Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrived at a CPS elementary school in Back of the Yards Friday but were turned away by school administrators, CPS officials said.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials arrived at Hamline Elementary School, 1548 W. 48th St., Friday morning, Chicago Public School officials said. The principal said school administrators followed protocols and did not allow the agents inside the school, according to officials.
Students and staff inside the school were safe, officials said.
“They kept the ICE agents outside of the school and contacted CPS’ Law Department and CPS’ Office of Safety and Security for further guidance,” CPS spokesperson Mary Ann Fergus said in an emailed statement.
* Fox Chicago Political Correspondent Paris Schutz…
CPS Chief Pedro Martinez on MSNBC - network reports that ICE is denying they showed up at Back of the Yards school…Martinez says they showed their credentials to staff
A downstate Republican lawmaker is urging Illinois prison employees to secretly send her information on undocumented immigrants who are behind bars so she can pass the information on to federal immigration authorities, raising concerns from a civil liberties group that she’s encouraging the workers to circumvent the state’s sanctuary law.
“If you are (Illinois Department of Corrections) staff who wants ICE to know of an illegal immigrant in IDOC call or message me,” state Sen. Terri Bryant of Murphysboro wrote in posts on X earlier this week. “I won’t rat you out. I will notify ICE.” […]
On Wednesday night, Bryant wrote three posts on X that include what appears to be an IDOC internal order telling state prison workers not to assist federal authorities in any immigration enforcement against people incarcerated in the state prison system.
Under the 2017 Trust Act, law enforcement in Illinois, including IDOC corrections officers, are generally barred from assisting federal law enforcement in immigration matters. But Bryant said in her posts that if IDOC employees confide in her about undocumented prison inmates, she will bring the information to the feds without revealing her source.
Today, Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) announced the addition of 5,150 publicly funded preschool seats as the result of the fiscal year 2025 Early Childhood Block Grants. The grants mark the second year of Governor JB Pritzker’s Smart Start Illinois plan, which aims to expand access to early childhood education by increasing the number of preschool seats available to working families. A total of 11,000 seats have been added under Governor Pritzker’s leadership.
“This is another historic step forward for early childhood education in Illinois, bringing us 5,150 seats closer to our goal of Universal Pre-K,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Every Illinois child deserves our full investment starting in their earliest years. Smart Start Illinois will put our children on the path to growth and opportunity while making our communities stronger, healthier, and more connected.” […]
Gov. Pritzker’s Smart Start Illinois initiative, which was launched in FY 2024, aims to eliminate gaps in access to preschool by expanding high-quality, publicly funded preschool programs to serve at least 80% of all low-income 3- and 4-year-olds in every community across Illinois. […]
The initiative prioritizes awarding funding to grantees in identified preschool deserts. The FY 2025 Early Childhood Block Grants awarded $32.2 million to 91 grantees administering half-day Preschool for All (PFA) and full-day Preschool for All Expansion (PFAE) programs, as well as Prevention Initiative services, which provide children aged 0-3 and their families with comprehensive support services.
Early Childhood Block Grants in FY 2025 include:
- Preschool for All: A total of $15.63 million awarded to 51 programs to serve 4,008 additional children.
- Preschool for All Expansion: A total of $9.70 million awarded to 25 programs to serve 1,142 additional children.
- Prevention Initiative: A total of $6.85 million awarded to 15 programs to serve 512 additional children.
*** Statehouse News ***
* WAND | Illinois lawmakers look to ban cancerous forever chemicals from household items: Illinois lawmakers have a new bill that would ban all use of forever chemicals in cookware, cosmetics such as makeup, dental floss, child products like pacifiers, underwear, menstrual products and food packaging. State Sen. Julie Morrison (D-Highland Park) said this is this the right time to raise awareness and start restricting the chemicals widespread use.
* Capitol News Illinois | Republican picked to chair Illinois House veterans committee ‘overwhelmed with emotions’: “And I said ‘sir, I’d be honored. I’d be honored to do that. I’d be honored to serve as chairman of the Veterans committee, serving Illinois veterans and veterans throughout the district,’” he said. Democrats have held a majority in the Illinois House since the mid-1990s, making it rare for a member of the minority Republican Party to chair a committee. Former Rep. Don Moffitt of Galesburg chaired the House Fire Protection Committee in 2010.
*** Statewide ***
* Crain’s | Purdue, Sackler family reach new $7.4 billion opioid accord: Bankrupt Purdue Pharma LP and members of the billionaire Sackler family agreed to pay $7.4 billion to a group of US states, including Illinois, and other parties to settle long-running litigation over OxyContin’s role in the deadly opioid epidemic. Illinois is slated to receive as much as $154 million from the settlement, according to state Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office.
*** Chicago ***
* Bloomberg | Chicago schools to take $400M advance from revolving credit: The Chicago Board of Education tapped $400 million from its short-term revolving credit agreements with Bank of America and PNC Bank. The amount drawn on Jan. 8 exceeded the $100 million draw down taken just a year ago, according to bond filings. It comes as the fourth-largest US public school district faces escalating fiscal pressures with federal pandemic aid coming to an end, underfunded pensions and rising labor costs.
* Block Club | Bally’s Chicago Wants Women, Minorities To Invest In New Casino — But Is It A Safe Bet?: But with bids due Jan. 31, financial experts are offering this advice for consumers: Don’t invest more than what you can afford to lose, because if the casino is never built or goes out of business, you’ll lose it all. […] “To say this will guarantee generational wealth building I think is a strong statement,” said William Towns, a professor of social impact at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and managing director of Chi-Town Impact, a private equity fund. “Could it possibly lead to that? Yes, it could, but there’s some big caveats there.”
