Illinois Governor JB Pritzker spoke Friday about proposed plans for a new Chicago White Sox stadium in the South Loop. […]
“It looks beautiful, and obviously we want all of our professional teams to succeed in Illinois,” Pritzker said.
Despite seeming impressed with the renderings of an open-aired, half translucent ballpark, Pritzker voiced concerns about how the plan would be funded.
“We need to be careful about how we use public dollars,” Pritzker said.
* Better Elections for Illinois…
The state-mandated Ranked-Choice and Voting Systems Task Force met today for the first time to evaluate the current state of Illinois’ election systems and discuss the process of implementing Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) for Illinois’ 2028 presidential primaries. State Sen. Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines) and State Rep. Maurice West (D-Rockford) were elected as co-chairs of the Task Force during the call.
The Task Force will facilitate an accounting for how the state certifies certain election systems and equipment because right now, 30% of Illinois’ counties are utilizing outdated voting machines and systems that are vulnerable to election security threats.
“We took a concrete step today towards creating a more inclusive election process that will benefit voters and candidates, while helping Illinois modernize its election technology and improve election safety,” said Murphy. “I look forward to our upcoming meetings and am proud to be on a team that is dedicated to making elections better in Illinois.”
Using RCV in presidential primaries ensures that nominees represent a true reflection of the will of the people. It helps reduce wasted votes, curb toxicity, encourage greater diversity of candidates, and empower voters to back their preferred candidate instead of feeling they have to vote “strategically” against another candidate. Four states and territories will use RCV in their 2024 presidential primaries, and over 60 cities and counties have adopted RCV for local elections.
* WJBC | Study shows Illinois students have made a full recovery since the pandemic in English and language arts: Tony Sanders says a Harvard – Stanford study says Illinois is one of just three states making a full post-pandemic recovery in English and language arts. He is not surprised. “We actually have the best students in the nation. We really do,” said Sanders. “All the national reports indicate that Illinois is ahead of other states in our public education system. You look at the U.S. News and World Report report from last year that showed that we were ranked in the top ten in the nation for public education, K-12, you look at this report that Illinois continues to make gains.
* Tribune | Illinois plans to add more than 1,000 new public EV chargers: In addition, more than 200 charging ports are slated to be installed on the state’s interstate highways by the end of 2025. “You’ll see a whole lot of chargers,” said Lakhchaura, and they will be installed relatively quickly, “to make up for lost time.”
* SJ-R | Former state senator McCann taken into custody after violation of pre-trial release order: Central District of Illinois Judge Colleen Lawless said that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of Illinois proved “clear and convincing” evidence that McCann had violated the conditions of his pre-trial release set back in 2021 when McCann was indicted on federal wire fraud, money laundering and tax evasion charges.
* Block Club | ShotSpotter CEO, Public Safety Leaders Clash With Activists As City’s Contract Set To Expire: “This issue is not as binary as you are making it,” said Anthony Driver, moderator and president of the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, raising his voice after activists interrupted a commissioner’s turn to speak. “For people who have a ton of privilege … to dictate to communities that live under gun violence every day how they are supposed to feel … be respectful,” Driver said. “That is not OK.”
* Capitol News Illinois | Misdeeds by Carlinville funeral home director spur legislative proposals: On Thursday, Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield, introduced legislation mandates that a funeral director must place a unique identifier on the deceased’s body, body bag, and any body part, organ, or tissue separated from the deceased to be used in nontransplant organ donation. A director must also maintain chain of custody documentation for all dead bodies and human remains.
* WTTW | After 80 Families Received Wrong Remains From Downstate Funeral Home, Illinois Lawmakers Propose New Legislation: While Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon – who brought to light the misdeeds of August “Gus” Heinz, the funeral home’s operator – does not have a complete count of families affected, he said he knows of more than 80 cases where loved ones received the wrong cremains. To date, Allmon said, there have been at least nine exhumations, including the five at Camp Butler. Some of the cases go back to 2019.
* WBEZ | An in-depth look inside the campaigns for and against a tax to pay for homelessness prevention: On one side are the progressive grassroots organizers, homelessness prevention advocates and unhoused people themselves who for years have been pushing for the Chicago City Council to pose the question to voters. On the other side are real estate organizations and commercial property owners, who are raising money for mailers and holding Zoom roundtables in opposition to the referendum.
* Nieman Lab | Patterns in philanthropy leave small newsrooms behind. Can that change?: In the world of nonprofit news, it’s common knowledge that securing the funding to survive is an uphill battle. But the 32 nonprofit newsrooms that have joined the Alliance of Nonprofit News Outlets (ANNO) since last August, mostly comprising small, local newsrooms like the Ally and the Post, say that on top of that general difficulty, specific patterns in the way foundation funding is distributed disproportionately disadvantage their outlets.
* Chicago Reader | Saving the South Shore Nature Sanctuary: The sanctuary is straddled by the Jackson Park and South Shore golf courses, and plans to expand both into a single, PGA-caliber one by Tiger Woods’s design firm have been in the works since 2016. Efforts to privatize the untouched landscape and its “money shot” view of the downtown skyline—one of the best in the city—for televised golf tournaments could eliminate the entire sanctuary. But not if locals can help it.
* WBEZ | Looking back at the 1940 exposition that showcased Black art and innovation: Black people could pay to attend the 1893 World’s Fair, but as far as any other kind of participation, they could only work service jobs. The fair’s organizers didn’t approve any of the proposals for participation submitted by Black Americans. Borne out of the lack of accurate representation at events like the World’s Fair, Black organizers took it upon themselves to create expositions that presented Black history, Black achievement and Black innovation.
* WBEZ | Start your engines: Chicago Auto Show returns to McCormick Place this weekend: Electric vehicles will be in the spotlight this year. With nine electric vehicle manufacturers set to attend, the show will feature not just opportunities to purchase these cars, but also information for potential buyers unfamiliar with electric cars.
* WTTW | Forget Something? Drawings of Proposed White Sox Stadium Leave Nature Out of the Picture, Advocate Says: “Our job is to be ever watchful,” said Margaret Frisbie, executive director of Friends of the Chicago River, which has a seat on the task force. Among the group’s charges: “review of specific planned development proposals and potential site changes for buildings and properties along the river’s edge to ensure that new development is in line with the natural environment, recreation, and connectivity goals of the Chicago River Design Guidelines.”
* NYT | 40 Years Ago, This Ad Changed the Super Bowl Forever: In recent interviews, several of the people involved in creating the “1984” spot — Scott; John Sculley, then chief executive of Apple; Steve Hayden, a writer of the ad for Chiat/Day; Fred Goldberg, the Apple account manager for Chiat/Day; and Anya Rajah, the actor who famously threw the sledgehammer — looked back on how the commercial came together, its inspiration and the internal objections that almost kept it from airing. These are edited excerpts from the conversations.
* WSJ | Abraham Lincoln’s Unchurched Faith: The church came to Springfield slightly ahead of Lincoln. The town was surveyed in 1821, its first lots sold in 1823. The area was so undeveloped that one visitor described it as “a few smoky, hastily-built cabins, and one or two little shanties called ‘stores.’ ” John G. Bergen, a Presbyterian missionary, arrived in 1828 and two years later had built his first church.
Pretty pictures and rosy financial forecasts have piqued interest in building a new White Sox ballpark in the South Loop, but it’s time to put some meat on the bone and talk about how to pay for it.
That was the bottom line Thursday from Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, a key player in determining if the dazzling renderings released by developer Related Midwest turn into reality or remain a pipe dream.
“I would love to know how they’re planning to pay for it. I look forward to hearing that from the developers. I imagine they’re taking it step-by-step. They want to make sure there is an appetite for it,” Welch told the Sun-Times.
Spielman: Mayor Brandon Johnson’s first budget includes just $150 million for the migrant crisis that will run out in April … What is the mayor asking you to do and what are the chances he’ll be successful in getting more migrant money?
Welch: I have not received an ask from the mayor of Chicago regarding migrants. You know, it is the second week of session and I have not heard from the city of Chicago with an ask as of yet. Will one come? I’m pretty sure, but we have not received been asked yet.
Spielman: There is a new drive to eliminate the sub-minimum wage for tipped workers statewide just as Brandon Johnson progressive majority did in Chicago. Is that going anywhere?
Welch: You know it’s early on. I don’t know the answer to that, Fran. It’s so early. I don’t like to get ahead of the process. I had committees scheduled this week, but most of the House committees were cancelled. So we haven’t had any real substantive hearings on anything yet. We want the committee process to work. We want to vet bills, give people an opportunity to testify in hearings and hear the pros and cons. We want to hear the governor’s budget address and whether or not he has a position on that. You want to hear from those that have stakes in the budget and see how we can balance these things as we come towards the end here.
Spielman: Do you support eliminating that sub-minimum wage?
Welch: Again, I’m gonna not get ahead of the process. If I state a position on an issue, you know that could tip the scale. I want to let the process work. I want to hear the testimony in committees. Typically what I do after bills come out of committee, I will give my staff a list of bills that I want to jump on as co sponsors, bills that I want to vote for yes or no. And so I think this is no different. I want to let the process work. And at some point, I’m going to let my staff know whether I want to co-sponsor it, whether I want to vote for it. But we’re not at that point yet.
* Asked whether he would run any sort of House resolution on the war in Israel, as Mayor Johnson just did, Welch had this to say…
I mean, we have a job to do here in the state of Illinois. I think it’s extremely important that we stay focused on what we have to do here. We have a big budget ahead of us. Budgets are never easy to land … That’s what we’re focused on, the things that here in the legislature that we can control. And we you know, we’re gonna get the job done like we’ve done the last five years in a big way, that has led to credit upgrades. And I just want to stay focused on the things that we can control here in Springfield.
