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Tuesday, Feb 20, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Rich told subscribers about Rep. Cyril Nichols’ withdrawal Friday evening. From the Illinois State Board of Elections’ website…

As Rich explained in one of his recent newspaper columns, House Speaker Chris Welch was opposing Rep. Nichols’ reelection and several unions were providing big dollars to his Democratic primary opponent Lisa Davis.

* Sun-Times…

White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf is heating up his pitch for a new South Loop baseball stadium.

Reinsdorf had a meeting scheduled Tuesday afternoon with Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, to discuss his ambitious proposal for a ball park-anchored megadevelopment at the undeveloped plot known as “The 78” near Roosevelt Road and Clark Street, according to a spokesperson for the speaker.

The billionaire owner was expected to hold court with other officials on the glitzy plan as lawmakers gather in Springfield ahead of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s annual budget address on Wednesday.

A spokesman for Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, didn’t have any details on a potential meeting with Reinsdorf. […]

A spokeswoman for Pritzker said no meeting with Reinsdorf was on the agenda, and he still hasn’t been briefed by the developer. The second-term Democratic governor has been lukewarm on the prospect of putting taxpayer dollars into a stadium.

He’ll be meeting with each of the four legislative leaders this afternoon.

* US Senator Tammy Duckworth…

U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—lead sponsor of the Access to Family Building Act, which would protect every American’s right to access in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and other assisted reproductive technology (ART) services—issued the following statement after Alabama’s State Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos created during the IVF process are “children” under state law, threatening access to IVF for those who need it to start or grow their family:

“Since the Supreme Court threw out Roe v. Wade, our nation has seen a wave of Republican-led states enacting strict abortion bans to severely limit their residents’ right to access basic reproductive care, leaving many hopeful parents—and those of us who relied on IVF to start and grow our own families—worried about whether access to these important technologies could be next. The ruling from the Alabama Supreme Court—effectively labeling women who undergo IVF as criminals and our doctors as killers—proves that we were right to be worried. No one looking to start or grow their family, in any state, deserves to be criminalized. Now is the time for Congress to pass my Access to Family Building Act and establish a statutory right to access IVF and other ART services for all Americans nationwide.”

* Here’s the rest…

Crain’s | For hospitals, largely exposed to cyberattacks, Lurie demonstrates how bad it can get:

* Daily Herald | ‘It’s very dangerous’: Residents lobby for traffic light amid rise in fatal crashes across Illinois: The situation took on added urgency after pedestrian Paige Donahue was killed by a hit-and-run driver about a mile east of Marian Park on Jan. 2, 2023. IDOT engineers studied the vicinity and decided a traffic signal was warranted at the nexus of Target and St. Francis. But it’s up to the city of Wheaton to sign off on the improvement, and residents say they’re frustrated by delays after years of peril.

* SJ-R | Bill would permit supervised use, decriminalize magic mushrooms in Illinois: It’s the latest attempt to pass the Compassionate Use and Research of Entheogens Act, previously introduced by state Rep. LaShawn Ford, D-Chicago, last year. The naturally occurring psychedelic is seen as “breakthrough therapy” by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a way to help those dealing with anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health conditions.

* WBEZ | Victor migrated from Venezuela. He’s grown to love Chicago: For much of his journey to the United States, Victor walked in a pair of mismatched Crocs, both made for left feet. With each painful step forward, he said he kept his kids in mind. Victor is originally from Maracaibo, the second-largest city in Venezuela. He moved his family to Colombia in 2019, hoping to escape the humanitarian and economic crisis in his home country.

* Tribune | Cannabis companies go ‘vertical’ to both grow and sell products: Galaxy is believed to be the first vertically integrated Black-owned cannabis company in Illinois. It boasts a state-of-the-art, multitiered electronic growing system that monitors and can control factors like humidity, lighting and carbon dioxide. The Ringolds raised capital from themselves, family, friends and a private lender. Like all craft growers, they initially were limited by law to 5,000 square feet of growing space, while the 21 originally licensed marijuana corporations can grow up to 210,000 square feet. After complaints that the small size limit was keeping craft growers from getting financing, the Illinois Department of Agriculture recently raised the craft limit to 14,000, but it will take time to get the agency’s approval and build the extra capacity.

* CBS Chicago | Suburban Chicago village to reimburse homeowners to replace lead pipes: As towns across Illinois work to replace their lead pipes, suburban Mount Prospect is taking its first steps in this massive undertaking. The village created a program to help residents who want to replace lead or galvanized steel water pipes with copper ones. They will reimburse 100% of the cost to replace the service line from the water main to the water shutoff valve.

* Block Club | Bridgeport Without The White Sox? Potential Move Has Some Locals Stressed: Ald. Nicole Lee (11th), a lifelong Sox fan whose ward includes Guaranteed Rate Field, said she’s committed to finding a “viable alternative to what the 78 is painting for the White Sox to keep them at 35th Street.” “Those are really nice drawings … and compared to what we have today, I understand the desire to have that and not what we currently have,” Lee told Block Club. “I think it’s incumbent upon us leaders that are down here on the South Side to really put some thought and work into providing the White Sox with another option of staying in their ancestral home.”

* Springfield News-Leader | Here’s how Missouri State’s rivals are filling the bleachers at basketball games: Chambers, along with more than 230 members of the Dawg Pound, set an example for other schools of SIU’s size about how to build a consistent student section that creates the desired college basketball atmosphere where others, including Missouri State, have struggled. Student leaders from across the Midwest have gone to SIU’s Dawg Pound leader for advice. University administrators at Southern Illinois have invested in the student organization, knowing the impact it has on its athletics event and university as a whole.

* NBC Chicago | Pequod’s has a message after being named best pizza in US by Yelp: “The team at Pequod’s Pizza want to take a moment to express our sincerest gratitude to all of our loyal customers for your continued and unwavering support,” Pequod’s wrote in a message on social media. “Your patronage means the world to us, and we are truly honored to serve you each time you dine with us, place an order for pick up or delivery or share your experiences with others. We will continually strive for excellence in every aspect of our restaurants to best serve you for years to come!”

* AZ Central | Polarizing Fountain Hills council member facing 6 ethics charges. Here’s why: Fountain Hills City Councilmember Allen Skillicorn is the subject of six ethics complaints, all filed in the last 60 days. Four people cited multiple incidents involving Skillicorn in numerous settings allegedly breaking Fountain Hills City Council’s code of ethics. Two Fountain Hills residents, as well as Fountain Hills Vice Mayor Sharron Grzybowski and Councilmember Brenda Kalivianakis, filed the allegations.

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Tuesday, Feb 20, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

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*** UPDATED x1 *** State’s November plan to reduce ‘bottlenecks’ in migrant shelter/resettlement appears to be making real progress

Tuesday, Feb 20, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* November 16, 2023 press release…

Governor JB Pritzker announced today that the State will invest an additional $160 million via the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) to address the ongoing humanitarian crisis presented by the arrival of over 24,000 asylum seekers from the U.S. Southern Border.

The State, alongside our local partners, has led a comprehensive data driven analysis of the ongoing asylum seeker response, rooted in not only data but also input from frontline partners and new arrivals, which identified several “bottlenecks” where services and resettlement tended to slow. These bottlenecks included delays in initial intake at landing sites, access to shelter, and the transition to independent living. This has led to backlogs and capacity issues, most visible in individuals sleeping outside police stations, but more broadly across the process.

That same day, Chicago reported that it was sheltering 12,174 asylum-seekers and another 2,197 were awaiting placement, for a total of 14,371. The city also reported 7,402 people had so far been “resettled,” while 2,694 had been “reunited with sponsors.”

The city dashboard data goes back to October 28, but resettlement wasn’t even being tracked at that time.

So, what’s happened to the numbers since then?

* On December 27th, Chicago was sheltering 14,450 asylum-seekers and had another 284 awaiting placement, for a total of 14,734. The waiting list had fallen by 87 percent since November 16.

The city also reported that day that 9,803 people had so far been resettled, while 3,371 had been reunited with sponsors. That represented a 30 percent increase over the November 16 numbers.

* On January 5th, Chicago was sheltering 14,703 asylum-seekers and had another 408 awaiting placement, for a total of 15,111. By that date, 10,708 people had been resettled and 3,352 were reunited with sponsors.

* Today, the city reports its shelters contained 12,478 people with 16 awaiting placement, for a total of 12,494.

More importantly, perhaps, is that a total of 12,478 people have been resettled and 4,659 have been reunited with sponsors. That’s a 70 percent increase since November 16.

They still have a ways to go, but the needles all appear to be moving in the right direction - until Texas decides to fully open up the human cargo spigots again. The November funding announcement also included “$65 million to help the City of Chicago launch a winterized soft shelter site providing temporary housing for up to 2,000 people at any given time for six months.” We may see that return come spring.

*** UPDATE *** Sun-Times…

The city has closed four migrant shelters in the past week and a half as the number of migrants arriving in the city continues to slow.

The shelters were located in the Loop, North Lawndale, Lake View and North Park and at their busiest held around 400 people in total. The biggest was the North Park Village Nature Center shelter center, which the city closed to be used as a polling place, according to a city statement.

The city did not immediately respond to requests for comment on whether any of the other shelters would reopen. Two of the shelters Harold Washington Library and the New Life Community Church in Lake View – have closed before and reopened.

Rev. Chad Bacon imagined the church would reopen if the city were to “get a bunch of buses leading up to the DNC.”

* Meanwhile…

To provide enhanced transparency into state spending, Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza has opened a portal on the IOC’s website to display expenditures related to the influx of asylum seekers into Illinois.

“While the state is incurring expenses that, frankly, should be paid by the federal government, I want to make sure that taxpayers know exactly what the state is spending money on when it comes to the arrival and care of asylum seekers,” Comptroller Mendoza said.

The new portal can be found here: https://illinoiscomptroller.gov/asylum-seekers

* More…

NBC 5 | Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle addresses migrant funding:

* ABC 7 | Mayor Johnson backs out of commitment to $250M joint city, county, state migrant care package: “No one in the state of Illinois this country is questioning there. Brandon Johnson is committed to this mission,” Johnson said. But now, some are. “I really want to believe that there is nobody more committed to this mission than Mayor Brandon Johnson. But of course, the money is really where that rubber hits the road,” [migrant care volunteer Annie Gomberg] said.

* Judith Crown at Crain’s | Chicago’s migrant crisis raises questions of equity: The migrant crisis has brought to light inequality in the way immigrants are treated. Members of the city’s undocumented Latino community like Garcia are angry when they see newly arrived immigrants from Venezuela able to obtain work permits, which gives them access to better-paying jobs. Other communities are infuriated, too, pointing out that public funding to shelter and feed migrants is money that might otherwise be used to further address the city’s daunting social problems, such as homelessness, mental illness and poverty. How is it that new arrivals are assigned to city shelters while there are tent camps in Humboldt Park and Columbus Park and along the Eisenhower Expressway?

* Judith Crown at Crain’s | Migrant crisis stirs tension in Oak Park, but village mounts a supportive response: At its Jan. 23 meeting, Oak Park trustees authorized staff to pursue a grant of $1.9 million through the Illinois Department of Human Services and the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus. The village received notice the following week that grant was approved. The funding will be used to provide aid to asylum-seekers through June 30. That will enable the village to continue helping migrants in a different shelter because asylum-seekers staying at the Carleton and West Cook YMCA must leave by the end of February.

* MSNBC | A Chicago professor and her students are helping migrants seeking asylum: DePaul professor Kathleen Arnold is leading a group of students in helping case workers and lawyers representing migrants with asylum applications. Together, they complete what are called “country condition reports,” which help lawyers prove that there is widespread persecution in the countries migrants are fleeing.

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In huge blow to Bailey, Trump endorses Mike Bost (Updated)

Tuesday, Feb 20, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Click the pic for a link to the actual post…

Bailey hasn’t raised much money, and has put almost all of his campaign eggs into the Trump endorsement basket.

Oops.

…Adding… Brenden Moore…

In a statement, Bailey campaign spokesman Joe DeBose said the candidate still “proudly stands with President Trump despite disagreeing with him on this endorsement.”

“We look forward to working with President Trump to champion working families, secure our borders, defend our freedoms, and put America First—no compromises, no apologies,” DeBose said.

52 Comments

Question of the day

Tuesday, Feb 20, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Background is here if you need it. New ad from Chicago Forward…

* Script…

Tired of politicians empty promises? Remember when the lottery was going to fund our schools and cut property taxes? That didn’t happen. Then we were told selling the parking meters would balance the budget and reduce debt. Didn’t happen either.

Now Mayor Johnson promises he’ll end homelessness if we approve a massive new tax on property sales across Chicago. Chicago already spends hundreds of millions on homeless programs. Now, the mayor wants another $100 million in taxes and has no plan. Sound familiar? Do you trust Mayor Johnson with $100 million in new taxes?

* The Question: Your rating? Explain.

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Follow the bouncing ball

Tuesday, Feb 20, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Press release…

Days following the sentencing of Mike Madigan’s former chief of staff, Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias announced a series of ethics reforms that would strengthen enforcement and require more transparency and disclosure regarding the financial dealings of lobbyists.

The measures – contained in House Bill 4591 – come amid the ongoing federal corruption probe of state government that has led to the criminal indictments and convictions of several Illinois politicians and insiders. As Secretary of State, Giannoulias’ office maintains lobbyist registrations and statements of economic interest filed by public officials.

“Given the recent headlines of public corruption in Illinois, it’s incumbent upon the state to enact ethical safeguards that demand accountability among those who serve the public and operate within our government,” Giannoulias said. “Illinoisans are sick and tired of scandals and ethics abuses that unfortunately have become all too common in state government. These reforms will go a long way toward making government more transparent and holding political insiders and influencers more accountable to fight corruption more effectively.”

“The BGA long ago identified unchecked lobbying activity as a contributor to corruption in Springfield. We are pleased to see Secretary Giannoulias commit to strengthen the oversight of lobbying by requiring details on lobbyist pay and granting the Secretary of State the power to enforce registration requirements,” said David Greising, President of the Better Government Association (BGA). “More must be done to eliminate corruption in state government, and these tools would be important steps toward reform that is long overdue.”

Aside from a nominal fine, no enforcement mechanism currently exists for the Secretary of State if lobbyists fail to comply with current reporting requirements. HB 4591 would enable the Secretary of State’s office to investigate allegations of wrongdoing and the authority to suspend or revoke a lobbyist’s registration.

The bill also requires lobbyists to provide more client information by way of compensation and would give the Secretary of State’s office the authority to suspend or revoke a lobbyist’s registration for violating the act or if convicted of certain crimes.

For example: Tim Mapes, former House Speaker Madigan’s longtime chief of staff, was sentenced Monday to 2 ½ years in prison; John Hooker, a lobbyist for ComEd before he was indicted and convicted in a scheme to bribe Madigan; and Mike McClain, a top Madigan confident and lobbyist found guilty on nine counts as part ComEd scheme to help advance the utility’s legislative agenda in Springfield each are currently eligible to register as a lobbyist and maintain that registration in good standing.

However, under the proposal, the Secretary of State’s office could bar or revoke the registrations of those individuals who have been convicted of felonies in relation to the Lobbyist Registration Act or the Illinois State Government Ethics Act, or a felony that causes a loss of a state pension.

In terms of compensation, a lobbyist would have to reveal the amount of compensation and the source in bi-monthly reports under the proposal. In contrast to federal requirements and ethics laws pertaining to the City of Chicago, lobbyists at the state level currently do not have to disclose how much clients pay them.

* Tribune…

Despite Giannoulias’ plans, the proposal’s legislative sponsor, Democratic state Rep. Maurice West of Rockford, last week would commit only to giving the issue a hearing before the House Ethics & Elections committee he chairs. […]

The idea could get incorporated into a larger legislative package with other efforts to strengthen government ethics laws, West said, but it will move forward only if the legislature’s Democratic leaders — Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch of Hillside and Senate President Don Harmon of Oak Park — and Gov. J.B. Pritzker are on board. […]

The speaker has met with West about all bills assigned to the Ethics & Elections Committee, but Welch “has not discussed specifics of this legislation,” Welch spokeswoman Jaclyn Driscoll told the Tribune in an email. […]

“Policing the lobbying industry is a key responsibility for that statewide office,” Harmon spokesman John Patterson said in a statement about the secretary of state’s office. “We look forward to the House debate and further reviewing the legislation and idea.”

The governor’s office did not respond Friday to a request for comment.

The Ethics Committee chair passes the buck of a bill he’s sponsoring to the leaders and the governor; the House Speaker hasn’t looked into it yet, the Senate President defers to the House Speaker and the governor has no comment as of yet.

My neck is sore.

* Anyway, your thoughts on the merits?

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Mendoza defends honoring anti-abortion mayor

Tuesday, Feb 20, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Chalkbeat…

Illinois lawmakers have proposed a bill to create a statewide tax credit for families. Senate Bill 3329 and House Bill 4917 would allow families to receive up to $300 per child for children under 17. Married couples who make less than $75,000 and single people who make less than $50,000 would receive the additional financial support. […]

Illinois lawmakers, parents, and educators hope new legislation will require the state to recognize Montessori teaching credentials as another pathway to state licensure.

Under House Bill 4572 and Senate Bill 2689, the state would create the Montessori Educator Licensure, which would grant a state teaching license to educators who have graduated from a college or university with a bachelor’s degree, received a credential from an institution of higher education accredited by the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education, the American Montessori Society, or the Association Montessori Internationale; and completed state licensure testing. […]

In October, Pritzker announced plans to create a new department to house early childhood education.

To make this department a reality, state lawmakers have filed House Bill 5451 and Senate Bill 3777, which would start operations of the department on July 1, 2024. By July 1, 2026, the department would be the lead agency in charge of funding for preschools, licensing for child care programs, home-visiting services, early intervention services for students with disabilities, and other early childhood education and care programs.

* Sen. Laura Ellman…

To ensure all students receive access to school meals, State Senator Laura Ellman introduced legislation that will invest in the Healthy School Meals for All Program. […]

Senate Bill 3247 would invest $209 million in the State Board of Education for expenses related to the Healthy School Meals for All Program.

