Executives at Bally’s say they have gotten approval from regulators to open their temporary casino at the old Medinah Temple in River North.
The doors will open for the first time at 8 a.m. Saturday, company officials said in a news release issued Friday. Casino employees had gone through a dry run of the operation earlier this week, under the eye of the Illinois Gaming Board.
* Bailey has Don Jr. and Mike Bost has this…
We all know that Nancy Pelosi’s sham impeachments of President Donald Trump were partisan and ridiculous - that’s why I’m taking concrete action to reverse those impeachments and expunge them from the record. #MakeAmericaGreatAgainpic.twitter.com/jcaOvwnJiM
Senate Republican Leader John Curran invites CTU President to join SGOP in advocating for Invest in Kids
Illinois Senate Republican Leader John Curran (R-Downers Grove) released the following statement in response to Chicago Teacher’s Union President Stacy Davis Gates’ preference for private school educational opportunities.
“The Illinois Senate Republicans have been steadfast in our fight to continue the Invest in Kids Tax Credit Scholarship Program that is funded through private donations and allows lower income parents to make the best educational choices for their children. The recent stories regarding school choice opponent and Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates’ own decision for her children’s education highlight the hypocrisy in the opposition to extending the Invest in Kids Program. Ms. Gates has every right to make that choice, and hopefully now that her decision is public, she will join our fight to allow the same opportunities for lower income, less connected families as well.”
* Crain’s | Gotion unveils ambitious plan for Manteno battery plant: Speed was a crucial factor in the company’s decision to set up shop in Manteno, state and local officials involved in the $2 billion project said. Gotion is building a new battery-components factory north of Grand Rapids, Mich., which was announced last year, from the ground up.
* Tribune | After CPS violated state law over physical restraint, district says it’s met training mandates. Parents and experts say more needs to be done.: By the first day of school last month, the district announced its “full compliance” with PRTO training requirements, meeting the minimum of two trained staff members per district-managed school. […] Yet at least two ISBE investigations of improper physical restraint of CPS students remain ongoing — involving an April supine restraint and an unspecified incident at an elementary school. And, with additional corrective actions mandated by the state agency, addressing the use of restraint in CPS will require more than training.
* Tribune | Mayor Brandon Johnson discusses moving migrants from police stations to base camps: The mayor said he will “move with expediency” to transition asylum-seekers into “more suitable” base camps as migrants wait for spots in city-run shelters. As of a week ago, 1,576 migrants were living in Chicago police stations and another 418 were sleeping inside O’Hare International Airport, according to city data.
* Block Club Chicago | Alderman Launches Migrant Data Portal, Improving Transparency On Care For New Arrivals: The website will provide weekly updates on the number of migrants in the city, new arrivals, shelter locations and other data, as well as efforts by Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration and city departments to address the ongoing humanitarian crisis, Vasquez said. The data includes how many migrants are staying in each shelter, in police stations and other locations.
* NYT | G.O.P. Gets the Democratic Border Crisis It Wanted: The Federal Emergency Management Agency in June allocated huge “shelter and service” grants to cities and states unused to such attention — $105 million to New York City, $10.6 million for Chicago, $19 million to Illinois, more than $5 million to Washington. Other programs at the Department of Human Services boosted the total federal money to New York to $140 million, and $45 million for Chicago. Those numbers, however, hardly meet the need: Chicago and Illinois alone have allocated about $200 million on migrant care in the city this year.
* Sun-Times | How other cities are responding to migrant crisis: New York City, which has received over 110,000 migrants since Southern governors began sending migrants north last year, opened a tent shelter Wednesday on an island between Manhattan and Queens.
* WTTW | Police Oversight Board Votes to Permanently Scrap New Chicago Gang Database: The unanimous vote by the interim Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability caps an effort that began in 2017 to stop the Chicago Police Department from using databases to track Chicagoans they believe to be in a gang. It also fulfills a campaign promise made by Mayor Brandon Johnson, who vowed to “erase the racist gang database and remove this source of racial profiling that leads to frequent, unproductive police interactions and harms residents’ ability to find housing and jobs.”
* Taylorville Daily News | A One-On-One With Comptroller Mendoza: When Mendoza took the Comptroller’s Office in December of 2016, the state of Illinois owed vendors and providers almost $17 billion in unpaid bills, some over two years overdue. This left many vendors and service providers out to dry as many could not withstand the fiscal crisis without being paid by the state.
* Bloomberg | Walgreens to pay $44 million to settle Theranos fraud claims: The lawsuit accused Walgreens of being “willfully blind” to fraud at Theranos and entering into a partnership with the startup even though it had good reason to suspect its finger-prick testing technology didn’t really work.
* Sun-Times | Kinzie Hotel ends lockout of union employees: Unite Here Local 1 said the workers were reinstated after a lengthy bargaining session Thursday. The talks also resulted in a tentative agreement for a new three-year contract that largely mirrors agreements reached last month with 31 other Chicago hotels. Workers must ratify the new contract for it to take effect. The ratification vote is scheduled for Sunday.
* Tribune | Chicago Ethics Board to address allegations against Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin: “This matter was settled by the City, and, as you know, the Board of Ethics cannot adjudicate a case like this — which requires a full factual investigation — without a full factual investigation by the Office of Inspector General,” which the board did not receive, Berlin said.
* Crain’s | Kroger selling Mariano’s name and some Illinois stores in $1.9 billion deal: The number of Mariano’s grocery stores could dwindle in the Chicago area, as parent company Kroger divests assets to win antitrust approval for a $24.6 billion merger with Jewel-Osco parent Albertsons. The two companies announced plans this morning to sell 413 stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers for $1.9 billion in cash. Closely held C&S is a major grocery wholesaler that also operates Grand Union and Piggly Wiggly stores.
* NBC Chicago | What could grocery chain merger mean for Mariano’s? Kroger releases statement: The grocery chains have said they must merge to compete with Walmart, Amazon and other major companies that have stepped into the grocery business. And there is significant consolidation throughout the grocery sector as companies fight with rising prices for everything from food to workers.
* Sun-Times | Feds make $2B commitment to CTA Red Line extension: The Red Line extension includes four new stations at 103rd; 111th Street near Eggleston Avenue; along Michigan Avenue near 116th Street; and the new terminus at 130th Street near Altgeld Gardens.
* Illinois Times | More motorcycle fatalities: According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, four people on motorcycles have been killed in Sangamon County so far this year. In 2022, no local motorcycle deaths were recorded by the state agency. In 2021 four motorcyclists were killed; in 2020 one died and in 2019 three lost their lives in Sangamon County wrecks.
* Shaw Local | Joliet church owes $300,000 after fallout linked to convicted fraudster: A Joliet church could go under if they don’t pay $300,000 owed to a court-appointed receiver who is working to recover investor money that federal authorities said was misused by a fraudulent business owner. Between 2010 and 2019, Messiah Lutheran Church, 40 Houbolt Road, received more than $780,000 in donations from Today’s Growth Consultant
* My Journal Courier | Illinois Supreme Court opening new learning center in courthouse: There will be a grand opening ceremony for its Learning Center from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. at the Supreme Court Building, 200 E. Capitol Ave., Springfield. Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis and Supreme Court Historic Preservation Commission Executive Director John Lupton will speak at the opening.
* WSIL | SSM Health Illinois receives donation for skin care screenings: SSM Health Illinois received a donation from the Motte Foundation Saturday to support the hospitals’ efforts in skin care and melanoma screenings. The check gives SSM Health $28,000. It was presented by the Motte Foundation at its 9th Annual Strike Out Cancer Golf Classic at Greenview Golf Course in Centralia.
