Mary Patchin, who was promoted from vice president of sales and has worked for the organization for 25 years, will replace retiring CEO and President Jim Garrett once his tenure officially ends June 30.

“We are elated with Mary Patchin as the new president/CEO,” Garrett said in a news release announcing Patchin’s promotion. “Her experience in tourism, commitment to Visit Chicago Southland, and knowledge and passion of the Chicago southland region will serve her and the area well.”

Visit Chicago Southland, which until recently was named the Chicago Southland Convention and Visitors Bureau, is a nonprofit founded in 1986 that receives funding from a state grant requiring matching funding from community contracts, membership and programming. The money is used to market the south suburbs as a destination for leisure, events and meetings and advocate for the development of attractions to draw visitors.

Patchin said her main focuses will be executing a three-year plan developed in 2023 to build strong relationships between the organization, local communities and their clients, especially in areas of hospitality and group business, which she focused on heavily in her past role.

This includes becoming certified through an international group of similar tourism marketing organizations through meeting set goals, she said.

Patchin said she’s also preparing for national tradeshows starting in August that are important for marketing the Southland as a primary destination for everything from work meetings to sports tournaments.

“Weddings, family reunions, class reunions — we have an abundance because we have a lot of banquet facilities and hotels out here,” Patchin said. “And we have so many great events that take place throughout the entire year here too, a little something for everybody.”

Patchin joined Visit Chicago Southland after graduating from Purdue University in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in restaurant, hotel, institutional and tourism management, according to the news release. She has involved herself in the finance, public relations and marketing departments of the organization, though she always worked in sales.

She said she has wanted to work for a convention and visitors bureau since she was 16.

“I was one of those annoying kids that called every 1-800 number for every state tourism office,” she said. “So I’ve always loved the industry, at a young age, even before really understanding what tourism was.”

With Garrett leading the organization for 28 years, Visit Chicago Southland earned the 2024 Illinois Excellence in Tourism Award for Best Website by the Illinois Office of Tourism and received Diversity Inc’s 2011 Community Spirit Award.

Patchin said she plans to keep the organization focused and ahead of competing convention bureaus by meeting people where they’re at and relying more heavily on those who live in the marketed communities.

“A lot of the work that we do tends to be outside of the region, and what we’re trying to do is really be a better education tool for local residents, because local residents are really the best tourism ambassadors,” Patchin said.

She said that includes building up community awareness with hospitality partners.

“While we really try to focus with an online presence, there is still in part of what we do here that would be in print or local media,” she said. “It’s just creating that exposure the best way we can and working with our partners to do that.”

Patchin was approved to become Visit Chicago Southland’s CEO and president at the organization’s April 25 quarterly board meeting.

ostevens@chicagotribune.com

Officers from several jurisdictions responded to a cookout party near 141st Street and Wood Street at about 10 p.m. The Chicago resident, identified as Roshon S. Holmes by the Cook County medical examiner’s office, was found with multiple gunshot wounds and pronounced dead about an hour later at the University of Chicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey, according to Cook County sheriff’s police.

As of Monday afternoon, no one was in custody, the sheriff’s police said.

The Dixmoor Playfield was closed as the sheriff’s office investigated, the forest preserve police said.

The investigation is ongoing, and sheriff’s police ask anyone with information about the shooting is to contact detectives at 708-865-4896.

ostevens@chicagotribune.com

Depending on population size, 113 qualifying libraries statewide each have the opportunity to receive grants of either $27,500 or $12,500 to spend within two years. Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, in his role as the state’s librarian, said he wanted to support traditionally underserved areas by providing funding to bolster the infrastructure of their libraries, which provide important resources to a diverse array of people.

“The issue has always been important to me,” said Giannoulias, who served on the board of directors for the Chicago public libraries before becoming secretary of state. “What I noticed was at least within the city, some libraries were doing extraordinary — you know, well-resourced and really unbelievable places of learning. And then you go to other parts of the city and state and libraries were antiquated, didn’t look the same … even before I was secretary of state, as a member of CPL, that was really troublesome to me.”

To be eligible for the state grant funding, communities had to have both a low tax base and high poverty rate relative to others across the state. Because libraries are mostly funded through property taxes, their budgets rely heavily on their local taxable base.

