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Ives tries to explain ‘complete wipeout,’ says GOP needs ‘Trumpian type of voice’ in 2026 (Updated)

Wednesday, Apr 2, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Former state Rep. and current Illinois Republican Party state central committeeperson Jeanne Ives was on Dan Proft’s radio show this morning talking about yesterday’s Republican losses. Excerpts

Ives: In most of these races, we were completely wiped out. Republicans lost.

I mean, in Milton Township, we used to have every single position. Lost every single one of them to the Democrats. In some cases, like the Democrat supervisor, she’s never been to an actual board meeting, ever, you know? So she won. Our long-term highway Commissioner, who’s great, ran against a business agent of local 150 and he lost. He’s been in that position for a good 20 years. Does great work. You can expect now that they will unionize that workforce and raise your taxes. So I mean complete loss there.

Even our Dennis Reboletti. He’s been a long-time name in politics. He’s losing right now as Addison supervisor. Winfield used to be controlled by Republicans. They lost. York used to be controlled by Republicans. They lost. These are the township races. It’s just, West Chicago Mayor Ruben Pineda. He lost. Complete wipeout.

Proft: So why?

Ives: Well, I do think that they didn’t have clear messaging. In many cases, you just have to hit people between the eyes. I also do think that when it comes to anything that deals with education or mental health, people, unfortunately, are just willing to spend whatever it takes, and that’s not the answer, and they just for what they just do. They just vote for these people who vote for, oh, it’s for education, it’s for mental health. But really overarching, overarching, it’s no clear message. Republicans just went on spring break and didn’t vote early. And part of that is maybe we didn’t reach enough people to tell them, although there was a big effort to make sure people try to early vote. But the other thing is, I just think the unions are extremely strong in the suburbs, and they have built in ability to turn out their people behind every teacher. You can at least get five more people, and all you need to do is send an email from the union to tell people who to vote for. And I just they, you know, they their salaries on the line, and their control is on the line, so they show up. […]

Mayor Pekau’s loss in Orland Park. I mean, honestly, I think Keith is the best mayor in the entire state, and he’s done so much good for that. And he got wiped out because of mixed messaging from RINO Republicans about who was the Republican in the race, because Trump won that race, 57-43, but that got really, such a nasty race. […]

Proft: Well, what do you think? Where do we go from here? […]

Ives: Well, I think, you know, in 2026 we just really need a candidate who’s got, like a Trumpian type of voice that is unafraid to say what needs to be said and tell people the truth and does it. And the media can’t ignore that message when it’s a sort of a governor’s race or a senatorial race or something like they can’t necessarily ignore it. Maybe people will hear it, and, you know, a big voice will help connect the dots. Because I do think that people pay attention to, maybe more the national situation going on, some of the state but I mean, just the idea that Pritzker got a pass after giving Gotion, the Chinese Communist Party backed Gotion, a half a billion dollars. Rivian, who’s never made a one red cent of profit, nearly a billion dollars in tax incentives. This is, this is insane, and the people wonder where their money is going. You’re wasting hundreds of millions of dollars on these nonprofits that do nothing, that should not be government funded. I mean, maybe that would help if, in 2026 somebody with a big voice and a lot of money behind that voice, because that’s what Pritzker has got, what $350 million behind this campaign? And by the way, Pritzker played in these local races, you know. You know, and his lessers too, like Chris Welch, came out to walk in Wheaton with the Democratic township candidates and the IEA endorsed candidates. Sick. It’s just sick.

* Proft also talked about the RINOs…

These, these RINOs, doesn’t even begin to describe these people, the enemies inside the [garbled]. That’s another rolling problem. But that’s the problem you have when you have no party, no party leadership. It’s just a warlordocracy. And it’s been that way for, I mean, really, in the Republican Party, if we’re being honest, in Illinois, it’s been that way ever since George Ryan went away. It really has. Warlordocracy, not a good way to organize. Warlordocracy, not a good way to run a party.

* More Tuesday react from the self-proclaimed “RINO hunter” Tom DeVore

They will never understand. The Trump backers who are not Republican supporters are the actual RINOs.

…Adding… Wheaton’s school district…

Oops…

Jeanne had a really bad day.

  64 Comments      


Isabel’s afternoon roundup

Wednesday, Apr 2, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Crain’s

Gov. JB Pritzker and Illinois business leaders visiting Mexico City this week on a trade mission have gotten an earful about the tariffs the Trump administration plans to impose.

“There is deep concern that the tariffs seem so broad-based and not well negotiated or thought out that they will potentially destroy some businesses in Mexico that U.S. companies rely upon,” Pritzker said this morning.

“The uncertainty that we’ve heard over and over again in discussions with our Mexican counterparts is going to lead to them pulling back on making investments and potentially pulling back on supplying items U.S. businesses need. There is a great deal of concern.”

The Trump administration already has announced tariffs on auto imports from Mexico and is expected to announce more tariffs later today in what the White House is billing as “Liberation Day.” The governor, who has been a frequent critic of President Donald Trump and his policies, said he doesn’t think the tariffs will spur a new wave of decisions by manufacturers to set up facilities in the U.S. or bring work back here.

* Forbes

The University of Illinois system will team up with One Million Degrees, a Chicago-based nonprofit that supports community college students, to pilot a multiyear program aimed at increasing transfer rates from community colleges to four-year universities.

The program will focus on first-generation students across Illinois. Plans call for the pilot to serve as many as 240 students initially in two cohorts from Illinois community colleges selected by the university. The first cohort will be recruited this fall for a pilot beginning spring 2026, and the second cohort will start in spring 2027.

The initiative will provide eligible students a comprehensive suite of wraparound support services — including academic coaching, financial assistance and career advice — as they transfer to University of Illinois System campuses in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago and Springfield.

The U of I system will evaluate the pilot to assess the possibility of later scaling the program beyond the initial pilot partners. The ultimate goal is to increase transfer and bachelor’s degree completion rates, preparing the participants for careers in high-growth fields.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Covers | Illinois Issues Cease-and-Desist Orders to Prediction Companies: The Illinois Gaming Board sent cease-and-desist orders to Kalshi, Robinhood, and Crypto.com dated April 1, claiming that those companies are operating illegally without a sports betting license with their sports-event outcome contracts that act like wagers. Kalshi, which burst on the scene last fall with election trading markets, got into the sports outcome business earlier this year with Super Bowl and March Madness markets. The company linked with Robinhood to list those offerings on its popular trading platform.

*** Downstate ***

* NBC Chicago | Legendary rock band The Black Crowes added to 2025 Illinois State Fair lineup: Legendary rock band The Black Crowes has been added to the Springfield lineup, according to a Wednesday press release. The popular rock and roll band will perform at the fair Sat. Aug. 9, the release said. “The Illinois State Fair is all about bringing people together for great entertainment, and The Black Crowes are the perfect addition to our lineup,” Illinois State Fair Manager Rebecca Clark said in the release. “Their music has resonated with fans across generations, and we’re excited to bring their legendary sound to this year’s Fair.”

* WCIA | ‘I think they’re extremely important’: Champaign Co. Clerk breaks down voter turnout in Consolidated Election: By 5 p.m. on Election Day, Aaron Ammons, the Champaign County Clerk, said about 6,000 people had voted in person that day and about 4,000 others voted early. Once those ballots are counted, plus the ones in the mail, he estimates about 15-20% of voters will participate in this election, which is a pretty standard trend.

* BND | The pink elephant along I-55 is eye-catching, but wait until you see the inside: The Pink Elephant Antique Mall in Livingston is more than an antique shop — literally. It houses three businesses in one, including a retro diner, fudge shop and haunted house, and has dozens of unique, custom-built figures to pose next to.

*** Chicago ***

* WBEZ | Venezuelans in Chicago relieved their deportation protection is safe, for now: A federal judge in San Francisco paused plans Monday by the Trump administration to end temporary legal protections for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans, including in Illinois, one week before they were scheduled to expire on April 7. Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, allows non-U.S. citizens from 17 countries, including Venezuela, to live and work in the United States if they face extremely difficult or unsafe conditions in their home country. The Trump administration announced an end to the program for Venezuelans in February.

* Crain’s | Downtown office vacancy hits new high for 11th straight quarter: The downtown office vacancy rate edged up to 26.5% at the end of March from 26.3% at the beginning of the year, according to data from real estate services firm CBRE. The share of available workspace has now hit record highs for 11 straight quarters and is up from 13.8% when the public health crisis began. The grim data points tell the same tale of woe that has now plagued landlords for a half-decade: Remote work’s rise has pushed many companies to reduce their footprints, a shift that has stripped the central business district of about 2.1 million square feet of tenants over the past couple of years, CBRE data shows.

* Crain’s | Rahm Emanuel returns to investment banking: Rahm Emanuel is going back to investment banking, rejoining Centerview Partners, where he worked for two years after leaving office as mayor of Chicago. It’s familiar territory for Emanuel, who has toggled between investment banking and public office throughout his long career. In addition to his previous stint at Centerview, Emanuel worked at Wasserstein Perella, where he was involved in the 1999 merger that created Exelon, before running for Congress.

* Tribune | George McCaskey has no intention for family to sell the Chicago Bears: ‘Another 100 years would be great’: Less than eight weeks after the death of principal owner Virginia Halas McCaskey, George McCaskey said his mother long ago established a sustainable succession plan that the NFL approved. “She gave us the playbook,” McCaskey said. “She coached us up. Now we’ve got to execute the plan. And we’re prepared to do that. We’ve got to stick together.”

* Crain’s | Ex-employee alleges testing fraud at Chicago-based real estate appraisers group: A former employee filed a whistleblower lawsuit alleging years-long fraud in the certification process for real estate appraisers at the Chicago-based Appraisal Institute. Alissa Akins, who was the institute’s director of education and publications from February to December last year, claims in her suit that for at least five years, the 16,000-member Appraisal Institute has been aware that many of its test results are incorrect. She also claims that when she reported the pattern of incorrect results to her superiors, they fired her.

* Crain’s | Chicago Reader avoids closure after successful fundraising campaign. Here’s how much they raised.: The newspaper said in a memo to subscribers that its “Save the Reader” campaign was a success and has raised over $300,000 to date. The proceeds will allow the company to restructure, cut costs and rework its budget in order to continue operating. The Reader’s staff of 33 will continue to print its weekly paper for free, the memo said.

* Chicago Reader | The legacy of Marty Goddard: In 1972, Marty Goddard, an executive at a Chicago philanthropic foundation and an independent-minded divorcee, sought to change that. Goddard wasn’t a picket-waving activist; in fact, she didn’t identify as a feminist at all. But she did recognize that sexual assault was seething under the surface of society, like a quiet epidemic for which there was little or no recourse.

* Block Club | Art Institute Of Chicago Returned A Sculpture To Nepal But Obscured Its Connection To A Wealthy Donor: That omission obscured a simmering controversy about whether Chicago philanthropists Marilynn Alsdorf and her husband, James, both of whom are dead, improperly built their collection of hundreds of South Asian works and why the Art Institute, which houses some of that collection in its Alsdorf Galleries, has been reluctant to return those works to countries with compelling claims for them.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* WTTW | Retirement Not in Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s Lexicon: “I don’t believe in retirement,” said Preckwinkle, who last month on her 78th birthday announced she will run for a fifth consecutive term in 2026. “If I didn’t do this job, I’d pick another one and it wouldn’t be as interesting or challenging or as impactful,” said Preckwinkle, who has led Cook County since 2010.

* Naperville Sun | Voter turnout across DuPage, Will counties about average for consolidated election: As of 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, DuPage County was sitting at 16.3% turnout out of a total 626,499 registered voters, with 27,128 casting their ballots on election day so far, according to DuPage County Chief Deputy Clerk Adam Johnson. Though it’s difficult to know what to expect out of turnout, it looks as though DuPage is on pace to “be pretty close if not slightly higher than the overall turnout in 2023,” Johnson said in a call. Just over 20% of the county’s registered voters participated in the last consolidated election.

*** National ***

* The Bond Buyer | States loosen restrictions on pension funds and crypto: According to an S&P Global Ratings report released last week “U.S. states and statewide pension plans are increasingly considering cryptocurrencies, particularly bitcoin, as a reserve investment.”

* The Bond Buyer | Closing Education Department unlikely to dent K-12 bonds, but some charter schools could feel pinch: “For traditional public schools, I do not foresee an increased risk of default due to potential delays of federal funding,” Lowin said, adding, however, that some charter schools, particularly those that are smaller and have fewer reserves, “could be a little more challenged.”

* AP | Amazon’s last-minute bid for TikTok comes as platform’s ban set to take effect Saturday: Amazon has put in a bid to purchase TikTok, a Trump administration official said Wednesday, in an eleventh-hour pitch as a U.S. ban on the platform is set to go into effect Saturday. The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the Amazon offer was made in a letter to Vice President JD Vance and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

* Accu Weather | Atmospheric river to trigger central US flooding that may become life-threatening, historic: A firehose of moisture is forecast to produce repeating thunderstorms with torrential downpours over the middle of the United States through much of this weekend. More than a foot of rain may pour down from portions of Arkansas to Kentucky and Ohio, likely triggering rapid, major and historic flooding, AccuWeather meteorologists warn. More than 46 million people will be affected by rounds of intense rainfall over the central U.S. Of this, at least 13 million will be within a high- to extreme-flood risk zone. Within these higher-risk areas, there is the potential for catastrophic flooding in some communities.

  3 Comments      


Pritzker: University fears of community colleges offering four-year degrees are ‘misplaced’

Wednesday, Apr 2, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* First, some background from Rich

The governor has trumpeted his plan to allow community colleges to offer four-year baccalaureate degrees during his State of the State address, on numerous national TV programs, big-time podcasts and a tour of the state.

Well, that proposal (HB3717) was not called for a vote in the House Higher Education Committee last week after fierce opposition from four-year universities, as one top Pritzker administration official and some Pritzker allies hovered outside the hearing room for hours.

