Author: Joanna Brown

Beloved St. Patricks Day tradition sparks debate among experts: ‘[It’s] justifying its treatment as a sewer’ – The Cool Down

There are concerns from environmentalists, like NiCHE Canada’s Isaac Green, that dyeing the river sends the wrong message to Chicago’s residents. “Even if the dye itself isn’t ecologically harmful, the process of dying the river can sustain harmful ecological ideas,” Green says. “The dye allows people to believe the river isn’t ‘natural,’ therefore justifying its treatment as a sewer.”

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Executive Director fired by Oak Park’s library board – Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest

It comes after weeks of upheaval among some community members who objected to the way leaders, including Joslyn Bowling Dixon, handled a Palestinian cultural event, eliminated two staff positions, at least one of which related to diversity, equity and inclusion. Dixon, they said, was trying to position the library as a place for books only — an outmoded practice — and away from the community hub Oak Park’s library strives to be.

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Gov. JB Pritzker’s budget plan leaves out extra money for schools to help migrant students – Chalkbeat Chicago

A spokesperson for Pritzker said in a prepared statement that the governor’s priority is to ensure newly arrived migrant families have shelter, food, and a path to independence. “Schools are also able to access federal funding for many new arrived students under the federal McKinney Vento law to support homeless services,” said the governor’s office. “The Governor also proposed a $350 million increase in K-12 funding and new students will be incorporated into funding formulas at their districts moving forward.”

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Lead in water a threat to two-thirds of young children in Chicago – Chicago Sun-Times

Young children in Black and Latino communities were potentially exposed at even higher rates, according to the study, which looked at household testing data from 2016 to last fall. A study by Johns Hopkins and Stanford researchers, published Monday in the medical journal JAMA Pediatrics, used artificial intelligence to estimate the extent of exposure of children across the city to water from home faucets containing lead.

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Illinois Supreme Court makes changes amid ‘staggering’ increase in pretrial appeals over detention – Chicago Tribune*

Among the changes, the court will now only allow “one-at-a-time” appeals, meaning that parties cannot appeal a new detention decision by a judge if a previous appeal is in the works;  the court requires notification within 24 hours if the appeal becomes moot due to a resolution in the case; and the 14-day deadline to file will be eliminated, reasoning that people are rushing into decisions about whether to appeal due to the deadline.

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Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs Champions Plan To Create Investment Pool For Nonprofit Organizations – RiverBender (Alton)

If Frerichs’ plan becomes law, the nonprofit investment pool would be structured in the same way as the Illinois Public Treasurer’s Investment Pool – also known as the Illinois Funds. The Illinois Funds allows units of government to invest their funds safely while benefiting from the economies of scale available through a pooled investment fund portfolio that exceeds $19 billion. The pool invests in liquid, high-quality short-term investments.

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After being rebuffed by regulators, utilities file slimmed-down spending plans – Capitol News IL

The commission found the original plans lacked sufficient evidence that they would benefit low-income and traditionally disadvantaged communities – a requirement of CEJA – and that the plans didn’t demonstrate how the utilities would keep monthly bills affordable. Both ComEd and Ameran Illinois explicitly responded to those criticisms in their revised filings, including more in-depth calculations that suggest most of the benefits of grid modernization and clean energy will go toward historically disadvantaged and low-income communities.

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Gov. JB Pritzker signs measure that sets up process for electing Chicago’s school board – Chicago Tribune/MSN

In addition to 10 board members elected later this year, Mayor Brandon Johnson will appoint 10 members and a president. Johnson had pushed for the hybrid model, and legislators ultimately acquiesced. The new law also includes maps for the 20 districts: seven majority-Black districts, six majority-Latino districts, five majority-white districts and two in which no group has a majority.

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Ethics Complaint: Chicago Teachers Union Pressured Students to Vote ‘Yes’ on Tax Hike – Illinois Policy

At the event, one television reporter asked a student listed as attending Michelle Clark High School, “Did your teachers encourage you to vote for [Bring Chicago Home]?” The student responded, “yes.” Another network reported that a leader or volunteer with the Parade to the Polls was chanting a pro-tax-hike message to students as they walked to the polling place: “We will not give up the fight! Housing is a human right!”

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Chicago Teachers Union attacks successful schools to push failing schools – Illinois Policy

There are currently 20 “sustainable community schools” within Chicago Public Schools. All but one of the 12 elementary community schools fall below the district average for reading proficiency. All have lower math proficiency than the district average, which is already lower than the state average. All eight of the community high schools perform below the district average in both reading and math. Despite these dismal results, Chicago Teachers Union leadership wants to increase the number of these failing community schools tenfold.

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New legislation could give county clerks a taxpayer-funded raise – Center Square

The Illinois Association of County Clerks and Recorders is a proponent of Senate Bill 2131, which says clerks have to be paid at least 80 percent of what the state’s attorney in that county is paid and that the pay is to mostly come from state taxpayer funds. “[Under the proposed law] 80 percent of the salary would be reimbursed [by the state] and right now the state does that for public defenders, state’s attorneys, the assessor and the sheriff,” said McDonough County Clerk Gretchen DeJaynes.

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Plan to rebuild Stateville, Logan prisons brings mixed reaction – Center Square

State Sen. Terri Bryant said the governor can’t be trusted that the site closures would be temporary. “The Governor previously used the line of temporary closures when it came to both the DuQuion and Dixon Springs Structured Impact Programs in order to avoid the closure process laid out under the State Facilities Closure Act,” Bryant said. “To this day, neither site has been reopened despite line items within the budget.”

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Secret Service, Chicago police prepare for DNC – Center Square

Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said the U.S. Secret Service will be responsible for securing the inside of the convention sites at the United Center and McCormick Place. “This will allow CPD to focus on everything going on outside of the convention, including large-scale, First Amendment activity,” Snelling said.

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Has Illinois gotten bluer? Really, not so much – A look back at what Primary Election data shows – Center for Illinois Politics

In truth, despite regular headlines about voter apathy, Illinois primary voter turnout has not budged all that much over a 40-year stretch, though the numbers of Democrats and Republicans heading to the spring polls has fluctuated by more than 20 points depending on the given election year, data shows. “What drives overall turnout is having a race where Dems are motivated,” Illinois Board of Elections spokesman Matt Dietrich said.

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Lawmaker pushes tax break for those ‘fleeing’ teaching, medical restrictions – Jacksonville Journal-Courier*

House Bill 5152 would give a $500 tax credit to anyone who moves to Illinois to teach, get or provide health care, including abortion and gender-affirming care, from states with more restrictive laws regarding access to lawful health care. “I’m not saying you have to come here and provide abortion care or provide gender-affirming care, because I am just as concerned about the emergency room physician who doesn’t want to have to watch a patient die,” State Rep. Kelly Cassidy said.

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A Municipal Income Tax Is a Dead End for Chicago – Chicago Contrarian

“Whatever revenue totals that fiscal experts predict will be collected from any new Chicago taxes, the result will likely be less than what they forecasted. … People can move out of Chicago. Businesses can relocate. Positions offered could be declined when job seekers learn they’ll have to pay a city income tax. Some states have no income tax at all. The city’s property taxes are onerous, and Chicagoans endure the second-highest sales tax rate in the nation.”

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Gov. Pritzker signs Executive Order to promote equity in gene and cell therapy treatment access – WAND (Decatur)

The executive order tasks the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services with leading the state’s effort to establish payment models and financial structures that support access to new sickle cell disease treatments and other new high cost drugs and treatment within the Illinois Medicaid program, and creates the Advisory Council on Financing and Access to Sickle Cell Disease Treatment and Other High-Cost Drugs and Treatment.

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Gov. JB Pritzker: Get rid of the grocery tax. Period. – Chicago Tribune*

“What grocery tax cut opponents aren’t telling you is that local governments in Illinois have seen a dramatic increase in funding from state government, and they can afford to lower your local tax burden. In 2010, the state distributed $3.8 billion to local governments, and in 2023, that number nearly doubled to more than $7 billion. While municipalities claim their funding from the Local Government Distributive Fund was cut, the numbers tell a different story. Funding from that source has doubled, from $985 million in 2010 to $1.9 billion today.”

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Meta is ready to drop news in Illinois if forced to pay local publishers – The Verge

Illinois’ Journalism Preservation Act (SB 3591), currently sitting in the state’s Senate, would require online companies to pay local news publishers for work viewed by residents on their platforms. Meta spokesperson Jamie Radice said that news isn’t the reason most people visit Facebook and Instagram, and if the law passes, “we will be forced to make the same business decision that we made in Canada to end the availability of news in Illinois.”

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On Election Day, progressive candidates and causes are at the center of Democratic primary ballot – Chicago Tribune/Yahoo

“Though neither is on the ballot, Johnson’s early unsteady tenure at City Hall and the aftermath of Foxx’s embattled time as top prosecutor provide the backdrop for a Democratic primary asking voters whether progressivism has gone too far or not far enough amid continued concern about crime and the complex issue of dealing with migrants primarily sent from the Texas border.”

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Chicago slowly starts evicting migrants from shelters – Chicago Sun-Times

Of the nearly three dozen migrants expected to be evicted from shelters Sunday as the city begins enforcing Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration’s 60-day shelter stay rule, just three were removed. The remaining 31 migrants were given extensions; 27 because they are still in the process of applying for public benefits and four due to pregnancy or disability. Fewer than 11,000 migrants remain in shelters, according to the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications, and around 2,000 are expected to have to exit by the end of April.

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Commentary: What suburban businesses, residents need to know about governor’s budget – Daily Herald*

Matt Paprocki, of the Illinois Policy Institute: “Illinois’ modest improvements to its fiscal health was buoyed by temporary federal aid that also grew spending to unprecedented levels. The state budget has increased by nearly $13 billion since Pritzker took office. Now that it’s run out, Pritzker’s balancing the budget on the backs of recovering suburban businesses and offering ‘tax relief’ by cutting funding sources for local governments.”

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Muslim community leaders urge Illinois voters to protest Biden by writing in ‘Gaza’ on primary ballot – Chicago Sun-Times

The push comes after similar efforts in Michigan and Minnesota shook Biden’s reelection campaign, with more than 150,000 voters choosing to vote “uncommitted” over the president in those states’ primaries. “Uncommitted” isn’t a ballot option in Illinois, so groups are instead calling voters to either leave the presidential ticket blank or write in “Gaza.” The Chicago area is home to the largest Palestinian population in the U.S.

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Illinois farmers facing legislative concerns – Sioux County Radio

Farm Bureau president and Ogle County farmer Brian Duncan tells Brownfield they’re watching several proposals closely. “Illinois adopting California emission standards; allowing municipalities to reach out and place restrictions on crop protection products is one we’re going to be talking about. … Certainly, we don’t want to go down the California prop 12 road.”

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A week before measles outbreak, fewer than half of CPS students without stable housing were fully immunized – Chicago Tribune/MSN

School registration should go hand in hand with facilitating access to immunizations, said Dr. Olusimbo Ige, Chicago Department of Public Health commissioner. State law typically requires all students to receive MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) immunizations, unless a parent or guardian submits either proof that the child previously contracted measles or a medical or religious exemption. Fewer than 1% of students had a religious or medical exemption as of November, CPS said.

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A Chicago “Mansion Tax” Would Hurt Small Businesses, Customers, Employees, and Renters – Tax Foundation

“Much like marriage license fees help offset the costs to the state of providing marriage licenses and updating government records, modest real estate transfer taxes are justifiable when they help compensate for government services reasonably associated with the transfer of property. The proposed tax increase in Chicago, however, would go far beyond that scope, with proponents seeking to take advantage of an existing revenue stream to generate large amounts of new revenue for unrelated purposes.”

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Column: Demographics key to state’s financial, educational future – Champaign News-Gazette

Jim Dey: “Plenty of downsides threaten its opportunities, including the state’s heavy long-term debt, tough competition for its manufacturers, and population issues that pose problems for the future of higher education. Those are some of the conclusions in a State of Illinois Forecast Report done by Moody’s Analytics and recently released by the Illinois Commission on Economic Forecasting & Accountability. … ‘Weak demographic trends and deep-rooted fiscal problems, such as mounting pension obligations and a shrinking tax base, represent the biggest hurdles to the longer-term outlook,’ the report states.”

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A Mansion Tax Could Accelerate Chicago’s Urban Exodus – RealClear Markets

“Downtown office vacancy rates already reached another record high at the end of 2023 at 23.8% – nearly double the pre-pandemic rate – and a hefty tax on property sales will only make Chicago’s commercial real estate less attractive. Without new businesses coming into the city, more and more Chicagoans will wonder why they’re still putting up with high state and local taxes. Fewer jobs and services will give them less reason to stay.”

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Illinois lawmakers challenge Chicago school board’s plans to remove police, rethink choice policy – Chalkbeat Chicago

One bill would prevent the closure of selective-enrollment schools and any changes to admissions policies at those schools for the next three years. The other would let local school councils retain the power to decide whether they want on-campus police — a right they would lose by next school year under a new safety plan. The legislation is an example of lawmakers seeking to use state power to override Chicago’s authority over its schools.

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Sangamon County on pace for most juveniles charged with a crime since 2017 – WICS (Springfield)

In 2023, 111 juveniles were charged with a crime in Sangamon County. This year, as of the middle of March, 36 juveniles have already been charged. “Anecdotally, it looks to me when I look at individual cases, that we have more violent behavior by juveniles, we have more brazen juveniles carrying firearms, willing to discharge firearms committing armed robberies,” Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser said.

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Increased spending, growing demands, fund transfers part of Illinois’ budget process – Center Square

State Rep. Curtis Tarver was critical of other fund transfer powers Gov. JB Pritzker has been granted in prior budget years. He noted the hundreds of millions of tax dollars being used for non-citizens and union contracts. “Let it not be just for a union contract, let it not just be for asylum seekers, if you’re going to actually have that type of flexibility, let it be for all the people of Illinois who have very specific and unique needs,” Tarver said.

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Paul Vallas: Police overtime shows defunding police doesn’t work – Illinois Policy

“Fewer officers is a major factor in the 50 percent drop in annual arrests since 2019 and in the rise of violent crime incidents overall. Arrest rates for violent crimes in 2023 were 11 percent. Unfortunately for Chicagoans, it is highly unlikely a perpetrator of a crime will ever be caught, even in murder cases. … Meanwhile the SAFE-T Act’s elimination of cash bail will put even more violent criminals back on the street.”

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Illinois Republican congressional candidates fight for favor of Trump supporters – FOX News

“(Rep. Mike) Bost is a popular incumbent, but he’s running in a time and place where disdain for government is white-hot. Establishment Republicans are angry their man has to face an intraparty challenge, which is the attitude (challenger Darren) Bailey argues needs to be dislodged. But it will be up to voters to decide whether adaptability and hard work are enough to overcome incumbency, tenure and an endorsement from the nation’s Republican leader.”

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For Toni Preckwinkle, another election and another chance to wield her political muscle – Chicago Sun-Times

With a roster of people who used to work for her or alongside her in county government that includes Mayor Brandon Johnson, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, Preckwinkle, who turns 77 on St. Patrick’s Day, has put her stamp on the next generation of Black and Latino leaders in Illinois politics. Her former chief of staff Kurt Summers went on to become city treasurer, and former staffer Christian Mitchell became an Illinois deputy governor.

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Migrant shelter evictions will not begin this Saturday, Johnson administration says – Chicago Tribune/MSN

However, the administration said they will evict 35 migrants Sunday, and the pace of evictions after that is unclear. The population in the city shelters has declined from a late-December high of 14,900 to 11,200 Friday. The pace of new arrivals has also slowed in recent months — a reprieve that many receive with wariness, given the Texas governor’s threat to escalate the buses before the Democratic National Convention arrives in Chicago this summer.

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Pritzker agency heads questioned on $1.1 billion revenue proposals – Capitol News IL

One proposal would generate $101 million by capping Illinois’ so-called “retailers discount.” Under state law, retailers receive a discount of 1.75 percent of the sales tax they collect as reimbursement for their efforts to collect them. The governor’s change would cap the amount claimed at $1,000 per month. “Contrary to claims, this proposal does not just target large retail stores but would impact retailers of all sizes, from independent grocers to the corner hardware store,” Illinois Retail Merchants Association President and CEO Rob Karr said.

 

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Chicago student homelessness is rising. Could a tax change backed by the mayor help fix that? – Chalkbeat Chicago

Chicago Public Schools received about $10.1 million in federal pandemic aid to serve homeless students, as part of roughly $800 million distributed nationally to states and school districts. The city and school district created a program to give $500 stipends to families in Students in Temporary Living Situations, using money from the initial 2020 wave of federal COVID relief dollars. It’s not clear how many families received the money, and district officials deferred to the city, which administered the program.

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Cook County offers to chip in on food costs for migrants, approves delay to paid-leave mandate for schools, parks – Chicago Tribune/MSN

The county’s paid time off policy matches state law, which took effect earlier this year, and slightly expands upon it; the board moved to expand covered employers to include park and school districts. Leaders from several suburban districts revolted, saying if leave benefits were extended to part-time workers, it would drive up costs and potentially lead to service cuts or fee hikes. The compromised January deadline  for implementation gives districts more time to prepare for added costs and for county administrators to specify coverage requirements for districts that are split between different towns or other counties.

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Illinois’ High Court Reports ‘Breathtaking’ Rise in Appeals Following Elimination of Cash Bail – WTTW (Chicago)

Within a decade-long period from 2014 through 2023, there were a total of 171 appeals from bail orders. In the first five months after the pretrial provisions of the SAFE-T Act went into effect — from Sept. 18 to Feb. 18 — there were 2,003 appeals filed from detention orders. “This dramatic increase in appeals has been crippling to our appellate courts,” Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary Jane said.

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Migrants at Chicago’s largest shelter call food ‘horrible’, rather buy their own meals as city spends millions

Seventy Seven Communities Meal Service has already been paid $3.7 million to feed migrants, but could stand to make as much as $45 million. A second company, 14 Parish has received $3.8 million with the potential to make as much as $57.6 million. But former shelter residents can be seen outside the largest shelter in Chicago as they’ve created a make-shift business to provide an alternative for the food some are calling “horrible.”

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2 more measles cases confirmed; 98 Chicago migrants placed in quarantine hotel after exposure – CBS2 (Chicago)

The Chicago Department of Public Health said six adults and six children have been confirmed to have measles over the past week. Only two are unrelated to the migrant shelter Pilsen, which is the city’s largest. Meanwhile, a total of 98 migrants have been placed in quarantine for measles exposure at a Chicago-area hotel set up by the State of Illinois; 48 of them are children. They have all been exposed to measles and will stay in the hotel for 21 days.

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Deadline approaching to challenge Illinois broadband map – Center Square

Illinois was awarded just over $1 billion in broadband equity program funds from federal taxpayers, to be spent over the next five years, from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to connect unserved and under-served locations to quality, affordable broadband service. Illinois is one of 19 states to receive over $1 billion.

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Cook County 2nd-worst in U.S. as 87 of 102 Illinois counties lose population – Illinois Policy

Illinois’ population decline continued for its 10th consecutive year in 2023 as the state’s population dropped by 32,826 residents from July 2022-July 2023, but new data showed losses were in 87 of Illinois’ 102 counties. Population decline was the most pronounced in some of the state’s most populous counties, but most of the decline came from Cook County.

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Chicago Teachers Union wants revenue meant for homeless if mayor’s tax hike passes – Illinois Policy

CTU demanded provisions related to affordable housing in past negotiations, but its recently leaked document makes clear its topline demand is not to help homeless Chicagoans, but to help Chicago teachers whose median salary is already more than $93,000. CTU’s bankrolling of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s campaign and his tax hike initiative is a gamble that could pay off big time.

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Obama Foundation Donating $4M to Build Divisive Playground at Midway Plaisance – WTTW (Chicago)

Though lauded as “groundbreaking” by the Park District, the playground has met with significant opposition from neighbors, who have faulted the choice of the Plaisance’s east end as too dangerous for a play space, while continuing to express frustration with the city’s handling of the fallout from its decision to cede public parkland to the Obama Center.

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Chicago Activists Want Property Taxes Nixed for Black Residents as Part of Reparations – Breitbart

The city’s black residents created Reconstruction Era Reparation Act Now (ReRan) in 2023 because they were losing their homes due to rising property taxes, the group’s website states. “So what we want to do especially for the Black community because we’re very fragile, we want to keep them and preserve them here and by doing that, we can hold onto our culture in Chicago,” said  ReRan Founder Howard Ray.

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Looking for work, migrants turn to street vending – Chicago Tribune/MSN

Mark Denzler, president of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, said that nationally more than 600,000 manufacturing jobs are unfilled, including an estimated tens of thousands in Illinois. Many of the openings would be suitable for newly arrived migrants or immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for years without legal permission, if they were authorized to work in the country, he said.

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Jewish man attacked by anti-Israel protesters at October 7 documentary screening in Logan Square – ABC7 (Chicago)

Using megaphones, wearing masks and carrying posters, dozens of anti-Israel protesters blocked the entry to Logan Theatre Monday night for the presentation hosted by the Simon Wiesenthal Center. The protesters yelled “shame on you” to people attending a Jewish-sponsored event screening a documentary about the Hamas massacre of more than 300 people at the Nova Music Festival in Israel Oct. 7, 2023.

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Palestinian community leaders refuse to meet with White House officials in Chicago in protest of Gaza war – Chicago Sun-Times

The Chicago area is home to the largest Palestinian and Palestinian American population in the country. State Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid, the only Palestinian American elected official in Illinois or Chicago government, said he’s among those who declined the meeting because “really there isn’t much more to be said. … There have been many meetings and conversations since October with the White House. And the reality is our position is extremely clear that there needs to be a permanent cease-fire and we need our country to stop providing arms to Israel.”

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Chicago TikTok influencers concerned about platform’s future after bill that would ban the app passes the House – NBC5 (Chicago)

“I mean it’s a loss of income, really, because I have lost that opportunity,” said Chicago influencer Jen White after learning that the chamber had voted 352 to 65 in support of a measure that was designed to pressure TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance to divest from the social media platform or face an effective ban in the United States.

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Freedom Caucuses Shaking Up How Business Is Done in 11 States – Daily Signal

State Freedom Caucus Network President Andy Roth explained, “Because of the COVID stuff, school choice, there are so many issues that impact people and their families at the state level, and no attention was paid on them. So in 2019, we launched the network. The Georgia Freedom Caucus was the first one. Then we went to South Carolina, South Dakota, Illinois, on and on. And now we have 11 of them.”

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Voters weigh conflicting reports of how many Chicagoans are homeless – Illinois Policy

‘Bring Chicago Home’ advocates claim there are 68,000 homeless Chicagoans, but that’s 10 times higher than the estimate recognized by the federal government. And Chicago Teachers Union President Stacey Davis Gates claims there are 20,000 unhoused students in the city, a subset of Bring Chicago Home’s 68,000 estimate – even as CTU’s new contract demands include taxpayer-funded housing assistance for teachers averaging nearly $100,000.

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Chicago Voters Have a Chance to Deny Progressive Politicians a New Slush Fund – National Review*

“(Mayor Brandon) Johnson claims his tax hike can bring in $100 million. But what happened in L.A.? High-end-property sales plummeted, and the tax failed to meet expected revenue. That’s the problem with taxation in general: Revenue estimates rarely pan out. Chicago’s new Bally’s Casino, for example, brought in less than a quarter of its projected tax revenue for 2023. There’s no guarantee that the estimated level of real-estate-tax money will come in, especially when relying on something as unstable as Chicago’s real-estate market.”

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Supplemental spending: How Illinois could spend some of its $1.6B budget surplus – State Journal-Register

Gov. JB Pritzker signed the $50.4 billion budget in June 2023, the largest in state history. Now, the Democratic governor is requesting the General Assembly approve legislation allowing for $1.56 billion in additional spending. Most of the General Fund spending would go toward the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, receiving $430 million, and $346.8 million to the state Department of Human Services. Together, those departments will receive just less than half of the total proposed supplemental package. IDHS has been the lead state agency in providing shelter and services provided to the 36,000-plus asylum seekers in Chicago.

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Commentary: This time around, don’t give Jerry Reinsdorf a win over taxpayers – Chicago Sun-Times

Andy Shaw: “Funding for the stadium, in Jerry’s shrewd, risk-averse business mind, would mirror the vehicle that helped build Soldier Field for the Bears and the current White Sox stadium at 35th and Shields in Bridgeport, now called Guaranteed Rate Field: Revenue from the city’s hotel-motel tax and the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority’s bonding power to raise the estimated $1 billion price tag for new stadium construction. … In other words, all public and no private dollars, and that’s the rub: $400 million in new tax revenue that wouldn’t be available for other pressing needs like education, health care, law

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Cook County lost 24,000 residents last year in latest census survey – Chicago Tribune/MSN

The Vintage 2023 estimates show Cook County remains the second largest county in the U.S. at nearly 5.1 million residents, but its population fell by more than 24,000 last year, the fourth largest decline among all counties. Chicago’s home county has lost more than 188,000 residents since the start of the pandemic in 2020, according to the census population estimates.

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Violent 24 hours leaves 9 dead across Chicago – Chicago Sun-Times

The large number of slayings would be unusual on a warm summer weekend and is startling for a late-winter weekday. The geographic reach of the violence is an “unfortunate reminder of the scale of resources and the continued focus that we need to muster as a city in order to have safe and healthy communities,” said Kim Smith, a director at the University of Chicago Crime Lab.

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Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration says insurance bill is an effort to balance needs of companies, consumers – Chicago Tribune*

Pritzker and his legislative allies are aiming to overhaul a broad range of insurance companies’ practices. Among other things, the bill would ban so-called step therapy, in which insurers require patients to try a different, often cheaper, alternative before treatment recommended by doctors. It also would ban prior authorization, when patients sometimes have to get permission from insurance companies before receiving treatment, for in-patient mental health care.

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Johnson Says He’s ‘Frustrated’ With City’s ‘Out of Control’ Overtime Spending – WTTW (Chicago)

“We inherited a really stagnant, just awful, abrasive system,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said of the $293 million the Chicago Police Department spent on overtime last year . “That type of spending on one particular element of city government. There has to be more equity and a more dynamic distribution of those resources in order for us to actually really get at solving crime in Chicago.”

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Bring Chicago Home votes will be counted after IL Supreme Court nixes challengers’ bid for appeal – Cook County Record

Votes will be counted next week on the city’s ballot question, heavily supported by the Chicago Teachers Union, that could empower Mayor Brandon Johnson and his allies in the Chicago City Council to jack up city property sales tax rates, after the Illinois Supreme Court rejected a last ditch appeal from Chicago business advocates to block the ballot measure.

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Court denies transfer to Sangamon County in constitutional challenge to firearm liability law, finds fixed venue violates due process – Madison-St. Clair Record

House Bill 3062 was passed by the 103rd General Assembly and signed into law June 6. The law strips circuit courts in 100 of Illinois’ 102 counties of their power to preside over constitutional challenges. Madison County Associate Judge Ronald J. Foster Jr. wrote March 4, “Sangamon County is not more important than any other county in this state. The fact that it is the seat of state government is ultimately irrelevant. Based on the record before the court, the General Assembly will not be called as witnesses. The Attorney General is responsible for representing the state and its officers

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Coalition pushes legislation to advance carbon capture in Illinois – Center Square

Senate Bill 3311 and House Bill 569, would create the Climate and Landowner Protection Act. During a news conference in Springfield, the group claimed that carbon capture and storage projects will help Illinois reach its clean energy goals. However, scientist Sallie Greenberg confirmed that the separation of other chemicals from the emitted carbon actually uses energy.

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Chicago Teachers Union urges students to attend political rally for Illinois primary – FOX News

CTU Vice President Jackson Potter sent out a notice for students of voting age about an upcoming rally to lead up to casting their first vote for the Illinois primary: “On the morning of March 15, students will gather at CTU Headquarters and hear from candidates/political organizers, collaborate with young voters from other schools, and participate in engaging events including art, music, and dance. The event will culminate with a Parade to the Polls, where students will march to an early voting site—celebrating voting in their first election and making their voices heard along the way!”

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Johnson says limited migrant shelter evictions to start – Chicago Tribune/Yahoo

Mayor Brandon Johnson said an unspecified number of the thousands of migrant shelter residents who were issued 60-day notices to vacate by Saturday will receive exemptions. “I don’t know if it’s a substantial number, but again, they can return to the loading zone,” the mayor said when asked about how many migrants must leave the shelters. “That’s one place, or they can decide to move on. You know, they don’t necessarily have to remain within the structure that we’re providing.”

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Civic Federation questions volatility, structure, fairness of ‘Bring Chicago Home’ referendum – Chicago Sun-Times

Civic Federation President Joe Ferguson said he’s “not looking to influence the vote” on Tuesday, if the Illinois Supreme Court allows the votes to be counted. He’s “looking to influence the landscape on the accountability on what we’re voting for. … That’s the problem. It’s insufficiently clear to people what they’re voting for. It’s insufficiently clear how this all works.”

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Mayor Brandon Johnson to Focus Chicago’s Anti-Violence Efforts on 10 Blocks in Englewood, West Garfield Park, Austin, Little Village – WTTW (Chicago)

But Johnson’s announcement was conspicuously different from those made by his predecessors in the run-up to summer: no mention of additional efforts by the Chicago Police Department to crack down on criminal behavior with additional patrols or enhanced penalties for lawbreakers. By concentrating on just 10 specific block groups, officials believe they can “amplify the impact of our investments directed at eradicating the root causes of violence in historically disinvested communities,” according to a statement from the mayor’s office.

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House passes bill that could ban TikTok in the U.S., sending it to the Senate – NBC News

Co-authors U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, of Illinois, and U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher, of Wisconsin, praised the passage of the bill in a joint statement, saying they’ll work with the Senate to advance it as well. “What we’re after is a separation from TikTok from its parent company, ByteDance, and by extension CCP,” the bill’s author, Gallagher said. (with video of Krishnamoorthi)

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Chicago should set limits on buildings’ greenhouse gas emissions, report says – Chicago Tribune/MSN

The recommendations are part of a wide-ranging report on reducing building emissions from Urban Land Institute Chicago, which has 1,500 members representing all aspects of the real estate industry, including developers, property owners, investors, architects, planners, public officials and real estate brokers. Among the recommendations: Expand the city’s energy-usage reporting requirements to include more Chicago buildings, and require buildings to report carbon emissions.

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Editorial: First-time voters must be left alone to make their choice. Even by their teachers. – Chicago Tribune/Yahoo

“Were (the Chicago Teachers Union) simply a labor union and no more, this clarification, so to speak, might be reassuring to those not wanting their kids to be used as pawns in a broader political battle. But CTU these days essentially is a political party unto itself. It is — to employ a lexicon Chicagoans of a certain age are familiar with — the boss. So any such event hosted by the teachers union will rightfully be suspected of electioneering regardless of the use of terms like ‘non-partisan,’ ‘civic engagement’ and ‘electoral process’ to describe what it’s all about.”

