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* Capitol Cast | Budget Address Preview: Capitol News Illinois Bureau Chief Jerry Nowicki takes a look at the state budgeting process and what to expect when Gov. JB Pritzker gives his fifth state budget address on Wednesday, Feb. 15.
* WTVO | Pritzker to give budget address as Democrats worry about spending: Pritzker has hinted that he will be focusing heavily on education in his second term, but some top Democrats are even advising against increasing spending this year.
* Tribune | Suspected spy balloons trigger UFO watch over Chicago skies: The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that it temporarily shut down airspace over Lake Michigan Sunday “to support Department of Defense activities.” The incident occurred around 1:42 p.m. Sunday when a Minnesota Air National Guard fighter pilot flying an F-16 fighter jet shot down the object over Lake Huron after it hovered around 20,000 feet, according to published reports. Authorities have not said what the object was.
* Southland Journal | Illinois House Progressive Caucus Larger, More Influential in 2023 Legislative Session: Nearly two dozen members of the Illinois House are now part of the Progressive Caucus, marking its largest membership to date. Membership includes House Majority Leader Robyn Gabel and seven other members of the House Democratic Majority leadership team.
* SJ-R | Illinois is spending $225 million on state Capitol upgrades, here’s an update on the work: The parking garage should be completed by the fall, with final completion of the full Capitol project planned for 2025. The Senate will be back in chambers by January of that year, with the finishing touches in the spring or summer of 2025.
* Illinois Newsroom | What does the start of Missouri recreational marijuana sales mean for the Metro East?: Collinsville City Manager Mitch Bair has managed a budget that’s seen between $1.5 million and $2 million in extra sales tax revenue since 2020 from the addition of recreational marijuana. But the sales tax generated from Illinois dispensaries is expected to drop now that Missouri approved its first shops to sell recreational marijuana this month.
* Vandalia Radio | Rep Wilhour says they continue to work to secure future of Vandalia Correctional Center: It has been about 1 year ago that an internal document leaked to the public that discussed consolidating parts of the Vandalia Correctional Center. The proposed changed did not happen but State Representative Blaine Wilhour says it’s a situation they continue to watch very closely.
* WaPo | Hopeful freshman lawmakers run up against the reality of a divided House: In between new member orientation meetings late last year, incoming Rep. Nikki Budzinski (D-Ill.) met with Rep. Mary E. Miller (R-Ill.) to seek common ground on issues affecting their neighboring districts. Their differences could not be more stark.
* CBS Chicago | Often overlooked, Chicago Arab Americans face widespread racism, groundbreaking report finds: The report is by the University of Illinois Chicago’s Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy. It asserts its findings are just the latest examples of how agencies and organizations are failing to meet the needs of Arab Americans – one of the area’s largest communities.
* Crain’s | A city-owned bank draws skepticism — not just from usual suspects: Paul Vallas put the prospect of a city-owned bank on the upcoming ballot with his economic plan for the city issued late last month. Vallas — who is leading some polls in the nine-candidate mayoral race and positioning himself as the business-friendly pick — surprised many by endorsing an idea traditionally championed by the far left, most recently progressive rival Ja’Mal Green. Vallas said the bank would allow City Hall to earmark funds from the new casino, among other sources, for redevelopment and investment in the city’s neglected South and West sides.
* Herald and Review | Union hands out info as talks with ADM set to resume: The 40-strong members of Teamsters Local 916 have been out for almost two weeks seeking better pay. Union leaders said their negotiators are scheduled to sit down with ADM on Tuesday for a new round of face-to-face negotiations.
* Crain’s | Evanston mandate would make businesses accept cash: A cash mandate proposed in Evanston would abolish cashless establishments in the city as a step toward protecting the “unbanked” population. The ordinance was introduced last week by Ald. Devon Reid, 8th, who said he proposed it because he wants people who lack a bank account to be able to participate in the economy.
* WBEZ | As exonerees seek damages, a disgraced ex-police sergeant breaks his decadelong silence: Former Sgt. Ronald Watts pleaded guilty to corruption. Judges have thrown out 226 convictions tied to him. Now he’s lashing back at prosecutors.
* Crain’s | On Chicago’s path to a casino, a major stumbling block emerges: Still at issue — and becoming a bigger problem, multiple sources tell Crain’s — is a negotiation between Bally’s and Alden Global Capital, the New York-based parent of the Chicago Tribune that recently extended its lease for 10 years at the Tribune’s Freedom Center printing plant in the River West neighborhood. A Bally’s venture paid $200 million late last year for the massive printing facility and the 30-acre riverfront site on which it sits with a plan to redevelop the property into a 1 million-square-foot casino and hotel complex.
* Tribune | Investment program puts Latino and Black youths from the South and West sides on a path to job security: Though higher education is important and resources are needed to encourage and help get Latino and Black youths on a path to a college degree, for many, entering the trades or finding a different avenue to secure a good job is imperative and an “equal path to success,” said Quabeeny Daniels, a community organizer with the Southwest Organizing Project, a nonprofit that aims to advance racial equity and economic justice.
