A top adviser to President Joe Biden, whose prominent communications firm helped launch a high-profile effort to assist victims of sexual harassment, rape and assault, was also a paid adviser to a powerful Illinois politician while he was being sued by one of those victims.
Anita Dunn, co-founder of the communications firm SKDK and widely considered a member of the president’s inner circle, provided “crisis communications” assistance to Michael Madigan, the then-Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, from 2018 to 2019. That work netted Dunn and her firm more than $200,000, according to campaign finance disclosures.
Madigan, who was also the leader of the state Democratic Party at the time, was not personally accused of sexual misconduct, but was being sued by a former employee of his political committees. That former employee, Alaina Hampton, alleged that Madigan retaliated against her when she reported that her direct supervisor had repeatedly harassed her over text messages.
While Dunn was advising Madigan, Hampton received support in her case from Dunn’s firm, which partnered with the anti-harassment charity Time’s Up. Dunn’s work for Madigan was specifically focused on responding to allegations stemming from Hampton’s lawsuit.
As a result, SKDK (the D stands for “Dunn”) was on the one hand supporting Hampton in her harassment and retaliation case through its partnership with Time’s Up, and on the other getting paid by a defendant in that very lawsuit.
* A brief mention was made of this in the Tribune’s August 27th Mapes trial roundup, which I regrettably didn’t read because I was on vacation at the time…
In one email to Mapes, McClain described how Madigan’s operation hired SKDK to “handle this problem” and develop a plan to be “assertive” and met with the firm’s Anita Dunn, a top player in the Obama and Biden administrations, to develop a strategy that included beginning with an op-ed.
Mapes had initiated the email exchange on Sept. 21, 2018, the day a Madigan-signed a commentary in the Tribune said he took responsibility for failing to “do enough’ and promising to do more to address inappropriate behavior in Springfield.
Records showed the “Friends of Madigan” campaign fund paid more than $200,000 to SKDK over 2018 and 2019 for advice on how to address the #MeToo issues.
It came around the same time that McClain gathered a group of utility lobbyists — including political gurus Tom Cullen and Will Cousineau — to work out arrangements to send checks to help Kevin Quinn after Madigan had tossed him from the speaker’s organization due to the longtime lieutenant’s own #MeToo scandal.
“If I knew SKDK was working with Mike Madigan, I wouldn’t have even applied for funding from Time’s Up,” Hampton said in an interview with the Tribune. “It’s a clear conflict of interest that the communications firm SKDK was working with Mike Madigan while also working with the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund when I was a client and the legal defense fund was paying money for my legal fees and public relation fees.”
Following days of Tribune questions, SKDK issued an apology Wednesday morning.
“We understand the concerns that have been raised,” SKDK partner Jill Zuckman said in a statement to the Tribune. “In retrospect, we realize that the decision to work with then-Speaker Madigan’s campaign on these matters was an error in light of the support Ms. Hampton was receiving from another firm through a separate initiative we were proud to support.
“We apologize to Ms. Hampton and her allies and reiterate our full support for the survivor community,” Zuckman said.
To Hampton, though, the apology fell flat: “It feels like they’re gaslighting me. Even now.”
* I’m told the talks with Chicago have been going very well and the talks with and about Arlington Heights have not gone well…
Statement from Chicago Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren:
“Our process to find the best stadium solution for our franchise, our fans and the region continues to be methodical and intentional. Thanks to the leadership of Mayor Brandon Johnson and his team, we have recently engaged in positive and productive discussions with the City of Chicago. We also continue to have dialogue with officials in Arlington Heights and other Chicagoland locations about a Chicago Bears stadium project. At this time, we want to appropriately explore all opportunities for the development of a world-class stadium and therefore will not be pursuing legislative support for mega projective incentive legislation in the Illinois General Assembly’s Fall Veto Session.”
Good news for the city. But it’s not like they had much of a chance in the veto session. Still, at least they’re learning.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today endorsed the recommendation by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for the newly FDA-approved COVID-19 shots for everyone over the age of 6 months. The federal agencies have given the green light for updated mRNA vaccines developed by Moderna and Pfizer that target the currently circulating strains of the COVID-19 virus.
Heading into the fall, IDPH is closely monitoring data on COVID-19 as well as other respiratory viruses including flu and RSV. The federal guidance comes as data indicates an uptick in COVID-19 hospitalizations in Illinois and the nation, with a seven percent increase statewide in the week ending September 2, the most recent period for which data is available. There are currently 12 Illinois counties at a medium level for COVID-19 hospitalizations according to the CDC national dashboard, meaning they exceed ten new cases per 100,000 population in the last week.
* When this bill was proposed in 2010, I repeatedly called it the worst bill ever. It allows local governments to use state sales tax money for local developments. Not a fan. Comptroller Mendoza is a fan and here’s her press release…
I’m so happy the city of Marion has approved the state’s first STAR Bonds project, which will bring welcome economic investment, jobs, new businesses, entertainment, fun and great opportunities to Southern Illinois.
I was very proud to work on the original legislation that former State Rep. John Bradley passed in 2010. Speaking on the House floor in favor of the bill, I outlined my language about Angel Investment Tax Credits that formed part of the Innovation Development and Economy Act, which paved the way for this district. That same year, Marion created its STAR Bonds District.
My Deputy Director of Outreach and Community Affairs, Josh Downs, read my letter of support for this project before the vote at last night’s Marion City Council meeting.
The Sales Tax and Revenue (STAR) Bonds are paid for by future sales taxes collected by businesses that locate in the district.
The new businesses anticipated at Marion’s Oasis Outdoors development include sports complexes, expanded golf and pickleball complexes, go-karts, virtual reality, bowling alleys, climbing walls, arcades, restaurants, a redevelopment of the mall to showcase one of the world’s largest RV dealerships, and so much more.
This project will be an economic driver for Southern Illinois and will attract significant out-of-state tourism dollars.
Congratulations to developers Rodney Cabaness; Shad Zimbro, Millennium Destination Development LLC, Marion Mayor Mike Absher and everyone else who is working on this innovative project.
Illinois Senate Republican Leader John Curran (R-Downers Grove) released the following statement on Saving Illinois Tax Credit Scholarships
“All Illinois children, regardless of their parents’ bank accounts or connections, deserve access to the best quality education possible to fit their individual needs. This access has been increased for over 9,000 lower-income families in Illinois through private donations in the Invest in Kids Scholarship program. The innocent children receiving these life-changing scholarships, and the thousands more on the waitlist, should not be caught in the middle of political or ideological fights, but instead should be given the certainty of a permanent program so they can continue to excel in their family’s school of choice. The Senate Republicans are united in our commitment to making permanent the Invest in Kids program this coming Veto Session, and will continue to prioritize empowering lower income parents to make the best educational choices for their children.”
* Press release…
Skokie, IL – The Women’s Board (WB) of the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center (IHMEC) raised more than $350,000 at its annual signature Soirée. More than 400 guests came together on Sept. 7th at Bryn Mawr Country Club to support the Museum’s mission to preserve the stories of Holocaust Survivors and continue their legacy into the future.
“We were thrilled to have everyone come together for such a wonderful night,” said Sue Spinello, Women’s Board co-president. “We appreciate everyone’s support of the Soirée as these critical funds will go a long way in helping the Museum achieve its mission,” said Leslie Schaffel, co-president. […]
“With the rise of antisemitism and other hate crimes, connecting the lessons of the Holocaust to present day continues to be as urgent as ever,” said Bernard Cherkasov, Museum CEO. “While our primary focus is on education and awareness, social events such as the Soirée are another way to work toward our mission.” […]
The Soirée raises funds to support the Museum’s mission to combat hatred, prejudice, and indifference, and to inspire visitors to become Upstanders who speak out for what’s right – turning powerful lessons of history into positive actions today. The WB specifically earmarked funds from this event to support upcoming special exhibitions, field trips to the Museum (virtual and in-person) for students in under-served communities, and Law Enforcement Action and Democracy (LEAD) Training.
* Women Employed press release…
Women Employed (WE) today announced it was named to the Crain’s Chicago Business 2023 list of Best Places to Work. For 50 years, Women Employed has relentlessly pursued equity for women in the workforce, from shaping policy change, expanding access to educational opportunities, to advocating for fair and inclusive workplaces so more women, families, and communities can thrive.
Ranked 22 out of 100 employers, WE was recognized in the top 25% for its deep commitment to equity that starts in its own workplace. As a small non-profit organization of 26 staff members, WE provides top-tier benefits, prioritizes fairness and inclusivity, and is highly responsive to staff needs. To ensure they are aligned with what they advocate for, WE offers family-friendly and employee-centered benefits such as generous sick time, paid leave, vacation, and health insurance, plus hybrid work and flexible scheduling options, allowing staff to manage responsibilities inside and outside of work. The leadership team holds itself accountable for organizational culture, staff development and nurturing and supporting the overall well-being of staff.
“We couldn’t authentically pursue equity for women in the workforce without ensuring equity, inclusivity, support, and flexibility in our own workplace,” said Cherita Ellens, President and CEO of Women Employed. “We believe our staff members deserve the best working environment to achieve success for themselves and our mission. We are thrilled to be recognized alongside so many other notable organizations that are doing right by their workers.”
* Oppo dump!..
On September 13, Eileen O’Neill Burke is set to hold a “Women Lawyers” fundraiser at the law offices of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard.
The first host listed on the invitation is Kristin Barnette – wife of disgraced and racist former Chicago Police Chief Garry McCarthy. Barnette donated a total of $23,120 to her husband’s mayoral campaign. Several other hosts of Burke’s upcoming fundraiser were also supporters of McCarthy’s Rudy Giuliani-supported mayoral run.
In total, the hosts of this event gave $30,600 to McCarthy’s Mayoral run. In addition to his wife, McCarthy received donations from:
• Sarah King - $500: Clifford Law Partner Sarah King gave $500 to McCarthy’s mayoral bid.
• Beth McCormack - $250: Beerman Partner Beth McCormack gave $250 to McCarthy’s mayoral bid.
• Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard - $2,500: The law firm where the fundraiser will take place gave $2,500 to McCarthy’s mayoral run.
• Patrick Salvi - $2,000: The firm is chaired by Patrick Salvi who gave $2,000 to McCarthy’s mayoral bid.
• Patrick Salvi Jr. - $2,000: The firm’s Chicago Managing Partner Patrick Salvi Jr. also gave $2,000 to McCarthy’s mayoral bid.
* Isabel’s roundup…
* Daily Herald | Witness says ex-DCFS workers were ‘ultimately responsible’ for AJ’s safety: Acosta, 57, of Woodstock, and Polovin, 51, of Island Lake, each are charged with two counts of endangering the life of a child and health of a minor and one count of reckless conduct related to their handling of the child’s case. Defense attorneys have argued the child welfare agency’s Woodstock field office, from which AJ’s case was handled, was “overwhelmingly overworked and understaffed.” […] To each question, Ruzicka said neither Acosta nor Polovin adhered to training and did what was required.
* Shaw Local | Grundy County chairman Chris Balkema announces candidacy for 53rd District senate seat: The district includes Grundy, Bureau, Ford, Iroquois, La Salle, Livingston, Marshall, McLean, Peoria, Putnam, Tazewell, Will and Woodford counties. During Balkema’s tenure, he said he defended Grundy County residents against gun regulations and executive orders during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said his firm stance ensured the rights of Grundy County residents were never compromised.
* Crain’s | White Sox sued over alleged discriminatory ticket-sales practices: The lawsuit, filed today on behalf of Sox fans Ralph Yaniz and Douglas McCormick, alleges that the White Sox failed to offer equal benefits to people with disabilities, required under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, by refusing to sell accessible-seat season tickets on its website.
* WBEZ | Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson vows he won’t raise property taxes to close $538 million budget gap: The gap is fueled in part by the ongoing effort to support migrants being sent to the city, as well as rising personnel costs and pension payments, the budget forecast released Wednesday reads. At least $149 million of the shortfall is driven by support for new arrivals. But in a news release, Johnson vowed to follow through on a campaign promise to produce a budget that “holds the line on not raising the base property tax levy.”
* WCIA | ADM East plant evacuated again days after explosion: An ADM spokesperson said that an employee noticed smoke during a walk-through of the plant. Out of an abundance of caution, the spokesperson said the immediate area was evacuated and the fire department was called for support. The area was deemed safe by 11 a.m. and employees are allowed to reenter the area. The spokesperson added that ADM is taking additional precautions to ensure the safety of the area and to inform employees about the issue and resolution.
* WCIA | Fourth ADM worker released from hospital after explosion: “As we continue the process to assess the damage to our processing complex in Decatur and begin the process to restore operations, our priority remains offering to support our four injured colleagues who remain in the hospital as well as their families,” ADM officials posted to their website Tuesday night. “One colleague has been released. We are also providing counseling resources to colleagues on-site.”
* SJ-R | More than 700 IEMA workers will move to White Oaks Mall; here’s an update on construction: The mall project is in the second construction phase with CDB turning much of the former retail space into an office for more than 700 workers. Upgrades to electrical, HVAC, plumbing, fire protection, and security systems are underway along with installation of new flooring, lighting, windows, restrooms, and sewer. But workers also have had to navigate a series of change orders – nearly $6 million worth – caused by the aging condition of the building.
* Chalkbeat | Schools face a funding cliff. How bad will the fall be?: Some advocates had hoped that even more federal dollars would be on the way. For instance, the Los Angeles teachers union had sought to make federal relief permanent. But this is not going to happen. The recent deal that President Joe Biden struck with Congressional Republicans limits new federal spending on education for the next couple years.
* The Pantagraph | Illinois State University hires firm for presidential search: A statement Wednesday from ISU said Parker Executive Search was selected as the hiring and consulting firm to assist the search, and will be reimbursed $110,000, plus expenses. University leaders are seeking a replacement for former President Terri Goss Kinzy, who abruptly resigned in February after less than two years on the job. The board and Kinzy, the university’s first female president, agreed not to comment beyond an initial statement that said she would “pursue other opportunities.”
* Tribune | UAW may strike at small number of factories if it can’t reach deals with automakers: At the Tuesday meeting, Fain didn’t say whether the union would target vehicle assembly plants or component factories, one of the people said. Strikes at parts plants could force production halts at multiple assembly factories. He also didn’t say how many workers would walk off their jobs.
* Block Club | Southwest Siders With Kias, Hyundais Can Get A Free Steering Wheel Lock Next Month: Vehicles must be registered to owners in the 8th District, which includes parts of West Lawn, Chicago Lawn, Ashburn, Midway, Gage Park and Archer Heights. […] Over 7,000 Kias and Hyundais were stolen from Chicagoans in 2022, prompting Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul to demand a federal recall of the vehicles. Raoul was one of several officials across the country to sign a letter asking the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to take action.
* County approves nearly $750,000 in ARPA funding: The Kankakee County Board approved three requests for American Rescue Plan Act funds at its meeting on Tuesday, providing nearly $750,000 to the Helen Wheeler Center, a circuit court remodel and for the Kankakee County Sheriff’s Department’s old jail.
* Shaw Local | Woman charged with falsely reporting a bomb threat at Geneva High: A Geneva woman has been charged with making a false report of a bomb threat at Geneva High School. Terry L. Thomas, 54, of the 600 block of Willow Lane, is also charged with aggravated battery to a peace officer, aggravated assault and resisting a peace officer.
