…Adding… The governor has signed the Chicago elected school board bill…
Today, Governor JB Pritzker took the following bill action:
Bill Number: SB0015
Description: Divides the City of Chicago into 10 districts and 20 subdistricts for determining members of the Chicago Board of Education. The Mayor shall appoint the President of the Chicago Board of Education and 10 members. An additional 10 members will be elected to the Board in the 2024 general election. All members of the Chicago Board of Education will be elected in the 2026 general election.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
…Adding… Senate President Don Harmon…
Today marks the start of an exciting new era in community-led education in which the parents, families and taxpayers of Chicago are empowered to decide what is best for their schools. This move to elected, representative democracy for Chicago Public Schools is an achievement decades in the making and a testament to the power of collective action. Special recognition goes to the community advocates who patiently led these efforts for many years, as well as the dedicated legislators who helped shepherd this effort through the legislative process including Senator Rob Martwick, who was the sponsor of the original law that created the elected school board, Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford, Senator Omar Aquino and Senator Elgie Sims.
* Attorney General Raoul…
Attorney General Kwame Raoul today announced that more than 190 teams of assistant attorneys general and investigators from his office will be monitoring the primary election throughout Illinois on Tuesday, March 19 to ensure that voters’ rights are protected and polling places are accessible.
Raoul urged voters to call his office if they encounter suspected improper or illegal activity. Chicago and northern Illinois voters can call 1-866-536-3496. Central and southern Illinois voters can call 1-866-559-6812. Individuals with hearing or speech disabilities can reach the office by using the 7-1-1 relay service.
“The right to vote is one of the most fundamental rights we have as Americans. This is why my office will be monitoring polling places to ensure that right is protected,” Raoul said. “Voters who feel their voting rights have been violated or who have witnessed concerning behavior should immediately report it to my office or local law enforcement.”
Attorney General Raoul reminded voters of some of their basic voting rights:
- Voters have the right to vote if they are in line when the polls close at 7 p.m. or at any other time between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Election Day (10 ILCS 5/17-1).
- If a voter makes a mistake or “spoils” a paper ballot and the voter has not cast the ballot, the voter has the right to receive a replacement ballot (10 ILCS 5/17-11).
- If a voter cannot read, has trouble understanding English, or has a disability, that voter has the right to request voting assistance from anyone other than his or her employer, an agent of his or her employer, or an officer or agent of his or her union (10 ILCS 5/17-14).
- Voters have the right to take unpaid time from work to vote, but no more than two successive hours, as long as they have applied with their employer before Election Day. The employer may set the time of day (10 ILCS 5/17-15).
- No one is allowed to try to influence a voter within 100 feet of the polling place (10 ILCS 5/17-29).
- Under Illinois law, it is a crime to prevent a person from voting or registering to vote using intimidation, force, threat or deception (10 ILCS 5/29-4).
Three weeks ago, I proposed my sixth balanced budget for our state. In my budget address, I argued, as I have in years past, that the people of Illinois deserve relief from recent high inflation, especially every time they shop for groceries. We ought to eliminate the regressive sales tax on groceries and put money back into the pockets of the working families of Illinois. Making life easier for people by lowering the cost of living is one of the most basic responsibilities of government. The cost of food is high, and state government doesn’t need to add to that burden.
Getting rid of the grocery tax should be a bipartisan endeavor championed by every elected official. As you’ve read in these pages, there are some who are fighting against this tax cut, and their excuse is that local governments need their residents to pay grocery taxes. They have even threatened to raise property taxes and cut services if we give everyone some relief at the grocery checkout counter.
What grocery tax cut opponents aren’t telling you is that local governments in Illinois have seen a dramatic increase in funding from state government, and they can afford to lower your local tax burden. In 2010, the state distributed $3.8 billion to local governments, and in 2023, that number nearly doubled to more than $7 billion. While municipalities claim their funding from the Local Government Distributive Fund was cut, the numbers tell a different story. Funding from that source has doubled, from $985 million in 2010 to $1.9 billion today. That’s more than twice the rate of inflation. In fact, since I took office in 2019, local governments have seen a windfall of overall support from state government of an additional $1.3 billion a year.
Here are some of the ways we accomplished that: In 2019 when the General Assembly and I closed an online sales tax loophole benefiting mostly out-of-state corporations, Illinois municipalities began receiving an additional $200 million a year in sales tax revenue. That same year, we passed the landmark Rebuild Illinois capital plan, and local governments have benefited from $680 million annually to use at their discretion for local transportation projects. When we legalized cannabis, we ensured locals would see a share of that revenue, now totaling an estimated $100 million per year.
