Isabel’s afternoon roundup

 * NPR Illinois…

A group of five statewide education organizations released a blueprint for the future of Illinois education called Vision 2030. 

The broad plan revolves around three pillars: future-focused learning, shared accountability, and predictable funding.

Gary Tipsord with the state’s regional superintendent group says the school code has more than doubled since 2000. But with more responsibilities, schools need flexibility to keep pace with a rapidly changing world.

“How do we get more agility in the system of public education," he said, "so that we can better meet the needs of the students, the economy, the opportunity base that they may have?"

That could be learning flexibility like expanding college and career exploration opportunities; financial flexibility for districts to use funding to address their specific needs; or license flexibility to attract new teachers.

 * Another view on licensing flexibility…

 Several years ago, the legislature made it easier for business people to get certified to teach.

* WBEZ…

Vision 2030 says the state should continue pumping an additional $350 million into the “evidence-based” funding formula, as it has since 2018. The report asserts school districts need that kind of predicability when it comes to funding for building repairs.

“We have not made significant investments, year over year, in establishing equitable statewide funding for capital and safety needs,” Monn said. “Some of the suggestions are increasing access to state maintenance grants and perhaps exploring a statewide sales tax, similar to some county sales taxes.”

The officials also recommend a host of changes to the state’s assessment and school rating system. Currently, students only take one set of tests at the end of the year; ratings, such as exemplary or commendable, are based heavily on the results of those exams. While students take the tests in the spring, schools don’t get the results until the fall.

The delay in getting the scores “really impacts the utility of those results and makes it difficult for us to make any real, quality decisions about improving our schools and the potential outcomes for our kids,” said Jason Leahy, executive director of the Illinois Principals Association.

* NBC Chicago…

Illinois officials are investigating after “one of the world’s worst aquatic weeds” was discovered in a suburban waterway.  

According to an alert from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, naturalists discovered Hydrilla growing in a waterway in suburban DuPage County.

The reported cluster of Hydrilla is only the second known instance in the state of Illinois, according to an alert.  

The weed is illegal to buy, sell or transport in the state of Illinois, and may have inadvertently been released from a homeowner’s aquarium or water garden, according to the alert.

* Sun-Times…

The Bears say they want to stay in Chicago, but their potential drive to the northwest suburbs just got easier.  

Team officials announced Monday they’ve reached a tentative agreement with the village of Arlington Heights and local school district leaders who’ve sparred with the Bears over the property tax valuation on the shuttered Arlington International Racecourse, the 326-acre plot the team closed on early last year as a potential new stadium site.  

After about a year of wrangling over the size of the team’s property tax bill — and a year of political roadblocks to the Bears’ hopes for funding a new stadium in Chicago — the team says it has a memorandum of understanding that opens the runway for them to land in Arlington Heights.

But their first choice is still Chicago, team officials insist, raising the constant question of whether Bears’ latest announcement is a push for leverage in stadium negotiations that have now stretched over three years.

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | Mayor Brandon Johnson plans to restore consent decree positions in Chicago police budget: The mayor’s office released a statement that he would introduce a budget amendment adding back the 162 vacancies he slashed in his 2025 budget that center on roles across the offices of constitutional policing, community policing and more. It’s the latest instance of the mayor reversing course on a controversial provision in next year’s budget, which faces a $1 billion hole, including backing down on an original proposal for a $300 million property tax hike.  

* WTTW | A Race to Secure Federal Funding for the Red Line Extension as Advocates Say Trump Administration Poses Risks to Chicago-Area Public Transit: With transit advocates hopeful they’ll see shovels in the ground next year to kick off the long-awaited Red Line Extension, the Chicago Transit Authority is racing to finalize the $1.9 billion in federal funding needed to complete the 5.6-mile project before the Biden administration leaves office. “We are in the final phases of that process,” CTA President Dorval Carter told the agency’s board of directors earlier this month. “We’re working very closely with (the Federal Transit Administration) to complete their portion of the review process so that we can stay on track to execute a grant agreement between now and early next year.”

* Tribune | High-profile police commander tied to troubled Kevin Jackson case: Kevin Jackson was released from prison last month, more than two decades after he was convicted of murder in the fatal shooting of a man at a West Englewood gas station.  Now 43, Jackson has always maintained his innocence. Police and prosecutors said several witnesses identified him as the shooter, but each recanted at Jackson’s 2003 trial while claiming threatening, intimidating and coercive efforts by the two lead Chicago police detectives assigned to the case.

* Crain’s | Illinois Center owner hit with massive foreclosure lawsuit: A venture led by AmTrust RE defaulted on its $260 million mortgage backed by the two-tower, 2.1 million-square-foot complex at 111 E. Wacker Drive and 233 N. Michigan Ave., according to a lawsuit filed late last week in Cook County Circuit Court. The complaint, filed by lender Deutsche Bank on behalf of bondholders in the loan, alleged the AmTrust entity has failed to make its loan payments since January.

