Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Fundraiser list
Tuesday, Dec 12, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Tuesday, Dec 12, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Danny Solis has been summoned to the witness stand…
* H/T to Hannah Meisel for putting this on my radar…
* Democratic Party of Illinois…
* Preliminary NTSB report on the Yellow Line crash has been released. Tribune…
Emphasis added by me.
* Here’s the rest of your roundup…
* Tribune | Will County judge shares frustration with pace of criminal case against New Lenox gun shop owner, business partner: Defense attorney Jack Friedlander told the judge his team received 300 pages of discovery last week and the grand jury transcript an hour before a court proceeding Dec. 5. Friedlander asked for a continuance to review the material. […] [Will County Judge David Carlson] called the delay for grand jury transcripts an “oversight.” Pointing to the two Secret Service agents in the courtroom, Carlson said he was ready to scold them for the delay in the case. In a previous hearing, Carlson said he understood the agents were not cooperating, but it turns out that wasn’t true. * Injustice Watch | Unsealed records reveal new details about Illinois appellate judge’s alleged role in decades-old fraud scheme: Judge Carl Walker was never charged and denied any wrongdoing in mortgage frauds perpetrated by a real estate client. But a controversial 2003 raid on his law offices has reemerged in an effort to remove him from hearing a case. * Muddy River News | After losing to Pritzker, Bailey using Miller playbook in attempt to join her in Congress: Bailey is going with the Miller playbook to beat Bost. He has called him an establishment RINO (Republican in Name Only), bashing Bost’s “liberal” voting record and pledging fealty to former President Donald Trump, the tough guy who doesn’t have the cojones to debate his opponents. While most of Illinois is geographically red, the big blue dot of Chicago and the smaller blue dots in Metro East and many college towns still have the majority of people and votes, which is why Democrats have all of the statewide offices and super majorities in both chambers of the General Assembly. * Pioneer Press | Evanston plans event to select descendants for reparations funds: The committee expects to be able to disburse payment to at least 80 direct descendants in 2024, according to the letter, and those selected will be contacted in March to decide how they would like to spend the money. A majority of those in the ancestor group have been awarded funds from the city’s cannabis dispensary tax revenues, with 26 of 140 ancestors, those who were 18 and older at the time and directly experienced racist housing policies in Evanston from 1919 to 1969, awaiting disbursements or continuing to weigh their options. * Daily Herald | Elgin mayor proposes using $6M in discretionary funds to lessen lead pipe replacement debt: The city has been replacing lead service lines using $13.5 million from the American Rescue Plan Act and voted Wednesday to approve accepting a $2 million loan from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. The city planned to sell $20 million in general obligation bonds next year for the program, but Kaptain’s proposal would drop that down to $14 million. * Pioneer Press | Skokie Village Board violated Open Meetings Act, Illinois Attorney General finds: According to the public access counselor’s review of information sent by Johnson and Van Dusen, the village board adjourned its open meeting session on Oct. 2 at 8:10 p.m. to go into a closed session to discuss pending litigation. “The closed section verbatim recording confirms the allegations in Trustee Johnson’s Request for Review, which stated that during the relevant portion of the closed session meeting, the Board approved the June 5, 2023 closed session minutes with Trustee Johnson abstaining,” according to the public access counselor’s opinion. * SJ-R | Injunction levied against the city of Springfield for “discriminatory” housing ordinance: A federal court has blocked the city of Springfield from enforcing a local housing ordinance that prevented people with disabilities from living within 600 feet of each other, over a year after damages were awarded in the case. * Patch | 2 Run For Elmhurst State House Seat: Elmhurst Alderman Marti Deuter is running as a Democrat to succeed Jenn Ladisch-Douglass, a Democrat who decided not to run again after one term. The Republican candidate is Elmhurst resident Dennis Reboletti, who is the elected supervisor of Addison Township. * Austin Weekly News | Illinois Senate President Don Harmon reflects on 20 years of change and calls for solidarity with migrants: “We need to do a better job of using these opportunities to create a more durable social infrastructure, so that we are prepared to handle the next crisis that comes around the corner, because once this one is addressed, another will inevitably come,” Harmon, of the 39th district, said. * Tribune | Rylie O’Meara: Chicago’s warming shelters are not adequately caring for the unhoused in winter: In my role on the board of Chicago Street Medicine and as a third-year medical student at the Stritch School of Medicine, I regularly go on “street runs” with medical providers who travel to locations in the city where people experiencing homelessness congregate and provide them with medical care. Unsurprisingly, cold weather injuries are common among those with no indoor refuge during a Chicago winter. * Chicago Mag | Cops vs. Counselors: Rebecca Neusteter, executive director of the Health Lab at the University of Chicago Urban Labs, which is formally evaluating the CARE pilot, says the biggest implementation hiccups are often mundane ones — “even basic questions like procuring vehicles and making sure people’s schedules align” — products of melding teams of first responders from different city agencies, with their own workplace cultures and systems. Then there’s this vital consideration: What if it had been a social worker, not a police officer, facing a bat-wielding Quintonio LeGrier? Are unarmed mental health professionals equipped to handle potentially violent situations? * Chicago Mag | Joe Shanahan: The Metro and Smartbar owner, 66, on DJ’ing, meeting Bob Dylan, and battling cancer: Metro was the building I could afford. It was rundown, in a rough-and-tumble neighborhood. We were duct-taping the pipes because they’d burst in the middle of a Saturday night. At first, neighbors were unhappy that we were causing such a ruckus, but then they began to realize, Oh, there are people around here at night who aren’t breaking into the cars. There’s a caretaker’s unit in the building, and I lived there with a .38 under my pillow and a cat that chased the rats out. Those first 10 years, it was pure adrenaline. * AP | Shohei Ohtani’s Dodgers contract has $680 million deferred: Ohtani’s record-setting deal, agreed to Saturday, calls for annual salaries of $70 million, according to details obtained by The Associated Press. Of each year’s salary, $68 million is deferred with no interest, payable in equal installments each July 1 from 2034-43. * WICS | Hunters encouraged to support Illinois Deer Donation Program for community meals: Hunters still have time to donate to the Illinois Deer Donation Program, as the 2023-2024 hunting season ends. Donated deer help feed individuals and families in east-central Illinois, and hunters do not have to pay the processing fee at partnering meat processors. * Tribune | 4,000 days of prayer: A man’s journey out of Chicago street violence to a trucking convoy honoring the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe: Since he was released from prison in October 2019, Romero commemorates the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe every December with hundreds of other truckers in a pilgrimage the weekend preceding the holiday, on Dec 12. They join thousands of devotees who visit the shrine walking, running, biking and horse riding, making the Midwest celebration the second largest one after Mexico City and the Des Plaines shrine the most visited monument of its kind in the U.S.