Libraries eligible for $27,500 grants in the Southland include those in Blue Island, Calumet City, Chicago Heights, Dolton, Harvey, Grande Prairie in Hazel Crest, Justice, Lansing, Park Forest, Riverdale and Steger-South Chicago Heights. Libraries listed for $12,500 grants include Calumet Park, Dixmoor, Phoenix, William Leonard Public Library in Robbins and Nancy L. McConathy Public Library in Sauk Village.

Many are still planning how they would spend the money. Steger-South Chicago Heights Public Library Director Jessica Rodrigues said her branch is in need of a new fax and scanning section as well as new computers for both staff and patrons.

“We’re a lot smaller, physically and fiscally, (than other libraries),” Rodrigues said. “I think that overall, we’ve done a good job stewarding what we have, but you can only do so much … like we have the carpet that’s original to like the 1970 or 1980s building. We’ve applied for grants to fix some of these things. And we just haven’t won them yet.”

She said the $27,500 grant would make a “huge difference” in the budget.

Dolton Public Library has plans for a program that would teach children and teenagers robotics and coding skills. Ellissa Mwesigwa, the library’s finance consultant, said the $27,500 granted could cover costs of a computer cart and other equipment library officials have been hoping for to foster career and technical skills in young people they serve.

“We know we have poor literacy rates here in the area,” Mwesigwa said. “The thought is to have them enter different robotics competitions and partner with the school. But here is where they can come after school and on weekends … to keep them active and non-idle.”

Giannoulias said libraries awarded the grants will be able to begin funding projects June 28. There are few stipulations for how the money can be spent as long as projects are technology-related.

ostevens@chicagotribune.com

Berger-Vandenberg and Diekman schools in Dolton and Caroline Sibley in Calumet City are to be renovated back-to-back from this summer through January 2026, Superintendent Maureen White told about 100 parents, children and others.

“We are going to have three new schools — imagine that,” White said. “Three new schools in two years. As a taxpayer, I think it’s important that you know where your tax dollars go. And what better place for your tax dollars to go than to new schools for our children.”

Before announcing the specific changes, White asked everyone in the audience to shout, “new.” All buildings will be have new windows, floors, ceilings, lighting, restrooms, doors and lockers as well as computer labs and media centers, she said. Depending on the district’s ability to fund them, some schools will have new main offices and gymnasiums.

“We have to prioritize because we’re not a rich school district,” White said.

When the district raises enough funds, it will put new gyms and media centers in the incomplete schools, she said.

Berger-Vandenberg students should be able to return to their school after the upcoming winter break, White said. Diekman construction will close the school from January through August 2025, with students able to return the following fall. Construction at Caroline Sibley will last from August 2025 through January 2026, with students coming back after that year’s winter break.

But White cautioned the schedule is subject to change if renovations stall for any reason.

“What I don’t want you all to do is hold us fast and tight on this timeline,” White said.

She mentioned supply chain issues following the COVID-19 pandemic as presenting potential holdups on certain building updates.

Students at the three affected schools will be placed in temporary classrooms in other elementary schools depending on the status of the renovations. For example, while Caroline Sibley undergoes renovations, those students will be brought into the already completed Diekman and Berger-Vandenberg buildings.

Latasha and Marcellus Ford said they were skeptical of some of the plans, raising concerns about knowing in advance about changes in bus routes that would affect their soon-to-be second grade daughter with school locations change.

“Everything is so not together right now,” Latasha Ford said.

Marcellus Ford said communications from the school district are inconsistent, with parents finding out important information, such as date and time of the town hall meeting, through robocall with little advanced notice.

Those worries were echoed by parents Mario and Mashantala Kidd, who expressed frustrations about what they said was a lack of clarity provided by White during the question-and-answer portion of the meeting. They said the school renovations could exacerbate issues that already exist within the district.

“I’d like to see what the space they’re moving them into is going to look like,” Mashantala Kidd said.

Mario Kidd asked if the other school would be overcrowded during the renovation.

“As far as physical bodies, it’s already … 30-some students in a class. Where are these other kids going to go?” he asked. “You’re talking about a whole school and putting them in that building that doesn’t have a lot of space as it is.”

White said the school board chose to prioritize keeping children within the district to help with busing logistics, and said students will have access to the same technologies they had in their own schools.

“I need for everyone to understand there will be no slight to any of our students because of the move,” White said. “They will have the same teaching and learning experiences that they currently have in their building.”