Spielman: Have you talked to your mentor Mike Madigan recently? Do you seek his sage advice when it comes to legislative issues?
Welch: [Laughs] I have not spoken to Speaker Madigan in a couple of years. It’s been some time since I last spoke to the speaker.
Spielman: Why not seek his advice?
Welch: I actually have sought advice from speakers all across the country. As I sit here today talking with you. There are seven Black speakers, we’re all first in our respective states. We use each other as sources, you know, to rely on to help. Because this is a difficult job. And so I have used some of my colleagues that are currently speakers dealing with diverse caucuses like I have, that have similar populations that we have in their respective states. And so I’ve been able to rely on my colleagues who are current speakers.
Illinois education officials are proposing an increase of $350 million in funding for local school districts next year, an amount that falls short of expectations and deals an initial blow to Chicago Public Schools’ efforts to address an impending budget crisis. […]
“Good luck with the state making that case to Chicago legislators” that $350 million is enough, [CTU President Stacy Davis Gates ] said.
“This idea that they are going to get out of this session without acknowledging the obvious about Chicago, I think that’s ridiculous,” she said.
* Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson sat down with WBEZ and talked about state school funding…
If you can’t convince Springfield to pony up more money, what is your backup plan?
It’s not like we’re asking for anything radical. We’re talking about social workers, counselors, class sizes that are manageable. We’re talking about full wraparound services for treatment for families who are experiencing the degree of trauma that exist in this city. We’re also challenging the state of Illinois to recognize that as our English-language learners population grows, that there’s support there, that individuals with disabilities, that those families have real accessibility within our public school system. Anything short of ensuring that Chicago Public Schools has everything that it deserves and needs is not acceptable.
But you don’t control Springfield. What is your backup plan?
To defund public education is a bad idea. That’s what it comes down to. Either we’re going to defund the school district or we’re going to fund it. Those are our two choices. For too long, politicians have come up with excuse after excuse of why we cannot fund public education. Public neighborhood schools were demonized. And where has it gotten us? We have vacancies, closures. We have population loss. There are people’s lives at stake.
You are demanding more money from Springfield, but isn’t there more you can do to run Chicago Public Schools more efficiently? The school district has some very small schools that some will say are inefficient.
We need to address it in a way that holds the community harmless. Now, are there bureaucratic structures that create a great deal of bottleneck? Of course. And is that something that the Board of Education in my administration would have to look closer at? Absolutely. But whether you are in a small school setting, or you are in a larger school setting, families still deserve a social worker and a counselor. The key is to make sure that the dollars reach the families … and it has to reach the families in a very meaningful way.
*** UPDATE *** Asked if the CTU or the mayor had made any formal ask of the governor for increased school aid, spokesperson Jordan Abudayyeh had a one-word response…
No
Keep in mind that the governor’s budget address will be delivered 12 days from now.
This is all performative, or amateur hour, or both.
Do you happen to know if there is any truth to (Illinois Governor JB) Pritzker sending buses to Quincy with migrants? Supposedly they are going in ShopKo.
Have you heard the rumor that the old ShopKo building is being retrofitted to bring in illegals from other countries to live/house/etc.? Please investigate. We absolutely don’t want this in western Illinois.
The number of similar questions about the same topic received by the staff at Muddy River News is easily in double digits.
RLP Development Company, Inc., a real estate development firm in Edwardsville, bought the former ShopKo property at 3200 Broadway for $1.8 million. Documents filed in the Adams County Recorder of Deeds office show the sale was finalized Dec. 16, 2021. RLP Development Company, Inc., in Edwardsville was listed as the buyer, while 3200 Quincy Holdings LLC from Brooklyn, N.Y., was listed as the seller. […]
When Ryan Darr, another project manager for RLP Development, was asked if the property eventually would be used to house migrants from Chicago, he laughed.
“Absolutely not,” he said.
Click here for one social media example. And, whew, this comment…
Sure would be a shame if that building happened to catch fire
[O’Hare] airport — for months home to hundreds of migrants who have camped out there while awaiting beds in the city-run shelter system — currently only has four migrants waiting there as of this morning, according to city data. The tentative relief comes after Chicago police stations, which at one point saw more than 3,300 asylum-seekers sleeping on floors, were also cleared of encampments in December.
Johnson’s deputy chief of staff Cristina Pacione-Zayas noted to reporters the progress coincided with accelerated efforts to resettle migrants in permanent housing or in other cities. But she acknowledged hard choices lie ahead for the city as the $150 million Johnson budgeted for the migrant response this year is slated to be spent by April.
“Every day we’re in meetings, on calls with the state, with the county, to figure out what the long-term plan is to get through the calendar year together,” Pacione-Zayas said.
She did not say whether closing shelters or making budget cuts midyear was on the table.
The other option is going back to the city council and asking for a supplemental appropriation since the city deliberately underfunded the spending lines.
As far as I can tell, the Tribune is the only major Chicago news media outlet to publish a story about how O’Hare has been emptied out. Click here to learn more, including that the shelter population has dropped by more than 11 percent since the end of December.
Lawmakers’ questions about the safety of Boeing’s airplanes had to compete Tuesday with GOP complaints about airports that house migrants.
Republicans have groused for months about unhoused migrants being kept in a shuttle bus facility at Chicago O’Hare International Airport and have prodded the Federal Aviation Administration to use its power to force airports to stop the practice before it spreads. They have argued that FAA approval is required before airport facilities can be used for things unrelated to aviation, while the agency has insisted that it doesn’t have total control over how airports use their ground space. […]
In response to questions from Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) — who tried to clear up the FAA’s role — [FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker] affirmed that the agency only has oversight of air operations, not necessarily what ground facilities are used for.
Last month, GOP members of the Senate Commerce Committee, including top committee Republican Ted Cruz of Texas, sent a letter to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson asking whether resources at O’Hare are being diverted to house migrants.
More than 5,700 newly arrived immigrant students have enrolled in Chicago Public Schools since the beginning of the school year, district officials said Thursday.
Preliminary school enrollment data updated daily on the city data portal and analyzed by Chalkbeat shows overall enrollment increased by 4,500 students since the official count on the 20th day of school in September. After more than a decade of decline, CPS saw its enrollment stabilize this school year.
“The number is fluid and evolving,” CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said Thursday. “Our principals and teachers and school communities have been incredibly welcoming to the students and their families.”
* More from Isabel…
* Block Club | ‘Everyday Chicagoans’ Can Help Migrants Through New Volunteer Program: City leaders announced the New Neighbors Campaign on Thursday, saying it is collaborating with ChicagoCares and the Chicago Refugee Coalition to streamline and standardize volunteer opportunities to help migrants. The campaign’s first phase started last week, which included volunteers helping with things like the City Clerk’s Office’s city key events, the Resurrection Project’s temporary protected status workshops and New Life Centers’ donation work, said Rey Wences Najera, first deputy of immigrant, migrant and refugee rights.
* WGN | New city initiative to streamline resources to better handle migrant crisis: Interested organizations that would like to be a part of the New Neighbors campaign should reach out to the Office of Immigrant, Migrant, and Refugee Rights to be put in contact with Chicago Cares for additional support and for volunteer opportunities.
* Shaw Local | La Salle County approves non-sanctuary status to deter potential migrant influx: Chicago city leaders, however, have since imposed penalties of their own on unscheduled bus drop-offs, saying the abrupt nature of the drop-offs doesn’t allow the city to adequately prepare to house those in need. As a result of these new rules in Chicago, a number of buses have left migrants in the Chicago suburbs. So far, no buses have arrived in La Salle County.
We reported earlier this week that she'd been fired from American Income Life Insurance "for cause" in 2014 but that the reason was unknown. So now we know. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Parthum asked that she be able to question Collins on the topic and the judge agreed.
Sam McCann has been *taken into custody* after not being able to prove he communicated to the federal probation office like he was supposed to after getting discharged from the hospital Weds
Judge Lawless: “There seems to be an excuse every time. There are no more excuses, sir.” https://t.co/gLNQk5He8D
A longtime Chicago political operative pleaded guilty Tuesday to a scheme to bribe then-state Sen. Martin Sandoval on behalf of a suburban construction company that needed state approval for a development in East Dundee.
William Helm, the onetime deputy commissioner of the Chicago Department of Aviation and a former state transportation official, also admitted in a plea agreement with prosecutors that he and others helped arrange $40,000 in bribes to other, unnamed officials. […]
Sandoval pleaded guilty in January 2020 to bribery and tax charges and was cooperating in the ongoing investigation when he died in December 2020 of COVID-19 complications.
He admitted to taking $20,000 in campaign contributions — and later $70,000 cash from a SafeSpeed co-owner who was secretly working with agents — to act as the company’s “protector” in the Illinois Senate.
U.S. District Judge Colleen Lawless had ordered McCann to communicate with the federal probation office upon his discharge from Missouri Baptist Hospital in St. Louis, where he’d checked himself in after a weekend of feeling unwell.
But McCann was only able to prove he’d emailed his probation officer on Wednesday, when he was told he’d be discharged from the hospital later in the day. Accompanied by an assistant U.S. marshal, McCann went to retrieve his cell phone from his Ford F-250 pickup truck parked outside the courthouse – the same make and model of a vehicle prosecutors allege McCann partially funded illegally with campaign cash – in order to show Lawless he’d also emailed the probation officer when he got home, like he’d been ordered to.