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Change to immigrant health care programs in Illinois will cause up to 6,000 to lose benefits – Chicago Tribune/MSN

The health care programs became a major sticking point in budget negotiations last year. In his budget proposal a year ago, Gov. JB Pritzker pitched $220 million for the program. But as projected costs rose to $1.1 billion, he ended up striking a deal that set aside $550 million for the benefits. In addition to proposing $440 million from the state’s general revenue fund for the programs in the coming year, Pritzker also proposed that an additional outlay of nearly $200 million could be allocated toward the two programs through other revenue streams.

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Cities across the U.S. experiencing a measles outbreak – NewsNation

Several cases of measles were reported at a migrant shelter in Chicago in the last few days, with health officials warning it could lead to a larger outbreak as many asylum seekers are unvaccinated. The first case marked the first occurrence in five years in Chicago, the health department said. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 17 states have reported 45 measles cases this year so far. There were 58 cases in the entire year in 2023.

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Pilsen residents push referendum to offset property tax increases – NBC5 (Chicago)

The question will ask the 25th Ward’s 9th precinct residents to vote “yes” or “no” to a referendum asking “should the government provide assistance if your bill increased by more than 40 percent to help pay your property tax bill with TIF funds?” Several homeowners saw increases between 40-60 percent, while others had their property tax bills triple after the last reassessment.

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Paying millions to house migrants, Chicago failed to take Catholic archdiocese up on offers of free rent – Chicago Sun-Times

The Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago has space in more than 60 shuttered churches, schools and other buildings listed for sale or for lease, and church officials offered up more than dozen of these locations to the city. But City Hall has yet to agree on any such offers from the archdiocese, instead renting private shelter spaces at high costs. The company that leases most private shelter spaces for the city, Equitable Social Solutions, has been paid a total $45.5 million, according to a Johnson administration list of what it’s paying for the migrant influx.

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CTA Continues to Rely on Bus and Train Operator Overtime — But Fails to Provide Detailed Information Within Required Time Frame – WTTW (Chicago)

The agency’s highest paid operator in 2023, a bus driver, earned $212,232 — more than two and a half times the standard yearly rate. In addition to hefty paychecks for some workers, overtime also affects the transit agency’s retirement plan, as CTA workers — in a perk unique to them among public employees in Illinois — can count overtime toward their pensions. As of Jan. 1, 2023, the plan was just 54.2 percent funded.

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Dolton mayor accused by former assistant of putting makeup artist on town’s payroll – FOX News

According to records from a Freedom of Information Act Request, Mayor Tiffany Henyard put Brandon K. Momon on the government payroll as an “ADMIN. ASSISTANT.” He was paid $7,650, over six transactions between April 6 and June 5, 2023. Momon’s website said he offers “makeovers,” “wardrobe styling,” “image consulting” and “personal shopping.”

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Mayor Brandon Johnson’s $1.25 billion borrowing plan back on track for City Council approval – Chicago Sun-Times

“In the wake of several significant missteps by the mayor’s office, where oversight and collaboration was avoided, we need to make sure that the mayor’s office is embracing oversight before we can even move on with this bond ordinance,” Ald. Bill Conway said. He ticked off six recent examples: the NASCAR contract; the costly extension of the ShotSpotter contract; the Fraternal Order of Police contract; the GardaWorld contract for migrant camps; ongoing issues with Favorite Healthcare Staffing, the firm the city hired to run its migrant shelters; and the proposed winterized base camp on a contaminated industrial site in Brighton

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Aldermen brought in to help with shelter measles outbreak – Chicago Tribune/MSN

The pitch for Spanish-speaking elected officials to directly assist with speaking to migrants wasn’t received enthusiastically by all recipients, as some balked at the administration and allies resorting to aldermen instead of trained public health workers to contain an infectious disease outbreak. Some also questioned why outside city contractors that have driven up the migrant response costs can’t help more. “Look, we’re the legislative branch,” said Ald. Gilbert Villegas. “My staff is not trained to do that. And quite frankly, that’s why we fund the Department of Family and Support Services and the Department of Public Health.”

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Many Illinois Companies Will Soon Be Required to List Pay Scales, Benefits in Job Postings – WTTW (Chicago)

Illinois’ law mandates that starting in 2025, companies with 15 or more employees provide the pay scale and benefits for specific job postings. The law also sets requirements for sharing openings within companies, with a mandate that employers have to “make known all opportunities for promotion to all current employees” within 14 days of publicly posting the job.

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Aldermen ask mayor not to evict migrants from Chicago shelters after 60 days, but face pushback – ABC7 (Chicago)

“What you’re going to see in a number of months is an increase in the amount of homelessness and these folks aren’t going to go back to the landing zone, right? They’re gonna go back to neighborhoods they know. So you’re gonna see it in your viaducts, your parks, your streets, your highways,” said Ald. Andre Vasquez, chairman of the Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights.

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Legislators push for property tax relief as state sees higher revenues – Center Square

“While there is continued growth in revenue, in taxes paid to the state of Illinois, it’s a decrease compared to where other economies are in surrounding states,” said state Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer. “Illinois has gone from about $18.5 billion in revenue from income tax to about $33 billion. We are looking at almost doubling our income tax revenue over the last decade.”

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Wirepoints disputes poll that favors spending more on education – Center Square

“We have had the biggest increase in spending in the country over the last 15 years,” said Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski. “No other state has increased spending like we have since 2007, and yet we see no benefits, there’s no accountability, there’s no improvement in reading or math, so it’s really money that is just being thrown into a black hole.”

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Thousands of non-citizens to be moved off state taxpayer-subsidized health care – Center Square

“They are going to be reviewing current members of the migrant health care programs, both 65 and over and as we heard today from 42 to 64, to find out which of those people may actually qualify for either free market health care services, Obamacare if you will, or if they don’t they may be eligible for either Medicare or Medicaid based on their age,” state Sen. DeWitte said. The move could save up to $14 million in state tax dollars. Even more would be saved if the move later includes those over the age of 42.

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With recession fears subsiding, new state economic forecast expects ‘firm but steady growth’ – Capitol News IL

The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability’s revised revenue estimates expect the current fiscal year to end with $52.6 billion in revenue, or about $2 billion ahead of what lawmakers budgeted for last May. “So looking into fiscal year 25, what are we seeing? There is some concern going forward that the economy, or not necessarily the economy, but the revenues are slowing down,” COGFA revenue manager Eric Noggle said.

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Chicago Mayor Johnson’s real estate tax could hit more than 100 grocery stores – Illinois Policy

Chicago has 316 properties categorized as supermarkets, according to Cook County Assessor data. Nearly 40 percent, or 124 of those properties, would see a hiked transfer tax under the mayor’s tax hike ballot proposal. One of those properties, Cermak Fresh Market, is family owned. If they wanted to open a new location at a similar property, their expansion would be penalized by the transfer tax hike.

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CPS wants to hear about the Black student experience as it develops a ‘Black Student Success’ plan – WBEZ (Chicago)

The district is under pressure to take action after a group of Black activists blasted the Chicago Board of Education for having a standing committee focused on special education but not on Black students. Currently the effort is being spearheaded by a Black Student Success working group, but a bill awaiting the governor’s signature would create a permanent Black student achievement committee.

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Opponents to Chicago property sales tax hike referendum ask IL Supreme Court to step in – Cook County Record

In the petition to the Illinois Supreme Court, the business groups’ attorneys noted in this case, the Bring Chicago Home referendum appears to easily violate the state constitution’s “free and equal elections” clause by allowing the city to confuse voters with two different questions in one ballot measure: “As a result of this combination, a voter wishing to support the (tax) decrease portion alone must also support the increase with the same vote, and a voter wishing to support only the increase, must also support the decrease.”

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Mayor Johnson Opposes Jewel-Osco/Mariano’s Merger As Federal Lawsuit Looms To Block It – Block Club Chicago

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, and seven of his counterparts in other states and the District of Columbia joined the lawsuit initiated by the Federal Trade Commission, saying the nearly $25 billion deal will kill competition and raise grocery prices for millions of Americans. Mayor Brandon Johnson is now echoing calls to stop the deal, saying through a spokesperson, “All Chicago communities deserve thriving food ecosystems with multiple food access points that provide nourishing and culturally resonant food.”

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The Illinois Education Association releases its sixth annual IEA State of Education report – WAND (Decatur)

“The data clearly show us Illinoisans have a growing support for public education, the education support staff (ESPs) and teachers who do that work,” Normington Petts pollster Jill Normington said. “We’ve been doing this poll for six years now, and because of that, we have some great comparables and the ability to see trends. This year we saw increased support in nearly every area of our poll from teacher pensions to funding for public schools.”

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Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Cook Co. Clerk Iris Martinez unveil Women’s Right to Privacy initiative – CBS2 (Chicago)

“The (Women’s) Right to Privacy initiative will lead the nation in safeguarding women’s rights by automatically sealing any court records that contain women’s reproductive health information,” Martinez said. The clerk said her office will use new technology to review, redact, and seal more than 100 million cases in Cook County.

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Illinois businesses brace for potential tax increase in Pritzker’s budget plan – Center Square

The governor’s proposed budget extends the cap on business net operating losses, but increases the cap to $500,000. His office estimates the “revenue adjustment” will raise $526 million. “Whether you’re not calling it a tax [hike], in implementation it ends up being one,” Illinois Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Lou Sandoval said. “It’s just a way of taxing businesses.”

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IL Supreme Court: Hockey club that rents ice arena can be sued under IL human rights law for ‘banishing’ teen diagnosed with depression – Cook County Record

Private organizations could be on the hook for possible payouts under lawsuits brought under an Illinois human rights law, after the Illinois Supreme Court declared lawsuits over discrimination of access can apply to private membership-based organizations if they rent “places of public accommodation.” The decision, however, leaves open questions concerning how an expansive interpretation of that reasoning might conflict with key constitutional liberties.

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Illinois ‘junk’ fee legislation calling for price transparency, from airline or concert tickets to rent – Chicago Sun-Times

The goal is to prevent the fees — sometimes called convenience or processing fees — from popping up only when a customer is ready to check out and make it easier for consumers to compare prices while shopping. State Rep. Bob Morgan said businesses would still be free to charge whatever fee they need to — as long as they breakdown the total cost, including fees, for consumers in advance.

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State Sen. Chapin Rose: State budget choices come with consequences – Champaign News-Gazette

“Taxes will go up for every family earning less than $250,000 (individuals) and $500,000 (joint filers) a year — in the 51st Illinois Senate District, that is just about everyone. You heard that right. On page 65 of the budget, the governor plans to raise personal income taxes by $93 million next year, including taxes on the working poor. In total, there are $1 billion worth of tax increases in the governor’s budget.”

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Ethics complaint filed over Chicago Teacher’s Union Get Out the Vote event – WGNTV (Chicago)

The Illinois Policy Institute has filed an ethics complaint, saying CTU sent a message to members asking them to get students to attend a Friday morning rally at union headquarters put on in partnership with promoters of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s real estate transfer tax. CTU’s response reads, in part, “Illinois Policy’s real problem is with the CTU providing civic engagement and education for our 90 percent student-of-color district.”

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Paul Vallas: The CTU’s priorities for new contract further limit competition and accountability – Chicago Tribune*

“(Union President Stacy) Davis Gates is right. Inequity and injustice exist in our schools. But they are perpetuated by our antiquated teachers union-dominated public school system, which denies a quality education to families that can’t afford alternatives to their failing schools. Our deficient neighborhood schools are the fault of CTU leadership. The union has effectively blocked any changes that would improve our public schools if those changes in any way affect CTU members’ job assignments, workloads or job security.”

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Very few voters often decide fate of tax referendums, report finds – Chicago Tribune/Yahoo

Cook County voters are staring down more than a dozen referendums to raise taxes in the March 19 primary, including the Bring Chicago Home question championed by Mayor Brandon Johnson. A new report from Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas found that in 75 binding property tax-related referendums put on ballots between 2020 and 2023, the average turnout was 32 percent of all registered voters. Seventy percent of the referendums were approved.

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Sen. Turner pushes back on taxes and immigrant healthcare in role on budget negotiation team – NPR Illinois

The governor’s proposed budget calls for $182 million to support the influx of asylum seekers. But state Sen. Sally Turner, a member of the Senate Republicans’ Budget Negotiation Team, suspects the total cost will be much higher, but isn’t clear where that money could be hidden. “Just show us where that is in the budget so we can understand what your ideas are and where you are coming from and what areas within the different agencies that you are taking the money from,” she said.

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As Homicides Drop Nationwide, Chicago Lags Behind Other Major Cities. – WTTW (Chicago)

“Chicago, like all other major cities, has areas that have higher crime rates than others,” says retired New York City police officer Jillian Snider, now an adjunct lecturer at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. “While Chicago does have higher violent crime rates compared to the national average, other cities such as Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Chattanooga, Dallas, Memphis, Nashville, are experiencing higher rates of crime than Chicago.”

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Real Estate Groups Ask Illinois Supreme Court to Invalidate Ballot Measure That Would Hike Taxes on Sales of Million-Dollar Properties – WTTW (Chicago)

“The referendum question is misleading and manipulative, and we believe it is important to see this through,” Farzin Parang, the executive director of the Building Owners and Managers Association of Chicago, said in a statement. “The Appellate Court’s opinion implies that an illegal referendum cannot be challenged until after an election — after voters have already been harmed.”

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Group pushing for all descendants of slaves in Chicago to have property taxes waived – ABC7 (Chicago)

Reconstruction Era Reparations Act Now, or RERAN, founder Howard Ray Jr. said slavery took away the ability to create generational wealth for Blacks, and those in Chicago are living that reality. “We need to be isolated, taken care of and brought back into society,” Ray said. They want 400,000 signatures to support a referendum on the November ballot.

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Bears’ new stadium plan raises funding questions as taxpayers still owe $589M on Soldier Field – NBC5 (Chicago)

For the Soldier Field project, the Bears and the NFL kicked in a combined $200 million. The Illinois Sports Facilities Authority issued bonds for the remaining $398 million, backed by Chicago’s 2% hotel tax. But because of the way the deal was structured – and several refinancings later – the ISFA now owes $375 million in principal and $214 million in interest on those bonds. Also backed by the hotel tax under ISFA’s jurisdiction is $50 million in debt on Guaranteed Rate.

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Experts warn Chicago of SoCal transfer tax referendum’s negative impact on commercial real estate – ABC7 (Chicago)

Mayor Brandon Johnson said Chicago learned lessons from Los Angeles in crafting the referendum now before voters, and he defends the measure. “There’s an ordinance that will follow, in the event that this particular referendum passes, that ordinance will ultimately establish that revenue stream, the outcomes, how we appropriate is those dollars,” Johnson said.

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Chicago Teachers Union taking students out of class to vote for Johnson’s real estate tax hike – Illinois Policy

CTU Vice President Jackson Potter wrote in an email “Do you remember your first time? Were you nervous? Excited? Confused at what to do? What if instead of standing in a long line and feeling overwhelmed by a mountain of conflicting information, you were able to get voting support from the candidates themselves and vote for the first time alongside your friends and classmates? That’s exactly what we want to offer voting age students from CPS schools across the city at the Students Power Forum.”

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How the suburbs are addressing calls to take a stance on Gaza – Daily Herald*

Suburban village boards and city councils continue to face calls to pass resolutions seeking a cease-fire in Gaza, but so far only Bolingbrook has shown any interest in weighing in on Middle East politics – and only then as part of a broader resolution condemning violence against civilians there as well as in Israel, Ukraine, Russia, Iran, Lebanon and Yemen.

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Springfield woman admits to defrauding Illinois Police Heritage Fund of $79,000 – WICS (Springfield)

LeAnn Shirley, 57, admitted that, in 2019 when she was the Illinois State Police Heritage Foundation treasurer, she devised a scheme to defraud the Foundation by causing approximately $79,000 to be wired from a Foundation bank account in Illinois to an account in Vermont. The Illinois State Police Heritage Foundation is a charity under Internal Revenue Service Section 501(c)(3) committed to preserving the history of the Illinois State Police.

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At least 6 people robbed in a string of holdups on Sunday morning from Lakeview to Logan Square – CWB Chicago

Robbery reports citywide were down 1 percent from last year’s decade-high pace as of last Monday. However, the Town Hall District, based in Lakeview, is not enjoying any improvement. In fact, robberies are up 89 percent compared to last year. Sunday’s other robberies occurred in the Shakespeare District, where cases are up 24 percent this year.

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Nearly all Illinois public universities report higher costs, less money to operate – Illinois Policy

A 2009 budget summary shows just over 7 cents of each higher education dollar from state general funds went to pay for faculty pensions rather than supporting instructors and students in classrooms. Starting in fiscal year 2024, those pension payments to the State Universities Retirement System consumed 43 cents of every higher education dollar from state general funds. Eleven of Illinois’ 12 public universities have been forced to raise the price of tuition and fees during the past 15 years.

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Ex-Ald. Ed Burke keeps his law license after most Illinois Supreme Court justices recuse themselves – Chicago Sun-Times

Ed Burke’s wife, Anne Burke, served as a member of the state’s highest court between 2006 and 2022 and was its chief justice for the final three years of her tenure; Four of the court’s justices reviewing the state Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission’s petition for an interim suspension of Ald. Burke’s law license served alongside her. “It is a most Chicago and most Illinois of absurdities that you have identified,” Civic Federation President Joe Ferguson said when asked about the Supreme Court’s surprising incapacity to discipline the former alderman.

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Chicago Bears’ commit $2 billion in a new stadium in the city – NBC5 (Chicago)

In a statement provided by a spokesperson, CEO and President Kevin Warren said the Bears will contribute over $2 billion to build a stadium and improve open spaces “for all families, fans and the general public to enjoy” in Chicago. While the team hasn’t said if the stadium will be located adjacent to Soldier Field, the lawmaker did say that the project will provide access to the lakefront.

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Commentary: Brandon Johnson’s ‘Bring Chicago Home’ plan would not ‘tax the rich’ – Chicago Tribune*

Micky Horstman, of the Illinois Policy Institute: “… (Mayor Brandon) Johnson hopes using progressive jargon will mobilize the young voters who elected him to support this unaffordable tax hike. Young voters trying to ‘do good’ should be wary of Johnson’s real estate transfer tax hike: It’s not going to deliver on his promises, which are pretty vague, and it will hit the places where people who are unhoused are most likely to find jobs.”

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Pritzker’s $52.7B budget plan falls short in key areas, allies say – WBBM (Chicago)

State Rep. Will Davis, said the governor should be doing more to help minority-owned companies get state contracts. “If we can’t get our IDOT, capital development board, tollway, to just be better at making sure that … they give those opportunities to businesses in those spaces, I mean we’re just continually fighting an uphill battle,” he said. “When we talk about the budget document, that is the government’s blueprint. We heard [Pritzker] say a lot of things that he wants to do for the Black community, the migrant community, we heard him say that. But when it comes to some

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Chicago Bears resume talks with suburban schools even as they pursue a stadium in the city – Chicago Tribune/Yahoo

The Bears are likely to challenge the tax ruling in Cook County court or to the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board, but either option could take years to resolve. (The team doesn’t pay property taxes on its current home at Soldier Field because the Chicago Park District owns the site.) Any proposal to build a stadium on the lakefront would run into opposition from the Friends of the Parks, which previously filed suit to stop a proposed Star Wars museum in the same area.

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Ban On Disguised Vapes Heads To Full Illinois Senate – Patch Lake Forest

The amendment would forbid manufacturers and retailers of electronic cigarettes from marketing them in a way that “is likely to cause a parent, legal guardian, teacher, or other adult to mistake the electronic cigarette for a product that is not a tobacco product.” School officials have reported finding vaping devices on school property that are designed to look like highlighters, erasers and pencil sharpeners, according to state Sen. Julie Morrison.

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State/Local Officials Urge “NO” Vote On Thornton Twp Tax Referendum Proposed By Tiffany Henyard – Illinois Leaks

State Senator Napoleon Harris III, State Representative Thaddeus Jones, Cook County Commissioners Monica Gordon and Donna Miller, Mayors Vernard Alsberry, Roger Agpawa, Thomas Brown, Christopher Clark, Don DeGraff, Rich Hofeld, Lawrence Jackson, and Terry Wells all signed a letter which reads, in part, “(We) believe – given recent news media and law enforcement inquiries regarding possible misappropriation of taxpayer dollars – that to request more of township taxpayer’s hard-earned money is at best, ill-advised.”

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Real or fake? Illinois students learning the dangers of social media ahead of election – State Journal-Register (Springfield)/Yahoo

It’s year two of a first-in-the-nation law requiring all Illinois public high schools to teach media literacy, teaching students how to access information; evaluate the source’s accuracy; making their own media messages; assessing how media messages trigger emotions and behavior; and social responsibility. According to the Pew Research Center, 44 percent of U.S. adults ages 18-29 routinely rely on Tik Tok for news — by far the highest consumption of any age demographic.

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Column: Is Urbana council the sole obstacle to peace in Middle East? – Champaign News-Gazette

Jim Dey: “It was all too much for former Urbana Alderwoman Esther Patt, who charged that the city’s attention is being distracted by a problem the city can’t fix when it needs ‘to do other things.’ Patt pointed out that the council is being asked to bring peace between two warring parties. ‘While you’re at it, when are you going to cure cancer?’ she asked.”

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Editorial: Stacy Davis Gates throws down a ‘$50 billion and 3 cents’ CTU gauntlet – Chicago Tribune*

“In one breath, Davis Gates invites the public to listen to what the union has to say about equity and why their demands are in everyone’s interests, not just their members’. In the next, she gives those already skeptical and fearful of CTU and its political might every reason to tune her out. … Funding is always a key question when it comes to politics and government.”

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Durbin thwarts GOP effort to pass bill detaining illegal immigrants charged with violent crime – FOX News

The bill would require Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to take into custody illegal immigrants who are arrested and charged with causing the death or serious injury of another. U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said the bill would detain victims of trafficking or domestic abuse who were charged with crimes. According to him, the bill would “deprive immigrants of the due process that everyone is afforded.”

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Rich Miller: Eliminating grocery tax a popular proposal – Illinois Times

“The tax cut is easy to explain and is therefore receiving a lot of news media coverage. … And the more attention this $325 million tax cut receives, the less time reporters will have to flesh out the governor’s fast move on the income tax. Instead of allowing the standard income tax exemption to rise to its previously inflation-tied statutory levels after freezing it for a year, the governor proposed saving the budget some money by not giving people their fully entitled exemption this year. That technically qualifies as a tax hike, but is not so easy to explain.”

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Illinois students in tutoring program largely met goals in reading and math, researchers say – Chicago Tribune*

The Illinois State Board of Education used federal COVID-19 relief funds to match about 1,900 students with about 700 tutors in 59 school districts throughout the state during the 2022-23 academic year. Last March, the state voted to extend the program to the 2023-24 year with the remaining relief funds, expanding to serve roughly 2,400 students in 64 districts.

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Krishnamoorthi leads charge challenging TikTok, which could lead to a ban – FOX32 (Chicago)

“It’s not the platform, it’s not the dance videos or the bad lip sync that’s the concern. The concern is the ownership of TikTok, namely by ByteDance,” said U.S. Rep Raja Krishnamoorthi. “The reason is that ByteDance is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, and so we can’t have a situation where the CCP has access to hundreds of millions of Americans’ data and that they have an ability to manipulate the algorithm in a way that could really harm America.”

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Commentary: Chicago looks for budget bandaids to fix self-inflicted woes – Washington Examiner

“Chicago’s self-inflicted failures, from its already-high taxes and cost of living to its inability, or, more accurately, unwillingness, to get a handle on crime to encouraging illegal immigration, have put it in the budget hole it sees now. Chicago’s ‘solutions’ are either unnecessary, self-destructive, or both, so long as those other problems go unaddressed.”

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Illinois’ governor praises Biden’s State of the Union Address – WMBD (Peoria)

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker praised the president’s vision for the country’s future – one that respects individual freedoms, working families, America’s allies, and the fundamental values that built this country. “The message is clear – together we can continue the historic progress of the last four years and create a future that lifts all communities and leaves no one behind,” Pritzker said.

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Clerks concerned about taxpayer cost, confidence around ranked choice voting – Center Square

“Every time that we add a multiple page ballot, there’s a greater expense. It takes more people to facilitate, communicate and understand how to cast this for an election so expense is going to go up for election judges,” Sangamon County Clerk Don Gray said “We’re just not properly in the right foundation yet to facilitate, I think, impactfully of a ranked choice voting election.” He also worried transparent, accurate and expedited results and trust and confidence in the system could be impacted.

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State data shows low-income scholarship students score better than public school peers – Illinois Policy

Low-income students receiving scholarships from the Invest in Kids program were proficient in reading and math at a higher rate in nearly every grade compared to low-income public-school students in Illinois, according to data release by the state. High school students receiving the scholarships beat the state average for all public high school students in reading.

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Amid migrant crisis, Chicago food pantries experience unprecedented demand – Chicago Tribune/MSN

“We’re running out of food,” said Pastor Sandra Gillespie, who runs Chosen Bethel Family Ministries Food Pantry in Englewood. “If this rate of increase continues, we’re going to have to change something.” For many nonprofit food distributors, hourslong lines have become the norm. Many pantries have reduced the number of allotted visits per month to stretch supply. Others are rationing food

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Case of Measles Confirmed in Pilsen Shelter; City Health Officials Ask Residents to Shelter in Place – WTTW (Chicago)

Ald. Andre Vasquez, the chair of the City Council’s Immigrant Rights Committee, made an unannounced visit to the shelter Monday. Vasquez said after that he was concerned by a lack of isolation rooms for those who are sick with the flu and other illnesses. “A warehouse was not designed for 2,000 people to live there,” Vasquez said, adding that the city should open more shelters to allow fewer people to live in crowded conditions.

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Dolton politician’s cancer charity got almost all of its reported money from taxpayers – WGNTV (Chicago)

A representative of the Tiffany Henyard Cares Foundation wrote on the charity’s registration statement filed with the Illinois Attorney general that the organization only raised $13,000 in its first few months of existence. The Thornton Township board – which is controlled by Township Supervisor Henyard – transferred $10,000 to the foundation days after it was created.  That’s in addition to the $10,248 charged to township credit cards for hotels along the route of a Tiffany Henyard Cares walk from Dolton to Springfield in 2022.

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Union boss calls for National Guard, bag checks on Chicago transit system, like in New York – CBS2 (Chicago)

“The police got their hands tied with everything that’s going on in the city, so any assistance is more than welcome to make passengers, workers, everybody feel safe if they use the system. It’s still the best way around the city, but the only way people are going to realize that is if they feel safe,” said Keith Hill, president of the bus drivers’ union.

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Editorial: Pritzker is right to end the grocery tax. But he must make it up to municipalities. – Chicago Tribune*

“(O)fficials like Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara already were complaining about the reductions in the so-called Local Government Distributive Fund. ‘Since 2011,’ McNamara wrote recently in the Rockford Register-Star, ‘the state has unilaterally decreased the local share of LGDF by almost 40 percent, so that in State Fiscal Year 2023, the local government share is only 6.16 percent of individual income tax collections and 6.845 percent of corporate income tax collections.’ Those are real concerns that (Gov. JB) Pritzker and his team have to address.”

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Ranked-choice voting could come to Illinois in 2028 – WIFR (Rockford)

State Rep. Maurice West, co-chair of Illinois’ ranked-choice and voting systems task force, explained, “The ranked-choice voting that we are trying to implement here in the state of Illinois is focused on presidential primaries. We are working together with people on both sides of the aisle, we are collecting all the facts to see what the appetite is here in the state.”

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Illinois car insurance prices are spiking; 2 bills in General Assembly hope to bring prices down – ABC7 (Chicago)

Insurance committee member and state Rep. Jeff Keicher, who is also a State Farm Insurance agent, said Illinois has the 18th lowest rates in the country. “We have an open and competitive marketplace so if an insurer is charging too much, insurers are free and able to very easily to secure another carrier, oftentimes at a lower price,” he said.

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No plans to extend March 16 date for migrants to leave Chicago shelters, Johnson says – NBC5 (Chicago)

Mayor Brandon Johnson initially side-stepped questions about this earlier this week. “We’re compassionate people, I got you,” Johnson said. When pressed that he did not provide a “yes or no” response, Johnson said: “So, it’s not okay that I let people know that Chicago is compassionate? Let me just say it though, okay? Thank you. We are compassionate people and so we are doing everything in our power to demonstrate compassion.”

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Plan for Chicago’s elected school board headed to the governor – Chalkbeat Chicago

Voters will elect 10 board members in November, while Mayor Brandon Johnson will appoint 11, effectively keeping control until the end of his first term. In 2026, all 21 seats will be up for election, with 20 members elected from districts and the board president voted on by the entire city. Senate Bill 15 includes boundaries for the districts that school board members will represent, ethics guidelines, and term limits.

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Illinois GOP legislators demand transparency surrounding spending on migrants – Center Square

SB3170 would require state agencies to submit a report to the General Assembly detailing their spending on or before Nov. 15, 2024. “We don’t know where the money is coming from, what departments, and we’ve asked (Illinois Department of Public Health), (Illinois Emergency Management Agency), all these departments to give us what they’ve spent on projects and we are met with silence,” state Sen. Sally Turner said.

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Unions back measure protecting employees who skip religious or political work meetings – Capitol News IL

Members of the Illinois Senate advanced a measure that would prohibit Illinois companies from requiring employees to attend work-related meetings about politics or religion. Opponents of the bill, like National Federation of Independent Business Illinois State Director Noah Finley, said the legislation would prevent employees from getting new points of view from their employer – like which legislation their union dues could support.

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What you need to know about ‘Bring Chicago Home’ – Illinois Policy

Advocates say $100 million in new money from the tax would go to homelessness efforts, but Mayor Brandon Johnson and the city have laid out no details as to how the money would help homeless Chicagoans; if passed, it would allow the city to raise taxes without binding the city to use the funds generated in any explicit way that guarantees helping the homeless. Plus, Chicago failed to spend 85 percent of the $52 million in federal pandemic relief funds it received for homeless efforts and already has the $200 million in its budget for homeless relief.

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Defund the police ‘isn’t dead,’ it’s just taken new form with massive implications: retired police chief – FOX News

“It’s not the marches and the protests and the rioting. It is the taking away of your authority, that taking away of the job function,” retired Riverside Police Chief Tom Weitzel said. He pointed to California, Washington, D.C., and Cook County as areas where local policing policies have been gutted and crime subsequently increased. He cited policy changes such as Illinois’ SAFE-T Act, which ended cash bail in the state among other changes, and San Francisco recently limiting who is pulled over for traffic infractions.

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New renderings released of Obama Presidential Center – WGNTV (Chicago)

The Obama Foundation announced plans to break ground on its Programs and Athletic Center Monday, March 11. The building will be home to a gymnasium and studios for various recreational, wellness, and community activities. Just outside of the center’s doors, community members and other visitors can expect to find play areas, walking trails and a sledding hill.

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Column: February’s state revenues are way up over January – Champaign News-Gazette

Jim Dey: “One way to generate higher revenue would be to increase the number of people working. Illinois’ current unemployment rate is, as of December, 4.8 percent. It’s tied with New Jersey for the fourth highest in the nation. The national unemployment rate is 3.7 percent, an extremely low number on a historical basis. On that same basis, Illinois’ 4.8 percent rate also is considered relatively low. Still, the numbers show that Illinois is failing its citizens in terms of helping to create job opportunities.”

