-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
CPD logged an average of six carjackings per day during the first ten days of 2021, according to the department’s stats. A source said there were 110 cases by midday on January 15.
Jason Johnson, of the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund: “Indeed, law enforcement and the justice system in Illinois are far from perfect but this soon-to-be law weakens the ability to fight crime and protect the public. It is a recipe for further carnage.”
“Now, in light of Kass’s role in encouraging Donald Trump’s campaign of lies that the election was stolen, which reached a traitorous, bloody crescendo with last Wednesday’s storming of the U.S. Capitol during the Electoral College vote count, it’s time for Tribune leadership to get rid of Kass’s column for good,” Chicago Reader columnist John Greenfield writes.
Per the Illinois High School Association’s announcement on Monday those teams can begin practice immediately and can play games “at a future day to be determined by the board.” Medium-risk sports in Tier 2 regions will be allowed to practice.
State Sen. Kimberly Lightford: “Over the summer and fall, the Senate hosted 32 legislative hearings covering well over 100 hours of testimony regarding the Legislative Black Caucus agenda.These were public hearings. We invited Illinois House members. Law enforcement groups testified. Media outlets covered the hearings. As we had discussions, we also negotiated legislation. Nothing should have been a surprise to anyone paying attention.”
“Over 75% of parents have decided to stay home, so we know that what we’re doing, what we’re fighting for, is right,” said teacher Linda Perales, who choked back tears. “And [Mayor] Lori Lightfoot and [CPS CEO] Janice Jackson need to listen to us.”
CPS says public health data shows schools are safe enough, but CTU is demanding the district release the number of COVID-19 infections reported since the first wave of students and teachers returned to the classroom earlier this month.
Part of Montgomery lies in Kendall County and the rest is in Kane County. That’s normally not a big deal, but when it comes to Covid those county lines mean the village is divided between two different regions of the state’s COVID-19 reopening plan.
Under Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s COVID-19 rules, the state’s 11 regions were under four different classes of mitigations on Monday. “I think if the administration were to listen to those restaurants, there might be a happy medium, somewhere where they can meet and the restaurants can somehow stay afloat,” said state Rep. Fred Crespo.
Moving from Tier 3 to Tier 2 allows for the reopening of movie theaters, casinos and museums. Group fitness classes can also take place.
Almost all of Illinois can begin to loosen coronavirus restrictions, with only two regions remaining under the Tier 3 mitigations, the state’s health department announced Monday. Much of the Chicago area will be under Tiers 2 and 3, with a few counties reaching Tier 1.
During a news conference Friday, Pritzker said he expects the legislature will bring the decoupling proposal back in the 102nd General Assembly. “Although it didn’t happen in the short lame duck session, I have a commitment from the leaders that it will be brought up in the regular session. I’m anticipating that it will get brought up soon in the new session of the General Assembly.”
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin in December said Illinois shouldn’t hold its breath waiting for a bailout. “I wouldn’t make any assumption that the money is coming from Washington for the help of the state. They have to prepare their budget on the possibility there will be no assistance.”
Without seeing the specifics of the North Dakota legislation, Illinois state Rep. Andrew Chesney, R-Freeport, said it’s worth looking at how social media companies handle free speech. “It’s supposed to be and how it was sold to the public was an open platform of ideas and what we’ve seen with Twitter and Facebook and others is they’re stepping in and they’re picking winners and losers and I can’t imagine states want to allow that.”
“You’re not just paying the 6.25%, you’re paying 8.25% or 7% because they’re taking that state 6.25% and they’re taking county or other optional-to-enact taxes,” said Carol Portman, president of the Taxpayers Federation of Illinois. “If it goes to me in my home in Downers Grove, it’s one thing. If it goes to my office in Springfield, it’s a different one.”
They feel that Cook County is not only a financial burden on the entire state but also that state government is only County focused when it comes to new laws and policies.
California ranks last on 2020′s list, behind Illinois and New Jersey, as the states with the least one-way arrivals. Illinois has been in the bottom two since 2015, when U-Haul began ranking states.
Saturday and Sunday in Springfield, there were more soldiers than there were demonstrators. At one point Saturday, it was reported there were two people demonstrating.
Mark Konkol: “The greatest irony of Pritzker’s tiered mitigations might be that the first region allowed to return to limited indoor dining as of Saturday is home to bands of restaurants that didn’t abide by the governor’s mandate in the first place.”
“Many voices speak louder than individual voices,” one business owner said.
Before schools reopened, Lightfoot and Jackson warned teachers who didn’t report in for in-person learning would face consequences. Starting Tuesday, the district put 143 teachers on “absent without leave” status, locking them out of district accounts and freezing their pay. As of Friday, 87 teachers were absent without leave.
Financial advisor Nicholas Royer said sports betting is a business for some people and the state saw it as an opportunity to earn from it as well. “What happened is the state realized that 94% of sports gambling is now done online. And so they looked at this as, Oh, it’s a revenue that we can create for ourselves now that this is actually happening.”
Richard Porter: We need a thorough rethinking of all aspects of our government. We need leaders looking for ways to help people rise instead of holding them down or shaking them down.
There have been at least half a dozen carjackings reported in the city and suburbs since Friday, shining a light on the growing problem in the city. It’s unclear what’s behind the increase, but authorities say many of the perpetrators are juveniles, who face less serious legal consequences.
The victims include multiple teenagers.
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