* Argh…

Most Illinois public school districts that tested sinks and fountains for tiny traces of brain-damaging lead as required by a 2017 state law had to tell parents they found the toxic metal quietly lurking in the children’s drinking water.

According to a Tribune analysis of state data, more than 1,800 of the roughly 2,100 public schools that submitted test results identified some amount of lead in their drinking water. That includes more than 1,350 schools where at least one water sample had lead levels exceeding 5 parts per billion, the threshold where parental notification is required.

But despite the widespread nature of the problem — and the threat lead poses to young brains, even in small amounts — the state’s efforts to curtail lead in school drinking water mostly ended there.

The Illinois Department of Public Health, the state agency tasked with overseeing the law, did not make the statewide testing results public. It did not ensure that all eligible schools had conducted testing and submitted their results. And it offered schools conflicting guidance on what steps they should take after finding elevated lead levels in their drinking water.

More…

The law did say that IDPH was to provide guidance on mitigation strategies. But the agency has offered shifting instructions on what was supposed to happen following the lead tests, sometimes telling districts that they had to work to reduce any lead they found and sometimes that mitigation was simply recommended.

The result was a patchwork of responses from Illinois schools, the Tribune found. Some districts spent millions to greatly reduce or eliminate the lead in their school drinking water, while others reported taking little action, even though the toxic metal can hamper brain development even in very small amounts.< [...]

In Illinois, the 2017 law directed schools to notify parents of results above 5 parts per billion but did not set a level where mitigation was required. This left school administrators to navigate a dizzying labyrinth of guidance that shifted as time went by.

* Update…

* District map-drawing doesn’t work this way. It has to focus on voting age populations, not students…

“The preliminary map that you released yesterday under-represents the Latino population compared to their proportion of the CPS population and over-represents the white population,” Jessica Cañas, representing Kids First Chicago, a children’s and parents’ advocacy group, told the panel of lawmakers.

“CPS is 47% Latino students, yet only 30% of these districts will likely yield Latino board members,” Cañas said.

Black students come in second in the racial breakdown of CPS enrollment with 36% followed by white students at 11%, according to the most recent CPS data. The map that was released on Friday shows that white voting-age residents make up the largest percentage of all voting-age residents in seven of the 20 proposed districts, compared to six with a majority Hispanic voting-age population and seven black voter-dominated districts.

* Greg Hinz…

Durbin is about as establishment as it gets nowadays in Illinois Democratic politics, a longtime fixture who crosses many eras and political factions. But Durbin has been catching a lot of heat lately from his party’s resurgent left wing for a few reasons: endorsing Paul Vallas for mayor, squabbling with Gov. J.B. Pritzker over the state party chairmanship and how he’s handled his chairmanship of the federal judge-making Senate Judiciary Committee. […]

Typical of the spot in which he finds himself: a pretty good grilling he got today from Jake Tapper on CNN, who, among other things, asked why Durbin isn’t pushing for Judiciary member Sen. Dianne Feinstein to resign if she can’t soon rejoin his closely divided panel. And Tapper also pressed Durbin on why he isn’t doing more about what many view as an ethics scandal on the Supreme Court.

Durbin didn’t do much to suggest Feinstein, his “friend and colleague of many years,” should call it quits. “I hope she does what’s right . . . soon,” Durbin put it.

He was considerably more assertive on SCOTUS, terming the situation “embarrassing,” calling on Chief Justice John Roberts to issue a code on his own, and declaring that “everything is on the table.” including subpoenaing one or more justices to testify.

Thoughts?

* Uber complains to the DNC…

Jaime Harrison
Chair
Democratic National Committee

Chair Harrison,

I’m reaching out to make you aware of a proposed bill that we believe could significantly impact our operations in the State of Illinois, so that you can prepare appropriately for the upcoming convention.

If passed as is, HB 2231 could make Illinois one of, if not the only place, in the country to treat rideshare as a common carrier. There remains a lot of uncertainty over what new restrictions drivers could face, but it could lead to new barriers or eligibility requirements for drivers, which could in turn lead to fewer drivers on the road. Fewer drivers may mean higher wait times and less reliability. On extremely busy days, like during the convention, there might not be enough drivers to meet rider demand at all.

The bill could also lead to some of the most expensive insurance requirements in the country, which may lead to significant price increases. That’s despite the fact that Illinois already has some insurance requirements for rideshare 3 times that of local taxis. It’s possible Chicago could become one of the most expensive markets in the country for rideshare. Most of the additional costs would go to cover insurance, increasing prices for riders but not necessarily fares for drivers. It’s especially disappointing that the State legislature rejected reasonable compromises that might reduce costs and allow for the implementation of new safety features. Higher costs could also lead to increased frustration among drivers who see that more and more of their fare is used to cover the cost of government-mandated insurance. Frustrated drivers may opt to leave the app, leaving Chicago with fewer drivers.

