For months, CBS News Chicago has been tracking car break-ins across Chicago, and the most alarming items that are being stolen — guns. […]
Car break-ins were the source of a whopping 40% of gun thefts last year. […]
CBS News Chicago did some digging and found that just last year, the Near South Side community area—which includes much of the South Loop—saw 20 stolen guns from cars. But the worst spots were Austin on the West Side—with 52 guns stolen from cars last year—and the West Loop, with 36 guns stolen from cars in 2023. […]
“It’s easy for criminals to be able to quickly access a firearm if they break into a vehicle and they’re able to take that gun,” said Illinois state Rep. Kevin Olickal (D-Chicago).
Olickal—who represents Skokie, Lincolnwood, and parts of Chicago’s North and Northwest sides—said that is exactly why he is sponsoring a bill that would tighten the requirements for gun holders to report when their gun is lost or stolen. The owners would need to report the thefts within 48 hours, rather than the current 72.
Olickal’s bill would also create an electronic portal to track which gun owners have failed to report thefts.
Within the next month, Greyhound plans to close the only intercity bus station in Chicago. Of the 130 largest cities in the world, according to the Chicago Tribune, only two are without a bus terminal: Nairobi in Kenya and Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Chicago would be the third on that list.
The city’s current plan? Leave people to wait outside along the curb. But this isn’t a solution. Winter is fast approaching, bringing with it subzero temperatures. Add to that Greyhound’s proclivity for canceling trips and it becomes clear that the situation is dire.
Feeling frustrated, powerless, and invigorated, I spent a few hours at the Greyhound station, on Harrison between Desplaines and Jefferson, one Sunday afternoon in mid-September. I interviewed about a dozen people and snapped their portraits. Most had no idea the closure was imminent.
I met Joshua, who had been waiting at the bus station for more than 24 hours—his trip had been canceled and rescheduled three times. What would he do overnight, in the winter?
It has been a year since Illinois took the historic and courageous step toward transforming our criminal legal system by implementing the Pretrial Fairness Act and ending the use of money bond. We are the first state in the nation to completely end the role of wealth in pretrial release and detention decisions, and after a year, we can say we have been successful.
As we mark this significant milestone, we must recognize the profound impact of what we’ve accomplished and commit to further advancing justice and equity in our criminal legal system. […]
It turns out that replacing broken tough-on-crime systems with policies that are smart on violence works. Jail populations are down across the state, and people are able to maintain their lives — keep their jobs, their housing and their families intact — while their cases are pending. That stability makes us all safer. Not only did the crime wave our opponents predicted never occur, but also, homicides are actually down in Chicago this year compared to last. This only proves that we can take steps toward ending mass incarceration while maintaining public safety.
Ending money bond is more than a moral victory; it’s also beneficial for the economy. For decades, pretrial incarceration has taken resources away from poor, mostly Black and brown communities, further entrenching families in poverty. From 2016 to 2020, Illinoisans spent approximately $121 million to $154 million per year on money bonds. That money will now remain in communities and help families build economic security, which ultimately improves lives and also public safety.
Chicago City Councilman Ed Burke is just days from his surrender to federal prison. […]
On Monday, the once-powerful chairman of the City Council Finance Committee will become prisoner No. 53-698-424. […]
He had asked to be assigned to serve his two-year sentence at the Oxford Penitentiary in Wisconsin, a state where Burke has also owned a family lake house for decades.
But, according to a court filing, Burke’s attorneys said Oxford is no longer in the picture because “the satellite camp at FCI Oxford is now closed.” As a result, Burke’s attorneys are seeking “a revised recommendation to the minimum security camp at FCI Terre Haute,” in Indiana.
*** Chicago ***
* Sun-Times | Johnson accused of picking another police-related fight with City Council: Gov. JB Pritzker has authorized selling a former Illinois National Guard armory to the city for $1 for the “express purpose” of creating a new police district. But Mayor Brandon Johnson now wants to use the building for “storage, maintenance and operation of police vehicles, equipment and aircraft.”
* Sun-Times | Chicago developer completes first phase of affordable housing project in North Lawndale: The first phase of apartments at a North Lawndale development is already 50% leased, and the amenity-heavy project will bring additional housing units to the community as it starts phase two. Project and city leaders gathered at OC Living, the residential portion of the Ogden Commons development, on Thursday to mark the grand opening of phase one and kickstart phase two of the more than $200 million project. The Habitat Co. will build about 300 units at the former Chicago Housing Authority site.
Yesterday, the CTA L lines ran: 102% Yellow 91% Pink 90% Red 90% Green 89% Brown 89% Orange 87% Purple 81% Blue … of scheduled trains. Since 2020, CTA L Service has been cut by 17%. Riders deserve frequent and reliable transit, with return to at least pre-2020 levels.
* Tribune | New inclusive dental clinic at UIC an ‘oasis’ for patients with special needs: Burman said the Inclusive Care Clinic solves a problem not many dentist offices are thinking about: being a place that anybody can access. “Some people can’t get through the doorways, some people can’t even make it to the front door because there’s no ramp, or they won’t take somebody because of behavioral issues,” Burman said. “That’s not right. Everybody needs to have the medicine and dentistry that they’re entitled to.”
* Block Club | As Riot Fest Kicks Off, West Siders Debate Its Place In Douglass Park: Grassroots group Únete La Villita organized a press conference last week outside the Park District’s headquarters while the agency’s board members voted to grant Riot Fest’s permit, just nine days before its kickoff. There’s a lack of transparency behind the permit process, protesters said. Anton Adkins, a lifelong North Lawndale resident and an organizer for Únete La Villita, said the group is calling for an in-person public meeting with Riot Fest and Park District officials and neighborhood Ald. Monique Scott (24th) to address the community’s concerns, like losing access to the public park.
* WGN | Riot Fest features ‘world’s largest’ butter statue of John Stamos: This year’s butter statue comes after a yearslong love affair between Riot Fest and Stamos. A love affair that may very one-sided. According to the festival, it all started with a tweet to Stamos in 2013 asking him to reunite Jesse & The Rippers at Riot Fest — but unfortunately, they had no luck. Then in 2016, the fest attempted to get Stamos’ attention again and had an artist create a sculpture of his head out of butter. Again, no luck with having him perform, but he did respond to their post of the butter sculpture and said, “Riot Fest I’m certainly flattered & pretty frightened by #ButterStamos. Does this come with toast? Funny comments?”
*** Cook County and Suburbs ***
* Tribune | Harvey Mayor Christopher Clark enforces decorum at City Council meetings; is it too restrictive?: At the most recent council meeting Sept. 9, several residents raised concerns about what they believe was an increased police presence, noting about 10 officers were stationed inside the council chambers. “That is very intimidating to have officers actually surround people as they give their speeches,” said the Rev. Johnathan Johnson, a pastor at the Holy Bible Missionary Baptist Church in Harvey, who has been a vocal critic of a city ordinance requiring churches to obtain business licenses.
* Daily Herald | ‘Only the beginning’: Lake County government building powered by solar : Soon, electricity to run the Central Permit Facility on the government campus in Libertyville will be generated by more than 2,000 ground-mounted photovoltaic panels covering two acres nearby. What is considered a medium-sized solar field was built by Maryland-based Standard Solar Inc., under a 25-year lease agreement that has the county paying a monthly rate for all the power generated.
* WGN | St. Charles officer who retired 3 years ago dies from ALS: Police officer Chris Grove was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, shortly after retiring from the department in 2021. According to St. Charles police, Grove died Tuesday at the age of 51.
* Sun-Times | In ‘bird city’ Homewood, toxic chemicals found at nature preserve: The source of the color as well as an oily film is a stormwater outflow owned by Homewood that collects water from nearby businesses including Homewood Disposal, a garbage and recycling business that referred questions to Homewood officials. The outflow is the responsibility of the Homewood village government.
* Crain’s | Empty Skokie tech park building heading to auction block: Skokie-based American Landmark Properties has hired real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle to seek a buyer for the building at 8030 Lamon Ave. in the northern suburb, according to a marketing flyer. The developer spent nearly $21 million in recent years redeveloping the 1970s-built, 135,851-square-foot building with space suitable for life sciences research, the flyer said, betting that biotechnology, pharmaceutical and other types of companies hunting for wet lab space would fill it.
*** Downstate ***
* WCIA | ‘I am not here to divide our board’: Champaign Co. Board Chair defends position: “The chaos that the chair inserts into regular board functions makes it difficult to perform basic government tasks. I just want to point out that, despite consultation with the State Attorney’s Office and extensive mentoring by various board members, the Chair continues to misunderstand and misuse the role of board chair,” [board member Emily Rodriguez] said
* WCIA | Clifton students walk out after teacher’s arrest: Brett Sorensen was arrested Tuesday following an investigation by the Illinois State Police. While he teaches at a high school in Iroquois County, Sorensen lives in Paxton and was arrested at his home. He remains in the Ford County Jail pending a detention hearing scheduled for next week. Central High School administrators said they cannot comment on personnel matters, but did say Sorensen has been placed on paid administrative leave. Students aren’t satisfied, however, with the actions taken by the school. They want Sorensen fired.
