Afternoon roundup
Wednesday, Apr 26, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From Economic Security for Illinois…
Economic Security for Illinois put together district data to demonstrate how a state Child Tax Credit would benefit each district if created this year. The policy would directly funnel needed dollars into every single legislative district and directly support half of all Illinois children.
This afternoon there’s a subject matter hearing in the Senate Revenue Committee on SB1444, a bill to create a $700 per child Child Tax Credit for all taxpayers earning median income or less. (Joint filers earning less than $75,000 and single/head-of-household tax filers earning less than $50,000 would be eligible to receive the credit, with a credit phase out at $25,000 over the income threshold.)
Given recent news about the state’s budget, the 40+ organizations in the Illinois Cost-of-Living Refund Coalition have been working diligently with legislative leadership and the Governor’s office to create a credit that is large and inclusive enough to make a meaningful difference in the lives of Illinois families, while balancing the realities of this year’s budget. Our newly modified proposal reduces the value of the credit to $300 per child credit in order to accomplish both of these goals.
A state Child Tax Credit would have a massive total impact, benefitting 1.5+ million children at a cost to the state of $280M. That’s spending 0.5% of the state’s total budget to support half of all families in every single legislative district. Families would receive a check that they could use to pay for groceries, housing, and the rising cost of living.
Last year, we found members enjoyed comparing how much money would flow into their district with refundable tax credits (last year it was the EITC). For that reason, we wanted to give you the opportunity to publish the full data set for the proposed Child Tax Credit. The data show the impact of a Child Tax Credit with a $300 per child value with an 80% uptake rate.
On average, with our proposed $300 CTC, each House district would receive $ 2,432,727 to support 13,510 kids and each Senate district would receive $ 4,813,596 to support 26,842 kids.
Within districts, the impact can be more substantial. For example, we can estimate that Leader Evans, who is the chief sponsor of the House CTC effort, would see $3.5 + million directed into the households of 18,000+ children. Similarly Senator Koehler, a chief-cosponsor of Sen. Simmons’ bill, would see $5.7 + million directly benefiting 30,000+ children in his district if the state were to create a Child Tax Credit program.
All districts in both chambers can be found here.
I asked Isabel to sort out the top ten and bottom ten Senate districts based on the number of children…
* Rep. Caulkins is, as promised, three and done…
When state Rep. Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur, announced his Illinois House candidacy in 2017, he promised that, if elected, he would decline a pension, not take a state healthcare plan, donate his salary and only serve three, two-year terms.
Having already followed through on the first three, Caulkins is now making good on that last pledge, confirming to Lee Enterprises that he will not seek reelection in 2024.
He’ll be forever remembered as the guy who participated in a Zoomed committee hearing in tan pants, which some people mistook for no pants.
* Media advisory…
Nearly 90% of school districts across the state have reported a teacher shortage problem, with even more believing the crisis will worsen in the years to come.
To tackle the school staffing crunch, members of the Illinois Senate Democratic Caucus have outlined a tangible solution to the ongoing issue through a legislative package. They will expand upon their plan at a press conference Thursday.
WHO: Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford (D-Maywood), Senator Meg Loughran Cappel (D-Shorewood), Senator Christopher Belt (D-Swansea), Dubois Elementary School professional Shalanda Gaines
WHAT: Press conference on measures to address teacher shortage
WHEN: Thursday, April 27 at 9:30 a.m.
* Center Square just can’t help itself…
The former attorney general of neighboring Indiana is speaking out on how Illinois officials deal with the state’s crime problem.
Curtis Hill, Jr., former Indiana attorney general and an ambassador for the black conservative coalition Project 21, said Chicago mayor-elect Brandon Johnson was a poor choice by voters as he “listens to the cries of criminals and hoods instead of the pleas for help from honest citizens wanting to live in peace.”
Tomorrow on Center Square: What does Missouri’s most obscure state legislator think of Chris Welch?