* Bloomberg | Billionaire Crown dynasty revamps leadership after death: One of Chicago’s wealthiest families has named new leaders and appointed a board for the dynasty’s business after the death of Jim Crown at a racetrack accident in 2023. Bill Crown, Jim’s first cousin, will replace him as president and chief executive officer of Henry Crown & Co., according to a statement released on Friday. Jim’s brother Steve Crown will serve as executive chairman of a board of directors that will have five members.
* Sun-Times | Homeless tent camp to be removed from Gompers Park on Northwest Side: Ald. Samantha Nugent (39th) said in a letter to residents Thursday night that the city agreed to begin a process called an “accelerated moving event” that potentially will place people now living in tents at Gompers into shelters. The process begins the week of Feb. 24, Nugent said. An actual closure can take weeks. Once a decision to close is made, those living in the tents will be given a choice to move into a shelter with city assistance or to leave the park.
*** Cook County and Suburbs ***
* Lake County News-Sun | Illinois Supreme Court clears way for permanent Waukegan casino: Work on the permanent American Place Resort and Casino in Waukegan, which has been on hold since August of 2023, can resume after the Illinois Supreme Court put an end to litigation to which casino owner Full House Resorts was never a party. As soon as Alex Stolyar, Full House’s senior vice president and chief development officer, learned of the court decision, he said in a text work on the permanent facility will restart as the company’s temporary American Place casino continues to operate on the permanent site.
* Daily Herald | Aurora announces plan for sports complexes, housing near mall: An indoor sports complex and an e-sports facility will be built on 50 acres of city-owned land near the Chicago Premium Outlets mall, Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin announced Friday. The development could also include other uses, including housing, Irvin said before revealing the companies selected to bring the vision to fruition.
*** Downstate ***
* TSPR | WIU announces nearly 90 administrative furloughs: Zach Messersmith, WIU Director of Governmental Relations, told TSPR that 89 employees are included in the furlough program, which will save the university nearly $500,000. Employees will not be allowed to work, receive regular pay, or report hours worked during their furlough days.
* WSIL | Chief Stan Reno accepts Carbondale City Manager position: Stan Reno has accepted a conditional offer for the Carbondale City Manager position. Reno is the current Interim City Manger and the Chief of Police in Carbondale. Reno will take on the City Manager position upon final approval of an employment agreement by the Carbondale City Council. As this transition is completed, Reno will appoint an Acting Chief of Police for the Carbondale Police Department. There will be a nationwide search for the Chief of Police position.
*** National ***
* WBEZ | Research contradicts public-safety rationale for Trump’s crackdown on immigrants and sanctuary cities: Benjamin Gonzalez O’Brien: Nationally, violent crime rates have been trending down and are now back to pre-pandemic levels. And while crime rates vary from city to city, state to state, there is no evidence that an increase in the undocumented population actually leads to an increase in crime. Research has found that immigrants, both documented and undocumented, actually offend at lower rates than the native-born population, including when it comes to violent crime.
* WaPo | Trump immigration raids alarm cities, but ICE arrests fewer than in 2017: The White House said immigration agents have arrested 538 undocumented immigrants and deported “hundreds” more. Those numbers are relatively modest for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement surge operations — a possible indication that the Trump administration’s show of force has so far outpaced the government’s capacity to deliver on the president’s lofty goals.
* The Daily Beast | Mayor Rages as U.S. Military Vet Nabbed in Trump’s Much-Hyped ICE Raids: About 10 or 12 ICE agents raided a Newark, New Jersey, seafood wholesaler and restaurant on Thursday and arrested three people, including the Puerto Rican warehouse manager, Ocean Food Depot owner Luis Janota told PIX11 news. Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens. […] The ICE officers also didn’t have a warrant, in “plain violation” of the Fourth Amendment, Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka said in a statement. “One of the detainees is a U.S. military veteran who suffered the indignity of having the legitimacy of his military documentation questioned,” he said. “Newark will not stand by idly while people are being unlawfully terrorized.”
* NBC | Experts saw Samoa’s plunging vaccination rates as a crisis. RFK Jr. saw an opportunity: Months after Kennedy’s visit, the question of what would happen to Samoa’s unvaccinated babies was answered. A measles outbreak swept the country, sickening thousands and killing 83, mostly small children. As measles raged, Kennedy stayed connected to the island, writing to the prime minister to raise concerns about the vaccine and providing medical guidance to a local anti-vaccine activist who posted false claims about the vaccination campaign and promoted unproven alternative cures.
Many Illinois residents believe their abortion rights and access are “Trump proof,” thanks to many years of legislative victories in Springfield. It’s true that Springfield has put important protections into place in recent years, such as the Reproductive Health Act, the expansion of Medicaid and private insurance coverage for abortion care, and protections for patients and providers from criminalization. But the scary truth is, our rights remain at risk with Donald Trump in the White House with control over the Supreme Court and both the House and Senate. […]
First, contrary to talk on the campaign trail, President Trump wouldn’t need to sign a nationwide abortion ban to meaningfully restrict access — including in Illinois. His cabinet can do the “dirty work” for him. One of the many ways Trump could enact a national ban is by directing the Department of Justice to enforce an obscure existing law called the Comstock Act, passed in 1873, that could drastically restrict access to the tools needed to provide abortions and other pregnancy care. That could include mifepristone, one of two drugs used in medication abortions and miscarriage management, and it could also even affect access to standard medical supplies used for all types of procedures.
Second, despite increased abortion bans around the country, more people are accessing abortion since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade. One factor for the increase is the FDA’s updated 2021 guidance allowing medication abortion via telehealth. Trump could direct the FDA to rescind that guidance in addition to removing other regulations on medication abortion, or he can revoke approval of medication abortion drugs entirely. Nearly two-thirds of abortions provided in the American health care system are medication abortions.
