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Reader comments closed for the weekend
Friday, Jun 14, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller * War… Ridin’ ’round town with all the windows down
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Isabel’s afternoon roundup (Updated)
Friday, Jun 14, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Tribune | Bears CEO Kevin Warren added to state business development board: The governor plays no official role in selecting board members for Intersect Illinois, which was created under former Gov. Bruce Rauner, Pritzker’s Republican predecessor. The responsibility for picking board members falls to the Intersect board itself. * AP | Illinois is hit with cicada chaos. This is what it’s like to see, hear and feel billions of bugs: Cicada chaos is flourishing and flying. Trillions of once-hidden baby bugs are in the air, on the trees and perching upon people’s shirts, hats and even faces. They’re red-eyed, loud and frisky. “What you saw was biblical,” said biologist Gene Kritsky, who has been chasing periodical cicadas for 50 years, yet was still amazed by the 3 to 5 million cicadas crowding a small patch of Ryerson Conservation Area north of Chicago. “There are things I’ve seen this time that I’ve never seen before.” * WTTW | Ex-Ald. Ed Burke Seeking to Delay June Sentencing if US Supreme Court Hasn’t Yet Ruled on Separate Bribery Case: Burke’s attorneys on Friday filed a motion seeking to delay his upcoming June 24 sentencing date until sometime in mid-July if the Supreme Court has not yet ruled on an appeal filed by James Snyder, the former mayor of Portage, Indiana, who was convicted in 2021 of accepting a bribe. * CBS Chicago | Migrants frustrated at being forced out of Chicago shelters as city enforces 60-day stay limit: Rosa—who asked to have her identity shielded—has been in the Pilsen migrant shelter on South Halsted Street for months. Now, she, her husband, and her son are looking for an apartment because they were evicted from the Halsted Street shelter—and placed into another one an hour and a half away. […] As of Thursday, the city said about 6,700 migrants were living in city- or state-run shelters. Volunteers like Maria Perez are working to make sure the people still in shelters know what to do if they are evicted next. “This is your only option,” said Perez. “They don’t have any other options, you know, I mean—or they’re going to be put out on the street.” * Sun-Times | No extremist groups on list barring Chicago police officer membership, only street gangs: The document includes 675 gang factions that department members are forbidden from joining — but no hate or extremist groups. A police spokesperson indicated such groups will be identified on a case-by-case basis. […] “We do not want to be in a situation where a CPD member could point to this list and say, ‘Well, the KKK does not appear among the enumerated groups, and therefore there’s no problem with my affiliating with that group,’” [Inspector General Deborah Witzburg] said. * UPDATE: Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability: “The new policy focuses on prohibited behavior and makes clear that officers who engage in that behavior or associate with organizations that engage in that behavior can be disciplined. And that includes being fired. There is absolutely no requirement for an organization to be on a prohibited list in order for CPD to take action,” said Community Commission President Anthony Driver Jr. “Under the previous policy, you could put the Proud Boys on a list of organizations you couldn’t join, but then the Proud Boys could decide tomorrow to become the Nice Boys, and then members could say ‘I’m not a Proud Boy, I’m a Nice Boy, and that’s not on the list.’ That policy made it easier to avoid discipline and accountability. We don’t care what you call yourself, we care what you do.” “People who advocate for prejudice, discrimination, or efforts to overthrow or destroy the government have no home in the Chicago Police Department. They should not wear a badge or carry a gun. And reporters like Schuba and Mihalopoulos should help police officers and civilians to understand what the policy is and, together with oversight bodies like the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, work to hold CPD accountable for properly enforcing it,” Driver added. * Block Club | CTA Stops ‘Rave Train’ Planned For Saturday, Saying It Was Never Approved: “CTA was fully aware of what we were doing this whole time,” a spokesperson for Redline Chicago said in a Telegram chat about the rave train, which includes almost 8,000 members and discussion about where to buy drugs. * Block Club | Hotel Monaco Rebrands As L7 Chicago By Korean Luxury Hotel Chain: South Korea’s largest luxury hotel chain has made landfall with its first hotel in the United States, now open just steps away from Downtown’s Michigan Avenue. Lotte Hotel & Resorts bought the Kimpton Hotel Monaco at 225 N. Wabash Ave. in 2022 for $36 million, a steal thanks to the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic on Downtown real estate. * Daily