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NAACP IL President causes furor with horrific remarks about new arrivals
Tuesday, Dec 12, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * NAACP Illinois State Conference President Teresa Haley talked about asylum seekers during the group’s October president’s call… * From Ms. Haley’s remarks…
OK, first of all, 80,000? Not even close. * Back to Haley’s comments…
Haley is currently vying for a seat on the NAACP’s National Board. * Now-former DuPage County NAACP President Patrick Watson, who told me today that he saw Haley make the comments in real time, released this statement announcing his resignation from the organization a while back…
Watson told me Haley made disparaging remarks about LGBTQ+ people at the November meeting, which was not recorded. * Gov. Pritzker was asked about Haley’s remarks today…
I reached out to Ms. Haley earlier today and haven’t yet heard back. But the reporter who brought up the topic with Pritzker has apparently talked to her and quoted her as saying “AI can generate anything.”
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Gov. Pritzker says he hasn’t yet spoken to AG Raoul about crisis pregnancy center lawsuit settlement
Tuesday, Dec 12, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * Background is here and here if you need it. Gov. JB Pritzker was asked by a reporter today if he agreed with Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s decision to come to an agreement with the Thomas More Society to not enforce the new state law which added crisis pregnancy centers to the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Practices Act…
Looks like the guy who came up with the idea for the bill (Raoul) didn’t give a personal heads up that he was settling to the guy who signed that bill into law (Pritzker) and repeatedly defended that signature, including on CNN in August…
* Anyway, the governor continued…
* But why have the new law then?…
Um, the idea came from AG Raoul. * Was there an overreach by the legislature, because this is the second time the state has agreed not to enforce a law (judicial campaign limits)?…
Please pardon all transcription errors.
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A new take on ribbon cutting
Tuesday, Dec 12, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * Press release…
* It’s kinda hard to see because of the photog hogging the shot, but Pritzker used a plasma torch to cut the “ribbon”… “Nobody injured, nobody died.” …Adding… Another angle is here.
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Question of the day: 2023 Golden Horseshoe Awards
Tuesday, Dec 12, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * The 2023 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Democratic Illinois State Representative goes to Rep. Lance Yednock…
* The 2023 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Republican Illinois State Representative goes to Rep. Norine Hammond…
Some very solid nominations were made yesterday, so thanks for that and congrats to our winners! * Today’s categories…
Best Republican Illinois State Senator As always, explain your nomination or it won’t count. And please do your best to nominate in both categories. * This is your daily reminder to click here and help Lutheran Social Services of Illinois buy Christmas presents for their foster kids. So far, we’ve helped LSSI buy presents for 2,086 foster children. That’s just so amazing, but they serve 2,530 kids, so please click here.
