Daily Political Highlights

Wednesday 15, 2023

Wednesday 15, 2020

Daily News

• * Indiana Capital Chronicle | Indiana abortions drop significantly, despite pause on statewide ban: As the availability of abortion wavered, doctors made other plans. Illinois became a hotspot, as the “sanctuary” state saw demand surge as all of its neighbors pursued bans. Pushed out of their home states, many physicians opted to license in Illinois and other states.

  * NPR Illinois | Pritzker touts funding during visit to Lincoln Land Community College: Pritzker’s plan, which is likely to receive legislative approval, would add money for programs and building needs. The governor said system funding for day-to-day operations at community colleges has increased by over $25 million since the start of his administration, and the proposed budget will add nearly $20 million in additional dollars.

  * AP | In nursing homes, impoverished live final days on pennies: Medicaid is jointly administered between individual states and the federal government and, faced with federal inaction, states have taken it upon themselves to raise allowances. Even so, most remain low. A majority of states – 28 – have allowances of $50 or less, according to a state-by-state survey by the American Council on Aging. Just five states grant residents $100 or more each month, including Alaska, which stands alone in offering $200 monthly, the maximum under federal law. Four states – Alabama, Illinois, North Carolina and South Carolina – remain at the $30 minimum.

  * Crain’s | Surging demand for affordable senior housing sparks redevelopment of old hospitals and schools: Seniors’ need for affordable housing is urgent. Nationwide, more than 10 million households headed by someone 65 or older spend more than a third of their income on housing, according to an August article by Jennifer Molinsky, director of the Housing an Aging Society Program at Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.

  * Tribune | ‘The defendants gave, and the defendants got’: Prosecutors raise Madigan immediately as they lay out case at ‘ComEd Four’ trial: U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber conducted selection and a panel six women and six men, plus six alternates, were picked by about 10 a.m. “So do you want to go down and deliver the good news to the winners?” Leinenweber quipped to his clerk after the selection process was complete.

  * Sun-Times | Chicago a front-runner for 2024 Democratic convention; Whoopi Goldberg boosting New York’s bid in video: “Come to New York, where we will put on a seamless and spectacular convention,” Goldberg says in the video, which surfaced on Monday. It runs 7 minutes and 11 seconds. President Joe Biden, expected to run for a second term in 2024, will make the decision on the convention city. It’s not clear who exactly the long video is supposed to influence.

  * SJ-R | Without debate, $58 million plan to redevelop downtown Wyndham moves to next stage: Under the proposal, Tower Capital Group out of San Antonio, Texas, would keep 250 hotel rooms while converting 200 rooms into apartments. The hotel would operate under the Delta by Marriott flag.

  * Daily Herald | Des Plaines council candidates tout communication skills, experience: Residents in four wards will choose representatives for the next four years in the April 4 election. The eight candidates — two in each ward — discussed their electability and other issues in online interviews with the Daily Herald.

  * Sun-Times | Former mayoral challenger Ja’Mal Green endorses Vallas in runoff; Kwame Raoul first statewide official to back Johnson: Green, a 27-year-old community activist, secured a series of promises he believes will improve the lives of African Americans. Raoul praised Johnson as “the right candidate to move Chicago forward.”

  * WCIA | ‘An abomination and a disgrace;’ Humane Society calls for end to killing contests in IL: “Wildlife killing contests are an abomination and a disgrace,” said Marc Ayers, Illinois state director for the Humane Society of the United States. “Destroying coyotes for sadistic fun, games and cash does not reflect our state’s values. Illinois is among the 10 worst states when it comes to wildlife killing contests, with at least 28 competitions targeting coyotes, foxes, raccoons and crows taking place in the state in 2022. Responsible hunters denounce this horrific blood sport and 73% of Illinois voters support a ban on killing contests. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources must take a stand and make our state the first in the Midwest to ban this cruel, unnecessary treatment of coyotes who provide vital balance to our ecosystem.”

  * Northwestern Now | Gov. JB Pritzker named Commencement speaker: He also will receive an Honorary Doctor of Laws. The University will announce additional honorary degree recipients later this month. Northwestern’s 165th commencement ceremony will begin at 9 a.m. Monday, June 12, at Ryan Field on the Evanston campus.