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Harmon files amendment to elect all Chicago school board members next year

Tuesday, Nov 7, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller

Senate President Don Harmon has filed amendment 2 to HB2233 dealing with the elected Chicago school board. Under this new proposal, half of the 20 members will be elected for two-year terms, and half elected to four-year terms. In two years, those with two-year terms will be elected to four-year terms. The amendment bypassed committee.

Rich talked to Speaker Chris Welch’s spokesperson who said that the Speaker and Senate President will meet to discuss this idea. There was no immediate indication that this would be a problem.

An agreement had been made with former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to appoint phase-in the elected board, but she’s no longer around.

Adding…Rep. Ann Williams, sponsor of HB4221, which is the House’s latest version of an elected school board bill…

Our priority is to ensure this every Chicagoan has the opportunity to vote for the elected school in year one. The House’s “Representation for All Plan” is an effort to ensure the most equitable and representative as. possible. We’re reviewing the Senate’s amendment and open to continuing the conversation.

* UPDATE: The Senate has adjourned without moving HB2233.

  6 Comments      


Afternoon roundup

Tuesday, Nov 7, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The Illinois House has adjourned until tomorrow. But the majority Democrats did release their own elected Chicago school board plan…

The proposal is here. This bill avoids the Senate plan’s issue of disenfranchising half the city for two years. But now we have two competing measures and veto session ends in two days.

* Capitol News Illinois…

Gun rights advocacy groups say they intend to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the state’s assault weapons ban after a federal appeals court on Friday refused to block enforcement of the law.

In a statement Saturday, the Illinois State Rifle Association said it was not surprised by the 7th Circuit panel’s 2-1 decision, which said plaintiffs in the consolidated cases had not met their burden to show they were likely to win in a constitutional challenge to the law.

“It has always been and is our intent to take our case to the U.S. Supreme Court where we believe we can get a favorable ruling for law-abiding gun owners in Illinois,” the organization said. “We will continue to stand up for the Second amendment and Illinois law-abiding gun owners and against our anti-gun Governor Pritzker and General Assembly.”

In addition, the National Foundation for Gun Rights – which provided attorneys involved in the consolidated case – said it will appeal as well.

* Center Square…

The four former Commonwealth Edison leaders convicted earlier this year during a high-profile corruption trial want to push back sentencing dates to give them more time to address anticipated disputes.

The four former ComEd executives and lobbyists were convicted in May of a bribery scandal centered around former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.

Defense attorneys want to push back the sentencing dates from January 2024 to February 2024, according to court records.

* Ironically enough, neither this lobbyist nor this lobbying firm are registered with the state this year. Forest Park Review…

Lobbyist Michael Axelrod of consulting group GPG Strategies appears to have strategized with Mayor Rory Hoskins in defense of GPG’s record ahead of an August meeting during which the company’s contract was expected to come under fire, an email to the mayor shows. […]

Both the body of the email and the presentation offered examples to show that Axelrod’s firm lobbied the Chicago Transit Authority, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Office and other state and federal agencies on behalf of the village.

* I saw photos online of a bunch of people who took campaign money from Paul Vallas and/or Dan Proft in this loud crowd. But for some reason, most Chicago reporters have chosen to ignore the formerly (?) paid provocateurs disrupting city council meetings and at other migrant-related meetings around the city…

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s allies tried Tuesday to approve their own, softer version of a non-binding referendum on Chicago’s burgeoning migrant crisis, but failed after being shouted down by an angry crowd ordered forcibly removed from City Council chambers.

“Sergeant-at-arms, clear the room,” Rules Committee Chair Michelle Harris (8th) shouted after Chicagoans opposed to housing the new arrivals shouted down Council members on both sides of the issue.

Several people in the gallery, including a woman in tears, were escorted out by security after another observer singled them out as supporters of welcoming migrants.

“These are the people who are against us,” a man shouted, pointing at those being escorted out and waving other angry crowd members over.

* Speaking of Chicago…

The Association of Safety-Net Community Hospitals (ASNCH) today warned the proposed Chicago Paid Leave Ordinance would pose devastating financial consequences, including layoffs and service cuts, for the city’s hospitals that serve a disproportionate number of low-income and uninsured patients.

In a letter to Mayor Johnson, ASNCH called for a carve out of safety-net hospitals from the proposed ordinance.

ASNCH estimates that for a safety-net hospital with 650 employees, this ordinance could impose an additional cost of $2 million annually, creating a substantial financial burden for hospitals already relying heavily on state Medicaid funding, with limited capacity to offset losses from commercial payers.

This added burden will force safety-net hospitals in Chicago to make difficult decisions, including reducing staff and eliminating critical services that many residents depend on for basic healthcare.

Specifically, the ordinance would require safety-net hospitals to dramatically increase labor costs and related expenses, including for outside agency staff, which already have hiked hospital labor costs by 30 percent. The measure would also require paying out sick time for “on-call” employees, who only report to work when needed, and “in-house registry” nurses, who accrue benefits with another full-time employer, meaning these employees would be provided benefits at two different organizations at the same time.

Crain’s reports the proposal was delayed today.

* Isabel’s roundup…

    * Iowa Capital Dispatch | Illinois regulators: Carbon pipeline permits should wait for new rules: Two engineers for the Illinois Commerce Commission say federal regulators should finalize new rules about carbon dioxide pipelines before state regulators approve pending permits for construction. The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration “has acknowledged that its rules are outdated and inadequate,” Brett Seagle, a commission engineer, recently testified in regard to a pipeline proposal by Wolf Carbon Solutions. “The lives and safety of Illinois citizens must come before business concerns.”

    * Block Club | Illinois Gun Shops Lead in Providing Guns Used In State And City Crimes, Data Shows: More than one-third of Illinois guns used in crimes recovered by authorities are linked to Chicago. And Illinois gun shops were the leading single-source of these crime guns state and citywide, not out-of-state vendors, according to data recently released by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

    * Tribune | Mayor Brandon Johnson’s tax increase for homeless services will head to voters: In a 32-17 vote, aldermen approved the “Bring Chicago Home” measure to create a citywide referendum on implementing a tiered tax rate on all property sales, which advocates have said is a critical strategy to generate much-needed revenue for the city’s homeless population.

    * AP | Ohio is the lone state deciding an abortion rights question, providing hints for 2024 races: Ohio is the only state to consider a statewide abortion-rights question this year, fueling tens of millions of dollars in campaign spending, boisterous rallies for and against the amendment, and months of advertising and social media messaging, some of it misleading. Advocates for and against are watching the outcome for signs of voter sentiment heading into 2024, when abortion-rights supporters are planning to put measures on the ballot in several other states, including Arizona, Missouri and Florida. Early voter turnout was robust.

    * BGA | Policy: BGA Condemns Improper Adjournments of City Council Meetings: This week, on Tuesday Nov. 7, the council’s Committee on Committees and Rules was recessed until Thursday by the declaration of committee chair Michelle Harris, who did not call for a vote. Mics were again shut off, and after a lengthy delay the chamber shifted to a scheduled meeting of City Council. The council’s rules are clear, as are the Robert’s Rules of Order on which they are based: adjournment (the official ending of a meeting) and recess (the pause of the meeting until continuation at a later time) are motions that must be made by a member and affirmed by a majority vote. Absent that vote, the meeting cannot be concluded or postponed. This ensures that all members have their time to speak, at least until a majority of the body is willing to go on the record as ending discussion.

    * Sun-Times | Public corruption display at fed courthouse covered at request of Ed Burke’s lawyer: Chicago’s federal court puts its history proudly on display on the 25th floor, sharing stories with visitors about everything from the 1918 bombing of the old courthouse to the prosecution of Al Capone. But following a request from one of ex-Chicago Ald. Ed Burke’s lawyers, courthouse staff began temporarily covering up some of the 11 displays on the wall, including one about the history of public corruption prosecutions in Chicago.

    * WBEZ | In Ed Burke’s 14th Ward, big frustration with politicians persists. ‘They’re all kind of crooked, I guess’: Like Sophie and other residents, Bettis isn’t optimistic this one trial — or even Madigan’s trial next year — is “going to end corruption in Chicago,” but he thinks it could mean “a change-up in the people who are running this area.” Burke gave up his seat earlier this year, after not filing to run for reelection. He was succeeded by Ald. Jeylu Guitierrez, a first-time elected official who was endorsed by Burke’s long-time rival, Democratic U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia.

    * Block Club | Downtown Police District Council Immobilized As Mayor’s Office Fails To Fill Vacancy: The Mayor’s Office shot down a candidate for a Downtown police district council after four months of deliberation — rendering the council useless. The Central (1st) Police District Council only has two of its three spots filled, and one council member is on leave. That means the remaining council member can’t host meetings because they can’t form a quorum.

    * SJ-R | Five years after sales tax hike, district, county schools benefit; here’s what it took: The referendum passed in 2018 with 53 percent of county voters favoring it. It was the first school referendum to pass since 1984. The hike did make Springfield’s overall sales tax rate − 9.75% − one of the heftiest in the state. Because the district educates just under 50% of students in the county, there were initial projections that it stood to get about $10.1 million annually. The average, though, has worked out to $13 million.

    * Muddy River News | ‘I realized I can change’: Adams County problem-solving courts graduate nine in combined ceremony: The Salvation Army’s Kroc Center was the site for the first combined graduation ceremony for the Adams County problem-solving courts, which provide opportunities for repeat offenders to address the root cause of their criminal activity. People who qualify are screened and placed in one of three tracts — Drug Court, Mental Health Court or Reintegration into Society Efforts (RISE) Court.