Today, Governor JB Pritzker announced the upcoming departure of Deputy Governor Sol Flores, who has served as Deputy Governor for Health and Human Services since the beginning of the Governor’s first term in January of 2019. The Deputy Governor position will be filled by Grace Hou, current Secretary of the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS). Prior to serving as Deputy Governor, Flores was the founding Executive Director of La Casa Norte, a non-profit organization established in 2002 serving youth and families confronting homelessness.
“Sol Flores has dedicated countless hours of work and a lifetime of expertise to my administration over the last four and a half years; she has led with a focused tenacity, passion and energy, and I am incredibly grateful for her years of service,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Although she will be missed at IDHS, Secretary Hou has been a partner in some of our largest and most impactful initiatives, and I’m looking forward to accomplishing even more together.”
Throughout the last five years, Flores championed the expansion of healthcare access and the restoration of the human services safety network, bringing an equity lens and focus on Illinois’ most vulnerable individuals. Sol led COVID-19 response efforts from testing and vaccines to one of the most successful rental assistance programs nationally to keep people housed. From the Governor’s Office she spearheaded a strategic plan with the HHS state agencies to break down silos and develop comprehensive interagency strategies and collaboration including Census 2020, the Home Illinois Plan, healthcare expansion and managed the state’s response to the influx of migrants from the Southern border.
Sol Flores was the founding Executive Director and built La Casa Norte from two employees to a multi-million-dollar organization that delivers inspiration, hope and critical services to the lives of families, and youth experiencing homelessness. Flores was raised by a single mother who came to Chicago from Puerto Rico and has been recognized as a national Champion of Change for her work by the Obama White House. Beginning in November, Flores will head a Chicago based family foundation.
Grace Hou has served as IDHS Secretary since March of 2019. Prior to that appointment, she was the President of Woods Fund Chicago. Secretary Hou led IDHS through the COVID-19 emergency into a period of critical human services recovery, expanding the agency’s impact and scope of responsibilities through an equity and racial justice lens. Under her leadership, IDHS expanded to the largest headcount and budget in its history – and established a standalone Early Childhood Division. Her work alongside Deputy Governor Flores also launched an unprecedented investment in public safety in state history through the Reimagine Public Safety Act. The daughter of immigrants, Hou is a lifelong Illinoisan who also served as the Assistant Secretary at IDHS from 2003 to 2012.
“Looking back at the last four and a half years, I see a state that had suffered years of disinvestment and mismanagement that now leads the nation in providing progressive and efficient health and human services care,” said Deputy Governor Sol Flores. “It’s been my honor to serve the Governor in making our shared dream of a better Illinois a reality—and I know I leave my office in the strongest possible hands as Secretary Hou continues her exemplary record of service.”
“My heart will always be with the IDHS clients, staff, providers, families and all individuals touched by human and social services in Illinois,” said IDHS Secretary Grace Hou. “In recent years, IDHS has met the challenges of the pandemic and its lasting impact while also eliminating the Medicaid backlog, anchoring the Smart Start plan, implementing the Reimagine Public Safety Act, and much more. The lessons and inspiration from my time at IDHS will propel me in this new role, and I am so grateful.”
Deputy Governor Flores’s final day will be October 13th. Grace Hou will begin as the new Deputy Governor for Health and Human Services on October 9. On the same day, Dulce M. Quintero will become Acting Secretary of IDHS.
“It is an honor to lead the largest state agency and to continue building on this administration’s ongoing legacy of inclusion and equity for all,” said IDHS Assistant Secretary Dulce Quintero. “At IDHS, our message is clear: ‘Help is here.’ It’s a simple mission, but one that comes with complexity and enormous responsibility. The work continues to make our services streamlined, accessible and relevant when it comes to what vulnerable Illinoisans need today not only to survive, but to be empowered to thrive.”
Quintero has served as Assistant Secretary of Operations at IDHS since 2019. Quintero’s strategic vision helped lead the department’s COVID response with a focus on equity. Quintero is a longtime and prominent community builder and innovator in the fields of health care and human services, with a particular focus on LGBTQ+ services and advocacy. Before joining IDHS, Quintero served as Director of Operations for the Erie Humboldt Park Health Center and founded the Casa Corazon Youth Drop-in Program at La Casa Norte, one of Chicago’s few safe spaces serving LGBTQ+ youth on the West Side. Quintero was born in Mexico to migrant farm workers and moved to Chicago at the age of nine.
* You have likely already seen this Crain’s article…
Sources in both state government and the EV industry confirm that Gotion, a Chinese battery maker that earlier announced plans to open a plant in Michigan, has decided on Manteno in Kankakee County for a second, related $2 billion facility. […]
The biggest chunk, $213 million in payroll tax credits, will be paid over 30 years, assuming Gotion meets stated hiring goals of creating 2,600 full-time jobs that pay at least 120% of the average wage of similar jobs in Kankakee County — which would put salaries at $55,000 — and that the company invests at least $1.9 billion here.
In addition, the company will be the first beneficiary of Pritzker’s “deal closing fund,” receiving $125 million in capital funds. And the state will finance a new job-training academy nearby to prepare workers at the plant.
Local property taxes on the now-mostly vacant site will double to just under $2 million a year but then be capped at that level for 30 years. The abatement already has been approved by Kankakee and nine other local governments.
* IMA…
“Today’s announcement builds on our state’s long history of auto manufacturing, and we are thrilled to welcome Gotion to Illinois as we work diligently to create an ecosystem that supports our growing electric vehicle sector,” said Mark Denzler, President & CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association. “We are proud to have partnered with Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to put in place legislation to help bring these businesses to Illinois, and we look forward to the continued success of this important industry.”
* Gov. Pritzker…
Governor JB Pritzker and Gotion today joined local Illinois leaders and officials to announce the company’s decision to locate its new state-of-the-art $2 billion electric vehicle (EV) lithium battery manufacturing plant in Manteno. Bolstered by a REV Illinois (Reimagining Energy and Vehicles) incentive package and the new Invest in Illinois fund, Gotion’s decision to locate its new gigafactory in Illinois speaks to the state’s growing reputation as an EV manufacturing powerhouse and represents a significant step forward in growing its EV ecosystem and supply chain. The plant is expected to begin production in 2024.
“Today, we take another leap forward, announcing the largest electric vehicle battery production investment in Illinois to date. It’s my pleasure to welcome a world-leading battery manufacturer — Gotion — to Illinois,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “This announcement is a testament to Illinois status as a leading destination for companies and investors who want the most talented workers, the best transportation systems, and a collaborative economic growth mindset from their partners in government at all levels. With 2,600 new jobs, a $2 billion gigafactory, and the most significant new manufacturing investment in Illinois in decades — it’s the most recent proof that we are in a new paradigm. Illinois is on the rise, and we’re open for business.”
“Our administration is creating a better and healthier future. This new facility will be a game-changer in our state’s economy, creating new jobs and showing our continued commitment to making Illinois a renewable energy manufacturing powerhouse,” said Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton. “We are providing real solutions and new opportunities for our residents to push forward with us. I thank Governor Pritzker for his steadfast leadership for a greener tomorrow.”