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Another update to today’s edition
Tuesday, Dec 12, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
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*** UPDATED x2 *** Elections have consequences
Tuesday, Dec 12, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * Buried deep within the Chicago Public Schools board agenda for Thursday’s meeting is a proposed resolution entitled, “Resolution Regarding Values and Parameters for New Five-Year Transformational Strategic Plan, SY25-SY29.” And buried deep within that proposed resolution is this passage, which was spotted by some readers who are Chicago parents and who then forwarded it to me…
It sure looks like the resolution, if approved, would eventually move the district away from charter schools and selective enrollment schools. These are, of course, longstanding policy goals of the Chicago Teachers Union, which helped elect one of its own as mayor. I reached out to CPS for comment earlier today. I’ll let you know if they respond. *** UPDATE 1 *** CPS responded and confirmed…
*** UPDATE 2 *** Hmm…
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*** UPDATED x1 - House sponsor says she’s ‘heartbroken by the decision to back down on our promise to Illinois women’ *** Thomas More Society declares victory over AG Raoul
Tuesday, Dec 12, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * More background is here if you need it. Tribune…
* The proposed agreed order…
Emphasis added. * Thomas More Society press release…
* Personal PAC CEO Sarah Garza Resnick…
Apparently, the AG’s office has told folks on his side that he can use existing state consumer fraud laws against the clinics. But, if that’s the case, why spend the political capital to pass a bill and go through all this? This was his legislative initiative, after all. * Jennifer Welch, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Illinois Action…
I’ve reached out to others for comment. I’ll let you know. *** UPDATE *** House sponsor Rep. Terra Costa Howard…
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Update to today’s edition (Updated)
Tuesday, Dec 12, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)
Tuesday, Dec 12, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Open thread
Tuesday, Dec 12, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * What’s going on? Keep it Illinois-centric please…
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Tuesday, Dec 12, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Under proposed agreement, Illinois would drop enforcement of law deterring deceptive anti-abortion practices. Tribune…
- Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office would be “permanently enjoined” from enforcing the law. - In a statement Monday evening, AG Raoul did not explain why he entered into the agreement but said it “in no way affects my ongoing work protecting women’s rights to access the full range of reproductive health services.” * Isabel’s top picks… * WBEZ | Chicago scraps plans for migrant tent camp in Morgan Park: City officials say a plan to shelter migrants on a vacant lot in Chicago’s Morgan Park neighborhood has stalled because of a “lack of urgency” as the city turns to alternative housing options for migrants. The decision comes less than a week after the state of Illinois rejected the city’s first attempt to house migrants in winterized basecamps on top of contaminated soil in Brighton Park. An outside environmental report deemed the site at 38th Street and California Avenue as toxic. Construction had already begun before the state pulled the plug. * Center Square | Illinois’ gun ban registry rules in federal court Tuesday: While a three-judge federal appeals panel has since sided with the state, the law is still being challenged. Two cases are pending in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. Tuesday afternoon, attorney Kostas Moros said plaintiffs will argue for the Southern District of Illinois federal court to delay the Jan. 1 registration deadline. * Tribune | Migrants arriving by busload in Rosemont and Cicero are sent away, but welcomed in Oak Park, as suburbs respond differently to crisis: Police in Rosemont allowed migrants to get off the buses if they had someone picking them up, but threatened to impound the bus and arrest the driver for endangering the passengers if he let them out, Mayor Brad Stephens said. The Village Board planned to consider an ordinance Monday to back up such measures. Cicero approved a measure to fine bus companies $750 per person for letting out homeless migrants, spokesman Ray Hanania said. Governor Pritzker will be in Chicago to celebrate the grand opening of the new mHUB innovation center at noon. Click here to watch. * Here’s the rest of your morning roundup… * WCIA | New professional licensing system coming to Illinois: “This new law will move us one step closer to streamlining the state’s licensure process to help connect residents with good jobs and alleviate workforce shortages across our communities,” Senator Suzy Glowiak Hilton (D-Western Springs), who sponsored the bill in the Senate, said. “By providing IDFPR with this support, we will help promote an effective and streamlined licensure process for all Illinoisans.” * Center Square | Prosecutors push back against ex-Madigan chief’s bid for acquittal or new trial: Mapes in November asked for an acquittal, or in the alternative, a new trial in a motion before Judge John Kness. Mapes and his attorney argued that mistakes by prosecutors and the judge required an acquittal. Prosecutors pushed back on those claims in a 50-page motion in response. “At trial, the government presented ample evidence of Mapes’ repeated lies in the grand jury on March 31, 2021,” prosecutors wrote. “His motion for judgment of acquittal … ignores this evidence.” * Sun-Times | 100 secret recordings, 36 witnesses later, feds winding up case against Burke — but will defense call Solis as ‘hostile’ witness?: Burke’s defense team has promised to summon former Ald. Danny Solis to the witness stand — finally giving Burke the chance to confront the man who famously turned on him while wearing an FBI wire. * Daily Southtown | Calumet City Ald. Monet Wilson threatens legal action over Mayor Thaddeus Jones’ liaison appointment: Wilson said she recalls the roles being created by Jones when he first came into office but does not recall a more recent conversation that would have triggered the two latest appointments. The role of community liaison does not exist in the Calumet City municipal code. * Crain’s | Johnson wants recommendations to ’streamline’ city’s development approval process: Johnson will also create a new position of “director of process improvement” within the mayor’s office to implement the proposed changes. In a press release announcing the executive order, Johnson is quoted as saying the city’s current “processes are overly cumbersome and counterproductive for commercial and housing development.” * Capitol News Illinois | Secretary of State helps launch first-of-its-kind state ID program for inmates exiting Cook County Jail: Inmates released from Illinois prisons have been receiving state IDs