* SJ-R | Springfield council to consider new Lincoln Library director; Yazell returns to former job: With no discussion at Tuesday’s committee of the whole meeting, the council moved Gwendolyn Harrison’s appointment as Lincoln Library’s director to the full city council’s agenda on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Val Yazell, the interim director of the Office for Planning and Economic Development, will move back to permanent director pending council approval.
* Block Club Chicago | South Loop Neighbors Want To Block Data Center Expansion Near McCormick Place: The $500 million expansion would include a new, 565,069-square-foot, 13-story building with seven data center suites between the third and ninth floors with a bridge connecting the new building with the existing one. A chiller plant would be installed on the 10th floor, with additional cooling towers on the roof.
* Daily Herald | Why some people complained about pot-friendly music festival in Mundelein: Christine Spisla was the first person who spoke about the festival during the public comment portion of the meeting. She said the performances rattled her windows, shook the floors and made her walls vibrate. In response, Village Administrator Eric Guenther said sound levels sporadically were checked by police officers during both days of the festival, and the decibel outputs never reached unacceptable levels.
* Journal Star | Lead water line replacement is ramping up in Peoria: On Tuesday, Illinois American Water updated the Peoria City Council on where it stands in that process and is asking Peorians to help its census by self-reporting lead water pipes in their homes. By April 2024, Illinois American Water must have an inventory submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency of where lead water lines still exist in Peoria, the company told the council.
* WGLT | State to fund Illinois State University area traffic safety study: Normal Public Works Director Ryan Otto said the cost of the study to begin next year will be $450,000. “It will start with a larger overall review of crash reports, some surveys of students and community members, to try to identify points of conflict people see on the street. We’ll do a deep dive into geometrics, traffic counts, and things like that in specific areas,” said Otto.
* Daily Herald | Done deal: Texas data center firm closes on deal for Sears campus in Hoffman Estates: “We are very pleased to welcome Compass Datacenters to Hoffman Estates,” Hoffman Estates Mayor Bill McLeod said in a statement. “The redevelopment of the former Sears headquarters into a data center campus begins a new chapter for this high-profile property and continues the technology diversification of our tax base. Although still preliminary, the investment by Compass will be in the billions of dollars and will have positive effects for our community for years to come.”
* Daily Beast | And Now Gannett Wants a Beyoncé Reporter to Join Its Taylor Swift Reporter: The headline-making job listings come as Gannett, the largest U.S. newspaper chain, has gone through a series of layoffs over the last two years that have affected dozens of its local newsrooms, most recently shedding six percent of its news division in December. A Gannett spokesperson wrote to The Daily Beast that “we have hired 260 journalists and have more than 100 more open roles which are actively being recruited for as we grow our audience.”
* BND | Metro-east golfer shoots holes-in-one both left-handed and right-handed, a very rare feat: One day in 2021, for reasons he cannot explain, he found he could no longer grip a golf club from his natural left side. “All I know is one day I woke up and couldn’t hit the ball left-handed,” Martintoni said. “ I got up and we were playing and the next day I couldn’t hold the clubs and I couldn’t hit them anymore, so I struggled with that for a couple of months.”
* Not a lot of details in this pretty thin story, but it raises several questions: Are private organizations really responsible for two-thirds of the migrant influx? If so, which organizations are they? Are these aid groups really shipping migrants to Chicago knowing they can’t help the migrants once they get to Chicago and that the migrants then have nowhere to go? And approximately what percentage of these trips are paid for with federal dollars? Also, if the feds are paying for this travel, why isn’t the federal government paying to house and feed them at their destinations?…
About a third of new arrivals are bused here by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, but many are also sent by Texas and Denver organizations using federal money without coordinating with Chicago officials.
Department of Homeland Security officials confirmed to Axios last week that the federal funds they provide to local organizations can be — and are — used to buy bus, train and plane tickets for migrants to come to Chicago. […]
[First Deputy Chief of Staff Cristina Pacione-Zayas] first got wind of the issue from migrants arriving at O’Hare this month who told Chicago officials that FEMA had paid for their tickets.
As far as the numbers go, Gov. Abbott claimed last week that his state has shipped about 7,200 migrants to Chicago since last year. NBC 5 reported at the end of August that Chicago “has received over 13,500 migrants in the past year from Texas, and as 6,500 are spread among the 15 currently operating shelters.” So, that’s a little over half the total, not a third. But he could be including private groups in that total.
Whatever the case, it would be nice to know who these groups are so that we can ask them for their rationale about what the heck they’re doing. I have an inkling about who one of those groups might be, but I’m still waiting on a reply.
Other priorities, according to Pacione-Zayas, include … Taking a trip to the U.S.-Mexico border to share information about Chicago’s challenges and “the forecasting of a brutal winter.”
Talking to these groups might be helpful. It would also be helpful if the rest of us knew who those groups are.
Buses to Chicago are sent not only by Abbott, but also by the city of Denver and Catholic Charities in San Antonio. Denver began providing free transportation for people to other destinations in mid-December, much to the exasperation of former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who in January demanded in a letter to Colorado’s governor that the city stop. Months later, under a new mayor, the buses keep arriving. […]
Denver has received more than 14,000 migrants since December, and has bought about 6,400 bus and Amtrak tickets for over $2.3 million since then, according to Victoria Aguilar, a spokesperson for Denver Human Services. Roughly a third of those have gone to Chicago, according to Denver data.
A spokesperson for Catholic Charities in Chicago told me this afternoon she was not aware of any direct collaboration with Catholic Charities in San Antonio, but would check.
The former police chief of west suburban McCook [Mario DePasquale] pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiring with the tiny town’s then-mayor to extort two businessmen out of tens of thousands of dollars. […]
DePasquale who became McCook’s police chief in 2013, admitted in his 20-page plea agreement with prosecutors that in 2016 he conspired with Tobolski to shake down a business owner who ran a restaurant at a McCook-owned facility and needed the mayor’s approval to host events with liquor.
The charges stated DePasquale demanded the restaurant owner — identified only as Individual A — pay $1,500 in bribes for each “themed event” that he wanted to host. DePasquale later picked up the money in person, and he and [then-McCook Mayor Jeffrey Tobolski] split the cash, according to the plea. […]
DePasquale also admitted to a second extortion scheme involving another new business owner in town, identified as Individual B. According to the plea, beginning in 2015, DePasquale and Tobolski demanded $1,000 monthly payments from Individual B, who agreed to pay out of fear of losing the business.
When Individual B asked what would happen if the payments were not made, DePasquale said words to the effect that “it would not be good” for the company according to the plea.
In St. Clair County, home to some of the most severe poverty anywhere in the state, taking money bonds out of the system amounts to a major disruption, both for the government entities tasked with upholding justice and for many of the private attorneys that make their living defending the accused.
“Lawyers won’t want to do this work anymore,” one attorney quipped. “This is going to eviscerate the private bar.”
Defense attorneys who take cases to represent their clients often make their money by placing a lien against the bond payments. Now that the system is removing those funds from the equation, private lawyers and county clerks stand to lose significant streams of reliable revenue.
If the incentives for private attorneys dry up, then the public defender’s office could see their workload swell even larger. In addition to the expectation of higher caseloads, the county workers anticipate more vigorous work in the early phases of their client’s cases when the judge assesses their risk.
“I don’t have enough lawyers to handle both the beginning and end stages of the case in great detail,” [St. Clair County public defender Cathy MacElroy] said. “There’s only so many hours in a day.”
* PD MacElroy, by the way, has just five full-time public defenders on staff. In addition to their daily caseloads, MacElroy told Maxwell that her defenders represent 360 of the 474 people currently sitting in the county jail, many of whom have filed for pretrial release.
The General Assembly appropriated $10 million in new, additional funding for suburban and Downstate public defenders, but the Illinois Supreme Court has not yet distributed the money. *Heavy sigh*
*** UPDATE *** From the Illinois Supreme Court…
Rich,
I noticed your comment on the PD Fund (created by PA 102-1104). This has been stayed until Sept. 18 so is not possible to distribute the funds before then. There has been a lot of work to prepare for the distribution. This was included in the release we just sent out on preparations for the end of cash bail:
The 101 counties that are a part of the fund will receive from $77,000 up to $147,555 using a formula based on several factors. This additional funding is expected to be transformative for public defenders and their clients across Illinois. It is expected to be distributed in the next few weeks.
“What people need to realize in DuPage County is, we are the second biggest judicial circuit in this state. We have 48 judges, the second biggest number of judges in this state,” said 18th Circuit Chief Judge Kenneth Popejoy.
Popejoy called the new $20 million renovation and expansion “necessary tools.” […]
The improvements include new courtrooms, a new, expanded grand jury room, more space for the public defender and a renovation of space for the state’s attorney. The new square footage means more space for additional staffing necessary to navigate new challenges brought on by the SAFE-T Act.
“We are going to be seven days a week, 365 days a year having detention hearings. These hearings must take place within 24, 48 or 72 hours. We have to be available Saturdays and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 in the afternoon to do hearings. Bond court never used to be that way; 15-20 minutes, this bond, this bond, this bond, this bond, go home,” Popejoy said.
Cash bail let the system off easy. We’ll see if the actors are up to the new order.
* Cook County Public Defender Sharone Mitchell Jr. described Chief Judge Popejoy’s “15-20 minutes, this bond, this bond, this bond, this bond, go home,” depiction in highly stark terms…
“You go to a bond hearing, it sounds like a slave auction. People are talking very fast. They’re putting price tags on people’s freedom.”
Between 1970 and 2015, there was a fivefold increase in the number of people jailed before trials, according to the 2022 U.S. Commission on Civil Rights report. Data shows more than 60% of defendants were detained prior to trial because they couldn’t afford to post bail, and that nearly 74% of the 631,000 people jailed daily in the United States are awaiting trial.
* Last item…
Today, nearly one hundred organizations sent an open letter to the Illinois State’s Attorney Association urging them to align with the collective statewide effort to faithfully implement the Pretrial Fairness Act.
Some members of your association have opposed this legislation and spread misinformation about it from the moment it was introduced and have continued to engage in fear-mongering about its impact even after it was upheld by our highest court. Others have supported this reform from the beginning, while more came to the table to collaborate on making modifications in the trailer bill. Some prosecutors have acknowledged your collective responsibility to abide by the law in the wake of the recent ruling. Every member of the State’s Attorneys Association has a responsibility to call on its members to cease all continued attempts to deliberately obstruct the law’s implementation. Ample time and space was provided to craft this policy and prepare to enact it—now it’s time to put differences aside to protect community safety and the rights of those harmed and those accused
IL Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Rochford Fundraises for Democrat Candidates
On Saturday, Rochford violated the Illinois Supreme Court’s Code of Judicial Conduct by being the keynote speaker at the Lake County Democratic Women PAC’s annual fundraiser.
NORTH CHICAGO — This past Saturday, September 9, Rochford was the keynote speaker at the Lake County Democratic Women Political Action Committee’s annual fundraiser. The fundraiser’s online donation page states ticket sales will benefit the PAC, whose purpose, according to their filings with the Illinois State Board of Elections, is “to support the election of Democratic women candidates in Lake County, IL.”
The Illinois Supreme Court’s Code of Judicial Conduct (Canon 4, Page 48-50) is clear: sitting judges who aren’t up for election shall not speak at political functions supporting the election of candidates:
“Except as may be specifically authorized in the context of judicial election campaigns, Rule 4.1 prohibits judges and judicial candidates from “publicly” endorsing or making “speeches” on behalf of political candidates or organizations.”
“Paragraphs (A)(2) and (A)(3) prohibit judges and judicial candidates from making speeches on behalf of political organizations.to prevent them from misusing the prestige of judicial office to advance the interests of others.”
As recently as 2021, the Illinois Judicial Ethics Committee issued a clear opinion on this very issue: “…an incumbent judge who is a judicial candidate may appear as a guest of honor at a political party’s fundraising event, but a judge not presently a candidate is forbidden from doing so.”
The Code of Judicial Conduct makes clear why these ethics rules for judges are so important: “Public confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary is eroded if judges or judicial candidates are perceived to be subject to political influence.”
“Illinois voters deserve a fair and impartial state Supreme Court that’s free of and from politics, which does not appear to be the case here,” - Illinois Republican Party Executive Director Shaun McCabe
Watch for a complaint to the Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board.
For what it’s worth, attendees said Rochford opened her speech saying she wouldn’t get political. And she didn’t. There was no discussion of reproductive rights or gun legislation, both high-profile subjects facing the court and pitting Republicans and Democrats in Illinois. “It was actually really a boring speech,” said one attendee.
* Justice Rochford sent me this statement…
I receive speaking requests from many groups and organizations. I believe it is important for judges to appear in public and help educate people about the Judicial Branch. My speech at this event was about the work of the Illinois Supreme Court, its non-partisan nature and the collegiality that is fostered by our unique lodging arrangement during court terms. The content of my speech was not political in any way and so should not be construed to have been provided on behalf of any political candidate or organization.
* The Question: Should Illinois Supreme Court justices, appellate justices and judges be officially sanctioned for making speeches to groups like this when they’re not in an active campaign cycle? Explain and stick to the topic at hand, please.
A new Illinois law that seeks to deter book bans and restrictions in public schools and libraries came under the scrutiny of a U.S. Senate panel Tuesday during a hearing that revealed stark partisan divisions over education and parental responsibility while also raising questions about the federal role in what is traditionally an area of local control.
Democratic Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, who championed the law, was questioned by the committee’s ranking Republican, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who initially sought to change the subject of the hearing to immigration policy under President Joe Biden before returning to the issue of book policy. […]
In addition to warning of threats made to librarians, Giannoulias told senators that several libraries in the Chicago suburbs were forced to close a few weeks ago due to bomb threats. Only hours after his testimony, it happened again, with bomb threats reportedly made to the Harold Washington Public Library in Chicago and to libraries in Addison, Aurora, Evanston, Hanover Park, Schaumburg and Streamwood.
In Schaumburg, a threat made via an online chat message led to the evacuation and a police response to the Schaumburg Township District Library at 130 S. Roselle Road. The district closed that building and branch facilities in Hanover Park and Hoffman Estates as a result.
Schaumburg police Lt. Christy Lindhurst said that as of 4 p.m., police had found no evidence that the threat was legitimate, but their investigation is ongoing.
Aurora police said officers responded to all three of the city’s libraries after a bomb threat was made through an online source. Officials said no explosives were found.
Inside Chicago’s largest library, an employee alerted police to a disturbing message. Officials say an anonymous email stated that a bomb was located somewhere inside the Harold Washington Library. The Bomb Squad and K9s searched the premises, but nothing was found. […]
In Addison, police were alerted to a bomb threat at the Addison Public Library on Friendship Plaza. As a precautionary measure, both the village and library campuses were closed to the public. The DuPage County Bomb Squad conducted a thorough search, ultimately determining the threat to be baseless.
In Evanston, police received reports of a bomb threat at the Evanston Public Library on Orrington Avenue. While no substantiated threat was found, the Cook County Sheriff’s Bomb Squad was called to the scene, and the building was evacuated. A cautionary advisory to avoid the area was issued. […]
Additional reports suggested that further threats were made to other libraries in the Chicago area, making this an ongoing investigation.
Aurora police have shut down downtown streets after a reported bomb threat against the city’s public libraries Tuesday afternoon.