    * Naperville Sun | With single-use plastic nixed, Naperville Mariano’s customers must bring bags or buy them starting this week: As of Monday, the grocer at 1300 S. Naper Blvd. is no longer offering single-use plastic shopping bags at checkout or pickup, company representatives said in a news release. The Naperville store is piloting the change as part of a larger commitment by parent company Kroger to reduce the disposable products and replace them with alternative, sustainable options.

    * Block Club | Jeff Tweedy Talks About The Music That Changed His Life: The first 40 minutes constituted an in-depth conversation between Sagal and Tweedy, where they discussed everything from Tweedy’s relationship to the songs he connected to throughout his life (“I don’t think of myself as my songs. I think of myself as the songs that made me.”) to his struggles with addiction.

    * WBEZ | Jeff Tweedy’s new book is a soundtrack through childhood, sobriety and stardom: The Wilco songwriter and bandleader told a sold-out crowd at the Athenaeum Center that he wanted to share through his book the emotional spaces music can hold. His book spans 50 chapters, each named after a song that he connects to his life and his own creative process — one he has refined over nearly three decades. The songs include music from well-known artists such as Bob Dylan and Billie Eilish as well as lesser-known acts such as Leo Sayer.

    * WTTW | Measure Aimed at Curbing Illegal Early Morning Chicago Trash Pickup Advances: “They might get a scolding call from someone at Streets and Sanitation, but then a few weeks later, they’re back at the same old thing because there is no real meaningful penalty or enforcement mechanism,” said Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st Ward), the measure’s lead sponsor and a longtime advocate for slapping sanitary scofflaws.

    * The 21st Show | Illinois food banks gearing up for 2023 holiday season: The Eastern Illinois Food Bank and similar agencies are gearing up for the holiday season. We are seeing the highest rates since the years of the Great Recession. According to the US Department of Agriculture, more than 44 million Americans live in what are called “food-insecure households” that includes more than 13-million children.

    * NBC Chicago | A look at restaurants featured in ‘The Bear’ as show gets renewed for 3rd season: Recently awarded a James Beard Award for the Best Chef- Great Lakes, Kasama, the product of a husband and wife duo, is a Filipino restaurant in the city’s Ukrainian Village neighborhood. It was the first stop on Chef Sydney’s list.

  12 Comments      


‘The votes are not there’

Tuesday, Nov 7, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Lots has been written and broadcast about Invest in Kids. The PR push has truly been magnificent. But it’s been super-rare to see a mainstream news media outlet actually convince legislators to honestly assess its future. Marni Pyke did just that…

The Invest in Kids initiative will expire Jan. 1 unless lawmakers approve an extension. So far, “I don’t know if there’s a path yet to get it passed,” Democratic state Rep. Marty Moylan of Des Plaines said.

Democratic state Rep. Fred Crespo of Hoffman Estates agrees. “Based on my observations … the votes are not there,” he said Friday. […]

“We’re talking about real money here,” Crespo said. “We’re talking about $75 million that the state does not realize by giving out these credits. There are issues and concerns with the separation of church and state. Some of our members feel that the state should not be funding any private or Christian schools.”

* Associated Press…

Critics of an Illinois program providing private school scholarships say there’s no proof it improves academic achievement. But state education officials, delayed by COVID-19’s school disruptions, have never reported the academic performance of participating students as required by the Invest in Kids Act, a hot issue as lawmakers reconvene Tuesday. […]

The coronavirus pandemic essentially shut down annual statewide student assessments in 2020 and 2021, the first two years of Invest in Kids. The first report measuring progress among program participants won’t come out until early next year, education officials said.

“Unfortunately for the thousands of Invest in Kids families, it appears that Gov. (J.B.) Pritzker’s administration either failed to complete, or failed to share these assessments four years in a row, which has emboldened opponents to point to the lack of data the administration refused to collect,” Senate Minority Leader John Curran, a Republican from Downers Grove, said in a statement to The Associated Press. […]

Research group WestEd, whose contract for the analysis is $640,275, couldn’t start until it had 2022 results; its inaugural report will indicate whether students improved on 2023 tests.

* Sun-Times…

U.S. Reps. Jan Schakowsky, Nikki Budzinski, Sean Casten, Danny Davis, Jonathan Jackson, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Delia Ramirez wrote “school vouchers … perpetuate and deepen the education inequities that plague Illinois.”

They also took issue with religious groups using public dollars.

“This program diverts public funds from the public school system to be used to pay for tuition at private and religious schools,” the lawmakers said in the statement. “Furthermore, many of the schools funded by the program have policies that openly discriminate against students on the basis of disability status, gender identity, sexual orientation, if they are pregnant or parenting, or immigration status.”

Senate Republicans dispute that narrative as they continue to try to save the program. Senate Republican Leader John Curran, R-Downers Grove, planned a Tuesday morning news conference in Springfield to urge Democrats and Pritzker to reconsider.

Curran has argued the program has not taken money away from public education, and he supports a compromise that would lower the total donations eligible for tax credits from $75 million to $50 million. He has also railed against the ideological fights over the program, arguing the children benefiting from it should be guaranteed the certainty of a permanent program.

* SJ-R…

An administrator at a Catholic elementary school on Springfield’s east side is concerned for a future without it.

Michael Carlson, principal at St. Patrick Catholic School, said it charges $1,750 in tuition yet it costs more than $8,000 educate a student. Only one of the school’s 62 pre-K through fifth-grade students is not on an income-based Empower Scholarship, covering the full tuition costs.

“Invest in Kids is incentivizing donors to invest in our community,” he said on Wednesday. The scholarships are eligible for students living in households earning less than 185% of the federal poverty level.

At Sacred Heart-Griffin High School, 21 of 525 students are either on complete or partial scholarships but another 40 are on the waitlist, according to Bill Moredock, the school’s president.

…Adding… Sen. GOP Leader Curran held a press conference today. Highlights from his press staff…

Presser
5:20 - “It is abhorrent that there are leaders in the legislature that are ignoring the pleas of these children and these families that are trying to save their educational opportunity – their preferred setting that they are excelling in educationally. We have to listen to these children and the parents who have been here and afford this choice to these low-income families. The same choice that I’m afforded and many of my colleagues are afforded.”

6:45 – “Governor Pritzker unfortunately today is sending a very loud and clear message that these low income children are not a priority. Where is the Governor on this topic? Where is he today? He’s in Florida… in another state talking about federal issues.”

7:15 – “We have issues here in this capitol that need to be resolved.”

7:22 – “In two days we’re going to be done. And we either leave here with our heads held high because we acted and saved opportunity for these low-income students or we return to our districts in really a cloud of failure because we will be failing thousands and thousands of low-income families throughout this state.”

7:58 – “Labor leaders have come out in support of this program and the opportunity it affords in the vocational setting. We need to continue to grow and pursue these opportunities for these low-income families. It is really about lifting kids out of their current situation.”

8:22 – “When the governor came out this week and eventually said leave something on my desk, pass whatever, when I get back from Florida, I’ll take a look at it. That is not leadership. What we are calling on is for leadership on this issue, both from the legislative leaders as well as the governor. It is time for the governor to lead on this issue and come back to Illinois.. and help continue this program for these low-income kids.”

8:54 - “It is time to do what’s right. We are here to call on our colleagues on the Democratic side of the aisle – put this bill on the board, it’s time for this to be called for a vote. We want this voted on this week.”

Q and A
9:23 – “We are here to act to extend this program. Where’s the governor? He needs to be leading on this. It is members of his party and his side of the aisle that are not putting this bill up for a vote. The governor needs to interject himself in this.”

10:05 – “We are standing here united fighting to continue this program. These kids deserve not only the full effort of Senate Republican Caucus, they deserve the full effort of each and every legislator in the capitol. There are children on these scholarships in each legislators’ district. It is time to represent the people of you’re district not the ideology of your party. It is time to put this on the board for a vote.”

12:15 – “It is department by department by department under the governor’s control including ISBE that has not done the assessment. If it was me, I’d be here, I’d be laser focused on Illinois. I wouldn’t be ‘thinking big’ about America. I wouldn’t be in Florida. I’d be in Illinois and I’d be getting the job done and until the job stay focused on Illinois.”

…Adding… From Mac Strategies…

Good morning,

We wanted you to be aware that there will be action in front of Speaker Welch’s office at 12:30 p.m. and in front of the Governor’s office at 1:00 p.m. Approximately 250 students and families in blue shirts and with signs demanding an extension of the Invest in Kids Act Tax Credit Scholarship Program.

…Adding… As promised…


  78 Comments      


Clean Air, Big Savings Central To Fleet Electrification Policy

Tuesday, Nov 7, 2023 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

North Illinois has some of the worst air quality in the country, in large part due to heavy freight traffic. Converting just 3 in 10 heavy-duty trucks in Illinois from gas to electric would save $5.8 BILLION in health care costs and over 600 lives.

Incentivizing fleet owners to go electric improves air quality, especially in heavy transit corridors. States like Nevada have incentivized the transition of school bus fleets from gas to electric, and Illinois can do the same to prevent children from breathing dirty air on their ride to school.

Illinois children deserve clean air now and a healthy future. Fortunately, there are bills in front of the Illinois State House and Senate right now that can help transition whole fleets of large trucks to electric – saving lives and saving money. Our legislators must support. More here.

