Afternoon roundup
Tuesday, Jun 6, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Maybe the rhetoric can ease a bit now. CNN…
The number of daily encounters along the US-Mexico border has remained low nearly a month after a pandemic-era restriction used by authorities to swiftly turn away migrants was lifted, the Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday.
Authorities had been bracing for a surge in illegal crossings following the expiration of Title 42 last month, and while officials caution that migration flows can change, the average 3,400 daily encounters reported by US Border Patrol is a marked shift from the around 10,000 daily encounters days before Title 42 was lifted.
“As a result of planning and execution – which combined stiffer consequences for unlawful entry with a historic expansion of lawful pathways and processes – unlawful entries between ports of entry along the Southwest Border have decreased by more than 70 percent since May 11,” the department said in a news release on Tuesday.
* Media advisory…
Wirepoints will hold a press conference at Benito Juarez High School – where only 46 of 1,700 students do math at grade level and just 70 read at grade level – to highlight a new report on the results Hispanic families in Chicago are getting from the city’s public education system. Wirepoints has produced the report in both Spanish and English. Ted Dabrowski, President of Wirepoints, will present key findings and will be joined by:
• Jonathan Serrano – Entrepreneur, former candidate for state representative (IL-03), former CPS employee, and community leader on the city’s west side
• Mark Ortiz - Chicago law enforcement
• Rob Cruz - parent advocate, former school board member and candidate for Congress (IL-06)
As of last year, when Rob Cruz scored just 5.76 percent in the GOP primary, he lived in Oak Lawn, not Chicago.
Jonathan Serrano was recruited by the Illinois Policy Institute to run for the House and wound up with 19 points against Rep. Eva-Dina Delgado (D-Chicago). He’s president of the Westside GOP Club and regularly expresses his viewpoints on social media…
I couldn’t find anything on Mark Ortiz. He’s not listed on the city’s salary database, either.
* Best press release headline of the day is from Sen. Andrew Chesney (R-Freeport)…
Chesney Urges Northwest Illinois Residents Not to Fall for Governor’s Fancy Budget Rhetoric during Freeport Visit
He’s just so darned fancy.
* Press release…
The Illinois Department of Insurance (IDOI) is expanding its online-only application and payment process for insurance producer and agent licensing across all license types.
Beginning July 1, 2023, initial license applications, renewal applications, and payments must be submitted through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR) electronic application and renewal system for the 22 license types handled by IDOI’s Licensing, Education and Testing unit.
This week, the Department notified Illinois insurance producers and agents that it will no longer accept paper applications and checks for licenses. More than 1,212 paper applications have been processed this year.
* Press release from February…
The Illinois Department of Central Management Services (CMS) announced today the launch of a website for the African Descent-Citizens Reparations Commission (ADCRC). As part of the Economic Opportunity Bill, the ADCRC was established to bring an equity focus on African American communities and residents that have been disproportionally impacted by longstanding disinvestment due to direct and systemic repercussions of slavery.
Still not a whole lot on that site.
* A Crain’s op-ed on reforming the city council has this bit on inadequate ward staffing…
The problem is that it’s really expensive to staff 50 ward offices adequately. In most wards the aldermanic staff is hard-pressed just to deal with requests for zoning changes and residents’ service requests, much less prepare the member for complex legislative debates on the council floor. That partly explains Chicago’s tradition of rubber-stamp votes on even crucial bills such as the budget.
From the very same day…
Four aldermen have paid more than $48,000 out of their taxpayer-funded expense accounts to a consulting firm run by a former top Chicago Park District official who was asked to resign for his involvement in the Park District’s sexual abuse lifeguard scandal and placed on a do-not-rehire list.
Since a bunch of alderpersons had enough cash laying around to help out a man fired for doing nothing about Park District sexual abuse reports, I ain’t buying that the ward offices are broke. Broken, maybe. Not broke.
* Isabel’s roundup…
* WTTW | 53% of IDOC Inmates Serving Life Sentences Are Over Age 55. Advocates Call for Giving Some a Second Chance : In 1978, Illinois shifted from an indeterminate to a determinate sentencing system — effectively eliminating parole as most people are familiar with it. Defendants are sentenced with a fixed release date and can earn time off statutorily or through participating in programming, like education or treatment programs. Instead of parole, defendants are under Mandatory Supervised Release upon release for the remainder of their sentences.
* Crain’s | Of the major auto insurers in Illinois, Geico might be the biggest loser: Since November 2019, the company has seen its number of auto policies here decline by more than 23%, to 308,427 as of last month from 403,136, according to filings with the Illinois Department of Insurance.
* Daily Herald | Bears can continue to gain revenue from Arlington Park billboard, board decides: Even as the Bears flirt with Naperville, Arlington Heights village board members didn’t use any leverage of their own Monday when they granted an extension to an electronic billboard approval for the new Arlington Park property owner. The sign variations, reaffirmed without discussion via the board’s consent agenda Monday night, will allow the team to retain an extra revenue stream first granted to Churchill Downs Inc. in 2017.
* Pantagraph | Illinois lawmaker recap: Koehler lauds ‘productive’ session, but key issues remain: Koehler characterized the session as “productive,” pointing to the passage of a Medicaid bill that raises reimbursement rates for hospitals and legislation that incentivizes the use of hydrogen as an energy source. He was also satisfied with the budget process, which included Senate Republicans despite a Democratic supermajority. “They weren’t happy with some of the outcomes, but that’s going to be just a difference of opinion and philosophy. That’s going to happen. But, at least, what I heard loud and clear is that they felt like they were included and they were listened to.”
* Crain’s | Illinois cannabis sales sluggish in May: Recreational marijuana sales in Illinois rose 2% in May from a year ago, improving slightly from April’s performance when sales were flat. Illinois retailers sold $132.8 million worth of cannabis last month, up from $129.8 million a year earlier, according to state figures.
* Sun-Times | ‘John killed himself?’ Hours after police standoff, man gets voicemail about brother he hadn’t seen in 15 years: “It was shocking,” said Glen Lichard. “I just wish the SWAT would have called me. I would have gotten on the phone with him or gone down there, or something.”
* CNBC | Boeing warns new defect on 787 Dreamliners will slow deliveries: Boeing had paused deliveries of the planes for several weeks earlier this year because of a separate problem on a fuselage component on certain 787s. The latest issue currently doesn’t affect Boeing’s full-year outlook for Dreamliner deliveries, the company said. Boeing has estimated that it would deliver between 70 and 80 of the planes this year.
* WSIL | ComEd Awards Nearly $250,000 in Scholarships for Illinois Students Pursuing Future Careers in STEM: Since its launch in 2022, the ComEd Future of Energy Scholarship has awarded nearly $640,000 to 115 local students. Expanding opportunities for area youth to pursue STEM degrees is critical to ComEd’s work to establish a diverse, qualified talent pipeline that is prepared to support the power grid and the growing number of clean energy jobs that will be created in the years ahead. A recent study commissioned by ComEd projects that 150,000 new jobs in Illinois could be added by the year 2050 as a result of the clean energy transition.
* Crain’s | Shocking merger of PGA Tour and LIV Golf puts Chicago-based golf sponsors in the rough: Local companies that sponsor the PGA tour include United Airlines, farm equipment maker John Deere, CDW, Grant Thornton, and Aon. Representatives from each company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Whether companies continue their sponsorship of the combined PGA-LIV likely depends on how they’ve used the PGA relationship in the past — and what they’ve hoped to get out of it, said Mike Mazzeo, a professor of strategy at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
* Tribune | Chicago White Sox prospect Anderson Comás on his decision to come out: ‘Now is when I feel good with myself. Now I accept myself.’: Anderson Comás thought of those who feel like they don’t have support and wanted to do his part to help when he decided to come out as gay in February. “I wanted to open that door for those people that are fighting for their dreams,” Comás said during a videoconference call Friday. “I feel like they cannot do it because of people’s opinions, so I wanted to share a little bit to help, to open that door and to inspire all of them to keep fighting.”
* WBEZ | She spent years helping victims of Chicago’s gun violence. Now she’s leaning on them.: Mannion has worked since 2016 in the Little Village neighborhood where she grew up as an outreach worker trying to pull people out of gangs, and as a victim advocate — providing services and support to people who survive gunshots and families whose loved ones are shot to death. Her work was at the center of the most recent season of WBEZ’s Motive podcast about former gang members trying to stop the city’s gun violence. […] Mannion has struggled with diabetes for years; it runs in her family. Among her many diabetes-related issues, the disease has started to take a toll on her kidneys and her doctors believe she will need dialysis soon — something Mannion is resisting. Years ago, doctors removed cancer from her gallbladder, but they are now concerned they didn’t get all of the cancer and it has spread to her lungs.
* Daily Herald | Tollway to offer more I-PASS payment options for cash customers: Tollway directors recently approved a $3.4 million, five-year contract with Brookfield, Wisconsin-based CheckFreePay Corp. to offer I-PASS payment services at retailers including Walgreens, CVS and currency exchanges.
* Sun-Times | Vienna Beef returning to Bucktown: The hot dog and sausage company will invest $20 million to rehab the site, adding a second-floor office, first-floor retail space for other companies and an outdoor plaza.
* And Scape | America loved Tina Turner. But it wasn’t good to her.: The public understood Turner as having escaped domestic violence. What was less appreciated was the extent to which her suffering was tied to her identity as a Black daughter of cotton sharecroppers from Tennessee. Some might argue that these circumstances created one of the greatest rock artists in American history. Certainly, they shaped her. But white supremacy did not make Anna Mae Bullock into Tina Turner. Tina Turner made Tina Turner.
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Meanwhile… In Opposite Land
Tuesday, Jun 6, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* CNN…
For the first time in its four-decade history, America’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer civil rights organization has declared a national state of emergency for members of the LGBTQ+ community, the Human Rights Campaign said Tuesday.
“LGBTQ+ Americans are living in a state of emergency. The multiplying threats facing millions in our community are not just perceived – they are real, tangible and dangerous,” the group’s president, Kelley Robinson, said. “In many cases they are resulting in violence against LGBTQ+ people, forcing families to uproot their lives and flee their homes in search of safer states, and triggering a tidal wave of increased homophobia and transphobia that puts the safety of each and every one of us at risk.”
