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Misguided Insurance Regulation Proposals Could Increase Premiums For The Majority Of Illinoisans

Monday, Mar 10, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* WTVO…

Illinois Senator Steve Stadelman is pushing to eliminate degree requirements for state jobs.

The bill would stop state agencies from requiring applicants to have a bachelor’s degree to be eligible for hire going forward.

The requirement would not apply if the knowledge, skills or abilities required for the position can only be reasonably obtained through a course of study in pursuit of a bachelor’s or other degree. […]

The bill looks to provide working families and other communities who have been underrepresented with government jobs.

* The Pantagraph…

State Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, filed legislation earlier this year that would end the twice-a-year clock changes. It has been assigned to an Illinois House committee but hasn’t been heard yet.

Morgan has never gotten the legislation over the finish line, but he said he feels this may be the year.

“Families, businesses and health experts all have a stake in this conversation, and I expect a robust dialogue on how this change could improve the lives of all Illinoisans,” Morgan said. “While there’s still work to do, I’m optimistic that the momentum is growing to finally make this change.” […]

Permanent daylight saving time, which is what Morgan’s bill would achieve, would offer more light in the evening, while standard time would offer more light earlier in the day.

* Sen. Ram Villivalam…

State Senator Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago) will hold a Senate Transportation Committee subject matter hearing on Tuesday to hear from advocates and stakeholders about Senate Bill 5 and Senate Bill 1938.

Senate Bill 5 would combine the Regional Transit Authority, Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and PACE into one entity referred to as the Metropolitan Mobility Authority, as well as outline its responsibilities for public transit in the region.

Senate Bill 1938 would make changes to public transit that would provide improved service board coordination and accountability measures, coordinated safety measures, agency interconnection and a universal fare tool, service board composition and other governance changes, as well as create a Road Usage Charge Pilot Program.

Both measures make reforms to our public transit system to provide service that is safe, reliable, accessible, integrated, environmentally conscious, and economically impactful.

WHO: Chairperson Villivalam and members of the Senate Transportation Committee

WHAT: A subject matter hearing on Senate Bill 5 and Senate Bill 1938

WHEN: Tuesday, March 11 at 9 a.m.

WHERE: Bilandic Building Room C600, 160 N. La Salle St., Chicago and streamed live on ilga.gov.

* Richard Day dug into the Metropolitan Mobility Act for Streetsblog Chicago…

The primary question that has been debated over the last year is how the [Chicago mass transit] should be governed. Right now, we have the three agencies that provide service, plus a fourth, the Regional Transit Authority, that is supposed to provide oversight. Even though the three systems provide service across municipal lines, the CTA is controlled by the City, and Metra and Pace are controlled by the suburbs. The RTA is hamstrung by a super-majority voting requirement that ensures either the City or suburban appointees can veto its decisions. […]

Then last year, and again this year, Senator Ram Villivalam (D-8th) and Representatives Eva-Dina Delgado (D-3rd) and Kam Buckner (D-26th) introduced versions of the Metropolitan Mobility Act in Springfield. The bill takes the most straightforward approach possible to reforming the system. That is, it eliminates the separate service boards, and consolidates them into a single Metropolitan Mobility Authority, responsible for transit in Chicagoland. The organization would be overseen by an 18-member board of directors, appointed as follows:

- 3 members appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Illinois Senate
- 5 members appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the City Council
- 5 members appointed by the Cook County board president and confirmed by board members
- 5 members (one per county) appointed by the boards of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will Counties
- 1 additional board member chosen as a board chair by the other 18 directors […]

The MMA would include some other important changes to transportation funding in the region. It would eliminates a current requirement that agencies fund 50 percent of their operating costs via fare revenue and other revenue sources, aka the farebox recovery ratio. That figure is untenable in the short term, given the post-COVID ridership drop. But it’s also been rendered kind of meaningless, as more and more costs, like security, have been carved out. In 2019, before the pandemic, the actual recovery share net of exclusions was only 39 percent. […]

The MMA could give us a better shot at delivering capital projects faster, and at lower cost. Right now, that’s an enormous problem. The Red Line Extension is currently projected to cost over a billion dollars per mile. At that rate, it’s the last rail buildout the CTA will ever make. The RLE is particularly troubling, but this problem is endemic. The CTA’s recently finished Damen Green Line station cost $80 million and was delivered four years behind schedule.1 Meanwhile, Metra took 15 years and $34 million to build an above-ground infill station at Peterson and Ridge.

Rep. Tracy Katz Muhl…

State Rep. Tracy Katz Muhl, D-Northbrook, is working to preserve access to clean drinking water by unanimously passing a bill out of the House Energy & Environment Committee expanding the use of treated water for industrial purposes in order to conserve our supply
of freshwater for individual use.

“In the near future, fresh water will begin to be of greater and greater importance to the economy and the health of our communities due to increasing scarcity,” Katz Muhl said. “Illinois and the Midwest currently have plenty of fresh water, but that doesn’t mean we should squander it. This legislation expands the number of use cases for treated municipal wastewater and thereby enables us to conserve more of what we have without sacrificing productivity.”

Katz Muhl’s House Bill 2391 makes it unequivocally clear that treated municipal wastewater can be put to industrial use. Current law permits it to be used for irrigation, but is unclear as to whether it can be used for industrial applications. The bill was passed unanimously by the 26-member Energy & Environment Committee and now moves to consideration by the full House of Representatives.

* Center Square…

Workers at companies that don’t offer a retirement plan are automatically enrolled in the Secure Choice Savings Program and the automatic contribution starts at 5% of the employee’s paycheck.

House Bill 1435 would amend the Secure Choice Savings Program Act and change penalty criteria for employers who fail to enroll employees in the program and remit contributions. […]

“It’s one time registering online on our website to then create an online access, an account that they can use,” [Christine Cheng with the state treasurer’s office said]. “It’s uploading their information on eligible employees, and if they have people who do want to participate, doing the payroll deduction process as they might for any other type of payroll deduction to make sure the money move.” […]

The bill passed out of committee with an eight to four vote.

* Daily Herald…

In the General Assembly, Senate Bill 257 would prohibit cat declawing statewide in Illinois. Initiated by the Illinois Humane World for Animals (formerly the Humane Society) and sponsored by Sen. Linda Holmes, an Aurora Democrat. […]

The Illinois State Veterinary Medical Association expressed concerns about the House bill. The association stresses that declawing should remain a last resort, but adds that the decision of whether to perform the procedure should be left to medical professionals. The association also claimed a complete ban could result in cats being abandoned or ultimately euthanized.

Once Democratic state Sen. Sara Feigenholtz of Chicago, chief co-sponsor of the bill, learned what declawing entailed and how it involved multiple amputations after one of her cats underwent the procedure, she said she could not “bear the thought of it and I would never do it again.” She said she discourages owners from getting the procedure for their cats.

“Educating people about this is what is going to win the day, whether this bill passes or not,” Feigenholtz said. “I would love for it to pass, but the simple fact that voluntarily, all of these veterinarians discourage this and say, ‘We’re not providing the service,’ it speaks volumes.” […]

Poll results from ALDF released last June revealed 70% of veterinary professionals oppose cat declawing. Half of veterinarians interviewed reported their practice does not perform any declawing procedures.

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Monday, Mar 10, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Several bills proposed this legislative session seek to ban certain factors that insurance companies use to set fair and accurate insurance pricing for customers. The bills would ban the use of credit-based insurance scores, zip codes, age, and gender in insurance pricing.

An op-ed published recently in the Chicago Tribune explains why such bans could cause insurance rates to rise for the majority of consumers.

Case in point: When the use of credit was banned in Washington in 2021, more than 60 percent of Washington drivers saw an increase in their insurance premiums. Should similar legislation pass in Illinois, the majority of Illinoisians with better-than-average credit could see premium increases.

With stubbornly high inflation and high property taxes, now is not the time to pass bills that could end up hiking insurance premiums for most Illinoisans.

Click here to learn more.

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Foster care services in jeopardy: ‘We can’t let that happen’

Monday, Mar 10, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…

Advocates say a major storm is brewing that could overwhelm the state’s child foster care system.

The problem is legal liability insurance, or, more specifically, the lack thereof.

Insurance companies, advocates and providers say, are not taking on new private foster care agencies as clients and some agencies are being notified that they’re losing their insurance, including some of the state’s biggest foster care providers. Some others are being forced into high-priced, low-benefit insurance plans. Many may ultimately find themselves out of business.

As of the end of February, more than 18,000 kids were in the foster care system, and only a minority of those are actually being cared for by the state. Many are placed with private, not-for-profit agencies. The state generally contracts out services like these, mostly to charities that can also raise additional funds.

If those providers are forced out of existence, the state would have to take the foster kids in, and the state simply has no room (or money) for them. The worst-case scenario would be disastrous.

Advocates say they’ve been warning about this for years and have been ignored. And then California made big headlines last fall when it became public that it is facing a foster care “cliff” this summer, when many private agencies will lose their liability insurance coverage. And now, as one person involved said, “It’s kind of cascading across the country.”

Two identical bills have been introduced to address the problem, Senate Bill 1696 sponsored by Sen. Laura Fine and House Bill 3138 sponsored by Rep. Suzanne Ness. The bills would grant the foster care agencies and their employees immunity from civil liability for a two-year period “unless the agency’s acts or omissions constitute willful and wanton conduct.”

This being Illinois, the politically powerful trial lawyers have a large seat at the bargaining table. They’re the ones who file the lawsuits.

“Foster youth in care are among the most vulnerable within our communities,” said Illinois Trial Lawyers Association Executive Director Jim Collins in a statement. “In the tragic event that youth in care are harmed or killed as a result of the negligence of agencies whose charge is to ensure their safety and well-being, the public policy of Illinois should be one that preserves access to justice for the affected youth. Proposals that reduce or erode access to justice for youth victims are as misguided as they are unjust; if there is an insurance ‘crisis’ that has been inflicted upon provider agencies, policymakers should focus on an insurance solution.”

And because of that opposition, numerous sources say the bills will not move forward as currently constructed.

Even so, advocates and lobbyists I’ve spoken with on and off the record said they’re optimistic.

“I don’t know that there’s agreement necessarily about what the solutions are,” said Andrea Durbin of the Illinois Collaboration on Youth, “but people are trying to come together, at least, to figure out what can we do in the short run and what can we do in the long run.”

Durbin said part of the challenge is the desire to “provide child victims of abuse, especially sexual abuse, with opportunities for recourse as adults, and I don’t have any complaints or beefs with that. But it means, as an insurer, you have a long tail of liability.”

“People want justice,” Durbin said. “They want justice for that child. And so they end up wanting to punish somebody. And the only person is the community provider. So, we end up sort of holding the bag for the systemic failures.”

One idea that’s been floating around is moving the private foster care providers into the Illinois Court of Claims umbrella. That court handles lawsuits against the state and it has a $2 million damages cap. The attorney general’s office has so far resisted the solution, citing staff capacity. But advocates say that DCFS is rarely sued in the Court of Claims, so the staff excuse doesn’t hold water.

Rep. Ness, D-Crystal Lake, the bill’s House sponsor, said she believes the negotiators “need to come up with a short-term solution to give the state some more time to look at longer-term solutions. I don’t think that this is a DCFS problem only. I think it’s also an insurance problem.

Ness said negotiators must find a way to come to an agreement so “these kids don’t have to be disrupted again and placed in other homes because the agencies they’re with cannot get insured. We can’t let that happen.”

I couldn’t agree more.

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Open thread

Monday, Mar 10, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Let’s belatedly kick off Women’s History Month with a big bang…

Three women have won Best Rap Album at the Grammys: Ms. Lauryn Hill (as a member of Fugees), Cardi B, and most recently Doechii. Both Hill and Doechii performed at Jazz In The Gardens Music Festival in Miami Saturday night, and during Hill’s set, she brought out Doechii to do “Doo Wop (That Thing)” together.

“Doo Wop (That Thing)” comes from Hill’s R&B Grammy-winning solo album, 1998’s The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill. Doechii thanked the Fugees member on social media, writing: “Thank you Miss Lauryn Hill. Thank you. My heart is so full. She is my hero. This is the greatest honor hip hop could give me. Praise God … my entire body is vibrating with joy right now. I’ll never forget this day!” She also shared, “I never been so nervous in my life 😭 she is a QUEEN.”

* Here you go…

Lauryn Hill brought out Doechii on stage to perform "Doo Wop (that thing)" together at Jazz In The Gardens Music Festival pic.twitter.com/awizpfWs0U

— Everything Doechii 🐊 (@EDoechii) March 9, 2025

Stop acting like boys and be men

* What’s going on in your world?

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition

Monday, Mar 10, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: Illinois joins lawsuit seeking to halt ‘illegal’ mass firings of federal workers. WTTW…

* Related stories…

∙ WaPo: Multistate lawsuit seeks to reverse Trump administration purge of federal workers
∙ Press Release: AG Raoul asks court to stop mass firings and seeks reinstatement of federal probationary employees
∙ Crusader: Attorney General Raoul asks court to stop mass firings and seeks reinstatement of federal probationary employees

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Tribune | Illinois patients, hospitals fear potential Medicaid cuts: ‘I hope people have some kind of compassion’: Outlaw is one of more than 3.4 million people in Illinois on Medicaid — more than one-quarter of the state’s population — who are anxiously watching discussions in Washington, D.C., over the future of the program. In late February, House Republicans passed a budget resolution instructing the committee that oversees Medicaid to cut $880 billion in costs over the next 10 years to help pay for new and existing tax cuts and enhanced border and national security, according to House Republicans.

* Sun-Times | As Medicaid cuts loom, patients, officials defend care for chronic pain, behavioral health and addiction: Current Illinois law would automatically end Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansions in the state if federal funding is cut, significantly reducing who qualifies for the coverage. State Rep. La Shawn K. Ford, D-Chicago, has sponsored legislation to repeal the law, though the issue of funding the care would remain.

*** Statehouse News ***

* WGN | The Homeschool Act aims to implement regulations to protect kids in Illinois: An investigation by ProPublica and Capitol News Illinois discovered that children were being mistreated and neglected while being homeschooled. State Representative and Chair of the Adoption and Child Welfare Committee in the Illinois House, Terra Costa Howard, joins Dane Neal, filling in for Jon Hansen for Let’s Gel Legal. The two discuss homeschooling and the new bill that hopes to protect children’s education when they are learning at home.

* Tribune | Gov. JB Pritzker’s $300M proposal seeks to attract developers to abandoned sites that now draw only vandals: In a budget proposal that included no new taxes and cuts to key programs like health care for noncitizen immigrants, Pritzker is proposing the state invest $300 million to prepare the sites for private development. Funding would come from the state’s capital budget. The Pritzker administration said the program would create jobs and support community revitalization, and the project would attract new businesses, potentially leading to billions of dollars in private investment. The five sites in the proposal were identified as “high priority,” though others might be considered in the future.

* WTTW | Illinois Pitches Two New Prisons as a Way to Modernize and Address Aging Facilities. Some Advocates Aren’t Sold: Illinois’ prison population continues to shrink, with facilities now having a 26% vacancy rate, leading some of those inside and their advocates to question the state’s plan to build two new prisons. Some opposed to new prisons say if they are to be built, they should be small and close to Cook County for services and loved ones’ visits. Others look toward decarceration and consolidation of other decrepit facilities. The state, meanwhile, is pitching the rebuilding plan as necessary due to the high amount of deferred maintenance on existing buildings and the need for a modern, rehabilitative design.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | New data breach exposes thousands of CPS students’ info: The data breach affected roughly 700,000 students dating back to the 2017-18 school year, CPS said. Students’ names, dates of birth, gender and their CPS student ID numbers were accessed. Students enrolled in Medicaid also had their Medicaid ID number and dates of eligibility exposed. Social Security numbers, financial and health information were not exposed in the breach, CPS said.

* Sun-Times | Amid Loop vacancies, Chicago’s property tax burden shifts to neighborhoods: The property taxes paid by the once-bustling but now-struggling Water Tower Place, for instance, have plunged from $16 million annually to $6.8 million last year. With Water Tower Place paying less, that means other homeowners and businesses have needed to make up the shortfall to cover the taxes that pay for police, firefighters, schools and other services.

* Crain’s | Chicago makes its move to get in on the data center boom: Microsoft last year acquired more than 500 acres for a data center in southwest suburban Plano. Compass Datacenters is building a five-building campus on 200 acres at the former Sears headquarters in Hoffman Estates. CyrusOne is also developing a 230-acre complex near Yorkville. With the explosion of cloud computing and artificial intelligence, technology companies are racing to build data centers, a collection of servers and networking equipment that stores, processes and distributes electronic data, from personal email and entertainment programs to business payroll and sales functions.

* Tribune | Illinois clinic one of first places in the country to offer new device to spinal cord injury patients: The device, called the ARC-EX, delivers electrical pulses to his spine during his sessions at Next Steps Chicago, a neurological rehabilitation clinic in Willow Springs. The device was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in December, with some experts hailing it as a milestone in therapy for people with spinal cord injuries. Next Steps is one of the first two clinics in the country offering it.

* Crain’s | WFMT workers plan to unionize: Content creators at Chicago’s classical radio station 98.7 WFMT-FM intend to organize with SAG-AFTRA, a large union representing professionals in entertainment and media. In a press release earlier this week, SAG-AFTRA said the workers have faced “ongoing challenges” at the station for years and the only option to address them is through collective bargaining.

* Tribune | ‘A fun experiment’: Chicago White Sox get a close look at Automated Ball-Strike System testing at Camelback Ranch: According to Major League Baseball, ABS uses a set of cameras around the field to track pitch locations. Each team starts with two challenges, which can be used by the batter, pitcher or catcher. The challenge must be immediate and made without the assistance from the dugout or other players. A team retains a successful challenge, but loses it if the umpire’s call is confirmed. MLB is using the testing this spring to see whether ABS is suitable for use in the majors down the line. It has been tested in the minors since 2021. According to MLB, more than 60% of the 2025 spring training games will be played with ABS, including eight Grapefruit League parks in Florida.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* WBEZ | Even after guilty plea, Highland Park residents still trying to make sense of mass shooting: Some Highland Park residents still avoid Port Clinton Square, right across the street from the building where, nearly three years ago, a young man sprayed bullets into a crowd gathered for the town’s annual 4th of July parade. “This is the first time I’ve had enough courage to walk over there without breaking down,” Vincent N. Carani said on Thursday morning.

* Daily Herald | Metra asks feds for relief in feud with Union Pacific over ‘unreasonable’ costs to run trains on tracks: Metra filed separate actions with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board and in federal court seeking relief from what they called “windfall” rates proposed by UP to use its tracks. The issue dates back to 2019 when the freight railroad decided it was no longer feasible to operate trains on Metra’s three commuter lines, the UP North, Northwest and West.

* Tribune | DuPage County, sheriff agree to $11 million payout for jail death: Approved by a judge last month, the settlement caps a federal lawsuit brought by Aguilar-Hurtado’s daughter, Cristal Moreno Aguilar, accusing the county, Mendrick and 11 jail medical staff members or corrections officers of repeatedly failing to act as her mother’s health rapidly deteriorated. A county pathologist determined her death was due, in part, to “medical neglect.”