White also announced several changes to curriculum for middle school students this upcoming year. Students will change their studies to take part in the Creative Communications Academy in sixth grade, the School of Fine Arts in seventh grade and the STEM Academy in eighth grade, rather than choosing one of schools of focus for their seventh and eighth grade years.

She said over the past few years the curricula for the three separate paths have blended together and students will benefit from being able to learn more about each topic.

ostevens@chicagotribune.com

Justice police responded to calls of shots fired near 81st Avenue and 84th Street early Tuesday morning, deputy Chief Fred Schuerg said, finding Richard Rubalcava on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds. Officers attempted to administer first aid to the 42-year-old man, but he was pronounced dead after being transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

Schuerg said police are working with the South Suburban Major Crimes Taskforce to investigate the homicide. No one has been taken into custody.

LeShawn Ridley, a 60-year-old woman from Chicago Heights, was struck by a vehicle near West 15th Street and Fairview Avenue Saturday, according to the medical examiner’s office. The woman was a pedestrian who died from injuries received in the collision, which the office categorized as a homicide. Chicago Heights police did not respond to requests for comment.

Crestwood police reported a fatal shooting Tuesday they believe to be part of a road rage incident that caused a car and a tow truck to crash on South Cicero Avenue and Cal Sag Road.

The 35-year-old tow truck driver pulled out a gun when the vehicles stopped on the access road to Rivercrest Shopping Center, police say, leading the other driver to take out a gun and fire one shot that struck and killed the tow truck driver, police said. The shooter is a valid concealed carry holder, police ssaid.

Police said they attempted to provide first aid to the shooting victim, but he was pronounced dead at a hospital. Police have not named the victim or the shooter, who they said is cooperating with the investigation.

Police ask anyone who witnessed the event to contact detectives at the Crestwood Police Department at 708-371-4800.

ostevens@chicagotribune.com

The Posen Park Board voted Tuesday to end the annual carnival, which was shut down early Sunday after a large fight broke out, leading to four arrests.

“We’re too small of a town for something for that big of a crop,” Park District Director Terrence Whitcomb said. “As sad as it is for the kids and families that actually enjoyed it, it’s just the safety concerns are too much.”

The 5,386-person town saw a crowd of up to 200 involved in a fight that led police to arrest two juveniles and two adults Sunday night, Posen police Chief William Alexander said. He said the unrest spilled from the fairgrounds at Commissioners Park, 147th and Sacramento streets, to side streets and nearby businesses, and was brought under control at about 10 p.m.

“The carnival seems to attract people from all around Chicago and other towns, and it just causes chaos,” Alexander said.

Susan Adema told the board said she was disappointed about the end of the carnival, which she said went on for years without issues until it started up again after a COVID-19 pandemic-induced pause.

“I live around the corner from it — people were running down my alley trying to jump my fence,” Adema said. “They weren’t able to get over, but they were in the neighbors yards, the other yards, and then people going and throwing stuff all over the place. The alleys were littered with trash … and there was just chaos. They were running everywhere.”

Adema and others at the meeting said they believed most of the young people involved were from out of town. Other suburbs, such as Tinley Park, have faced similar problems in recent years with large groups of young people causing disruptions at their carnivals.

“When my daughter was young it was something they all looked forward to, but it wasn’t always held at that park — it’s been in other places. I think they need to think about that, having it closer to the police station,” Adema said. “You don’t want to take the fun away from everybody just because there’s a few bad apples that come from other towns causing trouble. It’s not fair.”

Whitcomb said the Park Board will look to make up for the loss of revenue from the festival and bring together residents with smaller, one-day events that are less likely to draw people from outside the area.

“There is just no way for this small of a town with this small of a police force and this small of a park department to continue operating that carnival,” Whitcomb said. “It’s not logistically feasible. It’s not logistically safe. So we’re done. We’re done, unfortunately.”

Residents also raised concern about another event that was scheduled Wednesday in Posen Memorial Park, hosted by Henyard. Those in the audience questioned why the Park District issued a permit to her.

“Every place she goes, trouble follows,” one woman said.

Park Board President Jody Chmielak said Henyard has rented the park in the past and, because part of Posen is in Thornton Township, the board had no reason not to issue the permit. Whitcomb said not allowing Henyard a permit could put the Park Board under scrutiny for unlawful discrimination.

“You won’t find any of us there, because she’s nuts,” Posen Mayor Frank Podbielniak said after the meeting.

