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Tuesday, Sep 3, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Tuesday, Sep 3, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

There is no evidence a group of migrants took over a Washington Park apartment complex Monday, a false claim that went viral on social media and was amplified by Elon Musk.

A 911 call was made Monday night, saying there were “32 Venezuelans” trespassing in a building on the 6100 block of King Drive, “showing guns in the courtyard” and packing the courtyard and stairwells, according to scanner audio archived by crimeisdown.com.

Chicago police spokesperson Peggy Benz on Tuesday confirmed officers responded to a call for service to the building, but officers found nothing matching the report at the scene did not generate a police report for the incident. […]

A clip of the police dispatch radio relaying the 911 call was spread by major social media accounts including Libs of TikTok, an infamous right wing account known for targeting members of the LGBTQ+ community. The account’s tweet on the migrant takeover has over 9 million views.

Musk — who owns the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter — reposted the audio along with exclamation points. The unverified claim was trending on X, making the platform’s “explore” page with the caption “Venezuelan Group Overruns Chicago Apartment.”

* WGN…

llinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias on Tuesday launched a new program in partnership with the state’s Board of Education that aims to get more young people signed up as organ and tissue donors.

Under the new LEAD program, which stands for Lifesaving Education and Awareness on Donation, high school students who receive training and tout the message of donation will receive 20 hours of community service credits to be used on college or trade school applications. […]

His office says about 4,000 people across the state are currently waiting for a transplant. One donor may save up to 25 lives.

Giannoulias said he believes the LEAD program is the first-of-its-kind in the nation.

*** Chicago ***

* WTTW | Federal Judge Who Ruled Ald. Gardiner Violated First Amendment Admonishes Him for Approaching Her: U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman said she was attending the June funeral of U.S. District Court Judge Harry Leinenweber with the other judges who worked alongside the renowned jurist at the Dirksen courthouse when Gardiner approached her. […] Johnson Coleman told Gardiner’s attorney, Brian Wilson of Nathan & Kamionski LLP, to tell the alderperson that his behavior was inappropriate. Wilson agreed to do so.

* Crain’s | NAR says it will take fight with DOJ to Supreme Court: The National Association of Realtors plans to ask the Supreme Court to prevent the U.S. Department of Justice from restarting an investigation into the Chicago-based trade group’s practices around commissions. The move adds more uncertainty to the question of when the process of homebuying will start evolving toward a new standard practice for getting buyers’ agents paid for the work they do in a deal. NAR intends to petition the Supreme Court by Oct. 10, it said in an Aug. 29 court filing.

* WTTW | Chicago’s Top Cop Says Department’s Handling of DNC Protests Show ‘Transformation’; Reform Advocates Say Celebration is ‘Premature’: Just eight complaints of police misconduct were filed with the Civilian Office of Police Accountability between Aug. 18-22, records show. By comparison, there were 591 misconduct complaints filed between May 29, 2020, and June 11, 2020, the height of the protests after Floyd’s murder. […] “Some of our worst fears did not come to pass” during the DNC, said Alexandra Block, director of the Criminal Legal System and Policing Project at the ACLU of Illinois, which forced CPD to revise its mass arrest policy. “What remains to be seen is what does CPD do when the glare of the national and international media spotlight isn’t on them, in the same way it was during the DNC.”

* Sun-Times | White Sox DFA Touki Toussaint, recall Matt Foster: The White Sox are designating right-hander Touki Toussaint for assignment and replacing him on the active roster with righty Matt Foster, the team announced Tuesday. Foster has appeared in two games for the Sox this season, allowing no runs over three innings. He will be available when the Sox play the Orioles Tuesday night at Camden Yards. Toussaint (7.43 ERA this season) allowed 19 earned runs on 35 hits and 18 walks over 23 innings covering 11 relief appearances in 2024. In the Sox’ 13-3 loss to the Orioles Monday, the team’s 11th defeat in a row, he gave up four runs on seven hits and two walks in 2 2/3 innings.

* Block Club | Meg And The Wheelers’ Unique Brand Of Honky-Tonk Sounds Right At Home In Chicago: Cue the rhinestones, cowboy boots and pearl button western wear — Meg and the Wheelers are taking the stage. The band is part of the lineup at the free Block Club Block Party noon-8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, at the McCormick YMCA, 1834 N. Lawndale Ave. They are scheduled to play at 6 p.m.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* ABC Chicago | ComEd gives Village of Skokie $45K for electrical vehicle project: The funds are meant to help the village fund its project to electrify its municipal fleet. The village is working to buy all-electric models for the public works, police and fire departments.

* Tribune | Evanston adjusts liquor license for Northwestern football game schedules that are TBD: Because the Martin Stadium seats only 12,000 people, Northwestern is providing space for tailgating and watching the game on TV screens for 3,000 more people in a lakeside area just south of the temporary stadium, said Eliza Larson, a spokeswoman for the university. “Because the temporary stadium is so small and has limited seating, it’s far less than the real Ryan Field,” Ware said. “They knew they would not be able to get everyone who wanted to attend into the game.”

* Crain’s | In Ravinia v. Ravinia, both sides bury the hatchet — and the brewery name: Ravinia Brewing Company and Ravinia Festival reached a settlement agreement nearly a year after the festival sued the beer maker with allegations of trademark infringement. The brewing company will roll out a new name and new brand, according to a joint statement from the two parties. The festival will be “providing assistance during the transition,” the statement said.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora Public Library turns ‘things up about 10 notches’ for Comic and Pop Culture Extravaganza: Allison Lanthrum, events and program coordinator for the library, said she has overseen three of the five yearly Comic and Pop Culture Extravaganzas which “began during the pandemic when it was completely virtual.” […] Some of Saturday’s highlights, Lanthrum said, included a professional “foam-smith” named Maker Fishmeal “who is carving giant blocks of foam into oversized props and set pieces.”

* Tribune | Hinsdale Little League program continues to be most successful at state level: A recent trip to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, was a first for the Hinsdale Little League in a tournament that included 10 U.S. teams and the same number of international teams with players aged 12 and under. The Hinsdale boys were eliminated with losses in their first two games. However, on a local level, the Hinsdale Little League has easily been the most successful in Illinois. And on a more local level, Hinsdale has been dominant. Since claiming its first state title in 2017, Hinsdale has added three additional Illinois championships: in 2021, 2022 and 2024.

*** Downstate ***

* Capitol City Now | Massey Commission to hold first listening session: The commission that was formed in response to the murder of Sonya Massey in July will hold its first listening session this month. The goal of the session, according to a press release issued Tuesday by Sangamon County, is to understand the public’s hopes and concerns before finalizing its formal mission and goals.

* WCIA | Decatur Police investigating after bronze Lincoln head found at City Hall: The Decatur Police Department is investigating after a bronze head of Abraham Lincoln, believed to be from a bust or statue, was found outside Decatur City Hall. Police are considering this to be an act of criminal damage. […] Decatur Police have yet to locate Lincoln’s body or identify the person who dropped the head off.

* Southland Journal | Rep. Rita Joins State, Local Officials to Celebrate Opening of Rockford Casino: Rep. Rita, D-Blue Island, joined state and local officials Thursday, Aug. 29, in Rockford for the debut of the $300 million Hard Rock Casino Rockford. It is one of six casinos fueling economic activity and job growth in communities across Illinois, as part of a legislative package pushed through the Legislature by Rep. Rita in 2019. The new 175,000-square-foot casino features nearly 1,300 slot machines, 50 live table games including poker, a sportsbook, and a 1,600 seat Hard Rock Live entertainment venue drawing major musical artists. Players can enjoy several dining options in the casino and dozens of music memorabilia items are on display including guitars owned by Rockford native and Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen.

* WCIA | Hoopeston celebrates 80th annual National Sweetcorn Festival: For eight decades, Hoopeston has been adding their own twist to the holiday of Labor Day. On Monday, residents celebrated the 80th Annual National Sweetcorn Festival. Each year, nearly 50,000 ears of corn gets cooked for the community, with people coming from all over to have a good time and try some of the ears of sweetcorn.

*** National ***

* NYT | From School Librarian to Activist: ‘The Hate Level and the Vitriol Is Unreal’: One Sunday morning two years ago, Amanda Jones, a middle school librarian in Watson, La., woke up and saw an email on her phone that left her shaking and breathless. The expletive-laced message from a stranger accused her of being a pedophile and a groomer, and concluded with a threat: “You can’t hide. We know where you work + live. You have a LARGE target on your back,” it said. “Click … Click … see you soon!” It was part of a deluge of online threats and harassment that Jones has faced since the summer of 2022, when she was one of around 20 people to speak out against book banning during a July meeting at her local public library.

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Davis Gates to the governor: ‘How do you summarily dismiss people who need?’

Tuesday, Sep 3, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Fran Spielman…

Tension between the CTU and CPS is largely spurred by differences over how to address a structural budget deficit and historical underfunding.

The union has advocated for a more aggressive approach: settling the contract, then joining with CPS officials to try to force Gov. JB Pritzker and state lawmakers to provide the money. […]

[Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates] said it’s not her job to figure out how to pay for a new teachers contract or where the money comes from.

“You can go to Jamie Dimon at Morgan Chase and tell them to renegotiate those toxic payday loans from the Rahm Emanuel and Bruce Rauner era. … You can figure out how to tax the rich and have those proceeds go to schools,” she said.

* More from the interview…

Fran Spielman: Pritzker says there’s not going to be any more state funding. He has made increases that are fiscally responsible for the state, and that’s all he he is able to do.

Stacy Davis Gates: Well, maybe Chicago would like to have a word with him.

