THE ILLINOIZE: Thursday Free for All...Chicago Mayor wants state to shelter migrants outside of the city...The big ask for education next year...Pritzker's climate goals falling short
January 25, 2024
Good morning, Illinois.
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The General Assembly isn’t back to Springfield until February 6. Governor Pritzker does a photo op breakfast with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen at 9:30. They won’t be taking questions.
Let’s get to it.
YOUR THURSDAY FREE FOR ALL
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Mayor Johnson calls on state to build migrant shelters outside Chicago (Chicago Tribune)
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s ongoing calls for Gov. J.B. Pritzker to build more migrant shelters took a new turn Wednesday as he indicated additional sites should be located outside Chicago, even with state funding.
Speaking to reporters after presiding over the City Council meeting, the mayor did not directly answer questions about the fate of the next round of migrants whose 60-day deadline to vacate city-run shelters arrives Feb. 1, with harsh winter weather expected to remain.
Instead, he pivoted to place the onus on the state to construct more such sites — and pushed for them to be built elsewhere.
“What the state committed to doing back in November, that process has not moved as quickly as this (60-day) policy will hold,” Johnson said. “This policy was really attached to a larger operation that included … 2,200 beds. That’s what the state of Illinois committed to doing.”
Pritzker on Monday said the Johnson administration had not told the state “where they would like us to put our resources” to build new shelters, “so we can’t help if they don’t identify those locations.”
Johnson countered Wednesday that “the state has received a number of locations that they can build a shelter at.” He did not elaborate. But city officials said they have recommended to Pritzker’s administration potential sites outside Chicago, sometimes with specific buildings in mind, a notion the governor’s office disputes.
“And you know, again, just keep in mind that the state of Illinois can build a shelter anywhere in the state of Illinois. So, the state does not have to build a shelter in Chicago,” he said.
For the Pritzker administration, though, the main focus is the city.
“The vast majority of the infrastructure for this mission is based in the city because that’s where all the investment has been made,” Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh said after Johnson’s Wednesday remarks.
Hearing the Pritzker administration is getting “agitated” by Johnson’s recent rhetoric.
Related: Johnson calls for state to open migrant shelters outside of Chicago (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Pritzker joins Democratic governors asking Biden, Congress for migrant aid and to fix ‘outdated’ immigration system (Chicago Sun-Times)
Gov. J.B. Pritzker says he’s ‘deeply concerned’ with Mayor Brandon Johnson’s migrant shelter plan (Chicago Tribune)
Illinois’ estimated education funding increase falls short of Chicago’s needs (Chicago Sun-Times)
Illinois education officials are proposing an increase of $350 million in funding for local school districts next year, an amount that falls short of expectations and deals an initial blow to Chicago Public Schools’ efforts to address an impending budget crisis.
The Illinois State Board of Education voted Wednesday to recommend the additional funding to Gov. J.B. Pritzker for his annual state budget expected to be revealed next month. It would match increases in six of the past seven years. CPS received $27 million of that new funding last year and expects a similar amount again.
The proposal does represent an improvement, but many advocates had pushed for even more education spending as federal pandemic relief funding expires for school districts in September. That’ll leave huge budget deficits in some cases; CPS is projected to face a $391 million hole next year. But those cliffs are approaching at the same time the state is expected to face its own budget woes.
Related: State education board to seek $653M increase in upcoming budget year (Capitol News Illinois)
State Board of Education OKs plan to revamp how reading is taught (WBEZ)
Pritzker touts climate investments despite renewables lagging state goals (Capitol News Illinois)
Boston-based Nexamp, a major player in the solar energy industry, is joining the growing list of renewable technology companies that have expanded or relocated to Illinois in recent months.
On Monday, Nexamp announced its intention to spend $2 billion in Illinois, including building a second headquarters in downtown Chicago.
While Gov. JB Pritzker said the company isn’t receiving any direct state funding or new tax credits, its leadership was clear that state policy was a driving force in the decision.
Nexamp CEO Zaid Ashai on Monday said the company set up shop in the state in response to the 2016 Future Energy Jobs Act and expanded following the passage of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act in 2021.
“Illinois is our fastest growing market,” Ashai said in a statement. “But the state is far more than just an attractive market for solar generation – for Nexamp, it's a state which shares our vision of a more equitable energy future powered by a diverse, equitable, and skilled workforce.”
Pritzker in recent months has made several announcements regarding renewable energy investments in Illinois. These include Gotion’s battery plant in Manteno, MicroLink Devices’ solar cell factory in Niles, Prysmian Group’s cable plant in Du Quoin, Manner Polymers’ new facility in Mount Vernon, and Wieland’s copper plants around the state.
“We are one of the nation’s fastest growing solar and green technology markets,” Pritzker said Monday.
All of these projects were announced in the past eight months and all came with incentive packages through the state’s Reimagining Energy and Vehicles Act, which passed in 2021 and has since been expanded. Altogether, those deals are worth just over $360 million in tax credits paid out over decades, in addition to millions of dollars’ worth of other state and local tax breaks.
TOP STORIES FROM THEILLINOIZE.COM
POLITICAL POTPOURRI
Illinois is considering its own child tax credit (WBEZ)
Advocates make emotional plea for passage of bill aimed at seizing guns from those accused in domestic violence cases (Chicago Sun-Times)
Caulkins petitions state Supreme Court to vacate assault weapons ban decision (Bloomington Pantagraph)
Group of lawmakers look to ban food additives (Capitol News Illinois)
State delays cuts for individuals with intellectual, developmental disabilities (Champaign News-Gazette)
Staffing agencies not exempted from antitrust law, state Supreme Court rules (Capitol News Illinois)
Democratic congressional candidates differ on Gaza, health care in forum (Daily Herald)
With fundraising up, Illinois GOP may be turning a corner (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Budzinski: Act on immigration, protect abortion rights (State Journal-Register)
Former GOP Congressman Rodney Davis sees no path for Haley after Trump's win in New Hampshire (Decatur Herald & Review)
Johnson likes The 78-White Sox stadium proposal (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Editorial: The 78 is a fabulous site for White Sox baseball and much else (Chicago Tribune)
Editorial: Keep red dye No. 3, other potentially harmful additives out of food to protect Illinoisans’ health (Chicago Sun-Times)
Buckner: If Chicago doesn’t get federal help for its housing crisis, it should pass on hosting the DNC (Chicago Tribune)
Opinion: Illinois ban on assault weapons is working (Chicago Sun-Times)
Opinion: Pension consolidation challengers complete state court losing streak (Shaw Media)
Opinion: Political corruption won’t end in Illinois till lawmakers pass reforms (Chicago Sun-Times)
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