-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
The Illinois Department of Employment Security reported 36,435 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of July 13 in Illinois, and 38,261 unemployment claims filed during the week of July 6.
Jim Dey: “Talk, however, is for show. Money tells the real tale. Two unions and a construction company recently contributed more than $900,000 to Friends of Michael Madigan.”
“The idea that she (Carrie Zalewski) would remain in her post as a regulator of ComEd while this plays out shows the contempt for the public among Illinois’ political class. Just trust us, they say, as a federal investigation swirls about in Springfield and City Hall. We’ll do the right thing, they say, setting aside the fact that four of Illinois’ last 11 governors have been imprisoned for federal crimes. Pritzker, who is trying to build support for a tax increase — trust me on this “fair tax” thing, he says — defended Carrie Zalewski in the role.”
“One of the legislators said Madigan called at around 9 a.m. Thursday. Another lawmaker who Madigan consulted said they told him he should not resign – saying that … a vacancy in party leadership less than 100 days before the election would harm that effort (to win back the White House).”
If the city cannot take over ComEd, it would have no choice but to ink a new agreement with ComEd, despite the scandal. “It is not like we are buying copy machines, and can go to another copy machine service,” one city commissioner said. “ComEd is the only place we can buy electricity.”
Asked Thursday if he would rely on Madigan to call a special session, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he’s not relying on Madigan but didn’t say if he would call for one to focus on ethics. “There’s also more that we need to learn and the U.S. Attorney clearly is on a path here. We’re going to learn more,” Pritzker said. “There’s no doubt about it. And from that information, it will inform us on how to write the laws that will prevent that in the future.”
A former ComEd CEO and one of the company’s top lobbyists filed the legal objection that ultimately kept redistricting reform off of the 2018 ballot.
Pritzker said the sources of the rising infection rates in Region 2 appear to be from shopping in big-box retail stores, house parties and workplaces. If hospitalizations in the region continue to rise for four more days, Pritzker said, the region will see increased restrictions, which may be tailored locally around the sources of the increased spread.
Comment: Be sure to watch the video. It would be comical if weren’t such a sad failure of the Cook County Court system.
The alderman, once again, called out Mayor Lori Lightfoot in a tweet Thursday morning, saying, “You failed. The third attack in a month! Lawlessness continues in Chicago.”
: “As a practicing attorney and former lieutenant governor of the state of Illinois, I have practiced law throughout the state and have worked alongside the legislative and judicial branches to manage our state affairs for the people of Illinois… it was clear to me then and it’s clear to me now that Illinois courts need to be less political. It should not matter which judge you draw when a case is filed.”
For the first half of the year, returns at Citadel’s flagship Wellington fund were up between 13 percent and 14 percent, according to sources familiar with its results. Meanwhile, the average hedge fund, most of which are based in the U.S., had a negative return of between three and four percent, according to Chicago-based Hedge Fund Research.
Illinois House Minority Leader Jim Durkin said in a statement the “federal charges outlines in the ComEd prosecution highlight a scheme solely for the benefit of Speaker Madigan … Madigan is unable to execute his responsibilities as Speaker of the Illinois House.”
Before COVID-19, there was already an unemployment gap between men with children and similar women, meaning the pandemic and government-mandated shutdowns that caused greater job loss among women have exacerbated the gap between women and men.
“It’s a political stunt,” Duckworth told Fox News Wednesday. “I mean, you look at what happened in Portland… That’s not acceptable. You cannot come in and politicize government in a way that attacks Americans peacefully exercising their First Amendment rights.”
“At minimum, governments that receive federal funds should be required to report how the aid was spent at the line-item level. Did the money go to respond directly to the harms caused by the pandemic, or was it instead used to plug preexisting holes in pension systems? Taxpayers should be able to know.”
Since the funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act expired in 2012, federal funding to Chicago Public Schools has generally declined on an annual basis, both as a total amount and as a percentage of the budget.
A republication of our Wirepoints article.
It’s perhaps the most vicious effort to date in the cancel culture’s assault on journalism, and it’s based on a charge that’s entirely fabricated.
Those close to Boyd have said he struggled with the loss of a fellow officer, who was gunned down in 2018.
Comment: Bravo to Kass for standing up to the mob, and see our own article here on the Tribune union’s depraved assault on him.
To compensate, 20% of Navy Pier’s staff has been cut and others were put on furlough. Executives took a 33% paycut, and President and CEO Marilynn Gardner nearly cut her pay in half, according to the statement.
The speaker’s personal campaign fund received about $555,000 in one day, mostly from a Chicago area labor group. That money can be used for a variety of things, Illinois campaign finance expert Kent Redfield notes.
Of particular concern to ICC members was ensuring that the $200 million fine will come out of the pockets of ComEd’s shareholders, not its customers and ratepayers.
“We know about cops. In our national morality play acted out on the news, they’re often cast as the villains. But police families? They’re not cast as villains. They’re not cast as anything. They’re forgotten.”
A city spokesperson said the permits are reviewed by the business, transportation and cultural affairs and special events departments.
“The priority has to be trying to get the epidemic under control as much as possible,” said Michael Negron, acting director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. “The better we do on resolving the pandemic and managing its effects the more sustainable growth we can see economically.”
Mayor Lightfoot went on to say that “democracy is under siege from multiple directions,” including from President Donald Trump. “Our democracy is under siege because we are losing the respectful engagement democracy demands in alarming ways. This includes losing confidence in our small d democratic institutions.”
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