Afternoon Briefing: Illinois House fail to pass convicted youth resentencing bill
Good afternoon, Chicago.
In a surprising loss for criminal justice reform advocates, Democrats were unable to pass legislation providing more resentencing options for people in prison convicted of committing crimes when they were under 21.
The bill not only was a setback for advocates but also underscored a political divide between progressives and moderates within the Democratic Party, which has a supermajority in the House. The measure sponsored by Chicago Democratic state Rep. Theresa Mah was defeated late yesterday 51-49 — 11 votes short of passage as several Democrats, including from the suburbs and downstate, either voted against the bill or did not vote at all.
Here's what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit chicagotribune.com/latest-headlines and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices.
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The meeting followed the announcement by American First Legal, a conservative nonprofit, that it had filed a complaint with the criminal section of the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division urging it to investigate District 109 and its administrators over an alleged incident of female students at Shepard Middle School being forced by staffers to change in front of a transgender girl, an allegation the district has denied. Read more here.
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City Council blocks $1.25 million settlement for Dexter Reed's family
'I've been nothing but transparent': Former UIC student speaks out after his visa was revoked
The trial breakfast menu — which will be available daily at five Chicago-area restaurants starting April 15 — comes as the homegrown chain has struggled at times to find its footing amid ambitious national expansion plans. Read more here.
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Commercial real estate executive was the buyer in Chicago's highest-priced single-family sale last year
Troubled Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan hires new CEO from within
Offseason moves have led GM Ryan Poles to feel like the Chicago Bears can lean toward the best player available in the 2025 NFL draft. Read more here.
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A Chicago Bulls hat triggered a man's deportation — and profiling of such apparel and tattoos could be on the rise
Chicago Cubs acquire reliever Tom Cosgrove in trade and send him to Triple-A Iowa
For 'Slacktide' — which forms the back half of Twyla Tharp's 60th anniversary 'Diamond Jubilee' running through Saturday at the Harris Theater — the prolific choreographer revisited composer Philip Glass for the first time since 'In the Upper Room.' Read more here.
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China announced today that it will raise tariffs on U.S. goods from 84% to 125% — the latest salvo in an escalating trade war between the world's two largest economies that has rattled markets and raised fears of a global slowdown. Read more here.
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Now that they've passed a budget plan, the hard part begins for Republicans
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Politico
24 minutes ago
- Politico
‘It's made up': Democrats say Rubio isn't playing it straight about foreign aid cuts
Democrats are accusing the Trump administration of lying about the state of America's top global health program following massive cuts to foreign aid led by Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency. The administration has cut more than a hundred contracts and grants from the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the HIV and AIDS program credited with saving millions of lives in poor countries. President Donald Trump has shut down the agency that signed off on most PEPFAR spending and fired other staffers who supported it. But Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested Democrats' concerns are overblown, considering that PEPFAR remains '85 percent operative.' Rubio has made the claim repeatedly in budget testimony before Congress, but neither he nor the State Department will provide a detailed accounting to back up the figure. For flummoxed Democrats, it indicates a broader problem: How to respond to Trump's budget requests when his administration refuses to spend the money Congress has provided. Trump last month asked Congress to cut PEPFAR's budget for next year by 40 percent. 'It's made up,' Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz said when asked by POLITICO about the 85 percent figure. 'It's the most successful, bipartisan, highly efficient life-saving thing that the United States has ever done and Elon Musk went in and trashed it.' Schatz confronted Rubio about the cuts at a Foreign Relations Committee hearing in May, telling him: 'You are required to spend 100 percent of the money.' Rubio said the 15 percent cut targeted programs that weren't delivering the services the government was paying for. He pointed to fraud in Namibia and armed conflict in Sudan as reasons for slashed funding, although it isn't clear those instances were related to PEPFAR. Asked repeatedly by POLITICO for more clarity on what the 85 percent figure represents, a State Department spokesperson said that 'PEPFAR-funded programs that deliver HIV care and treatment or prevention of mother to child transmission services are operational for a majority of beneficiaries.' Data collection is ongoing to capture recent updates to programming, the spokesperson also said, adding: 'We expect to have updated figures later this year.' The day after his exchange with Schatz, Rubio told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that he meant 85 percent of PEPFAR's beneficiaries were still getting U.S. assistance. But the goal, he said, was to pass off all of the work to the countries where the beneficiaries live. 