Reader comments closed for the weekend
Friday, Mar 1, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller * A little more than 26 years ago…
* And here she is…
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Fundraiser list
Friday, Mar 1, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Friday, Mar 1, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Sen. Emil Jones III’s jury trial has been reset for Dec. 9. Jason Meisner…
* Illinois Community College Board…
* Crain’s…
* Press release…
* Here’s the rest…
* WTTW | Illinois Paid at Least $640K to Review Controversial ‘Invest In Kids’ Tax Credit Program, But Results Are Deemed ‘Inconclusive’: “What we can learn from this report is limited and inconclusive due to the absence of demographic data for the scholarship recipients and the lack of apples-to-apples comparisons,” Illinois State Board of Education spokesperson Jackie Matthews said in a statement about the just-published analysis on Invest in Kids. * Center Square | Pressure mounts for daylight saving time reform: One of those calling for an end to this system, state Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, stressed the consequences of sleep loss especially for children and senior citizens. “Any legislator with small children knows what it is like to have to move our clocks forward and hour and lose an hour of sleep and the damage it does to not just our sleep but to our children and how they’re feeling, their productivity, during the day,” Morgan told The Center Square. * Daily Herald | Is the autoworkers union endorsing Foster or Rashid in the 11th District? It depends who you ask: Even though laborers with UAW Local 1268 — including its president, Matt Frantzen — enthusiastically praised Foster in the ad and thanked him for working with President Joe Biden to save their jobs and reopen Stellantis’ idle Belvidere Assembly Plant, the UAW’s Region 4 office in downstate Ottawa is backing rival Qasim Rashid. In a statement issued Thursday by Rashid’s campaign, regional UAW representative John Gedney called Naperville’s Rashid “a proven advocate for working people” and proclaimed him to be the only person in the race “aligned with UAW’s principles.” * SJ-R | Fight against poverty: Illinoisans to rally outside the state capitol this weekend: The march is part of the Poor People’s Campaign of Illinois, which is joining 31 other states in an organized event to assemble outside the state capitol with demands for the upcoming primary election being held on March 19. * Daily Herald | 49th District GOP rivals debate their electability in November showdown with Hirschauer: Both candidates expressed distaste for politics itself, and the notion that government is the solution to all problems rather than the personal leadership they feel they possess. * Daily Herald | Pierog: Sanctuary status for Kane County already decided by state law: A tide of concern about recent migrant busing into Kane County reached its apex this week as residents packed a county board meeting to overflow status with calls to reject any move toward a formal sanctuary county proclamation. Sanctuary cities are viewed as being welcoming to migrants, including those who make unauthorized border crossings. After waiting two hours to speak, County Board Chair Corinne Pierog told them they were too late. Kane County already is a sanctuary county, Pierog said. She pointed to state legislation approved in 2017 and signed by then-Gov. Bruce Rauner. “The Trust Act made 102 counties in the state of Illinois what you would consider a sanctuary county,” Pierog told the raucous audience. “You are asking if I’m advocating Kane County be a sanctuary county? That was already done by a Republican governor. I cannot undo state law.” * Bolts | As Kim Foxx Exits, Chicago Is Choosing the Next “Gatekeeper” of Its Bail Reform: But Burke has also blamed Foxx for being too lenient in some cases, signaling she’d turn the page on the incumbent’s reform priorities. Harris has comparatively aligned himself with the outgoing state’s attorney, whose tenure has seen a considerable decline in the local jail population. Local progressive leaders and the county Democratic Party recently coalesced around Harris as the candidate more likely to continue criminal legal reforms in Chicago. * WBBM | Sorry, drivers: Kennedy Expressway construction closures returning soon: After a three month break, the major Kennedy Expressway construction project will resume on the night of March 11, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) announced. The first morning commute to be impacted will be Tuesday, March 12. This next phase of the three-year project will be conducted in the reversible express lanes and is not expected to be completed until late this fall. During this period, all Kennedy express lanes in both directions will be closed. * WCIA | Urbana families rally, voice concerns over elementary school redistricting plans: Some parents support the change, while others want to put the process on pause. But they all say this seems like a similar situation to the closure of Wiley Elementary school last year. What they don’t agree on is what the district’s next steps can be. “They’re trying to close more schools without a plan, and we just want to pause. We want to work with the district, we want to plan, and we want stability for our children,” said Mabruka Yazidi of the Urbana Schools Action Coalition. * WNIJ | Western Illinois University president stepping down: In his letter, Huang said, “After much reflection, I have decided to leave the University.” He added, “This was not an easy conclusion to come to, but I have decided it is time to move on to the next chapter of my life and be closer to my family.” He did not elaborate further on his reasons for leaving. * WCIA | UIS receives grant to help with teacher shortage: The University’s School of Education is