-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
“As we shift into requiring COVID vaccination proof to participate in the reopening of society, I think we’re going to have a lot more people using these fraudulent cards,” one expert explained.
See our own story on this linked here.
“You might hear a lot about riots and glass being smashed or cars being set on fire or something like that,” the teacher told her 7- and 8-year-old students. “That stuff does happen sometimes. And that’s part of protests because people are really angry about what’s going on and they feel like they’re not being listened to.” She likened the riots to children acting out, then read to the class “’A’ is for Activist,” a children’s ABC book advocating activism.
Jim Dey: “While running for governor, Pritzker called for transferring map-drawing authority from majority legislators to an independent commission directed to produce non-gerrymandered maps. He subsequently backed off that pledge while promising to veto any redistricting plan drawn by legislators. He subsequently backed off that plan and promised to study any map plans drawn by legislators and veto them if they are not fair. That’s his out, just as it is for the map drawers. Fairness is in the eye of the beholder.”
Statewide, incidents climbed from 76 in 2019 to 152 in 2020. The propaganda was especially concentrated in the Chicago area and central Illinois with much of the material, like fliers, stickers, posters and banners, is spread under the dark of night.
DuPage County public health officials cut off vaccine distribution March 12 to Innovative Express Care — the same health care firm accused of misallocating 6,000 vaccine doses meant for Chicago Public School workers. The urgent care practice also operates “VIP” testing services that offers “self-pay only” coronavirus PCR tests with same-day results for $375, as well as partnerships with private businesses to vaccinate employees on its website.
Said Jeremy Orr, senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council in Chicago, “Chicago and other cities around Illinois required the use of lead service lines all the way until 1986, long after it was recognized that lead was poisonous and other cities had stopped using it…One, it was economically feasible, it was cheaper and easier to use and to keep using it. And another part of that was that the lead industry historically had a strong lobby.”
Samir Mayekar is Chicago’s deputy mayor for neighborhood and economic development. He says the Loop’s future is contingent on building a mixed-use neighborhood with equal amounts of office, retail, residential and entertainment. Planners say the ideal model is the nearby West Loop and Fulton Market area, which is booming with development in every sector.
Chairman Edward Hogan said the Board will continue to investigate “any and all deviations from the rules and regulations guiding their vaccination policy.”
Lightfoot said any plan for resuming in-person meetings will include accommodations for the public to participate in person as well.
A resolution requesting the city hold a hearing on using federal coronavirus relief aid to fund a city-run guaranteed income program passed, but with more opposition than any other item on the agenda. 18 aldermen voted against it after lengthy debate about the need to prioritize reparations for Black Chicagoans before issuing any kind of cash-based program.
“Illinois Realtors” reported an 18% increase in sales in the nine county metro area in January and February over the same months in 2020, as well as a 15% increase in the median sales price, from $235,000 to $270,000.
“Until we deal with the issue of reparations in the city of Chicago, there’s no way in hell we can support direct payments to anybody other than the American descendants of slaves in the city of Chicago,” Ervin told his colleagues at a City Council meeting.
Those modest return rates come despite the share of students opting to return increasing from the last time officials asked families, and now including thousands of high school students for whom this was the first chance to make their preferences known.
Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said that while the current case level remains in a moderate risk category, the rate of increase actually puts the city under a higher risk.
The plan passed in a 37-12 vote, which will use the money to fund affordable housing throughout Chicago.
Including Illinois, 33 states ban rent control.
“As long as it is your choice,” Pritzker said. “If people ask you to show that for a particular venue or private venue, they have the ability and right to do that. You don’t have to show that to them. You don’t have to be to go to that venue or be engaged in that activity.”
“Every Illinoisan should hear this. For decades, Illinois has been forced to send billions more tax dollars every year to the federal government than we receive back from them in support of our citizens. Federal spending is rigged against Illinois. We’ve been subsidizing public services for other states, like Iowa, Kentucky, Indiana, and Missouri,” Pritzker said.
The Classrooms First Act aims to reduce Illinois’ 2.5-times-the-national-average spending on “general administration” costs by consolidating 25% of the state’s 852 school districts. Nearly half serve only one or two schools.
