Gov. JB Pritzker and officials from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity on Friday announced a new $50 million capital program aimed at revitalizing commercial corridors and main streets throughout Illinois. Known as the Rebuild Illinois Main Street and Downtown Capital program, the effort is funded from the Fiscal Year 2022 state budget. Eligible projects for the capital grants must be located in a commercial center or downtown area and can include roadways, parking, public way improvements, parks, venues, plazas, sustainability upgrades, structural repairs and mixed-use or transit development projects. Grants range from $250,000 to $3 million.  

Ald. Pat Dowell (3) wrote on Facebook, “Another Bronzeville happening! The opening of Hatch 41 a spacious, bright co working space at 4131 South State Street. Congrats to Stephen Mitchell, Esq. on his newest venture.” 

Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez (33) shared a Sun-Times editorial about Ald. Jim Gardiner (45) and tweeted, that Gardiner’s “behavior is not acceptable for anyone but particularly for someone who is supposed to represent all constituents and who has the ability to deny services. Sending solidarity to all the people who have been harmed by his actions.” 

Ald. Andre Vasquez (40) wrote in his latest newsletter that the budget proposal he released last week “Increased enforcement of and penalties for serious Building and Health Code violations, $50 million in gender-based violence prevention and aid services, Homelessness prevention funding including $75 million in flexible housing and $75 million for short-term rapid rehousing” and more. 

Ald. Brendan Reilly (42) wrote in his latest newsletter that he is “eager to review the CPD budget, specifically the amount of money allocated to hiring new officers. He will be advocating that CPD hire hundreds of new officers to off-set the recent attrition of officers CPD has experienced.”  

Ald. Harry Osterman (48) tweeted, “I'm proud to support the Treatment Not Trauma Ordinance, introduced by [Rodriguez-Sanchez]. I was recently contacted by mental health professionals from our community advocating for this ordinance.” 

Ald. Maria Hadden (49) shared a letter she wrote to the Sun-Times alongside Ald. Daniel La Spata (1) and Ald. Matt Martin (47) advocating more spending on domestic violence programming, tweeting that “Since COVID-19, Chicago's had an unprecedented amount of domestic violence survivors in need of help.” 

Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris) tweeted a brief video as she listened to the House debate on the omnibus energy bill.  

Sen. Ann Gillespie (D-Arlington Heights) issued a statement after the House accepted Gov. JB Pritzker’s amendatory veto of the omnibus ethics bill.  

Sen. Adriane Johnson (D-Riverwoods) is soliciting input from residents in her district as she plans her legislative priorities.  

Rep. Suzanne Ness (D-Crystal Lake) tweeted “Thank you to @CaravelAutism Health in Elgin and @ElginAreaChambe for having me at your ribbon cutting! I was excited to learn about the work Caravel is doing to service families and children in District 66 and tour their beautiful space.”  

Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) tweeted thanks to Rep. Stephanie Kifowit (D-Oswego) for helping him block traffic as he changed his tire on Interstate 55.  

Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) named former U.S. Attorney Zachary Fardon to the search committee for a new Legislative Inspector General.  

Gov. JB Pritzker on Thursday named Dan Seals as the new CEO of Intersect Illinois. Seals, who most recently served as director of the American Medical Association, takes over for Alya Adamany Woods.  

Ald. George Cardenas (12) tweeted “Not universal income but universal education, that’s the hook, that’s fish! For life! Free education !” 

Ald. Raymond Lopez (15) shared a video clip from CSPAN and tweeted “Glad to see City Council members aren’t alone when it comes to getting (or not getting) legislation in a timely fashion. Hopefully we correct this before we become as dysfunctional as Congress.” 

Ald. David Moore (17) tweeted a photo of himself at a news conference outside of the James R. Thompson Center and wrote “August 2021 Chicago Kidney donor, Daniel Johnson (c) speaks about his personal decision to become a living kidney donor at news conference held by David Moore (R), who is running for Illinois Secretary of State. At 25, Johnson became a donor for his father, Eddie Johnson.” 

Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez (33) tweeted “Im not sure why it wouldn’t be appropriate for a group of Alders to send a letter to the Mayor but it would be great to get a hearing on it. And since often it’s the Mayor who decides If hearings happen or what gets discussed and what doesn’t, I believe the ball is in her court.” 

Ald. Maria Hadden (49) tweeted “We should not have to make our LSC meetings unsafe and inaccessible to those who've become active participants this past year and to those who want to participate while we're still in a pandemic.” 

Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia announced the schedule for her Mobile City Hall program, which is designed to expand access to city services like buying dog licenses, applying for a CityKey ID, or buying a city sticker or residential parking permit. The Mobile City Hall will travel during September and October to Hamilton Park, Humboldt Park, St. Philip Lutheran Church in West Ridge, Hamlin Park, Bessemer Park, Mann Park, Piotrowski Park and Sauganash Park. More information on Mobile City Hall is available on the city clerk’s website. 

Sen. Patrick Joyce (D-Essex) in his latest newsletter reflected on the spring legislative session while encouraging residents to share their ideas.  

Sen. Ann Gillespie (D-Arlington Heights) tweeted “Today I joined Executive Director John Ferraro to tour the Northwest Central Dispatch System facility in Arlington Heights. NWCDS handles first response for 11 communities in our area, and I am grateful for the important work they do to keep us safe.”   

Sen. Melinda Bush (D-Grayslake) tweeted “I am saddened to learn of the passing of Adlai Stevenson III. He was a true courageous leader who dedicated his life to public service and devoted much of his time to bettering our democracy. His integrity, tenacity and advocacy was contagious to all who knew him.”  

Sen. Rachelle Crowe (D-Glen Carbon) wrote on Facebook “I spent the morning in Granite City meeting with Metro East mayors to discuss ways we can improve our region collectively. Thank you all for your partnership.” 

Rep. Katie Stuart (D-Edwardsville) tweeted “Thank you to everyone who came out last night to talk about childcare, women’s health, and other issues affecting women in our community.” 

Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday  announced the appointments of Cory Thames to the Chicago State University Board of Trustees, Nathan Pietrini to the Children and Family Services Advisory Council, Craig Bradley to the Community College Board, and Jacqueline Hickey as an arbitrator on the Workers’ Compensation Commission. Pritzker also reappointed James Fuentes to continue serving on the Finance Authority. Each of the appointments requires confirmation by the state Senate. 

Ald. Sophia King (4) tweeted a community alert for robberies in the Wentworth police district. 

Ald. Susan Sadlowski Garza (10) tweeted “Happy Birthday [Bernie Sanders], thank you for always sticking up for the working class. Solidarity forever!” 

Ald. Raymond Lopez (15) tweeted “Social equity cannabis licensing has been a clusterf**k since inception. This pathetic attempt at guilting us into submission will not work on me. Lightfoot & Co. refuse to have a fully vetted discussion with aldermen, instead choosing to force the issue on the fly. Again.” 

Ald. Jeanette Taylor (20) tweeted in a thread, “I and 11 other parents and organizers did not go on a 34 day hunger strike to save Dyett High School just for the man [Rahm Emanuel] who tried to close a majority Black neighborhood school to be appointed as an ambassador.” 

Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35) tweeted “I just want to thank the Empress of the Americas, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, Our Sacred Mother Tonantzin, for always being there for us.”  

Ald. Maria Hadden (49) in a thread tweeted “A 207-unit luxury bldg with a rooftop pool on the NW side will ONLY include 6 units affordable units (at 60% AMI) and pay $2M into housing fund to avoid including more affordable housing on site.... We need to do better. Our Alderpersons need to do better. October 1 can't come soon enough.”

The Chicago Department of Public Health on Wednesday added Vermont to the city’s COVID-19 Travel Advisory. The addition means unvaccinated travelers from every state and territory are now being asked to get a COVID test or quarantine for 10 days after arriving in Chicago. Vermont was added to the city’s travel advisory because their average daily new cases exceeded 15 per 100,000 residents. The U.S. average daily case rate per 100,000 residents is 38.3, down from 39 one week ago. 

Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Wednesday that her office is working with the Center for Conflict Resolution on a pilot program set to launch this fall that would offer residents an alternative for filing “select” police misconduct complaints, according to a news release from Lightfoot’s office. The so-called “mediation model” that is being worked on by the city and the Center for Conflict Resolution would “be used to address select complaints with the intention of finding resolution in a more expedited manner.” Complaints related to “perceived bias in police or failures to provide appropriate service” would fall under the pilot program’s jurisdiction and would be referred to the mediator instead of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability or the CPD Bureau of Internal Affairs for investigation. 

Rep. Maura Hirschauer (D-Batavia) tweeted “This week in 1870 in Illinois history, the first classes were held at Chicago’s Saint Ignatius College. In 1909, the Jesuit-founded school was re-charted as Loyola University. Pictured: Loyola University, today.” 

Rep. Will Guzzardi (D-Chicago) tweeted appreciation to House Speaker Chris Welch for recently naming him to the Future of Work Task Force.

Rep. Maurice West (D-Rockford) tweeted images from a tour he took of the SHIELD COVID-19 testing facility at the UIC Health Sciences Campus in Rockford.  

