-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
The 18-person commission would aim to establish a plan to create a high-speed rail system and “feeder network” including existing rail lines in Chicago, St. Louis, Rockford, Peoria, Decatur and Moline. The commission would dissolve Jan. 1, 2027.
Cook County, the largest county in Illinois, recognized Juneteenth as a holiday for its workers last year.
The House also advanced a measure to create a mental health first responder system in coordination with an emergency phone system for mental and behavioral health medical emergencies that was created by federal law, and created a task force to look into the feasibility of providing free legal counsel to immigrants facing deportation proceedings.
Chicago Police warn people about group robberies in Grant Park and Millennium Park too. They have involved teens between the ages of 14 to 20 who surround people to steal from them through what CPD calls “use of force.” It has happened at least twice in the past week.
“Hopefully this helps everyone who has gotten calls about the trailer fee,” state Rep. Avery Bourne said. “It’s become the third most important issue to my constituents behind the [Illinois Department of Employment Security] and [Firearm Owner Identification cards]. Maybe we can fix those as well this week.”
Robert W. Panton, the president of the Illinois Medical Society, which speaks on behalf of many of the state’s doctors, for instance, said SB72 would create “a wholly new form of ‘punitive’ damages not previously allowed in Illinois.”
As of Saturday night, parties remain far apart on the linchpin of the deal: how much the state should provide in subsidies for nuclear giant Exelon to prevent the company from the threatened closures of at least two, if not three, of Exelon’s six nuclear power generating stations that are not profitable. Those six locations serve the northern half of Illinois, which contains the majority of the state’s 12.8 million people.
“Writing legislative policy choices into the constitution merely restricts legislators’ ability to address new problems with new solutions. Consider how much trouble advocates of higher state income taxes have had in trying to rid Illinois of its constitutionally-mandated flat tax.”
Jim Dey: “Perjury is defined as providing intentionally false testimony ‘concerning matters material to an official proceeding.’ It is notoriously difficult to prove because defendants can escape truthful testimony with evasive language, claims of memory failure and indirect answers to direct questions. A review of Mapes’ contested testimony shows he provided answers that fell into each category.”
“When you pledge your support or opposition to an initiative in this town and in [the State Capitol] building, your colleagues need to know they can take that pledge to the bank,” State Sen. Don DeWitte said. “The governor’s change of heart on incentives he agreed to and promoted shows us just how insatiable his party’s appetite is for more revenue and more spending.”
“We have great concern that this population are both drivers of violence and victims,” Lightfoot wrote staff July 3, according to an email included in a trove of hacked files posted online last month. “As we have discussed, the 4000 individuals out on electronic monitoring, right now get no services and are not being monitored.”
Sen. Melinda Bush explained sponsors requested $550 million from the American Rescue Plan. They also met with Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth to talk about dollars for future funding. “There’s currently $4 billion for lead replacement moving through Congress through the LIFT Act and an additional $45 billion in President Biden’s proposal,” Bush said.
Sand Siri Hibbler of the Garfield Park Chamber of Commerce, “One year later, it’s still, you know, dirty. It’s still nothing being built on it. It’s exactly back the same that it was, minus the businesses that we lost. Folks were talking about, ‘Well, the insurance will cover, insurance will cover.’ Some businesses did not have insurance, so they were not able to sustain themselves.”
House Bill 1091 as amended passed the House late Saturday afternoon with just 60 yes votes; There was bipartisan opposition to the bill with 50 Representatives voting against, including eight Democrats. After the measure narrowly passed, state Rep. Frances Hurley filed a motion to reconsider, keeping the measure form advancing to the Senate.
“Sadly we are seeing a major difference between Gov. Pritzker and Candidate Pritzker,” said Senate Minority Leader Dan McConchie. “Candidate Pritzker said he was a reformer who was on the side of the people, but so far Gov. Pritzker is a man who over and over again has shown that he cannot be trusted to keep his word.”
The bill was inspired by 25-year-old Alex Green of Naperville who died of a fentanyl overdose in 2018. Green was with others at the time of his overdose, but they dropped him off at a gas station and fled fearing persecution. Officers who arrived on the scene were not able to identify what had happened until it was too late.
Minority Leader Jim Durkin praised Rep. Justin Slaughter, a Democrat, for negotiating with Republicans and law enforcement and securing the support of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police and the Illinois State’s Attorneys Association. “Coercion has no place within our criminal justice system, particularly with juvenile defendants,” Durkin said.
The bill does not allow for salary payment for the college players, but rather allows college athletes to monetize their likeness, such as participating in autograph signings at local businesses or appearing in video games.
They died to protect a democratic republic, essential elements of which are likewise simple – democratic rule bounded by certain unalienable rights.
Yet both of those elements are being unwound today. Should that continue, Americans will gradually come to see that the foundations of government legitimacy are gone. That looming threat should be our primary concern today, for if Americans conclude that their government no longer derives its powers justly – in the manner articulated by the Founders — then division, strife and violence far worse than we have seen in the
The Illinois House narrowly passed a bill Saturday that would require gun owners to submit fingerprints when applying for or renewing a Firearm Owner Identification card. The bill would also reduce the length of time FOID cards remain valid from 10 years to five years, and up the renewal fee from $10 to $20.
“All this isn’t exactly old-fashioned quid pro quo corruption, but it accomplishes much of the same thing and it is a lesson in force. It proceeds along the same pathway, satisfying embedded power interests like Planned Parenthood, ComEd and the teachers unions at the expense of taxpayers. And it all comes from the same root as corruption, which is the force allowed by one-party control in the shut-up-and-take-it state.”
With nearly 1,000 employees, the plant also powers the city’s local economy, supporting some 4,000 indirect jobs. “They’re good paying jobs and good families,” electrician Jimmy Glidic said. “Our life is on hold for nuclear for the decision on legislation.”
While he supported the measure, state Rep. La Shawn Ford urged Republicans to support the budget which could increase funding for IDES. “Some representatives … think this state runs just on air, but it actually takes money, it actually takes revenue and I think that when we negotiate the budget and we have an opportunity to vote to make sure that our state agencies run, I urge you to support the budget and the revenue enhancements to make sure that we’re able to do that, or even closing some loopholes to make sure that it is possible to do exactly
Lawmakers are in the process of changing a recent tax credit program for the development of data centers, but some worry the proposed change hijacks the successful program to favor union interests and could drive jobs out of state. The credit is not one of the nine the governor has labeled “corporate loopholes” he’s wanting to limit to increase revenue for the state by nearly $1 billion.
Similar marches were held Saturday in the business districts of 18 communities, including West Garfield Park, Englewood, Hyde Park, Edgewater, and South Shore. Their motto is “dollars up and deaths down.”
Chicago Ald. Brendan Reilly, 42nd, introduced an ordinance May 26 to cap surge pricing by ride-sharing companies at 150% of normal fares during “peak demand” times. High prices indicate high demand and low supply, and the ride-share market is facing unprecedented stress on both ends.
SIGN UP HERE FOR OUR FREE WIREPOINTS DAILY NEWSLETTER