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Illinois credit rating upgraded for the ninth time in two years

Tuesday, Nov 7, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Fitch Ratings…

Fitch Ratings has assigned an ‘A-’ rating to the following State of Illinois’ GO bonds:

    –$175 million taxable series of December 2023A;

    –$350 million tax-exempt series of December 2023B;

    –$350 million tax-exempt series of December 2023C.

Additionally, Fitch has upgraded the following state of Illinois ratings:

    –Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘A-’ from ‘BBB+’;

    –GO bonds to ‘A-’ from ‘BBB+’;

    –Build Illinois senior and junior obligation sales tax revenue bonds, which are linked to the state’s IDR based on state-dedicated tax analysis, to ‘A+’ from ‘A’.

The Rating Outlook is Stable.

* Press release…

Governor Pritzker today celebrated the state’s ninth credit rating upgrade in just over two years as Fitch Ratings elevated Illinois’ rating for general obligation bonds. This fiscal progress comes as the result of five balanced budgets and years of responsible financial management and discipline under Governor Pritzker and Democrats in the General Assembly.

“We are continuing to right the past fiscal wrongs in our state with disciplined fiscal leadership, and credit rating agencies and businesses alike are taking notice of Illinois’ remarkable progress,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Another credit rating upgrade means millions saved for Illinois taxpayers in interest—money back in the pockets of our state where it can better serve our residents.”

The rating of a state’s bonds is a measure of their credit quality. A higher bond rating generally means the state can borrow at a lower interest rate, saving taxpayers millions of dollars. Between 2015 and 2017, the State of Illinois suffered eight credit rating downgrades and sat at the top of many analysts’ lists of the worst managed states in the nation under the previous administration. At its worst, Illinois’ bill backlog hit nearly $17 billion.

“In addition to building up reserves, the state has also actively reduced various long-term and budgetary liabilities, most prominently its unpaid bills, and laid a more sustainable fiscal foundation,” said Fitch’s report on the upgrade. “Illinois reduced its accounts payable balance by approximately $1 billion over the course of fiscal 2023 to less than $500 million, a level the state has not seen in more than two decades and continuing a pattern of using unappropriated surpluses to pay down bills.”

Across major credit rating agencies S&P Global Ratings, Fitch Ratings, and Moody’s Investors Service, the state has received nine upgrades since June of 2021. Illinois is now back in the “A” category for all three agencies. Prior to those upgrades, the state had not received an upgrade since June of 2000, over two decades. Agencies have cited the state’s actions in paying down bill backlogs, repaying debts, increased fiscal transparency, building financial reserves, and balancing the state budget as factors in the upgraded ratings.

* Back to Fitch…

The upgrade of Illinois’ IDR to ‘A-’ from ‘BBB+’ reflects the state’s ability to execute on significant planned reserve contributions and maintain improvements in budget management including normalized accounts payable, thereby improving the state’s overall operating profile.

Illinois’ ‘A-’ IDR reflects solid operating performance that remains below most other states, with a long record of structural imbalance primarily related to pension underfunding offset by continued progress towards more sustainable budgeting practices. The ‘A-’ IDR also reflects the state’s elevated long-term liability position and resulting spending pressure. Illinois’ deep and diverse economy is only slowly growing, but still provides a strong fundamental context for its credit profile. […]

Long-Term Liability Burden: ‘a’

Long-term liabilities are an elevated but still moderate burden on Illinois’ significant resource base. Constitutional limitations suggest Illinois has very limited flexibility to modify existing pension obligations. Other post-employment benefit (OPEB) obligations also have constitutional protections, but the state’s recent progress in materially reducing OPEB liabilities highlights both the state’s ability to manage within those protections and the inherent variability in OPEB calculations.

Operating Performance: ‘a’

Reserves have improved to historically high levels for the state and provide an important fiscal cushion, but levels remain relatively modest versus other states. Management has eliminated many outstanding budgetary liabilities and established a sustainable pattern of smoother fiscal decision-making. Sizable gaps in pension contributions relative to actuarially determined levels persist, with recent supplemental contributions helpful, but insufficient to address this structural budget gap.

…Adding… House Speaker Chris Welch…

“In May I proudly told members of the House that we’d crafted a budget that would improve our fiscal house and our credit. Today, it’s clear that Democrats are continuing to deliver on that promise as we have reached ‘A’ status with every rating agency.

“We heard a lot of partisan, misleading spin about our budget from Republicans, but financial experts and watchdogs agree that our budgetary decisions continue to move Illinois down a path of progress and prosperity. While we hope our Republican colleagues join us in this effort, Democrats will continue to budget responsibly and make smart investments for a stronger future for all.”

* Comptroller Mendoza…

In giving Illinois our 9th credit upgrade in the past two years, Fitch Ratings noted our progress in reducing our backlog of bills to what is now a “normalized” accounts payable that stands at $1.86 billion today – down from a high of $16.7 billion during the budget impasse. Fitch credited the state for boosting its Rainy Day fund to nearly $2 billion. That fund was down to $48,000 during the impasse.

Fitch encourages Illinois to bring that fund up to a level most other states have and to make greater progress paying down our pension liabilities. That is exactly what my Rainy Day and Pension Stabilization Bill, HB2515, proposes to do and I look forward to seeing it reintroduced in the next legislative session.

This upgrade is a tribute to the responsible debt management my office has undertaken in recent years working with the General Assembly and Governor. These upgrades lower the state’s costs for projects like building roads and bridges, saving taxpayers money.

All the hard work my staff and I have done to stabilize the state’s finances has been to get Illinois ready for its growth spurt. Illinois is open for business and we’re looking forward to future credit upgrades on the horizon.

  19 Comments      


Potentially thousands of community volunteers waiting to be tapped

Tuesday, Nov 7, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I don’t think these asylum-seeker ideas floated by the Illinois Policy Institute are gonna work, but at least they’re trying…

Some have called on the Biden administration to expedite work permits for undocumented migrants, but federal law currently requires asylum seekers to wait about 180 days before they can apply for permission to work legally in the United States. It would take an act of Congress to change that law and allow asylum seekers to legally work sooner. […]

Some states are exploring the limits of their authority. New York is floating the idea of issuing their own state work permits for asylum seekers so they become less of a burden on local social services. Circumventing federal wait periods through state work permits is likely to face legal challenge, and it is not clear states have the authority to do so. The UCLA Center for Immigration Law and Poverty has proposed state universities or other state entities could hire asylum seekers without running afoul of federal law. The University of California regents are planning to hire undocumented students under this theory. That strategy seems to have more sound footing in statute and case law, but it has not yet been litigated, either.

* New York Times…

Frustrated by the federal response to the migrant crisis, Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Tuesday that New York State was considering ways to issue work permits to asylum seekers in a bid to circumvent the long wait for permits at the federal level. […]

Earlier on Tuesday, White House officials pushed back against a state-level work permit system. In a call with reporters, senior administration officials said that work permits were “very clearly a federal authority,” adding that workarounds were “not something that we would encourage states to pursue.” […]

“A court would be very likely to strike such a state permitting process down if it involves allowing private employers to use these state-issued work permits to hire recent migrants,” said Stephen W. Yale-Loehr, a professor of immigration law at Cornell University.

Mr. Yale-Loehr and other immigration law experts have called for a different approach that they argue is allowed under federal law: having state governments hire asylum seekers directly. The University of California regents, for example, announced earlier this year that the university system would explore a way to hire students who lack legal status and work permits.

A very real consequence of the state issuing its own private sector work permits is that the asylum-seekers who go to work could be found in non-compliance with federal law and then be deported.

And direct government employment would also gonna run smack dab into our state’s byzantine and slow-as-molasses public employee hiring regulations and its union contracts. Not to mention the budgetary costs. It’s one thing for a university to hire a few dozen undocumented students. It’s quite another to put thousands of new arrivals (many or even most of whom don’t speak English) on the public payroll.

* However, just about every charitable, religious and social service organization is short of volunteers, and many need Spanish language volunteers. So many migrants are just hanging out all day, every day. Connect at least some of them with those groups. It won’t put money in their pockets, but it will give them something to do and would benefit the community at large.

* As of Friday, 20,221 migrants have arrived in Chicago since last year. 11,737 are currently in shelters (4,117 are children) and another 3,228 are currently in staging areas like police stations (731 children). That means about ten thousand adults are in the system, although not all of them will qualify for this…

A Biden administration pilot program, kicking off Thursday in Chicago, is designed to help new arrivals in shelters overwhelming the city apply for their work authorizations.

The pilot program is a joint effort of the White House, Illinois, City Hall and the Resurrection Project, a social service agency that provides legal services for migrants. […]

Angelo Fernández Hernández, a White House spokesperson, told the Sun-Times that the launch Thursday of what they call a “clinic” is designed to be “a one-stop-shop work authorization clinic to help get eligible noncitizens work authorizations and jobs — and decompress the shelter system.

“The clinic will begin with a pilot, serving approximately 150 migrants per day, and we will work with the state, city and the Resurrection Project as they scale in the coming days and weeks,” Fernández Hernández said.

It’s gonna take a while.

* Meanwhile, from Fox 32…

On the eve of a major meeting in Brighton Park, and just hours until migrant families are set to move into a shelter in West Town, a group of Englewood residents is calling on the city to turn migrant buses around.

Held at the Center of Englewood, a group of residents attended what was dubbed a ‘Stop the Buses’ rally.

