-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
The Midwest region experienced 2.5 percent inflation year-over-year, slightly cooler than the 2.6 percent reading in August.
“This is all ridiculously lopsided.”
Projects from casinos to IKEAs to Amazon headquarters have all surfaced and withered on a site that has remained vacant for decades. The U of I’s technology hub, which already was under construction at The 78, will instead have a presence at the Illinois Quantum & Microelectronics Park, site of the former U.S. Steel South Works plant at East 79th Street and DuSable Lake Shore Drive.
The number of people being monitored electronically by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Chicago field office has grown by 556 percent in the past five years. That percentage includes people monitored by ICE who live in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri, Kentucky and Kansas.
One area of concern in the report is students’ college completion rate. For the graduating class of 2017, students who immediately enrolled in four-year institutions had a college completion rate of 54 percent within six years. Those who immediately enrolled in a two-year college had a 31 percent completion rate within six years.
In their proposed community benefits agreement, residents demanded an environmental impact study, a commitment to creating local jobs, measures to prevent displacement and community representation on the project’s governance committee as prerequisites for government funding.
It would be the first time in 40 years. A similar proposition was on the ballot in 2014, but failed.
Mike Kucharski, co-owner of JKC Trucking in Chicago, said the heavy-duty mandate would be crippling to many truck companies. “About 95 percent of trucking companies are small businesses operating 10 or fewer trucks, so complying with these mandates would push many carriers out of business,” he said, adding that fully electrifying the U.S. trucking fleet would require a nearly $1 trillion infrastructure investment.
Opening statements in Mike Madigan’s trial are expected to begin Monday afternoon after a grueling two weeks of jury selection finally concludes with the seating of the last two alternate jurors. During the six-day process, the former speaker took careful notes on each prospective juror on a yellow legal pad and occasionally conferred with his attorneys, displaying the same fastidiousness in the courtroom that garnered him power over his five decades in Springfield.
“A report recently released by the Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability states that the state collected more than $2 billion in tax revenues during the 2023-24 fiscal year, a 4.8 percent increase over the previous fiscal year. That’s not to suggest, of course, that gambling revenues are the solution to the state’s serious financial woes.”
The questions were created with support from Ald. Greg Mitchell (7th), Ald. Michelle Harris (8th) and the mayor, asking neighbors in portions of those wards if they support a community benefits agreement that will “prevent displacement … in light of the impact of the Obama Center and growing development in the area.” Mayor Brandon Johnson previously vowed to support anti-displacement policies in South Shore in June.
The arrest for an alleged false report stems from an incident between Alderwoman Colby Chapman and the Harvey City Administrator in August, which was captured on surveillance video. Following the incident, Chapman was arrested then, too.
As of Friday, a total of 4,990 migrants were staying in the 13 open shelters in Chicago.
As some companies move from downtown to the West Loop, developer Matt Faris said there are many opportunities for the city to work with developers on additional conversion projects. “I think Chicago’s had its struggles,” he said when asked about opportunities to turn a profit in Chicago. “But we believe in urban development.”
This year’s DNC brought in less overall than Lollapalooza 2023, which had a total economic impact of $434 million. And the DNC brought in well below the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, which generated a record-breaking $547 million for the city last year. NASCAR’s 2024 Chicago Street Race series brought in $128 million this year, its second year in existence.
“While community schools in general have long been supported by parents, including those in the Kids First Chicago network, this aggressive expansion of a specific and relatively unproven model — one that limits families and school communities from having a voice in the decision-making process — raises several concerns. … And would the CTU still advocate for expanding SCS to 200 schools if they had no influence over partner selection?”
“It is easy to overlook the Southeast Side, but when you look at the Chicago skyline that makes our city so iconic, you see the steel that came from it. Once those steel mills closed, the neighborhood changed. Jobs were gone, families left, and businesses closed. A once vibrant area has now become a shell of what it once was. But when you were brought up to embrace the toughness of the Chicago Bears defense as a civic virtue, you embrace the tenacity forged in it by grads of Chicago Vocational, like Dick Butkus.”
“The whole purpose of getting this warehouse was expanding our manufacturing and making Champaign-Urbana the hub in the Midwest region where we manufacture and ship around our products,” said Arpit Dwivedi, founder and CEO of Cache Energy. Dwivedi estimated that the business will create about 20-25 new jobs in Champaign “within a year or so.”
Fresh data from the Census Bureau shows the continued loss of Illinoisans due to domestic out-migration: Illinois netted a loss of 93,247 residents to other states in 2023. Those losses are on top of the net 116,000 and 141,000 Illinoisans who fled in 2022 and 2021, respectively.
“I don’t see other revenue streams filling the hole that’s needed. So I think a property tax will be on the table. And in order to get to that point, ShotSpotter will be negotiated. … I don’t think there’s a big appetite to take on a budget if ShotSpotter is not on the table. … ShotSpotter is going to have to be part of the equation,” Ald. Marty Quinn said.
If the General Assembly doesn’t come up with a solution to the looming fiscal cliff facing Chicago-area transit by the end of June, agencies will have to drop everything and immediately start planning for drastic service cuts of up to 40 percent.
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