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TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's Journal
TexasTowelie's Journal
December 17, 2019
The top attorney for the city of Chicago has for several years received homestead tax exemptions by claiming both a west suburban home and a condominium on the Near South Side as his primary residence in an apparent violation of a state law that prevents homeowners from earning those tax breaks on multiple properties.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot initially told reporters Monday she believed City Corporation Counsel Mark Flessner never received multiple homestead exemptions. Government records, in fact, show he received thousands of dollars in tax breaks in 2016, 2017 and 2018 for both a single-family house in Naperville and the Chicago condo.
Later on Monday, the mayor’s office reversed course, acknowledging Flessner had “mistakenly claimed a homestead exemption for both his Chicago and Naperville properties.”
“Now that this mistake has been brought to his attention, he will be paying back . . . the amount he received from the additional exemption,” said Anel Ruiz, a spokeswoman for the mayor, adding that Flessner owes roughly $2,500 dating back to 2015.
Read more: https://chicago.suntimes.com/2019/12/16/21024741/mark-flessner-lori-lightfoot-naperville-law-department-bill-mccaffrey-residency-rule-homes-counsel
City's top lawyer got same residency tax break on two homes -- in Chicago and Naperville -- for years
By Tom Schuba and Fran SpielmanThe top attorney for the city of Chicago has for several years received homestead tax exemptions by claiming both a west suburban home and a condominium on the Near South Side as his primary residence in an apparent violation of a state law that prevents homeowners from earning those tax breaks on multiple properties.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot initially told reporters Monday she believed City Corporation Counsel Mark Flessner never received multiple homestead exemptions. Government records, in fact, show he received thousands of dollars in tax breaks in 2016, 2017 and 2018 for both a single-family house in Naperville and the Chicago condo.
Later on Monday, the mayor’s office reversed course, acknowledging Flessner had “mistakenly claimed a homestead exemption for both his Chicago and Naperville properties.”
“Now that this mistake has been brought to his attention, he will be paying back . . . the amount he received from the additional exemption,” said Anel Ruiz, a spokeswoman for the mayor, adding that Flessner owes roughly $2,500 dating back to 2015.
Read more: https://chicago.suntimes.com/2019/12/16/21024741/mark-flessner-lori-lightfoot-naperville-law-department-bill-mccaffrey-residency-rule-homes-counsel
December 17, 2019
Pot shop proprietor wants onsite consumption
Springfield's only existing marijuana dispensary is seeking a permit to allow on-premises consumption of marijuana once pot becomes legal for recreational use on Jan. 1.
Ascend Illinois, also, is asking for city permission to sell recreational marijuana on the 600 block of East Adams Street, where the company already operates a medical marijuana dispensary called HCI Alternatives. The recreational side of the business would be known as Illinois Supply and Provision, according to a recent interview with Chris Stone, an adviser to the company.
Attorney Thomas Pavlik, who represents Ascend Illinois in the permit request, referred questions to Stone, who did not respond to messages this week seeking more information about plans for onsite consumption. A hearing before the Springfield Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled for Dec. 18.
Neither Ward 5 Ald. Andrew Proctor, who represents the area, nor Mayor Jim Langfelder said they were aware that Ascend is seeking permission to allow onsite consumption of marijuana, but neither expressed opposition. Proctor said he's heard no objections from constituents about the prospect of a downtown business selling pot to consenting adults. The mayor said such a business might draw folks downtown.
Read more: https://www.illinoistimes.com/springfield/pot-shop-proprietor-wants-onsite-consumption/Content?oid=11601417
December 17, 2019
Jimmy Kimmel Live: Star Wars Cast Plays Family Feud
December 17, 2019
The teaching of history has been too straight. A new Illinois law says it's time to tell the whole story
Illinois' public school students may soon learn about Jane Addams in a new light.
"Illinoisan Jane Addams, the mother of social work, founder of the Hull House, and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, was in a committed 40-year relationship with her partner, Mary Rozet Smith," read a statement from Equality Illinois during the debate over House Bill 246. "The nation's first gay rights organization, the Society for Human Rights, was formed in 1924 in Chicago. The organizer of the 1963 March on Washington, civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, was a gay man. And Sally Ride, the first U.S. woman in space, was a lesbian."
Gov. J. B. Pritzker signed House Bill 246 into law as Public Act 101-0227 on Aug. 9, making Illinois the fourth state to mandate teaching lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) history. The law requires that history classes in public schools "include a study of the roles and contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the history of this country and this state."
The law adds LGBT to other group histories that must be taught in Illinois schools, including African-Americans, women, the labor movement and persons with disabilities. It also requires textbooks purchased with certain state grant funds to include the roles and contributions of all people protected under the Illinois Human Rights Act. Private schools are not affected by the new law.
