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Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Tuesday, Dec 19, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Press release…
* Tribune…
* ‘Tis the season…
* More… * QCBJ | Illinois Chamber of Commerce deepens its legislative team: The Illinois Chamber of Commerce announced the addition of Keith Wheeler as senior legislative affairs advisor in a news release today, Dec. 19. He will join the chamber’s Government Affairs team effective Jan. 1, 2024. Mr. Wheeler is a business owner and former Illinois House of Representatives member who served the 50th District from 2015 to 2023. * WTTW | United, American Airlines Push Back Against Rising Costs of O’Hare Airport Expansion: United and American airlines want to ground — or significantly scale back — the massive O’Hare International Airport redevelopment designs. The change comes after the airlines signed an agreement to foot much of the bill through increased gate fees. But now the airlines say the project is over budget, and pandemic-era losses put them at a disadvantage. Will the elaborate Jeanne Gang-designed Terminal 2 ever take flight? * QC Times | Bureau of Prisons cuts retention bonuses at Thomson Prison: Staff at Thomson Prison learned Monday morning the Bureau of Prisons will no longer provide them a 25% retention bonuses after Dec. 31, 2023. Retention bonuses for Thomson staff, equivalent to about $16,000 annually, were approved in September 2021 after pressure from Illinois Democratic Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin and then- U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, according to previous reporting. * Crain’s | Plasma company settles Illinois AG lawsuit over donor discrimination: Plasma collection company CSL Plasma and its parent company CSL Behring have settled with the Illinois attorney general’s office, resolving a lawsuit alleging the company’s policies discriminate against people with disabilities, the AG’s office said in a press release Thursday. * Block Club | Chicago Police Make An Arrest In Only 20 Percent Of Fatal Shootings: The Trace filed a Freedom of Information Act request with CPD and learned that police made arrests in 21 percent of fatal shootings between 2013 and mid-October this year. That number has remained almost the same over the past decade, dropping slightly from 19.4 percent in 2013 to 18.6 percent in 2022, which is significantly lower than the national average for overall homicide clearance rates. In 2022, the most recent year for which the FBI’s national data is available, about 45 percent of homicides across the country were cleared by arrest. * The Beverly Review | Burke won’t seek return to Springfield: State Rep. Kelly Burke has decided not to seek re-election for the position she has held since 2011, a decision she made in the fall. “I still have a lot of enthusiasm; I love the job,” said Burke, who was also elected as mayor of Evergreen Park in 2021. “I had some health challenges during the year, and it made me think that it might be nature’s way of telling me it’s time to slow down a little bit.” * Sun-Times | IHSA announces that high school football district proposal has failed: Illinois high schools voted against the implementation of a district system for football the Illinois High School Association announced on Tuesday. The new format would have divided the state’s football-playing schools into 64 eight-team districts, eight per class. Schools would have played seven district games in Weeks 3-9 and would have been able to schedule any opponent for non-district games in Weeks 1-2. * The Bond Buyer | Citi’s exit carries costs for issuers, market liquidity, but industry expected to weather it: A tough year for Wall Street municipal underwriting firms culminated Thursday with Citigroup’s announcement it would exit the business, a stunning move that market participants warned would raise state and city financing costs and that Citi would come to regret as headwinds calm and business rebounds. * Daily Herald | Ski resorts tackle unseasonable warmth: Bartlett’s Villa Olivia resort plans to open its hills to skiers on Friday, but on the outset of another warm winter, managers are already sensing a trend becoming familiar in the Midwest’s ski industry. The Chicago area had an unusually warm winter last year — the 14th warmest on record going back to 1872 — and the season seems to be headed in a similar direction this year. Every day of December so far has seen average temperatures warmer than the region’s climatological normal for the day. * WAND | Retired ISP Colonel, Commander of Macon County Law Enforcement Training Center dies from cancer: Tad Williams, 57, a retired Illinois State Police Colonel as well as a retired Commander of Macon County Law Enforcement Training Center, passed away on Saturday. Williams, who served in law enforcement for 33 years, died after a battle with cancer. His career with the Illinois State Police took him across the state before he settled back in the Decatur area, according to an obituary shared by his children. With the ISP, Williams became a colonel in 2015 to serve as Deputy Director of the Division of Operations. * Sun-Times | Prosecutors drop charges against man whose murder conviction was based on legally blind witness. ‘Best Christmas gift ever’: Earlier this month, a judge overturned Harris’ conviction but he remained in jail because prosecutors planned to try him again. On Tuesday, prosecutors said they had decided not to move forward with the case and dropped all charges against Harris. No physical evidence connected Harris to the shooting that left Rondell Moore dead and Quincy Woulard hurt. The case was largely based on the testimony of Dexter Saffold, who was legally blind and whose vision problems were documented in court records for years before the shooting. * SJ-R | The Southern Illinoisan was sold. Then the new owner eliminated its entire news staff: Brandhorst said he still hopes that Paxton’s management makes good on promises to maintain news coverage of the region. “But,” he continued, “in terms of watchdog, ‘capital J’ journalism, that’s not a thing that at the moment exists here. And I would hope that the new owners and those responsible for the Southern will try to really lift this place up, really do some investigative journalism, watchdog reporting and accountability within the community. … They seem to talk like they’re going to uphold those things. But who knows?” * Dallas Morning News | Brands see online content creators as key to shaping buying habits, especially Gen Z: Gen Z – generally defined as those born in the mid- to late-1990s to the early 2010s – now makes up 40% of all global consumers with spending power estimated to exceed $150 billion annually. How they shop is important to brands’ bottom lines.
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As the old saying goes, simple solutions are usually neither
Tuesday, Dec 19, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * Tribune: “City has lost all communication about migrant drop offs since new penalties, official says”…
Many experienced a positive and visceral reaction to this new policy, but then reality intruded. I suppose you can’t expect people to just sit there and take it when you’re whacking them on the shins. * Meanwhile, shouldn’t the mayor be informed about stuff like this?…  Unreal. The full NBC 5 story is here.
