-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
“In contrast, Chicago voters delivered a strong anti-union verdict in last week’s elections, as just four of the 10 school-board candidates elected were backed by the CTU. Perhaps this is a sign that Chicagoans have recognized the peril of being beholden to the union.”
Ideas range from increasing the $9.50-a-month garbage collection fee by varying levels, to raising taxes on items including cigarettes, parking, bottled water, gasoline and liquor, to raising the amusement tax from 9 percent to 14 percent — but only on streaming services. One of the biggest-ticket items — bringing in nearly $100 million — involves raising the personal property lease tax on cloud computing from 9 percent to 10.25 percent. Yet another memo outlined various “scenarios” for using some or all of the $280 million in unallocated federal pandemic relief funds to mitigate the need for a property tax increase.
The new West campus construction will include the planned Community Center for Training and Learning, a 3,000-square-foot facility that will provide students with recreational spaces and the broader community with a place to gather according to a Monday news release. The site also offers free classes aimed at helping adults complete their high school education and improve their English skills.
The city leased the vacant warehouse last year and undertook renovations to accommodate up to 200 people. Two neighbors filed a lawsuit in October 2023, arguing the city had violated neighbors’ due process rights by relying on a state disaster proclamation to skirt normal zoning and construction laws for shelter. The lawsuit is still pending, with a hearing scheduled for next month.
Many city leaders have called for a special meeting to reject the proposed increase to make room for alternative solutions to close a nearly $1 billion projected deficit. One of those solutions, Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez said, is to contribute less to the city’s advance pension fund.
All programs and funding priorities must align with strategies described in the 2021 agreement, including: naloxone or other overdose reversal drugs; medication-assisted recovery and other recovery or bridge services; services for pregnant of postpartum people with opioid use disorders, as well as neonatal abstinence syndrome; treatment for incarcerated people; syringe services; prevention programs; harm reduction programs; and syringe services.
“If a national ban [on gender-affirming care] passed, that’s our worst-case scenario,” State Rep. Kelly Cassidy said. “None of our laws will matter.”
If approved by a judge, the settlement will resolve allegations that the company violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act by misrepresenting to customers that tipping would increase drivers’ pay. The proposed settlement includes relief for over 79,000 workers who made deliveries in Illinois between July 2017 and September 2019.
Organizers did not say why they’re leaving Chicago, saying only that the “music festival landscape continues to evolve rapidly” and Pitchfork will hold other events.
Prices in Illinois are 32.5 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and stand 38.4 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.
When asked if the closure of Chicago’s PepsiCo plant is the employer’s fault, state Rep. Brad Halbrook said it’s public policy and over regulation of business that makes it difficult to hire and afford labor in Illinois. “The minimum wage continues to go up and it increases wages at every level. And I am not speaking against increasing wages, but when you mandate it from Springfield, that’s not market factors,” he said. “It’s artificial and causes some undue burdens on the employers in the state of Illinois.”
Dan Eldridge with Federal Firearms Licensees of Illinois, one of the plaintiffs groups in the consolidated case, said all eyes are now on how the appeals court reacts. “And right now the existing panel is split 50-50,” Eldridge said.
Jim Dey: “The office of county executive is somewhat akin to a mayor for the county. Champaign County is one of only two counties of Illinois’ 102 counties to have an elected executive.”
While Democrats held on to their supermajorities in both legislative chambers in last week’s election, Donald Trump’s showing in the deeply blue state was surprisingly strong; The former president lost the state by only about 9 percentage points.. House Republican leader Tony McCombie said those numbers should give Democrats pause about responding to Trump with new laws.
Straight away, Pritzker has returned to dividing people, not uniting them. Instilling fear, not comfort. Given the results, he should be chastened. But that’s not happening.
“Take Illinois for example…..”
“Then there was Pritzker, doing the community theater version of ‘Avengers’ and declaring, ‘You come for my people, you come through me.'”
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