In late 2018, [longtime University of Illinois at Chicago employee Sharon Feldman], who was at the time associate director for global health policy research at the school’s Institute for Health Research and Policy, saw something: documents she believed showed a colleague planned to misappropriate grant funds and university resources.
Feldman worried the proposal would violate university policies that prohibited conflicts of interest and the misuse of university resources, she would later allege in court filings. […]
The Ethics Act’s whistleblower provision says state employees shall not be retaliated against for reporting behavior they reasonably believe to violate “a law, rule, or regulation.”
But in her ruling dismissing Feldman’s case this August, Judge Cecilia Horan agreed with the university’s arguments that internal university policies did not constitute “rules” that would have afforded Feldman whistleblower status.
At a court hearing on Aug. 29, Horan granted the university’s motion to dismiss Feldman’s complaint. Horan did not issue a written decision but said in verbal remarks she did not consider university statutes to be “rules” as defined by the Ethics Act.
Just outrageous. The legislature really needs to fix this. Tragically, Ms. Feldman died last month of an illness.
While deaths among pregnant women are rare, they have increased across Illinois — and the majority of them were possibly preventable, according to a new state report.
Black women continue to be disproportionately affected, and more pregnant people who die are losing their lives months after giving birth as they fall through the cracks of a complicated health system. […]
The third Illinois Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Report since 2018 from the state public health department provides a deeper look into what happened to 263 people who died while pregnant or within a year of giving birth from 2018 to 2020.
• An average of 88 women died while pregnant or within one year of pregnancy, with the highest number 110 deaths, occurring in 2020. There were 83 deaths in 2018 and 70 in 2019.
• 43% of women who died while pregnant or within one year of pregnancy died from a cause related to pregnancy.
• The leading cause of pregnancy-related death was substance use disorder, which comprised 32% of pregnancy-related deaths. The other most common causes of pregnancy-related death were cardiac and coronary conditions, pre-existing chronic medical conditions, sepsis, mental health conditions, and embolism.
• Black women were twice as likely to die from any pregnancy-related condition and three times as likely to die from pregnancy-related medical conditions as white women.
• More than half of pregnancy-related deaths occurred more than 60 days postpartum.
• The MMRCs determined 91% of pregnancy-related deaths were potentially preventable due to clinical, system, social, community, or patient factors.
An Illinois county’s quest to secede and join Missouri won’t be happening any time soon, according to a new legal opinion.
In response to a question raised by an official in Jersey County, located across the Mississippi River from Missouri, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said the county does not have “the authority to secede from the State of Illinois and join another state.”
Writing in an Oct. 17 opinion, Raoul said the state constitution does not provide a statutory procedure for the secession of counties from the state.
And, he added, there are federal issues that stand in the way too.
Businesses understand that access to paid time off is crucial for workers and their families, which is why we reached an agreement earlier this year to provide 5 days of paid time off, for any reason, to every worker across the state beginning January 1 – an agreement that was praised by labor leaders. We made repeated efforts to negotiate in good faith to reach a paid leave policy at the City level that is fair and balanced for both workers and businesses, even offering double the State requirement, but labor groups refused to compromise meaningfully, with aldermen now set to vote on a policy that will devastate the very businesses they have been trying to attract to their communities.
The current proposal will force employers to pay three ways for every day of paid leave. As written, employers will need to provide five days of paid sick leave and five days of paid time off for every employee, pay employees for up to seven days of unused paid time off, and pay enhanced wages for anyone who covers the employee’s shift due to the City’s restrictive scheduling ordinance. On top of this, businesses, especially small businesses without robust human resources departments, will be exposed to the threat of private rights of action. The payout exemption for small businesses contained in the proposal does not extend to this dangerous private right of action language contained in the ordinance.