Thornton Township announced on its Facebook page Wednesday morning that Henyard’s Days in the Park event, which would have brought food, music and children’s activities to the Posen park, was rained out and will be rescheduled.

ostevens@chicagotribune.com

As at past meetings addressing Henyard’s conduct as mayor, concerned residents lined up outside the board chamber to make sure they had a chance to speak out against what many see as chronic dishonesty and mismanagement of taxpayer funds.

Sherry Now, who said several generations of her family are from the area, came to support those who still live in Dolton. She criticized Henyard’s spending habits as mayor and said she backs Lightfoot “every which way.”

“I was never into politics until now,” she said. “People left, people died off, people changed, but they should have what we had — with the love and the families growing and to be comfortable in your town and enjoy it.”

While police taped off most of the block and the building’s parking lot, by the time the meeting began, residents had walked through the metal detectors and filled all 40 folding chairs. With residents becoming raucous at past meetings, a village police inspector, Sylvester Baker, repeatedly warned those attending that he would clear the room if they spoke out of turn.

“You can end this if you would just be transparent,” said one woman, wearing a T-shirt with the phrase “Y’all going to jail” printed on it. “We want to know where our money is at — we need that.”

(Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

The meeting progressed with Henyard touting her accomplishments as mayor and stating her frustration with residents and the media for what she called a “smear campaign” against her.

Henyard said the trustees’ decision to hire Lightfoot as a special investigator for $400 an hour was “unconstitutional infringement of the powers of the office of mayor.”

Her concerns did not deter four of the six trustees, who voted in favor of hiring the former Chicago mayor and assistant U.S. attorney to investigate what some have called excessive and unauthorized use of village funds by Henyard, which they say created a deficit of more than $5 million.

Trustee Jason House asked the board to allow Lightfoot to make remarks after the vote. Henyard denied the request, calling it “political grandstanding,” and encouraged a quick adjournment, angering many who chanted “Let her speak” as police tried to shuffle people out.

Lightfoot managed to briefly address those in attendance before her microphone was shut off by the village staff. She stressed she would not allow the administration to “stop us from getting to the facts.”

Lightfoot later released a statement commending the board’s decision to override the veto and stating her intention to complete a fair and thorough investigation.

“I look forward to the work ahead and urge Mayor Henyard and her administration to fully cooperate with this investigation by promptly providing the requested documentation to give all concerned a complete and accurate accounting of the fiscal conditions for the village,” Lightfoot said in the statement.

Audience members, enflamed by the quick conclusion of the meeting and taunts from mayoral allies who stayed behind village room counters during the meeting, did not leave quietly. A shouting match between those supporting and those criticizing Henyard led to police threatening arrest of one man, Dan Lee, after he approached a man behind the counter.

“They want to arrest me for speaking up,” Lee said after he was escorted out of the building. “I’m not going to stand by and let some lackeys and people that don’t even live here come in here and disrespect our residents.”

“Lightfoot should have been allowed to speak — they know that,” he said. “But they’re so eager to protect the narrative of this illegitimate, inept, corrupt administration. They want to turn on us; we’re the ones paying their salaries, but they want to turn on us. That’s just not right.”

ostevens@chicagotribune.com

After several public safety issues over the course of this year’s Posen Park Festival, that started last week, police and the village park district plan to cancel the annual event for next year.

At about 7 p.m. Sunday, Posen police responded to a fight that eventually drew a crowd of up to a couple hundred teenagers and young adults, requiring assistance from neighboring police departments, according to Posen police Chief William Alexander.

Police closed down the carnival, which was scheduled to last until 10 p.m., and released a statement urging residents to avoid the area.

“The fight happened and then it just seemed like everyone went crazy,” Alexander said Monday.

He said the unrest spilled from the fairgrounds at Commissioners Park, 147th and Sacramento streets, to side streets and nearby businesses, and was brought under control around 10 p.m.

The Posen Park Festival opened Thursday evening and was scheduled to run until 10 p.m Sunday. Police have arrested two juveniles and two adults engaged in the fight, Alexander said. He said the fight, in addition to other incidents that happened earlier, led to a joint decision between the Police Department and the Park District to not have the carnival next summer.

“The carnival seems to attract people from all around Chicago and other towns, and it just causes chaos,” Alexander said.

Alexander said in addition to the large fight, police responded during the carnival to a juvenile entering the fairgrounds with a loaded firearm, another smaller fight and rocks being thrown at the windows of a Dunkin Donuts’ store.

