* April Perry has been nominated to be the new US Attorney for the Chicago area…
Perry is currently the senior counsel for global investigations and fraud and abuse prevention at Chicago-based GE HealthCare. Previously, she worked for 12 years as a federal prosecutor in Chicago, and for a time was a coordinator for various programs that concentrated on violence against women, hate crimes and civil rights.
While with the U.S. attorney’s office, she prosecuted television pitchman Kevin Trudeau on allegations that he made deceptive TV commercials, a crime that led to a 10-year federal prison sentence for Trudeau
Perry left the U.S. attorney’s office to work as chief ethics officer for Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx. She left the office while Foxx’s administration was under scrutiny for abruptly dismissing charges against “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett. […]
Perry is also a hearing officer for the Chicago Police Board, a panel that decides whether Chicago cops should be fired for disciplinary infractions.
Robert “Bob” Berlin has announced he will seek his fourth, four-year term as DuPage County state’s attorney in 2024.
Berlin was appointed in 2010 to the unexpired term of Joseph Birkett and was elected three consecutive times as a Republican to the county’s top prosecutorial position in 2012, 2016 and 2020. […]
A Downers Grove resident, husband and father of two daughters, Berlin said among his most recent accomplishments was to work with legislative leaders in Springfield to help amend the state’s Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today Act, or SAFE-T Act, bond provisions for violent crimes.
* USDOT…
Today, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg announced that the Biden-Harris Administration has awarded $67,683,587 from the RAISE discretionary grant program to three different infrastructure projects across Illinois. […]
Today’s awardees in Illinois include:
• $25,000,000 for the 95th Street Terminal Electric Bus Improvements project to install bus charging equipment at the 95th Street Terminal with associated electrical upgrades at the 95th Street rail traction power substation to support the equipment. The project will also provide the infrastructure to support an electric bike station. The project will allow for the accommodation of all-electric buses, significantly reducing the greenhouse gas emissions along the corridor, improve access to daily destinations, and reduce physical barriers to transportation, while improving public health by adding electric bike infrastructure.
• $22,683,587 for the Curtis Road Grade Separation and Complete Streets Project to create a new railroad grade separation and approximately two miles of railroad improvements by relocating the railroad track and embankment. Additionally, the project includes two additional vehicular lanes, new on-street bicycle lanes, modernized traffic signals with pedestrian countdown signals, drainage improvements, enhanced transit stops, and construction of a railroad bridge. This project also incorporates solar lighting, automated pedestrian detection, and a conduit for future fiber optic broadband deployment.
• $20,000,000 for the Pace Pulse Halsted Line project to implement a bus rapid transit (BRT) service, serving four Chicago South Side neighborhoods and three south suburban communities. The project will construct approximately 14 intermediate stations, bus lanes, queue jumps, enhanced pedestrian ADA access, and new buses, thereby improving bus speed and reliability. These improvements will reduce mobility barriers and will offer significant improvements, thus having a significant impact on the ability to attract employees and business development in the area. In addition, the modal shift and new right-of-way infrastructure, curb extensions, and improved signage will increase the safety of motorized and non-motorized travelers.
The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies issued the following statement in response to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s recent signature on HB 2296, a bill that would narrow free-market competition. The statement can be attributed to Andrew Perkins, NAMIC’s regional vice president, Great Lakes.
“We are very disappointed that Governor Pritzker has chosen regulation over free-market competition with his signature of HB 2296. Illinois has long had an open market in which consumers benefit from insurers competing against each other for policyholders. Although the bill doesn’t directly impact property/casualty insurance, the idea that regulation is a better way to price products than the competitive market is short-sighted and just plain wrong. Decades of experience with heavy-handed regulation have shown that consumers benefit from a robust market where insurers compete for business.
“If the governor and proponents of this bill are truly committed to fairness, they should instead focus on underwriting accuracy. Competitive, risk-based ratemaking promotes accuracy, which is the essence of insurance fairness. Creating severe barriers within this time-tested insurance system will only make things more difficult and force consumers to subsidize the risk of others.”
* Most legislators don’t just vote in Springfield and call it a year. They also do tons of other things, including attending local events. Just one example…
My team was able to attend the ribbon cutting for Heaven's Barbecue on Earth, where the Greater Wheeling Area Chamber of Commerce also recognized Tots Therapeutic Childcare Center as their community partner for the evening! pic.twitter.com/nuwUSE9oI7
* Tribune | This was your chance to see a loud librarian — annual ALA conference in Chicago this weekend took on book banning: The American Library Association conference that just ended at McCormick Place tends to be a predictably tame six days. The annual gathering of librarians, publishers and information professionals has been happening since the 19th century. The Chicago-based ALA greets librarians from rural towns, big cities, colleges, high schools, libraries in other countries. They eat a hot dog and take a boat tour and, for a week, dig into the latest archiving techniques, discuss methods of bolstering diversity and forecast digital trends.
* Crain’s | An unusual sight at this weekend’s NASCAR race: A union-sponsored car: The International Union of Operating Engineers, or IUOE, which has a strong presence in Chicago and throughout Illinois, will sponsor Ryan Preece’s No. 41 Ford Mustang in this weekend’s NASCAR race. The union’s name will be emblazoned across the hood and along the sides of the car.
* Crain’s | Land bank targets Englewood rehabs to spur homeownership: “This is a community where the majority of homes are vacant,” says Asiaha Butler, CEO of the Resident Association of Greater Englewood. “Our strategy is to change that in a reparative way that (increases) homeownership in a neighborhood that has historically been harmed by redlining, predatory lending and other ways that stripped away Black wealth.”
* ABC Chicago | Towing company charged in multi-million dollar catalytic converter theft ring: Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub says TDI Towing in Philadelphia’s Port Richmond section bought $8.2 million worth of catalytic converters over three years. Detectives combed through 5,000 hours of surveillance and conducted undercover operations. One surveillance video shows a person inside of TDI Towing in Port Richmond pulling a catalytic converter out of a car and cooling it off.
* Prospect | The Death Cult of the American Car: Also last week, ProPublica and FRONTLINE reported that in 2017, the Department of Transportation started writing a report considering possible regulations for side guards on commercial trucks, which would help prevent pedestrians and cyclists from being trapped and crushed underneath. This prompted a furious backlash from the trucking lobby, which was allowed to provide extensive comments on a draft of the report before its publication. Sure enough, the final product contained no recommendations for new regulations.
* AP | Is it a ‘richcession’? Or a ‘rolling recession’? Or maybe no recession at all?: The latest signs suggest maybe not. Despite much higher borrowing costs, thanks to the Federal Reserve’s aggressive streak of interest rate hikes, consumers keep spending, and employers keep hiring. Gas prices have dropped, and grocery prices have leveled off, giving Americans more spending power.
* CNN | The Illinois funeral home with a mini-golf course underneath: In 1964, Roger Ahlgrim strolled into Ahlgrim Family Funeral Services’ newly constructed building, located in the small, leafy village of Palatine, a suburb of Chicago. He was the grandson of Arthur Ahlgrim, who had founded the family firm in 1892. As he explored the new site, he discovered a vast basement. Some 20 feet below ground, with no windows, it could serve little purpose for the funeral business, but Ahlgrim soon found a use for the room.
* NYT | How Easy Is It to Fool A.I.-Detection Tools?: Their tools analyze content using sophisticated algorithms, picking up on subtle signals to distinguish the images made with computers from the ones produced by human photographers and artists. But some tech leaders and misinformation experts have expressed concern that advances in A.I. will always stay a step ahead of the tools.
Five Black and Latino Chicagoans subjected to repeated traffic stops filed a discrimination lawsuit on behalf of a class of Black and Latino drivers against the Chicago Police Department late yesterday. The lawsuit alleges that CPD officers are more likely to pull over Black and Latino drivers than white drivers, and that this disparity cannot be justified either by public or traffic safety. The complaint alleges that the racial and ethnic disparities in CPD’s traffic stops are due to CPD policies requiring officers to satisfy traffic stop quotas and flood neighborhoods on the South and West Sides of the City with traffic stops for alleged minor equipment and registration violations, as confirmed by statistical evidence and public statements from CPD and City officials.
Data presented in the complaint shows that CPD’s mass traffic stop program, which ramped up under the administrations of former Mayors Lori Lightfoot and Rahm Emanuel, has not decreased serious crime in Chicago. As reflected by the experiences of the five Chicago residents, the complaint alleges that, through its mass traffic stop program, CPD harasses, racially profiles, and demeans hundreds of thousands of law-abiding community members of color who are simply trying to go about their day; in doing so, it undermines public confidence in CPD and wastes public resources, which in turn undermines public safety.
The lawsuit filed today asks a federal court to prohibit CPD from targeting predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods for a high volume of traffic stops, bar the use of traffic stops as simply an excuse to search for contraband like weapons or drugs, and end traffic stop quotas, among other requests.
“As a community organizer working to improve relations between police and community members, it is clear that CPD’s practice of targeting Black drivers with traffic stops increases tension and anger between Black people and the police. It makes people of color feel like we’re not free to travel in our own neighborhoods,” said Eric Wilkins, a Black resident of the Roseland neighborhood on the City’s Far South Side, and lead plaintiff in the lawsuit. Mr. Wilkins has been stopped repeatedly by Chicago police over many years.
“As a careful and conscientious driver, it is obvious that I have been stopped based on police officers’ false stereotypes about young Black men rather than for any legitimate reason,” said plaintiff Mahari Bell, a Black veteran of the Illinois Army National Guard who resides in the South Shore neighborhood. As alleged in the complaint, Mr. Bell has been stopped at least 10 times in the last eight years without a single citation being issued.
The complaint alleges that on one occasion in May 2022, Mr. Bell was stopped near Chicago’s Willis Tower while driving for a food delivery service. Officers approached his car and immediately demanded to know if Mr. Bell possessed any cannabis. Mr. Bell said no, but the officers ordered him out of the car. As Mr. Bell complied, they handcuffed him with his hands behind his back, telling Mr. Bell that handcuffing drivers is “what we do.” An officer then searched through Mr. Bell’s car and his possessions without his permission and without any legal basis. As onlookers on the busy downtown street watched, an officer reached into Mr. Bell’s pants, took his wallet, and ran his name through their computers. He was then released from the handcuffs and told he could go on his way.
“It was humiliating and degrading to be treated like a criminal in front of countless people on that street corner,” added Mr. Bell. “There was absolutely no reason for this frustrating stop, let alone for humiliating me while I was at work.”
Jacquez Beasley, a Black resident of the city’s West Side and an employee of the Chicago Park District, experienced a similarly embarrassing and degrading traffic stop in January 2023. As alleged in the complaint, CPD officers pulled Mr. Beasley over after he turned into the parking lot of his own workplace; with his work supervisor watching, officers interrogated Mr. Beasley as if he were a criminal suspect before telling him to go on his way.
“I have been pulled over at least 12 times since I got my driver’s license in 2020,” said Mr. Beasley. “I feel that officers see me – a young Black man with dreadlocks – and immediately assume I’m suspicious, even though I have no record and I’ve never gotten a traffic ticket or even a warning.”
The complaint alleges these experiences are typical of the experiences of hundreds of Black and Latino people who are subjected to traffic stops by CPD officers every day. The data presented in the complaint shows that since 2016, Black drivers in Chicago have been 4 to 7 times more likely than white drivers to be stopped by police; Latino drivers have been twice as likely to be stopped as white drivers. The data presented also shows Chicago police are also far more likely to search Black and Latino drivers and their vehicles, even though the police often have higher rates of finding illegal contraband in the vehicles of white drivers.
The complaint collects admissions from past CPD leadership that CPD intentionally targets traffic stops in neighborhoods on the West and South Sides where mostly Black and Latino people reside. The statistical analysis and other evidence presented in the complaint also demonstrate that claims by CPD leaders that CPD uses traffic stops in “high crime” areas to address violence, are not true. The City’s Inspector General has found that CPD is more likely to concentrate traffic stops in neighborhoods with a predominance of Black residents than in neighborhoods experiencing the most violence.
Fewer than 5% of some 600,000 stops net even a ticket; not even 1% result in arrest or seizure of drugs or guns. […]
The lawsuit cites departmental emails released by the activist groups Impact for Equity and Free 2 Move Coalition that showed CPD’s top brass demanding more traffic stops — including Ernest Cato III, who was then deputy chief of Area 4 and is now seeking to become head of CPD under Mayor Brandon Johnson — as a crime fighting strategy. The lawsuit incorrectly identifies Cato as “Eric Cato,” and his rank as first deputy chief and the second-in-command to former Supt. David Brown, a post then held by Eric Carter.
In the summer and fall of 2020, Cato sent a flurry of emails informing commanders that traffic stop tallies in some of the city’s most dangerous police districts were “not sufficient” and repeatedly urged commanders to increase the number of stops.
“Look at your traffic stop strategy and be prepared to address how you will utilize traffic stops to address violence,” he wrote to district commanders in a September 2020 email that included the districts’ statistics. “Effective traffic stops … decrease violence.”
Subsequent emails from supervisors under Cato show them pushing subordinates to make more stops. The lawsuit also notes that deposition testimony in a lawsuit filed by CPD Lt. Franklin Paz, who was demoted from the citywide Community Safety Team. Officers said the team Cmdr. Michael Barz set quotas for traffic stops, as well as arrests, in the neighborhoods targeted for “missions” by the team. Paz has sued the department, claiming he was kicked off the team in retaliation for raising concerns about Barz’s quotas.
Stephanie Kollmann of the Children and Family Justice Center on Cato’s bid to become the next CPD superintendent…
Lots and lots of people like and respect Cato because he supports CVI and has a good working relationship with key practitioners.
I agree with them that this is a bare minimum qualification for Supt.
* Jim Dey on the governor’s response to criticism of his emergency rules imposing restrictions on a healthcare program for some undocumented immigrants…
In the meantime, as is his practice, Pritzker launched a strong counter-attack on his critics.
For starters, he’s suggested that much of the criticism is insincere noise designed to pacify certain groups. He said he made it clear to Hispanic legislative leaders that exploding program costs had to be contained.
He said the Legislative Latino Caucus “knew what was going on” and that the public criticism of his decision is just political posturing.
One thing Pritzker certainly hasn’t done is show any sign of backing off.
That’s one aspect of Pritzker’s political personality that is striking and, to many, appealing. He’s a belligerent pol who never pulls a punch. Usually, he bashes defenseless Republicans. But he’ll go after anyone who crosses him.
* The Question: Do you agree or disagree that Pritzker is a “belligerent pol who never pulls a punch” and will “go after anyone who crosses him”? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
* Last month, Chicago Bears CEO and President Kevin Warren said that the company was looking for “property tax fairness” from Arlington Heights, but complained they hadn’t received it and were therefore looking at other towns to host the team. He also said this week that talks with the school districts are at “stalemate” and said Arlington Heights was not providing the team with tax “certainty.” The Daily Herald’s Christopher Placek talked with a school board member who’s been trying to get some answers from the Bears this year…
“I think he spoke very eloquently. A lot of what he said was positive. But our biggest concern is we really need to know more about the impact study and the traffic study,” [Northwest Suburban High School District 214 board member Frank Fiarito] said. “To us, that’s very important. And like he wants certainty with the taxes, it’s the same with the school districts, too.”
It’s an example of the chicken and the egg: The Bears want to come to agreement over property tax payments before proceeding with their $5 billion mixed-use commercial and residential redevelopment. But the schools want details first about what such a project would mean for their enrollments and if they’ll get commensurate revenues to teach new students and even build new schools. […]
While discussions are centered on the 2023 and 2024 assessment years, legislation the NFL franchise is backing in Springfield would freeze the assessment for up to 40 years.
Under the proposed Payments in Lieu of Taxes financing mechanism, annual payments to the schools and other taxing bodies would also be subject to negotiation.
“If we are going to get stuck where it is a PILOT program and taxes are frozen, then obviously we would not benefit,” Fiarito said.
* Also, this Warren statement from earlier in the week is just blatantly false…
“We’re not trying to skirt any taxes,” [Warren] said. “We’re not asking for any unique breaks. I’m hoping we’ll get back to the table with the school boards. We have to figure out if Arlington Heights is really a viable option.”
Um, they’re trying to pass a bill in Springfield to give the team a very unique tax break.
Add Aurora to the growing list of suburbs that have invited the Chicago Bears to consider as part of the NFL franchise’s relocation plans.
Aurora officials said they sent a letter touting the state’s second-largest city as a destination for the Bears to build a new stadium, joining Arlington Heights, Naperville and Waukegan.
“Upon receipt of the letter, representatives of the Chicago Bears organization responded quickly and positively,” an Aurora news release stated.
* The City of Chicago sent a briefing to various government officials and others on Monday, June 26th. What follows are some excerpts, but click here for the whole thing…
Background
● Since August 31, 2022, Chicago has received more than 10,500 new arrivals.
● 25 Buses have arrived since May 9, 2023
○ 9 buses arrived from June 16-24.
Current Situation
● To date, the City has 4,962 individuals in our shelter system.
● City shelters are at max capacity. CPD has experienced an increase in new arrivals waiting for shelter placement at CPD district stations.
● Approximately 600 individuals spread across police districts.
● Last bus arrived today at 10AM from Brownsville, TX carrying 50 passengers.
In motion
● Standing Up Large Sites
○ Since the last meeting the City opened three temporary shelters: Daley, Wright, and Gage Park.
○ The city is exploring other sites and engaging with Alderpeople and community in the process.
○ Challenge: Number of people arriving to Chicago is continuous and impacts space availability
Expanding Staff Capacity
● CBOs wrap-around case management at shelters; soft launch this week
● CBOs support at Police District stations
● In motion: Running volunteer program proposal by the Department of Human Resources and Office of Inspector General
● In motion: Conversations with Greater Chicago Food Depository and Open Kitchens
Aligning City, County, State, and Federal Efforts
● Ongoing communication and coordination with the State to stand up additional
support inside shelters
● FEMA announced the first tranche of Shelter and Services Program (SSP) funding on Monday, June 12, 2023.
○ The City of Chicago was announced to receive just over $10.5 Million on 6/12/23.
○ The State of Illinois was announced to receive $19.3 Million on 6/12/23.
● Met with the IL Federal Delegation on June 26, 2023
○ Exploring federal demands ( i.e. work permits and federal grants)
Aldermanic Engagement
● Aldermanic weekly briefing
● Immigration Committee Meeting on Wednesday, June 28 at 11:00 AM, called by Committee Chair Alderman Vasquez
○ First committee meeting will focus on city’s response. There will be consequent meetings scheduled monthly.
