* Chicago’s Deputy Mayor for Immigrant, Migrant and Refugee Rights Beatriz Ponce De León was at the City Club of Chicago yesterday…
Q: What is the ETA on the base camps? It’s clearly really cold out today, for example.
BPDL: Yeah, well, we have several locations that we’re interested in, they need to be assessed, we need to work with the aldermanic offices of those wards. And, you know, things are taking a little longer than we expected in terms of doing the land assessments and also engaging with community about about those sites.
Q: I mean, are you thinking a couple of weeks, a month? Because I’m wondering if they aren’t set up, what’s the backup plan?
BPDL: Ideally, it would be in the next month. And the backup plan has been that we will continue to look for larger spaces where we can open shelters more quickly.
“Ideally.” In other words, that’s the best case scenario.
Nearly 1,600 asylum-seekers would be moved out of Chicago police stations “before the weather begins to shift and change” and into “winterized base camps” equipped with massive tents, under a plan unveiled Thursday by Mayor Brandon Johnson.
Um, the weather has already shifted.
* Also remember that the city signed a contract on September 12…
Chicago has taken the first concrete step to deliver on Mayor Brandon Johnson’s controversial plan to get more than 2,000 migrants off the floors of police stations and O’Hare and Midway airports and into giant tent cities he prefers to call “winterized base camps” before temperatures plummet.
Piggybacking onto an existing state procurement, the city has signed a $29.3 million contract with GardaWorld Federal Services LLC for “migrant temporary housing.”
“The purpose of this Purchase Order is to allow the City to purchase from the State Contract temporary housing solutions and related services … to provide critical services to asylum seekers,” according to the contract, signed Sept. 12.
As Chicago’s downtown business district struggles under a post-pandemic malaise, President Joe Biden announced a slate of federal resources this week for developers and cities to speed up commercial-to-residential conversions.
The White House initiative will open up funding from the Department of Transportation to finance residential development near public transit and facilitate transit agencies’ ability to transfer their properties to local governments or developers of affordable housing, according to a release. The administration’s guidance also encourages cities, states and developers to tap into billions of dollars of existing federal grants from the Transportation Department and the Department of Housing & Urban Development.
The president’s push to save ailing downtown business districts comes at a crucial time for Chicago. The city’s office vacancy rate hit another all-time high in early October, climbing up to 23.7%, according to data from brokerage CBRE. Public transit is feeling the pain, too. While Chicago Transit Authority ridership increased this year, the rates are nowhere near 2019 numbers since workers aren’t returning to the office five days a week, CTA spokesman Brian Steele said this month. Whether Mayor Brandon Johnson will prioritize transforming downtown districts is still unclear. With the fate of former Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s LaSalle Street initiative up in the air, federal help could fill in funding gaps left by the city.
* Good point. Be careful…
Happy Halloween!
Remember the biggest threat to kids this day isn't razor blades in candy, weed edibles or clowns in sewers. It's cars pic.twitter.com/BosBsIwyqu
The Illinois State Police (ISP) today provided an update on the condition of Trooper Dakotah Chapman-Green and the investigation into his shooting. On Tuesday, October 24, 2023, at 10:47 p.m., ISP Trooper Chapman-Green stopped 37-year-old Cristobal Santana from Chicago in the 1600 block of Toronto Road in Springfield. During the traffic stop, the suspect fired at least 10 gunshots hitting Trooper Chapman-Green several times, and struck him repeatedly causing facial fractures, a skull fracture, and a brain bleed. The suspect fled the scene, but was taken into custody at 1:58 a.m. on October 25, 2023. Trooper Chapman-Green remains hospitalized. The suspect was taken to the hospital for injuries sustained during the apprehension and remains in the hospital.
“By the Grace of God, Trooper Chapman-Green survived this brutal attack,” said ISP Director Brendan F. Kelly. “Police officers across the state take an oath to protect the lives of Illinois citizens and too often that means facing diabolical, hateful, vicious evil that no innocent human being should ever have to face. We live in a free country, but there is no freedom without the law, there is no law without law enforcement, and there is no law enforcement without brave souls like Trooper Chapman-Green and those standing here with me today willing to do this noble, but dangerous work.”
On Friday, the Sangamon County State’s Attorney’s Office filed two counts of Attempted First Degree Murder, one count of Aggravated Battery with a Firearm to a Police Officer, one count of Aggravated Battery to a Police Officer, and one count Aggravated Unlawful Use of a Weapon against Santana.
ISP continues to investigate this shooting and will work with the Sangamon County State’s Attorney’s Office to provide more information as it becomes available.
“We are shocked and deeply saddened by the recent gun violence that has again struck our state and our nation. How many people must die before addressing the deadly intersection between domestic violence and firearms? This fatal combination was again painfully evident in the recent murder of Adrianna Lopez, who was shot and killed allegedly by an abusive ex-boyfriend who also shot an Illinois State Trooper. These incidents are grim reminders that the ripple effects of trauma echo far beyond the intimate relationship - affecting children who live with and witness it, and the family members, and law enforcement who respond to it.
“The tragic events that unfolded in Maine are all too common, and we cannot relent in our mission to get weapons of war off our streets and out of our communities. Though details are still emerging, early news reports have suggested the suspect, Robert Card may have a history of domestic violence. A recent study showed that in more than two-thirds of mass shootings, the perpetrator either killed family or intimate partners or the shooter had a history of domestic violence.
“While we have made progress in recent years to combat the gun violence epidemic, our work is far from over. We have one more week of the veto session upcoming, and collectively, we urge the General Assembly to pass additional legislation like Karina’s Bill to combat gun violence and get guns out of the hands of domestic abusers.”
* From yesterday…
Today, Representative Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, D-Glenview, and Senator Mary Edly-Allen, D-Libertyville, joined President Biden at the White House for an event on Safe, Secure and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence following the President’s Executive Order regarding AI.
This marks the second time that Rep. Gong-Gershowitz and Senator Edly-Allen have attended events at the White House to discuss their work protecting constituents from emerging digital threats stemming from applications of artificial intelligence.
Last session, Rep. Gong-Gershowitz and Sen. Edly-Allen worked together to pass groundbreaking legislation to combat deepfake pornography, which falsely depicts individuals in sexually-explicit acts without their consent. They are now taking steps in Illinois to mirror President Biden’s federal strategy to address the risks that AI poses to individual safety and security as well as its potential as a tool for malicious disinformation.
“I applaud the sense of urgency displayed by President Biden regarding artificial intelligence and thank him for his much-needed leadership on this critical issue,” said Gong-Gershowitz. “AI is a rapidly-developing tool that fundamentally impacts every sector of our society, including individual safety and civil rights. We must ensure that appropriate legal protections and standards are in place to properly address the complex set of dangers and opportunities that AI introduces in order to effectively safeguard individual consumers and the public against the inherent risks to safety, security and truth it can pose.”
President Biden’s Executive Order can be found at https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/10/30/fact-sheet-president-biden-issues-executive-order-on-safe-secure-and-trustworthy-artificial-intelligence/
“We need to balance rapidly progressing technology that maximizes artificial intelligence possibilities, while also protecting against the potential harms it can cause,” Edly-Allen said. “We are starting to see how unrestricted technology can do harm without practical safeguards in place. I applaud the Biden administration for taking urgent action to work toward ending the exploitation, humiliation and harassment that AI has caused.”
State Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid, a Democrat from Bridgeview, visited the White House on Monday for President Joe Biden’s signing ceremony of an executive order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence. Rashid is a member of a multi-state legislative working group on AI and the co-chair of Illinois’ AI task force.
I asked Rep. Rashid’s spokesperson if that Illinois task force has ever met, but he hasn’t responded.
* Isabel’s roundup…
* WICS | New SAFE-T-Act enhances protection for domestic violence victims in Illinois: Christine Raffaele with Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence (ILCADV) said suspects being able to bail their way out of jail under the old cash system — didn’t help protect the victims of domestic violence. “Someone would appear, they make their plea, the judge sets their bond then the case is over,” Raffaele said. “And very rarely was any consideration given to the safety and security for the victim.”
* Sun-Times | Gov. Pritzker, Illinois universities make aggressive bid for federal semiconductor hub: With Chicago in the running for the $11 billion National Semiconductor Technology Center, a multi-university network of researchers and scientists are optimistic Illinois’ advances in engineering and manufacturing — and especially quantum research — will help them seal the deal. So is Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
* Rockford Register Star | Stellantis, UAW agreement pledges new life for Belvidere plant. Here’s what’s next: United Auto Workers Local 1268 President Matt Frantzen is trying not to get overly excited about a tentative agreement reached with Stellantis that could mean thousands of jobs, a new battery plant, parts distribution center and a vehicle to produce at the Belvidere Assembly Plant. Frantzen said he got the call from national union officials on Saturday about the tentative deal during a local membership meeting with about 100 workers filling the Belvidere UAW hall. A raucous cheer erupted when he shared the news.
* WGN | ‘Skip the Line’ service issues draw ire of Illinois seniors: ‘Very frustrating’: Until this year, she could drive to her hometown of Naperville Secretary of State facility and take the test. But now, an appointment is required. McQuaid said she tried unsuccessfully for weeks to get an appointment to no avail. Locations that still accept walk-in services, in Bridgeview and Evanston, are simply too far, she added. The next best option is Aurora but as McQuaid explained, the drive is out of her comfort zone. “Very frustrating,” McQuaid said. On the WGN Midday news Monday, Giannoulias said they’ve come a long way but hearing of Helen’s plight, more is needed.
* WCIA | Family of State Trooper shot in Springfield shares update on recovery: Chapman-Green’s mother, Kris, said that her son is going through occupational therapy and physical therapy. He is also able to hold conversations while staying awake. Chapman-Green was shot in both legs while performing a traffic stop on Toronto Road in Springfield Tuesday night. He was also beaten with the gun, suffering a brain bleed and skull fracture.
* Tribune | A first Chicago snow for many of the migrants sleeping outside: ‘The cold passes through everything’: Anticipating colder temperatures Monday night, the city released a statement Sunday: “To protect new arrivals and unhoused Chicagoans from falling temperatures, the City is collaborating with external partners, volunteers and mutual aid groups to provide blankets, coats and other much-needed items. Warming buses will be provided by the CTA at the landing location and 16 police district locations.” But Annie Gomberg, who leads volunteer efforts at the police station in Austin,said she didn’t know about any effort by the city to provide blankets, jackets or outerwear. She said 16 buses was not enough. And many migrants who she interacts with tell her they are hesitant to get on another bus, after riding a bus for hours to get to Chicago.
* Tribune | Chicago police officer under investigation for striking 8th grader while off duty: The Cook County state’s attorney’s office began looking into Officer Craig Lancaster’s off-duty conduct after a surveillance recording emerged showing him hitting a 14-year-old student near his throat as the boy walked into school. The video does not show the teen interacting with Lancaster before the physical contact or doing anything obvious to provoke it.
* Shaw Local | Police training facility in Cary to open next week: The McHenry County Regional Training Center will have three training areas: two classrooms and a tactical training room. One classroom will fit 100 students, and a second 40-person classroom will be in the lower level, which used to be the Village Board room. The MAT room will be for defensive tactics and scenario-based training. Tactical training usually covers handcuffing and handling people resisting arrest or being violent.
* Sun-Times | Evanston teen Natalie Raanan back in Chicago after being held hostage by Hamas: The north suburban mother and daughter were the first hostages released from among at least 200 people Israeli military leaders have said were held by Hamas. The two were in Israel to visit Judith Raanan’s mother and Natalie’s grandmother to celebrate her 85th birthday and Simchat Torah, the Jewish holiday marking the conclusion of the annual cycle of Torah readings. They were staying in Nahal Oz, a kibbutz near the Gaza border.
* Tribune | ‘Priscilla’ review: The starry road to Lonely Street — and the Presley movie we needed: Coppola, who has known more first- and second-hand celebrity than the average contemporary filmmaker, seems especially well-attuned to Priscilla’s experiences, and to slowly (sometimes suddenly) dawning realizations of what her life has become. Now and then “Priscilla” settles for standard-issue biopic shorthand, as when Elvis shuts down his woman’s desire to work with: “It’s either me or career, baby.” But in this context, without the usual emphasis or underlining, the line feels honest, and authentic, even in the midst of the dream of desire, love and eventual departure we’re watching.
* The Street | Tesla hits 5-month low, down 20% from Q3 earnings, amid fading EV demand: Tesla’s key supply chain partner, Panasonic Holdings, warned yesterday that its battery production facilities are running well below capacity amid a glut in global supplies and a pullback in demand. Panasonic Holdings posted a third quarter loss, and lowered its full-year profit outlook, citing muted sales of Tesla’s high-end Model S and Model X cars even amid the multi-level price cuts put in place in order to stoke demand and maintain market share.
