May 25th in Murphysboro I am going to be unveiling an Illinois State Historic Association Marker on the Southwest Corner of the Jackson County Courthouse Lawn dedicated to the life of Lawrence “Big Twist” Nolan. He was a notable Blues Singer, Drummer, and Harmonica Player, born in Terra Haute, but lived his life “off the road” in Murphysboro from 1956 until his death in 1990.
I am not sure how many historic markers are dedicated to Blues Artists in Illinois, but I am confident this will be the first in Southern Illinois.
The unveiling is going also include a street party with live music from Tawl Paul and the Ivas John band. Numerous members of the Nolan family are coming in from across the country for it. Just thought it might have some Friday music post potential.
P.S. The marker was funded by the City of Murphysboro, Jackson County, Murphysboro Tourism, Jackson County NAACP, and myself.
Yesterday, a Lake County Judge granted the State’s petition to detain Jared Honegger, 24, who is being charged with four counts of child pornography.
After the detention hearing, Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart stated,
“Our office is committed to protecting all children in Lake County, and I commend the Sheriff’s team and the Attorney General’s Office for their investigation. This offender is now jailed indefinitely because of our new system that does not allow him to post cash and be released. Others charged with this exact same crime have been able to post cash in the past, and those days are over.”
During the detention hearing, the State argued that Honegger’s pre-trial release would pose a real and present threat to the community because the videos and images found in Honegger’s phone are a form of violence, sexual in nature, and that if it weren’t for people like Honegger consuming that content, there would not be a demand for predators to continue making child pornography and harming children.
The State further argued that Pre-Trial Bond Services does not have the ability to engage in 24-hour surveillance of Honegger’s home and would not be able ensure Honegger wouldn’t continue downloading and disseminating child pornography if he had pre-trial release.
Since September 2023, individuals who are charged with possessing or creating child pornography are no longer eligible to use cash to post bond in order to obtain pre-trial release. The SAFE-T Act prevents violent offenders and sex offenders from being able to post cash bond if a judge determines they are dangerous to the community.
Honegger’s next court hearing is scheduled for May 28 at 1:30 p.m. for preliminary hearing.
* State of Illinois…
On the eve of the anniversary marking the end of the Public Health Emergency (PHE) declarations put in place at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the State of Illinois released a playbook detailing measures the state should take to prepare for future public health emergencies as well as recommendations for future administrations that may have to navigate public health crises.
“Following a once-in-a-century event like the COVID-19 pandemic it is critical that we take the time to thoroughly study how our state responded to the emergency and seek to learn lessons that will put us in a stronger position the next time such an all-of-government response is required,” said Governor JB Pritzker.
The playbook was produced through a review of the impact of COVID-19 on Illinois residents, with a focus on health and human services outcomes; compiling lessons learned during the pandemic; and developing forward-looking recommendations to improve preparedness for future public health emergencies and non-emergency state operations.
The playbook lays out three phases of any response: establishing the response, activating the response and delivering the response. Under those headings, 14 steps the state should take are identified as it mobilizes state agencies, other branches of government, health system partners, and outside experts and stakeholders to deliver a coordinated disaster response.
The after-action report found that the strengths of the state’s response included: strong central leadership at the top, including setting out a clear vision and priorities; a data-driven approach; a focus on equity and prioritizing underserved communities in allocating resources; effective use of community relationships and public private partnerships; and effective use of executive orders that speeded up the deliver of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other resources.
The report noted that the focus on equity contributed to achieving better rates of vaccine uptake for non-white Illinoisans than non-white residents in all but one peer states.
While the report indicated that Illinois demonstrated clear strengths in the COVID-19 response, it also identified lessons learned that can improve future responses to infectious disease public health emergencies.
The key challenges that Illinois state agencies experienced at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic were: limited planning for a major infectious disease emergency that required a whole-of-government response; limitations on health and operational data infrastructure and capabilities; lack of real-time data needed to measure and respond to health equity needs and broader health impacts; variations in the effectiveness of community engagement; and depletion of the public health workforce due to attrition and a slow hiring process.
The Redneck Fishing Tournament, an annual quest to have fun while ridding the Illinois River of an invasive species, is ready for another run this summer.
The tournament, hosted by the 279 residents of Bath, takes place along the Illinois River, which forms the western border of the village. This year’s event will be Aug 1-3. Activities on the first day are dominated by a kids’ fishing tournament.