putting the money towards developing a new program that will include another college and a school district in Springfield and Decatur. UIS will use the money for 15 forgivable loans of $25,000 each for students planning to teach in Springfield and Decatur for five years. * Daily Herald | Can working less lead to happier, healthier and better cops?: Can fewer hours on the job lead to better policing and healthier, happier law enforcement officers? A police department in the Denver suburbs is trying to answer that question with its switch last year to a 32-hour workweek for every member of the force. And the results so far have law enforcement leaders across the country taking notice. * Sun-Times | Coffee roaster’s partnership creates job opportunities for adults with disabilities: The Aspire CoffeeWorks program at Metropolis has offered part-time work to disabled adults through the Hillside-based nonprofit Aspire. The partnership isn’t just a great way to provide paid work to the program’s employees, managers say. It’s also a way to show businesses can succeed by employing people of all abilities, said Katie Filippini, director of Aspire CoffeeWorks. * Lauren Gustus | You should know what the Utah speaker said is wrong: [Utah] Gov. Spencer Cox has already signed legislation making elected officials and lawmakers’ work calendars a secret. Other bills, if signed, will pay for private companies to scrape lawmakers’ public information from the web and mean you won’t know how much water Utah wants to buy from other states and what it will cost taxpayers.
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Shenanigan!
Friday, Mar 1, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller * Note the “Official Team Trump” seal of approval for this 17th Congressional District Republican candidate…
From Trump’s campaign website…
However, Crowl isn’t on the approved list. Crowl has loaned his campaign $57,530 since last October and raised a few grand otherwise. He faces retired Rockford Judge Joe McGraw for the right to take on freshman Democratic US Rep. Eric Sorensen.
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition and some campaign updates (Updated x3)
Friday, Mar 1, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Today’s number: 4 percent
Friday, Mar 1, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Did You Know? 80% Of Illinoisans Use Natural Gas To Heat Their Homes
Friday, Mar 1, 2024 - Posted by Advertising Department [The following is a paid advertisement.] We need to stop the political attacks on natural gas in Chicago and across Illinois. The reality is 80 percent of Illinoisans rely on natural gas to heat their homes. Illinois politicians need to create a plan for a gradual transition to clean energy that recognizes the reality of how homes are heated and powered today. When Governor Pritzker’s appointees on the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) shut down the natural gas line Safety Modernization Program, it not only wiped out 1,000 jobs, but also subjected residents and business owners to the unnecessary danger of old, leaky gas infrastructure. At this time, it makes no sense for Illinois to shut down the gas line safety program that prevents methane leaks and catastrophic accidents. We are calling on Illinois residents to fight back with us and tell Governor Pritzker and the ICC to decarbonize the right way. Fix our dangerous gas lines first. Click on the links to view our ads: Ticking Time Bomb & Real Change. Paid for by Fight Back Fund
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This may not be a bad idea
Friday, Mar 1, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller * Hmm… * But even if you don’t agree with this proposal (and there are some valid reasons for that), I would at least require proof that the cap-busting money is actually deposited because there is currently no such mechanism to show that the cash is real. Also, the self-funding triggers should be tied to inflation. The triggers have not risen since 2009. It cost Eileen Burke the same amount to bust the caps (minimum $100,001) as it did 15 years ago. Inflation would’ve increased that trigger to about $143K. Burke reported raising $836,200 the very same day she declared that she’d busted the caps. Both Democratic legislative leaders have busted their personal committee contribution caps. Speaker Chris Welch loaned his campaign $101,000. But Senate President Don Harmon busted the caps with a straight contribution. * Interestingly enough, while the self-financing triggers don’t rise with inflation, the law mandates that all contribution limits must be adjusted to the cost of living. The contribution limit on political action committees is now $68,500. That limit was $50,000 when the bill was initially passed. Discuss.
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Today’s must-watch video (Updated x2)
Friday, Mar 1, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller * This is so great…
The IDOT worker’s comments start at about 1:15. …Adding… Sun-Times…
…Adding… Teamsters press release…
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Cassidy wants constitutional amendment that protects reproductive health care and gender-affirming care
Friday, Mar 1, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller * The Tribune takes a look at the abortion issue, including Gov. Pritzker’s involvement in other states and what to look for in Illinois. Excerpt…
Thoughts? * Related…
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Moody’s looks at Illinois regions
Friday, Mar 1, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller * Let’s look at some regional analyses from the February 2024 State of Illinois Economic Forecast Report Prepared for CGFA by Moody’s/Economy.com, starting with Chicago…
* And the rest…
Lots and lots more information on this and other topics, so take a look.
