chicagotribune--2020-11-04--Speaker Madigan dealt blow as Democratic Illinois Supreme Court justice concedes defeat in retention

Speaker Madigan dealt blow as Democratic Illinois Supreme Court justice concedes defeat in retention bid

“ Though votes continue to be counted , I am disappointed in the apparent outcome .
I want to thank @ @ @ @ @ Judicial District for twice placing their faith in me to uphold the sacred principles that @ @ @ @ @ '' Kilbride said in a statement .
“ Serving on the Illinois Supreme Court has @ @ @ @ @ of my lifetime , and I am proud of the legacy I will leave behind @ @ @ @ @ is more open , transparent and accessible to all , regardless of economic means .
@

Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan was dealt a blow Tuesday as Democratic Illinois Supreme Court Justice Tom Kilbride conceded defeat following a record-smashing, big-dollar fight against a pair of billionaires who wanted to unseat him.
The stakes were unusually high in the retention campaign because Republicans view the Kilbride seat as their best chance to eventually knock Democrats out of a 4-3 majority on the state’s high court.
Now that Kilbride has lost, the court could seek an interim appointment until a replacement is elected in 2022. It’s unclear to court watchers whether Kilbride would have a vote on an interim justice to take his spot. Kilbride’s term ends in December.
One scenario Republicans envisioned is that the six remaining justices ― three from each party ― deadlock on a temporary Kilbride replacement. That would keep the court evenly balanced until the next election in 2022, a race in a nonpresidential year that Republicans hope to win.
Kilbride, 67, of Rock Island, needed 60% of voters to approve his retention and give him a rare third, 10-year term. Justices running for retention do not face an opponent.
But Kilbride only had 55.3% support with 96% of precincts counted, according to unofficial totals late Tuesday.
“Though votes continue to be counted, I am disappointed in the apparent outcome. I want to thank the voters of the Third Judicial District for twice placing their faith in me to uphold the sacred principles that guide our judicial system," Kilbride said in a statement. “Serving on the Illinois Supreme Court has been the honor and privilege of my lifetime, and I am proud of the legacy I will leave behind, including a court that is more open, transparent and accessible to all, regardless of economic means.”
The anti-Kilbride group claimed victory. “This unprecedented outcome sends an unmistakable message that Illinoisans want an independent judiciary with no ties to Mike Madigan,” said Jim Nowlan, the group’s chairman, in a statement.
Kilbride has strongly rejected the political charges that he made decisions based on whether they would help Madigan and his Democratic Party.
Madigan spokeswoman Eileen Boyce said the outcome is “something we’ll be watching over the next day or two” as all votes are tallied.
Kilbride was up for retention in a judicial district that includes 21 counties in north-central Illinois. Kilbride was hoping for a strong showing in his home county of Rock Island, where more than half the precincts had yet to be counted. The district also includes Kankakee, LaSalle, Peoria, Tazewell and Will counties.
[ 2020 election results: Get live presidential and Illinois election results here ]
With former Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris topping their ticket, Illinois Democrats hoped to catch a wave of enthusiasm for change in Washington that could bring out voters who would support Kilbride.
But Republicans also came into the night believing they have a realistic shot at defeating Kilbride — residents within the 3rd Judicial District’s footprint voted for Donald Trump in 2016 for president and for then-Gov. Bruce Rauner in 2018. Kilbride is viewed as vulnerable because he received just under 66% when he first ran for retention in 2010.
All told, the pro- and anti-Kilbride sides have put in $11.7 million. That’s a new contributions record for a state Supreme Court election in Illinois, breaking the previous high-water mark of $9.38 million achieved in 2004.
The biggest contributors to the anti-Kilbride fund came were two billionaire donors, hedge fund entrepreneur Ken Griffin, who gave $4.5 million, and packing mogul Richard Uihlein, who gave $1 million. State and national dark money groups with Republican, conservative and corporate ties gave hundreds of thousands more. A portion of the overall money also went into the Supreme Court contest in southern Illinois.
Griffin and Uihlien also opposed Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s proposed tax amendment that would replace the current flat-rate income tax with a graduated rate for the wealthiest Illinoisans. Anti-Kilbride forces hope their effort to oust the justice will be buoyed by a strong turnout by voters opposed to Pritzker’s tax amendment.
To bolster Kilbride’s retention bid, Madigan contributed $550,000 from the Democratic Party of Illinois that he chairs. The Democratic Party alone has contributed more than $2.7 million to Kilbride’s three contests dating to his first in 2000. Big labor, teachers unions and the trial lawyer community delivered multiple six-figure donations to support Kilbride in the current contest.
What’s different in 2020 is that Madigan has been implicated in an ongoing federal Commonwealth Edison bribery case. The power company has admitted to giving lobbyist and contract jobs to Madigan allies in hopes that he would look favorably on key legislation. Madigan has denied wrongdoing, but Republicans sought to hurt Kilbride by emphasizing his financial help from the embattled speaker, filling mailboxes with attack pieces.
The 3rd Judicial District is the site of one of Madigan’s most farsighted political wins.
The speaker orchestrated a late surge that helped Kilbride win his first race in 2000, a victory that flipped the seat from Republican to Democrat. The Kilbride victory proved invaluable to Democrats, saving their court majority when Republicans picked up the court’s southern Illinois seat a few years later. Democrats have controlled the state Supreme Court for more than half a century.
Another Supreme Court contest on the ballot was in far southern Illinois. With more than 60% of precincts counted in the 5th District, Republican Appellate Justice David Overstreet of Mount Vernon had nearly 62% while Democratic Appellate Justice Judy Cates of Swansea had 38%.
In Cook County, appointed Democratic Justice P. Scott Neville Jr. ran unopposed for a full term to replace the late Justice Charles Freeman from the 1st District.
rlong@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @RayLong


Warm November temperatures

As the election count continues , many liberals bemoan the fact that former Vice President Joe Biden did n't win @ @ @ @ @ ca n't believe such a large portion of the populace would still support Trump .
@ @ @ @ @ surprise anyone .