Rep. Nick Smith (D-Chicago) tweeted “I celebrated #LaborDay by commemorating the grand opening of the Pullman National Monument and State Historic Site. As Chicago’s first national monument, it recognizes Pullman's role in the American labor movement and honors the Pullman workers of 1894 & Pullman residents today.” 

Sen. Michael Hastings (D-Tinley Park) announced in a statement Monday that the Tinley Park Public Library will soon see upgrades thanks to an $83,000 grant.  

Rep. Steve Reick (R-Harvard) wrote on Facebook “T-Mobile officially named Woodstock, Illinois as the inaugural Hometown Techover winner, scoring a $3 million technology upgrade including a $200,000 grant, 5G network enhancements, a Little League® Baseball field refurbishment, a free concert featuring multi-platinum duo Florida Georgia Line and more.” 

Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday announced the deployment of a 68-member Fire Engine Strike team to Louisiana to help assist first responders in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. The deployment, which consists of members from various fire departments from throughout Illinois, will last 17 days.   

Ald. Pat Dowell (3) wrote in her latest newsletter, “CPS must follow and enforce health and safety guidelines that protect students, teachers, and administrators. That includes frequent school cleanings, distributing PPE, and enforcing all stated health protocols. It also needs to include proper and available mental and emotional health services to help students deal with the psychological effects of the pandemic.” 

Ald. Susan Sadlowski Garza (10) tweeted, “Join the City of Chicago and 548 Development for a series of virtual events on the proposed Galleria 89 development, located at the 8800 block of Commercial Avenue in South Chicago. All are welcome to share their concerns, ask questions, and learn about the project!” 

Ald. Raymond Lopez (15) tweeted a photo of an affidavit he signed denying a pay raise and wrote, “Now it is official. Let’s focus on raising Chicago, not our paychecks!” 

Ald. Matt O’Shea (19) advertised a “10-1 benefit” for Chicago Police Officer Carlos Yanez on Sept. 21. 

Ald. Michael Rodriguez (22) tweeted, “I visited @PAWSChicago today on a tour of their facility on 26th street one block from my office. They do amazing work and according to them their spade and neuter program helped Chicago Animal Care go from euthanizing 50k animals/year in the late 90’s to under 2k annually now.” 

Ald. Matt Martin (47) tweeted, “When Congress figures out how to pass the infrastructure bill, Chicago will get millions to replace its lead service lines. We can't afford to squander this once-in-a-generation opportunity. I look forward to working with my colleagues & @ChicagoWater to ensure we'll be ready.” 

The Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection last week cited five businesses for violating the city’s mask mandate: The Mine Music at 1431 W. Lake St., La Cocina at 209 W. Lake St., Snicker’s Bar at 448 N. State St., El Taco Azteca at 1807 S. Ashland Ave. And Country Club at 3462 N. Clark St. Under the city’s Aug. 20 order, businesses “must require any individual, regardless of vaccination status, who is age two or older, to wear a mask when indoors in any public place,” officials said. Businesses must also “post signage indicating that masks are mandated for all customers in indoor settings regardless of vaccination status.” Businesses can download signage on the city’s reopening website.

House Speaker Chris Welch (D-Hillside) shared an article on Facebook about a groundbreaking he participated in for “a new 13,000-square-foot Union Wellness Center on a piece of vacant land just east of the Cement Masons’ Institute” in Bellwood. 

Rep. Bob Morgan (D-Deerfield) posted to Facebook, “Thanks to Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity and Highwood Public Library and Community Center for going door-to-door in Highwood letting businesses know about #BacktoBusiness grants for small businesses! 

Rep. Tim Butler (R-Springfield) tweeted about the State Journal-Register cutting back on publishing, writing, “I've been a  @SJRbreaking subscriber since the mid 1990s. First time I can remember a day which the paper was not purposely published. I understand the realities of today's print journalism, but this is sad. Local news matters. 

Rep. Carol Ammons (D-Urbana) tweeted, “In the past months we’ve been told there’s a “labor shortage” but in reality, we have a dignity shortage. For Hire signs have gone up on every corner across every industry. But today’s workforce is demanding better wages, better conditions, and more dignity. #LaborDayWeekend” 

Sen. Elgie Sims (D-Chicago) tweeted, It’s official, the Pullman National Monument is open for business. This marks the accomplishment of a milestone I started working on during my earliest days in elected office, culminating in the ribbon cutting and grand opening of another one of the 17th District’s Crown Jewels.” 

Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday announced an extension for all nursing home employees, P-12 teachers and staff, and higher education personnel and students to be vaccinated for COVID-19. The new deadline is Sept. 19. 

Also on Friday, Pritzker announced the activation of 160 members of the Illinois Army National Guard who will provide support in relief efforts related to Hurricane Ida.