We are also saving local governments $110 million annually by having the state assume the cost of local bond issuances. Just last year, we increased the percentage of individual income taxes that state government shares with municipalities and counties. On top of all of that, the state is sending nearly $80 million a year in video gaming revenue to local governments.
*WTVO | Pritzker signs executive order to reduce costs of sickle cell treatment: “Historically we’ve seen breakthrough treatments end up out of reach for everyday Americans — strictly because of their cost,” said Pritzker. “My goal is to make emerging and transformative gene and cell therapy treatments affordable and available to all Illinoisans who need them. If we can narrow the affordability gap, those who are suffering from these diseases won’t have to wait a generation before they can access these groundbreaking cures.”
* WICS | Pritzker Announces $5 Million in Funding for the Home Illinois Workforce Pilot Program: The goal of the Home Illinois Workforce Pilot is to support individuals experiencing homelessness by improving employment opportunities, helping them establish financial stability and improving their ability to afford permanent housing in their community. The program is an essential part of the JTED Program. The JTED Program was created to provide workforce training and wrap-around services to bolster equitable workforce recovery for Illinoisans struggling to gain meaningful employment as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
* SJ-R | Unemployment claims in Illinois stayed the same last week: Initial filings for unemployment benefits in Illinois were unchanged last week compared with the week prior, the U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday. New jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, hovered at 8,123 in the week ending March 9, in line with the week before, the Labor Department said.
* Daily Herald | What you need to know before you vote Tuesday: But the presidency isn’t the only office that will be on ballots in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties. Races to determine the Democratic and Republican nominees for judicial posts, county board seats, countywide positions and various state and federal offices will be settled, too, as will the fates of a variety of public questions.
* Crain’s | The DEI backlash has come for Chicago C-suites: Only the 295th Black woman to become an architect in the U.S., Dowdell remembers the conversations around diversity and inclusion change in 2020. People from many backgrounds were onboard demanding equity. Then came last year’s U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down affirmative action in colleges, which “(raised) all these questions about the sustainability of DEI policies,” Dowdell says. “It’s really disturbing how quickly the pendulum is shifting back toward a less inclusive and diverse society.”
* Sun-Times | After transgender migrant was shot in Little Village, a cartel-tied Venezuelan was arrested but soon released: While he had been identified as the gunman and police had recovered key evidence — including a shell casing and video of the Ford Explorer used in the attack — Cook County prosecutors wouldn’t bring charges. A spokesperson for the state’s attorney’s office said the case has been “continued for additional investigation,” noting that “no charging decision has been made at this time.”
* Crain’s | How personal seat licenses could fuel the Bears’ lakefront stadium ambitions: PSLs are a familiar concept for the Bears, which sold such licenses ranging from $765 to $8,500 that collectively raised more than $50 million toward the $690 million renovation of Soldier Field in 2002 — licenses whose value would evaporate should the team ditch its current home at Soldier Field. But ticket market experts say those costs would pale in comparison to the PSL rates the team could charge to back a new venue. That stands to test Bears supporters’ financial willingness to help foot the stadium bill for a team that has seemingly inelastic demand for its product, despite years of mostly middling performance on the field and gripes that many fans are priced out of attending games.
* Block Club | Related Midwest Should Fix ‘Hot Mess’ Buildings Before Getting Money For New Sox Park, Tenants Say: Residents of Northpoint Apartments in the North of Howard area of Rogers Park rallied outside the River North offices of Related Midwest Friday, calling on the prominent development firm to address longstanding issues at their affordable housing complex. The group also called on city and state officials to deny any requests for public funds to subsidize a joint plan by Related Midwest and the White Sox to build a new stadium at The 78, the South Loop development site owned by Related Midwest, while issues persist at Related’s portfolio of affordable apartments.
* Tribune | Solar eclipse: Glasses are key, but did you know clothing choice could enhance viewing?:
“Tell your friends and family who you’re going to go to the eclipse with to wear bright colors — ridiculously bright colors,” [ NASA volunteer educator and eclipse chaser Gordon Telepun] said. “A combination of reds and greens, maybe some blues and some yellows, if you want to see the Purkinje effect.”
* AP | ‘Art and science:’ How bracketologists are using artificial intelligence this NCAA Tournament: The technologically inclined are chasing goals even more complicated than selecting the winners of all 67 matchups in both the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments. They are fine-tuning mathematical functions in pursuit of the most objective model for predicting success in the upset-riddled tournament. Some are enlisting AI to perfect their codes or to decide which aspects of team resumes they should weigh most heavily.
