SPRINGFIELD—Today, State Representative Tom Morrison (R-Palatine) joined Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski and fellow lawmakers at a press conference in the state capitol to discuss new research on Illinois’ pension crisis.
The recently disclosed Wirepoints’ research sheds new light on the effect the pension crisis has on local municipalities. Specifically, over a hundred of Illinois’ largest cities have received an “F” grade for their local pension funds, compared to 2003 in which only seven cities got an “F” grade.
For Rep. Morrison, who serves on the House Personnel and Pensions Committee, this serious issue cannot be ignored.
“We’ve all heard about the 5 statewide pension systems that are in crisis, but this research looks at the pension crisis happening in our home communities,” said Morrison. “Our cities are struggling, property taxes and fees are rising, and the added unfunded mandates placed on them is making matters worse—the research proves that.”
The legislature has not yet taken up impactful pension reform matters this spring, despite the growing liabilities at the state and local level.
At their press conference today, Dabrowski discussed the rising costs for Illinois’ 650 local pension funds—which has a direct effect on city budgets, taxpayer wallets, and the retirement security of hundreds of thousands of police, firefighter and municipal workers and retirees.
The key findings of Wirepoints’ report include the following:
* Workers’ retirement security has declined in an alarming number of Illinois cities. In 2003, just 21 of 175 cities analyzed had less than 60 cents on hand for every dollar they needed to fund future benefits of their city workers. By 2019, 99 of the 175 cities were below 60 percent funded. A 60 percent funding level is often seen as a point of no return from which pension funds can’t recover.
* City taxpayers have increasingly paid more to pensions over the past 16 years, yet the pension shortfalls are far larger today. Pension contributions of the 175 cities have nearly quadrupled to $960 million in 2019 from $250 million in 2003, yet local pension shortfalls still tripled to $11.8 billion, up from $3.4 billion in 2003.
* Pension costs as a share of city budgets have doubled, crowding out spending on core government services. City pension contributions as a share of general budgets have doubled to 17 percent in 2019 from 8 percent in 2003.
* Some local pension funds have turned upside down – they now have more retirees drawing benefits than active workers contributing. In 2003, only 15 cities had more pensioners drawing benefits than active workers making contributions into the fund. In 2019, that number rose to 112 cities.
“We have ignored this problem for far too long,” continued Rep. Morrison. “Today’s research should be a stark wakeup call; ignoring this massive, growing problem won’t make it go away, it will only make it more difficult to dig us out of this hole.”
In my suburban Cook County district, property taxes remain a top concern. Additionally, the hidden cost is that property values are not appreciating as they should. This is a huge weight on the state and its residents, and why we must have pension reform now.”
While there was a group of Republican lawmakers present at today’s press conference, not one Democrat was in attendance, leading Dabrowski to call for their support.
I followed up and asked what his actual reforms were…
For starters, he would support a constitutional amendment. He also supports allowing municipal bankruptcy.
* The Question: Should the state allow municipalities to declare bankruptcy without state permission? Make sure to explain your answer. Thanks.
* What does Dave Weigel always say on Twitter? Folks…
U.S. Representative Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) has again been ranked as the most bipartisan member of Congress from Illinois and the 14th most bipartisan nationwide, according to The Lugar Center & Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy’s Bipartisan Index. This Bipartisan Index ranking is out of 437 members, including the two non-voting delegates from Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, of the 116th Congress.
“Making Washington work for the people of Illinois has always been my top priority, and I will work with anyone, Democrat or Republican, to get it done,” said Rep. Davis. “In the 116th Congress, we worked together to pass several bipartisan COVID-19 relief bills that helped turn our economy around and make critical investments in our nation’s public health, particularly through vaccine production and distribution. Now that Democrats control both Congress and the White House, we can’t let the far left fringes of their party set the course for our nation’s government and keep us from working together. Although the President has yet to follow through on his commitment to work in a bipartisan way, I stand ready to work with the President or anyone on areas where we can find agreement.”
According to former Senator Richard Lugar, founder of The Lugar Center, “The Bipartisan Index is intended to fill a hole in the information available to the public about the performance of Members of Congress. There are innumerable studies, rankings, and indexes that grade members according to a partisan, parochial, or special-interest standard.
“We sought to develop an objective measure of how well members of opposite parties work with one another using bill sponsorship and co-sponsorship data. We gravitated toward bill sponsorships and co-sponsorships for two reasons. First, they allowed us to construct a highly objective measure of partisan and bipartisan behavior. Second, sponsorship and co-sponsorship behavior is especially revealing of partisan tendencies. Members’ voting decisions are often contextual and can be influenced by parliamentary circumstances. Sponsorships and co-sponsorships, in contrast, exist as very carefully considered declarations of where a legislator stands on an issue.
“The Bipartisan Index measures the frequency with which a Member co-sponsors a bill introduced by the opposite party and the frequency with which a Member’s own bills attract co-sponsors from the opposite party.”
The Bipartisan Index from The Lugar Center & McCourt School of Public Policy is a non-partisan ranking of how often each Member of Congress works across party lines.
The Illinois General Assembly established the Chicago Board of Education in 1872 with an 11-member board appointed by the mayor, according to 2017 Chicago Civic Federation piece. In 1979, the district fiscally collapsed and lost market access. During the 1970s and 1980s it faced multiple teacher strikes in addition to its fiscal crisis and leadership turnover.
State lawmakers created the Chicago School Finance Authority in 1980 to provide fiscal oversight. The 1988 school reform act reorganized the board structure which paved the way for a nominating commission to submit board recommendations to the mayor. In 1995, then Mayor Richard M. Daley won state legislation to give him direct control of the schools with power to appoint the board and CEO.
The district slowly regained its fiscal footing and received new city funding and tax-increment financing help that helped rebuild its ratings. But CPS also went on a borrowing spree to fix and build new schools and as expenses grew and state aid remained stagnant the district turned to one-shot gimmicks like scoop-and-toss debt restructuring to manage. That left it again with junk ratings and a structural imbalance of $1 billion.
The latest turnaround began in 2016 and 2017 when new state aid and state help with pension funding came through, a local pension levy was restored and a new capital improvement tax levy approved.
In 1993, as part of a deal that included a two-year $400 million debt-financed bailout of CPS, the Illinois General Assembly expanded the Authority’s powers to include independent management assessments and audits of the Board.
Not to mention the complete lack of pension funding by Mayor Daley.
Black and Brown Illinoisans in long-term care facilities died of COVID-19 at comparatively higher rates compared to white Illinoisians in the first few months of the pandemic.
