A nearly 100-year-old road that runs through Harvey, Dixmoor and Riverdale will be completely modernized for the first time in its history thanks to a $94 million investment from the state, officials announced Thursday.
“Illinois infrastructure is really just a word for opportunity,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said at a news conference in Harvey. “By investing in it, we open doors for our residents, and virtually everyone, who calls this state home can see and feel the results in real time.”
The roadway on Wood Street/Ashland Avenue that stretches three miles from 161st and 138th streets has largely remained untouched for nearly a century — only receiving the occasional resurfacing. The road is uneven, riddled with potholes and is often flooded when it rains excessively. […]
Bike and pedestrian accommodations will also be added throughout the corridor as well as the bridge over the Little Calumet River will be rehabilitated. One of the most important features of this modernization project is a new storm sewer system will be added to address longtime drainage and flooding issues associated with the outdated road.
This week, Vote Yes For Workers’ Rights, a diverse coalition of working Illinoisans, labor unions, and community organizations dedicated to passing the Workers’ Rights Amendment, launched their second television ad on broadcast television markets across Illinois.
The ad, titled Game Changer, features Knut, who knew college wasn’t the right fit for him and found a great-paying job as a crane operator. […]
With the new ad, Vote Yes for Workers’ Rights expanded its reach onto broadcast television in the Champaign, Peoria, Rockford, and St. Louis media markets, building on its existing presence on Chicago broadcast television, cable markets statewide, and key digital platforms.
The new ad debuted immediately following Labor Day weekend, which the Vote Yes for Workers’ Rights campaign spent building key momentum through community outreach events across the state.
Statement from Vote Yes For Workers’ Rights:
“Our campaign is proud to share the stories of incredible Illinois workers like Knut who understand how critically important protecting their rights to collective bargaining and workplace safety are. Every Illinois worker deserves a chance to earn a great wage in a safe workplace. The Workers’ Rights Amendment will give Illinois all workers, even those without college degrees, that opportunity.”
About the Workers’ Rights Amendment
The Workers’ Rights Amendment will update the Illinois Constitution to guarantee workers’ fundamental rights to organize and collectively bargain in the workplace, putting more money in the pockets of families struggling to deal with rising costs and giving emergency responders like firefighters, nurses, and paramedics the training and equipment they need to keep our families safe.
Knut: “I’ve never been afraid of hard work, but college just wasn’t in the cards for me. This job was a game changer. It’s a stable career and a good paycheck. We need more jobs like this in Illinois, especially with costs going up across the board. The Workers’ Rights Amendment will keep more jobs like this in Illinois. It’s good for families, and it’s good for the economy. College isn’t for everyone, but good paying jobs should be.”
Voice-Over: “At the top of the ballot, Vote Yes on the Workers’ Rights Amendment and protect Illinois jobs.”
With a petition of more than 650 signatures in hand, Brian Costin came to this week’s Arlington Heights village board meeting to oppose any suggestion of what he calls corporate welfare that could be part of the Chicago Bears’ proposed redevelopment of Arlington Park.
Costin, the deputy state director of the conservative political advocacy group Americans for Prosperity, on Tuesday night turned in pages of signatures to Village Clerk Becky Hume in his bid for a village ordinance that would ban any public giveaways to any business — including the Bears — to operate in town. […]
Costin’s petition — containing signatures of a little more than 1% of registered voters in town — requires the board to consider his group’s proposed ordinance at the next village board meeting Monday, Sept. 19, under an antiquated and rarely, if ever, used section of the municipal code.
That’s a new one on me.
* The Question: If you could force the General Assembly to consider any bill you’d like with a simple petition process, what would it be? Explain.
If state Rep. Marcus Evans has his way, Chicago will enter the race to build the first offshore wind farm on the Great Lakes.
Evans has introduced a bill that lays the groundwork for a proposed wind farm in Lake Michigan, about 10 miles from the shores of the Southeast Side. The bill sets up a fund that would help the state to compete for federal money, including $230 million for port infrastructure projects available from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Illinois would enter the race behind Ohio — where the Icebreaker wind farm in Lake Erie recently won a court battle that should allow construction of a demonstration project to proceed — and New York state, which is studying the feasibility of a Lake Erie wind farm.
“This is happening,” said Evans, a Chicago Democrat. “This is not a pie-in-the-sky thing. This is an opportunity for development.”
* Press release…
With growing momentum sweeping across the United States to rein in the power of dominant corporations, State Senator Robert Peters announces the launch of Fight Corporate Monopolies Task Force, a new coalition of state and local leaders leading the charge.
