Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Thursday, Dec 7, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller

This afternoon’s top stories

Shelby County Board member Teresa Boehm is being prosecuted by Shelby County State’s Attorney Robert Hanlon for previously serving as an appointed Rose Township Cemetery trustee while also serving on the county board. Boehm had resigned as trustee after Hanlon intervened. The state’s attorney said at the time that he wanted to avoid filing criminal charges, then reversed himself. Boehm points out she’s the only Democrat on the county board. Herald & Review reporter Tony Reid has the details.

Centreville Citizens for Change is asking the federal government to investigate why St. Clair County spent nearly all of its COVID-related relief funds in largely white communities while the predominantly Black, low-income city of Cahokia Heights faces an ongoing health crisis with floodwater and sewage spilling into homes. Belleville News-Democrat

Healing Illinois, a statewide initiative that gives anti-racism grants to nonprofits, will give out grants as large as $30,000 to fund racial healing and equity work by various nonprofits. The program is funded by the Field Foundation of Illinois and the Illinois Department of Human Services, writes Scott Reader for the Illinois Times.

Around 92,100 people in the US traveled out of state to receive abortions in the first half of 2023, according to new data — more than double compared with three years ago. Illinois saw 18,870 out-of-state patients between January and June 2023. Bloomberg.

What’s up in the Windy City?

Chicago Reader | Johnson administration’s early days marked by lapses in transparency:

* Crain’s | Friends of the Parks: No new Bears stadium on lot south of Soldier Field: A report yesterday that the Chicago Bears are exploring the idea of building a new stadium on a parking lot south of Soldier Field has prompted a firm response from a powerful parks preservation group: Not on our watch. “Our board is calling our lawyers as we speak,” said Juanita Irizarry, the executive director of Friends of the Parks, a nonprofit advocacy group well-known for battling new commercial development along the lakefront.

* Sun-Times | Chicago is seeing largest spike in robberies in over 20 years, analysis shows: Nearly 4,900 robberies happened between July 1 and Nov. 26, a more than 55% increase compared to the previous five months. That’s the largest percentage increase in robberies between consecutive five-month periods since at least 2001.

* Sun-Times | Hot tub boats offer a toasty spot to chill on the Chicago River: The boat company’s co-founder, Ron Silvia, called the new attraction a BYOB, “float and socialize” city experience that allows customers to drive themselves in a hot tub transformed into a boat. “It’s not a long-distance cruise. It’s to hang out within a few blocks of our main location at Marina City,” Silvia said in a statement.

Here’s the rest!

Rockford Register Star | In an age of pay apps and plastic, some Rockford businesses remain cash-only:

* Bloomberg | Mortgage rates fall for sixth week, dropping closer to 7%: The average for a 30-year, fixed loan was 7.03%, down from 7.22% last week, Freddie Mac said in a statement Thursday. Mortgage rates have retreated in recent weeks, bringing slight relief to homebuyers who have been facing the highest borrowing costs in years. The housing market still remains tough, with a limited supply of homes for sale helping to prop up prices and squeeze affordability even more.

* Fox 32 | Former Bears star Robbie Gould retires after 18-year career: Gould announced his retirement on The Player’s Tribune on Thursday. Gould had been a free agent after the San Francisco 49ers opted not to bring him back for a seventh season. Gould spent 11 seasons with the Chicago Bears and one with the New York Giants.

* Block Club | The Earliest Sunset Of The Year Is Thursday — And It Won’t Even Hit 4:20: Even as the sun starts to set later — and by later, we mean 4:28 p.m. — the days will get shorter until Dec. 21. That day will have nine hours and 11 minutes of sunlight, making it the city’s “shortest day” of the year.

* Sun-Time | Shedd Aquarium welcomes orphaned 8-week-old sea otter pup: “With this newest addition to our rescued population of sea otters, we’re committed to his long-term care and continuing to create connections for Chicagoans to this important keystone species,” Peggy Sloan, chief animal conservation officer at Shedd Aquarium, said in the release. Shedd staff members traveled to Alaska to bring back the otter. He arrived Nov. 29 and is being bottle fed while eating small portions of clam a few times throughout the day.