…Adding… I pay zero attention to Indiana politics, but a commenter does and mentioned this…
Indiana State Attorney General Curtis T. Hill Jr., a rising star in the Republican party, had his license to practice law suspended for 30 days by the state Supreme Court for inappropriately touching four women during a 2018 party. […]
In their ruling, the five judges that comprise the state Supreme Court wrote that it found “clear and convincing evidence” that Hill committed acts of misdemeanor battery.
Tomorrow on Center Square: George Santos rates fellow freshman US Rep. Jonathan Jackson.
* Press release…
Illinois EPA Director John J. Kim today announced $4 million in funding to the City of Elgin (Cook and Kane Counties) to replace lead service lines in the community. The funding is provided through the Illinois EPA’s State Revolving Fund (SRF), which provides low-interest loan funding for drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater projects. The City of Elgin (City) will not have to repay any of the funding. This is the second time Illinois EPA has provided $4 million to the City for lead service line replacement as the Agency first issued $4 million in January 2022 to replace approximately 398 lead service lines.
“Illinois EPA is pleased to continue working with the City of Elgin and providing vital funding for lead service line replacements,” said Director Kim. “As communities work to identify and replace lead service lines, funding will be one of the greatest challenges. Illinois EPA remains committed to working with our communities to secure available funding and provide technical assistance.”
The City plans to replace approximately 350 lead services lines within the community with this funding. Their most recent material inventory identified over 11,000 known lead service lines within the community. Service lines are small pipes that carry drinking water from water mains into homes. Many older homes built prior to 1990 may have lead service lines or lead containing plumbing fixtures or faucets. Lead is a toxic metal that can accumulate in the body over time. Lead can enter drinking water when corrosion of pipes and/or fixtures occurs. Eliminating lead service lines in homes will help to reduce lead exposure for residents. For resources on lead in your home, visit: https://epa.illinois.gov/general-information/in-your-home/resources-on-lead.html.
Since State Fiscal Year 2017, the Illinois EPA has provided Lead Service Line Replacement (LSLR) Principal Forgiveness for projects directly related to activities that reduce or eliminate lead from potable water. To date, Illinois EPA has provided over $93 million in funding for lead service line replacement. LSLR principal forgiveness is available up to a maximum amount of $4 million per loan recipient until the allotted funds are expended. Illinois EPA anticipates distributing the $25 million remaining under this program allotment by June 30, 2023.
* Brandon Johnson media advisory…
Mayor-Elect Brandon Johnson to Tour Mid-America Carpenters Union’s Chicago Training Center
Tour will include meeting with one of Union’s First-Ever All-Female Pre-Apprentice Classes
* From Jason Baumann…
Rich,
I thought you would find this interesting. People say, “write-ins” don’t win. Ask Cam Davis about write-in candidates and their success. Statistics will say that less than 1% of write-in candidates win. Well, Cam did and now Greg Hribal won the Village President Election in Westchester with a commanding lead. See the results below.
* Springfield’s outgoing mayor has some coping issues…
Tuesday’s Committee of the Whole meeting was one of Jim Langfelder’s last meetings as mayor after eight years.
After the meeting, Langfelder expressed that many people he has talked to are still shocked about the election results. […]
“If you’d had the firehouses take place before the election or the Wyndham that was stalled before the election or the sports complex before the election instead of a month after, I think this would not be my last meeting or one of the last meetings but that’s how it goes,” he said.
* I dunno. If it was about the contribution, you’d think it woulda been larger. Then again…
* Isabel’s roundup…
* WRSP | EIU union faculty, staff ratify new contract: Members of the Eastern Illinois University (EIU) University Professionals of Illinois (UPI, IFT Local 4100) voted on Tuesday to accept the tentative agreement that was settled on Thursday, April 13, after a six-day strike; 92% voted in favor of the contract.