“Corporate monopolies extract wealth from working class communities, particularly communities of color,” said Peters (D-Chicago). “Companies like Amazon make deals in the shadows that dangerously fluctuate prices, suppress wages and propel a race to the bottom. We have to fight back against the unchecked power corporate monopolies exploit and the illusion that if we don’t give into that power, then we’re blocking economic development.”
Peters is the lead sponsor of the Honesty in Economic Development Act, which will prevent state and local governments in Illinois from entering into contracts where nondisclosure agreements are in place that prevent the terms of the contract being publicly known.
“The movement to dismantle the power of corporate monopolies is being led at the state level. The task force provides a real time check on the same corporations that are price gouging working people, profiteering while workers suffer, and making backdoor deals on taxpayers’ dime,” said Helen Brosnan, Executive Director of Fight Corporate Monopolies. “Their efforts reflect constituents’ concerns about the control and power corporations have over our economy and democracy. We’re proud to work with a coalition of legislative champions who are taking on bold policy fights to challenge corruption and corporate power at the root. We hope other state and local leaders continue to join their efforts.”
Peters was instrumental in the passage of the Fair Food and Retail Delivery Act, a bill that protects restaurants, bars, and retail businesses from deceptive third-party practices. This bill is now Illinois law and goes into effect Jan. 1, 2023.
“State governments have a long history of challenging corporations in order to protect their states’ workers, local businesses, and communities from the harms of consolidated economic power, and those efforts are continuing todays thanks to these great champions,” said Pat Garofalo, Director of State and Local Policy at Fight Corporate Monopolies. “The members of this task force have proven they’re willing to take on the toughest fights against the country’s largest corporations. They’re providing an example that elected leaders all across the country can and should follow.”
Peters joins Delaware Rep. John Kowalko, Pennsylvania Reps. Sara Innamorato and Nick Pisciottano, New York Deputy Senate Majority Leader Michael Gianaris, and New York Assemblymembers Emily Gallagher and Anna Kelles as members of the task force.
State and local governments in Illinois spend millions every year on economic subsidies, but a new bill would eliminate non-disclosure agreements in those deals.
Senate Bill 3038 would prevent government bodies from entering into non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in economic development deals. Supporters of the measure said it would eliminate a tactic that allows businesses to secretly lobby while negotiating deals without the knowledge or input of local residents. […]
Confidentiality agreements are common in economic development, but agreements with lawmakers take NDAs to another level.
“Public money deserves public scrutiny,” Mozena said. “Venture capitalists, hedge fund managers and bank loan offices wouldn’t invest without knowing who was getting the money, and American taxpayers deserve at least the same level of basic transparency from their economic development agencies.”
Some firearm owners in Illinois may soon need to update their Firearm Ownership Identification.
A new bill filed by Representative Terra Costa Howard (D-Glen Ellyn) would require young gun owners to apply for a FOID card again after their 21st birthday. She says this proposal would give law enforcement the chance to do another background check.
“Again and again, we see these heartbreaking crimes committed by young adults with a documented history of threatened and actual violence, including self-harm,” Costa Howard said. “Simply requiring young adults to re-apply for FOID cards after they turn 21 will create an opportunity to spot red flags and intervene to prevent tragedies.”
The bill was specifically inspired by the Highland Park mass shooting, where seven were killed and dozens more were wounded. The suspected gunman, Robert Crimo III, is 21, and legally acquired the guns used.
Asserting that the Illinois Gaming Board faces the biggest challenge to its credibility in decades, an activist group with church connections is urging the board to go slow and potentially block a bid by Bally’s to operate Chicago’s proposed casino.
In a letter to the board, Washington, D.C.,-based Stop Predatory Gambling and Illinois Churches in Action charge that Bally’s is “financially wobbly,” has run afoul of regulators in Rhode Island, and would hold “undue economic influence” in Illinois gaming business if the board grants Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s request to award the company the city license.
“This board must conduct a full and thorough suitability investigation and stand up against the pressure to hastily issue a license,” the groups wrote. The seven-page note compares the situation to another two decades ago, when officials initially signed off on the proposed Emerald Casino in Rosemont under strong political pressure only to have its license ultimately pulled amid allegations that some of those involved had ties to organized crime.
The letter does not raise any questions about Mafia involvement. But it does cast a light on a series of other matters that potentially could impact the board.