The Posen Park District officials declined to comment on the decision to cancel next year’s carnival, but Director Terrence Whitcomb said the Park Board will discuss the carnival issues during its public meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

“Trying to hold a family event and some unruly people come out and have to ruin things like this for everybody. We’re very sad about that,” Whitcomb said Monday afternoon.

ostevens@chicagotribune.com

But lawmakers in the final days also sent a number of other bills to Gov. J.B. Pritzker that will directly affect the state’s residents and communities. And, during the course of the four-month session they approved some less significant measures, among them a bill designating Calvatia Gigantea, colloquially known as the Giant Puffball, as the state mushroom.

Here’s are some of the bills heading to the governor’s desk:

Mobile state IDs

Residents would be able to keep digitial versions of their driver’s licenses and other state IDs in their cellphones under legislation pushed by  Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias.

“Whether it’s offering more services online, reducing wait times at DMVs or introducing products like digital driver’s licenses, we want to leverage new secure technology to better serve our customers,” Giannoulias said in an interview shortly before the Senate passed the measure in a 58-0 vote last week. It also passed in the House without any opposition.

Eligibility for a mobile identification card would be the same as for the physical credential and would most likely be accessible through an app, Giannoulias said. According to the bill, it would cost consumers no more than $6 to purchase the app needed to display the digital license or ID on their phone.

While the mobile ID would be acceptable in most situations, the legislation requires a person to show law enforcement the physical copy of their driver’s license or regular ID upon request.

Opposition was voiced by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, which raised privacy and security concerns. ACLU spokesman Ed Yohnka said the bill fails to provide protection from deeper phone searches by law enforcement.

“We would have liked some additional specific statutory language that would create a consequence if law enforcement used the mobile ID as a pretext to access someone’s phone, in violation of the usual protections around unlawful search and seizure,” Yohnka said.

Yohnka said other concerns include potential discrimination by businesses over customer use of one form of ID over the other and the potential safety concerns over collection and storage of the mobile ID information.

Giannoulias stressed that having a mobile ID will remain a choice for residents and said that the option could actually bring additional privacy because people could choose to provide those checking the ID only the information necessary to their transaction.

“Digital IDs offer privacy control options that allow people to verify their age when legally purchasing alcohol, cannabis or renting a car, and it also allows us to do this while hiding other personal information like their address if they wish,” Giannoulias said.

If Pritzker signs the bill, Giannoulias’ office will need to work out more details about how his office will implement and enforce mobile IDs. The secretary said he doesn’t have a timeline for when they will become available to the public.

“We know that people in Illinois want this,” Giannoulias said.

Local journalism protections

Lawmakers attempted to give local journalism a boost with a measure that would not allow a local news organization to be sold without 120 days notice to employees and their representatives, the state Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the county government in which the outlet is located and any “in-state nonprofit organization in the business of buying local news organizations.”

“What’s happening is big conglomerates are buying up small local news media and what’s happening is they’re shipping … their own news in, they’re not covering local news,” Rep. Dave Vella, a Rockford Democrat and the bill’s main House sponsor, said during floor debate. “And because local news is not being covered, people just don’t understand what’s going on in their communities. So, what this will do is make sure that any big corporation that tries to buy a local news media, at least we give notice to everybody.”

Opposing the bill, Republican Rep. Amy Elik said that as a certified public accountant for 29 years who has dealt with the sales of companies, 120 days “is a really long time” for interested parties to contemplate the impact of the transaction, and could jeopardize its negotiations.

“At 120 days before the date of a sale, it’s not even soup yet. Lawyers are still going back and forth setting terms. The value might not even be known yet. I caution this body to accept this (provision) of this bill because I think the unintended consequence here is that 120 days notice is given, employees are going to start dropping off one by one, leaving (and potentially destroying) the value of that local newspaper and now that newspaper will not be able to be sold to anybody.”

The bill also calls for the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to provide journalism scholarships to students who will work at a local news outlet in Illinois for at least two years.

Local news organizations are also likely to see tax credits, which were included as part of the larger budget package, over the next five years. A credit of $15,000 would be available for each journalist on a company’s payroll and $25,000 for journalists hired for newly created roles.

Any news organization with one full-time reporter would qualify, with the credits for a single news outlet capped at $150,000 per year, and at $250,000 for larger corporations.

The number of journalists in Illinois has decreased 85% since 2005, according to a 2023 Northwestern University report, one of the biggest decreases in the nation.