at no charge since late 2020 when state leaders launched a pilot program, which was subsequently expanded statewide and codified into state law earlier this year. But doing the same with detainees in county jails has proved much more difficult. Prison inmates have more stable and predictable release dates, but jail detainees may stay for as long as years while awaiting trial, or as short as just a few hours. * Chalkbeat | Chicago Public Schools is tapping principal Joshua Long to lead its special education department: The department — known as the Office of Diverse Learners Supports and Services — serves nearly 52,000 students with disabilities and has been without a chief since June. That’s when Stephanie Jones stepped down amid fallout from Chicago’s violations related to the use of restraint and timeout of students. The department has also struggled in recent years to ensure students with disabilities are getting services they’re legally entitled to under federal law. * Tribune | Republican National Committee backs effort to block mail-in ballots received after Election Day: The RNC, which is promoting a “bank the vote” program to get Republicans to pledge to vote by mail, joined with the National Republican Congressional Committee in filing a court brief in the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in support of the effort to nullify ballots received by Illinois election authorities after Election Day. … The case could have far-reaching consequences. During the 2020 pandemic year general election, when mail-in voting increased, as many as 266,417 votes were counted in the two-week period after Election Day, according to court documents. * AP | Speculation about eventual rate cuts is rising, but Fed is set to leave interest rates unchanged: With inflation edging closer to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, its policymakers are facing — and in some cases fueling — hopes that they will make a decisive shift in policy and cut interest rates next year, possibly as soon as spring. Such a move would reduce borrowing costs across the economy, making mortgages, auto loans and business borrowing less expensive. Stock prices could rise, too, though share prices have already risen in expectation of cuts, potentially limiting any further rise. * NYT | This Economy Has Bigger Problems Than ‘Bad Vibes’: The economy is growing. Wages are up. Unemployment is low. Income inequality is narrowing. The fearmongering about inflation proved to be, well, wrong. According to many economy watchers, Americans should be sending the Biden administration a gift basket full of positive vibes — and votes. Instead, consumer confidence polling paints a different picture. A recent Times/Siena poll found that only 2 percent of registered voters said economic conditions are “excellent,” and only 16 percent said they were “good.” While economic indicators suggest that the economy is healthy and growing, the American public doesn’t feel that way. Why the perception gap? * AP | Epic Games wins antitrust lawsuit against Google over barriers to its Android app store: Epic Games, the maker of the popular Fortnite video game, filed a lawsuit against Google three years ago, alleging that the internet search giant has been abusing its power to shield its Play Store from competition in order to protect a gold mine that makes billions of dollars annually. Just as Apple does for its iPhone app store, Google collects a commission ranging from 15% to 30% on digital transactions completed within apps. * NYT | Texas Supreme Court Rules Against Woman Who Sought Court-Approved Abortion: The court ruled that the lower court made a mistake in ruling that the woman, Kate Cox, who is more than 20 weeks pregnant, was entitled to a medical exception. In its seven-page ruling, the Supreme Court found that Ms. Cox’s doctor, Damla Karsan, “asked a court to pre-authorize the abortion yet she could not, or at least did not, attest to the court that Ms. Cox’s condition poses the risks the exception requires.” Texas’ overlapping bans allow for abortions only when a pregnancy seriously threatens the health or life of the woman. * NYT | Why Are So Many American Pedestrians Dying at Night?: What’s even more perplexing: Nothing resembling this pattern has occurred in other comparably wealthy countries. In places like Canada and Australia, a much lower share of pedestrian fatalities occurs at night, and those fatalities — rarer in number — have generally been declining, not rising.
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Live coverage
Tuesday, Dec 12, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Live coverage is back, sorta. This will be different than the old Scribble Live feed because Twitter broke itself and almost everything else it touched. These new feeds do not update instantly. There’s a bit of posting lagtime, but it’s much better than nothing. We are also limited to just 20 Twitter sources. The service may also not last long. We just can’t give you any guarantees about this. You can still click here or here to follow breaking news the way we’ve done since Twitter stopped Scribble Live from working…
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Live Ed Burke Trial Coverage
Tuesday, Dec 12, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * These new feeds do not update instantly. There’s a bit of a lagtime and you have to refresh the page every now and then. The service we’re using may also not last long. We just can’t give you any guarantees. You can still click here to follow the Ed Burke trial on Twitter. Posts without a Twitter author name below them are from online news sources via Bing…
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Raoul, anti-abortion groups to file proposed agreed order in crisis pregnancy center case
Monday, Dec 11, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * Thomas More Society in August…
* From the judge’s injunction…
The bill was essentially written by Attorney General Kwame Raoul and was based on a Connecticut law which had withstood judicial scrutiny. Raoul was its top advocate…
* Well, here’s AG Raoul today…
The proposed order wasn’t included in the release. It won’t actually be filed with the court until tomorrow. But I’ve talked with some pro-choice people this evening who are quite unhappy with this turn of events. Expect reactions tomorrow. …Adding…. Apparently the AG will agree not to pursue legal claims under the new law, but reserves the right to legally challenge under the state’s Consumer Fraud law, which he believes covers the topic. That begs the question of why he pushed so hard and expended the political capital to pass this new law in the first place.
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IDNR removed 750,000 pounds of silver carp from the Illinois River in ten days
Monday, Dec 11, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * This is quite a haul. IDNR press release…
* For comparison, the annual Redneck Fishing Tournament harvested about 20,000 pounds of fish near Bath, Illinois this past summer. But the tournament has some rules which limit their catches…
[Patterson didn’t win a Golden Horseshoe today, but he did get this post.]
