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Tuesday, Nov 21, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Reader comments closed for Thanksgiving
Tuesday, Nov 21, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * I’m thankful for so much these days, and all of you are part of that. Happy Thanksgiving! Per our long tradition… But Alice doesn’t live in the restaurant
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Afternoon roundup
Tuesday, Nov 21, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * The “detective” (among others in the replies) failed to click the link. The second paragraph clearly states that the suspect was held without bond. So many irresponsible people spread false claims about the coming of “The Purge 2″ last year, and even though it hasn’t happened, too many still presume it did… ![]() Meanwhile, in La Salle County…
* US Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi has sent another letter to the Census Bureau director…
* I don’t understand this story. It’s supposed to be about how lots of South and West Side dog bites are somehow connected to a lack of dog parks and related amenities. But it starts out by describing a dog-bite incident in Uptown, then describes Uptown as being rich in dog parks and says Uptown has some of the worst dog biting problems in the city…
* Press release…
* More from Isabel…
* Iowa Capitol Dispatch | Wolf asks to withdraw Illinois pipeline request and refile: Ferguson said Wolf will apply again early next year with the Illinois Commerce Commission for permission to build its pipeline system. About 90 miles of pipe in eastern Iowa would connect to two ethanol plants to transport their captured carbon dioxide to Illinois for underground sequestration. Wolf made its application for a certificate of authority to construct and operate its pipeline in Illinois in June 2023. In October, a commission engineer recommended that the application be denied for a number of reasons. * Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs | If some Republicans had their way, my twin sons wouldn’t be here: Allow us to explain. Erica suffers from endometriosis, a condition that makes it difficult to conceive a child naturally. But in vitro fertilization made it possible for us to conceive, and we are very thankful for the doctors and nurses who helped us through that process. Erica gave birth in June, and Theo had to fight for his life, spending nearly eight weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit at Northwestern Medicine Prentice Women’s Hospital. We are incredibly thankful for the doctors and nurses who helped pull Theo through a life-threatening scare. * Shaw Local | Local Republican Party seeks ban on providing gender-affirming care in Huntley School District 158: Orville Brettman, chairman of the Grafton Township GOP, sent out a news release detailing the party’s request to add the following paragraph to the school district policy: “It shall be the policy of District 158 that written consent from a minor’s parent or guardian be required before any entity, person, school clinic or school staff can provide a minor (under the age of 18 years) any non-emergency medical procedure, medication, pharmaceutical, or any gender modification procedure, gender identification counseling or gender therapy while on School District property.” However, District 158 policy already requires parents and guardians to sign and submit a form to the school giving permission for a student to take any medication at school, before school staff can administer medication or supervise a student administering it to themselves. * WICS | Illinois offers funds to train substance abuse counselors: The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) and the Illinois Certification Board (ICB) have joined forces to help train those that want to become certified to help people struggling with substance abuse disorders. This partnership was made to address the ongoing behavioral health workforce shortage and continue to sustain a recovery-oriented system of care for individuals and families across Illinois affected by substance use disorder. * Sun-Times | Cousin of former Harvey Mayor Eric Kellogg pleads guilty to bribery charge: According to a federal complaint filed in 2019, Kellogg spent years shaking down a strip club owner of thousands of dollars a month in exchange for allowing prostitution in the club. He wasn’t charged in the complaint, which referred to him only as “Individual A” and “Mayor of the City of Harvey.” But his cousin, Corey Johnson, was charged with collecting bribes from the now-closed club, Arnie’s Idle Hour, and delivering the cash to Kellogg’s brother Rommell Kellogg, who also is charged in the corruption case. * Sun-Time | Biden approves federal disaster help for parts of Cook County hit in September storm: The White House said in a release that the declaration unlocks a package of federal financial assistance that include “grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.” * Arielle Johnson | New York’s ride-hailing revolution presents an opportunity for Chicago: Under New York State Attorney General Letitia James, ride-share giant Uber has agreed to a groundbreaking settlement, marking a major win for drivers and for the underserved communities so many hail from. James’ announcement marks the end of a years-long case, with Lyft also signing a similar agreement, reinforcing the power of this collective movement for change. This extraordinary development is one that our Chicago City Council should follow if it intends to secure the rights and well-being of ride-share drivers, and ensure that these critical services continue to be affordable for residents and visitors alike. * Center Square | Group gives Illinois poor marks for laws protecting young trafficking survivors: Shared Hope has produced the report cards and state analyses annually since 2011 as a tool to assist public policy activists and state elected officials in developing and advocating for better laws to support sex trafficking survivors. […] Illinois was one of several states to receive an “F” grade for its efforts, including a poor score in the category of identification of and response to victims. Illinois also received a poor grade in prevention and training in the area for juvenile justice agencies, law enforcement, prosecutors and school personnel. * Daily Chronicle | Sycamore firearms instructor charged with forging concealed carry licenses: Brian K. Fleming, 44, of Sycamore, was charged with forgery, a Class 3 felony punishable by up to five years in