And this week, that same guy who helped hamper efforts to fund shelters had this to say…
Not sure why anyone in the state or federal government would care what he demands, but whatevs. Also, Ms. Cobb is right…
Amplifying vacuous hate from publicity hungry failed politicos like Green is how the news media plays an irresponsible role in what she’s describing. * From Isabel…
* NBC Chicago | Johnson pushes back on questions over medical care for migrants after child’s death: A cause of death has not yet been determined in the child’s death, but Chicago Department of Public Health officials say that there have been cases of several illnesses, including chickenpox, at multiple shelters, including the location in the 2200 block of South Halsted. * ABC Chicago | Health concerns grow over Chicago migrant shelters after boy dies, 4 others hospitalized: Late Monday night, a three-year-old who was vomiting and a seven-year-old girl with an ear infection were rushed to UIC. That came after four other children with fevers and a teenager were transported to care, adding to the growing list of medical emergencies at the shelter where a five-year-old boy got sick and later died Sunday. * CBS Chicago | Death of 5-year-old in Pilsen raises questions about Chicago’s migrant shelters: Mayor Brandon Johnson has offered his condolences to the boy’s family, and has said the city will provide them with support services. As for what led to the boy’s death, Johnson claimed it isn’t a question of how the city’s shelters are run, but instead accused Texas Gov. Greg Abbott of sending asylum seekers to Chicago under inhumane conditions. * CBS News | Study finds environmental concerns at proposed migrant tent camp site on Chicago’s Far South Side: The study found that a 275-gallon fuel oil tank was placed under the site – formal address 11414 S. Halsted St. – in 1952. This is a matter for concern based on the lack of removal records and “potential impacts to the subsurface,” the Mayor’s office said. The site also housed the Victors Valet dry cleaning facility, which is also an environmental concern due to a potential for chemical releases that could affect subsurface soils and groundwater, the Mayor’s office said. * Block Club | Far South Side Tent Camp Site May Have An Oil Tank Underground, Used To Be A Dry Cleaners, Report Says: Materials containing asbestos or lead-based paints could also be present at the lot, according to the report. A3 Environmental Consultants examined the site on Oct. 13. * Tribune | A temporary migrant shelter will open in Portage Park. Residents have strong feelings: An agreement to open the shelter at St. Bartholomew has not been finalized. Still, the space will open by mid-January, said Beatriz Ponce de León, the city’s Deputy Mayor of Immigrant, Migrant and Refugee Rights. It will stay open for at least six months. The shelter will house families of young children, with capacity for 300 to 350 people. Residents will pass through a metal detector on their way in and out. The shelter will have an 11 p.m. curfew, with exceptions for work. * WGN | Meeting held about proposed migrant shelter on Northwest Side: “We think this is a really unique opportunity, different than other shelter locations, to sort of bring together our faith and support this initiative and help support this city,” Eric Wollan, chief capital assets officer for the Archdiocese of Chicago, said.
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Question of the day: 2023 Golden Horseshoe Awards
Tuesday, Dec 19, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * The 2023 Golden Horseshoe Award for Lifetime Achievement goes to the late Susan Catania. Rep. Kelly Cassidy made the nomination…
* I have gone back and forth for the last two days on whether to shut down the blog today or tomorrow. We’re going with tomorrow, so that gives us two categories for today…
Best Statewide Officer As always, please explain your comments or they won’t count. Also, try to nominate in both categories. Statewide includes federal. Thanks. * Donations have slowed because lots of folks have already given and people are on winter break. We’re at $54,248 right now to buy Christmas presents for foster kids, but it would be great to reach $55,000 by the end of today, although I’m not confident we’ll do that. Every little bit helps, however, so please click here. Thanks!
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*** UPDATED x1 *** Today’s must-read
Tuesday, Dec 19, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * As we’ve already discussed, the convicted ComEd Four defendants were able to delay their January sentencing date because of an Indiana corruption case which has made it to the US Supreme Court. Former Speaker Michael Madigan and his co-defendant Mike McClain are expected to ask to have their trials delayed for the same reason…
* The case in question is Snyder v. United States. From the SCOTUS Blog…
* From the New Republic…
You should really go read the whole thing. The Seventh Circuit is in Chicago, and that’s where the Illinois defendants’ appeals will be filed, so that’s a big reason why this is so important. *** UPDATE *** As expected…
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition
Tuesday, Dec 19, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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Janice Jackson asks a very good question
Tuesday, Dec 19, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * For background, here’s a Sun-Times article from last week…
* The CTU calls it “a step in the right direction”…
* Former CPS CEO Janice Jackson wholly opposes the plan…
Regardless of where you stand on this issue (and it’s more nuanced than she describes above), Jackson does make a couple of good points about what’s known so far…
* But, to me, this is Jackson’s best question…
The CTU originally wanted a fully elected school board. With its former employee in the mayor’s office, it has since blasted the Illinois Senate President for trying to do just that, instead supporting a phased-in elected board. And now it’s supportive of a potentially huge systemic change before the first board members are even elected? Fascinating.
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)
Tuesday, Dec 19, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Open thread
Tuesday, Dec 19, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * What’s going on in your part of Illinois?…
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Tuesday, Dec 19, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Jurors begin deliberating case against Ed Burke. Sun-Times…
- Members of the jury headed home for the night at 5 p.m. after more than 2 1/2 hours of deliberations. - To convict Burke of racketeering, jurors must be convinced he committed two “acts” as part of a larger pattern. There are five umbrella “acts” listed in Burke’s indictment, but each one contains multiple allegations that jurors will likely be allowed to choose from. * Related stories… ∙ Tribune: Jury ends Day 1 of deliberations in ex-Ald. Ed Burke corruption case without a verdict ∙ ABC Chicago: Jury gets case in trial of former Alderman Ed Burke * Isabel’s top picks… * WBEZ | As the 60-day shelter stay limit looms, a WBEZ analysis reveals most migrants stay longer: A WBEZ analysis of the lengths of their shelter stays finds that roughly 7 in 10 have stayed longer than 60 days, and that an average stay was 76 days for migrants who had exited shelter before Nov. 1. * Sun-Times | 5-year-old boy dies, 5 others hospitalized after becoming ill at Pilsen migrant shelter: Four more children and a woman were hospitalized Monday after becoming ill at the shelter. Four girls, ages 1, 4, 8 and 9, and an 18-year-old woman were taken to hospitals at different times Monday morning with fever and vomiting, Chicago Fire Department spokesperson Larry Langford said. * Planned Parenthood Illinois…