The District 113 School Board narrowly voted to approve the installation of metal detectors at its two schools, Deerfield and Highland Park High School, over a year after the Highland Park July 4 shooting and a incident in April where a gun was brought to Highland Park High School.


chicagotribune--2020-11-04--Evanston school officials say no evidence of hacking found after student encountered racial slur on

Evanston school officials say no evidence of hacking found after student encountered racial slur on remote learning platform

“ In this situation , a great deal of speculation occurred in the absence of facts , ” the email @ @ @ @ @ the unfair targeting of one of our Nichols team members .
While our community had @ @ @ @ @ upon learning of this incident , we ask that each of you have some faith @ @ @ @ @ investigate and determine resolution before jumping to conclusions .
We can assure you that these @ @ @ @ @ and handled with the utmost care .
”

After an Evanston middle school student encountered a racial slur on a remote learning platform last week, school officials now say an investigation found no evidence of any security breaches.
The mother of the Nichols Middle School student said Wednesday she was disappointed with the school’s response to the incident last week.
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On Oct. 27, while using the Google Classroom platform to complete remote assignments, the student saw the N-word on what would normally be the “Mark as done” button, said Nicole Parkes, the 11-year-old boy’s mother.
Parkes showed the button in question in a public video she posted to Facebook. She also reported the issue to the school.
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On Wednesday, administrators from the Evanston-Skokie District 65 school sent an email to parents saying the school had completed its investigation into the “racist and incredibly harmful epithet that was temporarily displayed in a student’s Google Classroom account.”
“After a thorough investigation by the District 65 Technology Department, in coordination with Google, it was determined that there was no evidence of an external ‘hack’ or a security breach of any kind,” the email read. “All student and staff data and accounts are secure. Further, there was no involvement or inappropriate conduct by any Nichols or D65 staff member. This incident was isolated to a personal device and did not impact any district-issued devices or any other D65 student or staff accounts.”
On Wednesday, Parkes said school officials told her that her son should have been using the district-provided iPad — which has advanced security features — instead of his personal laptop.
Parkes said her son had been switching between the two devices, but now uses only the district-issued iPad.
She would have preferred the district offer to look at her son’s laptop to make sure there weren’t any issues, Parkes said.
“I know that it is outside of their realm of reach because it’s a personal device,” Parkes said. “But at the time of the incident, he was on a school platform. They should have shown more concern. But I think the district was more concerned with making sure their end was covered.”
Parkes said she had just received the email on Wednesday and was still processing it. She planned to talk more with school’s assistant superintendent about their response.
“I definitely will be speaking to him to share my sentiments about that notification,” Parkes said.
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In the email to parents, school officials also expressed concern with how the incident was discussed on social media.
“In this situation, a great deal of speculation occurred in the absence of facts,” the email reads. “This included the unfair targeting of one of our Nichols team members. While our community had every reason to be alarmed upon learning of this incident, we ask that each of you have some faith in our district team to investigate and determine resolution before jumping to conclusions. We can assure you that these situations are taken extremely seriously and handled with the utmost care.”
gbookwalter@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-04--Column: Tight Biden-Trump election shows the cult of Trump is strong, and America isn’t the place ma

Column: Tight Biden-Trump election shows the cult of Trump is strong, and America isn’t the place many think it is

Should Biden wind up winning the election , regardless of the margin , it will be a victory against all @ @ @ @ @ waving my hands wildly in all directions — of this , the dark side of @ @ @ @ @ the forefront .
And if Trump wins , it shows what everyone should ’ ve @ @ @ @ @ cling to old ways of thinking and to power don ’ t go away easy @

The White House stands behind security fencing partially covered by protest signs on Nov. 4, 2020, in Washington, the morning after Election Day. (Patrick Semansky/AP)
In the days before the election, I wrote two columns. The first warned that Trumpism is akin to a cult and cult members tend to show up. The second said we must count every vote — period.
It seems those two things are playing out. Trump’s followers showed up in huge numbers. And we’re still counting.
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As I write this, we don’t have a clear winner. But democracy appears to be doing its thing, despite a flirts-with-fascism president, and for that we should be thankful.
What surprised me Tuesday night and well into the day Wednesday, as many of my fellow liberals bemoaned the fact that former Vice President Joe Biden hadn’t won in a landslide, was that anyone, liberal or otherwise, felt surprised that such a large portion of the populace would still support Trump.
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Of course they did. That shouldn’t surprise anyone.
Throughout Trump’s presidency, as he has demolished presidential norms and routinely behaved in ways that would have destroyed any previous president, we’ve heard well-meaning Americans cry out: “This is not who we are!”
I respect those cries for decency and wish they were true. But they’re not.
If this — imagine me waving my hands wildly in all directions — is not who we are, it wouldn’t all be happening. There wouldn’t be GOP lawmakers too cowardly to stand up to Trump’s corruption and incompetence, because there wouldn’t be voters back home ready to punish any Republican who dares question King Trump.
Trump’s approval rating wouldn’t have held steady in the low- to mid-40s while he brutally separated children from their parents at the border, fleeced taxpayers relentlessly by visiting and promoting his own resorts and bollocksed up the worst health crisis in modern history, leading to the deaths of more than 230,000 Americans.
But all those things happened, and more. And they were allowed to happen because a huge hunk of the U.S. population was not just fine with it all, but viscerally delighted.
There should be no shock in the way the vote has unfolded this election. I look at the appalled reactions on social media and among television talking heads and think about my favorite “Why does this violence surprise you?” rap lyric, from the late Notorious B.I.G.: “What ya think all the guns is for?”
What did you think all the anti-immigrant vitriol, the online trolling, the “(EXPLETIVE) Your Feelings” T-shirts, the wide-eyed fist-pumping at Trump rallies were for? What did you think Fox News’ domination of ratings and the popularity of rabid right-wing radio talkers were for?
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Like it or not, a huge swath — almost half — of this country is either racist or just fine with racism, a distinction without a difference. Those same people, clearly, can be taken in by a con man — no matter how incompetent or transparently self-obsessed — who gives them permission to blame their own struggles on others.
The Rush Limbaugh/Fox News brainwashing of America is real and soul-crushing. And it will persist, regardless of this election’s winner.
I’ve said it before: Those in thrall to a villain like Trump are gone. Those friends and relatives who bought into the MAGA cult aren’t coming back to a place of reason or reasonableness. And you can’t welcome back people who aren’t showing up.
This shouldn’t add to the doom-and-gloom many liberals, and even well-meaning conservatives who recognized Trumpism for what it is, are feeling. Frankly, my view isn’t gloomy — it’s pragmatic, and one can find optimism in pragmatism.
Should Biden wind up winning the election, regardless of the margin, it will be a victory against all — again, imagine me waving my hands wildly in all directions — of this, the dark side of America that Trump pushed to the forefront. And if Trump wins, it shows what everyone should’ve already known: Those who cling to old ways of thinking and to power don’t go away easy.
America is what it is right now. It’s a mess, but it’s our mess. So whether it’s this election, or the next, or the next, or anything in between, we keep fighting for and believing in something better.
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We can’t bend reality to our sense of right and wrong. That’s what the other side, the side that will inevitably be eroded by progress, is doing.
Those who believe America can be better than Trump’s version of America have to keep putting in work to create real change. Change built to last.
That takes time. And a clear-eyed acceptance of the world around us, no matter how discouraging that world might seem.
For now, let’s count all the votes.
Then let’s move forward, unbowed.
rhuppke@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-04--After Chicago matches record high for Wednesday, will the warm weather last?