The LGBT history law takes effect July 1, 2020, so local school districts will have to work it into their curricula starting next school year. Districts can decide how to implement the law, but many are trying to figure out how they are going to do that.
Read more: https://www.illinoistimes.com/springfield/teaching-lgbt-history/Content?oid=11600846
Teaching LGBT history
By David BlanchetteThe teaching of history has been too straight. A new Illinois law says it's time to tell the whole story
Illinois' public school students may soon learn about Jane Addams in a new light.
"Illinoisan Jane Addams, the mother of social work, founder of the Hull House, and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, was in a committed 40-year relationship with her partner, Mary Rozet Smith," read a statement from Equality Illinois during the debate over House Bill 246. "The nation's first gay rights organization, the Society for Human Rights, was formed in 1924 in Chicago. The organizer of the 1963 March on Washington, civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, was a gay man. And Sally Ride, the first U.S. woman in space, was a lesbian."
Gov. J. B. Pritzker signed House Bill 246 into law as Public Act 101-0227 on Aug. 9, making Illinois the fourth state to mandate teaching lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) history. The law requires that history classes in public schools "include a study of the roles and contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the history of this country and this state."
The law adds LGBT to other group histories that must be taught in Illinois schools, including African-Americans, women, the labor movement and persons with disabilities. It also requires textbooks purchased with certain state grant funds to include the roles and contributions of all people protected under the Illinois Human Rights Act. Private schools are not affected by the new law.
The LGBT history law takes effect July 1, 2020, so local school districts will have to work it into their curricula starting next school year. Districts can decide how to implement the law, but many are trying to figure out how they are going to do that.
Read more: https://www.illinoistimes.com/springfield/teaching-lgbt-history/Content?oid=11600846
December 17, 2019
by Rex Huppke
It is wise, if you value basic human decency, to ignore Rush Limbaugh.
The ever-outraged right-wing talk radio host has gurgled angrily for decades now, like an aggrieved and sulfurous geyser. His cruelty gives his fans a rush of adrenaline they presumably can’t find elsewhere.
For people like me, Limbaugh is white noise in the whitest sense of the word, a patriarchal old man who puts people like himself atop the power structure and won’t allow anyone different — a woman, a person of color, a person with a disability, an LGBT person — inconvenience him in the least.
It’s Limbaugh’s world, you see. It’s a world of white, male dominance, a world where people like him don’t have to think about the words they use or whether something they say might offend someone.
Read more: https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/rex-huppke/ct-rush-limbaugh-great-thunberg-autism-aspergers-trump-huppke-20191216-y4vuvv34cbel7fmqbfmfekdl44-story.html
Rush Limbaugh attacks Greta Thunberg, suggesting people with autism are 'not well.' He's wrong -- and
Rush Limbaugh attacks Greta Thunberg, suggesting people with autism are ‘not well.’ He’s wrong — and vileby Rex Huppke
It is wise, if you value basic human decency, to ignore Rush Limbaugh.
The ever-outraged right-wing talk radio host has gurgled angrily for decades now, like an aggrieved and sulfurous geyser. His cruelty gives his fans a rush of adrenaline they presumably can’t find elsewhere.
For people like me, Limbaugh is white noise in the whitest sense of the word, a patriarchal old man who puts people like himself atop the power structure and won’t allow anyone different — a woman, a person of color, a person with a disability, an LGBT person — inconvenience him in the least.
It’s Limbaugh’s world, you see. It’s a world of white, male dominance, a world where people like him don’t have to think about the words they use or whether something they say might offend someone.
Read more: https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/rex-huppke/ct-rush-limbaugh-great-thunberg-autism-aspergers-trump-huppke-20191216-y4vuvv34cbel7fmqbfmfekdl44-story.html
December 17, 2019
By Gregory Pratt and John Byrne
The city of Chicago’s top attorney under Mayor Lori Lightfoot improperly collected a tax break on his Chicago condo in recent years while living in west suburban Naperville, her administration acknowledged Monday.
Chicago corporation counsel Mark Flessner will be repaying the state about $2,500 for the Chicago tax break he received but should not have, Lightfoot spokeswoman Anel Ruiz said. The disclosure came amid the fallout Monday of Lightfoot’s recent move to fire veteran city spokesman Bill McCaffrey for reasons that remain unclear.
On Monday, Lightfoot denied that Flessner lives in Naperville and defended her decision to fire McCaffrey — a move she said was justified by information “that raised serious questions about his professionalism and his judgment.”
“On the basis of what I was briefed on, there was support for the decision to terminate him for cause,” Lightfoot said at an unrelated Monday morning news conference.