Once again, proponents failed to recognize the compounding effect these policies have on businesses that are already struggling to make ends meet due to an alarming number of anti-business proposals by the City, continued supply chain and labor challenges, persistent crime, and skyrocketing property taxes. […]
- Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce
- Greater Englewood Chamber of Commerce
- Hospitality Business Association of Chicago
- Illinois Health and Hospitals Association
- Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association
- Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
- Illinois Manufacturers’ Association
- Illinois Restaurant Association
- Illinois Retail Merchants Association
- Little Village Chamber of Commerce
- Pilsen Chamber of Commerce
- Building Owners and Managers Association of Chicago
Press release…
The Chicago City Council Workforce Development Committee overwhelmingly passed the Chicago Paid Time Off Ordinance today in a vote of 13 in favor to 2 opposed. The Ordinance provides 10 total days of time off – five days of sick time and five days of paid time off – for all Chicago workers. The ordinance is expected to come to a vote before the full City Council as soon as next week.
Access to paid time off is critical to workers and their families who are struggling to make ends meet in a challenging economy. It gives workers time to spend with their families and care for their health. Paid time off also affords workers the ability to stay home when they are sick―preventing their colleagues from getting sick and missing work. Access to paid time off also improves worker retention, which reduces employer turnover costs.
“I am proud that Chicago is once again leading the nation in the struggle for workers’ rights, and strengthening the economic vitality of our city,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson. “My administration pledged to bring everyone to the table to hear concerns from large employers, small businesses, and worker advocates. We worked collaboratively to find a compromise, and we ended up with the most progressive Paid Leave policy in the country that will help businesses retain workers and help workers live full lives with dignity.”
* DeVore loses again…
Last hearing tomorrow in Federal Court against Tom DeVore who is requesting the judge to allow him to depose me after the deadline. Oh he’s also requesting all of my client books for the last 7 years. Fun times.
* WGN | Gov. Pritzker expands utility assistance for low-income homes: “With temperatures dropping and the winter season just weeks away, my administration is ensuring that every family has the assistance they need to keep the lights and the heat on,” Pritzker said. He continued, “With DCEO’s Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, we are providing utility bill support to thousands of income-eligible families—and I urge those who are disconnected or facing imminent disconnection to apply. Here in Illinois, we look out for our neighbors, and that’s exactly what LIHEAP is all about.”
* Center Square | Illinois finishes $18 million project to avoid regional flooding in Lake Forest: “Thanks to a more than $18 million investment made possible by Rebuild Illinois, we have entirely relocated and reconstructed the existing pump station, built two new detention ponds to handle any excess flow from the pump station, in addition to making multiple safety improvements that alleviate flooding and guarantee access to this major roadway,” Pritzker said.
* Press Release | Pritzker administration opens next round of Electric Vehicle Rebate Program for Illinois residents: Rebates will be issued to eligible applicants subject to availability of funds. The General Assembly has appropriated up to $12 million to Illinois EPA for the EV Rebate program for the current fiscal year ending June 30, 2024. Actual funding amounts will be determined by the amount of money available in the Electric Vehicle Rebate Fund.
* Center Square | Illinois manufacturing official says sector in for drastic changes soon: During a University of Illinois Extension webinar, Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center President David Boulay said Illinois should be a leader in all phases of manufacturing.“Illinois is just a manufacturing powerhouse regardless of what measure you want to look at,” Boulay said. “We’re pretty much a top 5 state whether it’s output, whether it’s jobs or the number of establishments.”
* Press Release | Mayor of Riverdale, Ill. Indicted on Perjury and Obstruction Charges: According to the indictment, Tri-State Disposal Inc., a waste management company in Riverdale, filed a civil lawsuit against Riverdale and Jackson in 2018, alleging that Jackson retaliated against Tri-State by refusing to renew its garbage collection contract with the city. The owners of Tri-State had spoken out publicly against the city’s issuance of a zoning permit that allowed a recycling and waste transfer business to operate in Riverdale. The recycling business was owned by an individual aligned with Jackson who had allegedly assisted the mayor in replacing Tri-State with a different garbage collection company.
* Bloomberg | Biden offers $334 million to states and cities for crime crackdown: States and cities will receive $216 million for hiring new officers, $73 million for preventing violence in schools and $43 million to fund community policing, crisis-intervention programs and de-escalation strategies, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco told reporters.