* Today’s federal filings are here and here. That second one is pretty extensive and worth a look. From the Sun-Times…
Danny Solis’ days on the federal witness stand may not be over.
Months after declining to call the notorious FBI mole to testify in the trial of ex-Ald. Edward M. Burke, prosecutors disclosed Monday that they intend to summon Solis to the stand in the trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan, set for October.
That notice appears to short-circuit the kind of will-he/won’t-he drama that surrounded Solis’ role in Burke’s trial last fall. Solis was ultimately called to the stand by Burke’s defense attorneys, who questioned him for about three hours in December.
This time around, prosecutors say Solis will testify about allegations that Madigan agreed to help with the transfer of a property in Chinatown from the state to the city in exchange for business for Madigan’s private law firm, as well as an alleged scheme to help Solis land a spot on a state board.
According to the new document in the Madigan case, which was filed several days after the original deadline due to technical issues at the U.S. attorney’s office, Solis will provide “devastating” testimony that adds context to many of Madigan’s responses on the secret recordings and allegedly shows how he was using Solis to get introductions to big-time developers, including the New York-based firm in charge of the Post Office project.
“Solis is expected to testify that Madigan continued to ask Solis during his cooperation to make introductions to developers so that Madigan could secure their tax business for his law firm,” prosecutors wrote. […]
In the filing Monday, prosecutors said they will prove that the purposes of Madigan’s criminal enterprise included enhancing his own political power and financial well-being, financially rewarding Madigan’s political allies, political workers, and associates for their loyalty, and generating “income for members and associates of the enterprise through illegal activities.”
“Madigan was the leader of the enterprise, and he used his various positions to oversee, direct, and guide certain of the enterprise’s illegal activities,” prosecutors said.
At the same time Madigan and McClain were arranging for and maintaining stream of benefits directed to Madigan and his associates from ComEd, Madigan and McClain also plotted to solicit bribes from Illinois Bell Telephone Company, doing business as “AT&T Illinois.” AT&T Illinois (generally referred to herein simply as “AT&T”) was an Illinois company that provided regulated wireline and other communications services in Illinois.
Between February 2017 and January 2018, Madigan, McClain, the president of AT&T, Paul La Schiazza, and others discussed below agreed to corruptly confer benefits on Madigan, intending to corruptly influence and reward Madigan in connection with efforts to pass legislation favorable to AT&T.
The bribes AT&T paid to Madigan were comprised of payments totaling $22,500 made indirectly by AT&T to a former legislator, Individual FR-1, for the last nine months of 2017. Individual FR-1 did no work in return for these payments. The coconspirators concealed the nature of the payments to Individual FR-1 by paying Individual FR-1 indirectly through Intermediary 4 (one of AT&T’s lobbyists) and by causing the creation of a false contract and other false internal records to disguise the true nature of the payments.
In return for those payments, Madigan and McClain helped AT&T to pass valuable legislation, including AT&T’s carrier of last resort (or “COLR”) legislation, which was a prerequisite for AT&T to terminate its costly obligation to provide landline telephone services to all Illinois residents that requested such services.
* As an aside, the unions had been hotly opposed to AT&T’s COLR legislation, which is a prime reason why Madigan would not advance the bill. But then after countless machinations the COLR language was attached to a proposal that raised money to fund local 9-1-1 services and Gov. Rauner vetoed it…
The majority in the General Assembly waited until the last moment to send this 9-1-1 service reauthorization bill to my desk. Unfortunately, those lawmakers also inserted a major tax hike into this bill, a tax that’s both excessive and unwarranted, and that I strongly oppose. The tax hike is large for the people of Illinois, but it’s particularly massive for the people of Chicago. Chicago 9-1-1 fees are already the highest in America. This extreme increase is unfair and indefensible. But the majority in the General Assembly is using the threat of cancellation of 9-1-1 services on Saturday as leverage to force this tax hike through over my opposition.
This mean-spirited strategy has been employed by the majority repeatedly over the years, most prominently in the current budget impasse: holding innocent people, our most vulnerable residents and essential services hostage as leverage to force excessive, unwarranted tax hikes onto the people of Illinois. This practice must stop.
The veto override motions passed both chambers overwhelmingly in late June and early July of 2017 (receiving more House “Yes” votes than the bill itself). The overrides were, at the time, seen as a test of whether Republicans would stick with Democrats to override a Rauner tax hike veto and end the long stalemate. Partially because of that test vote, the impasse was finally broken less than a week later.
For the second time in four years, Your Fighting Illini are the Big Ten Tournament Champions, beating Wisconsin for the eighth-straight time overall on Sunday in Minneapolis, 93-87.
