“Remember the mass shooting that happened in Highland Park and all of the services that they got? That’s what we’re asking for. That’s all,” the mayor said.
“What other suburban places get around the country when mass shootings happen like that, we’re just simply saying that Chicago deserves that as well.”
Actually, it took a letter from the governor in order to kick that off. So, I was asked by the City of Chicago to write the letter for them, and so we did. We sent that to the White House and to the federal government. As we saw with Highland Park, where there was a lot of support that came from the FBI and other federal agencies, that’s what the city of Chicago should get.
We also need a lot of interdiction on the many guns that are coming over the border into Illinois from states that have very lax gun laws. We need more enforcement from the federal government. We’re doing it, by the way, state police, CPD, but more help from the federal government is necessary.
And so, yeah, it was the right thing for him to do.
July 4, 2024
Stefanie Feldman
Director, White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Director Feldman:
I am writing you today in support of the City of Chicago’s request for additional federal resources and assistance to reduce gun violence. Historically, there has been an uptick in violence during holiday weekends such as the Fourth of July, and it has come to my attention that Chicago experienced a mass shooting early this morning which involved several victims, including minors and children of tender age. The City of Chicago has communicated to my office that they need additional federal resources to respond to this tragedy.
Specifically, I urge the White House to support the City of Chicago with funding and resources to help with victim services for families and emergency victim services support. Additionally, any funding or resources that could assist the City of Chicago’s public health response in the wake of this incident would be most helpful as the victims and those impacted navigate the difficulty of such an occurrence in their community. I hope the White House can assist with surging the mental health, therapeutic, and grief support services necessary to aid the recovery of those involved and closely impacted.
Furthermore, I ask the White House to provide any emergency support services for those impacted beyond those immediately involved, such as support for first responders and small businesses within the community.
I appreciate your attention to the City’s request and hope you are able to support the City of Chicago by providing them the resources and funding necessary to adequately combat and respond to incidents of gun violence, both now and in the future. I hope this letter underscores my support for the City of Chicago, and I look forward to continuing to work alongside Mayor Johnson and the federal government to build a safer and stronger Chicago.
The fate of four people convicted in one of Chicago’s biggest 2023 corruption trials will remain up in the air for at least four months as a judge considers the full effect of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that threatens to unravel the case. […]
U.S. District Judge Manish Shah laid out a plan that will likely push a definitive ruling on the fate of the case until November, at the earliest. By then, a year and a half will have passed since the jury’s guilty verdict, and four years will have passed since the four were indicted. [..]
Pramaggiore attorney Scott Lassar said he and his colleagues plan to renew previously denied motions for a new trial and acquittal. Shah gave them until Aug. 27 to do so. Defense attorneys also plan to seek grand jury transcripts to help prepare the motions, Lassar said. […]
It amounts to a remarkable turnaround in a case that once seemed like a slam-dunk for the feds. Jurors in May 2023 convicted the four defendants of every count for which they’d been charged. Leinenweber also shot down a defense request last November — almost exactly a year before Shah’s new briefing deadline — to briefly delay sentencing hearings in the case.
Will County Board Republican Leader Steve Balich has filed several complaints with authorities alleging board Democratic Leader Jacqueline Traynere engaged in a cybercrime by accessing emails between himself and County Board Chair Judy Ogalla.
Balich, of Homer Glen, said Traynere logged into Ogalla’s email account without permission.
Traynere then forwarded an email exchange between Balich and Ogalla regarding the controversial 143rd Street road widening project in Homer Glen to the county executive, according to Balich. […]
Traynere said she heard a rumor that when county board members were issued new laptops, they all had the same password. She said she was testing this theory and chose the county board chair. She said she couldn’t believe the chair would have the same password as her. […]
Traynere said she later opened her laptop again and didn’t realize she was still logged in under Ogalla’s name. She thought she was reading her own emails, saw an email exchange that confused her and forwarded it to the county executive.
A nine-month investigation by the Illinois Answers Project found county jails in the state restrain people in chairs on average more than 1,000 times a year, often in ways that violate their own policies and last longer than recommended by leading standards and manufacturer guidelines, causing physical injuries and psychological trauma to people commonly grappling with mental illness and addiction. […]
Human rights groups have long decried the use of restraint chairs in American jails and prisons, where they say the device is prone to misuse and abuse that is akin to torture. The United Nations Committee Against Torture has urged U.S. officials to abolish the chairs, and Amnesty International has said inadequate training and supervision of their use has caused pain, injury and even death. The same brand of chair used in many Illinois jails was also used at Guantánamo Bay. […]
The investigation revealed that, from 2019 to 2023:
- Statewide, staff restrained someone in a chair nearly every day, totaling more than 5,500 incidents, which is likely an undercount. The people restrained ranged in age from 18 to at least 70, with the exception of at least four minors, ages 12, 13, 16 and 17. They were booked on charges ranging from disorderly conduct and traffic offenses to murder. While that’s a small percentage of all people booked into jail, the figure surprised several experts, who said it may indicate that staff use the chairs in non-emergency situations.
- State standards, last updated a decade ago, don’t specify a limit on how long someone may be restrained. County policies typically limit duration to two hours at a time. But, in many cases, staff restrained people for far longer. Some were restrained repeatedly for days on end – up to a week – with the exception of periodic breaks. In many cases, staff failed to regularly log checks of people restrained, and some people did not immediately receive medical attention – if at all. […]
Restraint chairs have been linked to more than 50 deaths in the United States since the late 1990s, according to investigations by The Marshall Project and USA TODAY. The deaths have been tied to blood clots, suffocation and overdoses that went untreated while restrained. People have also died after jail staff Tased or pepper sprayed them while restrained or failed to provide food, water and medication.
*** Statewide ***
* WGLT | Illinois corn growers join lawsuit against EPA over vehicle emissions rules: The Illinois Corn Growers Association is part of a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] over new emissions rules, contending the rules, which aim to boost adoption of electric vehicles, restrict consumer choice and create an unreasonable economic impact. The rules, finalized in April and scheduled to phase in from 2027 to 2032, mandate that automakers reduce the average emissions of their new vehicles. There are multiple ways to meet the standards, from upgrading efficiency across the board to offering more hybrid and full electric vehicles. EPA projects that by 2030-2032, some manufacturers may choose to offer 20% to 56% battery electric vehicles, depending on the type and efficiency of their fleets.
* WSIU | Illinois Launches Spanish-Language CDL Testing to Address Driver Shortages: While the test’s translation into Spanish facilitates comprehension of technical content, applicants must still demonstrate proficiency in English for the road test and pre-trip inspection, aligning with federal guidelines from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). This requirement ensures that drivers can understand essential verbal instructions critical for safe operation.
* ABC Chicago | Police warn of Illinois Tollway phishing text message scam: Police say scammers are impersonating Illinois Tollway employees, and asking for money. The phishing texts claim I-PASS customers owe money for unpaid tolls. The Tollway is asking motorists to disregard the texts, and check their online accounts, at illinoistollway.com, to make sure nothing is owed.
* WCIA | Illinois state treasurer has $2.5 billion ready to be claimed: “Every now and then, someone leaves something in a bank safe deposit box, and it’s turned over to us when it’s abandoned. We try to track down the rightful owners,” Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs said. Things like jewelry, gold and silver bars, coins dating back to the Roman Empire and vintage banknotes take up space in the large vaults in the basement of Springfield Marine Bank.
*** Chicago ***
* Tribune | Johnson to join Biden meeting with mayors as president tries to shore up Democratic support: Johnson’s political spokesman Christian Perry confirmed the mayor will attend the briefing but did not have further details. At least one other big city mayor, Eric Adams of New York City, will also be on the call, CBS New York reported. […] “What’s clear to me, and to people across Chicago, is that Donald Trump is a dire threat to everything we hold dear including our democracy, our freedoms, and our economy,” Johnson said in the post. “Joe Biden is the president and our Democratic nominee, and we all need to do everything we can to defeat Donald Trump this November.”
* Sun-Times | Chicago police rebuff watchdog’s request to reopen probe into cops’ ties to extremist Oath Keepers: In a letter to internal affairs Chief Yolanda Talley on June 13, [Chicago Inspector General Deborah Witzburg’s] office also repeated her assertion that the police leaders could have charged the eight cops with breaking police department rules against officers bringing “discredit upon the department.” But Timothy Moore, deputy internal affairs director, rebuffed the inspector general’s request on June 28. Moore acknowledged that seven of the eight accused officers had signed documents related to the Oath Keepers, but he said none “had intentions of joining a violent extremist group,” according to records released Tuesday by Witzburg.
* Tribune | Hayes not seeking a 4th term as Arlington Heights mayor. But he is not yet ready to support Trustee Schwingbeck or anyone else’s bid to replace him.: “I look at our Village Board and I’m not sure what will happen in the April [2025] election with the four trustees that will be up for election,” Schwingbeck said Monday in a telephone interview with Pioneer Press. “I think it’s important to have some continuity with the board, especially with all of the things going on in our village and the size of our village.” […] Hayes declined to state whose mayoral campaign he would support, saying he is going to wait to see who else runs before making an endorsement decision.
* Daily Herald | Back where it belongs: Family of suburban Pearl Harbor veteran receives his missing Purple Heart: In the early morning hours of Dec. 7, 1941, Jerome Even was on guard duty at Pearl Harbor when he and his fellow soldiers noticed airplanes with Japanese insignia overhead. […] Wounded during the attack, Even was awarded a Purple Heart, a medal given to soldiers injured or killed while serving. But a decade after his passing in 2014, Even’s medal was no longer in his family’s hands. That is until last week, when Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs returned the medal to Even’s family, after it had been found in an unclaimed safe deposit box.
* Lake County News-Sun | Lake Forest ready to buy building for police department move; ‘Having additional space allows flexibility to meet future needs’: Lake Forest officials are poised to take action on a plan where the city would spend well over $30 million to move the city’s police headquarters to an existing building in the Conway Park office complex. City Council members may vote Monday to finalize a purchase sale agreement for a now-vacant office building at 1925 Field Court at Conway Park. If the building is acquired, the city plans to retrofit the 100,000-square-foot structure and move its police headquarters from its longtime location in the 200 block of Deerpath Road.
*** Downstate ***
* Capitol City Now | $17.8M in federal funding coming to SMTD to help replace aging bus fleet: Sangamon Mass Transit District is set to receive just over $17.8 million in federal funding to help replace older buses with diesel-hybrid and compressed natural gas buses. Rep. Nikki Budzinski and Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth made the joint announcement Tuesday.
* SJ-R | Longtime Sangamon County Board member John O’Neill dead at 78: A Republican, O’Neill was first elected to the board from the 26th District in 2002. In 2022, he defeated Democrat Rusty Jones for a four-year term. O’Neill was the past liquor commissioner for the county and was currently serving on the county board’s liquor committee. […] A U.S. Army infantry officer who served in Vietnam and Cambodia, O’Neill worked as a legislative liaison for the Illinois Secretary of State and Department of Veterans Affairs.