The Bally’s Corporation deficient application for a License for a new casino in the city of Chicago on August 10th represents the biggest challenge to the Illinois Gambling Board’s regulatory authority and credibility since the proposed Emerald Casino in Rosemont.
Much like the characters deemed unsuitable in the Rosemont proposal, executives with the Bally’s Corporation have approached their license application like they are entitled to a casino in Chicago, including taking steps to exert pressure on the Board to create the impression their licensure in Chicago is “a done deal.”
Because all applicants and licensees have a duty to disclose and maintain suitability for licensure, we strongly urge this Board and your investigators to follow your precedent to conduct a full, thorough, and transparent investigation into the major deficiencies and lack of candor in Bally’s August 10th application that we have detailed below.
We ask the Board to pay special attention to the conduct of Bally’s executives and investors, the company’s affiliation with unregulated and unlicensed online gambling networks, and its wobbly financial condition to honor the promises and representations made to the public and the Chicago City Council. We also urge the Board to hold extensive public hearings and fact-finding hearings during this licensing process.
* The letter includes reasons why Bally’s August 10th application requires a Board investigation…
- Restrictions on Bally’s Gambling Licenses
- Bally’s History of Bankruptcy
- Bally’s Disregard for the Culture of Compliance Central to the Illinois Gambling Board’s Mission and Regulatory Process in Its Investor Presentation Disclosures and During the Company’s August 4, 2022 Earnings Call
- Bally’s Affiliation With Unregulated and Unlicensed Online Gambling Operations
- The Economic Concentration of Bally’s Chairman and Largest Shareholder, Soohyung Kim
Bally’s has not received approval from the Illinois Gambling Board to do anything in Chicago. However, as seen below in its recent SEC-registered filings the company states plainly: “Initial facility opens JUNE 2023” and the “Permanent facility opens JUNE 2026.” Companies with a culture and history of compliance recognize the regulatory process takes time and refrain from openly pressuring state gambling regulators with definitive opening dates.
In addition to touting casino opening dates in its SEC filings, the president of Bally’s Chicago Holding Company, Amet Patel, disclosed during the company’s August 4, 2022 quarterly investor call that Bally’s is ordering gambling equipment, supplies and other materials to support a casino in Chicago. This investor call took place six days before Bally’s application was even submitted to the Illinois Gambling Board!
Chicagoans in search of reliable political coverage in today’s fractured media environment have a new source this campaign season. But whether that source is news or recycled propaganda from a prominent political activist is most debatable. As are the actions of the big donor who’s apparently picking up the tab.
At issue is the recent appearance in mailboxes all around town of Chicago City Wire, a broadsheet publication that bills itself just below its nameplate as “Real data. Real News.”
In fact, articles in recent editions of the newspaper mostly are negative pieces about Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot, mixed with a little positive coverage of GOP gubernatorial nominee Darren Bailey. […]
Particularly striking in one issue are two pages of mug shots of people accused of violent crimes who may be released without bail under terms of a criminal justice reform bill Pritzker signed into law. At least 25 of the 36 men pictured are Black.
In DuPage County, one of the papers, entitled the “DuPage Policy Journal,” showed two full pages of photos of men – mostly Black and Latino – whom the publication says will be released from prison because of the new legislation. […]
Pritzker says that the mailers are not marked properly as campaign material, and says that the reduction of local media outlets throughout the state has allowed the paper to gain circulation.
“When you get one of these in the mail, you should know that this is not a real newspaper,” he said. “It isn’t even marked properly as campaign material. It’s put out by this right-wing network of newspapers that we all know exists in Illinois, and they’re trying to take over where local, real journalism unfortunately has receded.”
Proft dismissed Pritzker’s concerns about the publications in an email to NBC 5 Political Reporter Mary Ann Ahern.
“Newspapers spreading misinformation and representing only one point of view? Pritzker must be talking about the Chicago Tribune and the NPR/AFL-CIO (Chicago) Sun-Times.”
* Gov. Pritzker was asked about the papers again today…
Well, first of all, this is a messaging that’s coming from a racist political consultant, who used to associate himself with Illinois, now lives in Florida. And he’s sending messages that are, you know, if you look at what he’s printed, it’s clearly all about the idea that, again, what he’s printing, that Black people are threatening your way of life. That’s essentially what he’s putting in these publications.
It’s a scare tactic. It’s meant to have people you know, concern for their safety. And the truth of the matter is that what he’s purveying here is complete hogwash. I’m probably being polite when I say that. It’s disgusting. It’s a terrible thing to do. We’re seeing it more and more in American politics, and unfortunately, we hadn’t seen it as much in Illinois, until this guy, Dan Proft, I think it’s missing an ‘i’ because it’s really all about profit for him. But that’s what he does.