*** National ***
* AP | Hotter summers are making high school football a fatal game for some players: At least 58 players have died from exertional heat stroke between 1992 and 2024, according to the Korey Stringer Institute at the University of Connecticut, and thousands more are sickened each year. This summer has been especially bad, with five high school players dying since July of suspected heat-related illnesses, including 14-year-old Semaj Wilkins who collapsed during drills last month at his Alabama high school practice.
After months of tension, Mayor Brandon Johnson told Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez on Thursday that he wants the embattled schools chief to leave his position, two sources told the Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ.
Martinez did not immediately resign and instead plans to wait to hear from the Board of Education, a source said. The school board has the sole authority to dismiss the CPS CEO. While the seven-member board, which was appointed by Johnson, has sided with Martinez this year on a couple key disputes, it’s unclear where it stands on firing Martinez. […]
Rather than operate in lockstep with the mayor, as past CEOs have done, Martinez has resisted certain demands from Johnson — like taking out a short-term, high-interest loan or putting a pension payment on CPS’ books — and painted himself as a fiscally responsible leader. In some of the battles, Martinez seemed to have the Board of Education on his side, and some of his allies have suggested that the board might keep Martinez on.
…Adding… Sigh…
According to Martinez’ contract, CPS must give him 6 months notice before termination, plus 20 weeks severance, unless let go for cause. Meaning, they can’t fire him during CTU contract negotiations, as CTU has sought. If CPS fires for cause, Martinez would likely sue. https://t.co/nGKLU5fHOe
I asked Gov Pritzker last month about rumors CPS CEO Martinez would be let go: “if it’s simply to accede to the demands of CTU,” Pritzker said, “you don’t want to just lay down to the union. I hope that’s not the reason.” pic.twitter.com/avievTuBMf
In this case, the State filed a criminal complaint against defendant, Carlos Clark, on August 23, 2023. In an ex parte hearing, the State appeared before a judge and obtained a warrant for defendant’s arrest. Defendant was taken into custody on September 16, 2023, and brought before a judge two days later (on September 18, 2023, the date enforcement of the Act began). At that hearing, the State filed a petition to detain defendant. Over defendant’s objection, the Cook County circuit court held a hearing, granted the State’s petition, and ordered defendant’s pretrial detention.
A divided panel of the appellate court reversed the circuit court’s order. The majority found section 110-6.1(c)(1) of the Code required the State to file its petition when it made its ex parte appearance before a judge. See 2023 IL App (1st) 231770. Therefore, the court held that the State’s petition was untimely because it filed the petition after it made its first appearance. For the reasons that follow, we reverse and remand the judgment of the appellate court. […]
In the [appellate court] majority’s view, “the legislature envisioned a process where the State and trial court need not wait for a defendant’s appearance before considering whether to detain that person without setting bail.” … It concluded that under subsection (c)(1) the term “first appearance before a judge” included “an ex parte appearance by the State to begin the prosecution by filing a felony complaint and then seek an order setting bail.” […]
The [appellate court] dissent believed the “most reasonable construction of the ‘first appearance before a judge’ language in subsection (c)(1) is that it means the first appearance before a judge at which the defendant is present.” […]
By contrast, the appellate court’s interpretation requires the State to file a petition to deny pretrial release when it files a criminal complaint and seeks an arrest warrant. This would lead to the absurd result of allowing ex parte detention hearings. To illustrate, if the State filed a petition at an ex parte proceeding, then the court would be required to hold the detention hearing “immediately” as required by section 110-6.1(c)(2). The legislature could not have intended this absurd approach because the Code prohibits the court from holding any hearing to deny pretrial release in defendant’s absence. […]
In either case, the plain language of the current version of the Code is clear that the filing of a petition to deny pretrial release and a hearing on the petition occur simultaneously at defendant’s first appearance before the court. […]
For the above reasons, we reverse the judgment of the appellate court. The matter is remanded to the appellate court to consider the alternative issues raised by defendant.
* One of my earliest intense memories is getting yelled at by my Aunt Marsha for venturing into a fully grown cornfield with a neighbor kid. Marsha was a teenager at the time and she was babysitting me. I was four or five years old and thought it was fun. We were pretending to be monsters while we knocked down corn stalks. Marsha was worried that I’d get lost or attacked by a wild dog, and I never blamed her for being angry with me because I instantly realized what a stupid thing that was and that the neighbor kid was bad news. Once you get deep into those fields, you lose your perspective, particularly when you’re so young. Case in point…
Thermal drone footage shows the rescue of a 3-year-old who became lost after he had wandered into a 100-acre corn field alone and at night in Alto, Wisconsin.
Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s deputies received a call for help from the boy’s parents around 8:45 p.m. on Aug. 25 that their son had wandered into the expansive 6-foot-tall corn field behind their home. […]
The boy was then brought out of the corn field and driven back to be reunited with his parents.
“Instances like these highlight the importance of technology and collaboration amongst law enforcement in our community,” the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office said.
“Without the use of the thermal imaging drone, it would likely have taken Deputies and other first responders hours to search the entire cornfield and the outcome may have been different,” he added.
* Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling and special agent in charge for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Chicago Field Division Christopher Amon penned a Tribune op-ed yesterday…
Earlier this month, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced an initiative to help combat the alarming proliferation of machine gun conversion devices (MCDs), commonly referred to as “switches” or “auto sears,” in communities across the country. This is welcome news.
Here in Chicago, we are at ground zero on this issue. More and more each day, these devices are being used by violent offenders, threatening the public and our police. The data doesn’t lie. The number of MCDs recovered by the Chicago Police Department has skyrocketed from 81 in 2020 to 551 in 2023. This year, we are on pace to surpass 600 recoveries. […]
Shockingly, the number of shell casings recovered at crime scenes has increased by 48% since 2020, and, on average, a machine gun is discharged seven times a day in Chicago. While people are dying, gang members are flaunting their possession and use of these devices against rivals on open-source social media.
Despite this grim reality, possession of a machine gun alone is not a detainable offense under Illinois’ SAFE-T Act, and the absence of pretrial incarceration for mere possession emboldens criminals. Make no mistake. There is no lawful reason to possess a machine gun conversion device in Chicago — or anywhere. When a criminal modifies a firearm with an MCD, they do it to generate maximum harm to their victims. Again, the data supports this: Nearly 50% of recovered MCD-modified firearms are ballistically linked to one or more shooting events.
* ACLU Illinois Communications Director Ed Yohnka responded…
CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling’s claim in his Tribune op-ed published today that “possession of a machine gun alone is not a detainable offense under Illinois’ SAFE-T Act,” is simply false. Possession of a machine gun is and always has been a detention-eligible offense under the Pretrial Fairness provisions of the SAFE-T Act, and is detainable under both the safety and willful flight bases. The section of the law that facilitates this 725 ILCS 5/110-6.1(a)(1), because possession of a machine gun is a non-probationable felony (meaning it carries a mandatory sentence to IDOC). In addition, people accused of possessing a machine gun will generally be charged with “Aggravated Unlawful Use of a Weapon,” which is separately detention-eligible under 110-6.1(a)(6)(O) found at the same link. The latter charge is what makes virtually all gun possession cases (unless someone has a FOID) detention-eligible.
Additionally, 720 ILCS 5/24-1(b) provides in relevant part that “A person convicted of a violation of subsection 24-1(a)(7)(i) [Selling, manufacturing, purchasing, possessing or carrying a machine gun] commits a Class 2 felony and shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than 3 years and not more than 7 years, unless the weapon is possessed in the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle as defined in Section 1-146 of the Illinois Vehicle Code, or on the person, while the weapon is loaded, in which case it shall be a Class X felony.”
The Superintendent further uses this false statement of the law to argue that “the absence of pretrial incarceration for mere possession emboldens criminals.” Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, possession of any gun without a license is detainable, and gun possession cases make up a plurality (if not a majority) of all people currently being ordered detained on any given day in Cook County Circuit Court’s Pretrial Division.
Examples of people being detained for gun possession abound. A Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office press release documenting the first month of the Act’s implementation captures that 64% of people they sought to detain for possession of any gun were denied release. There are also numerous individual examples of people being denied pretrial release since the law changed when they are charged with possession of a machine gun or any other gun, both in Chicago and other jurisdictions.