According to authorities, the threat targeted the library in the 100 block of South River Street, with officers currently evacuating workers and closing down streets in the area.
Police have deployed officers to all three libraries in the community after the threats, according to officials.
River Street remains closed in both directions between Cross Street and Benton Street, according to authorities.
* Not a library, but it is a school in Springfield…
Lanphier High School students and teachers were returning to classes Tuesday afternoon after receiving an “all clear” following a threat of a bomb on campus.
Springfield Police and Illinois Secretary of State Police, who operate K-9 units, deemed the building clear after a search, according to Springfield District 186 officials.
The threat was called into the school at 12:30 p.m.
* NBC Chicago | Bomb threats target Chicago-area public libraries: The Harold Washington Library in Chicago was the subject of one threat, according to Total Traffic. Police activity has been reported at Van Buren and State Street, and an investigation remains underway. Police in suburban Aurora have also shut down downtown streets after a reported bomb threat against the city’s public libraries Tuesday afternoon.
* Sun-Times | Giannoulias, Durbin push back against book bans at Capitol Hill hearing as GOP senators urge parents to ‘speak up’: The debate is over what books should be in taxpayer-funded libraries, and who gets to decide what to put on the shelf — librarians or parents, or some combination of both. […] According to a March report from the Chicago-based American Library Association, the vast majority of the most threatened books “were written by or about members of the LGBTQIA+ community and people of color.”
* WREX | Governor Pritzker announces retirement of outstanding debt from 2010: On Tuesday, Governor Pritzker announced $49 million in tobacco bonds have been retired through a contract that voided the bonds. The bonds were what remained of a $1.5 billion debt associated with the Great Recession dating back to 2010.
* The Southern | Illinois State Treasurer makes stop in Carbondale: Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs covered a wide range of topics during a 45-minute discussion at the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale Tuesday. The third-term Democrat talked about his role as state treasurer, ideas about his office merging with the state comptroller’s and the process of returning unclaimed funds and property to Illinois residents.
* Tribune | US Senate confirms Illinois judge to the federal trial bench: Cummings, a 1987 graduate of Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, will become the fifth judge President Joe Biden has appointed to the Northern District of Illinois. He was named after Judge Robert Dow of the Northern District of Illinois was appointed to be counselor to U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.
* AP | CDC OKs updated COVID-19 vaccine, clearing way for shots to begin this week: Chicago public health officials have said the CDC approval was all they needed to “begin the rollout” of the vaccine, which will be free for all city residents. “We already have the vaccine in Chicago,” Dr. Geraldine Luna, medical director for the Chicago Department of Public Health, said Monday.
* Crusader | Lt. Governor Stratton continues leading Illinois delegation to Japan with state and business leaders: Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton continues to lead the Illinois Delegation at the 53rd Annual Joint Meeting of the Midwest U.S. – Japan Association Conference (MWJA) in Tokyo, Japan. Lt. Governor Stratton has held meetings with Japanese Governors, dignitaries and corporate business leaders to discuss opportunities to strengthen connections and economic partnerships between Illinois and Japan.
* Sun-Times | Blackhawks project, Fulton Market towers get OK from City Council zoning panel: In the largest of the approved plans, the committee endorsed a zoning change to allow Vista Group to proceed with a three-tower residential or commercial complex at Kinzie and Morgan streets. The long-term plan, with a reported budget of $448 million, allows for up to 1,450 residences.
In 2022, the Office of Executive Inspector General for the Agencies of the Illinois Governor (OEIG) initiated a large-scale fraud investigation project, to examine whether State of Illinois employees improperly obtained federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. PPP loans were issued to provide relief to small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and were eligible for forgiveness if used for qualifying expenses.
Using publicly available information, the OEIG identified PPP loans obtained by individuals with personal identifiers matching those of employees under the OEIG’s jurisdiction. Because a preliminary review of the data revealed a large number of such loans, the OEIG initially focused the investigation on PPP loans of approximately $20,000 or more. In order to be eligible for a PPP loan of that size, a business typically would have needed to generate approximately $100,000 or more of annual net profit or gross income—earned outside of the employee’s full-time State work hours. Once the OEIG identified these PPP loans, the OEIG conducted further investigation to determine whether employees received those loans in a fraudulent manner.
To date, the OEIG has conducted the following investigative activity since beginning its PPP investigation project:
As of 9/12/23
PPP investigations initiated: 438
PPP investigations concluded: 204
PPP referrals to any law enforcement agency 177
The State of Illinois Code of Personal Conduct requires State employees to conduct themselves “with integrity and in a manner that reflects favorably upon the State.” In addition, various agency policies prohibit employees from engaging in conduct that is unbecoming of a State employee. In 177 cases to date, the OEIG determined that there was reasonable cause to believe that a State employee violated the State of Illinois Code of Personal Conduct and/or agency policy by obtaining PPP loans based on falsified information. The OEIG has, so far, issued these founded reports to the employing State agencies, as indicated below:
To date, the improper loans identified in these founded reports total more than $4.5 million in public funds. The OEIG’s PPP investigation project remains ongoing. These numbers do not reflect a final total of OEIG founded reports or a final total for any particular agency.
State employees are expected to maintain the public’s trust and confidence, and misappropriating public funds is far from acting with integrity, or conducting oneself in a manner that reflects favorably upon the State. Acting in such a manner may result in the loss of employment. Employees also are reminded of their duty to cooperate with OEIG investigations, and that failure to cooperate can also be grounds for disciplinary action, including dismissal.
* Lee Enterprise | Public defenders work 3 times too many cases, milestone study and new data show: In Illinois, public defenders in St. Clair County each handled more than 350 felonies in 2022. The old standards indicate that’s slightly more than double the recommended maximum while the updated standards suggest it’s at least six times too many cases, assuming the felonies were all low-level.
* Sun-Times | Black CPS teens benefit most from shift from suspensions to restorative practices: Black male CPS students historically have had the highest baseline suspensions and arrests. Over the last decade, rates for students dropped the most as schools switched to restorative practices, Education Lab Research Director Fatemeh Momeni said. This study focused on high schools, but the authors say the benefits were also seen in elementary schools.
* Chalkbeat | COVID relief helped Cook County child care providers stay open, but advocates say more support is needed: The federal Department of Health and Human Services says child care should only cost 7% of a family’s income according to the report. For many families who don’t meet the threshold for the state’s child care assistance program and have infants or two or more children, child care consumes a large portion of household income. In 2022, the monthly income limit to qualify for assistance for a family of four was $5,203. According to the report, the average price for center care for a 2-year-old accounted for 15% of family income in 2021, two times higher than what’s recommended. Illinois Action for Children recommends increasing eligibility for the state’s child care assistance program to support more families.
* WBEZ | Here’s what we know about Mayor Brandon Johnson’s plan to set up migrant ‘base camps’: As for the structures themselves, Ramirez-Rosa said they would be more like “prefabricated buildings” rather than tents, and that the rendering he saw looked like the walls were made of some type of metal, not canvas — though he wasn’t sure, and it’s unclear from a provided photo.
* BND | Closing of agency that has helped metro-east residents since the ’70s leaves ‘a big gap’: Maya Sansard was shocked to hear the “bad news” from her counselor at Call for Help Inc. that the East St. Louis nonprofit known for assisting people in need since the 1970s was shutting down. The group has “worked tirelessly to ease the burdens of people with mental illness, homeless individuals, people suffering abuse, people with major unmet immediate needs, people in despair, and families at risk,” according to a statement from Call for Help.
* WBEZ | Robberies in Chicago are at a six-year high: Robbery sprees are being reported on the West and Northwest sides of the city in larger numbers, University of Loyola Chicago criminal justice professor Arthur Lurigio said. The well-orchestrated robberies target small businesses such as liquor stores or body shops that tend to have lots of cash on hand, he said.
* Reuters | Yield hopes decline in Iowa and Illinois: The latest dry spell, which began in mid-August, has featured periodic heat and has pushed U.S. Corn Belt crops toward maturity too quickly, preventing maximization of yields. Some Crop Watch producers say their crops are now shutting down, meaning weather benefits are waning.
* SJ-R | HSHS restores MyChart electronic health records platform after two-and-a-half week outage: HSHS representatives said “federal law enforcement” was investigating the case. Rebecca Cramblit, a public affairs officer for FBI Springfield, told The State Journal-Register last week that “per FBI policy, we cannot confirm or deny whether we are or are not conducting an investigation.”
* Sun-Times | Riot Fest owner says ‘things finally made sense’ after his recent autism diagnosis: “I’m sure I’ll be thinking back on [this diagnosis] for the rest of my life in a way. … When I talked with my doctor, it was like a floodgate opened, and things finally made sense,” Petryshyn shares. Such as why he can focus on seven to eight things at a time but has trouble verbalizing them, why he can think of solutions to problems, but struggles with execution, or why he was into punk music so early on in his life that ultimately led to his calling.
* Crain’s | Northwestern, U of C move up in rankings of startup founders: Northwestern University and the University of Chicago moved up in PitchBook’s annual ranking of MBA programs for producing founders of venture-backed companies. Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management improved from ninth to sixth place, edging out U of C’s Booth School of Business, which cracked the top 10 by moving to seventh from 11th place in last year’s ranking.
* Tribune | ‘Heartbreaking’: Moroccan community across Chicagoland rallies to help after country’s devastating earthquake: As of Monday afternoon, more than 2,600 people have died and 2,500 are injured following a rare and powerful earthquake that struck Morocco on Friday. Authorities anticipate that the death count will rise as rescuers work to reach isolated mountain areas that are difficult to access. Historic sites in Marrakech, the nearest major city, were also damaged.
Today, Governor JB Pritzker announced record-setting attendance totals for the 2023 Illinois State Fair. The more than 700,000 attendees over the 11-day event make the 2023 fair the most highly attended fair since industry standards were enacted.
“Once again, the hard work of the Department of Agriculture and hundreds of dedicated fair staff have resulted in shattered attendance records, serving as a testament to the value of our increased Fairgrounds funding and the spirit of Illinois,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Attractions like the new Multi-Purpose Arena and our highly attended concerts drew in hundreds of thousands of fairgoers from across the state and the country, bringing our community together in an unprecedented way.”
“While mother nature will always be a driving force in attendance for any outdoor event, the 2023 Fair benefited from a return of programming at the newly renovated Multi-Purpose Arena (MPA), a result of Governor Pritzker’s $58.1 million dollar capital investment to address years of deferred maintenance on our historic state fairgrounds,” said IDOA Director Jerry Costello II. “The 2023 Fair also greatly benefited from new promotions and big attractions aimed at bringing visitors to the fairgrounds mid-week to capitalize on discount admission days.”
The Illinois State Fair also unveiled new theme and discount days to enhance the fairgoer’s experience. On Thursday, August 10, the Fair started with a full day promoting County Fairs and Horse Racing Day. On Tuesday, August 15th, the Fair discounted admission as part of the new weekday theme – TWOsday. This new promotion resulted in more than 27,000 additional fairgoers. The week also allowed for more opportunities for families to attend before the start of school.
“Enhancing the fairgoer’s experience is a vital part of the planning process,” said State Fair Manager Rebecca Clark. “Providing additional entertainment on Opening Day, exposing more Illinoisans to our state’s number one industry, and offering more ways for families to affordably enjoy the Illinois State Fair are priorities that proved to be a driving factor in the growth we experienced at the 2023 Illinois State Fair.”
The high attendance numbers reflect the second highest Grandstand tickets sold in the last five years; an 86% increase from 2021 ticket sales for events at the MPA which sat dark in 2022 due to construction; and record-breaking carnival revenue ($1.58 million) led by robust sales of Mega & Jumbo passes. Thanks to dry weather on the final weekend, race fans were able to enjoy two popular auto races in the Grandstand. […]
2023 State Fair Impact by the Numbers:
• $89,800 in scholarships awarded to youth exhibitors
• 600 new first-time exhibitors
• 60 charities volunteered 20,000 service hours
Governor Pritzker has obligated over $80 million in infrastructure investments on the fairgrounds. Construction resumes this fall on Phase 2 of the Coliseum, which focuses on an electrical overhaul, underground plumbing, new seating, new restrooms, an elevator, and adding an HVAC system that will allow for year-round use.
Other projects slated to take place include:
• $9.5 million: Road construction along 8th Street between the IDOA building and the IDNR building and along the backstretch on the northwest corner of the fairgrounds; provides funding to make structural improvements to the south pedestrian tunnel leading into the fairgrounds from Gate 6/infield parking;
• $4.57 million: Roof replacements on the Junior Livestock Building, Sheep Barn, Hobbies Arts and Crafts Building, and at least three barns along the backstretch;
• $11.9 million: HVAC replacements on the Orr Building, Illinois Building, Junior Livestock Building, Artisans Building, Hobbies Arts and Crafts Building, and Grandstand;
• $2.99 million: Tuckpoint work in the Grandstand, Artisans, Hobbies Arts and Crafts, Emmerson and Block (IDOA headquarters) buildings.
Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias will testify [Tuesday morning] before the Senate Judiciary Committee about his landmark, first-in-the-nation legislation designed to prevent book bans and protect First Amendment Rights. Giannoulias initiated Bill 2789, setting a nationwide precedent in the fight to combat censorship of books and resources. The bill was signed into law on June 12, 2023, as Public Act 103-100.
Public Act 103-100 allows Giannoulias’ office to provide grant funding to libraries that adhere to the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, which states that reading materials should not be removed or restricted because of partisan or personal disapproval. Libraries can also issue a statement prohibiting the practice of banning books or resources. Libraries that do not adhere to the law will be ineligible for state grants from Giannoulias’ office.
Giannoulias’ law banning book bans in Illinois illuminates a path for other states to follow in an effort to turn the tide on the scourge of censorship sweeping the nation. His office has launched a website – banbookbans.com – that enables visitors to share their stories and to learn how to protect their state’s Right to Read.
Sen. John Kennedy: So tell me what you want, who gets to decide? All I’ve heard is ‘the librarians’ and parents have nothing to do with it. And if that’s your response, what planet did you just parachute in from? Or what country, more appropriately? This is not China.
Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias: Senator, with all due respect, parents absolutely have a say. My parents were immigrants, came to this country. We never checked out books without our parents seeing what books we were reading. They encouraged us to…
Sen. Kennedy: Mr. Secretary, I understand this is good for your politics back home.
Secretary Giannoulias: It’s got nothing to do with my politics.
Sen. Kennedy: It has everything to do with your politics.
Secretary Giannoulias: I’m here to…
Sen. Kennedy: But you came here with a problem and I’m trying to understand the solution and you don’t have one, other than [cross-talk] other than to tell us that ‘We don’t agree with you. You’re on the wrong, we’ll be on the wrong side of history’
Secretary Giannoulias: We solved the problem in Illinois. We fixed it.
* Giannoulias campaign email pitch at 11:35 this morning…
I just finished testifying in front of the U.S. Senate to discuss book banning. Frankly, I can’t believe this is even a conversation we have to have.
Being chief librarian was one of the duties that drew me to the Secretary of State’s office. I believe we have an opportunity to help children get ahead, to make unprecedented gains in adult literacy and aid everyone’s search for knowledge.
Books open doors and enrich minds. The last thing we should do is ban books, to censor the very freedom expression on which our country was founded, or demonize the LGBTQ community to run up the political scoreboard.