Communication with Mutual Aid Networks
● Weekly meetings with mutual aid volunteers
○ Purpose: Keep a line of communication open and work through feedback
● Ongoing communication about activity at Police District stations and shelter
● Coordination to support cases that require immediate medical attention
● Answering to inquiries as they come up
Resettlement Efforts
• 388 leases signed as of June 26th
• 137 moved into permanent housing as of June 26th
Nurses employed by Quincy Veterans Home protested on Tuesday over their concerns with what they call unfair labor and unsafe work conditions. […]
The INA president Tori Dameron said nurses working at the Quincy Veterans home are frustrated with what they call the overuse of agency or substitute nurses rather than hiring full-time nurses. There are currently 30 nurse positions open at Quincy Veterans Home.
“We are continuously being mandated to work overtime and extra shifts creating an unsafe environment for staff or patients,” Dameron said.
Dameron, who is also a nurse, said the INA has raised concerns before over staffing at the VA home.
Worker shortages. Since the pandemic, businesses of all kinds have faced the,, and some still are. At the Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy, workers report the problem persists and they said it’s the worst they’ve seen. […]
“We’ve been in bargaining for a couple months now and basically the ‘fair’ part is that management is not coming back to us with what we would consider reasonable offers for the nurses,” Dameron said.
Dameron believes better benefits could fill the roughly 20 open RN positions at the IVH. She said the shortage has led to unsafe working conditions, and it’s made it difficult to provide care for her patients. […]
Dameron said she is assigned to 26 patients and most days she is the only nurse taking care of that unit. […]
A nurse of seven years at the IVH, Brian Myers, claims the state isn’t doing the best it can to solve the worker shortage. […]
Instead of hiring full-time help, Myers said the State is bringing in contracted labor, or substitute nurses to help out.
The dedicated staff, including nurses at the Veterans’ Home at Quincy, provide the highest level of care and are critical to the quality of life for Veterans in our care. We continue to nurture our partnership with the union to ensure the nursing staff is supported and valued. The Home’s leadership consistently works with our nursing team to understand and address concerns as they are brought forward. IDVA is mandated by the state and federal government to maintain a minimum standard for hours of care for each Veteran, and IDVA exceeds those requirements. IDVA is proud that the Veterans’ needs are met in a timely manner. The Home’s census is aligned with its current staffing to ensure safety for both residents and staff.
In order to meet and exceed staffing requirements, the IVHQ team has been working hard over the past several months to recruit, hire, and train skilled professionals to join the nursing staff. These efforts include widespread postings, job fairs, and marketing in the deeply competitive post-pandemic healthcare workforce. While there is a nation-wide hiring crisis in health care and other industries, IDVA will continue an aggressive hiring campaign to ensure we can serve Veterans seeking care, especially as our $230 million new building is slated to open in 2024.
* American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy…
Leading states are strengthening policies to enable widespread use of electric cars, trucks, and buses, but all states will have to dramatically step up their efforts to enable a full transition, a new report finds. The 2023 State Transportation Electrification Scorecard from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) evaluates states’ policies to encourage electric vehicle (EV) adoption. Only nine states scored more than half the points available.
“We are seeing incremental progress, not transformational progress. States will have to move far more aggressively to do their part to enable the electric vehicle transition that the climate crisis demands,” said Peter Huether, senior research associate at ACEEE and lead author of the report. “Auto manufacturers are expanding their EV options and consumers are increasingly choosing them, but supportive state policies are needed to ensure that the electric grid is ready and that all households and businesses, including those in underserved communities, can use EVs and have adequate access to charging.”
California ranked first in the Scorecard, scoring 88 out of 100 points. The Golden State has committed to full electrification of light-duty vehicle sales, is planning significant updates to its electricity grid to prepare for a sharp rise in EVs, and incorporates equity considerations into its EV policy, setting aside significant funding for EV purchases in low-income communities and communities of color. New York, which came in second with 62 points, has heavily incentivized the purchase of EVs and EV charging infrastructure, including from its investor-owned utilities, and has taken considerable steps to integrate EVs onto the grid. Rounding out the top 10 are Colorado (#3), Massachusetts (#4), Vermont (#5), Washington State (#6), New Jersey (#7), the District of Columbia (tied for #8), Oregon (tied for #8), and Maryland (#10). The top nine states scored more than 50 points, and all others scored less than half the points available.
Since ACEEE’s last assessment of state EV policies in 2021, California finalized two important EV regulations: the Advanced Clean Cars II rule, which requires all new cars sold by 2035 to be EVs, and the Advanced Clean Truck regulation, which requires heavy-duty truck sales to begin to transition to electric models. Six states have adopted California’s Advanced Clean Cars II rule, and seven adopted its truck rule. Six additional states are considering adopting one or both of the rules. Nationwide, utilities have committed to invest $760 million in vehicle charging infrastructure since the last scorecard. The number of states requiring transit agencies to electrify their buses has doubled from four to eight.
llinois (#21) scored 27.5 points out of 100, up from 23 points and a rank of 23rd in our 2021 edition. The state has made progress in offering financial incentives for EV purchases and EV charging infrastructure. Illinois offers one of the most generous rebates (up to $4,000) for purchasing or leasing an EV. The state offers rebates that can cover up to 80% of eligible project costs for installing level 2 or fast charging stations. Projects located in disadvantaged or environmental justice communities can earn additional rebates. Illinois would benefit significantly from adopting California’s Advanced Clean Cars II rule and Advanced Clean Truck rule, which would make it a clear leader in the Midwest on transitioning to electric passenger and heavy-duty vehicles. Adopting the Advanced Clean Truck rule and supporting the electrification of school buses would help support the EV manufacturing industry in the state since electric delivery vans and school buses are manufactured in Illinois.
* I went outside for a few minutes yesterday without a mask, maybe that was a mistake…
This almost isn't even a fair comparison because visibility was *so* bad today. The left photo was taken late last spring. The right photo was taken through today's smoke #ChicagoWX#ILwxpic.twitter.com/M6O9oFms8W
Maria Peterson announced her Exploratory Committee for State Representative in the 52nd District. The event was held in Wauconda at Strawberry Moon with a packed crowd. Peterson was introduced by State Representative Nabeela Syed (D., 51) and joined by supporters and the following elected officials:
The Hon. Lauren Beth Gash,
The Hon. Maria Galo,
The Hon. Kristina Zahorik
The Hon. Barry Altshuler,
The Hon. Timothy Howe,
The Hon. Mary Lenling,
The Hon. Dennis Leslie,
The Hon. Jennifer Lucas,
The Hon. Jackie McGrath,
The Hon. Diane Scholten,
The Hon. Ruth Scifo,
The Hon. Nancy Shepherdson,
The Hon. Candace Sinclair,
The Hon. Linda Troester,
The Hon. Lucinda Troester,
The Hon. Gloria Van Hof,
The Hon. Kelli Wegener
* Here’s your morning roundup…
* Patch | Supporters Urge Governor To Sign Mental Health Center Transfer Bill: Legislators Sen. Michael Hastings and Reps. Robert Rita, Debbie Meyers-Martin, and Justin Slaughter spoke in support of HB 3743 and the park district’s plans, flanked by representatives of the Cook County Building Trades Council, Chicago Southland Convention and Visitors Bureau, Sierra Club, Illinois Environmental Council, South Suburban Special Recreation Association, Lincolnway Special Recreation Association, Tinley Park Bulldogs, Moraine Valley Community College, local youth organizations, south suburban school boards, and south suburban area park districts. The group gathered at the park district’s White Water Canyon Park to praise the legislation and publicly petition Pritzker to sign it into law.
* Bond Buyer | Pension risk meter on the rise for Chicago and Illinois, reports warn: Chicago and Illinois — longtime examples of outliers nationally on the size of their unfunded liabilities and funded ratios — have made progress, with Chicago now making payments more closely aligned with an actuarial calculation and both making supplemental contributions to complement scheduled payments.
* Capitol News Illinois | Pritzker signs bills altering Illinois’ health insurance market: “Since day one of my administration, I’ve been committed to making health care more equitable and holistic and accessible,” Pritzker said at a bill signing ceremony in Chicago. “With these bills, we aren’t just increasing access to affordable preventative care, we’re improving the quality of life for millions who call Illinois home.”
* Tribune | In year since defeat in GOP primary for governor, Richard Irvin embracing role as Aurora mayor: “A lot depends on how much more work we have to do,” he said, responding to a query on whether he would run for a third term as mayor in 2025. “This town’s going to look a lot different in two years.” It was Irvin’s way of saying he’s not ready to commit yet to running for a third term with one year and 10 months left on his second one. Nor is he ready to commit to running for anything else, or even if he would just settle into the life of an attorney at Oak Brook-based Castle Law, where he is now affiliated.
* WBEZ | Abortion bans are fueling a rise in high-risk patients heading to Chicago hospitals: Emily had a crushing decision to make: continue to carry a baby who would not survive, which could be a risk to her health and having children in the future, or have an abortion. “I don’t think I stopped crying for an entire two weeks,” said Emily, who asked WBEZ not to use her real name to protect her privacy and safety. “The whole world felt heavy. … It’s not something anybody should have to go through. It’s not easy losing somebody you love.”
* Tribune | Latin School refuses parents’ request for records of son who died by suicide after bullying, new lawsuit says: “We are entitled to our child’s school records, regardless of a loss,” said Robert Bronstein, father of Nate Bronstein, who died in January 2022. “Any parent is, and the school has that statement in their policies and in their handbook that says if a parent wants their children’s school files, here’s the department that you go to. They are refusing because, obviously, whatever’s in the school files will show their negligence.”
* Sun-Times | $1,000 available to survivors of gender-based violence through Chicago program: It’s the latest form of direct cash assistance from the city as residents continue to recover from the coronavirus pandemic. The Chicago Resilient Communities Pilot — which provided $500 for a year to 5,000 residents — is sending out its last benefit this summer. Another city program, the Chicago Resiliency Fund, provided a one-time payment of $500 to domestic workers and undocumented immigrants who were shut out of other federal pandemic relief efforts.
* Sun-Times | ACLU lawsuit: Chicago police target minorities for traffic stops: Fewer than 1% of the 600,000 stops made by CPD officers resulted in an arrest or the discovery of illegal drugs or a gun, according to the lawsuit, but the frequent stops do serious damage to minority Chicagoans’ faith in police, the lawsuit states, citing CPD records and community survey data. A 2023 survey cited in the report showed more than a quarter of Black respondents reported having been in a car that was stopped by police in the last year, versus 11% of Latinos and 7% of whites.
* Crain’s | Invest South/West projects ring up sky-high construction costs: That’s one of the great ironies of Invest South/West, a massive economic development initiative launched four years ago by former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Construction costs for the program’s affordable housing projects in some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods exceed $600,000 and even $700,000 per unit, far higher than the $450,000 to $500,000 per unit for the ritziest high-rises currently under construction in and around downtown.
* Tribune | Chicago’s minimum wage is increasing July 1. Here’s what to know.: The annual bump comes as Chicagoans experience a strong labor market despite layoffs in certain industries, such as Big Tech. Though inflation has cooled off historic highs, prices remain elevated. The minimum wage will increase 2.5% on the first of the month, a percentage that does not match inflation, which grew at a 4% annual rate in May.
* Ald. Raymond Lopez | An open letter to President Biden on what migrants — and Chicago — need now: Putting the politics of fixing the country’s broken and convoluted immigration system aside, it is imperative that you direct Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Ur Jaddou to work with breakneck speed to process and adjudicate all asylum cases as quickly as possible wherever the migrants and asylum seekers presently find themselves.
* WBEZ | Black cowboy culture in Chicago lives on: “A cowboy’s a cowboy no matter [where you are],” Perry recently told WBEZ’S Reset. “The love of horses, the love of animals, the outdoors, the riding that’s involved — that part of nature that’s in some of us humans, you know, that part will not go away, especially the connection between horses and people.”
* AP | Supreme Court rejects novel legislative theory but leaves a door open for 2024 election challenges: The court’s 6-3 ruling Tuesday drove a stake through the most extreme version of the so-called independent state legislature theory, which holds that legislatures have absolute power in setting the rules of federal elections and cannot be second-guessed by state courts. That decision cheered voting rights groups.
State Senator Linda Holmes is ready to bring the state’s hiring practices out of the 1950s and into the present so Illinois’ ability to recruit and hire quality applicants is improved and streamlined. The future is now, as Governor JB Pritzker signed Senate Bill 2228 into law Tuesday.
“It’s difficult to believe Illinois’ Personnel Code has not been systematically updated since it was adopted in 1955, but I’m pleased we can make these substantial updates now so the process will move more quickly with greater accessibility and transparency,” said Holmes (D-Aurora).
Senate Bill 2228 changes the code to implement modern processes and best practices in the state’s hiring methods, while reducing the time it takes to hire and grow the state’s workforce. It also provides for real-time review of proposed rules by JCAR and the Civil Service Commission to reduce the time it takes to make necessary regulatory changes. This improves transparency and access to workforce data, too.
This legislation was an initiative of the Department of Central Management Services to address delays and difficulties faced by departments with positions to fill, as well as applicants and CMS itself. It expands a mechanism for on-the-spot job offers (provisional hiring) and to get new employees working while the administrative hiring process is completed. Provisional hiring would decrease the hiring cycle timeline for critical positions by months.
CMS says they process tens of thousands of hiring sequences each year, and this will result in exponentially compounded time saved.
“It is possible that our state government has missed out over 68 years on many talented candidates for whom this process took too long and they accepted positions elsewhere,” Holmes said. “Several state functions are seriously understaffed right now, and this is an opportunity to fill those roles and provide more timely services to Illinoisans needing their assistance.”
The governor signed Senate Bill 2228 into law Tuesday. It takes effect immediately.
Bill Number: HB 1186
Description: Provides that Health Maintenance Organizations are not required to use a referral system for enrollees to access providers under contract with or employed by the health maintenance organization.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB 1364
Description: Creates the 9-8-8 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Workgroup Act.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: HB 3296
Description: Increases the cap on regulatory fees for Illinois largest credit unions.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB 2228
Description: Amends the Personnel Code and other relevant statutes to modernize the Personnel Code by seeking to remove inefficiencies, which delay the hiring process for state employees, and represents an overall clean-up to account for modern hiring practices.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB 2379
Description: Deadline extension for Counsel in Immigration Proceedings task force report.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
HB3296 was originally opposed by the Illinois Credit Union League, but they switched to neutral after three amendments were filed. You never give up in this business.
A Will County judge ordered the losing candidate in the 2022 race for Will County clerk and her attorney who filed an election fraud lawsuit to pay $35,000 in sanctions for what he called a “frivolous lawsuit.”
Republican Gretchen Fritz filed the lawsuit Dec. 28, claiming she believes “mistakes and fraud have been committed in the casting and counting of ballots” in the race because her opponent, Democratic Will County Clerk Lauren Staley Ferry, received more votes than Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker. […]
“It’ll be a deterrent so that these fake election lawsuits don’t get filed,” said Burt Odelson, Staley Ferry’s attorney. […]
In the lawsuit, Fritz claimed that “some unknown and unidentified person or thing” used a mathematical process to fradulently decide a winner in the clerk’s race, he wrote.
“But her supporting factual allegations are as vague as they are outrageous,” Anderson wrote in Monday’s order.
“In short, Ms. Fritz and her counsel violated Rule 137 by filing an election contest petition that was not well grounded in fact, and was not predicated on a reasonable factual inquiry,” Anderson wrote. “The Court finds that sanctions are proper.”
…Adding… By the way, these folks were supporters of Tom McCullagh, who dropped out of a House GOP primary after being accused of grooming. Every accusation is a confession with these people.
* Former Sen. Terry Link’s sentencing hearing is October 6th, the Sun-Times reports…
But in summer 2020, he resigned from the Senate and pleaded guilty to filing a false income tax return. In all, he admitted he filed false tax returns for the years 2012 through 2016, costing the IRS $71,133 and the Illinois Department of Revenue $11,527.
Then, earlier this month, Link wound up on the witness stand in Weiss’ trial, testifying about his cooperation with the FBI. There, he explained that he’d withdrawn money from his campaign account and said, “I used some for gambling.”
“The other part was, I was helping a friend who was in dire need,” Link said. He explained that it was someone who “I knew most of my life and he was a businessman.”
* Gov. Pritzker was asked today about his past statements that providing preventive healthcare saves money. So, he was asked today, if that’s the case, then why would he limit enrollment for part of the state’s undocumented immigrant healthcare program to save $550 million in the coming fiscal year…
One of the challenges is of course - and again, everybody should get basic health care - is that basic health care even upfront costs money. The savings come in years hence, as a result of the investments that you make in basic health care. So we need to acknowledge that there’s going to be savings as a result of the early investments that we make in preventative health care, for example. But let’s remember that the legislature actually increased the amount of money that was available for this program from $220 million to $550 million. And although the estimates had been if we hadn’t put these tools to work, then it might go to $1.1 billion, which wasn’t something that the budget could tolerate. And so we’re doing it within the confines of what we have available to us and the legislature’s given us.
* News media interview offer…
Tio “Mr. CeaseFire” Hardiman says that he is now a Republican. The nonviolence activist and former Democratic candidate for Governor says that the Republican Party’s stances on violent crime and immigration resonate within him and his life’s work.
Hardiman hasn’t been with CeaseFire in years. It’s not even called that any longer, but it’s his claim to fame. Hardiman hit his political high point in 2014, when he took 28 percent of the vote as the only alternative to the unpopular Gov. Pat Quinn in the Democratic primary. Four years later, he received just 1.6 percent in the Democratic primary, or a mere 21,075 votes.
Today, Governor JB Pritzker was joined by state and local officials as he signed legislation authorizing a new state-based marketplace (SBM) for Illinois, which gives state agencies additional tools to create a more consumer-focused health insurance exchange and better identify traditionally uninsured communities. The Governor also signed historic rate review legislation, which will protect health insurance consumers from unfair rate hikes.
The Illinois Department of Insurance (DOI) and the Department of Healthcare and Family Services (DHFS) will work together to implement the new legislation and coordinate with all state medical assistance programs.
“As governor, I’ve worked to build a state government that is more efficient and more responsive to what working families need,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Operating our own healthcare marketplace gives us the dexterity to offer more enrollment windows, coordinate with nonprofit partners who help families navigate insurance choices, and protect Illinoisans from any future changes in federal policy that seek to undermine access to affordable healthcare – including access to reproductive healthcare.”
“Illinois joins more than three dozen other states with similar prior approval authority in the individual and small group health insurance market,” said Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton. “This is a win for insurance consumers and an example of our collaboration with partners in the General Assembly and beyond to improve insurance access, affordability, and transparency for Illinoisans.”
Illinois residents currently access the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace using the federal platform which the state pays a fee to use. This legislation (HB 579) will transition Illinois to a state platform, redirecting that fee to Illinois to fund the new SBM. The full state-based marketplace goes live for plan year 2026, and consumers will start enrolling via the Illinois platform during the ACA Marketplace Open Enrollment Period beginning November 1, 2025.
