-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
Attorney Josh Tepfer, who represents several victims of one corrupt Chicago sergeant, said his clients were wrongfully convicted despite warnings from police whistleblowers, residents and defendants about the shakedowns and planted drugs. “This was allowed to happen because officers were corrupt and the victims were not cared about. They were forgotten and were viewed as disposable.”
“We want to help shape federal policy because we know what is going on in our cities,” Lightfoot added. “Having mayors with a seat at the table in federal policymaking to me is one of the surest ways to ensure those businesses won’t be passed over.”
Dr. Allison Arwady, the director of the Chicago Department of Public Health, echoed Pritzker’s comments, saying that the city’s focus should be on getting children back into classrooms instead of onto football fields. “If we’re not in a situation where it’s safe to have Chicago Public Schools in session, I don’t feel that we’re in a safe situation to be playing sports, to be perfectly honest.”
People of color made up 95% of all 2020 homicide deaths. More than 86% of this year’s homicides are gun-related.
Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield, said his office has heard from hundreds of constituents who have been waiting for months for a phone call: “The governor told us we were going to have this great system. Well, the great system has turned out to be a failure and the Governor’s Office and his team don’t answer any questions about it.”
“The bars and restaurants around Wrigleyville in Chicago’s North Side managed just fine during a World Series drought that lasted a century. Some of them might not make it to the other side of the pandemic.”
“We have the lowest positivity rate in the Midwest,” Pritzker said. “Still too high. The states you are talking about all have very high positivity rates. Double-digit positivity rates in most. Those are states, fine, if they decided to endanger children and families in those states by allowing certain contact sports to take place that is their decision. It’s not something that is good for the families and the children of Illinois.”
“Nearly 600,000 people across Illinois work in restaurant and food service jobs, and the Illinois Restaurant Association estimates more than half of them have been laid off or furloughed during the pandemic…The Tribune’s running list of shuttered restaurants in the Chicago area has topped 50, and probably doesn’t account for dozens more tiny mom-and-pop spots that couldn’t make it. The corner diner. The taqueria. The all-night gyro shop. So many favorite places, gone.”
Chicago saw its first day without a coronavirus-related death since March, Dr. Allison Arwady, head of the Chicago Department of Public Health, said Tuesday.
The Illinois law requires that nearly all violent offenders serve 85% to 100% of their sentences. Prior to the enactment of the law, offenders served on average 44% of their sentences.
The budget frustrated Ted Dabrowski, president of financial watchdog Wirepoints.com. “This is by far the most irresponsible budget ever passed by an Illinois legislature,” Dabrowski said in June. “It spends a record amount of money in the middle of one of the worst recessions ever… In all, lawmakers have run up a deficit of over $6 billion and they’re counting on the federal government to bail out the state.”
The Illinois House of Representatives will continue its proceedings after U.S. Attorney John Lausch Jr. told the House Special Investigation Committee that it would be allowed to move forward as long as it doesn’t jeopardize his ongoing probe into ComEd and the company’s patronage and bribery scheme aimed at currying favor with Madigan.
“Simply increasing DCFS’ budget and meting out more money to child welfare service providers is only the first step in the long process of actually increasing Illinois’ child welfare capacity — a process that may prove too slow to meet the rise in need as the Covid-19 pandemic wears on.”
Comment: This article also relates directly to pension reform in Illinois. It explains, just as we did in our posts this week, why the Contract Clause does not stand in the way of pension reform, as Gov. Pritzker and other reform opponents claim. As this article says, government “can govern according to their discretion . . . but they cannot give away nor sell the discretion of those that are to come after them.”
“We have known for years our riders were telecommuting once a week or more,” the report states. “A shift that would normally take 10-20 years seems to have occurred in 10-20 weeks.”
Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said Utah was added to the city’s order but Florida, Idaho, North Carolina, Texas, Hawaii and Nevada were all removed. While Wisconsin had reached the threshold to be added to the order, the city recognized that “people need time for planning.”