That comes from a new study released last week by the state’s Department of Healthcare and Family Services. HFS told a panel of lawmakers about the disproportionate number of deaths for minority nursing home residents a day after Governor J-B Pritzker signed an expansive law last week meant to address racial inequities in healthcare. […]
According to data collected by HFS between March and July of 2020, 60% of COVID-related deaths of nursing home residents on Medicaid occured at facilities where at least 10% of residents lived in rooms with three plus people. […]
When comparing mortality rates across different demographics, the department’s analysis found Black and Latino Medicaid residents were 40% more likely to die of COVID during the first few months of the pandemic compared to white Medicaid residents.
HFS Deputy Director for Strategic Planning and Analytics Andy Allison said one of the reasons for the disproportionate mortality rates was the stronger likelihood that Black and Brown nursing home residents live in facilities that are both overcrowded and understaffed. […]
The department proposed the state fund an incentive proposal that would reward facilities based on required reports they submit to the federal government documenting both a commitment to increase staff sizes and the types of direct patient care staff members offer to residents.
Wednesday, May 5, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
The Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA) would transition Illinois’ power sector completely away from dirty fossil fuels by 2030, support workers and communities impacted by the decline of coal, and significantly expand clean energy generation and good-paying clean energy jobs in our state. That’s why CEJA can’t wait.
President Biden recently announced an ambitious climate agenda that includes drastically reducing greenhouse gas pollution through decarbonization. States like Illinois must lead the way by transitioning away from fossil fuels, while supporting environmental justice communities.
In addition to spewing dangerous pollutants into the air and soil, these coal plants simply aren’t profitable anymore. More than half of Illinois’ coal plants have closed since 2009, cutting and running on workers and communities often with little notice. Vistra’s CEO even admitted that coal is “on its way out.”
Illinois needs a plan for an orderly retirement of fossil fuel plants that gives workers years of notice, provides for their future, and advances clean economic development for these communities. That’s what CEJA does and why it can’t wait.
With lawmakers back in Springfield this week, bipartisan working groups have begun discussions on how lawmakers plan to appropriate taxpayer dollars.
Lawmakers have a May 31 deadline to pass an approximately $42 billion spending plan. That’s just the state’s side of the spending. There’s also the nearly $53 billion in federal funds the state is expected to appropriate this year. The total spending plan, including state and federal sources, is $95.5 billion, up 2.2 percent from the previous fiscal year, according to the National Association of State Budget Officers.
Then there’s the $7.5 billion the state is getting in federal COVID-19 stimulus funding.
State Rep. Mike Zalewski, D-Riverside, said there has been an ongoing discussion among Democrats about the state’s budget, but this week they brought in Republicans. […]
Several measures at the statehouse would drop that [trailer license registration fee] from $118 to where it was before the 2019 change to $18, but those measures have not advanced despite having bipartisan support.
Zalewski declined to comment on the fee. But, lawmakers are expected to adopt the overall revenue estimate.
“In a year when federal stimulus is a concern of ours, to not interfere with it with tax credits or tax deductions or tax cuts, I think it makes sense to wait for the federal government to offer guidance on that,” Zalewski said.
A proposal moving through the Illinois General Assembly would require video game developers to warn players of the financial and psychological risks of a particular in-game microtransaction — “loot boxes”.
“Loot boxes” are randomized digital items that either improve a player’s gameplay, like unlocking weapons, or alter a player’s aesthetics.
However, State Rep. Barabara Hernandez (D-Aurora) believes many younger players may not realize the virtual currency they use to purchase additional content like loot boxes are tied to real money, and as a result kids can run up substantial bills.
Senator Elgie Sims, Jr. (D-Chicago) passed legislation out of a Senate committee today to give community college boards of trustees and local housing authorities permission to develop affordable housing for community college students.
“This is about bettering the college experience for every student in this state,” said Sims. “Research shows that students who live on campus have higher GPAs. When students live on campus they are more plugged-in to the campus community and have more opportunities to join clubs, attend events and meet new people.”
A Chicago state senator wants to withhold funding from schools that apply dress codes to hairstyles. School associations and the Illinois State Board of Education are worried the bill’s punishment mechanism goes too far.
In the Senate Education Committee, Sen. Mike Simmons, D-Chicago, said policies that ban certain hairstyles in schools are outdated. He said he thinks schools will want to be on the right side of history if the amendment to SB817 becomes law. […]
Under the bill, districts out of compliance would have their names listed on the state board’s website, in addition to having their state funding kept at the previous school year’s level. Districts would receive the additional funding once they comply with the bill.
Amanda Elliott, the director of legislative affairs for the state board of education, said there are a variety of already-existing enforcement mechanisms that can be used when schools don’t comply with legislation, including a process to revoke recognition from a district. Elliott said in almost a decade with the board, she hasn’t seen a district have their recognition, and thus their funding, revoked.
“We have threatened it several times, which results in pretty quick compliance,” said Elliott. “Districts generally don’t want that to happen and come into compliance with the mandate.”
…Adding… Sen. Simmons is amending his bill.
* Press release…
A bill that would allow some public benefit recipients to purchase feminine hygiene products with their respective benefits introduced by state Rep. Barbara Hernandez, D-Aurora, recently passed unanimously out of the Illinois House of Representatives and is awaiting consideration in the Senate.
“Feminine hygiene products are not optional luxuries that most women can neglect to use, but unfortunately many low income women find themselves in situations where they cannot afford these products, which could result in very serious health concerns,” said Hernandez. “I am working to ensure that all women have access to feminine hygiene and menstrual products, no matter their income.”
Hernandez introduced House Bill 155, which would allow recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Women, Infant, and Children program (WIC) and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program (TANF) to use their benefits to purchase feminine hygiene products, including tampons, sanitary napkins and feminine wipes.
Addressing menstrual inequalities has been a top priority of Hernandez’s throughout her time in office. In addition to passing House Bill 155 with bipartisan support, Hernandez also brought forward legislation that would require schools to provide menstrual products in bathrooms for students. She has also hosted a handful of local events about this issue including menstrual equality town hall events and feminine hygiene product donation drives to help support local women’s shelters.
“Feminine hygiene products are necessities that many low income women lack, and they should not have to choose between buying food or other goods and affording these products,” said Hernandez. “Denying access to feminine hygiene products to anyone who needs them is denying a basic human right, and we must continue to work on this issue to ensure all women have access to feminine products.”
