-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
A national republication of our Wirepoints column.
It’s been three years since federal prosecutors returned a sweeping indictment against 14th Ward Alderman Ed Burke. But Burke remains in office, still collecting a taxpayer-funded salary, as his case winds through the courts. According to data, Chicago’s federal criminal court system is one of the slowest in the nation, ranking 89th out of 94 districts for the time cases take from filing to disposition.
Jim Dey: “The truth is that proponents held hearings where interested parties, including Champaign County State’s Attorney Julia Rietz, discussed criminal-justice issues. But neither she nor other prosecutors or law-enforcement officers saw the actual bill until it was introduced and quickly passed. What exactly was in the legislation was a surprise then, and the results after Jan. 1, one way or another, will be as well.”
Said Darren Reisberg, “At a time when you’re seeing the critical race theory issues pervading across the country, the state board was able to push for culturally responsive teaching and leading standards here in Illinois. That will guide the way educator preparation programs prepare educators to go into classrooms. Even though we had a minority of stakeholders pushing against us, we didn’t back down.”
“If we move to medium, it’s not like the sky is falling,” Dr. Allison Arwady said. “There will be no major changes coming. We just want to put a brake on some of those transmissions.” Arwady says that mask recommendations will not return with a move to a “medium community level.”
Illinois was fourth in the country in foreclosure starts with 3,534, and Chicago led all large metro areas in the country, outdistancing New York and Los Angeles. Among 223 metropolitan statistical areas with a population of at least 200,000, those with the highest foreclosure rates in the first quarter included Rockford with one in every 634 housing units.
Abortion access now could be a key issue in this year’s Illinois elections.
House Bill 5016 creates a pilot program to allow remote learning for students of Consuella B. York Alternative High School that are in the custody of the IDOC. If successful, the program could roll out in other alternative schools across Illinois.
According to the complaint, the Such family received an “Order for Quarantine of an Individual” from the Cook County Department of Public Health April 22, purportedly requiring that their child, identified in the suit as R.S., remain away from school until May 1. R.S. had purportedly been exposed to Covid-19 while at lunch at the school April 21.
The video does not skimp on the traditional and required shots of the city’s skyline and lakefront while lauding the city’s “architectonic” landmarks. But that glossy image of Chicago is juxtaposed with footage from protests spurred by the police murder of George Floyd in the summer of 2020 and celebrates the city’s history of boisterous political protest. “Supression, opression we’re fighting for equality, it is why we are known as the heartland of democracy,” Common raps, as an image of a newly elected President Barack Obama walking on to the stage at Grant Park in 2008 flashes on screen.
“These are impoundable offenses [punishable by] thousands in fines. This problem isn’t for lack of tough laws. We’ve put those on the books for CPD. This is an enforcement issue that needs to be prioritized,” Ald. Brendan Reilly wrote in an email to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Said Mayor Lightfoot. “Together, we’ve ended water shutoffs for nonpayment and introduced legislation in City Council to protect water affordability. Now it’s time to celebrate Chicago’s water with a campaign that reminds us of our most precious resource – Lake Michigan.”
In Illinois, abortions are legal up to 22 weeks after gestation and there is no more parental notification requirement. Illinois has the Reproductive Health Act on the books with expanded abortion rights. Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed that into law in 2019.
The fall has been fueled by Latinos facing barriers to health care, living in food deserts and dealing with stress and instability, experts said.
Despite being among the states that beat pre-pandemic revenue trends, Illinois has taken no significant action to address its nation-leading tax burden. The brief relief offered in the new budget does almost nothing to address that burden or make the state more attractive to new residents or businesses.
When it comes to crime in Illinois, Chicago tends to suck the oxygen right out of the room. But other Illinois cities are having their own troubles. The takeaway: things aren’t looking good in Rockford. Not at all.
It doesn’t matter where you stand on the issues of sex-ed, pronoun usage or transgenderism in school, you should know who’s teaching your kids, what they’re teaching them and whether there’s more than meets the eye.
Gov. JB Pritzker has attempted to minimize the role his administration played in the daily management of the outbreak, but the report will indicate there was daily contact between the home, the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Illinois Department of Public Health, and the Governor’s office, specifically Deputy Governor Sol Flores.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot weighed in on the growing trend Monday afternoon, saying “We don’t want to have a circumstance where public safety is only available to the wealthy. That’s a terrible dynamic.”
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