* I posted this earlier, but let’s take a closer look…
* In the second pic, near the bottom…
“CW” is fed speak for “cooperating witness” (it can also be “confidential witness,” but that still means somebody is talking).
This isn’t surprising. It’s expected. But this is the first time we have an indication that people are cooperating.
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Mansion to close for more renovations
Thursday, Oct 3, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the governor’s office…
The Governor’s Mansion will be closing for tours until Nov. 23 for renovations. It will reopen in time for the holidays, with an open house for the community on Dec. 7. Throughout the holiday season, the home will feature a 30-foot Christmas tree in the front yard for all of Springfield to enjoy.
Quote from the First Lady
“The people of Springfield have been so welcoming to our family, and we hope that they enjoy the Governor’s mansion this holiday season. The Governor’s mansion has a unique place in our history, and we want to make sure that the holidays reflect the special role of this historic home.”
Background
Renovations include repairing tile on the first floor that had a defective finish, renovating guest bedrooms and bathrooms, and updating existing plumbing.
All work will be done by union workers.
The Governor and First Lady will be paying for the renovations personally.
The Halloween celebration on Oct. 26 for the children of Springfield will continue with treats and the Great Pumpkin display.
I assume the governor will still be hosting after-hours meetings with legislators during the upcoming veto session, but “where” is the question. Recommendations?
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Question of the day
Thursday, Oct 3, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The one word which immediately springs to mind when you think of the recent federal raids and activities? One word only, please.
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* Buried deep down in Tuesday’s Sun-Times story about the Sandoval-related investigation was this revelation from Cook County Commissioner Jeff Tobolski’s chief of staff Patrick Doherty…
Doherty said he doesn’t know whether Tobolski is a target of investigators, or even how Tobolski is holding up ever since agents descended on McCook’s village hall.
That’s because Doherty said he hasn’t seen him or heard from him in about a week.
Tobolski is the mayor of McCook, which, as noted in the piece, was raided by the feds last week.
*** UPDATE *** Speaking of McCook…
Make sure to click the pic.
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This is why we can’t have nice things
Thursday, Oct 3, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Tribune reports today that the unfunded liability for Chicago’s pension funds has risen by almost $7 billion since the city raised taxes by over $800 million to pay down the debt. The reason basically boils down to changed investment and payout assumptions, kicking the can and bad investing…
There are three main reasons the gap widened by nearly $7 billion. By far the biggest is that the people who run the four retirement funds changed their economic assumptions. They reduced the amount they expect to earn by investing the money already on hand, and they increased how long they expect retirees will live and collect benefits.
Second, Emanuel’s plan put off the largest increases in pension contributions to get the system back on track until after he left office. […]
And third, pension fund investments didn’t meet their expected rate of return in recent years. … The funds lost between 5.5% and 6.6% of the total investments [last year], according to their year-end accountings.
The changed assumptions part is, as noted, the largest share and was necessary to better align the systems with reality.
Kicking the can is, unfortunately, this state’s most popular sport. It’s like paying the minimum monthly balance on your credit card while continuing to spend more money. But that’s still better than what Mayor Daley did, which was pay pretty much nothing.
And if you want another reason why the other municipalities don’t want to include Chicago in a statewide merger of the hundreds of local first responder pension funds, just look at those investment returns.
* Speaking of those local Downstate and suburban first responder funds, Mark Maxwell went to their annual training conference at a posh Wisconsin venue…
And that $8 million doesn’t include other reimbursable travel expenses and compensated time off work.
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We need a better plan
Thursday, Oct 3, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* We really need to do better on mental health treatment at every level in this country…
The man who drove his SUV through the Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg last month had been released from a mental health facility the previous day, still suffering from hallucinations, hearing voices and having suicidal thoughts, relatives say.
Javier Garcia, 22, was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and bipolar disorder three years ago and has been in and out of mental health facilities since then, his sister Noemi Garcia told the Sun-Times Wednesday.
“Just in the last two months my brother has been to three different inpatient centers,” she said.
“After a week they would release him, with Javier still coming home to us telling us that he didn’t feel safe, that he still kept hearing voices, that he still had suicidal thoughts and it’s just like an every day battle,” she said. […]
Interruptions to Medicaid coverage also were a hurdle to getting help, she said.
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* Sun-Times…
State regulators need to tighten rules to fend off “faux” competitors if Chicago’s professional sports teams are expected to fork over a whopping $10 million apiece for licenses to open sportsbooks at or near their stadiums.
