Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Tuesday, Apr 16, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Second District Appellate Court ruling via the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin…
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* Belleville News Democrat…
Michelle L. Laux was 31 when she was found beaten to death along a rural Clinton County road in 1993. One of the men convicted in her death, Robert Nail, was given an 80-year prison sentence that he began serving in May 1994.
But as part of a new state law that requires the Illinois Department of Corrections to recalculate the credit inmates have earned to reduce their time in prison, Nail, now 50, was released in February, nearly 50 years before the end of his full sentence. […]
In wake of [Clinton County Sheriff Dan Travous’] criticism of the law, the Belleville News-Democrat asked the Illinois Department of Corrections for information about how many persons have been released like Nail. As of March 21, 409 inmates received their early release, according to the latest available statistics.
The Department of Corrections told the BND that about 1,750 convicted individuals had their sentencing credits recalculated under the new law. This means 1,341 other inmates still in custody also received additional credits against their sentences which may eventually lead to an earlier release. […]
The release of 409 prisoners would represent 1.37% of the statewide prison population of 29,828 that was listed as of Dec. 31.
The enabling legislation passed the House without opposition and passed the Senate with just one “No” vote.
* WBEZ…
Suburbs are not taking advantage of $20 million Cook County is offering to provide services for migrants being dropped off or making their way to their towns.
As of now, only Oak Park and Ford Heights applied for the fund Cook County created last fall. The lack of effort is frustrating some non-profit leaders who see the need in their communities.
“Whether or not municipalities have the appetite, the agencies on the ground have the appetite,” said Carl Wolf, executive director of Respond Now, a nonprofit in the south suburbs that runs a food pantry, offers rental assistance and works with the homeless population. “This is very important. We want to see this money in the community so that the families that we serve will not end up on the streets.” […]
Wolf said Respond Now would use the money to help migrants in the area pay rent. Some are soon going to run out of the few months of rental assistance they got from the state.
* A swing and a miss…
* Press release…
Harmful additives take up a vast amount of space in modern food – leading State Senator Willie Preston to tackle the issue head on.
At a press conference Wednesday, he will discuss his proposal to ban dangerous food additives.
WHO: State Senator Willie Preston (D-Chicago), State Representative Anne Stava-Murray (D-Downers Grove) and a number of their colleagues
WHAT: Press conference on measure to address consumer food safety
WHEN: Wednesday, April 17 at 9:30 a.m.
WHERE: Blue Room, Illinois State Capitol and live on BlueRoomStream.com
Sen. Preston’s bill is on Third Reading it has Friday deadline to leave the Senate.
* NECANN…
Actor/Comedian and cannabis farmer Jim Belushi will be among the 50+ cannabis industry expert speakers at NECANN’s 2024 Illinois Convention May 31-June 1st at the Schaumburg Convention Center. Illinois native Belushi will be sharing experiences and insights from his journey on becoming a commercial cannabis grower and multi-state brand.
Since its first event with 70 exhibitors and 1,200 attendees in 2021, The Illinois Cannabis Convention has grown into the largest cannabis industry B2B event in the state, with over 150 exhibitors and an expected 3,000 total attendees over two days.
“This event continues to grow alongside the local cannabis industry,” said NECANN Founder and President, Marc Shepard. “We’re incredibly grateful to the local cannabis community for all of the support they’ve given us over past four years”
NECANN’s 2024 Illinois Convention will take place on May 31-June 1st at the Schaumburg Convention Center. The show will be open from 10am to 3pm on Friday and Saturday. Tickets are $45 for a 2-day full access pass including all speaker sessions. 21+ to attend, no THC cannabis on site. For more information about the convention, visit necann.com.
* Here’s the rest…
* WTTW | Official Who Greenlighted Botched Little Village Smokestack Implosion Set to Lead Buildings Department: During the more than hourlong confirmation hearing, Hopkins was not asked about what she did as the top official from the city’s Buildings Department charged with overseeing the implosion of the smokestack at the former Crawford Power Plant in Little Village.
* Tribune | Unionized staff at Columbia College urge president to halt scheduled layoffs: Union representatives say the layoffs will most affect the roughly 6,000 students at Columbia in the South Loop, potentially creating longer wait times to meet with academic advisors, difficulty meeting with campus therapist and reduced support in the Department of Equity and Inclusion.
* Tribune | Oberweis Dairy to lay off 127 workers in wake of bankruptcy filing: In its bankruptcy filing, Oberweis Dairy said it had 1,149 employees, of which 933 work part-time, mostly in the dairy stores. Its ranks often swell to more than 1,500 employees during the summer months during peak demand for ice cream at its stores, Kraber said in a declaration filed Monday. Oberweis filed a motion Monday requesting to pay $340,000 in outstanding wages owed to employees. Payroll averaged about $891,000 every two weeks from January through March this year, according to the filing.
* Tribune | After son’s suicide, Lincoln Park couple push measure for greater scrutiny of social media use: The Bronsteins are suing the Latin School and current and former board members and staff for wrongful death, alleging Nate notified the school that he felt the messages about him constituted bullying. According to the lawsuit, students sent messages saying “kill yourself” and spread a “death threat involving smoking Nate’s ashes.” A Latin School representative has said the school acted responsibly and that the allegations in the lawsuit are “incomplete and misleading.”
* Sun-Times | Chicago Pride Parade denies all previous year’s school participants: When making decisions on which organizations to accept, the parade’s committee is prioritizing “LGBTQ+ groups and organizations, LGBTQ+-owned businesses and those businesses with LGBTQ+ ERGs (Employee Resource Groups),” PRIDEChicago, which produces the event, said last week in a statement.