• The Comstock Act – an 1873 anti-vice law banning the mailing of obscene matter and articles used to produce abortion – could be used by a future presidential administration opposed to abortion rights to sharply restrict abortion nationwide. A literal interpretation of the Act could potentially also apply to materials used to produce all abortions, not just medication abortions; would not have exceptions; and could affect other medical care, such as miscarriage management.
• The Biden Administration’s Department of Justice has determined the Comstock Act only applies when the sender intends for the material or drug to be used for an illegal abortion, and because there are legal uses of abortion drugs in every state including to save the life of the pregnant person, there is no way to determine the intent of the sender. This interpretation, however, is not binding on future administrations.
• Anti-abortion organizations have asked federal courts to interpret the Comstock Act as a ban on the mailing and distribution of mifepristone– one of two drugs in the medication abortion regimen. While former President Trump has not publicly endorsed the enforcement of the Comstock Act, enforcement of the law has been outlined as a strategy recommended by conservative and anti-abortion leadership and may emerge as a key issue in the 2024 presidential election.
Meteorologists at 27 local TV news stations are facing uncertainty about their jobs after Allen Media Group announced a new local weather initiative with The Weather Channel.
The group, which owns TV stations in 21 markets across the country, said Saturday it is rolling out a new format for weather coverage that will have “additional visual storytelling capabilities” across its stations in 2025. […]
The plan involves meteorologists at The Weather Channel in Atlanta producing content for local stations across the country. The team under the new initiative will be led by Carl Parker, a meteorologist at The Weather Channel, and include some meteorologists from local TV stations moving to Atlanta, the media group said in a statement.
* WTHI-Indiana meteorologists Patrece Dayton and Kevin Orpurt announced their layoffs last week with a tearful goodbye…
* Yesterday The Desk, a tech and business publication, reported Allen Media reversed its decision to lay the local meteorologists off, at least partly…
Allen Media Group has reversed some of its plans to lay off more than 100 local television meteorologists and outsource regional weather forecasts to its production facilities in Atlanta, The Desk has learned. […]
The overwhelming majority of Allen Media’s TV forecasters were to be laid off as part of the plans, and some meteorologists had already received pink slips. […]
“After receiving significant feedback across various markets, Allen Media has decided to pause and reconsider the strategy of providing local weather from the Weather Channel in Atlanta,” a sales manager at one of the Allen Media stations told The Desk by e-mail.
Less clear is whether Allen Media intends to hire back some meteorologists who were already laid off before the plans were announced. A spokesperson for Allen Media declined to comment when reached by The Desk on Thursday.
The company is still moving forward with plans to build a regional production hub out of the Atlanta studios of The Weather Channel, which Allen Media fully acquired last year.
A few stations (WSIL, WAAY) have announced they will be keeping their meteorologists.
* WREX Rockford was one of the of the stations facing layoffs. I spoke with Congressman Eric Sorensen, former Chief Meteorologist at WREX for his reaction early this morning…
Sorensen: I worry that this is going to be something that these big corporations are going to consider in the future. As you know, the big corporations are, they’re working for the shareholder and not for the consumer of the product. And so they are going to look for ways to cut costs, you know, at any price.
And I saw that in my career, in my 22-year career as a broadcast meteorologist, to see the TV stations that I worked for, they would cut positions and not replace people. Instead of having 100 people working in a newsroom, you had 50, and then you had 20, and then you had 10.
And it concerns me because as we look forward, if we don’t have these trusted sources for information, then it’s just going to open us up to risk of people who, who don’t have a degree in meteorology, people who don’t have journalistic ethics could lead us in our communities astray.
Isabel: What was your reaction when you heard this news?
Sorensen: My first thought when I heard that the TV station that I watched when I was a kid, WREX Rockford, Illinois. As a kid, I watched Eric Nefstead do the news. He did the weather. He talked with me and got me through the fear of weather to the point where I wanted to emulate him. I wanted to be him. That TV station was -that allowed me to create a dream in my head as a small child, and I wanted to be a meteorologist.
And so I strived through school to become a meteorologist. I worked in Texas for five years, and then I had a call, Eric, do you want this job at WREX? And I said, yes, absolutely. And so I got to work at the same TV station that that the person that guided me as a child. I worked there.
It was a little bit of a gut punch, because I left WREX in 2014 when I moved to Moline, Illinois, and WREX had the same chief meteorologist since the person that replaced me is still working there as the chief meteorologist, Alex Kirschner. And so it hit me like a gut punch when I heard that this corporation was considering getting rid of all of their meteorologists. And I thought, wait a minute, does that mean I’m the second to last chief meteorologist WREX will ever have? How close was I to not achieving my own dream? And so it was personal to me. And I thought to myself, you know, my community, my hometown, deserves better than that.
WREX has yet to issue a statement about whether its meteorologists have been spared. I’ve reached out to the station’s lead meteorologist. I’ll update with any response.
* The Illinois General Assembly’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability is out with a new report entitled “2024 Illinois’ National Rankings - A State-by-State Comparison of Tax Rates, Tax Revenues, Government Spending, and Employment Trends.” Let’s take a quick look at the categories, but the whole thing is worth a read…
Category 1: State Government Tax Revenue
On a per-capita basis, Illinois ranked 13th in the nation with an amount of $5,019 per capita. Illinois’ value was higher than the national per-capita rate of $4,275.
Category 2: State Government Individual Income Tax Revenue
On a per-capita basis, Illinois ranked 16th. Illinois’ per-capita rate of $1,738 was above the national average of $1,412, but remains well below the 1st ranked state in this category, Oregon, at $3,136 per capita.
Category 3: State Government Corporation Net Income Tax Revenue
On a per-capita basis, Illinois ranked 6th with a per-capita rate of $786, notably higher than the national per-capita rate of $427. Illinois’ per-capita value was the highest in the Midwest Region.