“Energy and environmental protection are our common challenges. To address them, solar power, wind, and energy storage systems are becoming the backbone of a new energy system and accelerate the revolution in the global energy landscape,” said Li Zhen, Chairman of Gotion High-tech. “All that we see here [in Illinois] are of enormous value to us: an enabling business environment, a supportive state government for the new energy industry and their highly efficient work, as well as the prospects of the State of Illinois in the coming years. When we come to Illinois, we are not building a new factory but are planning to reuse an existing one and bring it back to life again as our way of cherishing and conserving resources. We believe that Gotion’s battery technology will help to boost e-mobility in North America and the economic and trade exchanges between China and the U.S.”
Gotion’s new state-of-the-art EV battery plant will help bolster the supply chain and meet growing demand for batteries across the EV sector, including Gotion’s partners, as well as additional EV manufacturers across North America. The facility will focus on lithium-ion battery cell, battery pack production, and energy storage system integration. Once completed, the facility in Manteno is expected to produce 10 GWh of lithium-ion battery packs and 40 GWh of lithium-ion battery cells, which will strengthen the American EV battery supply chain. The site will cover approximately 150 acres.
With competitive incentives through REV Illinois, unmatched infrastructure, access to markets, as well as an abundant and qualified workforce, Gotion selected Illinois to locate its gigafactory after a competitive nationwide search. Illinois’ assets combined with a comprehensive REV Illinois incentive package and the state’s new Invest in Illinois Fund helped secure Gotion’s historic investment in Illinois.
Gotion’s total incentive package from the State of Illinois, which includes REV, Invest in Illinois, and other incentives, is valued at $536 million. Through REV, Gotion is eligible to receive tax benefits totaling $213 million over 30 years. The REV agreement specifies a minimum company investment of $1.9 billion and the creation of 2,600 full-time jobs that are paid at least 120% of the average wage of similar job classifications in Kankakee County. A link to the executed REV agreement can be found here.
Gotion will also be the first recipient of Invest in Illinois funding in the amount of $125 million in capital funding to the company. The Fund was signed into law in early 2023 to make Illinois more attractive when vying for large projects in highly competitive sectors like clean energy. A link to the executed Invest in Illinois agreement can be found here.
Gotion was also approved by local authorities for property tax abatement for 30 years.
As part of Illinois’ commitment to build out comprehensive EV hubs and support Illinois’ workforce, the state will also fund a new manufacturing training academy nearby, as well as award an additional grant to workforce providers to expand training and prepare regional employees for the new jobs.
“The legislature and Governor have worked diligently to create a stable, predictable economic climate in which business can thrive,” said Illinois Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park). “Our partnership with Gotion is possible thanks to years of hard work and investment. Illinois is one of the best places in the world to do business.”
“This exciting project is another step toward putting Illinois on the cutting edge of the electric vehicle market—while also uplifting communities across our state,” said House Speaker Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch. “Working together, the majority in the General Assembly and Governor Pritzker have made strides to rebuild Illinois’ fiscal house, pair 21st Century job creators with smart incentives, and show the world that Illinois is a hub of opportunity. There’s more work to be done and we’re going to continue moving Illinois forward, strengthening our economic future, and creating new opportunities across our state.”
“I am thrilled to see this groundbreaking development of Gotion’s state-of-the-art EV battery plant right here in Kankakee County,” said State Senator Patrick Joyce (D–Essex). “This facility not only represents a step forward in strengthening the EV supply chain, but also highlights Illinois’ commitment to innovation and job creation.”
“Illinois is emerging as a nationwide leader in the electric vehicle industry,” said Senator Elgie Sims Jr. (D–Chicago). “To see our state government providing more opportunities for long-term careers in this ever-growing industry is exciting and shows that we are committed to sustainable innovation.”
“This $2 billion investment in Kankakee County is also an investment in the future of our region and our state,” said State Rep. Nicholas Smith (D–Chicago). “We’re powering tomorrow’s in-demand vehicles right here in Manteno, and that will power good-paying jobs and economic development for the entire community.”
“Businesses that are looking to invest in their future are looking at the investments Illinois is making in our transportation infrastructure, our workforce, and in long-term partnerships with innovators,” said State Rep. Marcus Evans (D–Chicago). “We’re building a 21st Century economy that works for everybody, and this an exciting example of the businesses that are ready to be a part of that.”
“This exciting project is a win for the entire Southland region, made possible by south suburban lawmakers and the governor working together to invest in growing our business community and creating good-paying jobs for our region,” said State Rep. Thaddeus Jones (D–Calumet City). “I look forward to continuing to work for opportunity and investment in our local economy.”
“This announcement is a huge win for Manteno, Kankakee County, and the State of Illinois, and will only enhance and strengthen our robust manufacturing sector,” said Timothy O. Nugent, Mayor of Manteno.
“Between today’s announcement, recent investments in the electric vehicle space throughout the state, and thanks to our skilled and diverse talent pool, world-class universities, and key infrastructure, it’s clear Illinois is well-positioned to be a leader in the electric vehicle space,” said Jack Lavin, President & CEO, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. “Today’s announcement will set us on a course to secure significant jobs and investment for years to come. We thank Governor Pritzker for his commitment to investing in industries that drive our economic growth and create jobs and his leadership in the effort to secure this facility. We look forward to continuing to work together to attract more generational economic development opportunities across the state.”
“At Nicor Gas, we are proud to serve the Manteno community and are excited to welcome Gotion as they expand their state-of-the-art battery and energy storage operations into Illinois,” said Wendell Dallas, President and CEO of Nicor Gas. “We look forward to working with the State of Illinois and economic development partners with an ‘all of the above’ net-zero energy mix that will result in manufacturing jobs coming to Kankakee County.”
“Illinois’ strategic location and skilled workforce make it an attractive location for EV companies,” said Intersect Illinois CEO Dan Seals. “Gotion will not only bring thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in investment to Illinois, but will also help advance the state’s thriving EV ecosystem.”
“Today’s announcement is a huge win for Governor Pritzker and Illinois. It builds on our state’s long history of auto manufacturing, and we are thrilled to welcome Gotion to Illinois as we work diligently to create an innovative ecosystem that supports our growing electric vehicle sector,” said Mark Denzler, President & CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association. “We are proud to have partnered with Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to put in place incentives to help bring these businesses to Illinois, and we look forward to the continued success of this important industry.”
“This project is an important step forward for Illinois,” said Rob Karr, President & CEO, Illinois Retail Merchants Association. “While the investment itself is significant, the broader impacts of the new jobs and related economic developments will be a significant boost for existing business. We congratulate Governor Pritzker, our legislative leaders, and everyone promoting Illinois.”
“Team Illinois has a bold vision to lead our country’s efforts to decarbonize transportation. This exciting announcement is a critical step and a sign of many more transformative contributions to come,” said Brad Henderson, CEO of P33.
“The Illinois Economic Development Association is proud to support the state’s new business attraction tools,” said IEDA Chairman Michael Cassa. “The announcement of the EV project proves the tools are working.”
“The Illinois Climate Equitable and Jobs Act (CEJA) empowered the Illinois Finance Authority to use finance to combat climate change as the Climate Bank,” said Chris Meister, Executive Director, Illinois Finance Authority/Climate Bank. “Through an economic development loan, and potentially other financial assistance to this project, we are proud to advance Governor Pritzker’s vision of a zero-carbon transportation future that will help families across our State and create good paying Illinois jobs.”
“Gotion’s decision to choose Illinois speaks volumes to our unmatched infrastructure, workforce, and incentives. The historic $2 billion commitment represents the largest EV battery plant investment in Illinois, bolstering the state’s EV battery supply chain and helping to attract and retain other heavy hitters in the industry. Most importantly, the gigafactory will create thousands of good-paying, clean energy jobs for hardworking Illinoisans,” said DCEO Director Kristin Richards. “With global demand soaring, we’re proud to add Gotion’s EV batteries to the extensive list of products proudly made in Illinois.”