But he couldn’t find anything in his sent email folder.
“I don’t see it, your honor,” McCann said. “I know that I sent it. I know that I hit ‘send’ twice.”
Federal prosecutors revealed Friday that former state legislator Annazette Collins was fired from an insurance job shortly after leaving the General Assembly for filing bogus insurance policies for customers who either didn’t ask for them or “did not exist.”
The disclosure came after lawyers for Collins told the judge she intended to testify in her own defense in her tax fraud case, which is now in its fourth day at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse.
Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield, is leading Senate Bill 2622 which would prevent any municipality from establishing a moratorium on a requirement that workers must hold residency to be employed. The bill clarifies the ability to initiate pauses is solely a state function. […]
The legislation comes after Springfield City Council adopted a moratorium in November. The pause allows Springfield to hire outside the city limits, needed to address hiring challenges its backers said.
The initiative was a push of first-term Mayor Misty Buscher with Ward 2 Ald. Shawn Gregory, Ward 3 Ald. Roy Williams Jr. and Ward 4 Ald. Larry Rockford voting against the ordinance. The council will revisit the moratorium in November, but no sunset date was established.
“The problem is we don’t have enough applicants for the jobs we need to hire for,” Buscher told The State Journal-Register following the vote. “It’s my job as the mayor to lead the city forward in getting the workforce, getting the things taken care of.”
Two state lawmakers on opposite ends of the political battlefield agree on one thing: People who make Illinois their home deserve some tax breaks.
Democratic state Rep. Kelly Cassidy’s HB5152 would benefit people who relocate to Illinois “as a result of attacks on health care access and free speech in their home states.” Under her bill, any taxpayer who relocates to Illinois as a patient or household member of a patient is eligible for a $500 tax credit. The bill also provides the same credit for licensed healthcare providers or teachers and their households. […]
Republican state Sen. Seth Lewis is championing legislation that rewards businesses who are staying put in Illinois.
His Senate Bill 2075 calls it a “legacy tax credit.” It gives $100 for each year the taxpayer owner of a sole proprietorship, LLC or corporation has been headquartered in Illinois. There would be a limit to 10 percent of their state income tax obligation, says Lewis, a small business owner as a State Farm agent.
Illinois Senate Democrats are moving forward on legislation that would give mentally capable patients who are terminally ill an option of ending their own lives.
The “medical aid in dying” measure, sponsored by State Sens. Laura Fine, D-Glenview, and Linda Holmes, D-Aurora, would allow terminally ill adults with a prognosis of six months or less to obtain prescription medication that they can self-ingest to end their lives. It was filed in the General Assembly Thursday evening. […]
The bill would allow qualified individuals, not medical professionals, to self-administer a medication to end their lives. It also would require doctors to inform patients about all of their end-of-life options, including hospice, palliative care and pain control.
Patients would have to give two verbal requests for the medication — with a five-day waiting period between the first and second request. A written request would also be required.
And no physician, health care provider or pharmacist would be required to participate in the law — offsetting concerns from doctors and hospitals operating in institutions affiliated with religious organizations.
Amends the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Act. Creates the Youth Nonviolent Crimes Resource Program. Provides that the Criminal Justice Information Authority shall provide resources to people under the age of 18 who have committed a nonviolent crime. Provides that these resources shall include youth employment initiatives throughout the State, access to educational resources in collaboration with the Illinois State Board of Education, and parental mentorship training conducted by the Department of Human Services. Provides that the Authority shall develop a mentorship initiative for youth that have been convicted of a nonviolent crime. Provides that the Authority may establish a grant program for non-profit organizations. Provides that the Authority shall publish this program on its website by no later than January 1, 2024. Effective immediately.
Amends the Hospital Licensing Act. Provides that “hospital worker” means any person who receives an hourly wage directly or indirectly via a subcontractor by a hospital licensed under the Act. Replaces references to “nurse” with “hospital worker”. Provides for additional staffing transparency and reporting requirements. Provides that hospitals licensed under the Act must employ and schedule enough hospital workers to provide quality patient care and ensure patient safety. Provides that hospitals must make available, at the beginning of each calendar year and upon request, all staffing matrices and other staffing metrics, if any, used to assess and maintain safe staffing levels for hospital workers in each unit. Provides that the Department of Public Health shall produce an annual report based on staffing disclosures. Provides that the Department shall make recommendations for minimum staffing standards for hospital workers in each hospital unit. Provides that hospitals licensed under the Act shall conduct, within the first month of employment and at no cost, a competency validation for each hospital worker hired. Provides that a hospital must submit documentation of each hospital worker’s competency validation to the Department within 4 weeks after the worker’s start date. Provides that hospitals shall conduct ongoing verification for each hospital worker employed during a given calendar year to determine each worker’s continued competency to perform the worker’s job and shall submit documentation of each worker’s ongoing verification to the Department within 2 weeks of completion. Provides that hospitals shall submit a list of all competent employees currently employed at the end of each calendar year. Provides for a public registry of all competent employees to be maintained by the Department. Provides for the imposition of civil penalties for specified violations of the Act. Describes an assignment despite objection resolution process to be implemented by each hospital that is licensed under the Act. Provides for a Hospital Safety Advocate role to be created within the Department.
Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Provides that insurers shall cover all services for pregnancy, postpartum, and newborn care that are rendered by perinatal doulas or licensed certified professional midwives, including home births, home visits, and support during labor, abortion, or miscarriage. Provides that the required coverage includes the necessary equipment and medical supplies for a home birth. Provides that coverage for pregnancy, postpartum, and newborn care shall include home visits by lactation consultants and the purchase of breast pumps and breast pump supplies, including such breast pumps, breast pump supplies, breastfeeding supplies, and feeding aides as recommended by the lactation consultant. Provides that coverage for postpartum services shall apply for at least one year after birth. Provides that certain pregnancy and postpartum coverage shall be provided without cost-sharing requirements. Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Provides that post-parturition care benefits shall not be subject to any cost-sharing requirement. Provides that the medical assistance program shall cover home visits for lactation counseling and support services. Provides that the medical assistance program shall cover counselor-recommended or provider-recommended breast pumps as well as breast pump supplies, breastfeeding supplies, and feeding aides. Provides that nothing in the provisions shall limit the number of lactation encounters, visits, or services; breast pumps; breast pump supplies; breastfeeding supplies; or feeding aides a beneficiary is entitled to receive under the program. Makes other changes. Effective January 1, 2026.
State Senator Doris Turner is outlining a plan to hold funeral homes accountable following the mishandling of human remains at a funeral home in Carlinville.
“The status quo isn’t working,” said Turner (D-Springfield). “These are people who deserve dignity and respect. This legislation will ensure that no family will have to worry that the death of their loved ones aren’t handled with dignity and respect.”
Senate Bill 2643 would require the death care industry in the state as well as state regulators to implement a mandatory identification tagging system for all human remains. It also would establish a chain of custody system that tracks the human remains of a deceased person whose death occurred in the state from death to final disposition, if the final disposition is in Illinois.
The measure would put procedures and protocols in place to prevent the misidentification and misplacement of bodies or human remains and conduct that results in a method of final disposition that differs from what is stipulated by the deceased individual or the deceased’s next of kin.
Creates the Gas Stove Labeling Act. Provides that no person shall sell, attempt to sell, or offer to sell to a consumer in the State a gas stove that is manufactured on or after January 1, 2025 unless a label on the gas stove bears a specified message. Provides that manufacturers or importers shall affix adhesive labels to the gas stove in a position that is easily read by a consumer examining the product. Provides that the label must be in a type size no smaller than the largest type size used for other consumer information on the product. Provides that a violation of any of the provisions of the Act is an unlawful practice under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Provides that all remedies, penalties, and authority granted to the Attorney General by the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act shall be available to him or her for the enforcement of the Act. Amends the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act to make a conforming change.
Creates the Lawns to Legumes Act. Establishes the Lawns to Legumes Program, which requires the Department of Natural Resources to provide assistance for installing pollinator-friendly native plants in residential lawns to protect and support native species of pollinators. Provides that the Department shall adopt rules for the Program. Provides for individual support grants to reimburse Illinois residents for up to $400, subject to appropriation and other requirements. Provides for demonstration neighborhood grants to units of local government and nonprofit organizations through a request for proposal process, subject to appropriation and other requirements. Provides that homeowners associations and common interest communities may not prohibit the planting of pollinator habitats. Defines terms.
New legislation in Springfield backed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker would require a lawyer for young people under 18 during a police interrogation, an expansion of juvenile rights after video obtained by WBEZ showed a suburban Chicago detective extracting a teen’s false confession to a shooting.
The bill, introduced this week by state Sen. Robert Peters, D-Chicago, applies to any public official’s questioning of a child in custody about any crime. It would also bar kids from waiving their right to counsel. Under the measure, any statement by a minor without a lawyer’s presence would be inadmissible as evidence against the child in any juvenile or criminal proceeding. […]
The law enforcement groups have derailed attempts to pass similar legislation. One such attempt resulted in a compromise measure that took effect in 2017. The law requires a lawyer for kids under 15 and applies to homicides and sexual assaults only.
That measure did not protect a 15-year-old interrogated for 43 minutes in 2022 at a Waukegan police station without a parent or attorney. The police charged him with a shooting that injured a dollar store clerk. The teen went to jail and stayed there until his basketball team proved he was in another town during the shooting.
* ICYMI: Democratic candidates for state’s attorney split on juvenile crimes, retail theft. Tribune…
- It was the first televised debate between former Illinois Appellate Justice Eileen O’Neill Burke and ex-prosecutor and corporate lobbyist Clayton Harris III.