* Here’s the rest of your morning roundup… * Sun-Times | Sentencing delayed for ComEd bribery defendants; request to hold up Madigan corruption case also expected: Meanwhile, a defense attorney for Madigan’s co-defendant said he will be making a similar request to stay proceedings in Madigan’s case, which is set for trial in less than four months. The developments come in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to take up a corruption case out of Northwest Indiana, in which questions revolve around a law central to the ComEd and Madigan cases. * WTVO | Illinois lawmakers congregate in Rockford to preview 2024 state initiatives: Sen. Steve Stadelman (D-Rockford) was just one of seven state legislators on a panel giving over 200 local government leaders a glimpse into the coming year, with budgeting, transportation, and new jobs being a few of the topics covered. “I’m optimistic about our community. We’ve had some really good things happen in the past six months to year and better things are in store for the future. So I think people need to be optimistic in our community,” Stadelman said. “There’s too much negativity at times in Rockford and the state of Illinois, and we’re having some really good announcements happening. So I think I’m primed for a really good 2024 and I want the message here that good things are happening in the Rockford area and people need to believe that that their days are ahead.” * Riverbender | Giannoulias Announces New Laws To Take Effect Jan. 1: Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias announced several new laws initiated by his office that will take effect at the start of the new year. The initiatives were passed earlier this year by the Illinois General Assembly and signed into law. * Patch | IARSS: New Executive Director Brings Valuable Experience: The Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools (IARSS) is announcing the hiring of Gary Tipsord as its first-ever executive director. Tipsord is a longtime educator in central Illinois who now will help lead this organization representing the heads of Regional Offices of Education across the state. * Tribune | New body camera footage shows Elk Grove Village man shot by police after calling 911 on himself: Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson released partial body camera footage Monday, as well as partial recordings of calls between a 911 dispatcher, Murray and Murray’s father. The officer who shot Murray has not been identified, and officers were not identified in the footage. * Sun-Times | Faceworld gang faction latest to be targeted in FBI racketeering case in Chicago: Diontae Harper and Amonti McClure, reputed members of the Faceworld faction of the Gangster Disciples, were indicted this month in federal court on charges of participating in violent racketeering activity. * Crain’s | Chicago and Cook County try bold experiments to combat economic inequity: Getting the $500 a month “keeps you from worrying, since you know that money is coming in every month,” Shaffer says. He uses the money for life and health insurance payments. “My job doesn’t offer that. They do, but it’s at a more costly fee.” So when work is slow and his paycheck is less, the $500 helps him make the payments and not lose his coverage. * SJ-R | One way or another: Changes to traffic patterns on Fourth, Adams stalled until spring: A delay in the arrival of construction materials will mean the city won’t convert a stretch of Fourth Street to two-way traffic until the spring. The delay also holds up the conversion of Adams Street where Springfield drivers will experience a first between Sixth and Ninth streets: back-in-only parking on the south side of the street. * Crain’s | The case of the $500 sandwich and the Lakeview condo board: On Jan. 1, Lakeview condo resident Bonnie Rubin will pay the first of 10 monthly payments, $50 each, to cover a fine assessed by her condo building’s board. The $500 offense was perpetrated by her brother, Wayne Miller, when he ate a Jersey Mike’s veggie sandwich on the pool deck at her building over Labor Day Weekend. * Play Illinois | Sports Betting Handle In Illinois Rises To $1.2 Billion In October: It was the second-straight month over $1 billion of total handle. October saw a 11% improvement over September’s $1.08 billion. The year-over-year rise was stark as well, 17%, compared to the $1.03 billion wagered in October 2022. * Vulture | Hilary Farr on Why She’s Leaving ‘Stale’ and ‘Formulaic’ Love It or List It: You know that saying, “If not now, when?” That’s truly it. I’ve been doing the show for years and I have loved doing it. But in the last season, which we did in Canada, it just felt too much like work. It felt very stale. It’s a very formulaic show. * Daily Beast | Moms for Liberty Wants to Usher in an American Caste System: Despite the fact that the group’s preferred local candidates did not perform well during the most recent election cycle, Moms for Liberty’s overtly anti-public school rhetoric has fully seeped into the Republican Party and its platform, making the idea of a publicly funded school system “sound a lot like public health care or public transportation, right? And that is what’s really happening here,” Gilkes Borr said on this week’s episode of The New Abnormal. * AP | WNBA to take a monthlong break for the 2024 Olympics — and Chicago Sky’s Kahleah Copper is looking to make the team: The WNBA changed the format of its in-season tournament with all Commissioner’s Cup games set to be played from June 1-13. The championship game will be on June 25. Teams now will only play the other five teams in their conference once instead of a home-and-home set. * Sun-Times | Chicago Catholics praise pope’s approval of blessings for same-sex couples: ‘This is such a huge shift’: When Pope Francis announced he formally approved letting Catholic priests bless same-sex couples, Rick Garcia, a Chicago Catholic, was stunned. “When I started work with the gay community, I never expected this to happen,” he said. Garcia, who directed Catholic Advocates for Lesbian and Gay Rights in the 1980s and ’90s, also co-founded Equality Illinois, an LGBTQ advocacy group.
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Live coverage
Tuesday, Dec 19, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Live coverage is back, sorta. This will be different than the old Scribble Live feed because Twitter broke itself and almost everything else it touched. These new feeds do not update instantly. There’s a bit of posting lagtime, but it’s much better than nothing. We are also limited to just 20 Twitter sources. The service may also not last long. We just can’t give you any guarantees about this. You can still click here or here to follow breaking news the way we’ve done since Twitter stopped Scribble Live from working…
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Live Ed Burke Trial Coverage
Tuesday, Dec 19, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * These new feeds do not update instantly. There’s a bit of a lagtime and you have to refresh the page every now and then. The service we’re using may also not last long. We just can’t give you any guarantees. You can still click here to follow the Ed Burke trial on Twitter. Posts without a Twitter author name below them are from online news sources via Bing…
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One problem may have been dealt with, but did the city create another one?
