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Isabel’s morning briefing

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Illinois

* Here you go…

Tribune | With government on the verge of resting, sexual harassment, Chinatown deal, secret FBI recordings stir Tim Mapes case:

* NBC Chicago | Illinois to eliminate cash bail next month. Here’s what to expect: As part of the court’s decision, the Supreme Court’s hold on the elimination of cash bail in Illinois ends 60 days following the ruling. That puts the date at Sept. 18. At that time, circuit courts in the state are expected to begin operating in accordance with the SAFE-T Act provisions.

* SLPR | New program to address ‘unintended consequences’ of Illinois’ disabled veteran exemption: St. Clair County and its various taxing districts will be some of the biggest recipients of a new state reimbursement pilot program that aims to replace property tax revenue, according to an Illinois Department of Revenue report. In 2015, Illinois quit collecting property taxes from disabled veterans. To make up for lost revenue, taxing districts compensated by raising rates on other taxpayers, to the dismay of many. In some cases, local taxing districts — like cities, schools, libraries and fire departments — lose out on property tax dollars because they reach a state limit, according to the Department of Revenue.

* Shaw Local | State Rep. Lance Yednock will not seek reelection in November 2024: Yednock has served as a state representative since 2019, besting state Rep. Jerry Long (R-Streator) to take back a 76th District State Representative seat long held by Democrats.

* SJ-R | Thousands of jobs, pennies on the dollar: How Illinois uses prison labor: According to data provided by IDOC, there are 27,400 incarcerated laborers working in the state. The work and pay vary by the individual. Some lay bricks, cook, or even tend to plants at the Illinois State Fair. The work can lead to reduced sentences. IDOC issued a 10% raise last year retroactive to fiscal year 2022 which cost the department $6.4 million in fiscal year 2023. The current fiscal year appropriation for labor expenses is $6.5 million, which is less than 2% of IDOC’s $337.3 million fiscal year 2024 budget.

* Tribune | Lincoln Yards and The 78 are developments that are years off, but nearly $140 million in TIF funds are flowing: The public dollars are set to pay for constructing and improving roads and bridges within and around both developments. While use of the often-overlooked but controversial tax increment financing dollars was always expected to be part of both projects, the city’s maneuvers mean certain infrastructure work stands to be funded by tax dollars from neighboring TIF districts and not the TIF districts the city established in recent years to support the Lincoln Yards and The 78 projects.

* Tribune | State seeks to combat food deserts with $20 million program to seed independent grocers: The bulk of the program’s funding will go toward financial assistance in the form of grants or loans for purposes such as feasibility studies, marketing, salaries and benefits for workers, down-payment or rent assistance, capital improvements, or for buying and establishing a new grocery store. Grant recipients also will qualify for other incentives such as tax exemptions on utilities and building materials.

* WSJ | America’s Fight Over Tipping at Restaurants Comes to Its Biggest Battleground Yet: Chicago restaurants say they will have to boost prices, cut staff if ‘sub-minimum wage’ proposal becomes law.

* Daily Herald | ‘I had to say thank you’: How an Elgin restaurant owner became an inflation warrior: “But I didn’t know what the (heck) to do. The prices kept going up. I couldn’t give them a discount, I couldn’t do this or I couldn’t do that. Then, as god always does, He slapped me on the back of my head and said wake up, this is what you’re going to do. You’re going to become a tenacious individual, and you’re going to talk to your vendors and you’re going to let them know, enough is enough.”

* Sun-Times | CPS juggles funding, bilingual staff to welcome thousands of new migrant students: About 5,300 new English-learning students registered at CPS throughout the last school year. Not all those children came from asylum-seeking families — some may have had a more stable immigration or were not recent immigrants at all. But schools felt a surge compared to the typical year, when around 3,000 new English learners enroll.

* Make It | This city has the worst traffic in the U.S.—and it’s actually a good thing: ‘Congestion shows the economy is moving’: Of the cities ranked Chicago and Miami now have more traffic congestion and delays than they did pre-Covid, while Boston, New York, and Los Angeles have yet to catch up.

* SJ-R | Heatwave to descend on central Illinois; what to know about it and where to find relief: Springfield already has had five consecutive days over 90-degree highs from July 25-29 and temperatures this week could scale above 95 degrees for five straight days, a stretch that hasn’t occurred in central Illinois since 2012.