Herald | Why Glen Ellyn police chief says Jimmy Buffett saved his life: In a news report about Buffet’s death last year from Merkel cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer, Norton heard a doctor recommend that you should visit a doctor “if you have a pimple that won’t heal.” “And I heard that and thought, ‘Well, you know, I had this thing that I thought was from shaving my head, and it was an irritation,’” Norton said. He got it checked out, and that “thing” turned out to be a basal cell carcinoma, a highly treatable form of skin cancer. A procedure known as Mohs surgery followed to remove it. * CBS CHicago | Tempers flare in Harvey, Illinois as business owners complain of unfair fines: South suburban Dolton has made headlines lately for chaotic confrontations at its village hall—as ongoing investigations of overspending often cause blow-ups between Mayor Tiffany Henyard and residents. On Thursday, tensions similarly boiled over in south suburban Harvey. Business owners there say they are being slapped with unnecessary fees—but city leaders said they need the money. * CBS Chicago | Chicago hospital ER closed to new patients due to sweltering heat inside: The emergency room at Community First Medical Center in the Portage Park neighborhood was placed on bypass Thursday. … “We are having to literally drown some of our patients in ice packs because we have no other way of keeping them cool,” one staff member said earlier this month. The issue was not new this month. CBS 2 addressed it with staff last year after an ER doctor shared a photo showing industrial fans in exterior doorways. * WSIL | Mt. Vernon medical center brings Dolly Parton Library to its business: Asbery & Associates will become a sign-up spot for mothers to join Parton’s library. The program gives free stories to children between birth and five years of age in hopes of establishing a love of reading and learning early on. Dr. and Mrs. Asbery expressed their belief that quality books help lead to a child’s success in a press release about the partnership. The Asberys can see how this fact aligns with the medical center’s mission of bridging the achievement gap around Southern Illinois.
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Et tu, Turow?
Friday, Jun 14, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller * Sigh…  * From Turow’s letter…
Maybe now we have some insights into why the G never went after Burke until relatively recently. He was their impressively smart buddy. A mentor, even. He apparently worked the refs quite well for decades.
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Rides For Moms Provides Transportation To Prenatal Care
Friday, Jun 14, 2024 - Posted by Advertising Department [The following is a paid advertisement.] Surgo Ventures partnered with Uber Health and local health centers to provide transportation assistance to expectant mothers facing transportation challenges to their prenatal appointments. Across one city, the initiative covered over 30,000 miles, ensuring over 450 participants reached their prenatal appointments without hassle. One participant shared, ‘There were days when I didn’t want to get up from bed. Knowing that someone was going to pick me up… made me feel safer.’ With programs like Rides for Moms, transportation is no longer a barrier for new mothers to access essential medical care. Learn more
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No quorum: COGFA panel unable to vote on Stateville and Logan prison recommendations (updated)
Friday, Jun 14, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Max Cotton…
…Adding… AFSCME…
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Open thread
Friday, Jun 14, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller * What’s going on? Keep it Illinois-centric please…
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Friday, Jun 14, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: IDOC holds public meeting on relocation of Lincoln women’s prison. 25News Now…
* Related stories…
∙ WICS: Community rallies against proposed relocation of Logan Correctional Center Governor Pritzker is back in Illinois after a trade mission in Canada. The governor will be in McCook today to announce a multi-year infrastructure improvement plan with the Illinois Department of Transportation. Click here at 2 pm to watch. Click here to view the AFL-CIO’s endorsements for the 2024 General Election. * Sun-Times | CTA Second Chance trainees say they faced discipline after complaining of burns from caustic cleaners: The approximately 240 people working in the [Chicago Transit Authority’s Second Chance job-training program] don’t get health insurance or paid sick time and make $15.80 an hour in the temporary jobs. Dorval Carter Jr., the CTA’s president, has touted Second Chance as “giving individuals with barriers to employment the opportunity to really turn their lives around and provide them with really good CTA union-paying jobs.” […] [T]he union is backing the Second Chance workers’ claims that exterior wash crew supervisors lean heavily on them to scrub the outsides of L trains with a heavy-duty