* Press release from the Mayor Brandon Johnson administration…
“Today, NASCAR announced its 2024 schedule, which includes a return to Chicago on July 6th and 7th for Chicago Street Race weekend. At the conclusion of this year’s race, the Johnson Administration began conversations with NASCAR with the goal of addressing concerns raised by residents, alderpeople and other stakeholders, while acknowledging NASCAR’s contributions to the City’s economy and communities.
“As a result of these conversations, NASCAR has agreed to shorten the event’s set up and tear down windows, reducing travel disruption for impacted communities and other residents. NASCAR has also committed to addressing costs incurred by City departments and agencies in facilitating and securing the event as consistent with other large-scale events. This is a win for Chicago taxpayers, as the original agreement did not include provisions for such costs.
“Finally, NASCAR has committed to growing its impressive investments in Chicago communities and expanding opportunities for small-, minority- and women-owned businesses to participate as vendors in 2024. The City looks forward to working with NASCAR and other stakeholders to deliver a successful Chicago Street Race weekend in 2024 that works for residents, fans and Chicago’s economy.”
Thoughts?
…Adding… Crain’s…
The racing company issued a press release on Wednesday hours after the city’s tourism bureau, Choose Chicago, released the results of an economic impact study that showed the race weekend generated $108.9 million for the local economy, despite being hampered by rain that canceled the Saturday NASCAR Xfinity Series race and weekend concerts and postponed the main event, the NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday.
The report is here.
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* Press release…
Today Governor JB Pritzker announced several upcoming transitions in state agency leadership. Theresa Eagleson, Director of the Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS), will step down at the end of 2023. The Governor has appointed Lizzy Whitehorn, who currently serves as First Assistant Deputy Governor for Health and Human Services, to serve as Director of HFS beginning January 1, 2024, pending confirmation by the Illinois Senate. The Governor also announced the upcoming transitions, also at the end of the calendar year, of Paula Basta, Director of the Illinois Department on Aging (IDoA), and Marc D. Smith, Director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). Finally, the Governor announced the appointment of Camile Lindsay as Acting Director of Professional Regulation at the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), pending confirmation. Lindsay is currently serving as First Assistant Deputy Governor for Public Safety, Infrastructure, Environment and Energy.
“Theresa, Paula, and Marc reflect the best of state government—people who have sacrificed to help millions of constituents through their dedication to service,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Despite the excellent quality of the candidates who will fill their shoes, their full impact on state government can never truly be articulated or replicated, and I thank them for their years of service. Lizzy and Camile’s years of service in my office have shown their passion for what they do, and I’m glad they will continue to have an opportunity to do this important work at an even higher level.”
Eagleson has served as Director of HFS since January of 2019. Prior to that appointment, Eagleson was the state’s longest serving Medicaid director, as well as the Executive Director of the University of Illinois’ System Office of Medicaid Innovation. Under Eagleson’s leadership, HFS has implemented numerous initiatives aimed at reducing disparities and creating a more equitable healthcare delivery system and child support services program and expanding behavioral and reproductive healthcare. She and the HFS team initiated and implemented a first-in-the-nation, equity-driven Healthcare Transformation Collaboratives program to incentivize health providers of all kinds and community-based organizations to partner in new ways to provide better care in historically underserved communities across the state. Together with DCFS, HFS successfully launched Youthcare, a managed care program specifically designed for youth in care. HFS also implemented new assessments for Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) and other provider assessments, making the Illinois Medicaid program less dependent on state general funds, and implemented nation-leading nursing home rate reform to improve care for 45,000 residents in Illinois nursing homes.
“Serving the people of Illinois, especially the millions of customers within the Medicaid program, from newborns to seniors, drives me every day,” Eagleson said. “It has been the honor of a lifetime to lead this wonderful team of professionals at HFS, and I am grateful to Gov. Pritzker for giving us the opportunity to create transformational change within the larger healthcare landscape in this state, especially for nursing home residents. I will always treasure these 30 years spent serving the state of Illinois.”
Basta, who is retiring at the end of 2023, was appointed Director of IDoA in March of 2019. Prior to joining IDoA, Basta served as the Director of Senior Services and Health Initiatives at the Chicago Housing Authority, where she oversaw social services for 54 senior buildings and 10,000 seniors throughout Chicago. During her tenure at IDoA, Basta guided Illinois’ network of Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs), Care Coordination Units, and aging services providers through the COVID-19 public health emergency, ensuring continuity of services to older adults who are a population group at high risk of COVID-19 complications. Basta also helped to launch new programming to support older adults’ health, independence and well-being during and beyond the public health emergency, such as the Illinois Care Connections program to combat social isolation, emergency gap filling services, and the expansion of nutrition programs in partnership with locally owned restaurants.
“It has been a privilege to serve Governor Pritzker’s administration as Director of the Illinois Department on Aging,” said Basta. “As the agency celebrates its 50th anniversary this fall, I am optimistic about the direction it’s headed, and I am endlessly grateful to our staff and partner organizations for their ongoing efforts to meet the needs of older adults.”