* Semafor | An up to $1 billion fine may end the scandal that has captivated Wall Street: Authorities have spent more than four years investigating whether Morgan Stanley improperly tipped off favored hedge-fund clients to big blocks of stock coming on the market. The bank fired several employees and pulled back from the block trading business, losing market share to rivals.
* WTTW | McCormick Place Says It Will Do Better by Birds After 1,000 Killed in Mass Casualty Event. Conservationists Want Proof: Prince was joined by Judy Pollock and Edward Warden, presidents of Chicago Bird Alliance and Chicago Ornithological Society, respectively, who urged the board to take action in the wake of a mass casualty event that occurred at the beginning of October, in which 1,000 birds fatally collided with McCormick’s lakefront Lakeside Center during a wave of migration activity.
* 21st Show | Halloween legends at the University of Illinois: Today is Halloween… a holiday with a lot of history, going back centuries, even millenia. Nowadays, of course, it’s basically a celebration of all things scary and spooky. We talked about some of the spooky stories, myths and legends that make the rounds at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
* First and Pen | Justin Fields Deserves Better: To suggest that Fields needs to learn from Bagent, who is the Bears’ version of Brock Purdy, is ridiculous. It’s something Score midday host Dan Bernstein called a “back-stabbing whisper campaign” by the Bears. “The story is this stuff, the whispers, the, ‘Hey, it’d be nice if Justin could do that.’ They’re telling you who they would prefer to coach,” said Bernstein. “They would much rather have somebody (Bagent) who could run their stuff, get the ball out, make their reads rather than have to figure out how to best use the talents of a unicorn (in Fields).”
Thousands of migrants sleeping at police stations woke up to freezing cold conditions this Halloween morning as city officials, volunteers and faith-based organizations scrambled to find warmth for a population, mostly from Venezuela, that has never experienced cold before.
Temperatures plummeted overnight to a low of 30 degrees at O’Hare International Airport, said the National Weather Service, and safety networks stepped in to react to emergencies brought on by the cold. Temperatures were expected to range between 36 and 37 degrees with light snow flurries for the next 24 hours, weather officials said. […]
Dr. Scott Dresden, an associate professor of emergency medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a Northwestern Medicine physician, said he wasn’t sure how the thousands of migrants that have arrived since last August would influence the numbers of people he treats in emergency departments over the next months.
“This is certainly a unique winter with a larger population who are without housing than we are used to,” he said.
On Monday, Chicagoans – who know what to expect – bundled up amid chilly temperatures, but many new arrivals will be experiencing the cold for the very first time.
The CTA is now providing warming buses during certain hours at the migrant bus landing zone near Clinton and Vernon Park Place and 16 police districts across the city, but long-term solutions are desperately needed.
“We have minors in police stations and in the streets, this is an emergency response,” said Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez who represents the 25th Ward.
Monday morning, the Committee on Housing and Real Estate, which Ald. Sigcho-Lopez chairs, signed off on the city’s plan to purchase land at the corner of 115th and Halsted.
The former Jewel parking lot could become a migrant base camp built by GardaWorld Federal Services, but South Side community members are pushing back.
Also on Monday, downtown Alderman Brendan Reilly sent a letter to constituents, claiming the city was looking to convert the Hotel Chicago in River North into a migrant shelter, something the mayor’s office denies, and the hotel said it had no information about.
Ald. Reilly also complained that the mayor was acting without legal authority, despite a gubernatorial disaster declaration that sets aside provisions of the procurement and joint purchasing codes…
To aid with emergency purchases necessary for response and other emergency powers as authorized by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act, the provisions of the Illinois Procurement Code and the Illinois Governmental Joint Purchasing Act that would in any way prevent, hinder, or delay necessary action in coping with the disaster are suspended to the extent they are not required by federal law.
We saw that same sort of rhetoric during the COVID emergency.
* I checked out this encampment near the 17th District police station in the Albany Park neighborhood not long ago. Tents are set up on both sides of an adjacent street, with some, like these, right next to houses…
A 6-year-old migrant boy was hit by a car outside of a police station tent camp.
* At the end of a Sun-Times story about how the city says it can’t risk using reserve funds to pay for migrants is this tidbit…
Once the Council approves the mayor’s budget, attention will turn to the urgent search for additional revenue — a task Johnson has punted to a subcommittee led by freshman Ald. William Hall (6th).
[Chicago Budget Director Annette Guzman] expects the options presented by that subcommittee to include broadening the sales tax umbrella to cover a host of professional services favored by the wealthy and business interests.
The idea has been talked about for decades, only to hit a dead-end in Springfield.
But, Guzman said: “We’re in a place now where people are more open to this idea. We’ve seen the dramatic shift in how people purchase things. It’s shifted more now toward services over goods. … Sometimes, it’s all about timing. … I look at it as a way of sharing the burden more equitably.”
A tax on high-end services might feel good, but I seriously doubt it’ll make much of a dent. Looks like the city is again passing the buck. Then again, maybe proponents have other numbers. I’d love to see them.
…Adding… All very valid points…
This City Hall plan is legit more bonkers than any Lightfoot proposal. You’re going to pass a BRAND NEW sales tax in Illinois House during election year AND Illinois Dept of Revenue is going to stand up new tax in time for City to get $ in 2024? No way. https://t.co/kqXT943I7Cpic.twitter.com/xERS1Dnt2K
Community colleges in Illinois are seeing their largest year-over-year enrollment growth in nearly 15 years this spring.
Figures released this week by the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) showed Spring 2023 enrollment increased by 7.2 percent from the previous spring. according to the board’s Spring 2023 Enrollment Report.
The enrollment, however, was 11.8 percent below the statewide figures in 2019. Illinois community colleges in 2019 listed 283,146 students. The Spring 2022 figure was 233,041; this year the enrollment is 249,836.
The report lists 3,992 Spring 2023 students at Lewis and Clark Community College, up 9.2 percent from 3,656 last spring but down 36.6 percent from the 6,301 students enrolled in Spring 2019.
Significant findings from the ICCB Fall 2023 Community College Opening Enrollment Report include:
• Fall 2023 headcount enrollments (+5.7 percent) and Full-time Equivalents (FTE) enrollments (+5.2 percent) both increased significantly from the previous year.
• Thirty-six community colleges experienced an increase in headcount enrollment from Fall 2022 to Fall 2023, while twelve community colleges had a decrease.
• Instructional areas often dependent on in-person instruction increased headcount enrollments in Career and Technical Education (+10.4 percent) and Vocational Skills Training (+6.3%) in Fall 2023 compared to the previous year. Student enrollment in Transfer programs also had an uptick compared to the previous year with an increase of 1.8 percent.
• Adult Education, which is also mostly dependent on in-person instruction, increased headcount by 20.8 percent from Fall 2022 to Fall 2023. Adult Education serves a significant number of at-risk students, and the pandemic exacerbated issues for that population.
• For Dual Credit, which allows academically prepared high school students to simultaneously earn credits that count toward a high school diploma and a college degree, headcount enrollments increased 8.4 percent in Fall 2023 compared to Fall 2022.
• While the number of distance education students decreased in Fall 2023 as compared to the previous year, it remains a prevalent and flexible form of course delivery with 42.3 percent of students enrolling in at least one online course in the current Fall as compared to Fall 2019 (pre-pandemic) at 24.3 percent.
Richland Community College is reporting an almost 7% increase in Fall 2023 enrollment as the Illinois Community College Board sees the second largest fall-to-fall enrollment increase in 30 years.
This fall, Illinois community colleges saw a 5.7% increase in headcount between Fall 2022 and Fall 2023 enrollment – which is the second largest fall-to-fall enrollment growth in the last 30 years. Only the Fall 2008 to Fall 2009 increase of 7.4 percent during the Great Recession was higher.
The increase in enrollment is reflected at Richland – where the fall-to-fall growth from 2022 to 2023 is 6.7%.
This growth can be credited to a number of initiatives with community/government partners in the past year – including the Illinois Works’ Pre-Apprenticeship Program, the Earn While You Learn EMT program (a partnership with Abbott EMS), the Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity (ECACE) Scholarship Program, and many others.
The fiscal year 2024 budget includes a seven percent increase in operating funds or $19.4 million more for community colleges than the previous year—the highest increase in two decades. It also includes a $100 million increase in the Monetary Award Program (MAP) that when combined with the federal Pell grant, provides working class families with an opportunity for a free community college education. […]
Statewide enrollment data shows 36 community colleges experienced an increase in headcount enrollment from Fall 2022 to Fall 2023, while just 12 community colleges had a decrease.
But, it was a different story across the institutions serving southern Illinois.
Kaskaskia and Southeastern Illinois Colleges saw modest increases in enrollment, but John A. Logan, Rend Lake and Shawnee Colleges all reported fewer students from Fall 2022.
It was also a mixed bag for the Illinois Eastern Community College system with a major increase at Frontier Community College and a small one at Olney Central, but there were enrollment declines at Lincoln Trail and Wabash Valley.
The Local Journalism Task Force is established to: (1) conduct a comprehensive, nonbinding study relative to communities underserved by local journalism in Illinois; and (2) review all aspects of local journalism including, but not limited to, the adequacy of press coverage of communities, the ratio of residents to media outlets, the history of local news in Illinois, print and digital business models for media outlets, the impact of social media on local news, strategies to improve local news access, and public policy solutions to improve the sustainability of local press business models and private and nonprofit solutions.
* The Illinois Legislative Correspondents’ Association recently updated its members about ideas emerging from the task force…
Tax credits, for example, could be used a few different ways: for small businesses to advertise with local media, residents who subscribe to local media or media companies that hire and retain local journalists. (A tax exemption could also serve a similar purpose for the latter.) Another idea: advertising set-asides, in which governments could be required to spend a percentage of advertising dollars in local news/media outlets.
One problem I see right off the bat is that a whole lot of local news media outlets are owned by gigantic, debt-heavy corporations like Gannett. They suck money out of local communities to pay off debt and pad executive pay.
But, yes, local news is most definitely dying. There are exceptions, but a quick look at just about any local news website, particularly outside the Chicago area, confirms that obvious fact.
* The Question: What role, if any, should the state of Illinois play in preventing the collapse of local news media outlets? Explain.
The Illinois State Board of Education on Monday released the 2023 Illinois Report Card, offering a new look at how schools and districts across the state are performing. […]
This year’s report noted schools across the state showed “strong progress in students’ recovery from the pandemic – with increased proficiency rates and the highest graduation rate in 13 years.”
“Gains for Black students, who were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, led the significant improvement in many indicators,” the board wrote in a release. […]
One of the largest success stories comes as the state saw record-breaking high school graduation rates, with 87.6% of students graduating, a number the report says was driven largely by gains for Black and Hispanic students.
The report also found teacher retention levels had reached “an all-time high,” exceeding 90% for the 2022-23 school year, though it highlights “severe teacher shortages still exist.”
A continued area of concern is chronic absenteeism — students who missed 10 days of school or more last year. State officials say this is an important figure because studies show a high correlation between performance and time in school.
Chronic absenteeism has shot up dramatically since before the pandemic in 2019. It affects 28.3% of students, up from 17.5% in 2019. State officials say this is “alarmingly high” and that “more work must be done to ensure full academic and social-emotional recovery from the pandemic.” […]
The state superintendent stressed that gaps in proficiency are because Black students historically attend schools with fewer resources.
“We educate Black students disproportionately in underfunded school districts with more teacher vacancies, higher teacher and principal turnover, higher chronic absenteeism,” he said.
Statewide, both English and math proficiency rates increased but are still less than what they were before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Proficiency rates can show the percentage of students who have hit the given target, according to the ISBE, but growth is the way to show “progress toward and even past the target.” On average, students grew more in the last school year than before the pandemic, according to the report card.
Black students had the greatest accelerated rate of growth in both English and math compared to the 2018-2019 school year, but their growth and proficiency rates overall are still behind other students. […]
There were more English language learners and Hispanic, Asian and multiracial students enrolled in the 2022-2023 school year than the school year before, suggesting more diversity in Illinois schools, according to the report card.
The annual measure of academic performance shows a second straight year of gains after two years of slippage due to COVID-19 pandemic disruptions. But while student proficiency levels inched up, they remain below pre-pandemic levels. […]
This year’s results show a 16% change statewide year-over-year in English language arts from 29.9% to 34.6%, meaning an additional 39,000 students have mastered grade-level standards. Black students posted the largest gain with a 33% change in proficiency rates, according to report card data. […]
Schools across the suburbs attributed academic gains to a variety of measures, such as increased instructional coaching, reading or math interventionists, school improvement plans and an increased focus on social-emotional supports. In Round Lake Community Unit District 116, post-pandemic daily tutoring has continued with an evening session available for students. The district also launched a summer activity bus program offering art, science, math and Project Lead the Way learning opportunities for students during the summer months.
