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The city has begun impounding “rogue buses” that do not follow established guidelines for dropping off migrants coming to Chicago. […]
The city towed and impounded the first bus under the new order at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Mayor’s Office said in a statement Thursday.
Mayoral advisor Jason Lee said the “main trigger” for impounding the bus was the lack of a necessary permit through the Chicago Department of Transportation, but that it also arrived outside the city’s drop-off window.
Another bus carrying migrants in Chicago also arrived after the 5 p.m. curfew, but ended up not stopping and ultimately left the city, Lee told reporters ahead of a special City Council meeting Thursday morning regarding Chicago’s sanctuary city status.
* Press release…
Today, Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Transportation were joined by local officials and community leaders to celebrate the latest milestones on the $251.8 million replacement of the Interstate 57/74 interchange, a signature project of the historic, bipartisan Rebuild Illinois capital program. As it moves into its next phase, the overall project will positively impact safety and mobility while positioning the region for long-term economic growth. […]
The I-57/74 project is replacing a traditional cloverleaf interchange built in 1965 that no longer meets current traffic volumes and demands. The new interchange will feature a design that includes two flyover ramps to improve traffic flow and efficiency: Eastbound I-74 to northbound I-57 and westbound I-74 to southbound I-57. To add capacity, a third, auxiliary lane will be added to both directions of I-74 between Prospect Avenue and Duncan Road.
* Sun-Times…
Four people convicted of conspiring to bribe then-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan to benefit ComEd want their fast-approaching sentencings put on hold as the Supreme Court considers a separate case, arguing its ruling could prove “fatal” to the verdict against them. […]
The ComEd defense attorneys insist in their six-page filing that “the Supreme Court’s decision in Snyder is certain to impact [the ComEd] case, and it has a substantial chance of requiring dismissal of the charges, acquittal or, at a minimum, a new trial.”
In dispute in the ComEd case is whether the federal program bribery statute criminalizes only bribery, as opposed to also criminalizing so-called gratuities or rewards. Another point of contention is whether a bribery conviction under the statute requires proof of a “quid pro quo.”
Federal prosecutors in Chicago insist that it does not.
The filing is here.
* Press release…
State Rep. Anna Moeller’s work to protect young women seeking reproductive health protections is being honored by a respected statewide civil rights organization.
Rep. Moeller, D-Elgin, will be recognized Dec. 14 at a ceremony in Chicago as an honored guest at the ACLU of Illinois Annual Legislator Awards. This was the first ceremony held in person to recognize civil liberties legislation since 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
* Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel…
Illinois veterans will be able to adopt a pet without paying fees on Jan. 1, thanks to a new law from State Senator Meg Loughran Cappel. […]
Across the state, pet adoption fees vary widely depending on the organization, ranging from $50 to $275. Loughran Cappel’s new law requires animal shelters and animal control facilities to waive the adoption fee for military veterans in Illinois.
* More…
* SJ-R | Illinois Innocence Project, UIS grad help exonerate man wrongfully imprisoned for 35 years: The two provided evidence to a Cook County judge that Beals wasn’t the perpetrator of Campbell’s death, but the target of attacks by a local drug supplier. At least five witnesses confirmed to the IIP and Nirider that Beals was indeed the target, with photographic evidence showing five bullet holes in his car, aiding in his claims of innocence.
* Tribune | Aldermen block plan to put sanctuary city question to Chicago voters: Beale, Lopez and Moore have been plotting the mini-rebellion for several weeks, with Johnson’s allies outmaneuvering them by using to their advantage the fact Chicago only allows three referendum questions per election. One spot is already reserved for the “Bring Chicago Home” referendum that would increase the real estate transfer tax for some to fund homelessness services, a major plank of Johnson’s progressive agenda.
* WBEZ | The harrowing journeys of migrants are revealed in the quiet spaces of Chicago: More than 25,000 migrants and asylum seekers have arrived mostly from South and Central America since late August of last year. They are fleeing the collapse of their economies, the lack of jobs and food, and as one social worker puts it, “misery.” Many came here on a bus from Texas, where Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said Chicago and other sanctuary cities that embrace immigrants would provide much-needed relief “to our small, overrun border towns.” The buses haven’t stopped since.
* Crain’s | Jewel, Mariano’s parents brace for feds’ decision on merger in January: Progressive lawmakers and the Teamsters union both urged the antitrust agency this week to veto the deal after its yearlong probe. The FTC has until Jan. 17 to decide on their deal under a timing agreement the companies reached with the agency, according to a court filing in a class action brought by consumers opposed to the deal. The agency’s deadline hasn’t been disclosed previously.
* Sun-Times | Want to volunteer for the Democratic, Republican conventions? Here’s how to apply: Both conventions will need thousands of volunteers — from airport greeters and drivers to party and event staff, and local folks stationed in the hotels housing delegates providing advice and guidance to the visitors on sightseeing, restaurants and how to get around town.
* Daily Herald | Will Prestige’s new equipment pass the smell test?: A Mount Prospect animal feed producer that neighbors say has inundated nearby residents with a “burnt cheese” odor for four years will be allowed to operate during the daytime over the next three weeks. Mount Prospect conducted an inspection Wednesday of the $300,000 odor mitigation equipment installed by Prestige Feed Products, 431 Lakeview Court, village attorney Allen Wall said at a hearing in Cook County Circuit Court later that day. Wall said the inspection “seemed to go very well.”