Smith was appointed Director of DCFS in April 2019. Prior to his appointment, Smith served as the executive vice president of foster care and intact services at Aunt Martha’s Health & Wellness, Illinois’ largest provider of services to families in crisis, since 2009. During his tenure, DCFS created a capital program investing in youth service providers and sought federal opportunities for funding, grew the agency budget to stable levels after years of disinvestment, and increased transparency and accountability to the public. Under Smith’s direction, DCFS also prioritized technology upgrades to a 30-year-old infrastructure enabling new operational efficiencies, grew funding for youth scholarships, and increased staffing to the highest levels the agency has seen in 15 years.
“When I joined this administration in 2019, my mission was clear. Build a child welfare system in Illinois that keeps kids safe and supports families in crisis,” said Smith. “As someone who has spent my entire career committed to improving the child welfare system – I am incredibly proud of the profound progress we have made. DCFS continues making a difference where it matters most – by keeping children safe, creating brighter futures for the youth in our care, and giving hope to families in crisis that need support. We are on our way to building a child welfare system in Illinois that will once again serve as a national model. The governor and his administration have been incredible partners. Together we confronted the longstanding challenges at DCFS head-on, with both optimism and pragmatism, so we can help families and children thrive. I am profoundly proud to have had the opportunity to lead and work alongside the amazing team of professionals at DCFS that have dedicated their lives to protecting and supporting our most vulnerable children.”
Whitehorn has served as First Assistant Deputy Governor for Health and Human Services since 2019. Alongside Deputy Governor Sol Flores, Whitehorn led the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including testing and vaccine efforts and the nation-leading rental assistance and childcare restoration grant programs. From the Governor’s Office, she spearheaded the Children’s Behavioral Health Transformation Initiative, a collaborative approach among six state agencies to improve services, resources, and outcomes for youth with significant behavioral health needs. Over the last five years, Whitehorn has worked closely on the administration’s healthcare initiatives, including legislation to authorize a state-based healthcare exchange, increased access to healthcare services, and expanded programs supporting reproductive healthcare, as well as efforts to strengthen the state’s early childhood system. Whitehorn is a committed public servant, who previously served as Deputy Director in the Department of Central Management Services and Associate General Counsel in the Governor’s Office.
“Over the last four and a half years, I’ve worked closely with the health and human service agencies and seen firsthand the results of interagency cooperation and coordination—a system that works better those we serve,” said Whitehorn. “I’m honored to continue this work at HFS to increase access to affordable and equitable healthcare and support the millions of Illinoisans who rely on our Medicaid system every day.”
Camile Lindsay currently serves as First Assistant Deputy Governor for Public Safety, Infrastructure, Environment and Energy. Lindsay was responsible for overseeing several Illinois state agencies, including the Department of Transportation, State Police, Department of Corrections, Emergency Management Agency, and the Capital Development Board. Prior to joining the Governor’s office, Lindsay served as Chief of Staff and Chief Legal Counsel for the Illinois Department of Corrections. Earlier in her career, she worked as Supervisory Regional Counsel for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, Assistant Attorney General for the Illinois Attorney General’s office, and Assistant State’s Attorney for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office.
“Professional licensing serves as the economic backbone in Illinois, with more than 1.2 million individuals counting on IDFPR for the means to verify they’re qualified to work in their chosen field,” said Director of Professional Regulation Camile Lindsay. “I look forward to building upon the successes achieved at IDFPR to ensure the people of Illinois continue to receive the quality service they need from licensed professionals.”
Over the next several months, a national search will be conducted to find a new Director of IDoA and Director of DCFS.
…Adding… IARF President Josh Evans…
“Throughout her tenure leading the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, Director Eagleson collaborated with sister state agencies involved in the regulating and provision of social safety net services, including to persons with intellectual/developmental disabilities and serious mental illnesses.”
“Even through the tremendously challenging months of the COVID-19 pandemic, which required constant engagement with healthcare and social safety net providers and the federal government, Director Eagleson worked to advance necessary Medicaid policies and rate changes to strengthen and support the disability and behavioral health service arrays, including unprecedented increased investments in Medicaid mental health funding.”
“Under Director Eagleson, HFS expanded access to Medicaid telemedicine services and we expect further work in this area. Illinois’ commitment to implementing and expanding Certified Community Behavioral Health Center models of providing behavioral health care is a credit to the Director’s leadership.”
“IARF thanks Director Eagleson for her public service. Further, we congratulate Lizzy Whitehorn, First Assistant Deputy Governor for Health and Human Services, on being named HFS Director this coming January. We look forward to working with Ms. Whitehorn to further advance shared priorities in ensuring high quality I/DD and behavioral health services and supports.”
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* Hannah Meisel…
* CBS Chicago…
Smith, who was first appointed to the post in 2019, announced his resignation during a virtual town hall meeting for DCFS staff.