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Judicial Watch files lawsuit against Illinois State Board of Elections – Cook County Record

“Illinois’ voting rolls are a mess. Dirty voter rolls can mean dirty elections,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. The lawsuit points out several failures within Illinois reports and a lack of reports. These show several counties removed very few voter registrations or none at all, and 34 counties have failed to report any changes in data. Several other violations of the National Voter Registration Act were listed.

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The CTA’s Oversight Board Is Filled With Political Insiders, Not Transit Experts – Block Club Chicago

The CTA is at a crossroads as dysfunction has become synonymous with the service it provides. Trains and buses are running far less frequently, City Council leaders are routinely calling on the mayor to replace its leadership and the agency is facing a fiscal cliff with pandemic aid soon running dry. Transit organizers believe reforming the CTA board is essential for getting the system back on track.

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Bring Chicago Home tax hike referendum gets new life; Appeals court says legal challenge ‘premature’ – Cook County Record

A three-justice panel of the Illinois First District Appellate Court in Chicago sided with the mayor and the city, saying a Cook County judge was wrong to declare the city had improperly placed the referendum on the ballot. Under existing precedent, Justice Raymond Mitchell wrote, the courts have no ability to hear challenges to the validity of referendums that have been placed on the ballot as “part of the legislative process.” Rather, they said state courts can only hear challenges to the validity of referendums after they have been approved and have become law.

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Protests & peace — Chicago ready for demonstrators at Dem convention, but police won’t ‘tolerate violence’ – Chicago Sun-Times

Police Supt. Snelling made a distinction between the types of demonstrations that are expected during the Democratic convention and “pop-up” protests that were sparked by George Floyd’s murder at the hands of a Minneapolis cop that gave way to widespread looting and gun violence. He noted that the handling of the NATO Summit “proved that our officers could provide a service in a large-scale protest that was completely constitutional.”

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Editorial: Stacy Davis Gates as Lady Macbeth? In her own head, perhaps. – Chicago Tribune*

“I’m not going to be part of the narrative of a Lady Macbeth to a Black man who doesn’t have a brain,” (Gates) said, in the first of two mentions of the notorious Shakespearean sleepwalker and murderer in as many minutes. “The insinuation that I play the role of the Lady Macbeth actually is both racist and sexist in the way that it is almost always leveled,” she continued. “Please stop doing that. Please let me be the president of the Chicago Teachers Union.”

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Industry expert: More than doubling sports gambling tax will have negative impact – Center Square

If approved by the legislature, the tax for sports book operators would go from 15% to 35%, one of the highest percentages in the country. Dan Holmes with the gambling information website PlayIllinois said big operators like DraftKings and FanDuel should have no problems with the increased operational taxes, but may choose to offer less perks to Illinois sports bettors. But there is speculation that smaller sports books may suffer and close up shop in Illinois.

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Illinois measure to require social media companies pay news outlets debated – Center Square

Senate Bill 3591 would set up a structure for online news outlets to negotiate with social media platforms to get compensated when someone shares a news story on their news feed. Jeff Jarvis, a longtime journalist and professor, questioned the First Amendment implications, and said that in locations that have already done this, social media companies ended sharing news stories online, resulting in no loss of traffic for them, but lost traffic to the news outlet.

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State commission says Illinois underfunds public universities by $1.4 billion – Capitol News IL

Ralph Martire, of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, said the amount of operational funding covered by the state has decreased from 72 percent covered in 2002 to 35 percent in 2021. “We are making higher ed more unaffordable for everyone in Illinois generally,” said Martire, who also served on the commission. “But in particular, for low-income families and families that have been marginalized for decades.”

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Illinois commission releases recommendations on how to make higher-ed funding more equitable – NPR (Springfield)

Said commission member and Advance Illinois president Robin Steans, “If we learned anything from K-12, it’s that not every student requires the same support. It may cost more [when it comes] to the first-generation goers, if they are English language learners, if they are parents, if they’ve got housing instability, all of that got factored in. We’ve come up with what we think is a credible way for the state to look at that and say, ‘Okay, here’s what it’ll cost,’ and here’s how you adjust that adequacy target based on your student population and the type of programs and

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Ex-state Sen. Terry Link gets probation for campaign-cash tax conviction – Chicago Tribune/MSN

U.S. District Judge Mary Rowland said Wednesday she appreciated that Link’s tax crime “was not directly related” to his official duties, but that it still sends “a terrible message to have taxpayers hear that someone in public service is not paying their taxes.” The judge also lamented the level of corruption in Springfield, where apparently someone can walk up to a fellow elected official and “on a dime, you could say ‘What’s in it for me?’ and we’d be off to the races with a federal case.”

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Teachers Contract Talks Will Be ‘Less Of A Soap Opera’ Under Johnson, Union Boss Says – Block Club Chicago

“This won’t be the soap opera it has been, where you have the villain and then you have the hero,” CTU president Stacy Davis Gates said. “How about, ‘We’re all going to deal with the complicated set of issues with contradictions all over the place and we’re going to commit to figuring it out?'” Mayor Brandon Johnson has largely avoided questions since taking office on how he will handle contract negotiations. The Chicago Teachers Union pumped $2.5 million into Johnson’s campaign for mayor.

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Cicero’s St. Frances of Rome School Catholic school to remain open after Invest in Kids ended – WGNTV (Chicago)

The Big Shoulders Fund, the Archdiocese of Chicago,and two parishes raised the funds necessary to keep the school operating “for at least the next five years.” Greg Richmond, Superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocese of Chicago, said “We are united in the mission to enable all families — including low-income families — to have the choice to enroll their children in a Catholic school.” When it was announced in January that St. Frances of Rome School would be closing, local school leaders placed blame with the Illinois State Legislature.

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CTU president suggests new teacher contract could cost taxpayers $50 billion – Center Square

The CTU’s key proposals, a draft of which was leaked to the Illinois Policy Institute, include cost-of-living adjustments that meet or exceed inflation and money for teacher housing assistance in the city. Other items on the list include increased staffing, gender-affirming healthcare coverage, abortion coverage, and more queer competent trained service providers.

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The Chicago Teachers Union’s new tax-grabbing power play – Illinois Policy

“The median Chicago teacher’s salary is over $93,000. The last contract cost Chicago Public Schools an additional $1.5 billion, the total costs of the contract were estimated at $3.1 billion annually by 2024 and made CPS teachers among the highest-paid of the nation’s big districts. So these are the people who need housing assistance? Folks making nearly $100,000 in a city where the median income is $45,840?”

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Wetlands protection bill aims to close gaps in Illinois after Supreme Court ruling – Chicago Tribune*

Illinois is one of several states with no statewide protections for wetlands on private land. It relied on federal Clean Water Act protections until the conservative court severely curtailed them in Sackett v. EPA, a ruling that has been celebrated by real estate developers and industry but has greatly concerned environmentalists. If passed, the Wetlands and Small Streams Protection Act will empower the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to regulate land use around the state’s remaining wetlands.

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State Rep. Ryan Spain: Illinoisans deserve some truth telling after Pritzker’s State of the State – Chicago Tribune*

“Because once you weed out the parts of (Gov. JB) Pritzker’s speech and budget proposal that are there solely for future presidential ads, you see the true state of the state. … The artificial boost to state revenue from federal taxpayer dollars is gone, and revenues from inflationary spikes are slowing. The years of budgets in which increases in normal spending outpaced increases in typical revenues are catching up to us. Said simply, the gravy train is gone, but the appetite of Pritzker and his majority for spending is stronger than ever.”

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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson says no plans yet to again extend migrant removal deadline – Chicago Tribune/MSN

Johnson did not commit to a plan Tuesday when asked whether he would stick with the scheduled March 16 date when migrants who have stayed longer than 60 days at shelters will be evicted. The policy could lead to the removal of as many as 5,673 migrant residents. “We’re doing everything in our power to demonstrate compassion,” Johnson said at a Tuesday news conference.

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Pritzker says he took GOP advice to eliminate grocery tax – Center Square

To the idea that municipalities may have to increase local taxes if they lose the grocery tax, Gov. JB Pritzker pointed fingers at Republicans who criticized the one-year suspension of the tax in fiscal year 2022 saying it should be permanent. He said he’s willing to have conversations with local officials about how to replace that revenue.

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Judges, ex-lawmakers, lobbyists wrote to support convicted ex-Madigan aide – Capitol News IL

Among them was former Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Kilbride, who noted he’d gotten to know Mapes over 20 years on the court, and that Mapes’ son Devin had been a judicial intern in his office. “Although I have not been privy to the full trial story, and my view is limited to my reading of newspaper articles, Tim’s misdeeds appear to be his first offense and to have had minimal impact on the investigation,” Kilbride wrote.

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Report: Illinois tax-credit scholarship students see largest year-over-year learning gains – Illinois Policy

Invest in Kids students had a “significantly larger average increase in scale scores one year later compared to the average public-school student” among scholarship students and public students who scored at the lowest performance level on the Illinois Assessment of Readiness’ reading exam. That means scholarship students struggling at the lowest levels of reading proficiency experienced more growth at their private school than their public-school counterparts.

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Chicago teens help create a campaign to prevent gun violence – WBEZ (Chicago)

The average age a Chicagoan witnesses a shooting is just 14 years old, according to a recent study by the Journal of the American Medical Association. It’s especially important that this conversation centers Black and Latino kids, 19-year-old Edgar Vilchez said. Last year, 75 percent of shooting victims were Black and 19 percent were Latino, according to city data.

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Cook County is among the many places nationwide testing no-strings cash as part of the social safety net – WBEZ (Chicago)

Toni Preckwinkle, president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, says she hopes to prove basic income works so that it could someday go nationwide.Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle thinks cash aid should be a permanent part of the social safety net; she notes that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Black Panthers called for guaranteed income. So, briefly, did President Richard Nixon. “The federal government is really the only entity that has the resources to do this on the mass scale that it needs to be

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Commentary: Going electric in new buildings is a matter of environmental justice – Chicago Sun-Times

“By prioritizing all-electric construction for new buildings, the city can shift its attention to retrofitting the remainder of Chicago’s building supply, channeling resources into the communities that need the investment most. … Electrifying buildings will put our current workforce to good use and expand new job opportunities. A recent study showed energy efficiency and building electrification will employ at least twice as many workers as fossil fuels in buildings.”

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Chicago Teachers Union wants Johnson to hike pay, fund housing for members – Illinois Policy

The Chicago Teachers Union this summer will negotiate their new contract with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, their former lobbyist. Key demands include cost of living adjustments meeting or exceeding inflation and prohibiting use of teacher ratings for layoffs. CTU also wants to add “safety committees” in every school, including a restorative justice coordinator on each committee, and lower the enrollment caps in charter schools.

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Stealing Home: the White Sox’s proposed move from Guaranteed Rate Field to the 78 is anything but guaranteed. – Chicago Magazine

A photo illustration of Jerry Reinsdorf, Governor J.B. Pritzker, and a new White Sox stadium, surrounded by moneyThe Sox are now worth an estimated $2 billion, a valuation based in part on a lease that limits the amount they owe the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority. For the first 10 years, the Sox paid no annual rent if attendance fell below 1.2 million, which it usually did. Under the current terms, the team forks out $1.5 million annually but controls revenue from ticket sales, concessions, parking, and merchandise.

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Paul Vallas: First report on Invest in Kids scholarship program has major flaws – Chicago Tribune*

“In fairness to the report, this may be more the fault of the media coverage that ignored the report’s pointing to strong satisfaction among the overwhelming majority of parents with the private schools their children are attending. … These schools, primarily Catholic, not only managed to stay open through substantial financial support from their faith communities but have also demonstrated remarkable success in Chicago and across the nation among all student demographics.”

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Pritzker Risks Millions of Taxpayer Money on Risky Investments – Breakthrough Ideas

“… Gov. Pritzker is essentially acting as a venture capitalist in a start-up company. He is putting taxpayer money on the line for a company (Lion Electric) that lost $5.5 million on revenue of $253.5 million in 2023. … One month after signing the deal with Illinois and promising to bring jobs to Illinois and eight days after Pritzker’s speech, which was remarkably silent on electric vehicles and green energy, Lion Electric announced it is laying off workers.”

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Illinois Official Pitches Plan to Bill Biden for Migrant Costs – Bloomberg/Yahoo

Comptroller Susana Mendoza said that when the pandemic hit, states paid for things like gloves and masks before assistance from the federal government started flowing in. Illinois should also get aid now, said Mendoza, for a bill that has already reached $478 million. “This is a situation that the federal government has allowed to happen and now states are having to deal with it.”

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White Sox, Bears discussing ‘financing partnership,’ for two stadiums, developer says – Chicago Sun-Times

The developer of The 78 has been talking to the White Sox and the Bears, which both are seeking new stadiums, about a partnership to get both built at the same time. Curt Bailey, president of developer Related Midwest, confirmed financing a new Sox stadium with bonds backed by a hotel tax, a sales tax district, and tax increment finance dollars. Bailey also touted a plan to build a new neighborhood around the current Sox stadium, which would be scaled down to a soccer field shared by the Fire and Red Stars.

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CPS parents rally in the Loop seeking improved special education programs – Chicago Sun-Times

Parents of children with disabilities say CPS continues to discriminate against students with special needs. They want special ed programs in all neighborhood schools, translators for non-English-speaking students with disabilities and accessibility upgrades to buildings. About a third of CPS campuses are not ADA accessible, according to CPS’ last facilities assessment; another third of schools are considered “first-floor usable.”

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Grassroots group in Illinois calling for no new tax dollars for sports stadiums – Center Square

“Public money being used for private projects like sports stadiums is probably one of the biggest, most egregious examples of public taking that you see around the country,” said Tom Tresser, who founded the organization CivicLab. Tresser notes that the White Sox new stadium plans project 5 million annual visitors, about three times what the Sox drew in attendance last year.

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Letter to the Editor: Six months in, the Pretrial Fairness Act is working – Chicago Sun-Times

Faith leaders Rev. Ciera Bates-Chamberlain, Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III, Father Michael Pfleger; Rabbi Seth Limmer: “Since the implementation of the Pretrial Fairness Act, the jail populations in several counties have decreased because people are no longer held because they simply cannot afford to bail themselves out. Additionally, judges are now giving each person before them the attention they deserve before determining release. Before the act, judges in some places made decisions in four minutes. Now, an average hearing on release lasts 22 minutes.”

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Gov. Pritzker Seeking to Eliminate State Grocery Tax, But Some Municipalities Could Push Back – WTTW (Chicago)

Illinois shoppers would save a dollar when they buy $100 worth of groceries under Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s proposal to eliminate a state sales tax on groceries. Chicago stands to lose considerably more — as much as $80 million per year — according to the Illinois Municipal League. The league estimates the tax change would cost Batavia and Highland Park about $1 million annually, Joliet $3 million, Orland Park $2.5 million and Western Springs $580,000.

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5 Years After Chicago’s Consent Decree Took Effect, Little Urgency Surrounds Reform Push – WTTW (Chicago)

CPD has fully met just 6% of the court order’s requirements, according to the November report by the team monitoring the city’s compliance. The wide-ranging roadmap for reform was prompted by a 2017 federal investigation that found officers routinely violated the constitutional rights of Black and Latino Chicagoans. The monitoring team has unrestricted access to CPD officials, facilities and data as the team keeps tabs on efforts to remake the department, and has billed Chicago taxpayers for more than $15 million through Aug. 31.

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Illinois steak restaurants close as costs rise – Center Square

“The labor continues to be a bugaboo with restaurant business, as far as the increase in minimum wage year after year,” Mercedes Restaurants president Ron Helms said. “They’re talking about doing away with the waiters’ tip credit, which right now is a big problem going on in the future for the state of Illinois.”

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Peoria police department apologizes after ‘Call of Duty’-themed recruitment ad prompts backlash: ‘Tone-deaf’ – FOX News

Peoria Police Department Chief of Police Eric Echevarria said that the advertisement was designed to “connect to a younger generation.” The advertisement showed Peoria Police Department officers wearing tactical gear and drawing guns. “Stop playing games and answer the Call of Duty,” the ad was captioned along with #JoinPPD.

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With ShotSpotter staying in Chicago for the time being, dispute continues over the system’s usefulness – Chicago Tribune/MSN

In recent weeks, long-standing criticisms have intensified, among them that the system is inaccurate, expensive and disproportionately harms people of color. But the software has been consistently praised by police, including top cop Larry Snelling, who credit it for quicker responses to shootings and alerting police to gunfire that citizens do not call in. In the last three years, CPD officers responding to a ShotSpotter alert rendered lifesaving medical aid 430 times.

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Homer Glen asks voters whether it should try to dissolve township – Daily Southtown*

If the advisory referendum passes, it would show residents are interested in eliminating a layer of government, Mayor Christina Neitzke-Troike said, noting Illinois has three times more government bodies than other states. “If residents vote yes, this will put pressure on all taxing bodies,” she said. “Residents are fed up. We can’t afford it any more. If residents say ‘Yes, get rid of taxing bodies we don’t need,’ it will speak volumes.”

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Illinois redirecting $30M of marijuana taxes to minority communities – WTVO (Rockford)

The Restore, Reinvest, and Renew (R3) program will make the money available to “organizations that set out to create safer communities, empower youth, provide legal aid, build business landscapes, and help individuals successfully rejoin communities after a period of incarceration.” Equity scores increase when program leadership, front line, and staff members are reflective of the proposed program’s service area (community).

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A record 55,000 apartments in Chicago and other U.S. cities are being converted from office buildings – MoneyWise

“The pandemic, and the resulting work-from-home moves, have really made some buildings that were kind of borderline obsolete, pretty much absolutes,” said Richard Whitney, vice president at Chicago-based architecture, design and sustainability firm FitzGerald. In Chicago, office vacancies in the central business district at the end of the year reached an all-time high of 23.8%. That figure is up from 21.4% at the end of 2022 and 13.8% at the beginning of the pandemic.

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Parents sound alarm on Illinois bill that seeks to prevent guardians from denying sex changes – The Lion

Jeannette Cooper, a parent in Illinois, lost visitation rights over not calling her daughter by different pronouns than her biological sex and worries this law will be weaponized against other parents to do the same. “People fear losing their child to the state. As soon as they take a child away from a parent, that’s trauma inflicted on the child. People fear child protective services coming to their door,” she said.

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Progressive Champion Jesus ‘Chuy’ García Faces Conservative Challenger Raymond Lopez in 4th District Congressional Race – BNN Breaking

“The outcome of this race could have significant implications for the 4th District and the broader political landscape. García’s progressive credentials and alignment with nationally recognized figures like The Squad indicate a potential for continued advocacy on progressive issues at the national level. Lopez, with endorsements from conservative groups and a focus on law and order, represents a shift towards more conservative policies.”

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2 teens shot, 1 fatally, as ‘large group’ floods the South Loop; dozens arrested – CWB Chicago

Hundreds of people converged in the area of Roosevelt and Canal after 7 p.m., and police officers were already arresting people within the hour. Part of the group was gathered in a nearby bank’s parking lot when at least one gunman fired shots at 8:06 p.m., according to a CPD media statement. This was the first major large group incident in the downtown area since July 30, when up to 400 young people gathered in

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State and federal agencies deny role in diaper shortage at Chicago’s migrant shelters – Chicago Tribune/MSN

“Emergency orders can be fulfilled if needed,” said Kevin Sur, spokesperson of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security. “As always, state partners will work to find items requested by the City of Chicago in an emergency.” According to Sur, the city’s “one and only request for diapers” was in October when they provided 64,000 diapers. Earlier this week they received another request for additional supplies but it did not include diapers, Sur said. Nevertheless, the state agency provided another 600 diapers that had been donated, he added.

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Fourth District: Constitutional challenge to Pritzker’s COVID-19 emergency orders declared moot – Madison-St. Clair Record

The plaintiffs filed a petition for declaratory relief and for a writ of injunction against Gov. JB Pritzker in December 2021 in regards to his use of the Illinois Emergency Agency Act, including a proclamation in September 2021 mandating school personnel to either receive a COVID-19 vaccine or undergo weekly testing in response to the “more aggressive and more transmissible” Delta variant.

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Illinois ranks as worst state for low-income earners – Illinois Policy

A WalletHub study found low-income Illinoisans pay 14% of their annual salary to sales, property and incomes taxes – more than anywhere else in the nation. Middle-income earners will spend 12.6% of their income on state and local taxes this year. The largest proportion will go toward covering sales and excise taxes on the purchase of goods.

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Commentary: Gov. JB Pritzker’s willingness to tackle pension problem is a breakthrough – Chicago Tribune*

David Greising, of the Better Government Association: “Pritzker does have a plan, and that makes him the first Illinois governor in 30 years to propose a way out of this seemingly insurmountable pension problem…There likely will be time to debate the alternative options. Chances are, Pritzker’s idea won’t be taken up during the current legislative session. But let’s embrace a breakthrough while we can — before the messy work of lawmaking gets underway and compromises and accommodations come into play.”

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Robbers are hijacking phones, bank accounts in the Gold Coast, Wrigleyville, DePaul, Chicago police say – CWB Chicago

Each time, “multiple” offenders strike up conversations with their victim. They then take the victim’s phone or wallet by force or deception and run away, then empty out the Venmo, CashApp, Zelle, and other banking accounts. Some crews who simply “borrow” a victim’s phone rather than steal it will delete the banking app from the victim’s phone before returning the device. That way, the victim will not receive any notifications about the transaction until it’s too late.

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Proposed Illinois house bill would ban Native American mascots in Illinois Public Schools – WICS (Springfield)

House bill 5617, which prohibits all Illinois public schools from having a mascot with a Native American name, could require more than 50 schools in the state to change their mascots, name and logo. Nokomis superintendent Scott Doerr said, “If at this time we had to make a change, especially in a short amount of time that this bill might go into effect, we’re talking about maybe $100,000 for signage change, uniforms and gym floors and all the mats and things that we have.”

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Illinois Paid at Least $640K to Review Controversial ‘Invest In Kids’ Tax Credit Program, But Results Are Deemed ‘Inconclusive’ – WTTW (Chicago)

(WTTW News)California-based research company WestEd said “the research team was constrained by the data that the Illinois State Board of Education shared with us.” The data did not contain demographic information about individual students, including race/ethnicity, English learner status or level of economic disadvantage.

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IDOT worker rescues 2 women from burning car on Kennedy expressway – WGNTV (Chicago)

IDOT minuteman Steve Newcomb was on patrol when he saw several cars pulled over on the side expressway and decided to turn around and find out why. In all of his years with IDOT, Newcomb said this was the first time he had to pull people out of a burning car. An 18 and 19-year-old woman were transported to Illinois Masonic Hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries. (with video)

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Pritzker wants to spend record amount but needs $898M in tax hikes to do it – Illinois Policy

“Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker will set another state record if his $52.7 billion budget for 2025 is passed. He described it as ‘tight’ as well as ‘focused and disciplined.’ But it relies on $898 million in new taxes. It is nearly $13 billion more than the state budget when he took office. So, yes, it’s focused and disciplined – as much as sailors on leave.”

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Migrants move out of two Oak Park shelters – WBEZ (Chicago)

Oak Park has housed near 160 migrants at the Carleton Hotel, as well as at the West Cook YMCA, since November. The village’s contracts with both locations expired Thursday, but with a $2 million grant from the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, volunteers and leaders have been working quickly to resettle families. At the St. Edmund shelter, which is getting $1.24 million of the grant money to house migrants through June 30, old classrooms have been supplied with cots and privacy screens.

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Mayor Brandon Johnson outlines vision for downtown revitalization – Chicago Sun-Times

He offered few details on the future effort, but he said more will be shared this spring, and 40 partners would be involved. The committee “will provide business leaders, organizations and key stakeholders with a direct line of communication with my office and all of the city’s departments,” Johnson said. The partners will be “experts at finding existing ideas, as well as new ideas, to improve downtown business so that it really can become even more vibrant.”

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Proposal to ship tons of Chicago garbage down the river is dead in the water – Chicago Sun-Times

Photo taken from the sky of a body water known as Collateral Channel. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s recent decision to investigate a contaminated Southwest Side waterway off the canal persuaded garbage hauler LRS to scrap its “sustainable barging” idea that would have loaded garbage from a point along the canal and shiped it more than 100 miles to Henry, saving money and reducing the amount of diesel pollution from trucks that normally haul garbage.

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Bill introduced to stop hidden fees in Illinois – WCIA (Champaign)

State Rep. Bob Morgan and state Senator Omar Aquino have filed bills to stop companies from charging more for junk fees, often labelled as “processing” or “service” fees. The legislation would also permit the Attorney General to go after the companies not being transparent with their pricing. A Consumer Reports analysis found an average family of four pays about $3,200 each year in fees.

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Bill seeking to implement state gun ‘buyback’ program gets pushback – Center Square

House Bill 4681 proposes that residents receive $100 for operable firearms they turn into Illinois State Police. But the Illinois State Police has administrative and staffing issues that will prohibit them from processing the firearms safely. As it is, the Auditor General revealed in a 2022 inventory report there were 719 missing items from the ISP worth $1.5 million. In 2021, the inventory audit reported 1,413 missing items worth nearly $2.5 million.

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Civic groups call on mayor, aldermen to enact City Council ethics reforms – Chicago Tribune/MSN

The leaders of the Better Government Association, the Civic Federation and the League of Women Voters of Chicago called for more transparency and better public access in the body in a letter Thursday to Johnson and council Rules Committee chair Ald. Michelle Harris. The groups criticized current City Hall leaders for circumventing rules designed to publicize what aldermen are considering and chipping away at public access to meetings.

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Judge Won’t Dismiss Indictment of Ex-Ald. Carrie Austin – WTTW (Chicago)

The hearing, which lasted less than 15 minutes, was the first time Austin has appeared in a federal courtroom since her indictment more than two and a half years ago on charges she took bribes from a developer and lied to FBI agents. Austin earns pension payments of more than $9,500 per month, according to records from the Municipal Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago.

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Chicago and Denver are growing fast as migrant destinations – Bloomberg

Migrants cross the Rio Grande River to Eagle Pass, Texas.The number of migrants listing an address in Illinois for their immigration court cases jumped nine-fold in 2023 compared with just two years earlier; the increase was 7-fold in Colorado and five times in New York—bigger than the increases seen in Texas and Florida. The data also suggest that New York state saw the highest number of migrant arrivals in 2023 on a per capita basis: Illinois ranked eighth at 0.6.

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Trump appeals Cook County judge’s ruling to remove him from ballot – FOX32 (Chicago)

Trump’s campaign is now requesting that the Appellate Court of Illinois for the First District reverse and vacate the judgment and “affirm and reinstate the Electoral Board Decision, which overruled and dismissed Petitioners-Appellees’ January 4, 2024 objection to the nomination of Donald J. Trump.” The court battle will likely be rendered moot thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court taking up the same question in an upcoming case.

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Manufacturers oppose Chicago’s climate lawsuit – Center Square

“This has been litigated again and again around the country, and when these lawsuits have been filed, they’ve been unsuccessful,” said Mark Denzler, of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association. “Again, this is purely a political calculation to deflect from issues like the immigration concern, the crime problems, housing and education that occur in the city of Chicago.”

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Chicago Teachers Union endorses plan making their property a “mansion” – Illinois Policy

CTU’s foundation is listed as the owner of a West Side property worth $6.6 million, making the teachers union an example of its own distortion. The building is the Chicago Teachers Union Center, with the union’s headquarters, its foundation and leased space in a former valve factory. Under Mayor Brandon Johnson’s plan, purchasing CTU’s property would cost an extra $120,102.

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Mayor Johnson’s commissioner shuffle leaves some agencies in disarray – Axios

Nearly 11 months after he was elected, Mayor Brandon Johnson is still assembling his cabinet. He’s made sudden dismissals that have left departments destabilized, as well as some controversial appointments. Among them, Johnson appointed Alfonzo “Randy” Conner to return to the top job at the Water Department, where he’ll oversee at least $336 million to address lead in Chicago’s water. But in 2018, during his last stint as water commissioner, Conner said Chicago did not have a lead problem, and he actively lobbied to stop Ald. Scott Waguespack from launching public hearings on the matter.

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Pritzker pitches budget reduction for opioid fight – Advantage News

Budget documents from the governor’s office show the line item for Addiction Treatment, Prevention, and Related Services was  cut from $71.5 million for fiscal year 2024 to $56.5 million for fiscal 2025. For Addiction Treatment Services, last year’s budget appropriated $107.1 million; the proposed plan for fiscal 2025 has that line item at $85 million.

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Convicted ex-Michael Madigan aide will have his pension suspended – Chicago Sun-Times

Former Madigan Chief of Staff Timothy Mapes’s annual taxpayer-funded pension currently stands at $154,409, according to records maintained by the State Employees’ Retirement System. The state retirement board that oversees pension benefits for current and retired state workers also is asking Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul to recommend whether it should be permanently revoked.

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Column: Explosive meeting in Evanston raises speech issue – Champaign News-Gazette

Jim Dey: “Commenters over Zoom made anti-Semitic statements, while a young man sporting sunglasses and a baseball cap bearing the logo of an organization characterized as a ‘hate’ group by the Anti-Defamation League spoke (anti-Semitic comments) in person…The confrontation set off a discussion about what public bodies can and ought to do under similar circumstances. It’s complicated because efforts by some to limit what others can say raise First Amendment free-speech issues.”

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Low tax collection rate in south suburbs shows need for development, changes in Springfield – Daily Southtown*

Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas said development is the best way to increase collection percent, and that state legislators could do more to bring additional investment to the south suburbs. “The problem right now is all the dollars are going to migrants,” she said. “All the extra money, it’s going to this migrant situation which is what’s causing a lot of controversy between African Americans and Latinos. African Americans are saying ‘where’s my end?’”

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Dolton trustee candidate who lost in 2023 sues Mayor Tiffany Henyard for libel, defamation – Chicago Tribune/Yahoo

Samysha Williams said that, in June 2022, she took a family leave from her job for the Village of Dolton under the Family and Medical Leave Act, then seven weeks into her 12-week leave was wrongly terminated. One mailing during her campaign for trustee accused Williams of committing theft of services from the village by forging medical documents related to a paid time-off fraud.

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IL’s federal chief judge declines to answer senators’ questions about S. IL judges’ alleged discriminatory orders – Cook County Record

In the complaint for judicial misconduct filed in the Seventh Circuit by the America First Legal Foundation against U.S. District Court judges Nancy Rosenstengel, Staci Yandle and David Dugan, all of whom preside over cases in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, based in the Metro East region, near St. Louis, America First Legal Foundation’s Gene Hamilton wrote, “A reasonable observer would lose faith in the judiciary upon discovering that a court considers a lawyer’s sex or minority status when making important decisions about how cases are adjudicated.”

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Cook County State’s Attorney race offers voters stark choice in approach to prosecuting crime – Cook County Record

Webp oneill burke  harrisSince her election eight years ago, Kim Foxx has stood as a lightning rod for controversy, whose prosecutorial decisions and policies have helped fuel her national and local reputation for being soft on crime and often promoting the interests of those accused of crime over those of the community the state’s attorney is tasked with helping to protect. This year, two candidates have emerged to replace her: former Appellate Court Justice Eileen O’Neill Burke and former prosecutor and longtime political consultant, staffer and lobbyist Clayton Harris III.