* ProPublica | As Rail Profits Soar, Blocked Crossings Force Kids to Crawl Under Trains to Get to School: “It is never safe for members of the public to try to cross the cars,” spokesperson Connor Spielmaker said. “We understand that a stopped train is frustrating, but trains can move at any time and with little warning — especially if you are far from the locomotive where the warning bell is sounded when a train starts.” He said trains routinely sit in Hammond for a number of reasons: That section of track is between two busy train intersections that must remain open; Norfolk Southern can’t easily move a train backward or forward, because that would cut off the paths for other trains, which could belong to other companies. And Hammond is a suburb of Chicago, which is the busiest train hub in the nation, creating congestion up and down the network.
* WGLT | After SNAP reduction, food demand spikes at central Illinois pantries: According to the United Nations, over 350 million people worldwide are “marching towards starvation.” In the U.S., food inflation continues to run rampant with the average price of food rising by 9.5% in the past year. The U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that as recently as last August, food inflation peaked at 11.4%, the highest since May 1979. Those living in central Illinois are not immune from food insecurity. Tara Ingham, executive director of the Midwest Food Bank (MFB), which distributes food to dozens of area food pantries, said demand for food from their partner agencies has increased by 30% in 2023.
* Sun-Times | Cook County judges, court employees ordered to phase out remote work: The order requires employees to be at their “regularly assigned workspace” for 70% of their pay period beginning May 14, three days after the national public health emergency is set to end.
* Crain’s | String of losses sets Illinois GOP insiders against each other in fiery media blitz: One of Tracy’s predecessors as Illinois GOP chair, Pat Brady, said that, up to a point, Illinois Review and its new owners “have a point. Proft has had horrible results,” spending at least $130 million in the past couple of years on races for governor, Illinois Supreme Court judgeships and other losers, he said. But overall, the story behind the story may be no more complicated that a new publication trying to attract an audience and make money by attacking the party establishment, Brady continued, noting that Donald Trump and others have gained by such moves.
* Crain’s | CTU organized teachers at Hope Learning Academy Chicago — and now management is shutting it down: Instead of negotiating increased wages and benefits, the new union said it will now work on a severance package that it hopes will last the employees through the summer. “I gave this company 11 years, and the minute you ask for an opinion and a voice and a seat at the table they say, ‘Forget it, close it down,’ ” said Amie Coleman, an educator at Hope. “This vote was our final stand.”
* Chalkbeat | Chicago schools officials promise more money for students with disabilities, English learners in preliminary budgets: School budgets the district is unveiling to principals this week will grow by almost $1,000 per student — to about $12,740 on average districtwide. But enrollment losses and program changes will mean flat or smaller overall budgets on 18% of the district’s campuses, officials said in a briefing with reporters. On a per student basis, 9% of the city’s 500-plus district-run schools will see stagnant or reduced funding.
* WICS | City discusses proposed co-responder program with Springfield Police: The ordinance would provide over $3 million in grant money toward a co-responder program with Springfield Police. This would allow additional personnel to accompany police on calls. Deputy Chief Josh Stuenkel said there are already grants in place for mental health and social worker programs; however, this grant money would be used to address crime victims, homelessness, and those suffering from substance use.
* WICS | OSHA opens inquiry surrounding death of HVAC worker at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OHSA) is looking into the incident that killed Gregory Fields, 55, of Springfield. Fields died on Monday, April 10, from injuries he sustained at the Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport while working with an HVAC system.
* Tribune | Cook County moving to ban sale of flavored e-cigarettes as alarm over teen vape use grows: Commissioner Donna Miller plans to introduce the ban at Thursday’s Cook County Board meeting. It bars retailers — limited to those in unincorporated areas of the county — from selling “any flavored nicotine product,” including menthol, fruit, candy, dessert or alcohol flavors but “not the taste or aroma of tobacco,” according to the draft ordinance.
