THE ILLINOIZE: Monday Free for All...DCFS worker sentenced to jail in Freund case...Top Dems push for work permits for migrants...1968 all over again?
June 10, 2024
Good morning, Illinois.
What are you reading? I just picked up Jon Meacham’s new book on George H.W. Bush and looking forward to cracking it open. Looking for suggestions!
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Governor Pritzker heads to Canada for a trade mission today.
Let’s get to it.
YOUR MONDAY FREE FOR ALL
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Judge sentences former DCFS worker to jail in boy’s death (Associated Press)
A judge sentenced a former Illinois DCFS worker to six months in jail Thursday in connection with a 5-year-old boy’s death.
Lake County Associate Judge George Strickland also ordered Carlos Acosta to contribute $1,000 to a local children’s advocacy center and perform 200 hours of public service.
Acosta was acquitted of reckless conduct but convicted of child endangerment in in connection with the death of Andrew “AJ” Freund of Crystal Lake. Acosta was accused of ignoring numerous warning signs that the boy was being abused prior to his death.
The boy died in April 2019 after his mother, JoAnn Cunningham, beat him. She is serving a 35-year sentence for his murder. The boy’s father, Andrew Freund Sr., was sentenced to 30 years in prison for covering up the killing by burying the boy’s body in a field.
Police took AJ into protective custody in December 2018 after an officer noticed a large bruise on the boy’s hip. The officer had visited the boy’s home after his mother called police to report her ex-boyfriend had stolen her cellphone and a drug used to treat heroin addiction.
A doctor recommended that the boy not be released to his mother but Acosta ended protective custody and let the boy go home with his father. The judge found that Acosta’s reports repeatedly omitted potential signs of abuse, such as marks on the boy’s face and the family’s terrible living conditions.
Related: DCFS employees support AJ Freund caseworker after jailing: ‘People don’t understand the trauma we deal with’ (Shaw Media)
Chair of Illinois Democratic Party floats state law granting work permits to immigrants (WBEZ)
Illinois State Rep. Lisa Hernandez, D-Cicero, said she is exploring state legislation that could grant work permits to all unauthorized immigrant workers in Illinois. That would include the thousands of migrants who have arrived in Illinois over the last two years, and an estimated 400,000-plus longtime undocumented immigrant workers.
Hernandez spoke at a press conference Friday, championing a recent state resolution urging President Biden to use his executive power to grant work permits to all immigrants.
But a resolution is not binding. After the press conference with business leaders, advocates and other elected officials, Hernandez told WBEZ she is looking to explore other avenues.
Any state proposal on work permit legislation for immigrants is expected to be an uphill battle because federal immigration law regulates work permits for non-U.S. citizens, experts say. But Hernandez said she is willing to test the limits of what authority states have in granting work permits.
“I have never taken a step back, that just because immigration is a federal issue, that we should not do what we have to do at a state level.” Rep. Hernandez said.
Hernandez didn’t have a timeline on any potential state legislation.
Related: Chicago leaders react to Biden’s executive order ahead of convention limiting asylum-seekers at the US border (Chicago Tribune)
‘This will not be 1968.’ Chicago police prepare for DNC as whole world watches once again. (Chicago Tribune)
It’s not 1968.
But after anti-war, pro-Palestinian demonstrations roiled college campuses this spring and led to clashes between protesters and police, the specter of the chaos surrounding that summer’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago looms as the party returns in August to mark the renomination of President Joe Biden.
To be sure, the landscape is vastly different than it was in the late 1960s, even amid resurgent political violence driven predominantly by the far right. Nevertheless, the influx of potentially tens of thousands of protesters into Chicago during the Aug. 19-22 convention, some of whom have vowed to take to the streets without city permits, raises questions about how prepared Chicago police are for any ensuing unrest.
Still, with the whole world watching Chicago once again, avoiding any echoes of 1968 — when blue-helmeted officers beat protesting Yippies and working journalists alike in what a government report later termed a “police riot” — will be an important test for a department that remains under a federal consent decree over its long-running “pattern and practice” of civil rights violations.
In the lead-up to this year’s convention, organizers and police officials have downplayed concerns about possible unrest and sought to dispel any comparisons to the events that culminated in the infamous “Battle of Michigan Avenue.”
“This will not be 1968,” said Chicago police Superintendent Larry Snelling while acknowledging he understands the comparison given national protests of the Israel-Hamas war. “Our response as a Chicago Police Department will be a lot more deliberate … a lot more controlled because our officers are being trained in the best way possible to respond to any level of civil unrest.”
Related: City Hall trying to cut deal with protesters, avoid legal battle as Democratic convention nears (Chicago Sun-Times)
City poised to offer DNC protesters route near United Center (Chicago Tribune)
‘We’ve got to be ready’: Suburban police gearing up for political conventions this summer (Daily Herald)
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POLITICAL POTPOURRI
Why state froze rate for towns’ share of income taxes (Daily Herald)
Potawatomi hope to finalize land transfer when lawmakers return in the fall (Capitol News Illinois)
Proposal to shield farm families from estate tax doesn't move in Springfield (Bloomington Pantagraph)
Stalled bills: ‘Dignity in Pay Act,’ Prisoner Review Board changes (Capitol News Illinois)
AGs ask feds to increase scrutiny of private equity in health care (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Illinois to consider the ‘Future of Gas’ in unprecedented regulatory proceeding (Daily Herald)
Arlington Heights trustee to also serve as 53rd District state rep after being appointed to the post (Chicago Tribune)
Mayor’s pricey hair and makeup: In one year, Brandon Johnson's campaign has spent $30K on grooming (Chicago Sun-Times)
Editorial: Judge offers Illinois Democrats a lesson on political integrity; they should take it (Daily Herald)
Editorial: A chance for Chicago to take the quantum crown (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Opinion: Breaking down partisan talking points on the state budget (Chicago Sun-Times)
Opinion: Rushed pension reform will hurt businesses, residents (Daily Herald)
Opinion: Judge’s writing lays bare folly of Dems’ attempt to change ballot rules (Shaw Media)
Opinion: State GOP's rare win comes in court, not at ballot box (Champaign News-Gazette)
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