* WTTW | Chicago Teachers Union Leaders Hopeful for ‘New Chapter’ in Contract Negotiations as Bargaining Set to Begin: “Every contract that we have been a part of since 2012 has been hard fought and hard won,” CTU President Stacy Davis Gates said at a press conference Tuesday morning. “We are OK with the struggle, we are OK with making it work. And this time, though, we want to make it work with everyone at the same time.”
* Daily Southtown | Lockport High School officials look to bonding authority after failed $85 million referendum: The board met Monday for the first time since 53.43% of voters March 19 opposed funding Central Campus improvements. “Whether you voted yes or you voted no, there is still work to do,” Superintendent Robert McBride said. McBride said the board has researched improvements to its Central Campus, built in 1909, well before the ceiling collapsed in Room 310 last fall and closed the school, causing the district’s freshmen to be bused to the former Lincoln-Way North High School.
* SJ-R | Buildings ready to be demolished as reconstruction of 3 Springfield High Schools rolls on: Meanwhile, the $93 million reconstruction of Lanphier High School will move into its final phase with the demolition of the Edison Wing in the coming weeks that will allow for the construction of the school’s first-ever auditorium. Funding for both projects comes from the 1% sales tax increase that Sangamon County voters approved in November 2018, netting District 186 an average of $13 million per year.
* Daily Herald | Arlington Heights using budget surplus to replace lead pipes: Village officials predict it could cost $40 million to replace all of the town’s old lead pipes, which represent nearly a quarter of all service lines on public and private property. And because it is an established community, Arlington Heights is among the suburbs with the most lead pipes, in a state that has the most lead pipes per capita in the country, according to a 2023 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency report.
* Daily Herald | Barrington considering TIF district for downtown redevelopment: Officials said several steps are needed to start the legal machinery leading to the creation of a TIF district. The first is an Interested Parties Registry, through which any resident or village-based organization can apply to receive information should officials move forward with establishing the district.
* PJ Star | ‘Lies and deceit’: Hotel Pere Marquette developers sentenced to prison for fraud scheme: A federal judge said Monday that Monte Brannan and Gary Matthews engaged in “lies and deceit” when they defrauded investors in a scheme to line their own pockets with money that was supposed to go toward a redevelopment of the Hotel Pere Marquette. Brannan, 71, of Peoria and Matthews, 81, of East Peoria were sentenced to prison on Monday and ordered to pay millions of dollars in restitution for defrauding investors, including the city of Peoria, during their time as the developers of the downtown Peoria hotel.
* Crain’s | Pullback in warehouse-building spree keeps vacancy in check: Despite fears of a possible vacancy problem from a record year for industrial real estate development, the share of available warehouse space in the Chicago area only inched up during the first quarter to 5.29% from 5.25% at the end of 2023, according to data from real estate services firm Colliers. The industrial vacancy rate is up from a record-low 4.5% in late 2022 after five straight quarters of increases, though, it continues to hover at one of the lowest levels it has been over the past 25 years.
* Sun-Times | GI Bill case sees Supreme Court rule against VA, giving decorated Army vet James Rudisill full benefits: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 Tuesday in favor of decorated Army veteran James Rudisill in a case that questioned whether the federal government could limit college money for veterans who’d earned benefits under more than one version of the GI Bill. The case could unlock greater educational benefits for veterans nationwide who, like Rudisill, had earned college benefits under both the Montgomery GI Bill, which covers tuition, and the newer, more generous Post-9/11 GI Bill, which pays for tuition, fees, housing and books. Federal law allows veterans to tap both plans up to a maximum of 48 months.
* CNN | Antisemitic incidents in US hit all-time high, Anti-Defamation League report shows: The majority of the incidents documented by the ADL - 6,535 - were cases of harassment, which the group describes as instances when either one or more Jewish people, or people perceived as Jewish, are harassed with antisemitic slurs, stereotypes or conspiracy theories. This category includes online and in-person incidents. The group also tracked 2,177 cases of vandalism and 161 assault incidents.
* NBC | Verified pro-Nazi X accounts flourish under Elon Musk: The pro-Nazi content is not confined to the fringes of the platform. During one seven-day period in March, seven of the most widely shared pro-Nazi posts on X accrued 4.5 million views in total. One post with 1.9 million views promoted a false and long-debunked conspiracy theory that 6 million Jews did not die in the Holocaust. More than 5,300 verified and unverified accounts reshared that post, and other popular posts were reshared hundreds of times apiece.
* PJ Star | Illinois basketball loses another player to NCAA transfer portal: Illinois basketball is once again dealing with the NCAA college basketball transfer portal. Redshirt sophomore Sencire Harris has entered his name into the portal, he announced Monday on social media. This comes a day after Arizona transfer Kylan Boswell announced his commitment to the Fighting Illini.
* Crain’s | Hewn Bread, named one of America’s best bakeries, to open new North Shore location: The Hewn name is a regular on “best bakery” lists. Food & Wine magazine declared the Evanston shop one of the 100 best bakeries in America in 2020. Two years later, the magazine reiterated its praise, listing the bakery’s bread as the best in Illinois. Similarly, Thrillist recognized Hewn as one of the “absolute best bakeries in Chicago” in 2021.
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Here we go again…
Tuesday, Apr 16, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Center Square doing its usual thing…
Bill expanding emergency powers for Illinois state agency advances
A measure now in the Illinois House says the Illinois Emergency Management Agency would be able to do “all things necessary, incidental, or appropriate for the implementation” of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act.
Opponents of Senate Bill 3434 said Illinois’ emergency authority continues under the Pritzker administration and giving more power lacks proper oversight. State Sen. Win Stoller, R-Germantown Hills, said the bill grants extraordinary power to the department’s rulemaking authority and bypasses the legislature.
