THE ILLINOIZE: Monday Free for All...Pritzker's Veep update...The state's $700 million bet on quantum
July 29, 2024
Good morning, Illinois.
It’s my first day in the host chair at WMAY in Springfield as the new host of their 6am-9am time slot. We’ll be joined at 7:49 this morning by House Speaker Chris Welch. Not a bad get, I’d say.
I won’t spam you with radio promos forever, but I hope you’d give me a little grace my first week. But please listen online here.
I was also on State Week on NPR Illinois this weekend. You can find the podcast a here.
Our The Illinoize podcast with the Chicago Tribune’s Rick Pearson and Chicago Alderman Gil Villegas is up. You can watch it here.
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Governor Pritzker signs the “birth equity” legislation at 11am. He discusses a Medicaid waiver expansion at 1pm.
Let’s get to it.
YOUR MONDAY FREE FOR ALL
(note: we’re not responsible for paywalls and restrictions from other news outlets, because good journalism isn’t free)
Gov. J.B. Pritzker cites ‘private conversations’ in declining to discuss VP possibility (Chicago Tribune)
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Thursday continued to sidestep questions about whether he’s under consideration as a potential running mate for Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, again saying he would not discuss “private conversations.”
The comments were Pritzker’s first to local media since President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid over the weekend, and came a day after Pritzker gave his strongest indication yet that he’s being considered for the job. During an interview with CNN, the governor said he wouldn’t comment on “private discussions” when asked if Harris’ campaign staff had contacted him for vetting as she seeks a running mate.
He took a similar tack Thursday.
“I have had a number of conversations with people — I do regularly — with the campaign, and as you know I’ve been traveling the country to promote the Biden-Harris ticket, and now the Harris-led ticket,” Pritzker said at an event unveiling security measures for the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. “I don’t want to talk about any private conversations that I’ve had.
“But I will say that I have said directly to the vice president that I’m going to do everything and anything that is necessary to make sure that we beat Donald Trump and JD Vance.”
Asked if he had been contacted about being vice president at any time, Pritzker said “I’m not going to talk about that.”
Related: Pritzker downplays VP talk, denies call with Harris campaign (Chicago Sun-Times)
Pritzker stays coy about potential selection as Harris VP (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Speculation surrounds Pritzker as possible Harris VP pick (Bloomington Pantagraph)
As the DNC returns to Chicago, Illinois’ dean of the delegation, Dick Durbin, basks in the moment (WBEZ)
Plans for multi-block DNC security perimeter announced by authorities as convention spotlight nears (Chicago Tribune)
Immigration advocates in Chicago 'disappointed and angry' over lack of reforms, plan DNC protests (Chicago Sun-Times)
The hope, the worry and the surreal that Illinois Black female Democratic delegates see in Kamala Harris’ moment (WBEZ)
Opinion: For Pritzker, an earlier Biden exit could have been just the ticket (Chicago Sun-Times)
Pritzker moves closer to creating a 'Silicon Valley of quantum development' at former South Works site (Chicago Sun-Times)
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s goal to make Illinois “the Silicon Valley of quantum development” took a massive leap forward Thursday with the announcement of the 128-acre Illinois Quantum & Microelectronics Park at the former U.S. Steel South Works facility.
The campus will be anchored by PsiQuantum, a Palo Alto, California-based company, which announced plans Thursday morning to build the nation’s first commercially useful quantum computer at the site.
The site is estimated to have a $20 billion economic impact over the next decade and create thousands of jobs in quantum computing and related fields. It will also breathe new life into the former South Works facility, which has sat vacant since its closure 30 years ago.
“This is a leap of faith, in many ways,” Pritzker said. “The General Assembly understood that we had a great opportunity, but they also knew that making an investment of this kind can be groundbreaking. And it was something that was timely and important to do right now. They really … stepped up to the plate.”
Pritzker’s 2025 budget allocated $500 million in state investment to help fund quantum research. Of that, $300 million will go toward building the South Works campus.
The city of Chicago also allocated $5 million from Mayor Brandon Johnson’s $1.5 billion housing and economic development bond.
Cook County will contribute an additional $5 million to establish the park, Cook County Board of Commissioners President Toni Preckwinkle said. It’s also working with the city on a new property tax abatement program. Through that program, the quantum campus could be certified for Class 8 MICRO property tax incentives, cutting assessment levels from the standard 25% for industrial properties to 10% for 30 years with no renewal periods.
“This was a combined effort that took all of us not only believing in the potential of this project, but putting our time and our investment behind that belief,” Pritzker said. “It is a powerful testament to all that we can achieve for Illinois, for the country and for the world when we are all pulling in the same direction.”
Related: Massive South Works quantum project now must get residents on board (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Quantum business park coming to Chicago, backed by $700M from state of Illinois (Capitol News Illinois)
Opinion: The quantum revolution is coming to Illinois (Chicago Tribune)
TOP STORIES LAST WEEK ON THEILLINOIZE.COM
POLITICAL POTPOURRI
Democratic congressional candidates’ financial advantage this cycle is ‘overwhelming’ (Daily Herald)
Most Illinois jails restrain people in chairs. This county ‘violently shocked’ them, too. (Capitol News Illinois)
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s political campaign paid a firm for fundraising help while it lobbied City Hall, spurring calls for reform (Chicago Tribune)
Wind power can be a major source of tax revenue, but officials struggle to get communities on board (Associated Press)
Editorial: Gov. J.B. Pritzker won’t bail out Brandon Johnson, the Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Public Schools. Good. (Chicago Tribune)
Editorial: Conversation, at least, needed to ensure adequate safety, education of home-schooled students (Daily Herald)
Editorial: A whiff of betrayal undoes Mike Madigan and Mike McClain’s famous tightly bond (Chicago Tribune)
Opinion: Unions, pro-Israel groups among Budzinski's biggest backers (Champaign News-Gazette)
Opinion: Expect pushback on any proposal to enhance homeschool regulations (Shaw Media)
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