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Friday, Jun 14, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* War…

Ridin’ ’round town with all the windows down

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Isabel’s afternoon roundup (Updated)

Friday, Jun 14, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Center Square…

A new judge will handle the sentencing phase of a high-profile corruption case centered around former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.

Judge Harry Leinenweber, who oversaw the 2023 trial of four former Commonwealth Edison executives and lobbyists, died Tuesday evening after 39 years on the bench. He was 87. President Ronald Reagan nominated Leinenweber to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in 1985. He assumed senior status in 2002 and maintained an active caseload until his death.

The court’s executive committee assigned the ComEd case to Judge Manish Shah for all further proceedings, according to court records.

*** Statewide ***

* Tribune | Bears CEO Kevin Warren added to state business development board: The governor plays no official role in selecting board members for Intersect Illinois, which was created under former Gov. Bruce Rauner, Pritzker’s Republican predecessor. The responsibility for picking board members falls to the Intersect board itself.

* AP | Illinois is hit with cicada chaos. This is what it’s like to see, hear and feel billions of bugs: Cicada chaos is flourishing and flying. Trillions of once-hidden baby bugs are in the air, on the trees and perching upon people’s shirts, hats and even faces. They’re red-eyed, loud and frisky. “What you saw was biblical,” said biologist Gene Kritsky, who has been chasing periodical cicadas for 50 years, yet was still amazed by the 3 to 5 million cicadas crowding a small patch of Ryerson Conservation Area north of Chicago. “There are things I’ve seen this time that I’ve never seen before.”

*** Chicago ***

* WTTW | Ex-Ald. Ed Burke Seeking to Delay June Sentencing if US Supreme Court Hasn’t Yet Ruled on Separate Bribery Case: Burke’s attorneys on Friday filed a motion seeking to delay his upcoming June 24 sentencing date until sometime in mid-July if the Supreme Court has not yet ruled on an appeal filed by James Snyder, the former mayor of Portage, Indiana, who was convicted in 2021 of accepting a bribe.

* CBS Chicago | Migrants frustrated at being forced out of Chicago shelters as city enforces 60-day stay limit: Rosa—who asked to have her identity shielded—has been in the Pilsen migrant shelter on South Halsted Street for months. Now, she, her husband, and her son are looking for an apartment because they were evicted from the Halsted Street shelter—and placed into another one an hour and a half away. […] As of Thursday, the city said about 6,700 migrants were living in city- or state-run shelters. Volunteers like Maria Perez are working to make sure the people still in shelters know what to do if they are evicted next. “This is your only option,” said Perez. “They don’t have any other options, you know, I mean—or they’re going to be put out on the street.”

* Sun-Times | No extremist groups on list barring Chicago police officer membership, only street gangs: The document includes 675 gang factions that department members are forbidden from joining — but no hate or extremist groups. A police spokesperson indicated such groups will be identified on a case-by-case basis. […] “We do not want to be in a situation where a CPD member could point to this list and say, ‘Well, the KKK does not appear among the enumerated groups, and therefore there’s no problem with my affiliating with that group,’” [Inspector General Deborah Witzburg] said.

* UPDATE: Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability: “The new policy focuses on prohibited behavior and makes clear that officers who engage in that behavior or associate with organizations that engage in that behavior can be disciplined. And that includes being fired. There is absolutely no requirement for an organization to be on a prohibited list in order for CPD to take action,” said Community Commission President Anthony Driver Jr. “Under the previous policy, you could put the Proud Boys on a list of organizations you couldn’t join, but then the Proud Boys could decide tomorrow to become the Nice Boys, and then members could say ‘I’m not a Proud Boy, I’m a Nice Boy, and that’s not on the list.’ That policy made it easier to avoid discipline and accountability. We don’t care what you call yourself, we care what you do.” “People who advocate for prejudice, discrimination, or efforts to overthrow or destroy the government have no home in the Chicago Police Department. They should not wear a badge or carry a gun. And reporters like Schuba and Mihalopoulos should help police officers and civilians to understand what the policy is and, together with oversight bodies like the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, work to hold CPD accountable for properly enforcing it,” Driver added.

* Block Club | CTA Stops ‘Rave Train’ Planned For Saturday, Saying It Was Never Approved: “CTA was fully aware of what we were doing this whole time,” a spokesperson for Redline Chicago said in a Telegram chat about the rave train, which includes almost 8,000 members and discussion about where to buy drugs.

* Block Club | Hotel Monaco Rebrands As L7 Chicago By Korean Luxury Hotel Chain: South Korea’s largest luxury hotel chain has made landfall with its first hotel in the United States, now open just steps away from Downtown’s Michigan Avenue. Lotte Hotel & Resorts bought the Kimpton Hotel Monaco at 225 N. Wabash Ave. in 2022 for $36 million, a steal thanks to the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic on Downtown real estate.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Why Glen Ellyn police chief says Jimmy Buffett saved his life: In a news report about Buffet’s death last year from Merkel cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer, Norton heard a doctor recommend that you should visit a doctor “if you have a pimple that won’t heal.” “And I heard that and thought, ‘Well, you know, I had this thing that I thought was from shaving my head, and it was an irritation,’” Norton said. He got it checked out, and that “thing” turned out to be a basal cell carcinoma, a highly treatable form of skin cancer. A procedure known as Mohs surgery followed to remove it.

* CBS CHicago | Tempers flare in Harvey, Illinois as business owners complain of unfair fines: South suburban Dolton has made headlines lately for chaotic confrontations at its village hall—as ongoing investigations of overspending often cause blow-ups between Mayor Tiffany Henyard and residents. On Thursday, tensions similarly boiled over in south suburban Harvey. Business owners there say they are being slapped with unnecessary fees—but city leaders said they need the money.

* CBS Chicago | Chicago hospital ER closed to new patients due to sweltering heat inside: The emergency room at Community First Medical Center in the Portage Park neighborhood was placed on bypass Thursday. … “We are having to literally drown some of our patients in ice packs because we have no other way of keeping them cool,” one staff member said earlier this month. The issue was not new this month. CBS 2 addressed it with staff last year after an ER doctor shared a photo showing industrial fans in exterior doorways.

*** Downstate ***

* WSIL | Mt. Vernon medical center brings Dolly Parton Library to its business: Asbery & Associates will become a sign-up spot for mothers to join Parton’s library. The program gives free stories to children between birth and five years of age in hopes of establishing a love of reading and learning early on. Dr. and Mrs. Asbery expressed their belief that quality books help lead to a child’s success in a press release about the partnership. The Asberys can see how this fact aligns with the medical center’s mission of bridging the achievement gap around Southern Illinois.

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Et tu, Turow?

Friday, Jun 14, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Sigh…

* From Turow’s letter…

I have known Ed over the years as one of the most keenly intelligent people I’ve ever encountered, someone with an unrivaled knowledge of the history of Chicago. He is a person with a loving and complex view of human nature, and, in my long experience with him, a central preoccupation with the practical steps that will make life here better for all of us.

None of this is to gainsay the evidence heard in your courtroom, or to diminish the gravity of the crime Ed has been convicted of.

But one thing has been striking to me since the complaint was first unveiled in this matter in 2019. How consistent is it with the image the prosecutors want to draw of a City Hall insider “steeped in corruption” to think that such a man would get on the telephone with people he barely knew and declare, “[We’re going to talk about the real estate tax representation and you [a]re going to have somebody get in touch with me so we can expedite your permits”?

Of course, that was exactly what he said. But what allegedly experienced schemer of Ed’s intelligence, let alone a lifetime familiarity with law enforcement and Chicago history, would deliver such a clearly improper message so baldly? The same observation applies to statements about “tuna” and “cash registers,” uttered so cheerfully—and guilelessly.

In short, I have considered the crimes themselves as clear evidence of a state of decline that the defendant is too proud to recognize or acknowledge and which the prosecutors, naturally, would not focus on. Personally, I have no doubt that a younger Ed Burke would have stayed carefully within the white lines-and out of your courtroom. Accordingly, I believe that is an important consideration as you ponder the heavy task of setting an appropriate punishment for an 80 year old.

Maybe now we have some insights into why the G never went after Burke until relatively recently. He was their impressively smart buddy. A mentor, even.

He apparently worked the refs quite well for decades.

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Rides For Moms Provides Transportation To Prenatal Care

Friday, Jun 14, 2024 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Surgo Ventures partnered with Uber Health and local health centers to provide transportation assistance to expectant mothers facing transportation challenges to their prenatal appointments. Across one city, the initiative covered over 30,000 miles, ensuring over 450 participants reached their prenatal appointments without hassle. One participant shared, ‘There were days when I didn’t want to get up from bed. Knowing that someone was going to pick me up… made me feel safer.’ With programs like Rides for Moms, transportation is no longer a barrier for new mothers to access essential medical care. Learn more

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No quorum: COGFA panel unable to vote on Stateville and Logan prison recommendations (updated)

Friday, Jun 14, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Jerry Nowicki…



* Max Cotton…


* Capitol News Illinois…

The panel’s Democratic co-chair, Sen. Dave Koehler of Peoria, told reporters after Thursday’s meeting that he didn’t believe enough of COGFA’s 12 members were even planning on being in Springfield Friday morning for the scheduled advisory vote.

Without a quorum, the panel can’t take official action. But even if COGFA did vote, Koehler said the Pritzker administration’s current plans for Stateville and Logan are so vague that “We don’t really know what we’re voting on.”

In place of a vote, Koehler said he planned to make a motion to urge the governor and IDOC to work with the local communities and employees of Stateville and Logan as plans for closure and rebuild proceed. He noted that his current understanding of the administration’s work with local stakeholders “doesn’t appear to be to be too positive at this point.”

“So that’s my recommendation – is that you make sure that…you’re collaborative in the process because just dropping this on folks is not a good way to proceed,” Koehler said.

…Adding… AFSCME…

Statement of AFSCME Council 31 in response to lack of quorum at today’s COGFA meeting to vote on the proposal to close Stateville prison before rebuilding it, and to close and relocate Logan prison:

“Members of the commission have spent two months studying this proposal, asking questions and getting input.

“Today, all lawmakers present expressed grave concern about the dearth of details provided and the lack of any real plan. The absence of other commission members also reflects the absence of support for the proposal. No member of the commission spoke in favor.

“Today’s outcome, and the large crowds and countless concerns raised at this week’s COGFA hearings in Joliet and Lincoln, all affirm the same thing: The Department of Corrections should rescind its closure threats, slow down, and work with our union and other concerned parties to develop a better rebuilding plan. For the state prison system, its employees, individuals in custody and their families, that’s the right thing to do.”

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Open thread

Friday, Jun 14, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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

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Isabel’s morning briefing

Friday, Jun 14, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: IDOC holds public meeting on relocation of Lincoln women’s prison. 25News Now…

During Thursday’s hearing, IDOC leaders said rebuilding Logan would provide a more regionalized approach for women’s facilities by offering a prison up north to pair with the centrally located facility in Decatur. They add there are more services for rehabilitation and re-entry offered near Stateville. […]

With this move, almost 500 people employed at Logan Correctional Center would have to relocate.

The IDOC says more than 800 employee positions are available within a 90-mile radius of Lincoln, including openings at Lincoln, Decatur, Pontiac, Jacksonville, Illinois River, and Taylorville Correctional Centers.

However, the president of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Local 2073, the correctional officers’ union, said the move doesn’t make sense.

“You’re going to lose the 450 to 500 employees we have here. We’re not going to make that move; it’s just too far away for us, so they would be starting a fresh, brand new facility, with literally no employees to operate it,” Union President Kenny Johnson said. “Someone needs to make it make sense to us.”

* Related stories…

Governor Pritzker is back in Illinois after a trade mission in Canada. The governor will be in McCook today to announce a multi-year infrastructure improvement plan with the Illinois Department of Transportation. Click here at 2 pm to watch.

Click here to view the AFL-CIO’s endorsements for the 2024 General Election.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Sun-Times | CTA Second Chance trainees say they faced discipline after complaining of burns from caustic cleaners: The approximately 240 people working in the [Chicago Transit Authority’s Second Chance job-training program] don’t get health insurance or paid sick time and make $15.80 an hour in the temporary jobs. Dorval Carter Jr., the CTA’s president, has touted Second Chance as “giving individuals with barriers to employment the opportunity to really turn their lives around and provide them with really good CTA union-paying jobs.” […] [T]he union is backing the Second Chance workers’ claims that exterior wash crew supervisors lean heavily on them to scrub the outsides of L trains with a heavy-duty acid cleaner that carries warnings about the chances for severe burns and requires the use of protective gear from head to toe.

* Sun-Times | Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard federal probe looking into work of contractor who faces prison for bribery: At the urging of Mayor Tiffany Henyard, the village of Dolton paid a Summit construction company that’s been linked to multiple corruption investigations more than $200,000 for no-bid, no-contract work replacing senior homeowners’ roofs and windows. Now, federal investigators are seeking records from Dolton officials about the construction work by O.A.K.K. Construction Co., owned by Alex Nitchoff. His family was the longtime owner of a restaurant in Dolton, and the Chicago Sun-Times has reported that his late father Boris Nitchoff engaged in a scheme to clear hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid taxes from properties the family owned in the suburb.