Alongside the emergency declaration, the group will release a digital guidebook, including health and safety resources, a summary of state-by-state laws, “know your rights” information and resources designed to support LGBTQ+ travelers and those living in hostile states, it said. […]
And the Human Rights Campaign just last month issued an updated travel notice for Florida, outlining potential impacts of six bills recently passed there, many already signed by GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican contender for president who’s championed “don’t say gay” and pronoun bills.
* Moving along to Oklahoma…
A state school board in Oklahoma voted Monday to approve what would be the first publicly funded religious school in the nation, despite a warning from the state’s attorney general that the decision was unconstitutional.
The Statewide Virtual Charter School Board voted 3-2 to approve the application by the Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma to establish the St. Isidore of Seville Virtual Charter School. The online public charter school would be open to students across the state in kindergarten through grade 12.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond had warned the board that such a decision clearly violated the Oklahoma Constitution.
“The approval of any publicly funded religious school is contrary to Oklahoma law and not in the best interest of taxpayers,” Drummond said in a statement shortly after the board’s vote. “It’s extremely disappointing that board members violated their oath in order to fund religious schools with our tax dollars. In doing so, these members have exposed themselves and the state to potential legal action that could be costly.”
* Utah…
On Friday, a person filed a complaint with the Davis School District, just north of Salt Lake City, asking that the Book of Mormon, a religious text for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, be removed from its libraries. Utah is home to the world headquarters of the church and has the nation’s highest concentration of members of that faith.
That request echoed one in December challenging the King James Version of the Bible, which is held sacred by members of the church and Christians generally. Both complaints followed the passage of state legislation prohibiting “pornographic or indecent” materials in public school settings. The measure, titled Sensitive Materials in Schools, was signed into law in March 2022. […]
Last month, a Davis district committee decided that the Bible should remain available in high school libraries, but not for younger grades. (Someone has since filed an appeal to keep it in circulation for all students.) Christopher Williams, a spokesman for the Davis School District, did not share details about the newer complaint against the Book of Mormon but said the district would “treat this request just like any other request.” […]
And increasingly, challenges are being filed against multiple books at once, whereas in the past, libraries more frequently received complaints about a single title, the American Library Association found. That suggested that political campaigning was behind the trend, said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, the director of the association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom.
The complaints about religious texts in Utah, she said, were “certainly a kind of advocacy that might encourage both school boards and state legislators to think more carefully about what they’re doing.”
* Arksanas…
A group of public libraries and book publishers in Arkansas is pushing back against a growing movement to restrict what children are allowed to read.
Arkansas is one of four states that recently passed laws that make it easier to prosecute librarians over sexually explicit books, a designation conservatives often use to target books with descriptions of gender identity and sexuality. On Friday, a coalition led by the Central Arkansas Library System, based in Little Rock, filed a federal lawsuit it hopes will set a precedent about the constitutionality of such laws.
The Central Arkansas Library System argued in a filing in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas that Act 372 violates the First Amendment by making it a misdemeanor for libraries to give children access to materials that are “harmful to minors.” The term — which means any depiction of nudity or sexual conduct meant to appeal to a prurient interest that lacks serious artistic, medical or political value and which contemporary community standards would find inappropriate for minors — is too broad, the suit contends. For example, the law would prohibit 17-year-olds from viewing materials deemed too explicit for 7-year-olds.
“There’s enormous angst and anxiety on the part of librarians in the state,” said Nate Coulter, the executive director of the Central Arkansas Library System, which has 17 branches in seven cities. “Because not only do they feel like people in the state government don’t respect their integrity, but they’re seen as a hostile party. They’ve been called groomers. They’ve been accused of being pedophiles. They’re basically targeted by a very divisive, angry group of people who are vocal about believing that somehow the library is the problem in our community.”
* More from Oklahoma via the NYT…
Oklahoma’s Supreme Court said on Wednesday that two laws passed last year that ban most abortions are unconstitutional.
But the ruling does not affect a law passed in 1910 which still prohibits most abortions in the state, unless they are necessary to save the life of the mother.
The laws that were struck down by the court were civil laws that had relied on suits from private citizens to enforce them. Both had made exceptions for cases involving a “medical emergency.”
But the justices took issue with that language in their 6-3 ruling, which suggested that the exceptions were too narrow. They maintained that a woman has a constitutional right to end a pregnancy in order to save her life, without specifying the need for a medical emergency.
* Missouri and Kansas…
Mylissa Farmer knew her fetus was dying inside of her. Her water broke less than 18 weeks into her pregnancy last August, and she was desperate for an abortion.
But according to federal documents, during three emergency room visits over two days in Missouri and Kansas, doctors repeatedly gave Farmer the same chilling message: Though there was virtually no chance her fetus would survive and the pregnancy was putting her at high risk for life-threatening complications, there was nothing they could do for her. […]
The investigation, conducted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, documented that both Freeman Health System in Joplin, Missouri and the University of Kansas Health System breached their internal policies for complying with the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, and that their protocols continue to place patients in “immediate jeopardy” of serious health risks, the highest level of violation.
Investigators concluded that future patients in similar situations could face “serious injury, harm, impairment or death.” The hospitals will remain under investigation while they come up with plans to ensure that patients in need of emergency abortion care are not turned away, federal officials said.
* Florida…
A national physician-led health care advocacy group is advising travelers to Florida who can become pregnant to think twice about visiting the state because of its restrictive six-week abortion ban, recently signed into law by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The Committee to Protect Health Care has paid for a billboard located outside of the Orlando International Airport that reads: “Turn around! Ron DeSantis is attacking your reproductive rights. Head to Michigan for patient-doctor medical decisions.” The blunt message from Dr. Timothy Johnson, an OB-GYN based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, directs people arriving at the airport to MichiganMeansFreedom.com, a site sponsored by the group.
* South Carolina…
* Indiana…
A northern Indiana abortion clinic will close nearly a year after the state approved a ban on the practice, with “unnecessary” and “politically driven” restrictions on abortions forcing its closure, according to a Monday announcement.
Amy Hagstrom Miller, president of Whole Woman’s Health Alliance, said in the statement that staff have seen over 1,100 women for medication abortions “in our small but mighty South Bend clinic” since it opened seven years ago.
Staff at Whole Woman’s Health Alliance — which has clinics in Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico and Virginia — will still provide remote services, such as referring patients to other abortion clinics in Indiana or states where abortion is legal. Patients have not been able to physically visit the Indiana clinic since December 2022.
“While we will no longer provide abortions at our South Bend clinic location, our resolve to help Hoosiers is as strong as ever,” Hagstrom Miller said.
* Louisiana…
A series of bills in Louisiana that opponents fear will negatively impact LGBTQ+ youths neared final passage Monday, advancing in the waning days of the state’s legislative session.
Although similar bills have failed in the past, it seems the fate of Louisiana’s package of LGBTQ+-related bills is all but sealed as they appeared likely to reach Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards’ desk for his consideration.
The legislation comes amid a year in which Republican-dominate legislatures around that country have passed similar bills taking aim at various aspects of transgender existence — from pronoun usage and bathroom access to medical care and more.
All of the Louisiana bills received approval mainly along party lines in both the House and Senate. They now must go back to their original chambers — where they have already overwhelmingly passed — for lawmakers to approve of the mostly minor amendments. After concurring on the amendments, the legislation will be sent to Edwards.
* Texas…
Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law Friday a bill that bars transgender kids from getting puberty blockers and hormone therapies, though the new law could face legal challenges before it takes effect on Sept. 1.
Senate Bill 14’s passage brings to the finish line a legislative priority for the Republican Party of Texas, which opposes any efforts to validate transgender identities. Trans kids, their parents and LGBTQ advocacy groups fiercely oppose the law, and some have vowed to stop it from going into effect.
Texas — home to one of the largest trans communities in the U.S. — is now one of 18 states that restrict transition-related care for trans minors.
“Cruelty has always been the point,” said Emmett Schelling, executive director of the Transgender Education Network of Texas. “It’s not shocking that this governor would sign SB14 right at the beginning of Pride [Month]; however this will not stop trans people from continuing to exist with authenticity — as we always have.”
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* In 2021, an Illinois law was enacted to limit use of restraints in schools. ProPublica…
The House voted unanimously to pass legislation barring school workers from locking children alone in seclusion spaces and limiting the use of any type of isolated timeout or physical restraint to when there’s “imminent danger of physical harm.” The legislation requires schools that receive state funding to make a plan to reduce — and eventually eliminate — the practices over the next three years. Schools that develop plans more quickly can receive priority for new grant funding for staff training.
A main feature of the legislation — and the element that proved most contentious among lawmakers over the past 18 months — is an immediate ban on schools’ use of prone, or face-down, restraint for most students. Restraining a student that way would be permitted only for children whose special-education plans specifically allow it as an emergency measure and only until the end of the 2021-22 school year, granting schools more time to phase out the practice than some legislators and advocates sought. […]
Illinois legislators began working to ban seclusion and restraint after a Tribune-ProPublica investigation in late 2019 revealed that some schools routinely locked children in closet-like seclusion rooms to force them to complete schoolwork, for being disrespectful to employees or for behavioral infractions as minor as spilling milk. Inside the small spaces, children sometimes cried for their parents, tore at the walls or urinated when they were denied use of the bathroom.
* Today from the Tribune…
Shedding new light on Chicago Public Schools’ recent disclosure that the district violated state laws in its use of physical restraint and isolation of students, a letter from the state education superintendent delves further into CPS’ “systemic” failures.
The letter, written by state Superintendent Tony Sanders to CPS CEO Pedro Martinez in April, was ISBE’s fourth directive ordering CPS to comply with state law. Violations alleged by the state agency range from CPS allowing untrained staff members to restrain students unnecessarily — sometimes for more than hour or through the use of prohibited methods — to the district’s failure to notify parents and review and report all incidents to the Illinois State Board of Education. […]
Among restraint, timeout and isolation incidents CPS reported to ISBE in the 2021-22 school year, 71 instances involving 41 students occurred unnecessarily, according to the April letter. […]
In ISBE’s review of 24 forms of alternative documentation, the agency found 22 incidents involved the physical restraint of a student — by at least one untrained staff member in more than half of the incidents. The number of incidents involving no trained staff members is redacted in Sanders’ April letter.
