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Isabel’s afternoon roundup

Monday, Mar 24, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Capitol News Illinois…

Buildings on Illinois’ college campuses were falling apart when lawmakers approved $2.9 billion for higher education construction as part of the 2019 Rebuild Illinois capital plan. The funding brought hope for long-overdue upgrades, but the slow rollout has left colleges in limbo.

Five years later, half of the 16 promised projects are still tied up in planning. […]

A series of setbacks have stalled progress, including staffing issues at the Capital Development Board, the state’s construction management agency, rising post-pandemic construction costs and local disputes over how to stretch funding that no longer covers what university officials originally planned.

Construction costs shot up nearly 40% by 2023 compared with pre-pandemic levels, according to Associated Builders and Contractors.

“We lost about $30 million in buying power,” said Mark Luer, dean of the College of Pharmacy at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. “We just couldn’t get everything we wanted in the original concept.” […]

Lately, state officials have sought to provide some relief. The Illinois Board of Higher Education’s 2025 budget included $575 million to help schools affected by rising costs see their projects to fruition. For 2026, the board is urging lawmakers to carry over any unspent funds and speed up project approvals to ensure those under Rebuild Illinois are completed within the six-year timeframe, according to IBHE spokesperson Jose Garcia.

* A quick “ComEd Four” update…

* The governor was in Los Angeles yesterday…

* Belleville News-Democrat…

Southern Illinois Health Care Foundation leaders worry they would have to cut services or close clinics and medical centers in the metro-east if Congress slashes billions of dollars from Medicaid, officials said at a news conference Thursday.

SIHF provided care to more than 103,000 people in 2024, including over 60,000 people who receive Medicaid. Touchette Regional, the hospital in SIHF’s system, relies on Medicaid more than any other local hospital. It accounts for 78% of its revenue, according to the most recent data from 2023. […]

Such cuts could have a $5 million to $10 million impact on SIHF’s budget, said President and CEO Larry McCulley.

“How do you cut that? Well, the only thing you can do is close locations, eliminate service lines like dental, obstetrics, end partnerships that raise and lift up future providers. We’re looking at having to close partnerships like our two family medical residencies in Alton and possibly in O’Fallon,” McCulley said during the news conference.

*** Statehouse News ***

* WCIA | Pritzker signs bill protecting nursing home residents from retaliation into law: If a nursing home does retaliate against a resident, they can file a civil lawsuit against them to get damages. “We cannot overlook seniors and residents in care,” Sen. Lakesia Collins (D-Chicago), the law’s Senate sponsor, said. “By enhancing protections, we are giving them the opportunity to fight back against retaliation and equipping them with stronger knowledge about their rights.”

* WAND | Illinois proposal could expand mental health education for teens: Health teachers could be tasked with teaching students about the signs and symptoms of common mental health challenges such as depression, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, and anxiety among others. Rep. Laura Faver Dias (D-Grayslake) told the House Education Policy Committee Thursday that the curriculum could also include promotion of mental health wellness, including social and cultural correctness, problem solving skills, self-esteem, and a positive school and home environment where pupils feel comfortable.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Tribune | Police, Metra stations become focus of Elmhurst mayor race: Mulliner, who was on the City Council for 24 years before losing a bid for re-election in the 7th Ward two years ago, is focusing his campaign on reducing costs for taxpayers and putting off major projects. “I think it’s time right now to fix the things we have,” he told Pioneer. “Let’s try to get these taxes down.” was especially concerned with city water bills. “The water bills are killing people,” he said.

* WTTW | Report Card Slams Budget Mismanagement, Safety Concerns at Fermilab as New Contractor Takes Over: The recent assessment identified several key performance deficiencies by the previous management contractor that was replaced in January at the particle physics and accelerator laboratory in suburban Batavia. The 2024 fiscal year evaluation awarded poor marks for program management, contractor leadership, environment/safety/health, business systems and facilities maintenance, according to documents obtained from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) through a public-records request.

* Daily Southtown | Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau and former Trustee Jim Dodge discuss public works, taxes and morale: Keith Pekau, seeking a third term as Orland Park’s mayor, touts accomplishments under his watch including improving village streets and parks. He is challenged in the April 1 election by Jim Dodge, a former longtime village trustee who has assembled a slate of candidates for trustee seats and village clerk. Dodge said voters are concerned about issues in the Police Department, which he says suffers from low morale. He said the overall tax burden on residents also needs to be addressed.

* Daily Herald | Search for woman in cold case leads Elgin police to Fox River: Elgin police will search the Fox River Monday as part of a cold-case investigation into a woman missing since 1983. Officials announced in a release Sunday they will resume the search for Karen Schepers, a 23-year-old Elgin woman who vanished after attending a party with coworkers at a Carpentersville bar.

* Daily Herald | Judge turns away Prestige’s civil claims against Mount Prospect officials: Last week, attorneys for the animal feed producer tried to add civil rights claims against three village officials. The move could have delayed the start of the trial. But Cook County Judge Thomas More Donnelly rejected the request. In addition, Donnelly turned down Prestige’s bid to remove the City of Des Plaines from the case.

* Daily Herald | Mount Prospect mayoral candidates differ on challenger’s leadership of the chamber of commerce: Chokshi said as chamber board president, she led the organization out of the financial doldrums of the 2010s and put it on sound financial footing. Her opponent, incumbent Mayor Paul Hoefert holds a different view. He cited the chamber’s lawsuit against the chamber co-op that took over the organization’s management and the chamber’s handling of the downtown block party.

*** Downstate ***

* BND | Belleville mayoral race shows split between powerful Democrats in metro-east: The non-partisan Belleville mayoral race has shaped up to be a contentious battle between two well-known and accomplished women backed by two powerful Democrats in the metro-east. St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern (D-Belleville) is supporting incumbent Mayor Patty Gregory. He served as the city’s mayor from 1997 to 2004, when he became board chairman. Illinois State Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Swansea) is supporting Gregory’s challenger, City Clerk Jenny Gain Meyer. He has served as a state legislator off and on for nearly 35 years. His district, the 113th, includes Belleville.

* Herald & Review | State tournament draws 1,000 archers, over 2,500 others to Emerald Acres in Mattoon: Students ages elementary-high school from throughout the state, from the Chicago area to Southern Illinois, competed in the tournament. Yoder said the fieldhouse’s cafe recorded approximately 2,000 purchases that day as it and the adjacent arcade provided additional activities for those in attendance.

* Daily Journal | ‘Monster’ actor leaves Momence with 2 adopted kittens: Hollywood actor Charlie Hunnam is not a monster at all. In fact, it appears he is quite the opposite. Following an extended stay in Momence while filming scenes for the Netflix true-crime series, “Monster,” it turns out much of his free time was spent in the Cat Oasis shelter in downtown Momence.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Letter carriers rally against privatization amid sweeping job cuts at Postal Service: Dozens of letter carriers gathered in Federal Plaza on Sunday afternoon to protest the Trump administration’s threats to the U.S. Postal Service. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy agreed to cut 10,000 jobs from the postal service’s 640,000-person workforce.

* Tribune | Chicago Bears add former Big Ten CFO Laura Anderson to front office: The Chicago Bears hired Laura Anderson to be their senior vice president of administration and chief financial officer, the team announced Monday. Anderson comes to the Bears after seven years at the Big Ten Conference, where she most recently was the chief financial officer and treasurer. Notably, Anderson worked with Bears president and CEO Kevin Warren when he was the Big Ten commissioner from 2020-23. “Laura is a tremendous addition to the Chicago Bears family,” Warren said in a statement. “During our time together at the Big Ten Conference, Laura served as a talented and creative driving force on our executive team, advancing our operations with financial excellence and a passion for collective growth.”

* Block Club | 10 Years After Hunger Strikers Saved Dyett High School, Boys Basketball Team Wins State Title: The hunger strikers are now the team’s biggest fans. Jeannette Taylor, now the area’s alderperson, organized the rally. Irene Robinson, who was hospitalized while participating in the strike, brought water to team practices during the season. Jitu Brown, a longtime activist and now a Chicago School Board member, watched all of the team’s state championship run, played at University of Illinois’ State Farm Center in Champaign.

*** National ***

* AP | 12 dozen lawmakers accused in 8 years. Women in the statehouse weigh #MeToo’s impact: Since 2017, The Associated Press has cataloged at least 147 state lawmakers across 44 states who have been accused of sexual harassment or sexual misconduct. Over a third resigned or were expelled from office and roughly another third faced repercussions, such as losing party or committee leadership positions. A dozen top state executive officials, including governors and attorneys general, also faced sexual misconduct allegations during that time, and most resigned.

* WBEZ | Bird flu is killing Indiana’s sandhill cranes: Fish Lake isn’t the only place sandhill cranes have been dying: Some 30 of Indiana’s 92 counties have reported sandhill crane deaths, including Lake and Porter counties, those closest to Chicago. The Department of Natural Resources estimates that more than 2,700 sandhills have died across the state, and officials believe that is likely an undercount.

* WaPo | Delete your DNA from 23andMe right now: The company said there will be “no changes” to the way it protects consumer data while in bankruptcy court. But unless you take action, there is a risk your genetic information could end up in someone else’s hands — and used in ways you had never considered. It took me just a minute to delete my data on the 23andMe website. […] There’s also a risk that your data could get sold or transferred to a new company, which might want to use it for new purposes. The privacy statement of 23andMe seems to treat your data as a company asset that’s on the table like anything else. It reads: “If we are involved in a bankruptcy, merger, acquisition, reorganization, or sale of assets, your Personal Information may be accessed, sold or transferred as part of that transaction.”

  8 Comments      


Question of the day

Monday, Mar 24, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From a Sun-Times piece entitled “No more editorials at the Sun-Times, but letters, op-eds and columns will continue”…

For more than 75 years, the Sun-Times Editorial Board has been an important voice in Chicago, advocating for the well-being of our city, holding the powerful to account and helping readers understand and navigate the complexities of the news.

We are grateful to Lorraine Forte for serving as editorial board editor since 2018. Forte, along with longtime board member Tom Frisbie and editor/writer Marlen Garcia, have strengthened Chicago with their collective positions on some of our most pressing issues. All recently accepted voluntary buyouts.

As a nonprofit media company, this is an important opportunity for the people of Chicago to become more the voice of Chicago. Beginning today, the Sun-Times will no longer offer editorials. We will, however, continue to publish Letters to the Editor, which we receive in abundance every week and run in print and online. We will also continue to publish op-eds and guest columns from community members, leaders and scholars.

In addition, we are committed to providing our own journalists, including Rummana Hussain, Neil Steinberg, Lee Bey and Alden Loury, space to write from their personal experiences, points of view and subject matter expertise. Natalie Moore’s monthly column will continue as well. […]

This change does not mean we are retreating from public dialogue or silencing debate. Rather, we’re acknowledging that the voices we need to uplift in Chicago are the voices of the people.

* The Question: Do you agree with this decision? Please explain your answer in comments. Thanks.

  25 Comments      


Pritzker challenges LaHood to defend Medicaid to his constituents

Monday, Mar 24, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* March 6…

An analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office that was sent to lawmakers this week showed that budget goals outlined in a House GOP plan could not be reached without reducing spending on Medicaid, clashing with commitments from Republicans not to cut the popular entitlement program.

The CBO’s letter is here.

* US Rep. Darin LaHood was interviewed by WCBU Radio last week…

Q: What’s your position on the potential cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, things of that nature?

LaHood: Well, no one has talked about cutting Social Security. The President said just the opposite, that he’s not going to cut Social Security or Medicare. So that’s a political issue that people are trying to use, but I’m not supportive of that.

* The governor held a “Save Medicaid” event in Peoria last week. From a question during his resulting press conference…

Q: This morning, Congressman LaHood said on the radio that any talk about destruction of Medicare or Medicaid was just a political ploy and that none of these programs would be cut. So, what would you say to the congressman if he was here?

Pritzker: Well, if he were here, I would love to hear him say that to everybody here, constituents of his, but apparently he’s unwilling to say it to your face. He’ll maybe say it to a camera here or there, and then when his colleagues vote to take funding away from Medicaid, what will he say then. What will he say then? I think he’ll say, ‘Well, this was the will of the Congress and the majority,’ right? But listen, great, stand up for Medicaid. But have you heard him stand up for Medicaid? No.

So I suspect that he is not giving you the whole truth, and that, in fact, what he’s saying is, ‘Well, we’re going to preserve Medicaid, but we’re going to take away,’ because this is what they’ve talked about, take away the Obamacare, Affordable Care Act piece of Medicaid, which is about coverage for about 800,000 people in the state of Illinois, and it takes away about $8 billion of funding for that program. And he will say, ‘I preserved Medicaid. See, the other part of Medicaid is just fine.’

But what about the 800,000 people? And by the way, many of those are senior citizens who are in nursing homes. Where are they going to go? Where are they going to go? And and people who, you know, single people who desperately need coverage. I bet Jesse may be one of them. I’m saying people who are sick, who are single, who are covered by this program, will lose health care coverage. So what is he going to do to make sure that they continue to get health care coverage? And again, his unwillingness to show up here kind of tells the story.

LaHood was asked about Medicaid, but didn’t actually mention Medicaid in his response, but Pritzker didn’t know that.

* Related…

    * Capitol News Illinois | Durbin, Pritzker put pressure on Republicans to oppose cuts to key programs: Illinois covers about half of Medicaid costs for about 3.4 million people, or 1 in 4 residents, under the traditional program. Medicaid eligibility was expanded in 2010 by the Affordable Care Act to include more adults at higher income levels. Approximately 770,000 people in Illinois are covered under the expansion and the federal government pays 90% of the cost for that group. If Congress severely reduced that program, the state wouldn’t be able to make up the billions of dollars the federal government sends Illinois each year to cover the program, Gov. JB Pritzker said at a news conference Friday in Peoria. “I believe that blood will be on their hands,” Pritzker said of Trump and Republicans. “People will lose their lives as a result of what they’re trying to do right now.”

    * Sun-Times | Health coverage for Chicago area immigrants jeopardized in Gov. Pritzker’s budget proposal: Raymundo Ruiz, 53, of Melrose Park, worries his medical condition could worsen if he loses his health insurance through HBIA. He was diagnosed with Parkison’s disease about four years ago after a doctor noticed his hands wouldn’t stop shaking. “It would be fatal for me because with just one hour that I miss my medications, my hands start to shake and I get very tense,” Ruiz said in Spanish. “I can’t do anything. It would affect me a lot.”

  19 Comments      


Illinois Must Keep Our Kids Safe Online

Monday, Mar 24, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

The digital realm, designed to connect and empower, has become dangerous for our children. 80% of children in 25 countries report feeling in danger of sexual abuse or exploitation online. (United Nations). Bark processed 7.9 billion online activities in 2024 and found that 63% of tweens and 77% of teens encountered potentially harmful sexual content. We stand at a crossroads: either we shield our youth from the digital predators and harmful content that prey on their innocence, or we surrender them to a future where their very tools become their tormentors. Current age verification methods, reliant on app or website-level checks, are woefully inadequate. They are easily bypassed, leaving children exposed to predators and harmful content. This vulnerability necessitates a paradigm shift. Device-based age verification, as proposed in Illinois’ HB3304(Gong-Gershowitz)/SB2047 (Preston) offers a robust solution. This measure mandates age verification at the device level, effectively restricting access to inappropriate content while preserving user privacy. The time to act is now.

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What happened in Neoga?

Monday, Mar 24, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Some commenters complained on here last week that the governor hasn’t visited Neoga after its tornado earlier this month. So, I reached out to IEMA to see what the state has been doing…

On March 14, 2025, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security (IEMA-OHS) responded in support of the severe weather/tornado in Neoga (Cumberland County).

At 0300, the IEMA-OHS Regional Coordinator contacted the Cumberland County EMA Coordinator to assess life safety concerns and address urgent needs after reports of damage in Neoga. None were identified. A follow up phone call at 0700 offering up more assistance from the IEMA-OHS Regional Coordinator to the Cumberland County EMA Coordinator.

IEMA-OHS Region 7 coordinated mutual aid efforts with trailers from Cumberland County Fire Departments to secure valuable items in the damaged Neoga school buildings.

At daybreak, Cumberland County EMA conducted windshield surveys, confirming damage was limited to the school and four residential properties. After discussions with the IEMA-OHS Regional Coordinator and IEMA-OHS Regional Recovery Liaison, the Cumberland County EMA Coordinator opted against a formal damage assessment.

The IEMA-OHS Recovery Chief contacted the Cumberland County EMA to discuss alternative options beyond IEMA-OHS programs.

The City of Neoga did not declare a citywide disaster.

Cumberland County did not declare a countywide disaster.

Ongoing, IEMA-OHS Operations and Recovery Divisions offered ongoing support for any unmet storm-related needs in Cumberland County.

At this time, there are no outstanding needs or assistance requests reported.

Discuss.