*** Statehouse News ***

* WaPo | States bet on boosting taxes for online sports betting companies like DraftKings, FanDuel: DraftKings, FanDuel and other betting apps are facing a bigger tax hit in Illinois following changes to tax policy this year. New Jersey, Massachusetts and other states have also tried to raise taxes on the industry or plan to. […] The new policy puts Illinois’ top tax rate for online sports gambling operations in the same league as New York, which has a 51% top rate. New Jersey is considering doubling its tax rate to 30%. A proposal to boost Massachusetts’ rate from 20% to 51% failed in May.

*** Statewide ***

* WGEM | IL families to see new child tax credit: “The Illinois child tax credit is based off of what the federal government did during the pandemic to institute their own child tax credit to kind of give families that little extra boost,” said state Sen. Mike Halpin, D-Rock Island. The credit is open to families with kids ages 12 and younger who qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). It’s a federal and state credit for low- and middle-income earners. Families who qualify will add an additional 20% to their state EITC refund next year. That number jumps to 40% in subsequent years.

* Capitol News Illinois | Illinois child tax credit: who gets it, how much is it?: Starting in tax year 2025, the state’s child tax credit will double to 40 percent of the state EITC, meaning that it will max out at a bit over $600 for families with three children. Because the federal tax credit that determines its size is tied to inflation, the actual size of future years’ child tax credits is yet to be determined. In its first year, the program is expected to cost the state $50 million, with a cost of about $100 million in subsequent years.

* 21st Show | A report looks at how Illinois’ limited regulations on homeschooling leave children at risk: Thousands of children in our state are homeschooled. Parents who decide to homeschool are required by state law to follow the same educational standards as public schools. But the law doesn’t say how they have to go about that. The state can’t require parents to demonstrate how they teach, their curriculum or testing outcomes. As the regulations are set up now, it’s difficult for officials to investigate or intervene when homeschooling concerns arise.

*** Chicago ***

* Block Club Chicago | Juneteenth 2024: Here Are 40+ Parades, Marches, Barbecues And More To Celebrate: There are dozens of parades, barbecues, art shows, skating events, marches, festivals and other celebrations over the next two weeks to honor Juneteenth this year. Juneteenth is the federal holiday that commemorates June 19, 1865, when traveling federal troops informed the last groups of enslaved people living in Galveston, Texas, of the end of slavery in the United States two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

* WBEZ | CPS elementary reading scores rise, surpassing pre-pandemic levels: What district officials didn’t know, and were especially pleased to learn from a study from Harvard and Stanford universities, was that CPS was improving more than most other large districts in the nation, Martinez said. But, at the Joyce Foundation event Thursday, Harvard professor Tom Kane said the analysis might need to be revised later this year.

* Tribune | Lightfoot to be visiting professor at University of Michigan: Lightfoot will join the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy as a visiting professor in the fall, the school wrote in a news release. The former mayor will teach a class on strategic public policy consulting alongside public policy and sociology professor Jeffrey Morenoff. Lightfoot graduated from the university as an undergraduate in 1984.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Southtown | Economic development breakfast touts Will County’s economy, but notes lack of diverse housing and sufficient workforce: Doug Pryor, president and CEO of the Will County Center for Economic Development said Will County places in the top 20 of counties nationwide for new and expanding companies and for five years has held the top position in the state for job creation. However, the labor force for an area that’s principal industry is manufacturing has not kept up, despite a 26% total wage increase from 2019 to 2023, he said.

* Tribune | County appoints insider as new inspector general: A new watchdog will be taking over the Cook County Office of the Independent Inspector General, responsible for rooting out waste, fraud and corruption across much of county government. The post, which has not had a permanent leader since the fall of 2022, will be filled by current Deputy IG Tirrell Paxton. County commissioners approved his appointment unanimously on Thursday. A certified public accountant and fraud examiner, Paxton has worked in the office for more than 14 years. In a hearing on his appointment on Wednesday, he pledged to “work diligently” to maintain the office’s progress since its founding in 2007.

*** Downstate ***

* WCCU | Illini 4,000 bike from New York to California to support cancer research: Throughout their ride, the Illini 4,000 stop in local communities across the country and sat down with individuals affected by cancer to hear their stories. The Illini 4,000 are expected to finish their ride around August 11th by crossing the Golden Gate Bridge in California. To keep up with the Illini 4,000’s journey, you can read their daily journals by clicking here.

* KHQA | Illinois Department of Public Health fines Macomb nursing home $25,000: Macomb Post Acute Care Center located in Macomb, Illinois was one of four nursing homes in the area who were fined by the Illinois Department of Public Health over licensure violations. […] They found the facility had failed to implement fall interventions for a cognitively impaired resident and to prevent falls causing injury for other residents.

*** Sports ***

* Sun-Times | Ex-Illinois star Terrence Shannon Jr., potential first-round NBA draft pick, not guilty of rape: Shannon’s lawyers called the allegations a “blind accusation” and questioned the motives of the woman. They also criticized the prosecutors in Douglas County for a lack of evidence and a Lawrence detective for the thoroughness of his investigation. Following the verdict, Illinois basketball coach Brad Underwood issued a statement of support: “I am thrilled for Terrence with the news of today’s verdict. Under six months of intense scrutiny, Terrence has shown tremendous composure, maturity, and focus.

  13 Comments      


Live coverage

Friday, Jun 14, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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

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Selected press releases (Live updates)

Friday, Jun 14, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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Isabel’s afternoon roundup

Thursday, Jun 13, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* The Marshall Project…

When people defend themselves against deadly attacks by killing their abusers, it’s relatively easy to sympathize. It’s more complicated when the victim is not a violent husband, but is instead an innocent third party. And it’s even more difficult when the offense involves young victims or especially gruesome murders — the kinds of crimes that make some people so afraid and furious that they want to make sure anyone even remotely involved is punished.

While every state has some version of an accomplice liability law, states vary as to what degree of participation is necessary for someone to be prosecuted. And accomplice liability laws aren’t the only ones that allow people to be punished for supporting or failing to stop another person’s crime.In many states, felony murder laws allow someone to be punished for a murder they didn’t commit if they were engaged in a dangerous felony with the person who actually did the killing. Prosecutors can charge someone with conspiracy for agreeing to assist with a crime and taking action to help. Failure-to-protect laws in some states allow a parent (in practice almost always a mother) to be punished for abuse committed by another person if the courts believe she should have prevented the crime. […]

At an Illinois legislative hearing last year on a proposal to limit the theory of accountability, a lawmaker argued that these kinds of laws hurt victims of domestic violence. But Democratic state Rep. Dave Vella pushed back. “You’re accountable for the people you do nasty things with,” he said. “And if something bad happens, you should be accountable for the bad act.” The proposed legislation, which would have narrowed the theory of accountability in Illinois, went nowhere, but activists say they are continuing to push for changes.

* Chicago Crusader…

In addition to honoring men for Father’s Day, and Juneteenth, Representative Danny Davis (D-7th) will be honoring “Child’s Day” by bringing a busload of youth and their families to the Sheridan Correctional Center where they will be united with their incarcerated dads on Saturday, June 22.

“We take children to the Illinois Department of Corrections facilities, this year to Sheridan, to see and interact with their fathers who are incarcerated,” Davis told the Chicago Crusader Monday, June 10.

“That has turned out to be a very effective activity. We have fathers who cry, do things that are unusual for some men who cry and sob when they see their children. Sometimes we’ve had fathers who have never seen their children because when their children were born, they were incarcerated.”

He recalled one time when he had taken a busload to one of the prisons and one inmate was so disappointed. “He came over to me and said, “I guess my family didn’t get the right information or they missed the bus. They are not here.”

Davis said a little boy sitting at the next table heard him and spoke up saying, “Daddy, I’m here.” Davis said the father had not seen his son in six years and didn’t recognize him. “They held hands the rest of the day. We’ve had some wonderful experiences.”

*** Statewide ***

* SJ-R | Everything you need to know about the Real ID ahead of 2025 deadline: “I strongly encourage residents who intend to fly to get their REAL ID as soon as possible to avoid future headaches,” Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said in a news release. “Our DMV facilities stand ready to help customers get their new driver’s licenses and identification cards before the federal deadline.” In charge of administering the licenses in the state is the Illinois secretary of state’s office, who said only 23.5% of Illinoisans had the license as of May.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Bally’s won’t open permanent casino in River West by 2026, gaming expert says — and may not build it at all: Alan Woinski is the CEO of Gaming USA Corp. and editor of the Gaming Industry Daily Report. He has watched Detroit and New Orleans struggle to complete their ambitious casino projects. And in Chicago, he said he believes the financial hurdles now confronting Bally’s — including an $800 million construction funding gap and a buyout offer from its largest shareholder that’s roughly half of what it was two years ago — are infinitely worse.

* BGA | Deferred Ethics Bill Continues Alarming Pattern: Ordinance proposed by the Chicago Board of Ethics and introduced by City Council ethics committee chair Ald. Matt Martin (47th Ward) got the slowroll treatment today, with Alds. Chris Taliaferro (29th Ward) and Nicholas Sposato (38th Ward) using a parliamentary procedure to defer the legislation until the next council meeting. The ordinance, which would codify enforcement powers for an existing ban on lobbyist contributions to incumbent mayors and expand the prohibition to non-incumbent candidates, passed out of the ethics committee last week over Mayor Brandon Johnson’s opposition, with Ald. Taliaferro the lone “nay” vote.

* WTTW | Johnson Defends Decision to Begin Evicting Migrant Families With Children From City Shelters: Mayor Brandon Johnson on Wednesday defended his decision to begin evicting migrant families with school-age children from city shelters, even as more than half of adults had nowhere else to go when they were asked to leave. […] Everyone living in a city shelter will “receive case management and wraparound services to help them on their journey to independence,” according to Brandie Knazze, commissioner of Chicago’s Department of Family and Support Services. She added that meetings about migrants’ plans to leave shelters must take place 45 days before they are asked to leave, and then again 21 days before their eviction date. Eviction notices are delivered 10 days before people will be asked to leave and then again three days before the eviction date.

* Block Club | Harold’s Chicken On 47th Street Shut Down By The State: Customers of a popular Harold’s Chicken restaurant in Bronzeville were greeted with a “Closed” sign this week after the state shut it down for “noncompliance.” The Harold’s at 503 E. 47th Street opened in November 2022. Details regarding its closure are unclear due to “taxpayer confidentiality provisions in the tax laws,” Illinois Department of Revenue spokesperson Maura Kownacki said. “In general, to be open and operate legally, the business must be in full compliance, or have a department approved payment plan,” Kownacki said.

* WBEZ | What’s the lifespan of a book at the Chicago Public Library?: After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, Queen Victoria of Great Britain donated 8,000 books that would become the foundation of the Chicago Public Library collection. While none of those original books are currently in circulation, at least one title from around that time can still be checked out today.

* Chicago Eater | Calumet Fisheries Reopens and Once More Proves it’s an America’s Classic:Calumet Fisheries is back and better than before with fans lining up around the corner for the smoked and fried seafood they’ve been missing for the last six months. The seafood shack has been closed since a November electrical fire. The restaurant re-opened at 9 a.m. sharp on Saturday, June 8. The timing was fitting as the James Beard Awards took place on Monday, June 10. In 2010, the Beard Foundation recognized Calumet Fisheries as an America’s Classic, an honor for timeless restaurants that have carved out a niche for excellence in a community.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Operation Dropbox nets 8,000 pounds of supplies for veterans in McHenry County: Operation Dropbox, now in its fifth year, helps veterans in need in McHenry County. Officials said last year’s donations totaled about 5,400 pounds, and the number of drop-off sites tripled from 31 last year to 87, McHenry County Department of Health community information coordinator Nick Kubiak said. Veterans Path to Hope, a nonprofit that runs a shelter in Hebron, was the primary beneficiary of the donations.

* Daily Herald | Despite opposition, gas station plan moves forward in Wheeling: After hours of discussion that included comments from critics, Wheeling’s plan commission on Wednesday night voted to recommend approval of plans for a gas station and other businesses on the village’s west side. But support for the proposed Gas N Wash operation on the northeast corner of Hintz and Old Buffalo Grove roads wasn’t unanimous. Two of the commission’s seven members — Steven Kasper and Rick Hyken — voted against three separate aspects of the proposal. Kasper cast the lone “no” vote on a fourth element of the plan.

*** Downstate ***

* WCIA | Champaign school board president signals to censure member: One of Baker’s main reasons in calling for a censure is her refusal to cooperate with filling the vacancies on the board. Holder said at that time the board was too decisive and the vacancies should be handled by the Regional Superintendent of Education and purposefully did not attend board meetings so quorum could not be met. “One of the board’s duties is to fill vacancies that occur on the board,” Baker said in a prepared statement. “Holder refused to participate in much of the process and refused to attend meetings, where the board was to interview and ultimately select board members. This is a dereliction of duties.”