Creates the Electrical Vehicle Infrastructure Act. Provides that a unit of local government shall not restrict which types of electric vehicles may access an electric vehicle charging station approved for passenger vehicles that both is publicly accessible and the construction of which was funded, at least in part, by the State or through moneys collected from ratepayers. Requires the Illinois Commerce Commission, in consultation with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, to assess whether charging station infrastructure is disproportionately deployed by population density, geographical area, or population income level. Provides that the Commission shall facilitate the development of technologies that promote grid integration, explore policies that support the development of technologies, and adopt a tariff specific to heavy-duty electric vehicle fleets or electric trucks and buses. Limits home rule powers. Defines terms.
Representative La Shawn Ford (D-8th) revealed he is introducing a bill that if passed will allow ex-offenders convicted of felonies to run for public office because, he says, once they have paid their dues, they have a right to run and serve.
Saying there are many such people qualified to run for office on the state and local levels, Ford said people with felonies who are not criminals but who have paid their debt to society should have the right to run for office.
Ford pointed to Debra Vines as an example. Vines ran for Trustee of Maywood and won but couldn’t be sworn into office because she has a felony record. In an interview with the Chicago Crusader, she commended Ford for proposing the bill allowing felons to run for office in Illinois.
“As someone who has personally experienced the frustration and disappointment of not being able to take a position I had rightfully won, due to my background, I believe it is high time we address this issue and provide equal opportunities for all individuals, regardless of their past mistakes.
Amends the Property Tax Code. In a Section regarding property tax exemptions for charitable purposes, provides that property held by a charitable organization for the purpose of constructing or rehabilitating residences for eventual transfer to qualified low-income families through sale, lease, or contract for deed is exempt from property tax as a charitable purpose. Provides that the exemption commences on the day title to the property is transferred to the organization and continues to the end of the levy year in which the organization transfers title to the property to a qualified low-income family. Effective immediately.
Along with goals to hire more detectives, pass “treatment not trauma” and address the “mental health crisis,” Johnson said he will consider his administration successful “when people are not living in tents.” It probably was a reference to the unhoused, but given a report just a few hours earlier about a plan to build tent cities for asylum seekers, his comment had us wondering.
And get this: Johnson took credit for bringing the 2024 Democratic Convention to Chicago. The decision was announced after his election, though it was well-known to Thursday night’s crowd that for two-plus years Sen. Tammy Duckworth, governor’s chief of staff Anne Caprara, Lightfoot and political consultant Kaitlin Fahey worked to land the 2024 event. If Johnson was being funny, the joke didn’t land with the crowd.
Alderpeople will be briefed on the city’s updated plans Friday, said [Ald. Andre Vasquez], who chairs the City Council’s Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights. […]
Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez (33rd) told Block Club that although she doesn’t know yet what Johnson’s plan is, she doesn’t think the tents are a permanent solution.
Giving a couple of reporters some insufficient details before briefing alderpeople and stakeholders is not the wisest move I’ve ever seen.
* Crain’s | Illinois finally lands a big EV battery plant: Sources in both state government and the EV industry confirm that Gotion, a Chinese battery maker that earlier announced plans to open a plant in Michigan, has decided on Manteno in Kankakee County for a second, related $2 billion facility.
* WGN | Immigrant girl on Chicago-bound bus from Texas died from infection, other factors, coroner says: The bacterial infection and aspiration pneumonia along with diarrhea and vomiting led to electrolyte problems, swelling of the brain and eventually the Aug. 10 death of Jismary Alejandra Barboza González, Marion County Coroner Troy Cannon said. […] The child reportedly began experiencing mild symptoms and feeling ill as the family boarded the bus in Brownsville, Texas, Cannon said. At that point, she had only a low-grade fever and was allowed to board the bus.
* WTVO | Illinois universities get fall enrollment boost: ISU is welcoming its largest freshman class in 36 years. The associate vice president of enrollment management said that there are more than 4,100 freshmen in the Class of 2027.
* Scott Holland | State has granted 52 of 146 medical prison release requests: “The eligibility conditions are extremely strict and narrowly tailored to apply to only the sickest and most expensive people in the prison health care system,” said Jennifer Soble, the Illinois Prison Project executive director instrumental in drafting the Coleman Act. “With that in mind, almost every eligible person should be released if we are to realize the Coleman Act’s purpose.”
* NPR Illinois | The future of high speed rail in Illinois: Tim Butler, a former Illinois lawmaker, is now head of the Illinois Rail Association, which represents the freight industry. He is also vice-chair of the Illinois High Speed Rail Commission. That panel is putting together a plan to guide the state. We talk with him about the future potential for rail travel.
* NBC Chicago | CTU president issues statement after sources say she enrolled teen in private school: Davis Gates’ enrollment of her teenager in a private Chicago school this year was confirmed and reported by NBC Chicago on Thursday after days of questions that went unanswered by Davis Gates and the CTU. NBC Chicago is not naming the school nor the name of Davis Gates’ child out of respect for the family’s privacy.
* Sun-Times | Bally’s landlord at Medinah Temple temporary casino hits the $20 million jackpot: Bally’s has to pay [Albert M.] Friedman more than $16.5 million in rent plus a management fee of $330,000, under the terms of its four-year lease, obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times. Bally’s also must pay Medinah Temple’s Cook County property taxes — a bill that has topped $1.1 million a year.
* Sun-Times | Migrants would move from police stations to big tents in ‘winterized base camps’ under mayor’s new plan: During a short interview with the Sun-Times, the mayor offered no specifics on cost or funding. Instead, he described the broad outlines of a plan that includes “base camps” that would provide meals and recreational and educational programming supplied by Chicagoans as a way to reduce what he called the “exorbitant” costs now being paid to a private staffing agency.
* Tribune | Chicago City Council to take up $25 million settlement in controversial wrongful conviction case: The lawsuits have lingered for more than seven years as the city has paid outside law firms to fight the allegations, including expending hundreds of thousands of dollars to litigate over potential expert testimony and fighting to have former Gov. Pat Quinn answer questions under oath about his decision to commute Hood’s 75-year prison sentence.
* Tribune | Aldermen consider allowing Chicago cops to work security at bars and liquor stores: A panel of City Council members is expected later this month to tackle the controversial idea that is part of a citywide policy that also prevents police officers from owning taverns or being bartenders. The ownership restrictions would remain in place under the proposal.
* KSTP | A track inspector claimed he was fired for reporting ‘too many defects.’ His secret recordings may cost BNSF millions: A series of phone calls secretly recorded by a track inspector-turned-whistleblower at Burlington Northern Santa Fe is raising more questions about the safety culture at Minnesota’s largest railroad. […] The railroad is currently appealing a multi-million-dollar verdict. BNSF did not respond to requests to comment on the recordings obtained by 5 INVESTIGATES. In a previous statement, a spokesperson said the company “does not retaliate against employees.”
* Tribune | Visiting the last Rainforest Cafe in Illinois offers an expedition in nostalgia: It’s 5:30 p.m. on a late-summer Friday. The warm afternoon air cools as you walk through the heavy double doors of Gurnee Mills mall. To the right, a jungle-themed mural guides you down a hallway until you reach a crossroads: Macy’s, or a mother elephant and her baby, flapping their ears.
