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“Perhaps the most interesting impact this amendment will be on exclusive bargaining rights…. the possibilities are endless as nowhere does the amendment define what constitutes an actual union. Certainly, our school districts are well versed on this matter and prepared to bargain multiple teacher contracts all with varying terms and conditions, no?”
The school shutdown lobby, including American Federation of Teachers’ Randi Weingarten, now want voters to forgive them. Not so fast. Teachers’ unions lobbied hard to keep them closed and succeeded in far too many places where they dominate local and state politics. Many big city school districts didn’t reopen until spring 2021. Chicago didn’t offer full in-person learning until last fall. The results in lost learning have been catastrophic.
Tenneco has called Lake Forest its corporate home since spinning off as a stand-alone automotive parts company in 1999. The company “expects to continue to employ approximately 1,200 team members” at its Skokie campus,
Pritzker’s contributions just ahead of the Nov. 8 election come as spending by the candidates and outside groups have once again made Illinois a leader in campaign spending for judicial races. A recent analysis by New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice found Illinois has seen the most spending so far among 28 states where voters are electing justices to their high courts this fall.
Salvi and Duckworth are on opposite sides of several key issues in the race. Tammy Duckworth ranks the top three issues facing Illinois residents as the economy, abortion rights and putting caps on pharmaceutical prices. Kathy Salvi says the top three are economy, education and crime.
It will be the fourth time Mahyor Lori Lightfoot will appoint a new member of the City Council following the resignation of a sitting alderperson. At least 11 other alderpersons who were elected in 2019 have said they are not running for re-election next year.
Macon County State’s attorney Scott Rueter said the law essentially ties the hands of judges. “What the law does is it takes a lot of discretion away from judges, and that’s the problem. Those are the folks that should be having the discretion to do what’s best for a community.”
“My guess is that we will see some more entities down the road who will suffer the same fate of as CommonWealth Edison and AT&T all at the hands of Mike Madigan and also his enablers that are currently running the House of Representatives,” House Minority Leader Jim Durkin said.
Home sales were down in Illinois by 19% in September compared to last year, while prices slightly increased.
Public officials from neighborhoods heavily hit by the COVID-era crime wave are beginning to urge constituents to dump Chief Cook County Circuit Judge Timothy Evans in next week’s election. It’s unclear how widespread the move is to vote no on retaining Evans as a judge. Like all judges, Evans has to face voters every 10 years to keep his job—and under law, he needs the support of 60% of those voting on the matter to keep his job.
A national republication of our Wirepoints column.
The Safety, Accountability, Fairness, and Equity-Today Act, otherwise known as SAFE-T, has flown largely under the national radar since passing on January 13, 2021, in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder and the resulting national protests that brought accusations of racism in the criminal-justice system to the fore. “As far as I can tell, it is the first complete elimination of cash bail,” he continued. “From my mind, it’s the story of the century. You have a complete revolution in the cash-bail set-up in Illinois that was passed without any understanding of what it contained.”
House Bill 5829, would stop the Jan. 1 inflation increase from going into effect until July, and would also repeal a requirement that retailers post a notice of the gas freeze at their stations.
“Other politicians have successfully fundraised despite clouds of corruption, like indicted Ald. Ed Burke. An important difference between Burke and Madigan, however, is that Burke remains a member of the Chicago City Council while Madigan is not a member of the Illinois House. Madigan was pushed out of leadership in part because he was seen as an albatross for the party, whose reputation hurt Democratic candidates, faith in state government and the failed 2020 effort by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker to move to a graduated income tax structure.”
The block of three-flats where 14 people were shot Monday night is so rife with violence that drivers have been seen throwing their cars into reverse down the one-way street after being waved away at gunpoint. “A group of young kids on the east end of the block stand in the street and pull guns out and won’t let you pass,” said a person who’s familiar with the 2700 block of West Flournoy Street in East Garfield Park. When the police come, they get yelled at and spit on.