prison, and unlawful violation of the Illinois Firearm Concealed Carry Act, a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to 364 days in county jail, according to DeKalb County court records. The Illinois Attorney General’s office is prosecuting Fleming. * Shaw Local | Machinists union organizing Lion Electric in Joliet: The organization effort is well underway, and workers have signed cards showing their intention to form the union, Machinists Organizer Chris Tucker said. “We have a supermajority of support,” Tucker said. “We filed for an election.” The election to determine whether the union will represent workers would involve about 140 workers now employed in production, according to the machinists. * Daily Herald | UAW chief, having won concessions from strikes, aims to expand membership to nonunion automakers: According to Fain, workers at some nonunion plants, including the electric vehicle sales leader, Tesla, have contacted the UAW about joining the union, which hasn’t even begun its organizing efforts. Fain noted that the nonunion companies didn’t raise pay for their workers until after the UAW won general and cost-of-living raises, which should reach 33% by the time the contacts expire in 2028. “Companies play their workers as fools sometimes,” he said in the interview. “They care about keeping more for themselves and leaving the employees to fend for themselves.” * Crain’s | Ford scales down Michigan EV battery plant plans: The project planned for Marshall, a town about 15 miles east of Battle Creek, is now expected to create 1,700 jobs, a 32% reduction from the 2,500 announced previously. Planned capacity of the lithium iron phosphate battery plant is being slashed by more than 40% to just 20 gigawatt hours. Total investment in the plant will likely be reduced by the same measure — from $3.5 billion to roughly $2.2 billion — said Mark Truby, chief communications officer for Ford. * WaPo | Binance chief Changpeng Zhao to plead guilty to money laundering: The deal ends the Department of Justice’s three-year investigation of Binance and comes months after the firm was accused by regulators of operating as an unregistered securities exchange. Zhao’s departure marks the end of an era for one of the crypto industry’s longest standing titans, who for years sparred with regulators en route to Binance becoming the largest crypto exchange in the world. * Evanston Round Table | Message from the mayor: My thoughts on Ryan Field: Even though the back-and-forth was sometimes contentious, I was pleased and impressed with the seriousness with which the City Council took all perspectives into consideration. After all this input and lots of consideration, I decided to vote yes on this project, including the zoning changes, because I believe it will have a positive long-term impact on the City and its residents. * NBC Chicago | Illinois among states impacted by Listeria outbreak linked to fruit sold in grocery stores: According to the CDC, as many as 11 people reported illnesses as part of the outbreak. Ten people were hospitalized and one death was reported, the CDC said. An announcement from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration linked the outbreak to peaches, plums and nectarines from HMC Farms that were distributed nationwide and sold in retail stores between May 1 and Nov.15, in both 2022 and 2023. * AP | IRS delays reporting rules for users of Venmo, Cash App and other payment apps: Originally, app users who made $600 or more selling goods and services would have been required to report those transactions to the IRS, a new threshold required by the American Rescue Plan passed in March 2021. Instead, payment apps and online marketplaces will send out separate tax forms — called 1099-K documents — for taxpayers who receive over $20,000 and make over 200 transactions selling goods or services. * Rockford Register Star | 2023 IHSA football state championship games: Players to watch and predictions: The Illinois High School Association football state championships are here. Sixteen of the state’s best teams will meet in eight title games scheduled for Friday and Saturday at Hancock Stadium on the campus of Illinois State University. * Daily Herald | How your Thanksgiving cooking oil can be transformed into biofuel: The nonprofit SCARCE coordinates with 13 drop-off locations throughout DuPage County that collect cooking oil year-round. Because most of these locations are not open on weekends, additional temporary drop-off locations are available the Saturday after Thanksgiving each year. * Informa | Specialty crops thrive in Illinois: Illinois boasts No. 1 in pumpkins and horseradish production; top 10 in products like cauliflower, broccoli, peas and asparagus; and the third-highest number of farmers markets in the country. Illinois Farm Bureau, the Illinois Specialty Growers Association and other local food leaders around the state developed a Local Food Directory to connect consumers directly with Illinois farms, farmers markets, grocery stores and farm stands based on location. They have over 2,400 farm and food businesses listed across the state, and it’s free to register. * NBC Chicago | How to watch the 2023 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC: In addition to streaming the Chicago Thanksgiving Parade, watch one of the biggest Thanksgiving celebrations in the country: the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Expect to see 25 giant balloons, 31 floats, celebrity stars, dancers and more make their way through the 2.5-mile route throughout the streets of New York City on a three-and-a-half-hour procession. * NBC Chicago | This Illinois hotel is in the top 1% of hotels in the world — and it’s not in Chicago: No, this isn’t a bed and breakfast in the English countryside. It’s not a fancy five-star Chicago hotel, either. It’s the Deer Path Inn — an estate-like getaway in the quaint, northern suburbs of picturesque Lake Forest. Down the street, a number of local businesses line the historic market square, which was built in the style of an English village. And though some of the town’s anchors — like Marshall Field & Company — have not stood the test of time, the Deer Path Inn has. * AP | The Rolling Stones bringing 2024 North American Tour to Chicago’s Soldier Field June 27: Tuesday, the legendary English band announced they’re taking it on the road, including a show Thursday, June 27, at Chicago’s Soldier Field. Starting on April 28 in Houston and concluding in Santa Clara, California, on July 17, the Stones will make their way across the U.S. and Canada.