-Harris and O’Neill Burke diverged on where to place thresholds for prosecuting retail thefts as a felony and the treatment of minors arrested for carjackings and coordinated retail thefts.
- O’Neill Burke said she would work to make sure juvenile offenders were supervised after school.
* Center Square | Former Madigan chief of staff set for sentencing after judge rejects call for delay: Tim Mapes, 68, served for decades under Madigan as the clerk of the Illinois House and as Madigan’s chief of staff. In August, a federal jury found Mapes guilty of perjury and obstruction of justice for lying to a grand jury investigating Madigan and others. He is set to be sentenced at 10 a.m. Monday in the courtroom of Judge John Kness.
* Sun-Times | Top lawmaker says Sox must say how they hope to finance South Loop ballpark: Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, briefed on the Related Midwest plan, told the Sun-Times “pretty pictures” building public interest are not enough. “If they’re trying to do something in this legislative session, they need to start educating and informing people relatively soon.”
Governor Pritzker is kicking off a state-wide tour to highlight smart start investments. Easterseals DuPage and Fox Valley in Villa Park will be the first stop at 10 am then First United Methodist Child Care Center in Champaign at 1:15 pm. Click here to watch.
* Here’s the rest of your morning roundup…
* Tribune | White Sox likely would have to change state law to get taxpayer funding for new stadium: The Chicago White Sox met with a state funding agency to present plans for a new stadium, but officials say lawmakers would have to increase the borrowing limit if the team wants taxpayer financing. The Illinois Sports Facilities Authority would be a major potential source of financing, because it funded construction of the current Sox home at Guaranteed Rate Field. But without a change in state law, the agency has only about $100 million in available funding, CEO Frank Bilecki said — not nearly enough for a development that could cost more than $1 billion.
* Crain’s | Democratic Party of Illinois launches new fundraising push: Chicago insurance executive Charles Smith will helm the Democratic Party of Illinois’ newest fundraising initiative, InvestBlue, the party announced. Smith will work closely with Democratic Party of Illinois Chair Elizabeth “Lisa” Hernandez, to recruit and maintain a base of party funders through the new membership program.
* WCIA | IDOT workers authorize strike with 95% in favor: Matt McQuaid, a Teamsters spokesperson, said the primary roadblock to getting a new contract is that the state wants to switch workers to a different healthcare plan. The workers want to keep using the plan they currently have.
* WAND | Changes coming to early voting in Sangamon County: Sangamon County Clerk Don Gray says voters may see some differences this year. The primary change will be with the technology at the voting location. “We’re into a new modernized age of tabulation equipment that is much more hardened and secure,” said Gray. “You’re getting the very best in updated equipment to ensure the accuracy and the integrity of your election.”
* BND | St. Clair County adds 1K new voters ahead of IL primary election. Are you registered? With the primaries still more than a month away, Holbrook expects those numbers to increase and said registrations are trending at the expected rate for a primary election in a presidential election year. The 2020 primary election saw 2,304 St. Clair County residents register to vote.
* Herald-Whig | Fraternal Order of Police voice support for Moore for House seat: On the first day of early voting in the Illinois, representatives from the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police were in town to show their support for former Quincy Mayor Kyle Moore, who is running to replace Randy Frese, R-Paloma, in the state’s 99th legislative district.
* Tribune | Joliet massacre suspect’s girlfriend to plead not guilty to hampering investigation: Cleveland-Singleton faces obstruction of justice charges for allegedly making false statements to Joliet police shortly after the shooting spree. A grand jury indictment alleges that Cleveland-Singleton claimed to not know Nance’s phone number, said falsely that she last spoke to Nance at a gym and kept her cellphone from investigators.
* WHBF | Thomson prison workers push for federal protections; inmate charged under new state law: Employees say a recent guilty plea from an inmate is a start, but they’re looking for more. Inmate Fred Smith pleaded guilty to exposing himself to a woman who works at the prison. Prosecutors charged Smith under a new Illinois law that makes that activity in a prison illegal. However, there’s no federal law that does the same thing, and union leaders at the prison want that to change.
* Crain’s | Lion Electric to get nearly $50 million in EV incentives — much more than expected: When the Canadian bus and truck maker announced its plans to build a factory in Illinois, the tax credits were estimated at $8 million with an employment target of about 750 jobs. That was before Illinois created incentives tailored to help electric-vehicle and battery manufacturers as part of a broader clean-energy effort by Gov. J.B. Pritzker. The law was updated in late 2022.
* Tribune | Off display: As new rules about Native American artifacts go into effect, the Field Museum and others in Illinois must comply: The revised regulations are sweeping: They demand museums speed up the process of repatriating Native American “human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects or objects of cultural patrimony,” establishing ownership and lineage between museum collections and Native American descendants, returning anything requested. Museums must update their inventories of Native American remains and funerary objects within five years. Also, curators can no longer categorize such items as “culturally unidentifiable,” thereby holding them indefinitely. Tribal knowledge and traditions must be deferred to.
* Crain’s | Questions swirl around Trump’s Chicago tower as a judge weighs his company’s fate: And even if Trump chose to liquidate assets, there’s not much to sell in the case of the Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago. The luxury hotel is not generating a lot of cash, documents show. More than 200 of the 339 hotel rooms are owned by investors. And the 485 residential condo units are individually owned. There is, of course, the value of Trump’s brand equity, open to a wide interpretation.
* Sun-Times | City approves new hotel design for Bally’s Chicago casino site — but location of additional 400-room tower still up in the air: The hotel was originally supposed to go on the north end of the plot near the Chicago River, with a massive 400-room hotel tower slated to be added on top in a second phase of construction. But that plan went bust when planners determined massive caissons needed to support such a tower would damage water pipes at that location, Bally’s announced last month. The Rhode Island-based company blamed “unforeseen infrastructure issues,” though the site had been under consideration for well over a year.
* WSIL | SIU Carbondale sees increase in enrollment for spring semester: Southern Illinois University in Carbondale saw a growth in overall student population for its Spring 2024 semester. The college enrolled 401 new students, a 4% growth from Fall 2023. The Fall semester was the first time since 2014 the university saw an overall growth in enrollment numbers.
* reason | Surging Immigration Will Reduce Deficits by $1 Trillion: That reduction is due in part to higher-than-expected economic growth, which the CBO attributes to “more people working.” The labor force has grown by 5.2 million people in the past year, “mostly because of higher net immigration.”
* News-Gazette | Clash of the bots: Illini robotics team to host college, high school competitions: This is only the second year for the Cornfield Clash Tournament hosted on the University of Illinois campus, but the team is already pushing to make it bigger. Last year, they hosted ten college teams. This year, there will also be 30 high school teams entering a second day of competition
* Semafor | How Condé Nast bought and destroyed America’s iconic music publication: Last month, Semafor broke the news that Condé Nast will fold the publication into GQ, laying off Pitchfork’s top editors and at least 10 other longtime staff writers, some of whom had joined the music media outlet when it was a Chicago-based blog in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
* SJ-R | Former state representative Sandy Hamilton returning as SHG volleyball coach: If she wanted to, Hamilton could’ve simply applied by handing in her resume, but even SHG administration knew what they had in the candidate. After three seasons away, Hamilton is back. Hamilton, who coached the Cyclones for eight seasons from 2013-21, went 196-56 and won Class 3A regional championships in 2014-15 and 2017.
Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act. Creates an income tax credit for each individual taxpayer who (i) is a healthcare provider who, for the purpose of providing lawful health care services in this State, permanently relocates during the taxable year to this State from a State with more restrictive abortion laws or more restrictive laws concerning access to other lawful health care, (ii) is a patient or the parent or guardian of a patient who, for the purpose of receiving those health care services in this State, permanently relocates during the taxable year to this State from a State with more restrictive abortion laws or more restrictive laws concerning the access to lawful health care, or (iii) is a qualified cohabitant of a person described in item (i) or (ii). Provides that the credit is in the amount of $500. Creates an income tax credit in the amount of $500 for taxpayers who are public school teachers or qualifying cohabitants of public school teachers who permanently relocate to the State from any other State as a result of content-based restrictions on educational materials imposed by the taxpayer’s state of origin. Effective immediately.
Rep. Cassidy said she does not yet have a cost estimate for her proposal. But she said it’s “certainly much less than the benefit of new tax paying residents, not to mention additional health care providers and teachers.”
* Press release…
Rep. Kelly Cassidy has introduced HB5152 which seeks to assist people who are forced to relocate to Illinois as a result of attacks on health care access and free speech in their home states. Under the bill, any taxpayer who relocates to Illinois as a patient or household member of a patient is eligible for a $500 tax credit. The bill also provides the same credit for licensed healthcare providers or teachers and their households.
Since the Dobbs decision reversed decades of legal precedence protecting the right to choose granted under Roe v. Wade, states across the country have jumped at the opportunity to pass bills including bans on reproductive care, criminalizing assisting patients, prohibiting gender-affirming care, banning books, and attacking teachers. Countless families in these states are facing an impossible choice between remaining in their home state or accessing health care for themselves or their children.
“When I left Florida in 1991 seeking a place that was more accepting of the LGBTQ community, it took months of planning and expenses. When I imagine a family with a trans kid being forced to flee their home just to access care for their child, or a couple facing a devastating pregnancy outcome realizing they’re simply not safe where they’ve made their home needing to act immediately, it’s just overwhelming to contemplate,” said Rep. Cassidy who grew up in Florida and still has family there, “And as someone with 3 siblings who have retired from the Florida public school system in the last couple of years as teachers face relentless attacks on their ability to teach their students without fear, I am all too aware of the struggles they face.”
