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Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Chicago on Tuesday with her husband, Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff, to deliver remarks at the National Education Association 2022 Annual Meeting and Representative Assembly at the McCormick Place Convention Center.
Video sent to Fox 32 shows drivers doing donuts in the street around 3:30 a.m. at Michigan Avenue and Columbus Drive with police there trying to contain it all. Several fireworks were shot into the sky above the intersection. People in the crowd were also allegedly firing fireworks at nearby police cars, according to those witnessing the chaos.
“A significant surplus and a zero-day payment cycle mean that our schools are funded, our roads are being rebuilt, and our healthcare providers are paid on time – and Illinois taxpayers are no longer dealing with hundreds of millions of dollars in interest payments because government didn’t do its job,” said Governor JB Pritzker.
Ald. Jeanette Taylor’s proposed Accountable Housing and Transparency ordinance aims to centralize efforts in housing the homeless and those in need. Other key features of the ordinance include prioritizing the displaced and disabled, centralizing leasing, a single waitlist, “interagency coordination” among all Chicago-based public health and housing institutions, and a requirement for each affordable housing unit to “achieve and maintain 97% occupancy rate.”
President Joe Biden said in a statement he and his wife Jill “are shocked by the senseless gun violence that has yet again brought grief to an American community on this Independence Day.” Biden said he spoke to Gov. JB Pritzker and Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering on Monday and “offered the full support of the Federal government to their communities.” The president also referenced the bipartisan gun control measure he signed into law last month following mass shootings in Buffalo, New York and Uvalde, Texas earlier this year.
“Everyone is working together, and ISBE acknowledged that they have been in contact with CPS, they recognized the error and now Chicago Public Schools are working to pay that money back,” said State Rep. William Davis.
In May, one in every 2,000 housing units had a foreclosure filing in Illinois, and Chicago had the third-worst rate among metropolitan areas with a population of at least 200,000, according to a report by real estate data provider ATTOM.
Videos at 58 East Lake St. show that someone usually holds the store’s front door open as a string of shoplifters, often wearing ski masks, rolls in. The store employees can do little but stand back and hope nobody gets hurt. Exterior footage shows people lingering outside the store, waiting for people to emerge with booze, smokes, and other goodies.
“Illinois has done a pretty good job of leveraging all its advantages and being strategic in its tourism campaign,” said professor Keith Boeckelman of Western Illinois University.
The trooper was heading west on Division Street around 1:40 a.m. when he arrived at the Chicago River bridge and noticed that the roadway was being blocked by people who had gathered for a “sideshow” — an event promoted on social media where crowds block off streets so drag racers can do donuts in the intersection.
An economic impact study done several years ago by Northern Illinois University estimated that just in the construction phase, the project would create 675 construction-related jobs and more than $110 million in economic impact to the region. However, those numbers are expected to be substantially higher after a new study is completed later this year.
“Chicago is in no position to change the circumstances of corporate America, and PR campaigns promoting the city as a destination for tourists and conventioneers can only go so far in altering perceptions…But there is no doubt that Gov. J.B. Pritzker needs to make Chicago’s crime wave a much bigger personal priority than he has, instead of leaving Mayor Lori Lightfoot to shoulder the blame for their collective ineffectiveness.”
Analysts speculate Illinois Governor JB Pritzker may be eyeing the White House despite his claims that his focus remains on the state’s upcoming gubernatorial race.
“In other words, this is a dynamite just waiting to explode. Maybe it will never go off as state officials continue to muddle along. But when and if it does, disaster will ensue for members of the funds for teachers, judges, state employees, state university employees and judges. For the time being, the legislators’ pension system is in the most trouble. It’s just 19 percent funded.”
As Democrats maneuver in state politics, Pritzker’s profile has risen nationally. After a recent trip to New Hampshire, his name has gotten tossed as a potential contender for the presidency in 2024. “I’m focused on re-election as governor, I intend to serve four years as governor,” he said.
Inside the relief package is a delay to a scheduled 2 cent motor fuel tax increase, keeping the tax at 39 cents per gallon. “I don’t think I would’ve really noticed it. I mean I still have to get gas, so it’s still a necessity,” said Ed Hammond, local driver.
So far, at least two mass shootings happened over the weekend. But the police have also been the target in crimes in the city.
Monday morning, a shooting in Parkway Gardens left five men wounded.
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