“Multiple physical restraint incidents lasted one hour or more,” the letter states, and in 10 instances, parents weren’t notified within the required time frame. State policy requires schools to attempt to notify parents and guardians of incidents on the same day and to provide a written explanation within one day.
* CTU…
The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) on Wednesday called for the ouster of CPS’ Chief of the Office of Diverse Learner Supports and Services (ODLSS), Stephanie Jones, for her dismal failures to protect the district’s most vulnerable students, continued violation of special education laws and the creation of a toxic workplace that has left the department in shambles and unable to fulfill its legally-required mandate to support students with disabilities.
The CTU House of Delegates, the union’s democratically elected governing body, took a no confidence vote Wednesday evening and called for Jones to resign or for CPS CEO Pedro Martinez to fire her.
The vote comes just days after it was revealed that in November, the state found the district continues to violate state law by imposing physical restraints on students despite a directive to halt the practice until staff are adequately and appropriately trained in its use. In a letter to Martinez, the Illinois State Board of Education said, “CPS’ complete disregard for the health and safety of its students and blatant violation of state law is unconscionable.”
At the HOD meeting, numerous special education teachers, clinicians and service providers detailed Jones’ flagrant mishandling of the special education department, including failing to provide recovery services to students who suffered an education gap during the pandemic and deficient staff training in restraint practices, among other lapses.
CTU President Stacy Davis Gates said.
“Tonight our members said, enough. Enough with the lack of services and support, enough with ignoring the needs of our students, and enough with violating state law.”
CPS’ special education department continues to be overseen by a state monitor, imposed after the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) found CPS deliberately denied and delayed services to students for the years 2016 – 2018.
“Clinicians in CPS have been faced with a consistent lack of managerial support because our managers have essentially been run out by the chief of ODLSS,” Alyssa Rodriquez, a citywide social worker, said. “We face extended wait times to get support in crisis situations, extreme turnover and inadequate training, which trickles down to our ability to serve our students.”
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Bears stuff
Tuesday, Jun 6, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Bears appear to be trying to play DuPage against Cook. NBC 5…
With tax woes at the center of the Chicago Bears’ decision to explore new options for a stadium outside of Arlington Heights, Cook County’s tax assessor said “the facts speak for themselves.”
“Our office’s mission is to assess property based on market value,” a spokesperson for the Cook County Assessor’s office said Friday. “The 2022 assessment of the former Arlington Racecourse site is consistent with both the 2023 purchase price of the property and the price per square foot of other similarly sized land in the area. The facts speak for themselves.” […]
“The stadium-based project remains broadly popular in Arlington Heights, Chicagoland and the state. However, the property’s original assessment at five times the 2021 tax value, and the recent settlement with Churchill Downs for 2022 being three times higher, fails to reflect the property is not operational and not commercially viable in its current state,” the Bears said in a statement to NBC Chicago. “We will continue the ongoing demolition activity and work toward a path forward in Arlington Heights, but it is no longer our singular focus. It is our responsibility to listen to other municipalities in Chicagoland about potential locations that can deliver on this transformational opportunity for our fans, our club and the State of Illinois.”
* Rep. Marty Moylan (D-Des Plaines), who is sponsoring a bill to help the Bears move, said this to WTTW…
“Remember that Cook County won’t get any sales tax if it (the team) moves to Naperville. (Cook County Board) President (Toni) Preckwinkle’s going to be saying ‘where’s mine?’ if all of a sudden it’s going to Naperville,” Moylan said. “Rockford threw their hat in the ring, and other cities are going to be throwing their hat in the ring. Because this is a multi-billion dollar proposal. A domed stadium. We can have Super Bowls here.”
Moylan said he knows Rockford is making a pitch, though he has not seen the offer.
Rockford?
…Adding… A Rockford-area legislator said there was “no pitch” from the city. “I told Marty we would love to have the Bears if they can’t make a deal with anyone else. That’s it.”
Marty gonna Marty.
* More on the play…
Most were quick to say this was nothing more than a negotiating tactic by the franchise. However, not everybody thinks it is a total bluff. Marc Ganis is widely regarded as one of the best stadium experts in the business. He’s consulted on several projects during his career and knows the politics involved. He explained the situation on Mully & Haugh for 670 The Score. It comes down to the Bears being trapped in the bureaucratic mess that is Cook County.
“This is unfortunately what happens in Cook County and Illinois with our political system, our wonderful politicians, far too frequently. What you have is a bunch of parties that are trying to make their bones on the backs of the Bears politically. They’re saying, ‘Well, if the Bears wants this we’re going to charge them through the nose for that and we’re going to take the property taxes and this thing that Churchill Downs was paying a couple million dollars a year for and they’re going to have to pay double-digit millions.’ And that’s just to start. That is before they put a $2-3 billion stadium in the ground and before they put any of the ancillary development in the ground, which they will never be able to move.” […]
“They’re really…I won’t say destroying it but they are reducing it dramatically to the point where all those great advantages that Arlington Heights has had, they’ve reduced to the point where the Bears are going to talk to other communities like Naperville, which is in a different county jurisdiction.”
* The superintendents of three area public schools didn’t seem bluffable last month in a letter to the Bears…
On May 1, our attorneys extended an offer in which the school districts might agree to support an assessment based on a market value of $95 million. This offer, as all our prior offers have been, is subject to and conditioned on final approval or consent of our individual boards of education. It is our firm belief that this offer provides the clarity and fairness CBFC Development needs, while maintaining the integrity of the property tax system on which school districts depend and protecting the other taxpayers within our communities who do not receive such large reductions in their assessments. Given the substantial gulf between our positions, we do not see the need to make a counteroffer at this time. Instead, we intend to proceed to resolution of the 2022 tax year on its own. A resolution of the 2022 assessment will help to inform both us and CBFC Development on an appropriate assessment for tax years 2023 and 2024, the tax years when CBFC Development will take responsibility for the property taxes.
* Meanwhile, I read this Crain’s piece a couple of times and it looked to me at first like Rep. Buckner was just spit-balling…
With a Bears move to Arlington Heights facing new uncertainty, a state legislator whose district includes Soldier Field is urging the city to make a new pitch to keep the team somewhere in Chicago. And there is some indication the team might at least talk about it.
In a phone interview, state Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, said he believes a path to get Chicago back in the game may have opened in the wake of the team’s announcement that it no longer is focusing strictly on Arlington Heights and has talked to Naperville about building a new stadium complex there.
“I think so. It’s possible,” Buckner said in a phone interview. “I’ve said from the beginning that Arlington Heights was not a foregone conclusion. Mayor (Brandon) Johnson deserves a chance to broker a deal that I think makes sense for the team and the city.”
Buckner, who serves on Johnson’s transition team, said he doesn’t know if the administration is refining an offer former Mayor Lori Lightfoot put on the table last year to potentially dome Soldier Field. But the city should be “proactive” now, given the Bears’ statement, he said. And it perhaps ought to consider other Chicago locations beyond Soldier Field, such as the former USX property on the Southeast Side, Buckner said.
Fox 32 followed up with Rep. Buckner…
Q: I know you know the mayor pretty well. I have a two-part question. Number one: Do you think there has been a conversation about this topic at city hall in the last three or four days? And number two: What’s your instinct about Mayor Johnson and his willingness to make a serious proposal?
Buckner: I’m not sure if that talk has happened yet. But my assumption is that if it has not, it is coming very quickly.
So, Buckner claimed to have no specific inside information. More Buckner…
I also know that the mayor’s been very clear about the fact that he wanted a chance to reset the conversation, to have conversations with the McCaskey family about the future of the franchise. And I truly think that he deserves that. So hopefully, this is a push of the reset button so the proper folks can come to the table and talk about what this looks like.
* But here’s WTTW…
Johnson’s office didn’t return a call on Monday seeking comment, nor did the Bears.
But a source with knowledge of the situation says a talk between the two sides is likely to take place in the next several days.
We’ll see.
* And let’s go back to Marc Ganis‘ comments on 670 The Score…
“I just heard from somebody at the league that they’re going to have a sit-down meeting with the mayor as well, the new mayor, Mayor (Brandon) Johnson, about if there’s possibly another site in the city of Chicago that he may want to propose. Not Soldier Field. That’s gone. That’s been gone for a long time.”
Could just be gossip “from somebody at the league.” Could be more. Ganis predicted almost a year ago that the Bears would move to Arlington Heights.
Anyway, your thoughts?
…Adding… Forgot to post this one…
The Bears’ flirtation with Naperville last Friday made all the headlines and captured the city’s attention. That was surely the intended effect new president and CEO Kevin Warren had in mind when he agreed to meet with the municipality and released the statement that Arlington Heights was no longer the “singular focus” for the Bears’ new stadium pursuit.
The Bears will hope to get the same effect, if not multiplied, should they meet with new Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson about finding a way to stay in the city.
That’s all well and good. The Bears’ search for leverage has many paths, but a sole goal: To bend Arlington Heights and the surrounding municipalities to their will.
That last bit ties this all together. Leverage everywhere you look. But their sunken costs at AH are pretty darned high to move again.
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Fun with numbers (and history)
Tuesday, Jun 6, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Please pardon all transcription errors. From today’s first press conference…
Q: On the broader question of the budget, do you have a response to Republican leaders who have expressed some displeasure with the level of input they had in the budget?
Gov. Pritzker: Well, look, I can tell you this. I had regular meetings with Republican leaders directly throughout the budget process. They would tell you that. And there were things that I specifically fought for putting in the budget that Republicans wanted in that budget. And just one example is, I’ve been working hard to try to lower taxes on businesses, particularly the ones that you don’t hear a lot about, they’re very annoying to small businesses. The corporate franchise tax, if you’ve not heard of that before, is one example of that. So I’ve been working to try to lower that tax. It’s not one of those things that gets a lot of attention anywhere. But I sat down with Republicans early on, that was one of a list of things that I thought we should work on together. And that got into the budget. It’s a big cut in the corporate franchise tax, $50 million is the cut. That helps businesses, gives them more resources to hire people, which everybody knows we need an awful lot more workers with the current labor market. So I’m pleased with what we got into the budget.
I was not happy that Republicans decided that, based on another set of issues, they didn’t want to vote for the budget. I realize that there are things in this budget that I didn’t like, but you know, in the end, you’ve got to look at the whole budget and say, is this overall good for the state, even if there are things that I would have changed if I could write it all myself? And the answer for me is, yeah, this is a good budget, we should pass this budget, I should sign this budget.