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Chicago Ignored Dozens Of Warnings Of Migrant Shelter Conditions Before Child’s Death – Block Club Chicago

In the weeks leading up to the death of five-year-old Jean Carlos Martinez Rivero, migrants made at least 17 grievance reports to the Office of Emergency Management and Communications, decrying spoiled food, the rationing of water and mistreatment from staff in the Pilsen shelter.  At the Halsted shelter,migrants complained of  freezing temperatures, unsanitary bathrooms, and outbreaks of various illnesses — including chickenpox, the flu and upper respiratory infections — spreading without sufficient medical care.

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Looming end of Chicago’s ShotSpotter contract brings mixed reviews – Center Square

“I’m for technology that’s going to help us get to a location quicker and help us save lives,” Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling said. “However, there are some things that are outside of the control of the Chicago Police Department when it comes to those things but … there are great men and women in this department who work very hard and they’re going to continue to do the same.”

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The Chicago Teachers Union’s affinity for failure – Illinois Policy

“At Uplift Community High School, per student spending was nearly $53,000 in the 2022-2023 school year, despite no students reaching proficiency in reading or math. If CPS had given $53,000 to the parents, the parents could have chosen a world-class education for their student rather than an education that couldn’t produce a single student reading or adding at grade level. If the student were headed to college, $53,000 would be enough for Loyola or DePaul.”

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Tier 2 pensions under scrutiny in Illinois – Advantage News

In an Illinois House Personnel and Pensions Committee hearing, state Rep. Blaine Wilhour said in “typical Springfield fashion” the same people who negotiated Tier 2 back in 2010 want to now enhance their benefits. “There are several bills out there that are going to do it [enhance Tier 2], the chair of the Pension Committee is wanting to do that right now. The governor spoke about it in his budget address. Bottom line is: there are simple fixes to this and we don’t have to enhance benefits across the whole system.”

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Chicago Board of Elections, City Hall each seek to appeal ruling invalidating Chicago tax hike referendum – Cook County Record

In appealing, the Chicago Elections Board will continue to assert that it should not have been the defendant in the legal action challenging the controversial ballot question, and that Judge Kathleen Burke was wrong to deny the city of Chicago and Mayor Brandon Johnson’s request to intervene in the action to defend the referendum.

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Counties say Supreme Court decision chastising forced home sales over unpaid property tax bills shouldn’t apply in IL – Cook County Record

Attorneys representing the treasurers and clerks in eight counties, including DuPage, Lake, Kane, Will and Winnebago counties, argue that Illinois law requires the counties tasked with collecting property taxes to maintain a so-called “indemnity fund” from which homeowners whose homes are seized and sold over delinquent property taxes can sue to recover the equity they may have lost in the tax sale.

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As number of migrants awaiting placement dwindles, City closes, repurposes shelters – WGNTV (Chicago)

A total of more than 36,000 migrants have arrived in Chicago from 822 busses since Aug. 2022, but only three busses have arrived from Texas since Feb. 17. According to the State of Illinois, more than 8,900 individuals — representing more than 3,300 households — have moved out of shelters using the emergency rental assistance program, with 1,784 work permits issued of 3,428 applications submitted.

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New report: Public school students outperformed tax credit scholarship recipients attending private schools on Illinois Assessment of Readiness – Chicago Tribune*

In 2022, 30 percent of public school students met or exceeded standards, compared to 21 percent of scholarship recipients, according to the report from nonprofit research agency WestEd, which notes that in the following year, 35 percent of public school students met or exceeded reading standards, compared to 23 percent of Invest in Kids scholarship recipients.

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Experts on the growing power of the Latino vote in Illinois: ‘There is work that we need to do’ – NBC5 (Chicago)

The 2010 Census showed an increase of nearly 500,000 Latino residents in Illinois, up 32.5% from 2000. In 2020, Census data showed another increase of more than 300,000 Latinos in Illinois – growing the Latino share of the state’s population from 15.8% to 18.2% even as Illinois’ overall population continued to fall. And as of 2021, roughly 72% of the state’s voting-age Latinos were U.S. citizens, with the percentage of Illinois Latinos born in the U.S. increasing by nearly 29% over the previous decade, data shows.

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BNSF Settles Illinois Biometric Privacy Case for $75 Million – Bloomberg Law

The case is the first Biometric Information Privacy Act case to go to trial and the first to wrestle with the issue of just how much money a company found to violate the BIPA law should pay. BNSF Railway Co. Monday agreed to pay $75 million to settle the case after a jury found the company violated the privacy rights of thousands of employees, a decrease from an initial award $228 million.

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Editorial: No, the court decision against ‘Bring Chicago Home’ was not voter suppression a la Jim Crow – Chicago Tribune*

“The ruling is not about any of that but rather about a poorly worded ballot question…Powerful rhetoric is to be expected. But this kind of overheated nonsense also has been flowing from the mouths of too many elected officials, including Mayor Brandon Johnson, who called the judge’s finding an ‘unhealthy precedent’ and, worse, ‘suppression.’ Mr. Mayor, the courts are for everyone, including owners of commercial property and relatively expensive housing, of which this city has plenty.”

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Are Publicly Funded Stadiums a Good Investment? State Lawmakers Weigh in on Chicago Teams’ Plans – WTTW (Chicago)

State Rep. Kam Buckner, who played college football at the University of Illinois, said, “I’ve been on record that public financing for private stadiums is historically problematic and that the taxpayers of Illinois have to be protected no matter what. I also think there may be creative and prudent ways to create some partnerships between the state and these organizations.”

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CTA President Dorval Carter defends handling of agency since pandemic as riders, City Council vent frustrations – CBS2 (Chicago)

While ridership at the CTA has gradually increased since cratering during the pandemic, it’s still far behind pre-pandemic levels. Full data is not yet available for 2023, but through October of last year, ridership had gone up about 15%, still well behind 2019 levels. Since the pandemic, riders have frequently complained about less frequent and reliable bus and train service.

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Study: Illinois’ spending per student is one of highest in the country – Center Square

The Reason Foundation found that Illinois’ inflation-adjusted education revenue grew from just over $13,000 per K-12 student in 2002 to over $20,000 per student in 2020, a growth rate that ranked third highest in the U.S. “A lot of it is driven by teacher pension debt and Illinois is a pretty good example of this trend,” said Aaron Smith, co-author of the study. “During the time period we examined, their per student spending on benefits went up nearly 200%.”

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Pritzker continues to downplay speculation he’s eyeing the White House – Center Square

After last week’s State of the State address, where Gov. JB Pritzker worked in presidential politics condemning the likely Republican nominee former President Donald Trump and praising incumbent President Joe Biden, state Rep. Ryan Spain said it sounded like a stump speech. “I wish that instead of focusing on national politics and the governor’s own presidential ambitions, we can sit down and get serious about bringing economic growth to the state of Illinois.”

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Measure to make Illinois student records permanent to be amended – Center Square

A measure introduced by Illinois state Sen. Dave Koehler looks to change what is traditionally included in a student’s “record” and would do away with destruction of the temporary record and make it permanent. The bill was brought forward because adults with disabilities are running into an eligibility roadblock when trying to obtain benefits from the DHS.

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Pritzker wants Illinois ‘out of the business’ of charging grocery taxes – NBC5 (Chicago)

Under current Illinois law, home-rule communities are permitted to assess a sales tax of their own on groceries, and Gov. JB Pritzker says he has no intention of ending that practice. “If they want to in Henry County, in Union County, in local towns and cities across the state, if they want to impose the 1% grocery tax, we will leave it up to them to do it,” he said.

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Illinois proposes an additional $24M for EV manufacturing workforce training – WTVO (Rockford)

Last week, Rivian, which makes an electric pickup, SUV and Amazon fleet van, announced it was laying off 10% of its workforce to cut costs due to “economic and geopolitical pressures.” The company has announced three rounds of layoffs since July 2022. It also said it expected to shut down its Normal plant sometime in 2024 to upgrade its manufacturing line.

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Chicago election board to appeal ruling against Bring Chicago Home tax hike referendum to fight homelessness – CBS2 (Chicago)

The Chicago Board of Election Commissioners will argue in their appeal that the decision sets a bad precedent. Opponents sued the board over the referendum, but the board has argued its role is simply to put the measure on the ballot after the City Council passed a resolution to put the question before voters during the upcoming primary election.

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Organization files federal civil rights complaint against Western Illinois University, alleging discriminatory scholarships – WGEM (Quincy)

The Equal Protection Project alleges that 16 scholarships at the university are discriminatory. The complaint states the scholarships “either restrict eligibility to students who are ‘African American,’ ‘Black Women,’ ‘Latino,’ or students who identify as ‘LGBTQI+’ or give preference to such students.”

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Federal Food Assistance Program for Mothers, Children Faces $1B Shortfall. Here’s How That Could Impact Services in Illinois – WTTW (Chicago)

Stephanie Bess, associate director of the Office of Family Wellness and WIC lead at the Illinois Department of Human Services, said not getting increased funding from Congress would effectively be a budget cut due to increases in caseload, food costs and staff costs. Illinois would need about $24 million in additional funding for the 2024 fiscal year to serve its eligble population.

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Mayor Johnson’s team asks judge to pause ruling invalidating Bring Chicago Home referendum – Chicago Sun-Times

Hours after Circuit Judge Kathleen Burke declared the binding referendum invalid, the city filed a motion asking Burke to stay both her ruling and her decision to deny the city’s petition to intervene in the case “while the city appeals” those rulings. The city argues the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners “could not and did not adequately represent the city’s interests.”

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Chicago Cubs, Red Stars join the teams seeking public funding for a stadium – Chicago Tribune/MSN

Wrigley Field security does not meet MLB’s high standard to host the Midsummer Classic. Several sources say the Cubs need to install bollards to control traffic and safety around Wrigley, which would cost about $30 million. A spokesperson for the City of Chicago would only say that, “All proposals are evaluated on a case-by-case basis based on the best interests of the residents of Chicago.”

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Another legal cloud hangs over ShotSpotter contract – Chicago Sun-Times

The original contract with ShotSpotter’s parent company, SoundThinking, was never competitively bid or subject to the city’s normal procurement process. Now, the problem for Mayor Brandon Johnson is that the terms he negotiated to prevent the system from being shut down after Feb. 16 were considerably less favorable and more costly for Chicago taxpayers.

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Records reveal potential gaps in Johnson’s administration approach to health care for migrants – NBC5 (Chicago)

For the month of November alone, there were at least 272 medical runs to all of the city’s migrant shelters and police districts, according to city records, and 86 of the emergency medical runs involved children. Mayor Brandon Johnson said that his office has since announced partnerships with additional providers – including volunteers, who said that while their talks remain ongoing with the city, they have yet to gain access to the migrant shelters.

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Pritzker touts proposed maternal health spending – Capitol News IL

The Illinois Birth Equity Initiative is a multi-pronged proposal aimed at promoting infant health while reducing the number of maternal and infant deaths. Gov. JB Pritzker has proposed: $5 million to a home visiting program for new parents; more than $4 million to create a statewide maternal health plan and distribute grants to community-based reproductive health care providers; a $1 million pilot diaper distribution program; and $12 million to create a tax credit aimed at low-income families with children younger than age three.

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Illinois bill looks to stop car insurance from using consumer information to set rates – Center Square

Proposed legislation aims to prevent insurance companies from using consumer information, like a person’s race, to set what he said are discriminatory auto insurance rates. During an Illinois House Insurance Committee hearing in Chicago Monday, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said an individual’s driving record should serve as the primary factor that is analyzed when setting rates.

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Behavioral health advocates ‘shocked and dismayed’ drug program being cut – Center Square

At $52.7 billion, Gov. JB Pritzker’s spending plan for the fiscal year that begins July 1 would spend the most of any previous state budget. But documents from the governor’s office show the line item for Addiction Treatment, Prevention, and Related Services was $71.5 million for fiscal year 2024; for fiscal 2025’s proposed plan, that line item is $56.5 million. For Addiction Treatment Services, last year’s budget appropriated $107.1 million; for fiscal 2025, that line item is $85 million

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Chicago Teachers Union pushing school model where kids perform poorly – Illinois Policy

The “sustainable community schools” model integrates additional student services coordinated by the school with outside organizations, such as housing or food assistance, medical or dental care, mental health services, English language or parenting classes. The district already has 20 sustainable community schools – 12 elementary schools and eight high schools – but most of them have lower proficiency and higher absenteeism rates than the district at large.

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Court Clerk’s Error Exposed Data Involving Thousands of Juvenile Defendants, Violating State Law – Illinois Answers Project

Iris Martinez, who is running for reelection this year, has touted her office’s follow-through on a long-delayed upgrade of the software underlying the court’s sprawling case-management system. “There’s been a lot of issues, and we’ve been communicating with [Martinez’s office] about them for quite some time,” Cook County Public Defender Sharone Mitchell said. “The worry is that it’s not getting better.”

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Failure to protect: Flawed state oversight lets doctors accused of abuse continue to see patients – Chicago Tribune/MSN

Doctors and other health care providers accused by patients of sexual misconduct kept practicing – sometimes for years – because of gaps in Illinois laws and a licensing agency that can be slow to take disciplinary action. The providers went on to harm additional patients, in some cases, as their licenses remained in good standing with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

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White Sox subsidies critic questions economic impact of possible deal – Center Square

“If there’s a city that should know that you don’t need to have a new stadium to be competitive as a baseball team, it’s the city where Wrigley Field is and where they’ve finally hung another World Series banner,” Center for Economic Accountability President John Mozena said. “There are very few things that economists agree on more than the idea that sports stadiums are a terrible investment for taxpayers.”

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Commentary: Gov. Pritzker’s plan isn’t enough to close state’s education funding gap – Chicago Tribune*

“ISBE’s own data demonstrates that 92% of Black and Latino students attend underfunded schools. This is unacceptable in a state that celebrates its school funding formula as one of the most progressive in the country. It is the state’s responsibility to be honest about the true EBF deficit and fulfill the 2017 promise to adequately fund every public school by 2027.”

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JB Pritzker wants Illinois to be the ‘leader for quantum innovation.’ What does that mean? – Courthouse News Service

The Illinois Department of Commerce said that of the $500 million proposal, $300 million would be earmarked for the quantum campus and $200 million would go to “matching federal grant opportunities,” but the governor’s office didn’t clarify how the proposed campus would differ from existing Illinois quantum research facilities at Argonne and Fermilab. It doesn’t even know where it wants to put the thing. “There are a number of sites currently under consideration — no decision on the location has been made,” a spokesperson from the Department of Commerce said.

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Illinois’ film tax credit lures Hollywood to the heartland – Daily Herald*

Illinois is one of 37 states to offer some type of production incentive, according to the report. “There are common challenges with measuring the economic values of this type of incentive,” said Austin Berg, of the Illinois Policy Institute. “What would the economic advantage be if you reduced the tax bill of all businesses by $200 million instead of just one industry?”

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Commentary: Auto repair reform has strengthened Illinois’ economy – Daily Herald*

“Also referred to as the “Multiplier Act,” (House Bill 3940) ended the two-tiered compensation system in auto repair, requiring out-of-state and foreign auto companies to pay the same market rate for warranty repairs as everyday consumers would pay for non-warranty repairs…Researchers show that earnings for Illinois’ auto mechanics have increased by $143 million annually since the law went into effect.”

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Faith leaders: City Hall must step up to the plate and provide more funding for violence prevention – Chicago Tribune*

Rabbi Seth Limmer, Rev. Otis Moss III, Rev. Ciera Bates-Chamberlain and Rev. Michael Pfleger: “There’s no running away from it: Chicago cannot be a great city until it is a safe city. City Hall should not be outsourcing the work of violence reduction….The mayor’s inability to commit to more funding is especially troubling because City Hall’s fifth floor has the money, specifically in federal COVID-19 relief funds.”

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Metra CEO gets another raise as $270M shortfall looms – WBBM (Chicago)

Metra CEO Jim Derwinski’s $325,825 salary has him out-earning PACE Executive Director Melinda Metzger, though he’s still more than $50,000 behind Chicago Transit Authority President Dorval Carter. The Regional Transportation Authority, which oversees Metra, the CTA and PACE, is expected to face a $730 million budget deficit in 2026.

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Metra to buy first battery-powered trains as part of effort to provide more frequent all-day service – WBEZ (Chicago)

Metra’s zero-emission trains will feature low-level boarding and ADA-compliant lifts.The commuter rail agency will pay $154 million for eight two-car, zero-emission trains with a range of 45 to 65 miles, Metra said. Trains can be charged from 20% to 80% — enough to operate — in about 20 or 30 minutes. Metra hasn’t figured out a charging infrastructure yet or its cost. Metra said it’s one of the first U.S. commuter rail agencies to purchase battery-powered trains.

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A Blue State Exodus: Who Can Afford to Be a Liberal? – Mish Talk

“…I propose the first group of people who can most afford to be liberals are the political class that takes advantage of young idealistic fools. The process is accurately called ‘vote buying’. The second group that can afford to be liberals are the arrogant elites such as Bill Gates and George Soros.”

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IL Freedom Caucus Statement on Governor’s State of the State Address – Southland Journal

It reads, in part, “No one is against spending money on education, but we need results, not more spending. When in one in 10 Black students in the City of Chicago can only read at grade level – something is clearly wrong. The solution is accountability, competition, and better allocation of resources. Spending money for the sake of spending money has been an unmitigated disaster.”

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Downtown Chicago malls in danger of dying off – Axios Chicago

North Michigan Avenue’s vacancy has risen to 33%, or at least 1 million of the street’s 3.2 million square feet, since 2021. Chicago’s Water Tower Place is signaling a move away from retail, looking to sell off its top floors to office space. Meanwhile, 900 N. Michigan (just north of Water Tower Place) appears to be standing strong — due in part, building managers say, to marketing the shopping destination as a “lifestyle building,” with a gym and a salon.

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States are spending billions on resources for migrants – NewsNation

Massachusetts has a dozen contracts totaling $116 million for housing. New York City is spending $53 million on a pilot program to distribute prepaid debit cards to migrant families meant to help them buy food and baby supplies.  And in Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker has proposed in his new budget an additional $182 million for migrants that comes on top of $638 million already spent.

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John Kass: Democratic Panic Grows Over Biden’s Invasion of the Illegals

“Black Democrats are so angry about Biden’s millions of illegal aliens crowding them out of the blue cities, and feeling betrayed by Biden, Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon ‘Panic Attacks’ Johnson, that they’re publicly talking about leaving the Democrat plantation. They can see what he’s doing. He’s replacing them.”

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Ald. William Hall and Ald. Andre Vasquez: Chicago, we are digging up the wrong pipes – Chicago Tribune*

“Nearly 20% of Peoples Gas customers are behind on their bills. In neighborhoods such as Englewood and Woodlawn, those rates rise to closer to 50% and 40%, respectively, with customers averaging nearly $900 in debt. Much of that debt can be attributed to an average $15 monthly charge to replace gas pipes, a program that Peoples Gas now admits has not reduced gas explosions. Meanwhile, Chicago sits on 409,000 lead water service lines, pipes that are slowly poisoning our children with neurotoxins, especially those in Black and Latino communities that already suffer from disinvestment.”

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Editorial: Chicago’s proposed real estate tax increase, always a bad idea, enters legal limbo – Chicago Tribune*

“Whatever your view, though, voting ‘Yes’ would have required a leap of faith: that the tax increase would not send private-sector housing builders elsewhere, would not make it so hard for upper-middle-class Chicagoans to buy a home in this expensive market that they’d pick a suburb instead, and would not add yet another significant disincentive to moving here. You also had to feel confident that the Brandon Johnson administration and its committee would come up with effective ways to spend this huge amount of new money with all the necessary safeguards in place.”

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Bill would require Illinois K-12 schools drop Native American mascots – WGEM (Quincy)

“These mascots dehumanize an entire group of people and they have no place in our schools,” said state Rep. Laura Favor Dias, who, before going into politics, was a teacher at Westinghouse College Prep. Its nickname is the Warriors. “It was an offensive mascot and a caricature of an American Indian. I saw firsthand the divisiveness that it created among our students and within our larger school community.”

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Rich Miller: Take note of Black, Latino state legislators’ criticisms of Pritzker’s budget plan – Chicago Sun-Times

“‘This year, we will be negotiating from a position of strength,’ declared Black Caucus Chair Rep. Carol Ammons. ‘Our community and our members are the value-add in the General Assembly and nothing can be passed without our members.’ Not counting the House Speaker, there are 19 Black members in the House and 13 in the Senate, according to the caucus’ website. That’s enough to block a majority vote in both chambers, if they can stick together.”

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Illinois Courts Commission Removes Judge Robert Adrian from the bench – WICS (Springfield)

The Commission released its conclusion which reads, in part, “The Code and the Commission’s precedent provide ample grounds for removal in this case. Respondent has engaged in multiple instances of misconduct, he abused his position of power to indulge his own sense of justice while circumventing the law, he lied under oath on multiple occasions, and he has failed to acknowledge his misconduct.”

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Trucking group says it will sue if IL adopts CA emissions standards – Center Square

House Bill 1634 seeks to have Illinois adopt the vehicle emissions standards of California. “You cannot have a state submit itself and its laws and policies to another state agency that is over 2,000 miles away,” said Illinois Trucking Association Executive Director Matt Hart, adding that the Illinois trucking industry delivers 95% of the manufactured freight in the state.

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Gov. JB Pritzker wants to increase a state tax credit, but Republicans say it’s not enough – WBEZ (Chicago)

Gov. JB PritzkerAn inflation-indexed tax credit that millions of Illinoisans receive would rise for the 2024 tax year under a $93 million proposal by Gov. JB Pritzker, but the increase is short of what current law dictates. Lawmakers doing nothing on the governor’s proposal this spring actually would be more generous for taxpayers than what Pritzker is floating.

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Video: Chicago residents unload on city council over migrant crisis – FOX News

Ald. Ray Lopez said, “For our mayor to say that this is an unprecedented event, he is wrong. Just a few years ago, we were able to assimilate 30,000 Ukrainians who came here to avoid the Russian war and invasion in their own country. They were able to assimilate and become productive because there were structures in place that made sure that they had a host family, they had financial responsibility once they got here, a way to provide for themselves, and all that was forgotten under this crisis.”

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Paul Vallas: Boss Preckwinkle and the New Ruling Junta

“With so much control and influence over the political machine, criminal justice system, the jail, the judges, and the prosecutor, you’d think media might want to hold (County Board President and Democratic Party Boss Toni) Preckwinkle to account. Especially as media wrings its hands and worries about the future of crime-plagued Chicago. But they don’t.”

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ShotSpotter sparked at least 4 arrests, 5 gun seizures during first weekend of new contract: Chicago police reports – CWB Chicago

“Critics of the ShotSpotter system insist that it is inaccurate and ineffective. Some say it is racist. Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx recently claimed that ShotSpotter does not contribute significantly to firearms-related prosecutions in the city. However, prosecutors in her office approved felony charges in at least four ShotSpotter-related cases last weekend alone.”

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IDPH allows schools to obtain and administer opioid antagonists – WCIA (Champaign)

The Health Department’s new standing order comes after a state law revision that took effect Jan. 1 of this year, requiring schools to have a supply of opioid antagonists; it states that they may obtain them without a prescription, and that trained personnel can use these medications on school property if someone shows signs of an overdose. This is a requirement for schools in only nine U.S. states, now including Illinois.

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Column: New SOS running the same play as predecessors – Champaign News-Gazette

Jim Dey: “There’s no guarantee (U.S. Sen. Dick) Durbin will step aside. But if he’s re-elected to a seventh term in 2026 — as he would likely be in solid Democratic Illinois — Durbin would be within days of his 82nd birthday. That’s not an age to be making long-term plans. So it’s perfectly reasonable for Democrats coveting Durbin’s seat to be plotting for 2026. A similar thing applies regarding Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s re-election plans in 2026, as he might run for a third term and use his office as a platform for a potential White House bid in 2028.

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Tell Springfield to fully fund our schools – Chicago Teachers Union

“Every student in Chicago Public Schools needs a baseline of supports and resources. There is still a tremendous gap between the educational resources available to Illinois’ wealthiest communities and poorest, putting Black, Latine and working-class communities at a structural disadvantage. We need our partners in state government to close this gap…”

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Jerry Reinsdorf spending millions buying up parking lots around the United Center – Chicago Sun-Times

An aerial view of the United Center with the Chicago city skyline in the background.As White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf seeks $1 billion in taxpayer funding for a new ballpark in a planned mixed-use district in the South Loop, his associates have spent $44.7 million buying parking lots run by his competitors to build what could be a similar district around the United Center. Reinsdorf and the Wirtz family co-own the United Center, which they built 30 years ago without any government financing.

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Commentary: Illinois should protect tenants, property owners from harms of ‘crime-free’ housing laws – Chicago Tribune*

“These ordinances, known as CFNOs, are local laws that encourage landlords to evict or exclude tenants based on their contact with the criminal legal system or calls for police help. The Community Safety through Stable Homes Act, introduced earlier this month…would prevent local governments from imposing penalties based on a tenant’s contact with police. It would also prohibit local policies that encourage or require landlords to use broad criminal background checks or to evict tenants based solely on their contact with the police or alleged criminal or nuisance behavior.”

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Real Estate Transfer Tax is an Early Referendum on Chicago’s Mayor – City Journal

“This levy is particularly ill-timed. The pandemic cleared workers out of the office buildings in the Loop, Chicago’s premier business district, and many have not returned. As a result, Chicago has one of the nation’s highest office-vacancy rates, and building prices have fallen sharply. The new tax would kick an industry that is already down at its lowest point in a generation.”

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Dolton Board of Trustees approves resolution calling for investigation into mayor – WGNTV (Chicago)

“There are many things that have not surfaced the public does not know yet. If you think you’re in shock, just hold on,” Burt Odelson, legislative counsel for the Village of Dolton Board of Trustees, said. The meeting was held in a Dolton Park District facility because trustees said they, along with sworn clerks, have been denied access keys to the Village Hall. Trustees passed a resolution Thursday night to change that.

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New report highlights restorative justice practice, but finds Cook County’s courts could improve – NBC5 (Chicago)

The report found a huge shift in the types of cases these courts were hearing – from almost exclusively drug cases in 2017 and 2018 to more recent years – where 83 percent of the cases involved gun possession. “That was surprising to us because it didn’t feel – it wasn’t in line with restorative justice practices that really focused on addressing harm in the community. In these cases, it was hard to find where the harm was taking place,” Naomi Johnson with Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts said.

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Mayor Brandon Johnson’s borrowing plan raises questions about how the city will spend the money – WBEZ (Chicago)

Mayor Brandon JohnsonMayor Brandon Johnson’s proposal to borrow $1.25 billion to fund affordable housing and economic development raises big questions on how the city will spend the money — and opponents argue it makes a proposed tax hike to raise money to address homelessness unnecessary. The city estimates that it will have more than enough money from expiring TIF districts to pay down the interest on Johnson’s borrowing plan.

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Newly obtained records shed light on cost of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s trip to Los Angeles – NBC5 (Chicago)

Records show Mayor Brandon Johnson traveled to Los Angeles earlier this month with seven city employees – including four members of his security detail – at a cost to the taxpayers of nearly $8,000, though that figure may be higher given the heavy redactions of the documents obtained. Johnson went to Los Angeles on Feb. 2 for a conference of the African American Mayors Association, then stayed to attend the Grammy Awards the evening of Feb. 4, according to his schedule.

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State appeals court revives challenge to Cook County’s gun, ammo tax – Center Square

In 2012, Cook County approved a $25 per gun and 1 to 5 cent per cartridge of ammunition tax. Initial challenges went to the Illinois Supreme Court, which in 2021 ruled against the county. The county then modified the ordinance. Gun rights advocate Todd Vandermyde sued again on a Second Amendment challenge. After a district court dismissed the case, earlier this week an appeals court reinstated the challenge.

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Retailers push back on Pritzker’s proposal to cap sales tax credit they claim – Center Square

“They’re paying the cost of tax collection and remittance on behalf of the state for every transaction that occurs, particularly electronic transactions which now account for more than 80% of all transactions, so it’s not fair to shift more of that cost onto the backs of retailers regardless of their size,” said Rob Karr, president of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association.

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With budget proposal and fiery address, Gov. JB Pritzker paints himself as progressive pragmatist – Capitol News IL

“Some elements of the governor’s proposed spending plan, like using $10 million in state funds to eliminate $1 billion worth of Illinoisans’ medical debt, are hardline progressive ideas. Others, including a goal to achieve ‘universal preschool’ by 2027, fit in with a more traditional liberal platform. But Pritzker has also defined his success in traditional economic terms, putting particular stock into how New York City-based credit ratings agencies view Illinois’ finances, while also positioning Illinois as a hub for emerging technologies like electric vehicles and quantum computing.”

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Bears’ Arlington Heights property valued at $125M amid ongoing tax dispute, Board of Review decides – NBC5 (Chicago)

At a hearing last month, an attorney for the Bears contended last month that the property should be valued at $60 million. At the same hearing, an attorney for three suburban school districts – which rely on property taxes for their funding and intervened in the Bears’ appeal – argued the property is worth $160 million. The $125 million value is for one year, taxed at the commercial rate of 25%, rather than the vacant rate of 10%.

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Child tax credit, funding for school meals: Five education bills to watch this legislative session – Chalkbeat Chicago

Last week, Gov. JB Pritzker and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced they were partnering to provide $250 million to help migrants receive shelter, wraparound services, and health care. But a spokesperson for the governor said the funding is not for schools. Last year’s “New Arrivals Grant” bill last year that would have allocated $35 million to schools, but it did not move past committee. State lawmakers have not yet filed a bill this session to help schools support migrant students with additional funding.

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Pritzker’s $52.7B Budget Proposal Funds Migrant Care and Early Childhood Education, Angers Business Community – WTTW (Chicago)

A year and a half since the 1% grocery tax was reinstated, Gov. JB Pritzker wants to eliminate that tax permanently. But doing away with the tax won’t ding the state’s bank account. The tax goes to cities, which otherwise depend mostly on property taxes. Said Illinois Municipal League CEO Brad Cole, “It’s yet another cut for local revenues at the same time municipalities are given more and more unfunded mandates and less and less cooperation. At some point we are going to have to tell every mayor to leave the keys to City Hall on their desk and let

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Mayor Johnson tries to connect businesses with Chicago youth – FOX32 (Chicago)

“As a former public school teacher, I can tell you the energy and talent that exists in the city of Chicago is second to none,” he said. “In fact, investing in young people has been such a hallmark of my administration that no matter where I go, I give this message that the best thing we can do to build a better, stronger, safer Chicago is to make sure we have as many W-2s for young people as possible.”

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Measure would allow Illinois schools ability to deny polling places – Center Square

House Bill 4709 would amend the current state statute that says if a county board chooses a school to be a polling place, then the school district must make the school available for use as a polling place. Right now, the law says the school is encouraged to close school for Election Day, which is in November, but makes no mention of closing schools for primaries or consolidated elections.

