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The exchange operator CME Group Inc. said it would permanently close most of its open-outcry trading pits in Chicago, ending one of the world’s last vestiges of old-fashioned floor trading.
Through the first four months of 2021, the surge in violence that began in 2020 has shown no significant sign of slowing down, according to police data. Through April 30, 997 people have been shot in 2021, an increase of 39% as compared with 2020. In addition, 187 people have been murdered in Chicago, a 20% increase as compared with the same period a year ago.
Processing times for new FOID cards are currently four times longer than the 30-days required by law.
The Illinois Attorney General hotline gives a haunting list of the information available to criminal hackers: names, addresses, email addresses, Social Security numbers, account number information, and more.
“Police officers responding to calls from ShotSpotter, according to the study, report no evidence of a crime 86% of the time…we don’t like the notion that officers are being sent into neighborhoods thinking there is a dangerous emergency when, in reality, the call might have been triggered by noises misheard as gunfire by ShotSpotter. That can, in itself, create a tense situation.”
“Every Chicagoan should be happy,” said Roger Romanelli, with the Fulton Market Association and the Chicago Restaurants Coalition. “Every Chicagoan should continue to be cautious and be safe. But this is the day that Chicagoans have worked hard and earned this announcement today.”
State Rep. Mike Zalewski said there has been an ongoing discussion among Democrats about the state’s budget, but this week they brought in Republicans. “I’ll say this, in years when we’ve been working collaboratively with the GOP we’ve had strong ability to get a budget in the last couple of weeks as opposed to the last couple of hours. So if, in fact, we go down that path this time, I expect a similar result.”
Said Andrew Larson, director of public policy with Illinois Soybean Growers, “We are the No. 1 producing soybean state in the country, the No. 2 producing corn state, and we are in the top 5 or 6 in population, and that puts us in a position to lead on the use of biodiesel blends.”
“This comes as both the city of Chicago and the state eyes bankruptcy options and faces at least $140 billion in unfunded pension liability, $50 billion in expected retiree health care costs, about $3 billion in federal pandemic loans and several billions more in unpaid costs.”
The backlog is a direct result of restrictions put in place last year to limit the spread of Covid-19. Chief Judge Timothy Evans postponed all jury trials and scaled back most court operations. Even when court cases picked up again on Zoom, technical difficulties and some defendants’ lack of access to computers or internet delayed cases further..
The current 300-pound bronze likeness of King is located across the street from the Capitol building, on the corner of 2nd Street and Capitol Ave. — referred to as Freedom Corner.
Many of the scholarships go toward the private tuition of Catholic educational institutions in the state.
“I want to make sure that I emphasize something that the mayor said, which is we can’t predict the future and this virus has proven to be very challenging,” the governor said. “Of course, we all experienced November and December and January here in Illinois, so we always are on guard. We’re watching the numbers like a hawk but I’m optimistic. I think things are going in the right direction.”
“There’s actually a good chance requiring a vaccine passport would provoke more resistance, not participation. At this point, public health officials should continue to concentrate on addressing the concerns of people who are reluctant about the vaccine, while making it as easy as possible for those want it to get it.”
The “orange tier,” which requires a quarantine or pre-arrival negative test before coming to Chicago, now lists 18 states, including neighboring Indiana, as well as Puerto Rico.
During a press conference celebrating the return of the Chicago Auto Show this summer, Illinois’ first large convention since the start of the pandemic, Lightfoot said the city aims to be “one of the first cities to fully and safely reopen in the nation.”
No state has seen more gun sales this year than Illinois. Federal authorities there have completed nearly 4.3 million gun background checks since January, including more than 955,000 submitted last month. That’s more background checks than the next five states combined.
Unshackled by her decision to call it quits, Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson let loose on Monday about the “ugly politics” that have consumed the district’s relationship with the Chicago Teachers Union “It’s ugly and it needs to stop and it doesn’t help our district. CPS is an outlier. It’s not normal. And I hope that it changes for the sake of our children because the people who benefit the least from all of that are the children at CPS.”
Marijuana sales in Illinois have soared since the state legalized recreational use in January 2020, reaching $1.03 billion last year. That included $669 million in recreational weed sales and more than $366 million in medical sales. The pace has accelerated in 2021.
The $1 billion dollar industry in Illinois currently consists of 110 dispensaries that had a head start on recreational cannabis because they already had a medical license before the legalization. But more than a year later, not one new license has been issued for social equity applicants.
Parent Allison Kaplan worried about stability in a year that has felt anything but. “It doesn’t feel great as a parent to know that not only is the beginning of next year going to be chaotic just based on the circumstances of our situation … now there’s an added chaotic element of not only one leadership person stepping away, but three total,” she said.
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