* Shaw Local | Should DeKalb enact a local grocery tax? Mayoral candidates weigh in: In an email to Shaw Local News Network, DeKalb City Manager Bill Nicklas said the loss of the tax from grocery stores including Jewel-Osco, DeKalb Fresh Market, Aldi and Schnucks would cost the city about $800,000 in estimated grocery tax revenue for 2024. Typically, the city allocates revenue generated from the state grocery tax toward departmental operations. “Any drop in such proceeds would have to be offset by an equal increase in some other general revenue to maintain the current level of operations,” Nicklas said.

* Shaw Local | La Salle County YANA to host gubernatorial candidate James Mendrick on March 13: The grassroots political group YANA (You Are Not Alone) is celebrating its four-year anniversary with an event at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 13, at Jamie’s Outpost, 602 Clark St., Utica. The keynote speaker will be DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick, the first Republican to announce his candidacy for Illinois governor in the 2026 election. Mendrick’s visit provides attendees with an opportunity to hear directly from a gubernatorial candidate and discuss the future of Illinois.

*** Downstate ***

* WCIA | Pritzker stops by Urbana restaurant with Democratic primary winner: “We’ve been doing this a long time and [to] have somebody of that high-profile come in and eat your food and that you share with the community that you grew up with and grew up in,” Baldarotta said. “It’s amazing what he ordered at the Guido. It was recommended by DeShawn because that’s where he gets a lot when he gets in here. But I couldn’t let him leave without trying our porketta.”

* Tom Kacich | Calling it a career: Now it’s time to give this precious space to the young journalists with their energy, enthusiasm, passion and dreams. They are practicing a noble profession (another term for underpaid) with the great responsibility to inform the public, shed light on government, institutions and culture, and call it as they see it. There are many reasons the task is much more difficult today than it was in 1975, not the least of which is misinformation on social media, including much from the government.

* BND | Tax incentive, new infrastructure part of proposed ‘transformative’ development in O’Fallon: Park Place is a joint effort by Bruce Holland of Holland Construction, Rich Gorazd of State Construction and Michael Hamburg of Pier Property Group that city leaders have said could be the biggest development of its type. As proposed, it would feature recreation, entertainment, retail, restaurants and a variety of housing options that could include 50 villas and 429 multi-family units. The cost is estimated cost of the project is $275 to 300 million.

* WCIA | Alcohol compliance checks will happen more often in Pana after 50% of businesses fail: 14 establishments in Pana were checked. Half of them sold alcohol to a person who was under 21 years old. The establishments inside City limits found to be non-compliant were given a City Ordinance Violation for Prohibited Sales of Alcohol with a $500.00 fine. The sellers outside City limits were cited for Illegal Gift/Sale of Alcohol to Minors. All seven establishments were served notice by the Illinois Liquor Control Commission Office and will be given additional fines for the violation.

* ESPN | Illini investigating allegations of ‘inappropriate comments’: The University of Illinois said Saturday that it is investigating allegations of “inappropriate comments” that were made toward Purdue supporters after Boilermakers star Trey Kaufman-Renn said his 13-year-old brother was subjected to racist language and his family was “cussed out” by opposing fans during his team’s 88-80 loss to the Fighting Illini in Champaign, Illinois, on Friday night.

* The Telegraph | Governor JB Pritzker congratulates SIUE basketball on historic NCAA Tournament berth: Illinois Governor JB Pritzker sent congratulations to the SIU-Edwardsville men’s basketball team and SIUE head coach Brian Barone for reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. “Huge congrats to Coach Barone and the entire SIUE team,” Pritzker said Sunday on social media. “Best of luck to you all in your first ever NCAA Tournament!”

*** National ***

* NYT | 30 Charts That Show How Everything Changed in March 2020: Decades from now, the pandemic will be visible in the historical data of nearly anything measurable today: an unmistakable spike, dip or jolt that officially began for Americans five years ago this week. […] Three million Americans filed for unemployment benefits in the first week, then six million the next, one of the earliest shockwaves to ripple through the economy.

* Santa Fe New Mexican | Assault weapons ban modeled after Illinois law now on the table: The Senate Judiciary Committee decided late Monday to take time to study a proposed assault weapons ban for the state modeled after an Illinois law that is currently tied up in the courts. “We’ll have you ready to go at our very next meeting on Wednesday,” Sen. Joe Cervantes, a Las Cruces Democrat who chairs the committee, told the sponsors.

* AP | Kennedy and influencers bash seed oils, baffling nutrition scientists: It’s the catchy description coined by internet influencers, wellness gurus and some politicians to refer to common cooking oils — think canola, soybean and corn oil — that have long been staples in many home kitchens. […] “I don’t know where it came from that seed oils are bad,” said Martha Belury, an Ohio State University food science professor. In a Senate hearing Thursday, Dr. Marty Makary, nominated to lead the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, called for a closer review of the products.

* Above the Law | Trump Signs Executive Order Calling Out Top 50 Biglaw Firm, With Intent To Wage War Against Other ‘Leading Law Firms’ Over Their DEI Policies: In a move that could seriously disrupt the very ecosystem within which Biglaw firms exist, Trump has directed the chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to “review the practices of representative large, influential, or industry leading law firms for consistency with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”

* MSN | The FAA’s Troubles Are More Serious Than You Know: Many FAA employees were prepared to follow that advice, agreeing to leave their government jobs and get paid through September, according to internal government records I obtained as well as interviews with current and former U.S. officials who spoke with me on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. More than 1,300 FAA employees replied to the email, out of a workforce of about 45,000. Most of those who responded selected “Yes, I confirm that I am resigning/retiring.”

9 Comments

Monday, Mar 10, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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

Monday, Mar 10, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Selected press releases (Live updates)

Monday, Mar 10, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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Reader comments closed for the weekend

Monday, Mar 10, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Click here and/or here to follow breaking news. Hopefully, enough reporters and news outlets migrate to BlueSky so we can hopefully resume live-posting.

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Friday, Mar 7, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Turn the page…

Yeah, most times you can’t hear ‘em talk
Other times you can
All the same old clichés
Is it woman, is it man?
And you always seem outnumbered
You don’t dare make a stand

Make your stand

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Misguided Insurance Regulation Proposals Could Increase Premiums For The Majority Of Illinoisans

Friday, Mar 7, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

An op-ed published recently in the Chicago Tribune explains why such bans could cause insurance rates to rise for the majority of consumers.

With stubbornly high inflation and high property taxes, now is not the time to pass bills that could end up hiking insurance premiums for most Illinoisans.

Click here to learn more.

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Isabel’s afternoon roundup

Friday, Mar 7, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Swinford Media Group…

Williamson County Sheriff Jeff Diederich recently announced that 100 offenders have been sentenced to jail or prison in the past several months. […]

The SAFE-T Act, a law meant to reform the criminal justice system, has changed how arrests and pre-trial detentions are handled. Some critics refer to it as a “catch and release” system, arguing that it allows people accused of crimes to go free before their trial.

However, Sheriff Diederich says the final outcomes of cases have not changed—people who are convicted still face sentencing.

“This law changes what happens between arrest and trial,” Diederich explained. “But in the end, if someone is guilty, they still face punishment.”

One concern, he noted, is that people who might have stayed in jail before trial are now released sooner, sometimes leading to new crimes before they go to court. However, he added that repeat offenders often receive harsher sentences because their crimes add up by the time they face a judge.

* Shaw Local…

A man has admitted in court that he falsely reporting there was a bomb in the Crystal Lake Public Library, for which he was sentenced to two years of special probation.

In exchange for his guilty plea to one count of disorderly conduct, a Class 4 felony, an additional count against Jacob N. Spiro, 24, was dismissed, according to the court order filed in McHenry County court. Spiro, of Skokie, also was ordered to pay more than $1,600 in fines and fees, and to have no contact with the library, court records show.

After learning of Spiro’s plea deal, Becky Fyolek, executive director of the library, said that when the library received the bomb threats, it was “very upsetting for patrons and staff.” […]

Authorities have said it was suspected that Spiro could have been connected to multiple “swatting” calls throughout Chicago suburbs. He was charged in Kane County in 2023 for allegedly making similar threats to a grocery store in Des Plaines and at Aurora library branches. Online Kane County court records show Spiro later pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in the Aurora case and was sentenced to community service and two years of probation, on which he remains.

* USA Today…

Initial filings for unemployment benefits in Illinois dropped last week compared with the week prior, the U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday.

New jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, fell to 10,057 in the week ending March 1, down from 11,066 the week before, the Labor Department said.

U.S. unemployment claims dropped to 221,000 last week, down 21,000 claims from 242,000 the week prior on a seasonally adjusted basis.

New Hampshire saw the largest percentage increase in weekly claims, with claims jumping by 124.0%. Rhode Island, meanwhile, saw the largest percentage drop in new claims, with claims dropping by 67%.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Associate professor in the Department of Urban Planning and Policy at the University of Illinois Chicago Kate Lowe | Labor has a solid plan for public transit, but lawmakers must address funding: Without tackling the growing $771 million operating shortfall this legislative session, our region must start planning for devastating service cuts that would most hurt low-income riders and transit workers, with ripple effects to our environment and economy ($2.6 billion less in GDP, according to the RTA). Labor’s bill is a good alternative to proposed legislation that would eliminate Pace, the Chicago Transit Authority and Metra, which have different union contracts and service constraints. The bill has strategies for better accountability and coordination, along with (overdue) regional fare integration.

*** Statewide ***

* WAND | Illinois bobcat season finishes with 649 harvested: A total of 415 (61.6%) of bobcats were taken by hunting, while trapping accounted for 234 (34.7%) of the harvest. 25 (3.7%) were salvaged by permit holders from circumstances such as roadkill. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources issued 2,000 bobcat permits in the 2024-2025 bobcat lottery out of 9,200 applicants.

* Tribune | A flag football first in Illinois: History will be made Saturday as sport continues to grow nationally: Benedictine and Rockford will compete in the first women’s college flag football game in Illinois when they meet at 6:15 p.m. Saturday inside the Chicago Bears’ Walter Payton Center on the Halas Hall campus. The Bears expect about 300 fans, including family and friends of the athletes, high school and college coaches and Bears staff. Bears player personnel coordinator Ashton Washington is slated to speak with both teams before the game.

* Shaw Local | Will federal cuts to national parks lead to more state park visitors? Travelers are monitoring effect: The cuts to 10% of the National Parks staff come just as the National Parks Service announced almost 332 million visitors in 2024 – a record year in attendance. About 1,000 probationary National Park Service employees were fired Feb. 14 and about 700 National Park workers are expected to participate in the buyout program. In theory, staff reductions and reduced operations at the national parks could result in an influx of visitors at Starved Rock and Matthiessen state parks. So far, however, Matthew Kosch isn’t seeing any signs of a surge at the state-run parks.

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | Chicago victims of credit card scam warn others to be on guard: ‘I was just blinded by my naivety’: Eliazar Rodriguez was running errands in Roscoe Village when he was stopped by two men with a laminated flyer outside a Starbucks. They said they were raising money for their little brother who was killed in a drive-by shooting and told Rodriguez that they were struggling to gather funeral funds. […] He gave the men $15 through Apple Pay and wrote his name down on a sheet pledging his donation. One of the guys took Rodriguez’s phone to make the transaction, showed him the screen to confirm that Rodriguez donated $15 and the two men went on their way. Next thing Rodriguez knew, he got an instant notification from his bank telling him he had a $3,000 charge for a carpet purchase.

* Bloomberg | Opinion: Private equity’s $24 billion Walgreens bid is wild: Walgreens’ market value had shrunk to less than $8 billion from more than $100 billion in the past decade before Sycamore’s interest emerged in December. The pharmacist has endured myriad problems, which are ongoing. Selling consumer health care products from stores is a low-growth business facing competition from Amazon.com and Walmart. Those challenges are exacerbated by high theft rates. And Walgreens’ foray into health care services, providing access to physicians in clinics, has proved a costly mistake.

* Tribune | Illinois Holocaust Museum will close for renovations, with a temporary location opening downtown: In the meantime, a satellite location will open with some of the museum’s more popular exhibits at the former site of the Museum of Broadcast Communications (360 N. State St.) in Chicago’s River North neighborhood. The IHMEC first opened in Skokie in 2009 in a $45 million building designed by Chicago architect Stanley Tigerman — the project of what was the Holocaust Memorial Foundation of Illinois, founded in 1981 in the wake of a threatened march by neo-Nazis in Skokie.

* Crain’s | Kim Kardashian’s Skims to open first Chicago storefront in Gold Coast retail corridor: Skims, the shapewear and apparel brand co-founded by influencer and entrepreneur Kim Kardashian, plans to open a store at 1000 N. Rush St., sources familiar with the deal said. Chicago-based L3 Capital paid $21.5 million for the retail space last month, according to online property records.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Sun-Times | Lake County’s top prosecutor says detective lied on witness stand in murder case: Now Rinehart and Owens are presenting evidence that a North Chicago detective lied in his police reports and on the witness stand at trial. The detective, Olander Warner, claimed an informant initially identified Williford as a suspect, but Warner had typed Williford’s name into a police database five days before he says he met with the informant, according to the petition. Also, Warner and Williford were having an affair with the same woman, casting the motives for the detective’s “targeted investigation” into doubt, according to the petition.

* Daily Herald | Attorney jailed for missing start of trial in DuPage County: But Chicago attorney Cierra Norris, who has nearly 500,000 followers on TikTok, found herself posing for a different kind of camera Wednesday — capturing her booking photo at the DuPage County jail. DuPage County Judge Margaret O’Connell found Norris in indirect criminal contempt of court, and ordered her to a five-day stay in jail for failing to show up for the start of a jury trial Tuesday.

* Daily Southtown | Federal subpoena seeks Dolton records for bar and grill subject of Tiffany Henyard lawsuit: The subpoena, provided by the village via a Daily Southtown Freedom of Information Act request, seeks inspection reports and communications between village officials, former and current building tenants and property owners as part of a criminal investigation. Dolton Trustee Jason House, who beat Henyard in the Feb. 25 Democratic primary for mayor, said Monday he was unaware of the details of the subpoena but said the village will comply with the federal investigation.

* Sun-Times | Family wants answers after ‘life of the party’ fatally struck by Cook County Sheriff’s officer in Glenview: Mercedes Smith, 28, was fatally struck by a Cook County Sheriff officer’s vehicle about 5 a.m. Tuesday in the 9800 block of Milwaukee Avenue, according to Glenview police. She was taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, where she was pronounced dead at 4:05 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office and Glenview Police Department.

* Daily Herald | Candidates for Hanover Park president debate bringing back 1% municipal grocery tax: Both candidates for Hanover Park village president see a different answer to the question of how to address the state’s decision to stop imposing a 1% grocery tax on municipalities’ behalf now that each has the authority to have its own. Incumbent Rod Craig, who’s held the office for 18 years, is being challenged by Mark Elkins, a 30-year member of the Hanover Park Park District’s board of commissioners and its current president.

* Crain’s | Skokie hotel developer hit with $24 million foreclosure lawsuit: X-Caliber alleged in the lawsuit that E&M defaulted on its mortgage by failing to get the lender’s consent to increase the project’s budget by almost $17.3 million, among other infractions. The project went awry when the actual construction costs turned out to be far higher than an initial estimate from Russell “to the point where the project simply did not make fiscal sense,” said E&M General Partner Mark Meyer. Cook County property records show a slew of liens in 2023 against the developer from subcontractors alleging they weren’t paid for their work.

* Shaw Local | What these city council candidates say about Joliet’s future development: In election questionnaires sent out to Joliet City Council candidates, The Herald-News asked What is your vision for the city’s future development? What you would like to see in the city’s comprehensive plan being developed?

*** Downstate ***

* The Southern | SIU’s Paul Simon Institute to host discussion on expanding educational equity: Melissa Connelly, CEO of OneGoal, will join Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Paul Simon Public Policy Institute for a virtual conversation on Tuesday, March 18, to discuss the barriers facing first-generation and low-income students in achieving a college education. Connelly will speak with John Shaw, institute director, about her work leading OneGoal, a national nonprofit dedicated to ensuring that all students have an equitable opportunity to achieve postsecondary success.

* WCIA | CONO holding Decatur candidate forum this weekend: The non-partisan group will hold a forum at the Decatur Public Library on the second-floor auditorium Saturday afternoon. From 1-2 p.m., city council candidates will take the stage and from 2-3 p.m., school board candidates will respond to their questions. […] “Our goal is to inform voters on the stance of the candidates about local issues,” CONO President Kathy Williams said. “These office holders decide our tax bills and so much more! We also want to see as many people as possible vote.”

* Muddy River News | United Way of Adams County, Quincy Public Schools partner to support student mental health: “Our mission is to connect as many residents as possible with the vital services available in our community. Quincy Public Schools has offered an opportunity that exemplifies our ongoing dedication to making resources more accessible and fostering a stronger, more supportive Adams County.” Participants will be engaged in a discussion on gaps in available mental health services. Attendees have the opportunity to meet with participating organizations to gain insights and explore additional solutions for student mental health support in their schools.

*** National ***

* WTTW | It’s Time to Spring Forward an Hour This Weekend, But Is the Clock Ticking on Daylight Saving?: A 2021 poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that indeed more Americans are in favor of permanent Standard Time or Daylight Saving, with 43% opting for the former and 32% for the latter. Another 25% prefer the status quo of switching back and forth.

* Crain’s | As ‘rule of law’ becomes a partisan talking point, what do bar associations have to say?: “Why would we go down the political route and alienate half of our membership?” asks John Sciaccotta, president of the Chicago Bar Association. It recently emailed a rule-of-law appeal to its 17,000 members, which did not mention President Donald Trump by name. William Bay, president of the American Bar Association, put his name on three statements, beginning last month. Still, says a spokesman for the Chicago-based group, “members generally want us to do more.”

* Politico | Sex, Drinking and Dementia: 25 Lawmakers Spill on What Congress Is Really Like: To get an inside look at what it’s like to serve on Capitol Hill — after years of gridlock, government shutdowns and now another Donald Trump stampede through Washington — we sat down with 25 lawmakers who were ready to dish. We talked about what they hate and love about Congress, why it’s broken and how to fix it (one suggestion: bring back the powdered wigs). They also told us what would really shock the public if they knew the truth about life as a lawmaker (it’s what’s for dinner).

5 Comments

IEMA, DoIT directors depart

Friday, Mar 7, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Press release…

Today, Governor JB Pritzker announced the departure of two agency directors: Alicia Tate-Nadeau of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security (IEMA-OHS), as well as Sanjay Gupta of the Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT). Both Director Tate-Nadeau and Secretary Gupta will depart during the month of March.

Alicia Tate-Nadeau was appointed by Governor JB Pritzker in 2019 to serve as the Director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security (IEMA-OHS) and Illinois Homeland Security Advisor (HSA). Tate-Nadeau’s retirement follows decades of experience in national security, emergency management, and public safety. Prior to joining the Pritzker administration, she spent more than three decades with the Illinois National Guard (IL-NG). As the first female general in Illinois history, she completed her military service as the Assistant Adjutant General for the IL-NG. Tate-Nadeau successfully led the State of Illinois through the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the influx of buses with recently arrived asylum-seekers during 2023-2024.