Monday, Dec 18, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * Viral infections have shot up among children across the country. The shelter in question was supposed to hold 1,000 people, but more than twice that many are housed there now, possibly creating what we called during the pandemic a super-spreader environment. The city has emptied the police stations, but in doing so may have created a new problem by packing humans into shelters like sardines…
* Tribune…
Go read the rest. Lots of disturbing details. * Sun-Times…
* Press release…
* The mayor’s response was mainly deflection and devoid of empathy for the dead child…
I mean, I get the mayor’s frustration, but at some point you have to start figuring this out. * Meanwhile…
*Sigh*
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Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Monday, Dec 18, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Sun-Times…
Borderless Magazine…
More here. From Rich: Both Borderless articles rely mainly on reports from shelter residents, but a top city official says that Cook County Health is the health care provider for shelter residents. * Press release…
* Jon Seidel…
* Mike Pries…
* Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias…
* More…
Illinois Answers Project | ‘Heartbreaking’ trial in Peoria highlights failures of Illinois DCFS: Brandon Walker, 42, of Peoria, could face life in prison after a Peoria County jury found him guilty of murdering Navin in a “brutal and heinous manner, indicative of wanton cruelty.” The jury, made up of eight men and four women, took about 45 minutes to deliberate the verdict. Walker will be sentenced Feb. 28. * Daily Herald | Why some congressional candidates could get kicked off the March primary ballot: Two of the targeted candidates are Democrats running in the 5th District, where they hope to unseat Democratic U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley of Chicago. Two are Republicans running for the 14th District seat now held by U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood, a Naperville Democrat. The fifth is a Democrat who filed to run for the 9th District seat held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Evanston. That candidate said last week he will suspend his campaign because of the objection. * Chalkbeat | How much school are Illinois students in foster care missing? The state doesn’t track: Both the Illinois State Board of Education and the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) responded to open records requests from Chalkbeat seeking that information by saying they had no applicable records. In follow-up emails, department officials said that data exists for individual school districts. * Crain’s | Money starts to flow in transfer tax campaign: The Service Employees International Union Healthcare of Illinois/Indiana, an influential contributor to Mayor Brandon Johnson’s mayoral campaign, contributed $200,000 to the “End Homelessness” campaign committee set up to fund support for passing the referendum question on the March 19 primary ballot. * Daily Herald | Elk Grove releases video of deadly police shooting: Elk Grove Village police released video and audio recordings Monday depicting the fatal shooting of a 24-year-old man by officers on Dec. 1 and the circumstances leading up to the deadly encounter. The video, compiled from officer body-worn and dashboard cameras, shows Jack Murray walking along a sidewalk near his home while carrying an 11.5-inch knife in his right hand. * WBEZ | Colleges hand out scholarship money to attract top students — at the expense of kids in need: The number of Black students in Illinois enrolled in college has dropped by more than a third over the past decade, and Black students like Granville often cite money as the biggest hurdle standing between them and a college degree, according to research from Gallup. […] [B]oth public and private colleges have poured money over the last 20 years into so-called merit aid for students with high grade point averages and test scores, who may not need scholarships to get a degree. * Sun-Times | Controversial West Loop homeless encampment cleared for street cleaning: Workers from Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office and the city’s Department of Family and Social Services coordinated with people to offer them shelter and resources. Seven people were given shelter by the Department of Family and Social Services in the last week, and five more accepted rehousing help Monday. When offered rehousing, 15 people declined, according to Conway. * Tribune | CPS teacher gave officials the wrong name of boyfriend after video showed him striking a student, records show: Records show the teacher sent an email to her principal shortly after Lancaster’s off-duty altercation and said her friend Craig “Wiliams” grabbed the teen because the boy disregarded her directions to line up and directed inappropriate words at her in response. She also told the principal her friend worked for a computer company, according to a redacted incident report obtained by the Tribune. * Tribune | Columbia College reaches tentative agreement with part-time faculty, ending historically long strike: The deal will be submitted for a ratification vote this week by the union. If union members approve, classes will proceed as planned for the short January term and the spring 2024 semester. […] Since Oct. 30, 584 adjunct professors have been protesting the administration’s decision to eliminate 53 already-enrolled classes weeks before the fall semester began and 317 course sections for the spring semester while increasing the size of other classes to cut costs. * CFVI | How 26 Cities are Using SLFRF Dollars to Support Community Violence Interventions: A Look at the Latest Treasury Data: Of the $164 million in planned CVI-CVP spending, cities have spent approximately $33 million (or 20%) as of June 30, 2023. Again, there’s wide variation between cities: Toledo has spent 77% of its budgeted $780,000 for its “Gun Violence Reduction Initiative” whereas Milwaukee reported no expenditures for its planned $4.25 million on violence prevention efforts. The table below lists the 14 cities, how many CVI-CVP projects they have, and planned versus actual spending for those projects as of June 30, 2023. * Farm Progress | Illinois Soybean awards ag leaders: Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, is recognized by ISA for his work advocating for policy and regulatory issues that affect agriculture. Bost represents 34 counties of Illinois’ 12th District in the U.S. House of Representatives. “Rep. Bost actively advocates for policies that address issues Illinois soybean farmers are facing,” Lumpe says. “Through his work on the House committees on Veterans’ Affairs, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Agriculture, Bost is truly making a difference for Illinois agriculture.” * CNN | Greyhound bus stops are valuable assets. Here’s who’s cashing in on them: Houston, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Tampa, Louisville, Charlottesville, Portland, Oregon, and other downtown bus depots have shuttered in recent years. Bus terminals in major hubs like Chicago and Dallas are also set to close. Greyhound and other companies have relocated their stops far away from city centers, which are often inaccessible by public transit, switched to curbside service or eliminated routes altogether. * Bloomberg | U.S. Steel in deal to be bought for $14.1 billion: The deal caps months of uncertainty over the future of US Steel, an icon of American industry, which has been considering potential transactions since it rejected an offer from rival Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. for $7.25 billion in mid-August. * Governing | Is There a Place for Supermarket Socialism?: It might be called an experiment in supermarket socialism. What could it look like? Well, it’s not hard to imagine a few possibilities. As detailed by Talia Soglin, a diligent Chicago Tribune reporter, the city could own the stores and operate them as a sort of public utility. It could own the properties but contract out the operation to a private company. Or, less dramatically, it could provide generous subsidies to private firms unable to make a profit in low-income territory. The city is conducting a feasibility study and is expected to announce the results early in 2024. * CNBC | Musk’s X hit with first EU probe under new disinformation rules: The European Commission said it launched the proceedings under the DSA “on the basis of the preliminary investigation conducted so far, including on the basis of an analysis of the risk assessment report submitted by X in September, X’s Transparency report published on 3 November, and X’s replies to a formal request for information, which, among others, concerned the dissemination of illegal content in the context of Hamas’ terrorist attacks against Israel.”
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ComEd Four sentencing delayed, and Madigan will file similar request
Monday, Dec 18, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * Jon Seidel…
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Pritzker says forecasts can and do change, but still urges budgetary caution
Monday, Dec 18, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * Two weeks ago today, we discussed my newspaper column about a mid-November revenue and spending forecast from the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget. The column, based on subscriber-only stories from November 20th and 22nd, talked about how GOMB was forecasting a $422 million net surplus for this fiscal year (even after factoring in the $160 million in new money for asylum seeker care) and an $891 million deficit for next fiscal year, with increased deficits in future years. The column was partly about how the pandemic had thrown a monkey wrench into budget forecasting, requiring large changes even every few months. The conclusion…
* Capitol News Illinois now has a story out that covers pretty much the same ground, but does include some quotes from the governor. You can read that story by clicking here, but this is what the governor said last week…
Please pardon all transcription errors.