* WSIL | Carbondale receives funding from Department of Energy for clean energy investment: Carbondale will participate in the DOE’s Communities Local Energy Action Program (Communities LEAP). The program will give $18 million to 30 underrepresented communities across the nation to focus on clean energy and economic development. Most of these communities also have a tie to fossil fuel industries. “We are living in a moment of unprecedented potential that will require systems-thinking, strategic partnership, and a willingness to be seen trying,” said Carbondale’s Planner & Sustainability Coordinator Lauren Becker. “If you are an innovator, communicator, teacher, artist, you are needed and you are needed now. We are entering an age of collaboration like we’ve never seen before.”

*** National ***

* NYT | This Top Democrat Is Leading His Party’s Attack on Trump as a Felon: “I can’t mince words when it comes to talking about who Donald Trump is,” Mr. Pritzker said in an interview on Wednesday. “It’s important, I think, for people to really refocus on the idea that: Do they really want a president who is a felon who faces jail time?” Mr. Pritzker’s aggressive approach comes with a warning for his fellow Democrats. In a fiery keynote speech last weekend at the Wisconsin Democratic Party’s convention in Milwaukee, he compared the party to the proverbial frog that does not realize the pot of slowly boiling water it sits in will soon be deadly.

  6 Comments      


Caption contest!

Thursday, Jun 13, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Governor Pritzker in the driver’s seat of a Lion Electric school bus…

  33 Comments      


Study: One out of nine Illinois prisoners were sentenced for illegal possession of a firearm

Thursday, Jun 13, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Loyola’s Center for Criminal Justice…

In 2021, Loyola’s Center for Criminal Justice published the first detailed analysis of sentencing for individuals convicted of illegal possession of a firearm offenses in Illinois. The Center’s prior research found that each year in Illinois there are three to four times more arrests for the illegal possession of a firearm than there are for the use of a firearm in the commission of a violent crime, and arrests for firearm possession offenses have increased substantially since 2016. This research brief updates and expands the Center’s prior research to examine trends and patterns of sentences to prison for the illegal possession of a firearm in Illinois and how long individuals serve in prison for these offenses. It is important to note that prison sentences in 2020 dropped from prior years for all offenses because of criminal court hearings and trials being suspended or curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, this research brief focuses on sentencing trends between 2019 (pre-pandemic) and 2023.

Key Takeaways

    • The total number of prison sentences for illegal possession of a firearm increased 57% between 2019 and 2023, driven by increased arrests. The number of prison sentences for all other major crime categories fell during this period.
    • The number of prison sentences for illegal possession of a firearm in 2022 and 2023 was the highest ever seen in Illinois—reaching 3,342 in 2023.
    • Most sentences to prison for these offenses were imposed in Cook County (Chicago), although increases were seen across Illinois.
    • Most of those sentenced to prison for these offenses were Black (75%) men (95%) with an average age of 31 years old.
    • The length of prison sentences increased steadily for Class 2 felony illegal possession of a firearm.
    • The overall amount of time served among those sentenced to prison for illegal possession of a firearm increased, due to changes in policy regarding sentencing credits and longer prison sentences.
    • The number of people in prison for illegal possession of a firearm increased 62% between 2010 to 2023, while those incarcerated for all other offenses fell 41%.
    • At the end of 2023, one out of every nine individuals in prison in Illinois had been sentenced for illegal possession of a firearm.

* As an aside, the Cook County Public Defender’s Office, the Illinois State Rifle Association and others backed a bill this spring to change the “unlawful use of a weapon” (UUW) charge’s name to “unlawful possession of a weapon,” because so many arrests were made of people who merely possessed a gun. The Illinois State’s Attorney Association and the Illinois Sheriffs’ Association were eventually moved to neutral.

Anyway, discuss.

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Your feel-good story of the day

Thursday, Jun 13, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Press release…

State Senator Mary Edly-Allen, alongside Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs, announced at a press conference Thursday that a resident in the 31st Senate District will receive $500,000 from a life insurance policy through the I-CASH program.

“My constituent was shocked when he learned that his wife had taken out a life insurance policy that added up to such a life-changing amount of money,” said Edly-Allen (D-Libertyville). “However, far too often constituents are hesitant to believe my office when we call them about unclaimed property due to fear of fraud. It often takes my staff several contacts to gain trust.”

The State Treasurer’s Office reached the I-CASH program’s $2 billion mark in May by returning over $500,000 to a Lake County veteran whose late wife, also a veteran, had taken out a life insurance policy through a former employer, unbeknownst to the husband.

“I have never stopped fighting to return money to people that rightfully belongs to them,” said Treasurer Frerichs.

The unclaimed money was returned to the military veteran through the State Treasurer’s Office ongoing outreach efforts. Both Sen. Edly-Allen’s staff and the state treasurer’s staff worked after hours to ensure that the veteran received his wife’s death benefit.

“Imagine receiving a phone call that a deceased loved one had left you a life insurance policy that you were unaware of – many would not believe the caller. That is why I encourage residents to do their own research on the I-CASH website and initiate their own claim or to call their state legislator’s office to validate the claim.” said Edly-Allen. “My office is proud to partner with Treasurer Frerichs and his staff on I-CASH claims to provide not only my constituents but all Illinoisans a way to claim what is rightfully theirs.”

The money from the policy was returned as a direct result of the 2017 legislation that established the Life Insurance Reform Act. Previously, some life insurance companies did not pay death benefits when they knew, or should have known, a customer died. Audits from more than a decade ago from the State Treasurer’s Office found more than $550 million in death benefits that were not paid to grieving families in Illinois.

Edly-Allen and Treasurer Frerichs urge Illinoisans to check the I-CASH site twice a year to see if there is money waiting for you.

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Pritzker: Supreme Court ruling protecting mifepristone access is a “small victory” in the fight to protect women’s rights

Thursday, Jun 13, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Press release…

Following a unanimous ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that the plaintiffs in the court’s landmark mifepristone access case lack standing, Illinois Governor and Think Big America Founder JB Pritzker released the following statement:

“Today’s ruling is a small victory in our fight to protect reproductive rights. It means that mifepristone, a safe and widely used medication, will remain available for the millions of women who need it. But we know that unless we remain vigilant, this ruling will only be a temporary roadblock to MAGA extremists waging war against women’s rights. To fully protect reproductive freedom, we must ensure MAGA extremists never again control the White House or Congress. Attacks on science and on Americans’ personal freedoms will only end if voters show up and fully defeat their agenda at every level of government.”

* NPR…

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday tossed out a challenge to the FDA’s rules for prescribing and dispensing abortion pills. By a unanimous vote, the court said the anti-abortion doctors who brought the challenge had failed to show they had been harmed, as they do not prescribe the medication, and thus, essentially, had no skin in the game.

The court said that the challengers, a group called the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, had no right to be in court at all since neither the organization nor its members could show they had suffered any concrete injury.

The court’s action amounted to a legal off-ramp, leaving the FDA rules in place, without directly addressing the regulations themselves.

The court’s decision also avoided, at least for now, a challenge to the entire structure of the FDA’s regulatory power to approve drugs and continually evaluate their safety—a system that for decades has been widely viewed as the gold standard for both safety and innovation.

* The 19th…

More than 60 percent of U.S. abortions are now done with medication, which poses an existential threat to the anti-abortion movement’s goals, since it can be transported across state lines. The movement has responded by filing lawsuits challenging how mifepristone can be used and prescribed, including in the case Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, which the Supreme Court is expected to decide next month.

Republican lawmakers in GOP-led states have introduced — and in several cases enacted — legislation with the same intent. Their state attorneys general are also paying close attention to how mifepristone is prescribed and obtained and are searching for ways to discourage it.

* NYT…

More than 14,000 Texas patients crossed the border into New Mexico for an abortion last year. An additional 16,000 left Southern states bound for Illinois. And nearly 12,000 more traveled north from South Carolina and Georgia to North Carolina.

These were among the more than 171,000 patients who traveled for an abortion in 2023, new estimates show, demonstrating both the upheaval in access since the overturn of Roe v. Wade and the limits of state bans to stop the procedure. The data also highlights the unsettled nature of an issue that will test politicians up and down the ballot in November.

Out-of-state travel for abortions — either to have a procedure or obtain abortion pills — more than doubled in 2023 compared with 2019, and made up nearly a fifth of recorded abortions. On Thursday, the Supreme Court rejected a case that would have sharply curtailed access to medication abortion, allowing the pills to remain available to patients traveling from states with bans. […]

On the receiving end, nowhere saw more out-of-state patients — and from more states — than Illinois.

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Open thread

Thursday, Jun 13, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* What’s up?…

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Isabel’s morning briefing

Thursday, Jun 13, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: Communities, commission push Pritzker admin for more prison plan details. Capitol News Illinois…

    -The plan seeks to demolish and rebuild Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet, along with Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln, following a commissioned report that showed they were among several IDOC facilities in disrepair.
    - The Tuesday night public hearing was the first of two on the planned demolitions and closures that will be held by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability this week before it gives a nonbinding recommendation to the governor on Friday.
    - While the governor’s office has not announced an explicit plan for Logan’s rebuild, it has noted it plans to keep the current facility open until a new one is built on the grounds at the Stateville site.

* Related stories…

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Crain’s | Johnson all in on ‘game changer’ quantum center at South Works site: Sources inside and outside city government confirm Johnson and aides have crafted an incentive package with the state and Cook County intended to get California-based PsiQuantum to locate a new type of supercomputer on property developer Related Midwest is purchasing from USX, the corporate descendant of U.S. Steel, which once operated a huge plant in a swath of the city that’s never recovered from the closure of local steel mills decades ago.

* NYT | Amtrak Pays Executives Six-Figure Bonuses as Losses Continue: Fourteen Amtrak executives received more than $200,000 each in incentive bonuses last year despite the service’s poor recent financial performance and struggles with its capital improvement projects, according to documents obtained by The New York Times. In 2023, Amtrak paid out more than $5 million in short- and long-term incentive bonuses to its executives even as the passenger rail service posted $1.7 billion in losses, according to records obtained from Senator Ted Cruz’s office. Particularly problematic for Amtrak has been its effort to upgrade its service on the Acela, a popular high-speed express route between Boston and Washington, D.C.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Closing Keynote | Illinois First Assistant Deputy Governor Ryan Croke discusses access to health insurance and investments in disability services: “What has driven the push for the Healthcare Protection Act in Illinois is an unyielding commitment on the part of the governor to expand healthcare, [and] to make healthcare more easily navigable for ordinary people across the state. I think that, in short, the expected outcomes are better access to care for a broader swath of our neighbors,” Croke said.

* Agrinews | Lawmakers pass carbon capture guidelines: With multiple corporations targeting Illinois for underground carbon storage and the pipelines that go along with it, the General Assembly passed the Safety and Aid for the Environment in Carbon Capture and Sequestration Act on May 26. The legislation, if signed by the governor, includes a statewide moratorium on construction of carbon dioxide pipelines for two years or until the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has adopted revised federal safety standards, whichever comes first.

*** Statewide ***

* Sun-Times | New data on out-of-state abortion patients are a reason to keep abortion rights in mind this November: Nearly a quarter of patients traveled from 41 different states over the last two years, many from neighboring Wisconsin, which has banned abortions after 21 weeks and 6 days; and Indiana, where abortions are now completely banned. In the downstate Carbondale clinic, 90% of patients seeking abortions came from 16 states, many in the south, such as Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, Arkansas and elsewhere.

* Sun-Times | Secretary of state brings the DMV to the driver: The Illinois secretary of state’s office unveiled its first unit Wednesday in Daley Plaza. The aim is to offer more flexibility for busy people who might not have time to drive to an office, stand in line and wait to be served. “Since taking office, it’s been our mission to make it easier and more convenient for Illinois residents to access government services without having to wait or travel to a DMV facility,” Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said. “Our DMV on Wheels program will build on the success of our digital programs, saving time by offering efficient ways to do things like renew your driver’s license or get a vehicle sticker without leaving their communities.”

*** Chicago ***

* ABC Chicago | City Council passes quiet zone ordinance for West Loop abortion clinic, defers vote on youth curfew: Anti-abortion members of the council on May 23 had stalled the second attempt in six months by 34th Ward Ald. Bill Conway to establish a “quiet zone” around the abortion clinic operated by Family Planning Associates at 659 W. Washington Blvd. The ordinance was taken up again today, and while it passed overwhelmingly, the vote was preceded by impassioned speeches on both sides of the debate that pitted women’s rights to access a health care facility against First Amendment rights of demonstrators.

