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Illinois’ population has dropped by nearly 170,000 since 2010 and few of the state’s counties have been spared. In all, 93 of the state’s 102 counties shrunk between 2010 and 2019.
“So mayors and governors are in an impossible situation just as restaurants are, unable to remain vital with only outdoor dining as winter closes in. And many everyday people and working families are in impossible situations as well, deprived of their livelihoods by the pandemic and with no adequate compensation for that in sight. They all need aid now”
Jim Dey: “Thirty-four states have progressive systems while 16 impose flat-tax rates or no income tax at all. Clearly, there is more than one way to do business and good reasons for doing so. But politics is about winning. That’s why the amendment proponents and opponents fashioned arguments designed to strike an emotional chord in their audience.”
When she took office, Mayor Lori Lightfoot vowed to roll back aldermanic prerogative in an effort to root out the corruption that has long plagued Chicago’s City Hall. While aldermen no longer have the authority to stop licenses and permits under changes imposed by Lightfoot, the mayor has yet to change the zoning code, where the heart of aldermanic power lies, and has suffered a number of defeats in recent months on specific issues.
“This has nothing to do with longtime, legacy fiscal issues or pension issues. It has to do with the fact that COVID-19 has wrecked our economy,” she said. “If we give in to the heartless Mitch McConnell on so many issues, where is the floor? We are setting a dangerous precedent for the future that will make the new administration’s work that much harder. Because what it says is, if Mitch McConnell draws the line — no matter how unreasonable — we are gonna capitulate to that heartless man who has done so much harm to this country.”
The mayor also tried to put distance between herself and the incident, saying the raid took place before she was elected, even though the city kept the video secret under her administration.
Lightfoot on Tuesday said their opposition and their colleagues’ support of that opposition was “aldermanic prerogative at its worst,” referring to the City Council tradition of members of the body following the wishes of local aldermen on issues affecting their wards.
The CTU and Mayor Lori Lightfoot continue to wage war. “The line that has been drawn in court proceedings by the teacher’s union, which is to say, ‘we decide and no one else,’” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said. “‘We decide and no one else’ doesn’t give parents options.”
Only one U.S. state – Hawaii- is not included in the latest travel order.
North of Springfield, Porta Superintendent Matthew Brue said that guidance needs to change after the holidays. “This is extremely tough on families and in most cases they don’t get it. We quarantine a classroom and we still have that one positive case. The other 20 students won’t have COVID.”
“But, listen, the speaker can hold a press conference today. He could call one right now and answer questions and I hope that he would,” Pritzker said. “Written statements and dodged investigatory hearings are not going to cut it.”
Peoria City Manager Patrick Urich said police and fire pensions take up 54% of the city’s General Fund Operating Budget. Peoria’s fire pension only had 48% of the funds needed to meet its obligations at the end of 2019, and the police fund had 50% of needed funds.
The pandemic has “had a big impact on sales numbers,” said Alyssa Jank, an analyst at a Loop-based firm that researches the cannabis industry. “People have been at home more. People are looking for things to do [and] people don’t have to worry about being functional or capable to go and do stuff…I think another part of it is that people have been way more stressed out and anxious this year, so they’re looking for something as a solve for that.”
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin: “…(T)hey are facing a double edge sword. On one edge, rising COVID-19 infections are causing increases in hospitalizations. This is putting stress on the hospital workforce and pushing them to the brink of surge capacity…On the other edge of the sword, you have a financial nightmare that is pushing many rural hospitals to the edge of extinction and poses a dire threat to the economies of rural America.”
Mark Konkol: “Nothing should stand in the way of finding a significant way to honor du Sable’s contribution to Chicago’s history. When you think about it, renaming a roadway — even beloved Lake Shore Drive — might not be a sufficient honor for du Sable, our city’s long-overlooked and underappreciated Black founding father. Then, there’s the separate issue of erasing Lake Shore Drive from street signs, a pitch that’s hard to get behind for sentimental reasons.”
“Phase 5 of the Restore Illinois plan that we put out months and months ago calls for an opening of the state and it’s in the event that there is a vaccine that is widely available or successful treatments that are widely available,” Pritzker said. “It will take some time. The manufacturing process will take some time so that they can deliver them as fast as they can, but months will go by.”
Like most other municipalities in the state, Mayor Tom McNamara said Rockford’s pension payments eat a sizable portion of the city’s annual budget. “This year alone, our pensions increased by more than nine percent, to well over $20 million. In 2013, our payment was around $9 million.”
“Northwestern’s leaders need to go back to school. They need to learn what it really means to defend freedom of speech.”
But the reversal is also happening at an unprecedented moment, with violence spiking across the country in the wake of both the pandemic and national protests over policing. Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan on Monday noted that the total number of murders solved so far this year, 329, is the most in one year since 2005.
if Joliet opts for Chicago over Hammond, the agreement would provide nearly $30 million a year in revenue for Chicago.
So far, the district has spent more than $132 million on its COVID-19 response, which includes about $68 million specifically tied to the board’s authorization: $41.8 million for technology, almost $8 million for education materials, $29 million for premium pay for frontline workers, more than $41 million in personal protective equipment and other emergency supplies, $6.3 million for school meal delivery, and more.
That such data is being reported, but does not come with specific actions that must be taken by school officials, prompted two of the state’s largest teachers unions last week to demand clear metrics and direction they say are imperative to ensure the safety of teachers and students.
During his daily COVID-19 briefing Thursday, Pritzker noted that only $147 million of the $250 million available had been paid out so far. He said that money went to 688 cities, towns, counties and local health departments.
Deputy Cook County Public Defender Peter Parry said data compiled by his office shows half of all arrestees are given no access to the phone. For the other half, the average wait is “over four hours,” he said.
“Whether those voters thought it would still be a vibrant document a half-century hence, it’s likely none could foresee the extent of the problems facing the state today. Crushing debt that has elicited bond-house ratings just above junk status includes a $140 billion shortfall in the state’s employee pension programs. There’s a self-perpetuating consolidation of power in the General Assembly where many bemoan that lawmakers ensure political survival by drawing their own election districts. Finally, there’s the corruption in the highest political echelons.”
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