  11 Comments      


It’s just a bill

Monday, Mar 24, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Sen. Sue Rezin, Illinois Manufacturers’ Association President Mark Denzler and President of Operating Engineers Local 150 James Sweeney…

The United States has long been a leader in nuclear energy, with 94 reactors generating 102 gigawatts across 28 states. Illinois plays a pivotal role, home to six nuclear facilities producing nearly half the state’s electricity. Nuclear power has ensured reliable, carbon-free energy, keeping costs manageable while supporting thousands of high-paying jobs. However, outdated policies are preventing Illinois from embracing the next generation of nuclear technology.

Senate Bill 1527 will remove unnecessary restrictions and allow Illinois to advance new nuclear projects. As other states and nations invest in nuclear power, Illinois cannot afford to be left behind. […]

Illinois still has an outdated law barring the construction of new nuclear reactors over 300 megawatts until the federal government approves a permanent disposal solution for high-level nuclear waste. While responsible waste management is essential, this restriction is outdated. Federal regulations already ensure safe storage, and modern technology has improved waste handling. Meanwhile, states like Georgia, Tennessee, and Wyoming are advancing nuclear projects while Illinois remains stuck in the past.

It is time to lift this restriction and enable large-scale nuclear projects. This builds on the successful effort to end the moratorium on small modular reactors (SMRs), which are a promising step forward for our energy future but cannot meet Illinois’ full energy demands alone. We need every tool available to maintain grid reliability and economic stability.

SB1527’s committee deadline was extended to April 4.

* WISH…

The idea of having parts of Illinois join Indiana has hit a roadblock.

The sponsor of Illinois House Bill 1500, the counterpart to Indiana’s boundary adjustment commission bill, says the measure has died because it did not meet Friday’s deadline for bills to pass out of committee.

Indiana House Bill 1008 sets up a commission to investigate the possibility of changing Indiana’s boundary with Illinois. It passed the House in February. House Speaker Todd Huston, of Fishers, says he’s continuing to pursue the measure.

In order for the commission to be set up, Illinois would have had to pass its own companion legislation. Illinois HB 1500, sponsored by state Rep. Brad Halbrook, R-Shelbyville, would have been that companion legislation.

* WAND…

State lawmakers are one step closer to removing toxic heavy metals from baby food.

Sen. Laura Fine (D-Glenview) wants to ban people from selling, distributing or offering baby food in Illinois that contains arsenic, cadmium, lead, or mercury. Her bill could require baby food manufacturers to test their products for each toxic heavy metal on a monthly basis.

Companies would also have to tell consumers the name and level of each metal present in the baby food and link to the FDA’s website with information about health risks for children. Manufacturers would be required to include a QR code for people to scan and find information about their heavy metal testing as well. […]

Senate Bill 73 passed unanimously out of the Senate Public Health Committee Wednesday. Senators could vote on the legislation when they return to Springfield next month.

* Sen. Cristina Castro…

Over 20 million pounds of plastic enter the Great Lakes and Chicago-area waterways annually, the majority being single-use plastics with an average use of just a few short minutes. Once in the water, plastic breaks down into smaller pieces known as microplastics — toxic particles that make their way into drinking water, harm animal life and contribute to environmental degradation.

To tackle excessive plastic pollution and safeguard Illinois’ natural resources, State Senator Cristina Castro is working with consumers, businesses and environmental experts to pass legislation to cut down on single-use plastic bags. […]

The Public Interest Research Group estimates Illinois could save approximately 3.7 billion single-use plastic bags from being used each year by restricting the sale of these items. This would mean fewer microplastics entering local rivers and streams, less plastic litter in streets, parks and highways, and fewer toxic chemicals being ingested by Illinois families. […]

Castro’s proposal seeks to prevent large and mid-size retailers from offering single-use plastic checkout bags to customers, but would allow them to offer recycled paper bags as an alternative. Municipalities in Illinois with current plastic bag taxes would not be able to continue charging working families for plastic bags but rather would also have to eliminate their use. Recognizing the potential impact on small businesses, it would exclude restaurants, gas stations under 5,000 square feet in size, and small independent retailers with fewer than 12 locations within Illinois.

Senate Bill 1872 passed the Senate Environment and Conservation Committee Thursday.

* G-PAC…

The Gun Violence Prevention PAC (G-PAC) of Illinois, the state’s leading gun violence prevention organization, today called on Illinois leaders to pass Safe At Home legislation to strengthen safe gun storage laws following this week’s tragic accidental shooting in the South Shore neighborhood that claimed the life of an 8-year-old boy and injured his 5-year-old brother.

Since the Thursday shooting, police have reportedly confirmed the horrific shooting stemmed from the two boys accessing a loaded weapon left unattended in their home.

The proposed Safe At Home legislation in the General Assembly this spring would enhance what it means to safely store weapons and also strengthen reporting requirements for lost and stolen guns. Working together, these safety measures will protect more families from deadly tragedies in their homes and communities.

“The alarming reality is that one in three children lives in a home with a gun, and with this level of gun ownership in our society, too many tragedies unfold when guns get into the hands of children and other vulnerable people,” said Kathleen Sances, President and CEO of G-PAC. “This shooting joins a long list of incidents where unsecured firearms have caused unintentional shootings, suicide, mass shootings, and crime in our communities. We can and must do more to strengthen Illinois law to keep our communities safe and save lives.”

Safe At Home was introduced earlier this session as Senate Bill 8 and House Bill 3688 and is sponsored by Sens. Laura Ellman and Ram Villivalam and Reps. Maura Hirschauer and Kevin Olickal. […]

Provisions of Safe At Home include:

    - Outlines improved safe storage requirements in homes where a minor, at-risk person, or someone prohibited from using firearms could gain access to them.
    - Changes definition of “minor” to a person under 18 years of age (military and national guard excluded).
    - Adds civil penalties associated with the failure to safely secure firearms; at first violation, courts may impose community service or restitution.
    - Strengthens requirement for reporting a lost or stolen firearm from 72 to 48 hours after the owner first discovers the loss or theft.
    - Requires education for gun owners of the obligation to report a lost or stolen firearm at the time of firearm purchase and FOID/CCL application and renewal process.
    - Requires ISP to create a portal for law enforcement to report individuals who have failed to report the loss or theft of a firearm.
    - Imposes penalty of revocation of FOID card on second violation for failure to report lost and stolen firearms.

* Sen. Sara Feigenholtz…

Amid a nationwide rise in pedestrian fatalities, State Senator Sara Feigenholtz is continuing her efforts to streamline and expedite key transportation safety solutions in Chicago.

“When a pedestrian fatality is studied, improved collaboration between government entities leads to solutions,” said Feigenholtz (D-Chicago). “Pedestrian safety must be prioritized at every street and every intersection.”

In January 2023, IDOT entered into a Memorandum of Understanding agreement with the Chicago Department of Transportation in an effort to strengthen collaboration and streamline the review process for safety improvements on local streets and state routes. The MOU was in part sparked by a request from Feigenholtz that the departments conduct a traffic study after a pedestrian was killed in the 6th Senate District.

Senate Bill 1559 aims to formalize portions of the MOU by requiring that completed safety studies be on the agenda when IDOT and CDOT meet to discuss traffic and pedestrian fatalities. […]

Senate Bill 1559 passed the Senate Transportation Committee on Tuesday.

* Illinois Blockchain Association Executive Director Nelson Rosario in Crain’s…

In the Web3 and blockchain space, Illinois’ leadership is undisputed, with more than 320 startups operating in this space, earning $1.5 billion in venture-capital investment since this technology emerged. One-third of the top public companies headquartered in Illinois already have (or are actively making) significant investments in Web3 and blockchain technology. And the state has already secured more than $7 million in grants to advance digital assets research in our top academic institutions.

Now is the time to build on that leadership, and we can only do that through purpose-built blockchain regulation that clarifies rules of the road, enhances protections for consumers and incentivizes innovation and job creation in Illinois.

Unfortunately, a new proposal in the General Assembly would have a chilling effect on Illinois’ blockchain leadership, both now and in the future. Senate Bill 1797, the Digital Assets & Consumer Protection Act, attempts to establish a state regulatory framework for all entities innovating in digital assets, from established corporations to bourgeoning startups and entrepreneurs. Though well intentioned, the bill sweeps far too broadly and contains a number of structural flaws that would drive innovation out of our state.

Among other things, the act would establish a state-level licensing regime for anyone operating in blockchain and digital assets. Modeled off New York State’s BitLicense, the legislation would impose a burdensome, costly registration process for all players — startups, entrepreneurs, institutions and individuals — innovating in blockchain. The license, which could cost as much as $100,000 and take hundreds of hours to attain, would halt blockchain innovation in its tracks. Perhaps most disturbing, it would serve as a gatekeeper, limiting participation in blockchain innovation to well-funded, legacy corporations that have the time and bandwidth to navigate licensure.

SB1797, sponsored by Sen. Mark Walker, received April 4 deadline extension to advance out of committee.

* Daily Herald…

Lake Forest Democratic state Sen. Julie Morrison’s bill requiring seat belts in new school buses passed the Senate Transportation Committee Tuesday.

The legislation now heads to the Senate for a full vote. The National Transportation Safety Board has said while school buses are among the safest vehicles on the road, seat belts are critical for preventing injuries and deaths in crashes.

  20 Comments      


AG Raoul has had a busy 2025 - and it’s only March

Monday, Mar 24, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From the attorney general’s office last week…

Hi, Rich.

Saw your post yesterday about the work Attorney General Raoul’s office has been doing over the last several weeks to fight unlawful federal policies. If you need more information, the below is a fairly full list of actions we have announced since Jan. 20. Let me know if you have questions about any of the cases/actions.

LITIGATION:

STATEMENTS:

OTHER:

  3 Comments      


Misguided Insurance Regulation Proposals Could Increase Premiums For The Majority Of Illinoisans

Monday, Mar 24, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Several bills proposed this legislative session seek to ban certain factors that insurance companies use to set fair and accurate insurance pricing for customers. The bills would ban the use of credit-based insurance scores, zip codes, age, and gender in insurance pricing.

An op-ed published recently in the Chicago Tribune explains why such bans could cause insurance rates to rise for the majority of consumers.

Case in point: When the use of credit was banned in Washington in 2021, more than 60 percent of Washington drivers saw an increase in their insurance premiums. Should similar legislation pass in Illinois, the majority of Illinoisians with better-than-average credit could see premium increases.

With stubbornly high inflation and high property taxes, now is not the time to pass bills that could end up hiking insurance premiums for most Illinoisans.

Click here to learn more.

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Pritzker stiffed on two big issues

Monday, Mar 24, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…

Two major proposals backed by Gov. JB Pritzker did not advance out of legislative committees before last week’s passage deadline.

Sen. Suzy Glowiak Hilton confirmed that she won’t be advancing her legislation supported by the governor that would dissolve townships with populations below 5,000 (SB2217), and eventually abolish townships with populations below 50,000 and lower the petition threshold to 5% from 10% to put a township abolition on the ballot.

“We’re still having conversations,” the Western Springs Democrat said. Pritzker did not highlight the proposals during his State of the State address, but they were included in his budget book. Township officials throughout the state have bombarded legislators with their negative opinions of the legislation.

But Pritzker took a much bigger hit last week.

The governor has trumpeted his plan to allow community colleges to offer four-year baccalaureate degrees during his State of the State address, on numerous national TV programs, big-time podcasts and a tour of the state.

Well, that proposal (HB3717) was not called for a vote in the House Higher Education Committee last week after fierce opposition from four-year universities, as one top Pritzker administration official and some Pritzker allies hovered outside the hearing room for hours.

The chair of that committee, Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, did her best to downplay the significance of the committee’s refusal to take up the bill, saying, “I think that there’s a way that we can make sure that this is very narrowly tailored to meet what’s not being met with the four-year institutions.”

Stuart, a member of House Democratic leadership, also said the legislation as written could “collapse” the student base of minority serving institutions like Chicago State and Northeastern Illinois University.

It’s routine during committee passage deadline week to advance bills to the floor that need more work, with the promise to not move the bills until all issues are worked out. That committee courtesy is routinely given to even the lowliest of legislators.

The indignity of denying that routine courtesy was heaped upon unpopular, ineffectual governors in previous years. But Pritzker is a popular billionaire governor with perceived national ambitions. Yes, he’s trying to accomplish a very difficult task of passing bills that have failed in years past, but not getting his legislation to the floor during crunch week is quite the rebuke.

So, what the heck is going on? On a basic level, several sitting legislators previously served in township government. Many others are strong political allies of township officials. And others believe that townships deliver services at lower costs than counties. The townships have successfully fended off efforts to get rid of them for decades, so they have a tried and true oppositional playbook.

As far as the community colleges are concerned, the universities years ago successfully fended off an attempt by then-Sen. Andy Manar to allow community colleges to offer four-year degrees in nursing. Manar is now Pritzker’s deputy governor.

The Higher Education Committee is filled with members who have universities in their districts, which is mainly why they serve on that committee. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is in Chairperson Stuart’s district, after all.

But these Pritzker defeats seem like much more than that, and they come just a couple of months after House Speaker Chris Welch refused to advance a Pritzker-supported bill to regulate the wide-open intoxicating hemp industry.

The governor’s office downplayed the significance of the setbacks, saying there was still plenty of time to pass something before adjournment. But they clearly made a strong late push to get the community college bill to the House floor. They insisted they had enough votes to pass the bill, but those alleged proponents didn’t lift a finger to pressure the committee chair to advance the legislation.

The hearing finally ended shortly after what I’m told was a tense meeting between the governor’s chief of staff and the House speaker’s chief of staff, during which the speaker’s chief urged the governor’s chief to convince her boss to lay out his priorities to Welch, which, of course, the governor already did during his State of the State and budget address. Welch’s chief was told that this move was not helpful, to say the least.

What the universities did was pure gangsta. They clearly out-muscled the governor. Pritzker may not like it, but the universities showed that the negotiations would be on their terms, at least in the House, unless the governor can convince them to back down.

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Open thread

Monday, Mar 24, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Isabel took a photo of me as we walked to dinner the other night…

What’s up by you?

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Isabel’s morning briefing

Monday, Mar 24, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: Pritzker vetos Amazon warehouse worker quota law. Bloomberg…

    - Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) vetoed a bill Friday that would have limited the ability of Amazon.com Inc. and other large warehouse operators to impose fast-paced work-speed or productivity quotas on employees.
    - “The bill is vetoed because it presents legal and operation issues. The definition of who is covered by the law is unclear, there is no procedure to ensure due process in the enforcement of the provisions, and while the bill calls for civil penalties and damages, it does not set out a clear, comprehensive scheme for these penalties or damages.”
    - The Illinois bill’s supporters attributed Amazon’s track record of warehouse worker injuries to the high-speed expectations it sets for employees. Amazon, however, says its injury rates have declined since 2019 and describes its performance metrics as flexible, multi-factor targets, not strict quotas.

* Related stories…

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Crain’s | Johnson hires former Ald. John Arena as Springfield liaison: Former Northwest Side Ald. John Arena will join the administration March 24 with little runway to deliver on Johnson’s priorities with the General Assembly’s spring session already well underway. […] He would not “get in the weeds” of Johnson’s near-term legislative priorities, but said they’re focused on new revenue streams and a greater share of existing revenue sharing agreements. “We’re really going to have to see what’s in the world of the possible,” he said. “Chicago is a player in producing revenue, and it also needs revenue back from the state.”

* Daily Herald Editorial Board | Harsh realities of transit: Agencies again offer grim picture of impending crisis — but little else: The crisis facing the transit agencies is real. And the “harsh realities” — to quote RTA Executive Director Leanne Redden on Wednesday — it may impose are ominous indeed. Effective, safe, comfortable, efficient public transportation is a major attribute to the quality of life in Chicago and the suburbs. But a billion and a half bucks is a harsh reality, too. Metra Executive Director Jim Derwinski said Wednesday that “it’s all going to depend on what the legislature does … in the next 75 days.” But maybe not all. So far, the transit agencies have been eminently capable of showing what will happen if they don’t get a huge financial shot in the arm from the state. As Moylan suggested, it would be more encouraging — and it’s long past time — to hear from them what they’re going to contribute to the solution.

*** Statehouse News ***

* AP | Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker tries to chart a path for national Democrats to counter Trump: Pritzker, a billionaire heir to the Hyatt hotel empire, may seem like an unlikely champion for working-class people affected by the Trump administration. But he’s taken aim at President Donald Trump’s potential tax cuts, while backing universal health care and a higher federal minimum wage. The governor used a statewide tour this past week to present a path forward for national Democrats struggling to unify around a strategy to counter the Republican president, highlighting the effects of Trump’s early actions in Illinois. The three-day swing included meeting with farmers in a central Illinois barn to discuss agriculture and with older adults in suburban Chicago who are concerned about Social Security cuts.

* FYI…

* Tribune | Amid Donald Trump 2.0, Gov. JB Pritzker ponders running for third term and his national ambitions: Running for another term as governor also would provide Pritzker a dual track toward a presumptive look at a White House bid. And a victory in the sixth-largest state would continue to provide him a credible, high-profile platform from which to assail the actions of the Trump administration nationally in the run-up to the 2028 presidential election.