'We're by far the most generous nation on Earth on foreign aid, and will continue to be by far with no other equal, including China, despite all this alarmist stuff,' he said. People who worked on implementing PEPFAR, both inside and outside the government, as well as advocates for HIV prevention and care, are alarmed nonetheless. A State Department report from the month before Trump took office underscores the breadth of its services. In fiscal 2024, the report says, PEPFAR provided medication to 20.6 million people, including 566,000 children, HIV prevention services to 2.3 million girls and women, and testing for 83.8 million. After DOGE dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development in February, several recipients of PEPFAR grants and contracts said they'd had to lay off staff even as Rubio insisted that life-saving aid was continuing. Rubio's skeptics point to the Trump administration's cancellation of more than 100 HIV grants and contracts, representing about 20 percent of PEPFAR's total budget, according to an analysis by the Center for Global Development, an anti-poverty group. In addition to shutting down USAID, the agency that dispensed and monitored much of that funding, the administration fired experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's global health division who worked on the program, including those specializing in maternal and child HIV. 'I'm not sure where he got these numbers,' Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, a senior Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said of Rubio's 85 percent claim. The lack of clarity has angered HIV activists, who protested against the PEPFAR cuts during the budget hearings where Rubio testified. 'It's unconscionable and alarming to know that 130 days into this administration, Rubio has overseen the completely unnecessary decimation of life-saving services to millions of people, then lying about that fact over and over again,' said Asia Russell, executive director of Health GAP, a nonprofit working on access to HIV treatment in developing countries. Russell was among those arrested for disrupting Rubio's House Foreign Affairs hearing. The confusion around how much of America's celebrated global health program is still operational adds to the uncertainty about the Trump administration's spending plans for the funds Congress appropriated for 2025. And it comes as Congress gears up to consider the president's 2026 budget request. Last month, Trump asked Congress to reduce the PEPFAR budget from $4.8 billion this year to $2.9 billion next. And on Tuesday, the White House asked Congress to claw back $900 million Congress had provided for HIV/AIDS services and other global health initiatives this year, but insisted that it was keeping programs that provide treatment intact. Even if the Trump administration isn't cutting treatment funding, it has cut other awards that ensure drugs reach people, Russell said. She pointed to a terminated USAID award that was delivering drugs to faith-based nonprofit clinics in Uganda. 'The medicine is literally languishing on shelves in a massive warehouse behind the U.S. embassy,' Russell said. Coons said prevention, if that's what's on the chopping block, is as important as treatment: 'For us to step back from supporting not just treatment but prevention puts us at risk of a reemergence of a more lethal, drug resistant form of HIV/AIDS.' Leading Republicans aren't objecting, even though PEPFAR was created by then-President George W. Bush and long enjoyed bipartisan support. Senate Foreign Relations Chair Jim Risch of Idaho declined to comment when POLITICO asked him about the program. Earlier this year, Risch said PEPFAR was 'in jeopardy' after the Biden administration acknowledged that Mozambique, a country in east Africa, had misused program funds to provide at least 21 abortions. Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), who leads the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he agrees with the cuts Trump has made and suggested he would want more in the future. 'We also need to be asking the question: How long should American taxpayers borrow money to fund HIV medication for 20 million Africans?' Mast said. The top Democratic appropriators in the House and Senate accused the White House in late May of failing to provide detailed and legally required information about what the administration is doing with billions of dollars Congress directed it to spend. Sen. Patty Murray of Washington and Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut wrote to the White House Office of Management and Budget that the administration's decision to not abide by a funding law Trump signed in March has 'degraded Congress' capacity to carry out its legislative responsibilities' and move forward with fiscal 2026 spending bills. It has also clouded plans for reupping the law that directs the PEPFAR program. It expired in March. Mast has said that Congress would consider PEPFAR's future by September, as part of a larger debate about State Department priorities. But Democrats wonder how they could move forward with reauthorizing the program given the uncertainty surrounding it, said a Senate Democratic aide speaking anonymously to share internal debates.
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
MTSU Mondays: Student aviation training, alum's company donates LED screen
Here's the latest news from Middle Tennessee State University. Middle Tennessee State University and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas have signed an agreement that will foster academic ties and collaboration between the country's aviation ministry and MTSU's Department of Aerospace. The agreement was recently signed by MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee and Bahamas Deputy Prime Minister I. Chester Cooper, who also leads the Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation, will create cultural and academic exchanges in education and research. It specifically calls for a program to facilitate Bahamian students to attend MTSU and train in aerospace; a summer immersion program for Bahamian students on the MTSU campus; a fast-track program geared for working professionals; and online courses geared for Bahamian students. McPhee, a native of the Bahamas, pointed out that "MTSU has been the choice of many students from the Bahamas seeking higher education opportunities." "The ties between the commonwealth and our university are strong and constant and, indeed, students from this nation represent a significant percentage of our international enrollment," McPhee said. Cooper, who was joined in his visit to the MTSU campus by representatives from the University of the Bahamas, called the signing "an important occasion." "It's a monumental step for the advancement of the aviation industry in the Bahamas and the aviation education landscape in the Bahamas," he said. "We're excited about this possibility, and we consider this only the beginning of more great collaborations between the University of the Bahamas and MTSU and the Bahamas at large." MTSU Aerospace, with 20 full-time faculty members, 100+ flight instructors, and over 1,200 students, is among the largest of the nation's collegiate aviation programs. MTSU's total aerospace enrollment, including all seven undergraduate concentrations and three graduate concentrations, makes up about 6% of the university's total student population. Students from 32 states and 16 foreign countries are enrolled in the program. The future is getting brighter for Middle Tennessee State University film and television students in the College of Media and Entertainment thanks to a newly donated 400-panel LED screen by Chicago-based Fuse Technical Group. 