It ’ s expected to be so unseasonably warm for so long that Chicago could match a nearly 70-year-old record @ @ @ @ @ consecutive days with a temperature of 70 degrees or warmer in November for the first @ @ @ @ @ tied the record high temperature for Nov. 4 set in 1978 , hitting 74 degrees @ @ @ @ @ ’ Hare International Airport , according to the National Weather Service .

People on Belmont and Sheffield Ave. try to shield themselves from the rain as a cold front moves into Chicago on Nov. 10, 2020. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
Anyone in northern Illinois looking to steer the conversation away from politics this week need look no further than the weather — and not just because it’s a small-talk standby.
It’s expected to be so unseasonably warm for so long that Chicago could match a nearly 70-year-old record and Rockford could mark five consecutive days with a temperature of 70 degrees or warmer in November for the first time. Chicago on Wednesday tied the record high temperature for Nov. 4 set in 1978, hitting 74 degrees at 3 p.m. at O’Hare International Airport, according to the National Weather Service.
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“We’re looking for this warm weather pattern to continue, with fairly nice conditions for November,” said Brian Leatherwood, a meteorologist with the weather service.
Two people walk on the Nature Boardwalk at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago on a sunny Nov. 4, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
The city logged a Tuesday high of 69 degrees at O’Hare, the city’s official weather recording site, Leatherwood said Wednesday.
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A low-pressure system was expected to move in late Wednesday, bringing with it significant cloud cover that could keep the temperature around 70 Thursday.
Weather service meteorologists were trying to determine how rare the winter warmup really was, so they researched it, Leatherwood said. If the city logs five consecutive days with temperatures at 70 degrees or above, it will match a decades-old record, Leatherwood said.
"It is a bit unusual ... the last time we had a (five-day) stretch of 70s in November was 1953.”
Parts of the city Tuesday hit the 70-degree mark, but that level wasn’t reached at the airport, so the streak would begin with Wednesday’s high, Leatherwood said. The cloud cover Thursday won’t mean rain, though — there’s no precipitation in the five-day forecast.
Thursday "will be the test for it,” Leatherwood said. “I think the cloud cover could beat it down, but we still have that warm south, southwest wind that could balance it out and get us very close to 70, if not above.”
Part of the reason for the sustained stretch is a big blocking high-pressure system off the east coast, sometimes known as the “Atlantic high” or the “Bermuda high,” he said. It essentially leaves nowhere for the Midwest’s weather to go, so the area gets stuck in a holding pattern.
“Fortunately, here that means pleasant weather for us, but elsewhere that’s not necessarily the case,” he said, adding that for Gulf states it could translate to a more slow-moving and damaging hurricane.
Rockford also has the potential to set a record for a five-day stretch of high temperatures warmer than 70 degrees, besting a four-day stretch in November 2008, Leatherwood said.
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“And I think that’s probably going to be broken, almost certainly,” he said.
Leatherwood said it is not as likely that any single day will break records for highest daily temperature, but it is possible this weekend.
In Chicago, the high Thursday was expected to be 69 or 70 degrees; Friday, 71 ; Saturday, 70; Sunday, 72 and Monday, 70 degrees.
Of those, a daily high-temperature record is most likely on Sunday. The forecast high of 72 degrees is only a degree shy of the record of 73 set on Nov. 8, 1978, Leatherwood said.
A system is expected to move through between Monday and Tuesday that will put an end to the streak, although temperatures aren’t expected to drop dramatically, Leatherwood said.
“We will not hit 70 on Tuesday,” he said.
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For more on the weather visit the Tribune’s weather page and check back for updates.
kdouglas@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @312BreakingNews


chicagotribune--2020-11-04--Pritzker-funded group concedes defeat on Illinois graduated income tax amendment, throwing future of

Pritzker-funded group concedes defeat on Illinois graduated income tax amendment, throwing future of state finances in doubt

The pro-amendment side pushed a more aspirational approach , calling it the “ Fair Tax ” and arguing that the @ @ @ @ @ same tax rate as lower and middle incomes .
But the side also dealt in @ @ @ @ @ from Lt. Gov .
Juliana Stratton that income taxes could increase 20 % across the @ @ @ @ @ ’ t adopted .
AARP Illinois , an amendment supporter , also said a retirement @ @ @ @ @ considered as an alternative .