Much like the previous two victories at Target Center, the Illini came back from a double-digit deficit to beat a third sizzling-hot team in as many days. […]
Unlike the previous BTT Championship in 2021 with Ayo and Kofi, this particular set of victories did not FEEL like relief, it felt more like inevitability.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is a weird thing to FEEL for a lifelong fan of this state university. Inevitability is always a negative emotion or foreboding of catastrophe just around the corner.
Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 34 points on 15-for-17 shooting from the free-throw line, helping 13th-ranked Illinois outlast Wisconsin 93-87 in Big Ten tournament championship game on Sunday. […]
Shannon finished with 102 points in three games this weekend, one short of the Big Ten Tournament scoring record, and was voted the Most Outstanding Player. Keegan Murray had 103 points for Iowa in 2022, but the Hawkeyes played four games that year on the way to the title.
After celebrating in a shower of orange-and-blue confetti and cutting down the nets at Target Center, the Illini hustled to a side room for the NCAA Tournament selection show to learn they’re the No. 3 seed in the East Region, with a first-round game at 2:10 p.m. Thursday (truTV) against No. 14 Morehead State. […]
Illinois, the winningest team in the Big Ten over the last five seasons, has its most victories since a 26-win team in 2005-06.
“When you’re part of something that’s really special — and that’s this league — when you accomplish something like this, you don’t take it for granted,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. “To come here and have three games that were all a little bit different and then have the confetti fall at the end, I couldn’t be prouder of these guys. I’m glad they get to experience that feeling and hoist that trophy.” […]
Before the trophy was hoisted and the confetti fell, Marcus Domask knew exactly who he wanted to celebrate with first. Terrence Shannon Jr. was in the sights of the Southern Illinois transfer the entire time.
“I ran over to TJ,” Domask said. “What he did this tournament was unbelievable. He put us on his back and carried us. I went to TJ first, and then everybody was just jumping around and it’s a celebration.
“It was the reason I came to Illinois. I came to Illinois to win championships. That was pretty much all me and coach talked about in the portal. Who was going to be on the team. How we were going to win championships. That was the main thing I was looking for.”
Illinois guard Terrence Shannon was greeted with a chant from the Wisconsin fans each time he went to the foul line during Sunday’s Big Ten title game.
A section of the Badgers fans would chant “No Means No” as Shannon prepared to shoot. It was in reference to Shannon facing rape allegations stemming from an incident last September.
According to Brian Hamilton of The Athletic, the Big Ten has since stopped the chant. It was caught early in the first half.
* More…
*The Intelligencer | Illini earn No. 3 seed in NCAA Tournament: Illinois is the No. 3 seed in the East region and will open their NCAA Tournament run against No. 14 seed Morehead State (26-8) in the first round at 2:10 p.m. Thursday in Omaha, Neb., at CHI Health Center Omaha. Illinois is one of three Big Ten teams – and one of 14 teams nationally – to earn a bid in each of the last four NCAA Tournaments.
* WCIA | Illinois wins second Big Ten Tournament Title in four years: “You just get chills honestly, especially myself growing up in the Midwest, an Indiana boy, you know you grow up watching college basketball your whole life,” junior Luke Goode said. “Watching people cut down the nets and having the opportunity to be in those shoes is something people will always remember.”
Amends the Chicago School District Article of the School Code. Prohibits, until February 1, 2027, the Chicago Board of Education from closing any attendance center within the school district that has selective admission requirements that are approved by the Board. Prohibits, until February 1, 2027, the Board from changing the standards for admission to any attendance center within the school district that has selective admission requirements that are approved by the Board. Provides that, notwithstanding any other provision of the Code, the Board may not take any action, until February 1, 2027, that results in a decrease in either the total amount or percentage of funds allocated to an attendance center within the school district that has selective admission requirements that are approved by the Board. Effective immediately.
House Speaker Chris Welch has signed on as the bill’s chief co-sponsor. Subscribers know why.
* Gov. Pritzker was asked today where he stood on the legislation. He said he supports it…
It basically focuses on making sure that we don’t see any changes in selective enrollment schools between now and when there’s a fully elected school board. I think it would be a mistake before the people get a chance to vote all of the new members of the Board of Education in. And so I’m supporting that bill. I think she’s done a good job with it.
“The woke left is coming after me for peeing on a tree during my college days,” state Rep. Adam Niemerg (R-Dieterich) told me not long ago.