I’m willing to fight for that point, and I hope that you will too. Will you rush a donation right now to take a stand against extreme book bans?
Good government can definitely be good politics. No shame in that. Embrace it.
* Somewhat off-topic because this isn’t about a library, but it is in Illinois…
Students in Yorkville High School’s English II Rhetorical Analysis class will not be using the book “Just Mercy” as part of their coursework after all.
The Yorkville school board has reversed its decision to allow teachers to use the book as an anchor text for the class.
Earlier this year, the parent of a student in the English II course complained about use of “Just Mercy” by Bryan Stevenson, triggering the district’s uniform grievance procedure. […]
According a statement released by [school board President Darren Crawford] as well as the meeting minutes, [board members] Knoll and Houston deemed the book “too controversial.”
The course is designed to engage students’ critical thinking skills.
Just Mercy tells the story of Bryan Stevenson, a young lawyer who founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending those most desperate and in need: the poor, the wrongly condemned, and women and children trapped in the farthest reaches of our criminal justice system.
* I hate to complain too much because the Better Government Association’s David Greising has finally come around to reality on a constitutional amendment for pension “reform”…
The Civic Committee and others — including me — have argued in the past for a constitutional amendment that might enable some renegotiation of retirement benefits. The state has other obligations to residents that sometimes might trump commitments it made to its retired workers, the thinking goes.
But Pritzker opposes an amendment, and he says he couldn’t pass one even if he tried. I have come to believe pension reform can be accomplished without a constitutional amendment. And one of the most interesting features of the Civic Committee plan is that this stalwart of the Chicago business community has also stopped calling for a pension amendment.
The Civic Committee’s plan relies on expanding the sales tax to services, which has gone nowhere in the past, but is still somewhat more realistic than changing the state constitution to reduce future pension benefits (which it may not be allowed to do anyway). They’ve also proposed jacking up the income tax by half a point on individuals and 0.7 percent on corporations, after having staunchly opposed a graduated income tax. Convincing Illinoisans to pay more money in taxes to fund public employee pension systems would be a very heavy lift.
Illinois’ $50.4 billion budget this year is up 26% from Pritzker’s first budget, passed in 2019.
One of the biggest factors behind that increase: pensions, of course.
Pension payments in Gov. Pritzker’s first budget (FY20) totaled $8.113 billion. The FY24 appropriations plan budgets $10.135 billion, a 25 percent increase - slightly below the rest of the state’s budget growth. It’s not some outsized burden.
More importantly, pension payments represented 20.2 percent of base state expenditures in the FY20 budget as passed, and 20.1 percent of base state expenditures in the current budget. High? Yes. Manageable? Yes.
Greising also mentions pension bonds. Pension obligation and acceleration bond payments have fallen from $1.6 billion in Fiscal Year 2017 to $1.024 billion in FY24. Adjusted for inflation, the $1.6 billion FY17 payment would be $1.998 billion today, so that particular spending item has dropped almost by half in real dollars.
As the fall semester rolls on, universities across central Illinois have released their ten-day figures. These numbers are the traditional benchmark for reporting enrollment at colleges and universities.
Enrollment of first-year freshman at University of Illinois System universities hit a record number of 13,231 students. Total undergraduate enrollment also reached a record high with 60,013 undergrads. […]
Eastern Illinois University reported strong numbers in targeted areas. International enrollment reached record highs with both the number of students (880) and the number of countries represented (60). […]
Illinois State University welcomed its largest incoming class in 36 years with 4,147 freshmen. The student body is becoming more diverse as approximately 41% of this year’s freshman class come from traditionally underrepresented groups.
The top brass at U of I is flying high after a new admission trend. Numbers we’ve just obtained show more and more students from Illinois are going to U of I. Foreign students remain attracted to the Urbana-Champaign campus, but those numbers are shifting some.
“We have record enrollment for the incoming freshman class, extremely strong representation from Illinois at 74% of the class,” said Provost John Coleman.
Freshman enrollment for 2023 includes 6,100 incoming students from Illinois who just arrived for the fall term. […]
Almost 1,100 students from other states are new freshman on campus, and about 1,100 from other countries.
China remains the overwhelming foreign feeder nation. Almost 57% of overseas U of I students are from China. But it is a portion of the student population that has fallen some in recent years, ever since 2017 when a Chinese scholar was kidnapped from a U of I bus stop and then murdered. The story received global attention. Chinese student enrollment dipped.
With over 4,000 freshman students on-campus this fall, Illinois State University is marking an enrollment high not reached since 1986.
ISU officials release enrollment totals once the data is more finalized following days of classes. Data released on Thursday show a total of 4,147 freshmen, marking a 4% increase from the prior academic year. Total enrollment — at 20,989 — is up by 1.5%, according to ISU. […]
Other enrollment figures include:
1,814 transfer students (up around 2%)
2,539 graduate students
741 international students
For the first time since 2014, enrollment at Southern Illinois University Carbondale has grown. Overall enrollment for fall 2023 is 11,359 — 252 students, or 2.3%, more than last year — the highest overall boost in the number of students in 21 years and highest percentage increase in over 30 years. […]
In addition, 1,621 new freshmen are starting their college careers at SIU, which is 103, or 6.8%, more than last year. This is the first time in at least 50 years the university has increased its freshman class for four consecutive years. […]
The university also saw a 10.8% increase in new transfer students to 1,188. Part of that success can be attributed to Saluki Step Ahead agreements signed with more than 40 community colleges in Illinois, Missouri and Texas since 2021. Saluki Step Ahead provides a seamless path for students who earn associate degrees in participating community colleges to obtain their SIU bachelor’s degrees online in select programs. About 130 students, 121% more than last year, are earning their degrees through Saluki Step Ahead.
Western Illinois University’s fall 2023 total new student (freshman, transfer and graduate for both Macomb and Quad Cities) enrollment is 2,145, according to 10th-day data released by WIU’s Institutional Research and Planning. Western’s total fall 2023 enrollment is 7,073.
Western’s 2023 Fall class contains 1,226 full-time freshmen, up by 152 students.
August base revenues deposited into the State’s General Funds slowed from July’s strong start, with a slight decline of $34 million. However, when combined with July’s base growth of $396 million, revenues are up a combined $362 million to start the fiscal year, perhaps indicating a timing element to the first two month’s collection activity. The value of the August decline falls to -$214 million when factoring in last August’s $180 million in ARPA reimbursements. August had the same number of receipting days as last year.
Overall, the value of the increases/decreases in August were relatively modest. Personal Income Tax receipts experienced the largest decrease with a decline of -$38 million or -$36 million when accounting for distributions to the Refund Fund and the Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF). Corporate Income Taxes also slowed from its strong July numbers with a decline of -$23 million, or -$17 million on a net basis. Other State tax sources with declines include Other Sources [-$26 million]; Public Utility Taxes [-$14 million]; and the Corporate Franchise Tax [-$5 million].
The August declines were mostly offset by gains in several other State revenue sources. The largest year-over-year improvement came from Interest on State Funds & Investments, which grew $23 million thanks to comparatively higher interest rates (see page 4). Insurance Taxes bounced back from its low July numbers with a gain of $20 million. In addition, Inheritance Tax receipts were $18 million higher. Sales Tax receipts saw modest improvement with growth of $15 million. But this growth falls to only +$3 million when accounting for the non-General Funds distributions to the Road Fund and certain other transportation funds.
Total General Funds resources are expected to decrease from FY2023 year-end estimates by approximately $2.5 billion, or 4.7%, from $53.1 billion to $50.6 billion. The largest source of this decrease is due to the end of federal COVID-19 recovery funding directed to the General Funds. During FY2023 the General Funds received transfers of $1.06 billion in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and $1.36 billion in Coronavirus Urgent Remediation Emergency (CURE) funding, both of which were allocated by the federal government as part of the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF). The FY2024 budget does not include any appropriations from these federal funding sources within the General Funds. Additionally, the amount of refund fund transfers—accounted for in the “Other Transfers” line—decreased significantly, by nearly $1.2 billion in FY2024, from an unusually high amount in the FY2023 budget due to above-average income tax receipts in that year.
Net Corporate Income Tax is also expected to decline by 12.2%, or $712 million. The decline is due to a reallocation in fund distributions that will occur in FY2024 as part of the Department of Revenue’s annual statutory reconciliation of business-related tax payments, which will result in a decline in corporate income taxes and an increase in individual income taxes. The decrease is offset by an estimated increase in Net Individual Income Tax receipts of nearly $2 billion. Sales Tax, Public Utility Tax and other revenues are expected to decline by 0.3%, 4% and 9.1%, respectively.
General Funds receipts from other State-source revenues are projected to decrease by $176 million, or 0.4%. Lottery, gaming and adult-use cannabis revenues transferred into the General Funds are all estimated to increase over FY2023. Other Transfers are expected to decrease in FY2024 by $1.2 billion, or 51.2%, again based on a larger-than-usual transfer into the General Fund from the Income Tax Refund Fund in FY2023. Federal sources, aside from ARPA and CURE funding, are expected to increase by $80 million, or 2.1%, to $3.9 billion.
* I didn’t know that the Belleville Shoe Manufacturing Company has been around for so long. Press release…
Today, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (IL-13) announced that the Belleville Shoe Manufacturing Company has been awarded a $7,816,274 contract from the Defense Logistics Agency for temperate weather combat boots. The boots will be supplied to the U.S. Army for the next two years.
“Since World War I, the Belleville Shoe Manufacturing Company has played a critical role in equipping the men and women serving our nation in the armed forces,” said Congresswoman Budzinski. “Today, I’m thrilled to announce that this local institution has been awarded a $7.8 million contract to continue providing combat boots to the U.S. Army. I’ve worked on a bipartisan basis to support domestic military equipment manufacturing and I look forward to continuing to support the important work happening in Belleville.”
“Belleville Shoe Manufacturing Co. welcomes the opportunity to once again serve the men and women of the U.S. Army in providing the essential Army Temperate Weather Combat Boot,” said Mark Ferguson, President of the Belleville Shoe Manufacturing Company.
The Belleville Shoe Manufacturing Company is the oldest and leading manufacturer of boots for the U.S. Military – beginning with their first combat boot supply order during WWI. Belleville Boot supplies the largest selection of certified boots to the U.S. Military and develops an assortment of styles to meet specialized needs.
In July, Congresswoman Budzinski introduced a bipartisan amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act with Congressman Mike Bost that would require the Department of Defense to examine current military footwear regulations and provide recommendations on improvements to support the footwear needs of our troops. The amendment aims to support domestic military-grade boot manufacturing, like that done by Belleville Shoe Manufacturing Company, and was included in the House-passed legislation.
* WBEZ | What to expect now that cash bail in Illinois is ending: The new law requires more robust courtroom hearings to decide if a person is held in jail. Those hearings will require more time from defense attorneys, prosecutors and judges. Many experts also predict that without the cudgel of pretrial detention, fewer defendants will strike plea deals, which will mean more resource-intensive criminal trials.
* Illinois Answers Project | Greising: The Challenge to Erase Illinois’ $140 Billion in Pension Debt: So it often goes in Illinois: Well-intended efforts to fix the state’s pension problems somehow run aground. Even so, Pritzker and others in state government have not given up. And civic groups are stepping into the breach, introducing ideas that could lead to a permanent fix for a pension problem that has dogged the state for more than a generation.
* Shaw Local | Simpson announces Illinois Statehouse campaign: Shabbona Village Trustee David Simpson has announced he is running as a Democrat for state representative in Illinois’ 74th District as he seeks to fill the seat currently held by first-term incumbent Republican Bradley Fritts.
* Metropolis Planet | Windhorst seeking re-election: “I believe my constituents are best served when their conservative values are heard in Springfield and when I can stand in the way of radical liberal legislation to ask tough questions and point out flaws in bills,” Windhorst said. “In my position as Floor Leader, I help to organize and direct debate on key bills and that means greater representation of the values of the people that I serve.”
* Sun-Times | Facing ethics questions, city Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin pauses Congress bid: The allegations include questions about whether Conyears-Ervin asked staff to run personal errands and whether she leaned on a bank to issue a mortgage for the building housing the aldermanic office of her husband, Ald. Jason Ervin (28th). There are also questions about why the treasurer’s office made a $100,000 confidential settlement with employees.
* WBEZ | Is the worst behind us? What unemployment data for metro Chicago indicate: In recent months, however, the industry appears to have rebounded. Restaurant-related unemployment has been below 4% in six of the eight months between December 2022 and July 2023. And the region’s estimated number of workers in that industry topped 340,000 in July 2023, the highest such figure since June 2019.
* Sun-Times | Comptroller candidate grilled, then approved, by City Council committee: Exhibit “A” for Ald. Ray Lopez (15th) were comptroller-designate Chasse Rehwinkel’s own social media posts after campaigning for three candidates who want to reduce the Chicago Police Department’s $1.94 billion-a-year budget: U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill.; Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez (33rd), running for ward committeeperson; and state Sen. Graciela Guzman.
* Tribune | Chicago City Council set to vote on $25 million payout to 2 men wrongfully convicted in murder of Chicago basketball standout: In 2016, Tyrone Hood and Wayne Washington independently of each other sued the city, alleging police, including then-Detectives Kenneth Boudreau and John Halloran, fabricated evidence and coerced testimony to win murder convictions in the May 1993 killing of Marshall Morgan Jr. The Tribune reported last month about a tentative deal to settle both lawsuits simultaneously for a total of $25 million, pending approval by the City Council.
* Tribune | Migrant mother charged with felonies over bathroom dispute with Chicago police speaks out: The migrant mother from Venezuela who was arrested Saturday after allegedly blocking traffic and scuffling with police said the confrontation began when police officers wouldn’t allow her to bring her 3-year-old child into the public bathroom inside the Southwest Side police station. “I was desperate,” Dayrelys Coy, 21, told the Tribune Monday. “All the children and women needed to use a clean bathroom.”
* AP | Illinois appeals court to hear arguments on Jussie Smollett request to toss convictions: If the appeal before the Chicago-based First District Appellate Court fails, Smollett would have to finish a 150-day stint in jail that his trial judge ordered during his 2022 sentencing. Smollett spent just six days in jail before his release pending the outcome of the appeal. A ruling is expected to take several weeks.
* Sun-Times | Chicagoans to be told this week where they can receive free updated COVID-19 vaccine: The new vaccine is specifically created to cover all current strains of COVID-19. ‘We already have the vaccine in Chicago,’ said Dr. Geraldine Luna, medical director for the Chicago Department of Public Health. ‘We are just waiting for the CDC to make their final recommendations before we begin the rollout.’
* Tribune | Migrant mother charged with felonies after allegedly blocking traffic, resisting officers at Southwest Side station: Video of the incident sent to the Tribune by a source showed several migrants arguing with police at the desk about access to the bathrooms in the station. A higher-ranking officer speaking in English could be seen telling the migrants through another officer translating into Spanish that there were portable toilets for them outside and to take it up with the city if they had an issue.
* Chicago Mag | No Country, No Home: The previous administration really didn’t have a plan, other than just opening up a few respite centers and shelters. Mayor Lightfoot spent [$120 million] in hotels and other policies that were never intended to provide any sustainable solution. Time was lost in coordinating an effort to address this huge issue. It is a problem that demands federal intervention. What has changed is the new administration’s collaborative approach in addressing the seriousness of this problem.