The tournament is a blend of fun and a serious mission. The fun is the festivities and the fishing. The serious part is fundraising and trying to reduce the number of copi, formerly known as Asian carp, in the Illinois River.
“Ugly fish, cold beer, good causes and great times. If you haven’t experienced the Redneck Fishing Tournament, you owe it to yourself to check it out,” said tournament organizer Nikki Gregerson.
* Tribune | Migrant mourns death of child, one of the many unaccounted for in Chicago: ‘Without money, you’re nobody’: The Venezuelan mother lost her 3-year-old — Luciana Valentina Suarez Calderon — at the end of April to a bacterial infection in Chicago. But without the $2,750 needed for a funeral, Calderon had to wait in mourning while her daughter’s body sat at the morgue for days. “I wanted people to be able to visit her body to say goodbye. If I had the money, I would have taken her out immediately,” Calderon said. “Uno sin plata no es nadie. Without money, you’re nobody.”
* Tribune | Cook County judge seals documents in highly-scrutinized case of man accused of stabbing child: Crosetti Brand, 37, who has a documented history of violence against women, is charged with murder, attempted murder and other felonies in a March attack he allegedly perpetrated just one day after he was released from prison where he was sent after threatening Jayden’s mother weeks earlier. The killing spurred grief and outrage in the community and raised questions about safeguards for domestic violence victims and the Illinois Prisoner Review Board’s handling of Brand’s release. […] “The People make this request out of concern that any publication of pretrial pleadings … may receive further media attention and may affect the Defendant’s ability to receive a fair trial,” the state’s motion to seal reads.
* WGN | Man opens up on alleged sex abuse from former Chicago priest known as ‘Father Happy Hands’: Larry Kubbins, 60, held a press conference opening up about the alleged abuse by the Rev. Daniel Mark Holihan, who died in 2016, and had a message for survivors across the world. “It’s been a weight I’ve had for almost 50 years,” Kubbins said. “They need to not be afraid to report it. I was not smart enough to listen to my mother and walked away from it.” […] The Illinois Attorney General’s Office said Holihan has 40 reported survivors.
* Sun-Times | Chicago Democratic convention leaders ready for anything, but see no echoes of 1968. ‘There is really … no comparison.’: With less than 15 weeks to go before a national spotlight descends on Chicago, Democratic National Convention leaders are swatting away comparisons to 1968 and trying to get ahead of worst-case scenarios. That includes combing through social media posts to prepare for what-ifs, trying to target disinformation, vetting 12,000 volunteers and meeting frequently with Chicago officials and police.
* Sun-Times Editorial Board | To save Greyhound bus service in Chicago, the city has to take the wheel: Yet the city — and the state — don’t seem to care about the very real possibility of Greyhound being evicted within months from its longtime Harrison Street bus terminal, as a scathing report by DePaul University’s Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development found. Other bus lines, including FlixBus (which now owns Greyhound), Barons Bus, Burlington Trailways and others, are at risk of being evicted too.
*** Cook County and Suburbs ***
* Shaw Local | McHenry former, current aldermen violated anti-harassment policy in comments about city worker: investigation: McHenry Alderman Victor Santi and former Alderman Shawn Strach violated the city’s anti-harassment and whistleblower policy for comments made about a city employee to other local officials, the city’s labor attorney has determined. […] The portion of the city’s personnel policy manual Kelly said the two violated states in part: “Although conduct may not rise to the level of unlawful harassment from a legal perspective, the city wants to protect its employees from abuse and to prevent conduct from becoming so severe or pervasive as to alter the conditions of an employee’s employment, create an abusive, intimidating or hostile working environment.”
* ABC Chicago | Wife of Lockport Township man accused in hate crime shooting de-deputized during investigation: The wife of a man accused in a hate crime shooting in the south suburbs is now under investigation too. The Cook County Sheriff’s Office said she is a correctional sergeant at the Cook County Jail. She has been de-deputized while authorities look into the case. […] Prosecutors described what had been a years-long history of animosity between the neighbors, with Shadbar frequently using racial slurs toward Robertson’s two children, who are Black. That includes on May 7, the day of the shooting.
* Sun-Times | ‘I suffered a lot’: Suburban Chicago woman claiming Zantac caused her cancer takes the stand in Cook County trial: Her suit alleges that the drug’s active ingredient, called ranitidine, turns into a cancer-causing substance called NDMA as it ages. The suit, one of thousands against the drugmakers, is the first to make it to jury trial. In December 2022, a federal judge in Florida dismissed roughly 50,000 claims because “no scientist outside this litigation” concluded the drug causes cancer.
