Public pot consumption will only be allowed at dispensaries and smoke shops — dashing hopes of bars and restaurants

Posted on November 15, 2019 by

Pot dispensaries and special smoke shops will be the only place you can publicly consume marijuana next year under a change to state law approved by lawmakers Thursday.

After criticism from health advocates, lawmakers moved to curtail provisions in the state’s legalization law — dashing the hopes of some business owners who sought to allow pot use at their restaurants, bars and even beauty shops when adult recreational use becomes legal Jan. 1.

The law signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in June initially allowed localities to regulate pot use at cannabis businesses and offered an exemption to the Smoke Free Illinois Act to those establishments and other businesses that receive local approval to allow on-site consumption.

The new legislation clarifies that on-site consumption will only be allowed at dispensaries where marijuana is sold and at licensed smoke shops which — similar to cigar shops — will be granted an exemption to the smoke-free law. 

Pritzker praised the changes to the law Thursday.

Heather Steans, a Chicago Democrat who has led the legalization push, credited fellow lawmakers for passing the extensive clean-up bill with bipartisan support.

“We’re really pleased that we could be working that way to stand up a very strong legalization program come January,” Steans told the Sun-Times.

Conflicts of interests addressed

The measure also amends a conflict of interest provision that was added after it was reported that state Sen. Patricia Van Pelt, D-Chicago, was leading a company that intends to enter the industry.

Starting in June 2021, members of the General Assembly and their immediate family members will now be prohibited from holding an ownership stake in any cannabis firm licensed in Illinois within two years of the legislator leaving office. Any member or family member that has an interest in a pot company will also have to divest within a year of the provision’s effective date.

The provision won’t apply to Candace Gingrich — the spouse of state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, another Chicago Democrat who sponsored the legalization law — who was tapped in July as the vice president and head of business development for Revolution Florida, a sister company to the Illinois-based cannabis firm Revolution Enterprises.

State employees that regulate the state’s pot industry and their immediate family members will also be prohibited from holding an ownership interest in any cannabis license within two years of being employed by the state.

More local tax revenue

The trailer bill also notably moves up the start date for local governments to start collecting sales taxes on recreational pot sales. That means Chicago and other cities across the state can start those collections in July, instead of September. 

Last month, Mayor Lori Lightfoot estimated the city would net $3.5 million in the final four months of 2020. The proposal estimated that a local 3% excise tax would bring in $1 million, while increased sales tax revenue would drum up the rest of the cannabis cash.

Posted in #420day, #taxation, Education, Foxx, Illinois, illinois politics, Kim Foxx, lobbying, marijuana, Medical, medical marijuana, mental health, political satire, politics, Pritzker, referendum, Referendums, Roy F. McCampbell, senator durbin, senator Mulroe, Social Media, Taxation, vaping, weed | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Finding the College-payment requirement in the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act unconstitutional, Still Being Considered in the DuPage Courts

Posted on October 28, 2019 by

A case in DuPage County Circuit Court may determine if divorced parents in Illinois have to pay college tuition costs and if so, should they should get a say in their child’s college choice.