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Happy Thanksgiving! You’re all fired
Tuesday, Nov 21, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * From the News Guild…
* WSIL…
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Gun rights advocates want full appellate court to re-hear assault weapons ban case
Tuesday, Nov 21, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * From a few days ago…
The petition is here. * Yesterday…
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Migrant news coverage roundup
Tuesday, Nov 21, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ABC Chicago | Oak Park trustees vote to spend an additional $500K to help migrants through winter: The additional money is coming from unspent federal funds, not from local taxes. The vote was four to three to approve the measure. […] Meanwhile, the village is scheduled to meet with Cook County officials to see if they can provide some funding support in the future. * KMOV | ‘They can come here’: Mayor Jones fires back at St. Charles County attempt to block immigrants from moving to St. Louis: Mayor Tishaura Jones said she is excited for hundreds of Latino migrants to come to St. Louis. “We are eager to get to work and eager to make sure that people who come here for a myriad of reasons, especially if they are fleeing a dangerous situation that they are welcomed in St. Louis,” said St. Louis City Mayor Tishaura Jones. * South Side Weekly | Finding Comfort in a New Spiritual Home: The Medinas are Catholic, a denomination that comprises more than sixty percent of Venezuela’s population according to the most recent census. When the family arrived in Chicago, they felt it was important to seek out a faith community that reflected their values. “I told my husband let’s go look for a church, let’s go, but there are so many churches here,” Yesica said. “We found this church in district nine at the police station. They were handing out fliers and that’s where it all started.” * Sun-Times | Brighton Park migrant tent site construction blocked by protesters: ‘Show me the permit; I’m ready to go to jail.’: About a dozen protesters planted themselves at the entrance of the site at 38th Street and California Avenue, demanding a copy of an environmental assessment of the lot and of construction work permits authorizing building to begin on a space intended to house migrants. […] On Monday, protesters stopped crews from putting a layer of gravel over the lot, a requirement for building a tent site, according to city officials who last week said lots had to have a concrete or gravel base to be under consideration. * CBS Chicago | Migrant tents gone from outside Near North District police station: Officials said there will also be more personnel to help reunite migrants with family, friends, or sponsors. For many, Chicago isn’t their final destination. The effort will help free up space in city shelters for those who plan to stay in the city. The city is also cracking down on drivers in rogue buses. Those drivers will no longer be allowed to randomly drop off migrants at a location without notice. The bus companies will be cited and fined. * Melissa Gatter | A Camp is Never a Solution: I learned one major lesson after having spent much of the last decade researching and working in refugee camps in Jordan: a camp is an easy response to mass displacement, but never a solution. You can imagine my concern when I heard that my home city, Chicago, had announced plans to build two winterized base camps in the South Side. Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration claims that this base camp will not be a refugee camp. * South Side Weekly | At a NYC Reticketing Site, Some Migrants Are Choosing Chicago: The Weekly spoke to several migrants outside St. Brigid who were evicted from the city’s shelter system about where they might choose to travel, and whether they consider Chicago an attractive destination. The responses were mixed, and many said their ties to family or friends in destination cities were more consequential than the level of public services provided by the cities. Most of the people we spoke to were not aware of what services Chicago is providing. … While NYC officials maintain that the reticketing option is purely voluntary, migrants say that the lack of other options and poor conditions at shelters are squeezing them out. * Patch | 20% Cut To NYC Migrant Spending Needed To Avoid ‘Serious Fiscal Harm’: The state has since signaled plans to limit asylum seeker services such as legal services, case management and job placement “as opposed to costly housing and shelter needs,” Jiha wrote, a move that could prove disastrous for a city that has already planned for the state to cover a third of the Big Apple’s total asylum seeker expenses. * Block Club | Underfunding In Chicago’s Health Department Hurts Black And Brown Communities Most, Advocates Say: Wagaw addressed the department’s funding model and other challenges facing the health department during last month’s budget hearing. She told alderpeople relying on grants to fund public health was “not a good model,” but she doesn’t “know the answer moving forward.” Principally, what the department needs is more state and city tax dollars to expand or introduce programs like community health workers, nurse home-visiting services, Healthy Chicago Equity Zones, migrant health and community health assessment and planning, Epplin said during last month’s budget hearing.
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Question of the day
Tuesday, Nov 21, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * We will be shutting down the blog at the end of business day today, but I will likely have a subscriber edition tomorrow. What are you most thankful for this year?
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Open thread
Tuesday, Nov 21, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * What’s going on? Keep it Illinois-centric please…
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Tuesday, Nov 21, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI:The Illinois Rainy Day fund reaches $2 billion dollars. WCIA…
