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The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index rose 1.3% month over month, compared to a 0.3% gain in February. Year over year, the index was up 0.7%. In Chicago, home prices posted a 4% year-over-year gain in March, while prices rose 1.9% month over month.
“It produced pain and trauma that devastated communities across Chicago, and my heart breaks for everyone affected,” Johnson said in a statement issued late Tuesday afternoon. “That’s why as mayor, I am committed to leveraging every single resource at our disposal to protect every single life in our city.” His administration distributed $2.5 million to 253 grassroots organizations so they could hold barbecues, sporting events and other constructive activities for young people and families over the long holiday weekend.
Andrew Buchanan, spokesman for the Chicago Department of Public Health, said there hasn’t been a single confirmed case of tuberculosis among migrants staying at police stations nor any cases among Chicago police officers. “While this is a challenging situation, we do not consider this a public health crisis, and reports that migrants may be the source of disease spread in Chicago are inaccurate and can fuel xenophobia.”
Ald. David Moore refuses to approve $51 million in migrant aid until he gets at least $10 million to build a new field house in the 17th Ward. “I had a meeting, I listened to my constituents, and they say if we are not getting anything in return for it, for me not to vote for it, so I have to listen to my constituents,” Moore said.
“Witnesses claimed the fight started between two groups inside the park, near the front gates, and spread to the parking lot,” police said in a release Tuesday. As the fighting continued, police at the scene called for help from other departments in the area.
Police said from Friday night to late Tuesday night, there were 42 shooting incidents – in which 53 were shot. Eleven of those 53 people died, and a 12th person was stabbed to death. “You can’t look at a bloody weekend like that and call it a success. We have a lot more work to do,” Ald. Brian Hopkins said.
State Sen. Dave Syverson said that undocumented migrants should not be the lone responsibility of Illinois taxpayers. “If they (the federal government) are going to keep the border open, then they should be paying for those costs, not asking Illinois taxpayers to put aside programs for the disabled, seniors and our own residents to provide high-quality health care for people from other countries.”
The General Assembly passed House Bill 3445 giving Ameren the right of first refusal to build transmission lines. The measure surfaced on Wednesday at the request of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
While the Invest in Kids school choice scholarship program is not extended in the budget, a new program, Pritzker’s “Smart Start,” funds $250 million for more early childhood education. House Minority Leader Tony McCombie had concerns: “Whether or not this program, as good as it is, is it going to be sustainable? It’s subject to appropriations.”
Tio Hardiman of the community group Violence Interrupters said many in Chicago feel they have no choice but to turn to violence. “If we do not address this epidemic of gun violence as a public health emergency or a public health issue, we may miss the opportunity to really change the landscape overall.”
Illinois lawmakers put $100 million in the new budget so students could choose the private or public college that best fit their needs; MAP grants are entirely funded by the state. Invest in Kids receives funding from donors who are partially reimbursed with income tax credits. The state can’t give out more than $75 million in tax credits, and averages significantly less than that each year.
Bears ownership filed an appeal to the three-member Cook County Board of Review, and put out a statement that the new assessment was “excessive.” As of right now, it would cost Bears ownership about $15 million a year in additional taxes compared to the previous valuation.
He said, in part, “The FY 24 budget is a balanced plan with conservative revenue estimates that builds on our fiscal progress while making transformative investments in early childhood and higher education, workforce development, and efforts to fight violence and poverty.”
Drivers nationwide saw fuel prices fall for the Memorial Day holiday weekend, but Illinois drivers should expect to pay more by the July 4 travel season.
Should the Governor sign the bill into law, as expected, punitive damages will be available for most wrongful death actions filed on or after the date of the Governor’s signature, except for actions related to legal malpractice, medical malpractice, and against state or local government, or their employees acting in their official capacity. Several professional associations and chambers of commerce opposed the bill.