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Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Monday, Dec 11, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller Today’s top stories ProPublica writer Vernal Coleman tells the story of an infamous Indiana gun shop that is linked to hundreds of recovered guns in Chicago. The Belleville News-Democrat reports that U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin and U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski have asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to investigate how decades of flooding and exposure to sewage have affected Cahokia Heights residents’ health. State-wide news * WGLT | A report on nutrient pollution in Illinois’ waterways shows more work is needed: “Nutrient levels in Illinois waterways continued to increase in 2021 and 2022 compared to baseline measurements, and the NLRS partnership anticipates the strategy will likely fall short of its 2025 interim goals, particularly for phosphorus,” the report notes. “This is despite multi-sector investments in resources and practices that support nutrient loss reduction across the state.” * Daily Herald | Are electric vehicle owners paying enough for Illinois roads?: An additional $100 fee charged to electric vehicle owners in Illinois generated more than $8.8 million for the state in the last year. That’s up more than $3.3 million from a year ago, and is earmarked for road construction projects in the state, according to Illinois Secretary of State figures. * Cannabis Business Times | Illinois Governor Signs Bill Waiving Cannabis Transporter Fees: The legislation, Senate Bill 1559, also restricts the Illinois Department of Agriculture from making available or accepting new license applications for cannabis transporters until January 2027. […] “The [multi]-year moratorium on new transporter licenses will allow the current, smaller independent transporters to secure contracts and grow their businesses,” Pritzker said in a press release. “License holders will also have a [multi]-year holiday from paying annual fees to further aid these small businesses as the industry develops.” * Sun-Times | Illinois hunters harvested 76,232 deer during firearm season, down from 2022: For the first modern season where certain rifles were allowed during Illinois’ firearm deer season, the impact appears negligible or minor on harvest totals. Illinois hunters harvested 76,232 deer (preliminary numbers) during the two parts of firearm season, down slightly from 76,854 deer in the 2022 firearm season. The weather being almost too nice first season may have had a bigger impact than use of rifles. * Sun-Times | $40M project highlights pastor’s 25-year effort to bring affordable housing to North Lawndale: Developers of a mixed-income complex in North Lawndale hope to inspire residents to return to a community where a lack of affordable housing has driven people away. The six-story, 65-unit Grace Manor has been spearheaded by the Rev. Marvin Hunter, pastor of the nearby Grace Memorial Baptist Church. SJ-R | Springfield Parks District seeks state OK to install video gaming terminals at golf course: Among them, the Springfield Parks District wants to add video gaming at a local golf club which is pending approval from the Illinois Gaming Board. Executive Director Derek Harms told The State Journal-Register that the district recently applied to install video gaming terminals at the Bunn Golf Course clubhouse. IGB confirmed it had received the application in October and was in the process of reviewing it. * Patch | Long Grove Student Wins Voting Sticker Contest: Lake County: Annika, a seventh-grader at Woodlawn, was the winner of the 6th through 8th grade category and the overall grand prize winner for all ages. “Annika’s exceptional artistry secured the grand prize, earning the honor of having their design transformed into the official Lake County ‘I Voted’ sticker in 2024,” Lake County Clerk Anthony Vega said in a press release. * Press Release | Illinois Beverage Association announces selection of Madeline Norris as Executive Director: Skilled in policy analysis, negotiation, relationship management, and legislative process strategy, Norris previously served as Legislative Director for Illinois House Majority Leader Robyn Gabel. “My team and I are excited to take on this new role as Executive Director of the IBA” stated Norris. “The opportunity to serve the IBA’s bottling, manufacturing, and franchisee members throughout the State of Illinois is a great honor and privilege, every day these members serve Illinois residents by providing the most popular, innovative, non-alcoholic beverage choices of every type in the world.” What’s going on in the Windy City?
* Sun-Times | Near West Side ventures seed growth in Chicago manufacturing: In mHUB’s case, it will cut the ribbon Tuesday on its new home. It has taken over a nearly century-old building with a clock tower at 240 N. Ashland Ave. and given it a new address to suit its purposes, 1623 W. Fulton St. The 80,000 square feet will afford mHUB more space for prototyping and testing compared with its former base on Chicago Avenue. * WTTW | Private Trash Haulers Rarely Face Punishment for Illegal Pickups, City Data Shows: Despite scores of noise complaints from frustrated residents jolted awake by garbage trucks, private trash haulers have been slapped with just five tickets for illegal pickups during quiet hours over the last two years. That’s according to a WTTW News analysis of data obtained from the Chicago Police Department and the city’s 311 nonemergency line. * Tribune | Chicago homicides in 2023: 588 people slain. Here’s how that compares with previous years: After a two-year spike during the pandemic and national outrage over police accountability, Chicago began to see a decline in homicides in 2022. In 2021, 797 people were slain — 25 more than in 2020. * People’s Fabric | Crooked Chicago Cop Crew Seen in Videos Stealing Guns, Drugs, and Cash: Four Calumet District tactical unit officers were stripped of their police powers after filing false reports—in one instance, they even let a man wanted for murder walk away smoking his blunt. News from outside the Land of Lincoln * Chalkbeat | How researchers see AI helping university admissions officers comb through college essays: The possible use of AI in admissions, however, raises questions about how universities would responsibly use it, especially because college admissions officers have said essays might carry more weight in the wake of the Supreme Court decision eliminating the use of race-based admissions. […] To develop the AI tool, D’Mello and researchers from the University of Pennsylvania used more than 300,000 anonymous, 150-word essays submitted to colleges in 2008 and 2009. Those essays focused on extracurricular activities and work experiences. * Reuters | Texas woman who asked court to allow emergency abortion will leave state for care: A woman who had asked a court for an order allowing her to get an abortion under the medical emergency exception to Texas’ near-total ban will leave the state to receive care while the state’s highest court considers her case, her lawyers said in a court filing on Monday. * Metro News | Gubernatorial candidate Mac Warner: ‘The election was stolen, and it was stolen by the CIA’: For Warner, who has served as West Virginia’s Secretary of State since 2017, the claim was a variation on a consistent public position of casting doubt on the presidential election. Warner is now vying to become West Virginia’s chief executive, touting his long record in the U.S. Army and his two terms as the state’s chief elections officer. Polls have shown him running behind some of the other candidates, but he has picked up a key endorsement from the former president’s orbit and hopes for more.
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The DSA and the Eastern Bloc
Monday, Dec 11, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * I noticed something over the weekend and was curious if you saw the same sorts of parallels. Tribune…
* From US Rep. Mary Miller’s endorsement of Darren Bailey…
The rhetoric is quite similar. The difference in this particular case is that Ald. Vasquez easily won reelection this year, but Bost might not do the same in March. Anyway, I’m curious if y’all think this is a fair or even accurate comparison.