And then on the Republican side, they’ve often tried to pick one or two things to point out and say, well, that’s the reason I didn’t. But you know, I’ve had press conferences about investing in our youngest children, about investing in our universities. And guess what, Republicans show up at those press conferences, even though they may not have voted for the budget. I understand. They’re in favor of that funding, but eventually, you’ve got to vote for the funding in order for us to continue to provide funding. So I was disappointed.
But I’ll continue to continue to work have a good relationship with the Republican leaders, even when we sometimes disagree on things and so we’ll continue to try to get bipartisanship wherever we can.
The corporate franchise tax was supposed to be completely phased out by next year, per a 2019 agreement. But that phase-out agreement with Republicans was tossed out after the governor’s graduated income tax was defeated by business interests and the pandemic created fiscal uncertainty.
Also, in 2020, the franchise tax brought in $165.3 million. A $50 million cut is significant, but, remember, it was suppose to be gone by next year.
* The franchise tax is both onerous and unusual. From the Taxpayers Federation…
There are only six states, then, that impose a tax roughly equivalent to Illinois’ franchise tax. Those remaining six (Louisiana, Massachusetts, North Carolina, South Carolina Tennessee, and Wyoming) base their taxes on a more traditional base—total assets or net worth as reported on an entity’s books and records or on its federal income tax return—rather than Illinois’ paid-in capital base. Illinois truly is an outlier. […]
A tax on net worth or capital stock results in pyramiding—a single investment may be taxed multiple times. It is not unusual for businesses to operate using multiple legal entities under a parent corporation. This can be for any number of reasons—regulatory requirements, accommodating new investors, or simply a legacy of business expansion. This very common structure frequently leads to a disproportionate tax liability. For example, assume two investors form Company A with $10,000. After a few years Company A expands into a slightly different business, so it forms a new subsidiary, Company B, investing $10,000. A few years later, Company B purchases 90% of the stock of a new venture in the same line of business—Company C—for $10,000. Each year thereafter, that original $10,000 investment is taxed under Illinois’ annual franchise tax 3 times because it is part of the paid-in capital of Companies A, B, and C.
A “good” tax is one that does not pick winners and losers based on artificial differences. The pyramiding problem described above is one way the franchise tax fails this test. Another occurs when debt is used, rather than equity. A corporation financed with debt, instead of owners’ investments, has lower paid in capital and thus lower franchise tax liability, resulting in two otherwise identical businesses paying very different amounts of tax. For example, if the owners of Corporation X take out $1,000,000 in personal loans and then invest the funds in the Corporation, its paid-in capital will be $1,000,000. Conversely, if the owners of Corporation Y invest $10 in the Corporation, but it borrows $1,000,000 (guaranteed by the owners), it will have the same $1,000,000 to operate its business as Corporation X, but face a much smaller franchise tax liability.
Anyway, your thoughts?
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* Press release…
Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias and other state regulators have taken legal action against crypto exchange platform Coinbase Global, Inc. and Coinbase, Inc. for violations of securities laws.
“This action will protect consumers and investors to ensure they can make informed and safe decisions in Illinois and across the nation,” Giannoulias said. “Illinoisans who invest their money in Coinbase or any other digital asset trading business deserve both security and transparency and my office intends to hold crypto companies to the highest standards.”
The Illinois Secretary of State’s Securities Department is a member of a task force alongside nine other state securities regulators charging Coinbase for its violation of securities laws in connection with the company’s staking offerings.
Staking is the process of holding a certain number of digital assets on a blockchain to facilitate processing transactions and to earn a return on the investment. Coinbase operated staking offerings where small to mid-sized investors could turn over their assets to Coinbase, which in turn would manage the process of staking and then takes a cut of the profits before sharing them with investors.
This action alleges Coinbase failed to register its staking offerings with the Securities Department. Registration would have given Illinoisans considering investing their money with Coinbase the opportunity to evaluate the risks involved and compare Coinbase’s staking offerings with other investments. Registering an offer or sale of securities ensures investors receive all material information needed to evaluate the risks of participating in an investment, including in staking offerings.
The Secretary of State Securities Department determined Coinbase offered its staking offerings to Illinois residents without registering those securities. Of Coinbase’s nearly 3.5 million accounts holding staking offerings, over 140,000 were issued to Illinois investors. Additionally, Coinbase is not a member of the FDIC or SIPC, which means investors are not protected from Coinbase’s losses.
A copy of the Illinois Secretary of State Securities Department’s Notice of Hearing can be reviewed here.
Other states on this task force include California, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, Alabama, South Carolina, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Investors of Coinbase with complaints about their staking offerings may file a complaint with the Securities Department here. Investors should also reach out to the Securities Department at 1-800-628-7937 to check the registration status of a firm before investing their money in staking offerings.
The Securities Department licenses and regulates financial services, including investment advisers, loan brokers, and business brokers. For more information about the Securities Department, visit its website here.
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Question of the day
Tuesday, Jun 6, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Rep. Buckner…
The Question: Should IDOT move its District 1 HQ to Chicago? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
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* I posted an excerpt of this press release on the blog yesterday…
Today job seekers from across northern Illinois will participate in the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services’ (DCFS) inaugural “On-the-Spot Hiring” event, which connects service-driven professionals with employment opportunities in essential areas of the state’s child welfare system.
Thanks to a collaborative effort between Governor JB Pritzker, DCFS and the Illinois Department of Central Management Services (CMS), attendees interested in pursuing careers as child welfare specialists, child protection specialists, child welfare trainees and child protection trainees will be able to meet one-on-one with DCFS recruiters to learn more about the agency and the critical roles it is seeking to fill. Qualified candidates who have bachelor’s or master’s degrees in related human service, education, criminal justice, criminal justice administration or law enforcement may leave the recruiting event with conditional offers of employment. The expedited hiring process used at today’s event is a milestone for DCFS, reducing the turnaround time traditionally needed to make an employment offer by 80 percent helping the agency to fill vital public service roles without undue delay.
“Many states across the country are experiencing staffing shortages in critical service areas, including the field of social work. Here at Illinois DCFS, we are celebrating record numbers of social workers who are joining our team,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “ During the first quarter of 2023, 77 new investigators joined DCFS, bringing the number of employees who have made it their mission to ensure the safety of our state’s most vulnerable children to 3,107 – the highest number of staff the department has seen in 15 years.”
“Thanks to the support of Governor Pritzker and the General Assembly, DCFS continues to be innovative and find new ways to solve problems while serving our children and families,” said DCFS Director Marc D. Smith, one of the agency’s longest serving chief executives in institutional history. “This hiring event is an example of how we are trying to think outside the box. Coupled with our commitment to serving children and families and our workplace culture, people want to work at DCFS, and a large percentage of our staff has been here for decades.”
DCFS representatives from the Office of Employment Services will speak with each of the more than 200 applicants in Rockford who have already registered for the event about the specific employment related duties, qualifications and training opportunities associated with open positions before shepherding them through the expedited hiring process. Qualified applicants will receive conditional offers of employment and are expected to receive final offers within four to six weeks, following complete background checks and other pre-employment requirements.
A second on-the-spot hiring event is scheduled for June 12 in Bloomington-Normal, with other opportunities expected to be announced later this year. Bilingual Spanish-speaking child protection specialists and child welfare specialists remain in high demand.
With renewed support from the governor and increased funding in the FY24 budget that begins on July 1, DCFS plans to increase headcount by 192 employees across the state in a number of positions including legal, human resources and clerical positions. A full list of openings is available online at dcfsjobs.illinois.gov.
DCFS employment provides recession-proof opportunities to join a workplace that celebrates service. State employees receive competitive compensation and generous employee benefits, including medical coverage and defined-benefit retirement plans, as well as access to paid holidays, vacation and sick time, bereavement and family medical leave. [Emphasis added.]
* DCFS also had a big news media turnout in Rockford…
Jassen Strokosch the Chief of Staff at DCFS states that there are over 150 jobs in and around the Rockford area, many of these positions are open due to the pandemic.
“We lost a lot of folks during the pandemic and this is an opportunity to fill those positions back up here in Rockford and the surrounding areas.” Strokosh said.
Qualified candidates who have bachelor’s or master’s degrees could walk in with paperwork already filled out or start the process at the door. From there candidates talked to recruiters one on one about their background, interests and qualifications.
Once that is complete candidates were asked which site they are closest to and whether or not there were positions open at that location. Finally qualified candidates received a conditional offer of employment and are expected to receive final offers within four to six weeks, following complete background checks and other pre-employment requirements. […]
DCFS representatives were expecting about 200 people for todays event however within the first hour they saw just around 400 people from across Northern Illinois.
* More…
An organizer said there were a couple of reasons that they held the hiring event.
“We talked to folks about applying for a job at the state and with DCFS, and there were two things we really heard back from them,” said Jassen Strokosch, chief of staff for DCFS. “One, they wanted to find a way to do it more quickly and all in one place so they could get it all over with, and the other thing was they had a lot of questions of the job and they wanted to talk face to face with people who have done the job before and had experience and could learn more about it. It’s a very unique job working for DCFS.”
DCFS currently employs just over 3,100 people, the highest number of staff the department has seen in 15 years.
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Open thread
Tuesday, Jun 6, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* What’s going on in your part of Illinois?…
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Tuesday, Jun 6, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Here you go…
* Capitol News Illinois | 500+ bills await Pritzker decision in next 3 months: That sets the table for an approximate three-month bill-signing season for Gov. J.B. Pritzker. That’s because the state’s Constitution gives legislative leaders 30 days from a bill’s passage to send it to the governor, who then has 60 days to sign or veto it. If the governor takes no action in that time frame, the bill would become law automatically. Historically, the legislature has sent bills to the governor in batches, allowing his staff ample time to review the proposals.
* Charles Selle | Don’t expect state lawmakers to crow about new pay hikes: Who knows what else is in that thick document. It reminds one of the classic quote from a New York State jurist in 1866: “No man’s life, liberty, or property are safe while the Legislature is in session.” Or taxpayers’ pocketbooks, it seems. The legislative raises coming out of the recently concluded Springfield session boost Illinois lawmakers’ pay to $89,675 as a base salary. That’s for what is supposed to be a part-time job.