Spielman: What do you mean?

Davis Gates: How do you summarily dismiss people who need? We serve the highest number of children of color in this state, the highest number of children existing in low income environments in this state. At the same time, this city puts a whole lot into Illinois. How do you refuse the children of Chicago? Like, how do you do that? I don’t even understand why. I just don’t I don’t understand, I’ve never understood it. I didn’t understand it when it was Bruce Rauner. Right? I didn’t understand it when it was Pat Quinn. I just don’t understand it. I don’t understand why we are so okay with good enough. Good enough for those kids that go to the Chicago Public Schools, good enough for those kids on the South Side of Chicago. And here’s the trick, even the kids up North are getting cheated because their parents are both paying tuition by creating the ‘Friends of’ and they’re paying taxes. So whether you are White parent in Chicago or a Black parent in Chicago, you are not getting the reciprocity from our investment in this region and in the state. And I think we need to have a word on that.

Spielman: Your demands include a 9% annual pay raise or the rate of inflation, whichever is higher, and a host of other add-ons that the Martinez administration claims would push CPS into a $2.9 billion deficit next year. Where is that money supposed to come from?

Davis Gates: I said very clearly, Fran, that we need to create revenue streams that reflect the investment that Chicago puts into this region and in this state. I think that question has already gotten an answer. For me to be perfectly honest with you, the question is, why don’t we already fund schools? Why is it okay to have a teacher shortage? Why don’t we pay teachers their actual worth? See, the question about, where are you going to get the money. Actually, my job is to as a leader, a civic leader, a parent, a resident of this city, a union leader, is to create pathways where people who need the advocacy can get the advocacy. For years, our union has offered revenue idea after revenue idea. We’ve said, sue the banks, get some money back, figure it out. So the question about where you get it from, that question has been posed to us like no other labor union, I might add, no other labor union get asked the question, how are you going to bargain for what you need in your workplace, what you need in your space, and how are you going to pay for it? Actually, the boss gets to tell us how they get to pay for what are their ideas to win the revenue, our job is to push to envision, to make better. But at the same time, this union has taken on that responsibility, and we have provided clarity and guidance on how this could potentially work. But again, Fran, this is a group project, right? We’re not the only ones out here who should be doing the work. We need the governor. We need the mayor. We need the [garbled] education. We need CEO Pedro Martinez. We need state legislators to understand that the only thing we win at together, where no one loses, is figuring out how to fund our schools and offering our young people what they need in Chicago and Cahokia and East St Louis and in Pontiac, no one loses figuring out how to fund schools. Corporations don’t lose, small businesses don’t lose, politicians don’t lose, families don’t lose, unions don’t lose. But most of all, students win.

As we’ve discussed before, the total statewide amount the CTU wants is $5.47 billion a year. And the mayor has never asked the governor or legislative leaders for that money.

* Also, while Chicago is definitely a strong regional economic engine, it gets back most of the money it sends to the state. The suburbs send almost twice is much to the state as they receive…

[Research by the Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Paul Simon Public Policy Institute] breaks the state’s 102 counties into six specific regions, including Cook County, a five-county suburban section that surrounds Cook County, and the 96 remaining downstate regions which are subdivided into north, central, southwest and southern regions.

The research shows the south region receives $2.81 in state funds for every $1 generated. The Central Illinois region of 50 counties receives $1.87 back for every $1.00 sent to Springfield. All of the downstate regions receive more from the state budget than they pay in taxes. By comparison, Cook County receives 90 cents for every $1, and the suburban counties only 53 cents for every $1 generated.

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Federal judge tries to head off Trump-related headline in ruling on mass transit concealed carry (Updated)

Tuesday, Sep 3, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Tribune…

A federal judge in Rockford ruled it unconstitutional for Illinoisans with concealed carry permits to be prohibited from carrying guns on public transportation, a decision with uncertain implications for a decade-old state law.

The decision was a result of a 2022 lawsuit filed by four people who alleged the section of Illinois’ concealed carry law that bars holders of concealed carry licenses, or CCLs, from carrying the guns on public buses or trains violated their Second Amendment right to self-defense under the U.S. Constitution.

At issue in U.S. District Judge Iain Johnston’s ruling was a constitutional test requiring gun laws to be “historically” consistent with laws on the books in the 18th century, when the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms was written, or before that.

This arose from the landmark 2022 case of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, in which the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative 6-3 majority established the new constitutional standard, which will also take center stage later this month when a federal judge representing southern Illinois hears arguments over the constitutionality of the state’s ban on so-called assault weapons. […]

On Monday, the plaintiffs’ attorney, David Sigale, welcomed the ruling and said that while its “technical impact is unclear” and mentions only his four clients, “the court’s analysis and ultimate declaration of unconstitutionality is arguably applicable to any CCL holder on any public transportation in Illinois.” Sigale still recommended that “until the judgment is final and the broader applicability is made clear,” CCL holders should continue to follow the law as written so they don’t have any trouble with authorities.

* Bloomberg…

The state first argued that the Bruen test was inapplicable, because the state, as a property owner can regulate what people bring on its property. Johnston rejected that argument, calling it “breathtaking, jawdropping, and eyepop-ping.” Among other things, he said that the “constitutional protection afforded to other individual rights isn’t nullified on public property.”

The plain text of the Second Amendment applies to the regulated conduct here, Johnston said. But the state didn’t provide any historical analogues to support the public transportation ban, he said.

The regulation of guns in crowded places in England and some US states, weren’t sufficient analogues, “because why they burdened the right to armed self-defense is not sufficiently similar” to the Illinois ban, Johnston said. An 1871 Texas law regulating handguns was an outlier and laws from several other states were insufficient to show a national tradition of handgun regulation to support the Illinois ban, he said.

Public transportation also isn’t a sensitive place where firearms can be regulated, Johnston said. Though trains and buses are moving vehicles with no escape, the state didn’t properly analogize them to enumerated sensitive places, such as government buildings and schools, or provide any evidence to support the creation of a new sensitive place category. he said.

Treating “any place where the government would want to protect public order and safety as a sensitive place casts too wide a net—this would seem to justify almost any gun restriction,” Johnston said.

* The opinion mentions Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx by name dozens of times. It also includes tons of footnotes, including this one…

Keeping in mind Justice Gorsuch’s explanation in his concurrence in Rahimi, this Court’s ruling is specific to the facts presented. See United States v. Rahimi, 144 S. Ct. 1889, 1909-10 (2024) (Gorsuch, J., concurring). “Trump-appointed judge allows firearms on Illinois public transit” is a likely chyron for this decision. That’s unfortunate. Federal judges—including those who will review this decision—engage in exacting, thoughtful, and careful analyses that are not results oriented or reducible to headlines and chyrons. We’re doing the best we can.

This is the same judge, by the way, who called a state law allowing lawsuits against crisis pregnancy centers under the state’s Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act “stupid.”

…Adding… Gov. Pritzker was asked today about the ruling…

Well, unfortunately, many of the conservative judges who’ve been appointed have misunderstood what it means to uphold public safety. And you know, we still believe in the Second Amendment. It’s part of the Constitution that you have rights as a result of the Second Amendment, but there are limitations to that. I mean, just to give one example, the right to bear arms. It’s not the right to a shoulder-fired missile, as one example. There are limitations on the kinds of weapons and the places that we need to, would we allow people to carry an AR 15 into the White House? No. So it’s clear that there are some misguided decisions that get made at the Circuit Court level, the federal court level, and I’m hoping that it will be overturned along the way, if it has to all the way the Supreme Court. It will be disappointing if they uphold this, but I’m hopeful that the law that was passed in Illinois a number of years ago, that’s frankly, done a lot to keep people safe, will be upheld.

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ACLU of Illinois responds to one-day staff union strike

Tuesday, Sep 3, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* ACLU-IL staff union…

On September 3, 2024, the ACLU-IL Staff United will hold a one-day Unfair Labor Practice strike in response to a recent National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruling that found ACLU-IL Management committed unfair labor practices for withholding annual salary raises for union members while continuing to provide raises to non-union staff.

The NLRB proposed a settlement that included retroactive raises for union members, but ACLU-IL Management rejected the settlement and is intending to challenge the NLRB’s ruling. Management has opted to line its own pockets and spend exorbitant amounts on corporate lawyers to fight the Union, all while denying union members another year of raises.

This isn’t ACLU-IL Management’s first run-in with the NLRB. This most recent NLRB ruling comes after a slew of Management’s union-busting tactics over the past three years, including contesting the inclusion of more than half the bargaining unit positions–only to lose on every single contested position after a two-day hearing with the NLRB.

Lance Rhines, Regional Organizer at NOLSW UAW Local 2320, commented on the situation, saying, “This is clearly an effort to undermine the Union by trying to starve out the workers and weaken their resolve to exercise their protected rights. We hope this one-day strike will serve as a wake-up call to management that their unlawful practices will not be tolerated, and encourage them to follow the law and respect their workers.”

The one-day Unfair Labor Practice strike is scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, September 3, 2024, the day after Labor Day. Union members will be stopping all work and picketing outside the ACLU-IL office, located at 150 N. Michigan Ave, at 8:00-10:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m-1:30 p.m. Support is expected from members of the National Organization of Legal Services Workers (NOLSW) Local 2320, United Auto Workers (UAW) Region 4, and other labor and community groups.

Unionized staff have waited too long to obtain raises that are due to them, especially during a period of excessive inflation and accelerating cost of living. Management’s attitude towards paying workers what is theirs is disheartening. Many of the original union members have been forced to leave work in which they find purpose and meaning because they cannot pay the bills. This union-busting is not right.

