CHILD WELFARE
Reick calls for GA oversight of DCFS investigation into latest abuse allegations. After recent news stories surfaced about alleged sexual abuse of foster children in the care of Aunt Martha’s Integrated Care Center in Chicago, State Representative Steve Reick issued the following statement:
“Once again our child welfare system is having a bright light directed at it for failing children in its care. Even though allegations of abuse surfaced in August of 2023, it was not until May of this year that DCFS took action to remove children from Aunt Martha’s ICC.
I understand that a criminal case is ongoing, but it’s not too early to find answers as to how these alleged perpetrators were hired in the first place. The most recent case involves a staffer who served four years in a federal penitentiary for armed robbery. How did this not show up on a background check?
Now we’ve also just learned that Aunt Martha’s is the subject of 170 ongoing DCFS investigations. What’s being done to keep kids safe in this environment? The fact that they’ve been removed from Aunt Martha’s does not guarantee that they’re in a better place.
“DCFS cannot be allowed to conduct its own investigation of these practices; the General Assembly needs to exercise its oversight role. We can’t wait for the criminal cases to run their course because of what else may be out there now that puts children at risk.
I’m calling for immediate hearings by the House Adoption and Child Welfare Committee to find out who knew what, when they knew it and how high in the agency that knowledge went. Why were other parties involved in the child welfare process, such as the Cook County Public Guardian’s office and even judges not informed?
We need answers to the ongoing problem of background checks, and we must also conduct a thorough examination of the contracts for Aunt Martha’s and other organizations offering integrated care services. If DCFS is going to have a light cast upon it, it should come from us and not the media.”
CRIMINAL LAW
Over 100 shootings, 20 deaths in Chicago over July 4th weekend. The Chicago Tribune reported this week that 291 Chicagoans have perished by homicide in the city so far in 2024.
During the five-day July 4th weekend, more than 100 people were shot in Chicago. The tracked period began on the evening of Thursday, July 3, and continued into Sunday, July 7. These July 2024 numbers marked a sharp increase in gun-related violence in Illinois’ largest city relative to the same period twelve months earlier, in which 11 people were killed and more than 60 wounded. The Fourth of July often sees spikes in urban violence, with the sounds of gunfire masked by the sounds of fireworks. The compilation count of Chicago death and violence included what police described as three separate mass shooting incidents.
EDUCATION
Illinois high school students to start new exams in spring 2025. When Illinois high school students sit down to take their annual state assessments next year, they will take a different exam than in recent years.
The Illinois State Board of Education recently announced that starting next spring, it will use the ACT exam rather than the SAT.
Both are standardized tests that measure students’ proficiency in core subjects such as English language arts and math. Both are also commonly used for college admissions – although many colleges and universities have stopped requiring them – as well as scholarship applications.
Illinois, however, also uses them as part of the battery of tests schools administer each year to meet federal mandates under the Every Student Succeeds Act. Results of those tests are reported each year on the Illinois Report Card and are used to hold schools and districts accountable for meeting basic academic standards.
Illinois started using the SAT with Essay as the state assessment for 11th grade students in spring 2017. Two years later, it began using the PSAT 8/9 exam for 9th grade students and the PSAT 10 for high school sophomores. Read the rest of the story by Peter Hancock on Capitol News Illinois.
GAMBLING
Bally’s announces financing plan for Freedom Center-based Chicago casino. The operator of the “temporary” Medinah Temple casino in River North, Bally’s also has licensure permission to build a permanent mega-casino and entertainment complex nearby. The Chicago casino location is slated to be built on the site of a former “Chicago Tribune” newspaper printing plant on the North Branch of the Chicago River.
Central to the permanent casino and its plan is a massive hotel tower. Under the Las Vegas business model, a preferred casino guest is a person who is prepared to stay for several days. The Bally’s/Chicago riverside location is supposed to create amenities for future hotel guests who will stay at the complex and its proposed 34-story hotel tower. Conceptual drawings of the proposed structure were released this week.