*** Downstate ***
* BND | ‘We are in bad shape.’ East St. Louis bridge closing raises concerns in community: Residents, businesses and public officials are raising concerns about safety, impeded access to their neighborhoods and other issues due to the April closing of a bridge on 26th Street in East St. Louis. […] “It has my area blocked in and a lot of my elderly people are having problems,” said Kinnis Williams Sr., Democratic precinct committeeman for the area. “ It’s an old neighborhood, and there are a bunch of elderly people living there. They are concerned and I am concerned for them.”
* WMBD | Speaker of the House Mike Johnson to deliver keynote address at Tazewell/Peoria County GOP Lincoln Day Dinner: The groups have announced that Mike Johnson will be the keynote speaker at the annual Lincoln Day Dinner. The event will take place at Four Points by Sheraton in Peoria on June 1st. Tazewell County Republican Chairman Jim Rule tells WMBD’s “Greg and Dan” that Congressman Darin LaHood (R-Dunlap) helped bring the Speaker to central Illinois. “When we gave him the idea that this is who we wanted, he kinda looked at me cross-eyed and said ‘Really?’ And [I] said ‘yeah’.” Rule said. “So, his team and the Johnson team worked closely together, and he was able to get this done.”
* WSIL | Saluki Recruitment Tour heads to Hollywood: After the success of SIU’s takeover of Southern Illinois, Chancellor Austin A. Lane has decided to bring the tour out-of-state to Hollywood. Lane and SIU alumni will visit the hub of filmmaking in the U.S. in continued efforts to recruit more students to the school. “Whether you’re a student, alumni or fan, this is your chance to connect with the Saluki spirit in the heart of the entertainment world,” said the school.
* WCIA | New Architecture Book Features Hidden Gems In Central Illinois: The book is a collaboration between Architect Jeffery Poss and Photographer, Phillip Kalantzis-Cope. […] The book releases on May 15, 2024. The Krannert Art Museum is hosting a Book Launch event that day from 4-6pm in the main level of the East Gallery, where the authors will be present to discuss the book and available for signing.
* Sun-Times | Bears third-round pick Kiran Amegadjie won’t practice this offseason: Kiran Amegadjie, the Bears’ third-round draft pick, won’t practice this offseason as he recovers from a quad injury. The Bears expect him to be healthy in time for training camp in July, coach Matt Eberflus said before Friday’s rookie minicamp practice. The swing tackle played only four games for Yale last year before suffering the injury. The Bears expected they’d have to bring him along slowly when they picked him 75th overall last month.
*** National ***
* Crain’s | Gannett fires Michigan editor who shared staffing concerns: Sarah Leach, an editor who oversaw 15 Michigan dailies and weeklies for Gannett, has been fired for talking to an industry organization about Gannett operations.[…] In an interview with Crain’s, Leach acknowledged she was the unnamed source for that story, and was fired after the Poynter reporter, Rick Edmonds, sought comment from Gannett on why the company was stalling on its announcement to boost staffing.
* NPR Illinois | The FAFSA failure: This is usually an exciting time for students looking ahead to college. But trouble with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid means the dream of higher education could be in jeopardy for some students in need. We take a look at the impact it’s having.
* AP | Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson needs conservatorship because of mental decline, judge rules: At a hearing, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Gus T. May approved the petition filed by the 81-year-old Wilson’s family and inner circle after the death in January of his wife, Melinda Ledbetter Wilson, who handled most of his tasks and affairs. “I find from clear and convincing evidence that a conservatorship of the person is necessary,” May said at the brief hearing. The judge said that evidence shows that Wilson consents to the arrangement and lacks the capacity to make health care decisions.
The publisher of a chain of Republican-favoring newspapers derided as “pink slime” has agreed to remove specific street addresses and birthdates for “hundreds of thousands” of Illinois voters after being sued by Democratic Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul.
Both Raoul’s office and Lake Forest-based Local Government Information Services agreed to an order from a Lake County judge that the sensitive information be removed from the company’s nearly three dozen online platforms by 5 p.m. Monday.
The order signed by Lake County Circuit Judge Daniel L. Jasica also bars the company from publishing that material while Raoul’s newly filed lawsuit wends its way through court. […]
State election law permits political committees to obtain information about voters but stipulates that it “be used only for bona fide political purposes” and not for “commercial solicitation or other business purposes.” Violation of that provision is a felony.
