-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
“Funding the migrant crisis is an absolute priority for, I think, the entire Illinois Democratic delegation,” said U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley. “That was part of that meeting with the mayor. Can we get to the numbers the mayors are talking to? That’s going to be tough.”
Nathan McClure has 14 burglary charges in 2023. Victim Gulshan Rai says the man has burglarized several local businesses and caused more than $110,000 in damage. But because burglary is a non-detainable offense, Macon County State’s Attorney Scott Reuter says he doesn’t have much power to keep offenders like McClure behind bars.
When does corruption end your pension? Actuary Mary Pat Campbell takes a look.
Congressman Chuy Garcia said the surge of migrants touched all parts of Chicagoland over the holidays. “It’s our lack of action on immigration reform,” he said. “It’s been 36 years since we passed the last bill that helped legalize three million people nationally. Since then, our immigration system has just gotten even more worse and more broken than ever.”
The Illinois Answers Project of the Better Government Association found that the City has been slow to spend funds it currently has budgeted for homelessness relief. For example, as of August 2023 Chicago had only spent 15% of $52 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds allocated through the Chicago Recovery Plan for homelessness support services.
“Their stories are starting to unravel,” said Susie Moya, a therapist in Pilsen who has worked with migrants. “Right now, it’s on the back burner. But I’m thinking a year from now, when these families are settled in, who is going to be providing that support?”
Ald. Brian Hopkins described how a bus driver recently dropped 60 people off at the Sears Tower at 11 p.m., with false instructions that city officials were waiting for them in the lobby. “The situation has gone from bad to worse, and it’s just chaos out there…I think if we had to vote all over again on authorization for whether Chicago is going to be a Sanctuary City, I’m not sure we would be.”
In Evanston, City spokesperson Jessica Mayo said, “We have been actively seeking space to house migrants for months. Due to the density of Evanston, finding a safe, workable space has proven difficult. However, we are still exploring possible options for providing shelter assistance.”
“We are not a sanctuary city,” Mayor Dave Kaptain said, and Elgin hasn’t received federal funding to assist migrants. Officials for Gov. JB Pritzker have talked about Elgin being a possible migrant housing site, but the city doesn’t have the means to accommodate them, he said. “We don’t have enough hotel space. It would be too difficult,” he said. “We are just a pass-through community, and I want to make that as easy as possible.”
Sarah Parshall Perry, an attorney and senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, said the Pritzker family is rapidly becoming “radioactive” and has a history of scandal. “This is a hard-left leaning political family entirely funded by the Hyatt Hotel empire who say they want to fight what they call right-wing extremism when, in fact, they are the extremists.”
Resident Cata Truss slammed Mayor Brandon Johnson for not listening to the city’s residents over their concerns surrounding its sanctuary status. “If the Democratic Party is not going to listen to us, if the Democratic Party is not going to stand up for the people that have supported this party, then it’s time for us to make a change. Now, let me just say this as well. The Republican Party is not spotless, but we do need to say at this point it’s time to do something different.”
“Over the summer United Airlines purchased 113 acres in Denver for $33 million. A spokesperson said at the time that the airline would expand their pilot training facility. It doesn’t take over 100 acres for that.”
But there are minimal consequences for failing to register, and whether the law is even enforced likely depends heavily on where you live and how authorities discover an unregistered gun. Dozens of sheriffs in Illinois have publicly said they will not enforce the gun ban.
A law that took effect Monday requires school emergency and crisis response plans to include procedures for law enforcement to quickly enter buildings during emergencies. Lawmakers could pass a separate plan this spring to help schools provide crisis response mapping data to local, county, state and federal first responders; it would require the Illinois State Board of Education to provide grants to public schools to cover the costs to obtain crisis mapping data.
House Minority Leader Tony McCombie is not optimistic that any kind of ethics reforms will be addressed during the next legislative session.
“Sanctuary cities like NYC & Chicago have seen only a FRACTION of what overwhelmed Texas border towns face daily,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott posted Jan. 2 on social media. “We will continue our transportation mission until [President Joe] Biden reverses course on his open border policies.”
The Joliet City Council voted 7-0 this week to impose gigantic fines and impound buses showing up in Joliet to dispose of asylum seekers coming to America seeking a new way of life. “As a Council, it is not our job to protect the country’s borders. It is not our job to protect the state’s borders. Apparently, nobody in the state or the country wants to do it, but it’s not our job,” Councilman Larry Hug remarked. “It is our job to protect the borders of Joliet from dangerous situations.”
“(Gov. JB) Pritzker praised her work as ‘transformative for the juvenile justice system in Illinois.’ But that doesn’t change the fact that DCFS is a dysfunctional bureaucracy staffed by too many marginal employees assigned to do an impossible job…Beset by litigation, beleaguered by heavy caseloads and badgered by demands to fix the often unfixable, DCFS is a microcosm of social and bureaucratic failure.”
Stellantis released a statement: “To be as efficient as possible in our media spend, we are evaluating participation in auto shows on a case-by-case basis, while prioritizing opportunities for consumers to experience our vehicles first-hand.”
It wouldn’t be a new year in Illinois without new unfunded mandates on businesses. Of the 300 new laws that took effect January 1, one of the most burdensome on employers is Illinois’ new Paid Leave for All Workers Act.
Ted joined Perry Small of WVON for an in-depth discussion on Chicago’s 2023 homicide and other crime numbers. Ted points out that while homicides are down this year, thankfully, Chicago still suffered more total killings than any other city. Meanwhile, major crimes are up 55% compared to 2019.
Ted joined Scott Slocum of WJOL to talk about the spin on crime Illinoisans can expect as we head into 2024, the fact that Chicago remains the nation’s murder capital, the easy calculus of a Chicago criminal, why Illinoisans continue to move out to less-costly states, and more.
David Greising, of the Better Government Association: “It’s well past time for Johnson to find his footing and step up as a leader. He can start with the playbook Lightfoot left behind from the COVID-19 pandemic: Build systematic approaches; communicate progress against measurable plans; hold city staff, community players and fellow officeholders accountable; and be accountable to them.”
If the pension board does yank Burke’s $8,027-a-month city pension benefits, he’ll still be refunded the money he contributed toward his pension — more than $540,000, plus interest, minus any payments he’s already collected. Separately, Burke’s wife Anne Burke, the retired Illinois Supreme Court justice, has been collecting a monthly pension of $18,307.30 since December 2022. Former Ald. Danny Solis, who, as an undercover mole wore a wire on Burke to save himself from prosecution, has been collecting a monthly pension of $8,891.52 since May 2019.
SIGN UP HERE FOR OUR FREE WIREPOINTS DAILY NEWSLETTER