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Google can be your friend
Monday, Dec 11, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * The rise in crime in Chicago’s Bucktown area is real and undoubtedly scary. But some folks are lashing out at straw men, and members of the news media have too often amplified their false claims. Here’s a particularly egregious example from Block Club Chicago…
1) The state’s felony theft minimum is set in statute at $500. A five-second Google search (Illinois felony theft law) by the reporter, or Rep. Jawaharial Williams or the two other legislators in attendance would have shown that. 2) Burglary is a different crime and is set in statute as a felony. Again, the Google can be your friend (Illinois burglary law). 3) Robberies are mentioned at the top of the story. Robbery is a felony in Illinois. Again, a five-second Google search (Illinois robbery law) would have cleared that up. 4) It’s not directly mentioned above, but this is not a Pre-Trial Fairness Act issue, either. Robbery, residential burglary and vehicular invasion are all detainable offenses. (Pre-trial Fairness Act). 5) The bottom line is perpetrators can’t even be sentenced if the police don’t catch the alleged criminals. And, yes, the local state’s attorney doesn’t prosecute retail thefts as felonies below $1,000, but people are up in arms about much different crimes. Either way, this is not a sentencing law issue.
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Question of the day: 2023 Golden Horseshoe Awards
Monday, Dec 11, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * The 2023 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Government Spokesperson/Comms goes to Jason Rubin…
A very special shout-out to Henry Haupt, who recently retired. * The 2023 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Statehouse-Related Public Relations Spokesperson is a tie: Monique Garcia…
Congratulations! * On to today’s categories…
Best Republican Illinois State Representative We will also have a lifetime achievement award this year. Make sure to explain your nominations or they won’t count. And please do your utmost to nominate in both categories. Thanks! * We’ve raised almost $52,000 to buy Christmas presents for foster kids in Lutheran Social Services of Illinois’ program. Please click here to help. Thanks so very much!
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Update to today’s edition (Updated numerous times)
Monday, Dec 11, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
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‘Members of the press outnumbered the protesters’
Monday, Dec 11, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * NBC 5 last Thursday morning…
Video is here. * NBC 5 Thursday afternoon…
* But, as Block Club Chicago reported, aside from the news media, hardly anyone actually showed up…
At least Gibbons is finally in his own part of the city for a change. Another “protester,” Anthony Wilson, lives on the South Side. Anyway, good on Block Club for not going out of its way to gin this up. * OK, on to the weekly report. On Friday, the city said 30 buses had arrived during the previous week, but only 575 asylum-seekers were in staging areas, with 399 at police district stations and 176 at O’Hare Airport. That’s an overall drop of 44 percent from the week before, when 1,032 were in staging areas. Two police district stations near St. Bartholomew were literally overrun with asylum-seekers a few weeks ago, with tents set up outside. Those folks have since been moved out, which may be why people in the neighborhood aren’t so concerned about the new shelter. * More from Isabel…
* Tribune | Johnson administration begins filing lawsuits against operators of ‘rogue buses’ of migrants: The city has filed 55 lawsuits since it implemented new rules about when and where buses can arrive in mid-November, the Law Department said. The lawsuits address 77 total buses accused of violating the rules, and public records show at least some cases are seeking fines against the bus companies. … The mayor’s office is now seeking the ability to impound buses that don’t follow the rules and fine owners up to $3,000. Chicago police would write the citation, Jeffrey Levine, deputy corporation counsel for the city, told aldermen at a committee meeting Friday. The city could also cite companies by mail, if the bus information is captured on camera. * CBS 2 | Chicago migrant crisis: Records shed light on contract for tents, city cracks down on buses: We are also keeping tabs on the environmental review for the second proposed migrant tent location in Morgan Park. Sources told us the review was supposed to be completed on Friday. Ald. Ronnie Mosley (21st), whose ward includes the area, told us he has not received anything yet. * Crain’s | City moves to step up enforcement on bus companies bringing migrants: The city is adding impoundment to the list of penalties on private bus operators that don’t obey rules on where and when to drop off migrants they’re bringing to Chicago. The additional penalties were teased last month when Mayor Brandon Johnson announced new rules around how the city will care for asylum-seekers arriving here, including issuing 60-day exit notices to migrants living in city shelters. * Tribune | Waiting in fear: A migrant mother struggles to find health care in Chicago: Migrants interviewed by the Tribune staying at city-run shelters and police stations say they are worried about their health and that of their children. Esperanza said health care was not an option for her in Venezuela. Hospitals were understaffed and treatment was too expensive, she said. “The operation I needed at Hospital Universitario in Maracaibo would have cost me $2,000. That just wasn’t feasible,” Esperanza said. * WGN | St. Sabina Church helps migrants in Chicago with donations: Migrants have been coming to St. Sabina for quite some time now. The giveaway included things like teddy bears, bus cards, clothes and hygiene products. “We are spending somewhere between $12-15,000 a week on coats, cards, McDonalds,” Father Michael Pflegere said. He said the vast majority is from donations but as the group grows, more help is needed. * ABC Chicago | Legal aid clinic helps Venezuelan migrants apply for temporary protected status, work authorization: “We don’t have a Venezuelan consulate, so if they don’t have a passport, it makes things even more complicated,” said immigration attorney Nubia Willman. Dozens of lawyers, law school students, and translators volunteered their time on Saturday to help the native Spanish speakers navigate the process, which includes filing out 31 pages of government forms, all in English. * Chicago Defender | A Venezuelan Exodus: UIC Prof Explains What Helped Fuel Migrant Crisis: Nicole Jeanine Johnson: As this is a recipe for disaster, how have these factors contributed to the country’s mass exodus? Soledad Álvarez Velasco: So the fall of the oil prices in the global economy, commodities, sanctions and the internal collapse of its state has provoked this massive exodus. We haven’t witnessed any exodus of such magnitude in the region ever in the scope of its 14 years. Since 1999, up until the present, [nearly] 8 million Venezuelans have left their country.
