* Fox Chicago is reporting that Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias told a group of supporters last night he’s running for governor. There doesn’t seem to be anything on the station’s website, however.
He did have a fundraiser last night, but someone close to Giannoulias told me today that the treasurer didn’t say anything he hasn’t said before. “He’s been telling people for a while that this is something he’s looking at.”
* RollCall reports that Rep. Luis Gutierrez has discussed the possibility of being appointed to Barack Obama’s seat, but Rep. Jackson, Jr. has not…
According to the source, the governor “has discussed the prospect” with the eight-term Chicago lawmaker, and the two Democrats “will talk more in a few days” about the possibly of his being named to the job. […]
Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.), who some had considered until recently the frontrunner to replace Obama, “has not had a direct conversation with the governor” about the seat, his office confirmed.
“Some” had considered Jackson the frontrunner because Jackson worked the DC press galleries so hard and nobody bothered to check. This looks like it might be a targeted leak designed to take Jackson down a peg.
* Um, guys? RRB’s hanging with Ahnold in Hollywood today…
Central Illinois residents are on their way to Springfield to march in a rally to protect Pontiac Prison. The rally starts at 2:30 from the AFSCME headquarters.
The goal of the rally is to show Governor Rod Blagojevich many communities will be affected if he closes the prison. For now, a judge has issued a temporary restraining order to ban the transfer of inmates from the prison.
Illinois pays its retailers more than any other state - $126 million a year - to collect its sales tax, a new report on Tuesday discloses.
In a study likely to give retail trade groups here heartburn, Good Jobs First, a Washington-based left-of-center research group, says what it dubs “legal skimming by retailers” in Illinois dwarfs the figure of any other state, with only the much-larger Texas coming anywhere near as close, at $89.6 million a year.
A big chunk of that loot goes to a favorite of political progressives, Wal-Mart, Inc. It gets $8.5 million a year for collecting sales taxes for Illinois, trailing only the $10 million the Arkansas-based retailer nets from Missouri and $9 million from Colorado, where the firm controls a larger share of the retail market. […]
The new study couldn’t come at a worse time for store keepers. It may provide powerful ammunition for increasingly dominant Democrats at Springfield to eliminate or reduce the retailers’ allowance at the same time that a weak economy is keeping sales down. Still, IRMA has been successful behind the scenes in keeping a good relationship both with House Speaker Michael Madigan and with his frequent antagonist, Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
The study can be found at this link. Crain’s also reports that Sen. James Meeks has introduced legislation “to repeal the retailers’ allowance and redirect the revenues to hiring more school truant officers and pre-school education.”
* The world is going to heck, but Jumping Jacks was saved by a fee increase on micro-businesses…
Just minutes before the full City Council convened today to consider Mayor Richard Daley’s $6.2 billion 2009 budget proposal, the Finance Committee voted to boost the fees on Maxwell Street Market vendors to raise enough money to save a popular block party freebie doled out by aldermen at the start of each year.
As a result of the effort designed to save “jumping jacks,” the annual application fee for a market license will likely triple to $75 and the fee for an alternate license probably will more than triple to $50. Daily fees for the market also would increase substantially, but they would not double as first proposed earlier this week.
* The Tribbies are live-blogging the city council budget debate.
We’ve heard Obama say “real baseball” is played on the South Side. We’ve seen the president-elect in his Sox cap as he takes the girls to school or goes for a workout. We’ve seen pics of Obama throwing out a first pitch before Game 2 of the ALCS. (Note: after Obama’s appearance, the Sox never lost another postseason game. Maybe he really is The One.)
But will this translate into some sort of boost for the Sox nationwide?
Writes Madden: “Dare we say it? Can it be? The White Sox America’s team?”
* The Question: Are the White Sox now America’s team, or will they be soon? Explain.
*** Just askin’: What is taking Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) so long in appointing a successor to Obama in the Senate? It’s not like Obama’s victory two weeks ago was a surprise, right? Isn’t the clock ticking on Blagojevich’s own term, as he bites his nails wondering if there’s a grand jury indictment in his future? So if he doesn’t appoint someone soon, could he end up missing the opportunity?
[ *** End of Update *** ]
* Nobody can escape the Obama replacement speculation these days…
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, after a press conference on mortgage rescue fraud Tuesday, was asked about speculation that she is in the running to replace Barak Obama in the U.S. Senate.