Nearly 1,600 asylum seekers will be moved out of Chicago police stations “before the weather begins to shift and change” and into “winterized base camps” with massive tents, under a plan unveiled Thursday by Mayor Brandon Johnson.
Johnson refused to say where the tent cities would be built, only that the city has identified suitable locations across the city. The tent structures he envisions could hold up to 1,000 migrants, though 500 or so was an “ideal scenario.”
During an abbreviated interview with the Sun-Times, the mayor offered no specifics on cost or funding as he described the broad outlines of a plan that includes “base camps” that would have meals as well as recreational and educational programming provided by Chicagoans as a way to reduce what he called the “exorbitant” costs now being paid to a private staffing agency. […]
Pressed repeatedly, Johnson did not rule out budget cuts or tax increases or both to pay for a burgeoning humanitarian crisis already costing Chicago upwards of $30 million-per-month.
But he acknowledged “sacrifices” will be required of the city he now leads and said the cost of not making those sacrifices would be far greater.
There’s more, including react, so click here to read the rest. It doesn’t look like at least some key city council allies were briefed.
* Gov. JB Pritzker was asked again today about the unionization attempt among some House Democratic employees. Would he support a law that puts legislative employees under the jurisdiction of the Illinois Labor Relations Board to give them a pathway to unionizing?…
Look, I think these are decisions that will get made by Speaker Welch and by the legislators. It’s their chamber, and the General Assembly, in general, that have to make some decisions about this. … I’m not engaging in the discussion other than to say this is something that they’re going to have to work out.
…Adding… I asked AFSCME Council 31 for its response to the organizing effort…
As an affiliate of the Illinois AFL-CIO we echo the support previously expressed by the federation (https://twitter.com/ILAFLCIO/status/1653502000728887297) for the right of these and all workers to come together in unions and have a voice on the job.
The head of the Chicago Teachers Union is facing backlash for sending her eldest child to a private high school, a decision she says represents a stark statement about disinvestment in public schools and drives home why the fight to fully fund neighborhood schools is so important. […]
In an interview with WBEZ, Davis Gates defended her decision and said it was the result of “unfair choices” she and other South and West Side parents face.
“It was a very difficult decision for us because there is not a lot to offer Black youth who are entering high school” in Chicago, Davis Gates said. “In many of our schools on the South Side and the West Side, the course offerings are very marginal and limited. Then the other thing, and it was a very strong priority, was his ability to participate in co-curricular and extracurricular activities, which quite frankly, don’t exist in many of the schools, high schools in particular.” […]
Another big consideration: Her son plays soccer, and the South Side schools with good programs are in Latino neighborhoods far from her home.
Davis Gates said they looked at selective enrollment and magnet high schools, which tend to have healthy enrollments and fundraising that allows them to offer more complete programs. But that would have required her son to spend hours traveling.
This is basically an admission that the city’s public schools are not up to par. Gee, if only she was in a position to do something about that, or perhaps help others in similar situations to attend private schools who don’t have her personal financial resources. Just saying.
Also, she was not asked in the interview about her previous statements like this one...
“I’m also a mother,” Davis Gates said on March 6, 2022. “My children go to Chicago Public Schools. These are the things that legitimize my space within the coalition.”
…Adding… Press release…
The Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago today named Mark Hoplamazian, President and CEO of Hyatt Hotels Corporation, and Eric Smith, Vice Chairman of BMO Bank, as the new co-chairs of the Committee’s Public Safety Task Force (PSTF). The two Chicago business leaders are replacing the late James Crown, who led the task force up until his tragic death in June.
[The Illinois Emergency Management Agency] is hosting more than 600 emergency planners from throughout the state for an annual conference.
[IEMA Director Alicia Tate-Nadeau] says a newer responsibility for the emergency professionals is election security. “Really thinking about the physical security of the poll workers who are out there,” she said. “Like anything, our job is to plan. That doesn’t mean that something is going to occur, but our job is to make sure that we prepare.”
Candidates are starting to declare their candidacy to battle for a seat in Springfield in the 93rd District of the Illinois House. […]
Travis Weaver (R-Edwards) is the incumbent, and is seeking a second term. […]
Weaver says he reached out to his first known opponent, Democrat Zoey Carter of Pekin, on Facebook after she announced her candidacy last week.
He says he wants to keep the race cordial and respectful.
“I think it’s important to have open lines of communication, because Zoey may say something at some point that I believe is untruthful or deceptive, and I’d like to be able to call that out,” Weaver said. “And I also empower Zoey to have that same relationship with me.”
Carter, who other media outlets have reported could be the first transgender person elected to state office, was not available for comment. But in a Facebook post announcing her candidacy, she says she’s running “because I know that we are not getting the proper representation that we deserve.”
The 93rd House District is overwhelmingly Republican. Darren Bailey won it by 26 points.
Democrat state lawmakers are more unified and committed to a leftist ideology than Republican lawmakers are to conservatism, according to a report from the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Republicans voted for conservative policies 77% of the time, while Democrats voted for liberal policies 87% of the time, according to the analysis of all 7,400 lawmakers in the 50 statehouses during last year’s legislative sessions.
The study by CPAC’s affiliated Center for Legislative Accountability concluded that Democrats were more likely to “stick together” on issues important to the party’s base, while Republicans “broke apart.” […]
The most-radical Democrats were in New Jersey, where they had a 0% conservative ranking, followed by Colorado, Wisconsin, Illinois, Maine, and Oregon, at 1%. […]
“The red states are actually the worst” when it comes to moderate Republicans, Andrew Roth, president of the State Freedom Caucus Network, told The Daily Wire in 2021. “A lot of Democrats know they can’t get elected with a D next to their name, so they put an R next to their name and then vote like liberals.”
Illinois ranked 37th in most conservative Republican legislative voting behavior in 2022, at 72 percent, which is about average and the opposite of what’s portrayed in the last paragraph of that excerpt.
Yesterday, the CTA L lines ran: 114% Yellow 93% Pink 91% Blue 87% Green 87% Orange 83% Brown 77% Purple 38% Red … of scheduled trains. Since 2020, CTA L Service has been cut by 18%. Riders deserve frequent and reliable transit, with return to at least pre-2020 levels.
* Illinois Times | Tough choices at Memorial Health: Illinois Times has learned Memorial Health’s recently announced layoffs totaled about 300 – with 120 involving people in leadership positions – and that the cuts will save the Springfield-based health care system an estimated $40 million a year.
* Center Square | Right-to-work group enters nursing home labor dispute: Officials from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare Illinois had threatened to call a strike on Labor Day, but have since gone back to the bargaining table. If talks break down, employees from 11 Infinity Healthcare nursing facilities in northern Illinois will be ordered off the job. National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation Vice President Patrick Semmens said workers don’t have to walk off the job if they choose not to.
* Farm Progress | Illinois FFA to help spread the word on mental health: Following the success of a state-supported program to help Illinois farm families access mental health resources, Gov. JB Pritzker announced funding for up to 20 grants at $1,000 each to support FFA chapters implementing local initiatives that encourage access to such resources. All FFA chapters in Illinois are eligible to apply for the grant, and grant applications will be available from the Illinois FFA Foundation in fall 2023.
* WMBD | Tazewell County files to intervene in CO2 pipeline running under central Illinois: “The Tazewell County Board is currently in the process of taking public comment from Tazewell County residents and the developer of the proposed (carbon dioxide) pipeline. The filing of this Petition to Intervene will ensure that Tazewell County will be a participant in all future proceedings,’ said State’s Attorney Kevin Johnson.