That’s what a lawyer for the White Sox, Cubs, Bears, Bulls and Blackhawks told the Illinois Gaming Board in a letter last week, as the agency sets the framework for newly legalized sports betting across the state.
Among other things, the teams want rules to keep casino-tied sports wagering operations and Illinois Lottery parlay betting kiosks out of their territory once the industry finally launches. […]
Illinois’ new gambling expansion law authorizes sports wagering licenses not only for casinos, racetracks and off-track betting parlors, but also for up to seven sports facilities with a capacity of 17,000 or more — opening the door to betting windows inside or within a five-block radius of Guaranteed Rate Field, Wrigley Field, Soldier Field and the United Center.
The teams are essentially demanding a monopoly for five blocks in every direction around their stadiums. They even want a ban on sports book advertising and marketing in their zones by anyone but themselves.
The letter written by the teams’ attorney also points to this recent development in New Jersey…
A dozen spicy wings and a 12-team parlay? The sports betting experience is coming to a Buffalo Wild Wings near you via one of America’s largest bookmakers.
MGM Resorts International and its sports betting venture Roar Digital announced a multiyear deal with national sports bar Buffalo Wild Wings on Thursday. It’s another visible shift in the American sports betting culture.
In the coming months, odds and point spreads will begin appearing on screens at select Buffalo Wild Wings. On Thursday, the two companies will launch Picks and Props, a free-to-play, mobile-only football game that mimics sports betting with point spreads and prop bets and rewards winners with prizes, including trips to Las Vegas and Atlantic City.
* Meanwhile, this is also from the Sun-Times…
Ald. Anthony Beale (9th) is in the doghouse with Mayor Lori Lightfoot for publicly opposing the mayor’s choice of Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) as Finance Committee chairman.
But Beale is not about to keep quiet while Chicago continues to “hemorrhage” revenue to Indiana casinos.
On Wednesday, Beale sent a letter to the mayor outlining a game plan he believes would expedite a Chicago casino.
It calls for the city to issue a “request-for-proposals” to identify a “responsible” casino operator. The mayor and the chosen operator then would go to Springfield to seek the specific fix needed for the Chicago casino’s tax structure. The structure outlined in the current law is so onerous, a city casino can’t be financed, according to a Gaming Board consultant. […]
Beale claims to have a “shovel-ready” casino site at 103rd and Woodlawn that has attracted interest from two casino operators he refused to name; that site was not among the five Lightfoot asked the Gaming Board to study.
Sigh.
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* WBEZ…
WBEZ filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Illinois Senate, alleging that details from the recent federal anti-corruption raids of a top legislator’s offices are being hidden from public view in violation of the state’s open-records law.
The suit was filed in Sangamon County Circuit Court by lawyer Matt Topic and comes a day after Democratic Senate President John Cullerton’s office gave reporters heavily blacked-out documents from the FBI investigation of powerful state Sen. Martin Sandoval, a high-ranking Cullerton ally. […]
But in this case, Cullerton’s office instead decided to delete dozens of names of individuals and companies who were mentioned in the search warrant from the copies given to WBEZ and other news organizations. […]
The newly filed lawsuit alleges that the state Senate’s deletions were made “in willful violation of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act” and seeks unredacted documents.
* This is what Cullerton’s spokesman said the other day when asked…
Decisions were guided by an Attorney General’s opinion, case law and discussions with the investigative authorities.
So, in other words, they’re blaming part of it on the feds.
The AG’s binding opinion was issued just days ago on September 24th. You can click here to read it.
An Illinois appellate court ruled in 2009 that Gov. Rod Blagojevich had to turn over federal grand jury subpoenas served on the governor. The City of Chicago turned over an unredacted list of items seized during the federal raids of Ald. Ed Burke’s offices.
The extensive redactions made by the Senate Democrats are here.
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* 2011…
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn says he is willing to talk about adding a casino in Chicago, but he stated on Friday that he is opposed to a larger expansion of gambling. […]
When asked what he thinks about the prospect of Danville getting a casino, Quinn said Danville Mayor Scott Eisenhauer should not “hold his breath.” Quinn said he doesn’t want the state to be the “Las Vegas of the Midwest.” […]
Skokie Democrat Lou Lang said he plans to introduce a gaming expansion measure next week in the Illinois House of Representatives that includes Danville.