“Again, the Efficient School District Commission itself has no power to consolidate districts. It can only make recommendations, and the local voters make the decisions. The exact amount of consolidation that would occur under the Classrooms First Act is up to voters.”
Sen. Feigenholtz’s Senate Bill 2068 would add Illinois to 34 other states participating in the Nurse Licensure Compact. Career moves, volunteer work and pandemic relief would all benefit.
The House Republican caucus introduced dozens of bills tied to Reimagine Illinois. The four-point plan includes: ending the culture of corruption, responsible fiscal leadership, growing jobs and opportunities for our families, and ensuring public safety.
South Side Ald. Leslie Hairston has been called alderman, alderwoman, alderperson and alder. She agreed that state law should be changed. “Everybody is not a man. Some people are women,” she said. “I am not a man. I’m a woman.”
The plan is designed to give developers incentives to build in parts of the city where there is little affordable housing or where longtime residents are vulnerable to displacement, Housing Commissioner Marisa Novara said.
Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey referenced a February profile of Innovative Express Care’s founder, Dr. Rahul Kharein in Crain’s Chicago Business titled “How one doctor fights the pandemic — profitably.” Sharkey said the content of the article “should have been a warning sign…This contributes to an ongoing trust deficit.”
Gov. Pritzker said he’s feeling “fortified” after getting vaccinated for the coronavirus.
Now, Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th) is introducing a measure to spend $180 million in federal stimulus funds on new vaccination sites that would also increase staffing at the health department. “We need doctors, we need nurses, and we need accountability from the Chicago Department of Public Health, who is fully responsible for this process,” he said.
At Maple & Ash, a trendy, high-end steakhouse at 8 W. Maple St., reservations require a $100 deposit, and steaks cost up to $180. Ahmed likes to host business meetings at the restaurant.
The City of Seattle said nearly two dozen of their employees fell for an email phishing scam Monday night and the city has now disabled those accounts (ending in Seattle.gov). Other fraudulent IDES emails are coming from memphis-tn.gov accounts.
Raoul said the the police department should ban no-knock search warrants “or, at minimum, severely limit their use.”
Fred Klonsky is a retired public school teacher and labor activist with a substantial online following.
Weeks after Chicago released data showing most COVID-19 vaccine doses were going to white residents, the Illinois Department of Public Health released high-level data showing the same was true for the entire state; The numbers have remained about the same since they were released, with 68% of doses going into the arms of white Illinois residents, 8.3% going to Black residents, 9.5% going to Latino residents and 5.1% going to Asian residents. The state’s overall population is about 60% white, 17.5% Latino, 14% Black and 5% Asian.
The 2012 class-action lawsuit is seeking monetary damages for more than 300 Black teachers that have been terminated; an admission by CPS that turnaround policies are racially discriminatory and a permanent moratorium on turnarounds. Turnaround or reconstitution is a practice CPS in schools with low test scores and poor attendance.
Veteran staffer Wellington Thomas said that he and other employees raised their eyebrows when they saw people whom they did not believe to be from the neighborhood receiving vaccinations at the hospital. “I know my community, I’ve seen certain people all the time,” Thomas said. “But then we get different groups of people all of a sudden. It seemed kind of odd.”
Jan Schakowski is among the last people who should be running hearings on inciting hatred and violence.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Tom Miller on WJPF. They discussed how Governor Pritzker’s handling of COVID has been a disaster for democratic norms and the economy in Illinois.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski join Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson on Chicago’s Morning Answer. They talk about how the union driven school closures and controversial school curriculums could attract more parents to the school choice movement in Illinois.
Concerned about the secretive process that culminated in the decision to place 41 statues under the microscope, Ald. Brendan Reilly plans to introduce an ordinance at Wednesday’s City Council meeting that opens a new front in the ongoing war over aldermanic prerogative.
CTU President Jesse Sharkey said potential compensation over the firings would constitute “reparations” against Black teachers who suffered from discriminatory policies.
SIGN UP HERE FOR OUR FREE WIREPOINTS DAILY NEWSLETTER