Under current law, the State Board of Education is required to establish and maintain this program by distributing funds appropriated for this program to participating school boards. Through this program, all students enrolled in the schools will receive free breakfast and lunch. […]

Senate Bill 3247 awaits discussion in the spring legislative session.

* Tribune…

As the Illinois General Assembly begins its spring session, among the mountain of legislation being proposed is a bill that aims to tackle two key issues around lobbying — requiring statehouse lobbyists to report the compensation they receive from their clients and giving the secretary of state’s office the power to boot bad actors.

Pushed by Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, the legislation could face an uphill climb in Springfield, where former lawmakers often become lobbyists and work hard to have their interests protected. But following a string of corruption trials — including persistent headlines of a bribery scandal involving Commonwealth Edison and lobbyists trying to influence now-indicted ex-Speaker Michael Madigan — Giannoulias said, “The timing is ripe for this legislation to be acted on and passed.” The proposal could strengthen a feeble state lobbying law that generally focuses on requiring the secretary of state to do little more than act as a repository for the registration of lobbyists, their client names and their basic expenses like the cost of wining and dining lawmakers. […]

Despite Giannoulias’ plans, the proposal’s legislative sponsor, Democratic state Rep. Maurice West of Rockford, last week would commit only to giving the issue a hearing before the House Ethics & Elections committee he chairs.

* WGEM…

A new Illinois Bill, Senate Bill 2921, looks to keep farmers from selling off their land. The proposed bill looks to raise the estate tax threshold for farms in Illinois.

Jack O’Connor, an Advisor and Head of Financial Planning for O’Connor Financial Group said the estate tax is a tax on assets that incur when the head of the household passes away. It’s done at a federal level and Illinois has one on a state level. The proposed bill looks to increase the threshold on when the estate tax would kick for farmers. He said currently it’s set at $4 million, and the bill proposes to raise it to $6 million. It takes the value of the farmers land and home into consideration, so if a farmer’s land is worth $4 million more at the time of the head of household’s passing, the tax would kick in. He said raising it would benefit farmers.

“Estate taxes are really difficult for illiquid assets which farmland would definitely be considered an illiquid asset. And what this bill is trying to help farmer with is to not have to sell land to pay that tax when they pass away, so more land can end up being transferred to often times their family,” O’Connor said.

* Landline Media…

Two Midwestern states could soon take up consideration of legislation that would revise one-year-old rules on pain-and-suffering damages related to incidents involving large trucks. […]

Rep. Ryan Spain, R-Peoria, is behind a pursuit to remove the provision in statute that permits unlimited pain and suffering damages. […]

His bill, HB4992, would cap non-economic damages in a civil action against a common carrier at up to $2 million per plaintiff. […]

“To preserve Illinois’ ability to maintain this status, it is the intent of this (bill) to preserve the economic health and strength of the industries that help make this possible,” he said.

* Rep. Ann Williams…

In an effort to support the work of the newly created Police District Councils in Chicago, Rep. Ann Williams (D-Chicago) has introduced HB 5624, which will ensure the Police District Councils have the tools necessary to work most effectively on behalf of all Chicago’s communities.

The Police District Council is a new elected body in Chicago focused on issues of policing and public safety. There are 22 District Councils, one for every police district in Chicago, with each Council made up of three elected members. The District Councils were created by the Chicago City Council after years of activism to make policing more responsive to community needs.

“The District Councils give our communities a real and dynamic opportunity to shape public safety and policing policies for Chicago,” said Williams. “The focus of these Councils is to engage with the community and serve as a liaison between community and law enforcement. The existing laws which govern how smaller public bodies meet and do their jobs aren’t workable for the District Councils, and their role is different than most.”

Under current law, no two members of a District Council can discuss public safety issues, or even exchange emails about public safety, due to laws governing more traditional public bodies that prevent such discourse without posting public notice and agendas 48 hours in advance. Such restrictions significantly hamper the ability of the District Councils to do their work effectively. HB 5624 would allow such discussion, while still ensuring accountability and transparency by requiring advance notice for any regularly scheduled meeting or when adopting any motion, resolution or ordinance.

Additionally, the bill contains other provisions to ensure the District Councils can effectively do their work, including allowing the District Councils to host certain meetings remotely in addition to the monthly in-person meetings. This is designed to maximize their reach into the communities and ensure more residents can participate and provide input to the Councils. […]

Councilor Alexander Perez, 2nd Police District, agreed and supports the proposed legislation.

* Hyde Park Herald…

Since the General Assembly reconvened in January, [Rep. Curtis Tarver] has introduced several bills focused on amending state law and getting more funding for small businesses and schools. The 25th District, which encompasses parts of Kenwood and Hyde Park, extends from 43rd Street along the lakefront to the East Side. […]

For his first order of business at the Feb. 15 meeting, Tarver said he’s seeking community members for two task forces: one focused on political corruption and another focused on education.

The first is the product of Tarver’s House Bill (HB) 351, signed into law in November, which bars public officials convicted of corruption from holding public office again. The task force will review and make recommendations as to “what criminal conduct precludes a person from holding public office in the state,” per the law.

The second was created by Senate Bill (SB) 3986, the “Too Young to Test Act.” Co-sponsored by Tarver and signed into law in 2022, the act prohibits the use of standardized tests in public schools from pre-kindergarten through second grade. The task force will study the effects of “overtesting” young students, he said.

* News Media Alliance…

The News/Media Alliance applauds Illinois Senator Steve Stadelman (D-Rockford) for recently introducing the Journalism Preservation Act (SB 3591) in the Illinois Senate, which would require Big Tech platforms such as Meta and Google to pay news publishers a “journalism usage fee” to use local news content. Currently, creators of quality journalism are not adequately compensated for the use of their content – which takes a tremendous investment to produce – leading to layoffs of journalists and, in the worst cases, closure of news outlets completely.

Senator Stadelman was the Chair of the Illinois Local Journalism Task Force, which recently recommended legislation to counter the decline in sources of local journalism observed in the state.

The bill is similar to the California Journalism Preservation Act (CJPA, AB 886), which was introduced by California Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) last year and passed out of the Assembly in June 2023 with an overwhelming, bipartisan vote of 55-6. The CJPA is expected to be brought up during the 2024 session for a vote in the California Senate.

“The future of local journalism is in danger – which is why I have sponsored the Journalism Preservation Act,” said Senator Stadelman. “Local journalism is an essential part of our lives, and Illinois residents deserve access to accurate and important information.”

“We applaud Senator Stadelman for introducing this legislation and for recognizing the critical need to protect high-quality journalism and ensure that important, accurate information continues to be available to Illinois communities,” said Danielle Coffey, President & CEO of the News/Media Alliance. “States across the country are increasingly recognizing the need for legislation that corrects the current marketplace imbalance by requiring the tech platforms to fairly compensate publishers for the use of their valuable content.”

As with the CJPA, the Illinois JPA would also promote the hiring of more journalists, requiring news publishers to invest 70 percent of the profits from the usage fee into journalism jobs.

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Today’s quotables

Tuesday, Feb 20, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* SJ-R quoting Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson…

“For the first time in the history of the world, a local municipality has asked to establish, build, maintain and operate a migrant resettlement,” he said.

Um. The history of the world?

* More from the SJ-R…

House Minority Leader Tony McCombie is calling on a statewide moratorium when it comes to accepting migrants, claiming the expense is too high for the state.

“We have to take care of what is here today,” McCombie, R-Savanna, said during a press conference last week. “But we do not have the services that can accommodate this influx of folks.”

Just hit the “off” switch. Easy peasy.

29 Comments

Tuesday, Feb 20, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Dave Dahl last week…

It’s Black History Month, and Comptroller Susana Mendoza honored five Illinoisans who are helping others. […]

Mendoza, lamenting that she can’t honor everybody who is deserving, said, “We take a lot of pride in knowing that Illinois has some of the most amazing people in this country. Obviously, our Black community is a treasure in our state. Frankly, this month is too short, right? I’m just going to say it. It’s the shortest month. It shouldn’t be.” […]

The other four honorees: […]

Mayor Rickey Williams Jr.
Mayor of Danville

* You may recall that last year Danville’s Mayor Williams pushed an anti-abortion ordinance ahead of the opening of an abortion clinic in the town…

Mayor Rickey Williams Jr. explained that anyone shipping or receiving abortion pills or abortion-related supplies would be subject to fines of $1,500 per offense. There was discussion over an abortion clinic that may open up in Danville soon. Williams acknowledged that while he doesn’t think the ordinance would stop the clinic from opening, he said it could provide a means by which they couldn’t perform abortions.

The ordinance passed after Mayor Williams broke a tie.

Three weeks later…

A 73-year-old man is facing federal charges after he rammed a car into a planned abortion clinic in an eastern Illinois city and also was trying to set the building on fire, authorities announced Tuesday.

The site was attacked a second time a couple of weeks later.

* Personal PAC CEO Sarah Garza Resnick…

We are certainly dismayed that Comptroller Susana Mendoza has included the anti-choice Mayor of Danville Rickey Williams, Jr. as an honoree for her celebration of Black History Month. We reached out to her office yesterday and requested that the honor be rescinded from Mayor Williams, who cast the deciding vote last May to pass anti-abortion legislation through Danville’s City Council.

Personal PAC, the ACLU of Illinois, Attorney General Kwame Raoul, and our incredible Personal PAC chapter leaders from Danville lobbied Mayor Williams extensively last year, explaining that the ordinance he was supporting was not only harmful, but violated Illinois law. Despite the opposition of these pro-choice leaders, and his own constituents, he still cast the deciding vote, aligning himself with anti-abortion extremists.

* Comptroller’s office…

Comptroller Mendoza has a perfect record on the issue of choice. She has been honored time and time again by countless pro-choice groups for her steadfast support of women’s rights to make their own reproductive healthcare decisions. She also has a strong record of working across the aisle with people she disagrees with on some issues.

The Illinois Office of Comptroller was unaware of Mayor Williams’ vote to prevent an abortion clinic from opening in Danville. Nor was that vote ever brought to the Comptroller’s attention. Comptroller Mendoza vehemently disagrees with Mayor Williams’ vote on the clinic and she supports Personal PAC and Attorney General Kwame Raoul in their fight to void that law and bring access to health care to the women of Danville.

The Comptroller’s office recognized Mayor Williams during Black History Month for his historic achievement as the first Black mayor of the city of Danville, whose many Black residents have never had one of their own as mayor before; his financial success guiding the city, bringing $250 million in new economic development and the creation of over 500 new jobs; his achievement in driving down violent crime 60%; his service as executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of Danville; his work helping kids learn at Project Success of Vermillion County; and his other life achievements.

According to Personal PAC, the owner of the Danville clinic, LaDonna Prince, is a Black woman.

22 Comments

‘Never rat on your friends, always keep your mouth shut’

Tuesday, Feb 20, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* My syndicated newspaper column…

“Everybody gets pinched, but you did it right; you told ‘em nothin’ and they got nothin’” Jimmy Conway told a youthful Henry Hill in the classic gangster movie “Goodfellas” after the mob-connected teenager was arrested for selling stolen cigarettes, clammed up to the police and was then released by a corrupt judge.

“You learned the two greatest things in life,” Conway told Hill. “Never rat on your friends, and always keep your mouth shut.”

Former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan’s people (and they weren’t alone in this, by the way) took that vow to heart.

It’s sometimes difficult to explain to Statehouse newbies how often the people in charge back then loved cosplaying as mafiosi.

And there are more newbies than you might expect.

Lobbyist and unofficial Statehouse historian John Amdor keeps track of stuff like this, so I asked him to run the numbers. Amdor found that a 55 percent majority of House Democrats - 43 of the 78 – have taken office since June 6, 2018, the day Madigan’s longtime chief of staff Tim Mapes was forced to resign after being accused of harassment.

To some of us, including journalists like me who are still covering politics today, the Statehouse #MeToo cataclysm of 2018 still feels recent. But most current House Democrats had nothing to do with any of it. They only know of Mapes’ autocratic reign and dramatic fall through the news coverage they’ve seen and the stories they’ve heard from colleagues. He’s just not relevant to their lives.

Currently, 33 percent of House Democrats (26) never even served under House Speaker Madigan, who left office in early 2021. If trends hold, it won’t be all that long before a majority of House Democrats never served with him.

Anyway, it’s clear from reading wiretap transcripts that those folks delighted in pretending to be part of some secret society.

And that all caught up to Tim Mapes last week.

Speaker Madigan’s former chief of staff had been busted cold for lying during his grand jury testimony. The feds were fishing for information about Madigan, but Mapes wouldn’t even admit to knowing about totally legal activities.

Mapes had to have figured at the time that federal prosecutors knew he was lying (as literally everyone understands, the FBI and the US Attorney rarely ask questions that they don’t already know the answers to), but he did it anyway. And he was convicted.

Before pronouncing his sentence on Mapes, US District Judge John Kness called out the defendant for his almost cartoonish adherence to “the Law of Omertà,” the ancient mafia vow to never, as Judge Kness put it, “rat on your friends.”

That behavior “had no place” in a federal grand jury room, Kness told Mapes. “And you will pay the price for it.” No lawyer, no matter how connected, could possibly spring Mapes from this trap.

The price Mapes paid was 30 months in federal prison. Thirty months for lying in response to innocuous grand jury questions that weren’t even about illegal acts while he had complete immunity from prosecution. Thirty months away from his family plus who knows how many hundreds of thousands of dollars in crushing legal fees and lost income. For what?

There are probably only two explanations:

1) Mapes stupidly and stubbornly stuck to the “This is the life we chose” script on principle; or

2) Mapes knew of other illegal activities that the feds might have been interested in, so he took the fall on the little stuff to avoid exposing his former boss and others to even greater legal peril.

Either way, the result is the same. Personal carnage.

Henry Hill was met by all his gangster buddies as he walked out of the courtroom that day, and they wildly applauded him for being a stand-up guy. Mapes’ friends may throw him a similar party when he is finally let loose. Cold comfort.

In the end, Henry Hill realized his silence was no longer worth the pain it was causing and he flipped. Mapes never got there.

Let’s not ever go back to those days, please. Thanks.

* By the way, can I just give a quick and heartfelt shout-out to the River Cities’ Reader, which almost always has a *chef’s kiss* headline on my weekly columns?…

Mike Madigan’s Mafia Cosplay Revealed Tim Mapes As a Crappy Consigliere

* Does Speaker Welch Want Mary Flowers Whacked Like Billy Batts?

* Reboletti’s High-Wire Walk on Abortion Feels Like Mitt Romney Has Joined the Circus

* If Blaine Wilhour Fell in the 107th District, Would State Republicans Hear It?

I don’t know who writes those headlines, but I definitely want to buy that person(s) a fine dinner and copious cocktails the next time I’m in the Quad Cities.

14 Comments

White Sox make their pitch (Updated x2)

Tuesday, Feb 20, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Justin Laurence at Crain’s…

To pay for the new Sox stadium, Reinsdorf is seeking to lay claim to the revenue from a 2% hotel occupancy tax, currently used to pay for ISFA’s annual debt service, for decades beyond when all outstanding bonds are currently meant to be paid off in 2034. […]

Reinsdorf is also seeking to create a tax-overlay district surrounding the proposed stadium that would capture the state’s portion of sales taxes generated in the area — estimated at roughly $400 million over an undisclosed period — to be set aside to subsidize the stadium and back the new bonds. […]

Adding the sales tax revenue to the pot would also allow ISFA to borrow more money, which a source familiar with the bonding plan said would get into the “ballpark” of the roughly $1.2 billion in assistance that Reinsdorf is seeking in order to build a park with a capacity to hold between 35,000 to 38,000 people and retire the current ISFA debt. […]

Currently, Related Midwest would pay the upfront costs to build a new $364 million CTA Red Line stop, the $85 million realignment of Metra tracks running through the site, and $102 million towards various street improvements and reconstructing the riverfront seawall. As incremental revenue flows into the TIF district, the city would repay Related for the infrastructure costs.

* Meanwhile…

Reading between the lines - this is a proposal designed to tell the Bears to back off of using the ISFA to build a new Bears stadium in the city.

— Rob Hart (@RobHartWBBM) February 16, 2024

* NBC 5…

White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf will meet with legislative leaders in Springfield on Tuesday as he attempts to secure public funding to construct a new stadium, according to multiple sources.

Multiple sources told NBC Chicago that Democratic and Republican leaders will sit down with Reinsdorf as he seeks $1 billion in public funding for a new White Sox Stadium near the South Loop.

…Adding… NBC Sports Chicago…

“We recognize discussions about The 78 serving as the future home of the Chicago White Sox have generated a lot of excitement over the potential of the larger project’s positive economic impact,” the [White Sox] statement says. “We are mindful and respectful of the legislative process and wanted to travel to Springfield to meet personally with legislative leaders. We’re excited to share our vision, and we appreciate their time and hospitality.”

Another statement followed from a Related Midwest Spokesperson.

“We appreciated the time afforded to us by lawmakers in Springfield today,” the statement says. “As we shared in the meetings, The 78 is a generational development and an investment in our hometown. It’s personal to us and we are excited about the prospect of delivering the city’s next great neighborhood, while making an historic economic investment that will bring over 10,000 construction jobs and 22,000 permanent jobs to our city and state. The long-term impact will be transformative – creating a new riverfront neighborhood anchored by a state-of-the-art ballpark for generations of fans to enjoy and help enhance Chicago’s place as a top destination.”

…Adding… Speaker Welch…

“I want to thank Jerry Reinsdorf for coming down to discuss his vision in person. There are a lot of conversations that still need to be had, but I appreciate the opportunity to discuss future goals for Chicago teams.”

41 Comments

Tuesday, Feb 20, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* What’s going on in your part of Illinois?…

5 Comments

End The Natural Gas Ban Now, Aging Gas Lines Are Dangerous

Tuesday, Feb 20, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: Governor Pritzker will give his sixth budget address on Wednesday. Tribune…

* Related stories…

∙ The Pantagraph: More funding for migrants, education to highlight Pritzker budget proposal
∙ Capitol News Illinois: Pritzker to mull tightening fiscal landscape in budget address this week
∙ SJ-R: 4 things to watch for in Pritzker’s budget address
∙ WAND: Fiscal Year 2025: What Pritzker may propose during budget speech Wednesday

* Isabel’s top picks…

* WBEZ | After Illinois banned assault weapons, rural gun owners registered very few of them: Ultimately, just 23 White County residents — or 0.5% of registered gun owners — registered firearms and accessories banned under the PICA with the Illinois State Police by the Jan. 1 deadline, in accordance with the new law. It’s one of the lowest registration rates among Illinois counties.