“After having some discussion with my family, and people who are part of our system who are important to me, and the way we think about the work, I wanted to announce today that I will be stepping down as director of DCFS,” Smith said.
* WGN…
In 2021, WGN Investigates cited data from Cook County public guardian Charles Golbert’s office which determined 356 kids had been hospitalized longer than medically necessary in the previous year. The average stay was 55 days longer than deemed medically necessary, according to the data. […]
In a statement issued Wednesday, Golbert said in part, “DCFS Director Marc Smith leaves a mixed legacy. On the one hand, in serving for four and a half years, Smith brought much needed consistency in leadership after DCFS rotated through 13 different directors and acting directors over the prior ten years. … On the other hand, over four and a half years and despite the increased resources, Smith failed to substantially expand desperately needed placement capacity. As a result, under Smith’s watch, we started to see children sleeping on the hard, cold floors of offices instead of in a warm, comfortable bed in an appropriate placement for the first time since the 1990s. This is now happening to hundreds of children every year. … The placement shortage crisis is so bad that Smith holds the dubious distinction of being the only director in DCFS’s history to be held in contempt of court a dozen times for failing to place children appropriately in violation of court orders. … During Smith’s tenure, hundreds of children have died despite DCFS involvement. At least a dozen of these deaths were high profile in the new media. This is likely, at least in part, because DCFS still has a 20% vacancy rate for investigators. DCFS has been in violation of the investigator caseload mandates of a federal consent decree for many years. … So Smith leaves a mixed legacy.”
* Sen. Craig Wilcox…
“Here in McHenry County we have a constant reminder of the failings of DCFS, as the senseless and avoidable death of AJ Freund is never far from people’s minds. The problems at this agency are vast, and simply replacing the Director will not solve them. The fact that many of the findings in the most recent Auditor General’s audit of DCFS are repeat findings clearly illustrates the agency is not taking these findings to heart and making necessary changes, and the fact that the new report identifies even more problems than the last audit is unacceptable. Until our Governor recognizes the dire need for a structural rebuild of DCFS from the ground up, I fear it is only a matter of time until another child experiences a tragic outcome due to negligence by the agency that is supposed to protect them.”
* Sens Steve McClure and Sally Turner…
“Protecting and caring for our state’s most vulnerable children and families is an incredibly important responsibility of the Governor’s administration. As the recent compliance audit makes crystal clear, the issues with DCFS aren’t getting better, the situation actually appears to be getting worse. We hope the Governor takes this opportunity to finally fix the issues that plague DCFS and have led to heartbreaking stories of children waiting months for placements, or those who tragically have lost their lives.
“Unfortunately, the issues with DCFS go much deeper than one appointed leader, the problems are systemic. Governor Pritzker needs to undertake a comprehensive review of agency operations, prioritizing solutions that protect children who cannot protect themselves.”
* Sen. Don DeWittee…
“Having met with Marc Smith and members of his staff on many occasions, it is clear he recognizes the problems at DCFS run very deep. Unfortunately, our Governor has refused to make the same acknowledgement or take steps to fix this agency from the ground up. Changing the individual at the helm is not enough to fix DCFS; deep organizational changes are needed to prevent tragedies like the murder of AJ Freund of Crystal Lake from happening again. We need to seek national expertise and identify best practices from states that are doing a good job with the welfare of children, because the system in place in Illinois is clearly failing the most vulnerable children and families among us.”
* NASW IL…
* House Minority Leader Tony McCombie…
“DCFS is undeniably a dysfunctional agency in our state, and immediate change is critically necessary. As children in our care and agency workers continue to be harmed or worse, the House Republican caucus will strongly advocate for common-sense proposals to structurally reform the functions of the agency. It is our duty to protect children in the state’s care.”
* Illinois Collaboration on Youth…
On behalf of the Board and members of the Illinois Collaboration on Youth, I want to thank DCFS Director Marc Smith for his service to our state. Director Smith is one of our longest- serving directors in recent memory and he brought much needed stability to our system.
When Governor Pritzker took office, Illinois was reeling from the wanton destruction of our health and human services system brought on by the budget impasse. Child welfare services are always a lagging indicator of the functionality of that system, and as predicted, the number of children and youth in care exploded following the impasse, putting an enormous strain on a system that had been neglected for nearly two decades. Governor Pritzker and Director Smith had only just begun to respond to this situation when they were forced to navigate the uncharted waters of a global pandemic. Illinois’ child welfare system had one of the best responses to COVID-19 in the nation; we salute their leadership in this area.
Thanks to the Governor and Director Smith, Illinois has seen five consecutive years of investments into the child welfare system to help it better cope with the growing population and the ongoing workforce crisis. We have also seen the implementation of the Family First Prevention Services Act and the transition to YouthCare, as well as funding for capital expansion and building capacity in our residential treatment programs.
While there remains much more to do to improve outcomes for children and families, we are looking forward to the full implementation of the Governor’s Blueprint for Transformation, and continued collaboration with the new leadership to come.