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Question of the day: 2023 Golden Horseshoe Awards
Monday, Dec 18, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * The 2023 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best State Agency Director goes to Heidi Mueller with the Department of Juvenile Justice…
* The 2023 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Statewide Staffer is a tie. Emily Miller in the governor’s office…
* And Andy Manar in the governor’s office…
Congrats to all! We’re going to skip a few categories because we are quickly running out of time. * On to today’s category…
Make sure to explain your nomination or it won’t count. Thanks. * As I write this, several of you have stepped up and contributed a grand total of $54,198 to help Lutheran Social Services of Illinois purchase Christmas presents for foster kids. That’s pretty darned amazing. But in case you haven’t contributed yet or you think you might be able to give just a little bit more, please click here. Thanks to everyone!
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Meet the new boss, same as the old boss
Monday, Dec 18, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * A.D. Quig…
That last graf is wild. * On to the state angle. Martinez is supporting appointed Sen. Natalie Toro (D-Chicago) in the Democratic primary. From one of Toro’s opponents…
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*** UPDATED x1 *** Dems avoid a fight as Daya drops out
Monday, Dec 18, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * Background is here if you need it. From Ishan Daya, now a former candidate for 32nd Ward Democratic Committeeperson…
I was told that the basis of the petition challenge against Daya was that he didn’t number his sheets. *** UPDATE *** Ald. Scott Waguespack…
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Upcoming test for Eastern Bloc
Monday, Dec 18, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
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Open thread
Monday, Dec 18, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * What’s going on in your part of Illinois?…
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Monday, Dec 18, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: No migrants living in Chicago police stations for the first time since spring. Sun-Times…
- In mid-October, a peak of about 3,300 asylum seekers were living inside or outside police stations. - Nearly 14,000 migrants from the southern U.S. border are being housed at 27 city-run shelters. * Related stories… ∙ Block Club: Migrants At Last Police Station Want Jobs, Not A Spot In City Shelters: ‘Just Give Us Work’ ∙ ABC Chicago: Migrant boy, 5, dies after becoming sick at Pilsen shelter, Chicago police say ∙ Axios: City still using costly Kansas staffing firm for migrant shelters * Isabel’s top picks… * Sun-Times | Feds close corruption case against Ed Burke by telling jurors his words on secret recordings are ‘absolutely devastating’: Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker said the words of the former 14th Ward alderperson are more significant than any testimony jurors would have heard if prosecutors called FBI mole Danny Solis to the witness stand. “Think about what’s the best evidence of defendant Burke’s intent?” Streicker said. “The words that came out of his mouth. … Those words were captured on recordings. That is why we didn’t need to call Mr. Solis to tell you what Mr. Burke was thinking. * Illinois Times | Haley suspended by NAACP: The news release also said NAACP branch presidents from throughout Illinois met Dec. 13 and “unanimously supported Haley’s quintessential leadership skills.” But the national NAACP, based in Baltimore, said in a statement Dec. 15 that it suspended Haley Dec. 13. * Sun-Times | Fermilab’s ‘muon shot’ could see suburban lab become site of revolutionary particle collider: They also called for exploring the possibility of building a revolutionary new particle collider more powerful than any ever created — a groundbreaking device they said would fit perfectly on the Fermilab campus. The P5 report also noted the critical computing might of Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, reinforcing the Chicago area as a hub for the future of particle physics. * Here’s the rest of your morning roundup… * WSJ | Illinois Concedes on Pregnancy Centers: Illinois has been trying to use its fraud laws to target pro-life pregnancy help centers, and Gov. J.B. Pritzker declared this summer that he was “confident” the law was constitutional. If he still believes that, then Mr. Pritzker ought to explain why the state is backing down in federal court, unless he’s too embarrassed now by his role in this cautionary tale of Democratic overreach. * Patch | Committee To Appoint Replacement For 82nd District Representative: “John Egofske is a tremendous leader in the community, and we thank him for his continued service as Mayor of Lemont,” DuPage Republican Chairman Jim Zay said in a release from the House Republican Organization. “Our committee looks forward to a transparent and thorough process to fill this important position.” * Tribune | Cook County court clerk getting boost in reelection bid from her government employees: The first-term clerk won the office in 2020 after pledging to “adhere to the highest ethical standards” in replacing a scandal-scarred outgoing clerk, Dorothy Brown, whose tenure was marked by various controversies that included criticism she took campaign cash from her employees. * Jim Dey | High court action puts ComEd bribery case back in the news: Stop the sentencing hearings! So say the lawyers for the ComEd Four. They argue a case accepted last week for review by the U.S. Supreme Court could undermine legal ground on which their clients were convicted. * Patch | 2 Run For Elmhurst State House Seat: Elmhurst Alderman Marti Deuter is running as a Democrat to succeed Jenn Ladisch-Douglass, a Democrat who decided not to run again after one term. The Republican candidate is Elmhurst resident Dennis Reboletti, who is the elected supervisor of Addison Township. * Sun-Times | Ex-Cook County Land Bank Authority official gets a year in prison over secret land deals: Mustafaa Saleh, 37, resigned from the county government agency in June 2019 and pleaded guilty to wire fraud last March. In May 2021, a federal grand jury subpoenaed records from the agency on 24 properties, including an abandoned hotel in Harvey and other properties overseen by Saleh, and land bank contractors he secretly owned. * WaPo | Dozens of assisted-living residents died after wandering away unnoticed: Since 2018, more than 2,000 people have wandered away from assisted-living and memory-care facilities unnoticed or been left unattended for hours outside. Nearly 100 have died, and state inspectors frequently found evidence of neglect. * Rolling Stone | Elon Musk’s Big Lie About Tesla Is Finally Exposed: Out of all the scandals over the last decade or so of venture capital-fueled excess, Tesla’s dangerous and hype-happy approach to driving automation technology has been one of the most important but also one of the most hidden in plain sight. Just like the Mechanical Turk of 1770, everyone has been so focused on the technology itself that they’ve missed the human factors that power the entire spectacle. Just as worryingly, regulators have missed that forcing humans to babysit incomplete systems introduces entirely new risks to public roads. * Sun-Times | Richard Hunt, iconic Chicago sculptor, dies at 88: Abstract sculptor Richard Hunt, a lifelong Chicagoan who in 1971 became the first African American artist to receive a solo retrospective at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, died Saturday at age 88. Hunt “passed away peacefully” at his Chicago home, according to a statement posted to his website. A cause wasn’t released. * CBS Chicago | Chicago photographer Barry Butler captures beauty of city in new calendar, book: Renowned photographer Barry Butler’s 2024 calendar is available now. Images include a breathtaking winter sunrise at the Lincoln Park lagoon from January, Navy Pier fireworks taken from the Willis Tower in June, and for July, a bird on cue in the center of a glorious sunset. * NYT | With a Deadline Looming, the United Methodist Church Breaks Up: Until July, White’s Chapel was the second-largest United Methodist congregation in the country. The conservative-leaning church lost its status this year not because it shrank — it is growing, leaders say — but because it left the denomination.