* Chicago Tribune | Patients reported sexual abuse by medical providers. Health care systems let them keep working: In all, the Tribune identified 52 health care workers accused of sexual misconduct with patients in Illinois over the last decade. At least 27 of those workers faced allegations from multiple patients in recent years, the Tribune found. The true numbers are almost certainly higher, since many allegations are not reported to law enforcement or to the state.

* Sun-Times | Early primary voting will resume Wednesday after judicial candidate was removed from ballot: Election officials paused operations to reprogram the early voting machines. Democratic vote-by-mail ballots were not impacted because they had not been sent out yet. Those ballots are being reprinted and will be mailed out to voters as soon as possible, according to the election board.

* Rep. Margaret Croke…

Inseparable, a national organization focused on closing the treatment gap for people with mental health conditions, improving crisis response, and supporting youth mental health, today applauded the introduction of legislation in the General Assembly to improve access to mental health treatment by eliminating “ghost networks,” or provider networks that are filled with providers who are not actually in-network, not taking new patients, no longer in the same location, or not even practicing at all. The bill, HB5313, was recently introduced by State Representative Margaret Croke (IL-12) to ensure that enrollees seeking a mental health care provider can rely on accurate provider directories from their health plan. […]

While insurance companies are required to make provider directories available for consumers when selecting a health plan or looking for an in-network provider, research shows that these directories frequently mischaracterize available providers or include “ghost networks” that are not actually available to people enrolled in a plan. Research also proves the importance of ensuring people get the treatment they need – delays can cause conditions to worsen, a rise in additional health concerns, and a dramatic increase in costs. […]

HB5313 would expand what a plan must disclose in its provider directories to include a description of how to dispute charges for out-of-network providers that were incorrectly listed as in-network prior to the provision of care, including a phone number and email address. It would allow consumers to recoup out-of-pocket expenses if they were charged out-of-network costs for a provider that was listed as in-network in their provider directory. HB5313 would also require plans to audit at least 25% of its provider directories annually and make any necessary corrections, and would also require the Department of Insurance to randomly audit at least 10% of plans each year.

* Here’s the rest of your morning roundup…

* Injustice Watch | Questions of race and ethnicity in Illinois Supreme Court race highlight diversity of the Latinx experience: This year, with another of Cook County’s three seats on the court up for grabs, Latinx politicians are divided, with some supporting Reyes, who is again running on a platform of the need for Latinx representation on the highest court; some backing the Democratic Party’s endorsed candidate, Joy Cunningham; and some withholding their endorsement altogether.

* Daily Journal | Kerkstra removed from ballot for primary race: “There was a statement of economics that was filed with the secretary of state and also filed with the State Board of Elections,” Kerkstra said on Tuesday after the county board meeting. “But the one with the State Board of Elections was supposed to have a stamp on it [from] the secretary of state, and it didn’t have a stamp on it.” Kerkstra said he had a copy of the statement that had a stamp on it, but he was told by one party that he didn’t need the stamp on it for the State Board of Elections.

* Daily Herald | Right to die on your own terms? Illinois lawmakers propose medical aid in dying bill: “I’ve come to accept the fact that I might not be here when this does go through,” said Robertson, a former social worker who retired after being diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer in 2022. “But I’m going to do everything I can while I’m here.” The Lombard woman and other supporters of the measure are quick to note what they are championing is not suicide. It is something to give terminal patients and their loved ones peace in those final moments.

* NPR | DeKalb State’s Attorney reprimands Zasada for using city email lists in fundraising for IL-76 race: According to the letter, Amato’s office says Zasada utilized City of DeKalb e-mail lists and possibly computer systems to solicit campaign contributions from employees of the City. In addition to instructing Zasada to cease and desist such fundraising activities, the letter reads, “Employees of the City should not be made to feel that their jobs are dependent on providing funding for a political campaign. This should go without saying, yet we are now driven to remind you of this activity’s implications.”

* Daily Herald | DuPage County recorder: Democratic primary challengers say it’s time for change: Incumbent Kathleen Carrier, DuPage County Board member Liz Chaplin, and former county board member Pete DiCianni are the candidates running in the Democratic primary for the recorder position. Whoever wins the March 19 primary will square off against Republican Nicole Prater in the November election.

* WBEZ | Longtime congressman Bill Foster faces multiple challengers in Illinois’ 11th District: With $1.6 million in the bank as of the end of 2023, according to federal campaign records, Foster has a bigger political war chest than his four potential challengers combined. In another byproduct of incumbency, he has sewn up endorsements from a who’s who of Illinois Democrats and prominent labor groups.

* WBEZ | U.S. Rep. Danny Davis faces a hard reelection fight as he faces challenges from fellow Democrats: The race takes place in a reliably blue district. But it marks “one of the most interesting congressional primaries to watch in Illinois,” according to one analyst, as four Democrats are trying to unseat Davis in the primary. His opponents include Chicago City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin and community organizer Kina Collins, who is running her third campaign for the seat. Kouri Marshall, a former deputy director for Gov. JB Pritzker, and Nikhil Bhatia, an educator and former principal, are also running in the Democratic primary.

* Tribune | Rooftop solar skyrocketed in Illinois in the past five years, report shows: Small-scale solar — the majority of which is installed on roofs — produced 10 times as much electricity nationwide in 2022 as it did 10 years earlier, enough to power 5.7 million typical American homes, according to the report. And while the Midwest lagged behind other regions, Illinois, which passed a major climate bill in 2021, produced 1,300 gigawatt-hours of electricity from small-scale solar in 2022, or enough to power 116,300 homes.

* IMP | The feds sent letters to 44 states to fix SNAP application errors and inefficiencies: U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack sent a letter to the governors of 44 states earlier this month that are failing to meet federal standards when it comes to processing applications for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. The states include Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Ohio. The letters call for states to take immediate action to improve their rates on at least one of three metrics: application processing timeliness rate, payment error rate and case and procedural error rate, which relates to how accurately states are approving or denying benefits. In the letter, the federal government offers federal assistance and resources to help.

* ABC Chicago | Chicago ShotSpotter technology contract to last through at least late September: The city’s contract to use the gunshot detection program was set to end at midnight but the two sides continued negotiating about a possible extension through Friday. Friday evening SoundThinking, which owns ShotSpotter, announced it had reached an agreement with the city to extend the contract through September 22, with a transition period to follow that wasn’t defined.

* People’s Fabric: Study: ShotSpotter Has “No Effect” on Chicago’s Fatal Shootings or Arrest Rates: While the analysis shows ShotSpotter does not statistically improve the number of shootings, fatalities, or arrests, Chicago spends $8 to $10 million per year on the technology. The study, described as the “largest research project on gunshot detection technology (GDT) to date,” was funded by the National Institute of Justice, a federal government agency, and conducted with the cooperation of Chicago and Kansas City’s police departments.

* Block Club | Uptown Homeless Shelter Proposal Rejected By Zoning Board: The LGBTQ late-night bar 2 Bears Tavern could have an issue being insured if it shared a building with a homeless shelter, while church leaders were concerned about the project’s elevator plans and sharing a common hallway with the shelter, representatives said at the hearing. Uptown Covenant published an open letter highlighting its “concerns” with the shelter plans.

* NBC Chicago | Aldermen, lawmakers criticized Chicago Board of Education over selective enrollment in private briefings, newly obtained videos show: Through a Freedom of Information Act request, NBC 5 Investigates obtained recordings of five internal briefings officials from CPS and the Chicago Board of Education held in late January with city aldermen, as well as state and federal lawmakers to discuss the framework for the new five-year plan. Aldermen criticized the way the resolution was written, saying it suggested selective enrollment in the district will come to an end.

* Sun-Times | Mayor Brandon Johnson fires city’s cultural affairs chief, building commissioner: Cultural Affairs and Special Events Commissioner Erin Harkey was appointed by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot in 2021 when the pandemic had shut down theater, live-music and Chicago’s myriad festivals and special events. She slowly brought those events back to life with the annual Blues Fest returning last summer. Matthew Beaudet was the city’s building commissioner since 2020.

* Block Club | Program Tries To Reach Homeless ‘Where They’re At’ — On CTA Trains: In the first nine months of 2023, outreach workers had more than 5,000 interactions with people using CTA trains as shelter. Many interactions ended with people indicating they didn’t want to talk further. Of those who interacted with the program, 122 people were placed in shelters, 27 were connected to “stable or permanent housing destinations” and 20 were housed through an event at Harold Washington Library set up specifically for people reached through the CTA program.

* Chicago Mag | The 50 Most Powerful Chicagoans, Ranked: Who’s in charge here? The heavy hitters in our Power 50 know how to use their influence to make things happen in Chicago and beyond.

* The Telegraph | Controversial shooting range to be discussed by county board: In a report by the county’s ethics advisor, attorney Bruce Mattea, a Prenzler appointee, the chairman is accused of passing out “campaign material” in the form of a political business card to an outside vendor. The investigation and report stems from a complaint that Prenzler was engaged in electioneering on county time and property by handing out a non-standard “political” business card to an outside vendor, and it was later found he had given another such card to an assistant state’s attorney.

* Tribune | Wisconsin’s Democratic governor signs his new legislative maps into law after Republicans pass them: Protasiewicz ended up providing the deciding fourth vote in a December ruling that declared the current maps to be unconstitutional because not all of the districts were contiguous, meaning some areas were geographically disconnected from the rest of the district. The court said it would draw the lines if the Legislature couldn’t pass maps that Evers would sign.

* Sun-Times | Monarch butterfly’s long reign as everyday Chicago summer treat could flutter away: This winter marked the second-lowest number of migratory monarch butterflies since recordkeeping began in 1993. The pollinator completes the longest known insect migration each year, leaving northern climates in the United States and Canada for Mexico and California every winter. The monarch, the state insect of Illinois, already faces threats such as pesticide use and habitat loss that have contributed to their low migration numbers.

* Daily Herald | Uihleins spent more than $1 million on DeSantis’ presidential campaign in fall — will they now back Trump?: “There is no reason to believe the Uihleins will sit out the presidential race,” said Mouritsen, a political science professor at College of DuPage. “A Republican win is a Republican win.” The Uihleins, who are reluctant to talk to reporters, couldn’t be reached for comment.

* AP | Southern Illinois home of Paul Powell, the ‘Shoebox Scandal’ politician, could soon be sold: The upkeep runs about $5,000 annually, while last year the society’s income was $4,300, said board member Gary Hacker, 85, whose parents were schoolmates of Powell and mowed his lawn as a teenager in the early 1950s. “We’re probably going to be putting it on the market for sale,” Hacker said. “The historical society will relocate.”

* NBC Chicago | Chicago White Sox’ 2024 schedule released by MLB: The White Sox begin their season against a divisional opponent next year when they host the Tigers for Opening Day. That’s a shift from this year when they had to travel to Houston to take on the defending champion Astros. From there the South Siders move straight into interleague play with a home series against the Braves.

1 Comment

Tuesday, Feb 20, 2024 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

When Governor Pritzker’s appointees on the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) shut down the natural gas line Safety Modernization Program in Chicago, it not only wiped out 1,000 jobs, but also subjected residents and business owners to the unnecessary danger of aged gas infrastructure that is no longer allowed to be replaced.

Tell Gov. Pritzker and the ICC to lift the natural gas ban, lives are at risk. Pausing critical replacement of our aging natural gas lines is dangerous for everyone. Transitioning to electric without a plan will cost homeowners thousands of dollars. We need to fix our hazardous natural gas lines for our safety, tell Pritzker: end the ban.

Click on the links to view our ads: Ticking Time Bomb & Real Change.

To learn more and help fight back, visit us online at Fight Back Fund.

Paid for by Fight Back Fund

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition

Tuesday, Feb 20, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)

Tuesday, Feb 20, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - EXTRA!

Tuesday, Feb 20, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* You can click here or here to follow breaking news. It’s the best we can do unless or until Twitter gets its act together.

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Friday, Feb 16, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Reader comments closed for the holiday weekend

Friday, Feb 16, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Chicago’s very own Curtis Mayfield will play us out…

We’re all built up with progress
But sometimes I must confess
We can deal with rockets and dreams
But reality, what does it mean?
Ain’t nothing said

‘Cause Freddie’s dead

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Campaign update

Friday, Feb 16, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

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End The Natural Gas Ban Now, Aging Gas Lines Are Dangerous

Friday, Feb 16, 2024 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Click on the links to view our ads: Ticking Time Bomb & Real Change.

To learn more and help fight back, visit us online at Fight Back Fund.

Paid for by Fight Back Fund

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Campaign news

Friday, Feb 16, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Friday, Feb 16, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* WGN…

Financial turmoil continued to unfold in south suburban Dolton Thursday after a bank said the village failed to make a payment worth tens of thousands of dollars, which may result in police cruisers and other public works vehicles being repossessed.

According to a letter dated Feb. 14, 2024, representatives from KS StateBank are threatening to take possession of more than a dozen village vehicles, which includes six police cruisers, after the village failed to make a payment of more than $76,000 on the vehicles’ loan some nine months ago.

Lawyers for KS StateBank said in the letter, that the village and the bank entered into a Government Obligation Contract in May 2019, when the village financed 13 vehicles, for the principal amount of $332,761.50.

“Due to failure to maintain current payments, the Contract is now in default. As of the date of this letter, the amount past due is $76,138.00 with interest accruing thereon,” the letter stated. […]

Several trustees who spoke with WGN-TV, and Burt Odelson, legislative counsel for the Village of Dolton Board of Trustees, said the payment was authorized by the board in May 2023 and they were not aware it hadn’t been made.

* Hannah Meisel’s update on the McCann trial…

* Cook County Commissioner Anthony Quezada…

In a recent campaign ad titled ‘Truth over Lies,’ 20th District State Senator Natalie Toro falsely claims that she rejected the endorsement from the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police. Contrary to her assertions, and as reported by the press, Senator Natalie Toro accepted the FOP’s endorsement. Toro was on digital materials and mailpieces from FOP-funded PAC “United Working Taxpayers” weeks and days before the Democratic Primary for 8th District County Commissioner held on June 28, 2022.

“Natalie Toro’s misleading statements are a blatant affront to the principles of accountability and integrity that should guide political discourse in elections. Twenty months ago, Toro campaigned alongside FOP President John Catanzara as the FOP-endorsed candidate, benefitting from FOP funds. Now she has the gall to lie to northwest side residents that she ‘rejected the FOP endorsements’ in an ad where she extols us to tell the truth.

“Voters deserve accurate information to make informed decisions at the ballot box. In an era of widespread political disinformation, the need for elected officials who embody transparency and ethical conduct has never been more pronounced. Senator Natalie Toro owes the voters of Chicago an apology and needs to set the record straight.”

* Here’s the rest…

* Capitol News Illinois | With influx of state and federal funding, Illinois looks to add enough chargers to support 1 million EVs: In Illinois, several agencies are part of the effort to ensure EV charging infrastructure gets where it is needed, but the drive is coordinated by Megha Lakhchaura, the state electric vehicle coordinator at the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. “We expect that we will need 36,000 public charging ports to support one million EVs. Most of these will be level two chargers, but we will need close to 7,000 fast charging ports by 2030,” Lakhchaura said in an email statement. “We expect to have over 2,000 fast charging ports by the end of 2024 if the chargers are installed on time.”

* Sun-Times | Sex abuse lawsuit against ex-top cop Eddie Johnson includes new allegation of lewd bet: Former Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson proposed a wager during a Bears game in London that he would get his female driver’s underwear if the team won, according to a filing in a lawsuit accusing him of sexual abuse and harassment. The driver, Officer Cynthia Donald, sued Johnson and the city of Chicago in 2020, saying he had subjected her to unwanted sex in his office at police headquarters and on work trips to New Orleans, New York and Springfield. She joined his security detail in 2016 and became his personal driver six months later.

* Daily Herald | Several area legislators strongly support $95 billion foreign aid package awaiting House vote — but some don’t: Both of Illinois’ U.S. senators, Tammy Duckworth of Hoffman Estates and Dick Durbin of Springfield, stood with the 70-member majority in support of the bill. But the congressional delegation serving the Chicago suburbs is fractured on the issue. U.S. Reps. Sean Casten of Downers Grove, Raja Krishnamorthi of Schaumburg, Brad Schneider of Highland Park and Bill Foster of Naperville say they’ll support the plan if a House vote is called.

* WBEZ | Independent pediatricians who can’t bill patients during Lurie Children’s outage can apply for loans: Since Lurie went offline, community pediatricians plugged into the hospital’s network also don’t have access to their patients’ medical records. They have been asking parents for patience and are encouraging them to call in. […] On their website, Child & Adolescent Health Associates near the Gold Coast tells parents they can provide paper prescriptions for medication and that they have another workaround while their patients’ medical histories are inaccessible. The practice has access to most vaccine records for children who were born at Prentice Women’s Hospital, which is connected via two bridges to Lurie. Prentice is part of Northwestern Medicine.

* Sun-Times | Will ShotSpotter end in Chicago on Friday? Mayor dodges questions as firm indicates there’s no deal: In a statement Thursday, the Silicon Valley firm said it spent much of last year trying to engage the city in contract talks. As recently as December, the firm presented officials with a memorandum of understanding for a 12-month extension.

* Tribune | Hazmat spill closes I-55 southbound lanes in southwest suburbs, officials say: The State Police said a disabled semi-truck on the right shoulder was leaking hydrogen peroxide from its trailer a quarter of a mile north of LaGrange Road near Hodgkins. The leak began about 8:07 a.m. Fire service agencies and a hazmat clean-up crew were on scene, authorities said.

* Center Square | Expert offers ways to revitalize downtown areas in rural Illinois: A recent webinar by the University of Illinois Extension offered strategies that communities can utilize to develop vibrant downtown areas. Pam Schallhorn, University of Illinois Extension specialist in Community and Economic Development, said downtown events will lure people to town.