Currently, the federal platform does not share real-time data, and the Illinois Department of Insurance (DOI) must rely on federal CMS reports with limited information regarding enrollment in ACA Marketplace coverage. The new legislation will help address that challenge, allowing Illinois to better target and serve uninsured communities.
The rate review bill signed into law today – HB2296 – is a monumental piece of consumer protection legislation that substantially advances health care affordability. Illinois joins 41 other states in protecting Illinois consumers and small businesses from unfair premium rate hikes.
For the first time, insurance companies will have to provide specific information about how they set their rates and the DOI will have the authority to approve, modify, or disapprove health premium rates that it determines to be unreasonable or inadequate in the individual and small group market. It also increases transparency for consumers and small business by adding reporting requirements for insurance companies, and gives DOI the data it needs to explain to consumers and small businesses why people pay what they pay in a yearly report.
Five Years after Janus, Government Unions Are Weaker — and More Desperate
* SEIU press release…
Tuesday, June 27 at 3:00 PM - after several months of classes, around 70 Service Employee International Union (SEIU) Local 1 janitors working at the Merchandise Mart will be graduating from the Green Janitor Education Program – a groundbreaking environmental program that creates safer working conditions for janitors and building tenants and puts money back into building owners pockets.
The Green Janitor Education Program is member-led, meaning Local 1 janitorial leaders teach the classes. The program provides education in green building practices to meet the latest energy, water and green initiative standards covering energy efficiency, recycling, waste management, water conservation and sustainable cleaning practices.
These lessons benefit not just the janitor’s health and work environment, but also the environment for the tenants in the buildings these janitors clean. The building’s carbon footprint is lowered, and moreover, the building saves money enacting these lessons. This program takes place in Merchandise Mart, one of the largest buildings in Chicago by square footage, making one of the biggest single-building impacts possible. This program also took place at 321 N. Clark in Chicago, from which SEIU Local 1 janitors graduated last month.
I will not be at NASCAR. It’s just unfortunate, but I made plans long before the NASCAR ever got, you know, put into Chicago that that I wasn’t going to be there. So, yeah.
* Isabel’s roundup…
* Tribune | Pritzker signs bills giving Illinois power over health insurance prices, Affordable Care Act exchange: The bill signings Tuesday came amid criticism aimed at Pritzker for his decision to close enrollment for many people in a separate health care program for immigrants in the country without legal permission. One of the bills signed into law Tuesday will allow Illinois to run the exchange where health insurance plans are sold, by 2025. Now, consumers must go to the federally-run healthcare.gov to buy exchange plans.
* Crain’s | Unemployment nearing record low around metro Chicago: According to surveys released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and IDES, the Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights statistical area reported an unemployment rate of just 3.2% in May, not seasonally adjusted. That’s near the lowest level ever, according to IDES, with only a 3.0% figure in November 2019 coming in lower.
* Crain’s | Chicago is now second city for home price growth: S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices released this morning for April. Chicago-area single-family home values rose by 4.1% that month from a year earlier, according to the index, second only to Miami, where prices were up 5.2%.
* Crain’s | Another season of drought would cost Illinois farms: Jeff Kirwan, an Illinois Farm Bureau board member and farmer in Mercer County near the Quad Cities, estimates the drought damage to date could cause a 20% reduction in crop yields in comparison to a normal year — assuming the region still gets some rain, that is. If the lack of rainfall continues with high daily temperatures, crop yield could be reduced by as much as 40% to 50%, Kirwan says.
* Belleville News-Democrat | Dangerous temperatures headed for metro-east. Here’s the latest forecast & safety tips: “Everyone’s heard a lot about the heat down in Texas. There’s an impressive heat dome of high pressure that’s drifting northeast,” Deitsch said. “Wednesday will be progressively warmer than today and then we’ll get very impressive heat Thursday and Friday, pushing 100 degrees. It’s the remnants of the same system in Texas drifting to the north and east.”
* Sun-Times | Chicago’s Urban Prep can stay open as lawsuit fighting its closure continues, appeals court rules: This is a major win for Urban Prep Academies, said Craig Wimberly, president of the Coalition of African American Leaders. COAL has been fighting for Urban Prep. It’s the city’s only all-male charter school operator, once celebrated nationally for getting all its seniors, who are almost all Black, into college year after year. It currently has two CPS campuses, one in Englewood and another in Bronzeville, with about 380 students enrolled before classes ended for the year. CPS budgeted $8 million for Urban Prep this past year.
* Crain’s | Good timing! CTA announces big grant for electric buses: The agency won a discretionary $25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to upgrade a bus-charging facility adjacent to its terminal at 95th Street and the Dan Ryan Expressway, which serves 16 bus lines that carry 26,000 riders on an average workday.
* Mendota Reporter | LaSalle County among four counties in Illinois to report West Nile Virus: While no human cases of West Nile virus have been reported in Illinois so far this year, there were 34 human cases (which are significantly under-reported) and eight deaths attributed to the disease in the state in 2022, the most in any year since 2018, when there were 17 deaths. A total of 10 batches of mosquitos that tested positive for West Nile virus have been reported this year in Cook, LaSalle, Morgan and St. Clair counties.
On July 1, Illinois’ gas tax will undergo its annual increase [roughly three cents per gallon] and the state’s moratorium of [the local 1 percent] grocery tax will expire.
* Reporter: On Saturday, folks are gonna see prices go up at the grocery checkout line. Prices will go up at the gas pump for the second time in six months. Critics, when you passed that tax relief plan last year, called it an election-year stunt. The election year is over. Were they right about that?
* Pritzker: Dan, I hope you’ll report - you haven’t yet, so I’m gonna ask you to do it now - report on the fact that the grocery tax doesn’t go to the state of Illinois. It goes to local governments.
What we did last year was a temporary measure because we had very high inflation. Inflation, you may notice, has come down. But we had very high inflation. We wanted to do everything that we could and we provided $1.8 billion of tax relief for families across Illinois. The grocery tax was one of them. But what we did was we replaced the money that local governments were getting from that grocery tax for the year at the state level. We provided the money to replace that tax.
Now I hear often Republicans complaining that the grocery tax is being reimposed. But these are the same folks who don’t have a solution for well, how would you reimburse local governments for the grocery tax that you would like to get rid of? I would like very much to eliminate entirely the grocery tax, but it is a matter of local governments and what they would do if they didn’t have that income as a result of the grocery tax.
Please pardon all transcription errors.
*** UPDATE *** Reporter in question brings receipts…
I won’t get into the rights or wrongs of taking over the center of a city in the middle of summer and inconveniencing Chicagoans for weeks just to have a loud NASCAR race with ticket prices rivaling those of a Taylor Swift concert. “What, and for whom, are city parks and streets for?” you could ask.
Nor will I mention the oddness of a NASCAR race laid out like a Formula 1 track or the fact that police have been cracking down hard on young Chicagoans’ illegal street racing and “drifting” at rowdy intersections. You can watch “Fast & Furious” movies, kids. Do not imitate. […]
No matter. The legends of guys named Buckshot and Junior and Fireball, their suped-up moonshiner cars “runnin’ through the woods of Caroline” (to quote Springsteen’s “Cadillac Ranch’’), the roar of straight pipes and barely controlled recklessness — it’s primitive and enduring and, yep, American.
NASCAR’s here, like the traveling circus. Might as well put in the earplugs, folks, and climb aboard.
In addition to the races, there’s also a festival happening all weekend, including some big-name performers. On Saturday, the Black Crowes are slated to perform at 2:30 p.m. and the Chainsmokers will take the stage at 7 p.m. On Sunday, Charley Crockett and Miranda Lambert are on deck for pre-race shows beginning at noon.
How do I attend the race or concerts? Tickets are available online. All tickets are for both days and range in price from $269 for general admission to $3,015 for the President’s Paddock Club, which is billed as the “most luxurious race weekend experience.” While officials say the event is family friendly, there is no discount for youth tickets.
If you don’t have a ticket, officials say the best way to watch the race is on TV (Sunday’s race will be broadcasted on NBC). A NASCAR representative said at a recent press conference that there will be no streetside view of the race.
If you want to be a part of the scene without shelling out money for a ticket, there will also be a free NASCAR Village both days at nearby Butler Field, featuring pace cars, merchandise and concessions. The area will close each day at race time.
The Xfinity Series will be the first to race on Saturday, July 1, with their race, The Loop 121, beginning at 4 p.m. central time and will be televised on the USA Network.
The Cup Series, the best in NASCAR, will race on Sunday, July 2 at 4:30 p.m. central time in the Grant Park 220, and will be televised on NBC.
With a limit of ten total hours of track time, the drivers for both series will have a tight schedule to get their cars ready for the inaugural Chicago Street Race.
The teams will begin to arrive in Chicago on Friday, June 30, with garage hours starting for the Xfinity Series at 12:30 p.m. central time that day. Cup Series teams have their garage hours starting at 3:30 p.m. central time.
NASCAR’s traveling show is coming to town for an Xfinity Series race on Saturday and the biggie, the Cup Series’ Grant Park 220, on Sunday. Are those cars and drivers ready for us? Are we ready for them?
Harrison Burton traveled here, too, to check out what would become the Chicago Street Race’s 2.2-mile, 12-turn, seven-90-degree-turn course, or track, or highway to hell and back — whatever you want to call it.
“It was wild,” he says. “I was just cruising in traffic. It was still just normal streets, and the [stoplights] were up. To me, that’s crazy. We normally go to places that are year-round set up and kind of permanent, and it’s just so different. It was mind-blowing to think about. Some of the corners there are a little tight even in a street car. It’s going to be a challenge.”
It’s going to be tight and it’s going to get gnarly, the drivers expect, with cars exceeding 100 mph on relatively short straightaways, having to slow way down — 40 mph or so? — into several turns and “trading paint” like nobody’s business. Picture a few dozen shopping carts flying into a cart corral all at once outside your local Jewel, if it helps. There will be lots of collisions and probably a good bit of chaos, making it tough on the dudes behind the steering wheels but, NASCAR hopes, such a spectacle that folks here will look forward to the races returning around the Fourth of July in 2024 and 2025. […]
“I had someone in Chicago ask me what NASCAR was,” Burton says. “I was like, ‘Holy cow.’ That’s crazy to me. Obviously, my whole life is NASCAR and it revolves around the sport. For me to hear someone who doesn’t even know what it is, much less what we’re doing and who we are — anything, no idea what our sport even is — is seriously crazy.
* More…
Here's a look at the set up in Grant Park for the NASCAR Street Race this weekend.
Closures now in place: Ida B Wells CLOSED Michigan to Columbus Balbo CLOSED Michigan to LSD Congress Plaza Dr CLOSED Jackson CLOSED Michigan to LSD Columbus CLOSED Jackson to Roosevelt pic.twitter.com/BUGwDE5GIB
While this is the first street race ever in NASCAR, the city of Chicago is no stranger to racing. NASCAR made its first trip to Chicago for a race in 1956, and the area has hosted dozens of races in the years since then. […]
That’s right, the Chicago Bears’ home stadium once hosted NASCAR races.
In 1956, three NASCAR-sanctioned races were held at Soldier Field – one NASCAR Cup Series race and two NASCAR Convertible Division races. The Cup Series race was held at the quarter-mile, paved track inside the stadium on July 21, 1956. NASCAR Hall of Famer Fireball Roberts won the race, earning $850 by crossing the finish line first.
The Convertible Division returned for one final race in 1957 before NASCAR went away from Soldier Field for good. In the last two years, the Cup Series has raced inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, so perhaps a return to Soldier Field some day isn’t out of the question.
* Even more…
* SBJ | Bubba Wallace bringing ‘Bubba’s Block Party’ to Chicago ahead of NASCAR street race: Ahead of Sunday’s NASCAR Chicago Street Race, 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace tomorrow will host “Bubba’s Block Party,” a “nationwide community initiative at The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center,” according to Shakeia Taylor of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. The free event, scheduled from 5-9pm CT, will feature “racing-themed entertainment, local food from Black-owned businesses and a live musical performance” from artist Lupe Fiasco. Wallace, who became just the second Black driver to win a race in NASCAR’s top Cup Series level in 2021, “wants his block party to be a place where people who haven’t felt welcomed by the racing community to come and learn about the sport.”
From the air, the former Caterpillar factory outside Chicago is sprawling – the size of two dozen football fields. Once a heavy equipment plant, it’s now a hive of activity making a product that has never been in higher demand: medical gloves.
The US Medical Glove Company, or USMGC, wants to turn a profit – but also to reduce US reliance on imports of medical gloves from the Far East, especially China and Thailand, while creating American jobs that pay well beyond the minimum wage.
It’s one of several US companies on the same mission: to make America more self-reliant on essential medical equipment after the coronavirus pandemic sparked a global scramble, especially for personal protective equipment, or PPE. […]
In 2020, 90% of gloves, syringes and needles used in the US were sourced from Asia alone, according to HHS. Now, Washington plans to spend $1.7 billion to spur domestic PPE production, part of $4.5 billion to help expand US manufacturing more broadly, according to HHS. The US is also investing in the domestic production of raw materials for gloves, masks, gowns, drugs, vaccines, medical test kits and other essential medical supplies.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, there was only one company producing single-use nitrile gloves in the United States, that maker told CNN. SHOWA Group, a Japanese company, had about 125 employees at a factory in Fayette, Alabama, making about 400 million gloves annually. The production lines were old, and higher domestic costs made a box of gloves about twice the price of Asian brands, the company told CNN.
Although city officials will not confirm if a new occupant is coming to the long-dormant Motorola campus at 2001 N. Division St., logos for Kentucky-based U.S. Medical Glove Co. have been reported on “no trespassing” signs placed around the campus and on security vehicles patrolling there. […]
[Harvard Mayor Mike Kelly] told the audience that the building is being “brought up to occupational standards to have manufacturing there” and that city officials expect the company to bring jobs to Harvard within the next year. […]
Manufacturing, Kelly said, could begin at the site before the end of 2023.
“They are expecting a lot of people to come work for them,” and Harvard will need more housing soon for those workers, Kelly said.
The City of Harvard welcomes a major company to the community with the hope it will bring more than 1,000 jobs to the region. The U.S Medical Glove Company will take over the former Motorola space on Route 14 that’s sat vacant for 20 years.
“It’s amazing to see the life come back into that building and the potential,” Lou Leone said, City Administrator for Harvard.
Harvard leaders believe the U.S Medical Glove Company will bring more jobs, more residents and more customers to the city. […]
With the expectation of around 1,200 jobs opening up, Leone says the area could see a population boom.
Bringing manufacturing back from overseas is a good thing. More Illinois jobs is a good thing. I hope it works out for them.
It’s the worst anywhere on the planet, according to the World Air Quality Index. That’s right — worse than the biggest, most polluted cities in India and China. Minneapolis was ranked second; Detroit fifth.
Airquality.gov, which uses the official U.S. Air Quality Index, listed Chicago as “unhealthy” as of 9 a.m. Chicago time. […]
“Definitely people with respiratory issues should definitely limit their time outdoors today and try to maintain themselves indoors if at all possible,” said Zachary Yack, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Romeoville.
* Map from yesterday…
Monday 7PM: I'm getting reports from of a smoky smell in the air. Current forecasts show some pretty dense wildfire smoke coming right into Chicago through tomorrow. I wouldn't be surprised if an Air Quality Alert us issued for our area. #ilwx#INwx#smokepic.twitter.com/kZIdAdzYcQ
The problem is predicted to last through the day Tuesday.
Chicago Public Schools said in an email to families Tuesday it would move its summer programs indoors “to reduce the risk to students and staff.”
The American Lung Association and Mount Sinai Health System shared the following tips for those looking to limit exposure to unhealthy air:
Avoid exercising outdoors and stay inside with windows closed an air conditioning on if possible.
Walk, bike or carpool. Combine trips. Use buses, subways, commuter trains or other alternatives to driving your car.
Don’t smoke.
If you must be outside, consider wearing an N95 or KN95 mask. Surgical masks will not be helpful with air pollution, according to Mount Sinai Health.
Wildfires burning through large swathes of eastern and western Canada have released a record 160 million tonnes of carbon, the EU’s Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service said on Tuesday.
This year’s wildfire season is the worst on record in Canada, with some 76,000 square kilometres (29,000 square miles) burning across eastern and western Canada. That’s greater than the combined area burned in 2016, 2019, 2022 and 2022, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.
As of June 26, the annual emissions from the fires are now the largest for Canada since satellite monitoring began in 2003, surpassing 2014 at 140 million tonnes.
* Adriana Pérez…
This is the context in which NASCAR is coming to Chicago in a few days.
We’re among the 25 most polluted cities in the country — what will the street race mean for our (already bad) air quality?
Here's Chicago today (left) and Chicago on a normal, clear day from the same spot (right).
The smoke blanketing Chicago came from Canadian wildfires. People should "consider limiting prolonged outdoor activities," according to the National Weather Service. https://t.co/O3fVwy19QTpic.twitter.com/B6gx2P6FIZ
Early Tuesday morning, the city at one point moved into the “very unhealthy” category for everyone with an Air Quality Index of 248 (purple zone) as smoke from Canadian wildfires is blanketing the state, making the skies hazy.
Milwaukee’s air quality reached the “very unhealthy” level for the first time in a spring and summer that is being defined by deteriorating air quality. Other parts of Wisconsin remain in the “unhealthy” category as defined by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. […]
Milwaukee’s air quality is the second worst in the country and the world as defined by IQAir.com.
…Adding… Chicago Mayor Johnson…
“The City of Chicago is carefully monitoring and taking precautions as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has categorized our Air Quality Index as “unhealthy” due to Canadian wildfire smoke present in the Chicago region. We recommend children, teens, seniors, people with heart or lung disease,and individuals who are pregnant avoid strenuous activities and limit their time outdoors.
For additional precautions, all Chicagoans may also consider wearing masks, limiting their outdoor exposure, moving activities indoors, running air purifiers, and closing windows. As these unsafe conditions continue, the City will continue to provide updates and take swift action to ensure that vulnerable individuals have the resources they need to protect themselves and their families. Anyone who needs immediate medical attention should dial 911.
This summer, cities across North America have seen unhealthy levels of air quality as a result of wildfire smoke, impacting over 20 million people from New York City, Washington DC, Montreal, and today here in Chicago. As we work to respond to the immediate health concerns in our communities, this concerning episode demonstrates and underscores the harmful impact that the climate crisis is having on our residents, as well as people all over the world.
We must take drastic action to mitigate these threats and ensure that every Chicagoan in every neighborhood has the resources and protection they need to thrive. Please visit airnow.gov for information on the latest air quality in Chicago.”