* Sun-Times | Tony’s Place: A healthier La Russa is back, wants to state where he fits with White Sox: Hired at age 76 by chairman and good friend Jerry Reinsdorf before the 2021 season to lead the White Sox beyond the wild-card finish manager Rick Renteria led them to in 2020, La Russa’s Sox went 93-69 with an AL Central title. In 2022, La Russa didn’t feel well. His pacemaker needed attention, and unbeknownst to most everyone, he was dealing with cancer.
* The Hill | News media outlets slashed record 2,700 jobs in 2023, with more expected: Data from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas found media companies overall have made 20,324 cuts so far in 2023, the highest year-to-date total since 2020. In the “news” subcategory the firm tracks, 2,681 jobs have been cut, including those in broadcast, digital and print. That total surpassed the 1,808 cuts announced during 2022 and 1,511 announced the year before.
* WaPo | Bigots use AI to make Nazi memes on 4chan. Verified users post them on X: An antisemitic post on Elon Musk’s X is not exactly news. But new research finds the site has emerged as a conduit to mainstream exposure for a fresh wave of automated hate memes, generated using cutting-edge AI image tools by trolls on the notorious online forum 4chan. The research by the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), shared with and verified by The Washington Post, finds that a campaign by 4chan members to spread “AI Jew memes” in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack resulted in 43 different images reaching a combined 2.2 million views on X between Oct. 5 and Nov. 16, according to the site’s publicly displayed metrics.
posted by Isabel Miller
Thursday, Dec 14, 23 @ 2:21 pm
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“but ended up not stopping and ultimately left the city,”
Yes, but…where did it go and where did it drop off the passengers?
Comment by NIU Grad Thursday, Dec 14, 23 @ 2:24 pm
===but…where did it go===
2300 Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA 50312
Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Dec 14, 23 @ 2:26 pm
– 2300 Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA 50312 –
Seems fitting as “Nowadays the building is used as a reception area for most visitors”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrace_Hill
Comment by Michelle Flaherty Thursday, Dec 14, 23 @ 2:31 pm
Glad to learn that Tony LaRussa is regaining his health and is on the mend. His natural grey hair is a plus and fitting for a seasoned manager and baseball man.
Comment by Rudy’s teeth Thursday, Dec 14, 23 @ 2:35 pm
=== new law requires animal shelters and animal control facilities to waive the adoption fee for military veterans in Illinois.===
This is the kind of legislation I don’t support. It gives a state legislator a nice press release but at the end of the day it passes the burden of the free adoption for veterans onto another party that isn’t the state and the legislature doesn’t have to come up with the funds to pay for it. Most shelters use adoption fees to offset a portion of the cost of operating and now they have to find a way to offset the cost of complying with this statute.
I don’t think waiving a pet adoption fee has a whole lot of merit in terms of policies that actually produce a meaningful benefit to veterans, but if the people who wrote this law really thought it was important they should have found a way to fund it without making adoption fees more expensive for non-veterans or forcing shelters to come up with other means to fund their operation.
Illinois’ State Government loves to create requirements for other entities to do nice things for veterans without creating a line item in the budget for it.
=== Rich Miller - Thursday, Dec 14, 23 @ 2:26 pm===
Rich Miller with the Terrace Hill joke.
Comment by Candy Dogood Thursday, Dec 14, 23 @ 2:37 pm
Congrats to Jason Lee and the 5th Floor for finally doing this in Chicago.
Comment by low level Thursday, Dec 14, 23 @ 3:16 pm
re the free animals to the vets legislation, I know that my fav shelter really needs the money to do what they do, including almost all of the animals are fostered first. while I love to encourage adoption, free doesn’t help their work. free works for large shelters not for smaller NFPs. do something about the fact that there are too many animals in need. support TNR. do something to reduce the number of dogs, especially in what is the world’s dog capital per capita, Chicago. dogs do not have that TNR option available for feral cats. free does not help.
Comment by Amalia Thursday, Dec 14, 23 @ 3:38 pm
Re: waive the adoption fee for military veterans in Illinois.
I agree with the criticisms of this. It’s useless pandering.
What will happen now, is all agencies will lower their adoption fee due due to the possibility of it being waived, and the costs will show up in other adoption costs - shots, exams, etc.
And lets be honest, if you can’t afford an adoption fee, you absolutely can’t afford to feed a pet every day either.
This causes more problems, and solves none.
Comment by TheInvisibleMan Thursday, Dec 14, 23 @ 3:51 pm
===What will happen now, is===
Nothing will happen now. It’s just a bill, not a law.
Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Dec 14, 23 @ 4:10 pm
I believe it is law. PA 103-0434
Comment by 62629 Thursday, Dec 14, 23 @ 4:20 pm
“It’s just a bill, not a law.”
Oops. My mistake.
Still don’t like it as a bill, for the given reasons.
Comment by TheInvisibleMan Thursday, Dec 14, 23 @ 4:37 pm
I am in total agreement with the other esteemed posters on the pet adoption bill. As @Candy Dogood aptly stated- the state loves to pass legislation and pass costs to other people. I am not convinced we have to constantly pander to veterans with free things, if you want to really do something for them- ensure that they are getting the long-term health care and mental health care that they so richly deserve. As a country whose politicians love to hug the flag and toast the vets all the time- we suck at taking care of their long term health and mental health needs. If we can find a way to provide health care for migrants we can help our vets too.
Comment by JS Mill Thursday, Dec 14, 23 @ 6:21 pm