“With our administration from the very beginning, Director Tate-Nadeau has served the State of Illinois with dedication and pride,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Today, we congratulate her on a successful career and thank her for her leadership at IEMA over the past six years—which will positively impact employees and Illinoisans for years to come.”

Adnan Khayyat will serve as IEMA-OHS’ Interim Director beginning on April 1, 2025. He has served at IEMA-OHS for over 26 years, most recently as the agency’s Acting Chief of Staff.

Sanjay Gupta was appointed as the Secretary of DoIT in 2023, after a long career as a national IT leader with private and public sector experience. Before serving as DoIT Secretary, Gupta the Chief Information Officer and Chief Technology Officer roles for the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) respectively, spent nearly 20 years in management and consulting for global technology organizations, and served as a board member of the federal Technology Modernization Fund. Under Gupta’s leadership, DoIT advanced many key initiatives: improved fiscal health and accountability, developed meaningful client agency relationships and procurement capacities, and invested in the DoIT workforce.

“I want to personally thank Secretary Gupta for his commitment to serving the State of Illinois,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “His expertise expanded DoIT’s impact across technology and innovation sectors and improved our collaboration with Illinois client agencies. I’m grateful for his work and wish him all the best in his next endeavors.”

Brandon Ragle will serve as DoIT’s interim Secretary beginning on March 21, 2025. He has served DoIT for over eight years, most recently as Deputy Secretary.

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Sen. Durbin’s dangerous idea could worsen the problem he wants to solve

Friday, Mar 7, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Background…

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin wants to sunset Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects websites and apps from liability for posts created by users. Without it, the internet as we know it couldn’t function — the legal risks of interactivity would be too great.

* Durbin’s justification…

Sen. DURBIN: Fentanyl often gets to our kids and young people through the internet.

Section 230 absolves social media companies from any responsibility. “That has got to end.” pic.twitter.com/tIBYcJms4L

— Senate Judiciary Democrats 🇺🇸 (🦋 now on bsky) (@JudiciaryDems) March 6, 2025

Whoa. Not the greatest video he’s ever posted.

* Regardless, his idea is so ridiculous…

20 Comments

Stop Credit Card Chaos In Illinois

Friday, Mar 7, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

A last-minute provision called the Interchange Fee Prohibition Act (IFPA) was snuck into the budget process last May and will create chaos for small businesses and consumers across Illinois if it takes effect on July 1, 2025.

The IFPA gives corporate mega-stores like Walmart and Home Depot — who pushed for this backroom deal — millions more in profits, while small business owners get new expenses and accounting headaches. What’s more, consumers could be forced to pay for parts of their transactions in cash if this law moves forward.

A recent court ruling in the litigation challenging the law suggests IFPA is likely pre-empted by federal law for national banks and will only apply to credit unions and local Illinois banks, putting local banks at a disadvantage against their national competitors.

Illinois lawmakers should repeal the IFPA and focus on protecting small businesses and consumers across the state — not lining the pockets of corporate mega-stores.

Stop the countdown to chaos by supporting a repeal of this misguided and flawed policy. Learn more at https://guardyourcard.com/illinois/

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Friday, Mar 7, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Rep. Kevin Olickal and Niles Township Supervisor Bonnie Ognisanti…

Imagine a domestic violence survivor sleeping in their car because it’s the safest option. Or a person working multiple low-wage jobs, saving for rent while sleeping in a forest preserve. These are real people in our communities. Ticketing and arresting them does not help them escape homelessness; it only worsens their situation by adding fines they cannot afford and creating a criminal record, which further blocks their path to stable housing and employment. […]

Now, at least 25 Illinois municipalities have enacted “camping bans,” with more likely to follow. The penalties are severe: While these ordinances vary, the most common starts with a fine of $75, which can escalate to $2,500 in as little as seven days. If a person receives six citations within two years, they can face up to six months in jail. […]

We believe most local governments are trying to do the best they can based on unjustly limited resources. Many work with faith-based organizations, volunteers, nonprofits, law enforcement, hospitals and other community partners to help people find shelter. Consider what Houston has achieved. It has reduced homelessness by 63% since 2012 through a housing-first approach that includes permanent supportive housing and rental assistance. These solutions provide stability and connect people with essential services to alleviate homelessness without criminalization.

That’s why we are working to pass House Bill 1429, which would ensure that homelessness is not treated as a crime in Illinois. This bill would not prevent local governments from managing public spaces or addressing legitimate safety concerns. Authorities had the power to do so long before the Grants Pass decision, and HB1429 does not take that away. It prohibits municipalities from imposing fines and criminal penalties on people with nowhere else to go.

* WAND…

GOP State Senators are looking to expand criminalization for fentanyl related crimes with a set of bills filed in Springfield.

The effort is spearheaded by Republican lawmakers to answer what they’ve called a “fentanyl crisis.”

“Today we’re not backing down-because our communities need action,” State Sen. Sally Turner (R-Lincoln) said.

Turner, alongside State Sen. Sue Rezin (Morris), proposed four different bills. The first plan would increase criminal penalties for distributing and selling the drug. The second would increase the mandatory prison sentence. The third would require defendants to prove they’re not a public threat when granted pretrial release and the fourth would re-classify fentanyl overdose deaths to fentanyl poisoning, as the lawmakers say many victims don’t knowingly consume fentanyl.

* Rep. Patrick Sheehan…

State Representative Patrick Sheehan (R-Homer Glen) proudly announces that his f bill, HB1938, has successfully passed the committee stage of the legislative process.

“I am thrilled that HB1938 has moved forward in the legislative process, especially as my first bill out of committee,” said Rep. Sheehan. “This legislation is important for improving the efficiency and accountability of our local governments. I am grateful for the committee’s bipartisan support and look forward to continuing to advocate for this bill.”

HB1938 amends the Decennial Committees on Local Government Efficiency Act to make it more precise and applicable. The bill specifically changes the definition of “governmental unit” within the Act to make sure that fire protection districts, which are established under the Fire Protection District Act, are not included in this definition. By doing so, the bill ensures that the rules and guidelines set out in the Act are applied accurately to the appropriate government entities, promoting better management and efficient use of taxpayer resources.
Rep. Sheehan remains committed to working with his colleagues to advance the bill through the legislative process and ultimately to the Governor’s desk for signature.

* WJBD…

State Representative Charlie Meier has introduced the ‘Second Amendment Heritage’ bill package which aims to fortify the 2nd Amendment rights of Illinois citizens. […]

Meier says one of the bills would allow States Attorneys and judges to conceal carry into the courtrooms.

“Our judges, our states attorneys, they have to go into these courthouses, and people know where they live. They’re doing these trials, and they don’t feel safe. They want to be able to have a concealed carry on them as they’re going in and coming out. If we think they have the qualifications to be a judge or state’s attorney, I think they should be qualified to have a concealed carry permit.”

Another bill would lower the age to obtain a FOID card to 18. A third proposal would lower the price to obtain a replacement Conceal and Carry License from $75 to $5 to match the cost of replacing a drivers license.

* Yesterday HB2409 passed out of the Police & Fire Committee unanimously…

Yesterday, the AFFI Legislative Team successfully testified on behalf of HB2409 which would ban the use of PFAS in our turnout gear.
We're happy to report that the bill passed the House Police/Fire Committee! Thank you to Representative Mike Kelly for sponsoring the bill. pic.twitter.com/0OLIATbeUY

— Associated FF of Illinois (@AFFI1935) March 7, 2025

* WAND…

A bill heading to the Illinois House floor could require all 9-1-1 dispatchers to be trained on telecommunicator CPR.

Rep. Lisa Davis (D-Chicago) said Thursday that instructions and guidance from dispatchers could mean the difference between life and death for someone experiencing a medical emergency. […]

“When CPR begins prior to arrival of emergency medical service, the person in cardiac arrest has a two to three fold higher likelihood of survival,” Davis said. “For every minute intervention is delayed, the chance of survival decreases by 10%.”

House Bill 1697 passed unanimously out of the House Police & Fire Committee Thursday morning. The legislation currently has 34 co-sponsors, including Democrats and Republicans.

* Rep. Kevin Schmidt…

State Representative Kevin Schmidt (R-Millstadt) filed legislation to expand recognition to Illinois veterans. House Bill 1421 creates the Veterans Day Paid Leave Act and requires employers to provide each employee who is a veteran with a paid day off on Veterans Day. Rep. Schmidt respects the men and women who have served our country and says his bill is one small way we can tell our veterans thank you.

“We owe our veterans a debt of gratitude for the sacrifices they made to protect the freedoms we all enjoy today,” Rep. Schmidt stated. “My bill is pretty straight forward and would award employees, who provide documents verifying they are a veteran, a paid day off work to celebrate Veterans Day, plus this bill creates an income tax credit to employers who provide a paid day off to their veteran employees.”

Representative Schmidt filed HB1421 to further acknowledge our veterans’ commitment

* WAND…

Democrats and advocates support a bill that expands IDROP, (Illinois Prescription Drug Repository) which is a law that allows citizens to donate expensive prescription drugs so patients without insurance could have free access to them.

Currently, any citizen for any reason can donate unexpired and unopened prescription drugs to pharmacies. This can range from cancer drugs to insulin. These drugs can then be donated to uninsured patients, who cannot afford the thousands of dollars these drugs usually cost.

The expansion includes the Illinois Department of Public Health to oversee the IDROP program by educating more pharmacists of IDROP’s existence and adding a website that shows all pharmacies a part of the program. […]

The plan passed unanimously out of the public health committee, where it will stay on the House floor for the time being as lawmakers contact IDPH about the proposal.

17 Comments

Open thread

Friday, Mar 7, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* What’s going on? Keep it Illinois-centric please…

6 Comments

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

Friday, Mar 7, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: Illinois Gov. takes action to support workers impacted by federal job cuts. Fox 2 Now…

* Related stories…

∙ Press release: Gov. Pritzker and CMS Act to Support Federal Workers
∙ Fox2Now: SIUE hosts job fair to aid former federal workers in job search

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Tribune | ‘I hope people have some kind of compassion’: Illinois patients, hospitals fear potential Medicaid cuts: “It’s pretty much saving my life right now,” said Outlaw, 38, who lives on the city’s West Side. If something happened to Outlaw’s Medicaid coverage, “it’s the end for me,” he said. Outlaw is one of more than 3.4 million people in Illinois on Medicaid — more than one-quarter of the state’s population — who are anxiously watching discussions in Washington, D.C., over the future of the program. In late February, House Republicans passed a budget resolution instructing the committee that oversees Medicaid to cut $880 billion in costs over the next 10 years to help pay for new and existing tax cuts and enhanced border and national security, according to House Republicans.

* ABC Chicago | Victims of SNAP, EBT fraud will no longer be reimbursed for stolen food benefits : Thieves have found a way to steal from people’s SNAP accounts. Now the state of Illinois is telling the I-Team they are no longer able to replace the funds, leaving some families struggling to put food on the table. It is a sophisticated scheme that is affecting people nationwide. Hackers have been clearing out people’s food benefits over the last few years.

* STLPR | Illinois residents had the chance to pick a new flag — they chose the old one In total, Illinoisans cast nearly 384,000 votes in the contest. The current flag earned more than 165,000. Anyone could cast a ballot once per 24 hours during the five-week voting period. While the next closest option received less than 9% of the vote — nearly 57% of votes were cast for a different option. That may signal that the state does indeed want change, said flag enthusiast Ted Kaye, secretary of the North American Vexillological Association.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Capitol News Illinois | Hundreds rally at the Capitol to oppose homeschool bill While the number of homeschooled children is growing, determining the number of children who are educated at home is difficult, as registration is not required. The bill would also require data collection from each Regional Office of Education across Illinois for the first time on the number, grade and age of homeschooled children in their regions.

* State Rep. Barbara Hernandez | Improving teacher diversity is crucial to the success of all students: Now more than ever, Illinois must make a strong and united show of support for MTI and the continued funding of this important effort. In January, I was proud to vote for the passage of a bill that highlights the value and importance of MTI. It is my hope that my colleagues in the Illinois Senate will follow suit with their support of this important program. Despite progress in Illinois, there is still a wide disparity in representation between teachers and their students. While students of color make up 54% of Illinois’ K-12 student population, teachers of color make up only 18% of the teacher workforce in the state.

* Jim Dey | Supreme Court’s ruling on bribes further complicates Madigan, ComEd convictions: The ComEd Four were convicted before the Supreme Court ruled in the Snyder case that post-deal “gratuities” are legal. So U.S. Judge Manish Shah threw out four of the nine convictions, in spite of his comments that evidence showed the utility’s payments were bribes. What’s next? The government may cut its losses and proceed to sentencing on the remaining guilty verdicts. All four face likely prison sentences. Or it may retry the four on bribery charges under different statutory language.

* IPM | Gov. Pritzker: Champaign’s school district is a model for a potential statewide K-12 cell phone ban: “[Champaign Unit 4] has helped to lead the charge in this work implementing its own cell phone policy this year,” Pritzker said. “Teachers, administrators and students have told me that there’s a stark improvement in the overall learning environment.” The Champaign Unit 4 School District banned cell phones in the classroom last fall. Superintendent Shelia Boozer said in a recent survey, Unit 4 families and teachers reported the change is having a positive impact. She said students have been cooperative and are adjusting.

*** Statewide ***

* Sun-Times | Trump’s latest tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China have Illinois businesses facing ’scary times’: On Monday afternoon, Sandya Dandamudi had five trucks racing to cross the Canadian border by midnight. The trucks, full of American granite that was fabricated in Canada, needed to be in the U.S. or they risked being slapped by President Donald Trump’s 25% tariff on Canadian imports. Dandamudi, president of Chicago-based stone supplier GI Stone, said the last truck came in at 11:30 p.m. — a half-hour before the tariffs went into effect.

*** Chicago ***

* Crain’s | Walgreens to be bought by private-equity firm Sycamore for $10B: After several months of rumors that Walgreens Boots Alliance would take itself private, the Deerfield-based pharmacy giant confirmed today that it will sell itself for an equity value of around $10 billion to New York-based private-equity firm Sycamore Partners. Sycamore, which has traditionally specialized in retail and consumer investments, will acquire Walgreens for $11.45 per share in cash, a premium of 29% to the company’s closing share price of $8.85 on Dec. 9, the pharmacy chain said today.

* Crain’s | Small Business Administration closing Chicago office over sanctuary city law: SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler announced Chicago will join five other major U.S. markets in relocating regional offices to “less costly, more accessible locations that better serve the small business community and comply with federal immigration law,” according to a news release today. The department will also begin requiring SBA loan applicants to verify their U.S. citizenship and lenders to confirm that businesses are not owned in whole or in part by people without legal status.

* Block Club | Bomb Threats Made To Jones And Hancock College Prep Were Unfounded, Police Say: Jones was one of two schools to receive threats on Wednesday, according to police. John Hancock College Prep in Clearing on the Southwest Side was also targeted. Both incidents were deemed “non-bonafide” — or unsubstantiated — by police. “It’s a very serious matter. It frightens everybody, the students, the administrators, and the community,” Bird said. “That’s why the officers responded as swiftly as they did, and we had resources on the scene to clear the school and ensure everyone was safe.”

* Block Club | Dogs Keep Getting Shocked Outside Luxury Apartment Downtown — And Tenants Are Desperate For Answers: Emails shared with Block Club Chicago from Feb. 4 show Owczarski addressing concerns about a possible live current in front of the building. “Thank you for the information, Alison. I will inform the maintenance team so they can figure this out ASAP,” management said in an emailed response that same day. The couple thought the issue had been corrected until they heard other residents’ stories, including Johnson’s. Howard and Owczarski said they have since heard similar accounts from at least 20 other dog owners.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Tribune | ‘Notorious’ firearm store linked to illegal weapons closes: A south suburban firearms store once described as “Chicago’s most notorious gun shop” has closed its doors. At Chuck’s Gun Shop and Pistol Range in Riverdale, which for years was known as a leading local source of guns recovered at Chicago crime scenes, a sign taped to the window reads “going fishing forever.” A metal folding gate blocks the storefront that drew activists for “die-ins” as recently as 2022. […] The shop has been the subject of numerous media reports from local and national outlets highlighting the high volume of guns recovered at crime scenes that came from the store, and has drawn protests since at least 2007, when the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. and the Rev. Michael Pfleger were arrested for trespassing while demonstrating outside.

* Fox Chicago | Cook County farm says $200K grant and two other pending grants were canceled: Kakadoodle, located in Matteson, revealed on Facebook that in addition to the $200,000 grant awarded for remodeling a pole barn into a new distribution center, two other pending grants have also been canceled. Furthermore, the company’s steady revenue from moving food to local food banks has halted.

* NBC Chicago | Pace express bus service could expand into west, northwest suburbs: Pace is in the early stages of studying whether to add shoulder-riding buses on I-290 and I-88, potentially expanding express service to the west and northwest suburbs. The suburban bus agency has run buses along the shoulders of I-55 and I-94 for years. Expanding this type of express service to the I-290/88 corridor could reduce travel times, congestion and add more transit options.

* Crain’s | Wirtz family’s proposed Ivanhoe Village has local officials feuding over fees: The Wirtz family’s plan to develop Lake County land it has owned since the mid-19th century into a community of about 3,600 homes will have a big impact on the schools, roads and other services in the area, and planning for that impact has set off a feud between the local school districts and Mundelein village officials. Leaders of the elementary and high school districts say they’ve been sidelined in negotiations over the impact fees the developers of the Ivanhoe Village community should pay. In late February, they published a letter to residents asking for citizens’ support to “demand the Wirtz Family do what’s right for our schools and communities.”

* Eye On Illinois | Guilty plea another step in moving forward after Highland Park tragedy: “We are not the first community to go through this, and we are not the last.” Ashbey Beasley spoke those words to reporters gathered outside the Lake County Courthouse in Waukegan Monday, according to Capitol News Illinois, and it’s difficult to isolate a more searing quote in relation to the guilty plea of the gunman who terrorized the 2022 Highland Park Independence Day parade.

* Daily Herald | Obama archive in Hoffman Estates planned move to Maryland before appearance on DOGE list: But Bob Huber, vice president of investment sales for Imperial Realty Co., which handles the building’s leasing, said the lease was due to end in September 2025 anyway. He sees the change as an opportunity, rather than a hardship. “I am starting to market the thing right now,” Huber said. As soon as the property showed up on DOGE’s list of terminating federal leases, he said he’s been flooded with inquiries about its availability — including about 200 on Wednesday alone.

* NBC Chicago | Illinois’ ‘largest’ fireworks show cancelled for 2025, village board says: The decision was announced at the Itasca Village board meeting Tuesday, where village administrator Carrie Ann Ergo explained that construction happening around the park would make the celebration “logistically unfeasible” for summer 2025. “This was an extremely difficult decision to make,” Ergo said in a statement. “Itasca takes great pride in hosting the biggest and best fireworks show in northern Illinois. Our first priority is always the safety and security of Itasca residents, businesses and visitors. Given the unique challenges presented this year, we cannot confidently recommend hosting fireworks in 2025.”

