-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
Since the city will still allow individual businesses to implement their own rules, it’s probably best to keep a mask and vax card in your pocket.
“Where are we gonna be in three years?” Ald. Brian Hopkins asked on a recent networking Zoom call “It’s unsustainable.” CPD “can’t recruit fast enough.”
The Illinois industry is more robust than many people realize, with 139 wineries, 53 vineyards and two homegrown viticultural areas. “We make really good wine in the state of Illinois, and we’re not allowed to self-distribute a single gallon,” said winemaker Andreas Basso.
Andrea Kersten was confirmed Wednesday by a vote of 31 to 14. When asked about the speed of COPA’s investigations, Kersten said the average time an investigation takes has been trending toward 18 months, noting a drop from the two-and-a-half years its predecessor agency, the Independent Police Review Authority, would typically spend on a case.
With demand for the $500 monthly payments expected to outstrip the $31.5 million in available cash, Chicago will hold a lottery to pick 5,000 participants in what Mayor Lori Lightfoot has touted as the nation’s largest universal basic income program. She said Chicago cannot be a “successful thriving city until we address the needs of our residents, our neighbors, and use every tool in our tool kit to help lift them out of economic hardship.”
In addition to the monthly checks, two other cash assistance programs were announced, including a $4.8 million Domestic Worker Relief Fund that will distribute one-time $500 amounts to applicants, and a $10.7 million Chicago Resiliency Fund that will provide aid to those who were excluded from prior federal stimulus payouts.
American Council of Engineering Companies Illinois president Kevin Artl said during a news conference. “But I think the history here in Illinois is that when you skip payments, it only makes things worse. And in this instance, skipping this adjustment will lead to a half a billion dollars in lost funds for infrastructure projects over five years.”
“To give you an example, in December alone, just in December, we received $961 million in corporate income tax receipts,” Illinois Department of Revenue Director David Harris. “That’s in one month. In a given year, a normal year would be $3.5 billion or thereabouts in corporate income tax receipts for the entire year.”
State Sen. Jason Barickman said the Democratic controlled legislature has failed to address Pritzker’s unilateral rule. “All this chaos that’s existed in our schools and elsewhere could have been avoided if the governor simply subjected himself to the legislative process.”
Senate Republicans laid out one of their major initiatives, focusing on giving parents more of a voice in their children’s education. This includes extending the Invest in Kids scholarship program and requiring posting of curriculum online.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker is asking the Illinois Supreme Court to let him keep his authority to force Illinoisans to mask. But his effort to keep his COVID-19 mandate power is ignoring relevant data.
His “reduction” is in his newest budget. He is offering temporary tax relief for families, but has done nothing for long-term reform.
In the plan, $475 million property tax rebates are set for Illinois families. It would be a one-time property tax rebate payment to homeowner of 5% of property taxes paid, up to $300 for those eligible for a state income tax credit.
A $174 million infrastructure project that will ease access to the Obama Presidential Center is underway, disrupting access to some local businesses by a project whose critics worry it will end up raising property values and driving out long-time residents.
In a recent letter to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky, U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush raised concerns that policies that too severely limit access to loved ones cause immense suffering for patients nearing the end of their lives. “While limiting the spread of COVID-19 remains critical, I believe that the restrictive visitor policies currently in place at many hospitals in Illinois and around the country should be updated to reflect the latest science and the tools we now have at our disposal.
“Although the actual details are scant, it’s safe to say (Jesse) White’s office didn’t perform even the basic due diligence that would’ve kept (Candace) Wanzo from another spin on the public employment carousel. Whether White hired Wanzo directly, he bears responsibility for approving her promotions, policy changes and continued employment, including a year of paid leave during the investigation and a timely resignation.”
The district’s policy has been under fire from the teachers union and others who have argued it weighs test scores too heavily and penalizes schools that serve high-need student populations.
The Conrad Chicago is one of the highest-profile examples of distress in a local hotel market laboring to recover from the pandemic.
State Police Director Brendan said the seizure of fentanyl increased by more than 400% compared to the previous year. Heroin seizures were up by more than 260%, while seizures of meth were up by 190%. The value of recovered drugs is estimated at $71 million.
Under federal law, the new 988 hotline takes effect in July. The state Senate this month passed a bill creating a statewide 988 trust fund, which is now in the state house. Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s budget proposal puts $70 million toward crisis response services for people who call 988, and $5 million specifically into that trust fund.
However, some precaution will stay in place. If a student is returning from quarantine they must wear a mask for five days.
Sen. Dick Durbin, who met with foreign leaders in Lithuania Wednesday, called the attack a “dire threat to the established international order,” while Gov. J.B. Pritzker said that Illinois residents stand with Ukrainian citizens during a Russian attempt to “undermine democracy” in the region.
The Department of Healthcare and Family Services Compromise Nursing Home Rate Reform bills would prioritize accountability and workforce development in long-term care facilities, and end the practice of overcrowding “ward-like” nursing home rooms with three or more residents. The legislation would also require greater transparency of nursing home ownership and revenue, and directly tie funding and rates to sustained nursing home performance.
Amid severe staffing shortages and heightened student needs, the transition back to full-time in-person learning has stretched principals across the country to the limit, said Scott Treibitz of the American Federation of School Administrators. The pandemic has also brought a slew of campaigns to unionize principals in districts across the country, including Chicago.
Illinois officials and healthcare professionals have been playing fast and loose with the definition of the “unvaxxed” in hospitals. Their intent may be more jabs in arms, but their approach is deceptive. It’s a sure way to lose the public’s trust.
Real Clear co-founder Tom Bevan didn’t mince words Wednesday and he got it exactly right: “Everyone gets their freedom back, but we’re going to keep punishing kids. This is the most ass-backwards, inexcusably evil policy in history.”
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski went on on AM560 Chicago’s Morning Answer to talk about Gov. Pritzker taking his school mask mandate to the Illinois Supreme Court, the proposal to allow local governments to enact their own gas taxes, the damage done to people’s lives by the state’s high unemployment rate, and more.
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