Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Thursday, Feb 15, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Crazy town…

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

— Hannah Meisel (@hannahmeisel) February 15, 2024

…Adding… Sen. McClure…

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

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

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Isabel’s afternoon roundup

Thursday, Feb 15, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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

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

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

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

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

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

* Metropolitan Planning Council Board Chair Paul Carlisle…

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

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

* Press release…

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

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

* Here’s the rest…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thursday, Feb 15, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Zoom in…

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

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

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

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

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

…Adding… From Rep. Ozinga…

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

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Campaign update

Thursday, Feb 15, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

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

Thursday, Feb 15, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Notice any entity missing from this press release?…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*** UPDATE 1 *** Jordan Abudayyeh…

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

*** UPDATE 2 *** Tina Sfondeles…

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

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

*** UPDATE 4 *** Stay tuned…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here’s the exchange…

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thursday, Feb 15, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

— Chicago Bars (@chicagobars) February 6, 2024

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

— Chicago Bars (@chicagobars) February 6, 2024

* Crain’s…

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

* Meanwhile…

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

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

67 Comments

It’s just a bill

Thursday, Feb 15, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Shaw Local…

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

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

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

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

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

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

* Capitol News Illinois…

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

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

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

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

* HB4745 filed by Rep. John Cabello…

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

* Chicagobars…

* Rep. Sue Scherer…

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

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

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

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

* WPSD…

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

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

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

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

* Center Square…

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

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

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

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

* Daily Herald…

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

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

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

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

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

14 Comments

Open thread

Thursday, Feb 15, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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

3 Comments

Isabel’s morning briefing

Thursday, Feb 15, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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

* Related stories…

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

* Isabel’s top picks…

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

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

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

* Here’s the rest of your morning roundup…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

5 Comments

Live coverage

Thursday, Feb 15, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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

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

Wednesday, Feb 14, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Isabel’s afternoon roundup

Wednesday, Feb 14, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Julia Rosier…

* Press release…

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

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

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

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

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

* Another endorsement for Congressman Bost…

* WGN…

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

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

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

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

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

* Here’s the rest…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

10 Comments

Question of the day

Wednesday, Feb 14, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* HGOP press release…

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

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

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

online polls

35 Comments

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

Wednesday, Feb 14, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From S&P Global Ratings…

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

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

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

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

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

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

* However…

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

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

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

Yesterday’s numbers are here.

* Tribune…

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

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

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

* More from Isabel…

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

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

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

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

2 Comments

Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition

Wednesday, Feb 14, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Roundup: Sam McCann trial

Wednesday, Feb 14, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Hannah Meisel is on the ground…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

* AP…

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

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

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

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

* SJ-R…

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

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

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

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

6 Comments

It’s just a bill

Wednesday, Feb 14, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* NBC Chicago…

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

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

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

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

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

* SJ-R…

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

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

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

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

* WGEM…

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

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

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

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

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

* The Coalition for Fantasy Sports…

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

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

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

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

* Play USA…

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

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

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

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

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Support The Protect Health Data Privacy Act

Wednesday, Feb 14, 2024 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

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Open thread

Wednesday, Feb 14, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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

4 Comments

Isabel’s morning briefing

Wednesday, Feb 14, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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

Daily Herald

Sun-Times

Block Club

* Isabel’s top picks…

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

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

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

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

* Here’s the rest of your morning roundup…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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