-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
“I’ve never realized one important word that comes to mind, and that is choice. This word in particular has been under attack. I constantly say my prayers as I drop off my children, and it’s very disappointing,” said Yalila Herrera, who has three out of six of her children in Chicago Public Schools.
Around 2 p.m. at Pottawattomie Park, neighbors say they heard about 12 rounds go off and a group of teenagers was seen running from the location immediately after the shooting.
Two gunmen opened fire in a South Side home just after 7:30 p.m. Sunday in the Gresham neighborhood.
Illinois is one of 37 states to offer some type of production incentive, according to the report. “There are common challenges with measuring the economic values of this type of incentive,” said Austin Berg, of the Illinois Policy Institute. “What would the economic advantage be if you reduced the tax bill of all businesses by $200 million instead of just one industry?”
“Also referred to as the “Multiplier Act,” (House Bill 3940) ended the two-tiered compensation system in auto repair, requiring out-of-state and foreign auto companies to pay the same market rate for warranty repairs as everyday consumers would pay for non-warranty repairs…Researchers show that earnings for Illinois’ auto mechanics have increased by $143 million annually since the law went into effect.”
Rabbi Seth Limmer, Rev. Otis Moss III, Rev. Ciera Bates-Chamberlain and Rev. Michael Pfleger: “There’s no running away from it: Chicago cannot be a great city until it is a safe city. City Hall should not be outsourcing the work of violence reduction….The mayor’s inability to commit to more funding is especially troubling because City Hall’s fifth floor has the money, specifically in federal COVID-19 relief funds.”
Rockford, ranked fourth, earned a “hotness” score of 98.15 out of a possible 100. There, homes spend an average of around 40 days on the market with a median home price of around $200,000. When considering metrics for median price, demand for Rockford homes increased around 18% last year compared to 2022.
Chicago police officers could be seen standing by as hundreds of demonstrators holding Palestinian flags marched through the streets.
Metra CEO Jim Derwinski’s $325,825 salary has him out-earning PACE Executive Director Melinda Metzger, though he’s still more than $50,000 behind Chicago Transit Authority President Dorval Carter. The Regional Transportation Authority, which oversees Metra, the CTA and PACE, is expected to face a $730 million budget deficit in 2026.
Now the heavy lifting really begins in Springfield after the governor’s budget address. Democrats have the numbers to give him what he wants while Republicans will try to fight every step of the way.
U.S. Rep. Sean Casten of Downers Grove, challenger Mahnoor Ahmad of Oakbrook Terrace and challenger Charles Hughes of Chicago were asked if they believe the nation’s election system and those of the individual states are secure and fair, and what improvements are needed.
The commuter rail agency will pay $154 million for eight two-car, zero-emission trains with a range of 45 to 65 miles, Metra said. Trains can be charged from 20% to 80% — enough to operate — in about 20 or 30 minutes. Metra hasn’t figured out a charging infrastructure yet or its cost. Metra said it’s one of the first U.S. commuter rail agencies to purchase battery-powered trains.
“…I propose the first group of people who can most afford to be liberals are the political class that takes advantage of young idealistic fools. The process is accurately called ‘vote buying’. The second group that can afford to be liberals are the arrogant elites such as Bill Gates and George Soros.”
The electric-pickup maker Rivian plans to produce 57,000 vehicles this year, roughly the same number as last year. Lucid said it aims to produce 9,000 vehicles, a slight increase from last year’s figure. Both say they are concentrating on finding customers. Car companies from Tesla to Ford Motor are hunkering down in the midst of weaker than expected demand for battery-powered vehicles in the U.S.
The Illinois Municipal League is warning that eliminating the 1% grocery tax as Gov. J.B. Pritzker proposed will cost local taxpayer-funded cities hundreds of millions a year.
Jim Dey: “Of the governor’s proposed $52.7 billion operating budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year, nearly 20 percent ($10.1 billion) will go to the five public pensions.”
“Once again, the budget process will be a show controlled by super-majority Democrats.”
It reads, in part, “No one is against spending money on education, but we need results, not more spending. When in one in 10 Black students in the City of Chicago can only read at grade level – something is clearly wrong. The solution is accountability, competition, and better allocation of resources. Spending money for the sake of spending money has been an unmitigated disaster.”