HIGHER EDUCATION
Forbes names UIUC an “AI powerhouse” in artificial intelligence engineering. Artificial intelligence (AI) is the interface of specialized hardware and software programs to use Big Data to generate content that converses with or interrelates with human beings. The improvement of AI machinery and programming is a new challenge for a campus that has long specialized in feats of engineering. Many University of Illinois graduates, including industry leaders and CEOs with ties to Silicon Valley, are now active in AI research and development.
This week, Forbes pinpointed the ongoing ties between UIUC graduate Thomas Siebel, founder/CEO of C3.ai, Inc., and the Downstate Illinois university. Powered by a $50 million gift from the CEO, the University’s former Department of Computer Science has transformed itself into the new Siebel School of Computing and Data Science. The Siebel School is pursuing active affiliations with the University of California/Berkeley, Microsoft, and International Business Machines. IBM’s CEO, Arvind Krishna, is another UIUC graduate.
JOBS
$334 million federal grant announced for Belvidere Assembly Plant. Belvidere and Boone County have been a center of American motor vehicle manufacturing since Stellantis’ predecessor, the Chrysler Corporation, opened its assembly plant in 1965. Designed as a production center for motor fuel-powered cars sold to Baby Boomers, the Belvidere Assembly Plant thrived within the 2007 changeover from car manufacturing to light truck assembly (Jeeps). However, new owner Stellantis announced the “indefinite closure” of the plant in December 2022. The plant shut down in February 2023.
The push by local workers and nationwide forces to reopen Belvidere was closely tied to support for electric-powered vehicles. In November 2023, Stellantis announced plans to reopen Belvidere Assembly Plant. Reports indicate that the reopened facility will be used to assemble electric-powered Ram pickup trucks. The REV-IL Act generates State aid for electric motor vehicle manufacturers and assemblers, including the Belvidere Plant. Financing from the REV-IL Act will be supplemented by a $334 million federal grant to the refitted Belvidere Plant. The grant is specifically and explicitly tied to EV manufacturing. The federal grant was announced on Thursday, July 11.
ROUTE 66
Illinois State Museum to collect oral histories of the Route 66 “Mother Road.” With the Route 66 centennial coming up in 2026, the Illinois State Museum is looking for people who had an interaction with America’s iconic open-road highway prior to its decommissioning in 1985. By the 1980s, Route 66 was no longer a trunk road because various Interstate highways connected Chicago, Los Angeles, and all the points in between. U.S. Route 66 is now marked in Illinois as a “Historic Route,” with brown signs signaling its historic interest. Many State and local installations up and down the highway, including sites maintained by the private sector, further set off and celebrate the historic roadway.
The State Museum’s history staff is asking people with ties to Route 66 to contact them and send them emails. Potential storytellers include:
- People who have memories of driving on Route 66.
- People who have memories of operating car-related businesses, or watching their families operate businesses, along the iconic highway. “Car-related businesses” include restaurants, hotels, and auto service businesses.
- Workers who helped build, maintain, or reroute Route 66.
- First responders with duty stations along or adjacent to the highway.
People who volunteer to tell their stories may be asked to be interviewed and video-recorded. Those who are interviewed for this project may have their stories posted online to share with the world. As the launching point for the westward-pointed Route 66, Illinois is determined to be recognized as the root and anchor state of the historic highway.
Rep. Ugaste’s Constituent Coffee July 23
Please stop by my Constituent Coffee event at the Arcedium Coffeehouse in St. Charles on Tuesday, July 23, from 8 – 9 a.m. Learn about issues facing the 65th District and express your views on current state affairs. I hope to see you there!
IEMA Presentation August 1 in South Elgin
Please join me for an informative presentation by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency on Thursday, August 1, at the South Elgin Public Works Building. Representatives from IEMA, along with local EMA officials, will be on hand to provide overviews of state and regional emergency management policies and procedures.
The event will begin at 10:30 a.m. and should last about a half hour. The South Elgin Public Works Building is located at 1000 Bowes Rd., South Elgin.