THE ILLINOIZE: Thursday Free for All...The drama surrounding the scrapped Brighton Park migrant tent city...Burke caught red handed?...Pritzker opens door to major rail legislation
December 7, 2023
Good morning, Illinois.
Since some of you will ask, no, I didn’t watch the debate last night. The remaining GOP candidates are also-rans and have not shown they can defeat Donald Trump.
I wrote a piece handicapping potential House races next fall, where it looks like Democrats are favored to pick up at least two seats. My friend and GOP consultant Collin Corbett did a video yesterday breaking down races and he was, well, a lot more optimistic.
Governor Pritzker takes part in a solar panel installation celebration with ComEd in south suburban Chicago Heights at 10am.
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Pritzker tells Chicago to fold its tents — governor rejects toxic migrant shelter site in Brighton Park (Chicago Sun-Times)
Citing “serious environmental concerns,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Tuesday that the state is ending development of a proposed migrant camp in Brighton Park.
The decision follows the city of Chicago’s release of an environmental report Friday night that showed the location at 38th Street and California Avenue required cleanup of heavy metals and toxic chemicals.
“My administration is committed to keeping asylum seekers safe as we work to help them achieve independence,” Pritzker said in a statement. “We will not proceed with housing families on a site where serious environmental concerns are still present.”
The decision came after Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration on Monday publicly said the site could be made safe for temporary residential use by removing the harmful metals and other substances.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency disagreed, saying under its guidelines, “insufficient sampling and remediation at the Brighton Park site does not meet state cleanup standards for residential use.”
The agency began reviewing the almost 800-page report prepared by a consultant to the city over the weekend. That report listed mercury, arsenic, lead and other contaminants on site.
“Given the significant time required to conduct additional sampling, to process and analyze results, and to implement corresponding further remediation, the state will work with the city to identify alternate shelter options,” the governor’s office said.
The halt once again highlights some of the behind-the-scenes divisions between the mayor and governor’s offices as they deal with the migrant crisis.
Speaking to reporters after an event Tuesday, Johnson repeatedly said the state was aware an environmental impact study would likely reveal problems on the land.
“There was no indication throughout the entire process that a standard or a different methodology was preferable by the state of Illinois,” Johnson said of the state review.
As for a plan B, or an alternative site, Johnson criticized the state for not having opened a shelter on the former site of a CVS pharmacy in Little Village.
“We can’t wait six months before a decision is made in order for a site to be made available for a crisis,” Johnson said. “That’s happening today.”
The governor’s office said that site, which will provide 200 beds, would be open within the next two weeks.
Related: Gov. J.B. Pritzker won’t proceed with Brighton Park migrant camp, citing ‘serious’ environmental concerns (Chicago Tribune)
In wake of Brighton Park migrant shelter flap, three Council members call for resignations (Crain’s Chicago Business)
What defines Pritzker-Johnson relationship so far? Tension (Chicago Sun-Times)
State drafted, but never sent to Texas, flyer aimed at discouraging migrants from coming to Chicago (Chicago Tribune)
Editorial: Gov. Pritzker took the right step by ending city’s Brighton Park migrant tent plan (Chicago Sun-Times)
Opinion: Brandon Johnson and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week (Crain’s Chicago Business)
‘I was taken aback’: Burger King exec testifies about uneasiness with then-Ald. Ed Burke linking permits with tax firm work (Chicago Tribune)
The son of a Texas-based fast-food restaurant tycoon told a federal jury Tuesday he was “taken aback” when then-Ald. Ed Burke seemed to draw a direct link between helping with permit issues for their Southwest Side Burger King renovation and hiring Burke’s private law firm to do property tax appeals.
Zohaib Dhanani, a vice president for the company founded by his father, was the latest witness to paint Burke as wearing two hats, as the City Council’s most powerful, longest-serving alderman and as a private lawyer prowling for business for his firm.
Dhanani was asked Tuesday about a phone call he had with Burke on June 27, 2017, two weeks after he and his father met with Burke at the Burger King site on South Pulaski Road, where they talked about a driveway permit as well as complaints about trucks parking overnight in the lot.
