Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Sun-Times: Madigan’s heir apparent still up in the air — and he rejects call to stay out of it
Mike Madigan controls a majority of the weighted vote that will determine who succeeds him in the Illinois House, but a coalition of progressive groups from the Southwest Side and surrounding areas wants the “disgraced” former legislator’s opinion to carry no weight.
Leaders of the Coalition for Change IL3 released a list of demands Friday regarding the appointment, including that Madigan hand his votes over to a proxy and play no role in the decision.
Chicago Tribune: CPS high schools still have no reopening date. Here’s how one principal is helping her students cope in the meantime.
Lacking a high school return date and facing students disengaged with remote learning, Principal Karen Calloway of Chicago’s Kenwood Academy opened a learning hub in the library where up to 15 students could work, supervised by security officers and accessible to interventionists and administrators.
The school has invited students who seem to need more support academically or emotionally, and most have ended up coming, she said. They are still working independently, not talking much, but they can print materials, and it makes a difference to be around their peers, she said. From time to time, Calloway has stopped by, trying “to make it somewhat normal, as much as we can.”
State Journal-Register: What Illinois can learn from the Texas energy crisis
When parts of Texas’ independent power grid went offline this week due to unusually extreme cold weather in the south, the amount of expected energy production lost was equivalent to the amount of electricity used to keep the lights on in the entire state of Illinois.
During the winter weather months, Illinois uses about 20 gigawatts to produce the energy needed at peak times of the day, Andrew Barbeau, president of Midwest-based consulting firm the Accelerate Group and spokesperson for the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition said in an interview.
The Center Square: New scam: Texts offering Illinoisans Real ID upgrades
Illinois scammers are texting people, offering to update their driver’s licenses to Real IDs. “Don’t fall for it,” Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White warns.
The scammers are just out to get people to click on their link and give them personal information, the Secretary of State says.
Chicago Tribune: Mayor Lori Lightfoot says she’ll ‘soon’ offer a plan for civilian Chicago police oversight as proponents of competing ordinances fume over delay: ‘I am just so disappointed’
Chicago aldermen said Friday that community groups were nearing agreement on two separate, long-debated policing oversight proposals and would have had an ordinance ready for a City Council vote by next week if Mayor Lori Lightfoot had not asked for a delay.
The aldermen, who are working with two community coalitions to find compromise, said 11 sticking points had been narrowed to fewer than four in advance of a planned Friday committee vote on an ordinance, which was delayed after Lightfoot asked for time to craft her own plan.
WBEZ: Chicago Aldermen Approve Another Round Of Federal Pandemic Relief Spending
Aldermen on the City Council’s Budget Committee on Friday approved another round of federal coronavirus relief aid for Chicago, but it wasn’t without heated exchanges with the city budget director and more anger about how City Hall spent an earlier round of COVID-19 funding on police.
This latest round of federal support will help the city pay nearly $80 million toward rental assistance programs; $24 million toward vaccine distribution; and nearly $157 million toward technology upgrades to help the city’s Department of Public Health track and monitor the virus. Chicago Budget Director Susie Park also sought council authority to carry over $68 million in unspent CARES Act dollars that the city received in March.
Chicago Tribune: With Chicago slipping toward chaos amid George Floyd protests, report outlines how police and city leaders missed signs unrest was escalating and botched the response
The protest in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood in late May wasn’t unusual at first, as about a dozen younger men and women walked down a sidewalk along South Halsted Street.
“WE DEMAND POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY” one of their signs read. “GEORGE FLOYD’S LIFE MATTERED.”