* The Southern Illinoisan | Poshard Foundation hosts toy give away to help provide Christmas gifts for children: Each year the foundation hosts a toy giveaway. Social service agencies identify children who are unlikely to receive other Christmas gifts, then the agents come to the two-day event to choose gifts for those children. More than 2,000 gifts will be distributed in total during this year’s giveaway. Each child will receive three gifts, along with socks, blankets, hats and gloves.

16 Comments

Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - New LRB procedures

Thursday, Dec 7, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

Comments Off

After National Retail Federation retraction on organized retail crime’s scope, Attorney General Raoul promises continuing enforcement

Thursday, Dec 7, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* We talked about this story earlier this week…

The National Retail Federation just confirmed what many have suspected — reliable stats about organized retail crime are hard to come by.

In a remarkable reversal, the industry group has retracted a key statistic about the impact of organized retail crime (ORC) in 2021 after it could not support the figure with firm data.

A report published in April erroneously said that ORC represented “nearly half” of the industry’s $94.5 billion inventory shrink in 2021. Last week, the NRF updated the report to remove that figure, Reuters reported. […]

“We stand behind the widely understood fact that organized retail crime is a serious problem impacting retailers of all sizes and communities across our nation,” the [NRF] spokesperson said. “At the same time, we recognize the challenges the retail industry and law enforcement have with gathering and analyzing an accurate and agreed-upon set of data to measure the number of incidents in communities across the country.”

* I asked Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office for comment…

Notwithstanding inaccuracies in the National Retail Federation’s data, it remains unquestionable that organized retail crime is a serious problem in the State of Illinois and throughout the country that mandated a law enforcement and legislative response.

Organized retail crime leads to more than just the inconvenience of shopping at pharmacies where everyday items are locked in cases. We know from our investigations and experience that there is no shortage of coordinated brazen acts that put retail employees and shoppers at risk.

The priority is not on low-level shoplifting for personal use, but on organized crime. Proceeds of these thefts end up being monetized on online platforms, which is why we have focused from the beginning on going after the ringleaders of organized criminal enterprises who are often involved in other criminal activity. These efforts have involved coordination between local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, which all have recognized the seriousness of this problem. These collaborations have led to arrests and the recovery of millions of dollars of stolen items. Our office is and will continue to follow tips and evidence to disrupt the organizations facilitating these brazen acts.

5 Comments

Susan Catania

Thursday, Dec 7, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* As I told subscribers this morning, former Illinois state Rep. Susan Catania has passed away. Her daughter Sara Catania wrote a eulogy. Here’s an excerpt, but you really should read the whole thing…

My mother, former Illinois State Legislator Susan Catania, a relentless advocate for the ERA and a fearless champion of important but politically unpopular causes, died last week.

The cause was a fire that broke out during the early morning hours of November 27 in our family cabin on Cranberry Lake outside the town of Eagle River in Northern Wisconsin, where she’d moved to spend her retirement.

In January of 1973, the U.S. was about to end its role in the Vietnam War and the Supreme Court to uphold abortion rights in Roe v. Wade. The prior November, to the surprise of no one, President Nixon was re-elected in a landslide. In Chicago’s 22nd legislative district, to the surprise of nearly everyone, my mom won close to 70 percent of the Republican vote, earning her a seat in the state legislature. In the annals of history, my mother’s victory was nowhere near as momentous an event as Roe, Vietnam and Nixon, but in the halls of local and state political power, it was shocking.

She was white in a nearly all-Black district on Chicago’s South Side, a Republican in a city of big D Democrats, and a young mother at a time when very few women — and even fewer who had children — ran for public office..

On top of all that, she had no experience in politics and no connections to the all-powerful political machine of Mayor Richard J. Daley, who maintained his white-ethnic grip on Chicago politics even as three other major U.S. cities — Los Angeles, Atlanta and Detroit — made history by electing their first African American mayors. […]

On hearing that my mother had died, someone asked me for my favorite memory of her. The first thing that popped into my head was her laugh. My mom was a serious and driven person. She also had a great sense of humor and a rolling, joyful laugh. My delight in hearing it was magnified by its stark contrast to her typical deadpan demeanor. I have many memories of her sitting at our kitchen table talking on the phone, often to reporters, in long and rambling conversations punctuated with that laugh. No wonder I became a journalist.

Her death was not the end we would have wished for her, or one she would have wanted for herself. But she died in a place she loved, after living her life exactly as she wanted.