* Tribune | Alderman after retaliatory vote stall: ‘If you hit me with a bat, I’m going to shoot you with a gun’: La Spata used the tactic in April to prevent a vote on an ordinance sponsored by Moore that sought to give City Council control over the ShotSpotter gunshot detection system’s future. After the delay, the ordinance finally passed with broad council support in May, despite opposition from Mayor Brandon Johnson. “This was clearly payback,” Moore told the Tribune. “My thing is: Leave David Moore alone,”

* Block Club | How Migrant Kids Struggle In Segregated Chicago Schools: 5 Takeaways From Our Investigation: From a lack of language support and long commutes to being unaware of their rights and options, migrant students and their families face many challenges in CPS schools.

* Tribune | Chicago begins evicting entire migrant families from city shelters: Friday was the last day of school and family evictions began this past Monday. Four individuals exited the shelter system on Tuesday, the day after evictions started, according to a spokesperson at the city’s Department of Family & Support Services. About 40 people are expected to leave in the next week. Following a Chicago City Council meeting Wednesday, when asked how migrant children’s education might be disrupted by evictions, Johnson, a former CPS teacher, didn’t directly answer the question and instead said his ultimate goal was to help migrant families find houses of their own.

* Crain’s | Chicago’s fastest-growing companies for 2024: This year’s winners saw five-year median revenue growth of an impressive 505% and an average revenue increase of 2,375%, driven by the enormous growers topping our list. Logistics, construction and consumer service sectors lead the way, with six companies apiece. For the past two years, the Fast 50 ranking has been dominated by startup logistics companies, and this year is no different, proving Chicago remains a significant industry hub. The logistics firms on the list generated $3.3 billion in revenue last year and averaged a 645% increase in revenue over the past five years

*** Downstate ***

* Daily Herald | 3 deputies shot while responding to northern Illinois home, suspect also wounded, official says: Three sheriff’s deputies were shot Wednesday while responding at a northern Illinois home, and the suspect was also wounded, authorities told reporters. Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle says the deputies were shot while responding to a report that someone inside the home was threatening to kill themself or others. He said the suspect also was shot.

* Rockford Register Star | Sheriff: Three deputies, suspect shot in Ogle County, Illinois, standoff: Unable to talk to the individual, deputies tried to enter the home shortly before noon, which is when three deputies were shot, VanVickle said. The deputies returned gunfire and struck the individual with the gun. […] During a news conference Wednesday afternoon, VanVickle said neither the deputies nor the suspect were seriously injured. The names of the deputies and the suspect were not released.

* Rock River Current | ‘The Wait Is Over’: Hard Rock Casino Has Announced Its Opening Date In Rockford: The casino will include nearly 1,300 slot machines, 50 live table games including a poker room, a sportsbook, six restaurants and a Rock Shop with Hard Rock merchandise and other gifts. Hard Rock said at this time a year ago that its goal would be to open by Labor Day weekend 2024. The opening will happen the Thursday leading into that weekend.

* News-Gazette | Board president calls to censure Holder: Tensions between members of the Champaign School Board hit a boiling point early Tuesday morning, as board President Gianina Baker called for a censure of member Betsy Holder for “misconduct unbecoming a board member.” “There is enough evidence that (Superintendent) Dr. (Shelia) Boozer could pursue litigation of member Holder and ultimately the board for creating a hostile work environment,” Baker said. […] Holder said that she’s being attacked for her attempts to shed light on issues within the district and for her disagreements with Baker.

* BND | Owner of O’Fallon, Alton restaurants kept servers’ tips, didn’t pay full wages, feds say: The owner of two IHOP franchises in O’Fallon and Alton allegedly violated federal wage regulations, including keeping servers’ tips and failing to pay overtime, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found. The labor department is now suing the owner, Khalid Ramadan, for approximately $367,890 in compensation and damages for 179 IHOP workers. It also sanctioned him with a civil money penalty of $199,577.

* SJ-R | Illinois State Police trooper injured after crashing into highway median near Springfield: An Illinois State Police trooper suffered injuries in a motorcycle wreck in Sangamon County Wednesday morning. The single-vehicle crash happened on Interstate 55 northbound near Sherman north of Springfield just after 7 a.m. […] A preliminary investigation by ISP indicated that “for unknown reasons,” the trooper’s motorcycle left the roadway striking the center median.

* The Pantagraph | Heartland approves file request for state funds, hears tentative FY25 budget: Heartland Community College plans to ask the state for $110 million for new health science, science and vocational training facilities, but joining the state’s list of higher education capital projects is no guarantee when or if it will get the money. Heartland’s trustees heard on Tuesday about the college’s submissions for the state’s Resource Allocation and Management Program through the Illinois Board of Higher Education.

* Pantagraph | Besides Illinois, where do the most ISU alumni live?: In terms of Illinois State University and where its alumni live now, Illinois naturally is the leader. There are 143,134 ISU alumni still in state, according to ISU statistics. But can you name the next most popular locales of ISU alums to live? (Hint: It’s not either neighboring Indiana, Missouri, Wisconsin or Kentucky.) Florida is the next best place to live for ISU alums. There are 5,689 ISU alums there. Next: Texas (4,787), California (4,136), Indiana (3,543) and Arizona (3,336).

*** National ***

* NYT | Democrats Plan to Turn Statehouses Blue by Dishing Out Green: The States Project, a Democratic-aligned group, is set to announce a plan to spend $70 million in legislative battles in nine states, according to a memo I obtained, one of the largest investments in such races by a single outside Democratic-leaning group in recent history. They plan to send the funds directly to candidates and groups on the ground, who can decide how best to use it. […] The States Project, which has emerged as a crucial weapon for Democrats focused solely on state legislatures, is targeting competitive races in Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, while also hoping to build a Democratic supermajority in Nevada. The organization is also aiming to break up Republican supermajorities in North Carolina and Kansas, arguing that it can often take just a seat or two to have a major impact on state policy.

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition

Thursday, Jun 13, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

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

Thursday, Jun 13, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Live coverage

Thursday, Jun 13, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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

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Selected press releases (Live updates)

Thursday, Jun 13, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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Isabel’s afternoon roundup

Wednesday, Jun 12, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Sportshandle…

The Illinois Gaming Board reported nearly $92 million in adjusted gross sports betting revenue for April on Thursday, while handle topped $1 billion for the eighth consecutive month.

Operator winnings were up 2.7% from April 2023, which lagged behind the 22.8% surge in handle to $1.1 billion. Last year’s hold was just shy of 10% compared to this year’s 8.3% win rate. Handle dipped 12.7% compared to March’s $1.26 billion, while revenue was 7.5% lower.

Illinois became the fourth state along with New Jersey, New York, and Nevada to surpass $35 billion in handle in the post-PASPA era. April marked the 13th time the Prairie State reached $1 billion in monthly wagers, trailing only New York (26) and New Jersey (19).

* Injustice Watch…

Eighteen people died while incarcerated at the jail in 2023, the most deaths at the jail since 2013, when the daily population was twice as high. It marked the jail’s highest mortality rate since at least 1995, according to an Injustice Watch analysis of public records and historical jail death figures compiled by University of Illinois researchers.

A review of thousands of pages of internal jail records, police investigations, and autopsy reports found inadequate supervision and medical care preceded at least half of those deaths, almost all of which have gone unpunished.

There was the 26-year-old with an undiagnosed brain tumor whose repeated complaints about severe headaches were ignored; the 28-year-old whom officers failed to check on for more than an hour only to end up brutally murdered by his cellmate; and the 33-year-old found hanging in his cell while the understaffed jail’s medical wing personnel failed to check on detainees every half-hour as required.

Sheriff Tom Dart — who’s overseen the jail for close to two decades — failed to properly inform state regulators and the deceased’s family members of the troubling circumstances behind the deaths in his custody, despite Illinois law requiring his office to provide them with those answers.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Pantagraph | Two Illinois journalism bills made it to Pritzker’s desk, with one already signed into law: One measure that made it into the state’s budget package involves tax credits to local news organizations that are not publicly traded and have no more than 5% ownership by a publicly traded company. House Bill 4951, the revenue bill in that package, passed through both chambers around Memorial Day and was signed into law by Pritzker on June 7.

*** Statewide ***

* WMBD | Illinois Secretary of State’s Office Mobile DMV offering service on the go: According to Giannoulias, the first electric-powered mobile DMV will launch later this month in Chicago, with three more coming later this summer that will hold events around the state. “Since taking office, it’s been our mission to make it easier and more convenient for Illinois residents to access government services without having to wait or travel to a DMV facility,” Giannoulias said. “Our DMV on Wheels program will build on the success of our digital programs, saving time by offering efficient ways to do things like renew your driver’s license or get a vehicle sticker without leaving their communities.”

* WTTW | Cicada-Induced Vitamin Deficiency Linked to Mystery Disease in Illinois Birds: The current theory is that baby birds are harder hit by the lack of vitamin A because they have a higher need for it and lower body storage than adults. But there’s no rhyme or reason regarding why the affected species are almost exclusively blue jays, grackles, starlings, cowbirds and sparrows, Reich said. The good news is that with the threat of infectious disease off the table, the sick birds can be treated rather than euthanized. A number of birds have turned around after being given vitamin A and eye medications, Reich said. So far, more than 50 birds have been brought to the center with telltale symptoms.

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | Rule curtailing lobbyist donations to Chicago mayors stalled amid Johnson pushback: The ordinance to fine or suspend lobbyists who make contributions to a mayoral candidate’s political fund was blocked by two aldermen during a City Council meeting via a parliamentary tactic. The legislation, crafted in an apparent rebuke of how Johnson handled lobbyist donations his political committee received, could come up for a vote at the next council meeting.

* NBC Chicago | Bally’s says it’s on track for Chicago casino despite Johnson comments: A spokesperson for Bally’s said plans for a permanent Chicago casino in the River West neighborhood are still on track despite comments by Mayor Brandon Johnson this week published in the Chicago Sun-Times. In that interview, the editorial board asked the mayor if he believes the permanent casino will ultimately be built. Johnson was noncommittal, saying that was “still to be determined.”

* Block Club | Bronzeville Was Promised A Grocery Store. 6 Years Later, The Land Is Still Empty: A plan to build a Pete’s Fresh Market dates to 2018. Ald. Pat Dowell says it’s still “under consideration,” but the Mayor’s Office, a developer attached to the project and the grocer won’t say if they are still committed to the store.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Sun-Times | Lawyer was handcuffed to chair after Cook County judge ordered him removed from courtroom, sparking state inquiry: A lawyer at a top Chicago law firm was handcuffed to a chair after a judge ordered him removed from her courtroom last month, touching off an inquiry by the state’s judicial oversight agency. Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans signed an order Friday referring misconduct accusations against Judge Kathy Flanagan to the Judicial Inquiry Board, which will decide whether to file charges. Flanagan is the acting presiding judge of the Law Division.

* Daily Herald | ‘This plan is completely unnecessary’: Kane County OKs climate action plan over objections from some board members: But at least nine members disagreed and voted against it on Tuesday. Board member David Young was the most vocal critic, detailing at least 20 statements or goals in the 144-page plan with which he disagreed. […] The vote was 13-10 in favor.

* Daily Southtown | Harvey residents, business owners protest fines, water rates and withholding of business licenses: Business owners said their licenses were not being issued if they did not pay at least $2,500 in fines for delinquent property taxes, pastors were outraged over a Harvey law requiring churches to obtain business licenses and residents protested a water rate hike. Protesters marched from Transformation Community United Methodist Church to the municipal building before the monthly City Council meeting.

* Lake County News-Sun | Zion, school districts at odds over how to divide $330M in compensation funds; ‘We … regret we trusted everybody to do what we agreed to do’: A provision of Illinois’ 2021 Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) designed to provide relief to Zion taxpayers now has the intended beneficiaries fighting for what they believe is their fair share of about $330 million in environmental compensation over the next 22 years. State Rep. Joyce Mason, D-Gurnee, who crafted the part of the law affecting Zion, said figuring out how to compensate those who sustained economic losses after the Zion Nuclear Power Station closed in 1998, leaving the fuel rods buried there, was complicated.

* Shaw Local | Prosecutors seek to revoke ex-Joliet housing official’s pretrial release: Prosecutors are requesting a former Joliet housing official return to jail over allegations that he violated the conditions of his pretrial release in two felony drug cases. On Tuesday, prosecutors filed a petition to revoke the pretrial release of Robert Hernandez, 62, of Joliet, who was arrested twice earlier this year on felony drug charges. Hernandez is a former commissioner for the Housing Authority of Joliet.

*** Downstate ***

* Daily Journal | Judge releases Shapiro defendant following detention hearing: A Shapiro Developmental Center employee charged with battering a resident last year was released Monday from jail. Natalie J. Rose, of Gilman, was released following a detention hearing before Circuit Judge William Dickenson. […] Rose must report to pretrial services, wear GPS monitoring devices and have no contact with Shapiro Developmental Center, the victim or a witness.