Proft did not respond to a query from WBEZ. LGIS’s president, Brian Timpone, could not be reached for comment.
[On Thursday, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson] held a meet-and-greet with lawmakers and labor leaders at the American Federation of Labor & Congress of Industrial Organizations, or AFL-CIO, Illinois headquarters. […]
The mayor also joined with labor leaders in advocating for a new Bears stadium in Chicago, which would provide many new jobs.
“The problem that we have is we have a 100-year-old building that is owed hundreds of millions of dollars in debt. And it doesn’t have real public access, public benefit or for public use,” Johnson said.
* The Question: Now that the stadium plan the mayor negotiated with the Chicago Bears has been declared a “non-starter,” do you think the Bears will use that as an excuse to move to Arlington Heights? And, if so, who gets the blame? Explain.
Volkswagen filed a federal lawsuit in December [of 2022] describing a bill that overwhelmingly passed both Illinois legislative chambers and was signed into law in 2021 as “crony capitalism at work: redistributive legislation that takes hundreds of millions of dollars from some (but not all) motor vehicle manufacturers and, for no public purpose, deposits that money directly into the pockets of politically favored Illinois [car] dealers.” The automaker claims the law is costing it an extra $10 million a year.
The bill in question (HB3940) was hotly opposed by automotive manufacturers. The law forces manufacturers to reimburse car dealers at a much higher rate (the auto industry says it’s a 50% higher rate) for warranty repairs. The bill came about after a labor dispute between dealerships and a mechanics union. They apparently decided to let the carmakers pay to resolve their monetary dispute, although the mechanics ended up on strike anyway because the dealers allegedly kept the new windfall initially instead of passing it through.
Just about every state legislator has multiple auto dealers in their districts, and Democrats have been eagerly allying themselves ever closer with organized labor in past years, so the bill hit a sweet spot with both parties and cleared the House 85-24 and then passed the Senate without a single dissenting vote a few weeks later.
The manufacturers say the law is costing the industry $240 million a year. Yes, you read that right. $240 million. Per year. They claim Illinois has the highest warranty repair costs in the nation. By far.
Volkswagen Group of America, the stateside subsidiary of German auto giant Volkswagen, lost its year-and-a-half old lawsuit against the Illinois state government on Monday after a federal judge in Chicago decided it failed to properly state some of its claims and lacked standing to pursue others. […]
Deflating Volkswagen’s equal protection claim, [U.S. District Judge John Tharp Jr.] concluded newer electric vehicle manufacturers like Tesla, Lucid and Rivian are not bound by the Motor Vehicle Franchise Act or Multiplier Act amendment in the same way as the older company — in part because the younger businesses don’t make use of a traditional network of franchise dealerships like Volkswagen has for decades. […]
Tharp ruled that Volkswagen lacks standing to bring its First Amendment claims. He found the Multiplier Act doesn’t prohibit the company from raising prices in Illinois to cover its new expenses, nor does the law bar Volkswagen from telling customers that the Multiplier Act is the reason for the increased prices.
After an extensive Illinois State Police (ISP) investigation into a bomb threat at two state facilities in Springfield last month, 23-year-old Gabrielle Williams was taken into custody yesterday, May 9, 2024.
On April 22, 2024, the Illinois Department of Human services received a call from an individual saying a bomb had been installed at a public aid office building and the Illinois State Capitol. This threat was relayed to the ISP Statewide Terrorism and Intelligence Center, which implemented the State Agency Facility and Employee (SAFE) Threat Protocol. The Secretary of State (SOS) Capitol Police and its Hazardous Device Unit quickly cleared the grounds of the Capitol, while ISP and the Springfield Police Department secured the other state facility until the SOS Hazardous Device Unit could clear that building. The SAFE Threat Protocol also triggered an investigation by ISP special agents. Using cellular information and conducting interviews, ISP special agents were able to identify and locate the suspect.
“ISP took immediate action upon receiving information about this bomb threat and implemented our SAFE Threat Protocol,” said ISP Director Brendan F. Kelly. “Deploying ISP resources as quickly as possible allows our special agents to track down crucial information, identify suspects, and make arrests. ISP and our law enforcement partners in Springfield take every threat seriously and will track down and arrest those responsible for this criminal conduct.”