Erasing medical debt

Lawmakers approved a key Pritzker initiative aimed at erasing as much as $1 billion in medical debt for more than 300,000 Illinois families. It would follow a similar effort launched in Cook County that was on track to wipe out medical bills for around 73,000 residents as of last year.

“Many walk away with unexpected pain” after receiving medical care, Pritzker said at an event promoting the initiative in April. “Not only the emotional, physical toll of the crisis they’ve been through, but a serious financial toll, too.”

The state legislation would partner with the nonprofit Undue Medical Debt to spend $10 million on buying up and erasing the debt.

Medical debt disproportionately affects people of color, Department of Healthcare and Family Services Director Lizzie Whitehorn said at the April event. It can also lead people to reconsider future medical care, she said.

However, a study released earlier this year in partnership with the same debt relief nonprofit — formerly known as RIP Medical Debt — found that wiping medical debt did not improve recipients’ financial distress or mental health.

Pritzker said he was aware of the study but noted it was conducted from 2018 to 2020, and said the organization has changed significantly since then.

Artificial intelligence

Bills spearheaded by Democratic Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz would protect artists and others in creative fields from unauthorized digital replicas, in line with the national conversation about artificial intelligence in pop culture.

One measure heading to the governor would largely ban unauthorized digital replicas produced through AI. It passed in both chambers without opposition following a debate during which lawmakers made references to actress Scarlett Johansson and hip hop stars Drake and Kendrick Lamar.

“Does this mean Kendrick Lamar could be sued for putting a digitally created version imitating Drake on his song as the two go back and forth talking trash?” Republican Rep. Dan Ugaste of Geneva asked during floor debate, an apparent reference to Drake’s controversial use of AI in the recent feud between the two artists.

Gong-Gershowitz of Glenview said she’d need more facts on the hypothetical situation to determine if it violated the law, but that the bill includes exceptions for “parody, satire and criticism.”

The bill is intended to protect artists from misuse “while still allowing sufficient exemptions to ensure that appropriate creative use is not stifled,” she said.

It’s also meant in part to prevent situations such as OpenAI’s recent use of an AI voice that many — including the actress herself — thought sounded very similar to Johansson, Gong-Gershowitz said. (OpenAI has said the voice was based off a different actress and put its rollout on “pause.”)

The Glenview legislator noted Johansson issued a letter after the incident calling for legislation to protect individuals from AI replicas.

That’s “exactly what we’re doing today, and I’m really proud that Illinois is leading on this front,” Gong-Gershowitz said.

Help for those with limited English

State agencies would be required to make sure Illinois residents who speak limited English are able to more smoothly access state government services in their native languages under another bill heading to Pritzker’s desk.

The Language Equity and Access Act would create a language access policy to be carried out by the governor’s Office of New Americans and other agencies such as the Illinois Department of Human Services.

The legislation was inspired, in part, by the difficulties many Asian-Americans have experienced while trying to access state services such as applying for unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic, said Grace Pai, executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago.

Pai said that government agencies receiving federal funding are required to help limited English speakers with translation in various languages, but that requirement “is not strongly enforced” and not all state agencies are federally funded. So the legislation is a way of making sure there’s a standard requirement for all state agencies to provide translation or interpretation for the public, if necessary, Pai said.

“There are dozens and dozens of languages spoken in Illinois and people who may feel comfortable going to the grocery store and speaking English or navigating day to day life in English, that doesn’t mean that they can navigate complicated forms or application processes in English, or navigate state services, which can be complicated,” Pai said.

The bill would require the head of the Office of New Americans to work with state agencies to come up with language access plans, and the measure would also use U.S. census data to determine how many Illinois residents speak limited English but regularly use state services.

According to the legislation, a state agency’s language access plan would be determined by factors that include the number of limited English speakers who use state services, the frequency in which speakers use these services, the importance of these services and the agency’s available resources.

The bill also requires translation services of vital documents be made available for groups of limited English speakers.

The measure would go into effect with the governor’s signature, after which the Office of New Americans would have until July 1, 2025 to prepare and submit its first report.

Abortion protections

The federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act is being challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court, where justices will review whether it is being applied incorrectly when it comes to abortion. The law bars hospitals from transferring or turning away poor patients before they are stabilized, but it is interpreted by some as a protection for doctors who perform abortions on women experiencing a medical emergency.