“The language of the bill says the agency shall do ‘all things necessary, incidental or appropriate for the implementation’ of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act, including the adoption of rules in accordance with the Illinois Administrative Procedures Act. That’s a lot of power that the department is looking for and it begs the question, ‘Why is all that necessary?’” Stoller said. “It was mentioned in committee that sometimes you need to trust the department to do the right thing. If there’s one thing that makes me nervous it’s when the government says ‘trust us.’” […]
Stoller said sometimes there are emergencies that require quick responses, but there’s already a mechanism in place where the governor can declare 30-day emergency declarations and disasters.
“He [Pritzker] has done that. In fact he’s done that quite a lot. We currently have an asylum declaration for asylum seekers and that’s been going on for over two years,” said Stoller on the Senate floor. “In fact, under Pritzker we have been under continuous declarations and it is my opinion that the governor has been abusing this authority, bypassing the legislative process.”
* I reached out to the governor’s office for comment. I was told this is “an absurdly wrong understanding of the bill”…
Currently IEMA has, on an individual grant by grant basis, rulemaking authority for some of their grant programs. There isn’t uniformity with their rule making authority across their many grants, and for at least two grant programs, they have no rulemaking authority in statute.
The solution that IEMA sought was to codify IEMA’s rulemaking authority for ALL of their grant programs. That is what this bill does. As you know, this means more things going through JCAR, not less.
Examples of grants where IEMA does not currently have rulemaking authority in statute:
• 9/11 Maintenance Grants
• Preparedness and Response Grant Program
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* Leigh Giangreco at Crain’s reports on Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s attempt to reach out to Jewish community leaders. As you already know, some leaders, including Sen. Sara Feigenholtz and Rep. Bob Morgan, refused the invitation. But not everyone did…
On April 15, Johnson held a roundtable conversation with Jewish leaders meant to help his administration address antisemitism in Chicago and to strengthen its relationship with the Jewish community. Several rabbis attended, as well as progressive Jewish groups like the Jewish Council On Urban Affairs. During the session, the group discussed issues of antisemitism within Chicago Public Schools and antisemitic flyers placed in bags containing a substance that resembled rat poison and distributed on the North Side in recent months, according to state Sen. Robert Peters, D-13th, who also attended.
“It was a pretty diverse room of people who were across the ideological spectrum,” Peters said. “I know I’m personally disappointed by people who decided to boycott this. I found it insulting.”
Peters was speaking of a group of Jewish politicians and organizations who refused the mayor’s invitation last week. In a letter to the mayor, Ald. Deb Silverstein, 50th, state Sen. Sara Feigenholtz, D-6th, and state Rep. Bob Morgan, D-58th, declined to join, citing Johnson’s tie-breaking vote on the cease-fire resolution in January and what they described as a “silence” from the administration amid a rash of antisemitic attacks across the city.
The Jewish United Fund and the Midwest chapter of the Anti-Defamation League also declined the mayor’s invitation.
“There were a number of groups, who represent a marginal element of our community,” said Jay Tcath, executive vice president at the Jewish United Fund. Tcath argued that if his organization had attended the session, it would have created a “false equivalency” between the majority and minority voices in the Jewish community.
* Violet Miller at the Sun-Times…
As for those who skipped the meeting, including Ald. Debra Silverstein, [Marty Levine, a coordinating committee member of Jewish Voice for Peace Chicago and retired CEO of Jewish Community Centers of Chicago] said they were making the fight against antisemitism more difficult. He pointed to the recent examples of antisemitism, which he said should unite the community despite disagreements over the war in Gaza.
“That difference doesn’t have to keep us from combating antisemitism as it rears its head,” Levine said. “If there is someone who intends on doing harm to Jews, they’re not differentiating between my political strategies and Ald. Silverstein’s.” […]
“To me, it just feels like this was a hollow offer to try to save face with the Jewish community,” Silverstein told the Sun-Times. “There are a lot of people who should have been invited to the meeting who were not. … We don’t want to sit at a roundtable with those people who are anti-Israel.” […]
At the roundtable, Peters and Levine said educating people, especially young residents, was at the forefront of efforts to combat hate. Peters also said restorative justice would play a large role due to its ability to “build relationships” between people who are committing hateful acts and those affected by them.
* Meanwhile…
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From the ADL…
Driven in part by a massive spike in antisemitic incidents after the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel and the ongoing war in Gaza, the Jewish community in Illinois and the United States experienced an unprecedented increase in antisemitic incidents. ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) released the 2023 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents today. The data is staggering.
ADL recorded 211 incidents of antisemitic assault, vandalism, and harassment in Illinois in 2023, a shocking 74% above the previous record of 121 set in 2022. Illinois posted the 12th highest total of antisemitic incidents among the 50 states and a 379% increase since 2019 when ADL recorded just 44 total antisemitic incidents in Illinois.
Broken down, ADL recorded 155 incidents of antisemitic harassment, 54 incidents of antisemitic vandalism, and 2 antisemitic assaults in Illinois in 2023. This compares to 75 incidents of antisemitic harassment, 46 incidents of antisemitic vandalism, and 1 antisemitic assault in 2022.
“It’s alarming to see the exponential growth of antisemitic incidents in our state and nationwide. Every segment of the Jewish community has been affected,” said David Goldenberg, Regional Director of ADL Midwest. “Concern in the Jewish community is significant and heightened, especially considering most antisemitic incidents tracked in 2023 occurred after October 7, the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust – and it isn’t letting up.”
68% (143) of the total number of antisemitic incidents recorded in Illinois occurred after Hamas’ attack against Israel on October 7. The number is 20% more antisemitic incidents between October 7 and December 31 than ADL tracked in all of 2022.