-At the lowest point in 2017 during Illinois’ budget impasse, the fund had only $48,000, which would fund the state for less than 30 seconds. -The comptroller has also been advocating for a bill that would require payments into the Rainy Day Fund and the Pension Stabilization Fund. * Related stories… ∙ WREX: Illinois’ ‘Rainy Day Fund’ reaches $2 billion milestone ∙ WMBD: Illinois crosses $2 billion Rainy Day Fund * Isabel’s top picks… * Trade Show Executive | Chicago Passes Paid Leave Measure That Will Impact Trade Show Attendees: What this means is if someone attends a trade show or conference in Chicago and is in town for more than two hours, they will begin to accrue one hour of sick time and one hour of time off for each 35 hours they work. Even if the employee does not work a full 35 hours during one particular trip, the employer would have to begin recordkeeping to track when the employee would begin to accrue paid time off during subsequent trips. They would also have to comply with providing a notice to an employee about their rights under the ordinance after spending only two hours in Chicago. * CJR | Warped Front Pages: By the numbers, of four hundred and eight articles on the front page of the Times during the period we analyzed, about half—two hundred nineteen—were about domestic politics. A generous interpretation found that just ten of those stories explained domestic public policy in any detail; only one front-page article in the lead-up to the midterms really leaned into discussion about a policy matter in Congress: Republican efforts to shrink Social Security. Of three hundred and ninety-three front-page articles in the Post, two hundred fifteen were about domestic politics; our research found only four stories that discussed any form of policy. The Post had no front-page stories in the months ahead of the midterms on policies that candidates aimed to bring to the fore or legislation they intended to pursue. Instead, articles speculated about candidates and discussed where voter bases were leaning. * Tribune | Asylum-seekers cleared from once-crowded Chicago police station as city begins to enact new policies: The recent maneuvers paint a picture of the Johnson administration’s evolving response to the thousands of asylum-seekers whose fates have presented some of the mayor’s biggest challenges. Though his office maintains that its goal is to resettle new arrivals, the recent updates and new policies signal Johnson is walking a thin line of both trying to reiterate Chicago’s values as being a welcoming city while prioritizing current residents. * Here’s the rest of your morning roundup… * WAND | New law blocks Illinois lawmakers from running for other office if convicted of certain crimes: Anyone convicted of a felony, bribery, perjury or other infamous crime as an elected official is now ineligible to hold any public office. Lawmakers could run for public office again if their conviction is reversed, they are pardoned or have their rights restored by the governor. * VCE | Two GOP Candidates Enter Race for State Rep Mike Marron’s Seat: The two declared candidates are Retired U.S.M.C. Master Sergeant and current City of Danville Code Enforcement Inspector Brandun Schweizer, and State Rep Marron Legislative Assistant and Former Village of Pontiac Trustee and State’s Attorney and County Board Offices employee Marguerite Bailey. * Lake County News-Sun | Full House Resorts waiting for Pritzker’s signature on extension for development of its permanent Waukegan casino: Now Full House can ask the gaming board to give it another year to operate its temporary facility while it completes plans, builds and opens its luxury gaming resort adjacent to the short-term casino near the Fountain Square Shopping center. * WJOL | Rezin elected president of the National Foundation for Women Legislators: “The NFWL provides elected women an opportunity to collaborate in order to advance public policy ideas that will make a positive difference in the lives of their constituents,” continued Senator Rezin. “I look forward to this new role within the organization as we strive to assist and empower elected women throughout the nation.” * Shaw Local | Joliet mayor says developments are ‘coming fast’ on project at I-55 and I-80: Cullinan Properties is looking at construction next year and a fall 2019 opening for Rock Run Crossings, a lifestyle development that would combine retail, entertainment, office space, hotels and homes on a site at Interstates 55 and 80. * Sun-Times | Former Cook County judge faces felony charges for allegedly stealing from Tuskegee Airman: Former Cook County Judge Patricia Martin returned to a Cook County courthouse last week to face criminal charges for allegedly stealing several hundred thousand dollars from the accounts of the last-known surviving member of the Tuskegee Airmen. Martin appeared at the courthouse in Bridgeview on Friday, where she now faces seven felony counts for allegedly taking more than $100,000 from the accounts of Oscar Wilkerson Jr. * WBEZ | In Illinois, young, conservation-minded farmers race against climate change to save their soil: Jake Lieb drives his John Deere two-seater around his property and across the shallow Camp Creek. The waterway cuts back and forth through miles of farm fields until it reaches the Sangamon River and eventually pours into Lake Decatur 32 miles away — the man-made source of water for 200,000 people. These are troubled waters. The city of Decatur paid $100 million in 2021 to dredge enough polluted sediment out of the lake to fill seven Willis Towers — and much of it was from farms like Lieb’s, swept away by increasingly heavy and unpredictable rains. When those rains pour, they funnel topsoil and costly fertilizer into the creek, the river and miles downstream into the lake. * WTTW | USDA’s New Plant Hardiness Map Puts Chicago in Warmer Company With Kentucky. What Does This Mean for Area Gardens and Natural Areas?: “Overall, the 2023 map is about 2.5 degrees warmer than the 2012 map across the (continental) United States. This translated into about half of the country shifting,” said Christopher Daly, director of the PRISM Climate Group and the map’s lead author. “The central plains and Midwest generally warmed the most, with the southwestern U.S. warming very little.”
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Live coverage
Tuesday, Nov 21, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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City moved all asylum-seekers out of one police station and into shelters during the weekend
Monday, Nov 20, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * Alice Yin and Nell Salzman at the Tribune…
One wonders what will happen if people try to go back to the station. That’s often been the case once the new arrivals have experienced the conditions at shelters. * Meanwhile…
Fines will range from $2,000 to $10,000. Go read the rest. Heck of a story, including a volunteer group saying it won’t work with the city any longer.