* Sun-Times | Rosati’s Pizza ordered to pay $250,000 in back pay and damages to employees at 5 franchises: Under a judge’s order, the company must make the payments to employees who worked at the franchises in Bloomingdale, Matteson, Plainfield, Richmond and Dyer, Ind. from May 2019 to June 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The company classified delivery drivers as independent contractors even though it had full control of their hours and tasks, the department said. They also allegedly failed to pay employees overtime wages for hours over 40 in a work week.
* Block Club Chicago | More Than 500 Belmont Cragin Residents Petition To Block Music Festival At Riis Park: ‘We Just Don’t Feel Heard’: AEG Presents plans to host the Chicago leg of The Re:SET concert series June 23-25 at Riis Park, 6100 W. Fullerton Ave. Steve Lacy, Boygenius and LCD Soundsystem are slated to headline what promoters have billed as a single-stage, “artist- and fan-friendly alternative” to major music festivals. Promoters are selling tickets for $129.50 and $650 despite parks officials telling Block Club they haven’t approved any permits for the event.
* Lake County News-Sun | Autistic Highland Park artist creates peace poles to express feelings about parade shooting; ‘It was his way of reaching out to other people’: He witnessed the July 4, 2022 Highland Park parade shooting at Port Clinton Square, and has made a set of eight peace poles to express what he experienced that morning. “I just see this project as the most therapeutic thing that Josh has been able to do since the shooting,” his mother, Pam, of Deerfield said. “More typical ways of talking about and dealing with it don’t necessarily work as well for him.
* Bloomberg | Women’s Basketball Is Raking in More Cash Than Ever, But the Players Aren’t: The WNBA is projected to bring in between $180 million and $200 million in combined league and team revenue this year, up from about $102 million in 2019, according to people familiar with the matter. But players won’t see any of that extra bounty. Base salaries as a share of total revenue actually shrank to around 9.3% in fiscal 2022, which ended on Sept. 30, from 11.1% in fiscal 2019, according to an analysis by Bloomberg News.
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Early afternoon roundup
Monday, Apr 24, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
…Adding… From the comptroller’s office…
Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza announced Monday that Illinois’ total General Funds accounts payable has been paid down to less than $1 billion for the first time in 15 years.
April is generally the state’s best month fiscally as residents and businesses pay taxes. As of Monday morning, the accounts payable stood at $941 million, the lowest it has been since August 2008.
“Over the 6½ years I have been Comptroller, I have looked for every opportunity to steadily pay the state’s unpaid bills from a high of $16.7 billion – as a result of the budget impasse under a former governor – to where we have been for the past year, which has been generally less than $3 billion,” Comptroller Mendoza said. “That included refinancing some debt at a much lower interest rate and seeking out every opportunity for federal matching funds the state used to leave on the table.”
The steady repayment brought the state’s backlog of bills down to around $3 billion before a penny of the federal ARPA stimulus dollars landed in state coffers. The stimulus dollars went to pay the state’s COVID-related expenses, all of which can be tracked on the Comptroller’s website.
“During the impasse, state vendors often had to wait 210 business days to get paid,” Comptroller Mendoza said. “Today, my oldest bill is 16 days old. The state of Illinois is paying faster than the private sector. We’ve been on this shortened payment cycle for more than two years now, proving that Illinois is on a strong path to fiscal stability and predictability.”
* Bond Buyer…
Illinois navigated a rocky market to clear its $2.5 billion general obligation sale Wednesday, paying more on the shorter end than its bonds have been trading, but seeing healthy demand on the long end for the newly stamped-A level rated paper.
The mostly tax-exempt transaction took center stage this week amid a total of $11.5 billion of supply. The state received nearly $12 billion of orders on the sale from more than 130 investors including retail buyers, which the state attributed to being “a direct benefit of stronger ratings in the A category,” Paul Chatalas, capital markets director, said in a statement.
Market participants said the oversubscription came on the long end, which was reflected in the repricing to lower yields there in the final pricing scale. Some earlier maturities struggled and additional concessions were needed, reflecting the market’s current appetites and a correction that’s hammered the front end.