We know that planning for the Convention is already well underway, and we don’t want you caught off guard if the availability of on-demand transportation is less than anticipated as a result of the new law. Our hope is that drivers and riders will continue their use of our app as normal. However, given the likely impact this legislation may have on rider pricing and driver earnings, we have significant concerns about how it could affect the reliability of our app.
Please reach out with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
Josh Gold
Senior Director, Policy & Communications
Uber Technologies, Inc.

The bill cleared the Senate and will receive a concurrence vote in the House.

* Press release…

This month, more than 20 students recently accepted into the Northwestern Prison Education Program (NPEP) — the only bachelor’s degree-granting program for incarcerated students offered by a top 10 university in the United States, will begin classes at Stateville Correctional Center.

“NPEP is the gateway, the entrance, into a world of scholars, freedom educators, and amazing, beautiful people,” said Demetrius Cunningham, one of the students recently accepted into NPEP. “It’s a dream come true.”

Donnell Green, another recently admitted NPEP student, shared similar feelings. “When an incarcerated individual says they want to make the best of their situation — being an NPEP student is what they mean.”

This new addition will make up NPEP’s third cohort of students at Stateville Correctional Center. These students will join the first and second cohorts of NPEP students who are currently working on their bachelor’s degrees.

“Cohorts 1 and 2 have welcomed me like family,” said Shawn Thigpen, a Cohort 3 student.

“I finally found a family who loves and truly has care for me,” said Jacob Currey, another Cohort 3 student, of the existing NPEP students. “They connect, assess, respond, and encourage.”

For this most recent round of admissions, NPEP’s Admissions Committee — made up of Northwestern administrators and faculty members— received nearly 400 applications from individuals at facilities across the state of Illinois. In addition to the 20 students accepted into NPEP earlier this year, 20 more students from the applicant pool will join NPEP this summer as members of the program’s fourth cohort.

* Isabel’s roundup…

* Sun-Times | Naperville, state of Illinois urge U.S. Supreme Court not to block ban on assault-style weapons: Robert Bevis, a gun shop owner in Naperville, has challenged a town ordinance and a state law ending the sale of the weapons, arguing that they violate the Second Amendment. Bevis so far has failed to persuade federal judges in Chicago and has asked the Supreme Court for an emergency injunction stopping the laws from being enforced while his case is heard.

* Sun-Times | Top cop’s wife coached slain officer’s high school cheerleading team: ‘She did not deserve this’: His wife, former police Capt. Saadia Carter, said memories and photos quickly began pouring in from members of the cheerleading team she coached at UIC College Prep on the Near West Side. “She always had something funny to say and was guaranteed to pass on her infectious smile,” Carter said of Preston. “She did not deserve this!” Nicknamed “Legs,” Preston played the role of flyer, the team member who’s tossed in the air during stunts. Carter’s daughter — Preston’s friend — was the team’s captain.

* Triibe | Why is the State’s Attorney’s Office hiding ShotSpotter evidence?: The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office (CCSAO) has routinely hidden evidence from defendants that was obtained from ShotSpotter, a gunshot-detection system, according to Brendan Max, the chief of the Forensic Science Division at the Cook County Public Defender’s Office (PDO). The CCSAO’s pattern of failing to inform defendants about how ShotSpotter determines noises are gunshots is similar to a 2020 case in which a man was falsely charged with murder based on a ShotSpotter alert.

* Injustice Watch | Videos of Cook County judge with massage parlor owner raise ethics questions: Associate Judge Gregory P. Vazquez, who filed papers to retire amid Injustice Watch’s investigation, appears on a police raid body camera with the owner of a Brookfield massage parlor known for unlawful sex work. Vazquez said he was merely giving a friend a ride.

* Daily Herald | Experts warn of costlier COVID care as emergency declaration ends: “The problem is we’ve been relying on testing, treatments and vaccines being widely available as a public health measure, and those tools were paid for by the emergency declaration,” said Dr. Emily Landon, head of the University of Chicago’s infectious disease prevention and control program. “The last people who should be making decisions about public health is the insurance industry. We don’t want to see these tools become inaccessible.”

* Tribune | McDonald’s faces new lawsuit over its advertising spending with Black-owned media: The lawsuit hinges on a commitment McDonald’s made in the spring of 2021 to increase the share of advertising dollars it was spending with Black-owned media from 2% to 5% between 2021 and 2024. The lawsuit alleges McDonald’s “did not come close” to spending 2% of its advertising budget with Black-owned media in 2021 and that it is not on track to spend 5% by next year.