The Union and ACLU-IL Management have been at the bargaining table for over two years, but there is still no contract in place. Management’s approach to bargaining hasn’t been about negotiating for a fair contract–instead they are trying to penalize the Union for its lawful decision to unionize. The Union stands ready to return to the table at any time, provided Management shows a genuine willingness to bargain in good faith and distribute the long overdue backpay to union members.

Together, the members of the ACLU of Illinois Staff United are fighting for a better ACLU.
The fight will not stop until our workplace is transformed into one that reflects the ideals that this organization litigates and advocates for every day.

* Statement from management at the Roger Baldwin Foundation of the ACLU of Illinois…

The ACLU of Illinois is aware that our union colleagues have called a one-day strike for Tuesday. We respect the union’s right to take this action on behalf of their members. But this action does not move us closer to our shared goal – a complete contract with the union.

Since the union was certified two and a half years ago, and after the union took nearly a year’s delay in making proposals to reach a contract, we have bargained with the union in good faith, including in the midst of very busy times for the organization — like during the legislative session and planning for the Democratic National Convention. We have continued bargaining even when the union unilaterally decided to end a weekend session after less than an hour, with more work left to accomplish.

Still, we remain committed to securing a contract at the bargaining table. That is why our current offer would provide our union members – who already earn a salary at the top of the market for not-for-profit jobs in Chicago – with generous increases. Among other provisions, the current offer from management includes:

• Immediate and annual increases to salaries, which in the aggregate will raise bargaining unit employee salaries by more than 28% on average over the three-year term of a collective bargaining agreement, with annual salary increases of 5 to 6% each of the next three years. This is almost double national averages secured through collectively bargained agreements across all industries over the past year, and even higher when compared to national averages from earlier years.

• Continuing our current practice of paying 100% of the costs of health insurance coverage for employees and their family members – with no employee contribution.

• Continuing to contribute 6% of an employee’s salary to a retirement fund – again, with no contribution from the employee.

• Up to 49 paid days off per year—more than two months of working days annually. This includes 15 paid holidays, 2 personal days (the national norm is 8 days), 20 vacation days after the first year (15 in the first year) plus 12 sick days.

The ACLU of Illinois stands by these proposals; we believe they offer a fair contract to our employees and stand ready to continue to discuss them with the union.

At the same time we see the challenges to civil liberties across Illinois and across the country. The ACLU of Illinois will continue to ceaselessly and diligently protect the basic human dignity of our clients and advance civil rights and civil liberties in every corner of Illinois. We will do that work even as we continue to work on these internal issues – because there are people of color being unfairly treated by police, children in the custody of DCFS who need adequate health care and psychiatric care, transgender folks who deserve the full protections of Illinois law, and abortion providers who rely on our advice to deal with the crush of patients traveling to Illinois from states with abortion bans.

The ACLU of Illinois is proud of our work and it will go forward.

Thoughts?

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Showcasing The Retailers Who Make Illinois Work

Tuesday, Sep 3, 2024 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Retail provides one out of every five Illinois jobs, generates the second largest amount of tax revenue for the state, and is the largest source of revenue for local governments. But retail is also so much more, with retailers serving as the trusted contributors to life’s moments, big and small.

We Are Retail and IRMA are dedicated to sharing the stories of retailers like Gillian, who serve their communities with dedication and pride.

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It’s just a bill

Tuesday, Sep 3, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* AP…

[Rep. Kelly Cassidy] is determined to keep pushing legislation in Illinois. She intends to bring back bills she sponsored this year to reform the Illinois Prison Review Board system — so that survivors can submit statements and that the board can provide video of the deliberations on its website.

The board came under fire when, earlier this year, it released a convicted domestic abuser who then attacked a pregnant woman with a knife and fatally stabbed her 11-year-old son in Chicago.

Cassidy’s bill — which had bipartisan support — also would mandate that the board notify people if their abuser is about to have a hearing and improve its protocol so people are immediately alerted when their abuser is released. This year, the legislation failed to get final approval before the state’s budget was finalized, but Cassidy is hopeful about getting it passed next session.

Her legislative to-do list also includes creating a fund for survivors to get to safety when that release alert comes through. Cassidy’s vision is to work with state agencies to establish a grant for people to use on temporary housing, transportation and moving expenses.

* WGEM…

Illinois lawmakers are renewing their calls to pass legislation increasing penalties for people who hurt workers at two state agencies, the Department of Children and Family Services and Department on Aging.

The push comes as a Sangamon County jury found Benjamin Reed guilty Thursday of the 2022 fatal stabbing of DCFS social worker Deidre Silas. […]

[House Minority Leader Tony McCombie] is sponsoring both HB1460 and HB1461, which would increase penalties for people who harm DCFS and Department on Aging workers. She believes state law should treat them similar to other first responders. […]

The bills would make harming a DCFS worker or Department on Aging Adult Protective Services worker a class-two felony. It’s currently a class-three felony. The bill would make it a class-one felony if the assault caused great bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement. […]

Despite having received bipartisan support, the bills have not received a hearing during the 2023-24 general assembly.

* Rep. Sonya Harper filed HB5864…

Creates the Remedy to Remove Unauthorized Persons from Residential Real Property Act. Authorizes a property owner or authorized agent to request the sheriff for the immediate removal of a person or persons unlawfully occupying a residential dwelling. Creates a statutory form for the property owner to complete to give to the sheriff to use the provisions of the Act. Provides that if the sheriff verifies the information in the form, the sheriff must serve a notice on the unlawful occupant to vacate the dwelling. Authorizes the sheriff, if appropriate, to arrest any person for trespass, outstanding warrants, or any other legal cause. Authorizes the property owner to request the sheriff to remain on the premises to keep the peace while the locks are changed or the personal property of the unlawful occupant is removed. Authorizes the sheriff to charge a reasonable hourly rate to do so. Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides that a person commits a Class 4 felony if he or she lists or advertises residential real property for sale knowing that the purported seller has no legal title or authority to sell the property, or rents or leases the property to another person knowing that he or she has no lawful ownership in the property or leasehold interest in the property.

* Green Queen…

Two months after Florida’s ban on cultivated meat came into effect, and a month before one goes live in Alabama, Illinois has joined a number of other states to try and outlaw these proteins.

House Representative Chris Miller, a third-generation cattle farmer, has introduced HB 5872, a bill to make the sale, manufacture or distribution of cultivated meat a Class C misdemeanour.

It means that if you sell cultivated meat, you’ll be treated the same way as you would if you possessed less than 2.5g of marijuana, assaulted someone, or left a firearm in your house that could easily be accessed by a minor. The penalty can result in 30 days of jail time, and/or $1,500 in fines. […]

Miller’s bill, which hasn’t been referred to any of the committees yet, calls cultivated meat “a threat to the health, safety, and welfare” of Illinois residents.

A press release on the Representative’s website explains that HB 5872 was introduced as a response to “growing concerns from the notion of replacing real meat with laboratories”, and argued that it would protect “individual’s health, farmland, and agricultural products”.

* Rep. Kevin Olickal filed HB5871 last month…

Creates the Prohibition of Algorithmics in Rent Act. Provides that in setting the amount of rent to be charged to a tenant for the occupancy of a residential premises, including determining any change in the amount of rent to be charged for the renewed occupancy of a residential premises, a landlord shall not employ, use, or rely upon, or cause another person to employ, use, or rely upon, an algorithmic device that uses, incorporates, or was trained with nonpublic competitor data. Defines “algorithmic device” to mean a device that uses one or more algorithms to perform calculations of data, including data concerning local or statewide rent amounts being charged to tenants by landlords, for the purpose of advising a landlord concerning the amount of rent that the landlord may consider charging a tenant. Provides that this definition does not include (i) any report published periodically, but no more frequently than monthly, by a trade association that receives renter data and publishes it in an aggregated and anonymous manner; or (ii) a product used for the purpose of establishing rent or income limits in accordance with the affordable housing program guidelines of a local government, the State, the federal government, or other political subdivision. Amends the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act to make a corresponding change. Provides that any person who violates the Prohibition of Algorithmics in Rent Act commits an unlawful practice within the meaning of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.

* HB5868 was filed by Rep. La Shawn K. Ford last week…

Amends the Secretary of State Act. Provides that the Secretary of State shall create an Office of Faith-Based Community Development Services to connect faith-based community organizations with grant opportunities, as well as provide assistance in completing grant applications. Provides that the Office of Faith-Based Community Development Services shall promote collaboration and unity among diverse groups, foster interfaith dialogue and interagency collaboration to offer comprehensive support services, ensure equitable distribution of resources across various community groups to support their missions and projects, leverage faith-based properties to increase housing opportunities, and develop guides on mental health, grant application processes, housing initiatives, and creating sensory-friendly spaces for the faith community. Provides that the Secretary of State shall appoint an Interfaith Advisory Council to advise the Office of Faith-Based Community Development Services and collaborate with religious communities in this State.

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National Democrats catching up to Pritzker on ‘Freedom’

Tuesday, Sep 3, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…

Several stories and columns appeared in the national news media shortly before and during the recent Democratic National Convention about Vice President Kamala Harris’ emphasis on the concept of “freedom” in her speeches and messaging.

Convention delegates in Chicago hoisted signs with the word “Freedom” on them all week. Oprah Winfrey even talked about freedom in her speech to the DNC. Quite a few pundits seemed to be caught off guard by how popular the concept had suddenly become with Democrats.

The word has been used by Republicans to define their own party for decades and decades. These days, for instance, far-right congressional Republicans belong to a “Freedom Caucus,” as do several Illinois House Republicans.