Hosted by the Black American Voters Project and NumbersUSA, panelists shared how they feel immigration negatively impacts Black Americans.

Turnout was small, and Fox 32 reporter Kasey Chronis for some reason didn’t mention that NumbersUSA was founded by a white nationalist.

Ugh.

Returning to my above idea, migrants volunteering in communities would show those community members that they’re non-threatening, even helpful human beings.

* More from Isabel…

    * The Hill | More than 100 mayors back Biden’s supplemental request with added migrant funding: In a Tuesday letter, mayors from all over the U.S. said President Biden’s $1.4 billion request to Congress to help at the state and local level in supplying shelter and services for migrants is not enough. They said although the $1.4 billion is “welcome,” they need more “badly.”

    * NYT | Republicans Are Hammering Democrats on the Migrant Crisis. Will It Work?: The episode has been played on repeat this fall in attack ads blanketing the airwaves in Erie County as Republicans try to turn the migrant crisis gripping the state into a political cudgel to flip perhaps the most important elected office in western New York. Clear across the state, on the tip of Long Island, a similar dynamic is playing out in Suffolk County, where Republicans are favored to win back the top office for the first time in two decades. Part of their strategy: attack ads focused on the busloads of migrants arriving in New York City, miles away from the suburbs.

    * Fox Boston | Gov. Healey: Emergency migrant shelters expected to reach capacity as soon as today: A majority of the migrants coming into the state have been staying in motels and hotels, but by either Tuesday or Wednesday, the state expects there won’t be any rooms left and families will have to be put on waiting lists. According to the state’s latest numbers, there are currently 7,439 families enrolled in the state’s shelter system. The state reports that 30 of those families came on board in the last 24 hours.

    * CBS Colorado | Denver spends millions of dollars on plane, bus and train tickets for migrants to other cities: Over the last year, Denver has spent nearly $4.5 million transporting more than 12,000 migrants out-of-state […] [Jon Ewing, a spokesperson for Denver Human Services] provided a spreadsheet showing the city has transported migrants to virtually every major city in the country over the last year. It’s not only sent them to big cities but smaller ones like Wilson, North Carolina. Most of them have gone to Chicago, New York and Salt Lake City. It’s also sent several hundred migrants to Texas, which has bused 6,600 migrants to Colorado since May according to Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

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Here’s How To Make The Tax Credit Scholarship Better

Tuesday, Nov 7, 2023 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

We’ve been listening carefully to the governor, legislative leaders, and many members of the legislature about how to make the Tax Credit Scholarship better – and we now have an amended program proposal that does exactly that. Thousands of vulnerable kids are counting on us to put them before politics.

In response to direct feedback, our bill offers substantive improvements along with good-faith compromises which justify extending the Tax Credit Scholarship Program:

    1. Add a new priority level of scholarship recipients from the most under-served areas of Illinois to create opportunities for thousands of primarily Black and Latino children. Donors will be incentivized to prioritize helping this new “Region 7” beyond the thousands of other kids who qualify based on financial need.

    2. Reduce the overall size of the program to $50MM (down from $75MM) and reduce the individual giving cap to $500,000 (down from $1MM).

    3. Reduce the tax credit for donors to 55% (down from 75%).

    4. Encourage more middle-income donors by crediting donations of up to $5,000 with a 100% tax credit.

Illinois, let’s do the right thing. It’s about the kids, not the politics. Save the scholarships.

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Legislators may vote to lift nuclear power construction ban this week

Tuesday, Nov 7, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Background from WTTW…

With its 11 nuclear reactors at six nuclear power plants, “Illinois generates more electricity from nuclear energy than any other state, accounting for one-eighth of the nation’s total nuclear power generation,” according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

That’s even with a ban effective since 1987 that forbids new nuclear power plants be built here.

Illinois legislators voted to lift the ban and open the door to so-called advanced nuclear reactors.

Advocates say nuclear power is a greenhouse gas emission-free option that would provide a smart energy alternative as Illinois law is moving coal-fired plants offline. Many environmentalists and other critics want Illinois to focus on wind and solar options as the state looks to meet a legal goal of 100% renewable energy come 2050.

Pritzker isn’t outright opposed to more nuclear energy, writing in his veto message that “there appears to be real potential for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), which could, in the future, safely provide power for large energy consuming businesses in areas where their energy needs cannot currently be met.”

* Sun-Times…

State Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, also plans to file a measure to counter Pritzker’s veto of a bill that would have lifted a moratorium on new nuclear power plants in the state.

The governor in August vetoed the moratorium lifting, writing it did not provide regulatory protections for the health and safety of Illinois residents, and there was an “overly broad definition of advanced reactor” that could open the door to large-scale nuclear power plants. Environmental groups like Sierra Club and the Illinois Environmental Council had asked for the veto.

But Rezin on Monday said she believes her new measure addresses the governor’s concerns. She said she is in talks with Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, and plans to introduce the measure as soon as possible. There are also other proposals in motion, including in the House.

“I would say that this compromise narrowly defines new nuclear down to the actual megawatt, as opposed to the amended version that he vetoed in the House that used the federal definition of new nuclear,” Rezin said. “So this new version is more specific, limiting the size by dividing the megawatts in the nuclear reactor.”

* More from the Daily Herald…

Chief co-sponsor Rep. Mark Walker, an Arlington Heights Democrat and longtime supporter of nuclear, said SMRs will be “really valuable for the future” despite concerns about waste and potential accidents.

“I understand people’s fear, but we haven’t had any issues with waste and accidents in Illinois in at least 60 years. I think it’s overblown,” Walker said. “The thing to keep in mind about issues with regulation and siting is you have to go through environmental studies, multiple contacts with communities, and all kinds of things that the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission requires anyway.”

Pritzker’s veto letter referenced a lack of “regulatory protections or updates to address the health and safety of Illinois residents who would live and work around these new reactors.”

The regulatory commission represents what Rezin calls “the most heavily regulated department at the federal level.” To answer Pritzker’s concern, the new bill would provide additional local oversight by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.

* The Sun-Times editorial board is not so sure that safety issues are overblown…

But the technology to make the small reactors work is not ready. The first small reactor design obtained U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval in July for a facility in Idaho, but development will take years. Focusing on building wind and solar energy and storage should be the priority.

Besides dotting the state with more spent nuclear fuel storage sites or requiring the transportation of spent fuel to existing sites, additional reactors can pose a security threat. As retired Brigadier General Wendell Chris King, a specialist in hazardous waste management, said during a radio discussion in August, “How do I protect those [small modular nuclear reactors] from an external threat? And the more [reactors] you got, the harder it is to protect.” […]

Whether small nuclear reactors can be financially feasible isn’t certain. The first standard nuclear plant to be built from scratch in the United States in 30 years went into operation this year in Georgia, seven years late and $17 billion over budget.

Once the moratorium is lifted, it won’t be easy to impose it again if companies start making plans to build small nuclear reactors in the state. The time to lift the moratorium is after the challenge of safe nuclear waste disposal is solved.

Your thoughts?

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FBI: ‘Declarations that all active shooters must simply be mentally ill are misleading and unhelpful’

Tuesday, Nov 7, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Alexa James, CEO of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, writing in Crain’s…

In the wake of mass shootings, we are understandably desperate to make sense of what happened and identify solutions when the otherwise unthinkable has occurred, which often leads to calls for increased mental health funding. Though it’s a positive sign to see broader recognition of the importance of mental health, these rinse-and-repeat conversations connecting mental health and mass shootings are not leading to fewer tragedies. […]

Much of my life’s work revolves around voicing the needs of those living with mental illness, so I will always stand by increased funding for the work we at the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in Chicago and other advocates lead, but we must be able to move beyond the basic rhetoric that more mental health funding on its own will serve as a solution. […]

For many reasons, the mental health system alone is not equipped to change the tide on this public health crisis. While there are certainly instances in which mass shooters are living with a psychiatric disorder, it’s a dangerous misconception to assume that all are — as it is to see this connection in most cases applied to perpetrators who fit a certain profile.

In reality, mass shooters don’t necessarily suffer from major psychiatric disorders. In 2000-2013, only 25% of assailants had been diagnosed with one, according to a 2018 study by the FBI.

The fact that only 25 percent of mass shooters were diagnosed with major psychiatric disorders doesn’t necessarily mean that all of the rest didn’t have a major disorder. The FBI study reported that they could not verify if 37 percent had even been checked for mental illness. But it’s still a valid point.

* Here’s more from that FBI study…

In light of the very high lifetime prevalence of the symptoms of mental illness among the U.S. population, formally diagnosed mental illness is not a very specific predictor of violence of any type, let alone targeted violence. Some studies indicate that nearly half of the U.S. population experiences symptoms of mental illness over their lifetime, with population estimates of the lifetime prevalence of diagnosable mental illness among U.S. adults at 46%, with 9% meeting the criteria for a personality disorder. Therefore, absent specific evidence, careful consideration should be given to social and contextual factors that might interact with any mental health issue before concluding that an active shooting was “caused” by mental illness.

In short, declarations that all active shooters must simply be mentally ill are misleading and unhelpful.

Food for thought.

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)

Tuesday, Nov 7, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Open thread

Tuesday, Nov 7, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* What’s going on in your part of Illinois…

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Isabel’s morning briefing

Tuesday, Nov 7, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: Week two of veto session begins today. Sun-Times…

    - Senate Republicans continue to pressure Democrats and Gov. J.B. Pritzker to extend the Invest in Kids program.