…Adding… Another one…
State Senator Robert Peters (D-Chicago) is continuing an effort to decriminalize the transmission of human immunodeficiency virus.
“Having HIV is a health care concern, not a crime,” Peters said. “People living with HIV don’t need to worry about facing criminal charges for simply living.”
A portion of the Criminal Code – referred to as the Criminal Transmission of HIV – provides that individuals living with HIV can be criminally prosecuted, charged with a Class 2 Felony, and jailed for having consensual sex, sharing needles, or donating organs or bodily tissues or fluids. Despite the reference “transmission” in the criminal code, actual transmission is not required. Peters’ proposal repeals this portion of the criminal code.
Currently, HIV is the only communicable disease in Illinois that is criminalized.
“Those living with HIV deserve to be able to receive treatment for their condition, and not risk arrest or incarceration,” Peters said. “It’s time we end the stigma surrounding sexually transmitted diseases and start treating them like the medical conditions that they are.”
House Bill 1063 had passed the House of Representatives with bipartisan support in April. On Wednesday, the Senate Executive Committee approved it, also with bipartisan support, and it will now be sent to the full Senate for further consideration.
60% of Illinois Adults and 80% of Seniors Have Received at Least One Dose of Vaccine
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 2,410 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 30 additional deaths.
Adams County: 1 male 70s
Cook County: 3 females 50s, 3 males 60s, 2 females 70s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s, 2 males 80s
DuPage County: 1 male 80s, 1 male 90s
Iroquois County: 1 male 60s
Jackson County: 1 male 60s
Lake County: 1 female 40s
Mason County: 1 female 70s
McDonough County: 1 female 60s
McHenry County: 1 female 80s
Monroe County: 1 male 80s
Ogle County: 1 female 70s
Peoria County: 1 male 50s
Whiteside County: 1 female 70s, 1 female 90s
Will County: 1 female 50s, 1 female 70s, 1 male 90s
Woodford County: 1 female 60s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,346,398 cases, including 22,096 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 77,670 specimens for a total of 23,007,188. As of last night, 2,060 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 496 patients were in the ICU and 249 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from April 28-May 4, 2021 is 3.3%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from April 28-May 4, 2021 is 3.9%.
As President Biden sets the goal of vaccinating 70% of adults by July 4, 2021, Illinois has administered more doses than the national average and will continue to pursue innovative strategies to encourage all eligible residents to get vaccinated.
A total of 9,546,833 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 71,219 doses. Yesterday, 96,415 doses were reported administered in Illinois, including approximately 40,000 doses that were not reported by pharmacies over the weekend because of a national system issue. Additional doses could also be added.
* Meanwhile…
CVS Health announced today that it is now accepting walk-in COVID-19 vaccination appointments, with no appointment necessary, at CVS Pharmacy locations across the country, including the more than 50 locations in Chicago and more than 300 across Illinois. Same-day scheduling, including appointments as soon as one hour from time of scheduling, is also available at CVS.com. The company’s COVID-19 vaccine scheduler is updated throughout the day to account for same-day cancellations.
As of May 5, CVS Health is now vaccinating in more than 8,300 stores across 49 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., and has surpassed 17 million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered through its participation in the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program and Federal Retail Pharmacy Program. Second dose compliance is more than 90 percent at CVS Health locations.
Women workers have left the hospitality industry in droves, Nahabedian lamented. With unemployment benefits as a cushion, and side hustles in delivery businesses, women support staff and even women chefs are not willing to come back to work just yet for fear of bringing the virus home to their families, Nahabedian stated.
With the U.S. economy growing rapidly, millions of people have returned to work. Yet there is still one large group of Americans whose employment rates remain far below their prepandemic levels — mothers of young children.
Consider this data, which Moody’s Analytics compiled for The Morning:
The explanation is obvious enough. Many schools and day care centers have not returned to normal operations. They are open for only a few hours a day, a few days a week or on alternating weeks, making it difficult for parents to return to a full-time job. And parenting responsibilities still fall disproportionately on women.
A restaurant in Plainfield Illinois is begging its customer base to be patient - very patient. Why? Because although they’re trying desperately, they’ve not been able to find and hire the employees they need to be up to their normal efficiency.
Why the shortage of employees? The owners of the Tap House Grill - Santino and Rick - don’t get political in this plea posted on Facebook Monday, but they give a hint of what they’re thinking:
“With many people not actively pursuing employment opportunities and not wanting to work at all at this time. our business is having a massive uptick in new customers and with that comes a lot of pressure without having the ability to find qualified applicants or applicants at all at this venture,” they write in a post to their customers.
* They’re blaming workers, but maybe potential employees can use the Google and don’t trust the owners to do what’s right to protect them? From last October…
A growing number of restaurants throughout Illinois have opted to defy Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s orders mandating they shutter indoor dining service.
In Plainfield, Tap House Grill, 24402 W Lockport St, has said it will stay open despite Pritzker’s orders.
“Pritzker is a far-reaching, power abusing, tyrant that is destroying small business,” said Santino Patragas, owner of Tap House Grill in Plainfield
* Also, perhaps there’s a lesson in the Pittsburgh Business Times…
As March drew to a close, Klavon’s Ice Cream Parlor in the Strip District found itself without enough workers for the upcoming spring and summer rush, and it certainly did not have enough workers to open the shop to its desired seven days a week schedule.
Then, on March 30, the parlor announced it would more than double the starting wage for the roles, going from $7.25 an hour to $15 an hour, a scoop that seemed to captivate workers throughout the region and one that earned a significant amount of local media coverage.
“It was instant, overnight. We got thousands of applications that poured in,” Maya Johnson, general manager of Klavon’s, said. “It was very overwhelming, very. People were coming in by the next day that it broke on the news, they were coming in, filling out paper applications. I was doing on-the-spot interviews.”
Further, when restaurant owners can’t find workers to fill openings at wages that aren’t meaningfully higher than they were before the pandemic—even though the jobs are inherently more stressful and potentially dangerous because workers now have to deal with anti-maskers and ongoing health concerns—that’s not a labor shortage, that’s the market functioning. The wages for a harder, riskier job should be higher.
* I’ve seen this sort of reporting a lot this morning…
Following announcement of Chicago Auto Show return, Pritzker cautious Illinois can fully reopen July 4
But the state’s full reopening might actually take place well before then.
