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Isabel’s morning briefing

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Illinois

* Here you go…

Crain’s | Progressives hope to scare off challengers for Northwest Side state Senate seat:

* ABC | Progressives launch their own campaign to flip school board seats nationwide: Some high-profile Democrats are mounting their own campaign from the other side of the spectrum, as seen with Illinois’ Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s recent outlaw of book bans. PCCC’s fundraising launch on Friday comes just a week before conservative nonprofit group Moms for Liberty holds its annual meeting in Philadelphia, where several Republican 2024 hopefuls, and Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr., are slated to speak.

* Crain’s | S&P warning to Illinois on pension debt: You’re still not doing enough.: “We believe pensions have an elevated probability of stressing the state and local governments,” the report says. “Costs will keep rising because contributions are significantly short of meaningful funding progress, plans are poorly funded, and the Illinois Pension Code allows plans to use assumptions and methodologies that defer costs.”

* Crain’s | The week ahead: Pritzker defends Johnson’s pension fix panel: Johnson walked by reporters without taking questions, but Pritzker stopped and defended his decision to impose new enrollment limits and copays on the state’s insurance program for undocumented immigrants. The Legislature’s Latino Caucus “knew what was going on,” Pritzker told reporters. The cuts “saved the program” from financial collapse, he added.

* Tribune | The next generation of Latino leaders are being forged by the Chicago Latino Caucus Foundation: “We needed to build a pipeline so that we could put forward folks as opportunities came up, whether it was within city government, state government, county government, corporate boards, commissions that both the city and state have where citizens can serve,” Villegas said.

* Crain’s | With diversity on boards lagging, Giannoulias and researchers target more corporate cooperation: As required by the amendment, Illinois corporations are required to submit diversity reports to the secretary of state. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers then compile those filings into an annual report which analyzes the makeup — including gender, racial and ethnic and sexual orientation — of members of the Illinois corporate boards that file the mandated reports.

* Sun-Times | City could open as many as 5 migrant shelters: Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration also plans to open a welcoming center at Roberto Clemente Community Academy High School, 1147 N. Western Ave. Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th), chair of the City Council’s Immigrant and Refugee Rights Committee, described it as a point of entry for migrants arriving in Chicago.

* Crain’s Editorial | More questions swirl around Lightfoot’s casino deal: On June 23, the Sun-Times pulled back the covers on the relationship between the financial services consultancy hired by then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot to evaluate pitches for the Chicago casino and the gambling company that eventually won the contract.

* Center Square | New Illinois law ends insurance restrictions on certain dog breeds: “For years, harmful stereotypes of certain dog breeds have allowed insurers to punish families for owning a specific dog breed, resulting in cancellation or stiff premiums for their policies,” said state Sen. Linda Holmes, D-Aurora. “This measure will help ensure that all dog owners are treated fairly in the insurance market.”

* WMAY | Illinois Supreme Court Justice Holder White to run for full term in 2024: Holder White’s appointment runs through late 2024, so she will run next year as a Republican for a full ten-year term in the court’s 4th District; she and her husband live in Sangamon County.

* Tribune | Chicago police log 11,000 complaints since consent decree went into effect, as monitor cites ‘real concerns’ about effort to analyze use-of-force issues: “They have a plan and they’re working on it, but it is very important to have that up-to-date because that’s where they spot trends,” former federal prosecutor Maggie Hickey said, and staffing challenges continue to hinder CPD’s efforts.

* Sun-Times | GI Bill case filed by decorated Army veteran James Rudisill to be heard by the Supreme Court: James Rudisill, 43, says the federal Department of Veterans Affairs wrongly cut short the number of months of college benefits he earned under both GI bills over the course of multiple periods of service in the Army.

* Lake County News-Sun | Brownfield site may doom Waukegan’s push for Bears stadium: But doubtful in Waukegan, which sees its possible location as no laughing matter, while the team weighs and negotiates and wrangles offers from a growing throng of locations. Those communities want to be at the goal line if the historic and soon-to-be-razed former Arlington International Racecourse in Arlington Heights falters as the Bears’ chief stadium pick.

* Sun-Times | Chicago’s LGBTQ+ community ‘visible, vibrant’ — but concerned for transgender members’ ability to ‘live your life freely.’: As Pride Month comes to a close, the Sun-Times spoke to advocates, service providers and members of the community about the key issues affecting Chicago’s LGBTQ+ community — and what more needs to be done to protect them.

* Block Club | South Shore Neighbors Push For Law Locking In Protections For Longtime Residents Near Obama Library: A revised proposed ordinance aims to protect locals from being displaced by the Obama Presidential Library. New Ald. Desmond Yancy has pledged to introduce it in his first 100 days in office.

posted by Isabel Miller
Tuesday, Jun 27, 23 @ 7:35 am

Comments

===Progressives launch their own campaign to flip school board seats nationwide===

Here’s why this matters, for me.

The idea/possibility of banning books or having “Christian” teachings supersede actual science for teaching… for me it’s more important to find science and open to free thoughts and reading literature or studying the statue of David, not as bad but important to art history…

The reason the phony book banners and zealots hide in plain sight in these school board races is to spring upon the students and parents thoughts to education that are minority and divisive thoughts.

It’s good to see this front is being engaged

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Jun 27, 23 @ 8:02 am
Need RNUG input on grains pension woes…can the state and other bodies continue as is or does a hardxhoiceneed to be discussed.

Comment by Must win Tuesday, Jun 27, 23 @ 8:02 am
Hard to square S&P’s admonishment about pensions with the fact that they just upgraded IL in February.

Comment by Perrid Tuesday, Jun 27, 23 @ 8:27 am
The S&P story on pensions is a reminder on why the Bears aren’t a top fiscal priority for Illinois.

Comment by Steve Tuesday, Jun 27, 23 @ 8:40 am
“We believe pensions have an elevated probability of stressing the state and local governments,” the report says.

Was that report from 2003? 2007? 2011? 2015? Because it sure could have been. It’s just so stressful that all of the progress made in the last few years just continues to get dumped on.

Comment by Ducky LaMoore Tuesday, Jun 27, 23 @ 8:50 am
===Hard to square S&P’s admonishment===

The rating game is racket. Full stop.

There are very few “rhymes or reasons”, but the one reason this racket exists is to make monies off phony criteria.

Until these rating groups acknowledge the constitutional and legal state obligation(s) to debt and its payment, it’s a racket that Illinois is at the whim of silly thinking of any random day.

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Jun 27, 23 @ 8:51 am
OW makes an excellent point highlighting how strong the state guarantee on state bonds is. I believe Illinois is and has been historically among the top 6 states in the union regarding its constitutional guarantee to support state bonds.
On the other hand we may be expecting too much if the rating agencies to ignore our failure to fund the pension systems according to funding recommendations from the pension fund actuaries.
About the only Governor that met funding guidelines or did anything meaningful on this issue was Pat Quinn. Even with the Tier 2 change, our systems remain about the worse funded systems in America.
S and P is only telling us what we already know. The pension systems are not being funded properly.

Comment by Back yo the Future Tuesday, Jun 27, 23 @ 9:46 am
I haven’t heard much about how the casino revenue will impact annual pension payments. Maybe we need a new ramp? No hurt in pushing it out to 2075, as long as we are still making progress on the funded percentage.

Comment by supplied_demand Tuesday, Jun 27, 23 @ 10:24 am