Read more: https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/ct-lightfoot-mccaffrey-firing-ethics-20191216-em5rxpk6kve6pbqbv4b66ysdy4-story.html
Mayor Lori Lightfoot says she fired city spokesman over 'professionalism' concerns; administration
Mayor Lori Lightfoot says she fired city spokesman over ‘professionalism’ concerns; administration also acknowledges top lawyer will repay tax breaksBy Gregory Pratt and John Byrne
The city of Chicago’s top attorney under Mayor Lori Lightfoot improperly collected a tax break on his Chicago condo in recent years while living in west suburban Naperville, her administration acknowledged Monday.
Chicago corporation counsel Mark Flessner will be repaying the state about $2,500 for the Chicago tax break he received but should not have, Lightfoot spokeswoman Anel Ruiz said. The disclosure came amid the fallout Monday of Lightfoot’s recent move to fire veteran city spokesman Bill McCaffrey for reasons that remain unclear.
On Monday, Lightfoot denied that Flessner lives in Naperville and defended her decision to fire McCaffrey — a move she said was justified by information “that raised serious questions about his professionalism and his judgment.”
“On the basis of what I was briefed on, there was support for the decision to terminate him for cause,” Lightfoot said at an unrelated Monday morning news conference.
Read more: https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/ct-lightfoot-mccaffrey-firing-ethics-20191216-em5rxpk6kve6pbqbv4b66ysdy4-story.html
December 17, 2019
Nexstar Media Group, which bought Tribune Media in September, is shutting down Chicago cable news channel CLTV at the end of the month.
The decision, which ends a 26-year run for the pioneering local all-news channel, was announced in an email to staff Monday from Paul Rennie, general manager of WGN-TV and CLTV.
“CLTV has had a great run since it first signed on...but the media landscape has changed dramatically since that time,” Rennie said in the email obtained by the Tribune. “Unfortunately, with news now available 24 hours-a-day, seven days-a-week across a variety of multi-media platforms, it has become increasingly difficult for CLTV to hold on to its audience and remain competitive, despite the high-quality of the local journalism it produces.”
Sources said there are about a dozen employees at CLTV.
Read more: https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-nexstar-shutting-down-cltv-20191216-pa7b4zhl6fbkrhd6zt2pzofpkq-story.html
Nexstar shutting down Chicago cable news channel CLTV
By Robert ChannickNexstar Media Group, which bought Tribune Media in September, is shutting down Chicago cable news channel CLTV at the end of the month.
The decision, which ends a 26-year run for the pioneering local all-news channel, was announced in an email to staff Monday from Paul Rennie, general manager of WGN-TV and CLTV.
“CLTV has had a great run since it first signed on...but the media landscape has changed dramatically since that time,” Rennie said in the email obtained by the Tribune. “Unfortunately, with news now available 24 hours-a-day, seven days-a-week across a variety of multi-media platforms, it has become increasingly difficult for CLTV to hold on to its audience and remain competitive, despite the high-quality of the local journalism it produces.”
Sources said there are about a dozen employees at CLTV.
Read more: https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-nexstar-shutting-down-cltv-20191216-pa7b4zhl6fbkrhd6zt2pzofpkq-story.html
December 17, 2019
ArcelorMittal, one of Northwest Indiana's largest employers and the world's largest steelmaker by volume, continues to expand its footprint across the globe.
The Luxembourg-based steelmaker, which has local operations in East Chicago, Burns Harbor, Gary, Riverdale and New Carlisle, and Nippon Steel have completed their $5.8 billion acquisition of Essar Steel India Limited out of bankruptcy court. ArcelorMittal holds 60% of the rebranded ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India Limited.
“The acquisition of Essar Steel is an important strategic step for ArcelorMittal. India has long been identified as an attractive market for our company and we have been looking at suitable opportunities to build a meaningful production presence in the country for over a decade. Both India and Essar’s appeal are enduring," ArcelorMittal Chairman and CEO Lakshmi Mittal said. "Essar has sizeable, profitable, well-located operations and the long-term growth potential for the Indian economy and therefore Indian steel demand are well known. The transaction also demonstrates how India benefits from the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, a genuinely progressive reform whose positive impact will be felt widely across the Indian economy."
Long-time partners ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel also jointly own the I/N Tek and I/N Kote finishing facilities in New Carlisle, which process steel made at ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor mill in East Chicago and shipped over by train daily.
Read more: https://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/arcelormittal-and-nippon-steel-complete-billion-acquisition-of-essar-steel/article_d8948ce3-794f-55fa-b5a4-86128ea60b3b.html
(Northwest Indiana Times)
ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel complete $5.8 billion acquisition of Essar Steel
Joseph S. PeteArcelorMittal, one of Northwest Indiana's largest employers and the world's largest steelmaker by volume, continues to expand its footprint across the globe.
The Luxembourg-based steelmaker, which has local operations in East Chicago, Burns Harbor, Gary, Riverdale and New Carlisle, and Nippon Steel have completed their $5.8 billion acquisition of Essar Steel India Limited out of bankruptcy court. ArcelorMittal holds 60% of the rebranded ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India Limited.