The Illinois Appellate Court has issued no fewer than three opinions affirming the pretrial detention of people arrested by the Chicago Police Department and charged with possession of a machine gun: Vance, Smith, and Walker. The published court decisions each describe someone who was arrested by the CPD, charged with possession of a machine gun, denied release, appealed that detention decision, and received appellate court review affirming the detention. In the case of Martice Walker, the allegation was that he possessed a gun with an “automatic switch attachment” of exactly the kind focused on in Superintendent Snelling’s op-ed. It simply could not be a more precise demonstration of the falsity of Snelling’s claims about the Pretrial Fairness Act.
* But wait, it gets better. I had all the above by late yesterday afternoon and decided to hold it until this morning. Last night, I received this email from the ACLU…
In working with the Tribune to get a letter in Sunday’s paper, we learned that the authors had offered the paper a “clarification” after objections were raised about the suggestion that possessing a machine gun is not detainable under the SAFE-T Act.
Here is the addendum we got from the Tribune:
Despite this grim reality, possession of a machine gun alone is not a mandatory detainable offense under Illinois’ SAFE-T Act and the absence of pretrial incarceration for mere possession emboldens criminals.
The problem is that the Supreme Court has struck down the notion of something being a “mandatory” detention. This is unconstitutional and just wrong.
*facepalm.emoji*
* Meanwhile, St. Louis Public Radio interviewed the chief judge of St. Clair County about one year without cash bail…
Will Bauer Bauer: Maybe one of the most common things that you might have heard from critics — I heard it quite a bit — was that the elimination of cash bail could make the state less safe. And the simple theory behind that is because people accused of less egregious crimes no longer have to stay in jail under this new system. Do you think Illinois has gotten less safe in this one year since?
Judge Andrew Gleeson, chief judge of Illinois’ 20th Circuit: The idea that we are assessing that level of danger to the community at large and or to any individual person before we allow someone to be out on bail is, I think, the counterargument. We’re safer under this present system. And then, probably just as important, is now we are upholding our obligations to the Constitution of the United States and the rights of us as individual citizens in this country. We are deemed to be innocent until proven guilty. Bond is only set to make sure that you appear in court. So, when we talk about these things, we’re talking about somebody who has not been adjudicated guilty in a court of law yet. So, the assessment of how dangerous they are to us — and whether they’re going to reappear for court — is what we should have probably been doing all along.
Bauer: As we go forward, what lessons, if any, are we learning in a world without cash bail, and what changes or improvements need to be made here in St. Clair County?
Gleeson: The first one we already talked about, and that was the concern about having dangerous people on the street and the community being less safe. That would have been one thing that, obviously, it’s a giant concern to both the courts and to the community at large. The second is: Are people going to show up to court? So, the purpose of bond is to ensure that they show up for their court dates. And I think everyone who’s been involved in the system as long as I have was leery of the thought that we’re going to let people go with really — to a degree — with no catch to bring them back in. And, surprisingly, the academics were correct. There is no meaningful difference at this point that we can discern as to whether you post bond, or you don’t, as to whether you’re going to show up in court. And, actually in some ways, the recidivism is down as opposed to up. I don’t know that any of those things are statistically valid yet. I don’t know that we have a big enough data set to make that [claim], but those are our initial observations. I am periodically making those inquiries because I think it’s important for me to be able to have that understanding and ability to give feedback to the administrative offices and to my colleagues.
* ICYMI: With jury stuck 11-1, judge declares mistrial in case of ex-AT&T boss accused of bribing Speaker Madigan. Tribune…
A federal judge declared a mistrial Thursday after a jury apparently deadlocked 11-1 on charges alleging former AT&T Illinois boss Paul La Schiazza bribed House Speaker Michael Madigan.
The panel was overwhelmingly leaning toward a conviction, one juror told the Tribune. But the mistrial still leaves a significant unknown about the strength of some of the prosecution’s evidence as Madigan heads to trial in less than three weeks. […]
The jurors who spoke in the courtroom could be heard saying a key sticking point was La Schiazza’s intent. Speaking to the Tribune, Duran agreed that was the case.
“We spent a lot of time … breaking down what constituted a conspiracy, what constituted a bribe, and particularly how do you determine whether somebody knowingly offered a bribe, or participated in a bribing,” she said. “You know, this idea of intent or the defendant’s mindset when he was going through all of this was, I think, a pain point.”
* Press Release | Illinois Payroll Jobs, Unemployment Rate Up in August: The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that nonfarm payrolls were up +800 while the unemployment rate increased +0.1 percentage point to 5.3 percent in August, based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and released by IDES. The July monthly change in payrolls was revised from the preliminary report, from +12,900 to +10,300 jobs, while the revised unemployment rate was 5.2 percent, unchanged from the preliminary July unemployment rate. The August payroll jobs estimate and unemployment rate reflect activity for the week including the 12th.
* Crain’s | Christy George named CEO of an increasingly active Intersect Illinois: Fresh off her role leading day-to-day efforts to prepare to host the Democratic National Convention, Christy George is taking over as CEO of Intersect Illinois, the state’s private-sector partner in recruiting and retaining businesses. It’s a homecoming of sorts for George, 38, who previously was part of J.B. Pritzker’s economic team, working on deals such as the Gotion battery plant in Manteno and Lion Electric electric-bus factory in Joliet. She replaces Dan Seals, who left in July.
* Capitol News Illinois | State wraps up case in challenge to assault weapons ban: A federal judge invoked images from the 1917 race riots in East St. Louis, Illinois, on Thursday at the end of a trial in a case challenging the constitutionality of the state’s ban on assault-style weapons and large-capacity magazines. Judge Steven McGlynn, who has presided over the trial, called attention to the neighborhood just outside the courthouse, much of which was destroyed during a series of deadly attacks by a white mob against the city’s Black population. […] “I wonder what would have happened,” he said in a possible indication of how he intends to rule. “I wonder what would have happened if they (the Black population) had had some of the weapons we’re talking about today.”
*** Statewide ***
* WAND | Illinois state dental society, IDFPR raise awareness about unlicensed dentists: “I want Illinois to understand that unregulated and unlicensed dental care is a huge problem and it is a dangerous risk,” said Dr. Sherece Thompson. “You are gambling with a person’s oral health and there is no procedure that is safe when done by someone who does not have proper training in oral health.”
* Crain’s | Amazon closing Goose Island fulfillment center, one of the first it opened in Chicago: Amazon is closing its fulfillment center in Goose Island, nearly 10 years after it opened as part of the e-commerce titan’s expansion efforts in Illinois. The company says it will not renew its lease at 1111 N. Cherry Ave. According to a WARN notice filed with the state, 211 employees are set to receive layoff notices effective Nov. 13. However, Amazon says these workers will have the option to relocate to “nearby operations sites.”
* Crain’s | The future of the hybrid office? It could look like this: Relativity is one of the few companies tying itself to the future of LaSalle Street after a series of departures of big-name tenants. Roughly one-third of office space along LaSalle in the Loop is empty, according to a recent analysis of the street by the Urban Land Institute, largely a result of banking giants BMO and Bank of America decamping for new towers in the West Loop. […] To foster this environment, the company put in stadium-style communal seating and a large video wall for broadcasting company-wide meetings. The office also features other amenities such as a library, a juice bar and an arcade with a sports simulator, all designed to attract employees to work at the office.
* Tribune | Amtrak salutes Latino workers who kept the trains running on time: When train travel expanded into Illinois in the 1800s, it was the lowest ranking employees who laid the rails, which could weigh close to half a ton. To keep the trains running on time through the winter, they’d light fires to thaw the tracks. Called “traqueros,” a term derived from the Spanglish word traque, which means track, these Latino workers were honored by Amtrak on Wednesday in Union Station.
* Sun-Times | Worst team ever plans 2025 payroll cut, seeks money for new ballpark. Wanna be a White Sox fan?: The current public discussion is about the Sox’ intention to decrease its payroll next season because they’ve had such a rotten year financially. It’s something the Sun-Times has written about several times this season. Whenever they get around to openly discussing the payroll, the Sox surely will talk about sticking to “The Plan,’’ which means nurturing young, talented and inexpensive players. But it’s also about profit. I very well might be brain-addled, but it seems to me that the solution to what ails the team is better baseball players, which means spending more money.
*** Cook County and Suburbs ***
* Daily Herald | Foster cites lying politicians as top issue; challenger Evans says it’s immigration: Foster, a scientist and former entrepreneur who has served the 11th District since 2013, warned about politicians who lie repeatedly because “they expect that there’ll be political benefit from it.” In scientific fields, saying something you know isn’t true will end your career, Foster said. But that’s not the case in politics today, he added.
* Daily Herald | Hanover Park parks president speaking out on citation for verbal assault of teen referee: According to the police report, the 17-year-old boy was escorted to his vehicle after the game by adults who had witnessed the altercation. The referee reported he felt scared Elkins was going to hit him, according to the police report. Elkins Thursday said he was inspired to speak out further because of the response news coverage of the police report was generating.
