CPS Outlines Plans for May Day Classes, Field Trips to Labor Rally – WTTW (Chicago)

The teachers union in a letter to its members Thursday said it has 800 students and staff registered to attend a May Day training at the Operation Push headquarters, and expects thousands more students and educators participating in this year’s May Day events compared to last year. “We are building momentum for a pro-Democracy movement that can win the transformation we need,” the letter reads.

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Et Tu, Illinois? Prairie State Moves to Rewrite Redistricting As All Eyes Are on Virginia – RedState

“Lawmakers in Springfield are advancing House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 28, which would rewrite the priority order used to draw legislative districts. The proposal keeps equal population as the top requirement but elevates race-based considerations, including directing mapmakers to create ‘racial coalition or influence districts,’ before turning to compactness and contiguity.”

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Editorial: The millionaire’s tax will tempt many Illinoisans. Here’s why it is a terrible idea as written. – Chicago Tribune*

“It’s hard to justify asking voters to approve a constitutional amendment like this when so many core details are left undefined. … But the biggest sticking point is that such a tax hike must be paired with a plan for the state to reduce its waste and overall spending, not just soak its citizens for what could be an additional $3 billion in taxpayers’ money for Springfield Democrats to spend at will.”

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Homer Glen officials unite against ‘one-size-fits-all’ state affordable housing proposal – Daily Southtown*

Mayor Christina Neitzke-Troike said residents move to Homer Glen because they desire a quiet lifestyle and enjoy its open spaces, equestrian fields and low density housing. “The whole reason we incorporated was to control our destiny,” she said. “We have a vision of how we want our community to look. Taking away a community’s right to preserve its vision is ridiculous.”

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Pritzker bans insider trading by state employees, faces hypocrisy claims – Center Square

The order comes as state lawmakers have sought to gain more oversight and regulative power over the betting platforms, along with imposing new taxes, in recent weeks. Early this month, the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission brought a legal complaint against Pritzker – and other state officials – in federal court, alleging they overstepped the CFTC’s exclusive authority to oversee and regulate the betting platforms.

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Illinois’ number of high school grads to plunge 32%. Lawmakers still want more college money. – Illinois Policy

House Bill 1581 would boost state money to the state’s public universities by $135 million a year over the next 15 years. Meanwhile, in about the same time frame the number of high school graduates in Illinois is forecast to fall 32 percent. Illinois charges the region’s highest and the nation’s ninth-highest in-state tuition and fees, at $14,921 per year.

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House approves redistricting amendment, fearing federal Voting Rights Act will be eliminated – Capitol News IL

House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch proposed the amendment in response to fears that the U.S. Supreme Court will strike down the provision of the federal Voting Rights Act that bans splitting large minority groups into many districts to dilute their voting power. “It is undeniable that the U.S Supreme Court is poised to dismantle these protections, and when it does, some states will quickly undertake new gerrymandering schemes aimed at stripping away Black and Latino and other minority representation,” he said.

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Chicago Ald. Lopez says police are ‘handcuffed’ from stopping teen takeovers under Mayor Brandon Johnson – FOX News

“What we have seen is Chicago has now become a destination location for illegal street takeovers like this where hundreds of youth are encouraged to descend on a location, and whether it’s to do mob action, regardless of if (Mayor Johnson) likes the term or not, illegal street takeovers with our vehicles or other activities that are criminal, people know to come here,” Ald. Ray Lopez said.

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‘Plaintiffs’ lawyer paradise:’ IL lawsuit-friendly courts jack up costs, report says – Legal Newsline

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Legal Reform said in its report, “Illinois’s laws have not kept up with the times and subject businesses to excessive liability. The costs of this environment are borne by Illinois residents. … A liability system that is perceived as unpredictable and unfair drives businesses away from investing in the state and weakens Illinois’s economic competitiveness.”

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Willie Wilson: Proposed millionaire tax is an effort to keep up with the blue state Joneses – Chicago Tribune*

“Raising taxes without providing better services and demonstrating a good return on investment is bad policy. Tax policy should be proportional rather than punitive — punishing high earners contradicts principles of personal productivity. Public policy that leads to nonpersonal productivity is harmful to the state and detrimental to the well-being of the person.”

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