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Afternoon roundup
Tuesday, Oct 3, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Herald-Whig…
Quincy aldermen will consider an ordinance making the city a “Safehaven City of the Unborn.”
The ordinance would prevent health care providers offering abortions from setting up in Quincy by making it illegal to receive abortion-inducing pills and abortion-related medical equipment in the mail on the authority of the 1873 Comstock Act, a federal law prohibiting “obscene” or “lewd” materials from being sent in the mail, including birth control or abortion-related items.
The City Council heard from several residents in favor and opposed to the ordinance during Monday night’s meeting where Alderman Jake Reed, R-6, requested it be placed on the agenda.
Mayor Mike Troup and aldermen, such as Greg Fletcher, R-1, expressed support of the ordinance but also concerns the state of Illinois will sue Quincy and lay litigation fees at the taxpayer’s feet.
That’s a pretty safe bet, mayor.
…Adding… Sarah Garza Resnick, CEO, Personal PAC…
“The Quincy proposal is yet another attempt by anti-choice extremists to restrict abortion rights in Illinois. Like the ordinance that passed in Danville, this proposal is an insult to the Illinois Constitution and the Illinois Reproductive Health Act. Personal PAC is partnering with pro-choice organizers on the ground to make sure that if the Quincy Mayor and City Council take a vote on this ordinance, they know that we are watching, and we are working toward municipal elections in 2025.”
* Another campaign attack…
I asked whom Bailey was supporting, but never heard back. Follow along here.
…Adding… Looks like Bailey and Rep. Miller (No Relation) are on opposite sides at the moment…
Congresswoman Mary Miller (R-IL) released the following statement on her vote to prevent a “coalition government” with Democrats:
“I agree with President Trump that right now, we should be focused on stopping the radical Democrats,” Miller said.
“I voted against Kevin McCarthy 15 times in January, but no one else has stepped forward to run for Speaker and I will NOT surrender the majority to a “coalition government” with the Democrats through a power-sharing agreement with extreme liberals Nancy Pelosi and Hakeem Jeffries.
* This district is represented by freshman Democrat Eric Sorensen…
* Press release…
Today, Governor JB Pritzker visited the University of Chicago Library to announce the University’s plan to build a collection of books that have been historically banned, creating an accessible library open to the public. The event takes place during National Banned Books Week, which runs from October 1-7. The governor was joined by Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton and University of Chicago leadership.
“When we can engage with ideas that are new to us, challenge and be challenged by different perspectives, learn new things, understand all the amazing miracles and darkest hours of the world around us — we are all better off,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Today’s announcement not only means that any member of the public can come access commonly banned books here in person at UChicago — it also means that residents throughout Illinois can access these texts digitally. Even in the face of rising censorship around the country, I have faith in the power of free speech and free thinking to overcome. Through programming and protests and advocacy like this, Illinoisans demonstrate to the nation and the world what it really looks like to stand up for liberty.”
“Illinois continues to stand on the right side of history, refusing to censor educational and social reading material that celebrates our diversity and the richness of the human experience,” said Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton. “As we celebrate Banned Books Week, our administration is committed to protecting the voices and stories of those who have historically gone unheard and unseen.”
The event was held at the University of Chicago’s Regenstein Library and highlighted the value of intellectual freedom in Illinois and nationwide. Governor Pritzker emphasized the importance of literary access and supporting library staff, who have been dealing with threats around the state.
With support from the American Library Association (ALA), the University of Chicago will be consolidating dozens of “banned books” for their new collection, which can be freely accessed by members of the public with a UChicago Library visitor pass.
The collection will be digitized and made available to those nationwide who lack local access to these titles, in partnership with the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA). The virtual “Banned Book Club” app uses geolocation services to determine book titles that have been banned in users’ areas. The UChicago Library and DPLA have already made over 900 titles accessible, and are consistently increasing the number of available titles on the app.
In June 2023, Governor Pritzker signed a bill making Illinois the first state to outlaw book bans, encouraging schools and libraries to embrace education, literary justice, and equity. HB2789, which takes effect January 1, 2024, protects libraries from external restrictions to book collections.
Governor Pritzker also included $1.6 million in the FY24 state budget to launch Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library statewide. This initiative includes a book gifting program that mails free, high-quality books to children from birth to age five, no matter a family’s income.
The Banned Book Collection at the Regenstein Library is currently available for access. The digital collection can be found on DPLA’s recently launched “Banned Books Club” on the Palace e-reader app.
* Sun-Times…
With the downtown property market ranging from torpid to downright depressed, a bit of news about the sector in September had a “man bites dog” importance.
Menashe Properties bought a 29-story office building at 230 W. Monroe St. The family-owned firm, based in Portland, Oregon, and making its first investment in Chicago, took the plunge as other property moguls talk about tax rates, high crime and the still-uncertain comeback from COVID-19 as reasons to shun deals here. […]
Menashe said he checked out Chicago in his first visit to the city and found it to be “the polar opposite of what you hear about in the news.”