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Live coverage
Monday, Dec 18, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Live coverage is back, sorta. This will be different than the old Scribble Live feed because Twitter broke itself and almost everything else it touched. These new feeds do not update instantly. There’s a bit of posting lagtime, but it’s much better than nothing. We are also limited to just 20 Twitter sources. The service may also not last long. We just can’t give you any guarantees about this. You can still click here or here to follow breaking news the way we’ve done since Twitter stopped Scribble Live from working…
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Live Ed Burke Trial Coverage
Monday, Dec 18, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * These new feeds do not update instantly. There’s a bit of a lagtime and you have to refresh the page every now and then. The service we’re using may also not last long. We just can’t give you any guarantees. You can still click here to follow the Ed Burke trial on Twitter. Posts without a Twitter author name below them are from online news sources via Bing…
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Reader comments closed for the weekend
Friday, Dec 15, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * Another reminder to click here and help Lutheran Social Services of Illinois buy Christmas presents for foster kids. Thanks! * The city’s aldermanic briefing on new arrivals just landed in my in-box. A total of 26 buses arrived in the previous seven days for a total of 1,111 people. But the number of asylum-seekers at police stations and O’Hare airport is down to just 339, from 575 last Friday and more than 3,000 earlier this year. Most, 228, are currently at O’Hare. According to the city, 767 people exited the shelter system during the past week, for a grand total of 11,069. The city also has a cost dashboard online, so click here for that. * You can continue nominating in today’s Golden Horseshoe awards post throughout the weekend. I’ll still be able to see your comments. * Elvis will play us out… Got no sleigh with reindeer
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Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Friday, Dec 15, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Subscribers know more. Politico…
* The truth comes out!…
* A feel-good story for your Friday via Block Club…
* Tribune…
* Here’s the rest of your morning roundup… * Chalkbeat | Chicago Public Schools leaders want to move away from school choice: However, Todd-Breland did signal that the board might move to close charter schools. “If you are a privately-managed school, taking public dollars from our taxpayers that would otherwise go to the other schools that we know need to be invested in because they haven’t [been] for years, and you are not performing at a level that we find to be a high quality educational experience for young people, then why do you continue to exist in this system?” she said. * Sun-Times | Activists praise Board of Ed’s push toward neighborhood schools, away from school choice: Todd-Breland said the board recognizes that charter schools are part of CPS’ fabric and is “not proposing blanket non-renewals of all charter schools.” But the board wants to hold charter operators accountable. And she pointed out that magnet and selective enrollment schools, initially meant to desegregate schools, have more recently become more segregated. “[This] is not about closing selective enrollment schools,” she said. “It is about a shift towards emphasizing supporting neighborhood schools, particularly in those communities that have been historically disinvested in and where young people are furthest from opportunity.” * Rep. Edgar Gonzalez | Running for Office As a Young Person Means Dealing With Ageism. I Did It Anyway: As a young legislator, the motives that drive your decision to run for office consistently get put under a microscope, especially when compared to those who have spent decades in their political careers. On one hand, critics often view career politicians with cynicism, assuming their motives revolve around money and power. Meanwhile, inexperienced candidates face doubts about their ability to perform the job. This contrast underscores the challenges faced by young individuals entering politics, as their motivations and capabilities are frequently questioned. * Bond Buyer | Munis rally, new-issues from Illinois, NY see strong demand: Municipals rallied hard Thursday, playing catch up to the moves in U.S. Treasuries, which extended their gains for a second session following the Federal Open Market Committee’s clear communication of future rate cuts in 2024. Equities continued their rally. * Daily Herald | Back to the beginning: Project aims to return Libertyville-area site to its natural state: Given the amount of equipment and activity in the highly visible area north and east of Route 45 and Casey Road in Libertyville Township, it may appear the site is being readied for new homes or a big box store. Quite the opposite is taking place. Instead, the work is part of a $2.17 million project to restore nearly 178 acres to its natural state. * WBEZ | State’s attorney hopefuls back effort to require lawyers for kids in police interrogations: The pledge comes in response to video footage showing a detective in suburban Lake County steering a 15-year-old to falsely confess to a shooting. The video, obtained by WBEZ through an open-records lawsuit against the city of Waukegan, prompted a state senator to draft a bill that would raise the age at which a child must have an attorney present to be questioned in police custody. Now Clayton Harris III and Eileen O’Neill Burke, facing off in a March primary for Cook County state’s attorney, are vowing to help push the legislation into law. * Sun-Times | These are the voices of five survivors of Chicago’s violence: Each of their essays offers a peek into the ways violence rearranges a life. There are stories of loss and grief but also redemption, love, regret and shifting notions of justice. * Crain’s | After court order, CPS extends contract with Urban Prep charter schools: The extension comes more than a year after the board voted not to renew the contracts, with plans to take over those schools. The board’s decision was based on allegations that Urban Prep mismanaged finances and failed to comply with special education laws, as well as allegations that the school’s founder, Tim King, sexually abused a now-former student. King has denied those allegations. * Crain’s | Chicago Tribune union members taking contract fight to Tribune Tower: The “rally to save the Tribune” is planned to take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday to protest “detrimental labor practices and profiteering-driven bargaining efforts” by Alden Global Capital, the investment firm that owns Tribune Publishing, according to the Chicago Tribune Guild. The rally will also include members of the DPS Guild, representing workers at Tribune Publishing’s Design & Production Studio, as well as the Suburban Chicago Tribune Guild and the Tribune Content Guild. * WBEZ | Little Village residents install air sensors to monitor neighborhood pollution: Residents say public officials aren’t doing enough to protect them so they are taking matters into their own hands — monitoring air quality themselves with nearly $200 sensors. Five are currently in operation with a goal of installing 10 in the neighborhood. Data collected could be used to understand the severity of pollution and inform environmental policy. * WaPo | She miscarried in her bathroom. Now she’s charged with abuse of a corpse: “Moving this over to the individual after a miscarriage just heightens the question, ‘What are they supposed to do?’ ” said Dov Fox, a national health law and bioethics expert at the University of San Diego School of Law. “If it’s already difficult for hospitals, for individuals facing difficult circumstances and navigating pregnancy loss to undertake the medical system is not just a tall order but a prohibitive one.” Watts later learned through her lawyer that the nurse who had reassured her had reported her to the police. * NYT | Behind the Scenes at the Dismantling of Roe v. Wade: The Supreme Court deliberates in secret, and those who speak can be cast out of the fold. To piece together the hidden narrative of how the court, guided by Justice Alito, engineered a titanic shift in the law, The New York Times drew on internal documents, contemporaneous notes and interviews with more than a dozen people from the court — both conservative and liberal — who had real-time knowledge of the proceedings. Because of the institution’s insistence on confidentiality, they spoke on the condition of anonymity. * AP | US homelessness up 12% to highest reported level as rents soar and coronavirus pandemic aid lapses: About 653,000 people were experiencing homelessness during the January snapshot. That’s the highest number since the country began using the yearly point-in-time survey in 2007 to count the homeless population. The total represents an increase of about 70,650 homeless people compared to January 2022. * Business Insider | I showed up to a GOP congressman’s 16-minute Christmas party. Here’s what it was like to watch Democrats and Republicans rub shoulders in his cramped Capitol Hill office: I also watched as staffers for progressive House Democrats rubbed shoulders with Republican Rep. Mary Miller of Illinois, who was there along with her husband Chris, an Illinois state representative who was censured by the state legislature for attending Trump’s rally on the Ellipse on January 6.