Dozens of voters line up outside as they wait to cast their ballots at the Election Day super site polling place set up inside the United Center in Chicago, Nov. 3, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
The group backed by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker to pitch his proposal to enact a graduated state income tax in Illinois acknowledged the constitutional amendment’s defeat Wednesday and warned of a financial morass as a result of the rejection of the proposed constitutional amendment.
“We are undoubtedly disappointed with this result but are proud of the millions of Illinoisans who cast their ballots in support of tax fairness in this election,” said Quentin Fulks, chair of the Pritzker-funded Vote Yes for Fairness group.
“Now lawmakers must address a multibillion dollar budget gap without the ability to ask the wealthy to pay their fair share. Fair Tax opponents must answer for whatever comes next,” Fulks said, pointing the finger at “Republican legislators and their billionaire allies” who opposed it.
In a battle pitting billionaire Pritzker against billionaire hedge fund founder Ken Griffin, more than $124 million was raised by groups for and against a proposed change to the Illinois Constitution that would switch the state from a flat-rate income tax to a graduated-rate system in which taxes would increase as income rises.
There were two ways the proposal could have been ratified: It needed either 60% support among those voting directly on the question or more than 50% support of those voting in the election.
As for the first pathway, the amendment was falling far short of the 60% bench mark. The question had 45% support among those voting directly on the amendment. Another 55% voted against the question with nearly 98% of the state’s precincts reporting. All totals are unofficial.
With the measure having received more than 2.3 million “yes” votes, the pro-amendment forces acknowledged it would not clear the 50% support threshold from among all ballots cast in the election—even though Illinois law allows mail-in ballots to be counted until Nov. 17 if they were postmarked by Election Day.
The announcement of the proposal’s defeat was a huge blow to Pritzker, who had promoted the concept even as a candidate for governor in defeating one-term Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner in 2018.
Pritzker had made the graduated tax amendment his signature agenda item —but it ran into serious headwinds from a well-funded opposition, voter disdain of any tax-raising issue, and public distrust of Springfield amid renewed scandals involving Democrats who hold one-party control of state government.
Pritzker himself has faced sometimes heated public opposition to restrictions he has placed on the state to deal with the pandemic.
The Coalition to Stop the Proposed Tax Hike Amendment said the theme of its opposition campaign was "trust.'
“And, at the end of the day the voters knew we simply could not entrust the Springfield politicians with another blank check,” group spokeswoman Lissa Druss said in a statement. “This is a great victory for all hard working middle-class families, small business owners, family farmers and employers across the state.”
Griffin, whose donations to the anti-amendment group were essential in delivering the opposition message, said in a statement that Illinois citizens “delivered a clear message” to Springfield that “now is the time to enact long overdue reforms to save our state from fiscal ruin.”
“Illinois should forever be a place where people want to live, work and raise a family,” he said.
With state finances hanging in the balance, the ballot proposition was viewed as a measure of Illinoisans' trust and faith in their current government after decades of corruption and an inability to adequately budget.
[ 2020 election results: Get live presidential and Illinois election results here ]
At issue was whether to change the current flat-rate income tax, now 4.95% on individuals regardless of how much they make, to a tax that increases as income rises.
Supporters contended a graduated-rate system is a fair way to shift the tax burden and generate more money to help end Illinois' long-term financial structural imbalance. Opponents contended it’s a job-killing move that offers no guarantees that higher initial tax brackets for the wealthy won’t eventually creep down to the middle class.
Though the ballot question was nonpartisan, the fight over it was not. The referendum was backed by the governor and Democrats as well as labor interests including public employee unions. It was opposed by Republicans and traditional GOP money contributors and interest groups.
Those pro and con arguments and others played out largely on TV screens, often in back-to-back ads, funded by a record amount of money raised for a ballot proposition in Illinois. The bulk of it came from two billionaires.
Pritzker, a wealthy heir of the Hyatt Hotels fortune, made the graduated tax proposal his top agenda issue. Pritzker, worth $3.4 billion according to Forbes, gave $58 million to the pro-amendment Vote Yes for Fairness campaign.
On the other side was Griffin, the founder and CEO of the Citadel hedge fund and investment group. Regarded as the state’s wealthiest individual with a worth of $15 billion according to Forbes, Griffin was the lead funder of the Coalition to Stop the Proposed Tax Hike Amendment with $53.75 million.
Collectively, those groups and others involved in the amendment fight were effectively even moneywise heading into Election Day, according to an analysis prepared by Kent Redfield, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois at Springfield.
Anti-amendment groups, which also include the Illinois Farm Bureau and the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, raised $62.4 million. Pro-amendment groups, which also included the union-backed Vote Yes for Fair Tax and AARP Illinois, raised $61.8 million, based on Redfield’s analysis.
Previously, the most money spent on a proposed constitutional amendment was $4.3 million for the Illinois Crime Victims' Bill of Rights in 2014. In 2016, $3.8 million was spent on a question to ensure transportation-related taxes and revenues went to transportation purposes, such as highway construction. Both amendments were approved.
The advertising strategy of anti-amendment forces played off voter concerns about their faith in Springfield, using speculative arguments in warning about the prospects of middle-income taxpayers paying higher taxes or retirees facing new taxes on their income because of “new” powers granted by the amendment.
In reality, the only new power in the amendment was to tax different incomes at different tax rates. For decades, lawmakers have only been able to impose across-the-board income tax rate increases regardless of income. Still, hitting middle and lower incomes with future tax hikes could be more politically onerous for lawmakers than singling out higher wage earners down the road.
Nothing in the amendment mentions taxing retirement benefits, and lawmakers have always had the power to impose such a tax in Illinois — one of three states with an income tax that does not put a levy on pensions or qualified retirement benefits.
The pro-amendment side pushed a more aspirational approach, calling it the “Fair Tax” and arguing that the wealthy should not pay the same tax rate as lower and middle incomes. But the side also dealt in speculation, with a warning from Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton that income taxes could increase 20% across the board if the amendment isn’t adopted. AARP Illinois, an amendment supporter, also said a retirement tax might have to be considered as an alternative.
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Illinois has had an income tax for five decades, starting at a personal rate of 2.5% that lasted through 1982. Since then, the rate has fluctuated, going as high as 5% from 2011 to 2014, then falling to 3.75% between 2015 and June 2017, and then coming up to the current 4.95% rate.
Under a law adopted by the Democratic-controlled General Assembly last year, new rates would take effect on Jan. 1 if the amendment is ratified by voters.
Individual and joint filers would pay 4.75% on their first $10,000 in income, 4.9% on income over $10,000 to $100,000 and 4.95% on income from $100,001 to $250,000.
At that point, the income ranges and tax diverge for individuals and people filing jointly. Individuals would pay 7.75% on income between $250,001 to $350,000 and 7.85% on income from $350,001 to $750,000. Joint filers would pay 7.75% on income between $250,001 to $500,000 and 7.85% on income between $500,001 to $1 million.
Individuals making more than $750,001 or married couples earning more than $1 million would see their entire income taxed at 7.99%.
The corporate tax rate, currently at 7%, would rise to 7.99%. Corporations also pay a personal property replacement tax of 2.5%, which is basically added onto their income tax liability.
Supporters said that under the tax rates that would go into effect if the amendment is adopted, 97% of Illinoisans — those earning $250,000 or less — would pay the same or lower income taxes.
The fate of the amendment is particularly acute because of declines in government revenue due to pandemic restrictions. Pritzker has said if the amendment is adopted, it would raise $1.2 billion for the final six months of this budget year and $3.4 billion over the course of a full year.
Pritzker has estimated a revenue loss of $6.5 billion this budget year and next, and has helped to keep the spending plan solvent with the ability to borrow up to $5 billion from the Federal Reserve. But there is uncertainty over how to pay it back as Washington remains stalemated over giving money to state and local governments.
rpearson@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-04--City fixes curbless Depression-era streets that led to Chicago alderman’s no vote on Obama President