*** National ***
* AP | Federal judge rules protesters can’t march through Republican National Convention security zone: U.S. District Judge Brett Ludwig said in his order that protesters have a right to march in protest of the RNC, “but the First Amendment does not allow them to protest or parade in any way they choose.” Ludwig said that Milwaukee city officials and the U.S. Secret Service have worked to balance protesters’ right to express themselves and “legitimate security and other governmental interests.”
* Time | ‘We’re Living in a Nightmare:’ Inside the Health Crisis of a Texas Bitcoin Town: Over the course of several months in 2024, TIME spoke to more than 40 people in the Granbury area who reported a medical ailment that they believe is connected to the arrival of the Bitcoin mine: hypertension, heart palpitations, chest pain, vertigo, tinnitus, migraines, panic attacks. At least 10 people went to urgent care or the emergency room with these symptoms. The development of large-scale Bitcoin mines and data centers is quite new, and most of them are housed in extremely remote places. There have been no major medical studies on the impacts of living near one. But there is an increasing body of scientific studies linking prolonged exposure to noise pollution with cardiovascular damage. And one local doctor—ears, nose, and throat specialist Salim Bhaloo—says he sees patients with symptoms potentially stemming from the Bitcoin mine’s noise on an almost weekly basis.
First of all, he was fully engaged. We had, I don’t know, around 20 governors, some, most, half of them in the room, half of them on Zoom, had a very good discussion between us. And again, the President did a great job of answering questions throughout that meeting. Listen, Joe Biden is our nominee. I am for Joe Biden. I’ve been campaigning for Joe Biden. I think you’ve seen I’ve got dates scheduled to go to Indiana, to Ohio for Joe Biden. So you know, Joe Biden’s going to be our nominee.
Please pardon any transcription errors.
* Asked about his campaigning in other states and whether he was in reality introducing himself to potential voters in other states…
I suppose you could say that about any of the surrogates who are traveling around the Midwest or the country, that they’re introducing themselves in some way or another. But importantly, what we’re doing is talking about why it’s important to reelect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and why it’s important to defeat Donald Trump, who is trying to take away your freedoms, who is trying to send jobs overseas, and frankly, would be bad for the economy and bad for working families.
* Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has said she will not run even if Biden drops out. Would he make the same statement?…
What I can tell you is I’m not engaging in any hypotheticals. You can see that I’m all in for Joe Biden. Joe Biden’s going to be the nominee of the Democratic Party. I’m going to go out there and wholeheartedly campaigning for him. I’ve endorsed him and Kamala Harris, he’s going to be at the convention in August, accepting the nomination, and I’ll be cheering for him in the audience.
* Do you think Biden is physically and mentally capable of serving?…
Of course.
* More on last week’s meeting and his brief statement afterward…
It was a robust meeting, lots of conversation. There were questions of the president. He answered those questions. Some people came away with different impressions, maybe. But for the most part, you saw that the head of the Democratic Governors Association and two other governors went and did a press conference together, representing all 20 of us, because, again, some weren’t able to be at the White House, and some of us had to go catch a plane. The truth is that it was a, it was a, I think, a robust discussion. And I just wanted to be accurate about how I reported what happened in that meeting.
* What the president needs to do now…
I think that President Biden, and I’ve said this, he needs to go out there and answer all the questions, and he needs to show people that he is the leader of the free world, and that he’s doing a heck of a job of making sure that the United States is leading us. We have a lot of enemies in the world, and it is going to take a tough, strong, smart and principled leader, and that’s what Joe Biden is.
* On people like US Rep. Mike Quigley calling on Biden to get out of the race…
Look, I think it’s not unreasonable for people to have differing opinions about all this. But I know Mike Quigley. I know he does not want Donald Trump to become President of the United States. So you’ve seen a lot of comments by congresspeople, by others who have questions. In the end, everybody understands that we’re pulling together to put our party and our party’s nominee and our issues over the line, and importantly, the working families of America need our party and the issues that we’re pushing in order for them to have better lives and better opportunity for their children.
* Any chance of a brokered party convention?…
No, I can’t imagine that Joe Biden said he’s going to be the nominee, he’s planning to be at the convention, he’s planning to be the guy who accepts the delegate vote. That’s going to occur, and so I can’t imagine what else could happen. […]
You know the old Will Rogers line, ‘I don’t belong to an organized party, I’m a Democrat.’ I’m sure that we haven’t seen anything like that in I don’t know, seems like in my lifetime? Well, yeah, in my lifetime, thinking about the last brokered convention in my life. The fact is that I think it would be different for all of for everybody that would be attending. But again, I don’t expect that to happen. We’re going to have an orderly convention. Again, there’s going to be a roll call before the convention, and at the convention and all the speeches, of course, endorsing President Biden.
* More…
I think that obviously the President had a bad performance at a debate. That doesn’t help anybody. He knows that, and what you have to do is stand up and say, ‘I didn’t do it well,’ which I think he said, and prove people wrong about what they want to say about him. And he’s doing that. He’s getting out there and talking. And you know, I think he’s having an impact. And I think you saw last night that the Black Caucus in the congressional delegation, right, in the congressional in Congress, right, the Black Caucus in Congress stood up for Joe Biden yesterday. I don’t think there was a single member of the Black Caucus who said anything except we 100% support Joe Biden. And that’s just one example of the many, many people that do support Joe Biden. And many, by the way, who had questions we’re all going to come together and support him for President.
* Novel idea considering that presidential election turnout is almost a lot higher than off-year turnout…
What I would say is that we all have to work hard up and down the ballot. I actually am a believer, and I think you’ve seen this about the way that I’ve run for office, I believe that people who are down-ballot actually lift people up who are on top of the ballot, and so the stronger they can do at the local level, getting people out to vote for people you know on your block, in your neighborhood, in your community, that those people after they vote for the person that they know best, their community member for Office. They’re going to work their way up the ballot, voting for Democrats. So that’s going to help Joe Biden.
But look, in the end, this is about the tremendous job that Joe Biden has done, bringing jobs back to the United States. We’ve seen manufacturing come back to the United States. We’ve seen him fight hard to bring down prices, costs across the United States. I think there’s no question we have the better argument. We’ve seen the chaos that Donald Trump has sowed, and we’ve seen that he wants to take away people’s freedoms, particularly a woman’s right to choose. That’s not something people are going to accept when they go into the ballot box. They’re going to vote for the guy who’s voting for them, who’s doing the right thing for them. And that’s Joe Biden.
* What was his advice to Biden last week?…
I said you got to get out there and talk to the American public more. It was important. I think they took too long. I think he admitted this too after the debate, for him to really go out and do press that would get national attention. I know they did some rallies along the way, but it’s important for him to answer questions and talk about the issues. Hyper important. You know, people are thinking about their own families, how they’re going to deal with the kitchen table issues they’ve got in front of them and their personal freedoms. And there’s no candidate better on those issues than Joe Biden. And by the way, the Vice President, Kamala Harris.
* Last year, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning issued a comprehensive report on reforming and improving the area’s mass transit system. An important point that is kinda being lost in the din…
Importantly, in isolation, governance reforms cannot address the longstanding financial challenges northeastern Illinois’ transit system faces. The region needs more resources to succeed. Governance reform can, along with a suite of system improvement and funding solutions, maximize the efficiency of transit functions and strengthen responsible financial stewardship of scarce resources.
Option 1: Integrate the RTA and the service boards into one regional transit entity
The service boards’ current service delivery responsibilities would be divided among service units. The regional agency would be represented by one board and one agency executive. To provide additional opportunities for input, the operating units could be represented by service committees that report to the regional board.
Option 2: Empower a regional coordinating agency to lead transit across the service boards
The three service boards would continue to exist as three separate agencies led by a regional coordinating agency. The service boards would provide transit operations and local service planning, while the regional entity would be strengthened with greater authority and resources to develop regional policies, coordinate comprehensive mobility planning, and allocate funding to the service boards. All four agencies would have their own agency executives and governing boards.
* The transit leaders pushed back hard on those ideas today during a Senate Transportation Committee hearing…
Pace Executive Director Melinda Metzger: Quite honestly, we’ve read the report. We all are in favor, I’m going to speak for us all, you guys can say I’m wrong, but we’re all in favor of doing what’s best for the customer. We all want to do the best job we can. I do not believe that combining us into one organization will make us better. First of all, we all have board members who are local, who understand the local needs, and they give us a lot of input. Secondly, we all have different service areas. I cover, you know, 3,500 square miles, 15 times the city of Chicago. To put us all under one board, the needs of the suburban areas of farther away areas will not be met as well as they’re met right now. The system needs more money. And its Pace’s obligation to provide service in the suburbs. And I think putting us all in one service board will make those needs in the outer areas not as important, not because we don’t want to do it. We all want to do a good job, but just there’s pressures in different organizations. I also believe that we have been very adaptive to what’s going on, because we have this vast service area, and we have some dense areas. We go into the city of Chicago and the suburbs around the city of Chicago, we serve in one way. We have other areas that have no density, yet they still need to have service they need to move people. And I believe that the system we have today allows the input so that we can cover all of our service areas.
CTA President Dorval Carter: The model that’s been set up for governance today didn’t come by accident. It was a really, hardly negotiated compromise between the need for accountability as well as the need for local control over the entities that quite honestly impact those residents the most. In my particular case, 90% of the riders of CTA live within the city of Chicago. The Mayor of the City of Chicago believes that he is responsible for public transportation, and the governance model for CTA reflects that. I believe that the City of Chicago and CTA are both of the opinion that the governance model is not the problem here. It doesn’t need to be adjusted. The issue is getting the funding levels to work the way they’re supposed to, which will drive the decisions that I think everybody wants to see happen here, along with the ongoing collaboration I think you have between our agencies as we as professionals work to find ways to make our service better, more convenient and more efficient to our customers.
RTA Chair Kirk Dillard: The president said it very, very well. Funding cures most ills, and as I said in my opening remarks, over a 40-plus-year period, multiple general assemblies, multiple governors and multiple mayors have set up this governance structure with lots of input for a reason. I certainly do not believe the Civic Federation’s number that they put out. As I told you, the RTA might have 90 employees. Of that 90, if you back out those who take care of reduced fares and do the clerical things that we do, it’s a handful of people that really have the oversight responsibility. There’s value in maintaining an oversight responsibility outside of the day to day operations. These folks are up to their eyeballs in alligators every day. It’s very similar to an external auditor reviewing an internal auditors work. One of the reasons we have the lowest operating cost per mile, aside from the fact that we have a funding problem historically, is that the RTA does help hold these folks accountable. And if you let the operations people determine the ultimate budget they’re going to want to spend. So some oversight by us is, but I agree with them, they certainly need more money, but the RTA system does hold costs down, even though we need to really, really ratchet up the operations funding and capital too of the system. But funding cures most of the ills that all of you in the public have spoken about.