“Ron DeSantis is inflicting deep and lasting damage on Florida with his war on freedom that bans books, censor’s curriculum, whitewashes history, blocks healthcare and replaces facts and science with extremist propaganda,” said Equality Florida Executive Director Nadine Smith. “We Floridians will be repairing the damage long after he has left the governor’s mansion. Conferences are canceling, talent is fleeing and the best and the brightest are abandoning our universities as he guts academic freedom. We are grateful that other state leaders are not only rejecting DeSantis’ extremist agenda, they are seeking ways to provide support for those who have relocated to safety as we rebuild a Florida that embraces inclusivity and dignity for all.”
“The nation is facing a war on people and their reproductive health care, as other states further strip away their rights. It is essential that Illinois keeps setting the standard as to what it means to be a safe haven state,” said State Senator Celina Villanueva (D – Chicago). “If we don’t step up, people will suffer and die because of the heinous ramifications of the downfall of Roe.”
“We thank Representative Kelly Cassidy for recognizing the hardships our patients are facing as they are fleeing their home states for essential health care,” said Jennifer Welch, Planned Parenthood of Illinois President and CEO. “We are in favor of any legislative tool that continues to support Illinois as a haven state for sexual and reproductive health care, including abortion and gender-affirming care.”
“LGBTQ+ people and families in anti-equality, anti-family states are making deeply personal decisions, under cruel conditions, about their futures. Illinois must do what she can to support these families, especially to help offset the economic burdens that LGBTQ+ people and their families already disproportionately experience,” said Mike Ziri, Equality Illinois Director of Public Policy. Thank you to Rep. Cassidy for leading on this innovative pro-equality, pro-family initiative.”
The tax credit would be the first of its kind in the country and in addition to providing assistance to new residents of Illinois, it will provide an incentive to licensed health care providers and teachers to make their home in Illinois and help address shortages in those professions.
* From the governor’s office…
The governor will thoroughly review all the bills that pass the General Assembly and make their way to his desk.
U.S. Representative Mike Bost (IL-12) today announced that his 2024 re-election campaign has been endorsed by the National Rifle Association’s Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF). Bost has now been endorsed by the largest gun rights and pro-life advocacy groups in America, along with the top organizations representing Illinois’ farmers, law enforcement, and firefighters.
“As Chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, you are leading the effort to protect veterans from being deprived of their Second Amendment rights without due process of law. We thank you for your continued opposition to the Hakeem Jeffries and Joe Biden gun control agenda of banning lawfully-owned firearms, ammunition, and magazines,” said Randy Kozuch, Chairman of the NRA-PFV. “Thank you for defending NRA members and law-abiding gun owners in Illinois and throughout the country. Congratulations on your endorsement and thank you for your support of the Second Amendment.”
* Sen. Julie Morrison…
State Senator Julie Morrison is leading a measure that would require insurance to cover preventative cancer screenings and genetic testing for individuals with a family history of cancer.
“Early diagnosis is the best way to tackle the deadly effects of cancer,” said Morrison (D-Lake Forest). “Sadly, due to the lack of preventable screenings, many people aren’t diagnosed until it’s too late.”
Morrison’s measure would provide coverage for evidence-based cancer imaging for patients with an increased risk of cancer. Additionally, insurance would be required to cover genetic testing for an inherited gene mutation for individuals with a family history of cancer.
Currently cancer screening for certain types of cancer are covered as long as the patient meets the age requirement. Senate Bill 2697 would expand that coverage to include prevention and susceptibility cancer screenings for all types of cancer for people who have a family member affected by the deadly disease.
The March primary election will be another record-breakingly uncompetitive one for seats on the Cook County Circuit Court, with 62 candidates running for 40 vacant seats on the court — more than a third unopposed in countywide and subcircuit races.
Observers had flagged the previous primary in 2022 as a historically uncompetitive one, blaming a shifted election schedule in which candidates were forced outside to collect nominating petition signatures in the cold of winter while the Covid-19 pendermic was still in full swing.
But in that June 2022 primary, 64 candidates were vying for 25 open seats, a ratio of 2.5 candidates per seat. This year’s primary ballot shakes out to 1.5 candidates per seat. […]
[Election lawyers, campaign workers, consultants, candidates, and politicians] cited overlapping factors, including the rising costs of running campaigns, political fatigue, an Illinois Supreme Court that this year was unusually slow to formalize vacancies, a redrawing of the map of judicial subcircuits, and a Cook County Democratic Party that says it is focused more on endorsing candidates with hard-to-beat credentials.
* Speaking of judicial candidates, any thoughts on this campaign video for Liam Kelly?…
* PJ Star | Campaign donations, quest for new power generation fueled new Illinois nuclear power law: Both Republicans and Democrats backed the new law, which was originally vetoed by the governor. Energy companies lobbied for the bill and donated tens of thousands of dollars to House and Senate leadership and politicians on both sides of the aisle during the bill’s lifespan in Springfield, according to campaign finance reports and witness slips signed by proponents.
* Naperville Sun | Naperville residents lambast McBroom for his migrant sign-up sheet proposal, calling it politically motivated and ‘self-serving’: More than half of the public comment portion of Tuesday’s City Council meeting was taken up by people who wanted to chastise McBroom for his suggestion that the city create a registry for Naperville people who want to house migrants — an idea he has acknowledged was intentionally “provactive.” City Manager Doug Krieger ultimately directed staff to abandon research on the idea after it was learned other agencies were doing similar work, but not before the idea sparked national attention. In addition to social media posts that incited hundreds of comments, McBroom was interviewed by several news media outlets, including The New York Times and Fox News.
* Patch | Romeo Nance’s Girlfriend Hides Her Face Leaving Courthouse: The mass murders of eight people in Joliet were carried out on Jan. 21 by her 23-year-old boyfriend, Romeo Nance, according to Joliet police. Not only did Cleveland attend at least two of the murders, according to sources, but Will County prosecutors say Cleveland withheld information about Nance’s whereabouts, and she lied to the Joliet police detectives as they were trying to find Nance after he fled Joliet.
* WGN | Cook County offering up to $400 for poll workers: The clerk’s office is encouraging high school and college students to apply. A 3.0 GPA is required if you’re a student applying. Election judges will greet voters, sign them in and work together to ensure the polling place is running smoothly. Polling place technicians work with the election judges to check supplies and equipment.
* NBC Chicago | Northern Illinois University dramatically expands no-tuition program for incoming students: The “AIM HIGH Program” has helped nearly 3,500 students, according to university officials, and now NIU is going to step up the availability of the funding for new students. […] According to a press release, students who have an overall GPA of 3.0 or above, and whose families have an adjusted gross income of $100,000 or less qualify for the program. Previously, the income cutoff was $75,000, according to the press release.
* Tribune | Amid controversy, Cook County prosecutors drop charges against students accused of distributing fake Daily Northwestern page: Cook County prosecutors on Wednesday dropped charges against two Northwestern students amid controversy over the decision to pursue a criminal case against them for allegedly circulating a fake page of the student newspaper to protest the school stance on the crisis in Gaza and Israel. The charging decision, as well as the newspaper’s parent company’s pursuit of a complaint, attracted harsh criticism from students, professors and community members, who blasted the move as an example of over-policing of Black students and an effort to silence pro-Palestinian voices that disproportionately affect people of color.
* The Hill | FAFSA problems pile up, leaving students and parents scrambling: The forms already got a late start — launched in late December and not October. When they were finally released online, there were complications that led to the forms getting taken down multiple times and families being unable to fix mistakes they put in them. Now, officials say information from the FAFSA forms won’t actually be given to schools until March, leading families to tell The Hill they are riddled with concerns over missing scholarship deadlines and if they will get final offers from schools before their student has to decide if they want to attend.
* Crain’s | Winnetka passes lakefront ordinance despite threat of lawsuits: Winnetka’s village council approved an ordinance limiting what lakefront homeowners can build on their table land and bluffs, despite warnings that passing it would trigger at least two lawsuits from residents. The motion to adopt the ordinance passed Feb. 6 after Village President Chris Rintz urged the council to first work with the 30 residents whose attorneys at Baker McKenzie had informed village officials that they would “vigorously pursue all legal rights and remedies” if it was approved.
* Shaw Local | McHenry open-container entertainment district for downtown rejected by City Council: First proposed in October, the entertainment district plan called for allowing open alcohol from noon to 9 p.m. seven days a week from May 1 through Nov. 1. The ordinance would allow people to walk – with branded cups – on designated sidewalks and the riverwalk, as well as Main Street from Route 31 to the railroad tracks.
* Chicago Mag | The Illinois-Indiana Border Separates Two Worlds: The straight line that demarcates Indiana and Illinois runs 159.359, from Lake Michigan to the Wabash River, which forms the border the rest of the way. I set out to follow the first few miles, specifically, Chicago’s border with Indiana. It’s not easy to follow. In fact, in most places, it’s impossible. Directly south of the marker, it runs through a field of reeds, then across the South Shore Line tracks, which lie between fences topped with barbed wire. I rented a Divvy in Cal Park, and pedaled it to 106th Street, which meets State Line Road just past the Crow Bar, the ironworkers tavern that once sued the disco Crobar for stealing its name. Staring at me was a sign reading “More Discover. Indiana (™). Est. 1816.” Two years before Illinois, if you’re counting.
