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* Here’s the roundup…
* Tribune | In 4 years, Lori Lightfoot went from breakout political star to divisive mayor of a Chicago beset by pandemic and crime: Lightfoot struggled through a storm of skyrocketing crime, the COVID-19 pandemic and a series of personality conflicts that left her labeled as a divisive leader who was unable to build political coalitions or maintain relationships.
* Tribune | In City Council races, most incumbent Chicago aldermen are holding on to their seats or advancing to runoffs: Only one incumbent was losing Tuesday, according to unofficial results. And that was 12th Ward Ald. Anabel Abarca, who had just been appointed to the seat by Mayor Lori Lightfoot in December.
* Block Club | Rep. Lamont Robinson Advances To Runoff In 4th Ward As Challengers For 2nd Spot Go Down To The Wire: Challengers Prentice Butler and Ebony Lucas are separated by a few dozen votes as they look to force Robinson to a runoff for outgoing Ald. Sophia King’s seat.
* ABC Chicago | Ed Burke’s reign ends as 14th Ward elects Jeylú Gutiérrez 1st new alderman in 54 years: “It’s gonna be clear. We’re gonna serve every single resident the same. We’re bringing equity to this ward,” Gutiérrez said. “Every single resident is going to see the good type of quality service that they deserve. I migrated to this country full of dreams and I’m a mama, too. And a former educator.”
* Tribune | What is a runoff election and why does Chicago have one?: Chicago used to have municipal primaries and general elections just like we see every two years for either statewide (governor, attorney general, etc.) or national (president) campaigns for office. But that all changed in 1999 when a new state law went into effect that not only created the two-round structure for Chicago races, it also made municipal elections in Illinois nonpartisan.
* Sun-Times | Michael Madigan’s attorneys seek to toss recordings, dismiss part of his indictment: The election night deadline for Madigan’s attorneys to file the motions was set in January by U.S. District Judge John Blakey, who presides over the case.
* Tribune | Madigan attorneys allege feds misled court in wiretap filings, tried to criminalize legal lobbying: Madigan’s legal team also accused federal prosecutors of misleading the chief judge in applications to tap the phones of former Ald. Daniel Solis and later members of Madigan’s inner circle, saying they deliberately misconstrued an innocent 2014 meeting with Chinatown developers at the speaker’s law office as a possible shakedown, then later buried crucial “exculpatory” information in a footnote.
* Crain’s | Appeals court rejects Illinois attempt to revive Equal Rights Amendment: A federal appeals court on Tuesday rejected an effort pressed by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office seeking to revive the Equal Rights Amendment by forcing a federal official to recognize that the necessary 38 states had finally ratified it by 2020. “The states have not clearly and indisputably shown that the Archivist had a duty to certify and publish the ERA or that Congress lacked the authority to place a time limit in the proposing clause of the ERA,” said a unanimous opinion by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
* Pantagraph | Vilsack, Duckworth announce funding to expand biofuel presence at gas pumps: Vilsack, joined by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., characterized the announcement as an extension of the Biden Administration’s efforts to wean the country off its reliance on foreign oil while simultaneously reducing the nation’s carbon footprint and, perhaps, consumers’ pain at the pump.
* Capitol News Illinois | Court rulings supercharge Illinois’ strongest-in-nation biometric privacy law: Nearly 15 years after the law’s initial passage, legal interpretations of BIPA are still taking shape, as widespread use of the technology that collects biometric data such as fingerprint and facial scans has only recently caught up to the law’s forward-looking language. The wide adoption of such technology has led to the proliferation of class action lawsuits under BIPA, creating what opponents of the law have called a cottage industry for ambitious attorneys.
* Cyber Scoop | Illinois’ biometric privacy law provides blueprint as states seek to curb data collection: An estimated 17 pieces of privacy legislation backed by both Democrats and Republicans are pending across the country.
* Grist | Coal plant pollution can be deadly — even hundreds of miles downwind: But even as coal declines, it is still keeping a deadly grasp on communities across the country, according to a new report from the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign. The coal sector is responsible for 3,800 premature deaths a year due to fine particle pollution, or PM2.5, from smokestacks.
* Chicago Mag | The Ja’mal Green Campaign Bus Saga Had Twitter Enthralled: Call it a metaphor if you’d like. On the day before Chicago’s city elections, mayoral candidate Ja’Mal Green’s campaign bus got stuck in the mud.
* Crain’s | Brace for electricity rate shock beginning in March, ComEd customers: The wholesale cost of energy is at its lowest levels in two years, and Commonwealth Edison customers will be paying the most they ever have for power over the next three months. Yes, both of those things can be — and are — true.
* Sun-Times | Obama to launch leadership training in Chicago, 2 more cities: The Change Collective will take applications through mid-April for programs here, Detroit and Jackson, Mississippi, starting in June.
posted by Isabel Miller
Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 7:43 am
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“Though rarely granted, the so-called “Franks hearing” could provide a fascinating glimpse into how the government built its investigation,….”
Madigan’s lawyers may get to grill the FBI; could get interesting.
Comment by Red Ketcher Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 8:55 am
The term “divisive mayor” used in the Trib article is quite an understatement.
Comment by Friendly Bob Adams Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 9:06 am
ComEd and high electricity cost go hand in hand. It doesn’t help Illinois attract large companies to locate here. Potential companies to take over Belvidere look at all costs. High electricity rates can eliminate Illinois right from the start.
Comment by DuPage Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 9:08 am
You’re not going to transition to green energy, while electrifying the economy, with all the upgrades necessary to the distribution and transmission system that accompany that and have low electric rates. Illinois benefited from low electric rates for years, but it was largely on the back of cheap coal. Those days are over.
=ComEd and high electricity cost go hand in hand. It doesn’t help Illinois attract large companies to locate here. Potential companies to take over Belvidere look at all costs. High electricity rates can eliminate Illinois right from the start.=
Comment by George Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 9:54 am
DuPage
What is the basis for your comment? Illinois business rates are lower than the national average.
https://www.chooseenergy.com/electricity-rates-by-state/
Comment by very old soil Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 9:57 am
Madigan’s attorneys allege the Feds lied and misled the court when they requested in September, 2014 permission to intercept Madigan’s communications. The Feds continued to mislead the court regarding intercepting Madigan’s communications until 2019.
If accurate what kind of “Justice” is that?
I thought the US Attorneys and this Justice Department were the good guys/s.
Comment by MOON Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 10:29 am
I suspected that was why our village sent out a notice that it had joined an aggregate again beginning next month. For two years a fixed rate at lower than the current ComEd rate, so we shouldn’t (?) feel it at all. I know Aurora does this also, wondering how many others will develop their own aggregate purchase groups now.
Comment by PF Flyer Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 10:50 am
===Because we can’t have a qualified candidate like Harold Washington run for Mayor, let alone ever let a party outside the Democratic Party, have control of Chicago politics.===
These two together make no logical sense.
There are no outward Republicans willing to run, let alone win.
What exactly is the beef again?
Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 9:37 pm