The chair of that committee, Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, did her best to downplay the significance of the committee’s refusal to take up the bill, saying, “I think that there’s a way that we can make sure that this is very narrowly tailored to meet what’s not being met with the four-year institutions.”

Stuart, a member of House Democratic leadership, also said the legislation as written could “collapse” the student base of minority serving institutions like Chicago State and Northeastern Illinois University.

It’s routine during committee passage deadline week to advance bills to the floor that need more work, with the promise to not move the bills until all issues are worked out. That committee courtesy is routinely given to even the lowliest of legislators.

The indignity of denying that routine courtesy was heaped upon unpopular, ineffectual governors in previous years. But Pritzker is a popular billionaire governor with perceived national ambitions. Yes, he’s trying to accomplish a very difficult task of passing bills that have failed in years past, but not getting his legislation to the floor during crunch week is quite the rebuke.

* I asked the governor about the stalled bill during an unrelated press conference this morning…

Isabel: Hi Governor, I wanted to ask you about your proposal to allow Community Colleges to offer four-year degrees. It failed to pass committee during deadline week, have you been looking at adding this bill to an omnibus or its own shell bill? And what has the sponsor and committee Chair Rep. Katie Stuart indicated to you that needs to be changed?

Governor Pritzker: Well, as you know, there are a couple of months left in the legislative session. This is an issue-this bill in fact, was introduced, I think, more than a decade ago by, as it turns out my deputy governor Andy Manar, who was then a state Senator, but it has been introduced in many of the legislative sessions.

It’s a good idea, especially with regard to specific professions where there is a real need for additional workforce. Some types of nursing, for example. We don’t produce very many nurses in Illinois compared to the number that we need. And so the concern that some of the universities expressed, for example, about that is, I think, misplaced. We need thousands and thousands and thousands of these particular types of nurses, and we produce not very many at all in those categories.

So that’s just one example. But I think that that legislators understand there’s a great deal of need by businesses for expanded workforce, and the best way to do that is for us to provide those four year degrees.

I think I’d add one more thing, which is it’s nearly impossible for some people to go to a four-year university, not just because of the great deal of expense involved, but also because the distance between where they live in Illinois and where one of our 12 public universities might be, let alone a private university, is too great. But we have 48 community colleges across the state of Illinois. We have the third largest community college system in the entire nation, and we can utilize them again for targeted efforts toward workforce development in areas where we’re not producing the kind of workforce that we need with the degrees and skills that are necessary.

Isabel: Have you had conversations with the sponsor since?

Pritzker: Oh sure.

Isabel: Is the bill dead this session?

Pritzker: I think Isabel, you’ve been around long enough to know that nothing is dead at any point until perhaps adjournment. But even then, things often come back in veto session or in the following session. And for a bill that’s been around for a decade, to take an extra couple of months or even an extra year, seems to me not out of the ordinary.

* Related…

    * Capitol News Illinois | Illinois’ community colleges see nearly 9% spike in spring enrollment: Enrollment at Illinois community colleges grew to more than 285,000 in the spring semester this year, an 8.9% increase over a year ago and the largest spring-to-spring enrollment increase since the Illinois Community College Board began collecting systemwide data in the late 1990s. In a report released Tuesday, the ICCB said 40 of the state’s 45 community colleges reported enrollment growth this spring.

    * Capitol News Illinois | Pritzker’s community college initiative stalls in House committee: But legislative deadlines are not always strictly observed in Springfield, and Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, who chairs the committee, said the decision not to act on the bill does not necessarily mean it is dead for the session. “I don’t think around here anything’s really ever dead, and I think there’s a path forward,” she told reporters after Wednesday’s committee hearing.

    * WSIU | SIU Continues to Follow Stalled Community College Bill: Chancellor Lane and the SIU system are neither lobbying for, or against House Bill 3717 and its resolution in favor of expanding degree offerings. Chancellor Lane says right now it’s just a lot of discussions. “I think it’s just discussions, but there’s the word opposition that sometimes comes off a little strong,” Lane says. “There’s a lot of discussions that are happening at the state level.”

    * KFVS | Southern Illinois community college leaders hold out hope to offer bachelor’s degrees: John A. Logan College President Dr. Kirk Overstreet says a proposed bill from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s office that would allow community colleges to offer bachelor’s degrees is a win-win for students and the southern Illinois economy. “This is a big resource for keeping students here and keeping people here in the region,” Overstreet said.

    * KWQC | ‘Workforce driven’ community college looks forward to offering 4-year degrees: The president of Black Hawk College already has some fields of study in mind if community colleges can offer bachelor’s degrees. […] “Respiratory care is not offered at any of the four-year degree schools right now. And so it allows us to offer something and fill a niche.” Other areas of study considered for bachelor’s are advanced manufacturing, nursing and early childhood education.

  21 Comments      


Broken Promises: Despite Billions In Public Funds, Illinois Nursing Homes Still Rank Among the Worst

Wednesday, Apr 2, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

The state and federal governments have poured billions of dollars of funding into the nursing home industry in Illinois to improve staffing and quality care for residents, but the industry has failed to deliver.

The industry receives nearly $7 billion in annual revenues, mostly from state Medicaid and Medicare. The 2022 Medicaid rate reform increased the Illinois nursing home industry’s revenue by at least $670 million per year. This came shortly after increases of $240 million annually starting in 2019 and an additional $60 million in 2020.

But the industry hasn’t used this taxpayer money to improve resident care. Illinois nursing homes have consistently rated among the worst in the country in staffing and quality of care–with residents receiving 25% fewer direct care hours than the minimum required to meet their daily needs.

Instead of fully staffing homes to meet residents’ needs, too many nursing homes operators continue to divert resources away from the bedside–without transparency or accountability.

State Rep. Anna Moeller recently called out the industry for this lack of accountability: “There’s this constant back and forth: the industry asks for a ton, we give them a ton. We ask for some accountability with all of those resources we’re giving to improve patient care, to improve resident care. There’s always this pushback on doing that.”

Care can’t wait – it’s time to hold the nursing home industry accountable and ensure taxpayer dollars fund improving care for our seniors.

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Stop Credit Card Chaos In Illinois

Wednesday, Apr 2, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

A last-minute provision called the Interchange Fee Prohibition Act (IFPA) was snuck into the budget process last May and will create chaos for small businesses and consumers across Illinois if it takes effect on July 1, 2025.

The IFPA gives corporate mega-stores like Walmart and Home Depot — who pushed for this backroom deal — millions more in profits, while small business owners get new expenses and accounting headaches. What’s more, consumers could be forced to pay for parts of their transactions in cash if this law moves forward.

A recent court ruling in the litigation challenging the law suggests IFPA is likely pre-empted by federal law for national banks and will only apply to credit unions and local Illinois banks, putting local banks at a disadvantage against their national competitors.

Illinois lawmakers should repeal the IFPA and focus on protecting small businesses and consumers across the state — not lining the pockets of corporate mega-stores.

Stop the countdown to chaos by supporting a repeal of this misguided and flawed policy. Learn more at https://guardyourcard.com/illinois/

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After raising $3 million in the quarter, Krishnamoorthi says he has $19 million on hand

Wednesday, Apr 2, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Get ready for that US Senate announcement…

Today, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi announced that his campaign raised over $3 million in the first quarter of 2025, ending the period with over $19 million cash on hand.

Raja’s impressive first-quarter raise comes on the heels of a prolific 2024 cycle wherein he contributed and raised over $11 million for Democrats across the country.

“In the months since Donald Trump moved back into the White House, Raja has been laser-focused on holding his Administration accountable and protecting Illinois families,” said senior advisor Nick Ryan. “We are grateful to the dedicated donors who are fired up and ready to support Raja’s efforts to stop Trump every chance he gets. While Trump and Congressional Republicans bear hug Elon Musk and their billionaire donors, it is more important than ever that Democrats have the resources to get out our message and fight back.”

Raja also contributed $100,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee this quarter to win back control of the U.S. House of Representatives, and supported several candidates up and down the ballot.

In the seventy days since Trump took office, Raja has led the charge to hold his Administration accountable, urging them to take action on rising grocery prices, speaking out against their illegal freeze of federal funds, condemning their attempts to gut Medicaid, calling out their plan to slash SNAP benefits, and more — all to help Illinois families. Just last week, Raja, a top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, made headlines for holding top Trump officials accountable for texting classified war plans in a Signal group chat.

  16 Comments      


Pritzker says DPI won almost 80 percent of its 270 targeted local races (Updated)

Wednesday, Apr 2, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* We’ve already discussed how the Democratic Party of Illinois was involved in a bunch of local races during the consolidated elections. Gov. JB Pritzker updated reporters today on how the party did…

The Democratic Party of Illinois focused on about 270 races and and won almost 80 percent of those races. And those were the critical ones.

And I just point especially to DuPage County, where, before Juliana Stratton and I ran for governor in 2018, DuPage County was a reliable Republican county. It produced the most number of Republican votes. And in last night’s election, as has steadily happened in every election since we’ve been on the ballot and since 2018 - last night’s election was a route. Republicans lost almost everywhere. As I understand it, 48 out of 49 races the Democratic Party of Illinois was involved with were victorious for the Democrats. And I think in the 49th race, they’re still counting the votes, it’s that close.

And then, just to talk about the mayor’s races, look, I think people rejected those who were, you know, who were acolytes of Donald Trump. And look at Keith Pekau in Orland Park. Look at Richard Irvin, who, when he ran for governor, he tried to distance himself from Donald Trump, but then he threw a fundraiser, an event for Donald Trump in 2024. So I think there was a broad rejection of what Donald Trump and the Republican Party stands for, and Illinois Democrats had perhaps one of the best nights we’ve ever had.

Barack Obama narrowly won DuPage in 2012. Hillary Clinton won it by a mile in 2016. The trend started moving down-ballot and picked up steam in the past six years. Yesterday was a blowout in that county which reminded me of the way Democrats were stomped in 1994 almost everywhere.

Also, I’ve been trying to get a list of those 270 races to see how many were actually competitive.

* From DPI last night…

The Party’s mail and digital advertising investment reached hundreds of thousands of Democratic voters in target regions across Illinois, and highlighted the Trump–aligned conservatives on the ballot, as well as supported the credible, commonsense community advocates that DPI recommends. As part of the program, DPI launched https://votelocalillinois.com/, a candidate lookup tool to help voters find and support endorsed Democrats in their communities. In addition to supporting candidates already on the ballot, DPI and Illinois Democratic County Chairs Association (IDCCA)’s candidate recruitment program helped ensure that strong Democrats step up to run for local office in future cycles.

* Back to the governor, who was asked if last night’s results were about party organization or the current national mood…

I attribute it to both. I don’t mean to avoid picking, but honestly, the Democratic Party of Illinois has been organizing, recruiting candidates, doing the things that state parties do all across the country, but that the Democratic Party of Illinois had not done for decades. And it showed last night that that recruiting candidates, good candidates, matters. And that having an organization, or supporting local organizations from the state level and picking the races that are most important matters. So the organization and strength of the Democratic Party that we’ve built over the last two years or so is making a big difference.

There is a national mood. I mean, I felt that going around Illinois. There’s a, it’s felt everywhere. As you know, I had some gatherings of farmers, of people who are affected by the Medicaid cuts, for example, have met with people on Social Security cuts. And I can tell you, people are angry. And when I say people, it’s not just Democrats, it’s Republicans. People are mad. Veterans are not able to get the services they deserve in the timely fashion that they should be able to get them. People are seeing Social Security offices closed, and those offices for some people, are vital for being able to access, to talk to anybody. Going online is hard sometimes for someone, a senior citizen, if they don’t know how to navigate the Social Security website, or perhaps don’t even have high speed internet or their own computer. So people are feeling the effects of what Donald Trump is trying to do.

And let’s be clear what he’s trying to do, and what people are reacting to. He’s doing all these things, they call, they say it’s about government efficiency, but then in the next breath, they tell you about the $5 trillion tax cut that they’re attempting to pay for by making these cuts. So the anger is felt in Illinois, as it is across the entire country. And that did play a role, there’s no doubt, in turnout and in the actual results.

Please pardon all transcription errors.

…Adding… DuPage Dems…

Statement on Election Results from the Chair of the Democratic Party of DuPage County, Reid McCollum:

“Democratic values prevailed across Illinois last night, especially in DuPage County. When all the votes are counted, we will likely win 49 of 49 (100%) of the contested partisan township races – 38 of these are outright flips, and 20 against GOP incumbents.

In both partisan and nonpartisan races, candidates prevailed who understand that local government plays a critical role in our community. From public schools to filling potholes and from mental health to economic development, voters trust Democrats and see the GOP as the party of division, extremism and corruption.

Last night’s unprecedented victories were the result of the hard work of countless people over decades. Our township Democratic organizations and their leaders worked unbelievably hard to recruit and support great candidates. The volunteers who knocked doors, made phone calls, and mailed postcards helped make sure voters knew about the election and who was on the ballot.

The Democratic Party of Illinois invested in important “air support” with mail, digital and text messages.

As the DuPage Dems, we recruited volunteers to mail 80,000 get out the vote postcards, sent over 400,000 text messages and generated 75,000 digital impressions – our first ever significant investments in consolidated elections.

DuPage County is officially a Democratic stronghold. We intend to keep it that way through good governance, hard work, and a continued belief in facts, sound policy and supporting the whole community rather than conspiracy theories, blaming others and benefiting only the ultra wealthy.”

  22 Comments      


RETAIL: Strengthening Communities Across Illinois

Wednesday, Apr 2, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Retail generates $7.3 billion in income and sales tax revenue each year in Illinois. These funds support public safety, infrastructure, education, and other important programs we all rely on every day. In fact, retail is the second largest revenue generator for the State of Illinois and the largest revenue generator for local governments.

Retailers like Meli enrich our economy and strengthen our communities. We Are Retail and IRMA showcase the retailers who make Illinois work.