I need to find an AI translator to help me figure out what these stories actually mean. /s
* Good news…
* Missouri political analyst John Hancock on St. Louis’ Fox 2 regarding JB Pritzker and the presidency…
I’ll tell you what he would do from a historical standpoint. He would give William Howard Taft a run for his money.
That comment is basically one step above a common Twitter troll. Difference is, common Twitter trolls don’t get paid for their opinions.
* ComEd Four prosecutor…
But it did continue and Dominguez was never indicted.
* Weighted vote (added back after I cleared up some confusion)…
* Good news at NEIU…
The following is a joint statement from the Northeastern Illinois University Board of Trustees Chairman Jose Rico, Northeastern Illinois University President Gloria J. Gibson, and NEIU UPI President Nancy Matthews, Ph.D.
After a productive bargaining session today, we are pleased to announce that the university has reached a tentative agreement with the faculty union, UPI Local 4100. The union’s members will vote on ratification of the tentative agreement in the coming days, after which further details will be available.
* Press release…
State Rep. Sonya M. Harper, D-Chicago, is inviting citizens and stakeholders alike to the first Illinois Black Farmers & Growers Lobby Day, at the Illinois State Capitol, Wednesday, April 26 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“Agriculture is Illinois’ largest industry, and no state has a larger percentage of its land area under cultivation than we do,” Harper said. “And yet, we’ve continued to see that this industry faces widespread inequality in terms of access as well as outcomes for those members of minority communities who are a part of it. That has to change, and that’s why I’m leading the push for new policies aimed at promoting equity in agriculture.”
Throughout her career before and since becoming a legislator, Harper has been one of the strongest proponents in the state for policies to promote equitable and expanded access to healthy foods and for equity in the food and agricultural supply chain.
Wednesday’s event will include breakfast, a meet and greet as well as a press conference. Sponsors include the Black Oaks Center, Illinois Stewardship Alliance, Growing Home, Grow Greater Englewood, Urban Growers Collective, Green Era Campus, Cannabis Equity Illinois, Mia’s Heart Hemp Life and State Innovation Exchange. Lt. Governor Julianna Stratton and Director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture Jerry Costello II are also expected to attend.
* Press release…
Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias released his First 100 Days report today, highlighting his administration’s accomplishments since taking office in January.
The 16-page report reflects how the new Secretary has pursued an aggressive agenda to improve customer service, enhance services, protect consumers, and upgrade technology.
From implementing a comprehensive Executive Ethics Order on Day One to finding ways to reduce the Time Tax, which decreases the time spent waiting for government services, and from moving to overhaul the office’s archaic technology systems to pushing an aggressive legislative agenda, Giannoulias’ team has made significant strides to improve the lives of Illinois residents.
Click here for the list.
* I wrote up a piece for subscribers this morning on the Vallas lawsuit after spending part of the weekend kicking over rocks. When I finished, I realized I just didn’t care that much. But I do expect more fireworks in the future…
* Elon’s deliberate chaos has ensnared at least one Illinoisan…
* Isabel’s roundup…
* Center Square | Lawmakers could take ‘master class’ on corruption with ‘ComEd 4’ closing arguments set: State Rep. Ryan Spain, R-Peoria, said some changes he sees arising out of the trial is closing lobbying loopholes, making better disclosure on the origins of legislation, bringing reforms to how bills move out of committees, and how witness slips are managed.
* Scott Holland | Is it ever possible to simplify dozens of tax streams?: As of last Aug. 1 the share is 6.16% from individual, trust and estate income taxes and 6.85% of net collections of corporate income tax. CNI said each percentage point increase would divert about $250 million into the LGDF.
* Daily Herald | Arroyo, former jockey and steward, joins Illinois Racing Board: Arroyo was the senior state steward who judged races at Chicago-area tracks for decades, in a career that began in 1965 at age 21 as a groom, hot-walker and exercise boy at Sportsman’s Park. He started as a jockey the next year and competed in the Midwest, East Coast and Florida circuits until 1978.