Officials from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation on Friday announced an additional lottery for conditional adult-use cannabis dispensing licenses. The additional lottery comes after “limited administrative errors” were discovered that resulted in certain applicants not having the correct number of entries in the July 29 lottery. Agency officials did not say when the additional lottery will take place.  

All five members of the Chicago City Council Democratic Socialists Caucus sent a news release calling on Chicagoans to support “the worker-backed boycott of Nabisco products as Chicago members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTWM) International Union go on strike. 

Ald. Matt O’Shea (19) wrote in his latest newsletter that “The 19th Ward and the Beverly Area Planning Association will host High School 101, a zoom seminar designed to help guide parents through the High School selection process on Wednesday, September 8th at 7:00pm.”  

Ald. Silvana Tabares (23) used her latest newsletter to advertise a Paper Shred & Prescription Drug Drop-off Event in conjunction with the Cook County Sheriff’s Office and Chicago Police Department from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 25 at Byrne Elementary School. 

Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25) tweeted, “Today we recommit ourselves to the struggle of our ancestors: to end labor exploitation by Passing the Pro Act, citizenship for all, and ending the prison industrial complex. Our struggles are inseparable and we workers must be indivisible as well. Solidarity and Happy Labor Day!” 

Ald. Andre Vasquez (40) wrote in his latest newsletter that his “311 Modernization Ordinance,” which is set to pass the City Council this month, “codifies a commitment to improve the services you pay for through taxes, by authorizing the City's IT team to upgrade the information displayed for each Service Request (SR) in the 311 system. 

Ald. Brendan Reilly (42) wrote in his latest newsletter that last Monday, he “asked Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Superintendent David Brown to take immediate action to increase police patrols in the Downtown neighborhoods, and assign permanent officers to the hospitality corridors to cure the dramatic spike in violent crime.  

Ald. Matt Martin (47) wrote in his latest newsletter that he “met with the new executive director of Community Counseling Centers of Chicago (C4) to discuss his organization's work around mental health and to tour one of the organization's facilities on Clark near Leland. I also met with representatives from a local solar panel company to discuss policies the city should consider using to encourage solar readiness in new construction.” 

The Chicago Department of Public Health released the latest round of hyperlocal vaccination events, with nearly 40 events across the city between Tuesday and Friday. The full schedule is available online. Chicago is averaging 3,984 new vaccine doses delivered each day. 

Sen. Michael Hastings (D-Tinley Park) released a statement on the energy legislation he sponsored, reading in part, “After years of difficult negotiations, a broad coalition of stakeholders came to a bipartisan agreement that will define the future of clean energy in Illinois. The Illinois Senate, and the Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee, refuse to allow ratepayers to foot the bill for a transition to a cleaner energy future that did not include our valued nuclear fleet.” 

Rep. Maura Hirschauer (D-Batavia) posted on Facebook that “This year I helped to pass HB 1778, which required school-issued ID cards for students in grades 7 through 12 to include contact information for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, the Crisis Text Line, and a local suicide prevention hotline on the card.” 

Sen. Don Dewitte (R-St. Charles) posted on Facebook, “On the heels of the issuance of Gov. Pritzker's 87th Executive Order, I am renewing my call that SB 103, legislation I co-sponsor, be heard and brought to the Senate floor for a vote. This legislation would require the Governor to gain General Assembly approval before extending a disaster proclamation beyond 30 days. SB 103 was filed in February, was never granted a hearing, and was never brought forward for a vote.” 

Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago) shared screenshots allegedly showing foul language by Ald. Jim Gardiner (45) and tweeted, “There is no place for misogyny & homophobia in our city council or our county party. I am disgusted by Ald/Committeperson Gardiner’s actions and words here. Your constituents deserve better, your city and your party deserve better.” 

Rep. Will Guzzardi (D-Chicago) shared the same article about Gardiner’s texts and tweeted, “Disgusting. Reprehensible. Unbecoming of anybody at all, least of all an elected official. And sure as hell not how you're gonna talk about a friend of mine. Ald. Gardiner, start by apologizing, unequivocally, now. Then... figure out a way to do better.” 

Sen. Rachelle Crowe (D-Glen Carbon) wrote on Facebook, “We depend on roads to get us to and from places safely. I'm thrilled to hear that the reconstruction of Interstate 255 near the Metro East won top honors among Midwest states in America's Transportation Awards!”

The Illinois Housing Development Authority has paid more than $252 million in rental assistance to almost 29,500 households through the Illinois Rental Payment Program, representing half the $500 million in federally allocated rental assistance first made available in May 2020. “With over 50% of the $500 million in available ILRPP funds paid, Illinois continues to be one of highest providers of rental assistance among all state grantees per the U.S. Department of the Treasury,” according to a release from the agency.