-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
The case centered on the state’s declaration that plaintiff Ian D. Reece and potentially other gun owners were still in violation of Illinois’ “assault weapons” ban, even though they had purchased their weapons under a valid federal court order blocking the state from enforcing its gun ban for six days in 2023.
Hoover, the co-founder of the Gangster Disciples, was originally imprisoned for a 1973 murder and later convicted in 1998 for operating a criminal enterprise. At the time of his 1998 conviction, Hoover was serving a 200-year sentence for the killing of drug dealer William “Pooky” Young. During a 2018 meeting with Trump, Kanye “Ye” West campaigned for Hoover’s freedom.
As of Wednesday, only 3 percent of signalized intersections in Chicago have accessible pedestrian signals (APS), which are meant to help visually impaired pedestrians cross the road. Since there are so few intersections have APS in a city as large as Chicago, a group of blind residents filed a class-action lawsuit against the city.
State Rep. Bill Hauter, who is a practicing physician, takes issue with the fact that this important legislation is tucked inside a food prep sanitation bill. “I have to object to the process that we are tackling today,” said Hauter. “When you have a process of fundamentally changing the practice of medicine, and we’re putting it inside a shell bill.”
Illinois students are struggling to meet proficiency standards on state assessments. Instead of working to improve student learning, the state wants to lower standards to hide the crisis.
“And there is no sign of rents falling here anytime soon. Apartments.com reported that the average monthly apartment rent in Chicago jumped 3.7% in May when compared to the same month a year ago. That increase means that the average Chicago tenant is paying $73 more each month in rent.”
“I’m talking about the city’s chronic reliance on high-priced private law firms, instead of its large, well-funded legal department, to defend lawsuits against the Chicago Police Department — particularly civil rights cases involving misconduct, brutality, and wrongful convictions. We’re not talking about a few consultants here and there. It’s a legal gravy train that’s diverted over $250 million to outside attorneys in the last decade alone, with no end in sight.”
There are currently five Sheriff’s Office substations within city limits: in Austin, Auburn Gresham, River North and at Water Tower Place and One Chicago, both in the Gold Coast.
The bill calls for the new Northern Illinois Transit Authority’s board to have five directors appointed by the mayor of Chicago, five appointed by the governor, five appointed by the Cook County Board president, and one director each appointed by the board chairs of Kane, Lake, McHenry, DuPage and Will counties. They must have “diverse and substantial relevant experience and expertise for overseeing the planning, operation, and funding of a regional transportation system.”
“Like the racists of America’s past, Mayor Johnson believes in attributing supremacy and inferiority to an individual based on skin color. And he has made no secret of his belief that one’s Black skin makes one superior and one’s White skin makes one inferior.”
The report also concludes that the employees’ managers were aware that these employees were not able to perform the remote work that they’ve been getting paid for since 2020. The CTA’s Vault Operations unit is responsible for packaging, shipping and processing bulk currency obtained from CTA fareboxes.
“This is another one of these mandates that are being put on to just a small number of small employers in Illinois with their health insurance costs, which takes Illinois for the last four years to over 60 added mandates, more than any other state in the country,” state Sen. Dave Syverson said. “I think there’s probably more uses than was being talked about as for the reasons for this mandate.”
The case Schoenthal v. Raoul, filed in 2022, challenges Illinois’ concealed carry law that carves out places like mass transit where people licensed to carry concealed firearms are prohibited from carrying. In August 2024, a Northern District of Illinois federal judge sided with plaintiffs, saying the law violates the Second Amendment.
The Illinois House could soon approve a measure requiring gun owners to lock up their firearms under certain circumstances, despite there being 6 to 1 opposition filed against the bill
While the state infuses hundreds of millions a year in child-care programs, strict eligibility requirements and limitations shut out many working families.
Chicago’s ordinance eliminating four-year college degree requirements to apply for a range of municipal positions will promote fairness and widen the city’s talent recruitment pipeline at a time when hiring remains a challenge across Illinois. The “college-for-all” model isn’t delivering on its promise as a workforce solution.
Illinois has the seventh highest average state debt in the nation. Coupled with one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, the burden of these loans become even more substantial for some borrowers, effectively delaying the purchase of a home, the decision to start a family and progress towards economic advancement.
“With the sixth-highest in-state tuition in the nation, sending students to an Illinois university now costs most families more than sending them out of state. So, those young people leave. In 2021, nearly 48 percent of Illinois’ four-year, college-bound students chose schools elsewhere. They take their knowledge, income and tax dollars with them — often for good.”
“The anxiety among Jewish communities nationwide is well-founded — particularly in cities led by far-left politicians like (Mayor Brandon) Johnson, who at best exhibit a troubling indifference to the violence fostered by their ideological allies. Make no mistake: The violence enabled by the far left has no peer. Johnson’s rhetoric, and that of other progressive activist groups and left-wing leaders, exemplifies how America’s current anti-Semitism epidemic is colliding with laissez-faire public safety policies nationwide.”
The fund provides relief for just one-one hundredth of one percent of residential taxes paid in the county. Thanks for nothing.
Ted joined Dan and Amy to talk about the eye-popping cost of so-called “affordable housing” developments in Chicago, the welcome but belated decline in violent crime in the city, and more.
A Wall Street rating agency on Tuesday assigned an A- bond rating to Mayor Brandon Johnson’supcoming plan to borrow more than $600 million for infrastructure, housing and economic development, but revised the outlook to “negative,” signaling a future downgrade. Fitch said the negative outlook is “driven by a lack of substantial progress procuring permanent, high-impact solutions” to a structural budget gap of $1.12 billion — 20% of the corporate fund — that could get worse if Chicago loses even a portion of the $3 billion in federal funding on the chopping block.
Since Eileen O’Neill Burke took office, the population of Cook County Jail has grown from around 5,200 at the end of predecessor Kim Foxx’s term to just under 5,800 now. But critics say violent crime was already trending down in the city and the country — and question the need for Burke’s tougher approach to crime.
“Let’s be clear: There’s nothing compassionate about taking more from families who already have to get by with less, as persistent inflation drives up the price of everything. Compassion isn’t measured by how much we spend; it’s measured by whether people are actually better off.”
SIGN UP HERE FOR OUR FREE WIREPOINTS DAILY NEWSLETTER