-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
A look at the notable changes Chicago-area and Illinois residents can expect come the start of July.
Following a Juneteenth weekend in which at least 11 people were killed and 63 others were shot in Chicago, Interim Chicago Police Supt. Fred Waller praised officers for work that he argued is already starting to show signs of progress.
Johnson is doing his own fiscal forecast and holding a series of community roundtables next month before he releases that new document.
The Chicago convention will be hosted from Aug. 19-22 and is expected to draw 5,000 to 7,000 delegates and alternates and bring about 50,000 visitors to the Windy City. It is projected to rake in anywhere from $150 million to $200 million for Chicago’s economy.
Investments in this area have not always worked out elsewhere. Despite devoting billions of tax dollars to fight homelessness over the past four fiscal years, California Gov. Gavin Newsom admits the state is losing the battle with the number of homeless people only growing.
Along with the heavy gun violence, aggravated batteries are up 17%, burglaries are up 12% and car thefts are up 153% compared to last year, according to Chicago Police statistics. However, Johnson recently claimed that his plan is working. Overall crime in Chicago has risen 38% since Brandon Johnson assumed office on May 15.
They said removing pride merchandise sends the wrong message to both groups, making the LGBTQ+ community feel unsupported and telling the activists that bullying works. The full letter is here.
The Illinois Housing Development Authority is currently funding rental assistance payments through federal Covid relief American Rescue Plan dollars.
Illinois is very proud of it’s many “equity” policies to help its minority citizens. Yet the state is an incredible, crushing failure in achieving its own goals.
A tax earmarked for specific parks could help rectify that issue, state Rep. La Shawn Ford said. “The festival organizers are going to spend some money to put the park back after their event, but at the end of the day they’re going to walk away with a profit and are better off as a result,” Ford said. “We need the park
Ald. Daniel La Spata said last week that street closings are creating safety concerns for cyclists and pedestrians. And Ald. Derrick Curtis complained about high ticket prices — $269 for general admission — which he says are deterring residents of his Southwest Side ward.
In 2021, 27 of the 80 suburban police department pension funds reported more pension recipients than officers. A decade prior, that was the case in just four towns. “What that means is more of the overall property tax levy is going to pay for pension obligations and money allocated to the day-to-day operations continues to decrease,”
It all started routinely enough. Around 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Nahki Hines, 21, agreed to buy some marijuana from 27-year-old Ronnie Price as they rode the train near Cermak, according to prosecutors. But there was some confusion in court about what happened next. Both witnesses to the shooting know Price because they are also pot dealers on the Red Line.
“No transportation agency, from the CTA to Amtrak, has voiced any real support for the center since it was proposed three years ago, which is telling. But they haven’t slapped it down, either, which is troubling. Now the state is evaluating which consulting firm will get paid up to $500,000 to conduct a feasibility study to determine if the center should be built — and ultimately paid for — by Illinoisans.”
“Governor Pritzker and the Democrats and the General Assembly have insulted the legal process in Illinois and at some point, the Illinois Supreme Court is going to have to stand up for itself,” said state Rep. Dan Caulkins.
Also stalled was House Bill 351, would have barred anyone convicted of a felony, bribery, perjury or misuse of public funds while serving as a public official from ever being elected to a state or local office again, and House Bill 2515, a bill requiring automatic deposits in the “rainy day” and pension stabilization funds when certain conditions are met.
“The amendment is an example of the ritualistic enactment of symbolic legislation, a phenomenon that sacrifices informed intellect to shallow emotion on an altar of tribal politics. Thus a simple traffic statute objectively and validly addressing public highway safety somehow came to present an Illinois social problem.”
Wang Stoneback is suing state Rep. Kevin Olickal, Friends of Kevin Olickal, and the Gun Violence Prevention PAC – which backed him – on the grounds that they were “knowingly publishing false statements.” She highlighted pertinent flyers that portrayed Wang Stoneback as being soft on gun violence preventionin her 49-page complaint.
Jim Dey: “Taking care of individuals in need — whether at the departments of Human Services or Children and Family Services — is tremendously difficult and requires sound management at all levels. Unfortunately, these shortcomings are common in state government, no matter whether they involve children and family services or employment services.”
Joshua D. Hale, of the Big Shoulders Fund: “But a one-size-fits-all approach may not address the needs of all families, particularly those in under-resourced communities. This program is not intended to and does not undermine public education…Parents are not sacrificing quality by choosing to send their children to a values-based school.”
The pessimism from investors who bet on office buildings and mass transit can be seen in market signals that are flashing red.
Jason Lee, a senior adviser to Johnson, said the mayor was committed to dealing with the structural deficit that has left Chicago’s four pension funds less than 24% funded, combined, while fulfilling his campaign promises to invest in Chicago and its people. “The mayor has been very clear that he will not do that off the backs of working people, who have borne a disproportionate burden in years past,” Lee said.
“This is happening even though Illinois has ponied up millions of dollars for economic development programs in the past and in the 2024 budget signed the other day by Gov. JB Pritzker. The budget adopted by the legislature includes $400 million to close major economic development deals, and attract businesses and jobs to the state. Money is also set aside for expanded workforce development programs to build industries of the future: Data centers, electric vehicles and clean energy.”
“America is the only country that continually votes to raise its debt ceiling. This exercise is unnecessary at best and, as we just experienced, dangerous at worst. As we look forward, there is clear agreement across the ideological spectrum: Congress must vote to do away with our nation’s debt limit.”
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