Lang was the chief sponsor of the gaming bill for years, and he made sure Danville was always in the mix. Lang recused himself from the bill’s sponsorship in 2013 because a law firm he had joined represented a suburban town seeking a casino. He said he did no work for that town, however.
* Lang is now a partner in the new casino operating group chosen by Danville…
Even though the group is new, together they have more than 100 years of gaming experience.
To start. there is Lou Lang, a former state representative from Skokie. He served for 32 years and was a major advocate for gaming expansion.
Another partner is Scott Syplot, a Chicago gaming attorney who works mostly with Indian tribes.
And Bill Bembenek, who came from San Diego as the former CEO of the Pala Casino Spa & Resort.
“This is about not only revenue, but this is about the future of Danville,” Lang said.
Discuss.
*** UPDATE *** Despite the stories referring to him as a partner in the casino project, I just reached out to Lang and he told me that he’s just an adviser. So, I changed the headline.
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* Tribune…
The Museum of Science and Industry will rename itself after Chicago philanthropist Ken Griffin, who is making the largest donation in the institution’s history, the museum announced Thursday.
The sprawling science, tech and business museum on the city’s South Side will become the Kenneth C. Griffin Museum of Science and Industry after the museum’s board voted to accept Griffin’s $125 million donation and the name change Thursday morning.
It’s a major change in the Chicago cultural landscape, prompted by one of the largest cash donations ever to a local cultural institution. Ken Griffin, founder of the hedge fund Citadel, has been one of the most prominent and active donors to cultural and educational organizations through his Kenneth C. Griffin Charitable Fund, with giving that now totals over $1 billion. […]
The museum says the gift pushes its current capital campaign past the $300 million mark in funds raised. The money will mostly go into the museum’s endowment, which will more than double as a result, MSI board chair Chris Crane said. In coming years, the museum intends to work on creating new exhibitions, renovating museum galleries and modernizing its building, which has 14 acres of indoor space and is the last holdover from the 1893 World’s Fair.
Thoughts?
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* 2017…
Illinois Senate President John Cullerton announced on Wednesday that Illinois State Senator Ira Silverstein has resigned from the Senate Democratic Leadership team after being accused of sexual harassment.
Legislative activist Denise Rotheimer testified Tuesday in front of a senate panel that Ira Silverstein made inappropriate comments to her while the two worked together on legislation. […]
The dramatic revelation came out Tuesday at a hearing in front of the House Personnel and Pensions Committee.
* August of this year…
State Sen. Tom Cullerton was replaced as chairman of the Senate Labor Committee, a move that comes four days after he was indicted on federal charges of embezzling money from a labor union.
According to a spokesman for the senate president’s office, the shakeup among committee chairs involves three Senate committees. Sen. Omar Aquino, D-Chicago, was named to replace Cullerton on the Labor Committee; Cullerton was named as the new chair of the Veterans Affairs Committee; and Sen. Cristina Castro, D-Elgin, former chair of Veterans Affairs, has been named fill Aquino’s former post as chair of the Government Accountability and Pensions Committee.
* Yesterday…
Pritzker reacted quickly to the news of Sandoval’s raid — to get ahead of worries that the investigation would taint the governor’s massive capital plan, which Sandoval helped put together.
“We must assure the public that this work [the capital plan] is on the up and up,” Pritzker told reporters. “Corruption and self-dealing will not be tolerated.”
Cullerton was just as quick to resist any attempt to be pushed to take action.
“This remains an active investigation, and the Senate President wants to make informed decisions,” Cullerton spokesman John Patterson said.
Something often lost in the shuffle about Sen. Sandoval is he is also the Majority Caucus Whip. Not only has Senate President Cullerton refused to move him off the Transportation Committee, but Sandoval still has his leadership gig. The post is unpaid, but that’s beside the point.
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* Kiplinger rates Illinois as the least tax-friendly state, mainly because of our property taxes…
Least Tax-Friendly
Illinois’ economic woes are one reason why the Prairie State tops our list of the least tax-friendly states in the country. The state ranks #50 in the latest ranking of states’ fiscal health by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, and residents are paying the price with higher taxes.
The state’s 4.95% flat income tax rate actually isn’t that high when compared to other states, but other taxes are a doozy. For example, property taxes in Illinois are the second-highest in the nation. On a $400,000 home in the state, the average annual property tax bill would be an eye-popping $9,634.
