Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Thursday, Apr 11, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

Illinois enacted a sweeping law in 2019 to allow casinos at horse racing tracks, known as racinos. Nearly five years later, Hawthorne Race Course, a main beneficiary of the legislation, still hasn’t opened a racino. In the meantime, the industry is dying for lack of money. […]

Out of desperation, the Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association is now calling for the state to end Hawthorne’s veto power. The horsemen say the favoritism for Hawthorne has led to a dead end, and it’s time to let the free market finally build a racino.

“Our industry is being held hostage by Tim Carey’s family, who owns Hawthorne,” association President Jeff Davis said. “We have to have a dedicated harness track.”

Carey proposed a $400 million racino to open at Hawthorne in 2021. In 2022, he again promised construction would begin that year. Last fall, Carey told the Illinois Racing Board it would open by the end of 2024, but in February, he said he was still working on getting financing.

Press release…

Horsemen Call For End of Racetrack Veto Power in IL
Legislation would allow for other developers to build new a new racetrack

WHERE: The Blue Room at the Illinois State Capitol. Also available on Blue Room Stream

WHEN: TODAY 2:30PM Thursday, April 11, 2024

WHO: Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association President Jeff Davis, Senator Patrick Joyce, Senator Bill Cunningham.

WHAT: New Legislation introduced in the Illinois General Assembly would eliminate the current 35 mile veto power that Hawthorne Racecourse has over any entity that wants to build a new racetrack and casino in Illinois.

Legislation passed in 2019 authorized a new racetrack to be built in Chicago’s South Suburbs but any organization that wishes to build a racetrack must seek approval from Hawthorne to receive licensing.

WHY: States like Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania have seen horse racing explode in their states since introducing casino gaming at racetracks. Illinois passed legislation to do the same in 2019 but not one slot machine has been installed in Hawthorne’s sprawling grandstands.

* Illinois Review…

On Saturday, a national grassroots movement, #DontMessWithOurKids is urging parents and families in every state to gather at their state capitols and pray for America’s children who are being indoctrinated by a progressive liberal agenda that’s causing more harm than good.

The historic gathering takes place this Saturday from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm (CDT) in front of the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield. And as the invite states, attendees will “gather to pray, take communion, and stand for truth in every state capital and Washington, D.C.!”

During the April 4, 2023 election cycle in Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker and the Democratic Party of Illinois spent $800,000 to support their extremist, liberal school board candidates, while at the same time, using that funding to viciously attack conservative school board candidates – every day moms and dads, who just wanted to serve their community; reverse falling test scores; and remove inappropriate sexual education curriculum and divisive concepts that only further deepen racial divides from the classrooms.

* [From Rich] The Butternut Hut is closing at its current location in a couple of days, so you might want to head over there after session for “Thirsty Thursday.”

* Here’s the rest…

Daily Journal | Report analyzes Illinois’ oversight of pandemic aid spending by schools:

* NPR | Why many Illinois speech therapists say it’s hard to see a future in the field they love: “Insurance is really strict on the number of times we can go, especially for speech therapy,” [ Audrey Meyers] explained. “I’ll get a new patient; it says one visit is allowed. I can do an evaluation, sure, but they’re probably going to need therapy if they wanted me to come there in the first place.”

* WBEZ | A U.S. Supreme Court case could affect homeless people in Chicago and Illinois: City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson will determine if municipalities can use local ordinances to ban homeless people from sleeping outside with a blanket or other bedding materials. Illinois advocates say if the high court sides with Grants Pass, it could make it easier for municipalities to criminalize homelessness in the state and throughout the U.S. Oral arguments begin April 22.

* Journal Courier | Grants to fund electric vehicle charging ports: Some 20 applicants have been awarded $25.1 million in Driving a Cleaner Illinois grants to fund 643 new direct-current fast-charging ports at 141 sites statewide, according to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

* Illinois Times | Making downtown Springfield more marketable: Doubling the Bank of Springfield Center’s size would result in a similar increase in conventions coming to the capital city, and construction of a new 300-bed hotel adjacent to the center would maximize the expanded facility’s potential. Those were two of the major conclusions from a recently completed feasibility study of the potential impact of a newly formed tourism improvement district on downtown Springfield. The district was formed in December by the Sangamon County Board and covers the entire county.

* Daily Journal | Bradley pressing the brakes on nepotism ordinance: At Monday’s Bradley Village Board meeting, the administration had proposed the repeal of the law adopted in April 2016 which sharply restricted hiring those who had some type of family relationship with an elected official. The administration sought to have the ordinance removed because of how it hampers the village as it seeks to fill job vacancies. However, the village board, led by Trustee Ryan LeBran, wanted to further explore the matter before voting on its removal.

