Afternoon roundup
Wednesday, Jun 21, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * NASCAR news from the CTA…
* WCIA TV…
* Coming late to this because I lost the link in an email I never sent and subsequently found this afternoon…
* Press release…
* Press release…
* IDOT…
* Interesting map…
* Isabel’s roundup… * SJ-R | $3 million grant for SPD has technology component, outreach programs: The grant has a technology component, like adding two square miles of ShotSpotter, said SPD Chief Ken Scarlette, but it also funds outreach programs officers themselves came up with. * Axios | Becerra to travel to Missouri-Illinois clinics to mark Dobbs anniversary: HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra will first visit the Planned Parenthood clinic in Fairview Heights, Illinois, where abortions are still legal. He will later travel 20 minutes away to a Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Louis, where abortion is now illegal. It is the same clinic where Becerra was giving remarks last year when the Dobbs decision dropped. * Block Club | As Need For Migrant Housing Intensifies, Volunteers Say Community-Run Shelters Are A Model City Should Copy: On a rainy afternoon, three young migrant children played inside the gym at St. Paul’s United Church in Lincoln Park. They tossed a ball with a parishioner while their mothers cooked lunch in a kitchen across the hall. The church’s banquet hall has been converted into four individual rooms to house four recently arrived migrant families, each outfitted with plenty of beds and a door that locks. It’s a stark contrast to the conditions these four families lived in just two weeks ago, when they were sleeping on cold, hard floors of police stations, relying on the kindness of strangers for an opportunity to shower and anxiously waiting for space to free up in a city-run shelter. * WCIA | $45 million from Illinois State Board of Education to help with teacher shortage: $45 million is in the newest state budget to address shortages. Jennifer Kirmes, the Executive Director of Teaching and Learning for ISBE, said that’s the biggest investment to date focusing on it. The money will go to 170 school districts with the highest count of unfilled teaching positions. 60% are in rural areas, 40% in urban. Once the districts have the money, Kirmes said it’s up to each district to decide how they’ll use it. * Crain’s | State regulators clamp down on Nicor Gas: State regulators have ruled Nicor Gas improperly charged customers for $31 million in infrastructure spending from 2019, triggering a process that will lead to a refund and rate adjustments. The Illinois Commerce Commission last week ordered the disallowance of about 7% of the $415 million Nicor spent updating its natural gas system in that year. * Tribune | ‘An opportunity to seize on fear’: Trial underway for Chicago pharmacist accused of selling COVID vaccine cards on eBay: Zhao, 36, is on trial on charges he sold nearly 700 authentic CDC-issued COVID-19 vaccination cards on eBay at the height of the pandemic crisis in 2021, cards that he’d pilfered from a patient immunization room at the South Side Walgreens where he worked. * Sun-Times | Effort revs up to phase out ‘sub-minimum wage’ for tipped workers: Four years ago, then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot threw a bone to progressives disappointed by her proposed 2020 budget by promising to raise Chicago’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2021 — four years faster than the state. But she maintained the “sub-minimum wage” for tipped workers, arguing that paying them the $15-an-hour would have a devastating impact on the restaurant industry — and that even some of the waiters and servers themselves didn’t want it. * Daily-Journal | County’s bond rating upgrades to prime in 2023: The “positive outlook” analysis documents the sustained financial improvement in Kankakee County government, reduction of debt, financial policy and execution and elimination of outside borrowing to support operations. Moody’s again increased the county’s rating, this time from Baa1 to A3, which is classified as prime-1, and puts the county in the A status. * Crain’s | Biden biodiesel quotas deal a blow to plant-based fuel makers like ADM: Under a regulation set to be finalized today, the Environmental Protection Agency in 2023 will require the use of 2.82 billion gallons of biomass-based diesel, generally made from soybean and canola oil — just a 2.2% increase over the 2.76 billion gallons mandated last year. For 2024 and 2025, the quotas are being set at 3.04 billion and 3.35 billion gallons, respectively. * Sun-Time | 19 City Council members push candidate for top cop; head of search calls it ‘completely inappropriate’: Nineteen City Council members have signed a letter expressing “disappointment and dismay” that a new independent commission charged with searching for Chicago’s next top cop hasn’t granted a follow-up interview to the city’s well-respected patrol chief who applied for the job. * Tribune | Prosecutors drop charges in Clifton Lewis cop-killing case plagued with allegations of police, prosecutorial misconduct: In a surprise move after months of contentious hearings and a labor-intensive process by the city to try to comply with discovery obligations amid allegations that officials buried evidence, Assistant State’s Attorneys Craig Engebretson and Kevin DeBoni told the court during a hearing Wednesday at the Leighton Criminal Court Building that they were dropping charges against Clay and Colon. * Crain’s | Blackhawks seek rights to add residential, hotel units near United Center: Included in a zoning application for the NHL team’s planned $65 million, two-rink expansion of its Fifth Third Arena practice facility is a request to allow the mix of residential, hotel and retail uses in “future phases” of the development. The application, filed by a venture controlled by the Blackhawks-owning Wirtz family, does