Metra CEO / Executive Director Jim Derwinski: I don’t think I could have said anything more than my colleagues at the table here have said, other than the fact we just hit 40 years this year, and looking back and trying to understand how we were formed, why we were formed. I did a lot of reading as well, reading the General Assembly floor remarks from 1983 when we amended the RTA Act. I read a bunch of the materials from 1973 debates, and actually found a thesis paper that went back to the beginning of time, almost 1870 and what transportation looked like here in Chicago. And really the problem has never shifted. It is a funding issue. If we adequately fund the system, the operators can do the right things. And I think the one thing that we all get, maybe victims of our own success. We do operate the leanest system in the country. We keep getting, we keep making it happen when we don’t have the right resources. And because of that, certain other things don’t happen. But we keep being victims of their own success by running as lean as we run. So I don’t know where the savings would be, and the combination of a bigger board … But in either case, I think it’s important that the local representation, meaning in our case, the collar counties and suburban cook have some voice, and what happens with Metro operations, and that could get minimized or lost in a grand board.
Please pardon all transcription errors.
…Adding… ICJC…
In response to today’s Senate Transportation Committee subject matter hearing on how public transit supports the economy, the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition (ICJC) released the following statement:
“Today we heard four transit agencies defend a status quo that simply isn’t working for current or potential riders who want a system that is more safe, more reliable, and more affordable. The status quo isn’t working for taxpayers who are paying for duplicate bureaucracies performing overlapping functions instead of funding one agency that improves transit across Chicagoland,” said Dany Robles of the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition.
“We also heard from everyday riders who spoke about the essential role the region’s mass transit system plays in their lives. Transit is critical to our region’s economic vitality and an affordable, reliable public transit system is an irreplaceable tool to ensure equity and accessibility for everyone.
“The State of Illinois funds just 17% of transit operating costs, well below its peers. We know the path to more state funding starts with the reforms in the Metropolitan Mobility Authority Act.
“Without confidence in an efficient and equitable governance structure, we won’t be able to secure the funding to operate the world-class transit system we deserve.”
Before thousands of anti-abortion protesters at the Texas Capitol in 2023, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott brazenly touted his party’s passage of draconian abortion laws as “life-saving.” “We promised we would protect the life of every child with a heartbeat, and we did. I signed a law doing exactly that,” Abbott told the crowd at the annual Texas Rally For Life event. “All of you are life savers, and thousands of newborn babies are the result of your heroic efforts.”
Abbott’s words now ring particularly hollow in light of a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics that reveals infant deaths in Texas starkly increased following SB 8, which barred care at the first sign of embryonic cardiac activity, typically around six weeks of pregnancy, and carried a private enforcement provision that deterred the vast majority of care in the state. The 2021 law stood as the most restrictive abortion ban at the time.
Researchers with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that infant deaths rose by nearly 13 percent in 2022. Comparatively, these deaths, defined in the study as occurring under 12 months old, increased less than 2 percent in the rest of the United States.
“We found that infant mortality increased pretty substantially in Texas but not in the rest of the country,” Alison Gemmill, assistant professor in the Bloomberg School’s Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health and one of the study’s lead authors, tells The Nation. “It speaks to how these restrictive laws can have horrific and devastating effects on infant health, pregnant people, and on families overall—unintended or not.”
Year after year, while Roe v. Wade was the law of the land, Texas legislators passed measures limiting access to abortion — who could have one, how and where. And with the same cadence, they added millions of dollars to a program designed to discourage people from terminating pregnancies.
Their budget infusions for the Alternatives to Abortion program grew with almost every legislative session — first gradually, then dramatically — from $5 million starting in 2005 to $140 million after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the right to an abortion.
Now that abortion is largely illegal in Texas, lawmakers say they have shifted the purpose of the program, and its millions of dollars, to supporting families affected by the state’s ban. […]
But an investigation by ProPublica and CBS News found that the system that funnels a growing pot of state money to anti-abortion nonprofits has few safeguards and is riddled with waste. […]
In some cases, taxpayers are paying these groups to distribute goods they obtained for free, allowing anti-abortion centers — which are often called “crisis pregnancy centers” and may be set up to look like clinics that perform abortions — to bill $14 to hand out a couple of donated diapers.
Transgender people under 18 face laws that bar them from accessing gender-affirming health care in 25 states — just a few years ago, not a single state had such a law.
The Supreme Court has agreed to consider a case from Tennessee in its next term that challenges that state’s gender-affirming care ban for young people.
“Pressure had been mounting for the Supreme Court to weigh in here,” says Lindsey Dawson, director for LGBTQ Health Policy at the health research organization KFF. […]
Most of the state bans have been challenged in court, Dawson notes, with 20 state bans currently in effect. “We’d seen split decisions in the appeals courts, which is always an indication that an issue might be ripe for the Supreme Court.”
On Monday, a new law allowing volunteer chaplains in Florida public schools took effect. The Satanic Temple was ready.
“The Satanic Temple’s chaplains can now serve in Florida’s public schools, thanks to Governor Ron DeSantis!” the church posted Tuesday on its social media accounts.
DeSantis said that would not be happening.
“We’re not playing those games in Florida,” DeSantis said when he signed the bill in April. “That is not a religion.” […]
Under HB 931, volunteer school chaplains may “provide support, services, and programs to students as assigned by the district school board or charter school governing board.” Parents must consent and may choose from a publicly available list of chaplains and their religious affiliations, if any. [….]
“Any opportunity that exists for ministers or chaplains in the public sector must not discriminate based on religious affiliation,” The Satanic Temple’s director of ministry, who goes by Penemue Grigori, said in an email to the USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida while the bill was being deliberated. “Our ministers look forward to participating in opportunities to do good in the community, including the opportunities created by this bill, right alongside the clergy of other religions.”
Opponents of a new Louisiana law requiring that a version of the Ten Commandments be posted in public school classrooms have asked a federal court to block implementation of the requirement while their lawsuit against it progresses and before the new school year starts.
A group of parents of Louisiana public school students, representing various faiths, filed the lawsuit last month, soon after Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed the new law. In motions filed Monday, their attorneys asked for a preliminary injunction blocking the law. And they sought an expedited briefing and hearing schedule that would require the state to respond to the request for an injunction by July 19 and for a hearing on July 29. Public schools open in August.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Baton Rouge, says the law violates First Amendment clauses protecting religious liberty and forbidding laws establishing a religion.
Backers of the law argue that it doesn’t violate the Constitution and that posting the Ten Commandments is appropriate and legal because they are part of the foundation of U.S. law.
In Oklahoma, public schools have been ordered to incorporate the Bible into lessons for grades 5 through 12 by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters.
Walters called the Bible an “indispensable historical and cultural touchstone,” in a June 27 statement about the announcement.
Without “basic knowledge” of the Bible, Walters claimed, “Oklahoma students are unable to properly contextualize the foundation of our nation which is why Oklahoma educational standards provide for its instruction. This is not merely an educational directive but a crucial step in ensuring our students grasp the core values and historical context of our country.” […]
Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU), told ABC News that she doesn’t oppose the idea of teaching religion as a part of history. However, her organization objects to teaching the Bible as truth or “core values,” as Walters stated, “because that’s favoring one set of religious views over others and over non religion, and that’s expressly prohibited by our Constitution.”
After a 2021 winter storm laid bare how unprepared the state was for severe weather, Texas had been on the prowl for ways to ensure that it was producing enough electricity during times of disaster.
Their solution: new fossil fuel power plants.
But while the state says these new power plants meet the demand caused by severe weather and population growth, a new ERCOT forecast says that as the state’s power demand doubles over the next six years, most of the demand will come from water and energy-guzzling data centers for artificial intelligence supercomputers and crypto processing. […]
Despite analyses showing that clean energy sources like wind and solar are largely more reliable and cheaper to produce there than energy from fossil fuels, in the aftermath of last summer, the state decided to subsidize $10 billion worth of new gas power plants.
Across the country, low-income Black people are exposed to the most pollution from power plants and have the highest risk of death from such pollution. In Texas, more than 75% of the state’s gas power plants are in areas where the population has an above-average share of people of color, according to a Capital B analysis of EPA data.
* ICYMI: Madigan attorneys still aiming for October trial despite U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Sun-Times…
[Prosecutors and defense attorney] also told U.S. District Judge John Blakey that the feds have no plan to file a revised indictment against Madigan in the wake of the high court decision.
The news came in the form of a status report filed jointly by prosecutors and defense attorneys for Madigan and his co-defendant, longtime confidant Michael McClain. The seven-page document contained the first public comment from prosecutors in Madigan’s case since the Supreme Court ruled in the separate appeal of former Portage, Indiana, Mayor James Snyder. […]
Under the plan outlined in the report, Madigan’s attorneys would have until July 18 to file motions related to the Snyder ruling. Defense attorneys also asked the judge to consider keeping names of jurors in the case confidential — known only to parties. Prosecutors will apparently agree if the judge makes certain findings, according to the report.
Meanwhile, attorneys in the separate ComEd bribery case are due in front of a judge this morning. Defense attorneys insist it will need to be re-tried in light of SCOTUS' Snyder ruling. Background: https://t.co/dyiSV0D3behttps://t.co/g6vCygkP2x
Governor Pritzker will announce the CEJA Climate Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program grantees at 1 pm. Click here to watch.
*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***
* Tribune | Amid ‘continued threats’ River Forest Public Library to open late Tuesday, hire security: According to the notification about the threat, hiring of security and later opening, officials explained that recently, the actions of the individual believed to be at the center of the threats have “escalated” and include sending letters to The River Forest Tennis Club, several residents and a staff member. “The content of the letters has also shifted. They now name several staff members and make indirect threats to the Library at large,” the notice reads.
* WAND | IL could soon expand mental health coverage for patients following miscarriage, stillbirth: The state currently requires insurance coverage for mental, emotional, nervous or substance use treatments for pregnant people through delivery, postpartum and neonatal care. “But there is no requirement to provide those services in the case of miscarriage or stillbirth,” said Sen. Linda Holmes (D-Aurora). “House Bill 5282 adds coverage for individuals needing those services as a result of a miscarriage or stillbirth.”
*** Statehouse News ***
* Pantagraph | Illinois lawmaker recap: In second year, Chung takes on ‘bigger lifts’ in Springfield: Chung, a second-year lawmaker, said she did “more navigating and steering” this session after “going along for the ride a little bit more last year.” This included sponsoring bills that were “bigger lifts,” such as the battery stewardship program, which awaits Pritzker’s signature to become law. “It was a really great lesson in how to negotiate a bill and bring in all these people together,” she said. “That was a really great experience, to be honest. I really am proud about that bill.”
* WBBM | Advocates say Pritzker’s cannabis equity promises went up in smoke: Richard St. Paul, with the National Black Empowerment Action Fund (NBEAF), said Gov. J.B. Pritzker promised 63,000 jobs would be generated by the legalization of recreational marijuana — mostly for people in communities that were hurt by the war on drugs. St Paul, though, said that promise wasn’t kept. […] But Erin Johnson, Illinois’ cannabis regulation oversight officer, said there are 103 social equity licenses now, and she claimed that Illinois’ legalized pot industry is the nation’s most diverse:
*** Statewide ***
* Tribune | Wilmette resident Nancy Maldonado confirmed to 7th U.S Circuit of Appeals: A graduate of Harvard University and Columbia University’s law school, Maldonado, 48, was born in Skokie and lived in the village until 2015. She will replace 7th Circuit Judge Ilana Diamond Rovner, who upon Maldonado’s confirmation will take senior status, a form of semi-retirement with a reduced caseload. Like her current position as a federal trial court judge, Maldonado’s new role as a federal appeals court judge carries with it life tenure.