* Sun-Times | Health coverage for Chicago area immigrants jeopardized in Gov. Pritzker’s budget proposal: Once held up by Democrats statewide as a beacon of progressive governance protecting some of Illinois’ most vulnerable residents, the Health Benefits for Immigrant Adults program has been put on the chopping block by the governor due to ballooning costs in the face of a massive overall budget shortfall. […] “These are people who are doing hard labor, working outside, who are working in cleaning or in construction industries, who were told that they were essential workers during COVID. And these are the people to whom we’re saying, ‘You can’t have health care now,’” said state Sen. Karina Villa, D-West Chicago.

*** Downstate ***

* Pantagraph | In 2021, Illinois created the Mahomet Aquifer Council. It has never met: Illinois Environmental Protection Agency spokesperson Kim Biggs confirmed to Lee Enterprises that the council has never convened “due to lack of a quorum of members to meet.” Just 13 people have been appointed to the 25-member group, meaning that, in its current state, one member not being available would deny the council the necessary attendance to meet. […] Pritzker has made only 11 of his required appointments and the IEPA slot is vacant. In a statement to Lee Enterprises, Pritzker spokesman Alex Gough said that “the administration is working to identify candidates for this council.”

* First Alert 4 | Tensions run high as Illinois Rep. Mike Bost hosts meeting on solar and constituents demand answers: When First Alert 4 entered the meeting room in New Athens, Illinois, folks were already screaming at Rep. Mike Bost, (R-Illinois), about a number of recent developments in farming and at the national level. had originally called the meeting to discuss his proposals for solar energy-focused bills that would affect solar panel installation on farmland, something he says needs oversight. […] Meeting attendees talked about everything from veteran’s issues to the Veteran’s Affairs layoffs in recent weeks; others talked about transgender rights; others demanded answers about why farming was being impacted by tariffs.

* WGLT | School sales tax referendum top of mind at NAACP candidate forum: District 87 Superintendent David Mouser and Unit 5 Superintendent Kristen Weikle spoke about what will happen if voters pass the referendum. The countywide sales tax, which a majority of Illinois counties have adopted, would add a 1% sales tax on goods such as retail products, gasoline, and online purchases. The revenue could be used for school facility improvements, as well as school safety and security, mental health support and other areas.

* Tribune | Efforts underway to restore crumbling site where Abraham Lincoln began his political rise: Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site has fallen into disrepair as the tab for deferred maintenance on properties managed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources has grown to an estimated $1 billion statewide, according to IDNR spokesperson Jayette Bolinski. In recent years, the roofs of two structures have caved in. The grist mill, where townspeople would grind wheat into flour, is closed, with boards across the entryway. There are holes in the wooden entrance ramp, and the mill’s drive shaft, which powered the structure, has been inoperable since a 2016 flood.

* PJ Star | Lawsuit sheds light on alleged co-conspirator in WTVP embezzlement scheme: The lawsuit says WTVP first discovered the embezzlement on or around Sept. 13, 2023. Matuszak resigned from her role as CEO on Sept. 27, 2023, and then died by suicide in her home the next day. WTVP’s board of directors alleged Matuszak and McLaughlin had engaged in “improper, unauthorized, or questionable” spending, the Journal Star reported in December 2023. The allegations led to investigations by local police and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office. Eleven WTVP board members would ultimately resign from their roles in January 2024.

* WCIA | Illini women win first NCAA Tournament game since 2000: Eight-seed Illinois defeated nine-seed Creighton 66-57 in the opening round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. The win marked Illinois’s first tournament win since the 2000 tournament, exiting in the first game in both 2003 and 2023. The Illini staved off a late run by Creighton to advance to the second round. Genesis Bryant led the team with 17 points, with Kendall Bostic breaking a program rebound record in the tournament with 17 boards.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Lawsuit is long over, but Des Plaines clerk still upset about city’s relationship with credit union: Nearly two years after Des Plaines City Clerk Jessica Mastalski settled her lawsuit against the city-connected credit union where she once worked and the city, she again is arguing issues at the core of the case — but this time in the court of public opinion. Mastalski spent two minutes during last week’s city council meeting talking about the breach-of-contract lawsuit and questioning the financial relationship between the city and the city hall-based Northwest Municipal Federal Credit Union.

* Tribune | Landing a data center is worth the environmental tradeoffs, Illinois towns say: The Minooka data center would take up to 340 acres, or slightly more than Chicago’s Grant Park. It would need 3 million gallons of water a day. That’s a third of all the drinkable water Minooka will be allowed to draw from a $1.54 billion pipeline it’s building with five other towns to access Lake Michigan water through Chicago. It would need a 700-megawatt supply of electricity, enough for half of Chicago’s households. For Ric Offerman, Minooka’s mayor, these are inescapable environmental tradeoffs to secure a multibillion-dollar investment from Equinix, Inc., a Redwood City, California-based company that operates 260 data centers in 33 countries.

* Fox Chicago | Bellwood mayor faces criticism over campaign billboard powered by village electricity: Bellwood Village Clerk Janel Moreland said she began receiving calls from angry taxpayers Wednesday about a giant mobile electronic billboard taking up two spaces in the Village Hall parking lot. The billboard urged residents to vote for her opponent, longtime Mayor Andre Harvey, and his slate of trustees. A long extension cord running from the truck through the parking lot was plugged into Village of Bellwood power.

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | CTA paid for vehicles used to commute to and from work, recently released documents show: The CTA spent more than $26,000 in 2023 and 2024 on three vehicles used by top officials at the public transit agency. In at least some instances, the vehicles were used more for commuting to and from work than for business purposes. That was the case for an SUV used by former CTA President Dorval Carter, who reported about four times as many miles commuting as he did for business purposes during the months for which data was available, documents recently made public show.

* Excited to see what’s next for Amanda…

* Chalkbeat Chicago | Seven Chicago school board members say they oppose reimbursing city for disputed pension payment: The declaration from the seven members — in a letter obtained by Chalkbeat and sent to board President Sean Harden on Saturday — means the city does not have enough support from the Board of Education to get the $175 million it is seeking from Chicago Public Schools. Reimbursing the city would require a vote from the board to amend CPS’s budget, and such an amendment needs two-thirds approval — or 14 yes votes — from the 21-member board.

* NPR | What happens when a Chicago children’s hospital bows to pressure to stop gender-affirming care: In the flurry of executive orders issued by President Trump, there was one targeting hospitals that provide gender-affirming care for young people. In response, many of the hospitals have stopped or pulled back on certain treatments. That includes Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago. Kristen Schorsch, at member station WBEZ, has been tracking the ripple effects on patients and their families.

* Tribune | At state job fair, DOGE cuts hit home for federal workers: The USAID employee traveled to Chicago from Washington, D.C., for the job fair. Like almost all the employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development dismantled by billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, he is on paid administrative leave. “I don’t think there’s any way my job’s coming back,” the federal worker said in the bustling conference room at Malcolm X College in Chicago on Thursday.

* Sun-Times | Long COVID patients turn to Chicago rehabiltation hospital for help: Doctors are worried about how to provide care for Gingerich and other long COVID patients as many are experiencing life-altering symptoms. Experts at Chicago’s Shirley Ryan AbilityLab hope their comprehensive approach can provide solace to the invisible toll long COVID has on their patients. In 2021, the AbilityLab opened an outpatient COVID Rehabilitation Unit to care for patients with long COVID, most of whom never required inpatient care for the initial infection.

* Sun-Times | ‘Secret History of the Rape Kit’ reveals past, future: We remember feminism of the 1970s without also recalling exactly what women were being militant about: their voices being muffled, their power minimized, their issues ignored. Pagan Kennedy’s new book, “The Secret History of the Rape Kit: A True Crime Story,” is a disturbing journey back to the bad old days of Chicago a half century ago. And maybe, the way we’re going, a glimpse into our future, too.

* WTTW | Sewage Overflows Into the Chicago River Are Rare, But New Warning System Will Alert Paddlers and Other Users When to Steer Clear: The concern is that if an overflow occurs during a heavy storm at, say, 10 p.m., the next morning a kayaker could head out under sunny skies and be completely unaware that untreated wastewater has entered the river, said John Quail, director of policy and conservation for Friends of the Chicago River. A new notification system is being proposed at boat launch sites that would alert people to overflow events, warning them to avoid contact with the water. Development of this notification system is one of the requirements included in a permit issued to the city by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency in 2024.

*** National ***

* CNN | How Gamergate foreshadowed the toxic hellscape that the internet has now become: Gamergate was one of the earliest indications that what happened online could have major implications offline — and that a few people who understood the mechanics of the internet could manipulate it to advance a nefarious agenda. Those who experienced the harassment firsthand warned that if not taken seriously, the behaviors underlying Gamergate would fester.

* WaPo | Growing weed takes more energy than mining bitcoin. Can it go green?: What he found — after interviewing grow-light sellers, reading trade journals and equipment manuals, poring over crop-yields analyses and case studies of growers’ energy use, and scouring law enforcement reports — is that together, legal and illegal cannabis growers use about 1 percent of all American energy. That’s more than cryptocurrency mining or all other crops combined, according to a paper Mills published in February, an update to his original 2012 study.

* Tribune | Elon Musk and Gov. JB Pritzker among billionaires spending in pivotal Wisconsin Supreme Court race: Musk, who has taken his metaphorical chain saw to the federal government and lashed out at judges who’ve blocked the president’s swift moves, is far from alone in funneling money from outside Wisconsin into an officially nonpartisan state Supreme Court election. Liberal financier George Soros has given $1 million to the Wisconsin Democratic Party ahead of the April voting, and billionaire Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker — who previously signed a state law banning out-of-state campaign contributions to Illinois judicial candidates — gave the Wisconsin Democrats $500,000 in January.

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition and one other thing

Monday, Mar 24, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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

Monday, Mar 24, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Selected press releases (Live updates)

Monday, Mar 24, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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Live coverage

Monday, Mar 24, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Click here and/or here to follow breaking news. Hopefully, enough reporters and news outlets migrate to BlueSky so we can hopefully resume live-posting.

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Reader comments closed for the weekend

Friday, Mar 21, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Sarah Jarosz…

When you sing your song
Does it make you feel brand new?

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Your moment of zen

Friday, Mar 21, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* It’s been a week, so here’s Oscar…

  14 Comments      


Misguided Insurance Regulation Proposals Could Increase Premiums For The Majority Of Illinoisans

Friday, Mar 21, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Several bills proposed this legislative session seek to ban certain factors that insurance companies use to set fair and accurate insurance pricing for customers. The bills would ban the use of credit-based insurance scores, zip codes, age, and gender in insurance pricing.

An op-ed published recently in the Chicago Tribune explains why such bans could cause insurance rates to rise for the majority of consumers.

Case in point: When the use of credit was banned in Washington in 2021, more than 60 percent of Washington drivers saw an increase in their insurance premiums. Should similar legislation pass in Illinois, the majority of Illinoisians with better-than-average credit could see premium increases.

With stubbornly high inflation and high property taxes, now is not the time to pass bills that could end up hiking insurance premiums for most Illinoisans.

Click here to learn more.

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Isabel’s afternoon roundup

Friday, Mar 21, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* From a reader: “The mayor’s race up here in Bloomington is getting fun to watch. Cody Hendricks has now done 3 negative Dan Brady/Trump pieces”…




* NBC Chicago…

As President Donald Trump penned an executive order dismembering the U.S. Department of Education, two different scenes were playing out in Chicago.

The national president of the American Federation of Teachers angrily pledged to take the Trump administration to court-suing for Thursday’s breakup of the Education Department.

But as the union leader spoke, the drastic White House move was visibly underway in Chicago. On the 37th floor of the Kluczynski Federal Building, work at the Office for Civil Rights was winding down. NBC Chicago found a shredding bin parked outside the main door and rolling trash containers at the ready for a Friday final day.

NBC 5 Investigates also found more than 900 civil rights complaints concerning school districts, colleges and universities throughout Illinois and five other midwestern states currently listed as “active investigations” underway.

Those complaints represent scores of allegations of racial and sexual harassment, sexual violence, disability and age discrimination.

* Press release…

Over-the-year, the unemployment rate decreased in eleven metro areas and increased in one for the year ending January 2025, according to data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Illinois Department of Employment Security (DES). Over-the-year, total nonfarm jobs increased in six metropolitan areas, decreased in five, and was unchanged in one. […]

The metro areas which had the largest over-the-year percentage increases in total nonfarm jobs were the Elgin Metro Division (+2.2%, +6,200), the Peoria MSA (+1.8%, +3,000), and the Rockford MSA (+1.5%, +2,200). Total nonfarm jobs in the Chicago-Naperville-Schaumburg Metro Division were up +19,000 (+0.5%). The metro areas which posted the largest over-the-year decreases in total nonfarm jobs were the Illinois section of the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island IA-IL MSA (-1.1%, -1,000), the Champaign-Urbana MSA (-1.0%, -1,200), and the Decatur MSA (-0.6%, -300). Total nonfarm jobs were unchanged in the Bloomington MSA. Industries that saw job growth in the majority of the twelve metro areas included: Private Education and Health Services (eleven areas); Government (nine areas); and Mining and Construction and Retail Trade (seven areas each).

The metro areas with the largest unemployment rate decreases were the Rockford MSA (-1.3 points to 5.8%), the Kankakee MSA (-1.2 points to 6.3%), and the Lake County Metro (-1.1 points to 5.5%). The Chicago Metro Division reported the only increase (+0.3 point to 5.0%).

*** Statewide ***

* Sun-Times | Military chaplains’ child sex abuse records elusive, as Catholic church turns its back on transparency: Roughly 140 Catholic clerics credibly accused of molesting children have served as military chaplains over the years — including 10 priests who also ministered in Illinois and, altogether, may be responsible for sexually abusing more than 50 kids, according to a Chicago Sun-Times analysis. But you wouldn’t know that from the Archdiocese for the Military Services, the arm of the Catholic church for the U.S. Armed Forces, Veterans Affairs hospitals and federal employees serving outside the country.

* WTTW | New Rules for Asthma Treatment Pit Insurer Against Some Patients, Providers in Illinois: Starting in April, BCBSIL plans to change its coverage to require pre-approval for in-person administration of four biologic medications for asthma, used to aid patients who don’t respond to the more common treatment via inhalers. Those biologics — sold under the brand names Fasenra, Nucala, Tezspire and Xolair — are delivered either intravenously or injected into the skin, similar to an insulin jab. Many patients are treated with those medications in a health care setting, with providers saying there are several crucial reasons an in-person treatment can be necessary to keep patients safe and healthy. Now, BCBSIL plans to mandate all patients taking those drugs self-administer at home — unless they get prior approval from the insurance giant.

* WSIL | Illinois Secretary of State offers summer jobs : The Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias’ office is now looking for applicants for their third-annual summer job program. 150 positions are available across the state. These are for positions for those in colleges, trade schools, graduate school students or high school students who are enrolled in college or a trade school in the fall.

* WCIA | Hunters Feeding Illinois donates nearly 100k meals to food pantries across the state: The University of Illinois says one out of 10 people in the state struggle with hunger. Hunters in the state are helping fight back one deer at a time.“We’re very grateful for the hunters,” said SNAP educator Michelle Fombelle. […] “We did receive 24,278 pounds of ground venison. And then that translated into 96,856 meals,” said SNAP educator Meredith Probst.

* WSIL | IDOT introduces campaign to help reduce littering: IDOT officials took to Facebook to introduce the campaign after crews cleaned trash off several roadways in Springfield. In total, officials say crews picked up 76 bags of trash. IDOT says that litter on roadways isn’t just bad to look at; it also costs Illinoisans millions of dollars each year to clean up.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Chicago cops have been making fewer traffic stops, but more are ending in violence: Officers reported using force 787 times during traffic stops — the most since 2018, which was the first full year cops were subjected to tougher reporting requirements. Meanwhile, more than 200,000 stops apparently went unreported to state officials last year despite a 2003 law that was spearheaded by then-state Sen. Barack Obama.

* Crain’s | Insurers are fleeing California. This Chicago upstart is running toward the fire: Kin Insurance sees its future in parts of the U.S. its older, bigger rivals are trying to put in their past. The Chicago-based startup is entering the California home market even as stalwarts like State Farm and Allstate look to retreat from the highly regulated state after facing billions of dollars in losses related to the recent wildfires that decimated parts of Los Angeles. “I actually want to be in the higher-volatility area,” Sean Harper, Kin’s chief executive officer, told Crain’s in an interview. “These people, they actually really, really need a new solution. As an entrepreneur, that is what fires me up . . . providing something customers really need.”

* Injustice Watch | Answers to Chicago renters’ common questions: Injustice Watch wrapped up its workshop series Know Your Building, Know Your Landlord last month, with nearly 100 people attending to learn how to find building code violations and research who owns their building. […] Because many tenants asked the same questions during The Tenant Trap workshops, Injustice Watch compiled this explainer to answer them. Michelle Gilbert, the legal and policy director for the Law Center for Better Housing and a housing attorney with more than 30 years of experience, agreed to help. Our questions and her answers have been edited for clarity and brevity. Gilbert’s responses are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice.

