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* ICYMI: State opens migrant shelter, Pritzker talks supplemental spending plan. Capitol News Illinois…

* Related stories…

∙ WTTW: Little Village Shelter to House 220 Migrants as Asylum Seekers Continue to Arrive in Chicago Area

* Isabel’s top picks…

* Tribune | Illinois abortions surged the year Roe fell, with nearly 17,000 patients traveling from other states — a 49% spike: In contrast, the number of Illinois residents having abortions in-state decreased slightly, from a little over 40,000 in 2021 to nearly 39,000 in 2022. Abortions overall increased by about 9% from 2021 to 2022, according to the report, which was released Tuesday and includes the most recent state health department data on abortion available.

* Hyde Park Herald | U. of C. students barred from county jail for criticizing restrictions : After two years of devoting their spare time to the program, they would no longer be allowed into the detention facility at 27th Street and California Avenue, because, as their supervisors told them, due to their May Sun-Times op-ed criticizing restrictions on paper materials brought to the jail.

* Tribune | Migrants go without showers, dig for food in trash at city’s ‘landing zone’ as they wait for shelter: With 27 designated shelter buildings at capacity and more migrants arriving every day, numbers have overflowed to buses in the city’s “landing zone,” a parking lot run by OEMC officials. Migrants began being placed at the loading zone at the end of December after the city emptied police stations that had been housing migrants waiting for space indoors.

Governor Pritzker will be at the Southern Illinois Health Care Center in Carterville at 10 am, click here to watch.

* Here’s the rest of your morning roundup…

* WJOL | Rezin named co-chair of National Conference of State Legislators’ energy committee: In recognition of State Senator Sue Rezin’s (R-Morris) dedication to advancing policies that address critical issues impacting energy needs, she has been appointed as one of the co-chairs of the National Conference of State Legislatures’ (NCSL) Natural Resources, Energy, and Environment Standing Committee.

* WJBC | McLean County Board to vote on migrant resolution Thursday: A resolution which would prohibit the use of taxpayer funded services for migrants sent into McLean County from another state will be introduced and voted on at Thursday’s county board m

* Illinois Times | Disparity in access to college credit for high schoolers: According to the study, a small number of dual credit courses are offered through public four-year universities, but the overwhelming majority – about 97% – are offered through local community colleges. As a result, the courses offered in any given high school are strongly influenced by the policies and programs of the community college district that overlaps with the high school district.

* Capitol News Illinois | Illinois Supreme Court to Determine If Cannabis Odor is Cause for Vehicle Search: In People v. Redmond, defendant Ryan Redmond was pulled over by Illinois State Police for an unsecure license plate and driving three miles per hour over the speed limit, court records show. Upon smelling cannabis, the officer searched the vehicle and found about one gram of cannabis in the center console. He later charged Redmond with a misdemeanor for failure to transport cannabis in an odor-proof container, according to court documents.

* Check CU | School Board Refuses AG Order to Release Secret Meeting Recording – Yorkville, Illinois: On January 9th, the district denied that request, arguing that “the Open Meetings Act prohibits the release of closed session recordings and minutes to the public.” The denial was issued by District FOIA Officer Cathy Anderson. Check CU has also searched online, including on the Yorkville District 115 website and their Youtube Channel, for any place that the District might have made the August 7th meeting recording “publicly available”, in accordance with the AG order, but the recording could not be located.

* WAND | Illinois lawmakers discuss potential move to universal vote-by-mail system: A proposal in Springfield could allow the state to send vote-by-mail ballots to all eligible voters instead of having people apply to have their ballots sent in the mail. Rep. Carol Ammons (D-Urbana) said counties could save money by not having to send notifications and applications for vote-by-mail ballots to voters.

* WBEZ | Journalists from Chicago and Paris reflect on common experiences with racial profiling: In Chicago and the United States, “the problem of profiling is something that is pervasive, and to see that that is the case in France was eye opening,” said Alden Loury, WBEZ’s data projects editor. Last September, WBEZ and the Investigative Project on Race and Equity published a three-part investigation that revealed stark disparities in the share of Black drivers stopped by Illinois police compared to white drivers.