* Times-Tribune | Prenzler Chosen as Gateway Vice-Chair: Madison County Board Chairman Kurt Prenzler has been selected to serve as vice-chair of the East-West Gateway Council of Governments, a regional agency covering the City of St. Louis, four St. Louis area counties in Missouri and three in Illinois. Prenzler’s selection for this position puts him in line to be chairman of the EWGCG board in 2025, succeeding the elected official currently holding that seat, St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones. That chair position rotates annually.

* WBEZ | An unresolved glitch keeps students with immigrant parents out of the new FAFSA: Federal officials have known about the problem for weeks and say they are working on it but have yet to implement a fix. WBEZ heard from three Chicago-area high school seniors who fear the issue may jeopardize their ability to afford college.

* Crain’s | U of I president getting contract extension: The proposed extension will take effect on July 1 and Killeen’s salary of $916,000 will remain the same, according to the release. “The proposed extension reaffirms the board’s confidence in President Killeen’s continued leadership of the university system and its universities in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago and Springfield,” Board Chairman Don Edwards said in a statement.

* SJ-R | Community Gardens are cropping up across Springfield with the Motherland Project: Since 2021, Illinois Army National Guard (92Y) and founder of Motherland Community Garden, Doumen has been cultivating the Motherland Community Garden, a non-profit which targets areas primarily on the east side with high apartment/rent rates and difficult access to fresh produce in Springfield. Doumen holds a bachelor’s degree in geography science from the University of Duoala and a bachelors of AG Business from Lincoln Land, on top of his title as an Illinois National Guard, which he uses to target food deserts, or urban areas where buying fresh food is hard.

* Sun-Times | Would you buy a house with friends? These Chicagoans are living the co-op lifestyle: When Amy Jewel and her husband, Toby Mitchell, moved from California to Chicago 10 years ago, they kicked around the idea of starting a cooperative apartment building. By pooling their money together with other like-minded families to purchase a building, the couple thought they could more easily afford to stay in the city and build a close-knit community with their neighbors.

* Tribune | ‘Doozy’ of a career: After nearly a half century on air, Tom Skilling nears his final forecast: The cult of Skilling runs so deep, just about everybody does an overly-cheerful impression of Chicago’s longest-tenured weathercaster. What they may miss, however, goes on behind the scenes, where Skilling is far more complex than his caricature: a diligent, almost obsessive meteorologist who spends 15 hours a day glued to computer screens, analyzing reams of data in an endless quest to accurately predict the Windy City’s capricious weather.

* NYT | Amazon Argues Labor Board Is Unconstitutional: The move followed a similar argument by SpaceX, the rocket company founded and run by Elon Musk, in a legal complaint in January, and by Trader Joe’s during a labor board hearing a few weeks later. The labor board consists of a prosecutorial arm, which issues complaints against employers or unions deemed to have violated federally protected labor rights; administrative judges, who hear complaints; and a five-member board in Washington, to which decisions can be appealed.

* WaPo | Sinclair’s recipe for TV news: Crime, homelessness, illegal drugs: Every year, local television news stations owned by Sinclair Broadcasting conduct short surveys among viewers to help guide the year’s coverage. A key question in each poll, according to David Smith, the company’s executive chairman: “What are you most afraid of?”

* Mashable | The majority of traffic from Elon Musk’s X may have been fake during the Super Bowl, report suggests: According to CHEQ, a whopping 75.85 percent of traffic from X to its advertising clients’ websites during the weekend of the Super Bowl was fake.

* Sun-Times | US 99 joins small group of country stations playing Beyoncé’s new music: That decision is noteworthy, as country radio stations reportedly have been slow to play the new songs. In the roughly 24 hours after Beyoncé released “Texas Hold ‘Em” and the ballad “16 Carriages” to music streaming platforms during the Super Bowl, Billboard tracked the playlists of nearly 150 stations and found only eight had played “Texas Hold ‘Em.” There were no spins at all for “16 Carriages.”

* PJ Star | Popular steakhouse will close one of its Illinois locations after almost 40 years: Alexander’s Steakhouse is set to close its Springfield location after a final day on Feb. 29. Mercedes Restaurants, Inc. President Ron Helms announced the coming shutdown in a Feb. 16 Facebook post. Helms attributed the closure to rising costs across the board, as well as an increase in competition. He said the business worked to adapt but was ultimately unable to “turn things around.”

* Fox Chicago | Black Kitchen Initiative fueling growth for Chicago restaurants: In a FOX 32 special report, Anita Blanton takes a look at how the Black Kitchen Initiative grants have benefitted some restaurants in Chicago. […] Working at Cleo’s Southern Cuisine is a labor of love for owner and founder Kristen Ashley. “So with Southern food, a lot of people always sit down and talk about how you really get that family kind of feel,” Ashley said. “The fried catfish, people fall out of their seats for that. Everybody loves our chicken sandwich.”

*** UPDATED x1 - Governor’s office rebuts *** Mayor doubles down

Friday, Feb 16, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Leigh Giangreco and Justin Laurence at Crain’s…

Illinois and Cook County have pledged about $250 million in funding to aid the ongoing migrant crisis, but the city says it never committed to provide its own share of $71 million.

State, county and city officials identified $321 million needed through 2024 to support ongoing shelter and support services, according to a Feb. 15 state and county joint statement.

A spokesman for the mayor’s office told Crain’s the “city never made that commitment” to provide the additional $71 million.

Mary Ann Ahern…

Earlier this month, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle met with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson at City Hall to discuss the need for more funding.

Multiple sources tell NBC Chicago that all three agreed on what it would take to prepare that funding, but the mayor later distanced the city from the agreement.

*** UPDATE *** Jordan Abudayyeh rebuts…

After a month of meetings where the state, county and city worked to assemble a long term funding plan, it was widely reported that the Governor attended a meeting at City Hall on February 5th.

At that meeting the state, county and city agreed that an additional $321 million was needed to sustain current operations to continue providing much needed humanitarian aid.

The Governor agreed to ask the General Assembly for $182 million to cover more than half of the additional funding, while it was agreed that the county and city would go to the county board and city council for the rest of the funding.

With the understanding of those commitments the staffs from each office, including the Mayor’s Office, met to discuss making the joint funding announcement and briefing our respective legislative bodies.

By Wednesday of that week the city pulled out of a staff level planning meeting and by the weekend the Mayor called the Governor to notify him the city would not be a part of the joint announcement.

* From Isabel…

* Sun-Times | To trace the origins of busing migrants to Chicago, start with Donald Trump, Tucker Carlson and Ted Cruz: Pritzker said he worried about what would happen after May 11, 2023 — a day “burned in my head.” That was the expiration date for Title 42, the federal coronavirus health order enacted under the Trump administration to allow U.S. authorities to quickly send migrants back to Mexico. “We all knew that that could mean that there would be a big flow into the country — not knowing if the governor of Texas was going to now flood them into Chicago or to some other location,” Pritzker said.

* WIFR | Winnebago Co. Board discusses resolution for potential migrant crisis: Leaving the floor open to the public, board members took input from residents on how the situation should be handled. Board member Paul Arena says the point of the discussion was to make it clear that the discussed resolution applies only if migrants are abandoned in the county en route to Chicago. “We hope that it eases the public’s mind. That they are made confident that number one we are responsibly using their tax money and secondly to people that are concerned about the welfare of migrants, that we are going to give them proper care, should this happen.”

* CNN | I asked criminologists about immigration and crime in the US. Their answers may surprise you: Charis Kubrin and Graham Ousey literally wrote the book on immigration and crime. They’ve been researching these issues for decades and analyzed numerous studies for their 2023 book, “Immigration and Crime: Taking Stock.” […] Ousey: Human beings commit crime in pretty much all societies across the globe. But the bottom line is what gets lost in those anecdotal stories — those lead you to a flashpoint of negativity in which you ignore all the potentially good things that immigrants bring to our society. And it’s frustrating to try to bring evidence to the table and try to contextualize things and put it statistically when you’re arguing against this flashpoint that allows people to more or less kind of ignore everything else.

* NYT | Big Burden of Migrant Influx Strains Denver: In his first six months in office last summer, the mayor of Denver, Mike Johnston, managed to get more than 1,200 homeless people off the streets and into housing. That seemed like a fitting feat for a city that prides itself on its compassion. It would turn out to be a footnote compared with the humanitarian crisis that Denver would soon face as thousands of migrants flooded the city, many of them bused from the southern border by Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas and almost all of them in need of shelter and support.

* Axios | Most Americans say the feds are doing a bad job with the migrant crisis: About 80% of Americans say the U.S. government is doing a bad job dealing with the large number of migrants at the border, including 45% who say it is doing a very bad job, a new survey finds. […] About 78% of respondents say the large number of migrants seeking to enter the country at the U.S.-Mexico border is either a crisis (45%) or a major problem (32%), according to the Pew Research Center survey.

* CBS | How much is Massachusetts spending to shelter and feed migrants and homeless? I-Team obtains vendor contracts: Records obtained by the I-Team show the state has 17 contracts for housing totaling more than $116 million. Those contracts are only for fiscal year 2024 and end in June. […] In some cases, the hotels are collecting money from the state for three meals a day, $16 for breakfast, $17 for lunch and $31 for dinner. That means $64 dollars a day per person.

* Wired | YouTube Livestreamers Made Money ‘Hunting’ for Migrants Along the US Border: “Anybody in there,” said Dennis Yarbery, one of the YouTubers, as he approached a migrant camp at night in Jacumba Hot Springs, California, near the border last week. Yarbery was livestreaming to thousands of people. “Come out, come out wherever you are.” Yarbery is one of three men who split off from the Take Our Border Back convoy in Texas and, according to their livestreams, spent days driving along the border in Arizona and California to harass migrants and volunteers with nonprofit groups.

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Some food for thought outside the usual media narratives

Friday, Feb 16, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From The Appeal…

The same Gallup poll in which the majority of adults surveyed said the criminal-legal system is “not tough enough” also found that most Americans don’t think police and prisons are the answer. In response to a question that asked whether “more money and effort should go to addressing social and economic problems such as drug addiction, homelessness, and mental health” or, instead, “more money and effort should go to strengthening law enforcement,” 64 percent of respondents picked the first option.

Bolstering these findings, a poll commissioned by Vera Action in September found that the majority of voters prefer increased funding to address the root causes of crime and disorder, such as better schools, affordable housing, mental health care, drug addiction treatment, and reduced access to firearms.

The poll also found that voters were more likely to support candidates who embraced a comprehensive approach to public safety. In contrast, when both candidates used “tough on crime” messaging, voters were more likely to pick the Republican.

This dynamic recently played out in Illinois, where Republicans tried to claim that people released due to the Pretrial Fairness Act—a state law that eliminated cash bail—had gone on to commit rampant crimes. Instead of adopting their tough-on-crime rhetoric or dismissing concerns about crime altogether, Illinois Democrats successfully defended their reforms and proposed alternative solutions for improving public safety.

“They actually owned the issue and reminded voters about why we need accountability and justice and why we need bail reform,” [Insha Rahman, vice president of Vera Action] said. “They explained how it puts safety and not wealth as a priority for who is released after an arrest. And then they also said that you have really valid concerns about increased shootings and carjackings and other kinds of crimes. If you blame the wrong causes, you’ll miss the right solution. Rolling back bail reform isn’t going to address gun violence or carjackings. So let’s talk about solutions that do work.”

* Also, it’s time to start getting real about high tech’s role. Yes, technology can be invaluable at times, but it’s no replacement for actual police work despite all the media hype. The Sun-Times reported this week that Chicago has “the largest network of surveillance cameras outside London,” plus a plethora of license plate readers and facial recognition technology. And yet, clearance rates are dismally low.

The ShotSpotter network is currently in the news, but questions abound about its effectiveness. From The Triibe…

For years, there has been debate on whether the technology is actually a useful deterrent. A 2021 study by the MacArthur Justice Center showed that more than 90% of ShotSpotter alerts lead police to find no evidence to corroborate gunfire when police came onto the scene.

A study by the city’s Inspector General that same year found that roughly 9.1% of Chicago Police Department responses to ShotSpotter were linked to a gun-related crime, and a recent report from the Cook County state’s attorney’s office obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times last week reported that the technology led to arrests in just 1% of more than 12,000 incidents over a roughly five-year span.

There are benefits, of course, like perhaps faster ambulance response times. But is it really working as advertised?

I mean, calling in that many false alarms would get a regular person sent to prison. It appears to be diverting huge amounts of police resources.

And then there’s this from Block Club Chicago…

Hundreds of Chicago police officers daily are assigned to what the department calls rapid response duty, with the stated mission of responding to emergencies. But a Block Club analysis of police data shows those officers are rarely dispatched to 911 calls.

In the first half of 2023, only a tenth of the activity reported by rapid response officers was dedicated to 911 calls — a steep drop from 2020, when 911 responses accounted for nearly half of their activity, according to data from the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications.

Instead of servicing 911 calls, rapid response officers spent the majority of their time conducting traffic stops, the dispatch data shows. […]

The [2023 inspector general’s] investigation found that for half of all 911 calls, responding officers failed to document their time of arrival at the crime scenes — an oversight so routine that the inspector general’s office couldn’t track response times or hold the Police Department accountable for delays.

CPD appears to be reevaluating that system, Block Club also reported.

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Question of the day

Friday, Feb 16, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Pitchers and catchers have reported to spring training camp. What’s your hope/prediction/rant about your favorite Major League Baseball team this year?

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Friday, Feb 16, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Rep. Mary Gill and Carisa Parker…

In recent weeks, three shootings have taken the lives of Chicago Public Schools students, each occurring near the schools the students attended. It’s hard to imagine how, at a time when families and communities are mourning these horrific losses, the Chicago Board of Education could remove police, also called school resource officers, from schools over the objections of the elected local school council. By every measure, Chicago is facing a violent crime crisis, and our collective efforts to keep our communities and students safe are falling short.

That is why we have worked together on state legislation that would require CPS to maintain the school resource officer program for any schools that opt to participate. The bill also necessitates that the decision to participate be made at the local school council level, and that the program continue to be offered at no cost to schools. Now is not the time to remove public safety tools from our campuses.

One of us is a state representative and former school council member at a school that chose not to participate in the school resource officer program. One of us is an elected Police District Council member and current local school council chair at a school that chose to participate in the school resource officer program. Despite our different roles, we are both deeply troubled by any action to usurp the ability of local school councils to make decisions on school safety.

Local school councils were created to give residents a strong voice in their school communities, and are made up of elected individuals who are trusted to act in the best interests of each school’s student body. In our experience, members are thoughtful, dedicated individuals who are thorough and transparent in their decision-making. They are also vocal advocates for students’ learning and safety.

* Center Square…

Part of the Illinois Municipal League’s 2024 legislative agenda includes re-amortizing local pension debt beyond the aim of 90% funded by 2040. IML CEO Brad Cole equated that to refinancing a home loan. […]

Municipal leaders say without some relief, they may have to increase taxes on local residents to continue making payments and providing services. […]

State Rep. Tim Ozinga, R-Mokena, filed House Bill 4866 to give local school districts more state taxpayer funds through an Education Property Tax Relief Fund. He said that could lower property taxes. […]

Gov. J.B. Pritzker recently said increasing state funding for local K-12 education would also help lower property taxes. The state’s school funding formula allocates an additional $350 million extra a year for public K-12 education.

* Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid…

State Representative Abdelnasser Rashid (D-Bridgeview) is proud to announce a bill package aimed at tackling new challenges posed by artificial intelligence (AI). Dedicated to steering Illinois toward a more safe, effective, and responsible use of AI technologies, the representative’s legislative package underscores his commitment to both optimizing AI innovation and implementing essential guardrails. […]

Rep. Rashid’s package includes the following legislation:

HB 4644, or the Illinois Protect Elections from Deceptive AI Act, addresses emerging deepfake threats head-on by requiring political messages to include clear disclosures of AI use. Tackling unlabeled campaign media that deceptively uses generative AI to imitate a candidate’s likeness, the legislation would help bring an end to the current free-for-all use of deepfakes in the state.

HB 5399 recognizes the powerful potential AI holds to better society by working to bolster Illinois’ AI workforce. Through initiatives aimed at directing funds into educational institutions for AI programs, this bill positions Illinois to become a long-lasting AI innovation hub.

HB 4837 criminalizes the creation and sharing of AI-generated content of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), working to combat the growing number of CSAM content currently spreading across the internet.

HB 5649 establishes regulatory norms for AI-powered mental health services like AI therapists and AI diagnosis platforms.

HB5321, a consumer protection bill, requires labeling for use of AI systems–setting forth a necessary, baseline standard for AI transparency within the private sector.

HB5322 implements a new requirement that developers and deployers of AI systems complete and document algorithmic impact assessments (AIAs)–a method of evaluating systems’ efficacy, safety, and risks.

HB 4836, HB 5228, and HB 4705 address state agency AI applications, state-funded research, and state contractor use of AI. They require transparency, equity, and safety standards for AI use.

* KFVS…

A bill in the Illinois state Senate would allow mental health workers to treat veterans and first responders regardless of any prior non-compete clause.

The bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Paul Faraci, D-Champaign, comes after a therapist in his district was sued for violating a non-compete clause for helping Champaign firefighters.

Faraci said as first responders and veterans deal with job and service-related trauma, it should be easier for them to get the help they need. […]

The bill passed through the Senate Labor Committee on Feb. 7. It now heads to the Senate.

* Coalition for Fantasy Sports…

Today, the Coalition for Fantasy Sports announced its support for Illinois House Bill 5648, the Fantasy Sports Consumer Protection Act, aimed at providing a robust regulatory framework for daily fantasy sports (DFS) within the state. While Illinois legalized sports betting in 2019, the state lacked comprehensive legislation to protect the thousands of fans and the games of skill they enjoy. This proposed framework would close an essential chapter in the effort to safeguard fantasy sports fans throughout Illinois.

The proposed legislation aims to not only protect the hundreds of thousands of fantasy sports fans across Illinois but also the integrity of the games they enjoy. The framework would ensure legal clarity, responsible play, and consumer protection while promoting innovation and removing barriers to growth that threaten the fantasy sports industry.