* Bloomberg | Response to migrant crisis could cost over $300 million by end of year: On Thursday, Mayor Brandon Johnson told the Chicago Sun-Times that the city would move 1,600 migrants out of police stations before cold weather settles in and into what the mayor called “winterized base camps.” Each tent structure would hold up to 1,000 people, according to Johnson.
* Daily Herald | Medical marijuana users push back on McHenry County state’s attorney’s stance:[McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally] also threatened to sue dispensaries if they do not remove references to the medical benefits of marijuana from their marketing and add signage “to warn customers of the mental health dangers associated with use, including psychosis, depression and suicidal ideation.”
* Daily Herald | Glendale Heights president pleads ‘not guilty’ to disorderly conduct charges: Khokhar is accused of reporting to two police officers in April and May that village Trustee Mohammad Siddiqi had threatened to bite him. He filed the reports knowing there were “no reasonable grounds for believing that the offense had been committed,” according to the indictment.[…] Officers reviewed a videotape and said it showed Siddiqi and another trustee walking together, followed by Khokhar, and Siddiqi going downstairs, then exiting the building. The report says it does not appear Siddiqi and Khokhar said anything to each other.
* Sun-Times | Winner picked for Pershing Road project; plans would reinvent an industrial colossus: Last week, the Department of Planning and Development said it will work with Chicago-based IBT Group on its proposal for a $121 million makeover of the sites, which include a vacant 571,000-square-foot warehouse. Built in 1918 for the U.S. Army, the building has vast floors with scores of pillars to hold bygone loads. It figures in the district’s listing on the National Register of Historic Places, so wrecking it is strongly frowned upon.
* WTTW | Half of Chicago Schools Are Under Herd Immunity Levels for Measles, But Rates Have Improved Over Past Year: Within the Chicago Public Schools district, almost half of the schools reported measles vaccination rates below 95% for the past school year, according to data from the Illinois State Board of Education. That mark is an important one, as measles, an extremely contagious disease with devastating consequences, requires about 19 of 20 people to be vaccinated to prevent its spread via herd immunity.
* NBC | FDA clears new Covid boosters: 5 things to know: Anyone age 5 and older can get an updated booster shot from either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna, regardless of whether they were previously vaccinated, the FDA said in a statement. People who have been vaccinated should wait at least two months before getting the updated booster.
* AP | What you should know about new COVID shots: The FDA will soon decide if each company has met safety, effectiveness and quality standards. Then the CDC must sign off before vaccinations begin. A CDC advisory panel is set to meet Tuesday to make recommendations on how best to use the latest shots.
* NYT | As Covid-19 Cases Tick Higher, Conspiracy Theorists Stoke New Fears: There is little evidence that the current wave of Covid-19 cases will prompt the kinds of extreme countermeasures seen during the worst of the pandemic. The share of Covid-19 cases nationwide peaked at 14.1 percent in August — in line with most surges since the pandemic began — but hospitalizations were at near historic lows.
* NBC Chicago | Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth tests positive for COVID-19: Duckworth made the announcement on social media Sunday, saying she is experiencing mild symptoms from the virus. “I will continue working for the people of Illinois in isolation and follow medical guidance on when to return to the Senate chamber,” she said.
* Crain’s | Chicago’s largest law firms see dip in local attorneys: Polsinelli (tied for No. 23 with Amundsen Davis and Perkins Coie) reported the greatest plunge (17.4%) in local attorneys since last summer. Seyfarth Shaw (No. 11) and Baker McKenzie (No. 17) likewise reported significant drops of nearly 13% and 12%, respectively.
* WCIA | From textbooks to tombstones: Champaign students learn how to locate lost graves: She and her classmates participated in the STEM Cemetery Project at St. Mary’s in Champaign. They are searching for headstones underneath the surface that may be hiding graves. Bill Vavrik, Vice President at Applied Research Associates, calls it underground mapping.
* Tribune | Illinois’ Underground Railroad: A glossary of terms to know: Too often, details about the hundreds of years of bondage, trauma and disenfranchisement have been avoided, ignored or blatantly misrepresented. This project was conceived with the goal of centering stories from the Black community, with narratives about enslaved people’s paths to freedom, be it a first-person account, oral history passed through generations, or documentation that shares a glimpse of that journey.
* SJ-R | Springfield area business owner wins Miss Illinois United States; vies for national title: When Aaliyah Kissick was 17 years old, she could be spotted in the Springfield area holding a cardboard sign on the side of a road to advertise her clothing boutique. Now, at 23, Kissick is bringing her passion for small business development and financial literacy to the forefront as Miss Illinois United States. “I’m advocating for House Bill 1375 which would require mandatory financial literacy for all students across the state of Illinois. If I become Miss United States, I will be advocating for mandatory financial literacy at the national level as well.”
For good or bad, the way of the world is that nothing lasts forever. Even political columnists, though we’re a long-lived breed. So below are some thoughts as, after an amazing half-century of watching Illinois politics and government, I dial way back on my tasks here at Crain’s.
Much as a few internet trolls would prefer, I won’t be disappearing. You can still call me a raging progressive, or a MAGA-loving Republican. I’ll still do a monthly column here, as well as an occasional special project. But this is a good time to take stock.
Let’s start with the pols — who, despite speculation to the contrary, I really don’t hate. I find politicians and government leaders in general to be no better or worse than the rest of humanity. Their egos may need regular stroking — an offense that surely applies to journalists — but most are just people trying to do their job and look out for their future. […]
A few thoughts for my media colleagues: Remember who your writing and reporting is really for: your readers and subscribers, people who count on you to inform them. Be passionate; if you check out at 5 o’clock and don’t go the extra mile, your readers will be shortchanged. In other words, it’s personal. Treat public officials and candidates with respect, but insist in turn that you be treated with respect because you’re doing a job that, in a democracy, needs to be done.
I’ve known Greg since before he landed the Crain’s job and we’ve always worked together well. You don’t have to always 100 percent agree with someone to like them. Good luck, Greg!
* Reuters | China’s Gotion to set up a $2 billion lithium battery plant in Illinois :Gotion will be eligible to receive tax benefits totaling $213 million over 30 years and also get $125 million in capital funding from the U.S. state’s Reimagining Energy and Vehicles incentive package. Gotion’s property tax abatement for 30 years was also approved by local authorities.
* Forbes | China’s Gotion To Build “Historic” $2 Billion EV Battery Plant In Illinois:Gotion’s investment will be supported by a “Reimagining Energy and Vehicles” incentive package, a new “Invest in Illinois” fund, and “other incentives” worth a total of $536 million, the statement said. Gotion’s will be the first recipient of Invest in Illinois funding following its creation in early 2023 to make Illinois more attractive when vying for large projects in highly competitive sectors like clean energy, the statement said. Gotion was further approved by local authorities for property tax abatement for 30 years. […] However, the economics favor working together, he said. “If the US automakers are going to build profitable (electric) vehicles below a $50,000 price point, then they’re going need Chinese batteries,” [Chairman] Le said. “We don’t have the capacity. We don’t have the mining, we don’t have the refining, and we won’t have it in significant volumes through this decade,” he said.
* Sun-Times | Illinois lands Chinese EV battery plant as Pritzker, Duckworth seek more deals with Asian companies:[Senator Duckworth’s] own push to get more Asian companies to do business with Illinois included a personal pitch last month to Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the president of the Philippines, to use Illinois-based ethanol, which is made mostly from corn. She’s also been traveling with members of the Illinois Corn Growers Association, touting the expansion of ethanol will not only help Illinois corn farmers but reduce carbon emissions and the demand for foreign oil. […] “I’ve been working very hard to counter that and say, ‘Here’s the data. Look at the productivity, and in fact, the unions are your friends. The unions can do things like mandatory drug testing and can be partners with management and to bring the most well-trained, the most productive workers to the table,’” Duckworth said. “And LG ended up going into Decatur.”
* Tribune | Lured by $500 million in state incentives, Chinese firm plans $2 billion electric vehicle battery plant in Manteno: Officials said full-time workers at the facility would be paid at least 120% of the average wage of similar jobs — or roughly $55,000 a year — in the Manteno area. […] Pritzker’s praise of a Chinese company such as Gotion comes at a time when some Republicans, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is vying for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, have argued against encouraging businesses with ties to China because of the country’s adversarial relationship with the U.S. A Pritzker spokesman dismissed such criticism as “nothing more than political grandstanding.”
* Capitol News Illinois | Battery Manufacturing Plant Coming to Illinois With $530M Incentive Deal: The roughly $2 billion project is set to create 2,600 jobs and begin production in 2024. The plant will produce battery cells, battery packs like the kinds used in electric vehicles and large-scale energy storage systems. […] Gotion is also in the process of setting up a plant in Michigan. This has sparked controversy from Republicans in that state, who cite concerns about the company’s Chinese ownership.
* Crain’s | Illinois finally lands a big EV battery plant: Pritzker said the state had many things to offer Gotion, but the “deal closing fund,” approved last year by the General Assembly, was critical. “It sent a signal to the nation and the world that Illinois is open for business,” he said. […] Illinois already has two EV assembly plants, Rivian’s factory in Normal and Lion Electric’s facility in Joliet, which makes buses and other commercial vehicles. Just as important, the state has been in extensive discussions with Stellantis, the parent company of Dodge and Jeep, about converting its now shuttered Belvidere plant to make EVs and hopes to eventually get Ford to convert or replace its Torrence Avenue factory on Chicago’s South Side to EV production.
* Center Square | Michigan 3rd in Midwest EV registration race, trailing Illinois, Minnesota: Michigan is trailing Illinois and Minnesota in the Midwest race to register the most electric vehicles. Illinois leads with nearly 80,000 EVs, while Minnesota has 41,417 and Michigan has 34,380. Michigan targets 2 million EVs by 2030, while Minnesota and Illinois each target 1 million by the same year.
The change means no more bond court. Instead, in Winnebago County there will be a courtroom reserved full time mornings and afternoons for initial court appearances and pretrial detention hearings. Similar measures are being made in Boone County where courts are adding a Monday morning court call for anyone arrested and held over the weekend. […]
Those accused of violent crimes, sex assaults, gun crimes and domestic battery among others are also considered detainable in jail before a trial. But to deny a defendant pretrial release, prosecutors must within 48 hours of their arrest show by clear and convincing evidence a defendant is a flight risk or a danger to specific people or the community.
Winnebago County State’s Attorney J. Hanley said the new law will take plenty of adjustment both in terms of staffing and approach.
* This argument may work for the hometown media, but it may work against law enforcement at the Statehouse bargaining table…
Morgan County State’s Attorney Gray Noll said revenue generated by cash bail helps to fund several things, including both his own office and the circuit clerk’s office. The elimination of cash bail “will dramatically affect the funding of our criminal justice system here in Morgan County,” with smaller counties being hit even harder, he said.
“Generally speaking, the smaller the county, the more it relies upon bond money to fund the criminal justice system,” Noll said. “Larger counties have the benefit of being able to spread out real estate taxes among all their residents to help fund the criminal justice system, whereas smaller counties don’t have that luxury.” […]
Noll believes the county will begin to feel the effects of cash bail’s end three or four years from now. The county has several criminal cases on its hands that will be resolved in that timeframe, he said, and, because those cases predate the end of cash bail, the fines, fees and court costs will be resolved under the bond money system. Once those cases are cycled through, that source of revenue will dry up, he said.
Noll isn’t sure how the difference in revenue will be made up, though he said the state has provided certain parts of Illinois criminal justice systems, such as public defenders, with more funding.
* But that’s downright mild compared to Center Square’s report, which quotes somebody from another state whose livelihood is based on the existence of cash bail…
Outside looking in, Ken Good, an attorney and member of Professional Bondsmen of Texas, predicts things will be chaotic.
“Your criminal justice system will collapse unless they just are hiding it by dismissing cases until people decide to work together to find policies that will provide public safety,” Good told The Center Square.
The new law requires more robust courtroom hearings to decide if a person is held in jail. Those hearings will require more time from defense attorneys, prosecutors and judges. Many experts also predict that without the cudgel of pretrial detention, fewer defendants will strike plea deals, which will mean more resource-intensive criminal trials.
“It is going to be a real issue in some of the smaller counties,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Bob Berlin warned.
Advocates for bail reform have suggested counties take resources saved from the decreased jail population and put them toward courtroom operations.
One of the criticisms of pretrial detention is that it was indeed used as a “cudgel” to force the accused to cut a deal.
[Jacksonville Police Chief Adam Mefford ] believes there will be cases when the department has to release someone back into the community that people feel should be held.
“Some people will also think we held someone who should be released. But that will be up to the courts. There are always differences of opinions. We will continue to provide professional law enforcement services,” Mefford said.
Mefford said he sees a positive side to the Pretrial Fairness Act.
“With the current system, if someone committed a violent crime, and they had money, they could get out. If they are held (after Sept. 18), they can’t bond out even if they have the money. So, we will keep some people in jail that should be in jail because there is no bond associated with it. That is a positive if the system works correctly,”” Mefford said.
The jail population is expected to shrink, but also change.
According to researchers at Loyola University, nearly 200,000 people are held in county jails throughout Illinois each year. Most experts expect the jail population to significantly decrease across the state. That’s because the law sets a higher bar for who can be held in jail while they are awaiting trial and judges won’t be able to keep someone just because they can’t afford bail.
But it’s possible defendants of some crimes may actually be more likely to be held in jail. For example, people accused of domestic violence are often given the option of cash bail in the current system, and the amounts can be relatively small. That means if they can afford to pay bail, they can walk free. But domestic violence charges often raise clear safety concerns, so it’s possible judges may hold more of these defendants in jail. A study from Loyola University researchers found that people arrested for domestic violence charges are likely to make up a large portion of people charged with “detainable” offenses.
“DUI is a non-detainable offense unless you pick up a second DUI while on pretrial release,” Hanley said. “That’s frustrating to me. As we have been doing bond court, I am like ‘how the heck can we not argue this person is a danger to the community?’ This person has two or three prior DUIs. That to me is a hole in the law in that they have removed the judge’s discretion to detain someone pretrial in certain circumstances.”
The Illinois Supreme Court issued an order Wednesday granting courts in the state greater flexibility to conduct detention hearings remotely as they brace for bail reform next month. […]
In announcing the order, Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis said the high court made the decision due to “the anticipated volume of investigations and hearings on pretrial detention” when the act goes into effect on Sept. 18.
“The courts will be conducting initial hearings not only for newly arrested individuals but also for the over 9,000 individuals who are currently in pretrial detention, resulting in a temporary but significant influx of these types of hearings,” the order states.
A former longtime member of the Illinois General Assembly from Danville has died. Bill Black was 81 when he died on Saturday, September 9, 2023.
Black was a former Assistant Minority Leader for Republicans when he served in the Illinois House of Representatives. He was known for his sometimes feisty debate style on issues on the House floor.
Black is survived by his wife, Sharon, and two children. When he announced he would not be seeking re-election to his House seat in 2010 he said he wanted to spend more time with his family, including his grandchildren. Black had served in the House since 1986.
* This excerpt of a News-Gazette story about Bill’s retirement pretty well sums him up…
House members gave Black, one of the senior members of the chamber, an extraordinarily warm and lengthy tribute. More than 30 of his colleagues, Republicans and Democrats, spoke and offered praise and thanks to the lawmaker known for his sometimes-bombastic, sometimes-eloquent speeches and for his playfulness.