* Daily Herald | Prominent suburban attorney, businessman and Democrat Herb Franks dies: Herb Franks, who founded two banks, a prominent law firm and a Jewish congregation all while becoming an influential Democrat in the Republican stronghold McHenry County, has died. Franks, 89, died Tuesday at his vacation home in Florida, two months after being diagnosed with glioblastoma, a type of brain tumor. The illness was discovered when he had a seizure at the offices of Franks Gerkin Ponitz & Greeley, the law firm he founded in Marengo.
* Crain’s | 14-story Fulton Market hotel proposed: New York-based developer Cogswell Realty and Elmhurst-based investor Erol Stapleton are proposing the 14-story project at 1016-1020 W. Lake St. in the trendy neighborhood, according to a zoning application being introduced today to the City Council. The hotel would be developed on a parking lot at the northeast corner of Lake and Carpenter streets, which a Stapleton-led venture bought earlier this year for nearly $6.6 million, public records show.
* WCIA | Not sure what do with pumpkin leftovers? Arthur farmer walks through repurposing ideas: “We’re here in Arthur and we have a lot of Amish neighbors and farmers for cows, pigs, sheep and goats,” he said. “All four of those farmers have reached out to me saying would we be able to pass along some of our extra pumpkins for their farms for their animals and we’re happy to do that.”
* Daily Herald | Got candy? Here’s how you can get rid of those mounds of Halloween treats: Texas-based Soldiers’ Angels has a Treats for Troops program explicitly for leftover Halloween candy. Soldiers’ Angels offers a searchable map of drop-off sites on its website, soldiersangels.org. From Addison to Woodstock, Naperville to Wauconda, 13 locations — dental offices, businesses, park districts — are collecting candy now.
Frigid temperatures and heavy snow arrived this week while migrants huddled in makeshift tents outside police stations. Johnson insisted Wednesday, however, that he was still on track to meet his deadline.
“It snowed, but winter is not here yet. And so my goal is still to make sure that we have base camps before winter,” Johnson told reporters after the meeting. “There’s a difference between being in a hurry and being in a rush. If you’re in a rush, you can knock stuff over, you can miss stuff. But we do have to hurry up because the clock is ticking. It is. So I’m moving as fast as I can.”
Ugh.
Stop talking, mayor. Start doing. Show us. Stop telling us.
* To be fair, the mayor did tell reporters this in Washington, DC today, but he exaggerated a bit…
Since I’ve been mayor, I’ve been mayor for five months, I’ve set up a new shelter every week.
Seven shelters existed when he took office. The city says there are now 24 shelters. He was inaugurated 24 weeks ago, so he has set up 17 shelters since then. That’s about one shelter every ten days or so.
* Speaking of which, this is an excellent question…
Has the city mentioned these county and state spaces at all since October 5th? Has anyone asked the city about them?
Where they rejected? Are they still being explored? It's been a month and men, women, and children are sleeping out in the cold. https://t.co/URd5VLgRKR
Mayor Brandon Johnson visited the White House Thursday morning to sound the alarm on Chicago’s migrant crisis, in his first in-person meeting with President Joe Biden centered on the burgeoning asylum-seeker issue.
Johnson’s spokesman Ronnie Reese confirmed the mayor sat down with Biden and his chief of staff Jeff Zients, White House senior adviser Tom Perez and other officials with the Department of Homeland Security to discuss Chicago’s need for additional federal relief.
Though the mayor has met with Biden before, this was the first session specifically addressing the more than 20,000 migrants who have come to the city in the past 14 months.
Biden did not promise anything in response to Johnson’s ask for at least $5 billion in additional aid for migrants, but “these were very productive and positive conversations,” Reese said. The president is attempting to push a supplemental $1.4 billion package for migrant shelters and services through Congress, but Illinois leaders have said much more is direly needed.
* Sen. Peters has a warning from Germany…
Chicago is not alone on the world stage with migrants.
Hamburg is running out of housing. They’re demanding more federal support.
The right wing party is exploiting this crisis to get into power.
* Sun-Times | Vote on second migrant tent camp delayed: The Chicago City Council put off a vote on accepting donated land at 115th and Halsted that would be the site of a migrant tent camp. Also delayed was a vote on whether to put a binding referendum on the March ballot to raise the real estate transfer tax to fund programs to reduce homelessness.