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Afternoon roundup (Updated)
Monday, Nov 20, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * Press release…
According to the data, 28.46 percent of traffic deaths in Illinois occurred at intersections - 1,611 out of 5,661 - from 2017 through 2021. Drivers need to be more careful, of course, but IDOT and local governments also need to do a whole lot better with their designs. * Tribune…
What’s happened is that the full tax kicks in for the entirety of the sales price if it sells for more than $5 million. Now, scroll way, way down in that long story and you’ll see the Chicago proposal is different than LA’s in two key ways…
Still, it’s complicated. The governor’s proposed graduated income tax also reduced taxes for most people, but voters saw it as a slippery slope to higher taxes for everyone and it was killed. Then again, the Fair Tax found favor with 71 percent of Chicago’s voters. * Press release…
* Press release…
…Adding… Press release…
* Isabel’s roundup…
* Bloomberg | Pritzker chases every federal dollar with new $1 billion EPA bid: “We literally are going after every dollar that’s available,” Pritzker, a scion of the Hyatt hotel fortune, said in an interview. “We should get better than our fair share.” Illinois has recently created a task force to lure federal dollars. That public-private partnership, known as Innovate Illinois, is bidding for the EPA funds with Chicago-based nonprofit National Community Investment Fund. They are also working with the private sector. * Sun-Times | Data center developer Compass hopes business will hum at old Sears site: A source said Compass is planning something that could be classified as a mega project, providing about 250 megawatts of power for users, typically multiple companies that need to manage internet data. It’s similar in size to projects the company has in the Dallas-Fort Worth and Phoenix areas. The project is likely to get a warm reception from Hoffman Estates officials. “We welcome data centers,” Palm said. “We changed our zoning to make data centers a permitted use in certain districts.” * Tribune | Residents call Chicago report that maps neighborhood pollution flawed because calculations don’t include industrial corridors: Not considering industrial corridors has resulted in blatant inconsistencies, according to Michael Cailas, an associate professor at University of Illinois at Chicago’s School of Public Health. “Because of the methodologies (the city) applied, some census tracts that should be environmental justice neighborhoods are not considered so,” he said. * Block Club | City Goes After Companies That Owe $15 Million In Rat-Related Tickets After Illinois Answers/Block Club Investigation: The move by the city comes just weeks after an investigation by the Illinois Answers Project and Block Club Chicago showed how the city was failing in its battle against rats, including how the city wasn’t collecting fines issued to the biggest debtors. At the top of the list were the network of companies that have had ties to Suzie B. Wilson, of Northbrook, which amassed more than $15 million in unpaid debts on hundreds of mostly vacant properties located on the city’s South and West sides. * Crain’s | Revamped former Motorola Mobility campus hits the market: The offering will reveal how much investors crave corporate campuses in the suburbs that have been revamped with modern amenities and new tenants. Such properties look attractive to real estate firms if they come with stable cash flow from long-term leases with high-credit tenants. * Crain’s | Evanston officials frustrated by ‘chaotic’ stadium vote, opaque negotiating process: Council members told Crain’s that there was never any formal process to negotiate a community benefits agreement between the City Council and the university, but rather a piecemeal process spearheaded by the city’s mayor, Daniel Biss, and Ald. Jonathan Nieuwsma, 4th, who said discussions between him and the school over the foundations of a benefits agreement began in the summer and included phone calls, emails and in-person meetings with NU representatives. * WLDS | Davidsmeyer, Tracy Blast Pritzker Plan To Provide Additional Aid to Chicago Migrant Crisis: Davidsmeyer and Pritzker’s viewpoints did intersect, saying the federal government had failed to step in and assist with the work. Pritzker placed blame on Congress for not acting, while Davidsmeyer pointed the finger at President Joe Biden’s administration. * WJBD | New member of Marion County Health Board willing to sign orders to keep health department services in place: Marion County Health Department Administrator Melissa Mallow is breathing a sigh of relief. She told WJBD-WSIQ that a newly appointed member of the health board has agreed to become the department’s medical director and sign about 200 orders that allow the department to provide many of its services and vaccinations. […] Board member Brock Waggoner has led the effort to replace the health board members because the health department followed the Governor’s guidelines during COVID-19 which he says led to businesses and schools having to close. * Sun-Times | Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s Michigan home spray-painted with the word ‘Nazis’: Emanuel was not at the cottage at the time. “Our family is very proud of how our friends, neighbors and the community have rallied to our support and in a singular voice in condemning hatred and bigotry,” Emanuel told the Sun-Times in a text message. * Tom Kacich | Red Grange, political hitman: For 26 years after the legendary 1924 game against Michigan, Grange’s name was never associated with politics or the administration of the UI. But suddenly, at the August 1950 Illinois Republican Party convention in Peoria, a group of downstate party chairmen overturned the nominees named by a UI Alumni Association committee and substituted Grange’s name for that of Chester Davis, a Chicago banker and lawyer who had previously served as a UI trustee. * Homewood-Flossmoor Chronicle | Dropped insurance means no racing car for H-F High students: Homewood-Flossmoor High School has a 1997 Ford Mustang built for racing, but students can’t work on or drive the car because it has no insurance. The car is the pride of the H-F Auto Club. Students have taken the car to Byron Dragway near Rockford. In the 2022 race season, the Mustang raced twice at Byron. * Daily Herald | Escaped African serval cat dies after its capture in Vernon Hills neighborhood: While searching, officers came across others who appeared to be looking for something. They turned out to be the owners, Holubetz said. With the owners’ assistance, the skittish animal was captured at about 10 p.m. several hundred feet from its home. […] Though the serval later died of injuries, no person or animal appeared to have been harmed by it. * WCIA | Lost elk roams Illinois, report sightings to game warden: There is a traveling elk on the loose who has been spotted near Springfield, Illinois. The timing couldn’t be better—you can convince your children that it’s one of Santa’s reindeer now that it’s here—but if you spot it, you should notify the game warden in your county immediately. According to Bond County game warden William Wichern, the elk’s journey began near Coulterville, south of I-64. The latest report places it near Sangchris Lake in Springfield, Illinois. * The Southern | Scientists turn invasive carp into traitors to slow their Great Lakes push: Agency workers turn carp into double agents by capturing them, implanting transmitters and tossing them back. Floating receivers send real-time notifications when a tagged carp swims past. Carp often clump in schools in the spring and fall. Armed with the traitor carp’s location, agency workers and commercial anglers can head to that spot, drop their nets and remove multiple fish from the ecosystem. * WaPo | World’s richest 1% pollute more than the poorest two-thirds, Oxfam says: According to Oxfam’s report, carbon emissions of the world’s richest 1 percent surpassed the amount generated by all car and road transport globally in 2019, while the richest 10 percent accounted for half of global carbon emissions that year. Meanwhile, emissions from the richest 1 percent are enough to cancel out the work of nearly 1 million wind turbines each year, Oxfam said.
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State’s rainy day fund surpasses $2 billion, GOMB projects new net surplus of $422 million
Monday, Nov 20, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * Press release…
* Meanwhile, from Capitol News Illinois…
More here.