* Sun-Times | As she turns 104, Loyola’s Sister Jean talks AI, migrant crisis, basketball and dying: Sister Jean is older than the Internet, television and sliced bread. She’s seen things change quite a bit, especially in the realm of media, she says.

* Daily Herald | ‘Perfect fit’: New owners of state’s oldest bar are ready to build on establishment’s traditions: The oldest tavern in Illinois opened in modern-day Long Grove in 1847 as the Zimmer Tavern and Wagon Shop. Later renamed The Village Tavern, the establishment at 135 Old McHenry Road received Long Grove’s first liquor license — signed by Village President Robert Parker Coffin — after the village’s 1956 incorporation.

* Daily Herald | Monument to innovation: Can preservationists save 121-year-old railroad depot in West Chicago?: Built around the turn of the 20th century, the structure served as a passenger depot and power substation for the electrically operated Chicago, Aurora & Elgin Railway. Where some now see boarded-up windows and patches of grass, Brian Ostberg sees innovation and workmanship. “The only viable alternative right now, as far as we can see, is moving it,” Ostberg said.

posted by Isabel Miller
Monday, Aug 21, 23 @ 7:35 am

Comments

“Elgin restaurant owner became an inflation warrior”

I’ve enjoyed many breakfasts at The Big Skillet, and don’t miss lunch/dinner at Jesters just across the parking lot. Another great place also owned by a wonderful Greek Family.

Comment by Donnie Elgin Monday, Aug 21, 23 @ 8:39 am
Here’s wishing everyone at CPS at great new school year ! A lot of challenges other school districts don’t face.

Comment by Steve Monday, Aug 21, 23 @ 8:54 am
About tipping…visited a Farmer’s Market near Division/State. After payment, I placed the items in my own bag so no work was involved.

Then, a staff member presented a tablet so that I could leave a tip after purchase. I declined.

Comment by Rudy’s teeth Monday, Aug 21, 23 @ 11:05 am
Addressing unintended consequences of disabled veteran property tax exemption–Kudos, but this is the tip of the iceberg. Without commenting on the merit of the disabled veterans’ exemption, it is one of many well-intended property tax exemptions that increase the tax burden on the remaining members of the taxing district, or bump up against property tax caps. Many property tax exemptions are not means-tested and can shift tax burden toward people who can ill afford it.

Comment by SAP Monday, Aug 21, 23 @ 11:13 am
Some of that increased congestion is due to increasing unreliability of the CTA.

Comment by Benniefly2 Monday, Aug 21, 23 @ 12:02 pm
As someone receiving a non-veteran disabled person property tax exemption, I understand some of my financial burden is shifted to others; just as it was shifted to me when I worked and did not receive an exemption. But I also don’t live in a mansion, or buy a horse track, tear down the buildings and ask for tax breaks like the rich and powerful. I just filed an appeal over my property value going up ~39% in one year, when the only offer I had to buy it was some 40K UNDER the new assessment. Tax fairness? Not in Cook County.

Comment by thisjustinagain Monday, Aug 21, 23 @ 12:30 pm
**About tipping…visited a Farmer’s Market near Division/State. After payment, I placed the items in my own bag so no work was involved. Then, a staff member presented a tablet so that I could leave a tip after purchase. I declined.**

You don’t think that the workers did any work to get the product to you? So you only tip on if they put a product in a bag?

Comment by JoeMaddon Monday, Aug 21, 23 @ 1:20 pm
thisjustinagain–Like I said, not commenting on the merits. Just noting that every property tax exemption creates an equal and opposite reaction for other taxpayers. I like the idea of the legislation to make local governments whole with state funds rather than the funds of neighboring citizens. Followed to its furthest possible outcome, however, it could become very expensive.

Comment by SAP Monday, Aug 21, 23 @ 1:35 pm
About tipping at a Farmer’s Market… I‘ve supported the vendor for over fifteen years and shopped weekly during their season. Last week was the first time they presented a device for an electronic tip. Not tipping at a Farmer’s Market.

Yet, I always pay in cash and tip in cash for cab drivers.

Comment by Rudy’s teeth Monday, Aug 21, 23 @ 2:45 pm