* Beacon-News | With help from its communities, Kane County aims to reduce impact of natural hazards like floods and tornadoes: The draft Kane County 2024 Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan found that floods, windstorms and winter storms were the three biggest natural threats to the county. To protect the county against these and six other natural hazards, the 580-page plan brings together mitigation projects from 27 cities, villages and other communities within Kane County. These projects will now be eligible for federal funding through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA.

* Daily Herald | ‘Almost have no reason not to vote for it’: Elk Grove mayor defends field light vote — and still supports pickleball: The village board’s vote this week to formally grant the Elk Grove Park District a special use permit for soccer field lighting at Marshall Park was perfunctory, following a much lengthier meeting two weeks before when the mayor and trustees first endorsed the project. But the tally Tuesday night was still followed by a back-and-forth between board members and local real estate agent Lori Christensen, who has led opposition to the park district’s $4 million transformation of the park at 711 Chelmsford Lane.

* Bloomberg | Amtrak Station Accessibility Improvements Sought in Senate Bill: Amtrak would need to report to Congress annually on the status of their compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act at the 385 transit stations it serves and include an action plan on bringing rail cars and stations into compliance, according to the bill, sent to Bloomberg Government. The legislation, which is being announced Thursday, is led by Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.).

* Daily Herald | Will your train station get a makeover? Here’s what Metra is fixing in 2024: Thirty-five stations are slated for improvements with seven on the Metra Electric Line to be completely rebuilt. Platform modernizations are scheduled for Wood Dale on the Milwaukee West, and Cary and Crystal Lake on the UP Northwest lines. Less eye-catching but still significant are thousands of rail tie replacements. Workers will install 40,000 new ties on the UP North between Chicago and Highland Park, and 37,000 on the UP Northwest between Chicago and Des Plaines, among other locations.

* Ald. Daniel La Spata | A street redesign that skips bike and bus lanes says a lot about the whole city: Unfortunately, the design CDOT is considering for this intersection fails to live up to the values and the vision of Complete Streets. The current iteration offers no bus lanes on Halsted and no bike lanes on Chicago, while new developments propose to open new curb cuts on both streets, further impeding bus, bike and pedestrian safety. The only clear imperatives for these streets seem to be two lanes for car traffic in each direction.

* Daily Herald | $127 million transportation construction program announced in Lake County: Fifteen miles of new or widened pavement, 58 miles of resurfacing, eight big intersection improvements, 13 bridge deck repairs and two roundabouts are among the projects in Lake County’s $127 million 2024 construction program.

* Tribune | Chicago Bears — amid lakefront infatuation — appeal property taxes on Arlington Heights site: The team filed the request with the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board, or PTAB, for the site where the Bears had proposed building a $2 billion enclosed stadium. The Cook County Board of Review set its valuation of the property at $125 million. […] But the team still owns the site in Arlington Heights, which it bought last year for $197 million. To reduce the tax bill, the organization razed the grandstand and other buildings, and is continuing to fight over how much taxes it has to pay.

* Sun-Times | The Museum of Science and Industry closed for mysterious reasons last week. Here’s why: “The 434th Civil Engineer Squadron from Grissom Joint Air Reserve Base, IN, responded to a call from the museum last Wednesday,” wrote Maj. Sara Greco, public affairs officer at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia. “The items they were asked to assess were free of explosive material and remained at the museum.” A sad day when it’s easier to dig information out of the Pentagon than from a Chicago museum.

* AP | Shohei Ohtani’s ex-interpreter charged with stealing $16M from baseball star in sports betting case: Estrada says Mizuhara helped Ohtani set up a bank account for Ohtani’s baseball salary. Estrada says Mizuhara stole more than $16 million from Ohtani’s bank accounts to pay for his own sports betting and lied to the bank to access the account.

* NBC Chicago | Farmers’ Almanac predicts hot, muggy summer for Midwest, with all-time record warmth possible: Nearly all of the contiguous U.S. is predicted to have a hot summer, with most areas east of the Mississippi River expected to see wetter than normal summers as well. The Great Lakes region in particular is predicted to see “muggy and stormy” conditions this summer, while much of the Southeast is described as “steamy and thundery” for the upcoming season.

* NPR | Why anti-abortion advocates are reviving a 19th century sexual purity law: That is not the stance conservative legal experts take. Josh Craddock, an affiliated scholar at the conservative James Wilson Institute, refers to Comstock as a “national abortion pill trafficking ban.” “A straightforward interpretation of the statute is that it prohibits all interstate shipment or sale of abortion drugs and devices, regardless of whether state law allows abortion,” Craddock says. (There was dispute among legal experts NPR consulted as to whether Comstock’s prohibitions would apply to in-state shipping of abortion pills.)

* Rick Kogan | There once was a time when our city was the country music capital: Two relatively young men were sitting in a radio studio a few days ago talking about a radio show that started 100 years ago and one of them was saying, “This part of the city’s history should be better known, the part the city, this radio show, played in popularizing country music. Without Chicago, there would have been no Nashville, no Grand Ole Opry. … This is where the country music genre was born.”