“It’s vibrant. It’s architecturally beautiful. You could feel the vibe,” he said. He was a follower of the late tycoon Sam Zell, remembered for an ability to profit from others’ failures.
* The horror…
“It was certainly a first in front of the Ritz: a good-sized, sort of fancy tent astride two large industrial carts, all topped with a large Chicago Fire [soccer] tarp,” said a nearby resident who is elderly and asked not to be identified.
“It was illegally blocking the use of a public way and up against the fence of Schulman Park on Pearson Street, ostensibly across from [Streeterville’s Ritz-Carlton hotel] in order to use the bathroom facilities.
“I was walking my shelter dog when I called to the inside of the tent, and a woman I didn’t see said she was nine months pregnant. Then, a well-groomed man appearing to be in his 30s showed up, accused my dog of pooping on his tent, swore at me in a salacious manner and told me to get lost when I told him the tent placement was illegal. So I called the police, who were there in minutes.”
No police report was filed, but the tent was gone the next day.
* And yet…
Chicago has been named the “Best Big City in the U.S.” for the seventh straight year by readers of Condé Nast Traveler Magazine, officials announced Tuesday.
According to a press release from City of Chicago tourism agency Choose Chicago, the award “speaks to Chicago’s enduring allure to all types of travelers from around the world.”
* Rep. Steve Reick…
The adverse opinion issued last week by the Illinois Auditor General’s office of its compliance audit of the Department of Children and Family Services deals not only with certain financial irregularities within the agency, but it also shines a harsh light on the failure of this agency to protect the children within its care. DCFS exists for one purpose and one purpose only, and that is to protect vulnerable children from abuse and neglect. The fact that the agency failed on so many levels, and then saw fit to hide its failures by providing material misstatements boggles the mind.
Since the audit’s release, we’ve heard nothing from the Governor, even though he had two press availabilities last week where he could have addressed the issue. I just spoke with a member of the Springfield press who told me that the Governor’s office was going to leave it to the Agency to respond.
Since the audit was released on September 26th, there’s only been one comment made by DCFS regarding the findings. Heather Tarczan, DCFS communications director, pointed out the audit took place amid COVID-19 when many state agencies were dealing with staffing issues. I would find that to be somewhat persuasive if it wasn’t for the fact that the issues raised in this audit go back long before COVID.
The Auditor General’s report discloses 33 separate findings, of which 17 were “Category One” findings which describe “material weakness in internal control” or “material non-compliance with state laws and regulations”. Of the 17 Category One violations shown in the audit, twelve of them were raised as far back as 1998. These failures aren’t due to COVID.
And what about Director Smith? Was he hired to fix this agency, or was he merely hired as a caretaker of a dysfunctional agency that has failed so many kids? If he’s any kind of a leader, he should be marching into the Governor’s office and demanding that he be given complete authority to overhaul this agency. Neither he nor the Governor can be considered as profiles in political courage.
The governor is quick to point out that Republicans could be more supportive of his efforts if we would but vote in favor of his budgets. That’s a topic for another day, but let’s just say that if the administration were to propose its budget in piecemeal fashion (by appropriation committee) instead of as a single 3,000-page document, we might find things in there that we’d be willing to vote for, even though we had no say in what goes into it. But he’d rather have political talking points rather than a cooperative effort toward doing the work that the people of this state deserve.
* Isabel’s afternoon roundup…
* Capitol News Illinois | Pritzker urges Biden to intervene amid ‘untenable’ pace of migrant arrivals: Without naming GOP figures like Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Pritzker blamed political leaders who “have shipped people to our state like cargo in a dehumanizing attempt to score political points.” But he also faulted the Biden administration for its lack of support for Illinois, which has already dedicated $330 million to addressing the influx of 15,000 migrants and counting.
* Sun-Times | Migrant shelter plan at Amundsen Park field house draws City Council member’s ire: Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29th) on Monday unleashed his anger at Mayor Brandon Johnson’s plan to turn the Amundsen Park Fieldhouse into a shelter for 200 migrants for at least six months. Three days after Taliaferro warned that the burgeoning migrant crisis was bringing historic tensions between Blacks and Latinos to a boil, the situation hit even closer to home.
* South Side Weekly | Tent Camp Debate Highlights Uneven Burdens in Migrant Response: Antonio Gutierrez, a strategic coordinator at Organized Communities Against Deportations (OCAD), told the Weekly that because the plan is a temporary solution, they’re concerned about the long-term plan. “The crisis is not the recently arrived migrants, but the overall lack of affordable housing in the city of Chicago,” Gutierrez said. “We also don’t think that will be the best usage of these millions of dollars…that could otherwise be used in other ways to actually create permanent affordable housing.”
* Block Club | Amazon Warehouse Workers Near Chicago Are Injured At Above-Average Rates. Will New West Side Center Be Safer?: Serious injury rates at most Chicago-area Amazon warehouses are double the statewide average, an analysis of Occupational Safety and Health Administration data by Block Club Chicago shows. At the warehouse facility in suburban Romeoville, where nearly 800 people work, the serious injury rate is 12.3 percent, over three times the state average of 3.4 percent.
