Board closes complaints over perceived conflicts of Illinois Supreme Court justices – Center Square

Last year, Gov. JB Pritzker gave $1 million each to two then-Supreme Court Justice candidates, Elizabeth Rochford and Mary O’Brien. They won their seats on the high court and later refused to recuse themselves in a challenge of Illinois’ gun ban, legislation Pritzker signed. In March, Kenneth Mayle, an electrical engineer living in Chicago, filed a complaint with the Judicial Inquiry Board.

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Pritzker signs bill aimed at ending homelessness – Capitol News IL

House Bill 2831 codifies an executive order the governor signed in 2021 that centralizes programs across 17 state departments and agencies to develop and implement a comprehensive plan to combat homelessness. Christine Haley, the state’s current chief homelessness officer and chair of the interagency task force, said Black people and other people of color are disproportionately affected by homelessness.

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Evanston to explore issuing ‘baby bonds’ – Evanston Now

The “baby bond” term was undefined in the resolution, but it is believed to be a spinoff of a proposal introduced in the U.S. Congress to counteract racial disparities in family wealth by creating a federally-funded savings account for every American child. U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky is among the cosponsors of the bill.

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States Attorney Lacy Expresses Regret Concerning Recent State Supreme Court Safe-T Act Cash Bail Decision – Vermilion County First

This statement from Vermilion County State’s Attorney Jacqueline Lacy says, in part, “I firmly believe that this decision will be a detriment to the criminal justice system and the People of Vermilion County…(T)he legislature has now been given the power to change the Illinois Constitution without putting forth a referendum to the voters of the State of Illinois.”

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Opinion: Something is rotten with the city of Chicago’s pension funds – Crain’s*

Dana Levenson, former Chicago CFO: “If you’re looking for a magic bullet to cure the city’s pension fund debacle, you won’t find one here. However, at a minimum, the pension funds need to achieve market returns, and benefits, unfortunately, cannot increase. If all sides could come to an agreement about what more must be done, perhaps there’s hope for the city of Chicago’s pensions. If not, get ready for the doomsday scenario: pension fund bankruptcies and huge property tax increases.”

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At heated committee meeting, frustrated aldermen demand better long-term plan for housing migrants in Chicago – CBS2 (Chicago)

“Where is the governor? Where are the congressmen? Where are they? I’m confused. I’m really confused, and it’s always the folks who already get the least that are made to say wait again,” Ald. Jeanette Taylor said. She also called out white aldermen who she said have been able to successfully block shelters from being set up in their wards, while the city has placed shelters in largely Black and Latino wards without sufficiently consulting aldermen. “Let’s call a spade a spade. Y’all asked some of our white co-workers did they want it in their wards, and they told you

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Paul Vallas: The crime plan Chicago needs – Illinois Policy

“Few disagree with the need to restore mental health, drug addiction and other community-based violence intervention services as part of a long-term effort to address the root causes of crime in Chicago. However, focusing on root causes of crime without a strategy for containing today’s out-of-control violence is a prescription for failure.”

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Deep Tunnel under pressure: Cook County’s flood control system faces climate change challenges – FOX32 (Chicago)

Construction is underway on a second reservoir in McCook that will triple the amount of water the combined reservoirs can hold – a total of 10 billion gallons. “If we didn’t have this, all the water that would go in here would go in our waterways,” engineer Patrick Jensen said. “So that’s why we have to think monumental because we get monumental storms here.”

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AFSCME ratifies new 4-year contract with the state – Capitol News IL

Gov. JB Pritzker and the state’s largest public employee union have agreed on a new contract that will provide a nearly 18 percent pay raise over four years, including a 4 percent raise this year; the contract also expands parental leave to 12 weeks. The contract is projected to cost an additional $204 million in the first year and $625 million over four years.

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