Pritzker asks Biden for more federal funds
Gov. J.B. Pritzker urged the federal government to ensure that Illinois receives federal tax funds based on a Census report that indicates the state may have gained population over the last ten years.
A post-enumeration survey estimated undercounts in six states including Illinois. Although Pritzker said the state population is growing, the Census website still shows Illinois at 12.7 million people.
Chicago alderman demand answers on crime control
Dozens of City Council members have called a special meeting for Wednesday to demand answers from Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown and other top mayoral aides on their plans to prevent the traditional summer surge of violence.
It’s not the first time Brown has been summoned to answer questions from alderpersons livid about a surge in violent crime. It happened last summer as well.
Quincy government suffers ransomware attack
Quincy Mayor Mike Troup now says the cyber attack that has hobbled the city’s technological infrastructure was indeed a ransomware attack.
Troup said the amount for that ransom was under a half-million dollars and that the city has committed about $650,000 toward mitigating the attack so far. The attack initially affected the Quincy police and fire department, then city workers discovered after coming in to work that email and phone systems had also been affected.
New truck driver program breaks ground
To address the current truck driver shortage across the country, officials broke ground on a new driver program in southern Illinois.
Shawnee Community College is expanding its current truck driving program to a second location in Metropolis. School officials hope to double their student driver program to 100 students a year.
Pretend lawyer sentenced to prison
A former legal secretary who pretended to be a lawyer and stole nearly $100,000 from a law firm when she pocketed fees has been sentenced to five years in prison.
Aracelia Dominguez, 42, of Chicago pleaded guilty to theft by deception. She was accused of meeting with prospective clients of a DuPage County law firm, posing as a lawyer to take care of immigration matters. She then took cash fees and routed the proceeds of checks from the duped clients into her own bank accounts.
Cook County to reach ‘high’ COVID alert
As COVID cases continue to rise across Illinois, Chicago’s top doctor said the city could reach a “high” alert by the end of the week.
Dr. Allison Arwady said Tuesday that Cook County will be there by Friday. The CDC considers a county at high community level on several factors, including 200 new weekly COVID cases per 100,000 residents.
Eight Illinois counties are currently considered at high community level.