Sales taxes are high, too. In some municipalities, combined state and local sales taxes exceed 10%. Most states exempt food and drugs from their sales tax, but that’s not the case in Illinois.
* Crain’s…
Connecticut, New York and Wisconsin followed Illinois.
Wyoming was the most tax-friendly on the Kiplinger list, followed by Nevada and Tennessee. Wyoming and Nevada do not have an income tax, while Tennessee’s income tax applies only to interest and dividends, according to MarketWatch.
California did not make the top 10 least tax-friendly states. Although California has one of the highest state income tax rates, it has a progressive income tax with varying rates.
*** UPDATE *** Press release…
Today, Think Big Illinois Executive Director Quentin Fulks released the following statement in response to a new Kiplinger report that ranked Illinois as the least-tax friendly state in the country:
“Illinois’ current tax system is fundamentally unfair, letting millionaires and billionaires avoid paying their share while working families are forced to shoulder the burden. That’s why Think Big Illinois is committed to bringing tax fairness to our state and ensuring our tax system works for everyone, not just the wealthy few.
“During his first legislative session, Governor Pritzker signed a bipartisan balanced budget bringing $8.9 billion in funding to our education system, including nearly half a billion dollars in new funding. This additional funding, along with the revenue generated from the fair tax, will help the state meet its obligation to fund our schools, a critical step toward alleviating the property tax burden on our residents and bringing tax fairness to our state.
“Those who our current tax system benefits are so desperate to avoid paying their share that they’d rather go back to the Rauner years of gutting critical social services, watching our roads and bridges crumble, and forcing local communities to raise property taxes because they refuse to properly fund our schools.
“Illinois’ hardworking families deserve better than that. Think Big Illinois is committed to fighting with Governor Pritzker to ensure our children are getting the quality education they deserve, to lessen the tax burden on our middle and lower-income families, and to bring tax fairness to our state.”
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* As noted earlier in two different posts, the governor held his first press conference in well over a month today.
Before even taking questions, Pritzker called on Sen. Martin Sandoval to either resign from or be removed from the chairmanship of the Senate Transportation committee. “Corruption and self-dealing will not be tolerated,” he said. “Sometimes I have to say some difficult things to the leaders,” he said later in response to a question about whether he’d talked to Senate President John Cullerton about Sandoval.
* I told subscribers this morning that the governor’s office told me IDOT has received no federal subpoenas. Pritzker said this afternoon that neither the governor’s office nor IDOT had been served with subpoenas or search warrants. He also said this…
I know there’s reference [in the Sandoval search warrant] to some IDOT employees, but, as of now anyway, there’s no allegation, there’s no interviews that we’re aware of, that have been requested.
He also said he didn’t know who the unnamed IDOT officials were.
* He was asked about Sandoval’s involvement in the capital bill…
We were at odds with Sen. Sandoval in a number of very important ways. He, in fact, put forward a different capital bill than the one that was ultimately put through. And his was rejected, and amendments he put forward were rejected. So, I feel confident that the procedures that were gone through were good ones. But as I say, as we go through and those projects are reviewed we’re going to make sure and identify any challenges that may exist so that we’re doing the right thing and the entire thing’s on the up-and-up.
Sandoval introduced a “horizontal” capital bill weeks before the governor’s office was prepared to issue its own. As subscribers may recall, it caused some tension.
Pritzker later mentioned something I told subscribes about on Monday. Pritzker said there was opposition from IDOT over Sandoval’s pressure to use recycled asphalt shingles, a business dominated here by Mike Vondra.
* The first question out of the gate was about our Question of the Day, the $250,000 appropriated to the Village of McCook “for costs associated with upgrades to the municipal building.” Pritzker’s response…
All of the allocations that are made have to go through a rigorous process before they are paid out, before those projects are initiated. That is one that is in place. It of course means that we should make sure that it is transparent, that it’s done completely on the up-and-up and I am making sure that we’re reviewing all the policies and procedures so that any projects that get approved are approved with the utmost confidence that these are done in the best interest of taxpayers and nothing of the sort of corruption or self-dealing that has been alleged.
* He was also asked about his fractured leg, which has kept him from most public appearances…
For the last couple days anyway it’s felt pretty good.
He told reporters that they’ll be seeing him more now.