* More…
* Capitol News Illinois | Latest state school report card shows proficiency gains, persistent gaps on racial lines: Robin Steans, president of the education advocacy group Advance Illinois, agreed that the report was positive overall, but said it also contains some cautionary information, especially regarding racial achievement gaps and attendance rates. “I think there is some legitimately encouraging news in the new state report card,” she said in a separate interview. “I think there’s also a lot of information that reminds us we’ve a lot of work to do still.”
* Chalkbeat | Illinois student test scores closer to pre-pandemic proficiency levels, but absenteeism remains high: The latest report card offers some good news for Illinois districts that are still working to help students recover from pandemic-related disruptions. To address learning gaps, they have focused on hiring more staff, creating after-school programs, and hosting summer learning opportunities. Some of those efforts were funded with the $7 billion in federal COVID relief funding the state received. However, the state’s public schools will have to figure out how to continue these programs as federal relief funding will expire at the end of September 2024.
* Journal Courier | Jacksonville’s school report card sees mixed results: Jacksonville High School was listed as a targeted school, which means one or more student groups is performing at or below the level of the “all students” group in the lowest performing 5% of schools. Achievement is lacking in the areas of children with disabilities and low income, the report card said.
* Shaw Local | State report cards give central Kane schools good grades: All central Kane County districts – St. Charles, Batavia, Geneva and Kaneland – were listed as either exemplary, which means they performed in the top 10% of schools statewide, or commendable, which means they are not in the top 10%, but none of those schools have underperforming student groups.
* WTVO | Illinois Report Card: Rockford schools show improvements, but have work to do: The 2023 snapshot of academic progress shows the Rockford Public School District with a 69% graduation rate, versus the state average of 87.6%. Students showed a 32% proficiency in science (state average: 51%), 24% passing 8th-grade Algebra, and 75% of 9th-grade students “on track.”[…] The state’s results also showed nearly 50% chronic absenteeism across the 44 Rockford schools, below the state average of 28.3%. But, that’s lower than the 60.8% reported during the 2022 Covid recovery era.
The Cook County Department of Animal and Rabies Control (ARC) has released an interactive map of locations where bats who tested positive for rabies were found in Cook County. So far this year, nine rabid bats have been found. The Halloween-themed map is designed to raise awareness about rabies prevention.
“Rabies is a completely preventable disease and is always fatal to unvaccinated pets,” said ARC Administrator Dr. Mamadou Diakhate, DVM. “Ensuring your dogs and cats are current on rabies and other vaccinations is critical to their health and yours.”
According to Dr. Diakhate, a significant number of these bats were found inside people’s homes, and pets who primarily stay indoors still have the potential to be exposed to rabies. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), around 60 to 70 dogs and 250 cats contract rabies each year.
For years the Internet has echoed with derision of candy corn. And not mild criticism. Full-throated condemnation.
BuzzFeed’s 2013 list of “19 Things That Taste Better Than Candy Corn,” included chalk, urinal cakes and earwax.
“Deodorant-flavored earwax nuggets,” Deadspin raged in 2014. “Wee little warhead-shaped misery pellets.”
Then things really heated up. CandyStore.com crunched a decade’s worth of sales figures and announced that candy corn is the most popular Halloween candy in six states, including Michigan, inspiring one Detroit columnist to lash out at his readers.
“You’re all gross,” sneered the Detroit Free Press’ Brian Manzullo.
People just gotta hate something, I suppose.
* And the first candy corn was made in Belleville…
If you’re out trick-or-treating this Halloween, you might notice some homes displaying a teal pumpkin outside their front door — and it’s more than just a decoration.
According to FARE — Food Allergy and Research Education — teal-colored pumpkins are part of a national effort called the “Teal Pumpkin Project” to make Halloween more safe for children with food allergies.
“Placing a teal pumpkin on your doorstep signals that, in addition to candy, you offer non-food trinkets and treats that are safe for all trick or treaters,” FARE’s website states.
According to FARE, one in 13 children has a potentially life-threatening food allergy, and many others are impacted by food intolerances or other digestive conditions.
* Things weren’t always so enlightened. Here’s Tom Emery…
Today, Halloween is a mixture of revelry, as both trick-or-treaters and adults are in costume with happy pumpkins and ghoulish skeletons for décor. A century ago, the holiday was more sinister – and violent.
Halloweens of the late 1800s and early 1900s were dominated by “pranks” that were closer to felonies and misdemeanors. Vandalism ruled the night as property was damaged and people were beaten. […]
A 1908 notice in Alton, Illinois, advised that “all persons caught or known to have committed any depredations will be prosecuted … special officers [will] be sworn in … to watch boys and others disposed to injure private property.” […]
In the Macoupin County town of Gillespie, Illinois, in 1926, the local paper reported that four boys were arrested and taken to the police magistrate “for shooting Halloween stunts out of season.”
A Beach Park man was arrested over the weekend for allegedly bringing an AR-15 loaded with “penetrator rounds” to a Halloween party in Antioch.
Around 10 p.m., Antioch police responded to a loud noise complaint about a party in the 200 block of Ida Avenue. When officers arrived at the scene, they obsevered a crowd of more than 300 people.
Antioch police called in some backup and began dispersing the crowd, which took more than four hours to completely clear the area.
* The first time I remember hating my parents was when they forced me to wear a heavy winter coat over my costume…
It's a spooky Halloween weather forecast: snow. This will be the 9th time in 139 years that Chicago has seen snow on Halloween. https://t.co/AVT8D4Z7Dm
NPR interviewed Joel Best, a professor of sociology and criminal justice at the University of Delaware, about the persistent myths of tainted candy…
Best has been dispelling this myth for years and telling people they shouldn’t worry about people tampering with treats. But even with no evidence of this happening, the urban legend still persists every Halloween.
“We’ve stopped believing in ghosts and goblins, but we believe in criminals,” said Best. “Ghosts and goblins are just kind of silly. But having a criminal, having Michael Myers running around your town, that’s a scary possibility.”
* So cute…
“Hello? 911? Hello? Yes, I’m calling to report a burglary in progress….yes….in progress…stealing Halloween decorations off porches next door…yes the suspect is still on scene.” pic.twitter.com/PA215WKFdu
* ICYMI: Ford reaches a deal with the UAW. Tribune…
-In addition to substantial pay raises and other benefits for workers, the Ford deal also includes a commitment to invest $400 million in the Chicago Ford Plant on the South Side.
-The Stellantis tentative agreement with the UAW includes bringing thousands of workers back to the Belvidere Assembly Plant near Rockford.
— Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch (@SpeakerWelchIL) October 29, 2023
* Here’s the rest of your morning roundup…
* Sun-Times | Plan for 2nd migrant tent camp at donated Jewel, parking lot clears City Council committee: “The City will soon begin performing work on the site to confirm the underlying infrastructure’s viability before initiating construction. The City will notify residents as to the outcome of this final assessment and will share further operations details prior to placing any individuals into the facilities. At the conclusion of the base camp mission, the City intends to transfer ownership of the site to a local community development corporation and fully provide support for the development of affordable housing and retail space on the site.”
* Tribune | Aldermen delay vote on Johnson paid leave plan amid pushback: It’s likely some version of the paid leave legislation will eventually pass. It’s a key plank of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s pro-worker agenda and supporters Monday said they had the votes necessary to pass it. The delay signaled substantive disagreement over the ordinance, however. It presents a test of whether Johnson, with the help of progressive allies, can live up to the reputation he’s tried to burnish as the city’s unifier.
* WTTW | With Few Granted, Time Is Fleeting for People in Illinois Prisons Hoping for Medical Release: ‘My Hope Is Waning’: Under the law, people in prison can petition the Illinois Prisoner Review Board for early release if they are terminally ill and likely to die within the next eighteen months; have become disabled since being incarcerated; or are likely to become disabled within the next six months. During a WTTW News visit to the facility two hours west of Chicago, Dyches shared letters from both his doctor at UI Health and the Dixon Correctional Center doctor attesting to his terminal illness. Despite that documentation, the board still denied him.
* CBS Chicago | Hate crimes tripled in Illinois between 2017 and 2022: “Going back to 2017, the number of hate incidents that were reported in Illinois was about 85,” said Special Agent Brian Etchell, who oversees hate crimes out of the Chicago FBI field office. “In five years in 2022, the number of incidents has tripled.”
* Daily Herald | Rosemont hotel no longer hosting pro-Palestinian event after receiving threats: “The decision by the Hyatt Regency O’Hare to yield to pressure and threats to cancel our event is not an isolated incident,” Irshaid said in a written statement. “We have witnessed similar cancellations of Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim American events in locations like Orlando, (Florida) and Washington, D.C. Regrettably, by giving in to these threats, these establishments are inadvertently legitimizing and giving credibility to voices of bigotry, violence, and exclusion. In doing so, they contribute to the fueling of Islamophobia, anti-Arab, and Anti-Palestinian racism.”
* Business Journal | Illinois Nurses Association, State of Illinois agree on new four-year contract: The new contract was ratified with a 97% vote. Tori Dameron, RN, president of the Illinois Nurses Association, registered nurse at Quincy Veterans Home, and co-chief negotiator, expressed her enthusiasm for this achievement, saying, “The power of organizing is clear. These nurses stood together to support each other’s needs and demands and it paid off. Never before have these nurses seen a contract this strong and a local union so powerful. We were able to come together through rallies, petitions, and other organizing across the state to win the biggest wage increase that state nurses have ever seen.
* Streets Blog Chicago | State legislation introduced by Kam Buckner and supported by North Lakefront reps urges CDOT and IDOT to “transform DLSD”: The synopsis adds that the bill’s goal is to get the departments “to incorporate safe and efficient multimodal transportation throughout DuSable Lake Shore Drive for pedestrians, cyclists, public transit users, and drivers, to emphasize green urban mobility.” This would “ensure that any proposed changes are considered as part of a comprehensive plan for efficient traffic management and movement of people, including during special events and weather challenges.” The synopsis concludes that the aim is to have “more green space and recreational opportunities for Chicagoans, as well as visitors, and to repurpose, where possible, existing infrastructure as part of expanded recreational opportunities.”
* WTTW | Chicago’s Top Cop Vows to Rein in Police Overtime Spending as 2023 Bill Tops $200M: After spending $126.5 million on overtime for members of the Chicago Police Department during the first six months of 2023, the department remains on track to end the year with a total police overtime bill of more than $250 million. The City Council only budgeted $100 million for police overtime in 2023.
* Sun-Times | Northwestern pledges $100 million for Evanston if it gets OK for Ryan Field concerts: Monday’s meeting went late into the night, with most testimony opposing Northwestern. Speakers were given one and a half minutes each to reprise arguments made at length before the city’s Land Use Commission. The advisory panel held three meetings on Ryan Field and on Oct. 11 voted 7-2 against Northwestern’s request for concerts.
* Bloomberg | ADM Reviews Plant-Based Protein Growth Plan on Weak Demand for Fake Meat: “The plant-based protein market has been experiencing de-stocking and consumer demand softness over the course of the year,” Chief Executive Officer Juan Luciano said on a conference call with investors, adding adverse conditions would likely persist into 2024.
“Early this morning, there was an alleged act of retaliation at a Halloween party in the North Lawndale community that left 15 people injured. Initial reports indicate that the suspect was asked to leave the gathering before returning and senselessly opening fire.
Chicago police responded to the shooting and with the assistance of those in attendance, quickly apprehended the offender.
As with all acts of gun violence in our city, my heart is with the victims, families and communities impacted. The Community Safety Coordination Center will ensure that victims and survivors have the resources they need to address trauma, and my office will continue to mobilize the full force of government in working with City agencies, community-based partners, faith leaders and others to reduce the number of guns on Chicago streets and bring safety to our neighborhoods and families.
Sadly, mass casualty events like these are not exclusive to the City of Chicago. This Halloween weekend alone, 11 people were killed in 12 mass shootings across the country from Tampa to Texarkana. This comes on the heels of last week’s devastating mass shooting in Maine.
The proliferation of high-powered artillery is tearing the fabric of our nation, and as long as I am mayor, Chicago will continue to lead the call for common sense gun reform to bring safety to all communities.”
• On Sunday morning, a mass shooting in Ybor City in Tampa, Florida left two people, including a 14-year-old, dead, and 16 wounded, 15 from gunshot wounds.
• At a Halloween party in the North Lawndale neighborhood in Chicago, 15 people were shot and wounded when gunfire erupted inside the party. Four more people were shot and wounded in Chicago in a drive-by shooting outside a party.
• In Texarkana, Texas, three people were killed and three others were wounded in a shooting at a party in the back room of a business a little after 9 p.m. on Saturday.
