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Isabel’s afternoon roundup (Updated x2)

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…Adding… The governor has signed the Chicago elected school board bill…

Today, Governor JB Pritzker took the following bill action:

Bill Number: SB0015
Description: Divides the City of Chicago into 10 districts and 20 subdistricts for determining members of the Chicago Board of Education. The Mayor shall appoint the President of the Chicago Board of Education and 10 members. An additional 10 members will be elected to the Board in the 2024 general election. All members of the Chicago Board of Education will be elected in the 2026 general election.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately

…Adding… Senate President Don Harmon…

Today marks the start of an exciting new era in community-led education in which the parents, families and taxpayers of Chicago are empowered to decide what is best for their schools. This move to elected, representative democracy for Chicago Public Schools is an achievement decades in the making and a testament to the power of collective action. Special recognition goes to the community advocates who patiently led these efforts for many years, as well as the dedicated legislators who helped shepherd this effort through the legislative process including Senator Rob Martwick, who was the sponsor of the original law that created the elected school board, Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford, Senator Omar Aquino and Senator Elgie Sims.

* Attorney General Raoul…

Attorney General Kwame Raoul today announced that more than 190 teams of assistant attorneys general and investigators from his office will be monitoring the primary election throughout Illinois on Tuesday, March 19 to ensure that voters’ rights are protected and polling places are accessible.

Raoul urged voters to call his office if they encounter suspected improper or illegal activity. Chicago and northern Illinois voters can call 1-866-536-3496. Central and southern Illinois voters can call 1-866-559-6812. Individuals with hearing or speech disabilities can reach the office by using the 7-1-1 relay service.

“The right to vote is one of the most fundamental rights we have as Americans. This is why my office will be monitoring polling places to ensure that right is protected,” Raoul said. “Voters who feel their voting rights have been violated or who have witnessed concerning behavior should immediately report it to my office or local law enforcement.”

Attorney General Raoul reminded voters of some of their basic voting rights:

* Mark Maxwell



* Governor Pritzker in the Tribune

Three weeks ago, I proposed my sixth balanced budget for our state. In my budget address, I argued, as I have in years past, that the people of Illinois deserve relief from recent high inflation, especially every time they shop for groceries. We ought to eliminate the regressive sales tax on groceries and put money back into the pockets of the working families of Illinois. Making life easier for people by lowering the cost of living is one of the most basic responsibilities of government. The cost of food is high, and state government doesn’t need to add to that burden.

Getting rid of the grocery tax should be a bipartisan endeavor championed by every elected official. As you’ve read in these pages, there are some who are fighting against this tax cut, and their excuse is that local governments need their residents to pay grocery taxes. They have even threatened to raise property taxes and cut services if we give everyone some relief at the grocery checkout counter.

What grocery tax cut opponents aren’t telling you is that local governments in Illinois have seen a dramatic increase in funding from state government, and they can afford to lower your local tax burden. In 2010, the state distributed $3.8 billion to local governments, and in 2023, that number nearly doubled to more than $7 billion. While municipalities claim their funding from the Local Government Distributive Fund was cut, the numbers tell a different story. Funding from that source has doubled, from $985 million in 2010 to $1.9 billion today. That’s more than twice the rate of inflation. In fact, since I took office in 2019, local governments have seen a windfall of overall support from state government of an additional $1.3 billion a year.

Here are some of the ways we accomplished that: In 2019 when the General Assembly and I closed an online sales tax loophole benefiting mostly out-of-state corporations, Illinois municipalities began receiving an additional $200 million a year in sales tax revenue. That same year, we passed the landmark Rebuild Illinois capital plan, and local governments have benefited from $680 million annually to use at their discretion for local transportation projects. When we legalized cannabis, we ensured locals would see a share of that revenue, now totaling an estimated $100 million per year.

We are also saving local governments $110 million annually by having the state assume the cost of local bond issuances. Just last year, we increased the percentage of individual income taxes that state government shares with municipalities and counties. On top of all of that, the state is sending nearly $80 million a year in video gaming revenue to local governments.

* Ben Szalinski

* Here’s the rest…

posted by Isabel Miller
Monday, Mar 18, 24 @ 2:24 pm

Comments

  1. “They have even threatened to raise property taxes and cut services if we give everyone some relief at the grocery checkout counter.”

    It’s not a threat. When one revenue stream is ended, there will either be an alternative revenue source, or cuts will be made. It is impractical for smaller local governments to collect the tax independently. So property taxes go up, or services are cut. Either way, it is a potential boon to Pritzker’s political opponents. No matter how small the impact the grocery tax actually has, if there is a recession in the next two years, cuts to services and property tax hikes will be blamed on the governor. Still seems like a strange stand to take.

    Comment by Ducky LaMoore Monday, Mar 18, 24 @ 2:55 pm

  2. It’s too bad the Governor signed an elected school board bill that limits voter choice while making it harder for the average parent to access the ballot if they want to run for the Elected School Board in Chicago.

    Comment by Valerie F. Leonard Monday, Mar 18, 24 @ 3:21 pm

  3. - if there is a recession in the next two years, cuts to services and property tax hikes will be blamed on the governor - …You hope.

    Comment by Dotnonymous x Monday, Mar 18, 24 @ 3:30 pm

  4. –It’s not a threat–

    Has someone cut services already because of this? because otherwise, yes it is just a threat. And a poor one, in the bigger picture.

    Anyone who will believe it’s somehow the fault of the governor when their locals are cutting services, would also blame the governor for it raining on a weekend. It’s not going to move the needle with anyone.

    But please, make sure to announce to all your constituents you can’t make any decisions and everything is the fault of someone else. Sometimes I wonder if these opponents realize they are insulting themselves?

    Nice to see the governor putting out real numbers and tangible examples why locals are in fact getting more money from the state.

    Comment by TheInvisibleMan Monday, Mar 18, 24 @ 4:07 pm

  5. This is not a perfect being enemy of the good type of situation, this is a bill that dements what parents in Chicago have fought for day in day out.

    Comment by Macon Bakin Monday, Mar 18, 24 @ 5:27 pm

  6. -cuts to services and property tax hikes will be blamed on the governor-

    This is a big assumption here. This is Illinois. MAGA Republicans will get the blame, which is very popular to blame them for Illinois’ problems.

    Comment by Steve Monday, Mar 18, 24 @ 5:30 pm

  7. ===this is a bill that dements what parents in Chicago have fought for day in day out===

    If you’re talking about the elected school board bill, an immediately fully elected bill was stopped by the mayor, the CTU and CPS. Take it up with them because in Spfld it’s 60-30-1.

    Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Mar 18, 24 @ 7:32 pm

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