U.S. District Judge LaShonda Hunt said the plaintiffs’ equal protection claims, alleging the ordinance disparately impacts Black people based on crime accusation statistics, rely on “factually undeveloped and conclusory references.”
Ald. David Moore accused Mayor Brandon Johnson of making a “unilateral decision” to get rid of ShotSpotter that runs contrary to the needs of his South Side ward, which includes parts of Englewood, Auburn Gresham, Marquette Park and Chicago Lawn. “The mayor reports to the people, as I do. If we say government is for the people, by the people, then we have to listen to the people,” Moore said. “My community is saying it helps. My community is saying they want it. … I think we’ve got 26 aldermen that believe the way I do.”
“New arrivals didn’t bring measles to Chicago. It was circulating here, and they are vulnerable to it because many come from countries where they didn’t receive the vaccinations we in the United States do, and they’re living in congregate settings where it can spread more easily,” Chicago Health Commissioner Olusimbo Ige said. “We’re now doing the hard work to contain that spread.” Chicago remains the national leader in measles cases with more than 50 percent of the U.S. cases.
Tazewell County Clerk John Ackerman said both sides already question election outcomes as is evident from 2016 and 2020. Adding ranked choice to the mix may make things worse. “We hear enough already when the vote count changes drastically as new votes are counted,” he said. Ackerman also said there has been little to no discussion about what it would cost taxpayers in new equipment, staff and training to upend the current process for a new one.
With property taxes at over 2% of the average household income, Illinoisans struggle with a huge tax burden, said Josh Bandoch of the Illinois Policy Institute. “Every six minutes and 15 seconds, an Illinois mom, dad, colleague or friend moves out of Illinois to a more tax-friendly state.”
House Bill 5069 would establish a Premarket Tobacco Product Application registry of products that may legally be sold in the state. Manufacturers, distributors or sellers of products who want to add them to the registry must attest under penalty of perjury that the products are either authorized for sale by a Food and Drug Administration marketing granted order, or are still undergoing review by the agency.
Illinois Beach State Park in Zion on the state’s northern border contains about 10 percent of Illinois’ Lake Michigan shoreline, with 6.5 miles. But the undeveloped shoreline can erode up to 100 feet per year. The Illinois Beach State Park Shoreline Stabilization Project seeks to build 22 breakwater structures along 2.2 miles of shoreline to protect the beach, maintaining it for human and animal use while providing natural habitats for local wildlife.
Whitley Temple was hired earlier this year by the City of Chicago’s Department of Family and Support Services as a lead accountant. When asked if the city knew about the pending felony charges against her — attempted murder of a police officer, carjacking, aggravated battery of a police officer, among others — a spokesperson said they could “not comment on personnel matters.”
When Chicago last held the Democratic National Convention, Mayor Richard Daley declared “the policeman isn’t there to create disorder; the policeman is there to preserve disorder.” The Democratic National Committee has now added its own gem: the Democratic Party is not here to preserve democracy, it is here to prevent democracy.
By fighting to fend off claims like those from the Nepali government and the Grünberg family, the Art Institute’s leaders stand to lose more than a few disputed artworks. They risk tarnishing this treasured museum’s reputation as one of the foremost repositories of the world’s collective expression of beauty, truth and humanity.
The complex formula, released in early March by a legislatively created commission of lawmakers, college officials and others, is designed to mimic a growing number of revamped K-12 funding models, most of which were ordered by courts to remediate years of underfunding for schools in less-wealthy areas with less property tax revenue but higher need for student support. Unlike K-12 efforts, however, courts have not mandated changes in higher ed funding.
“While the amendment intends to provide opportunities for individuals legally authorized to work in the United States, regardless of citizenship, it fails to address the pressing issue of systemic discrimination within our city’s Fire Department. The city of Chicago has a long and troubling history of unfair recruitment and promotion practices, particularly evident in cases such as the ongoing struggle of 117 African American firefighters who have been denied promotions and opportunities since their case began in 1998,” state Rep. LaShawn Ford said.
