“The difference between Chicago and the other towns is that here, the people have been conditioned to think a mayor could be seen as ruthless or corrupt, but always strong enough to maintain order. That is not the case now. Rather than maintain order she undermines it.”
The Large Unit District Association, which represents 52 of Illinois’ largest school districts and more than half a million students throughout the state, sent state superintendent Carmen Ayala a letter this week: “We request that social distancing, quarantining, and masking guidelines in schools be consistent with health guidelines of Phase 5 as applied to other venues in Illinois.”
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Chicago federal court, seeks class-action status on behalf of drivers who have fed the ubiquitous ParkChicago machines lining city streets, alleging the 75-year agreement has led to higher parking rates, too many meters and restrictions on alternative transportation such as bicycles and ride-sharing.
“But (state Rep. Tim) Butler getting called out on social media for “plantation mentality” during a township governance disagreement says it all about big government’s stronghold on Illinois. It’s an exhaustingly tight grip.”
“Politicians on and off the ballot have spent campaign cash over the years on legal fees — pre- and post-indictment — meals for staffers as well as season tickets for the Chicago Bulls, White Sox, Cubs and Notre Dame. Former House Speaker Michael Madigan was especially partial to the Fighting Irish. Campaign funds even once covered the funeral expenses of a former state legislator. So, why not child care?”
State Rep. Delia Ramirez said in a tweet that she and the small group of legislators met with the mayor Thursday morning to discuss a “trailer” bill, or follow-up legislation, related to the elected school board issue. The additional measures may be taken up during the General Assembly’s fall veto session.
A bill on Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk could make Illinois the second state in the country to decriminalize HIV.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot has rejected calls to ban no-knock warrants, saying that it would make it impossible for officers to protect Chicagoans from “dangerous people.” But Attorney General Kwame Raoul said a ban on no-knock warrants could be crafted in a way to allow officers to do their jobs — while protecting innocent bystanders and other law enforcement agents.
Said Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police Executive Director Ed Wojcick, “There is so much unreasonable scrutiny on them, and I would say ignorant scrutiny, that people are saying ‘why would I subject myself to that.’”
“Credit ratings are ratings of the creditworthiness and the creditworthiness of the bonds,” said Bill Bergman, director of research for Truth in Accounting. “They are not indicators for taxpayers.”
“People are walking away from properties,” said Paul Arena with the Illinois Rental Property Owners Association. “They can’t go on much longer before we just expand this into a whole new crisis of foreclosures and abandoned property.”
“Historically, the city has cultivated a robust, diverse news environment, from the Chicago Defender, which lured thousands of southern Blacks to the north for opportunity during the Great Migration to the writings of Studs Terkel, the oral historian of the city’s working masses. And in the past few years, its powerful hometown foundations have boosted the work of local journalists and storytellers, elevating Chicago’s profile as a center for innovation in both the approach to news and its funding.”
Just 29% of people surveyed in the U.S. said they trust the news, compared to 45% in Canada and 54% in Brazil.
Since at least 1996, it has been illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections. Certain municipalities across the country, however, have allowed the practice for local elections.
While some residents and village trustees have urged the police department to change the patch, citing the Thin Blue Line imagery’s use by white nationalists and other far-right groups, police leadership has held firm on keeping it. “To me, it’s about honor, it’s about pride, it’s about kinship … I even said it’s about love,” Officer Lisa Schaps said on Fox News.
Chicago has about 400,000 lead service lines connecting to people’s homes. The city has 50 years to replace them all.
Without Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s endorsement, the effort remains in flux 24 hours before the twice-rescheduled showdown.
An additional $17 million has been approved and is in the process of being paid out with hundreds of millions of additional dollars expected to be sent out the door in the coming weeks in response to applications totaling $664 million in requests for assistance for past due and future rent payments.
No one is in custody from either case.
That total represents a 17% decrease from the previous week.
Nearly half of the 50 total members of City Council signed the letter which reads, in part, “We have witnessed numerous occasions in recent meetings where the various rulings made by you as Presiding Officer have been inconsistent and/or in direct contradiction with the Rules of Order and Procedure.”
State Rep. Adam Niemerg said the problem in Illinois has been going on for years and that the pandemic has only highlighted these issues. “First, you have to do away with the extra $300 in unemployment, we need to get people to want to go back to work, We also need to stop taxing our business as hard as we do now, the goal is to get business to want to come to Illinois.”
In a ranking by the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste, the share of “Taxpayer Heroes” (scoring 80 percent to 99 percent) and “Taxpayer Super Heroes” (scoring 100 percent) in the state was the 34th highest percentage among the 50 states.
Each gallon of gas includes the 39.2-cent state gas tax as well as a little more than 18 cents for the federal motor fuel tax. Cook County adds 6 cents per gallon and Chicago adds 8 cents. Everyone is charged just more than a penny for the underground fuel storage tank clean-up fee.
Sen. John N. Kennedy, of Louisiana, spoke out following President Biden’s address laying out his plan to tamp down the nationwide crime surge: “Why has Chicago become the world’s largest outdoor shooting range? Why is it safer to walk down the streets of Mogadishu than New York City? …Crime is up because many, not all, but many members of the president’s own party believe in defunding the police.”
“The only reason Illinois taxpayers are not already majorly screwed over by Green New Deal madness is the unions and the Green party have competing goals. Wirepoints authors Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner have an alarming report on a Green New Deal bill in Illinois that has stalled only because competing interests have differing views on how to screw taxpayers.”
Rich Miller: “Last-minute, late-night budget votes have been far too routine in Springfield. It really needs to stop.”
The COVID-19 pandemic notwithstanding, Cook County is running a budget surplus so far this year and will enter fiscal 2022 having to fill only a relatively modest $121 million gap.
In the first five months of 2021, home sales grew by more in the city than in the larger metropolitan area, according to Crain’s analysis of data released this morning by Illinois Realtors, a statewide business group. Another sign of the Chicago market’s strength is in data released today by the National Association of Realtors. Nationwide, home sales were down 0.9 percent in May from April, the fourth consecutive month of declines in nationwide sales. By contrast, Chicago metro-area sales were up 3.7 percent in May from April. In the city, sales were
The county expects a $121.4 million budget gap in 2022 — among the smallest deficits in years — and will potentially use some of the $1 billion in federal dollars to help fill the hole. Preckwinkle said she isn’t planning any new tax hikes, or tax or fee increases — for now.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Scott Slocum on WJOL to discuss why Illinoisans should care about the massive green new deal bill being debated in the legislature.
The optimistic prediction is partly because of revenues climbing back up after more than a year of COVID-19 restrictions as well as an influx of federal funding.
Interstate 57 originates on its northern end in Chicago, and runs for 386 miles through the heart of Illinois before ending at Interstate 55 in Sikeston, Missouri. According to Rep. Bobby Rush, Interstate 57 is the only Chicago-area expressway that has not been formally named after an historical figure.
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