* CBS Chicago | Mayor Brandon Johnson mum on potential migrant shelter at shuttered downtown Chicago museum: Mayor Brandon Johnson didn’t give a direct answer when asked a yes or no question about the city’s efforts to explore the former Chicago Museum of Broadcast Communications to possibly house asylum seekers. Earlier this week, Ald. Brendan Reilly released a statement saying the mayor was considering a migrant shelter at the Marina City complex, where that museum used to be, on State Street just north of the Chicago River.
* ABC Chicago | West Town migrant shelter opening pushed back as unions protest construction work: A handful of union carpenters along with their picket line rat mascot stood in protest along Western Avenue Wednesday. They’re contesting who is carrying out the quick-turn construction at the industrial space that will house 200 asylum seekers, including families and young children.
* NBC Chicago | Suburban retiree opens home to 7 migrants: ‘It was an easy decision’: With her kids gone and plenty of space in her Oak Park bungalow, she decided to open her home to asylum seekers from Venezuela. Since August, five adults and two kids have been living with Elaine. Most of them were previously living at the 15th District police station in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood.
* Tribune | Migrants in cities across the US may need medical care. It’s not that easy to find: Tens of thousands of migrants who’ve come to the United States are navigating a patchwork system to find treatment for new or chronic health concerns. Doctors across the country say it’s rare that migrants receive medical screenings or anything beyond care for medical emergencies when they arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border, and there’s no overarching national system to track the care, either. Migrants’ options dwindle or expand after that – depending on where they end up – with some cities guiding new arrivals into robust public health systems and others relying on emergency departments or volunteer doctors to treat otherwise preventable health issues.
* AP | Volunteer medical students are trying to fill the health care gap for migrants in Chicago: Mostly students in training, they go to police stations where migrants are first housed, prescribing antibiotics, distributing prenatal vitamins and assessing for serious health issues. These student doctors, nurses and physician assistants are the front line of health care for asylum-seekers in the nation’s third-largest city, filling a gap in Chicago’s haphazard response.
Amends the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act. Provides for the licensure of consolidated transport centers. Specifies requirements for consolidated transport centers, including operating documents, security plans, facility requirements, plant monitoring, prohibitions on ownership, and prohibitions on offering things of value to certain persons and licensees. Provides that cannabis business entities shall adhere to the traceability and consumer protection guidelines established by the Department of Agriculture when utilizing the cannabis plant monitoring system or cannabis transport GPS tracking system. Provides that entities awarded a transporting license may defer paying the associated license fee for a period of no more than 3 years. Provides that from January 1, 2024 through January 1, 2026, the Department shall not issue any transporting licenses other than those issued before the effective date of the amendatory Act. Provides that all products received and shipped to and from a consolidated transport center shall be tracked within the cannabis plant monitoring system. Provides that a craft grower or infuser may enter into a contract with a transporting organization to transport cannabis to a consolidated transport center or a different transporting organization at the consolidated transport center. Provides that no person, cannabis business establishment, or entity other than a licensed transportation organization shall transport cannabis or cannabis-infused products on behalf of a cannabis business establishment to or from a consolidated transport center, unless otherwise authorized by rule. Makes other changes. Authorizes emergency rulemaking. Makes a conforming change in the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. Effective immediately.
Amends the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Program Act. Provides that the physical examination required by the Act may (instead of may not) be performed by remote means, including telemedicine. Effective immediately.
Amends the Liquor Control Act of 1934. Provides that “alcoholic liquor” includes alcohol-infused products. Defines “alcohol-infused products” and “co-branded alcoholic beverage”. Provides that, except for persons issued a license under the Act, no person shall manufacture, distribute, or sell alcohol-infused products. Provides that no retail establishment with a retail sales floor that exceeds 2,500 square feet shall display alcohol-infused products immediately adjacent to similar products that are not alcohol-infused products or immediately adjacent to soft drinks, fruit juices, bottled waters, candies, or snack foods portraying cartoons or youth-oriented images. Provides that no retail establishment with a retail sales floor area that exceeds 2,500 square feet shall display co-branded alcoholic beverages immediately adjacent to soft drinks, fruit juices, bottled waters, candies, or snack foods portraying cartoons or youth-oriented images or immediately adjacent to products that are not alcohol-infused products. Provides that any retail establishment with a retail sales floor that is equal to or less than 2,500 square feet shall either not display alcohol-infused products or co-branded alcoholic beverages immediately adjacent to specified products or equip the display with specified signage. Prohibits retail licensees from keeping, exposing for sale, or displaying alcohol-infused products immediately adjacent to products marketed toward children.
Creates the Local Accessory Dwelling Unit Act. Defines terms. Provides that a unit of local government may not prohibit the building or usage of accessory dwelling units in the unit of local government. Provides that a unit of local government may provide reasonable regulations relating to the size and location of accessory dwelling units similar to other accessory structures unless a regulation would have the effect of prohibiting accessory dwelling units. Limits home rule powers.
Click Here for some background on Accessory Dwelling Units.
Creates the Low-Carbon Distribution and Delivery Act. Designates residentially zoned areas in counties with a population of 3,000,000 or more as low-carbon delivery zones. Requires a last-mile delivery to a low-carbon delivery zone to be made using a low-carbon delivery method. Requires the Department of Transportation to establish a Low-Carbon Fleet Rebate Program. Provides that the Program shall offer a qualifying purchaser a grant up to 50% toward the purchase of an electric-assist cargo bicycle. Provides that the Program shall offer increased grant incentives of an additional 25% of the purchase amount for the purchase of an electric-assist cargo bicycle that will deliver goods within a low-carbon delivery area that is also designated as an equity investment eligible community. Limits a grant provided under the Program to a maximum award of 75% of the purchase price per electric-assist cargo bicycle. Provides that multiple bicycles may be included in each grant under Program. Allows the Department to limit the amount or number of grants awarded to each qualifying purchaser. Requires a fleet owner to be domiciled in the State. Requires an electric-assist cargo bicycle that acquired using grants from the Program to operate exclusively within the State. Limits the concurrent exercise of home-rule powers. Defines terms.
Amends the Department of Natural Resources Act. Provides that the Department of Natural Resources may lease land on property of which the Department has jurisdiction for the purpose of creating, operating, or maintaining a commercial solar energy system or a clean energy project. Provides that the lease shall be for a period not longer than 25 years. Provides that, if practical, the Department shall require that any land or property over which the Department has jurisdiction and that is used for the purpose of creating, operating, or maintaining a commercial solar energy system shall have implemented on it and maintained management practices that would qualify the land or property as a beneficial habitat under the Pollinator-Friendly Solar Site Act. Amends the Department of Natural Resources (Conservation) Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Defines “clean energy”. Provides that the Department may provide for at least one electric vehicle charging station, as defined in the Electric Vehicle Act, at any State park or other real property that is owned by the Department where electrical service will reasonably permit. Provides that the Department is authorized to charge user fees for the use of an electric vehicle charging station. Amends the State Parks Act to make conforming changes. Amends the Illinois Procurement Code. Exempts certain expenditures by the Department of Natural Resources from the Code.
The release of a new Beatles record, a band that officially split in 1970, is rare as hen’s teeth, and a legitimate cause for celebration.
That time has almost come, with “Now And Then” set to drop Thursday (Nov. 2) at 10am ET, followed 24-hours later by the release of an official music video, directed by Lord of the Rings mastermind Peter Jackson, marking the Oscar-winner’s first foray into the short format.
Described as the “last Beatles song,” “Now And Then” began life as a demo written and sung by John Lennon, was later developed and worked on by Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, and now finally finished by Paul and Ringo, the surviving members of The Beatles, more than 40 years after the group began work on it.
No Beatles project is complete without a deep-dive, multi-channel exploration, which is what the band provides with a new 12-minute documentary, a companion piece to the song and video.
* I watched the short film last night and was impressed…
The Beatles have released their new single, the long-awaited “Now and Then.” It’s an emotionally powerful song written by John Lennon as a home demo in the 1970s. But it’s also a true Beatles collaboration, with Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr playing and singing together. Nothing like “Now and Then” has ever happened before. It’s a totally unique music story: John Lennon leaves a song unfinished, but years later, his friends come together to complete it for him, simply out of love and musical brotherhood. It’s the final masterpiece that the Beatles—and their fans—deserve.
This song is a dream that Paul McCartney spent years bringing into the world, a John demo he was determined to preserve even when nobody else could tell what he heard in it. He produced “Now and Then” with Giles Martin, with John’s original 1977 piano and vocal, George’s guitar from the 1995 Anthology sessions, and Ringo singing and drumming in 2022.
“Now and Then” could have been cheap or cloying or overblown, but instead, it’s a pained, intimate adult confession. You can hear why Paul never forgot this song over the years, and why he couldn’t let it go. You can also hear why he knew this needed to be a Beatles song, and how right he was to pursue his mad quest to the end. In other words, it’s a real Beatles song, adding one more classic to the world’s greatest musical love story.
Thursday, Nov 2, 2023 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
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Under state law, Chicagoans will elect 10 school board members from 10 districts in November 2024. The mayor will appoint 10 members from those same districts, and will also appoint a school board president. A 21-member hybrid board will be sworn in January 2025.
Then in November 2026, the 10 appointed members and school board president will be up for election, while the 10 elected in 2024 will continue serving their four-year terms. Going forward, all members will serve four-year terms and elections will be staggered, with half of the seats up for election every two years.
However, the law does not spell out how the map will move from 10 to 20 districts. Lawmakers continue to draw a map with 20 districts and have not made clear how they plan to divide the city into 10 districts for the 2024 election.
Sen. Robert Martwick, a Democrat representing the North West side of Chicago and west suburbs, said that figuring out how to create 10 districts for the 2024 elections and 20 districts for the 2026 elections has been difficult for legislators.
“The original idea was that we would draw ten districts and then after the election we would split them into 20 districts,” Martwick said. “Another variation on that would be to draw 20 districts and combine them for the purposes of the first election. The idea there was that everyone in the city of Chicago would get to pass a vote on this new elected school board.” […]
Corrina Demma, an organizer with Educators for Excellence Chicago that supports the map Leonard’s group proposed, raised concerns that lawmakers could propose residents in only 10 of the 20 districts would vote in 2024, meaning “only half of Chicago will have the privilege to vote … while the other half will lack a voice.”
“At the end of the day, my question is still who gets to decide which 10 get to vote and which 10 don’t?” Demma said. “When we talk about equity and access, we want to hold that process for everyone. To discount half the city right out of the gate, we’re already being inequitable.”
Ms. Demma is right. As I told subscribers months ago, it’s highly doubtful that state legislators can legally deny half of the city’s voters the right to vote for a school board member while granting that right to vote to the other half.
(b-5) On January 15, 2025, the terms of all members of the Chicago Board of Education appointed under subsection (b) are abolished when the new board, consisting of 21 members, is appointed by the Mayor and elected by the electors of the school district as provided under subsections (b-10) and (b-15) and takes office.
(b-10) By December 16, 2024 for a term of office beginning on January 15, 2025, the Mayor shall appoint 10 Chicago Board of Education members, with the advice and consent of the City Council, to serve terms of 2 years. All appointed members shall serve until a successor is appointed or elected and qualified. … The terms of the 10 appointed members under this subsection shall end on January 14, 2027. […]
(b-15) Beginning with the 2024 general election, 10 members of the Chicago Board of Education shall be elected to serve a term of 4 years in office beginning on January 15, 2025. Beginning with the 2026 general election, 10 members of the Chicago Board of Education shall be elected to serve a term of 4 years in office beginning on January 15, 2027. … From January 15, 2025 to January 14, 2027, each district shall be represented by one elected member and one appointed member. After January 15, 2027, each district shall be represented by one elected member.
You can probably see the problem here. The statute clearly mandates twenty districts (plus one citywide), but then goes on to require that each district shall be represented by both an elected member and an appointed member. If there are twenty districts, then that would imply forty members, which isn’t allowed, so the wording doesn’t make sense.
* They could change the statute and start with ten districts with one appointed and one elected and then split those up into twenty districts with everyone elected two years later, but that could also create problems. If, for example, a White person wins a relatively evenly divided combined district and lives in the Latino half, that person could have a leg up to win the Latino half during the following election.
Not to mention that they haven’t yet even figured out how the twenty districts would be initially nested into ten districts. You’d think that would be the first proposal. Instead, legislators only proposed creating 20 districts. How are people going to start circulating petitions for that?
Again, it’s a real mess and it breaks my brain every time I think about it, but so far, we’ve heard no solutions to any of this. Just a 20-district map.
My own suggestion would be to entirely scrap the phase-in and just elect all twenty next year.
Suburban and downstate communities must address how to handle arriving immigrants amid a backlash that saw Joliet Township decline a state grant for migrants after angry residents said they opposed spending tax dollars on foreigners.
The state had announced earlier that the township would receive $8.6 million exclusively for asylum-seekers. The state also awarded $30 million for migrants in Chicago, $1 million to Elgin, $1 million to Lake County, $250,000 to Urbana downstate, and $150,000 to Oak Park.
Following a meeting this month attended by hundreds of residents, Joliet Township decided to withdraw its application for the grant.
* Unlike Joliet, Oak Park officials were upset at their low grant level…
To support services for migrants as they cross into town, Oak Park applied for a $7.5 million grant from the Illinois Department of Human Services and Metropolitan Mayors Caucus for housing, food and health care – among other critical needs – and had identified community partners to assist in these efforts.
The Metropolitan Mayors Caucus accepted applications for grant awards for municipalities serving asylum seekers. But on Sept. 29, the village was notified it was warded only $150,000, a fraction of its initial request. […]
Village President Vicki Scaman called the awarded money “extremely disappointing” both in terms of the amount and the designated purpose. Her top priority, she said, is continuing to advocate for more funding from the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus.
“We do already have a plan,” she said. “We don’t need a consultant. And the organizations that are currently aiding, they need the help now.”
A west suburban church is calling on others to help after spending thousands of dollars in recent weeks to help migrants.
The Parish of St. Catherine-St. Lucy and St. Giles in Oak Park said they’ve opened up their doors for migrants to shower, dress and eat, and the bills have skyrocketed. […]
These shower days mean water bills, which used to be in the hundreds, have skyrocketed to close to $10,000. […]
The church is asking the village of Oak Park for assistance.
The village is trying to figure out how to free up grant money to do that.
“The problem does not start and end in Chicago. It extends elsewhere. We share that responsibility,” said community activist Betty Alzamora. “We have to step up to our collective responsibility as a good neighbor. Our area, starting with Oak Park and the neighboring municipalities, we are fortunate and blessed with lots for resources. Our borders are porous.” […[
In front of Oak Park Village Hall, some of the suburb’s residents are almost begging to help migrants.
“Oak Park has space. We should be welcoming to all these new folks that are coming,” said resident Derek Eder.
As air temperatures fell across Chicagoland this week and snow fell Tuesday, Oak Park officials announced that the village has helped over 100 migrants housed in camping-style tents outside a nearby Chicago police station to secure indoor shelter.
“The Village of Oak Park, under the authority of Village Manager Kevin J. Jackson, activated its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) on Wed., Nov. 1, putting in place established protocols in response to the evolving crisis involving asylum-seeking migrants and families in the community,’ village officials stated in a news released issued Wednesday afternoon.
The move comes amid increased urging from some residents for Oak Park village leaders to do more for migrants housed in tents at the 15th District Chicago Police Department station on Madison Street, right at the village’s border with the Austin neighborhood of Chicago and less than a mile from Oak Park Village Hall.
This seems like a no-brainer to me: The Illinois Department of Human Services and the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus should give Oak Park what it originally requested.
* ICYMI: Lawmakers release their third draft map for the Chicago elected school board. Chalkbeat…
- The new 20-district map includes five districts where the majority are white, seven that are majority Black and six that are majority Latino.
- Two districts have no majority, but they have a plurality of white voters.
- Some groups already are saying this new map does not do enough to ensure the board will represent the school district’s students.
* Capitol News Illinois | Scholarship tax credit program among issues still on the table with 3 legislative days remaining: At an unrelated event Wednesday, the governor’s tone toward the program was ambivalent when asked about it, saying it’s up to the General Assembly, and that “support for public education is really where my focus is.” “I’ve always said, you know, that we’re not trying to prevent people from going to private school, but I also believe in public education and want to make sure that we’re funding public education, to the extent that that is possible,” Pritzker said.
* St Louis Post Dispatch | Darren Bailey, Mike Bost compete in southern Illinois ‘Trump primary’: Both Bailey and Bost have spent the better part of the campaign attempting to one-up each other on who has the deeper connection with the former president. They are each hoping that Trump will bestow upon them his coveted endorsement. It makes sense given that Trump carried the Southern Illinois-based district that includes parts of the Metro East with 70% of the vote in 2020.
* WAND | Senate Republicans argue Pritzker should focus on Illinois problems instead of national politics: “Right now, here in Illinois, our constituents are hurting,” said Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet). “The ship of state is sinking.”Rose told reporters Wednesday that he is fed up with the lack of transparency about issues within the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, Illinois Department of Employment Security and Department of Children and Family Services. He plans to file a resolution calling for an audit to investigate how an IEMA office assistant was paid $60,000 dollars per month.
* ABC Chicago | West Town migrant shelter opening pushed back as unions protest construction work: A handful of union carpenters along with their picket line rat mascot stood in protest along Western Avenue Wednesday. They’re contesting who is carrying out the quick-turn construction at the industrial space that will house 200 asylum seekers, including families and young children.
* Block Club | River North Migrant Shelter Still Being Considered Despite Mayor’s Denials, Alderman Says: After alerting residents Monday about a potential “migrant hotel” in River North, which the Mayor’s Office denied, Ald. Brendan Reilly says it’s still happening — just a few doors down. Reilly blasted Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration in a Monday email to neighbors saying plans were underway to convert a River North hotel into a shelter for more than 1,000 migrants.
* Crain’s | Civic Federation gives thumbs-up to Johnson’s first budget, with two warnings: At the same time, the group urged Johnson to develop long-term plans to fund the city’s pensions as the Illinois General Assembly considers legislation that could raise pension costs. The federation also recommended the city craft a contingency plan if it doesn’t receive additional funding from the state or federal government to assist with care for new arrivals.
* Sun-Times | Daughter of disgraced ex-Ald. Danny Solis resigns from Chicago Park District post: The daughter of disgraced former Chicago Ald. Danny Solis has resigned from a high-ranking post at the Chicago Park District, weeks after WBEZ revealed an internal investigation that accused her of violating the agency’s sexual harassment policy. Despite her father’s dramatic political downfall, Maya Solis had continued in her $126,072-a-year post as one of three region directors for the park district.
* WICS | Illinois State Trooper’s car struck in 18th Scott’s Law-related accident this year: The trooper was handling a previous weather-related traffic crash when a 2003 Toyota Matrix, traveling southbound, failed to move over, striking the right side of the ISP squad car. The Trooper was outside of the squad car at the time of the crash and was uninjured.
* Tribune | Illinois smartphone users sue Motorola Mobility to force arbitration over alleged selfie privacy violations: The arbitration action alleges Motorola violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act by “surreptitiously” collecting personal data from users’ selfie photos without permission. Motorola sells Moto, Razr and Edge devices with “high-powered cameras” that use facial recognition and artificial intelligence to identify and store the selfie image, according to the complaint.
* Tribune | An FBI mole at the 2016 Democratic National Convention: The origin story of the Ald. Edward Burke corruption probe: Among the Chicago heavyweights in attendance that week was Ald. Daniel Solis, a staunch Clinton supporter who told the Tribune the excitement of potentially having the first woman in U.S. history ever to be nominated for president was “a historical moment in the life of this country and in my life.” As it turned out, Clinton’s nomination wasn’t the only history going down in the City of Brotherly Love. Behind the scenes, one of the most significant public corruption cases in Chicago history was about to be born.
* Block Club | City Council Blocks Plan To Regulate Little Free Libraries — For Now: The proposed legislation also stipulated only “organizations, not-for-profit entities and licensed businesses” would be eligible to receive the necessary permit to build a bookcase on city land. Libraries on private property, like a front yard, would not be impacted.