The SAFE Threat Protocol has three main objectives:
- capture, assess, and route threat information
- investigate threats towards state employees, offices, and executives
- maintain a comprehensive understanding of the material reported and outcomes
“I want to thank our Secretary of State Police, Illinois State Police, and Springfield Police for collaborating on this investigation and making an arrest,” said Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias. “We take the security of the Capitol Complex and the safety of its employees, public officials, and visitors extremely seriously. We will never tolerate threats of violence and will do everything within our power to hold those responsible and accountable for their actions.”
Williams is being held in the Sangamon County Jail pending a pre-trial detention hearing. A Clear and Present Danger report has been submitted to the ISP Office of Firearm Safety. A Clear and Present Danger report is filed when a person poses a threat to themselves or others. When ISP affirms a clear and present danger determination, if a person has a Firearms Owner Identification Card or an application for one, it will be revoked or denied.
ISP thanks the various local, state, and federal law enforcement partners, including the U.S. Marshals Service, who assisted during the investigation and arrest of Williams.
Williams has been cited for Class 4 felony disorderly conduct for making a false bomb threat. If convicted, Williams faces between 1-3 years in prison and a fine of up to $25,000. The offense is probationable.
Mugshot…
Willams was arrested last year on a retail theft charge.
Friday, May 10, 2024 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
The price-setting board proposed in HB4472 is not the solution for Illinois. It would give bureaucrats the power to arbitrarily set medicine prices, deciding what medicines and treatments are “worth” paying for. We can’t leave Illinoisans’ health care up to political whims. Let’s make it easier, not harder for patients to access their medicines. Click here to learn more.
* Some news media outlets are still reporting that Mayor Brandon Johnson lobbied the governor and legislative leaders for a billion dollars in additional school funding. From Tina Sfondeles’ report yesterday…
Democrats were prepared to talk to Johnson about his Monday reference to $1 billion owed to Chicago Public Schools due to years of underfunding under the state’s school funding formula — but the issue wasn’t even broached during a nearly 30-minute meeting with the governor.
* But the CTU is coming to town next week along with CPS, and they will try to talk to legislators about the $1 billion demand. Ben Bradley…
Chicago Public Schools leaders are giving more than 600 teachers and staff members a paid day-off so they can go to Springfield to lobby lawmakers for more money.
A CPS spokesperson confirmed it’s working in conjunction with the Chicago Teachers Union on the legislative push just as the two sides begin contract negotiations. Schools CEO Pedro Martinez and board of education president Jianan Shi will also take part in the lobbying day on May 15. […]
“Chicago Public Schools is committed to standing alongside Chicago Teachers Union and other organizations to advocate for our fair share of funding from the State of Illinois,” a school district spokesperson said in an emailed statement to WGN. “While we are grateful for increased funding in this year’s budget at the state level, we continue to be uniquely disadvantaged by several funding inequities when it comes to pensions, capital projects, and the State’s own Evidence-Based Formula.”
* Mayor Johnson was asked by reporters this week whether Chicago was trying to jump the line ahead of other school districts with this $1 billion demand…
No, I’m not saying that. I’m saying that the state of Illinois has the funding formula that we all follow to ensure that there’s equity. But this is not a zero sum game. There’s more than enough for everyone. This is about equity. And so what the students need in Cairo, in Tamms, Illinois, or Waukegan, or in East St. Louis, or Rockford. Those students need it, Chicago as well. This is an opportunity for us to do right by the people of Illinois. Chicago being obviously the economic engine of the state. This is not about a line. This is not about a line. It’s not about what you get and what you don’t get. This about what we all deserve.
As you have seen by now, CPS leadership has rolled out school budgets across the district, including cuts to schools and staff across the city. These budgets won’t create the schools our students deserve. As CTU members, we have been consistently clear that the state isn’t fully funding its own equity formula, underfunding CPS by more than $1 billion each year. We need Governor Pritzker and our state legislators to fully fund all Illinois schools, including Chicago Public schools.
If we’re going to get what we need, we must push for it. We need you to come to Springfield with us next Wednesday, May 15, to advocate for more school funding.
It will be an exciting and important day.
We’ll talk with your legislators about the need for real investments in our schools. They need to hear directly from you about how the lack of sufficient school funding impacts your students. And, a large presence of red shirts at the capitol will tell the Governor and our Springfield lawmakers that they must support our students and fully fund our schools.