* Sun-Times | CTA, Pace to launch joint, unlimited-ride passes Feb. 20: The CTA and Pace are merging their day and multiday pass programs into a series of passes that work across both platforms. Prices won’t change.
* SJ-R | NTSB issues final report on plane crash that killed former fire chief, coroner, and friend:A final report from the NTSB, three years in the making, couldn’t determine whether former Springfield fire chief and alderman Frank Edwards replaced a key component on the twin-engine Piper Aerostar he was flying to Springfield from Florida on Jan. 28, 2020.
* Tribune | What’s new at Chicago White Sox camp? : The Sox will turn to Andrew Vaughn, who was drafted as a first baseman in 2019 but spent most of his first two seasons in the majors in the outfield. When it comes to overcoming the loss of Abreu’s production, the Sox know it’s not on only one person or position.
posted by Isabel Miller
Tuesday, Feb 14, 23 @ 7:38 am
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Cash should always be acceptable . Always/
Comment by Red Ketcher Tuesday, Feb 14, 23 @ 8:47 am
==Cash should always be acceptable==
Agreed. I try to limit check writing to checks I’ll have to mail only, or large amounts, and debit card use (no credit card usage in my household for 15 years for personal reasons) to only online payments or if I have to make hotel reservations. Everything else, cash is king.
Also would like to see this and similar legislation limit the amount of self-checkouts and kiosks in stores and restauarnts.
Comment by Stuck in Celliniland Tuesday, Feb 14, 23 @ 9:55 am
== Cash should always be acceptable . Always ==
Yes, it should. But more places are going to not accepting cash.
First saw it maybe 40 years ago at an AT&T store. They would take checks, credit cards, or bill your home phone account.
Most recently, the Portillos here in town went cashless at the drive-thru.
I’ll continue to use cash, especially at the places that give you a discount for cash.
Comment by RNUG Tuesday, Feb 14, 23 @ 9:57 am
Cash is expensive to handle. And makes a business a more attractive robbery target. It makes Portillos drive throughs have to have change dispensers on the agents. WHich then have to be refilled from time to time. All of which means you have to pay someone to bring you change.
Comment by cermak_rd Tuesday, Feb 14, 23 @ 10:01 am
About 10 years ago, I used to tease my adult children for never carrying cash. Now I still carry cash but almost never use it. It’s so much easier to keep track of where the money goes when you use a debit card.
However I think cash should always be accepted by commercial establishments. Too many people lack any kind of banking relationship or have very poor credit. Don’t make it harder for them to buy a beef sandwich, please.
Comment by Friendly Bob Adams Tuesday, Feb 14, 23 @ 10:06 am
One advantage of cash is that it’s real money, not just inserting a card or tapping a phone.
When real money is flying out of your wallet, it makes you more attentive to how much you’re spending and how much you’ve got left until next payday.
Cash makes you careful.
Comment by Streator Curmudgeon Tuesday, Feb 14, 23 @ 10:16 am
got an email today from Equality Illinois saying that Paul Vallas was a guest on the Jeanne Ives podcast. did I miss this? and does he feel that he has to solidify his hater base?
Comment by Amalia Tuesday, Feb 14, 23 @ 10:16 am
I strongly prefer cash being accepted universally. It’s not my fault that the kid behind the counter can’t make change, that’s the business owner’s fault for hiring untrained people or not properly training employees.
I was in a card only place once and didn’t realize it. I handed the clerk a $20 bill and he looked at it like it was a beaver pelt and I was trying to barter it for my meal.
(Inner old man voice): kids today have ruined television and the taxi cab industry. Now they’re coming for my cash. They wear their backpacks on the train making it impossible to move or even fill the car properly. And they all carry water bottles like they are in grade school. Someday I’ll need them to help me when I’m old and frail, and that scares me.
Just kidding. I love Millennials and Gen Z. Their obsession with technology as a replacement for actual hard work and interpersonal connection, though, will make them all redundant in the next 20 years. That’s on them.
Comment by 47th Ward Tuesday, Feb 14, 23 @ 10:22 am
@Amalia,
Is that a recent podcast? Apparently he was on in February of 2022: https://inthespotlight.libsyn.com/episode-069-live-with-paul-vallas-prerecorded That’s the only one I can find on her website.
Comment by JoanP Tuesday, Feb 14, 23 @ 10:34 am
@Joan P, reading the fine print, that looks like it. but Equality just sent it out. I guess they are digging. which or whatever, more right wing hang out. he used to be in a progressive stream in government….
Comment by Amalia Tuesday, Feb 14, 23 @ 11:06 am
Several years ago I went to a brewpub in the Chicago `burbs and ordered a pint. I wanted to pay for it, but they wouldn’t take my cash. Instead they took my card. I grumbled but complied. I ordered one other pint, but when I went to pay, I found they had charged five pints to my card. I was a bit angry at this and pointed out that would not have happened if they just let me pay in cash as I ordered. I’ve never been back to that place.
Comment by G'Kar Tuesday, Feb 14, 23 @ 12:34 pm