* Sun-Times | Keith Urban, The Black Keys among headliners for NASCAR Chicago Weekend 2024: The Black Keys — aka singer-guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney — will kick things off on July 6 following the conclusion of the NASCAR Xfinity Series Loop 110. Closing out the day’s events will be The Chainsmokers, making a return to the fest after stormy weather forced the cancellation of their set at the racing extravaganza last year as well as wiping out concerts by Miranda Lambert and Charlie Crockett at the 2023 fest.
* Chicago Reader | Veteran sound scrutinizer Kevin Drumm plays his first local show in five years: Kevin Drumm’s work over the past quarter century has variously aligned with noise, experimental, ambient, and improvised music, but it remains very much a realm unto itself. He begins with sounds sourced from analog and digital electronics, field recordings, and tabletop guitar, then distills them to obtain extremes of gaseous insubstantiality, pulverizing harshness, and textural variety. His pieces are often long and slow-moving, but if you match the pace of your listening to the pace of their progress, the superficially static tones prove to be teeming with mesmerizing activity.
* WTTW | ‘Illinoise,’ a Unique and Brilliantly Realized Interpretation of Music by Sufjan Stevens: The show is an absolute stunner in which the song lyrics have inspired a multifaceted storyline devised by director/choreographer Justin Peck (resident choreographer of the New York City Ballet) and playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury. Aside from Stevens’ lyrics there is no dialogue, so the strongest “language” that vividly drives the show is dance. And the various stories that unfold over the course of the show’s 90 compelling minutes are stunningly enacted by a remarkably expressive ensemble of 12 dancers who ideally capture a slew of different personalities and sexual relationships as they travel through various parts of Illinois, and, at some moments, New York.
* WGN | Friends, amateur hikers aim to hit every Illinois State Park: It’s been three years since two Chicago gals set out to hit every park in the state. The duo and their “Fresh Air Friendship” have a goal of doing a trailhead at every state park in Illinois. It doesn’t sound too menacing until you realize there’s a whopping 132 of them in the state.
On February 7, 2024, members of the Teamsters union represented by Locals 26, 50, 371, 525, 627, 705, 722, and 916 employed by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) voted by 95% to authorize a strike.
This vote follows ongoing contract negotiations with the state which began after the previous contract expired on July 1, 2023. […]
The Illinois Department of Transportation has released the following statement:
“The safety of the traveling public always has been and always will be the Illinois Department of Transportation’s top priority. The department values its hard-working staff and employees, and looks forward to continuing a successful partnership with all of its collective bargaining units now and into the future.”
“Our members, who have been leading the way during this contract fight, have grown tired of the state’s unwillingness to value their hard work,” said Thomas Stiede, President of Joint Council 25. “Their overwhelming strike authorization sends a clear message, and we will do whatever it takes to get them the contract they deserve.”
The strike authorization vote comes after months of negotiations with the state of Illinois for a new contract. The most recent contract expired on July 1, 2023.
“Illinois has a highway budget that is bigger and better than ever, so there is clearly plenty of money there to pay us fair wages and allow us to remain on our preferred health insurance,” said Cale Shonk, a permits supervisor at IDOT in District 5 and member of Local 916. “The state has applauded us for the great work we do but refuses to pay us what we are worth. It is beyond ridiculous we are being treated like this.”
One of the two men now charged in a shoot-out in the south suburbs was free on electronic monitoring while awaiting trial for murder, WGN Investigates has learned. […]
[Torrey Lewis] was arrested in 2018 and charged in the murder of a paralyzed man in a wheelchair outside a Country Club Hills movie theater the previous year. He was locked-up until Cook County Judge Carl Boyd lowered his bond in 2020 allowing Lewis to be released on electronic monitoring after posting $30,000 bond. Cook County sheriff’s deputies clamped an ankle monitor on Lewis and he left the jail.
“Home monitoring was meant for people with less serious offenses, certainly not attempt murder or murder charges… and I was ignored on that,” Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart told WGN Investigates. Dart said his calls to clamp down on the use of electronic monitoring in violent cases have gone unheard by lawmakers.
Lewis was also able to take advantage of a little-known provision of the SAFE-T Act that went into effect in 2022 that gives people on electronic monitoring more freedom. It’s meant to allow them to take care of basic necessities without being tracked in real-time.
Defendants are still required to wear their ankle bracelets on their two days of free movement; but law enforcement isn’t alerted if they stray from home, work or other pre-approved destinations. […]
“If this person was on home monitoring, being monitored the way we used to monitor people, the second he left his house we would have been alerted and started looking for him,” Dart said. “Say he had ability to go to work that day, the second he wasn’t there, we would’ve been alerted and we would’ve gone after him.”
* Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice…
We are incredibly disappointed to see Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart once again exploiting community safety concerns to spread misinformation about the electronic monitoring provisions of the Pretrial Fairness Act. The Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice wants to reduce gun violence and create safe communities for everyone, and the Sheriff’s desperate search for and elevation of outlier cases does not help us reach that goal. Instead, stories of isolated incidents are designed to change the law governing tens of thousands of people’s rights while awaiting trial — all while avoiding engagement with data that shows the vast majority of people on electronic monitoring return to court and are not rearrested while awaiting trial. These cynical attempts to blame pretrial reforms are only a distraction from evidence-based efforts to reduce gun violence.
The Pretrial Fairness Act requires that people subject to house arrest under electronic monitoring be given permission to leave their homes to take care of basic needs such as buying food and doing laundry. Each electronic monitoring program in the state can choose how to implement that requirement. The Cook County Sheriff’s Office chose to implement this law by allowing each person two, eight-hour periods of time per week to take care of their essential needs. Other programs allow people on EM to simply contact their supervising officer and request permission for individual trips to the grocery store or laundromat.
For years, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office denied people on electronic monitoring the ability to contribute to their households, perform life-affirming tasks, and even access healthcare. The electronic monitoring reforms in the Pretrial Fairness Act are intentionally designed to correct that history. Even under the new law, current Sheriff’s Office policy prevents people in apartment buildings from doing laundry or checking their mail in common areas of the building without the kind of movement permission the Sheriff is now attacking.
Since taking effect in 2022, the electronic monitoring provisions of the Pretrial Fairness Act have been incredibly successful. Ensuring people on electronic monitoring are able to go grocery shopping, attend doctor’s appointments, and apply for jobs increases community safety. Removing these provisions would violate basic human rights principles by returning to a system that locked people in their homes with no way to access food or other necessities.
Mr. Lewis’ Case
● Mr. Lewis was originally incarcerated in Cook County Jail on a no-bond order. He was only given a $300,000 D-bond in May 2020, during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time period, stakeholders were working together to dramatically reduce the number of people in Cook County Jail to prevent the loss of life and stop the community spread of COVID. Mr. Lewis was considered vulnerable for complications from COVID-19 due to his asthma and psoriasis, a condition impacting the immune system.
● According to public court documents filed by his attorney, Mr. Lewis is being charged with murder because he was allegedly in a car with other people who are accused of shooting someone. There is no evidence that he participated in the shooting in his underlying case, and no identification of him by any witness.
Facts on Pretrial Fairness Provisions
● Nothing in the Pretrial Fairness Act or any other law requires the Cook County Sheriff’s Office not to track people during the time they are on essential movement. Every person on Sheriff’s EM is on a GPS ankle monitor, and those GPS monitors continue to record people’s exact location the entire time they are outside of their home. You can read the provision of the Pretrial Fairness Act that authorizes essential movement at 730 ILCS 5/5-8A-4(A-1).
● Before these reforms were implemented, the lack of movement caused immense harm to people on Cook County Sheriff’s electronic monitoring, as detailed in a report submitted to the Cook County board by CGL Industries and Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts. (See page 47 here for discussion of harms of lack of movement.)
General Information on Pretrial Release
● Between January 2016 and June 2020, 91% of people on electronic monitoring in Chicago were not re-arrested for any crime. Only 1.75% of people were re-arrested for a serious felony (Class 2 or higher). People with the charges highlighted in the story are arrested at an even lower rate: Between September 2017 and September 2018, of the 2,811 people were released (EM or not) with these charges, only 1% — 29 people — were rearrested for a violent felony.
● The WGN story drew attention to the fact that 708 people on Sheriff’s electronic monitoring are currently accused of attempted murder, murder, armed habitual criminal, possession of a weapon by a felon, or unlawful use of a weapon (“UUW”). By conflating simple gun possession charges with murder, the Sheriff’s Office is artificially inflating these numbers. Most cases of “armed habitual criminal” are accusations that someone possessed — but did not use — a gun without a license and with certain past convictions.
○ In addition, the most common UUW charge is a class 4 felony. Far from being “a serious gun charge,” unlicensed possession of a gun is the least serious class of felony in Illinois law.
● People on electronic monitoring are not disproportionately connected to incidents of gun violence. The University of Chicago Crime Lab found that in 2021, there were just three arrests of individuals on electronic monitoring for allegedly committing a homicide or shootings—out of almost 4,500 homicides and shootings that year.
New renderings of a White Sox stadium at Related Midwest’s The 78 megadevelopment in the South Loop have surfaced, showing the ballpark as part of a vision for a new Chicago neighborhood.
The development would include thousands of units of housing, a hotel, entertainment options and a 4,000-car parking garage, sources familiar with the proposal recently told Crain’s. […]
In addition, the renderings floated tonight contemplate the future of the area around the team’s existing home, Guaranteed Rate Field.
“While we do not own the land at 35th & Shields . . . we knew there would be questions about 35th Street use,” a Related spokeswoman tells Crain’s. “So we put together conceptual ideas, understanding there would a robust community process to determine the best use for this land.