About 7 a.m., Luis Antonio Zayas, 77, was outside in the 1800 block of North Monticello Avenue, waiting to take his 7-year-old grandson to school, when two men opened his car and put guns on the side of his head, Zayas said. Police officers take breaks in between shifts at the city-owned police building across from Zayas’ family’s home.
“The Illinois EPA saw a great deal of interest in electric vehicle rebates in the first round, with more than 2,000 applications received and over $8.7 million issued in rebates,” said Director John Kim.
According to prosecutors, AT&T Illinois admitted that in 2017 it arranged for a Madigan ally to receive $22,500 in payments from the company, which would be paid out through an intermediary — a lobbying firm that performed services for AT&T Illinois.
The new addition is intended to make it easier for sports fans and show-goers to get to the United Center as well as improve travel for people and companies in the Kinzie Industrial Corridor.
Wendie Rose received a notice in 2022 to pay a $650 fine for overgrown weeds even though the property was sold in 1959. In fact, a deed was not filed properly nearly 60 years ago, and the property – now an empty lot in Marquette Park – remained the name of her father’s estate.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Tuesday posted a statement to Twitter “urging” state legislature to act after a drive-by mass shooting Monday in the city’s Garfield Park neighborhood left at least 14 people injured, including 3 children.
“The Democrats do have huge fundraising advantages over Republicans in many races and overall, especially in statehouse races,” said Alisa Kaplan, executive director of the advocacy organization Reform for Illinois, adding that the governor and House Speaker Chris Welch have used campaign finance loopholes to bring in huge donations and distribute funds to state races.
It all started with one parent’s complaint about a book in the children’s section of the Lincolnwood library this summer. What happened next is a scene being played out at board meetings in schools and libraries across the country as parents, activists, politicians and educators argue over programming and materials dealing with gender and sexuality at public institutions in an escalating battle about who has the right to make the call.
While each of the lawsuits was different, three common themes are: the SAFE-T Act addresses a range of issues in violation of the state Constitution, which requires legislation to “be confined to one subject”; the elimination of cash bail is a violation of the Illinois Constitution, which says persons ‘shall be bailable by sufficient sureties”; and the SAFE-T Act should be blocked because it was passed in a matter of hours, whereas legislation is supposed to be before the General Assembly for at least three days.
Jim Dey: “Just like Humpty Dumpty, Illinois Gov J.B. Pritzker has been straddling the SAFE-T Act political wall. But it looks like — either due to an election-eve conversion or a belated understanding of the law he championed — the governor has gone over the side.”
Gov. Pritzker presented a very positive outlook last week when his administration released the state’s 2022 Illinois Report Card. In reality, statewide student reading proficiency dropped again in 2022. Illinois needs an honest look at just how poorly the state has done with what matters most in education: ensuring Illinois’ students can read and do math at a level that ensures their success in the real world.
Ted went on Flannery Fired Up with Mark Poulos of Workers Rights to debate Amendment 1, which voters will decide this coming election day. Ted highlighted the crucial point that proponents want Illinoisans to ignore: that the new rights in the amendment will only apply to government workers.
Matt joined Greg Bishop on WMAY to discuss the impact of the SAFE-T Act on the other Illinois counties outside of just Cook County. They talked about how Cook provides a frightening preview of the bail reform coming Jan. 1 as part of the SAFE-T Act, what parts of the act politicians absolutely need to fix, and why the excuse of “wait until after the election for changes” smells.
“I think it’s a reasonable request, said Civic Federation President Laurence Msall. “I can say that the forest preserve’s finances are much better than they’ve been in a long time. Their operations are improved.”
Retired Cook County circuit court judge Daniel Locallo talks about his issues with the SAFE-T Act and how it could rewire the state’s criminal justice system.
Police are investigating why the crowd was gathered, which they say was likely for more than one reason. Among them was a vigil and a balloon release for someone who had recently died of natural causes, according to Ald. Jason Ervin. A 3-year-old, an 11-year-old, and a 13-year-old were among those shot.
The operator of the Clinton and Dresden nuclear power plants plans to ask the federal government to extend its license to operate the plants for another 20 years. Constellation said that combined the two plants create enough energy to power more than 2 million homes and employ more than 1,200 people.
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