I’ve told you about this race before. The 102nd Illinois House District is one of a handful of southeastern and southern Illinois Republican primaries that might slow or intensify the Republican Party’s rightward lunge. They’ve featured far-right candidates trying to fend off or battling with more mainstream Republicans. US Rep. Mike Bost’s race against the much further-right Darren Bailey has been another.
Niemerg, an anti-union, anti-abortion, pro-gun Illinois Freedom Caucus stalwart, was responding at the time to an opposition report I’d seen about him. That research eventually found its way into a TV ad from an Illinois Education Association-funded group helping Niemerg’s Republican primary opponent Jim Acklin, a former school superintendent.
The ad is paid for by Illinois Working PAC, an independent expenditure committee which spent more than $100,000 on the race and received all of its funding from the IEA. The teachers union and other unions directly contributed another $120,000 to Acklin’s campaign. That gave Acklin almost twice the spending power as Rep. Niemerg.
“Adam Niemerg sure talks a lot, but what is he not telling you?” the ad’s announcer asked. “Well, there’s the DUI Niemerg got, more than twice the limit. And how he pleaded guilty to obscene conduct.”
OK, let’s stop right there for a moment. Niemerg was busted in 2003 for DUI, speeding and possession/consumption of alcohol by a minor. He paid a fine and had to go to treatment. Then, on 4/20 (heh) of 2006, Niemerg was busted for obscene conduct. He pleaded guilty, paid a fine and was given 90 days supervision.
Niemerg has not addressed the claims via his own advertising, even though “obscene conduct” can conjure up quite a large number of scenarios. Also, a lot of homeless people charged with peeing on trees end up in a heap of legal trouble, so it’s not that funny to them. The anti-Niemerg ad is also being pushed hard online, and as of last Friday afternoon it had 232,000 YouTube views, which is more than twice the total population of a House district.
A group called American Action Fund, however, punched back on Niemerg’s behalf with social media ads on another topic. “Jim Acklin failed to act when complaints were filed against his friend and chose to blame the victim while superintendent. Acklin looked the other way and let a predator roam free in his school for years, now he wants to be your State Rep. Our State Rep. should stand up for us, not their buddy.” The ad links to a 2016 news story (which was basically an opposition research report released when Acklin was running for a House seat) entitled, “In sexual misconduct suit, State Rep candidate said female student was responsible for relationship with teacher.” According to Facebook, the ad generated up to 40,000 impressions by last Friday.
Acklin brushed off the attack, noting that the lawsuit “was based on entirely false allegations,” and was, “so unfounded that it was ultimately dismissed with prejudice against the plaintiff, which means that I can never again be sued for that false allegation. I was exonerated because I handled the situation exactly as it should have been handled; I suspended and barred the employee involved from school property within minutes of learning of the allegations. The individual in question will never be able to teach in Illinois again because of the action I took.” But Acklin hasn’t specifically countered the claim that I can tell.
This has been, without a doubt, the meanest primary in Illinois this spring.
Let’s go back to the Acklin TV ad: “Niemerg voted to allow minors convicted of serious crimes to be paroled. And remember those Obama DACA aliens? Niemerg voted to allow them to become police officers. I guess with Adam Niemerg, it’s not what he says, but what he doesn’t say that’s important.”
Niemerg has denied that he voted to allow DACA recipients to become police officers. But he did vote for the bill when it applied to non-citizens. Niemerg and a few others voted “No” after it was amended to explicitly include DACA folks.
And a recent Niemerg mailer features some rather incendiary quotes from American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten and Chicago Teachers Union president Stacy Davis Gates and ties them to Acklin. “Jim Acklin is completely funded by the radical, left-wing extremists,” the mailer blares.
* Nadig Newspapers published this story a few weeks ago, but I somehow missed it. A subscriber just sent it to me to ask what I thought. I’ll let y’all decide. Here’s Brian Nadig…
At Feb. 23 Northwest Side business luncheon, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias was critical of Mayor Brandon Johnson, while Alderman Samantha Nugent (39th) expressed concern that some local families would move to the suburbs if the Chicago Board of Education were to dismantle selective enrollment programs.
“I think what this administration is doing to small businesses is at a time it shouldn’t,” Giannoulias said, adding that he once served as business owner on the Edgewater Chamber of Commerce.
“No one is more pro labor than me” but the city’s new law on eliminating the subminimum wage will not generate more revenue for the city and will “hurt” small businesses, he said. […]
Efforts to increase real estate transfer taxes in Chicago also are “not good” for business growth, and the city should make “public safety needs … an absolute priority every single day,” Giannoulias said. He added that the mayor may be working to address safety but “the perception is there” that the city is not doing enough.