* Pritzker has told reporters that if current trends hold up, then the “bridge” phase could begin as early as next week. Full reopening would happen four weeks from that date as long as certain metrics are met…
Illinois will move to … Phase 5 when 50% of the population 16 years and older has received at least one dose of vaccine. In addition, when moving to both the bridge phase and Phase 5, hospital ICU bed availability needs to be higher than 20%, and new COVID-19 hospital admissions, total COVID-19 patients in the hospital, and death rates are not increasing significantly statewide over the most recent 28 days.
Currently, 55 percent of Illinois’ population 16+ has received a first dose, so that target has already been achieved. But if the unvaccinated folks go wild and act like they’re vaxed, then they could imperil reopening when they get sick.
Congressman Rodney Davis has a new reason why he thinks you should be vaccinated against COVID-19… so that you don’t give Governor JB Pritzker an excuse to keep things shut down.
Davis… who has been discussed as a possible challenger to Pritzker next year… says it’s time for everything to fully reopen.
Get your shots.
* Related…
* State officials urge downstate Illinoisans to get vaccinated: “If you come and get vaccinated at the World Shooting Recreational Complex vax site, which is already completely free, you will get 100 free targets of traps, skeet, or sporting clays anytime before the end of October,” Pritzker said.
JUST IN: During a hearing in the bribery case involving members of Michael Madigan's inner circle, a defense attorney says prosecutors have suggested they might seek a superseding indictment (which could add defendants). Prosecutors say they're "not in a position to discuss" it. pic.twitter.com/GHSxCTOj2J
AUSA Sarah Streicker declined to show her cards regarding a potential superseding indictment, saying it could be discussed at the next status in August. Judge Leinenweber also pushed for more info, telling her to pass on that "it would certainly be very helpful" to know more.
* Public Policy Polling survey of 700 Illinois registered voters taken April 28-29…
Do you approve or disapprove of President Joe Biden’s job performance?
Approve 51%
Disapprove 38%
Not sure 11%
Lots of unsures. Interesting. Click here to see the xtabs. Even 10 percent of Biden voters and 8 percent of Democrats are unsure about his job performance, while 20 percent of independents, 17 percent aged 18-45 and 15 percent with a high school diploma or less are also unsure.
* The poll was conducted for Personal PAC. More questions…
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: Abortion should remain legal in Illinois as a private decision between a woman and her doctor, not politicians?
Agree 73%
Disagree 22%
Not sure 5%
Most young women live in supportive and loving homes, but an Illinois law forces a small number of other young women who live in homes where there is violence and sexual assault, to tell a violent parent she needs an abortion. Do you support this law that forces young women to tell their parents they need an abortion, or do you think it should be repealed?
Support this law that forces young women to tell their parents they need an abortion 29%
Think it should be repealed 46%
Not sure 25%
If your State Senator or State Representative voted to keep in place the law that forces
young women to tell their parents they need an abortion, would that make you less likely or more likely to vote for them next time, or
would it not make a difference in your vote?
Less likely 38%
More likely 20%
It wouldn’t make a difference 23%
Not sure 19%
It’s all in how you ask the questions and how you present them.
* For instance, here’s a poll of 600 registered Illinois voters taken Mar 7-10 by the Tarrance Group…
How concerned would you say you are that the government is taking away too many rights from parents and preventing parents from raising their children in an appropriate way?
Would you say this issue is extremely, very, somewhat, or not at all important to you?
Extremely 26%
Very 19%
Somewhat 22%
Not At All 28%
UNSURE (DNR) 5%
The [Arlington Heights] village board Monday night unanimously approved an ordinance banning owner Churchill Downs Inc. from placing a restrictive covenant tied to horse racing and gambling on the land — as part of the municipality’s effort to preserve the option of those things under new property ownership.
The board also took initial steps on future zoning changes that would prohibit certain types of uses on the land. The 23-item list includes adult businesses, car washes, currency exchanges, kiddie parks, funeral parlors and wholesale offices, including warehouses and storerooms.
The votes come amid a June 15 deadline for developers to submit proposals to Churchill, which put the property up for sale in February. Village officials say they’ve been working with the Louisville-based corporation and its Chicago-based commercial real estate broker CBRE. […]
The restrictive covenant ban will prevent Churchill from seeking language in any potential land deal that bars the continued operation of horse racing at the track, or addition of other forms of gambling. Churchill might have been inclined to ink such a deal, in an effort to thwart any competition with its other property, Rivers Casino in Des Plaines.
Roy Arnold, who served as president and CEO of Arlington Park from 2006-10, announced his intention on behalf of a group of investors to purchase the Arlington Heights, Ill., racetrack in a letter to the village’s board of trustees prior to their regularly scheduled meeting on Monday night at which Arlington’s future was on the agenda.
Arnold, who currently heads the Endeavor Hotel Group, is aligned with Mike Campbell, president of the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association in an effort to continue live racing at the suburban Chicago racetrack after owner Churchill Downs Inc. said in 2019 it would not seek a casino license and now has the property listed for sale.
Arlington Park opened for live racing on April 30 and is scheduled to run through Sept. 25 in what many assume will be its final meeting.
I wouldn’t get my hopes up. As we’ve seen with the pending Tribune sale, the current owners will do what they want to do. And, in this case, the owners don’t want a gaming site anywhere near their Des Plaines casino.
Oswego Republican State Representative Keith Wheeler says Democratic Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch stopped by an open house at his North Aurora Office of Friday in a gesture of bipartisanship.
Wheeler says it’s the first time in decades that anyone can recall that a Democratic House Speaker attended a Republican colleague’s event. Wheeler says the visit is not just symbolic and that he and Speaker Welch have worked together to pass legislation already. Previously, Wheeler has told WSPY news that he has a good working relationship with Welch, something he did not have with former Speaker Mike Madigan.
The Donald E. Stephens Convention and Conference Center in Rosemont announced today that they will resume hosting trade shows and public events in July of this year. The announcement follows news that the Auto Show will return to Chicago this summer.
“The Stephens Convention Center is a major economic engine not only for our community but for the State of Illinois,” said Rosemont Mayor Brad Stephens. “This one facility is responsible for $800 million in annual economic impact through everything from hotel stays and restaurant receipts to retail and even gasoline sales.”
The Donald E. Stephens Convention and Conference Center is among the largest such facilities in the United States. Staff and management are prepared to reopen with the health and safety of attendees at the top of mind. The Convention Center will be accredited by the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) by the time shows resume. Considered the gold standard in the industry, GBAC accreditation is given to facilities that have established certain cleaning and disinfecting protocols that are carried out by highly trained professionals.
“The health and safety of our attendees is our highest priority,” said Convention Center Executive Director Chris Stephens. “We closely track and follow all best practices and guidance from the CDC and the Illinois Department of Public Health.”