* Sun-Times | Committee approves labor contracts for thousands of city workers: The deal’s prevailing wage portion covers 7,000 members of 30 trade unions employed by 16 city departments. Those workers also will now accrue half a day of sick leave per month and be eligible for 12 weeks of paid parental leave.
* Chalkbeat | Chicago Public Schools is becoming less low-income. Here’s why that matters.: A decade ago, nearly 73% of students at the school, Helen C. Peirce School of International Studies, came from low-income households, according to district data. Last school year, that figure was just over 34%. […] Even though the number of students from low-income families has dropped, nearly three-quarters of the district’s student body is still considered “economically disadvantaged.” But if the downward trend continues, Chicago schools could continue to see fewer dollars than expected from the state, which funds districts in part by considering how many students from low-income families are enrolled.
* WICS | Push for state funding amid learning loss: Illinois schools strive to bounce back post-pandemic: According to the 2022 Illinois Report Card, proficiency in reading and math for Illinois students is running below pre-COVID-19 levels. Federal and state dollars have been dished out to try to help students get caught up. […] Next year, Illinois won’t be receiving federal COVID-19 funds, which has helped pay after school programs. Pritzker said increasing state funds for education is key, along with targeting those in need the most.
* NYT | Who’s really paying to bus migrants from the border?: No. In fact, the migrants boarding the Texas-funded buses represent only a fraction of the thousands arriving at the border each month, and some migrants are wary of accepting a free ride. The Texas busing program has sent about 34,740 migrants to other states since April 2022, enough to populate a small city. But that is a paltry subset of the hundreds of thousands who have crossed the border during that period, most of whom have probably also made their way to destinations outside Texas.
* South Side Weekly | Larry Snelling Garnered Multiple Use-of-Force Complaints in the 1990s: As a beat cop in Englewood and Morgan Park in the 1990s, Larry Snelling was the subject of eight excessive force complaints, two of which resulted in suspensions. Some of the allegations describe Snelling slapping or punching people as young as fourteen in the head, while others detail verbal abuse. The allegations describe behavior that, if true, violated long-standing departmental rules that “prohibit all brutality, and physical or verbal maltreatment of any citizen while on or off duty.”
* South Side Weekly | ‘Doesn’t Make it Wrong’:While he was a sergeant working at the Police Training Academy in 2015, Larry Snelling testified in a civil suit that a lieutenant who allegedly pressed his hand forcefully into a mentally ill woman’s nose because she would not submit to fingerprinting had used an appropriate amount of force for that type of situation, according to documents obtained by the Weekly.
* Bloomberg | Chicago Area Faces 30% Transit Cuts Without New Taxes, State Aid: The area’s three transit systems, which average about a million daily rides combined in northeast Illinois, could see collective deficits expand to $1.19 billion in 2031 from about $730 million in 2026 after emergency pandemic funds run out and if no new money is allocated, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning said in a draft report this month.
* Block Club Chicago | Judge Urges Feds To Review Whether Soccer Team’s Deal To Build On Public Housing Land Violates Civil Rights Laws: The advocates want the CHA to fulfill 20-year-old written plans to build hundreds of new homes on and around the Near West Side site. It was once part of the ABLA public housing development where 3,600 families lived. Instead, former Mayor Lori Lightfoot engineered a no-bid deal last year that would let the Chicago Fire lease 23 acres for at least 40 years. The team, owned by billionaire Joe Mansueto, plans to build a state-of-the-art training center on the property.
* Crain’s | Stadium rebuild can’t happen without concerts, Northwestern insists: Until last night, it was unclear to the commissioners and members of Evanston’s City Council, who will have final approval after the Land Use Commission gives its recommendations, on what would happen if a proposal for the stadium was approved by the city, but the separate concert proposal was struck down.
* Tribune | Column: Sheriff ‘frustrated’ after recent fatalities on Kane County roads: While these crashes have all been in different locations and were caused by different reasons, they were “mostly due to the lack of awareness or attention to the surroundings of the drivers,” he said. And even if there had been deputies “on every corner of the county, most of these crashes would’ve still occurred.” […] “People need to stop blaming the sheriff’s office for failing to have a presence” when these crashes are often caused by “sheer negligence or ignorance of traffic laws,” Hain said on Tuesday.
* Crain’s | Inside and around the Obama Presidential Center as it rises in Jackson Park: Cement trucks roar around the 19.3-acre site and workers — 53% of them minority, according to the center — scurry about. The shell of the combination 425-car parking garage and Chicago Public Library branch is done, all to be topped with a landscaped green roof. The center’s central tower, which will house a digital presidential library and museum filled with memorabilia from Barack and Michelle Obama’s lives and time in Washington, is now several stories in the air and set to be topped off by April.
* WBEZ | Three big questions, asked and answered, about Chicago’s move to an elected school board: The move to an elected board is the realization of a dream for many organizers who have long argued that parents and communities are shut out of important decisions affecting their schools. They think an elected board will ensure that parent and community wishes and concerns will be heard.
* Farm Progress | Illinois FFA soils judgers win big at Farm Progress Show: The 2023 edition featured the largest participation ever, with over 120 students competing from Indiana and Illinois combined. Sixteen schools fielded around 30 teams combined for the contest. Illinois FFA members competed against other Illinois FFA members for bragging rights and cash awards, provided to the winners by Farm Credit Illinois, one of the contest sponsors.
A new study shows far fewer Black and Latino Chicagoans voted in this year’s mayoral election compared to white voters, underlying long-running imbalances in voter access and participation in city politics, researchers said.
The report, released Wednesday by the University of Illinois Chicago Great Cities Institute, details “shocking low” voter turnout among Black and Latino Chicagoans during the April 4 runoff in which progressive Chicago teachers union organizer and now-Mayor Brandon Johnson defeated Paul Vallas, former CEO of Chicago Public Schools.
About 61.1 percent of white registered voters cast a ballot in the election, compared to 29 percent of Black voters and 20.5 percent for Latino voters, according to the report.
The citywide turnout was 38.68 percent, according to the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners.
• Johnson captured 88 percent support from Black Chicago voters – a far higher rate than any polls had predicted.
• Vallas won the clear support of most white voters – we estimate it at 66 percent.
• Latinos broke for Vallas citywide, giving him an estimated 54.4 percent of their votes.
• 62.3 percent of the city’s registered voters did not participate in this election at all.
• A startling gap in voter turnout continues to persist along racial and ethnic lines. We estimate that 61.1 percent of Chicago’s registered white voters cast a ballot, while only 29 percent of registered Black people and 20.5 percent of Latinos did.
• Precincts that were over 80 percent Asian-American cast more than 77.8 percent of their votes for Vallas – higher than any other racial or ethnic group.
• Precincts that were 80 percent white cast just 25.8 percent of their vote for Brandon Johnson compared to our estimation of 34 percent citywide, meaning that white voters in more residentially segregated white areas were less likely to vote for Brandon Johnson.
• Precincts that were over 80 percent Asian-American cast 77.8 percent of their votes for Vallas – higher than any other neighborhood dominated by a single racial or ethnic group. While the city’s overall Asian population is still relatively small – it was 7 percent in 2020 – it nonetheless remains Chicago’s fastest-growing group and will exercise increasing political influence in years to come.