* Shaw Local | Yorkville school board investigated by Illinois attorney general over closed meeting complaint: The Illinois Attorney General’s Office is investigating a complaint alleging that the Yorkville School District 115 board violated the Illinois Open Meetings Act when discussing the book “Just Mercy” in closed session. The board voted 4-2 at its Aug. 7 meeting to prohibit use of Bryan Stevenson’s memoir in the Yorkville High School English II Rhetorical Analysis course.
* Patch | $750,000 Settlement In Black Officer’s Lawsuit Against Joliet Chief: According to his federal lawsuit, the city of Joliet had at least 10 job openings on its police force in 2019, and Anthony Sinnott later discovered he ranked No. 5 out of the 227 eligible candidates. On Aug. 26, 2019, Sinnott learned that Joliet’s Police and Fire Board rejected his job application, his lawsuit states. […] Anthony Sinnott’s lawsuit also stated that, “Roechner made false statements about Sinnott to the Board and verbally accused him of being a ‘habitual woman beater’ in front of the Board.
* PJ Star | Peoria congressman Darin LaHood voted ‘no’ to avoid shutdown. Here’s what he said: In a Facebook post, LaHood said he voted no on the bill because it did not address “out of control spending addiction” and did not “address the crisis at our southern border.”"Families in #IL16 must meet a budget and it’s past time that DC do the same. With $33 Trillion in debt, Congress needs to change the way it spends or we will threaten the economic future of our kids and grandkids,” LaHood’s statement said.
* Lake County News-Sun | Officials scrambling to maintain federal funding levels for North Chicago schools in the face of potential cutbacks: Potentially facing a revenue loss of nearly $5 million over the next two years from a cut in federal impact aid received for educating military dependents, North Chicago School District Superintendent John Price is trying to maintain the current funding levels. With Naval Station Great Lakes occupying 30% of North Chicago’s real estate, the land is exempt from paying local property taxes. Instead, it pays impact aid of $12,700 annually for each military dependent student in the district. That may drop to $2,000.
* Rockford Register Star | Rockford rejects expansion of group homes for recovering addicts: Neighbors signed petitions and wrote letters opposing the expansion. Oxford House lawyers say the residents in their group homes are considered “disabled persons” under the law and therefore protected by it and the Fair Housing Act. They asked to increase the number of residents allowed at the homes beyond the six permitted in areas zoned R-1.
* WICS | Illinois police officer indicted, accused of assaulting handcuffed man: Justin Gaither, 33, was indicted on September 27 on one count of deprivation of rights under color of law, namely the right to be free from the use of unreasonable force. The indictment accuses Gaither of assaulting someone on Nov. 20, 2022. The victim was handcuffed and was not posing a threat to anyone, the indictment says.
* Sun-Times | Bally’s casino at Medinah Temple will ‘secure Chicago’s fiscally strong and vibrant future,’ Johnson says: About three weeks after Illinois Gaming Board regulators let Bally’s open the doors to gamblers, Johnson helped cut the ceremonial ribbon at Medinah, which is expected to take bets for the next three years while a bigger, permanent casino is built in the River West neighborhood.
* Bloomberg | Video slot machines spur gambling revenue windfall for Illinois: Illinois’s tax collections from gaming climbed to a record of almost $2 billion in the year that ended June 30, according to data going back almost five decades. Video gaming currently represents about 41% of wagering revenue, while lottery makes up nearly 44%.
* The Messenger | Colorado Law to Ban ‘Abortion Reversal’ Procedures Could Spark National Trend: Passed by the state Legislature in April, the law has survived months of legal challenges. While anti-abortion activists maintain the “abortion reversal” procedure is a legitimate treatment for those seeking to “reverse” a medication abortion, it has been branded “unproved and unethical” by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The passage and soon-to-come enactment of Senate Bill 23-190 represents a major win for abortion advocates, who say that “abortion reversal” is merely a tool used by “crisis pregnancy centers”—or anti-abortion centers that have been frequently criticized for spreading misinformation and using deceptive measures to prevent women from accessing abortions—to increase stigma and fear around abortions.
* Bloomberg | Ethanol price manipulation lawsuit is back to haunt ADM: U.S. District Judge Colin S. Bruce on Sept. 26 denied ADM’s request to dismiss the case where competitors accuse the company of violating antitrust laws. The decision came after an analysis of an amended complaint by Midwest in which it names several ethanol producers allegedly affected by what the complaint characterizes as ADM’s anticompetitive practices. For a period between 2017 and 2019, ADM allegedly sold ethanol below cost at Kinder Morgan’s terminal in Argo, a subdivision of suburban Summit, while using derivatives traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to place an “outsized” bet on lower prices.