Approximately 30 trade shows and public events are tentatively scheduled between July and the end of the year. With close to 1 million square feet available for shows and events, there is ample space for a limited return to events.
Before the pandemic, the Donald E. Stephens Convention and Conference Center hosted around 70 trade shows and 250 meetings and social events per year. Those shows historically bring as many as 1.5 million people to the region.
“We’re excited to take another step towards normal,” said Mayor Brad Stephens. “It’s good for Rosemont and it’s good for Illinois.”
*** UPDATE *** Another one…
Ken Griffin’s Citadel expects to have most of its U.S. employees back in its offices in Chicago, New York and Greenwich, Connecticut, by June 1, according to a person familiar with the matter. https://t.co/qyzMrxJdA7
— Crain's Chicago Business (@CrainsChicago) May 4, 2021
Tuesday, May 4, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
A new white paper from the Coalition to Protect Telehealth highlights the impact of access to telehealth services on underserved communities across Illinois, underscoring the importance of passing House Bill 3498 in the Senate. Illinois Telehealth Impact: Prioritizing Healthcare Equity, Access & Quality is the collective effort of the 35 organizations that comprise the Coalition to Protect Telehealth.
The white paper emphasizes that telehealth coverage must not be limited to a segment of services or available only to those who can afford the full cost of telehealth services. During the pandemic, telehealth helped advance health equity by providing more options for healthcare appointments, including phone calls and video visits. According to the white paper, telehealth also creates greater access to healthcare professionals who share a patient’s racial, ethnic or linguistic background.
Seven in 10 Illinois family physicians responding to a recent survey identified telehealth services as helpful specifically for their patients from underserved areas. In a broader survey of Illinois physicians, over half said telehealth is an important tool to expand access to care for patients from underserved areas.
* The Sun-Times editorial board demands that Mayor Lightfoot commit Statehouse political suicide by throwing everything she’s got against an elected school board…
One person must be accountable to recruit superb new leaders. One person must be in charge. That one person should be the city’s elected chief executive, the mayor.
Yeah, well, into every life a little rain must fall.
The Catholic Conference of Illinois is lobbying against proposed tax changes for the 2022 fiscal year that would reduce an income tax credit gained for donations to private scholarships.
In a letter released Tuesday, Cardinal Blase Cupich of the Archdiocese of Chicago joined bishops representing the state’s other five dioceses – administrative districts under the Catholic Church – asking Catholics to call their local legislators and ask them to oppose the measure put forward by Gov. JB Pritzker, which they called “an important matter of public policy and social justice.”
Illinoisans convicted of a drug felony would still be able to access cash welfare assistance under a measure approved by the Illinois House last week.
The proposal marks the fifth attempt State Rep. Mary Flowers (D-Chicago) has made to open Temporary Assistance for Needy Families welfare benefits for Illinoisans with drug felony records. But last week’s vote was the first time the idea actually passed out of the House.
Flowers said recent changes in state drug policy, particularly Illinois’ legalization of recreational marijuana in 2019, convinced her the time was right to try again.
* We didn’t get nearly that intensity in Springfield yesterday, but I happened to arrive at the Stratton just after the alarms went off in the building…
Came to the Stratton to get my COVID test and walked right into a severe weather warning pic.twitter.com/jyudobDAwF
Tuesday, May 4, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Study Finds Expanding Illinois’ Renewable Energy Program Will
Lower Energy Costs for All Illinois Consumers
• A study by former Illinois Power Agency (IPA) director shows that passing Path to 100 (HB 2640 / SB 1601) will lower energy costs for all ratepayers
• Consumers save more than $1.2 Billion over ten years by fully funding Illinois’ renewable energy program to 40% by 2031
• Path to 100 would create 53,000 new construction jobs
Why more renewables = lower costs:
1. Wind and solar generators have zero fuel costs, so they win wholesale energy auctions and displace more expensive power plants. These savings are passed on to all consumers.
2. Rooftop and community solar reduce peak demand, which reduces the amount of capacity that grid operators need to buy. These savings are passed on to all consumers.
3. Rooftop and community solar customers receive direct savings on their bills.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 2,211 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 19 additional deaths.
Cook County: 1 male 50s, 1 female 70s, 2 males 70s, 1 female 80s, 3 males 80s, 1 male 90s
DuPage County: 1male 70s, 1 female 80s
Franklin County: 1 male 70s
Kane County: 1 male 50s
Lake County: 1 male 80s
Peoria County: 1 female 40s
Rock Island County: 1 male 80s
Sangamon County: 1 male 70s
St. Clair County: 1 female 80s
Will County: 1 male 60s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,343,988 cases, including 22,066 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 57,483 specimens for a total of 22,929,518. As of last night, 2,074 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 493 patients were in the ICU and 262 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from April 27-May 3, 2021 is 3.3%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from April 27-May 3, 2021 is 4.0%.
The total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses for Illinois is 11,970,775. A total of 9,450,418 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 72,613 doses. Yesterday, 40,361 doses were reported administered in Illinois. Data from this weekend from several pharmacies (Walgreens, Albertsons, CVS) is not yet available due to a national outage in the pharmacies system so the doses being reported as administered are likely to be low. The missing doses will be reflected in numbers in the next couple days.
*All data are provisional and will change. In order to rapidly report COVID-19 information to the public, data are being reported in real-time. Information is constantly being entered into an electronic system and the number of cases and deaths can change as additional information is gathered. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.
Some Republicans in the General Assembly, including House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, are calling for a criminal investigation into the coronavirus-related deaths at the state-run LaSalle Veterans’ Home.
The push for a criminal probe comes after a state investigative report was released Friday that found there were widespread failures at the LaSalle facility and the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs that contributed to 36 resident deaths there since November. […]
“I wouldn’t say we’re at the level of probable cause, but it certainly does warrant further investigation on whether or not criminal negligence did take place because not only were (veterans) injured and became ill, but we did have deaths at that facility,” Durkin, of Western Springs, said at a news conference Friday.
* Excerpt from a Sen. Sue Rezin press release…
In March 2019, the Illinois Auditor General released a performance audit following the deadly Legionnaires’ Disease outbreak at the Quincy Veterans’ Home. While some of the audit’s recommendations explicitly dealt with Legionnaires’ Disease, others dealt with responding to any type of outbreak. Those recommendations were:
Recommendation 3 (Report page 100): Monitoring by IDPH
• “The Illinois Department of Public Health should revisit its policies and determine what response timeframe is adequate to conduct on-site monitoring visits in response to a confirmed outbreak…”
• “The Illinois Department of Public Health should increase communication with the facility’s staff during future outbreaks to ensure that IDPH is aware of the severity of the outbreak.”