* Compiled by Isabel…

1995 Chicago Tribune | DCFS coordinator puts family values to work

* 1990 Chicago Tribune | A world apart: Indeed, Susan Catania, an ecology-mined former state representative and mother of seven daughter, said that disposable diapers were essential to her political life. “I would not have been able to serve in the Illinois House of Representatives without them,” she said. Catania had three daughters in diapers while she held office. She used cloth diapers at home, which she washed at home, but used disposables in Springfield when traveling with her babies. “If we have the brains to do things, I think we should be out doing them, not home doing diapers,” she said.

* 1999 Chicago Reader | Triple Threat: Catania often bucked her party leadership, voting for gun control, for abortion, for the ERA, but it was impossible for the bosses to punish her because there was no Republican organization on the south side. … With members serving in Springfield, the Chicago Republican Party wasn’t the joke it is now. Catania used her office to corral votes for Senator Charles Percy and to rally her constituents against Democratic state’s attorney Edward Hanrahan, who was hated by blacks for his role in the killing of Black Panthers Fred Hampton and Mark Clark. The machine bosses who controlled the Taylor Homes had never told their constituents about ticket splitting, so Catania had to give lessons.

* 1982 Illinois Issues | Will it be Ryan, Totten or Catania?: Mrs. Catania is a Republican, elected and reelected to the Illinois House from heavily Democratic Chicago, thanks to cumulative voting. In other words, her clout is minimal even on her own turf. And some people got the wrong idea when she brought her babies to the House floor so they would not be deprived of their mother’s attention. The image may have been that of a vulnerable woman but, in fact, Mrs. Catania was demonstrating some unusual courage by invading the often zoo-like House chamber with an infant. … “Susan Catania can’t win,” Mrs. Schlafly said. “No one who supported John Anderson for president can win a statewide Republican primary.”She also refused to call the race a referendum on the ERA, but she acknoledged that issue is likely to dominate the campaign.

* 1982 Washington Post | Three Congressmen Apparently Lose, Another Periled in Illinois Primary: In the GOP lieutenant governor’s contest, state House Speaker George Ryan, Thompson’s choice, was running ahead of state Rep. Susan Catania, a feminist and party maverick. State Sen. Donald Totten, who sought to capitalize on his links to Reagan, was third. Totten conceded Ryan’s victory but Catania clung to the hope that uncounted ballots in Chicago might give her an upset. … But a greater threat to Ryan, according to pre-primary polls, came from Catania, a feminist liberal who backed John B. Anderson for the 1980 GOP presidential nomination. As the former head of the Illinois commission on the status of women and the only avowed supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment in the race, Catania drew financial help from feminists across the country, who saw in her candidacy a last-ditch chance to push Illinois into the list of states ratifying the ERA.

* 2018 SJ-R | Bernard Schoenburg: 36 years later, Susan Catania hopeful about ERA: Catania, 76, who says she still leans Republican and now calls Buffalo Grove home, says 36 years later that one anti-ERA message, about women’s role in the military, has been rebuffed. “We have a United States senator who clearly has demonstrated that women can serve with complete distinction in the U.S. military. And we have her fighting the good fight now in Washington.” She was talking about U.S. Sen. TAMMY DUCKWORTH, D-Illinois, the Hoffman Estates resident who lost both legs when her helicopter was shot down over Iraq. Catania said she voted for Duckworth in 2016. “She’s carrying the torch for women,” she said, and is “speaking out for the military and for women, for working families.”

17 Comments

It’s just a bill

Thursday, Dec 7, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Rep. Kam Buckner introduced HB4252 on Monday…

Creates the Student-Athlete Bill of Rights Act. Sets forth specific rights for students and student-athletes at postsecondary educational institutions. Provides that a postsecondary educational institution shall prepare and post a notice detailing specified rights that student-athletes have under federal law and where a complaint may be filed for a violation. Provides that a postsecondary educational institution may not intentionally retaliate against a student-athlete for (1) making or filing a complaint, in good faith, about a violation of a student-athlete’s rights granted under any applicable statute, rule, or policy; (2) testifying or otherwise assisting in an investigation into a violation of a student-athlete’s rights granted under any applicable statute, rule, or policy; or (3) opposing any practices that the student-athlete, in good faith, believes are a violation of a student-athlete’s rights granted under any applicable statute, rule, or policy. Provides that each postsecondary educational institution offering athletic programs for student-athletes shall hire or appoint an ombudsperson, independent of the athletic department, who may be an employee, to provide specified support to student-athletes. Creates the Commission on College Athletics to pursue research and recommendations and monitor athletic programs at postsecondary educational institutions. Sets forth other duties of the Commission and the membership of the Commission. Requires the Board of Higher Education to provide administrative and other support to the Commission and adopt rules.