Madigan says she doesn’t think she is in the running. She cited her strained relationship with Governor Blagojevich, who is responsible for naming Obama’s replacement. And Madigan says she is considering a run for Governor in 2010.
She refused to speculate on whether the governor might appoint her to the senate to get her out of the way for his possible reelection run.
“I think that because of the interesting political situation here in the state of Illinois it is a chance of less than zero that the governor will be calling me to offer that seat to me,” Madigan said.
She’s probably right about that.
* CNN tries to play it straight and treat this appointment like it’s being made by a normal governor…
Instead, that power rests in the hands of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a fellow Democrat. Blagojevich has maintained his decision will not be made in haste, and he wants “to ensure that Obama’s successor will understand and fight for the needs of average Illinoisans.”
There is no clear successor in the wings and in the old school politics that shape the Illinois and Chicago landscape, Blagojevich will likely weigh several factors as he makes this decision notwithstanding his own possible re-election in 2010.
Candidates likely being considered for the open Senate seat:
U.S. Rep. Danny Davis
Illinois Dept. of Veterans Affairs Director Tammy Duckworth
U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez
U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.
Illinois Senate President Emil Jones Jr.
Illinois Attorney Gen. Lisa Madigan
U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky
* As I’ve mentioned before, anyone who is appointed to this seat by Gov. Blagojevich will likely suffer political consequences when they try to hold the seat in two years. Barack Obama’s pick for US Attorney General is also apparently tainted by our governor…
[Eric Holder] once had a high-profile job here in Chicago. CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery reports Holder was the federal prosecutor who announced the indictment of Dan Rostenkowski. He ultimately sent that powerful Chicago congressman to prison. But with the FBI closing in on another top Chicago politician, Holder may face questions about a potential conflict of interest.
Four-and-a-half years ago, he held a news conference in Chicago at the Thompson Center. He had accepted a $300,000 assignment from Rod Blagojevich: Should a company whose chairman had been fined for violating gambling rules in Illinois be allowed to build a half-billion dollar casino in Rosemont?
In the end, it didn’t happen. Holder got into a jurisdictional dispute with Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, and he did not get the free and total access to all the documents he wanted.
CBS 2 reported this fall that sources told us federal agents believe they’ve already gathered enough evidence to warrant an indictment of Gov. Blagojevich. They add that a grand jury could act before the end of the year.
Should he become U.S. Attorney General, Holder could potentially be asked to sign off on key decisions regarding any prosecution of Blagojevich. Holder now appears to regret getting involved at all with Blagojevich in the ill-fated casino investigation.
Oops.
* Meanwhile, Jim Edgar, Denny Hastert and Bill Daley held an education reform press conference yesterday, but some reporter questions apparently centered on the 2010 governor’s race…
Daley, who is assisting in Obama’s transition effort, would not answer questions about his level of interest in running for Illinois governor in 2010.
* The new task force is expected to produce yet another blue ribbon commission report that will collect dust on a very crowded shelf, so political questions are probably more interesting. Still, it does have some big bucks behind it…
The group has garnered $4.5 million to $5 million in funding for the next three to four years, said Steans. The money comes from various philanthropies, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The Joyce Foundation.
* I have vivid memories of stories like this from the early 1980s recession. We’re in for it now…
Inside Talecris Plasma Resources in Waukegan, business is good. Past the overflowing waiting room, 30 people recently reclined on comfortable red leather chairs, each one making $20 to $45 as they watched TV, listened to music or chatted with neighbors.
The source of the cash is blood plasma, precious to pharmaceutical companies as the raw material needed to make a wide variety of medicines. Thin tubes carried blood from each person’s arm to a piece of whirring machinery that gradually filled a container with the valuable yellow fluid. […]
An industry group said total donations may hit 16 million this year, up from 10 million donations just three years earlier. At the Waukegan center, manager Rhonda Johnson said this fall was among the busiest seasons she’s observed, with more first-time donors joining the twice-a-week regulars.
The Sun-Times Media Group has moved to lighten its load—in the board room and on its ledgers—in the face of pressure from top shareholders agitating for change as their investments dwindled to pennies per share.
The parent of the Chicago Sun-Times and dozens of other Chicago-area publications announced Tuesday that Chairman Raymond Seitz and board members Gordon Paris and Graham Savage plan to resign by the end of the year.
