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“Public participation is a bedrock principle of American democracy. The COVID-19 tragedy deserved an extraordinary response, but it is time for the governor to close a loophole that enables unscrupulous leaders to stifle dissent and silence critical voices in their communities.”
They wanted people into the United States to know that the war is not a movie and that their friends and family are fighting for freedom and democracy 5,000 miles away to save values that are, at their heart, American too.
“The fertilizer that helps raise that crops, a lot of that comes from overseas. So we’re looking at you know, ocean freight, barge freight, truck freight, just to get it to our warehouse and from there more truck freight and these applicators that we use the spreader that it takes fuel on every step of the process,” said Mark Bauman, general manager of Central Commodity FS.
“There’s a big drive by employers right now go try to get people back to working in a pre-COVID world, but that’s more and more difficult when it costs employees an arm and a leg to get there,” said jobs expert Andy Challenger of Challenger, Gray & Christmas. .
Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly told a state violence prevention task force this week that expressway shootings, gun trafficking, trooper staffing levels and officer wellness are some of the biggest challenges facing the agency.
While in office, Gov. JB Pritzker has been an advocate of the green and environmental movements and their policies. Wednesday, he was asked what can be done about surging gas prices. “I guess if you can find any silver lining it might be that people will more likely choose when they go to buy a new car to go to electric,” Pritzker said.
State Sen. Sue Rezin said the effects of the governor’s unilateral rule and lack of oversight over the past two years has been painful. Other states had fewer restrictions and are thriving, she said. “We are struggling to get back. We’re struggling to employ people. We have higher than normal unemployment versus other states coming out of the pandemic. There are many issue we look at.”
“It’s gonna be lengthy,” Saint Xavier University assistant professor David Parker said. “It sounds like he’s in it for the long haul and he’s gonna play kind of a game of who blinked first.”
“You go home and you tell people ‘there’s a convicted double murderer serving on the prisoner review board voting to let violent criminals out of prison,’ they look at you like you’ve got three eyes,” state Sen. Jason Plummer said. “The people of Illinois would be shocked if they knew what was happening in Springfield and this is example 1A and it needs to change.”
Senate Bill 2105 closely mirrors House Bill 2451, last year’s Chicago firefighter pension enhancement bill. The city estimated that legislation would cost an average of $30 million per year and $850 million over 35 years. Mayor Lori Lightfoot opposed the bill, calling it “irresponsible.” Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed it over her objections.
CPD Supt. David Brown said officers will be divided into teams that will focus on gang and narcotics crimes on the transit system, as well as patrolling the busy rail lines. CPD will adjust resources from the Bureau of Counterterrorism to better address shifts in crime patterns. CTA will also expand its use of contracted security guards.
Michael Madigan did not speak during the hearing conducted by telephone because of the COVID-19 pandemic; His not guilty plea was entered by his attorney. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cole ordered Madigan to be released on a personal recognizance bond.
“It makes no sense to me. Boston, New York, D.C., Atlanta, Toronto — all these cities have their own transit policing and we can’t have ours back here,” union president Eric Dixon said. “I’ve been around for 35 years. You had guys undercover in the subways. As a conductor, I would see them get on the trains. If something happened, I’d say, ‘In the fourth car, we’ve got a situation.’ They would go to that car. They’d stop things from happening.”
The city and its partners must provide more targeted support — not only boosting the funding available to housing developers, but improving access to existing funding, said DaJuan Robinson, of DNA Construction. The land bank provides low-cost land and technical support for developers, “breaking down some barriers to entry for us,.” But funds to offset construction, permitting and other costs “have to be available just as easy.”
It will likely be months before there’s a decision made about requiring COVID-19 shots kids to attend school; when it is time, the decision could come down to how the United States is doing with its outbreak at the time, Dr. Allison Arwady said. CPS has mandated vaccines for its staff.
House Minority Leader Jim Durkin said, “Our role is to restrict Russia’s role in our pension systems and also to restrict our state treasurer from making any investments within any type of Russian domiciled entity that’s doing business with the state of Illinois.”
The legislature has provided little to no oversight of Pritzker’s emergency powers. That’s because, unlike in other states, Illinois law does not give them such a role. In order to curb Pritzker’s emergency executive orders, lawmakers would need cooperation from the governor or a veto-proof majority.
“This should not be a surprise to anyone who’s done business at a Driver Services Facility (especially the one on Elston Avenue). The fidgety patrons want to get in and out as quickly as possible. The weary-looking clerks are waiting for their shifts to end. Nobody wants to be in a Secretary of State’s office. Not even the Secretary of State. (George) Ryan was so eager to move up that his office sold truckers’ licenses for bribes, which ended up in his campaign fund. As a result, Ryan spent more time in prison than he did as governor.”
“Chicago is in crisis under her (Mayor Lightfoot’s) erratic rule. She projects a persona of rage and fear that has little if anything to do with sober, stable leadership. Her cops know it. All the aldermen know it. City workers know it and all of political Chicago knows it too.”
Trustee Brian Riordan stated that “every single Friday … we get proof of why this is necessary. They (police) see the same offenders every week. They’re out 10 days later, a week later. … It’s impossible this is not gonna end badly for us, for our officers … Something’s gotta be done.”
Before the pandemic, Illinois’ arts and culture sector produced about $30 billion annually — more than agriculture or utilities across the state. These organizations lost, on average, 31% of their revenue to the pandemic in 2021, according to recent data from Arts Alliance Illinois, and they are on pace to match those losses over the first six months of 2022.
While the Illinois Supreme Court hasn’t yet decided if it will review an appeal of the latest ruling on county-executive authority, legislation is pending that would impact whether the county executive or the county board chair has the authority to appoint replacements for elected positions that fall vacant between elections.
The Honorable Robert W. Gettleman ruled that the Libertarian Party attained established party status when its Cook County State’s Attorney candidate Brian Dennehy received more than 5% of the vote in the 2020 general election. This allows Libertarians to run candidates for Cook County Board of Commissioners and Cook County Board of Review in the June 28th, 2022, primary election.
Among the four projects is a $98 million noise abatement project at the Belt Railway yards, where screeching train brakes have interrupted the sleep of patrons at nearby hotels. The hotel owners, Jon and Mark Weglarz, have been clients of Madigan’s tax appeal law practice. Other projects included a $31 million earmark for the Academy for Global Citizenship, $9 million for the John Hancock College Preparatory High School and another $6 million to build a control tower at Lewis University Airport in Romeoville.
If Illinoisans want any relief at the pump, they should demand it from Gov. Pritzker. The governor is directly and indirectly responsible for much of the gas price pain Illinoisans face. He owes residents a permanent, significant cut in the gas tax.
Gov. JB Pritzker dropped the statewide school mask mandate, Chicago Public Schools finally did the same and COVID infections continue to plummet. And since the most discussed lawsuit on school masking was ruled moot, you might therefore think the school mask saga is over. But it’s not.
Rep. Barbara Hernandez (D-Aurora) wants to provide an additional five paid mental health days on top of the sick leave teachers already receive. On top of the direct costs of districts hiring more substitutes, the new days would also grow teacher pension costs.
“It’s ridiculous,” said Jessie Brandon of Chicago.
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