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The Wall Street Journal: The Chicago Teachers Union Power Play
Whatever happens in the Chicago mayoral election, voters can never unsee what they’ve witnessed from the Chicago Teachers Union, as it throws its feverish support to progressive candidate Brandon Johnson. The union’s falling approval ratings may be a leading indicator that Chicago voters understand the power grab at stake on April 4.
In two recent polls by IZQ Strategies, respondents were asked their view of the CTU, the longtime power in city politics. In January 57% of likely voters said they had a favorable view of the union. By February that number had sunk to less than half, while unfavorables rose.
The Center Square: New EPA regulations for safe water expected to cost municipalities billions
For the first time in 26 years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued new guidelines for drinking water safety. Municipal utilities will be required to install expensive filtration systems to lower the amount of PFAS in water supplies.
PFAS and PFOS are a class of 14,000 chemicals that contaminate the drinking water of more than 200 million Americans. The chemicals are used in a wide variety of products, from non-stick pans and stain-resistant treatments for clothing and furniture to semiconductor coatings and firefighting foam.
Chicago Tribune: ‘I wouldn’t do anything to damage my speaker’: Recordings in ComEd Four case show Madigan playing political hardball as trial pivots to week two
Michael Madigan was still the House speaker and most powerful politician in the state in early November 2018 when he called a longtime confidant for a rundown of the latest thorny political issues.
After Madigan’s friend, Michael McClain, remarked “today’s not a slow day for you,” the speaker laughed.
Chicago Sun-Times: Chicago’s mayoral candidates have radically different approaches to fixing public schools. Here’s why.
Two candidates remain on the ballot for Chicago’s April 4 mayoral runoff election whose stories cannot be told without public schools: Paul Vallas, a former Chicago Public Schools CEO, versus Brandon Johnson, a Chicago Teachers Union official.
Capitol News: House panel debates ranked choice voting
Illinois lawmakers are debating whether the state should join a growing list of jurisdictions in the United States that allow voters to pick more than one candidate for an office, ranking them in order of preference rather than choosing just one.
Ranked choice voting, or as it’s sometimes called, “instant runoff voting,” actually has a long history in U.S. elections at the municipal level. But it has become more widely adopted in modern times, including in several states and dozens of municipalities.