Category 4: State Government General Sales Tax Revenue
On a per-capita basis, Illinois ranked 31st in the nation with a value of $1,235, which was below the national average per-capita value of $1,375. As shown in Table 7 below, in the Midwest Region, only Missouri (44th) ranked lower than Illinois on a per-capita basis.
Category 5: State Government Tobacco Product Sales Tax Revenue
On a per-capita basis, Illinois ranked 19th with a value of $63 per capita. New Hampshire is the highest-ranked state on a per-capita basis with a value of $155.
Category 6: State Government Alcoholic Beverage Sales Tax Revenue
On a per-capita basis, Illinois ranked 17th in the nation with a value of $25 per capita. Washington is the highest-ranked state on a per-capita basis with a value of $63 per capita.
Category 7: State Government Motor Fuel Tax Revenue
(O)n a per-capita basis, Illinois ranked 13th in the nation in 2023 with a per-capita rate of $207, which was higher than the national per-capita rate of $165. Illinois was the 4th highest ranking state on a per-capita basis in the Midwest Region.
Category 8: State Government Motor Vehicle Tax Revenue
Illinois had the 5th highest per-capita ranking in this category, collecting $180 per capita, which was well above the national per-capita value of $101. Only Iowa (ranked 1st) had a higher ranking than Illinois in the Midwest Region at $242 per capita.
Category 9: State Government Insurance Premium Tax Revenue
On a per-capita basis, Illinois ranked 47th in the nation with a value of $44, well below the national average of $97. Only Wisconsin (48th), Indiana (49th ) and Oregon (50th ) had lower per-capita rates than Illinois. Louisiana had the highest per-capita rate at $269.
Category 10: State Government Tax Revenue as a Percent of Personal Income
As shown in Table 17, Illinois ranked 15th in the nation in 2023 in the category of state government tax revenue as a percentage of personal income with a value of 7.1%. In 2023, the national average percentage was 6.2%. The highest-ranking state was New Mexico at 12.4%
Category 11: Local Government Tax Revenue
On a per-capita basis, Illinois ranked 8th at $7,672 per capita and was the highest- ranked state in the Midwest Region. New York was first at $11,186 per capita. A major reason for Illinois’ high rankings in this area is because Illinois has more units of government (over 8,0003) than any other state in the nation.
Category 12: Local Government Property Tax Revenue
On a per-capita basis, Illinois also ranked 6th and was the highest-ranked state in this category in the Midwest Region. Illinois’ per-capita rate was $2,606, which was well above the national average of $1,883.
Category 13: State and Local Government Total Expenditures
[Illinois] ranks 18th in terms of per-capita spending. … Illinois’ per-capita spending rate was $13,299, which was just above the national average rate of $12,903. Illinois had the highest amount of total expenditures in the Midwest in total dollars and on a per-capita basis.
Category 14: Elementary and Secondary Education Expenditures by State and Local Governments
On a per-capita basis, Illinois ranked 6th at $3,130 per capita, which was above the national average of $2,499. New York was the highest-ranked state on a per-capita basis at $4,198. Illinois had the highest per-capita ranking in the Midwest.
Category 15: Source of Elementary and Education Funding
49.4% of Illinois’ portion of education funding in [Fiscal Year 2022] came from local sources, 39.9% came from state sources, and 10.7% came from federal sources. Illinois’ local government portion of elementary and secondary education is among the highest in the nation. In the year shown, Illinois ranked 12th in the nation. Illinois ranks 3rd in the Midwest after Ohio (6th) and Missouri (9th). [State pension payments and personal property tax replacement revenue are included in this calculation.]
Category 16: Higher Education Expenditures by State and Local Governments
On a per-capita basis, Illinois ranked 36th at $893 per capita, which was below the national per-capita value of $1,021. Utah was the highest-ranked state on a per-capita basis at $1,905. In the Midwest Region, only Ohio (38 th) and Missouri (45th) had a lower ranking than Illinois.
Category 17: State and Local Government Expenditures for Police Protection
On a per-capita basis, Illinois ranked 8th in the nation with a value of $493 per capita, above the national average of $420. Illinois was the highest-ranked state in the Midwest Region in total dollars and on a per-capita basis. The highest-ranked state on a per-capita basis was California with a per-capita value of $621.
Category 18: State and Local Government Expenditures for Corrections
On a per-capita basis, Illinois ranked 38th with a value of $199 per capita, which was below the national per-capita rate of $274. The highest-ranked state on a per-capita basis was Alaska with a per-capita value of $613. Illinois’ ranking on a per-capita basis had steadily declined over the past few decades. Illinois was ranked 29 th in 1997, 38th in 2004, 43rd in 2006, and fell to as low as 48th in 2016. However, the trend appeared to be reversing itself in the past decade as the per- capita ranking rose from 42nd in 2017 to 28th in 2018, but it has since fallen again to its latest ranking of 38th. The highest-rated state in the Midwest is Wisconsin with a per- capita value of $311 and a ranking of 12th.
Category 19: State and Local Government Expenditures for Housing and Community Development
On a per-capita basis, Illinois ranked 15th with a value of $256, which was above the national average of $222. Illinois was the highest-ranked state in the Midwest Region.
Category 20: State and Local Government Expenditures for Parks and Recreation
Illinois, on a per-capita basis, ranked 7th with a per-capita value of $223, which was above the national average of $153 per capita. Illinois was the highest-ranked Midwest Region state. North Dakota had the highest per-capita ranking overall with a value of $382.
Category 21: State and Local Government Expenditures for Public Welfare Programs
Illinois, on a per-capita basis, ranked 24th with a per-capita value of $2,755, which was below the national average of $2,913 per capita. Kentucky (8th ) was the highest-ranked Midwest Region state with a per-capita value of $3,715. New York had the highest per-capita ranking overall with a value of $4,715.