* Rock River Current | 8 Ways Rockford Will Spend Federal American Rescue Plan Dollars In The Next Phase: The next use for federal post-pandemic stimulus money in the city will go toward bolstering adult education, supporting survivors of domestic violence and improving the historic field where the Rockford Peaches once played.

* Sun-Times | Markham woman named 2023 Bears fan of the year, wins free trip to Super Bowl LVIII: In addition to her relentless support of the Bears, Leach was picked as the team’s nominee because of her “significant community involvement in her hometown … as well as her dedication to the club’s community initiatives,” the Bears said in a story posted on their website.

* Sun-Times | TSA intercepted 122 firearms at Chicago airports in 2023, including record number at Midway: Officers stopped 72 handguns from making it through security checkpoints at O’Hare International Airport, a decrease from the previous year, according to the TSA. However, a new annual record was set at Midway, where 50 firearms were seized — breaking the previous record of 42 handguns set in 2021.

posted by Isabel Miller
Thursday, Jan 11, 24 @ 7:37 am

Comments

I will suggest folks take a look at the article about the FIOA stuff with the Yorkville SB. It will be interesting to see if they take it to court. I’m not sure they have a legal leg to stand on, but it’s a good way to spend taxpayer money to avoid embarrassment.

Comment by OneMan Thursday, Jan 11, 24 @ 8:02 am
@OneMan, you are correct Yorkville will quickly lose this case. I don’t know how often the PAC issues binding decisions, but I have never received one. Pretty definitive. Curriculum and instruction are not one of the exceptions to the Open Meetings Act. I had to stop a board member in my district from bringing up a book in closed session for the same reason. I don’t know the current Yorkville superintendent, but if they did not advise the board that it was an OMA violation he should have.

Sometimes our boards don’t listen to us.

Comment by JS Mill Thursday, Jan 11, 24 @ 9:06 am
===Sometimes our boards don’t listen to us.===

That’s putting it mildly.

Comment by Anyone Remember Thursday, Jan 11, 24 @ 9:09 am
I think the State should be commended for its legalization of cannabis and the federal government should decriminalize it like it did with gambling, today. However, I side with the Attorney General’s position in the above case. It is simply a matter of public safety, much like alcohol. It is not legal to use wherever you please, especially in a vehicle. With that being said, the court could make a distinction between the smell of burnt and fresh cannabis as a basis for probable cause for a search.

Comment by Cannabis Searches Thursday, Jan 11, 24 @ 9:50 am
=Sometimes our boards don’t listen to us.=

As a superintendent I have been pretty fortunate in that regard.

As a principal, I have observed boards that thought they knew better and how badly that can go for the district.

Comment by JS Mill Thursday, Jan 11, 24 @ 10:01 am
Hopefully the IL Supreme Court rules in a way that is consistent with the law and finds that if officers can smell cannabis emanating from inside a vehicle, they then have probable cause to search the vehicle.

I’m pro-legalization and pro-cannabis in general. That said, it’s not so much to ask that people transport it in accordance with the law.

The facts of the case before the Supreme Court are unfortunate because it is a legal search, but one where the troopers should have exercised their discretion once they learned there was nothing more than a gram of cannabis in the car. That said, it would be foolish to overreact to these troopers ill-advised use of their discretion. The amount of guns and drugs that are taken off the street following traffic stops that result in narcotics searches after officers detect the smell of cannabis is immense, and those efforts are the tip of the spear in the effort to make the streets safer.

Comment by AlfondoGonz Thursday, Jan 11, 24 @ 10:21 am
There is always a member who tries to practice law without a law degree let alone a license. Fortunately, they’ve been the minority on boards I’ve served. (eye roll emoji)

Comment by froganon Thursday, Jan 11, 24 @ 10:23 am
The state finally opened the CVS site.

Does anyone have a running total on what the state has spent so far? I remember in Oct when the Mayor said the State hadn’t helped and the Gov’s people said they’d given over $300 million in support, then it’s been another DHS transfer of $ 100+ million in Dec now it’s going to be another $160 million plus. This is just from the state. How much has the city spent?

Comment by Frida's boss Thursday, Jan 11, 24 @ 1:25 pm
- The facts of the case before the Supreme Court are unfortunate because it is a legal search… -

That’s just your opinion, Man.

Comment by Dotnonymous x Thursday, Jan 11, 24 @ 5:59 pm