* USA Today | Aerosmith to resume farewell tour, including January show in Chicago: The veteran rockers, who postponed their Peace Out farewell tour after only a few shows in September, will return for a 40-date run starting Sept. 20 in Pittsburgh. The tour includes a rescheduled Chicago date on Jan. 19 at the United Center. All previously purchased tickets will be honored for the new dates, while new tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday via ticketmaster.com. For those who previously purchased tickets and cannot attend the rescheduled concerts, refunds will be available at point of purchase.

16 Comments

*** UPDATED x1 *** Some Native American activists caught off guard by possible Starved Rock name change

Thursday, Apr 11, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Wikipedia entry on Starved Rock State Park…

Before European contact, the area was home to Native Americans, particularly the Kaskaskia who lived in the Grand Village of the Illinois across the river. Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette were the first Europeans recorded as exploring the region, and by 1683, the French had established Fort St. Louis on the large sandstone butte overlooking the river, they called Le Rocher (the Rock). Later after the French had moved on, according to a local legend, a group of Native Americans of the Illinois Confederation (also called Illiniwek or Illini) pursued by the Ottawa and Potawatomi fled to the butte in the late 18th century. In the legend, around 1769 the Ottawa and Potawatomi besieged the butte until all of the Illiniwek had starved, and the butte became known as “Starved Rock”.

* Tom Collins on Friday…

Shaw Local News Network was told Tuesday of a tourist-centered meeting in which it was suggested Starved Rock could be renamed on the same grounds that have led sports teams to abandon mascots that are offensive to Native Americans.

No local sources confirmed any details of the report. But when the IDNR was reached for comment, the agency issued a statement acknowledging that park names could be reconsidered, including Starved Rock.

“The state of Illinois has a responsibility to listen to concerns and recommendations from Tribal Nations and Indigenous communities that have current and ancestral ties to Illinois,” the agency said in a statement issued Friday afternoon. “They have repeatedly told us the names of some of our state parks and sites are harmful to their ancestors’ remembrance and perpetuate false narratives to the public. Starved Rock is one example of many.

“At the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, we believe place names have power. In the future, the state, in consultation with Tribal leaders and Illinois residents, will explore more appropriate names for some of our parks and sites.

“This serves multiple purposes. Place names will better reflect sites’ natural attributes and histories rather than the painful and often inaccurate colonial narratives they currently represent. These efforts will take time to happen, but we want to start having these conversations.”

* Tom Collins today…

Some Native American activists were surprised, too. Two said the Illinois Department of Natural Resources did not seek tribal input before last week’s statement that IDNR is considering name changes at units including Starved Rock State Park.

“I have talked to numerous natives and tribal leaders who know nothing about this statement by the IDNR,” said Ted Trujillo, a member of the Passamaquoddy tribe.

“This has not come across my radar,” said Madalene Big Bear, a citizen of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians and a Pokagon cultural keeper. “I would have caught wind of this before (Sunday) night.” […]

Big Bear was solidly against renaming Starved Rock, an effort she termed “misdirected.” She said that while name changes are warranted in cases such as Indian Head – “Just straight offensive” – the name Starved Rock is derived from oral histories that are worth preserving and commemorating.

“Most of the American representation in regards to us portrays a false narrative,” she said. “Starved Rock in particular is one of the only instances where the English name reflects our own history.”

I’ve asked IDNR for comment and will let you know if I hear back.

*** UPDATE *** From IDNR…

“No decisions involving Native American matters are entertained without input and official consultation with Tribal partners. This broader issue was flagged for IDNR by our Tribal partners who have been expressing their concerns about troubling place names for certain IDNR sites to department leadership for years. Current IDNR leadership takes these concerns seriously and is willing to open discussions with tribes and community members.

“To be clear, there are no immediate plans for any name changes at Starved Rock or any other site. Conversations and proposals will occur over time, and IDNR will make every effort to ensure various constituencies are represented at the table, including tribes, community members, state lawmakers, local businesses, and others.”

28 Comments

IDPH awards $2 million in grants from the Abortion Provider Capacity Building Grant Program

Thursday, Apr 11, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Press release…

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced it has awarded $2 million to three different organizations to provide training that will increase access to safe, high-quality abortions across the state. The Abortion Provider Capacity Building Grant Program awarded grants to the Midwest Access Project (MAP), Planned Parenthood of Illinois (PPIL), and the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) College of Nursing.

The first-of-its-kind in Illinois, state-funded training effort follows the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that eliminated the constitutional right to abortion in the United States and allowed states to restrict access to abortion. While Illinois guarantees the right to an abortion under state law, many surrounding states have imposed restrictions on access to abortion. Although the number of abortions provided for Illinois women declined slightly in 2022, the number provided in Illinois for out-of-state residents increased 49%, according to IDPH data.

