-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
Do soft-on-crime laws encourage criminal wrongdoing? Or does this kinder, gentler approach help society’s miscreants see the errors of their ways and embrace a more law-abiding approach to life. It depends, of course, on the criminal and the crime. But the example of Cook County resident Jordan Henry is illuminating.
With eight days left before Chicago voters choose a new mayor, new WGN-TV/Emerson College/The Hill poll shows Paul Vallas holding a five-point lead over Brandon Johnson, 46% to 41%.
By Flint Taylor, founding partner of the People’s Law Office in Chicago.
With antisemitic incidents at an all-time high in the Midwest, Jewish advocates and Chicago city leaders are ramping up efforts to make sure communities are safe.
The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) officially launched the latest $175 million in available resources for restaurants, hotels and creative arts businesses and organizations, all of it coming from the American Rescue Plan Act with allotments for each business being based on revenue declines and tax returns. With applications being accepted from April 5 to May 10, all applicants will receive a grant as long as they meet eligibility requirements, submit proper documentation and attestations outlined by the program.
New legislation that would further regulate freelance work in Illinois is being criticized as government overreach. The Freelance Worker Protection Act in House Bill 1122 requires written contracts for workers and several requirements on payment.
State Rep. Blaine Wilhour, R-Shelbyville: “Allowing a member of the General Assembly or constitutional officer to certify or solemnize a marriage in Illinois, so we’re not dealing with our pension crisis or anything else but we can all officiate marriage ceremonies now.”
Fidel Marquez, who served as the utility’s senior vice president of governmental and external affairs from 2012 to 2019, said those associates didn’t do any lobbying work for the utility but were paid to curry favor with Madigan. Marquez pleaded guilty to bribery charges in September 2020.
It was a very busy week at the Illinois statehouse last week. The House of Representatives raced to beat a deadline Friday to move substantive bills that originated in that chamber over to the Senate. The week featured long nights, short debates that at times got testy and the passage of hundreds of bills. Here are some of them:
The so-called “Build Illinois Homes Tax Credit” legislation included in House Bill 2044 and Senate Bill 1737 would be similar to a federal program now overseen by the Illinois Housing Development Authority and Chicago Department of Housing that currently helps foot the bill for affordable housing across the state.
Our Wirepoints article republished.
“Johnson has increasingly emphasized the language of identity politics, including black nationalism. Like Lightfoot before him, his political supporters have largely allowed his race to become a stand-in for an examination of his actual political views, many of which remain unknown.”
Trial testimony revealed that a 2016 law passed by dint of a massive ComEd bribery scheme was worth $1.8 billion to the Chicago-based electric utility. Add $2.3 billion in nuclear power plant subsidies for Exelon, and ComEd’s illegal conduct produced a $4.1 billion corporate windfall.
Sometimes our business community has a knee-jerk opposition to looking at any changes for how we finance things like schools,” Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi says. “But I think people are starting to realize that if we want to lower property taxes, instead of shifting the burden to other property taxpayers, the better way is to figure out how we get levies down. Really addressing the way education is financed is the only way that we can lower property tax levies from here. That’s the only way.”
According to a recent Harris Poll survey, only 3 in 10 Cook County residents (31%) rate the area’s public education system positively (i.e., good, excellent). Almost the same number (28%) rate the local school system as poor. Locals’ dim view of their schools are made clearer when comparing them to other public-school districts nationally: Only 13% of Cook County residents consider local public schools to be better than other areas in the U.S., while more than one-third (36%) consider them to be worse.
“After six years of implementation, five of which included new year-over-year funding, Illinois’ school funding formula – the Evidence Based Funding for Student Success Act, or EBF – has worked towards its promise of closing Illinois’ drastic funding and achievement gaps between schools in property-rich and property-poor districts, as well as between schools in predominantly white communities and schools that serve predominantly students of color.”
The CTU’s own description makes clear it was about expanding its vast political goals — through schools.
The Chicago Tribune Guild last week went public with contract demands that the Chicago Tribune’s owner, Alden Capital, agree to more minority hiring.
During a late night run of bills Friday evening, Illinois House Republicans used a parliamentary procedure to expose staff voting the switches of absent Democratic legislators before session was abruptly ended. All week last week, the House passed more than 400 bills. Friday was
Ted joined Enrique Rodríguez of Univision to talk about how Illinois’ education system is failing its Hispanic students. Just 18% of Hispanic students can read at grade level in Illinois. Meanwhile, education spending rises, taxes constantly increase and residents’ home values suffer.
“There’s not a talisman or incantation in the world that can ward off the persistence of the Peotone pipe dream. It keeps coming back, even after the airlines have said thanks but no thanks again and again, even after hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars have disappeared into the fantasy airport’s rabbit hole.”
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