Week in Review: Corruption, agriculture, education & more
CORRUPTION
Prosecutors Ask Court to Reject Effort to Sever Upcoming Racketeering Trials of Michael Madigan, Michael McClain. Federal prosecutors argued ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and his longtime confidant and current co-defendant Michael McClain should not be tried separately later this year, as it would give each man the ability to “blame a missing person.”
Prosecutors late Tuesday filed their response to McClain, whose attorneys last month filed a motion seeking to sever his case from Madigan’s before the men are set to go to trial on racketeering charges later this year.
McClain in his motion argued that Madigan could try to point the finger at him during trial, but prosecutors contend that Madigan would also benefit from the cases being tried separately.
“This makes it obvious that Madigan, even though he has not joined the motion, wants severance just as badly as McClain, for it will allow him (and McClain at his own trial, if there were one) to do precisely what the Seventh Circuit has cautioned joinder is meant to avoid: blame the absent defendant,” assistant U.S. attorneys wrote in the 11-page response.
The longtime House speaker is accused of participating in, and benefitting from, a variety of corruption schemes. Among the charges he’s facing are counts of racketeering conspiracy, using interstate facilities in aid of bribery, wire fraud and attempted extortion. Read more from WTTW News.
AGRICULTURE
USDA predicts record corn, soybean yields in Illinois this year. The current predicted median corn yield is 227 bushels per Illinois acre. Soybeans, which generate a smaller yield but enjoy a higher price per bushel, are expected to come in at 70 bushels per acre. Continued hybrid seed improvements, and adequate summer moisture, are combining to generate the expected bumper crops. The per-acre yield numbers for Illinois corn are expected to be 9% higher than last year and up +5% per acre for beans.
The continued progress of farm fields towards harvest has driven down bushel prices for both corn and beans. Farmers are seeing lower offers for their primary Illinois cash crops. Even if yields increase, lower sales prices for corn and beans, combined with higher prices for fuel, ag equipment, seed, and chemicals will impose a squeeze on farmers’ cash flows throughout Illinois.
CORRECTIONS
Judge calls Stateville Correctional Center inhumane, orders it to be emptied out by September 30. Stateville, the major State prison north of Joliet, began operations in 1925 and is nearly 100 years old. Prisoner advocates had filed a federal lawsuit against the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC), claiming conditions at the aging prison are a violation of the rights of those imprisoned there. The judicial order handed down by Judge Andrea R. Wood, a response to this lawsuit, pointed to vacant beds at other Illinois prisons. The judge ordered that more than 420 Stateville prisoners be transferred to other facilities.
A facility complex that includes maximum-security penitentiary space, Stateville Correctional Center has been the home of some of Illinois’ most notorious prisoners. Persons imprisoned or executed here have included William Heirens, Larry Hoover, Nathan Leopold, Richard Speck, and John Wayne Gacy. IDOC has indicated that Stateville costs taxpayers more than $61,000 per prisoner per year to operate. The judge’s ruling was issued on Friday, August 9.
State Representative Patrick Sheehan is concerned that the Stateville closing could leave correctional employees displaced and put local communities into disarray.
“I am very disappointed in the poor planning around the closure of Stateville Correctional Center and fear the negative impacts it will have on so many workers, inmates, and families. These stakeholders, as well as state taxpayers, deserve transparency and respectful discussion of the impact of this decision. I stand ready to participate in these discussions moving forward,” Rep. Sheehan said.
EDUCATION
Keep kids safe as they head back to school. Children will soon be boarding buses to head back to school. According to the State Board of Education and the Illinois State Police the most dangerous part of the school bus ride for students is the bus stop.
Children are at greatest risk when they are getting on or off the school bus. Most of the children killed in bus-related crashes are five- to seven-year-olds getting on or off the bus when they are hit by motorists illegally passing a stopped school bus.
In neighborhoods, near schools, and at bus stops, drivers need to take special care because children do not behave like adults. Elementary school children become easily distracted and may start across the street without warning. They don’t understand the danger of moving vehicles and can’t judge vehicle speed or distance. Their view may be blocked from by the bus and they could step out into oncoming traffic. Most importantly, children expect vehicles to stop for them at the school bus stop. And so does law enforcement.
School bus laws apply to all drivers, including those on school property, who meet or overtake a school bus that is operating all of the appropriate warning signals indicating that pupils are exiting or boarding the school bus and may be crossing the roadway. Read more on school bus safety at The Caucus Blog.
