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“Bowing out as the people’s representative in the case when her office has argued the men are clearly guilty culminates one of the darkest chapters in the leadership of Foxx, revealing once again a willingness to sacrifice her public office to the private interests of supporters.”
It’s the opinion of Chicago lawyer Susan Feibus, who was appointed by a federal judge as a so-called “special master” tasked with making sure Cook County Circuit Clerk Iris Martinez complies with the federal Shakman Decree, that a “durable remedy” involves an “effective and independent” compliance director.
The Illinois Supreme Court, in an unsigned order Monday, rejected a request by the DuPage County clerk to lift a local judge’s ruling directing the clerk on how she should verify the authenticity of late-arriving mailed-in ballots. Last week DuPage County Circuit Judge James Orel sided with state Rep. Deanne Mazzochi and ordered DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek to certify the validity of mail-in ballots using the voter registration signature on file – not the signatures of vote-by-mail applications – to verify mailed-in ballot signatures.
“We will be working by appointment only. And we’re not releasing the location as of yet. But we’re doing this for our safety and for the customers’ safety,” said co-owner Paul Stein. His business partner was shot during a robbery this summer.
Willie Wilson, Ja’Mal Green, state Rep. Kam Buckner, Paul Vallas, Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson and Ald. Sophia King played their role in the quadrennial political extravaganza. Wilson, Vallas and King suggested that incumbent Lori Lightfoot’s failure to file on Monday was a terrible omen for her campaign.
In one of the largest exoduses in recent history, 14 aldermen who won in 2019 announced they are either resigning or not running again. And that number may go up.
A $2.5 million project at the Old State Capitol is paid for by the Rebuild Illinois capital plan that doubled the state’s gas tax and increased various other taxes and fees. Exterior renovations have been underway for two years at the site where Abraham Lincoln gave his “House Divided” speech.
The Republican candidate for Illinois attorney general says Illinois Republicans didn’t fail at messaging in this month’s election, they failed at the ground game.
“Expanding our caucus was definitely a priority of mine,” House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch said. “But from a policy standpoint, we want to continue to build on the budget work that we’ve done. Expanding our caucus would not have been possible if people didn’t believe Democrats were doing the right things.”
“She’s become the hapless candidate, a butt of jokes. She has been overwhelmed by violent crime. Her TV ads about Lori ‘delivering’ pizza are painful to watch. Her aides have tried to humanize her, but after all that all she’s said and done, after all her foul-mouthed snarling, humanizing Lori is a labor of Hercules.”
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is in Chicago to highlight infrastructure investments and visit with O’Hare workers before touring and holding a town hall with students at the Aviation Institute of Maintenance.
As the deadline for final action looms, the
“Where is your outrage at the dozens of murders in our city every week? Gangs and criminals are running the place…not you,” Former ESPN sportscaster Jeannine Edwards tweeted.
The Fulton Market Association wants the city to allocate $5 million of the city’s TIF funds for those cameras.
Experts with Truth in Accounting examined state financial reports to determine Illinois failed to pay $210.5 billion worth of its bills in fiscal year 2021, leaving each taxpayer responsible for $49,500 in debt. Illinois ranked third-worst in the nation, rating an “F” for fiscal management.
“There’s a real fear that allowing judges to consider whether somebody poses a danger essentially allows for implicit bias to be part of the legal process,” said Insha Rahman, of the Vera Institute of Justice, an independent nonprofit that focuses on criminal justice reforms. “Really, what Illinois is a test of is, ‘Is this the new direction? Is this the final frontier of no more money bail? Have we actually hit it, and can we keep moving forward?'”
Fewer than 10% of the city’s polling places were marked as accessible for people with disabilities on Election Day — and a third of the city’s 50 wards had no sites considered compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The issue is “out of [the board’s]” control given they largely rely on property owned by the city or state, a spokesman for the Chicago Board of Election said.
“The establishment of the new independent expenditure committee in October underscores the political battle Lightfoot’s supporters are anticipating in the coming months and also the significant loopholes that exist in campaign finance laws and city ethics rules that are designed to limit the influence political backers have on elected officials’ government actions.”
“From what I’ve observed, the mayor doesn’t think she is answerable to anyone. But Chicagoans deserve answers to their questions… Lightfoot is using my lawsuit to create a dangerous legal precedent that allows her to oust a pesky journalist without due process of law and in violation of the First Amendment.”
A Wirepoints review of employment growth across the 50 states shows Illinois’ economy hasn’t created any net new employment in more than 20 years. In fact, Illinois has lost 106,697 net jobs since 2000, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Financial dupery is heading for another term, so it’s time to give you the full story.
“The courts will be wrestling with the meaning of the amendment’s lengthy, vague language forever…Even the amendment’s staunchest backers don’t know or didn’t care what they were saying about the amendment’s meaning.”
Last weekend, 27 people were shot, six fatally.
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