Category 22: State and Local Government Expenditures for Highways
On a per-capita basis, Illinois ranked 22nd with a value of $685, which was above the national average of $632. Illinois’ per-capita ranking has fluctuated in past years going from 10th in 2015 to 27th in 2019, and now to its latest ranking of 22nd . Illinois was the third highest-ranked state in the Midwest Region on a per-capita basis behind Iowa (ranked 9th) at $964 per capita and Wisconsin (ranked 16th) at $759 per capita. The highest-ranked states on a per-capita basis were Alaska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
Category 23: State and Local Government Debt Outstanding
On a per-capita basis, Illinois ranked 12th with a value of $10,641. This amount was above the national average of $9,470 per capita. Illinois has consistently been the highest-ranked state in the Midwest Region in both total dollars and on a per-capita basis over the last several years. New York had the highest per-capita value of $17,939.
It’s a really good cheat sheet for arguments about our taxing and spending here.
The report then delves into employment-related issues, which COGFA has already partially covered (as have we), but we will go over those numbers soon.
Johnson’s campaign folks said they’d actually raised $200K during the quarter, but that it wasn’t reported.
* Turns out, they were apparently allowing the campaign checks to pile up before they deposited them, which they finally got around to doing. Tribune…
A new campaign finance report filed by Mayor Brandon Johnson includes over $200,000 his campaign had discussed but not officially reported. […]
State law requires politicians to report contributions greater than $1,000 within five business days of depositing the contributions. While Johnson may have been given checks for the large contributions months earlier, he appears to have followed campaign finance law by reporting the money shortly after depositing it, Illinois State Board of Elections spokesperson Matt Dietrich said.
Politicians often hold on to uncashed checks until elections get closer, he added. But for regulators, what matters is the deposit day.
“It’s not the day they had this big fundraiser, it’s the day they took all the money they raised at that fundraiser and put it into their bank account,” Dietrich said. “By our system, this has been done by the rules.”
It’s unclear whether any of those checks were received but not cashed during the Democratic National Convention last year, because the mayor’s third quarter report only disclosed about $3500 in receipts.
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s campaign fund has returned most of a $50,000 contribution it accepted a year and a half ago from a political action committee led by a City Hall lobbyist whose law firm has a city contract to collect outstanding utility bills.
Chicago ethics rules bar campaign contributions to a mayor by city lobbyists and city contractors. The Friends of Brandon Johnson campaign fund appears to have repeatedly violated those restrictions since Johnson took office in May 2023, prompting tens of thousands of dollars in refunds, the Chicago Sun-Times has reported.
The latest give-back appears to have been prompted by City Hall Inspector General Deborah Witzburg finding that the $50,000 given by the Chicago Latino Public Affairs Committee in June 2023 “exceeded the contribution limits set forth in” Chicago’s city code.
…Adding… It’s always a self-inflicted drip, drip, drip with this administration…
Friday, Jan 24, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Retail provides one out of every five Illinois jobs, generates the second largest amount of tax revenue for the state, and is the largest source of revenue for local governments. But retail is also so much more, with retailers serving as the trusted contributors to life’s moments, big and small.
We Are Retail and IRMA are dedicated to sharing the stories of retailers like Jeff, who serve their communities with dedication and pride.
Amends the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. Provides that a no-knock search warrant shall not be issued when the only offense alleged is possession of a controlled substance unless there is probable cause to believe that the controlled substance is for other than personal use. Provides that when an officer, having a warrant for the search of a dwelling, executes the search warrant, the officer shall: (1) execute the warrant between the hours of 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. unless the judge, for good cause, expressly authorizes execution at another time; (2) be readily identifiable as a law enforcement officer in uniform or wearing a visible law enforcement badge that clearly identifies the person as a law enforcement officer; (3) In counties of 90,000 or more inhabitants, be a member of a special weapons and tactics team or special response team, or another established team or unit trained and tasked with resolving high-risk situations and incidents, who has received appropriate training in the execution of arrest and search warrants authorizing entry without notice; (4) wear and activate a body-worn camera as required by the use of force in execution of a search warrant when entering a premises for the purpose of enforcing the law; (5) have a certified or licensed paramedic or emergency medical technician in proximity and available to provide medical assistance, if needed; (6) be prohibited from pointing firearms at individuals under 18 years old, unless there is clear and present danger to the officer or another person; and (7) knock and announce the officer’s presence at a volume loud enough for the officer to reasonably believe the occupants inside can hear, allow a minimum of 30 seconds of time before entering given the size of the dwelling for someone to get to the door, and delay entry if the officer has reason to believe that someone is approaching the dwelling’s entrance with the intent of voluntarily allowing the officer to enter the dwelling; except that this provision does not apply if the circumstances known to the officer at the time provide an objectively reasonable basis to believe that a no-knock entry or not waiting a reasonable amount of time is necessary because of an emergency threatening the life of or grave injury to a person, provided that the imminent danger is not created by the law enforcement officers executing the search. Makes other changes.
A bill has been introduced in Illinois that would amend the Student-Athlete Endorsement Rights Act, providing if an athlete earns $250K+ from the use of their #NIL, then any academic scholarship granted to them shall be reduced by $1 per dollar the athlete earns over $250K. pic.twitter.com/XiWpBJ2UW1
Amends the Department of Children and Family Services Powers Law. Repeals a provision that grants the Department of Children and Family Services the power to appoint members of a police and security force to act as peace officers and have all powers possessed by police officers in cities and sheriffs under certain circumstances. Effective immediately.
To ensure more skilled health care professionals can practice in Illinois, State Senator Javier Loera Cervantes introduced legislation to better support the state’s physician assistant workforce and improve access to care.