This year, despite there being more than two dozen Latino elected officials in the city, many of them progressive backers of Johnson, his opponent Vallas still managed to secure a majority of the Hispanic vote, though the percentages varied sharply in different Latino neighborhoods of the city. A handful of Latino-majority wards in the South and far Southwest sides racked up far bigger margins for Vallas, while those in near Southwest and Northside favored Johnson. Take the 13th Ward in Garfield Ridge and Clearing, for example, a majority-Latino ward that is also home to many city police and firefighters. Vallas racked up 70 percent of the vote in precincts that were more than 80 percent Latino, while he did even better in the mostly white precincts of the same ward.
Johnson received a majority, on the other hand, in the older majority-Latino wards in the northwest neighborhoods of the city, areas with extensive community organizations that are generally represented by more progressive elected officials. Yet even in some of these wards, vote tallies at the precinct level reveal distinctly different patterns among white and Latino residents.
In the 26th Ward in Humboldt Park, for example (see Table 3), where Latinos make up 65 percent of the voting-age population, Johnson amassed a landslide 65.4 percent of votes, but a disproportionate segment of his margin came from white voters in the ward’s rapidly gentrified areas. The data show that ten precincts within the 26th Ward where Latinos make up 80 percent or more of the population split their vote 49.5-to-50.5 percent between Johnson and Vallas, while the only three precincts where whites make up a majority of the population – all located at the ward’s eastern end – gave Johnson 72.6 percent of their votes. […]
But even more noteworthy is how isolated the overwhelming number of Latino adults are from local politics, with a startling nine out of ten adults [including those not registered] not even voting.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker calls Missouri’s ban on gender affirming care for trans teens “despicable.”
"They deserve to live in a place that's welcoming, that's affirming, that supports them. And we provide that kind of care in Illinois. And we support people who do provide that care.” pic.twitter.com/WEmn55xmZd
My message is not just to the teenagers but to their families that, first of all, they deserve to live in a place that’s welcoming, that’s affirming, that supports them. And we provide that kind of care in Illinois, and we support people who do provide that care, as we support all of our health care professionals.
And I think it’s frankly despicable that there are states that are banning the kind of health care that’s needed for these kids. Anybody who knows a family that has a trans child knows that there are already major challenges that you’re going through. You need to healthcare professionals that are supportive. Some of it is mental health support, some of it is physical health support, but all of it ought to be about affirming and lifting up these children.
The Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame (CSHOF) will honor Governor J.B. Pritzker’s exceptional dedication to sports with the prestigious Lifetime Contribution to Sport Award. The award will be presented during his opening remarks at the annual induction ceremony on October 4th, 2023, at Wintrust Arena in McCormick Square.
Dedicated leader, passionate sports enthusiast, and tireless advocate for the Chicago community, Governor J.B. Pritzker is honored with The Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame’s prestigious Lifetime Contribution of Sport Award. With a profound commitment to the development of sports and its impact on society, Governor Pritzker’s legacy is deeply interwoven with the vibrant sports culture of Chicago.
Governor Pritzker’s profound influence extends beyond his political leadership. His fervent support for sports at all levels has been a driving force in fostering unity, teamwork, and well-being within the community. Recognizing the transformative power of athletics, he has championed initiatives that promote accessibility and inclusivity in sports programs, ensuring that every individual has the opportunity to thrive and excel.
A visionary who understands the role of sports in shaping character and values, Governor Pritzker has consistently advocated for investments in sports infrastructure and programs. His unwavering dedication has laid the groundwork for the growth of amateur and professional sports alike in the Chicago region. […]
The Lifetime Contribution of Sport Award stands as a testament to Governor J.B. Pritzker’s indelible impact on Chicago’s sports landscape. His legacy of promoting sportsmanship, teamwork, and wellness will continue to shape the region for generations to come. As he receives this well-deserved honor, we celebrate his commitment to both the spirit of sports and the betterment of the community.
OK, a bit much on the laudatory side for my taste, but whatevs. It’s their shop, they can say what they want. Maybe they’re looking for a future check.
* But here’s a paragraph I edited out from the above explanation…
Beyond his policy achievements, Governor Pritzker is known for his hands-on involvement in various sports events and activities. His energetic presence on the field, court, and track has not only inspired athletes but also underscored his genuine passion for sports.
OK, what?
* I was eventually able to reach an official with the organization, who asked that his name not be used. He said the Hall of Fame (which is a virtual institution, not a physical structure) asked the governor’s office for some copy to post on the site, but never heard back. So, “we just threw that up on the website as a placeholder.”
I told him I wasn’t looking to bash the governor because, let’s admit, I’m not exactly an athlete these days either, so I have no room to talk. And I wasn’t looking to bash his group, or whoever wrote that bio. I just thought it was hilarious, and so has everyone else I’ve sent the excerpt to this week.
He took it in stride. “Go right ahead,” he laughed. “I’ll take all the PR I can get.”
Governor JB Pritzker today joined local and state officials along with Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) leadership to announce the beginning of construction on a new health science building on campus. Situated at the intersection of South University Drive and University Park Drive, the $105 million building will provide groundbreaking educational opportunities in a state-of-the-art facility.
The building construction, which is set to be completed by summer 2025, will seamlessly connect two existing facilities at 200 and 220 University Park Drive into one structure, weaving together the School of Nursing and the School of Pharmacy. Funding is made possible by the bipartisan Rebuild Illinois Capital program, the largest capital plan in the State’s history.
“As we make college tuition more affordable for students, we are also investing in university facilities — ensuring these engines of success for local economies are running at their best,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “With today’s groundbreaking at SIUE, we usher in a new era for Southern Illinois and its world class university — with greater access to quality education and first-rate healthcare. Together, we are building a more prosperous future for the students, faculty and families of this region.”
“In Illinois, we are committed to providing the best tools for our students to thrive. This investment at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville will educate future generations of health care and science leaders in our state,” said Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton. “This new state-of-the-art health science building demonstrates how our state continues to champion innovation and technology so Illinoisans can gain the skills to make an impact in our state and beyond.”
The 115,000 square foot health science building will accommodate new classrooms, research laboratories, teaching laboratories, study areas, a nursing simulation laboratory, and administrative offices. Additionally, the scope of work provides for the resurfacing of two existing parking lots, connecting sidewalks, and improving site circulation around the complex.
“This groundbreaking is the culmination of an enormous commitment by so many, however it is important to recognize two important groups who are making this day possible,” said SIUE President, Dan Mahony. “First, our university leadership and our students who are committed to the programs that will be housed in this building that will produce the next generation of leaders in various fields of health care professions like nursing and pharmacy that will train here. And second our elected officials, including Governor Pritzker and members of the General Assembly, especially our SIUE legislative delegation, who worked cooperatively to provide a tremendous investment in this institution. We cannot say thank you enough.”
The building was supposed to have been completed by now, but SIU President Dan Mahony told reporters that the pandemic explained much of the delay.
Also note that LG Stratton is quoted in this release, even though she wasn’t present at today’s event. We discussed this topic yesterday.
* Far too much of our public discourse is at the cartoon level…
All that’s to say nobody can talk about crime in Chicago in any serious way, it’s either through the lens of crime apocalypse panic or total dismissiveness and both completely miss the mark. Just roll your eyes a little at both and live your life
…And the people who love it the hardest are often the same ones working the hardest to make it a safer, more equal, more loving place for everyone. That's what gets lost in the quick and easy narratives.
…Adding… I just realized that the national Republican Legislative Campaign Committee is meeting in Chicago this week. So, if the city is truly the cartoonish hellscape the GOP regularly claims, why the heck are they there? It’s all just rhetoric.
Four more buses carrying asylum seekers will land in Chicago today, according to Mayor Brandon Johnson, who accused Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the MAGA world of using migrants as tools as the city prepares to host the Democratic National Convention in 2024.