Sun-Times Media also plans to de-register itself as a Class A stock in early 2009, a maneuver Chief Executive and Chicago Sun-Times Publisher Cyrus Freidheim Jr. said this summer would save about $10 million annually in lawyering, accounting and paperwork.
Every penny counts, particularly when shares closed Tuesday at 8 cents apiece, putting the company’s market value at less than $7 million. The company this month announced a $168.8 million loss in the third quarter.
Against the backdrop of the national economic crisis, Gov. Rod Blagojevich said Tuesday he wants more power to use his budget ax to close a growing budget deficit.
The governor offered no specific programs that are on the chopping block, but noted his moves could affect public schools and universities, state pension funds and grants to local governments. […]
State Sen. Donne Trotter, D-Chicago, a key Senate budget negotiator, said the plan will give the governor options if the sluggish economy continues to drive down state revenues.
“We’re in a state of emergency,” Trotter said. “The way things are going, it could get worse.”
Cash from income, corporate and sales taxes is expected to fall more than $800 million short by June, the end of the state’s fiscal year, Blagojevich budget director Ginger Ostro said Tuesday. Investment losses, a pre-existing budget deficit and a decline in casino revenues brings the total shortfall to at least $2 billion.
But it could get worse, predicts Dan Long, director of the Legislature’s bipartisan budget forecasting commission.
“We think it could be larger,” Long said. “We are entering the worst period right now.”
Long said the gap could widen to $2.8 billion or more.
* The Rockford Register Star runs an incomprehensible editorial that bashes the governor’s plan, but calls for unspecified legislative action…
We haven’t seen anything lately that would make us think the governor has earned lawmakers’ trust back.
Other parts of Blagojevich’s plan are troubling as well. He proposed a short-term borrowing program to help reduce the state’s pile of unpaid bills. The bills need to be paid, but borrowing more money seems risky. We wouldn’t advocate a homeowner making a mortgage payment with a credit card. It not only delays the problem, but would add to overall debt as well.
The governor also wants to ask the federal government for $1 billion over three years. With bailouts and requests for bailouts, we don’t see where the feds have any money to throw around.
Lawmakers avoided making tough decisions while they campaigned for re-election. The election’s over and campaigning is done (for now.)
Inaction has made Illinois’ problems worse. It sends a chill up our spines to think how bad things will get unless the General Assembly acts this week.
Acts on what? They never say. That’s the trouble with crises like this. We all scream and shout, but nobody offers a realistic alternative. And it doesn’t look like the governor is gonna get much cooperation from the GA, either…
[House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie] said much of the belt tightening can be done without lawmaker approval and that they will be hesitant to grant additional authority “without a lot of specificity on where those cuts are going to go.”
State Sen. Jeff Schoenberg, an Evanston Democrat and co-chair of the Legislature’s budget forecasting arm, said he doesn’t foresee lawmakers giving up oversight on cuts.
Next year may make the past two years look pleasant.
Leanne Redden, RTA senior deputy executive director, noted the agency should be spending $1 billion a year to maintain its infrastructure and transportation network, but the 2009 plan has only $470 million for that.
Leaders from 11 transit agencies, including the Chicago Transit Authority, pleaded with Congress for help Tuesday as long-term financing deals with investors collapse amid the global credit crisis.
The officials warned that 31 of the nation’s largest transit systems could face at least $2 billion in payments in the coming months if hundreds of the deals go bad. The fallout could cripple rail and bus systems at a time when ridership is soaring.
After serving as the No. 2 man under Cook County State’s Attorney Dick Devine for years, Robert Milan is leaving the office — but he isn’t going too far.
Some lead members of the design team had thought that the latest version of the proposal — which deleted all specific references to gay students from the mission statement and changed the school’s name — had been the best way to garner support for the new school, Chicago public school officials said. But on Tuesday, other members balked.
“When we tried to compromise as much as we could with our language, even changing our name, in the end, the design team couldn’t fully agree that this proposal should go through,'’ one team member, Katherine Hogan, told WTTW-Channel 11’s “Chicago Tonight” Tuesday.
Hogan, a literature teacher at Social Justice High School, insisted the design team had the “full support'’ of Schools CEO Arne Duncan and would “absolutely'’ submit an “even stronger'’ version of the plan next year, in time for the school to open in 2010, as planned.
* Gov. Blagojevich was on MSNBC today. He appeared to need a little help at the 1:06 and the 2:28 marks because he was prompted by someone in the room with him…
Carbon deforestation? Not quite sure what he meant.