* Daily Herald | No more red-light cameras on Route 83 in Oakbrook Terrace, judge rules: “Our communities’ safety at home, at work, or at play and while traveling throughout our region is our top priority. We are deeply disappointed in the ruling, which will endanger our community and those that visit the region,” Oakbrook Terrace Mayor Paul Esposito said Monday in a written statement. “Without red-light cameras, we will have to resort to other tools in combating the over 230,000 drivers who fail to stop at that intersection.”
* Jim Dey | Illinois gets some good news on revenue front: Budget mavens were concerned that April’s stunning decline in revenue, as compared with the same month last year, from a variety of sources might set the tone for the final two months of the 2022-23 fiscal year and the impending 2023-24 year. But it was not to be — at least for now.
* Sun-Times | Cannabis farm among recipients of $12.6 million in Illinois grants for EV chargers: The Illinois EPA expects to build nearly 350 new direct-current fast-charger ports through this program, funded with proceeds from a 2016 Volkswagen settlement.
* Crain’s | Bears’ Naperville talks open the door to a fresh offer from Chicago: In a phone interview, state Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, said he believes a path to get Chicago back in the game may have opened in the wake of the team’s announcement that it no longer is focusing strictly on Arlington Heights and has talked to Naperville about building a new stadium complex there.
* WTTW | Talks Between Chicago Officials and the Bears Could Soon Resume as Team Plots New Stadium Options: Warren apparently accepted an invitation from Naperville’s new Mayor Scott Wehrli, who enticed the team with a letter saying that he’s a lifelong fan representing a community with a lot to offer. “Naperville is accessible via our region’s major interstates and Metra. We have several available or to-be-available sites that may fit the characteristics you are looking for in your future home,” the letter reads.
* Fox 32 | Good news for Illinois drivers: Gas prices have declined since Memorial Day weekend: In the past week alone, gas prices have dropped by seven cents, resulting in an average price per gallon of $3.88. This marks a significant difference from a year ago when the state average was as high as $5.39 per gallon.
* Sun-Times | James Beard Awards: Chefs from Chicago’s Kasama and Virtue restaurants take home wins in gala ceremony: Chicago chefs/owners Tim Flores and Genie Kwon of the Michelin-starred, modern Filipino powerhouse Kasama in east Ukrainian Village, took home the award for best chef Great Lakes Region, presented by Williams. The duo bested fellow Chicagoan, chef Diana Dávila of Mi Tocaya Antojería, who was also nominated in the category.
* Tribune | From Syrian refugee to DePaul Law graduate: How he survived torture during revolution before fleeing to Chicago: Mahou and his father were part of the rebellion during the Syrian revolution, which started roughly in February 2011 with the early stages of protests against Syria’s government, which was led by President Bashar Assad. The rebels, as they called themselves, were taking to the streets to object to the authoritarian tactics of Assad’s regime, which was known for its pervasive censorship, surveillance and brutal violence against those who disagreed.
* Sun-Times | J.J. Bittenbinder, colorful ex-Chicago police detective and crime-prevention guru, dead at 80: He taught people how to avoid being crime victims on TV’s ‘Tough Target’ and ‘Street Smarts’ and in a popular book. He also gave safety presentations at schools.
* WSPY | Newark state representative to make series of videos about Springfield: Newark Republican State Rep. Jed Davis says he plans to create series of videos about how things work in Springfield. Davis says the short videos will focus how laws are made and the process of moving a bill through the General Assembly.
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Live coverage
Tuesday, Jun 6, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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Afternoon roundup
Monday, Jun 5, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Some folks went a bit kooky after the April COGFA report. May’s report has better news…
General Funds revenues bounced back nicely from April’s $1.8 billion decline with growth of $677 million in May, as compared to the same month the year prior. The May increases were experienced across the board, with the most significant growth coming from the Personal Income Tax and Federal Sources. Part of the reason for last month’s extensive declines was due to April having one less receipting day in FY 2023. This “lost” day was effectively made up in May, as the extra receipting day helped bolster this month’s revenue totals.
Personal Income Tax revenues recouped a segment of its significant April losses (associated with comparatively weaker final tax payments) with growth of $367 million in May. When removing the non-general fund distributions to the Refund Fund and the Local Government Distributive Fund, the net increase was $311 million. In addition, revenue from Federal Sources, which have trailed last year’s pace throughout much of the year, rose $252 million in May helping to alleviate some of the sting from last month’s declines. […]
Year to Date
When incorporating May’s revenue gains into the FY 2023 accrued total, General Funds base revenues are now ahead of last year’s pace by $484 million with one month remaining in the fiscal year. When including the revenue gains from ARPA reimbursement funds, the overall growth for the fiscal year improves to $809 million. While this year-to-date growth figure is well below the $2.5 billion high-water mark at the end of February, it is a noticeable improvement over the meager $132 million in growth that resulted after March and April’s sizeable declines
* Gov. Pritzker spoke today about the state’s MAP grant spending…
When I came in, we had about $400 million dedicated to college scholarships, MAP grants. Today it’s $750 million.
* Press release…
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined hospital leaders and the Illinois Health and Hospital Association (IHA) to unveil the four-year reportof the Chicago HEAL Initiative. Launched in 2018 by Senator Durbin and 10 of the largest hospitals serving Chicago, the HEAL Initiative is a collaboration to address the root causes of gun violence through economic, health, and community projects in 18 of Chicago’s neighborhoods with the highest rates of violence, poverty, and health disparities. Today’s report highlights significant progress made by the hospitals in local hiring, job training and mentorship, and trauma-informed care and youth mental health activities. As part of today’s report, Durbin also announced $6.25 million in new federal funding to support these hospital-led efforts to break the cycle of violence through community programs. […]
Among other highlights, last year the ten hospitals:
• Hired 5,390 new employees from the 18 focus neighborhoods.
• Provided 3,639 students with summer job, pipeline, or apprenticeship programs.
• Operated 24 school-based health clinics and mobile health units that served 11,277 students.
• Served 17,623 individuals with violence recovery programs, including 3,028 victims with ongoing trauma-informed case management services.
* Tribune…
Across the country, marshes, swamps and bogs quietly soak up flood water and filter pollutants. Ecologists agree they are one of the best natural defenses against climate change.
But after a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, more than half of the country’s 118 million acres of wetlands, according to estimates from the environmental firm Earthjustice, will effectively no longer have federal protection from developers and polluters.
Illinois, which has lost 90% of its wetlands since 1818, is among the more vulnerable states with no state-level protections for wetlands on private property. Those on public land are still protected.
In a startling precedent for environmental law, experts say, the decision in Sackett v. EPA upends more than 50 years of legal protections by limiting the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act to wetlands visibly connected to major waterways. […]
The Illinois Environmental Council is calling on Gov. J.B. Pritzker to issue an executive order protecting as many wetlands as possible until the General Assembly can consider new legislation when it reconvenes in January.
Developers and farmers have applauded the decision. But there is now a push on to provide some state protections and Gov. Pritzker was asked today about taking some sort of executive action…
There’s nothing currently on the table to do that. But understand what the issue is. It’s something that a lot of communities, a lot of, particularly rural communities are very concerned about. So, you know, we’ll continue to look at it and our EPA is looking at it.
Not sure what sort of executive order he could even issue.
* The Sun-Times has an explainer on those sweepstakes machines which are at the heart of the Jimmy Weiss trial. Excerpt…
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s campaign staff made supportive comments about video gambling before his election this year, calling it “an important revenue source for critical investments in public safety, transportation, housing and other public accommodations.”
So [Rep. Daniel Didech, D-Buffalo Grove] said he’d prefer sweepstakes machines become part of a “larger conversation about whether Chicago is going to opt in to our video gaming regime.”
Meanwhile, Fernandez told the Sun-Times that traditional video gaming devices are “much more attractive” than sweepstakes machines. The technology, he said, rivals that found in a traditional casino.
And, he said, “if there were a market where video gaming were allowed, [sweepstakes] would not survive.”
The city has left countless millions on the table while allowing an untaxed gray market to flourish. Ridic.
* Speaking of video gaming, a Cook County judge granted a rare temporary restraining order against the Illinois Gaming Board because the board can’t seem to do its job in a timely manner...
Lucky Lincoln has been a licensed video gaming terminal operator under the Illinois Video Gaming Act since 2014. On December 14, 2017, the Board filed its first complaint for disciplinary action against Lucky Lincoln (DC-V-17-226). It filed a second complaint on December 17, 2019 (DC-V-19-094). A consolidated hearing on those complaints just began on May 22, 2023, nearly five years after the first complaint.
On May 12, 2023, the Board filed a third complaint for disciplinary action against Lucky Lincoln (DC-V-23-161). The complaint attaches a “Notice of Limited Summary Suspension” issued by the Administrator
* Press release…
Today job seekers from across northern Illinois will participate in the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services’ (DCFS) inaugural “On-the-Spot Hiring” event, which connects service-driven professionals with employment opportunities in essential areas of the state’s child welfare system.
Thanks to a collaborative effort between Governor JB Pritzker, DCFS and the Illinois Department of Central Management Services (CMS), attendees interested in pursuing careers as child welfare specialists, child protection specialists, child welfare trainees and child protection trainees will be able to meet one-on-one with DCFS recruiters to learn more about the agency and the critical roles it is seeking to fill. Qualified candidates who have bachelor’s or master’s degrees in related human service, education, criminal justice, criminal justice administration or law enforcement may leave the recruiting event with conditional offers of employment. The expedited hiring process used at today’s event is a milestone for DCFS, reducing the turnaround time traditionally needed to make an employment offer by 80 percent helping the agency to fill vital public service roles without undue delay.
* Dilla was in Springfield?…
* Isabel’s roundup…
* Sun-Times | What are sweepstakes machines? The gambling devices at the center of the latest public corruption trial: Businessman James T. Weiss is accused of paying $32,500 in bribes to then-state Rep. Luis Arroyo between November 2018 and October 2019 to promote and vote for legislation related to sweepstakes machines in the Illinois General Assembly. […] Federal prosecutors charged Arroyo with bribery in October 2019, and a grand jury indicted Arroyo and Weiss one year later, in October 2020. Arroyo pleaded guilty and is already serving a 57-month prison sentence. Weiss is set for trial Monday.