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In some cases, like the DuPage case of Yakich v. Aulds, a divorced parent can be ordered to pay for college costs despite not having any input in the college-selection process.
The DuPage County case, which was ruled on by the Illinois Supreme Court last week (Oct. 24), advanced to the high court after a DuPage judge last year noted that because married parents are not yoked with the same burden, he was finding the college-payment requirement in the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act unconstitutional.
The case stems from the DuPage divorce case of Charles Yakich and Rosemary Aulds. Yakich balked at the court order to pay 40 percent of their daughter’s schooling when he had no say in the school selection and sought to have the college payments portion of the Marriage Act declared unconstitutional.
He said he would have paid all of their daughter’s college costs if she would go to a school offering a degree in her chosen field of marine biology instead of a “party school.”
Dylan Yakich and her mother had determined she would attend Florida Gulf Coast University despite it not offering a degree in marine biology, Charles Yakich said.
He contends that the school-payment requirement in the Marriage Act is not fair because married parents are not held to the same standard. Also, because married parents, in most cases, hold the purse strings for college education, they get a say in where their student goes to school, Charles Yakich contends.
Illinois Supreme Court justices ruled Oct. 24 that DuPage Judge Thomas Else overstepped his bounds in such a ruling and vacated his decision.
Supreme Court Justice Thomas Kilbride said that the lower court committed a “serious error” in not applying the Supreme Court ruling from 40 years ago upholding relevant sections of the Marriage Act.
“Our circuit and appellate courts are bound to apply this court’s precedent to the facts of the case before them,” Kilbride wrote in the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision.
“When this court ‘has declared the law on any point, it alone can override and modify its previous opinion, and the lower tribunals are bound by such decision and it is the duty of such lower tribunals to follow such decisions in similar cases,’” Kilbride said in reiterating a 2016 Supreme Court opinion.
The Supreme Court justices said that “because the trial court may not overrule prior precedents of this court, we are compelled to vacate” the DuPage judge’s 2018 ruling that the college-payment section of the Marriage Act was unconstitutional.
The case now returns to DuPage Circuit Court for reconsideration with the college-payment section included in deliberation.
DuPage Judge Else had ruled that the Supreme Court ruling 40 years ago “presumes that never married or divorced couples are less normal, and less likely to provide post-secondary education for their offspring than couples who are married, or single parents.”

“While this may have been true in 1978, there is no basis for such a conclusion today,” Else said in his ruling.”

Posted in divorce, Illinois marriage and Dissolution Act, News, politics, Rauner, Roy F. McCampbell, Social Media | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Community Meeting at Washington School to Discuss a Tax Referendum for Schiller Park School Referendum on October 22 at 6:30 pm

Posted on October 22, 2019 by

At the December, 2019, Board of Education meeting , school board members will vote on placing a facility referendum for Washington School on the March 17, 2020, ballot.

On Tuesday, October 22, 2019, at 6:30 pm at Washington School there will be a community forum to see a presentation on the tax referendum.

The taxpayers and community members are encouraged to attend.

Posted in Dr. Kim Boryszewski, Education, election fraud, Elections, Illinois, illinois politics, Leyden, News, political satire, politics, referendum, Referendums, Roy F. McCampbell, Saint Maria Goretti, Schiller Park, Special Education, vote | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Leyden High Schools To Be Open on Friday, September 27, 2019

Posted on September 26, 2019 by

September 26, 2019

Dear Leyden Community, 

I would like to take some time and communicate as much information as possible with you about the past few days here at Leyden.  I am writing this message in conjunction with Mike Witz, the Director of Police in Franklin Park. What I will include in this letter is public and can be shared.

Tuesday’s Altercation

At approximately 9:30 am on Tuesday morning, one student was stabbed by another student in our hallway during a passing period.  We now know that the incident can be traced back to an argument that started in class. Several days later, the issue apparently continued to intensify and culminated in this confrontation.  The Franklin Park Police Department’s investigation determined that the origins of this situation were not gang-related.  

The entire confrontation lasted approximately ten seconds.  Following the fight, the injured student received medical care from our school resource officer, dean and Leyden security staff within five seconds.  That student was in the nurse’s office within thirty seconds before being taken to the hospital. Those staff members and first responders should be credited with saving that student’s life through their quick actions.

When the building was placed on lockdown, the student who committed the stabbing was caught by a Leyden security guard and dean in approximately three minutes.  The Franklin ParkPolice Department promptly arrived on the scene and placed that student in custody. He is being charged with attempted murder and remains in custody.  The lockdown remained in place until approximately 11:30 am so that police officers were able to check every area of the building and assess the lack of additional threats.