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Consolidated Election news coverage roundup

Wednesday, Apr 2, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Democratic Party of DuPage County…

In a historic and resounding night of victories, the Democratic Party of DuPage County is celebrating sweeping wins in township races across the county. Democrats are currently leading in 48 out of 49 contested partisan races (one Addison township trustee race is separated by just 35 votes). In township after township, voters delivered a clear and powerful message: they want Democrats, and the values they bring, leading local government.

These results mark a seismic shift in local politics. Several townships in DuPage County that had never before elected a Democrat will now be represented by Democratic leadership — a testament to the party’s deepening connection with voters and its commitment to delivering for working families.

“This is more than just a good night for Democrats — this is a profound statement from the people of DuPage County,” said Reid McCollum, Chair of the Democratic Party of DuPage County. “Voters have made it crystal clear that they want leaders who will bring transparency, fairness, and forward-thinking solutions to local government. These are community members stepping up to put their communities first, and voters overwhelmingly approved.”

The Democratic Party of DuPage County extends heartfelt thanks to the volunteers, organizers, and most importantly, the voters, who made this night possible.

* Daily Herald

Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin appears to have lost his bid to win a third term as the leader of the state’s second-largest city.

Challenger John Laesch was upbeat in declaring victory shortly before 10 p.m.

“Tonight, the candle of hope burns a little brighter in our city our state and across the United States of America,” winner John Laesch said at his campaign party. “Nine months ago I told you that we would give birth to a radical new idea of a government, an economy, that works for everybody. Tonight we took a big step forward and we did it together.”

But Irvin remained defiant in a speech to his own supporters.

“This ain’t the end for me, y’all. This was just the beginning. I may not be the mayor of Aurora the next four years, but I am still somebody!” Irvin he told them.

* WGLT

Dan Brady is set to return to public life after a 22-year run as a state lawmaker.

Brady became the first mayoral candidate in Bloomington since 1997 [Judy Markowitz] to defeat an incumbent mayor on Tuesday.

According to unofficial results on Tuesday, Brady [48%] won decisively over city council member Cody Hendricks [33%] and Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe [19%] in a race which saw unusually high turnout for a municipal election [31% in Bloomington].

“The victory belongs to all of us here tonight,” Brady told a large gathering of supporters in the dining room at Jim’s Steakhouse. “And now the real works starts because it begins governing. Let’s build a safer, strong and more vibrant Bloomington together.”

* Daily Southtown

State Sen. Napoleon Harris and members of his Democratic slate were far ahead of other candidates seeking positions on the Thornton Township Board, according to unofficial results Tuesday from the Cook County clerk’s office.

With 102 of 104 precincts reporting, Harris had 74%, followed by Independent candidate Nate Fields with 10.8%, Republican Richard Nolan with 10.4% and Harvey Mayor Christopher Clark with 4.6%.

Harris declared victory to a room of jubilant supporters at Beggars Pizza in Lansing Tuesday night, thanking each member of his slate as well as supported candidates in Dolton and in school board races. […]

Trustee candidates on Harris’ Democratic slate include incumbent Trustee Christopher Gonzalez, seeking reelection, as well as Mary Avent, Valeria Stubbs and Byron Stanley. According to unofficial results, all four were leading Tuesday evening. Stanley had 10,437 votes, Gonzalez had 10,316 and Avent and Stubbs both had 10,152.

* Some school board race results



*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Tribune | Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau concedes defeat in bid for third term: Pekau thanked supporters gathered at Papa Joe’s restaurant, telling them “I got shellacked” but that “we ran a great campaign.” He said he texted congratulations to Dodge. With 44 of 45 precincts reporting, Dodge had 57% of the vote to 43% for Pekau, unofficial results show. Turnout for the election was more than 33% of registered voters, according to the Cook County clerk’s office.

* CBS Chicago | Jason House easily elected mayor of Dolton, Illinois after defeating Tiffany Henyard in Feb. primary: Dolton Village Trustee Jason House was elected mayor of the south Chicago suburb Tuesday, and the sign outside Dolton Village Hall announcing Mayor Tiffany Henyard will soon come down. House won the race with more than 95% of the vote, up against Rebuilding Dolton Party candidate Casundra Hopson-Jordan. House dispatched Henyard in the February Democratic mayoral primary.

* Tribune | Ann Tennes overwhelmingly elected Skokie mayor, unofficial results show: Former Skokie official Ann Tennes declared victory in the race for Skokie mayor Tuesday, with unofficial results from the Cook County Clerk’s office showing she commanded a hefty percentage of vote totals. The victory starts a new era in the village of about 65,000 after 24-year mayor George Van Dusen chose not to run for another term. Unofficial results show Tennes, the village’s former director of marketing and communications, received a little over 49% of the vote, with all precincts reporting, in a three-way election race. Those unofficial results also showed David “Azi” Lifsics with just over 38% of the vote and Charles Isho with 12% of the vote.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Voters appear to overwhelmingly shoot down proposed Kane County sales tax hike: Voters in Tuesday’s consolidated election appear to have shot down a referendum question in Kane County that would have increased the sales tax by 0.75% to pay for public safety expenses in the county. With all precincts in Kane County reporting, unofficial results from Tuesday night showed 75.25% of voters against and just 24.75% of voters in favor of the proposed sales tax increase as of 9:55 p.m., according to data from the Kane County Clerk’s Office.

* Daily Herald | Voters favor incumbents in Kane County council and board races: There were contested races for four seats on the St. Charles City Council. In Ward 1, incumbent Ronald Silkaitis bested challenger Robert Kasper. According to unofficial totals, Silkaitis had 691 votes, and Kasper had 553 votes.

* Aurora Beacon-News | In Tuesday election, Aurora City Council incumbents appear to stay, except alderman at-large: Incumbent at-large Ald. Ron Woerman trailed challenger Keith Larson with his 41.95% of the vote to Larson’s 58.05%, according to unofficial results Tuesday night from Kane, Kendall, DuPage and Will counties, with all precincts reporting. Larson told The Beacon-News that he “wasn’t expecting this” but that it “feels really amazing,” and he is grateful to everyone who helped to make it possible.

* Naperville Sun | Two incumbents, two newcomers appear headed to Naperville City Council; Bruzan Taylor unseated: With all Naperville precincts in DuPage and Will counties reporting, incumbents Benny White and Ian Holzhauer appeared headed toward another term on Naperville City Council alongside newcomers Mary Gibson and Ashfaq Syed, according to unofficial results. Incumbent Jennifer Bruzan Tayor was trailing behind as the fifth-highest vote getter in the eight-way race for the four, four-year council seats up for election.

* Daily Herald | Tinaglia to take over as Arlington Heights mayor amid Bears stadium talks: Longtime Arlington Heights resident, architect and village Trustee Jim Tinaglia will become the town’s next mayor amid ongoing discussions with the Chicago Bears over redevelopment of Arlington Park. Tinaglia had 7,165 votes, Tom Schwingbeck had 4,090 votes and Jon Ridler had 1,700 votes, according to unofficial vote totals Tuesday night.

* Daily Herald | Bertucci, Santa Maria, Zyck and Manganaro top crowded Arlington Heights trustee race: Jim Bertucci, Carina Santa Maria, Greg Zyck and Bill Manganaro were the top vote-getters Tuesday night in the crowded race for Arlington Heights village board, according to unofficial results. Eight candidates ran for four available trustee seats on the elected panel. Bertucci, the lone incumbent, led the pack with 7,301 votes, followed by Santa Maria with 6,926, Zyck with 6,229 and Manganaro with 5,619, early results show.

* ABC Chicago | Jason House projected to win Dolton mayoral election, replacing Tiffany Henyard: ‘It’s a new day’: House has been on the Dolton Board of Trustees for eight years now. He is projected to defeat businesswoman Casundra Hopson-Jordan, who ran as an independent. “I just felt it was important to throw my hat in the race to give people options, to know that we don’t have to just keep recycling the same old politicians,” Hopson-Jordan said.

* Shaw Local | Joliet Junior College board incumbent likely to retain seat despite controversy: Broderick and Lee were accused of harassment by JJC President Clyne Namuo in a Nov. 6, 2024 report from law firm Laner Muchin, which was not publicly released until weeks before the election. Despite those controversies, Broderick said on Tuesday night she believed the public realized the “value of having me as a board member.”

* Tribune | Incumbent Elmhurst Mayor Scott Levin celebrates apparent victory: Incumbent Elmhurst Mayor Scott Levin appeared to defeat challenger Mark Mulliner by a wide margin, taking 6,436 votes, or 71% of the 9,000 votes cast, according to unofficial results from Tuesday’s voting. Mulliner, the city’s longest serving alderman before leaving the City Council two years ago, drew an unofficial tally of 2,625 votes, or 29%.

* Patch | Hinsdale Officials Well Ahead Of Newcomer In Race: Unofficial Returns: Former DuPage County Board member Greg Hart was the sole candidate for village president in Tuesday’s election. Elected in 2009, President Tom Cauley decided against seeking a fifth term. In a statement Tuesday, Hart said he was looking forward to serving “our incredible village.” He said he wanted to maintain and improve public safety, diversify the sales tax base through “smart” economic development and bring new energy to local government.

* Daily Herald | Schielke secures 12th term as Batavia mayor, St. Charles’ Vitek appears headed to defeat: Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke appeared to secure his 12th term Tuesday, keeping him in the post he’s held since 1981. Schielke had 2,620 votes, and challenger Tom Connelly had 2.294, according to unofficial results. Schielke is believed to be the third-longest-serving current mayor or president in Illinois.

* Daily Southtown | Incumbent Michael Glotz leads in Tinley Park mayoral race: Unofficial results show Glotz leading with 59.7% of the vote over Michael Maloney, a former union executive, with all precincts reporting. Also leading was Glotz’s One Tinley Park slate, which includes Village Clerk Nancy O’Connor, with 58.8% of the vote or Cynthia “Cindy” O’Boyle. Trustees William Brady, Dennis Mahoney and Colleen Sullivan held signifcant leads. Brady had 5,639 votes according to unofficial results, followed by Sullivan with 5,286 votes and Mahoney with 5,113.

* Daily Southtown | South suburban high school board race results: In Orland High School District 230, three incumbent board members sought reelection though there were six other candidates for the four seats. With all precincts reporting, unofficial results showed board veteran Susan Dalton leading with 12,704 votes, followed by Mark Kelly with 12,200 votes and recently appointed board members Nadine Scodro with 10,466 votes and Chris Kasmer with 10,059. They were all park of the 230 United Slate.

* Daily Herald | Several school board battles unfolded in Northwest suburbs Tuesday: Among several school board races in the Northwest suburbs Tuesday, Barrington Unit District 220’s was one of the most contested with six candidates vying for four seats. Incumbents Sandra Ficke-Bradford, Steve Wang, Katie Karam and Erin Chan Ding all appeared to be leading late in the evening, according to unofficial results. Their reelection bids were challenged by Harathi K. Srivastava and Deanna Stern.

* Evanston Now | Biss wins reelection with 62% of vote: Unofficial returns show Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss winning a decisive victory Tuesday night defeating Jeff Boarini to remain the 22nd mayor of Evanston. With 44 of 45 precincts reporting, the Cook County Clerks office says Biss received 62% of the vote to 38% for challenger Jeff Boarini. That was a narrower margin than the 73% Biss won four years ago in his first race for mayor.

* Daily Herald | Challenger defeats 12-year incumbent in Palatine trustee race: With all precincts reporting in the race for three seats on the Barrington village board, two-term incumbent Jennifer Wondrasek appears to have won a third term with 902 votes. She will be joined by 10-year village board veteran and fellow incumbent Todd Sholeen, who received 777 votes and challenger Lauren Klauer who received 686 votes. Former U.S. Army Reservist Jesse Rojo received 551 votes.

* Daily Herald | Burket edges past Fasules in Glen Ellyn village president’s race; mayors losing in other DuPage towns: James Burket edged past Gary Fasules in the race to decide Glen Ellyn’s next village president. Burket, a former village trustee, garnered 2,462 votes, compared to 2,096 for Fasules, a sitting board member, according to unofficial tallies so far.

* Tribune | Incumbent Vicki Scaman claims victory in contentious Oak Park village president race: After what was an unusually contentious and at times personal battle, incumbent Oak Park Village President Vicki Scaman appeared to win a convincing victory over challenger Ravi Parakkat, a member of the Village Board, according to preliminary results from Tuesday’s municipal elections. With results from all 32 precincts reporting, Scaman has received 6,083 votes to Parakkat’s 3,705 votes. This was a significantly bigger margin than Scaman achieved in her first race for village president four years earlier, when Scaman won 56.14% of the vote against progressive activist Cate Readling.

* Lake County News-Sun | Long-time North Chicago mayor declares victory once again; ‘I will continue to do everything I can to make North Chicago better’: Rockingham had 68.72% of 924 votes counted as of Wednesday morning, compared to community activist David Hood with 21.21% and Ald. Anthony Coleman, 2nd Ward, at 10.06%, according to unofficial results from the Lake County Clerk’s Office.

* Lake County News-Sun | Cunningham declares victory in campaign to return as Waukegan mayor; ‘I want to continue with the plans we started’: Former Waukegan Mayor Sam Cunningham, the city’s first Black chief executive, declared victory Tuesday night in his bid to regain the office he lost four years ago, thus extending the city’s 28-year string of one-term mayors. Leading in a four-candidate race, Cunningham was ahead of incumbent Mayor Ann Taylor, who defeated him four years ago to become the city’s first woman chief executive, according to unofficial results.

* Daily Herald | Incumbents fare well in Lake County municipal board races: In a close race for three seats, Katherine “Casey” Rooney led all candidates with 1,885 votes followed by newcomer Kara Macdonald with 1,573 votes and incumbent Matt Krummick with 1,490 votes. Andrew Herrmann had 1,403 votes and Patrick Scheibler, 1,401. Krummick, Rooney and Herrman ran as a team with Donna Johnson who squeaked out a victory for a second term.