“Now sanctuary city politicians and their constituents don’t like the welfare state’s spigot being turned in the direction of the Biden buddies by other sanctuary city politicians and their constituents. In lieu of self-examination, they just call Republicans ‘racists.’ It’s easier. Republicans run around blaming Biden for a migrant ‘invasion’ but refuse to use their power over the purse in the House of Representatives as leverage to repel said invasion.”
Migrants staying in Chicago shelters are being evicted by Saturday, but Mayor Brandon Johnson is not saying how many. “This is not long-term housing. It’s not long-term housing. This is an international crisis that requires a federal response. Local economies are not designed to establish temporary resettlement for migrants. It is unprecedented, so what we have done is created an infrastructure that allows for people to create a pathway to sustainability,” he said.
“The purpose of the resolution is to assure taxpayers that the County Board is utilizing tax dollars responsibly and legally,” said Board Member Paul Arena, who authored the resolution. “It does not prohibit immigrants from coming to Winnebago County at their own expense to make this community their home.” The resolution was put forward after a plane full of undocumented migrants was flown to the Chicago Rockford International Airport from Texas on New Year’s Eve.
The Cook County Department of Public Health confirmed a suburban Cook County resident was exposed to the measles while at a migrant shelter in Chicago. Chicago has had a total of 52 measles cases since early March.
Through the program, contractors will get an advantage through virtual bid credits for future bids if they hire or retain graduates from the Illinois Works program, launched in 2019 to create more talented workers to fulfill the job opportunities by the Rebuild Illinois capital plan. The Illinois Pre-Apprenticeship Program launched in 2021 to increase diversity and access to apprenticeship programs.
The first autonomous jet, the Navy’s MQ-25 Stingray, is sending missions farther, faster without putting sailors’ lives at risk. It is being made at the new Boeing production facility in Mascoutah.
“The mayor lacks trust, and it’s not hard to see why. While the rest of the Democrats are focused on ‘upholding democracy,’ (Mayor Brandon) Johnson shows in Chicago the political machine always comes first. Today, what’s driving that machine is the Chicago Teachers Union.”
“(Bring Chicago Home) was not defeated by MAGA supporters, who the Tribune Editorial Board correctly pointed out are such a small Chicago voting bloc that the notion they could defeat anything single-handedly is comical. The measure was defeated in large part by a lack of trust in the mayor by the electorate to use the money responsibly, effectively and transparently.”
The University of Illinois Springfield lists total revenue available at $57.8 million. That includes state support, along with tuition and fees. But when expenditures are factored, the campus deficit sits at an estimated $8.8 million. UIS has also struggled to grow enrollment. The number of students dropped from a high of 5,431 in 2014 to below 4,000.
The law was bulldozed through in 2010 by House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton in less than 12 hours with no analysis, debate or actuarial assessment.
Two judges – one from Cook County and the other from St. Clair County – have partnered in a lawsuit to potentially take down the state’s so-called Tier 2 pension law, a key pension reform measure they say was passed unconstitutionally and which they claim has unconstitutionally denied them a larger retirement pension than they believe they are owed.
“It ain’t no fun when a rabbit got the gun,” said Ald. Jeanette Taylor, chair of the City Council’s Education Committee.
“The governor is the one doing this and this boy is dead,” state Sen. Jason Plummer said. “For the last three years, the governor of Illinois has taken a cavalier and reckless attitude toward the Prisoner Review Board and criminal justice in general.”
Mayor Brandon Johnson harshly condemned the council’s efforts to reprimand Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez, suggesting it would be “fascist” to censure him and accused some members of the council of being racist. “Under my administration, I fully expect that the City Council recognizes its responsibility, and that it will not move forward in the type of fascist forms of expression that have left too many of our countries in desperate peril,” Johnson said. “If people are as petulant as someone who would be unwilling to engage with someone that they disagree with, we wouldn’t be standing here today. Do you know
David Greising, of the Better Government Association: “Patience is running short with platitudes and sloganeering from the Johnson administration. Even the City Council’s Progressive Caucus, a key base of Johnson’s political support, has chimed in. Johnson can learn from the defeat of Bring Chicago Home that detailed plans and a purposeful agenda can help him advance his plans, with voters as well as an increasingly skeptical City Council.”
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