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Column: Appellate judges impatient with enhanced SAFE-T Act workload – Champaign News-Gazette

Jim Dey: “Since the law took effect Sept. 18, Illinois’ five appellate courts have been overwhelmed with nearly 1,700 appeals requiring prompt review. As a consequence, the Illinois Supreme Court in January charged a special five-member committee with studying the problem and devising solutions…In the interim, however, three appellate justices from the state’s Second District have devised a partial solution to reduce the flow. They’ve told defense lawyers representing detained defendants to stop filing frivolous appeals.”

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Pritzker calls for health insurance reforms in State of the State address – Capitol News IL

Gov. JB Pritzker’s “Healthcare Consumer Access and Protection Act” will include a package of proposals aimed at controlling strategies that insurers use to reduce the amount of health care patients receive. It also includes new requirements for insurers to offer enough in-network doctors to meet consumers’ needs, as well as state regulatory control over rate increases in the large group insurance plans similar to regulations lawmakers approved last year for small group policies.

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Pritzker wants to increase funding goal for Illinois pension funds to 100% – Pensions and Investments

In his fiscal year 2025 budget proposal, Gov. JB Pritzker said adding three additional years to the funding payment plan will get the state “on a path to 100% funded like peer states.” He calls for an increase in the state’s annual pension contributions when legacy debts are paid off, and proposes dedicating half the revenue being used to pay off those bonds to make additional pension contributions when those debts are paid.

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Budget breakdown: Tax increases draws ire from Illinois lawmakers – State Journal-Register (Springfield)

No GOP lawmakers voted for the budget last year, including state Sen. Steve McClure, of Springfield. High taxes, he said, have already placed a burden on local businesses — pointing to the recent temporary closure of Loukinens’ on 4th and the permanent closure of Alexander’s Steakhouse. “Why isn’t the governor prioritizing people like them?,” McClure said following the speech. “Instead, he is prioritizing people of other countries and also encouraging them to keep on coming.”

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Commentary: Getting rid of school choice and police in schools is about politics, not what’s best for kids and families – Chicago Sun-Times

Ald. Michelle Harris, Ald. Marty Quinn, Ald. Matt O’Shea, Ald. Monique Scott, Ald. Felix Cardona, Ald. Samantha Nugent, state Rep. Mike Kelly, and state Rep. Angie Guerrero-Cuellar: “Unfortunately these CPS initiatives are part of a troubling pattern we see emerging. City leaders are finding solutions for problems that don’t exist. They are focused on fulfilling political agendas instead of doing the work that keeps our city moving and working.”

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Illinois Democratic PAC backed by Don Harmon loses appeal of massive fines for not timely reporting campaign spending – Chicago Tribune/MSN

The unanimous bipartisan vote by the State Board of Elections followed a request by All for Justice, an independent expenditure PAC, after it was fined $108,500 by the board last year for failing to timely file detailed expenditure reports in spending $7.3 million to help elect Elizabeth Rochford and Mary Kay O’Brien to the state’s highest court in 2022. The fines were among the largest ever levied by the election board.

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Willie Wilson: Illinois and Chicago avoid confronting pension debt at their peril – Chicago Tribune*

“Budgets are about priorities, and unfortunately, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Illinois leaders are not being completely honest with Illinoisans….The Taxpayer Pension Alliance — a group made up of Ted Dabrowski from Wirepoints, Josh Bandoch from the Illinois Policy Institute, Dennis LaComb of the Technology & Manufacturing Association and Ed Bachrach, who founded the Center for Pension Integrity — recently sent a letter to Mayor Brandon Johnson sounding the alarm on the city of Chicago’s unfunded pension liability, which is more than $52 billion.”

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Sale of Granite City treatment plant has residents paying double in bills – KTVI (St. Louis)

Granite City Mayor Mike Parkinson said of the $86 million sale of the Granite City Wastewater Treatment Plant, “The driving force behind it was (that) the city has $100 million in pension liabilities that have to be covered and we’re at a crossroads…the significant amount of money that we could sell the plant for—that we’ll be able to position ourselves to pay that debt off without raising taxes on our citizens.”

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Editorial: It’s the public who loses the most when Mayor Johnson avoids the press – Chicago Sun-Times

“The former teacher and Chicago Teachers Union organizer considers himself a man of the people, but in blowing off the media or giving confusing answers to reporters’ questions — as he did at a press conference last week that was dominated by inquiries regarding ShotSpotter and the migrant crisis — the mayor comes off as a man of mystery who doesn’t value transparency or accountability.”

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Chicago sues oil companies over climate ‘disinformation’; Lawsuit ‘set up for failure,’ industry warns – Cook County Record

Harkening to the anti-tobacco litigation of decades past, the city claimed the petroleum companies and their spokespeople, such as the Washington, D.C.-based American Petroleum Institute, marketed their products in a manner similar to those used by tobacco companies, which allegedly misled consumers by claiming their cigarettes were less harmful by labeling them as “low tar” or “light.” The city asserted the oil industry allegedly misled consumers by marketing fuels as “cleaner” or “emissions reducing.”

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Jails across Illinois experience vacancies after elimination of cash bail – Center Square

McLean County Sheriff Matt Lane, whose jail is 38 percent occupied, is not a proponent of housing homeless individuals or migrants in the jail. “It’s not built for that, it’s not what it was intended for. It’s not an open campus. You can’t come and go as you please. I don’t think that’s a good idea. The county board might have some other ideas that we could discuss but I am not in favor of that.”

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Dunces and double standards in Chicago City Hall – Illinois Policy

“If (Stacy) Davis Gates wants to tell Chicagoans how to spend their money, she’d better get her personal and union fiscal houses in order. If (Brandon) Johnson wants voters March 19 to hand him $100 million from higher taxes to address homelessness, he’d be in a stronger position if he paid the city what he owes it (for speeding tickets) or used the money he already has for housing relief. No one wants to follow leaders unable to distinguish between their rhetoric and their conduct.”

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Chicago residents speak out against migrants welcomed by city – FOX News

One speaker at Wednesday’s City Council meeting demanded “not another dollar for illegals” after Gov. JB Pritzker announced plans to allocate an additional $252 million to support Chicago’s response to the migrant crisis.  “If the crisis is so bad, the city council members who are so concerned should donate their salaries to the cause like a real public servant should,” the woman said.

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The Thompson Center Reboot – Chicago Magazine

“A center of civil service transitioning into a private tech hub understandably gives some Chicagoans the ick. The glass dome once symbolized government transparency; now it nodss to the panopticon of big tech. But from an architectural standpoint, many see this deal as a win. Tech companies have a good track record of restoring historic buildings.”

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Illinois gov. adds $500 million to quantum computing quest – Axios

The investment would complement Illinois’ bid to secure the headquarters of the National Semiconductor Technology Center, an R&D accelerator the Biden administration is establishing as part of the $280 billion CHIPS Act. Gov. JB Pritzker says he’s optimistic that the Illinois state legislature will embrace his proposal as a catalyst for job creation and investment attraction.

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Chicago’s school board wants to remove police from all schools starting next school year – Chalkbeat Chicago

The resolution on Thursday’s agenda directs CPS CEO Pedro Martinez to come up with a new policy by June 27 that would introduce a “holistic approach to school safety” at district schools, such as implementing restorative justice practices, which focus on resolving a conflict instead of punishment. That policy “must make explicit that the use of [school resource officers] within District schools will end by the start of the 2024-2025 school year.”

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Students pitch idea to change math curriculum at Illinois State Capitol – WCIA (Champaign)

It started as a joke. Math students at Oakwood Grade School asked to skip one of the units. “It was overcomplicated, and so we decided, well, if we’re not going to use that every single day, then we can figure out how to change it,” Madelyn Lapenas, an eighth grader at the school, said. Their plan is to change the curriculum so that students across Illinois learn math skills they say they will actually use in their everyday lives, like how to balance a checkbook, budget and save money.

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Editorial: Sale of Discover is another blow to Chicagoland’s business community – Chicago Tribune*

“This has been a lousy stretch for Chicago’s business community. The rocky start of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration has business people deeply worried. The recent departures of household names such as Citadel, Caterpillar and Boeing in the face of concerns about public safety and the city’s post-pandemic vibrancy and health have been deeply unsettling…All the more reason for the progressive political forces in positions of power to pay far greater heed to this region’s business environment than they have to date.”

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South Side alderperson accuses Ald. Greg Mitchell of attacking him – Chicago Sun-Times

In a letter to Black Caucus Chair Stephanie Coleman, Ald. Desmon Yancy wrote, “In today’s current climate, political differences have devolved into name calling and violence toward elected officials. It is equally out of order that an elected official would resort to violence during a disagreement with a colleague.” Police confirmed they had responded to a “disturbance” at City Hall last Thursday but said no arrests were made.

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Former Illinois governor concerned for taxpayers over subsidies for new White Sox ballpark – WGNTV (Chicago)

Although he’s praised the conceptual renderings, Gov. JB Pritzker said he’s concerned about using public money for the project. And based on what’s leaked out, former Gov. Pat Quinn agrees. “I like Jerry Reinsdorf, who has been a friend for a long time, but I also like the taxpayers of Illinois and the taxpayers of Cook County and Chicago, and they come number one. And so, Jerry, I think, has got to understand that if we’re going to invest in something, this team, the franchise has to put their own money in.”

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A Vital Mission on Chicago’s South Side – Glenn Loury

“(Pastor Corey Brooks) talks of teaching young people about the importance of work and how to find it. He talks of training them in the basics of financial literacy and in trades that will allow them gain legitimate employment. We can criticize DEI all we want, but without the kind of practical alternatives he’s building, none of it will mean much.”

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Parents’ lawsuit says Chicago Teachers Union should pay $250M for Jan. ’22 work stoppage – Cook County Record

Chicago teachers union rallyThe lawsuit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, accuses the Chicago Teachers Union, former President Jesse Sharkey, current President Stacy Davis Gates, and the American Federation of Teachers of allegedly conspiring to call an illegal strike in December 2021 and January 2022. The lawsuit asserts such actions caused a widespread public nuisance and violated the contract rights of CPS students and families, who should be considered third-party beneficiaries of the collective bargaining agreement between the CTU and CPS.

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Pritzker’s budget to include plan to erase $1 billion in medical debt – Chicago Sun-Times

Gov. J.B. Pritzker delivering his state budget address in February 2020. Gov. JB Pritzker will propose investing $10 million of federal funds to erase more than $1 billion in medical debt for Illinois residents. It follows the lead of Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle who in 2022 created the Cook County Medical Debt Relief Initiative with funding from the American Rescue Plan Act — using $12 million in federal funds with the potential of erasing up to $1 billion in medical debt. And now others are taking notice.

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Chicago sues five giant oil companies, accusing them of climate change destruction, fraud – Chicago Sun-Times

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration filed a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court Tuesday that names BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil and Shell, accusing the companies of discrediting science and misleading the public as the climate crisis continued to wreak havoc on the planet. The city is also suing the trade group American Petroleum Institute, which it accuses of conspiring with the companies to deceive consumers through disinformation campaigns.

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Mayor Brandon Johnson pitches borrowing $1.25 billion for housing and development – WBEZ (Chicago)

Mayor Brandon JohnsonIn a major shift away from how the city currently funds development, Johnson plans to pay for the massive borrowing package by knocking out another priority: letting dozens of the city’s controversial tax increment financing districts expire. The borrowing plan would provide $250 million every year for five years, according to the city. But, interest would also cost the city an estimated $2.4 billion over 37 years; it could be paid, in part, with an estimated $2.2 billion in recouped tax revenue from expiring TIF districts.

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President Pritzker? Political analysts speculate on Illinois gov’s future amid Biden’s uncertainty – FOX32 (Chicago)

While the State of the State address is an opportunity for Gov. JB Pritzker to shine, analysts agree the governor will likely steer clear of the growing crisis that is outmigration. “Downstate is basically universities and prisons. All the businesses that were there when I grew up as a kid are leaving and now they’re leaving north of I-80. This is the economic engine of the state. We need to have a discussion and the governor needs to lead on this about how we’re going to revitalize this state,” said Pat Brady, former Illinois GOP chair.

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Mayor Brandon Johnson, his message, and the media: Time for a course correction before public loses faith – Chicago Sun-Times

In an apparent effort to turn things around, Johnson scheduled a meeting with the Chicago Sun-Times editorial board this week that would have been his first. But Monday’s meeting ended abruptly — after Johnson and board members had introduced themselves — when press secretary Ronnie Reese insisted the entire session be off the record. Said David Greising, of the Better Government Association “The lack of serious engagement is undermining not only the ability of the press to work with this administration but the public’s confidence that he is doing the work.”

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Illinois Senate committee approves bill banning harmful additives in processed foods, drinks – WAND (Decatur)

California became the first state to ban these additives in October. Although, the chemicals are prohibited in all 27 European nations, Australia, Canada, Japan and China. But the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association encouraged lawmakers to reject the well-intentioned plan to avoid a confusing and costly patchwork of regulations. Food manufacturing generates more than $135 billion in economic impact for Illinois annually.

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Suburban Chicago volunteers aim to open another shelter for migrant families – CBS2 (Chicago)

The Oak Park Migrant Ministry plans to open an overnight shelter for about 100 people in the old St. Edmund’s Catholic School, and during the day, the site will open its door to organizations that provide legal aid, job training, and other services to prepare migrants for the next stage after the transitional shelter. “We will be an abject failure if a hundred people who join us around March 1st are still here on June 1st,” said volunteer Jack Crowe.

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FBI probes misconduct allegations against Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard – FOX32 (Chicago)

Agents are asking questions about Henyard’s alleged use of taxpayer dollars and resources, including massive spending on out-of-town trips. They’ve also inquired about hundreds of thousands of dollars in police overtime for Henyard’s personal security detail, her alleged use of public employees and tax dollars for personal benefit, and the holding up of licenses to certain businesses.

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Transmission line monopoly back on agenda at Statehouse after Pritzker’s veto – Capitol News IL

Rep. Larry Walsh was behind an unsuccessful push last year that would have granted a temporary “right of first refusal” to Ameren Illinois and MidAmerican Energy. Now, he’s advocating for a permanent right of first refusal to all existing electric utilities in the state. Like its predecessor, the measure is backed by the unions that represent the construction and electrical workers who handle these types of projects.

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California Emissions Standards Coming To Illinois? – Illinois Leaks

“(House Bill 1634) basically requires that ‘Illinois Environmental Protection Agency shall adopt rules to implement the motor vehicle emission standards of the State of California…’ While we see numerous problems with the bill, the fact this is an attempt to force Illinois drivers to comply with regulations written by unelected officials in California is probably the most absurd thing we have heard and that is saying something.”

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Editorial: The public’s price of admission for new White Sox stadium: $400 million in state tax revenue – Chicago Sun-Times

“With the city and state facing so many pressing issues, that $400 million would surely be better spent serving taxpayers’ needs than helping pick up the check for (White Sox owner Jerry) Reinsdorf and Related Midwest, the deep-pocketed developer that owns The 78. The U.K. synth group Depeche Mode said it best in ‘Everything Counts,’ their 1983 hit: ‘Grabbing hands grab all they can.'”

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Cook County dropped charges after Chicago cops saw him stealing a catalytic converter. He wasn’t so lucky in DuPage County. – CWB Chicago

Since 2022, Dexter Williams has been charged with misdemeanors six times, and Cook County prosecutors dropped all but one of those cases. He’s now being detained in DuPage County after officials there accused him of having—this may sound familiar—four catalytic converters, a jack, a Sawzall, and Sawzall blades in his car after he slammed into a light pole while trying to get away from cops in Lombard.

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Why Jimmy Can’t Read in Chicago – Chicago Contrarian

“After decades of whole language approaches which morphed into balanced literacy, both approaches have been debunked. So, now Illinois’ focus on high-quality literacy instruction is a return to phonics. But be aware that no district is mandated to use the Illinois Comprehensive Literacy Plan…A plan to be used as a guide is a waste of time and tax dollars. Yet, the reason curriculum changes are not mandated comes down to money. School districts ready to make the change are already asking for more state funding to buy new materials.”

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Illinois, Iowa bills cover damages from truck crashes – Land Line

Gov. JB Pritzker in 2023 enacted a new law to permit juries to grant unlimited non-economic, or pain-and-suffering, damages in wrongful death lawsuits. Punitive damages also are permitted for people who survive. “It is hard to imagine a more ill-advised piece of legislation that benefits no one other than trial lawyers,” Todd Spencer, president and CEO of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, said at the time.

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State Sen. Mike Simmons reacts to Illinois’ near bottom ranking in social mobility – Center Square

“Just a couple months ago, systemic racism was declared a public health crisis by the Illinois Department of Public Health,” he said. “What that means is all of our institutions, whether we’re talking about health care, financial institutions that make loans or access to good schools, these are all things where we’re going to see all this data stubbornly persist across all these different outcome variables when it comes to the Black community.”

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Chicago doctors who treated patients in Gaza describe massive level of suffering – Chicago Sun-Times

John Kahle uses a stethoscope to listen to a little girl's breathing, as another man stands in the background, in an exam room at a MedGlobal clinic in Gaza.“From the beginning of the day to the end of our office hours, there was screaming,” pediatrician John Kahler said, comparing the devastated landscape to pictures he’d seen of Europe after World War II. The team saw crowded tents and rubble where bakeries used to be. “I know the world is violent … [but] this is the first I’ve ever really experienced

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Critic of Illinois mayor Tiffany Henyard believes embattled pol ordered shooting at her home – New York Post

Two cars belonging to tenants of former Village of Dolton Trustee Valeria Stubbs, a retired member of the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, were riddled with at least nine shots in a raid, she believes, stemmed from her public attacks on Mayor Tiffany Henyard. Critics assert that Henyard is running a fiefdom of fear, pulling licenses from businesses who refuse to contribute to her coffers and using local law enforcement as a personal intimidation force.

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Ford Chicago Assembly Plant workers say their cars are being vandalized, stolen in parking lot – CBS2 (Chicago)

From September 2022 when workers say the rash of crimes started, through Feb. 10 of this year, there have been 30 police reports associated with the Ford Plant’s address. This includes 12 auto thefts or attempted thefts. “People are getting their windows smashed in – everything taken out,” said Jason Wachowski, vice president of UAW Local 551. “Other people come out and their car is completely gone.”

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Commentary: In Chicago, Violent Criminals Go Free While This Man Languishes in Jail – Daily Signal

“Thanks to a law first proposed by Illinois’ black lawmakers after the George Floyd protests of 2020, thousands of dangerous inmates are being released onto the streets of Chicago and other cities, while those subject to civil complaints are jailed like criminals. Such is the case of Illinois native Steve Fanady, 59, who has been rotting in a Cook County jail cell in solitary confinement for 18 months over an unresolved, 14-year-old divorce settlement.”

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Aldermen, lawmakers criticized Chicago Board of Education over selective enrollment in private briefings – NBC5 (Chicago)

“People are very proud of our selective enrollment schools in the city,” Ald. Samantha Nugent said in the first briefing. “It is something that people talk about all over the country, I mean, Michelle Obama writes about it in her book, how life changing it was for her.” Ald. Felix Cardona said at a later briefing, “Do you understand parents don’t have the confidence in the Chicago Public Schools in their neighborhoods? And they leave.”

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Chicago region saw record-breaking warehouse development in 2023 – Chicago Tribune/MSN

Developers last year completed 70 big-box warehouses, adding up to nearly 33 million square feet, up from 25 million in 2022 and 20 million in 2021, according to Colliers. But the historic pace of industrial development did finally slow. The vacancy rate for Chicago-area big-box properties more than doubled to nearly 9% over the past year, a signal that developers caught up with demand.

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Referendum would require parental consent for kids’ gender-modification procedures – WBBM (Chicago)

Activists seek to collect 500,000 signatures for a referendum that would require parental consent for children under the age of 18 to receive certain medical care, such as gender modification or therapy. Tracy Smodilla of the Parents Matter Coalition’ said many people are unaware of legislative changes in recent years that affect parental notification for abortion and other healthcare procedures.

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Pritzker to mull tightening fiscal landscape in budget address this week – Capitol News IL

If the projections hold, it likely means Gov. JB Pritzker and lawmakers will have to agree to slower spending growth or cuts to existing programs, new revenue streams, or some combination of those options. There’s been no talk at the Capitol of any new or increased taxes, and the governor has all but abandoned his major push for a graduated income tax constitutional amendment that failed before voters in 2020.

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The Group Raising Hell About the L – Chicago Magazine

Commuters Take Action, a grassroots transit advocacy group, has been tracking discrepancies between scheduled and real-time trains and buses since 2021, finding that train service has been cut by 24 percent. Fabio Göttlicher, the group’s cofounder, is calling for CTA president Dorval Carter Jr. to be fired, for Mayor Brandon Johnson to get directly involved, and for city residents to treat public transportation as a utility — before it’s too late.

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‘Parental Nightmare’: Blue States Are Becoming Magnets For Runaway Kids Seeking Trans Treatments – Daily Caller

A law passed last year in Colorado outlaws the extradition of a person for a “legally protected health-care activity,” which is defined as “transgender” procedures and abortions. Another law in Illinois, passed in January 2023, prohibits the extradition of a person from the state who is charged for obtaining or attempting to obtain “lawful health care,” which is defined as abortion or transgender procedures.

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Illinois bill looks to raise estate tax threshold – WGEM (Quincy)

Brent Clair, a local farmer said for farmers, the value of the land has gone up due to inflation. He said farmers originally purchased the land at either 5 or 6 thousand dollars an acre, but with inflation the lands value is up to 10 to 15 thousand dollars per acre. “The farmer who bought this land is taxed on the money he used to pay for it. He’s got the property tax that’s used up. And so it’s a tax upon a tax upon a tax,” Clair said.

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Laura Washington: Is Mayor Brandon Johnson already campaigning for a second term? – Chicago Tribune*

“Eight months into his first term, Johnson’s supporters are compelled to run a campaign-like ad in a major daily newspaper. Are they worried? In public and private comments, Johnson and his team have made it clear they believe the mayor is not getting enough credit for his accomplishments, especially from the media…In Johnson’s case, he and his supporters are promoting his agenda to his own base. Shouldn’t those folks already be on board that bus?”

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Chicago Public Schools recover from pandemic declines more than other districts, study shows – Chalkbeat Chicago

Researchers at Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University and The Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University also found the state of Illinois led the nation in reading growth between 2022 and 2023 and is one of just four states to return to pre-pandemic achievement levels. However, the bounce back has not been as strong in math. Both Illinois and Chicago were in the middle of the pack for math score recovery compared to other states and districts.

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2 teens arrested, vehicles impounded after Chicago ‘car caravan drifting event’ – FOX32 (Chicago)

According to Ald. Matt O’Shea, Chicago police responded to multiple locations in the city on Saturday night regarding groups of cars driving in circles at “dangerous, high wastes of speed.” One group of vehicles that broke off from the larger caravan around 11 p.m. blocked off the intersection of 103rd and California and began drifting. They caused damage to several homes’ front yards, Ridge Country Club, and an unoccupied Evergreen Park police squad car.

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Opinion: Why Illinois’ state budget matters to you – Illinois Policy

“(H)ere’s the thing about the budget – it’s big and bloated and complicated, but it affects all of us in a few big ways. For one, it affects how much we pay in taxes, which are coming due all-too-soon…And when it costs a lot to operate here, businesses don’t invest and sometimes don’t stay. That means fewer opportunities and less growth in your salary.”

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‘Bring Chicago Home’ referendum rallies support and sparks concerns among developers – The DePaulia

%E2%80%98Bring+Chicago+Home%E2%80%99+referendum+rallies+support+and+sparks+concerns+among+developersTheresa Kern, the board chair for the Women Construction Owners and Executive’s Chicago Caucus, worries that if passed, the ordinance would discourage developers from pursuing construction projects in Chicago. “Right now, there is hardly any work going on (downtown) at all,” Kern said. “It’s chasing work from downtown for one thing, and if you chase work from downtown, then you’re going to chase work from the rest of the city.”

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Commentary: Why the suburbs need to start planning for Chicago’s ‘mansion tax’ – Daily Herald*

Matt Paprocki, of the Illinois Policy Institute: “If Chicago voters pass the tax, could it trigger a migration out of the city with suburbs attracting more businesses and people? That’s something suburban businesses and communities should consider…The demographic changes could be lasting if employers flee Chicago’s egregious taxation policies and families follow.”

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Local parents share maintenance needs, budget frustration at Chicago Public Schools roundtable – Hyde Park Herald

According to CPS, about $1.2 billion is needed for facilities in the the Bronzeville/South Lakefront region. This area includes 44 schools, of which the average campus was built in 1939. About 15,400 students live in this region, a little under 5% of CPS’ population. Of those students, about 30% of students live outside the enrollment area but attend schools within it, and about 20% live in the enrollment area, but attend schools outside of it.

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Why Is the City Council Passing Resolutions About Foreign Affairs? – Chicago Magazine

“Yes, once again, our alderpeople, who have been called the “lowest form of political life” (per Mike Royko), and whose No. 1 job is making sure the trash gets collected in their wards, are venturing into foreign policy…’The potential of making and influencing national and international policy at the local level excites progressives in particular,” wrote Karen Dolan and Emily Schwartz Greco.'”

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Cook County anticipated to exempt schools, park districts from new paid-leave law – Daily Herald*

Numerous municipalities have questioned the reason for a largely redundant county law they say creates the possibility of understaffed shifts in their police, fire and public works departments; some have already have copied their previous actions with the state law by using home-rule authority to opt themselves out as employers, including Glenview, Northfield, Park Ridge, Streamwood, Wheeling, Wilmette and Winnetka, according to responses to a Northwest Municipal Conference survey. Others have gone a step beyond what they did with the state law by opting out all employers within their boundaries. This includes Buffalo Grove, Hoffman Estates, Palatine and Schaumburg.

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Report: Reinsdorf to seek $1 billion in public money for new Sox Stadium – WGNTV (Chicago)

It has been reported that the stadium itself would be subsidized through a $500 million city TIF district that already covers the site, but the White Sox and developer Related Midwest have stressed the importance of additional private investment — mixed-use buildings that would feature affordable housing, bars, restaurants and shops, as well as an underground parking garage and parks, hence the intended ask of nearly $1 billion in total public funds from the state, which includes the $500 million TIF subsidy from the city.

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CPS Shows Strong Academic Recovery After COVID-19 Pandemic, Study Finds – WTTW (Chicago)

District officials are lauding the findings from Harvard and Stanford researchers, which showed CPS was first in reading recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic among large school districts across the country, and 13th in math. “CPS students outpaced the state as a whole in similar districts,” CPS Chief Education Officer Bogdana Chkoumbova said. “CPS actually lost more ground during the pandemic than the state as a whole and also similar districts. So we had a lot more to recover, but also we are excited that we came out on top of this and accelerated the growth past the pandemic.”

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Sen. Durbin reacts to non-medical deaths at Thomson; union has response – WHBF (Rock Island)

“We are currently facing a staffing shortage after (Bureau of Prisons) Director (Collette ) Peters slashed the pay for the workers at Thomson Federal Prison,” union president Jon Zumkehr said in the statement. “We are currently experiencing a critical staff shortage, with a deficit of one hundred and eleven (111) employees and an additional seventeen (17) more anticipated departures.

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Southern Illinois community members join forces to urge city council members to call for a ceasefire in Gaza – Daily Egyptian

Members of the Southern Illinois Chapter of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), SIU Young Democratic Socialists of America and the Peace Coalition of Southern Illinois used flags, posters and chants to express their support for the people of Palestine and encourage the Carbondale City Council to pass a resolution in support of a ceasefire. Gage McPhail of the DSA described the organization’s recent protests as an “escalation tactic to then further pursue pressuring” leaders such as the U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who has yet to call for a ceasefire.

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Constellation requests 20-year license renewal for Illinois nuclear plant – Power Engineering

“The Clinton Clean Energy Center is not only the largest carbon-free electricity source in Central Illinois, but it also provides a major boost to the economy,” said Dan Matthews, president of the Clinton School District Board and a member of the DeWitt County Board. “The more than $13 million in annual property taxes supports education and county services, and the large number of employees live here and spend money, which supports local business and creates additional jobs. The plant’s relicensing is an important part of DeWitt County’s economic future.”

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Letter: Bring Chicago Home real estate transfer tax could make housing instability worse – Chicago Sun-Times

Corey Oliver, CEO, Strength In Management LLC: “‘Big A’ affordable housing, which would be shielded from the transfer tax, relies on substantial federal funding. But NOAH (naturally occurring affordable housing) developers, who are crucial contributors to Chicago’s affordable housing stock, face increased financial strain with the proposed transfer tax.”

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Column: Write-in votes will have significance in primary – Champaign News-Gazette

“It’s not as difficult as it seems,” said (Kevin) Gaither, who needs 511 write-in votes to become the Democratic nominee against (U.S. Rep. Mary) Miller. “There is an oval with a line for write-ins. I’m the only person (who is a declared candidate) that people can write in. They have to fill in the oval and then write in my name. If they put in ‘Kevin’ or any kind of facsimile of that, it should be good enough to get it across the finish line. It’s all about the voter’s intent.”

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Chicago’s mayor issues statement after medical examiner reveals migrant boy’s cause of death – NBC5 (Chicago)

A report from the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office showed the 5-year-old boys died in a Pilsen migrant shelter of sepsis from Strep Throat (A) and COVID-19. A statement from the mayor’s office said that “the City of Chicago coordinates medical screenings for all shelter residents, weekly on-site provider support, on-site vaccination events for COVID, varicella, and flu, and partnerships with a network of community health centers for other healthcare needs.”

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Some Illinois cities look to get ahead of lead pipe mandate – Bloomington Pantagraph

Last January, the Decatur City Council unanimously adopted a major policy change hoping to expedite the process, agreeing to cover 50% of the costs all residential and commercial lead water line replacement work. It is one of many such “cost-share” programs that have sprouted up across Illinois as an incentive from local governments to water customers to replace their lead lines – but it still represents a proverbial drop in the bucket when considering the nearly 7,000 lead service lines that need to be replaced within Decatur city limits by 2047 to comply with a law signed by Gov. JB Pritzker in 2021.

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Chicago migrants make poor and homeless ‘an afterthought’ in their own city: local activist – FOX News

Tio Hardiman, the Executive Director for Violence Interrupters, is calling for Mayor Brandon Johnson to issue a moratorium on migrants in the city of Chicago. “People get mad when we talk about reparations sometimes, but if you’re going to be giving out any type of resources, why would you overlook the African-American people that have fought every world war here in the United States?”

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Commentary: Chicago sports teams are crucial to fans. New stadiums? Not so much. – Chicago Tribune*

Will Johnson, of The Harris Poll: “It’s a modern sports conundrum: Chicago is a sports town, with its civic identity inextricably linked to its pro franchises. But as much as we love our teams, Chicagoans aren’t interested in giving the teams’ wealthy owners public dollars to build fancy new palaces. Unbinding this Gordian knot was not why Mayor Brandon Johnson sought elected office, but it’s on him to figure out how to keep Chicago sports whole without draining the public coffers.”