*** UPDATE *** More from the city…
Smoke from wildfires in Canada continues to impact air quality in Chicago, which was rated as “very unhealthy” beginning at 11 a.m. Tuesday, according to Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) air monitors. By midday, the IEPA issued an Air Quality Alert in effect until midnight on Wednesday, with recommendations that all Chicagoans – and particularly sensitive populations, including individuals with heart or lung disease, older adults, pregnant people, and young children – avoid outdoor activities and take precautions to protect themselves from exposure.
The City initiated a comprehensive response, including outreach to vulnerable populations and special precautions such as moving Chicago Park District camps, Chicago Public Schools and other activities indoors where possible. For Chicagoans without access to properly ventilated and safe indoor conditions, please utilize our public libraries, senior centers, Park District facilities, and the Cultural Center or the six community service centers that operate from 9am-5pm:
• Englewood Center – 1140 W. 79th Street
• Garfield Center – 10 S. Kedzie Ave. (24 Hours)
• King Center – 4314 S. Cottage Grove
• North Area Center – 845 W. Wilson Ave.
• South Chicago Center – 8650 S. Commercial Ave.
• Trina Davila Center – 4312 W. North Ave.
These facilities are open to the public for respite. Other critical actions being taken by the City today in response to the air quality conditions include:
• Urging the private sector, members of the public, and City departments to delay, reduce, and/or halt outdoor activities wherever possible.
• Alerting Chicago Housing Authority, delegate agency clients, Department of Family and Support Services Seniors, and Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities clients of the air quality situation and providing helpful safety information.
• Urging the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), particularly for sensitive populations.
• Making PPE available to vulnerable residents through our street outreach teams.
• Urging employers to allow telecommuting where possible.
• Urging the public and City departments to limit automobile use and refueling.
• Providing 3-1-1 with helpful air quality safety information.
• Utilizing the City’s broad communication network, including digital assets, to share information with the public.
• Monitoring 9-1-1 call volume and hospital visits for respiratory related health emergencies.
For the duration of the Air Quality Alert, all individuals, and particularly sensitive populations should:
• Avoid spending time outdoors. If you must go outside, keep outdoor activity short and wear a KN95 or N95 mask while outside.
• Stay indoors and keep your indoor air as clean as possible by not smoking, using candles, or vacuuming.
• Follow your doctor’s advice if you have asthma, lung or cardiovascular disease. Some symptoms of breathing smoke include wheezing, chest pain, shortness of breath, and trouble breathing. If your symptoms worsen, call your physician or 911.
• Keep windows and doors closed and turn on your air conditioner if you have one. Seek shelter elsewhere if you do not have an air conditioner and your home is too warm.
• Use an air filter if you have one.
• Limit driving a vehicle if possible.
• Stay tuned to local news media advisories.
To learn more about air quality in our area and monitor for updates from the U.S. EPA, visit www.AirNow.gov. Residents can also sign up to receive NotifyChicago alerts at NotifyChicago.org or download the Chicago OEMC App through the Apple App or Google play stores for public safety tips and alerts.
Despite some recent positive steps, Illinois has lots more hard and painful work to do if it’s to finally solve pension woes that pose a continuing risk to the state’s financial stability.
That’s the bottom line of a definitely dour report from S&P Ratings warning that, even with stepped-up funding under Gov. J.B. Pritzker, the state still has been contributing billions of dollars a year less than actuaries say is needed to bring Illinois’ government-worker pension funds into long-term fiscal balance.
“We believe pensions have an elevated probability of stressing the state and local governments,” the report says. “Costs will keep rising because contributions are significantly short of meaningful funding progress, plans are poorly funded, and the Illinois Pension Code allows plans to use assumptions and methodologies that defer costs.” […]
However, by casting a spotlight on slow progress, the report could give some momentum to a proposal by the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago to impose a temporary income-tax surcharge to pay off billions in old pension debt as part of a deal in which the state also would repeal its estate tax. Illinois Senate President Don Harmon has publicly expressed interest in using the proposal as “a framework” for future action.
* From the report, with the important part highlighted…
Pension costs will keep rising, as Illinois has adhered to policies that defer contributions and weigh down its pension plans’ funded status. Even with efforts to reduce costs, buy out liabilities, and recently, contribute more than what was statutorily required, fixed pension costs related to the five state-sponsored plans (see Overview section) are projected to increase at an annual average rate of more than 2.2% over the next 10 years, according to the Commission of Government Forecasting and Accountability’s Special Pension Briefing, published November 2022.
Pension payments are high, no doubt about it. But the increases are manageable. And 2.2 percent is below inflation.
* On the Tier 2 fix…
Under Tier 2, the capped cost-of-living adjustments could result in benefit payments violating social security’s safe harbor provision if inflation persists at elevated levels. If the safe harbor provision is violated, employers are required to pay Federal Insurance Contribution Act (FICA) taxes, which would allow employees to participate in social security. Changes were made with the downstate firefighters’ consolidation and the state recently passed a bill that raises the pensionable salary cap and benefits for Tier 2 employees in Cook County’s pension system to avoid triggering the safe harbor provision. Segal Consulting recently analyzed the impact of changes to pension cost projections to TRS, SURS, and SERS to maintain an exemption from FICA taxes. In this analysis, Illinois’ 2022 unfunded liability would increase by $285 million, and the state would need to add a further $5.6 billion to its contributions through 2045. Even with the projected changes, the savings from Tier 2 benefits would still be significant. However, we believe an unexpected increase to pension costs will make annual contributions more challenging to fit into budgets.
More challenging, for sure, but not catastrophic.
* This is something to watch out for because retiree healthcare costs are paygo…
We expect cost volatility and increases, as most state OPEB plans are funded on a pay-as-you-go basis and health care cost trends exceed inflation. The Illinois Supreme Court ruled that retiree health care benefits are covered by the pension protection clause and cannot be impaired or diminished.
State Employee and Retiree Health Care Savings – negotiated over $1.8 billion in health care cost savings.
✓ Estimated $650 million in collectively bargained cost savings with employees through FY23.
✓ Additional $515 million in savings achieved through negotiations with insurance companies and providers.
✓ $660 million for first five years of savings for retiree health insurance contracts.
Talks with Arlington Heights are at "..a stalemate and more convoluted than I thought it would be…we are in position to explore other options and opportunities."
Warren let slip another locale that had — literally — come calling: Lake Forest. According to the Daily Herald’s report of the event, Warren mentioned that officials from the North Shore community had called about the team’s move while he was on his way to Monday night’s event. The team’s headquarters, Halas Hall, are already based in Lake Forest.
The apparent Lake Forest overture comes just two weeks after nearby Waukegan made known its interest in being the Bears’ new home.
A spokesperson for the Bears clarified Warrens’s comments on the overture from another suburb, saying Warren received the call from another suburb while coming from Lake Forest but that the call was not by reps of Lake Forest.
So, Waukegan Mayor Ann Taylor wants to lure the Chicago Bears to the city by offering a toxic site for a new stadium. Can you say, “Dead on arrival.”
One can imagine the guffaws emanating from Halas Hall, a short trip south in Lake Forest, when news reached them that a 300-acre, one-time asbestos wasteland is the chief spot where officials in the City of Progress want to host the Bears’ $5 billion domed football arena. […]
If the Bears decline, what does become of one of the foremost reminder of Waukegan’s industrial legacy? It’s in a somewhat deserted location.
It would take more costly environmental mitigation, if at all, to turn it into usable open space. As Bridge Industrial’s plan for turning the old Baxter International property in Deerfield into a logistics center is stymied, the Chicago-based company may want to turn to that location.
Kevin Warren, the CEO and President of the Chicago Bears, answered questions on a variety of topics, including livability concerns, whether an impact study will be provided, how the organization would work with and give back to schools, and whether the organization is asking for tax breaks.
He also said the Bears organization has made offers to pay back more than $4 million in taxes to the school districts.
The Bears and three school districts — Palatine Township Elementary District 15, Northwest Suburban High School District 214 and Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211, whose boundaries cover portions of the sprawling shuttered racetrack property — are far apart on what the tax payment should be the next two years.
The Bears’ last offer was $4.3 million, while the schools suggested $7.9 million. Though it’s being challenged, Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi’s reassessment of the property would increase the annual property tax bill from $2.8 million to $16.2 million.
Warren hasn’t met with the school superintendents since April 18, but amid the stalled negotiations, he has had meetings with the mayors of Chicago and Naperville. […]
Warren was interviewed on the theater stage by attorney Ernie Rose, who is on the six-member steering committee of Touchdown Arlington, a coalition of Arlington Heights business owners who support the Bears’ move to town. Warren didn’t take questions from the assembled media before or after the hourlong event, but Rose said his questions to Warren were among the 300 or so written queries of those who registered for the event.
Newly-obtained letters by NBC 5 Investigates underscore why the Bears may have said that the former horse racecourse site is “no longer their singular focus.”
In a letter sent May 4 to school districts that serve the northwest suburbs, Warren called the current $95 million valuation on the land a “non-starter.” […]
In his May 4 letter to the school districts, Warren countered with a $52 million value for the land, alluding to the team’s fears that the tax bill would only increase as they build a stadium.
“Because we do not have property tax fairness,” Warren wrote. “We will not be moving forward with plans to develop the property at this time…”
A small library district in northern Illinois has become the latest battleground over drag queens.
Roughly 500 people filled the streets outside the Rockton Community Center in the northern Winnebago County village to demonstrate both against and in support of the Talcott Free Library’s plans to hold a drag queen question and answer session on July 14.
The library’s board of trustees ultimately voted 4-2 to go forward with the event after hearing from speakers on both sides of the issue. Board President Gary Kovanda and Vice President Bob Geddeis were the two no votes. […]
The drag queen Q&A was planned as part of the library’s teen summer program called Find Your Voice. At issue is whether a drag event is appropriate at a taxpayer-funded venue.
Originally listed as being for sixth to 12th graders, the event’s Facebook description was changed in the last week to say “LGBTQ+ friendly and anyone interested can attend.”
The controversy started about a week ago when word spread about the event, called Drag Queen Q&A and billed as an opportunity for people to learn more about the art of drag. The library’s event page says “This program is LGBTQ+ friendly and anyone interested can attend.”
The Rockford Family Initiative, a group that regularly protests outside Rockford’s abortion clinics and also rallied against a drag queen story hour at the Rockford Public Library in recent years, objected to the event saying a publicly-funded library is not the right place. […]
Last week, the library posted the following on its Facebook page:
“Drag is a type of performance art. Drag performers make the act of expressing gender — through their stage name, clothing, makeup, hair, and how they perform on stage — highly creative, exaggerated, and/or theatrical. It does not have anything to do with sexual orientation or sexuality though it is often associated with the LGBTQIA+ community as that is where the art began. There are many common misconceptions about the art and that’s why the library is hosting a Q&A so that young people can ask questions and we can foster understanding and unity in our community.”
“I just thought everyone should be represented. The silent majority. My friends and family were here, and I don’t think it’s right to have drag queens in a library,” said Brian Huff.
Community members both for and against the event gathered outside the Rockton Community Center, 302 W. Main Street, with signs, flags and megaphones.
“It’s about the drag community and making sure that they’re represented, they’re safe, they’re loved, and they have a community behind them,” said Jessica Green. […]
“Everyone is represented in the library,” said Green. “And so we want to let our librarians know that they are appreciated. There’s a community here that supports them and what they’re doing to be more inclusive. And we really appreciate their efforts. And you know, we’re creating a more inclusive Rockton, more inclusive community and a nation. And this is one step.”
* Crain’s | Progressives hope to scare off challengers for Northwest Side state Senate seat: Pacione-Zayas stepped down earlier this month to become Mayor Brandon Johnson’s deputy chief of staff. Progressive elected officials and organizations are making it clear they want her former chief of staff, Graciela Guzmán, to replace her in representing the 20th District, despite not controlling the votes in the appointment process.
* ABC | Progressives launch their own campaign to flip school board seats nationwide: Some high-profile Democrats are mounting their own campaign from the other side of the spectrum, as seen with Illinois’ Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s recent outlaw of book bans. PCCC’s fundraising launch on Friday comes just a week before conservative nonprofit group Moms for Liberty holds its annual meeting in Philadelphia, where several Republican 2024 hopefuls, and Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr., are slated to speak.
* Crain’s | S&P warning to Illinois on pension debt: You’re still not doing enough.: “We believe pensions have an elevated probability of stressing the state and local governments,” the report says. “Costs will keep rising because contributions are significantly short of meaningful funding progress, plans are poorly funded, and the Illinois Pension Code allows plans to use assumptions and methodologies that defer costs.”
* Crain’s | The week ahead: Pritzker defends Johnson’s pension fix panel: Johnson walked by reporters without taking questions, but Pritzker stopped and defended his decision to impose new enrollment limits and copays on the state’s insurance program for undocumented immigrants. The Legislature’s Latino Caucus “knew what was going on,” Pritzker told reporters. The cuts “saved the program” from financial collapse, he added.
* Crain’s | With diversity on boards lagging, Giannoulias and researchers target more corporate cooperation: As required by the amendment, Illinois corporations are required to submit diversity reports to the secretary of state. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers then compile those filings into an annual report which analyzes the makeup — including gender, racial and ethnic and sexual orientation — of members of the Illinois corporate boards that file the mandated reports.
* Sun-Times | City could open as many as 5 migrant shelters: Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration also plans to open a welcoming center at Roberto Clemente Community Academy High School, 1147 N. Western Ave. Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th), chair of the City Council’s Immigrant and Refugee Rights Committee, described it as a point of entry for migrants arriving in Chicago.
* Crain’s Editorial | More questions swirl around Lightfoot’s casino deal: On June 23, the Sun-Times pulled back the covers on the relationship between the financial services consultancy hired by then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot to evaluate pitches for the Chicago casino and the gambling company that eventually won the contract.
* Center Square | New Illinois law ends insurance restrictions on certain dog breeds: “For years, harmful stereotypes of certain dog breeds have allowed insurers to punish families for owning a specific dog breed, resulting in cancellation or stiff premiums for their policies,” said state Sen. Linda Holmes, D-Aurora. “This measure will help ensure that all dog owners are treated fairly in the insurance market.”
* Lake County News-Sun | Brownfield site may doom Waukegan’s push for Bears stadium: But doubtful in Waukegan, which sees its possible location as no laughing matter, while the team weighs and negotiates and wrangles offers from a growing throng of locations. Those communities want to be at the goal line if the historic and soon-to-be-razed former Arlington International Racecourse in Arlington Heights falters as the Bears’ chief stadium pick.
Today, Governor JB Pritzker along with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced Illinois will be allocated over $1 billion in funding to support high-speed internet access through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. This grant will help fund the development of high-speed infrastructure across the nation as part of President Biden’s Internet for All initiative.
“This funding is a significant step in ensuring Illinoisans across the state have access to the reliable high-speed internet that they need,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “I am committed to making Illinois a leader when it comes to technology and innovation, and access to broadband is a critical service for all residents who rely on high-speed internet for everything from healthcare and education, to running a business.”
The $1 billion in funding will build upon Governor Pritzker’s historic $420 million Connect Illinois broadband infrastructure plan — a part of Rebuild Illinois, focused on delivering upgrades to ensure that every community across the state has 21st century broadband capability. Connect Illinois includes allocating $400 million to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) to deploy statewide broadband expansion, especially for the rural families and communities that have been the most impacted by the digital divide. It also includes $20 million to repair, enhance, and expand broadband for schools with a focus on K-12 education.
Reliable, accessible, and affordable broadband is crucial to the economic growth and success of the state. In partnership with the federal government, Governor Pritzker’s administration is enacting a nation-leading approach to eliminate the digital divide.
The BEAD Program is the federal government’s largest-ever investment in the expansion of high-speed internet access and focuses on connecting underserved and rural communities.
Typically, an individual’s home is their biggest asset. In Chicago, more than half of white residents — 52.1% — own their homes, while only 30.1% of Black Chicagoans own homes and 28.7% of residents of Hispanic or Latin heritage do, the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey shows.
In 2017, the home of a white household in Chicago typically was valued at $275,000. Meanwhile, the homes of typical Black and Latino households were worth $145,000 and $180,000, respectively, a report by the Institute for Research on Race & Public Policy at the University of Illinois Chicago showed.
The city’s predominantly white neighborhoods have a higher average credit score (732) than neighborhoods that are predominantly home to people of color (586), as reported in “State and Local Approaches to the Chicago Region’s Racial and Ethnic Wealth Inequity,” a report by the nonprofit Urban Institute, based in Washington, D.C. By the standards of most lenders, a credit score between 670 to 739 is considered good.
The result: A third of Black and Hispanic/Latin households in Chicago has zero or negative net worth compared to only 15% of white households, the UIC paper states.
“Homeownership is a key component of wealth,” says Damon Jones, associate professor at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy. “But its value depends on the race of the owner and race of the neighborhood.”
* The business manager of the Chicago & Vicinity Laborers’ District Council is vice chair of the Tollway Board. Also on the board is the executive secretary-treasurer of the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters and the President-business manager of International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150. So, what in the heck is going on over there?…
Late last week, management at the Illinois Tollway cancelled a negotiating session scheduled for today with Teamsters Local 700, which represents more than 400 bargaining unit members at the agency. Negotiations between the agency and the union for a new collective bargaining agreement have been ongoing for nearly nine months. With the next negotiation session not scheduled until July 14, more than a month will have passed between sessions.
“Local 700 members at the Illinois Tollway keep our roads safe and our economy moving, and they deserve respect from management,” said Teamsters Local 700 President Ramon Williams. “Last minute cancellations and delayed bargaining sessions put our negotiations at risk, which puts our Tollway at risk. I urge management to come back to the bargaining table immediately.”
Management’s decision to cancel comes as the union is waiting on a response to economic proposals designed to fight the exodus of Tollway employees to comparable agencies. Illinois Tollway employees are paid less, staff more shifts, and take longer to reach top scale than virtually all of these competing employers. Chief among the union’s concerns is that the high turnover is leading to staffing problems, which could result in a less safe Tollway for both employees and the commuting public.
“We began bargaining in October of 2022, and it took several months to get this employer to the table on a regular basis,” said Geoff Daniels, Teamsters Local 700 Business Agent assigned to members at the Illinois Tollway. “We felt through the late spring and early summer that we were finally moving in the right direction, with no cancellations and weekly meetings for nearly two months. Now management is cancelling meetings and trying to space out time spent at the table, which is a massive step backwards that shows a complete disregard for the interests of the award-winning essential workers who keep our Tollway moving.”
Local 700 represents more than 400 employees at the Illinois Tollway including auto mechanics, electricians, sign maker/hangers, carpenters, and material distribution drivers. Local 700 members also include equipment operator/laborers who respond to accidents, maintain the roadway, and handle a variety of emergencies including snow and ice control. Local 700’s contract with the Illinois Tollway expired on February 28, 2023.
