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Isabel’s morning briefing

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Illinois

* Here you go…

Tribune | Tim Mapes’ defense rests its case in perjury trial after 4 witnesses, setting stage for closing arguments Wednesday:

* Sun-Times | Wife of ex-top aide to Madigan says he was ‘very sullen, very depressed … as if he was lost’ after being sacked: Rains said Mapes’ energy level went from “high” before he quit over bullying and harassment claims to “low-to-non-existent” afterward. She said his lethargy continued for months. After she encouraged him to find work, she said he wound up with a part-time job servicing trucks for UPS.

* Sun-Times | Illinois lands $1.3M federal grant to promote more women in construction industry: The grant money comes as part of President Joe Biden’s signature $1.2 trillion infrastructure package signed into law almost two years ago, and aims to promote gender equity and inclusion in the male-dominated field.

* WGN | Illinois operators warn of day care crisis: “We have eager staff and employees trying to work in the early childhood profession; unfortunately we can’t meet those qualifications,” said Karina Cortez who runs Ivy Academy in Elgin. Cortez and others say many day care centers already have waiting lists of children they can’t accommodate. She also says teachers need breaks through-out the day. “A human being can only work so many hours with love and joy in their heart until they’re burned out.”

* Landmark | Ford calls on state to reinstate decertified police officer: State Rep. La Shawn K. Ford (8th) called on the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board to reinstate Riverside police officer Zenna Ramos, who was decertified as a police officer by the state board in April. […] In 2008, Ramos was arrested for allegedly stealing three shirts, valued at a total of $14.99, from J.C. Penney at the North Riverside Park Mall. She was not a police officer then, but rather a 22-year-old single parent struggling with domestic violence-related issues who acted out of desperation.

* Tribune | Joliet nurses begin 4-day strike for increased staffing, higher pay: The union has been negotiating for a new contract since May. Ascension canceled a bargaining session on Aug. 15, the day after the strike was announced. Ascension representatives have said they will not come back to the bargaining table until Sept. 8.

* Sun-Times | Highland Park High parents say students are evading weapons detection systems, call for enhanced security measures: School leaders approved a limited rollout to purchase units in an amount not to exceed $80,000, Warner added, but the expense is not in the units themselves but in the staffing required to operate them properly.

* Bloomberg | CVS Health layoffs will affect nearly 300 Illinois workers: The Woonsocket, R.I.-based company is laying off 5,000 non-customer-facing, corporate workers at its offices across the country, and recent layoff notices filed with the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity show that 294 workers will be affected at three Chicago-area offices.

* Daily Herald | ‘Hazing defeats the purpose of the team’: What some schools are doing to ensure it doesn’t happen: “We’ve actually had multiple conversations as a football staff addressing this situation and making sure we have a culture that kids want to be a part of and are proud to be in,” said Teonic, who is 42-7 in his five years at South Elgin, and who has also been the head coach at Larkin and Hersey High schools and Harper College.

* Block Club | Luxury Container Homes Planned For South Side ‘Paused’ For Now: Burton and Casboni hoped to have the first families moved in by Christmas 2022, the developers previously said. In December, the duo pushed back their timeline and Burton said they would break ground “in the first quarter of 2023.”

* The Guardian | US businessman is wannabe ‘warlord’ of secretive far-right men’s network: The founder and sponsor of a far-right network of secretive, men-only, invitation-only fraternal lodges in the US is a former industrialist who has frequently speculated about his future as a warlord after the collapse of America, a Guardian investigation has found.

* The Daily Beast | ‘Tesla Syndrome’ Explains Why Tech Is Making Us Miserable: There’s a class war going on, but it’s not the one we usually think about. Owners and managers are fighting, and it’s mangling capitalism beyond recognition. Workers are fighting to prevent jobs from becoming “gigs.” But in corporate boardrooms, a less visible and even more disastrous fight is being won by the wealthy. It’s led to a situation where we have science fiction aesthetics with diminished functions, like “smart” fridges that stop cooling after rebooting.

* AP | Some states reject federal money to find and replace dangerous lead pipes: Washington, Oregon, Maine and Alaska declined all or most of their federal funds in the first of five years that the mix of grants and loans is available, The Associated Press found. Some states are less prepared to pay for lead removal projects because, in many cases, the lead must first be found, experts said. And communities are hesitant to take out loans to search for their lead pipes.

* Sun-Times | White Sox fire vice president Ken Williams, general manager Rick Hahn: “This is an incredibly difficult decision for me to make because they are both talented individuals with long-term relationships at the White Sox,” chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement. “Ken is like a son to me, and I will always consider him a member of my family.’’