* CBS Chicago | With long COVID health risks, Chicago organizations create safe spaces, events for vulnerable communities: Chicago’s Clean Air Club was the first organization in the U.S. to create a rental system to distribute free air purifiers to artists, touring musicians and organizers. Using their model, there are now over 32 “clean air” organizations across the country and in Australia. Other groups like Collective Air and Chicago Mask Bloc distribute free masks and rapid tests. Many of these groups also collaborate with event planners, venues, vendors and organizers.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Workers picket Nestle plant in Schaumburg, call for boycott of DiGiorno Pizza products: Approximately 200 self-described longtime Latino workers at the Nestle-owned Nation Pizza and Foods facility in Schaumburg picketed Friday morning for what they called a racially-motivated effort to trim that workforce through the use of a new eligibility requirement. They said with Nestle’s purchase of Nation Food and Pizza just over a year ago, temporary workers — including those with many years on the job — have been asked to re-verify their work status with the E-Verify I-9 Form.

* Daily Southtown | Ford Heights mayoral candidates say water bills, property taxes are top issues in April 1 election: As Ford Heights works to recover from its previous mayor’s embezzlement conviction and resignation, five candidates are working to become the impoverished village’s next elected leader. They include interim Mayor Freddie Wilson, who was appointed after Charles Griffin was forced to step down from his post in September, and Annie Coulter, who was mayor from 2017 to 2021, in between Griffin’s two terms. Longtime Trustee Antonia McMichaels and former Trustees LaDell Jones and Scottie Hatten are also running. Jones and Coulter told the Daily Southtown they hope to address high water bills, property tax woes and lack of economic opportunities in the village of fewer than 2,000 people. Wilson declined to be interviewed about his campaign and goals for a full term, and Hatten and McMichaels could not be reached.

* Tribune | Director’s firing a year ago still resonates in Oak Park Library Board race: The controversial firing last year of Oak Park Public Library Director Joslyn Bowling Dixon is reverberating in this year’s Library Board race. There are eight candidates competing for four seats on the Library Board in the April 1 election. Three of the candidates, Bruce Brigell, Megan Butman, and Daniel Suber, are running largely because they are angry about Dixon’s termination and believe it illustrated deeper problems with the board. “It just seemed a rash decision without due process in our view and left the community kind of aghast,” Brigell said in a telephone interview.

* Shaw Local | Fox Valley Brass Band to perform with Illinois Brass Band March 30: Fox Valley Brass Band will perform with Illinois Brass Band at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 30 at Wesley United Methodist Church in Aurora. Victor Anderson will direct the Fox Valley band. Scheduled numbers are “Proclamation” by Tom Davoren, “Hymn for Diana” by James Curnow, a memorial to late Princess Diana, “Esprit” by James Curnow and “Lincoln Posy” by Percy Aldridge Grainger, which is a musical portrait of six folk tunes sung by folksingers during his 1905-1906 trip to Lincolnshire, England. Steven Squires will direct.

*** Downstate ***

* WTOL | Stellantis offering buyout packages to some factory employees in Toledo: Stellantis says it is offering packages for both voluntary termination of employment and retirement incentive for some employees across facilities in Toledo, Detroit and Illinois. According to the company, the packages are available for eligible United Auto Workers hourly non-skilled bargaining unit employees at its manufacturing and Mopar facilities in Toledo and Detroit, including the Toledo Assembly Complex and Toledo Machining Plant.

* KFVS | Poplar Bluff schools to remain closed until March 31: According to school leaders, classes will resume on Monday, March 31. They say the extra week will help crews clear remaining debris from the campus and find temporary roofing, as well as restore utilities. The school district will also need to relocate classrooms and resources and reroute buses.

* WGLT | How Bloomington’s mayoral hopefuls see the city’s budget outlook: Incumbent Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe said in an interview it’s important to note that Bloomington’s budget increases are largely a byproduct of increased spending on capital projects. […] “The biggest area is personnel. What can we do? What agencies can we look at that are able to be merged? What type of a delay of major capital equipment for the city could be an aspect of things? How do we tighten those belts before we talk about asking the taxpayers for more?” [Dan Brady] said, adding the city could explore offering early retirement incentives to employees.

* WCIA | Meet Tiffany, the Fighting Illini superfan who brings heart and passion to Illinois sports: As the Fighting Illini softball team opened Big Ten play for the 2025 season, the staff behind the program asked a special fan to perform the honor of throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. Standing between the pitcher’s circle and home plate, Tiffany Hand wound her arm back and threw the ball at senior catcher Paige Berkmeyer. As the audience cheered, Berkmeyer gloved the ball and walked out to greet Tiffany, who immediately gave the catcher a big hug.

*** National ***

* Politico | Trump wants adverse rulings overturned ASAP. Appeals courts are taking their time.: The Trump administration is pleading with a federal appeals court to quickly reverse a judge’s directive blocking President Donald Trump’s ability to deport Venezuelan nationals under rarely used wartime powers. The response from the appeals court judges? Meh.

* AP | Facing anti-DEI investigations, colleges cut ties with nonprofit targeted by conservatives: Public reaction from the universities’ leadership has been minimal and cautious, with most issuing brief statements saying they will cooperate with investigators and refusing further comment. Colleges may see reason not to push back. The Trump administration has shown willingness to withhold federal funding over issues involving antisemitism allegations, diversity programs and transgender athletes. At Columbia University, under fire for its handling of pro-Palestinian protests, the administration pulled $400 million in federal money and threatened billions more if it does not comply with its demands.

* Politico | We Dug Into the Polls. Democrats in Congress Should Be Very Afraid: Just 40 percent of Democrats approve of the job performance of congressional Democrats, compared to 49 percent who disapprove. That’s a dramatic change from this time last year, when 75 percent of Democrats approved compared to just 21 percent who disapproved. The Democratic base’s disillusionment runs so deep that it’s eerily reminiscent of Republican grassroots sentiment in the period leading up to Donald Trump’s takeover of the Republican Party.  The numbers are clear: No longer satisfied with the status quo in their party, Democrats are on the verge of a Tea Party-style, intra-party revolt.

* NYT | Food Banks Left in the Lurch as U.S.D.A. Shipments Are Suspended: Food banks across the country are scrambling to make up a $500 million budget shortfall after the Trump administration froze funds for hundreds of shipments of produce, poultry and other items that states had planned to distribute to needy residents. The Biden administration had slated the aid for distribution to food banks during the 2025 fiscal year through the Emergency Food Assistance Program, which is run by the Agriculture Department and backed by a federal fund known as the Commodity Credit Corporation. But in recent weeks, many food banks learned that the shipments they had expected to receive this spring had been suspended.

  12 Comments      


Stop Credit Card Chaos In Illinois

Friday, Mar 21, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

A last-minute provision called the Interchange Fee Prohibition Act (IFPA) was snuck into the budget process last May and will create chaos for small businesses and consumers across Illinois if it takes effect on July 1, 2025.

The IFPA gives corporate mega-stores like Walmart and Home Depot — who pushed for this backroom deal — millions more in profits, while small business owners get new expenses and accounting headaches. What’s more, consumers could be forced to pay for parts of their transactions in cash if this law moves forward.

A recent court ruling in the litigation challenging the law suggests IFPA is likely pre-empted by federal law for national banks and will only apply to credit unions and local Illinois banks, putting local banks at a disadvantage against their national competitors.

Illinois lawmakers should repeal the IFPA and focus on protecting small businesses and consumers across the state — not lining the pockets of corporate mega-stores.

Stop the countdown to chaos by supporting a repeal of this misguided and flawed policy. Learn more at https://guardyourcard.com/illinois/

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US Supreme Court tosses Patrick Daley Thompson’s conviction, sends case back to lower courts

Friday, Mar 21, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The ruling is here. From Fox32…

The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of former Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson, overturning two counts of lying to regulators.

Three years ago, Thompson, the nephew of former Mayor Richard M. Daley and grandson of the late Mayor Richard J. Daley, was convicted on two counts of lying to regulators and five counts of felony tax fraud.

* SCOTUS Blog…

Although Thompson conceded that his statements regarding his loans may have been misleading, because he did not mention his second and third loans, he maintained that they were not false, because he said only that he had borrowed $110,000 – not that he only owed $110,000. And therefore, he contended, he did not violate the law.

The lower courts rejected that theory, but on Friday the Supreme Court agreed with Thompson that the law under which he was convicted applies only to statements that are false.

Roberts pointed first to the text of the law, emphasizing that it makes it a crime to knowingly make “any false statement or report.” The law does not, he observed, “use the word ‘misleading’” – even though “false and misleading are two different things.” Indeed, he added, because misstatements can sometimes be true, “it is significant that the statute uses only the word ‘false,’” which “means ‘not true.’” Therefore, he concluded, a “statement that is misleading but true is by definition not a ‘false statement.’”

Federal laws more broadly support this result, Roberts continued, because other laws – including some criminal laws – do use the word “misleading” when Congress wanted them to apply to misstatements. If the court were to interpret the law in this case to apply to misleading statements, Roberts noted, it would have been unnecessary for Congress to include the term “misleading” elsewhere in federal laws.

The court declined to weigh in on the federal government’s contention that Thompson’s conviction should still stand because his statements actually were false, rather than simply misleading. Neither the trial court nor the court of appeals addressed that argument, Roberts reasoned. But he added that “this question is the right one to ask,” and that “at least some context is relevant to determining whether a statement is false” under this law. When the case returns to the lower courts, Roberts suggested, they can consider “whether a reasonable jury could find that Thompson’s statements were false.”

The US Attorney’s office isn’t having a great six months. A mistrial was declared in the prosecution of former AT&T Illinois President Paul La Schiazza in relation to the Madigan probe. They failed to convict former Speaker Michael Madigan on a host of charges, including what’s usually a slam-dunk RICO beef. And Mike McClain wasn’t convicted of anything during the same trial. And now this.

  11 Comments      


‘Devore chose to disrespect ABATE, our members, our friends, our hard work, and riders all throughout Illinois’

Friday, Mar 21, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* ABATE of Illinois awarded one of its coveted Legislator of the Year motorcycle vests to Rep. Kelly Cassidy this week. Here’s a video Isabel took of Josh Witkowski, who lobbies for the group, presenting the award…

You can clearly see that Illinois Freedom Caucus Chairman Rep. Chris Miller (R-No Relation) was also in attendance. Miller has never been awarded a vest, but he still showed up.

Transcript…

Sometimes people who do a lot for our organization aren’t always out in front. They’re not always sponsoring our bills, they’re not always leading the charge for us. But behind the scenes, they’re talking to their fellow lawmakers, people in their caucus. They’re telling them, ‘Hey, this is where we should be, ABATE’s a good organization. This helps.’ When we ran into issues with the environmental caucus, this individual was very instrumental in helping us along. They’ve got a biker background. They’ve got a biker soul. And they have helped us for well over a decade. So I am very proud that finally, once again, another one long-time coming, Representative Kelly Cassidy!

* I’ve tried to ignore this guy for the past few weeks, but this post was just goofy…

* From ABATE of Illinois…

Statement from ABATE of Illinois on the Disrespect from Failed Candidate Thomas Devore

On March 19th at our Annual Reception, a bipartisan picture of many ABATE Legislator of the Year winners from over the years was taken. It was meant to be a moment of celebration showing ABATE’s ability to unite elected officials of all backgrounds in support of motorcyclists enjoying the open road.

Unfortunately, ABATE learned that failed political candidate Thomas Devore chose to steal this picture off social media and use it for his divisive purposes by attacking the great friends of ABATE in that picture. ABATE exists to educate the public and represent the interests of all motorcyclists, regardless of what they ride, where they come from, or their personal political beliefs. The Illinois riding community is made up of hundreds of thousands of individuals, each as unique as the customizations on their bikes. Yet, we all unite together in support of our freedoms, just as many legislators did at our reception.

ABATE is unsure why Mr. Devore decided to attack ABATE by dragging our events into his petty political posts, but we’re here now.

Perhaps Mr. Devore doesn’t understand the rush of freedom a rider experiences when the engine, exhaust, and wind unite to drown out the unnecessary noises in society caused by professional screamers like himself. Maybe he is unfamiliar with the idea of putting in the hard work to educate and build diverse coalitions to advance a cause, along with the victories that come from this hard work.

Here is a concept that we hope Mr. Devore can learn, Respect.

Mr. Devore chose to disrespect ABATE, our members, our friends, our hard work, and riders all throughout Illinois by stealing pictures from our events to continue his quarrels. That is a level of disrespect we could not let go unanswered.

  23 Comments      


Playing the Trump card in Aurora

Friday, Mar 21, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I’ve been sharing mail and other ads from the Aurora mayor’s race with subscribers the past few weeks or so. Here are two of the latest. Notice that the first one is from the Democratic Party of Illinois…

* From DPI last week…

Ahead of April 1, the Democratic Party of Illinois (DPI) has released details of its 2025 municipal campaign program—a robust and hands-on initiative to support nearly 300 candidates in every region of the state. In 2023, under Chair Lisa Hernandez’s leadership, the Party made clear its commitment to preventing extremist conservatives from implementing regressive platforms on school and library boards. This cycle, as national politics dominate the political ecosystem and impact the daily lives of working Illinoisans, DPI has built upon 2023’s program to continue defending its values of diversity, equity and inclusion and affirm that every election and every vote matters.

“From day one as Chair, I’ve stressed to my team that every election matters,” DPI Chair Lisa Hernandez said. “With national politics dominating the conversation and Trump-Musk threatening democracy, organizing at the most hyperlocal levels is one way for us to fight back right now. It’s how we protect our values and how we protect the people of Illinois.”

In partnership with the Illinois Democratic County Chairs Association (IDCCA), DPI and county chairs have identified 270 recommended candidates in municipal races across the state. Credible community advocates recommended by DPI are fighting for equitable public investments, better healthcare, and strong public schools for our kids. Conservative candidates who oppose these values are also seeking local office. DPI has identified 230 opposed candidates who will be targeted through this program.

The Party’s plan will include a six-figure mail and digital advertising investment, reaching hundreds of thousands of Democratic voters in target regions across Illinois. The paid communications program will highlight the Donald Trump–aligned conservatives on the ballot, as well as support the credible, commonsense community advocates that DPI recommends. In addition, the Party is facilitating direct candidate training led by DPI’s campaign staff and assigned one-on-one campaign coaches.

“DPI is providing candidates with the training and tools they need to run efficient and effective campaigns. Our direct mail and digital communications program will help raise awareness of these critical local races to ensure supported candidates win on April 1st,” DPI Executive Director Ben Hardin said. “The Party is making sure voters know which candidates are aligned with Democratic values and which ones will take their local governments down the wrong path.”

* Isabel linked to the Tribune story earlier today, but here’s more from that piece…

In a city where two-thirds of residents are people of color, the state Democratic Party, flush with cash from the billionaire governor and led by his hand-picked chair, has launched a barrage of attacks linking Irvin to President Donald Trump, whom a majority of the city’s voters rejected in November. […]

In addition to running in the GOP primary three years ago, Irvin launched a group called the Black Republican Mayors Association, which hosted an event at last year’s GOP national convention in Milwaukee featuring a U.S. senator, several Black congressmen and party delegates closely aligned with Trump. But the mayor’s record, particularly on immigration-related issues, is still more complicated than what is presented on one of the Democrats’ flyers where Irvin is wearing a red foam finger reading “#1 Fan Trump.”

Laesch, meanwhile, a former school board member who joined the Aurora City Council as an alderman at-large two years ago, hasn’t fully embraced the state Democratic Party’s approach to its support, even as state campaign finance records show he’s benefited from more than $112,000 in party spending so far — more than two-thirds of all the money Laesch’s campaign fund has raised since 2023. […]

“This election here, with this particular opponent that I have, has been very vicious, and I’ve been attacked consistently,” Irvin said. “I’m a person, you know, it hurts my feelings.”

I think a lot of people will be shocked if Irvin loses because Aurora has been pretty well-managed. But if voters buy into the Trump connection, and this being Illinois, it might work. It’s really DPI’s one and only route.

  17 Comments      


It’s just a bill

Friday, Mar 21, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Subscribers were told about this in detail yesterday morning. Capitol News Illinois…

One of Gov. JB Pritzker’s top legislative initiatives stalled in the General Assembly this week when the chair of the House Higher Education Committee refused to call a vote on a bill that would authorize community colleges to offer four-year bachelor’s degree programs in select, high-demand career fields.

The decision not to call the bill for a vote came as lawmakers face a Friday deadline for most bills other than spending bills to pass out of committee and be sent to the floor of their respective chamber.

But legislative deadlines are not always strictly observed in Springfield, and Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, who chairs the committee, said the decision not to act on the bill does not necessarily mean it is dead for the session.

“I don’t think around here anything’s really ever dead, and I think there’s a path forward,” she told reporters after Wednesday’s committee hearing. […]

House Bill 3717, sponsored by Rep. Tracy Katz Muhl, D-Northbrook, would implement Pritzker’s plan. It would allow community colleges to offer bachelor’s degree programs in select areas, provided the school’s board of trustees can demonstrate the program would help fill an “unmet workforce need” in the area the school serves, and that the school has sufficient resources, expertise and student interest to sustain the program.