City fixes curbless Depression-era streets that led to Chicago alderman’s no vote on Obama Presidential Center

Controversy over the street ’ s condition arose in June 2018 , when Ald .
David Moore , 17th , @ @ @ @ @ rationale for voting against authorization for the proposed Obama Presidential Center , which was scheduled @ @ @ @ @ million for infrastructure and roadwork in state money .
At the time , Moore said @ @ @ @ @ fixing well-maintained streets for the Obama center while his roads remained in poor condition .

Chicago’s Department of Transportation has fixed a poorly maintained stretch of road in West Englewood that led a South Side alderman to vote against authorization for the Obama Presidential Center.
For years, residents complained about a road along 73rd Street from Damen to Hoyne avenues that had no curbs and poor drainage. The streets dated back to the Great Depression-era Works Progress Administration, a New Deal public works program President Franklin D. Roosevelt started, and desperately needed repair.
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Barbara Steward, who first moved into the neighborhood nearly 50 years ago and pushed for the street to be fixed, is one of the residents who argued with city officials for new roads.
“We deserve everything that they get up north,” she said. “We pay taxes.”
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On Wednesday, she finally got her wish as the city unveiled a remade road, complete with new streetlights and tree plantings.
Curb improvements and tree plantings are shown on 73rd Street from an alley west of Seeley Avenue in Chicago on Nov. 4, 2020. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
Controversy over the street’s condition arose in June 2018, when Ald. David Moore, 17th, cited the road as his rationale for voting against authorization for the proposed Obama Presidential Center, which was scheduled to cost nearly $175 million for infrastructure and roadwork in state money. At the time, Moore said he couldn’t justify fixing well-maintained streets for the Obama center while his roads remained in poor condition.
At a ceremony on Wednesday, Moore said he “took a risk” by voting against the Obama center.
“They told me if I take (a no vote), I wouldn’t be reelected,” he said.
Still, he was easily reelected and continued pushing for the project, which cost $800,000. Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel set aside funding but it wasn’t enough, so his successor, Mayor Lori Lightfoot, worked with him to finish the job, Moore said.
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The Obama center has received widespread support from civic leaders and politicians, particularly from African American residents who see it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to remake a substantial part of the South Side while honoring America’s first Black president.
But it’s also raised concerns from advocates who worry about displacement and gentrification, among other criticisms.
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Moore was clear that he didn’t oppose the Obama center and his vote, which made no difference to the project’s authorization, was symbolic.
“It’s just disturbing when they say we don’t have the money,” Moore said in 2018. “But when it’s a big project they want, they go ahead and get it.”
Moore said he knows Barack Obama dating back to the former president’s days as an Illinois state senator running for Congress, driving with him to community meetings and even going as a surrogate for him once or twice.
Longtime residents celebrated on the street after a ribbon-cutting. So did Elizabeth Meyers, principal of nearby Randolph Elementary.
“To see that my students have sidewalks walking home, it means a lot,” she said. “It means not only there’s a level of safety that they have, but they also can see that they’re valued and cared for in our city.”
gpratt@chicagotribune.com
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Twitter @royalpratt


chicagotribune--2020-11-04--Chicago-area voters' Wednesday mood: From optimism to nerves to ‘grim forebearance’

“ The candidates aren ’ t the ones who are going to be at the grocery store , ” she @ @ @ @ @ re not your neighbors .
They ’ re going to be fine either way .
@ @ @ @ @ be the ones dealing with the aftermath .
It ’ s important to be kind @ @ @ @ @ and doing the right thing .
”