“Before my work in the General Assembly, I worked with health care providers to resolve issues of inaccessibility, and I saw firsthand how it can take weeks or months to see doctors and other health care providers, leading to worse health outcomes for the patient seeking treatment,” said Cervantes (D-Chicago). “By streamlining the process of becoming a licensed physician assistant, patients will be able to receive medical help sooner.”
According to a 2020 workforce report prepared by the Illinois Nursing Workforce Center, Illinois currently has a shortage of more than 15,000 nurses. With projections of a shortage of more than 6,000 doctors by 2030, patients could face significant delays in seeing a provider, which can negatively impact their health.
To expand patients’ access to care, particularly for residents in his district on Chicago’s south and southwest side, Cervantes’ legislation would allow physician assistants with more than 2,000 clinical hours to practice without a supervising physician. With similar training as nurses and doctors, PAs can provide high-quality health care, but have run into difficulties getting their license approved due to a long, tedious paperwork approval process. […]
Senate Bill 271 waits to be assigned to a committee for consideration.
A new bill has been introduced in Illinois to hold corporations and institutions accountable for profiting off chattel enslavement and systemic anti-Black discrimination, marking a significant step forward for the reparations movement.
HB 1227, the Enslavement Era Disclosure and Redress Act, requires corporations or institutions seeking to do business with the State of Illinois to disclose any ties to the trafficking and enslavement African people and their descendants.
Introduced by State Representative Sonya Harper, the legislation also calls for the creation of a Redress Fund. Any potential contractor with ties to slavery would be required to submit a statement of their past or planned contributions to that fund.
The resources would then be put toward economic and educational programs in communities historically harmed by discriminatory laws and policies of the Jim Crow apartheid era. […]
“Corporate, institutional, and individual complicity to the crimes of the transatlantic slave trade and enslavement was very broad in the US. Many of these actors are still benefiting from and building on the stolen wealth,” Kamm Howard, executive director of Reparations United, said in a statement.
Amends the Nurse Practice Act. Ratifies and approves the Nurse Licensure Compact, which allows for the issuance of multistate licenses that allow nurses to practice in their home state and other compact states. Provides that the Compact does not supersede existing State labor laws. Provides that the State may not share with or disclose to the Interstate Commission of Nurse Licensure Compact Administrators or any other state any of the contents of a nationwide criminal history records check conducted for the purpose of multistate licensure under the Nurse Licensure Compact. Makes conforming changes.
Amends the Landlord and Tenant Act. Prohibits a landlord or lessor from refusing to rent to, deny housing to, or impose conditions on a lessee or tenant based on the breed of a dog or dogs in residential housing that contains more than 3 units of housing. Provides that nothing in the Act affects the ability of a unit of local government to enforce provisions of the Animal Control Act regarding a dangerous dog or vicious dog. Provides that if a lessor or landlord violates these provisions, upon request of the affected lessee or tenant, the Illinois Housing Development Authority must investigate the matter. Provides that if the Authority finds that a lessor or landlord has violated the Act, it must commence an action or proceeding in the circuit court of the county in which the premises are situated to stop the violation either by mandamus or injunction. Provides that the amendatory Act applies to a renewal or modification of residential leases that contain more than 3 units of housing after the effective date of the Act and for new residential leases entered into after that date.
Federal prosecutors continued their closing arguments Wednesday in the trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, accusing the longtime Democratic powerbroker of using Chicago Ald. Danny Solis’ positions of power “to gain private benefits.” […]
“He (Madigan) wanted Solis to reach out the developers because the developers weren’t going to say no to Danny Solis – not when Solis held those cards in his hand as alderman and zoning board chair,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane MacArthur told the jury in her closing arguments Thursday. […]
MacArthur alleged Madigan chose to ignore Solis’ flagrantly illegal suggestions because he was more concerned with his “desire for private gain,” which she dubbed the “Make Mike Madigan Money Plan.”
That plan, the prosecutor said, stretched to all 23 counts Madigan is charged with, including alleged bribery schemes involving electric utility Commonwealth Edison and telecom giant AT&T Illinois.
MacArthur plays the video where Solis tells McClain he's been able to "steer some work" to Madigan in the past, and that the Chinatown guys will play ball. Just because McClain is loyal to Madigan, MacArthur says, "does not mean that McClain can commit a crime on his behalf."
MacArthur acknowledged that Solis brings a historic amount of baggage to the table — including allegations of bribery involving campaign contributions, prostitution and Viagra. She told the jury “there is a lot to consider about [Solis] when you assess his credibility. And please do so, with caution and great care.”
But, she told the jury, “Danny Solis was a walking microphone — and sometimes even a sitting camera — when he interacted with Madigan and when he interacted with McClain.”
Madigan testified earlier this month. During cross-examination, he seemed to struggle to explain his continued dealings with Solis after Solis said the words “quid pro quo” in a June 2017 conversation with Madigan about an apartment project in the West Loop.
Solis told Madigan its developers “understand how this works, you know, the quid pro quo.”
“Danny Solis was not subtle,” MacArthur told jurors Thursday.
Madigan later advised Solis not to talk that way at a meeting that was secretly videotaped on July 18, 2017.
“Three weeks for Madigan to challenge in some way, some form, the words Solis had used,” MacArthur said.
MacArthur said Counts 19-22 against both Madigan and codefendant Michael McClain involve the Chicago Chinatown parcel and land transfer legislation in 2017 and 2018.
“Madigan supported the transfer of this property because he wanted the real estate tax business from the developer,” MacArthur said. “This was a fraud, this was a scheme to defraud.”
MacArthur said it doesn’t matter that the Chinatown project did not move forward.
MacArthur: "You've heard again and again in this trial about the power of Michael Madigan to decide whether to move forward, or not, with legislation."
In the above calls, she says, "you can observe Michael Madigan making that decision."
