THE ILLIONIZE: Thursday Free for All...State opens migrant shelter...Abortions spike in Illinois...Bears still can't make up their minds
January 11, 2024
Good morning, Illinois.
Congratulations to our friend Adam Nielsen, the federal lobbyist for the Illinois Farm Bureau, who just retired from the organization.
He's always been a pro, even when an angry campaign guy yelled at him pretty loudly one time. (Yeah, it was me. Jerk.) But he's the best.
Best wishes.
We’re recording our podcast later today. Paid subscribers will have it tomorrow.
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Governor Pritzker speaks at the Southern Illinois Healthcare Cancer Center in Carterville at 10 this morning. The General Assembly returns Tuesday.
Let’s get to it.
YOUR THURSDAY FREE FOR ALL
(note: we’re not responsible for paywalls and restrictions from other news outlets, because good journalism isn’t free)
Little Village Shelter to House 220 Migrants as Asylum Seekers Continue to Arrive in Chicago Area (WTTW)
As Illinois opened a new shelter Wednesday in Little Village that will house a fraction of the more than 30,000 Latin American migrants sent to Chicago from Texas, Gov. J.B. Pritzker hinted that strategies are in play to prevent more migrants from coming to Chicago via plane.
The shelter, on a former CVS lot at 27th Street and Pulaski Road, can accept 220 people, with priority going to families and individuals with disabilities.
“It’s phenomenal what we’ve been able to do in a relatively short period of time and to accommodate very young children,” Pritzker said. “Making sure these young children have a place that they can play, even in a very difficult situation, that’s been put into this site. It’s well managed. And I feel good about the opportunity there.”
But, per media reports, those who don’t get a bed in that or other shelters may well find themselves stuck for days living on heated buses near Chicago’s migrant landing zone downtown.
The Democratic governor said it’s at the feet of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, who Pritzker said is perpetuating a “cheap political stunt” in hopes of scoring points in a presidential election year.
“It won’t. People care about people,” Pritzker said. “And the humanitarian crisis that the Texas governor and Republicans are causing is one that we intend to address.”
Illinois officials said they don’t know when or where migrants will arrive, nor how many — making it difficult to coordinate care, particularly given that many asylum seekers don’t have coats and clothing appropriate for Chicago’s winter weather.
Chicago has attempted to get a better handle by requiring buses make drop-offs at the landing zone within specified times, or face fines.
Busloads of migrants have since arrived in communities outside Chicago, leading suburban communities to enact their own bus restrictions.
Privately chartered planes of migrants have also landed in Chicago and in Rockford.
No planes of migrants arrived in recent days, though, Pritzker said, hinting that it’s due to steps the state is taking.
“We’re trying to prevent those companies from leasing their planes to the state of Texas,” Pritzker said. “In general, you can’t tell a group of people, or an aircraft, that it can’t come somewhere. On the other hand, there are lots of things that I think would be a significant deterrent, and they already are working.”
Pritzker said he didn’t want to “give away our strategies” by sharing specifics.
Related: Migrants — adults and children — languish in buses for days at city ‘landing zone’ (Chicago Sun-Times)
State opens migrant shelter, Pritzker talks supplemental spending plan (Capitol News Illinois)
Mayors to meet in Chicago to discuss migrant crisis (Daily Herald)
Ottawa creates emergency response for migrant bus drop-offs (Shaw Media)
Palatine Approves Ordinance Addressing Unexpected Dropping Of Migrants (Journal & Topics)
Illinois abortions surged the year Roe fell, with nearly 17,000 patients traveling from other states — a 49% spike (Chicago Tribune)
While abortion rights remain protected in Illinois after the end of Roe, many states in the Midwest and around the country almost entirely banned or severely restricted terminating a pregnancy.
The 2022 spike in total abortions and out-of-state patients was anticipated by Planned Parenthood of Illinois, which saw a 54% increase in overall abortion patients since the fall of Roe, said President and CEO Jennifer Welch.
She added that a quarter of those patients traveled to Illinois for care from another state; Planned Parenthood of Illinois clinics have seen patients from 40 states since the end of Roe.
“This is direct evidence of the Supreme Court’s decision which allows states to enact abortion bans and restrictions, impacting the ability to equitably access care,” she said. “Abortion bans and restrictions absolutely affect people’s ability to access care where they live and have devastating impacts on lives and overall health.”
To keep up with the surge in demand, Planned Parenthood of Illinois expanded abortion services at its Champaign Health Center in 2022 and last month opened a new southern Illinois clinic in Carbondale.
Anna Kinskey, executive director of the anti-abortion organization weDignify, said the “increase in abortions in Illinois is a tragic but expected result of Illinois’ extreme abortion policies, led by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.”
“The impact of these laws is that more unborn children’s lives are ended, more mothers are traumatized and more families are broken,” she said.
The total number of terminated pregnancies in Illinois in 2022 was more than any other year since 1995, the oldest data archived on the health department’s website. Around 53,600 pregnancies were terminated in 1996, the previous record year during that period, according to health department data.
These aren’t numbers to celebrate.
Bears president Kevin Warren touts benefit of downtown stadium (Chicago Sun-Times)
The Bears own the 326-acre former Arlington International Racecourse property but continue to flirt with the city of Chicago and other suburbs about building a new stadium. When president/CEO Kevin Warren was asked Wednesday whether the Arlington Heights property remained his priority, he said instead that “the priority is to make sure we build a world class stadium for our fans.”
The Bears are still talking to Arlington Heights officials to try to drive down their property tax assessment there. They’ve discussed staying on the Lakefront, including building on a parking lot south of Soldier Field.
“What intrigues me about downtown is I strongly believe Chicago is the finest city in all of the world,” Warren said. “Very rarely do you get the opportunity to have such a beautiful downtown with a vibrant business community, with an absolutely beautiful lake and the energy that goes along [with it].”
The Bears could decide on their next stadium site in the next few months. Warren said it would likely take three years to build the stadium from the moment construction begins.
The Bears’ Soldier Field lease expires in 2033 but they can pay to leave early.
Related: ‘I love the city’: Bears president keeping stadium location options open, but embraces ‘really special’ downtown (Daily Herald)
TOP STORIES SO FAR THIS WEEK ON THEILLINOIZE.COM
POLITICAL POTPOURRI
Illinois Supreme Court to determine if cannabis odor can be cause for vehicle search (Capitol News Illinois)
U.S. Supreme Court declines to review Illinois high court ruling upholding gun ban (Chicago Tribune)
TSA intercepted 122 firearms at Chicago airports in 2023, including record number at Midway (Chicago Sun-Times)
Durbin, Duckworth honor labor leader Ed Smith in speech on Senate floor (The Southern Illinoisan)
Bally’s Chicago casino closes out year $9.7M short of Lightfoot’s budget bet (WBEZ)
Opinion: How do we address the educator shortage in Illinois? We have powerful tools to do so. (Chicago Tribune)
Opinion: Gun owners so far unmoved by law requiring registration (Champaign News-Gazette)
Opinion: The naysayers have it wrong. Illinois is the place to be for businesses. (Chicago Tribune) [note: Let a Naysayer Know!]
Opinion: Dust unsettled as deadline for new gun registration passes (Shaw Media)
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