* Here’s another bill from Leader Buckner…

Creates the Higher Education Violation Reporting Act. Provides that each public and private institution of higher education shall maintain a report publicly reporting actual findings of violations by any student organization, athletic team, or living group of the institution’s code of conduct or anti-hazing policy or State or federal laws relating to hazing or alcohol, drugs, sexual assault, or physical assault. Provides that an institution of higher education shall provide hazing prevention education to employees. Provides that if an employee or volunteer at an institution of higher education has reasonable cause to believe that hazing has occurred, the employee or volunteer shall report the incident. Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. In provisions concerning hazing, provides that a person commits hazing when he or she knowingly requires the performance of any act by a student or other person in a school, college, university, or other educational institution of this State for the purpose of induction or admission into or maintenance of membership in (instead of only for the purpose of induction or admission into) any group, organization, or society associated or connected with that institution if the act meets certain requirements; makes changes to the requirements. Provides that an act may be considered hazing regardless of whether the student or other person is willing to participate in the act. Effective July 1, 2024.

* Sen. Natalie Toro…

To ensure employees are not treated differently in the workplace or passed over in the hiring process due to their caregiver role, State Senator Natalie Toro is working to amend the Human Rights Act to protect people with family responsibilities from discrimination.

“Just because a person has external obligations to support their family does not mean they aren’t capable of successfully doing these jobs,” said Toro (D-Chicago). “Assuming differently without any demonstrated proof that their performance has changed is discrimination and should be banned by state laws.”

Currently, there are no laws protecting employees who are also caregivers from differential treatment, including offering lower wages, preventing advancement opportunities, or even terminating employment. These actions are often the result of employers’ biased assumptions that any employee who has family obligations outside of work must be unreliable, uncommitted and less valuable, regardless of actual job performance. This often disproportionately impacts pregnant people, working mothers, people of color and low-wage earners who are already financially vulnerable.

To better protect caregivers, Senate Bill 2616 would make it a civil rights violation for employers to retaliate against a person who speaks out about discriminatory actions they believe to be based on their family responsibilities. The measure would also expand the definition of harassment to include protections for people with family responsibilities.

“No one should be treated differently at work after they have a child or step up as a caregiver for family members,” said Toro. “This law will ensure that workers’ livelihoods are protected as they navigate the responsibilities within their lives.”

Senate Bill 2616 awaits discussion in the spring legislative session.

* HB4257 from Rep. Anna Moeller…

Amends the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. Establishes procedures for serving a search warrant upon foreign corporations that are electronic communication services and remote computing services allowing a search for records that are in the actual or constructive possession of a foreign corporation that provides electronic communication services or remote computing services to the general public, if those records would reveal: (1) the identity of the customers using those services; (2) data stored by, or on behalf of, the customer; (3) the customer’s usage of those services; (4) the recipient or destination of communications sent to or from those customers; or (5) the content of those communications. Provides that, when properly served with a search warrant issued by an Illinois court, a foreign corporation subject to this provision shall provide to the applicant all records sought pursuant to that warrant within 8 business days of receipt, including those records maintained or located outside the State. Provides that a foreign corporation seeking to quash the warrant must seek relief from the court that issued the warrant within the time required for production of records. Provides that the issuing court shall hear and decide that motion no later than 8 days after the motion is filed. Provides that no cause of action shall lie against any foreign or Illinois corporation subject to this Section, its officers, employees, agents, or other specified persons for providing records, information, facilities, or assistance in accordance with the terms of a warrant issued pursuant to this provision. Provides that this provision does not apply to corporations that do not provide electronic communication services or remote computing services to the general public.

* Rep. Amy Elik’s HB4255…

Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Allows the use of red, blue, and white oscillating, rotating, or flashing lights on tow trucks.

14 Comments

Get it together, man

Thursday, Dec 7, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* More background is here if you need it. Last month…

Ald. Bill Conway is crying foul after Johnson’s administration said they would have the city remove the tents in which people are sleeping [in West Loop homeless encampments] only if Conway voted in favor of two pillars of the mayor’s progressive policy agenda.