A few weeks after the land transfer bill passed without the Chinatown amendment, news broke that Solis was a government mole, which put an end to Madigan’s work with him on transferring the Chinatown property, MacArthur said.
Earlier Thursday, the prosecution’s arguments focused on the AT&T and ComEd allegations. Madigan was so important to ComEd’s legislative agenda in Springfield that the utility was willing to bend over backwards to make the then-powerful House speaker happy, showering his cronies with do-nothing contracts, giving special treatment to 13th Ward internship applicants, and putting a Madigan-recommended candidate on its board of directors, Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia Schwartz told jurors.
Schwartz played a wiretapped recording in which then-ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore told McClain just how valuable the speaker’s influence had been.
“You take good care of me and so does our friend, and I will do the best I can to take care of you,” Pramaggiore said in May 2018, using McClain’s favored euphemism for Madigan.
* Related…
* Tribune | Attorney general: Ex-Speaker Mike Madigan’s chief of staff should forfeit state pension: The legal question before the attorney general’s office was whether Mapes should lose his pension permanently because his grand jury testimony came nearly three years after he was ousted from Madigan’s government and political organizations in 2018 amid a sexual harassment scandal. Under state law, a felony conviction triggers the loss of a state pension only if the crime in question was connected to a person’s government job.
* ICYMI: Illinois, other states win temporary block of Trump order ending birthright citizenship. Sun-Times…
- U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour ruled in the case brought by the states of Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon, which argued that Trump’s executive order violates the 14th Amendment and the Immigration and Nationality Act.
- According to the Associated Press, Coughenour called the executive mandate, a “blatantly unconstitutional order.”
- The suit, brought by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, along with three other attorneys general, was seeking a temporary restraining order, which Coughenour granted on Thursday. It is also seeking to invalidate the executive order and to enjoin any actions taken to implement it.
* Governor Pritzker will be at the Oak Lawn-Hometown Early Learning Center at 10 a.m. to announce new preschool seats through Smart Start Illinois. Click here to watch.
*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***
* Sun-Times | Illinois, other states slam DOJ memo threatening to prosecute state officials who ‘impede’ deportation efforts: Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and 10 other attorneys general pushed back Thursday on a memo from the Department of Justice calling for the investigation of state and local officials who “threaten to impede” enforcement of the Trump administration’s immigration initiatives. In a memo first obtained by The Associated Press, acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove directed federal prosecutors to investigate any state or local officials who stand in the way of enforcement of immigration laws under President Donald Trump’s administration.
* Block Club | Proposed Southeast Side Dump Expansion Would Violate State Law, Regulators Say: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operates a 43-acre “confined disposal facility” in neighboring Calumet Park, which stores material dredged from the Calumet River and five other federally maintained waterways in the city. The facility is on land owned by the Park District, which does not charge the Army Corps for its use. […] Now, state regulators say expansion plans would amount to “open dumping” — an issue that can’t be solved by seeking a state permit, given a ban on new or expanded landfills in Cook County.
*** Statehouse News ***
* Investigate Midwest | Campaign cash flows from ethanol and corn sectors as Illinois lawmakers weigh carbon capture regulations: Since 2021, Harmon has received $147,500 from Marquis Energy, according to the campaign finance database Illinois Sunshine. […] “I support additional safeguards to protect our drinking water and the Mahomet Aquifer specifically,” Harmon said in a written statement to Investigate Midwest. “Given the moratorium that’s already in place and uncertainty of the new federal administration, I think it makes sense to pause and see what shakes out in D.C., and then consider our options. Our only priority is protecting clean drinking water.”
* Capitol City Now | New state grant program for disadvantaged small businesses: Gov. JB Pritzker Thursday announced a grant program for small businesses in the state. He said the program gives businesses some “breathing room” for investment. […] There is also capital in the $10 million program for really, really small businesses, those with up to ten employees. Anybody interested can go online: dceo.illinois.gov.
* Rep. Steve Reick | Illinois cannot afford the pension reforms in Fair Retirement and Recruitment Act: There are two aspects of Illinois’ pension crisis that need to be kept separate if we’re to have a sensible discussion of how to fix either one. The first is the “normal” cost, which is the amount that must be set aside each year to pay for current-year accruals to the pension funds. That’s an ongoing obligation that, for lack of a better description, is forward-looking based upon salaries paid in the current year. The other aspect, and to my mind the more difficult one, is the debt that has been allowed to pile up over past years because of chronic underfunding, investment performance that hasn’t kept up with investment assumptions and overly generous benefits granted without thought of how they were going to be paid for.
*** Statewide ***
* Daily Herald | State education board issues guidance to schools on Trump immigration actions: Regardless of students’ immigration status or that of their parents or guardians, all children are entitled to equal access to basic public elementary and secondary education, State Superintendent of Education Tony Sanders wrote in his weekly message to schools. That standard has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, even in instances when a student may be undocumented, he added.
*** Chicago ***
* WBEZ | Chicago teachers strike threat elevated as CTU leader cries foul: “It is deeply frustrating [to be at this point],” said CTU President Stacy Davis Gates. “To force our hand to take a strike vote is a very cruel and mean joke.” State law requires that an arbitrator be called in before the CTU can move to strike. The arbitrator, called a fact finder, is hearing from both sides this week and is expected to issue recommendations in early February.
* Vintage Chicago Tribune | The mass deportation of Mexicans in 1954: Millions of Mexican farmworkers, known as braceros, began arriving legally in America during World War II to temporarily help harvest crops. The Bracero Program, an agreement between the U.S. government and the Mexican applicants, was supposed to provide a low wage, room and board, which was paid for by taxpayer subsidies. But many laborers were mistreated. In August 1945, the Tribune reported a group of about 20 braceros were “stranded without funds” despite signing a six-month contract. The Mexican Civic Center, 868 Blue Island Ave., provided food and lodging and found work for the men in South Bend, Indiana.