Election signage in Times Square as ballots are still being counted in multiple states, on Nov. 6, 2020. (Todd Heisler/The New York Times)
The poll numbers didn’t look great for President Donald Trump as Election Day approached, but a different metric gave Frank Adams hope: Every weekend, the pro-Trump car rallies he helped to organize in the Chicago suburbs grew larger.
So with the presidential election still undecided Wednesday morning, Adams, a retired businessman who lives in Warrenville, said he was “optimistic and praying” that Trump would prevail.
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Donald Trump supporter Frank Adams at his Warrenville home on Nov. 4, 2020. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
“I feel, and a lot of my friends do too, that the Republicans are the party for the American people,” he said. “They put America first. And I think Americans are tired of the politicians who have been in the system for life and gotten rich off our tax dollars.”
Meanwhile, Mawuli Agbefe, a debate coach at Evanston Township High School, was cautiously confident Joe Biden would edge out Trump when all the votes were counted.
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“I think Biden will actually win, but it is surprising that so many people are supporting Trump” in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said. “For people to say, ‘Yeah, this is the guy who should be leading the country for another four years,’ is a little alarming.”
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 58 Dozens of voters line up outside as they wait to cast their ballots at the Election Day super site polling place set up inside the United Center in Chicago, Nov. 3, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
So it went across the Chicago area Wednesday as the votes continued to be counted in a presidential race still cloaked in uncertainly a day after the polls closed. Backers of each candidate expressed a mix of assurance and alarm as ballot returns trickled in.
[ 100 years of the Chicago Tribune's presidential election front pages ]
Mekhala Merchant, an Oak Park clinical psychologist and Biden supporter, said she didn’t really expect the “blue wave” others were predicting.
“I think four years ago was a big surprise,” she said. “I was expecting to be more upset, but I think after the last time I was a little more emotionally prepared.”
Merchant’s neighbor, Spencer Hoekstra, had a different kind of Zen approach to the failure of the election to produce a conclusive result or to go the way polls suggested it would.
A polling place at Welles Park in Chicago a day after the elections on Nov. 4, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Hopeful Biden would win, he was taking in results on a Zoom call with a long-standing group of election-watching friends, each monitoring a different news source.
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“At first, sort of universally, everyone was talking about how they weren’t going to get their hopes up,” he said. “But it was hard not to when it felt like super early returns had Texas going to Biden, Pennsylvania. I was like: Could this really be? Could Nate Silver be right?”
“And then it started to feel like 2016 pretty quickly. So I adopted the same posture I’ve been in for the past four years, just sort of grim forbearance: ‘All right, we’re just going to have to white-knuckle it.’ ”
“This idea that people were going to change, it’s like, we need to learn a lesson here, folks,” Hoekstra said. “The reality is we might live in Trump’s America. That may be true. It may be that we’re the outliers.”
For the Rev. Marshall Hatch, lead pastor of the New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church on the West Side, the lack of a clear repudiation of Trumpism was ominous.
“The division in the country is the most pronounced outcome of the election,” he said. “That division, it continues, and there’s a tremendous racial breakdown. The president’s base is basically white people who feel they have a grievance and who are probably pretty much terrified about what it may mean to live in a multiracial democracy.”
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In his pastoral practice, Hatch has worked to build coalitions across Chicago, and he tried to have hope before the election. “And I tried to give that to people,” he said, “even though there was something internally saying that in many respects America is who I thought they were.”
The Rev. Marshall Hatch at New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church in West Garfield Park, Nov. 4, 2020, the day after Election Day. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
As for how he’ll cope and how he’ll counsel parishioners to cope, “I think cold reality is where I am,” he said. “America has Balkanized, obviously. But the real action is still going to be at the local level with communities coming together and building for themselves.”
Though the city braced for possible unrest in the wake of the election, residents carried on with their lives as though it were any other day. In Lincoln Park, Carrie Sesterhenn, a Biden supporter, browsed the chardonnay aisle at Binny’s Beverage Depot, “looking for a slightly nicer bottle to soothe a soul that hopefully won’t need soothing.”
The Binny’s store was in an area hit hard by looting earlier this year, and some nearby stores, including Ulta and Best Buy, boarded up their windows before Election Day. Sesterhenn considered stocking up on groceries and essential items in case further unrest shut down stores, but decided it wasn’t necessary.
“I would like to feel we’ve learned from this spring,” she said.
Trump fan Janet Zaleski left the Logan Square Target feeling good about her candidate, who she said has been great for the economy and her 401(k). Though she bemoaned the rioting and looting that occurred over the summer, she said she wasn’t doing anything to prepare for a recurrence.
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“I’m not living in fear,” she said. “I’m not stocking up on toilet paper.”
Back in the suburbs, Trump supporter Alan Quarrie of Elmhurst said the prospect of ongoing vote counting “lends itself to an air of impropriety. … I don’t understand how we can continue to allow mail-in votes to come in.”
Quarrie worked as an election judge and said he was stunned by the scarceness of Election Day voters. The Elmhurst polling place where he works typically gets 1,200 voters, he said, but saw fewer than 300 Tuesday.
But the father of four who runs a food distribution business said he was confident “the polls would be wrong again.” Trump delivered on his promises, Quarrie reasoned, and so “his voters were going to stay his voters.”
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He said Trump supporters are reasonable people who, if their man loses, “will wait our four years. We’ll wait it out and come back with another candidate.”
But if it goes the other way, he said, “I think the Biden supporters are going to be unreasonably upset, and I hope the country can survive it.”
Toby Wong had the opposite take on what the country needs and the merits of tallying all votes cast. Wong, who described herself as a “deaf Chinese American single mom living in Lake Forest,” said she found herself “optimistic and hopeful” as the election continued.
“For those of us who had to earn our right to be an American citizen and to vote, I take it seriously,” Wong, a former marketing executive, said in a text interview. “I strongly believe that every vote matters and every vote should be counted. While I wished we would have had an immediate result, I always knew that it would take time.”
Trump winning in 2016 “was honestly worse than last night,” she said. “I wanted to see the glass ceiling broken with our first female president. ... Breaking glass ceilings matters — gender, race and sexual orientation — to show our kids that all is possible.”
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Oak Forest resident Audrey Tancos, a member of United Southland Republican Women, was shocked Trump didn’t close the deal Tuesday night. She was particularly disappointed that voters in Pennsylvania didn’t flock to the president, saying Biden’s energy plan would cripple the state’s fracking industry.
“I truthfully believe that people are not aware of what the Biden policies are, because if they were, they would have never voted for him,” she said.
She said she planned to spend Wednesday listening to the returns on Newsmax radio after Fox News let her down by calling Arizona for Biden before other news organizations reached that conclusion.
Rebecca Vitucci, a Round Lake sales rep who is president of the Lake County Young Republicans, wasn’t surprised by the deadlock, saying her own family split between the two candidates. Whatever happens, she said, she hoped the country would start to unify after an especially divisive chapter in its history.
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“The candidates aren’t the ones who are going to be at the grocery store,” she said. “They’re not your neighbors. They’re going to be fine either way. We’re going to be the ones dealing with the aftermath. It’s important to be kind and focus on the future and doing the right thing.”
Tribune reporters Lauren Zumbach, Lisa Schencker and Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz contributed.
jkeilman@chicagotribune.com
sajohnson@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-04--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Here’s what happened Nov. 3 with COVID-19 in the Chicago area