“With the popularity of daily fantasy sports soaring, now is the time to codify the industry’s legal status into state law and ensure Illinois players are best protected,” said Chief Senate Bill Sponsor Lakesia Collins. “That is why I’m incredibly excited to take the lead on legislation that would not only allow sports fans to continue playing the daily fantasy contests they love, but do so in a way that protects their best interests, puts up guardrails to keep bad actors out of the market, and generates potentially tens of millions in new tax revenue for Illinois.”

House Bill Sponsor, Representative Eva-Dina Delgado, echoed these sentiments, emphasizing the importance of regulatory clarity, “Our goal is to provide a secure environment for fantasy sports fans across the state of Illinois. This legislation is a positive step toward ensuring that fantasy sports enthusiasts can continue participating in these contests with confidence.”

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Friday, Feb 16, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* What’s going on with y’all today?…

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition

Friday, Feb 16, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: In last-minute reversal, former Sen. Sam McCann pleads guilty to corruption charges. Hannah Meisel…

* Related stories…

∙ SJ-R: Sam McCann pleads guilty to wire fraud, money laundering, tax evasion charges
∙ WCIA: Former Sen. McCann pleads guilty to wire fraud

* Isabel’s top picks…

* Sun-Times | NW Side state Senate rematch tops batch of big money General Assembly primary races: “Just because someone brings you to the table, doesn’t mean you align to their views,” Toro said of her relationship with Martinez, who is running for re-election as circuit court clerk. “She is a moderate. I am a progressive. She has her own race. We haven’t been involved.”

* Sun-Times | To trace the origins of busing migrants to Chicago, start with Donald Trump, Tucker Carlson and Ted Cruz: Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who says he didn’t anticipate how enormous the migrant issue would become for him and Illinois. “I did not regard it as a threat. Even when the first buses arrived, I just viewed it as a stunt and did not think this was going to be 40,000 people arriving. Because how would you know? And they certainly weren’t telling anybody,” Pritzker said of Texas officials.

* River Bender | Jake Butcher Joins The Gori Law Firm as Of Counsel Attorney: In his previous role, Butcher managed the operations of the Senate President’s office and offered guidance to members of the Senate Democratic Caucus on bills and budget priorities. He also spent several years as an attorney in private practice, representing clients in agriculture, energy, gaming, healthcare, higher education and more. Butcher provides legal counsel on legislative proposals, litigation strategy, state and federal law effects and associated rulemaking.

* Here’s the rest of your morning roundup…

* Tribune | Mayor Brandon Johnson cites differences on migrant response for failure to pitch in on latest state, Cook County funding plan: A source familiar with talks on the migrant response among city, county and state officials said Johnson initially agreed to provide additional funding but later backed off, a characterization the mayor bristled at during Thursday’s news conference.

* Crain’s | Pritzker, Preckwinkle pony up $250M for migrant crisis. As for Johnson? He won’t say.: The city has since wavered on the formula, causing the state and county to move forward with their own announcement. The mayor’s office is concerned over whether the City Council would approve additional funding through a mid-year budget amendment after previously allocating just $150 million in the 2024 budget.

* Sun-Times | City Council again rejects allowing police disciplinary hearings to be held in secret: It essentially punts the hot potato back to Circuit Judge Michael Mullen, who will decide whether officers recommended for firing or suspension longer than one year will be allowed to put their disciplinary fate in the hands of an arbitrator who might be more sympathetic to their arguments and would hold proceedings behind closed doors.

* Tribune Editorial Board | We endorse Eileen O’Neill Burke for Cook County State’s Attorney: Central to the candidacy of O’Neill Burke, a former prosecutor, defense attorney and judge who comes off as tough and determined, is the notion that the office of the Cook County State’s Attorney is a vessel that has teetered too far to the port side when it comes to delivering justice and keeping Chicagoans and suburbanites safe. O’Neill Burke said she is dedicating to righting that high-profile ship, should she get to replace its controversial current captain, Kim Foxx.

* Tribune | Campaign cash and accusations fly in race for Cook County court clerk: Mariyana Spyropoulos, a Democrat seeking to knock out incumbent Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Iris Martinez, loaned her campaign $875,000 on Valentine’s Day, allowing both candidates to accept unlimited campaign contributions in the run-up to Election Day. Martinez has about $128,000 in cash on hand among her three main campaign funds.

* Sun-Times | Metropolitan Planning Council leader Darlene Hightower to step down: Hightower will leave her position March 29 “to pursue other professional opportunities,” Paul Carlisle, chair of the council’s board of governors, said in a message Thursday to subscribers of the group’s newsletter.

* Lansing Journal | Public denied access to Thornton Township Board meeting: When asked why the board room — which typically has at least a dozen chairs available for the public and media — was unavailable, the man said, “You can have a seat downstairs, you’ll be able to see the meeting. The meeting will go on.” At 6:11 p.m., a faint audio feed of the upstairs meeting could be heard coming from the downstairs speakers. The feed was just clear enough to determine that Supervisor Tiffany Henyard was speaking, but not loud or clear enough for the public to follow what was happening. The audio feed lasted no longer than 30 seconds before it cut out completely.

* Vandalia Radio | Rep Wilhour says Republicans need to stand strong in Springfield: The Republicans are in the super-minority in both the House and Senate in Springfield. And, Republicans hold no statewide office in the state. But, Wilhour says that’s because Republicans have not stood strong over the years.

* AP | Rob Manfred says he will retire as baseball commissioner in January 2029 after 14 years: Speaking at a spring training news conference, Manfred noted he will be 70 years old and will have been commissioner for 14 years when his term ends on Jan. 25, 2029. “You can only have so much fun in one lifetime,” Manfred said. Manfred, 65, succeeded Bud Selig in January 2015 and was given a five-year term as baseball’s 10th commissioner.

* AFBF | New Census Shows Alarming Loss of Family Farms : New agriculture census data released by USDA today is cause for concern as the number of farms operating in the United States and the number of farm acres have both fallen significantly. The 2022 Census of Agriculture reports 141,733 fewer farms in 2022 than in 2017. The number of farm acres fell to 880,100,848, a loss of more than 20 million acres from just five years earlier.

* Sun-Times | Plan for underwater lakeside dump delayed over concerns:
A plan to expand a lakeside dump on the Southeast Side that’s filled with contaminated dredged material has been paused after Illinois environmental officials raised water-pollution concerns about the project. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has withdrawn an application with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency after state officials raised multiple concerns last year about possible contamination of Lake Michigan from the stored toxic dredged material scooped from the Calumet River.

* WBEZ | Here’s a sneak peek of the newly opened Ramova Theatre ahead of Chance the Rapper’s big show: The Ramova’s rebirth took more than $30 million, 49 investors and seven red-tape filled years, but the Spanish-courtyard-style entryway and theater are finally ready for a new era. After a soft opening on New Year’s Eve with a queer-friendly dance party, Friday brings the 1,800-person concert venue’s first big test: South Side native Chance the Rapper, an investor in the project, will play an all-ages show.

* Block Club | The Shedd’s Newest Baby Otter Is On Display To The Public — And He’s Perfect: The pup — yet to be named — is about 20 pounds, but he’s far from fully grown: Adult sea otters can weigh 72-100 pounds, according to the Shedd. The baby is eating fish, though he’ll one day learn how to open clams and crabs so he can eat those, too, according to the aquarium. He’s also learning how to groom and forage.

* CBS Chicago | Chicago library to digitize largest set of African American history, literature in Midwest: The Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection is the largest collection of African American history and literature in the Midwest. Thanks to $2 million from the Mellon Foundation to the Chicago Public Library, nearly 300,000 pieces from the Harsh collection and beyond will be digitized.

13 Comments

Friday, Feb 16, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)

Friday, Feb 16, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

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McCann decides to plead guilty

Friday, Feb 16, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* You can click here or here to follow breaking news. It’s the best we can do unless or until Twitter gets its act together.

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Thursday, Feb 15, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Crazy town…

Breaking: on the third day of trial and before prosecutors could rest their case against McCann, he has decided to plead guilty on all counts.
While McCann would like home confinement awaiting sentencing, Govt is opposing that. AUSA Tim Bass pointed to this video as one factor⬇️ https://t.co/HRNiGbvhft

— Hannah Meisel (@hannahmeisel) February 15, 2024

…Adding… Sen. McClure…

State Senator Steve McClure (R-Springfield) released the following statement after former State Senator State Senator Sam McCann pled guilty:

“I got into politics because I was concerned that my senator at the time, Sam McCann, was corrupt. Justice was served today as McCann finally took responsibility for his actions by pleading guilty. I commend the U.S. Attorney’s office for their outstanding work. We have to root out corruption in this state at all levels because Illinois deserves better.”

16 Comments

Thursday, Feb 15, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Early voting is underway. Click here for the Sun-Times voter guide.

* Subscribers know more. From the 20th Senate District race…

* U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Illinois…

A former investigator for the Illinois Department of Agriculture has been sentenced to a year in federal prison for groping several women while on duty and then lying under oath about it during an official proceeding.

JOSE GUILLEN inappropriately touched and groped female operators of animal care facilities that he inspected for the State of Illinois. In his official capacity as a state investigator, Guillen had the power to influence whether an animal care facility received a license to operate and whether it could continue in operation after receiving the license.

When one of the victims filed a civil lawsuit against Guillen, he repeatedly lied under oath during a deposition in the case. In the deposition, Guillen stated that he touched the victim’s buttocks by accident. In a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to resolve the federal criminal case, Guillen admitted that he “intentionally touched [the victim’s] buttocks for purposes of his own sexual gratification.” Guillen also admitted in the plea agreement that he lied in his deposition when he denied having inappropriately touched four other animal care facility operators.

* Metropolitan Planning Council Board Chair Paul Carlisle…

I’m writing to share an important message regarding an impending leadership change at Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC). On March 29, 2024, Darlene Hightower will be stepping down from her role as President and CEO of MPC to pursue other professional opportunities. Darlene has been instrumental in leading MPC through a successful strategic planning process, refocusing our priorities, and ensuring our organization’s financial stability. We are grateful for her impactful leadership during her two-plus years with us.

As we move forward, the MPC board search committee is actively seeking both an interim and a long-term replacement for Darlene. During this transition, our experienced senior leadership team, management, and dedicated staff will ensure that our essential work continues seamlessly.

* Press release…

The Illinois Department of Transportation announced today that more than 500 paratransit vehicles valued at $57.1 million have been awarded to 113 transit providers through its Consolidated Vehicle Procurement Program, helping to offer safe, reliable and accessible transportation options in communities large and small throughout the state. The vehicles will be delivered to public transportation providers as well as nonprofit organizations serving seniors and individuals with disabilities, continuing to strengthen IDOT’s effort under Gov. JB Pritzker to grow and support Illinois transit.

“Transit is an essential service that allows our urban, suburban and rural communities to survive and thrive, providing transportation to people who might not have any other option,” said Transportation Secretary Omer Osman. “More than ever, IDOT under Gov. Pritzker is getting communities the resources they need. These vehicles are going to benefit people immediately and far into the future.”

* Here’s the rest…

Center Square | Labor dispute continues between Teamsters and Illinois Dept. of Transportation:

* Block Club | 911 Calls On South, West Sides Ignored While ‘Rapid Response’ Cops Make Traffic Stops Instead: In the first half of 2023, only a tenth of the activity reported by rapid response officers was dedicated to 911 calls — a steep drop from 2020, when 911 responses accounted for nearly half of their activity, according to data from the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications. Instead of servicing 911 calls, rapid response officers spent the majority of their time conducting traffic stops, the dispatch data shows.

* SJ-R | McCann’s mother-in-law testifies on second day of former state senator’s federal trial: Magdalene “Maggie” Ramey, mother of McCann’s wife, Vicki, said during witness testimony that she set up the account at Litchfield Bank and Trust in September 2016 alongside her daughter as a way to prevent overdrafts and provide her with money when she was away for her job as a nurse. Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of Illinois, led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Bass, showed Ramey a series of checks from McCann’s campaign account to the shared account, including several that paid Ramey thousands of dollars in fees for “consulting”.

* Elgin Courier-News | Elgin News Digest: League of Women Voters holding two candidate forums; Coldest Night of the Year walk being held in Elgin: The Feb. 22 forum will feature candidates running in contested primaries for 83rd District Illinois House seat and the 11th District U.S. House seat. It will be held at 7 p.m. at Batavia City Hall. Invitations to participate have been extended to Democrats Matt Hanson and Arad Boxenbaum, who are competing in District 83; incumbent U.S. Rep. Bill Foster and his 11th District Democratic challenger Qasim Rashid; and 11th District Republican candidates Jerry Evans, O Kent Mercado and Susan Hathaway-Altman.

* Beacon-News | First-time candidates compete in GOP primary for Illinois House District 49 seat: The race in the Republican primary for representative from Illinois House District 49 is between two first-time candidates, Aris Garcia and Hannah Billingsley. […] The winner in the GOP contest will square off against incumbent state Rep. Maura Hirschauer, who is unopposed in the Democratic primary.

* WTTW | Public Guardian Raises Concerns About DCFS Care for Kids Awaiting Placement: ‘It’s Devastating’: Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert shared concerns in a letter to the court. He wrote children averaging 12 years of age are being held in locations such as psychiatric hospitals “beyond medical necessity.” The average stay in 2023 was 94 days — a 20% increase from the prior year, according to DCFS.

* Sun-Times | ShotSpotter could be cut off as early as this week as Chicago and firm remain at odds over contract extension: City officials have proposed a shorter deal that would allow the police department to continue using the technology until Sept. 22, giving cops access to ShotSpotter throughout the historically violent summer months and the Democratic National Convention.

* Bloomberg | O’Hare to get $40 million from feds: The money for O’Hare “funds improvements to Terminal 3 to include increasing the central passenger corridor width, a reconfigured TSA checkpoint, new hold room . . . and updates to the baggage system,” according to a press release. The new funding comes on top of $50 million awarded last year for what’s expected to be $200 million worth of work at Terminal 3. The terminal is home to American Airlines, O’Hare’s second-largest carrier, behind United.

* NBC Chicago | ComEd is making a huge change to billing — and some customers may need to take action: Part of the change includes assigning all ComEd residential and business customers “new unique account numbers,” which the utility says will follow customers through new addresses and service changes.

* Crain’s | Ford CEO says automaker will rethink where it builds vehicles in wake of UAW strike: UAW President Shawn Fain has indicated that the union will take a more confrontational tone with the automakers in the future, saying “the days of the UAW and Ford being a team” to compete against nonunion rivals were over. Farley said Ford understands that employing more UAW workers and building more vehicles in the U.S. than its competitors has a cost. The new contract could prompt some reevaluation as the business evolves, he said.

* WBEZ | Millions of gallons of fossil fuel could move through a new pipeline under the Great Lakes: Tribal leaders from the Midwest are taking a stand against a crude oil and natural gas liquids pipeline that carries millions of gallons of fossil fuels via the lakebed of the Mackinac Strait that separates Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.

* Sun-Times | CDC might drop 5-day COVID-19 isolation guideline — prompting mixed feelings in Chicago expert: Dr. Emily Landon, an infectious disease doctor and the executive medical director of infection prevention and control for the University of Chicago, said she has mixed feelings about the potential change. She said it makes sense for the CDC to recommend people isolate based on their symptoms rather than for a specific amount of time.

* WTTW | South Shore Voters to Weigh Need for Protection From Gentrification Sparked by Obama Presidential Center: Voters in two precincts of the 7th Ward will find an advisory referendum on their March 19 primary ballot asking whether Ald. Greg Mitchell (7th Ward) and Mayor Brandon Johnson should “support a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) ordinance to prevent the displacement of renters, condo & home owners in South Shore in light of the impact of the Obama Center and growing development in the area.”

* Tribune | Columbia College president resigns following cut classes, historic adjunct faculty strike: In an email, the Columbia College’s senior director of external communications Jacqueline Partridge, said an effort is underway to reposition the college as a more sought-after destination for students and families.

* Illinois Times | Targeting diversity efforts: A scholarship for medical students on Southern Illinois University School of Medicine’s Springfield campus is the target of an Ivy League law professor’s ire because he says it discriminates against white and straight people. […] But Yolanda Lawson, president of the National Medical Association, ascribes more sinister motives to Jacobson and others challenging diversity initiatives. “It’s racism and it’s anger. It’s unfortunate that they feel threatened,” she said. “Obviously, there is an undertone of them feeling threatened about their position in society. And it’s quite unfortunate, and it saddens me greatly.”

* Eater Chicago | Etta’s Five Bankruptcies Have Left a Collective Mess: Aya Pastry is just one of the dominoes to fall in Pisor’s restaurant empire, an empire that at one point consisted of five restaurants in three states. In the past month, Pisor closed the River North location of Etta and filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy papers for Etta Collective and Etta River North. On the same day, Thursday, February 1, his attorney made two more bankruptcy filings — one for Etta Bucktown and another for Aya Pastry. The Aya filing revealed Pisor owed $500,000 to Fukai (she received $200,000 upon closing, it went mostly to attorneys fees, she says). A fifth filing had been made on January 18 involving Etta in Scottsdale, Arizona.

* Post-Tribune | Indiana House committee OKs psilocybin bill: Committee members lauded the bill on Tuesday as a sign of hope for Indiana residents suffering from treatment-resistant mental and neurological conditions, though some voiced concerns over what advocates fear could prove to be an expensive form of treatment.

* Crain’s | Evanston one step closer to approving housing ‘microhome’ project: The council agreed on the measure in a 5-2 vote on Feb 12. The approval would allow for a “microhome” development proposed by Wisconsin-based BluePaint Development, which is seeking to build on a third of an acre on Grant Street. The approval will allow 12 new units, described as “missing middle” housing, which are nontraditional affordable units that aim to open the housing market to help potential homebuyers who may otherwise be priced out.

* Tribune | A dozen senior couples, ranging in age from 80 to 90, renew wedding vows at Elmhurst retirement community: “When you work with our residents and get to hear their stories, it’s endearing to see just how close they are as couples, particularly as the aging process continues,” said Peter Crane, the community’s executive director. The couples sat at the front of the room as Elmhurst Mayor Scott Levin presided over the ceremony. Each man had a rose pinned to his suit, while the women held pink bouquets. One senior had a lace veil pinned in her hair.