*** Downstate ***

* Pantagraph | LGBTQ+ town hall focuses on state legislation, safety, rights: wo Central Illinois state lawmakers pledged support for pro-LGBTQ+ legislation at a town hall Thursday that also drew a range of organizations supporting that community in the face of the current U.S. political climate. “We know what’s happening across the country with this hostile administration because we know that they’re attacking LGBTQ people, specifically trans individuals,” said José Wilson, director of civic engagement at Equality Illinois.

* WCIA | Federal funding cuts impact Central Illinois food banks, farmers: “The access to nutritious food is extremely important,” said EIF President and CEO Kelly Daly. EIF distributes millions of pounds of groceries across 18 counties through their mobile distribution program. Daly said they’re not stopping anytime soon, but budget cuts are making it a bit more challenging.

* WAND | Danville gives green light on cannabis lounge: Just under one year after opening their location in Danville, Co-Founder and CEO Brad Zerman said he is appreciative how many people support Seven Point and appealed to City Council. “The community wants it. We had over 325 signed petitions from Danville residents.” Zerman says he hopes to open the lounge in April.

* WAND | ‘It’s a tough spot to be in,’ says brewmaster concerned about tariff on aluminum: Brent Schwoerer, the owner, founder, and brewmaster of Engrained Brewing Company said that he expects to see an increase in their 4-pack beers. “It may be up to a dollar in cost increases, we’re proposing for these 4 packs.” Even beyond the recent tariffs, Schwoerer said that other brewmasters have been seeing an increase in various costs over the past two years.

*** National ***

* FYI…

Guess he liked what he saw at new member orientation. Seventh time (+ a brand new state)'s the charm for a run at Congress?
(2002, 2004, 2008 special, 2008 regular, 2014, 2020…2026) https://t.co/C7gm3AqQ87 pic.twitter.com/1dkH0SuTZY

— Hannah Meisel (@hannahmeisel) March 5, 2025

* AP | War heroes and military firsts are among 26,000 images flagged for removal in Pentagon’s DEI purge: References to a World War II Medal of Honor recipient, the Enola Gay aircraft that dropped an atomic bomb on Japan and the first women to pass Marine infantry training are among the tens of thousands of photos and online posts marked for deletion as the Defense Department works to purge diversity, equity and inclusion content, according to a database obtained by The Associated Press. The database, which was confirmed by U.S. officials and published by AP, includes more than 26,000 images that have been flagged for removal across every military branch. But the eventual total could be much higher.

* Tribune | President Trump signs executive order to establish government bitcoin reserve: Under Trump’s new order, the U.S. government will retain the estimated 200,000 bitcoin it’s already seized in criminal and civil proceedings, according to Trump’s “crypto czar” David Sacks. “The U.S. will not sell any bitcoin deposited into the Reserve. It will be kept as a store of value. The Reserve is like a digital Fort Knox for the cryptocurrency often called ‘digital gold,’” Sacks said on social media.

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Friday, Mar 7, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Selected press releases (Live updates)

Friday, Mar 7, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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Isabel’s afternoon roundup

Friday, Mar 7, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Click here and/or here to follow breaking news. Hopefully, enough reporters and news outlets migrate to BlueSky so we can hopefully resume live-posting.

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Thursday, Mar 6, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* News-Gazette…

Gov. J.B. Pritzker visited Centennial High School this morning to discuss his proposal to deal with an issue that he said impacts students both in terms of academic success and social-emotional development: cell phone use in classroom.

Pritzker is calling for legislation that would ban the use of phones in classrooms, albeit with some exceptions, including emergencies, situations where a teacher gives permission, support for English-learner students and if the phone is necessitated by an IEP, 504 plan or physician’s order.

“Champaign Unit 4 has helped lead the charge in this work,” he said.

Unit 4 Superintendent Shelia Boozer said that the district’s own policy, which was introduced earlier this school year and limits phone use, has had a “positive impact,” according to a recent survey of teachers and families.

* Crain’s…

Battery maker Gotion is planning to start production soon at its Manteno factory and ramp up hiring.

The company will begin making commercial energy-storage products later this month, according to sources briefed on the matter. Such equipment is used for solar- and wind-energy projects, as well as other industrial applications.

Production of electric-vehicle batteries is expected to start by the end of the year.

It’s a tangible sign that a major project, which is one of JB Pritzker’s biggest economic development achievements as governor, is moving forward.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Capitol News Illinois | High school student helps draft bill to require opioid overdose medications in Illinois libraries: A senior at the Illinois Math and Science Academy, the Elgin native is working with her local state representative on a bill that would require public libraries to keep on hand medications that can reverse an opioid overdose. The legislation would also require libraries to always have at least one staff member working who is trained on responding to an overdose situation.

* Illinois Times | Illinois civil forfeiture rules get a D grade: The case of a former southern Illinois police chief accused of selling for personal gain vehicles seized during a criminal investigation is giving rise to an effort to change state law to require law enforcement to better track what they do with other people’s possessions. At least three bills introduced in recent weeks are aimed at improving transparency and providing data to accurately show what happens to seized property after police seize vehicles, firearms, cash and other items while looking into crime. Bill HB-1628 would require police to file an annual report of seized assets, the suspected crime, and accompanying information related to the original owner.

*** Chicago ***

* Crain’s | City denies school board push for debt to pay pension bill: The city will not borrow on behalf of Chicago Public Schools, Cassio Mendoza, a spokesperson for Mayor Brandon Johnson, said on Thursday in response to a proposed budget amendment from the district. School officials suggested another entity issue debt to help cover a portion of the roughly $300 million of additional expenses related to pending teacher and principal contracts as well as an outstanding pension bill that it owes the city.

* Tribune | City begins rehousing efforts for Gompers Park homeless encampment residents: Residents met individually with caseworkers and ate a meal. They virtually toured available apartment units, completed housing applications, could potentially meet with landlords, and chose furniture options for their new apartment, according to Maura McCauley, acting commissioner of the Department of Family and Support Services.

* WTTW | Pay Activist Miracle Boyd, Struck by Cop at 2020 Grant Park Protest, $280K, City Lawyers Recommend: Chicago taxpayers should pay $280,000 to activist Miracle Boyd, who was struck by a Chicago police officer during a protest in Grant Park near the Christopher Columbus statue in July 2020, city lawyers recommended. The Chicago City Council’s Finance Committee is scheduled to consider settling Boyd’s lawsuit on Monday, which would add to the toll to defend and settle lawsuits alleging Chicago police officers committed a wide range of misconduct during the protests and unrest during the summer of 2020 triggered by the police murder of George Floyd. A final vote of the City Council could come Wednesday.

* WTTW | Ex-Correctional Officer Accused of Sexually Abusing Inmates in Chicago’s Federal Prison: A former correctional officer assigned to a female unit at Chicago’s federal detention has been accused of sexually assaulting four inmates while on duty in late 2023. Brittany Hall, 31, of Chicago, was charged this week with five counts of sexual abuse of a ward and three counts of abusive sexual contact. She is scheduled to be arraigned in federal court in downtown Chicago on Thursday afternoon.

* Daily Southtown | Fire destroys magnesium factory in Dixmoor, crews work to secure area, monitor air quality: Most of the damage was visible at the back of the Chicago Magnesium Casting Co., 14101 Seeley Ave. Nicor Gas crews were on site and warned an unstable wall in the back of the facility posed a safety hazard and is at risk of collapse. Chicago Magnesium was founded in 1953 as an aluminum and sand casting foundry specializing in aerospace, according to the company’s website. The company produces castings for helicopters, jet fighters, jumbo transports and regional jets, serving both military and commercial sectors, the website states.

* WTTW | New Field Museum Exhibit Showcases Africa’s World of High Fashion: “We hope to tell a story that’s about agency, about abundance and about unbounded creativity,” said Christine Checinska, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London’s inaugural senior curator of African and diaspora textiles and fashion, and lead curator of the exhibit. “It’s what I see as the magnificence of African creativity. Within that, we want to tell a story that gives a glimpse into the glamour and the politics of the African fashion scene.”

* Chicago Reader | Renzell grows a hip-hop oasis at Studio Shapes: Renzell opened Studio Shapes in late 2022 in a different space in Albany Park, and in the years since, it’s blossomed beautifully, growing through word of mouth into a buzzing hub that caters to Chicago’s hip-hop community. Today a diverse array of accomplished and ambitious Chicago creatives frequent Studio Shapes, seeking a haven for connection, networking, and growth.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Journal & Topics | Personal Firearm Slips From Niles Mayor’s Hands, Accidentally Goes Off: While removing a small shotgun from the office of his restaurant in Morton Grove at about 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15, Niles Mayor George Alpogianis dropped the weapon and it discharged, injuring himself and a co-worker. “On Saturday, Feb. 15, while leaving my restaurant outside of my back office, I accidentally discharged my personal firearm while preparing to take it to a gun shop for routine cleaning,” Alpogianis said in a written statement. “As I removed the weapon, it slipped from my grip, and when I attempted to catch it, it discharged. It was pointed at the ground.

* Press Release | Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul endorses Mayor Daniel Biss for re-election: “Daniel has a long track record of fighting for Evanstonians. From our time working closely together in the statehouse to his time as Mayor, Daniel has always stood up for what’s right. In his first term, Daniel made major progress on the issues he campaigned on – from public safety reform to affordable housing and economic development. Daniel has a real track record of results,” said Attorney General Raoul.

* Daily Herald | Kane County Chair makes pitch for $51 million sales tax referendum: Kane County voters will consider a 0.75% retail sales tax increase on the April 1 ballot, a request from the county intended to bring in $51 million in revenue to support public safety. Board Chair Corinne Pierog made a nearly hourlong presentation at an Aurora Area League of Women Voters Zoom meeting Tuesday night, detailing the county’s needs.

* Daily Herald | Tempers flare, accusations fly as Mount Prospect approves additional testing of Prestige Feed: Mount Prospect village trustees agreed to hire a Chicago firm to test for possible health risks connected with animal feed producer Prestige Feed Products. Trustees voted Tuesday to retain RHP Risk Management at a cost of $69,000 to conduct an airborne chemical assessment.

* Evanston Now | Honoring the students you don’t always see: When Keira Joseph was called to the front of the school assembly on Thursday morning, she was pushed there in a wheelchair. Keira, a fifth grader, was one of the two students at Park School to be named a recipient of the District 65/District 202 African American Youth Achievement (AAYA)Awards.

*** Downstate ***

* Muddy River News | No answer in sight as airport officials wait for Department of Transportation to award new EAS contract: The City of Quincy continues to wait for an answer from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to confirm that Contour Airlines of Smyrna, Tenn., will be the essential air service (EAS) provider for Quincy Regional Airport for the next four years. The Quincy City Council voted on Jan. 21 to have Mayor Mike Troup send official notification of the city’s recommendation of Contour to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Contour’s proposal called for providing 12 round-trip flights from Quincy to Chicago each week.

* BND | Metro-east couple with ‘lavish lifestyle’ charged in $7M school meal fraud case, feds say: Williams and Warford used the money to buy a $1.4 million home in Edwardsville, a 2018 Lincoln Navigator, a 2019 Ram 1500 Rebel pickup, a 2011 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica and two 2021 Ram Promaster vans. They also spent $140,000 on extravagant vacations, $100,000 on furniture, home electronics and landscaping for their new home, more than $50,000 in school tuition payments and $460,000 on Warford’s mother.

* WSIL | 2×4 in tree on display for Tri-State Tornado 100th Anniversary: The Jackson County Historical Society stated they have the unique item on display for visitors to come look at. The item is a Maple tree with a 2X4 piece of wood driven through it which occurred during the F5 tornado of 1925. This item was cut down and shipped to Springfield to be part of the state archives and is temporarily on display at the Jackson County Historical Society during the 100th anniversary event.

* WREX | Northern Illinois Food Bank opens doors at former Kmart location: “We have a really nice flow set up now, open shopping,” said Chris White, Chief Operating Officer at the Northern Illinois Food Bank. It’s a place where you grab a cart and get the items that you need most to make the meal you choose for your family. But what’s different about this grocery trip: it’s all free.

* WSIL | Thrillville Thrillbillies Announce Major Changes for 2025 Season: Thrillbillies Baseball is about more than just the game — it’s about crafting an unforgettable fan experience. That’s why the team is introducing the All You Can Eat Ticket! For just $20, fans will receive a game ticket + unlimited access to their favorite ballpark bites at Mtn Dew Park.

*** National ***

* CJR | We Compared Eight AI Search Engines. They’re All Bad at Citing News: Overall, the chatbots often failed to retrieve the correct articles. Collectively, they provided incorrect answers to more than 60 percent of queries. Across different platforms, the level of inaccuracy varied, with Perplexity answering 37 percent of the queries incorrectly, while Grok 3 had a much higher error rate, answering 94 percent of the queries incorrectly.

* NBC | Republicans can’t meet their own budget target without cutting Medicare or Medicaid, budget office says: House Republicans can’t meet their own budget target that is necessary to pass President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda without making significant cuts to Medicare or Medicaid, the official budget scorekeeper confirmed Wednesday. House Republicans adopted a budget blueprint last week that opens the door to pass Trump’s policy priorities on immigration, energy and taxes. It instructs the House Energy and Commerce Committee to cut spending under its jurisdiction by $880 billion.

* NYT | Fearing Retribution, Trump Critics Muzzle Themselves: Fired federal workers who are worried about losing their homes ask not to be quoted by name. University presidents fearing that millions of dollars in federal funding could disappear are holding their fire. Chief executives alarmed by tariffs that could hurt their businesses are on mute. Even longtime Republican hawks on Capitol Hill, stunned by President Trump’s revisionist history that Ukraine is to blame for its invasion by Russia, and his Oval Office blowup at President Volodymyr Zelensky, have either muzzled themselves, tiptoed up to criticism without naming Mr. Trump or completely reversed their positions.

* WIRED | Social Security Workers Aren’t Allowed to Read This Story: New internet restrictions at the embattled SSA have cut off access to WIRED, along with other “general news” websites like The Washington Post and The New York Times.

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Campaign update

Thursday, Mar 6, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Thursday, Mar 6, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From ILGOP Chair Kathy Salvi…

I just went on Fox News to expose JB Pritzker’s grandstanding and demand real leadership for Illinois. Pritzker is once again playing politics instead of leading—this time, trying to shift the blame for his failures onto President Trump’s administration and demand a bailout for Illinois’ financial disaster.

Illinois doesn’t need Pritzker’s political theater—we need leadership that puts taxpayers first.

Watch my appearance on Fox News to see for yourself:

Watch it and rate it…

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When RETAIL Succeeds, Illinois Succeeds

Thursday, Mar 6, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Findings of a recent economic study were clear — the retail sector is a cornerstone of the state’s economy and crucial to our everyday lives. Retail in Illinois directly contributes more than $112 billion in economic investment annually – more than 10 percent of the state’s total Gross Domestic Product.

Retailers like Stacy and Amanda enrich our economy and strengthen our communities. We Are Retail and IRMA showcase the retailers who make Illinois work.

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Roundup: Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson fends off congressional Republicans (Updated)

Thursday, Mar 6, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* [From Rich: I think the bar was set so super-low for Johnson that he cleared it. Also, local Chicago reporters who relentlessly hyped the mayor’s appearance may have failed to consider that Congress is chock full of people who almost solely exist to go viral on social media or appear on their particular factions’ cable news programs. The congresscritters proved to be far less formidable than the pre-hearing hype suggested. Johnson’s rehearsed answers clearly frustrated committee members hoping to knock him off script. And it helped that some of the other mayors, particularly Boston’s, did quite well.]

* Sun-Times political columnist Lynn Sweet…

What a good day for beleaguered Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. He was attacked by several Republicans for polling 6% in one survey, which is pretty lousy. Another Republican committee member tried to make Johnson look bad in the wake of the city’s inspector general report a few weeks ago that he did not properly report luxury gifts — not good, but later rectified.

Johnson had a good day because he avoided disaster while he defended Chicago’s “Welcoming City” Ordinance, in place since 1985. The law does not block federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from doing their jobs. When proper and legal, Chicago does cooperate with federal authorities.

Johnson was calm, measured, soft-spoken and disciplined, with days of prep since landing in Washington Sunday. The city hired the D.C. law firm Debevoise & Plimpton, whose partners have expertise in prepping witnesses for high-stakes hearings.

For Johnson, absorbing a few insults about being unpopular and taking a punch about not disclosing gifts in this context was nothing.

* Fran Spielman and Mitchell Armentrout at the Sun-Times…

Under questioning from Pennsylvania Republican Scott Perry, Johnson was asked to define Chicago’s 40-year-old sanctuary city policy.

“You have welcomed 51,648 aliens to your sanctuary city. So I ask you: Sanctuary from what?” Perry said.

Johnson replied, “If you’re referring to the number of individuals that were bused by [Texas Gov. Greg] Abbott without any coordination — the 52,000 individuals that were seeking asylum — those individuals were bused to us.”

Johnson said he “passed a bus ordinance to work to coordinate with” Abbott, but “he refused to do that.”

“So, you don’t care about federal law enforcement policies. Only local policies,” Perry later said. Johnson stood his ground.

“We comply with all laws. What I do care about is this body — Washington — passing comprehensive immigration reform,” Chicago’s mayor replied.

* Tribune…

GOP Illinois Rep. Darin LaHood, not a member of the committee, joined at the end and launched into a detailed takedown of the mayor. “I’ve been amazed at how tone-deaf you have been and how oblivious you’ve been to the decline of Chicago,” LaHood said.

Johnson fired back by saying crime has gone down since he’s been mayor. Chicago ended 2024 with a 7% drop in shootings, per police data, though its gun violence epidemic still far outpaces that of the other cities represented Wednesday.

“I will not apologize for my investments in the people of Chicago,” Johnson told the congressman. “We have one of the most diverse economies, the top universities. As violence continues to go down and investments continue to go up, that is what’s most important.” […]

Multiple GOP members said the mayors deserve to be prosecuted for their sanctuary policies, picking up on the Trump Justice Department’s January memo ordering the investigation of state and local officials who “threaten to impede” the president’s immigration crackdown. Florida GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna declared: “Unfortunately, based on your responses, I’m all going to be criminally referring you to the Department of Justice for investigation.”

* WTTW…

Few of the questions from Republican members of the committee reflected an understanding of Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance, which does not require city officials to encourage immigrants to move to Chicago nor does it obligate officials to use taxpayer funds to care for immigrants in Chicago.

In addition, most of the migrants who made their way to Chicago after crossing the southern border, are not undocumented after requesting asylum and getting permission to remain in the United States while their cases are resolved.

Since Trump took office, many undocumented immigrants have returned to life in the city’s shadows, for fear of exposing themselves or their families to deportation, immigrant advocates said.

* Crain’s…

“These policies only create sanctuaries for criminals,” Rep. James Comer, a Kentucky Republican who is chairman of the committee, said in his opening statement. “Sanctuary policies violate federal immigration law by protecting criminal aliens at the expense of the American people.”

