-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
Illinois Policy Institute spokesman Dylan Sharkey said businesses are growing despite a tax system that works against them. “Businesses across the country are dealing with inflation and supply chain issues, but Illinois has the second highest property taxes in the nation, so that is a major hurdle unique to small business owners in our state.”
During a recent U.S. House Ways and Means Committee hearing, LaHood highlighted an article in the Harvard Business Review that said “corporate managers trying to maximize long term shareholder’s value should, of their own accord, pay attention to employee, customer, community and environmental interest on this basis. Setting ESG (environmental, social and governance) targets may actually distort decision making.”
Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court docketed a case out of Naperville where plaintiffs challenged the city’s and state’s gun and magazine ban. Plaintiffs are seeking an emergency appeal of the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals three-judge panel ruling for the state. The U.S. Supreme Court also recently docketed an appeal of the Illinois Supreme Court’s ruling on a challenge brought by state Rep. Dan Caulkins raising questions of conflict of interest.
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposal outlines increases that surpass those granted to the police union under former mayors Rahm Emanuel and Lori Lightfoot. If approved, the pay raises would exceed the city budget by nearly $28 million for 2024.
The Illinois Supreme Court ruled Thursday that people may obtain records about their own Firearm Owners Identification cards, but they may not use the state’s Freedom of Information Act to do so.
The Illinois WARN Act requires employers with 75 or more full-time employees to give workers and state and local government officials 60 days advance notice of a plant closing or mass layoff. An employer that fails to provide notice as required by the Act is liable to each affected employee for back pay and benefits for the period of the violation, up to a maximum of 60 days.
Examples of public corruption may include: an elected official steering contracts to friends in exchange for a monetary kickback; overbilling a contractor and embezzling the money; personally benefiting from federal/state-funded programs; wire fraud; and money laundering.
President Joe Biden’s administration announced a plan Thursday that will require all but a handful of cities to completely remove water pipes with brain-damaging lead within 10 years. Chicago is getting a pass because it has such an unusually high number of lead service lines – more than 400,000. That’s by far, the most lead service lines of any city in the country.
New jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, increased to 10,935 in the week ending November 17, up from 9,455 the week before, the Labor Department said. U.S. unemployment claims dropped last week, down 24,000 claims from 233,000 the week prior on a seasonally adjusted basis.
In Illinois, almost 20% of generated electricity comes from wind and solar as of March 2023. While that’s more than triple the amount generated a decade earlier, the state’s renewable portfolio pales in comparison to states such as Iowa, South Dakota and Oklahoma that are each generating more than 50% of their electricity from solar and wind.
A new online tool paints perhaps the most comprehensive picture to date of how children in each Chicago community are faring, tracking how they’re doing before they enter school to whether young adults graduate from high school and find jobs. The dashboard is a combination of data from the U.S. Census Bureau, city of Chicago, Illinois State Board of Education and Chicago Public Schools. It includes 26 indicators.
“The move is antidemocratic. It also contradicts Johnson’s frequent claims that he’s more collaborative and transparent than his predecessors.”
At one point a beacon of academic excellence and point of pride for West Siders, Douglass’ low enrollment is now unsurprising to students and neighbors, they said. It’s indicative of the disinvestment West Side residents have suffered for generations, which has led to an exodus of local kids going elsewhere for school. Chicago Public Schools said Douglass is not in jeopardy of closing, even though the high school is spending just over $68,000 per student compared to the district average of $18,287.
Thirteen plaintiffs and the Most Livable City Association are seeking to invalidate the ordinance that was passed by Evanston City Council, allowing Ryan Field to host up to six concerts annually plus other community events.
“Making it more expensive to start a business in Chicago, which this (Bring Chicago Home) higher tax on real estate sales will do, is not how you encourage businesses that could give homeless residents the means and the dignity to support themselves.”
Jim Dey: “If the name still doesn’t ring a bell, remember this: He’s just another allegedly corrupt Illinois politician who couldn’t resist spending about $200,000 from his campaign account on himself and his family.”
Police in Milwaukee said in a statement that they began chasing the vehicle shortly before noon. The vehicle collided with the school bus, which flipped and crashed into several other vehicles. The driver of the suspect vehicle, a 26-year-old man, fled but was captured after a brief foot chase, police said.
For those keeping score, Johnson’s police-driven SUVs have collected 19 tickets since he took office on May 15. Among the motorcade car’s latest violations are speed camera citations that accuse the mayor’s drivers of whipping through school and park zones at highway speeds: 53 mph one time and 55 mph another.
Gov. Pritzker’s latest campaign pitch was full of statistics and anecdotes designed to make his performance as governor look far better than it really is. The problem is Pritzker’s rhetoric doesn’t match the facts – especially on employment and crime.
In addition to the lost opportunity to house families, long-vacant units can spark crime and lower property values in the surrounding neighborhoods. Alderpeople with scattered sites in their wards expressed exasperation, and Ald. Jessie Fuentes noted that dozens of people are living in tents in Humboldt Park, in the middle of the 26th Ward, and rents have skyrocketed in surrounding
With 1,000 workers facing layoffs, U.S. Steel has entertained bids to buy the whole company or sell Granite City Works to neighboring SunCoke Energy Inc. in a deal that would permanently cut an estimated 1,000 jobs. However, the union has said it has the power to veto the deal, a spokesman said. The news is a massive blow to the Metro East community whose
“Nobody was really told this was going to happen, they basically said, ‘we’re going to do this, shut up,’” said Michael Patlan, community member. “I can handle myself, I worry more about the children in the neighborhood.” Community members are also concerned about schools becoming overcrowded.
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