* Tribune | Rose Reynders, Michael LePore, Nicholas Muller lead in Homer Glen: Rose Reynders, Michael LePore and Nicholas Muller had a commanding lead Tuesday night in a race for three 4-year seats on the Homer Glen Village Board. […] With all precincts reporting, Reynders had 1,821 votes, LePore had 1,675 votes and Muller had 1,505 votes, according to unofficial results.

* Elgin Courier-News | Elgin City Council incumbents Thoren, Good and Dixon appear headed to victory, joined by newcomer Alfaro: Election results will remain unofficial until mail-in ballots postmarked for Election Day or earlier are counted, provisional ballots are checked and votes are canvassed. Thoren, an Elgin native, is seeking a second term on the council. He previously served as an Elgin Township trustee. He is an Elgin Neighborhood Watch captain, member of the Elgin Breakfast Rotary and Elgin American Legion and past board member of Senior Services.

* Daily Herald | Meier defeats Wilson in Mundelein mayoral race: The third time was the charm for Mundelein mayoral aspirant Robin Meier. As ballots were counted Tuesday, Meier was ahead of fellow Trustee Tim Wilson for the center seat on the village hall dais. Meier had 1,335 votes to Wilson’s 837, unofficial results showed.

* Daily Herald | Fox Valley school board incumbents appear headed to victory, early returns show: One of the most hotly contested races in the suburbs was in Burlington-based Central Unit District 301, where 10 candidates ran for four seats on the school board. Eight candidates sought three 4-year seats on the board. They are incumbents Dornetria Hemphill and Marc A. Falk, Micheline Welch, Graciela Martinez, PK Parekh, Roumiana McMahon, Scott Mrkvicka, and Ryan Wasson. Unofficial, early totals from precincts in Kane and DeKalb counties show Wasson leading with 1,721 votes, followed by Welch with 1,613 votes, Mrkvicka with 1,110 votes and Parekh with 1,014 votes. Incumbents Hemphill and Falk trailed with 972 and 821 votes, respectively.

*** Downstate ***

* BND | Belleville has a new mayor. ‘Just call me Jenny,’ she said from her victory party: Belleville City Clerk Jenny Gain Meyer has defeated Mayor Patty Gregory, who became the city’s first female mayor four years ago by successfully challenging a longtime incumbent. Belleville voters in Tuesday’s consolidated election cast 3,399 votes (63%) for Meyer, 1,972 votes (36%) for Gregory and 17 votes (less than 1%) for write-in candidate Ryan Musick, according to unofficial results released by St. Clair County Clerk Tom Holbrook’s office.

* WGLT | Voters in Normal retain Mayor Chris Koos for a 6th term: Mayor Chris Koos of Normal has won a 6th full term in office, defeating challengers Kathleen Lorenz and Chemberly Harris. Though both those candidates have been on the town council for years, they called for change. Koos has been mayor since 2003. “I think the takeaway is I had a great campaign team. We did what I call a classic campaign. We did it right and built broad support in the community. I was worried because it was a three-way race, and it’s very hard to predict what’s going to come of that,” Koos told WGLT after the result became clear.

* PJ Star | Rita Ali soundly defeats John Kelly in fierce race for Peoria’s mayoral office: Peoria Mayor Rita Ali comfortably defeated city councilman John Kelly Tuesday night securing herself another four-year term as Peoria’s mayor. Ali defeated Kelly by a margin of 9,950 votes to 6,753 votes with 100% of precincts reporting in Peoria as of 9:30 p.m. Kelly told the Journal Star Tuesday night he was “disappointed” with the outcome of the election but said “the people have spoken.”

* PJ Star | Incumbent Alex Sierra defeats former trustee in Peoria Park District board race: Incumbent Alex Sierra retained his seat Peoria Park District Board of Trustees for the Southern District in an election Tuesday that pitted him against former Park District trustee Joseph Cassidy. Sierra ran unopposed for his seat in 2023. Cassidy was elected to the Park District board in 2021 and stepped down in 2023 when he relocated to Atlanta. With 100% of the precincts reporting, unofficial results show Sierra collected 621 votes (53.40%) to Cassidy’s 542 (46.60%).

* PJ Star | ‘Deeply honored’: Two challengers and incumbent win seats on Dunlap school board: Incumbent Tom Feldman successfully defended his seat, while challengers Youssef Boudjarane and Mick Hall defeated incumbents Abby Humbles and Steven Hodel. Key subplots in the race were a campaign by a group of parents calling for the removal of current school board president Humbles and the circulation of mailers by a political action committee targeting Hall that highlighted a three-year suspension of his law license in 2012.

* Fox 2 Now | Election results: Key Illinois municipal races take shape: Illinois Election results are coming in for several key municipal races across Illinois, including the high-profile mayoral contests in Belleville and Alton. Incumbent Mayor Patty Gregory, seeking a second term, lost to City Clerk Jennifer Gain Meyer in a competitive showdown. Gain Meyer received 2,118 votes, while Gregory had 1,268. For the Edwardsville School District School Board, Scott Ahart leads the race.

* QC Times | Unofficial results show Ashley Harris elected as Rock Island mayor: Current Rock Island Mayor Mike Thoms was defeated by challenger Ashley Harris, according to the unofficial election night results. As of 9 p.m. Tuesday, all 120 precincts had reported. Thoms received 2,661, or 48.6% of the votes compared to Harris’ 2,811 or 51.3%. Thoms was first elected in 2017.

* Rockford Register Star | Election: Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara wins third term: Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara won re-election to a third term on Tuesday, easily defeating a challenge from Rockford real estate agent Derrick Kunz, according to unofficial election results. McNamara, a Democrat, won 12,969 votes or 78% of the vote. Kunz, a businessman who campaigned as an independent, had 3,583 votes or 22% of votes cast, unofficial results from the Rockford Board of Elections showed.

* WAND | Sangamon County voters overwhelmingly decide to dissolve Recorder’s Office: With 100 percent of precincts reporting the vote was 67 percent in favor of eliminating the office. With the approval, the county office will close Dec. 1, 2026. Operations will be moved to the Sangamon County Clerk’s Office.

* WAND | Voters in Chatham approve tax hike for library repairs: The referendum passed 55 percent to 45 percent and was separated by 247 votes, 1,327-1,125. The Chatham Area Public Library posted on its website that the tax increase will cover three areas: much needed infrastructure repairs, provide long-term financial stability, and expanded materials, services, and technology. The library said the increase would add $26.95 a year to a home valued at $200,000.

* BND | Final unofficial results: Southwest Illinois boards of education and school referenda

* Pantagraph | 1% School Facility Occupation Tax passes in McLean County: With 100% of votes counted, the proposed 1% County School Facility Occupation Tax has passed in McLean County. According to unofficial results from Tuesday’s election, the measure passed with 17,415 votes for and 15,427 votes against the measure.

* WGEM | Hancock County voters turn down school sales tax: On Tuesday, Hancock County residents denied a sales tax that would have been used exclusively for county schools. The rate of the tax would have been 1% and was planned to go towards school facility purposes, school resource officers and mental health professionals.

* WAND | Decatur city council sees 2 win re-election and 1 newcomer, while DPS61 school board gets 4 fresh faces: Unofficial votes in Macon County saw council incumbents David Horn and Ed Culp win re-election and Consuelo Cruz win a four-year term. The five-way race saw Horn get the most votes followed by Culp and Cruz who were separated by 20 votes. James Wrigley was fourth and Micah Ray was fifth.

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Healing Communities: Illinois Hospitals Support Individual And Community Health And Well-being

Wednesday, Apr 2, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Every hour of every day, Illinois hospitals provide lifesaving care to the communities they serve. Care delivery within their facilities is at the core of what hospitals do—but it’s not all they do. Illinois hospitals earn their role as indispensable to communities by looking at healthcare, health and well-being from several vantage points.

There’s the health of the individual. Doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals put their skills toward helping individuals achieve optimal health. There’s also the health of the community. Illinois hospitals are committed to and working hard to help strengthen the health and well-being of communities.

They do this by:

    • Addressing community needs
    • Diving local economies
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    • Training future clinicians

These four pillars reflect the longstanding and ongoing efforts of hospitals across Illinois to meet community needs; contribute significantly to the state and local economy; overcome hurdles patients experience with accessing care; and fortify Illinois’ healthcare workforce.

Most people don’t see the critical care hospitals provide 24/7 or how hospitals are partnering with local organizations and investing in communities. Yet their benefit to the community is everywhere. Learn more about how Illinois hospitals are healing communities.

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Open thread

Wednesday, Apr 2, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* What’s going on?…

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Isabel’s morning briefing

Wednesday, Apr 2, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: Raoul says ‘I do not want to go to Washington,’ rules out bid for U.S. Senate. Capitol News Illinois

    - Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said Tuesday he is not interested in running for Sen. Dick Durbin’s job, or any other elected position in the foreseeable future.

    - “I do not want to go to Washington. I want to stay here,” Raoul told a luncheon audience at the City Club of Chicago. “And this is no knock on Sen. Durbin or Sen. [Tammy] Duckworth. I truly believe what I do on a day-to-day basis [as attorney general] has more impact than what I could do as U.S. senator.”

* Related stories…

No need to worry about the lack of election stories—I’ll have a campaign roundup ready later this morning!

* BlueRoomStream.com’s coverage of today’s press conferences and committee hearings can be found here.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Sun-Times | Sentencing dates set for ComEd officials convicted of plot to influence Madigan: Summer sentencing dates have been scheduled for four former ComEd officials and lobbyists convicted of conspiring to illegally influence former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan. […] Hooker is set to be sentenced on July 14, Pramaggiore on July 21, McClain on July 24, and Doherty on Aug. 5.

* University of Illinois System | March Illinois Flash Index increased slightly: In Illinois, inflation-adjusted individual income tax receipts increased by more than 10 percent compared to the same month last year, while corporate receipts declined slightly after a period of underperformance. Sales tax receipts fell by 2.7 percent. The Illinois unemployment rate decreased by a tenth of a percentage point to 4.8 percent, while the national rate rose slightly to 4.1 percent. Similar to the Flash Index, the Illinois unemployment rate has remained stable over the past year.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Sen. Robert Martwick | Tier Two pensions are a crisis of our own making. Here’s a viable fix: So, what is the solution? The state’s public sector unions have put forth a proposal that seeks to balance fiscal responsibility with fairness. They are not asking for a return to the pre-2011 Tier One system, but rather a reasonable middle ground — what one might call “Tier One Light.” Their proposal is not extravagant; it simply aims to provide a pension that meets the basic standard of retirement security. As an employer, the state should see this as the bare minimum responsibility to its workforce.

* Pantagraph | Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton stresses progressive record amid Senate speculation: Stratton said she has not yet identified candidates or causes to support through Level Up. And with the Senate race frozen until Durbin makes his decision, she said she is planning on having events through the PAC that facilitate “dialogs across the state where we’re doing more listening.”

* Brownfield Ag News | IL Farmers Union takes priorities to Springfield: Cheyanne Bristol says recent visits to Springfield have been highlighted by discussions on the need for strong conservation programs. “In our meeting with Representative Harper, who is the Chair of the Agriculture Committee, we had talked about good stewardship of the land.” She says, “We believe in climate smart practices, and of course she was very for that.”

* WCIA | Pritzker signs trade agreement between Illinois and Mexico: The MOU comes at the start of a delegation trip from Illinois to Mexico City with the purpose of deepening economic cooperation and opportunities between the state and country. This specific agreement emphasizes the strong ties between Mexico and Illinois with a specific focus on bilateral trade in industries including manufacturing, agriculture and finance, according to a media release from Pritzker’s office.

*** Statewide ***

* Center Square | Illinois gun rights group asks U.S. Attorney General to review state’s gun laws: Illinois State Rifle Association’s Ed Sullivan said they’ve been in talks with the Trump administration. “I think it’s timely that Attorney General Bondi would want to come in and talk to us,” Sullivan told The Center Square. “She should tackle kind of the most onerous states in the nation when it comes to anti-gun laws and so we certainly welcome anything that they want to do to kind of look at this process.”

*** Chicago ***

* WBEZ | Chicago’s murder drop ‘mirrors a lot of big cities,’ a leading crime data analyst says: Chicago finished the year’s first quarter this week with 96 murders, a drop of more than 15% from the first three months of last year. New Orleans-based data analyst Jeff Asher closely follows crime numbers in Chicago and other U.S. cities and spoke with WBEZ. The interview has been edited for clarity and length.

* Sun-Times | Johnson calls special City Council meeting next week to confirm new 35th Ward alderperson: During his weekly City Hall news conference, Johnson said he has “not made any announcement on who” will replace Ramirez-Rosa. However, City Hall sources say Quezada is Johnson’s choice for the job, and that the appointment will be announced Wednesday. The announcement will come as no surprise. Quezada spent six years as Ramirez-Rosa’s neighborhood services director and was Ramirez-Rosa’s choice.

* Tribune | Lawsuit claims Chicago approval for cannabis store in Streeterville was illegal: The suit, filed last week by a neighborhood resident, Beth Padera, claims that the city Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) improperly approved a special use permit for G.P. Green House, doing business as Guaranteed Dispensary, at 620 N. Fairbanks Court. The complaint notes that the city zoning administrator had recommended denial of the application because the dispensary would be slightly within 500 feet of Guidepost Montessori at Magnificent Mile, at 226 E. Illinois St., in violation of Chicago zoning law.

* Tribune | Debate resumes over 8 p.m. curfew for teens downtown after boy is shot during ‘teen takeover’ in Streeterville: Johnson has resisted calls in the past for an earlier curfew, including last summer after a group of teens attacked a couple in Streeterville. On Tuesday he told reporters he was more interested in how to “invest in young people and create more healthy safe spaces for them.”