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Campaign coverage roundup
Friday, Dec 15, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Oops…
* Speaking of oops. AP…
* Patch…
* NPR…
* Subscribers know more…
…Adding…Jake Lewis…
* More… * WLBK | Stage being set for 14th District Congressional race: Two years ago several viable candidates were gunning for the GOP nomination. This time around Jim Marter says he’s the only serious contender for the March Primary. Two other people filed as Republicans. * Pantagraph | 53rd Senate District candidate faces objection to nominating petition: An objection has been filed with the Illinois Board of Elections for one of the four candidates vying for McLean County’s state Senate seat. Joshua Belter of Pontiac, Matthew Snider of Benson and Brooke Uphoff of El Paso have filed an objection against Livingston County Board Member Mike Kirkton, who is running in the Illinois 53rd Senate District. All four candidates are Republicans. * Landmark | RBHS school board member Laura Hruska files to run for state representative: Hruska, a longtime resident of Brookfield, is running for state representative, challenging 2nd District incumbent Democrat Elizabeth “Lisa” Hernandez, who is an assistant majority leader in the Illinois House of Representatives and the chairwoman of the Illinois Democratic Party. Neither Hruska nor Hernandez has a primary opponent, so Hruska is guaranteed to face Hernandez in the November general election. * Shaw Local | No primary election petition challenges in DuPage County: There were no primary candidate petition challenges filed for 2024 local races – the second major election cycle in a row with no ballot objections in the county, DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek has announced in a news release. “It was unprecedented in 2022 when no candidate petition challenges were filed here,” Kaczmarek said. “We just surpassed our own record.” * Patch | Will County Judge Anderson To Seek Seat On Illinois Appellate Court: Anderson, a former Will County Board member, has served as a county circuit court judge since 2010. He will be on the ballot for the March primary election to represent the 3rd District, which includes Will, Kankakee, DuPage, Grundy, LaSalle, Bureau, and Iroquois counties. * Journal and Topics | Local Reps In Congress, State Senate, House, Judicial Candidates Filing To Run In March 2024 Primary: A petition challenge period, where challenges to the validity of signatures will be adjudicated, and some candidates could be removed from the ballot, will take place in the coming weeks. Where there is no candidate in a given party for a given race, township political committeemen may later name a candidate. Candidates may also later mount write-in candidate drives.
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More new laws
Friday, Dec 15, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * Sen. Sims…
* Sen. Morrison…
* Sen. Koehler…
And in case you’re wondering, I haven’t yet seen anything from the House Democrats about their bills. Only Senators.
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Illinois, Maine tied for highest Medicaid renewal rates
Friday, Dec 15, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * Press release…
* From the Kaiser Family Foundation…
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Question of the day: 2023 Golden Horseshoe Awards
Friday, Dec 15, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * The 2023 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Do-Gooder Lobbyist is a tie. I decided to break tradition by seconding the nomination of William McNary with Citizen Action…
And Niya Kelly at Chicago Coalition for the Homeless…
* The 2023 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Legislative Liaison is also a tie. Allison Nickrent at IDPH…
And Wendy Miller Butler at CMS…
Honorable mention to Kieran Fitzgerald at DHS. Y’all submitted some very strong nominations in both of these categories. It was difficult to choose winners, hence the ties. * On to today’s categories…
Best Statewide Staffer As always, please explain your nominations or they won’t count. Also do your best to nominate in both categories. Thanks! * And here’s your daily reminder to contribute to our fundraiser so that Lutheran Social Services of Illinois can buy Christmas presents for foster kids. As I write this, we’ve raised $53,432, which is enough to buy presents for 2,137 children. LSSI helps care for 2,530 children, and while others are also raising money for this cause, LSSI needs to raise another $10K to help all those kids. So, please, click here and contribute if you can. Thanks!