In upholding most of the preliminary injunction, the appeals court ruling recognized the “significant and impressive” precautions being taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the jail.
“Officials hope the ideas (with photos in the article) can help restaurants and bars stay afloat this winter. Many have already closed or are struggling due to the pandemic; even now that they’re reopened, they face strict indoor capacity limits.”
Funding made available through a second round of “Business Interruption Grants” will give $220 million to affected businesses, Pritzker said, while $25 million in “Rebuild Distressed Communities” grants will cover the costs of “civil-unrest related repairs.”
The agreement was a relief for Illinois farmers, who were anxious to resume major trading with their largest customer after the damage that the soybean market has suffered in the past two years due to the U.S. tariff battle with China.
“These are advisory votes, so they will not carry the weight of law. Still, local advisory referendums are one way voters can make their preferences known.”
Around 500 people will be hired through the organizations for a two-year project. The initiative will use a $56 million grant from the city of Chicago, and the Chicago Department of Public Health will oversee the program.
But, Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch, the Democrat who is chairing the committee, said the office “requested we refrain from seeking any materials or testimony related to the (deferred prosecution agreement) that is still confidential or anything in the possession of the federal government. In other words, we can call witnesses but we can’t really ask them any questions.”
“There are students this year who have profound interest in pursuing other areas of study at one of the world’s most premier institutions. They are not racist because they have a deep interest in subjects ranging from Asian literature to Greek classics.”
State and federal case law is clear. Amending the Illinois Constitution and passing comprehensive pension reform is both possible and essential. Only a lack of political will stands in the way.
Gov. Pritzker’s declaration of comprehensive pension reform as a “fantasy” is wrong. Case law and other states’ experiences show reforms would survive federal constitutional challenges.
Alorton and Centreville residents voted in the March primary to consolidate their two cities into what would have been called Alcentra, but Cahokia was added to the mix in a new referendum that will be up for a vote in the Nov. 3 election.
The violent crime wave plaguing Chicago continued over the weekend as police reported 53 victims – including one child – as a result of 35 shootings from 6 p.m. Friday to 11:59 p.m. Sunday. Brown said 52 gun-related arrests were made this weekend.
Said deputy mayor Samir Mayekar, “We’ve been tremendously focused on making sure that we keep downtown, that our commercial corridors are vibrant. But we have been just as focused on making sure that our neighborhood commercial corridors are safe. That they’re vibrant, that we’re promoting equity in how we distribute city resources.”
Last July, Toomin appointed Dan Webb as a special prosecutor to investigate the handling of the Smollett case after all the charges against the actor were dropped. In a scathing ruling, Toomin referred to Smollett as a “charlatan who fomented a hoax” and suggested Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx mishandled the case.
“Rossana (Rodriguez, 33rd Ward alderman) wants to double down on one prong of addressing crime,” said Heather Sullivan, who lives in Ravenswood Manor. “We are supportive of police reform, but it can’t be one strategy at the expense of another.”
“It’ll come to a point where they will get evicted,” said Stella Dean with the Springfield Area Landlord Association. “Once the eviction ban is lifted, there will be tenants who have not paid who have abused the system who will be evicted. Those who’ve worked out payment plans with their landlords will not be evicted.”
Pat Doerr, Managing Director of Hospitality Business Association of Chicago, did not mince words: “Unless the City of Chicago allows it’s beloved locally owned bars and restaurants to operate under the same reopening guidelines in place for the bars and restaurants in Illinois, there will be an enormous loss of bars, restaurants, and the tens of thousands of Chicago jobs that depend on them.”
One of the issues many Southeast Side residents have been grappling with: the proposed move of metal scrapper General Iron from its current Lincoln Park site, which has faced heavy opposition.
SIGN UP HERE FOR OUR FREE WIREPOINTS DAILY NEWSLETTER