* Daily Heral d| Hoffman Estates native uses archaeology training in search for Americans missing in combat worldwide: Friday is National POW/MIA Recognition Day, but bringing missing Americans home is a year-round focus for Hoffman Estates native and professional archaeologist David Brown. He now employs the same techniques to find and identify U.S. military personnel from World War II and later for the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency within the Department of Defense as he previously did to unearth the culture of ancient civilizations.
*** Downstate ***
* SJ-R | New sheriff in town: County board officially approves Crouch nomination: Crouch, 51, was sworn in by Seventh Circuit Judge Raylene Grischow as her husband, Robert, the police chief of Riverton, and her two sons looked on. […] Crouch was also assigned to the Child Advocacy Center before her retirement, where she investigated cases of child abuse. Board chairman Andy Van Meter cited her “incredible breadth of experience with almost every aspect of policing and managing.”
* WCIA | Champaign Co. organizations aid low-income families: Two groups in Champaign County are partnering together to help low-income families. The Housing Authority of Champaign County and VOLO are eliminating the cost of Wi-Fi. They’re starting a new project called VCHAP it’ll provide free wi-fi for 355 homes in six Housing Authority of Champaign County properties.
*** National ***
* CBS Chicago | Hours before Freddie Owens’ execution, friend who testified against him says he lied: “Freddie was not there”: Owens is set to die at 6 p.m. Friday at a Columbia prison for the killing of a Greenville convenience store clerk in 1997. It will be South Carolina’s first execution in 13 years. But Owens’ lawyers on Wednesday filed a sworn statement from the friend and co-defendant, Steven Golden, late Wednesday to try to stop South Carolina from carrying out the execution. Prosecutors reiterated that several other witnesses testified that Owens told them he pulled the trigger. And the state Supreme Court refused to stop Owens’ execution last week after Golden, in a sworn statement, said that he had a secret deal with prosecutors that he never told the jury about.
* You can click here or here to follow breaking news. Click here to keep up with the La Schiazza trial. It’s the best we can do unless or until Twitter gets its act together.
* Illinois is an island on yet another issue. From Kansas City’s KCUR…
Hundreds of National Guardsmen have spent the past three years rotating through a deployment in Texas. They’ve traded Midwestern green grass, highways and sprawling crop fields for dusty roads, a dry riverbed and close-ups of concertina wire thousands of miles away from their families.
Baking for hours in the withering heat, the troops from Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska share a mission under the banner of Operation Lone Star: Intercept immigrants arriving illegally and drugs crossing the U.S. border from Mexico.
“Political theater” is how immigration and border relations researcher Tony Payan describes the operation. He regularly travels both sides of the border interviewing activists, migrants and experts about immigration. […]
Records show that the sensational arrests and busts Midwest governors predicted have been few and far between. Meanwhile, state highway patrol officers from understaffed Midwestern departments are assisting with traffic stops miles from the border while National Guardsmen stare at sand, researchers and critics of Operation Lone Star told the Midwest Newsroom.
Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias announced a change in DMV facility operating hours across the state next week.
Beginning Monday, Sept. 23, Illinois DMV locations will be open to customers Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m., a half an hour earlier than the previous hours of 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
Facilities that offer services on Saturday will also change hours from 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m.-Noon on Saturdays.
Senior facilities located in Addison, Bridgeview, Calumet Park, Evanston and Westchester will remain the same 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday. The Roscoe Express DMV will stay open 9 a.m-4 p.m. Wednesday-Friday and the Orland Township DMV hours will remain 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday.
*** Statewide ***
* Madison Record | Rosenstengel denies Meta’s motion to dismiss Messenger biometric case: Meta Platforms must defend a claim that facial recognition on Facebook Messenger and Messenger Kids violates privacy of biometric data, Chief U.S. District Judge Nancy Rosenstengel ruled on Sept. 17. […] [St. Clair County residents Rebecca Hartman and Joseph Turner] claim Meta doesn’t comply with Illinois biometric privacy law when it collects face geometries from filters and effects like bunny ears.
* Press Release | IDNR announces nearly $1 million for Natural Areas Stewardship grants: The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) today announced nearly $1 million in grants to support 14 stewardship programs managed by land trusts on land protected by the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission (INPC). The grants are part of the Illinois Natural Areas Stewardship Grant program, which aims to increase the delivery of much-needed land and water stewardship activities to natural areas permanently protected within the INPC system. Given the growing stewardship needs of natural areas throughout Illinois, this grant program funds projects that help land trusts expand staff and purchase equipment for these activities.
*** Chicago ***
* Crain’s | Cook County creates tax incentive that helped land quantum campus in Chicago: The Cook County Board of Commissioners has followed through on a commitment to create a new property tax incentive that helped Chicago land the massive quantum computing campus at the former U.S. Steel South Works site on Lake Michigan. The new Class 8 MICRO incentive provides property tax relief by reducing the property tax rate at the site from 25% to 10% for 30 years. The incentive can not be renewed.
* Tribune | ‘It’s not who we are’: Jury awards CPS student beaten at school with belts $750,000: Among the facts not in contention: After Champ, who has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD, was repeatedly disruptive in her class, Haynes allowed her personal acquaintance, who was not affiliated with CPS, Juanita Tyler, into the West Garfield school at the start of a late September school day in 2018. Haynes brought Champ, then 9, to a bathroom with Tyler, and then left him alone with her there. Tyler, an estranged relative whom the boy did not know, proceeded to beat Champ repeatedly with two belts – which Haynes kept in her classroom.
* WBEZ | Trying to build a more climate-resilient Chicago, one balloon at a time: Until now, scientists haven’t had a substantial, vertical profile of Chicago’s atmosphere. The closest sites collecting similar data via weather balloons are in Lincoln, Ill. and Davenport, Iowa. As a result, there’s effectively no data about how Chicago’s atmosphere responds to its massive cityscape and proximity to Lake Michigan.
* Block Club | ComEd Unveils Plan To Fill Giant Hole In Washington Park: Part of ComEd’s plan involves workers appearing on the block next week to take confirmation samples of the soil. If enough of the contaminant has been removed, work will begin soon after and continue into early winter, said principal project manager Gabriel Salamanca to residents during a virtual meeting this week.
* The Athletic | An owner who ‘thinks he knows everything’ led the White Sox to historic disaster: A team plane doesn’t make errors or poor baseball decisions. But the White Sox’s decision to use a smaller, older plane reflects how they operate. The difference between the White Sox and other clubs is so stark, players who leave Chicago for other teams celebrate their freedom by texting each other “This is the big leagues.” “They don’t do the little or the big things right,” said a recently departed veteran.
* Chicago Mag | When Chicago Hustled: In the late ’70s, a pro women’s hoops team briefly captivated the city by living up to its name. Then it all unraveled: Nationally, the short-lived Women’s Professional Basketball League seemed doomed from its early stages, but in Chicago, the city’s upstart franchise flashed promise. The team led the WBL in attendance all three seasons before the league collapsed in 1981. Its inaugural game was spotlighted on the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite. Les Grobstein served as the play-by-play radio announcer. Nancy Faust played the organ at home games. Jerry Sloan, Walter Payton, and Reggie Theus would show up to watch the women play. Games were broadcast on WGN-TV. But even with that hoopla, there was a bootstrap aspect to the Hustle: Shriver contracted with auto mechanic students at a local community college to paint a secondhand school bus with the team’s colors and logo, serving as an in-town rolling billboard and means of transportation for visiting teams.
*** Cook County and Suburbs ***
* Naperville Sun | Local businesses urge Naperville council to lift video gaming ban: Several local bar and restaurant representatives Tuesday implored the Naperville City Council to lift the city’s 15-year ban against video gambling, but city officials did not entertain the request. “By lifting the ban and supporting local businesses, the city can help ensure that those of us who have invested in Naperville for decades can continue to thrive,” Ken Eng, owner of Anthem Ale House, told council members. “This isn’t about changing the fabric of our community. It’s about giving local businesses a fighting chance to survive.”
*** Downstate ***
* SJ-R | A project to build a tiny-home community for homeless veterans is on hold. Here’s why: A proposal to build a community center to serve a tiny-home community on the city’s east side came to screeching halt Tuesday night after City Council members argued with each other over the city’s approach to homelessness and whether it’s saturating certain neighborhoods with homeless people. “You see success out there, but we don’t see success in ward 2,” Ward 2 Ald. Shawn Gregory said speaking to the disparity in housing types in different wards.
* WCIA | Danville City Council member calls for investigation into mayor: After a complaint from Danville Mayor Ricky Williams Jr. led to the president of Danville Area Community College being placed on leave, one city council member is calling for an investigation into the mayor. Council member Ed Butler said the mayor overstepped his authority and it could affect the city. Butler said he believes everyone should be equal in the eyes of the government, and that includes people who work for the city.