“When I said Illinois would be an oasis for women seeking reproductive care, I meant it,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Thanks to the Abortion Provider Capacity Building Grant Program, we will offer health care providers—who are meeting the moment with compassion and service—access to the training and mentorship they need to deliver the care women deserve.”

“Illinois is continuing our track record of protecting and expanding access to reproductive care, not just for patients but for the providers administering that care,” said Lt. Governor Stratton. “In Illinois, we trust women and the healthcare professionals protecting their freedoms.”

“IDPH is proud to partner with these three outstanding organizations to support training that will improve access and quality to a full range of reproductive healthcare services, including safe abortions,” said IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra. “Illinois has seen a sharp increase in demand for abortion services in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision. Under Governor JB Pritzker’s leadership, the State of Illinois is committed to providing resources to improve training and mentorship so our health care providers can deliver Illinoisians and those who come to our state with a full range of reproductive health services.”

The grants were awarded by IDPH’s Office of Women’s Health & Family Services. Following are details from the proposals submitted by the three grant recipients:

• Midwest Access Project: MAP will expand their long-standing work providing sexual and reproductive healthcare clinicians with training in procedural and medication abortion. Their innovative training model fills gaps nationwide in medical education, advanced practice nursing, midwifery education, and clinical training.
• Planned Parenthood of Illinois: PPIL plans to expand upon an already robust training effort by offering more procedural abortion training for physician trainees and advance practice nurses, and medication abortion training for eligible providers.
• UIC – College of Nursing: UIC will establish a training program to expose new advanced practice nurses to abortion care through the Reproductive Advocacy and Diversity in Advanced Nursing Training (RADIANT) Fellowship.

“MAP is thrilled at the opportunity afforded by the IDPH Abortion Provider Training Grant to expand our initiatives to fill gaps in comprehensive reproductive health care training,” said Melissa Banerjee, Deputy Director of MAP. “This funding will enable us to provide individualized, hands-on clinical training, interdisciplinary education, and implementation support to passionate clinicians who otherwise lack access to training to provide abortion care as a part of their community practices. With this support, MAP will build on the partnerships we’ve developed over 17 years of operation with clinical sites, clinicians and advocates to expand access to comprehensive reproductive health care for Illinois’ diverse communities, and all those seeking care in Illinois.”

“Planned Parenthood of Illinois is proud of its abortion provider training program and the work we are doing to prepare the next generation of medical providers,” said PPIL President and CEO Jennifer Welch. “Whether we are training students or established providers, our goal is to increase the number of providers in Illinois who are able to provide trauma-informed, gender affirming, and language inclusive abortion care. Training more providers allows PPIL to expand overall abortion service availability in Illinois, benefitting populations historically denied access to high quality, affordable health care. We are thrilled to receive this IDPH grant because as a haven state, it is crucial we have practitioners ready to provide the safe and high-quality abortion care our patients need and deserve.”

“The UIC College of Nursing will establish the RADIANT Fellowship to train and mentor nurse practitioners from across the state to offer trauma-informed and gender affirming abortion services in their practices,” said Kylea Laina Liese, an Assistant Professor in the UIC Department of Human Development Nursing Science. “RADIANT Fellows will also serve as preceptors to advance practice nursing students from UIC, who will receive the classroom training needed to expand and protect access to essential reproductive healthcare.”

Governor Pritzker announced last year that the state of Illinois was taking a number of steps to improve access to abortion and other reproductive care in Illinois. This included the creation of the CARLA (Complex Abortion Regional Line for Access) hotline, a partnership involving state agencies, hospitals, and the Chicago Abortion Fund. The hotline is designed to help patients with complex medical needs who need hospital-based services to navigate the universe of abortion providers and receive the appropriate level of care.

IDPH is also working to launch a Reproductive Health Public Navigation Hotline that will aid patients, regardless of complexity, including those travelling from out of state, in finding and navigating care. The Public Navigation Hotline will route medically complex patients into the CARLA system and lower risk patients into the non-hospital network of care.

The IDPH effort aligns with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ support for the expansion of abortion education and an increase in the number and types of trained abortion providers to ensure access to safe abortions.

Discuss.

9 Comments

Showcasing The Retailers Who Make Illinois Work

Thursday, Apr 11, 2024 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Retail provides one out of every five Illinois jobs, generates the second largest amount of tax revenue for the state, and is the largest source of revenue for local governments. But retail is also so much more, with retailers serving as the trusted contributors to life’s moments, big and small.

We Are Retail and IRMA are dedicated to sharing the stories of retailers like Edwin, who serve their communities with dedication and pride. Click here to learn more.