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A rethink may be in order here
Monday, Dec 11, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)
Monday, Dec 11, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Open thread
Monday, Dec 11, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * I hope y’all had a relaxing weekend! What’s going on in your part of Illinois?…
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Monday, Dec 11, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Chicago steps-up enforcement on “rogue” buses that drop off asylum seekers without notifying the city.Tribune…
- 77 total buses are accused of violating the rules. -The rules also require intercity buses to apply for approval from the city to drop off passengers. - The mayor’s office is now seeking the ability to impound buses that don’t follow the rules and fine owners up to $3,000. * Related stories… ∙ Crain’s: City moves to step up enforcement on bus companies bringing migrants ∙ ABC Chicago | ‘Rogue’ buses are trying to dump migrants in Cicero and leave to avoid Chicago fines * Isabel’s top picks… * Capitol News Illinois | Pritzker signs measure allowing new small-scale nuclear technology in Illinois: Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday signed into law a measure that will allow for the limited development of new nuclear power generation technology in the state. […] The measure, House Bill 2473, does not allow new large-scale power generation facilities like the six plants that are already operational in the state, but rather allows for new smaller-scale emergent technology. * Crain’s | Arlington Heights school districts take step in property tax talks with Bears: A spokesman for Arlington Heights school districts 15, 211 and 214 today said in a statement they recently got a pair of appraisals pegging the 326-acre former racetrack property’s value at $160 million. It’s a starting point of sorts in an appeal process the Bears will likely go through after Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi said the property’s 2023 value was $192 million. * Tribune | After controversy in Quincy, advocates question whether Illinois should require judges to undergo training on sexual assault cases: Adrian’s stated reasoning for the reversal raised eyebrows among survivor advocates, who also bristled at comments he made during the January 2022 sentencing hearing. After reversing his ruling, a transcript shows he blamed parents and adults for “having parties for teenagers, and they allow coeds and female people to swim in their underwear in their swimming pool. And, no, underwear is not the same as swimming suits.” * Here’s the rest of your morning roundup… * WCIA | Illinois looking to expand food infrastructure with state grant: The state is funding nearly $2 million in projects to expand local food networks through a new grant approved by the Illinois legislature. Examples of projects under the grant include animal processing, trucking, food hubs and community kitchens. The Illinois Stewardship Alliance is working with the Illinois Department of Agriculture for the first year of the grant. * Tribune | Calling FBI mole Danny Solis to testify could be risky, ‘blow back’ on ex-Ald. Ed Burke’s defense in corruption case, experts say: “It’s a bit of a chess game,” said Nancy DePodesta, a former federal prosecutor now in private practice. “The government made the first move and decided not to call Solis … If the defense doesn’t call Solis then they’re left with the tapes, (and) you don’t get to cross-examine the tapes. * Sun-Times | Feds play recording of call with Gery Chico as they allege Ed Burke used threats over permits ‘to extort benefits’ from businesses: “They’re ok, ok?”Chico said.“They’re not perfect. They’re just pretty naive on this stuff, so we’ve had to drag their asses along the way, but we’ll have a nice event.” Burke replied, “Well, maybe if they don’t have any access to the property because the driveway isn’t legal, they might get the message.” * Chalkbeat | Dual credit courses growing in Illinois, but students of color less likely to take them, report says: Due to recent changes in state law in 2021, Illinois high schools were encouraged to expand their dual credit courses. And the share of students who are taking these advanced classes has been on the rise over the past several years: Participation in dual credit courses grew from 10.2% of high school students in the 2017-18 school year to 14% for 2021-22, according to a recent report from the Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative. * Daily Herald | Is Illinois’ mandatory road test for seniors fair? The 49 other states don’t do it: The law requires drivers aged 79 and 80 to take a road exam if their four-year license renewal is up. For drivers aged 81 to 86, it’s every two years, and for those 87 and older, it’s yearly. But according to a recent study, “statistics show that our senior drivers are among the safest drivers in the state,” Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said. * Sun-Times | New state ID program for Cook County Jail detainees aims to ‘help people reintegrate’: Starting Monday, some detainees leaving jail custody on electronic monitoring will be handed a free state ID, a critical and often elusive stepping-stone that hasn’t been available to former inmates as they try to find housing, jobs and other foundations to rebuild their lives, officials and advocates say. * Tribune | At Stateville maximum security prison, first group of prisoners earns college degrees from Northwestern: ‘A place of second chances’: Last month, 16 men became the first group to graduate from Northwestern’s Prison Education Program, an accomplishment they and their professors hope will lead to a second chance. Experts believe similar educational offerings could reduce recidivism rates and save taxpayers money statewide. “It all hasn’t hit me yet, still. I know it’s a great thing, it’s a great feeling,” one of the graduates, Taurean Decatur, told the Tribune recently at Stateville. “It’s one of the best feelings of my life, like I did it. I wish I could put it on a T-shirt.” * WTTW | Chicago Officials Revise Rules Limiting Access to City Council Meetings After Warning: The new rules, issued Thursday, came several days after the president of the Better Government Association warned Mayor Brandon Johnson that the administration’s efforts to restrict access to meetings of the City Council were “inequitable and likely illegal.” […] “The new rules violate the spirit and likely the letter” of state law and should be reversed, according to a statement from the BGA. * Tribune | Johnson administration begins