* Tribune | Climate change threatens overall firefly populations, study shows, but Midwest could see increase: Twenty-six species call Illinois home, one of which — the Cypress firefly — is classified as vulnerable in the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species. […] The study concluded the insect’s abundance was “generally, negatively affected” by an increase in summertime heat. However, just as most areas might see a decline in the populations of certain firefly species under climate change or even lose populations altogether, the models indicated conditions, including warmer temperatures, might make some areas able to support larger local and regional populations, primarily around the Midwest and Great Lakes.
* NBC Chicago | Here are all the Illinois athletes representing Team USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics: From the Chicago area and beyond, Illinois Olympians will look to secure their place in history as they go for gold. And there will be no shortage of opportunities as the state has representation across a number of sports, including gymnastics, swimming, track and field, BMX racing, soccer and more.
* Tribune | ‘I’ve been consistently working’: Chicago White Sox top prospect Colson Montgomery is excited for Futures Game opportunity: Janish said, ‘Really happy with what you’ve been doing, just keep staying consistent and keep doing what you’re doing, and we know everything’s going to work out,” Montgomery recalled during a video conference call on Friday. Montgomery said Janish continued, “‘Just want to let you know you’ve been selected for the Futures Game.’ And I said, ‘Let’s go,’ and I was really excited. I’m still excited, and I can’t wait to play there.”
* Tribune | NASCAR Chicago Street Race averages nearly 3.9 million TV viewers, but falls short of last year after two-hour rain delay: Last year, the inaugural July Fourth weekend event navigated record rainfall that curtailed races, canceled concerts and left remaining fans soaked. But the TV broadcast averaged nearly 4.8 million viewers, the most watched Cup Series race on NBC since 2017. Viewership was down for this year’s race from the start Sunday afternoon, peaking just after the green flag dropped at 4:11 p.m. When the red flag came out about an hour later amid increasing rain and crashes, it precipitated a lengthy delay that drove away viewers.
*** Cook County and Suburbs ***
* Daily Herald | ‘A better life’: Dogs rescued from Oklahoma ‘puppy mills’ arrive in suburbs: According to Daubert, the Humane Society of the United States rescued more than 100 dogs from two breeding operations that were shut down in Milburn, Oklahoma. The HSUS was tipped off about the operations and alerted Anderson Humane of the need for care of the animals. “They were unsanitary and ill, and several needed immediate medical treatment,” Daubert said after transferring 20 crated puppies from the first flight to Anderson Humane vans.
* AP | For-profit college in Oak Lawn shuts down abruptly:Northwestern College President Lawrence Schumacher said in the email that the U.S. Department of Education has been reviewing the school. As a result of the review, the agency had stopped the regular flow of federal student aid funds to the school, moving instead to a reimbursement system. Schumacher said payments were delayed for 45 days or longer and after two years of the arrangement the school could no longer cover the lapses in funding.
*** Downstate ***
* Illinois Times | DCFS finds foster parent negligent in death of 7-year-old boy: An investigation completed by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services on June 28 concluded that neglect by David Yankee led to the death of Barrett Koches, DCFS spokesperson Heather Tarczan said July 1. […] DCFS also determined that Yankee and his husband, Michael, inadequately supervised the two other foster children in their care at the time of Barrett Koches’ drowning in the Yankees’ outdoor, in-ground swimming pool behind their home in the 2300 block of Winnebago Drive on Springfield’s north end.
* KFVS | Union employees picket at Menard Correctional Center: Correctional officers from the facility say short staffing is causing an increase in violent attacks from inmates. Safety Matters, that’s the message they want management at this facility, other facilities, and the Department of Corrections to hear. “Menard, we house the worst of the worst, so when they assault at other facilities, we get them sent to us, when they assault us, they stay here,” Rick Hepp said.
* WCIA | Illinois to screen for juvenile justice specialists in Lincoln: Specialists aim to improve the lives of youth in their care through mentoring relationships and direct supervision. The specialists will work at the new Monarch Youth Center in Lincoln, which is scheduled to open in early 2025 according to the department’s website. The starting salary for this full-time shift-work job is $58,248.
*** National ***
* KSDK | Armed man ‘appeared to be in a depressive state’ when St. Louis police seized his guns on a downtown rooftop overlooking July 4 parade route: The Alton police department issued a warrant for Sappington’s arrest back in March after investigating a January shooting at a crowded intersection of Belle and W. 3rd streets. Court records show Sappington did not have a Firearm Owner’s ID (FOID) card. No injuries were reported in that shooting incident. […] Under Illinois’ new law that abolishes cash bail, prosecutors can file a motion to seek pretrial detention for forcible felonies. On both counts, the alleged crimes would’ve qualified for pretrial detention. Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine did not initially file a motion seeking detention before Sappington’s trial.
* Crain’s | Pritzker steps up anti-Trump drive with Milwaukee abortion ads: The billboards near Wisconsin’s largest city were placed early this month and will be up through the convention, according to Christina Amestoy, a spokeswoman for Think Big America. One of them reads: “MAGA extremists are in town this week to nominate a president who wants a national abortion ban. Stop them. Vote.” “Thanks to Donald Trump and his allies, access to contraception, IVF, and all reproductive health care is now at risk,” Amestoy said in a statement. “Whenever a woman is denied the care she needs, remember: MAGA extremists did this to women and we’re not going to let voters forget it.”
Payday lenders offer short-term, small-dollar, and high-interest consumer loans. Consumers get payday loans primarily from state-licensed storefront locations—of which there were an estimated 13,700 nationwide in 2018—where loans have a median amount of $350 and typical fees equate to an average annual percentage rate (APR) of almost 400%. Unlike traditional financial institutions, such as banks and credit unions, there is no centralized national database on the location of payday lender storefronts.
This article uses data that provide the zip codes of licensed storefront payday lenders in Illinois beginning in 2006 and ending in 2021 after which, under the Predatory Loan Prevention Act, there were no longer any licensed payday lenders in the state. This data set allows us to document the locations of payday lender storefronts in Illinois during a period of consolidation in the payday lending industry, bookended by two major economic disruptions: the subprime mortgage crisis and Great Recession that ensued and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Because few states keep historical records of licensed payday lenders and their locations, these Illinois licensure data offer a rare glimpse at where payday lenders locate their storefronts. In particular, we find the following key facts about Illinois payday lenders:
-Over two-thirds of lenders located their storefronts in clusters—zip codes with two or more storefronts—with the largest clusters in high-population zip codes.
- Payday lenders were substantially more likely to locate and cluster their storefronts in zip codes with a relatively high fraction of residents in poverty.
- Payday lenders were substantially more likely to locate and cluster their storefronts in zip codes with a relatively high fraction of the residents reporting their race and ethnicity as other than non-Hispanic White to the U.S. Census Bureau.
- Payday storefronts followed similar location patterns in Chicago as they did across all of Illinois.
* After Indiana, Pritzker will keynote the Ohio Democrats’ Annual Family Reunion with Sen. Cory Brooker….
New: On Friday, @GovPritzker@JBPritzker to headline Indiana Democratic Party Hoosier Hospitality Dinner in Indianapolis with Georgia Rep. @NikemaWilliams
Planned Parenthood Great Rivers (PPGR) announced the expansion of availability for medication abortion, now available to patients up to 12 weeks pregnant.
The expansion, up from the previous 11 weeks of pregnancy, will allow more patients to access abortion services when they need it, via telehealth and in-person clinic visits. […]
Patients up to ten weeks pregnant who have an Illinois mailing address may also order medication abortion via the PPDirect mobile app from the privacy of their home without needing to schedule a clinic visit.
Environmental and conservation groups celebrated this week following Illinois’ “historic” signing of an agreement to begin construction of a project designed to keep invasive carp out of the Great Lakes.
With the leading edge of Asian carp thought to be 10 miles downriver of the Brandon Road Lock, the last line of defense between the Mississippi River and Lake Michigan is a barrier at Romeoville.
Gov. J.B. Priztker signed the agreement alongside the state of Michigan and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The $1.14 billion project will be funded by the federal, Illinois and Michigan governments, with the federal government taking on 90% of the cost.
Advocates, some of whom have been pushing for the project since the early 2000s, said the signing will help protect the region’s fishery, economy and quality of life.
*** Statehouse News ***
* The Real Deal | Behind the evolution of rent control’s politics: [Sen. Natalie Toro’s] bill wasn’t seen as a threat by real estate lobbyists, they said, and she didn’t put up much of a fight. She introduced an older version of legislation crafted by Chicago’s Lift the Ban Coalition – which is pushing for a new bill in the House – suggesting a lack of coordination with the group. Toro’s bill died after she didn’t call it in time to meet a legislative deadline. “I don’t know to what degree (Toro) believes in the issue, but I think she introduced the bill because she believed the politics were good,” said state Rep. Will Guzzardi, who has introduced a series of bills to lift the ban since 2017. “And that just goes to show you how far this issue has come.”
* WAND | New Illinois law extends deadline for Underground Railroad Task Force: The task force was previously required to submit a report with recommendations to the governor and General Assembly by July 1. However, the new law extends that deadline until the end of this year. “This task force will bring a better understanding of how the Underground Railroad operated, as slaves escaped the south for freedom and a better life in Illinois,” said Sen. Dave Koehler (D-Peoria). “By giving Illinoisans a clear understanding of the past, we are creating a greater future.”
*** Statewide ***
* WMBD | Hurricane Beryl’s remnants to impact Illinois Tuesday into Wednesday: The center of Beryl is forecast to track into southern Illinois by Tuesday evening, then eventually head northeast into central Indiana by early Wednesday. Such a path will place central Illinois and Peoria on the northwest fringes of this system. Note the “cone of uncertainty” still expands roughly 100 miles north and south of the projected path. This means the exact track is not etched in stone. Locally, this is a scenario where just 50-75 miles could mean the difference from staying dry to a sizeable rain event.
* Press Release | Illinois State Fair Museum looking for nominees for Illinoisan of the Day honors at this year’s fair: The Illinois State Fair Museum Foundation is seeking 10 individuals to spotlight each day of the Illinois State Fair as an Illinoisan of the Day. The Illinoisan of the Day program looks to honor individuals who exemplify the qualities and characteristics associated with Illinois- integrity, dependability, sense of community and strong ethics.
*** Chicago ***
* Crain’s | Johnson spikes threat to his control over City Council meetings: After contentious debate, a last-minute opposition effort from Mayor Brandon Johnson defeated a measure that would have empowered the City Council with an extra layer of legislative independence from the Fifth Floor. The bevy of weekend phone calls from Johnson’s legislative affairs staff helped prevent the City Council Rules Committee from advancing a resolution today allowing City Council attorneys to provide legislative counsel on the floor of the chamber during parliamentary fights that often devolve into arcane battles over the body’s own rules.