The conflict between Conway and [top Johnson adviser Jason Lee] begins with the encampment near Union and Ogilvie stations, which Conway said is a trouble spot for drugs and violent crime in the ward. Two recent shootings in the area have exacerbated his concern.

* Press release today from Ald. Conway…

Late last night, a man was fatally shot near the corner of Lake and Clinton Streets downtown, immediately adjacent to a dangerous area under the viaducts and a CTA Green Line stop, Ogilvie Transportation Center, and Union Station. The incident is currently under investigation by the Chicago Police Department (CPD) and follows a string of violent crime in the area which was once a peaceful encampment but has become a magnet for violent crime and drugs. This past Friday, CPD arrested a man with an illegal loaded gun and $60,000 worth of heroin and crack cocaine in the 500 block of West Lake St.. In recent weeks, there have been two other shootings, multiple armed robberies, and numerous overdoses. […]

On Friday, just hours after CPD arrested someone with an illegal loaded gun and $60,000 of heroin and crack cocaine under the viaducts, the Mayor’s Office responded to area residents who had repeatedly begged the City to address crime with a stock letter restating their misrepresentation that this area was merely a peaceful encampment - noting that, “homelessness is not illegal” - rather than recognizing it has turned into a magnet for violent crime and drugs. The unfortunate response also disregarded the fact that for some time now, the Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) hasn’t been able to get anyone to accept their offer for rapid rehousing and has been referring cases to CPD – because it isn’t safe, for anyone.

* Meanwhile…

There were nearly 4,900 robberies between July 1 and Nov. 26, an increase of more than 55% compared to the total for the previous five months. That’s the largest increase in robberies between consecutive five-month periods since at least 2001 — the earliest year tracked in the city’s online crime portal. […]

A Chicago Police Department statement didn’t address potential reasons for the spike but said since July, the department has enhanced its efforts to combat robberies, resulting in a 25.8% increase in robbery arrests compared to the same period in 2022, according to its data. […]

Overall, total robberies in the city are lower compared to where they were from 2001 to 2013, and again in 2016 and 2017, when robbery totals surpassed 10,000 each year. But with more than 8,700 total robberies reported through late November, the city is on pace to see the most robberies since 2017.

* Other stuff…

CWB | Chicago cops didn’t file a report, watched TV in squad car after random attacker killed man on Mag Mile:

* Sun-Times | Who should decide the fate of Chicago’s most serious police misconduct cases?: A City Council panel today could allow the main union for cops to contest firings and long suspensions behind closed doors.

54 Comments

Question of the day: 2023 Golden Horseshoe Awards

Thursday, Dec 7, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The 2023 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Democratic State Senate Staff Member goes to Selena Gorman…

While there are many rockstars that deserve this accolade, this year’s GH should go to Selena Gorman for her 3+ decades of service to the Senate Democratic Caucus. Despite all of the ups and downs, Selena has been steadfast in her commitment to serving the caucus and the legal staff. I do not know how Giovanni will survive without her! She will be missed dearly.

Gorman was most definitely the strongest crowd favorite.

Runner-up is Brandy Renfro. Honorable mention goes to Mary Hanahan.

* The 2023 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Republican State Senate Staff Member goes to Brad Carlson…

He manages to stay modest, friendly, and grounded even in the heat of session. He’s been around a long time and seen a lot, but doesn’t expect rose petals thrown at his feet because of it. Knowledgeable but not an egghead…stays practical and pragmatic.

How can you not give him the win after a nomination like that? Solid.

Runner-up is Cheyenne Scaife. Honorable mention goes to Scott Kaiser.

Congratulations to all!

* On to today’s categories…

Best Republican State House Staff Member

To be clear, this category also includes campaign staff. Please explain your nominations or they won’t count. Also, do your very best to nominate in both categories.

* We raised about $10,000 yesterday to buy Christmas presents for foster children. Amazing. Thank you so very much.

As I write this, contributions have totaled $50,882 since last Tuesday, which is enough to help Lutheran Social Services of Illinois purchase 2,035 gifts.

Think about that for a second. Your generosity means more than 2,000 foster kids will receive a Christmas present this year. I’m just blown away by that and I hope you are, too.

Sometimes, these gifts cost more because some kids need winter coats or boots. So, let’s keep this going. The total LSSI goal is at least $63,250. Please, click here and help make it happen if you possibly can. Thanks!!!

