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* Decatur Herald & Review…
Property records show that a New Jersey-based company, Rising Newco LLC, spent $1.25 million buying the Decatur manufacturing facilities of bankrupt Akorn Pharmaceuticals. […]
Rising representatives did not immediately return calls seeking comment, but documents list an address that is the same as Rising Pharmaceuticals, which markets and distributes generic prescription products and medicines. […]
The arrival of Rising would appear to be good news for the empty Akorn buildings in Decatur, which shut down suddenly in February. More than 400 employees were abruptly thrown out of work as a result of the Akorn bankruptcy filing.
* SA Foxx press release…
Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx today announced the release of a public “Do Not Call List” of law enforcement officers who will not be called to give testimony under oath as a witness in criminal cases. The release of the “Do Not Call List,” is part of the State’s Attorney’s commitment to transparency and the broader modernization of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office’s (CCSAO) Brady Giglio policy which outlines the procedures that prosecutors must follow when disclosing information that could question the credibility of government witnesses.
“The culture that allowed disreputable law enforcement officers to testify in court propelled Cook County’s reputation as the wrongful conviction capital of the country,” said State’s Attorney Foxx. “Releasing our “Do Not Call List” and updating our internal policy regarding witness disclosure are necessary steps to improve the office’s prosecutorial integrity and help rebuild public trust in our criminal justice system.”
“Brady Giglio” is named after two landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases - Brady v. Maryland and United States v. Giglio. The Supreme Court’s rulings in these cases established a prosecutor’s constitutional obligation to disclose impeachment information to the defense.
The list is here.
* There’s just way too much “fittin’ to get ready” in government…
(T)here was optimism in the air two years ago when then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot brought the media to an outdoor event in North Lawndale to announce full-throated city backing for 250 new single-family homes. Intended to be priced for working-class buyers, they would be put on city-owned vacant lots, numbering about 950 in North Lawndale. […]
Lightfoot is now out of office, and Novara, highly regarded by housing advocates, is leaving her city job later this month. So how are those homes coming?
[Richard Townsell, executive director of Lawndale Christian Development Corp.] doesn’t mince words. While he said he’d like to have 200 homes started by now, only 18 are in various stages of construction, with two sold and contracts on four others. They are mostly around 16th Street and Avers Avenue and 18th Street and Sawyer Avenue.
He said the hold up is from all types of municipal red tape over the properties, even though the transfer of city-owned land should be easier than private-market dealings for parcels with liens and back taxes. […]
While he won’t blame individuals, he clearly has problems with people in top-level city jobs. “The city is spending too much time on fluffy things — issues of design and policy,” he said. “It is not built around production. It is built around policy wonk ideas, and as a result nothing gets done.”
And…
The Chicago Housing Authority has revived a long-dormant plan to build hundreds of homes on the site of the former Cabrini-Green housing project, another step in a neighborhood transformation that has been underway for more than two decades. […]
The CHA picked the project’s development team back in 2017, raising expectations that construction on the site would get underway soon. But years passed without any visible progress on the parcel — or on other vacant Cabrini-Green sites nearby, including a key property at the corner of Division and Halsted streets. […]
“It’s been over 20 years for me and Cabrini,” Ald. Walter Burnett, 27th, who represents the neighborhood, said in 2021. “I’ve been trying to encourage (the CHA) to hurry up and get started.”
* Press release…
Friends of the Chicago River and Sierra Club Illinois have served a Notice of Intent (NOI) to sue Trump International for additional violations of the federal Clean Water Act and the facility’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. For over a decade, Trump Tower Chicago has underreported the rate at which it withdraws water from the Chicago River in reports required by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA), resulting in an underreporting of its withdrawals by approximately 44%.
IEPA requires that flow rate data be submitted in gallons per day, but Trump International reports a gallons per minute number that it multiplies by 1,000 and labels as gallons per day. Of course, there are not 1,000 minutes in a day—the conversion should be 60 minutes per hour x 24 hours per day; there are 1,440 minutes in a day. This misreporting dates back as far as February 28, 2013.
“Trump International’s persistent and systemic misrepresentation of its flow rates and violations of the Clean Water Act cannot be allowed to continue,” said Friends of the Chicago River Executive Director Margaret Frisbie. “Friends of the Chicago River and Sierra Club are filing a second suit because the amount of intake water actually being used is much higher than Trump International reports, and the damage to fish and other aquatic life is commensurate. Trump International’s egregious mis-reporting is not in line with the significant public investments that have dramatically improved the health of the Chicago River over the past several decades, and we cannot allow Trump International to endanger that critical progress.”