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A fiscal cliff of their own making

Thursday, Apr 11, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* One smart thing state leaders did during and since the pandemic is to not put much one-time federal money into ongoing base spending. Not so with Chicago Public Schools. From Chalkbeat…

Next year, CPS plans to spend the last $300 million of its $2.8 billion allocation of federal COVID money, but will still face a $391 million deficit. CEO Pedro Martinez signaled recently that hard cuts, such as for critical building repairs, could be ahead but he wants to protect classrooms from losing resources.

Looking back, more than half of Chicago’s federal COVID money went to staff salaries and benefits. In an interview with Chalkbeat, Martinez said the federal COVID dollars helped the district avoid cuts because of a longstanding structural deficit – when expenses exceed revenue. […]

The district has not yet detailed how it will fill its looming $391 million deficit. That’s the shortfall after using roughly $300 million in federal COVID money still left to spend.

Ralph Martire, executive director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, said the district shouldn’t have plugged the federal money into operating costs, such as salaries, because that created a cliff – a sudden loss of money that could mean the loss of programs and staff that directly impacts students.

“It’s very disruptive, right?” Martire said. “What message does that send to the kids? It creates a lot of unintended and hard-to-anticipate issues.”

Martire argues the district should have used the money to pay for one-time costs, such as critical building repairs. The district might have to delay such repairs in response to budget challenges, Martinez said at a recent event about the district’s Latino students.

Martinez told Chalkbeat he is proud of the choices the district made in spending federal COVID money, pointing to the recent research around student growth in Chicago and crediting the “amazing work” of principals, teachers, and students.

“What the evidence is telling me right now is that we used the resources in a way that our students are doing even better today than they were prior to me coming here,” he said.

While those last two paragraphs are very positive news, it’s just not sustainable.

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Protect Illinois Hospitality - Vote No On House Bill 5345

Thursday, Apr 11, 2024 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Getting rid of tipped wages in Illinois would be the final blow to many restaurants

“Unfortunately, eliminating the tip credit is not the answer. Not for me as a mayor and not as a small business owner. I hope Springfield legislators vote no on this proposal so our communities can remain a place where employees, businesses and residents thrive.”

George D. Alpogianis is mayor of Niles and part of the third generation of several family-owned and operated local restaurants.

Tell your state legislators to VOTE NO on House Bill 5345 and Protect Illinois Hospitality

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It’s just a bill

Thursday, Apr 11, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Crain’s…

A new bill in the Illinois General Assembly aims to create a fairer evaluation system for Chicago Public Schools teachers, but questions surrounding the legislation’s language have left the school system skeptical of what a reformed evaluation process would mean in practice.

The proposal would give the Illinois State Board of Education the ability to examine teacher evaluation procedures and determine if racial, ethnic, socioeconomic or geographical factors undercut how CPS teachers are rated. Then, the Chicago Board of Education and the Chicago Teachers Union would negotiate to create a new evaluation system to remedy those disparities. If passed, the new evaluation would be implemented by Aug. 15, 2025.

State Rep. Kam Buckner, the bill’s author, argues the legislation would not change the baseline approach to evaluations. The bill passed through committee on April 3. […]

Chicago Public Schools has already pushed back on the legislation, arguing the bill’s language doesn’t adequately define what constitutes “clear racial, ethnic, socio-economic, or geographic disparities.” That could lead to a potential misuse of data that would undermine the evaluation process, the district contends. […]

As the Chicago Teachers Union heads to the bargaining table with the mayor this spring, Buckner’s bill has dredged up worries among some at CPS who see the legislation as a way to get around formal contract negotiations. That would track with the political strategy that CTU President Stacy Davis Gates has laid out. In a March interview with the Chicago Sun-Times, Davis told reporters she would take the contract fight to “Springfield and to Washington, D.C.”

* Brenden Moore…

* WSIU…

The Illinois Senate has approved a bill to address food deserts across the state.

Bill sponsor, State Senator Dale Fowler from Harrisburg, says the state is making great strides in raising awareness to the food desert problem that several local communities face.

Senate Bill 3265 would create a program within the Illinois Department of Agriculture, tasked with establishing and operating projects and strategies that focus on the distribution of fresh, nutritious food while providing education in food preparation and nutrition in food deserts.

* WAND…

The Illinois Senate approved a plan Wednesday to require insurance companies to cover preventative cancer screenings and genetic testing for people with a family history of cancer.

Screenings for certain types of cancer are currently covered by insurance if patients meet the age requirement. However, Sen. Julie Morrison (D-Lake Forest) said her proposal would require coverage for prevention and susceptibility cancer screenings for every type of cancer for anyone with family members impacted by the disease. […]

Senate Bill 2697 also requires insurance coverage for genetic testing for inherited gene mutations to help people with family history of cancer. […]

The legislation passed unanimously out of the Senate Wednesday. Senate Bill 2697 now moves to the House for further consideration.