* SJ-R | Popular, upscale Springfield restaurant temporarily closes: “Due to unforeseen circumstances beyond our control … we are sad to announce that Loukinens’ on 4th will temporarily close until further notice,” the Feb. 13 posts on Loukinens’ on 4th’s website and Facebook page read. “We sincerely apologize to our patrons who have reservations and events booked with us. We look forward to serving you again very soon.

* WCIA | Monticello company aims to build 2nd largest 3D-printed building: “So our goal has been to make it so inexpensive that nobody would ever consider building their own home ever again. If we can apply advanced manufacturing systems like you see in many consumer goods — if we can apply that to construction — our goal is that you see more creative, beautiful, architecturally designed geometry in buildings, faster and cheaper.”

* Block Club | Inside Art Collector Patric McCoy’s South Side Home, Bursting With More Than 1,300 Pieces: McCoy, an art collector, photographer and retired environmental chemist, has been acquiring artwork — mostly by Chicagoans, many of whom are Black artists — for more than five decades. He’s also co-founder of Diasporal Rhythms, a 20-year-old nonprofit dedicated to collecting, promoting and preserving art from the African Diaspora.

* WBEZ | Black History Month, which has Chicago roots, has faced resistance from the start: The origins begin at the historic Wabash YMCA in the Bronzeville neighborhood, where a renowned historian Carter G. Woodson came up with an idea that would eventually become the Black History Month we know today. But in the 1920s and ‘30s, he faced resistance from white people who felt threatened by the celebration and some Black leaders who were under pressure. Woodson’s defense of the commemoration holds nearly 100 years later.

* AP | Conservative group tells judge it has no evidence to back its claims of Georgia ballot stuffing: Texas-based True the Vote filed complaints with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in 2021, including one in which it said it had obtained “a detailed account of coordinated efforts to collect and deposit ballots in drop boxes across metro Atlanta” during the November 2020 election and a January 2021 runoff.

GOP property tax proposal shows how pension costs are declining as percent of state budget (Updated)

Thursday, Feb 15, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From a Rep. Tim Ozinga (R-Mokena) press release…

“There is a great injustice occurring in the state of Illinois that we have the power to fix,” said Rep. Ozinga. “The high property tax burden is suffocating families, communities, and businesses, especially in areas that are already struggling. But the extremes of property tax rates vary greatly across our state, sometimes even between towns in the same county. It’s time we ask - why are some struggling communities across our state paying four times the effective tax rate than more affluent communities?

“This crisis is why I, along with my colleague State Representative Dan Ugaste, have introduced House Bill 4866. This legislation would create the Education Property Tax Relief Fund, which would award property tax relief grants to school districts. While all areas of the state would see significant property tax relief, the hardest hit areas would see up to a 50% reduction in school district property tax rates.”

* I asked how the tax relief program would be funded. Response…

This would be funded through the Fixed Pension Payment Property Tax Relief Plan which would tie pension costs and property tax relief into a certain percentage of each year’s budget.

I attached a graph that demonstrates how much money would be allocated to the grant program if we freeze the pension spending at 25% of each year’s budget. With pension costs decreasing each year, the gap between the actual pension costs and the 25% budget allocation would be the funding used for this program.

* Here’s the chart. Click the pic for a larger image if you need it…

Zoom in…

You can clearly see the problem with this idea. The percentage of state spending on pensions is currently way below 25 percent and is expected to continue that decline. A rough calculation shows that this plan would cost taxpayers an extra $2 billion or so in the coming fiscal year, and more in future years if Ozinga’s chart is accurate.

* But the chart does dramatically show why you’re not hearing so much about the state pension “crisis” any longer. Again, if the projections hold up, pension costs become much more manageable as a percentage of total state spending.

Perhaps Rep. Ozinga could lock in his plan at 21 percent instead and use that extra money for property tax relief going forward. Then again, the best local property tax relief is probably the state spending more on K-12, which takes the burden off local taxpayers. This is Gov. Pritzker’s explanation earlier in the week…

When I came into office we were funding education from the state level at only 24 percent. So all the rest of it was coming, most of the rest of it coming from local property taxes. We vowed to do something about that, so evidence-based funding and funding education K-12 in general, allows us to do what I’m about to tell you which is we move from 24 percent funding to 30 percent funding. The average state is 46% funding. You can see how far behind we are, but we’re making tremendous progress. And as we move up the scale of state funding, we can lower local property taxes because this will fall more to the state than it will to local residents.

I dunno about “tremendous” progress, but the arrow is slowly pointing in the right direction for a change. And that started under Bruce Rauner, who signed evidence-based funding into law.

…Adding… From Rep. Ozinga…

“I’m fine locking in at 21% because at the end of the day, some relief is better than none. I am willing to work across the aisle for a solution to this problem, but the more relief the better. We are spending hundreds of millions, potentially billions, on new programs for non-citizens due to the crisis at the border. I think that eventually needs to go to relief as well.”

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Campaign update

Thursday, Feb 15, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

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*** UPDATED x9 *** State, county announce more money for asylum-seekers, but city conspicuously missing

Thursday, Feb 15, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Notice any entity missing from this press release?…

Governor JB Pritzker and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced their commitment to a joint funding plan to ensure shelter, wraparound services and healthcare remain available for asylum seekers sent to Chicago from the Texas border. Following a long-term planning exercise, State, County and City teams concluded that an additional estimated $321 million is needed to maintain shelter and services this calendar year, on top of previously committed funding. The Governor and President are pledging a combined investment of over $250 million to help close this gap.

In November, the State of Illinois committed an additional $160 million to the asylum seeker response to invest in three critical areas: welcome, shelter, and independence. That commitment was in addition to the $478 million the State has spent since the start of the response. As part of the joint funding plan, the State is pledging an additional $182 million, which will be part of the Governor’s upcoming Fiscal Year 2025 budget proposal to the General Assembly.

“With thousands of asylum seekers continuing to come to Chicago in desperate need of support and with Congress continuing to refuse to act—it is clear the state, county, and city will have to do more to keep people safe,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “I’m thankful to President Preckwinkle for working with us to help close this budget gap and maintain critical services in the year ahead.”

Cook County has already committed more than $100 million in its current FY24 budget for new arrival related costs, primarily for healthcare, and the President will work with Cook County commissioners to commit up to $70 million more for this joint funding plan.

“As critical funding for this ongoing humanitarian crisis stalls in Congress, Cook County stands committed to the well-being of the region,” said Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. “We cannot wait for additional resources and Cook County is proud to stand alongside Governor Pritzker in this joint funding plan, ensuring that shelter capacity, healthcare and wraparound services remain accessible to those in need.”

The County, through its Health and Hospital system, has been the primary health care provider for new arrivals and have served more than 25,000 patients and provided for nearly 70,000 visits across the health system. Cook County Health (CCH) provides comprehensive medical exams and care – including physical exams, testing, lab services, standard vaccinations, complete school physicals and pediatric vaccines, as well as behavioral health screenings and counseling, care coordination and prescription medications - and provides follow up care as needed.

This joint funding plan will maintain shelter capacity as well as the continuation of wraparound and healthcare services. More than 35,000 asylum seekers have been inhumanely dropped off in the City of Chicago and surrounding suburbs over the last year and a half.

The city’s deliberately under-funded appropriation runs out in April, but the mayor isn’t announcing any attempt to convince the city council to appropriate more?

I’ve asked the state, county and city for an explanation. So, watch for possible updates.

*** UPDATE 1 *** Jordan Abudayyeh…

We put together these cost projections in collaboration with the county and city. The Governor agreed to step up and cover more than half of this cost at $182 million. The County President also stepped up to cover an additional $70 million. You will have to ask the city what their plans are for the remaining $70 million that all parties have agreed is needed to fund this humanitarian response.

*** UPDATE 2 *** Tina Sfondeles…

According to a source briefed on the discussions, Johnson initially agreed to ask the City Council for more funds, but ultimately backed off.

*** UPDATE 3 *** I’m told the mayor agreed to ask the city council for an additional $70 million during a February 5th meeting with the governor and county board president. And then the mayor apparently changed his mind.

*** UPDATE 4 *** Stay tuned…

*** UPDATE 5 *** Senate President Don Harmon…

“I applaud Governor Pritzker for initiating this needed team approach. Solving this problem is going to require engaged partnership among all government stakeholders. I’m eager to hear more about the governor’s proposed budget and look forward to continued discussions on pairing expenditures on this crisis with investments in longstanding issues facing our communities like homelessness, food insecurity and job opportunities.”

Harmon has said before that he cannot support more migrant funding without more spending on other issues, like the ones he mentioned above.

*** UPDATE 6 *** Mayor Johnson was pressed by Mary Ann Ahern on his flip-flop and he seemed to obliquely deny he changed position…

Mayor Johnson: Were you at that meeting? So you’re making an assertion that I made a promise. Were you at that meeting? … So, whatever conclusion you’re coming to, maybe I shouldn’t speak to whatever conclusion you’re coming to. All I’m saying is, is that no one in this city, let’s make it broader. No one in the state of Illinois, in this country is questioning Mayor Brandon Johnson’s commitment to this mission.

*** UPDATE 7 *** Mayor Johnson continued to resist answering the question…

Q: Are you saying the governor’s staff is lying when they say you committed to $70 million? … Why are those numbers not jiving with what you’re saying? 70 million. Were you in the meeting, was somebody else in the meeting? What’s the disconnect?

Mayor: There is no disconnect. And yes, I was in the meeting. There are a number of matters that need to be worked through. It’s not just about financial resources, as I’ve said before. […]

Q: Did they jump the gun by issuing this press release?

Mayor: [Deflected, blamed the federal government, Texas etc.]

A reporter then tried three times to get a straight yes or no answer about whether Johnson would commit to the new funding. He didn’t get a direct response.

The bottom line is the mayor gave his word ten days ago to ask for an additional $70 million and has now apparently reneged.

*** UPDATE 8 *** Mayor Johnson said he is “not aware” of the details a reporter referenced about the supposed deal. When pressed by multiple reporters to answer the question and then complained that questioning was becoming “quite hostile.”

Here’s the exchange…

Q: Your staff and the staff from the county and the governor’s office had been meeting for weeks and months. And you guys had that meeting last week with Governor Pritzker and President Preckwinkle. They walked out of that meeting believing that you had a deal in place for $321 million in extra funding, the state would provide 50% of that and the county and city would provide 25%. Are you at all concerned that they walked out of a meeting believing there was a deal that you now say you never made a commitment to?

Mayor Johnson: I’m not aware of what you are asserting. I’m not aware of that. So whatever understanding that you all might have about what was discussed in that meeting, because none of you were in that meeting, none of you were, so all I could, let’s keep a little let’s keep a little decorum. Okay.

*** UPDATE 9 *** From Chief Budgeteer Jehan Gordon-Booth and Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, leader of the New Arrivals Working Group…

“We look forward to reviewing the full details of the plan and hearing the governor outline his full budget priorities next week. We will remain focused on continuing to bring stakeholders together to continue making smart and compassionate decisions for our state and all of our communities.”

The House Speaker has said he’s basically in the same position as Harmon. Their respective caucuses want more spending on other priorities in exchange for voting for this appropriation.

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Bears CEO believes new stadium has ‘momentum,’ wants ‘clarity’ from Statehouse this spring: ‘Time is money’

Thursday, Feb 15, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* WGN’s Jarrett Payton interviewed Chicago Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren…

“The Arlington Heights property is incredible. Any time you have 326 acres near the city – and now we’ve cleaned everything so it’s a vacant piece of land – it’s a great piece of property. That said – to be able to have optionality with Chicago – I’ve made it very clear how I feel about Chicago. I think it’s the finest city in the world. I can’t think of another major metropolitan area that has beautiful lakefront that you can swim in, that’s clean, near a downtown. The architecture is phenomenal and just the history and tradition. It’s just something that feels right about the Bears in Chicago. But, this is a long journey and we’ll continue to work on it.”

How much longer is the question. Warren wants to have an answer by the end of the year.

“The timeline has to be in 2024. In a perfect world, I would like to have clarity in this legislative session that is coming up. Time is money. It takes probably three years once you put a shovel in the ground. ’24 should be the focal point. This is the year. I feel that we’re starting to get momentum.

“Even being here in Las Vegas with the Super Bowl, there have been a litany of individuals who have come up to me – fans, even individuals who work at other teams in and across the league – to say, ‘wouldn’t it be amazing for you all to get a stadium?’ Unsolicited, they’ve come and even have said, ‘can you imagine a Super Bowl in Chicago?’”

* But as a wise person continually notes online, be very skeptical of the bright, shiny objects being flashed in front of your face…

Concerts: 100% just shifting deck chairs on amusement tax concert ticket cruise ship from a (paid off in 2032 Soldier Field) to new $700,000,000 new taxpayer debt subsidized stadium? Silly.

By all means let the teams build and fund new stadiums, but our ROI on subsidies? Putrid

— Chicago Bars (@chicagobars) February 6, 2024

Unpopular opinion: For a small FRACTION of what upgrading Soldier Field to Super Bowl hosting (once every 20-25 years) would require Chicago & Illinois could money whip 2-3 new major conventions to come here annually and have a Super Bowl’s worth of economic impact EVERY YEAR. https://t.co/kn6Q6zI1yB

— Chicago Bars (@chicagobars) February 6, 2024

* Crain’s…

It remains to be seen how much funding is available via the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, the agency that would likely be tapped to help foot the bill for stadium construction. Still unknown is whether there is enough money in that kitty to help offset the cost of a lakefront Bears stadium as well as a Sox stadium along the southern branch of the Chicago River.

* Meanwhile…

The Cook County Board of Review on Wednesday endorsed county Assessor Fritz Kaegi’s valuation of the Arlington Park property, which could stick the Chicago Bears with a tax bill millions above what they had hoped.

But the unanimous decision of the three-member elected panel isn’t final; the board is giving the Bears and three Arlington Heights-area school districts until Saturday to return to the negotiating table to hash out an agreement that could arrive at a lower figure.

67 Comments

Thursday, Feb 15, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Shaw Local…

State Sen. Rachel Ventura, D-Joliet, has introduced a bill that would stiffen penalties Ascension Saint Joseph-Joliet hospital would face for falling short on state staffing requirements.

Ventura is bringing the proposed law amid a nine-month contract standoff between Ascension and union nurses at the Joliet hospital in which staffing has been a central issue.

Ascension Saint Joseph–Joliet is the only hospital in the state to have been found in violation of the law and has been flagged three times, Ventura said.

“This is not about all hospitals,” she said. “This is about one bad actor.”

Senate Bill 3217 would add the threat of taking away a hospital’s license to operate for repeat violations, Ventura said. Fines would increase from $500 to $1,000 for first offenses and from $1,000 to $5,000 for second offenses. […]

“There needs to be accountability for hospitals who negotiate and operate in bad faith,” Ventura said in the release. “Numerous nursing strikes have gone on and yet no changes have been implemented — it’s dangerous to the patient and nurses to be understaffed.”

* Capitol News Illinois…

Consumer advocates are pushing for a change to state law that would bar utilities from collecting money from customers for those expenditures, liability insurance covering executives and for the cost associated with filing rate cases. The bill also explicitly bans charging customers for political contributions, a practice already disallowed in Illinois.

The proposal, contained in Senate Bill 2885 and House Bill 5061, is backed by AARP Illinois and the Citizens Utility Board, a nonprofit created by the General Assembly to represent customers in front of utility regulators.

The bill would also require public hearings, like two held last year, whenever a gas, electric, water or sewer utility requests a rate increase. Rate cases, which generally take a year to complete, are currently conducted primarily online through written testimony from utilities and advocates as well as written comments submitted by members of the public.

An analysis from CUB found that last year, companies spent about $28 million for legal representation, expert testimony and other costs accrued in six Illinois Commerce Commission cases that resulted in electric and gas rates going up for most Illinoisans. The state’s two largest water utilities, Aqua Illinois and Illinois American Water, are going through rate cases right now, which could cost the companies about $3.2 million in expenses.

* HB4745 filed by Rep. John Cabello…

Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Provides that on or after the effective date of the amendatory Act, the Department of Corrections and the Department of Juvenile Justice shall establish procedures to ensure that a committed person convicted of: (1) a sex offense, (2) first degree murder, or (3) second degree murder is discharged from custody within the municipality, or if the committed person was residing in an unincorporated area, the county where the committed person was residing immediately before his or her conviction for the sex offense or murder offense for which the committed person is serving a sentence in the Department of Corrections or the Department of Juvenile Justice. Effective immediately.

* Chicagobars…

* Rep. Sue Scherer…

State Rep. Sue Scherer, D-Decatur, is working to ease the property tax burden facing seniors by expanding the eligibility pool of senior freeze applicants.

“Making sure that our seniors are taken care of is one of my most important priorities,” said Scherer. “Those who are on a fixed income face additional difficulties and every bit of assistance we can offer helps.”

Scherer’s House Bill 3054 would amend the property tax code by allowing the maximum income limitation for the Low-Income Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption to be $85,000. Currently, access to the freeze exemption is limited to seniors who earn $65,000 or less annually.

“Inflation has hit seniors especially hard. Those who were fine before the sharp increases in the price of food, fuel and other necessities may now be struggling,” said Scherer. “I will always stand up and fight to make changes to the law that lift up our seniors and ensure that they can live happy, whole lives.”

* WPSD…

A new bill in Illinois could implement gender neutral terms in certain sections of civil law. The proposed bill would protect people’s access to their property regardless of their gender identity.

According to a news release from Illinois Senator Natalie Toro, Senate Bill 2777 would replace words like husband or wife with gender neutral terms such as spouse or married couple in sections of civil law related to property. The bill will also removes legal ambiguity when preparing real estate paperwork, and ensure compliance with Illinois’ same-sex marriage law.

“With this simple language change, more Illinoisans will not have to worry about restrictions to accessing their property should they change their gender identity or if they are in a same-sex marriage,” said Toro. “This is a long time coming to make Illinois a more inclusive state.”