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Controversial plans for another homeless shelter in Uptown rejected – WBBM (Chicago)

The shelter would have displaced 40 residents of micro apartments in a mixed-use building at 1140 West Wilson, where Mike Sullivan opened the 2Bears Tavern on the ground floor in 2022, following a half-million-dollar renovation and a quarter million in start-up costs. “We had concerns about the viability of our business, that it would not be able to survive in a situation like this,” he said. “This was a one-of-a-kind, never-tried-before social experiment.”

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Gun, drugs, cash recovered during sting operation at West Loop homeless camp, Chicago cops say – CWB Chicago

Officers found a cache of drugs and a pistol inside a tent that Ronnel Kado, 24,  allegedly used. Two backpacks inside the tent contained 50 small baggies of suspected heroin and 51 baggies of suspected crack cocaine, according to court records. A loaded 9-millimeter handgun outfitted with a laser site was on the floor of the tent, according to police. Judge David Kelly released both Kado and George Crayton, 48, to await trial.

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Johnson Promises to Spend All of Chicago’s Federal COVID-19 Relief Funds, With Focus on ‘Disinvested’ Communities – WTTW (Chicago)

In all, Chicago spent just 29%, or less than $160 million, of what city officials said they would spend on a host of programs including affordable housing, mental health, violence prevention, youth job programs and help for unhoused Chicagoans. “We’re going to make sure that the communities that have been impacted the most by gross disinvestment, that those dollars reach those communities,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. “We’re going to make sure that resources actually get to the neighborhoods and to the people who are most impacted by, unfortunately, the long history of disinvestment in this city.”

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McHenry County state’s attorney Patrick Kenneally: Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx finds legislative way to avoid reality – Chicago Tribune*

“State Rep. Will Guzzardi…recently filed a bill that would prohibit as a conflict of interest a state’s attorney from making charging decisions or prosecuting a police officer involved in the shooting of a civilian in the county in which they serve. Instead, the case would get offloaded onto a special prosecutor, who would likely be a state’s attorney from another county or other government lawyer.”

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Unions target far-right Illinois state representatives – WBEZ (Chicago)

It’s unusual for unions to get so heavily involved in southern Illinois Republican primary politics. The thousands of dollars the Illinois Federation of Teachers has sent GOP candidates over the last year, for example, pales in comparison to the amount they’ve sent Democratic candidates over the same period. But Dr. Dick Simpson, professor emeritus at the University of Illinois Chicago, says it’s not unusual for unions to work against candidates diametrically opposed to their values.

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Early voting for March primary delayed in Chicago due to court order – NBC5 (Chicago)

Officials said the issue arises from the placement of candidate Ashonta C. Rice for Judge of the Circuit Court (Vacancy of Sullivan) on the Democratic ballot. On Feb. 5, the Illinois Appellate Court entered a stay of enforcement that kept Rice’s name on the ballot. On Friday, the Appellate Court lifted the stay of enforcement, confirming that Rice’s name be removed from the ballot.

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Competing priorities for Illinois taxpayer funds ahead of Pritzker’s address – Center Square

Illinois has been adding to its rainy day fund, reaching $2 billion last year, but Truth In Accounting CEO Sheila Weinberg said that can be misleading. “For example, California has a big rainy day fund, but they have $250 billion of debt,” said Weinberg. Illinois’ unfunded pension liability is around $140 billion. That does not include tens of billions in other post employment benefits for state retirees.

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Paul Vallas: Fixing 4 myths about Chicago’s gunshot detection technology – Illinois Policy

“The ideologically driven critics of ShotSpotter are attempting to systematically degrade the police department’s ability to engage in proactive policing. Those critics view armed criminals as victims. It shouldn’t be ignored that those who support ‘defunding the police’ hope to reap the financial benefits of shifting money from the police budget to their own programs.”

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Rich Miller: ‘Never rat on your friends, always keep your mouth shut.’ Mike Madigan’s man is going to prison for taking that to heart. – Chicago Sun-Times

“Before pronouncing his sentence on (Tim) Mapes, U.S. District Judge John Kness called out the defendant for his almost cartoonish adherence to ‘the Law of Omertà,’ the ancient mafia vow to never, as Kness put it, ‘rat on your friends.’ That behavior ‘had no place’ in a federal grand jury room, Kness told Mapes. ‘And you will pay the price for it.’ No lawyer, no matter how connected, could possibly spring Mapes from this trap.”

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Cook County Taxpayers to Pay $70 Million Toward Migrants in Chicago – Newsweek

The surge of migrants into the Windy City has led to backlash among some locals, including litigation claiming that the city has not had the best intentions for its permanent residents. In January, at least seven lawsuits were filed against the city by longtime residents, including three filed by people of color. Rather than toss blame toward Texas Governor Greg Abbott for sending migrants to the city, they have blamed Biden and Chicago officials for allowing the influx to continue at a high rate.

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‘Super mayor’ Tiffany Henyard’s ‘unbearable’ spending out of control: $1M on cop overtime, thousands for unapproved ice rink and constant parties, travel – New York Post

 

Henyard refused to answer questions when confronted on at the ice rink on Wednesday. Guards rebuffed a Post reporterA small village of about 20,000 people, Dolton now finds itself drowning under $5 million in debt — which trustee Jason House said started piling up shortly after Henyard took office in 2021. “The spending has become unbearable for the residents. It’s parties and a lot of events. It’s resources in reference to making it look like something is being done, but we really can’t afford it,” said trustee, Kiana Belcher.

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Public defender’s leadership called photo of staffer posing with rifle and Israeli flag ‘akin to displaying a Nazi swastika,” federal lawsuit claims – CWB Chicago

In the complaint, which accuses office leadership of violating her First and Fourteenth Amendment rights, Debra Gassman said she was “devastated” by the Oct. 7 strike which killed more than 1,100 Israelis. She became upset that “few seemed to care—or even were aware of” the attack when she returned to work. So, she decided to “raise awareness” by moving the photo from her office to an employee mailbox area “where other employees were allowed to put photos and decorations.”

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Column: Local officials keep proving why distrust in government is high in the Midwest – Chicago Tribune*

David Greising, of the Better Government Association: “Not all the trust-breaking behavior in Illinois is illegal, by the way. Sometimes, as the saying goes, the real scandal involves what’s altogether unethical but still legal. One such case is taking shape in one of the least-known offices in northern Illinois: the Cook County Board of Review. The obscure agency has remarkable power.”

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Chicago mayor faces questions about migrants and ARPA funds – Center Square

The mayor has proposed raising the city’s real-estate transfer tax to address homelessness, while more than 70% of the city’s federal American Rescue Plan Act pandemic assistance money remains available. “So first of all I’m going to spend all that money, I can assure you that. And we’re going to make sure that the communities that have been impacted the most by gross disinvestment, that those dollars reach those communities,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said.

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Pritzker commits another $182 million to migrant response, details to come next week – Capitol News IL

Gov. JB Pritzker, who committed the state to providing more than half of the needed funds, is expected to provide more detail about where the money is coming from next Wednesday in his annual budget address. The state in November committed to a $160 million spending plan, although portions of that plan – such as a 2,000 bed shelter in Chicago – have yet to come to fruition. The state also claims that it has spent $478 million through existing channels, such as through the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, over the past two years.

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La Salle Street Blues – Chicago Magazine

“Once among the most robust business corridors in the country, it is reeling from corporate restructurings, employee downsizing, and disruptions spawned by the pandemic and the remote-work era. The result: a historic office building vacancy rate of more than 25 percent and climbing. Adding to the strain: Some community, corporate, and real estate interests question whether Mayor Brandon Johnson is on board with the city’s 2022 rescue plan, La Salle Street Reimagined.”

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Mayor Brandon Johnson cites differences on migrant response for failure to pitch in on latest state, Cook County funding plan – Chicago Tribune/MSN

The mayor hinted at differences among state and local leaders on how to respond to the crisis — including the ongoing strife over who should be in charge of the mission to house and feed the asylum-seekers. Johnson said when pressed about the lack of a financial commitment from the city, “It’s not just about financial resources. As I’ve said before, right now the city of Chicago is solely responsible for providing emergency temporary shelter. … Remember the state, they’ve committed to 2,000 beds back in November? Do you remember that?”

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Editorial: ShotSpotter disaster only the latest example of mayoral incompetence – Chicago Tribune*

“Indeed, the administration’s entire handling of the migrant crisis has been woeful, including deciding to fine operators of buses transporting migrants who didn’t comply with city rules on licensing, locations and drop-off hours…We could go on. We’re nine months into this mayoralty, so at this point Johnson can’t use his inexperience as an excuse. The mayor badly needs more competent people around him, yes. But he also seems to need a healthy dose of common sense.”

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State Rep. Sue Scherer looks to expand senior property tax reliefs – WICS (Springfield)

The current Low-Income Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption Program allows people 65 and older who have a total household income of $65,000 or less and meet other qualifications, to defer all or part of the real estate taxes on their residence. This bill would expand the eligibility pool for senior freeze applicants by raising the maximum income limitation to $85,000.

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Controversy erupts as Uptown residents challenge placement of homeless shelter in mixed-use building – FOX32 (Chicago)

Residents say it’s unprecedented to place a homeless shelter in a building where commercial businesses are already established. They also say they are concerned about the lack of transparency surrounding the project. “It’s a concern for safety, it’s a concern for property values, it’s a concern of what does this look like,” said resident Tara Pease. “I’m very concerned that there is a non-congregate men’s shelter going above a 4 a.m. bar.”

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Bill would give Illinois voters power to change how state is run – Illinois Policy

In 2014 more than 590,000 Illinois voters petitioned for an amendment that would have imposed an eight-year limit on state lawmakers staying in office. Despite term limits being supported by 80% of Illinoisans, it was struck down in court when the Illinois Supreme Court ruled only “structural and procedural” changes may be made to the constitution. State Rep. Tim Ozinga has filed House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 18 to expand potential amendments beyond issues that are “structural and procedural.”

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Chamber Chief on New BIPA Bill: “Move In the Right Direction” – The Illinoize

Lou Sandoval, the President and CEO of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce said the bill improves the BIPA issues. “It’s been difficult for businesses because it isn’t mal intended in terms of what they’ve sought to do,” Sandoval said. “I think it’s just that business wasn’t given a voice at the table and now we’re trying to undo a piece of legislation that was very one sided.” He says businesses are cognizant of data privacy, and shouldn’t be penalized for the use of modern technology.

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Mt. Vernon Officials address migrants coming to Southern Illinois – WSILTV (Harrisburg)

Johnson County Sheriff Pete Sopczak asked his county’s board to pass an ordinance requiring prior notification before any migrant is dropped off. Johnson County would be following in the footsteps of Aurora, which passed an ordinance requiring at least five days’ notice to the city for a bus planning to transport migrants. “You can’t just show up at two o’clock in the morning when no one’s around and dump ’em off. And now what are these guys gonna do,” Sopczak asked.

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Pritzker to announce additional $182 million in upcoming budget for migrants – Center Square

In total, the governor’s office said the officials estimated $321 million is needed for this calendar year on top of previous committed funds. Taxpayers already spent more than $500 million on the migrant crisis in 2023. Gov. JB Pritzker announced in November an additional $160 million. In Thursday’s announcement of more money for the coming fiscal year, Pritzker said without action from the federal government, “it’s clear the state, county, and city will have to do more to keep people safe.”

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Johnson among the mayors who want work permits extended to keep migrants employed, receive new asylum seekers – FOX News

More than 40 mayors wrote to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Ur Jaddou, calling for automatic extensions for existing work permits of at least 540 days. “Cities and counties across the United States are quickly running out of shelter space. If hundreds of thousands of already-employed immigrants lose their jobs, they are likely to lose their homes, and this will result in cities and counties experiencing even greater difficulty providing shelter space and additional services to the public,” the letter reads.

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State Rep. Mary GIll and Carisa Parker: A proposal in Springfield would let CPS local school councils make final decision on cops in schools – Chicago Sun-Times

“Local school councils were created to give residents a strong voice in their school communities, and are made up of elected individuals who are trusted to act in the best interests of each school’s student body. In our experience, members are thoughtful, dedicated individuals who are thorough and transparent in their decision-making. They are also vocal advocates for students’ learning and safety.”

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Mail thief used stolen credit cards to enjoy Mag Mile hotel rooms while on pretrial release for 12 mailroom buglaries: prosecutors – CWB Chicago

Court records show Jonathan Minter, 35, failed to appear for a hearing December 1. Judges William Gamboney and Ursula Walowski issued 12 arrest warrants for him days later. Chicago police and the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force found him Tuesday morning at a hotel he checked in the day before using another person’s Visa and Mastercard. In total, prosecutors Wednesday filed six new felonies against him: four counts of identity theft, two counts of burglary, and one count of attempted burglary.

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Chicago suburbs varied in their handling of migrants – WBEZ (Chicago)

Said Justin Marlowe, a professor at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy, “Some places have been very able to absorb the migrant population, either on a temporary basis or even on a longer-term basis. Other places have really struggled. They don’t have that capacity, or they’ve found ways to move migrants to other communities that do. A lot of that variation reflects the fact that cities really aren’t designed to provide these kinds of services. They don’t have the fiscal tools, they’re not able to provide these kinds of services at scale.”

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Ford CEO says company will rethink where it builds vehicles after last year’s autoworkers strike – Chicago Tribune*

The UAW made strong wage gains after a six-week strike at selected plants run by Ford, General Motors and Jeep maker Stellantis. The strike included about 4,600 workers at Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant, which makes the Ford Explorer, Lincoln Aviator and Police Interceptor SUVs. Top-scale factory workers won 33% raises in a contract that runs through April of 2028.

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911 Calls On South, West Sides Ignored While ‘Rapid Response’ Cops Make Traffic Stops Instead – Block Club Chicago

Rapid response officers conducted at least 36,000 traffic stops in the first half of 2023, accounting for nearly two-thirds of their logged activity. That’s nearly double the portion that traffic stops made up in 2019. “This is not a resource shortage problem,” said Inspector General Deborah Witzburg. “This is about resource allocation.”

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Illinois to spend another $160M on Chicago migrant crisis – WQRF (Rockford)

The Governor’s Office announced the plan after long-term planners determined and additional $321 million is needed to maintain shelter and services for migrants for the remainder of the year. In addition, Cook County taxpayers will kick in an additional $70 million for the joint funding plan, totaling $250 million. The funding is in addition to $478 million the state has spent since Chicago declared itself a “sanctuary city” from U.S. immigration laws, and attracted migrants who illegally crossed the southern U.S. border.

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Illinois’ corporate income tax rate now 2nd highest in U.S. – Center Square

Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski fears the report only signals more trouble for the Land of Lincoln. “This leadership doesn’t care,” he said. “In fact, they like it this way because they want more money to fund the initiatives they have. They didn’t seem to be very concerned when Boeing left or Caterpillar or Citadel. If they did, you would see them do something about lowering spending and lowering rat

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Customers pay for utilities’ lawyers and corporate donations. Advocates want to change that. – Capitol News IL

Consumer advocates are pushing for a change to state law that would bar utilities from collecting money from customers for those expenditures, liability insurance covering executives and for the cost associated with filing rate cases. The bill also explicitly bans charging customers for political contributions, a practice already disallowed in Illinois. The proposal, contained in Senate Bill 2885 and House Bill 5061, would also require public hearings whenever a gas, electric, water or sewer utility requests a rate increase.

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Mayors make their pitch for more state funding, extended pension ramp – WCIA (Champaign)

The state recently consolidated all police and fire pension accounts into just two separate accounts, cutting down on administrative fees. Decatur Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe said extending the ramp could leave room for more positive reforms down the line. “It’s been a success story, but it needs time to evolve and grow,” Moore Wolfe said. “They’re not paying the fees, we’re not paying the fees, and we’re getting more bang for the buck.”

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Column: There’s always an answer, but not always the right one – Champaign News-Gazette

Jim Dey: “Illinois has recently awarded a $4 billion, multi-year contract to a Pennsylvania firm to provide medical services to prison inmates…It’s a rare prison that provides a warm, welcoming and nurturing working environment for medical professionals who have multiple employment options. So what’s Wexford to do when even generous pay is not a sufficient incentive to draw applicants? What Illinois and Wexford have done — and probably will continue to do — is the best that it can under the sorry circumstances, knowing that it won’t be enough and that criticism and lawsuits will continue.”

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Migrant Influx Strains NYC, Chicago, Denver Budgets, S&P Says – Bloomberg

“Given current political dynamics in Washington D.C. and the upcoming presidential election, we do not consider additional federal support likely,” the S&P strategists led by Felix Winnekens wrote. “Therefore, cities on the front line of migrant and asylum seeker inflows will have to face the uncertainty of rising costs without a guarantee of revenues to offset the expenditures.”

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Measure would make parents abusers for denying children sex changes – Center Square

State Rep. Anne Stava-Murray proposed House Bill 4876 that would amend the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act to say an “abused child” is one whose parents deny abortion services, or “gender-affirming services.” A measure Gov. JB Pritzker signed last year amending the Reproductive Health Act doesn’t define “gender-affirming services,” but does describe the treatment of gender dysphoria “or the affirmation of an individual’s gender identity or gender expression.”

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Senators Rose and Halpin share priorities for the 2025 Illinois state budget – WICS (Springfield)

State Sen. Chapin Rose wants a balanced budget, but with a billion dollar deficit, Rose is concerned on how that can even be. “The questions we’re going to be asking is, ‘how do you plan, Governor Pritzker, to close that Gap? Who’s back are you going to shift this on to,’ he said. “As always, every new budget year we go into we’re looking for places where we can find common ground, but if we’re going to be hitting the developmentally disabled to pay for all this immigrant spending then you’re not going to find it from our party.”

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Illinois Municipal League proposes legislative agenda ‘Moving Cities Forward’ – WGEM (Quincy)

One item is to allow downstate cities to bring down their police and firefighter pension annual liability payments. They currently have to pay 90%of their actuarial liability payments by the end of Municipal Fiscal Year 2040. A bill would extend that payment schedule until the end of MFY 2050. “This would provide immediately relief to and our taxpayers who continue to face increasing pension payments,” said Champaign Mayor Deborah Frank Feinen.

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South Shore Voters to Weigh Need for Protection From Gentrification Sparked by Obama Presidential Center – WTTW (Chicago)

Voters in two precincts of the 7th Ward will find an advisory referendum on their March 19 primary ballot asking whether Ald. Greg Mitchell and Mayor Brandon Johnson should “support a Community Benefits Agreement ordinance to prevent the displacement of renters, condo and home owners in South Shore in light of the impact of the Obama Center and growing development in the area.”

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Attorney general orders Dolton to release spending records – WGNTV (Chicago)

WGN Investigates sent a public records request to Dolton asking for, among other things, copies of additional credit card statements and payments to Mayor Tiffany Henyard. The village did not turn over the records, as required under state law, but now a spokeswoman for Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in an email, “The village has 35 days after the issuance of the opinion to either comply or contest the opinion in court.”

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Brazen robbery spurs calls for increased police presence among Chinatown business owners – NBC5 (Chicago)

Police said two masked men with guns came into the Ken Kee restaurant just before midnight Tuesday and demanded money from the register with patrons still inside. “Chinatown is under attack again,” said Dr. Kim Tee, a community activist who also owns a Chinatown business. “Residents of Chinatown do not feel safe at all, they cannot even celebrate the early Valentine’s Day,” he said.

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Judge weighing Johnson administration’s intervention in transfer tax lawsuit – The RealDeal

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration is pushing to intervene in a lawsuit filed by real estate industry groups that aims to invalidate a referendum that could raise the city’s property transfer tax. “It’s pretty clear that the city should be allowed to intervene in this case,” the attorney, Susan Jordan, said in her oral argument. The Board of Elections can’t answer industry groups’ allegations about whether the referendum does or doesn’t follow local municipal code; the Board of Elections follows the election code, she said.

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Chicago Teachers Union ignores own mandate for financial transparency – Illinois Policy

It’s not a good look for the union: refusing to abide by its own rules, keeping its own members in the dark on union finances and then driving up their dues to pay for whatever the union’s leaders have been doing with the money for at least four years. And it’s certainly not good legacy-building for Davis Gates, whose first year as union president has been tainted by deficit spending, decreased spending on members, personally cheating Indiana schools out of taxes owed to them and sending her son to a private school while denying that choice to low-income families.

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Illinois American Water seeks rate hike that would add $24 a month to average bill – Daily Herald*

Illinois American Water is one of just two private water utilities in the state, providing water and wastewater services to approximately 1.3 million customers. While consumer advocacy group Citizens Utility Board says the potential hike is “excessive and severe,” the utility said the rate increase request reflects $557 million in water and wastewater system investments to be made through 2025.

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Illinois bill would give tax credit to residents fleeing states with abortion, gender-affirming care bans – The Hill

Legislation filed by state Rep. Kelly Cassidy would create the $500 income tax credit. The benefit would be available only to taxpayers who permanently relocate to Illinois from a state with more stringent abortion laws or laws that restrict access to other “lawful health care,” including gender-affirming care, for the purposes of either providing or receiving treatment.

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Mayor Johnson’s decision on ending ShotSpotter says a lot about his political leadership — or lack of it. – Chicago Sun-Times

“If Johnson was so determined to honor his campaign promise to get rid of the controversial gunshot detection system, why did he wait until the last minute to timidly announce the decision and fail to prepare the Chicago Police Department for life after ShotSpotter? And if he was so determined to shore up his Far Left political base by delivering for the activists who view ShotSpotter as an overreaching surveillance tool, why keep it around through the summer, when violent crime typically spikes and Chicago plays host to the Democratic National Convention?”

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Public Guardian Raises Concerns About DCFS Care for Kids Awaiting Placement: ‘It’s Devastating’ – WTTW (Chicago)

The Department of Children and Family Services previously eliminated 500 residential beds under former Gov. Bruce Rauner and has yet to make up for those lost services. “They promised that in return, they would expand therapeutic foster care, which is a great idea,” Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert said. “But the problem is the community-based services don’t exist. So, Gov. Pritzker was just trumpeting 80 new placements, that’s great. That’s a great start. I applaud that. But they have hundreds and hundreds of more placements to go.”

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Office Towers Reshaped U.S. Skylines. Now Construction Cranes Are Vanishing. – Bloomberg/Yahoo Finance

“When Rahm Emanuel ran Chicago and wanted to boast about the health of the city, the then-mayor pointed to the number of construction cranes across the skyline — 60 at the end of 2017. Almost five years after he left office, that number has dwindled to the single digits. There was just one groundbreaking on an office building last year, and zero are expected in 2024.”

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As Chicago police grapple with mental health issues, deficiencies in the response are laid out in federal court – Chicago Tribune/MSN

The Chicago Police Department’s officer wellness program remains understaffed and unable to respond urgently to officers in need of mental health support, state officials on Tuesday told the chief judge of the U.S. District Court in Chicago. Meanwhile, CPD’s data collection and analysis policies continue to hold back the department’s efforts to improve the employee assistance program and reach compliance with a sweeping federal consent decree that is now in its sixth year.

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New York, Chicago, Denver face high costs of migrant arrivals, S&P warns – Center Square

“State and local governments are shouldering the rapidly growing costs of assisting migrants and asylum seekers as their numbers increase in the U.S,” according to a new report from S&P Global Ratings. “If this issue remains significant enough for long enough, the increase in costs and social service requirements could affect states’ and local governments’ credit quality.”

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Task force to explore ranked choice voting in Illinois criticized for partisanship – Center Square

The Ranked-Choice and Voting Systems Task Force is expected to evaluate the current state of Illinois’ election systems and discuss the process of implementing ranked choice voting for Illinois’ 2028 presidential primaries. It will also facilitate an accounting for how the state certifies certain election systems and equipment because supporters said 30% of Illinois’ counties are utilizing outdated voting machines and systems that are vulnerable to election security threats.

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Republicans urge no new projects, tax hikes ahead of Pritzker’s budget address – Center Square

Gov. JB Pritzker said he wants next week’s speech to be a big reveal. He said the bottom line is “more of what we care about…Investing in education, investing in early childhood education and child care and early intervention and making sure, by the way, at that on the other end of the K-12 pipeline that they are also getting a great higher education.”

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Rules for Illinois’ Paid Leave for All Workers Act on hold amid concerns – Center Square

The Illinois Municipal League’s Brad Cole promoted legislation to exempt municipalities. “We think that this is something, not unlike all the private businesses and other entities out there, it’s going to have a financial impact,” Cole said. “Also, just the administrative impact on local governments. Some of these communities are very small. They don’t have the big back office to do stuff and it’s going to be tough to comply.”

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Municipal leaders call for larger share of Illinois income taxes – Center Square

The Illinois Municipal League’s “Moving Cities Forward” agenda calls for the restoration of the Local Government Distributive Fund to 10%. CEO Brad Cole said the increase should be included in the next state budget. “The difference is about a billion dollars a year, so if you look at some of the things that state funds have been spent on in recent years, that is being paid for on the backs of residents of communities who are not getting the full share of LGDF,” Cole said.

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Chicago should use all federal COVID funds before hiking taxes for housing problems – Illinois Policy

“The city of Chicago still has hundreds of millions of dollars in unspent federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act…The fact that only a fraction of these funds has been spent after years does not inspire confidence that Mayor Brandon Johnson’s latest $100 million tax hike proposal will be effectively deployed to combat the city’s homelessness crisis, especially when many of the federal funds available could be deployed for these purposes but have not been put to use.”

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Fixing Chicago’s Fraternal Order of Police – Chicago Contrarian

“Part of a troubling pattern since the Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators gained control of the Chicago Teachers Union, the consequences of CORE frequently acting without the approval of its members has left the CTU deeply divided and distrustful of current leadership. Though 15 years ago it was unthinkable a Chicago union would adopt such undemocratic methods and risk alienating members, similar circumstances have recently surfaced at the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Lodge 7.”

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‘Once and for all’: SCOTUS asked to strike down IL ‘assault weapons’ ban, end ‘defiance’ from states, courts – Cook County Record

Attorneys representing the National Association for Gun Rights, the National Shooting Sports Federation, and the Firearms Policy Coalition, with the Illinois State Rifle Association and others, filed three separate petitions asking the U.S. Supreme Court to step in now to end the “defiance” of Gov. JB Pritzker, Illinois Democrats and judges in Illinois and elsewhere who, the petitioners say, have all but thumbed their nose at recent Supreme Court decisions upholding Americans’ rights to keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment.

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State Sen. John Curran says Pritzker must ‘correct course’ in upcoming budget address – WCIA (Champaign)

“The budget is a list of priorities,” Curran said. “The governor in his time has prioritized the non Citizen community, and in his in his six years in office, that has gone from a $1 million a year annual spend to over $1 billion a year spent in that category. The governor has definitely placed that at the top of the priority list ahead of Illinois residents. That’s where the course correction needs to happen.”

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Rep. Buckner: “We have to use our advantage” when pushing for federal immigration reform – WCIA (Champaign)

State Rep. Kam Buckner is saying it’s time for the state use all the tools it has to try and make that change happen, including pressuring Democrat leadership in Washington D.C. by threatening to pass on the Democratic National Convention. “We got to figure out what we’re willing to leverage and align with, in order to make sure that we have the resources that we need,” he said.

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Little Village mass shooting blamed on dispute between migrants and local residents over double-parked car – Chicago Sun-Times

Baltazar Enriquez, president of the Little Village Community Council, whose groups assists the migrants, was unsure which side the shooter was on, but he worried about the escalating tensions. “It’s very heartbreaking to hear that these types of things are happening,” Enriquez said. “You know, the animosity’s going to be there now, and we hope that this doesn’t get bigger.”

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Column: Pritzker’s pardon puts old murder case back on front burner – Champaign News-Gazette

Jim Dey: “Though released from prison in 2004, 72-year-old Randy Steidl recently learned Gov. JB Pritzker granted him a pardon based on ‘innocence’ in mid-December. One question that comes to mind is whether Steidl’s co-defendant — Herbert Whitlock — will receive a similar pardon, and if so, when…(former Illinois State Police Lt. Mike) Callahan had a serious falling-out with his superiors over whether to proceed. The dispute ultimately prompted him to retire after 25 years and write a book titled Too Politically Sensitive about what occurred.”

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Car thefts and carjackings are up. Unreliable data makes it hard to pinpoint why. – Stateline

The cities with the highest carjacking rates per 100,000 residents in 2023 were the District of Columbia; Baltimore; Memphis, Tennessee; Chicago; and Denver. It’s hard to say exactly what’s behind the surge, but some crime experts suggest that the economic turmoil during the pandemic, coupled with the relative ease of stealing cars or parts for financial gain, increased the attractiveness of car-related crime.

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Cook County Commissioner Sean Morrison: We can put an end to Illinois’ soft-on-crime policies at the polls – Chicago Tribune*

“Let’s enforce our laws. Let’s punish people who commit crimes, and let’s make sure we give our police officers the tools they need to keep our neighborhoods safe. We don’t need barricades. We need better leadership…Their soft-on-crime policies are destroying our communities, and the people most hurt by their bad leadership are the very people they supposedly are trying to help.”

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Landlord Pushes Tenants Out Despite Getting State Money – Illinois Answers Project

While federal and state programs received praise from some advocates for quickly delivering rental assistance, that speed came at the cost of little oversight and enforcement, critics say. Bob Glaves, executive director of the Chicago Bar Foundation, said that “the rules of these programs make it clear that the money is to be used solely to cover the rent of tenants in need. But with thousands of tenants in need, agencies like [the Illinois Housing Development Authority] and the [city’s] housing department don’t have the capacity to follow up on whether landlords are playing fair.”

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Bill filed to loosen liability for IL digital privacy law – WCIA (Champaign)

Due to the current law, Meta paid Illinois users more than half a billion dollars in 2020 for using facial recognition technology on Facebook. That lawsuit is just one of more than 1,500 lawsuits filed under the law, mostly affecting small businesses. With a newly proposed amendment, BIPA violation claims against a company would be limited to a per-person basis, rather than a per-collection basis.

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Brandon Johnson defends his time as Chicago mayor amid growing criticism – WGNTV (Chicago)

Radio talk host Kimberley Egonmwan says African Americans are losing patience with Johnson. “In a community like ours, especially for those of us who’ve been here our entire lives, we are not satisfied with some of the trends that we’re seeing,” Egonmwan said. “I mean, right where we stand, we had someone murdered right across the street at a convenience store. We had the first murders of the year in our ward.”

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Who’s behind the full-page, $2.6K Chicago Sun-Times ad supporting Mayor Brandon Johnson? – ABC7 (Chicago)

The group Southside Chicagoans is not registered with the Illinois State Board of Elections, but took out a $2.6K ad supporting Mayor Brandon Johnson. “Mayor Johnson may have nothing to do with this at all. But nevertheless, if somebody is out there touting the mayor, we in the public realm also have a right to know who that person is,” said BGA President David Greising.

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Ex-Madigan aide sentenced to 30 months in prison for obstruction of justice attempt, perjury – Capitol News IL

Tim Mapes, who didn’t testify in his own defense during trial, chose to make a statement before the judge handed down his sentence, saying he was proud of the decades he put into public service in Illinois government. “I also recognize that many people in the state of Illinois have lost faith in their government,” Mapes said. “And that breaks my heart.”