    - Sen. Sue Rezin plans to file a measure to counter Pritzker’s veto of a bill that would have lifted a moratorium on new nuclear power plants in the state.

    -Legislators also plan to try to approve an elected school board map that will divide Chicago into 20 districts.

* Related stories…

* Isabel’s top picks…

* Some data to start your morning…


* Here’s the rest of your morning roundup…

    * Capitol News Illinois | Gun rights groups to seek Supreme Court ruling on assault weapons: In a statement Saturday, the Illinois State Rifle Association said it was not surprised by the 7th Circuit panel’s 2-1 decision, which said plaintiffs in the consolidated cases had not met their burden to show they were likely to win in a constitutional challenge to the law. “It has always been and is our intent to take our case to the U.S. Supreme Court where we believe we can get a favorable ruling for law-abiding gun owners in Illinois,” the organization said. “We will continue to stand up for the Second amendment and Illinois law-abiding gun owners and against our anti-gun Governor Pritzker and General Assembly.”

    * WCIA | State superintendent breaks down new statewide public school report card: Public schools in Illinois are recovering slowly from the pandemic, but there are still some lasting effects. Overall proficiency levels are on the rise, according to the report, but chronic absenteeism remains a big problem.

    * Tribune | Ex-Ald. Edward Burke finally getting his day in federal court as high-stakes corruption trial begins with jury selection: The judge and attorneys took the all day to question 20 prospective jurors. The judge has said they need to get about 44 people who make it through “for cause” strikes before proceeding to the next phase.

    * WTTW | Jury Selection Begins in Corruption Trial of Former Ald. Ed Burke: One of the first acts of Burke’s attorneys was to object to a large display in the hallway outside the 25th floor courtroom that memorializes the other high-profile public corruption cases that have taken place at the Dirksen Courthouse. U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Kendall said she would take that request under advisement.

    * Daily Herald | Food and drinks during Kentucky trip violated District 214 gift ban policy, ethics panel says: A Northwest Suburban High School District 214 ethics panel Monday ruled two employees violated the Arlington Heights-based district’s ethics and gift ban policy after going on an HVAC contractor’s all-expense-paid trip to Kentucky. The three-member ethics commission — composed of District 214 parents appointed by Superintendent Scott Rowe — made its determination after an internal investigation by district legal counsel Kevin Gordon of the Oakbrook Terrace-based law firm Kriha Boucek.

    * Block Club | At Vigil For 16-Year-Old Cyclist Josh Anleu, Family Urges Drivers To ‘Do Better’: Josh Anleu felt free when he bicycled through the Northwest Side, an activity that helped him escape the daily tasks of school and home life, his family said. That freedom was cut short when a driver hit the 16-year-old Schurz High School student on his bike last month at the intersection of Long and Waveland avenues. Anleu died two days later from his injuries, making him the second teenage cyclist in Chicago to be hit and killed by a driver in less than two years.

    * The Grio | Twin brothers sue NCAA over eligibility dispute involving NIL compensation: The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Matthew Bewley and Ryan Bewley, 19-year-old twins from Florida, in U.S. District Court in Chicago on Wednesday. The Bewleys spent two seasons at Overtime Elite Academy before accepting scholarships from Chicago State University in June. The brothers are seeking damages and an injunction that would clear them to play for the Cougars, who visit Bowling Green on Monday night for their season opener. U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman scheduled a hearing for Tuesday in the case.

    * WGN | Questions emerge over CTU president’s Indiana property tax claim: The head of the Chicago Teachers Union has claimed a home in South Bend, Indiana as her primary residence for the past sixteen years, according to documents reviewed by WGN Investigates. Indiana officials tell WGN Investigates they are removing the homestead exemption and may seek back taxes.

    * Crain’s | Johnson’s first budget easily clears committee hurdle: The lack of significant amendments to the proposal is reflective of the modesty of Johnson’s first budget, which held to a campaign promise to not raise property taxes while only delivering “down payments” on his spending initiatives to reimagine Chicago.

    * Tribune | City Council committee grills Peoples Gas ahead of ICC decision on proposed $402 million record rate hike: The Illinois Commerce Commission is expected to rule Nov. 16 on the rate hike proposal, which includes $207 million to continue funding the ongoing pipeline replacement program. If approved, the rate increase would add $11.83 per month to the average residential customer bill beginning in January.

    * Sports Handle | Illinois: The State With The $20 Million Sports Wagering License And No Takers: Now in its fourth year of conducting business and firmly established as a top-three market nationally, there is one area where the Land of Lincoln has yet to hit paydirt — finding an operator wanting to go through the full process of becoming an online-only licensee. While no licensing process is easy, the Illinois Gaming Board has as thorough a vetting process as any state before awarding a license.

    * Tribune | Yorkville’s Dallas Ingemunson, longtime GOP stalwart, dies: Ingemunson also served as a political mentor to Tom Cross of Oswego. A former assistant in Ingemunson’s state’s attorney’s office, Cross was elected to the Illinois House in 1992 and a decade later became the leader of the GOP minority in the chamber, where he served until August 2013. “Dallas was a true public servant who never failed to help a person with a problem regardless of their status in life,” Cross said.

    * The Berg | Illinois Joining Forces Launches Operation Connect-A-Vet to Empower Friends and Families to Link Vet: “As we approach Veterans Day, we must remember the sacrifices made by veterans and raise awareness of the support they truly deserve. Operation Connect-A-Vet embodies our nation’s spirit of unity and service. This Veterans Day, IJF is proud to unite our community to provide vital support for Veterans, Service Members, and their Families,” said Erica Borggren, Board Chairwoman of Illinois Joining Forces.

    * Bloomberg | WeWork goes bankrupt, signs pact with creditors to cut debt: The New York-based company said it had struck a restructuring agreement with creditors representing roughly 92% of its secured notes and would streamline its rental portfolio of office space, according to a statement. The Nov. 6 Chapter 11 filing in New Jersey listed assets of $15 billion.

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Live coverage

Tuesday, Nov 7, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Click here or here to follow breaking news.

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Ticket withdrawn against Southtown reporter

Monday, Nov 6, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The legislature needs to rein in these sorts of local ordinances…

Calumet City officials have dropped municipal charges against a Daily Southtown reporter they alleged violated local ordinances by seeking comment from public employees on major flooding issues in the area.

The reversal comes just days after the south suburb sent several citations to Hank Sanders, a Southtown reporter whose job includes covering Calumet City.

The Southtown, which is owned by the Chicago Tribune’s parent company, published a story online Oct. 19 and in print Oct. 20 in which Sanders reported that consultants had informed Calumet City officials that their stormwater facilities were in poor condition before September’s historic rains caused flooding.

A day after the story was published online, Sanders continued to report on the issue, drawing complaints from city officials, including Mayor Thaddeus Jones, that he was calling employees to seek comment. Officials emailed Sanders tickets citing him for “interference/hampering of city employees.”

Sanders was just doing his job, for crying out loud.

…Adding… A buddy pointed me to Cal City’s ordinances. Here’s one…

Sec. 62-334. - Bathing suits.

(a) No person shall swim or bathe in the waters of a public swimming pool in the city, unless such person is clothed in a suitable bathing dress.

(b) Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be fined not less than five dollars ($5.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) for each offense.

Here’s one banning blasphemous movies…

It shall be unlawful to permit any person to offer or present any motion picture which has a tendency to cause a riot or public disturbance of the peace, or any immoral, indecent or blasphemous picture or performance.

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Afternoon roundup

Monday, Nov 6, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Gov. DeWine is not happy with Gov. Pritzker…

Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH) brushed off “absurd” accusations made against Republicans by fellow Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL).

Pritzker recently accused Republicans of regressing freedom within the United States and has started a new organization aimed at promoting pro-choice policies across multiple states, including Ohio, while combating “the right-wing extremists who want to take us backwards.”

In response to Pritzker’s funding efforts and extremism accusations, DeWine told Fox News Sunday they were “absurd.”

“Well, that’s just absurd, and he knows that’s absurd; he knows me,” DeWine said. “That is not what we’re trying to do at all. It is interesting; the pro side in this has spent about $35 million to try to mislead the voters of the state of Ohio. It is interesting to me that a governor of Illinois would come in with a half a million dollars contribution. If you look at all the other people who are doing this, these are the same people who want to get outside their own state and control what is going on in other states.”

* I wonder how one pronounces “SQMS”…

Today, Governor Pritzker joined international dignitaries and ambassadors, leaders at the Department of Energy and local universities, and other elected officials to celebrate the opening of Fermilab’s new Superconducting Quantum Materials and System Centers (SQMSC) Garage. The SQMSC Garage is one of the five Department of Energy National Quantum Information Science Research Centers, and one of the largest quantum research labs in the world.

“The SQMS Quantum Garage signals a new era in this field, and represents the best of our National Quantum Initiative,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “SQMS will accomplish what few other can—building on Fermilab’s unique strengths in related accelerator technology and particle physics, and creating a global partnership which spans across academia, national labs and industry, and federal agencies to reach a new quantum frontier. I’m thrilled to see our state attract the best in quantum science, and I am committed to making Illinois the premier hub of quantum development.”