not include detailed drawings of the mixed-use plan and notes that such future projects would require site plan approval from the city. * Daily Herald | If you see yellow planes above, they’re spraying to keep the spongy moth off trees: Historically known as the “gypsy moth,” spongy moth caterpillars have a feeding period that lasts between seven and 10 weeks through spring and summer. A single spongy moth caterpillar can eat 11 square feet of vegetation during its lifetime. * Vice | I-95 Collapse in Philadelphia Didn’t Cause a Traffic Disaster, Data Shows: Rather than being some shocking twist, this was an entirely predictable outcome. It is what happens every time a section of a major highway is closed, even unexpectedly due to an emergency. In 2017, a section of I-85 in Atlanta collapsed. The ensuing commute was “not so horrible.” In 2007, a bridge along I-35W in Minneapolis collapsed, but subsequent analyses showed its impact on travel times was minimal. There are many more examples of anticipated “carmageddons” not materializing for planned closures of major highways due to construction, such as the OG “carmageddon” in Los Angeles and the 90,000 cars that “just disappeared” off of the roads daily when the Seattle viaduct was closed. * Daily Herald | Schaumburg abandoning plans for performing arts center, shifting $27.5 million already saved: Schaumburg is officially moving on from its long-standing plans for a 2,400-seat performing arts center west of the Renaissance Hotel by reallocating the $27.5 million gradually saved for it over the years to the village’s building replacement fund. * Tribune | Lurie, Advocate Children’s, Comer named best children’s hospitals in Illinois: The report ranked Lurie as the seventh best children’s hospital in the Midwest. No Illinois children’s hospital has ranked in the top 10 nationally since Lurie last scored a spot there in 2018. U.S. News does not rank children’s hospitals nationally beyond the top 10.
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Two steps forward…
Wednesday, Jun 21, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * The Tribune’s Vivian La traveled to Petersburg, Illinois ahead of its first-ever Pride fest…
* Lake County State’s Attorney press release on an alleged hate crime at College of Lake County…
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Lacking context and perspective
Wednesday, Jun 21, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * A 4.1 percent unemployment rate is setting their hair on fire…
If they’re gonna focus on unemployment rates, I’ll note that the pro-business bastion of Texas has the same unemployment rate as Illinois. And while Illinois’ unemployment rate has declined during the last twelve months, Texas’ rate has risen. Minnesota’s May rate was 2.9 percent, and they’re hardly a conservative outpost. But, really, both Texas and Illinois are less than a half a point higher than the national average of 3.7 percent. We have our troubles, for sure. But screaming about the inadequacy of what is essentially full employment seems silly to me. * Now, scroll all the way to the bottom of the Center Square story…
Sen. McClure voted in favor of doubling the Motor Fuel Tax rate in 2019 and tying it to inflation. Last year, McClure voted against the BIMP but did vote to temporarily freeze the Motor Fuel Tax and lower the grocery tax by a percentage point. [Note change.]
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Is One Central the key to keeping the Bears in the city, or is it an unnecessary and costly boondoggle?
Wednesday, Jun 21, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * David Roeder back in January…
* David Roeder the other day…
* The state is now in the process of conducting a feasibility study on the One Central project. The Sun-Times editorial board wrote that the result should be “a resounding no”…
Your thoughts?
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The “double tax savings” loophole within Invest in Kids
Wednesday, Jun 21, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * From an Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy report on the 75 percent state tax credit given to Illinoisans who donate to the Invest in Kids program…
* From Fenwick’s site. Pay special attention to the last paragraph…
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Uber And ASU Are Expanding Access To Higher Education In Illinois
Wednesday, Jun 21, 2023 - Posted by Advertising Department [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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Brown University study: Chicago is the most segregated city in America
Wednesday, Jun 21, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * WBEZ…
There’s more. …Adding… Tribune…
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Open thread
Wednesday, Jun 21, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Everyone should start their day with a cute animal pic, especially if it’s Oscar…
* What’s going on?…
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Wednesday, Jun 21, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Here you go…