* WAND | Helping Paws reunites Logan Correctional Center inmates with mobility service dogs they trained: Helping Paws, an Illinois Correctional Industries Program at Logan Correctional reunited women in custody with mobility service dogs they trained. “They put so much time and energy into training the dogs, so it’s really neat to bring them back together,” said Michelle Yuen, Director of Animal Intake and Care for Paws Giving Independence.

*** Sports ***

* Tribune | Chicago Red Stars forced to move Sept. 21 match because of Riot Fest relocation to SeatGeek Stadium: ‘It is unfair and unfortunate’: The Red Stars have played at SeatGeek since 2016. The stadium’s distance from the city center and lack of transit access have been key points of criticism for the franchise as the team continues to slip behind competitors in fan attendance. The Chicago Fire in 2019 paid more than $60 million to leave SeatGeek for Soldier Field. The Red Stars’ SeatGeek lease will expire at the end of 2025. New ownership helmed by Cubs co-owner Laura Ricketts has made it clear that relocating the franchise to a stadium inside the city limits is a driving goal for the organization.

* Lake County News-Sun | Chicago Bears training camp to feature 9 public sessions at Halas Hall in Lake Forest: Specific times will be announced later, according to a team spokesman, who cautioned the times and dates of individual sessions can be changed with little notice. In 2023, attendance ranged between 1,300-1,700 people during every public training camp session, according to the team. However, while intense interest is expected this year due to the presence of Williams, the top pick in the 2024 NFL draft, capacity will remain limited to 1,700 people per session.

*** National ***

* WaPo | Hundreds of police have sexually abused kids. How do they avoid prison time?: Child sex crimes are among the most difficult cases to investigate and prosecute. Kids are often frightened and embarrassed. They may have been groomed to feel protective of those accused of exploiting them — or may fear for their safety if they admit what has happened. The hurdles are even higher when the abusers are members of law enforcement wielding the power of their badges and guns. The Post identified dozens of officers who were charged with trying to thwart investigations, destroy evidence or intimidate victims and their families.

* Prospect | Administration Playing From Behind on Domestic Solar Production: Last Friday, the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) voted unanimously to advance investigations of solar imports from Chinese-headquartered companies in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, stating that “there is a reasonable indication that a U.S. industry is materially injured” by the shipments. Though the Southeast Asian companies claim to engage in actual manufacturing at these sites, U.S. solar manufacturers allege that Chinese components are merely routed through there to avoid tariffs and restrictions.

  2 Comments      


‘Potential for criminal prosecution’ appears to be driving down medical residency applications in anti-abortion states

Wednesday, Jun 12, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Katherine Davis at Crain’s…

States with abortion restrictions and bans saw sharper year-over-year drops in the number of applications from graduating U.S. medical students compared to states where the procedure remains legal, the data shows.

Applications are down across the board because of new restrictions on how many residency programs a student can apply to have reduced the total number of applications across specialties. But the numbers are down further in states where abortion is restricted or banned. […]

OB-GYN applications in Illinois dropped by 8.8%. Meanwhile, states with outright abortion bans, like Missouri and Alabama, saw drops of as much as 25% and 21%, respectively. […]

“The potential for criminalizing what most physicians view as a normal part of health care, I think, is really concerning,” says [Dr. Atul Grover, executive director at the AAMC’s Research & Action Institute], one of the lead authors on the AAMC study. “The potential for criminal prosecution is really scary for people for just doing the best that you can for patients.”

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CTA would need to increase ridership by 50+ percent to meet Carter’s 2024 goal

Wednesday, Jun 12, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Sun-Times…

In a statement, [CTA chief Dorval Carter] said he expected all bus and rail service to reach pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year.

Gonna be a tough hill to climb in the second half of the year…

But CTA ridership is a fraction of what it was before the pandemic. The CTA recorded an average of 912,749 weekday riders in March, compared with more than 1.4 million in 2019. That’s about 62% of pre-pandemic ridership.

* Meanwhile, the CTA helped pay for a study with a sophomore dorm premise…

Public transportation is so important, researchers found, that taking it away would result in the cancellation of two million daily activities and the annual loss of $35 billion in direct economic activity. Jobs would be lost, businesses would close, the cost of living would increase, and peoples’ health would be negatively impacted.

The South and West sides would be hardest hit. Women and those with lower incomes would be negatively affected too.

And without public transit, more people would buy cars, each of which cost $10,000 a year in maintenance. Along with more traffic, the increased emissions would create an uptick in particulate matter that can contribute to respiratory disease, heart attacks and strokes.

Literally nobody in power is talking about doing away with public transportation.

C’mon.

A far more useful study would be the impact of CTA’s current reduced service levels on the region’s economy.

* Carter told his board last month that the study, and not governance reforms, will be central to the CTA’s push for more state funding…

CTA President Dorval Carter said the agency will use the [MIT and Argonne National Laboratory] report as “a major foundational point for our overall advocacy of the transit system,” an effort to get Springfield lawmakers to address the fiscal cliff facing transit when billions in federal COVID-19 relief funding runs dry.

But Carter didn’t address another huge measure introduced in the General Assembly last week that would see CTA, Metra and Pace merged into a single transit agency replacing the current Regional Transportation Authority. […]

While board chair Lester Barclay and one public commenter briefly mentioned the proposed governance reforms, Carter kept mum on the issue and focused his comments on funding and the MIT/Argonne report.

“We’ll be incorporating this into our broader strategy down in Springfield as we continue the conversation around the fiscal cliff,” he said.

The CTA appears to be using the same strategists as the Bears.

  14 Comments      


Bears continue to confuse PR messaging with passing legislation

Wednesday, Jun 12, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Sun-Times…

[Bear’s president and CEO Kevin Warren] offered little update on the Bears’ downtown stadium push other than to reaffirm that their preference is to build on the lakefront rather than in Arlington Heights. He wants a stadium to begin construction next year and open in 2028, although that sounds ambitious given the blowback from local and state politicians.

“We live in a complicated world,” he said. “This is an election year. We have people that don’t have meals to eat. We have people sleeping on the street. We have a lot of complex issues we’re dealing with. I’m a realist to understand these projects aren’t just something you do over a weekend.”

* Ben Szalinski…

* NBC Chicago…

“I don’t think I’ve ever been disappointed in anything. I understand these are big projects,” Warren said when asked if he was disappointed the Bears weren’t included. “They take time, energy and effort to come together. They’re expensive. You have to have foresight, you have to have vision, you have to have wisdom.

“I understand this is part of the process. I strongly believe we need a new stadium. For Chicago to have never hosted a Super Bowl, a Final Four, a College Football Playoff, these mega-events. We’re losing out.”

It’s important to note the Bears did not ask for a bill or legislation to be passed during this session. However, during the Bears stadium proposal presentation in late April, Warren was hopeful of getting something done as quickly as possible.

It’s well-documented that Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker isn’t steadfast in helping the Bears’ stadium plans with public dollars. His press secretary called the Bears’ funding plan a “non-starter for the state.”

* Daily Herald…

The McCaskey family isn’t considering selling a minority stake in the team to free up cash to get a Bears stadium deal done in Chicago.. […]

“That’s something that we have not talked about. That’s something that is not on the table at this point in time,” Warren said when asked if Bears ownership would sell minority shares to help pay for a stadium. “It’s just not, and I don’t ever visualize that becoming a part of the discussion. We don’t think it’s necessary to do.” […]

Warren also was asked what would become of the former Arlington Park racetrack, which the team purchased for $197.2 million early last year just as he was beginning his tenure as Bears president.

He wouldn’t say if or when the NFL club intends to put the large tract of land on the market. […]

Attendees of the noontime event in downtown Chicago included Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, who this week renewed his pitch to bring the Bears to town.

Warren called Irvin an “astute” businessman and politician, but didn’t further address the mayor’s proposal.

  36 Comments      


Write better laws

Wednesday, Jun 12, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* This is what I told subscribers back on April 30th…

WRITE BETTER LAWS The complaint filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections alleging illegal coordination between Dan Proft’s independent expenditure committee (People Who Play by the Rules PAC) and Darren Bailey’s 2022 Republican gubernatorial campaign has highlighted some gaping holes in state campaign laws and rules.

State law prohibits coordination between independent expenditure committees and the campaigns they’re supporting. But the law doesn’t define what coordination actually is beyond forbidding “an electioneering communication in connection, consultation, or concert with or at the request or suggestion of a public official or candidate, a public official’s or candidate’s designated political committee or campaign, or an agent or agents of the public official, candidate, or political committee or campaign during any 12-month period.” The Board of Elections’ rules are basically silent beyond that.

And because this is the first such IE coordination complaint ever filed in Illinois, we have no case law, either. But it’s fairly certain that we eventually will have some case law because whoever loses at the board level will undoubtedly appeal to the courts, where just about anything could happen.

So, the judicial branch is going to decide something that probably should’ve already been laid out by lawmakers and the Board of Elections.

It was a long piece, but that’s the basic gist.

* Tribune…

A hearing officer has recommended that the Illinois State Board of Elections dismiss a complaint filed by the state Democratic Party contending political operative and right-wing radio show host Dan Proft and former state Sen. Darren Bailey coordinated campaign spending in Bailey’s unsuccessful 2022 race against Gov. J.B. Pritzker. […]

While state and federal laws say independent expenditure PACs are not allowed to coordinate campaign spending with a candidate, hearing examiner James Tenuto basically said that the complaint against Proft’s PAC cannot be sustained because the state lacks rules to define such coordination.

Tenuto said an examination of the facts and evidence presented “does not demonstrate ‘an agreement or some other activity which indicates some level of material involvement in the decision making between the independent committee and candidate of his campaign.’ Thus ‘coordination’ among the respondents has not been proven.”

Tenuto noted that Democrats cited federal rules and regulations to try to establish proof of coordination between Proft and Bailey. But, he said, “Illinois has not adopted any rules and regulations concerning independent expenditures” and said rules or statutory changes are needed to “clarify which activities are acceptable and/or prohibited in regards to independent expenditures.”

Tenuto recommended the board either dismiss the complaint or find that the alleged violations of coordination had not been proven.

Stay tuned.

  13 Comments      


Open thread

Wednesday, Jun 12, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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

  5 Comments      


Isabel’s morning briefing

Wednesday, Jun 12, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: Hearing officer recommends elections board dismiss illegal coordination complaint against Dan Proft, Darren Bailey. Tribune…

A hearing officer has recommended that the Illinois State Board of Elections dismiss a complaint filed by the state Democratic Party contending political operative and right-wing radio show host Dan Proft and former state Sen. Darren Bailey coordinated campaign spending in Bailey’s unsuccessful 2022 race against Gov. J.B. Pritzker. […]

While state and federal laws say independent expenditure PACs are not allowed to coordinate campaign spending with a candidate, hearing examiner James Tenuto basically said that the complaint against Proft’s PAC cannot be sustained because the state lacks rules to define such coordination.

Tenuto said an examination of the facts and evidence presented “does not demonstrate ‘an agreement or some other activity which indicates some level of material involvement in the decision making between the independent committee and candidate of his campaign.’ Thus ‘coordination’ among the respondents has not been proven.”

Tenuto noted that Democrats cited federal rules and regulations to try to establish proof of coordination between Proft and Bailey. But, he said, “Illinois has not adopted any rules and regulations concerning independent expenditures” and said rules or statutory changes are needed to “clarify which activities are acceptable and/or prohibited in regards to independent expenditures.”

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* ABC Chicago | Former Mike Madigan chief of staff Tim Mapes reports to prison: He was sentenced to 30-months in prison. The website for the Federal Bureau of Prisons shows he’s in Pensacola, Florida at a minimum security federal prison camp.

* Crain’s | Judge dismisses Madigan-related whistleblower suit against St. Anthony: A U.S. District Court judge has dismissed charges brought by a former employee at St. Anthony Hospital who alleged the hospital and its CEO showed contracting favoritism to the son of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. Plaintiff Stella Wolf, who had served as chief human resources officer at St. Anthony for four years, was let go in June 2020 as part of a pandemic-era reduction in force. In the 2021 lawsuit, Wolf said the hospital retaliated against her for challenging alleged political corruption and for taking medical leave. Wolf made claims under the Illinois Whistleblower Act and the Family & Medical Leave Act.

*** Statehouse News ***

* WAND | State lawmakers work to protect students, bridge gap in communication: “If a parent, or a teacher, a community member- thinks that a teacher’s actions are egregious enough to warrant removal from the classroom, potential licensure sanctions- there is a process for that,” Jeff Aranowski, the Executive Director of Safe and Healthy Climate for ISBE, told WAND News. But WAND News has learned, there is little communication from other investigating agencies, to ISBE, about staff accused of abuse or neglect. WAND Investigates whether existing laws are working and why new rules may be on the horizon.

* WAND | Mendoza honors central Illinois LGBTQ leaders during Pride Month celebration: The Democrat told reporters at her Springfield office that Pride Month is a critical time to celebrate the bravery LGBTQ+ people have shown in response to ignorance and hate. Mendoza said Illinois believes in equity and inclusion, the right and freedom to be yourself, love who you love and live a life with respect and dignity.