* Illinois Times…

The tiny Scott County community of Riggston, 50 miles west of Springfield, with a mere 18 residents, is drawing national attention for a self-serve operation in a small building that is addressing the issue of rural American food deserts.

The Grab-N-Grow Greenhouse is a combination of an indoor farmers market and a self-serve grocery store. Local produce growers, livestock producers and bakers bring their fresh goods to the facility and customers select and pay for what they need. […]

Several months ago, [Jenny Sauer-Schmidgall, the owner of Grab-N-Grow Greenhouse] discussed her operation during a casual conversation with her Springfield attorney, who suggested that she make some state elected officials aware of what she was doing. State Sen. Doris Turner, a Springfield Democrat, immediately expressed interest in the Grab-N-Grow Greenhouse and the potential it may hold for other rural areas in Illinois.

Turner cosponsored Senate Bill 3219, which expands the 2023 Illinois Grocery Initiative by allowing the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to provide grants for equipment upgrades for farmer-owned grocery stores or markets like the Grab-N-Grow Greenhouse. […]

Senate Bill 3219 has received strong bipartisan support. [Three] Republicans, along with five other Democrats, have added their names as cosponsors of Turner’s bill.

* Center Square…

State Sen. Laura Fine, D-Glenview, said her Senate Bill 2960 is about encouraging a change in behavior to prohibit hotels from using single use plastics.

“Right now, we are putting so much plastic pollution into our waterways that it will no longer be safe for aquatic consumption and then human consumption,” Fine said. […]

A first violation of the law, if passed, would be a written warning. Second or subsequent violations could levy a civil penalty of $500 for each violation.

The measure now heads to the Illinois House for further action.

* Fox Chicago…

The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) is partnering with some Illinois lawmakers to support legislation aimed at centralizing information for caregivers, making it easier for them to make decisions for their families and loved ones with confidence.

House Bill 4677 calls for the creation of the Illinois Caregiving Portal, creating a one-stop-shop for state, federal, nonprofit and professional caregiving information.

The portal would be managed by the Illinois Department of Aging in coordination with other state agencies. […]

That bill is currently in committee in Springfield.

HB4677’s Third Reading deadline has been extended to May 24.

* WCBU…

A bill to strengthen protection for employees of Illinois libraries is heading to the House floor.

House Bill 4567 would amend the criminal code outlining the consequences of threatening public officials, like school employees and elected officials. If the bill passes, the law would also cover library employees and threats made through electronic means, like social media. […]

The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois is opposed to penalty enhancements in general, including those for repeat offenders included in this bill. […]

“The people who are making these threats are unlikely to be deterred under an enhanced penalty, just like they’re not deterred under the current criminal prohibition for making these kinds of threats,” [Benjamin Ruddel, director of criminal justice policy for the Illinois ACLU] said. “These kinds of penalty enhancements allow elected officials to say they’re doing something about a problem, but there’s no enhanced safety.” […]

“I’m not sure that solving those root causes is something that can be done legislatively, but increasing penalties is,” [Illinois Library Association President Ryan Johnso] said. “So it’s not a magic bullet. It’s not a panacea. But it is a gesture, it’s a step in the right direction, albeit a small one.”

* WAND…

People leaving Illinois prisons and jails could soon receive a state ID for free.

Under Senate Bill 2803, incarcerated people who previously held a state ID or driver’s license would be able to submit a form to the Secretary of State’s Office. Applicants would need a photo taken by the correctional facility and must provide proof of residency upon discharge.

Sen. Christopher Belt (D-Swansea) said Wednesday that people released on parole, mandatory supervised release or a pardon could receive a temporary 90 day state ID if they do not receive a standard state ID before they leave a correctional facility. […]

Senate Bill 2803 passed out of the Senate on a partisan 41-18 vote. The proposal now heads to the House for further consideration.

* SJ-R…

House Bill 545, sponsored by Rep. Joyce Mason, D-Gurnee, would require the Department of Human Services to establish add-on rates for childcare providers participating in the state’s Child Care Assistance Program to purchase supplemental diapers for children in need.

Per the bill, the add-on rates should allow for a family participating in the program full-time to purchase 50 diapers per month for each child under 3 and 25 diapers for part-time participants. Those that run out of diapers would also not be turned down from participating in the program.

Mayo said the program’s cost ranges from $4 million to $6 million, which acts like an “additional check” for families trying to ensure their children have diapers. It comes as Gov. JB Pritzker is also calling for lawmakers to approve a $1 million pilot program to be approved by lawmakers in the upcoming budget for the department to distribute free diapers throughout the state.