Comer said that in Chicago, “an illegal alien who was recently arrested for killing a 63-year-old man had previously been arrested in Chicago for trying to lure a child. (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) lodged a detainer against the criminal alien, but Chicago authorities released him back onto the street because of the city’s reckless sanctuary policy. And now an innocent man is dead because of Chicago’s refusal to follow the law.”

When Comer pressed Johnson on that case, the Chicago mayor said, “We do not harbor criminals.” The city routinely cooperates with federal authorities when they have a criminal warrant, he said.

“With a criminal warrant,” Johnson said, immigrant suspects “are subject to federal laws, and that includes deportation.”

* WBEZ…

But it was not a flawless performance. At one point, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., asked Johnson how much the city has spent to support migrants.

In his prep, Johnson was advised to give a percentage, instead of a raw number, to paint how small the amount is in the broader context. […]

But it might have left people wondering whether he knew his facts.

“If you don’t have a hard number, you’re not running your city well,” Donalds quipped.

…Adding… [From Rich: The Illinois House Republicans appear to acknowledge that the DC hearing could’ve gone better.] HRO press release…

Following the Congressional hearing on sanctuary city policies and Mayor Brandon Johnson’s embarrassing testimony, Illinoisans are left with more questions than answers on how taxpayer dollars are being used to support illegal immigrants. The Illinois House Republican Organization is calling on House Democrats to demand that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson testify before a legislative committee in Springfield after his evasive and inadequate responses before Congress.

* More…

* NYT | Brandon Johnson Counters Republican Attacks at ‘Sanctuary City’ Hearing: At times, especially when responding to friendly questions from Democrats, Mr. Johnson pushed back against Republicans’ characterizations of Chicago, which generally ranged from unflattering to dystopian. Mr. Johnson talked about Chicago’s business growth and its airport, and used the stage to call Chicago the best “freakin’ city in the world,” one of his favorite phrases.

* Block Club | Mayor Johnson Forcefully Defends Chicago’s Sanctuary Status During Congressional Hearing: Texas Rep. Brandon Gill, a far-right Republican married to the daughter of conservative activist Dinesh D’Souza, later got into an extended exchange with Johnson over issues with little or no relation to the city’s Welcoming City ordinance. That included ripping Johnson over the city’s so-called gift room, which was the subject of an Inspector General report published in late January that took aim at an informal agreement over how the mayor and his staff accept gifts on behalf of the city.

* Fox Chicago | Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson testifies in front of House committee: Lori Lightfoot reacts: Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot criticized the hearings as a “sideshow.” Lightfoot, who lost reelection to Johnson in the mayoral primary in 2023, reportedly helped her successor prepare for the hearing. The trained attorney told Fox 32 that she approached it like she was preparing a witness.

* ABC Chicago | Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson testifies in DC at sanctuary city hearing: “The advice I would have given him going in was certainly to stay focused, not to go off message, to stay on message, not to be baited,” political consultant Delmarie Cobb said.

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Federal judge issues sweeping preliminary injunction against Trump administration’s unilateral budget cuts: ‘An agency is not harmed by an order prohibiting it from violating the law’

Thursday, Mar 6, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Background is here if you need it. From ABC News…

A federal judge on Thursday issued a nationwide injunction blocking the Trump administration from freezing federal funding without going through Congress — offering a scathing critique of what he said was the White House’s attempt to disrupt the separation of powers.

The judge, U.S. District Judge John McConnell, had already issued a temporary order in January blocking the freeze. Thursday’s injunction effectively finalized that order and will allow the Trump administration to appeal the ruling — though they had already tried to do so and were denied.

The injunction prohibits the Trump administration from “reissuing, adopting, implementing, giving effect to, or reinstating under a different name” a short-lived directive issued by the Office of Management and Budget that froze billions in funds.

“The Executive’s categorical freeze of appropriated and obligated funds fundamentally undermines the distinct constitutional roles of each branch of our government,” McConnell wrote in Thursday’s ruling. “The interaction of the three co-equal branches of government is an intricate, delicate, and sophisticated balance — but it is crucial to our form of constitutional governance. Here, the Executive put itself above Congress.”

* From the injunction…

The Executive’s categorical freeze of appropriated and obligated funds fundamentally undermines the distinct constitutional roles of each branch of our government. The interaction of the three co-equal branches of government is an intricate, delicate, and sophisticated balance—but it is crucial to our form of constitutional governance. Here, the Executive put itself above Congress. It imposed a categorical mandate on the spending of congressionally appropriated and obligated funds without regard to Congress’s authority to control spending. Federal agencies and departments can spend, award, or suspend money based only on the power Congress has given to them–they have no other spending power. The Executive has not pointed to any constitutional or statutory authority that would allow them to impose this type of categorical freeze. The Court is not limiting the Executive’s discretion or micromanaging the administration of federal funds. Rather, consistent with the Constitution, statutes, and caselaw, the Court is simply holding that the Executive’s discretion to impose its own policy preferences on appropriated funds can be exercised only if it is authorized by the congressionally approved appropriations statutes. Accordingly, based on these principles and the reasons stated below, the Court grants the States’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction.

* Oof…

Even if the States’ claims were targeted at these “thousands” of funding streams, their inability to feasibly take a program-by-program, grant-by-grant approach to raising their challenges is the consequence of the Defendants’ broad, sweeping efforts to indefinitely stop nearly all faucets of federal funding from flowing to carry out the President’s policy priorities, without regard to Congressional authorizations. One cannot set one’s house on fire and then complain that the firefighters smashed all the windows and put a hole in the roof trying to put it out.

* More…

The Court found at the TRO stage that the States would suffer irreparable harm if the Defendants’ blanket freeze of appropriated and obligated funds, which currently has no end date, were not enjoined. After a full briefing and hearing on the merits where the Defendants presented no answer, no evidence, and no counter to the States’ extensive evidence of still frozen funds and the harm resulting, the Court finds that the unrefuted evidence shows irreparable and continuing harm.

In their Complaint, preliminary injunction motion, and during the argument thereon, the States laid out scores of examples of obligated funding and the harm that withholding such funding has caused. It is so obvious that it almost need not be stated that when money is obligated and therefore expected (particularly money that has been spent and reimbursement is sought) and is not paid as promised, harm follows—debt is incurred, debt is unpaid, essential health and safety services stop, and budgets are upended. And when there is no end in sight to the Defendants’ funding freeze, that harm is amplified because those served by the expected but frozen funds have no idea when the promised monies will flow again. ]…]

The States have presented unrebutted evidence of the harm they are suffering and will continue to suffer due to this categorical funding freeze. The Court will not recount each instance but will summarize the “highlights” and note that while the States are the plaintiffs in this Court, it is their citizens, often our most vulnerable citizens, who are enduring much of the harm resulting from these arbitrary and capricious acts. The Court makes the following factual findings based on the record evidence.

And then he goes on to list Head Start and other childcare programs, federal funding for education, Medicaid programs, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (“CHIP”), and other health care programs, law enforcement and public safety agencies, emergency management and preparedness, job training, workforce development, and unemployment programs, ” critical transportation infrastructure, such as the $60 million in promised reimbursement for the costs of removal and salvage of debris from the Francis Scott Key Bridge for which Maryland is awaiting,” etc.

“Congress enacted these statutes and appropriated these funds for legitimate reasons, and the Defendants’ categorical freeze, untethered to any statute, regulation, or grant term, frustrates those reasons, and causes significant and irreparable harms to the States.”

* Back to the opinion…

Even with the Court’s TRO in place, state agencies continue to experience interruptions to access and inconsistent ability to draw down funds from grants funded by IIJA and IRA appropriations. Some funding has been restored in federal funding portals, but others appear to have been removed. … And nothing in the Defendants’ briefing or oral presentation reassures the States that federal agencies, under the Executive’s directives, will fulfill their funding obligations in the future. … This litany of struggles experienced in the last seven weeks unquestionably constitute irreparable harm to the States. […]

An agency is not harmed by an order prohibiting it from violating the law.

On the other hand, without injunctive relief to pause the categorical freeze, the funding that the States are due and owed creates an indefinite limbo. Without the injunction, Congressional control of spending will have been usurped by the Executive without constitutional or statutory authority.

In light of the unrebutted evidence that the States and their citizens are currently facing and will continue to face a significant disruption in health, education, and other public services that are integral to their daily lives due to this overly broad pause in federal funding, the Court finds that the public interest lies in maintaining the status quo and enjoining any categorical funding freeze.

* The preliminary injunction…

The Agency Defendants are enjoined from reissuing, adopting, implementing, giving effect to, or reinstating under a different name the directives in OMB Memorandum M-25-13 (the “OMB Directive”) with respect to the disbursement and transmission of appropriated federal funds to the States under awarded grants, executed contracts, or other executed financial obligations.

The Agency Defendants are enjoined from pausing, freezing, blocking, canceling, suspending, terminating, or otherwise impeding the disbursement of appropriated federal funds to the States under awarded grants, executed contracts, or other executed financial obligations based on the OMB Directive, including funding freezes dictated, described, or implied by Executive Orders issued by the President before rescission of the OMB Directive or any other materially similar order, memorandum, directive, policy, or practice under which the federal government imposes or applies a categorical pause or freeze of funding appropriated by Congress. This includes, but is by no means not limited to, Section 7(a) of Executive Order 14154, Unleashing American Energy.

he Defendants must provide written notice of this Order to all federal departments and agencies to which the OMB Directive was addressed. The written notice shall instruct those departments and agencies that they may not take any steps to implement, give effect to, or reinstate under a different name or through other means the directives in the OMB Directive with respect to the disbursement or transmission of appropriated federal funds to the States under awarded grants, executed contracts, or other executed financial obligations.

There’s more to the preliminary injunction, so click here. But here’s the kicker…

Additionally, based on its findings that the States: (1) are entitled to a preliminary injunction; and (2) will be irreparably harmed without this Order, the Court DENIES the Defendants’ request to stay this Order pending appeal to the First Circuit.

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Illinois might stick with its ‘seal on a bedsheet’ flag after all

Thursday, Mar 6, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Tribune…

A hearing on legislation that would allow terminally ill people to end their lives with the help of a physician was postponed Wednesday as lawmakers sought more time to refine the proposal, which advocates are again pushing after failing to get a version through the General Assembly last year.

The measure would legalize medical aid in dying, often referred to as physician-assisted suicide or medically-assisted death, allowing mentally competent, terminally ill adults the right to access life-ending prescription medication. […]

The legislation, filed by state Sen. Linda Holmes, an Aurora Democrat, was pulled from the agenda of a Senate Executive Committee hearing as lawmakers sought to add at least one amendment. Details over how the bill would be changed were not clear.

The measure is opposed by disability rights advocates and the Catholic church, which say it could lead to discrimination, coercion and abuse. Some medical practitioners also are against it.

* WAND…

A bill moving to the Illinois House floor would require the Illinois Board of Higher Education to distribute a stipend of up to $10,000 per semester for student teachers.

Advocates estimate the new stipend program could cost $68 million, but Advance Illinois is only requesting $10 million to start the program. […]

The legislation would also allow the Illinois State Board of Education to provide $2,000 per semester to eligible cooperating teachers.

House Bill 1375 passed out of the House Higher Education Committee on a 10-1 vote Wednesday night.

* WBEZ…

Advocates pushing to repeal Illinois’ so-called “truth-in-sentencing” law are urging patience as they navigate competing bills through a General Assembly that’s still politically wary of voting on sweeping criminal justice reforms.

Lawmakers and advocacy groups in the Credit for Change coalition are debating whether to go for a complete repeal of the law via House Bill 2367 (formerly H.B. 5219), or whether to take an incremental approach with H.B. 3449.

Truth-in-sentencing laws are a big reason many people in prisons nationwide are serving long sentences. Illinois’ law, passed in 1998, makes people convicted of certain crimes serve at least 75% of their sentences before being eligible for release. Before that, they often got released after serving half their sentences.

Sponsored by State Rep. Justin Slaughter, D-Chicago, H.B. 3449 would chip away at the state’s truth-in-sentencing statute by reducing the amount of time people locked up under the law have to serve by 25 percentage points. For example, someone currently required to serve 100% of their sentence would only have to serve 75%, and someone now serving 85% would have their time recalculated to 60%.

* Chalkbeat Chicago…

Early morning swim practice, a full day of school, evening swim meets, and homework after school is a lot to manage for Maya Anderson. It’s even harder when she doesn’t get enough sleep.

Anderson, a student at Libertyville High School in a suburb north of Chicago, said not getting enough sleep can impact her focus, mood, and performance after a long day. She often struggles to stay awake in class and craves a few more minutes of rest.

It’s why Anderson and two other Libertyville High students — Benjamin Ratner and Addie Krupinski — are advocating for a bill in Springfield that would require public high schools to start no earlier than 8:45 a.m.

Libertyville High School starts at 8:45 a.m., and Anderson acknowledged that she still struggles to balance sleep and her daily activities. But she told state lawmakers at the House Education Policy Committee on Wednesday that her school has seen an overall increase in academic performance and students’ well-being since pushing the start time back in the fall of 2018, although she didn’t highlight particular academic data. […]

It’s not clear what will happen to the bill next. [Rep. Laura Faver Dias] said the goal of Wednesday’s committee hearing was to show lawmakers that the issue is important to high school students’ well-being.

* Brownfield Ag News…

The president of the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association (IFCA) says proposed legislation in the state legislature would ban some important herbicides.

K.J. Johnson tells Brownfield, “This would be an all-out ban on 2, 4-D ester.” He says, “This is some of your older formalizations of 2, 4-D, but we still use a lot in burn downs. If you use a 2, 4-D as a burn down in fall or spring, it’s probably a 2, 4-D ester.” […]

“That would be the first time we’ve ever banned an actual one-off product in the state of Illinois.” He says, “We have some major concerns.”

Johnson says IFCA is also opposing legislation that would require any pesticide applicator to provide written or email notice 72 hours prior to a pesticide application within half a mile to schools or parks.

* WAND…

“I don’t want to take any threats lightly,” said State Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer (R-Jacksonville) as he talked about his new bill that could prevent school gun violence before it happens.

When a teacher learns a students threatened one of their classmates with a gun, the proposal would force that teacher to contact the principal. After that, the principal would have to contact the family members involved.

Davidsmeyer filed this bill after he heard of a bullying incident, where a student threatened another kid with a gun. When the kid told the teacher of this incident, they did not report it to the principal.

The Republican lawmaker wanted a plan to reduce school gun violence while not impeding on Illinoisan Second Amendment rights.

* Rep. Mike Crawford…

State Rep. Mike Crawford, D-Chicago, is cracking down on unsolicited telemarketer calls that bombard people with unnecessary and often fraudulent offers by introducing tough new phone privacy legislation.

“State law is far too lax when it comes to stopping marketing schemes from pestering seniors and families with constant phone calls asking them to sign up for whatever good or service they’re selling, even after they’ve been specifically asked to be removed from their call lists,” Crawford said. “These calls are interfering with emergency calls, notifications from local governments and utilities, and from legitimate companies that constituents trust and have existing business with. I am committed to seeing this debate on the House Floor and providing real relief for families rightfully outraged at these for-profit scammers and marketers.”

Crawford’s House Bill 2435 cracks down on companies who solicit callers with goods or services unless explicit consent is given to receive automated solicitation. Current law allows registered salespersons and auto dialers to circumvent prohibitions on solicitation, even after recipients asked to be removed from their call lists. The legislation allows for those who consent to receive these calls to revoke their consent at any time and levies a $500 fine per violation of the recipient’s consent.

HB2435 has been assigned to the House Consumer Protection Committee.

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Thursday, Mar 6, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias…

Drum roll please…🥁 After receiving 385,000 votes, we have a DECISIVE winner in the state flag redesign contest! The Illinois Flag Commission will now report the results to the General Assembly who will vote on whether to adopt a new flag or keep the current one. pic.twitter.com/CS3RMesLH6

— Secretary Alexi Giannoulias (@ILSecOfState) March 6, 2025

* WGN…

Of the nearly 385,000 votes that were received, over 165,000 — or 43 percent — were cast for the current Illinois state flag. In fact, it received more votes than the next five top designs combined.

“Some may call it an ‘SOB’ — a seal on a bedsheet — and the vexillological (study of flags) community may hate it, but people overwhelmingly prefer our current state flag,” Giannoulias said in a news release. “Thank you to everyone who made their voice heard on the future of this important symbol of state pride.”

The Illinois Flag Commission will prepare a report detailing its findings and recommendations to the state’s General Assembly by April 1. Lawmakers will then vote on whether to adopt a new state flag, return to a previous iteration, or keep the current one.

* The voting breakdown…

Thoughts?

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Open thread

Thursday, Mar 6, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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

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What Is A Credit Union?

Thursday, Mar 6, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

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SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition

Thursday, Mar 6, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: State lawmakers brace for possible federal cuts to Medicaid. Capitol News Illinois…

“This is it. This is absolutely it. This is the line,” said Carrie Chapman, senior director of litigation and advocacy at Legal Council for Health Justice, a Chicago-based advocacy group. “Medicaid stays or goes as the program that we’ve know it right now.”[…]

Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, who serves on the committee, said Wednesday that the decision about future federal Medicaid funding is in the hands of the Republican-controlled Congress. He urged GOP members of the General Assembly to use their influence to persuade the three Illinois Republicans in the U.S. House to vote against cutting Medicaid funding. […]

Republicans on the panel argued that the subject of federal budget negotiations was beyond the scope of the state legislative committee’s purview and suggested Wednesday’s hearing was more about partisan politics than solving the state’s budget issues.

* Related stories…

∙ Center Square: With funding cuts to Medicaid possible, Illinois Dems discuss impacts
∙ WQAD: Illinois lawmakers brace for possible federal cuts to Medicaid

* At 11 am Governor Pritzker will be in Champaign to amplify his proposal to ban cell phones in school classrooms. Click here to watch.
* BlueRoomStream.com’s coverage of today’s press conferences and committee hearings can be found here.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* WCBU | State climatologist highlights concerns over NWS, NOAA cuts: Trent Ford, the Illinois State Climatologist based at the University of Illinois’ Prairie Research Institute, says the cuts will have wide-ranging detrimental effects, limiting the ability to inform the public about threats from severe and high-impact weather. “Whether you’re a farmer, whether you are a backyard gardener or water manager, no matter who it is, we’re all touched by the National Weather Service,” Ford said in an interview with WCBU. “That’s just obvious by living any year in the central Illinois area and going through warnings and advisory periods of extreme weather.

* Sun-Times | Illinois sees drops in opioid and drug overdose deaths for the first time since 2018: According to an Illinois Department of Public Health report, Illinois recorded an 8.3% decrease in overall drug overdose deaths in 2023, exceeding a nationwide decline of 4%. Opioid overdose deaths dropped 9.7%, compared to 3% nationally. In total, 3,502 people died from an overdose in Illinois in 2023, which is 317 fewer than in 2022, data show. The state believes increased naloxone distribution throughout the state, community outreach through harm reduction organizations and drug overdose prevention programs, the availability of fentanyl test strips and improved access to treatment and medication-assisted recovery have contributed to the decrease in deaths.