*** Statewide ***

* Chicago Reader | How the Illinois Department of Corrections fails to protect transgender prisoners: Hannah Finnegan transferred to Lawrence Correctional Center in southeastern Illinois in May of 2021. She’d previously been imprisoned at Centralia Correctional Center, another men’s prison about an hour outside Saint Louis. At Centralia, Finnegan, a transgender woman, experienced harassment and abuse from staff and others incarcerated alongside her. She received letters expressing unwanted sexual and romantic interest. She often had to rely on friends she met inside for physical protection. The Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) classified Finnegan as “vulnerable,” meaning she was supposed to be housed alone or with others whom staff determined to present a low risk of danger. But at Lawrence, officials assigned her to a cell with someone who’d been convicted of predatory criminal sexual assault, and who was already under investigation by the IDOC for allegedly abusing a past cellmate. While housed together, Finnegan’s cellmate sexually assaulted her in June of 2021.

* WCIA | ISHA announces shot clock for basketball in 2026: The Illinois High School Association announced on Tuesday that starting with the 2026-27 school year, boys and girls varsity basketball games will begin using a shot clock. Teams will have 35 seconds to hit the rim or turn the ball over.

* WQAD | IL DOT hiring for more than 70 jobs: Most of the jobs are in construction and road maintenance, but there’s also openings in engineering, design and office roles. On Tuesday, June 11, IDOT held a job fair at the Rock Island Holiday Inn, offering 18 positions in the Quad Cities area. IDOT says IL Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Rebuild Illinois plan, which puts money into state roads and infrastructure, means more opportunities for them.

*** Chicago ***

* NBC Chicago | CPD releases new drafts of crowd control, arrest, protest policies ahead of DNC: The directives, which were recently posted on CPD’s website, are the second chance for public engagement. Initially, CPD’s mass arrest policy was available in February to review. Public comment is now open through June 30. After that, CPD will review the additional feedback received to guide future revisions to the drafts.

* CBS Chicago | Bollards coming to Chicago’s Magnificent Mile this summer to prevent crash-and-grabs: More than 40 protective bollards will be set up on the designated stretch of the Mag Mile. […] The bollards, which will be placed in front of stores, are designed to stop a speeding car. Some retailers this year told CBS 2 they have considered leaving Chicago after their businesses were crashed into and burglarized.

* CBS Chicago | Migrant arrivals have slowed in Chicago, but new shelter opens as need continues: Now, a shelter at St. Bartholomew Church, 3601 N. Lavergne Ave. in the Portage Park neighborhood, is helping migrants who have newly arrived at the city’s landing zone. “With children sleeping on the street, and outside of police stations, and so forth, it was just unconscionable that we would, in this time in history, we would be experiencing that,” said Fr. Michael O’Connell of Our Lady of the Rosary Parish.

* NBC Chicago | New Chicago migrant shelter a joint effort of governments, faith organizations: The Archdiocese and Zakat Foundation tell NBC 5 that there is no 60-day shelter limit here. Right now they have a six month agreement and will determine what happens next once that time approaches.

* Sun-Times | Push to monitor Chicago police traffic stops under federal court order faces stiff resistance from community groups: U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer called the hearings to get input about requirements for traffic stops that could be added to a consent decree that took effect in 2019 and mandates sweeping police reforms. Speakers argued the consent decree isn’t the proper way to address a pressing issue that came under increased scrutiny earlier this year after Reed was killed in a gunfight with police tactical officers who purportedly stopped him for not wearing a seat belt.

* Sun-Times | Judicial giant Harry D. Leinenweber dies at 87: ‘He was the coolest judge I’ve ever seen, on TV or off TV’: U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber took senior status in 2002, but he continued to preside over blockbuster trials 20 years later. They included the trial of former R&B star R. Kelly in 2022 and a major corruption trial involving four political insiders tied to ComEd. “He was an honorable judge and an honorable man,” said Kelly attorney Jennifer Bonjean.

* Fox Chicago | ‘Chicago is why the show is so good’: Gyllenhaal on new Apple TV+ series: Jake Gyllenhaal said that Chicago is the reason why his new AppleTV+ series “Presumed Innocent” is so good. The series follows a Chicago prosecutor who is accused of the murder of a woman he was having an affair with – the eight-episode limited series (which was once a 1990 movie starring Harrison Ford) is set in Chicago. However, despite some beautiful exterior shots of the Chicago skyline, most of the series was filmed in California.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Fox Chicago | Dolton Park District president accuses Mayor Tiffany Henyard of political retaliation: Dolton Park District President Cleo Jones said Henyard is retaliating after the park district allowed four of her political opponents to use a field house for meetings. Jones said part of the retaliation came in the mail last week. “I have four tickets issued from the Village of Dolton,” said Jones. “Each ticket is $500 apiece. That is $2,000 in tickets that I have here.”Jones said they were stunned when they received the citations for doing work without a permit. Two of the tickets were issued for spreading fresh mulch on district playgrounds.

* Fox Chicago | Some Stateville employees push back against prison closure and reassignment plans: Some staff workers said that the state’s plans to demolish and rebuild Stateville will unnecessarily disrupt their lives as the facilities they’d be re-assigned to would require commutes of up to two hours each way. […] State Sen. Rachel Ventura, who represents Joliet, said the timeline doesn’t make sense to her. “To completely shut down Stateville in September when we’re at least a year away from any additional aspects of that, I would say that let the courts say it then because right now you’re the ones making that decision to impact all of these people’s lives,” said Ventura.

* Center Square | Plans to raze and replace Stateville prison get public hearing: During a Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability meeting Tuesday night in Joliet, Department of Corrections Acting Director Latoya Hughes said Stateville is too far gone to be repaired. “The current living conditions at Stateville are not conducive to rehabilitation,” said Hughes. “The infrastructure is antiquated and inefficient, and delaying action only increases risks to all involved.”

* Aurora Beacon-News | Fox Valley domestic violence shelters running out of space: When Linda Maranda took over the reins of Mutual Ground in August, the new CEO of Aurora’s domestic violence shelter knew she would be dealing with a generous community but also plenty of challenges. Calls to hotlines all across the state are on the rise, according to a recent report that indicated the Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline recorded a 90% increase in calls, texts and messages since the pandemic, and a record high 17,972 contacts for requests for shelter in 2022, up 45% from the previous year. Simply stated, says Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence, which runs the hotline, Illinois is not equipped to meet that need.

* Daily Herald | Warren: Bears not ready to sell Arlington Park or minority stake in team: The McCaskey family isn’t considering selling a minority stake in the team to free up cash to get a Bears stadium deal done in Chicago. They’re also not ready to put their 326-acre Arlington Heights property — initially envisioned to be home of the team’s new domed structure — up for sale. […] “Never say never,” Kevin Warren later added. “But that is not something that we would ever focus on.”

* WGN | Filmmaker Jon Siskel’s ‘Memorial’ captures Highland Park shooting’s impact: “We don’t show any of the archive,” said filmmaker Jon Siskel. “You don’t hear any gunshots. it’s kind of a very meditative, poetic film.” Siskel, nephew of the late film critic Gene Siskel, created the 20-minute film ‘Memorial’ after he visited Highland Park, calling the village an unforgettable place after seeing it covered in orange yarn and hand-written notes the community helped weave in the weeks and months after the shooting.

*** Downstate ***

* Rock River Current | Hard Rock Ramps Up Hiring With Hundreds Of Jobs To Fill As It Prepares To Open Rockford Casino: The company extended offers to more than 120 prospective employees Monday during Day 1 of an RSVP-only mass hiring event at the Northern Illinois University Conference Center, which is about a mile east from where the casino is being built. It hopes to extend at least that many offers during the second day.

* WAND | Springfield City Council discuss new ordinance, eliminating alcohol sales after 1 a.m.: “The people who come here from Decatur don’t care about our community,” said Chief Ken Scarlette of the Springfield Police Department. “They come here to do what they want and wreak havoc and go home.”Owners of restaurants and bars pushed back on the restrictions, saying it will prohibit them from making enough to sustain their businesses.

* WCIA | ‘Having to go 20 minutes one way to get one item is a nightmare:’ Central Illinois grocery store filling need for fresh produce, meat in the community: One Central Illinois grocery store is making sure people don’t have to travel far to buy all kinds of foods from fresh produce, meat, eggs, milk, soup, and pasta. […] Market on the Hill is the only grocery store in the community. After the local grocery store in the community shut down several years ago, it raised concerns about where people could shop for food. “The community actually came together and realized that we needed somewhere local to buy produce, fresh meat and other groceries, because otherwise we had to travel all the way to Lincoln or Decatur,” Scattergood said. “It was just going to [be a] 15 or 20 minute drive.”

*** National ***

* Tribune | ‘I was terrified,’ accuser testifies in rape trial of Illinois basketball star Terrence Shannon Jr.: The woman’s testimony took up much of the morning’s court proceedings. The afternoon was largely focused on testimony from the Lawrence police detective who led the investigation into her allegations, and included black-and-white surveillance footage that appeared to show Shannon and the woman moments before — but not during — their alleged encounter inside the Jayhawk Cafe’s Martini Room.

* WCIA | Rep. Miller files legislation to suspend new Title IX rules: Representative Mary Miller (R-IL) filed a resolution Wednesday to prevent schools from losing federal funding if they don’t follow the Title IX policy; 67 of her House Republican colleagues have signed on for the bill. Miller criticized the president for the changes, claiming women and girls would be “at risk” under the law.

* CBS | FBI quarterly report shows 15% drop in violent crime compared to last year: The latest preliminary quarterly crime figures from the FBI show dramatic decreases: a 26% drop in murders, robberies down by nearly 18% and violent crime overall down 15% in the first quarter of 2024, compared to last year in the same period. The FBI released only percentages Monday, however, and not the underlying figures, because at this point just 72% of law enforcement agencies have provided their crime data. The bureau will disclose more complete figures once 80% have participated.

  13 Comments      


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

Wednesday, Jun 12, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Live coverage

Wednesday, Jun 12, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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

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Selected press releases (Live updates)

Wednesday, Jun 12, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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Isabel’s afternoon roundup

Tuesday, Jun 11, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ABC Chicago…

The longtime chief of staff for former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is scheduled to report to a federal prison Tuesday.

Tim Mapes is required to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons before noon. […]

He was sentenced to 30-months in prison.

It is unclear where Mapes will serve his time. He requested to serve his term at a facility in Pensacola, Florida.

* Axios…

The number of partisan-backed outlets designed to look like impartial news outlets has officially surpassed the number of real, local daily newspapers in the U.S., according to a new analysis. […]

There are least 1,265 websites identified as being backed by dark money or are intentionally masquerading as local news sites for political purposes, according to a new report from NewsGuard, a misinformation tracking company.

As of last year, there were only 1,213 daily local newspapers in the U.S. That number may have gone down significantly in the time since, but the researchers who track that data have yet to release an updated figure for 2024. […]

Nearly half (45%) of the sites observed as part of the study were targeted to communities or regions in swing states, according to an Axios analysis of the sites. The most frequently targeted states are Illinois, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Ohio, Florida, Michigan and Georgia.

*** Statewide ***

* Fox Chicago | Illinois State Museum seeks Route 66 memories to honor iconic roadway: Video recordings and interview transcriptions will be made available to the public through an online database as part of the anniversary celebration. “These interviews will help illustrate the significance of this important transportation achievement,” said Erika Holst, the museum’s curator of history.

* 21st Show | How did women access abortions in Illinois before Roe v. Wade?: Before Roe v. Wade recognized a constitutional right to abortion across America, women still found ways to end their pregnancies. In Illinois, that meant seeking help from an underground, feminist abortion service operating under the code name “Jane.”

* WAND | Illinois Free Fishing days to coincide with Father’s Day weekend: According to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, from June 14 through the 17, anglers can fish without purchasing a fishing license, salmon stamp or inland trout stamp. Information about fishing spots, regulations, and angling basics can be found at IFishIllinois.org.

*** Chicago ***

* WTTW | Facing Shortfall of Nearly $400M, Chicago Public Schools Pushes Back Budget Release to July: CPS on Tuesday announced the CPS CEO Pedro Martinez had informed network and school leaders the final draft of its FY25 budget would now be presented in July as the district continues “finalizing the total budget.” “The District will use this additional time to collaborate with CPS stakeholders and do further diligence since the budget model is new and being implemented for the first time,” a CPS spokesperson said in a statement. “The District will finalize a FY2025 budget that will continue to support strong academic progress.”

* Block Club | Could ‘Newcomer Liaisons’ Help Migrant Students Struggling In Chicago Schools?: Calls for more support for migrant students come as the district faces a large budget shortfall for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. With pandemic relief dollars drying up, the district is facing a nearly $400 million budget deficit while the state has its own financial challenges.