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)
Friday, Dec 15, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Open thread
Friday, Dec 15, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * What’s going on? Keep it Illinois-centric please…
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Friday, Dec 15, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Regulators once again reject a record rate increase request from ComEd and Peoples Gas. Sun-Times…
- The order slashed a request from the utility to raise rates on its 884,000 Chicago customers by a collective $402 million, down to $301 million. - The panel previously noted it “will not remove any funding related to emergency response to leaks, pipe breaks, or other critical safety measures.” * Related stories… ∙ Sun-Times: Smaller electric bill increases for Chicagoans as regulators pull plug on ComEd’s rate-hike bid ∙ Capitol News Illinois: State regulators once again flex muscle in rejecting utilities’ grid plans, lessening rate hikes ∙ Tribune: Illinois regulators reject record rate increase requests from ComEd and Peoples Gas * Isabel’s top picks… * WJBC | Candidates for March primary election in Illinois assigned their spots: The process of determining which candidates place where on the Illinois primary election ballot is high-tech enough to attract an audience on Zoom – and simple enough to require only Ping Pong balls and a wooden box. “I do think the lack of complexities makes it easier for us to have a transparent process,” said Brent Davis, director of election operations for the Illinois State Board of Elections. “Not much can go wrong with an empty box and a set of Lotto balls.” * Crain’s | Thompson Center assessed at more than double 2022 sale price: Kaegi’s office pegged the market value of the 17-story building at 100 W. Randolph St. at $222.8 million for tax year 2023, according to the assessor’s website. That estimate represents what the assessor thinks the property was worth as of the beginning of this year, which is the key number used to determine its next property tax bill. It also marked the first time the assessor’s office estimated the value of the Thompson Center, since it was owned by the state of Illinois and tax-exempt from its completion in 1985 until it was sold last year. * SJ-R | Haley issues apology; has backing of NAACP branch presidents: The one-minute-and-forty-eight-second video of Haley making the remarks during an NAACP state presidents’ meeting last month was recorded and made public by former NAACP DuPage County president Patrick Watson. It was a segment in a nearly two-hour-long video. * Here’s the rest of your morning roundup… * Crain’s | Durbin takes beef about Union Station rehab funding to Buttigieg: In a letter Thursday to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., urged the feds to place a greater priority on modernizing the historic but outmoded Union Station and surrounding rail access so that the facility can serve as a more effective anchor for Amtrak’s midcontinent operations and a base for Metra commuter lines. * WAND | New Illinois Laws: Here are 18 key education bills taking effect in 2024: * CBS Chicago | Illinois offers rebates for electric vehicle purchases, but many find themselves ineligible: As CBS 2’s Tara Molina reported Thursday, there are more than 88,000 electric vehicles registered in Illinois. Gov. JB Pritzker has said his goal is to get that number to a million in the next seven years. But right now, only a few thousand people can take advantage of the state’s incentive program. * SJ-R | Pritzker lights menorah in Springfield, calls for Illinoisans to defy hate: “But here today, as I look out on all of your faces, a coalition of Illinoisans of faiths and backgrounds of all sorts I am filled with hope,” [Pritzker] said during the ceremony held at the Governor’s Mansion. Anti-semitism and islamophobia have increased nationwide due to the war and being felt in Illinois following the fatal stabbing of 6-year-old Wadea Al Fayoume in a Chicago suburb. * Borderless | Investigation: Migrants Describe Inhumane Conditions At Chicago’s Largest Shelter: Just days after Illinois Gov. Pritzker shut down a proposed shelter due to health concerns, Venezuelan migrants living in the Pilsen shelter say they are being treated “like dogs.’’ * Tribune | As police stations are cleared, some migrant families are separated, volunteers and migrants say: The women, along with Maria’s husband, had been staying at the Gresham District (6th) police station for a month when they were told they might be separated by city officials who are working to move migrants into city shelters. They’ve been hiding from city workers ever since. * The Triibe | Unpacking the underlying political tensions driving the effort to repeal Chicago’s sanctuary status: Black communities are still grappling with decades of disinvestment and racist real-estate practices, and many Black Chicagoans and their businesses have been forced out of the city due to a lack of nourishing public institutions and support for Black entrepreneurship. Among the many examples are ones highlighted in a 2021 Politico article titled “The Demise of America’s Onetime Capital of Black Wealth” and Eve L. Ewing’s investigation into the widespread racist school closings on Chicago’s South Side, Ghosts in the Schoolyard. * WGN | Rosemont Mayor Brad Stephens: We need a better plan for migrants coming to Illinois: Rosemont mayor Brad Stephens joins John Williams to talk about buses of asylum seekers being dropped off in Rosemont and how they are handling the crisis. * Tribune | ‘Home for the holidays’: Court vacates convictions for cousins in 1981 double homicide, Illinois’ longest-serving exonerees: Just 8 years old when her brother was incarcerated following a double slaying in a Southwest Side park, Pilar More, now 50, watched her older sibling grow up behind bars. Her brother, James Soto, and his cousin, David Ayala were convicted of murder and other felonies in the shooting deaths of 16-year-old Julie Limas and Hector Valeriano, 18, a U.S. Marine on leave, on Aug. 16, 1981. They were sentenced to natural life in prison. * Chicago Reader | What’s happened since the Reader reported on the number of overdoses on CTA property?: Two months after the Reader found that more than 150 people have died from opioid-related overdoses on the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) in the last four years, the CTA has increased its engagement with harm reduction advocacy groups and extended, and expanded, a contract with outreach agencies. Here is a look at what the CTA has been up to since the Reader published its findings… * WTTW | Nonprofits Must Register Before Lobbying City Officials Under New Rules: The rules were included in a package of ethics reforms backed by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot that were approved by the City Council 50-0 in July 2019 as federal investigations shadowed City Hall. The rules were set to go into effect Jan. 1, 2020, but were delayed after dozens of nonprofit groups objected, saying the regulations would force them to pay costly registration fees or risk fines. * Tribune | Ex-Ald. Ed Burke’s defense blasts FBI mole in closing arguments: ‘Why did we have to bring Danny Solis in here?’: “The fact alone that they didn’t call Danny Solis in their case creates a reasonable doubt,” Duffy said. “Why did we have to bring Danny Solis in here? That should give you pause, the fact that they ran an investigation on Mr. Burke for 30 months with a star witness Danny Solis undercover and they didn’t have the decency to bring him here.” * WGLT | ‘When are you going to resign?’: Public blasts WTVP board’s handling of financial crisis: As promised by station board chairman Andrew Rand, the rumors that the station would be permanently dissolved by its board of directors on Tuesday didn’t come to pass, but it’s been a difficult year for the beleaguered public television station nonetheless. Former president and CEO Lesley Matuszak took her own life a day after resigning in late September. The station’s financial problems first publicly came to light a couple weeks later, when Rand announced the station would cut costs by $1.5 million. The Peoria public television station has since laid off nine employees and indefinitely suspended publication of Peoria magazine. * Block Club | Riot Fest Switching To Later Dates In 2024, Presale Tickets Go Up Thursday: The West Side festival will be Sept. 20-22 to avoid overlapping with Mexican Independence Day celebrations, organizers said. Presale for three-day passes starts noon Thursday. * Chicago Defender | Alabama Prison Work Programs Are ‘Modern Day Slavery’, Lawsuit Alleges: “If you didn’t work, you were at risk of going back to the prison or getting a disciplinary (infraction),” LaKiera Walker, who was previously incarcerated for 15 years, said. According to the suit, the state is violating the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution, anti-human trafficking laws, and the Alabama Constitution through its prison labor program. The state claims that the prison jobs prepare inmates for after their release.
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Live coverage
Friday, Dec 15, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Live coverage is back, sorta. This will be different than the old Scribble Live feed because Twitter broke itself and almost everything else it touched. These new feeds do not update instantly. There’s a bit of posting lagtime, but it’s much better than nothing. We are also limited to just 20 Twitter sources. The service may also not last long. We just can’t give you any guarantees about this. You can still click here or here to follow breaking news the way we’ve done since Twitter stopped Scribble Live from working…
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Live Ed Burke Trial Coverage
Friday, Dec 15, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * These new feeds do not update instantly. There’s a bit of a lagtime and you have to refresh the page every now and then. The service we’re using may also not last long. We just can’t give you any guarantees. You can still click here to follow the Ed Burke trial on Twitter. Posts without a Twitter author name below them are from online news sources via Bing…
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