* Press release…
Governor JB Pritzker joined federal, state, and local officials, along with the Federal Railroad Administration, Amtrak, the Union Pacific Railroad, and project supporters at Union Station today to celebrate the start of 110 mph passenger rail service between Chicago and St. Louis. This multi-year project better connects the state’s communities and major institutions while improving safety, convenience, and accessibility. Starting with the first trains on Amtrak’s state-supported Lincoln Service this morning, the higher speeds are eliminating approximately 15 minutes from the previous 90 mph runtimes between the two cities and 30 minutes from the initial 79 mph schedule in place when the project broke ground. […]
In addition to increasing speeds, the $1.96 billion project has boosted safety and reliability for passengers while providing upgraded and new stations. Ride quality has also been enhanced up and down the corridor for both passenger and freight service on the Union Pacific Railroad, thanks to the addition of new concrete ties along the route and improvements to bridges, culverts, and signaling systems.
* Good job, ISP…
On June 22, 2023, the Illinois State Police (ISP) arrested 36-year-old Saul Martinez Castanon of Berkeley, Illinois, who is suspected of pointing a laser pointer at aircraft flying overhead. These laser pointers have been a national issue for aviators for several year. When pointed into an aircraft cockpit, the light can temporarily blind pilots as they navigate busy airspace or land the aircraft.
“Targeting aircraft with a laser pointer creates a safety threat that can put the lives of hundreds of passengers at risk,” said ISP Director Brendan F. Kelly. “Our ISP Air Operations did a phenomenal job identifying the source of the light and working with officers on the ground to arrest the suspect.”
At approximately 9:45 Thursday evening, ISP Air-6 Troopers, a spotter and pilot, were participating in Special Operations Group Operation Safe Drive. While in the air, they reported being contacted by a hand-held device that emits amplified light (laser pointer) from the ground. Troopers used the aircraft camera and identified a residential yard in the 1200 block of Sunnyside Drive in Berkeley as the likely source of the light. Intelligence from the Federal Aviation Administration revealed several aircraft departing from Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Chicago Midway International Airport, including commercial aircraft carrying hundreds of passengers, reported the same issue from a similar geographic origin.
ISP Statewide Anti-Violence Enforcement Unit Troopers on the ground and the Berkeley Police Department were alerted and arrived at the residence where they took Martinez Castanon into custody without incident. Martinez Castanon was charged with two counts of misdemeanor Disorderly Conduct (Laser Pointer vs. Law Enforcement Officer and Laser Pointer vs. Aircraft). No further information will be disseminated.
Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs has earned more than $2 billion in investment earnings for the state portfolio since taking office, the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office announced today.
That total includes a record $113 million in May investment earnings for the state portfolio.
The office earned an additional $81.4 million in gross investment earnings in May for cities, villages, school districts, counties and other units of local government that take part in the highly rated Illinois Funds local government investment pool. Frerichs now has surged past the $1 billion mark in gross investment earnings for Illinois Funds since he took office.
“Every dollar we make through smart, safe investing is a dollar that does not need to be raised in taxes,” said Frerichs, who, as treasurer, is the state’s Chief Investment and Banking Officer. “The Illinois Treasurer’s Office truly is an economic engine for our state.”
These key monthly metrics and more are available at The Vault, the transparency website that allows Illinois residents to see how the State Treasurer’s Office is working for them. The site is at iltreasurervault.com.
In a phone interview, Frerichs said part of the reason for the booming return is that the state is current on its bills to vendors, so “there’s more money in the accounts.” Another reason is rising interest rates nationally, with those who have money to invest getting more than those who need to borrow paying more.
But with General Assembly approval, the state has tweaked its investment goals, “trying to balance” the three goals of returns, risk and liquidity, Frerichs said. As a result, the state now invests in “highly rated corporate paper.” And with money not needed to pay overdue bills as it was a few years ago, the state can put its money in longer-term, better-paying assets.
* Young Democrats of America elect Chicagoan to exec committee…
Isabel (Izzy) Dobbel,a local activist from Chicago, Illinois, was elected to serve on YDA’s Executive Committee, the highest-level governing body that oversees and helps establish priorities for the country’s youth progressive movement and oldest youth partisan organization, the Young Democrats of America (YDA). Dobbel — National Committeewoman for IL — was elected Treasurer by a unanimous vote for a two-year term that began on June 21.
Dobbel addressed her fellow delegates at YDA’s national convention, discussing the accomplishments they have helped achieve in Illinois and emphasizing the necessity for leadership rooted in grassroots efforts. “As National Committeewoman for the Young Democrats of Illinois, we have led legislative strategies to advance abortion rights by mobilizing young people to call legislators to repeal the Parental Notification of Abortion Act. The bill was later signed to make IL the most pro-choice state in the nation. Young democrats are committed and quick to mobilize on the issues that matter most to our least advantaged communities. These programs require time and monetary investment to push progressive policies over the finish line”, she said, outlining their commitment to communication, transparency, and organizing within the YDA.
* LG Stratton…
As the right to bodily autonomy continues to come under attack nationwide, it is critical that the dedicated professionals on the frontlines of reproductive care are seen and heard. Doulas and midwives play an invaluable role in ensuring Illinois remains an oasis of care, and Lt. Governor Stratton amplified their voices on the first anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision.
“In our state, we will continue to champion the right to live in communities with access to care and where bodily autonomy is respected, regardless of income, race, or religion,” said Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton. “While the Dobbs decision continues to harm the livelihoods of thousands of women across our country, Illinois stands tall as a beacon of hope and celebrates the workers who provide all types of reproductive health care.”
Lt. Governor Stratton met with doulas and midwives for tea and conversation, listening and learning from their experiences and shining a light on how state leaders can continue the work for reproductive justice.
“Tea with the Lieutenant Governor was an inspiring opportunity to reconnect to purpose,” said Dakisha Lewis, MD, FACOG Medical Director and Chairperson for the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Advocate Trinity Hospital, Advocate Health. “It was a privilege to meet and engage with Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton and a diverse group of women who are passionate about women’s healthcare. This gives me hope for the future of maternal healthcare in Illinois.”
* Tribune | Mayor Brandon Johnson aims to boost teen employment, one of his signature campaign promises: The program, called One Summer Chicago, is a longtime staple of City Hall’s approach to summer violence and youth enrichment that serves youth ages 14 to 24. It has shrunk from employing 31,552 young people in 2019 to 20,544 youths last year, according to city figures. Johnson said Monday that the program is on track to hire 2,000 more teens than last year.
* WTTW | Removed Jones College Prep Principal Retires Amid District Investigation: The head of a prominent South Loop high school is retiring, months after he was removed from his position pending a district investigation into a Halloween costume contest that included a student wearing what appeared to be a Nazi uniform.
* Daily Herald | Allergies are worse this year. Here’s what you can do about it: The warm, dry spring means more grass and tree pollen this season, said Tanya Tanzillo, a professor at Northern Illinois University’s College of Health and Human Sciences. She pointed to the cottonwood puffs blanketing some areas in the past month as an example of how intense pollen is this season. Pollen not seen with the naked eye has been similarly bad.
* Journal Star | Some Dunlap schools need repairs and renovations. Here’s the plan for this summer: “The district is in need of a new facility to address our growing elementary enrollment, and to replace one of our elementary buildings, Wilder-Waite, which was built in, I think, 1947,” said Scott Adreon, assistant superintendent of business services for the district. “We’ve identified it as something we’re pursuing, but we are really early in the planning stages. There’s been no commitment from the board of education on what that will look like, other than they recognized the need to increase facilities.”
* Sun-Times | James Crown dead in Colorado racetrack accident at 70; Chicago billionaire had just announced plans to enlist CEOs to fight violent crime: Mr. Crown, who headed a Commercial Club task force on public safety, set an ambitious goal of reducing the number of killings in Chicago to fewer than 400 a year within five years. Last year, there were 695 killings in the city. “People are really hoping that we can get traction here,” Mr. Crown said in a May 31 interview with the Chicago Sun-Times. “But it’s gonna take a lot of years before we can look back on this and say that we really had a lasting impact.”
* SJ-R | Cooling centers around city open for relief from the heat: With high temperatures in the Springfield area hovering around 90 or above Tuesday through Saturday, the city’s Office of Community Relations has designated several public spaces, businesses and offices as cooling centers during regular operating hours. According to the National Weather Service in Lincoln, Friday could be the hottest day of the year with a projected high of 97 degrees, though there is a 30% chance of showers.
* WBEZ | Illinois has had a rich history of auto racing: The July 1-2 NASCAR doubleheader has become the talk of the town — with opinions stretching to both extremes. Drivers and their cars will be cruising a 2.2-mile course through Grant Park, with Jackson Drive on the north, Michigan Avenue to the west, Roosevelt Road to the south, a stretch of DuSable Lake Shore Drive to the east and stretches of Balbo Drive and Columbus Drive mixed between.
* NBC Chicago | Illinois’ ‘largest’ fireworks show is in a Chicago suburb: According to organizers, the “largest fireworks show in Illinois” can be found beginning at 10 p.m. on July 4 in Itasca, located in DuPage County. The show, complete with a “live pyrotechnics spectacular,” is synchronized to pop, movie and patriotic music “broadcast on a concert-quality sound system,” a release from the village says.
While the long-term consequences of the end of Roe v. Wade could take years to tally, one outcome is already clear: a year after the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to abortion, the costs associated with ending a pregnancy have soared.
The Brigid Alliance, which provides logistical support to people seeking abortion care, estimates that the average cost of traveling for care has increased 41% since the first half of 2022, when it was just over $1,000. The average spend for patients that need to fly has jumped 17% to $994; while a hotel stay — usually three nights — is up 29% to $919, according to the group.
Though inflation accounts for some of the increase, state-by-state abortion bans mean people live an average of 275 miles further from a clinic than they did a year ago, according to Caitlin Myers, a researcher at Middlebury College. In Texas, the average drive to a clinic increased to 499 miles in March from 43 miles a year earlier, adding up to about $131 extra in gas for a round trip.
At another logistical abortion fund — the Midwest Access Coalition — the average cost per patient covered is now about $1,200, roughly double what it was before the ruling, said Marisa Falcon, executive director of Apiary for Practical Support, a network of groups that provide logistical assistance for abortion care.
Planned Parenthood plans to close three Iowa locations but provide more services at others in response to increasing demands for abortions, staff shortages and increasing costs.
The consolidation at Planned Parenthood North Central States, which provides abortions in Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa, comes as states that provide abortions have seen a sharp increase in people coming from states that have prohibited or sharply restricted the procedure, The Des Moines Register reported.
Leaders of the organization say they’ve performed 9% more abortions since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer. […]
Abortion is currently legal in Iowa up to 20 weeks of pregnancy. On June 16, the Iowa Supreme Court declined to reinstate a law that would have banned abortions once cardiac activity can be detected, usually around six weeks of pregnancy and before many women know they are pregnant.
Iowa Republicans are widely expected to attempt to pass a new law during the next session to further restrict abortion.
Since the high court’s ruling last June, clinics in the Metro East that offer abortions have become a destination for thousands of patients seeking the procedure. In the months after the decision, a report found the number of abortions performed in Illinois increased more than 30%.
Planned Parenthood’s Fairview Heights clinic has increased its workforce and hours to try to keep up with increased patient loads. St. Louis Public Radio’s Sarah Fentem asked Kawanna Shannon, Planned Parenthood’s director of patient access, and Dr. Colleen McNicholas, its chief medical officer, what the organization’s Fairview Heights clinic has seen in the past year. […]
Colleen McNicholas: What we have seen over the last year, especially as additional states have gone down, is that there is still far more demand than our health center, HOPE Clinic [in Granite City] or even the new clinic, Choices, in Carbondale, can accommodate.
Kawanna Shannon: There has been a surge after Roe, and it’s actually constantly increasing. So we haven’t seen any type of slowdown of patients coming; we’ve only seen an increase due to more restrictions in others in other states and more bans.
One year after the Dobbs decision, things look quite a bit different for Wisconsinites on both sides of the issue. As legal abortions have ceased in the state, patients, providers and protesters are making the trip to Illinois, Minnesota and other states where it’s still legal.
Shortly after Ellingson arrived at the Waukegan clinic on a recent Wednesday, a small group of protesters began to set up on the sidewalk between the busy road and the clinic. They were from Wisconsin, too.
“We came from Wisconsin to Illinois to try to reach out to women who are abortion-minded,” said Anne Franczek of Milwaukee. She’s been protesting at abortion clinics for close to 40 years, and now comes to Waukegan twice a week with the Christian anti-abortion group Tarry One Hour.
The Waukegan clinic opened in 2020, with an eye on serving patients from nearby Wisconsin. For Franczek, that’s part of the reason she makes the trip twice each week.
“If they’re going to be that strategic, why shouldn’t we be strategic?” she said.
* RFT | Illinois Planned Parenthood Sees Surge of Patients After Abortion Bans: In the past 11 months, the Planned Parenthood facility in Fairview Heights has handled: A 57 percent increase in procedural abortions, with abortions for patients 14 weeks or more into their pregnancy jumping by 32 percent. A 97 percent increase in vasectomy appointments.
* Jezebel | Woman Sues Anti-Abortion ‘Pregnancy Center’ After Her Ectopic Pregnancy Ruptured: The woman, known as Jane Doe, filed a class action lawsuit on Thursday in Worcester Superior Court alleging that Clearway Clinic in Worcester didn’t follow standard medical care. The suit also claims that Clearway engages in deceptive practices to lure in people seeking the full range of pregnancy options, when its actual purpose is just to dissuade them from getting abortions.
Governor Pritzker along with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) and the Office of Tourism (IOT) today announced the launch of three new TV ads as part of its tourism campaign, “Middle of Everything,” starring Illinois native and Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning actress and director Jane Lynch. The summer campaign features a catchy new song performed by Lynch that promotes the diverse attractions, natural wonders, and outdoor experiences that can only be found in Illinois. To view the ads and other media assets for the “Middle of Everything,” click HERE. […]
“It’s been an absolute joy to bring to life the ‘Middle of Everything’ campaign in new and exciting ways,” said Jane Lynch. “Being able to share my passion for all things Illinois comes naturally, and getting to meet and work with so many inspiring people and unique businesses across the state is an honor.”
The new summer ad spots are currently airing in 22 total media markets, on TV across Illinois, seven neighboring states, and on cable TV nationwide. For the first time, the spots will make their way to the global stage with the introduction of the Toronto, Canada market. The 2023 “Middle of Everything” ad campaign builds upon the successful inaugural campaign from 2022, which spotlights Illinois as the center of culture, food, outdoor adventures, architecture, history and more. […]
The inaugural “Middle of Everything” campaign launched in 2022 led to an additional 2 million trips equaling an additional $1 billion spent in Illinois hotels, restaurants, small businesses, and attractions, according to data from Longwoods International. Additionally, every $1 spent on the campaign equated to $91 in visitor spending while generating $10 in state and local tax revenue for every dollar spent – an enormous return on investment.
Locations featured in the new summer spots span from Chicago to Southern Illinois and bring to life unique destinations along the Great River Road including Galena, Moline, Savanna and Nebo. The ads highlight one-of-a-kind lodging like Rocky Comfort Cabins in Makanda and Harpole’s Heartland Lodge in Nebo, as well as thrilling outdoor activities like hiking through Mississippi Palisades State Park in Savanna and the Shawnee National Forest. They also showcase authentic visitor experiences at small businesses that are part of the state’s Illinois Made program, including: Virtue Restaurant in Chicago, Rolling Oak Alpaca Ranch in Makanda and 17th Street BBQ in Murphysboro.
In addition to TV ads, the award-winning campaign will also appear in local, regional, and national digital, print and out-of-home media including O’Hare International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Times Square in New York.
For more information on trip ideas and itineraries, visit: Enjoyillinois.com/Middleofeverything
Billionaire James Crown, a leader of the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago, died Sunday in a car crash at a Colorado race track.
Crown, 70, was killed in a single-vehicle crash at Aspen Motorsports Park in Woody Creek, Colorado, according to the Pitkin County Coroner’s Office.
The cause of the crash is under investigation. The coroner’s office said Crown suffered multiple blunt force trauma, but an official cause of death has not yet been determined, pending an autopsy.
In a statement, Mayor Brandon Johnson said he was “devastated” to learn of Crown’s death.
“A lifelong Chicagoan, Jim gave back to the city through philanthropy and leadership on a number of civic and academic boards as he was deeply committed to investing in Chicago and its people. With his generosity, Jim truly embodied the soul of Chicago. I was especially grateful for his commitment to work collaboratively with my administration to build a safer Chicago, having met recently to share ideas. I send my deepest condolences to his wife, four children, grandchildren, and the entire Crown family and pray for their peace,” Johnson said.
In recent months Jim Crown began to raise his civic profile, a role in which his father Lester flourished. In October, he was named to chair a public safety task force established by the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago. […]
Earlier this month, in a story on the committee’s plan, Crown said the group spent many months talking to law enforcement officials, researchers, activists in other cities and both Mayor Brandon Johnson and his acting police superintendent.
“We did a lot of listening,” Crown said. “We think the business community has a lot to bring to this conversation, and we’ve been largely absent.”
A statement provided on behalf of the family said: “The Crown family is deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Jim Crown in an accident earlier today. The family requests that their privacy be respected at this difficult time. Further details regarding plans for a memorial to remember Jim’s remarkable life will be released at a later date.”
* More react…
MK and I were saddened to learn of the passing of our friend Jim Crown. Tremendously civic-minded, Jim was kind, and his passion for caring was unending.
Our hearts are with his family, friends, and the countless Illinoisans and Americans he helped. May his memory be a blessing.
Today we mourn the passing of Jim Crown, who loved the city of Chicago and committed to helping it grow even greater.
I send my deepest condolences to his family, friends, and all who were touched by him.
— Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton (@LtGovStratton) June 26, 2023
Devastating. Jim had a love for Chicago that was constant & unapologetic. Having the chance to know him and learn from him was a great benefit to me and the void he leaves is bigger than words can explain. Praying for his family and all who knew and loved him. https://t.co/elpSAsMIaK
* I interviewed Mr. Crown earlier this month about the Civic Committee’s push to bring all stakeholders together to reduce violent crime in Chicago. I pointed out to him that several private sector anti-violence initiatives had been launched in the past two decades and asked him how he knew that this time would be different. His response…
To be clear and fair to all of us, I think the real phrasing of the question is why would we hope this time is different. We’re just getting started. We’re not claiming right now that we know we’re different, although clearly we aspire to be. I’m unfamiliar with some, not all of those initiatives.
But what our research shows is the following. There has been a lot of good work done in this space over the decades. But it has been fairly isolated. It has been unconnected to other participants in this space. There are a lot of people who are engaged in public safety matters and it sometimes doesn’t have to follow-through for its own reasons. And it could be because it was never a person who was charged with working on it full time. It could be because funding was temporary. It could be frankly because some of those design ideas maybe were not themselves good ideas or good enough ideas to be sustainable.