“I hope you know how much I love this place, how much I love the process,” Black said in a 23-minute-long response to all the accolades from his colleagues. “Look around here. Look where you work. There are few people who ever get this privilege. This ain’t exactly a 6-foot by 6-foot cubicle. This is a phenomenally beautiful, historic building that has been well-maintained. And you should always consider it an honor and a privilege to sit in this chamber.”
House Republican Leader Tom Cross, who last spring demoted Black from his leadership position after Black voted for a Democratic-backed pension borrowing bill, was the first to pay tribute to Black.
“He’s a guy who is incredibly passionate about his district and, above all, at the end of the day, he cares most about what’s best for Danville, what’s best for central Illinois,” Cross said. “He has never ever forgotten his district or the people he represents.”
Beloved, controversial, civic-minded and locally focused.
WHEREAS, Representative Black has championed other issues important to families in his district, including protecting the funding for roads and other needed infrastructure improvements, helping low income families and seniors keep warm in the winter by removing the sales tax on natural gas, creating jobs through the creation of Job Renewal Zones, cracking down on drunk and distracted drivers that pose a deadly hazard on our roads, and protecting the rights of adoptive parents; and
WHEREAS, Representative Black successfully worked to keep our State parks and recreational areas open for the education and enjoyment of our families and worked with colleagues across the State and Chicago city leaders to stop the infamous phantom Chicago parking tickets; and
WHEREAS, Representative Black’s good humor is infectious, and House Republican members and staff can always count on Representative Black to make them laugh on long session days by ambushing them with squirt guns, silly string, and other toys, or by relaying a funny story or joke; and
WHEREAS, Representative Black has received many honors for his service to his local communities, including several Outstanding Legislator Awards from various Illinois associations; he was also named one of the ten Outstanding State Legislators in the country in 1991;
* He could also be a humble man. From his retirement announcement…
“I have always tried my best to represent the legislative districts which I served. I may not have always succeeded, but I always tried.”
“On his DACC resume, you’d have to point out that he once ran the public-relations department at the college. Then after getting elected to the State House, Bill was a passionate and successful advocate for those of us in his district, and especially for Danville Area Community College. As an Illinois Representative, he brought desperately needed funds to bring the DACC campus to a state of good repair,” according to [DACC President Stephen Nacco].
“On a personal note, I met Bill in June 2016 when he was a member of the DACC board that hired me as the college president. He’s one of the most colorful and entertaining people I’ve ever met. One of my favorite memories of Bill was when Dave Harby (board chair), Bill, and I went to Springfield for a community college ‘Lobby Day’ visit to the offices of elected officials. By that time, Bill had been out of office for almost 10 years. But whenever someone spotted him in those majestic hallways — elected officials and staffers and even building workers — they’d stop whatever they were doing and rush over to him to give him a handshake, a hug, a pat on the back, and they’d say how much they missed him and that Springfield needed him to come back. It’s quite a legacy he left as someone who was enormously popular and was able to touch so many lives,” stated Nacco.
When state Rep. Mike Marron first started in the position once held by Black, Marron said he will work tirelessly to uphold the tradition of excellence that has embodied the House seat from Harry “Babe” Woodyard to Bill Black to Chad Hays.
“He (Black) was the best. Personally he was a friend, a mentor, and someone I’ve looked up to since I was a kid. As public servants go, he was the gold standard. He is a legend in Springfield to this day, and you will never find anyone who fought harder for Danville and Vermilion County. He is going to be missed by us all,” Marron stated.
…Adding… Treasurer Michael Frerichs…
I had the privilege of knowing and working with Bill Black and the honor to call him a friend. My heart goes out to Sharon and all of Bill’s family on his passing.
I was blessed to have Bill as a mentor when I was elected to the State Senate. The Republican Representative from Danville and the Democratic Senator from Champaign were able to get a lot done for our constituents in Champaign and Vermillion counties. Bill was a loyal Republican, who frequently served as a floor leader aggressively challenging Democratic legislation. But he knew how to put aside partisanship to get things done for our constituents. I’m grateful for all he taught me and for his lifetime of service to his community and our state. Leaders like Bill Black are all too rare today – and our world is all the worse for it.
* Sen. Chapin Rose…
“Bill was one of a kind. As much as he will be remembered for his fierce and fiery speeches as a staunch defender of the people of East Central Illinois, his wit and sense of humor were unparalleled. He also deserves much credit and respect for his support of quality education. He was a huge advocate for the community college system here in Illinois, and even served in later years as trustee at his beloved Danville Area Community College. He truly understood and believed in the power of a quality education to transform lives.
“I was lucky enough to serve in the House of Representatives with Bill for several years. As a young legislator at the time, Bill was someone I looked up to,” said Rose.
“I extend my sincerest sympathies to Sharon and the rest of the family. There will never be another like him,” he concluded.
* Comptroller Susana Mendoza…
A legend has passed. State Representative Bill Black, R-Danville, was such a great mentor to so many of us who served in Illinois’ General Assembly. I was honored to be part of his tradition of hazing new legislators. I had been forewarned and donned protective gear when I introduced my first bill. He found that highly amusing and we got on great ever since. I’ve missed his insightful commentary since he retired. Illinois was lucky to have him as long as we did. I send my prayers to his family. May he rest in God’s peace and eternal glory.
The city of Champaign stands to get $850,000 for capital improvements in the Garden Hills neighborhood. Danville is likely to get $850,000 to help revitalize the Madison neighborhood west of downtown. Rantoul is looking at receiving $540,000 for upgrades to its youth center on the old Chanute Air Force Base. And Bloomington is in line for a $2 million grant to improve a road and spur development on its southeast side.
All of these are so-called “community project funding” ideas — formerly known as earmarks — submitted by downstate members of Congress and approved by the Republican-controlled House Appropriations Committee. A final vote on these and billions in other projects nationwide is expected this fall when the federal budget is considered.
But those in the 15th Congressional District represented by Rep. Mary Miller, R-Oakland, are shut out again. No community-project-funding dollars are going to any part of the huge area — more than a third of the state — in Miller’s district. As a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, Miller pledged to oppose community project funding, earmarks or any other euphemism for what has long been known as pork-barrel spending.
Fine, but what good is it to your constituents if everyone else is getting dinner and you’re not, but you’re still helping pay the bill? Even several of Miller’s fellow Freedom Caucusers, including Reps. Matt Goetz of Florida and Marjorie Taylor Green of Georgia, have reversed course and are lining up for a helping of local spending projects. The practice is as old as the republic, and it’s been practiced by most presidents, including two GOP favorites, Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan. Donald Trump did it too.
Adams County Republican Central Committee Chairman Dave Bockhold also supported [Rodney] Davis over Miller and he sent an e-mail to party faithful this week that linked a Tom Kacich column in the Champaign News-Gazette that called out Miller for not bringing home the 15th District’s share of tax dollars.
“I think everyone in our 15th Congressional District should read this article from the Champaign News-Gazette,” Bockhold wrote. “I agree with Congresswoman Miller on social issues, but we are getting absolutely no return on investment on the tax dollars that we send to Washington, D.C. There are many projects in our area and across the district that could possibly be funded, but won’t even be considered for potential funding without our representative advocating for it in Congress. I think Congresswoman Miller could take some lessons from Darin LaHood and Mike Bost.” […]
It will be interesting to see how Bockhold’s remarks will play amongst his fellow Adams County committeemen and the party in general, especially at the GOP’s weekly Monday morning coffee klatch at Quincy’s American Legion hall.
The last two Chicago mayors took some news media heat for not sending their kids to public schools, as did Chicagoan Barack Obama when he pushed for education reforms. So, this particular issue is obviously not out of bounds in the city and nobody in public life should expect otherwise.
Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates has in the past pointed with pride to the fact that all three of her kids attended public schools. While others often chafed at reporters’ questions about their children, Davis Gates did just the opposite, centering her children as part of who she is as a progressive activist.
“I’m also a mother,” Davis Gates said on March 6, 2022, according to NBC 5 Chicago. “My children go to Chicago Public Schools. These are the things that legitimize my space within the coalition.”
“I can’t advocate on behalf of public education and the children of this city and educators in this city without it taking root in my own household,” she told Chicago Magazine a month later.
Davis Gates has also been a fiery and longtime opponent of “school choice.” Last August, after a retired Chicago firefighter posted on social media: “School choice is the civil rights struggle of our generation. Keeping poor children of color trapped in failing public schools is inherently racist,” Davis Gates fired back: “School choice was actually the choice of racists. It was created to avoid integrating schools with Black children.”
And then it came out last week that Davis Gates was sending one of her kids to a private Catholic school.
She had to have known this would blow up in the news media. The CTU has held protests outside of elected officials’ private residences, so Davis Gates couldn’t possibly expect a privacy pass. And you don’t just walk in a day before school starts and register your kid for a private high school, so she had plenty of time to contemplate her response.
If Davis Gates had simply defended her family’s decision by saying something like her son really had his heart set on going to that school, then I don’t think anyone could really disagree with her choice.
Instead, the union president initially stonewalled when faced with questions and then offered up an explanation to a local public radio station which threw the South and West sides under the bus and, more importantly, just wasn’t true.
Davis Gates said basically three things last week to a WBEZ reporter: 1) Course offerings for high schools on the South Side and West Side “are very marginal and limited”; 2) Selective enrollment and magnet public high schools were just too far away and would’ve forced her son to, according to the article, “spend hours traveling”; 3) A public high school with a good soccer program (a sport played by her son) and strong extracurriculars are just not available close by, or are in Latino neighborhoods that were too far away.
Look, there’s no doubt whatsoever that problems exist in public schools on the South and West sides. But that doesn’t mean the areas are completely bereft, no matter what internet trolls scream online.
Just as a small sampling, Davis Gates lives only three miles from Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep, a high quality selective enrollment high school which has a soccer team and extracurricular activities.
Lindblom Math and Science Academy in the West Englewood neighborhood has a pretty darned good soccer team and is 6 miles from the union president’s home.
The Catholic school her son is attending, on the other hand, is almost 9 miles from Davis Gates’ home.
Not to mention the area’s charter schools, which are taxpayer-funded and privately operated.
An argument is currently being made that Davis Gates should now switch positions and support extending the life of the Invest in Kids Act, a 75% state income tax credit for donations to private school organizations that expires at the end of the year.
That’s never gonna happen, even though the private school her son attends does promote and apparently benefits from Invest in Kids. The CTU’s position is that the program takes tax revenues away from public schools, which the union has always claimed are underfunded and in bad shape.
The lesson here is that life is full of nuance and is only very rarely about evil vs. good. More people should keep this in mind because you just never know what life might bring you.
* WVIK | Meisel: Mapes Trial Offers Rare Window into How Illinois Government Operates: Hannah Meisel, government and politics reporter for Capitol News Illinois, discusses the recent trial of top Madigan aide Tim Mapes, what the outcome means for Madigan’s upcoming trial, and why the legal proceedings are important for the state and residents.
* Tribune | ‘Black and brown tension’ evident in Democratic contest for Illinois Supreme Court seat: The brewing battle over one of Cook County’s three seats on the Supreme Court, where Democrats hold a 5-2 majority over Republicans, comes as the county’s Latino population is on the rise and the Black population is declining. It also is yet another example of long-simmering tensions between two key blocs within the Democratic coalition — divisions that historically have been stoked by white politicians to keep either group from gaining too much power or influence.
* Daily-Journal | Walters running for 79th seat: ntering her 10th and final year as the Kankakee schools superintendent, Genevra Walters was not necessarily looking for something to do when the 2023-24 school year concludes. […] Walters, 54, announced her plans late this week to seek the Democratic Party nomination for the 79th Illinois House District, which includes much of Kankakee County as well as portions of Will, Cook and Grundy.
* WLPO | Local GOP member running for 76th District: A local resident and former GOP Deputy State Central Committeewoman wants to serve in Springfield. According to a release, Liz Bishop of La Salle is running as a Republican to represent the 76th District. Bishop has served as a Republican Precinct Committeewoman and aims to turn the district seat “red” after Representative Lance Yednock’s decision to retire.
* Vermilion County First | Former State Representative Bill Black Dead at 81: Black is survived by his wife, Sharon, and two children. When he announced he would not be seeking re-election to his House seat in 2010 he said he wanted to spend more time with his family, including his grandchildren. Black had served in the House since 1986.
* Effingham Daily News | Darren Bailey talks pro-life during Effingham visit: Bailey traveled to El Shaddai Homes in Effingham Sunday for the grand opening fundraiser of the new maternity home that will provide pregnant women and new mothers in need a safe place to stay. Bailey led a prayer during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the maternity home during which he praised El Shaddai Homes for providing women in the area with an alternative to abortion.
* WSPY | State Rep. wants an open door policy in Springfield: With the conviction of former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan’s former chief of staff Tim Mapes for lying to a grand jury, Newark State Rep. Jed Davis thinks it’s time for an open door policy in Springfield.
* Center Square | Ending cash bail could bring ‘chaos,’ increased taxpayer costs, opponents warn: ACLU of Illinois Director of Criminal Justice Policy Benjamin Ruddell advocates for the policy. He says people are innocent until proven guilty and shouldn’t languish in a jail awaiting trial because they can’t afford to get out. Judges will still have discretion about who should remain behind bars pending trial, he said.
* Bloomberg | UAW’s Stellantis chief ‘optimistic’ about rebooting Belvidere plant: Boyer said he remains “optimistic” he can hammer out an agreement with Stellantis to place new product at its Belvidere, Illinois, assembly plant, which was idled earlier this year. The company offered to transfer the 1,300 workers who lost their jobs as a result. “It’s coming soon,” he said of a deal for the Illinois plant. “The minute I lock that in, which I think will know soon, I’ll scream from the top of the heavens,” Boyer said by phone Friday.
* Crain’s | Where will mandated nursing home staff come from?: Newly proposed federal staffing minimums for nursing homes won’t impact Illinois right away. Predictably, unions are already praising the move while the state long-term care association cries “unfunded mandate!”The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued long-awaited proposed mandates last week. CMS estimated that approximately three-quarters of the nation’s more than 15,000 nursing homes receiving Medicare and Medicaid funding would have to hire more nurses and certified nursing assistants to comply with the rule, Crain’s sister site Modern Healthcare reports.
* Shaw Local | Criminal trial to begin Monday for former DCFS case manager, supervisor assigned to AJ Freund case: Carlos Acosta, 57, of Woodstock, and Andrew Polovin, 51, of Island Lake, each are charged with two counts of endangering the life of a child and health of a minor, Class 3 felonies, and one count of reckless conduct, a Class 4 felony, related to their handling of the AJ Freund case. If convicted on the more serious Class 3 felony, they each face between two and five years in prison and fines of up to $25,000. The offenses also are probational.
* AP | As sports betting spikes, help for problem gamblers expands in some states: Illinois approved sports betting in 2019 as part of a gambling expansion bill. Lawmakers had planned to require gamblers to register in person at a casino before placing their bets online, but Gov. J.B. Pritzker waived that requirement because of the coronavirus pandemic. Pritzker’s office estimated that gambling could bring in more than $100 million annually, which could be allocated for statewide capital projects.