*** Statehouse News ***

* WTTW | Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul on the Trump Administration, Birthright Citizenship and DEI: In the six weeks since President Donald Trump has returned to the White House, nearly 100 legal challenges have been filed against the administration’s executive orders, according to the digital law and policy journal Just Security. Illinois has joined in on the conversations that range from the federal funding freeze to diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace. Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined WTTW News’ “Chicago Tonight” to talk about how his office’s priorities have shifted under a new era of American leadership.

* Capitol News Illinois | Legislative revenue estimate more than $700M lower than Pritzker’s proposed budget: Lawmakers’ projections for revenues in the coming year aren’t as high as Gov. JB Pritzker’s, raising questions about how much money will be available during this year’s budget negotiations. The General Assembly’s bipartisan Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability released a new fiscal year 2026 revenue projection Tuesday that is $737 million short of the proposal Pritzker introduced last month. “At this point with all the uncertainty that’s been talked about, it’s best to have more of a cautious approach,” COGFA Revenue Manager Eric Noggle said at the commission’s meeting Tuesday.

* Capitol City Now | Over 100 students from SkillsUSA are connecting with legislators about career and technical education: Eric Hill, Executive Director of SkillsUSA and Emma Belsly student historian with the organization talk with Joey McLaughlin on the WTAX Morning NewsWatch about career and technical education and the message they are sending to legislators while they are here for their lobby day at the Illinois State Capitol.

* 25News Now | Empowered women rally for change in the 2nd annual Tradeswomen Take Over Springfield: The rally, part of Tradeswomen Take Over Springfield, highlighted ongoing efforts to increase the number of women in the construction and building trades. The Illinois AFL-CIO has set a goal of raising the percentage of women in these jobs to 20% over the next five years. Representative Lisa Hernández (D - Cicero) introduced a House resolution calling for equal access to construction jobs by addressing barriers such as childcare, training opportunities, and workforce diversity. A resolution does not have legislative power,

*** Statewide ***

* NPR | Illinois schools are still trying to solve persistent chronic absence problems: The percentage of Illinois students who are “chronically absent” — meaning they miss more than 10% of the school year — skyrocketed during the early pandemic. It’s fallen a bit since, but rates are still far higher than pre-COVID. Sonia Navarro is asking students where they’re supposed to be, while walking down the hallway at Constance Lane Elementary School in Rockford. It’s her job to make sure kids are getting to class. It’s her first year as an attendance specialist. This year, for the first time, every Rockford school has one.

* Reuters | With Trump’s tariffs, Illinois farmers worry about losing corn sales to Mexico: Farmers around Jacksonville, a city of about 17,000 people, benefit more than most from Mexican demand. They live near a grain facility that loads corn onto railcars before it travels more than 1,000 miles to livestock producers south of the border. The farmers drive from up to 60 miles away to make sales to the facility owned by privately held crop handler Bartlett, which growers said often pays higher prices for their harvests than other buyers do. […] “We need their markets and I hope that they need us, but it’s a competitive world,” said Marty Marr, 70, who farms with his sons and plans to plant corn on about 2,000 acres near Jacksonville this spring.

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | Mayor Brandon Johnson defends Chicago’s sanctuary laws in GOP-led congressional hearing: During the marathon GOP-led hearing, Johnson delivered a forceful endorsement of Chicago’s long history as a haven for immigrants while against a backdrop of heavy political theater over one of the country’s most divisive issues. Seated in the middle of a five-person witness panel with the Democratic leaders from three other major U.S. cities, Johnson touted Chicago’s downward trend in crime in his opening statement. He went on to argue throughout the six-hour session that the city’s long-standing policy blocking local police from assisting in federal immigration enforcement in fact makes communities safer.

* Chalkbeat Chicago | Chicago school board to vote on tweaking budget as costs of labor negotiations and pensions loom: Chicago Public Schools is proposing a budget amendment to the school board that would increase the district’s operating budget by $139 million to address looming expenses for the district — but could open the door to other solutions, such as budget cuts or “other entities” taking on debt for CPS. The increase to the current $9.9 billion spending plan represents a historically large influx of cash from the City of Chicago, which declared a surplus from Tax Increment Financing, or TIFs, which are special taxing districts designed to spur development. The district’s budget already includes $159 million in previously allocated TIF funds.

* Sun-Times | Swatting incidents prompt heavy police response to two high schools: A bomb threat and reports of a person with a gun brought SWAT officers to Jones College Prep in Printer’s Row. A short time later, officers were called to John Hancock College Prep in Clearing. Both threats were deemed not credible. No one was hurt.

* Tribune | Aldermen say Veterans Affairs abruptly puts hold on outreach program: The former service members come from all over the Chicago area every week to get help securing health care, employment, disability pay and other benefits during the support sessions staffed by VA workers, O’Shea said. But Wednesday marked a sudden, unexpected last day for the program, he said. Sweeping cuts to federal agencies made by President Donald Trump’s administration appeared to come home to ward offices across Chicago, as O’Shea and several other members of the City Council told the Tribune they’d been notified by the VA that it was “temporarily” pausing the outreach.

* Bloomberg | Prospect of Walgreens sale creates strange Wall Street alliances: The roughly $12 billion in funding, lined up by Sycamore Partners, foreshadows a new paradigm as it brings together the traditional rivals in a bid that values the international drugstore chain at around $20 billion including debt. Wall Street stalwarts and private credit upstarts have traditionally fought over the financing of LBOs, but the deal for Walgreens is so large it offers plenty of business for banks and direct lenders alike. If it materializes, the buyout would be a boon for bankers starved of new-money M&A — and the lucrative fees that come with it.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Arlington Heights mayoral candidates disagree on urgency of redeveloping Arlington Park: All three candidates — Arlington Heights Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jon Ridler and current village trustees Jim Tinaglia and Tom Schwingbeck — say they want to be part of discussions that could finally lead to the Bears choosing the 326-acre former racetrack property as their new home. But the candidates’ approaches vary.

* Daily Southtown | Political tensions rise at Lockport District 205 Board candidates forum: Recent successes of school board candidates supported by conservative groups paved the way for 2025 candidates expressing hard line views on taxes, COVID-19 era policies and parental involvement in schools. Hayes, who did not attend Tuesday’s forum, was previously endorsed by conservative organization We The Parents Illinois in her unsuccessful bid for the Will County District 92 Board in Homer Glen and Lockport.

* Daily Herald | West Chicago asks judge to enforce $20,000 fine over controversial greenhouse: West Chicago is asking a court to order mayoral candidate Dan Bovey and his wife to pay a $20,000 fine for building a greenhouse in their backyard. The petition, filed Monday in DuPage County Circuit Court, is the latest chapter in the legal battle between the city and the Boveys over the greenhouse, which they started building in 2023.

* Sun-Times | Robert Crimo III signs trial waiver ‘Donald Trump’ after pleading guilty to Highland Park parade shooting: Robert Crimo III signed his trial waiver “Donald Trump” after pleading guilty to the Highland Park parade shooting, but experts say his guilty plea should stand no matter what name he signed. “He can sign Mickey Mouse or Donald Trump,” said Richard Kling, a law professor at Kent College of Law. What matters, Kling said, is that there is a transcript of Crimo orally pleading guilty, which Crimo did Monday.

* Daily Herald | ‘I wish there was more unity’: Mundelein, school districts at odds over Ivanhoe Village megaproject: Not everyone is pleased with the village of Mundelein’s first official actions on the proposal since the Wirtz property was annexed in late 2022. At issue is how much money will be generated for school-related expenses through village-imposed impact fees, and whether the developers should contribute more.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Early voting for April 1 election begins Friday in Kane County, officials say: Early voting for the April 1 general election begins Friday in Kane County, a news release from the Kane County Clerk’s Office said on Wednesday. Kane County Clerk John Cunningham announced that the Clerk’s Office will begin mailing absentee ballots for the April 1 election on March 7 to about 37,500 voters who submitted applications for permanent vote-by-mail ballots, according to the news release.

*** Downstate ***

* WGLT | Firearm revocations are ‘absolutely’ on the honor system, say law enforcement: Following a recent triple murder-suicide in Bloomington, McLean County sheriff Matt Lane attended a meeting of the county board’s justice committee on Wednesday where he and two detectives outlined the process for giving up weapons when a firearm owner identification [FOID] card is revoked. […] It’s worth noting that in either case, this does not mean police seize the weapons or independently confirm they’re out of the hands of subject of the revocation. The process is voluntary, and non-compliance is met with “nudges” in the form of phone reminders.

* 25News Now | Legal opinion on Washington mayor’s potential conflict of interest to stay private: The results of a legal opinion about a potential conflict of interest with Washington Mayor Gary Manier, a proposed amphitheater, and the Hengst Foundation will not be made public. As previously reported, a Washington Community High School alumnus wants to donate $12 million to build a 5,000-seat amphitheater along Route 24. Earlier this year, council members asked for a legal opinion from the city’s legal council about whether Manier should be allowed to vote on amphitheater-related issues because his wife, Lada, is the treasurer for the foundation’s board.

* 25News Now | Washington leaders talk 1% grocery tax as state’s version fizzles out in 2026: If the city were to adopt it, the tax rate shoppers would have to pay would not change. Without it, the city said it would lose $500,000 annually. “I would hate to see us do something where this is, to me, a minimal amount of money, and have to go back and push a home rule sales tax to try to recover,” said Ward 4 Alderman Michael McIntyre.

* WGLT | Normal mayoral candidates weigh in on housing, taxes and fees, and future paths: Normal’s mayoral hopefuls gathered Tuesday night to discuss challenges facing the town at a WGLT forum at Illinois State University. Town council members Kathleen Lorenz and Chemberly Harris shared the stage with incumbent Chris Koos to discuss the housing shortage, tax policy, the Uptown underpass and more. Koos has served as Normal’s mayor for 22 years, and positioned himself accordingly. Discussing his tenure, he touted economic development, infrastructure improvements and job creation.

* WCBU | New DDC leader Waible examines challenges, opportunities for revitalizing downtown Peoria: Chris Waible sees a lot of potential to spark energy in Peoria’s Central Business and Warehouse districts. “I have ambitions, and I hope that we all do in Peoria, to make downtown a great place,” said Waible. “Not just great for Peoria, but great for anywhere in the country, and making an authentic place to Peoria that’s not copying necessarily somewhere else, but it’s making the most of the strengths that we have downtown and turning into a really nice place.”

* WPSD | USPS unveils modernized sorting center in Carbondale: With nearly 60 delivery routes operating from the facility, officials say the upgrades will improve service, enhance worker safety and increase efficiency on an unprecedented scale. “Pretty exciting day, very exciting day,” Mark Inglett, strategic communications manager for USPS, said. Inglett said the Carbondale facility houses nearly 60 rounds. At one time, machines manually sorted three to 500 packages per hour. Inglett said they can handle up to 5,000 per hour with the upgrades.

*** National ***

* WaPo | How 443 federal properties were targeted for sale, then suddenly weren’t: “We anticipate the list will be republished in the near future after we evaluate this initial input and determine how we can make it easier for stakeholders to understand the nuances of the assets listed,” a GSA spokesperson said in a statement Wednesday, adding that the agency had “received an overwhelming amount of interest” since publishing its initial list. The spokesperson did not respond to questions about why the list was modified and then removed, or say whether all 443 properties were still marked for disposal.

* NPR | The history behind an enduring public health falsehood — that vaccines cause autism: The Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has been a vocal skeptic of vaccination for years. In a Fox News editorial regarding the measles outbreak in West Texas, he did write that vaccines are, quote, “crucial to avoiding potentially deadly disease,” but he also stopped short of actually recommending them, writing, the decision to vaccinate is a personal one. Elsewhere, he has repeatedly made the debunked claim that there could be a link between vaccines and autism. That particular myth long predates RFK Jr. The hosts of NPR’s Throughline, Rund Abdelfatah and Ramtin Arablouei, have the history behind one of public health’s most enduring falsehoods.

* The Atlantic | Chatbots Are Cheating on Their Benchmark Tests: [T]here is growing evidence that progress is slowing down and that the LLM-powered chatbot may already be near its peak. This is troubling, given that the promise of advancement has become a political issue; massive amounts of land, power, and money have been earmarked to drive the technology forward. How much is it actually improving? How much better can it get? These are important questions, and they’re nearly impossible to answer because the tests that measure AI progress are not working.

* Forbes | New Data Shows Just How Badly OpenAI And Perplexity Are Screwing Over Publishers: OpenAI, Perplexity, Meta and other AI companies scraped websites 2 million times on average in the fourth quarter of last year, per the report, which analyzed 160 websites including national and local news, consumer tech and shopping blogs over the last three months of 2024. Each page was scraped about seven times on average.

8 Comments

Thursday, Mar 6, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Some background on what California is facing is here and here.

That CBS News story about Mrs. Pritzker is here.

* Also, the Tribune has a story today entitled “Hearing on ‘right to die’ bill put on hold as legislators work on changes”…

A hearing on legislation that would allow terminally ill people to end their lives with the help of a physician was postponed Wednesday as lawmakers sought more time to refine the proposal, which advocates are again pushing after failing to get a version through the General Assembly last year.

The measure would legalize medical aid in dying, often referred to as physician-assisted suicide or medically-assisted death, allowing mentally competent, terminally ill adults the right to access life-ending prescription medication.

If a bill is passed this year and signed by Gov. JB Pritzker, Illinois would join 10 other states, among them Oregon, California, Colorado and Hawaii, as well as Washington, D.C., in allowing medical aid in dying.

The legislation, filed by state Sen. Linda Holmes, an Aurora Democrat, was pulled from the agenda of a Senate Executive Committee hearing as lawmakers sought to add at least one amendment. Details over how the bill would be changed were not clear.

From an advocate yesterday…

Amendments were requested on the bill running up to this morning. We have always said we are willing to work to make the bill stronger with interested parties who have language. We would rather delay today and get a bill that can move quickly rather than be caught up in back and forth to the committee.

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

Thursday, Mar 6, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Selected press releases (Live updates)

Thursday, Mar 6, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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Isabel’s afternoon roundup

Thursday, Mar 6, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Click here and/or here to follow breaking news. Hopefully, enough reporters and news outlets migrate to BlueSky so we can hopefully resume live-posting.

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Wednesday, Mar 5, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Sen. Darby Hills…

Just days after being sworn in as the new State Senator for Illinois’ 26th District, Senator Darby Hills (R-Barrington Hills) is already hard at work in Springfield. Sworn in on Friday, February 28, 2025, she wasted no time diving into legislative business, setting up her offices, and taking on key committee assignments.

Reflecting her deep commitment to children and families, Senator Hills has been named the Minority Spokesperson for the Child Welfare Committee, where she will advocate for policies that protect and support children across Illinois.

“I’m excited to be in Springfield, rolling up my sleeves and getting to work for the 26th District,” said Senator Hills. “As a mother and the founder of a charity that helps hundreds of kids each week with meals, medical care, and social services, I’ve seen firsthand what it takes to support children and families. It’s an honor to serve as Minority Spokesperson for the Child Welfare Committee, and I’m committed to making sure every child has the safety, support, and opportunities they need to thrive.”

In addition to her leadership on child welfare issues, Senator Hills will serve on the Commerce, Consumer Protection, Judiciary, and Transportation committees, focusing on economic growth, public safety, and infrastructure improvements. As a former Cook County prosecutor, attorney, Barrington Hills Village Board trustee, and founder of Barrington Children’s Charities, she brings a wealth of experience and a unique perspective to her new role.

With both her Springfield and District offices up and running, Senator Hills encourages constituents to reach out with questions, concerns, or issues affecting their communities. She is committed to being accessible and responsive to the people she represents.

*** Statehouse News ***

* WICS | Republicans push for special master in Illinois redistricting lawsuit: Republican lawmakers provided an update on their lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Illinois’ legislative map. The lawsuit, originally filed on January 28, argues that the current state map is a product of partisan gerrymandering. Republicans have requested that the Illinois Supreme Court appoint a special master to redraw the map. They emphasize the urgency of addressing the district boundaries before the next election cycle.

* Bond Buyer | Illinois returns to market with Build Illinois bonds: Fitch Ratings rates the bonds A-plus. Kroll Bond Rating Agency rates the bonds AA-plus. S&P Global Ratings assigns the bonds an A rating. The outlooks on all ratings are stable. In a rating report, Fitch said the ratings reflect an expectation that pledged state sales tax deposits will rise with inflation, as well as a debt structure that can survive significant decline while preserving debt service coverage and pledged deposits that are differentiated from the general operations of the state.

*** Chicago ***

* WTTW | CTU Delivers 5 ‘Must Haves,’ Ramping Up Pressure to Finalize New Teachers Contract: The union on Wednesday said it has been petitioning its members in recent days and has learned they have significant support for five final items to be settled at the negotiating table. Those issues are: fair pay for educators; an improved elementary school day that includes additional prep time; enforceable class sizes; revisions to what the union feels are “racially discriminatory practices” in the district’s teacher evaluation system; and an increase in the number of librarians, counselors, nurses, clinicians and teacher assistants.

* Crain’s | Former Illinois Medical District CEO departs Sterling Bay: Suzet McKinney, who has served as principal and director of life sciences at Chicago-based Sterling Bay since 2021, ended her tenure with the developer last month, according to an unrelated news release and McKinney’s LinkedIn profile. McKinney had spent five years running the IMD prior to joining Sterling Bay, a hire that punctuated the developer’s intention to build lab space for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

* Sun-Times | New Uber Shuttle service to offer fans leaving the United Center $5 rides: Riders will be able to reserve a seat on a shuttle using the Uber app up to two days before an event, an Uber spokesperson said. Riders can book up to four seats at a time on 23-passenger buses to the Magnificent Mile, Ogilvie Transportation Center and Union Station. […] Uber did not comment on how long the introductory rate would last.

* Tribune | Visually impaired students learn to navigate Chicago streets without audible warning signals: On a recent rainy morning in Chicago’s Loop, a group of visually impaired students made their way along a sidewalk, sweeping their white canes back and forth to feel curbs and planters. They stopped at a corner to listen. A CTA train roared overhead. Cars rushed in front of them. They waited. When they could hear the traffic move parallel to them, the group began venturing through the crosswalk, safely reaching the opposite corner. The suburban students ranged from sixth grade to high school, and their vision varied from pretty good to almost none. Guided by teachers, their crossing was another little victory in a journey to make their way in a world built for sighted people.

* AP | These Chicago Nuns Advocated for Immigrant Rights for 40 years — Now in Their 90s, They’re Not Slowing Down: The sisters initially took in one family — a single mother from Sierra Leone with five children. But the need was great. Soon after, the sisters had 17 apartments filled with 17 asylum-seeking families and a new nonprofit to fund the ongoing operation, known as Catherine’s Caring Cause. They’ve housed 25 families over the past three years — paying rent and utilities for a year, offering food assistance, providing connections to legal help.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Aurora Beacon-News | Kane County Board holds town hall meeting on sales tax referendum in advance of April vote: On Monday, the Kane County Board hosted an in-person town hall meeting in Aurora to answer questions about the sales tax referendum question being put to voters in the county on April 1. Next month, Kane County voters will be asked whether they support a 0.75% sales tax increase meant to boost funding for the county’s public safety services.