acid cleaner that carries warnings about the chances for severe burns and requires the use of protective gear from head to toe. * Sun-Times | Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard federal probe looking into work of contractor who faces prison for bribery: At the urging of Mayor Tiffany Henyard, the village of Dolton paid a Summit construction company that’s been linked to multiple corruption investigations more than $200,000 for no-bid, no-contract work replacing senior homeowners’ roofs and windows. Now, federal investigators are seeking records from Dolton officials about the construction work by O.A.K.K. Construction Co., owned by Alex Nitchoff. His family was the longtime owner of a restaurant in Dolton, and the Chicago Sun-Times has reported that his late father Boris Nitchoff engaged in a scheme to clear hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid taxes from properties the family owned in the suburb. * WaPo | States bet on boosting taxes for online sports betting companies like DraftKings, FanDuel: DraftKings, FanDuel and other betting apps are facing a bigger tax hit in Illinois following changes to tax policy this year. New Jersey, Massachusetts and other states have also tried to raise taxes on the industry or plan to. […] The new policy puts Illinois’ top tax rate for online sports gambling operations in the same league as New York, which has a 51% top rate. New Jersey is considering doubling its tax rate to 30%. A proposal to boost Massachusetts’ rate from 20% to 51% failed in May. * WGEM | IL families to see new child tax credit: “The Illinois child tax credit is based off of what the federal government did during the pandemic to institute their own child tax credit to kind of give families that little extra boost,” said state Sen. Mike Halpin, D-Rock Island. The credit is open to families with kids ages 12 and younger who qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). It’s a federal and state credit for low- and middle-income earners. Families who qualify will add an additional 20% to their state EITC refund next year. That number jumps to 40% in subsequent years. * Capitol News Illinois | Illinois child tax credit: who gets it, how much is it?: Starting in tax year 2025, the state’s child tax credit will double to 40 percent of the state EITC, meaning that it will max out at a bit over $600 for families with three children. Because the federal tax credit that determines its size is tied to inflation, the actual size of future years’ child tax credits is yet to be determined. In its first year, the program is expected to cost the state $50 million, with a cost of about $100 million in subsequent years. * 21st Show | A report looks at how Illinois’ limited regulations on homeschooling leave children at risk: Thousands of children in our state are homeschooled. Parents who decide to homeschool are required by state law to follow the same educational standards as public schools. But the law doesn’t say how they have to go about that. The state can’t require parents to demonstrate how they teach, their curriculum or testing outcomes. As the regulations are set up now, it’s difficult for officials to investigate or intervene when homeschooling concerns arise. * Block Club Chicago | Juneteenth 2024: Here Are 40+ Parades, Marches, Barbecues And More To Celebrate: There are dozens of parades, barbecues, art shows, skating events, marches, festivals and other celebrations over the next two weeks to honor Juneteenth this year. Juneteenth is the federal holiday that commemorates June 19, 1865, when traveling federal troops informed the last groups of enslaved people living in Galveston, Texas, of the end of slavery in the United States two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. * WBEZ | CPS elementary reading scores rise, surpassing pre-pandemic levels: What district officials didn’t know, and were especially pleased to learn from a study from Harvard and Stanford universities, was that CPS was improving more than most other large districts in the nation, Martinez said. But, at the Joyce Foundation event Thursday, Harvard professor Tom Kane said the analysis might need to be revised later this year. * Tribune | Lightfoot to be visiting professor at University of Michigan: Lightfoot will join the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy as a visiting professor in the fall, the school wrote in a news release. The former mayor will teach a class on strategic public policy consulting alongside public policy and sociology professor Jeffrey Morenoff. Lightfoot graduated from the university as an undergraduate in 1984. * Daily Southtown | Economic development breakfast touts Will County’s economy, but notes lack of diverse housing and sufficient workforce: Doug Pryor, president and CEO of the Will County Center for Economic Development said Will County places in the top 20 of counties nationwide for new and expanding companies and for five years has held the top position in the state for job creation. However, the labor force for an area that’s principal industry is manufacturing has not kept up, despite a 