The bill would make the legal code more inclusive to nonbinary, intersex and gender-nonconforming people as well as those in same-sex marriages.

* Center Square…

An Illinois state senator is looking to regulate social media companies in order to protect children from harm, but some see a patchwork of laws across the country causing problems and possibly infringing on constitutional rights.

Last week, state Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, revealed some of her legislative priorities in her “Safe Screens, Healthy Minds” initiative. […]

Among the proposals are to require high default privacy settings for children and parents. Another would require social media companies to have a free customer support service to address complaints. A third would require platforms to create an identity verification process. […]

David McGarry, a policy analyst with the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, said states passing standalone measures regulating services like those found on the internet could force consumers to use tools regulated by the most draconian policies, let alone possibly running afoul of constitutional rights.

* Daily Herald…

Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said Wednesday he is staying neutral on the question of whether the state should end road exams for seniors.

Two lawmakers recently introduced separate bills seeking to remove or revise the mandate.

Illinois is the only state in the U.S. that requires individuals age 79 and older to take a driving test when renewing their licenses. The AARP calls the policy discriminatory.

“As secretary of state, I’m committed to ensuring that Illinois roads are as safe as possible, and that will always remain my top priority whether or not this proposal passes,” Giannoulias said.

The secretary of state’s study issued a report last year that found in 2022, Illinois motorists age 75 and older had a crash rate of 24.39 per 1,000 drivers, the second lowest in the state.

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Thursday, Feb 15, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* What’s going on in your part of Illinois?…

3 Comments

Thursday, Feb 15, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: Cook County judge hears arguments in homelessness referendum lawsuit. Crain’s…

* Related stories…

∙ Crain’s: Supporters of transfer tax measure reveal their own mailers
∙ Tribune: Judge hears arguments in Johnson homelessness referendum lawsuit
∙ WBEZ: Cook County judge weighs challenge to referendum appearing on the March ballot

* Isabel’s top picks…

* Tribune | State’s attorney Democratic candidates spar over Foxx at Tribune Editorial Board meeting: Foxx has not endorsed either candidate — retired Justice Eileen O’Neill Burke or Clayton Harris III— but Harris has been endorsed by the Cook County Democratic Party and Foxx’s political mentor, County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. Asked whether the narrative that Foxx was “soft on crime” and more concerned with the rights of the accused than victims was fair, Harris said, “The narrative is real whether it’s fair or unfair.” The next state’s attorney, he said, had to change the perception of how aggressively the office has and will prosecute cases.

* Sun-Times | In Illinois Democratic congressional primary, CTU endorses Conyears-Ervin over Rep. Davis, Kina Collins: That the progressive CTU is taking sides in this race — where Davis and Collins are staunch progressives — will have important impact only if it translates into raising money for Conyears-Ervin, the Chicago city treasurer, and boosting turnout for her in the March19 primary.

* WGN | Has the move to cashless bond impacted safety?: “The important thing to recognize is that happens regardless of what decision was made,” said David Olsen, of the Loyola Center for Criminal Justice. He is in the early stages of studying the impact of pre-trial release throughout the state. “When we send people to prison for lengthy periods of time, there are some who when released will continue to commit criminal activity,” he said. “So we can’t just look at one brief time of pre-trial release and assume that’s the only time we should be concerned about.”

* Here’s the rest of your morning roundup…

ABC Chicago | Chicago ShotSpotter use could end early after company rejects brief extension, aldermen say:

* Tribune | County property tax official running for sixth term rakes in cash from appeals industry: The $135,000 Rogers has collected in the last year from professionals involved in the business of appealing property taxes has become a flashpoint in the proxy fight between him and Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi, who’s backing Rogers’ opponent in the March 19 Democratic primary.

* WAND | Advocates push for Illinois to require board-certified pathologists conduct autopsies: Years later, Coroner Jim Allmon re-opened the case and two of his pathologists changed his cause of death to a homicide. Richard said he is so glad Sen. Doris Turner (D-Springfield) is trying to change state law to require board-certified pathologists to conduct autopsies. “It seems like it’s a commonsense thing to do,” Burns said. “It starts with making sure that the truth of what happened is reported accurately by having a person who is qualified to do an autopsy to piece it together.”

* WICS | State senator proposes gender-neutral terminology in Illinois property law sections: “LGBTQIA+ people deserve to feel seen and represented in all spaces, including in our state laws,” said Toro (D-Chicago). “With this simple language change, more Illinoisans will not have to worry about restrictions to accessing their property should they change their gender identity or if they are in a same-sex marriage. This is a long time coming to make Illinois a more inclusive state.”

* Daily Herald | DuPage forest preserve district likely to keep Springfield lobbyist: Forest preserve officials have recommended approving another one-year, $60,000 contract to retain Government Navigation Group. The firm would continue to be paid in $5,000 monthly installments.

* Crain’s | Chicago restaurants jockeying for business from the DNC: Operators throughout the city are jockeying for the business. The Chicago committee launched a vendor directory on Feb. 15 that includes more than 1,700 venues and restaurants that have said they’re willing to host tangential events. Some restaurants have bolstered their own event teams and already are courting various delegations.

* Sun-Times | What Mayor Johnson’s decision on ending ShotSpotter says about his leadership: If Johnson was so determined to honor his campaign promise to get rid of the controversial gunshot detection system, why did he wait until the last minute to timidly announce the decision?

* Tribune | After cyberattack, Lurie says some of its electronic communications have been restored but call center is still the best way to access providers: The hospital said email to external addresses and “a majority of” its phone lines were back up and running. But the patient family portal MyChart remained offline and a hospital call center “continues to be the best way for patient-families to reach providers and service lines,” according to a hospital statement. “Due to high call volumes, if you receive a busy signal, please try calling us back,” the statement said.

* Tribune | Wilmette Village Board approves agreement with Evanston over Ryan Field: The agreement states that all traffic related to the field — including demolition, construction, concert activity and concert attendees — are not permitted to go in or through the village. The village is working on expanded parking restrictions in nearby neighborhoods during basketball games and could use this as a template for restrictions during concerts and other events, according to Wilmette Village Manager Michael Braiman. Restrictions already exist for football games. He also said the village could block off residential streets or increase violation fines if needed.

* Chicago Mag | La Salle Street Blues: On top of bringing along thousands of well-paid employees, Google is sparking hopes of a turnaround of economically distressed — some would say depressed — La Salle Street, which runs along the Thompson Center’s west edge. Once among the most robust business corridors in the country, it is reeling from corporate restructurings, employee downsizing, and disruptions spawned by the pandemic and the remote-work era. The result: a historic office building vacancy rate of more than 25 percent and climbing.

* Beacon-News | Memories, pain remain fresh five years after Pratt mass shooting in Aurora: Although five years have passed since the day his son was gunned down in a termination meeting by the Henry Pratt employee he had been trying to help, Ted Beyer insists little has changed. Certainly the anger and bitterness he harbored from the moment he heard his son was among the dead is still there.

* Crain’s | Rivian hires marketing chief from Meta after signing execs from Apple, Porsche and Stellantis: Prior to her three-year stint at Meta, Prenner was Amazon’s global head of marketing, growth and customer engagement for the company’s Fire TV business, Rivian said in a post on LinkedIn. “Rivian’s mission is one that I’m proud to contribute to and I look forward to making the world more eco-friendly, and adventurous, one amazing vehicle at a time,” said Prenner, who also holds the title of vice president.

* WREX | Illinois Manufacturers’ Association launches ‘Makers Madness’ competition: The bracket-style tournament aims to identify the most popular manufactured product, or “The Coolest Thing Made In Illinois,” through public voting. The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association’s “Makers Madness” competition is accepting nominations for The Coolest Thing Made in Illinois until March 3 at 11:59 PM.

* ABC Chicago | Thornwood High School students say bedbug infestation persists, some parents pull kids out of school: Cell phone video shows the uproar brewing in the halls as students marched Wednesday morning, demanding answers. “We just started chanting free us, we don’t deserve to be in this school,” said junior Carl Boyd. Two weeks after administrators at the South Holland school said they had taken action to eliminate the infestation in parts of the sprawling campus, students are still seeing bedbugs inside the facility.

* Block Club | Art, Science And Black Culture Collide In Adler Planetarium’s New Sky Show: “Niyah and the Multiverse,” written by Chatham native Ytasha L. Womack, follows a young Black protagonist on her journey through theoretical other worlds. The animated short opens Saturday.

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Update to today’s edition (Updated)

Thursday, Feb 15, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* You can click here or here to follow breaking news. It’s the best we can do unless or until Twitter gets its act together.

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Wednesday, Feb 14, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

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S&P: Chicago’s migrant spending pressure ‘could have a longer-term effect on its credit quality’

Wednesday, Feb 14, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Julia Rosier…

* Press release…

State Senator Win Stoller (R, Germantown Hills) and State Representative Amy Elik (R, Alton) introduced legislation to encourage small businesses to reinvest earnings in their communities.

The legislation—HB 4669 in the House and SB 3152 in the Senate—would create small-business savings accounts, allowing businesses to put aside up to $50,000 per year for future business investments.

If passed, funds contributed to these small-business savings accounts would be eligible for an income tax deduction in the year the small business contributed them. The business could then reinvest them later—as operational needs dictate—to build out its operations. […]

“This legislation will free small-business owners’ reinvestment decisions from an arbitrary tax calendar,” said Noah Finley, NFIB Illinois State Director. “Instead of having to make investments based upon the tax year, business owners will be able to choose the optimal time to reinvest in their businesses.” […]

The legislation is supported by the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, the Associated Builders and Contractors, the Technology and Manufacturing Association, the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, and the Illinois Trucking Association.

* Another endorsement for Congressman Bost…

* WGN…

Tiffany Henyard is the mayor of Dolton and supervisor of Thornton Township. The elected positions pay her more than $280,000 annually, according to interviews and records.

After the story aired, WGN Investigates sent a public records request to Dolton asking for, among other things, copies of additional credit card statements to check if the spending spree continued.

The village did not turn over the records, as required under state law. The records request, sent via email on Nov. 29, also asked for copies of documents showing any payments to Henyard.

WGN Investigates filed an appeal with the Illinois Attorney General. […]

“In the opinion, the Village of Dolton is directed to respond as soon as possible to the request,” a spokeswoman for Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in an email. “The village has 35 days after the issuance of the opinion to either comply or contest the opinion in court.”

* Here’s the rest…

* Center Square | Task force to explore ranked choice voting in Illinois criticized for partisanship: State Sen. Laura Murphy, D-Des Plaines, and West were elected as co-chairs of the task force during the first meeting Tuesday. The law that created the task force said co-chairs would be elected from members appointed by the Senate president and the speaker of the House, both Democrats. That didn’t sit well with state Rep. Ryan Spain, R-Peoria.

* River Bender | Gov. Pritzker Announces Lifelong Advocate For Seniors, Mary Killough, As New Director Of Illinois Department On Aging: Prior to her time at AccentCare, Killough was Chief Development Officer for Gareda Homecare in Calumet City. Killough also served as Deputy Director and as Division Manager for Home and Community Services at IDoA, and as Assistant State’s Attorney for Cook County. Killough also serves on the board of Senior Services of Will County. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Notre Dame.

* Naperville Sun | OSHA fines construction contractor $264,000 for exposing workers to deadly fall hazards at Naperville job site: The federal agency issued the citation and accompanying penalties to United Custom Homes on Feb. 8. It’s the eighth time United Custom Homes’ has been cited for an OSHA infraction since 2015. In addition to penalties issued this month, United Custom Homes also currently owes $238,572 in unpaid OSHA penalties for previous violations.

* Crain’s | Some communications restored at Lurie: The children’s hospital is still using a call center to communicate with patients and their families while the restoration of its communications progresses, Julianne Bardele, director of public affairs and communications at Lurie, said in a text message to Crain’s. The primary mode of communication between families and their health care providers, the electronic portal MyChart, is still down, she said. Electronic health records are also still unavailable, she said via text.

* Tribune | Cyberattacks on hospitals are likely to increase, putting lives at risk, experts warn: Hospitals in recent years have shifted their use of online technology to support everything from telehealth to medical devices to patient records. Today, they are a favorite target for internet thieves who hold systems’ data and networks hostage for hefty ransoms, said John Riggi, the American Hospital Association’s cybersecurity adviser. “Unfortunately, the unintended consequence of the use of all this network and internet connected technology is it expanded our digital attack surface,” Riggi said. “So, many more opportunities for bad guys to penetrate our networks.”

* WGN | Illinois now 9th state to sanction girls flag football: Girls flag football is now a sanctioned sport for high schools across Illinois. That announcement was made Wednesday morning by the Illinois High School Association. The Chicago Bears have been instrumental in pushing forward and advocating for young women.

* Tribune | Uber and Lyft drivers in Chicago plan airport strikes on Valentine’s Day: The Justice for App Workers coalition, which represents over 30,000 ride-share and delivery drivers across Illinois, is leading the local effort by calling for Chicago Uber and Lyft drivers to rally at O’Hare International Airport Wednesday at 11 a.m., according to a news release from the coalition. The one-day strike means drivers would refuse rides to and from O’Hare. The strike is not planned to affect Midway Airport.

* Tribune | Museum of Contemporary Art workers become latest museum staff to launch union drive: In an open letter signed by 32 staff members —about a third of union-eligible workers at the museum — employees said they were seeking wages that kept pace with inflation and Chicago’s cost of living, guarantees that benefits including sick leave and paid time off will not be decreased and will be expanded when possible, protections from layoffs and transparency around compensation.

* Block Club | CTA Could Widen Addison Red Line Platform To Handle Overcrowding After Cubs Games, Concerts: At a public meeting earlier this month, CTA officials outlined preliminary plans to widen the platform at the Red Line’s Addison stop near Wrigley Field. The CTA is also looking to add more accessible entrances and exits at the station as well as lengthen the platform to accommodate 10-car trains, according to a slideshow from the meeting.

* Sun-Times | Jack Higgins, Pulitzer Prize-winning Sun-Times editorial cartoonist, dies at 69: “Political cartoons are meant to take the mighty and the pompous and cut them down to a more manageable size. Afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted,” he once wrote about his job. He skewered local and national politicians alike, satirized scandals and offered poignant and absurd takes on city life and ills, especially gun violence.

* Bloomberg | In Florida snowbird country, insurance rates are driving away would-be buyers: “You’ve got people that went through the storm and just want to move on, and don’t really think the affordability is here anymore because of insurance,” said Marlissa Gervasoni, president of the Royal Palm Coast Realtor Association. “From what I’m seeing, I believe they are looking for areas that might be less costly.”

* Daily Herald | Crystal Lake artist creates sculpture of Chicago settler DuSable: DuSable was a trader of African descent who arrived in what became Chicago in the late 18th century. He’s regarded as the first non-native person to settle in Chicago, whose famous Lake Shore Drive now bears his name. larger-than-life DuSable sculpture weighs over a ton and stands 8½ feet tall. It will be in Evanston until the fall of next year.

* South Side Weekly | Gassing Up Black Chicago: Englewood-born-and-bred journalist Arionne Nettles, a journalism lecturer at Northwestern University, has the receipts when it comes to what Black folks, particularly Black folks with Chicago roots, continue to offer the larger culture via her book, We Are The Culture: Black Chicago’s Influence on Everything (Lawrence Hill Books, April 2024).

* SJ-R | Celebrate Black History Month with these 4 events in Springfield: Members of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area will be hosting the Lunch and Learn session for The Underground Railroad in Springfield on Feb. 15. Guest speakers will be discussing research on local hearings in the Illinois Supreme Court related to the Underground Railroad. They will also be discussing podcast resources and their plans for future programs.

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Question of the day

Wednesday, Feb 14, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* HGOP press release…

Last week at a news conference in Springfield, Leader McCombie noted ethics reform as a priority for House Republicans this year. “We sound like a broken record with our continuous calls for ethics reform, but we will not stop until it is passed: we cannot continue to rely on federal prosecution to hold elected officials to a higher standard,” said McCombie.

McCombie is sponsoring HB 4119, which will prevent defendants from utilizing campaign contributions to fund their legal defense. To date, Madigan himself has paid millions from his campaign fund to the legal firm defending him.

* The Question: Should the state prohibit campaign funds from being used for criminal defense attorney’s fees? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.

online polls

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Wednesday, Feb 14, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From S&P Global Ratings…

Migrants And Asylum Seekers Pose Budgetary Challenges In New York City, Chicago, And Denver

State and local governments are shouldering the rapidly growing costs of assisting migrants and asylum seekers as their numbers increase in the U.S. In December 2023, the immigration court backlog reached 3 million pending cases, an increase of 1 million from 2022, with almost 2 million new proceedings filed in 2023 (see chart 1). If this issue remains significant enough for long enough, the increase in costs and social service requirements could affect states’ and local governments’ credit quality. Migrants and asylum seekers come to the U.S. through a variety of entry points, but many come through the U.S. southern border in Texas. To address this influx, Texas began transporting new arrivals out of the state in 2022. Since then, of the 100,000 migrants and asylum seekers Texas has transported, 83,600 were sent to three cities: New York (NYC), Chicago, and Denver. […]

Although it seems likely that [Chicago’s] 2024’s costs will exceed budgeted amounts (particularly since, on Jan. 29, 2024, the mayor extended the maximum stay time in shelters by 30-60 days for most migrants), the city has not shared contingency plans for managing unbudgeted expenditures. Given that Chicago’s $16 billion budget was balanced using $50 million in corporate fund reserves and $139 million in other one-time money, without new revenues, the overages from the $150 million might have to come, at least in part, from reserves that stood at $1.9 billion (39% of expenditures) at year-end 2022, up from $1.4 billion (27.5% of expenditures) at year-end 2021. If support from the state and federal governments does not materialize as expected, the impact on Chicago’s bottom line could be sizable. How the city manages these pressures, particularly when faced with high costs for its underfunded pension programs, could have a longer-term effect on its credit quality. […]

So far, the federal government’s support has been more limited. In December 2022, the Bipartisan Year-End Omnibus spending bill authorized an $800 million grant program through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Of those funds, NYC received more than $130 million in calendar 2023. Chicago received approximately $40 million in asylum seeker grants from FEMA in 2023, but grants often fall short of needs: for example, Chicago asked FEMA for between $39 million and $67 million, but received only $4.3 million. Given current political dynamics in Washington D.C. and the upcoming presidential election, we do not consider additional federal support likely. Therefore, cities on the front line of migrant and asylum seeker inflows will have to face the uncertainty of rising costs without a guarantee of revenues to offset the expenditures.