* WaPo | An epidemic of chronic illness is killing us too soon: After decades of progress, life expectancy — long regarded as a singular benchmark of a nation’s success — peaked in 2014 at 78.9 years, then drifted downward even before the coronavirus pandemic. Among wealthy nations, the United States in recent decades went from the middle of the pack to being an outlier. And it continues to fall further and further behind. A year-long Washington Post examination reveals that this erosion in life spans is deeper and broader than widely recognized, afflicting a far-reaching swath of the United States.
* KHQA | Illinois seeking State Historian: The search committee will be chaired by Millikin University history professor Dan Monroe. “Illinois is doing something important by reinventing the position of state historian. It’s a chance to explore overlooked parts of the Illinois story, amplify new voices, and reach folks who might not realize how exciting history can be,” said Dr. Monroe. “We want to cast a wide net in our search for candidates.”
* Daily Herald | Goodman’s ‘Tommy’ wins nine Jeff Awards: If Goodman Theatre’s production of “The Who’s Tommy” opens on Broadway next year (a transfer expected but not officially confirmed), it received a memorable send-off Monday at the 55th annual Joseph Jefferson Awards ceremony recognizing excellence in Chicago-area theater during the 2022-2023 equity season. Goodman’s record-breaking production — the highest grossing in the theater’s 98-year history — received nine Jeff Awards, more than any other production, and won every category in which it was nominated.
* KLAS | Never-before-seen photos, videos released in Tupac Shakur murder case: Last week, a Clark County grand jury indicted 60-year-old Duane “Keffe D” Davis in Shakur’s murder. Las Vegas Metro police arrested Davis near his Nevada home early Friday morning. The grand jury, which met at least five times over the course of three months, voted Thursday to indict Davis on a charge of murder with a deadly weapon with a gang enhancement. Prosecutors announced the indictment Friday.
* Daily Herald | Trailblazing Advocate president ready to face health industry challenges: Being the only person of color in a corporate board room isn’t unusual for Dia Nichols. For the last two years, the Inverness resident has served as president of the Central Chicagoland Patient Service Area and Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge — joining a small field of hospital executives who are people of color. The 49-year-old recently took the helm as Advocate Health Care’s first Black president.
* WCIA | Teutopolis stepping up to honor Bryan Family after ammonia leak: “It’s not your typical one funeral. It’s three,” Willenborg said. The ride is starting right in town at a place that’s helping out in a big way already: Ping’s Tavern. “Within two hours, they raised $8,000 for the Kenny Bryan family,” said Julia Henderson, a bartender at the bar.
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* Patch…
Joliet Mayor Terry D’Arcy wants Joliet Township Supervisor Angel Contreras to withdraw his application that could bring $8.6 million in state of Illinois tax dollars to Joliet Township to cover the costs of bringing people from other countries seeking asylum status.
“I want to take a moment to clarify the facts regarding the recent news about a grant for Municipalities Serving Asylum Seekers,” D’Arcy announced Monday evening. “The people sitting on this dais were placed here by the people of Joliet with a duty and obligation to preserve and protect their investment in their property and preserve their quality of life.
“That said, the decision-makers in the city did not have knowledge of a grant request made by Joliet Township and with community partners and organizations.” […]
According to Joliet’s new mayor, “The City of Joliet Mayor’s Office and Joliet Fire Department did not sign or approve any Memorandum of Understanding with the Township or with other community partners and other organizations on the grant that was submitted.
* Joliet Herald-News…
Joliet Township is a separate unit of government from the city of Joliet and operates independently. But D’Arcy said he believes the terms of the grant required certain agreements with the city that were never made.
City officials have said they were unaware Joliet Township was seeking the grant and only learned about it after the governor’s office announced the award late Friday.
Contreras did not return calls on Monday seeking comments about the grant.
Township Trustee Ray Slattery told the council at its meeting that the township board did not know about the grant.
* WJOL…
Meanwhile, Illinois State Senator Rachel Ventura says Contreras had mentioned that Joliet Township would be a getting a large amount of money but didn’t know the details and nor did she hear from the governor’s office. Local officials say they want to know how and where the money will be spent and in what areas.
* The governor’s office is pointing at the Metropolitan Mayor’s Caucus, which was quoted in the original press release as partnering with the Illinois Department of Human Services to provide “management oversight in the form of a competitive Notice of Funding Opportunity process.” Jordan Abudayyeh…
While an award has been made to Joliet Township, that is subject to both an updated budget and entering into a grant agreement. No grant monies are paid until a grant agreement has been completed. As part of this process, the Metropolitan Mayor’s Caucus, as the administrator and monitor of this program, will be asking the Township to provide additional information on any listed support and partnerships and, once confirmed, how they will support asylum seekers.
I’ve reached out to the Metropolitan Mayor’s Caucus for a response. Nothing yet.
…Adding… The “updated budget” is for the locals, not the state. “Everyone applied for more money than they got so they have to update their budgets and plans as part of the grant agreements before money is released,” said Abudayyeh.
* More from the governor’s office on the Metropolitan Mayor’s Caucus…
MMC identified external reviewers with expertise in philanthropy, grant-making, and immigrant services as a part of its administrative responsibilities. IDHS and MMC together determined grant award amounts based on reviewer recommendations and scoring.
