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The Center Square: Blagojevich tells Madigan 'from one Public Official A to another' to publicly defend himself
Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was released from prison after his corruption sentence was commuted in February, gave House Speaker Michael Madigan some unsolicited advice on how to handle being at the center of a federal investigation, saying “from one Public Official A to another.”
His reference to the federal moniker both Blagojevich and Madigan now share after the deferred prosecution agreement between the U.S. State’s Attorney John Lausch Jr. and Commonwealth Edison referred to the Illinois House Speaker as “Public Official A.” Blagojevich was referred to as “Public Official A” in the federal complaint that led to his arrest.
Chicago Tribune: Pritzker says Madigan, who has vowed not to resign after being tied to ComEd scandal, owes public a full explanation
Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Friday that House Speaker Michael Madigan’s declaration that he would not resign after being implicated in ComEd’s federal bribery scandal wasn’t a sufficient response and that he owes the public a full explanation.
“Look, he continues to have unanswered questions hanging out there. He needs to stand up and answer those questions,” said Pritzker, who has called on Madigan to resign if it is proven he played a role ComEd’s efforts to gain political influence with him by offering jobs, contracts and payments to close allies.
WTTW: 1,500 businesses struggling to recover from unrest, pandemic get city grants: Lightfoot
Approximately 1,500 small businesses struggling to stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic and recover from unrest touched off by police brutality protests will get city help to make ends meet, officials announced Friday.
In all, the city plans to use the $6.2 million Together Now fund, fueled by federal relief funds, city money and contributions from Chicago charities, to help small businesses.
The Center Square: Pritzker says Democrats will help progressive tax campaign despite corruption cloud over party leader
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he is not worried that the chances of voters passing his progressive income tax amendment in November could be hurt by the corruption scandal around ComEd and the chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois.
Pritzker ran on changing the state constitution’s flat income tax to a structure with higher rates for higher earners. Without Republican support, the proposed constitutional amendment passed the legislature in 2019 and was put in line to be on the General Election 2020 ballot this November.
Chicago Sun-Times: Eight say enough? North Side state rep joins seven other Democrats calling for Madigan to step down now
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan says he’s not giving up his gavel, but on Friday the drumbeat calling for his immediate resignation from within his own Democratic Caucus grew a little louder.
State Rep. Jonathan “Yoni” Pizer joined the slowly growing list of House Democrats urging Madigan to step down now, without the conditions of waiting to see if a criminal indictment or conviction will follow the explosive bribery case federal prosecutors have leveled against utility giant ComEd.
WBEZ: CPS agreed to pay school police officers’ full salary and pensions — up to $150,000 per year
In the midst of a heated debate last year about whether police officers should work in Chicago’s public schools, district leaders agreed to pay up to the full salary and benefits of staff assigned to the $33 million program, even though they are police department employees.
Chalkbeat Chicago and WBEZ have learned that the school district agreed to pay $152,000 per police officer and $172,000 per sergeant on a 12-month contract. School is in session for 10 months, and officers have other police department duties during the summer months and other times they are not in schools.
Crain's Chicago Business: Reinventing the police
Chicago’s problem has become America’s problem. Policing in communities of color has reached a crisis point across the nation, exploding into public protest by people as diverse as nurses and educators, elected officials and athletes.
Reform of policing procedures has long been a critical issue in Chicago. A federal consent decree governing Chicago police conduct was implemented in February 2019 as a result of the city’s final straw of unjust policing: the 2014 shooting of Laquan McDonald—captured on police dashcam video—by an officer later convicted of second-degree murder and several counts of aggravated battery.
Chicago Sun-Times: CPS asks parents to decide in next week whether to send kids to school for in-person classes
Chicago Public Schools parents are being asked to decide in the next week whether to send their children to school part-time this fall or keep them home with only one day of live instruction online.
The choice is a monumental one for most families as they figure out how to balance their children’s education with the health risks of gathering in groups during a deadly pandemic. Yet it’s now one they have to make a month before school would resume without knowing the state of the virus in the city at that time, or exactly what the district’s final fall plan looks like.
WTTW: Pritzker unveils plan to ‘transform’ juvenile justice in Illinois by closing large facilities
Illinois will close five large juvenile detention centers as part of a plan unveiled Friday by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in an effort to “transform” the current system, which Pritzker called “too punitive and too ineffective.”
Once complete in four years, the transformed system will keep children and teens closer to home while they are detained in an effort to keep them connected to their families, schools and communities, said Pritzker, who unveiled the plan alongside Lt. Gov. Juliana Sutton at New Life Community Church in Little Village.