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)
Friday, Mar 1, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Open thread
Friday, Mar 1, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller * What’s going on in your part of Illinois?…
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Friday, Mar 1, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Chicago migrants’ grievances focus mostly on treatment by shelter staff. Sun-Times…
- Complaints ranged from racist remarks to bad food and a lack of cleanliness. - The majority of the grievances, about 60%, involve staff members from Favorite Healthcare Staffing, a Kansas-based company hired by the city to run its shelters. About 18% of grievances involve facilities and 15% relate to other residents. * Related stories… ∙ Tribune: City and state quickly moves thousands of migrants from shelters into homes across the South and West sides. But will they stay? ∙ WBEZ: Migrants move out of two Oak Park shelters. What’s next for them? * Isabel’s top picks… * WAND | Illinois DCFS leaders, advocates share recent growth, potential solutions for foster system: Agency officials said they are committed to reducing the amount of time children stay in the state’s care and increasing equity in recruitment of foster families. Acting DCFS Director Heidi Mueller said the department is considering the cultural background of every child before deciding where they end up. * Tribune | Gov. J.B. Pritzker is backing abortion rights ballot measures across nation, but little on the horizon in Illinois: Back home, though, a state constitutional amendment on abortion rights doesn’t appear to be on this election year’s agenda for the Democratic-controlled Illinois legislature — even though Pritzker last year declared in his second inaugural address that “the right to privacy and bodily autonomy demand that we establish a constitutional protection for reproductive rights in Illinois.” * Crain’s | Job cuts, fleeing investors: How anti-DEI lawsuits take a toll on targets: The August lawsuit, filed by conservative activist group America First Legal, took issue with a grant program that Hello Alice co-runs for Black-owned small businesses. Only offering the money to Black entrepreneurs was, the suit claimed, discriminatory. The impact of the suit was immediate. Houston-based Hello Alice, which also offers credit and loans, shared the news of the case with potential investors as part of its due diligence process, and two-thirds of the capital was pulled out. It’s spent six figures on fees for three law firms so far, and is budgeting “multiple seven figures” if the case continues. * Politico…
* Here’s the rest of your briefing… * South Side Weekly | Board of Elections Warehouse Workers Allege Poor Treatment: In interviews with the Weekly, workers described working long hours in a moldy, dusty warehouse where they say CBOE-employed supervisors harassed and berated them with impunity, made last-minute schedule changes to prevent them from accruing overtime, and made them feel they had to accept these conditions or risk being fired and replaced. * WCIA | Schweizer replaces Marron, prepares for start of political career: “What I’m really trying to focus on is one, you know, understanding the needs of the individuals in my district,” Schweizer said. “And you know, after that, trying to voice those needs here, when I get to when we get to Springfield, and trying to make a difference in the area that I live in to make it safer for families to live, and bringing jobs to the community so it’s just a better place that people want to move to and want to live in.” * South Side Weekly | In Democratic Primaries, No Business as Usual: Sigcho-Lopez pointed to the campaign in Michigan and said he will similarly abstain from participating in the Democratic primary here, citing the urgency of the moment. * Daily-Journal | Joyce, Earling spar 40th issues: While the district remains the same, the candidates for the Democratic Party nomination are vastly different and taking front and center is a clear difference between the benefits of a China-based company, Gotion, setting up a massive electric vehicle battery plant in northern Kankakee County. Earling, 48, a 19-year resident of the Will County community of Braidwood, is opposed to massive state grants and tax breaks being given to a company coming from a communist country. It is unclear whether Gotion has any ties to the Chinese Communist Party. * Daily-Journal | Jobs, migrants dominate 79th forum: Three of the four candidates were on hand. Limestone Township resident Dylan Mill, on the primary ballot, was not in attendance Tuesday at the Kankakee Public Library where the debate, hosted by the Kankakee County Branch of the NAACP, was attended by more than 60 residents. The winner of the March 19 primary will then face Republican State Rep. Jackie Haas, a two-term rep from Bourbonnais, in the Nov. 5 general election. * ABC Chicago | Illinois touts improvements in making marijuana industry equitable, but critics say more needed: “When cannabis was illegal, 80% of arrests were Black and brown people,” said Matthew Brewer, owner of Grasshopper Club. “My brother was one of the people in the 80% arrested for cannabis possession.”His brother’s arrest was one of the reasons