* Crain’s | Longtime Evanston Hospital leader to retire: Evanston Hospital President Doug Silverstein will retire at the end of 2023 after a long career in Chicago and the hospitals that make up NorthShore University Health System. Silverstein, 65, who attended Northwestern University, first came to Evanston Hospital as a summer intern in 1981. He then spent 10 years at other Chicago health systems before returning to Evanston Hospital as a vice president in 1992, NorthShore said in a statement this morning.
* Yahoo Finance | Bed Bath & Beyond: How stock buybacks undermined the company: Would you believe that Bed and Bath has spent more than $11.7 billion to buy back almost three quarters of its own stock? At an average cost about 15 times the stock’s current price? And that only a couple of months ago, when it was already in desperate financial shape, it kept buying back its shares? (For no rational reason, as far as I can tell.)
* Crain’s | A decade after Rahm Emanuel closed nearly 50 schools, CPS faces a drastically different landscape: The different approaches of then and now have common challenges, including declining enrollments, underutilized schools, scarce resources and ever-present deficits. Families of color and those in low-income communities disproportionately bore the brunt of the Emanuel-era closures, and many say they continue to receive short shrift. Even as CPS enrollment has decreased, the demographic breakdown of students has remained constant. About 47% of students are Latino, 36% are Black and 11% are white. Now is the time to re-evaluate where CPS has been and see where it is — and should be — going.
* Belt Mag | Moses of Cairo (Illinois): As for the real Arabs, most people beyond Cairo had little idea that there were any of us living in Little Egypt, and outside my family, no one knew that I was a descendant of the first generation. Inside my family it was a different story. After school and during summers, I spent a lot time with my Arab grandmother, who moved to Mt. Vernon when I was in grade school. For her, there was no contradiction in being a down-home Arab in Southern Illinois. If she harbored any internalized oppression resulting from anti-Arab and anti-immigrant bias, it was hard to detect. From her retelling of our family’s history, we belonged in Southern Illinois; we were as Saluki as a person could be.
* WPSD | New grocery store set to open in Cairo, Illinois, ending food desert and boosting local economy: People there have lived without it for more than seven years, essentially creating a food desert. That will end soon, because a new co-op grocery is set to open soon called Rise Community Market.
* Statescoop | Maine introduces biometric privacy legislation modeled on Illinois ‘gold standard’: The Maine bill, which would require a written release from an individual before a private entity obtains or uses an individual’s biometric data — prohibit private entities from selling that information — is largely modeled on a 2008 Illinois law that’s considered a gold standard for biometrics privacy.
* NBC Chicago | Northern Lights Could Be Visible Sunday and Monday Night Illinois, Indiana and 28 Other States: NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center tweeted a “full-halo” CME, a large expulsion of plasma and magnetic field from the Sun’s corona, occurred Friday, explaining it was likely to cause “minor” to “moderate” geomagnetic storming on Sunday and Monday.
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Leftward tilt or just following the voters?
Monday, Apr 24, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Tribune has a story on the Democratic Party’s “leftward tilt” in Illinois and Chicago…
One major reason Democrats have not fractured so far is the political alternative — Republicans.
People, particularly in the suburbs, who might have once considered themselves moderate Republicans on social issues no longer fit into the narrow cast of what the GOP calls itself now, Mooney said.
And Pritzker said Republicans “have painted themselves into a terrible corner” on social issues.
“We are the party of reproductive rights. There’s nowhere else to go,” he said. “If you are a believer that women’s rights need to be protected, you are a Democrat and should vote for Democrats. If you’re a believer in public safety and protecting our children from being victims of mass shootings at schools, then you are a Democrat and should vote for Democrats.”
It’s also not a top-down phenomenon. Just look at what happened to former longtime state Rep. Mike Zalewski in the 2022 Democratic primary. He didn’t vote for a bill that deleted parental notification of abortion from the statute books and got hammered over it in the Bungalow Belt, even though many of his progressive colleagues endorsed him.
