As Illinois legislators coalesce around ethics reforms, other initiatives surface as priorities – Center Square

Republicans in the minority want a special session right away to deal with ethics reforms. Democrats have come on with some of the same reforms, but signaled they’re willing to wait until after the November election. Unless there’s a special session called for by the governor, the House speaker or the Senate president, lawmakers won’t be back until after the November election.

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Why the Unrest in Chicago Has Been Decades in the Making – Time

“Many have argued that looting is not the solution, that it could undermine legitimate protests and reduce sympathy for the very real issues. But at some point, there must be space to demand accountability for the ways that the city redirects tax dollars away from the places with the greatest need.”

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Possible cost to replace Chicago’s lead water lines: $10 billion – Crain’s

A 2018 Tribune analysis discovered that 30 percent of 2,797 homes where tap water was sampled had lead concentrations higher than 5 parts per billion. That’s the highest level the U.S. Food & Drug Administration allows in bottled water. Tests of park drinking fountains in 2016 “found dangerously high lead-levels in 452” fountains, WBEZ reported, “some 80 times higher than the EPA limit.”

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Dozens call for defunding of Chicago police at City Hall rally – Chicago Sun-Times

A caravan of about 150 cars drove through the streets , honking their horns and displaying posters in support of the 60 protesters at City Hall. The protest’s theme — “Black to the Future” — calls out the idea that “the last will be first, and the future will be Black,” said Black Lives Matter Chicago organizer Amika Tendaji. “It’s important to continue the fight with joy,” something “colonization” and “police brutality” have taken away from many cultures.

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