* WAND…

A proposal moving in the Illinois House could help provide naloxone to people leaving jails and prisons if they were incarcerated for drug-related charges or have a substance use disorder.

Sponsors and advocates say studies have proven that an overdose is the leading cause of death for people recently released from correctional facilities. Although, the Illinois Sheriffs’ Association told the House Restorative Justice Committee Thursday that this could be an unfunded mandate for county jails.

“We don’t want to hamstring our counties fiscally on this,” said Rep. Justin Slaughter (D-Chicago). “However, there are a significant amount of funds to do this.”

House Bill 3662 passed out of the House Restorative Justice Committee on a 7-2 vote. The measure now moves to the House floor for further consideration.

* Crain’s…

Unions converged on Springfield this week to warn of growing risks in the health care system without better wages and more protection for workers. […]

Members of Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United want [Sen. Celina Villanueva’s] SB 2022, also called the Safe Patient Limits Act, passed. The bill would mandate staffing laws in Illinois hospitals.

“Nurses are the backbone of the Illinois health care system, and when they are in trouble, we are in trouble,” Villanueva said in a nurses union press release. “Hospitals put all of us in danger by assigning more patients than any one person could handle. SB 2022 will protect nurses and patients alike by ensuring safe staffing according to patient needs; it will encourage nurses to continue working at the bedside and most importantly, it will save lives.”

Illinois has no law limiting the number of patients a registered nurse can care for at one time, the release said. SB 2022 would limit the number of patients assigned to a registered nurse, broken down by patient care area and designed to ensure safe and effective patient care.

SB2022 failed to receive a committee vote this week. 25News Now…

The Illinois Hospital Association strongly opposes the bill, however. In a statement, Senior Director of Media and Public Affairs Paris Ervin said patient care should be made by local nurses and hospitals, and that the bill is not a one size fits all solution.

“IHA and the Illinois hospital community strongly oppose statutorily required nurse staffing ratios advanced by Senate Bill 2022. Patient care decisions should be made by local nurses and hospitals, not based on a one-size-fits-all approach mandated by state law.

“State mandated ratios would greatly increase the cost of healthcare without any proof they improve patient safety. Considering the enormous financial pressure Illinois hospitals already face, if this bill becomes law, many hospitals would be unable to absorb the significant costs that ratios would impose.

“Many hospitals - particularly small and rural hospitals and urban Safety Net Hospitals that serve our most vulnerable patients and communities - will be forced to eliminate services and close units to remain financially viable, which would reduce access to care. Some hospitals may close.

“Hospitals already prioritize and maintain safe staffing levels based on the clinical needs of patients. It is a key quality issue that is taken extremely seriously. Our hospitals are complying with the Nurse Staffing by Patient Acuity Act and the Nurse Staffing Improvement Act, two Illinois laws that already direct safe staffing in Illinois hospitals. Floor nurses and hospital leaders are communicating and working together to establish an appropriate nurse staffing plan every single day, in each particular unit.

“Current laws are effective because they ensure staffing decisions are made locally, with input from the frontline direct care nurses who are best positioned to respond in real time to the rapidly changing needs of their patients.”

* Rep. Jackie Haas…

State Representative Jackie Haas (R-Kankakee) recently passed legislation to help improve communication between assisted living and nursing home providers and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) through the Human Services Committee. House Bill 3428 would require semiannual joint training sessions with providers and surveyors to discuss quality of care, potential violations, and more.

“House Bill 3428 is another step towards improving our assisted living and nursing facilities in Illinois,” said Rep. Haas. “If passed, the semi-annual training requirement will allow for more communication between care providers and IDPH, ensuring everyone is on the same page and able to move forward in the best interest of patients. I look forward to seeing continued bipartisan support on this bill that is a win-win for everyone involved.”

House Bill 3428 now awaits action on the House floor.

* Eco-Justice Collaborative…

The bill to protect the Mahomet Aquifer from carbon sequestration (SB1723 Faraci) passed a Senate Committee today with unanimous, bipartisan support. It now advances to the Senate floor.

“Protecting the Mahomet Aquifer is not just about preserving water; it’s about safeguarding the future of our community,” said Senator Paul Faraci (D-Champaign). “While innovation in carbon sequestration holds promise, we must prioritize the health and safety of our residents, ensuring progress never comes at the expense of our most vital resource.”

“I’m grateful for the countless central Illinoisians who have called, written, and emailed in support of this important bill for clean drinking water,” said Senator Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet). “We would not have been able to get over this first hurdle without your voices, but the fight isn’t over. We still need to get it through the Senate, House, and signed by the Governor so keep the pressure on because we are not done yet.”

“What Senator Rose said!” said Andrew Rehn, Climate Policy Director at Prairie Rivers Network. “I’m thankful to Senator Faraci and Senator Rose for their unwavering commitment to the Mahomet Aquifer, and the whole committee for their unanimous vote to move this forward.” […]

Having passed out of both a House and Senate Committee, the bill is now ready to be heard on the floor of the House and the Senate.

* WAND…

When ordering food on DoorDash or Uber Eats, sometimes the delivery comes with single use plastic cutlery.

This bill would limit that, by restricting third-party delivery services from giving plastic utensils to customers. Patrons can still order their food with plastic cutlery, but would need to request it in the app.

Advocates say that most of time customers don’t even use the plastic cutlery. […]

HB1600 passed out of the House public health committee on a partisan 6-3 vote. It now heads to the House floor where lawmakers could talk about it in the coming weeks.

* St. Louis Public Radio…

An Illinois bill that would prohibit public schools — like Freeburg High in the Metro East — from using references to disabilities as mascots passed out of committee on Thursday.

By a 9-4 vote, members of the House Education Policy Committee sent the legislation that would require the high school to phase out Midgets by 2028 to the full chamber.

“I understand the tradition,” said Rep. Maurice West, D-Rockford, who introduced the bill. “I understand the pride — especially the memories that you had at the high school. I just ask that you look at this within a lens of empathy as well.” […]

Freeburg’s mascot originated roughly 90 years ago when a local sports writer used the nickname to describe the school’s basketball team because its tallest player was 5-foot-10 when it defeated an unbeaten team, according to the district’s website.

* WAND…

A plan in Springfield to ban schools from using Native American names, logos and mascots is heading to the House floor.

This legislation would apply to schools using the team names Redskins, Braves, Chiefs, Chieftains, Tribe, Indians or any synonymous term, logo or mascot depicting Native Americans. Feathered headdresses, tomahawks, arrowheads or spears, arrows and other weapons combined with feathers would also prohibited as logos.

The proposal would allow schools to use uniforms or other materials with Native American mascots until September 1, 2028 if the school selects a new logo and mascot that does not violate the prohibition and stops selling school merchandise with the racist logo immediately. […]

House Bill 1237 passed out of the House Education Policy Committee on a partisan 9-4 vote. It now moves to the House floor for further consideration.

* WAND…

The Illinois State Board of Education and some Democrat lawmakers hope to ban expulsions for any kids between kindergarten and second grade.

The only times an expulsion would be accepted is if it is required by state or federal law.

The bill would also restrict the school principal’s ability to suspend a K-2 student who’s breaking the rules. Under the plan, the principal would need approval from the district superintendent to suspend a K-2 child.

Advocates for the proposal said expulsions negatively impact minority and special needs kids. According to the Illinois State Board of Education, even though representing 16.5% of the state-wide school cohort, Black students make up 33% of all expulsions. […]

While the bill passed the committee on a partisan 10-5 vote, representatives from both sides urged that the plan return to committee for more questions.

* Center Square…

House Bill 1283 would allow all municipalities, not just larger home rule communities, to impose a motor fuel tax on top of the state’s gas tax. The measure was scheduled in committee Thursday, but was not brought up.

Illinois Fuel and Retail Association CEO Nate Harris opposes the measure as bad for customers.

“Any increase in the gas tax is regressive against the low income folks here in this state and we think that increasing taxes like this just hurts regular individuals,” Harris told The Center Square Thursday. […]

Illinois’ state gas tax is 47 cents. If HB 1283 is enacted, all municipalities could increase the local gas tax by 3 more cents.

HB1283 didn’t make it through committee before today’s deadline.

  8 Comments      


Republicans argue that Pritzker township elimination plan would raise property taxes

Friday, Mar 21, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The general conservative consensus on township government, from the Illinois Policy Institute…

Illinois has more units of local government than any other state and the second-highest property taxes in the nation. House Bill 1861 would have given Illinoisians the power to potentially reduce both at the ballot box.

Illinois is home to nearly nearly 6,000, layers of government, excluding school districts – over 1,000 more than Indiana, Kentucky and Iowa combined. The average Illinoisian lives under six layers of government, which are often duplicative and share overlapping duties.

Illinoisians find themselves paying those multiple layers of government for nearly identical services, leading to excessive property taxes.

Sponsored by state Rep. Jonathan Carroll, D-Northbrook, the aim of HB 1861 is to empower taxpayers to consolidate townships at the local level without relying on permission from Springfield. The bill failed to make it out of a House committee by the March 26 deadline, but it could return in the fall.

While Illinois has more than 1,400 townships, only McHenry County residents currently have the power to eliminate them. A county-specific bill was signed into law in 2019, giving McHenry County taxpayers the opportunity to eliminate any of the county’s townships by a referendum.

* From a Tribune editorial…

Ideally, Illinois would go on a Marie Kondo-style tidying frenzy and eliminate all government units that no longer “spark joy,”

* From Gov. Pritzker’s proposed budget…

Township Consolidation

Reducing Governmental Layers Illinois is known as the state with the highest number of local governments in the country.28 Counted among this total are Illinois’ 1,426 townships in 84 of Illinois’ 102 counties. These little-known units of local government are division of a county that may or may not overlap or be coterminous with city boundaries. Under Illinois law, townships have three primary functions: general assistance for low- income individuals and families, assessing the value of property in the township, and maintaining roads and bridges within the township. These are functions that could potentially be absorbed within an overlapping county or city government, reducing the need for this additional layer of government.

The Governor is proposing to empower Illinois taxpayers to reduce or eliminate duplicative taxing bodies, increasing the efficiency of service provision to local communities and saving taxpayer money by implementing legislation that enables community-led township consolidation, simplifies the process for communities to petition for a referendum to eliminate or consolidate their township government by lowering the petition threshold, allows county boards to initiate a referendum to eliminate township organization, permits communities to petition for a referendum to merge their township government with a neighboring township, and eliminates the office of township assessor in counties with populations under 5,000, transferring the office’s duties to the county.

* Some Republicans oppose the governor’s ideas, however. WAND TV…

Downstate Senate Republicans are concerned with Gov. JB Pritzker’s plan to consolidate townships in small communities.

The proposal could eliminate the office of township assessor in counties with less than 5,000 people. Pritzker administration officials explained the legislation would enable community-led township consolidation and allow county boards to create referendums on the countywide elimination of township organization.

Still, Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet) told reporters in Springfield Thursday that merging townships will lead to massive tax hikes.

“We will be raising people’s property taxes if Governor Pritzker’s idea were to become law because the county simply cannot perform the same services at the level the townships are doing it when you’ve got staff already on retainer,” Rose said.

And, as subscribers already know, the Democratic sponsor didn’t move the legislation forward by the committee deadline…

Senate Bill 2217 is currently assigned to the Senate Executive Committee. Although, the measure did not receive a hearing before the Senate committee deadline Thursday.

  38 Comments      


Intoxicating Hemp: No safety? No thanks!

Friday, Mar 21, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

A federal loophole has led to a booming gray market across Illinois for intoxicating hemp products, which use synthetics to alter the composition of hemp to get consumers high.

This is happening outside the structure of the state’s legal cannabis industry. This means intoxicating hemp faces NO quality testing, NO age restrictions, NO packaging requirements, NO potency rules, and NO taxes to fund programs in communities impacted by the War on Drugs. Most intoxicating hemp products aren’t even produced in Illinois. By contrast, Illinois cannabis businesses face extensive rules and regulations to operate, with products tracked from seed to sale. When consumers purchase legal cannabis grown and processed in Illinois, they know their products are safe.

Hemp and cannabis come from the same plant. Both products can get users high. Why the different rules? Illinois already has a system in place to regulate hemp – it’s called the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act. It’s time for Illinois to close the intoxicating hemp loophole.

  Comments Off      


Open thread

Friday, Mar 21, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Florencia Andrada covers the Stones…

Hey babe, what’s in your eyes?
I saw them flashing like airplane lights

Talk amongst yourselves, but try to keep it Illinois-centric. Thanks.

  5 Comments      


Isabel’s morning briefing

Friday, Mar 21, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: CTA, Metra, Pace face ‘draconian’ service cuts in new worst-case scenario laid out by agencies. Sun-Times…

    - The three agencies, and the Regional Transportation Authority which oversees them, on Friday initiated the latest in a pressure campaign on state lawmakers to appropriate more state money.
    - The CTA would be the first agency to run out of federal grants and reduce service in 2026, according to a report released by the RTA on Friday.
    - Moody’s Ratings this week downgraded CTA’s credit outlook from stable to negative. The report cited the uncertainty of future funding.

* Related stories…

* BlueRoomStream.com’s coverage of today’s press conferences and committee hearings can be found here.

* At 11 am the governor will be in Rockford to celebrate public transportation expansion, at 2:30 the governor will join advocates and patients in Peoria to discuss the threat of cuts to Medicaid. Click here to watch.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Subscribers have been aware of this for weeks. Tribune | Gov. JB Pritzker’s Illinois Democratic Party targets Richard Irvin as he seeks third term as Aurora mayor: After making history in 2017 as Aurora’s first Black mayor and cruising to reelection four years ago, Richard Irvin now faces a political challenge partly of his own making as he seeks a third term leading Illinois’ second-largest city. The ostensibly nonpartisan April 1 election is a rematch against John Laesch, an Aurora alderman at-large who was one of two candidates Irvin bested by more than 30 points in 2021. But this time Laesch is getting a boost from the Illinois Democratic Party, which entered the fray after Irvin repeatedly slammed Gov. JB Pritzker during the mayor’s well-funded but ill-fated bid for the Republican nomination for governor in 2022.

* Transit union leaders | A new bill offers a path forward for Illinois transit funding : There will be cuts to services, station shutdowns and increased fares, affecting low-income communities and people of color the hardest. This will widen existing inequalities, hurt businesses, slow down our economy and put our region at a disadvantage. Thankfully, there is a path forward. The United We Move Illinois legislation, led by state Sen. Ram Villivalam and House Assistant Majority Leader Marcus C. Evans Jr., offers a bold vision for our transit future. Rather than slapping together a temporary fix, this plan addresses the deeper issues causing our transit struggles and builds a stronger and fairer system.

* Crain’s | Illinois sues EPA, Citibank for release of $20 billion for clean energy projects: Citibank was named in a lawsuit filed by Illinois and three other states looking to collect $20 billion for clean energy projects over claims that the funding is stalled by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under President Donald Trump’s administration. The states say Citibank, which is holding the funds designated for the environmental projects, has declined to release the money as required by previously passed legislation.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Sun-Times | A flood of emails, ‘intimidation’ allegations as homeschooling advocates fight regulation: The issue is so contentious that state Rep. Terra Costa Howard, D-Lombard, the bill’s sponsor, is accusing some advocates of “bullying.” “Threats and intimidation. Constituents calling my office, demanding meetings and telling my staff that they would be protesting outside my home if I did not meet their demands,” Costa Howard said. “In this political climate, it seems to be something that is encouraged.”

* The ILGA’s current tenure chart. H/t to John Amdor…


* WCIA | Illinois police advocate for and against bills at State Capitol on Lobby Day: Chief Dwayne Wheeler represented Taylorville in Springfield this year. Taylorville Lieutenant Michael Toberman told WCIA that Wheeler advocated for several bills which he hopes will make the Taylorville community safer. […] Senate Bill 2192 would create the Preventing Targeted Violence Act. It would create a community support team, made up of law enforcement, mental health experts, threat assessors, and various community organizations, to prevent targeted violence.

* Sun-Times | Illinois backs veterans claiming they were denied GI Bill benefits despite Supreme Court ruling: Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and attorneys general in 49 states and the District of Columbia are backing two veterans who say the government wrongly denied their college-age children educational benefits, despite a Supreme Court ruling last year that boosted such benefits. The friend-of-the-court brief, filed Wednesday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in Washington, argues that the ruling in the landmark Rudisill v. McDonough case should apply to all veterans who earned GI Bill benefits under both the Montgomery GI Bill and the Post-9/11 GI Bill, regardless of whether they had one period of service or more.