5 Comments

Pritzker administration split

Thursday, Apr 11, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Heh…

48 Comments

Open thread

Thursday, Apr 11, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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

12 Comments

Isabel’s morning briefing

Thursday, Apr 11, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: After balking earlier, Johnson to ask City Council to spend $70M on migrant services. Tribune…

* Related stories…

∙ Sun-Times: Mayor reverses course, will call for $70 million in funding for migrant care, key City Council member says
∙ WGN: Chicago mayor to ask city council for $70 million for migrant aid

* Isabel’s top picks…

ABC Chicago | Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard, village trustee Andrew Holmes named in sexual assault lawsuit:

* Crain’s | Springfield bill takes aim at racial disparities in CPS teacher evaluations: The proposal would give the Illinois State Board of Education the ability to examine teacher evaluation procedures and determine if racial, ethnic, socioeconomic or geographical factors undercut how CPS teachers are rated. Then, the Chicago Board of Education and the Chicago Teachers Union would negotiate to create a new evaluation system to remedy those disparities. If passed, the new evaluation would be implemented by Aug. 15, 2025.

* WTAX | State legislative leaders give IL Chamber contrasting views: Welch has made “The Infinite Game” his theme for 2024, saying, “I can guarantee you there will be a 71st speaker, there will be another Black speaker. Illinois will go on for another 200-plus years. […] Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park), saying state government should be boring (“I want it to model itself after me!”) and get out of the way, praised Gov. JB Pritzker’s cheerleading for Illinois, but Senate Minority Leader John Curran (R-Downers Grove) said Democrats are messing everything up: “The recent announcement that a large (Quaker Oats) plant in Danville will be closing its doors, resulting in more than 500 lost jobs in an area of the state that has a higher than average unemployment rate already, is a prime example of how we have to do a better job of taking care of our current employers here.”

* April 10th is now Lee Milner day in illinois…

* Here’s the rest…

WGEM | Illinois lawmakers discuss potential $300 child tax credit:

* Fox Chicago | AARP pushes for Illinois Caregiving Portal legislation: The portal would be managed by the Illinois Department of Aging in coordination with other state agencies. Supporters say it would help keep people from having to turn to Google to find what they need.

* Shaw Local | Regulators weigh future of gas industry in Illinois, while clamping down on Chicago utility: The ICC launched a process dubbed the “Future of Gas” last week that will inform the governor, legislature and other policymakers on potential policy changes. The process was initiated by the ICC after they tamped down requests for rate increases from all of the state’s major gas utilities.

* Capitol News Illinois | Komatsu mining truck named 2024 ‘coolest thing made in Illinois’: The truck was one of more than 200 entries in the 5th annual contest hosted by the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association and sponsored by Comcast Business. The bracket-style contest lasted eight weeks and collected almost 315,000 votes for the products entered, narrowing them down to the top 16, then to the final four, which were recognized Wednesday. The truck, made by Komatsu in Peoria, has a hauling capacity of up to 400 tons and has “new innovations in suspension transmission, electric drive technology and autonomous operation,” according to Komatsu. The 980E-5 truck weighs more than 1.3 million pounds.

* Oak Park Journal | Cosgrove edges out Przekota in race for judge: According to final, uncertified results Cosgrove defeated prosecutor Kim Przekota by the razor thin margin of 338 votes. Cosgrove has 13,468 votes, or 50.6% of ballots cast, to 13,130 for Przekota, who comes in 49.4% of the vote.

* Shaw Local | Keep pressing on full costs of proposed new early childhood agency: When revisiting an Oct. 26 column on Gov. JB Pritzker’s plans for a new state agency that would administer every service under the umbrella of early childhood, my main concern was whether consolidation would further eradicate local control and how the agencies that stand to lose responsibilities would adjust. There is appeal in “a more equitable, integrated, and holistic system of services for young children and families,” as the governor’s office pledged, but Pritzker still bears a burden of proof: that a new agency is up to the task and that those currently overburdened actually end up more efficient.

* WCIA | Danville’s Village Mall set to be auctioned off, leaving locals concerned: Mayor Rickey Williams Jr. said he’s frustrated with the situation and doesn’t know why the owners of the decades-old mall are selling, and communication with them has been difficult. […] Mayor Williams said they offered a $100,000 market study to explore possible options for the mall but the owners were not interested. WCIA 3 reached out to the company, but has not received a response.

* Elgin Courier-News | Bartlett High School principal removed from post but allowed to return as teacher: Demovsky was placed on administrative leave in March during the probe, the details of which have not been made public. “I just want to say to the community that I understand it seems like a lot of things happen in private,” board member Dawn Martin, a Bartlett resident, said during the meeting. “I want to remind the community that personnel matters are discussed in closed (sessions). It’s not about hiding things from our community or not being transparent.

* Sun-Times | Killing of Dexter Reed raises questions about Chicago police reform. ‘The message is, go in guns blazing.: Alexandra Block, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, said the Chicago police department’s approach to reform has amounted to “a box-checking exercise,” and the promises of overhauling the culture haven’t been kept.