And frankly, he’s doing it on behalf of Darren Bailey. And that says as much as you need to know about Darren Bailey
*** UPDATE 1 *** We have some react. Rep. Deb Conroy…
The DuPage Policy Journal and the “papers” Dan Proft puts out are trying to scare people with lies. They printed and doubled down on the hateful líes that caused months of threats to my life and prevented me from not only doing my job but going out and gathering petitions to run for DuPage County Board Chair. This is not journalism, this is paid for lies for political gain.
* Senate Black Caucus Chair Robert Peters…
The following is a statement from State Senator Robert Peters, Chair of the Illinois Senate Black Caucus, responding to the growing number of racist attack ads paid for by far right conservatives. These include “The Summer of Joy” ad, the People Who Play By The Rules PAC’s ad, and the mailer in the form of a fake newspaper, “Chicago City Wire” with the lead story titled, “It’s going to be the end of days,” referring to the end of money bond:
“The drumbeat of racist attack ads intended to decieve and scare suburban voters into supporting anti-abortion, pro-assault weapon right wing radicals must be called out for what they are: Willie Horton-level propaganda harkening back to Birth of a Nation that has nothing to do with working towards real public safety.
“The SAFE-T Act is based on evidence, data, and solving root causes of violence. It dares to imagine a world–that actually existed up through the 1970s–where people who never posed a threat to others weren’t rounded up and thrown into jail. And, it’s the only criminal justice reform legislation that has the full support of domestic violence, sexual assault, and victims rights organizations because it protects victims over perpetrators.
“These right wing groups have no intention of keeping us safe–they only want a rope around our necks. The SAFE-T Act will not be part of a Willie Horton-style lynch mob carried out by January 6th Oathkeeper zealots.”
* His papers seem to have quite the fixation on the governor’s daughter…
Governor JB Pritzker continues to attack private citizen, radio host and People Who Play By The Rules PAC President Dan Proft during press conferences around the state, first in Chicago yesterday, and then again today in Harvey while talking about the extremely controversial SAFE-T Act. On January 1st, thousands of violent alleged perpetrators will be let out of jail when HB 3653 applies statewide. 100 of 102 Illinois State’s Attorneys of both parties oppose the law. According to NBC Chicago’s Mary Ann Ahern, Pritzker said the following yesterday in Chicago regarding Proft’s association with local newspapers that have printed photos of some of the violent alleged perpetrators who will be released: “It’s pretty awful. These are lies and they’re putting them out in various forms, attacking people based on their background.”
All of the photos in the stories are accurate and publicly available, and all of the information printed is 100% objectively factual.
Pritzker comments in Harvey today: “Well, first of all, this is a messaging that’s coming from a racist political consultant, who used to associate himself with Illinois, now lives in Florida. And he’s sending messages that are, you know, if you look at what he’s printed, it’s clearly all about the idea that, again, what he’s printing, that Black people are threatening your way of life. That’s essentially what he’s putting in these publications.”
Dan Proft’s response:
“Pritzker infuses race into every, single policy debate. He never deals on the merits, particularly on public safety. He signed the state’s death warrant with his no cash bail law. Challenge to JB: name one specific item in the newspaper you excoriate that is untrue or inaccurate.”
*** UPDATE 3 *** Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice takes up Proft’s challenge…
We have detailed four of the most egregious lies featured in the mailer here as a resource for journalists:
1. The mailer’s centerfold includes pictures of people—the vast majority of whom are Black—who it suggests are currently incarcerated in Cook County Jail. It then claims that under the Pretrial Fairness Act, they will be “released to Cook County’s Neighborhoods.” This is a lie. After January 1, 2023, judges will still have the ability to detain every person pictured.
Right now, any of the people pictured could be released from jail at any time by paying their money bail. In the current system, the amount of money someone has determines whether they can be released—not whether they pose a threat to someone else or are likely to flee prosecution.
The Pretrial Fairness Act ensures that the facts of a person’s case will be the main factor determining who is jailed and who is released pretrial, instead of the size of their bank account. When the Pretrial Fairness Act takes effect, a robust, individualized hearing will determine who is able to safely return to the community while awaiting trial.
2. “The Summer of Joy” section of the mailer claims that the Pretrial Fairness Act “mandates” that people charged with murder are released while awaiting trial. This is a lie. Any person charged with murder may be denied pretrial release under the Pretrial Fairness Act if they are found to be a danger to others or a flight risk.