* WSIL | City of Carbondale begins search for new City Manager: The search follows the retirement of former City Manager, Gary Williams. Williams served in the role for 8 years. Following Wiliams’ retirement, Police Chief Stan Reno has pulled double duty, sitting as both Police Chief and City Manager.
* WCIA | Charleston Police debunk school social media threat: The Charleston Police Department has determined the community is safe after a threat went viral on social media. The Police Department said they were aware of a threat Wednesday evening spreading on Snapchat of threats of violence. After further investigation, officers determined the message was being circulated across the country on social media platforms like Reddit and Snapchat.
* WCIA | City of Decatur offering electric vehicle test drives this weekend: City officials are partnering with the Illinois Alliance for Clean Transportation for the event. Officials said participants can explore the future of transportation by test driving EVs, listening to IACT leaders talk about the newest technologies and learning about the financial incentives availble to help buy an Electric Vehicle.
* Illinois Times | Former SPD officer indicted on drug charges: Former Springfield police officer Clayton Hadley was indicted Sept. 18 on drug charges after sheriff’s deputies allegedly found illicit drugs and more than $5,000 in cash in his home. […] Scarlette said the state of Illinois has been contacted regarding the matter and efforts are being made to decertify Hadley as a police officer. “We certainly did our due diligence on our end, to say, ‘I don’t want this guy to ever be a cop anywhere again.’”
* Rock River Current | State Rep. Joe Sosnowski’s Photo Contest Aims To Show The Beauty Of The 69th District: State Rep. Joe Sosnowski is encouraging local photographers, nature lovers, architecture fanatics and anyone else who enjoys taking pictures to enter the annual 69th District Photo Challenge. The subject of the photo must be within Boone, Winnebago or McHenry counties. The submission deadline is Nov. 15, and the limit is two entries per person.
*** National ***
* Sun-Times | $500 scholarship will go to student who cooks up the best ending for ‘The Bear’: Through July 2025, fans of the Chicago-based FX show can submit 200 to 600 words describing their perfect ending to the Emmy- and Golden Globe award-winning series. The scholarship is open to high school and college students at any level with any GPA, and entries are accepted online each month on a rolling basis. The next deadline is Sept. 30.
* NYT | On YouTube, Major Brands’ Ads Appear Alongside Racist Falsehoods About Haitian Immigrants: On YouTube, an ad for the car company Mazda appeared before a video that repeated the racist falsehood that Haitian migrants in Ohio were “eating ducks on the side of the road.” An ad for the software giant Adobe showed up alongside another video that claimed “people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country.” […] Just this month, researchers discovered advertisements on YouTube for more than a dozen large organizations and consumer brands that monetized xenophobic (and quickly debunked) claims. Advertising dollars flowed both to YouTube and to the commentators it allowed to amplify inflammatory and racist narratives, according to a report by Eko, a group focused on corporate accountability.
* Click here and here for some background on how the Illinois Supreme Court has avoided the direct question of whether the state’s Firearm Owners Identification Card Act is constitutional. They did it again today. This time it was unanimous…
In ruling on cross-motions for summary judgment, the circuit court of Madison County declared that section 8(n) of the Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) Card Act (FOID Card Act) (430 ILCS 65/8(n) (West 2016)) was unconstitutional “as applied to persons charged with a felony but not yet convicted of a felony” and enjoined the suspension of FOID cards as to those persons. Because the circuit court’s judgment invalidated a state statute, the appeal was taken directly to this court. For the reasons that follow, we find that plaintiffs lacked standing when they filed the action, so we vacate the circuit court’s judgment and remand with directions to dismiss the action. […]
Plaintiffs, Aaron and Charles Davis, were charged on July 5, 2016, with felony reckless discharge of a firearm. A few days after plaintiffs were charged, the Illinois State Police revoked plaintiffs’ Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) cards pursuant to section 8(n) of the FOID Card Act, which authorizes the revocation of the FOID card of any individual who is “prohibited from acquiring or possessing firearms or firearm ammunition by any Illinois State statute or by federal law.”
On November 7, 2016, plaintiffs pleaded guilty to reduced charges of misdemeanor reckless conduct. Both plaintiffs then filed requests for FOID appeals, seeking the return of their FOID cards on the basis that they were no longer subject to felony charges. FOID cards were reissued to Charles and Aaron Davis on May 3 and August 14, 2017, respectively. […]
Plaintiffs sought a declaration that section 8(n) of the FOID Card Act is unconstitutional as applied to persons who are charged, but not convicted, of a felony and an injunction preventing defendant from suspending FOID cards pursuant to section 8(n) of the FOID Card Act based on a felony charge. […]
The circuit court granted plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment and denied defendant’s cross-motion. Relying on Koshinski v. Trame, 2017 IL App (5th) 150398, the circuit court found that the case was moot but concluded that it could consider the constitutionality of section 8(n) of the FOID Card Act under the public interest exception to mootness. Based on that discussion, the circuit court held that plaintiffs had standing. The circuit court declared that section 8(n) of the FOID Card Act was unconstitutional as to all persons charged with, but not convicted of, felonies. The circuit court entered a permanent injunction, enjoining defendant from “suspending [FOID] Cards, pursuant to 430 ILCS 65/8(n), [of] persons charged with a felony but not convicted of a felony.” […]
Similarly in the instant case, plaintiffs had a legally recognizable interest during the time their FOID cards were revoked. But plaintiffs did not file suit until after their FOID cards had been reissued. At that time, plaintiffs were no longer deprived of their constitutional right to bear arms and no longer had a legally recognizable interest sufficient to achieve standing. […]
For the foregoing reasons, we vacate the circuit court’s judgment holding that section 8(n) of the FOID Card Act is unconstitutional “as applied to persons charged with a felony but not yet convicted of a felony” and enjoining the suspension of FOID cards as to those persons. In entering this disposition, we express no opinion on the merits of the parties’ other arguments.
Thursday, Sep 19, 2024 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
If a major storm hits and the electricity goes out, are you prepared? Will your family be safe? What about your friends and neighbors? With climate change causing more massive storms, now is the time to ask yourself these questions. Fortunately, there is a solution.
On a typical day, clean energy – like solar and wind installations – creates more energy than we can use that day. The solution? Store now so we can use it later. That stored energy can then be used in the event of a traditional power outage. With storage capacity, we can use energy when it’s needed most, and optimize the clean power produced by wind and solar — making power more affordable and reliable for Illinois.
Sox fans are a loyal bunch. The 2005 thrill of their lifetimes, to be celebrated in 2025 by a franchise that doesn’t figure to have much else to celebrate, is cherished but now distant.
Six seasons with winning records and three with only brief postseasons since feels unacceptable. […]
If the Sox (36-117) are swept in a three-game series that opens in San Diego Friday, they’ll [tie] the 1962 Mets record of 120 losses. There are nine games left.
* I have found myself occasionally hoping the Sox break the MLB loss record. The record may be the only thing to give this season any sort of meaning. The pathetic team ownership and management must be branded as the worst losers in history, goes the thinking. And that, and only that, may be the motivation which finally produces an attitude change at the top.
But, for many Sox fans, this team has been part of their family their entire lives. And, really, that’s the only thing that makes me think that maybe the Sox should fight like heck to not break the record. Why tarnish future generations with this permanent stain?
Either way, nobody reading this post has any control over the next nine games. And at this point in the season, I don’t think anyone on Earth has that control, either.
In 2021, Illinois enacted a comprehensive clean energy law mandating the closure of all coal- and natural gas-fired power plants by 2045. As part of the Climate & Equitable Jobs Act, one of Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature legislative accomplishments, a large number of gas-fired facilities were to be shuttered by 2030.
At the time, there were warnings from industry and others that the intermediate 2030 mandate would jeopardize electricity reliability in the state. With Illinois then producing more power than it consumed, Pritzker and the many environmental groups that backed the law said such predictions were alarmist and off-base.
Just three years later, it appears the alarmists were right, and Pritzker and the green lobby were wrong.
Payments to power generators in return for their promise to produce to their capacity when demand is highest — as established via an auction overseen by PJM Interconnection, the grid manager for a large swath of the U.S. from northern Illinois to the mid-Atlantic — are set to soar more than 800% and will raise all our electric bills beginning next June.[…]
Power-hungry data centers, the development of which a number of Chicago aldermen are encouraging within city limits as a way to generate more property tax revenue, are on the drawing boards. ComEd projects that new data centers throughout its territory easily could require four gigawatts of electricity. To put that in context, such an enormous amount alone would consume nearly the entire output of two of the five nuclear stations serving the region. […]
It’s becoming clearer all the time that the 2030 deadlines are unrealistic and need to be made more flexible. Backsliding on the law’s gas plant-closure mandates is anathema to environmental groups, who surely would fight hard against such an effort and likely would criticize any Democratic “friends” who consider such a thing. But gas-fired “peaker” plants, which can rapidly fire up and just as rapidly turn off, for many years have been the most critical resources to keep the lights on when the temperatures soar (or plummet). They remain critical.