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Democrats Might Need a Plan B for the White House. Here’s What It Looks Like. – Politico

The other top prospects have already been playing the long game in anticipation of such a moment, building national brands and burnishing their reputations as team players. Blue-state Govs. Gavin Newsom of California and JB Pritzker of Illinois have been among the most energetic surrogates, which will serve them well as they seek the allegiance of convention delegates.

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Private School With Social Justice Focus Coming To Bronzeville’s Closed Hales Franciscan High School – Block Club Chicago

The school network was launched in 2004 in West Humboldt Park by Nakisha Hobbs, her mother and fellow educator Gwendolyn Harris and family friend Anita Andrews-Hutchinson to provide “high-quality, culturally responsive education and life-empowering social services” to students and their families, according to their website. The school will welcome 320 kindergarten through 8th grade students from its Village Leadership Academy this fall. Once the Early Learning Center is completed, the school will add 150 children up to age 5, Hobbs said.

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Edgewater Residents Want Broadway Armory Back After 6 Months As A Migrant Shelter – Block Club Chicago

As the pace of migrant arrivals has slowed and as other shelters opened, neighbors and local officials want the city to start winding down the shelter at the Broadway Armory. They also want the city to stand by its commitment to re-evaluate shelter plans at the six-month mark, a deadline that came and went on Feb. 1, neighbors said. But a spokesperson for the Office of Emergency Management and Communications said the city currently doesn’t have plans to close any migrant shelters.

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Bill introduced to legalize psilocybin in Illinois to treat mental health – WICS (Springfield)

The legislation, known as the CURE ACT (Compassionate Use and Research of Entheogens Act), aims to tackle treatment-resistant conditions such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, substance abuse, eating disorders, and other mental health conditions. Senate Bill 3695 would not allow for the sale, use, or personal possession of psilocybin in Illinois, but would establish the Illinois Psilocybin Advisory Board under the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation which would create a training program, ethical standards, and licensing requirements.

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Insurers Would Be Required to Cover Expanded Infertility Care Under Proposed Illinois Laws – WTTW (Chicago)

Several before the Illinois General Assembly seek to expand access to fertility treatments, including explicitly stating that covered services include preimplantation genetic screening, in vitro fertilization (IVF) and other procedures, as well as weight loss medicine and glucose treatments that can help with fertility. Another measure requires insurers to cover elective egg preservation.

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Underachiever: Illinois lags nation in jobs, but growth potential is high – Illinois Policy

Payrolls throughout the state continued to grow in 2023 and finally surpassed pre-pandemic levels despite a shrinking labor force – a truly impressive feat. But data from the Census Bureau, IRS and multiple moving companies shows the state’s labor force is shrinking and unemployment levels are on the rise. The state’s unemployment rate has increased for five consecutive months and now sits at 4.8%, the third highest in the nation.

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Southland Black Chamber of Commerce Stands Against ‘Bring Chicago Home” Referendum – Southland Journal

The organization’s policy statement reads, in part, “More than 32,000 properties in the City of Chicago will be subject to this transfer tax increase. With already extremely high vacancy rates throughout the city, this transfer tax could exacerbate the problem by stymieing activity in the real estate market. The business environment in the City of Chicago needs a boost, not a hindrance.”

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Just 29% of Federal COVID-19 Relief Funds Meant to Transform Chicago Have Been Spent – WTTW (Chicago)

(Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)Under rules established by the federal government, Chicago officials have until 2026 to spend all of the federal funds the city got to repair the damage caused by the pandemic, which unleashed an economic catastrophe that helped fuel a surge in crime that has yet to fully recede. Mayor Brandon Johnson’s decision in late December to dip into that bucket of unspent federal cash and earmark $95 million to care for some of the nearly 35,400 migrants sent to Chicago from the southern

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Democrats flexed muscles in passing out pork in Springfield – Chicago Tribune/MSN

State budget records and interviews with rank-and-file lawmakers point to breakdowns of roughly $1 million for each House Democrat and $2 million for each Senate Democrat drawn from two pools of cash totaling nearly $156 million. Former Gov. Jim Edgar  said in an interview that he had never seen a more one-sided distribution of local legislative projects. “If you’re excluding Republican legislators on these projects, then you’re excluding geographic areas in the state from getting anything, and I think that’s a mistake.”

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Belvidere goes from loser to winner with idled Stellantis plant reopening – CBS2 (Chicago)

“It is exceptional. It’s the one singular story,” said University of Illinois professor Dr. Robert Bruno, who is also an industry expert and author. “It is truly the lone case in American economic and labor history. The workers made that happen. Never before has the UAW, through its collective bargaining process, been able to reopen a facility, pour millions of dollars into the facility and create thousands of jobs.”

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Q&A: Mayor Johnson explains what is behind his plans to remake CPS – WBEZ (Chicago)

Mayor Brandon Johnson being interviewed in his City Hall office in January, 2024.“It’s not like we’re asking for anything radical. We’re talking about social workers, counselors, class sizes that are manageable. We’re talking about full wraparound services for treatment for families who are experiencing the degree of trauma that exist in this city. We’re also challenging the state of Illinois to recognize that as our English-language learners population grows, that there’s support there, that individuals with disabilities, that those families have real accessibility within our public school system. Anything

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Parents call for Cardinal Cupich to reconsider closing Catholic school in Cicero – Chicago Tribune/MSN

“Despite the pleas of thousands of families, the legislature ended the (statewide Invest in Kids) scholarship program and cost Catholic schools in the Chicago area $25 million,” Superintendent of Catholic Schools Greg Richmond said. “Those hurt the most are schools, like St. Frances of Rome, who serve the greatest number of low-income students. We are doing all we can to keep Catholic schools open, but this is a painful hit.”

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Loyola University Chicago and University of Rochester vandalized with swastikas, antisemitic graffiti in same week – College Fix

At Loyola, a swastika and several “obscene items” were discovered on two separate days last week inside the Hillel Social Room. Hillel is a campus ministry for Jewish students. The incidents at Loyola University, a private Catholic institution in Chicago, and the University of Rochester in New York are just the latest in a long list of incidents targeting Jewish college students since October.

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Developer says banning single-family zoning in Illinois would end ‘American Dream’ – Center Square

House Bill 4795, introduced by state Rep. Kam Buckner, would ban single-family only zoning in cities with populations over 100,000, which he said is only eight cities in Illinois. Charlie Farner, owner of Tentac Enterprises, said, “The bottom line, whether you’re Republican, Democrat or Independent, is let our local communities do what’s best for our communities. We know what’s best and here you have the state coming in, ‘Nope we are going to broad-brush this thing.’”

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Illinois Senate GOP call for end of free undocumented healthcare services – WAND (Decatur)

The Pritzker administration now projects the services could cost $773 million since enrollees may see $250 co-pays for nonemergency in-patient hospitalizations. The state has also instituted a 10% charge for nonemergency outpatient services. But state Sen. Dave Syverson said, “We’ve been hearing from families who are taking their children or loved ones to the emergency rooms who are having to sit and wait for 6 to 8 hours to get treated because of the fact that we have so many non-citizens that are now getting their health care through the emergency rooms.”

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Illinois plans to add more than 1,000 new public EV chargers – Chicago Tribune*

Illinois electric vehicle officer Megha Lakhchaura, who was hired a year and a half ago, acknowledged that Illinois wasn’t a top-10 state for public EV chargers in the third quarter of 2023. “We need to do far better,” she said. EV sales in Illinois grew 60% from 2022 to 2023, compared with 50% nationally, with the total number of registered EVs in the state now at 94,000.

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Proposed Illinois bill would slash property taxes in some districts without taking funding from schools – WQAD (Davenport)

The bill, discussed by Rep. Dan Ugaste and Rep. Tim Ozinga would create an Education Property Tax Relief Fund. This fund would cover a portion of the school district property taxes owed in qualifying districts, giving taxpayers relief while maintaining funding for schools. Ozinga said rising property taxes have driven businesses out of disadvantaged communities.

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Missouri legalized recreational marijuana a year ago. It’s affecting the Metro East. – St. Louis Public Radio

Missouri taxes recreational pot at 6%, and municipalities can take an additional 3%. Illinois takes up to 16.25%, depending on the product, and communities can levy 3.75% locally too. During fiscal 2023, Sauget made more than $55,000 per month on its 1.5% cannabis tax on recreational sales. During fiscal 2024, that figure dropped to about $23,000, said village Mayor Rich Sauget Jr. Collinsville, similarly, saw a 38% decrease from 2022 to 2023.

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Town of Normal to use surplus money on infrastructure, pensions and economic development – WGLT (Bloomington)

Normal plans to increase contributions to fire and police pensions by $3 million. Mayor Chris Koos said that will help the town meet its goal of full pension funding by 2040. “As we fund those pensions to that model, those dollars are earning interest, which helped bolster the pension. It really gets us to a point that if we can get to 100%, the pressure on our property taxes, which we use to fund pensions, could go down significantly.”

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Former lawmaker taken into custody amid delays to his corruption trial after sudden hospitalization – Capitol News IL

The arrest of former State Sen. Sam McCann caps a bizarre week that was supposed to have seen his corruption trial begin and end – until a last-minute hospitalization forced its postponement. No longer hospitalized, McCann was taken into custody Friday morning ahead of his federal corruption trial on charges he misused campaign funds to pay his mortgage and personal debts, buy personal vehicles, and even paid himself.

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If you can buy a ‘mansion,’ you can pay a tax for affordable housing, these states say – New Hampshire Bulletin

Called real estate transfer or real estate excise taxes, these one-time fees on the sale or purchase of property have been a fixture of many state tax codes for decades. But local and state governments are increasingly looking to create a “mansion tax” targeting the higher ends of the real estate market. So far, 16 mostly left-leaning cities and counties and seven states have approved that type of tax, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Next month, Chicago voters will decide whether to approve Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Bring Chicago Home referendum, which would increase the real

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Commentary: Black children have paid a steep price for the hollowing-out of Chicago’s neighborhood schools – Chicago Sun-Times

“Families should have the right to send their children to selective-enrollment schools if they choose. No one is taking away that choice. But every family should also have the option to send their children to a high-quality, fully funded school in their neighborhood. If this option doesn’t exist, then there is no real ‘school choice.'”

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Commentary: Black Chicago is still waiting for investment: ‘There’s so much potential’ – Chicago Sun-Times

“The city lost more than 6% of its majority-Black census tracts between 2010 and 2020 — and not just because of gentrification. For every Black census tract that has fallen to gentrification, another three or four have been lost to disinvestment — the fallout of foreclosures, a lack of neighborhood amenities, few job opportunities and worries about crime. Instead of being pushed out, many Black families have decided to get out in pursuit of better living conditions.”

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They Came Here for a New Life. Now They’re Trapped in O’Hare – Rolling Stone

“What we have is an international and federal crisis that local governments are being asked to subsidize,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson. “This is unsustainable because none of our local economies are positioned to be able to carry on such a mission.” But the city and state, said Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights deputy director Veronica Castro, could also do more. “The federal government definitely has a role to play, but if we had a better infrastructure in place, maybe we would have been better situated to deal with this,” she said.

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Documentary focuses on political corruption in Illinois – Center Square

FILE - Rod BlagojevichDirector John Davies said maybe one of the reasons Illinois is the most corrupt state in the country is because there are more than 7,000 governmental bodies in Illinois. “It’s got more units of government than any other state in the nation, yet it’s only the fifth largest state. With that many offices of government, there are too many opportunities to steal.”

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Durbin Joins Booker, Colleagues To Reintroduce Bipartisan Bill To Help Improve Clearance Rates For Homicides And Gun Violence – RiverBender (Alton)

The bipartisan Violent Incident Clearance and Technological Investigative Methods Act (VICTIM Act) would establish a grant program at the Department of Justice to provide funding to State, Tribal, and local law enforcement agencies to hire, retain, and train detectives and victim services personnel to investigate unsolved homicides and support victims.

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Mayor Johnson hasn’t acted on Lightfoot order aimed at aldermanic ward power – Chicago Tribune/MSN

The order from the recently defeated, lame duck Lori Lightfoot echoed the anti-corruption rallying cry that won her the office four years prior, and followed several earlier, mostly unsuccessful attempts she made to rein in council members’ power during her single term. Brandon Johnson’s decision to so far to ignore Lightfoot’s executive order highlights his disinterest in taking on “aldermanic prerogative.”

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Mayor Brandon Johnson’s sprint to remake Chicago’s public schools – Chicago Sun-Times

Mayor Brandon Johnson, a former teacher and Chicago Teachers Union organizer, wants the school district to focus resources on neighborhood schools. It won’t be an easy ride. Chicago Public Schools has a nearly $400 million structural deficit. There’s opposition from those who support Chicago’s system of school choice, where 70% of kids go to a high school other than the one in their neighborhood. And come January the city’s first elected school board — which Johnson and the Chicago Teachers Union lobbied to create — will take control of the public

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‘Taxpayer dollars are precious’: Gov. Pritzker voices funding concerns on White Sox stadium proposal – ABC7 (Chicago)

“We need to be careful about how we use public dollars,” Gov. JB Pritzker said. “Taxpayer dollars are precious, and so the question really is, what benefit financially are they bringing fiscally to the state and the city and the county?” The new complex would consist of the stadium, open park spaces and apartment buildings.

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Pritzker ‘smells a rat’ in report on Biden’s memory as congresswoman urges he resign – Center Square

Asked about Americans who read the report and have concerns about the president’s mental fitness, Gov. JB Pritzker said Joe Biden is fit to be president. “I’ve been with the president of the United States many times, he is on the ball,” Pritzker said. “The man knows more than most of us have forgotten. He knows so much more because he’s been in government for a number of years and has served in important positions.”

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Proposal in Springfield seeks to stop evictions spurred by police calls – Chicago Sun-Times

The Community Safety Through Stable Homes Act calls for the repeal of local laws that penalize tenants for having contact with police and often require landlords to initiate eviction procedures. The measure comes months after Diamond Jones, filed a federal lawsuit against Richton Park, alleging she was forced out of the home she rented because of the village’s crime-free ordinance.

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Rich Miller: What will labor unions want for helping House Speaker Chris Welch oust Mary Flowers? – Chicago Sun-Times

“How can other House Democrats be assured that regularly voting for organized labor’s bills will prevent the same dire fate from happening to them? Yes, (state Rep. Mary) Flowers is an extreme case, but the unions and Welch are also trying to unseat Rep. Cyril Nichols, who has a 95% lifetime AFL-CIO voting record…I mean, I get it. This is Democratic Party ‘family business.’ Sometimes, things just gotta be done. ‘We had to sit still and take it,’ lamented the ‘Goodfellas’ movie character Henry Hill after his friend Tommy DeVito was whacked by the mob.”

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Senior Biden advisor tours Englewood community with Mayor Brandon Johnson – ABC7 (Chicago)

The mayor said the point of the Tom Perez’s visit was to show him parts of Chicago that could use some investments from the federal government and shuttered CPS schools. Despite talking about investments, as Perez walked and talked with the Mayor for a half mile, he made no new commitments from the Biden Administration for Chicago’s neighborhoods or for migrants.

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Johnson administration wants judge to dismiss federal lawsuit brought by Texas bus company – NBC5 (Chicago)

Wynne Transportation sued the City of Chicago last month, alleging its bus ordinance was unconstitutional and unfairly targeted only those buses transporting migrants. The city argues in its response that the new regulation “does not discriminate … (and applies) equally to buses from Illinois or elsewhere.” Attorneys for the City of Chicago also wrote that Wynne “wants to be able to drop off scores of migrants on the streets of Chicago without heed to the basic safety and traffic management concerns that underlie the City’s regulations.”

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New podcast chronicles stories behind legislation introduced in the Illinois House – Center Square

The first episode of Capitol Crimes deals with Pam Knight, a child protection specialist for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, who was beaten while on duty in 2017 in Mount Carroll. As a result of Knight’s death, a law was passed in 2018 requiring law enforcement agencies “to make all reasonable efforts to assist” DCFS investigators when requested.

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Legislator urges Illinois’ school choice program be reinstated – Center Square

The program was opposed by public school unions. In praising the program’s sunset, the Illinois Education Association called it a “voucher scheme.” And, despite the program being privately funded in exchange for a tax credit, the IEA said it diverts taxpayer dollars away from public schools, even though public education spending in Illinois increases each year.

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Anti-violence advocate pushes ‘all-hands-on-deck’ approach to ending youth violence – Center Square

Violence Interrupters Executive Director Tio Hardiman, who is also pushing for funding to be able to hire up to 1,000 teenagers across the city to join his group in working for peace, said he wishes Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson would have taken the time to consult with more people in the community before publicly throwing his support behind a plan to end having uniformed police officers in CPS high schools.

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Feds say ex-lawmaker found job selling insurance — where she was caught submitting bogus policies – Chicago Sun-Times

The disclosure came Friday after former state Sen. Annazette Collins signaled she would testify during her ongoing trial for allegedly dodging nearly $100,000 in taxes. No criminal charges have been filed against Collins in connection with allegations that she sold false insurance policies tied to bank accounts that were controlled either by Collins or her daughter.

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An in-depth look inside the campaigns for and against a tax to pay for homelessness prevention – WBEZ (Chicago)

On one side are the progressive grassroots organizers, homelessness prevention advocates and unhoused people themselves who for years have been pushing for the Chicago City Council to pose the question to voters. On the other side are real estate organizations and commercial property owners, who are raising money for mailers and holding Zoom roundtables in opposition to the referendum. And Chicago residents still have real questions about its implications: Will this affect renters or small businesses? How will the money be spent? Will this actually help those most impacted by homelessness?

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Illinois manufacturers call for tax credits, scholarship plans to attract workers – WAND (Decatur)

A bipartisan group of state lawmakers is supporting a plan to provide manufacturing companies a tax credit if they help pay student loan debt for their employees. Another plan could allow high school students to go to community college for free if they enroll in a manufacturing program. Students participating in apprenticeships or union manufacturing programs would also qualify for the assistance.

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12-Year-Old Among 2 Girls Charged in String of Chicago Retail Thefts – WTTW (Chicago)

Chicago police charged two girls, ages 12 and 17, after they allegedly stole thousands of dollars worth of merchandise from a half dozen different stores over the past few weeks and months. The 12-year-old faces eight counts of felony retail theft and four additional misdemeanor retail theft counts. The 17-year-old was charged with seven felony retail theft counts, four misdemeanor counts and one count of robbery.

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Proposal to Allow Mining in Chicago Raises Environmental, Public Health Concerns on Southeast Side – WTTW (Chicago)

Concrete and energy company Ozinga is pitching the Invert: an underground warehouse with parks, solar panels and more on the surface. But in order to build, the company would need to mine — a practice currently banned in Chicago. The site being considered is currently a brownfield, meaning it was developed for industrial purposes, polluted, then abandoned.

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Chicago Mayor’s Response to Border Question Raises Eyebrows – Newsweek

“I have children who attend schools who have soccer games, y’all,” Johnson said when asked if he would visit the border, according to video posted on social media. “You know, you all are asking me as if I’m not a parent in this city. I get it, I’m mayor, but you’re asking me to give you a date.” His remarks garnered negative responses on platforms like X –  inquires as to why Johnson invoked his family and lack of time yet still ran for governor of one of America’s largest cities. One user wrote: “Does he think he’s the only

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Volunteers open free store for migrants in Chicago – CBS2 (Chicago)

“We have this huge group of volunteers who have resources and different skills and different information and networks of their own,” said volunteer Kate Taylor Battle, “and so while we’re able to allow people to come into the store and shop and get some normalcy back in their life, sometimes they’re also meeting people that can lead them to other things.” Everything in the free store is donated by the community and partner organizations who share the mission.

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Parental Rights Group Files Complaint Against Illinois Math and Science Academy For Racist Black- And Hispanic-Only Programs – The Federalist

At issue in Parents Defending Education’s complaint is alleged racial discrimination by IMSA’s Brotherhood Sister Circle (BHSC), which provides so-called “Culturally, Linguistically, and Economically Diverse” students an environment to “learn about the history and current system of oppression in America” and “develop relational leadership skills/stereotype management to confront related issues.”

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In twist on PPP, other COVID-19 relief fraud, recordings show Cook County Jail detainees claimed to reap tens of thousands of dollars – Chicago Sun-Times

Cook County sheriff’s officials opened an investigation in 2020 into inmates using jail phones to discuss various kinds of financial fraud and found they were targeting state coronavirus unemployment insurance programs, federal business relief programs and personal bank accounts. Many of the inmates talked about raking in tens of thousands of dollars. Despite months of plotting, though, none of the inmates was arrested or charged with fraud in connection with the schemes, according to Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart’s office.

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Campaign donations, quest for new power generation fueled new Illinois nuclear power law – Peoria Journal Star/Yahoo

Energy companies lobbied for the bill and donated tens of thousands of dollars to House and Senate leadership and politicians on both sides of the aisle during the bill’s lifespan in Springfield. “Money is interested in our elections but it is also interested in promoting access, phone calls returned, meetings set up, an opportunity to persuade,” said Kent Redfield, a professor emeritus from the University of Illinois-Springfield. “It’s easy to see something like this in a Vistra. They have a substantial amount of money and they’ve been contributing over a long period of time.”

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Burke’s lasting legacy: Cook County’s courts harbor favored, connected judges – Cook County Record

Former Ald. Ed Burke, 79, could face up to 20 years in prison after he was convicted of 13 counts accusing him of shaking down Chicago businesses and others, leveraging his powerful position as chairman of the city’s Finance Committee to steer business to his property tax appeal law firm, among other charges. Since the 1980s, Burke also served as chairman of the powerful Cook County Democratic Party committee tasked with choosing which judicial candidates to endorse each election. In that role, Burke and his allies on the party committee wielded massive influence in heavily Democratic Cook County over the

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Chicago’s top cop claims CPD solved 20 of 26 murders in January. It actually solved 3. – CWB Chicago

The department also cleared six murders from previous years during January “exceptionally” by “bar to prosecution.” That means CPD thinks they know who committed the murder, but they can’t convince the Cook County state’s attorney’s office to file charges. According to the data, detectives in January also cleared nine cases from 2022 and 2023 with arrests.

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Chicago Public Schools enrollment climbs as more migrant families arrive – Chalkbeat Chicago

CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said CPS is also planning to hire newcomer adults who have received work authorization for “critical needs” at schools, including as custodians, as well as positions in transportation, nutrition, and classroom support. “We were proactive working with the city to say, since we know we have these families who are looking for jobs, we have many openings,” Martinez said. “We are now just trying to make it easier for our families to be able to apply for these different jobs.”

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Johnson launches plans to boost local business, combat food insecurity – Chicago Sun-Times

Allies for Community Business was selected to manage the $5 million Good Food Fund, which will provide grants and low-interest loans to food businesses. Seven other organizations and businesses were chosen to run the $2 million  Food Business Incubator Programs and create custom programs for small businesses, including  the physical spaces, technical help and education needed to get their companies up and running.

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City campaign makes it easier for volunteers to help out in migrant crisis – CBS2 (Chicago)

The New Neighbors Campaign was developed by the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant, Migrant, and Refugee Rights; the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services, and the Chicago Department of Public Health to connect volunteers to service opportunities both in and out of shelters by using a website called “The Hub.” Also, the Chicago Public Schools announced Thursday that it is making an effort to hire more migrants for jobs in the district.

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Illinois GOP lawmakers lay out spring session priorities – Center Square

“First and foremost, we need to hold the majority party accountable to spending,” House Minority Leader Tony McCombie said. “No new taxes, we certainly do not, and the voters have spoken that they do not want a graduated income tax, so that will be a number one priority.” McCombie said addressing state agency mismanagement and dysfunction will be high on their session list. McCombie is also looking at meeting the party’s obligations from the 2019 capitol bill, which includes $41.8 million in projects that haven’t been released.

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Police group raises concerns about Illinois’ criminal justice policies – Center Square

Illinois Fraternal Order of Police President Chris Southwood said what needs to happen is for prosecutors to prosecute crimes. He also said a recent story in Dolton of a defendant facing murder charges awaiting trial on electronic monitoring being suspected of a mass shooting is proof the SAFE-T Act provision allowing two eight-hour periods of free movement time per week for such defendants is proving to be dangerous.

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Crime-ridden Chicago now embraces terrorism – Jewish News Syndicate

“The same Chicago leadership that has allowed criminals to run rampant over the safety and well-being of law-abiding Chicagoans is now inviting the Oct. 7 rapists to U.S. shores to join in the fun. About 300,000 Jews live in the Chicago metropolitan area, making it the 10th-largest urban Jewish population on the planet. Chicago’s leadership class just put them on notice that their voices, their concerns and their very lives are irrelevant to decision-making.”

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Debt and Unfunded Liabilities – American Institute for Economic Research

“Just a few short weeks after the CARES Act passed, members of the (Illinois) state senate and the Senate President mailed a $46 billion federal bailout request to Congress. As Wirepoints reported, most of the requested funds ‘amount[ed] to a national bailout of Illinois’ pre-pandemic failures.’ This included $15 billion for a ‘no-strings-attached block grant,’ $6 billion for the state unemployment trust fund, $10 billion for state pensions, and $9.6 billion in ‘unrestricted aid to Illinois municipalities, again for pensions.'”

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Willie Wilson: Public sector union bosses are the real threat to democracy – Chicago Tribune*

In 2022, Illinois voters enshrined collective bargaining into the state constitution, effectively giving union leaders unprecedented power over our elected representatives. Specifically: “No law shall be passed that interferes with, negates, or diminishes the right of employees to organize and bargain collectively.” The question must be asked: How can democracy work when the people we elect do not have the power to govern?

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A handful of politicians switch parties, citing extremism. Others question their motives. – Daily Herald*

Since the 1990s, at least 10 suburban politicians have changed parties. Jim Zay, the DuPage Republican Party chairman and the longest-serving county board member, suggests switching parties is an opportunistic move. “They’re taking advantage of this situation where they think, ‘The Republican Party’s done in DuPage, and so I’m going to jump on board the Democratic side here and run for office and nobody will know,’” Zay said. “And I think the voters in DuPage County are a lot smarter than that.”

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City’s Top Cop Vows To Improve Community Policing, Asks West Siders To Work Together – Block Club Chicago

Neighbors asked about plans to keep children and young people safe in and around schools after three shootings targeting Chicago Public Schools students in the past few weeks. Police Supt. Larry Snelling said police are “doing their best” and has deployed community violence intervention specialists to certain areas, but community members need to step in. “A lot of these young people who are being murdered are engaged in acts that lead to retaliatory behavior,” Snelling said. “If we don’t hold them accountable first, the streets will.”

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Report: Unfunded cost of retirement benefits reaches $1.14 trillion – Center Square

The State of New Jersey’s unfunded liability for post-retirement benefits other than pensions in state health care plans reached $174.9 billion in 2022. That was the highest in the country, according to a report by the American Legislative Exchange Council. California ($140.2 billion), New York ($133.2 billion), Texas ($120.2 billion) and Illinois ($103.1 billion) rounded out the top five states with the highest liabilities.

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In crisis, she went to an Illinois facility. Two years later, she still isn’t able to leave – Capitol News IL

In crisis, she went to an Illinois facility. Two years later, she still isn’t able to leaveAdvocates hoped the state would become less reliant on large institutions for people with developmental disabilities when they filed a lawsuit in 2005, alleging that Illinois’ failure to adequately fund community living options ended up segregating people with intellectual and developmental disabilities from society by forcing them to live in institutions. Negotiations resulted in a consent decree, a court-supervised improvement plan. Now, the state has asked a judge to consider ending the consent decree, citing significant

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Illinois Math and Science Academy hosts race-based student retreat, emails reveal – Parents Defending Education

The event titled Brotherhood Sister Circle (BHSC) Retreat states that as part of the schools Equity and Excellence Policy, its goal is to “provide Black and Latinx students with additional academic resources and social/emotional support to ensure they have the tools to be successful at IMSA and the global world.” In an email chain that includes a student from the yearbook staff and another DEI staff member, the school’s DEI director asks for “Black/ Latinx photographers so that pictures can be taken throughout the day.”

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With tax credit scholarships expiring soon, schools and parents scramble to fund students’ tuition – Chicago Tribune/MSN

More than 9,000 students attended private schools in Illinois with financial support from the tax credit scholarships during the 2022-23 school year, according to officials. “It’s the schools who serve the greatest number of low-income students who are now going to get the biggest hit,” said Greg Richmond, superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of Chicago. “Not

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Chicago school principal says police are in schools ‘that want them’ after the mayor supported their removal – FOX News

William Howard Taft High School principal Mark Grishaber said it is in the “best interest” of each school and for the safety of the students that “the Mayor and the Board listen to and honor how each Local School Council votes…If the Mayor and the Board really believe what they say, that the safety of our students is their number one concern and the Mayor and the board really believe in listening to student and community voices then the decision should be crystal clear.”

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The Illinois State Board of Education finalized a literacy plan. – Chalkbeat Chicago

A student with dark hair holds a book covering their face while sitting at their desk. The book reads "Zora and Me the Cursed Ground."The almost 200-page plan is a hybrid between guidance and a workbook, designed to help pre-K-12 educators teach reading using evidence-based and developmentally appropriate practices. The plan is not a mandate for schools to follow and doesn’t require schools to buy new curriculum or instruction materials for educators. The state board has recommended $3 million for fiscal year 2025 to implement the literacy plan, but advocates hope

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County property tax bills misstated Chicago’s pension debt by more than $37 billion: ‘S— happens’ – Chicago Sun-Times

The actual unfunded pension liability of the city is $37,271,645,937. That’s some $37,234,374,292 higher than the erroneous figure on the tax bills. The city’s total health care and pension debt was listed as $47.1 million instead of billion. The incorrect data shown on tax bills did not affect any payment amounts, Treasurer Maria Pappas’s office said.

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IL Attorney General files complaint against company behind New Hampshire AI election scam calls – WCIA (Champaign)

Along with the Attorneys General to Washington D.C. and 49 other states, Kwame Raoul is warning the Texas-based company Life Corp to stop all unlawful robo-calls immediately. In a letter sent Tuesday, the coalition of attorneys general said the company could be found in violation of several state and federal laws if they continue, including the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the Truth in Caller ID Act.

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Dolton shooting suspect was free awaiting murder trial – WGNTV (Chicago)

Four people were shot and injured last week in what Dolton police have only described as “an incident that came into Dolton from somewhere else.” Torrey Lewis, 30, was wearing an ankle monitor when police found him bleeding but alive behind the wheel of a stolen car that came to a stop in an auto parts store parking lot, an assault rifle and handgun were on the seat next to him. Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said his calls to clamp down on the use of electronic monitoring in violent cases have gone unheard by lawmakers.

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Illinois legislators pitch ideas for property tax relief, child tax credit – Center Square

State Reps. Dan Ugaste and Tim Ozinga discussed their idea found in House Bill 4866 to lower property taxes in the state by increasing state funding for local pensions. Separately, state Sen. Omar Aquino said the state-based child tax credit lawmakers are proposing this year will put money back into the pockets of many Illinois families. And a separate measure from state Sen. Mike Simmons would provide up to $700 in a child tax credit.