* CBS News | Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Rep. Lauren Underwood hold Romeoville event about protecting Social Security: The event, called “Standing Up for Seniors,” is the second stop on Pritzker’s “Stand Up for Illinois” tour. He was in Champaign and Urbana Wednesday with Rep. Nikki Budzinski (D-IL 13th District) where he held a roundtable with farmers and environmental leaders working on smart agriculture who had their funding cut, and met with laid-off workers at the University of Illinois Soybean Innovation Lab, which is set to close in April after the Trump administration cut off funding to USAID.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | CPS school board votes to require next leader be an educator, not a CEO: The change will have an immediate effect as the district is currently searching for a new leader. CPS CEO Pedro Martinez was fired in December and is set to leave his post at the end of June. His contract allowed him to stay on for an additional six months. While the school board can set certain qualifications for the district’s top leader, the state legislature would have to change the title and cement the higher standard for employment. The legislature handed over control of the school district to former Mayor Richard M. Daley 30 years ago, including the power to appoint the school board and CEO. The only qualification for a CEO in state law is that it “shall be a person of recognized administrative ability and management experience.”

* Tribune | Chicago Board of Education postpones vote on controversial budget amendment: The Chicago Board of Education on Thursday postponed a controversial budget amendment pushed by Mayor Brandon Johnson, prolonging doubt about who will pay for a new teachers contract and a $175 million pension payment to the city. That means the latter’s cost remains on the city’s side. The city has until the end of this month to either resolve the budget gap or end the 2024 fiscal year with a deficit. Just minutes before its monthly meeting, the school board called off the votes that would pave the way for Chicago Public Schools to issue or repurpose $242 million in debt and ink an agreement making the district responsible for its pension obligation. School board President Sean Harden cited contract negotiations as the reason for the delay.

* Sun-Times | Johnson likens himself to second coming of Harold Washington: “There’s value in having a Black mayor for a long period of time to see the vision happen. Right now, we have a second bite at this apple and we’ve got to get it right. … Like Harold Washington, you are trying to set this table for long-term progress and changing Black Chicago.” When McGill asked Johnson if he was “mischaracterizing your vision here,” the mayor replied: “Not at all.”

* Reuters | Chicago corn prices set to challenge decades-long streaks: If the recent tariff-fueled selloff in Chicago corn futures felt extreme, that’s because it was, especially given the season. Huge swings in new-crop corn prices are not typically seen in the beginning months of the year due to upcoming harvest uncertainties across the Americas.

* Crain’s | Developer pitches 26-story hotel near Obama Presidential Center: The proposal is meant to capitalize on the 700,000 visitors that city officials project will come to the Obama Center each year. Adding to the nearby Griffin Museum of Science & Industry, the presidential complex stands to fortify the lakefront portion of the Woodlawn and Hyde Park neighborhoods as a tourist destination. Davis, an attorney who co-founded a law firm at which Obama worked prior to his run in politics, is betting visitors will want to stay in the area, too.

* Sun-Times | Dispensary 33’s weed shops are first in Illinois to be fully employee-owned: The dispensary’s two stores in Uptown and West Loop, along with its four partnered Spark’d dispensaries in the city and suburbs, were rolled into one holding company that was sold to a trust owned by the company’s roughly 200 employees. The state approved the sale Thursday, but the terms of the deal haven’t been disclosed.

* Tribune | Amid discontent at classical station, WFMT employees announce intent to unionize: Union committee sources tell the Tribune that plans to unionize had been under way for a year prior to the announcement. But discontent at WFMT spilled into the public eye last fall when Dennis Moore, a veteran host, accused the station of firing him rather than accommodating a doctor-approved disability. He also accused parent company Window to the World Communications Inc. of “fail(ing) to act in the best interests of the radio station” and “clearly prioritiz(ing)” WTTW, the PBS affiliate also owned by the company.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Sun-Times | Retired Orland Park police sergeant arrested over parody Facebook page sues department: Kenneth Kovac alleges his First and Fourth amendment rights were violated when he was arrested last year and charged with crimes after he created a page parodying the former deputy police chief.

* Daily Herald | Illinois Supreme Court sides with Rolling Meadows in Cooper’s Hawk tax dispute with Arlington Heights: The Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday ruled in favor of Rolling Meadows in its three-year legal dispute with Arlington Heights over misallocated sales tax revenue from Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant on the towns’ border. The decision prompted sharp words from Arlington Heights Mayor Thomas Hayes, who said Rolling Meadows, “should be ashamed of this unjust result.” The restaurant, which opened in June 2011, at 798 W. Algonquin Road in Arlington Heights, mistakenly was coded as a Rolling Meadows business by the Illinois Department of Revenue. Upon discovering the error in March 2020, Arlington Heights recovered $109,000 — the maximum allowed by law — which covered the last six months of 2019.

* Daily Herald | ‘We can put this behind us’: Judge sides with Winfield in TIF dispute with schools: A DuPage County judge has sided with the village and found that its enactment of a tax increment financing district — the property in the TIF district lies entirely within Winfield’s Town Center — was “not clearly and convincingly wrong” and cannot be held invalid. The judge’s decision comes more than three years after Winfield Elementary District 34 filed a lawsuit — West Chicago High School District 94 joined as a plaintiff in the case — against the village challenging the legality of the TIF district, which consists of some 50 tax parcels.

*** Downstate ***

* BND | Illinois State Police agent pleads guilty, loses job over hit-and-run involving teen: An Illinois State Police special agent has pleaded guilty to two traffic tickets after being accused of running a red light, crashing his unmarked SUV into a car driven by a teenage boy and leaving the scene of an accident while off duty in Shiloh in December. As part of a plea agreement filed Tuesday in St. Clair County Circuit Court, Julian Feix, 30, of Fairview Heights, agreed to resign from his job, surrender his Illinois law-enforcement certification, serve two years probation and perform 100 hours of community service.

* WCIA | Neoga FFA students asking for help in tornado relief efforts: The City of Neoga is still recovering following a tornado last Friday. As the community continues to clean up, students are asking for help rebuilding one of the largest school programs. “Seeing the Ag room destroyed in that, and it just wasn’t a good sight to see,” said junior student Dane McKinney.

* WMBD | Insurance firm sues WTVP’s former CEO’s estate and finance director for losses: The suit, filed last week in Peoria County Circuit Court, by the Cincinnati Insurance Company, seeks $250,000 from the estate of Lesley Matuszak and from Linda McLaughlin as well as costs and fees. That’s the amount Cincinnati Insurance paid to Illinois Valley Public Telecommunications Corporation, the parent company of WTVP-TV, last summer to cover alleged embezzlement by Matuszak and McLaughlin.

* WREX | LWVGF Candidate Meet and Greet for Rockford Consolidated Elections April 1st: “There are four democrats running against four republicans. We do hope that everyone will go out and vote. Municipal elections matter a lot, a lot of people don’t vote in the municipal elections, we would hope people go out and vote.” said Kylee Miller, Democratic Candidate for Rockford Township Trustee. Rockford Township Trustees are just some of the candidates voters were able to hear from Thursday night.

* WTVO | Rockford’s Miracle Mile celebrates 20 years of business success: “The Miracle Mile started in 2005 when a lot of businesses were empty. A lot of blight was happening in our town along State Street, especially,” said Miracle Mile executive director Amy Hoening. Business owners and community leaders came together to form the Miracle Mile Rockford Business Association. Two years later, the corridor was designated as a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district, helping to support existing businesses and attract new ones.

* WCIA | Springfield robotics team heading to Central Illinois Regional First Robotics Competition: The Springfield Robotics team, the Abe Robotics, which has been supported by the Urban League and District 186, is made up of students from District 186 schools, including Southeast, Lanphier, and Springfield High. They will be competing against more than 30 other teams at Bradley University to put their craft to work.

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition

Friday, Mar 21, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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

Friday, Mar 21, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Selected press releases (Live updates)

Friday, Mar 21, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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Live coverage

Friday, Mar 21, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Click here and/or here to follow breaking news. Hopefully, enough reporters and news outlets migrate to BlueSky so we can hopefully resume live-posting.

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Solidarity forever (Updated)

Thursday, Mar 20, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Whew…


…Adding… The Tribune pulled the alleged incident out of the story…


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Isabel’s afternoon roundup

Thursday, Mar 20, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Naperville Sun…

For the fourth time in just over six weeks, police have made a firearm-related arrest in or near the Naperville Topgolf parking lot.

Juan Ricardo Gomez, 43 of Griffith, Indiana, was taken into custody Tuesday night outside the 3211 Odyssey Court facility and charged with one count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, a class 4 felony. His next court appearance is scheduled for May 1, according to DuPage County Circuit Court records.

Officers were patrolling the Topgolf lot at about 10 p.m. Tuesday when they observed a handgun in plain view inside a parked black Kia, according to Naperville police spokeswoman Kelley Munch.

Officers watched the vehicle until Gomez returned, Munch said. Police recovered a loaded handgun with an extended magazine, which Gomez allegedly possessed without a valid concealed carry license or Firearm Owner’s Identification card, Munch said.

Apparently, the DuPage court clerk has not updated the title of the offense to unlawful possession of a weapon.

* Belleville News-Democrat…

In light of a $10.3 million budget deficit, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville administrators have proposed phasing out the physics major and minor over the next few years.

“This proposal has been carefully considered and developed in accordance with our policy and procedures and in coherence with the relevant collective bargaining agreements,” SIUE spokeswoman Nicole Franklin said. “The process for feedback and additional steps is currently underway.”

The proposal would allow all students currently declared as a physics major or minor — and those starting this fall — an opportunity to complete the program. It also does not eliminate all physics courses “given the important role these courses play in service to other majors,” Franklin said.

Students majoring in biological sciences, chemistry, engineering and pharmacy are all required to take physics courses.

* Governor JB Pritzker…

Today, Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) announced 88 awards totaling $57 million through the Community Solar Energy Sovereignty Grant Program ($7.7 million), Equitable Energy Future Grant Program ($10.3 million), and Energy Transition Community/Zion Grant Program ($39 million) - initiatives under the landmark Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA). These programs will catalyze energy efficiency and renewable energy projects that will help clean energy businesses grow and utilize Illinois’ clean energy workforce. […]

Through the Community Solar Energy Sovereignty Grant Program, $7.7 million is being awarded to 11 grantees to more equitably grow the clean energy workforce. The program supports community-based organizations and technical service providers in low-income and historically disadvantaged communities to plan, develop, and execute community solar projects. […]

The Equitable Energy Future Grant Program is delivering awards totaling $10.3 million to 12 grantees to provide seed funding and pre-development funding opportunities to equity eligible contractors to work on renewable energy projects in low-income and historically disadvantaged communities. The goal of the Equitable Energy Future Grant Program is to help remove barriers to projects, community, and business development in communities that have been historically left behind due to lack of available capital.

* From a friend: “Former state Rep. Cindy Soto unfortunately passed away last night in the hospital succumbing to cancer. … Cindy was a wonderful person and a force in the Capitol who got things done behind the scenes.” More information to come.

*** Statewide ***

* Center Square | Clash continues around federal ag funding impacts in Illinois: “We don’t have what right now looks like about $11 billion that we will lose to the state of Illinois. We don’t have $11 billion to fill in the gaps on education, health care,” said Pritzker. “Again, I want to remind everybody what the purpose of all of that is, of taking all that away is, it’s to give big tax cuts to people who don’t need them.”

* Sportico | Big Ten media deal must be revealed, Illinois AG says: This decision follows the university’s denial of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request made two years ago by Michael LeRoy, a U of I law professor who studies college sports. To date, the Big Ten’s seven-year, $7 billion deal with Fox, CBS and NBC, which took effect in July 2023, has remained undisclosed, despite numerous attempts by journalists and others to obtain the agreement through public records requests made of Big Ten universities.

* Tribune | HUD Midwest director, other longtime Chicago staff retiring early amid Trump administration threats, cuts to agency: Eight Chicago-based U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development staffers with more than 180 years of service collectively have retired or are retiring later this year as the agency undergoes scrutiny and faces cuts from billionaire Tesla founder Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency and President Donald Trump. Jim Cunningham, who oversaw the entire Midwest region from HUD’s Chicago office, is retiring early after nearly 34 years of service. Cunningham told the Tribune he had planned to retire at the end of 2026. Instead, he worked his last day Friday as he said he was concerned he might be terminated given the recent upheaval at HUD and, therefore, lose benefits such as health insurance.

*** Chicago ***

* WBEZ | Tense City Hall meeting on CTU contract, CPS budget vote ends with ‘handful of issues’ still unresolved: Feeling the crunch ahead of a pivotal Board of Education vote Thursday on the Chicago Public Schools budget dispute, Mayor Brandon Johnson summoned key players to his office Wednesday to try to settle the Chicago Teachers Union contract negotiations. Unlike past mayor’s office huddles that helped close out CTU talks, this one didn’t land a deal. It instead was another tense gathering that ended with teachers union and school district officials both walking out visibly angry.

* ABC Chicago | CPS Board of Education meeting Thursday to vote on $175M pension payment: “So, today’s conversation, the convening of today’s conversation, was to get both sides of the table to discuss the differences within settling in this contract with just a couple of issues, just to understand that. Today, I got that understanding, and as a part of our conversation, there are pathways to settle those differences,” Johnson said.

* Block Club | Lolla 4-Day Tickets Already Sold Out As 2025 Daily Lineup Announced: After selling out of four-day tickets in under an hour, Lollapalooza dropped its daily lineup Thursday morning. The mega music fest returns to Grant Park with 170 bands, eight stages and four days of music Thursday, July 31-Sunday, Aug. 3.

* Sun-Times | Comparing 3 Bears stadium proposals in Arlington Heights, Bronzeville and the lakefront: The Bears and public officials have not come to terms yet on any stadium deal, but developers and the team are pushing bold (and expensive) ideas. All of them involve moving the Bears into a world-class stadium with a dome. Here’s how each of the three most prominent proposals — Arlington Heights, the museum campus lakefront and the former Michael Reese hospital site in Bronzeville — size up.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | State regulators block shutdown of psychiatric unit at Arlington Heights hospital: Corporate owner Endeavor Health’s request to close the 52-bed NCH Behavioral Health Center, 901 W. Kirchoff Road, failed to gain approval from the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board. The panel deadlocked 4-4 Tuesday on the hospital system’s formal application to discontinue the inpatient acute mental illness category of service on the Arlington Heights campus. Next steps, including whether Endeavor might appeal the decision, were immediately unclear.

* Daily Herald | Where’s my Metra train? Railroad updates progress of installing digital signs, ticket machines: So far, 285 signs have been installed at 110 stations, and the commuter railroad’s goal is to have one at every stop by the end of March 2026. An upgrade from Metra’s traditional LED displays, the latest versions show when trains are coming in real time using GPS technology on railcars and at stations. They also issue travel alerts.

* Daily Herald | Buffalo Grove approves selling Lake Michigan water to Long Grove: Long Grove is expected to approve an intergovernmental agreement Tuesday allowing the village to buy water from Buffalo Grove. Buffalo Grove trustees on Monday approved their end of the bargain, which calls for Long Grove to receive up to 260,000 gallons per day for up to 20 years. Buffalo Grove officials estimate initial revenue at $80,000 annually.

* Tribune | $45 million bond issue in Western Springs would fund infrastructure projects: Voters in Western Springs will be asked to approve a $45 million bond issue in the April 1 Consolidated General Election, funding village officials hope to have available to complete projects addressing aging infrastructure such as sanitary and storm sewers, water mains, roadways, sidewalks and street lighting. Village officials are hopeful the referendum will be successful. “We’re already doing engineering for some projects, projects that we’ve jumped ahead because we know that we need to do them,” said Casey Biernacki, deputy village manager. “One project in particular is Woodland Avenue.”

* ABC Chicago | NWS confirms tornado touchdown in Gary; storm cleanup underway in south suburbs: The National Weather Service confirms an EF-1 tornado touched down in Gary, Indiana. NWS teams are surveying the area to see if there were any other tornados. Residents across the south suburbs and northwest Indiana will be getting a closer look at the damage. “It was really something that can’t be put into words,” Gary resident Goityra Chamberlain said. “Last night sounded like a thunderstorm times 100.”

* Daily Southtown | Severe weather tears through New Lenox, rips roof off Steger building: Fire Chief Michael Long said the building was once a macaroni factory but was in the process of being converted to self-storage facility. The Fire Department was called about 5:30 p.m. and found large portions of the roof had blown onto adjacent railroad tracks, prompting officials to close to tracks until the railroad responded to clear debris, Long said.

*** Downstate ***

* Daily-Journal | School board candidate charged with misdemeanor battery: A candidate running for a seat on the Kankakee School District 111 board, Dajon Casiel, has been charged with Class A misdemeanor battery following an incident last year involving a current Kankakee High School student. It is punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500. Due to the incident, the 19-year-old Casiel has been temporarily banned from Kankakee High School during school hours.

* WCIA | Champaign County Sheriff’s Office looking to correct a hiring issue: If you’re looking to break into the criminal justice field — there’s new opportunities right here in Champaign County. The Sheriff’s Office is making a push to hire about a dozen people in their corrections department to fill an increased need. Sheriff Dustin Heuerman said they need more people to effectively open the renovated Champaign County jail. Inmates who are currently in other counties will be moving back in soon. Which means more correctional officers and behind the scenes personnel will be needed.