…Adding… As pointed out by a commenter, and confirmed by my own ears, there seems to be the sound of a toilet flushing at the 2:19 mark. Hilarious.
…Adding More… From the governor’s press office…
The governor was in the car, en route to the airport during the interview with msnbc.
Citing the impact of the national economic crisis on Illinois’ revenues, Governor Rod R. Blagojevich today announced a four-part plan to manage the state’s $2 billion fiscal year 2009 budget deficit.
The Governor’s proposed plan includes passage of the Emergency Budget Act, which would give the Governor and other constitutional officers added authority to help them make additional cuts, a request to Congress for increased federal stimulus aid, and further administrative reductions in the agencies. In addition to these budget solutions, the Governor is also proposing short-term borrowing which will help manage the state’s cash flow and pay providers in a more timely matter. […]
The Governor’s plan includes the following components:
Continued Belt Tightening – The Governor has already taken fiscally responsible steps by reducing the FY09 budget passed by the General Assembly by $1.4 billion, ordering all agencies to reduce spending by 3%, reducing the cost of core services, and decreasing headcount. The state will continue to find efficiencies and savings in the agencies through further reserves and spending freezes while still providing Illinoisans with core services.
Emergency Budget Act – The Governor will propose legislation to give him the authority to hold back in contingency reserve as much as 8 percent of total appropriation and distributions for all General Funds spending […]
Increased Federal Stimulus – Today Governor Blagojevich will send a letter to the congressional leadership detailing the effects that the poor economic condition has had on Illinois. The letter focuses on the areas that the State has identified with the greatest impact and requests more than $1 billion annually over the next three years. […]
Short-Term Borrowing – While short-term borrowing will not solve the budget deficit, the state needs to pay vendors on time and manage the state’s uneven cash flow. The Governor, the Comptroller and the Treasurer are currently working together on the borrowing plan. […]
This isn’t normal short-term borrowing. The comptroller wants to borrow money under an obscure constitutional provision that allows repayment within a calendar year, instead of during the same fiscal year. The Senate Republicans and Speaker Madigan aren’t thrilled with the idea, to say the least.
Sometimes you come upon something so ridiculous, so on-its-face laughably stupid, you just want to stop everything and enjoy. That’s what we did when we first saw this investors-demo video of SpeedFit, a new concept in exercise technology:The Mobile Treadmill…a treadmill designed specially to move/walk down the street while you’re treading.
Because, let’s see, walking down the street without a treadmill is too tough?
* The Question: Come up with a fitting Illinois analogy for this new invention.
Late last week, the state asked Illinois universities to have a project or two in mind in case the federal government sends money to states in an effort to stimulate the economy. […]
“Everyone has projects ready to go,” said Southern Illinois University spokesman Dave Gross.
When a 10th casino opens in the Chicago area in the next few years, its competitors in the local horse racing industry could hit the trifecta.
The horse racing industry, by state law, must be given 15 percent of whatever money the new casino rakes in — a windfall of as much as $70 million a year.
We might not care except for this: That money, according to a story by Sun-Times reporters Chris Fusco and Dave McKinney, will come out of the pockets of Illinois taxpayers. The state, not the new casino’s owners, will have to pay the horse tracks the 15 percent.
The track owners are backed to the hilt by the farmer lobby, which sees quite a bit of economic benefits from the facilities. Going up against those two lobbies ain’t easy, which is why the tracks keep getting the subsidies, even though they’re supposed to be revenue generators.
* And the Daily Herald frets about the impact of the 10th casino on neighboring riverboats…
Is it advisable to authorize a new gambling casino when revenue from the nine already in Illinois dropped nearly $164 million in October compared to the same single month in 2007?
The Grand Victoria in Elgin, just down the Jane Addams Tollway from Rosemont and Des Plaines, had the biggest revenue drop among Chicago-area casino sites, down 27 percent from the previous October.
Call it selfish, but we find it hard to believe that the needs here aren’t greater than those in Waukegan. And call it cynical, but it’s hard not to believe the snub comes from folks who wouldn’t be caught dead on the wrong side of Interstate 55, regardless of whether gambling dollars are going right down the road into Indiana.
So as usual, we are left angry, frustrated and suspicious about the Gaming Board’s motives. Perhaps before members make their final choice, they will read their own Web site for a reminder of why we have gambling in this state in the first place.