CTU will provide transportation and lunch for the day. We’ll leave from the CTU Center, 1901 W. Carroll Ave. Please arrive by 6:30 a.m. for a departure of no later than 7 a.m. We’ll arrive at the State Capitol around 10:30 a.m. and head back to Chicago around 2 p.m.
CTU members will be eligible for a release day to attend this important effort to advocate for our schools and our students. The time and effort you will spend making this trip to Springfield is an important investment in your work and our students and families’ futures.
We have an opportunity this year to transform our schools like never before. We have presented CPS with transformative contract proposals that would provide every child, in every school, in every neighborhood with a better, fuller school day. More arts programming, bilingual supports, a librarian and a library in every school, and healthy, green schools are among the items we are beginning to negotiate with CPS.
But we won’t be able to truly transform our schools without additional funding for CPS. That’s why your presence in Springfield next week is so critical.
Can we count on you to help us secure the investments we need to create the schools we deserve?
Friday, May 10, 2024 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Illinois could become the first state to eliminate prior authorization for mental health care, which would put “patients before profits,” said A.J. Wilhelmi, President and CEO of the Illinois Health and Hospital Association (IHA).
IHA and the Illinois hospital community strongly support Gov. JB Pritzker’s legislation to reform predatory health insurance practices and protect patients. The Healthcare Protection Act (HB 5395) would address a top challenge for hospitals in “delivering timely and appropriate healthcare, especially when it comes to critically important mental health services,” Wilhelmi said.
The Governor’s legislation would prohibit prior authorization for inpatient mental health admissions for the first 72 hours. This change would ensure patients receive the specialized mental healthcare they need and deserve.
Wilhelmi noted the “bill that would ensure healthcare professionals are the ones making final decisions when it comes to their patients’ medical care, not insurance bureaucrats,” adding that insurance companies use prior authorization to benefit their bottom line at the expense of the patient.
IHA urges passage of HB 5395 and passage of legislation that addresses the same issues with Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs), which deny coverage requests at twice the rate of Medicare. Support HB 4977 and SB 3372.
A Chicago mother, Suzy Flack has recorded a Mother’s Day video to urge legislators in Illinois to pass medical aid-in-dying legislation as quickly as possible to honor her only son, Andrew ‘Drew’ Flack, who died from cancer.
The video comes as Illinois legislators consider the End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act (SB 3499) which would allow mentally capable, terminally ill adults with six months or less to live the option to request a prescription for medication that they could decide to take to die peacefully. To see the video, click here.
Andrew was a special education teacher and an avid hockey player who spent his last months of life advocating for medical aid in dying in his home state of Illinois by recording a video for Compassion & Choices and through his blog and podcast. Fortunately, he had moved from Illinois to California before he became ill, so Andrew had the option to use California’s End of Life Option Actto die peacefully. Andrew died on November 16, 2022. He was only 34 years old.
“That option was so comforting to Drew,” Suzy says in the video. “Even m ore than death itself, he feared that his body would just deteriorate to the point where he had no quality of life.”
For two years, Andrew endured numerous rounds of chemotherapy, radiation and surgery after he was diagnosed in 2017 with stage III colorectal cancer. Unfortunately, the painful treatments did nothing to cure the cancer. In December 2020, doctors told Andrew his cancer was terminal.
“When Drew found out [he] was terminal…I asked him, [I] actually pleaded, please come back home.” Suzy says in the video. “It was a hardcore ‘no,’ because Illinois did not offer the option of medical aid and dying.“
This majority spans the demographic, political, racial, and religious spectrums, including 87% of Democratic voters, 86% of Latino voters, 73% of voters living with disabilities, 69% of Independent, African American/Black, White, and Catholic voters, 58% of non-Catholic Christians and 50% of Republican voters. In contrast, fewer than one in five Illinois voters (17%) oppose medical aid in dying.
“The way he died and the peacefulness of it,” she said. “That is something I will be carrying around forever.”
Suzy recalled that evening of November 16, 2022, when Drew took the medication, surrounded by his loved ones, including Jaxson, his roommate’s dog. She said a nurse mixed the medication and gave Andrew a spoon with raspberry sorbet.
“Within two minutes, he was snoring, and my ex-husband looked over at me…we both smiled, because Drew had not had a good night’s sleep for many years,” she said. “…The snoring was just music to our ears. Drew’s final words before he fell asleep were, ‘I’m happy.’”
Illinois lawmakers hope to recruit more people to the early childhood education workforce by creating a scholarship program.
