“A unanimous vote of the seven-member Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, by casting ballots against CPD maintaining any record of gang members, the panel overseeing CPD has hamstrung police power in the fight against gang crime and made law-abiding residents considerably less safe.”
Illinois will pause a program intended to provide taxpayer subsidized health care to the influx of non-citizen arrivals. The program is already up to $831.6 million in projected taxpayer costs.
With the fall veto session about to begin in Illinois, the state’s nuclear power construction moratorium hangs in the balance. The moratorium has been in place for decades and was implemented until a permanent waste storage option was made available. Gov. JB Pritzker vetoed a bill that would have lifted the moratorium on nuclear power construction. He has said he is in favor of Small Modular Reactors, or SMRs, but says the legislation was changed at the last minute.
The Cannabis Business Development Fund has delivered about $21 million of the $34 million in seed funding it had promised since 2021, according to data provided by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. As regulators prepare to inject an additional $40 million into the program, they say they’ve learned how to leverage the fund into a fast and simple burst of cash for social equity licensees.
“This June, after the close of the legislative session, state representative Hoan Huynh, whose district covers Uptown and Lincoln Square, introduced a bill that would allow local governments to hold binding referendums on whether to opt out of the statewide ban. If a local government’s referendum passes, it would be free to adopt rent control.”
During the first month, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office reported that a total of 649 detention hearings were requested, with detention being granted in 60% of the cases. Also, there has been a 12% reduction in the overall jail population, dwindling from 5,531 a year ago to the current 4,846.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security has announced that the unemployment rate has increased by 0.3% to 4.4%. The Illinois news release also stated that the state’s unemployment rate was 0.6% higher than the national rate for the month of September.
Around 5 p.m., an event supporting Israel was taking place in the 3400 block of Touhy Avenue when about 200 protestors showed up in support of Palestine, police said.
Attorney General Kwame Raoul led a coalition of 15 state attorneys general in supporting the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in a legal challenge to HUD’s prohibition on housing practices that may appear neutral but are discriminatory under the Fair Housing Act. The HUD regulation, known as the Disparate Impact Rule, has been formally in effect since 2013.
Because the City Council cannot by itself modify the City’s transfer tax system, it must either seek to have the state legislature change the rules at that level or seek approval by a majority of Chicago’s voters in a referendum. At this time, the next City election at which a referendum can be considered will be in March 2024.
The challenge for Chicago is trying to find inhabitable space. It costs money to remove asbestos in empty structures and make them livable, for example. The confluence of incoming migrants just as the convention is revving up could be “a major security issue” as well, added mayoral adviser Jason Lee. Extra bodies around creates a headache for security officials who need clear pathways for high-profile individuals. And neither the city nor the state budgets have the surpluses needed.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker doles out $536 Million in tax credits and other incentives to lure Gotion, a battery firm that no other states wanted.
“Pritzker has used his fabulous wealth to advance his political career. He’s spent an estimated $350 million on his two gubernatorial campaigns and given many more millions to Democrats in Illinois and elsewhere. Record shows he made $1.1 million in undisclosed charitable contributions in 2022.”
“Student test scores show that K-12 public education in Illinois remains in dire straits, worse in some places than others. But a recent report by Advance Illinois offers some good news on the teacher front: The much-discussed teacher shortage problem is showing signs of improvement.”
Topics include a bill that would have removed the moratorium on new construction for nuclear power plants and the sunsetting Invest in Kids Act, but likely not the migrant crisis.
Hatem Abudayyeh, the chair of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, said the group specifically addressed Schakowsky, who is the vice president of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, because of her “unbreakable” support for Israel, citing a statement signed by Schakowsky and other members of Congress stating their commitment to Israel is “absolute.” In Abudayyeh’s view, Schakowsky “can’t continue to call herself a progressive” if she keeps up that unilateral support for Israel.
Illinois’ primary consumer protection statute is the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act (CFA). The state also has a Uniform Deceptive Trade and Practices Act but it is bootstrapped into the CFA. The CFA is primarily a civil law with some criminal penalties, and is enforced by the AG and county state attorneys.
“Accountability for charter schools is important, but keeping them on a short leash effectively means they are spending much more time in the laborious renewal process, which includes time-consuming inspections and extensive paperwork. It also creates uncertainty for students, staff and parents. Moreover, the length of the contract is somewhat irrelevant because CPS can close charters at any time for cause.”
“What shouldn’t be up for debate is the city getting involved in reimagining downtown Chicago and doing so with investment, not just spoken platitudesand zoning changes…Transforming a street that once epitomized Chicago’s brawny financial status into a mix of uses, including residences, hotels and perhaps retail in the future could spawn more development around it and keep the Loop vital for generations to come.”
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has justified the state’s gun and magazine ban he enacted earlier this year by pointing to several other states with similar bans. However, on Thursday, a federal judge out of California struck down that state’s ban on certain semi-automatic firearms with a permanent injunction.
During a detention hearing on Thursday, prosecutors asked Judge Linzey Jones to detain trucker Jose Gonzalez before trial as both a safety threat and a flight risk, according to clerk of court records. Jones rejected both requests, setting Gonzalez free with standard instructions to stay in the state, show up in court, and refrain from contacting the alleged victim. The Illinois State Police noted in its Facebook post that “Gonzalez was released pursuant to the provisions in the Pretrial Fairness Act.”
On Tuesday, lawmakers are due back in Springfield for the start of the Fall veto session, but one thing that is not on the agenda is finding extra cash to help Chicago deal with the influx of noncitizen migrants.
If passed, Bring Chicago Home would increase the tax rate buyers pay on property sales over $1 million, with the additional funds dedicated to providing permanent affordable housing and wraparound services for unhoused Chicagoans.
“Our chapters believe that bird conservation should center birds and collaboration rather than celebrate a historical figure that is aligned with systemic racism,” said Judy Pollock, president of the Chicago organization. “We are happy to be part of a new group of chapters using this name.”
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