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AG Raoul blasts lawmakers for allowing his criminal enhancement penalty law to expire
Monday, Nov 20, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * From my October 27th weekly newspaper column…
As we’ve since discussed, the provision to extend the sunset was stripped out of the sunset omnibus bill and passed the Senate as a stand-alone which passed 42-12, with another three Democrats not voting. But Senators knew this wasn’t going anywhere else because the Senate’s vehicle was a House bill sponsored by Rep. Will Guzzardi, a progressive Democrat who predictably refused to move it forward. * That brings us to this WAND TV story…
He wasn’t in DC the day that bill passed the Senate. And he surely knew this was a problem, particularly in the House. * Also, the Republicans claimed this was, indeed, a mandatory sentencing bill. Last week on that very same WAND TV…
Your thoughts?
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Lots of crucial, unanswered questions after train crash
Monday, Nov 20, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * ABC 7…
* David Struett went deeper for the Sun-Times…
Unreal.
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Staging area population drops, but migrants keep coming
Monday, Nov 20, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * From the city’s latest Friday update, here are the number of new arrivals at staging areas…
That’s a 12 percent decrease from the previous Friday’s 2,529, a 31 percent decrease from Nov. 3rd (3,228), and a 40 percent decrease from October 20th (3,684). The number of minors in staging areas has dropped from 886 on October 20th to 414 last Friday. * But they’re still coming. 18 buses arrived last week, a slight uptick from previous weeks, which have mostly been around 15. Total new arrivals last week were 2,246. That number was derived from comparing the total headcount of new arrivals to date as reported Friday (23,000) to the total to-date reported the previous week (20,754). Total exits from the sheltering system last week were 321, which ain’t great, considering the new entrants. So far, 8,280 have exited the system, up from 6,523 as of October 20th. * 12,073 people were in shelters on Friday, up from 11,278 on October 20th. Of those folks in shelters, 23 percent were single men, 4 percent were single women, and 73 percent, 8,787 people, were members of 2,446 family units. * In related news, Fox 32 quoted a “community activist” who wants to shut down an encampment on the South Side…
“By Thanksgiving.” How sweet. As we’ve discussed before, this particular “community activist” lives nowhere near the South Side. CBS 2 recently included some context…
The 31st Ward is on the city’s Northwest Side. Also, this from Fox 32…
Gibbons appears to be a go-to guy for Fox 32…
No mention of his work for Vallas in that piece. * Isabel’s coverage roundup…
* Block Club | What Does The City’s New 60-Day Shelter Limit Mean For Migrants In Chicago?: If migrants are still living in city shelters after the 60 days run out, they will have to return to the city’s “landing zone” — the area near Downtown where most buses carrying migrants drop them off — to make a new shelter request. Extensions to stay in a shelter beyond 60 days will only be granted in “extenuating circumstances” like a medical emergency or severe weather, officials said. * Daily Herald | New Rosemont hotel tax aimed at preventing long-term migrant stays: Rosemont is tacking on a $1,000 tax on hotel stays 30 days and longer in an attempt to prevent housing migrants and protect its convention business, officials say. The new tax comes in response to chatter village officials say they’ve heard in the hospitality industry about suburban hotels being eyed to shelter migrants. Mayor Brad Stephens cited a Nov. 3 story in Crain’s Chicago Business about Chicago developer Mike Reschke’s efforts to get six to eight suburban hotels to host thousands of new arrivals. “We’re just trying to preserve the convention business,” said Stephens, whose father Donald’s name graces the front of the 48-year-old, municipal-run convention center. “Could you imagine that if three of our hotels committed 100 rooms for five years, what does that do to the convention business? … Then the convention organizers are gonna say, ‘Well, wait a minute. How come you don’t have hotel rooms? You boast that you have 6,000 hotel rooms — you don’t have enough for our group.’” … Stephens, who also is the Republican state representative for the area, said he is “nowhere near anti-migrant.” He says he supports efforts to employ people who have come here. He added, he’s not aware of any migrants staying in Rosemont’s 20 hotels right now. * Tribune Editorial Board | Faced with a growing migrant crisis in Chicago, Gov. J.B. Pritzker rides to the city’s rescue: It became very clear this week that, when it came to the migrant crisis, Pritkzer had lost confidence in City Hall’s competency to handle a growing emergency with dangerous implications. * Crain’s Editorial Board | Pritzker steps in to clean up Chicago’s asylum-seeker mess: The $160 million in state money will be provided in three lump sums: $30 million to create a just-announced “large intake and welcome center” at an undisclosed location, $65 million to help Chicago establish a tent base camp to provide shelter for up to 2,000 people at a time and another $65 million to help coordinate the resettlement of migrants, including rental assistance. * NBC Chicago | Illinois earmarks $160 million to keep migrants warm in Chicago as winter approaches: Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Thursday that Illinois will funnel an additional $160 million to help migrants arriving in Chicago to resettle, including $65 million to help the city launch “winterized” temporary shelter to avoid people sleeping outdoors in cold weather. The announcement came on an unseasonably warm Chicago day in the 60s, but with a forecast for temperatures to dip as low as 17 degrees Fahrenheit (-8 degrees Celsius) next week.