“These incidents were fueled in large part by anti-Zionist and anti-Israel groups – such as the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, Jewish Voice for Peace, Students for Justice in Palestine, and American Muslims for Palestine – whose activities have fanned the flames of antisemitism in Chicago, the suburbs, and on college campuses throughout Illinois,” added Goldenberg. “It is going to take a whole of society approach to reverse this dangerous trend and reject this hate, bigotry, and antisemitism.”
* The ADL’s Goldenberg led a Statehouse press conference today. He was asked about the refusal to attend the meeting with Mayor Johnson…
There have been opportunities to speak out against antisemitism in real-time from the administration in Chicago. From our perspective, those have been missed opportunities. … And so what we would like to see is some real concrete action and some real significant steps that are taken to reject this type of antisemitism to make clear that it has no place in Chicago.
Deep breaths before commenting, please.
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* Click here to read the indictment. From WGN…
The top administrator in both Thornton township and village of Dolton has been indicted for bankruptcy fraud.
Keith Freeman is accused of underreporting his income from the village and township during his own personal bankruptcy proceedings.
Freeman works for Dolton mayor and Thornton township supervisor Tiffany Henyard whose own spending, transparency and leadership style have come into question in a series of WGN Investigates reports.
Freeman was also the registered agent for the Tiffany Henyard Cares Foundation, which WGN Investigates has reported gathering much of its early funding from the township and has failed to document its spending.
* US Attorney press release…
A senior administrator for both the Village of Dolton, Ill. and Thornton Township, Ill. has been charged in federal court with engaging in a bankruptcy fraud scheme involving the making of false statements in his bankruptcy petition to conceal from creditors his assets and sources of income and a significant claim against him.
An indictment returned Monday in U.S. District Court in Chicago charges KEITH DOUGLAS FREEMAN, 45, of Orland Park, Ill., with one count of bankruptcy fraud. The charge is punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison. Arraignment has not yet been scheduled.
The indictment was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Robert W. “Wes” Wheeler, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI, Justin Campbell, Special Agent-in-Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Chicago Field Office, and Ruth M. Mendonça, Inspector-in-Charge of the Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Trustee Program. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason A. Julien and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian P. Netols.
The officials noted that Freeman was indicted as part of an ongoing federal investigation.
According to the indictment, Freeman on Jan. 3, 2024, filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago. The petition included a Schedules and Statement of Financial Affairs – a document in which the debtor is required to identify, among other things, all of his assets and sources of income, as well as any claims against him. The indictment alleges that Freeman made several materially false statements and omissions in the document, including knowingly underreporting income he derived from his employment as both the Village Administrator for Dolton and the Municipality Manager for Thornton Township, as well as fees he received from his private consulting business. Freeman also allegedly concealed that the Village of Robbins, Ill. had filed a claim against him related to approximately $90,396 that Freeman received in excess of his authorized salary while he was the Village Administrator for Robbins, a position he held from 2017 to 2021.
Freeman also furnished the Chapter 7 Trustee with a purported copy of his 2022 individual income tax return, which represented that Freeman’s total income from employment was $45,186. The indictment states that Freeman knew he had not filed an income tax return for that year, and that his actual income, which included a $100,000 salary for the Dolton position alone, substantially exceeded that amount.
It was further part of the scheme that on Jan. 30, 2024, while testifying under oath at a meeting of creditors, Freeman falsely represented that he was not an employee of Dolton and that he did not receive payment from Dolton, the indictment states. The following month, Freeman allegedly caused his pay from Dolton to be directly deposited into a recently opened bank account that he had not disclosed to the creditors or the Chapter 7 Trustee.
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
The feds usually bust somebody for things like this and then use that as leverage to move up the food chain. In this case, it looks like Mayor/Supervisor Tiffany Henyard may very well be the ultimate target.
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* Dennis Rodkin at Crain’s…
A new lawsuit aims to abolish the long-standing practice of Illinois counties selling properties over their unpaid taxes in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year that declared the practice unconstitutional.
“County governments across Illinois have been illegally seizing property value from taxpayers across Illinois for decades,” said Daniel Suhr, an attorney with the Chicago-based law firm Hughes & Suhr, which filed the suit. “The US Supreme Court made that eminently clear in its decision, and our lawsuit is an effort to make victims of this unconstitutional policy whole.”
At stake is potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in home equity that property owners lost when Illinois counties sold their homes or commercial property for back taxes. A study by the Pacific Legal Foundation estimated that in the years 2014 to 2021, property owners in 11 Illinois counties sacrificed about $300 million in equity when their properties were sold for tax debt.
“It’s equity theft,” Suhr said.
Again, this is about selling houses for owed back taxes when the equity in those houses exceeded the money owed. The contention is the homeowners were unconstitutionally robbed of that excess equity.
* From the class action lawsuit…
The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, incorporated against the States through the Fourteenth Amendment, prohibits the government from taking private property without paying just compensation to the property’s owner.
For decades, the counties of Illinois have violated this prohibition.
The violation proceeds as follows. First, people or businesses fall behind on paying their property taxes—often, only a few thousand dollars in back taxes. In response, the county treasurer executes a tax deed taking the property, either into the hands of the county directly or to a tax-lien buyer who has purchased the back taxes on the property. Either way, that taking is for the entire value of the property, not only the value of the taxes owed. That surplus value—the difference between the taxes owed and the value of the property—is never returned to the former owner.
The U.S. Supreme Court recently held, unanimously, that this practice of seizing the surplus value in connection with property taken to satisfy a tax lien violates the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause. Tyler v. Hennepin County , 598 U.S. 631 (2023)
The victims of that policy are spread across Illinois’s 102 counties, though they are most often poor, elderly, and vulnerable. Stealing the surplus value from these individuals is not just unconstitutional, it is unconscionable.