* NBC Chicago | New Illinois tollway takes steps forward as planning wraps up: A brand-new Illinois tollway will aim to connect motorists to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, with the project taking significant steps forward.  Numerous officials were on-hand this week as renderings and planning details were shared on Interstate 490, which will connect the Jane Addams Tollway near Des Plaines on its northern terminus to the Tri-State Tollway in Franklin Park on the southern end, skirting the western edge of O’Hare in the process.

* CBS Chicago | Thanksgiving holiday travel already picking up at Chicago's Midway Airport; airfares jump: Founder and chief executive officer of Points Path Julian Kheel said because there is seeing such high demand for airfare, prices are higher.  "We are seeing record numbers increases over last year; increases over the rest of 2024," said Kheel, "and especially if you're buying a ticket this late, you're going to have to expect to pay a pretty penny for it."

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Block Club | County to streamline unwieldy electronic monitoring programs - but nobody wants to manage it: Sheriff Tom Dart has been vocal about shuttering his office’s electronic monitoring program for years, notably blocking the release of 55 people in 2018 that he deemed too high-risk for ankle bracelets, according to the Chicago Tribune. Last month, Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans told the Cook County board that consolidating the programs under his office was “not something I embrace readily.”

* Daily Herald | Lake judge throws out charges against Waukegan clerk, but appeals coming: “We respect the court’s opinion but strongly disagree with its findings on this matter,” Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said in a statement. “We appreciate the hard, ethical, and principled work of the investigators on this case, and plan to appeal in short order.”  Kilkelly’s attorneys said Friday in a statement they were “thankful” but not surprised by the ruling and “were always confident that Janet was 100% innocent of all charges.”

* Tribune | Downers Grove-based Hearthside, under investigation for alleged child labor, files for bankruptcy: Downers Grove-based Hearthside Food Solutions, which is under investigation by the U.S. and Illinois labor departments for alleged child labor violations, voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Texas on Friday.  The food manufacturer, which was named in a sweeping investigation into migrant child labor published by the New York Times last year, said it didn’t expect any disruptions to production or other company operations.  

* Aurora Beacon-News | West Aurora School District charges ahead with plan to add electric buses: The district has a fleet of 73 buses powered by diesel engines, half of which are under two-year leases due to expire at the end of the school year.  Several changes made the school district’s administration look closer at a proposal to make a switch to add some electric buses, including competitive pricing, federal funding and rebates.  

* Daily Herald | With 15,000 tons of salt on hand, Kane County DOT is ready for winter: Drivers have already run practice routes and trucks have been serviced and inspected in preparation for the season. Way said the only thing left to do is finish putting up snow fencing to help prevent drifting in rural areas.  Each year, the Kane County DOT uses an average of roughly 8,000 tons of salt.  Thanks to lighter winters in recent years, Way said they have maintained a healthy supply of salt, with about 15,000 tons of salt currently on hand.

* Daily Herald | Sen. Murphy collecting holiday cards for long-term care residents: Murphy, a Des Plaines Democrat who represents the 28th Senate District, is encouraging residents of the Northwest Suburbs to write handmade or store-bought cards for donation. She is also encouraging local teachers and students to participate and use their creativity to bring joy to older adults in the community during the holidays.

*** Downstate ***

* SJ-R | How Central Illinois became a hotbed for esports on high school, college levels: Skeptics may think esports is just kids playing video games, Bibb said, “but there’s also a lot of strategy that goes into it.”   Teamwork is imperative. It's something that becomes especially visible in an esports arena.  The Capitols, a co-op between Springfield High, Southeast and Lanphier that began in 2019, recently settled into its decked-out arena at Lanphier last winter. Part of the school’s $93.5 million renovation, it resembles a computer lab, but the space is exclusive to the Capitols. 

* WMBD | Illinois landmark to appear on ornament this year: A Southern Illinois State Park iconic formation to be showcased on an ornament this year.  The Iconic Devil’s Standtable formation at Giant City State Park was chosen by the Illinois Conservation Foundation to be featured on this year’s state park series ornament, said Jenny Vaughn, the acting executive director for the foundation.

* WCIA | Illinois football legend Dana Howard indicted on federal wire fraud charges: Just weeks after Howard was given a notice to appear in Champaign County court, a federal grand jury indicted the all-time leading tackler in Illinois Football history on wire fraud charges related to his construction business in East St. Louis. Howard’s business partner, Richard Myers, and his bookkeeper, Glenn Sunnquist, were also named as defendants. The 21-page indictment charged Howard with nine counts of wire fraud, bankruptcy fraud, making false statements and failure to pay taxes. Myers was charged with eight counts and Sunnquist with three.

*** National ***

* CBS | Microsoft 365 is experiencing an outage. Here's what to know: On social media service X, Microsoft posted a message early Monday that it is assessing "an issue impacting users attempting to access Exchange Online or functionality within Microsoft Teams calendar." The problem appears to be affecting Microsoft users globally, according to posts from users.  "We've identified a recent change which we believe has resulted in impact. We've started to revert the change and are investigating what additional actions are required to mitigate the issue," Microsoft added in a subsequent post.