* From the UK…
Today, Governor JB Pritzker continued the delegation phase of his trade mission to the United Kingdom with meetings with government and education leaders as well as a meeting with U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom.
The Governor and President of the University of Illinois system, Dr. Timothy Killeen, met with Sir Gerry McCormac, Principal and Vice Chancellor of the University of Stirling, and Sir Peter Mathieson, the Principal and Vice Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh. In addition to his leadership at the University of Stirling, Sir Gerry McCormac currently serves as the international policy lead for Universities UK, a collective of 140 universities.
The Governor discussed opportunities to strengthen the transatlantic connection between post-secondary institutions in the United Kingdom and Illinois. In particular, they discussed expanding mobility of distinguished researchers and students from the United Kingdom to Illinois, allowing for increased funding for researchers in the United Kingdom and increased flow of talent to Illinois.
The day continued with a tour of the Palace of Westminster led by Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office David Rutley, followed by a private lunch at Carlton Gardens. During this meeting, the Governor and fellow delegation members discussed trade and investment between the United States and United Kingdom.
Immediately following this lunch, the Governor attended a meeting with Jane Hartley, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom. In this meeting the two discussed why Illinois is an ideal location for United Kingdom companies and ways to further strengthen the United States and United Kingdom’s economic relationship.
Lastly, the Governor attended the United States Embassy Reception with the Illinois delegation, United Kingdom company executives, and representatives from the United States and United Kingdom Embassy. This reception is the kickoff to a week full of meetings with United Kingdom business and government leaders. Over the coming days, the Governor will discuss economic cooperation related to manufacturing, clean energy and technology, quantum, hospitality and real estate.
* The Kennedy family appears horrified at RFK, Jr…
I STRONGLY condemn my brother's deplorable and untruthful remarks last week about Covid being engineered for ethnic targeting. https://t.co/9YCag7JtHm
— Kerry Kennedy (@KerryKennedyRFK) July 17, 2023
Maybe Paul Vallas can run his Illinois campaign /s
…Adding… Two new tollway board members…
Melissa Neddermeyer will serve as a Director on the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority.* Melissa Neddermeyer is the Sole Practitioner and Owner of Neddermeyer Law Offices and has been a practicing attorney for nearly twenty years. She serves as Village President for the Village of Willow Springs, where she has significantly lowered the Village debt, increased services to residents and numbers of community events, enhanced infrastructures and road systems, and strengthened relationships with neighboring communities. Prior to being elected Village President, she served as Village Trustee. Committed to public service and collaboration, she is an active member of the Southwest Conference of Mayors and the West Central Municipal Conference. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from DePaul University and a Juris Doctor from Chicago Kent College of Law.
Mark Wright will serve as a Director on the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority.* Mark Wright is Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Diverse Facility Solutions (DFS). Since January 2002, he has guided the company to new heights in facility management, janitorial services, project and construction management, and consulting. Under his leadership, DFS has emerged as a prominent player in the janitorial industry. Notably, DFS stands as a minority-owned and MBE certified corporation, proudly headquartered in Chicago while operating in multiple states. Prior to his tenure at DFS, Mark was the Director of Operations at Midway Airlines’ Terminal Consortium (MATCO) from 2001 to 2003, and he played an instrumental role in the monumental $793 million-dollar Midway Airport Development Project the Naperville Planning and Zoning Commission, Naperville Development Partnership (NDP), SOS Children’s Village, and the College of DuPage Foundation.
Neddermeyer replaces Alice Gallagher and Wright replaces Stephen Davis.
* Isabel’s afternoon roundup…
* Labor Tribune | New Illinois law requires prevailing wage for solar project workers: Under the new law, developers who apply to the Illinois Solar for All program are required to pay the prevailing wage on solar projects that receive renewable energy credits. The law provides exemptions for residential buildings and small projects on houses of worship.
* Tribune | United Airlines agrees to give union pilots big pay raises: United Airlines and the union representing its pilots said Saturday they reached agreement on a contract that will raise pilot pay by up to 40% over four years.
* WGN | CPS center opens program for newly arrived migrant children: The center will be apart of a ‘one-stop-shop’ for recent arrivals. Children who will be attending Chicago Public Schools will be able to get language screenings, health screenings and be placed in the proper programs within Chicago Public Schools.
