-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
The grocery tax income makes up 30 percent of the village’s total sales taxes, according to a memo. Replacing the loss would require maximum property tax increases for several years, the village said. Clarendon Hills’ administration is recommending the Village Board vote to let the tax remain.
“It was the height of when those ICE raid rumors were getting leaked and Trump was really putting it out in the media about coming hard on Chicago,” said Hafsa Haider, of the Chicago Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. “It seemed to incite vigilantism in the community.”
According to a social media post from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Professor Peter Goldsmith, The Soybean Innovation Lab is set to close April 15th. According to the lab’s website, its goal is to give researchers, non-governmental organizations and the private sector information and technology needed to advance soybean development in Africa. The lab has more than 100 soybean experts from 24 countries.
“One area that must be shielded from the fallout is the Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF). … The fund is supposed to return 10 percent of income tax revenues to local governments, but past governors and now Governor Pritzker have routinely broken this promise, siphoning off a portion of the funds to balance his own budget. Right now, municipalities are receiving just 6.47 percent of the promised 10 percent.”
The company plans to close this location due to market conditions, according to an emailed statement.
Superintendent Mark Jontry, who oversees schools in McLean, Livingston, Logan, and DeWitt Counties, said the federal government is responsible for several grant-funded programs and protections, including gender discrimination, low-income services, and special needs education. Jontry said those services could be affected if the Education Department disappears, whether the money goes with it, or is administered elsewhere. “We are subject to the federal laws around students with special needs, and elimination of the department isn’t going to make those laws go away,” said Jonty. State government is where most schools get general education funding.
“Once again, we do not fault any news agency or blogger, or anyone else for making a living, but we do fault state and local governments for spending tax money on these types of subscriptions as there does not appear to be any statute providing our state government to spend money in this fashion.”
House Democrats attempted to enter a Department of Education building on Friday in protest of proposed actions from President Trump but were blocked. Illinois’ Jan Schakowsky is in the red and black checked coat to the left of Maxine Waters. Video here.
“This state has a $3.2 billion budget shortfall, and we were spending our time on the floor with listening to hateful political rhetoric,” state Rep. John Cabello said. “We decided that was enough, so we went down to the stairs on the first floor of the capitol.” The General Assembly will return to session February 18.
Approximately 130 soldiers will deploy to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility in support of Operation Spartan Shield.
Businesses along 26th Street were encouraged to put up signs, educating people about their rights and urging them to unite in times of uncertainty. “Our people are strong, our people are resilient, and they fight back,” said State Sen. Celina Villanueva. “Why? Because we’re united as a community, we’re here for each other.”
“This program provides otherwise law-abiding citizens without criminal history who were arrested because they failed to obtain a [firearm owner’s license], a pathway to come into compliance with those licensing regulations,” Eileen O’Neill Burke’s office said.
One woman had her family car stolen right in front of a daycare center while people were picking up their children. “I think it was more (my mother’s) reaction that she still woke up to question, ‘How am I getting to work?’ It’s not about where is my car. How am I going to get to work,” Giselle said. “It’s people out there that could be working are not working and making it difficult for other people. And I was just like, I think that’s when it hurt me, when my mom wasn’t even worried about the truck. She was
Gov. JB Pritzker and Sen. Tammy Duckworth visited the Two Rivers Head Start program in Elgin, saying it is one of hundreds of early learning centers across Illinois losing federal funding. Some programs are unsure how they will continue operating, or if they’ll be forced to shut down.
Chicago attorney Andrew Stoltmann discusses the Department of Justice’s lawsuit against Illinois, Chicago, and their leaders over alleged interference in the Trump administration’s mass deportation plans. Video linked here.
A $58 million grant from the state’s environmental protection agency is bankrolling 27 new electric buses for Pace and 30 for the CTA — more than doubling the number in the city and suburbs, Gov. JB Pritzker announced Friday.
Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago is pausing gender-care surgeries for patients younger than 19 as Republican President Donald Trump threatens to cut federal funding from providers who offer this type of care.
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