* Governor Pritzker participated in a panel discussion about climate change and technology yesterday and said that the editorial got some things wrong. During the ensuing press conference, I asked the governor what the Tribune editorial got wrong…
Isabel: Governor, you mentioned that the Tribune editorial got some things wrong. What were those things?
Governor Pritzker: I mean, my point is that there’s a broad topic that was raised, but only specific solutions that were proposed in it. And so that’s all, I think there were things missing from the presentation of that editorial. The broad topic is we need more electricity production in the state period, end of sentence. And as I said just a few minutes ago, I agree, and we should be going after that, and we are. There’s never a moment that we’re not talking about electricity production as well as climate action in the context of that in the state of Illinois.
* Some more background from the governor’s office…
In July, we saw historically high prices coming out of the electric capacity market for all states in PJM - including Northern Illinois.
But it is important to recognize that these capacity prices, and the broader problems facing our grid, are not caused by CEJA. These are national issues, and there are a lot of factors at play.
A lot has changed since the passage of CEJA.
· When developing CEJA, policymakers drew on respected, industry projections for electricity demand, used by transmission planners to manage our national grid.
· These projections have risen dramatically over the past two years, for everyone.
· When CEJA was passed, energy efficiency improvements were leading to reductions in demand, but the rapid growth of data centers, in particular, has reversed that trend. Not just for Illinois – many states, from Texas to California to Virginia, are all seeing rapid increases in demand.
· While these changes were not the expected outcome, we are not unprepared either. CEJA includes the 2025 ICC study on resource adequacy that this article references, so we have a way of responding to exactly these kind of changes.
· In fact, CEJA has played a role in addressing these problems.
· The Carbon Mitigation Credits that kept our nuclear plants open (a major source of capacity, themselves) also offset roughly 1/3 of the impact of these capacity prices for our consumers. That is, without CEJA, the bill impact experienced by consumers would be 50% higher than it is now.
The results of these auctions also go beyond “simple supply and demand.” The outcomes are based on regional transmission organization rules that are neither designed for, nor work for Illinois.
· For one, PJM recently downrated “capacity factors” for many kinds of generation, arguing that these facilities cannot provide as much capacity as PJM previously thought. This increases the amount of capacity needed, driving up prices even without any changes in actual generation facilities.
Additionally, there is currently more capacity waiting in the queue, for approval to connect to the grid, than there is serving the State of Illinois today, and the wait time for this queue is longer than ever. Reforms are dearly needed to enable new electricity generation and storage, much of it supported by state policy, to actually get connected and start serving Illinois customers.
Governor Pritzker has joined PJM Governors in calling for improvements to the current system, to reduce queue wait times and to adopt auction rules that better reflect the actual capacity resources of our state. We continue to engage with both regional transmission organizations, other states, and federal stakeholders to push for these changes.
This is a challenge, but we can overcome it without pushing back the closure of plants actively polluting in EJ communities.
· The same tight market that led to such a big spike in prices also means that even small changes can lead to larger drops in prices than we generally expect. Change is needed – but it will have a big impact.
· In terms of timing, the 2030 gas peaker plant closures are limited to inefficient, costly plants located in environmental justice communities. We should not accept that the only way to have abundant electricity is by sacrificing the health of already-overburdened communities. This is a manageable set of plants to replace in the time we have.
· In addition to exacerbating the burden on EJ communities, rolling back our climate actions contributes to increasing the chance and intensity of the same extreme heat waves that create our high electric capacity needs.
· We are actively working with stakeholders on potential solutions to this time-sensitive challenge. That includes not just the battery storage industry, but also our partners in the legislature, organized labor, and a wide range of industry and nonprofit stakeholders.
John Anderson’s 25 Guilty Pleas & Convictions Raise Concerns in Key Race
CHICAGO — According to records obtained from courthouses across Illinois, Third District Appellate Court candidate John Anderson has been convicted or pled guilty 25 times amid 33 run-ins with law enforcement.
Anderson has been brought before the law on numerous charges, including retail theft, reckless driving, transportation of open alcohol in a vehicle, driving on a suspended license, over twenty excessive speeding charges, and driving with expired plates and no insurance.
“The Third District Appellate Court and the millions of people in Northeastern Illinois deserve a leader like Judge Kenton Skarin who leads with integrity and works hard for the people he serves. We cannot allow a career criminal like John Anderson to serve and in November, Illinois can elect a leader who follows our laws instead of breaking them,” ILGOP Kathy Salvi said in a statement.
This November, Illinois voters have a choice between Kenton Skarin, a judge who was first in his class at Northwestern Law and is committed to faster, smarter, fairer courts, and John Anderson, a criminal who has dozens of run-ins with law enforcement.
Check out a new Ad, “Reckless John,” and review judicial records from Anderson’s cases here.
Eleven of those “33 run-ins with law enforcement” were for driving 15-20 MPH over the speed limit. But still. Whew.
For months, I have generally tried to avoid talking about my opponent, Kenton Skarin. Rather, I try to talk about me and my own credentials. But, he has repeatedly revealed himself to act not as a judge, but as a petty and childish politician. When we were seated at the same table for an event, he got up and moved. When I politely said hello to him at a different event in DuPage County, he told me I should go back to Will County. When I was asked to speak for 15 seconds at a recent event, he audibly booed me and got out his phone to record me.
Now, he made a website about me emphasizing traffic-related offenses that are, for the most part, from my high school and college years. Some of it goes back 35 years. His website shows I have had one traffic ticket in approximately 14 years, and that was 5 years ago.
In the last two years, I have made no secret that I was once an angry, rudderless young man. I had bad grades, I was even homeless and lived on my friend’s couch in a cockroach-infested apartment in Joliet. I turned my life around after a member of my family was murdered in an act of gun violence. These experiences taught me empathy, integrity, and the value of hard work.
Now, I have two master’s degrees and two law degrees. I like to volunteer at homeless shelters and food drives. I enjoy speaking to high school students who are on the verge of not graduating, and I make sure they know there are community college opportunities out there for them. My biggest passion in the law is making our court system more user friendly for those who cannot afford a lawyer; I helped raise $40 million for organizations that provide free legal aid to those who cannot afford an attorney. And, I am supported by law enforcement and was even named “Judicial Officer of the Year” by the Illinois State Crime Commission.
I won’t defend choices I made when I was 20 years old. I can’t—in part because I don’t even remember them. But I believe redemption is a powerful thing that ought to be celebrated, not attacked. If Kenton doesn’t understand that, and chooses to judge 53-year-old people on the worst mistakes they made in high school and college, he is not fit to be a judge. He knows he will lose to 53-year-old Judge Anderson, and so instead he wants to run against 20-year-old John Anderson. So, go ahead, Kenton. Keep doing what politicians do. I will continue to conduct myself like a judge … the ONLY judge in this race to receive a “HIGHLY RECOMMENDED” rating from the Illinois State Bar Association.
A federal jury in the bribery trial of former AT&T Illinois boss Paul La Schiazza, accused of funneling payments to an ally of Michael Madigan to win the speaker’s support for legislation in Springfield, has told the judge overseeing the case they may be deadlocked.
“What happens if we feel we are at a stalemate and feel that it won’t change?” a note sent out by the jury early Thursday said, according to U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman.
Gettleman said he would tell the panel to keep at it.
“But I don’t see keeping them beyond today” before declaring a mistrial, Gettleman told lawyers in court. The judge is leaving town and won’t be back until Tuesday.
* More…
Judge: "I want you to take those words and go back to the jury room and keep working on this. We can get back together this afternoon and determine whether or not you can do that. I know that it's a difficult decision, but it's important that you give it another try."
The jury was brought in, and the judge re-read them the instruction below. He also told them, "keep working on this and let me know if you're able to reach a verdict … we can get back together this afternoon." pic.twitter.com/8EyTVVs1jk
Prosecutors say La Schiazza bribed Madigan by paying $22,500 to former state Rep. Edward “Eddie” Acevedo in 2017, just as AT&T sought a legislative victory that had eluded it for years. The feds say Madigan wanted to help Acevedo because of the increasing Latino population in Madigan’s district.
“Madigan wanted to help Eddie Acevedo so that Eddie Acevedo could help Madigan,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Sushma Raju alleged in her closing argument.
Defense attorneys stressed the lack of evidence proving that AT&T paid Acevedo in exchange for Madigan’s help with the bill.
Jurors seemed to quickly focus on that question earlier in their deliberations. They sent a note to the judge Wednesday morning asking whether the law requires proof of such an exchange.