* Sun-Times | CPS teacher residency program growing, helping fill classrooms: Five years in, the program is making good progress — including growing by the hundreds. A cohort of 193 teachers was honored at an induction ceremony Monday after finishing their year of residency and earning a teacher license. They’ll have their own classes in the fall. CPS has already recruited 225 prospective teachers for next year’s program.

* Sun-Times | Buddy Guy bringing ‘that Chicago sound’ to NASCAR Chicago: If you missed Buddy Guy’s incredible Blues Festival closing-night set on Sunday, or if you were there (and thousands were) and you’re hoping to catch the blues icon one more time on a stage near you, you’re in luck. Guy will be among the music lineup for NASCAR Chicago, it was announced Tuesday morning. The Chicago legend will perform on the main stage at Grant Park Festival Field from 1:15 -2 p.m. July 6, following a special 40th Anniversary Chicago House Music showcase.

* Crain’s | United gears up for DNC with more flights: The convention would boost United’s total to more than 530 flights a day at O’Hare on peak days, which would be its busiest schedule since before the COVID-19 pandemic, the airline says. The biggest increase comes, not surprisingly, between O’Hare and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, with 38 more flights, or a 40% increase.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Tribune | Dozens of supporters hail convicted ex-Ald. Ed Burke as devoted public servant ahead of his sentencing: Among the dozens of letter-writers: high-profile names in local legal circles and law enforcement, Burke’s family members, a former defensive end for the Bears, and several local Catholic clergymen. A now-retired firefighter wrote that Burke pulled strings to make sure his severely disabled son would not be denied insurance coverage. The former principal of a Southwest Side elementary school said Burke helped the struggling school get two playgrounds, an electronic message board, and support for its pre-K program.

* Crain’s | Cook County allots $44 million to mental health efforts: The money will be spread among 53 organizations, including Alivio Medical Center and Alianza Americas. The grant program, dubbed “Stronger Together: Building a More Equitable Behavioral Health System in Cook County Initiative,” is funded by American Rescue Plan Act dollars. Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle said at a press conference today the investment will help support services and programs addressing behavioral health inequities. The goal is to expand access to early intervention and prevention, treatment and recovery programs for those with depression, anxiety, behavioral and substance abuse disorders.

* Naperville Sun | With a deadline pending on its electricity contract, Naperville council rejects hiring energy consultants: Naperville is starting the process of looking at how it will supply the electricity used by residents and business owners after 2035, when the contract with its current provider, the coal-heavy Illinois Municipal Electric Agency (IMEA), is set to expire. The agency wants the city to extend its contract by mid-2025 instead of waiting until closer to the expiration date. The consultants requested by staff would have explored what the energy world will look like in 11 years to help determine the options available. The two contracts would have cost a total of $250,000, but were rejected by the council last week because of concerns over timing, necessity and the bid process.

*** Downstate ***

* SJ-R | More than $20M in state funds going to City of Springfield. Here’s how it will be used: After hinting at its possibility earlier in May, Pritzker signed the $53.1 billion budget for fiscal year 2025 on last week which included $4 million to design and construct a park at the grass lot north of the Governor’s Mansion. The 2.25-acre lot served as the home of the YWCA and has set empty since 2017. […] [Mayor Misty Buscher] added that she wants the new development to include an amphitheater and to allow for the continuation of the Levitt AMP Springfield Music Series. Requests for comment from IDNR regarding when the project could start and be completed went unreturned prior to publication.

* WGLT | McLean County to consider eliminating elected auditor, adding advisory panel for mental health funding: The language of the proposed referendum for the November 2024 ballot indicates the county would save money based on “the elimination of redundant functions,” referring to external audits the county must contract for, beyond the scope of the elected auditor. “There are some functions that are required by state law to be completed by an outside firm and then there are other responsibilities that only a CPA [certified public accountant] can do,” said county administrator Cassy Taylor, noting that current county auditor Michelle Anderson lacks those credentials; there are no qualifications required for elected office.

* SJ-R | ‘This is history’: Supporters urge Springfield Race Riot site to become national monument: The Rev. T. Ray McJunkins noted that several years ago it was a small group of people in Springfield championing the site of the 1908 Race Riot to become a national monument. After Monday’s listening session at his home parish, Union Baptist Church, once in the sights of those same rioters when it stood at 12th and Mason streets, McJunkins admitted he felt “overwhelmed” seeing more than 400 people in the church hall.

  7 Comments      


Today’s quotable

Tuesday, Jun 11, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From the very last graf of the Tribune story entitled “Dozens of supporters hail convicted ex-Ald. Ed Burke as devoted public servant ahead of his sentencing”…

Burke earned infamy in the 1980s for trying to thwart virtually every major move of Harold Washington, Chicago’s first Black mayor, during the volatile “Council Wars.” Gathering immense power, he paved the way for his wife to become chief justice of the Illinois Supreme Court, ran the council’s Finance Committee like his own personal fiefdom and oversaw a law firm that constantly put him into ethically questionable positions.

  10 Comments      


It’s almost a law

Tuesday, Jun 11, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* WTTW…

Transgender Illinois residents may soon have a path to change birth certificates that were issued in other states.

That’s if Gov. J.B. Pritzker signs a bill recently passed by state lawmakers.

The bill allows Illinois residents to get a judicial order to alter the name and sex on birth certificates and other documentation issued in another state.

Currently in Illinois, the process no longer requires certification from a health professional, making it easier to request this change.

* WAND…

A plan heading to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk could require school districts to develop cardiac emergency response plans.

Sponsors and advocates told WAND News that Illinois saw 109 cardiac events involving students under 18 during 2022 alone.

The legislation requires school districts to work with local paramedics to create an evidence-based plan to use AEDs in case of a cardiac event. […]

House Bill 5394 passed unanimously out of the House and Senate.

* Journal Gazette…

A bill that would allow the Shelby County Rescue Squad to remain in operation is on Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s desk after passing the state legislature late last month.

The legislation, sponsored by state Sen. Steve McClure, R-Springfield, explicitly gives the Shelby County Board permission to oversee and operate a volunteer rescue squad that delivers first responder services like locating drowning victims and extricating people from crashed vehicles. […]

Under current law, rescue squads must be created via referendum and operate as their own taxing district — unless a specific exception is made.

Last year, state lawmakers passed and Pritzker signed an essentially-identical bill that allowed for Sangamon County to continue operating its rescue squad under the county’s umbrella. […]

“I hope this legislation is able to provide some peace of mind for the people of the county, knowing that the brave members of the squad can stay on the job,” McClure said.

* Effingham Radio…

Opponents of a measure on Governor J.B. Pritzker’s desk are concerned poll watchers won’t be able to verify vote-by-mail procedures conducted in nursing homes where voters may be physically and mentally incapacitated.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, under emergency order, nursing home voters were legally able to cast ballots through vote-by-mail procedures. Now, State Representative Maurice West, the bill’s sponsor, wants to codify the temporary procedures in statute.

In Illinois, opponents fear the proposed law will allow incapacitated voters to be coerced into turning in incomplete ballots by ballot harvesters. State Representative Patrick Windhorst said before, those voters only cast ballots on the premises.

Proponents argue the change will expand voter rights and provide convenience to older voters. Along with codifying vote-by-mail procedures in Illinois nursing homes, the proposed law would remove all caps on transfers from political party committees to candidates during primary elections. Previously, caps were only absent in general elections.

* WGEM…

Black women in Illinois are three times as likely to suffer from a pregnancy-related medical condition compared to white women according to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). It’s why Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, both Democrats, worked with state lawmakers to pass a bill aimed at improving birth equity and outcomes across the state. […]

The bill would require private insurance companies to cover all pregnancy, postpartum and newborn care provided by perinatal doulas or licensed certified professional midwives. This includes home births, home visits and support during labor.

Insurers would also be required to cover home visits by board-certified lactation consultants including the cost of recommended breast pumps, breastfeeding supplies and feeding aids. […]

Illinois’ fiscal year 2025 state budget includes $4 million for IDPH to award grants to community-based providers. It also has $6 million earmarked for the Illinois Department of Human Services to spend on several programs, including a $1 million diaper distribution pilot program.

  3 Comments      


This is not the way to get anything done

Tuesday, Jun 11, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Capitol News Illinois and the Saluki Local Reporting Lab…

Through passage of a law known as the Intergenerational Poverty Act [in 2020], they decreed an ambitious plan: to cut deep and persistent poverty by 50 percent by 2026, lift all children from poverty by 2031 and eliminate poverty entirely in Illinois by 2036.

This law created a 25-member commission made up of private and public sector officials to study the root causes of poverty and racial disparities that plague many of Illinois’ poorest communities, including their lack of safe, affordable housing, high unemployment rates and child care shortages.

But like most of the commissions and blue-ribbon panels that lawmakers create, it has no authority to fix the problems it finds. It can only make recommendations to lawmakers and the governor. […]

And the commission, which has seven vacancies, is a long way from meeting its goals. […]

Cairo Mayor Thomas Simpson said he’d never heard of the commission on poverty elimination, though it did hold a listening session in the town in March 2023. […]

As for the commission’s future, with an impending goal of cutting deep poverty in half in less than two years, it continues to meet and develop policy solutions that it plans to present to the governor and lawmakers.

Always fixin’ to get ready, but never actually getting ready and never actually accomplishing anything.

There’s so much more, so click here.

  5 Comments      


Some people will complain about literally everything, including bills they vote for

Tuesday, Jun 11, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Center Square…

Gov. J.B. Pritzker could soon sign a massive tax credit bill on his desk that gives breaks to specific industries, like electric vehicle manufacturers, quantum computing companies and semiconductor manufacturers.

Illinois Republicans called House Bill 5005 a bailout for big corporations.

Um, not mentioned in the story is that HB5005 received 90 votes. By my count, 18 Republicans voted for the bill, including this legislator who is quoted in the story bashing the bill…

State Rep. Dan Ugaste, R-Geneva, called the bill counter productive.

“We need to entice businesses to come to Illinois so our people have jobs. We are still doing nothing to fix the business climate in Illinois, that is the underlying problem,” Ugaste said. “There’s over taxation, over regulation and high cost from litigation. So here we are voting on a bill to try and entice businesses by offering them tax incentives and telling them, ‘your taxes will be lower,’ and yet later we will vote to raise taxes on businesses by over $700 million, almost a billion. Let’s not waste our time.”

* To the sponsor…

The bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Dave Vella, D-Loves Park, argued corporations will not get tax breaks unless they actually provide jobs.

“So this is not a bailout … in fact, the money that’s going to come in to the state of Illinois, $20 billion, over the next 30 years is going to end up creating more small businesses and more jobs for the state than I think any of us can even imagine,” said Vella.

The bill also renews a number of tax incentives the state has already offered like the Reimagining Energy and Vehicles tax credit. Gotion, an electric vehicle battery manufacturer, took advantage of this credit. Gotion continues getting their tax break of over $530 million in exchange for providing 150 jobs by 2028.

Hilarious. The squareheads left out something from the agreement…

Gotion will establish its lithium-ion battery cell, module, pack and energy storage system integration manufacturing campus in Manteno, Illinois. Gotion will create 150 Full-Time Employees by the Benchmark Date and 1,651 Full-time Employees by December 31, 2029. The Company or its Affiliate, as applicable, anticipates creating an additional 961 new jobs for a total of 2,612 jobs created for the Project during the term of the Agreement.

  5 Comments      


Mayor Johnson says CTA is ‘moving in the right direction’

Tuesday, Jun 11, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson sat down with the Sun-Times editorial board…

Also during Monday’s board meeting, Johnson said the CTA is “moving in the right direction” under embattled President Dorval Carter Jr. The mayor refused to discuss Carter’s long-term future, but argued it is “not unheard of” for Carter to be targeted by critics because he is African-American, as Carter suggested to a Council committee.

  22 Comments      


Illinois and Ontario sign agreement to promote trade, investment

Tuesday, Jun 11, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Press release…

Today, Ontario and Illinois finalized a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to promote increased trade, attract investment and foster ongoing collaboration across key sectors such as automotive, agriculture, energy and advanced manufacturing.

The MOU was signed by Premier Doug Ford and J.B. Pritzker, Governor of Illinois, following a meeting in Toronto. […]

Ontario and Illinois have a close trading relationship, with total trade valued at over $29 billion (CAD) in 2023. Ontario is Illinois’ second-largest export market and Illinois is Ontario’s fourth-largest export market in the U.S.

The new MOU promotes economic cooperation between the two jurisdictions by supporting regular business missions, sharing market information and promoting investment. Ontario and Illinois will also explore opportunities for cooperation on emerging technologies that are transforming industries, including sharing best practices on skills training to prepare workers for in-demand and technology intensive jobs.

In addition, both jurisdictions will establish a Procurement Cooperation Council as a forum for sharing information on procurement policies and to advance opportunities for suppliers in each jurisdiction.