* Tribune | In high-profile Jayden Perkins murder case, defendant takes unusual step of defending himself against experienced prosecutors: The case against Crosetti Brand is striking on its own: A man with a documented history of abusing multiple women is accused of barging into an Edgewater apartment just a day after being released from prison, attacking his ex-girlfriend and killing Jayden when the boy tried to help his mother. But procedurally, the matter stands out even more as it unfolds at the busy Leighton Criminal Court Building. Brand is serving as his own attorney, arguing the case without the expertise of a licensed lawyer, and he has demanded a speedy trial — meaning the case is proceeding toward trial at a pace nearly unheard of in a building where murder cases can linger for years or even a decade.
* Sun-Times | Most murders of transgender women in Chicago go unsolved: ‘I can’t let go without answers’: Most law enforcement agencies do not track transgender homicides, but researchers have recorded over 300 transgender people murdered nationwide between 2010 and 2021. The national clearance rate was just over 50%, but police in Chicago cleared only 14%, they found. […] The Sun-Times used interviews, news clips and information from LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations to identify at least 14 trans and gender-non-conforming people killed in Chicago since 2016. They were all Black or Latinx and were all killed in neighborhoods on the South and West sides. In all but one case, the victims were trans women.
* WBEZ | Chicago Teachers Union criticizes CPS leadership over state of contract negotiations: While the teachers union is only escalating through words so far, not actions, they aren’t ruling out more significant steps — even a potential strike vote if they don’t see progress in bargaining by the end of the summer, CTU Vice President Jackson Potter said. “Hopefully, we won’t face that,” Potter said in an interview Thursday. […] The CTU contract expired June 30, but contract negotiations typically last past expiration through the summer and into the fall.
* Tribune | A migrant family felt ‘blessed’ to be picked for a state rental program. They were given units that seemed unlivable — with a difficult choice.: The state did document some problems with landlords. Records show migrants turned apartments down several times because of “unsafe living conditions.” A few caught fire. One tenant and landlord got into a verbal altercation and then the landlord refused to turn over the keys. Another tenant was shown a second-floor apartment but given keys to the basement and told that the “upstairs unit is for Americans.” The state eventually demanded dozens of landlords pay back more than $620,000 — about $175,000 of which was repaid as of late June, according to the most recently available state data.
* Block Club | South Siders Mourn The Loss Of Huge Music Festivals: ‘Man, What Else Do We Have?’: Two South Side festivals which drew thousands of people in support of world-renowned musicians, Chicago artists on the come-up and local small businesses have shut down in consecutive years. Hyde Park Summer Fest called it quits this year after a nine-year run, as first reported by the Hyde Park Herald in May. The Silver Room Block Party, which for its last years was at Oakwood Beach, came to a close last year.
* Center Square | Black households in Chicago lag behind others, without liquid assets: Illinois State Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, says he could have easily predicted the findings of a new “Color of Wealth” survey that highlights the typical Black Chicago household has fewer liquid assets and less to fall back on than any other racial or ethnic group. In addition to finding that Black households have a median net worth of zero compared to $210,000 for white families, researchers from the Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy also found that black residents are far less likely to own stock, individual retirement accounts and homes compared to white, Mexicans and Puerto Rican families.
* Crain’s | Cut traffic, connect to the lake to reboot Mag Mile: study: At the heart of its recommendation is a concept that is simple, yet difficult to achieve: Making Michigan Avenue a place to linger, with space that favors pedestrians over cars. The days of Boul Mich as a shopping mecca that have defined it for decades need to be left behind, Gensler contends, noting the record-high 30% retail vacancy rate along the avenue. The share of vacant street-facing storefronts on the Mag Mile is even higher. Filling and repositioning those spaces should be more entertainment uses, art, experiential retail, food and beverage options and other hospitality-focused features that don’t require seven lanes of car traffic running through them, the firm says.
*** Cook County and Suburbs ***
* Tribune | Skokie police sergeant files lawsuit alleging gender discrimination: According to the lawsuit, filed June 21 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Russell seeks back pay for lost wages and benefits, a promotion to commander, front pay if appropriate and compensatory damages, as well as punitive damages against Police Chief Jesse Barnes, former Police Chief Brian Baker, and Commander Timothy Gramins, among other demands. Per the lawsuit, Russell was passed over for a promotion to commander eight times since December 2017, despite receiving a higher assessment score than a male co-worker who was promoted to commander in 2022. According to a news release from the village, that male co-worker was later promoted to deputy police chief in January 2024.
*** Downstate ***
* STLPR | There’s a peachier outlook for most southern Illinois orchards this summer: “We’re really happy with where our peaches are at right now,” said Austin Flamm, who runs Flamm Orchards near Cobden about 100 miles southeast of St. Louis. Last year, a cold spell in the winter knocked out all but 10% of their crop. It was the worst loss in 16 seasons for the fruit and vegetable farming family. However, this year’s weather largely cooperated, and peach production at Flamm’s will stand at 100%. In fact, the crop was so plentiful Flamm and his team had to trim back some trees earlier this year.
* WICS | SIU medicine seeks participants for schizophrenia clinical trial study: The Journey 2 study is testing the effectiveness of a novel medication called valbenazine. […] The participants’ health and safety will be closely monitored throughout the study period. All study-related visits, tests and study drugs will be provided at no cost. Enrolled patients receive a stipend and may be reimbursed for travel.
* SJ-R | Popular downtown Springfield summer music festival not returning in 2024: The decision is due to “costs and logistics,” said Barry Friedman, who acquired the rights to run the downtown festival from Downtown Springfield, Inc. in 2016. It is held the last weekend of August. “We will regroup and examine the possibility of returning in 2025,” Friedman said.
*** National ***
* Bis Now | As Data Centers Go Nuclear To Meet AI Power Demand, Worries Grow About The Impact On Everyone Else: The owners of about a third of the U.S.’s nuclear power plants are in talks with tech companies about providing electricity to them directly, The Wall Street Journal reports. Nuclear plants would give well-funded data centers a 24/7 source of carbon-free energy and enable speedy addition of the centers, which are sprouting rapidly amid the global AI race, the WSJ states. Amazon Web Services is working with Constellation Energy, the largest owner of U.S. nuclear power plants, on a deal to get electricity from one of its plants on the East Coast, according to the WSJ.
* Politico | RNC committee approves dropping national limits on abortion from party platform: The platform, which will be finalized by a vote of the full convention body next week, represents a major change for the GOP — and one that anti-abortion advocates had spent months rallying against. The new language describing abortion as an issue to be decided by the states is in line with the position held by Trump. Still, anti-abortion leaders are lauding the inclusion of language pointing to 14th Amendment protections that conservatives have long argued protects life beginning at conception.
On July 4, 2022, a mass shooting occurred during an Independence Day parade in Highland Park, Illinois, United States. The shooting occurred at 10:14 a.m. CDT (UTC−05:00), roughly 15 minutes after the parade had started. Seven people were killed, and 48 others were wounded by bullets or shrapnel.
* Two days later, the FBI issued this announcement…
• A Family Assistance Center (FAC) will open today, Wednesday, July 6, beginning at noon. Support services and crisis assistance will be offered, including counseling and mental health services, spiritual care, and financial assistance, if needed.
• FAC services are available to those directly impacted by the events at the Highland Park 4th of July Parade. Victims are not just those who are physically injured, but also those were present and may be experiencing emotional distress. […]
Who and what will be the services offered?
• Crisis counseling
• Trauma-informed therapists
• Spiritual care
• Red Cross disaster mental health assistance
• IL Attorney General’s Office will provide information on accessing IL Crime Victim Compensation Program benefits
• Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office will provide county-level victims services and basic updates on the criminal case
• FBI Victim Services
• Therapy dogs
• Childcare for those visiting the FAC
Who should be accessing which resources?
The FBI’s Victim Services resources are available for:
• Members of the public present at and injured at Monday’s parade
• Next of kin of deceased victims
• Members of the public present at Monday’s parade and experiencing emotional distress
Local community resources are being provided for any member of the public affected by Monday’s events, whether present at the parade or not.
* The reason I bring this up is that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said today that he has asked the federal government for resources to help deal with the aftermath of mass shootings in his city. As you know by now, more than 100 people were wounded in Chicago during the long Independence Day weekend and 19 people died. The city experienced four mass shootings during that period, according to the Sun-Times…
“Remember the mass shooting that happened in Highland Park and all of the services that they got? That’s what we’re asking for. That’s all,” the mayor said.
“What other suburban places get around the country when mass shootings happen like that, we’re just simply saying that Chicago deserves that as well.”
* The Question: Do you agree with the mayor on this specific topic? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
Illinois State Police say an automated license plate reader program has helped the agency identify witnesses or suspects in 82 percent of highway shooting cases this year, including all eight that resulted in a death.
But as the state looks to further expand its network of more than 400 cameras this year, it faces a lawsuit accusing ISP of operating “a system of dragnet surveillance” by using the cameras to monitor all traffic that passes them.
The fiscal year 2025 state budget that lawmakers approved last month includes $7 million in new funding for the technology as well as $2.5 million reappropriated from a previous year. […]
The libertarian legal group Liberty Justice Center contends the constant nature of that surveillance violates the rights of two Cook County residents named as plaintiffs in their lawsuit filed May 30.
For the third year, the Illinois State Police (ISP) is reporting a decrease in the number of shootings on Chicago area expressways. At the midway mark for 2024, ISP is reporting a 36% decrease in the total number of Chicago area expressway shootings compared to this time last year. When compared to 2021, we’ve seen a 65% reduction in shootings. The number of non-fatal injury expressway shooting in the Chicago area is down 47% compared to this time in 2023.
“Year after year, we have seen a decrease in the number of Chicago area expressway shootings,” said ISP Director Brendan F. Kelly. “This year’s reduction, on top of the decreases we’ve seen over the last two years, shows our tactics to reduce violence on the expressway are having an effect. ISP will continue to dedicate the resources needed to help keep the public safe.” […]
After the number of expressway shootings reached an all-time high in 2021, ISP implemented a multifaceted approach to reducing expressway shooting, including increased patrols, the creation of Special Operation Groups focused on strategic violent crime reduction missions, the use of automated license plate readers, increased Air Operations, intensive investigations, and enhanced forensic services.
Part of stopping crime includes solving crime and ISP Division of Criminal Investigation special agents aggressively pursue all leads in expressway shootings. In one instance, special agents began an investigation following an expressway shooting stemming from a road rage incident in early June. Agents conducted numerous interviews and reviewed license plate reader photos, which led to the identification of the vehicle and possible suspects. During the investigation, agents obtained several search warrants, conducted surveillance, and collected evidence. Within two days of the shooting, the investigation resulted in one person being charged with two counts of attempted murder, and another being charged with Aggravated Fleeing to Elude and three counts of Aggravated Unlawful Use of a Weapon. This is just one example of the extensive and thorough investigations ISP special agents conduct to get violent criminals off the expressways.