26% total wage increase from 2019 to 2023, he said. * Tribune | County appoints insider as new inspector general: A new watchdog will be taking over the Cook County Office of the Independent Inspector General, responsible for rooting out waste, fraud and corruption across much of county government. The post, which has not had a permanent leader since the fall of 2022, will be filled by current Deputy IG Tirrell Paxton. County commissioners approved his appointment unanimously on Thursday. A certified public accountant and fraud examiner, Paxton has worked in the office for more than 14 years. In a hearing on his appointment on Wednesday, he pledged to “work diligently” to maintain the office’s progress since its founding in 2007. * WCCU | Illini 4,000 bike from New York to California to support cancer research: Throughout their ride, the Illini 4,000 stop in local communities across the country and sat down with individuals affected by cancer to hear their stories. The Illini 4,000 are expected to finish their ride around August 11th by crossing the Golden Gate Bridge in California. To keep up with the Illini 4,000’s journey, you can read their daily journals by clicking here. * KHQA | Illinois Department of Public Health fines Macomb nursing home $25,000: Macomb Post Acute Care Center located in Macomb, Illinois was one of four nursing homes in the area who were fined by the Illinois Department of Public Health over licensure violations. […] They found the facility had failed to implement fall interventions for a cognitively impaired resident and to prevent falls causing injury for other residents. * Sun-Times | Ex-Illinois star Terrence Shannon Jr., potential first-round NBA draft pick, not guilty of rape: Shannon’s lawyers called the allegations a “blind accusation” and questioned the motives of the woman. They also criticized the prosecutors in Douglas County for a lack of evidence and a Lawrence detective for the thoroughness of his investigation. Following the verdict, Illinois basketball coach Brad Underwood issued a statement of support: “I am thrilled for Terrence with the news of today’s verdict. Under six months of intense scrutiny, Terrence has shown tremendous composure, maturity, and focus.
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Live coverage
Friday, Jun 14, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller * You can click here or here to follow breaking news. It’s the best we can do unless or until Twitter gets its act together.
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Selected press releases (Live updates)
Friday, Jun 14, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Thursday, Jun 13, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* SJ-R | Everything you need to know about the Real ID ahead of 2025 deadline: “I strongly encourage residents who intend to fly to get their REAL ID as soon as possible to avoid future headaches,” Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said in a news release. “Our DMV facilities stand ready to help customers get their new driver’s licenses and identification cards before the federal deadline.” In charge of administering the licenses in the state is the Illinois secretary of state’s office, who said only 23.5% of Illinoisans had the license as of May. * Sun-Times | Bally’s won’t open permanent casino in River West by 2026, gaming expert says — and may not build it at all: Alan Woinski is the CEO of Gaming USA Corp. and editor of the Gaming Industry Daily Report. He has watched Detroit and New Orleans struggle to complete their ambitious casino projects. And in Chicago, he said he believes the financial hurdles now confronting Bally’s — including an $800 million construction funding gap and a buyout offer from its largest shareholder that’s roughly half of what it was two years ago — are infinitely worse. * BGA | Deferred Ethics Bill Continues Alarming Pattern: Ordinance proposed by the Chicago Board of Ethics and introduced by City Council ethics committee chair Ald. Matt Martin (47th Ward) got the slowroll treatment today, with Alds. Chris Taliaferro (29th Ward) and Nicholas Sposato (38th Ward) using a parliamentary procedure to defer the legislation until the next council meeting. The ordinance, which would codify enforcement powers for an existing ban on lobbyist contributions to incumbent mayors and expand the prohibition to non-incumbent candidates, passed out of the ethics committee last week over Mayor Brandon Johnson’s opposition, with Ald. Taliaferro the lone “nay” vote. * WTTW | Johnson Defends Decision to Begin Evicting Migrant Families With Children From City Shelters: Mayor Brandon Johnson on Wednesday defended his decision to begin evicting migrant families with school-age children from city shelters, even as more than half of adults had nowhere else to go when they were asked to leave. […] Everyone living in a city shelter will “receive case management and wraparound services to help them on their journey to independence,” according to Brandie Knazze, commissioner of Chicago’s Department of Family and Support Services. She added that meetings about migrants’ plans to leave shelters must take place 45 days before they are asked to leave, and then again 21 days before their eviction date. Eviction notices are delivered 10 days before people will be asked to leave and then again three days before the eviction date. * Block Club | Harold’s Chicken On 47th Street Shut Down By The State: Customers of a popular Harold’s Chicken restaurant in Bronzeville were greeted with a “Closed” sign this week after the state shut it down for “noncompliance.” The Harold’s at 503 E. 47th Street opened in November 2022. Details regarding its closure are unclear due to “taxpayer confidentiality provisions in the tax laws,” Illinois Department of Revenue spokesperson Maura Kownacki said. “In general, to be open and operate legally, the business must be in full compliance, or have a department approved payment plan,” Kownacki said. * WBEZ | What’s the lifespan of a book at the Chicago Public Library?: After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, Queen Victoria of Great Britain donated 8,000 books that would become the foundation of the Chicago Public Library collection. While none of those original books are currently in circulation, at least one title from around that time can still be checked out today. * Chicago Eater | Calumet Fisheries Reopens and Once More Proves it’s an America’s Classic:Calumet Fisheries is back and better than before with fans lining up around the corner for the smoked and fried seafood they’ve been missing for the last six months. The seafood shack has been closed since a November electrical fire. The restaurant re-opened at 9 a.m. sharp on Saturday, June 8. The timing was fitting as the James Beard Awards took place on Monday, June 10. In 2010, the Beard Foundation recognized Calumet Fisheries as an America’s Classic, an honor for timeless restaurants that have carved out a niche for excellence in a community. * Daily Herald | Operation Dropbox nets 8,000 pounds of supplies for veterans in McHenry County: Operation Dropbox, now in its fifth year, helps veterans in need in McHenry County. Officials said last year’s donations totaled about 5,400 pounds, and the number of drop-off sites tripled from 31 last year to 87, McHenry County Department of Health community information coordinator Nick Kubiak said. Veterans Path to Hope, a nonprofit that runs a shelter in Hebron, was the primary beneficiary of the donations. * Daily Herald | Despite opposition, gas station plan moves forward in Wheeling: After hours of discussion that included comments from critics, Wheeling’s plan commission on Wednesday night voted to recommend approval of plans for a gas station and other businesses on the village’s west side. But support for the proposed Gas N Wash operation on the northeast corner of Hintz and Old Buffalo Grove roads wasn’t unanimous. Two of the commission’s seven members — Steven Kasper and Rick Hyken — voted against three separate aspects of the proposal. Kasper cast the lone “no” vote on a fourth element of the plan. * WCIA | Champaign school board president signals to censure member: One of Baker’s main reasons in calling for a censure is her refusal to cooperate with filling the vacancies on the board. Holder said at that time the board was too decisive and the vacancies should be handled by the Regional Superintendent of Education and purposefully did not attend board meetings so quorum could not be met. “One of the board’s duties is to fill vacancies that occur on the board,” Baker said in a prepared statement. “Holder refused to participate in much of the process and refused to attend meetings, where the board was to interview and ultimately select board members. This is a dereliction of duties.” * WSIL | Carbondale receives funding from Department of Energy for clean energy investment: Carbondale will participate in the DOE’s Communities Local Energy Action Program (Communities LEAP). The program will give $18 million to 30 underrepresented communities across the nation to focus on clean energy and economic development. Most of these communities also have a tie to fossil fuel industries. “We are living in a moment of unprecedented potential that will require systems-thinking, strategic partnership, and a willingness to be seen trying,” said Carbondale’s Planner & Sustainability Coordinator Lauren Becker. “If you are an innovator, communicator, teacher, artist, you are needed and you are needed now. We are entering an age of collaboration like we’ve never seen before.” * NYT | This Top Democrat Is Leading His Party’s Attack on Trump as a Felon: “I can’t mince words when it comes to talking about who Donald Trump is,” Mr. Pritzker said in an interview on Wednesday. “It’s important, I think, for people to really refocus on the idea that: Do they really want a president who is a felon who faces jail time?” Mr. Pritzker’s aggressive approach comes with a warning for his fellow Democrats. In a fiery keynote speech last weekend at the Wisconsin Democratic Party’s convention in Milwaukee, he compared the party to the proverbial frog that does not realize the pot of slowly boiling water it sits in will soon be deadly.