* Block Club | City Opens Applications For More Than 400 Vacant Properties To Boost Redevelopment: The city began accepting redevelopment applications Tuesday for more than 400 land parcels, including 54 “Missing Middle” lots. Those lots are being offered through a program from the city’s Department of Planning and Development launched last fall to help revitalize the city’s middle class through affordable home ownership.

* Tribune | George Freeman, a trailblazing jazz guitarist who enjoyed a late-career renaissance, dies at 97: That was typical for the ever-adventurous Freeman, who died in Chicago on April 1. He was 97 years old. His death was confirmed by his nephew, Mark Freeman. While still in his teens, Freeman was among the first musicians in Chicago, and one of the first jazz guitarists anywhere, to champion the bleeding-edge bebop of his idol, Charlie Parker. He eventually got to play with Parker, in now-lauded performances at the Pershing Ballroom in the early 1950s.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* WBEZ | Chief judge takes over electronic monitoring for Cook County, but questions remain about staffing: The Cook County sheriff’s office is ending its decades-old electronic monitoring program, handing it over to the chief judge amid questions about who will arrest violators and how extra staff will be funded. Beginning Tuesday, anyone placed on electronic monitoring after being found to be a flight risk or a danger to the public will be overseen by the Adult Probation Department, administered by Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans.

* Daily Southtown | Orland Park comedian Tim Cavanagh back to laughing after pancreatic cancer nearly took his life: Cavanaugh, 71, is a nationally known comedian from Orland Park who at one time was backed up by Drew Carey, co-headlined with Dennis Miller and backed up Jay Leno and Jerry Seinfeld among others. He opened 2021, however, being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer on Jan. 2. He went through hell, having a bunch of internal organs taken out and spending 26 days in a hospital. But he survived a disease that, according to pancan.com, carries a survival rate of 13%.

* Daily Herald | COD history professor explores DeKalb County’s role in Underground Railroad April 17: On Thursday, April 17, join College of DuPage Associate Professor of History John Paris for “Never Pursued: J.F. Glidden and the Underground Railroad.” The presentation, held in honor of former COD History Professor Carter D. Carroll, is free and open to the public. Paris will explore the significant role DeKalb County played in the Underground Railroad, highlighting the actions of J.F. Glidden, inventor of barbed wire, and DeKalb County sheriff during the network’s most active period.

* Daily Herald | Severe weather expected to develop overnight, continue throughout Wednesday: Thunderstorms are expected to develop late Tuesday night with the potential for hail stones up to 1 inch in diameter, gusty winds, frequent lightning and heavy downpours at times. Additional severe weather is likely to continue through most of the night and continue throughout Wednesday for most of the suburbs, according to forecasts from the National Weather Service bureau in Romeoville.

*** Downstate ***

* WCIA | Two people arrested by ICE at Champaign Co. Courthouse: Champaign County Sheriff Dustin Heuerman confirmed the arrests with WCIA Tuesday afternoon. Champaign County Public Defender Elisabeth Pollock identified the two arrested as Fernando Lorenzo-Raymundo and Carlos Gomez. Both have pending court cases. Heuerman said he spoke with the ICE agent in charge when he heard that officials were in the courthouse. The agent told him that they were there with administrative warrants for two men who had court. Those warrants are administrative rather than criminal, and allow federal immigration officials to detain people pending deportation hearings.

* SJ-R | Springfield alderwoman has a new gig: lobbying for Chicago mayor: Ward 5 Ald. Lakeisha Purchase has been a registered state lobbyist since 2023. Purchase said she will remain on the city council. “This is helpful to Chicago having someone here in Springfield,” Purchase told The State Journal Register March 29.

* Press Release | Woodward Communications, Inc. Expands Springfield Footprint with Acquisition of Four More Radio Stations: Woodward Communications, Inc. (WCI) is pleased to announce the successful acquisition of four radio stations (WNNS-FM, WQLZ-FM, WMAY-FM, and WMAY-AM) from Mid-West Family, serving the Springfield, IL marketplace. This acquisition follows WCI’s recent purchase of four Springfield, IL radio stations (WXAJ-FM, WFMB-FM, WCVS-FM, and WFMB-AM) from Neuhoff Media completed in October of last year.

* SJ-R | ‘He knew everything.’ Renowned Lincoln scholar and author dead at 101: Wayne C. “Doc” Temple, the indefatigable Abraham Lincoln scholar who wrote more than 20 books and hundreds of articles and book reviews, died in Chatham on March 31. Temple was 101 and still writing and reviewing manuscripts towards the end of his life, said his friend and historian, James Cornelius.

*** National ***

* Nature | ‘One of the darkest days’: NIH purges agency leadership amid mass layoffs: The layoffs will challenge the longstanding status that the NIH’s institutes and centres have had within the agency — as semi-autonomous entities. Legislative, communications, IT and other administrative workers within each institute received termination notices early on 1 April, a move designed to consolidate power under the NIH director. “NIH will cease to function after the RIFs [reductions in force]; it will take months to get things back online administratively,” says another NIH official, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with the press.

* Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Elon Musk group removes video from $1M winner after she says she got money to ‘vote’: “My name’s Ekaterina Deistler, and I’m from Green Bay, Wisconsin,” she said in the new video. “I did exactly what Elon Musk told everyone to do: sign the petition, refer friends and family, and now I have a million dollars.” It’s almost exactly the same, except the word “vote” has been removed. She is no longer saying she was paid, in part, to vote in the Supreme Court race.

* Columbia Journalism Review | Center for Public Integrity Is Shutting Down: The Center for Public Integrity, a thirty-six-year-old nonprofit newsroom in Washington, DC, that won acclaim for its investigations but has endured financial and organizational turmoil for much of the past decade, has ceased publishing and is in talks to turn over its archives to the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), an anti-corruption watchdog group.

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)

Wednesday, Apr 2, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Selected press releases (Live updates)

Wednesday, Apr 2, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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Live coverage

Wednesday, Apr 2, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Click here and/or here to follow breaking news. Hopefully, enough reporters and news outlets migrate to BlueSky so we can hopefully resume live-posting.

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Consolidated Election night open thread (Updated)

Tuesday, Apr 1, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Some election night results pages…

I’ll add more as we find them. If you know of a results page not listed above, put it in comments.

* You can see some of the contributions made by the Democratic Party of Illinois by clicking here. From a March 14 DPI press release…

In partnership with the Illinois Democratic County Chairs Association (IDCCA), DPI and county chairs have identified 270 recommended candidates in municipal races across the state. Credible community advocates recommended by DPI are fighting for equitable public investments, better healthcare, and strong public schools for our kids. Conservative candidates who oppose these values are also seeking local office. DPI has identified 230 opposed candidates who will be targeted through this program.

The Party’s plan will include a six-figure mail and digital advertising investment, reaching hundreds of thousands of Democratic voters in target regions across Illinois. The paid communications program will highlight the Donald Trump–aligned conservatives on the ballot, as well as support the credible, commonsense community advocates that DPI recommends. In addition, the Party is facilitating direct candidate training led by DPI’s campaign staff and assigned one-on-one campaign coaches.

* I should’ve done this earlier…

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ISBE says Trump administration is clawing back $77 million in already obligated grants

Tuesday, Apr 1, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Illinois State Board of Education…

The Trump administration on March 28 issued a decision to claw back funds for Illinois schools, reversing the U.S. Department of Education’s prior approval of Illinois’ request for a liquidation extension on federal pandemic relief funds. The decision revokes approval for Illinois grantees to spend $77.25 million in federal pandemic relief funds intended to support Illinois’ highest-need students, forcing school districts to reconsider essential services.

“Our most at-risk students are having resources their districts were promised stripped away for political gain, and Illinois will not stand by and let this kind of cruelty abide,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Every dollar of these funds would go to support districts in need of every available support, and instead the administration is making it harder yet again for Illinois families to live, work, and get an education.”

“This decision is a devastating blow to the students and schools that were relying on these approved funds to provide critical services,” said State Superintendent of Education Dr. Tony Sanders. “School districts depend on stability in funding to plan effectively and ensure continuity of services for students. The abrupt reversal of this extension disrupts stability and jeopardizes essential programs that support students’ learning recovery.”

Illinois has spent down 98.5% of its federal pandemic relief funds. The remaining $77.25 million has been obligated, meaning it has been committed within contracts, orders, or payroll, but has not yet been expended. Grantees had requested late liquidation approval on a narrow, project-specific basis to account for supply chain issues, staffing shortages, and other delays due to the pandemic.

Previously, the U.S. Department of Education granted Illinois the requested extension to liquidate federal American Rescue Plan (ARP) Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief and ARP Homeless Children and Youth funds until March 28, 2026, for obligations made on or before September 30, 2024.

The Trump administration’s revocation of the approval meant funds had to be liquidated by March 28, 2025 – the same day the revocation decision was announced – leaving school districts, Regional Offices of Education, and other grantees suddenly unable to access the remaining funds.

The Trump administration’s action impacts 27 school districts, two Regional Offices of Education, and three other grantees that were relying on these funds to reimburse expenses for essential services, including transportation for homeless children, adaptive technology for students with disabilities, certification for teachers of English learners, and after-school tutoring to address learning loss. Without access to these funds, impacted grantees may have to stop services.

The letter from the U.S. Department of Education suggests that states may resubmit extension requests, placing an unnecessary and duplicative administrative burden on grantees and jeopardizing access to critical resources for the schools and students who need them most.

I’ve asked for a list of the school districts and a list of the grants.

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Isabel’s afternoon roundup (Updated)

Tuesday, Apr 1, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

…Adding… Press release…

In Major Victory for Survivors of Highland Park Mass Shooting, Judge Allows Majority of Claims in Civil Case Against Smith & Wesson and Firearm Retailers to Proceed

Romanucci & Blandin LLC and Everytown Law Represent 48 Survivors of Highland Park Mass Shooting

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. – The survivors and loved ones of those killed in the Highland Park Fourth of July mass shooting secured a major victory today in their case seeking to hold Smith & Wesson and gun sellers Bud’s Gun Shop and Red Dot Arms accountable for enabling the shooter to carry out the massacre. The court denied Smith & Wesson’s motions to dismiss as to Plaintiffs’ unfair business practices and negligence claims, but granted them as to the Plaintiffs’ deceptive business practices claims. The court also denied the motions to dismiss filed by Red Dot and Bud’s Gun Shop in their entirety.

* ILGOP…

The ILGOP Election Integrity Committee will audit and examine municipal election voter rolls for cases of voter fraud, improper registration and voter suppression. Using advanced AI, the Election Integrity Committee will help ensure that our elections are safe and secure. The Election Integrity Committee will present its recommendations to ensure that our elections are conducted with transparency and integrity.

“We need to be doing everything possible to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat,” said ILGOP Chair Kathy Salvi. “Unfortunately, Illinois Democrats have not pushed for requiring proof of U.S. citizenship or photo ID to cast a ballot. Our Election Integrity Committee is reviewing this year’s voters to safeguard our elections and will present its findings on voter fraud, improper registration, and voter suppression.”

* Background is here if you need it. Fox 32 Chicago political correspondent Paris Schutz


* Mendota Reporter

After The Mendota Reporter went to press with the March 26 edition featuring a story on the Trump Administration’s program cuts affecting the Mendota Area Christian Food Pantry, the Illinois Department of Human Services sent a notification to lead agencies.

The notification stated the Illinois Equitable Access Towards Sustainable Systems program (Illinois Eats) was reinstated on Thursday, March 20 after it was cut on March 4. The program was shut down for 16 days.

The IDHS also notified it is in partnership with the Illinois Department of Agriculture and the determined funding to reinstate the program is directly coming from the United States Department of Agriculture, which is responsible for establishing the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program, the umbrella for Illinois Eats.

“It was a huge relief for me, the clients, and for the food pantry’s board of directors,” said MACFP Executive Director, Tracy Cooper. “From what I understand, they’re bringing it back under a different funding. It will now be funded by the USDA without federal assistance. This is also a good sign they are not going to take away the USDA program we use for other food purchased for the pantry.

“They’re only bringing Illinois Eats back until the end of the fiscal year, which is actually July 1. We don’t know if it will be done again at the end of June. It depends on whether they find funding or not. So, we’re still up in the air when it comes to June because the program could still end.”

* The governor has spent the last couple days on a trade mission in Mexico


* Some react from ILGOP Chair Kathy Salvi

*** Statewide ***

* WTTW | Postal Workers Union Pushes Back on Potential USPS Cuts and Outlines Impact on Illinois Residents: “Look at the model from the Royal Mail in England,” said Melissa Rakestraw, executive vice president of the National Association of Letter Carriers. “They privatized in 2013 and it increased cost for mailers and consumers, it slowed down services and increased the mismanagement of pension funds. We can expect the same thing here.”

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | Trump tariffs on steel and aluminum could squeeze Chicago apartment developers, leading to higher rents: The White House began implementing tariffs of 25% on global steel and aluminum imports March 12, saying it wants to stimulate domestic production. But experts say tariffs will also make the crucial materials more expensive, forcing developers to pass higher costs onto tenants, or make it tougher to secure financing and kick off construction. Down the road, that could mean higher rents and fewer choices for those looking for housing. “It’s a very difficult environment for the construction industry,” said Julie Workman, a Chicago-based real estate attorney and partner at Saul Ewing LLP. “Uncertainty and delay can kill deals. Time kills deals.”

* Tribune | Chicago drivers can pay old tickets without late fees under amnesty plan: Drivers must pay off their base fine balance in full by June 30 to avoid the late penalties and interest they have since accrued. Only violations with a “notice of final determination” issued before 2024 will qualify, according to a news release. “This is what it means to build a government that’s rooted in fairness and justice,” Johnson said at a news conference Tuesday. “To the Chicagoans who have old ticket debt, this is your chance for a fresh start. So do not wait.”