Social Media

Throughout the day on Wednesday, we became aware of a number of social media posts.  We appreciate all of the students, parents, community members and staff members who came forward to share that information with us.  In reviewing those messages, it was clear that there were multiple gang references in the content. Some of the messages were linked to former Leyden students, while others came from current students or were simply anonymous.  Overnight, we received over one hundred tips from students on our anonymous tip line.

From the timing of our messages, you can see that administrators and local police officers have been up all night working through all of this information.  As we reviewed that information, we need to keep in mind that Leyden students live in seven different communities. So each time we came to a student’s name, we needed to coordinate with a different local police department which adds time to the process.

The need to coordinate with multiple entities in order to fully investigate each concern is what led us to call the E-Learning Day this morning.  We needed to provide our local law enforcement agencies some time and space to investigate the various aspects and social media posts. At 11:00 am today, we held a joint meeting at East Leyden High School with representatives from the following agencies and municipalities:

Cook County Sheriff’s Police Department

Franklin Park Police Department

Melrose Park Police Department

Northlake Police Department

River Grove Police Department

Rosemont Police Department

Schiller Park Police Department

Leyden Township

Village of Franklin Park

City of Northlake

Village of River Grove

Village of Rosemont

Village of Schiller Park

At that meeting, we were able to share information, update one another, and discuss plans for moving forward.

I can report to you that collectively, we have identified and spoken with over forty students/families responsible for the social media posts over the past 24 hours.  Local police and school officials are collaboratively working with students and families to address those issues. Again, I cannot comment on the specific outcomes, but I can say that those issues have been addressed.  Those processes have yielded the conclusions that there is no credible threat from those posts.

Moving Forward

Tomorrow, school will open on a regular schedule.  Our counselors and social workers continue to be be available in Room 217 at East Leyden.  And just like any other day, counselors and social workers are available at West Leyden as well in case any students there need to discuss any of this week’s events.

As a precaution, we will have an increased police presence both inside and outside both Leyden High Schools.  That partnership is merely preventative as we look to move forward from the earlier events of this week.

We will continue to monitor social media, and just as you have done this week, please reach out to the building administration with any concerns or information to share.  Through this process, we learned that some students were aware that the fight on Tuesday was going to happen, but they did not report it. Hopefully moving forward, we can subscribe to the “See Something (or Hear Something), Say Something” approach to report possible issues.

Thank You

Once again, thank you to our students, our faculty and staff, our first responders, our communities, and all of our local law enforcement agencies.  This was a truly collaborative effort on behalf of the entire Leyden community. We all look forward to having students and staff back in the building.  

With #leydenpride,

Nick Polyak                                                           Mike Witz

Superintendent                                                     Director of Police

Leyden High School District 212                          Franklin Park Police Department

 

IN SPANISH:

 

6 de septiembre de 2019

Estimada comunidad de Leyden,

Me gustaría tomarme un tiempo y comunicarle información en más detalles sobre los

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Leyden High School District 212 Posts A Link For Anonymous Information in Ongoing Gang Activity Investigation to Assist Area Polices

Posted on September 26, 2019 by

Here is a link to the anonymous reporting form. Please don’t spread rumors that could be false. Even with good intentions, it just causes panic. Instead, report posts using this.

persevere.

safe2speakup.com/onlinebully?wo…

These moments don’t define Leyden and we will persevere.

safe2speakup.com/onlinebully?wo…

safe2speakup.com/onlinebully?wo…

#leydenpride

Posted in #leydenpride, Bloods, Crypts, Latin Kings, Leyden, Leyden High School Dostrict 212, News, Northlake, politics, referendum, Rosemont, Roy F. McCampbell, Schiller Park, Schiller Park Commentaries, Social Media, student discipline, vaping, West Leyden | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Leyden High School Closes Schools and Takes an E Learning Day Over Social Media Post’s After Stabbing Of Student Revealing Gang Turbulence in the Area

Posted on September 26, 2019 by

Good Morning,

This is Dr. Nick Polyak, Superintendent for the Leyden High Schools.  Thank you to all of you who have reached out in the last 24 hours with information related to social media posts.  We take the safety of our students and school community very seriously. We would like to create some time and space for our local law enforcement professionals to look into these issues.