• In northeast Indianapolis, 10 people between the ages of 16 and 21 years old were wounded, one of them fatally, at a large party.
• Four people — two of them students — were shot Sunday near Georgia State University’s Atlanta campus. Another GSU student was shot at the same location in December 2022.
• In Las Cruces, New Mexico – seven people were wounded in a shooting at a party near Hillrise Elementary School.
• A shooting at a Halloween party at a bar in Dodge, Kansas left two men shot and killed and another two wounded.
* Crain’s | Stellantis battery plant gives Pritzker momentum to land more EV deals: Gov. J.B. Pritzker has landed deals for two EV battery plants in as many months. Stellantis plans build a battery plant as well as an EV assembly facility in Belvidere that are expected to employ more than 3,000 workers. Chinese battery maker Gotion Hi-Tech plans a battery plant in Manteno with 2,600 jobs. He isn’t done. Pritzker says the state is in talks with other companies, and he hopes to land more deals, though he declined to name the prospects. … “Every survey has Illinois in the bottom five for business climates,” says John Boyd Jr., a principal with The Boyd Company, a site-selection consultant in Boca Raton, Fla. “But success breeds success. These announcements will translate into suppliers and others having incentive to consider locating in Illinois.”
* WAND | Illinois community colleges see second largest fall-to-fall enrollment increase in 30 years: Overall, the Illinois Community College System’s opening Fall 2023 enrollments had an increase in both headcount (+5.7 percent) and Full-time Equivalent (FTE) (+5.2 percent) from the previous year. The Fall 2022 to Fall 2023 increase of 5.7 percent is the second largest Fall-to-Fall enrollment growth in the last 30 years. Only the Fall 2008 to Fall 2009 increase of 7.4 percent during the Great Recession was higher.
* Block Club | Key City Committee OKs Purchase Of Far South Side Lot To Become Migrant Camp: Alderpeople on the Committee on Housing and Real Estate approved the city buying a 6.5-acre site for $1 from New Albertons LLC during a Monday morning meeting. The deal needs the full City Council’s approval, and it will go before council during its Wednesday meeting.
* Tribune | Judge rules ex-Ald. Ed Burke’s comments on Jewish lawyers can be heard by jury: “Given the heightened sense of alarm” after the Hamas attacks, “any member of the jury sympathetic toward what the Jewish people have endured might find Mr. Burke’s comments to be particularly distasteful” and unfairly hold it against him, argued Burke attorney Kimberly Rhum at an Oct. 16 pretrial hearing.
* Sun-Times | No testimony from Highland Park massacre suspect at dad’s trial next week: “I don’t see any reason why he should physically be here to do that,” said Strickland, who will be presiding over the bench trial. The father’s lawyer, George Gomez, said he had subpoenaed the son’s attorneys to call him as a witness. One of the son’s attorneys, Gregory Ticsay, said he still hasn’t received the subpoena.
* Daily Journal | Homeless advocates learn from Rockford: A new light shone on how Kankakee County may be able to assist those who are homeless on a recent trip to Rockford. Several area officials traveled some 150 miles to the northern Illinois city to observe and learn how that community has served its homeless population.
* NBC Chicago | Housekeepers walk out of downtown Chicago hotel, demanding fair pet policy: Workers are demanding that management revert to the previous policy regarding guests with pets, the labor union, UNITE HERE Local 1, said in a statement. The policy would alert housekeepers at the beginning on their shift if there is a pet staying in the room they are assigned to clean.
* Crain’s | Cook County residential property taxes in northern suburbs shoot up by 15.7%: Homeowners are now taking on the lion’s share of the tax burden countywide this year, with 81% of Cook County property owners paying higher taxes this year. Overall taxes in Cook County rose 5.4%, or $909 million, with residents taking on $599 million, or two-thirds, of that increase.
* Daily Herald | How Metra is working harder to stop suicides on tracks: Interventions to save lives and prevent death by suicide on railway tracks increased substantially in 2023, Metra reports. Through mid-October, police and train crews trained in crisis management reached 85 people in time to help prevent a tragedy.
* Press Release | Rep. Rashid Invited to White House by President to Discuss Artificial Intelligence: “I am honored to have received an invitation to the White House to discuss the future and regulation of AI,” said Rashid. “In an era where artificial intelligence is reshaping our world, our duty as lawmakers is clear: we must prioritize the safety and well-being of our citizens by mitigating the risks that AI presents. The public is counting on us to enact safeguards that ensure their security, privacy, and fundamental rights in this rapidly evolving landscape.”
* ABC | Biden speaks on AI development: Pres. Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris discuss the administration’s commitment to the safe and secure development of AI.
* The Atlantic | The Secretive Industry Devouring the U.S. Economy: That may not have been such a big deal when private equity was a niche industry. Today, however, it’s anything but. In 2000, private-equity firms managed about 4 percent of total U.S. corporate equity. By 2021, that number was closer to 20 percent. In other words, private equity has been growing nearly five times faster than the U.S. economy as a whole.
State Senator Robert Martwick, State Representative Kam Buckner and Educators for Excellence joined together at a press conference Tuesday to announce a measure that will permit compensation for members of the Chicago Elected School Board.
“Permitting compensation for board members as a way to remove barriers will enable the board to more accurately represent the diverse communities of Chicago,” said Martwick (D-Chicago). “We want the board to truly represent the students and families they serve and to include voices from every community.”
As written, the law that created the Chicago Elected School Board process permits reimbursement to board members for expenses incurred while performing their duties. It currently does not allow compensation for members, which may create barriers for individuals who cannot afford to take the time away from working to serve on the board.
Martwick’s measure does not set a monetary value for compensation, but removes the prohibition of compensation to elected school board members.
“Individuals shouldn’t have to choose between serving on their local school board and providing for their families,” Martwick said. “By allowing for the possibility of compensation, we remove barriers and provide opportunities to future members.”
Yes, board members are giving up their time to serve. Yes, lower-income and working-class people bear a heavier burden than those who are wealthier when they choose to do so, perhaps having to forgo hourly wages or persuade a stubborn boss to give them time off for board meetings and other activities.
To make up for that, it seems entirely fair to provide a modest stipend for members and/or reimbursement for board-related expenses. If it helps pave the way for more parents and community members to run for board seats, so be it.
But a modest stipend really ought to be the extent of any compensation, and sensible limits should be clearly spelled out in the proposal introduced last week by state Sen. Robert Martwick, D-Chicago, and state Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, as first reported by Chalkbeat Chicago.
We’re also not swayed by the argument that pay is necessary so teachers can run for board seats. Under the 2021 law, teachers and other Chicago Public Schools employees are rightly prohibited from sitting on the elected board. If they decide to quit their full-time jobs in order to run, taxpayers shouldn’t be expected to foot the bill with anything approaching a full-time salary.
Illinois law currently does not permit school board members to be paid a salary or stipend, though it does allow for reimbursement of expenses.
* The Question: Pay them an adequate salary, give them a “modest stipend” or don’t pay them anything except expense reminbursements? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
* Last Friday, Senate and House staff held their annual Capitol Trick-or-Treat. I was asked to judge best trick-or-treat area by the Senate President’s office.
I was told the Senate President’s office had stepped up its game this year. They didn’t take top prize… But they do win best candy. Take a look at those full-sized candy bars.
* And the big winner is….
The Senate Democrat Policy & Budget Department! (The alien stuck on the roomba cinched it.)
Sorry for the dark and blurry pictures. There was a princess behind me and I didn’t want to keep her waiting.
On to honorary mentions…
Over in the Stratton C wing, the Senate Democratic Member/Legislative Assistant Office “killed it.”
Finally, House Republican Leadership office cracked me up…
About 28% of students were chronically absent from school last year. That’s a slight decrease — about a 1.5 percentage point — from the 2021-22 school year when about 29.8% of students were chronically absent.
Students are considered chronically absent when they miss about 18 days, or 10% of school, with or without a valid excuse. Student mental health days also count towards chronic absenteeism.
When students miss a significant amount of school it can impact their academic performance.
The report card shows high rates of absenteeism among Black, Native American, and Latino students. But Black, Latino, Asian American, and white students also saw improvement in school attendance compared in 2021-22. During last school year, chronic absenteeism rates were high among students from low-income families, students experiencing homelessness, and students with Individualized Education Programs.
The Illinois data is similar to what schools are seeing across the country. Attendance Works — a nonprofit organization that looks into attendance rates across the country — has seen early data from 11 states that found about 27.9% of students were chronically absent during the 2022-23 school year — a 2.2% decrease in chronic absenteeism rates compared with the 2021-22 school year.
Chronic absenteeism, which skyrocketed during the pandemic, improved modestly in the 2022-23 school year, dropping from 29.8% to 28.3%. Black students, who saw the greatest increase in chronic absenteeism during the pandemic due to having disproportionately less access to in-person instruction, saw the greatest year-over-year improvement. While headed in the right direction, chronic absenteeism remains alarmingly high.
ISBE has dedicated $12 million to Regional Offices of Education to combat absenteeism and more than $100 million for Community Partnership Grants that are designed to improve mental health, regional Social-Emotional Learning Hubs, and programming to support trauma-responsive practices in schools.
* Donald Trump, Jr. spoke at two Illinois locations on Friday. First up, Marni Pyke’s report from McHenry County…
[Donald Trump, Jr.] castigated “the weak Republicans” in Washington who vote with the Democrats. “Because they understand it’s easy to actually be a Republican in Washington … as long as (Democrats) know you will fold when it matters,” he added.
Also, “you want to fix Illinois? Fix our state party,” said former GOP state Sen. Darren Bailey, who warmed the crowd.
Bailey said he “couldn’t understand” why he lost to Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker in the 2022 election.
After a lot of “thinking and praying,” the downstate farmer said the answer was, “We have got to get rid of weak-kneed Republicans.”
Yeah, that’s the solution. Make the party smaller. But, hey, that’d work to his advantage in his congressional primary.
Attending the event was last year’s unsuccessful GOP governor candidate, former state Sen. Darren Bailey of Xenia. Bailey is challenging incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Bost of Murphysboro in southern Illinois and is seeking the former president’s endorsement, which he got late in last year’s GOP governor primary.
Bailey met with the elder Trump on Thursday at Mar-a-Lago, flew with Trump Jr.’s team to the event and was hosting him at a fundraiser in Effingham on Friday night.
Bailey said he expects to get the former president’s endorsement and told reporters that if the elder Trump is convicted on any of the charges he faces, “my opinion (of the former president) won’t change.”
Asked about three former Trump lawyers who agreed to plea deals in Georgia over charges of trying to subvert the election results, Bailey said, “What I see in government, anybody can be bought and paid for and opinions changed based on power and position.”
The event featured State Representatives Chris Miller, Blaine Wilhour and Adam Niemerg, but the event was held on behalf of recent Republican gubernatorial nominee Darren Bailey. Bailey is seeking the Republican nomination for the 12th District Congressional seat now held by Mike Bost. Bailey was critical of Bost, saying he is a career politician who wants to preserve the status quo in Washington. Bailey said, “We need to send a powerful message to career politicians that the only ticket they will be a part of is a ticket home.”
Proud to announce that I am a delegate for @realDonaldTrump to the 2024 Republican National Convention! I am looking forward to Making America Great Again with President Trump! pic.twitter.com/fZMHOZoWFf
* So, maybe news outlets like ABC 7 might wanna turn down the hype machine just a wee bit…
Residents in Chicago’s Morgan Park neighborhood have been making their concerns known on Sunday as the city discusses a plan to create a migrant shelter there. […]
The people at today’s protest said [Ald. Ronnie Mosley] should focus on projects like that instead of this shelter.
“The fact is, in the Roseland community, there’s crime, violence, gangs. It’s through the roof here,” said community activist Patrick Gibbons. “And, we need to protect our own people before we take care of people from the outside.”
* Thanks to an alert commenter, it turns out that the Patrick Gibbons in the above story appears to be the same guy who, until fairly recently, was running for 31st Ward Republican committeeperson on Chicago’s Northwest Side - far, far away from the Jewels in Morgan Park/Roseland.
Would be nice if the Chicago news media would simply check the google machine once in a while to see if the “community activists” they are quoting are from the actual community they are covering.
* And even without the Gibbons stuff, a tiny handful of disgruntled people milling about a giant parking lot is hardly a compelling teevee visual. From NBC 5’s wide-shot…
* WTTW | Vote Set on Plan to Transform Former Jewel, Parking Lot on Far South Side Into Migrant Shelter: Mayor Brandon Johnson will ask a key City Council panel to purchase the now-vacant Jewel and surrounding parking lot near 115th and Halsted streets and transform it into a shelter for some of the 3,344 men, women and children being forced to sleep on the floors of police stations across the city and at O’Hare Airport.