3. The mailer features a list of charges that they claim are “non-detainable” under the Pretrial Fairness Act. This claim is factually incorrect; most of the charges listed are detainable if the person poses a flight risk. And anyone who is arrested for one of these charges while already on pretrial release for another crime can be denied release until trial.
4. Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow tries to sow fear by suggesting that Drew Peterson—a person convicted of both the murder of his wife and of attempting to hire someone to kill State’s Attorney Glasgow himself—would not have been able to be detained under the Pretrial Fairness Act. This is completely false.
Anyone charged with murder who poses a specific, real and present threat to another person can and would be denied release under the Pretrial Fairness Act. In fact, State’s Attorney Glasgow lays out in the article the exact facts that he would be able to present to a judge to have Mr. Peterson jailed without money bond under the Pretrial Fairness Act.
Q: Another busload of migrants came in Chicago last night. Has your office reached out to Governor Abbott’s office to see what if anything can be done coordinating, and do you expect these busings to continue?
Pritzker: At the staff level, our staffs have been in contact with one another. But they have been wholly uncooperative in Texas. They are trying to sow chaos around the country, not just here in Chicago. And as you’ve heard, the mayor also had words about this and I will just say that we’re going to do everything we can to care for the these refugees and asylum seekers, who are escaping their homes to come to the United States of America. And it shouldn’t be that the governor of Texas is essentially taking these people, treating them like chattel, treating them like property, putting them on buses, sending them wherever he wants to send them. It shouldn’t be the choice of people who come to this country and of course, the United States government should be managing that. And I guess I’ll just say, if they’re coming to Illinois, and we’re a welcoming state, we’re gonna make sure that they have a place to live. We’re going to make sure that they are able to get fed and get health care. But what’s happening, what the governor of Texas is doing is disgusting and it needs to stop. But again, when people arrive here, we’re going to care for them.
Q: Do you expect this could continue all the way up until the November election?
Pritzker: It certainly could. He sent thousands of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers to Washington DC, sent thousands to New York, now he’s chosen Chicago. And we’ll, like I said, we’ll do what we need to do to make sure that they get the care they need.
More buses should arrive at Union Station in the coming days. The city welcomed about 50 migrants on Sunday. Last Wednesday, more than 60 migrants touched down in Chicago.
“The role here is just to make sure they have the basic needs to live their life,” Duewel said.
More than 100 migrants arrived Wednesday. The Salvation Army told WGN News they’ve seen many families come with children of all ages. The organization adds that its support also includes several staff members within the facility.
“They’re staffed 24 hours a day,” Duewel said. “There is security here 24 hours a day. There’s Salvation Army translators here. There’s city translators here. We have volunteer translators here. We knew that was going to be an issue, so we made sure we were covered there.”
“We’re a welcoming city, so we’re always gonna step up and do the right thing to make sure that migrants who are coming here to our city are well received,” Lightfoot said during a news conference on Sunday evening.
The mayor said Chicago had not yet heard from any Texas officials and urged the state’s Republican governor, Greg Abbott, to collaborate on a more humane treatment of the asylum seekers and migrants.
“My frustration comes from the actions of the governor of Texas,” Lightfoot said. “There could be a level of coordination and cooperation but he chooses to do none of these things.”
Williamson County Republican Central Committee presents Donald Trump Jr.
Sat, Oct 8, 5:30 PM
The Pavilion
1602 Sioux Drive
Marion, IL 62959
Join the Williamson County Republican Central Committee for a black-tie celebration with Donald Trump Jr. The night will include a keynote by Donald Trump Jr., a cocktail hour, dinner, a silent auction, and recognition of elected officials & county chairman.
Donald Trump, Jr. is the eldest son of President Donald J. Trump. He is Executive Vice President at The Trump Organization, where he has overseen major construction projects in New York City, Chicago, Las Vegas and numerous countries internationally. During the 2016 presidential election, he became a sought-after speaker on politics, Republican fundraisers and played a major role in Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign. Trump, Jr. is an avid outdoorsman, and when he’s not on the campaign trail, he can be found on streams and in the mountains all over the world. He is also an active and loving father of 5 young children. Donald Jr. holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Real Estate from the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania.
I asked Darren Bailey’s campaign last night if the candidate planned to attend the event. “We aren’t confirming events that far out right now,” was the reply.