In its ongoing mission to reduce expressway shootings, ISP is faced with several challenges. Victims and witness increasingly are reporting road rage was involved in expressway shootings. ISP’s approach to reducing expressway violence will continue to evolve as we address new challenges and implement successful strategies.
* “ISP Statewide Anti-Violence Enforcement (SAVE) Unit North and Troop 3 Chicago Patrol statistics for January 1–June 30″…
Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., was sitting in her Evanston kitchen on Friday night, just back from a hit on MSNBC where she strongly urged Democrats to stop calling for President Joe Biden to step aside and unite behind the Biden-Harris ticket. […]
On Friday, in another segment of “All In with Chris Hayes,” Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., made news when he called on Biden to step aside. Quigley is one of five House Democrats — as of Sunday — to say on the record that Biden should be replaced. […]
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi is one of those House members who wants to consult with his colleagues before making a decision on what to do. […]
Rep. Lauren Underwood is a member of the Biden Harris campaign National Advisory Board and has been traveling the country doing events for the Biden-Harris ticket. On Sunday, her senior political adviser, Pavitra Abraham, told me nothing has changed and Underwood “supports the president.”
Rep. Danny Davis’ position is that Biden should stay, his chief of staff, Tumia Romero, told me. “Likely any other option creates deep divisions within the Democratic Party. Biden has earned the right to stay in the race.”
Rep. Jonathan Jackson told me Biden should stay, but he didn’t elaborate.
Rep. Robin Kelly announced her support for Biden last night.
As President Biden watches his support among some key Democrats in Congress quietly crumble, one group has emerged as a vocal base of support on Capitol Hill: Black lawmakers, particularly older ones.
While most elected Democrats have avoided publicly weighing in on Mr. Biden’s fate and many have privately expressed skepticism that he can remain the party’s candidate after a disastrous debate performance, senior members of the Congressional Black Caucus have filled the void with full-throated expressions of support.
It is reminiscent of how Black Democrats rallied behind Mr. Biden to help propel him to his primary victory in 2020. It also speaks to a broader racial and generational divide in the party that could be consequential in determining how it moves forward from the president’s current crisis.
More than a dozen Black Democrats in both the House and Senate have begun to offer a strong defense of him, even as their colleagues whisper in increasingly urgent tones about pushing him aside.
“Some Democrats just naturally get nervous,” said Mark Guethle, who is the newly elected chair of the Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association and “100 percent” behind Biden. “Look,” he said, “I’ve been around politics for 40 years. We all know Joe Biden has a speech impediment. We all know that he was tired [in that debate]. And I don’t care how old Joe Biden is. He is fighting for the middle class. He has always fought for the middle class. If anybody should drop from the race, it should be Donald Trump.” […]
State Sen. Dave Koehler and Chicago Ald. Pat Dowell aren’t ready to commit either way. Dowell said she’s talking to constituents “before I put my hand on the scale.” […]
Also with Biden: Attorney Gen. Kwame Raoul, Comptroller Susana Mendoza, state Reps. Jehan Gordon-Booth, La Shawn Ford and Margaret Croke; state Sens. Elgie Sims, Adriane Johnson and Javier L. Cervantes; Chicago Alds. Walter Burnett Jr. and Gilbert “Gil” Villegas; Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering; Cook County Commissioner Monica Gordon; Illinois AFL-CIO chief Tim Drea; delegates Desiree Rogers, Beth Penesis and Chris Dunn; and former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun. […]
A big name keeping quiet: Gov. JB Pritzker hasn’t commented since Biden’s interview Friday on ABC, suggesting he’s concerned about the president’s chances. Earlier last week, Pritzker spent 13 minutes on CNN offering carefully worded support, saying he’s “100 percent on board” with Biden “unless he makes some other decision.”
“The reality is that President Biden has won our party’s nomination in 2024, and it is up to him to choose his path forward,” Budzinski said. “I believe if he decides to stay in this race, and he has indicated that he obviously is, I’m going to be supporting him because I think there is just too much at stake for any other alternative.”
Schneider also discussed the presidential race in the wake of a poor debate showing from President Joe Biden that has some of his congressional colleagues, including fellow Illinois Democrat Mike Quigley, calling for the incumbent to step aside.
“The debate was a debacle,” Schneider said. “There is no question about that.”
Schneider said he is talking with his colleagues and leadership about next steps.
“My commitment is to do everything we need to do to ensure that we win in November, that Trump is not reelected to the White House.”
* US Rep. Eric Sorensen dodged repeated questions from a Quad Cities interviewer…
“I’m really focused here on the things I need to do in the district,” Sorensen said. “I’ve seen the clips from the Thursday night debate, but I wasn’t watching live because it’s not a decision that is front and center in my mind.”
I just don’t think that my opinion matters for, for the people at home.
* Greg Hinz asks who would be VP Harris’ running mate if Biden stepped aside and she had the nomination in hand…
Pritzker, unlike, say, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro or North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, comes from a solidly blue state that would be expected to go Democratic. Beyond that, while Shapiro and Cooper both share law-enforcement backgrounds — with Harris as a former state attorney general — Harris and Cooper are also said to be personal friends.
Pritzker comes from the business world. But the huge wealth the Chicago billionaire could bring to to the race at a critical time might make a difference, and Pritzker has made no secret of his desire to be a national political player.
Sources close to him are divided on whether he’d accept the No. 2 job. Pritzker himself and his team aren’t commenting.
Pritzker is due to speak at events thrown by both the Indiana and Ohio Democratic parties this upcoming weekend. Perhaps he’ll say something then — and perhaps by then we’ll know more about Biden’s situation.
* More…
* Biden tells Hill Democrats he ‘declines’ to step aside and says it’s time for party drama ‘to end’: Biden wrote in the two-page letter that “the question of how to move forward has been well-aired for over a week now. And it’s time for it to end.” He stressed that the party has “one job,” which is to defeat presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in November. “We have 42 days to the Democratic Convention and 119 days to the general election,” Biden said in the letter, distributed by his reelection campaign. “Any weakening of resolve or lack of clarity about the task ahead only helps Trump and hurts us. It’s time to come together, move forward as a unified party, and defeat Donald Trump.” He followed up the letter with a phone interview with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” show, on which he insisted that “average Democrats” want him to stay in the race and said he was “frustrated” by the calls from party officials for him to step aside. “They’re big names, but I don’t care what those big names think,” Biden said.
* Parkinson’s doctor made 10 White House visits, logs show: Dr. O’Connor, the White House physician, said he “assembled a team” of medical specialists, including “movement disorder neurologic specialists to carefully examine and assess the president” during his Feb. 28, 2024 physical exam. The team concluded “that much of his stiffness is in fact a result of degenerative osteoarthritic changes of his spine.” Dr. O’Connor said he conducted “an extremely detailed neurologic exam” that found no evidence consistent with “cerebellar or other central neurological disorders such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s.”
Monday, Jul 8, 2024 - Posted by Advertising Department
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* “Overall, Illinois’ economic and financial position has improved in recent years, but it still lags behind other states and the country as a whole,” is the conclusion of Benjamin L. Varner, Chief Economist for the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. The numbers are not good. Let’s start with Gross Domestic Product…
During the first quarter of 2024, Illinois’ economy contracted by 1.3% on an annualized basis, ranking 45th among the states and the District of Columbia. … The U.S. as a whole grew by 1.4% during this period.
To analyze growth since the outbreak of COVID-19, the Commission compared real GDP growth since the fourth quarter of 2019. The United States has grown 8.6% post-COVID-19, one of the highest rates among advanced economies. In contrast, Illinois’ economy has grown only 2.8%, ranking 46th
Employment levels in May 2024 were compared to May 2023 and February 2020, the last month before significant declines during the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2024, Illinois had approximately 6.15 million payroll jobs, an increase of about 44,000 jobs compared to 2023. … On a percentage basis, this growth equated to just 0.7%, ranking 45th. […]
The U.S. now has just over 6.2 million more jobs than in February 2020, representing 4.1% growth. Illinois, on the other hand, has barely surpassed its pre-COVID-19 level, with approximately 14,000 more jobs in May 2024 than in February 2020, equating to only 0.2% growth. This ranks Illinois 45th in the nation.
Over the last decade, Illinois has consistently been about 0.8% to 0.9% above the U.S. average. In May 2024, preliminary data indicates that Illinois’ seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.9%, which is 0.9% higher than the U.S. average of 4.0%, ranking 47th among the states and the District of Columbia. Over the last year, Illinois’ unemployment rate increased by 0.7 percentage points, from 4.2% to 4.9%. This increase is higher than the average state increase of 0.4% and the national increase of 0.3%.
During the first quarter of 2024, Illinois had a seasonally adjusted total income of approximately $912 billion at an annual rate, the fifth highest in the country. The year-over- year change from the first quarter of 2023 to the first quarter of 2024 was 3.7%, which was below the U.S. growth rate of 4.4%. Illinois’ growth over the previous year ranked 40th. […]
Illinois was similarly one of the slowest-growing states regarding total income growth since the outbreak of COVID-19. Since the fourth quarter of 2019, Illinois’ total income grew by 22.0%, significantly below the U.S. increase of 27.2%, ranking 46th over this period.
Changes to primary election fundraising, the electoral college and the state’s voter registration database are now law after Gov. JB Pritzker signed a wide-ranging bill on Monday.
The legislation, containing several unrelated election measures, passed near the end of the legislature’s spring session on a vote of 68-38 in the House and 51-3 in the Senate.
A measure loosening restrictions on political parties’ spending during primary campaigns sparked pushback from some House Republicans during debate of the bill.
Under the new law, parties will be allowed to transfer an unlimited amount of funds to candidates during primary elections. In previous elections, parties were limited in the amount of money they could give candidates based on the office they sought. That provision was put in place in 2009 as part of a reform campaign by then-Gov. Pat Quinn, who took office after his predecessor, Rod Blagojevich, was removed from office following a corruption scandal.
* The governor signed 59 bills last Monday. Press release…
Bill Number: HB4621
Description: Creates the Office of Statewide Pretrial Services within the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately, except that Sections 10 and 15 take effect on July 1, 2025 […]
Bill Number: SB2862
Description: Provides that the Board of Higher Education shall compile, on an annual basis, a list of the most in-demand jobs in this State, along with the starting salary, the median salary, and the typical education level for those jobs.
Action: Signed
Effective: July 1, 2024 […]
Bill Number: SB3414
Description: Requires private insurance to cover continuous glucose monitors without cost-sharing and prohibits prior authorization for continuous glucose monitors.
Action: Signed
Effective: July 1, 2024 […]
Bill Number: HB5559
Description: Requires auto insurance companies to explain in detail how they decided a car was a total loss, including repair costs, salvage value, and market value.
A bill recently signed by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker allows property owners along North Michigan Avenue and other commercial corridors in Chicago to impose a small tax on themselves to fund area improvements, but a new district won’t be in place along the Magnificent Mile until at least 2026.