I don’t know if he pioneered it or not, but while reading the national commentary, it occurred to me that Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker has been pressing home the importance of “freedom” for several years here.

His staff hasn’t always been comfortable with the rhetoric, viewing the word as almost a lost cause. But Pritzker has told his staff that he believed that Republicans were “usurping” freedom and that he and his party were supporting it.

Pritzker has long described abortion rights as “reproductive freedom.”

“The GOP should be ashamed of themselves,” the governor said two years ago on social media. “For a party that says they’re all about individual freedom, they’re hellbent on taking away freedoms for women.”

His use of the word has not been confined to abortion, however. Two years ago, Pritzker said, “As long as I’m governor, Illinois will remain a beacon of freedom among a rising sea of right-wing extremism.” Democrats, he said last year, will keep fighting for “more freedom.”

As far back as 2018, Pritzker said of then-President Donald Trump and then-Gov. Bruce Rauner, “While Trump and Rauner attack the freedom of working people to come together and fight for a better future, we must defend the hardworking men and women of the labor movement.”

“Trump and the anti-democracy, anti-freedom ideology he represents will systematically destroy our constitutional democracy if left unchecked,” the governor warned in January.

Pritzker described marriage equality in 2022 as “the equity and freedom that characterize America.”

In 2021, he described a bill to prevent discrimination against students for their hairstyle choices as “freedom of expression.”

In 2020, he said a bill he signed to excuse students from school for two hours to vote gave kids the “freedom to fit voting into their school day without fear of repercussion for engaging in the very civic education we should all be proud to encourage.” Getting a COVID booster shot in 2021 was, Pritzker said, “freedom from the virus.”

Two years ago, after attending a Juneteenth celebration, Pritzker said, “We’ll continue ensuring Illinois lives up to its promises of freedom for all.”

After I had pulled up all those quotes (and more), I asked the governor’s people why he has leaned so heavily on the concept.

“The governor uses freedom to describe Democratic policies to call out the truth about so many Republican policies: they’re about control,” a spokesperson said. “It is the Democratic Party that stands up for your right to make your own health care decisions, to choose what book you read, to live without fear of gun violence, to build a family on your own terms. It’s Democrats fighting for equal access to these rights. Republicans use buzzwords and branding, but what they don’t say is that their freedom only goes so far as the choices they would make for themselves. The governor truly believes that the Democratic Party is the party of freedom, and is working to ensure that freedom for all Americans.”

Pritzker also said a couple of years ago that he believed the state government standing up for these rights and freedoms will eventually help attract businesses to Illinois. “I do think in the long run it benefits the state of Illinois,” he said during a Crain’s Fast 50 Business Luncheon in 2022. “Does it happen overnight? Like everything, right, creating one tax incentive or creating a benefit for individuals and protecting people’s rights. That’s something that seeps into the groundwater, in my view, for workers and for companies.”

Now, you may understandably disagree with Pritzker over his definition of the word, his attacks on Republicans and how he believes this could eventually help Illinois’ economy, but there can be no doubt that the national party has finally caught up with him, even if he didn’t get the nod for national office.

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Open thread

Tuesday, Sep 3, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* What’s going on in your part of Illinois?…

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Isabel’s morning briefing

Tuesday, Sep 3, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: CTA Blue Line shooting: Four dead after being shot while sleeping, Forest Park mayor says WGN…

Forest Park authorities, including Mayor Hoskins, addressed the media during a press conference about the shooting late Monday morning.

The mayor noted that with two major train lines ending in the municipality of just 14,000 people, Forest Park leaders have appealed to state lawmakers for more resources.

“Our police department and our fire department respond to this location probably more than any other location in our jurisdiction,” Hoskins said. “Forest Park is the only community in Cook County … with two major train lines that end (there). So we provide police response, and fire and medical response.

“And so to the extent that our leaders in Springfield are considering any kind of CTA, mass-transit reorganization, we would ask them to consider investing additional resources — in terms of public safety, law enforcement personnel, what have you — to support a small community like Forest Park that has to respond to two major train lines ending (here).”

* Related stories…

∙ AP: 4 people fatally shot on Chicago-area train, police say
∙ Sun-Times: 4 sleeping passengers shot, killed on CTA Blue Line in Forest Park, suspect in custody
∙ NBC Chicago: Forest Park shooting: What we know after 4 shot, killed while sleeping on CTA Blue Line train

At 10 am Governor Pritzker will join ComEd for the electric vehicle rebate awards in Skokie. Click here to watch.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Tribune | Federal judge rules section of Illinois’ concealed carry law unconstitutional: A federal judge in Rockford ruled it unconstitutional for Illinoisans with concealed carry permits to be prohibited from carrying guns on public transportation, a decision with uncertain implications for a decade-old state law. […] Johnston, who was appointed to the bench in 2020 by then-Republican President Donald Trump, noted in his ruling that in satisfying Bruen’s historical test standard, the defendants tried to cite a nearly 700-year-old law that prohibited people from carrying firearms in certain instances. But the plaintiffs argued that law “is too old and should therefore be afforded no weight in ascertaining an American tradition” and that it “has little bearing” on the Second Amendment.

* Daily Herald | What Senate leaders learned on summer road trip, as transit mega merger looms: “I don’t know of another system that has four different agencies with 21 appointing authorities … in the world,” Villivalam remarked in Naperville. “If the governance system was working so well, we would have the service that we all want — of course the funding has to happen.”

* WBEZ | GOP-tilted websites showed where Illinois judges live despite a law that protects their privacy: An election conspiracy peddler exposed dates of birth and home addresses online for more than 6 million Illinois voters earlier this year, including dozens of state and federal judges whose places of residence are legally protected, a WBEZ investigation has found. An analysis of more than 30 websites of Lake Forest-based Local Government Information Services also identified home addresses for those involved in a high-profile federal narcotics case involving a foreign drug cartel, prosecutors involved in public-corruption cases, prominent Illinois-based actors and musicians, Chicago sports luminaries and several billionaires.

*** Statehouse News ***

* AP | Women behind bars are often survivors of abuse. A series of new laws aim to reduce their sentences: Advocates for domestic violence survivors in Illinois celebrated earlier this month when Gov. JB Pritzker signed a bill into law making it easier for those who are incarcerated to get reduced sentences. House bill sponsor Rep. Kelly Cassidy was among those cheering. First elected in 2011, she has since written legislation designed to help survivors of gender-based and domestic violence, including the resentencing bill that was signed into law in August. The idea is that women who received harsh sentences without a court hearing about their histories of abuse should get an opportunity to tell their stories in court and potentially be resentenced.

You're a hero and a lifesaver, East Moline Mayor Reggie Freeman! We were speaking at the @RICoDemocrats #LaborDay picnic when a Navy vet had a heart attack. Not breathing. No pulse. Mayor Freeman, a former @EastMolinePD chief, gave him chest compressions until he came to. pic.twitter.com/cPN0WGDnpk

— Susana A. Mendoza ☮️ (@susanamendoza10) September 3, 2024

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | 2 Chicago police oversight officials fired amid allegations of anti-cop bias at the agency: Two high-ranking employees of the agency charged with investigating Chicago Police misconduct were abruptly fired Friday, just days after one of them complained to the inspector general about bias against police. Matt Haynam, a $163,068-a-year deputy chief administrator for the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, said he was summoned to a virtual meeting with COPA Chief Andrea Kersten and general counsel Robin Murphy and told he was out, effective immediately. He said no reason was given.

📢Labor day news:📢 ACLU-IL Staff United will be striking starting at 8am tomorrow, in protest of @ACLUofIL management’s refusal to accept the NLRB’s settlement agreement. We are outraged at their refusal to pay us the wages the federal government agrees we are owed.

— ACLU of IL Staff United (@ACLUILUnited) September 2, 2024

* Tribune | Illinois mourns killing of Israeli hostages including Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, who had Chicago ties: One of six hostages confirmed killed by Hamas in Gaza over the weekend was Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, the 23-year-old son of Chicago natives Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg who was kidnapped from the Tribe of Nova music festival in the Negev desert in southern Israel on Oct. 7. On Saturday night, the Israel Foreign Ministry shared a confirmation from the family of the death of “their beloved son and brother.” Goldberg-Polin’s father had previously said the young man loved to travel and described him as a fun-loving, curious and funny person.

* Triibe | Leon brings late Chicago bluesman Eddie Taylor’s story to life in new film: A film documenting the life of blues legend and Chicago native Eddie Taylor is coming soon. On Aug. 21, The Rhythm and The Blues screened at Navy Pier. The family of the late Eddie Taylor, along with actor Leon and Chicago music stars like house DJ Terry Hunter, came together at the screening to honor and celebrate the life and legacy of the bluesman. The event also celebrated Chicago’s music history, honoring jazzist Herbie Hancock and the architect of the Mendel Bi Level dances, House Music legend Kirkland Townsend.

* Sun-Times | South Loop sandlot? White Sox, Related Midwest build temporary baseball diamond at stadium site: The Sox and developer Related Midwest brought their flashy renderings of a potential new South Loop stadium partially to life this week, creating a baseball diamond where players could eventually take the field if the team lands public financing for a ballpark in the vacant parcel known as The 78.

* WGN | South Side sisters go on once-in-a-lifetime experience to Sky vs. Fever: Walker and VMS Solutions CEO Kevin Corcoran donated $2,000 for tickets, while Walker organized a pre-game limo ride that would take Jade and Joy to Giordano’s for dinner, before traveling to Wintrust Arena for Friday night’s game. Walker also reached out to the Sky in hopes of partnering with the WNBA team to help reward the girls for their hard work and on Wednesday, the Sky came through.