When news broke this past week of a threat and subsequent lockdown at the state Capitol in Springfield, everyone’s minds went to the same chilling place: Is there a gunman? […]
The reality is that the fear that spread through the Capitol is the same fear we instill in our children, who are forced to be trained for active shooter drills before they can even read or write. Yes, these drills are for their protection, but there are far greater measures we can and should take to protect our children from being killed with a gun. Namely, pass laws that prevent gun violence.
Despite the great progress Illinois has made passing gun violence prevention legislation such as the ban on assault weapons and the requirement of universal background checks, we still have work to do. Guns are still the leading cause of death for children and teens in Illinois, and more than 1,600 people die from guns every year in our state.
Our legislators should think about their experience during the shelter-in-place order when it comes time to voting on legislation such as Karina’s Bill, which would make sure domestic abusers don’t have access to guns; a measure for secure gun storage to prevent access to guns by children and people at increased risk of harming themselves or others; and a bill that would hold straw purchasers accountable for “losing” guns in the illegal secondary market.
Our lawmakers should be running to the chamber to pass these bills, not wringing their hands waiting for the “right” time to take action.
* Rep. John Cabello’s HB4373 was assigned to the Executive Committee Thursday…
Amends the Secretary of State Act. Provides that the Office of the Secretary of State shall install and maintain electronic monitoring devices at each entrance to the State Capitol Complex and shall install and maintain safety call boxes around the State Capitol Complex. Defines terms.
State Rep. Kelly Cassidy spent months preparing to move to Illinois from Florida in the early 1990s. It was stressful but necessary because even then, she said, Florida laws governing health care were more restrictive than what was legally available in Illinois. […]
Cassidy’s House Bill 5152 would give a $500 tax credit to anyone who moves to Illinois to teach, get or provide health care, including abortion and gender-affirming care, from states with more restrictive laws regarding access to lawful health care. The bill is assigned to a subcommittee of the Revenue and Finance Committee. […]
“I’m not saying you have to come here and provide abortion care or provide gender-affirming care, because I am just as concerned about the emergency room physician who doesn’t want to have to watch a patient die,” she said.
The tax credit is something the state should want to do to make people feel welcome, Cassidy said, noting some of her siblings retired early from their jobs as teachers in Florida because they were tired of the restrictions placed on health care options.
That’s one baseline expectation for elected officials. Slightly up the ladder is making sure the proposed solution is practical and, more importantly, plausible. Practical in the sense of real-world implementation and plausible in terms of “can we get this through the legislature and signed by the governor?” […]
State Rep. Bill Hauter, R-Morton, filed the bill Jan. 30. As of Tuesday, it was assigned to the Health Care License Committee, concurrent with a House Republican press conference at which Hauter explained the intent. […]
Hauter’s proposal would change the Civil Administrative Code to give the IDFPR secretary power to expedite regular and temporary licenses in accordance with department rules. McCombie’s House Bill 4855 would require the department to accept online payments. Other GOP bills call for lowering licensure costs, streamlining out-of-state licenses and creating task forces to explore long-term solutions.
Earlier this week Illinois Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Swansea filed legislation that would set up a framework for the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the state.
Backed by industry organizations and unions, this effort is a fresh attempt at creating conditions for CCS to develop, following the retracted applications from Navigator CO2 Ventures and Wolf Carbon Solutions last year, with Navigator ultimately cancelling its 1,350-mile pipeline.
Senate Bill 3311 and House Bill 569, would create the Climate and Landowner Protection Act, aiming to provide clarity when it comes landowners’ rights for the pore space under private property and the exact responsibilities project developers would have when it comes to safety. […]
Both the ILFB and Sierra Club of Illinois point out the absence of provisions for the carbon capture pipelines that would have to be constructed underneath farmland with the latter also saying that the use of eminent domain should also be prohobited.
* ICYMI: Bailey vs. Bost congressional race is a GOP primary to watch. Capitol News Illinois…
- Congressman Mike Bost has a funding advantage raising and spending more than $2 million through the end of February, compared to only $400,000 in spending by the Darren Bailey campaign.
- Bost has endorsements from National Right to Life, the NRA, iFB, and, perhaps most importantly, former President Trump, who previously backed Bailey in the 2022 gubernatorial race.
- Two Democrats have filed for the seat as well – Preston Nelson and Brian Roberts – but neither has reported raising or spending any money on their campaigns.