* Chalkbeat | From ‘winning the lottery’ to ‘leaner schools’: How the end of federal COVID money could impact Chicago schools: At one school, where nearly all of the students came from low-income households, the additional money meant more after-school programs for everyone, tutoring for struggling students, open gym, and even a staff-created crafting class where students could get additional social-emotional support. Test scores went up and staff noticed fewer fights, said a former school administrator who requested anonymity in order to speak candidly.

* Sun-Times | Amazon owes Chicago-based tech company $525 million for patent infringement, jury rules: Kove is a Chicago-based company that specializes in computer storage and data management technologies. The West Loop firm owns three data storage patents and accused cloud computing platform Amazon Web Services of infringement, filing a lawsuit against the Amazon-subsidiary in December 2018. The three patents — invented by Kove CEO John Overton and Stephen Bailey — relate to systems and methods for managing the storage, search and retrieval of information across a computer network, according to the lawsuit.

* AP | Internet providers must now be more transparent about fees, pricing, FCC says: Following the design of FDA food labels, these broadband labels will provide easy-to-understand, accurate information about the cost and performance of high-speed internet service to help consumers avoid junk fees, price hikes, and other unexpected costs. Internet service providers selling home access or mobile broadband plans will be required to have a label for each plan beginning April 10.

* Sun-Times | Northwestern to play most home football games in temporary on-campus stadium the next 2 years: The school announced Wednesday that it will build a temporary structure attached to Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium, the home of its lacrosse and soccer teams, on the shores of Lake Michigan. Northwestern is working with InProduction, which built seating for last summer’s NASCAR race downtown as well as at Hawaii and Florida State. Construction will start this summer, and the facility will be open for the next two football seasons.

* WTTW | CTA Says Red Line Extension a ‘Top Priority’ for Biden Administration, on Track to Begin Construction Next Year: Carter told the board he met with the head of the FTA on a recent trip to Washington, D.C., who assured him the Red Line Extension is a “top priority project” for President Joe Biden’s administration. The president’s fiscal year 2025 budget proposal includes an initial round of $350 million in funding for the ambitious effort. FTA officials are “very upbeat about our project and very upbeat about the timeline for getting the full funding grant agreement … in place by the end of this year,” Carter said. “By all accounts, we’re on target to accomplish that.”

* Crain’s | Uber is adding taxis to its app in Chicago. Yes, you read that right: Why is Uber giving its customers the chance to take a traditional cab? “We continue to believe that there is no world in which taxis and Uber exist separately — there is simply too much to gain for both sides,” the company said in a statement.

* Tribune | The most infamous serial killers all seem to have something in common — they’re from around here: What is it about the Midwest that breeds so many serial killers? What is in the soil that grows the sort of grisly murderers who launch a million headlines? Adam Rapp has wondered for a long time. He was born in Chicago and raised in Joliet in the 1970s, when Joliet was not the best place to grow up. Gangs proliferated. There were rumors of white vans whose drivers offered neighborhood boys a peek at a Playboy. You couldn’t escape to Chicago — killer clown John Wayne Gacy and nurse killer Richard Speck came out of there.

* Tribune | University of Illinois, citing insufficient evidence, closes internal probe of basketball player Terrence Shannon Jr: In a notice dated Friday, the director of the university’s Office for Student Conflict Resolution wrote that the investigator in the probe did not have access to the complainant, the complainant’s witness or the complete file from the police department in Lawrence, Kansas. “The complainant has not indicated an intent to participate in a hearing before a hearing panel at this time,” the director, Robert Wilczynski, wrote in the letter. “As a result, the process has concluded.” No disciplinary action will be taken at this time, he added.

* Tribune | Yoán Moncada — out 3-6 months — joins Luis Robert Jr. and Eloy Jiménez on the IL for Chicago White Sox: The Chicago White Sox third baseman’s 2024 took a dramatic turn for the worse when he suffered a left adductor strain during Tuesday’s game against the Cleveland Guardians. Wednesday, he learned he would be out an estimated three to six months as the Sox placed him on the 10-day injured list.

* Chicago Mag | The Sox’s New Voice: The biggest thing it takes is belief. Because there’s only 30 jobs in Major League Baseball, and there’s so many people telling you it’s not possible. So you need confidence in yourself — and good people in your corner. When I was at Dartmouth, my middle sister was at Howard, and she told me to come there for a transfer semester. I studied journalism in their school of communication, then got an internship at [Pardon the Interruption] at ESPN. It just snowballed from there.

* >WSIL | Some businesses in Cairo, Illinois say saw more sales from the Solar Eclipse: Businesses on Route 51 had a front-row seat to the action, including the Smokey Hill BBQ food truck. “There started to be a Jam from Kentucky to the center of Cairo,” owner Tim Koch said. […] The owners of G&L Clothing told us in a phone call that they saw a 75% jump in sales during the eclipse weekend.

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