* Patch | Civil Rights Attorney Crump To Represent 8 Northwestern Hazing Victims: Civil rights attorney Ben Crump will represent the players and said in a news release on Sunday that he expects more players will join the suit in the coming days. The legal action is also expected to expand beyond Northwestern’s program and will, Crump said, expose “extreme and abusive hazing in other college athletic programs as well.
* Crain’s | Nonprofit hospitals more than offset the city services they get: For more than 100 years, the Illinois court system has held that nonprofit hospitals should receive property tax exemption when they provide valuable charitable and community services. Aside from life-saving medical care, in fiscal years 2021 and 2022, Chicago’s nonprofit hospitals provided more than $2.6 billion in various community benefits, including nearly $200 million in direct charity care. Most important, they provide emergency medical care to anyone who walks through their doors, seven days a week, 24 hours a day, regardless of any patient’s ability to pay.
* NPR Illinois | Forum on CO2 pipeline set for Monday night: Both sides will be represented at the hearing at 5:30 p.m. Monday at the BOS Center in downtown Springfield. Navigator Heartland Greenway will make a presentation. Also, members of the Coalition to Stop CO2 Pipelines will lay out objections and concerns.
* Crain’s | Chan Zuckerberg biohub will move to new space in Fulton Market: The bioresearch hub, which was announced in March, quickly leased 25,698 square feet in a lab building at 1375 W. Fulton St. But now it’s looking to occupy 28,200 square feet of space at 400 N. Aberdeen St.
* Block Club | West Siders Struggle With Flood Cleanup As Local Officials Say Resources Are On The Way: Neighbors said they haven’t received much help from the government yet. Local officials expect more resources will begin to trickle in in the coming weeks, including a temporary site where people can get cleaning supplies, federal funding for grants and small business loans, Rep. Ford said.
* Block Club | North Park Marines Building Could Become Migrant Shelter: Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office said in a statement the building is “one of many locations” being considered as a migrant shelter but that “no official confirmation has been made regarding its activation.”
* Tribune | Chicago aims to turn Diplomat Motel into ‘healthy housing’ for homeless people — with much more than a roof overhead: The City Council is slated to vote Wednesday on the $2.9 million purchase of the Diplomat Motel. That’s where the city plans to test a new “stabilization” shelter model whose goal is to transition homeless people into permanent housing by giving them their own rooms, as well as a host of medical and casework services. Next, the property will require a special-use zoning permit and modest renovations, with the aim to start the program in the first half of next year.
* Tribune | Antioch festival’s carnival shut down after child thrown from ride, police say: A 10-year-old boy was airlifted to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge after Antioch Police and Fire departments responded to calls about the injury around 2:40 p.m., the police wrote in a news release.
* Sun-Times | Blackhawks sign Connor Bedard to entry-level contract on 18th birthday: The Hawks signed Connor Bedard on Monday — his 18th birthday — to a standard three-year entry-level contract carrying the predetermined maximum salary-cap hit of $950,000.
* Tribune | Workers launch union effort at world’s largest Starbucks, downtown Chicago’s Michigan Avenue roastery: The prospective bargaining unit includes about 230 baristas and mixologists who serve elaborate coffee-based drinks and cocktails, bakers who make pastries in-house, and operations leads who work in retail and customer service at the five-story caffeine emporium, according to the workers’ union filing.
* Eater | The Definitive Guide to Restaurants Featured in ‘The Bear’: Superdawg is one of the most iconic places to get a Chicago dog, retaining its retro style and rooftop mascots Flaurie and Maurie since 1948. The restaurant can be spotted in the montage that opens Episode 7 of Season 1 and its hot dogs and fries are seen in their signature boxes at the party in Episode 5 of Season 2. The restaurant also has an outpost in suburban Wheeling.
* Malwarebytes | Proposed Massachusetts law to ban sale of your mobile location data: As the American Civil Liberties Union Massachusetts (ACLU) notes, the buying and selling of this data is unregulated and can impact on all manner of privacy and safety issues. Domestic abusers can track ex-partners. Foreign governments can use data for intelligence and tracking purposes. Employers can track and discriminate against employees. A variety of health and abortion access situations could lead to prosecution or harassment.
