Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Isabel’s morning briefing

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Illinois

* Here you go!…

USA Today | ‘Biggest snowstorm’ of year possible in North; Midwest, South brace for more tornadoes: Live updates:

* Sun-Times | Secret ‘risk rankings’ unfairly target struggling customers for faster gas, electricity cutoffs, consumer groups say: Illinois electric and gas companies are quietly sorting their customers into different “risk” categories that could mean faster disconnections for people struggling to pay their bills and more leeway for those who aren’t.

* Naperville Sun | Tight race seen between Naperville mayoral front-runners Scott Wehrli and Benny White: Candidate Scott Wehrli comes from a family whose story is woven into the fabric of Naperville’s history whereas candidates Benny White and Tiffany Stephens reflect the city’s population boom in recent years.

* Shaw Local | Election Day is here. What DeKalb County voters should know: Election Day is here, and as DeKalb County voters head to the polls to decide who will lead their municipal and village governments, school and park boards and fire protection districts, election officials urge patience as results published Tuesday won’t likely show the full picture yet.

* NBC Chicago | Suburban Chicago Communities Face Home Rule Referendums, But What Is It?: Most communities that seek to obtain home rule status do so in order to levy taxes or to issue bonds, according to proponents. Under the Illinois Constitution, non-home-rule communities can apply sales taxes in 0.25% increments, but are limited to a 1% sales tax on top of that assessed by the state or the county.

* Tribune | Early voting is up in runoff compared to February but overall voter turnout remains unclear: Through Sunday night, about 155,000 people voted early in person, while 95,000 had turned in their mail ballots for a total of nearly 250,000 ballots cast. In the February election, the total number of ballots cast two days before Election Day was a little more than 211,000. After all mail ballots were counted, February turnout was 36%, slightly higher than both rounds of the 2019 election, but lower than the 2011 election and the runoff in 2015, when it was 41%.

* WCIA | Senate Republicans push new Illinois tax breaks: Republicans proposed a continuation of the suspension of the grocery tax, a rebate for Ameren customers and an increase to the income tax exemption for seniors.

* Center Square | Republicans want ethics investigation: The Illinois Freedom Caucus is calling for an ethics investigation into the recent House floor voting controversy. During debate March 24, the Democratic leadership attempted to shut off the opportunity for opposing speakers to discuss legislation. Shortly after this, the group said it became apparent that many members of the Democratic Caucus were absent from the House Floor, and in fact were absent from the Capitol Complex entirely and were still voting on legislation.

* WCIA | Illinois legislature works to outlaw ‘fertility fraud’: Richardson contacted Sen. Dave Koehler (D-Peoria), who has proposed the Illinois Fertility Fraud Act. The act would allow families affected by fertility fraud to sue any medical official who used their reproductive material without informed, written consent. Additionally, under the act, any child born from fertility fraud can file a protective order shielding their health records from the medical provider that committed the fraud.

* Crain’s | St. Louis-based law firm enters Chicago with acquisition: Armstrong Teasdale has been busy expanding as of late, establishing locations in Miami; Washington, D.C.; and Orange County, Calif., since 2021. In that time, they’ve also opened offices overseas in Dublin and London.

* Sun-Times | FOP boss files complaint about city housing migrants at police stations: At least eight migrants, including three children, had been staying at the Central District since they got to Chicago. The Salvation Army moved most of them to a shelter Monday afternoon.

* Sun-Times | Developers eye new horse racing track in Richton Park as Hawthorne ‘racino’ plan stalls: Prospective partners in the newly formed Greenway Entertainment Group LLC envision a “first-class racino destination” with 1,200 slot machines just off Interstate 57 in Richton Park, and they say they can lock up the $350 million needed to make it a reality.

* Daily Beast | Florida Dems Try to Use Ron DeSantis’ Book Ban on His Own Book: Fentrice Driskell, the minority leader in the Florida House, is leading an effort across 50 counties to see if any of them might review or ban DeSantis’ book based on his law’s vague and unwieldy criteria.

* AP | UConn wins March Madness with 76-59 smothering of SDSU: The team from Storrs, Connecticut, topped off one of the most impressive March Madness runs in history Monday night, clamping down early, then breaking things open late to bring home its fifth national title with a 76-59 victory over San Diego State.

* Crain’s | Cult fave Budlong Hot Chicken reopening with major expansion plans: Craveworthy Brands, launched in 2022 by Gregg Majewski, a quick-service restaurant executive who oversaw Jimmy John’s expansion from 30 to 300 stores, bought The Budlong for an undisclosed amount last year. Craveworthy owns, operates and franchises three other brands — Wing It On, Krafted Burger Bar & Tap and Lucky Cat Poke — across 18 states. It added The Budlong to its portfolio and has plans to open 100 stores by 2027.

posted by Isabel Miller
Tuesday, Apr 4, 23 @ 7:48 am

Comments

Condolences to John, Allision and the rest of the Hall/Buehner families on the passing of long-time central Illinois journalist and former WCIA Statehouse bureau chief Molly Hall.
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/molly-hall-buehner-obituary?id=51544070

Comment by Scott217 Tuesday, Apr 4, 23 @ 8:23 am
For the afternoon Capt Fax might want to salute the HOF moment depicted by the Tribbies via a Gary Post Tribune on Indiana’s latest Superfund site. Another tribute for the “less regulation” whack jobs. This tribute reviews decades of firms’spewing lead into the land. Any amount is toxic, yards in nearby residential areas need to be reclaimed for a lot of $$$. Not a pretty picture.

Comment by Annonin' Tuesday, Apr 4, 23 @ 10:14 am