* WTTW | With Temperatures Set to Dip Below Freezing, Warming Buses Set to Shelter Migrants: Warming buses will be sent to 16 Chicago police stations to shelter some of the 3,344 men, women and children being forced to sleep on the floors of police stations across the city and at O’Hare Airport, as cold weather settled over the city in earnest and temperatures dipped below freezing, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office said late Sunday.
* The Hill | Tensions rise between new and established migrants: The tension is especially felt in Democratic strongholds such as New York and Chicago, where community leaders and elected officials have spent decades organizing their constituents with limited success. “Mixed-status families, people who have lived here for 10, 20, 25, 30 years, who have been working, paying taxes, sending money back to Mexico, abiding by the laws, laying low — probably being better citizens than most Americans — are frustrated,” said Illinois Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D).
Illinois is a big winner in the new contract between the United Auto Workers and Stellantis, which will reopen its Belvidere plant to make trucks and build a new battery factory.
The tentative deal reached Saturday could result in more than 3,000 jobs, more than doubling the company’s recent headcount, with an investment of billions of dollars, Gov. J.B. Pritzker says.
“Eight months ago, Stellantis idled Belvidere Assembly Plant, putting 1,200 of our members on the street. From the strength of our strike, we are bringing back those jobs and more,” UAW Vice President Rich Boyer said in a statement. “Stellantis is reopening the plant, and the company will also be adding over a thousand jobs at a new battery plant in Belvidere.” […]
Stellantis marks the second major EV-battery win for the governor, who won re-election last year and will host the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next year. Last month, Chinese battery maker Gotion Hi-Tech said it will build a $2 billion battery-assembly plant in Manteno that will eventually employ 2,600 workers. The deal included $536 million in tax incentives and more in property tax concessions from local governments.
The tentative agreement, announced Saturday by the UAW, includes a 25% increase in base wages, cost of living adjustments and the right to strike over plant closures, mirroring a similar deal struck by Ford on Wednesday. But the Stellantis agreement also would restart the 60-year-old Belvidere Assembly Plant, which has been idled since February.
As part of the deal, the Belvidere plant will get both an unnamed vehicle and an adjacent battery manufacturing facility, bringing thousands of jobs back to the small river city near Rockford. The state recently optioned a large parcel of land next to the 280-acre Belvidere plant to accommodate manufacturing expansion. […]
Sources said the Belvidere plant may become home to a light truck, a battery plant and a parts distribution center. The new vehicle to be built at Belvidere would likely be electric, sources said. […]
The plant’s future became a pivotal negotiating point during the six-week UAW strike, with everything from a “megahub” parts distribution center to a battery plant on the table. The agreement seems to incorporate all of the above, an outcome that was met with enthusiasm in Belvidere.
* UAW VP Rich Boyer says the plant will produce a new midsize truck and will run two shifts, according to Motor1.com…
In an official statement published on YouTube, the UAW’s Vice President Rich Boyer shared the good news: “UAW family, it is… my great honor to announce that we have saved Belvidere. Again, we have saved Belvidere… We have won a new vehicle at Belvidere…it will be a midsize truck, and we will have two shifts.”
UAW Vice President Rich Boyer announced Saturday that the Belvidere assembly plant is going to bring back over a thousand jobs upon its return, and bring with it a new electric vehicle battery plant what will more than double that amount.
“We got everyone that lost their job in Belvidere put back on temporary layoff meaning they’ll get sub-pay and health care until their job is back in Belvidere,” says Boyer says. “Under our contract members from Belvidere who have been scattered across this country will have the right to return back home to Belvidere.”
While the agreement goes through ratifications, Stellantis workers are expected to return to work. State Senator Steve Stadelman says he hopes things can keep moving forward in an optimistic fashion.
“I think at the end of the day, workers want to be paid what they think they deserve, and we allow negotiations, and efforts to make sure that working men and women get what they want. Hopefully that’s the end result of this long process,” says Stadelman. “Hopefully everything comes together, hopefully the contract leads to the reopening of the Belvidere plant and good news for the area. But it’s something that the state of Illinois and I have been personally involved in making sure that we get everybody on the same page to providing these incentives and encouraging Stellantis to use that plan.”
President Joe Biden called the deal a “ground-breaking contract” that offers “record raises, more paid leave, greater retirement security, and more rights and respect at work.”
* Gov. Pritzker…
With the announcement that United Auto Workers and Stellantis have reached a tentative agreement that’s good for workers and good for the state of Illinois, auto workers can get back on the job with higher wages, expanded benefits, and new and valuable opportunities in a growing industry.
For over two years, I have been laser-focused on working toward a permanent solution in Belvidere that retains and grows good-paying jobs, while supporting economic development in the surrounding region. Since the plant was idled in February, we’ve provided support to furloughed auto workers, while concurrently leading a collaborative effort with local officials and legislators to craft aggressive incentives that position Illinois at the forefront of the EV manufacturing industry. Thanks to that collaboration and the passage of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act and the Reimagining Energy and Vehicles Act, we are on the verge of significantly advancing that effort.
I’ve been in constant contact with auto workers, Stellantis executives, UAW representatives, and the White House as the bargaining has unfolded, and I am delighted we are now on the verge of getting this done. I look forward to finalizing the state’s economic package and not only reopening the shuttered assembly plant in Belvidere to manufacture electric vehicles, but also co-locating a new battery production facility. This will be thousands of jobs, billions in investment, and a huge win for Illinois.
* US Rep. Bill Foster…
“The tentative contract agreement announced by the UAW and Stellantis today, that promises a strong future for the Belvidere Assembly Plant in both vehicle and battery production, is an important milestone along a path involving months of hard work by negotiators on both sides, as well as state, local, and federal officials.
“It is a cause for celebration for Belvidere and the generations of workers who made their careers at the Assembly Plant. Under the Governor’s leadership, powerful state incentives have been assembled to help close the deal; local officials made sure that the site would accommodate Stellantis’ ambitious future plans for Belvidere; and the federal incentives for EV and battery production from Congress and the Biden Administration will continue to be essential in ensuring the economic future of the Assembly Plant for generations to come.
“This milestone would not have been achieved without the incredible support for the Belvidere Plant from UAW workers throughout the country — the truest expression of the meaning of the words “union solidarity.”
“This is a big win for Illinois, and means that the iconic Belvidere Assembly Plant should remain the beating heart of the entire community, and that the workers who’ve been displaced since the idling can finally return to work with a bright future.”
* US Sen. Dick Durbin…
From my very first meeting, and every one since, the President of UAW, Shawn Fain, made it clear that the future of Belvidere was a critical bargaining issue. He kept his word. Today’s announcement creates a path for every Belvidere worker to return and be part of a new EV launch.
“I spoke to Governor Pritzker this afternoon. There is a need for federal infrastructure investment on the site and I pledged our delegation’s total cooperation in that effort.
* US Sen. Tammy Duckworth…
Today’s tentative agreement announcement is not only great for Stellantis workers across the country — a historic deal to help to bolster UAW members and their families — but it’s especially impactful for Belvidere. This tentative agreement shows the power of companies and labor coming together to empower workers and provide them a fair and living wage while ensuring modern businesses can still compete, grow profits and succeed. This reinforces what we all know: that the future of manufacturing doesn’t mean fewer workers, the future of manufacturing depends on the power of our workforce, and I’m so proud to join the brave UAW workers in celebrating this historic tentative agreement today.
General Motors and the United Auto Workers union have reached a tentative contract agreement that could end a six-week-old strike against Detroit automakers, two people briefed on the deal said Monday.
The agreement follows the pattern set with Ford last week and Jeep maker Stellantis over the weekend.
The deals will last four years and eight months and include 25% general pay raises and cost of living adjustments. Combined they bring the wage increase to over 30% over the life of the contract.
Ford will invest more than $400 million in its two Chicago-area factories as part of its proposed new contract with the United Auto Workers.
The company will invest $400 million at its Torrence Avenue factory where it makes Explorer SUVs, says Chris Pena, president of UAW Local 551, which represents about 6,000 workers at the plant. Ford invested $900 million in the plant in 2015 during its last major upgrade.
Ford also says it will invest $30 million at its stamping plant in Chicago Heights, which employs about 1,200 workers, and supplies the Torrence Avenue assembly line.
Monday, Oct 30, 2023 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
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Incentivizing fleet owners to go electric improves air quality, especially in heavy transit corridors. States like Nevada have incentivized the transition of school bus fleets from gas to electric, and Illinois can do the same to prevent children from breathing dirty air on their ride to school.
Illinois children deserve clean air now and a healthy future. Fortunately, there are bills in front of the Illinois State House and Senate right now that can help transition whole fleets of large trucks to electric – saving lives and saving money. Our legislators must support. More here.
Back in May 2017, Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson traveled to Springfield and promised a House committee that passing a criminal penalty enhancement bill he favored would drastically reduce gun crimes in his city.
The bill, SB 1722, was sponsored by then-Sen. Kwame Raoul, who would run successfully for attorney general the following year. It sought to establish higher minimum prison terms for people convicted of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon if they’d previously been convicted of various crimes. The bill would also increase penalties for unlawful use of a weapon by a felon.
Johnson was asked by committee member then-Rep. Christian Mitchell, D-Chicago, to estimate how many shootings, whether fatal or not, the legislature might prevent by passing the bill.
“I think over time, we will probably, we will cut it, cut it down in half, to half,” Johnson replied.
Asked if that might take three years, five years, 10 years, etc., Johnson said, “I don’t think it would take that long. So I would say we would probably start seeing a reduction in less than a year.”
Mitchell pressed further: “Okay. So in less than a year. But certainly, it’s safe to say in three years, if we pass this bill, we should see about a half reduction in the shootings and crime in Chicago?”
Johnson: “The gun violence. Correct.”
The logic behind this claim, Johnson explained, was that his data showed about 1,400 people were “driving most of the violence in Chicago.” And those 1,400 people were very likely to qualify for the enhanced penalties. Get them off the street for longer periods and crime would plummet.
The bill passed both chambers by wide margins and was supported by members who a few years later would lead the charge to reform the criminal justice system. It was one of the last times the General Assembly would pass a major penalty enhancement bill like that.
If you’re a sentient being, you know that Johnson’s confident prediction was wildly incorrect. Gun crimes did not plummet by 50 percent.
The law did lead to people being locked up longer, however. Research by the Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council, an entity created by the General Assembly, showed that sentences rose after the law took effect in 2018.
“The mean sentence length for Aggravated UUW sentences with qualifying predicate convictions increased by about 5 months and the likelihood of a sentence of at least six years was about 3.2 times higher” than before the law took effect, the 2021 study found. And the average sentence length for UUW/felon sentences with predicate convictions, “increased by about 4 months and the likelihood of a sentence of at least seven years was about 2.5 times higher than before the effective date.”
Also of note, the prison sentences for UUW offenses that weren’t specifically covered by the 2017 law Johnson backed “did not change,” SPAC reported.
In other words, while more people have clearly been sentenced to more time in prison because of this law (particularly Black men from Cook County), gun crimes have just as clearly not been reduced by half, or even close to half. While certain violent crimes fell for a couple of years after the law took effect in January 2018, they rose again during the pandemic. They’ve since started to wane but to nowhere near the levels that Johnson boldly promised.
I’m telling you this because the Senate is set to take up a bill (SB 853) that would extend several statutory sunset provisions, including those UUW changes made in 2017. The law had been set to expire in January 2024, but the proposal would extend that deadline for another year.
This could be an interesting debate and a political temperature check on the General Assembly. Illinois politicians have taken a lot of public heat over crime and the criminal justice reform bills they’ve passed. Allowing penalty enhancements to expire on repeat felony offenders, essentially letting them out of prison earlier than before, regardless of its impact on actual crime statistics would certainly be a bold move.
The bill is sponsored by Sen. Patrick Joyce, a conservative Democrat from Kankakee County who is up for reelection next year. The amendment containing the language unanimously passed Joyce’s State Government Committee.
This is an omnibus bill containing several sunset extensions. If the bill doesn’t pass, a whole lot of laws could expire at the end of December because the General Assembly won’t return until January at the earliest.
* ICYMI: UAW-Stellantis agreement may include a new vehicle, EV battery facility for idled Belvidere plant. Crain’s…
- Governor Pritzker learned about a week ago that both an EV factory and battery plant were on the table in the deal being worked out between Stellantis and the UAW.
- The Belvidere plant was idled in February.
- Stellantis will likely receive a more than Gotion’s $536 million tax incentive package from the state since it involves an assembly facility and a battery plant.
* Crain’s | Replacing lead pipes could save Illinois as much as $89 billion in health costs: The heart association made the case that, while “traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease do not currently include environmental toxicants,” research confirms that lead, cadmium and arsenic are associated with premature death, due in large part to increased cardiovascular disease risk.