Backed by Mayor Brandon Johnson and pushed through Springfield by Chicago Democrats, state Rep. Kam Buckner and state Sen. Sara Feigenholtz, the legislation creates business improvement districts, or BIDs, in the city.
A BID allows commercial property owners to self-impose a fee on themselves that would then be spent within the boundaries of the district to attract businesses, update storefronts, add security, and fund infrastructure projects and beautification efforts. Residential properties would be excluded.
The districts are similar to the dozens of special service areas, or SSAs, already in place in Chicago, but proponents argue they provide more control to those being taxed over how the money is spent. They also provide more flexibility in how the tax is assessed, who sits on the board overseeing the funds and whether they could potentially bring in much greater revenue. […]
The initial term of a BID would be five years, with renewals lasting up to 10 years.
Illinois is hoping to lure more talk show and game show productions to the state now that Gov. JB Pritzker has signed a bill that removes some restrictions that kept unscripted shows from participating in the state’s production tax credit program.
The Illinois Production Alliance announced Monday that Pritzker has signed bill HB 5005 into law, which allows national talk shows, contest-based shows and game shows to participate in the state’s Film Production Services Tax Credit program. The expansion of production tax credits was part of an omnibus economic development bill also includes incentives for quantum computing development and redevelopment zones across Illinois. […]
Illinois leaders have made the case that production tax credits handed out by the state more than pay for themselves. According to an economic impact study commissioned by the Illinois Production Alliance, the state’s program brings a $6.81 return on investment for every dollar given out in tax credits. Illinois generated more than $3.6 billion in economic activity from 2017 to 2022. About 94% of film and television production that lensed in Illinois took part in the program.
Tuesday, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed two bills to try and ease the burden for people who owe medical debt.
One new law will allow the state to establish a fund to purchase and forgive medical debt. The state is spending $10 million this year to start the fund.
“This low-cost program to eliminate medical debt will alleviate a major burden on families across Illinois,” said Pritzker, a Democrat. […]
The other new law Pritzker signed Tuesday will help everyone who racks up medical debt in Illinois starting Jan. 1, 2025. It will bar credit agencies from using medical debt accrued in the state when creating someone’s credit report.
Governor JB Pritzker signed SB2930 and HB5507 in advance of the 2024 Chicago Pride Parade. SB2930 requires nonprofits to publicly report the aggregated demographic information about their boards of directors to encourage nonprofits to reflect the diversity of the communities they support. HB5507 removes barriers to the process of changing legal gender on a birth certificate for Illinois residents born in other states. […]
Unlike Illinois, many other states require a court order to change one’s legal gender marker on a birth certificate, creating a significant barrier to access for transgender individuals seeking to affirm their gender identity. HB5507 clarifies that Illinois judges have the authority to issue documentation to support those gender marker corrections, allowing Illinois residents to access this change without the expense of returning to their state of origin.
In Illinois, certain private companies and boards and commissions are already required to report aggregated demographic data about their boards of directors. SB2930 expands that requirement to include the leadership boards of nonprofits that report $1 million or more in annual grants. These statistics, available for at least three years on an organization’s website, are intended to assess each nonprofit’s leadership strengths and opportunities for growth and to implement strategies to recruit qualified individuals from diverse communities for board service.
Ill. Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, signed a bill Monday into law requiring schools create and implement a cardiac response plan by Jan. 1, 2025.
“Which includes but is not limited to procedures to follow in the event of a cardiac emergency, a listing of every AED and location within the school and information on hands-only CPR and use of AEDs,” said state Rep. Laura Faver Dias, D-Grayslake, the legislation’s House sponsor.
The new law also requires staff to learn hands-on cardiac response training including how to do CPR and use an automated external defibrillator (AED).
Another bill on Pritzker’s desk would make sure schools have AEDs on hand. They’re currently only required to be around during sports. The bill would require schools have AEDs available throughout the school day and during all after-school activities.
Rep. Edgar Gonzalez Jr. (D-Chicago) introduced HB 2239 in February 2023. It took almost a full year to get the bill assigned to the House Gaming Committee, and it was re-referred to the House Rules Committee last April.
Gonzalez’s bill didn’t make it any further before the legislature recessed on May 24. Lawmakers will meet for two weeks in the fall. It’s important to note, however, that the current makeup of the General Assembly can meet at any time until January 11, 2025. The legislature meets biennially, meaning their sessions last over two-year periods.
Speaking to PRO this week, Gonzalez said opposition from businesses invested in video gaming terminals (VGTs) helped dash any hopes that HB 2239 would get a hearing from the House Gaming Committee during the current session.
“Our priority this session was the budget, and although igaming was presented as a potential new revenue stream for the state, members of the House and Senate were wary of its implementation, especially after VGTs expressed opposition to the bill,” Gonzalez told PRO on Monday.
The Illinois bill, which ensures children under 16 are compensated for social media content, went into effect on July 1
A revolutionary new piece of state legislation protecting child influencers is now in effect in Illinois, ensuring that children under the age of 16 will be compensated for appearing in their parents’ social media content.
On July 1, the state of Illinois officially enacted an amendment to its existing Child Labor Law, which specifically states that children under the age of 16 are entitled to a share of the revenue from their adult guardians’ vlogging content, defined in the bill as “content shared on an online platform in exchange for compensation.”
According to the law, if a child appears in at least 30 percent of a parent or caregiver’s social media content over the course of 30 days, the minor is entitled to monetary compensation. Adults are required to set aside those funds to be put in a trust, which the minor can access when they turn 18. The law also allows child influencers to take action against parents who failed to properly compensate them for their work, according to a statement from the office of Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who signed the bill into law in August 2023.
Several new ordinances and laws taking effect in Illinois on Monday, July 1 include enhanced benefits for some workers in Chicago, protections for children of social media influencers, additional protections for independent contractors, changes to school assessment tests and the ability for undocumented immigrants to obtain an Illinois driver’s license.
Beginning July 1st, the minimum wage in Chicago will rise to $16.20, up from $15.80.
Statewide, the minimum wage is currently $14.00 an hour, which will increase to $15 an hour by January 1st, 2025. Tipped workers currently receive a minimum wage of $8.40.
Chicago workers will receive at least 10 days off each year, thanks to the Chicago Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave ordinance.
Under the ordinance, workers who work at least 80 hours within a 120 day period are guaranteed five days of paid leave and five days of sick leave.
During the last couple weeks of the spring state legislative session, Senate President Don Harmon got whacked twice by allies, including Gov. J.B. Pritzker, but still managed to keep his cool.
On May 14, the pro-choice powerhouse group Personal PAC issued a blistering press release blasting the Senate supermajority for an “unacceptable decision” to strip abortion services from the governor’s birth equity bill, which banned co-pays and other added insurance costs for most prenatal and postnatal care. Pritzker quickly chimed in, saying if the House-approved bill was indeed stripped of abortion coverage, he wouldn’t sign it.
Eleven days later — the day before the Senate took up the state budget package — an internal administration talking points memo was mistakenly sent as a blast text message by a member of Pritzker’s staff to House Democrats. The incendiary blast text was sent shortly after the Senate Democrats, in consultation with the Republicans, amended a House bill reforming the Illinois Prisoner Review Board.
The Senate’s bipartisan amendment included requirements like live-streaming Prisoner Review Board hearings, which the Pritzker administration claimed at the time would cost a fortune and, according to the mistakenly texted memo, was actually part of a plan to undermine the state’s Mandatory Supervised Release program because hearing officers would be intimidated into not releasing deserving prisoners while being video streamed.
“This is a right-wing wolf in disingenuous transparency clothing,” the administration’s text told House Dems. “It eliminates [Mandatory Supervised Release] by design. And it’s appalling that senate democrats [sic] are so eager to please their Republican friends that they would undermine justice and push to keep people incarcerated who, by measure of actual law, should be out on MSR.”
There was real fear in the building the accidental broadside could derail the budget.
Budget package stayed on track
Through it all, though, Harmon didn’t overreact. The entire budget package cleared his chamber with far more Democratic support than it received days later in the House. Things could’ve been so much different.
“It did not trouble me in a way it may have in the past,” Harmon told me last week after I asked if he had matured over the years.
The Senate, he pointed out, eventually “passed the birth equity bill, and in the form it was passed.” He later added, “I think there were some misunderstandings that could’ve been resolved by a telephone call.”
And Harmon said of the Prisoner Review Board amendment imbroglio: “We weren’t intending to pick fights. It was a bit of a surprise to me the level of engagement and the way it happened. I’d much rather work with the governor to make this work than to spin our wheels for nothing.” He said he’d be “happy” to have a conversation with the governor to “make sure all voices are heard” going forward.
“In the end, we’re judged by what we produce, not the rough drafts in between,” Harmon said. “The partnership with the governor, responsible budgeting has been a real anchor here for all of us, I think. And again, my priorities going into any session are to do the best I can to make sure the members of our caucus have the opportunity to advance legislation that’s important to them and to make sure we adopt a responsible, balanced budget. So, I try to focus on those things and not worry about the political flame-throwing that just seems to be part of our process.”
Harmon and the governor didn’t start off on the best terms. The two were old allies, but their top staffs just did not mesh well, to say the least.
But Harmon told me things started to change toward the end of the 2023 spring session. “I think the challenges we faced in passing the budget last year have solidified the relationship between the Senate staff and the governor’s staff and demonstrated our ability to work well together,” he told me.
Harmon wouldn’t specify what those “challenges” were, but it’s pretty obvious what he meant.
Last year, House Speaker Chris Welch agreed to a budget deal with the other two leaders. An announcement was made, but then Welch got heat from his caucus and needed to find more money for his members. Rather than walk away, Harmon and Pritzker and their staffs worked with Welch to find a solution.
Former House Speaker Michael Madigan wouldn’t have been nearly as accommodating, to say the least. Making accommodations and overlooking attacks just weren’t his thing. Times have indeed changed.
* ICYMI: A major shake-up of Metra, CTA and Pace? Now’s the time to speak out as public hearings kick off. Daily Herald…
- Tuesday marks the beginning of several state Senate Transportation Committee hearings on the future of Chicago-area transit.
- Proposed legislation would dissolve the boards of Metra, Pace, the CTA and RTA, and create a 19-member Metropolitan Mobility Authority board.
- Out of nearly $780 million in transit system-generated revenues, 44% comes from Metra and Pace, 54% derives from the CTA, according to the RTA’s 2024 budget.
- There will be tough questions about who pays more into the system, who’s riding and who deserves the most representatives on the proposed MMA board — city or suburbs?
* The Marshall Project | Domestic violence survivors in Illinois are in prison for abusers’ crimes: There is no comprehensive data about how many people are in prison for the crimes of their abusers. Through a search of legal documents, though, the Marshall Project was able to identify nearly 100 people across the country convicted of assisting, supporting or failing to stop a crime by their alleged abusers. Some of the women showed clear signs of abuse at the time they were arrested. One Illinois woman was in a neck brace.