* Tribune | Chicago Public Schools parents take issue with proposed elected school board map: “The preliminary map that you released yesterday under-represents the Latino population compared to their proportion of the CPS population and over-represents the white population,” Jessica Cañas, representing Kids First Chicago, a children’s and parents’ advocacy group, told the panel of lawmakers.

* Chicago Mag | The Long Game: When it came to fundraising, Paul Vallas had Brandon Johnson beat. Days before the April 4 mayoral runoff, Vallas reported contributions of over $19 million, more than half of that coming from 44 individuals or organizations. Johnson clocked in at just over $11 million, largely from unions. But where Johnson had the upper hand, and what ultimately propelled him to an upset victory, was his community outreach — appealing to supportive voters to turn out to the polls. The person leading that charge was Emma Tai, executive director of United Working Families, a political advocacy organization started in 2014 by social-welfare and labor groups, including the Chicago Teachers Union. Tai spoke to Chicago about the decade-long effort to elect a progressive mayor, how she abandoned a community organizer’s mindset of only going after winnable targets, and why she identifies with a certain rebel in the Star Wars universe.

* The Triibe | Hyde Park Summer Fest founder wants its impact to outweigh negative headlines about Chicago: ”So we’re approaching this as being neighbors to our neighborhood, and trying to provide benefits for our neighborhood,” Swain said. “So communities are always at the heart of what we’re thinking.”

* WaPo Editorial Board | This is the solution to the covid learning loss crisis: Foremost among those is what’s known as high-dosage tutoring. This is basically what it sounds like. Students get relatively individualized instruction, and they get it often — ideally, three or fewer kids per teacher for three hours each week. The average child in districts that reopened quickly during the pandemic lost the equivalent of about seven to 10 weeks of progress, about a quarter of a normal school year; the average student at high-poverty schools that stayed remote for the majority of the 2020-2021 school year lost the equivalent of about 22 weeks. High-dosage tutoring, done correctly, could compensate, giving kids as much as an additional year of growth every year it’s implemented.

* Daily Herald | ‘On life support’: How Illinois’ horse racing industry is trying to survive after Arlington’s closure: Closure of the grand racing palace in Arlington Heights only accelerated the industry’s decline in Illinois, where there are now fewer equines being bred on downstate farms, many have left to race in other states, and a long-anticipated racino project at Hawthorne — the lone remaining Chicago-area track where both thoroughbreds and standardbreds now race — is stalled amid financing woes. In March, Tim Carey, Hawthorne’s president and CEO, pleaded with state lawmakers to preserve his track’s veto power over the opening of any new harness track within 35 miles, amid a new consortium’s proposal for just that in Richton Park.

* SJ-R | Another street near downtown Springfield to close for multiple months: No vehicular traffic will be allowed on Washington between Ninth and 11th streets. The road is set to re-open in the late fall.

* WTTW | Newton Minow’s Daughters Reflect on Father’s Legacy: ‘He Had a Wonderful, Meaningful Life’: Nell Minow said that kind of effort was emblematic of who her dad was as both a man and a father. “He was always there for us, always the best listener, always the best cheerleader, always setting the best example,” Nell Minow said. “He was a great, great, great father.”

* Belleville News-Democrat | Illinois Youth Police Camp gives teenage boys and girls a disciplined path to success: “The camp definitely helped plant seeds of ambition and fortitude to pursue all my endeavors,” said Hardin, a 2013 Madison High School graduate. “I think the main things the camp teaches are teamwork, commitment and pride. I think those three principles are the most relevant from the camp. I feel a lot of people — especially my generation — lack those team building skills.

* Lake County News-Sun | Monster Truck Wars wows spectators at Lake County Fairgrounds; ‘Oh my God, that was so cool’: The Powerwheels race was free for young drivers. Families parked their Power Wheels-type ride-ons in a pit area to be ready for the children’s race at intermission. Guadalupe Guadiana of Waukegan, the parent of racer Daniel Garcia, 5, said, “I never did this. We’re living through our kids.”

* NYT | Asked to Delete References to Racism From Her Book, an Author Refused: When Tokuda-Hall read the details of the offer, she felt deflated — then outraged. Scholastic wanted her to delete references to racism in America from her author’s note, in which she addresses readers directly. The decision was wrenching, Tokuda-Hall said, but she turned Scholastic down and went public, describing her predicament in a blog post and a Twitter post that drew more than five million views.