18 Comments

Chicago politics gets even messier

Thursday, Dec 7, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I told subscribers about most of this on Tuesday…

Democratic Chicago Ald. Scott Waguespack is going to run as a write-in candidate for the 32nd Ward committeeman seat that he currently holds.

Here’s why: The only guy in the race, Ishan Daya, was caught on video recently tearing down a poster in New York City of an Israeli hostage being held by Hamas.

“Many party members have objected to him based on his actions,” Waguespack told Playbook, adding, he’s filing to run as a write-in after initially planning not to seek reelection. Waguespack had endorsed someone else for the post, but that person didn’t file on time — leaving Daya as the only one in the race. Now Waguespack is back in. […]

20th District state Senate race: After the video of Daya went public, he stepped down as a co-host of a fundraiser for Graciela Guzman, a progressive challenging incumbent state Sen Natalie Toro in the Democratic primary. The war is now a talking point in the race, with Guzman condemning Daya’s actions, and Toro calling them out as “hateful and antisemitic.”

I mean, we’ll see, but it’s not like Waguespack has a ton of friends these days. And his bumbling with his preferred replacement is what caused this to be a one-person ward race to begin with.

Anyway, the video is here, but be careful if you’re at work. Click here for Daya’s statement. Subscribers know more about other reactions and responses. And there’s more at that other link about a couple of congressional primaries.

Take at least one deep breath before commenting, please. Thanks.

25 Comments

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

Thursday, Dec 7, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

Comments Off

Open thread

Thursday, Dec 7, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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

7 Comments

Isabel’s morning briefing

Thursday, Dec 7, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: An Illinois Senate candidate denies falsifying concealed carry certificates. Rockford Register Star…

* We’ve reached our fundraising goal to give Christmas presents to foster kids!

UPDATE: We're now above $50,000!!! https://t.co/aexRjksjTy https://t.co/MwobkHDiTq

— Capitol Fax (@capitolfax) December 6, 2023

* Isabel’s top picks…

* Tribune | Chicago hears from Cincinnati and Newark officials on how to speed up replacement of toxic lead pipes: Newark agreed to pay to replace about 23,000 lead service lines rather than requiring property owners to contribute or making them fill out paperwork proving they couldn’t afford the work, said Kareem Adeem, director of the city’s water and sewer department. Frustrated by futile attempts to reach absentee landlords, city officials began allowing renters to grant permission to remove lead pipes connecting homes to municipal water mains.

* The Tennessean | This is why Nashville mayor Freddie O’Connell met with White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf: O’Connell said during a press briefing Friday that he had no plans to try to woo anyone when it came to the Stars, and that any meetings during the Winter Meetings would be “informal.”"It would be … just the basis of introducing him to the city more so than saying, ‘Hey, come support the Stars being a thing.’ We’re not even close to that,’” he said.

* Here’s the rest of your morning roundup…

* Daily-Journal | End of an era as Wheeler will not seek new chairman term: Wheeler declined to comment on his decision. He only said that he will fulfill the remainder of his four-year term which ends Nov. 30, 2024. He’s been county board chairman since 2016 and a board member since 2012.

* WMBD | Several state lawmakers won’t have primary challenges in March: Eleven statehouse races touching central Illinois counties won’t have March 19, 2024, primary challenges and, of those, only two are shaping up to be contested in the general election on Nov. 5.

* Daily-Journal | Crowded field in 79th District Democratic primary race: Five people filed to run in the Democratic primary next March for the 79th District in Illinois House of Representatives, currently held by Republican Jackie Haas of Bourbonnais. Haas filed paperwork last week seeking a third term. Four of the five Democrats running are from Kankakee County.

* WLPO | Race To Replace Yednock Features Primary Races On Both Sides Of Aisle: Five candidates turned in paperwork to replace Democrat State Representative Lance Yednock in the 76th District. Democrats vying for the seat are: Amy Briel of Ottawa and Cohen Barnes and Carolyn Zasada both of DeKalb. Republicans going after the House seat are Crystal Loughran of Peru and Liz Bishop of La Salle.

* Rob Kelter | Illinois Commerce Commission rejects ‘business as usual’ in utilities’ rate hike requests: In its decisions the commission took bold steps to transition the state from natural gas to renewable energy. It’s only a start, but in the nearly three decades I’ve been litigating cases before the ICC, I’ve never seen the commission tell the utilities that they have to change the way they serve their customers.