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Caption contest!
Thursday, Jun 13, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Governor Pritzker in the driver’s seat of a Lion Electric school bus…
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Study: One out of nine Illinois prisoners were sentenced for illegal possession of a firearm
Thursday, Jun 13, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller * Loyola’s Center for Criminal Justice…
* As an aside, the Cook County Public Defender’s Office, the Illinois State Rifle Association and others backed a bill this spring to change the “unlawful use of a weapon” (UUW) charge’s name to “unlawful possession of a weapon,” because so many arrests were made of people who merely possessed a gun. The Illinois State’s Attorney Association and the Illinois Sheriffs’ Association were eventually moved to neutral. Anyway, discuss.
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Your feel-good story of the day
Thursday, Jun 13, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller * Press release…
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Pritzker: Supreme Court ruling protecting mifepristone access is a “small victory” in the fight to protect women’s rights
Thursday, Jun 13, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Press release…
* NPR…
* The 19th…
* NYT…
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Open thread
Thursday, Jun 13, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller * What’s up?…
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Thursday, Jun 13, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Communities, commission push Pritzker admin for more prison plan details. Capitol News Illinois…
- The Tuesday night public hearing was the first of two on the planned demolitions and closures that will be held by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability this week before it gives a nonbinding recommendation to the governor on Friday. - While the governor’s office has not announced an explicit plan for Logan’s rebuild, it has noted it plans to keep the current facility open until a new one is built on the grounds at the Stateville site. * Related stories…
∙ WTTW: At Stateville Closure Hearing, Agreement Over Poor Conditions Yet Questions Remain on Path Forward * Crain’s | Johnson all in on ‘game changer’ quantum center at South Works site: Sources inside and outside city government confirm Johnson and aides have crafted an incentive package with the state and Cook County intended to get California-based PsiQuantum to locate a new type of supercomputer on property developer Related Midwest is purchasing from USX, the corporate descendant of U.S. Steel, which once operated a huge plant in a swath of the city that’s never recovered from the closure of local steel mills decades ago. * NYT | Amtrak Pays Executives Six-Figure Bonuses as Losses Continue: Fourteen Amtrak executives received more than $200,000 each in incentive bonuses last year despite the service’s poor recent financial performance and struggles with its capital improvement projects, according to documents obtained by The New York Times. In 2023, Amtrak paid out more than $5 million in short- and long-term incentive bonuses to its executives even as the passenger rail service posted $1.7 billion in losses, according to records obtained from Senator Ted Cruz’s office. Particularly problematic for Amtrak has been its effort to upgrade its service on the Acela, a popular high-speed express route between Boston and Washington, D.C. * Closing Keynote | Illinois First Assistant Deputy Governor Ryan Croke discusses access to health insurance and investments in disability services: “What has driven the push for the Healthcare Protection Act in Illinois is an unyielding commitment on the part of the governor to expand healthcare, [and] to make healthcare more easily navigable for ordinary people across the state. I think that, in short, the expected outcomes are better access to care for a broader swath of our neighbors,” Croke said. * Agrinews | Lawmakers pass carbon capture guidelines: With multiple corporations targeting Illinois for underground carbon storage and the pipelines that go along with it, the General Assembly passed the Safety and Aid for the Environment in Carbon Capture and Sequestration Act on May 26. The legislation, if signed by the governor, includes a statewide moratorium on construction of carbon dioxide pipelines for two years or until the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has adopted revised federal safety standards, whichever comes first. * Sun-Times | New data on out-of-state abortion patients are a reason to keep abortion rights in mind this November: Nearly a quarter