Elected officials in Chicago and statewide reshape their districts every decade—but they prioritize their political careers instead of us and our communities of interest!
These maps dictate policy and the flow of power and money in our city. Let’s talk about how communities can organize to make change happen.
We, the people, need to take back our power and demand fairer redistricting instead of more corruption.
Whether you’re worried about gun violence, abortion, rising costs, quality education or any other concern, it all starts with making sure we have fair districts.
Disturbing ad: People Who Play By The Rules PAC has launched a new ad, titled “The Scream,” that shows a woman in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood being attacked by three men. The video appears to be taken from a nearby home security camera. The video fades to a picture of Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot with the words, “How much worse does it have to get,” an allusion to crime.
The PAC, which is backing Republican Darren Bailey for governor, is fronted by conservative operative Dan Proft and largely funded by billionaire Richard Uihlein. It’s the same group that put out an ad that was criticized as racist for showing Lightfoot’s face darkened.
Fentanyl-laced mail is making its way into Illinois’ corrections system and some are demanding a change in policy to make it stop.
Scot Ward, president of the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police Corrections Lodge 263, said there are ongoing issues concerning safety of staff and inmates.
“There’s always a staffing issue, there’s always mental health for the offenders and the officers,” Ward told The Center Square. “There’s all kinds of things going on in the [Illinois Department of Corrections] that needs to be spoken about.”
But, Friday, in a statement Ward was critical of what he characterized as a system being watered down to appease special interest groups.
Keep in mind that Lodge 263 does not collectively bargain on behalf of corrections’ workers. AFSCME does that. The Lodge is a fraternal organization in this case.
* Ward’s full statement…
The environment in Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) facilities is becoming increasingly more dangerous for both correctional officers and offenders and there seems to be little or no movement toward improving the situation, according to the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Corrections Lodge 263.
According to Lodge 263, during the Pritzker administration the Governor’s appointee Camile Lindsay, who gives direction to IDOC, has dangerously shifted focus to an anti-law enforcement, criminal-centered environment that placates social justice advocates at the expense of accountability for criminal behavior.
“Over the last several months working conditions for IDOC officers have become increasingly more stressful and dangerous,” said Lodge 263 President Scot Ward. “There is no valid plan in place to improve the situation, and frightening tragedies will undoubtedly occur unless something is done soon.”
Illegal, synthetic drugs are entering IDOC facilities at a more rapid pace through mail sent to the offenders. These drug-soaked cards, letters and fraudulent attorney-client correspondence has led to an increase in offenders being under the influence of drugs, carrying out violent acts on staff and other offenders. In addition, IDOC officers handling the mail have been unknowingly exposed to these substances, and as a result several officers have required a dose of Narcan or an emergency room visit.
“Many correctional agencies in the United States scan the offenders’ mail and then deliver those scans to the offenders, which keeps illegal drugs from entering the prison through the mail,” Ward said. “We have suggested this solution to top IDOC officials, but to date no action has been taken to stem this postal poison flow.”
The system that holds incarcerated offenders responsible for their actions has been watered down through policy and law changes, Ward said, and the result is that offenders no longer fear repercussions if they harm or kill a fellow offender or an IDOC officer. Restrictive housing for offenses has been reduced or eliminated, fewer cases of offender violence are being sent to county state’s attorneys for prosecution, and parolees are not being sent back to prison for violating the terms of their parole.
“Offenders are no longer concerned about being punished for their violent acts, and that means they literally have nothing to lose by assaulting any human being they encounter in prison,” Ward said. “And if they are not accountable on the inside, how can you ever hope to safely return them to society once their sentences are over?”
The mental health of IDOC officers is also a major concern. Ward said that these men and women work in some of the state’s most dangerous environments and they are under the constant threat of violence, intense scrutiny, lawsuits, investigations, drug exposure, and the daily fear of walking into an environment where anything can, and often does, happen.
“What makes matters worse is that these officers are forced to work excessive amounts of overtime to deal with critical staff shortages,” Ward said. “The mental health assistance systems in place do not offer the anonymity that officers need to avoid the stigma and negative scrutiny of both offenders and their fellow officers.”
“Mental health professionals with experience in helping law enforcement officers must be made available to assist IDOC officers when needed,” Ward said. “IDOC administrators must also be open to the idea of mental health time off, assignment changes, and small acts of appreciation for officers.”
Camile Lindsey has only been in the governor’s office for a few months.