* Crain’s | The mayor has made his pick to replace Ramirez-Rosa in the 35th Ward: Mayor Brandon Johnson is set to appoint 8th District Cook County Commissioner Anthony Joel Quezada to replace former Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa to represent the 35th Ward on the Northwest Side in the City Council, according to sources familiar with the decision. The selection will come as a shock to no one as Quezada has been the presumed choice since Ramirez-Rosa was tapped by Johnson to head the Chicago Park District in February. Ramirez-Rosa’s first day at the helm of the park district is today.

* Bloomberg Opinion | Ex-Skadden lawyer proves the resistance isn’t over: Until last week, Cohen was a third-year finance associate in the Chicago office of white-shoe law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. As Trump put out executive orders targeting firms that had done work for his adversaries, she watched the industry fail to come together in support of its peers and the legal profession as a whole. When it became clear that Big Law wasn’t going to rally around some sort of collective action, Cohen suggested to a handful of friends at other law firms that they put together an open letter, signed anonymously by associates, that would put pressure on their employers to speak out. “I don’t buy people saying they just couldn’t get the firms together,” she told me, “because I and like six friends who graduated [law school] in 2022 did that in 36 hours.”

* ABC Chicago | Concern on Chicago area college campuses after downstate international student has visa revoked: An international student at Southern Illinois University is now in immigration limbo because their student visa was abruptly revoked late last week. […] The university wouldn’t elaborate on the reason for the revocation or the student’s country of origin. […] According to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the Trump administration has revoked roughly 300 student visas and counting. It’s a triggering reality for University of Illinois Chicago’s heavily international student population.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* ABC Chicago | Case of tuberculosis reported at Waukegan High School, health officials say: The Lake County Health department said a person was recently diagnosed with active tuberculosis, also known as TB. The person was at the Waukegan High School campus, officials said. Those who might have been exposed have been notified by officials.

* Daily Herald | ‘We are gutted’: Mundelein’s Tonality Brewing to shutter this month: To encourage redevelopment of the former municipal building, the village board voted to give Gelfand and partner Don Phillips $180,000 in grants and tax rebates. The development deal called for the village to give Tonality $50,000 from the local Business Incentive Grant program; a 50% sales-tax rebate of up to $65,000 over five years, once the business began operating; and up to $65,000 from a village tax increment financing fund over five years, once the business began operating.

* Naperville Sun | Naperville to welcome new pickleball facility thanks to a team of longtime friends-turned-franchisees: Saumil Parikh, Chirdip Sheth, Hemang Patel and Dhaval Sheth have seen each other through life’s major moments. Now, the longtime friends are embarking on a new chapter together: the launch of their very own pickleball facility. The group is coming together to bring a franchise of Pickleball Kingdom to Naperville. They are in the process of finding a location for their new facility, which — when complete — will feature climate-controlled indoor pickleball courts, according to a news release announcing the burgeoning franchise last month.

* ABC Chicago | Elk Grove softball coach becomes all-time-winningest high school softball coach in IL: Ken Grams has become the all-time-winningest high school softball coach in Illinois, and he’s done it all at Elk Grove High School. […] “Right now, I’m sitting at 1,044,” Grams said. The team won 3-2 Monday. In his 44th season, Coach Grams was just one victory away from standing alone at the top of the all-time-wins list. To rack up so many wins, of course, takes many years.

*** Downstate ***

* WSIL | Former southern Illinois police chief pleads guilty to corruption charges: A former police chief in one southern Illinois city pleaded guilty to one count of misapplication of property from federally funded programs and one count of interstate transportation of stolen property, according to the United States Attorney’s Office Southern District of Illinois. A representative with the US Attorney’s Office said Anson Fenton, 46 of Belle Rive, was in court on Monday and admitted to selling forfeited items which were confiscated by their department for his personal benefit.

* Shaw Local | Election 2025: 5 races we are watching in Whiteside, Lee counties: Sauk Valley-area voters headed to their polling places Tuesday to choose who will represent them on city, school, park, library and township boards. After the polls close at 7 p.m., visit the Sterling Gazette/Dixon Telegraph’s website for election night coverage and updates on the races.

* WCIA | ‘It’s disgusting’: Buckley residents call on village officials to focus on water quality: The Village of Buckley has tried to build a new sewer system, but funding the project has been an issue. The Village President said they’ve secured millions of dollars in grants, but initial bids are higher than expected. Now, the sewer rate is rising on water bills, and patience is running low for people in town. “We didn’t sign up for this and I feel like that’s really cruel,” said resident Karin Hall.

* Herald-Whig | Troup, Moore make final push before election: Republican Mayor Mike Troup faces off against former city treasurer and independent candidate Linda Moore in the consolidated election. Troup, 67, who is finishing his first term, believes the city has undergone tremendous business growth during his time as mayor and wants to see that continue. “If you look at where we started four years ago with coming out of COVID, a lot of empty big box stores, an uncertain economy, we have filled virtually the empty big box stores,” Troup said. “Our sales tax revenues have jumped up and have remained at that height. We have been able to use those dollars to improve infrastructure.”

* WCIA | Danville Rescue Men’s Overnight Crisis Shelter now open: Back in January WCIA reported that organizers were struggling to find insurance for the building. Now, the only thing left is to fill the spots and get homeless men off the streets. Monday night the Danville Rescue Mission began providing the unsheltered men a hot meal and a place to lay their heads.

*** National ***

* NBC | Scientists warn of severe honeybee losses in 2025: Honeybee colonies in the United States are projected to decline by up to 70% in 2025, entomologists at Washington State University said Tuesday. The university said in a news release that in the past decade, honeybee colony losses have averaged 40% to 50% annually. But this year, a combination of nutrition deficiencies, mite infestations, viral diseases and possible pesticide exposure during the previous pollinating season led to higher losses, the release said.

* Chalkbeat | Programs like tutoring in jeopardy after Linda McMahon terminates COVID aid spending extensions: “Extending deadlines for COVID-related grants, which are in fact taxpayer funds, years after the COVID pandemic ended is not consistent with the Department’s priorities and thus not a worthwhile exercise of its discretion,” the letter states. “The Department’s initial approval of your extension request does not change anything.” The last opportunity to spend pandemic relief money was 5 p.m. Friday, the same day McMahon sent the letter.

* AP | A Senate vote to reverse President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada is testing Republican support: Even as the resolution from Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia offered them a potential off-ramp to the tariffs levied on Canadian imports, Republican leaders were trying to keep senators in line by focusing on fentanyl that comes into the U.S. over its northern border. It was yet another example of how Trump is not only reorienting global economics, but upending his party’s longtime support for ideas like free trade. “I really relish giving my Republican colleagues the chance to not just say they’re concerned, but actually take an action to stop these tariffs,” Kaine told The Associated Press in an interview last week.

* Stateline | Red states create their own DOGE efforts to cut state government: Conservatives have long sought to shrink the size and cost of government. And it’s common practice for officials from both parties to hire outside consultants to help reduce inefficiency or waste in school, state and city bureaucracies. But the DOGE effort is gaining new steam as Republicans look to fall in line with Trump and blue and red states alike face massive budget gaps that will require some combination of spending cuts or increased taxes.

* Reuters | Trump administration to freeze family-planning funds for Planned Parenthood: Planned Parenthood said that nine of its affiliates received notice that funding would be withheld under a program known as Title X, which has supported healthcare services for the poor since 1970. The Wall Street Journal reported last week the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) planned an immediate freeze of $27.5 million in family planning grants for groups including Planned Parenthood.

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Musical interlude: Happy Cheap Trick Day!

Tuesday, Apr 1, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* WIFR

On April 1, 2007, legislation was passed to create Cheap Trick Day in Illinois. […]

“With the profound impact Cheap Trick has had on music for 52 years, we are proud of their accomplishments, beyond happy they are still entertaining in venues around the world and pleased they still call Illinois home,” said State Senator Dave Syverson (R-Cherry Valley), who sponsored the legislation.

* Bun E. Carlos could really pound those skins. Turn it up

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AG Raoul joins lawsuit against Trump administration’s decision to rescind billions in health funding

Tuesday, Apr 1, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* The Associated Press

A coalition of state attorneys general sued the Trump administration on Tuesday over its decision to cut $11 billion in federal funds that go toward COVID-19 initiatives and various public health projects across the country.

Attorneys general from 23 states filed the suit in federal court in Rhode Island. They include New York Attorney General Letitia James, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as well as attorneys general in California, Minnesota, North Carolina, Wisconsin and New York, as well as the District of Columbia.

The lawsuit argues the cuts are illegal and will result in “serious harm to public health” that will put states “at greater risk for future pandemics and the spread of otherwise preventable disease and cutting off vital public health services.”

The lawsuit asks the court to immediately stop the Trump administration from rescinding the money, which was allocated by Congress during the pandemic and mostly used for COVID-related efforts such as testing and vaccination. The money also went to addiction and mental health programs.

* From the lawsuit

The Public Health Terminations exceed Defendants’ statutory and regulatory authority and are unlawful under the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”). The foreseeable end of the COVID-19 pandemic is not a lawful basis to terminate “for cause.” Defendants have never alleged, much less demonstrated, any failure by fund recipients to comply with the applicable terms and conditions of the grants and agreements. Nor did Congress limit the funding at issue here to the period of the COVID-19 emergency. During the pandemic, Congress made wide-ranging public health investments extending beyond COVID-19 and the immediate public health emergency. And after the pandemic was declared over, Congress reviewed the COVID-19 related laws, rescinded $27 billion in funds, but determined not to rescind any of the funding at issue here.

The Public Health Terminations also violate the APA because they are arbitrary and capricious, for reasons including:

    - assuming, with no legal or factual support, that all appropriations in COVID-19 related laws were only intended for use during the pandemic, when the relevant statutes indicate the opposite; failing to undertake any individualized assessments of the grants or cooperative agreements, including any analysis of the benefits of this public health funding or the dire consequences of termination;
    - ignoring the substantial reliance interests of Plaintiff States (and their local health jurisdictions) and the tremendously harmful impact of immediately terminating, without any advance warning, billions of dollars in congressionally appropriated funds midstream;
    - asserting that this public health funding was suddenly unnecessary due to the “end of the pandemic” —an event that occurred almost two years ago;
    - failing to explain HHS’s sudden change in position regarding availability of funds;
    - and arbitrarily misapplying a “for cause” termination provision.

Rich is planning a broader piece on the importance of the APA to many of these cases, but click here for a little background.

* Attorney General Kwame Raoul…

Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a coalition of 24 attorneys general and governors, today filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., for abruptly and illegally terminating nearly $12 billion in critical public health grants to states.

The grant terminations, which came with no warning or legally valid explanation, have quickly caused chaos for state health agencies that continue to rely on these critical funds for a wide range of urgent public health needs such as infectious disease management, fortifying emergency preparedness, providing mental health and substance abuse services, and modernizing public health infrastructure.

“Illinois and states across the nation rely on federal grants to provide state public health services that protect our children and residents from serious diseases or health crises,” Raoul said. “The abrupt termination of this funding that impacts millions of American lives is both callous and unlawful. I am absolutely committed to standing with other state attorneys general to fight the Trump administration’s ludicrous and unlawful actions that threaten the health and safety of Illinois residents.”

Illinois stands to lose hundreds of millions of dollars from these cancelations by HHS. The programs funded by these grants support critical state and local public health services, such as providing vaccines to children, supporting public schools’ ability to share information about communicable diseases, administering tests for serious diseases like Ebola, constructing laboratory facilities for disease monitoring, and addressing public health crises like measles and influenza in children.

Attorney General Raoul and the coalition warn that the HHS cuts threaten the urgent public health needs of states around the country at a time when emerging disease threats – such as measles and bird flu – are on the rise.

Congress authorized and appropriated new and increased funding for these grants in COVID-19-related legislation to support critical public health needs. Many of these grants are from specific programs created by Congress, such as block grants to states for mental health and substance. abuse and addiction services. Yet, with no legal authority or explanation, HHS agencies on March 24 arbitrarily terminated these grants “for cause” effective immediately claiming that the pandemic is over and the grants are no longer necessary.

In their lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island, Raoul and the coalition assert that the mass terminations violate federal law because the end of the pandemic is not a “for cause” basis for ending the grants, especially since none of the appropriated funds are tied to the end of the pandemic, which occurred more than a year ago. HHS’ position, up until a few days ago, was that the end of the pandemic did not affect the availability of these grant funds.

Additionally, for some of the grants, termination “for cause” is not a permissible basis for termination. Yet, the federal government unlawfully terminated them. With this lawsuit, Attorney General Raoul and the coalition are seeking a temporary restraining order to invalidate HHS’ mass grant terminations in the suing states, arguing the actions violate the Administrative Procedure Act. The states are also asking the court to prevent HHS from maintaining or reinstating the terminations, and any agency actions implementing them.

Joining Attorney General Raoul in sending this letter are the attorneys general of Arizona California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Wisconsin and Washington, as well as the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

* Related…

    * AP | Layoffs begin at US health agencies responsible for research, tracking disease and regulating food: The layoffs are expected to shrink HHS to 62,000 positions, lopping off nearly a quarter of its staff — 10,000 jobs through layoffs and another 10,000 workers who took early retirement and voluntary separation offers. Many of the jobs are based in the Washington area, but also in Atlanta, where the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is based, and in smaller offices throughout the country.

  3 Comments      


Study finds Illinois homeowners insurance premiums skyrocketed 50 percent between 2021 and 2024 (Updated)

Tuesday, Apr 1, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Press release…

Today, the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) published a new report that shows American homeowners saw their insurance premiums increase by an average of 24% over the past three years. Nationally, CFA found homeowners saw their insurance premiums rise twice as fast as inflation between 2021 and 2024, which amounts to a $21 billion total price hike for Americans.

The study authors of “Overburdened: The Dramatic Increase in Homeowners Insurance Premiums and its Impacts on American Homeowners” used proprietary industry data purchased for this research to evaluate the growth in insurance premiums for typical homeowners in every ZIP code in the country.