Here’s a hint: It’s not so the rich can get richer.
* And the Daily Herald points the way to more revenues: Sin Taxes…
State records show that cigarette and liquor tax receipts, as well as sales figures for the Illinois Lottery, have either remained steady or gone up a bit since the new budget year began July 1, compared to the same period last year.
* There are those who say no taxes should be increased during bad economic times. But the state, unlike the federal government, can’t just print money or easily borrow long-term to pay operating expenses. We’re looking at a huge state budget deficit right now and revenues are tanking. This means gigantic, scary cuts are likely on the way.
I’m not sure how we’re going to deal with this, considering that our governor is not exactly the most unifying figure in Illinois history.
Past and present government officials will join together today to announce a new statewide initiative aimed at promoting and improving Illinois’ public education system.
Former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, former Commerce Secretary William M. Daley, former Gov. Jim Edgar, Chicago City Clerk Miguel del Valle and Joyce Foundation President Ellen Alberding will make the announcement during a Chicago press conference and through interviews with statewide media.
The group will announce the launch of Advance Illinois, “an independent, objective voice to promote a public education system in Illinois that prepares all students to be ready for work, college and democratic citizenship,” according to a press release.
Let’s see… Hastert led the unsuccessful push for a capital bill. Edgar just helped kill the constitutional convention referendum and campaigned hard against Dawn Clark Netsch’s education funding idea in 1994, which led to the failure of his “me too” plan a year later. William Daley has touted himself as a potential gubernatorial candidate, but has been busy lately with Obama transition duties. The Joyce Foundation funds most of the “goo-goo” activities here, which naturally irks some legislators. And Miguel del Valle, while still greatly repsected in the General Assembly, has not been around much.
But, I’m sure they’ll succeed beyond their wildest dreams.
*** UPDATE *** The group’s new website is up and running. From the “Policy Solutions” page…
A quality education improves the odds of success for all young people and anchors a state’s civic and economic well-being.
DuPage County Board Chairman Robert Schillerstrom is hinting at a possible run for statewide office in two years.
“I’m interested in doing what I can to turn things around (in Springfield), and I’m not exactly sure what that may be at this point,” he said. “It may be to continue doing exactly what I’m doing right now, it may to be very involved in the selection of the next slate and it may be to potentially be a candidate. Time will tell on those issues.” […]
Schillerstrom has hinted at running for attorney general and governor in the past, but he wouldn’t single out a specific office he might seek in two years
I was interviewed the other day by National Public Radio about the “campaign” to fill President-elect Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate seat. Most of what I said was left on the cutting-room floor, but my message to the NPR reporter was crystal clear: Ignore all the punditry and prognostication.
Admittedly, it’s been enormous fun to watch all the hopefuls scramble for Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s favor. The governor, by law, fills the vacancy, which was created when Obama resigned Sunday. Blagojevich hasn’t been this popular with this many politicians since he first took office and was handing out plum jobs and contracts.
Times have changed, and pretty much everybody has treated him like a radioactive monster for the past couple of years, so I’m sure he’s enjoying all the recent attention.
U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. has gone so far as to line up newspaper endorsements and at one point convinced several Washington, D.C., reporters that he was the front-runner to replace Obama. He even commissioned a statewide poll that he claims shows he’d be the best candidate of the bunch.
The Politico’s Roger Simon recently pointed to Obama’s choice of Illinois Veterans Affairs Director Tammy Duckworth to accompany him to a Veterans Day wreath-laying ceremony as a significant clue. Duckworth is on just about everyone’s short list. But some Chicago media outlets have reported that U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin’s advocacy of Duckworth’s appointment might be hurting her. Durbin and Blagojevich don’t have the best relationship, goes the logic. Then again, almost everybody has a lousy relationship with this governor.
The potential appointment list is almost endless. Congressmen like Luis Gutierrez and Jan Schakowsky have their hands out. Former statewide officials like Roland Burris have said they’re ready, willing and able to serve.
Pretty much every story published about the vacancy also has mentioned retiring Illinois Senate President Emil Jones, partly because Jones is allied so closely with Blagojevich.
Jones’ downsides are many. He specializes in crony politics. His family has benefitted mightily from state jobs and contracts. He has almost no respect in the media. And his antics have lost him most of the respect he once had in political circles.