Fermilab’s new SQMSC Lab will bring together a multi-sector coalition, including hundreds of experts from dozens of institutions across four nations, that will collaborate to bring quantum technology to scale. SQMS will be overseen by Director Anna Grasselino, who leads this team of world-renowned scientists and serves on the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). The lab contains the first commercial quantum processor deployed on-premise at Fermilab. It has quantum sensors with the potential to discover dark matter and new gravitational waves sources. It also has training platforms dedicated to providing hands-on education for growing the next generation quantum ready workforce. These platforms will enable scientists, industry, and start-ups to advance quantum technology and help solve challenges in fundamental science.

…Adding… A commenter asked why it’s called a garage, so I asked…


* Tribune…

Thursday’s chaotic [city council] meeting was called in an attempt by Ald. Raymond Lopez, 15th, and Ald. Anthony Beale, 9th, to add a question to March primary ballots asking voters “Should the city of Chicago continue to keep its designation as a Sanctuary City?”

The question would have been non-binding, so even if it made it on ballots, it would not change the city’s current sanctuary policy to not cooperate with federal law enforcement on deportation of immigrants in the country without legal permission. The policy also ensures immigrants can use city services. It would not change the city’s current response to the influx of asylum seekers, either.

*Hard sigh*

* Illinois Policy Institute…

Stacy Davis Gates gets a homeowner’s tax break for an Indiana home she doesn’t live in

But scroll down…

While there are no homestead deductions listed on the home Davis Gates and her husband own in Illinois, that doesn’t change the fact she would owe Indiana more if she were not taking the deduction.

She’s not taking a homestead deduction in Illinois? So she’s paying more Cook County property taxes than she’s required to pay?

* Isabel’s afternoon roundup…

    * Center Square | Cook County nursing home officials warn of layoffs if tax system not addressed: A bill at the Illinois statehouse would have reduced the tax rate on nursing homes from 25% of their market value to 10% but was vetoed by Pritzker over fears of raising property taxes on residents of Cook County. The state legislature can override the veto, causing the bill to become law, if they vote and receive a three-fifths majority. The measure passed the Senate in May unanimously. In the House on concurrence, the measure passed with 95 yes votes, zero no votes and two voting present, a veto-proof majority.

    * Illinois Times | Jenny Thornley pleads guilty: The former chief financial officer for the Illinois State Police Merit Board and former volunteer in JB Pritzker’s first gubernatorial campaign pleaded guilty Nov. 3 to forgery resulting in undeserved overtime pay and was sentenced to 18 months of conditional discharge. Jenny Thornley, 43, of the 2800 block of Hilltop Road in Springfield, pleaded guilty to the felony charge of electronically creating the signature of her boss, former Merit Board executive director Jack Garcia, so she could cheat the state in 2019 out of slightly more than $10,000 in overtime she never worked.

    * WBEZ | Alderpeople accuse Carlos Ramirez-Rosa of threatening to stall zoning changes: The accusations were detailed in a letter drafted Thursday night by Ald. Scott Waguespack, 32nd Ward. An initial draft obtained by WBEZ called for Ramirez-Rosa to be formally censured by the City Council and that the Board of Ethics and Office of the Inspector General investigate alleged threats Ramirez-Rosa made for also abusing his power.

    * Tribune | Jury selection begins in ex-Ald. Edward Burke’s high-stakes federal corruption trial: Live questioning of prospective jurors will likely take at least two days, with Kendall asking initial questions and each side getting the chance to follow up with specific issues. Opening statements in the case could come as soon as Wednesday. Monday’s proceedings will mark the first time Burke has stepped foot in the federal courthouse since his arraignment on the indictment on June 4, 2019, shortly after Burke had been sworn in for a record 13th full term as alderman.

    * WCIA | Illinois Department of Insurance fines Blue Cross Blue Shield again for violating the Network Adequacy and Transparency Act: The state agency previously fined Blue Cross Blue Shield in March more than half a million dollars for violating laws related to network adequacy. Agency officials say they have fined the company an additional $231,900 because Blue Cross Blue Shield has delayed implementing changes to their provider directories to address the network adequacy violations from the first fine.

    * Block Club | Police Tout New Training Academy As Monitor Says Reforms ‘Continue To Lag’: In its latest report published Wednesday, an independent police watchdog once again took the department to task for minimal progress on its federal consent decree: expansive reform requirements the department was put under following the police murder of teenager Laquan McDonald almost a decade ago.

    * Beacon-News | Kane County residents can get look at new voting equipment: Kane County Clerk John Cunningham called the new equipment “an upgrade of our current equipment.” The new equipment is different, though, in that it gives voters a printed version of their ballot which they then put into a ballot box. Voters will start their voting on a touch screen instead of the rolling wheel that has been in use in the county for years.

    * Tribune | Three Illinois hospitals keep straight-A streak in new Leapfrog hospital safety grades: Just under 25% of Illinois hospitals earned A grades this fall from hospital safety nonprofit The Leapfrog Group, including 18% of Chicago’s 22 eligible hospitals. The grades examine safety procedures at general hospitals nationwide, focusing on prevention of medical errors, accidents and infections.

    * Crain’s | City plans (again) to put O’Hare concession contracts out for bid: The city plans to put the contract out for bid early next year, Chicago Aviation Commissioner Jamie Rhee told a City Council committee earlier this week. The Department of Aviation had planned to put the contract out late last year or early this year, but it got delayed.

    * AP | A small Illinois city ticketed a local reporter for asking why its infrastructure collapsed and flooded under heavy rainfall: It’s the latest of several recent First Amendment dust-ups involving city officials and news outlets around the country, following this week’s arrest of a small-town Alabama newspaper publisher and reporter after reporting on a grand jury investigation of a school district, and the August police raid of a newspaper and its publisher’s home in Kansas tied to an apparent dispute a restaurant owner had with the paper.

    * AP | Oldest black hole discovered dating back to 470 million years after the Big Bang: The findings, published Monday, confirm what until now were theories that supermassive black holes existed at the dawn of the universe. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and Chandra X-Ray Observatory teamed up over the past year to make the observations. Given the universe is 13.7 billion years old, that puts the age of this black hole at 13.2 billion years.

    * WGN | Victory Auto Wreckers to close this month: Victory Auto Wreckers’ owner Kyle Weisner told Dean Richards during an interview on WGN Radio Sunday that the longtime auto salvage yard will close on November 18. Victory Auto Wreckers, located in Bensenville, has been in business since 1945. Weisner’s family has owned it since 1967. The auto salvage yard is known for it’s iconic commercial, “that old car is worth money” — that Dean Richards has voiced since 1991.

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Pritzker’s role in the UAW’s Stellantis deal

Monday, Nov 6, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…

I told you back in January that if Gov. J.B. Pritzker managed to help convince Stellantis to reopen the Belvidere auto assembly plant and even expand, “he’ll have overcome some gargantuan hurdles.”

Credit where credit is due: Pritzker helped the United Auto Workers Union and the White House put together a deal with Stellantis to reopen the shuttered plant and expand it. According to Crain’s Chicago Business, the UAW told its members the company would spend $5 billion on the project. It’s not clear as I write this how much would come from the state.

It’s plainly obvious to anyone that overcoming the state’s lousy reputation with manufacturers is a monumental task. All any CEO has to do is turn on one of the business cable TV stations to see the Illinois-bashing in full glory, even though it’s often based on outdated claims from groups that make money from bad-mouthing the state’s reputation.

But the state incentives contained in Pritzker’s Reimagining Energy and Vehicles Act were instrumental in attracting the massive Gotion electric vehicle battery plant to Manteno.

At the same time, the state has also tried to help build a supplier and training infrastructure for manufacturers — which it calls an “eco-system.” More than two years ago, for instance, the state helped open an EV worker training program at Normal’s Heartland Community College as EV-maker Rivian scaled up its production.

The REV Act’s income tax credit program was then expanded to 75% of state payroll taxes, and to 100% for “underserved areas.” The REV Act was also expanded to include smaller companies with a minimum $2.5 million in capital investment.

That latter expansion was key to bringing to Decatur a new electric compressor manufacturing facility as a major component of the city’s TCCI Electric Vehicle Innovation Hub that the governor unveiled in August. An innovation and research lab and a worker training facility at the local community college (and in potential partnership with other higher education institutions) will also be part of the new Decatur hub.

Just last month, Netherlands-based EVBox announced it was establishing its new U.S. headquarters in Lake County. The company makes fast-chargers for EVs and hopes to build thousands of charging stations per year.

“We have got the parts suppliers, battery manufacturers, EV infrastructure suppliers, and there are more to come,” Pritzker said at the EVBox announcement, according to NBC Chicago.

The Stellantis plant deal is huge. The state has been working with the company since well before the automaker decided to put the plant on pause earlier this year. Because EV assembly plants usually need a nearby battery facility, the state optioned 250 acres of land across from the Stellantis plant, dangling the prize as just one more incentive to reopen and expand. The revitalized plant will likely build a light truck, and include a battery plant as well as a parts distribution center.

The UAW has had strong reservations about EV manufacturing because it requires fewer workers, and many cars and batteries are being made with non-union labor (including, so far, at Gotion’s future Manteno facility). But the union leadership insisted that reopening the Belvidere plant was a top priority during its bargaining with and subsequent strike of Stellantis. The White House was reportedly heavily involved as well.

Crain’s also reported that the revitalized plant could employ as many as 5,000 workers, which is far more than the 1,200 laid off in February.

If Illinois’ earlier failures fed off themselves in a vicious cycle, the hope now is the recent successes will lead to even more gains as corporations see that Illinois isn’t what they may have thought it was.