Chicago’s new mayor, Brandon Johnson, is tasking a “working group” that includes his finance team and state legislative and labor representatives with finding long-term funding fixes to ease the city’s pension funding woes.
The city’s efforts were recognized at a White House summit last summer on “building lasting eviction prevention reform.” But the city pulled the plug on its contract with The Resurrection Project this month “with no advanced warning,” a nonprofit employee said.
House Bill 2831 creates the Illinois Interagency Task Force on Homelessness as well as the Office to Prevent and End Homelessness. Both seek to address the bigger picture issues of homelessness such as housing and institutionalism.
The Local Government Distributive Fund returns a portion of income taxes to municipalities on a per capita basis. Since 2011, the percentage distributed to Illinois cities was reduced to about 6% from 10%. “This is about priorities and fulfilling a promise in an agreement that was made with municipalities and, more importantly, residents who make up those municipalities,” Mayor Tom McNamara said. “We obviously provide far more services and far more direct services than the state does. Those dollars need to come to municipalities so that we can continue to provide critical core services.”
Chicago officials said securing a new contract with DuPage is a top priority. But DuPage officials said they feel they’ve been getting the runaround from City Hall for years and want to know why they are paying roughly double what Joliet is expected to pay under a deal that recently departed Mayor Lori Lightfoot hailed as a big financial victory for Chicago.
“Everyone in the circle was talking about their love for Evanston, what their Evanston was like, and at that moment, we were having extreme neighborhood … so we were dealing with that and the housing crisis and the exodus of the black community, and I was sitting at the table feeling a lot of pressure, burden, fear, and uncertainty,” Robin Rue Simmons explained from her FirstRepair office in Evanston. “But then my white colleague across the table had expressed her Evanston as being ‘every day a summer camp,’ and I thought, ‘Oh, damn, well, I don’t even know what summer
While office towers sit empty and nearby businesses struggle to pay their bills, residential neighborhoods in America’s biggest cities are bustling again. The pandemic and remote work have done little to dent the overall appeal of cities such as New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, foot-traffic and rent data show. But “The increased vibrancy of great urban neighborhoods will never be enough to offset the decline in property-tax revenues caused by remote work and the falling values of commercial office buildings,” one city planner said.
The announcement follows the cancelation of other Chicago area festivals. Last week, leaders from Most Holy Redeemer Church in Evergreen Park canceled their annual carnival in mid-June over safety concerns. And earlier in May, Tinley Park police canceled the final day of The Armed Forces Weekend Carnival due to safety concerns stemming from a crowd incident that occurred on one of the days.
The festival’s programs include wellness activities facilitated by LGBTQ artists and healers, including family yoga and fan decorating, organizers said. Day-long activities include fan decorating, drag dress-up and makeovers. Everything will culminate in an all-ages, Slo ‘Mo dance party.
Once again, Illinois political leaders are congratulating themselves for performing a basic governmental function — agreeing on a state budget for the upcoming fiscal year…. Until state lawmakers tackle these critical issues [pensions and property taxes], they deserve no applause for passing a budget.”
State lawmakers have sent Gov. J.B. Pritzker an unbalanced $50.6 billion budget for him to sign. Three examples – on pensions, Medicaid for illegal immigrants and the upcoming AFSCME contract – capture the ongoing budget gimmickry in Illinois.
The shooting victims range in age from 2 to 77 years old, representing every part of the city.
“Illinois’ budgeting process is broken. The fact that no one beyond a select group of lawmakers – let alone anyone from the public – had even seen this 3,000-plus page document prior to a few days ago underscores just how very flawed this process continues to be.”
Comment: Event the far left’s Slate recognizes the “doom loop” at work in cities like Chicago.
Jim Dey: “Pritzker’s politically driven flip-flops show he’s more than a crafty politician who tailors his answers to his audiences. The moves reveal that the governor’s pledges come with expiration dates, inoperative once they no longer suit his political or policy needs…Reneging on Invest in Kids is only the latest.”
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