This lawsuit seeks redress for these unconstitutional, uncompensated takings. More precisely, this suit seeks relief on behalf of a class of all victims of the counties’ property value theft. And it seeks this relief against a class consisting of every Illinois County.
Thoughts?
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About those studies…
Tuesday, Apr 16, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Center Square…
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker wants $40 million in taxpayer funds over four years to pick up the tab for hundreds of thousands of individuals’ medical debt. […]
However, a study released this month by the National Bureau of Economic Research concluded while there is a statistical significant reduction in payment of existing medical debt, there is “no impact of debt relief on credit access, utilization, and financial distress on average” and “no effect of medical debt relief on mental health on average.”
State Rep. Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur, said it may sound like a good idea, but the legislature must balance priorities especially as he said state agencies are requesting increased budgets across the board. He also warned, taxpayer subsidies to a nonprofit to liquidate select medical debt may not provide the benefits supporters are looking for.
“It does not solve your credit problems nor does it really address the mental health issues that we have,” Caulkins told The Center Square. “If the research is factual, the governor is trying to pander. I know he’s still interested in a political career outside of Illinois.”
Um, if the governor’s debt relief numbers are correct, it will eventually provide on average about $4,000 in debt relief per person. That ain’t nothing.
However, Cook County’s program hasn’t performed to that level. The county has helped more than 200,000 residents by eliminating nearly $350 million in medical debt. That’s about $1,750 per person. Even so, that ain’t nothing, either.
It won’t solve all their problems, but no program can do that. I’ve seen too many friends living in too much fear of medical debt during my lifetime. Yes, it’s not as bad as it was back when hospitals and other providers were regularly taking people to court over their debts and then having them thrown in jail if they didn’t show up for hearings. But it’s still upsetting.
* Meanwhile, in other news…
As Gov. JB Pritzker has proposed to eliminate the state’s sales tax on groceries, a new University of Illinois study suggests the idea hurts cities more than it helps families.
“I think there is a perception that the grocery tax is very regressive,” said Elizabeth Powers, an associate professor of economics at the U of I and interim associate director of its Institute of Government and Public Affairs. “That it causes very low-income people to pay more than their fair share of taxes.”
Those families, Powers says, pay roughly $3600 a year in groceries and thus would save $36 per year.
As for cities. Powers says, “It’s estimated that municipalities lost about $360 million; municipalities are perceiving this as a significant hit to their budget.”
Deputy Gov. Andy Manar was not amused…
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Andy makes some very valid points. I just don’t see it passing. But the proposal has so far put the Illinois Municipal League back on their heels and prevented the IML from making a strong, coordinated push for more state money.
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Support House Bill 4781
Tuesday, Apr 16, 2024 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
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* Last week, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle told reporters that she’d been working to help pass a $70 million migrant funding proposal through the Chicago city council. Mayor Brandon Johnson had initially refused to even admit that he’d cut a deal with Preckwinkle and the governor to ask for the funds. Then said he wouldn’t do it. Then finally capitulated. But it apparently took Preckwinkle’s experienced hands to move this thing forward. Here’s Fran Spielman…
A divided City Council committee agreed Monday to slap another $70 million Band-Aid on Chicago’s migrant crisis after behind-the-scenes lobbying by County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and others.
Preckwinkle was among those calling recalcitrant City Council members in recent days, urging them to support the $70 million in migrant funding Mayor Brandon Johnson promised months ago. Johnson then backed out of an agreement to match $70 million in Cook County funding to go with a $175 million commitment from Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
Before the lobbying squeeze, key members of the Black Caucus, in closed-door briefings, had strenuously opposed new migrant funding, sources said.
After the frenzied phone calls, it wasn’t even close. The Budget Committee approved $70 million in surplus spending, 20-8, setting the stage for full Council approval on Wednesday.
* Fox News gave a megaphone to the handful of remaining opponents…
“We are not taking care of our own,” Ald. Chris Taliaferro of the 29th Ward said during the meeting. “We have all but forgotten the residents on the West Side and South Side.” […]
“Here we are begging for more money when we don’t have money for the people here,” said 9th Ward Ald. Anthony Beale, a Democrat who opposed the proposal. “We don’t have money for after school programs. We don’t have money to help our kids get off the street. Yet, we would just blow money left and right. That’s a fundamental problem.”
* But proponents pointed out the harsh reality: Pay now or pay later…
Ald. Walter Burnett (27th Ward) said the city had no choice but to set aside more money to care for the migrants.
“I know this is hard, but we have to do this,” Burnett said. “If we don’t, something’s gonna bust.”
The funds are set to come from the city’s 2022 budget surplus, Budget Director Annette Guzman told the Budget Committee.
If the City Council fails to act, Chicago’s unhoused population will swell, and more people will have no choice but to camp on city streets and parks, Guzman said.
“The unintended and indirect costs will soar,” Guzman said. […]
Fewer than 9,200 people were living in 18 city facilities as of Monday, a 22% drop since March 15, according to city data.
By the way, I’ve been doing this a long time now and I don’t ever recall a Cook County Board President so dramatically rescuing a Chicago mayor from him/herself.
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It’s just a bill
Tuesday, Apr 16, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Ben Szalinski…
Slightly more from Politico…
Legislation banning corporal punishment in Illinois’ private schools passed out of the Illinois House. The bill, which now heads to the Illinois Senate, would amend the School Code to implement the same restrictions on corporal punishment in private schools that all Illinois public schools are already subject to. State Rep. Margaret Croke is carrying the legislation.
* Center Square…
A measure now in the Illinois House says the Illinois Emergency Management Agency would be able to do “all things necessary, incidental, or appropriate for the implementation” of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act.
