-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
Mark and Ted discuss what could be in store for Chicago as crime and temperatures begin to heat up. Plus, a look at the top stories of the week including President Biden visiting Chicago, residents leaving Chicago and the upcoming primary election.
The law will help with access to low cost 340B prescription drugs for patients who are uninsured and low-income. Lawmakers said 16 other U.S. states have passed similar measures.
The 16th floor is not without its quirks, finding signs of every gubernatorial administration to call the Thompson Center home. Staffers paid homage to the weird and embarrassing of the floor, including garbage cans to collect water from the ceiling, doors without handles and a warning to not use the toaster and microwave at the same time, because a fuse was likely to blow.
AFSCME’s salary and compensation outpace the private sector, yet union bosses are not satisfied and want to continue the favored status they gained through indicted former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan. Generous union contracts have contributed to driving Illinois property taxes to No. 2 nationally, the state and local tax burden to No. 1 and state finances to No. 50. And yet union bosses still want permanent power to continue the cycle.
“It’s impossible to say whether the initial report (on the 2020 coronavirus outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home) was incomplete because of incompetence, a predetermined decision not to look too deeply into what occurred, or both. Given the Pritzker administration’s embarrassment and anger over last week’s disclosures, particularly in an election year, none of those possibilities is off the table. But it’s important to note that the state’s human services department is part of the state’s executive branch that answers to the governor. The auditor general answers to the General Assembly.”
In her six-page ruling, Cook County Judge Maureen Hannon wrote that disagreements over how many signatures were needed was the result of different interpretations of the law and noted that running for office is “a substantial right not lightly to be denied…Ballot access laws in Illinois are to be interpreted liberally and impediments to candidacy are to be strictly construed.”
“These backroom deals in secrecy drive fiscal chaos in this state and also breed corruption,” Minority Leader Jim Durkin said.
State Rep. Amy Elik: “I was one of three House Republicans on our budget negotiation team; however, we were shut out of the discussions on the budget, and no appropriations working group meetings were held this year.”
Ameren Illinois, which provides electricity to 1.2 million customers in the Prairie State, warned that capacity issues could “leave parts of Illinois short of the power needed to meet customer demand during extreme temperatures this summer.” As one company executive said, “We have been sounding the warning bell that the transition to renewable generation must occur in a steady and measured fashion and that moving too fast could drive up prices.”
“Equity was not a word that was used back then. But that’s what she was doing for people of color. … It just feels a little bit like it’s part of my DNA. I know it’s nurture, not nature. But I cannot imagine another set of views,” Gov. JB Pritzker said. His mother was also an activist, a finance chair for Democratic senators running for reelection in 1976 and the northern California women’s chair for the Democratic party. That meant people such as Barbara Boxer, Nancy Pelosi, David Goodstein and Gloria Steinem were in his childhood.
State Rep. Sue Scherer sponsored the bill that requires more home safety checks. She said in a statement, “After thoroughly reviewing the DCFS audit and speaking to the auditor general at length, I am at a complete loss for words.”
For the first time the law defines organized retail crime in the state and it is a felony. It also eliminates a jurisdictional issue for prosecutors, such as when a theft happens in one county and the items are sold in another. Online market places will also be required to collect and verify the identity of people trying to sell a lot of items at once.
Last month in Chicago, a new study was unveiled showing the supposed benefits of a violence prevention program called READI. But the research that’s being hailed as proof of concept is anything but that. The program has no overall net positive effect.
A few years ago, the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts —whose staff is appointed by the Supreme Court —began encouraging probation departments to discontinue intensive probation supervision. Instead, it urged them to turn to “evidence-based services focused on changing behaviors and achieving more positive outcomes,” according to Christopher Bonjean, a spokesman for the office.
The River North Residents Association, which represents nearly 23,000 people living near the proposed Bally’s site, has expressed concerns about crime, traffic, safety, noise and the use of the Chicago River, with more than 86% of 2,311 survey respondents opposed to the casino. “I just hope that they hear the people,” resident Jill Funfsinn said before the meeting started, “that they don’t just do it for lip service.”
“We’re in the beginning of summer, this is going to be happening more and more,” said resident Joe Jacobazzi. “…I saw the disturbance last night, and it just seemed like the police, as usual, are just reactive and not proactive.”
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