* Tribune | Niles village trustees approve water hike to align with inflation, consider TIF giveaways for project: Two major items on the agenda at the board meeting were rate changes for water and sewer service that would help Niles cover the cost of two major projects, and a resolution regarding over $2 million in tax increment financing incentives for a redevelopment project on Milwaukee Avenue Water rate increases had been discussed for years, according to a village staff memo explaining the current increase.

* Tribune | Evanston candidates Chow, Suffredin jab at each other’s ethics in Sixth Ward race: With four weeks to go until the April 1 election, Evanston City Council candidates Candance Chow, a challenger, and incumbent Tom Suffredin have thrown shots at each other, each accusing the other of unethical actions in the past or present. Chow and Suffredin, who do not have glaring policy differences in their approach to Evanston government, are vying to represent Evanston’s 6th Ward. Suffredin was elected alderman of the ward in 2017 and is running for his third term.

* Daily Herald | Batavia school board approves support for statewide ‘Vision 2030’ blueprint: The Batavia Unit District 101 board has adopted a resolution supporting Vision 2030, a road map for policy priorities that several school districts want the state to prioritize enhancing academic opportunities. “Vision 2030 provides an aspirational framework to achieve educational excellence while maintaining fiscal responsibility,” Superintendent Tom Kim said in a press release. “This approach will help us better serve our students, support our educators, and strengthen our educational programs.”

*** Downstate ***

* KSDK | US Attorney General names interim US attorney for southern Illinois: Attorney General Pam Bondi named [Steven Weinhoeft] the interim U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois last Friday, about two weeks after Rachelle Aud Crowe “departed” from the role. Weinhoeft previously served in the role from 2018 to 2022. “I am honored and excited to return to this role to serve the people of the Southern District of Illinois,” Weinhoeft said in the press release Wednesday. “I look forward to working with Attorney General Bondi, our talented team, and our law enforcement partners to uphold the rule of law with integrity and resolve.”

* WCIA | U of I Athletic Director addresses Congress, warns of potential problems with ‘patchwork’ NIL laws: University of Illinois Athletic Director Josh Whitman testified at a congressional hearing Tuesday about the future of college athletics. “Efforts underway to reform and modernize college athletics are in many ways overdue, as the NCAA has not always moved with needed urgency,” Whitman said.

* WCIA | Champaign city councilman misses 3rd meeting in a row after swastika post backlash: The last time Williams was in attendance was back at the February 4th meeting. This was when he was on the receiving end of numerous public comments denouncing his behavior toward the Jewish community. Before the meeting, Williams had made a controversial Facebook post where he changed his profile picture to a swastika and later defended the post in the comments.

*** National ***

* CNBC | Private employers added just 77,000 jobs in February, far below expectations, ADP says: Private companies added just 77,000 new workers for the month, well off the upwardly revised 186,000 in January and below the 148,000 estimate, ADP reported. The report reflected tariff concerns, as a sector that lumps together trade, transportation and utility jobs saw a loss of 33,000 positions. On the positive side, leisure and hospitality jobs jumped by 41,000, while professional and business services added 27,000 and financial activities and construction both saw gains of 25,000.

* Tribune | Trump administration plans to cut 80,000 employees from Veterans Affairs, according to internal memo: The VA’s chief of staff, Christopher Syrek, told top level officials at the agency that it had an objective to cut enough employees to return to 2019 staffing levels of just under 400,000. That would require terminating tens of thousands of employees after the VA expanded during the Biden administration, as well as to cover veterans impacted by burn pits under the 2022 PACT Act.

* NYT | Trump Officials Take Down List of Federal Properties for Possible Sale: On Tuesday, the Trump administration identified more than 440 federal properties that could be sold off, a list that included high-profile buildings like the headquarters of the F.B.I., Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services. By Wednesday morning, the entire inventory had been taken down, replaced by an agency web page that said the list of properties was “coming soon.”

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Report: Underutilized CPS schools driving up costs

Wednesday, Mar 5, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Overcrowding is a problem in only about 5 percent of Chicago’s public schools…

Small class sizes allow for personalized learning and individualized attention, essential for our diverse students to thrive.

CTU member Makenzie Verdone shared how her class sizes have grown each single year. We’re demanding enforceable class sizes in our schools so our… pic.twitter.com/Sx5DHUoh4A

— Chicago Teachers Union (@CTULocal1) March 5, 2025

* Source: Civic Federation…

The recent Civic Federation Financial Landscape Analysis of the Chicago Public School District highlights a long-term issue for the Chicago Public School District (CPS or the “District”): declining enrollment has led to significant building underutilization. Today, a significant mismatch exists between the number of students enrolled in the District and the amount of space available in schools throughout the City. Based on FY2025 CPS data, 58% of District school buildings are underutilized. CPS defines underutilization as enrollment below 70% of a school’s capacity. In 2024, 154 out of 498 CPS schools were at less than half of their capacity. Only approximately 36% of schools are classified as efficiently utilized and 5% as overcrowded.

Operational spending data provides a useful measure to compare schools and identify facilities with particularly high spending per student – in other words, schools that are not efficiently utilized. The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) defines Operational Spending Per Student (OSPS) as the average amount spent on a school’s operating costs, including instructional costs, per student in a given fiscal year. Out of the 498 CPS facilities for which operational spending and space utilization data are available, 185, or 37%, are efficiently utilized, and 287, or 58%, are underutilized. The following chart compares the average OSPS, as reported by ISBE’s 2024 Report Card dataset for efficiently utilized versus underutilized schools.

The following table lists the utilization status of CPS schools based on FY2025 Space Utilization Data. Based on CPS’ definition, underutilized schools are those at 70% or less of capacity. Severely underutilized schools are classified here as those at 33% or less capacity. See CPS’ interactive map of schools by utilization here to see these schools’ geographic distribution.

A total of 50 schools are operating at 33% capacity or less. The lowest enrolled school in the District, Douglass High School, has only 28 students enrolled compared to its capacity of 912 students (this is based on FY2025 adjusted 20th-day enrollment numbers). For a complete list of those schools, see the Civic Federation’s Financial Landscape Analysis of the Chicago Public School District report. The cost of operation per student at those schools substantially exceeds the costs at better-enrolled counterparts. The average operating cost per student per year among severely underutilized elementary schools is about $28,000 annually, $4,700 more than is spent on average at efficiently utilized elementary schools. The average operating cost among severely underutilized high schools is nearly $36,000 annually, $12,338 more than is spent on average at efficient schools.

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AG Raoul lays out extensive defense of state immigration laws

Wednesday, Mar 5, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Isabel posted this story earlier today…

Illinois‘ attorney general is urging a federal judge to toss out a lawsuit filed by the Trump administration over the state’s sanctuary protections for undocumented immigrants, arguing that the federal government cannot “coerce” states to enforce federal immigration policy.

* As AG Kwame Raoul’s filing notes, this very issue has been adjudicated twice before…

Both the TRUST Act and the Way Forward Act have been the subject of prior preemption and intergovernmental immunity challenges, each of which failed. First, a group of Illinois sheriffs challenged the TRUST Act’s prohibition on complying with civil immigration detainers, alleging it conflicted with federal law. Judge Johnston of this district dismissed their claims, holding that the sheriffs lacked standing because the TRUST Act did not require them to do anything prohibited by federal law. Because “ICE detainers are not compulsory” under federal law, he concluded, the sheriffs “do not violate federal law by complying with the Illinois TRUST Act. ” Prim v. Raoul, No. 3:20-cv-50094, 2021 WL 214641, at *3 (N.D. Ill. Jan. 21, 2021).

Next, following the adoption of the Way Forward Act, two Illinois counties with existing agreements to house detainees for federal civil immigration enforcement in their jails challenged the Act’s termination of those agreements. The counties claimed federal immigration statutes authorizing cooperative detention agreements preempted the new Illinois law, and that forbidding Illinois counties from having such agreements improperly regulated the federal government. Judge Reinhard of this district dismissed their claims. McHenry County v. Raoul, 574 F. Supp. 3d 571 (N.D. Ill. 2021) (“McHenry County I”). He first concluded that the federal statutes at issue did not regulate private actors, and therefore, under Murphy v. NCAA, 584 U.S. 453 (2018), could not be a basis for preemption. 574 F. Supp. 3d at 578-79. In rejecting the counties’ intergovernmental immunity claims, Judge Reinhard further concluded that the federal statute authorizing cooperative detention agreements, 8 U.S.C. § 1103(a)(11)(B), “leaves to the State the decision whether it or any of its political subdivisions enter, or remain in” them. 574 F. Supp. 3d at 581-82.

The Seventh Circuit affirmed, reasoning primarily that the cooperative, non-compulsory nature of the applicable federal statutes provided no support for plaintiffs’ claims. McHenry County v. Raoul, 44 F.4th 581 (7th Cir. 2022) (“McHenry County II”). Agreeing with a prior Fifth Circuit decision, City of El Cenizo v. Texas, 890 F.3d 164 (5th Cir. 2018), and a Ninth Circuit decision, United States v. California, 921 F.3d 865 (9th Cir. 2019), the Seventh Circuit concluded that federal law gives “states and localities the option, not the requirement, of assisting federal immigration authorities.” McHenry County II, 44 F.4th at 592 (quoting California, 921 F.3d at 889); accord El Cenizo, 890 F.3d at 177. Further, because the Tenth Amendment precludes federal commandeering of state and local law enforcement, the federal government could not require Illinois’s cooperation in federal civil immigration enforcement. McHenry County II, 44 F.4th at 592. McHenry County II continues to be controlling precedent in the Seventh Circuit.

* More excerpts…

Consistent with the Tenth Amendment, federal law preserves Illinois’s sovereign right to opt out of assisting federal immigration agents with their civil immigration enforcement responsibilities. That is what Illinois has done through its statutes, the TRUST Act and the Way Forward Act. 2 In asserting that federal law preempts these state laws, the complaint systematically mistakes federal immigration agents’ preferences for legal obligations. What federal immigration agents may want Illinois law enforcement to do is not the same as what federal law requires. […]

Plaintiff asserts that the TRUST Act is an obstacle to federal immigration enforcement that must yield to the supremacy of federal law. Plaintiff is wrong as a matter of both constitutional and statutory law. The anticommandeering principle derived from the Tenth Amendment limits what Congress may compel states to do in enforcing federal immigration law, and the statutes Plaintiff cites reflect those limits. See Murphy, 584 U.S. at 480 (“a direct command to the States” is “exactly what the anticommandeering rule does not allow”). No federal statute preempts the TRUST Act. […]

The federal government has failed to identify any “valid statute enacted by Congress” reflecting a “clear and manifest purpose” to conscript Illinois into assisting with federal immigration enforcement. Kansas, 589 U.S. at 202; Arizona, 567 U.S. at 400 (quoting Rice, 331 U.S. at 230). Yes, the federal executive has changed. But there has been no intervening change in federal law that disturbs Illinois’s sovereign choice to opt out of assisting in federal immigration enforcement. And yes, Illinois’s choice may “frustrate” implementation of “[f]ederal schemes,” like the current federal executive’s avowed commitment to conduct the largest mass deportation in American history. California, 921 F.3d at 890. But this frustration is not obstacle preemption when the Tenth Amendment protects Illinois’s sovereign right not to cooperate in the President’s schemes. […]

The complaint cites federal regulations that belie any suggestion that Illinois law enforcement officers must detain noncitizens when presented with detainers or administrative warrants. Compl. ¶ 33 (quoting 8 C.F.R. § 287.7(a)). The type of “immigration detainer” that federal immigration agents use to seek custody of individuals detained by state and local law enforcement is explicitly described in federal regulations as a “request,” not a mandate. 8 C.F.R. § 287.7(a). That is why federal courts—including in this district—have repeatedly and uniformly held that immigration detainers are requests that may be declined. […]

When the prior Trump Administration attempted to withhold federal grant funds from Chicago because its ordinance excluded federal immigration agents from local lock-ups, the Seventh Circuit, rejecting the claim, distinguished between “refusal . . . to aid in civil immigration enforcement” and “affirmative interference.”

There’s lots more, so go read the rest before you pop off in comments. Thanks.

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Intoxicating Hemp: No safety? No thanks!

Wednesday, Mar 5, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

A federal loophole has led to a booming gray market across Illinois for intoxicating hemp products, which use synthetics to alter the composition of hemp to get consumers high.

This is happening outside the structure of the state’s legal cannabis industry. This means intoxicating hemp faces NO quality testing, NO age restrictions, NO packaging requirements, NO potency rules, and NO taxes to fund programs in communities impacted by the War on Drugs. Most intoxicating hemp products aren’t even produced in Illinois. By contrast, Illinois cannabis businesses face extensive rules and regulations to operate, with products tracked from seed to sale. When consumers purchase legal cannabis grown and processed in Illinois, they know their products are safe.

Hemp and cannabis come from the same plant. Both products can get users high. Why the different rules? Illinois already has a system in place to regulate hemp – it’s called the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act. It’s time for Illinois to close the intoxicating hemp loophole.

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USDOJ wants to join challenge to Illinois law that requires nonprofits to disclose demographics of boards and officers

Wednesday, Mar 5, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Crain’s in January…

Activist Edward Blum is targeting another diversity effort in Illinois, this time suing over a new state law that requires many nonprofit organizations to publicly disclose aggregate data about race, gender and other demographics of their board members and officers. […]

The new suit was filed today in the U.S. District Court in Chicago against Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and other state officials. It targets SB 2930, which was sponsored by state Sen. Adriane Johnson, D-Buffalo Grove, and signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker last July. The law took effect Jan. 1.

Under the law, qualifying charitable groups must ask their directors and officers to provide demographic information, including their “race, ethnicity, gender, disability status, veteran status, sexual orientation, and gender identity.” The groups must disclose the aggregate demographic data on their websites for at least three years.

The suit takes issue with the law’s reliance on Illinois Department of Human Rights demographic classifications, particularly on race. (The state agency uses the same racial classifications as the federal government, the suit says.)

You can view the complaint here.

* Yesterday, the Trump administration filed to join Blum’s legal challenge. Crain’s…

“The United States cannot and will not sit idly while a state denies its citizens equal protection under the guise of diversity,” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a written statement after the Department of Justice filed a motion to intervene in American Alliance for Equal Rights v. Bennett. […]

The Justice Department, in a court filing Tuesday, said, “This encouragement by the state of Illinois for nonprofits to discriminate on the basis of race when selecting directors and officers is forbidden by the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and there is no diversity exception to this.”

The filing cites a comment by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, when he signed the measure, that the reporting and posting requirements are “to encourage nonprofits to reflect the diversity of the communities they support.”

The Justice Department joins Blum’s group in asking the federal court to declare the Illinois law in violation of the U.S. Constitution and to enjoin it.

Click here for Tuesday’s filing and click here for AG Bondi’s press release.

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As Chicago continues to look the other way, Decatur city council bans sweepstakes machines

Wednesday, Mar 5, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* WAND…

A common call State Senators receive from constituents are employees complaining how they haven’t received money from unpaid wages, even after winning in court.

A bill by Illinois Senate Democrats hopes to remove some administrative burden, which has been delaying unpaid wages being sent back to employees on time after winning in court.

The plan is supported by the Illinois Department of Labor, but the Illinois Chamber of Commerce is in opposition, who said it leaves business owners in the dark. […]

The proposal passed 15-3 out of committee, where it heads to the Senate floor for further discussion.

* Rep. Natalie Manley…

Working to expand pathways for certified public accountants (CPAs) to work in Illinois, state Rep. Natalie Manley, D-Joliet, is sponsoring a bill that would add two additional methods for CPAs to gain licensure and make it easier for non-residents to provide CPA services in the state.

“With tax season upon us, this bill fixes some of the barriers for residents that want to become a CPA and establishes a pathway for current CPAs that want to work in Illinois — licensure stalls, red-tape, and antiquated requirements,” said Manley. “This is a practical, no-fuss solution that lowers barriers to CPA license access to address the profession’s pipeline crisis and workforce shortage by one, encouraging out-of-state accountants in good standing to come practice in Illinois, and two, allowing qualified accounting graduates who have passed the CPA exam to become licensed.”

Manley recently filed House Bill 2459, which would amend the Illinois Public Accounting Act by carving two new pathways for accounting professionals without disturbing the current path to licensure, allowing CPA applicants to become licensed with:

1. A bachelor’s degree in accounting, at least two years of experience, and the passage of the CPA exam; or
2. A bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree with 30 hours of accounting concentration, at least one year of experience, and passage of the CPA exam.

“By putting two new licensure methods on the table for our accounting professionals, we can ease burdens around tax season where so many of our residents request accounting services by slashing the red tape that’s kept more than qualified individuals from practicing and serving our state.”

House Bill 2459 is currently under consideration by the Financial Institution and Licences Committee.

* Center Square…

A consumer advocate is calling for utility reform after multiple corruption-related convictions tied to ComEd.

Citizens Utility Board Director of Governmental Affairs Bryan McDaniel said the series of trials have been “sad and infuriating” for Illinois consumers. […]

McDaniel urged Illinoisans to support Senate Bill 1275, filed by state Sen. Suzy Glowiak Hilton, D-Western Springs. McDaniel said the measure is aimed at preventing utility companies from enhancing their political power with consumer dollars. […]

McDaniel also expressed support for Illinois House Bill 1621, filed by state Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid, D-Bridgeview, which would prevent utilities from making campaign contributions to people seeking municipal or state office.

* WCIA…

Lawmakers in the Capitol filed a bill that would make landlords set their property prices according to areas they are based in rather than using computers to set prices. This comes after the Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined other states in a lawsuit against top six landlords in the country for allegedly fixing rent prices across the nation using algorithms.

The bill filed by Rep. Lilian Jiménez (D-Chicago) will stop landlords and property management businesses from using computer systems and algorithms to set rent prices. Jimenez said the rent price should be made by the people, not computers. […]

Jiménez said her bill does not prevent landlords from using technology but rather stops the requirements to use rent algorithms which can take away the competitive practice. […]

Jiménez said that putting these laws in place will prevent anticompetitive practices from expanding in other parts of Illinois and create more opportunities for the local property owner and allow people to invest in their community.

HB1427 from Rep. Jiménez is scheduled for a hearing in the Housing Committee today.

* Sen. Robert Peters…

A new bill aiming to improve patient safety and provide fairer treatment for nurse agencies has passed the Senate Labor Committee, thanks to State Senator Robert Peters.

“This measure is about protecting both patients and nurse agencies alike,” said Peters (D-Chicago). “Right now, a small mistake is treated the same way as a serious violation, which isn’t fair to agencies who comply with state law. This bill will allow penalties to be more appropriately matched to the severity of the violation.”

The Nursing Agency Licensing Act sets guidelines to ensure nurse agencies meet certain operational standards and holds them responsible for the actions of the nurses they dispatch to health care facilities. Currently, Illinois law imposes a flat $10,000 fine for every violation of NALA, only targeting licensees or applicants. These guidelines do not account for the severity of the violation, meaning minor mistakes can result in the same financial punishment as more serious issues.