Opponents of Senate Bill 3434 said Illinois’ emergency authority continues under the Pritzker administration and giving more power lacks proper oversight. State Sen. Win Stoller, R-Germantown Hills, said the bill grants extraordinary power to the department’s rulemaking authority and bypasses the legislature. […]
“IEMA handles emergency management and I think what we are trying to get addressed in this bill is as those incidences come up and as things happen we want to be able to have the authority to be able to move with flexibility and move swiftly,” said [Sen. Celina Villanueva].
The measure passed the Illinois Senate last week and can now be taken up in the Illinois House.
* Legal Sports Report…
FanDuel Sportsbook is urging customers to reach out to state lawmakers in an effort to stop the proposed tax hike on Illinois sports betting.
As part of his recent budget proposal, Gov. JB Pritzker suggested increasing the tax rate on Illinois sports betting to 35% from 15%.
The FanDuel app alert went out to Illinois customers over the weekend. […]
FanDuel CEO Amy Howe explained to LSR the operator’s general stance on sports betting tax rate increases.
“Our government affairs teams do a really good job of trying to educate the regulators on how to get that balance right, because at the end of the day, the revenue to the state is really important,” Howe told LSR.
Here’s the popup from FanDuel…
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* Center Square…
Arguing people are “pleading guilty to offenses that they otherwise would not be pleading to,” Northwestern University Child and Family Justice Center attorney Stephanie Kollman is backing legislation designed to bring equity to the criminal justice system. […]
Filed by Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, and coming in the wake of a 2021 study commissioned by the Illinois Supreme Court that found issues ranging from a deficit in overall funding to a lack of independence from political influence within the system, the so-called Office of Public Defense Trial Support bill also seeks to create a statewide office that offers public defenders greater support and resources as they strive to defend the often indigent criminal defendants they represent.
While Harmon is pushing to see the bill become law by the end of the ongoing spring session, between now and then Kollman is hoping to see even more tweaks made to it in the name of fairness and equity.
“What’s being proposed is sort of a broad start,” she added. “What would be a more robust approach would be to ensure that defenders are structurally independent of the judicial branch.”
* Rep. Mary Beth Canty…
A measure streamlining and strengthening laws preventing sexual exploitation of minors, spearheaded by state Rep. Mary Beth Canty, D-Arlington Heights, recently passed the House with strong bipartisan support.
“Our current laws protecting children and other vulnerable people from exploitation need to be stronger,” said Canty. “This measure will shore up loopholes for disgusting crimes like grooming, which puts too many of our kids at risk. We are taking an essential step to making Illinois a safer place to live and raise a family.”
House Bill 2458 requires a number of technical changes to various Illinois laws against sexual exploitation and grooming. It also upgrades grooming from a class 4 to a class 3 felony, offenses that are more likely to be prosecuted. The bill has the support of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, the Illinois Sheriffs’ Association and the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault, and it passed with strong bipartisan support and will soon be heard in the Senate.
* WICS…
Mental health advocates said the shortage of social workers in the state is still ongoing and is affecting access to services. This comes as lawmakers are trying to pass three bills aimed to help recruit and maintain social workers.
The National Association of Social Workers said the shortage of licensed professionals has been going on for years. They’re hoping that new legislation going through the General Assembly could help recruit and retain social workers across the state. […]
SB3779 would allow a licensed clinical social worker or licensed social worker to have and administer opioid antagonists. SB2222 could award grants to school districts to provide stipends to social work interns. The third bill, SB3714, would create a program to provide loan repayment assistances to eligible professionals practicing in a hospice program.
The National Association of Social Workers thinks these three pieces of legislation could significantly impact the number of social workers who stay in the field since the demand continues to grow.
* Center Square…
A state legislator says a constituent was passionate about making a change for meat processing facilities and now a measure will likely pass as a result.
State Rep. Adam Niemerg, R-Dieterich, said existing meat processing plants have to put labels on processed meat that says “not for sale” and “not inspected.”
“You have to have ‘not for sale’ and ‘not inspected’ on meat that won’t be for sale or inspected, but this bill cleans this up a bit and removes the [required label] ‘not inspected’ and just has the ‘not for sale’ [label]. It cuts down on some government redundancy and saves local meat packer money,” told The Center Square.
So if deer hunters go to get their meat processed they’ll see just one label instead of two, if the measure is enacted.
* Rep. Wayne Rosenthal…
Legislation pending in the House of Representatives (HB 4270), would amend the Line of Duty Compensation Act. State Representative Wayne Rosenthal (R-Morrisonville) filed legislation to include emergency medical services personnel.
“Our first responders put their lives on the line to save others and we must honor their families after tragic events that occur,” said Rep. Rosenthal. “House Bill 4270 would financially assist families of first responders in times of need and also acknowledge their dedication to keeping our communities safe.”
The Line of Duty Compensation Act offers financial benefits to families of those who lost their lives while serving our nation in the armed forces or serving in a public safety role with a state or local government. Compensation under this act helps families and dependents manage difficult times after a tragic event. HB 4270 would allow families of emergency medical services personnel to file for financial benefits under the Line of Duty Compensation Act. […]
If HB 4270 becomes law, benefits under the Line of Duty Compensation Act, will be available to families of emergency medical services personnel. Beneficiaries can obtain a claim form from the Attorney General’s Office, the Secretary of State’s website, or the Court of Claims.
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Open thread
Tuesday, Apr 16, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* What’s going on? Keep it Illinois-centric please…
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Tuesday, Apr 16, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* ICYMI: Supreme Court hears argument on federal statute that could dent Madigan case. Tribune…
- The case involves James Snyder, the former mayor of Portage, Indiana, who was convicted of taking a $13,000 “consulting” fee from a garbage truck contractor that had recently won two lucrative contracts with the town.