* The Pantagraph | Behind the Pritzker administration’s quest to signal Illinois is ‘open for business’: After taking “a lot of good notes,” Pritzker and his team got to work. They determined early on that creating a new state-level economic development corporation “was going to take too long.” So the reworked apparatus would be housed within existing state agencies. It starts with the governor’s office, with Manar and first assistant deputy governor Claire Lindberg quarterbacking the effort day-to-day. Pritzker gets personally involved in pitching Illinois to CEOs and serving as a go-between different companies across the state when necessary.
* Capitol News Illinois | Illinois switching to ACT exams for state assessments: In recent years, though, many colleges and universities stopped requiring either the SAT or ACT as part of their application and admission processes. In 2021, Illinois lawmakers passed the Higher Education Fair Admissions Act requiring all public universities and community colleges to adopt a “test-optional” policy for admissions, meaning students could voluntarily choose whether to include them in their application package. But ISBE continued using the tests as part of its federally mandated statewide assessments.
* Capitol News Illinois | State ends fiscal year with nearly $5B cash on hand: Comptroller Susana Mendoza noted the high cash balance helped Illinois generate over $558 million in interest income in FY24, a 53 percent increase from the previous year. She said in a news release she plans to exercise new authority granted to her office in the budgeting process this year to pre-pay required monthly pension payments while funds are available. “This will enable the (pension) systems to plan accordingly and keep more of the pension funds in their investment portfolios,” Mendoza said in a statement.
* WCIA | Senate GOP Leader talks Republican chairman exit ahead of convention: There are only a couple of weeks left until the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, but the Illinois Republican Party is struggling its way onto the convention floor after chairman Don Tracy announced that he will be resigning due to turmoil within the party. […] That infighting Tracy discussed grew as former president Donald Trump became the flag bearer for the national republican party. Republicans are going to officially nominate Trump as their candidate in Milwaukee. And Curran — who is seen as a more moderate Republican, is standing by him. “President Trump is our candidate. I thought his debate performance was very good the other night. I think he displayed a lot of vigor for the for the office he’s seeking to return to,” Curran said.
* WGLT | Soil and water conservation districts leader sees budget cut as a call to action: The new state budget includes a $4 million, or nearly 50%, cut to operating funds for Illinois soil and water conservation districts. That’s the money used to pay experts and other front-line staff who advise farmers and other property owners about conservation practices, like cover crops and no-till farming, and help them access federal or state cost-share funds to implement them. The intergenerational harm comes because many of those projects take years to complete.
*** Chicago ***
* Crain’s | Mag Mile landlords get the OK to tax themselves — but not without a delay: A bill recently signed by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker allows property owners along North Michigan Avenue and other commercial corridors in Chicago to impose a small tax on themselves to fund area improvements, but a new district won’t be in place along the Magnificent Mile until at least 2026. Backed by Mayor Brandon Johnson and pushed through Springfield by Chicago Democrats, state Rep. Kam Buckner and state Sen. Sara Feigenholtz, the legislation creates business improvement districts, or BIDs, in the city.
* Tribune | In Chicago’s tent cities, ‘a multitude of challenges’ to address the city’s rising homelessness: On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that cities and states can enforce bans on homeless people sleeping outdoors, which has experts and advocates for the homeless worried that accumulating citations and criminal proceedings could raise even higher barriers to housing and stability for people who started out with no place to go. […] In an interview with the Tribune, Sendy Soto, Chicago’s chief homelessness officer, said the homeless in Chicago had nothing to fear from the ruling. The city plans to stick with its housing-first approach to getting homeless people off the streets.
* The Triibe | Garfield Park and Englewood residents dream of safe futures: As Chicago enters the summer months, often marked by increased violence due to warmer weather, The TRiiBE interviewed people experiencing the most divestment in West Garfield Park, East Garfield Park, and Englewood to understand their visions for safety. In these interviews, they describe what they believe would be most effective in creating safety and security in areas with high levels of poverty, the challenges and barriers shaping the safety of their neighborhoods, and the role law enforcement should play in building a safe community. […] For Englewood residents, safety isn’t solely about policing; it’s about coming together. Initiatives like the R.A.G.E. Englewood (Resident Association of Greater Englewood) have been pivotal in giving residents the agency to reclaim their neighborhoods. Tra’Vonne Wright is an Englewood resident and member of the Getting Grown Collective, a neighborhood organization that supports communities through agriculture projects, policy collaboration, and health access. He spoke about organizations like R.A.G.E. fighting against gentrification and helping residents buy back homes, Grow Greater Englewood which supports sustainable farms and businesses, and Teamwork Englewood which provides essential resources and amenities.
* Tribune | ‘I want her to worry about who’s waiting on the corner’: How one man uses Facebook to frighten his children’s mother and why police do nothing: She had been locked in a custody and child support battle for years with her ex-partner, a computer whiz with a sizable social media following and a well-documented disregard for court orders. Since moving to Florida in 2021, he had been offering money on Facebook for information regarding his children. […] In a telephone interview with the Tribune, the children’s father, Micah Berkley, confirmed he wrote the posts soliciting pictures of his daughters on social media. He said he also seeks photographs through targeted Facebook ads that appear in the feeds of people who live within a ½-mile radius of Ward’s house and the children’s school. […] “I hear she’s scared,” he told the Tribune. “She should be scared. She should be terrified. I want her to worry about who’s waiting on the corner whenever she walks outside.”
* Tribune | A dedicated bus lane on Western Avenue? Nearby aldermen support overhaul plan to make CTA less ‘Loop-centric.’: The proposal will certainly face complaints. A similar idea floated by former Mayor Rahm Emanuel for Ashland Avenue flopped about a decade ago amid opposition, including from drivers who decried the project they said would slow car traffic to a crawl on the major thoroughfare. But the coalition pushing the latest plan for so-called BRT is stepping on the gas. Their aspirations, if realized, would amount to the most dramatic reimagining of a Chicago roadway in decades.
* WTTW | Bronzeville Community Microgrid Charts a Path to a Green Energy Future: The Bronzeville Community Microgrid is powered by rooftop- and ground-mounted solar installations at the CHA’s Dearborn Homes. Large batteries in the community then store that power. Natural gas-fired generation is also available to ensure continuous power to the community in the event of a major grid interruption, according to ComEd.
* Daily Southtown | Landmarks: ‘Globally rare’ habitat in Lockport gets an $8 million boost, Army Corps attention: And May 31, county, state and federal officials gathered at the site to cut a ceremonial ribbon for Lockport Prairie and nearby Prairie Bluff preserves, where the 6-year, $8.3 million “major ecosystem restoration project” had just wrapped up, marking the completion of a plan that had been in discussions since the 1990s. The Army Corps of Engineers invested $5.5 million in federal aquatic ecosystem restoration funds, while the Forest Preserve District contributed $2.8 million in land value, according to a Will County news release.
*** Downstate ***
* BND | Fight over $3.5 million to help fund East St. Louis police pensions heads to court: Seizing state money from the city of East St. Louis to help pay for police pensions is unconstitutional and would reduce local government’s ability to provide essential services to its citizens, the city says in a lawsuit against the Police Pension Board and Illinois Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza. […] Nick Mueller, president of the East St. Louis Police Pension Board, told the BND that city officials knew the board would be asking for the intercept. Some city officials were present when the board voted last month to proceed with the intercept request. They voiced no objections, Mueller said. Nine days later, on June 20, the city filed its lawsuit in St. Clair County Circuit Court. The pension fund, the pension board and Mendoza are named as defendants.
*** Sports ***
* Daily Herald | ‘We’re in a much better place’: Arlington Heights mayor says Bears have responded to proposed deal: “We’ve worked very hard to come to an agreement with the school districts that I think the Bears can be comfortable with, and that’s been communicated to the Bears, and that’s what we’re discussing now,” Mayor Tom Hayes told the Daily Herald. “So I feel very comfortable that should the Bears reengage with us and continue to explore the Arlington Park site, that the road is going to be much easier than we found in past months.”
* Tribune | Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese surpasses Candace Parker for the WNBA all-time consecutive double-double record: To set the new record, Reese surpassed former Sky star and Naperville native Candace Parker, who previously set the record with a 12-game streak between the 2009 and 2010 seasons. She had already passed Parker’s record for a single-season double-double streak in last week’s loss to the Minnesota Lynx. The Sky lost 84-71 to the Storm on Sunday. Reese finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds.
* Tribune | From reliever to starter to All-Star: Chicago White Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet earns 1st All-Star nod: The Chicago White Sox left-hander earned All-Star honors for the first time in his career Sunday as he was named the team’s lone representative to the American League roster. “Now that it’s real, it definitely has a different feel to it,” Crochet said. “Excited. Thankful for the people who voted. Thankful for my teammates. I wouldn’t be here without them. I know it’s been a bumpy season, but the relationships we formed in the clubhouse really makes it easy to go out there and play hard for the guys.
*** National ***
* Tribune | Illinois AG Kwame Raoul joins Democratic counterparts in defending DEI initiatives: Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul took the lead on a letter signed by 19 Democratic attorneys general late last month reaffirming their position that programs supporting diversity are valid and mitigate racial discrimination, part of an effort to take back the narrative from conservatives. The letter was delivered to the American Bar Association, Fortune 100 company CEOs and other organizations that may be targeted for DEI initiatives. In an interview, Raoul said he wants to ensure “this very well-coordinated effort to undermine efforts to be inclusive, both in higher education and the corporate sector, does not succeed.”
* ABC Chicago | Six Flags, Cedar Fair complete $8 billion merger to create largest park operator: Six Flags this week completed an $8 billion merger with rival Cedar Fair to create the largest amusement park operator in the United States. Together, they operate 42 amusement and water parks across 17 states. The success of the deal will determine the future of these amusement parks, and diehard rollercoaster fans are watching carefully. Some are optimistic that the condition of Six Flags’ parks will improve. Others worry it will become more expensive to get into their favorite parks.
* NerdWallet | Corporations want you to rent, not own. Can lawmakers stop them?: Corporate landlords raise rent and charge ancillary fees because they can. “These institutions have outsized power in our housing market, and that influence is growing,” said U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, in an email. “By 2030, Wall Street could control 40 percent of U.S. single-family rental homes.” […] Merkley, the Oregon senator, has introduced a bill that would force corporate landlords to sell their houses. The End Hedge Fund Control of American Homes Act “is intended to give all families a fair chance to buy a decent home in a decent community at a price they can afford, because houses should be homes for families, not a profit center for Wall Street,” Merkley said in an email. His bill would make corporate landlords sell at least 10% of their inventories of single-family rental homes every year for 10 years or face steep tax penalties. A similar bill was introduced into the House, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Washington.
* AP | Boeing accepts a plea deal to avoid a criminal trial over 737 Max crashes, Justice Department says: The plea deal, which still must receive the approval of a federal judge to take effect, calls for Boeing to pay an additional $243.6 million fine. That was the same amount it paid under the 2021 settlement that the Justice Department said the company breached. An independent monitor would be named to oversee Boeing’s safety and quality procedures for three years. The deal also requires Boeing to invest at least $455 million in its compliance and safety programs.
