* Press release…

Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias announced a settlement agreement today with online used-car retailer Carvana, which admitted to violating Illinois law and agreed to abide by new restrictions aimed at protecting consumers. Illinois was the first state in the nation to suspend Carvana’s license in May 2022.

“The admission by Carvana demonstrates what we knew all along: that Carvana was violating the law in a manner that was harmful to Illinois consumers,” Giannoulias said. “Under my administration, I will do everything to ensure that proper safeguards are in place that protect Illinois consumers regardless of how they purchase a vehicle.”

Click here to watch a video statement from Secretary Giannoulias.

Illinois began investigating Carvana’s practices in February 2022 after customers alleged it was issuing out-of-state temporary registration permits and for failing to transfer titles in a timely manner as required by the state’s vehicle code.

The agreement also calls for Carvana to: adhere to Illinois law in the future; surrender its $250,000 bond; and allow for pre- and post-licensing Secretary of State Police inspections to ensure it remains in compliance. Most important, the settlement agreement allows the Illinois Secretary of State to summarily suspend and revoke Carvana’s dealership license once again if it fails to comply with either the agreement or the laws.

Secretary Giannoulias emphasized that Carvana’s actions of putting unregistered license plates on vehicles jeopardized Illinois consumers who were at risk of being ticketed by law enforcement for driving without proper title and registration.

Prior to the settlement agreement, Carvana was allowed to sell cars, but only under strict guidelines set forth by a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) granted by a DuPage County judge. Under these guidelines, Carvana was not allowed to issue temporary registration permits or license plates, but was required to register titles through Illinois remitters, which are third-party entities licensed in Illinois to process title transactions. This ensured titles would be processed expeditiously.

…Adding… From Carvana…

Carvana, a pioneer in the automotive industry, will continue selling and buying vehicles using the Company’s innovative e-commerce platform as well as its iconic car vending machine located in Oak Brook, Illinois under an agreement reached today with the Illinois Secretary of State.
Upon reaching this agreement, the Company issued the following statement:

“For the past eight years, we have been an economic engine in the state by providing Illinoisans with an unmatched e-commerce experience that includes great selection, home delivery and a 7-day money back guarantee and today’s agreement with the Secretary of State allows us to move forward in our journey to becoming the largest automotive retailer,” said Alan Hoffman, Carvana Head of Corporate Affairs. “We look forward to working with Secretary Giannoulias to ensure customers continue having access to the best car buying and selling experience possible.”

* Chicago Tribune editorial headline from 2016…

Say ‘no’ to more Chicago business mandates, including paid sick time

Chicago Tribune editorial headline from today…

A week’s paid leave? What took Illinois so long?

* Press release…

Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) today announced that $113.8 million has been awarded to downstate transit providers as part of the historic, bipartisan Rebuild Illinois capital program. The funding brings the total investment in downstate transit via competitive grants to $337.8 million, supporting the Governor’s mission to create economic opportunity by improving all modes of transportation while boosting safety and efficiency. […]

Today’s announcement, made in Decatur to celebrate three awards that will help expand the city’s transit campus, install solar panels on a bus barn, and replace older vehicles with hybrids, represents the third round of competitive grants in Rebuild Illinois funding to invest in transit outside the Chicago area. Awards are supporting projects that include the purchase of new vehicles as well as the construction of bus shelters, plus stations and maintenance facilities that expand and improve service. The projects provide more transportation options in downstate communities and promote an enhanced quality of life. […]

A total of 32 transit systems are receiving $113.8 million to advance 44 projects, including:

• St. Clair County Transit District, $10.8 million for the electrification of transit vehicles with supporting charging stations.
• Champaign–Urbana Mass Transit District, $7.2 million for hybrid bus replacement.
• Rock Island County Metropolitan Mass Transit District (MetroLINK), $6 million to replace six buses with zero emission buses.
• Sangamon Mass Transit District, $6.9 million for a secondary transfer center.
• Coles County, $70,000 for new bus passenger shelters.
• City of Macomb and McDonough County Public Transportation, $2 million for new buses.