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CDC report: Those who lived near Willowbrook Sterigenics facility face a greater risk of cancer
Monday, Nov 20, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Sun-Times in January…
* ABC Chicago on Friday…
* Crain’s…
* From the CDC report…
* Related… * River Bender | Durbin, Duckworth, Schneider Release Statement On CDC Report On Public Health Impact Of Sterigenics: “It is deeply upsetting that EtO emissions from the Sterigenics facility have led to potentially life-threatening consequences for the residents of Willowbrook. Those who lived nearby and worked at Sterigenics during its operations are now burdened with an increased risk of cancer. Every effort possible should be made by Sterigenics, EPA and the Illinois Department of Public Health to help those at risk monitor their health and access necessary treatment,” the lawmakers said. “While we are certainly relieved that EtO emissions are no longer lingering in Willowbrook and that residents are not facing continuing risk, this situation must not happen again – in Illinois or anywhere else in this country. EPA must take its mission seriously to protect Americans from environmental threats and hold companies like Sterigenics accountable when the health and safety of residents are jeopardized.” * AP | Sterigenics will pay $35 million to settle Georgia lawsuits, company announces: Details of the settlement were submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday. In a statement Wednesday, the company denied any liability, and the 79 plaintiffs must agree to dismiss the case with prejudice, meaning the decision is final.
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Chicago’s government summed up in two news stories
Monday, Nov 20, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * Background is here if you need it. Block Club Chicago…
You’d think they would’ve gamed that out already. * Tribune…
Good on A.D. Quig for doing some follow-up. The mayor needs a communications staff. Period.
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*** UPDATED x2 *** When you’re more interested in a straight uphill legislative fight than finding a win, you’ll likely lose
Monday, Nov 20, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
*** UPDATE 1 *** From Rep. Dan Didech (D-Buffalo Grove)…
*** UPDATE 2 *** A commenter responds to Rep. Didech…
Seems like that could’ve been a strong incentive to negotiate a wind-down if it was more about the kids than the investors.
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Question of the day
Monday, Nov 20, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * This is a good idea and, speaking from experience, it would be even better if it had two rows… ![]() Seniors love freebies and they generally vote in high numbers. Getting your name in front of them twice a day would be a major positive. One of the more effective events I’ve seen involve mobile shredders. People really turn out for those shredding events, probably because almost nobody in the private sector does them. * The Question: What other giveaways should more politicians do? Please explain your answer.
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition
Monday, Nov 20, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Fundraiser list (Updated)
Monday, Nov 20, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)
Monday, Nov 20, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Open thread
Monday, Nov 20, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * I hope you all had a relaxing weekend! What’s going on in your part of Illinois…
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Monday, Nov 20, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Illinois airport travel this Thanksgiving will surpass pre-pandemic levels. Sun-Times…
-COVID-19-related hospitalizations have increased by nearly 17% over the last week. Though the Chicago Department of Public says the COVID risk level is low and only 1.3 percent of hospital beds are being used by COVID patients, which is a slight drop from the week before. * Related stories… ∙ Sun-Times | Holiday hordes? Record number of Thanksgiving travelers expected at O’Hare and Midway: ‘Travel’s coming back’ ∙ Bloomberg | Thanksgiving Travel in US Set to Hit Post-Covid High * Isabel’s top picks… * Tribune | Celebrating marriage equality: Same-sex couples reflect on their hard-fought right to wed a decade after it became legal in Illinois.: While the milestone was joyous for many, there was still a faction vehemently opposed to the change: One bishop in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield had pledged to offer prayers “for exorcism in reparation for the sin of same-sex marriage” at the time Quinn was expected to sign the legislation. Ten years later, same-sex marriage has gained far greater acceptance across the nation, with 71% of Americans believing same-sex marriage should be legal, according to a Gallup poll released in June. This is compared with 53% of those surveyed by Gallup in 2013; support for the legalization of these unions has generally risen since 1996, when 27% of respondents favored same-sex marriage rights, according to Gallup. * MSNBC | Jen Psaki’s one-on-one interview with Governor JB Pritzker: Governor JB Pritzker sits down with Jen Psaki for a wide-ranging interview. They discuss his advocacy for abortion rights, immigration, Donald Trump’s increasingly dangerous rhetoric, the 2024 presidential race, the latest on the Israel-Hamas war and much more. * Tribune | Bankruptcy at Friendship Village retirement community in Schaumburg has financial impact on residents and families too: Her dispute is over Friendship Village’s policy of only paying back entry fees upon the resale of a resident’s unit. The facility — the largest not-for-profit retirement community in Illinois, with 815 units — didn’t resell Kroll’s one-bedroom unit, so hadn’t paid his family back. Now that Friendship Village has entered bankruptcy, families of former residents are unlikely to ever receive full repayment, which Barnes and other families see as a betrayal of what they were promised. * Here’s the rest of your morning roundup… * Capitol News Illinois | State school board weighs increased funding requests ahead of budget season: “It does appear that revenue will be a little bit tighter in the next four to five years,” ISBE’s chief financial officer Matt Seaton told the board at its monthly meeting Thursday. “And with other state pressures, whether that be pension payments or what have you, it would be our anticipation that the budgets are going to start to restrict a little bit.” Seaton delivered a summary of the funding increase requests that ISBE received from districts and members of the public during a series of hearings on the agency’s budget last month. Those requested increases, he said, totaled just over $1.7 billion. The largest of those was for an increase in Evidence-Based Funding, or EBF dollars. That’s the formula that lawmakers approved in 2017 aimed at eventually bringing all districts up to an adequate level of funding. * Daily Southtown | Firm hired to review Calumet City’s bids wins most architecture contracts, investigation shows: Farnsworth Group, the engineering and architecture firm appointed by Calumet City Mayor Thaddeus Jones