* Daily Herald | Hey, White Sox fans, don’t skip the ending: Right now, after their 13-3 loss to the Orioles on Labor Day at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the White Sox are 31-108. The 108 losses already are the most in Sox history, surpassing the dreadful 1970 team that went 56-106. […] Losing is what they do. It seems likely nobody has done it better.

* WBBM | ‘Keep the memories alive’: CTA revives decades-old railcars for special milestone: Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) riders got to experience a piece of history on Sunday, as the transit agency celebrated 40 years of service to and from O’Hare Airport. The idea to extend Chicago’s “L” to O’Hare Airport dates back to the 1950s, CTA officials said. It wasn’t until Labor Day in 1984, though, that O’Hare Station officially opened. At the time, Chicago was one of the only cities in the U.S. with direct, rapid transit to an airport.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | St. Charles library joins League of Women Voters for program on ‘Nobody’s Fool’: Join a talk with Professor Dan Simons, co-author of “Nobody’s Fool: Why We Get Taken In and What We Can Do About It,” brought to you in partnership with the League of Women Voters of Illinois Mis/Disinformation Task Force. […] Simons is a professor of psychology at the University of Illinois where he heads the Visual Cognition Laboratory. In addition to his position in the department of psychology, he has courtesy appointments in the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising and the Gies College of Business. His research explores the limits of awareness and memory, the reasons why we often are unaware of those limits, and the implications of such limits for our personal and professional lives.

*** Downstate ***

* Center Square | Staff are ‘securing jobs’ at Decatur prison ahead of expected Logan prison closure: Illinois state Rep. Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur, confirmed employees from the Logan County Correctional Center have started to transfer to Decatur. “They’re trying to get ahead of this closure. They [Decatur] are seeing folks from the Lincoln facility coming to Decatur to fill job openings,” said Caulkins. The Illinois Department of Corrections said they are not currently under a hiring freeze at either the Stateville prison or Logan County Correctional. Stateville prisoners must transfer due to a recent court ruling. The department said they’re discussing with labor partners the impact of that order on IDOC employees.

* SJ-R | ‘They will have leadership.’ Coroner steps in as temporary Sangamon County Sheriff: Current Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon said it was “not sustainable” to hold his office and the title of sheriff together in the long run. But in an interview Friday with The State Journal-Register, Allmon said he would uphold “the constitution of (the sheriff’s) office and make sure things run smoothly, make sure that people in this community are safe.”

* WCIA | Mahomet-Seymour schools to put $112.8 million question on November ballot: Kenny Lee, the district’s superintendent, said if the $112.8 million question on November’s ballot is passed, it would build two new buildings, demolish the current junior high and work on other facility upgrades. One building would go behind Middletown Prairie Elementary and be dedicated to second and third-graders. The other one would be the new junior high, and go behind where the current one is. Then, more space would open up in the schools.

* KFVS | Giant City State Park to host 80th birthday event for Smokey Bear: Giant City State Park is holding an event next weekend to celebrate the birthday of Smokey Bear. This U.S. Forest Service icon is turning 80 years old this year and to celebrate, Giant City will be hosting the Wendelin Art Display, the best-known artist behind Smokey Bear.

* WTVO | Union Pacific’s Big Boy 4014 train steams into northern Illinois next week: The Big Boy 4014 is on a “Heartland of America” tour, running through 10 states to offer the public a chance to see the classic train up close. It is one of 25 built in the 1940s, and the only one to remain in operation today. The train, built to “conquer mountains,” last visited Rochelle in 2019 and was viewed by thousands of onlookers.

*** National ***

* Politico | Convicted fraudsters launch AI lobbying firm using fake names: LobbyMatic was founded last year by Jacob Wohl, who in 2022 was convicted along with his longtime associate Jack Burkman of felony telecom fraud after running a robocall campaign in largely Black neighborhoods in several states telling people not to vote by mail. An Ohio judge ordered them to spend 500 hours registering people to vote, and the Federal Communications Commission fined them $5 million. […] Running their new firm under pseudonyms appears to be the latest instance of shady behavior by a pair of convicted fraudsters who’ve become infamous in Washington for various schemes. Now, they are seizing on public exuberance around the promise of AI to transform the workplace — in this case, on K Street.

12 Comments

Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition

Tuesday, Sep 3, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)

Tuesday, Sep 3, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Live coverage

Tuesday, Sep 3, 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)

Tuesday, Sep 3, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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Reader comments closed for the holiday weekend

Friday, Aug 30, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* You may have heard that Oasis reunion tickets go on sale tomorrow. Not sure if I want to risk spending big money and booking a trip to the UK/Ireland/Scotland on a group of people who haven’t ever been able to get along. Sure will be a heckuva party, though.

Either way, I clearly remember the first time I ever heard this song. I was looking for a video to rent (yeah, it was a long time ago) and the store had the radio on. When the guitars kicked in just before “Someday you will find me caught beneath the landslide,” I stopped in my tracks and stood still for several minutes while I listened to the rest of this magnificent composition…

But you and I, we live and die
The world’s still spinnin’ ’round, we don’t know why

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Isabel’s afternoon roundup

Friday, Aug 30, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Capitol News Illinois…

Overall participation in labor unions has declined in recent years in Illinois, although the state has seen an increase in successful unionization efforts for the second year in a row.

That’s according to the State of the Unions 2024 report, the latest installment in an annual review of unionization in Illinois and the U.S. by the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and the University of Illinois’ Project for Middle Class Renewal. ILEPI is a nonprofit research organization with a board of directors that’s closely tied to organized labor.

The study found that Illinois saw 86 successful union petitions in 2023, up from 67 the year before. Those are the two highest totals in a 10-year period dating back to 2014. The prior eight years ranged from 25 to 62 successful petitions. […]

The successful petitions led to 4,399 additional workers being unionized in 2023, down from 9,497 in 2022.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Contaminated drinking water found at downtown day care, 2 more federal buildings: “I am completely frustrated that we still have this problem,” said Virginia Kendall, chief judge for the Northern District of Illinois. Kendall said the federal agency in charge of fixing the problem, the General Services Administration, has failed to correct the water problem and only tested a portion of all the faucets and fountains used for drinking water.

* Sun-Times | Chicago’s answer to food deserts has left a trail of debts, lawsuits, ‘can’t pay’ an $800 utility bill: Yellow Banana promised to do better than the previous Save A Lot operators, criticizing them in 2022 for abandoning neighborhoods with “virtually no heads-up to the community.” And yet Yellow Banana itself has since shrunk to just one open store, the Chicago Sun-Times has found. During the past two years of blown deadlines, altered timelines and 16 store closures, the Ohio-based grocer has racked up unpaid tax and utility bills, health code violations, business fines and lawsuits — bills amounting to more than $2 million, a review of public records shows. Yellow Banana is in line for more than $20 million from city and federal funds, including $13.5 million from the city of Chicago, if it hits its city-set deadline in April.

AFAIK, the only outlet endorsing moving bus riders from Chicago's current Greyhound station to Union Station is the Tribune. Per the paper, the bus station is "owned by 20 Lake Holdings, an affiliate of Alden Global Capital, which also owns the Tribune."https://t.co/dk1tyLwPtj pic.twitter.com/zgqZejVMaG

— John Greenfield (@greenfieldjohn) August 30, 2024

* Media Matters | MAGA street artist claims to be responsible for racist and anti-immigrant signs in Chicago and Denver area: Sabo later posted pictures of some of the signs on Facebook, saying that he “put a few up in Chicago during the DNC” and trying to sell them for $2,000 each. (His Facebook page was previously shut down for hate speech, days after he attacked Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg with disparaging posters in 2017.)

* Sun-Times | Lyft follows Uber’s lead in trying rider verification in Chicago, but critics say it’s ‘too little, too late’: Nolberto Casas, a ride-hailing driver and spokesman for Chicago Gig Alliance, called the program “window dressing” and “too little, too late.” The Chicago Gig Alliance is lobbying for a city ordinance requiring ride-hailing apps to use identity verification for all riders. Casas said Lyft’s pilot program “puts the onus on the driver. What it says is: We’re putting up this mediocre program but unverified riders can still get rides. And you accept them at your own risk. We don’t accept that.”

* Crain’s | Chicago to spend $63 million less on migrant care in 2024, but budget woes remain: In a revised budget estimate released this week, the city revealed it expects to only spend $157 million of the $220 million allocated in the city’s “special event projects” line item dedicated to the migrant mission. Despite the $63 million in savings realized by the combination of additional federal resources and fewer migrants arriving this summer than expected, the city is still projecting a $222.9 million deficit that must be closed in 2024.

* Block Club | Striking South Side Bus Drivers Say They Want To Get Kids To School — But Need To Pay Their Rent, Too: Employees at SCR Medical Transportation, CPS’ largest bus service provider for students with disabilities, have been on strike for two weeks as CPS faces a bus shortage. “They’re not asking to be millionaires. They’re asking for a middle-class life.”

* Block Club | Artist Creates ‘Wooden Quilt’ From Pieces Of Emmett Till’s South Side Home: The large wooden quilt, completed days before the 69th anniversary of Till’s lynching, will be displayed at the future Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley House Museum, 6427 S. St. Lawrence Ave. “This particular [artwork] is about overcoming that grief and focusing on the strength of his mother, his grandmother, who bought the house, and your people that came out here and bought property that became a foundation for folks to establish a Northern presence,” St. Jacques said.