Oak Park’s portion of grant funds is meant for planning – which is an opportunity to prepare for additional State funds that may become available in the future.
In the end, though, it sure looks like the township supervisor claimed he had the buy-in of other local governments and stakeholders when he clearly did not. And now the supervisor has gone to ground.
Oy.
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Fringe group: China for me but not for thee
Tuesday, Oct 3, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Center Square making an assertion not evident in reality…
Opposition is building against a proposed Chinese battery plant for Manteno in Kankakee County.
In reality, it was just a press conference held by a tiny minority of a super-minority, which Center Square’s parent company offered free of charge on its newly purchased video platform.
* The release…
The IL Freedom Caucus today held a press conference to demand answers to some of the concerns Manteno residents have with a Chinese company building a battery plant in their community.
The Chinese company Gotion High-Tech Co. is in line for $ 7.5 billion in federal tax credits over five years, while the State of Illinois is kicking in an additional $536 million in subsidies to build the plant. The cost to build the plant is $2 billion and the subsidies add up to an astounding $3 million per job.
“Manteno may not be in our districts, but the people of this community deserve to have their voices heard,” said State Representative Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur). “This deal was negotiated in secret without the input of Manteno residents. The Governor needs to answer their questions and address their concerns.”
State Rep. Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville) said it defies common-sense to make a deal with a company with ties to the Chinese Communist Party without requiring any kind of disclosures. He said China’s human rights abuses make them a bad-faith partner in business deals.
“China continues to engage in coercive population control through forced abortion, forced sterilization, and involuntary implantation of birth control and the CCP forced labor and detention of more than one million Uyghurs and other minority groups is well-documented,” Halbrook said. “China has forced Apple to remove features that allow people to contact each other without the knowledge of the Chinese government to prevent dissidents from organizing. On Nov. 25th, 2022, video surfaced of an apartment fire in Xinjiang. People were trapped inside because the Chinese government locked them in as part of their cruel response to COVID-19. Imagine being forcibly locked in your apartment building simply because someone in the building had COVID-19. Then imagine not being able to escape a fire because your building is locked from the outside. This is who the Chinese Communist Party is.”
To go into business with a company with CCP ties is one thing but to not even do any proper vetting is another matter entirely.
“What vetting was done to protect Illinois and US interests in this deal?” said State Rep. Adam Niemerg (R-Diederich). “What agreements were made to protect propriety information of US companies that may be involved in the project? Why wasn’t a Form 800, which is a standard federal form that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) uses to determine if any threats to national security exists in business deals, required? If any foreign companies need to be subject to a Form 800 – it would be a company with ties to the Chinese Communist Party. So again, I ask – Why weren’t any forms or disclosures required? This is what happens when ideology trumps common sense.”
The legislators called for answers to these questions and also called for the Legislature to take action to protect the interests of Illinois residents. Specifically, they called for legislation to ban the use of public funds in investments or institutions tied to the Chinese Communist Party or the People’s Republic of China; to ban government officials and employees from having Tik Tok accounts; and to prohibit China from buying farmland in the United States.
We need to put our money where our mouth is on human rights, and we need to lead by example when it comes to China,” said State Representative Blaine Wilhour (R-Beecher City). “JB Pritzker signed a law divesting Illinois from Russia because of the war in Ukraine. If we are condemning Russia – how can we not have the same policies in regard to the CCP? We say we are for human rights but not only are we blindly doing business with a company whose corporate papers pledge loyalty to the CCP, but we are handing over millions in subsidies. And instead of a substantive thoughtful response from JB Pritzker – all we get is insults and hyperbole. Illinois deserves better. Manteno deserves better. We need to put the brakes on this project and return sanity to our state.”
The Illinois Freedom Caucus is comprised of State Representatives Chris Miller (R-Hindsboro), chairman; Blaine Wilhour (R-Beecher City), vice-chairman; Adam Niemerg (R-Dieterich); Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville); Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur); Jed Davis (R-Newark) and David Friess (R-Red Bud). The members of the Illinois Freedom Caucus are members of the Illinois General Assembly who are advocating for limited government, lower taxes and accountability and integrity in government.
Oh, they want to ban ban government officials from having TikTok accounts, eh? Well, perhaps Rep. Niemerg can explain why he has an official legislative TikTok account?
I asked for an explanation from a Freedom Caucus spokesperson about that and about whether any Freedom Caucus member owned an Apple product, since that company was mentioned in the release as well. The only response was a personal insult.
Stay classy.
…Adding… Patiently awaiting a press conference denouncing the Illinois Soybean Association. From August…
In a bid to continue fostering international agricultural partnerships and enhance global trade relations, the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) recently hosted three Asian trade teams on the farms of Illinois soybean farmers. The farm visits aimed to provide representatives from South Korea, Taiwan, China and Japan with firsthand insight into the soybean farming practices, innovations, and quality standards maintained by Illinois farmers.
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