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State Rep. Bob Morgan’s idea of mandating a statewide vaccination registry was met by strong opposition with now over 22,000 witness slips filed.
“Chicago’s crime explosion has many causes, of course, but an important one is dreadful political leadership. Never in its history has Chicago had such a feckless trio in charge of public safety: Cook County state’s attorney Kim Foxx, Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker, and Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot. Foxx is the worst of the three.”
Mark Konkol: “Dues from members should be used to directly support members in their schools and classrooms, first and foremost,” (Members First spokesman Josh) Brown said. “We don’t have to be in the middle of every political fight in Chicago and the state of Illinois. We could actually be nice to folks and treating people how we teach our students to treat people, and get a lot more done.”
“Teachers deserve union leaders who will be aggressive negotiators when CTU and CPS sit down to bargain. That’s what unions do. But they also deserve leaders who remember that the core mission is the education and welfare of Chicago’s children. Long ago, CTU’s current leadership lost track of that mission and opted instead to put their political agenda first, above everyone and everything else.”
“I think we’ve got to keep talking about it,” CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said about a student vaccine mandate. He expressed disappointment the issue had not been taken up at the federal level.
“I have attempted to take this to the committee and do it the right way,” Ald. Anthony Beale said. “But when your voice is being silenced where you can’t even bring something to the floor that is beneficial to us, it’s a problem y’all!”
“This is an open manifestation of our commitment to work together to ensure that all of our communities are safe,” Foxx said.
Funded through the American Rescue Plan Act that passed Congress in March 2021, $387 million will be available through the emergency assistance fund for homeowners. The ARPA funds provided assistance for rent and utilities, as well as $387 million for the soon-to-launch mortgage assistance program.
Chief Justice Anne Burke has recused herself from the case, as has Justice Mary Jane Theis. Neither gave an official reason for their recusal. That leaves only five justices left to decide the case, but the Illinois Constitution still requires four justices to agree on a decision.
Pew Charitable Trusts points to the Great Recession when states plowed through federal aid without looking to the future. In 2009, with state finances in distress, Congress offered them money through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA). The funds provided critical relief, but when most of the money ran out at the end of 2011, states suddenly lacked the funds to support ongoing programs and services.
The Madison County Board, in a bipartisan vote, authorized the state’s attorney to sue to halt the maps. Monday, a Sangamon County judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking the maps from being enacted.
A spokeswoman for the University of Illinois Hospital in Chicago — the health system that the federal database showed had the second highest number of unvaccinated personnel — also said the numbers in the database are incorrect.
The Illinois congressional delegation is thus far standing firm in its bid to repeal the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions—albeit strictly along party lines But repealing the cap has threatened to open a divide between Democratic progressives and traditional liberals. For progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont it’s also a fairness issue, in that if he insists that the richest Americans pay more in taxes, that also goes for Democrats in that group. Republicans, meanwhile, have made hay out of charging that Democrats are out to benefit their own millionaires with the efforts at repeal.
An interactive map of these properties shows a concentration of vacant properties in downtown Chicago extending through the South Side. Some neighborhoods, such as North Lawndale, have a vacancy rate of about 20 percent. Last year, the city sold 250 lots there for $1 each to a joint venture that plans to build affordable homes.
“And with so much control and influence over the criminal justice system, over the jail, and the judges and the prosecutor, you’d think media might want to hold Preckwinkle to account. But they don’t.”
The Illinois State Board of Education last week aligned its quarantine guidance for unvaccinated students with the CDC, shortening isolation from 10 to five days as of Jan. 11.
A deal that would determine the balance of political power between Black, Latino and Asian Chicagoans remains elusive, with neither Black Caucus Chair Ald. Jason Ervin or Latino Caucus Chair Ald. Gilbert Villegas optimistic that a compromise can be reached to avert a June referendum.
A growing number of pro-police aldermen have grown increasingly defiant against a range of police misconduct settlements, saying city attorneys should be taking more cases to trial to ward off frivolous lawsuits.
ISP created the tool to provide no only data, but also as context to expressways shootings reported in Illinois.
The Members First Caucus of the CTU contends the current leaders secured members “a couple of KN95 masks for four days of lost pay” during remote action taken earlier this month. Chicago students were out of school for five days at the start of January when union leaders told members to stay home over COVID-19 demands.
The process for selecting projects funded through Illinois’ celebrated “Rebuild Illinois” spending plan is sad enough, but much worse when you consider how the program is being paid for: The poor and working class are hit hardest.
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