* Sun-Times | Mary Mitchell retires from Chicago Sun-Times; hard to say good-bye: Still, not having a deadline to meet or a project to finish is going to feel strange. After all, the only time that happened was when I gave birth or was recovering from surgery. I also retired in 2019 but returned full-time to the paper the next year. In the future, I might write an occasional column. As a retiree, I’m expected to fill my days pursuing activities that I didn’t have time for when I was working full time and raising a family. I am stepping into a role I’ve never played — a woman of leisure.

* Crain’s | Harry Caray’s most famous line is the focus of a new trademark lawsuit: The lawsuit, filed in Texas federal court earlier this week, accuses a Dallas restaurant and its owner of trademark infringement for naming a restaurant Holy Cow, a move described in the complaint as “unlawfully taking full advantage” of the famous tagline, which the plaintiff asserts has an asset value in the millions. The complaint alleges the defendants “willfully, intentionally and unlawfully sought to create a false association with the Harry Caray restaurants, and to willfully, intentionally and unlawfully misappropriate the tremendous goodwill of Harry Caray Ltd.’s well known, if not famous, Holy Cow! mark.”

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Southtown | Pritzker disaster proclamation could help south suburbs receive federal storm assistance: A media release from Pritzker’s office said the governor also requested a federal Major Disaster Declaration from President Joe Biden through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “After our Joint Preliminary Damage Assessment with local, county and FEMA partners in multiple municipalities across the state, we have found significant damages,” said Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security Director Alicia Tate-Nadeau in the release. “Our Recovery Division continues to work closely with each of the affected communities helping them to recover from this severe weather.”

* Elgin Courier-News | Let the Great Orb Hunt begin — 100 glass balls hidden along Kane County trails: With the calendar heading in September, it’s time once again for the Forest Preserve District of Kane County’s Great Orb Hunt. There’s no need for a gun or a permit — just keen vision to spot the 100 blown-glass and carved ceramic balls made by Fine Line Creative Arts Center hidden in small batches between Thursday, Sept. 5, and Monday, Sept. 30, about two to five feet off established trails in three locations.

* Daily Herald | Bensenville moves to discontinue vehicle stickers: Village President Frank DeSimone has announced plans to discontinue vehicle sticker fees collected from residents in light of higher-than-expected revenue generated from a municipal gas tax. The village implemented the 3-cent-per-gallon tax at the start of January, with an initial revenue projection of $200,000 for the year.

* Crain’s | Northwestern University taps new athletic director: Northwestern University today named Mark Jackson, former head of Villanova’s athletic department, as its next athletic director effective Sept. 1. Jackson replaces Derrick Gragg, who was hired in 2021 and oversaw a department beset by scandal. The school announced in June that Gragg would be taking on a new advisory role, working closely with the new athletic director and the school’s president, Michael Schill.

*** Downstate ***

* KSDK | Southern Illinois power plant may have violated federal law for over a decade, judge says: Environmental protection advocate organization Sierra Club, which filed the lawsuit against Prairie State, said the power plant is Illinois’ top emitter of ozone-forming nitrogen oxide pollution and emitted almost twice as much carbon dioxide as the state’s next biggest greenhouse gas emitter. The plant also exceeded federal monthly limits on mercury emissions in 2021 and received a violation notice from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

* Illinois Times | SHS sophomore holds dress resales to benefit Emma Shafer Peace and Justice Fund: Lucy Schmadeke, a Springfield High School sophomore who turns 15 this weekend, is determined to “be like Emma.” The late Emma Shafer, Lucy’s babysitter for five years, inspired Lucy’s love of the arts, performing and big cities, along with her drive to make the world a better place. […] Combining her love of fashion, dedication to sustainability and realization that not all girls her age can afford formal dresses, Lucy organized the Be Like Emma – Dress Resale Aug. 24 at the Grant Conservatory of Music and Dance. The event featured gently used homecoming and prom attire and raised $560 for the Emma Shafer Peace and Justice Fund. Fifteen donated dresses were sold, but many remain, so a second sale is planned for Saturday, Sept. 7, from 3 to 5 p.m. at Wild Rose Artisans Gallery and Boutique in downtown Springfield.

* WGIL | ‘Farmers were panicking.’ 8 west central Illinois grain facilities saved from closure: Doug DeBuysere, general manager of Hillsdale Elevator Company, tells WGIL, “We’re excited, and really looking forward to the takeover. The phone has been ringing off the wall. “They were going to close those eight facilities, and would have left farmers there with nowhere to go. Guys were panicking.” […] “Normally, we’d buy a site or two at a time, but this opportunity came up and we bought all eight,” DeBuysere said. “We have a little work to do, but we’re excited and ready to get going.

* WSIL | Marion VA plans weeklong celebration of veterans: Alongside city officials, the VA has organized several events at local businesses to highlight and aid those who have fought for the U.S. The events will focus on resources available and highlighting talents of veterans throughout the region. The week will also include the return of the Honor Flight on Tuesday, Sept. 10.

* PJ Star | New $1.3 million ice plant coming to Peoria Civic Center as part of deal: The Civic Center Authority Board approved a plan Thursday night that would see $1.3 million go toward the purchase of a new ice plant from Cimco, with plans to install it by the summer 2026, according to Peoria City Councilmember Tim Riggenbach, who is also the council liaison to the Civic Center Board. A new ice plant, pumps, ice rink controller, gas cooler and starter panel will be part of the $1.3 million purchase. The Civic Center will put a 5% down payment of $64,837.00 toward the ice plant by Oct. 1.

* WJBC | Bridgestone & United Steel Workers representative running for McLean County Board: A Bloomington resident and longtime representative for the United Steel Workers has announced his candidacy for the McLean County Board’s 9th district. Sean Fagan has lived in the South Hill neighborhood since 1988. Recently, he celebrated 25 years as a pension and insurance advocate at the Bridgestone tire plant.

* WFIW | SOS mobile DMV unit coming to Albion: The Illinois Secretary of State Mobile DMV Unit will be coming to Albion on Wednesday, September 4th from 10am to 2pm at the Edwards County Courthouse. Services offered will be new and renewal Identification Cards, Renewal of Drivers Licenses, Sticker Purchases and REAL ID processing.

* Illinois Times | Out of the ashes: In the meantime, Café Moxo is continuing to pay its employees. Instead of serving sandwiches and chicken pot pies, they are providing services to organizations such as St. John’s Breadline, Central Illinois Food Bank and Compass for Kids. […] “We’re hoping it’ll happen in a pretty timely fashion,” he said. “We would love to see it happen in 2024. That would be on our Christmas wish list. We’re looking to start the new year off strong at Café Moxo.”

*** International ***

* AP | How one Brazilian judge could suspend Elon Musk’s X: The justice, Alexandre de Moraes, has threatened to suspend social media giant X nationwide if its billionaire owner Elon Musk doesn’t swiftly comply with one of his orders. Musk has responded with insults, including calling de Moraes a “tyrant” and “a dictator.” It is the latest chapter in the monthslong feud between the two men over free speech, far-right accounts and misinformation. Many in Brazil are waiting and watching to see if either man will blink.

4 Comments

Jack Conaty

Friday, Aug 30, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Tribune…

Jack Conaty brought a talent for concise and impactful writing, an acerbic wit and a willingness to help his colleagues to his work as political reporter at Fox-owned WFLD-Channel 32 for more than two decades.

“He had a razor-sharp political insight and a concision in writing — the man did not waste a word,” said former WFLD reporter Lilia Chacon. “He just cut to the crux of the (matter) and he did it in a way that was illuminating. We were in awe of his writing skills.”

Conaty, 77, died of complications from cancer on Aug. 28 at a hospital in Tucson, Arizona, said his daughter, Katherine. He had lived in Tucson for the last decade or so and previously had lived in Kennebunk, Maine. after leaving WFLD, which now is known as Fox 32. Prior to that, he had resided in River North and Wilmette. […]

In 1987, Conaty was hired to be political reporter at WFLD, which at that time was launching a nightly news operation. Conaty covered both national and local political stories, including interviewing leaders like Nelson Mandela and Fidel Castro, and attended seven presidential conventions.

Jack’s contract wasn’t renewed at the end of 2009. I wrote at the time that I really liked the guy and that his departure was “another major blow to quality political journalism.”

Not long after that, I ran into Jack at WBEZ reporter Carlos Hernandez Gomez’s funeral.

Jack said he wasn’t sure what he was going to do, but also confided that he was irritated by Fox News Corp., which had taken over WFLD TV. He said he regularly felt pressured to follow the party line, and that just didn’t sit right with someone of Jack Conaty’s integrity. Jack was no flaming liberal, but he wanted to do his job in the most honest way he could.

* I don’t know why, but for the past couple of weeks I’d been thinking about Jack and wondering where he was and how I wanted to tell him that I missed him. Jack’s passing is another reminder that you shouldn’t wait to tell someone what they mean to you.

Rest in peace, Jack. You did good.

3 Comments

New state law to be tested by Will County case

Friday, Aug 30, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Daily Southtown…

A Will County clerk’s office employee filed a lawsuit alleging New Lenox Township Trustee Patricia “Patty” Deiters published a fraudulent public Facebook post that defamed and incited harassment against her.

The lawsuit, filed Aug. 9 by Ellen Moriarty, claims the Facebook page Will County Republican Women is operated by Deiters and published a screenshot of a post purportedly from Moriarty’s personal Facebook account.

The lawsuit alleges Moriarty never made the post and the alleged doctored image led “various third parties” to share the post at least 17 times and contact her employer with the intent of having her fired.

A screenshot of the post included in the lawsuit reads, “Too bad he missed!! A heroic effort, too bad he lost his life,” referring to the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a July 13 campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

The lawsuit accuses Deiters of violating the Illinois Civil Liability for Doxing Act, a law that went into effect in January. The legislation, signed by Gov. JB Pritzker Aug. 4, 2023, makes anyone in Illinois civilly liable for partaking in doxxing, or the sharing of personal identifiable information about another person for the purpose of harming them.