* Smile Politely | Potawatomi Band voices support for U of I’s new mascot: Last week, the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi released an official statement addressed to University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Chancellor, Robert J. Jones. This statement voiced strong support for university students’ efforts to replace the retired, outdated, and offensive chief mascot with a new one, highlighting the Kingfisher’s successful appeal to the U of I community. The Band acknowledges that the chief is technically retired, but points to the fact that, without an official replacement, its image has continually been used. The caricature of Native peoples that is the chief still appears on U of I sports merchandise and, of course, is still heralded as U of I’s “true mascot” by alumni and people who have no university affiliation alike. While implementing a new mascot may not completely halt some community members’ white-knuckled grip on the chief, it would mark the completion of the old mascot’s overdue demise.

* NBC Chicago | ‘Gustnadoes’ reported in severe thunderstorms in central Illinois: According to the National Weather Service, there have been “gustnadoes” forming out in front of a line of severe thunderstorms that led to a severe storm warning in Livingston County on Wednesday afternoon. Blowing dust is also being reported ahead of the storm, which could pack wind gusts of up to 70 miles per hour as it moves to the northeast, according to forecasters.

* WSIL | SIU’s Maple Festival set for this weekend: It’s an annual tradition that helps ring in Spring and celebrates a local tasty treat. It’s the 2025 Maple Syrup Festival, at Southern Illinois University’s Touch of Nature Outdoor Education Center, and it’s happening the weekend of March 22-23. The festival happens Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

*** National ***

* NPR | With Trump’s crackdown on DEI, some women fear a path to good-paying jobs will close: Sugerman, who later tended to elevators and escalators at Sears Tower, then the tallest building in the world, wonders if the small forays that women have made in the construction trades since the 1980s will simply vanish. […] The Labor Department did not respond to NPR’s request for comment on the impact the dismantling of EO 11246 may have on women and people of color.

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What Is A Credit Union?

Thursday, Mar 20, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

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Durbin doubles down on Section 230, says he’ll make reelection announcement ’soon,’ says he still has ‘my wits about me’

Thursday, Mar 20, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Background is here and here if you need it. But here’s a little something from Seth Stern, the director of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation, to get you started…

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin wants to sunset Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects websites and apps from liability for posts created by users. Without it, the internet as we know it couldn’t function — the legal risks of interactivity would be too great.

* Sen. Durbin was in Taylorville today, so Isabel dropped by…

Isabel Miller: A first amendment lawyer said your plan to sunset Section 230 would stifle free speech. A reporter said that it would destroy the open internet. And my boss said that if 230 was repealed, it would put his website out of business. Why do you want to do this?

Sen. Durbin: Because of the sexual exploitation on the internet.

Isabel: Aren’t there rules in place to stop that already?

Sen. Durbin: Section 230 says the following: If your teenage daughter is exploited with images which I can’t even describe here, on the internet, and she discovers it to her horror and goes to that internet, social media source and said, ‘take them down,’ there is no legal obligation for them to do so. Why? Because Section 230 says they can’t be held liable for continuing to broadcast this filth at the expense of this poor girl and her family. That’s why 230 has to be revisited. 20 years ago, it might have made sense. It doesn’t make sense now. There is no reason why the people on the internet should get away with this, and what we say is, if they want to do that, then they’re subject to being sued. I think that will slow down the trafficking in this terrible sexploitation.

I totally disagree that you can’t force a social media company to take down child porn.

* Back to Isabel…

Isabel: Why not just tweak that? Why go after the whole 230?

Sen. Durbin: I have a bill to do that… it’s called CSAM, a children’s sexual abuse material, and it would say that the parents and the child can sue that social media outlet that didn’t take comment down that image and that they were notified. How in the world can we justify these people continuing these terrible images on the internet at the expense of this girl and her family? I mean, for goodness sake, there’s no excuse for that.

OK, then maybe focus on that bill, Senator. Don’t use a nuke when a smart bomb would clearly suffice.

* Isabel also asked Durbin about his future plans…

Isabel: Senator, when is your personal deadline to announce that you’ll either be running again or stepping down?

Durbin: Soon.

Isabel: This month, next month?

Durbin: Soon.

Q: What sort of factors help you make that decision?

Durbin: Whether I’m still physically able, mentally able to deal with the issues. This press conference is an indication that I still have my wits about me. And when it comes to the physical side of it, up and moving around, taking nourishment.

Thoughts?

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The ball is still in the legislature’s court

Thursday, Mar 20, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Chalkbeat…

Illinois advocates gathered in Springfield on Wednesday to push the state to release $50 million budgeted for after-school programs this year, saying the delay has cost some workers their jobs and caused parents to lose child care.

The Afterschool for Children and Teens Now coalition, known as ACT Now, is asking for the Illinois State Board of Education and Gov. J.B. Pritzker to distribute the money to after-school providers as soon as possible and continue funding programs in the state’s next budget. […]

Susan Stanton, executive director for ACT Now, told Chalkbeat that the coalition is seeing a “ripple effect” from after-school programs shutting down, with parents losing child care.

A spokesperson for the Illinois State Board of Education said the agency is waiting on “further guidance” from the General Assembly regarding how to distribute the $50 million appropriation since it was “not tied to an existing statutory program.” The funding was not part of the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning grants, the spokesperson said.

* I’ve written about this before…

The Democratic legislative leaders and the governor agreed to squirrel away $260 million in lump-sum appropriations to various state agencies last spring. But now some groups are figuring out that a big pile of state money is just sitting there and they are trying to stake their claims.

This came to light last month when the Chicago Tribune reported that people advocating to replace the lost federal money for after-school programs wanted to tap into two separate $25 million lump-sum legislative appropriations to the Illinois State Board of Education for “grants and administrative expenses associated with after school programs.”

Trouble is, the governor committed to the House speaker and Senate president not to spend that money until all three could agree what it would be spent on.

* From yesterday’s press conference…

Q: The governor’s office and ISBE [are] saying that the legislature appropriated $50 million but they didn’t provide any instructions for how that money is supposed to be allocated, and the discussion in the budget negotiations last year was that it would be distributed when legislative leaders provide them with direction. So the ball has kind of in the legislature’s court. What are they waiting on?

Sen. Celina Villanueva: Unfortunately, it’s been a back and forth, and there isn’t 100% clarity on exactly where everything is at right now. So the reality is this, we know that these programs are important, we know these services are important. I am a legislator, and I know several other legislators that have been here, this is about prioritizing as we’re having the conversations right now, because we’re also talking about next year’s budget, so it’s kind of a two-fold approach. We need to make sure that the money that is in the current fiscal year budget is actually coming out and getting to the places where it needs to get to. Unfortunately, this is like, there’s a lot of hold-up. But we’re also talking about making sure and continuing to fight for continued investment in these programs. So right now, there isn’t a clear answer to you to be 100 percent.

Q: What is contributing to that hold-up? Is that why you said it isn’t 100 percent clear right now?

Sen. Villanueva: There’s a lot behind that.

Please pardon all transcription errors.

The bottom line hasn’t changed: ISBE can’t release the funds until the leaders (mainly the House Speaker) decide what to do with the money.

  3 Comments      


AG Raoul is a busy man

Thursday, Mar 20, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From a national Politico story from last month entitled “23 Dem AGs think they’ve cracked the code to fighting Trump”…

The resistance meets daily on Microsoft Teams.

The country’s 23 Democratic state attorneys general log on at 4pm ET for a thirty-minute confidential video chat to coordinate their plans for pushing back against the Trump administration. They share updates on the seven cases they have moving through federal courts and argue about whether to treat Elon Musk as a lawful arm of the government or an uncredentialed interloper to it. They plot where to respond next, leveraging timezone differences to expand the workday. […]

“Right now in the United States, the Democratic AGs are the only group of people who are united and working to prevent some of these unconstitutional actions from continuing,” Hawaii attorney general Anne Lopez boasted in an interview. […]

“As you can imagine, everybody is the chief legal officer of their respective state, so everybody is used to being in charge,” said Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul. “When you’re working collectively on something there’s a desire for everyone to have a leadership role, but you have to put that aside sometimes in the interest of working together.”

Click here to read the rest. It’s a heckuva story.

* I told subscribers about this dispute the other day. Press release…

Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined three attorneys general on Wednesday in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration to preserve federal grant dollars flowing into Illinois for clean-energy projects. Raoul and the coalition filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Illinois Climate Bank, a state-created public bank whose purpose is to stimulate the development of clean energy and greenhouse gas emissions-reducing projects, and to help overcome existing market barriers to these projects.

The lawsuit also names Citibank, which holds the funds for the federal government, to ensure those funds are released as required by law.

“Congress appropriated billions to assist in transitioning to a clean-energy future, protecting our environment from carbon emissions and putting people to work in the process,” Raoul said. “The Trump administration’s decision to deny these critical funds will prevent the development of clean energy projects across Illinois, and I will continue to work with my colleagues to fight this illegal action that hurts our environmental and economic future.”

In their lawsuit, Raoul and the coalition allege that since February 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has pursued a highly irregular and illegal campaign to thwart the $20 billion appropriation Congress made to Illinois and other state green banks. The lawsuit states the EPA has terminated the grants solely due to the Trump administration’s opposition to the duly-enacted Inflation Reduction Act. Raoul and the coalition argue this violates fundamental constitutional guarantees of liberty in the separation of powers and flouts myriad statutory and regulatory controls on federal agencies’ management of congressional appropriations and finalized awards.

Raoul and the coalition further allege that Citibank, which holds the funds for the EPA in a financial agency agreement, improperly capitulated to a Feb. 17 letter from the FBI that demanded that Citibank freeze the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) it held, despite being required by law to release the congressionally-approved funds upon the request of grantees and subgrantees.

The federal government’s improper campaign against GGRF funding also included an attempt to seize the funds Citibank holds, which is an abuse of power that led one of the Department of Justice’s top criminal prosecutors to resign as they refused to proceed in the absence of evidence legally required to seize those funds. A federal judge has since denied the EPA a warrant in this matter, and two different U.S. attorneys’ offices have also declined the case due to lack of probable cause.

Joining Raoul in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of California, Maine and Minnesota.

The lawsuit is here.

* Press release…

Attorney General Kwame Raoul will join four state attorneys general today to participate in a Community Impact Hearing in Minnesota, where they will hear from the public about how the Trump administration’s executive orders and other actions are harming them and how they can fight back. This will be the second hearing in a national series of similar events hosted by attorneys general around the country.

Topics of the hearing will range from funding cuts, to mass firings, to attacks on public health. It will give the attorneys general the opportunity to hear about the direct impact that the Trump administration’s cruel, chaotic and frequently unlawful actions are having on the people of Minnesota.

    Who: Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul  
    Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes
    Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison
    New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin
    New York Attorney General Letitia James

    When: Thursday, March 20, 2025
    5 p.m. media availability
    6 to 8 p.m. town hall

    Where: Minneapolis/Saint Paul area: location provided upon RSVP
    Livestream: www.youtube.com/@agkeithellison

* And another press release from earlier this week…

Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a coalition of 12 attorneys general, today submitted a comment letter to the U.S. Department of State opposing proposed changes to the passport application process that would prevent transgender and nonbinary individuals from obtaining a passport that matches their gender identity.

“This change in the passport application process is the latest of the Trump administration’s efforts to diminish the existence of transgender and nonbinary Americans. Prohibiting transgender and nonbinary people from having identification documents that align with their gender identity makes them less safe,” Raoul said. “Transgender and nonbinary individuals have the right to choose how their identity is reflected on their passports so they are not subjected to unnecessary confusion or delays while traveling. I am proud to stand with other attorneys general to advocate for and protect the rights of transgender and nonbinary individuals who deserve to live authentically throughout this country.”

On Jan. 20, the Trump administration issued an executive order declaring the United States will only recognize two sexes, male and female, and instructing the secretaries of State and Homeland Security to “implement changes that require that government-issued identification documents, including passports, visas, and Global Entry cards, accurately reflect the holder’s sex,” as defined by the executive order. Subsequently, the U.S. Department of State proposed changes to several passport information collection forms. The order and proposed changes break with decades of federal policy on gender identity, including the ability for individuals to change gender markers in identifying records and documents.

In the comment letter, Raoul and the coalition argue the proposed changes would significantly harm nonbinary and transgender people. Forcing a transgender or nonbinary person to have identity documents that do not align with their gender identity impedes their ability to live and travel. For example, when a person’s passport does not comport with their physical appearance, it could cause confusion, delays or harassment when they travel within the United States and internationally. These harms compound the psychological harm that could result from the new policy.

Further, the coalition argues the policy would cause considerable confusion between state-issued identification cards and federal identification documents. The proposed changes conflict with state laws that permit gender marker changes on identifying documents, allowing individuals to participate fully in society and obtain public benefits. At least 16 states, including Illinois, allow transgender and nonbinary people to correct their state-issued birth certificates to accurately reflect their gender identity. If identifying information on state-issued documents does not match with information on federal documents, individuals would likely experience delays when trying to access resources. In addition, states would likely be forced to expend needless resources to review mismatched documents.

  5 Comments      


It’s just a bill

Thursday, Mar 20, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* WAND…

A bill moving in the Illinois Senate could protect families from evictions under crime free housing ordinances.

Most local governments have laws in place to allow landlords to evict renters if they are charged with crimes or call law enforcement for help. This legislation could prevent evictions for criminal activity tenants are not involved in or simply calling police to help after domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking.

“You shouldn’t be evicted from your home for calling 9-1-1 because you need help,” Senate President Don Harmon said Wednesday. “You shouldn’t be evicted from your home because your autistic child calls 9-1-1. You shouldn’t be evicted from your home because an uninvited person shows up at your front door.” […]

Although, the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police and Illinois Municipal League opposed the bill. Leaders from both organizations said they agree that people should not be evicted following calls for service. They noted there is no penalty included in the proposal for landlords refusing to correct an issue at their property.

* Tribune…

In 1963, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Gideon v. Wainwright that every person has a constitutional right to free legal representation in criminal cases, including poor people who are unable to afford a private attorney.

On Tuesday, the 62nd anniversary of the landmark court decision, an Illinois House committee approved by a 10-5 vote a measure that would create a statewide public defender’s office to assist under-resourced county public defenders throughout Illinois.

It’s the first time the bill, dubbed by advocates as the Funded Advocacy & Independent Representation bill, or FAIR Act, has moved forward since a version was introduced last year by Democratic Senate President Don Harmon of Oak Park. But lawmakers in favor of the bill, which is primarily geared toward rural counties, acknowledged it still needs some changes before advancing through the legislative process.

Advocates point to multiple reports from 2019 to 2023 that show about 60% of Illinois counties have no government office of public defense, and instead contract with private attorneys, often part time.

SB2264 passed out of Senate Executive on a partisan vote.

* Sen. Mike Porfirio…

A new initiative by State Senator Mike Porfirio could improve safety for thousands of first responders across Illinois, following the tragic passing of Andrew Price, a Chicago firefighter who fell through a light shaft while fearlessly suppressing a fire on the roof of a restaurant.

“First responders like Andrew risk their lives for us every day,” said Porfirio (D-Lyons Township). “We owe it to him and all those who serve us to take any steps we can to improve their safety.”

Porfirio’s proposed bill targets the risks firefighters face as they traverse roofs with light shafts, open courts and skylights. The bill would require roof openings to be covered or for a parapet to be built around them to increase their safety. The bill also would require local municipalities to complete a survey of buildings under their jurisdiction to share with local police and fire departments. Existing buildings with flat roof openings would be integrated over time and not require immediate modifications.

Price’s widow, Lara, spoke in support of the bill during the Senate Local Government Committee on Wednesday.

“Light shafts aren’t rare,” said Price. “There are deadly openings on roofs across the country, especially in buildings where firefighters are called most often.”

Senate Bill 1742 passed the Senate Local Government Committee.

* WAND…

A new bill by State House Democrats would look to remove move-in fees from Illinoisan when they rent a new home.

Right now, landlords are able to charge a move-in fee alongside a security deposit and other fees when renters move in.

State Rep. Nabeela Syed (D-Palatine) said these are junk fee’s that are unnecessary.
“I have not encountered a very legitimate reason thus far as to why someone would be able to charge a move-in fee that’s different from a security deposit,” Syed said. […]

The bill passed out of the House housing committee on a partisan 10-6 vote. It now heads to the House floor, where lawmakers could talk about it in the coming weeks.

* WAND…

A plan by State Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid (D-Berwyn) would limit the yearly rent increase on mobile homes to three percent. Rashid said hedge funds and big investment firms are buying mobile home lots in bulk to gain a profit from mobile home renters.

“One prominent park investor Frank Rolfe infamously likened his tenants to hostages,” Rashid said. “I’m quoting him. One of the big drivers to making money is the ability to increase the rent. If we didn’t have them hostage, if they weren’t stuck in these mobile home lots, it would be a whole different picture. We’re like a Waffle House where everyone is chained to the booths.”

While receiving support from his Democrat colleagues, some Republicans opposed the bill. State Rep. Mike Coffey (R-Springfield) said the limit on rent could make owning mobile homes nonviable in Illinois. […]

The plan passed out of the House housing committee on a partisan 10-6 vote. It now heads to the House floor where lawmakers could talk about it in the coming weeks.