The Illinois Student Assistance Commission would work with the Board of Higher Education and Illinois Community College Board to design the program and solicit feedback from an advisory committee. […]
Advocates noted that the scholarship program would be subject to state appropriations.
House Bill 5024 passed unanimously out of the House Child Care Accessibility and Early Childhood Education Committee Thursday. The proposal now heads to the House floor for further consideration.
A bill in the Illinois legislature would health insurance companies cover continuous glucose monitors (CGM) for all diabetics.
Sponsored by state Sen. Julie Morrison, D-Lake Forest, the bill is currently in the state House of Representatives after the state Senate passed it unanimously on April 10. It is a follow-up to legislation requiring insurers cover CGMs for people who have type 1 and 2 diabetes. Under the bill, all types of diabetes, including gestational diabetes, would be covered beginning Jan. 1 2026.
“As family physicians, we strongly support improved access to care for our patients. For diabetic patients, using CGMs has been shown to improve blood-glucose control even in the absence of other interventions,” said Illinois Academy of Family Physicians President Dr. Emma Daisy.
The bill would also require insurance companies cover CGMs prescribed all doctors and nurse practitioners not only endocrinologists.
Cancer patients in Illinois may soon be guaranteed insurance coverage for their wigs.
The Illinois House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill Thursday requiring insurers cover wigs and scalp prostheses for people who lose their hair due to radiation or chemotherapy or due to a hair-loss condition like alopecia. Starting Jan. 1, 2026, insurers will be required to cover at least one wig or scalp prosthesis every 12 months.
“It will give women empowerment to feel better about themselves knowing they can get a hairpiece and wigs are expensive,” said state Rep. Yolanda Morris, D-Chicago, the bill’s House sponsor.
The bill now heads to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk. The state Senate passed the bill unanimously April 12.
* Sen. Paul Faraci…
State Senator Paul Faraci advanced legislation to extend the Energy Assistance Act, which provides low-income households with financial assistance on utility bills. […]
Faraci’s measure would eliminate the scheduled sunset date on a state fund that finances two needs-based assistance programs – the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and the Percentage of Income Payment Plan (PIPP). The fund was set to shut down Jan. 1, 2025.
LIHEAP and PIPP offer bill payment assistance to low-income residential utility customers by helping eligible households pay for home energy services. Both assistance programs are administered by the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity. […]
House Bill 4471 passed the Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee on Thursday and advances to the full Senate for consideration.
About 130 state residents journeyed to the Illinois State House May 8 to lobby legislators for an easier name-change process, a grant-making program helping schools with sex education and other measures aimed at supporting the LGBTQ+ community. […]
Among Equality Illinois’s agenda items is Senate Bill 2930, which requires nonprofits that report grants of $1 million or more to other charitable organizations to disclose diversity information about their boards on their websites. […]
Equality Illinois is also pushing two house bills aimed at making it easier for transgender people to update personal documents to better reflect their gender identities, Ziri said.
House Bill 5164 modernizes the state’s name-change process by allowing name-change records to be impounded and removing the requirement that people publish their name change in a newspaper.
The other measure, House Bill 5507, allows Illinois residents to request documentation from a state judge that they could use to update birth certificates held by another state or country.
Both bills have already passed the Illinois House of Representatives.
* ICYMI: Measure to create new state agency for childhood services now on Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s desk. Tribune…
- The new agency would be an umbrella for early intervention for children with disabilities and developmental delays from the Department of Human Services; preschool programs overseen by the Illinois State Board of Education; and day care licensing responsibilities handled by DCFS.
- The Senate passed the bill in a 56-0 vote.
- The bill is part of Pritzker’s suite of initiatives aimed at enhancing early childhood services in Illinois. The governor has also pushed for greater preschool funding.
* Sun-Times | Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline deluged with calls, hindered by lack of shelter beds: According to the report, the Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline saw a 90% increase in calls, texts and messages in 2023, compared to pre-pandemic levels. […] The network, which operates the state’s hotline, reported 47,349 contacts made in 2023 — up 27% from 2022 and 90% from 2019. The National Domestic Violence Hotline has not yet released its data for 2023, but it too reported a “historic high” in 2022, with more than 2,000 calls, chats, and texts received per day.
* WBEZ | Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul sues company for publishing voters’ personal data: A publishing company whose politically slanted newspapers have been derided as “pink slime” is being sued by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul for illegally identifying birthdates and home addresses of “hundreds of thousands” of voters. Raoul’s legal move against Local Government Information Services accuses the company of publishing sensitive personal data that could subject voters across Illinois to identity theft.