of patients traveled from 41 different states over the last two years, many from neighboring Wisconsin, which has banned abortions after 21 weeks and 6 days; and Indiana, where abortions are now completely banned. In the downstate Carbondale clinic, 90% of patients seeking abortions came from 16 states, many in the south, such as Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, Arkansas and elsewhere. * Sun-Times | Secretary of state brings the DMV to the driver: The Illinois secretary of state’s office unveiled its first unit Wednesday in Daley Plaza. The aim is to offer more flexibility for busy people who might not have time to drive to an office, stand in line and wait to be served. “Since taking office, it’s been our mission to make it easier and more convenient for Illinois residents to access government services without having to wait or travel to a DMV facility,” Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said. “Our DMV on Wheels program will build on the success of our digital programs, saving time by offering efficient ways to do things like renew your driver’s license or get a vehicle sticker without leaving their communities.” * ABC Chicago | City Council passes quiet zone ordinance for West Loop abortion clinic, defers vote on youth curfew: Anti-abortion members of the council on May 23 had stalled the second attempt in six months by 34th Ward Ald. Bill Conway to establish a “quiet zone” around the abortion clinic operated by Family Planning Associates at 659 W. Washington Blvd. The ordinance was taken up again today, and while it passed overwhelmingly, the vote was preceded by impassioned speeches on both sides of the debate that pitted women’s rights to access a health care facility against First Amendment rights of demonstrators. * Tribune | Alderman after retaliatory vote stall: ‘If you hit me with a bat, I’m going to shoot you with a gun’: La Spata used the tactic in April to prevent a vote on an ordinance sponsored by Moore that sought to give City Council control over the ShotSpotter gunshot detection system’s future. After the delay, the ordinance finally passed with broad council support in May, despite opposition from Mayor Brandon Johnson. “This was clearly payback,” Moore told the Tribune. “My thing is: Leave David Moore alone,” * Block Club | How Migrant Kids Struggle In Segregated Chicago Schools: 5 Takeaways From Our Investigation: From a lack of language support and long commutes to being unaware of their rights and options, migrant students and their families face many challenges in CPS schools. * Tribune | Chicago begins evicting entire migrant families from city shelters: Friday was the last day of school and family evictions began this past Monday. Four individuals exited the shelter system on Tuesday, the day after evictions started, according to a spokesperson at the city’s Department of Family & Support Services. About 40 people are expected to leave in the next week. Following a Chicago City Council meeting Wednesday, when asked how migrant children’s education might be disrupted by evictions, Johnson, a former CPS teacher, didn’t directly answer the question and instead said his ultimate goal was to help migrant families find houses of their own. * Crain’s | Chicago’s fastest-growing companies for 2024: This year’s winners saw five-year median revenue growth of an impressive 505% and an average revenue increase of 2,375%, driven by the enormous growers topping our list. Logistics, construction and consumer service sectors lead the way, with six companies apiece. For the past two years, the Fast 50 ranking has been dominated by startup logistics companies, and this year is no different, proving Chicago remains a significant industry hub. The logistics firms on the list generated $3.3 billion in revenue last year and averaged a 645% increase in revenue over the past five years * Daily Herald | 3 deputies shot while responding to northern Illinois home, suspect also wounded, official says: Three sheriff’s deputies were shot Wednesday while responding at a northern Illinois home, and the suspect was also wounded, authorities told reporters. Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle says the deputies were shot while responding to a report that someone inside the home was threatening to kill themself or others. He said the suspect also was shot. * Rockford Register Star | Sheriff: Three deputies, suspect shot in Ogle County, Illinois, standoff: Unable to talk to the individual, deputies tried to enter the home shortly before noon, which is when three deputies were shot, VanVickle said. The deputies returned gunfire and struck the individual with the gun. […] During a news conference Wednesday afternoon, VanVickle said neither the deputies nor the suspect were seriously injured. The names of the deputies and the suspect were not released. * Rock River Current | ‘The Wait Is Over’: Hard Rock Casino Has Announced Its Opening Date In Rockford: The casino will include nearly 1,300 slot machines, 50 live table games including a poker room, a sportsbook, six restaurants and a Rock Shop with Hard Rock merchandise and other gifts. Hard Rock said at this time a year ago that its goal would be to open by Labor Day weekend 2024. The opening will happen the Thursday leading into that weekend. * News-Gazette | Board president calls to censure Holder: Tensions between members of the Champaign School Board hit a boiling point early Tuesday morning, as board President Gianina Baker called for a censure of member Betsy Holder for “misconduct unbecoming a board member.” “There is enough evidence that (Superintendent) Dr. (Shelia) Boozer could pursue litigation of member Holder and ultimately the board for creating a hostile work environment,” Baker said. […] Holder said that she’s being attacked for her attempts to shed light on issues within the district and for her disagreements with Baker. * BND | Owner of O’Fallon, Alton restaurants kept servers’ tips, didn’t pay full wages, feds say: The owner of two IHOP franchises in O’Fallon and Alton allegedly violated federal wage regulations, including keeping servers’ tips and failing to pay overtime, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found. The labor department is now suing the owner, Khalid Ramadan, for approximately $367,890 in compensation and damages for 179 IHOP workers. It also sanctioned him with a civil money penalty of $199,577. * SJ-R | Illinois State Police trooper injured after crashing into highway median near Springfield: An Illinois State Police trooper suffered injuries in a motorcycle wreck in Sangamon County Wednesday morning. The single-vehicle crash happened on Interstate 55 northbound near Sherman north of Springfield just after 7 a.m. […] A preliminary investigation by ISP indicated that “for unknown reasons,” the trooper’s motorcycle left the roadway striking the center median. * The Pantagraph | Heartland approves file request for state funds, hears tentative FY25 budget: Heartland Community College plans to ask the state for $110 million for new health science, science and vocational training facilities, but joining the state’s list of higher education capital projects is no guarantee when or if it will get the money. Heartland’s trustees heard on Tuesday about the college’s submissions for the state’s Resource Allocation and Management Program through the Illinois Board of Higher Education. * Pantagraph | Besides Illinois, where do the most ISU alumni live?: In terms of Illinois State University and where its alumni live now, Illinois naturally is the leader. There are 143,134 ISU alumni still in state, according to ISU statistics. But can you name the next most popular locales of ISU alums to live? (Hint: It’s not either neighboring Indiana, Missouri, Wisconsin or Kentucky.) Florida is the next best place to live for ISU alums. There are 5,689 ISU alums there. Next: Texas (4,787), California (4,136), Indiana (3,543) and Arizona (3,336). * NYT | Democrats Plan to Turn Statehouses Blue by Dishing Out Green: The States Project, a Democratic-aligned group, is set to announce a plan to spend $70 million in legislative battles in nine states, according to a memo I obtained, one of the largest investments in such races by a single outside Democratic-leaning group in recent history. They plan to send the funds directly to candidates and groups on the ground, who can decide how best to use it. […] The States Project, which has emerged as a crucial weapon for Democrats focused solely on state legislatures, is targeting competitive races in Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, while also hoping to build a Democratic supermajority in Nevada. The organization is also aiming to break up Republican supermajorities in North Carolina and Kansas, arguing that it can often take just a seat or two to have a major impact on state policy.
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition
Thursday, Jun 13, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)
Thursday, Jun 13, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Live coverage
Thursday, Jun 13, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller * You can click here or here to follow breaking news. It’s the best we can do unless or until Twitter gets its act together.
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Selected press releases (Live updates)
Thursday, Jun 13, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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