With that in mind, we are declaring an  E-Learning Day today, Thursday, September 26, 2019.  We will take this opportunity to meet with representatives from the local police departments of all the communities we represent.  That meeting will happen later today. Our intention is to resume school as normal on Friday morning and we will update you with our plan. 

We thank you in advance for your assistance and support,

Dr. Polyak

SPANISH:

Buenos días,

Gracias a todos los que se han comunicado en las últimas 24 horas con información relacionada con publicaciones en redes sociales. Nos tomamos muy en serio la seguridad de nuestros estudiantes y la comunidad escolar. Nos gustaría crear un poco de tiempo y espacio para que nuestros profesionales locales encargados de hacer cumplir la ley analicen estos problemas.

Con eso en mente, estamos declarando un Día de E-Learning hoy, jueves 26 de septiembre de 2019. Aprovecharemos esta oportunidad para reunirnos con representantes de los departamentos de policía locales de todas las comunidades que representamos. Esa reunión sucederá más tarde hoy. Nuestra intención es reanudar la escuela normalmente el viernes por la mañana y lo actualizaremos con nuestro plan.

Le agradecemos de antemano su asistencia y apoyo,

Dr. Polyak

 

Posted in #leydenpride, #metoo, #taxation, Bradley Stephens, Chicago, East Leyden, Education, Franklin Park, gangs, Illinois, illinois politics, LASEC, Latin Kings, Leyden, Leyden Area Special Education CoOp, Leyden High School Dostrict 212, Mannheim School District 83, News, Norridge, Norridge School D80, Northlake, Pennoyer School District 79, politics, Rosemont, Rosemont School District 78, Roy F. McCampbell, Schiller Park, Schiller Park Commentaries, Schiller Park School District 81, Social Media, Special Education, Triton College, vaping, West Leyden | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Tour of The New Addition to East Leyden High School by Dr Nick Polyak, Superintendent

Posted on September 13, 2019 by

Posted in #leydenpride, capital projects, East Leyden, Illinois, illinois politics, Leyden, Leyden High School Dostrict 212, News, politics, Roy F. McCampbell, Social Media | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

New Illinois Legislation Makes Significant Changes In Special Education Procedural Requirements To Benefit the Students

Posted on September 2, 2019 by

I have had my eye on House Bill 3586, which has been awaiting the Governor’s signature since June. Well, the time has come; Governor Pritzker signed the law on Friday, August 30, 2019 (PA 101-0515).

And there were no amendments to the law to address some of the areas of confusion that were identified after the bill was passed by the legislature. The amendments to the Children with Disabilities article of the School Code brought by the law are immediately in effect, although revisions may be on the horizon during the veto session.

For now, special education professionals should promptly implement the significant procedural requirements under the law. I will keep you posted regarding any changes or guidance from ISBE that may impact the implementation of the law, but for now, make plans to meet the following requirements.

IEP Meetings
The amendments in the law require all Illinois districts to provide parents/guardians with copies of all written material that will be reviewed at the IEP meeting no later than 3 school days prior to the meeting. Written material must include all evaluations and collected data that will be reviewed at the meeting and (except at initial eligibility meetings) a copy of all IEP components that will be discussed (not including service minutes and placement). While providing reports, data, and drafts prior to an IEP meeting has always been best practice to facilitate parent participation and meaningful discussion at the meeting, in reality busy schedules and the coordination of multiple team members can make this new requirement a challenge. The school districts will have to start planning for meetings early and consider calendaring the due date for documents to be sent home. Hopefully this practice will make the actual meeting more productive and maybe even quicker. The school districts will have to mark documents draft and be open to changes at the meeting to avoid claims of predetermination.