“The acquisition of Essar Steel is an important strategic step for ArcelorMittal. India has long been identified as an attractive market for our company and we have been looking at suitable opportunities to build a meaningful production presence in the country for over a decade. Both India and Essar’s appeal are enduring," ArcelorMittal Chairman and CEO Lakshmi Mittal said. "Essar has sizeable, profitable, well-located operations and the long-term growth potential for the Indian economy and therefore Indian steel demand are well known. The transaction also demonstrates how India benefits from the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, a genuinely progressive reform whose positive impact will be felt widely across the Indian economy."
Long-time partners ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel also jointly own the I/N Tek and I/N Kote finishing facilities in New Carlisle, which process steel made at ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor mill in East Chicago and shipped over by train daily.
Read more: https://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/arcelormittal-and-nippon-steel-complete-billion-acquisition-of-essar-steel/article_d8948ce3-794f-55fa-b5a4-86128ea60b3b.html
(Northwest Indiana Times)
December 17, 2019
Renee Ferguson, a prominent black television journalist in Chicago, arrived outside the swanky office building with a videographer and her intern - a Harvard University sophomore named Peter Buttigieg.
In the summer of 2002, Ferguson had been reporting on an investigation about a sex offender working at a day care in the building's basement. The three wanted to capture undercover footage of the man on the job.
But when Ferguson tried to get into the building, a security guard turned her away. The videographer, who was also black, tried next. The security guard turned her away, too.
Then, Buttigieg gave it a shot. When he approached the door, the security guard let him in. Buttigieg secured footage that would help Ferguson win one of her seven Emmys, but what stayed with her most was the prejudice that she figured led the young, white intern to acquire access that two black reporters could not.
Read more: https://www.southbendtribune.com/news/local/inside-pete-buttigieg-s-years-long-and-often-clumsy-quest/article_771f9878-201a-11ea-afa7-5bb09d1d7eac.html
Inside Pete Buttigieg's years-long, and often clumsy, quest to understand the black experience
By Robert Samuels The Washington PostRenee Ferguson, a prominent black television journalist in Chicago, arrived outside the swanky office building with a videographer and her intern - a Harvard University sophomore named Peter Buttigieg.
In the summer of 2002, Ferguson had been reporting on an investigation about a sex offender working at a day care in the building's basement. The three wanted to capture undercover footage of the man on the job.
But when Ferguson tried to get into the building, a security guard turned her away. The videographer, who was also black, tried next. The security guard turned her away, too.
Then, Buttigieg gave it a shot. When he approached the door, the security guard let him in. Buttigieg secured footage that would help Ferguson win one of her seven Emmys, but what stayed with her most was the prejudice that she figured led the young, white intern to acquire access that two black reporters could not.
Read more: https://www.southbendtribune.com/news/local/inside-pete-buttigieg-s-years-long-and-often-clumsy-quest/article_771f9878-201a-11ea-afa7-5bb09d1d7eac.html
December 17, 2019
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana’s Republican Statehouse leaders are firmly against taking any steps toward following neighboring states in legalizing marijuana use during the upcoming legislative session.
They might not be able to avoid talking about it during the 2020 election campaign.
Indiana lawmakers have not seriously debated proposals such as allowing medical marijuana or removing the threat of jail time for possessing small amounts of the drug, even as recreational marijuana sales have won approval in Michigan and Illinois and medical use is allowed in Ohio.
Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb says he'll remain opposed as long as the federal government classifies marijuana as a dangerous drug, and the leaders of the GOP-dominated Legislature back him.
Read more: https://www.southbendtribune.com/news/local/indiana-resisting-marijuana-trend-of-neighboring-states/article_b7ed5688-2033-11ea-bcb1-d71a2ba1198e.html
Indiana resisting marijuana trend of neighboring states
By Tom DaviesINDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana’s Republican Statehouse leaders are firmly against taking any steps toward following neighboring states in legalizing marijuana use during the upcoming legislative session.
They might not be able to avoid talking about it during the 2020 election campaign.
Indiana lawmakers have not seriously debated proposals such as allowing medical marijuana or removing the threat of jail time for possessing small amounts of the drug, even as recreational marijuana sales have won approval in Michigan and Illinois and medical use is allowed in Ohio.
Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb says he'll remain opposed as long as the federal government classifies marijuana as a dangerous drug, and the leaders of the GOP-dominated Legislature back him.
Read more: https://www.southbendtribune.com/news/local/indiana-resisting-marijuana-trend-of-neighboring-states/article_b7ed5688-2033-11ea-bcb1-d71a2ba1198e.html
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Gender: MaleHometown: South Texas. most of my life I lived in Austin and Dallas
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Current location: Bryan, Texas
Member since: Sun Aug 14, 2011, 03:57 AM
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