Brewer wanted to get into the marijuana industry. He is now celebrating his first year as the proud owner of Grasshopper Club, the first independent Black-owned dispensary in Chicago. * Sun-Times | Chicago’s former top lawyer faces complaint for role in doomed plan to open pot shop at old Rainforest Cafe: Robert Brown pushed back on the plan for more than a year, organizing neighbors and filing a lawsuit that sought to reverse a decision by the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals granting approval to open the store at 605 N. Clark St. Brown has now submitted a complaint to the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission alleging that former Corporation Counsel Mara Georges sent an improper letter to zoning board chairman Brian Sanchez while working for the companies that sought to open the dispensary. * Sun-Times | This Chicago-based Catholic order is keeping secrets about child-molesting clergy around the United States: The Order of Friar Servants of Mary, commonly known as the Servites, has its U.S. headquarters in Chicago, but it maintains no public list of credibly accused members despite calls for transparency. One church watchdog group counts 11 Servites accused of child sex abuse over the years, and the order has been accused of covering up for some offenders. * Tribune | Donald Trump’s lawyers seek reversal of ruling that dropped former president from Illinois GOP primary ballot: Trump’s attorneys had argued that states do not have the power to act on the “insurrection clause” without authorization from Congress, that the 14th Amendment’s section on insurrection does not apply to the office of president, and that the former president’s actions on the day of the Capitol riot did not amount to insurrection. Porter rejected those arguments. * Crain’s | Chicago area named best spot for corporate investment for 11th year in a row: According to a 2023 year-in-review report from WBC, last year 163 “pro-Chicagoland decisions” created more than 23,000 job opportunities. The decisions consisted of 117 expansions and 46 relocations or “new market entries” and generated more than $1.87 billion in earnings, the city’s economic development arm said. * NBC Chicago | Statewide tornado drill slated for Illinois next week. Here’s what to know: The annual test warning will be broadcast on NOAA Weather Radio and many commercial radio and television stations, with a tone alarm beginning at 11 a.m. “Residents should treat the drill as if it were an actual Tornado Warning,” the NWS reported. “The purpose of the drill is to test everyone’s readiness for life-threatening severe weather events such as tornadoes, flash floods, and damaging winds. The National Weather Service will issue a Routine Weekly Test (RWT) to NOAA Weather Radios to initiate the drill.” * AP | Philadelphia Phillies are scrapping $1 hot dog nights following unruly fan behavior: * Tribune | In memoriam: Reasons to love Richard Lewis, and why he loved Chicago: But I was also thrown back in memory to a March night in 1984 at Zanies, the Old Town comedy club, where he made his first Chicago appearance. Also in the audience was my former Tribune colleague and friend Howard Reich, who told me on Thursday, “I last communicated with Richard just a couple of days ago, so his death is as much a shock to me as to the millions who similarly revered him.” […] As Reich remembers, “The first time I reviewed him was that March 1984 night at Zanies. I was overwhelmed by his verbal brilliance and by his sheer profusion of comic scenarios. I’d never witnessed such an avalanche of humor so virtuosically delivered.” * Ohio Capital Journal | Former Ohio Speaker Householder files appeal, says bribe payment was within First Amendment rights: In the 105-page document filed Monday evening in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Householder’s attorneys said the man prosecutors likened to a “mob boss” in the House Bill 6 scheme was “scapegoated” by the federal government. * Tribune | Brookfield Zoo Chicago announces $66 million Tropical Forests for primates as part of major redesign: “It’s really a flip from where zoos were at 100 years ago, when it was all visitor-centric,” says Mike Adkesson, the former vice president of veterinary care at the zoo and now its president and CEO. “You had these big, expansive, central galleries that looked into small diagrams where the animals were displayed. As zoos have evolved over the last century, we’ve moved away from that entirely.” * AP | Some doorbell cameras sold by retailers like Amazon have major security flaws, report says: Researchers said the doorbell cameras made by Eken Group can be controlled by a company-operated app called Aiwit. They said bad actors can create an account on the app and gain access to a nearby doorbell camera by pairing it with another device. That gives them the ability to view footage — or access still images — and lock out the owner from the device, Consumer Reports said.
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Live coverage
Friday, Mar 1, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller * You can click here or here to follow breaking news. It’s the best we can do unless or until Twitter gets its act together.
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