Illinois Times: Black behind bars
In 2013, one out of every 266 people in Illinois was in prison. For African-American residents, it was one in every 68 people.
That’s just one of the shocking facts illustrating the serious racial disparity in Illinois’ criminal justice system. About 60 percent of the state’s prison population is black, despite African-American people making up only about 15 percent of the general population. At about 28,200 inmates, there are nearly twice as many black inmates in Illinois prisons as there are white inmates.
From their first contact with police to the minute they finish parole, people of color in the criminal justice system face more challenges – and often subtly different ones – than white people in the same system. The result is that people of color have dramatically higher odds of being sent to prison and being branded with a scarlet letter in the form of a criminal conviction, which can haunt them the rest of their lives.
Chicago Tribune: Life after Speaker Madigan
House Speaker Michael Madigan and his defenders often bristle at the suggestion that he is responsible for the condition of Illinois. They dispute the notion thatMadigan is the superpower of state government.
With the election season squarely upon us, Madigan’s members who are running for re-election tiptoe on slabs of shifting ice. They don’t want to acknowledge his power. They don’t want to offend him. They don’t want to defend him. They want to appear independent.
They can’t have it all ways.
Besides, his superpowers are in writing.
The Southern: Madigan convenes more hearings on education funding
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan has announced another round of public hearings on the state’s education funding formula, which critics say currently leaves districts with higher poverty rates and lower property values at a disadvantage.
A bipartisan education funding task force, which began meeting last year, will hold its first hearing of the spring legislative session Feb. 16 in Springfield, the Chicago Democrat announced Thursday.
Overhauling the way the state funds public schools has been a priority of Senate Democrats, led by Senate President John Cullerton of Chicago. Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner gave a nod to the idea last week in his State of the State address.
ABC7: Illinois EPA no longer sending emission test notices
Amid the Illinois budget crisis, the state Environmental Protection Agency is no longer sending out emissions test notices to vehicle owners.
The tests are required when drivers try to renew their license plates, but the EPA stopped sending out the notices back in December. That’s the same time the Secretary of State’s office stopped sending out license plate renewals to cut costs.
The EPA notice is sent out four months in advance, which means vehicle owners are only now feeling the effects.
Crain's: Illinois Democrats are hiding behind warm, fuzzy policy—but it's still politics
I found Sen. Daniel Biss’ recent op-ed in Crain’s perplexing.
In more than a decade of one-party rule by the Democrats, hundreds of thousands of jobs left the state—many of which were middle-class jobs from manufacturing firms.
In the piece, Sen. Biss writes, “We need to look to economically successful states—Massachusetts, Minnesota and others—that have similar values and political traditions as ours in Illinois” and that “If we sit down, work together and study these examples, I am confident the General Assembly and Gov. Rauner can come together to craft a reform agenda that puts Illinois on a path to fiscal stability and enhanced economic vitality.”
I found these words very enlightening, as the governor and Republicans in Illinois agree with Massachusetts and the reforms they have made. I am left wondering why Democrats in Illinois cannot agree with Democrats in Massachusetts.
The Southern: Munger warns of dire consequences without state budget
Comptroller Leslie Munger is touring the state to sound the alarm about the long-term damage the ongoing budget impasse is having on the people of Illinois.
Repeating a message she delivered earlier this week in Chicago, Republican Munger told reporters Thursday at the Capitol that the state is on pace to dig itself $6.2 billion deeper into debt by the time the fiscal year ends June 30. That’s the result of $5 billion in lost revenue due to the partial rollback of a 2011 state income tax increase and $1.2 billion of additional spending in the Department of Human Services and the Department of Healthcare and Family Services due to court orders and consent decrees.
“By spending more as we bring in billions less, we are making it even more difficult to create a pathway for fiscal sanity, which will allow the state to regain its financial footing and keep our promises over the long term to fund education, social services, public safety and infrastructure,” Munger said. “So what is the answer? Clearly, Illinois must pass a budget, a balanced budget, and regain controls over our spending and revenue.”
Chicago Tribune: Teachers union has triple the public support of Emanuel
Three times as many Chicagoans side with the teachers union as with Mayor Rahm Emanuel on how to improve public schools at a time when the two sides remain locked in contentious contract negotiations, a Chicago Tribune poll has found.
The survey also found that Emanuel’s approval rating on education has fallen to a record low as the mayor and Chicago Public Schools CEO Forrest Claypool are slashing budgets and cutting jobs in the face of the latest massive budget shortfall. Voters’ displeasure with the mayor’s handling of education tracks with the similarly low marks they gave Emanuel on his overall job performance and handling of crime.
As CPS has faced surging pension costs and a plummeting credit rating — the district borrowed $725 million Wednesday at an extraordinarily high interest rate to stay afloat this year — Emanuel has sought budget relief from the state. Those efforts, however, have been caught up in the Springfield stalemate. And now Gov. Bruce Rauner is calling for a state takeover of CPS and suggesting the district file for bankruptcy.
Chicago Mag: Amy Campanelli on Criminal Justice Reform: “It’s All About Poverty”
You’ve been very critical of Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez. Is that part of your strategy to spur reform?
I am not making any sort of political move. I highly respect Anita Alvarez. But my clients are victims, too. I just want her to remember that. As the public defender, I need to change people’s beliefs and the way they treat my clients in bond court, and the way they treat my clients during trial or at sentencing.
Chicago Tribune: Thousands rally downtown for Chicago Teachers Union
Thousands of protesters took over Loop streets Thursday afternoon in a rally staged by the Chicago Teachers Union to show opposition to the district’s decision to slash school budgets and stop paying the bulk of teachers’ pension contributions.
As the protesters marched south on Wells Street, they chanted, “Get up, get down, Chicago is a union town!” The protest was closely monitored by a large contingent of police officers, while news helicopters hovered overhead.
“We’re going to need to see political seriousness on the part of the (school) board and the political leaders that have appointed the board,” CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey told reporters as the rally got underway. “We’d like to see some real good-faith actions on behalf of revenue and funding our schools. We would like to see more than just empty promises.