Illinois Insights: An Update from Cozen O’Connor (4/29)

Public Health

• Highest Covid-19 case count for Illinois in two months: “The state public health department has noted that severe cases ending in hospitalization or death have remained very low — though hospital figures are now on the rise,” by the Chicago Sun-Times.

Illinois

Pritzker has a 51% approval rating heading into campaign season

As campaign season begins in earnest, a new poll conducted by Morning Consult during the first three months of 2022 found Gov. JB Pritzker has an approval rating of 51 percent – placing him 37th among the nation’s governors. Another 43 percent of Illinois voters disapproved of Pritzker.

Illinois Gaming Board to begin accepting applications for more sports betting licenses

The Illinois Gaming Board will be accepting applications for two additional master online licenses for sports betting after approving one application Thursday.

The board voted unanimously to grant a license to Caliente Interactive, a Mexican sports betting outlet owned by Las Vegas-based Tekkorp Digital Acquisition Corp.

The board was accepting applicants for up to three licenses, but Gaming Board Executive Director Marcus Fruchter told board members one dropped out of the application process and another, Fubo, failed to qualify. The prior application was open from Aug. 5 to Dec. 3, 2021.

Fruchter said the board will begin seeking applications to fill the two available licenses, but did not provide a time frame for the process.

Around the State

• Pattern of late-night finishes for the Illinois General Assembly raises transparency concerns: “There are many reasons why the last-minute budget votes benefit lawmakers. The lack of transparency makes the process less contentious, making it more difficult to mount cohesive opposition. Often, pork-barrel projects designed to help lawmakers back home are slipped quietly into the bills, and once a budget is passed into law, it becomes difficult to untangle later on,” by the Better Government Association’s.
• Pritzker signs bills addressing statewide teacher shortage, here’s how they help, by the State Journal-Register.

Chicago

Lightfoot expected to announce reelection bid soon

Mayor Lori Lightfoot has yet to formally announce her bid for reelection – but told the Chicago Sun-Times she plans to make her candidacy official “soon.”

Regarding her reelection bid, Lightfoot said, “The issue is when is the announcement, and that will come soon. I mean, I’m giving you every indication of what the future is going to hold. The question is just formally announcing it. And we will do that soon.”

Lightfoot is already facing a handful of challengers, including local businessman Willie Wilson and Chicago Ald. Raymond Lopez, one of her fiercest critics. Earlier this week, U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., announced he would stay in Congress and not run for mayor.

More From City Hall

• Fight over Chicago’s ward boundaries could leave ‘People’s Map’ out in the cold: The City Council failed to consider allowing a good-government group to edit the Latino Caucus’ map that’s already up for referendum. The development “sets up a potential head-to-head ballot showdown between the Latino proposal and a map favored by most of the council’s Black Caucus and others,” reports the Chicago Tribune.
• Pritzker knocks a $29M hole in Lightfoot’s re-election year budget: “Earlier this week, the Illinois Department of Revenue notified the city that the state will be withholding $29 million in sales taxes that ordinarily would go into the city treasury—the so-called local government distributive share. Instead, the money now will go to pay debt at the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, the agency that owns and operates Guaranteed Rate Field, home of the White Sox,” by Crain’s Chicago Business.
• Kaegi hits Trump Tower with big tax increase a year after slashing its taxes: “The Cook County assessor says the value of the downtown skyscraper’s mostly vacant retail space is 68 percent higher than it was last year — when he lowered its value by 37 percent,” by the Chicago Sun-Times.
• Chicago Fire, Park District clash over Soldier Field sponsorship rights: “A feud over whether the soccer team’s recent corporate partnership with Wintrust runs afoul of the Bears’ deal at the stadium is playing out while the city considers the future of the lakefront venue,” by Crain’s.
• City’s new inspector general has no intention of ‘staying in her lane’: “If city officials feel warm and fuzzy about the watchdog, the watchdog is probably not entirely doing their job,” Deborah Witzburg told the Sun-Times.

Share

Share this...

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Linkedin