“With supply chains inter-linked across North America, it’s more important than ever for Ontario and Illinois to partner on our shared economic goals to remain globally competitive,” said Vic Fedeli, Ontario Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. “The MOU identifies tangible areas where we can work together to our mutual advantage. These include fostering greater two-way trade and investment, sharing best practices to boost workforce skills and expanding academic cooperation – all avenues to greater prosperity on both sides of the border.”

The agreement with Illinois is part of Ontario’s strategy for trade with the United States. As part of the strategy, Ontario is pursuing additional agreements with other state-level trading partners to improve access to investment pipelines and export opportunities for Ontario businesses.

Ontario and the U.S. build things together with deeply integrated supply chains employing millions of workers on both sides of the border. Ontario was the number one export destination for 17 U.S. states and the number two export destination for 11 U.S. states in 2023.

QUICK FACTS:

    - The new MOU will increase collaboration in sectors such as automotive, including electric, connected and autonomous technologies, agriculture, food processing and agri-food technology, advanced manufacturing and materials, life sciences, energy and information and communications technologies.

    - Ontario’s total trade with the U.S. in 2023 was valued at around $500 billion (CAD), an increase of about $100 billion (CAD) since 2018.

    - In 2023, Illinois ranked fifth in terms of foreign direct investment from U.S. states into the province, with inbound investment valued at $155 million (CAD).

    - One in five jobs in Ontario depend on trade. If Ontario were a country, it would be the U.S.’s third-largest trading partner after Mexico and China in 2023.

    - The signing with Illinois is the fourth agreement stemming from Ontario’s U.S. trade strategy and follows agreements signed with, Michigan, Nevada and Indiana.

The MOU is here.

* The ceremony…


* Meanwhile… from Bloomberg…

Last fall, Hershey Co. repurchased a factory outside Ottawa that it closed more than a decade earlier. Blommer Chocolate Co., a US rival, is expanding in Ontario while it shutters an 85-year-old Chicago plant. Oreo-maker Mondelez International Inc. says it has invested $250 million in Ontario manufacturing facilities just in the last few years.

Although Canada ​​​​is far too cold to grow enough sugar for its candy industry, it has managed to attract hundreds of millions of dollars of investment in recent years to expand capacity. Some of that can be attributed to a rising population, but many in the industry say it’s the long-standing protectionist measures in place south of the border that are sweetening Canada’s appeal. […]

The US sugar industry is heavily protected, and buyers such as confectioners and processed-food makers can only import certain amounts of raw and refined sugar before incurring hefty tariffs. The decades-old regulations are intended to protect US farmer profits and prevent other countries from flooding the country with sugar. But critics say it also keeps US sugar prices artificially high, burdening American sweets companies and refineries trying to operate at home. […]

The volume of sugar contained in finished goods flowing from Canada to the US last marketing year was the highest in close to two decades, Agralytica data show. Last year, $1.98 billion in chocolate and $615 million in other sugar confectioneries were shipped from Canada to the US for consumption — both all-time highs — according to data from the US Department of Agriculture. Although some of that increase can be attributed to higher chocolate prices due to cocoa’s rally, chocolate imports into the US from Canada last year were still the second-highest ever in data going back about 35 years, surpassed only by the volumes recorded for 2022.

  4 Comments      


Rides For Moms Provides Transportation To Prenatal Care

Tuesday, Jun 11, 2024 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Surgo Ventures partnered with Uber Health and local health centers to provide transportation assistance to expectant mothers facing transportation challenges to their prenatal appointments. Across one city, the initiative covered over 30,000 miles, ensuring over 450 participants reached their prenatal appointments without hassle. One participant shared, ‘There were days when I didn’t want to get up from bed. Knowing that someone was going to pick me up… made me feel safer.’ With programs like Rides for Moms, transportation is no longer a barrier for new mothers to access essential medical care. Learn more

  Comments Off      


Senate releases veto session schedule

Tuesday, Jun 11, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Two weeks in a row instead of straddling a holiday…

  3 Comments      


Open thread

Tuesday, Jun 11, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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

  8 Comments      


Isabel’s morning briefing

Tuesday, Jun 11, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: 1908 Springfield race riot site could be national monument. Dave Dahl…

Springfield community members are calling on President Biden to commemorate the site of 1908 Springfield Race Riots as a national monument.

On Monday, the Department of Interior held a public meeting at Union Baptist Church to discuss the topic. Brenda Mallory, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and Shannon Estenoz, Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, attended the meeting and heard from community leaders as they expressed support for President Biden to use the Antiquities Act to designate a national monument in Springfield.

The Springfield site would be the first national park to tell the history of race riots in the U.S. and would document one of the country’s worst examples of mass racial violence, where a White mob attacked and lynched Black residents of Springfield and burned their homes and businesses within blocks of the former home of Abraham Lincoln.

“Making the site of the 1908 Springfield Race Riot a National Monument will give all Americans the chance to know their history so something so horrible as this will never happen again,” said Ken Page, President, Springfield ACLU.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Tribune | Feds want 10 years in prison for ex-Ald. Edward Burke, saying he was ‘no novice’ when it came to corruption: The sentence requested by the U.S. attorney’s office would mean that Burke could very well die in prison. But it’s a punishment prosecutors say is warranted, given the “mountain” of evidence in the case — including hundreds of undercover recordings — that captured Burke in his own words and make it “obvious that Burke was no novice when it came to corruption.” “Burke operated as a seasoned professional when it came to identifying new potential clients for his law firm and exploiting his power and position in order to secure their business,” prosecutors wrote.

* Sun-Times | Obama visits presidential center as signature tower reaches full height: The site of the presidential center and museum is “about 56%” complete, according to workers at the site, and former President Barack Obama briefly spoke and shook hands with dozens to celebrate the latest milestone — the museum building hitting its full height of 225 feet.

*** Statehouse News ***

* WAND | Illinois Senate could pass plan tackling deepfake cyberbullying during veto session: “House Bill 299 arrived in the Senate as a new House bill on May 22, two days before our scheduled adjournment,” said Liz Mitchell, a spokesperson for Senate President Don Harmon. “As such, time did not allow for the Senate to take it up in the spring session. It will be reviewed.”

* WGEM | Bill awaiting Gov. Pritzker’s signature aims to improve birth equity in Illinois: The bill would require private insurance companies to cover all pregnancy, postpartum and newborn care provided by perinatal doulas or licensed certified professional midwives. This includes home births, home visits and support during labor. Insurers would also be required to cover home visits by board-certified lactation consultants including the cost of recommended breast pumps, breastfeeding supplies and feeding aids.

*** Statewide ***

* Sun-Times | New initiative to expand gender-affirming care across Illinois: Despite Illinois serving as a blue haven for those seeking gender-affirming care, Illinois officials said many LGBTQ+ adults avoid seeking care due to disrespect and discrimination from providers, and they hope this new initiative will address prejudices. Lawmakers in 2019 approved legislation that directs coverage of gender-affirming surgeries for Medicaid members age 21 and older who are diagnosed with gender dysphoria.

* SJ-R | Planned Parenthood sees ‘unprecedented’ surge in out-of-state patients at Illinois clinics: Planned Parenthood said that it has seen patients from 41 states over the course of the past two years, now encompassing some 25% of all patients seen at the 19 in-person facilities and two virtual facilities across Illinois. Overall, the group said that it had experienced a 47% increase in overall patients over the past two years since the Supreme Court ruled in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that the U.S. Constitution did not guarantee the right to an abortion, overruling the landmark 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision and the 1992 Planned Parenthood vs. Casey decision that upheld the former.

*** Chicago ***

* Crain’s | Chicago weighs up to $3 billion of debt for O’Hare upgrades: The City Council’s Finance Committee held public hearings today and then approved a series of proposals from the Johnson administration that could add up to more than $4 billion in debt
Airport debt makes up the bulk of the proposals with a plan to issue up to $3 billion in general airport senior lien revenue bonds and passenger facility charge revenue bonds for O’Hare capital improvements.

* Sun-Times | Bally’s a bad bet? Johnson casts doubt on permanent casino in River West: “I liken it, frankly, to the airlines deal that was negotiated two administrations ago. There were some challenges in there,” said Johnson, who recently hammered out a cost-cutting deal with United and American airlines, clearing the massive O’Hare expansion plan for takeoff. “I wish I could say something definitive today. I know our team is working with ownership to figure it out like we figured out some of the other things that I’ve inherited. It just has to make absolute sense. … I think that one’s still to be determined, to be perfectly frank with you.”

* Sun-Times | Mayor Johnson opposes 8 p.m. downtown curfew for minors: “The data indicates that setting … arbitrary curfews does not yield results that are favorable,” the mayor told the Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board Monday. “For my administration, it’s not just about youth employment. … We have to create safe spaces for [young] people. … The more activity that you have in neighborhoods, including downtown, that actually creates safer spaces,” Johnson added.

* Tribune | City demands thousands of Chicago police officers pay off pension error: Thousands of Chicago police officers received an unwelcome letter from their pension fund this week: thanks to a payroll error spurred by officers’ latest contract, approximately 3,000 are required to cut a check to their pension fund, plus interest. The Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 7, which represents most rank-and-file cops, said it planned on filing a grievance over the error so that the city would have to pay that interest charge instead of workers.

* WTTW | CPS, CTU to Hold First-Ever Contract Negotiation Session Open to the Public Friday: The CTU announced the sides have agreed to schedule an open contract bargaining session Friday from 5-7 p.m. at Marquette Elementary School, 6550 S. Richmond St., in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood. According to the union, this session will be focused on “Healthy, Safe, Green Schools” and how schools can be updated to support student learning.

* Chakbeat | Reputation vs. reality: A closer look at four Chicago high schools: In the 2022-23 school year, 44.51% of elementary school students and 76.18% of high school students opted out of attending their zoned neighborhood schools. As the city shifts its focus to neighborhood schools, Chalkbeat spoke with community members and alumni at four Chicago high schools about how reputation affects their schools and communities, and how they’re trying to change the narrative.

* ABC Chicago | At least 5 taken to hospitals after CTA bus hits building, cars in Bridgeport: Surveillance video from the scene shows the out-of-control bus also hit a building before slamming into the cars. CPD said there were a total of 11 vehicles involved in the crash. At least five people had to be taken to the hospital.

* Tribune | Chicago White Sox are the 1st team to lose 50 games this season — and they did so in grand fashion: Cal Raleigh hit a game-ending grand slam in the ninth inning against reliever Jordan Leasure as the Seattle Mariners stormed back to beat the Sox 8-4 in front of 23,027 at T-Mobile Park. The Sox had a 4-0 lead going into the bottom of the eighth, only for the Mariners to pull even — with three of the four runs allowed in the inning by Michael Kopech. The Mariners loaded the bases with two walks and a single in the ninth, setting the stage for Raleigh’s walk-off slam.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | No Ribfest planned for this year: Exchange Club of Naperville president: “We never planned one this year, so we didn’t really cancel it because we never scheduled it,” said Emy Trotz, president of the Exchange Club of Naperville, the civic group in charge of Ribfest. “We had other things going on that we didn’t have the capability to put it together.”

* Crain’s | Wilmette residents irate after park district fences off lakefront beach: Furious Wilmette residents are set to rally in opposition to the park district’s recent decision to fence off and charge admission to the beach at Gillson Park. The rally, which will take place at Wimette’s village hall tonight at 7:00, comes as residents say the fence was erected without proper notice and their input. Beachgoers are now required to pay $5 for residents and $10 for nonresidents for admission, which was formerly free. Park advocates say the move restricts access for “community members including seniors, families and individuals with disabilities, who rely on the open space for recreation and relaxation.”

*** Downstate ***

* Illinois Times | Rebuilding the Catholic Church: The future central Illinois school just hired its first president, Kent Lasnoski, who is moving to Springfield from Wyoming, where he led another Catholic college. He hopes to open the doors for San Damiano in the fall of 2025 on the campus of the former Chiara Center, located on the grounds of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis in Springfield. The Franciscan Brothers of the Holy Cross operated the St. James Trade School there from 1928 to 1972.

*** National ***

* AP | Justice Alito questions possibility of political compromise in secret recording: Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is heard questioning whether compromise between the left and right is possible in a conversation posted on social media Monday. The conservative justice is also heard agreeing with a woman who says the United States should return “to a place of godliness.” The audio was posted on X by liberal filmmaker Lauren Windsor. She said it was recorded at the Supreme Court Historical Society’s annual dinner last week.

* The Athletic | Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone shows anything’s possible for her at Paris Olympics and beyond: McLaughlin-Levrone declared before the race she was aiming for the American record. And as she glided down the final 100 meters, resisting the Manhattan wind, she almost got it. She clocked in at 48.75 seconds, just shy of Richards-Ross’ national record of 48.70 set in 2006. “So close,” McLaughlin-Levrone told reporters afterwards. “But you know what, it’s all good. There’s so much time to do that. It’s always just about refining it and learning the race.”

  10 Comments      


Live coverage

Tuesday, Jun 11, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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

  Comments Off      


Selected press releases (Live updates)

Tuesday, Jun 11, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

  Comments Off      


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