* Tribune | Second jobs for Chicago aldermen would be restricted or even banned under proposed ordinance: Talk of barring outside employment has been floated repeatedly but never gained traction. Members of council instead passed ordinances chipping away at potential conflicts or slightly tightening ethics restrictions. The most recent reforms, passed under ex-Mayor Lori Lightfoot in the wake of a federal corruption sweep, barred aldermen from working for a client if the representation “may result in an adverse effect on city revenue or finances, or affect the relative tax burden or health, safety, or welfare of any city residents.”
* Center Square | Illinois Supreme Court accepts challenge to downstate public safety pension consolidation: The law consolidating about 650 first responder pensions outside of Chicago was enacted in 2019 by Gov. J.B. Pritzker. All existing funds were pooled together into two separate funds, one for police and one for firefighters. Each local fund retained a separate account managing operation and the financial condition of each participating pension fund with the power to adjudicate and award retirement and other benefits from the funds.
* Crain’s | Illinois EPA awards $12.6M to build initial wave of EV chargers: Illinois currently has 1,156 public EV-charging stations with 2,896 charging ports, according to federal data. That’s up from 900 charging stations about 18 months ago but nowhere near the 40,000 ports that experts estimate will be needed to support the 1 million EVs that Gov. J.B. Pritzker envisions on the state’s roads by the end of the decade.
* Patch | Those Long Skirts In Hinsdale? Now You Know Why: The series, “Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets,” revealed allegations of inappropriate activity at the headquarters of the Institute in Basic Life Principles. It was at Ogden Avenue and Adams Street in Hinsdale for decades. The documentary was released Friday on Amazon Prime.
* Sun-Times | Johnson to Chicago police graduates: ‘I will have your back’: “Know as your mayor, as your brother, I’m here to build the type of coalition that generations to come will marvel because this will be the generation that stared into the eyes of the divisive nature that’s been created by political forces that do not want the city of Chicago to succeed. But this is the freakin’ city of Chicago. The best city in the world and no one — no one — will come before us,” Johnson told the graduates in the grand ballroom at Navy Pier.
* WGLT | Sen. Bennett liked some things in the new state budget, but said it was not transparent: Bennett said the 3,000-page budget was rushed through before lawmakers could see everything that was in it. “We’re still trying to work through what’s all in there,” Bennett said. “That whole lack of transparency, I would think, would really concern every person in the state of Illinois.”
* Sun-Times | Vendors forced out of Little Village Discount Mall have mixed success beyond it: She hopes she’ll be able to return to the open half of the mall, but many vendors have moved on and opened conventional storefronts or turned to other malls. Others hope that those locations are just temporary stops along the way to the group opening up a new mall of their own on the Southwest Side. The space those vendors have in mind is a former Kmart at 51st Street and Kedzie Avenue in Gage Park. The owner, they say, is fixing up the space. In April, Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th), who has supported the vendors throughout their exodus, announced the city had verbally agreed to help by covering the initial cost of rent.
* Center Square | Illinois Bacon Day will be celebrated every May 3: The idea came from state Sen. Tom Bennett, R-Gibson City, who wants to highlight the contribution that Illinois pork producers make to the state’s economy. Illinois pork farmers provide over 6 billion slices of Illinois-raised bacon every year, Bennett said in a statement.
* Crain’s | The maker of Nutella leans on its presence here to grow Kinder Chocolate in the U.S.: Ferrero is already selling its Kinder Joy, Kinder Bueno and Kinder Seasonal lines in the US, and it plans to release Kinder Chocolate in August, according to Bertrac. That will help boost a brand that already racks up $7 billion in sales around the world every year. To support the company’s US growth, Ferrero is expanding its manufacturing facility in Bloomington and it’s also opening a new innovation center in the Loop.
* NPR | An Anti-Vaccine Film Targeted To Black Americans Spreads False Information: When a filmmaker asked medical historian Naomi Rogers to appear in a new documentary, the Yale professor didn’t blink. She had done these “talking head” interviews many times before. […] “I was naive, certainly, in assuming that this was actually a documentary, which I would say it is not. I think that it is an advocacy piece for anti-vaxxers,” Rogers says. “I’m still very angry. I feel that I was used.”
* Tribune | Google users to get about $95 each in Illinois biometric privacy settlement: The Google settlement is one of a number of high-profile settlements in recent years over alleged violations of Illinois’ strict biometric privacy law; other companies that have been caught in the law’s crosshairs include Facebook and Snapchat parent Snap Inc. The law prohibits companies from collecting or saving biometric information without prior consent.
* Sun-Times | Haters can keep hating. Chicago tourists are back: Chicagoans will concede there are much more serious threats to our safety. Yet, in spite of its very real flaws — dog-whistling politicians aside, the rampant gun violence is undeniable — and the babbling naysayers, there’s no denying it. People love the Windy City.
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[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Since 2018, Uber and Arizona State University have provided 5000 qualified drivers and their families with 100% tuition coverage.
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* The Triibe…
A Marshall Project analysis found that from 2010 to 2022, the police made more than 38,000 arrests for illegal gun possession. These arrests — almost always a felony — doubled during this timeframe. While illegal possession is the most serious offense in most of the cases we analyzed, the charges often bear misleading names that imply violence, like “aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.”
Recent research shows that most people convicted in Illinois for felony gun possession don’t go on to commit a violent crime, and the majority of those sentenced to prison for gun possession don’t have past convictions for violence. Instead, people who already committed violent crimes are more likely to do so again.The racial disparities in this enforcement are glaring. Although Black people comprise less than a third of the city’s population, they were more than 8 in 10 of those arrested for unlawful possession in the timeframe we reviewed. The number of Black people arrested could fill every seat at a Chicago Bulls game and then some; the majority are men in their 20s and 30s.
The consequences of these arrests are long-lasting. If convicted, people face a year or more in prison, depending on the charges. Even without time behind bars, those we interviewed faced damning criminal records, time on probation, job loss, legal fees and car impoundments.
Officials justify the focus on confiscating guns — even if they are not being fired at anybody — as a way of curtailing violence. But these tactics have not substantially reduced shootings in Chicago. In fact, as possession arrests skyrocketed, shootings increased, but the percentage of shooting victims where someone was arrested in their case declined.
The research report is here. It found that 72 percent of firearm convictions were for possession offenses. And just 7 percent of defendants were arrested for a violent crime involving a firearm after release from prison for firearm possession.
* Tribune…
With some Republican support, Illinois lawmakers approved a measure to expand and indefinitely extend a probation program for first-time offenders charged with illegally possessing a gun.
A pilot program the Democratic-controlled General Assembly passed six years ago was limited to defendants under 21 with no prior convictions for violent crimes and was set to end in January. Under the new legislation, the age limit would be dropped, the probationary period would be shortened and the program would continue indefinitely.
“It’s one thing to have someone who’s 18 years old being caught with a firearm versus somebody who’s 55 or 60 years old, and so it just gives the judge and the prosecutor that discretion to figure out what program works best for them,” freshman Democratic state Rep. Kevin Olickal of Skokie, the main House sponsor of the legislation, said in an interview.
While the legislation is the latest example of the Democratic supermajority’s progressive stance on criminal justice, it attracted Republican support in part because of fears that the state’s strict gun laws, including a ban on many high-powered weapons, which is now tied up in court, could ensnare otherwise law-abiding citizens. […]
“This bill provides our state’s attorneys the opportunity to demonstrate leniency when the situation calls for it,” [Sen. Seth Lewis, R-Bartlett] said. […]
During the Senate floor debate, state Sen. Ram Villivalam, the bill’s main sponsor in the chamber, cited support from the Illinois State Rifle Association and the Illinois State’s Attorneys Association.
The bill passed the House 98-6 and cleared the Senate 37-16. Witness slips are here.
* Related…
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It’s almost a law
Monday, Jun 5, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Chicago Tribune…
With some Republican support, Illinois lawmakers approved a measure to expand and indefinitely extend a probation program for first-time offenders charged with illegally possessing a gun.
A pilot program the Democratic-controlled General Assembly passed six years ago was limited to defendants under 21 with no prior convictions for violent crimes and was set to end in January. Under the new legislation, the age limit would be dropped, the probationary period would be shortened and the program would continue indefinitely. […]
While the legislation is the latest example of the Democratic supermajority’s progressive stance on criminal justice, it attracted Republican support in part because of fears that the state’s strict gun laws, including a ban on many high-powered weapons, which is now tied up in court, could ensnare otherwise law-abiding citizens.
There was no debate over the bill on the House floor when it was called during the early morning hours of May 27, moments after lawmakers voted to pass a $50.6 billion budget. The bill breezed through the House 98-6, with a number of Republicans voting yes. It was a tougher sell in the Senate two days earlier, passing 37-16 with just three Republicans siding with Democrats. […]
Under the legislation, which has to be signed by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker before taking effect, the probationary program would last anywhere from six months to two years, instead of the current 18 months to two years.
* Crain’s Katherine Davis talks about new regulations put in place around the health insurance industry…
* WTVO…
With a rash of carjackings plaguing the state, the Illinois General Assembly has passed a bill requiring car manufacturers to establish a 24-hour hotline to allow police to track stolen cars.
House Bill 2245 was created in conjunction with Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart. […]
With certain Kia and Hyundai models the most at risk, Illinois has seen a 767% increase in vehicle thefts over the last year.
“Virtually every car from 2015 on has tracking capacity,” Dart said. The hotline would give deputies the ability to get tracking data on stolen cars in real-time, enabling officers to find a stolen car within 15 minutes.
* Daily Herald…
In the waning days of the legislative session, state lawmakers approved a resolution that lets the Illinois Department of Transportation pursue a public-private partnership to create express toll lanes from I-355 near Bolingbrook to the Dan Ryan Expressway.
It originates from an IDOT study during Gov. Bruce Rauner’s tenure that concluded toll lanes with dynamic pricing were the best alternative to fix traffic jams on the corridor. […]
Community and environmental activists warn it would drastically increase emissions from vehicles in neighborhoods near I-55, such as Little Village, which already has high air pollution and asthma levels. […]
The ultimate decision, however, is up to IDOT and Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Neither gave a definitive thumbs-up.