* Daily Herald | ‘Taking the side of peace’: Suburban Muslim and Jewish women try to find common ground here amid Middle East war: “Even the word for peace is so similar in our religions,” said Shazia Khan, co-leader of the Northwest suburban group that aims to build relationships between Muslim and Jewish women. “And that’s the point … that 99% of what we do and say is common, and it’s the 1% difference that has divided our societies and our political leaders have politicized and taken to extremes. But we’re trying to remind everybody of that 99%.”
* ABC Chicago | Morgan Park residents raise concerns over city’s plans for migrant shelter at vacant lot: But, the people living in Morgan Park say they want the city to provide critical resources for current residents, echoing the same message people have had in other neighborhoods that are being discussed as shelter options. “The people here in the community, they’re afraid they’re going to lose jobs. They’re afraid there won’t be shelter for the homeless. And so, this is a big thing for this community,” said Pastor Anthony Wilson. “I don’t oppose migrants or foreigners. I’m not against that, but the citizens of Chicago come first.”
* NBC Chicago | Roseland residents frustrated over proposal to build migrant shelter: At a meeting in September, 21st Ward Ald. Ronnie Mosely, which represents the community, listened to residents concerns about the proposed tent city. In a statement, the alderman expressed his disappointment over the plan and said his “ward will not tolerate the prioritization of a crisis over our needs and voices!”
* South Side Weekly | UN Specialist Warned City Council that Tent Camps Could Become Permanent: Emails obtained by the Weekly reveal that Committee Chair Andre Vasquez (40th Ward) discussed the camps with Joseph Ashmore, the IOM specialist, last month. In an email exchange following the discussion, Ashmore provided materials on mass shelters that explain topics such as preparedness, violence prevention, and community involvement. Ashmore emphasized that tent camps are “a last resort,” adding in his email to Vasquez, “They can be unsustainable, can last for much longer than expected, and are expensive to run and maintain.” Ashmore declined requests for an interview.
* Sun-Times | 15 shot at unsanctioned Halloween party in North Lawndale; suspect in custody: William Betancourt, commander of the Chicago Police Department’s Ogden District, told reporters the “senseless act of violence” occurred around 1 a.m. in the 1200 block of South Pulaski Road. Some of the roughly 100 partygoers told officers that the alleged shooter “was ejected from the party, and he came back a few minutes later with a gun and he began to shoot,” Betancourt said during a news conference Sunday afternoon.
* Cook County Record | Union League Club hit with class action over worker fingerprint scans: The Union League Club of Chicago has become one of the latest employers in Chicago targeted by a class action lawsuit under the state’s biometrics privacy law, because the Club allegedly improperly required workers to scan their fingerprints when punching in and out of work shifts. The club’s biometric timekeeping system “includes the dissemination of biometrics to each other and third parties, such as data storage
* Tribune | North suburban homeowners seeing biggest property tax increase in 30 years, treasurer’s analysis finds: After months of delay, nearly 1.8 million property tax bills for Cook County home and business owners are landing in mailboxes this week, and many homeowners in the north and northwest suburbs are in for jarring news. A new analysis from county Treasurer Maria Pappas’ research team found the median residential tax bill there increased by 15.7%, according to the report, “the largest percentage increase in the last 30 years.”
* Tribune | Chicago-area environmental activists, experts seek to protect region’s trees after bur oak removal in Kane County: For years, Maher and a group of activists have tried to stop the removal of bur oak trees at a proposed industrial park development in Kane County near Geneva, contacting local elected officials, starting a petition and even climbing on machinery. They say almost all of the historic trees were cut down in the two weeks after Labor Day, calling it a “colossal failure” for the “Tree City USA” community.
* Block Club | Columbia College Adjunct Faculty Plan To Strike Monday: The decision comes as a result of the school administration’s plans to cut hundreds of class sections, which union leaders said would decrease adjunct faculty’s workload — and therefore pay — or increase class sizes without a corresponding pay increase. Diana Vallera, union president and a part-time faculty member in the photography department, said about 340 class sections would be eliminated.
* Fox 2 | George Harrison’s long-lasting impact on southern Illinois: Lead guitarist George Harrison ended up in southern Illinois for several days. Archives from BeatlesBible.com note that he flew into New York and caught a connecting flight to St. Louis before a roughly hour-and-a-half car ride to southern Illinois. At the time, Harrison’s sister, Louise, had recently moved to Benton, Illinois, with her husband, Gordon Caldwell. He was a passionate engineer and found opportunities within Illinois’ coal mining industry.
* WaPo | Faced with abortion bans, doctors beg hospitals for help with key decisions: Huntsberger said she called six administrators before she finally got ahold of someone, her patient awaiting help a few rooms away. When she asked whether she could terminate a pregnancy under Idaho’s new abortion ban - which allows doctors to perform an abortion only if they deem it “necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman” - the OB/GYN said the decision was punted back to her.
* The Atlantic | What Financial Engineering Does to Hospitals: Watkins and other Riverton residents concluded that, instead of dividing specialties between the two hospitals and beefing up the ones remaining at each location, hospital managers were simply stripping away essential services from their community. The drive to Lander isn’t hard in the summer, Watkins told us, but in the winter, the roads are often closed. Many more patients needed to be transported out of the county altogether.
* The last track of what may be the last Rolling Stones album is this gem of a Muddy Waters cover performed by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. As David Browne wrote, it has “a palpable and obvious full-circle feel to it.” Check it out…
Well, my mother told my father just before I, I was born
She said, Got a boy child comin’
And he’s gonna be, gonna be a rolling stone
Chicago police last month were called to a Far Southwest Side high school where a school official reported getting into an altercation with a man he identified as an Illinois state senator over a cellphone that had been confiscated from a student.
The school official accused Democratic state Sen. Willie Preston of slapping his hand, causing a pen to fly out of it, after the lawmaker refused to sign his name in a log at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences in order to retrieve a cellphone that belonged to a relative who was a student at the school, according to sources and a police report.
Police filled out a report on the incident, but no charges have been filed.
In two interviews with the Tribune, Preston said he had no knowledge of an altercation at the school. Asked about it again during the late October legislative session in Springfield, Preston said he had no comment.
* Gov. Pritzker’s senior political adviser confirms a story in the Atlantic about how Team Pritzker turned thumbs down on Minnesota US Rep. Dean Phillips’ presidential fantasies…
Township mental health boards in Illinois levy property taxes to fund local organizations and community mental health initiatives. The boards focus on mental health, substance abuse and developmental disabilities and issue contracts to local agencies to provide services for its residents.
Senate Bill 690 from state Sen. Ann Gillespie, D-Arlington Heights, would allow townships to ask local voters for increased taxes to fund these boards in certain townships. The measure passed Wednesday along party lines. […]
“This seems to be a way of arguably, almost taxation without honest representation,” [Sen. Craig Wilcox, R-McHenry] said. “This is not uncommon with the majority party in control. My fear is that we often do things through the legislature that arguably should have been put to the voters to make decisions in their local areas.”
Gillespie said the measure changes the language in a referendum, but Wilcox said that doesn’t account for the extra costs.
“The core of it was the failure to agree on how to properly do the referendum with the appropriate wording that would have highlighted to the constituents that this was not just an agreement on an established mental health board, but that it came with a price tag,” Wilcox said. “That’s what we were opposed to in that bill.”
* Press release…
Governor JB Pritzker today joined EVBox and other stakeholders for the launch of its new Illinois-built DC fast charger. Called the Troniq Modular, EVBox’s new product is a National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) ready electric vehicle (EV) charging station. EVBox’s new DC fast charger is compliant with the U.S. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s Build America, Buy America guidelines, which requires that chargers be produced in the United States with at least 55 percent domestic content. The launch event highlights the importance of clean energy businesses like EVBox, whose innovations will help bring Illinois closer to its goal of putting one million EVs on the road by 2030.
“I’m proud to work closely with industry partners, like EVBox, to advance our shared clean energy goals and accelerate the transition to zero-emission vehicles,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Major EV, EV parts, and renewable energy manufacturers have chosen to locate or expand operations in Illinois thanks to our competitive incentives, unmatched infrastructure, world-class workforce, and commitment to the clean energy economy. We’ve increased our EVs on the road by 44 percent in just the last 10 months — a testament to the explosive growth rates we can facilitate when EVs are more accessible and more affordable for consumers.”
“In Illinois, we know the future is electric, which is why we’re becoming a hub for electric vehicles and EV innovations. Today’s announcement of the new Illinois-built DC fast charger is another step in our goal of one million electric vehicles on Illinois roads by 2030,” said Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton. “And we are on the path to achieving our goal of 100% clean energy by 2050, thanks in part to REV Illinois. That means job creation across our state and protecting our environment for generations to come.”
With its North American headquarters in Libertyville, EVBox is a global leader in the EV charging sector and a key player in Illinois’ rapidly growing EV manufacturing ecosystem. Founded in 2010, EVBox is a market leader in electric vehicle charging infrastructure (EVSE) that has delivered over 500,000 charging ports to partners and customers globally.
“As we look to the future of EV travel in America, we envision a charging station network that seamlessly connects cities and regions,” said Remco Samules, CEO of EVBox. “The electrification of transportation will reduce our carbon footprint and lead to cleaner air, improved health, and a more sustainable future for generations to come. Through public-private partnerships like the one we have with Illinois, we are setting the stage for this transition.”
With competitive incentives for EV sector manufacturing, rapid growth in EV adoption (44% year-over-year in 2023) bolstered by consumer rebates, and $12.6 million awarded so far for 350 fast-charging ports across the state, Illinois is leading the charge when it comes to electrifying our transportation system.
Governor JB Pritzker has issued a state disaster proclamation that will allow areas impacted by September flooding to access state resources to help with recovery efforts.
Cook County already issued a disaster proclamation earlier this month. However, the state disaster proclamation will allow for even more funds to go to southern Cook County communities.
* Is anyone actually buying the claim that Fields is still too injured to play?…
Quarterback Justin Fields (thumb), right guard Nate Davis (ankle) and cornerback Terell Smith (illness) have all been ruled out of Sunday’s game.
Fields will miss his second consecutive game with a dislocated right thumb. Rookie backup Tyson Bagent is expected to start in his place.
* For commenters and everyone else…
I love "The hierarchy of disagreement" and occasionally reshare it. We must learn to argue and disagree in a kinder, more efficient way. The article is worth reading. If you are pressed for time just read the pyramid and laugh at the lowest stage. Source: https://t.co/EIJyfDbD7Xpic.twitter.com/oZoDL5ZuYT
* SJ-R | Bill that passed Illinois Senate could resolve SHS project tangled in property dispute: A project allowing new offices, an auxiliary gym, and classrooms for Springfield High School is caught up in a dispute over the fair market value of two properties needed for the construction. A bill advancing in the Illinois Senate would resolve the dispute in favor of Springfield Public Schools District 186.
* Crain’s | Talks over new PTO law for Chicago employers hit a bump: With a committee vote on expanding Chicago’s paid leave policy looming next week, business groups issued a statement saying the current proposal “ignores the business community and would have a devastating impact” on local industries. The statement came Friday after weeks of negotiations with the Chicago Federation of Labor, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration, and other unions and worker advocacy groups.
* Chalkbeat | Schools have struggled to add learning time after COVID. Here’s how one district did it.: A year ago, school would have been over around this time, and the students at Columbus East Elementary would be walking out the door. But this year, a group of fifth graders were instead sitting on the school’s stage, reading aloud about the life of Rosa Parks as they worked on reading fluency and comprehension. Similar activities were taking place in nearly every corner of the school: In another classroom, students rolled dice to practice two-digit multiplication and huddled close to their teacher to review their work.
* WTTW | Jefferson Park Man Spent Night in Jail After Harassment Campaign Led by Police Brass, Misconduct Agency Finds: A Jefferson Park man spent a night in jail in November 2018 after being subjected to “an improper campaign of harassment” after criticizing a Far Northwest Side business group on Facebook for their response to the conviction of a White Chicago police officer for the 2014 murder of Laquan McDonald, a Black teen, according to evidence gathered by the agency charged with investigating police misconduct. The probe by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability concluded that two Chicago police lieutenants, including one who twice ran unsuccessfully for the Chicago City Council, “may have directed an improper campaign of harassment against (Pete Czosnyka) in retaliation for the exercise of his First Amendment rights.”
* Press Release | Paxton Media Group Acquires The Southern Illinoisan Newspaper: Paxton Media Group is a growing media company, having purchased numerous newspapers over the past few years in the Midwest and Southeast. PMG operates more than 120 newspapers in 14 states. Paxton owns six other newspapers in Illinois.