* Something that’s been noted by many since last year’s campaign is the number of junk polls, mainly GOP in origin, flooding the discourse and skewing the average to make a “Red Wave” look much bigger than it turned out to be. As a result, some money shifted away from competitive races to shore up what had been presumed to be comfortable Democratic incumbents. An argument can be made that this may have cost Wisconsin Democrats a Senate seat, among others. And, right here in Illinois, junk polls were used to try to stir up money for and news media interest in Republican candidates who wound up being clobbered. Is this happening again in the city’s mayor’s race?

Here’s a Paul Vallas campaign press release. The first poll is from a GOP pollster and the second is not verifiable…

According to an independent poll by M3 Strategies, mayoral candidate Paul Vallas is now leading the field in the race for Chicago Mayor with 26% of the vote. Vallas is followed by Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson, with Mayor Lori Lightfoot in fourth and businessman Willie Wilson in fifth place among the nine candidate field.

“These polling results prove what our campaign already knew — that Paul Vallas is surging and establishing himself as a frontrunner in the race for Mayor,” said Vallas campaign chief strategist Joe Trippi. “Paul’s message of putting crime and Chicago’s safety first is clearly resonating with the voters and our campaign has the financial resources and support necessary to continue driving that message home over the next six weeks.”

The results of the poll are consistent with another that was reportedly done on behalf of the SEIU Healthcare union, which also shows Vallas in the lead with 32% of the vote.

Yeah, about that second “poll”…

SEIU Healthcare Illinois issued the following response to coverage by NBC 5 concerning a poll attributed to SEIU Healthcare:

NBC 5 recently reported on a poll “conducted by Celinda Lake with SEIU Healthcare” stating that NBC had reached out to SEIU Healthcare concerning the poll but had “not yet heard back” from us.

This is not our poll. Our only knowledge of this poll has come from media sources. We are not currently working with Celinda Lake on any polling projects.

We communicated this information to NBC 5’s Mary Ann Ahern on Sunday evening.

And yet the Vallas campaign still flung it out there.

* Mayoral candidate Brandon Johnson’s website…

Audit Lightfoot’s Inefficient Spending to Save Half a Billion

Ah, yes, the ol’ waste, fraud and abuse approach.

More magic…

Stop Raising Property Taxes

…Adding… Has anyone told him he lost?…

Enough with this nonsense! The Republican Party wants to distract from their failures by blaming the candidates that…

Posted by Darren Bailey on Tuesday, January 24, 2023

* Isabel’s roundup…

* WTVO | New Illinois House Budgeteer first woman, African-American to hold position: The Illinois House of Representatives has a new Chief Budgeteer, and she is making history with the new title. Representative Jehan Gordon-Booth is now the first woman, and first African American lawmaker to run budget negotiations for the House.

* ABC Chicago | Hundreds pack DuPage County Board meeting to criticize, laud sheriff over assault weapons ban: On Tuesday morning, DuPage County residents from both sides of the aisle, both for and against the ban, filled the county board meeting rooms, passionate about how they feel about this new law.

* Chalkbeat | Illinois public school enrollment continues to drop, preliminary numbers show: Preliminary data released last week by the Illinois State Board of Education shows overall enrollment dropped by about 31,000 students — or 1.7% — between last school year and the current one, according to numbers as of Dec. 14. Chicago Public Schools accounts for at least a quarter of the decline. The district lost 9,000 students and its place as the third largest school district in the country.

* Tribune | Who are the candidates for mayor of Chicago?: Voters in Chicago will head to the polls on Feb. 28 to cast their ballot for mayor, 50 aldermanic seats, the city clerk and city treasurer. There are nine candidates running for Chicago mayor. Here’s what you need to know about each of them.