Recommendation 4 (Report on page 100): Recommendations by the CDC
• “The Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs should ensure the state facilities, such as the Quincy Veterans’ Home, implement all recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control following confirmed outbreaks…”
The Pritzker Administration ignored every one of these recommendations. According to legislative testimony by IDPH’s chief of staff, the agency had no policy for conducting on-site monitoring visits in response to a confirmed outbreak. The Pritzker Administration did not implement new communication protocols to ensure IDPH was fully aware of the severity of the outbreak since agency personnel failed to arrive on-site for nearly two weeks. Despite the Auditor General’s recommendation, there were no mechanisms to ensure CDC recommendations were being followed at the LaSalle home or any other state-run facility.
“A LaSalle Veterans’ Home nurse summarized the outbreak response by saying, ‘nobody seemed to know what to do,” said Sen Rezin. “Nobody indeed knew what to do at the Veterans’ Home, and nobody cared to do anything about it at the Governor’s Office.”
She makes some good points.
*** UPDATE *** Press release…
Law firm Levin & Perconti is representing more than a dozen families whose loved ones died from COVID-19 following a massive outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home in November.
A recently released Illinois Dept. of Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) report documents extensive failures by the facility’s management and executive leadership at the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs, including a lack of proper staff training and an absence of pandemic-specific policies and procedures, as well as the failure to create a specific plan of action in case of an outbreak, even as COVID positivity rates spiked in the surrounding community.
Levin & Perconti, nationally renowned for its work representing victims in nursing home abuse and neglect cases, is pursuing cases on behalf of COVID victims in multiple private nursing homes across the state and recently filed suit on behalf of the family of 90-year-old Richard Cieski, Sr., a Korean War veteran who died as a result of the LaSalle Veterans’ Home outbreak.
“What has been revealed by the OIG report is very much consistent with what we’ve seen at other facilities where these massive outbreaks happened,” said Levin & Perconti partner Michael Bonamarte. “There are well-documented ways to protect nursing home residents from infection, clearly outlined in federal guidelines, but when leaders fail to put those protocols into practice with adequate policies, procedures and training, we see the devastating consequences of those failures. These are predictable and preventable tragedies.”
Bonamarte and the firm are already representing multiple LaSalle Veterans’ families and urge others to come forward to share their loved ones’ stories as well.
“These Illinois veterans and their loved ones deserved better,” Bonamarte said. “We are seeking to hold the responsible IDVA leaders and managers accountable for their failure to protect the elderly veterans in their care. The veterans’ loved ones want to make sure their voices are heard, their loved ones’ legacies of service are honored, and other veterans receive the quality care they deserve.”
Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Tuesday said she plans to fully reopen the city of Chicago with no capacity limits by July 4, potentially opening the door to bigger events and festivals if the city continues to see progress in its COVID-19 numbers. […]
Lightfoot’s plan may sound optimistic, but if current trends hold, the state could move to full reopening under Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s revised plan by early-to-mid June.
“The trends are encouraging, but we must be cautious as we move forward,” said Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “As more venues reopen, it is critical that we increase the number of people who are vaccinated. Immunity is how we stop transmission of this virus, but we need greater community immunity and that requires as many of us as possible getting vaccinated as soon as possible.”
The CTU won an agreement with Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s hand-picked board of education in early April to provide vaccinations to high school students and their vulnerable family members. Thousands of those students and family members hail from precisely the Black and Brown neighborhoods that have been most disproportionately hammered by COVID-19 sickness and death — and which continue to struggle to access shots through the Mayor’s ‘hunger games’ approach to vaccine access. Yet CPS has dragged on implementing the program — and rank and file educators are demanding that the mayor’s CPS management team begin working immediately with the Union to get the vaccination program up and running for students and school communities.
The White House on Tuesday told states that coronavirus vaccine supply they leave unordered will become available to other states — the most significant shift in domestic vaccine distribution since President Biden took office, and part of an effort to account for flagging demand in parts of the country.
Three months after Chicago began administering the COVID-19 vaccine to police officers, data from the Chicago Police Department show that only about a quarter of department employees have gotten at least one shot at a city-run site.
The department insists those numbers may be artificially low because they aren’t tracking officers who received the vaccine outside of city-hosted vaccination sites. But in January, the department asked officers if they were interested in getting vaccinated against COVID-19; 38% responded that they were. Since the start of the pandemic, police report more than 3,200 confirmed cases of COVID-19 within the department.
“I think officers are no different than the general population, there is a skepticism. There are unanswered questions when it comes to the vaccine, it rolled out in record time,” said Chicago Fraternal Order of Police president John Catanzara.
Catanzara said there is definitely hesitancy among the rank and file, and admitted he has not yet gotten vaccinated against COVID-19.
“No hurry,” he said. “Some people say I’m too mean to get the virus.”
[Dr. Michael Bauer, medical director at Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital] noted that Israel experienced a dive in COVID-19 infections after the country reached the 40% to 50% range of fully vaccinated residents. “They saw a precipitous drop in the numbers and once they hit 60% they really lowered,” he said.
Three major retail pharmacy chains — Walgreens, Walmart and Sam’s Club — are offering COVID-19 vaccinations to people who walk into their stores without appointments.
New cases of the coronavirus rose 25% in Winnebago County last week. There were also nine deaths from the virus, which is more than the previous three weeks combined.
An analysis of the city’s gunshot detection system released Monday found that nearly 86% of police deployments to alerts of gunfire prompted no formal reports of any crime.
The research, conducted by the MacArthur Justice Center at the Northwestern University School of Law, shows there were more that 40,000 “dead-end deployments” to gunshot alerts recorded between July 2019 and mid-April — an average of 61 each day.
Just 10% of the alerts over that period sent officers on calls that likely involved guns, the researchers found after analyzing records kept by the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications. […]
But activists continue to raise concerns about ShotSpotter’s ability to distinguish between gunfire and other loud noises like fireworks. In addition, alarms are being sounded over the technology’s potential to increase the number of highly charged law enforcement interactions in police districts with large minority populations.
“It sends police racing into communities searching, often in vain, for gunfire,” said Jessey Neves, a spokeswoman for the MacArthur Justice Center. “Any resident in the area will be a target of police suspicion or worse. These volatile deployments can go wrong in an instant.”