* From the study

The states with the greatest percentage increase in premiums were Utah (59 percent), Illinois (50 percent), Arizona (48 percent), and Pennsylvania (44 percent). The states with the greatest premium hikes in absolute dollars were Florida ($2,118 increase), Louisiana ($1,775), and Kentucky ($1,426). […]

Homeowners in rural areas also experienced steep premium increases. Premiums charged to homeowners in rural ZIP codes rose by 22 percent from 2021 to 2024 (compared to 25 percent in urban and suburban ZIP codes). Annual premiums in rural ZIP codes were $3,317 on average in 2024, compared to $3,299 in urban and suburban areas.

Yikes.

* Recommendations

1. Require insurance companies to publicly release data on homeowners insurance underwriting, pricing, coverage, and claims every year. Mortgage lenders have been required to report detailed, annual mortgage data under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) since 1975, to protect against housing discrimination and ensure that all communities are served. As homeowners insurance increasingly determines who can own a home, insurers should be required to report homeowners insurance data in the same manner.

2. Invest federal and state dollars in housing resiliency and require insurance companies to reward risk reduction with lower premiums. The federal government, as well as states, should adopt and expand grant-based and low-interest-loan risk mitigation programs. These programs can help homeowners better protect their homes, such as through roof fortifications. Given their large investment portfolios, insurance companies should become direct investment partners in these projects. In addition, states should require insurers to reward these loss prevention investments with lower premiums.

3. Create a public reinsurance program to stabilize the American property insurance market and to expand the availability of affordable, quality homeowners insurance. A federal public catastrophe reinsurance program would make available additional – and lower cost – coverage to domestic homeowners, insurers, and state insurers of last resort than the unregulated global reinsurance market currently offers. By adding more risk transfer capacity, the program would loosen the grip of these global companies and insulate consumers from unrestrained cost increases in that market. In exchange for access to this lower cost capacity, participating insurers would have to cover all natural disasters in their homeowners insurance policies and increase availability of their coverage across the country.

* Illinois PIRG notes that the state’s Department of Insurance drafted this bill to implement rate review for auto and homeowners insurance. SB268 is still in a Senate committee, but its passage deadline has been extended to April 4

Creates the Insurance Fairness and Consumer Protection Law Article of the Illinois Insurance Code. Provides that insurers must submit a request for approval to the Department of Insurance for any proposed rate increase for homeowners insurance premiums or automobile insurance premiums. Prohibits implementing any rate increase without prior written approval of the Department. Prohibits using nondriving factors, such as credit score, occupation, and education level, to determine automobile insurance premiums. Provides that, for homeowners insurance, factors unrelated to the insured property’s location, age, and condition shall not be considered in rate setting. Requires a public disclosure and comment period for any proposed rate increase exceeding 10% in a 12-month period. Prohibits an insurer from increasing premiums by more than 15% per year for any policyholder without exceptional justification, which must include specified evidence. Sets forth provisions concerning definitions; penalties; reimbursement of consumers; market conduct actions; Department approval of rate increases; and rulemaking. Effective immediately.

Chief opponents include the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, the Illinois Chamber of Commerce and the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

…Adding… Joint statement from the insurance industry…

While tornadoes and flooding in Illinois and across the Midwest have led to significant home damage and an increase in claims, compared to the rest of the country, Illinois boasts a competitive insurance marketplace with over 200 companies competing to serve consumers. Legislation to bring California-style overregulation to Illinois and to limit how insurance companies calculate risk, would limit competition and lead to higher rates. While the legislation currently being considered is the wrong path forward, the insurance industry in Illinois will continue to work with the General Assembly and the Illinois Department of Insurance on commonsense solutions that will preserve our competitive marketplace and protect consumers.

Key Points:

    • The CFA’s report is a flawed and unreliable analysis. The CFA does not use actual premiums charged to customers as the basis for its findings but instead uses premiums quoted to hypothetical customers.
    • The report also fails to acknowledge that insurance premiums are driven primarily by losses and claims costs.
    • Illinois experienced 120 reported tornadoes in 2023, the most in the nation.
    • Homeowners insurers in Illinois had an average of 6.2% underwriting loss over the last decade, with a massive 27.6% underwriting loss in 2023. This is not sustainable.
    • Banning certain risk factors like credit leads to rate increases for most consumers. When Washington state banned the use of credit scores in setting auto insurances rates in 2021, more than 60 percent of drivers experienced rate hikes.
    • Research shows that using credit alone saves consumers between 30-59% on their auto insurance rates.

  33 Comments      


Mayor, CPZ lay out Chicago’s top 5 state legislative priorities (Updated)

Tuesday, Apr 1, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson was asked about his top three priorities in Springfield this spring session during a press availability today

Mayor Johnson: I think we have five. So yes, we have a number of people in Springfield that are carrying the agenda on behalf of the City of Chicago. Again the loudest voice for our team in Springfield is me. I had a conversation with the Senate President yesterday. Senate President Don Harmon is my mentor, he gave me my first job, and I was his director of constituent services making 10 bucks an hour. And now I call him Senate President, he calls me Mr. Mayor. Had a few conversations with Speaker Welch. On rotation, our budget director and our CFO have had regular conversations with Springfield. My Chief of Staff [Cristina Pacione-Zayas], she understands that place better than any other chief of staff in the history of Chicago because she’s been there. And her relationships, of course, are tried and true. And so those top priorities CPZ, if you don’t mind just running through them, there’s a number of them.

CPZ: A lot of them focused on revenue, so there’s the Personal Property Replacement Tax.

There’s also the Telecom fix that we were working on last session, as well as the 911 surcharge extending that. The sunset was set for this year, we’re extending it a little bit further.

We have mandated categoricals in the Illinois State Board of Education Funding. This would be something that wouldn’t just benefit Chicago Public Schools, but it would benefit the entire plethora of school districts. The 852 because, as you know, with mandated categoricals there are certain services such as transportation and special education and bilingual education that school districts are required to provide but the state does not reimburse at the fullest amount. And so right now there’s some discussion about increasing the proration so that we can get closer to 100% reimbursement, which would then mean that all school districts would get more money into their budgets to take care of the services that they’re required to give.

And then the last, is the One System Initiative. This is the partnership with the state in terms of what we took with our legacy homelessness system and the emergency temporary system that we put up because of the humanitarian crisis we built the infrastructure for something that would live beyond that crisis. But ultimately be able to expand our beds to 126 percent increase up to 6,800 beds have a 24 hour access point. So now we have nobody on a wait list if they need shelter.

So those are the five top priorities. Of course, we know that transit is huge and there’s a lot to be discussed there, with respect to the RTA and the various proposals that are put out by some of our colleagues in the labor space, as well as the advocates.

* H/T Chicago Bars. More on the Personal Property Replacement Tax

The law requires the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) to collect these taxes and allocate 51.65% to local governments in Cook County and 48.35% to local governments in the other 101 counties. The allocation for each local government was to be based on their share of the total personal property tax collected in 1976 for Cook County and 1977 for everywhere else.

In State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2024, IDOR distributed an estimated $2.99 billion in PPRT to 6,525 local governments throughout Illinois. One-fifth of those distributions went to municipalities.

Prior to SFY 2009, IDOR could only divert PPRT revenues for the purpose of paying costs for administering and distributing the revenues of the tax. As illustrated below, past General Assemblies and Governors have increasingly diverted PPRT revenues to pay state’s attorneys, stipends to county officials, regional offices of education and others. In the past, these costs were paid for by state general revenue sources. In SFY 2025, total diversions from PPRT are more than $370 million.

…Adding… Maurice Scholten of the Taxpayers’ Federation of Illinois…

To ensure revenues are distributed correctly, the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) reconciles an annual distribution of income tax payments after processing income tax returns. It was discovered through this reconciliation process that PPRT disbursement to local governments were worth more than they should have been in SFY2022 and SFY2023.

IDOR offset $818 million from PPRT disbursements to local governments in SFY2024 to “true up” these distributions, and another $1.021 billion in SFY2025. The SFY2026 offsets should be an estimated $510 million, which means more PPRT money should be disbursed to local governments. Since the City of Chicago gets 11.6% of PPRT, they should receive roughly $59 million in additional revenues just from the “true up.” Since Chicago Public Schools receive 21% more from PPRT than the City of Chicago, they should also experience increased PPRT revenues, as will every local government unit. The PPRT “true up” should be completed by SFY2027.

Thoughts?

  19 Comments      


It’s just a bill

Tuesday, Apr 1, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Senate Democrats…

Members of the Illinois Senate Democratic Caucus will outline a package of measures aimed to address the mental health crisis through workforce development initiatives and expanded access to care during a press conference Wednesday.

WHO: State Senators Javier Cervantes (D-Chicago), Laura Ellman (D-Naperville), Robert Peters (D-Chicago), and Mike Simmons (D-Chicago), as well as CEO of The Center for Youth and Family Solutions Patrick Phelan, and Vice President of Government Relations of the Illinois Association for Behavioral Health Randy Wells

WHAT: Press conference on measures to prioritize mental health

WHEN: Wednesday, April 2 at 11 a.m.

* Rep. Kelly Cassidy…

Today is Transgender Day of Visibility. While the transgender community has never had the comfort of widespread support and allyship, the volume, intensity, and danger brought about by the current administration’s hateful focus on attacking trans people is unlike anything we’ve seen in my lifetime. Hundreds of bills attacking their very existence have been introduced in state legislative bodies across the country, including somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 here in Illinois. While those bills will not see the light of day because of our pro-equality majority here, every day the members of the Fearful Caucus (they like to call themselves the Freedom Caucus, but we know the truth) get up and spew hatred, usually including a transphobic rant or two. More often than not, the people in the chamber continue their conversations about legislation or lunch and ignore them. However, I started hearing from people who were tuning into the live stream who were concerned that their lies were going unchallenged. I realized that it wasn’t enough to treat their rants as irrelevant. We had to ensure that our constituents listening to their words knew they weren’t going unchallenged and along with some of my colleagues have refused to let them have the last word.

Today, I introduced HR221, honoring Transgender Day of Visibility. I’m pleased that 25 of my colleagues have already signed on in support. While symbolic, it’s important that we take steps to acknowledge the contributions of the transgender community and the many ways our world is a better place because of our commitment to inclusion in Illinois. The Resolution honors many trailblazing members of the community, from Albert Cashiers who passed as a man to join the Union Army in the Civil War and lived most of his post war life as Albert, to Judge Jill Rose Quinn who was the first trans person to win countywide office, to Lilly Wachowski and her groundbreaking filmmaking, philanthropy, and advocacy, to the incredible Commissioner Precious Brady-Davis of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Illinois, we simply can’t pretend that trans people have not always been here, always a critical part of the fabric of our community.

* WAND

A bill by Illinois House Democrats have three major goals. One, ban expulsions from kindergarten through second grade. Two, require superintendent approval for K-2 suspensions. Three, report annual discipline data to Illinois State Board of Education.

Most of the pushback comes from the first two proposals. Some school groups oppose the new plan, but advocate for the bill State Rep. Will Davis (D-Hazel Crest) said that these expulsions don’t make a lot of sense. […]

Some of the opponents to the bill include the Illinois Principals Association. In a statement they said they urge lawmakers to change the language of the plan.

“The Illinois Principals Association urges lawmakers to not limit school disciplinary options without adequately addressing the critical shortage of behavioral health personnel and supports in schools,” Alison Maley with IPA said. […]

Davis said he’s currently working with some opponents to make some possible amendments, but he will not kill the bill.

* Rep. Janet Yang Rohr…

State Rep. Janet Yang Rohr, D-Naperville, is working to help Illinois students succeed by advancing new legislation creating additional paths for students seeking to expand the scope of their education, and empowering advanced middle schoolers to get a head start on their high school coursework. […]

Yang Rohr’s House Bill 3250 gives students more options for completing the Illinois Global Scholar Certification by expanding their ability to use digital badges and online micro-credentials to meet criteria for their capstone project. These methods allow for more affordable ways for students to verify that they have met Global Scholar requirements. This bill received bipartisan support in committee and now awaits consideration before the full House.

Yang Rohr also advanced House Bill 3039, which allows students in 7th or 8th grade taking high school-level courses to receive high school credits if they pass the end-of-course exam at the high school granting credit. This expands credit-earning opportunities, which are currently limited based on a teacher’s certifications or a student’s physical attendance at the high school.

Currently, students can receive high school credit during middle school, if the course is offered by the high school the student would otherwise attend, and the course is taught by a teacher who holds a valid teaching license and is endorsed in both the content area and grade level for the course.

* Rep. Natalie Manley…

A bill making it easier for certified public accountants (CPAs) to work in Illinois has passed unanimously out of the Financial Institutions & Licenses committee, thanks to state Rep. Natalie Manley, D-Joliet, working to add two additional methods for CPAs to gain licensure and cut red-tape for non-resident CPAs. […]

Manley’s House Bill 2459 would amend the Illinois Public Accounting Act by carving two new pathways for accounting professionals without disturbing the current path to licensure, allowing CPA applicants to now become licensed with:

    A bachelor’s degree in accounting, at least two years of experience, and the passage of the CPA exam; or

    A bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree with 30 hours of accounting concentration, at least one year of experience, and passage of the CPA exam.

Additionally, pending the bill’s passage, out-of-state CPAs in good standing and who meet state requirements would have the ability to gain licensure to practice in Illinois.

House Bill 2459 passed with a committee vote of 12-0 and will soon be debated on the House floor.

  5 Comments      


Powering Illinois’ Energy And Economic Future

Tuesday, Apr 1, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

What if Illinois could expand its energy grid, attract AI and emerging tech companies to the state, and provide over 60,000 new jobs with no impact on communities or the environment?

SOO Green makes it possible.

Built along existing rail corridors, this underground transmission project will deliver 2,100 MW of low-cost reliable power making the electric grid more resilient in the face of extreme weather while unlocking billions in economic investments for Illinois.