The idea has been to provide “white glove” concierge service to corporate execs through the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The governor’s office claims companies can easily and quickly obtain information and assistance from DCEO about their investments. DCEO also offers the companies help with permitting to cut through state and local red tape.

The governor himself has also taken a very active role, his office says, running down leads and making and fielding countless inquiries. He’s also positioned himself as the state’s top economic cheerleader.

This sort of “all hands on deck” approach appears to really be paying off. And it’s been darned impressive to watch. Everyone, including the General Assembly, deserves credit.

So maybe now the state can use this template to tackle some other problems, like high property taxes (business development is a big key, but not the entire solution) and the functioning of some notorious bureaucracies, including DCFS.

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Fundraiser list

Monday, Nov 6, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Asylum-seeker coverage roundup

Monday, Nov 6, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The Tribune reports on homeless people staying at police stations with asylum seekers…

With the arrival of another 20,000 migrants this year who need homes, the city’s existing shelter network — which never fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic when the number of beds decreased — maxed out. So city officials turned to police stations to be used as makeshift processing centers for migrants as Chicago scrambled to open shelters.

But even as the city has repurposed old school buildings, warehouses and other vacant structures into places for migrants to sleep — often amid a serious backlash from neighbors — it’s not enough because the existing system wasn’t adequately equipped to begin with, said Douglas Schenkelberg, the executive director of Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. […]

Schenkelberg said that ideally the city would have what he described as a “no-wrong-door approach,” or unified shelter system “that serves everyone regardless of the reason they’re currently experiencing homelessness.”

“You can enter through the same portal, be assessed about what your needs are, provided short-term shelter at the front end and then long-term permanent housing at the back end,” he said. “So your experience of homelessness is very brief.”

In theory, maybe that would work, although they are two very different populations with much different levels of need. In practice, the homeless person profiled in the Tribune’s story has been sleeping at a police station for two months.

* I don’t disagree with Greg Hinz’s take here, but I think the mayor first needs to give a speech like this to himself and his top staff…

But one thing is missing: big-megaphone moral leadership. The City Council is going to continue to dissolve into a morass of NIMBYism until Johnson goes in a big way around their backs and makes the case directly to voters that Chicago can meet this challenge, in fact must meet it, if it is to collectively look itself in the mirror in the morning.

The mayor seemingly can’t even convince himself to make big decisions and then make them stick.

* Isabel’s coverage roundup…

    * ABC Chicago | US Rep. Jonathan Jackson calls for rest of Illinois to step up as more Chicago migrants arrive: Calling on the rest of the state to step up to the plate, Jackson took the opportunity of his quarterly town hall meeting to address the growing migrant crisis that continues to divide both residents and elected officials. “President Biden will be in Chicago this coming Thursday. I’m sending him another letter sharing with him the heightened concerns that we have,” Jackson said.

    * Tribune | Homeless Chicagoans also living at police stations alongside migrants: While many of the migrants at the station come from Venezuela, the Wilsons had only come from a few miles away. The language barrier was just one more thing that separated her and her son from the migrants they slept alongside at the police station. It is unclear how many homeless U.S. citizens like the Wilsons are staying among the nearly 2,800 migrants awaiting shelter placement in Chicago police stations. A spokesperson for the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communication said it only tracks the number of asylum-seekers, and officials with the Department of Family and Support Services did not respond to a request for comment. The Chicago Police Department said they do not track how many U.S. citizens are sheltering with them.

    * Tribune | As temperatures fall, the number of sick children sleeping outside of police stations increases, migrant advocates say: “Duele, Duele. It hurts, it hurts,” he cried out shaking as his parents, José Urribarri, 48, and his wife Linda Bello, 28, wrapped him in multiple blankets and squeezed his little body between them. The cold Tuesday evening brought the toddler to new levels of desperation, and his parents rushed him by foot to a nearby health clinic.

    * Crain’s | Chicago developer Mike Reschke proposes suburban hotels to house migrants: Reschke was one of several prominent Chicago developers, along with representatives from AmTrust Realty and the Building Owners & Managers Association, who met with city officials for an Oct. 12 discussion to provide ideas on how to shelter migrants arriving in Chicago from the southern border. Those officials included city of Chicago Chief Operating Officer John Roberson; Deputy Mayor of Business Kenya Merritt; and Deputy Mayor of Immigrant, Migrant and Refugee Rights Beatriz Ponce De León. As of Nov. 3, 11,727 migrants filled the city’s 24 shelters and another 3,228 were waiting at police stations and airports across the city, according to the Office of Emergency Management & Communications.

    * Block Club | Northwest Side Police Officer Collecting Bilingual Books For Migrant Children: Officer Jesus Magallon began the initiative in the spring, and is looking for more partners to help collect and donate books to families staying at shelters, police stations and in tents.

    * Bloomberg | Denver Migrant Shelters Swell As Cities Plead for More Federal Aid: Federal aid for an influx of asylum seekers into US cities is essential to prevent homelessness from getting worse, said Denver Mayor Mike Johnston. The nightly migrant population in the Colorado city’s shelters has doubled since September, and their care is costing the city $2 million a week, which could mean spending $100 million next year. “That’s half the size of the entire city budget for affordable housing and homelessness citywide,” said Johnston. To manage new migrants, he said, “we think we need a different solution.”

  26 Comments      


This is kinda getting ridiculous

Monday, Nov 6, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* A scooooooop from Axios…

Scoop: Newsom, Pritzker signal White House ambitions in donations to S. Carolina candidate

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker both recently cut checks for a candidate in this month’s mayoral election in Charleston, S.C., Axios has learned.

Why it matters: The donations to Charleston candidate Clay Middleton signal White House ambitions for both governors, as South Carolina recently moved to the front of the Democratic presidential primary calendar.

You have to scroll down five paragraphs to see that Pritzker and Newsom contributed a thousand dollars each. It probably takes Pritzker less time to make a thousand dollars than it will take you to read this one sentence.

* More Axios…

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and California Rep. Ro Khanna have traveled to New Hampshire in recent months

Pritzker was in New Hampshire almost a year and a half ago - in June of 2022.

Really reaching there.

* Meanwhile…


Guess he figures the veto session won’t get out of hand.

  27 Comments      


Father of Highland Park parade gunman takes plea deal for 60 days in jail

Monday, Nov 6, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* WTTW…

Moments before his bench trial was set to begin, the father of the alleged Highland Park parade gunman pleaded guilty to seven misdemeanor counts after he was accused of recklessly aiding his son in obtaining firearms prior to last year’s mass shooting.

Just as proceedings were set to begin, Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart announced that Robert Crimo Jr. had agreed to plead guilty to seven Class A misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct, rather than the seven felony charges he had faced.

Crimo Jr. was sentenced to 2 years probation and 60 days in jail, which was agreed upon as part of his plea. He will be taken into custody to begin serving that sentence Nov. 15.

Lake County prosecutors had alleged Crimo Jr. took a “reckless and unjustified risk” in December 2019 when he signed an affadavit supporting his son, Robert Crimo III, in his application for a FOID card. At the time, Crimo III was only 19 years old and could not legally obtain a FOID card or purchase a firearm without his father’s assistance.

* CBS Chicago…

[Crimo] must also perform 100 hours of community service, surrender his own FOID card, and surrender any weapons he might own.

Under the plea deal, Crimo Jr. is admitting he was aware his son “was a substantial risk to others” when he signed Crimo III’s FOID card application.

Crimo Jr. will be allowed to surrender to jail on Nov. 15.

Crimo III’s murder trial date is expected to be scheduled during a hearing in December.

  28 Comments      


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Monday, Nov 6, 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 6, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Open thread

Monday, Nov 6, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* I hope you all had a relaxing weekend. What’s going on in your part of Illinois?

  17 Comments      


Isabel’s morning briefing

Monday, Nov 6, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: Former Chicago Ald. Ed Burke’s trial begins today. Jon Seidel…

    - Federal prosecutors have accused Burke of using his position as alderman to leverage the public’s business for his personal profit.

    -Burke is charged with racketeering, bribery and extortion in a case that has been pending nearly five years.

    -The case is largely based on wiretaps worn by Burke’s former ally and alderperson Danny Solis.

* Related stories…

* Isabel’s top picks…

    * Tribune | Proposal to extend stiffer gun offense penalty joins school tax credit, end to nuke moratorium on agenda of Illinois legislature’s final week: The penalty enhancement measure is not the only issue that could divide Democrats. Lawmakers also face a measure to extend a private school tax credit for another five years, which supporters say could prevent thousands of children whose tuition is funded through the program from having to leave their schools. Also on the agenda is a measure that would lift a nearly 40-year-old moratorium on new nuclear power plants across Illinois, which was passed in the spring but then vetoed by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Lawmakers could also vote on the boundaries of a proposed district map for Chicago’s first-ever elected school board.

    * Sun-Times | Why four trade unions want lawmakers to renew Invest in Kids scholarship: Since the passage of an amendment to the act in 2021, which allows kids with financial need to access scholarships toward a vocational trade school, we have been working with local partners to make such a school a reality. That opportunity would be jeopardized if the Legislature fails to renew the scholarship program.

    * Tribune | Homeless Chicagoans also living at police stations alongside migrants: With the arrival of another 20,000 migrants this year who need homes, the city’s existing shelter network — which never fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic when the number of beds decreased — maxed out. So city officials turned to police stations to be used as makeshift processing centers for migrants as Chicago scrambled to open shelters. But even as the city has repurposed old school buildings, warehouses and other vacant structures into places for migrants to sleep — often amid a serious backlash from neighbors — it’s not enough because the existing system wasn’t adequately equipped to begin with, said Douglas Schenkelberg, the executive director of Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.

* Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa’s resignation statement after Chicago City Council members called for him to step down…

Much has been reported about last week’s incidents at a special meeting of the Chicago City Council. Tensions were high at a chaotic meeting, and I let that get the best of me, leading me to act in a way unbecoming of a leader. I sincerely apologize to my colleague, Alderwoman Emma Mitts, for the disrespectful interaction outside of Council Chambers. I also apologize to other colleagues who I have heard also felt disrespected and harmed by my actions — Alderpeople Lee, Cardona, and Taliaferro.

I feel awful about everything that happened. I have reached out to my colleagues to apologize directly and seek to make amends. I made mistakes, and I learned valuable lessons. I take full responsibility for what I’ve done.

Our Chicago City Council does important work and, even when we strongly disagree on policy or approach, it is critical that we show each other respect. The people of Chicago deserve nothing less and have every right to demand that of us.

Because the position of Floor Leader especially requires the confidence of our colleagues, and because through my actions I lost that confidence, I have informed the mayor that I will be stepping down from that position. Furthermore, I am resigning as Chair of the Committee on Zoning, Landmarks, and Building Standards effective December 1st, to allow time for an effective transition.

I cannot take away the mistakes I made last week. But I hope to be able to rebuild the trust we have in each other as we move forward as a Council that addresses the important issues impacting Chicago.

* From Mayor Brandon Johnson…

“Over the weekend, I spoke with Alderwoman Emma Mitts and Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa. Yesterday, Alderman Ramirez-Rosa and I agreed he should step down from his positions as Chicago City Council Floor Leader and Chair of the Committee on Zoning, Landmarks, and Building Standards.

Alderwoman Mitts is a venerable leader and woman of abiding faith, who is committed to public service and the principles of accountability and mercy. Alderman Ramirez-Rosa has acknowledged his transgressions, apologized to his colleagues and committed himself to rebuilding trust.

It is not lost on me that Thursday’s events occurred during a time of heightened tension at City Hall. In recent months, the forces of division have preyed on our city, pitting us against each other in the most destructive ways. I am confident we will find a way to move forward and regain the trust and respect necessary to have a functioning legislative body.

Let us all recommit ourselves to the principles of respect and civility upon which our work and our democracy depend. Together, we can and will build a better, stronger, safer Chicago for all.

* Something to keep in mind…


* Here’s the rest of your morning roundup…

    * Sun-Time | Temporary Bally’s Medinah Temple casino could stay open longer than expected under proposed law: Under the bill sponsored by state Sen. Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago, casino operators would be able to ask to extend a temporary stay by any “period of time deemed necessary or appropriate by the Board.” The Illinois House is expected to take up the bill this week during the General Assembly’s veto session.

    * Daily Herald | Will legislative fix end need for do-over mental health board referendums?: State legislators say a fix is on the way that would spare several townships and one county from redoing successful referendums last year that created new community mental health boards. Those results could be in jeopardy because the November 2022 ballot measures failed to include required language informing voters of how establishing new tax to fund the mental health board would impact property owners.

    * Alison Shames | Transforming pretrial justice for people, systems and communities: While the state’s elimination of financial release conditions has generated the most attention, the Pretrial Fairness Act upended decades of questionable practices and operations. But what is remarkable about the law – especially regarding its potential impact nationwide – is that it reconnected pretrial practices with foundational American legal principles.

    * Tribune | Craft cannabis growers in Illinois try again to overcome industry opposition to expansion: The Cannabis Equity Illinois Coalition, which was pushing for the legislation, issued statement saying, “Our lawmakers failed us by not advancing the cannabis omnibus.” “All they really wanted was to kill the omnibus bill and slow down the growth of social equity,” state Rep. La Shawn Ford said.

    * Sun-Times | Alderperson’s manhandling allegation caps ‘s- - - show’ City Council meeting: State Sen. Lakesia Collins, a Chicago Democrat whose district includes Mitts’ West Side ward, on Friday joined Lopez’s call for Ramirez-Rosa to resign. “This repeated behavior by Alderman Ramirez-Rosa in city council is unacceptable and requires immediate action,” Collins wrote. “No one should be prevented from fulfilling their elected responsibilities on behalf of their constituents.”

    * Sun-Times | Highland Park massacre suspect’s dad’s trial starts Monday in possible preview of son’s trial: Prosecutors say they will call 10 witnesses and read transcripts from the son’s police interrogation in the trial against his father, Robert Crimo Jr. Prosecutors say they will show just a fraction of the 10,000 pages of evidence they’ve collected in the cases. Crimo Jr. faces seven counts of reckless conduct for signing his son’s gun ownership permit when he was too young. Prosecutors say he signed those papers despite knowing the son had expressed suicidal and violent thoughts.

    * Patch | Salary For Joliet’s New City Manager From Chicago Revealed: Beatty has worked for more than 20 years at one of the largest cities in the world, Chicago. Under Lori Lightfoot, Beatty was promoted to one of Chicago’s deputy mayors. Next week, Joliet’s Council will vote on paying Beatty a salary of $230,000, plus give her $12,500 in relocation expenses to leave Chicago and move to Joliet, the third-largest city in Illinois.

    * Tribune | After major data breach, personal information of 1.2 million Cook County Health patients at risk: Some patient information was stored on servers at Nevada-based Perry Johnson & Associates, according to statements from both CCH and PJ&A. The transcription firm was the target of data theft sometime between March 27 and May 2 and later determined CCH patient data had been stolen.

    * Chicago Reader | Arbitrating police terminations could result in a ‘decade of police impunity’: The change would allow most officers facing serious disciplinary charges—terminations and suspensions longer than a year—to have their cases heard by an arbitrator, rather than the Chicago Police Board (CPB). The CPB currently holds public trial-like hearings for officers facing serious discipline, and the board members consider those cases during monthly public meetings.

    * Block Club | Black Queer Chicagoans Fought To March In 1993 Bud Billiken Parade. Their Story Is Now A Short Film: “Why We Marched: Black LGBTQs & The 1993 Bud Billiken Parade” will be shown at Affinity Community Services, 2850 S. Wabash Ave., at 5 p.m. Sunday as part of a free event commemorating the march. A panel discussion featuring the group’s members will follow. Jano Layne, one of the organizers of the ’93 action, didn’t realize the impact one simple act would have on the city, let alone the country. When the Ad Hoc Committee of Proud Black Lesbians and Gays filed an application to march in the Bud Billiken Parade that year, some didn’t anticipate the rejection.

    * WBEZ | Paint is not protection: Chicago cyclists want barriers between bike lanes and roadways: With an average of five crashes a day, Teeghman’s was just one of the more than 1,600 cyclist-involved crashes in Chicago this year. And like Teeghman’s, more than 400 of those crashes have been hit-and-run incidents. Many of the cyclists are left dealing with thousands of dollars in bike repairs and medical bills and suffering from injuries such as lacerations and broken bones — some have even been killed. WBEZ interviewed a dozen cyclists — all of whom had been involved in one or several crashes — and many said these crashes can be prevented if the city redesigns its bike infrastructure to prioritize the safety and needs of both cyclists and motorists.

    * Sun-Times | With its curving canopy, suburban grocery store offers a special on good design: The canopy’s lowest dip sends rainwater into a garden in front of the store. And the garden is fenced in to keep adventurous souls from climbing on the roof, Theodore said. “I was warned somebody was going to try to climb it — and they literally did climb it,” Theodore said. “We were afraid somebody with a skateboard [would try].”

    * Crain’s | New local news initiative gets $10M, partly from some of Chicago’s biggest foundations: The funds designated for Press Forward Chicago aim to help alternative weeklies like the Chicago Reader, startups like Block Club Chicago and other publications mostly affiliated with the Chicago Independent Media Alliance to continue to grow their audiences, among other efforts.

    * The Atlantic | The Great Social Media–News Collapse: Last week, the Pew Research Center published a new study showing that fewer adults on average said they regularly followed the news in 2021 or 2022 than in any other year surveyed. (Pew started asking the question in 2016.) There’s some shakiness when you break down the demographics, but overall, 38 percent of American adults are following the news closely, versus a high of 52 percent in 2018. This tracks: In 2022, Axios compiled data from different web-traffic-monitoring companies that showed news consumption took a “nosedive” after 2020 and, despite January 6, the war in Ukraine, and other major events, engagement across all news media—news sites, news apps, cable news, and social media—was in decline.

    * Sun-Times | Chicago’s outdoor dining program ends for the season, but some restaurants think it should be year-round: “The short answer is yes,” a business owner said of making outdoor seating year-round more permanent. “The long answer is: It’s an analysis. We’d have to do all the math to see if we can even afford it.”

  35 Comments      


Live coverage

Monday, Nov 6, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Click here or here to follow breaking news.

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« NEWER POSTS PREVIOUS POSTS »
* Mayor Johnson's actual state ask is $5.5 billion, and Pritzker turns thumbs down
* Open thread
* Isabel’s morning briefing
* SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today's edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)
* Selected press releases (Live updates)
* Pritzker, Durbin, Duckworth so far keeping powder dry on endorsing VP Harris (Updated x7)
* Biden announces withdrawal from reelection (Updated x3)
* Yesterday's stories

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