* I asked the governor’s office for a response. Here’s Jordan Abudayyeh…
While smuggling contraband through the mail is a challenge for corrections institutions across the country, let’s look at the facts— the Department of Corrections houses approximately 29,000 individuals and this year there have been less than 230 instances of synthetics being discovered in the mail. If every individual in custody received just one piece of mail, that comes out to less than one percent. We remain committed to ensuring that staff are safe and instances of synthetics being smuggled into facilities are treated with the utmost importance.
What seems to be the real problem for the union is that a Black woman is in a position of power and is working diligently to carry out this administration’s mission to clean up the Department of Corrections and ensure we are treating those in our custody with respect and with a focus on rehabilitation.
* Background from the governor’s office…
• The Department’s evolution to an incentive-based corrections model is an administration-wide initiative and has resulted in a reduction of violence within DOC facilities. The restrictive housing reform is in accordance with the Department of Justice’s guiding principles and ACA standards.
• The Department offers staff wellness training, which uses best-in-class curriculum as well as providing staff wellness teams that provide peer support for facility staff statewide on an as needed basis. The health and safety of staff and the individuals in custody is the Illinois Department of Correction’s top priority.
It was also noted that the shift iaway from placing individuals in restrictive housing is part of active litigation. IDOC is apparently trying to avoid a consent decree.
* Also, I’m having a hard time buying the “several officers have required a dose of Narcan or an emergency room visit,” line. The FOP swears this is true, and I don’t doubt that officers have asked for Narcan doses or visited emergency rooms. However…
* Fact Check-Overdose of fentanyl just by being in its presence is not possible, experts tell Reuters: “You cannot overdose just by touching fentanyl or another opioid and you cannot overdose just by being around it,” said Dr Ryan Marino, medical director of Toxicology & Addiction at University Hospitals, Cleveland. “It will not get into the air and cause anyone to overdose.” … Lewis S. Nelson, professor and chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine and director of the Division of Medical Toxicology at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark, New Jersey, agreed with these comments, explaining that an overdose from fentanyl by being in its presence was “not possible”. … “All of the findings that we see on this, and other videos, are inconsistent with fentanyl poisoning and are fully consistent with a stress/anxiety response.”
* Accidental Occupational Exposure to a Large Volume of Liquid Fentanyl on a Compromised Skin Barrier with No Resultant Effect: The high prevalence of fentanyl in the illicit drug supply has generated concern among first responders regarding occupational exposure. Social media sharing of unconfirmed first responder overdoses after brief exposure to fentanyl may be contributing to an inappropriate risk perception of brief dermal fentanyl exposure. This case details a dermal exposure to a large dose of analytically confirmed pharmaceutical fentanyl (fentanyl citrate, 10 microgram fentanyl base per ml), over a large skin surface area. Additionally, the exposure occurred at a site with some skin barrier compromise, a factor that can increase fentanyl absorption. The patient underwent appropriate decontamination and underwent a brief medical assessment with no clinical effects of opioid exposure observed.
* Cops say touching fentanyl is making them sick. Doctors say it’s impossible: Pharmaceutical fentanyl is used in hospitals — often in the form of a patch — for patients with extreme pain. But even then, said Dr. Ryan Marino, an emergency medicine physician and toxicologist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, who uses #WTFentanyl to bust myths surrounding the drug, it’s not easily absorbed . “Fentanyl patches require putting fentanyl into special liquid vehicles so it can be absorbed through skin, and then sealing them against the skin for 72 hours at a time,” Marino said. “The patches took decades and millions of dollars to develop and are still incredibly slow and inefficient.”
The Pritzker administration, once again, has decided to try and divert attention from a serious and deadly issue instead of taking care of the problem. They are playing the race card while putting lives at risk by their inaction.
The men and women who staff our prisons, many of them people of color, are facing more dangerous situations every day. As recently as Sunday, at the Western Illinois Correctional Center, an 18-page drug-soaked book caused several offenders to need medical attention and posed an extreme risk to staff.
So while the Pritzker administration plays the race card, they ignore the incompetence and inaction of the person who should be their advocate for change and safety in our prisons.
Color doesn’t matter, competence does. The 50 percent of our executive board and the large percentage of our membership who are people of color join all of their brothers and sisters in Lodge 263 in just wanting to go home safely to their families each night.
Minority marijuana license holders are calling on the state to loosen ownership regulations in order to make it easier to create and build retail stores.
Many of them cite issues with the state’s cannabis social equity program.
The program was designed to offer disadvantaged people and communities of color disproportionately impacted by the War on Drugs an opportunity to benefit from the cannabis industry.