The SOO Green Advantage:

    • Accelerates Illinois’ Clean Energy & Jobs Act goals
    • 60,000+ new jobs
    • Lower energy costs for families and businesses
    • $26 billion in economic benefits statewide
    • $9.8 billion in health benefits by reducing emissions

With SOO Green all ratepayers will enjoy a more reliable grid, protection from rising energy costs, and a stronger economy for Illinois.

Learn more at www.soogreen.com.

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Question of the day

Tuesday, Apr 1, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Candidates can start circulating nominating petitions in late July. That’s not far off. Is it surprising to you that we haven’t yet heard any Republicans floating their names for down-ballot statewide races?

  13 Comments      


Apparently, it was not a well-pleaded case

Tuesday, Apr 1, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Background from NBC 5

A lawsuit accuses Illinois State Police and state officials of operating an unconstitutional “system of dragnet surveillance” through license plate reading cameras which track motorist’s whereabouts.

The suit, filed last week by Cook County residents Stephanie Scholl and Frank Bednarz, names the state police, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Atty. Gen. Kwame Raoul as defendants.

“Defendants are tracking anyone who drives to work in Cook County — or to school, or a grocery store, or a doctor’s office, or a pharmacy, or a political rally, or a romantic encounter, or family gathering — every day, without any reason to suspect anyone of anything, and are holding onto those whereabouts just in case they decide in the future that some citizen might be an appropriate target of law enforcement,” the suit states.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, “challenges the warrantless, suspicion less, and entirely unreasonable” tracking as a violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth amendments.

The lawsuit was filed by the Liberty Justice Center.

* Welp

* From the opinion

Because their alleged constitutional injuries are not sufficiently imminent, plaintiffs lack standing to enjoin the warrantless use of the LEARN database. […]

Indeed, plaintiffs’ attempt to sue Governor Pritzker and Attorney General Raoul under Ex parte Young is foreclosed by Ex parte Young itself. … Accordingly, Governor Pritzker and Attorney General Raoul are dismissed. […]

Plaintiffs, of course, are concerned less with the license plates themselves and more with what the [Automated License Plate Reader] data reveals about their movements. But “[a] person travelling in an automobile on public thoroughfares has no reasonable expectation of privacy in his movements from one place to another.” […]

In reaching this conclusion, the court joins the nearly uniform consensus of courts that have evaluated the constitutionality of ALPRs and held that their uses “were not Fourth Amendment searches requiring warrants or probable cause.” State v. Sidor, 558 P.3d 621, 631 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2024) (collecting cases); see, e.g., United States v. Porter, No. 21-cr-00087, 2022 WL 124563 (N.D. Ill. Jan. 13, 2022); United States v. Brown, No. 19-cr-00949, 2021 WL 4963602 (N.D. Ill. Oct. 26, 2021); United States v. Toombs, 671 F. Supp. 3d 1329 (N.D. Ala. 2023); Commonwealth v. McCarthy, 142 N.E.3d 1090 (Mass. 2020); Sidor, 558 P.3d at 629. But see Schmidt v. City of Norfolk, No. 2:24-cv-621, 2025 WL 410080 (E.D. Va. Feb. 5, 2025); Commonwealth v. Bell, 113 Va. Cir. 316 (Va. Cir. Ct. 2024).

Plaintiffs have until April 30th to try again.

  26 Comments      


Ironworkers: The Backbone of Our Energy Storage and Green Transition Economy

Tuesday, Apr 1, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Ironworkers are at the forefront of Illinois’ green energy transition, ensuring a sustainable future while securing strong, union-backed wages. Thanks to the historic investment in renewable energy by Governor Pritzker and the Illinois General Assembly, thousands of Illinois ironworkers are finding employment in green energy projects, including energy storage.

From day one, ironworkers have been erecting wind turbines and battery plants. By advancing hydrogen and other energy storage solutions, they play a crucial role in making the ambitious goals of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) a reality. Their expertise ensures that Illinois not only meets but leads in clean energy innovation.

By including all of union labor in renewable energy projects, we strengthen our workforce, our economy, and our environment. The future is green—powered by the hands of skilled ironworkers.

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Open thread

Tuesday, Apr 1, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* What’s going on? Keep it Illinois-centric please?…

  12 Comments      


Isabel’s morning briefing

Tuesday, Apr 1, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: Illinois voters head to the polls. WGEM

* Related stories…

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Tribune | Illinois secretary of state’s office opens larger ‘flagship’ DMV in the Loop: The new 24,000-square-foot facility at 125 W. Monroe St. is nearly five times the size of downtown’s former office at the corner of Randolph and LaSalle streets, which closed on Friday “and often experienced long lines and wait times because of its small size,” Giannoulias’ office said.

* WBEZ | CTU bargainers approve tentative contract deal. Here’s what you need to know: The proposed settlement cleared the hurdle of the union’s “big bargaining team,” a group of 65 educators that has negotiated with the school district for almost a year. A meeting of the CTU’s 730-member House of Delegates is Wednesday, with a ratification vote by all 30,000 members expected in the next week or two.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Capitol News Illinois | Students, women in trades advocate for more career and technical education: The resolution, introduced by state Rep. Elizabeth “Lisa” Hernández, D-Cicero, who serves as chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois, also takes shots at President Donald Trump. It cites recent executive orders that “aim to reverse hard-won progress to diversity the workforce and will further entrench systemic occupational segregation, robbing women of economic security.” […] The resolution, which is awaiting a hearing in the House Labor and Commerce committee, is sponsored exclusively by Democrats, including House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, who signed on as a chief co-sponsor last month.

* WAND | Illinois House Democrat, university leaders raise concerns over Trump cuts to higher education: Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-Chicago) said any cuts to federal financial aid will have a serious negative impact on students and their ability to access college education. Ford noted that many Illinois families rely on Pell grants and student loans to make college affordable.

*** Statewide ***

* WGLT | Libraries and museums in Illinois are hit by Trump executive order: Children’s Discovery Museum Director Beth Whisman said they’ve been told the government will not honor reimbursement for the third year of a $250,000 grant. Whisman estimated the museum is on the hook for about $40,000 already spent. The program serves 1,900 children in both major school districts, the YWCA, and Heartland Head Start early childhood STEAM education.

* Tribune | Illinois becomes first state to mandate halal, kosher meals be available in public institutions such as schools: Muslim students who eat halal usually only have a few options in the school cafeteria line once they’ve passed the hamburgers, chicken nuggets and deli sandwiches: a slice of cheese pizza, maybe a salad, fruit, yogurt, a carton of milk. “Just not a lot of healthy, filling choices to pick from,” said Khadija Basith, whose children attend Forest Glen Elementary School in Glen Ellyn. “Even if there aren’t halal options, I want to at least see them offering a good veggie burger or a good fish wrap.”

*** Chicago ***

* Crain’s | Chicago Public Media reorganizes newsroom leadership in wake of buyouts: Chicago Public Media is naming Jennifer Kho its interim editor-in-chief, along with other leadership changes, as the nonprofit moves forward with integrating the Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ-FM/91.5. Kho, who joined the Sun-Times as executive editor in 2022, will be leading the reorganization of a unified Chicago Public Media newsroom as the company searches for a permanent editor-in-chief, the organization confirmed. She will oversee journalists from both publications, according to a news release.

* Sun-Times | Bally’s gets credit downgrade for ‘execution risk’ on Chicago casino: Potentially lowering Bally’s odds of maxing out its River West jackpot are “a saturated Chicago gaming market, the higher-than-average gaming tax rate, and the typical ramp-up of a new casino development,” according to Fitch Ratings.

* WTTW | CTA Austin Green Line Station Begins $25M Reconstruction Aimed at Accessibility Amid Broader Funding Questions: Funding for the $25.6 million project is through the Federal Highway Administration’s Surface Transportation program and the state’s Rebuild Illinois capital plan. Federal funds provided $20.3 million and Rebuild Illinois picked up $5.3 million, according to transit officials. “This is an innovative approach to utilizing funds traditionally spent on roads to invest and modernize our transit system, so we remain a competitive and reliable alternative to driving,” CTA Acting President Nora Leerhsen said.

* Block Club | Lincoln Square Neighbors Can Take Walking History Lesson With Shermann ‘Dilla’ Thomas: The Walking Hour, a walking series organized by Pamiya Opoku, is partnering with Thomas for an event that will start 2:30 p.m. April 13 at Winnemac Park and continue to western Andersonville. Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th) will also attend the 2.5-mile walk. […] Opoku began taking walks with her friends at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, she launched The Walking Hour in the Evanston area as an expansion of those initial walks, according to the Evanston Roundtable.

* ABC Chicago | Chicago street sweeping starts Tuesday, April 1: Signs about upcoming sweeps are posted in orange two days in advance. Mechanical street sweepers remove debris and litter from Chicago’s streets. Street sweeping continues through the fall.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Elgin City Council rejects delay of ban on synthetic THC product sales: The council approved a ban on the advertisement, display, sale and delivery of Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, products without a state license in late February. On Wednesday, a proposal to push back the ban to begin in late August, allowing stores to sell their current inventory, failed by a 5-4 margin. The same council members who approved the ban rejected the delay.

* WTTW | Illinois, Cook County Public Health Officials Say Federal Funding Cuts Came With Little Notice: The Illinois Department of Public Health announced this week the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is taking back $125 million allocated to IDPH and 97 local health departments for infectious disease prevention. Another $324 million appropriated by Congress for “future use” in preventing and treating infectious disease also is being blocked.

* Crain’s | Northwestern details progress in combating antisemitism on campus: In its report, NU says that reports of antisemitism on campus have decreased significantly since last year, thanks in part to the efforts the school has made, which include: updated demonstration and student conduct policies, mandatory antisemitism training, enhanced Title VI enforcement tools, and the creation of a Jewish advisory group.

* Fox Chicago | Orland Park mayoral candidates differ on handling of ceasefire resolution, public safety: Dodge said he offers a more moderate and civil approach to governing and differs with Pekau on issues like public safety, where he says police are asking for a change in work hours. “Our cops would like to go to three days on 12-hour shifts and then have a little bit bigger break than the current shift structure. Almost all the towns around us are doing that, so we’re starting to lose young police officers to other towns,” he said.

*** Downstate ***

* WCIA | City of Hoopeston to begin voting for new Mayor: Current mayor Jeff Wise said he’s the man for the job. Wise has been in office for three years. He believes the city has seen a lot of success, like the demolition of nine downtown buildings and bringing in a tractor supply to the area. […] His opponent Tracy Carter decided to run for mayor after friends and family believed he’d be the one to make a difference in the city. Carter said he currently works for a manufacturing company in town and has experience managing a yearly budget. He also did various other village jobs, like working for the water department when he lived in Rankin.

* 25News Now | Mayor-led group forms to advocate for towns and cities along the Illinois River: Those fifteen, including Peoria Mayor Rita Ali and East Peoria Mayor John Kahl, form the first Illinois River Cities and Towns Initiative and advocate for their homes along the river. In the group’s first meeting today in Peoria at the Illinois Waterway Ports Commission, members outlined their plans to increase development, sustain the economy, and protect the environment along the waterway.

* SJ-R | Online newspaper supporting LGBTQA+ closes Springfield brick-and-mortar office: Editor and owner of the Illinois eagle Tom Wray said initially he wanted an open forum and way to communicate with the public who could walk in but chose to close the chapter for the office and end his lease due to financial struggles. “We’re still putting content out and we’re still reporting what’s going on in the community,” Wray said. “I mean a lot of people still want the news we provide, it’s just reality that set in … I kind of need to pay my mortgage.”

* First Alert 4 | Fairmount Park to become racino: The venue will have 271 slot machines, including 40 premium games. The casino’s temporary placement in the grandstand is Phase 1 of a broader redevelopment effort, with the full-size casino coming in Phase 2. “Soon, folks will be able to come in and enjoy the casino as well as racing here at the track,” said Vince Gabbert, Sr. VP of US Gaming and General Manager at Fairmount Park Casino & Racing. “We’ve brought in the best slot machines and electronic table games on the market. Every game on the floor is either brand-new or a fan favorite, making for an exciting selection.”

*** National ***

* STAT | HHS starts layoffs of thousands of workers across its agencies: Layoff notices began arriving early Tuesday for thousands of employees of the sprawling Department of Health and Human Services and its subsidiary agencies, with as many 10,000 workers potentially expected to be hit by the cuts. “I regret to inform you that you have been affected by a reduction in force (RIF) action,” an email to affected employees said. It went on to tell the recipients that they were placed on immediate administrative leave, offering no details of the length of that leave. The email also stated that their firing was not a reflection of their work.

  3 Comments      


Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)

Tuesday, Apr 1, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

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Selected press releases (Live updates)

Tuesday, Apr 1, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

  Comment      


Live coverage

Tuesday, Apr 1, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Click here and/or here to follow breaking news. Hopefully, enough reporters and news outlets migrate to BlueSky so we can hopefully resume live-posting.

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« NEWER POSTS PREVIOUS POSTS »
* Selected react to budget reconciliation bill passage (Updated x3)
* Reader comments closed for Independence Day
* SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Some fiscal news
* Isabel’s afternoon roundup (Updated)
* RETAIL: Strengthening Communities Across Illinois
* Groups warn about plan that doesn't appear to be in the works
* SB 328: Separating Lies From Truth
* Campaign news: Big Raja money; Benton over-shares; Rashid's large cash pile; Jeffries to speak at IDCCA brunch
* Rep. Hoan Huynh jumps into packed race for Schakowsky’s seat (Updated)
* Roundup: Pritzker taps Christian Mitchell for LG
* Open thread
* Isabel’s morning briefing
* SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition (Updated)
* SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today's edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)
* Selected press releases (Live updates)
* Live coverage
* Trump admin freezes $240 million in grants for Illinois K-12 schools
* Yesterday's stories

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