- The justices kept coming back to concerns over the word “corruptly” and how people are supposed to know where the line is.
-A decision is expected before the court session ends in late June or early July.
- How SCOTUS rules on the issue could impact political corruption prosecutions in Illinois — including the case against former House Speaker Michael Madigan, which is set for trial in October.
* Related stories…
* Isabel’s top picks…
* Sun-Times | Rancid, unsafe water at Illinois prisons threatens health, violates human rights, groups allege: The allegedly rancid water at Illinois prisons violates the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, and the U.S. EPA should step in, the groups led by the Coalition to Decarcerate Illinois said. The issues have been going on for decades at some prisons, the groups said, adding that there were examples of problems reported even in recent weeks and months.
* Daily Herald | Regulators weigh future of gas industry in Illinois, while clamping down on Chicago utility: While Chicago considers passing an ordinance to ban natural gas in some new building construction — following the lead of places like New York City and Seattle — state officials are moving more slowly in an attempt to ensure Illinois meets its goal of having 100% renewable energy by 2050. The ICC launched a process dubbed the “Future of Gas” last week that will inform the governor, legislature and other policymakers on potential policy changes. The process was initiated by the ICC after they tamped down requests for rate increases from all of the state’s major gas utilities.
* Tribune | Gov. J.B. Pritzker creates executive position at state parole board amid controversy over release of man accused of killing 11-year-old boy: The appointment of James G. Montgomery Jr. to the newly created post comes after Pritzker and the board came under intense criticism last month when a man the review board had allowed to be released from state custody allegedly attacked a pregnant woman he once dated and killed her young son. Montgomery, whose appointment requires confirmation from the state Senate, was elected mayor of downstate Taylorville in 1997 and remained in that post until 2005. Most recently, he was the director of administrative services with the Suffolk County (Massachusetts) sheriff’s department, supervising a chief financial officer, as well as directors of human resources and information technology.
* WTTW | Chicago City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin Fined $60K for Violating Ethics Ordinance: The board levied the maximum fine of $5,000 for each individual violation of the ordinance, which occurred between September 2019 and September 2022, in accordance with the terms of the Governmental Ethics Ordinance in effect at that time, officials said. The unanimous vote from the Board of Ethics ratifies Inspector General Deborah Witzburg’s determination that Conyears-Ervin violated the city’s Governmental Ethics Ordinance. It is the first time an official elected citywide has been found in violation of the city’s main ethics law by both the Ethics Board and inspector general.
Governor Pritzker will give remarks on the Illinois-Ukraine partnership at 12:20 pm. There will be no additional availability. Click here to watch.
* Here’s the rest…
* Daily Southtown | Former police officer Patrick Sheehan appointed to Illinois House following Timothy Ozinga’s resignation: “I cannot wait to hit the ground running for suburban families by fighting tax hikes, keeping our communities safe, growing our economy and making a more ethical state government,” Sheehan said in a news release. Sheehan lost to incumbent Democrat Michael Hastings by fewer than 1,000 votes in the 2022 race for Illinois Senate. In his concession letter, Sheehan thanked Ozinga for his assistance in his election and John Catanzara, the president of the Fraternal Order of Police Chicago Lodge 7.
* WGN | The Workers’ Mic talks tax fraud with Attorney General Kwame Raoul: This week on The Worker’s Mic, Powered by the MCL, Ken Edwards, Ed Maher and Phil Davidson are joined by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and John Jarger, Director of Operations at the Mid-America Carpenter’s Regional Council, to discuss tax fraud and what the Office of the Illinois Attorney General is doing for workers in the state.
* Sun-Times | Chinatown gets a DMV office as Giannoulias jettisons use of driver services facilities name: Illinois famously doesn’t have a DMV, or Department of Motor Vehicles. Residents for decades have applied for and renewed licenses and car registrations at driver services facilities run by the Secretary of State’s office. But at a ribbon-cutting Monday for Chinatown’s first drivers and motor vehicles facility, Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias made it clear he wants to call it a DMV.
* Fox Chicago | ComEd grants largest clean energy rebate to Illinois company for record solar installation: The rebate, totaling $2.6 million, was awarded to Bolingbrook-based G&W Electric. The project encompasses nearly eight football fields’ worth of solar panels and houses the largest battery of its kind. The battery, contained within 20 forty-foot shipping containers, represents a significant advancement in renewable energy technology.
* WGN | Mayor, money and mistrust in Dolton: The self-proclaimed “supermayor” of a small suburb south of Chicago has earned enough headlines to fill a month’s worth of newspapers. She’s also earned the attention of federal investigators who have picked-up the trail our reporting uncovered. This is the story of Dolton, Illinois mayor Tiffany Henyard who is equal parts politician and influencer. The two governments Henyard controls have spent tens of thousands of dollars on first class travel, fine dining, an armed security detail and a social media team worthy of a B-List celebrity.
* Rep. Kimberly du Buclet | When will sports betting companies recognize the value of Chicago women’s pro sports teams?: The assumption is these companies don’t value women’s professional sports. While that may not be true, they don’t have the record to prove they do care about women’s teams, including the Chicago Sky, in my district. If we’re going to continue to be a world-class sports town, we need these companies to support the Sky and other women’s teams to match the undeniable momentum these teams are generating right now.
* Investigate Midwest | Farmers have clamored for the Right to Repair for years. It’s getting little traction in John Deere’s home state: When the technician from John Deere arrived at his farm in central Illinois, it took about 30 minutes total to plug in a diagnostic tool, see which sensor was bad, unscrew it, replace it and close everything up in the combine. “If I knew what sensor was bad in that combine, I could have had it fixed in five minutes,” Lieb said. “But if you don’t have the software, it’s impossible to know what’s wrong.”