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The winner of a $4 billion Illinois contract has a history of preventable deaths in state prisons – WBEZ (Chicago)

Stateville Correctional CenterIllinois prison officials are standing by their recent decision to award a new $4 billion contract to the state’s troubled prison health care provider, despite a new report filed in federal court that describes preventable deaths, poor care and neglect inside state prisons. The report found that half the medical positions the company is responsible for providing in the prisons are unfilled, and a review of 107 inmate deaths found nearly 900 issues with how patients and cases were handled.

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The Cook County Jail population has shrunk dramatically, but costs have not. – WBEZ (Chicago)

Tom Dart speaking into microphone

County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s office said some COVID-19 relief funds are paying for a study of the county’s criminal justice budgets “to identify and shift funding from duplicative or unnecessary areas, or from initiatives that do not match the core mission of a particular agency, into more effective and mission-aligned investments.” Some advocates for reducing the jail population — including  Preckwinkle — have suggested shifting funds from Sheriff Tom Dart’s office to address court backlogs and “root causes” of crime ranging from drug addiction to

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Dolton mayor to critics: ‘I’m the leader!’ – WGNTV (Chicago)

Mayor Tiffany Henyard’s opponents on the village board say they don’t trust that money is going to where it’s intended so they’ve blocked attempts to pay bills that don’t come with detailed explanations. To them, Henyard replied, “You all should be ashamed of yourselves because you all are Black. You all are Black! And you all sitting up here beating and attacking a Black woman that’s in power. You all should be ashamed of yourselves.”

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Brandon Johnson’s sinking mayorship – Illinois Policy

“‘There’s a humanitarian crisis in the Black community,’ said Cata Truss, who sued (Johnson) because the local park (now closed to make room for a migrant shelter) helped keep her five sons out of trouble. ‘But every time we have a need in our community, we’re told that there are no funds. There’s no money for us.’… Chicagoans are seeing there’s plenty of money as long as a group has the right definition of ‘crisis’ to face. Johnson got the city to back a cease-fire in Gaza, but where’s the political clout and resources for one in Englewood?”

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Northern Illinois University dramatically expands no-tuition program for incoming students – NBC5 (Chicago)

DeKalb’s Northern Illinois University have dramatically expanded a program that ensures qualifying students will have their tuition and general fees covered for their first year of school. According to a press release, students who have an overall GPA of 3.0 or above, and whose families have an adjusted gross income of $100,000 or less qualify for the program. Previously, the income cutoff was $75,000, according to the press release.

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Will County town bans recreational use of nitrous oxide – FOX32 (Chicago)

All members of the Manhattan Village Board unanimously supported the ordinance, which removes nitrous oxide, also called laughing gas and whippets, from store shelves in the village. The affected establishments include a vape shop, a liquor store, and a grocery store. It’s a first-of-its-kind measure in Will County and possibly across Illinois.

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Orland Park mayor rejects Gaza cease-fire resolution, suggests those opposing U.S. interests ‘go to another country’ – Chicago Sun-Times

The southwest suburban mayor made the remarks Monday during a village board of trustees meeting after Arab American residents requested that the village adopt a cease-fire resolution. Speakers presented a petition with more than 800 signatures calling for the board to follow Chicago’s lead in passing a resolution. Mayor Keith Pekau said he instead agreed with the official U.S. position, which is “to support a two-state solution and that Hamas is a terrorist organization.”

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Progressive state lawmakers push to end subminimum wage for tipped workers across Illinois – Chicago Sun-Times

According to the proposal, the subminimum wage would be phased out over a two-year period and would require that service charges, such as tips, go to employees, not employers. It would also require that tips bring workers to the full minimum wage on a per shift basis, instead of weekly or biweekly. Employers who violated the provisions would be fined up to $1,500 per day for each violation. The governor’s office would not publicly say whether Gov. JB Pritzker supports the plan.

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Chicago Teachers Union strike at 2 Instituto del Progreso Latino charter schools enters 2nd day – ABC7 (Chicago)

About 60 teachers at Instituto Health and Science Career Academy and Instituto Justice Leadership Academy are on strike for a second day. The two charter schools around the Little Village neighborhood serve about 550 students. The teachers there are Chicago Teachers Union members who said low staffing remains the biggest issue at the bargaining table especially when it comes to special education and bilingual teachers.

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Proposed Illinois legislation would shed light on homicide clearance rate – CBS2 (Chicago)

Illinois HB 4754, the Homicide Data Transparency Act, would require law enforcement agencies regularly to publish how many of their homicides resulted in arrests and charges – not to publish the confusing “exceptionally cleared” statistic that can mean a case is closed without answers. “The clearance rate metric is extremely opaque,” state Rep. Kam Buckner said.

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Food service for asylum seekers in Chicago takes center stage amid new contract – NBC5 (Chicago)

Just ten days ago the city announced new food vendors to feed migrant residents in shelters, and emphasized they had picked vendors that were charging $15 to $17 per person per day, a move they said marked a significant decrease from the $21 to $23 the city had been spending. The Food Depository bristled at the categorization, quickly pointing out that “because of private donations, the actual costs were well below the price claimed by the city.”

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City slips, allows protesters close to Democratic National Convention when whole world is watching – Chicago Sun-Times

So far, city officials have taken a hard stance against activists seeking permits to demonstrate during the Democratic Convention this August, denying requested protest routes of three groups in the last month alone. But due to a technicality, the city was forced on appeal Monday to allow one of those groups to march nearly right up to the United Center’s front doors. The Poor People’s Army was granted its permit after the city failed to respond to the application within its own 10-day deadline.

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Chicago pilot program to issue automated tickets for bike and bus lane violations – Chicago Tribune/MSN

Johnson administration budget officials expected this program to bring in $5 million this year. But the city’s use of automated ticketing, including for red light and speed violations, and its fine and fee structure have drawn concerns from critics in recent years. Several investigations found low-income violators have been hit hardest by the city’s ticketing practices, and households in majority Black and Hispanic ZIP codes in Chicago “received tickets at around twice the rate of those in white areas,” despite cameras being roughly evenly distributed across the city.

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CPS students, parents rally after bus transportation canceled just weeks before start of school year – ABC7 (Chicago)

More than 5,000 students attending magnet and selective enrollment schools saw their bus routes canceled as the district said it has continued to grapple with a severe bus driver shortage. “Students and parents are now facing commutes up to five hours per day. Some have resorted to unreliable and potentially unsafe third-party transportation services costing families hundreds of dollars each month,” said Hal Woods with Kids First Chicago.

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Assessor contributes $100K to Super PAC in fight with tax appeal commissioner – Chicago Tribune/MSN

Super PACs, known in Illinois as independent expenditure committees, can raise and spend unlimited funds to support or oppose candidates or issues. This fund seems to run parallel to Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi’s efforts to oust incumbent Board of Review Commissioner Larry Rogers Jr. in the March 19 Democratic primary. Kaegi, his campaign fund and family have recently donated more than $28,000 in cash and in-kind campaign help Rogers’s opponent.

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Chicago activist groups demand protest permit near Democratic National Convention – FOX32 (Chicago)

The coalition’s request for a permit to demonstrate within view and earshot of the DNC was denied. Instead, an alternate march route was proposed, which is not in close proximity to where the convention is taking place. Nazek Sankari of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network stated, “The City of Chicago must allow us our constitutional right to protest and assemble and petition this government for a redress of grievances.”

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Illinois-based food-science organization weighs in on proposed food additives bill – Center Square

Bryan Hitchcock, chief science and technology officer with the Institute of Food Technologists, said that some businesses may consider what products they produce and distribute to Illinois, or they may opt to leave the state entirely depending on their business plans and priorities. “Compliance is going to be very costly, including researching alternative ingredients, developing and testing alternative products, navigating higher ingredient costs, designing new labels and setting up new supply chains.”

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Switching from tipped to minimum wage would be ‘catastrophic,’ restaurateur says – Center Square

State Rep. Mike Coffey, who owns several restaurants, said while there may be good intentions for such a move, if passed into law, it would hurt consumers, employers and employees across the board. “All we do is between energy prices that are going up at a rapid rate, between food costs and everything going up, between the minimum wage, all they’re doing is ensuring that more and more businesses in the state of Illinois go out of business.”

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Report: Illinois has 5th highest amount of post-employment benefit liabilities – Center Square

The American Legislative Exchange Council released its “Other Post-Employment Benefit Liability” report, which ranked Illinois 46th in the country. It shows that Illinois has about $103 billion in unfunded post-employment liabilities, including health insurance, life insurance and Medicare Supplement Insurance. That is on top of around $140 billion in unfunded pension liabilities.

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State Supreme Court denies state lawmaker’s bid to vacate gun ban ruling – Capitol News IL

State Rep. Dan Caulkins has argued that because certain individuals can still own banned weapons legally if they get a special endorsement on their firearm owners identification card while others cannot, the law constitutes “special legislation.” While the federal 7th Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court both declined to block enforcement of the law temporarily, a gun rights group has said it will appeal to the full U.S. high court to challenge the law’s legality on federal constitutional grounds.

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Video: Chicago mayor scolds reporter who asks about border crisis: ‘You have not had a mayor like me’ – FOX News

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson cited his role as a husband and father for his busy schedule managing public safety, homelessness and the city’s budget: “I’m doing all of that with a Black wife, raising three Black children on the West Side of Chicago. I am going to the boarder as soon as possible, but I’ve got to coordinate that with running the government and making sure that my wife and children are secure as well.”

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District 65 official ordered to pay legal fees after her lawsuit against a Skokie mom is dismissed – Evanston Roundtable

A Cook County judge required Lincolnwood Elementary School Assistant Principal Jasmine Sebaggala to cover $38,000 in legal fees incurred by Skokie mother Helen Levinson after the judge dismissed a lawsuit Sebaggala filed against Levinson. The lawsuit alleges that Levinson made defamatory statements about Sebaggala and intentionally inflicted emotional distress. Sebaggala is a racial equity advocate involved in the Abolition Coalition, which seeks to promote anti-racism education in public schools.

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IL should divert state money from East St. Louis to fund police, fire pensions, boards say – Belleville News-Democrat*

The city government has not contributed to the police and fire pension funds since September. East St. Louis already had been behind in funding the pensions by millions of dollars when it stopped its contributions, officials said. City Manager Robert Betts said intercepting roughly $7 million in state money and shifting it to the pension funds would be devastating for the city, triggering layoffs and cuts in services. “The city is bracing itself for the intercept.”

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Desperate for affordable housing, some cities sweeten tax breaks for developers – Stateline

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu last year also announced a public-private partnership that expands tax breaks for conversions to housing. Developers must reserve at least 20% of their new units as affordable, with some space for federal voucher holders as well. Chicago and Pittsburgh have put similar tax deals in place in the past two years, with affordable housing stipulations attached.

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Families and schools are rattled by end of state private school scholarship program – WBEZ (Chicago)

The exterior of St. Frances of Rome Catholic School in Cicero Illinois on Jan. 14, 2024.A lifeline may come from Springfield, where a handful of Chicago-area state representatives will push to revive the program with the backing of Republican colleagues. Their proposed legislation could extend the program for five years. It would also reduce the tax credit amount and individual giving cap from $1 million to $500,000, sharpen the focus on lower-income students, and shrink it to a $50 million program.

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General Assembly considers new gun and cold case legislation – WGNTV (Chicago)

One item being considered would allow families to ask for a new investigation in a cold case. The second would force law enforcement to publish data related to homicides and investigations — including how many are solved. State Rep. Kam Buckner says both pieces of legislation will work toward building trust between the community and police — and give victims’ families a chance at getting the justice the deserve.

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Chicago migrants are under pressure as the deadline to find permanent housing looms – Chicago Sun-Times

Thousands of migrants expected to be evicted from shelters soon after March 16. As of Monday, city officials said there are 13,442 residents in 28 active shelters. As that deadline looms, Venezuelan Alfonso Carvajal wrestles with the long list of obstacles that have come up during the apartment search process. He doesn’t speak English. He doesn’t have a work permit, a credit history or a bank account.

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After 4 Students Killed Outside Schools, Anti-Violence Organizers Say Chicago Kids Need A ‘Lifeline’ – Block Club Chicago

The Police Department has increased police presence at some schools, but Arne Duncan, a South Sider and former leader of CPS, said he “wouldn’t call it a security failure…These are absences of relationships, these are absences of positive role models. It’s not a situational issue. I think that way oversimplifies it. This is a structural gap here. And we got to be honest about it and work with real urgency.”

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32 school districts awarded Property Tax Relief Grants – WAND (Decatur)

The grant program is part of the Evidence-Based Funding for Student Success Act. It lets school districts reduce local property taxes for two consecutive years and replace that revenue with state funds. The $49.3 million in fiscal year 2024 grants will result in $54.2 million in property tax relief for Illinois residents. A district’s grant amount becomes a permanent part of its EBF Base Funding Minimum going forward.

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Journalism’s “extinction event” will lead to new and better choices for news – Da Techguy’s Blog

“…(T)he Illinois Local Journalism Task Force, created by legislation in 2021, is betting on the dinosaurs, that is, traditional media. Last week, the task force issued its recommendations for journalism in the Prairie State. ‘Its proposals are mostly about getting taxpayers to pony up and putting government in control,’ Mark Glennon says in Wirepoints, ‘[with] no mention of journalism’s own failures.'”

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Nearly $18M invested in feeding Chicago migrants over 8 months – FOX32 (Chicago)

“I actually think it’s quite fitting that we are in this wonderful small business because it has been Black and brown small businesses that have stepped up in this moment, in this crisis, to respond to these families who are arriving here,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. By the end of last year, the Greater Chicago Food Depository and its contracted restaurants served 18,000 daily meals across 21 city shelters.

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Illinois No. 2 in the nation for gas taxes – Illinois Policy

At 66.5 cents per gallon, Illinois motorists can expect to pay $325 a year in state gas taxes alone based on American Petroleum Institute gas usage estimates. Illinois has had automatic annual gas tax hikes since 2019 when Gov. JB Pritzker and state lawmakers doubled it and built in automatic increases tied to inflation, with the next one coming July 1.

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U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky and Claude Cummings Jr.: The Biden administration is fighting back against Big Tech – Chicago Tribune*

“The Biden administration recently shut down an effort spearheaded by Big Tech to use trade negotiations to override Congress’ efforts to end mega-platforms’ abuses of workers and consumers. Corporate lobbyists are now engaging in an all-out assault to try to bully and intimidate the administration into reversing course.”

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Ex-Dolton top cop says Henyard fired him because his wife is ‘friendly’ with political opponents – Cook County Record

The former police chief’s lawsuit is just the latest litigation launched against the village and Mayor Tiffany Henyard in recent months. Henyard has also been sued by a tavern for withholding their liquor license over politics, and she has been sued by Dolton’s village clerk and members of the board of trustees, who accused her of refusing to follow state laws, of lavish personal spending of taxpayer money and of using Dolton Police as her personal security, among a list of other corruption allegations.

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Chicagoland criminals expanding enterprises by training migrants for suburban crime sprees: expert – FOX News

“The frustration with this migrant crime is really, I think, going to boil over,” retired Riverside Police Chief Tom Weitzel said. “You can pull up any article and see that some of these migrants are being arrested three and four and five times, over and over again, and released to commit more crime. …  It’s not an exaggeration to say that it’s a revolving door. And the police officers are saying, ‘Just forget it. Why bother? Why bother even making the arrest?’”

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CTU teachers at Chicago’s Instituto schools going on strike Tuesday – CBS2 (Chicago)

The Chicago Teachers Union  represents 48 members and staff serving 600 students at Instituto Justice Leadership Academy and Instituto Health and Science Career Academy. Their demands include better staffing levels for special education; fair wages that would address the school’s bilingual and special education shortage; and sanctuary protections for immigrant students and employees.

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Chicago City Council Members Debate Approach to Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution After Narrow Passage – WTTW (Chicago)

While Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez said, “We need to scrutinize the federal government,” on the other side of the issue, Ald. Nicholas Sposato said there should have been a different approach where the City Council would not have been divided. “This should’ve never gotten to this point that it did. It should’ve been a sit down between Debra (Silverstein) and Rosanna (Rodriguez-Sanchez) and work something out.”

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Union Scheme to Steal Everyone Else’s Money Goes to Court – National Review*

“Now, the state supreme courts in Texas and Arizona are about to hear cases that may fundamentally change how the activities of government labor unions are financed….Government unions weren’t happy with having to respect employees’ First Amendment rights or taxpayers’ pocketbooks, so they implemented another scheme, ‘release time,’ which forces the public to pay union salaries.”

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Ex-Illinois state legislator going on trial on tax counts stemming from Madigan probe – Tribune News Services/MSN

Former state legislator Annazette Collins, 61, who worked as a ComEd lobbyist after her career in Springfield ended more than a decade ago, was indicted in 2021 on federal charges alleging she underreported income and failed to file federal income tax returns for her lobbying and consulting firm. Collins’ legislative career was also dogged by controversy; she was one of several lawmakers whose legislative scholarship awards were under review by a federal grand jury.

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Illinois FOP president criticizes controversial traffic stop bill – WCIA (Champaign)

The bill would prohibit law enforcement from pulling people over just for speeding, improper lane usage, obstructed windshields, defective headlights, expired registration stickers, or failure to wear safety belts. Illinois FOP State Lodge President Chris Southwood described the law as one of the most anti-police proposals he’s seen. “How many lives will be lost if we can’t stop dangerous drivers?” Southwood said. “Such a law will only benefit lawbreakers, and common sense must have taken a vacation when this bill was drafted.”

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Chicago Principals Association Leader Calls for Accountability After CTU President’s ‘Concerning’ Comments, Union’s ‘Divisive Campaigns’ – WTTW (Chicago)

Troy LaRaviere appears on “Chicago Tonight” on Oct. 1, 2019.Chicago Principals and Administrators Association President Troy LaRaviere asserts that Chicago Teachers Union members have made repeated unproven allegations against school principals and administrators as part of a “protracted divisive campaign,” using incendiary language and creating a “hostile work environment for principals, and an underdeveloped learning environment for children.”

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Pritzker, Johnson, Preckwinkle meet to discuss Chicago migrant situation – NBC5 (Chicago)

Mayor Brandon Johnson was in Los Angeles over the weekend to attend the African-American Mayor Association meetings, and also attended the Grammy Awards before returning to Chicago on a late night flight, and then meeting with Gov. JB Pritzker and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle for more than an hour Monday. “(We were) talking about the asylum seekers and that we’re taking good care of them,” Pritzker said.

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Illinois lawmakers lay out their plans to fight poverty – Center Square

Illinois is in the top 10 for states with the most residents living under the poverty line, leading members of both parties to call for changes.  The national poverty rate, or those earning less than $14,580, is 11.5% and according to World Population Review, Illinois has nearly 1.5 million people, or 12.1% of the state’s population, living in poverty.

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Commentary: Actually, Illinois is a great place to do business right now. – Peoria Journal Star

John Atkinson, of Intersect Illinois, the state’s business attraction organization: ” Illinois offers a large, skilled workforce of over six million people, half of which have bachelor’s degrees or higher. Illinois’ astounding 244 higher education institutions are among the best in the world. The University of Illinois alone graduates more engineers each year than MIT, Stanford and Caltech combined. Beyond that, our community college system is the third largest in the nation. That means Illinois is providing customized training to students of all ages to ensure they gain the skills that are most in demand now.”

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Video: Illinois Senate GOP Leader John Curren Criticizes Pritzker Handling of Migrant Crisis – WGNTV (Chicago)

“The governor has extended an invitation to the migrants, and this started six years ago when he first took office,” Curren said. “He’s been passing policies of rolling out the welcome mat throughout his six years in office, and that’s where we’re at right now.” Curren further called for a review of the state’s spending on the migrants, as he sees the governor using his executive orders to draw funds from other parts of the state budget to cover migrant spending.

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Manteno residents plan to amend lawsuit against China electric-vehicle battery maker – Center Square

Attorney Robby Dube said Gotion may be avoiding ownership of the property because of tax reasons, liability reasons or even concerns about potential legislation banning ownership of domestic businesses by foreign adversaries. “Gotion’s whole argument is, ‘Well we are an American company because they are incorporated in America.’ But their parent company is incorporated in China and we believe we have the documents to show it is a [Chinese Communist Party-controlled] entity. But if the legislation is broad enough, and I think it needs to be in order to protect American interests, they could get snagged in that legislation,” said

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City Council Set to Weigh Push to Require CPD to Study How Officers Are Deployed, Despite Political Peril – WTTW (Chicago)

Police Supt. Larry Snelling is the third consecutive CPD leader to promise to take a data-driven approach to the complicated and politically perilous question of how officers are deployed across Chicago’s 50 wards and 77 community areas. Police departments in New York, Los Angeles and Houston routinely conduct workforce allocation studies, and use them to deploy officers and combat emerging public safety threats.

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Students, teachers and activists rally for investment in green schools and climate resiliency – Chicago Tribune/Yahoo

The Green New Deal for Chicago Public Schools campaign is supported by the Chicago Teachers Union and organized by Sunrise Movement Chicago, a local chapter of a national organization seeking to combat climate change. The campaign’s main demands include safe and clean buildings; pathways to green jobs; climate disaster response plans; a climate justice curriculum; free, healthy and sustainable meals; community gardens and composting; free public transit and an electric fleet of school vehicles.

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Shoplifting by ‘foreign nationals’ soars in River North: One has been arrested 4 times under 3 names. – CWB Chicago

The Cook County sheriff’s office estimated 62 foreigners were arrested for shoplifting in January, up from six during the same month last year. Sheriff’s officials released the information this week as they announced the arrests of three men who allegedly ran a fake ID mill, an investigation that began after police learned that people were hiring the migrants to shoplift certain products in exchange for fraudulent IDs.

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Suburban office market adjusts as tenants downsize and shift to higher-end buildings – Daily Herald*

Savills Regional Research Director Anders Klein said that while conditions have modestly improved among Class A buildings in some markets, there has been no sign yet of any overall recovery in the suburban office market apart from some diminishing of its stock. “Outside of O’Hare, availability has ticked lower in some areas as office buildings are targeted for repurposing and available office space is permanently pulled off the leasing market,” he said.

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Are Bankruptcies of Some U.S. States in the Future? – Mises Trust

Illinois and New Jersey are examples of a future state bankruptcy or default on a future bond debt obligation payment. California budget deficits under Governor Gavin Newsom are proliferating as part of the spending trend. Financial press coverage of these states’ financial problems is available. New York, Connecticut, Michigan, and other states are heading to future defaults and possible bankruptcy unless budget and policy reform is enacted.

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The Illinois Estate Tax Code: Will Change Finally Happen? – Vermilion County First

“It was back in 2003 that the State of Illinois decoupled from the federal level of how “Estate Tax” is handled. Commonly known as the ‘Death Tax,’ it applies to family businesses as well as farms. But it’s on the farm where most conversation about this has occurred. While families of the owner of farmland owned by a deceased party are not subject to the Estate Tax, according to the federal level, until the property’s appraised value reaches the $13 million mark; in Illinois the tax kicks in at the $4 million mark, causing many families to have to sell

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Tax bill causes Bears to pivot off Arlington Heights – NBC Sports Chicago

The team’s attorney argued at a Cook County Board of Review hearing that the property should be valued at $60 million and taxed at the 10% rate for residential and vacant land, due to the work done to demolish the existing structures on the site, versus the 25% tax rate for commercial properties. Three surrounding school districts – which rely on property taxes for their funding – intervened in the Bears’ appeal, submitting an appraisal finding the site to be worth $160 million. This $100 million gap is too much to believe both parties will eventually shake hands on a property value.

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SNL jokes Gaza has called for a ceasefire in Chicago, after crime-ridden metropolis’ progressive mayor passed controversial resolution – Daily Mail

Even Saturday Night Live is poking fun at the Windy City after the crime-ridden metropolis' progressive mayor passed a controversial resolution last weekThe clip of Weekend Update host Michael Che’s joke has soon gone viral on social media, as an X user who shared the video said: ‘Even “left-leaning” media is laughing at Chicago.’ ‘Far too often, Chicago is the punchline to a joke. Elect clowns, expect a circus. Do better, Chicago,’ the user wrote. Another user wrote: ‘Oh boy, I’m glad I moved. Please be safe.’

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UChicago, Rush hospitals lay off staff, citing financial struggles – Chicago Sun-Times

“The fact is many outside pressures including higher supply and labor costs are converging as healthcare delivery rapidly evolves,” president Tom Jackiewicz and Mark Anderson, executive vice president of medical affairs, wrote in a memo to employees on Thursday. “Additionally, we grew our staff to address the pandemic, which was necessary for that moment but cannot be maintained.”

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Dozens rally for immigrant rights in Chicago – CBS2 (Chicago)

Migrant Rally A number of elected officials pledged their support for the coalition’s policy platform, which includes calls for immigrant healthcare and more funding for community services. “We are way overdue in creating a system of migration rooted in compassion and in justice,” said U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia.

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Shootings, Homicides in Chicago Both Down at Least 25% to Start 2024, According to Police – WTTW (Chicago)

According to the CPD, the number of robberies — which spiked throughout 2023 — is down 28% thus far when compared to the same time last year. Since the start of the year, the city has recorded 72 vehicular hijackings, down 52% compared to 2023, according to the CPD. Officers have made 146 motor vehicle-related arrests already this year, and of the 35 arrests for vehicular hijacking, 49% have been juvenile offenders.

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Video: Illinois offering towns grants to help cover costs of migrants – FOX News

Glen Ellyn Village President Mark Senak said of his town declining a grant to house migrants, “We have to deal with the impact that this would have on our schools, and as I understand it right now the migrants don’t have work permits that would allow them to be gainfully employed. So, there were a lot of holes in that plan, and until I get some answers to those questions, I’m not going to commit my village to that effort.”

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Southern Illinois cities talk about the potential influx of illegal immigrants – The Southern Illinoisan

In Marion, Communications and Market Director Rachel Stroud confirmed there is no policy or procedure in place for handling an influx of illegal immigrants. Stroud redirected questions to the Williamson County Emergency Managment Agency (EMA), saying the agency might have a plan. When asked what Williamson County would do if buses of illegal immigrants were to start arriving in the county, with immigrants needing resources, the EMA Director Brian Burgess said, “The county believes this is more of a municipal issue.”
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Ald. Anthony Beale Blasts Chicago for Paying Illegals More than $9,000 a Month in Freebies: ‘I’d Come to Chicago, Too’ – Breitbart

Beale, who has become a major opponent of progressive Mayor Brandon Johnson over the mayor’s friendly policies for migrants — even as he takes resources away from black communities — was also one of the aldermen who was working to let voters decide if Chicago was to remain a so-called “sanctuary city” by having the question appear on the 2024 ballot.

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Illinois serves up ‘gift’ to criminals with new bill that would further tie cops’ hands: retired chief – FOX News

“They want to turn this into firemen,” retired Riverside Police Chief Tom Weitzel said of Illinois lawmakers. “Firemen, they wait in the station until the call comes out. That’s not a criticism, that’s just what they do. Well then, you know what they’ll want policemen to do? Just go find a parking lot and sit there all day long, and answer your radio calls. Period. That’s it. Don’t do any patrol. Don’t be any aggressive patrol. Don’t do any preventative patrol,” he said.

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Johnson tells Springfield he wants 10 school board elections this year — not all 21 – Chicago Sun-Times

The mayor’s stance aligns with the Chicago Teachers Union and would help him keep control of Chicago Public Schools through the end of his term. “I was personally involved in negotiating … the bill you helped pass in 2021 that created a phased-in elected board,” the mayor wrote in a letter to Senate President Don Harmon. “I remain proud of the work of all stakeholders who contributed to the process and my role in ushering in greater democracy to the Chicago Public Schools.”

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Illinois lawmakers could allow school safety officers to deter crime, support students – WAND (Decatur)

Under House Bill 4216, Illinois school districts could have the ability to hire fully-trained school safety officers starting January 1, 2025.  This legislation could require the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board (ILETSB) to create a new course on de-escalation, use of force, mental health awareness, officer wellness, child abuse and neglect, and cultural competency.

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Dolton mayor’s $1M giveaway, security detail among new complaints days after quadruple shooting – WGNTV (Chicago)

“I would hope that we get more police that’s actually on the street,” Board Trustee Kiana Belcher said about the dangerous shootout this week near Minerva Avenue and Sibley Boulevard that sent at least four to the hospital. Belcher and other board members were troubled about police staffing. Meanwhile, Mayor Tiffany Henyard’s considerable police security detail is said to include four to five police squad vehicles or large, unmarked SUVs like Secret Service transport vehicles.

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Oak Park given $1.9M more to aid migrants, plans new single-site shelter at former Catholic school building – Pioneer Press*

From the Supporting Municipalities for Asylum Seeker Services grant through the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, about $1.24 million will be distributed to a local nonprofit entity — not immediately identified — to operate a new temporary shelter for about 200 migrants through the end of June 2024 in a school building owned by the Archdiocese of Chicago.

 

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Illinois lawmaker proposes changes to the state’s biometric privacy law – Center Square

Senate Bill 2979  would limit the number of claims accrued under that scenario should an employee bring a lawsuit against a company for a violation of BIPA. If a certain biometric identifier is collected by the same employer in the same manner, only one violation would accrue. The measure would also modernize the manner in which written consent can be granted to include the use of electronic signatures.

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Copays take effect for immigrant health programs as cost estimates continue to decline – Capitol News IL

The programs, originally launched for those aged 65 and older in 2020 then expanded in waves, became a sticking point in state budget negotiations last year when Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration projected their single-year costs to exceed $1 billion. But current estimates now project the programs will cost $773 million in the current fiscal year. Those estimates, however, have declined by $60 million since August, the month following the Pritzker administration’s initial announcement of certain cost-saving measures.

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Ralph Martire: Illinois tax policy and the ability to help migrants – Daily Herald*

“The problem is Illinois’ tax system doesn’t generate enough revenue growth to cover the cost of maintaining the same level of public services from one fiscal year into the next. That’s no bueno, because over 94% of all state spending on services goes to the core areas of education, health care, human services and public safety. Which means state decision makers already need to reform revenue policy so it can generate the capacity to fund core services sustainably over time. That will ensure Illinois can also do what’s right from both a moral and fiscal standpoint: assist migrant families today

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Call me (maybe): Why isn’t Senator Tammy Duckworth picking up the phone? – Chicago Reader

 

Photo of Tammy Duckworth surrounded by quotes from constituents sharing their experiences trying to reach her office“I’ve been calling the senator,” emailed Cima Dairanieh. “Daily. For many weeks. I haven’t gotten a callback, email or letter. I also email her, daily.” In another email, Cara Piraino wrote that she’s called Duckworth multiple times a week since mid-October, but has gotten the recording directing constituents to contact the senator via her website “almost every time. I’ve only gotten through to a person twice in the past three months.” And Ashlee Stewack

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Shootings of Chicago students prompts push for anti-violence workers in high schools – WBEZ (Chicago)

Arne Duncan, former Chicago Public Schools CEO and current managing partner of Chicago CRED, said his group has “life coaches,” who help clients navigate the transition away from the streets. He said most of these life coaches have criminal backgrounds, but bringing them into schools “would be a massive step forward.” State law bans people that have been convicted of a number of crimes, including drug dealing, from working in schools.

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