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* The outside illuminating lights at the Statehouse were shut off years ago during the impasse. Here’s a photo from last week…
* Last night…
* Brenden’s story…
In perhaps the most visible sign the state has emerged from the darkness of a more than two-year-long budget impasse, the lights illuminating the Illinois State Capitol dome were switched on Tuesday night for the first time since 2015.
Illinois Secretary of State spokesman Henry Haupt confirmed the return of the lights, which were shut off due to the impasse as the state fell as much as $12 million behind on its City Light, Water and Power tab.
The dome lights have been upgraded to LED, which significantly reduces electrical costs. The Secretary of State’s office, which maintains the Capitol Complex, estimates that the cost comes out to about $4.33 per day, or just under $1,600 per year.
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* Your move, Mr. Senate President…
…Adding… The governor apparently told Cullerton this himself and not just blindside him with a media announcement…
*** UPDATE *** The answer is apparently “No”…
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* Sun-Times…
A long-awaited legislative inspector general’s report requested by former political consultant turned #MeToo whistleblower Alaina Hampton concludes Kevin Quinn — a former top political aide to Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan — violated sexual harassment provisions now in place.
But the harassment in question happened before those provisions were added to state law as part of a revamped ethics act. That revamp was part of a cleanup effort after a swath of #MeToo allegations last year. […]
But since Quinn no longer is a state employee, he can’t even be disciplined for that violation. Current Legislative Inspector General Carol Pope — who adopted Porter’s findings — recommended that a memo from the speaker be placed in his official personnel file; the memo would state that he violated that provision and that “he never be rehired as a State employee or contractor.”
A separate legislative inspector general’s report about former Madigan chief of staff Tim Mapes was also released on Wednesday. Pope, too, found that Mapes “violated the Ethics Act by engaging in conduct of a sexual nature with the purpose and effect of creating an intimidating, hostile, and offensive working environment.” Pope wrote that Mapes also refused to cooperate with the investigation. He, too, will get a memo in his file and can never be rehired as a state employee.
* Tribune…
Pope said her predecessor referred the matter to the Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul to consider criminal charges against Quinn, but Raoul declined to prosecute Quinn over the Hampton allegations.
Well, that’s new.
* More…
[Pope] cited Mapes for “conduct of a sexual nature with the purpose and effect of creating an intimidating, hostile and offensive working environment.” […]
In response, Mapes’ attorney called the allegations “baseless and untrue.” […]
The accounts from Garrett, whom Pope “found … to be entirely credible,” were corroborated by three other employees in the speaker’s office, including two witnesses who “worked closely with Mapes and generally had good relationships with him,” according to the report.
The letter from Mapes’ attorney is quite something. No apology, defiant to the end.
* Kevin Quinn documentation…
* LIG summary report
* Speaker Madigan response
* Alaina Hampton response
* Kevin Quinn response
* Tim Mapes documentation…
* LIG summary report
* Speaker Madigan response
* Tim Mapes response
*** UPDATE *** Speaker Madigan…
The former Legislative Inspector General reviewed my actions and determined Ms. Hampton’s allegations against me were unfounded. She advised me that my office took the investigation seriously and made a reasoned decision as to how to impose consequences for Kevin Quinn’s misconduct.
I have strengthened and improved protections for victims of harassment in both my office and across my political organizations. These changes include instituting mandatory training on sexual harassment, intimidation, and other important workplace protections, and creating strong reporting mechanisms to report workplace complaints. I am committed to ensuring that anyone who reports a complaint is protected, they are treated fairly and that everyone has a safe and welcoming work environment.
* And this is from Ald. Marty Quinn…
The Legislative Inspector General’s report reiterates the statement I made in February 2018 and confirms my handling of this situation. When Ms. Hampton notified me of inappropriate text messages from my brother, I took immediate action. I also did exactly what she asked me to do. I understood Ms. Hampton wanted the text messages to stop and I made sure she was never contacted by my brother again. I have never wavered from creating a safe and productive workplace and I never will.
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* Obviously, President Trump is not beloved in the city (just the opposite), so attempting to motivate census participation by framing it as an act of defiance could turn out to be a pretty smart move by the mayor…
Mayor Lori Lightfoot wants to convince Chicagoans to take part in the upcoming U.S. census by casting it as an act of defiance against President Donald Trump’s administration.
The city will launch a campaign to try to get participation up to 75% of the population from an estimated 66% 10 years ago, Lightfoot said Tuesday. The push comes in spite of what the mayor said is Trump’s attempts to suppress the number of residents who fill out the forms in Democratic-leaning parts of the country with large immigrant populations like Chicago.