So what we’re hoping to do here, and one of the big takeaways from our work, has been trying to get the various actors that are participants here all around one table. We keep referring to one table, obviously a metaphor. We’re not all going to be able to all meet at once or have monthly zoom calls or whatever. It will be in segments. But we need the private sector. We need the government. We need the nonprofits. We need the universities, we need the police department and the county and the state and the courts. And everybody’s got a job to do here, it would be better if we could have a common goal, a common vocabulary and a common approach to transparency and accountability as to how we’re doing. And I think those features have been absent from the list you mentioned, although I can’t claim to be expert in all of them.
Please pardon all transcription errors.
* I also asked him what sort of takeaways he’d had from spending time in the city’s most violent communities. His family’s philanthropic group has been active in North Lawndale, so he talked about that and one other recent experience…
I was recently at the North Lawndale employment center. And it was interesting, actually. We were working with this group who said, ‘Okay, what would be helpful is if you would talk to them like you’re going to hire them so they had some feel for what it would be like to go for an interview.’ Because that’s the main thing North Lawndale employment center tries to do is get people into the legal economy. And what you find is you’ve got people who really are incredibly, they are eager to work, they want, it’s usually because they’ve got a kid or ailing parent or something and they want a more reliable source of income, but they are quite scared of what it must be like to go for an interview and be asked these questions and to have on their resume that they’ve been in jail, things like that. And it’s going to take a real mind-set shift for a lot of people to look at people like that and say, ‘Alright, this is a good idea for all of us to hire this person and try and train this person.’ And I do not underestimate how challenging that will be. If we’re trying to do this, with several thousand hires every year icoming out these neighborhoods. So that’s one takeaway.
And the second takeaway is about three, four months ago, I went with Arne Duncan, and he’s a good friend. We’ve supported CRED for a long time. And we went to the Roseland facility, where about three weeks later, somebody was killed, assassinated. The takeaway I had from that visit was you talk to these group leaders, who basically the reason they have credibility is because what they used to do and now they’re trying to be sort of the camp counselors for people coming to the CRED program. And there’s got to be a very short supply of people like that. There are only going to be so many who are available, willing, are from the area such that they have credibility and know what’s going on, but also willing to participate in a program like CRED. And so one of the other things I learned is, we’re going to have a bunch of issues that I refer to as ‘pipeline’ issues. Are we going to have enough social workers, are we going to have enough leaders for programs like CRED, are we going to have enough employers? And so that was one of the other big takeaways.
The man had thought things through after listening to others. That’s not par for the course for most wealthy people, who tend to rely more on their gut feelings and conventional thinking when it comes to areas outside their narrow field of expertise.
* I also asked Crown about the Civic Committee’s goal of convincing business to hire alumni of community violence intervention programs along with providing “wraparound support services”…
Crown: This is going to take some energy and some focus from all of us… It’s mostly young men of color, although there’s certainly women involved there, certainly others. Young men of color, by and large, that’s the community that for multiple doesn’t have a clear pathway into the legal economy, into careers.
We need employers who are willing to reach out and bring them into the legal economy, bring them into employment. But they the workers, or the workers to be, need a huge amount of coaching. If they’ve had no familiarity with how to present themselves in the interview, no ability to organize their lives around how you commute to work, how important it is to show up on time, what it’s like to be well-thought of by an employer so that you can advance. And then other people there to receive them and coach them at the end of a day or a week, where, you know, something happened at work, the boss said something something weird happened at lunch, whatever, you know, they didn’t understand it. You know, they didn’t understand it, instruction, whatever it might be. How do we make sure that they’re supported in a way where they can grow into success, to set them up for success? And employers are going to do only so much training and orienting and so forth. And so these wraparound services will be needed before and after these employment experiences so that they can get the coaching they need to stay on track.
Miller: Okay, so that wraparound support services would then come from somebody affiliated with the Civic committee’s efforts?
Crown: Well, affiliated in the sense that this is where we’re trying to get everybody under the same umbrella. They’re already existing. Plenty of violence interruption groups and community based organizations, I mentioned the North Lawndale Employment Network. There is Heartland Alliance and there’s already a bunch of services that, whether it’s mental health services or food or whatever it is, are there at small scale, but they are present to to help the people in these tough neighborhoods. And they will need to be the ones connected to the employers that will do this outside of work coaching.
* Crown also talked about not just reducing crime, but increasing the quality of life through a “virtuous cycle”…
We would like to see investments of two sorts and one is kind of more particular to private sector. Whether it’s distribution warehouses, for a company like Amazon or just something in the healthcare space where you need a big distribution warehouse for supplies, a call center, like Discover has their back office operations for companies like JP Morgan. There are a number private sector, fairly high headcount activities that could employ a number of people. We would like to see those more of those set up in these tough neighborhoods, so that people can get to work, so that there’s more visibility on what this place is and who goes in there to start a virtuous cycle of more applicants and more people working there.
So that’s the narrower version of this. And then a broader version of this is stores and doctors and supermarkets, and parks, whatever the investments might be that would just lift up the quality of life, raise housing values, raise safety in the neighborhoods. These all would be a virtuous cycle that require the government and require businesses broadly to take a risk on putting a Starbucks or putting a dry cleaner there, or whatever it might be. That would not necessarily be so much about employment, but quality of life.
Discuss.
…Adding… From the Civic Committee…
The Civic Committee and Commercial Club of Chicago are deeply saddened to learn of the tragic and untimely death of our long-time member and civic and business leader James S. Crown over the weekend. Jim embodied the very best qualities of Chicago’s business and civic leadership: generous, wise, thoughtful, and committed. Over the years he and his family have contributed in countless ways to the region’s economic and civic health and vitality. Jim most recently chaired our Public Safety Task Force to help shape a role for the business community in addressing gun violence. We extend our deepest condolences to his wife Paula and their children, his parents Lester and Renee, the entire Crown family, Jim’s many friends and colleagues, and to all of Chicago.
In his prime as a civic, philanthropic and thought leader, Jim Crown has been taken from us too soon. He had so much more to give. He was in the middle of mobilizing Chicago leaders to really listen and explore new approaches to reducing violence and bringing new opportunities to Chicago communities like North Lawndale. With his important work for the Civic Committee, Jim has issued a challenge to the rest of us to pick up the mantle and move Illinois forward. My heart and my prayers go out to his wife, Paula, and his four children. May he rest in God’s peace and eternal glory.
New stadiums for the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans set records for public subsidies for NFL teams — but key differences between those projects and the Chicago Bears’ proposed new stadium could determine what taxpayers here may pay. […]
But the Bears are unlikely to leave the third-largest market in the country. Chicago lawmakers are unlikely to support any subsidy for the team to leave the city, and since the move would be within Illinois, state lawmakers outside of the suburbs would likely need some incentive.
One proposal would create a payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, program, which would allow the team to negotiate its future property taxes with the school districts and other public bodies involved. But a bill to that effect stalled in Springfield, as negotiations between the team and schools hit an impasse. Municipalities like Arlington Heights still could create a special tax district that would help fund the Bears’ plan.
That bill was bricked from the start by the sponsors in both chambers.
Anyway, does anybody else wonder why the team hasn’t yet threatened to move to Indiana?
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) showed up to Chicago’s annual Pride Parade Sunday ready to party—even at one point catching a Jell-O shot tossed his way by an onlooker and downing the alcoholic gelatin dessert in one gulp.
* Video of the catch doesn’t appear to be available, but we do have this…
Equality Illinois hosted a pre-parade VIP event during which Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin spoke about LGBTQ+ plus rights, along with Gov. J.B. Pritzker and First Lady of Illinois M.K. Pritzker.
“All I have to say is more glitter, less Twitter,” M.K. Pritzker said.
“This was a protest march many years ago, and it’s evolved into sort of a combination so very very proud to be here every time and proud to be with Equality Illinois,” Gov. Pritzker added.
State Rep. Chris Miller, R-Hindsboro, one of the most conservative members of the Illinois House, will seek a new term next year, he announced this week.
Miller, 69, who operates a family cattle farm in Oakland, has served in the statehouse since 2019. He is the husband of U.S. Rep. Mary Miller.
“I refuse to give in to the destructive policies coming from the Democrats in Illinois,” Miller said in a statement. “It is my honor to represent the commonsense people of Central Illinois and be their voice in Springfield. Our fight has just begun.” […]
Miller confirmed to the Lee Springfield Bureau on Thursday that he has been renting a home in Hindsboro — about 7 miles east of his Oakland farm and within the new 101st House District — since April. He has not yet changed his address with the Illinois State Board of Elections, however.
* The Question: Top reelection campaign slogans for Rep. Miller (R-No Relation)?
Back in May, Gov. J.B. Pritzker told reporters that his administration had given lawmakers seven options to rein in costs of a health care program for undocumented immigrants which was growing well beyond affordability.
Pritzker told reporters at a more recent event that he had originally budgeted the program for a $220 million increase, but since then the program was projected to actually grow by $1.1 billion in the coming fiscal year. So, he said, the state needed to limit the growth to $550 million. Pritzker said his administration believed “we could manage the program with the number of people that are in it now” to keep those cost increases at $550 million, which was a clear sign that an enrollment cap was coming.
The administration has been meeting with the Legislative Latino Caucus about the unexpected growth in the program since March. And it’s been pretty clear from the beginning that enrollment would have to be capped and other cost-cutting measures put in place to prevent the program from eating up even more limited state resources.
Even so, some Latino legislators were enraged during the final briefing about the solutions the governor decided to put into place: “Pausing” new enrollment for those aged 42-64; establishing co-pays; implementing managed care; clawing back some over-payments to the Cook County Hospital System and limiting or eliminating backdated medical coverage. The plan was called “racist” by at least one person on the Zoom call.
Several hours later, the Latino Caucus issued a toned-down press release, calling the governor’s announcement “disappointing.” They did, after all, vote for the Medicaid omnibus bill which enabled the emergency rule-making authority.
Others weren’t so muted. U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., had sponsored the original bill to create the program for senior citizens when she was still a state legislator. Ramirez and others predicted at the time the program would only cost a few million dollars a year. After Pritzker acted, she called the governor’s decision to impose the limits “a false choice built on fear-mongering and anti-immigrant rhetoric,” which will put “thousands of hard-working, taxpaying immigrants’ lives in danger.”
But the sharpest criticism came from activists.
The Healthy Illinois Campaign, which lobbied hard to expand the program even further this year despite the exploding costs, issued a press release back in May supporting the new state budget, and thanked the General Assembly for protecting existing coverage for undocumented immigrants who are 42 and older. But then the reality of what it really takes to save $550 million out of a projected cost increase of $1.1 billion within the span of one fiscal year fully set in when Pritzker issued his emergency rules.
The governor went to Florida last week to receive an award from two prominent immigration groups, but the Healthy Illinois Campaign called on the groups to rescind the honor.
“It is absolutely scandalous that Governor Pritzker will be receiving an immigrant leadership award while in the state of Illinois he has rejected and perverted the idea that immigrants have the right to health care,” the Healthy Illinois Campaign’s statement claimed. “Governor Pritzker is not different from Ron DeSantis hurting the most vulnerable immigrants,” they continued. “A billionaire governor so willfully causing pain to the hardest working people — is that any different from Ron DeSantis? Is this the standard now for opportunistic politicians running for president?”
Ouch.
The Healthy Illinois Campaign has never accepted the governor’s cost projections, but it has yet to fully explain why they believe the expected costs are not nearly as high as the administration’s estimates. The governor, for his part, seemingly contradicted himself when he told reporters a few weeks ago that the state saves money when it invested in the health car program. “If they don’t get basic health care, they end up in an emergency room and we all end up paying for that at a much higher cost than if we have preventative care.”
This is obviously an unusual position for the governor to be in. He’s been a darling, even a hero, of the progressive wing of his party since Day One. But, at least for now, he’s taking some real heat. “This is a welcoming state,” progressive Sen. Omar Aquino, D-Chicago, thundered during a die-in demonstration at Chicago’s Federal Plaza. “Always,” he said, “Not only when it’s convenient.”
And Democratic Socialist Chicago Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th) recently tweeted that, while he had previously called Pritzker “arguably the best Illinois governor since progressive John Peter Altgeld,” he now believes that the decision to impose the emergency rules is “criminal.”
* Meanwhile, there appears to be some confusion out there about what the program is designed to do. The Chicago Tribune editorial board brought the asylum-seeking migrants into the debate the other day, followed by this report from WBEZ…
Pritzker faces criticism over cuts to a health insurance program for migrants
Latino lawmakers say they are outraged by Gov. JB Pritzker’s decision to make cuts to a health insurance program for migrants as Chicago struggles to address the basic needs of asylum-seekers arriving from border states. […]
And the process of providing permanent housing to migrants is complicated by several other factors.
Asylum-seekers are here legally, so there is federal reimbursement for at least some of their healthcare costs. That generally isn’t the case for undocumented immigrants, although there are some exceptions.
* Other stories…
* Protests over Governor JB Pritzker’s pause on undocumented healthcare program: The governor’s office says restrictions on the program will be lifted when more money is appropriated. As the rally was going on at Daley Plaza, Governor Pritzker was in Orlando being honored by the National Immigrant’s List for his work on immigrant rights.
* State Week: Pritzker takes heat over immigrant health care limits
* Politico: “In the progressive movement, a lot of times it’s all or nothing,” Sui Chung, a Miami attorney who grew up in Illinois and sits on the board of Immigrants’ List, told Playbook. Chung praised Pritzker’s work: “What the governor has done in terms of banning private detention of immigrants and allowing non-citizens to have drivers licenses is huge. In Florida, we’re facing hateful bills that will cause tremendous problems for immigrants. Illinois is far ahead. People point to California, but really, it’s Illinois that’s in the lead on immigrant rights.” And the irony: Ramirez praised Pritzker during her acceptance speech calling him “her champion.”
* Pritzker defends Johnson’s pension fix panel: Pritzker… defended his decision to impose new enrollment limits and copays on the state’s insurance program for undocumented immigrants. The Legislature’s Latino Caucus “knew what was going on,” Pritzker told reporters. The cuts “saved the program” from financial collapse, he added.
* Chicago Daily Law Bulletin | Joy Cunningham launches bid to keep Illinois Supreme Court seat: Illinois Supreme Court Justice Joy V. Cunningham announced Thursday evening she is running to retain the seat she currently holds on the high court. Cunningham, 71, was appointed to the seat when former Chief Justice Anne M. Burke retired Nov. 30. She has been serving as a Supreme Court justice for the 1st District since Dec. 1 in a term expiring Dec. 2, 2024, after the November 2024 election. First District Appellate Court Justice Jesse G. Reyes announced his candidacy for the seat on May 31.
* WAND | Sen. Mike Simmons, Illinois LGBTQ+ advocates denounce hateful attacks: “There’s not a day that goes by where somebody doesn’t go on my social media and tell everybody in my district to keep their children away from me because I’m a pervert, because I’m a groomer,” Simmons said. “I don’t care about how I feel. It’s my family and my community that I’m always concerned about.”
* JG-TC | Rep. Chris Miller to seek reelection to Illinois House: “I refuse to give in to the destructive policies coming from the Democrats in Illinois,” Miller said in a statement. “It is my honor to represent the commonsense people of Central Illinois and be their voice in Springfield. Our fight has just begun.”
* Center for Illinois Politics | Kwame Raoul’s Clash with the Cardinal Shines a Spotlight on a Low-Key State Official: Cardinal Cupich said he was blindsided by the report, a statement Raoul denied. “We’ve been in communication with the church, all the dioceses in Illinois. The church disclosed 80 new names of abusers in just a couple of months after the announcement of our investigation. Then talking to survivors, there were more names that emerged that they had not disclosed,” said Raoul. […] “So we waited, chose another date. Ironically, the Cardinal takes off for Rome on the day we release the report. And days later, he gives an interview on the steps of the Vatican where he says he’s surprised to hear 125 names that were not disclosed.”
* State Week | Pritzker takes heat over immigrant health care limits: Lawmakers gave Gov. JB Pritzker authority to manage costs in the Health Benefits for Immigrant Adults program. His administration has filed emergency rules that limit enrollment. The action comes on the heels of skyrocketing cost estimates for the program, which serves individuals between 42-64 years old, who would be eligible for Medicaid benefits based on income levels but not their citizenship status.
* Tyler Michals | By limiting where laws can be challenged, Illinois state government is guilty of a power grab: It must be frustrating to Illinois Democrats, who hold supermajorities in both houses of the state legislature, that a single judge can thwart their legislative ambitions. Indeed, these pesky judges seem to be just about the only thing that can stop their legislative steamroller. Under unified control, the Illinois legislature passed more than 500 bills in the month of May alone.
* Sun-Times | One of Chicago’s most popular lakefront venues is closed, with no reopening date: “Temporarily closed this summer for renovations,” read the signs on the main entrance and Castaways’ social media accounts. “We’re excited to welcome everyone back aboard soon!” The building tenant, Phil Stefani Signature Restaurants, has applied to the Chicago Department of Buildings for a permit to do about $150,000 worth of renovations. But that was in February, and the permit application is still pending.
* Sun-Times | Thousands cheer on 52nd annual pride parade: Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. J.B. Pritzker were in the parade. Members of the Chicago Teachers Union rode on motorbikes, leading to a “teachers” chant from the crowd.
* Crain’s | Crown family member Jim Crown dies in accident: James Crown, part of one of Chicago’s wealthiest families, died yesterday in an accident at a motorsports park in Woody Creek, Colo., according to The Colorado Sun. He reportedly turned 70 yesterday. Crown collided with an impact barrier as he was trying to make a turn, the report said, citing the Pitkin County Coroner’s Office.
*** UPDATE *** More…
* Tribune | Should people in prison serving life for crimes committed when they were under 21 get another chance? Some Illinois legislators say yes.: The measure would make sentencing reforms that have been passed in recent years retroactive for nearly everyone in prison who was convicted of serious crimes committed when they were teens or young adults. Instituting the reforms would make them eligible for parole at some point, giving House and others in similar situations a chance at being freed. The bill failed to advance this spring despite the Democratic-controlled legislature’s push in recent years to lower the prison population and enact progressive criminal justice policies. But its backers aren’t giving up.
* WBEZ | Video gambling company agrees to pay $1 million fine to state of Illinois: The settlement comes more than two years after Illinois Gaming Board officials filed their case against Accel Entertainment — which is based in the western suburbs and has become the biggest player in the booming video gambling industry.
* WVIK | GOP Leader McCombie Grades the Illinois Legislative Session: Tony McCombie, House Republican Leader, reflects on the recently completed session including the budget, schools, economy, two ‘Only-in-Illinois’ stories, her grade for the legislative process and much more.