* Crain’s | Potential Sox move adds to Bears intrigue in Springfield: Negotiations among the Bears, local officials and lawmakers have continued to make progress this summer, Moylan said, and he still hopes to present a bill that can pass in the General Assembly’s fall veto session. Reinsdorf’s clearing his throat could help or hurt that process, he added. “We’ll have to wait and see.”

posted by Isabel Miller
Wednesday, Aug 23, 23 @ 7:34 am

Comments

I did not think Hahn and KW would get fired while JR still owned the team.

Comment by ChicagoVinny Wednesday, Aug 23, 23 @ 7:58 am
Good news for the Sox, although the guy that hired them will hire the next guy, so there’s that.

Makes me wonder if Reinsdorf is still in charge or has moved into some sort of emeritus situation…

Comment by Friendly Bob Adams Wednesday, Aug 23, 23 @ 8:04 am
Long overdue front office changes by the White Sox. Fans have been calling for the dismissal of Williams and Hahn for ages.

Comment by Gravitas Wednesday, Aug 23, 23 @ 8:18 am
twitter had many live podcasts posted about the White Sox. and the Score went with a morning host after the Cubs to talk about the Sox. wild. though sounds like Reinsdorf will make the mistake of hiring from within for the GM. Getz has not done well with the farm system so his hire would be bad.

Comment by Amalia Wednesday, Aug 23, 23 @ 8:21 am
At the very least, I am intrigued by the Sox. I just want real baseball people making baseball decisions. That feels like such a small ask.

Comment by Ducky LaMoore Wednesday, Aug 23, 23 @ 8:22 am
===She was not a police officer then, but rather a 22-year-old single parent struggling with domestic violence-related issues who acted out of desperation. ===

Good to see we’re still on Team Javert, I guess.

Comment by Suburban Mom Wednesday, Aug 23, 23 @ 8:28 am
The Landmark article on Rep. Ford and Officer Ramos is disheartening.

If a young person commits a petty crime, and then leads an honorable life, they deserve not only our forgiveness, but our appreciation. They become a role model for other young people who do stupid stuff.

Holding a petty theft committed at the age of 22 over the head of a 37 year old person who has lived an honorable life is ironically not petty. It is malicious and contrary to the whole concept of reform. Rather than being able to go out into the schools and streets and tell young people, “I know your struggle, I have been there, and I can tell you there is a better way,” it appears the ILETSB would prefer to not provide role models for troubled youth.

I have to wonder if the fact that this incident involves a woman, and a person with a Hispanic surname makes it easier to dismiss the officer.

I also wonder how many police officers came to the law with less than perfect pasts. I have to believe zero.

Change whatever rules are being used to deny role models of actual reform from serving. Petty theft is not arson, nor attempted murder, nor anything similar. Indeed, in this case it is not even meaningful or relevant to anyone involved in the 15 year old incident. Currently, it is only relevant to petty bureaucrats wishing to make mountains out of molehills over petty rules.

Comment by H-W Wednesday, Aug 23, 23 @ 8:38 am
Kenny and Rick had to go but I really do not think they were the real problem.

When signing Benintendi to 5 years and $75M is your franchises’ highest free agent signing…you just aren’t interested in doing what it takes to produce a good enough product year in and year out. He runs this team like a small market franchise in Chicago. Its SAD and he needs to sell

Comment by Wobblies United Wednesday, Aug 23, 23 @ 8:38 am
Agree 100% with H-W.

Comment by Back to the Future Wednesday, Aug 23, 23 @ 9:26 am
I was unaware of police departments being able to waive so called “basic training”. This should be allowed to be done more widely to help police departments fill open positions. Police departments could do their own screening and on the job training.

Comment by DuPage Wednesday, Aug 23, 23 @ 9:35 am
Ramos has her career destroyed for shoplifting but Catanzara remains on the force for decades and then becomes the leader of the Chicago FOP despite much worse alleged behavior, including breaking in to a woman’s home: https://twitter.com/JinxPress/status/1691581546988270067

Comment by Big Dipper Wednesday, Aug 23, 23 @ 10:07 am
The ILETSB certification should be optional, not
required.

Comment by DuPage Wednesday, Aug 23, 23 @ 12:01 pm
===Rains said Mapes’ energy level went from “high” before he quit over bullying and harassment claims to “low-to-non-existent” afterward.===

I guess I have a different understanding of the term quit. Madigan’s statement suggests he was ordered to resign. Perhaps Mapes lies to his wife as poorly as he lies to the feds. Either that or the lying has rubbed off of him.

===”At my direction, Tim Mapes has resigned as my Chief of Staff and Clerk of the Illinois House of Representatives.===

Comment by Candy Dogood Wednesday, Aug 23, 23 @ 4:59 pm