“The governor looks forward to reviewing the proposal,” Pritzker spokesman Alex Gough said.
IDOT “is not pursuing these plans at this time and will be reviewing and evaluating next steps,” spokeswoman Maria Castaneda noted.
* Sun-Times…
Cook County’s property tax system is confusing enough when people pay on time, but when they don’t, there’s a whole new level of bewilderment.
Properties with back taxes go into a knot of tax sales in which investors pay what’s due and then try — or maybe not — to collect the back taxes with interest from the owner. It’s a system for collecting tax revenue owed to local governments, but research has shown it doesn’t do a good job. Nor does it help with what should be a secondary goal of getting problem homes into responsible hands so they are no longer a blight. […]
A bill passed by the Illinois General Assembly in May would help community renewal by allowing local governments and agencies they work with, such as the land bank, to file tax liens earlier in the redemption process, Robinson said.
The measure, headed to the governor for final action, would allow counties to act on abandoned or vacant properties after just one failed tax sale. Currently, the land bank has to wait until properties have years’ worth of back taxes and wind up in what’s called the scavenger sale, held every two years.
Cook County Commissioner Bridget Gainer, who chairs the land bank, said homes typically sit vacant for seven to 10 years before her agency can get control. She hopes the legislation, if it becomes law, can cut that time in half.
* WTVO…
A bill on Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s desk seeks to stop price gouging on generic drugs.
It would allow the attorney general’s office to take legal action if a manufacturer bumps prices by more than 30% in a year. The same goes for 50% spikes over a three-year period and 75% increases over five years.
It would take effect January 1 if signed. The measure does exempt companies if production costs force price increases. […]
“We’re still not completely addressing one of the biggest aspects of the influence of the increase of drug prices, and that’s the claims and pricing setting that pharmacy benefit managers have in this space,” said Garth Reynolds of the Illinois Pharmacists Association.
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Question of the day
Monday, Jun 5, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Background is here if you need it. The Daily Herald’s Jim O’Donnell…
When Bears President Kevin Warren met Naperville Mayor Scott Wehrli to discuss the possibility of a new Bears stadium in the giant west suburb, the password was “leverage.”
That’s a commodity the McMunchkins don’t have as they step up their campaign to strong-arm northwest suburban governmental entities impacted by any new development at Arlington Park.
The Bears want an array of “tax certainties” and other gift-wrapped concessions before ownership commits to building on approximately one-third of the 326 acres that housed Arlington Park.
From the side of a $5 billion sports entertainment company in which annual franchise profits are goof-proof, that’s a marvelous “ask.”
From the side of direct-hit communities including Arlington Heights, Palatine and Rolling Meadows, that “ask” has steadily edged toward dismissibly imperious nonsense.
A “nonstarter,” as Warren might say.
* Greg Hinz at Crain’s…
Initial reaction to Friday’s news generally was along the lines that the Bears are bluffing, using Naperville to pull a better property tax deal out of officials in Arlington Heights.
That indeed may be the case. But one key figure in this drama says he’s convinced the team’s threat is real.
“This is no bluff. They’re serious,” says state Rep. Marty Moylan, D-Chicago, who is the chief sponsor of a pending bill in Springfield to slash the Bears’ property tax on the Arlington track land. The bill would also provide some cash to neighboring towns and to the Chicago Park District to pay part of the debt on the team’s current home, Soldier Field.
“The team has a product and they’re just trying to get the best deal possible,” said Moylan. “But some people have delusions of grandeur,” he added, making it clear that “some people” doesn’t refer to the team but, rather, local school officials pushing to have the team pay more taxes than it prefers.
* The Question: Bluff or no bluff and does it really matter either way? Explain.
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* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
An often bitter, loud and racially divisive debate played out before, during and after last week’s Chicago City Council meeting where members voted to pass a temporary funding package to shelter asylum-seekers.
The debate pitted mostly older Black alderpersons and moderate-to-conservative whites against Latinos and progressives of all stripes. Much of the division also fell along many of the same council battle lines drawn during the recent campaign between Mayor Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas.
I asked Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch how his own Democratic members avoided being dragged into the same sort of public dispute over how to deal with an even bigger issue: finding cost-saving solutions to the massive $1.1 billion projected cost growth for undocumented immigrant health care services.
Welch explained his members were able to work things out behind closed doors during private caucus meetings.
“I think caucuses are very helpful,” Welch said. “We caucus a lot.”
He added that caucus meetings “give people a safe space to have conversations.”
And while members probably wished the internal debate on the health care issue had happened sooner, Welch said, “I did think it was important that we had that conversation as a caucus, before you take it to the floor. If you had that conversation on the floor first, it can become kind of chaotic and out of control.
“You have to give people spaces to share their voice. And that’s one of the things that I pride myself on, and I think we’ve had difficult conversations this session. We’re going to continue to have difficult conversations.
“When you’re dealing with a diverse group of people, you’re going to have a diverse group of thought. You’ve got to do that in a civil and respectful way. Many times I will stand up in caucus and tell them we’re gonna have a pretty serious discussion today, and I just ask that we do it in a civil and respectful way, and the caucus abides by that. And that’s all I ask.
“And so you can’t duck and dodge issues. You have to hit them head on. And I think we did that several times this session.”
Members of the legislature can hammer things out behind closed doors ahead of public debates because the General Assembly has long exempted itself from the Illinois Open Meetings Act. So, even if large factions of City Council members wanted to caucus together ahead of meetings, they can’t by law.
State law states no meeting can be held if it’s attended by “a majority of a quorum of the members of a public body.” The City Council’s quorum is 26 of its 50 members. Therefore, only groups of 13 or fewer can meet together in private.
The Illinois House Democrats have 78 of 118 members, but they’re exempt, so they’re all allowed to meet. I’ll leave the judgment of whether that’s good or bad to others, but it was clearly an advantage for Welch’s caucus on the health care issue.
Also, Johnson had broad support among Welch’s membership during the recent campaign while Vallas’ backing was in noticeably short supply. So there wasn’t as much of a built-in conflict going into the House debate as there was on the City Council.
And partisanship can often bind legislators together in times of strife (as it clearly did here), which can’t happen as easily on the officially non-partisan City Council.
Speaking of caucus meetings, I asked Welch if his meetings had improved since state Rep. Mary Flowers, D-Chicago, was banned from attending them. Members had complained she disrupted debates, spoke at length on topics to the point where the caucus meetings endlessly dragged on, and personally insulted members and staff.
“Every single caucus meeting after I made the decision, and I stand by that decision, I think those caucuses were full of healthy discussion,” Welch said. “People were open and honest about their opinions on various topics. And I was proud of our caucus and how we carried ourselves this session. I thought those caucus meetings became a lot more productive after I made the decision, and I’m looking forward to seeing that continue to get better.”
Asked if he’d received much internal blowback for his decision, Welch said, “I haven’t seen any blowback.” Welch replaced Flowers on his leadership team late last week with state Rep. Natalie Manley, D-Joliet.
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* This is a long post, but it’s important, so stay with me. From WBEZ in 2021…
The Chicago Park District is conducting a “broad investigation” into complaints that dozens of workers at the city’s pools and beaches regularly committed “sexual assault, sexual abuse, sexual harassment, workplace violence, and other criminal acts” – sometimes against minors.
Confidential reports obtained recently by WBEZ show investigators with the park district inspector general’s office have already gathered evidence corroborating accusations against at least three male lifeguards for sexual assault, harassment or retaliatory threats against their subordinates – including one incident involving the sexual assault and attempted rape of a 16-year-old girl. The park district’s watchdog says its investigation is “wide-ranging, comprehensive and robust,” with more reports to come.
The probe began in March 2020, after the park district’s top official and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office received separate complaints from two former female lifeguards. Each of them alleged serious misconduct by “dozens of Chicago Park District employees in the Aquatics Department,” the documents show.
One of the two whistleblowers – who told the mayor’s office she had been sexually assaulted by a “more senior” employee when she was 17 – alleged “a huge incidence of sexual violence within the Park District” and said she believed there was “little support” from parks officials for those who report problems.
Last month, investigators with the inspector general’s office reported to the park district’s board and two of its top officials that one veteran lifeguard likely “committed criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse” in 2018, when he forced the 16-year-old female lifeguard to perform a sex act on him, according to the documents obtained by WBEZ.
* Not long after that story appeared, a Park District official appeared before the Chicago city council…
* Sun-Times in 2022…
The Chicago Park District on Tuesday fired three top executives — and apologized to female lifeguards for dropping the ball on their complaints of sexual harassment and abuse — after a blistering report that exposed a frat-house culture tolerated for decades.
Fired were: Alonzo Williams, chief program officer; Adam Bueling, manager of beaches and pools; and Eric Fischer, assistant director of recreation. All join their former boss, ousted Supt. Mike Kelly, on the unemployment line. […]
The Sun-Times reported in August that, in February 2020, an Oak Street Beach lifeguard sent 11 pages of allegations to Kelly about lifeguards’ conduct during the summer of 2019.
She said she’d been pushed into a wall, called sexually degrading and profane names by fellow lifeguards and abandoned for hours at her post for refusing to take part in their drinking parties and on-the-job drug use. […]
It says the now-former superintendent first was notified of the woman’s allegation by her parents in an email sent to him on Aug. 30, 2019. Kelly forwarded the email to Williams and said, “Take a look and let’s discuss.”
The law firm of Arnold & Porter found no evidence either Williams or Kelly did anything to follow up on the parental complaint. Nor did they report the allegations to the inspector general or the Department of Human Resources, as park district rules require.
The young woman followed up on Feb. 7, 2020, sending to Kelly and separately to Fischer details of heartbreaking abuse she had suffered at work.
Still, Kelly did not report the allegations to the inspector general or to Human Resources, instead giving Williams and Fischer yet another crack at investigating the young woman’s complaints.
So, Alonzo Williams was allegedly given the opportunity to investigate a young woman’s horrific complaints and nothing was apparently done. The full investigative report is here…
We found sufficient evidence that Mr. Williams violated the CPD’s Policy on Sexual Harassment by not reporting Complainant One’s allegations to HR within five days of receiving them, and he violated CPD’s Violence in the Workplace Policy by not immediately reporting potentially dangerous situations.
