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“Most big cities in the U.S. have charters, but Chicago not only doesn’t have one, it is not even allowed by the state of Illinois to create one. As a result, the city’s government is particularly rife with poor decisions and bad outcomes.”
The Assessor’s office has been historically notorious for patronage under prior assessors, including most recently former Assessor Joe Berrios. But other government agencies have recently made progress in court toward full release from oversight.
The federal judge indicated the law appears to be based on little more than Illinois Democrats’ desire to maintain control of Illinois’ courts.
The village will spend $400,000 a year for at least two years to get its “Makers Wanted” logo emblazoned across the car to promote what officials say is the largest contiguous business park in the country. Previously, the village sponsored the NCAA football Bahamas Bowl, and the U.S. Olympics track and field and wrestling teams.
Obama made a special appearance in Fulton Market to participate in a four-person panel discussing the future of Chicago, hopes for the future of the city’s youth and what barriers they face. “That kind of team building in communities. We don’t do enough of that. And part of it is because it’s not encouraged,” Obama said.
Police said the victim has a valid FOID card and no other injuries or damage were reported.
For the 8th consecutive year, Chicago, unfortunately has been crowned at No. 1
Illinois is one of only eight states that elect Supreme Court justices, and with the balance of power on the line in this year’s election, plenty of attention is being paid to two suburban races.
“Well, it’s hard to have a solid plan given the magnitude of the shortfall and as a result, I don’t think we have a solid plan that’s out there,” said Bill Bergman, a lecturer at Loyola University Chicago.
The updated executive order removes the weekly testing requirements for unvaccinated healthcare and [long-term care] workers,” Pritzker’s office said Monday. “Face coverings are no longer required in all healthcare facilities but are still recommended in healthcare facilities in areas of high community transmission, consistent with CDC guidance.”
WalletHub data shows that Chicago has seen a 8.70% increase in inflation from this time last year, but has seen a decrease over the past few months.
The index consists of three dimensions: wage policies, worker protection rights, and rights to organize. “This survey reads like a top 10 list of why employers are leaving the state of Illinois,” National Federation of Independent Business Illinois state director Chris Davis said.
The state started sending rebate checks Sept. 12, but as of Oct. 11 only $250 million of the $1.8 billion Gov. J.B. Pritzker promised to send property owners had been issued, according to information obtained from the Illinois Comptroller. More than 1 million rebate checks had been mailed out, with the average check being roughly $200.
“To be clear: bodycam programs are generally a good idea. In most cases, the footage works to police advantage, supporting prosecutions and exonerating cops accused of misconduct; bodycams also make clear when police have abused their power. But implementation of bodycam programs without careful consideration creates as many problems as it solves.”
Video emerged on social media this weekend of a man carjacking a driver while armed with a rifle on an expressway near downtown Chicago.
“Our research shows that, even though it took two centuries for Illinois to get to $1 trillion, the state could double its economic activity and reach $2 trillion in less than two decades. This is achievable if the state delivers skilled workers, quality infrastructure, innovative companies, balanced budgets and strong communities.”
Existing home sales on Chicago’s North Side slumped in September for the seventh consecutive month. However, a significant number of homes are being sold, prices generally are up, and market times are down.
“For those wanting to take in the fresh, crisp lakefront air, a run on the lakefront might have served as their daily Chi-town sunrise salutation. But these early morning memories are fading as fast as you can say ‘private police force’ in Lincoln Park.”
While the Chicago Police Department boosted its presence at stations this summer, an analysis of the department’s dispatch data shows that hasn’t made a dent in violent incidents.
According to Joe Bowen, who does campaigning for the Vote Yes for Workers’ Rights group, even if workers had the means or capabilities to go on strike, it is not something that happens often because no one wants to put their financial stability at risk. “It’s a scare tactic. If you’ve ever talked to a worker who’s gone on strike, that’s not something anyone wants to do. What people want is to have good paying jobs and safe working conditions.”
“The sponsors of the SAFE-T Act have asserted they were addressing flaws in our state’s criminal justice system. If this was true, then input should have come from judges, state prosecutors, public defenders, private criminal defense attorneys, law enforcement officers, probation officers, civil rights advocates, victim’s rights groups and clerks of the circuit courts. “
That’s 112 fewer people killed when compared with this same date in 2021.
“Under current law, police and fire only have the right to force arbitration if they do not like the contract,” said Ted Dabrowski of Wirepoints. “Under Amendment 1, it seems very likely that police or fire could negotiate for the right to strike.”
Chicago has 35 Fortune 500 Headquarters after losing three in 2022, still the second most in the nation to New York.
Government unions in Illinois already have a right to negotiate over a wide variety of subjects, including wages, hours and terms and conditions of employment. But in 2019, CTU was demanding more. CTU wanted the district to “advocate for a city housing policy that creates affordable housing at a rate greater than or equal to the creation of market rate housing,” take the legislative position CTU wanted on “rent control” and institute a program to help its new teachers buy homes.
Specifically, said Ben Ruddell, criminal justice attorney at the ACLU of Illinois, language regarding the act’s threat standard needs to be revised after a “drafting error” caused different wording of the standard in the 764-page act dependent on what page. This discrepancy has allowed critics to point holes in the legislation.
The students manning the UIC Young Americans for Freedom chapter table were handing out literature criticizing Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara and were told they would face disciplinary action if they did not pack it up, according to an edited two-minute video of the incident posted by YAF.
“It’s rare in American politics for a party to receive the unvarnished gift from the gods—or at least the Feds—that Illinois Republicans did Friday when the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago indicted former House Speaker Mike Madigan on a new charge of misconduct, barely three weeks before the 2022 general election.”
The CTA and the city are working on a plan to make buses faster and more reliable across the city. Called Better Streets for Buses, it is intended to provide a framework of corridors to prioritize for buses, which could include Cottage Grove, and ideas to improve service like changes to traffic signals, better bus stops and dedicated bus lanes.
Because of the Safe-T-Act, Will County State’s Attorney Jim Glasgow explained, there will be a 90-day requirement for criminal defendants going to trial “or they get out…Ninety days or you’re out, and if you don’t show up for your (eventual) trial, I can’t get an arrest warrant, there’s no warrant. We can’t use force, and we can’t call the SWAT team.”
Supporters of Illinois’ Safe-T Act often ridicule the act’s critics who claim the law is retroactive and will result, on January 1 in release from jail of many detainees arrested prior to that date. But actions are attesting to the facts. State’s attorneys offices in Cook and Lake County have already begun reviewing cases of people now held pretrial to determine who will be released on January 1.
Last weekend, 30 people were shot, two fatally, in gun violence across the city, police said.
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