All Week Long
Originally published on abc7chicago.com 02/15/2024 | Image: ABC7 Chicago
More money was promised Thursday to help asylum seekers sent to Chicago from Texas.
Gov. JB Pritzker and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle are pledging a combined $250 million in funding.
They say the money will ensure that shelter, wraparound services and healthcare will remain available for migrants through the end of the year.
"Following a long-term planning exercise, State, County and City teams concluded that an additional estimated $321 million is needed to maintain shelter and services this calendar year, on top of previously committed funding," a news release from both Pritzker and Preckwinkle said. "The Governor and President are pledging a combined investment of over $250 million to help close this gap."
Originally published on injusticewatch.org 02/08/2024 | Photo: Abel Uribe for Injustice Watch
The March primary election will be another record-breakingly uncompetitive one for seats on the Cook County Circuit Court, with 62 candidates running for 40 vacant seats on the court — more than a third unopposed in countywide and subcircuit races.
Observers had flagged the previous primary in 2022 as a historically uncompetitive one, blaming a shifted election schedule in which candidates were forced outside to collect nominating petition signatures in the cold of winter while the Covid-19 pendermic was still in full swing.
But in that June 2022 primary, 64 candidates were vying for 25 open seats, a ratio of 2.5 candidates per seat. This year’s primary ballot shakes out to 1.5 candidates per seat.
Injustice Watch spoke with election lawyers, campaign workers, consultants, candidates, and politicians for insights on why so few people are running for judge.
They cited overlapping factors, including the rising costs of running campaigns, political fatigue, an Illinois Supreme Court that this year was unusually slow to formalize vacancies, a redrawing of the map of judicial subcircuits, and a Cook County Democratic Party that says it is focused more on endorsing candidates with hard-to-beat credentials.
“There are not many people running for anything,” said Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who is also chair of the county party. “I’d like to think it’s because people have decided that it’s a waste of your time and energy to run against the party, but I can’t speak for what’s really happening.”
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