* The Bond Buyer talked with Justin Marlowe, research professor at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy and director of the school’s Center for Municipal Finance about this topic…

Marlowe said he didn’t see the problem approaching the scale where it would affect bond ratings, but he acknowledged that some of the fiscal pain initially felt by Chicago is now spreading elsewhere.

* However…

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has drafted plans to release thousands of immigrants and slash its capacity to hold detainees after the failure of a Senate border bill that would have erased a $700 million budget shortfall, according to four officials at ICE and the Department of Homeland Security. […]

The supplemental bill had $7.6 billion for ICE overall, including $2.6 billion for deportation flights and $3.2 billion for detention capacity, money that would have boosted capacity by thousands of beds per day. The agency has contracts and agreements with scores of local and county jails across the United States where it can place detainees for weeks, months and sometimes longer as they await a court ruling or face deportation. About half of ICE’s $8.5 billion annual budget is used for detention and deportation operations.

* In the short term, at least, shelter population continues to fall. Numbers as of 10:30 this morning…

Yesterday’s numbers are here.

* Tribune…

Johnson’s deputy chief of staff Cristina Pacione-Zayas noted to reporters the progress coincided with accelerated efforts to resettle migrants in permanent housing or in other cities. But she acknowledged hard choices lie ahead for the city as the $150 million Johnson budgeted for the migrant response this year is slated to be spent by April.

“Every day we’re in meetings, on calls with the state, with the county, to figure out what the long-term plan is to get through the calendar year together,” Pacione-Zayas said.

She did not say whether closing shelters or making budget cuts mid-year was on the table.

* More from Isabel…

WaPo | Here’s which states could benefit most from migrant labor:

* NBC Chicago | Thousands of migrants in Chicago on edge as shelter evictions loom: Thousands of migrants across Chicago are on edge as the shelter eviction deadline nears. Many of the migrants who are seeking alternative housing are struggling to receive work permits, which are necessary to secure housing.

* WIFR | Capron village board organizes plans in case of migrant drop-off: The village of Capron held a board meeting to come up with a blueprint for action, in the event a busload of migrants stops in their town. Village President Steven Banks discusses two ordinances that would counter any intercity buses coming to the town. “People can get permission to drop people off and then the village will have the right to approve or deny that application and we also don’t have anything currently in our code that gives the village president emergency authority,” said Banks. “We tend to be immune from the big city problems… until they landed 300 of them in Rockford airport.”

* CBS Chicago | Suburban Chicago woman arrested for human trafficking of Mexican migrants: Olea promised housing, safety, and jobs, but after arriving, investigators said Olea took possession of their identification, money, and other items. Olea forced the two adults and the 15-year-old into jobs to pay off their “debt” for safe entry into the United States.

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition

Wednesday, Feb 14, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Roundup: Sam McCann trial

Wednesday, Feb 14, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Hannah Meisel is on the ground…

…Adding…Today’s coverage from Capitol News Illinois…

Prosecutors delved into McCann’s alleged scheme to rent out a motor home and trailer – which they also allege he purchased illegally with campaign funds – to himself on an Airbnb-style website called RV Share.

McCann registered as an owner of the camper vehicles under the name Sam McCann and then made a second account with his given name, William McCann, to rent them. The phone numbers on the two accounts were the same. […]

“We can’t wait to get on the open road,” McCann allegedly wrote to himself from his renter account.

The government is expected to rest its case by Thursday morning.

* Here’s her coverage from yesterday for Capitol News Illinois…

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Bass pulled no punches in describing former Republican state Sen. Sam McCann on the first day of his federal corruption trial on Tuesday.

“This case is about greed, fraud and arrogance,” Bass said. “Greed for a lifestyle far beyond his means…fraud in obtaining that lifestyle…and arrogance in continuing that lifestyle (even after being) confronted by law enforcement.”

McCann stands accused of illegally using campaign funds for personal expenses, including paying two mortgages, financing multiple vehicles and vacations, fraudulently cutting himself checks for work not performed, and double-dipping on reimbursement for miles driven.

The trial finally got underway Tuesday morning after a week of delays stemming from McCann’s sudden hospitalization the previous weekend. U.S. District Judge Colleen Lawless ordered him arrested and detained last Friday for violating her direct orders to communicate with the federal probation office after being discharged from the hospital.

* AP…

In what Bass termed “an egregious example,” McCann bought an RV and a trailer, put them up for rent through an online service, then “split himself in two” by using two different names: Sam McCann offered the vehicles for rent while William McCann leased them with political contributions. […]

Cynthia Miller, who was hired for McCann’s successful 2010 Senate campaign and continued working in his Senate district office, testified to the friction that developed with McCann as she started seeing disbursements that didn’t seem appropriate.

There were checks to McCann’s bank labeled “rent” that made no sense. Miller testified that she wasn’t aware of a political account for McCann until a statement arrived that listed spending on jewelry and a water park in the Chicago suburb of Gurnee. When she questioned him about reimbursing himself for mileage while using a campaign debit card to buy gasoline for the same vehicles, Miller said McCann gave her the routine answer given for other expenditure inquiries.

“He basically said I didn’t need to worry about that or it wasn’t any of my business,” said Miller, who told McCann to enter such transactions himself on Illinois State Board of Elections campaign disclosure statements.

* SJ-R…

Bass blasted McCann for continuing the scheme even after he left office in 2019 and after he had twice been on notice for violations of campaign finance rules, with a complaint being filed for misidentifying travel expenses in 2016 and an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service in 2018.

[Bass] said that even after meeting with FBI and IRS officials regarding the alleged violations, he continued to do them, setting up another bank account in the name of his wife, Vicki and his mother-in-law, continuing to deposit money. […]

At the end of his opening argument, Bass pled with the court to hold McCann accountable for his alleged actions before he brought out his first of at least four witnesses to come before the court. […]

Witness testimony is scheduled to continue at 9 a.m. Wednesday as the federal government continues to make its case against McCann.

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Wednesday, Feb 14, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* NBC Chicago…

The proposed legislation, SB3499, would create end-of-life options for the Terminally Ill Patients Act in Illinois.

Under the bill, which was introduced last week, a qualified patient with a terminal disease would be allowed to request that a physician prescribe them “aid-in-dying medication that will allow the patient to end the patient’s life in a peaceful manner,” the legislation states.

Requirements would include a patient needing to make two verbal requests to a qualified physician within five days of each other, along with one written request. Such requests can only be made by the patient, not by a surrogate decision-maker or health care proxy, according to the bill. […]

There would also be a series of qualifications for a patient to be considered eligible for the prescription, including being 18 years or older, an Illinois resident with a terminal diagnosis and six-month-or-less prognosis, and what a physician deems to be the mental capacity to make such a decision.

* Oops, the bill was filed by Rep. John Cabello (R-Machesney Park). H/T Chicagobars…

* SJ-R…

State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, filed House Bill 5152 which would provide a $500 tax credit for patients, their parents or guardians and health care providers starting this tax year. The same credit would be available for those seeking gender-affirming care and teachers that have moved due to educational content restrictions in their home states.

The bill is of personal importance to Cassidy, originally from Florida, where her sibling teachers have retired as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has led instruction bans on sexual orientation, gender identity and critical race theory.

“This is very much meant to provide a warm handoff for folks who have made incredibly unwelcome in their homes,” she said in an interview Monday.

Currently in the House Rules Committee, proving individuals did in-fact relocate to Illinois for these healthcare services or issues with classroom curriculum would likely be administered by the Illinois Department of Revenue. Cassidy said the process would be similar to an affidavit, where teachers would have to provide evidence that they moved from a “state that is restricting speech.”

* WGEM…

- A proposed Illinois Bill aims to repeal the Rent Control Preemption Act and allow rent control.

Quincy Housing Executive Director Jerry Gille said bills like this have been introduced before and failed, but this time it comes out at the right time to gain momentum amidst high rents and inflating prices.

He said during and following the pandemic, rent prices increased due to inflation, which pushed a lot of people out of the private market and into public housing. He said they’ve heard from clients that the private market has leveled off locally in the last three years, though rent prices have leveled off now. […]

Managing Broker for Farlow Real-Estate Experts Jeremy Farlow said for people investing in properties to rent, it would mean they wouldn’t be able to make a profit off the property or pay the mortgage of the property.

He said that could mean less money available for landlords to pay for repairs on properties, as they are the ones who pay for maintenance for tenants.

* The Coalition for Fantasy Sports…

Today, the Coalition for Fantasy Sports announced its support for Illinois Senate Bill 3710 House Bill 5648 aimed at providing a robust regulatory framework for daily fantasy sports (DFS) within the state. While Illinois legalized sports betting in 2019, the state lacked comprehensive legislation to protect the thousands of fans and the games of skill they enjoy. This proposed framework would close an essential chapter in the effort to safeguard fantasy sports fans throughout Illinois.

The proposed legislation aims to not only protect the hundreds of thousands of fantasy sports fans across Illinois but also the integrity of the games they enjoy. The framework would ensure legal clarity, responsible play, and consumer protection while promoting innovation and removing barriers to growth that threaten the fantasy sports industry. Among the bill’s provisions includes an age gate requiring players to be at least 19.

“With the popularity of daily fantasy sports soaring, now is the time to codify the industry’s legal status into state law and ensure Illinois players are best protected,” said Chief Senate Bill Sponsor Lakesia Collins. “That is why I’m incredibly excited to take the lead on legislation that would not only allow sports fans to continue playing the daily fantasy contests they love, but do so in a way that protects their best interests, puts up guardrails to keep bad actors out of the market, and generates potentially tens of millions in new tax revenue for Illinois.”

House Bill Sponsor, Representative Eva-Dina Delgado, further emphasized the importance of regulatory clarity, “Our goal is to provide a secure environment for fantasy sports fans across the state of Illinois. This legislation is a positive step toward ensuring that fantasy sports enthusiasts can continue participating in these contests with confidence.”

* Play USA…

Illinois Rep. Daniel Didech has submitted a bill (HB 5307) to amend the state’s gambling legislation to include guidelines for creating and maintaining a Problem Gambling Task Force that would “provide recommendations to the General Assembly on how the State should continue to meet its responsibility to assist those who suffer from a gambling problem or disorder,” the bill reads.

The bill calls for a 10-member task force made up of one member each from the two largest causes in the Illinois House, along with one member from the following fields and organizations:

Health care industry
Department of Public Health
Illinois Gaming Board
Department of the Lottery
Illinois Racing Board
A nonprofit organization with “experience in problem gambling treatment and recovery services”
Business or organization with a gaming license

The bill also calls for one of the task force members to be someone who has been impacted by problem gambling or a gambling disorder.

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Wednesday, Feb 14, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* What’s going on in your part of Illinois?…

Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)

Wednesday, Feb 14, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: Happy Valentine’s Day! Here’s some ❤️ stories to start your day…

Daily Herald

Sun-Times

Block Club

* Isabel’s top picks…

* STLPR | Rep. Mike Bost says he’s a ‘governing conservative’ ahead of feisty GOP primary: Bost said the key difference between himself and Bailey is that he’s more pragmatic. That makes him a “governing conservative,” Bost said. “That means I am a conservative, and my voting record shows that I’m a conservative,” Bost said. “But I’m not willing to all of a sudden just keep saying no.”

* STLPR | Darren Bailey says it’s time for change in Illinois’ 12th Congressional District: Darren Bailey, the former Republican Illinois gubernatorial candidate, is banking on his deeply conservative values and unwillingness to sacrifice them to propel him to victory against U.S. Rep. Mike Bost in the 12th District primary next month. “As a Republican — and as a conservative Republican — I cannot compromise my values,” Bailey said on the Politically Speaking podcast.

* Capitol News Illinois | After week of delays, former GOP State Sen. Sam McCann’s trial finally underway: The trial finally got underway Tuesday morning after a week of delays stemming from McCann’s sudden hospitalization the previous weekend. U.S. District Judge Colleen Lawless ordered him arrested and detained last Friday for violating her direct orders to communicate with the federal probation office after being discharged from the hospital.

Click here for Equality Illinois’ endorsements for the 2024 primary.

* Here’s the rest of your morning roundup…

* WCIA | IDOT workers return to bargaining table after strike authorization vote: The union members have two key issues, including higher salaries, and attempts by the state to change health insurance plans. The union currently operates under an insurance plan that is managed by multiple groups, including the unions themselves. Fyans said the state wants them to switch to a state-sponsored health insurance plan, which would increase premium costs.

* Sun-Times | Flight attendants picket outside O’Hare, joining thousands at airports across the country: More than 150 flight attendants, joined by U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” Garcia (D-Ill) and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill), picketed outside O’Hare Airport on Tuesday to protest the lack of contract negotiations and demand better wages and working conditions.

* WCIA | Mayors make their pitch for more state funding, extended pension ramp: The Illinois Municipal League, which represents local governments in the Capitol, said the state should be sending local governments a 10 percent cut of income tax revenues as a part of the LGDF. But right now, that percentage is at 6.47 percent.

* Vandalia Radio | Rules for Illinois’ Paid Leave for All Workers Act on hold amid concerns: Tuesday, the Illinois Municipal League’s Brad Cole promoted legislation to exempt municipalities. Cole said the department improperly changed the law through rule making, something legislators told the department to address before next month’s JCAR hearing.

* Vandalia Radio | Rep Wilhour talks about his campaign and race in the Primary Election: Republican Voters in the 110th State Representative District have a contested race for the March 19th Primary. State Representative Blaine Wilhour is running for re-election and is challenged in the Primary by fellow Republican Matt Hall.

* Crain’s | Here’s Illinois Realtors’ first mailer against the transfer tax referendum: The mailers, which are part of a $1 million campaign by the Springfield-based group to oppose the measure, refer to the proposal as a “property tax referendum” rather than one dealing with the real estate transfer tax.

* Sun-Times | Number of migrants in Chicago shelters at lowest point in months: Down from mid- and early-January peaks of nearly 15,000, the number of migrants in shelters fell below 13,000 for the first time since Nov. 28. The number in shelters has dropped by nearly 1,000 since the start of February.

* Crain’s | Chicago’s new top doc knows what she’s up against: Aside from dealing with funding and staffing shortfalls, Ige is also tasked with establishing “Treatment Not Trauma,” a plan touted by Mayor Brandon Johnson to send therapists and social workers to some 911 calls instead of police officers and reopen city-run mental health clinics over the next several years.

* Sun-Times | Chicago among top cities seeing rising foreclosures: In January, among major metropolitan areas, Chicago had the second largest number of completed foreclosures at 194, ranking behind Detroit’s 609. New York City, Philadelphia and San Francisco rounded out the top five.

* Block Club | 35 Years After Wrongful Conviction, Englewood’s Brian Beals Is Getting His Life Back: Beals returned home in December after serving more than three decades in prison for a crime he didn’t commit — the second-longest wrongful incarceration in Illinois’ history.

* Daily Herald | ‘A convenient argument’: Superintendents say they’re not to blame if Bears stay downtown: “It’s been a convenient argument to keep the conversation going about looking at both areas,” Rowe said of the property tax dispute. “And we’re not surprised one bit that all the other (suburban sites) have fallen off and now it’s just down to the best possible location for all they want in their current home, and a political environment they have to navigate through. I think that it was a convenient argument. And honestly, it stinks. We don’t like it, because it’s not true. But we understand it. And it was used in the process.”

* News-Sun | Coal ash ponds the subject of Pollution Control Board hearing; ‘Waukegan residents deserve better’: Taylor said the company has refused to cooperate with the city removing the pollution its coal furnaces have spewed for nearly a century. Waukegan already has five Superfund sites from other polluters in its industrial past, much of it along the lakefront. “The residents of Waukegan cannot bear the financial cost of yet another environmental catastrophe caused by a private company,” [Waukegan Mayor Ann Taylor] said “This company is failing to address its environmental mess adequately. Waukegan residents deserve better.”

* 25 News Now | Pritzker appoints Peoria’s lead crimefighter to statewide commission: Gov. JB Pritzker has appointed Peoria Police Chief Eric Echevarria to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, which is assigned to identify key issues facing the justice system and come up with solutions. The governor appoints 11 of the agency’s 25 members, including a police chief. He became Peoria’s chief in July of 2021 after serving for 20 years for the Elgin Police Department.

* Route Fifty | A decade in, pedestrian deaths dip under Vision Zero: New York City’s ability to curb traffic deaths comes almost entirely from its improved record for pedestrians, according to an analysis by Transportation Alternatives, a New York advocacy group. The number of walkers who died decreased from 140 in 2014 to 100 in 2023. In other words, pedestrian deaths decreased by nearly 13% from the start of New York’s program until 2022, while pedestrian fatalities nationally increased by more than 50%.

* Herald-Review | Decatur officials propose reducing fixed bus routes, introduction of ‘micro-transit’: “By reducing the number of fixed bus routes, the city can increase the frequency of fixed route buses that remain, and focus the bus network to serve key north-south and east-west corridors with high population and more commercial activity,” City Manager Scot Wrighton and Transportation Director Lacie Elzy wrote in a memo to the city council.

* WTTW | With Monarch Butterfly Population at Near Record Low, Chicagoans Have Their Marching Orders: Every Milkweed Stem Counts: The 2023-24 count of monarch butterfly colonies wintering in Mexico has left conservationists reeling, after the recently released results of an annual survey showed the species occupies just .9 hectares (or roughly 2.2 acres) of forest — close to a 60% drop from last year and a near record low.

* Sun-Times | White Sox’ Pedro Grifol eyes a second chance to get this managing thing right: Nobody believed in White Sox manager Pedro Grifol more than former general manager Rick Hahn. At spring training last year and right up until the start of the season, Hahn absolutely gushed about Grifol, bragging to everyone that the man he had wanted to replace Tony La Russa was delivering — and then some — on every expectation.

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Wednesday, Feb 14, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

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