Young women were forced to recite a “fight song” every morning or faced retaliation. I’m not gonna post the “lyrics,” but click here and go to page 13.
* Tribune today…
Four aldermen have paid more than $48,000 out of their taxpayer-funded expense accounts to a consulting firm run by a former top Chicago Park District official who was asked to resign for his involvement in the Park District’s sexual abuse lifeguard scandal and placed on a do-not-rehire list.
Payments to a firm owned and operated by Alonzo Williams, the Park District’s former chief programs officer, began less than five months after Williams’ resignation in late 2021 after he was repeatedly cited in an independent investigation as among several Park District executives who mishandled allegations of sexual harassment and abuse in the lifeguard program.
Williams was paid as an independent contractor for various consulting jobs by four City Council members: former Ald. Roderick Sawyer, 6th, and current Aldermen Michelle Harris, 8th, David Moore, 17th, and Jason Ervin, 28th. Three of the four defended paying Williams with city funds even though he was asked to resign and banned from working for the Park District again. […]
In Williams’ case, the independent report found he violated the Park District’s sexual harassment and workplace violence policies by failing to report to the district’s human resources department allegations made by a former Oak Street Beach female lifeguard and her family that she was subjected to sexual harassment, assault, hazing, bullying and retaliation.
The same day the report was released in November 2021, Williams resigned at the request of Park District CEO Rosa Escareño. But two months later, records show, Williams launched 8028 Consultants LLC, and just two months after that he received his first payment from Moore. Records show Williams was briefly employed in Moore’s ward office before he switched to being an independent contractor.
And then by two months later, Williams was being paid by Alds. Sawyer, Harris and Ervin. He also didn’t file financial interest statements as required by law, according to the Tribune.
* Yep…
Also, former Rep. Denyse Wang Stoneback.
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Open thread
Monday, Jun 5, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* I hope you all had a relaxing weekend. What’s going on?…
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Monday, Jun 5, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Here you go…
* USA Today | How one quiet Illinois college town became the symbol of abortion rights in America: Similar scenes play out each day five miles away, a short drive past the city’s Amtrak station, downtown shops and neon-lit 1950s-era Dairy Queen, on the other side of town. There, at an anodyne medical office where a vinyl sign stuck in the grass reads “Alamo Women’s Clinic,” the parking lot is often filled with out-of-state license plates – women who drive as long as 10 hours from the Deep South for an abortion.
* Crain’s | ComEd president credited with utility’s operational improvement is leaving: ComEd disclosed the news in a terse Securities & Exchange Commission filing late today. It said the company “announced” the news May 31, although there was no release on that day. A spokeswoman said that’s when the news was shared internally, leaving public disclosure for the late Friday time frame companies traditionally choose to disclose bad news.
* Sen. Jil Tracy | Todd Maisch: A man proud of where he lived: A fixture in the Statehouse during his tenure at the Chamber, Todd was well-known for helping find common ground on contentious issues. The Illinois Chamber’s Champion of Free Enterprise Award, given biennially to Senators and Representatives who demonstrated their commitment to the entrepreneurial spirit, was much prized by lawmakers. […] My husband, Jim, served on the Chamber State Board with Todd for eight years. We are both grateful to have known Todd. He was a good friend to us and to all Illinoisans.
* Daily Herald | Jim O’Donnell: Have Kevin Warren and the Bears found their golden crowbar in Naperville?: From the side of a $5 billion sports entertainment company in which annual franchise profits are goof-proof, that’s a marvelous “ask.” From the side of direct-hit communities including Arlington Heights, Palatine and Rolling Meadows, that “ask” has steadily edged toward dismissibly imperious nonsense.
* Politico | Biden looking at big re-election fundraisers for the end of June: The president’s team is in talks with Gov. JB Pritzker (D-Ill.) about holding a fundraiser later this month, according to two people familiar with the event. A fundraiser by Pritzker, a billionaire who has promised to help pay for the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 2024 along with other stakeholders on the host committee and elsewhere, would be a major boost to Biden in the final days of the current campaign finance quarter. The details of the event have not been finalized and are subject to change. But one of the dates being considered is June 28.
* WCIA | Illinois may receive up to $76 million in federal grants to restore land affected by coal mines: As a part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Illinois is one of 22 states and tribes eligible for parts of $725 million this fiscal year to clean up polluted lands affected by coal mines. The federal government will offer $11.3 billion in funding over 15 years to clean up across the country.
* Sun-Times | Humboldt Park residents say they reported swastika, erratic behavior of man dead after police standoff, but ‘no one was listening’: The man, who apparently took his own life inside the building in the 4100 block of West Chicago Avenue, had been the subject of more than 40 calls for service since January 2022, a CPD source tells the Sun-Times.
* WCCU | Counties across Central Illinois are seeing homeless populations rise: Executive director of Heartland Housed, Josh Sabo, says Sangamon County saw a decrease in homelessness during the pandemic, but they are now back at pre-pandemic numbers. “But through some data analysis we do anticipate that there could be around 155 additional households who experience homelessness in Sangamon County above previous years,” explained Sabo.
* Patch | South Suburban Airport ‘Ties Everything Together’, Sen. Hastings Says: “I’ve served with three different governors, and they’re going to make their mind up whether they’re going to support it or they’re not going to support it,” Hastings told Patch on Friday. “ I just hope that Governor Pritzker supports it. The south suburbs, just in terms of density, is a big area and he knows it’s growing and everyone else knows it’s growing. I think this is a great opportunity for us.”
* AP | Churchill Downs moves meet to Ellis Park to examine protocols following 12 horse deaths: Racing will continue at Churchill Downs through Sunday before shifting to the CDI-owned racing and gaming facility in Henderson, Kentucky. Ellis Park’s meet was scheduled to start July 7, four days after the scheduled close at Churchill Downs, and run through Aug. 27 but will now expand with Friday’s announcement.
* Elgin Courier-News | South Elgin student deprived of wearing Hispanic honor sash at graduation wants to ensure it doesn’t happen again: “We were in line outside of the Now Arena where the graduation was being held. One of the deans came up to me and said, ‘Hey, I need to let you know you are now allowed to wear that. I’m sorry. The district has a strict policy.’” “I was kind of taken aback because a lot of people were wearing them. They never said there was an issue with it,” Pedroza said
* Tribune | Illinois environmentalists push for state action to protect wetlands after Supreme Court ruling rolls back federal rules: In a startling precedent for environmental law, experts say, the decision in Sackett v. EPA upends more than 50 years of legal protections by limiting the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act to wetlands visibly connected to major waterways. “(The court’s rationale) is almost science fiction,” said Richard Lazarus, a law professor at Harvard University who represented environmental groups before the court.
* Tribune | 44 tickets, one excuse: Chicago cop’s go-to alibi helps highlight troubles with police accountability: Most officers face only a handful of complaints over the course of their careers. But at least 92 misconduct complaints were filed against Kriv, according to city and police disciplinary records compiled and analyzed by the Tribune and ProPublica. Even more exceptional: About 28% of complaints against Kriv were found to have merit, compared with about 4% of complaints against all Chicago police officers going back decades.
* Tribune | Faith-based groups step up to help house migrants in Chicago: More than a dozen elected representatives and faith leaders gathered at a church Friday to ask for help from faith communities across the city to respond to the crisis, which deepened Friday when the Cook County medical examiner’s office confirmed a migrant died that morning at a shelter in Woodlawn. The migrant died at the former Wadsworth Elementary school building, where a temporary shelter was placed housing single individuals. Migrants told the Tribune recently they were crammed inside, sleeping close together and sharing few bathrooms.
* The Messenger | Migrants Flown into CA on Private Plane Were Carrying Florida Documents, Officials Say: After crossing the border, this group of migrants were approached by a private contractor who told them that they would be given jobs, support and help accessing a migrant center, according to Sacramento Area Congregations Together, a multi-faith social justice organization. The migrants were “dumped on the doorstep of a local church without any advance warning,” said Newsom.
* Daily Herald | Spongy moth menacing? It’s the caterpillar that ravages our trees’ leaves: What’s being done: With the ability to completely strip trees bare year after year, spongy moths have the potential to severely affect trees and forests. But since an Illinois county was quarantined first — Lake County in 2000 — two types of prevention treatments have proved successful at holding the line, or least slowing it down.
* Tribune | Advocates say Pride celebrations are even more important this year as attacks on the LGBTQ community intensify. ‘It’s terrifying.’: In contrast, Illinois is often considered an LGBTQ haven in the Midwest. While elected leaders in other parts of the country have worked to restrict LGBTQ freedoms, lawmakers recently passed several bills aimed at increasing gender inclusivity and protecting LGBTQ rights. But even here, some businesses have come under attack.
* People | Taylor Swift Kicks Off Pride Month with Speech at Chicago Concert: ‘This Is a Safe Space for You’: “There have been so many harmful pieces of legislation that have put people in the LGBTQ and queer community at risk. It’s painful for everyone, every ally, every loved one, every person in these communities, and that’s why I’m always posting, ‘This is when the midterms are, This is when these important key primaries are.’” she explained.
* Tribune | Soil salvaged during construction at Rockford’s Bell Bowl Prairie is once again sprouting rare flowers and grasses: “Already we’re seeing some very cool things,” said Forest Preserves of Winnebago County’s director of natural resources, Mike Brien, who spotted the violet wood sorrel growing in the Bell Bowl soil a few weeks ago. He said the plant hadn’t been present at the preserve before the soil transfer.
* CBS Chicago | Hadiya Pendleton’s family still pushing for end to gun violence 10 years later: This weekend there is a strong push to put an end to gun violence. That push includes a celebration for Hadiya Pendleton Saturday afternoon. Her murder rocked the nation and sparked a movement. But ten years have passed since she was caught in the crossfire crossfire of a gang shooting, and nothing has changed. People at the event pointed to the violence in Chicago one week ago during Memorial Day Weekend when 53 people were shot, but they say that won’t stop them from trying.
* Sun-Times | The Sun-Times introduces a ‘right to be forgotten’ policy: At the Sun-Times, we don’t think it’s fair for stories about arrests to follow people around forever if they were never convicted or if charges were dropped or expunged. In recognition of the unintended harm that some of our work has caused, we want to be intentional about reviewing these articles and considering whether they should remain part of the searchable internet record.
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Live coverage
Monday, Jun 5, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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