Day: November 9, 2023

Chicago’s transition to elected school board up in the air as lawmakers adjourn – Chalkbeat Chicago

Lawmakers were supposed to divide the city into electoral districts by July 1, 2023, but gave themselves an extension in May to get the maps drawn by April 1, 2024. “By Senate standards, we are years ahead of schedule by being months ahead of schedule,” said Senate President Don Harmon, before the chamber voted 38-12 to approve a plan to have all 20 districts vote right away, leaving only the board president up for mayoral appointment.

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City releases statement on Streeterville hotel’s closure, conversion into homeless shelter – NBC5 (Chicago)

“In recent years, as part of our mission to serve unhoused Chicagoans, the City has sought and utilized appropriate funding to expand shelter during the winter months. The City will temporarily use the Selina Hotel as shelter for the same purpose – shelter for the unhoused – this winter. The property will not be used to house asylum seekers,” a statement from Johnson’s office said. Funding for the shelter originates from an emergency and transitional housing grant.

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Rep. Ford Says Illinois Will Soon Be First in Nation to Offer Free, Universal Test and Licensure Prep for Public University Students – Southland Journal

The fiscal year 2024 State of Illinois budget includes $10 million for free test prep classes for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), and the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT). The program also offers Free Professional Licensure Preparation for Nursing, Teaching, Real Estate, and Securities Professional Exams.

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Pro-Palestine protesters rally in Chicago during Biden’s Illinois visit – FOX32 (Chicago)

President Joe Biden’s visit to Illinois on Thursday was met with heated demonstrations in Chicago as protesters voiced their concerns over the situation in Gaza. President Biden’s primary purpose for visiting Illinois was to celebrate the end of the autoworkers’ strike. During his visit to Belvidere, the President met with union leadership and workers, as Stellantis agreed to reopen its auto assembly plant.

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With ‘Base Camps’ Weeks Away from Opening, Officials Scramble for Temporary Plan for Migrants – WTTW (Chicago)

Although the Chicago City Council has approved a plan to purchase the now-vacant Jewel-Osco and surrounding parking lot near 115th and Halsted streets for $1, city workers must now prepare the 6.5-acre site by removing debris, eliminating rodents and confirming that the city can provide electricity and water to the site, said Cristina Pacione Zayas, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s first deputy chief of staff.

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Dolton dysfunction: Bills go unpaid amid questionable expenses – WGNTV (Chicago)

Credit card statements show that village officials spent more than $24,000 at restaurants during a recent 12-month span. Other questionable expenditures include the streaming service Hulu and hotel rooms in Elk Grove Village and Matteson, located less than 20 miles from Dolton. “We still have areas that need trees cut, streets paved, alleys paved [and] sidewalks fixed,” said Dolton Trustee Tammie Brown. “It’s a lot that’s going on.”

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Johnson’s Spending Plan Set to Create Department of Reentry With $5M Budget – WTTW (Chicago)

During budget hearings, Ald. Walter Burnett peppered Budget Director Annette Guzman about the mayor’s plan to create a 13-person Office of New Arrivals to help migrants as part of the Department of Family and Support Services with a total budget of $1.2 million. Burnett told Guzman he wanted “to see the same thing for returning residents,” referring to those who move back to Chicago after being incarcerated.

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WVON’s Perri Small and Ted Dabrowski discuss why Illinois’ public education system is failing 1.2 million children – Wirepoints on WVON

Ted joined Perry Small of WVON for an in-depth discussion on Illinois’ 2023 School Report Card results. They talked about the 1.2 million public school children who can’t read at grade level, why we should continue to support school choice for low-income students, why Illinois per student spending has jumped to nearly $24K, and more.

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Chicago residents explode with anger over migrants, sanctuary policies: ‘They are not listening’ – FOX News

“The most outrageous thing about it is the local community. I’ve been contacted by two pastors in the Black community who are up in arms, saying the Black community has been left behind,” said Former acting ICE Director Tom Homan. “The community is outraged and they should be,” he said, adding that sanctuary policies make the community less safe.

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A small Michigan township sends a message to China — and Biden [and Pritzker] – Politico

Signs displayed along a roadside in Green Charter Township, Mich.

A recall election in Green Charter Township threw out five local Republican officials who had backed tax breaks for a multibillion-dollar battery parts plant tied to a Chinese company — never mind the project’s promises of more than 2,000 jobs for the economically depressed region. The Michigan project by Gotion is nearly identical to one proposed for Manteno, Illinois, about which Gov. JB Pritzker refuses to

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Paul Vallas: Gov. JB Pritzker should use executive powers to take action on migrant crisis – Chicago Tribune*

“Chicago’s incompetent handling of the worsening migrant crisis puts the burden on Pritzker to provide the leadership needed to ensure a balanced approach to migration that places the interests of Illinois residents first…With the executive authority the governor amply demonstrated during COVID-19, there is no impediment to decisive leadership.”

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Union dollars vs. student futures – Illinois Policy

“(I)t’s not about public school funding. It’s really about teachers unions seeing private schools as competition in a race the unions are losing…(O)nly 35% of third through eighth graders can read at grade level, 27% can do math. For high school juniors, 32% were proficient at reading on the SAT, 27% could do math.”

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