filing lawsuits against operators of ‘rogue buses’ of migrants: The stepped-up enforcement is the Johnson administration’s latest effort to address the influx of new arrivals, which has become one of the mayor’s most vexing challenges. The care of more than 24,400 migrants who have arrived in Chicago since August 2022 has taken on heightened urgency as winter sets in, and tested the limits of how welcoming the city can be. * WGN | Family, friends ‘outraged’ after mother shot dead during mental health call in Morris; body cam released: The mother who “lived for her kids” had been battling schizophrenia and bi-polar disorder for several years, according to family and friends. That morning while at her new apartment, 911 was called after Schwab informed a case manager in a phone call that she had a knife and was going to hurt herself. That information was relayed to the 911 center, according to the state’s attorney’s office. * Sun-Times | Ex-Chicago cop gets probation for sexually abusing man shackled to hospital bed: Carlyle Calhoun was sentenced to three years of probation with 90 days of home confinement. Calhoun was told he would be required to register as a sex offender for 10 years. * Sun-Times | City Council panel advances new 311 ‘hate incident’ reporting plan: The “Chi vs. Hate” ordinance aims to collect reports of disturbing acts that might fall short of a crime, but hint at more troubling actions to come, as hate crimes spike in Chicago and beyond. * BND | Mother volunteering as treasurer admits to stealing from metro-east girls softball club: Heather Sullivan, 38, of Roodhouse, whose daughter played on one of the teams, pleaded guilty to one count of theft over $10,000 and under $100,000, a Class 2 felony, on Friday in Madison County Circuit Court. Associate Judge Ronald Slemer agreed to dismiss a second count of theft per Sullivan’s plea agreement with the state’s attorney’s office. She could be sentenced to probation or up to five years in prison. * AP | The NRA has a surprising defender in its free speech case before the Supreme Court: the ACLU: “We don’t support the NRA’s mission or its viewpoints on gun rights, and we don’t agree with their goals, strategies, or tactics,” the ACLU in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter. “But we both know that government officials can’t punish organizations because they disapprove of their views.” The NRA, which reshared the ACLU’s statement on its social media account, wrote in a follow-up post that it was “proud” to stand with the ACLU and others who recognize that “regulatory authority cannot be used to silence political speech.” * NYT | The Guns Were Said to Be Destroyed. Instead, They Were Reborn.: When Flint, Mich., announced in September that 68 assault weapons collected in a gun buyback would be incinerated, the city cited its policy of never reselling firearms.[…] But Flint’s guns were not going to be melted down. Instead, they made their way to a private company that has collected millions of dollars taking firearms from police agencies, destroying a single piece of each weapon stamped with the serial number and selling the rest as nearly complete gun kits. Buyers online can easily replace what’s missing and reconstitute the weapon. * Daily Herald | Bolingbrook CosMc’s opens to long lines, hours of waiting: Maya Wysocki of Romeoville waited in line three hours Friday for a chance to sample CosMc’s, the new McDonald’s spinoff restaurant in Bolingbrook. But the wait for the restaurant, a pilot operation, was worth it to Wysocki, who said she really wanted to try a beverage with a vitamin C or pre-workout “boost.” * SJ-R | Illinois State, Norfolk State erupts over alleged racial slurs: benches clear, fans ejected: According to Norfolk State coach Robert Jones, racial slurs were used and it is why the altercation with Ryan Pedon took place in front of the scorer’s table. The coach took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to explain in his own words what went down during the game. “I’m not letting anybody call my players a racial slur,” Jones said on Twitter. “Those are my kids and I will fight for them. We have come too far in society to be called the ‘N-word’ at a college basketball game.” * Block Club | Olive Harvey College’s Electric Car Apprenticeship Aims To Help Workers In Emerging Green Economy: Apprentices for the Rivian Technical Trades program received a scholarship to cover the full cost of tuition, and they were paid $26 hourly as they did hands-on work learning the latest electric vehicle technologies at the Olive Harvey campus and Rivian’s centers in the West Loop and in downstate Normal. * Les Winkeler | It has been a privilege and an honor: So, after 35 years, there are just 600 words remaining in a newspaper career. It is humbling to be one of those remaining to offer their final words. Thinking of the great journalists that have plied their trade at this newspaper over the years is sobering, selfless men and women worked tirelessly to tell the stories of triumph, the stories of tragedy and just the everyday stories of Southern Illinois residents. * WCIA | ‘Such a force’: Remembering late Champaign state senator Scott Bennett a year after his death: Frerichs described Bennett as one of his closest friends. “We talked or texted most days, we frequently have lunches or dinners together,” the treasurer said. “And it seemed like there was a constant battle to make each other laugh. And Scott clearly won.”
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Live coverage
Monday, Dec 11, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Live coverage is back, sorta. This will be different than the old Scribble Live feed because Twitter broke itself and almost everything else it touched. These new feeds do not update instantly. There’s a bit of posting lagtime, but it’s much better than nothing. We are also limited to just 20 Twitter sources. The service may also not last long. We just can’t give you any guarantees about this. You can still click here or here to follow breaking news the way we’ve done since Twitter stopped Scribble Live from working…
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Live Ed Burke Trial Coverage
Monday, Dec 11, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * These new feeds do not update instantly. There’s a bit of a lagtime and you have to refresh the page every now and then. The service we’re using may also not last long. We just can’t give you any guarantees. You can still click here to follow the Ed Burke trial on Twitter. Posts without a Twitter author name below them are from online news sources via Bing…
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