* WGN | CPS to let teachers skip school to lobby lawmakers for more money: hicago Public Schools leaders are giving more than 600 teachers and staff members a paid day-off so they can go to Springfield to lobby lawmakers for more money. A CPS spokesperson confirmed it’s working in conjunction with the Chicago Teachers Union on the legislative push just as the two sides begin contract negotiations. Schools CEO Pedro Martinez and board of education president Jianan Shi will also take part in the lobbying day on May 15.
* WICS | Educators react to legislation aiming to address the teacher shortage: Quincy Public Schools superintendent Todd Pettit said this bill would help those who may have test anxiety because it is a difficult exam to pass. However, he’s unsure if it would help with the shortage in the long run. “Will that assist us with, you know, teacher recruitment and retention? Of course, more people that are in the pool of applicants, that [would] certainly assist us in filling those open positions. But I think that would remain to be seen,” Pettit said.
*** Chicago ***
* South Side Weekly | Many School Districts Have Reformed or Removed Police Since 2020: Starting fall of 2024, there will no longer be any police working as school resource officers (SROs) in CPS. The new policy, passed by the Board of Education in February, is aligned with a significant number of other school districts. According to a report from the advocacy nonprofit Chicago Justice Project, 10 percent of the nation’s largest school districts have reduced the number of police in schools since 2020, and another 27 percent have removed police completely.
* Sun-Times | The ups and downs of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s roller coaster first year: In an interview with the Sun-Times and WBEZ, Johnson reflected on his “remarkable journey” to the mayor’s office and the very “different trajectory” he followed to get there. He’s proud of fulfilling so many items on his progressive to-do list and described a year of accomplishments tempered by impatience. “There are frustrating moments that I do have where you … just wish you could address everything at the same time,” Johnson said. “That’s just unfortunately not where we are — just because the damage has been so severe and it has been so widespread,” especially in “historically marginalized” communities.
* Sun-Times | Crooked Bridgeport bank was ‘a rat’s nest,’ judge says, sentences ex-board member to year and a day in prison: George Kozdemba, a retired manager for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, spent 20 years on the board of Washington Federal Bank for Savings until regulators shut it down in December 2017 because it was being looted by its president, CEO and board chairman, John Gembara. He was found dead days before the bank closed. “I can’t minimize the significance of the criminal activity that caused that bank collapse,” U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall told Kozdemba as she ordered him to spend a year and a day in prison and pay a $25,000 fine.
* Sun-Times | Pedal mettle? Bicycling in Chicago doubled in 5 years, but bikers still worry about safety: Biking is up 119% between the fall of 2019 and the spring of 2023, the study showed. That’s the largest jump in any of the country’s 10 largest cities. […] “Imagine how many more people would be biking if it was safer,” said Christina Whitehouse, founder of the bicycle safety advocacy group Bike Lane Uprising.
*** Cook County and Suburbs ***
* Sun-Times | Secret Service building secret Democratic convention communications center in southern suburb: Why so far from the main convention locations of the Loop, where the delegates are booked in eight hotels; the McCormick Place complex, the site of daytime meetings and press briefings; and the United Center, where President Joe Biden will be nominated for a second term? It’s called, in law enforcement lingo, “being off the X.” “The X is the event,” Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told the Chicago Sun-Times about the location. “You want to be far enough away from the event so that if something were to occur it doesn’t affect your ability to command and control your response.”
* My Stateline | Northern lights possible across northern Illinois this weekend: These blasts of electrically charged particles help make the northern lights visible from the poles to as far south as the mid-latitudes. A few of these CMEs in particular were ejected into space hours after the other, hence why the Space Weather Prediction Center issued a G4 geomagnetic storm watch for tonight and Saturday morning. […] Again, with each opportunity to view the northern lights comes a few uncertainties. The first of course being the timing in which the solar storm impacts the the Earth’s atmosphere.
*** Downstate ***
* SJ-R | Springfield urgent care clinic transitioning to SIU Medicine. Here’s what to know: The care previously provided at Memorial Care on North Dirksen Parkway will move to a federally qualified health center administered by SIU Medicine at 3220 Atlanta Street on the north side. The change will impact urgent care employees at the North Dirksen clinic, who have been offered the option to transfer employment to SIU Medicine or move to another Memorial Care location.
