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The conflicts were over the former alderman and his wife, Darlena Williams-Burnett, having an “ownership interest in” three properties that are occupied by CHA housing voucher holders, as well as him not meeting a one-year revolving door restriction until September.
Johnson has now issued three vetoes in three years and made all of them stick. The first killed a snap curfew ordinance. The second killed a proposed ban on the sale of most hemp-derived products in Chicago, and the third killed efforts to freeze the hourly pay of restaurant servers, bartenders and other tipped workers at 76 percent of the minimum wage.
The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services initially opposed the bill due to the potential cost for state employee health insurance coverage. However, the current language exempts state employee insurance from the mandate. “If the cost was significant enough that the state cannot absorb it within its own health plan, it raises important affordability concerns for those in the marketplace as well,” said Kate Morthland from the Illinois Life & Health Insurance Council.
The monitors praised CPD for making “significant progress” between July 1 and Dec. 31 in an effort to comply with the consent decree, which has been in effect for seven years. The last report from the monitors found CPD had fully complied with 22 percent of the consent decree.
A tenth city worker, identified as an aldermanic employee, also obtained a fraudulent PPP loan and then filed a false police report claiming someone had stolen their identity and used it to submit the loan application, according to the OIG’s first-quarter report. OIG recommended that the alderman who supervises the worker fire the employee and add them to the do-not-hire list, but the alderman failed to respond by the deadline.
The oil companies based their motion to stay entirely on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to take up a case out of Boulder, Colorado, centered entirely on one overarching question: Whether federal law prohibits cities, like Chicago, Boulder and a growing number of others, from using accusations of alleged “deception” over climate change to use municipal ordinances and state laws to extract potentially huge paydays from the companies.
The three-judge panel issued a short order barely four hours after it finished hearing consolidated appeals arguments in the cases. In it, they wrote that “Both (former Commonwealth Edison CEO Anne) Pramaggiore and (longtime Springfield lobbyist Mike) McClain are entitled to release” on bond while awaiting a new trial. It’s unclear when the judges will publish their longer opinion formally ordering a new trial.
Job loss news serves as a warning about Illinois’ business climate. The state has dropped to 38th in a nationwide business tax climate ranking, and in recent research ranks 45th in the country for entrepreneurship and economic growth.
“Keeping CPS schools open on May 1 is not a contract violation; it is not in any way opposing workers’ rights. It is perfectly acceptable to honor this labor holiday by having children attend classes and having labor and civic actions on the same day.”
The Illinois State Board of Education plans to eliminate several measures from its school rating system, including college and career readiness and 9th Grade on Track — a widely cited metric used to predict graduation rates.
Barbara Deer suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and was pronounced dead at the scene, while Kaleb Deer, who had been shot in the head, was also pronounced dead. A weapon was recovered at the scene, and detectives are investigating the deaths as a homicide. No arrests have been announced.
The survey, conducted in mid-March, found that 85 percent of likely Illinois voters supported legalizing accessory dwelling units and 65 percent supported allowing the construction of “modest duplexes, triplexes, or four-unit homes on larger residential lots.” But when told it’s a one-size-fits-all approach that’s “really a way for Springfield politicians to override local decisions,” 39 percent are less likely to support versus 21 percent who are more likely.
The surge in costs reflects a major shift for Chicago, known as one of the last bastions of big-city affordability. Windy City rents surged on average 3.4% last year, with San Francisco being the only major US city to post a bigger increase — exactly 5.9%, according to CoStar.
“The uncomfortable tension here is that this bill prioritizes the rights of unsheltered individuals without equally addressing the effects on other people who use public spaces …”
The amendments to Rule 711 will extend the length of time a law graduate may qualify for a temporary license after graduating from law school by allowing a graduate who does not pass the first bar examination administered following graduation to retain their 711 license and practice law through the next administered bar exam.
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