ShotSpotter has never done a scientifically valid study to determine whether its system can reliably tell the difference between the sound of gunfire and other loud noises like firecrackers, cars backfiring, construction noises, helicopters, and other harmless sounds. […]
The City of Chicago is one of ShotSpotter’s two largest customers, accounting for 18% of its annual revenue in 2020.
Results show that [acoustic gunshot detector systems] simply seem to replace traditional calls for service and do so less efficiently and at a greater monetary cost to departments. Given the tepid results in guiding police to the scenes of crime and given the hidden costs of these systems illustrated here, AGDS might not be well-suited for the audience the technology is marketed toward. High-volume agencies will likely experience substantial increases in their call volumes with remarkably little to show for it, at a cost that might have taxpayers questioning the logic behind the expense. While this technology can be useful, especially from an analytical point of view, it is difficult to see how agencies benefit from expensive technology that increases financial strain on departments with its only discernable impact being fewer founded crime incidents.
Company officials say ShotSpotter improves police relationships with communities by enhancing investigations, more quickly transporting shooting victims to hospitals and responding to gunfire even if no one calls 911, which they say happens in most instances.
“Our technology fills the gap in Chicago and 110 other cities across the United States, helping deploy officers to crime in real-time, saving lives,” ShotSpotter said in a statement.
“I think it’s hard to justify spending $33 million on a tool that sends police hunting for nonexistent gunfire almost nine times out of 10.” [Jonathan Manes of the MacArthur Justice Center said.]
In a press conference Monday, Mayor Lightfoot said the technology plays an important part of the city’s overall crime detection system.
“I’m not confident those numbers are actually accurate, but here’s what I do know; ShotSpotter technology, when coupled with cameras that we have in the SDSC rooms, no question whatsoever is a lifesaver,” she said.
Chicago police uses ShotSpotter technology in 12 of its 22 districts. It led officer Eric Stillman to the area of 24th and South Sawyer before the deadly shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo.
In 2018, the City of Chicago entered a $33 million, three-year contract with ShotSpotter. Chicago’s contract with ShotSpotter expires August 19, 2021.
Lightfoot said residents shouldn’t get the idea that the technology is going away.
Stand for Children Illinois has launched a widescale multi-media campaign urging Springfield lawmakers to negotiate a compromise solution for an elected Chicago school board structure that puts students first and on which all sides agree.
The campaign includes a six-figure television buy in the Chicago and Springfield markets, as well as integrated digital, mail, and telephone programs. The campaign urges constituents to reach out to their state senators and representatives and tell them that, when it comes to reforming the Chicago School Board, putting our students first must be their first priority.
It’s time for Springfield to reform the Chicago School Board and politicians and interest groups are facing off with ideas that serve their interests.
Political appointments versus costly elections? A large board or a small board?
Here’s a suggestion: Find a compromise. Choose the best ideas from each side and create a system with diversity, a voice for parents and teachers, and accountability to taxpayers.
Call your legislator. Tell them to support a compromise and put kids over politics.
Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot and Governor J.B. Pritzker today joined elected officials, tourism backers and labor leaders to announce the return of the annual Chicago Auto Show, a marquee event that draws tourists from around the world. While the Auto Show marks the first large convention to take place since the COVID-19 pandemic began, officials expect to welcome other conventions and tourist events this summer with safety precautions.
The Chicago Auto Show will be held at McCormick Place from July 15 to 19 and will incorporate several innovative safety features – including being held indoors and outdoors for the first time since it was held in Chicago in 1901. It is the nation’s largest and longest-running auto show.
“Around this time last year, McCormick Place was turned an alternate care facility that significantly aided our city during the first wave of COVID-19—making today’s announcement all the more special,” said Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot. “In the same spirit of collaboration between government, healthcare, community, and corporate partners, we are now able to bring conventions back to our beloved convention center in a way that is safe and reflective of our progress in slowing and stopping the spread of this virus. I look forward to seeing the McCormick Place reopen its doors for the Chicago Auto Show this July and further enhance our city’s ongoing Open Chicago initiative.”
“With strong public health protocols in place, the Chicago Auto Show will be the first large convention to take place in Illinois since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, setting the stage for the safe return of big events in the months to come,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “The lifesaving power of vaccinations and the hard work by the people of our city and state has led us here. In recent weeks, we have seen our statewide COVID case rates and hospitalizations flatten and begin to fall, demonstrating a surge far short of the one we saw over the fall and winter. To be clear, our fight against the virus isn’t over yet – but things are getting better.”
McCormick Place and the Chicago Auto Show have worked closely with health and tourism officials to detail mitigation strategies to ensure the safety of every attendee, starting with a lower overall capacity for attendees. Among the safety measures in place:
• a move to Hall F in West Building with 470,000 sq ft of indoor space and 100,000 sq ft of outdoor space;
• timed entrance windows and staggered entry to prevent congestion on the show floor and at arrival;
• requirement to wear face masks at all times;
• sanitization stations throughout the event;
• contactless delivery for tickets;
• temperatures will be scanned and a medical questionnaire must be filled out before entry is allowed into the event.
As the State of Illinois prepares to move into the less restrictive “Bridge Phase,” this announcement is also part of the broader “Open Chicago” initiative to safely and fully reopen the city.
Given the continuous downward trend of the COVID-19 numbers, the state of Illinois and City of Chicago have aligned on guidance for conventions returning later this summer. This news follows last week’s announcement of Expanded Phase 4 regulations and the City’s Bridge to Phase 5 of reopening. Chicago has made significant progress in reversing the rise in COVID-19 metrics that started in March and caused the City to pause the reopening plan. Since last week’s announcement, COVID-19 test positivity rate has continued to drop and is now under 5%.
“We have seen steady progress in recent weeks with a downward trend in our leading COVID metrics and more and more people stepping up to get vaccinated, which is so important in getting us out of this pandemic,” said CDPH Commissioner Allison Arwady M.D. “That has made this exciting day possible.”
“The trends are encouraging, but we must be cautious as we move forward,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “As more venues reopen, it is critical that we increase the number of people who are vaccinated. Immunity is how we stop transmission of this virus, but we need greater community immunity and that requires as many of us as possible getting vaccinated as soon as possible.”
Statewide, 55 percent of individuals 16 and over and 79 percent of individual 65 and over have been vaccinated, helping bring down increases in new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. As these metrics continue to stabilize and decline, the state could soon move into the “Bridge Phase” of the Restore Illinois Reopening Plan. For conventions, this will mean events with the lesser of 1,000 people or 60 percent capacity. Following a 28-day period of continued stability or decline in key COVID-19 metrics, the state would then move into Phase 5, with all capacity limits lifted. The State is on track to be in Phase 5 in July.