The current political and social environment is a “tinderbox,” according to one top Homeland Security administrator. While the specifics of the threats may not be known yet, the official shared an ominous warning, “We know it’s coming.”
North Michigan Avenue’s vacancy has risen to 33%, or at least 1 million of the street’s 3.2 million square feet, since 2021. Chicago’s Water Tower Place is signaling a move away from retail, looking to sell off its top floors to office space. Meanwhile, 900 N. Michigan (just north of Water Tower Place) appears to be standing strong — due in part, building managers say, to marketing the shopping destination as a “lifestyle building,” with a gym and a salon.
Massachusetts has a dozen contracts totaling $116 million for housing. New York City is spending $53 million on a pilot program to distribute prepaid debit cards to migrant families meant to help them buy food and baby supplies. And in Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker has proposed in his new budget an additional $182 million for migrants that comes on top of $638 million already spent.
At Feb. 23 Northwest Side business luncheon, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias was critical of Mayor Brandon Johnson, while Alderman Samantha Nugent (39th) expressed concern that some local families would move to the suburbs if the Chicago Board of Education were to dismantle selective enrollment programs.
Each time, the boy took money from registers and forced employees to open the store’s safe, according to details revealed by Chicago police in community alerts about the crime pattern. The alerts said up to four men, armed with pistols and knives, were involved in the robberies. So far, though, only the 14-year-old has been charged.
“Also, the state’s match of a portion of the sales tax that funds mass transit would move from the general fund to the state’s road fund. That will free up money for the state, but it won’t help with the projected $730 million operating shortfall that the Regional Transportation Authority faces starting in 2026.”
“Black Democrats are so angry about Biden’s millions of illegal aliens crowding them out of the blue cities, and feeling betrayed by Biden, Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon ‘Panic Attacks’ Johnson, that they’re publicly talking about leaving the Democrat plantation. They can see what he’s doing. He’s replacing them.”
“Nearly 20% of Peoples Gas customers are behind on their bills. In neighborhoods such as Englewood and Woodlawn, those rates rise to closer to 50% and 40%, respectively, with customers averaging nearly $900 in debt. Much of that debt can be attributed to an average $15 monthly charge to replace gas pipes, a program that Peoples Gas now admits has not reduced gas explosions. Meanwhile, Chicago sits on 409,000 lead water service lines, pipes that are slowly poisoning our children with neurotoxins, especially those in Black and Latino communities that already suffer from disinvestment.”
“Whatever your view, though, voting ‘Yes’ would have required a leap of faith: that the tax increase would not send private-sector housing builders elsewhere, would not make it so hard for upper-middle-class Chicagoans to buy a home in this expensive market that they’d pick a suburb instead, and would not add yet another significant disincentive to moving here. You also had to feel confident that the Brandon Johnson administration and its committee would come up with effective ways to spend this huge amount of new money with all the necessary safeguards in place.”
In 2022, Springfield received $3 million dollars from the federal government, with well over 100 projects confirmed that would require lead paint removal. Springfield has relied on big city contractors from Chicago and St. Louis because no one locally is certified to work with hazardous lead paint.
The CCOM’s fight against Gotion has now received national coverage through several televisions news programs and newspapers. Fundraising efforts have brought hundreds of protesters together, and donations have been coming in, locally, as well as from out-of-state Americans who want to join our fight to protect our country. Thousands of people have joined our Facebook page, No Gotion-Illinois. We welcome you to join and follow the facts.
Johnson vowed to “explore every legal option available” to give the Chicago City Council the power to spike taxes on city homes and commercial buildings valued at more than $1 million.
Cook County Board Commissioner Tara Stamps works for the Chicago Teachers Union, which helped fuel CTU organizer Brandon Johnson’s meteoric rise to become Chicago mayor last year. Stamps and Johnson go way back to their days at Jenner Elementary, where Stamps was the mayor’s mentor during his early years as a teacher. Stamps also has the backing of County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who doubles as head of the Cook County Democratic Party.
SIGN UP HERE FOR OUR FREE WIREPOINTS DAILY NEWSLETTER