* Sun-Times | Illinois must hold pawnbrokers accountable for high interest loans to military: Woodstock Institute has been fighting to end all predatory lending in Illinois for decades, and we uncovered two pawnshops charging 243.3% APR to an active-duty service member in the week leading up to Veterans Day 2022. Woodstock’s investigation showed that Illinois pawnbrokers are failing to inquire about the borrower’s military status and overcharging active-duty service members with triple-digit interest rates.
* QC Times | East Moline state representative reflects on spring session: The statehouse was already a familiar space for Gregg Johnson from advocacy work when he returned to Springfield in January. Back in the day, Johnson said, he would spend days under the dome advocating for health care, higher minimum wage or issues related to the organization he represented at the time. This time around, he was walking into the statehouse as the Democratic Representative for the 72nd House District.
* ABC | Three Democratic governors are raising their profiles, which could chart paths to White House: Experts: All three Democrats have been floated as possible 2024 presidential candidates amid voters’ concern over the fitness of Biden, 80, to serve another four-year term. But all have enthusiastically endorsed Biden and publicly said they have no plans to run themselves. Last week, Pritzker told “ABC News Live Prime” anchor Linsey Davis that he was “flattered to have been considered among people who might run for president” but that “President Biden has done a terrific job.”
* Illinois Farmer Today | Farmer sees solution to dust storms: southern Illinois farmer, teacher and conservationist, Richard “Dick” Lyons was so moved by the dust storm that caused fatalities on an Illinois highway in May that he wrote this letter to the General Assembly.
* River Bender | New Illinois Movement Chair Discusses Progress, Future Plans: “Our movement is about following the process provided in the U.S. Constitution to pursue the formation of a new state separate from the State of Illinois,” Merrit said. She clarified that they’re not trying to remove Chicago from the state - rather, they aim to remove the rest of Illinois and form it into a new state, New Illinois.
* Sen. Koehler sent me this last night and I completely forgot about it. Oops. Better late than never, I suppose…
Last night, I was watching Jeopardy and saw a question I immediately knew the answer to! Back in 2021, I personally spearheaded this measure in the Senate to make this the official state microbe! Do you know the answer to this question? pic.twitter.com/q684wWwqzW
— Senator Dave Koehler (@SenatorKoehler) June 23, 2023
* The question, not the answer, is “What is Penicillium Rubens?” From a press release…
Governor JB Pritzker signed legislation that builds on the legacy of unsung hero Mary K. Hunt and designates Penicillium Rubens as the official state microbe of Illinois. The Governor also signed legislation which adds agricultural sciences and agricultural education as an option to fulfill the coursework requirements for university admission.
HB 1879 designated penicillium rubens NRRL 1951 as the official state microbe of Illinois. The designation recognizes the contribution of Mary K. Hunt, also known as Moldy Mary, and the Northern Regional Research Library - now known as the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research. Due to their research and work, penicillin’s yield soared at a time when demand was high all across the world.
“It’s no secret that penicillin production is an achievement Peoria takes great pride in - but as of today, it becomes a point of pride for all of Illinois, with new status as our official state microbe,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “The additional legislation will help Illinois not lose any more Marys to history by recognizing the value of agricultural science in our education system for students of all backgrounds. By supporting our young learners who want to take ag sciences through to a university education - and beyond - Illinois is diversifying what it means to learn, to grow, to innovate - and to set the stage for our future generations to live their dreams.”
“By making penicillium rubens our state microbe, we commemorate the contribution that Peoria made to worldwide health and medicine,” said State Senator David Koehler (D-Peoria). “Nearly a century ago, our National Agriculture Utilization Laboratory discovered a microbe that has been saving lives from disease since—a historic feat worth recognizing and remembering.”
“When we look to our future as a state, it is proper to honor our past. Mass production of Penicillium was discovered in Peoria at our National Agriculture Utilization Laboratory and paved the way for Penicillin to improve health outcomes all over the world through the twentieth century,” said State Representative Ryan Spain (R-Peoria). “Life expectancy was lengthened worldwide because of this momentous work. That is a milestone worthy of recognition and tremendous Peoria pride.”
Kane County Clerk Jack Cunningham said Thursday a group of residents suspicious of fraud and fearful of liberal influences in local elections are “indoctrinated” and “sociopaths.” But at the same time, Cunningham announced he will work toward a key change those same people have been calling for.
The group, which has included Kane County GOP Chairman Andro Lerario, spent the past several months calling for a return to paper ballots and the hand-counting of votes. They also want Cunningham to return a $2 million grant from the Center for Technology and Civic Life.
Opponents of the grant believe the money is coming from “Silicon Valley Billionaires” and is a liberal Trojan Horse because the grant was bestowed by a Chicago-based nonprofit with Democratic ties. […]
“Since these groups have gotten involved with misinformation, the Republican Party has become the minority party. Wake up.” [Cunningham said]
Cunningham, who is a Republican, said he will use the $2 million to hire police officers to work at polling places on Election Day. He will also create an educational program designed to address the claims of people questioning election integrity. He said neither his office nor the county board has accepted or will accept any money in trade for compromising local elections.
* Subscribers have so far received two updates on Rep. Rashid. Politico…
State Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid and his family were caught up this week in violence in the West Bank. Rashid and his family were visiting relatives when hundreds of Israeli settlers stormed the town of Turmus ‘Ayya, where they were staying. The Israeli settlers set fire to cars and homes “to avenge the deaths of four Israelis killed by Palestinian gunmen the previous day,” according to The Associated Press, which documented the attack. Palestinians say one person was killed in the violence. A spokesman for Rashid said the family witnessed the violence and are currently sheltering in place.
* IDES…
Over-the-year, total nonfarm jobs increased in all fourteen metropolitan areas for the year ending May 2023, according to data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Illinois Department of Employment Security (DES). Over-the-year, the unemployment rate increased in seven metropolitan areas, decreased in four, and was unchanged in three. […]
The metro areas which had the largest over-the-year percentage increases in total nonfarm jobs were the Bloomington MSA (+3.2%, +3,200), the Peoria MSA (+2.9%, +4,900), and the Champaign-Urbana MSA (+2.7%, +3,200). Total nonfarm jobs in the Chicago Metro Division were up +1.6% or +61,500.Industries that saw job growth in a majority of metro areas included: Government (fourteen areas); Education and Health Services, Leisure and Hospitality, and Other Services (eleven areas each); Transportation, Warehousing and Utilities (nine areas); and Manufacturing (eight areas).
The metro areas with the largest unemployment rate increases were the Danville MSA (+0.5 point to 5.2%), the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island IA-IL MSA (+0.5 point to 3.9%), and the Lake-Kenosha County IL-WI Metro (+0.4 point to 4.1%). The metro areas with the largest unemployment rate decreases were the Chicago Metro (-1.3 percentage points to 3.2%), a record low unemployment rate for the month of May, followed by the Rockford MSA (-0.3 point to 5.9%) and the Carbondale-Marion MSA (-0.2 point to 4.0%).
* ISP…
The Illinois State Police (ISP) Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) Special Investigations Unit (SIU) continues to combat public corruption with the latest case involving charges against a former township official. ISP worked with the Jackson County State’s Attorney to bring charges against 70-year-old Danny D. “DD” Williams of Makanda, Illinois.
On April 21, 2022, Jackson County State’s Attorney Joseph Cervantez requested an ISP investigation into alleged inappropriate actions by Williams, the former Makanda Township Road Commissioner. After a thorough investigation, ISP identified several instances where Williams used his official position to steer contracts toward a contractor who would pay him in return.
On May 4, 2023, the Jackson County Grand Jury returned a true bill to indict Williams on the two counts of Pecuniary Interest in Contract and Williams appeared in court on June 14, 2023. No further information is available at this time.
* Rep. Sanalitro…
State Representative Jennifer Sanalitro is announcing the successful completion of her inaugural May Diaper Drive. The event is planned to take place every year and aims to help local families in need, especially those with babies and toddlers.
Thanks to the community’s generosity, the Diaper Drive collected a significant amount of diapers and essential baby items. Everything collected was donated to the Breakfast with a Baby Foundation. This local organization helps over 100 families by providing necessary items like clothing, toys, and diapers. Additionally, they offer a free breakfast during their monthly event at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Carol Stream.
Every month, the Breakfast with a Baby Foundation highlights a different organization that is working hard to help families in need throughout the community. The Diaper Drive, led by Rep. Sanalitro in partnership with Our Savior Lutheran Church, has made an important contribution to the Foundation’s efforts.
* Isabel’s roundup…
* Capitol News Illinois | Illinois consumer advocates, utilities spar over potential energy price increases: All told, electric utilities have asked to raise rates by a combined $2.8 billion over four years, while gas utilities have requested $890 million in increases next year. It’s an “unprecedented” number of proposed rate increases for one year, according to David Kolata, the former longtime head of the Citizens Utility Board, or CUB, a nonprofit organization created by the General Assembly in 1983 to represent consumers in cases like these.
* Center Square | ‘Death date’ approaching for many Chromebooks: The Illinois Parent Teacher Association has joined the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) in asking Google to extend the life of 13 Chromebook models whose software will expire in less than three months.
* Crain’s | Kwame Raoul, 5 other AGs join feds’ suit to block $28 billion Horizon-Amgen deal: In the lawsuit, filed May 16 in Illinois federal court, the agency argues the acquisition would allow California-based Amgen to use its market power to pressure insurers and pharmacy benefit managers to favor two key Horizon drugs: Tepezza, used to treat thyroid eye disease, and Krystexxa, which treats gout. Right now, neither has competition, but rivals are expected to come to market over the next few years.
* WMBD | Volunteer firefighters in Illinois to get state tax credit: The measure, announced by State Sen. Tom Bennett (R-Gibson City), will take effect in the 2023 tax year and could be used when people file their returns next year. The Gibson City Republican said the proposal was part of a larger, bipartisan legislative package recently signed into law.
* Center Square | New Illinois law could curb recidivism by connecting inmates, communities: House Bill 1496, which takes effect in January, was signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker earlier this month. The measure strengthens community connections for Illinois inmates by requiring the departments of Corrections and Juvenile Justice to record each inmate’s last-known street address and demographic data. That information is then passed on to the U.S. Census Bureau, which can direct resources to communities based on accurate population data.
* Sun-Times | Firm that brought Bally’s to Chicago casino deal stood to profit from another Bally’s deal: But even as Bally’s was successfully seeking Lightfoot’s blessing, it also was working on a separate, $2.6 billion deal. That was to buy an online British gaming company called Gamesys. As part of that deal, Bally’s would pay off Gamesys’s lenders, according to documents Bally’s filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
* Sun-Times | New summer program for students tours Chicago pollution hotspots: Altgeld Gardens was the first stop on a daylong tour – followed by visits to the Calumet Water Reclamation Plant and the Wild Mile, which is a floating island ecosystem on the North Branch of the Chicago River. The field day is part of a new, two-week long summer program called the Environmental Justice Freedom School, which is designed to provide Chicago Public Schools students with a hands-on environmental and climate justice education.
* WICS | FDA releases guidance on researching psychedelic drugs for mental health treatments: The administration said psychedelic drugs may produce psychoactive effects like hallucinations and mood and cognitive changes. This presents the potential for abuse of these drugs, which is a safety issue that requires careful consideration to prevent misuse in clinical development.
* NYT | Why Some Americans Buy Guns: Some 22 million guns were sold that year, 64 percent more than in 2019. More than eight million of them went to novices who had never owned a firearm, according to the firearm industry’s trade association, the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
* Tribune | ‘The last maestro’: Conductor Riccardo Muti steps down at the CSO and ends an era. But he’s not leaving just yet.: On Friday, the CSO made official what most already knew, or have assumed: Though his tenure as the orchestra’s music director formally ends this month, Riccardo Muti will lead the orchestra in Orchestra Hall and on tour for six weeks — about half his current season commitment — for the next two seasons. The arrangement cushions the orchestra from artistic free-fall during its director search and allows Muti, turning 82 next month, to maintain a privileged relationship with the orchestra without quite so much back-and-forth between here and Ravenna, his home in his native Italy. Details after 2025 are still being finalized, but the CSO hopes to keep Muti a regular presence here, likely into the leadership of the next music director.
* Crain’s | Swarms of Taylor Swift fans helped boost CTA ridership: On Tuesday, the CTA reported that Swift’s Sunday, June 4, show “generated more than 43,000 additional bus and rail rides at the Roosevelt station and on the #146 Inner Lake Shore/Michigan Express route.” Alongside city festivals, great weather and a pair of Wrigley Field shows by Dead & Company (featuring surviving members of the Grateful Dead), those CTA-going Swift fans helped the agency tally 5.63 million riders the week of June 4 through June 10, the agency’s highest weekly total since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020.
* Herald-Whig | JWCC keeps tuition flat for upcoming school year: “For more students to access higher education and to build enrollment, our goal must be keeping tuition as affordable as we can,” JWCC President Bryan Renfro said. “Starting at John Wood is the best bet for students to start or complete their college degree with limited debt. Keeping tuition low, investing in more student scholarships, and developing and enhancing academic and workforce programs are key components of this budget and the future of our college.”
* Rich posted earlier earlier on the House Speaker Chris Welch and Senate President Don Harmon 21st Show interviews. Here’s another moment from Brian Mackey’s interview with Speaker Welch on the budget process…
Mackey: The reason I’m pressing on this a little bit is, I guess the larger issue I’m trying to get at is that you have talked about a different kind of process in the General Assembly. And here was still a budget that’s passed in the middle of the night, maintaining what I’ve heard referred to as the sort of ‘undergraduate work habits.’ I wonder if we’ll ever have a budget that passes you know, say, two in the afternoon and that will have been out there for the public to scrutinize for days and days, or weeks, potentially before it’s enacted.
Welch: Brian, let me take issue with the way you phrased your question. I think that’s poor journalism. But let me say this, it doesn’t take into account anything that we’ve done the last three years to address the concerns about bringing more light into this process. We intentionally engaged in a process. The House did not give the Senate an appropriations vehicle. We intentionally embarked on what we called a trust exercise, where the Senate would pass us an agreed budget on a Senate Bill, which under our Constitution has to in the House sit for three readings on three separate days before it can get passed. In previous years, budgets have come over from one chamber or another and the minute you get it you put it on the board and you pass it. We have tried to address the concerns from members of the Democratic caucus, members of the Republican caucus, folks like you in the media and create a process that would give more time. The budget was posted about eight o’clock on Wednesday night. People had the rest of Wednesday night to read it. They had all day Thursday, all day Friday. And we passed it at about 2-2:30 in the morning. As opposed to coming back at 10, 12 o’clock on Saturday afternoon, a holiday weekend, when folks wanted to go home. But that budget was out there three days to read. More than any budget in my 11 years in the General Assembly. And so yes, I take issue with the way you frame that question because I’m proud of the fact that we slowed the process down very intentionally. Give folks more time to read this budget. And rather than read it, the Republicans took the budget and wrapped it in a bow. But what I suggest is people use the changes that we put in place, read the budget and let’s have an honest discussion about it.
Mackey: Well, I’ll take your criticism on it. I will think about that. But I will say yes, it is an improvement over the past. I think other states have even more time. Maybe we’ll get there in the future.
Mackey: I had a little back and forth with the House Speaker on this very point, because he talked about the idea that the budget was sort of hanging out in public, right? I think it was from Thursday afternoon, was it until the House voted on it early Saturday morning. So I guess one business day, maybe two days, depending on how you want to look at it. There are states though, where the budget process is much more open, and it’s out there for public input. Why not actually pass a budget over the course of a week or two weeks instead of this still where it’s sort of negotiating, negotiating, and it all kind of comes together? It used to be in a few hours, now it’s in maybe a few days? I mean, is that a trend? Are we going to ever see a process where it’s just kind of slow and calm and out in the open?
Harmon: Well, I would argue that’s the process we have. And Brian, you’ve been around Springfield a long time. Every single bill passes the chamber in about 60 seconds when the roll call is called. It’s the work that leads up to that and we began our budget process with the governor’s budget address. The House and Senate both had countless appropriation committee hearings, where we heard from the state agencies that are funded as well as all of the stakeholders that wanted to testify. We have a very, very public process. I reject the premise that the budget itself is the introduction of the final budget with the roll call on the floor. There’s so much work, public work that goes into that. It’s easy to criticize the last 60 seconds, but it’s not fair to the work that people do over the months of the spring session.
HAPPENING NOW: I'm joining @Healthy_ILL and hundreds of Illinoisans at Daley Plaza protesting @GovPritzker@JBPritzker's decision to take healthcare coverage from Illinois residents ages 42 to 64. This decision will cost lives and cost the state astronomically more. pic.twitter.com/FlLI7nrxeC
Ald. @RossanaFor33, Chair of @ChiLatinoCaucus, and the Chicago City Council's Health Committee, speaks powerfully on the need for preventative care to save lives. This fight to save lives is just ramping up. pic.twitter.com/U4ueLxcqMO
• Drought has rapidly intensified across the Midwest region over the last five weeks. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, 58% of the Midwest is now in moderate to extreme drought (D1-D3), compared to just 8% five weeks ago. Areas with the most rapid deterioration in conditions include central/northern Illinois, western Indiana, eastern Iowa, central Michigan, central Minnesota, and east-central Wisconsin.
• Significantly below-normal precipitation has been the main driver for the rapid intensification of drought conditions. Some areas have had multiple days of hot temperatures as well, which allows for more moisture to be extracted from the surface through evapotranspiration.
• Soil moisture is reported to be very low across much of the Midwest. According to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, the percent of topsoil in Illinois that is rated as short to very short currently surpasses levels at this time in 2012, during the last major regional drought.
• Drought impacts continue to multiply across various sectors in the region including significant impacts to vegetation, agriculture, water supply, forestry and fire. Many people, agencies and sectors are taking action to address the impacts being felt.
• Dry conditions across the entire Mississippi River Basin (including the Missouri and Ohio basins) are driving well below average (15+ feet) river stages throughout the Lower Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri all the way to the Gulf of Mexico, where low river stages are already causing issues and increased concerns for shipping.
• Long-range river forecasts from the NOAA River Forecast Centers indicate that the Mississippi River will reach low water stages just downstream of the Ohio/Mississippi confluence area as early as 1-2 weeks from now.
• Rainfall is crucial to alleviate drought concerns and impacts across the Midwest, particularly as corn pollination begins in early July. If corn-growing areas do not start receiving rainfall now, there will likely be impacts to corn yields, and potentially other crops as well. Water supply for livestock and municipalities in some areas is also a major concern if drought conditions persist.
• There is uncertainty in the summer outlook on whether precipitation will be above, near, or below normal. The U.S. seasonal drought outlook for June 15-September 30 shows that drought is likely to persist and potentially expand across the Midwest this summer.