“I think we can make a very compelling case as to why this is, in some ways, the ultimate form of protest, which is to be counted and not let somebody treat you as invisible and drive you into the shadows,” Lightfoot said at a news conference to announce her administration will earmark $2.7 million to help increase census turnout in 2020. “So I think we have a very compelling message in opposition, frankly, to what the prevailing conservative, anti-immigrant message is, to get people motivated to get counted.”
Trump wanted to include a question on 2020 census forms asking people their citizenship status. While the U.S. Supreme Court rejected that idea, Lightfoot acknowledged there is still widespread concern among undocumented immigrants that federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will try to use census information to deport them.
* More…
Lightfoot said she would ask the City Council to set aside $2.7 million in the 2020 budget for outreach efforts to be led by well-established community organizations familiar with Chicago’s hard-to-count residents — immigrants, refugees, renters, those who are homeless; people with disabilities; those who don’t speak English, young children; seniors citizens; and college students. […]
“We’re looking at $1,400 per year per person that we stand to lose if we don’t get people counted,” Lightfoot said. “You add that up across tens of thousands over a decade, that’s real money that’s not coming to Chicago.”
The city’s effort will get an assist from Chicago-based advertising firm FCB, which will build and launch a citywide campaign free of charge.
The campaign will paint the Census as a “true tool of empowerment,” said Michael Fassnacht, president and CEO of FCB Chicago.
Thoughts?
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* Crain’s…
The University of Illinois plans a $100 million center to develop smart technologies in partnership with a division of Foxconn and the long-planned Discovery Partners Institute.
The Center for Networked Intelligent Components & Environments will be based on the Urbana-Champaign campus as part of the Grainger College of Engineering. […]
Foxconn Interconnect Technology will fund the $50 million over 10 years. The unit is separate from Foxconn Technology Group, the electronics-assembly business that is building a factory near Kenosha, Wis., and is funding $100 million in engineering research at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
* Daily Illini…
Foxconn’s presence at the University already includes a space in the University’s Research Park, as well as Lu’s recent $21.5 million investment toward a five-story addition to the University’s mechanical engineering building.
Researchers from Foxconn Interconnect and the University will be working together at the new center to focus on research for a wide range of projects, including the interaction between humans and robots, new measurement techniques for nanoscale components, methods for capturing manufacturing data and new data-processing techniques in sensors.
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Chris Cleveland calling it quits
Wednesday, Oct 2, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Greg Hinz…
He’s a survivor, a long-lived Republican and conservative activist in an overwhelmingly Democratic city who not only kept his party job but got noticed over the past decade. And now he’s hanging it up.
That’s Chris Cleveland, the GOP committeeman of the Lincoln Park 43rd Ward, who announced in recent days that the search is on for his successor because “the time has come for me to get back to the private sector,” specifically running the software company he owns.
Cleveland, who also chairs the Chicago Republican Party, actually managed to find some success in a city that, despite its reputation, still is home to hundreds of thousands of GOP voters.
As he noted in an email to supporters and in a follow-up interview, he sued both Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan and the Chicago Board of Elections (winning both), challenged the nominating petitions of dozens of Democrats, opened two offices in the ward and actually fielded a semblance of an organization with precinct workers and election judges. He even had some fun, filing a civil rights complaint after a Chicago alderman tried to block opening of a Chick-fil-A outlet in his ward.
Go read the rest.
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* Patrick Elwood at WGN…
Residents in Lyons left a City Hall meeting frustrated Tuesday evening. The meeting came just days after the town’s City Hall was raided by federal agents.
The village’s monthly public meeting started at 7 p.m. and was over by 7:06 p.m. Those residents who wanted to say a few words were not allowed to speak.
The FBI raided the town halls of Lyons, McCook and Summit, and just days before that, raided the Cicero and Springfield offices of Sen. Martin Sandoval. […]
As a WGN reporter interviewed Earl Johnson, a Lyons resident who is an outspoken critic of Mayor Christopher Getty, a man who residents said is an ally of Getty walked by and spilled soda as the on-camera interview was conducted. He then set off his car alarm.
* Some on-scene tweets from the BGA…
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* Cole Lauterbach at Center Square…
A new analysis from credit rating agency S&P predicts cities in areas like Southern Illinois must get ready for “credit challenges” as money moves out of coal.