* WICS | Cannabis revenues continue to climb in Illinois: The Illinois Department of Revenue has recently reported that cannabis sales generated $452 million in tax revenue for the state from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023.

* WBEZ | Who should decide the fate of Chicago’s most serious police misconduct cases?: Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is asking a City Council committee on Thursday to reject an arbitrator’s ruling that would allow the union for the city’s rank-and-file cops to contest the most serious police discipline cases behind closed doors.

* WTTW | CPS Board to Vote on Charter Renewal for Urban Prep Academies Despite Ongoing Litigation: The Chicago Board of Education this month is expected to renew the campus agreement for Urban Prep charter schools located in Bronzeville and Englewood after a judge ruled that CPS violated its moratorium on school closures by attempting to take control of the schools.

* Sun-Times | Johnson urged to ‘find solutions that work for the airlines’ to salvage O’Hare expansion: Days after announcing his departure from the job growth agency known as World Business Chicago, Michael Fassnacht urged City Hall and the two major carriers to work out their differences on a massive project that started at $8.7 billion but has ballooned to $12.1 billion.

* Tribune | Bally’s Chicago revenues flat for November at $7.6 million: The Chicago casino ranked fourth in revenue and second in admissions in November among the state’s 15 casinos, according to Gaming Board data. Rivers Casino Des Plaines led the way with $43.5 million in adjusted gross receipts and 249,000 admissions.

* Tribune | Chicago Bears reportedly mulling Soldier Field parking area as new stadium site as talks resume with schools over Arlington Heights location: The Bears are doing due diligence on the viability of the south parking lot at Soldier Field as the location for their next stadium, according to unnamed sources cited by The Parkins & Spiegel Show on WSCR-AM 670 The Score. The Bears reportedly are using the same surveying firm, Compass Surveying Ltd. in Aurora, that they used for Arlington Heights and other potential locations.

* Tribune | Kennedy Expressway lanes to reopen, as first year of construction project ends: The reopening marks the end of the first year of a three-year, $150 million rehab of the highway from the I-94 split south to downtown. But it will only be a temporary respite for the estimated 275,000 drivers who use the expressway daily. Work is expected to pick back up again in the spring on the next phase of the project, in the reversible express lanes in the center of the highway.

* Vera | Impact Over Orthodoxy: Two weeks ago, Jennifer Doleac, an economist and Arnold Ventures’s new executive vice president in charge of its criminal justice portfolio, took to X (formerly Twitter) to openly disparage recent Vera research on college-in-prison programs in New York State. The Vera study she attacked found that incarcerated students who enroll in college are 66 percent less likely to be reconvicted of a new offense following release. Her characterization was surprisingly blithe: “This is research malpractice, y’all.” Rendered so cavalierly by a powerful and putative ally at one of Vera’s closest and deepest philanthropic partners, this mischaracterization necessitates a thoughtful response.

* Tribune | McDonald’s will open first CosMc’s spinoff in suburban Bolingbrook this week: CosMc’s, named after a McDonald’s character from the 1980s whom CEO Chris Kempczinski described as “part alien, part surfer, part robot,” will be a 10-store, small-format pilot concept focused around specialty beverages and coffees. A CosMc’s in Bolingbrook will mark a soft opening Friday, the company said. The remaining stores will open in Texas by the end of 2024.

7 Comments

Live Ed Burke Trial Coverage

Thursday, Dec 7, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* These new feeds do not update instantly. There’s a bit of a lagtime and you have to refresh the page every now and then. The service we’re using may also not last long. We just can’t give you any guarantees. You can still click here to follow the Ed Burke trial on Twitter. Posts without a Twitter author name below them are from online news sources via Bing…

Comments Off

Live coverage

Thursday, Dec 7, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Live coverage is back, sorta. This will be different than the old Scribble Live feed because Twitter broke itself and almost everything else it touched. These new feeds do not update instantly. There’s a bit of posting lagtime, but it’s much better than nothing. We are also limited to just 20 Twitter sources. The service may also not last long. We just can’t give you any guarantees about this. You can still click here or here to follow breaking news the way we’ve done since Twitter stopped Scribble Live from working…

Comments Off

« NEWER POSTS