The lawsuit accuses Deiters of creating the fake post, but according to her attorney, Thomas DeVore, another person shared the post with Deiters through a group message.

Everything comes from somewhere, Tom. It’s the choice to post it which matters.

* Speaking of DeVore…

* Didn’t happen…

A gathering featuring Southern Illinois attorney Thomas DeVore as the guest speaker was relocated to Washington Square in Ottawa, after the Ottawa American Legion canceled the Thursday evening event less than 48 hours before it was set to occur, because it would have violated its bylaws to host it.

The Ottawa American Legion said its bylaws do not allow political events and determined Thursday’s gathering was political in nature. […]

The flyer also said a free (Donald) Trump yard sign would be available with each $10 donation. The flyer said the event was sponsored by Mid-America Grassroots Action (spelling out “MAGA” in the background). The group said it serves to “promote, educate, and financially support Mid America grassroots organizations who are vested in returning our country to the people,” noting it is a “political organization” on Facebook.

Ottawa American Legion Commander Tom Shea said he believes the Legion was misled to believe the event wasn’t political when it was scheduled initially, but after receiving a phone call Wednesday morning from a concerned legionnaire, and then reviewing the flyer, said the organization’s leadership determined the event would be canceled to follow its bylaws.

“It’s been in our bylaws since 1919,” said John Duback of the Ottawa American Legion. “We are a non-political group.”

* And another thing. He’s not mad. Please don’t put it in the newspaper that he got mad…

Devore big mad he got canceled! pic.twitter.com/CgNho2pw6q

— ROSIE RIVETED (@ROSIERIVETED1) August 29, 2024

23 Comments

Why did ACLU Illinois staffers picket the organization this week?

Friday, Aug 30, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* In These Times back in 2021…

A union fight that is playing out in Illinois highlights how progressive organizations can use technical objections to the scope of a proposed union to effectively pursue union-busting while maintaining plausible deniability that they are doing so. This effort to have it both ways makes sense when you consider where this labor battle is happening: at the ACLU.

The past two years has been a landmark one for unionization at the ACLU, part of the broader, ongoing wave of nonprofit organizing. As the pandemic raged in 2020, workers at several ACLU state branches unionized–including in Kansas, where the staff faced a corporate-style anti-union campaign. In January of 2021 about 300 staffers nationwide formed the civil liberties group’s largest staff union, called ACLU Staff United. In subsequent months, more state ACLU staffs across the country have successfully unionized, and ACLU staff union drives are underway in other states, like Virginia and Illinois*. Workers have vowed to continue until they have successfully unionized every state office.

Though common sense might tell you that an organization that proudly declares that it “has championed the right of workers to organize unions since its inception more than 90 years ago” would be an easy place to unionize, that has not been completely true. While most of the union drives at the ACLU have secured voluntary recognition from management — a necessary baseline for any employer to be considered pro-union — that has not been the case in Illinois. In late June, workers there asked management to recognize their staff union, part of the National Organization of Legal Services Workers. More than five months later, they are still waiting. […]

For months now, management and the union have been locked in a stalemate over the issue of how many workers will be allowed to be members of the unit. Restricting the size of a proposed unit is a common tactic by employers, who often seek to assert that as many employees as possible are managers or supervisors, and are therefore not eligible to be union members. These sorts of negotiations, though cloaked in legalistic language, are usually more about power than about law — how fiercely management chooses to argue over vague job descriptions comes down to whether they are comfortable working with a staff union, or whether they see it as a priority to make the union as small and weak as possible from the very beginning.

Fed up with the delays, the ACLU of IL Staff United finally filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board in early October, seeking a resolution. The union had a two-day hearing at the NLRB that concluded on November 1. Though the timeline is not certain, the union expects to get a ruling on the size of its unit soon, and then it can proceed to a formal vote for certification.

* The National Labor Relations Board ruled in favor of the union’s right to hold an election in December of 2021…

[T]he Employer provided only broad assertions to support its claims, and has thus failed to meet its burden to prove that the disputed classifications should be excluded because they are supervisory, managerial, or confidential in nature. Accordingly, I am directing a self-determination election among the petitioned-for appropriate unit of employees, including permitting the professional employees in the unit to first determine whether or not they wish to be included in the same unit with the nonprofessional employees, as set forth below.

* The union claims they have not received raises since 2021…

(non-union employees have continued to get raises) (12/16)

— ACLU of IL Staff United (@ACLUILUnited) June 3, 2024

* Yesterday, the union picketed to demand a contract…

Thanks to all who came out in solidarity to the @ACLUILUnited picket today!

We made it clear that @ACLUofIL's union busting is disgusting, and that four years without a contract or raise from the ACLU is the height of hypocrisy–fair contract now!! 🙌✊✊✊ pic.twitter.com/pBKQcsoZm4

— NOLSW/ UAW Local 2320 (@NOLSW2320) August 29, 2024

* More…

Fortune | ACLU, a big defender of free speech, illegally fired worker for complaining about working conditions, labor board says:

* Law 360 | Illinois ACLU Staff Can Vote To Join Atty Union, NLRB Official Says: A National Labor Relations Board official ordered a representation election at an Illinois ACLU-affiliated organization in which attorneys and other staff members will vote on whether to be represented by a United Auto Workers-affiliated union.

* Law & Crime | ACLU Accused of ‘Union Busting’ by Hiring ‘Anti-Union’ Law Firm [Ogletree Deakins] Over Labor Dispute: Workers and labor organizers at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Kansas have met resistance from the affiliate’s executive director Nadine Johnson after reportedly obtaining majority support for a union there–accusing the storied civil liberties organization of “union busting” over a series of procedural moves apparently aimed at slowing down the union recognition process.

9 Comments

Hopefully, IDHS will figure this out soon

Friday, Aug 30, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Capitol News Illinois…

An Illinois law intended to help people with mental illness avoid confrontations with police had been on the books for three years when Sonya Massey was shot by a Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy.

The Community Emergency Services and Supports Act, or CESSA, requires mental and behavioral health calls to 911 be handled by mental health professionals, rather than police. It was supposed to go into effect on July 1, 2022 – two years before Massey, who was having a mental health crisis, was shot by Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson.

“I think if this system was in place, and emergency responders were trained and aware of what is available to them, then I think Sonya Massey would still be with us today,” said Candace Coleman, community strategy specialist with Access Living, a Chicago-based organization that advocates for disabled people.

The struggle over CESSA’s execution has twice caused lawmakers to push back its effective date, but Sen. Robert Peters, D-Chicago, one of the bill’s sponsors, said Massey’s death underscores the need to carry out reform.

“I feel confident that we are going to get this done. The state and the advocates want to get this right,” Peters said. “And Sonya Massey is the exactly the reason we need to get this done.”

* From the Illinois Department of Human Services…

In close partnership with the legislature and advocates for this law, the deadline for implementation has been adjusted to July 1, 2025. The most recent change to the implementation timeline was enacted by SB 3648 (P.A. 103-0645).

Implementing CESSA is a significant undertaking that involves changes to many existing systems, including those administered by at least five entities and multiple State agencies (IDHS-DMH, IDHS-SUPR, the State 911 Administrator, IDPH, and HFS), as well as county and local jurisdictions, including local law enforcement, community mental health providers, public and private emergency medical services, and the advocates and associations that represent the individuals involved in these systems.

All these groups and organizations have different perspectives on CESSA’s challenges and potential solutions. They have also made significant investments in existing systems and their provider networks. In addition, many of these systems and organizations are subject to legislation and regulations that must be addressed, normalized, and integrated.

The full implementation of CESSA involves building relationships, addressing conflicts, leveraging opportunities, and connecting human and technological systems across these different entities. With the guidance of the CESSA Statewide Advisory Council (SAC) and eleven Regional Advisory Councils (RACs), DMH and its partners are working to identify, test, and scale solutions. We are grateful for the deep and broad cooperation across these systems that we have already seen, and look forward to seeing this expand to statewide implementation of CESSA.

Sometimes, legislators pass bills that are hugely complicated to implement in real life.

7 Comments

Pete Townshend he ain’t /s

Friday, Aug 30, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Rockford Register Star…

Two dozen Rockford-area civic leaders, Hard Rock executives and Seminole Tribe of Florida leaders — owners of Hard Rock International — lifted guitars high above their heads and smashed them to pieces Thursday to celebrate the opening of Hard Rock Casino Rockford.

Pyrotechnics showered the 1,600-seat Hard Rock Live stage in sparks as the invite-only crowd cheered.

After a dozen years of planning and about two years of construction, the 175,000-square-foot Hard Rock Casino Rockford opened for business.

“Ninety percent of our investor group has local roots — no private equity,” said Dan Fischer, chief investor of 815 Entertainment, the local company that brought Hard Rock to Rockford. “When you look at this place, it was built with people who put in real money.”

* The governor also participated in a celebratory guitar smashing…

Caption?

30 Comments

Open thread

Friday, Aug 30, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* It’s Friday! What’s going on?…

16 Comments

Isabel’s morning briefing

Friday, Aug 30, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: Potential testimony in Madigan case is previewed as attorneys start wrangling over what a jury might hear. Tribune…

Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan was back in a federal courtroom Thursday to hear proposed expert testimony from a former Chicago alderman about the structure and importance of political operations like the one Madigan helmed during his record run in the state legislature.