Related Service Logs
The new law also requires all Illinois districts to make related service logs available to parents at IEP meetings and upon request. Districts must notify parents/guardians within 20 days of the beginning of the school year or upon establishment of an IEP of their ability to request related service logs. Consider creating a log template so that providers keep consistent records.

Compensatory Services
If a student’s IEP services are not implemented within 10 school days after the date or frequency provided for in the IEP, the district must notify the parent/guardian in writing within 3 school days. The notice must also inform parents/guardians of their ability to request compensatory services.

Response to Scientific, Research-Based Intervention
The new law also requires all Illinois districts to use response to scientific, research-based interventions or multi-tiered systems of support as part of the special education evaluation process to determine if a student is eligible for services due to a specific learning disability. This requirement is not new and does not limit the district in conducting other assessments as part of an evaluation. The new law also allows districts to utilize RTI or MTSS data when determining eligibility for any category of disability. Parents/guardians must be involved in the RTI or MTSS data sharing and decision-making process. Parent participation in this intervention (pre-eligibility and pre-evaluation) stage of the process may be new for many districts. The law provides that ISBE may provide guidance and resources to districts on how to implement this process. In the meantime, start planning for how your RTI or MTSS process may be revised to include parent participation

If you have questions about your child’s IEP or your child receiving special education services please contact me at 708/878-7957 or contact me by email at roy_mccampbell@comcast.net.

Posted in Chicago, Education, IEP, Illinois, illinois politics, legal services, Leyden, Leyden Area Special Education CoOp, News, Pritzker, Roy F. McCampbell, Social Media, Special Education | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Begin Your Planning Early For Children With Special Needs

Posted on September 1, 2019 by

Don’t wait until your child with special needs turns age 18 to begin planning.

Becoming a legal adult leads to many changes in available benefits, needs, and your ability to act on your child’s behalf. Here are just a few of the many items for your to-do list.

Government Benefits

If your child receives SSI (or SSDI as a minor on a parent’s work record), then when your child turns 18, the Social Security Administration will automatically review his or her file. The SSA uses a different test to determine benefits eligibility for adults than for minors. The adult test asks whether your child has a lasting physical or mental impairment that “results in the inability to do any substantial gainful activity.” Your child could lose benefits or need to appeal a denial because of this different test.

On the bright side, the income requirements are different too. Minors’ eligibility for SSI turns on financial requirements that include their parents’ income and resources. Adults’ eligibility looks only to their own income and resources. Your child may therefore qualifyfor SSI even if he or she did not as a minor.

Keep in mind, if your child has not received it before, you cannot actually apply for SSI or Medicaid until the first day of the calendar month after he or she turns 18.

Government Requirements

Now is the time to get a state-issued identification card or driver’s license and to make sure you have your child’s Social Security card. You will need these cards to apply for many services. Also, your child may need a bank account to accept SSI checks or employment checks (these should be separate accounts). You also could help your child register to vote and, if he is male, he must submit Selective Service paperwork.

Practical Steps

If your child has intellectual disabilities, we recommend that your child take an adult IQ test between the ages of 17 and 18. The Social Security Administration considers IQ test results in figuring out whether your child qualifies for benefits. Obtaining a test result of 70 or below may make qualifying easier.  Moreover, this testing may help with proving eligibility for the PUNS (see previous blog post on the topic of PUNS).

Legal Steps

If your child needs significant help with activities of daily living, now is the time to start working on the guardianship process. The courts take time to process guardianship petitions, so talk to a lawyer about preparing now. You may instead need to help your child get a power of attorney.

McCampbell and Associates provides compassionate special needs legal and future planning to guide our fellow Illinois families of children and adults with intellectual disabilities, developmental disabilities, or mental illness down the road to peace of mind. For more information, email us at roy_mccampbell@comcast.net or call 708/878-7957

Posted in #mentalhealthmonth, #metoo, Autism, benefits, Chicago, Disability Employment Month, East Leyden, Education, Employing Disabled, Finance, Illinois, LASEC, legal services, Leyden Area Special Education CoOp, Leyden High School Dostrict 212, make a wish foundation, Medical, mental health, mike madigan, News, Social Media, Special Education | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What Happens When a Priest Does Not Show Up for Sunday Mass?

