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Isabel’s morning briefing

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Illinois

* Here you go…

Tribune | ‘What’s in it for me, though?’ Ex-state Sen. Terry Link testifies about secret recordings in bribery trial of Chicago businessman:

* Capitol News Illinois | Health care workers who cover up patient abuse face stiffer penalties under new law: The registry identifies any health care worker who has been barred from working with vulnerable populations in any long-term care setting, such as state-operated developmental centers or group homes. Under prior law, workers could be barred because they had been found to have engaged in financial exploitation; neglect that is considered “egregious”; or physical or sexual abuse. The new law adds “material obstruction” of an investigation to the list of findings that can be reported to the registry, which is maintained by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

* Tribune | Measure aimed at preventing book bans at public libraries signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker: “Book bans are about censorship, marginalizing people, marginalizing ideas and facts,” Pritzker said before signing the legislation at the Harold Washington Library in Chicago. “Regimes ban books, not democracies. Nazi Germany, fascist Italy, the Taliban’s Afghanistan. We refuse to let the vitriolic strain of white nationalism coursing through our country determine whose histories are told.”

* WTTW | Why Are There So Many Units of Local Government?: In the big ol’ U-S-of-A, Illinois may be 25th in size and sixth in population, but, when it comes to the number of units of local government? We’re No. 1. Depending on how you count, the Land of Lincoln is home to 7,000 to 9,000 units of local government.

* WCCU | Socially disadvantaged farmers await grant money going on 3 years: As for the hold up, the Department of Agriculture says the Governor’s office of Management and Budget needs to sign off before the money is released. We reached out to the governor’s office and they replied with a statement: “The $1 million in the FY24 budget actually can’t go to anyone before July 1st. The $2.5 million is from ARPA funds and the program and grantees have to meet strict requirements because it is federal money that has to be followed according to rules set up by the Treasury Department. The Department of Ag is working with DCEO to help them administer these grants in compliance with federal rules and we look forward to getting this money out soon.”

* Sun-Times | Planned Parenthood of Illinois reports spike in abortion patients since Roe v. Wade overturned: The amount of patients seeking both medication and procedure abortions rose 54% in the last year, Planned Parenthood reported on Monday. Patients needing financial and travel help also more than doubled in that period.

* Sun-Times | FOP demands same 12 weeks of paid parental leave Johnson gave teachers: “The teachers were granted parental leave — without bargaining. We certainly expect the same considerations for our membership,” John Catanzara, Fraternal Order of Police president, told members in a video posted late Friday.

* Tribune | LGBTQ workers are at the forefront of Chicago’s labor resurgence. ‘You have to learn to stick up for yourself.’: “If you grew up queer somewhere that it’s not accepted, you have to learn to stick up for yourself,” Parshall said. “That’s true for a lot of my queer co-workers. There’s just more of a willingness to speak up for yourself and defend yourself, and you know, advocate for changes if you’re working under unfair conditions.”

* The Trace | Violence Interruption Programs Are Receiving Millions. This Initiative Wants to Make Sure They’re Prepared: The biggest benefit of a community-based organization is access to a hard-to-reach population. They can reach individuals that other organizations can’t. The biggest knock is that it’s sometimes not evidence-based or they don’t have business acumen. They know how to do the work, but the business part has been lacking. And that’s why we have had trouble collecting data, doing evaluations, and procuring funding.

* Illinois Answers | Were New HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials Paused over Patient Safety or Is It a Cook County Money Grab?: Cook County Health is spending millions of dollars creating its own medical research department while it continues a yearlong investigation into the nonprofit managing its clinical trials — a move drawing criticism from research staff members and advocates.

* WGLT | Illinois wants more EVs on the road, but the new budget just reduced funding for EV rebates: The new budget, signed into law last week, includes $12 million for the EV rebate program, officials said. That’s about $7.3 million less than was spent on the rebate program last year.

* WGLT | DCFS hosts on-the-spot hiring event in Bloomington to keep up with increase in investigations: Strokosch said the agency offered jobs to nearly 200 applicants at its event in Rockford. A DCFS official said the agency hopes to hire 50 new workers after Monday’s event in Bloomington.

* Tribune | King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard isn’t a band, it’s a lifestyle. And a strange one at that.: King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard — which is cool to say, if nothing else — is fun. Like, capital F fun. The same fun once associated with rock. The kind of heady, indulgent fun that leaves me wondering if they’re idiots or geniuses. They are hard to pin down, and that’s the point of KGLW. They’re from Australia. They’ve made 24 albums in 13 years. They look like a bar band full of tech dads. Your friend who pines for the glory days of Rush is super into them. Your friend likes his bands virtuosic, but he’s also a loose canon. If that other fun Aussie import, AC/DC, traded in its caveman clubs for the complete Rush, Steely Dan and Metallica discography, they might approach the alchemy of KGLW. Or maybe KGLW is more like the live equivalent of vibing with friends on a bedroom floor with a stack of vinyl: Listen to this. No, listen to this. You’ve got to hear this part.

* Tribune | Former Gov. Bruce Rauner jokes as his Capitol portrait’s unveiled: ‘Most gentlemen hanging here did not go to prison’: ”It was difficult. We had many challenges. I lost 22 pounds and most of my hair,” Rauner said. “And it was very stressful. My hair has not come back. It’s continued to, like, run away. I’ve gained back most of the weight, so that’s good. I don’t have any stress in my life anymore, so it’s been a little easier.”

