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“The Illinois Governor’s whopper on redistricting is one for the ages.”
The corridor, one of America’s quintessential big-city shopping experiences, bolsters Chicago’s finances — the zip code where it’s located generated about $150 million from sales taxes in 2019. Last year, that plunged to around $60 million, according to local Alderman Brian Hopkins.
Jim Dey: “Does he (Pritzker) think his professed indecision lends intrigue to an issue most people either take for granted or ignore? Is he searching for people to feed his ego by urging him to run? Is he pulling the chains of fellow Democrats and Republicans who want his job? Is it just an idiosyncrasy common to egotistical politicians?
Dennis Byrne: “We met friends who, for the first time in more than a year, gathered together in someone else’s home. Instead of an ‘overabundance of caution,’ they were the victims of an overabundance of fear, created by partisan creatures who used COVID-19 as an excuse to exercise their compulsive impulse to control.”
The truth is, City Hall has had 26 years to make the case for denying democracy in CPS. It has, by every measure, failed.”
As the weather warms and the city makes headway to fully reopen, the Chicago Loop Alliance’s May report shows that downtown activity is picking up.
Between 2000 and 2020, the Police Committee-turned-Committee on Public Safety considered 489 agenda items, according to a Justice Project review. Of the agenda items considered, only 15% had anything to do with the Chicago Police Department. Instead, the committee has spent much of its time donating used police and fire equipment and “rubber-stamping” mayoral appointees.
“As my mother used to say when I was a kid, `You’re mine. I love you. But when you’re wrong, you’re wrong. I feel the same way about young people who’ve gone the wrong way. Let’s love them. Let’s support them. But when they cross the line and create chaos, there’s got to be accountability,” the mayor said.
“Spending plans that ‘fully fund’ pension obligations by making statutorily required contributions — amounts required by legislators, by law — do not necessarily fully fund pensions. In fact, Illinois has a sad history of passing laws with funding that falls far short of actuarial requirements — the amounts necessary to keep pension (and related retirement health care) debt from rising over time.”
Currently, cottage foods may only be sold at farmer’s markets in the state. Molly Gleason from the Illinois Stewardship Alliance said, “Illinois is just one of three states in the nation that has this limitation on cottage food producers, so that can be really difficult for folks.”
WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez said overall governors who didn’t implement strict restrictions on businesses and the public are experiencing a faster comeback.
The mayor campaigned on a promise to reduce the bloodshed and has offered a series of excuses for failing to do so. She has blamed the pandemic, lax gun laws in nearby states, and a dysfunctional criminal justice system, among other things.
If 10 aldermen support an independent map, it would trigger a referendum to allow voters to decide what happens.
“As I indicated before we adjourned on the final day of session, the House is expected to return next week on Wednesday, June 16 to take care of some final-action legislation. Items such as the energy proposal, unemployment insurance, and an elected school board for Chicago will be at the top of our list,” House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch said.
“This is a landmark clean energy plan that both protects thousands of jobs and moves Illinois responsibly toward the future,” Senate President Don Harmon said, adding that the Senate session will be a single day.
Reform For Illinois Executive Director Alisa Kaplan urged the governor to strengthen the reforms with an amendatory veto. “Show us you were serious when you said there was a need for reform and that you wanted to get it done and use the powers you have as governor to strengthen this bill.”
Illinoisans on June 11 will take off their masks and breathe a sigh of relief – except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance and Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s mandates.
Illinois forced its self-employed and independent workers to wait an average of 48 days to receive federal benefits, according to an audit by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.
Recently, the Illinois legislature passed a bill to amend the Illinois Freedom to Work Act to expand the ban on noncompetes to a larger population of workers and provide certain rights to employees who are asked to sign noncompete and nonsolicitation agreements as a condition of employment. Pritzker is expected to sign that bill.
“No one in the mainstream media will acknowledge the possibility, but there are signs everywhere that the militant progressives currently running Chicago are willing to sacrifice even the safety and rights of women and children in their quest to destroy the criminal justice system… Is Chicago’s past the nation’s prologue?”
Is it time for the masks to finally come off? Data from the CDC, IDPH, and the Cook County medical examiner all point to “yes.”
“This identifies just how hard it is to be a property taxpayer in a community that where there isn’t a lot of demand for your house, so you couldn’t move or sell or even giveaway in some cases, the property, because of the overhanging liabilities of property taxes and unfunded pensions,” said Laurence Msall, President of The Civic Federation.
Even the young victims that survive are traumatized, said Taal Hasak-Lowy, executive director of Friends of the Children Chicago. “These kids have witnessed more violence in their short years than most of us have seen in even the violent movies. These are terrifying times and there’s no words that will make somebody feel better.”
If Pennsylvania is comparable to Illinois, a court case over the map could take a long time to hash out. A map drawn by the Republican-controlled Pennsylvania legislature in 2011 got tossed in 2018.
Navy Pier will host one of the city’s first conventions this afternoon. The Chicago Hospitality Rally will bring more than 80 exhibitors with 800 people from theaters, hotels, restaurants and more to the grand ballroom.
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