter sued by minority partner for allegedly ‘self-dealing’ to devalue other shares: Minority owner Steven Rogers, an Englewood native and entrepreneur who was an early investor in the team, alleges in the suit that Alter abused his financial control of the Sky’s operations to “self-deal” stakes to boost his own shares while decreasing those of minority partners. “Alter’s actions breached his fiduciary duty to the minority investors … and unfairly deprived them of the value of their investments,” the lawsuit said. * Tribune | Harvey Council to hold special meeting Monday to appoint acting mayor after Christopher Clark death : Shirley Drewens is the current mayor pro temp. The town of Harvey has been dealing with a financial crisis. It’s in debt by more than $150 million and has been forced to lay off many city workers, including more than half of the fire department employees. It is a stressful time for the city’s elected leaders, who have appealed to the federal and state governments for help. * Daily Herald | St. Charles plastics plant remains open after being bought by German firm, saving jobs: But when 86 workers were listed by Microplastics Inc. in St. Charles, a last-minute reprieve for “a majority” of them is exactly what happened. And it came from Dippoldiswalde, Germany. After months of expecting the manufacturing plant to close down for good, the German-based company MATEtronix acquired Microplastics Inc., rehiring a majority of the same employees and keeping the equipment in St. Charles. * Daily Southtown | Mokena village officials updating website, not logo, administrator says: The mockup presented in November was part of an informal discussion about the village’s larger project to redesign its website and revamp village operations, he said. Tomasoski said village officials started rethinking village operations in late 2023, early 2024 when a new wave of staff members were hired after several retirements. The influx of staff was a big change from when he started in 2015, he said, when the newest hire had been there for 15 years and some staff members had a tenure of more than 30 years. Naturally, he said, the new staff members prompted new ideas and processes. * WGLT | All this snow hasn’t done much to reduce drought in Central Illinois: State climatologist Trent Ford with the Illinois State Water Survey said the last six months are the driest August-to-January period on record for the Twin Cities at 7.1 inches of precipitation, according to climate records dating back to 1893. The only drier six-month period came during the Dust Bowl period, stretching from December 1933 to May 1934. * WIFR | Public comment wanted on proposal for transportation funds in Rockford: Region 1 Planning Council is the federally-designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Rockford Urban and Metropolitan Area. The organization has established a preliminary plan for projects to receive federal funding through Surface Transportation Block Grant, Transportation Alternative Program and Carbon Reduction Program. * WGLT | Union opposes Unit 5’s move to reject teacher resignation: Kathryn Monti submitted her resignation to the Unit 5 school board to take a new teaching job elsewhere. The school board rejected the resignation, saying Monti resigned mid-year with insufficient notice, and referred the case to the state superintendent for a possible license suspension of up to one year. A request to Unit 5 for the date of Monti’s resignation was not immediately returned. Monti has already left the district. * WCIA | Movie filmed in Central IL comes to the big screen in Savoy: “Moses to Black,” was showing in theaters in Savoy, and the movie was filmed all across Champaign County. In Champaign, Urbana and Rantoul with Flyover Film Studios, at least 100 people were there to see the film, and members of the Champaign County Film Office were there as well. A Q&A was held discussing the benefits of showing large film projects in Champaign. * AP | What to know about the partial government shutdown: The partial government shutdown is vastly different from the record closure in the fall. That is mostly because this shutdown, which started Saturday, does not include the whole of government and may not last long, even as it now drags into the new week. The House had hoped to pass funding legislation quickly when lawmakers return Monday evening, and that would have ended the shutdown. But House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., now says he is hoping to have the package considered “at least by Tuesday” as he scrambles to round up votes and Democrats hold out for deeper changes to immigration enforcement.
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- AlfondoGonz - Monday, Feb 2, 26 @ 3:20 pm:
Re: the “accused fake cop.”
Those cases were tried in front of Carolyn Howard, who is the single worst judge in Cook County, bar none and by a wide margin. I don’t know that I’ve ever heard of her finding a defendant guilty. Despite this, she is as loathed by defense attorneys as she is prosecutors. She shows up at 11 am, disrespects everyone in the room, is ignorant to the law, and leaves the moment the call is over.
- The Farm Grad - Monday, Feb 2, 26 @ 4:13 pm:
“The town of Harvey has been dealing with a financial crisis”
If Harvey were a portfolio company, and Rahm Emanuel (when he worked a Wasserella) were in charge, he’d approach the creditors and say: We both have a problem. The only way out is to restructure ALL of our debt
- Rich Miller - Monday, Feb 2, 26 @ 4:16 pm:
===If Harvey were a portfolio company===
That’s where I stopped reading.
- 47th Ward - Monday, Feb 2, 26 @ 4:33 pm:
From the Senator Guzman letter to the editor:
“Because the contributions are tied to past production, not current sales, they cannot simply be tacked onto families’ utility bills.”
She’s right, it won’t be simple. How these corporate entities pass on the costs of this to consumers will be complicated.
And she’s wrong to think that anyone other than taxpayers and consumers will pay for the effects of climate change. One way or another, that is who pays. Always and forever.
Someday Illinois Socialists will understand that there is no magic source of money out there waiting to be tapped. It all comes from taxpayers and consumers.
Suggesting only polluters will pay for this is dishonest and wrong.