* EDN | National and State Soybean Organizations announce board elections: Interested applicants should complete the online application by 4 p.m. central time on Friday, July 9. Additionally, the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) seeks qualified candidates to fill board seats representing six districts that are up for election in 2024.
* Tribune | Johnson plan to add $70M for migrant response moves forward: Mayor Brandon Johnson’s request for another $70 million to maintain the city’s migrant response advanced in the City Council Monday. The plan passed the Budget and Government Operations Committee in a 20-to-8 vote following contentious debate over the continued costly effort to care for the city’s recent migrants arrivals, including thousands of asylum-seekers who fled crisis in Venezuela. The outcome puts the proposal up for a full City Council vote set for Wednesday.
* Fox Chicago | All migrants officially moved out of Chicago Park District facilities, city officials confirm: All migrants have officially moved out of Chicago Park District facilities that were serving as temporary shelters for new arrivals, city officials confirmed Monday. All residents have been relocated to nearby shelters and the city will now reinstate community programming and operations at those facilities.
* Sun-Times | City Council committee OKs $750K settlement stemming from George Floyd protest: Deputy Corporation Counsel Caroline Fronczak said there is some video from body-worn and other police cameras of the arrest and detention of Mejia, who claims he was also the target of a racial slur from a police officer. But “due to the chaotic nature of those protests,” many officers were deployed without body cameras. “Finding body cam of a police officer in that scenario under those circumstances is basically looking for a needle in a haystack,” Fronczak said.
* Block Club | Top Cop Unveils Plan To Combat Robbery Surge: Supt. Larry Snelling said the police department is deploying “focus missions” that target stolen vehicles, often used as getaway cars, as part of its strategy. Robberies are up almost 30 percent citywide since 2021.
* Harvest Public Media | Newspapers in rural areas are folding, leaving vast news deserts. But there are bright spots: In February, in a unique move, the University of Iowa’s student newspaper bought The Sun from the papers’ owner, Woodward Communications, along with another local weekly. The Daily Iowan, with a reporting staff of about 90 students, is owned by a non-profit and independent of the university. Some of its reporters, along with students from the university’s School of Journalism, will now contribute articles to The Sun and the Solon Economist. Countryman said it’s a relief to know now he’ll have help from student journalists.
* CNN | No link found between COVID vaccinations and cardiac deaths in young people, CDC says: The results come from an analysis of death certificates from Oregon residents who died from any heart condition or unknown reasons between June 2021 and December 2022. Nearly 1,300 death certificates from people between the ages of 16 and 30 were reviewed. Out of 101 death certificates where a cardiac event wasn’t ruled out as a cause of death, 40 people received a COVID vaccine. Only three of those people died within 100 days of vaccination.
* NPR | Sinkhole forces a highway closure south of Hillsboro: The location is between Hillsboro and Coffeen, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation. The sinkhole has increased slightly in diameter making the area unsafe for travel, IDOT said. A geotechnical consultant will evaluate the situation. Until then, motorists are advised to seek alternate routes.
* WBEZ | Dog trainers stress importance of ‘recognizing yellow lights’ to prevent aggressive behavior: Last year, Illinois ranked eighth in the country in dog bite claims. Insurance companies paid more than $61.8 million for 837 dog-related injury claims, with an average payout of $73,797.
* WSJ | Justice Department to File Antitrust Suit Against Live Nation: The Justice Department is preparing to sue as soon as next month, an antitrust challenge that could spur major changes at the biggest name in concert promotion and ticketing. The agency is preparing to file an antitrust lawsuit against the Ticketmaster parent in the coming weeks that would allege the nation’s biggest concert promoter has leveraged its dominance in a way that undermined competition for ticketing live events, according to people familiar with the matter.
* Block Club | ‘We Are The Culture’ Explores The History And Magic Of Black Chicago: Arionne Nettles has the soul of the city inscribed in her DNA. She spent her summers riding her bike and scraping her knees on her Englewood block. She learned how to sew and chop wood in a Chicago Park District field house, and completed book reports and Black History Month projects at the Woodson Regional Public Library in Washington Heights.
* Sun-Times | Chris Crane, former Exelon CEO and nuclear energy proponent, dies at 65: Chris Crane, the former chief executive and president of Exelon, the nation’s largest utility company that also owns ComEd, died Saturday after a “short illness and complications with pneumonia,” according to a statement from Exelon. He was 65. In a news release, the company said he will be remembered for his “transformational milestones” on safety and equity, specifically related to his work in the nuclear energy field, as well as expanding the company through mergers with Washington, D.C.-based Pepco; New Jersey-based Atlantic City Electric; and Delaware-based Delmarva Power utilities.
* WaPo | Rural Americans are way more likely to die young. Why?: The USDA researchers analyzed mortality data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from two three-year periods — 1999 through 2001, and 2017 through 2019. In 1999, the natural-cause mortality rate for rural working-age adults was only 6 percent higher than that of their city-dwelling peers. By 2019, the gap had widened to 43 percent. The disparity was significantly worse for women — and for Native American women, in particular. The gap highlights how persistent difficulties accessing health care, and a dispassionate response from national leaders, can eat away at the fabric of rural communities.
* WSJ | Suit Challenging Iowa’s Book Ban Is Backed by Every Major Publisher: The lawsuit was filed by Penguin Random House in November and targets parts of an Iowa law that bans books depicting or describing sex acts from school libraries or classrooms, with the exemption of religious texts. The law also focuses on books that address gender identity or sexual orientation for students in kindergarten through sixth grade.
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Comments Off
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Live coverage
Tuesday, Apr 16, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* You can click here or here to follow breaking news. It’s the best we can do unless or until Twitter gets its act together.
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