* WGN | 52,000 more Illinois residents died during the pandemic than is typical: The Illinois Department of Public Health reports there were 52,108 “excess deaths” as they’re known. Epidemiologists track the number because simply put: The ultimate indicator of health is death. The number of people who died in Illinois (from all causes) varied by only 1,000 people in each of the three years before COVID-19 arrived. Then it soared. * David Kraft | Two energy vetoes to consider, not one: While Crain’s and others have given deserved attention to the dreadful “right of first refusal” energy bill that Gov. J.B. Pritzker has vowed to veto, a second energy bill — repeal of the 1987 Illinois nuclear construction moratorium (SB76) — has all but vanished from the radar. Yet this bill’s implications for Illinois’ energy future may be far greater and just as detrimental. SB76 passed both chambers during legislative session, and Pritzker has given a cautious indication he is inclined to sign it. He should not. * Media Matters | Local news outlets subscribing to The Center Square’s wire service are pushing right-wing talking points on their readers: The Center Square provides struggling and underfunded local outlets their stories for free with attribution, unlike larger, more established wire services like the AP which charge licensing fees. This model preys on vulnerable news organizations with vanishing staff and shrinking budgets that need wire articles, like those offered by The Center Square, to fill space. Outlets that use The Center Square do not typically acknowledge the explicitly conservative lean of their work. * Illinois News Bureau | Cannabis use lower among Illinois teens living in ZIP codes with medical dispensaries: In a statewide survey, about 18.3% of the youths living in Illinois ZIP codes with medical dispensaries reported they used cannabis during the prior year compared with 22.4% of those who lived in ZIP codes without these businesses, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign found. They reported the findings in the journal Cannabis. * Sun-Times | History over histrionics? Bally’s nods to Medinah’s past in Chicago casino plan: ‘It’s not going to be your bright, flashy casino’: The Sun-Times got an early look inside the River North casino that is expected to open by the end of summer. “Anyone can build a temporary casino, but not everyone gets a chance to build a temporary casino in a beautiful, historic building such as this,” said Mark Wong of Bally’s Chicago Casino. * News-Sun | Waukegan casino hopes to open sportsbook by start of NFL season: ‘It will bring added excitement, especially on game days’: Both American Place owner Full House Resorts and Circa received the necessary approvals from the Illinois Gaming Board Thursday in Chicago to open the sportsbook at the Waukegan casino, adding a new feature to the four-month old gaming facility. * NBC Chicago | End of grocery tax suspension, changes to school holidays among measures taking effect at start of July: Chicago’s hourly minimum wage is set to increase from $15.40 to $15.80 for employers with 21 or more employees, with an increase from $14.50 to $15 for employers with four to 20 employees. Additionally, the hourly minimum wage for tipped employees will increase from $9.24 to $9.48 for employees of large businesses, while tipped employees of smaller businesses will see their minimum wage increase from $8.70 to $9. * Tribune | Tara Stamps, ‘mentor’ to Mayor Brandon Johnson, chosen to replace him on the Cook County Board: Local Democrats met Wednesday night in Oak Park to serve as the commissioner of the county’s 1st District, unanimously selecting Johnson ally and Chicago Teachers Union leader Tara Stamps for the role. She was chosen from an initial field of 19 applicants that was later narrowed down to six. At the end of the roughly three-hour meeting, Stamps supporters erupted in cheers at the announcement. * Block Club | West Side Lawmaker Wants Riot Fest, Big Concerts In Parks To Pay 2% Fee To Communities Hosting Them: Park District officials said profits from private events benefit the entire parks system. Ford said his proposal would ensure some of those profits go directly to the parks hosting the festivals. * WBEZ | A last-ditch effort is underway to prevent CPS takeover of all-boys Chicago charter school: “If the empirical evidence shows the leading issue here in the city of Chicago is crime, and education is the way forward to reduce crime, then why is it that they’re going to close a school like Urban Prep as opposed to duplicate Urban Prep?” said attorney Victor Henderson, at a press conference on behalf of the Coalition of African American Leaders or COAL. “We don’t need to see fewer Urban Preps. We need to see more of that.” * Tribune | Four pedestrians struck, two critically hurt near Guaranteed Rate Field before a White Sox game: A silver sedan with four occupants struck two men and two women just outside the park in the 300 block of West 35th Street around 6:20 p.m., Chicago police said during an evening news conference near 35th Street and Shields Avenue. All four victims were fans heading to the Sox game against the Texas Rangers, officials said. * Chalkbeat | Latest national test results show striking drop in 13-year-olds’ math and reading scores: That adds up to a striking collapse in achievement scores since 2012, after decades of progress in math and modest gains in reading. In reading, 13-year-olds scored about the same as those who took the test in 1971, when it was first administered. Math scores were now comparable to those in 1992. * NYT | Is the Inflation Battle Won? Not Yet.: The Fed has spent the past 15 months locked in an aggressive war against inflation, raising interest rates above 5 percent in an attempt to get price increases back down to a more normal pace. Last week its officials announced that they were skipping a rate increase in June, giving themselves more time to see how the already enacted changes are playing out across the economy. * USA Today | Underwater noises detected: Underwater noises were detected in the North Atlantic Ocean while U.S. and Canadian crews searched for the small vessel carrying five people that vanished two days earlier in a dive to the Titanic wreckage site, the U.S. Coast Guard announced early Wednesday. A Canadian aircraft heard “underwater noises in the search area,” the Coast Guard said on Twitter shortly before 12:30 a.m. ET. The noises prompted remotely operated vehicle operations to search for the origin of the noises.
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Live coverage
Wednesday, Jun 21, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Follow along with ScribbleLive…
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