'This gift will greatly aid our tour production and XR/VR (extended reality and virtual reality) filmmaking classes, which helps train and place our students into those industries,' said Bob Gordon, associate professor of video and film production and interim chair in the Department of Media Arts. Patrick Eaton, a 2009 graduate of MTSU's then Radio and TV Production Program, visited campus to donate the billboard-sized screen and calls the official presentation a 'full circle moment' as he connects the past and present. 'This is surreal, and it seemed like a great opportunity to have kids continue learning on what is being actively used in the industry right now, you know,' said Eaton, who credits MTSU as the foundation of his 15-year career in event production. 'And it's great because Fuse acknowledges that investing in the future generation is the only path forward.' Panels can be configured into smaller screens, big screens or a single large surface. The high-resolution video panel can be used for various applications, including digital scenery and live visuals for concerts, Eaton explained. Eaton's ties to MTSU have remained integral to his career in production. Over the years, the companies he's worked for have hired dozens of MTSU graduates. Fuse Technical Group is no stranger to that continuing tradition. 'The bonds that I built in that first semester here are folks that I work with across the industry,' Eaton said. He's also stayed close to his classmate, Mike Forbes, director of MTSU Technical Systems and an adjunct media arts lecturer, who was instrumental in facilitating the most recent donation. 'At the College of Media and Entertainment, we pride ourselves on giving our students real-world, hands-on experience,' Forbes said. 'This donation only emphasizes the importance of giving our students an advantage from others entering the industry by knowing and understanding the technology used in live entertainment. Our students truly grasp how it works.' MTSU Mondays content is provided by submissions from MTSU News and Media Relations. This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Student aviation training, alum's company donates LED screen
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Senate passes stripped-back version of ‘no-cause' eviction bill, but House likely to oppose it
Senators scaled back the bill to lessen the effect on tenants — raising the likelihood of a clash with the House. (Getty Images) The New Hampshire Senate passed a bill Thursday intended to make it easier for landlords to terminate tenancies. But before passing it, senators scaled back the bill to lessen the effect on tenants — raising the likelihood of a clash with the House. In current law, New Hampshire landlords must cite a specific reason to initiate evictions, including nonpayment of rent, failure to follow the lease, behavior affecting the health or safety of others, or a business reason by the landlord, such as a renovation. As originally passed by the House, House Bill 60 would have allowed for 'no-fault' or 'no-cause' termination of tenancies for leases six months or longer. In those cases, landlords could ask a tenant to leave at the end of the lease period with no reason given. Republicans argue allowing no-cause evictions would let landlords treat leases as fixed-length contracts with tenants, and relieve them of the burden of finding a reason if they no longer wished to rent to someone. But Democrats and legal aid organizations argue it would increase the pace of evictions and could make it easier for landlords to discriminate. On Thursday, the Senate dramatically altered the bill, keeping the 'no-fault' evictions but adding a trigger provision that prevents application of the law unless the state has had a 4% or higher rental vacancy rate for four quarters in one calendar year, as determined by the Federal Reserve. Currently, the Federal Reserve estimates New Hampshire has exactly a 4% vacancy rate, citing U.S. Census data. The Senate's version would also allow landlords to use no-cause evictions only with leases of 12 months or more. And it would exempt tenants who are subject to no-cause evictions from having those evictions added to their record for the purpose of rental applications and tenant screening reports, easing concerns from housing advocates about the effects of the original bill. Those changes earned the support of Senate Democrats; the amended bill was voted through unanimously Thursday. But before the bill can go to Gov. Kelly Ayotte's desk, it must receive final sign-off from the House, and some House Republicans have made it clear they are not happy with the Senate's changes. Rep. Joe Alexander, a Goffstown Republican and the chairman of the Housing Committee, said he will be requesting a Committee of Conference with the Senate to attempt to find a compromise when the House meets on Thursday. The Senate's version of the bill does not fit with the House's position, Alexander said in an interview. And he noted that the full House already voted down two attempted Democratic amendments to add trigger provisions. 'The House position is the lease is a contract,' Alexander said. 'And (in) every other place in contract law, when a contract ends, both parties go their separate ways unless there's conversation about renewing it. So we're just trying to bring it in line with all other contract law in the state.' Elliott Berry, a former attorney for New Hampshire Legal Assistance who has been following the bill, said even with the Senate changes, he and other housing advocates believe HB 60 could harm tenants. 'It's going to make a lot of landlords take the easy way out,' he said. 'And so tenants who for whatever reason feel any kind of antagonism towards them in general, well-based or not, they're going to be in jeopardy.'