* Illinois Times | Limited capacity in juvenile detention centers statewide: In addition to the Sangamon County facility not currently holding youth, a detention center in Franklin County recently closed. That facility was closed by a judge who said staffing shortages made it difficult to meet new state standards governing the treatment of youth in custody, according to a Jan. 4 story by ProPublica and Capitol News Illinois. There are 14 other remaining facilities statewide to request assistance, Sangamon County Administrator Brian McFadden said.
* Tribune | From parades to pulpits, candidates make one final push before primary: Without contested presidential primary contests to help drive voter turnout at the top of the ticket, expectations are for a low voter turnout, so “institutional support is very important,” said Mariyana Spyropoulos, who is challenging incumbent Democratic Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Iris Martinez. Spyropoulos got the backing of the Cook County Democratic Party over Martinez, who has bucked several of the organization’s slated candidates and has been feuding with Toni Preckwinkle, the county party chair and County Board president. Spyropoulos said that support “is going to help us, because the party is really strong.”
Governor Pritzker will be in Chicago at La Radida Children’s Hospital signing an executive order at 11 a.m. promoting equity in sickle cell disease treatment. Click here to watch.
* WaPo | U.S. courts clarify policy limiting ‘judge shopping’: In the Friday memo, the committee said it was providing instructions on how to deter judge-shopping, not issuing a direct mandate, which would conflict with chief judges’ case assignment authority. The policies and the accompanying guidance “should not be viewed as impairing a court’s authority or discretion,” Jackie Koszczuk, spokeswoman for the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, said. “Rather, they set out various ways for courts to align their case assignment practices with the long-standing Judicial Conference policy of random case assignment.”
* Sun-Times | Facebook threatens to take away news posts in Illinois. Really? Hasn’t it messed with our democracy enough?: As many outlets have seen, including this one, traffic to news articles from platforms like Facebook, owned by Meta, has slowed to a trickle. We have more than 412,000 followers, who are surely following us because they want local news. Yet we are days away from the Illinois primary, and our election-related posts have reached a fraction of our followers, compared with past years.
* Eye On Illinois | House GOP targeting licensing delays with commonsense proposals: State Rep. Bill Hauter, R-Morton, filed the bill Jan. 30. As of Tuesday, it was assigned to the Health Care License Committee, concurrent with a House Republican press conference at which Hauter explained the intent. “Illinois is losing highly compensated, highly trained individuals like physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists, physical therapists, veterinarians and many more to other states,” Hauter said. “Why? Because we can’t get our licensing act together.”
* Crain’s | How one agency is scouting the globe for Illinois connections: Intersect Illinois was founded in 2016 with the backing of Illinois’ Republican governor at the time, Bruce Rauner, in an effort to privatize the process of luring new business to the state. When he took office Gov. J.B. Pritzker continued his support for the organization, which currently gets more of its money to operate — it employs a staff of 18 and has offices in the Loop — from public sources than private.
* Tribune | Plan to rebuild Stateville prison provokes varied reactions from unions, local politicians: “Closing facilities even temporarily would disrupt and potentially destabilize the prison system, while bringing upheaval to the lives of affected employees and individuals in custody,” American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 Executive Director Roberta Lynch said in a statement. An outside review reported a year ago that Stateville and Logan were both nearly “inoperable” in their current condition. The governor’s office called AFSCME’s concerns about the project “unusual” given the union’s “continued demands to increase the safety and security of the work environment” of its members.
* BND | Under budget crunch, metro-east city plans EMS layoffs, service cuts to neighboring towns: The service is funded in a combination of property taxes and fee services. But the city is limited by state statute in how much property tax they can levy, and calls covered by Medicaid and Medicare only pay 55 percent of the estimated costs of the service. Approximately 60-70 percent of the calls are Medicaid or Medicare, according to city leaders. That means the service has been losing money.
* Tribune | What you need to know about Bring Chicago Home: The measure, centered on raising the city’s real estate transfer tax for property sales above $1 million, has taken a bumpy and winding road to get there, including an eleventh-hour court fight from the real estate lobby. Should it prevail, the referendum would be the first win from Brandon Johnson’s “tax the rich” agenda that he campaigned on during the 2023 mayoral race.
* Center Square | Teacher unions backing downstate Republicans ‘very rare,’ says researcher: According to Open Secrets data, the total given to Democrats in the 2021-2022 election cycle from teachers unions’ political action committees is over $4 million. Only $24,000 was given to Republicans nationwide. Sarah Bryner, the Open Secrets director of research and strategy, said it’s very rare you’ll see large sums of money going to Republican primary races.
