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“[The Illinois Department of Public Health meets] on a regular basis to look at vaccines and… what requirements there ought to be,” Gov. JB Pritzker told reporters. “There are no policies or plans to expand to include a COVID-19 vaccine in those requirements.”
Pedro Martinez, appointed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot in September 2021 to lead the Chicago Public Schools, has never answered questions during a City Council meeting. Traditionally, the City Council has been loath to play an oversight role — even as city residents pay hundreds of millions of dollars from their taxes to run agencies like the school district and the Chicago Transit Authority.
Brown, Hardin and Madison counties join a group of 23 others that have passed so-called “separation referendums” in recent elections: Bond, Christian, Clark, Clay, Crawford, Cumberland, Edwards, Effingham, Fayette, Jasper, Hancock, Jefferson, Johnson, Lawrence, Marion, Massac, Moultrie, Pope, Richland, Shelby, Wabash, Wayne and Whiteside.
Pritzker said he hopes the partisan divide in the state will soften over the next four years. However, he said he will not compromise his own ideals. “I’m open to working with Republicans on good, rational, solid ideas for the future of the state – and yeah, compromise is a good thing.”
Illinois will become the first state in the country to abolish cash bail Jan. 1. House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, a former prosecutor, said there are other stipulations in the act that also should raise a red flag. “There’s another provision in here which says there is a 90-day trial requirement for anybody who is detained, otherwise they will be released from custody and that includes people who are charged with perhaps a detainable offense like armed robbery up to someone who has been charged with multiple murders. It’s outrageous.”
Pritzker spent more than $145 million since 2021 in his reelection effort. The morning after winning, he was asked how much he’s willing to spend on a bid for the White House. “I am not focused on that at all, I am focused on serving as governor for the next four years,” Pritzker said. “It’s really the most important thing to me as we have a lot of challenges Illinois has to overcome.
“With the election now behind us, cities and towns must recommit to nurturing the “green shoots” that follow when community pillars with deep roots pass on. The key to downtown economic development is bringing about the right conditions: Curbing crime, enticing back residents, making things friendly for pedestrians and cyclists.”
“(House Republican leader Jim) Durkin had hoped to harness voter anger fueled by crime issues and the inflationary high prices for gasoline, groceries and mortgage rates lifted Republican chances of making headway in Springfield if ballots are cast in a throw-the-bums-out rage. But Democrats looked to pro-abortion rights voters to provide a political counterweight to help their party in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion case.”
Staffing and supply chain issues have plagued the district since last year, with lunchroom managers having to having to juggle last-minute menu swaps and COVID-19 concerns; Multiple lunchroom said in January their schools struggled with keeping their shelves stocked. The district has 316 Nutrition Support Services vacancies affecting 236 schools, and many schools face additional staff shortages due to employees calling in sick, according to a CPS spokesperson.
The Little Village Community Council said in a prepared release, “due to the incompetence, indifference, and overwhelming work the Chicago Police Department undergoes, the cases of our loved ones remained unsolved, some cases over 10 years.” They want the FBI to step in and help.
In a 7am e-mail to House Republicans, House GOP Leader Jim Durkin wrote, “…(I)t’s time for the Illinois Republican Party to rebuild with new leaders who can bring independents back to the party that are needed to bring change to the state. With that, I will not be seeking re-election as minority leader.”
If all three advisory questions are placed on the ballot by the Nov. 28 deadline, there would be no room for two questions proposed by former Gov. Pat Quinn: one would would prohibit the sale of naming rights to Soldier Field or adding a corporate name to the stadium, and the other would be a binding referendum imposing a two-term limit on Chicago mayors.
Griffin, now Florida’s richest man, said, “It’s gonna get me thrown out of here, but taxes weren’t part of our decision to come to Florida. When you’ve got great schools, a great environment and your streets are safe and clean, that’s when you’ve got a place you want to live in and call home.”
Please comment on your reading of Tuesday’s results, both why you voted as you did and what you think drove the results.
“Matt Rosenberg, a journalist for Wirepoints and author of “What Next, Chicago?,” a book about the city’s social disorder, told me in an interview last week that proponents of the legislation were not unaware of how these criminal-justice reforms have played out elsewhere in the country. They just didn’t care.”
To soothe inflationary costs, buff student supports and help fund its faculty hiring drive, the University of Illinois System is requesting an 11.7% larger infusion of state operating funds for next fiscal year: $731.77 million in operating funds and $682.9 million in capital funds from the state for use in fiscal 2024.
Chicago, we have a problem. Emergency police response is a crucial public service to taxpayers and it’s failing. Police response times depend on overall department manpower, field patrol strength, and morale. All have been suffering. Sworn CPD personnel (with a gun and badge) numbered 13,353 in January of 2019 but this month were at 11,681.
Ted was on Chicago’s Morning Answer with Dan and Amy on the morning of the election to talk about why he stays and continues to fight for Illinois, why state’s business leadership remaining silent is an endorsement of the status quo and how an episode of “Good Times” reveals that Chicago Public Schools has been failing students for 50 years.
In a speech unsparing in its attacks on the GOP with contours that went far beyond Illinois’ parochial borders, the billionaire progressive Democrat and Hyatt Hotel heir called himself a “warrior” ready to take on former Republican President Donald Trump and Trump allies in the years ahead. FULL TEXT OF PRITZKER SPEECH IS HERE.
A 57-year-old billionaire equity investor and philanthropist, Pritzker’s victory Tuesday should further raise his national profile, which he promoted with a trip this year to the early primary state of New Hampshire and by raising millions of dollars for Democrats across the country.
Raoul argued during the campaign that his office was on the right side of the law and public health in defending the state’s actions on the pandemic and, thus, helped save lives. And though he backed the SAFE-T Act, he later acknowledged he has concerns about potential ambiguities in the sweeping law.
Republicans had the chance to take control of the Illinois Supreme Court for the first time in 50 years if they had won the two open races Tuesday, but it appears that the Democrats are likely to retain control of the court and may even gain a seat.
Despite a broader effort by the local GOP to fill ballot vacancies and challenge incumbents, Democratic candidates for assessor, clerk, treasurer and sheriff secured re-election with double-digit leads over Republican and Libertarian candidates at the time Preckwinkle claimed her win, according to unofficial returns.
Evanston may be the first to adopt rank choice voting in Illinois but some believe it won’t be the last. A bill to bring rank choice voting to the state level was introduced in February 2021 by State Senator Laura M. Murphy.
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