* NYT | Of course, the Bears wanted Ben Johnson. Surprisingly, he wanted them even more: Johnson wanted to be the Bears head coach. He wanted to continue to coach in the NFC North. And he wanted to make the Chicago area his home. For the last 10 years, he and his family have made visiting the city and attending Cubs games an annual trip. “The first words out of his mouth were, ‘I want this job,’” chairman George McCaskey said. “The last thing he said before we turned off the camera was, ‘Did I tell you that I want this job?’ I was especially struck, and he referenced it in his comments, that this is the toughest division in football, and he wants to be here. He wants to go up against (Dan) Campbell, (Matt) LaFleur and (Kevin) O’Connell and wants to succeed in the toughest environment possible. I was very impressed by that.”
* Tribune | ‘Troubled’ Housing Authority of Cook County spent more than $60,000 at Six Flags: The money came out of HACC’s roughly $22 million annual budget, dollars meant to be spent on providing public and subsidized housing to some of the lowest income residents in the county. “This wasn’t a frivolous use of taxpayer funds,” said Richard Monocchio, executive director of HACC for 12 years before he took his current job at HUD in May 2023, in an interview with the Tribune. “This was good governance.” Monocchio was in charge when the Six Flags trips occurred and went on three himself, describing the outings as a reward for his employees to show appreciation for their hard work. The trips were held in lieu of holiday parties that HACC threw in past years at a similar expense, Monocchio said.
* Lake County News-Sun | Fortune Brands plans Deerfield headquarters expansion, hundreds of new jobs; ‘A great endorsement of Lake County’: Considine said the Fortune 500 company has been headquartered in Deerfield for well over a decade with about 130 employees, a number that will increase dramatically in the next few years as it makes its move “literally” down the road from its current location. The move was supported by an Illinois’ Economic Development for a Growing Economy (EDGE) tax credit, a state incentive for companies that create new jobs. As part of the EDGE tax credit, Fortune has committed to creating at least 400 new jobs, while retaining the 128 existing full-time positions.
* Daily Herald | FEMA remap could lift flood insurance burden from Mount Prospect, Prospect Heights property owners: Levee 37 has provided property owners along the Des Plaines River with much-needed flood control. Now, an intergovernmental agreement between Mount Prospect and Prospect Heights could lead to flood insurance relief for hundreds of homes and businesses near the levee. The villages recently agreed to split the $57,000 cost of hiring Christopher B. Burke Engineering Ltd.
* Daily Herald | 2025 is bringing major changes to malls in Bloomingdale, Lombard and West Dundee: Suburban shoppers will see significant changes as demolition work continues on malls in Bloomingdale and Lombard and will soon start in West Dundee. Three malls — Yorktown Center in Lombard, Stratford Square in Bloomingdale and Spring Hill in West Dundee — are in the midst of a transformation as villages and ownership reimagine the retail centers.
*** Downstate ***
* WCIA | Champaign Co. Board approves 12-month carbon sequestration ban: “The County Board is taking a prudent and necessary step to ensure we’re prioritizing public health and safety,” said Pam Richart, Co-Director of Eco-Justice Collaborative. “This moratorium gives us the time we need to put in place regulations that protect our water for future generations.”
* WCIA | Decatur high school suing health clinic over location: St. Teresa High School is off Water St., where Heritage Behavioral Health Center said their new location will be. In the lawsuit, St. Teresa’s said the clinic would be within 100 feet of their building, and the school is complaining the clients loiter around their current facility and that feces has been found on sidewalks.
* WSIL | Rend Lake College awarded nearly $800,000 in grants: The grants awarded come to a total of $790,000. This is for five separate grants. This will help students with learning valuable skills for the careers of their choice, along with expanding access critical mental health resources. […] “With the recent grants awarded to RLC, we will expand resources, enhance programs and provide greater opportunities for our students’ success,” said Kim Wilkerson, Vice President - CTE & Student Support. “These funds will open new doors and ensure our students have the tools necessary to be successful.”
* IPM | Former deputy governor Jesse Ruiz becomes new chair of University of Illinois Board of Trustees: “I’ve got a long complicated history with the University of Illinois,” Ruiz told the trustees. “I never thought this is where I’d be sitting in the spring of 1984.” After a stint at community college, Ruiz returned to U of I and graduated in 1988. He later became a lawyer and served on the Chicago Public Schools and Illinois boards of education. He also served on a federal education commission during the Obama administration and was a deputy governor for JB Pritzker in 2018.
* SJ-R | One of Springfield’s original pizza parlors reopens dining room after 5 years: Gabatoni’s – one of Springfield’s original pizza parlors – once again is inviting customers to have a seat. […] “It means a lot to me to open this staple up. My dad brought me in when I was a kid,” said William “Bill” Pope, who purchased Gabatoni’s last October. Prior to that, the green-roofed restaurant always had been owned by a member of the Lynn family since it opened in 1951.
*** National ***
* NYT | People With A.D.H.D. Are Likely to Die Significantly Earlier Than Their Peers, Study Finds: A study of more than 30,000 British adults diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or A.D.H.D., found that, on average, they were dying earlier than their counterparts in the general population — around seven years earlier for men, and around nine for women. The study, which was published Thursday in The British Journal of Psychiatry, is believed to be the first to use all-cause mortality data to estimate life expectancy in people with A.D.H.D. Previous studies have pointed to an array of risks associated with the condition, among them poverty, mental health disorders, smoking and substance abuse.
* You can click here and here to follow the Madigan trial. Click here and/or here to follow breaking news. Hopefully, enough reporters and news outlets migrate to BlueSky so we can hopefully resume live-posting.