Logic would seem to dictate the governor would use this appointment to finally start turning around his absolutely awful reputation with voters. I mean, you’d think a guy with a 13 percent approval rating would want to nudge that upward a little.
But when has reason or or logic ever entered into Blagojevich’s playbook? Was the Statehouse war he waged about the past two years reasonable or logical? It tanked his poll numbers, but he kept on fighting. We’re talking about a Democratic governor of one of the most Democratic states in the union who has lower job approval ratings than lame duck Republican President George W. Bush. Reason and logic? Please.
The point is that while the scramble for Obama’s seat may be fun to watch, particularly Jackson’s over-the-top circus, none of the “clues” pointed to in the media probably mean anything.
Reporters, pundits and the professional prognosticators all are looking at this in a logical, traditional way. As mentioned above, this is not usually how Blagojevich tends to operate.
The entire spectacle finally became so bizarre that I started to push my own replacement candidate last week. I decided a longtime commenter on my blog who goes by the name of “Bill” and defends Blagojevich through thick and thin deserved the Senate seat as much as everyone else.
Within 24 hours of starting a FaceBook group for “Bill,” more than 160 people had signed up for the cause. That’s almost as many “followers” as two sitting congressmen attracted to their own FaceBook groups which were designed to bolster their Senate dreams.
Bill’s “candidacy” now has its own blog and three YouTube “campaign” videos, all created by a volunteer.
It’s almost a movement.
Yeah, OK, that’s a little over the top. But I figure Bill has just as much of a shot as anyone, considering who’s doing the appointment.
At the time of that meeting with the Obamas in 2006, Axelrod had been “so disgusted with the state of politics, so disillusioned—we were about to elect a governor [Rod Blagojevich], he was an old client of mine and a friend, but he was disappointing—I wanted to be involved in something that reminded me of why I got into this work in the first place,” he recalled.
* You may have noticed that I deleted the blog’s Obama news feed. He resigned his Senate seat, so he’s no longer our Senator, hence the deletion.
Ald. Bernard Stone (50th) struck out Monday in his attempt to write Inspector General David Hoffman out of the city budget in retaliation for an absentee ballot fraud investigation that targeted Stone’s ward superintendent.
At Monday’s Budget Committee meeting, Stone tried to convince his colleagues to eliminate the inspector general’s $5.8 million-a-year budget.
“He’s come after me, so I’m going after him. That’s the way the game is played,” Stone said.
“That’s when I knew — a light bulb went on in my head,” she says. “They don’t want anyone to know about this.”
Today, Thomas is exposing MRSA’s staggering toll as one of the nation’s most influential patient advocates. Because of her persistence, Illinois hospitals now must disclose MRSA infection rates and screen for the germ. She’s also pushing for federal legislation that could enhance patient safety in Washington and every other state.
A transplant patient at the University of Chicago Medical Center filed suit Monday against the hospital and one of its surgeons, saying she contracted HIV and hepatitis C after receiving a kidney from an infected donor.
Pontiac Mayor Scot McCoy is trying to make the case that the slayings of three members of Jennifer Hudson’s family can be connected to Governor Blagojevich.
Multimedia
McCoy – who’s announced he’s not running for re–election –says he’s got documentation that the Governor is putting dangerous prisoners on the streets.
A lawsuit filed by AFSCME Council 31 relating to the closure of Pontiac Correctional Center will be heard at 1:00 p.m. tomorrow (Tuesday, Nov. 18) in Johnson County circuit court in Vienna. Judge James Williamson will preside.
The union argues that an imminent risk to the health and safety of its members is posed by the transfer of inmates from Pontiac and other prisons to facilities that are already dangerously overcrowded, and/or lack sufficient security infrastructure to safely house the inmates.
The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order to bar further such transfers.
With grins and a familiar nod, a dozen teenagers came together this weekend for what has become a standing date since nearly 1,000 Chicago students skipped classes and tried to enroll in two North Shore schools to protest the financial disparity in Illinois public education.
Students from New Trier High School and several South Side schools have met weekly in a quiet corner of a Chicago library to chip away at the funding predicament that has stymied Illinois lawmakers for years.
They dubbed themselves the Illinois Council of Students, recruited peers to the cause and created an online presence to drum up interest.
If you don’t make a practice of fastening your safety belt, now’s a good time to start. Illinois State Police and local law-enforcement agencies will be stopping cars through Nov. 30 to ensure drivers and passengers are buckling up.