* Triibe | White Sox’s 17U baseball showcase honors Chicago’s rich Negro Leagues history: The Double Duty Classic (DDC) is an annual two-day baseball developmental experience featuring more than 30 top 17U high school players from across the U.S., hosted by the Chicago White Sox. Each of the players invited to participate in this year’s DDC will receive skill evaluations from collegiate scouts and coaches, a Negro Leagues edition of viral TikTok historian Shermann Dilla Thomas’s Chicago Mahogany Bus Tour, and an invitation to play a baseball game recreating the Negro Leagues’ East-West All-Star Game at Guaranteed Rate Field. Former Negro League player Dennis Biddle will be throwing the ceremonial first pitch.
* Sun-Times | A summer crappie big enough to draw a mention of palming a basketball: Jon Reith, who caught a true surprise of an allgator gar two years ago, caught the surprise of a crappe so big that he thought it was a bass to earn Fish of the Week.
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Jul 17, 23 @ 2:12 pm
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Trump Tower. We call that MAGA math.
Comment by very old soil Monday, Jul 17, 23 @ 2:30 pm
How many of the other 101 counties have made available, online, their Brady Giglio list? Are they shared when the Appellate Prosecutor handles a case? Inquiring minds want to know.
Comment by Anyone Remember Monday, Jul 17, 23 @ 2:36 pm
““The city is spending too much time on fluffy things — issues of design and policy,” he said. “It is not built around production. It is built around policy wonk ideas, and as a result nothing gets done.””
That is Chicago in a nutshell under the previous two mayors. “Big brains” in the Mayor’s Office that don’t take the time to work with the implementors in the departments to accomplish the vision.
The migrant crisis is a great example. The Mayor’s Office talks in hypotheticals, while the non-profits are the ones on the ground providing food, aid, and resettlement options. There’s no “czar” actually taking charge of the management.
Comment by NIU Grad Monday, Jul 17, 23 @ 2:40 pm
The Starbucks story is big. This is a union organizing story no one could have predicted 10 years ago. If the union can win at that Starbucks , the momentum could continue.
Comment by Steve Monday, Jul 17, 23 @ 2:45 pm
I would be interested in knowing more about the “red tape” impeding the housing-project deal. In my experience, developers complaining about red tape usually means that the city has the audacity to require compliance with things like contracts or building codes.
Also, there should be at least some red tape involved with giving away public property.
Comment by duck duck goose Monday, Jul 17, 23 @ 2:59 pm
“The Kennedy family appears horrified at RFK, Jr…”
They ain’t the only ones… S/
Comment by Bruce( no not him) Monday, Jul 17, 23 @ 3:01 pm
- Neighbors said they haven’t received much help from the government yet. Local officials expect more resources will begin to trickle in in the coming weeks… -
It’s fittin’ to trickle.
Comment by Dotnonymous x Monday, Jul 17, 23 @ 3:07 pm
=The Hawks signed Connor Bedard=
So excited to see how Connor and Oliver Moore turn out as NHL players. Bedard will be on the ice with the team this year, Moore will be a few years, but I hope the team can put together another cup run.
Comment by Cool Papa Bell Monday, Jul 17, 23 @ 3:46 pm
With the fall of the Soviet Union, someone must’ve told RFK, Jr. that the Protocols of the Elders of Zion needed updating. /S
Comment by Jocko Monday, Jul 17, 23 @ 4:12 pm
That press release by Foxx, her last day can’t come soon enough.
Comment by Almost the Weekend Monday, Jul 17, 23 @ 4:36 pm
Kudos to Foxx for (finally) creating a “do not call” list, and publicizing it, as well as for updating a disclosure policy.
Comment by Keyrock Monday, Jul 17, 23 @ 4:39 pm
RFK Jr is what happens when extremely wealthy and privileged folks feel a need to be heard… when they themselves are ignored on their own merits of being… themselves.
Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Jul 17, 23 @ 4:48 pm
The UK trip;
The fact that 40 Euro countries can’t match the GDP of Illinois as a trading partner with the UK… it puts, again and again, front and center, that Illinois isn’t the bad place the ignorant want to promote for bad business practices, Illinois is a giant as a state on the world economic stage
Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Jul 17, 23 @ 4:50 pm
===The city is spending too much time on fluffy things===
The conventional wisdom is that the public does not want the government to admit that we need more building inspectors, ect. to approve projects like this. But, according to the conventional wisdom, the government needs more buzzword filled press releases. So, this is the result.
Comment by Three Dimensional Checkers Monday, Jul 17, 23 @ 5:14 pm