But instead, license holders say the process has been plagued by red tape.
“Three years in, and we still don’t have any Black-owned cannabis operators,” Douglas Kelly, head of the Cannabis Equity Illinois Coalition, said at a news conference today outside the State of Illinois Building in the Loop, a move aimed at increasing political pressure on Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
License holders say they’re being hampered by the state’s Department of Financial & Professional Regulation’s rules, which prevent them from making any changes to ownership reported on their initial applications until they receive a final state inspection to open a dispensary. But it can cost $500,000 to $1 million or more to get a dispensary ready to open, requiring many license holders to seek investors.
“The rule-making process is screwing it up. Instead of making it easier for Blacks and Latinos, they’re making it harder,” said Rickey Hendon, a former state senator who won a retail license and plans to open a location in the South Loop.
He said he has an agreement with investors, but the state rules make it hard to complete a deal that would allow him to raise additional money to build out a facility, which he estimates will take $1.5 million to $2 million.
But under guidance by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, license holders are prohibited from selling their preliminary “conditional” licenses until they are approved to begin retail sales.
“Which is ludicrous, because in the conditional phase is when you need to raise the most capital,” said Edie Moore, co-founder of Chicago NORML and a conditional license holder. “There’s no reason not to do it. It’s not disallowed in the law, and it hurts people.” […]
The conditional license holders can’t open for business until they pass background checks, get local site approval, pass an inspection, and pay the license fee.
The apparent intent of the policy against selling conditional licenses was to keep minorities and social equity license holders from selling out before even beginning operations. But owners say that keeps them from using their greatest asset, shares of ownership in the license, and they should have the same rights as business owners in other industries.
* Chicago NORML’s Executive Director Kiana Hughes and Deputy Governor Christian Mitchell spoke on Chicago Tonight…
Kiana Hughes: One of the things that we’re hearing is that on every level, licensees are hitting obstacles that are being put in place, or that are just kind of left in place, whether it’s by actual legislation, whether it’s by the rules, whether it’s by interpretations of the law. So for example, you might have there are some dispensary owners, that are all dispensary owners.
All you get when you get the license is a conditional license. Your license isn’t real until you’re actually able to open your doors. Well, as you can imagine a lot of social equity licensees are trying to raise capital to get to the point where they can actually open their doors.
One of the rules is being interpreted as saying that you cannot sell or exchange any portion of ownership or equity in your company in order to get investors for your business. So it’s making it very hard for them to raise capital.
Christian Mitchell: We’re hearing two different sides of this. On the one hand, you’ve got owners who are saying ‘hey, we want to change principal officers so we can raise capital right now because we need it.’ On the other hand, you have a pretty much an equal number of folks saying ‘hey, wait a second.’
We’ve got principal officers who have been holding this for a couple of years. They’re people of color, we want that growth in this industry. But we don’t want to some of these predatory folks who are coming in and saying, hey, I’ll give you some cash, but you’ve got to give me a majority stake in your business. Do we have to restore that license now? Is that true social equity is now a majority person has bought in has the sake and now is saying ‘I’m a social equity license because this person originally had the licenses conditional holder.’
These are all nuanced debates that we need to have. My office door is open as as the governor’s our phone lines are open there. Multiple members of the coalition have contact info for us. We got to sit down and have a nuanced conversation about this in the future social equity in the dispensary.
There has been a drastic surge during the pandemic of these drivers meeting up and blocking traffic for these raucous street parties, prompting new legislation and crackdowns from law enforcement across the country.
In June, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida signed a new law targeting illegal stunt-driving events in the state. That measure, increasing fines and threatening arrests, followed similar moves in the past year by Arizona, California, Georgia, Mississippi and Texas to curtail dangerous driving antics.
Gov. Gavin Newsom of California signed a law in October threatening a six-month suspension of a driver’s license for participating in a sideshow, even as a spectator. Two months later, Oakland’s current mayor, Libby Schaaf, pointed to “reckless driving and gunfire brought on by sideshow activity” as contributing to the city’s high number of homicides. There were 134 murders in Oakland in 2021, the highest in a year since 2006. […]
Since the emergence of sideshows in Oakland in the late 1980s, successive mayors have railed against them. In 2005, after eight people died in sideshows over a year, former Gov. Jerry Brown, then mayor of Oakland, called for action. But sideshows continued. In 2009, following three sideshow-related deaths, the Mayor Ron Dellums made a plea for change — to no effect.
* I asked my associate Isabel Miller to compile some other news stories about the topic…
