The Illinoize: Monday Free for All
December 6, 2021
Good morning everyone. I hope your weekend was better than the weather was Sunday (or the Bears latest embarrassing performance).
The guests hosts of our newsletters this week dip into Patrick's old stomping grounds: the world of talk radio. Tomorrow, Jim Leach from WMAY in Springfield shares his thoughts. Thursday, we welcome Bruce St. James, the new morning show host at WLS-AM in Chicago.
If you’re wondering what to get Patrick for Christmas this year, I’m sure he’d love to get a subscription from you. Or buy a subscription for each of your friends. It’s only $7.99 per month and $75 per year. Just click below to subscribe!
YOUR MONDAY FREE FOR ALL
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Pritzker signs legislation to create new local school councils, protect students from grooming by predators (Chicago Sun-Times)
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday signed legislation that will create local school councils for small public schools in Chicago, a move he said will increase the chance for families, teachers and community members to “make their voices heard.”
The legislation creates local school councils for small schools within Chicago Public Schools, the state’s largest school district. Another bill the governor signed Friday attempts stop sexual misconduct in schools and offer resources to survivors.
Pritzker signed both bills without the usual fanfare.
…The legislation allows small schools to establish school councils. A “small” school is one offering a specialized school design, education focus or curriculum, according to a news release. It also must have a maximum enrollment of 600 students for high schools or 350 students for elementary schools.
…The new law, taking effect immediately, also requires school principals to hold a mid-year advisory election in which students say which student they want appointed to the council. The results will be binding.
Republican governor candidates attempt to use violent crime increase as path toward regaining suburban voters (Chicago Tribune)
Republicans running for governor are using the increase in violent crime in an effort to reach suburban voters critical in deciding a statewide election and recapture a region of the state the GOP controlled for decades.
With Cook County reporting on Tuesday its 1,000th homicide of the year, a level not seen since 1994, the GOP candidates’ rhetoric has shifted from criticism of Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, a subject on which the governor was ready to engage his opponents.
“The real pandemic in Illinois … is the violence that we’re facing here on the streets of Chicago and now spreading all throughout the state,” state Sen. Darren Bailey, a farmer from downstate Xenia and one of four announced GOP candidates for governor, said during a recent stop in Woodlawn on Chicago’s South Side.
Confronting Democrats on crime is a strategy Republicans have employed for decades, notably when George H.W. Bush used the early release of Willie Horton, a Massachusetts murderer who went on to commit other crimes, to paint Michael Dukakis as soft on crime in the 1988 presidential campaign.
But rather than inciting fear to motivate voters as was the case then, Republicans say they are addressing real concerns over rising crime in the city and in the suburbs.
With Kinzinger out, candidates bow out of 16th District race, plan to run elsewhere (Daily Herald)
For months, the race for the 16th Congressional District seat was shaping up to be one of Illinois' most contested, and one of the country's most-watched U.S. House battles in 2022.
At one point this fall, seven Republicans and one Democrat had announced they were after the post, including incumbent Adam Kinzinger.
It was Kinzinger -- the Channahon Republican who's criticized former President Donald Trump and others for lying about the 2020 election and who voted to impeach Trump after the Capitol assault -- who drew so many contenders to the race. Democrats and Trump loyalists wanted him out.
But then, the General Assembly finalized a map last month that changed Illinois' congressional boundaries and put Kinzinger and fellow Republican incumbent Darin LaHood of downstate Dunlap into the same district, essentially forcing them to duel for the GOP nomination.
Kinzinger decided not to run. And within days, the field thinned dramatically.
Nearly all the candidates have announced they're running elsewhere.
‘She’s going to lose’: Dems brag redistricting dooms conservative Illinois freshman (Politico)
Illinois Democrats have GOP Rep. Mary Miller right where they want her.
The freshman Republican — who caused a frenzy during her first week in Congress earlier this year, when she gave a speech in which she said Adolf Hitler "was right about one thing" — doesn’t have a clear path back in 2023.
Miller told POLITICO this week she plans to seek reelection, but Illinois’ new congressional map splits her downstate district in two, leaving her in the undesirable spot of choosing between challenging GOP Reps. Mike Bost or Rodney Davis, two well-funded and popular incumbents who have both declared 2022 bids.
And while she squirms to decide her next move, her Democratic colleagues seem to be basking in her predicament.
“I do not feel sorry for Mary Miller,” said Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), who represents Chicago and also chairs the state Democratic Party.
Opinion: Does Team Lightfoot have what it takes to change police culture? (Crain’s Chicago Business)
At a time when the city continues to suffer through a horrid spell of street violence that is endangering its economic future, City Hall desperately needs to get right the implementation of the historic consent decree governing how the police department is held accountable and deals with the public.
I have increasing doubts whether Lori Lightfoot is succeeding in an initiative that ought be central to her mayoralty. Some progress is being made at an admittedly difficult time in history. But reviews from outsiders, the departure of key officials, and critiques from watchdogs such as former Inspector General Joe Ferguson are beginning to reach critical mass.
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