* In the past seven days, both House Speaker Chris Welch and Senate President Don Harmon have been interviewed on Brian Mackey’s radio show The 21st. Here’s Speaker Welch being grilled on legislator pay…
Mackey: One of those things that [Republicans] have criticized, or at least some have criticized, are salary increases for lawmakers. Last year, I believe the base salary for a state legislator was just under $73,000. Now it’s going to be or is more than $89,000. How do you justify that to taxpayers?
Welch: Well, first of all, let me say Republicans were criticizing it, but I don’t know any of them have rejected the pay raises. Why is that? Because many of them thanked me years ago when I filed a lawsuit against Governor Rauner and his then comptroller for illegally stopping our pay. Many of them quietly were coming to me thanking me. Many of them are thanking me known for standing by court decisions that say it’s unconstitutional to waive the COLA. We are going to follow the law. We’re going to honor our Constitution. And that’s what we’re doing. That’s another point that I wanted to make about Republicans finding one or two things to come up with a talking point and criticize, rather than vote for something that they know is constitutionally sound that’s balanced, that lifts up every single community across the state that actually has a number of things in it that they fought for.
Mackey: I should tell listeners in a previous iteration of my journalistic career I wrote a column and I’ve argued in the past that higher pay for lawmakers might be something worth considering because otherwise you get a legislature instead of sort of more everyday working people it’s filled with real estate agents and bankers and other people with jobs where they can take significant time off. But a 22 percent increase in six months. Can you, again, to the worker out there who is not enjoying that level of pay raise in the past six months, how do you justify that?
Welch: Let me first level-set. What recently happened was the legislature did receive its annual COLA increase back in January for the first time since 2007. The 102nd General Assembly approved raises for state legislators, constitutional officers for everyone in state office for the first time since 2007. As you have written about Brian in the past, if you’re going to recruit good talent across the state, if you’re going to have good people sign up for these jobs and spend time away from their families week after week, you have to have a competitive salary. And we tried to address that in January in the 102nd General Assembly. And so they raises were voted on by the previous General Assembly for the first time since 2007. I don’t know anyone who has worked in a job and didn’t get a raise since 2007.
Mackey: One aspect of [the state budget] that’s got a lot of attention has been salary increases for lawmakers. I think it was just last year the base salary for a state legislator was just under $73,000. Now it’s more than $89,000. How do you justify that increase to taxpayers?
Harmon: Well, again, to be clear, that was an increase last year after decades without any statutory increase in the salary. This year, the budget included money to fund the statutory salaries for all officers in the state. No change in that statutory salary. So this was just a routine budget appropriation to satisfy that statutory obligation.
Mackey: But there was a cost of living increase this year.
Harmon: Correct. That’s built into the statutory salary structure. It avoids the difficult decision of what the salary should be?
Mackey: Well over six months, that is a 22 percent increase. If there are people out there, and look as you may know, I’ve written about there may be justifiable reasons to have higher salaries for lawmakers if you want a legislature that has people who are not just real estate agents and bankers and attorneys and people with jobs where they can take time off. But a 22 percent increase in six months I imagine will strike some listeners as quite a lot.
Harmon: I understand the question, it is always a difficult issue. If we never dealt with legislative pay increases, as unpleasant as they are, we would still be being paid several hundred dollars, which, you know, going back to the beginning of the General Assembly. So you have to make those calculations along the way. I think the bigger question is one you alluded to. Should we maintain a part time legislature? Or have we reached the point where we really are a full time legislature and should be compensated as such?
Mackey: What do you think the answer to that is?
Harmon: I think it’s a conversation worth having. I have always put great stock in a citizen legislature where people bring their real life expertise to the Capitol and and we pass better legislation because people have those experiences. But I’m also caught by the the conflicts that inevitably arise when people are juggling their public service and their private occupations.
* I interviewed Senate President Don Harmon earlier this month and he told me about the axe-throwing outings with Republicans. From Brian Mackey’s interview this week…
Mackey: I understand you and your fellow Senate Democrats invested a lot of time to try and build some areas of consensus with Republicans this spring. Did that actually start with an axe throwing outing in Springfield? Is that true? Did I read that correctly?
Harmon: It did. Somewhat organically, we were looking for opportunities to get together out of the Capitol, off campus and just socialize, get to know each other as people. And someone came up with the idea of going axe throwing on MacArthur Boulevard in Springfield. We ended up doing it several times in small groups. And I don’t give that all the credit for a good working relationship with the Republican caucus this session. But it’s certainly disarming when you get to play together a little bit in that context.
Mackey: Oh, ‘disarming.’ It’s going to come thick now, because I was gonna say something about axes to grind. Speaking of which, ultimately, you ended up not getting any Republican votes on the budget. Why, from your perspective, despite some effort, I understand and that was thought of to be a possibility, from your perspective, why didn’t that come together?
Harmon: Well, I do want to be clear, we’ve worked with the Republican caucus from the beginning. We involved them in the budget conversations all during the spring session. And frankly, we have a better budget because of it. There’s much input from the Republican caucus in our budget. In the end, we weren’t able to get the votes on the budget from Republicans. We weren’t able to cross the divide on a couple of non budgetary related items that they thought were precursors to supporting the budget. But I’m not discouraged. I think it was a process worth undertaking. And we’ll do it again next year.
Mackey: What did you learn about bipartisanship from this spring legislative session? Is that still a worthwhile goal? Because I mean, you’ve been in the Senate long enough, you know that that hasn’t always been the dominant, sort of prevailing attitude among senators.
Harmon: It validated for me my belief that bipartisanship is almost always better. There are certain issues where we’re just never going to see eye to eye. And that’s okay. In those cases, we have a strong majority elected by the people of Illinois and we’ll pursue those in a partisan fashion. But on the routine business of governing, we are always better off with a bipartisan coalition. And Brian, you know, 95 percent of what we pass in a typical session is bipartisan or unanimous. But on the tough issues, if we can get good people from both sides of the aisle to sit down eyeball to eyeball and work towards a compromise, we almost always get a better product.
Please pardon all transcription errors.
* The Question: Do you have any suggestions for future Senate bipartisan outings? Snark is not exactly encouraged, but allowed since it’s a Friday afternoon in late June.
The Illinois House Friday narrowly defeated a measure that would have required notification of parents before their teenage daughters obtained abortions, marking a rare setback for abortion foes who have passed virtually every major legislative initiative they have pushed for more than two decades.
Both abortion opponents and abortion rights supporters agreed that the vote could portend a philosophical shift in the chamber.
“I think the House of Representatives has gotten a lot more moderate and I think that vote shows it,” said Rep. Terry Parke (R-Hoffman Estates), a longtime abortion foe who said his bill would have stopped Illinois from serving as a “dumping ground for abortions” for young women from other Midwestern states with notification laws.
Parental notification “is the least intrusive on the issue of abortion that we can put out there,” he said. “If we can’t pass that, it means that until there’s a change … I don’t know how we can pass anything that affects the issue of abortion unless we get others to change their position.”
* Parental notification is supposed to be a hot-button political issue, and was considered even more so 22 years ago. But a total of 14 House Republicans voted with the pro-choice side on that bill: Reps. Beaubien, Coulson, Cross, Hassert, Hoeft, Klingler, Krause, Lindner, Mathias, Moore, Mulligan, O’Connor, Osmond and Persico. Nine of those folks served in the House when the chamber was majority Republican. The chamber had a 60-58 Dem-GOP party split at the time of the PNA vote.
Today, there is not a single pro-choice Republican in either legislative chamber and hardly any Republicans holding districts in the suburban and exurban areas that were represented by those pro-choice Republicans back in the day. The current party split is 78-40.
Yes, the district maps are far worse for the GOP now than they were then. But at least some of those 14 HGOPs might not have been around in 2001 had they been strongly opposed to abortion rights.
* By contrast, 19 House Democrats voted for that 2001 parental notification bill, including the House Speaker: Brosnahan, Brunsvold, Bugielski, Capparelli, Forby, Fowler, Franks, Hannig, Hartke, Hoffman, Holbrook, Shirley Jones, Joe Lyons, Mautino, McCarthy, McGuire, Novak, Reitz and Speaker Madigan.
And six House Democrats voted Present, including a current Illinois Supreme Court justice who is now pro-choice: Crotty, Curry, Steve Davis, Giles, Mary K. O’Brien and Ryan.
So, that’s 25 of 60, or 42 percent. Most, not all, of those districts are now represented by either pro-choice Democrats or by Republicans.
* At the time of that 2001 vote, the courts had blocked a parental notification bill passed during the brief era of Republican legislative control. The Illinois Supreme Court reinstated the law in 2013.
When a repeal of the parental notification law was put up on the Big Board in 2021, all Republicans and just 6 House Democrats voted against repeal: Davis, DeLuca, Scherer, Walsh, Yednock and Zalewski. Another three voted Present: Burke, Crespo and Hurley. Two didn’t vote: Moylan and Tarver.
That works out to 11 of 73, or 15 percent. Rep. Jay Hoffman, who voted for parental notification in 2001, voted to repeal the law in 2021. House Speaker Chris Welch voted to repeal as well.
One year ago, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 decision Roe v. Wade, reversing nearly a half-century of federal abortion rights protections and leaving the matter up to individual states.
Roughly half of all states in the nation — primarily in the Midwest and South — moved to either ban or severely restrict abortion. But Illinois had approved strong reproductive rights protections, declaring abortion a “fundamental right” in the 2019 Reproductive Health Act. Abortion providers in Illinois have reported an unprecedented surge in patients traveling from other states to terminate pregnancies here, as abortion access dwindled in large sections of the country. […]
In a 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that guaranteed abortion rights nationwide. The high court also votes 6-3 to uphold a Mississippi abortion restriction in the case at hand, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Protests and rallies — for and against the end of federal abortion protections — erupt in Chicago and across the country.
Eric Scheidler, executive director of the Chicago-based Pro-Life Action League, predicts that Illinois will “become an abortion mecca, by design.”
* Governor Pritzker penned an op-ed for Salon to mark the anniversary…
As Governor of Illinois, it is my duty to not only keep our residents safe, but to uphold our 205-year legacy—a legacy rooted in progress and justice. So, while every state bordering us is forcing women to revert to back-alley abortions, with some elected officials threatening to limit contraceptive access only for those with approval from their husbands, I’ve worked hand-in-hand with members of the General Assembly to extend protections for patients and providers alike.
We have welcomed abortion providers who fled their states, and we eliminated barriers to access by allowing birth centers to provide all reproductive care and removing copays for birth control and medication abortions. We instituted new protections for patients, doctors and nurses from out-of-state subpoenas—creating another safeguard for reproductive access in Illinois. We funded the creation of the Reproductive Health Public Navigation Hotline—a centralized resource where patients will be able to find the services that will meet their needs. And all the while, we are investing millions toward learning collaboratives and abortion provider trainings, so we can continue to train healthcare personnel to meet the demand of patients seeking reproductive freedom who are flooding in from across the nation.
Anti-choice extremists aren’t going to stop at Roe v. Wade. They will keep chipping away—bit by bit—at reproductive healthcare and other related privacy rights. But Illinois will remain a haven—so long as we fight for it. And my administration and pro-choice members of the General Assembly will do everything in our power to ensure widespread, equitable access to reproductive rights as a foundational freedom.
In Illinois, abortion is legal, abortion is health care, and personal decisions about it will remain between a woman and her doctor.
Since the fall of Roe, Illinois has welcomed an influx of out-of-state patients seeking abortions, becoming what advocates call a “Midwestern safe haven” for reproductive health care.
Democratic lawmakers have focused on passing shield laws, or protections for people coming to Illinois from surrounding states where abortion access is restricted or generally banned, like Indiana and Missouri.
One such measure, which was signed into law earlier this year, applies to healthcare providers and patients. Another measure passed last month, which is waiting for a signature from Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker, would prohibit law enforcement from sharing data from automated license plate readers with other states for the purpose of prosecuting someone seeking an abortion in Illinois.
Other notable legislation includes requiring insurers to cover abortion medication, requiring public colleges to offer emergency contraception at “wellness kiosks” and allowing patients of crisis pregnancy centers to sue if they feel the center had misled them from seeking abortion care.
Dr. Erin King, executive director of the Hope Clinic, knew an influx of out-of-state patients who need abortions would be coming to the East St. Louis facility after the June 24, 2022, court ruling.
Still, “it’s almost surreal to now every day talk to people that are traveling from Florida, Mississippi, Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas,” to name a few places, King said. […]
Planned Parenthood of Illinois on June 12 reported a 54% rise in patients seeking abortion procedures or medication since June 2022. Before the Supreme Court decision, 7% of clients came from out of state; that portion has risen to 25%. […]
Julie Uhal, manager of the Securing Access For Everyone abortion expansion program at Planned Parenthood of Illinois, gave the example of a client from Tennessee, where abortion is banned.
“She wasn’t an English speaker and didn’t have any ID, so she couldn’t get on a plane and really needed to get back to work the next day after the appointment. So they coordinated a 10-hour bus ride,” Uhal said in an earlier interview.
* Related…
* American Progress | Illinois Pediatrician Combats Confusion Among Adolescents and Families Caused by Abortion Bans: Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and recent legal challenges to medication abortion, Stephanie has noticed many patients are unsure about what options are available to them. Even in Illinois, where abortion is still protected, she notes that among teens, misinformation travels faster and lingers longer, especially through social media and word of mouth. Many are already under social pressure from peers or family and are now further confused by the constantly evolving legal landscape surrounding abortion.
* WBEZ | Catholic abortion doulas comfort the faithful in a post-Roe world: “One of the chapters here specifically addresses spiritual conflict,” Likins said. “There’s lots of examples of how you could counsel someone to go from feeling like God will never forgive them for having an abortion to feeling like, maybe God is actually comforting them during their abortion.”
* Forbes | The Business Impact Of Dobbs A Year Later: Entrepreneurs around the country drew on their creativity to come up with solutions for helping those living in the most restrictive states access reproductive care. Women’s health startups like Julie and Stix created “buy one, donate one” models where people were able to buy emergency contraception while simultaneously donating the pills to people impacted most severely by their state’s trigger laws. Plan C Pills, founded by a group of public health veterans, advertising creatives and digital strategists, was built as a hub for accessing abortion pills by mail in all 50 states. Travel companies like Elevated Access offer private flights for those seeking abortion or gender-affirming care. Their mission is to ease the burden and provide transportation for folks so they can receive life-saving healthcare.
* NPR | New abortion laws changed their lives. 8 very personal stories: In December 2022, right before Christmas, I was 20 weeks and 3 days pregnant when I learned my water had broken early. The chances of the baby surviving were very low, but I couldn’t end the pregnancy under Texas laws.
Illinois home sales plummeted in May compared to last year
The article reports that home sales fell 22 percent in Illinois compared to May of last year. Not noted is that national home sales have fallen as well. The St. Louis Fed reported national existing home sales dropped 20.4 percent during the same time period.
* Once you get beyond the anti-Illinois clickbait headline, however, they at least provide a good reason…
According to Daniel McMillen, head of the Stuart Handler Department of Real Estate at the University of Illinois at Chicago, low housing inventory is hampering the market.
“The really big change that we see is that the available housing inventory is down about 27% and is at the lowest it’s been since 2008,” said McMillen Thursday during a virtual news conference.
McMillen said higher interest rates have contributed to slower sales, but he expects them to ease as the year goes on.
I have some personal experience with this topic and, anecdotally, the lack of inventory checks out.
* Sun-Times | Ex-Proud Boy from Aurora gets more than 3 years in prison for Jan. 6 Capitol assault: The sentence handed down to James Robert Elliott, 25, on Thursday is the harshest dealt so far to an Illinois resident charged in the riot. In addition to the 37-month prison sentence, Elliott must also pay $2,000 in restitution, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, D.C.
* Vandalia Radio | Governor JB Pritzker signed dozens of new laws this month; here are a few you may not of heard about yet: Some of the new laws require insurance coverage for preventative liver screenings and medically necessary compression sleeves. There’s also one that requires new construction of single-family homes and apartment buildings to include basic infrastructure for electric vehicle charging stations. State Representative Robyn Gabel sponsored the bill in the House.
* 21st Show | Senate President on the legislature’s accomplishments this session: The General Assembly ended its annual legislative session last month, and Governor Pritzker has been signing legislation from that into law — including a more than $50-billion dollar budget. Last week we talked about this with the Speaker of the Illinois House, Chris Welch, and today we spoke with his counterpart on the north side of the Capitol building — Senate President Don Harmon.
* Crain’s | With downstate visit, Biden’s health chief to spotlight ‘tale of two states’ on abortion access: During Friday’s appearance at the Illinois location, HHS says, Becerra intends to talk with the stakeholders, like abortion providers and advocates, about what he calls as the “tale of two states,” which describes the experience for a clinic in a state where abortion care is still legal to operate near a state where abortions are now banned. At the St. Louis center, Becerra will host a roundtable and press conference to highlight why abortion bans are putting patients in “harm’s way” and contributing to a nationwide health crisis.
* Tribune | 3M reaches $10.3 billion settlement in ‘forever chemicals’ suits: Under the sweeping settlement, 3M said it would pay out the money over 13 years to any cities, counties and others across the country to test for and clean up perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, in public water supplies.
* Crain’s | Obama Presidential Center lands $26 million grant: $25 million of the grant will go toward establishing the Democracy in Action Lab, a programming hub that aims to provide “a physical space to facilitate community convening and inspire civic participation.” The remaining $1 million will support the Obama Foundation’s Leaders Program, connecting and supporting civic leaders around the world.
* Tribune | Residents and birders frustrated that developer proceeded with demolition that damaged gull colony on Goose Island: On Friday evening, Frank was developing photos she took of the birds when she noticed nests on the roof of the facility. Frank proceeded to contact the construction company, Brandenburg Industrial Service Co., to alert them of the gull chicks and received replies about addressing the issue. By Tuesday morning, Frank had photos and videos of dead gulls around the active demolition site. She said her contacts at the construction company stopped responding to her.
* Tribune | A Chicago man crossing Lake Michigan in a watermelon-shaped craft disappeared 120 years ago. Here’s what we know.: Known as Foolkiller No. 3, the 30-foot long and 20-foot wide canvas-covered vessel looked more like a floating blimp than a submersible. It was not designed to sink, but to glide — across land or water — when propelled by the wind. Its cavity was dotted with one glass porthole on each end and hollow except for an axle to help the watermelon-shaped machine turn while its occupant was seated atop it.
* Crain’s | What a $3,000 ticket gets you at the NASCAR Street Race: The premium tickets, which start at $3,015 per person, grant guests access to the President’s Paddock Club, a two-story viewing structure overlooking the race’s start and finish line on South Columbus Drive. Ticket-holders will find an enclosed, air-conditioned space on the lower level and an open-air rooftop terrace upstairs.
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