-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
A law that would make Illinois the first jurisdiction in the world to ban financial institutions from charging “interchange fees” on the tax and tip portions of debit and credit card transactions finally got its day in court this week nearly 18 months after its passage.
Jim Dey: “A polarizing President Donald Trump isn’t going to be in office forever. But there’s certainly no guarantee that partisan animosities will leave with him, particularly considering how politicians who previously had cordial relations no longer do.”
We would be the only city among our peers charging anything close to this. Among the top 10 cities in the U.S. by population, just one (San Diego) imposes any cost on a business based on the number of jobs it creates. And the cost is minimal.
“In these meetings, I don’t feel the sense of urgency,” Nora Cay Ryan, board member for the RTA said during a recent board meeting. “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu. We are on the menu.”
Finance director Carrie Hagerty blamed the deficit on growing pension contributions (expected to increase by $5.3 million or 15 percent) and changes in how the state disperses tax revenue.
As the Trump administration intensifies an immigration crackdown across the nation’s third-largest city and its suburbs, elected officials in the Democratic stronghold have been increasingly caught in tense encounters with federal agents. Members of the Chicago City Council and their staff, state legislators and congressional candidates report being threatened, handcuffed and detained in recent days.
“Despite Illinois’ substantial investments in emergency management, the cumulative effects of summer flooding incidents across Illinois exceeded local and state capacities and underscore the ongoing need for additional federal support to bridge critical resource gaps,” a governor’s office spokesman said. “Our State’s ability to adequately respond hinges on the federal administration taking action to ensure the timely processing of federal emergency management, disaster response and recovery, and mitigation response grants.”
“In July, on a party-line vote, President Trump signed into law his so-called “big, beautiful bill,” which cut $1 trillion from programs like Medicaid. Now, 10 million people will lose their healthcare coverage, and 300 rural hospitals face closure. This, stacked on top of those set to lose out because of these expiring ACA credits, constitutes a five-alarm fire for working people across this country.”
A letter signed by at least a half a dozen senators asks for “common sense” civilian immigration policing around schools, arguing that “if society can agree that alcohol, tobacco and drugs should be kept at least 1,000 feet away from our schools, surely we can agree that tear gas—a chemical weapon which causes burning, pain, skin inflammation and respiratory distress—and other violent DHS tools and tactics also belong on that list.”
In one such email highlighted by Libs of TikTok, Illinois State Rep. Margaret Croke, currently running to be the state’s comptroller, shared details about numerous vehicles said to be used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in what the official deemed “unlawful and undemocratic actions.”
One after another Tuesday, aldermen expressed reservations that hoped-for projects to eliminate blight or otherwise spiff up their neighborhoods would be delayed or abandoned. Ald. Monique Scott said members of the City Council would be like “crabs in a barrel,” fighting for what dollars were left.
Cyndi Oberle-Dahm, Executive Vice President of the Illinois Federation of Teachers: “But the truth is that children not getting a quality education miss the same leg up whether it’s in East St. Louis or in Rockford. And the example educators and parents have set in Chicago is one that all of us could benefit from. In their last contract, the educators didn’t just win for themselves, they got smaller class sizes, won mandatory recess, and increased access to sports, arts, and music.”
House Bill 2966, signed Aug. 15, allows the State Board of Education to fund district reorganization studies.
The consistent “surpluses” suggest that either many TIF districts do not need a significant amount of revenue for redevelopment projects, or that the city is abusing TIF districts in order to create a piggybank of funds for the city, school district, and other units of local government to pillage for increased spending without having to directly ask taxpayers for more money.
There are several legislative proposals to expand and automate inclusion in the Low-Income Senior Freeze Homestead Exemption, which is currently available for homeowners older than 65 with an annual household income $65,000 or lower.
Several Jewish kids between the ages of 12 and 15 years old were hanging out in Shawnee Park Oct. 7 when another group of kids and teens started yelling anti-Semitic slurs, authorities said. Police said those kids chased the Jewish children and shot at them with a “gel blaster” toy pellet gun. The case will now go before Skokie’s Human Relations Commission.
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