to be the city engineer, plays an integral role in helping the city select what firms should win publicly funded construction contracts. But a monthslong investigation into Calumet City’s spending habits shows the firm also wins a large portion of engineering and architecture contracts, leading to questions of a possible conflict of interest. * Tribune | A landmark jury verdict threatens to upend home buying and selling. In Illinois, changes are already underway: Last month, a Missouri federal jury issued a landmark $1.8 billion verdict finding the Chicago-based National Association of Realtors and several large real estate brokerages conspired to artificially inflate commissions on home sales. The association has said it is appealing the verdict, while similar cases are ongoing in Illinois and Missouri. * WIFR | Maurice West discusses new medical licensing bill, reveals 2024 campaign: State Rep. Maurice West II (D-IL 67) talks about how importance behind the new Modernized Professional Licensing bill passed a week ago. He also reveals his new 2024 campaign and his goals while running. * Daily Herald | New Rosemont hotel tax aimed at preventing long-term migrant stays: Rosemont is tacking on a $1,000 tax on hotel stays 30 days and longer in an attempt to prevent housing migrants and protect its convention business, officials say. The new tax comes in response to chatter village officials say they’ve heard in the hospitality industry about suburban hotels being eyed to shelter migrants. Mayor Brad Stephens cited a Nov. 3 story in Crain’s Chicago Business about Chicago developer Mike Reschke’s efforts to get six to eight suburban hotels to host thousands of new arrivals. * Center Square | Will city, state funding for the migrant crisis be enough?: “Just like the state of Illinois knows what their assignment is, just like Cook County government knows what their assignment is, and as a public school teacher, I expect people to turn their assignment in,” said Johnson. When asked how much money they would need, Johnson said, “A lot.” * Block Club | What Does The City’s New 60-Day Shelter Limit Mean For Migrants In Chicago?: If migrants are still living in city shelters after the 60 days run out, they will have to return to the city’s “landing zone” — the area near Downtown where most buses carrying migrants drop them off — to make a new shelter request. Extensions to stay in a shelter beyond 60 days will only be granted in “extenuating circumstances” like a medical emergency or severe weather, officials said. * State Week | Illinois to spend more on helping asylum seekers: With winter near, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said this week the state will spend an additional $160 million on measures intended to assist the growing migrant population. More than 20,000 individuals have arrived in the city over the past year, most of them traveling by bus at the direction of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. * Documented | Deportation Orders Reach 25 Year Height as Migrants Miss Notices in Shelter Shuffle: More than two months have passed since Padilla Yasig, 33, first came to New York from Ecuador, and her family now lives in a shelter, not at the address she provided. She changed her address recently, but she still doesn’t know if mail alerting her to appear in immigration court will be sent to her at the shelter or to her family friend’s address. This is complicated further by Mayor Eric Adams imposing limits on shelter stays, which will likely force Padilla Yasig to move throughout the city on a regular basis, making it harder to keep track of vital correspondence. * WBEZ | Chicago cops tied to Oath Keepers barred from testifying in court, Kim Foxx decides: The move by State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office came just weeks after the officers were linked to the Oath Keepers in the WBEZ, Chicago Sun-Times and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project joint investigation of “Extremism in the Ranks.” The series reported that 27 current and former members of the Chicago Police Department were found on the membership rolls of the Oath Keepers. Records show some have faced serious misconduct complaints, including for accusations of using excessive force and making racist comments. * WBEZ | CTA Yellow Line crash caused by a ‘design issue’ with the braking system, investigators say: The train was going 26.9 miles-per-hour when it struck snow removal equipment that was on the tracks while employees were conducting training for the winter season, Homendy said the preliminary findings of an investigation showed. At that speed, the train was designed to be able to stop within 1,780 feet of an object it its path, but didn’t, she said. * New Yorker | What the Doomsayers Get Wrong About Deepfakes: arrived. Sensity conceded in 2021 that deepfakes had had no “tangible impact” on the 2020 Presidential election. It found no instance of “bad actors” spreading disinformation with deepfakes anywhere. Two years later, it’s easy to find videos that demonstrate the terrifying possibilities of A.I. It’s just hard to point to a convincing deepfake that has misled people in any consequential way. * Tribune | Chicago’s trailblazing first female judge known for looking after juveniles, stating, ‘There are no bad children’: Two girls who’d been before her in Juvenile Court said they were so glad “their friend” was now “a real judge.” For 11 years Bartelme had been an assistant judge in juvenile court, appointed because the head of Juvenile Court threatened to quit if he didn’t get someone to do his pretrial investigations of girls. Jane Addams, the famed pioneer of social work, recommended Bartelme for that post. They agreed that truancy isn’t necessarily a telltale sign of delinquency. Maybe a child is hungry and there’s little or nothing to eat at home. * Daily Journal | KLASEY: Remembering ‘Smilin’ Sam’ : After the war, Shapiro returned to his law practice, and to his interrupted political career. In November 1946, he was elected to the first of seven consecutive two-year terms as an Illinois state representative. During his 14 years in the legislature, “Smilin’ Sam” Shapiro earned another nickname: “Mr. Mental Health.” Inspired by his mother, Tillie, who was a longtime volunteer at Kankakee State Hospital, he was a strong advocate for treatment and care of the mentally ill. Shapiro was a cosponsor of legislation that established the state’s first mental health code. In 1974, Kankakee State Hospital was renamed as the Samuel H. Shapiro Developmental Center. * The New Yorker | A Hedge-Fund Founder’s Obsessive Storytelling: Thirteen years after the Principles became public, the New York Times reporter Rob Copeland has published “The Fund,” a book that blends Dalio’s biography and Bridgewater’s history into a closely observed investigation of how the Principles worked in practice. Copeland covered business at the Wall Street Journal for nearly a decade before moving to the Times, and has spent much of his career writing about hedge funds like Bridgewater. His history of the firm benefits from deep sourcing, drawing on new on-the-record interviews, internal documents, and multiple leaked e-mails, some of which are imported straight into the text.
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