* WaPo | 7 state flags still have designs with ties to the Confederacy: Amid the racial justice protests of 2020, when Confederate statues all over the country toppled, Mississippi became the last state to remove the Confederate battle flag from its state flag. It was a moment of reckoning for the Lost Cause mythology about the Civil War that dominated much of the 20th century, but for visual artist Jason Patterson, the work is not done. Patterson, a 38-year-old Black man whose art focuses on African American history, is a self-professed “flag nerd” (more formally, a “vexillophile”), and his obsession with flags has taught him something few Americans realize: A number of state flags still commemorate — in ways both obvious and oblique — the bloody attempt to create a permanent slave society.
* SJ-R | Lincoln Library trustees defer on endorsement of Harrison for director: The trustees of Springfield’s Lincoln Library declined to provide an endorsement for director appointee Gwendolyn Harrison prior to Tuesday’s city council committee of the whole meeting. The decision could slow down an eventual vote on Harrison’s appointment to the position.
* Daily Herald | ‘A horrible hoax’: School swatting takes phony threats to a new, emotional, costly level: Students were just arriving for school when the call came in at Dundee-Crown High School. The male caller, who also contacted Carpentersville village hall, said he was at the school and planned to start shooting. […] By 11:30 a.m., Carpentersville police had cleared the building and confirmed the school was the victim of a swatting call that appeared to have come from an out-of-state number with no ties to Dundee-Crown.
Executives at Bally’s say they have gotten approval from regulators to open their temporary casino at the old Medinah Temple in River North.
The doors will open for the first time at 8 a.m. Saturday, company officials said in a news release issued Friday. Casino employees had gone through a dry run of the operation earlier this week, under the eye of the Illinois Gaming Board.
* Bailey has Don Jr. and Mike Bost has this…
We all know that Nancy Pelosi’s sham impeachments of President Donald Trump were partisan and ridiculous - that’s why I’m taking concrete action to reverse those impeachments and expunge them from the record. #MakeAmericaGreatAgainpic.twitter.com/jcaOvwnJiM
Senate Republican Leader John Curran invites CTU President to join SGOP in advocating for Invest in Kids
Illinois Senate Republican Leader John Curran (R-Downers Grove) released the following statement in response to Chicago Teacher’s Union President Stacy Davis Gates’ preference for private school educational opportunities.
“The Illinois Senate Republicans have been steadfast in our fight to continue the Invest in Kids Tax Credit Scholarship Program that is funded through private donations and allows lower income parents to make the best educational choices for their children. The recent stories regarding school choice opponent and Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates’ own decision for her children’s education highlight the hypocrisy in the opposition to extending the Invest in Kids Program. Ms. Gates has every right to make that choice, and hopefully now that her decision is public, she will join our fight to allow the same opportunities for lower income, less connected families as well.”
* Crain’s | Gotion unveils ambitious plan for Manteno battery plant: Speed was a crucial factor in the company’s decision to set up shop in Manteno, state and local officials involved in the $2 billion project said. Gotion is building a new battery-components factory north of Grand Rapids, Mich., which was announced last year, from the ground up.
* Tribune | After CPS violated state law over physical restraint, district says it’s met training mandates. Parents and experts say more needs to be done.: By the first day of school last month, the district announced its “full compliance” with PRTO training requirements, meeting the minimum of two trained staff members per district-managed school. […] Yet at least two ISBE investigations of improper physical restraint of CPS students remain ongoing — involving an April supine restraint and an unspecified incident at an elementary school. And, with additional corrective actions mandated by the state agency, addressing the use of restraint in CPS will require more than training.
* Tribune | Mayor Brandon Johnson discusses moving migrants from police stations to base camps: The mayor said he will “move with expediency” to transition asylum-seekers into “more suitable” base camps as migrants wait for spots in city-run shelters. As of a week ago, 1,576 migrants were living in Chicago police stations and another 418 were sleeping inside O’Hare International Airport, according to city data.
* Block Club Chicago | Alderman Launches Migrant Data Portal, Improving Transparency On Care For New Arrivals: The website will provide weekly updates on the number of migrants in the city, new arrivals, shelter locations and other data, as well as efforts by Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration and city departments to address the ongoing humanitarian crisis, Vasquez said. The data includes how many migrants are staying in each shelter, in police stations and other locations.
* NYT | G.O.P. Gets the Democratic Border Crisis It Wanted: The Federal Emergency Management Agency in June allocated huge “shelter and service” grants to cities and states unused to such attention — $105 million to New York City, $10.6 million for Chicago, $19 million to Illinois, more than $5 million to Washington. Other programs at the Department of Human Services boosted the total federal money to New York to $140 million, and $45 million for Chicago. Those numbers, however, hardly meet the need: Chicago and Illinois alone have allocated about $200 million on migrant care in the city this year.
* Sun-Times | How other cities are responding to migrant crisis: New York City, which has received over 110,000 migrants since Southern governors began sending migrants north last year, opened a tent shelter Wednesday on an island between Manhattan and Queens.
* WTTW | Police Oversight Board Votes to Permanently Scrap New Chicago Gang Database: The unanimous vote by the interim Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability caps an effort that began in 2017 to stop the Chicago Police Department from using databases to track Chicagoans they believe to be in a gang. It also fulfills a campaign promise made by Mayor Brandon Johnson, who vowed to “erase the racist gang database and remove this source of racial profiling that leads to frequent, unproductive police interactions and harms residents’ ability to find housing and jobs.”
* Taylorville Daily News | A One-On-One With Comptroller Mendoza: When Mendoza took the Comptroller’s Office in December of 2016, the state of Illinois owed vendors and providers almost $17 billion in unpaid bills, some over two years overdue. This left many vendors and service providers out to dry as many could not withstand the fiscal crisis without being paid by the state.
* Bloomberg | Walgreens to pay $44 million to settle Theranos fraud claims: The lawsuit accused Walgreens of being “willfully blind” to fraud at Theranos and entering into a partnership with the startup even though it had good reason to suspect its finger-prick testing technology didn’t really work.
* Sun-Times | Kinzie Hotel ends lockout of union employees: Unite Here Local 1 said the workers were reinstated after a lengthy bargaining session Thursday. The talks also resulted in a tentative agreement for a new three-year contract that largely mirrors agreements reached last month with 31 other Chicago hotels. Workers must ratify the new contract for it to take effect. The ratification vote is scheduled for Sunday.
* Tribune | Chicago Ethics Board to address allegations against Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin: “This matter was settled by the City, and, as you know, the Board of Ethics cannot adjudicate a case like this — which requires a full factual investigation — without a full factual investigation by the Office of Inspector General,” which the board did not receive, Berlin said.
* Crain’s | Kroger selling Mariano’s name and some Illinois stores in $1.9 billion deal: The number of Mariano’s grocery stores could dwindle in the Chicago area, as parent company Kroger divests assets to win antitrust approval for a $24.6 billion merger with Jewel-Osco parent Albertsons. The two companies announced plans this morning to sell 413 stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers for $1.9 billion in cash. Closely held C&S is a major grocery wholesaler that also operates Grand Union and Piggly Wiggly stores.
* NBC Chicago | What could grocery chain merger mean for Mariano’s? Kroger releases statement: The grocery chains have said they must merge to compete with Walmart, Amazon and other major companies that have stepped into the grocery business. And there is significant consolidation throughout the grocery sector as companies fight with rising prices for everything from food to workers.
* Sun-Times | Feds make $2B commitment to CTA Red Line extension: The Red Line extension includes four new stations at 103rd; 111th Street near Eggleston Avenue; along Michigan Avenue near 116th Street; and the new terminus at 130th Street near Altgeld Gardens.
* Illinois Times | More motorcycle fatalities: According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, four people on motorcycles have been killed in Sangamon County so far this year. In 2022, no local motorcycle deaths were recorded by the state agency. In 2021 four motorcyclists were killed; in 2020 one died and in 2019 three lost their lives in Sangamon County wrecks.
* Shaw Local | Joliet church owes $300,000 after fallout linked to convicted fraudster: A Joliet church could go under if they don’t pay $300,000 owed to a court-appointed receiver who is working to recover investor money that federal authorities said was misused by a fraudulent business owner. Between 2010 and 2019, Messiah Lutheran Church, 40 Houbolt Road, received more than $780,000 in donations from Today’s Growth Consultant
* My Journal Courier | Illinois Supreme Court opening new learning center in courthouse: There will be a grand opening ceremony for its Learning Center from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. at the Supreme Court Building, 200 E. Capitol Ave., Springfield. Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis and Supreme Court Historic Preservation Commission Executive Director John Lupton will speak at the opening.
* WSIL | SSM Health Illinois receives donation for skin care screenings: SSM Health Illinois received a donation from the Motte Foundation Saturday to support the hospitals’ efforts in skin care and melanoma screenings. The check gives SSM Health $28,000. It was presented by the Motte Foundation at its 9th Annual Strike Out Cancer Golf Classic at Greenview Golf Course in Centralia.
Today, Governor JB Pritzker announced the upcoming departure of Deputy Governor Sol Flores, who has served as Deputy Governor for Health and Human Services since the beginning of the Governor’s first term in January of 2019. The Deputy Governor position will be filled by Grace Hou, current Secretary of the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS). Prior to serving as Deputy Governor, Flores was the founding Executive Director of La Casa Norte, a non-profit organization established in 2002 serving youth and families confronting homelessness.
“Sol Flores has dedicated countless hours of work and a lifetime of expertise to my administration over the last four and a half years; she has led with a focused tenacity, passion and energy, and I am incredibly grateful for her years of service,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Although she will be missed at IDHS, Secretary Hou has been a partner in some of our largest and most impactful initiatives, and I’m looking forward to accomplishing even more together.”
Throughout the last five years, Flores championed the expansion of healthcare access and the restoration of the human services safety network, bringing an equity lens and focus on Illinois’ most vulnerable individuals. Sol led COVID-19 response efforts from testing and vaccines to one of the most successful rental assistance programs nationally to keep people housed. From the Governor’s Office she spearheaded a strategic plan with the HHS state agencies to break down silos and develop comprehensive interagency strategies and collaboration including Census 2020, the Home Illinois Plan, healthcare expansion and managed the state’s response to the influx of migrants from the Southern border.
Sol Flores was the founding Executive Director and built La Casa Norte from two employees to a multi-million-dollar organization that delivers inspiration, hope and critical services to the lives of families, and youth experiencing homelessness. Flores was raised by a single mother who came to Chicago from Puerto Rico and has been recognized as a national Champion of Change for her work by the Obama White House. Beginning in November, Flores will head a Chicago based family foundation.
Grace Hou has served as IDHS Secretary since March of 2019. Prior to that appointment, she was the President of Woods Fund Chicago. Secretary Hou led IDHS through the COVID-19 emergency into a period of critical human services recovery, expanding the agency’s impact and scope of responsibilities through an equity and racial justice lens. Under her leadership, IDHS expanded to the largest headcount and budget in its history – and established a standalone Early Childhood Division. Her work alongside Deputy Governor Flores also launched an unprecedented investment in public safety in state history through the Reimagine Public Safety Act. The daughter of immigrants, Hou is a lifelong Illinoisan who also served as the Assistant Secretary at IDHS from 2003 to 2012.
“Looking back at the last four and a half years, I see a state that had suffered years of disinvestment and mismanagement that now leads the nation in providing progressive and efficient health and human services care,” said Deputy Governor Sol Flores. “It’s been my honor to serve the Governor in making our shared dream of a better Illinois a reality—and I know I leave my office in the strongest possible hands as Secretary Hou continues her exemplary record of service.”
“My heart will always be with the IDHS clients, staff, providers, families and all individuals touched by human and social services in Illinois,” said IDHS Secretary Grace Hou. “In recent years, IDHS has met the challenges of the pandemic and its lasting impact while also eliminating the Medicaid backlog, anchoring the Smart Start plan, implementing the Reimagine Public Safety Act, and much more. The lessons and inspiration from my time at IDHS will propel me in this new role, and I am so grateful.”
Deputy Governor Flores’s final day will be October 13th. Grace Hou will begin as the new Deputy Governor for Health and Human Services on October 9. On the same day, Dulce M. Quintero will become Acting Secretary of IDHS.
“It is an honor to lead the largest state agency and to continue building on this administration’s ongoing legacy of inclusion and equity for all,” said IDHS Assistant Secretary Dulce Quintero. “At IDHS, our message is clear: ‘Help is here.’ It’s a simple mission, but one that comes with complexity and enormous responsibility. The work continues to make our services streamlined, accessible and relevant when it comes to what vulnerable Illinoisans need today not only to survive, but to be empowered to thrive.”
Quintero has served as Assistant Secretary of Operations at IDHS since 2019. Quintero’s strategic vision helped lead the department’s COVID response with a focus on equity. Quintero is a longtime and prominent community builder and innovator in the fields of health care and human services, with a particular focus on LGBTQ+ services and advocacy. Before joining IDHS, Quintero served as Director of Operations for the Erie Humboldt Park Health Center and founded the Casa Corazon Youth Drop-in Program at La Casa Norte, one of Chicago’s few safe spaces serving LGBTQ+ youth on the West Side. Quintero was born in Mexico to migrant farm workers and moved to Chicago at the age of nine.
* You have likely already seen this Crain’s article…
Sources in both state government and the EV industry confirm that Gotion, a Chinese battery maker that earlier announced plans to open a plant in Michigan, has decided on Manteno in Kankakee County for a second, related $2 billion facility. […]
The biggest chunk, $213 million in payroll tax credits, will be paid over 30 years, assuming Gotion meets stated hiring goals of creating 2,600 full-time jobs that pay at least 120% of the average wage of similar jobs in Kankakee County — which would put salaries at $55,000 — and that the company invests at least $1.9 billion here.
In addition, the company will be the first beneficiary of Pritzker’s “deal closing fund,” receiving $125 million in capital funds. And the state will finance a new job-training academy nearby to prepare workers at the plant.
Local property taxes on the now-mostly vacant site will double to just under $2 million a year but then be capped at that level for 30 years. The abatement already has been approved by Kankakee and nine other local governments.
* IMA…
“Today’s announcement builds on our state’s long history of auto manufacturing, and we are thrilled to welcome Gotion to Illinois as we work diligently to create an ecosystem that supports our growing electric vehicle sector,” said Mark Denzler, President & CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association. “We are proud to have partnered with Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to put in place legislation to help bring these businesses to Illinois, and we look forward to the continued success of this important industry.”
* Gov. Pritzker…
Governor JB Pritzker and Gotion today joined local Illinois leaders and officials to announce the company’s decision to locate its new state-of-the-art $2 billion electric vehicle (EV) lithium battery manufacturing plant in Manteno. Bolstered by a REV Illinois (Reimagining Energy and Vehicles) incentive package and the new Invest in Illinois fund, Gotion’s decision to locate its new gigafactory in Illinois speaks to the state’s growing reputation as an EV manufacturing powerhouse and represents a significant step forward in growing its EV ecosystem and supply chain. The plant is expected to begin production in 2024.
“Today, we take another leap forward, announcing the largest electric vehicle battery production investment in Illinois to date. It’s my pleasure to welcome a world-leading battery manufacturer — Gotion — to Illinois,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “This announcement is a testament to Illinois status as a leading destination for companies and investors who want the most talented workers, the best transportation systems, and a collaborative economic growth mindset from their partners in government at all levels. With 2,600 new jobs, a $2 billion gigafactory, and the most significant new manufacturing investment in Illinois in decades — it’s the most recent proof that we are in a new paradigm. Illinois is on the rise, and we’re open for business.”