“From day one, our priority has been to ensure the health of our guests and our employees, and as we re-open we will continue to be relentless in this area,” said Larita Clark, CEO of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA), owner of McCormick Place. “Importantly, these health measures will not take away from the experience. We know that our guests, whether it is a family wanting to check out the new Jeep Bronco or a doctor seeking the latest clinical trial data, come here for a reason. We are glad that we are able to continue to provide the outstanding experience our customers expect without compromising on health and safety.”
Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, McCormick Place has been worked closely with public health officials and followed all guidance regarding meetings and events. In 2020, the entire McCormick Place campus was awarded GBAC STAR accreditation, the gold standard for health and safety in the industry. In January 2021, Choose Chicago and McCormick Place launched Healthy Meetings Chicago, a virtual experience illustrating the new convention experience.
“Prior to COVID, McCormick Place operations generated more than $1.9 billion in economic impact to the city and state,” said Glenn Eden, Chair of the Choose Chicago Board of Directors. “As we take this step forward and move toward reopening, not only is this a positive development for the health of our city, but also for the health of our economy.”
“We stand committed to providing a safe environment for all involved and will carefully adhere to the health and safety protocols and guidelines set forth by city and state officials,” said Dave Sloan, Chicago Auto Show general manager. “McCormick Place is an important economic engine for our city and state, and we take very seriously the responsibility that comes with helping to get it running again.”
Based on the trajectory of public health metrics, officials are confident that the Auto Show and other conventions can be safely held this summer in line with best practices. However, if conditions change significantly in an unforeseen way, these plans will need to be adjusted, including the announced guidelines.
If CDPH or IDPH determines that case rates or hospitalization rates are too high to allow for the events outlined above, the guidelines will be modified.
…Adding… CFL…
The Chicago Federation of Labor released the following statement regarding the return of the Chicago Auto Show this summer:
“The Chicago labor movement is thrilled to welcome the Chicago Auto Show back to McCormick Place this summer,” said CFL President Bob Reiter. “Not only will the Chicago Auto Show put thousands of convention, tourism, and hospitality workers back on the job after an extremely difficult year, but this move demonstrates to the world that Chicago’s economy can and will bounce back from this crisis stronger than ever. I want to thank Mayor Lightfoot, Governor Pritzker, MPEA CEO Larita Clark, Choose Chicago CEO David Whitaker, Chicago Automobile Trade Association President Dave Sloan, and Illinois Hotel and Lodging Association President/CEO Michael Jacobson for their partnership and commitment to bringing the Chicago Auto Show back this summer! This move would not be possible without millions of people across Chicago and Illinois getting vaccinated, so let’s all continue to follow the guidance of public health officials and move forward with reopening our city.”
“The return of the Chicago Auto Show is welcome news to the workers of McCormick Place, countless auto show fans, and the entire city of Chicago,” said CFL Secretary-Treasurer and MPEA Vice Chair Don Villar. “The Auto Show is a beloved tradition that brings fun, excitement, and economic activity to Chicago. While we all need to continue to follow public health guidelines and keep ourselves safe, this move marks a huge step forward in reopening Chicago and will put countless people back to work.”
Tuesday, May 4, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Employers in Illinois provide prescription drug coverage for nearly 6.7 million Illinoisans. In order to help keep care more affordable, employers work with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), who deploy a variety of tools to reduce prescription drug costs and help improve health outcomes. In addition to helping employers, PBMs also work with the Illinois Medicaid program in the same way to help control costs. Over the last five years, PBMs have saved the state and taxpayers nearly $340 million.
Today, Illinois faces a multibillion budget shortfall as more Illinoisans are relying on Medicaid to help meet their health care coverage needs. As legislators work to address these challenges, one way to help ensure continued cost savings is by strengthening the PBM tools that the State and employers use, which are poised to save employers, consumers and the State $39 billion over the next 10 years. These are meaningful savings that will help continue to contain costs, ensure consumer access to medicines and drive savings in public health programs.
Amid a pandemic and economic challenges, now is the time to strengthen, not limit, the tools that employers, consumers and the State rely on to manage costs and ensure consumers can access the medicines they need.
* Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia, state Sen. Michael Hastings, D-Tinley Park, and Chicago Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd) participated last night in a Zoom event sponsored by Ald. Gilbert Villegas. Alexi Giannoulias said he had a scheduling conflict. From Rachel Hinton’s story…
For Dowell, that includes making transactions “as easy and safe for consumers and employees as possible” and issuing multi-year license plate stickers.
Hastings told those on the call “what matters most to me, is what matters most to you.” He also gave ideas for economic development, such as lowering fees related to starting a business.
Valencia’s vision for the office includes creating an app for taxpayers to make their appointments and pay fees online. She also pledged to boost the state’s libraries, including looking into expanding broadband access and grants. […]
Asked how they’d run a statewide campaign, Hastings said he has the support of colleagues throughout the state. Valencia pointed to connections she made while running U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin’s 2014 re-election campaign that she said could help her build a “diverse coalition” to get elected.
Dowell acknowledged that of the three candidates she was “a little late to the party.
* Gov. Pritzker was asked yesterday if we’ll see an Illinois State Fair this August…
I am very much looking forward to the Illinois State Fair. We’ve obviously been doing all the planning that’s necessary for it. Barring some highly unusual event occurring that would prevent a large gathering, this is a very large outdoor space, if you’ve not been to the State Fair, this is a very large fairgrounds. I think that the IDPH is working with the Department of Agriculture to make sure that people will be safe. So I think we’re gonna have a lot of fun this summer. It’s in August. I hope everybody will come down to Springfield to enjoy it. And then we have a second state fair down in Du Quoin, Illinois, and that also a lot of fun. And, again, an enormous amount of space out there. I think we’ll have a big crowd and everybody will enjoy it.
A new video offers a better look at music icon Prince during one of his most memorable performances: The absolutely blistering guitar solo he pulled off during an all-star rendition of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” at the 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
The moment came during a tribute to George Harrison, who was previously inducted as a member of the Beatles but was being inducted posthumously as a solo artist that year. Prince, then a newly minted member of the Hall of Fame himself, stole the show with a solo that quickly became a career highlight, and it went viral online after his unexpected death in 2016.
Now, Joel Gallen, who produced and directed the event, has released a new cut of the performance.
