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State Sen. Kimberly Lightford and State Rep. Carol Ammons introduced SB3965, a bill which creates a new funding formula for higher education in Illinois based off of race and other demographic factors.
“This is an example of how our convoluted system in Illinois really frustrates taxpayers when we’re trying to make sure that errors are corrected before bills are sending out,” Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi said.
“We took steps to address this in the SAFE-T Act by requiring law enforcement to report misconduct violations when an officer is terminated or when an officer resigns under investigation of criminal offenses,” Senate President Don Harmon said. “However, our work is not done, and I am open to any ideas for legislative action to prevent a tragedy like this from ever happening again.”
See our column on this horrendous new law linked here.
The Chicago Teachers Union is seeking a $543k property tax cut that would take about $301K from the schools where its members teach. CTU’s also making over $10 billion in contract demands, which would certainly drive up Chicagoans’ tax bills.
“If Mayor (Brandon) Johnson is truly concerned about Chicago’s congestion problem, transit reform is the way to go. If he’s looking for another transportation cash-grab, then Chicago drivers should watch out — a congestion tax may be inbound fast.”
“Chicago’s surge in youth violence coincided with CTU-forced closure of Chicago Public Schools in response to COVID-19 long after science, and the experience of schools, demonstrated that schools could open safely. At the same time, CTU leadership prioritized undermining support for police, despite rising crime.”
The lawsuit alleged that the East Chicago ordinance violated Indiana Code that states a governmental body “may not enact or implement an ordinance, a resolution, a rule, or a policy that prohibits or in any way restricts another governmental body … including a law enforcement officer, a state or local official, or a state or local government employee” from taking actions regarding information of citizenship or immigration status.
Marie-Eve Labranche, a spokeswoman, declined to say how many Joliet workers were laid off. But on a conference call, Lion Electric officials said they were indefinitely delaying truck production in Joliet, partly over uncertainty around the future of subsidies after the U.S. presidential election.
Howard Tullman, general managing partner for G2T3V, LLC and for the Chicago High Tech Investors, LLC: “The message and the bottom line are pretty simple. The hapless and the half-hearted are happy to hang around as long as you’re stupid enough to have them. When piety and political correctness are prioritized over performance, it’s the doers and the highly valued talent that leave the firm and the DEI do-rights, the do-nothings, and the dregs that remain.”
After the death of Sonya Massey, who was shot and killed by a Sangamon County Deputy at her own home, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth has introduced a bill that would incentivize State’s attorney offices to allow other agencies to prosecute cases of police-involved use of deadly force.
Denny Kingren, the fire chief of Paxton, Illinois, says he had neither positive or negative feelings about wind development to start off with — he’d just seen them crop up throughout Illinois. Then about 13 years ago, came the funds: about $40,000 a year since then, which has since gone toward new trucks, new equipment and more on-call firefighters. “It was a true benefit to our fire department,” he said.
The Illinois legislature passed a Gov. JB Pritzker-supported measure that eliminates medical debt from an individual’s credit report. In addition, House Bill 5290 dedicates approximately $10 million in state taxpayer funding to purchase outstanding Illinois medical debt with the goal of Illinois taxpayers buying nearly $1 billion of medical debt.
Illinois has 1 in 3 households paying more than 30 percent of their income for housing, and 1 in 6 households paying over half their income for shelter.
“Despite the state and city Democratic Party-led governments’ years-long efforts at promoting racial equality of outcomes (‘equity’), government policies have undermined the four most important means of improving outcomes for black residents: public safety, public education, taxation, and public services.”
The ties between Illinois and the entity connected to Nicholas Pritzker could open JB Pritzker up to conflict of interest scrutiny as Harris mulls her running mate pick.
Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. wants to use part of the $22 million unallocated funds in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) from the Central West TIF district for a new Neighborhood Improvement Program (NIP) grant. “There’s older people who’ve had their house for a long time and are doing everything they can to hold onto it,” Burnett said, “but they can’t afford to do all the things that they need to do.”
“With all eyes once again on our city, the work of Streets and San and the countless city departments and agencies is a long-term investment that will uplift the incredible people and places that make up our beautiful and diverse city.”
“As faculty teaching at the state’s flagship public university and as residents of Champaign County, we are deeply disturbed at the use of our tax funds to criminalize free speech by anyone on our campus or in our community. We are proud of our students and their commitment to building a more just future world.”
Jim Dey: “Illinois has 102 counties, just 15 of which have an elected auditor.”
The median tax bill south suburban taxpayers received this year went up about 20 percent, according to the county treasurer, the biggest increase in the last 29 years. The year before, the median residential tax bill for the north and northwest suburbs jumped 15.7 percent, the biggest percent increase in the last 30 years. Now, 13 of the board’s 17 members are calling for a hearing to create a new property tax relief rebate program.
Ted joined Dan and Amy to talk about Gov. Pritzker’s dismal showing for Harris’ VP pick in swing state polls, the latest on the battle over EV battery-maker and CCP-linked company Gotion’s efforts to build a plant in Illinois, the billions in tax dollars lost as residents flee Illinois, and more.
“In 2021, Cook County received $1 billion in ARPA funding. This was an opportunity to recover from the pandemic and make critical investments throughout Cook County. Our ARPA programming is committed to equity, addressing the needs of our historically disinvested communities.”
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