There’s also the Democratic primary win by staunch progressive Rachel Ventura (D-Joliet) over establishment, moderate, pro-union appointed Democratic incumbent Eric Mattson.
The best hope Republicans may have now is that the Democratic base pushes the party so far to the left that the GOP can somehow find a way back in. But, every time the Republicans think this has happened (SAFE-T Act, parental notification, cannabis legalization, trans rights, etc.), Illinois voters intervene to remind them that the Republicans are the ones who are way too far out of step. So far, the Democratic base here is clearly much closer to the general electorate than the Republican base.
* And the new reality is even making the Chicago “Illinois Exodus” Tribune take notice…
Although there is no data cataloging these moves, real estate experts said a number of households have relocated to Illinois, or are preparing to relocate, in search of a safer and more welcoming environment for the LGBTQ community.
Roman Patzner, a real estate agent with Fulton Grace Realty in Chicago, said relocation activity picked up after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, ending the constitutional right to an abortion and leaving many in the LGBTQ community worried about whether their same-sex marriage rights would continue to be protected.
“Because you had what was widely viewed as a federally protected right and the rug was pulled out from (under you),” Patzner said of Roe v. Wade. “In the LGBTQ community, everyone viewed that as a problem for marriage equality, federally.” […]
Redfin found that about half of 1,023 survey respondents among people who recently moved to a new metro area favored living in a place where it’s illegal to discriminate based on “gender/sexual orientation,” as of 2021.
I assume that number is higher two years later, now that so many bills have been signed into law in other states.
…Adding… Related…
* The conservative campaign to rewrite child labor laws: That law passed so swiftly and was met with such public outcry that Arkansas officials quickly approved a second measure increasing penalties on violators of the child labor codes the state had just weakened. … It’s one of several conservative groups that have long taken aim at all manner of government regulations or social safety net programs. The FGA is funded by a broad swath of ultraconservative and Republican donors — such as the Ed Uihlein Family Foundation [controlled by Richard Uihlein] and 85 Fund, a nonprofit connected to political operative Leonard Leo — who have similarly supported other conservative policy groups.
* Losing Ballot Issues on Abortion, G.O.P. Now Tries to Keep Them Off the Ballot: The biggest and most immediate fight is in Ohio, where a coalition of abortion rights groups is collecting signatures to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot in November that would prohibit the state from banning abortion before a fetus becomes viable outside the womb, at about 24 weeks of pregnancy. That would essentially establish on the state level what Roe did nationwide for five decades. Organizers were confident that the measure would reach the simple majority needed for passage, given polls showing that most Ohioans — like most Americans — support legalized abortion and disapprove of overturning Roe. But Republicans in the state legislature are advancing a ballot amendment of their own that would raise the percentage of votes required to pass future such measures to a 60 percent supermajority. The measure has passed the Ohio Senate and is expected to pass the House this week.
* Alabama education director ousted over teacher training book’s stance on race: Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Friday announced she replaced her director of early childhood education over the use of a teacher training book, written by a nationally recognized education group, that the Republican governor denounced as teaching “woke concepts” because of language about inclusion and structural racism.
* Florida drag performers balance pain and defiance as anti-LGBTQ+ laws loom: Murders of trans people have doubled over the last four years, according to the nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety. And a study by the Trevor Project found that, last year, 54% of Florida’s trans and nonbinary youth seriously considered suicide. From California to Oklahoma to Tennessee, right-wing activists toting AR-15s and firebombs have shut down drag brunches and children’s story hours. Last November, a gunman in Colorado Springs killed five people at a gay club that had hosted drag performances that day.
* In a thriving Michigan county, a community goes to war with itself: Moss and the board’s choice to run the county health department was Nathaniel Kelly, an HVAC service manager with degrees from an online university and no experience working in public health. Kelly, who did not respond to multiple requests for comment, had regularly pushed discredited covid treatments, such as the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin.
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