THE ILLINOIZE: Monday Free for All
December 20, 2021
Good morning everyone.
As the holidays are rapidly approaching, I’m thinking about the things I’m grateful for this year. Of course my family, friends and health are ones I will never take for granted. I’m also grateful for Patrick giving me an opportunity to scratch that journalistic itch of mine with this newsletter.
I’ve spent my career in local journalism not because it’s the most glamorous, but because it’s the most meaningful for people’s lives. What happens in Washington is important, but what happens in Springfield and your local community often matters more. I hope you’ll take some time to support those who keep an eye on what’s happening in your backyard so that you can be a more informed citizen.
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On to the news.
YOUR MONDAY FREE FOR ALL
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Pritzker signs repeal of Parental Notice of Abortion Act (Chicago Sun Times)
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday signed legislation repealing a law that required a parent or other adult family member be notified before a minor receives an abortion, calling the move “essential” for protecting the “most vulnerable pregnant minors who were punished by this law.”
Along with overturning the state’s Parental Notice of Abortion Act, the legislation signed by the governor Friday also creates an advisory group for youth health and safety issues which will identify laws and policies that affect parenting and pregnant people under 18.
In a statement, Pritzker said reproductive rights are under attack across the nation and, with the repeal of the notification act, Illinois “is once again establishing itself as a leader in ensuring access to health care services.”
“This repeal was essential because it was the most vulnerable pregnant minors who were punished by this law: victims of rape and physical abuse in unsafe homes,” Pritzker said. “I’m proud that Illinois continues to be a national leader in protecting reproductive rights.”
The General Assembly passed the Parental Notice of Abortion Act in 1995, but it didn’t go into effect until 2013 due to legal challenges. That law is repealed as of June 1, 2022.
Get boosted, Chicago (Crain’s Chicago Business)
If December 2021 is starting to feel a lot like May 2021 to you, you’re not alone. Remember May? That was when vaccines were starting to get into broad circulation nationwide. Restaurants and theaters started to reopen. Mask restrictions slowly fell by the wayside. And, for a minute, there was reason to look forward to a hot vax summer.
We all know how that turned out.
Now, just as employers are setting back-to-the-office target dates and people are getting comfortable going to live business networking events again, up crops the omicron variant. The onset of this new strain, which appears to be far more transmissible than delta, if perhaps less virulent than COVID classic, has even the fully vaccinated among us worried that two doses of Pfizer or Moderna are not enough.
And suddenly, cancellations are in the air: schools shutting down, holiday events nixed, travel plans rethought, get-togethers with friends postponed. At-home COVID tests are flying off drugstore shelves. Employers that had once required workers to return to the office are now sending them home again. And as Crain's Ally Marotti reports, restaurants still smarting from earlier COVID shutdowns are hanging up the "closed" sign again as employees test positive.
Public health experts tell us there’s something all of us can do to get us over the omicron hump and hopefully keep Chicago open for business as the new year begins: If you’re not vaccinated, get vaccinated. And if you are vaccinated, get a booster.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker signs measure to allow betting on Illinois college teams, create sportsbook license for home of Chicago Sky (Chicago Tribune)
It might have been too late for bettors to place their money on Northern Illinois University in Friday’s Cure Bowl matchup with Coastal Carolina, but Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a measure that allows limited betting on in-state college teams.
Bettors now will be allowed to place wagers in person at state-licensed sportsbooks on the outcome of games played by in-state college teams — but not on individual athlete performance or in-game action.
While gambling on college games has been legal in Illinois since sports betting went live in 2020, the law previously prohibited wagers on in-state teams.
The new provision will be automatically repealed on July 1, 2023, unless lawmakers approve an extension.
Related: Illinois college teams on the board as Pritzker signs law lifting betting ban on in-state schools (Chicago Sun Times)
Lawmakers concerned about plan to increase frequency of standardized tests (Daily Herald)
Thirty-seven Illinois state lawmakers are asking the state education board to apply due diligence before voting on a new, multimillion-dollar standardized testing system.
In a letter to the Illinois State Board of Education, lawmakers question a $228 million proposal to replace the annual Illinois Assessment of Readiness, which tests students' math and reading proficiency in third through eighth grades each spring, with an assessment that would be taken three times a year. The proposal includes optional testing for students in kindergarten through second grade three times yearly.
State Superintendent Carmen Ayala brought the proposal to the state board in April as part of her goal to overhaul the state's standardized testing system. But a final vote has been pushed back. Some educators believe testing students multiple times during a school year is a better measure of growth and progress than a one-time test.
Lawmakers have raised concerns about over-testing students, particularly in low-income Black and brown communities, and expanding testing to the early grades. Their letter will be delivered to Ayala and the board ahead of its Wednesday meeting.
White House: Pritzker denies what others say he’s thinking (The News Gazette)
J.B. for president?
Hey, a guy can dream, can’t he? Most certainly, just as reporters can speculate.
Pritzker’s dreams and two New York Times reporters’ speculation this week combined for an unlikely news story about the possibility of Pritzker running for the 2024 Democratic Party presidential nomination.
…Pritzker was subsequently peppered with questions during an encounter with reporters in which he denied — kinda, sorta — that he’s ever considered, is considering or may consider being a candidate for the White House in 2024. He said he expects President Joe Biden to seek reelection and repeatedly said he loves being governor.
Of course, Pritzker did mention people have told him he’s presidential timber but indicated, improbably, these were one-way exchanges.
Ambassador Rahm Emanuel: Senate confirms former Chicago mayor as U.S. envoy to Japan (Chicago Tribune)
The U.S. Senate voted early Saturday morning to confirm former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel as ambassador to Japan, officially opening yet another act in a three-decade political career that has run through two White Houses, Capitol Hill, Chicago City Hall and, now, the American embassy in Tokyo.
The Senate voted 48-to-21 to confirm Emanuel, with the longtime political operator receiving support — as well as opposition — from Democrats and Republicans alike.
The vote came in the middle of the night after Democrats struck a deal with Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who agreed to lift a hold he had placed on 32 of President Joe Biden’s nominees in exchange for allowing a vote next month on legislation related to a Russian gas pipeline for which Cruz has wanted to place sanctions. Given the late hour that the Senate concluded its business for the year, just 69 senators were present to confirm Emanuel.
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