As investors, both in public and private sectors, make an effort to invest in things like renewable energy, S&P said coal-reliant areas could experience added budget pressures due to a loss of not only tax revenue should a mine or coal-fired plant close, but the also the local tax base after workers leave the area for other opportunities.
“In S&P Global Ratings’ opinion, reliance on coal-related revenue and economic activity, absent diversification, may result in long-term credit deterioration for some U.S. government entities,” the report said.
Specifically to Illinois, the authors pointed out that coal accounts for less than 1 percent of the state’s GDP and the state doesn’t collect a severance tax on coal. This, the authors said, would ensure that the decline of the coal industry in Illinois would have a minimal effect on the state’s overall economy.
Southern Illinois, however, would be one of the more intensely-affected regions.
“In localized areas where there is a power plant closure, where there is a mine closure, that can have a more negative economic impact in that area,” credit analyst Timothy Little said.
U.S. coal production is in decline, with half of those operating in 2008 having been since shuttered, but Illinois’ coal production has bucked that trend, according to S&P.
“Over the past decade (2007-2018), production increased 52% compared to declines or flat production in the nine other major coal-producing states and a 34% decline in coal production nationally,” the report said, attributing that increase to strong export demand and relative ease of extraction compared to other areas.
The report’s ominous warning is due, in part, to a larger movement of ethical investing referred to as environmental, social, and governance, or ESG, initiatives that focus on sustainability factors among other issues.
“The ESG components to our ratings are just as important as some of the financial metrics that are key,” S&P analyst Kurt Forsgren said.
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Danville picks casino operator
Wednesday, Oct 2, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Jennifer Bailey at the Danville Commercial News…
D-Vegas has been a long-running nickname used by some residents for Danville, it being the opposite of a bright lights big city.
Now after a 30-year wait for a casino, Danville is living up to that nickname and could be called that by a lot more people. The casino renderings of Haven Gaming LLC’s casino resort and entertainment center is reminiscent of a Las Vegas-style property.
The Danville City Council voted 12-0, with Ward 4 Alderman Mike O’Kane absent and a vacant Ward 1 seat at the start of the meeting Tuesday night to accept the casino steering-committee’s recommendation of Haven Gaming as the casino operating partner. Haven Gaming is a team of about seven people with more than a century of gaming experience combined with casinos, for example in Joliet, Michigan City, Ind., and in California.
The proposed casino will have 1,250 slot machines, 40 gaming tables and also sports betting lounges and bars, a 2,500 seat entertainment venue, conference/banquet center, 300-seat buffet, a boutique hotel and rooftop spa/salon, pool and lazy river, celebrity-style restaurants and other amenities. There also will be waterfall and other outside features.
* Artist rendering…
Nice.
* Sun-Times…
“This has been a long time coming,” a tearful Danville Mayor Rickey Williams Jr. said before the City Council unanimously passed a measure approving a proposal from a politically connected casino development group that includes a powerful ex-state lawmaker who resigned in controversy earlier this year.
Nearly 25 years after the General Motors foundry shut down in nearby Tilton, the once-prospering city of Danville — where Abraham Lincoln practiced law before his political ascent, and where actors Dick Van Dyke and Gene Hackman grew up — has seen its number of residents shrink to about 30,000, according to U.S. Census estimates. That’s a population decline of about 30% from its heyday in 1970.
And now, more than 30% of Danville residents live below the federal poverty line, more than double the statewide poverty rate of about 12%, Census figures show.
But state and city leaders are betting a casino can help turn that tide, despite the fact casino attendance and revenue figures have been steadily declining for years as video gambling machines have proliferated at at thousands of bars, restaurants, lounges and rest stops since they launched in Illinois in 2012.
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* From the capital bill, co-sponsored by Sen. Martin Sandoval…
The sum of $250,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated from the Build Illinois Bond Fund to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for a grant to the Village of McCook for costs associated with upgrades to the municipal building.
McCook, of course, was one of the towns visited by the feds last week two days after Sen. Sandoval’s offices and house were raided.
* The Question: Your top ideas for how McCook should spend its municipal building upgrade money?
*** UPDATE *** The governor was actually asked today about this appropriation. Pritzker said all projects will be reviewed, “so that any projects that are approved are approved with the utmost confidence that these are done in the best interest of taxpayers and nothing of the sort of corruption or self-dealing that has been alleged.”
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