Judge Gettleman is back on the bench and reads the note: “We believe there’s no possibility of coming to a unanimous verdict,” Judge says they could hear by volume of conversations coming through the door, “they were really trying hard” https://t.co/Fs7LDS7Ke2
Judge Gettleman says "it's a disappointment for everyone."
AUSA Tim Chapman counters that "they're clearly deadlocked," but he says it's also possibility they're "unaware of their ability to return a partial verdict."
Judge says he’s going to ask the foreperson in open court if they’re deadlocked on all counts or just some. If she were to say no, they can go back. “If she says yes, which is what her note implies, I would have to declare a mistrial. It’s not something I want to, believe me.”
///BREAKING/// The jury has hung in the trial of former AT&T Illinois boss Paul La Schiazza. Mistrial declared. This comes three weeks before the man La Schiazza was accused of bribing, Speaker Michael Madigan, goes on trial pic.twitter.com/7FoLKMRDxP
The judge overseeing the bribery trial of former AT&T Illinois boss Paul La Schiazza, accused of funneling payments to an ally of Michael Madigan to win the speaker’s support, has declared a mistrial in the case.
U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman announced his decision Thursday afternoon, a few hours after the jury had communicated to the court that they appeared to be deadlocked.
In this case we must determine, after the recent changes to Illinois’s cannabis laws, whether a police officer’s detection of the odor of burnt cannabis, considered alone or in conjunction with other facts, provides probable cause to conduct a warrantless search of a vehicle. Illinois State Police officer Hayden Combs conducted a search of Ryan Redmond’s vehicle based on, inter alia, his detection of the strong odor of burnt cannabis emanating from the vehicle. The State primarily argues that Combs had probable cause to suspect that a search of the vehicle would uncover evidence that cannabis was improperly contained in the vehicle or, more likely, uncover evidence that Redmond had used cannabis on his trip from Des Moines to Chicago. See 625 ILCS 5/11-502.15(a) (West 2020) (“No driver may use cannabis within the passenger area of any motor vehicle upon a highway in this State.”). Combs searched Redmond’s car and found one gram of cannabis inside the center console in a plastic bag.
The State charged Redmond with unlawful possession of cannabis in violation of section 4 of the Cannabis Control Act (Control Act) (720 ILCS 550/4(a) (West 2020)) and unlawful possession of cannabis by a driver in violation of section 11- 502.15(b) of the Illinois Vehicle Code (625 ILCS 5/11-502.15(b) (West 2020)). Redmond filed a motion to suppress the cannabis. The Henry County circuit court granted the motion, and the appellate court affirmed, holding that recent changes to the law pertaining to cannabis made the odor of burnt cannabis, standing alone, insufficient to justify a warrantless search of an automobile.
We allowed the State’s petition for leave to appeal pursuant to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 315 (eff. Oct. 1, 2021). We also allowed the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Illinois, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the Illinois Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers to file an amici curiae brief on behalf of Redmond’s position. For the following reasons, we affirm the judgment of the appellate court. […]
The sole issue before this court is whether Officer Combs had probable cause to search Redmond’s vehicle after Combs smelled the odor of burnt cannabis coming from the vehicle. The State argued in its brief that “where the officer detected the strong odor of burnt cannabis—a reasonable officer was justified in suspecting either a violation of the odor-proof transportation requirement or, perhaps more likely, the prohibition on the use of cannabis within a vehicle.” Redmond responds that, after the legislature legalized the use and possession of cannabis, the odor of burnt cannabis emanating from a vehicle alone “lacks a clear and direct enough connection to illegal activity to make it ‘probable’ that a crime has recently been committed or is being committed.” […]
In People v. Stout, 106 Ill. 2d 77, 88 (1985), this court held that “additional corroboration” was not required to establish probable cause for a warrantless search “where a trained and experienced police officer detects the odor of cannabis emanating from a defendant’s vehicle.” […]
After January 1, 2020, when the use and possession of cannabis was legalized in many instances, our appellate court has reached conflicting results in cases concerning the effect of legalization on probable cause for automobile searches. The Second District has held that the odor of burnt cannabis, standing alone, still justifies a warrantless search of an automobile. … The Third District has held that “the smell of the burnt cannabis, without any corroborating factors, is not enough to establish probable cause to search [a] vehicle.” […]
Unlike the legal landscape considered in Hill, Illinois cannabis law has evolved, and use and possession have not only been decriminalized in numerous situations, but they have been legalized in numerous situations. There are now a myriad of situations where cannabis can be used and possessed, and the smell resulting from that legal use and possession is not indicative of the commission of a criminal offense. […]
What is notable about the Vehicle Code provisions is that they do not prohibit the possession or use of cannabis within a motor vehicle. The gravamen of the offenses is that the conduct occurs “upon a highway in this State.” Thus, it would not have been a violation of the Vehicle Code for Redmond to have used cannabis in a motor vehicle before he left Des Moines or in any location within Illinois not considered a “highway.” […]
In short, Officer Combs’s detection of the strong odor of burnt cannabis coming from the vehicle certainly established reasonable suspicion to investigate further. Combs reasonably investigated whether Redmond had violated the Vehicle Code and whether Redmond was driving impaired. When his further investigation did not yield any inculpatory facts, the quantity of evidence never advanced on the - 20 - continuum from reasonable suspicion to probable cause to search. Therefore, the search was unreasonable and unlawful, and the circuit court properly granted Redmond’s motion to suppress the evidence in this case.
Finally, the State argues that this court should reverse the circuit court because Combs acted in good faith when he searched Redmond’s car. The State did not raise any issue regarding the good faith exception in the circuit court. The State forfeited the issue a second time by failing to raise it in the appellate court. Therefore, we decline to address the State’s twice-forfeited good faith argument. […]
We hold that the odor of burnt cannabis, alone, is insufficient to provide probable cause for police officers to perform a warrantless search of a vehicle. We also hold that the totality of the facts and circumstances known to Officer Combs did not provide probable cause to search Redmond’s vehicle. Therefore, the circuit court correctly granted the motion suppressing the evidence confiscated from Redmond. Accordingly, we affirm the appellate court’s decision affirming the trial court’s order suppressing the evidence seized in the warrantless search of Redmond’s car.
The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and the Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative (IWERC) today released early results from a $45 million state investment that show improved recruitment and retention in the state’s most understaffed school districts. The Teacher Vacancy Grant Pilot Program, which was launched in the 2023-24 school year, provided 170 school districts that have the greatest teacher shortages state funds to invest in initiatives to recruit and license new hires and support retention of current educators.
Data is still being collected to assess the full impact of the funding, but ISBE and IWERC announced today that school districts participating in the Teacher Vacancy Grant Pilot Program have hired nearly 5,400 new teachers and retained approximately 11,000 additional educators with the funds so far. The districts receiving the Teacher Vacancy Grant collectively serve approximately 870,000 students.
“It’s a great time to be a teacher in Illinois,” said State Superintendent of Education Dr. Tony Sanders. “The funds provided by the state’s Teacher Vacancy Grants are empowering school districts to provide new financial incentives, special pipeline programs, and other supports to recruit and retain teachers. Illinois is leading the way in investing in education, making our state the best place for educators to build their careers. I applaud Governor Pritzker and the General Assembly for investing in the Teacher Vacancy Grant and supporting evidence-based strategies to uplift the teaching profession.”
“Illinois districts used strategies to address teacher vacancies that matched the root causes they were seeing on the ground,” said Dr. Meg Bates, director of IWERC, which is part of the University of Illinois System. “Our analysis uncovered the diverse array of strategies districts used, all of which were aligned to their unique contexts.”
The funding empowers districts to implement strategies locally tailored to address the root causes of teacher shortages. Districts are required to base their spending decisions on data, ensuring that the strategies are evidenced-based and aligned with their specific needs. As a result, in the program’s first year, more than 51% of districts receiving Teacher Vacancy Grant funds saw a decrease in unfilled positions from school year 2022-23 to 2023-24, compared to only 17% of districts not receiving the grant.
ISBE partnered with IWERC to evaluate the grant program and today released two studies. The first study analyzed district applications to identify key factors, such as compensation, lack of qualified applicants, attrition, and competition, that result in teacher shortages. Districts used funding for compensation, tuition support for licensure or endorsements, and professional learning. The second study examined short-term outcomes, revealing that districts hired 5,387 new full-time teachers. These new hires represent 10% of the total teacher workforce in those districts, highlighting a significant boost in staffing levels where shortages were most acute. Additionally, 10,700 employees, including teaching and non-teaching staff, participated in grant-funded programs that targeted decreased attrition.