“ Local officials , local law enforcement should be standing up and enforcing the rules in this state , ” @ @ @ @ @ pandemic briefing .
“ Because weeks from now , when people end up going to @ @ @ @ @ of these gatherings … those local officials and people who live in those areas will @ @ @ @ @ to ask us what are we going to add hospital space when the hospitals are @ @ @

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CTU workers direct vehicles lined up for COVID-19 testing outside of the Chicago Teachers Union on Dec. 30, 2021, in Chicago. CPS starts back to school on Monday following their holiday break. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
For the latest updates, click here for Wednesday’s live blog.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker urged local police and sheriffs to quickly disperse large election night parties, cautioning that lax enforcement could lead to new surge COVID-19 infections.
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The Chicago Democrat singled out bar and restaurant owners who refuse to comply with state efforts to bend the latest spike in positive tests for the virus. He also condemned municipal leaders who are egging on scofflaws.
“Local officials, local law enforcement should be standing up and enforcing the rules in this state,” Pritzker said during his Tuesday pandemic briefing.
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Illinois public health officials Tuesday reported 6,516 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19. There were also 68 additional deaths reported.
The statewide positivity rate for cases as a percent of total test for the past 7 days is 8.2%. There were 82,435 tests reported in the prior 24 hours. The state has now reported 430,018 cases since the pandemic began, and 9,878 fatalities.
Here’s what’s happening Tuesday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
8:10 p.m.: Owners of Park Ridge restaurant report customer backlash as they follow governor’s order to close for indoor dining
Owners of a Park Ridge establishment that closed its indoor dining area last week in compliance with the governor’s order said they have been subject to backlash from some customers for their decision.
Jamie Kendall and Meghan O’Neill, owners of Sweet and Tart Shoppe in Uptown, said that between Friday and Monday they received 13 to 14 phone calls from people who said they would not purchase from their restaurant unless they opened their indoor dining area.
Some additional customers came to the door and, when told only takeout, delivery and outdoor tent service were being offered, walked away without ordering, the owners said.
A teenage employee reported being “a little shaken up” by a caller who was angry the eatery wasn’t fully open, O’Neill said.
“There’s this prevalent feeling that we’re darned if we did or darned if we didn’t (open), but we felt the safety of our employees and customers was the most important thing here and that should be what we always lead with,” Kendall said.
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“There’s not much we can do,” O’Neill added. “We take safety very highly and we don’t want anyone to get sick.”
The angry complaints Kendall and O’Neill received prompted them to share their experience on Sweet and Tart’s Facebook page.
“These calls, as well as remarks on social media, do far more harm than good, in our opinion,” the post read in part. “The penalties for not following the mandate include daily fines and the loss of a liquor license. We would like to remind those who object that we are a small, self-funded operation and are not in a position to handle such penalties.”
—Jennifer Johnson
3:41 p.m.: Pritzker urges local police and sheriffs to quickly disperse large election night parties
Gov. J.B. Pritzker urged local police and sheriffs to quickly disperse large election night parties, cautioning that lax enforcement could lead to new surge COVID-19 infections.
The Chicago Democrat singled out bar and restaurant owners who refuse to comply with state efforts to bend the latest spike in positive tests for the virus. He also condemned municipal leaders who are egging on scofflaws.
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“Local officials, local law enforcement should be standing up and enforcing the rules in this state,” Pritzker said during his daily pandemic briefing. “Because weeks from now, when people end up going to the hospital as a result of these gatherings … those local officials and people who live in those areas will be coming to the state to ask us what are we going to add hospital space when the hospitals are full.”
“It’s these local officials,” Pritzker continued. “If they don’t do their job, then we’re going to end up with hospitals having to turn people away. That is just not something that I find acceptable.”
—Michael Hawthorne
2:17 p.m.: Chicago’s weekly coronavirus travel ban update delayed for Election Day
Chicago won’t update its coronavirus travel ban today due to the presidential election but will be providing an update later in the week, possibly on Thursday, a city spokesman said.
Public health commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady typically announces revisions to the city’s travel ban on Tuesdays, which go into effect later in the week. But her regularly scheduled news conference is being pushed back.
As of last week, there were 31 states on the list, as well as Puerto Rico, where city residents can’t travel without quarantining.
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All of Illinois’s neighboring states are on the list and Michigan was added to the warning list last week.
—Gregory Pratt
12:36 p.m.: Lake Forest, Lake Bluff restaurant owners face tough decisions as they navigate new restrictions on dine-in customers
This past weekend, bar and restaurant owners in Lake Forest and Lake Bluff had to adapt to tighter operating restrictions due to Lake County’s recent surge in COVID-19 cases.
For many local restaurant owners, it was a decision that was not greeted warmly. Meanwhile, state officials say they understand the hardships the limitations create, but emphasize their necessity for reducing the spread of COVID-19 in the state as case numbers rise to new heights.
“It seems like it is another stab in the back toward restaurants. I can only do what they tell me but I think they are leading the restaurant owners in a path for being blamed for all of this, which is ridiculous,” said Joe Knesley, owner of Lake Forest’s Chief’s Pub.
For safety reasons, Knesley said his patrons have been sitting 10-12 feet apart at the restaurant, far more than the six feet outlined by health officials. It is part of an overall effort to abide by the safety guidelines.