* Center Square | Illinois lawmaker demands change at embattled child services agency: State Rep. Dan Ugaste can’t see how Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker can remain silent about all the turmoil now going on at the Department of Children and Family Services. “We’ve been pressing the governor for over a year now about all the chaos at DCFS and he simply chooses not to respond,” Ugaste told The Center Square. “I’m again calling on him to do something about the situation that only seems to be getting worse by the day.”

* Tribune | Chicago is a key battleground as railroads struggle to figure out the future: The turbulent week stands as an apt metaphor for the state of the nation’s railroads, and the role of Chicago and its suburbs as the biggest freight hub. They’re key battlegrounds as the U.S. struggles to decide what sustainable growth means, and whether it’s possible.

* Sun-Times | Is ShotSpotter missing the mark?: We also see it as yet another flaw with the high-priced system. It was sold to the Chicago Police (and other departments more than 140 cities) as a law enforcement tool that is accurate and technologically-advanced — with heavy emphasis on the ‘technology’ part — but time and again, it has proven to be considerably less-than-advertised.

* Crain’s | City touts ’social bonds’ sale as success: According to the city, 8% of the bond offering, or $12 million, went to Chicago retail investors who were able to make investments from a minimum of $1,000 up to $1 million. Illinois residents made up 24%, or $38 million, of the purchases. And $88 million in orders came from “11 ESG-focused investors,” following outreach to the ESG market ahead of the offering to learn how to structure what services the city would fund with the bond proceeds.

* KFVS | Southern Illinois native appointed new IDNR director: SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (KFVS) - A former Illinois State Representative and southern Illinois native has been named the new director of Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Governor JB Pritzker appointed Natalie Phelps Finnie to lead IDNR on Monday, January 23.

* Daily Herald | Northern Illinois Food Bank launches innovative food finder map to help connect neighbors with food pantries and programs: Northern Illinois Food Bank in Geneva recently launched Vivery, an innovative platform and digital Food Finder map helping neighbors experiencing food insecurity connect with vital food resources in their community and surrounding areas. The new mobile-friendly map increases access to the fresh and nutritious food neighbors need to thrive.

* Center Square | High operating expenses tempering Illinois farmer optimism for 2023: “It looks like 2023 is going to be another good income year – but down from the recent years because of high operating costs,” ag economist Gary Schnitkey of the University of Illinois told The Center Square.

* Crain’s | Rivian’s chief lobbyist is leaving the company: His departure comes after several top executives at the startup, including the vice president overseeing body engineering, its supply-chain chief and general counsel, have exited in recent months as the company seeks to implement cost-cutting measures.

* The Guardian | Ohio Republicans accused of taking $60m in bribes as corruption trial opens: The trial, which is expected to last six weeks, is the latest utility scandal following cases in the last 10 years in Arizona, Louisiana, Alabama and Florida which experts say has led to higher bills for consumers, less green energy, and more CO2 emissions.

* AP | EPA considers tougher regulation of livestock farm pollution: EPA has not revised its rules dealing with the nation’s largest animal operations — which hold thousands of hogs, chickens and cattle — since 2008. The agency said in 2021 it planned no changes but announced Friday it had reconsidered in response to an environmental group’s lawsuit.

* SJ-R | Here’s what you need to know about the snow headed to Springfield and central Illinois: A relatively quiet winter in central Illinois is about to get a bit busier this week, with nearly half-a-foot of snow expected for much of the area. The National Weather Service in Lincoln has issued a winter weather advisory for Sangamon County and areas north of Interstate 72, beginning at 9 p.m. and continuing through Wednesday. NWS says that 2-6 inches of snow are expected for areas in this band, with slick roads coming as a result of the blanketing.

* Sun-Times | Thousands of letters — some sent from Chicago nearly 2 centuries ago — up for auction: One piece of mail on the block features faded red fountain pen looping across an envelope mailed in 1833 from Chicago to Connecticut. Another is an envelope from the 1860s with the words “Death to Traitors” stamped in one corner — which showed support for the North during the Civil War.