In the call, which was played for the jury, Burke started off with a hearty, “Hello, my friend in Houston! How are you?” before saying he wanted to check in because he hadn’t heard from them after their meeting.
Dhanani told the alderman that they had looked into the truck parking concerns and discovered that they did in fact own the lot at issue. “So I made you a half a million bucks?” Burke quipped as they both laughed.
Later in the call, Burke got down to brass tacks. “And um, we were going to talk about the real estate tax representation and you were going to have somebody get in touch with me so we can expedite your permits,” Burke said.
Related: Feds play recording of Burke seeming to link Burger King permit approval with business for his law firm (Chicago Sun-Times)
Pritzker's rail comments foreshadow transit debate in spring legislative session (WGLT)
Gov. JB Pritzker recently voiced support for the Chicago Hub Improvement Program [CHIP], a plan that also holds promise for Amtrak service through Bloomington-Normal. The investment in transportation infrastructure would fix several problems at Union Station and connect it to two potential passenger-focused main lines.
Pritzker’s statement foreshadows what rail advocates hope will be a robust discussion on the future of transit during the spring session of the Illinois General Assembly.
As proposed, CHIP would transfer state-supported Lincoln Service trains through Bloomington-Normal from the current Canadian National Lines to rail tracks owned by Metra in the Rock Island District. That would avoid frequent and frustrating traffic jams caused by freight trains between Joliet and Chicago.
The current route to Joliet has four delay points where trains can stall for significant periods of time.
“It has been talked about for a long time. There was an environmental document put together about 10 years ago, for going from five daily round trips to 10. That suggested that was the proper way to go,” said Rick Harnish, executive director of the advocacy group, High Speed Rail Alliance. “Then-Gov. [Bruce] Rauner decided that we should stop doing the planning work. And so, it stalled. But Amtrak has really taken it up as an important issue.”
“It's not complex. There are many highway projects that we're working on right now that are a lot more expensive and a lot more complex. It's just a matter of making a state commitment to make it easy to get from downstate Illinois to Chicago to O'Hare,” said Harnish.
Amtrak lumping the diversion to the Rock Island District tracks in with other large-scale improvements in CHIP may make it more politically achievable, Harnish agreed.
“I think so. And I think we need to convey to the governor and the legislature that Amtrak proposal is a good first step. But we need to be thinking much bigger with a lot more frequent service than what is currently being proposed,” he said.
Harnish said doubling the number of daily trains between Chicago and St. Louis would increase use even on the pre-existing trains because it would be more convenient and flexible for business use and the service would become more reliable overall.
It’s hard to imagine enough demand for the kind of daily Bloomington-Normal to Chicago trips they’re talking about.
STORIES THIS WEEK ON THEILLINOIZE.COM
POLITICAL POTPOURRI
Over vocal opposition, Manteno board clears way for $2 billion Chinese-owned EV battery plant (Chicago Tribune)
For at least 6 months, state failed to act on Carlinville funeral director that mishandled remains (Capitol News Illinois)
Pritzker kicks off Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library expansion in Bloomington visit (WGLT)
Legislative races shape up with filings, John Egofske to quit 82nd House post on Friday (Chicago Tribune)
Former Madigan, Welch chief of staff hired as Springfield's statehouse lobbyist (State Journal-Register)
Bally’s Chicago revenues flat for November at $7.6 million (Chicago Tribune)
Chicago 2024 convention host committee launches drive to spread business to minorities (Chicago Sun-Times)
Opinion: Illinois GOP should challenge voting district map in court. Here’s why it won’t. (Chicago Tribune)
[note: House and Senate Republicans challenged the map in federal court in 2021. They failed.]
Opinion: Primary filing math points toward continued Democratic majorities (Shaw Media)
Opinion: There’s no getting around tax hikes to properly fund city and state services (Chicago Sun-Times)
Opinion: Illinois Commerce Commission rejects ‘business as usual’ in utilities’ rate hike requests (Chicago Tribune)
Opinion: Economic growth is the single most important job of running a city. Full stop. (Crain’s Chicago Business)
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