* Outdoor News | Feds awaiting Illinois’ signature on carp plan: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is on the cusp of construction on modification of the Brandon Road Lock in the Des Plaines River, 27 miles southwest of Chicago and Lake Michigan. But there’s been a glitch. The project, originally estimated to cost $275 million, is now projected to cost $1.1 billion. The main sticking point is that it requires Illinois to sign an agreement as the non-federal sponsor that the state has so far refused to sign.

* Tribune | Chicago White Sox’s ugly season could get uglier if Liam Hendriks is out for long: Without Liam Hendriks to close either game, Joe Kelly and Kendall Graveman took turns gagging on cue, turning a would-be sweep of the Marlins into a series loss and killing any momentum from an uplifting 5-1 stretch against the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees.

posted by Isabel Miller
Tuesday, Jun 13, 23 @ 7:31 am

Comments

“And it was very stressful. My hair has not come back.”

It wasn’t only Illinois that he hurt. That’s how obsessed he was against unions, to the point of making himself sick. Ugh, good riddance.

Comment by Grandson of Man Tuesday, Jun 13, 23 @ 8:20 am
Guessing police will receive same benefit, if not, the clamor that CTU runs the city will ring true.

Thanks for stopping by Bruce. You like those credit upgrades? Too bad you never saw what one of those was like. Serious question what was the crowd like for that presentation? Anyone show?

Comment by Frida’s boss Tuesday, Jun 13, 23 @ 8:37 am
Must be slow summer news. WTTW dragging out the Illinois has more units of local government than anyone in whole world story. Then claim between 7 and 9 thousand. Heck of a spread why not take time to count them

Comment by DuPage Saint Tuesday, Jun 13, 23 @ 8:40 am
Why are Illinois property taxes so high? 7,000-9,000 units of local government may be a clue. Most of them are empowered to levy property taxes.

Comment by Sir Reel Tuesday, Jun 13, 23 @ 8:41 am
I’m so confused by your actions Mr Rauner. You clearly hated the job while you were doing it. Even simple meetings were a grind for you after a couple years. And yet, you ran hard in the primary and then decided to publicly give up. Mild insanity.

Comment by Lurker Tuesday, Jun 13, 23 @ 8:42 am
===Why are Illinois property taxes so high?===

Do you actually pay any property taxes?

What is the percentage of these taxes going towards schools?

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Jun 13, 23 @ 8:43 am
The Rauner legacy is so simple. It’s as simple as Bruce himself.

Most public servants see a legacy want as leaving the office better than they found it.

Rauner left office and the state was better for his leaving.

The rest boils down to that fact, “by each and every measure”

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Jun 13, 23 @ 8:47 am
= My hair has . . . continued to, like, run away =

Just like you, Bruce.

Comment by JoanP Tuesday, Jun 13, 23 @ 9:11 am
I’ve been told that the large number of government entities in Illinois is a relic of the pre-1970 constitution. Can’t seem to find any details on that though.

Comment by Friendly Bob Adams Tuesday, Jun 13, 23 @ 9:51 am
Ray Lon on the Twitter feed:

“Florida Man’s portrait unveiled in IL Capitol”

Hilarious

Comment by Demoralized Tuesday, Jun 13, 23 @ 9:57 am
Terry Link’s “What’s in it for me, though?” is another version of “Where’s mine?”

Statements like this are often a prelude to an extended stay in the Greybar Hotel.

Comment by Rudy’s teeth Tuesday, Jun 13, 23 @ 10:10 am
Anyone who thinks that consolidation of local government entities will save money is sadly mistaken. There may be a few jobs lost, but not enough to make a difference. The work will have to be handled by the combined governmental unit.

Comment by Huh? Tuesday, Jun 13, 23 @ 10:16 am
===Terry Link’s “What’s in it for me, though?” ===

You do realize he was acting as an informant at the time, right? Those words, or, at least, the gist were likely fed to him by the feds.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Jun 13, 23 @ 10:19 am
All the units of government exist because of the previous Constitution and limits on a particular entity to tax and bond. So you ended up with a taxing district for just about every government project.

Comment by RNUG Tuesday, Jun 13, 23 @ 10:37 am
“You do realize he was acting as an informant at the time, right? Those words, or, at least, the gist were likely fed to him by the feds.”

Been trying to follow the feed, but I haven’t seen if Weiss’ has tried to use entrapment as a defense or not.

Comment by Proud Sucker Tuesday, Jun 13, 23 @ 11:49 am
Reducing the number of local governing bodies requires local discussions and agreements about which other body picks up the services being lost and how the new guys pay for it. When the majority of voters agree to consolidate elementary and high school districts, it happens. When voters demand consolidation of village police and of area fire departments, it can happen. When voters decide who will plow unincorporated highways and roads and operate regional welfare and health programs, townships can be eliminated. If we focus on what we want to consolidate and what we no longer want to fund, we can reduce local government bodies. Personally, I am willing today taxes for plowed roads, good schools, robust mental and public health services and strong municipal services. When the “cut the number of governments” crowd start bleating, my first question is “what services will you cut?” When the discussion gets beyond that point, I want hard data on actual cost savings. This can happen, it takes hard work, collection of data and robust community discussions. The door is open, opportunity awaits anyone with the energy to get it done.

Comment by froganon Tuesday, Jun 13, 23 @ 12:24 pm
=Most gentlemen hanging here did not go to prison=
Those who did still did a better job governing than he did.

Comment by Proud Papa Bear Tuesday, Jun 13, 23 @ 2:41 pm
Outside of counties and townships ( and school districts if those are counted as local government), the vast majority of local government units were created through the referendum process. The voters decided that they wanted them.

Comment by duck duck goose Tuesday, Jun 13, 23 @ 2:49 pm