The development would generate a $9 billion investment, $4 billion in annual stabilized economic impact, and $200 million in annual tax revenue, according to the developer’s projections, which were not publicly substantiated. Those projections include buildout of Discovery Partners Institute, a state proposal for a technology and research center.
The plans also include a housing complex and a soccer stadium in and around the site of the Sox’s current stadium, Guaranteed Rate Field.
The proposal so far is speculative, with no way identified to pay for the new park. Public financing would require action by lawmakers. Gov. J.B. Pritzker has expressed his general opposition to taxpayers funding private development, beyond typical infrastructure costs. […]
The new plans call for 5 million annual visitors — about triple what the Sox drew in attendance last year — plus 1,000 affordable residential units, and 1,300 new housing units at the current Sox home near Bridgeport, redeveloped in the drawings to a smaller size with a soccer field.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell avoided picking sides as the Bears weigh the options of building a new stadium in Arlington Heights or Chicago, but said Monday either option would present a “great opportunity” for the Chicago area to host other major events.
Based on the league’s history of awarding Super Bowls to markets that build a new stadium, it’s likely the Chicago area would be in consideration if it had a sparkling new indoor facility. Goodell did not directly address the question of whether that would be likely.
“It’s important to the Chicago Bears and their fans, [and] it’s also important to that community,” Goodell said. “As we’ve seen [in Las Vegas], a great stadium can host additional events. That’s true in Chicago.” […]
The Bears don’t appear to be ready move on that project anytime soon as they explore a site just south of Soldier Field and the 326-acre lot that used to hold Arlington International Racecourse.
A Northwest Indiana lawmaker isn’t giving up his dream of luring a professional sports team across the state line from Illinois, even though his enabling legislation failed to advance prior to a key deadline this year at the Indiana Statehouse.
House Bill 1174, sponsored by state Rep. Earl Harris Jr., D-East Chicago, did not move out of the House Ways and Means Committee during the first half of the Indiana legislative session. […]
“House Bill 1174 not moving forward yet is not an end to our push to get the Chicago Bears and other sports teams to move to Northwest Indiana. This sports development commission is a long-term goal — one started by my father while he was in the state legislature — and I look forward to continuing the work in coming sessions,” Harris said.
Harris’ legislation would have established a 19-member Northwest Indiana Professional Sports Development Commission tasked with studying the possibility of attracting a professional sports team to the Region, along with developing a master plan for doing so.
* Sun-Times | White Sox spring broadcast schedule includes six televised games, 10 on radio: All six games will be called by new play-by-play announcer John Schriffen, alongside analyst Steve Stone. NBC Sports Chicago — the Sox’ exclusive television home — and ESPN Chicago (1000-AM) announced the team’s schedule Wednesday. Pitchers and catchers report to spring training next Wednesday.
* ABC Chicago | Chicago Bears news: Season ticket prices to increase by average of 8% in 2024: “With careful thought and analysis, our 2024 season ticket package price will increase on average by 8.0%, with increases ranging from 6.2% to 11.3%,” the letter said. [President and CEO Kevin Warren] also announced discounts for season ticket holders at concessions will increase to 20% for non-club and 30% Club accounts.
* NBC Chicago | Kevin Warren confirms details about the Bears stadium project: It’s also important that Warren said “fixed roof,” meaning the Bears will not have a retractable roof for their stadium that can accommodate inside and outside events. Without knowing the reason for a fixed roof, retractable ones are much more expensive.
* Crain’s | A prominent architect hopes his blue-sky stadium idea will keep the Bears in Chicago: “Keep them in Chicago,” says Booth, the eminent architect who’s been practicing in the city since the 1960s, designing dozens of new buildings and renovations of old ones, as well as more in the suburbs and farther afield. As such, Booth is uniquely qualified to spitball a blue-sky vision of what an ambitious, state-of-the-art stadium could look like within city limits — though he hasn’t been in any formal talks with the Bears organization about making his vision a reality.
Members of the state Senate Democratic Caucus introduced three bills Wednesday aimed at increasing access to infertility treatments and fertility preservation. […]
Senate Bill 2572 would require insurance coverage of procedures used to diagnose and treat infertility, as well as injectable medications used to treat prediabetes, gestational diabetes and obesity – all of which can make it harder to conceive and carry a baby to term.
Senate Bill 2623 would require insurers to cover the freezing of an individual’s reproductive cells without restriction or exclusion.
Another measure, Senate Bill 2639, would prevent insurance companies from denying infertility treatment coverage when recommended by a physician.
Creates the Digital Forgeries in Politics Act. Provides that an individual depicted in a digital forgery who is an Illinois resident and a candidate for office in this State has a cause of action against any person who knowingly distributes, or enters into an agreement with another person to distribute, a digital forgery if: (1) the distribution occurs within 90 days before a regular election; and (2) the distribution is reasonably likely to harm the reputation or electoral prospects of a candidate in an election. Sets forth exceptions. Allows a court to issue a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, or permanent injunction ordering the defendant to cease the display or distribution of the digital forgery. Includes additional awards to a prevailing plaintiff.
Watch for state Rep. Maurice West of Rockford and state Sen. Laura Ellman of Naperville, both Democrats, to file bills today pushing for more funds for Illinois students to receive free breakfast and lunch at schools. They are urging the state to find $209 million to the Healthy School Meals campaign that the General Assembly passed last year — but didn’t appropriate money behind it. The program would address children in the suburbs, exurbs and downstate. California and Michigan are among states already serving two hot meals a day to students.
Creates the Neighborhood Concert Tax Act. Provides for a 2% tax on admission tickets to organized for-profit concerts in public parks. Establishes the Neighborhood Concert Tax Fund to be a repository for the tax proceeds. Provides for disbursement of 100% of the proceeds to the park district that hosted the concert to subsidize programs of the park district that ordinarily require a fee for participation. Defines terms. Makes corresponding additions to the State Finance Act. Effective immediately.
Amends the Ticket Sale and Resale Act. Provides that the resale of specified tickets that are otherwise not covered by the Act shall not exceed 40% of the price printed on the face of the ticket or 40% of the price of the ticket at the box office, whichever is less. Provides that the Attorney General shall enforce the provision and may issue fines and penalties to operators who violate the provisions. Provides that the Office of the Attorney General shall adopt rules to enforce the provision, including the amount of fines for each violation and other financial penalties. Provides that the provision is operative 2 years after the effective date of the amendatory Act.
On Feb. 5, state Rep. Kam Buckner introduced the Single-Family Zoning Ban Act, which would prohibit zoning areas exclusively for single-family residential use. The bill would phase in that ban, applying to cities with a population between 100,000 and 500,000 by June 1, 2025, and cities with more than 500,000 residents by June 1, 2026. The Illinois Association of Realtors is reviewing the legislation, a spokesperson told Crain’s.
“This is obviously not a final piece of legislation; this is a first salvo into this space,” said Buckner, a one-time mayoral hopeful who has often appealed to a progressive base with legislation focusing on public transit. “One thing we’re seeing for sure with the migrant situation in Chicago and around the Chicagoland area is that the state needs to be a little bit more aggressive in the way that we talk about housing.”
The measure would require that property zoned for residential use allows “middle housing.” Buckner has not yet defined what middle housing will entail, but said there would be room to negotiate that language. The National Conference of State Legislatures defines middle housing as the “middle ground between large-lot, single-family homes and large apartment complexes and is missing from the available housing stock.” In Chicago, some could interpret middle housing to mean two-flats, three-flats or additional dwelling units, Buckner said. Those conversations will likely consider another bill in the state House that would prohibit any unit of local government from banning ADUs on a residential property. That bill, introduced in November by Buckner, was originally proposed in 2020 by Rep. Robyn Gabel, D-Evanston, who now serves as the House majority leader. […]
Buckner argues the bill is not a swipe at aldermanic prerogative but instead makes way for more density in the state’s largest cities.
Amends the Burial of Dead Bodies Act. Provides that, until July 1, 2026, a green burial shall not be performed in this State unless the green burial is performed in a cemetery that permits green burials and at which green burials are permitted by all applicable ordinances and regulations. Provides that the Director of Public Health shall study the environmental and health impacts of green burials and natural organic reduction and develop recommendations for the performance of green burials and natural organic reduction to prevent environmental harm, including contamination of groundwater and surface water, and to protect the health of workers performing green burials and natural organic reduction, mourners, and the public. Details topics that the study may address. Requires the Director of Public Health to submit the study and recommendations, including any statutory changes needed to implement the recommendations, to the General Assembly by February 1, 2026. Defines terms. Effective July 1, 2024.
Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Deletes language prohibiting a peace officer, or any other person acting under the color of law, from discharging kinetic impact projectiles and all other non-lethal or less-lethal projectiles in a manner that targets the back.
Currently, commercial solar energy facilities can be located within 50 feet of a home and 150 feet from a multi-family residence, but proposed legislation would increase that to 500 feet.
State Rep. Anthony DeLuca, D-Chicago Heights, sponsors House Bill 4135 and said many residents in his district don’t want to live next door to a solar farm.
“We don’t know what the health concerns might be of a solar farm, we don’t like the way they look, we’re concerned about how it might impact property values,” DeLuca said. “Those are the three most common concerns I would hear.”
During a House Energy and Environment Committee hearing this week, Michael Morthland with the group American Clean Power Association said changing current Illinois law would set the state back in its clean energy goals.
