-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
The Democrats’ “only chance of keeping the House” next year is if they redraw congressional lines to their advantage in New York and Illinois, Cook Political Report’s David Wasserman said. Democrats have a chance to eliminate as many as seven Republican House seats in just New York and Illinois through redistricting in states they control.
Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough said Wednesday her staff will start calculating the taxes owed by each of 1.77 million taxpayers after State’s Attorney Kim Foxx found there was no legal reason to delay the process. Yarbrough had previously refused to go ahead with that because of concerns that Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi’s staff had inaccurately calculated property assessments for homeowners whose assessments are frozen under a senior assessment freeze program.
“The large urban markets, Chicago being one of them, are considered in a depression – not even a recession – but a depression when it comes to hotel revenue,” said Michael Jacobson of the American Hotel and Lodging Association. Revenue for Chicago hotels compared to pre-pandemic 2019 is down 59 percent. In New York, it is down 62 percent, and in San Francisco, revenue is down 70 percent.
“‘The public doesn’t trust government,’ Ferguson told the Sun-Times in 2019. ‘And it’s not just Chicago government. It’s government generally. So, the only way to really have confidence, at least in this generation of things, is to put the information out there.’ And with a 100-person staff and a $10 million budget, Ferguson and his team probe nearly every aspect of government, from the amount of cars with properly registered municipal plates, to overtime at the Water Department.”
IHDA is prioritizing applications on behalf of people who are unemployed and those who have very low household incomes.
United could use the aircraft to connect hubs like Chicago O’Hare International Airport to smaller routes. Some of these routes have been cut by legacy carriers because they are too expensive.
In her resignation letter, Carol Pope lambasted an ethics package state lawmakers approved earlier this spring that is awaiting action by Gov. JB Pritzker. “This last legislative session demonstrated true ethics reform is not a priority. The [Legislative Inspector General] has no real power to effect change or shine a light on ethics violations.”
Pritzker plans to issue an executive order July 23 that will allow landlords to ask a court to evict tenants who earn less than $99,000 annually — or $198,000 if a couple files jointly — and had been unable to pay rent because of the COVID-19 pandemic starting on Aug. 1. Eviction orders will be allowed to be enforced after Aug. 31, Pritzker said.
“How are they going to ensure that those more regular payments get into the hands of the families that need it the most,” U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis said. “You don’t have to look too much further than the state of Illinois. … We’re still seeing instances of fraudulent activity, fraudulent unemployment claims that probably and likely cost the state hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars.”
The new legislation allows student-athletes to consult with their school board rather than having to file a complaint with the Illinois High School Association, which governs most interscholastic sports in the state.
The 10-count indictment alleges the former principal of Brennemann Elementary School, located in Buena Park, told certain school employees that she would authorize overtime pay for hours the employees would not be required to work. She then allegedly directed them to then deliver the proceeds of the unearned overtime to her or another person, fraudulently collecting at least $200,000 in CPS money through the scheme.
Two lawsuits – one by Republican legislative leaders and another by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, or MALDEF – have been consolidated and assigned to a three-judge panel, as is required under federal law whenever a suit challenges the constitutionality of a redistricting plan.
Chicago Public Schools laid out a proposed $9.3 billion fiscal 2022 budget that directs $707 million towards capital and spends down about $1 billion of the district?s $2.6 billion of federal relief to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
One district with calls pending in the picture, Grand Crossing, had 372 cops when Brown came to Chicago for his new job. Today, Grand Crossing has 282. Grand Crossing happens to be the fourth-worst CPD district for murders and shootings in the city this year — 28 dead, 149 wounded as of this morning.
According to Therese McGuire, a professor of strategy at Kellogg, the state is doing a reasonable job managing the situation. Still, “it’s a structural deficit we face in this state. We’ve got revenues increasing at a slower pace than spending. And so we balance the budget this year, but if we don’t change either growth rate, give us a few months: we’ll have a deficit.”
The Kids Count Data Book, compiled by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, shows 16% of Illinois youth were living in poverty last year, down three points from 2010. When it comes to education, the report indicates there are fewer Illinois fourth-graders who are not proficient at reading and fewer eighth-graders who are not proficient at math.
Tens of thousands of people owe back rent to landlords. After 16 months of delay, struggling landlords are determined to start eviction processes.
Departing Inspector General Joe Ferguson warned last fall the city’s failure to conduct regular evaluations for nearly half of its 33,000 employees left personnel decisions “vulnerable to appearances and suspicions of favoritism.” Ferguson noted evaluations are “critical” in any workplace, but even more important for government employees, who are “paid through tax dollars.”
Should this column be serious or facetious? I honestly can’t decide, for reasons to be made clear.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson on Chicago’s Morning Answer to talk about federal money, mask mandates and all things related to policy in Illinois.
Pritzker press secretary Jordan Abudayyeh said, “The governor also anticipates discussing other major issues such as the need for a national approach to addressing the pandemic’s impact on unemployment funds and combatting gun violence. The governor will also meet with White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeff Zients to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Gianno Caldwell, a Chicago native, said residents are losing trust in the leadership of Mayor Lori Lightfoot as well as in city officials’ ability to protect its residents. “Considering that we have had two weekends this year with over 100 people shot in Chicago, I would say the city is in war zone status.”
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