* Illinois Environmental Council, Alliance for the Great Lakes…

SPRINGFIELD, IL – Following the anticipated Illinois Senate Environment and Conservation Committee passage of cornerstone legislation phasing out the use of certain types of single-use plastics statewide, State Sen. Laura Fine and environmental advocates part of Plastic Reduction Lobby Day will gather to discuss the significance of advancing bills, forecast next steps in the legislative process, and unveil the suite of plastic reduction bills being considered by the Illinois General Assembly this year.

SB1531, a bill phasing out single-use foam foodware sponsored by Sen. Fine, and SB1872, a bill phasing out single-use plastic shopping bags at large retailers sponsored by Sen. Cristina Castro have strong bipartisan and stakeholder support going into the committee hearing. Advocates are pointing to the historic nature of their imminent passage, as no statewide retail phase-out of single-use plastics has ever passed in Illinois, despite the introduction of such bills for decades.

The Senate Environment and Conservation Committee is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. on Thursday, March 20.

* WAND…

Illinois House Democrats hope to require public universities and community colleges with student health services to provide contraception and medication abortion.

Campus health care professionals would be tasked with discussing contraception and abortion options with students before sending prescriptions to campus pharmacies.

The legislation also states that these services could be provided through in-person appointments, telehealth, or other licensed providers.

Rep. Anna Moeller (D-Elgin) said this is a top priority for the Pritzker administration this spring. Moeller presented the bill to the House Higher Education Committee Wednesday night with help from University of Illinois Senior Emma Darbo. The brain and cardio science student said she plans to go to medical school soon in hopes of providing equitable and inclusive reproductive healthcare. […]

House Bill 3709 passed out of the House Higher Education Committee on a partisan 7-4 vote. It now moves to the House floor for further consideration.

* Sen. Mike Simmons…

Continuing his work to remove barriers when accessing housing and state services, State Senator Mike Simmons is moving legislation that would remove a notary requirement for unhoused residents who apply for a free state identification card.

“A major barrier for unhoused folks is that they often have no form of official identification, which means they cannot apply for a job, a transit card, housing, and much more. In order to apply for a free state ID, the person is currently required to get the signature of a notary. This is simply too difficult,” said Simmons (D-Chicago). “Easing the requirement for unhoused residents to get ID cards means they can get back on their feet sooner.”

Currently, application fees for standard Illinois state IDs are waived for unhoused individuals, but their application must be accompanied by a notarized affirmation. This can be difficult for individuals with little financial resources, as notary fees vary but can cost up to $25. Under Senate Bill 1173, the notary requirement for unhoused individuals to apply for and obtain a state ID would be lifted.

“This is a simple fix to allow our unhoused neighbors in Illinois to get their ID cards without the burdensome process of finding a notary,” said Simmons. “Many daily tasks may require identification and we want to make sure all members of our communities can easily obtain IDs so they can access the services they need.”

Senate Bill 1173 passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

* Capitol News Illinois…

A Senate committee passed a bill this week that would give specialized training on human trafficking and establish coordination across multiple state agencies and partners.

Advocate and Chicago-native Brenda Myers-Powell, who was a victim of human trafficking for 25 years starting as a child, spoke at the state Capitol on Wednesday in support of the bill.

“I wish someone had recognized the signs when I was vulnerable,” Myers-Powell said. “The expanded screening for youth in state care could have identified my situation before it escalated. The creation of standards of care means survivors like me won’t have inconsistent, sometimes retraumatizing responses I encountered.” […]

Senate Bill 2323 follows multiple recommendations from the state Joint Human Trafficking Working Group formed in 2023. The recommendations included victim screening, multi-agency coordination, victim-focused training and more. […]

If the bill is implemented, multiple state agencies would have to make new units that work across jurisdictions and have specialized training to work with victims and potential future victims.

“As a transportation hub, Illinois ranks among the highest in the number of human trafficking cases in the whole United States,” Sen. Julie Morrison, D-Deerfield, the bill’s lead sponsor, said Wednesday.

* Sen. Graciela Guzmán…

Thanks to a new initiative from State Senator Graciela Guzmán to expand the accepted payment plans for homes through community land trusts, more people may soon have the opportunity to become homeowners.

“Housing is a human right. We should be doing everything in our power to make it more affordable and accessible for everyday Illinoisans, including homeownership,” said Guzmán. “Community land trusts are a great pathway to make the dream of homeownership a reality and allow for folks to have more stability in their living situation. I am excited that this initiative will work to make this method of landownership more common, and to continue to build on the ingenuity of their model.”

Community land trusts, or CLTs, are community-based, nonprofit organizations that manage a parcel of land to preserve long-term affordability of homes created through subsidies. CLTs sell homes on the land they manage at affordable prices to a qualifying homebuyer. Oftentimes, they place limits on the incomes of people looking to purchase homes to ensure affordable housing is going to people in the most financial need. Driven by constituents, for constituents, this model aims to keep folks in the community that may otherwise be priced out by corporate rent and mortgage rates.

Senate Bill 1261 would further incentivize prospective homebuyers to invest in CLTs by making the IHDA Access Forgivable, Access Deferred, and Access Repayable mortgage programs available to people seeking property owned by a community land trust. These programs offer more flexibility for buyers to pay their mortgage, which may encourage people to invest in property with CLTs. […]

Senate Bill 1261 passed the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday.

  5 Comments      


Nursing Home Residents Have Waited 14 Years For Safe Staffing—Lawmakers Must Hold the Line

Thursday, Mar 20, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement and has been updated at the advertiser’s request.]

Advocates for senior care and nursing home frontline workers have been fighting for over 14 years to hold the nursing home industry in Illinois accountable for safe staffing levels.

Lawmakers established legal requirements for safe staffing levels, only to have nursing homes routinely ignore them. Then these legal limits were bolstered with enforcement measures—but the worst actors in the industry continue to staff at dangerously low levels. In fact, Illinois is worst in the country with the largest gap between care hours needed and care hours actually provided. Dead last among states.

And now after 14 years of time and again receiving warnings and incentives and second, third and tenth chances to staff at the legally required levels, the industry began accruing fines in January that are actually substantial enough to take the profit motive out of short staffing.

The industry’s response? HB 2922—designed to once again water down the existing fines and enforcement measures so they can continue to shortchange vulnerable seniors.

This is despite the over $3 billion that Illinois pays to nursing homes annually for resident care—including hundreds of millions of dollars specifically earmarked to bolster direct care staffing levels.

It’s time for lawmakers hold firm and let the nursing home industry know that in Illinois, care comes first—not nursing home profits.

Oppose HB 2922—because safe, dignified, accountable nursing home care can’t wait.

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Open thread

Thursday, Mar 20, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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

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Isabel’s morning briefing

Thursday, Mar 20, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: Federal DOJ launches probe into Illinois’ treatment of people with disabilities. Capitol News Illinois…

The U.S. Department of Justice has opened a wide-ranging investigation into Illinois’ treatment of people with developmental disabilities, examining whether the state provides adequate resources for community living and protects residents from harm in public institutions.

Tonya Piephoff, director of the Illinois Department of Human Services’ Division of Developmental Disabilities, informed employees of the investigation in a letter last week that was obtained by Capitol News Illinois.

“The investigation will examine whether the state unnecessarily institutionalizes, or puts at serious risk of institutionalization, adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” the letter stated.

The letter said the investigation also will probe abuse and neglect allegations of patients at the Choate, Jack Mabley and Samuel Shapiro developmental centers, three of the seven state-operated residential institutions operated by IDHS.

* BlueRoomStream.com’s coverage of today’s press conferences and committee hearings can be found here.

* Governor Pritzker will be at the Ovation Center in Romeoville at 2 pm with Congresswoman Lauren Underwood to call attention to potential cuts to Social Security. Click here to watch.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Tribune | Bracing for budget crisis, Metra agreed to pay lobbyist as much as $4.65M for work on transit fiscal cliff: The five-year lobbying contract is in effect as the the region’s four transit agencies, including Metra, stare down a $771 million budget gap when federal COVID-19 relief funding runs out next year. Agency heads and advocates have warned that steep service cuts and fare hikes are at stake unless transit gets additional state money. Yet last year alone, Metra spent more than $602,000 on lobbyists for help with the budget cliff, along with work on Metra’s transition to a less commuter-focused service and advancing other Metra interests at the federal, state and regional level, according to public expense data and a copy of the lobbying contract, which took effect about a year ago.

* Bloomberg | Fed holds rates, sees slower growth and higher inflation: Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged the high degree of uncertainty from President Donald Trump’s significant policy changes, but repeated the central bank is not in a hurry to adjust borrowing costs. He said officials can wait for greater clarity on the impact of those policies on the economy before acting.

* Tribune | Sentencing for ex-Speaker Michael Madigan on bribery conviction set for June 13: A federal judge Wednesday set sentencing for former House Speaker Michael Madigan on bribery and other charges for June 13. The order by U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey comes more than a month after Madigan, once the most powerful politician in the state, was convicted by a jury on bribery conspiracy and other corruption charges alleging he used his public office to increase his power, line his own pockets and enrich a small circle of his most loyal associates.

*** Statehouse News ***

* WAND | Commission to find if auto insurance discriminates on credit score and race: A commission could be created by the Illinois House Democrats that would look to see if the auto insurance companies have discriminated customers based on credit score, zip code, race and age. The commission would take one year to write up a report and release that report out to the public. From there lawmakers can use the data to plan future bills.

* Chalkbeat Chicago | Illinois advocates call on state to release $50 million for after-school programs: Since funding has been delayed to after-school programs throughout the state this year, over 27,000 students have missed programming and more than 2,000 staff members have lost their jobs, according to the coalition. Susan Stanton, executive director for ACT Now, told Chalkbeat that the coalition is seeing a “ripple effect” from after-school programs shutting down, with parents losing child care. A spokesperson for the Illinois State Board of Education said the agency is waiting on “further guidance” from the General Assembly regarding how to distribute the $50 million appropriation since it was “not tied to an existing statutory program.” The funding was not part of the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning grants, the spokesperson said.

* Sen. Seth Lewis | Just trust Chicago? Not when it comes to public transit: Chicago’s leaders are asking suburban taxpayers to take a “leap of faith” — to trust them with the future of public transit. But after years of financial mismanagement, runaway debt and bailout demands, that trust has long been broken. A financial crisis is looming — one that could reshape public transit and strip suburban communities of their voice. Northeast Illinois’ transit systems — Metra, Pace and the CTA — are facing a $770 million fiscal cliff next year, and major decisions that will affect riders across the region.

* Transit union leaders | A new bill offers a path forward for Illinois transit funding: This issue is not just numbers; it’s about real people. Consider the essential worker who must catch a bus for their early shift, the student who needs the train to get to college or the retiree who uses public transportation to reach their doctor. On the business side, companies also depend on a solid transit system to connect with customers and employees. A safe and reliable system also provides benefits to those who enjoy the best of what Chicagoland offers, such as its iconic museums, dining, sporting events, shopping and festivals. If we do nothing, the effects will be severe.

* Crain’s | Civic groups step up calls for expanding Illinois sales tax to services: Illinois is facing a $3.2 billion shortfall in the fiscal year that starts July 1, in part because pandemic-era federal funds that paid for an expansion of Medicaid have run out. The outlook could be even more precarious because of recent actions by the Trump administration to cut funding to the state.

*** Chicago ***

* Crain’s | Johnson’s 11th-hour bid to broker an end to the CPS pension standoff falls short: Mayor Brandon Johnson sat down with Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez and Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates this afternoon ahead of an uncertain vote to amend the district’s budget. The City Hall meeting comes one day before the Chicago Board of Education is set to vote to alter its budget to accept an extra $139 million transfer from Chicago and on a separate agreement to reimburse the city for a $175 million pension payment City Hall made on behalf of non-teacher employees at CPS into the Municipal Employees’ Annuity & Benefit Fund. The parties all agreed negotiations on a new teachers contract had been narrowed to a small number of disagreements, but nothing was resolved.

* Tribune | Immigration crackdown leads to numerous reports of ICE agents near Chicago Public Schools, emails show: A look at emails from district officials in the weeks since the mistaken ICE report demonstrates that both panic and misinformation around ICE in schools has continued since the Hamline incident. The emails were mostly sent by officials at the CPS’ Student Safety Center, the district’s 24/7 command center for safety communications, and were obtained by the Tribune through a Freedom of Information Act request.

* Crain’s | Richard Roeper leaving the Chicago Sun-Times after 37 years: Roeper announced this morning he is stepping away March 21 after 37 years at the publication, a tenure that included serving as the late Gene Siskel’s successor alongside Roger Ebert on their TV show and later Ebert’s successor as the newspaper’s main movie critic after Ebert’s death. Roeper will continue reviewing films and TV shows on ABC7’s “Windy City Weekend,” hosting “The Richard Roeper Show” podcast and writing reviews regularly, according to a news release.

* Block Club | Neighbors, Activists Disrupt South Works Quantum Campus Meeting: ‘Don’t Poison Us’: A tense community meeting on the planned South Chicago megadevelopment — with a quantum research campus and a new hospital — highlighted neighbors’ mistrust over the project, driven by decades of divestment and “broken promises.”

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | After no-confidence vote from officers, Wheeling police chief to step down: Wheeling Police Chief Jamie Dunne will retire this summer after nine years leading the department, the village announced Wednesday. Dunne’s decision comes nearly a month after most of the department’s unionized patrol officers signed a letter formally declaring they’d lost confidence in his leadership. The letter accused Dunne of undermining department readiness by cutting training, improperly changing the department’s field training program, misusing funds, discouraging officers from taking overtime pay and other unfavorable actions.

* Lake County News-Sun | Transgender-related locker room complaint puts Lake County middle school in national spotlight: In a statement, the school district said students are not required to change into gym clothes in front of others in locker rooms, and have “multiple options to change in a private location if they wish.” The district said its policies and procedures, including student use of locker rooms, are in line with state laws, the Illinois School Code and guidance from the Illinois State Board of Education.

* Evanston RoundTable | Gov. Pritzker backs Mayor Biss for reelection: In an announcement email sent by the Biss campaign Wednesday afternoon, Pritzker is quoted as calling Biss a friend, colleague and “a partner to me in fighting for working families.” Similar to the mayor’s earlier endorsement from Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, Pritzker cited the need for local leadership to “stand up and fight back” against threats from the federal government under President Donald Trump.

* CNN | Police end Democratic lawmaker’s town hall after fiery confrontations: A heated confrontation broke out at Democratic Congressman Sean Casten’s town hall on Wednesday in Downers Grove, Illinois forcing police to escort constituents out of the building.

*** Downstate ***

* News-Gazette | Budzinski, Pritzker discuss impacts of federal cuts at Urbana roundtable: “We don’t have the votes to change this,” replied Gov. J.B. Pritzker. “What we do have is our voices in local communities and the stories that we can tell about the devastation that has occurred.” It was with this aim in mind that Pritzker, U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, and Illinois Department of Agriculture Director Jerry Costello II held a roundtable Wednesday afternoon on how federal cuts and freezes have impacted farming and conservation efforts.

* NPR Illinois | Funding announced for Lincoln’s New Salem repairs: The Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Illinois Capital Development Board announced $8 million for improvements to the popular recreated log village where young Abraham Lincoln lived for six formative years from 1831 to 1837. According to an announcement, the funding is made possible through the Rebuild Illinois program. The funds will be used to repair up to 23 log village buildings and update the outdoor theater.

* Rockford Register Star | Golden principal: Golden Apple winner makes sure all ’students are heard’: Megan Forsythe is the kind of principal who greets all 500 students at Whitman Post Elementary School by name each morning. She has an infectious energy, and she reminds her students that they matter and belong at her school. During a surprise ceremony on Wednesday, Forsythe was named the 2025 Golden Apple Outstanding Principal.

*** National ***

* Reuters | Trump signs order to shift disaster preparations from FEMA to states, local governments: U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order that seeks to shift responsibility for disaster preparations to state and local governments, deepening his drive to overhaul the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The order, first previewed by the White House on March 10, calls for a review of all infrastructure, continuity, and preparedness and response policies to update and simplify federal approaches.

* The New Yorker | What Made the Irish Famine So Deadly: The novelist Colm Tóibín suggested, in 1998, that the problem “may lie in the relationship between catastrophe and analytic narrative. How do you write about the Famine? What tone do you use?” He speculated, moreover, that the Great Hunger had created a great divide even in Irish consciousness. If, he said, he were to write a novel about his home town, Enniscorthy, that took place after the famine years, “I would not have to do much research”—because the place would resemble the one he grew up in. But he would find the years before and during the event itself “difficult to imagine.”

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition

Thursday, Mar 20, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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

Thursday, Mar 20, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Selected press releases (Live updates)

Thursday, Mar 20, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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Live coverage

Thursday, Mar 20, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Click here and/or here to follow breaking news. Hopefully, enough reporters and news outlets migrate to BlueSky so we can hopefully resume live-posting.

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