* WaPo | Mysterious bylines appeared on a USA Today site. Did these writers exist?: Staffers at Reviewed, a USA Today-owned website devoted to shopping recommendations, were about to end their workday Friday when one of them noticed something strange: Articles were publishing on the site by writers none of them had ever heard of — and using suspiciously similar language. Jaime Carrillo, a senior staff writer, couldn’t figure out where the reviews — for products like insulated drink tumblers and scuba gear — were coming from. “I stayed at my desk for the next hour, just kind of panicking over this new website that none of us had a hand in,” he said.
* Sun-Times | After 47 years, longest-serving Latina in CPS has no plans to retire: Myers has worked as the clerk at Ebinger on the Northwest Side for more than two decades. This fall, she celebrates 45 years at the school in various roles. And with 47 years overall working for the Chicago Public Schools, she’s the longest-serving Latina in the system.
* Fox 2 | This Illinois town ranks among America’s ‘most haunted’: Alton has fully embraced its haunted heritage, and visitors have the opportunity to explore it through various haunted tours. Alton Odyssey Tours, established in 1992 by local psychics Antoinette and Marlene Lewis, offer an array of experiences for ghost enthusiasts. These tours include Trolley Ghost Tours, a Haunted Beer Walk in partnership with Old Bakery Beer, and Haunted Walking Tours.
* Crain’s | If you’re dying to live in a former tombstone factory, here’s your chance: Mike Quinlan is asking just under $4 million for the house, a five-bedroom, roughly 7,500-square-foot contemporary he built inside the limestone walls of Anderson Monument Company beginning in 2017. It’s represented by Morgan McDermott of Coldwell Banker.
* AP | U.S. economy accelerated to a strong 4.9% rate last quarter as consumers shrugged off Fed rate hikes: Thursday’s report on the nation’s gross domestic product — the economy’s total output of goods and services — showed that consumers drove the acceleration, ramping up their spending on everything from cars to restaurant meals. Even though the painful inflation of the past two years has soured many people’s view of the economy, millions have remained willing to splurge on vacations, concert tickets and sports events.
* Crain’s | Cannabis operators sue feds over intrastate commerce: According to the statement, the coalition seeks to urge the federal government to not enforce the CSA in a manner that interferes with the intrastate cultivation, manufacture, possession, and distribution of cannabis, pursuant to state law.
* The Atlantic | The Huge Multistate Lawsuit Against Meta Isn’t Serious Enough: Teenagers are experiencing a mental-health crisis. And though the science is messy and the matter isn’t settled, many suspect that social media is, in some substantial way, tangled up in the problem. Following this instinct, legislators and regulators at both the state and federal levels have suggested a slew of interventions aimed at protecting young people from the potential harms of social platforms. Many of these efforts have so far fallen short on legal grounds, and broadly speaking, the status quo remains.
* The Verge | Hertz is scaling back its EV ambitions because its Teslas keep getting damaged : Part of the problem is linked to Hertz’s plans to rent EVs to ridehail drivers. Of the 100,000 Tesla acquired by Hertz, half were to be allocated to Uber drivers as part of a deal with the ridehail company. And drivers said they loved the Teslas! But Uber drivers also tend to drive their vehicles into the ground. This higher rate of utilization can lead to a lot of damage — certainly more than Hertz was anticipating.
* State Superintendent of Education Tony Sanders back in May…
You may have seen or heard news over the past few weeks about an issue with funding for the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant program. This stemmed from the pandemic years when the agency allowed grantees to carry over unspent grant funds into the next year, rather than return them to ISBE to help fund the following year, per normal practice. ISBE did not adequately forecast the impact of the carryover allowance, leading to a projected shortfall of $12.4 million for FY 2024.
ISBE requested to use some of our ARP ESSER state set-aside funds to address the shortfall, and the U.S. Department of Education approved our request. This will fully cover the shortfall and allow us to meet all obligations to grantees in FY 2024. But there is still not federal funding available to allow us to offer renewals or a new grant competition in FY 2024, which means the grant cycle for the cohort initially funded for five years in FY 2019 concludes this year. Renewals and new competitions are only offered in years when funding is available, which is why the 21st Century grant application requires applicants to plan for sustaining programming once the grant concludes. The FY 2019 grantees serve 68 locations. ISBE staff are contacting all of the school districts, and 42 have indicated they intend to offer afterschool programming for students using other funding sources. Another 13 school districts are working through this possibility. This does not guarantee that the district will continue working with the 21st Century grantee, but it does mean that programming will continue for many of the affected students. […]
We take full responsibility for the lack of forecasting and the late communication to grantees and are taking action to prevent this situation from occurring again.
After-school programs for 27,000 Illinois students may be in danger of running out of money after next year because of an accounting error made by the Illinois State Board of Education. […]
A coalition of community groups that provide after-school programming — who estimate the shortfall as much larger — are calling on Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Illinois lawmakers to use state dollars to fill the gap to help programs survive in the future.
If that gap is not closed, they say, programs that provide students with a safe space after school to participate in extracurricular activities, tutoring, and mental health services may not have enough funding after next year.
Afterschool for Children and Teens Now (ACT Now), a group of Illinois after-school advocates, says these programs serve mostly Black and Latino students who attend high-poverty, low-performing schools. About 66% of students in the programs qualify for free and reduced lunch.
Of 33 after-school programs that already lost funding in July, 27 have since closed their doors, affecting around 6,000 students across the state, [Susan Stanton, executive director of the statewide Act Now coalition] said. […]
Mah, Villanueva, Villivalam and around 20 other state legislators signed an Oct. 18 letter to Gov. J.B. Pritzker, House Speaker Emanuel Chris Welch and Senate President Don Harmon, urging the General Assembly to pursue the $50 million annual appropriation in support of the community learning center programs. As of Wednesday, Act Now spokesperson Emma Spencer said, the organization isn’t aware of any lawmaker committed to proposing an amendment to the budget.
Illinois Senate President Don Harmon is backing legislation that would provide tens of millions of dollars in property tax breaks for nursing homes in Cook County after accepting nearly $2 million in campaign contributions from their industry trade group, including more than $700,000 in the past year.
A political action committee for the Health Care Council of Illinois is one of Harmon’s biggest campaign contributors in recent years. It represents nursing home interests and is lobbying members of the General Assembly to pass the tax relief measure in coming days.
* Much of the information in the piece was covered by Crain’s Chicago Business a week ago. From that story…
If enacted into law, the measure would shift tens of millions of dollars “and maybe more” in annual property taxes from nursing facilities to homeowners and other businesses, according to Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi’s office. Some south suburban communities would be particularly affected. […]
The fray has largely gone under the radar. The provision involved was quietly tucked into a much larger property tax bill that mostly dealt with routine matters. The provision to cut nursing home taxes surfaced as an amendment introduced on May 19 in the state Senate, was approved by the full Senate on the same day, then sent to the House for concurrence. […]
A fact sheet distributed by the health care council and its lobbyist to lawmakers says the tax-cut bill would provide “critical relief” to 300 nursing homes in Cook County “that have been experiencing escalating property taxes and systemic inequities. . . .The current system is not sustainable and is adding to the financial burdens that could force some nursing homes to close and reduce access for residents in their communities who need it the most.” […]
[Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi’s] team found the tax shift from nursing homes to other taxpayers would exceed 2% of total valuations in several towns and hit 8.5% in Robbins. Chicago has a much wider tax base, but, even there, other taxpayers would have to have to pick up $441 million in valuation being removed from nursing homes, says David Morrison, deputy assessor for policy and intergovernmental affairs.
The House voted to concur on the amendment six days after the Senate passed the amended HB2507. It ended up clearing both chambers without a single vote against. The governor has suggested that members didn’t quite know what they were voting for.
* But here’s something not mentioned in either story: While it’s true that the Health Care Council of Illinois has contributed $115,000 to three of Harmon’s campaign committees since early August, the chief opponent to the amendment, SEIU Healthcare IL/IN, has contributed a total of $137,000 to Harmon’s personal and caucus committees since late August. And SEIU Healthcare has contributed a total of $373,000 to state legislative committees since the start of August, including $137,000 to Speaker Chris Welch’s personal and caucus committees.
Those contributions appear to have had an impact.
* The House’s chief sponsor, Rep. Stephanie Kifowit, told Crain’s that she would move for an override, but also said she’d be willing to pull out the nursing home language if that’s what her colleagues wanted. Well, a week later, she indicated to the Sun-Times that her colleagues weren’t thrilled about voting to override the governor’s veto. But Rep. Kifowit’s quote was buried near the end of the story…
“In talking to members of the caucus, they want more discussion and research on this topic,” said state Rep. Stephanie Kifowit, D-Oswego. “I think that they want to pause” and “look at it holistically how we can provide assistance to those nursing homes.”
If the bill’s sponsor in the originating chamber is saying that, then SEIU Healthcare has likely won the floor fight, regardless of any shenanigans in the spring. There’s still almost two weeks left to go, though.
*** UPDATE *** I asked the Senate sponsor of the amendment in question, Celina Villanueva, if Harmon or his chief of staff had anything to do with the nursing home language. Sen. Villanueva’s response…
No. This came out of the on going negotiations/convos with my House counterpart.
A whole lot of ink may have been spilled for nothing.
Friday, Oct 27, 2023 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
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The purpose of this memorandum is to update the Division on recent staffing changes and provide operational guidance to mitigate disruption to our operation. Effective today, 28 July, Chief of Operations, Marc Sullivan, Deputy Director of Emergency Management, Scott Swinford, and Legislative Liaison, Jen March, tendered their resignations and are no longer employed by the agency. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to each of them for their sacrificial service and contributions during their tenures. Each of them was instrumental in advancing both our division and our agency while serving the State during numerous historic response and recovery efforts.
* IEMA’s response to my questions, including if the resignations had anything to do with staffing contracts, including one (click here) with Favorite Staffing…
These were three distinct resignations due to unique circumstances and we can’t comment further on individual personnel matters.
IEMA, like agencies across state government, engaged in a variety of staffing contracts to respond to the unprecedented emergency brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. As these contracts continue to wind down the state is completing all federally required review processes to ensure federal funds were used properly. These resignations were not related to those processes.
Records obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times, however, show that chief of operations Marc M. Sullivan was forced out July 28 “in lieu of termination for misconduct.” His boss, Scott Swinford, also stepped down the same day as deputy director, second in command to agency director Alicia Tate-Nadeau, using an oddly identical letter citing personal reasons to resign.
The records show Sullivan wrote a second letter to Tate-Nadeau asking for “a copy of the investigation findings that drove me into administrative leave, as well as my last evaluations so that I may use those to understand my shortcomings and reference accomplishments for future employment searches.” […]
The liaison, Jennifer March, also was pushed out July 27, according to documents that say she “resigned in lieu of termination due to poor performance.” […]
Documents signed by Tate-Nadeau show March and Sullivan are barred from working for IEMA again.
Interesting. Three of Director Tate-Nadeau’s very top people were initially praised by IEMA, but two of them were barred from ever working there again? Swinford and Sullivan had worked with Tate-Nadeau when she was a brigadier general in the Illinois National Guard. March worked for Tate-Nadeau at Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications for years. Tate-Nadeau is still running IEMA.
Illinois taxpayers have been paying $28,000 to $48,000 a month for the executive assistant to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency’s director.
Between February and August, the assistant accounted for $240,761.30 in billings — double the salary of her boss, Alicia Tate-Nadeau, during that period. […]
In response to questions about the costs, IEMA spokesman Kevin Sur said the contractor, Amy Gentry, resigned effective Thursday and that a state employee hired as the director’s assistant but “temporarily assigned” elsewhere would return to her former $84,000-a-year post Friday.
Gentry has recently been paid $156 an hour through a set of massive contracts earmarked for Illinois’ COVID-19 response. Her total billings to IEMA in other contracting roles through August top $1.03 million.
Timesheets show Gentry billed her time — as many as 350 hours a month — as “director support, Springfield/Remote,” or “Executive Assistant to the Director (Springfield/Remote), though invoices to the state define her pay rate and position as “Planner-IDPH” to “assist Illinois Department of Public Health on planning efforts.” […]
“It is because of Amy’s extensive knowledge on multiple Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamations that we were able to address multiple issues/declared disasters and serve our agency and the people of Illinois,” Sur said. “Amy’s hours logged with our agency are reflective of her work, which have spanned multiple disasters.” […]
Gentry has been employed by All Hands Consulting, a subcontractor to Innovative Emergency Management that was hired by IEMA in 2020 as one of the firms aiding Illinois’ pandemic response, including testing sites and vaccination clinics. […]
Gentry’s highest billing month was March 2022 — $60,055.42 for 350 hours at $171.22 an hour as an “Ops Chief Assistant,” “developing state to local vaccine operation plan.”