Posted on August 26, 2019 by

With the shortage of priests, not having a priest for a Sunday Mass is becoming more and more common.

I naively thought that I would never see such a situation, having graduated from a Catholic grammar school and high school,  but my  own parish in the western suburbs of Chicagoland experienced the lack of a priest on this last  Sunday to celebrate Mass.  This brought “home” to me and the other almost 400 attendees that the Chicago Archdiocese has to complete their restructuring as painful as it may be to all of us to continue to fulfill their religious mission. The priest shortage is real and is becoming more critical each and every day.

 

Even with the best of planning and communication, schedules get confused or electronic calendars get deleted. A priest who has to travel in may have car trouble or get stuck in ice or snow. A priest may be too ill to get out of bed. As one of cleric who is my friend once put it—what will they do if I “wake up dead?” Clearly, despite our best efforts, emergencies do happen.

There is a shortage of priests everywhere, certainly all over the United States. In some countries the priest is peripatetic. He moves from parish to parish, stopping for a day to consecrate enough wafers of the Eucharist bread to supply the masses for weeks ahead. He then leaves it to the lay servers or Eucharistic ministers to distribute them.
The tradition of there always being a priest available to say Mass in any church has already died out. This is not like the America I knew as a child where, on a Saturday morning, four priests might be hearing confessions and four rows of pews at each confession box would be filled with penitents waiting their turn.
The bottom has fallen out of the market.

Which would not be a problem if the staffing of the Church declined at the same rate as the demand for the sacraments, but it hasn’t. It has proceeded at a faster rate.
Certainly, fewer Catholics go to Mass every week than did 20 years ago. Indeed, fewer still go to confession. Almost none want to be priests, but about half of them still want to go to Mass about once a month.
That means that the ratio of priests to members of a congregation has fallen.
Even in a rapidly secularising in the US  there is demand for more Masses than there are priests to celebrate them.

In our unfortunate  event,  a trained lay person stepped up and  lead a Liturgy of the Word service; this  resembles the  Mass with the exception of a priest to preside. Of course, other ministers assisted as lectors and musicians.  There was a distribution of Holy Communion, remember Mass is more than receiving Communion—it is the prayer of the Church and the Eucharistic sacrifice that makes the Lord Jesus Christ present in the Eucharist which is later received in Communion. Anything less than a Mass is not a Mass.
In any event, an announcement was made: “I am sorry to inform you that due to circumstances beyond our control, there is no priest to celebrate Mass today. In this emergency situation, we were invited to stay and pray together with our Sunday community as we celebrated the Liturgy of the Word, remembering that Christ is present when the Church prays and sings and when Christ’s Holy Word is proclaimed.
While a Liturgy of the Word can never replace Sunday Mass, in an emergency situation such as this, it will fulfill your obligation. Saint John Paul II in his Apostolic Letter Dies Domini (Day of the Lord) calls for Sunday to be “protected” and states, “In situations where the Eucharist cannot be celebrated, the Church recommends that the Sunday assembly come together even without a priest.”
Although the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days still stands, the unexpected absence of a priest is not a reason to think that you have not met the obligation. After all, the congregation made the effort to be there and can be in good conscience.

Fortunately, our senior parish leaders stepped up to the occasion .  They demonstrated an adept and unique ability to lead the congregation in a meaningful celebration.

We must continue to pray for vocations as a Church, so that such a “priestless Sunday situation”  is  rare.

Posted in benefits, Chicago, Chicago Archdiocese, communion, Harwood Heights, Health, health risk, IEP, Illinois, Illinois Pensions, illinois politics, Ireland, political satire, politics, priest, Religion, renew my church, Saint Maria Goretti, Social Media, springfield diocese | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment