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Monday, Dec 4, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Monday, Dec 4, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Daily Southtown | Emails show Calumet City Mayor Thaddeus Jones prevents public employees from communicating with aldermen: First Ward Ald. Michael Navarrete sent an email Sept. 12 to set up a time to meet with Calumet City’s economic development director Donald Alesky and Valencia Williams, who works for the small business resources and assistance office. Navarrete proposed a monthly meeting with them so both parties can be better aligned on development proposals and zoning issues. […] Despite not being included in the original emails, Jones interjected and responded to Navarrete Sept. 21. “In the future, please do not send these communications to my employees,” Jones wrote in reference to the Navarrete’s messages to Alesky and Lanzito. “Further, I have instructed Don Alesky and Attorney Dominick not to meet with you and to forward all of your communications to my office for review and responses.”

* Block Club | Brighton Park Tent Encampment Construction On Hold For At Least A Week: An environmental report found the site “safe for temporary residential” after remediation, but state officials must still sign off. Neighbors are suing to try to block the shelter, and a judge ordered city officials to notify neighbors of activity at the site.

* Daily Herald | Republican files to take on Schneider, while Casten faces a new challenger: Oakbrook Terrace resident Mahnoor Ahmad submitted paperwork to run as a Democrat for the 6th District seat now held by Democrat Sean Casten of Downers Grove. Additionally, Lake Forest resident Jim Carris filed to run as a Republican for the 10th Congressional seat now held by Democrat Brad Schneider of Highland Park.

* Tribune | Executive testifies about holding up hiring ex-Ald. Ed Burke’s law firm for Burger King tax appeals: “More or less it seemed…like we weren’t getting the type of service I was getting with (their current firm), which was speed accuracy and organization,” Wachaa testified. Wachaa also testified about getting a quick education in old school, Chicago-style bureaucracy when a colleague who ran their 150 Chicago-area Burger Kings emailed about a meeting he’d had with Burke.

* Daily Herald | McHenry doesn’t want gambling parlors, but defining what those are is no sure bet: The problem, City Administrator Derik Morefield said, is defining what a gambling cafe is. “This is a whole topic we wrangled over in 2016 or 2017,” Morefield said, as McHenry tried to define what a gambling parlor looks like or develop guidelines for the city to follow. “We couldn’t come up with anything to define it,” Morefield said.

* Washington Examiner | Ronny Jackson endorses Mike Bost for reelection amid primary challenge from the right: “Ronny Jackson is a true patriot who has served his country in the Trump White House, in Congress, and in the U.S. Navy,” Bost said. “Ronny and I have become great friends because we’re fighting for the same things: President Trump’s America First agenda and draining the D.C. Swamp. I am honored to have his endorsement and value his friendship.” Bost has also been endorsed by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH).

* Sun-Times | New discount rate system a ‘game changer’ for Chicagoans struggling with heating bills, advocates say: The new system was approved as part of the decision that also saw regulators cut a rate hike requested by Peoples Gas from $402 million down to about $301 million. That’s still a record-high increase — which will tack on $6 to the average monthly household bill, as estimated by consumer watchdogs — but the revamped discount rates will deliver much more help to the people who need it most, advocates say.

* Tribune | Mayor Brandon Johnson’s mental health plan in Chicago starts small but carries big political implications: The mayor’s answer in his first budget was far from a full response. While he cautioned supporters that reopening the clinics would take time, his budget called for restoring only two clinics and placing them in yet-to-be-determined locations. Still, by including $5.2 million to expand mental health services and $15.9 million to double staffing for the city’s team of behavioral health professionals who respond to mental health and substance abuse crises, Johnson is trying to show he isn’t dropping the ball on the issue while preaching patience and signaling a more robust response is yet to come.

* River Bender | Sierra Club Illinois’ Three Rivers Project And The Village Of Godfrey To Host Invasive Species Management Training And Work Day: “We hope other municipalities across the Riverbend will join us and Sierra Club Illinois for this free invasive species management training and work day,” said Chris Logan, Director of Parks and Recreation for the Village of Godfrey. “Removing invasive species from our local parks and trails is not only critical to our work to protect and conserve local natural resources and spaces, but also to ensuring the citizens of Godfrey and beyond can enjoy our parks for generations to come.”

* The Telegraph | Randy Presswood files lawsuit against Madison County Board and sanitary district: Randy Presswood, who has been rejected as an appointee to the Metro East Sanitary District Board, has filed a lawsuit against two Madison County Board members, the MESD and MESD officials. […] Presswood claims Oney and Fancher gave confidential personnel information about Presswood, who worked for MESD for 37 years before retiring as a supervisor, to Madison and Babcock, who then used the information outside of official board or committee meetings to convince others to vote against Presswood’s appointment.

* The Daily Illini | Q&A with new UI trustee Jesse Ruiz: Jesse Ruiz graduated from the University in 1988 with a bachelor’s degree in economics. He was appointed to the University of Illinois Board of Trustees by Gov. JB Pritzker on Oct. 27. […] From 2019-21, he worked as the deputy governor of education at the Office of the Governor in Illinois. Ruiz currently works as a general counsel at the Vistria Group, a private equity firm focused on social good. Ruiz’s appointment as a member of the Illinois Board of Trustees will last until 2029.

* Sun-Times | Bears coach Matt Eberflus doesn’t answer whether he believes he’s ‘safe’ for 2024: Eberflus was asked if, based on his relationship with general manager Ryan Poles, he believes he is “safe” for next season and responded by saying, “What you can focus on is leadership. The first rule of leadership is leading yourself… That’s really what you focus on: put your best foot forward every day.”

* Sun-Times | Brendan Savage, whose mom sued to get him back on basketball team, plays for Hinsdale South: Brendan Savage, the Hinsdale South senior whose mother sued to get him back on the basketball team, played in his first game of the season Friday at Downers Grove South. Savage received the full high school basketball experience. Mustangs fans booed him when he first checked in with three minutes left in the first quarter. He was the first player off the bench for the Hornets.

* WCIA | Secretary of State looking for 2023 John Lewis Youth Leadership award nominations: The award honors young people whose civic contributions have created a lasting impact in their community. Officials say any member of the public can nominate a young Illinoisan making a difference in their community. The National Association of Secretaries of State established the award after the landmark civil rights leader died in 2020.

* WSIL | SIU Carbondale offers rooms for Eclipse visitors in April: Community bathrooms and private showers will be available. All persons staying on campus will receive commemorative SIU eclipse glasses. The package costs $750 before tax. A pass for parking will add $25 to that total. The Dining Hall will be open with meals costing around $12.50 a person.

* Sun-Times | Amusing doc ‘A Disturbance in the Force’ shows some love for awful ‘Star Wars Holiday Special’: Over the course of the next two hours, “The Star Wars Holiday Special” served up one of the looniest, most disjointed, garish, ill-conceived and at times indecipherably bizarre and undeniably dreadful television programming in the history of the medium. Airing once and then disappearing into the mist of mythology, lore and geekdom, this gargantuan misstep early on in the “Star Wars” canon was so unspeakably awful that George Lucas reportedly once proclaimed, “If I had the time and a sledgehammer, I would track down every copy of that show and smash it.”

* Daily Herald | A 50-foot tree and hundreds of ornaments: How Union Station is transformed for the holidays: “It’s hard to see up there,” explained Delgado, who gives directions to workers in mechanical lifts high above passing Metra commuters and Amtrak customers. “We believe this is the tallest indoor tree in Chicago,” said Marc Magliari, spokesman for Amtrak, which owns Union Station.

* ABC Chicago | Holiday shopping options made in Illinois: If you consider shopping local this December, you could help to sustain a small business in Illinois. Daniel Thomas, deputy director at the Illinois Office of Tourism, shared some “Made in Illinois” options that can all be shipped.

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Pre-pandemic investor tax credit rule change causing problems

Monday, Dec 4, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Crain’s…

A tax break designed to coax wealthy individuals to put their money into startups is coming back to bite some of those investors in the wallet.

The state of Illinois is poised to claw back tax breaks from investors who backed fledgling companies that now are failing to meet in-state hiring requirements, largely because of a surge in remote work that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic. […]

The Illinois Department of Revenue says that so far 25 investors will have to pay back nearly $1 million in tax credits because several startups no longer comply with the law’s requirement that 51% of a company’s jobs and 75% of the new positions created during the three years following an investment be located in Illinois. […]

Among them is Chicago-based Rheaply, which operates an online platform that helps companies reuse and sell used laboratory and office equipment. About 60% of its roughly 60 employees are in Illinois.

The company meets the 51% threshold specified in the statute but not the 75% requirement for new jobs, which was created in 2018 by the Legislature’s 12-member Joint Commission on Administrative Rules.

JCAR doesn’t create rules, of course, but some backers of the Illinois angel tax-credit program want those administrative rules changed.

* During a recent Crain’s podcast, the author of the piece John Pletz explained that several other nearby states have a similar tax credit program, including Wisconsin, Indiana and Kentucky. But their rules are limited to at least 50 percent or 51 percent of employees who must live in-state. Illinois’ 75 percent in-state threshold for new hires is unique, he said, and is “causing people problems.”

Thoughts?

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State/charitable migrant food money runs out January 1, but city won’t say what will happen during two weeks of no funding

Monday, Dec 4, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* We talked about this Friday, but Tina Sfondeles and Michael Loria highlight an upcoming two-week funding gap that the city won’t talk about…

Citing further “delays” in the city’s procurement process, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration on Friday said it would chip in an additional $2 million to feed asylum-seekers in Chicago through the end of the year.

Another $2 million will be matched by the Chicago Food Depository, which has already been providing meals to migrants since June, in partnership with 15 minority-owned restaurants in Chicago. […]

The request for further funding came this week, and the state agreed to help until the end of the year with an understanding the city will assume the cost in January. […]

Mary May, a spokeswoman from Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications, said in a statement the deadline for an RFP for the food contract closed on Friday and was delayed because the city received more than 200 questions from applicants. May said the new contract is slated to begin Jan. 15.

It’s unclear who will be funding the food between Jan. 1 and Jan. 15, when the city said its contract would begin. The city did not comment on that gap.

* Meanwhile, according to the city, another 25 buses arrived last week. Isabel charted the arrivals dating back to the seven days ending October 6, when 53 buses arrived…

* The good news is the city and state have been able to move lots of folks out of police stations and airports. The numbers in the staging areas peaked on October 20th, at 3,684 people. As of last Friday, those numbers were down to just 1,032, with only 877 in police district headquarters and the rest at O’Hare…

* Coverage roundup from Isabel…

Block Club | Portage Park’s St. Bartholomew School Building Will House At Least 300 Migrants:

* NBC Chicago | Governor pauses construction at Brighton Park migrant site following environmental report: Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has paused construction on a base camp for migrants in Chicago’s Brighton Park neighborhood following the release of an environmental report last week. According to the governor’s office, the pause is intended so the governor can review the report and discuss further with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Those discussions are expected to take place Monday.

* CBS | Illinois pauses construction of Chicago migrant tent camp in Brighton Park: The state is funding construction of the tent encampment. Last week, Pritzker’s office announced $65 million in funding for the Brighton Park site and for a brick-and-mortar shelter for migrants at a shuttered CVS pharmacy in Little Village. Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office confirmed work at the Brighton Park site is on hold while IEPA reviews the city’s environmental assessment of the site.

* Tribune | A plea to Biden from longtime undocumented immigrants in Chicago: ‘Please don’t forget about us, we need job permits too’: The work authorization, advocates say, would allow those immigrants to step out from the shadows and improve their lives exponentially. They would receive workplace protections and legally set wages that they may be too afraid to demand under the current circumstances. And they could visit their home countries without sacrificing the lives they have built in the United States. Many living in the country illegally go the rest of their lives without seeing family because they would be barred from reentering the U.S. if they left.

* WGN | Elk Grove passes ordinance to help migrants while keeping community safe: The first being migrants who want to stay at a hotel or motel will need to have a document that says they were examined by an infectious disease doctor who verifies they are free of contagious diseases. This applies to people who’ve been in the United States for less than 60 days. […] The second part of the ordinance prevents warehouse and vacant shopping center owners from converting their buildings into temporary housing.

* WTTW | State, Greater Chicago Food Depository to Spend Additional $4M on Meals for Migrants; City to Take Over Next Year: Illinois and the Greater Chicago Food Depository will each spend $2 million, on top of $10.5 million the state has spent thus far on a contract with the depository to provide meals to migrants. Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration cites “procurement delays” by Chicago as the reason for the shortfall, and says that the city in January will assume the responsibility of making sure migrants are fed, according to a news release.

* Tribune | Volunteer networks step up to provide health needs to migrants at police stations: Migrants’ immunity is often weakened from their strenuous journeys walking to get here. In an average week, said Koruba, police make about 50 to 60 ambulance calls across all districts.

* Tribune | Volunteer networks step up to provide health needs to migrants at police stations: Mutual aid networks and free and charitable organizations have stepped up to provide health needs to migrants who are sleeping on the floor at police stations and waiting for space in one of the 26 brick-and-mortar shelters around the city. But it is not uncommon for migrants to turn — or, in some cases, return — to police stations looking for basic medical resources, as necessities in shelters can be sparse or nonexistent. It’s not dissimilar from what migrants faced in their countries of origin.

* Tribune | State, food bank step in to keep migrants fed during December amid city contract delay: The city in mid-October solicited bids for a new food vendor contract that was to begin Friday, but last week the Johnson administration pushed that start date back a month and a half to Jan. 15, according to city records. The delay raised questions about whether migrants would be fed throughout December. The new deadline for food vendors to submit proposals was noon Friday.

* Sen. Robert Peters | Chicago must remain a sanctuary city because ‘that is who we are’: Chicagoans do not subscribe to Trump’s “build the wall” politics. We rejected his xenophobia in 2016 and 2020, and we need to reject it now as we approach the 2024 presidential election and the Democratic National Convention that will be held in Chicago in August. The convention is a once-in-a-generation moment for the city to shine. Instead, some of our city’s leaders are flirting with embarrassing us on the world stage and causing deep fissures within the Democratic Party, which needs to be unified to prevent Trump from becoming president for a second time.

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Question of the day: 2023 Golden Horseshoe Awards

Monday, Dec 4, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The 2023 Golden Horseshoe for Best Place to Gather for Dinner During Session Weeks goes to Maldaner’s…

Never had a bad meal there. The traditional feel combined with its status as one of last of the downtown hold-outs, give the place a nostalgic old-school vibe.

The voting was all over the place, but I liked that explanation the best.

* The 2023 Golden Horseshoe for Best Place to Gather for Drinks, Etc. During Session Weeks goes to Boone’s…

Boones, especially on a night warm enough to be outside. Good atmosphere and a Springfield tradition in the bar scene.

Runner-up goes to JP Kelly’s.

* Today’s categories…

Best Senate Democrat Legislative Assistant/District Office Manager

Best Senate Republican Legislative Assistant/District Office Manage

I know it’s difficult to nominate in both categories for things like this, but please do your best. Also, remember this is about intensity, not numbers. If you don’t explain your nomination, it won’t count.

* We raised more than $2,500 over the weekend to buy Christmas presents for foster kids. That means 100 more kids will receive presents, bringing our total to more than 1,600 children. Thanks!!!

Lutheran Social Services of Illinois serves more than 2,500 foster kids, so we have a ways to go. Please, click here and contribute if you haven’t already, or if you can afford just a little more.

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Report: Illinois prisons need $2.5 billion for overdue repairs

Monday, Dec 4, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* WGLT…

The final report from a consulting firm hired by the state has found three of Illinois’ 27 prison facilities, including the Pontiac and Logan correctional centers, approaching “inoperable,” and a list of more than $2.5 billion in overdue repairs in aging institutions across the state.

CGL Companies warns in the report initially released in May that the existing price tag of “deferred maintenance” at Illinois prisons could double in five years if unaddressed. Significant deterioration was reported at all prisons, with only three of 27 prisons ranked in the “fully operational range,” and the remainder in the “impaired operation range.” Pontiac, Logan and Joliet’s Stateville were categorized as nearly inoperable.

About 9,600 prisoners, or 20% of the state’s prison population, are still housed in prisons dating back to the 1800s. Facilities constructed between 1970 and 2000 house 30,486 prisoners, about 65% of the overall prison census.

The report notes Pontiac’s history as the second oldest prison in the state, with two cellhouses built in 1892 when the facility served as the State Reformatory for Youth. With $235 million in needed repairs, the Livingston County prison is near the top of the list for deferred maintenance. Pontiac also has the highest operational cost of $65,800 per inmate, double the agency’s average, according to the report.

* Recommendations in the CGL report…

• Address Deferred Maintenance Backlog. Without significant progress in addressing existing deferred maintenance, the deterioration of IDOC physical plant will accelerate, impacting its ability to safely manage its facilities and meet its objectives. At nearly every correctional facility, IDOC’s mission and goals as well as safety and security are negatively impacted by its worsening conditions. A substantial increase in capital funding will be needed to avert future facility crises.

• Replace the Dixon Psychiatric Unit: The Dixon Psychiatric Unit (DPU) does not effectively support the treatment and supervision of IDOC’s most difficult to manage and vulnerable population. The DPU’s X-House design is nearly identical to the facilities IDOC opened in the 1980’s and 1990’s to house general population, medium security incarcerated males. This unit should be replaced with a purpose-built design that provides appropriate housing for a severe mental health population along with adequate treatment and staff space in a design that creates a supportive environment. Estimated Cost in today’s dollars to build a 215 bed Secure Psychiatric Unit: $58,634,249 - $72,271,582 depending on location.

• Add Mental Health Treatment/Staff Spaces across IDOC: The lack of appropriate space for mental health professionals and mental health treatment is a substantial concern and impedes IDOC’s abilities to meet its operational goals. The department’s existing facilities were never built to manage the size of the existing mental health caseload or provide office and treatment space. The result has been that IDOC has had to make do with whatever space it could find, even at the detriment of other services. Many health care units were packed with staff and valuable exam rooms, x-ray rooms and other areas had been converted to mental health offices. […]

• Consider Reducing Pontiac’s Capacity. Given its age, outdated/inefficient design, extensive physical plant needs, high cost to operate, and difficulty in recruiting and retaining staff, consideration should be given to reducing Pontiac Correctional Center’s capacity. During the course of this master planning effort, the population at Pontiac was reduced due to its high staff vacancy rate through the closure of its Medium Security Unit (442 beds). That left an August 2022 rated capacity of 778.
From a purely fiscal standpoint, Pontiac remains the most expensive facility in the state to operate on an annual basis with an annual per capita cost over $65,000 and has $235 million in deferred maintenance. Given these issues, and the excess male maximum security capacity in the system, additional capacity could be taken offline reducing agency expenses. This should improve facility security and allow Pontiac to focus its resources on the remaining population and their service needs.

Click here to read the full report.

* WBEZ in July…

While the state-commissioned report focused on infrastructure issues, it also highlighted other problems that make the situation even more urgent — an elderly prison population and extreme short staffing, with around a quarter of positions vacant.

According to the report, the staffing crisis can be blamed in part on the remote, rural location of some prisons.

In September 2022, the executive director of the union for prison workers sent a letter to the head of the Department of Corrections warning that prisons were dangerously short staffed, according to documents obtained by WBEZ. She reported officers were “working to the point of exhaustion — 16 hours straight is all too common” and employees were suffering both mental and physical trauma, including some who had died by suicide.

Almost every aspect of the prison system is impacted by the extreme short staffing. There isn’t enough staff to transport people to outside healthcare appointments. Incarcerated people are left in their cells, unable to go to the dining hall for meals or outside for recreation because there is not enough security staff. One facility has about 40% of its guard positions unfilled.

* In August, Governor Pritzker defended keeping the prisons open…

Brian Mackey: I talk to advocates who say, as you pointed out, the Department of Corrections population peaked at more than 49,000 individuals 10 years ago. Now, it’s fewer than 30,000 this spring. It was even lower than that in the pandemic. We could have closed several prisons, many units within prison facilities. As you said, some of which date back to the 1800s. An advocate I was speaking to said, it doesn’t seem all that complicated, right? Population’s down, staffing is down, $2.5 billion is needed to fix these facilities that are unsafe and inhumane. Why not close them down?

Governor Pritzker: If you assumed that every prisoner was like every other prisoner? Yes, it sounds like a reasonable focus that we would just simply — let’s close some and push people into others. And we’ll have a perfect system. The reality is that we have a lot of different kinds, we have people who are in maximum security with people who are in minimum security, you know, we have facilities that are made more for older populations, we have women’s facilities. It’s just not as easy as I think people would like to think that it is, number one. Number two, we have to think a lot about location. Where are these prisons located across our state? Because as we’ve seen in our healthcare system in, for example, psychiatric hospitals; our need for nurses in developmental disabilities hospitals, and so on. We can’t find the kind of workers that we’re looking for in some parts of the state. That’s not a knock on anything, it’s just that when you get more rural, there are fewer people to choose from; there maybe are fewer people that got the kind of specific training that you need there. And it’s true in in our corrections facilities, too. So I think this has all got to be a public conversation. And it’s one that I think is accelerated by the study that we commissioned, and it’s now been delivered that everybody can read. […]

Brian Mackey: How do we get from here to there? How do we get to you’re making a future budget proposal that says we should have X fewer facilities? We’ve had the public conversation, how do we get from this study to there?

Governor Pritzker: Well, again, you’re assuming fewer facilities — I don’t know if that’s the right answer. I think there’s an argument to be made that having facilities that are less populated within a facility is one of the answers. Maybe we have facilities — the same number of facilities and fewer prisoners. In each one, again, we can talk about the the financial implications for the state of all of that, and we can talk about the implications for the human rights of the people who are incarcerated, not to mention the safety of the workers at a facility. I want the legislature to hold hearings about it, I think they should. And I want advocates on both sides to speak up — including, for example, corrections officers, who know their facilities well and know what works well. I think everybody should be heard here.

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Rep. Halbrook says he now understands seniority, while his opponent claims his allies ‘tried to bully, persuade, and bribe me out of the race’

Monday, Dec 4, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Tom Kacich looks at the Republican primary shaping up between the father of the “Kick Chicago out of Illinois” campaign and an equally conservative opponent named Marsha Webb. The main issue so far is term limits…

State Rep. Brad Halbrook, R-Shelbyville, who represented parts of Champaign County before the 2021 redistricting, is now running for a sixth term in the Illinois House, even though he said in a 2016 News-Gazette questionnaire that he would not serve more than five terms. Halbrook ran for and won races for state representative in 2012, 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2022. […]

“I looked at the current situation,” Halbrook said. State Sen. “Dan Caulkins was one of the founding members of the Illinois Freedom Caucus. There were five of us then. With him leaving, I looked at the tenure of the remaining House Republicans. We’re a rather youthful caucus. So in a world where seniority and experience matters, I just made the decision that I would stay in.” […]

Ironically, Caulkins, R-Decatur, is set to leave the Illinois House — and the Freedom Caucus — after next year’s election in order to honor his pledge to serve only three terms. […]

“There are only seven of us. I had anticipated that number to be much larger than it is today. For whatever reason, it’s not,” Halbrook said. “But if you look at the issues that have surfaced in the last year and a half, the Illinois Freedom Caucus has led on those issues.” […]

He said he now recognizes that seniority matters in the Legislature.

“You have to be in your third term to either get a chairmanship or a (minority-party) spokesperson position on committees,” he said. “I’m now a spokesperson on an appropriations committee. We’ve been able to ask hard questions of agency heads, although they’ve been able to stonewall and not respond. But at least we make them hear the questions.”

“I had anticipated that number to be much larger than it is today.”

Sigh.

* Anyway, his opponent Marsha Webb is quoted extensively in Tom’s story, so read the whole thing. But here’s her Facebook response…

If you can be persuaded to break a term limit pledge to your constituents, what else can you be persuaded to break or change?

Who “persuaded” you to break your term limit pledge? Is it the same select few that tried to bully, persuade, and bribe me out of the race against you?

Who do you place your loyalty with? Your constituents or a caucus that you are a member of?

This sounds like Orwellian style double talk.

Folks, read the article for yourself and form your own opinions.

I am running to take your voices to the state house.

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*** UPDATED x1 *** State pauses construction at migrant base camp site

Monday, Dec 4, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Background is here if you need it. Shortly after this City of Chicago press release went out, the governor’s office confirmed that it had paused construction over the weekend at the Brighton Park migrant tent camp, pending a review by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. From the city…

As reported last week, the City of Chicago’s Department of Assets, Information, and Services contracted Terracon Consultants, Inc. to conduct an environmental investigation at the 3710 South California Avenue site. The sample results were compared to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s remediation standards for residential use. According to the report, soil with mercury levels was identified at one location and was removed and properly disposed offsite at a landfill, and with the limited soil removal and placement and maintenance of the barrier, the site is safe for temporary residential use.

Further base camp construction and remediation of an additional 1 ft. x 1 ft. x 1 ft. area of the 9.5-acre site will continue per the timeline set by the State of Illinois. There is no construction or remediation scheduled at this time. The City will share assessment of subsequent remediation as it becomes available.

The full Environmental and Investigation and Correction Action Summary Report can be found in the general City of Chicago FAQ on the new arrival mission.

*** UPDATE *** The construction pause will continue tomorrow “as IEPA continues their review,” the governor’s office says.

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Protected: *** UPDATED x10 *** SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Campaign updates (Use last week’s password)

Monday, Dec 4, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

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*** UPDATED x1 *** The wrong fight over the wrong things at the wrong time

Monday, Dec 4, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I mean, if it wasn’t obvious on Friday night when the Johnson administration handed the Brighton Park environmental report to reporters before they gave it to the governor’s office, then I’m not sure where you’ve been…

Mayor Brandon Johnson campaigned on a promise to be the likable consensus-builder that Lori Lightfoot wasn’t.

He touted lessons learned as one of 10 siblings in a home with one bathroom, along with his previous work as a paid organizer for the Chicago Teachers Union. Listening, negotiating and collaborating is part of his DNA.

And yet, Johnson’s relationship with Gov. J.B. Pritzker is off to a rocky start not all that different from the tension between Lightfoot and Pritzker that worsened during the pandemic and became a hallmark of her single term.

The full story by Fran Spielman and Tina Sfondeles is definitely worth a read. I learned some things. The end graf is brutal…

“The governor has spent a lot of time, effort and money on national politics … The folks in the Pritzker administration don’t want to be embarrassed by a city that doesn’t really seem to have a plan,” Giangreco said. “All [Johnson] seems to say is, ‘I need Washington or Springfield to fix this for me.’”

That last sentence in particular is a sharp insight.

Some Chicago mayors have at times considered themselves more important than the state’s governors, and some actually were. But instead of consolidating support after the election, this mayor has allowed circumstances to alienate much of the city, including at least parts of his progressive base. Pritzker, on the other hand, has consolidated power with the two legislative leaders, taken control of the state party, has a net worth in the billions and is undoubtedly far more popular in Chicago than the mayor. There’s just not much Johnson can do to him at this point which won’t badly backfire.

Whatever the case, the fighting isn’t good in the long term, so this really needs to end soon.

*** UPDATE *** Gov. Pritzker was asked about this today…

We have a good relationship with one another. And I know the media would like to, every time there’s a governor and a mayor of Chicago, when you occasionally have things you’re working out together. They want to turn it into ‘They hate each other.’

Now there have been mayors and governors in the past that don’t like each other. But the truth is that we get along an we have a lot to accomplish. Chicago is an important economic driver for the country, not to mention for the state of Illinois. And I’ve really made it my mission - I’ve had now three mayors that I’ve worked with - I’ve made it my mission to make sure that the relationship is good. Even when you disagree occasionally on something, you just need to work it out. And whenever we have disagreed, we have worked it out. So I feel really good about the relationship and about the future working together. We do share one overriding concern together and that’s lifting up the working people of our state, making sure that people are doing well, that families are thriving, making the investments that are necessary for that. S that’s a great common ground to work from.

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Almost time to ease up on the accelerator pedal

Monday, Dec 4, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…

The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget released a revised state revenue and spending forecast last month for the current fiscal year, and it’s pretty good. Its projections for the next fiscal year, however, were not nearly as strong.

Projected fiscal year 2024 revenues have been revised upward by $1.4 billion. However, “most of this fiscal year 2024 revenue forecast revision is assumed to be one-time in nature,” the budget office warned.

Spending has also been revised upward by $969 million, leaving a $422 million net surplus.

According to the governor’s office, that revised spending estimate includes the $160 million the governor is spending on migrants. “With the $160 million we’re spending, we still have a $422 million surplus,” said Pritzker spokesperson Jordan Abudayyeh.

Unlike most of the revenue, many cost increases don’t appear to be one-time. And, of course, it’s unknown how long the migrant crisis will last, but it could very well wind up being a semi-permanent budgetary pressure.

That net $422 million surplus, if the estimates hold, will come in handy because the budget office is projecting FY2025’s revenues will be $480 million below its revised FY24 estimate. That, combined with increased spending, will result in a projected deficit next fiscal year of $891 million. The deficit is expected to rise to $1.4 billion in FY26 and $1.66 billion in FY27.

Pension expenditures, including for the Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund, are projected to be $10.14 billion this fiscal year, or 19.7% of projected General Funds expenditures including the supplemental appropriations costs, which is a little below where they’ve been for the past few years. Pension payments will rise to $10.5 billion in FY25, or 20% of all projected state General Funds spending. And they’ll go up to $10.8 billion in FY26, for the same 20% of all projected General Funds spending.

In other words, while the pension payments will be high, they’ll be stable and sustainable as a percentage of the budget — as long as the projections hold up.

Education costs are projected to rise by $952 million between this fiscal year and FY26 . The costs as a percentage of the budget will go from 25% this year to not quite 26% of the budget in FY26. Human services costs will rise $652 million by FY26, and health care costs will rise $614 million during the same period.
A deficit in fiscal year 2025

Let’s go back to that projected $891 million deficit next fiscal year, which starts in July.

Can the projection be trusted? After all, the global pandemic threw every economist off their game. Abruptly shutting down the world’s economy and then trying to turn it back on again, with gigantic bottlenecks and labor shortages emerging everywhere amid massive and sustained government stimulus, resulting inflation, rising interest rates and an economic boom just had no precedent.

In November 2020, near the height of the “second wave” of COVID-19, the governor’s budget office projected this fiscal year 2024’s budget would have about a $4.7 billion deficit with a state unpaid bill backlog of $24.5 billion. Instead, we’ve had years of budget surpluses, which along with prudent budgeting have wiped out the bill backlog, allowed the state to put $2 billion into a rainy day fund and pay off much of its non-capital debt while prepaying some pension obligations. Illinois’ bond ratings, which once neared junk status, have steadily risen to the “A” level with all three rating agencies.

But even before the pandemic, in the fall of 2019, FY24’s deficit was projected to be $3.1 billion with $16 billion in backlogs. A year earlier, in 2018, the current fiscal year’s deficit was projected to be $3.2 billion with a $20.5 billion backlog.

So, again, can the latest projection be trusted? Not completely, but it should still be heeded. After a period of being mostly careful not to drastically increase the state’s base spending, and instead using much of the unexpected revenue bonanzas for one-time items, the legislature and the governor added a ton of money to base spending last spring. If revenues do fall off next fiscal year, base spending will likely have to be cut.

The governor’s budget address is three months away, so the budget-making process is about to begin. We’ve seen countless forecast adjustments during the past few years, so maybe this one will change, too. But, in the meantime, everyone should prepare themselves for some belt-tightening in the months ahead.

6 Comments

Several new items and updates to the ol’ blog

Monday, Dec 4, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I spent part of the weekend expanding our automated news coverage here. The first thing you may have noticed is that our live coverage is back, sorta. As explained below, this will be different than the old Scribble Live feed because Twitter broke not only itself but almost everything else it touched.

These new feeds do not update instantly in front of your eyes, like Scribble Live did. There’s also a bit of posting lagtime and the new service itself may not last long. We just can’t give you any guarantees on any of this right now until Elon either gets his act together or a realistic online alternative develops. I also added a live coverage post for federal criminal trials.

* The automated news feeds on the right-hand side of the page have been tweaked to display a bit better, but almost all of the sources have also been expanded.

Bing News search results have been added to the Google results, for instance, so you’ll get more stories about more topics.

For some reason, the Capitol News Illinois feed had vanished, but it’s been restored.

More news sections of the Sun-Times and Tribune have been added. Suburban and exurban stories from Shaw Local and other local papers have been combined with an enhanced Daily Herald coverage feed.

All four legislative caucuses have newsletters, so they’ve been given a feed. News feeds from both state parties and the two Cook County parties are also in there. A feed of news stories from numerous radio and television stations was also created, as was a feed of State Journal-Register stories. Several newspapers were added to the Downstate feed.

I’ve added some Substack accounts and more bloggers to the Blog feed. And more news sources have been added to the federal officeholder news feeds. There’s also a new feed for hyper-local Chicago outlets and one for college student papers.

7 Comments

Open thread

Monday, Dec 4, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* I hope you all had a relaxing weekend! What’s going on in your part of Illinois?…

5 Comments

Isabel’s morning briefing

Monday, Dec 4, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: Chicago finds the Brighton Park migrant tent site safe for temporary residential use despite contaminants. Sun-Times…

* Related stories…

∙ WTTW: Land Set to Become Base Camp Safe for Migrants After Removal of Polluted Soil, Addition of Stone Barrier, City Says
∙ ABC Chicago: Brighton Park migrant camp site environmental report shows soil was contaminated
∙ Block Club: Brighton Park Tent Encampment Deemed Safe — Despite Mercury, Arsenic Contamination, Mayor’s Office Says

* Isabel’s top picks…

* WGLT | Report finds Logan, Pontiac and Stateville prisons nearly inoperable: The final report from a consulting firm hired by the state has found three of Illinois’ 27 prison facilities, including the Pontiac and Logan correctional centers, approaching “inoperable,” and a list of more than $2.5 billion in overdue repairs in aging institutions across the state. CGL Companies warns in the report initially released in May that the existing price tag of “deferred maintenance” at Illinois prisons could double in five years if unaddressed. Significant deterioration was reported at all prisons, with only three of 27 prisons ranked in the “fully operational range,” and the remainder in the “impaired operation range.” Pontiac, Logan and Joliet’s Stateville were categorized as nearly inoperable.

* ABC Chicago | Brighton Park migrant camp plans need IEPA approval for construction to move forward, state says: The state is funding the project, but Gov. JB Pritzker’s Office said they will not move forward unless the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency signs off the report. New video shows construction still underway at 38th and California on Sunday.

* Here’s the rest of your morning roundup…

* Daily Herald | A return to tradition: Why Illinois’ primary election is moving back to March in 2024: State Rep. Maurice West, a Rockford Democrat, sponsored the 2021 legislation that set the date for the 2022 primary. At the time, he said the state’s traditional, seven-month gap between primary and general elections was “long and risky, negatively affecting public policymaking.” West deliberately proposed a one-time change “just to see how it works.” If success is measured by voter turnout, the change was a failure.

* Tribune | Amid drug abuse crisis, state mounts effort to recruit and train more counselors: The state is spending $3 million in an effort to recruit and retain more substance abuse counselors amid a surge in drug abuse and overdoses that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. […] The state money will go toward expanding a program to recruit potential CADCs to help them with tuition payments, scholarships, internship stipends and other payments related to the training needed to get certified. The program also offers assistance with job placement, continuing education and credential renewal opportunities for existing CADCs.

* WTAX | New leader for IL Chamber: The Illinois Chamber of Commerce has a new president and CEO. Lou Sandoval’s career has taken him from the biotech industry through marine sales through business consulting, and he says that’s prepared him for his new position.

* Brownfield | Outgoing Illinois Farm Bureau president reflects on decade of service: Illinois Farm Bureau president Rich Guebert has spent the last 10 years representing Illinois farmers on a state, national, and global stage. Throughout his term, he’s met with two sitting Presidents, two Secretaries of Agriculture, and the Speaker of the U.S. House. “I’m going to be forever grateful that I can tell agriculture’s story to those folks with influence,” he says. “And drive policy, that’s not only important to our members here in Illinois, but farmers and ranchers all across the United States.”

* State Week | Pritzker and the state’s economy: Gov. J.B. Pritzker talked about the state’s business climate and more during a Crain’s Chicago Business luncheon. The governor touted recent announcements of jobs being added, especially at new manufacturing sites. We’ll talk about Pritzker’s economic record.

* Capitol News Illinois | Supreme Court rules teen bicyclist is covered by father’s auto insurance policy: The Illinois Supreme Court ruled Thursday that automobile insurance policies must cover people against uninsured motorists and hit-and-run accidents, even if the person covered by the policy is not in a vehicle at the time of the accident.

* Daily Herald | Illinois judges reflect on the legacy of pioneering Supreme Court jurist Sandra Day O’Connor: The death of trailblazing jurist Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, prompted expressions of praise and gratitude from the women she inspired to pursue careers in the judiciary. Among them was Illinois Supreme Court Justice Mary K. O’Brien, a longtime O’Connor admirer who says the late Supreme Court justice “always sought to hear the other side, to find common ground, to listen.”

* Crain’s | For Illinois’ cannabis industry, the roller-coaster ride continues: After years of delay, new license holders are entering the market at a healthy clip, which is helping diversify ownership in the industry and bring down Illinois’ notoriously high prices. There are 173 pot shops in Illinois, up from 113 a year ago. State regulators think 190 could be open by the end of the year.

* ABC Chicago | Father of 6-year-old Muslim boy killed in unincorp. Plainfield stabbing speaks with ABC7: Odai recalled the moment he got that call from the Will County sheriff. “I’m confused. He told me, ‘Wadee killed,’” Odai said. “I said, ‘No, Wadee is still a kid.’ He said, ‘No, somebody killed him.’”

* WaPo | Factory reopening could save this town, but many still bash the economy: Closed factories almost never reopen. So when Jason Vassar heard last month that his shuttered auto factory plans to restart, he considered it a “blessing.” The Stellantis plant that laid him off in March had agreed to resume production and rehire its workers to help end a nationwide strike against the company. It even pledged to build a $3.2 billion battery factory next door, encouraged by the prospect of federal manufacturing subsidies from the Biden administration.

* NYT | What to Know About the Purdue Pharma Case Before the Supreme Court: At issue is whether a bankruptcy plan can be engineered to give legal immunity to a third party — in this case, members of the Sackler family, who once controlled Purdue Pharma — even though they themselves have not declared bankruptcy. If the court approves the deal, that could affirm a litigation tactic that has become increasingly popular in resolving lawsuits in which many people claim similar injuries from the same entity, be it a drug or consumer product. By turning to the bankruptcy courts as a tool to resolve those claims, businesses aim to free themselves from civil liability and prevent future lawsuits.

3 Comments

*** Live coverage ***

Monday, Dec 4, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

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

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*** Live Ed Burke Trial Coverage ***

Monday, Dec 4, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

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

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Pritzker says state has settled labor dispute at migrant tent city

Friday, Dec 1, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Background is here if you need it. Press release…

Governor Pritzker announced the state has come to an agreement with Iron Workers Local 1 to ensure skilled iron workers will be present at the build site for new shelter space for asylum seekers. Upon learning of a potential labor issue late Thursday night, the state worked closely with the Iron Workers Local to negotiate sending additional union labor to the site as quickly as possible. The 38th and California site is being constructed to house approximately 2,000 recent arrivals to the city ahead of worsening winter weather conditions.

“When my administration was made aware of an issue that could have resulted in a work stoppage and increased costs at a new asylum seeker shelter site, we acted immediately to ensure union iron workers were represented and that the project could continue without delay,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “I am grateful to the Iron Workers for their collaborative work with my office to reach agreement and I am pleased this project can proceed.”

“Upon learning of concerns regarding labor use at the 38th and California site, Governor Pritzker and state officials immediately began negotiations to ensure the project could continue efficiently while maintaining the commitment to organized labor that the Governor has demonstrated since day one of his administration,” said John Gardiner, President, Iron Workers Union Local 1. “Skilled union ironworkers will be on site tomorrow to aid in the safe construction of this base camp and provide shelter for those desperately in need.”

“I commend John Gardiner for his leadership and tireless advocacy for Ironworkers Local 1, and I’d like to thank Governor Pritzker for responding quickly to our members to reach this important agreement,” said Michael Macellaio, President of the Chicago & Cook County Building & Construction Trades Council.

It’s late Friday night and we’re all still working. I haven’t seen anything like this since the Rauner years. Thanks, mayor.

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*** UPDATED x4 - Coverage roundup - Reporters received report before governor - Report finds high levels of mercury in soil - Report released to reporters *** After stonewalling governor’s office, city finally shares pollution report on migrant tent city

Friday, Dec 1, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* From WBBM…

JUST IN: The Johnson Administration is requiring reporters to file a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain an environmental report on a migrant campsite in Brighton Park, @CraigDellimore reports.

— WBBM Newsradio (@WBBMNewsradio) December 1, 2023

* From Jordan Abudayyeh at the Governor’s office…

The State has repeatedly requested this report from the city and despite assurances it would be sent, that has yet to occur. When the State does receive the report the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency will need to review it. We will not have additional comment until we receive the report.

* Alice Yin…

The site's local Ald. Julia Ramirez just now: "Once again, I urge the City to provide comprehensive information on the risks associated with the site, as well as the proposed remediation process. Transparent communication is essential for fostering trust within our community"

— Alice Yin (@byaliceyin) December 2, 2023

* Abudayyeh at 8:33 tonight…

Update. We just got it: The state just received the environmental report. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency will need to review it. We will not have additional comment until the review of the nearly 800 page document is complete.

*** UPDATE 1 *** From Natalie Moore at WBEZ…

City dropped an environmental report late Friday about the Brighton Park site that is on track to house migrants in a winterized camp. The investigation by an outside firm revealed high levels of mercury in the soil that was excavated. Reporters had to FOIA the promised report.

— Natalie Y Moore (@natalieymoore) December 2, 2023

*** UPDATE 2 *** Click here for the full report…

* Metals were below the residential ROs with the exception of arsenic, lead, mercury, and manganese, which exceeded in residential ingestion exposure route at certain sample locations.

* Mercury exceeded the residential outdoor inhalation exposure route and the default CSAT limit in sample SB-15 (1-3’) and its associated duplicate sample, DUP-004. These two samples were further evaluated with elemental mercury laboratory analysis, as provided in Table 1, which confirmed the exceedances.

*** UPDATE 3 *** From Rich: The governor’s office has been asking for this report for days, and they sent it to reporters first? Yeah, that’s wise…

We actually got it before the governor’s office. https://t.co/gFxdIYdtec

— Dan Petrella (@PetrellaReports) December 2, 2023

*** UPDATE 4 *** Coverage roundup…

Tribune

After weeks of pressure, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration dropped a voluminous environmental assessment of a proposed tent camp for migrants late Friday that said contaminants are being removed from the former Southwest Side industrial site.

The nearly 800-page report by outside contractor Terracon Consultants was released to the Tribune on Friday evening.

It said high levels of mercury and other chemicals were found and are being removed from the Brighton Park lot at 3710 S. California Ave., where workers had already begun building the giant tents for incoming migrants this week. […]

“Terracon conducted a field investigation under a sampling plan that was developed for this specific site,” a Johnson spokesperson wrote in a statement, before noting soil with mercury levels and other contaminants, which were addressed through removal as well as an “engineered barrier” along the site. “With the limited soil removal and placement and maintenance of the barrier, the site is safe for temporary residential use.”

The report notes that despite the presence of toxic substances at the site, the levels detected are within state guidelines and as a result pose minimal risks to temporary occupants of the tent encampment.

* WTTW…

Tests were performed in 16 locations on the site, and soil, groundwater and soil gas samples were taken and analyzed, according to the report.

Mercury was located in one location on the site, and the soil in that area was removed and disposed of, according to the report.

In another location, the organic compound bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate was found, the report said. That compound is used in the manufacturing of polyvinyl chloride, a rigid yet flexible plastic. That soil will also be removed and disposed of, according to the report.

At multiple locations on the site, the tests found evidence of two semi-volatile organic compounds and four metals that exceeded limits considered safe for residential use, according to the report.

That prompted city officials to require that the entire site “be covered with imported clean stone from a quarry and compaction of the stone to a minimum thickness of six inches throughout the site. The stone layer will be periodically inspected and maintained,” the report said.

* ABC Chicago…

Crews are also placing a clean crushed stone barrier around the site that will be regularly inspected.

The statement goes on to say in part, “With the limited soil removal and placement and maintenance of the barrier, the site is safe for temporary residential use.” […]

City officials have said they hope to have the site up and running by mid-December.

Alderwoman Julia Ramirez and her office are reviewing the new findings and plan to comment soon.

* Sun-Times…

The state, which is committing $65 million for the shelter and is directing the contractor building on the site, will have to sign off on the environmental report.

“The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency will have to review it,” said Jordan Abudayyeh, a spokeswoman for Gov. J.B. Pritzker. “We will not utilize that site if IEPA does not sign off.”

She declined to comment further until state officials review the report.

The city’s consultant said it can’t guarantee there isn’t additional contamination, and if additional materials are discovered, “activities should be halted.”

“We cannot represent that the site contains no hazardous substances, toxic material, petroleum products or other latent conditions beyond those identified during this evaluation,” the city consultant Terracon said in the report.

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Reader comments closed for the weekend

Friday, Dec 1, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I told you about Kathy Greenholdt earlier this week when we kicked off our annual fundraiser to buy Christmas presents for LSSI foster kids (please click here to donate). Kathy wrote a touching song about her late sister Lynn. She also wrote a song that I think should be Illinois’ new official state song. Have a listen and we’ll talk again Monday…

Home is my sweet Illinois

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Afternoon roundup

Friday, Dec 1, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I’ve reset the donation target amount to match what we raised last year, adjusted for inflation…

The money we’ve contributed so far will help Lutheran Social Services of Illinois buy Christmas presents for 1,503 foster kids. LSSI serves 2,530 children. That means we’ve met 59 percent of their basic goal and will create a little joy for lots of kiddos.

I have my doubts that we’ll make our fundraising goal. Last year’s unprecedented final tally completely surprised me. Also, it’s been my experience that donations tend to drop off after the first couple-two-tree days. We had a good Tuesday, a great Wednesday (people really stepped up to score that $10,000 match), an OK Thursday, but almost zip today, likely because we haven’t posted a reminder.

So, please, if you can, click here and contribute. Thanks.

* Daily Illini…

Illinois is the first state to offer fully funded universal tests and licensure preparation classes to public university undergraduate students in the newly passed Prepare for Illinois’ Future Program. The program entails that Illinois public universities’ undergraduate students will have free access to necessary resources to assist them in their preparation for graduate school admission tests and professional licensure.

On Nov. 7, La Shawn Ford, Illinois state representative and chair of the Illinois Higher House Appropriations Committee, announced that the Prepare for Illinois’ Future Program will warrant $10 million of the state of Illinois’ budget.

The funding of the program was passed with the intention of providing free test preparation classes for the MCAT, the LSAT, the GRE and the GMAT in the 2024 fiscal year.

In addition to the graduate school admission tests, the Prepare for Illinois’ Future Program will include free preparation assistance for professional licensure preparation in nursing, teaching, real estate and securities professional exams.

Sounds like a good idea.

* Text message…

In case you might find it of at least slight interest, Congressman Jackson, as of a couple of minutes ago when I checked ISBE, has not filed his nominating petitions. The only IL congressperson not to have done so yet. Only 1 GOP candidate has filed in the first district. I haven’t seen any outlet take note of this.

I’m trying to reach US Rep. Jackson’s campaign, but no luck so far.

* Glad to see the BGA’s policy director standing up for a reporter who wrote a very strong story only to see it trashed by those weirdos on the Tribune editorial board…

It’s reporters like @MariahWoelfel who actually got them to admit there was some sort of new protocol…which helped us apply pressure…which will ultimately lead us to opening the doors again for Chicago. Great work Mariah! https://t.co/xwFhyWa5Wr

— Bryan J. Zarou (@BJZarou) December 1, 2023

Speaking of this topic, here’s an Illinois House rule that you might not know exists…

In accordance with Article IV, Sec. 6(d) of the Constitution, the House during its session may punish by imprisonment any person, not a member, guilty of disrespect to the House by disorderly or contemptuous behavior in its presence. That imprisonment shall not extend beyond 24 hours at one time unless the person persists in disorderly or contemptuous behavior.

The Senate has a nearly identical rule.

* Isabel’s roundup…

WBEZ | Chicago pastor on housing migrants in his church: ‘This is your new home’:

* Crain’s | Tesla’s truck isn’t a Rivian killer yet: Tesla is expected to produce about 75,000 trucks next year, Baird Equity Research estimates. Rivian is expected to increase production at its plant in Normal to 75,000 to 80,000 vehicles, up from about 50,000 this year.

* Bloomberg | Battery startup opens Chicago plant as U.S. seeks to curb reliance on China: NanoGraf received $10 million in funding from the U.S. government to build what the company says is the Midwest’s first large-volume facility to produce silicon oxide — an important ingredient for a new kind of longer-lasting battery that can be used in electric vehicles and medical devices. It’s part of a wave of investment in US capacity to make more lithium-ion batteries at home as the country looks to compete with China, which controls large swaths of the world’s output.

* Tribune | Peoples Gas asks to restore $134 million of ‘paused’ pipeline replacement work, says hundreds of jobs may be lost: The utility is hoping to claw back more than half of the $265 million cut from its budget when the ICC issued an order last month to pause the long-running System Modernization Program to replace 2,000 miles of aging iron pipes below Chicago streets, pending an investigation. “The company understands the Commission’s directive to pause work on SMP; however, the $265 million in work that was paused includes more than $134 million in other critical safety and reliability work outside of SMP,” Peoples Gas spokesperson David Schwartz said in a statement.

* WBEZ | These conservation-minded Illinois farmers are in a race against climate change to save their soil: Jake Lieb drives his John Deere two-seater around his property and across the shallow Camp Creek. The waterway cuts back and forth through miles of farm fields until it reaches the Sangamon River and eventually pours into Lake Decatur 32 miles away — the man-made source of water for 200,000 people. These are troubled waters. The city of Decatur paid $100 million in 2021 to dredge so much polluted sediment from the lake that it could have filled the Willis Tower seven times.

* Crain’s | Illinois boosts Amtrak in soaring year for rail travel: Almost 28.6 million customers rode Amtrak nationwide last year, according to fiscal 2023 passenger figures released Thursday. That’s a 24.6% increase from the previous year — albeit still shy of 32 million rides in the 2019 fiscal year. The increase reflects a resurgence in rail travel, which has been slow to bounce back from its struggles during the COVID-19 pandemic. […] The Hiawatha, which connects Chicago to Milwaukee via Glenview, saw a year-over-year increase in passenger activity of 26.9%. The line provided 636,854 customer trips from October 2022 to September 2023, the most of any Midwestern route.

* Crain’s | Feds and city’s inspector general eye Bally’s casino deal: A federal law enforcement agency and Chicago’s inspector general are looking into the process by which Bally’s won the Chicago casino license, according to people familiar with the matter. Crain’s has learned one inquiry is being led by the U.S. attorney’s office, and stems from complaints lodged by losing bidders. The existence of the federal inquiry was confirmed by Ald. Brian Hopkins, 2nd, a longtime critic of the Lightfoot administration’s handling of the casino process, and by other sources.

* Sun-Times | South Loop had a hybrid car dealership — a century ago. Now it’s headed toward demolition: In addition to its remarkable car-making history, the former Woods Motor Vehicle building is also a pretty nice example of early Chicago School architecture with its minimalist, grid-like face adorned with three bays of large windows designed to bring in natural light. It would be a mark against the city’s architectural heritage to lose a building of this character and pedigree.

* Crain’s | Northwestern medical residents announce intent to unionize: The group of physicians across Northwestern’s McGaw Medical Center filed their intent to join the Committee of Interns & Residents, a division of the Service Employees International Union, with the National Labor Relations Board and have requested voluntary recognition of the union from Northwestern management, according to a statement today.

* SJ-R | Friend-In-Deed, Central Illinois Food Bank team up again for a drive-through giveaway: Friend-In-Deed, started by the late State Journal-Register editor Ed Armstrong in 1960, is looking to raise $85,000 this holiday season to assist with the two food drive-throughs and to help out 100 homeless families from Springfield School District 186. Unlike in some previous years, there is no application required for the drive-through food giveaways.

* Sun-Times | Jussie Smollett’s 2021 conviction, sentence upheld on appeal: A Cook County jury found Smollett guilty of five counts of disorderly conduct in 2021, and he was sentenced to 30 months of probation, with the first 150 days to be served at Cook County Jail. Smollett appealed the conviction and was released while it was pending after spending six days behind bars. A spokeswoman for the actor said Smollett will appeal Friday’s decision.

* Tribune | Michigan grad sues state after losing ‘G0BLUE’ license plate: Joseph Hardig III said the plate has been on family vehicles for years. But he was told it was assigned to another car owner when he recently tried to renew it at a Secretary of State office. “My dad’s passed away. I got it from him. It’s meaningful to me. We’re just huge fans and love the university,” Hardig told The Detroit News. Hardig, a suburban Detroit lawyer, is asking a judge to block the state from giving the plate to an Ann Arbor man, who is also a University of Michigan graduate and lives just minutes from the football stadium.

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Some campaign updates

Friday, Dec 1, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Citing ‘delays’ in Chicago’s procurement process, Pritzker announces $2 million to feed asylum seekers

Friday, Dec 1, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The city just can’t get its act together on anything…

Building on the State’s data-driven plan to improve the asylum seeker response, Governor JB Pritzker, the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), and the Greater Chicago Food Depository announced an additional $4 million investment to provide meals to asylum seekers through the end of the calendar year. The additional $2 million state investment will be matched by philanthropy through the Food Depository.

At the request of the City of Chicago in June 2023, the State has provided $10.5 million in funding to the Greater Chicago Food Depository, a food bank with a network of community-based providers, to deliver meals to asylum seekers while the City worked to procure additional vendors. Due to delays in the procurement process, the State and Food Depository will now contribute an additional $2 million each, to ensure asylum seekers are fed through the month of December. In January, the City of Chicago will assume this responsibility as the State ramps up its shelter, resettlement, and Temporary Protected Status and Employee Authorization Document efforts. The State will also provide the meals at the recently announced shelter sites in Brighton Park and Little Village, which will house up to 2,200 people at full capacity.

“In Illinois – we welcome asylum seeking families with dignity and that means ensuring they don’t go hungry,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “The State is continuing to make strategic investments in the absence of the resources and coordination we continue to advocate for from Congress and the federal government.”

This $2 million investment from the State builds on Governor Pritzker’s recently announced $160 million investment, via IDHS, to improve the asylum-seeker path to self-sufficiency, as well as the $478 million in State funding that has been allocated to the asylum seeker response over Fiscal Years 2023 and 2024.

Before this latest investment, the State provided $10.5 million in funding for food for new arrivals, bringing the total now to $12.5 million. The State began partnering with the Greater Chicago Food Depository for this purpose in June 2023.

“I am grateful to the Greater Chicago Food Depository for continuously meeting this need,” said Dulce Quintero, IDHS Secretary Designate. “The Depository has been an invaluable partner to the State as we continue to address this humanitarian crisis.”

“The Greater Chicago Food Depository believes food is a basic human right. It is a privilege to provide daily meals for asylum seeking new arrivals in our community while continuing our work of serving anyone in need of food across Chicago and Cook County,” said Kate Maehr, Executive Director and CEO of the Food Depository. “Our response for new arrivals has been bolstered by support from the state of Illinois and the generosity of private philanthropy. We are incredibly grateful that the State of Illinois has stepped up again and again this year to protect residents from hunger, both lifelong Illinoisans and our newest neighbors.”

The Greater Chicago Food Depository has worked with the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago to provide food for asylum seeking new arrivals since Texas began busing them to Illinois last summer. This year, the Food Depository’s response has expanded to include daily lunch and dinner, fresh fruit, breakfast items, and hygiene essentials at shelters and police stations across Chicago. The Food Depository’s response has been funded by critical investments from the State of Illinois and generous contributions from private donors.

To supply meals for new arrivals, the Food Depository has been working in partnership with more than 15 minority-owned restaurants and caterers based in neighborhoods across Chicago. By contracting with these local businesses, the Food Depository is supplying up to 20,000 nourishing and culturally affirming meals each day, while investing millions of dollars back into the local community – creating economic impact and jobs for Chicagoans. The response serves as a model of how to address hunger while also guiding funds and resources to neighborhoods that have endured historic disinvestment.

7 Comments

Union says Pritzker office intervention at least temporarily prevented likely construction shutdown at migrant camp

Friday, Dec 1, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Yesterday…

Migrant Camp Sight Target of Iron Workers Picket;
Construction Shutdown Likely

What:
On Thursday, November 30, Iron Workers Local 1 Union filed a notice of intention to picket the Brighton Park migrant camp site on Friday, December 1, which is currently under construction, due to the contractor’s failure to hire certified union ironworkers. The Iron Workers Local 1 Union’s picket line will likely be honored by other union workers, if any, on the site, causing them to lay down their tools and leading to a construction shutdown.

Who:

· Ken Davis, Business Agent, Iron Workers Local 1 Union
· John Gardiner, President, Iron Workers Local 1 Union
· Rank and file Iron Workers from Local 1 Union
· Scabby The Rat

Where:
Brighton Park, 2822 W. 38th Street, Chicago (corner of 38th and California)

When:
Friday, December 1, 2023; 6 a.m. – 2p.m.

Trade union members almost never cross a picket line, and there are plenty of other unions on that site. A picket would have likely shut the whole thing down.

* Today…

The following statement can be attributed to John Gardiner, President/Business Manager, Iron Workers Union Local 1:

“On Thursday, November 30, Iron Workers Union Local 1 filed a notice of intention to picket the Brighton Park migrant camp site on Friday, December 1, which is currently under construction, due to the contractor’s failure to hire certified union ironworkers. After receiving a call from the governor’s office last night, Thursday, the Iron Workers Local 1 agreed to a 24-hour pause on our picket to allow for negotiations. We paused our picket for 24-hours out of courtesy to the governor’s office. We met virtually this morning with multiple, high-level officials, and will continue to talk throughout the day.”

Apparently, nobody told the governor’s office in advance about the impending labor action until I sent them the union’s press release last night asking for comment.

…Adding… The mayor’s office has reached out to say they had “Multiple conversations on Thursday” with the governor’s office.

[Both releases had a date typo, so I was asked to update the post.]

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Today’s quotable

Friday, Dec 1, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Former Kenwood Oakland Community Organization organizer, Chicago Democratic Socialist Caucus member and second-term Chicago Ald. Jeanette Taylor was on Ben Joravsky’s show…

Joravsky: As you said, we’ve got some work to do in the movement.

Taylor: Absolutely.

Joravsky: What do you mean by that?

Taylor: A) we should not be on the Fifth Floor. And I’m speaking my whole heart. I feel like, and I’ve said this to them, and so whoever get the backlash, come on with it because I’m ready for it.

We were not ready because we haven’t been in government long enough to know how government really runs. You still got Rahm’s, you still got Daddy Daley’s people still in these committees, still in these departments. And so we got some uprooting to do.

But we just weren’t, I felt like we’re not ready and it’s showing out in the wash. I don’t gotta say it, people see it.

And we stopped doing the most important thing that movements do, and that means organize. Ain’t no way we’re on the Fifth Floor and we’re having all these issues and now they’re talking about he’s going to be a one-term mayor. Because we ain’t doing the thing that the movement does best, and that’s to organize our people and get people to see the entire picture, not the part of the picture or not a part of a conversation that they came in on.

Half of the people that are hollering at us that come to City Hall are not things that City Hall can fix. They are things that City Hall initiated, but they are not things that City Hall can fix. Why not take those people to the side and say, Hey, how do we help you? How do we do this? Well, we won’t do that.

We’re pretending like now we got the power let us show you how it’s supposed to be done. And we look real stupid right now.

The full show is here.

…Adding… I wrote this in comments, then decided to front-page it…

===Practitioners of “movement” politics are intellectually wired to operate as disrupters — or as an opposition party. Being in charge is not part of what they do.===

While mostly true, the alderperson’s comments are spot on.

The Brighton Park fiasco is a great case in point. They could’ve had people canvassing that neighborhood to calm folks down and counter the misinformation. The CTU has plenty of front groups and allies that could be dispatched.

Also, Johnson’s father is a pastor. He’s tapped in to a huge church network. Why did it take the mayor so long to talk to churches about taking in asylum-seekers? Why didn’t he bring pastors in and urge them to calm down their parishioners with facts instead of inciting fear and hate?

I could go on, but why bother?

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Not-for-profits at risk as state funding nears end

Friday, Dec 1, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From a January 2021 press release…

Using revenue from adult-use cannabis sales, the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) today announced 80 grants totaling $31.5 million to organizations to help the communities hardest hit by the failed war on drugs. The organizations’ work includes violence prevention, legal aid, and re-entry services.

The grants are part of the Restore, Reinvest, and Renew (R3) Program, which was created as a key equity element of the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (CRTA), signed by Governor Pritzker in 2019. The law requires that 25 percent of all cannabis revenue be used to support communities impacted by economic disinvestment, violence, and the severe and disproportionate damage caused by the war on drugs, largely and disproportionately impacted low income Illinoisans and communities of color.

Awardees include nonprofit organizations, local units of government, tax-exempt faith-based organizations, businesses, and other community organizations that serve residents of—or are based in—designated eligible R3 zones.

That first round of funding was known as Cohort 1. The funding for Cohort 1 will end in January. Cohort 2 was started in July of 2022, and it will run through June of 2025.

But if you are one of those initial 80 grant recipients and you didn’t make it into Cohort 2, or have programs that aren’t funded by Cohort 2, then you’re gonna have to wait until at least the fall of next year to apply for the third round of state grants.

* The Children’s Place Association is one of those groups. Here’s Cinaiya Stubbs, the association’s CEO…

The decision by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority to close out cannabis-funded, anti-violence programs on January 31, 2024 – without the next round of funding in place until fall 2024 at the earliest – for the 1st cohort of community providers, such as The Children’s Place Association, means that, for example, the care we provide to more than 90 youth ranging from kindergarten to 8th grade, and 15 community families in and around Humboldt Park will abruptly end and some staff will need to be let go.

The better decision by ICJIA would have been to have a “funding bridge” in place to prevent the interruption of services to families across Illinois and loss of valuable staff who may never return.

That last sentence is important. As we saw during the turbulent Rauner era, once service providers fully or partially shut down and lay off workers, it’s super difficult to build those groups back up again. This is literally human services infrastructure, and it can’t be replaced nearly as easily as physical infrastructure like a damaged bridge.

* Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton chairs the R3 board. So I asked her office for comment…

While Cohort 1 funding period is ending after 3 years in compliance Grant Accountability and Transparency Act, Cohort 2 continues to provide $133 million in programming in R3-eligible areas throughout Illinois. Those funds won’t expire until July 2025 and will again overlap with future Cohort grant cycles. Qualifying Cohort 1 grantees may apply for future R3 funds and any other ICJIA-administered state violence prevention grants.

The R3 program is designed to create a pathway to funding for qualifying grassroots community organizations in a process that is fair and equitable. Grants are awarded via a competitive process to ensure funding is available and accessible in each R3 area.

It’s our goal to ensure that communities throughout the state that have been disproportionally impacted by the war on drugs can have equitable access to R3 grants. We will continue to collaborate with ICJIA and continue to invest in the people and communities of Illinois.

Cold comfort to the groups that are losing out.

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Illinois Supreme Court again cites the plain language of a law to overturn lower court’s ruling

Friday, Dec 1, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* ABC 7 in January…

Data show that 40% of all pedestrians struck last year in Chicago were victims of hit-and-run crashes.

The ABC7 I-Team talked to one victim who said her court battle is an insurance claim wake-up call, for both walkers and bike riders.

One local woman thought her auto insurance would cover her when she was struck by a hit and run driver. When that didn’t happen, she brought her battle to court. […]

But in court, Direct Auto Insurance Company said in order to file a claim for a payout under uninsured motorist coverage, the customer must have been inside an automobile at the time of the hit-and-run.

* The circuit court sided with the insurance company. The appellate court reversed that decision…

The appellate court said it didn’t matter that Direct Auto’s policy states that coverage is available only to insureds who are injured while they are occupants of an insured vehicle.

“The terms of an insurance policy that conflict with a statute are void and unenforceable,” the majority opinion says. “Similarly, insurance policy terms cannot circumvent the underlying purpose of a statute in force at the time the policy is issued.”

* And yesterday, the Illinois Supreme Court sided with the appellate court. Sun-Times…

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled Thursday that insured pedestrians or bicyclists struck by a hit-and-run or uninsured driver should be entitled to uninsured motorist coverage from their insurance companies.

The court said auto insurance companies whose policies include language requiring a person to be in an insured motor vehicle to qualify for uninsured motorist coverage are violating both the Illinois Insurance Code and public policy. […]

Attorneys for Direct Auto could not immediately be reached for comment.

* From the opinion…

The plain language of section 143a of the Insurance Code makes clear that an insurance policy cannot be “renewed, delivered, or issued for delivery” in Illinois unless it provides coverage to “any person” for injuries “arising out of the ownership, maintenance or use of a motor vehicle.” A bicyclist injured by an uninsured motorist vehicle is a “person” who suffered injuries arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of “a motor vehicle.” Therefore, the injured person’s status as an occupant of a vehicle is irrelevant since the statute includes “any person” in the protected category.

* From the law firm which fought this case all the way to the top…

“If you ride a bike in our streets, or are crossing the street, you can have the peace of mind knowing that if you are injured by a hit-and-run or uninsured driver, your insurance will cover you. And if they deny that claim, Disparti Law will be there to stand behind you for what is right,” continues Larry Disparti, Founder of Disparti Law Group.

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

Friday, Dec 1, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Open thread

Friday, Dec 1, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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

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Isabel’s morning briefing

Friday, Dec 1, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: The Illinois Supreme Court ruled FOID records are exempt from public disclosure. Capitol News Illinois…

* Related stories…

∙ Center Square: Illinois Supreme Court rules FOIA of FOID information not allowed

* Isabel’s top picks…

* Sun-Times | Lawyer hails ‘big win’ as Illinois Supreme Court rules insurers must provide coverage to pedestrians, cyclists hit by uninsured drivers: The court said auto insurance companies whose policies include language requiring a person to be in an insured motor vehicle to qualify for uninsured motorist coverage are violating the Illinois Insurance Code and public policy.

* Sun-Times | Chicago City Hall is owed billions of dollars it hasn’t managed to collect: That raises the question of why the perennially cash-strapped city hasn’t gone after late-paying scofflaws harder over the past three decades. The eye-popping unpaid tab — which could have covered almost 40% of the mayor’s $16.77 billion budget — include outstanding payments from thousands of people, companies and other entities.

* Here’s the rest of your morning roundup…

* Capitol News Illinois | State high court finds medical personnel exemption to biometric information privacy law: In a unanimous opinion, the justices ruled against a pair of nurses who sued their employers over their use of fingerprint-enabled medication storage – a technology many hospitals have adopted to curb abuse or theft of certain drugs.

* ABC Chicago | Father of 6-year-old killed in Will County stabbing, apparent hate crime files wrongful death suit: Odai Al-Fayoume filed a wrongful death lawsuit last week in Will County against Czuba for the incident, which took place in unincorporated Plainfield. The next court date is in March.

* Crain’s | United, American on collision course with Johnson administration over O’Hare rebuild: The airlines say the cost of a rebuild of Terminal 2 and the addition of two satellite concourses, as well as some related projects, now is pushing $7.6 billion, up from an estimated $7.1 billion last year. United and American have been warning airport officials for months that the cost of the expansion is at risk of running over a budget that’s already risen by $1 billion from its original $6.1 billion price tag.

* WGLT | Democrat files in mostly rural Illinois House 105th District race: An artist and former political campaign manager is running for office in a mostly rural, conservative Illinois House district. Democrat Morgan Phillips of Lostant has filed in the 105th House District that includes parts of McLean and eight other central Illinois counties. At age 24, Phillips said she would bring youth and a fresh perspective to the state legislature.

* WBEZ | Corruption in Illinois breeds voter cynicism, but what about voter apathy?: Plenty of forces enable corruption to thrive in Illinois — loophole-ridden ethics laws, policymakers unwilling to confront the problem head-on and a drastically shrunken nonpartisan press corps that once kept a close eye on political chicanery. Perhaps the more consequential question, though, centers on the effect Illinois’ corruption carousel is having on the health and well-being of the state’s democracy.

* Center Square | Illinois Republicans criticize Chicago mayor’s rhetoric over border crisis: Johnson continued by questioning the sanctity of the party.
“That’s what this particular party has been about,” Johnson said. “This is the same Republican right-wing extremism that stormed the Capitol. It’s the same right-wing extremism that refuses to accept the results of the Civil War. It’s raggedy, it’s disrespectful,” Johnson said. “It’s disrespectful, it’s mean spirited, it’s an unclean spirit.”

* Daily Southtown | South Suburban College to get $13 million grant for nursing education center; expects to break ground next year: The money, from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, comes on top of about $51 million previously approved by state legislators for the project, which is expected to break ground next summer. The building will house classrooms and labs for the school’s programs in areas such as nursing, pharmacy and occupational therapy and will “benefit generations to come,” said Terry Wells, chairman of the college’s board.

* WTTW | ‘This Is an Anomaly’: Part-Time Columbia College Faculty’s Record-Long Work Stoppage Continues Into Second Month: Issues arose amid ongoing contract negotiations, which began earlier this year. But tensions increased weeks before the academic year began when Columbia College eliminated more than 50 class sections for the current fall semester and 317 class sections for the upcoming spring semester — courses typically taught by part-time faculty.

* BGA | Unwritten Rules Limit City Council Gallery Seating; Reserve Prime Spots for “Invitation Only”: The written rules for public attendance posted on the City Clerk’s website have not been updated, and still state, “The public is admitted to the Gallery’s non-reserved seats on a first-come, first-served basis.” Media reports and verbal responses from the Sergeant-at-Arms have indicated that second-floor seating is now invitation only, with no clear process or policy for how those invitations occur.

* WBEZ | Opponents sue the city of Evanston for approving Northwestern’s stadium plans: The complaint in Cook County Circuit Court seeks to overturn last month’s narrow vote in favor of allowing concerts and other commercial events at the rebuilt Ryan Field, near single-family homes in the northern suburb and neighboring Wilmette.

* Daily Herald | Police officer caught child thrown from burning apartment building in West Chicago: A police officer caught a child thrown from the 24-unit building in the Main Park Apartments complex, West Chicago Fire Protection District Chief Patrick Tanner said. One woman jumped from a third-floor window, Tanner said. She was one of five people injured after the fire broke out in the three-story building on the 800 block of Burr Oaks Drive.

* AP | Corey Perry news: Former Chicago Blackhawks player says he’s seeking help for alcohol abuse: Corey Perry said Thursday he has begun working with mental health and substance abuse experts to discuss his struggles with alcohol after the Chicago Blackhawks terminated his contract for engaging “in conduct that is unacceptable” and violated his contract and team policies.

* WCIA | Teacher surprised with new car, part of Wheels to Prosper program organized by Teutopolis classmate: “My husband and I have been sharing a car for about a year-and-a-half,” Coffin said. “We had wanted to buy a house, so we sold my car so that way, we could make that a successful dream.”Unfortunately, that dream was cut short when Coffin’s husband suffered a stroke in 2022. Between three different jobs, Coffin takes care of her husband. And the tragic loss of her son, who died of cancer in 2018, is another burden she’s carrying.

* Chicago Reader | Hometown hero Mavis Staples provides inspiration at Cahn Auditorium: On Friday, December 1, Ms. Staples brings her unmistakable voice, gruff and heartfelt, along with her incredible catalog to Evanston’s Cahn Auditorium. Respect yourself and grab tickets to see a homegrown powerhouse with a message that transcends trend and genre.

* The Atlantic | The Murky Shoplifting Narrative: Despite inconclusive evidence, some retailers have seized on the narrative that theft is a major issue, pressuring lawmakers to crack down and changing the shopping experience as a result. The specter of shoplifting is haunting America. Viral videos show frightening scenes: people in masks smashing windows, groups swarming stores, thieves attacking workers. Retail executives have referred to theft as a serious threat, suggesting that their companies are victims of a national crime wave. Already, they have made a number of decisions—including locking up items, closing stores, and advocating for harsher larceny laws—under the auspices of trying to deter theft.

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Live coverage

Friday, Dec 1, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Click here or here to follow breaking news. Click here to follow the Ed Burke trial.

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