* PJ Star | ‘I had no say’: Why new Illinois law requires child social media influencers to be paid: “As a former content kid myself, I know what it’s like to grow up with a digital footprint I never asked for,” influencer turned activist Cam Barrett told Maryland lawmakers. “As my mom posted to the world my first-ever menstrual cycle, as she posted to the world the intimate details about me being adopted, her platform grew and I had no say in what was posted.”
* BND | Madison County chairman ‘reconsidered’ campaign donors, accepts funds from vendors: Prenzler, 68, of Edwardsville, is the incumbent facing current county treasurer Chris Slusser, 46, of Wood River on the March 19 ballot. Slusser has alleged that Prenzler has accepted more than $80,000 in donations from county vendors, after he pledged in 2016 that he would not accept donations from anyone who does business with Madison County.
* Tribune | Solutions for gun violence, support for Palestine top Chicago students’ priorities at early voting event: The Student Power Forum and Parade to the Polls, hosted by Chicago Votes, La Casa Norte and the Chicago Teachers Union, took students of voting age at participating district high schools out of the classroom for the morning on a district-approved field trip to the CTU headquarters to make posters, learn about candidates and march to the polls together.
* WBEZ | Who’s giving the big money in Illinois to Biden and Trump?: The major super PAC bolstering the Biden bid is the FF PAC, established by Future Forward USA Action, with four contributors from Chicago, including Fred Eychaner the top executive of Newsweb Corp. and the chairman and president of the Alphawood Foundation.
* Sun-Times | Muslim community leaders urge Illinois voters to protest Biden by writing in ‘Gaza’ on primary ballot: “Uncommitted” isn’t a ballot option in Illinois, so groups are instead calling voters to either leave the presidential ticket blank or write in “Gaza.” The Chicago area is home to the largest Palestinian population in the U.S. “Our goal is to turn out 200,000 Muslim, Arab, and ally voters in Illinois — the state with the largest per capita Muslim population in the nation,” read a flyer from the Muslim Civic Coalition, a Chicago-based advocacy group that is encouraging Muslim citizens to register to vote and participate in elections.
* WGN | Rep. Jesus ‘Chuy García and Ald. Raymond Lopez face off in race for seat in Illinois’s 4th congressional district: “Ray Lopez is the most conservative alderman in City Council, he’s out front on issues including immigration and public safety. You have Chuy García who was kind of the darling of what was the left and then continued to be the far-left movement. He’s also been out front in public safety, but more in the comprehensive criminal justice reform space, ” political strategist Lisa Duarte said.
* Block Club | Confusion, Lack Of Information At Migrant Shelters As Evictions Begin Sunday: Fellow Venezuelan migrant Jorge Luis Rangel said he also had a Sunday exit date, but he was asked to leave the shelter 10 days before with a group of about 15 migrants. He has slept in a car outside the Elston shelter since then, and he stays around the area in the day, he said.
* Sun-Times | Chicago slowly starts evicting migrants from shelters: Of the nearly three dozen migrants expected to be evicted from shelters Sunday as the city began enforcing Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration’s 60-day shelter stay rule, just three were removed. The city confirmed Sunday afternoon that the remaining 31 migrants were given extensions; 27 because they are still in the process of applying for public benefits and four due to pregnancy or disability.
* Tribune | Behind the wheel without a license: Migrants buying cars to make a life in Chicago: The Tribune focused on arrestees born in Venezuela because census figures show few native Venezuelans lived in Chicago before Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began busing migrants north 18 months ago, and city officials say that Venezuelans make up the majority of the over 37,000 migrants who’ve arrived since. The Tribune analysis found a stark rise in arrests since last summer, increasingly tied to driving or vehicle infractions. In February, for example, of all arrests of native Venezuelans, 6 in 10 listed the primary offense as driving- or vehicle-related. For other arrestees, the rate was closer to one in seven.
* CBS | Boeing 737 Max engine issue will take up to a year to fix, company tells lawmakers: In written responses to questions from Sen. Tammy Duckworth, chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Aviation Safety, obtained exclusively by CBS News, Boeing says it has assembled a team of technical experts to “quickly drive forward a safe and compliant solution” to an issue that could cause the 737 Max engine anti-ice system to overheat and damage the engine.
* Crain’s | An Irish name isn’t the instant clout-getter that it used to be for Chicago pols: Once the St. Patrick’s Day event of the season where mayors and gubernatorial candidates endured cheers and jeers, there’s a conspicuous absence of political activity at this year’s parade. Mayor Brandon Johnson won’t march, nor will Cook County state’s attorney candidate and retired justice Eileen O’Neill Burke. U.S. Rep. Sean Casten, the incumbent for Illinois’ 6th Congressional District, is scheduled, though he already leads his opponents in fundraising.
