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After widespread racialized condemnations of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas for support of a controversial majority ruling that turned abortion back to the states, black conservatives and moderates have issued a national Open Letter urging restraint and sobriety.
An ordinance the City Council approved Wednesday also prohibits the privatization of Chicago’s water system.
Jim Dey: “Gasoline and politics are a combustible combination, particularly during an election year when prices hover around $4.40 to $5 a gallon. To ingratiate themselves with voters, Pritzker and legislators postponed a scheduled gas-tax increase of 2-plus cents a gallon from July 1 to Jan. 1, 2023.”
“Illinois has made tremendous strides in the labor market, adding nearly 250,000 jobs over the past year and reaching the lowest unemployment rate since the onset of the pandemic,” said DCEO Director Sylvia I. Garcia. The state’s unemployment rate was +0.9 percentage point higher than the national unemployment rate reported for June, which was 3.6 percent, unchanged from the previous month.
So far this year, there have been 84 expressway shootings in the state. Between January 1 and July 21 of last year, there were 132. Plus, homicides from expressway shootings are down 90 percent, with just one person killed this year, compared to 10 last year.
Northwestern University ranked No. 8, costing students $76,317 per year to attend, according to the website. Coming in at No. 9, the University of Chicago in the city’s Hyde Park neighborhood also made the cut, with an annual tuition cost of $76, 302.
“This has been a summer (unlike any we) have witnessed,” Ald. Brian Hopkins said. “It’s been really horrific to watch this level of violence in the downtown area.”
The lawsuit claims, “However, (Jenny) Thornley did not make this claim to the Merit Board, which employed her. Instead, leveraging her relationship with the Pritzkers, Thornley made the claim directly to the Governor’s General Counsel, [Anne] Spillane. And Spillane accepted that claim and processed it, even though the claim falsely listed Thornley’s employer as the Governor’s Office rather than the Merit Board.”
State Sen. Christina Castro said Midcontinent Independent System Operator needs to get 34 solar and wind projects sitting in their queue up and running as soon as possible. “If Ameren customers ever find themselves in the dark, MISO’s inaction is to blame. They are asleep at the switch.”
“We are not a mental health facility, we’re a detention facility,” Sangamon County, Sheriff Jack Campbell said. “And it was unfair to the inmate themselves, who the court has said they need help that the jail and the court cannot provide them and DHS had refused.” Campbell also sued to get a restraining order against the governor’s COVID-19 executive orders limiting transfers.
The discrepancies between the approval ratings of Biden and Democratic governors help explain the level of intrigue in national news outlets regarding Biden potentially being replaced atop the Democratic ticket in the 2024 election cycle. Pritzker’s name has been floated time and again in that conversation.
Almost half of all spending on higher education in Illinois’ 2022 budget will now go to the State Universities Retirement System. Fifteen years ago, university retirement payments were 10% of the higher education budget. Amendment 1 would give public worker unions the ability to continue growing Illinois’ $313 billion pension debt, which is already the worst in the nation.
On an annual basis, the average Illinois worker will shell out $1,483 more for gasoline this year, $929 more for housing, $523 more for groceries, and $387 more for utilities. By the time you add up all the different ways inflation nickels and dimes you, the total cost adds up to more than $4,675.
A republication of our Wirepoints column, which was also linked in RealClear Politics.
Democratic strategist and CNN contributor David Axelrod said, “I understand the thinking behind these tactics, but as I said earlier, they come with great risk and, you know, you’re handling plutonium here as it relates to democracy.”
That puts Holcomb’s 54% approval ranking at 20th among the nation’s governors just below Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear. While Pritzker’s 51% rating placed him at 34th, just below Washington Governor Jay Inslee, according to the poll. The top eight spots all belonged to Republican governors.
Construction is expected to take four years, with work done piece by piece so as to not disrupt the visitor experience. Work would start early next year, pending City Council approval.
The money comes from the county’s pool of $1 billion in American Rescue Plan Act funds. The
This fund comes at a time when the ongoing construction of the Obama Presidential Center and renovations of Jackson and South Shore parks are heightening concerns about gentrification.
“We know that a swift response is essential when confronting outbreaks of disease,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “And we’ve learned in the last few years that most people are eager to protect themselves and their communities when given the tools to do so.”
Chris Davis, Illinois director of the National Federation of Independent Businesses, said Illinois policymakers need to loosen business and employer mandates. “When you add those mandates on top of energy prices, gas prices, inflation and supply chain issues, it’s becoming extremely difficult for small business owners to manage their businesses in Illinois.”
IHDA Executive Director Kristin Faust said, “The IDHA board has approved $72.7 million in COVID-19 affordable housing grant program funds. They have gone to 20 developments containing 1,094 units.”
“The fantasy seems to be that Pritzker could serve as an FDR for our time: a wealthy class traitor who has the wisdom to understand that if people like him aren’t going to be eaten alive by the populist hordes, they need to get with the program and let the labor movement lead them…I think it’s a role Pritzker might conceivably serve, if he was principled and intelligent.”
“And while much of the Midwest remains stagnant, the region as a whole still is large and important. Chicago is its capital, and that is not going to change. For a large number of the Midwest’s educated young people, Chicago will remain the preferred destination. Midwestern tourists will visit the city for shopping and entertainment. Midwestern cities and states will look to Chicago for high-level business services.”
Allen Sanderson, senior instructional professor of economics at the University of Chicago, believes the city will be lucky if it breaks even on the event. “If you take any number city officials give you and divide it by 10, you’re probably pretty close to the truth,” he said, adding that it is one of the worst ideas he’s ever heard. Preparing for an event where the roads must be groomed not only for the cars but also for the crowds isn’t a matter of closing DuSable Lake Shore Drive for a few hours, but for days or weeks.
Wirepoints’ Ted Dabrowski was on the Steve Cochran Show to discuss Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s rumored run for president as Pres. Biden’s approval collapses, voters’ lack of confidence in Vice President Kamala Harris and why voters must do their research before voting.
Spokesmen for Affordable Gas & Electric in Mt. Vernon, says it’s going to be part of a new normal in Illinois, and that there are a number of factors leading to price increases. One of the biggest is the closure of fossil fuel plants that are happening faster than the construction of renewable energy facilities.
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