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Fellow aldermen Roderick Sawyer and Ray Lopez are also running to challenge Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Other candidates include businessman Willie Wilson; State Rep. Kam Buckner; former CPS CEO Paul Vallas; Frederick Collins, a veteran Chicago police officer; and community activist Ja’Mal Green.
The problems at IDOC are the latest to confront Gov. J.B. Pritzker over his administration’s management of state agencies, which has been a major avenue of criticism as he seeks reelection. Issues under Pritzker’s watch include the deaths of 36 veterans during a 2020 COVID-19 outbreak at a state-run home in LaSalle; the loss of nearly $2 billion through fraudulent payments made through the state’s Department of Employment Security; and accusations of mismanagement at the Department of Children and Family Services.
“When we think about what happened in Highland Park and Uvalde, Texas, and unfortunately in previous instances, what we’re seeing are youths that are disconnected, that have not been included, right? That don’t have a sense of belonging. And I feel the workforce and afterschool programs are absolutely critical in having a trusted adult, healthy relationships between staff and students, between students, between staff,” said Jeffrey Aranowski, Executive Director of the Illinois State Board of Education.
The report said 26 Illinois hospitals are not complying with the law, including Clay County Hospital, Trinity Rock Island and Midwest Medical Center in Galena. It highlighted a dozen hospitals that are complying and providing prices, including Paris Community Hospital, Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Franklin Hospital in Benton.
The report argues Illinois has a very broad definition of a “political expenditure,” which could lead to residents running afoul of the laws without knowing it. “What happens in Illinois is that unbeknownst to a lot of people, they might run a half-dozen Facebook ads saying, ‘I think this ballot measure is really important,’ or my group wants to advocate for criminal justice reform,” one researcher said. “Then all of a sudden they have state regulators writing them threatening letters, fining them thousands of dollars, because that is a question of public policy.”
According to the website Awake-Illinois, only 20 school districts have decided to fully follow the standards, with 534 opting out. Rockford, Mundelein and East. St. Louis are three of the largest school districts to adopt the standards, while Normal schools in McLean County did so for 8th and 9th grades only.
Illinois teachers spend hundreds of dollars a year in union dues, but most of that money doesn’t stay with their local bargaining units. Instead, their money flows up the chain to the state and national affiliates, such as the Illinois Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of Teachers. And in 2021, IFT spent 190 times more money on Chicago-area affiliates than it did on affiliates south of Interstate 80. In fact, IFT reported directing money to only one affiliate south of I-80.
Current law requires the retirement system board to take action to remove a pension benefit paid to corrupt public officials upon a guilty verdict or plea. State Rep. Amy Elik’s bill (HB 5737) would remove a loophole that allows politicians to continue receiving their pension payments while awaiting the outcome of their case.
“We have a lot of manufacturing,” said Gov. JB Pritzker, who attended the signing at the White House. “We’re in the heart of what use to be called the rust belt, now the innovation belt, and our manufacturers use semiconductors in virtually everything that they do, and it’s been very hard to obtain those chips when they needed it.” In the future, Pritzker says this law will bring production back to America and Illinois will benefit from it.
This year’s Butter Cow features the theme “Grow With Us.” This year’s buttery creation shows bovine holding a sunflower in his mouth that he stole from the farmer who is planting flowers. Thirteen hearts have been hidden into the display to represent 13 essential nutrients found naturally in milk.
According to the data, the median home price in the U.S. is around $370,000; The average person would need to earn around $76,000 to comfortably purchase a home in the U.S. The data shows that Chicago’s median home price is $325,400 — and the salary needed to afford a home in the Windy City comes in just above the U.S. average, at $76,500.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s proposal includes a $42.7 million property tax hike to offset the surging cost of inflation.
Proponents of Amendment 1 tout Missouri, Hawaii and New York as examples of states with constitutional provisions similar to Amendment 1. But a review of those state constitutions reveals that is not true. For example, none of them make unionization a “fundamental right.”
Even by changing the Illinois Constitution, Illinois cannot grant union rights to employees in the private sector or govern their relationships with private employers, including private hospitals or doctors’ offices. Only the federal government can do that. In fact, the rights granted under Amendment 1 would apply to just 7% of Illinoisans aged 18 and over.
To be located at last remaining building of the former Jane Addams Homes at 1322-24 W. Taylor St., Executive Director Lisa Yun Lee explained, “The Museum draws on the power of place and memory to preserve, promote and propel the right of all people to have a place where they can live and prosper—a place to call home. This
The land, across the street from the Jackson Football/Soccer field and down the street from Hyde Park Academy High School, is owned by the University of Chicago.
Rep. Tom Demmer said Republicans stand with the majority of Illinoisans who voted against the graduated income tax plan. “That should be off the table. The voters have spoken. The people of Illinois have spoken and we should not be considering further graduated tax amendments or further income tax increases.”
“This is going to make a dramatic change across Illinois and even in Springfield,” the Democratic senator said of the $740 billion legislation. “The idea behind this bill is to create incentives for people to do the right thing.” Those incentives promote energy companies in exchange for producing zero emissions, which Durbin says is big for Illinois due to its major presence of nuclear energy – producing 52% of the state’s electricity according to Nuclear Power Illinois.
Major crimes spread from Chicago’s South and West Sides to the city’s downtown and upscale neighborhoods. Now Chicago’s seemingly intractable crime problem is spreading across city and county lines, as well. This is what happens when basic principles of policing and law and order are subverted by a political establishment which puts the rights of the accused ahead of the rights of victims.
Supporters of Amendment 1, the so-called Workers Rights Amendment, are all over the place with contradictory, outlandish claims about what the amendment would do if approved by voters in November’s election.
Ted was on with Dan and Amy to talk further about Chicago’s descent into lawlessness and crime, the impact of the SAFE-T Act, the fact that a third of CPS schools are 50% empty or worse and how down markets and the economy are going to drive Illinois’ pension debts even higher.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joined Tom Miller on the WJPF Morning Newswatch to talk about how the federal bailouts papered over the state’s financial problems, how poorly Illinois compares to its neighbors on jobs and growth and why Amendment 1 is the most important vote for Illinoisans in November.
“A new report on Tuesday showed that government pension funds suffered their biggest losses since 2009 this year, which will likely mean higher taxes for the citizens of Illinois, New Jersey and California…Advice to taxpayers in Illinois: Run.”
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