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“Our restaurants have never been cleaner, everyone is wearing masks and washing their hands,” Knesley added.
Knesley said over the past few months, Chief’s has offered seating in a tent set up in a parking lot and shared with neighbor Egg Harbor Cafe. Yet under the new state restrictions, two sides of the tent have to be open, allowing for air movement. With temperatures now falling, Knesley senses the tent will not viewed desirable for customers.
Knesley thinks he will only be able to keep seven to eight employees of his current roster of 35, under the newly imposed restrictions.
“I don’t know if anybody running the state has ever had to go walk into a kitchen and tell everyone they don’t have a job anymore,” he said. “I know the pandemic is going on and I take it serious, but it is hard, this is everyone’s livelihood.”
Read more here. —Daniel I. Dorfman
12:07 p.m.: 6,516 new known COVID-19 cases and 68 additional deaths reported
Illinois health officials on Tuesday announced 6,516 new known cases of COVID-19 and 68 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 430,018 and the statewide death toll to 9,878 since the start of the pandemic. Officials also reported 82,435 new tests in the last 24 hours. The seven-day statewide positivity rate is 8.2%.
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—Chicago Tribune staff
7:20 a.m.: At Rogers Park library, neighbor steps in for older poll worker because of COVID-19 risks
Aana Vigen wanted to work the polls on Election Day for her 80-year-old neighbor, Jean.
As she taped an American flag about 6:30 a.m. outside the Rogers Park Library polling place in Ward 49, a badge reading “Democratic Judge” attached to her shirt, Vigen recalled how Jean had always worked as an election judge in past years.
But with COVID-19 still a high risk, especially for older people, the 52-year-old election judge wanted to step in for her neighbor this election and set an example for her 13-year-old son, Ben, by participating in democracy.
“In the midst of all the grief and heartache of this year, doing active things helps me with the anxiety and the sadness,” Vigen, an ethics professor at Loyola University, said. “It gives me a sense of hope and purpose and I just hope we keep that spirit regardless of how this election plays out.”
There was no line outside the voting site Vigen was working in Rogers Park early Tuesday as a handful of voters rushed in and out to cast their ballot.
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Marilyn Jaffe, 64, was the second voter who arrived, standing outside the doors at about 5:55 a.m. She said she’s always voted as early as she can on Election Day to avoid lines, and this year was no different.
For Jaffe, this election was about needing change after the last four years under President Donald Trump. She said the administration’s handling of COVID-19 and the nation’s divisiveness was a top factor for her decision.
“COVID is a big issue and hasn’t been addressed properly,” Jaffe said before entering the library at 6 a.m. to cast her vote.
—Kelli Smith
Aana Vigen, 52, a professor of ethics at Loyola University, tapes up a flag outside the library entrance. She‘s working as a poll watcher this election for the first time. pic.twitter.com/tUlQE0RBaU — Kelli Smith (@KelliSmithNews) November 3, 2020
6:40 a.m. Chicago officials tout COVID-19 measures for election, tell businesses to sign up for protest, unrest alerts
With more than 756,000 early or by-mail ballots case by Chicago voters by Monday, city officials early Tuesday said that in addition to the more than 1,000 voting sites in the city, residents also can drop off their mail-in ballots at drop boxes at the city’s largest sports arenas.
Secure drop boxes are available at the United Center—a city voting super site, where any registered voter can cast a ballot—as well as Wrigley Field and Guaranteed Rate Field, according to a release from the mayor’s office. Chicago election officials replaced many of the city’s smaller polling places with larger ones better able to handle social distancing and have put in place health plans under the guidance of the city health department.
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The city also plans to send out geographically targeted messages to businesses regarding “any expected rallies or large gatherings” in the wake of the election, according to the release. Neighborhood businesses can sign up for CHIBIZ alerts by sending via text the acronym “CHIBIZ” to 6-7-2-8-3. Anyone who signs up will receive emergency messages directly from the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications.
The emergency management office also “has launched a Business Operation Center” for businesses and other “private sector partners to exchange real-time information and provide situational awareness during public safety or public health issues,” according to the release.
—Chicago Tribune staff
6 a.m.: Against a backdrop of pandemic, civil unrest and charged political rhetoric, it’s Election Day for those who haven’t already cast a ballot.
Illinois voters who didn’t cast an early or mail-in ballot go to the polls Tuesday to wrap up a contentious political season complicated by pandemic restrictions that have forced them to largely watch from afar.
Polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. with weather forecast to be unusually mild for early November, with temperatures in Chicago predicted to be near 60 degrees and nearing 70 degrees downstate.
Election Day will bring an end to the thousands of TV ads, costing tens of millions of dollars, that have aired almost incessantly since September for candidates and a major ballot issue.
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But it may take some time for the votes to be counted and there’s no guarantee results will be quickly available in key races. Nor is the election likely to put to rest the ongoing potential for social discontent and violence in what has been a year of civil unrest — the combustible byproduct of a charged presidential campaign, policing incidents in Black communities and restrictions resulting from COVID-19.
Read more here. —Rick Pearson
Breaking coronavirus news Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.
In case you missed it
Here are five stories from Monday related to COVID-19.


chicagotribune--2020-11-04--Watch live: Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to hold a news conference

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is planning to hold a news conference after 3 p.m. CT .

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