“Our administration is creating a better and healthier future. This new facility will be a game-changer in our state’s economy, creating new jobs and showing our continued commitment to making Illinois a renewable energy manufacturing powerhouse,” said Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton. “We are providing real solutions and new opportunities for our residents to push forward with us. I thank Governor Pritzker for his steadfast leadership for a greener tomorrow.”
“Energy and environmental protection are our common challenges. To address them, solar power, wind, and energy storage systems are becoming the backbone of a new energy system and accelerate the revolution in the global energy landscape,” said Li Zhen, Chairman of Gotion High-tech. “All that we see here [in Illinois] are of enormous value to us: an enabling business environment, a supportive state government for the new energy industry and their highly efficient work, as well as the prospects of the State of Illinois in the coming years. When we come to Illinois, we are not building a new factory but are planning to reuse an existing one and bring it back to life again as our way of cherishing and conserving resources. We believe that Gotion’s battery technology will help to boost e-mobility in North America and the economic and trade exchanges between China and the U.S.”
Gotion’s new state-of-the-art EV battery plant will help bolster the supply chain and meet growing demand for batteries across the EV sector, including Gotion’s partners, as well as additional EV manufacturers across North America. The facility will focus on lithium-ion battery cell, battery pack production, and energy storage system integration. Once completed, the facility in Manteno is expected to produce 10 GWh of lithium-ion battery packs and 40 GWh of lithium-ion battery cells, which will strengthen the American EV battery supply chain. The site will cover approximately 150 acres.
With competitive incentives through REV Illinois, unmatched infrastructure, access to markets, as well as an abundant and qualified workforce, Gotion selected Illinois to locate its gigafactory after a competitive nationwide search. Illinois’ assets combined with a comprehensive REV Illinois incentive package and the state’s new Invest in Illinois Fund helped secure Gotion’s historic investment in Illinois.
Gotion’s total incentive package from the State of Illinois, which includes REV, Invest in Illinois, and other incentives, is valued at $536 million. Through REV, Gotion is eligible to receive tax benefits totaling $213 million over 30 years. The REV agreement specifies a minimum company investment of $1.9 billion and the creation of 2,600 full-time jobs that are paid at least 120% of the average wage of similar job classifications in Kankakee County. A link to the executed REV agreement can be found here.
Gotion will also be the first recipient of Invest in Illinois funding in the amount of $125 million in capital funding to the company. The Fund was signed into law in early 2023 to make Illinois more attractive when vying for large projects in highly competitive sectors like clean energy. A link to the executed Invest in Illinois agreement can be found here.
Gotion was also approved by local authorities for property tax abatement for 30 years.
As part of Illinois’ commitment to build out comprehensive EV hubs and support Illinois’ workforce, the state will also fund a new manufacturing training academy nearby, as well as award an additional grant to workforce providers to expand training and prepare regional employees for the new jobs.
“The legislature and Governor have worked diligently to create a stable, predictable economic climate in which business can thrive,” said Illinois Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park). “Our partnership with Gotion is possible thanks to years of hard work and investment. Illinois is one of the best places in the world to do business.”
“This exciting project is another step toward putting Illinois on the cutting edge of the electric vehicle market—while also uplifting communities across our state,” said House Speaker Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch. “Working together, the majority in the General Assembly and Governor Pritzker have made strides to rebuild Illinois’ fiscal house, pair 21st Century job creators with smart incentives, and show the world that Illinois is a hub of opportunity. There’s more work to be done and we’re going to continue moving Illinois forward, strengthening our economic future, and creating new opportunities across our state.”
“I am thrilled to see this groundbreaking development of Gotion’s state-of-the-art EV battery plant right here in Kankakee County,” said State Senator Patrick Joyce (D–Essex). “This facility not only represents a step forward in strengthening the EV supply chain, but also highlights Illinois’ commitment to innovation and job creation.”
“Illinois is emerging as a nationwide leader in the electric vehicle industry,” said Senator Elgie Sims Jr. (D–Chicago). “To see our state government providing more opportunities for long-term careers in this ever-growing industry is exciting and shows that we are committed to sustainable innovation.”
“This $2 billion investment in Kankakee County is also an investment in the future of our region and our state,” said State Rep. Nicholas Smith (D–Chicago). “We’re powering tomorrow’s in-demand vehicles right here in Manteno, and that will power good-paying jobs and economic development for the entire community.”
“Businesses that are looking to invest in their future are looking at the investments Illinois is making in our transportation infrastructure, our workforce, and in long-term partnerships with innovators,” said State Rep. Marcus Evans (D–Chicago). “We’re building a 21st Century economy that works for everybody, and this an exciting example of the businesses that are ready to be a part of that.”
“This exciting project is a win for the entire Southland region, made possible by south suburban lawmakers and the governor working together to invest in growing our business community and creating good-paying jobs for our region,” said State Rep. Thaddeus Jones (D–Calumet City). “I look forward to continuing to work for opportunity and investment in our local economy.”
“This announcement is a huge win for Manteno, Kankakee County, and the State of Illinois, and will only enhance and strengthen our robust manufacturing sector,” said Timothy O. Nugent, Mayor of Manteno.
“Between today’s announcement, recent investments in the electric vehicle space throughout the state, and thanks to our skilled and diverse talent pool, world-class universities, and key infrastructure, it’s clear Illinois is well-positioned to be a leader in the electric vehicle space,” said Jack Lavin, President & CEO, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. “Today’s announcement will set us on a course to secure significant jobs and investment for years to come. We thank Governor Pritzker for his commitment to investing in industries that drive our economic growth and create jobs and his leadership in the effort to secure this facility. We look forward to continuing to work together to attract more generational economic development opportunities across the state.”
“At Nicor Gas, we are proud to serve the Manteno community and are excited to welcome Gotion as they expand their state-of-the-art battery and energy storage operations into Illinois,” said Wendell Dallas, President and CEO of Nicor Gas. “We look forward to working with the State of Illinois and economic development partners with an ‘all of the above’ net-zero energy mix that will result in manufacturing jobs coming to Kankakee County.”
“Illinois’ strategic location and skilled workforce make it an attractive location for EV companies,” said Intersect Illinois CEO Dan Seals. “Gotion will not only bring thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in investment to Illinois, but will also help advance the state’s thriving EV ecosystem.”
“Today’s announcement is a huge win for Governor Pritzker and Illinois. It builds on our state’s long history of auto manufacturing, and we are thrilled to welcome Gotion to Illinois as we work diligently to create an innovative ecosystem that supports our growing electric vehicle sector,” said Mark Denzler, President & CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association. “We are proud to have partnered with Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to put in place incentives to help bring these businesses to Illinois, and we look forward to the continued success of this important industry.”
“This project is an important step forward for Illinois,” said Rob Karr, President & CEO, Illinois Retail Merchants Association. “While the investment itself is significant, the broader impacts of the new jobs and related economic developments will be a significant boost for existing business. We congratulate Governor Pritzker, our legislative leaders, and everyone promoting Illinois.”
“Team Illinois has a bold vision to lead our country’s efforts to decarbonize transportation. This exciting announcement is a critical step and a sign of many more transformative contributions to come,” said Brad Henderson, CEO of P33.
“The Illinois Economic Development Association is proud to support the state’s new business attraction tools,” said IEDA Chairman Michael Cassa. “The announcement of the EV project proves the tools are working.”
“The Illinois Climate Equitable and Jobs Act (CEJA) empowered the Illinois Finance Authority to use finance to combat climate change as the Climate Bank,” said Chris Meister, Executive Director, Illinois Finance Authority/Climate Bank. “Through an economic development loan, and potentially other financial assistance to this project, we are proud to advance Governor Pritzker’s vision of a zero-carbon transportation future that will help families across our State and create good paying Illinois jobs.”
“Gotion’s decision to choose Illinois speaks volumes to our unmatched infrastructure, workforce, and incentives. The historic $2 billion commitment represents the largest EV battery plant investment in Illinois, bolstering the state’s EV battery supply chain and helping to attract and retain other heavy hitters in the industry. Most importantly, the gigafactory will create thousands of good-paying, clean energy jobs for hardworking Illinoisans,” said DCEO Director Kristin Richards. “With global demand soaring, we’re proud to add Gotion’s EV batteries to the extensive list of products proudly made in Illinois.”
Creates the Electrical Vehicle Infrastructure Act. Provides that a unit of local government shall not restrict which types of electric vehicles may access an electric vehicle charging station approved for passenger vehicles that both is publicly accessible and the construction of which was funded, at least in part, by the State or through moneys collected from ratepayers. Requires the Illinois Commerce Commission, in consultation with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, to assess whether charging station infrastructure is disproportionately deployed by population density, geographical area, or population income level. Provides that the Commission shall facilitate the development of technologies that promote grid integration, explore policies that support the development of technologies, and adopt a tariff specific to heavy-duty electric vehicle fleets or electric trucks and buses. Limits home rule powers. Defines terms.
Representative La Shawn Ford (D-8th) revealed he is introducing a bill that if passed will allow ex-offenders convicted of felonies to run for public office because, he says, once they have paid their dues, they have a right to run and serve.
Saying there are many such people qualified to run for office on the state and local levels, Ford said people with felonies who are not criminals but who have paid their debt to society should have the right to run for office.
Ford pointed to Debra Vines as an example. Vines ran for Trustee of Maywood and won but couldn’t be sworn into office because she has a felony record. In an interview with the Chicago Crusader, she commended Ford for proposing the bill allowing felons to run for office in Illinois.
“As someone who has personally experienced the frustration and disappointment of not being able to take a position I had rightfully won, due to my background, I believe it is high time we address this issue and provide equal opportunities for all individuals, regardless of their past mistakes.
Amends the Property Tax Code. In a Section regarding property tax exemptions for charitable purposes, provides that property held by a charitable organization for the purpose of constructing or rehabilitating residences for eventual transfer to qualified low-income families through sale, lease, or contract for deed is exempt from property tax as a charitable purpose. Provides that the exemption commences on the day title to the property is transferred to the organization and continues to the end of the levy year in which the organization transfers title to the property to a qualified low-income family. Effective immediately.
Along with goals to hire more detectives, pass “treatment not trauma” and address the “mental health crisis,” Johnson said he will consider his administration successful “when people are not living in tents.” It probably was a reference to the unhoused, but given a report just a few hours earlier about a plan to build tent cities for asylum seekers, his comment had us wondering.
And get this: Johnson took credit for bringing the 2024 Democratic Convention to Chicago. The decision was announced after his election, though it was well-known to Thursday night’s crowd that for two-plus years Sen. Tammy Duckworth, governor’s chief of staff Anne Caprara, Lightfoot and political consultant Kaitlin Fahey worked to land the 2024 event. If Johnson was being funny, the joke didn’t land with the crowd.
Alderpeople will be briefed on the city’s updated plans Friday, said [Ald. Andre Vasquez], who chairs the City Council’s Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights. […]
Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez (33rd) told Block Club that although she doesn’t know yet what Johnson’s plan is, she doesn’t think the tents are a permanent solution.
Giving a couple of reporters some insufficient details before briefing alderpeople and stakeholders is not the wisest move I’ve ever seen.
* Crain’s | Illinois finally lands a big EV battery plant: Sources in both state government and the EV industry confirm that Gotion, a Chinese battery maker that earlier announced plans to open a plant in Michigan, has decided on Manteno in Kankakee County for a second, related $2 billion facility.
* WGN | Immigrant girl on Chicago-bound bus from Texas died from infection, other factors, coroner says: The bacterial infection and aspiration pneumonia along with diarrhea and vomiting led to electrolyte problems, swelling of the brain and eventually the Aug. 10 death of Jismary Alejandra Barboza González, Marion County Coroner Troy Cannon said. […] The child reportedly began experiencing mild symptoms and feeling ill as the family boarded the bus in Brownsville, Texas, Cannon said. At that point, she had only a low-grade fever and was allowed to board the bus.
* WTVO | Illinois universities get fall enrollment boost: ISU is welcoming its largest freshman class in 36 years. The associate vice president of enrollment management said that there are more than 4,100 freshmen in the Class of 2027.
* Scott Holland | State has granted 52 of 146 medical prison release requests: “The eligibility conditions are extremely strict and narrowly tailored to apply to only the sickest and most expensive people in the prison health care system,” said Jennifer Soble, the Illinois Prison Project executive director instrumental in drafting the Coleman Act. “With that in mind, almost every eligible person should be released if we are to realize the Coleman Act’s purpose.”
* NPR Illinois | The future of high speed rail in Illinois: Tim Butler, a former Illinois lawmaker, is now head of the Illinois Rail Association, which represents the freight industry. He is also vice-chair of the Illinois High Speed Rail Commission. That panel is putting together a plan to guide the state. We talk with him about the future potential for rail travel.
* NBC Chicago | CTU president issues statement after sources say she enrolled teen in private school: Davis Gates’ enrollment of her teenager in a private Chicago school this year was confirmed and reported by NBC Chicago on Thursday after days of questions that went unanswered by Davis Gates and the CTU. NBC Chicago is not naming the school nor the name of Davis Gates’ child out of respect for the family’s privacy.
* Sun-Times | Bally’s landlord at Medinah Temple temporary casino hits the $20 million jackpot: Bally’s has to pay [Albert M.] Friedman more than $16.5 million in rent plus a management fee of $330,000, under the terms of its four-year lease, obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times. Bally’s also must pay Medinah Temple’s Cook County property taxes — a bill that has topped $1.1 million a year.
* Sun-Times | Migrants would move from police stations to big tents in ‘winterized base camps’ under mayor’s new plan: During a short interview with the Sun-Times, the mayor offered no specifics on cost or funding. Instead, he described the broad outlines of a plan that includes “base camps” that would provide meals and recreational and educational programming supplied by Chicagoans as a way to reduce what he called the “exorbitant” costs now being paid to a private staffing agency.
* Tribune | Chicago City Council to take up $25 million settlement in controversial wrongful conviction case: The lawsuits have lingered for more than seven years as the city has paid outside law firms to fight the allegations, including expending hundreds of thousands of dollars to litigate over potential expert testimony and fighting to have former Gov. Pat Quinn answer questions under oath about his decision to commute Hood’s 75-year prison sentence.
* Tribune | Aldermen consider allowing Chicago cops to work security at bars and liquor stores: A panel of City Council members is expected later this month to tackle the controversial idea that is part of a citywide policy that also prevents police officers from owning taverns or being bartenders. The ownership restrictions would remain in place under the proposal.
* KSTP | A track inspector claimed he was fired for reporting ‘too many defects.’ His secret recordings may cost BNSF millions: A series of phone calls secretly recorded by a track inspector-turned-whistleblower at Burlington Northern Santa Fe is raising more questions about the safety culture at Minnesota’s largest railroad. […] The railroad is currently appealing a multi-million-dollar verdict. BNSF did not respond to requests to comment on the recordings obtained by 5 INVESTIGATES. In a previous statement, a spokesperson said the company “does not retaliate against employees.”
* Tribune | Visiting the last Rainforest Cafe in Illinois offers an expedition in nostalgia: It’s 5:30 p.m. on a late-summer Friday. The warm afternoon air cools as you walk through the heavy double doors of Gurnee Mills mall. To the right, a jungle-themed mural guides you down a hallway until you reach a crossroads: Macy’s, or a mother elephant and her baby, flapping their ears.
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