Some school districts adopt new policies on student cellphone use on school properties, especially within classrooms. The student cellphone policies, which will be in place for school year 2024-2025 within the districts that have adopted them, are aimed at reducing and, where possible, eliminating distracted-student behavior among learners. Many educators believe that cellphones have become impediments to learning progress, especially among students with attention-span diagnoses. The attention-span condition ADHD is a fast-growing diagnostic category among Illinois students.
For the Illinois school districts that have adopted restrictions on student cellphone use, these are policies that the districts have adopted on their own, although usually with guidance from school leadership groups. Illinois has not joined the 10 states, including Indiana, that have enacted statewide legislation to ban or restrict student cellphones on school properties. Policies regarding student cellphone use and misuse continue to be the subject of intense debate among teachers, parents, and educational professionals.
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Rep. Keicher bill supporting underage trafficking victims signed into law. Legislation filed by State Representative Jeff Keicher to help child victims of human trafficking heal and move on with their lives following their trauma has been signed into law by the Governor. The legislation, House Bill 5465, had passed through both houses of the Illinois General Assembly unanimously.
“Victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation, especially children, represent our most vulnerable, and we need to do everything we can to help them through their recovery process,” said Keicher. “House Bill 5465 builds on a law we passed last year by creating an easier process for child victims of trafficking to have their juvenile records expunged or sealed as a result of any criminal acts they were forced to take part in while being abused.”
Improving support for victims of abuse has been something personal for Keicher since joining the General Assembly, as a family member who was abused as a child tragically died due to a lack of resources to help victims recover.
“One of the first steps in helping someone heal after immense trauma like sexual abuse is ensuring their past doesn’t follow them around, and I believe HB 5465 is an important component of helping victims heal,” said Keicher. “I’m thankful that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle agreed and that the Governor has signed the bill into law.”
State Senator Erica Harriss carried the legislation in the Senate and added, “It’s extremely important that we work together to strengthen legislation so that our children are even better protected. My hope is that this new law will help ease some of the pain that child victims of human trafficking face as they navigate the challenges of everyday life.”
Keicher has also consistently stressed how important it is to raise awareness about this issue by requesting that members of the media and public utilize the National Human Trafficking Hotline, 888-373-7888, to report any suspected trafficking taking place in our communities.
JOBS
Illinois unemployment rate rises again in July. The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced Thursday that the unemployment rate increased +0.2 percentage point to 5.2 percent, while nonfarm payrolls increased +12,900 in July, based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and released by IDES. The June revised unemployment rate was 5.0 percent, unchanged from the preliminary June unemployment rate. The June monthly change in payrolls was revised from the preliminary report, from +10,400 to -4,300 jobs. The July unemployment rate and payroll jobs estimate reflect activity for the week including the 12th.
In July, the industry sectors with the largest over-the-month job gains included: Government (+11,400), Private Education and Health Services (+3,400), and Other Services (+2,300). The industry sectors with monthly payroll job declines included Manufacturing (-2,500), Leisure and Hospitality (-1,500), and Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (-800).
The state’s unemployment rate was +0.9 percentage point higher than the national unemployment rate reported for July. The national unemployment rate was 4.3 percent in July, up +0.2 percentage point from the previous month. The Illinois unemployment rate was up +0.8 percentage point from a year ago when it was 4.4 percent.
Morton Salt moves headquarters out of Illinois to Kansas. Morton Salt, which mines and distributes a wide variety of salt products, has been headquartered in the Chicago area for more than 100 years. The firm’s iconic slogan, ‘When it Rains it Pours,” is a product of Morton Salt’s Chicago years. The ownership family endowed what is now the Morton Arboretum in DuPage County, one of Illinois’ largest private parklands that is open to the public. When Morton Salt set up their current headquarters in Chicago, the office was the work focus of 350 Illinois-based employees.
Morton Salt is now leaving Illinois. Overland Park, Kansas, their new home, is close to a big Morton salt mine, and is adjacent to the airport and urban amenities of Missouri’s Kansas City. The firm is moving its headquarters to a state that is seen as more tax-friendly and business-friendly than the Chicago-dominated Prairie State. The Tax Foundation’s State Business Tax Climate survey, a nonpartisan ranking of states and their business climates, currently ranks Illinois at #37 among the 50 states, well below the nationwide median point. The Tax Foundation reports that two of the states that border Illinois, Indiana at #10 and Missouri at #12, rank much higher than Illinois.