Madigan’s attorneys asked a judge to bar Dick Simpson, a political science professor emeritus at the University of Illinois Chicago who served as the 44th Ward alderman in the 1970s, saying his opinions are not based on any scientific methodology and that he has a long history of bias against Madigan and the regular Democratic Party.

Meanwhile, with his racketeering trial rapidly approaching, Madigan’s attorneys also filed a lengthy list of other items they want to keep a jury from hearing. That included any evidence mentioning Madigan’s son, Andrew; wiretapped calls mentioning former Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios; and a potentially damning recording where Madigan tells his confidant and co-defendant, Michael McClain, that some of his friends had “made out like bandits” with the contracts they’d landed for them.

The flurry of court activity comes as both sides are ramping up to the highly anticipated trial, which is scheduled to kick off Oct. 8 and will last up to three months.

* Related stories…

∙ Sun-Times: Madigan arguments turn to professor’s testimony with trial fast approaching
∙ Law360: Madigan Seeks To Block Ex-Alderman’s Expert Testimony

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Crain’s | Signature Bank stands by sponsorship of Dan Proft’s radio show after hosts mock Gus Walz: Signature Bank is maintaining its sponsorship of conservative talk radio show “Chicago’s Morning Answer” despite continued fallout from recent comments by hosts Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson about the son of Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz. “Signature Bank works with a variety of media and partners, and the opinions expressed by them do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Signature Bank,” the company said in an email to Crain’s. “Every day, we deliver our banking services with integrity and respect, and we encourage our partners to do the same.”

* Sun-Times | CTA testing artificial intelligence to detect guns at train stations, but ACLU is raising questions: ACLU Illinois spokesman Ed Yohnka said the biggest concern of his organization is the lack of public input. ZeroEyes’ technology was implemented without public discussion, he said. And it adds another layer of technology to a surveillance network that has failed to improve public safety. […] CTA and CPD would not share the number of gun arrests attributable to ZeroEyes in its first month of operation. But the CPD did share that there have been 626 reports of violent crime on the CTA this year through Aug. 27, compared with 547 during the same period in 2023.

* Sun-Times | Abortion access could be in jeopardy as Chicago Abortion Fund, others run short of money: The Chicago Abortion Fund is set to receive about $5 million from the state of Illinois, which helps cover out-of-state patients’ travel and stay in the state, according to Jeyifo. She estimates that the organization needs at least $200,000 a month more to cover abortion procedures.

*** Statehouse News ***

* WAND | New law creates legal protections for Illinois certified forensic pathologists: Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon said this can help address the drastic shortage of forensic pathologists in Illinois, as there are only three working south of I-80. “They are supposed to operate independently. They’re a non-biased stand alone entity,” Allmon said. “We want an honest opinion by the highly-trained forensic pathologist of why that person died and we don’t want those waters to be muddied at all.”

*** Chicago ***

* WBEZ | CPS to offer Chicago teachers raises up to 5% in each of the next four years: The union had been waiting on this proposal, which a source in the mayor’s office said it had greenlighted weeks ago. It includes annual raises between 4% and 5%. […] At a regularly scheduled bargaining session on Friday, Martinez plans to offer union members 4% raises in 2025 and between 4% and 5% raises in each of the next three years, depending on inflation, according to a statement from CPS. The district plans to expand healthcare and dental coverage without increasing costs for employees.

* Sun-Times | CTU president denies trying to force out Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez: Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates said Thursday she’s not working behind the scenes to engineer the ouster of Schools CEO Pedro Martinez. She simply wants him to “do his job” and deliver the schools poor children deserve. “We give them an opportunity to remediate. I’m a high school social studies teacher. … I don’t offer the ‘F’ first. I offer a warning. I provide opportunity. I give support. I call home. I make [myself] available during lunch and after school,” Davis Gates told the Sun-Times.

* Tribune | New year, new (and old) challenges: First Chicago Board of Education meeting of the new school year reflects tension over district leadership: A day earlier, roughly 400 CPS principals and assistant principals sent a letter to Board of Education members, encouraging them to retain Martinez. As CTU’s criticism of Martinez mounts, the school administrators said that the “atmosphere of uncertainty” regarding his future has colored the start of the school year.

* Crain’s | Federal judge throws out CTU lawsuit accusing a nonprofit of election interference: An Illinois federal judge ruled against the Chicago Teachers Union in a lawsuit brought against an education nonprofit in 2022, alleging it was unlawfully interfering in a CTU election. The 2022 complaint accused the New York-based nonprofit Educators for Excellence of promoting candidates in favor of “thin contracts” with the “goal of limiting the power of teacher unions and limiting the scope of the bargaining that teacher unions may conduct.”

* Crain’s | Chicago faces dubious distinction with Greyhound station closure looming: The city is in danger of losing its transportation hub in less than a month as the property owner eyes the site for redevelopment. Greyhound’s parent company sold the bus line to German company Flix in 2021 for $172 million. Three years after the sale, the bus line’s lease on 630 W. Harrison St. is expiring Sept. 20, and there is not a “viable path” for an extension, said Gilda Brewton, head of public affairs at Flix.

* Tribune | Angel Reese-Caitlin Clark duel for Rookie of the Year offers intriguing subplot for final Chicago Sky-Indiana Fever matchup: Sky ticket sales have more than doubled this year in reaction to the popularity of Reese and fellow rookie Kamilla Cardoso. And Friday’s fourth and final matchup against Clark and the Indiana Fever is expected to draw another sellout crowd with the second-highest average ticket price of the season.

* Tribune | Chicago White Sox swept again, suffer 104th loss — 2 shy of the franchise record — and fall to 4-33 in the 2nd half: The day after Wednesday’s heartbreaking 4-3 loss to the Texas Rangers, Sizemore said “it’s been the theme of just coming up a little short, being right there and an inch or two away from a victory and just having it taken away.” The Sox proceeded to lose 2-1 to the Rangers on Thursday before an announced crowd of 10,402 for their 104th loss, getting swept for the 21st time in 2024.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Southtown | Credit card bills reveal Dolton officials spending big on hotels, meals: Hotel spending for those the Atlanta and Portland trips topped $4,500, and that’s apart from airfare and dining charges, records show. Airline tickets in some instances included extra fees for seat upgrades, and charges for excess baggage, according to the statements, which include American Express and Fifth-Third Bank cards issued to Dolton.

* Daily Southtown | Tiffany Henyard says Thornton Township trustees spending caps harming residents: Supervisor Tiffany Henyard called a special Thornton Township Board meeting Wednesday in an effort to change recent ordinances that cap spending. But when none of the four township trustees showed up, Henyard railed against the measures, saying they prevent the township from providing services to children and older adults. “You thought it was just a way to stop Tiffany Henyard,” the supervisor told about 20 people, many of whom left after about 10 minutes, when Henyard refused to respond to their questions. “But it was a way to basically stop the services here in Thornton Township.”

* Daily Herald | Mayoral candidates already making their pitch in Gurnee, Vernon Hills: In Gurnee, incumbent Mayor Tom Hood this week said he would be seeking a second four-year term. And in Vernon Hills, longtime village Trustee Thom Koch Jr. will be running for the position formally known as village president but informally referred to as mayor.

* WSPY | Kane County Board Chairperson defends free speech zone at Kane County government building: Kane County Board Chair Corinne Pierog says that safety for visitors and staff is the top priority at the Kane County Government Building in Geneva. In a statement to WSPY News, Pierog said that while she respects the right to free speech, including the distribution of pamphlets, such activities cannot interfere with anyone’s ability to conduct business at the county office building.

* WTTW | Stateville Workers Rally Against Planned Prison Closure: ‘We’re Asking for No Layoffs and No Chaos’: Meanwhile, the state is moving forward with the closure; 103 incarcerated people have been transferred from Stateville to other facilities, according to IDOC. The union’s plea to keep the prison open is a stark contrast to the feelings of some of those incarcerated at Stateville. Abdul Malik Muhammad wrote to WTTW News earlier this month that the transfers are “life saving news.”

*** Downstate ***

* WAND | Man accused of murdering DCFS worker found guilty, but mentally ill: The defense had been arguing for a not guilty verdict by reason of insanity, but Reed was found guilty but mentally ill. In Illinois, a defendant found guilty but mentally ill will still serve time in prison, but may also get additional health care while in custody.

* WTVO | Hard Rock Casino Rockford finally opens, delay causes customer frustrations: “I’m really looking forward to all the different music that they’re going to have here,” Belvidere resident Paul Turner said. “They’re going to have everything from country to rock to folk. It’s going to be actually fantastic for the community.”

* AP | In Southern Illinois, BYU faces an FCS foe that knows how to beat upper-division teams: The Salukis are looking to take down an FBS opponent for the third straight season. They’re 0-5 all time against Big 12 teams but they upset Northern Illinois and Northwestern in back-to-back seasons.

* WSIL | New DCFS Field Office Opens in Marion: State and community leaders cut the ribbon, signifying the opening of the new field office; a 51,000 square foot building which is valued at $4.5 million and can accommodate 400 employees. Housed at the new site is the agency’s clinical, contract administration, day care and foster family licensing, education and transition services, permanency and quality assurance operations.

* AG Web | Chicago’s Urban Sprawl Leads Illinois Corn Growers to Start a Whole New Business Making Whiskey: “Rather than seeing urban sprawl as a threat, perhaps it’s an opportunity for us to create direct-to-consumer relationships and take advantage of the big population center that’s literally on our doorstep,” Jamie says. The Whiskey Acres brand was born. Of course, there was a lot of trial and error along the way and, since whiskey takes years to age properly, determining that an error had been made was a slow process.

22 Comments

Live coverage

Friday, Aug 30, 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.