She logged 350 hours again in January 2023 as a “Planner-IDPH” for $156 an hour, or a little less than $55,000. IEMA won’t release those timesheets.
So, if Gentry was so good, why did she quit?
Also, Elizabeth Findley served as Tate-Nadeau’s private secretary, but she was ousted in August, according to the Sun-Times…
“Elizabeth Findley’s last day was August 22, 2023,” reads an auto-reply from her state email. “Please direct all inquiries to Amy Gentry amy.gentry@illinois.gov.”
Hmm.
Do you get the feeling that you can’t trust anything IEMA is saying?
* Let’s move on to a Tribune story from last week…
When a security guard clocked out of a Streeterville migrant shelter one Friday in March, he’d just logged his 84th hour at work that week.
His bosses told the city it was at least his 56th day in a row working a 12-hour shift, according to invoices they filed with the city — invoices whose sizable overtime helped contribute to tens of millions in city payments to the firm staffing the city’s migrant shelters.
The security guard was employed by Favorite Healthcare Staffing, a national employment firm that has become the city’s biggest contractor to handle the growing migrant crisis. Under the deal, the city hired the firm to provide case workers, security guards, janitors and many other employees for the migrant shelters — at initial base rates ranging from $60 to $150 an hour.
Invoices reviewed by the Tribune show that hundreds of Favorite Staffing workers logged 84-hour workweeks — with the overtime, paid at a 50% premium, helping balloon bills that topped at least $56 million. At a Woodlawn shelter in early February, for example, two-thirds of the 50 staffers logged working at least 12 hours a day, seven days a week. At the Streeterville site one week in March, roughly 8 in 10 workers logged the same hours. […]
A former aide to Mayor Lori Lightfoot described the amount of hours billed as “not surprising” given the scope and urgency of the services, while Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s spokeswoman defended the payments as a frustrating byproduct of a nationwide worker shortage at a time staffers are most needed to help open and run shelters.
“A humanitarian crisis that requires 24/7 staff at multiple sites throughout the city unfortunately will result in staff working overtime,” Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh said in a written response to questions.
This is definitely a crisis requiring lots of staff working long hours amidst a national worker shortage. The question is if the people are actually putting in all those hours.
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration has renewed a controversial contract with the out-of-state company that staffs the city’s migrant shelters despite its significant overtime billing, a move his team said was its only option as efforts to replace the costly firm with cheaper, local alternatives have hit snags.
Favorite Healthcare Staffing and the city on Monday signed a $40 million extension through October 2024. It’s Johnson’s third extension for the firm and empowers the company to continue hiring caseworkers, security guards, janitors and other employees for the roughly two dozen migrant shelters housing thousands of Chicago’s asylum-seekers. […]
“If we were to kill the contract, who would staff these spaces?” Pacione-Zayas said during a briefing with reporters. “We would get slammed and critiqued on that. And so we’re being responsible while trying to come up with new ways to be responsive and also sensitive to the fact that the city of Chicago is paying for this.”
A recent Tribune investigation found that the city has paid out extensive volumes of overtime as part of its original deal with Favorite Staffing. A small selection of invoices provided by the city following a Tribune request for all of Favorite Staffing’s invoices shows hundreds of Favorite Staffing workers logged working 84 hours a week — with a majority of that time being paid at an overtime rate at a 50% premium. […]
Pacione-Zayas said Thursday that doing away with Favorite Staffing is easier said than done, but the administration plans to announce new staffing contracts for some of its 25 shelters in mid-November. Favorite Staffing, though, will continue working at more than half those shelters due to lack of interested bidders and other procurement restraints, she said.
* Gov. JB Pritzker was asked yesterday whether he thought the Favorite Staffing contract should undergo a performance audit and whether the state was going to look at its own contract with the company…
Again, it’s up to the city to manage their contract because it’s a direct contract with the city that gets negotiated. We have a general contract, essentially under which they’re able to do it. And I’d just remind you that the point of these contracts, because there are lots of folks who provide individual services that you could go find, it’s very hard to have a contract with someone who can on-the-spot in an emergency be able to deliver the kinds of things that these companies are able to do. And so that is an expensive thing. We’ve got to keep people from taking other jobs while they’re waiting for an emergency to occur somewhere. And in this case, it would be for the city of Chicago. So obviously, we you know, everybody should be keeping track of you know, the expenditures that they’re making. But I just want to remind the folks who are paying attention to these contracts that having a long term, you know, emergency-related contract is an expensive endeavor. That’s actually why they’re so hard to get
Please pardon all transcription errors.
Asked if people were doing good work if they were working 12-hour days for 56 days straight taking care of people, Pritzker said…
No, but again, of course, I understand what you’re asking me. I don’t, my answer’s not no. My answer is that emergencies are what you think they are right? They occur. You don’t know how many hours you’re going to have to apply. You don’t know how many people that are available to do the work that’s necessary. And so sometimes overtime is absolutely necessary. We’ve seen that in all kinds of things throughout the pandemic. So, you know, if there were more people available, I think we all know there’s a labor shortage in the country. And so if there are more people that are available, the prices, costs come down.
Again, there is no doubt that the country has a worker shortage. There’s also no doubt that emergency situations require people to put in long hours. The question here and with the IEMA contract is whether people are actually putting in the work. And considering how IEMA’s stories keep shifting, it’s a legit question.
Hopefully, the internal IEMA rumors about an ongoing investigation by the Office of Executive Inspector General are true and somebody will get to the bottom of this.
A group of West Town residents have filed for a temporary restraining order to delay the opening of a shelter for Chicago migrants in the neighborhood.
The building designated for the shelter is a two-story structure that is currently an empty warehouse. It is zoned C1-2, which only allows for retail on the bottom and seven 700 square foot apartments above, but next week 200 migrant families are expected to move in.
[Resident and plaintiff James Cole] and several other residents who leave near the proposed shelter near Western and Ohio filed the lawsuit, saying the legal action isn’t about not wanting migrants in their backyard and instead is about the city bypassing the traditional zoning and permit process. […]
“The reason why we are in this situation is the mayor’s office has not been transparent with the process,” said 36th Alderman Gil Villegas.
Ald. Villegas said legal action will force the courts to decide if the city can use the executive order to bypass zoning laws. Residents said all they want is to be able to voice their concerns about a building they believe may not be suitable for so many families.
“Even other areas in our neighborhood that host them more humanly would be a better solution, but we haven’t had due process and our opinion to weigh in on that,” Cole said.
The complaint also argues a lack of building permits issued during renovations of the facility endangers the block and neighborhood and lowers property values. […]
Ultimately, the lawsuit’s backers hope a court will decide how the Johnson administration can interpret the governor’s disaster proclamation and whether they can legally open temporary shelters without following zoning and construction rules, McKnight said.
“Really what we’re asking the court to decide is: Does the governor mean that we’re going to suspend the zoning regulations or the building code or whatever else you want to apply to it?” McKnight said. “Our position is that if the governor had meant to do that, the governor would have put it in the emergency proclamation or entered an executive order.”
The Mayor’s Office did not return a request for comment. At the Ukrainian Village community meeting, officials cited the disaster order to explain why the city does not need to follow established protocols for opening buildings when launching a temporary shelter.
South Shore residents re-filed a lawsuit to stop the city from housing asylum-seekers in public buildings earlier this month.
* Related…
* Tribune | Chicago renews migrant shelter contract with Favorite Staffing for another year despite criticism: Favorite Healthcare Staffing and the city on Monday signed a $40 million extension through October 2024. It’s Johnson’s third extension for the firm and empowers the company to continue hiring caseworkers, security guards, janitors and other employees for the roughly two dozen migrant shelters housing thousands of Chicago’s asylum-seekers.
- The Senate passed a measure to require schools and state-run facilities to offer kosher and halal food options.
- Rep. Larry Walsh announced Wednesday that he would not pursue a veto override vote for a policy that would have granted downstate electric utilities right of first refusal.
- When legislators return, they’ll consider reforms to the state’s nuclear policy and a potential extension of a controversial tax credit program that funds private school scholarships.
* Sun-Times | Senate President Don Harmon gives back red-light-camera company’s campaign cash after Sun-Times report: “They returned those two contributions,” the spokesman says, referring to Friends of Don Harmon for State Senate and the ISDF fund for Senate Democrats. Each of those campaign funds is run by Harmon, D-Oak Park. Each accepted a $2,500 contribution from Redspeed Illinois on June 30, about six weeks after the General Assembly, with Harmon’s support, passed what was portrayed as reform legislation that banned political contributions from the red-light camera industry and company executives.
At 10:45 Governor Pritzker will be in Libertyville to launch a new Illinois-made EV charger at EVBox’s North America Headquarters.
* Here’s the rest of your morning roundup…
* ABC Chicago | Maine mass shooting reignites debate over ‘Red Flag’ gun control laws in Illinois: “I think we need to start with a federal ban on assault weapons and high capacity ammunition magazines,” said Gun Violence Prevention PAC President Kathleen Sances. “Every state should implement a Red Flag Law.” […] “Obviously… you have to have somebody who’s willing to report it if somebody’s willing to go through that process in order to have those red flag laws go into effect,” Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said.
* Sun-Times | ‘Power and control’ frame Edward Burke’s legacy. A federal jury will soon decide that legacy’s coda.: From his perch as 14th Ward alderman, he controlled judicial slate-making, a position that propelled his wife to rise to the job of chief justice of the Illinois Supreme Court even as he faced indictment. Even mayors who despised Burke didn’t dare to depose him as chairman of the council’s Finance Committee, fearing the potential he had to stymie their legislative agendas.
* Tribune | Chicago officials say trip to Texas helped build collaboration with border cities in addressing migrant crisis: In a briefing with reporters Thursday, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s deputy chief of staff Cristina Pacione-Zayas said the group’s biggest takeaway from the trip included the need for a coalition made up of border and interior cities, such as Chicago, to advocate for a comprehensive federal resettlement plan that includes increased and flexible funding for sheltering operations and overall expenses.
* TSPR | Farmer, former AFSCME president Crowl enters race in 17th Congressional District: Scott Crowl of Milan has joined the field of candidates for Illinois’ 17th Congressional District in next year’s election. Crowl touts himself as a lifelong farmer and former AFSCME union president, and not a career politician. “I am entering the political arena to try to save our country from economic disaster and social ruin,” Crowl said in a statement announcing his candidacy.
* Block Club | Bally’s Casino Gets Permanent Gaming License: In addition to greenlighting Bally’s casino license, the gaming board voted to allow Bally’s to extend its lease at Medinah Temple by an a year. This means Medinah Temple will remain a temporary casino until 2026, giving Bally’s another year to complete its permanent site.
* Sports Handle | Betway Withdraws Application For Online-Only Sports Wagering License In Illinois: The withdrawal by Betway again leaves all three online-only licenses unclaimed. It also again raises the question of whether the $20 million fee for an online-only license is too expensive an entry point despite Illinois being the No. 2 market nationally. Illinois welcomed its eighth mobile operator in late September with the launch of Circa Sports, which was followed by Circa’s retail launch at The Temporary in Waukegan earlier this month.
* Sun-Times | Brown Sugar Bakery opens new manufacturing facility, eyes nationwide expansion: Brown Sugar Bakery has been a mainstay on Chicago’s South Side and has operated at other locations, including at Navy Pier, that have closed. Its current storefront selling cakes, chocolates and candies is based in Greater Grand Crossing, at 328 E. 75th St. But now Hart will be able to sell her products nationwide with the new manufacturing facility, formerly the home of Cupid Candies’ factory, near 76th Street and Western Avenue. The new plant will likely employ 50 people by the end of the year, she said.
* Tribune | Former Chicago White Sox closer Bobby Jenks named manager of the Windy City ThunderBolts: Jenks earned Pioneer League Manager of the Year honors after leading the Grand Junction Rockies to the championship in 2022. He served as pitching coach for the Princeton WhistlePigs of the Appalachian League last season. “I love baseball and I want to put a winning product on the field,” Jenks said. “I believe I can do that and my track record has shown that I can do that.”
* Block Club | Historians Push For Recognition Of Black Panther Party Site In Chicago: The Historical Preservation Society of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party is now working to update the listing of the church in the National Register of Historic Places to commemorate its Black history. The Illinois Historic Sites Advisory Council will consider the proposal Friday. If it recommends the amendment, the Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer will decide whether to nominate the change to the National Park Service, which would make the final determination about updating the listing.
* Tribune | UAW-Ford tentative agreement will bring thousands back to work at Chicago Assembly Plant in coming days: The UAW said Ford workers will return to work while the agreement goes through the ratification process. The strike will continue at Stellantis and General Motors. “There was a lot of excitement last night when we heard the news,” said Chris Pena, president of UAW Local 551, which represents workers at the Chicago Assembly Plant. “There was a giant sigh of relief that we’re going back to work.”
