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According to data from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Illinois exports to Canada totaled $24.27 billion in 2022, a 100.2 percent increase since 2009. Canada is Illinois’ largest export market.
“The law is blatantly unfair and a prime example of super-majority Democratic Party overreach. But it’s extremely unlikely that any of the plaintiffs have even a tiny shot of winning.”
Aldermen Angela Clay, Timmy Knudsen, Bennett Lawson and Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth: “We oppose all versions of the proposal that fail to incorporate mass transit elements such as buses or light rail. We want modern solutions that prioritize non-car travel and put pedestrians, cyclists, public transit users, recreation, green space, commercial growth and property values ahead of cars.”
The Ethics Committee acted after the city ethics board in April dropped several cases of registered lobbyists improperly donating to Johnson’s political committee because the body lacked the legal authority to enforce the 2011 rules. Aldermen voted in favor of the ordinance despite the Johnson administration clashing with the committee chairman over codifying the restrictions.
Between last year’s 52nd annual Pride Parade, the NASCAR Cup Series race downtown, the four-day Lollapalooza Music Festival, and a year’s worth of other commitments for Chicago Police, officers clocked in 4,151,294 hours of overtime in 2023. This cost taxpayers nearly $300 million.
The report also noted that gun deaths have outpaced motor vehicle deaths since 2014, which was called “a shocking fact when one considers a person’s daily exposure to motor vehicles as opposed to firearms.”
The move from commuter rail to regional rail calls for service throughout the day rather than prioritizing peak morning and evening trains.
Gov. JB Pritzker signed the $53.1 billion budget Wednesday. Friday, he signed the tax measure that includes capping the credit businesses can get for claiming net operating losses and capping the discount retailers get for collecting and remitting sales taxes.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, under emergency order, nursing home voters were legally able to cast ballots through vote-by-mail procedures. Now, state Rep. Maurice West wants to codify the temporary procedures in statute with House Bill 4488.
The Prairie Band Potawatomi are now headquartered in northeast Kansas. But they once had a reservation in what is now Dekalb County, a reservation that officials now agree was illegally sold out from under them in 1850. The proposed land transfer legislation, Senate Bill 867, would make up one part of a larger plan the tribe has to settle its legal claims and reestablish its presence in northern Illinois.
The optional assignment suggested students review articles about the “intersection of biological sciences, health and history in Palestine.” Afterwards, students would write about the impact of “genocide on biology.”
The study estimated that without public transit, over two million activities would be canceled daily, resulting in an estimated $35 billion annual loss in direct economic activity. This estimate includes lost jobs, closed businesses and increased living costs.
Rep. Virginia Foxx, chairwoman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, said the lack of response by Northwestern suggested the university hasn’t been taking the threat of antisemitism on its campus seriously and that Jewish students there aren’t any safer today than they were a month ago.
More than 18,800 Chicagoans experienced homelessness on a single night in January — a threefold increase over last year that was largely driven by 13,900 asylum-seekers who had no permanent place to stay.
“If our shared priorities truly encompass giving every child a quality public education; ensuring everyone, rich or poor, has access to healthcare; providing vulnerable populations with services they need to lead decent lives; and having communities that are safe and clean; then our state budget needs the recurring tax revenue necessary to make those investments. That in turn means the FY 2025 General Fund budget accurately reflects statewide priorities, is balanced, and is funded responsibly.”
“There are a lot of good protections in this bill, but what we had hoped to get was landowner protections, and I think we fell short there,” said Pam Richart, coordinator of the Coalition to Stop CO2 Pipelines.
DuPage County Precinct Committeeman Jeanne Ives cited Chicago’s retail vacancy rates and a City Journal report that stated that Chicago’s tax on commercial properties is twice the average of other major cities.
The average Midwesterner contributed $7,051 annually to their family preferred provider organization plan, according to a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation. That same coverage costs a CTU member $2,703, or over 2.5 times less. The average CTU member also has a lot more income to cover that expense: $88,609 on average in 2023 compared to $61,102 for the average private-sector Chicago area worker.
“Getting new construction onto the tax rolls grows the base and shrinks the tax rate, helping everybody,” said Cook County Assessor Fritz Assessor Kaegi.
Asked about the money the state has allocated to spend on the ongoing migrant crisis, state Sen. Jason Plummer said the total is higher than some of his colleagues would like to admit. While acknowledging the number would be debated, Plummer claimed that upwards of $2 billion in the new budget is allocated toward immigrants, with the bulk of these expenses being for healthcare.
“To those in the New Illinois camp, your frustrations are valid, but remember one of Illinois’ most revered sons, Abraham Lincoln. Faced with a country tearing itself at the seams, he didn’t throw in the towel. Instead, he chose to fight for change. Perhaps there’s a lesson there. “
“Newly discovered information indicates that Gotion maintains extensive business relationships…with companies directly linked to forced labor and involved in the ongoing genocide of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups.”
“Quaker was one of the highest paying employers in the area, so workers are searching for opportunities that will allow them to at least approximate the wages they had been making previously,” Chuck Jones, director of Vermilion County Works, said of the 510 employees affected by the plant closure.
More than 8,800 people who have CHA vouchers or live in public housing in Chicago obtained more than 10,000 PPP loans totaling more than $190 million, and authorities suspect that much of that was tied to fraud. People living in 5,361 CHA-related households will have to explain whether their loans were legitimate, according to the inspector general for the agency. As of last August, about 40 people had their vouchers revoked by CHA as a result of the still-ongoing investigation.
“According to the feds, the state is supposed to be using the money to purchase food from socially disadvantaged farmers at fair market value, then distribute it through food banks and other nonprofits to communities in need at no cost. … Nothing like an IOU from the Land of Lincoln to fill a vendor with confidence.”
Johnson is “mayor 24-7,” a spokesman says. “Appearances matter.” Most of his spending went to a South Side makeup artist, and a West Side barbershop was paid $4,000.
David Greising, of the Better Government Association: “Business leaders and economic development experts I talked to at the luncheon said they’re convinced there’s a case to be made for this project. The Bears just haven’t made it yet. The Bears and the project’s backers need to do so soon, before the opposition gets set in stone.”
The demand comes in the wake of several headline-grabbing armed robberies of businesses in the area, and even an incident in which a 12-year-old was held up at gunpoint last year. “This station was closed over 12 years ago against the wishes of the community,” said community leader Laura Yepez. “We have been dealing with the aftermath ever since.”
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