“This is a direct response from governors, particularly in these red states, that are really trying to call attention to our values,” Johnson told a crowd gathered at the Promontory event center on the South Side for an evening discussion marking his 100-plus days in office. Some 150 buses of asylum seekers have arrived since the conventidon announcement by the Democratic National Committee, said Johnson, ticking off the work that’s been done in recent weeks to help find shelter for the migrants.
Johnson says he has a plan: The city has erected 18 shelters and worked with county and state governments to provide resources. And he said he’ll be “rolling out a stronger presentation” on the “humanitarian endeavor” later this week.
* From Amnesty International’s report on Venezuela…
Lack of access to economic and social rights remained a serious concern, with the majority of the population experiencing severe food insecurity and unable to access adequate healthcare. The security forces responded with excessive force and other repressive measures to protests, involving various sectors of the population, to demand economic and social rights, including the right to water. Impunity for ongoing extrajudicial executions by the security forces persisted. Intelligence services and other security forces, with the acquiescence of the judicial system, continued to arbitrarily detain, torture and otherwise ill-treat those perceived to be opponents of the government of Nicolás Maduro. A report by the UN Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) on Venezuela exposed patterns of crimes against humanity and called for investigations into several named government officials. Prison conditions remained a major concern, especially regarding overcrowding and the use of illegal detention centres, as well as access to basic rights such as water and food. Despite the adoption of legal reforms regarding the administration of justice, access to the right to truth and reparations for victims of human rights violations remained a challenge. Between 240 and 310 people remained arbitrarily detained on political grounds. The state’s repressive policies targeted journalists, independent media and human rights defenders. Illegal mining and violence threatened Indigenous peoples’ rights in the Orinoco Mining Arc. Abortion was still criminalized in almost all circumstances. Violence against women persisted, despite the existing legal framework. There was no progress in ensuring the rights of LGBTI people. By the end of the year more than 7.1 million Venezuelans had fled the country.
In 2014, the annual inflation rate reached 69%, the highest in the world. In 2015, the inflation rate was 181%, again the highest in the world and the highest in the country’s history at the time. The rate reached 800% in 2016, over 4,000% in 2017, and about 1,700,000% in 2018, and reaching 2,000,000%, with Venezuela spiraling into hyperinflation. While the Venezuelan government “had essentially stopped” producing official inflation estimates as of early 2018, inflation economist Steve Hanke estimated the rate at that time to be 5,220%. The Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) officially estimates that the inflation rate increased to 53,798,500% between 2016 and April 2019. In April 2019, the International Monetary Fund estimated that inflation would reach 10,000,000% by the end of 2019.
…Adding… Good point in comments…
Seems like a tactical blunder to tie the needed federal funding to the DNCC. Makes it much harder for Biden to get the $$$ here because it gives opponents an easy talking point: he’s only funding this to get rid of a problem before his convention. Stick with the humanitarian case/federal responsibility here.
* AP | Education secretary praises Springfield after-school program during visit: Cardona interacted with kids in the Springfield School District’s after-school SCOPE program, emphasizing the partnership with the city’s Boys and Girls Club as a way to relieve some of the burden on public schools, which have carried greater and greater responsibility for child development beyond classroom learning.
* Tribune | Prosecutors do not intend to call ex-Ald. Daniel Solis to testify in Ed Burke trial: Prosecutors notified defense teams via a letter Wednesday about the tactical decision to keep Solis from testifying, meeting a deadline set by U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall, sources with knowledge of the letter told the Tribune. Prosecutors did leave one caveat, saying they could potentially call Solis if Burke’s lawyers tried to present an entrapment defense.
* WMBD | Weaver running for re-election in Illinois House 93rd District, Democrat challenger emerges: Weaver says he reached out to his first known opponent, Democrat Zoey Carter of Pekin, on Facebook after she announced her candidacy last week. He says he wants to keep the race cordial and respectful. “I think it’s important to have open lines of communication, because Zoey may say something at some point that I believe is untruthful or deceptive, and I’d like to be able to call that out,” Weaver said. “And I also empower Zoey to have that same relationship with me.
* Patch | Darien Area Lawmaker Bowing Out: On Wednesday, Rep. John Egofske, a Lemont Republican, said he wanted to focus on his other elected job, mayor of Lemont.
* WJBC | Head of Illinois Emergency Management blaming climate change for severity of weather: “We have seen over fifteen different billion-dollar disasters in the United States in 2022. That’s up from where it was in 2021,” said Gen. (Ret.) Alicia Tate-Nadeau. “We need to make sure that we are prepared to respond to those. And of that, there were $332 billion worth of damages. $181 billion of that was from uninsured folks.”
* Sun-Times | Civilian oversight commission poised to bury CPD’s error-filled gang database: Three years ago, CPD unveiled plans to upgrade and remodel its gang database to eliminate racial and ethnic biases and mistakes pinpointed by then-Inspector General Joe Ferguson. Those mistakes included two people listed as 132 years old and 13 people recorded as 118 years old.
* Tribune | Aldermen, mayor and other Chicago officials set for another, albeit smaller, pay bump: This time around, the salary bump would be far smaller: 2.24%, according to a memo from the city’s budget office obtained by the Chicago Tribune. City Council members have until the end of Sept. 15 to reject the raise, or else it will automatically be applied to their salaries next year, the budget office informed them last month.
* Sun-Times | Restaurant association offers alternative to ending subminimum wage for tipped workers: Armed with a survey showing a higher wage could be a death knell for smaller restaurants, association President Sam Toia is proposing a less costly alternative. He’s urging dramatically higher fines for restaurants that thumb their noses at the mandate that restaurant owners make up the difference whenever their tipped workers — now paid $9.48 an hour — don’t make enough in tips to reach the $15.80-an-hour mandatory minimum wage that applies to all other Chicago workers.
* IBJ | Intersect Illinois looks to John Atkinson as board chairman: John Atkinson, managing director and chairman of Marsh Chicago, has been nominated as Chairman of Intersect Illinois’ board of directors. Atkinson will bring his vast leadership experience in both the public and private sectors to advance economic growth and help bring jobs to Illinois. In this role, Atkinson looks forward to partnering with Governor Pritzker to both engage Illinois’ business leaders, as well as drive economic development throughout the state.
* SJ-R | Jacksonville man charged with threatening Biden, Obama, Hillary Clinton on social media: According to the initial complaint in the U.S. District Court of the Central District of Illinois, Mouser, under the account @tryntakeit, posted expletive-laced threats to Biden, his wife Jill, and son, Hunter on Aug. 10. Mouser then taunted police by saying that they were too scared to come to his house, as he was armed.
* Sun-Times | Ex-Chicago Park District electrician gets more than 3 years for helping break through barricades on Jan. 6: Federal prosecutors alleged that Daniel Leyden of Chicago was among those “directly responsible” for the breach of a police barricade around the Peace Monument to the west of the Capitol, and that his actions helped set the tone for the mob that attacked the Capitol that day. Prosecutors say Leyden also raised his arms in triumph after he helped break through a secondary barricade made of metal bike racks, even though at least two officers were trapped underneath it. Both suffered serious injuries, authorities say.
* Sun-Times | After 41 years covering sports, ABC 7 Chicago’s Jim Rose to retire: But for all that, Rose said, “I couldn’t have been more fortunate than to come to Chicago.” It has passionate fans, he said, and he got to cover Michael Jordan from the very start, getting a front-row seat to view six NBA championships and the greatest sports story of the era.
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