Under Peters’ measure, the scope of accountability will be expanded, holding all violators accountable and making penalties more proportional to the violation. This will improve patient safety and ensure nurse agencies can operate effectively without fear of disproportionate fines, creating a fairer system that is better equipped to protect the public and the health care professionals who serve them. […]

Senate Bill 67 passed the Senate Labor Committee Tuesday and heads to the full Senate for further consideration.

* Capitol News Illinois…

On Tuesday, environmentalists made their pitch for how to bolster the state’s grid and implement new consumer protections. The plan comes from the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, a group of consumer and environmental advocates that has backed several major energy bills, including the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act. That law set Illinois’ goal to shut down all power plants using fossil fuels by 2050.

The ICJC proposal, contained in twin House and Senate bills, offers several provisions aimed at stabilizing volatile electricity prices and increasing grid reliability. It’s a broader proposal than when the group announced an early version in its platform last spring.

The bill would bump up the energy efficiency targets for the state’s major utility companies, increase their minimum spending on low-income efficiency programs and create “time of use” electric rates that offer electric customers lower rates at times of day with lower demand and higher rates at times of high demand.

Ameren Illinois, the utility for downstate, would have its energy efficiency targets increased more to match the already higher targets for ComEd, according to Kari Ross, Natural Resource Defense Counsel energy affordability advocate.

* Sen. Sara Feigenholtz…

State Senator Sara Feigenholtz is leading a measure that would allow short-term teachers to take family and medical leave.

“Illinois has been tackling the ongoing teacher shortage for years – and this is another step in the right direction,” said Feigenholtz (D-Chicago). “We should be encouraging people to become educators, not holding them back.”

Senate Bill 1584 would permit the Illinois State Board of Education to make rules allowing for extensions to short-term approval licenses if the licensee has taken leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act during the time they were licensed under short-term approval.

Feigenholtz’s measure comes in response to a local resident who took FMLA leave during her pregnancy when she was a short-term approval teacher. The initiative seeks to allow an extension to expiration date for a short-term approval license if a teacher has taken FMLA leave while having short-term approval. […]

Senate Bill 1584 passed the Senate Education Committee on Tuesday.

* Rep. Maurice West…

State Rep. Maurice West, D-Rockford, will join advocacy group Mascots Matter this Wednesday, March 5 at 1 p.m. for a Capitol Blue Room press conference to discuss their initiative to prohibit public schools from using discriminatory disability mascots.

“We need to ensure all schools across Illinois show empathy and compassion in addressing the problematic names of certain mascots,” said State Rep. Maurice West. “Our schools should be a place we teach our children about respect and understanding, and holding on to sport nicknames considered to be a slur is irresponsible.”

“This week, the Mascots Matter campaign is proud to join Representative Maurice West at the Illinois State Capitol to discuss House Bill 3527, a groundbreaking piece of legislation that seeks to eliminate harmful and outdated mascots from Illinois schools, including those that perpetuate harmful stereotypes toward individuals with disabilities defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act,” said Shelby Holloway, Co-Director of the Mascots Matter Campaign. “This bill is a critical step toward ensuring that all individuals are empowered to embrace diversity, respect, and cultural understanding. We believe that this important measure will help foster a more inclusive future for Illinois, one that honors the dignity of every community.”

West’s House Bill 3527 creates the Prohibition of Discriminatory Disability Mascots Act and would require relevant public schools to phase out their problematic name, logo, mascot and other relevant material. “Discriminatory disability mascot” is defined in the legislation as any name, logo or mascot that is derogatory or representative of an individual or group based on disability, as defined by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.

If passed and implemented, impacted schools would need to have adopted a new mascot identity by September 1, 2028.

* More…

* WAND | AI companies could have to be entirely powered by renewable energy under IL plan: With lawmakers facing a new challenge in data centers and AI requiring record levels of power, the plan would force those companies to produce 100% of the power required for the new technologies. The energy would have to be renewable only and does not count nuclear energy. […] The House bill has not been assigned to a committee yet, but the Senate bill has been assigned to the Energy and Public Utilities committee, where lawmakers could talk about it in the coming weeks.

* WAND | Bill improving Illinois school emergency response plans heads to Senate floor: The legislation could require the Illinois State Board of Education to work the State Fire Marshal, State Police, and Illinois Emergency Management Agency to develop clear threat assessment procedures and rapid entry response plans. […] The proposal would call for emergency rules to be implemented based on procedures agreed on by state and local officials. Senate Bill 2057 now heads to the Senate floor for further consideration.

* WAND | Illinois bill could help address school, athletic events conflicting with cultural, religious holidays: A plan moving in Springfield could require the Illinois State Board of Education to identify days where major school events may conflict with cultural or religious holidays. […] Senate Bill 1616 passed unanimously out of the Senate Education Committee Tuesday afternoon. The measure now moves to the Senate floor for further consideration.

* WAND | Illinois bill could help address school, athletic events conflicting with cultural, religious holidays: “We’ve got wonderful models. Washington state has a very easily accessible list,” said Amy Zimmerman from the Jewish United Fund. “Even Wilmette School District has a nice list as well. They not only have the date. They tell you a little bit about the holiday.” Senate Bill 1616 passed unanimously out of the Senate Education Committee Tuesday afternoon. The measure now moves to the Senate floor for further consideration.

14 Comments

Wednesday, Mar 5, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Click here for background if you need it. WCIA…

On Monday, Decatur’s City Council voted to ban electronic sweepstakes machines. […]

“They say that they’re a free play, so you don’t actually have to put any money in. But we’ve found through investigation that you do end up having to put money in to end up getting any sort of prize,” Decatur Communications Coordinator Ryan Huffer said. […]

“Some businesses have been approached here about having them located in the City of Decatur, so we wanted to get ahead of that,” Huffer said.

9 Comments

Illinois Hospitals Are Achieving Nursing Excellence Through ANCC Magnet Program

Wednesday, Mar 5, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Across the state, hospitals from rural communities to urban centers are improving patient outcomes, empowering nurses to lead change and fostering a culture where nurses can thrive. Over 50 Illinois hospitals have met the rigorous requirements of the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) that align with those three critical components of nursing care.

ANCC’s Magnet Hospital Recognition Program for Excellence in Nursing Services is one way hospitals can show their communities that they are dedicated to a strong nursing workforce and an environment that promotes excellence. To achieve Magnet distinction, hospitals must satisfy ANCC’s high standards for quality care and adopt innovations in professional nursing practice.

Magnet hospitals provide their nurses with education and development at every stage of their career and hospital leadership fully supports their nursing staff, both of which promote exceptional nursing care.

As America’s No. 1 most trusted profession since 2002, according to Gallup, nurses have an essential role in patient well-being, the patient experience while receiving care in a hospital and in optimal patient outcomes. Learn more about Illinois’ Magnet hospitals.

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

Wednesday, Mar 5, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: Trump administration ends reimbursements for Illinois food programs. Capitol News Illinois…

The Illinois Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday that changes to federal funding mean Illinois is missing reimbursements for costs for the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program, or LFPA, and can no longer run the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program, or RFSI.

The state agency said the federal U.S. Department of Agriculture has told states it will not reimburse them for any costs for the programs dating back to when Trump took office on Jan. 20.

LFPA, which funds the Illinois-EATS program, uses federal funding to buy fresh products from farmers at a fair market value, then distributes the food to communities via food pantries and other similar programs designed to help people in need for no additional cost. All the food produced as part of Illinois’ program comes from socially disadvantaged farmers, including those the federal government defines as “new farmers.”

More than 170 farmers have supplied food to 883 locations in Illinois through Illinois-EATS.

* BlueRoomStream.com’s coverage of today’s press conferences and committee hearings can be found here.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* WBEZ | Venezuelans in Chicago face Trump’s decision to end protected status: With or without Temporary Protected Status, many Venezuelans intend to stay in Chicago. But the uncertainty from losing those protections is reverberating through the Venezuelan community and beyond. It’s putting pressure on business owners, straining relationships and forcing families to consider going into hiding. “It’s a little bit scary,” Rincón said, “but we’re not here to be scared. We’re always hoping for the best and always with the best attitude.”

* Law & Crime | ‘Right not to cooperate in the President’s schemes’: States can’t be forced to help Donald Trump’s plans for mass deportations, Illinois argues in court filing: Illinois‘ attorney general is urging a federal judge to toss out a lawsuit filed by the Trump administration over the state’s sanctuary protections for undocumented immigrants, arguing that the federal government cannot “coerce” states to enforce federal immigration policy. The Justice Department earlier this month sued Illinois, the City of Chicago, and Cook County, seeking a court order prohibiting the enforcement of local laws — namely the Way Forward Act, TRUST Act, and the Welcoming City Act — alleging that they were “are designed to and in fact interfere with and discriminate against the Federal Government’s enforcement of federal immigration law.”

Click here to read the motion.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Tribune | Chicago landlord ordered to pay $80,000 for threatening to call ICE on tenant, a first under 2019 state law: A judge ordered a Chicago landlord last month to pay $80,000 to former tenants after the landlord threatened to call ICE on them during a verbal dispute in June 2020, according to court documents. The case is the first to reach a judgment under the state’s 2019 Immigrant Tenant Protection Act, according to the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which filed the case on behalf of the tenants.

* The Trace | Illinois Law Acknowledges Gun Possession Doesn’t Mean Pulling the Trigger: In January, a new Illinois law changed the names of six weapon possession charges in an effort to better clarify when someone is charged with illegally possessing a weapon as opposed to using one in a crime. While the new law simply changes the names of the charges, advocates say it could help those convicted face less discrimination. “What we were learning through our criminal defense attorneys is that even in the courtroom, they were encountering judges who were misinterpreting what the defendant in front of them had done because of this inaccurate title,” said Emma Ruth, the policy manager at Cabrini Green Legal Aid in Chicago, a nonprofit that provides free legal support to people involved with the criminal legal system.

* Michael Frerichs | Tariffs are Trump tax attack on American workers: Farmers and rural voters across Illinois backed Trump by lopsided margins. If tariffs spark a trade war, they will be among the first victims. Canadian buyers will simply shift to competitors like Brazil. The Trump tax will mean lower prices for our farmers across downstate and will hurt agriculture-dependent industries from ADM in Decatur to Libby’s canned pumpkins in Morton. ADM already announced layoffs amid “regulatory policy uncertainty and (global) market challenges.”

*** Statewide ***

* WAND | Chinese tariffs on corn, soy ‘causing a lot of stress’ to local farmers: According to Doug Gucker, Illinois Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator, this escalation could have significant implications for Illinois farmers, as the state exports more than 50% of its agricultural production. “This is a big deal. If we don’t have exports, then it becomes an issue,” Gucker told WAND News.

* Muddy River News | Fall archery season in Illinois yields record harvest of 1,045 wild turkeys: Hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary record statewide total of 1,045 wild turkeys during the 2024-25 fall archery turkey season, according to information from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The total compares last year’s harvest of 803 and the five-year average of 763 birds harvested. The previous record total for fall archery season was in 2015 when 851 turkeys were taken.

* WIFR | ‘Makers Madness’ contest opens voting to name The Coolest Thing Made in Illinois: More than 250 Illinois-made products were nominated for the contest, including energy storage equipment, life-saving medical products, electric vehicles, components for space exploration and sweet treats. […] Voting takes place online, allowing the public to vote up to five times a day for the top 16 products. Voting ends March 16, and results will be announced March 18.

*** Chicago ***

* Block Club | Mayor Brandon Johnson Ready To ‘Stand Up’ For Chicago At Congressional Hearing Wednesday: Johnson, along with the mayors of Boston, New York City and Denver, accepted an invitation to testify on Capitol Hill sent by U.S. Rep. James Comer, a Kentucky Republican and chairman of the GOP-led House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Comer’s committee is investigating sanctuary jurisdictions “and their impact on public safety and the effectiveness of federal efforts to enforce the immigration laws of the United States,” according to a public letter addressing Johnson and his fellow mayors.

* The Triibe | Mayor Johnson is taking his message straight to Black Chicagoans: According to Johnson, some $20 billion in investments have been allocated for Black Chicagoans. Johnson’s team also says those investments include $426 million for disaster relief from the 2023 and 2024 floods; the Psi Quantum Campus on the South Side, which is expected to generate a $20 billion economic impact over the next 10 years and more than 175,000 jobs; and the new Advocate Health Care hospital with its accompanying 10 new outpatient facilities.

* Chalkbeat Chicago | Chicago is kicking off the search for its next schools chief: The board is enlisting Alma Advisory Group to run a national search for a replacement for Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez. The previous school board fired Martinez without cause in December, which, under his contract, allowed him to remain at the district’s helm until late June. Martinez makes about $360,000 a year and will receive $130,000 in severance pay.

* City Bureau | Long Covid and the Fight for Clean Air: Amid the election season’s heated debates, stump speeches and political analysis, politicians and pundits repeatedly referenced one constant and deadly issue in the past tense: COVID-19, specifically Long COVID. COVID-19 was the 10th leading underlying cause of death in the United States in 2024, with hundreds or thousands dying each week, and its effects are persistently felt across racial and economic lines. And experts and advocates say people aren’t taking it seriously enough.

* Sun-Times | Chicago moves toward going fur-free: The ordinance advanced Tuesday would make it a crime to “sell, offer for sale, trade or otherwise distribute for monetary or non-monetary consideration a fur product in the city.” Specifically exempted are used fur products and fur products used for religious or “traditional tribal, cultural or spiritual purposed by a member of a federally- or state-recognized Native American tribe.”

* Sun-Times | Lead Madigan prosecutor leaving U.S. attorney’s office after more than two decades: Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu is expected to leave the office March 14, according to office spokesman Joseph Fitzpatrick. Bhachu has also taken on mobsters and other criminals at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse, and he’ll end his tenure as chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Public Corruption and Organized Crime Section.

* ABC Chicago | Lollapalooza 2025 dates released, sneak peek at merch: This year, the event will take place from July 31 to August 3rd in Grant Park. Although the official lineup has yet to be released, organizers teased merch. […] Last year, Megan Thee Stallion and Hozier kicked off the festival and Chappell Roan may have had the biggest Lollapalooza set of all time.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Proponents pushing for passage of Palatine Township mental health referendum: If the binding referendum passes, the township supervisor would appoint a seven-member volunteer board, including a liaison from the township board. The proposed tax is 0.04% of equalized assessed value and estimated to raise $1.7 million annually. It would be used to help meet the needs of people in Palatine Township living with mental illness, substance use disorder and developmental disabilities.

* Daily Herald | Arlington Heights trustee candidate cleared in campaign finance probe: The board voted 8-1 Monday night to accept and place on file Village Attorney Hart Passman’s findings and take no further action on a formal written complaint brought by resident Keith Moens. Trustee Wendy Dunnington, who proposed an amended motion that would have compelled Hunter to make an additional update to Illinois State Board of Elections records, was the lone “no” vote.

* Daily Herald | Two write-in candidates create contested race for District 211 school board election: Violetta Flis of Hanover Park and Natasha Mucci of Palatine met the filing deadline to be considered valid write-in candidates, the Cook County Clerk’s office confirmed Tuesday. Flis’ name appears as Wioletta Myskal-Flis on the write-in candidacy paperwork filed with the clerk. They join balloted candidates Anne Lopez of Hanover Park, former candidate Jane Russell of Rolling Meadows and former Schaumburg Township Elementary District 54 board member Kenneth Van Dyke of Roselle in the race for three available four-year terms on the board.

* Tribune | Exonerated after 24 years in prison, man sues Evanston police, saying they coerced murder confession: Attorneys for Frank Drew, who was 16 at the time a fellow Evanston teen was murdered and is now 45 years old, have brought a federal civil rights lawsuit against the defendants, including eight then-members of the police department, Cook County and a former prosecutor in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office. The suit asks a jury to award damages in recompense for Drew’s wrongful arrest and prosecution, and the near quarter century he spent in prison for a murder, according to his attorneys.

* Sun-Times | Pace considers express buses on I-290, I-88: The suburban bus agency has been running express buses on the shoulder of I-55 since 2011 — and more recently along the Jane Addams Tollway. Now, Pace is seeking public feedback to determine if it should add new “express” routes in the west suburbs.

* Crain’s | Why this dive bar has been boarded up for months — and the guilty plea that will finally fix it: Nisei Lounge is inherently old-school, but its exterior has appeared particularly tattered of late, even by the standards of an old Wrigleyville dive bar. A piece of graffitied plywood has covered some of the storefront window for the last 18 months. The plywood was a necessity at first. A burglar broke into the bar in September 2023. He entered through the window and bent its frame. The bar reopened later that day, but the owners waited to replace the window because they wanted to get restitution from the burglar to help pay for it.

*** Downstate ***

* TSPR | Pritchard: ‘At this point I have nothing to add’: A Galesburg mayoral candidate who was unable to participate in a forum last week due to illness says he’ll let his campaign materials “reverberate” for the time being and has not accepted a challenge from his opponent for a debate. […] “Given the significance of this race, I think it is important that the voters get to see the deep differences between our political histories and platforms,” Schwartzman said in the release. “Therefore, I hereby invite Mr. Pritchard to a one-on-one debate to be held within the next few weeks. I hope to hear a prompt response and look forward to discussing our different visions for Galesburg’s future.”

* Herald-Whig | Roundtable targets modern approach to labor shortage: But a report commissioned by the Upjohn Institute found small- to medium-sized manufacturers lag behind compared to larger manufacturers and often face larger financial, skill set and cultural hurdles in adopting automation technology. Quincy area businesses and human resources professionals came together Tuesday for the Western Illinois Regional Roundtable focused on modern approaches to address the local labor shortage.

* WCIA | Seven Point Dispensary to expand in Danville after approval of consumption lounge: The ordinance came to the council after Seven Point, a dispensary in Danville, hoped to expand its business. But, some City Council members weren’t at the meeting in February so there weren’t enough votes. During the Tuesday night meeting, supporters and opponents of the change spoke up during public comment. Before the council could vote to approve the ordinances, however, they first had to vote to “reconsider” the votes since it failed last meeting.

*** National ***

* WIRED | Elon Musk’s $1 Spending Limit Is Paralyzing Federal Agencies: At the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, scientists aren’t able to order equipment used to repair ships and radars. At the Food and Drug Administration, laboratories are experiencing delays in ordering basic supplies. At the National Park Service, employees are canceling trips to oversee crucial maintenance work. And at the Department of Agriculture and the Federal Aviation Administration, employees worry that mission-critical projects could be stalled. In many cases, employees are already unable to carry out the basic functions of their job.

* The Wrap | LA Times Pulls AI Tool One Day After Launch for Downplaying KKK: “Local historical accounts occasionally frame the 1920s Klan as a product of ‘white Protestant culture’ responding to societal changes rather than an explicitly hate-driven movement, minimizing its ideological threat,” the AI-generated note read. The note was added by “Insights,” the name of the Times’ new AI tool, to a Feb. 25 article on the 100th anniversary of Anaheim removing KKK members from its city council. Writer Gustavo Arellano said the historical decision was an example of “how to combat tyranny and white supremacy — and also that the work is never really done.”

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Wednesday, Mar 5, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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