The Teacher Vacancy Grant Pilot Program intends to provide participating districts with three years of funding, pending appropriations. Governor JB Pritzker and the General Assembly continued funding the second year of the program with $45 million in fiscal year 2025. The multi-year grant supports districts in employing long-term strategies to cultivate a future workforce. For example, the grant has supported coursework and licensure for approximately 1,500 non-certified staff pursuing licensure and 450 certified staff pursuing further endorsements.
The Teacher Vacancy Grant is the cornerstone of ISBE’s robust portfolio of initiatives aimed at tackling the teacher shortage. Other initiatives include Career and Technical Education Education Career Pathway Grants that have equipped nearly 12,000 high school students to pursue careers in education; the teacher recruitment marketing campaign, The Answer is Teaching, which has generated more than 5,000 inquiries from prospective future teachers since it launched in July; and the new Teacher Apprenticeship Program, which, in partnership with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, will upskill paraprofessionals for successful placement into the teaching profession.
Across TVGPP districts, an average of 40.8 new teachers were hired per district in SY24. Urban districts hired more new teachers on average than rural districts—averaging 88.8 versus 8.7 new hires per district, respectively. But variations in urban and rural districts’ overall staffing sizes likely account for much of this difference. The percentage of new teacher hires, relative to total teacher FTE, on average, across both types of districts were similar—9.4% for rural TVGPP districts and 10.1% for urban TVGPP districts. […]
How many teachers and staff were supported by grant funds in SY24?
The impact of TVGPP funding appears to be far-reaching among both certified and non-certified staff. Below, we provide several highlights from mid-year performance reports. Across 132 TVGPP districts, the following metrics were observed:
• 10,652 (4,372 rural and 6,280 urban) individuals, inclusive of teaching and non-teaching staff, participated in grant-funded programs designed to reduce attrition.
• 11,220 (4,711 rural and 6,509 urban) teachers who took part in grant-funded programs were retained for SY24, which equals 20.9% of SY23 total teacher FTE.
• 171 pathway programs (87 rural and 84 urban) were created to prepare new teachers for teaching positions, recruiting 1,455 (314 rural and 1,141 urban) participants.
• 455 (169 rural and 286 urban) current teachers were funded as they pursued new endorsements to move into high-need areas.
Despite the overall net increase in new teacher hires, we raise two exogenous factors—student enrollment and the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER)—that may have affected districts’ staffing needs and, subsequently, these findings. Statewide, student enrollment has declined by about 143,000 students from SY18 to SY23 (ISBE, 2024a). Potential implications of declining student enrollment include reduced funding (e.g., EBF) and reduced programs and services, which, in turn, can lead to less of a demand for teachers. Regarding ESSER, Barragan Torres et al. (2024) found that many districts, on average across rounds, directed ESSER funding toward instruction. This temporary infusion of funding could have driven some of the new teacher hires in SY24 reported by TVGPP districts. It also could have driven some of the teachers who did not return in SY24. More specifically, ESSER funds could have led to new teacher positions in previous school years that have since been eliminated due to the impermanence of ESSER funding or changing recovery needs. Looking ahead, ESSER will eventually become less of a factor, as spending of ESSER funds began to taper in SY23 and funding for districts not seeking an extension will expire in fall of 2024.
* An annual survey from the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools found one of the most severe shortages was special education teachers. ISBE’s study detailed how schools are using their funds for recruitment and retention…
Some districts, for example, required more special education teachers to meet increasing student needs, and thus focused their strategies on supporting current staff in pursual of proper credentials. Other districts noted markedly high rates of teacher attrition and, in response, implemented retention efforts such as distributing retention bonuses, enhancing induction and mentoring programs, and providing teacher support initiatives (e.g., self-care programs, affinity groups, staff celebrations). In most cases, the causes of and solutions for districts’ specific teacher shortages were multipronged, spanning the extent of the educator pipeline from preparation to retention. […]
And finally, despite supplementary funding from the TVGPP, some districts mentioned a continued lack of qualified applicants for open teaching positions. An administrator from a suburban Cook county district with some hiring success shared that although “sign-on bonuses helped to incentivize teachers to sign on,” they still have vacancies in special education and bilingual education. And in response, they “are working to start a grow-your-own to send current staff to get additional licensure in these areas.”
* ICYMI: City Council votes to keep ShotSpotter, but Mayor Johnson pledges veto. Tribune…
The City Council again rebuked Mayor Brandon Johnson’s plan to rid Chicago of ShotSpotter Wednesday, voting to keep the gunshot detection technology around just days before it was set to go offline.
Aldermen passed in a 33-to-14 vote an ordinance supporters say would compel police Superintendent Larry Snelling to reach a contract to continue using the tool.
However, Johnson appears poised to nonetheless move ahead with his plan to boot the technology from the city. He has previously sidestepped similar City Council decisions by arguing that only the mayor, and not the council, has power over the city’s contracts. […]
After the meeting, city Corporation Counsel Mary Richardson-Lowry joined the mayor at a news conference, where she said the ordinance violates the separation of powers in city government because it would constitute the legislative branch forcing the executive branch to take action. Johnson will therefore veto it, Richardson-Lowry said.
Governor Pritzker will give remarks at the Illinois Army National Guard 333rd Military Police Company mobilization ceremony at 1 pm. Click here to watch.
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* Tribune | 19th Senate candidates say lowering property taxes a key issue among voters: Michael Hastings, 43, D-Frankfort, first began serving in the Senate in 2013 and is facing Samantha Jean Gasca, 37, of New Lenox in the November election. Gasca was one of three candidates in the Republican primary in March while Hastings was unopposed on the Democratic side.
* BGA | Small Steps on Ethics Reform from a Reluctant Mayor: Today’s City Council meeting saw the passage of two sets of ethics reforms: an ordinance giving the Board of Ethics enforcement authority for a longstanding executive order banning lobbyist contributions to the mayor’s campaign committee and a package of minor language changes and technical clarifications from the city’s Inspector General. Though these are welcome updates, neither ordinance is a blockbuster of hard-hitting new controls on city government. Alarmingly for good government advocates, even this small progress came over the objections of a mayoral administration that initially opposed some of the changes.
* Tribune | Ethics ordinance targeting lobbyist donations to mayoral candidates passes in City Council: The measure bans lobbyists from donating to a mayor’s or a mayoral candidate’s political committee and adds fines and suspensions for lobbyists who break the rule. The effort to reinstate a 2011 executive order signed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel was essential, given how many elected officials at Chicago City Hall have been “indicted, convicted and gone to prison,” said Ald. Matt Martin, 47th, who sponsored the ordinance.
* Daily Herald | Underwood, Marter have vastly different views on abortion in 14th House District race: During a joint candidate interview with the Daily Herald on Tuesday, Underwood, a Naperville resident who’s seeking a fourth term in Congress, said she supports a woman’s right to make decisions about abortion, contraception and related matters. Marter, a software consultant and library board member from Oswego, said he staunchly opposes abortion, without exception. Protecting life is a holy commandment, he said.
* WBEZ | Cook County commissioner pitches a property tax relief fund for struggling homeowners: Cook County Commissioner Bridget Gainer is leading an effort to create a property tax relief fund as residents across the region struggle to pay their bills and risk losing their homes. Gainer told WBEZ the county would fill the fund with about $15 million dollars from interest fees people pay when they’re late on their property tax bills. That’s a piece of an estimated $100 million in late interest fees the county expects to reach this year — higher than the $35 million the county budgeted for.
* Patch | Ex-Official May Run For Hinsdale Village President: reg Hart, a former DuPage County Board member, said Tuesday he was seriously considering running for Hinsdale village president in April. Meanwhile, Village President Tom Cauley said in an interview that he hadn’t decided whether he would seek a fifth four-year term.
* Daily Herald | How a new program will keep hard-to-recycle items out of landfills: Chip bags, foam egg cartons, takeout containers, plastic bags, bubble wrap, plastic utensils and more are the targets of the program launching next month and meant to complement current recycling efforts. “This is for the stuff we told you not to put with your recycling,” said Walter Willis, executive director of the Solid Waste Agency of Lake County.
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* WCIA | New Sangamon County Sheriff Nominee talks plans for office: When asked why she wanted to take over the Sheriff’s office, Crouch pointed to her “fresh outlook.” “I felt like with my experience in law enforcement, that I could really bring a fresh outlook to the Sheriff’s Office I have a lot of community service experience as far as working with different agencies and different community members that I thought that maybe that the Sheriff’s Office has not had the opportunity to be a part of those.”
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* PJ Star | ‘Surreal’: Popular singer regularly visited Downtown Peoria coffee shop during stay: Owner Ty Paluska said both singers paid the coffee shop a visit during their stay but added that Charli XCX consistently returned to the Peoria establishment. Trey Mowder, a staff member and longtime fan, was working during one such visit and was surprised when she ordered two of his favorite items – the nitro cold brew and avocado toast. He described the experience as “surreal.”
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