Creates the Accessible Electric Vehicle Charging Station Act. Requires the Department of Transportation to ensure that charging stations in the State are sufficiently accessible to allow independent use by drivers with disabilities, including people who have limited or no hand dexterity, limb differences, or upper extremity amputations and use adaptive driving controls. Requires chargers designed to serve people who use mobility devices to be located on an accessible route. Provides that the Department shall adopt the technical requirements for accessible routes established under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and the federal Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 (ABA) including walking surfaces, curb ramps, and ramps. Establishes that a charging space with mobility features must provide a vehicle space with a minimum width of at least 11 feet and a minimum length of at least 20 feet. Requires chargers to provide a clear floor or ground space. Requires clear floor or ground spaces to meet ADA requirements for ground and floor surfaces, including criteria for firmness, stability, and slip resistance. Provides that a reasonable number of chargers, as determined by the Department, shall comply with ADA operable parts requirements, including technical requirements for clear floor or ground space, reach ranges, and operation. Provides that a connector must allow operation with one hand and no tight grasping, pinching, or twisting of the wrist, and with no more than 5 pounds of force. Provides that all chargers operated or maintained by any entity within the State must comply with the technical requirements for hardware under the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Grants rulemaking authority. Defines terms.
Amends the Wildlife Code. Deletes provisions that require a meat processor to be a member of the Illinois Sportsmen Against Hunger program in order for the meat processor to donate deer meat that the meat processor has processed. Provides that if a properly tagged deer is processed at a licensed meat processing facility and if the owner of the deer (i) fails to claim the processed deer within a reasonable time or (ii) notifies the licensed meat processing facility that the owner no longer wants the processed deer or wishes to donate the deer, then the deer meat may be given away by the licensed meat processor to another person or donated to a charitable organization or community food bank that receives wild game meat. Requires meat processors who donate deer meat to a charitable organization or community food bank that receives wild game meat to keep written records of all deer received.
* ICYMI: Day in court postponed for former lawmaker who checked into hospital on eve of corruption trial. Hannah Meisel…
- U.S. District Judge Colleen Lawless postponed the trial until next week, opting to forgo more incremental status hearings like the five that had already taken place since McCann failed to show up for his trial on Monday morning.
-Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Bass said by delaying the trial further, it would “reward” McCann.
- Lawless said she understood Bass’ position that a delay in the trial was the outcome McCann wanted but said she didn’t believe it was “in the interest of justice” to force McCann to show up to trial beginning Thursday after having been in the hospital.
* Isabel’s top picks…
* Capitol News Illinois | In crisis, she went to an Illinois facility. Two years later, she still isn’t able to leave: With few viable options for intervention, she moved into Kiley Developmental Center in Waukegan, a much larger facility. There, she says she has fewer freedoms and almost nothing to do, and was placed in a unit with six other residents, all of whom are unable to speak. Although the stay was meant to be short term, she’s been there for two years. The predicament facing Rogers and others like her is proof, advocates say, that the state is failing to live up to the promise it made in a 13-year-old federal consent decree to serve people in the community.
* SJ-R | Illinois lawmakers call for statewide child tax credit to help thousands of families: State Rep. Marcus C. Evans, Jr., D-Chicago, filed the most recent proposal Wednesday. House Bill 4917 sets a lower threshold at $300 per child starting in 2025 and then have an inflation-adjusted amount in subsequent years. Illinois would become the 14th state to pass a statewide child tax credit, which its supporters say will assist thousands of low-income families particularly those of color. The price tag, however, is estimated to run the state $300 million.
* WBEZ | The Cook County Jail population has shrunk dramatically, but costs have not. Why?: Jail detainee numbers last month averaged 4,675, a 58% drop since the population peaked at 11,248 in September 2013. But inflation-adjusted operating expenditures for the jail and the sheriff’s electronic monitoring program fell just 18% from 2013 to 2023. The funds spent last fiscal year, which ended Nov. 30, totaled more than $412 million.
* SJ-R | Running as a political outsider, Virden Republican seeks Congressional District 13 seat: His story, he asserts, is different from incumbent Democrat U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, who he hopes to face in November. Loyd points out that Budzinski, then working as chief of staff of the federal Office of Management and Budget, had to move to Springfield to run for Congress in 2022. While true, Loyd also listed Carbondale — a town in the 12th Congressional District — as his home on his federal statement of candidacy last March. His November filing with the Illinois State Board of Elections now notes Virden as home. Congressional candidates only have to live in the state, not the district, to be eligible to hold office.
* WTAX | Allege funding disparities: Black legislators and advocates celebrated Black HIV / AIDS Awareness Day Wednesday by ripping into the Illinois Department of Public Health, accusing the state of inequitable funding, even when Blacks have a disproportionate share of the cases. […] The Illinois Department of Public Health issued a response: The Illinois Department of Public Health appreciates the advocacy and commitment of its community-based partners who serve historically underserved communities. IDPH has worked diligently to ensure that HIV/AIDS grant funding goes to where it is needed the most, especially to address the disparities in HIV rates and access to testing and care in communities of color.
* Northwest Herald | 88 apartments proposed for downtown McHenry; developer seeks millions of dollars in city incentives: To make it work, company President David Patzelt said, Shodeen needs $6 million in public assistance from Tax Increment Financing, and an additional $2 million. […] But it wouldn’t be the TIF district the building is currently in. To make the project work, the company is asking McHenry to pull the property – the former city hall site – out of the existing TIF district and create a new one. That would restart the clock, giving the site 23 years of benefit from a new district.
* Chalkbeat | The Illinois State Board of Education finalized a literacy plan. What’s next?: Advocates are pushing lawmakers to increase the state’s education budget and an increase of $550 million for the state’s evidence-based funding formula that supports public schools. Literacy advocates hope that the state board will set aside money to implement the literacy plan. The state board has recommended $3 million for fiscal year 2025 to implement the literacy plan, but advocates hope for $45 million.
* VF Press | Westchester Hires Law Firm To Spur Economic Development: The village of Westchester has tapped Ancel Glink, a Chicago law firm that specializes in municipal law, to represent the suburb in negotiations with JD Realty, a firm that’s trying to redevelop several acres of village-owned land at the northeast corner of Mannheim and Roosevelt roads. But the agreement didn’t happen without some board members questioning the law firm’s ties to Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch.
* Shaw Local | State asks to end Chester Weger’s exoneration bid in Starved Rock murder case: Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow filed a 78-page pleading Tuesday in La Salle County Circuit Court. In it, Glasgow argued that Weger, who is soon to be 85 years old, was in fact guilty of killing Lillian Oetting, one of three women found bludgeoned to death at the state park. “[Weger’s] repeated insistence that the ‘false confession’ was the only evidence against him is simply not true,” Glasgow assistant Colleen Griffin wrote.
* Tribune | Bally’s Chicago bucks trend with casino revenue gains in January, while new hotel plan remains under review: In January, revenue at the temporary Medinah Temple casino grew 9.1% to $9.3 million in adjusted gross receipts, according to monthly data released Wednesday by the Illinois Gaming Board. Bally’s Chicago passed Harrah’s Joliet to rank third in revenue among the state’s 15 casinos. Admissions at Bally’s Chicago declined 11.5% to 88,313 in January, but the casino nonetheless held its ranking as the second busiest in the state.
* Crain’s | Barnes & Noble opening store at Walgreens’ former Wicker Park flagship: “We generally want a bookstore everywhere. Every community, we think, needs a bookstore,” Barnes & Noble senior director of store planning and design Janine Flanigan told Crain’s, adding that “we were really missing the Chicago market” with no stores within city limits for several years.
* Tribune | Brittany Howard opens her national tour with spirited concert at Thalia Hall: Occupying her own private universe, Howard anchored an emotional outpouring that stretched sonic borders and asked as many questions as it answered. Songs avoided direct routes. Frustration, hesitancy and cautious hopefulness manifested in the forms of syncopated beats and off-kilter rhythms. Tempos halted and fluctuated. Vintage fusion, hip-hop, disco and club elements cross-pollinated with contemporary soul and dance grooves in ways that encouraged both introspection and movement.
* Lake County News-Sun | Experience Johnny Cash in unique show at Waukegan’s Genesee: Thanks to state-of-the-art projection, audiences will see clips of Cash performing on his TV show, which from 1969 to 1971, with his vocals extracted. […] The show progresses through Cash’s life, he said, with the six-piece band performing along with his image.
* NBC Chicago | Need an Illinois driver’s license or REAL ID? You can get one without an appointment here: There are plenty of reasons to head to the 2024 Chicago Auto Show, which begins this weekend — but one of them may be something you hadn’t considered. According to an announcement from Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, the Secretary of State’s Office will be on-hand at the two-week event beginning Friday, providing variety of services — from Illinois driver’s license renewals to applying for a REAL ID.
* ABC Chicago | Renderings of possible new Chicago White Sox stadium in South Loop released: The renderings show an open-aired, half translucent ballpark, which would add to Chicago’s historic skyline. This new ballpark would move the Sox from their longtime Bridgeport home to a more than 60-acre plot of land in Chicago’s newest neighborhood known as “The 78.” The developer’s images imagined riverfront baseball nestled between Roosevelt Road and 18th Street.
* Sun-Times | Pritzker Military Museum & Library closing Chicago location, retreats to Wisconsin: The Pritzker Military Museum & Library announced Wednesday it is closing its downtown location and moving to an archives center in Wisconsin later this year. The museum’s Monroe Building, at Monroe Street and Michigan Avenue, will shut its doors July 27 when the current exhibit, “War of 1812: Countering Peril on the High Seas and at Home,” closes.