In an effort to increase Illinois’ already robust protections of abortion rights, lawmakers approved a measure that would in effect provide a state equivalent of the federal law in the event that the high court rules it can’t be applied to abortion procedures, according to Democratic Rep. Dagmara Avelar of Bolingbrook, the bill’s main House sponsor.

The bill sparked some tense debate on the House floor. Rep. William Hauter, a Republican from Morton who is also an anesthesiologist, said he’s never heard of a case where an abortion was necessary to stabilize a patient.

“What we have here is confusion from clarity. This is what happens when lawyers try to practice medicine,” Hauter said. “We are changing decades of guidance and long, clear interpretation of EMTALA that always emphasized reasonable medical judgment, focusing the medical efforts on stabilizing the mother and her unborn. This bill adds conditions, confusion.”

Rep. Diane Blair-Sherlock, a Democrat from Villa Park, who noted that she is a lawyer, sought to refute Hauter’s argument.

“Just because it hasn’t happened in your presence or in your practice does not mean that it does not happen,” she said. “I practiced law for 30 years. I have not seen everything because that’s just not how life works.”

The bill passed along party lines in the House and Senate and now heads to the governor, who has made abortion rights one of his focal points in supporting President Joe Biden’s bid for reelection.

Sporting a button with “Trump” crossed out on his lapel, the Rogers Park man had come downtown to see the play “Death Becomes Her” and was on State Street when a friend called him from Kansas City about the verdict. From that moment, Timmerman began frantically texting “everyone he knew.” Soon, he found himself hoisting a drink with fellow anti-Trump revelers.

“In this divisive country we have, the jurors were brave to come to such a quick decision,” said Timmerman, 67.

Trump’s quick conviction in New York on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a case that arose from paying off a porn star to not speak about an affair did not create any spontaneous public spectacles. There were not any major outcries supporting the ex-president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee or significant celebrations over the convictions. But many in Chicago, like Timmerman, expressed happiness with the verdict.

“I couldn’t be happier,” Peggy Lambert, 57, a graphic designer, said as she emerged from the glass doors of Trump Tower after dropping off papers for a client. “I was following the case so close I was starting to drive my husband crazy.”

A few hours earlier, she had been anxiously refreshing the live updates page of The New York Times. She said she hopes the guilty verdict will convince swing voters to choose President Joe Biden.

On the Chicago Riverwalk not far from the Trump building, Duane and Anica Lamkin, visiting from Los Angeles, took a photo of their 9-year-old daughter, Olive, pointing at Trump Tower with a toothy grin.

“We were gonna text the photo to my family and ask if we should send her in to break the news,” Duane Lamkin said with a laugh.

They were shocked when Trump’s guilty verdict was announced, but remain skeptical that it will affect the election.

“I thought the justice system would let us down, and maybe it still will,” Duane Lamkin said. “I just don’t think Trump will go to jail.”

At the mention of the former president, Olive booed. “He deserves it,” she muttered.

In political circles, reaction to the verdict came down along party lines, with Democrats celebrating and Republicans fuming.

“Donald Trump is a con artist, a bigot, and an embarrassment of a former president. And now, he’s a convicted felon,” Mayor Brandon Johnson wrote on X, the site formerly called Twitter. “Justice is served.”

Donald Trump is a con artist, a bigot, and an embarrassment of a former president. And now, he’s a convicted felon.

Justice is served. https://t.co/cGVU8kcOiw

— Brandon Johnson (@Brandon4Chicago) May 30, 2024

“After facing a jury of his peers, Donald Trump is exposed as the liar and fraud that he is,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in a statement shortly after the verdict was announced. “Donald Trump is a racist, a homophobe, a grifter, and a threat to this country. He can now add one more title to his list — a felon.

“But let me be clear, Donald Trump will never be 47,” Pritzker added, referring to the number of which president he’d be if he wins in November.

The state GOP and the far-right Illinois Freedom Caucus released statements blaming politics for the Trump criminal case.

“This weaponization of the judicial system has weakened our country here and in the eyes of the world, which I’m sure President Biden will savor while he vacations in Delaware as his handlers make critical decisions for the country,” Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy said in a statement.

The Illinois Freedom Caucus, which is made up of several state lawmakers who are strong Trump supporters, echoed the former president’s claims that the trial was rigged and accused the New York judge of having “his thumbs on the scales of justice.”

In Chicago, two Trump supporters who refused to give their full names said the case was unjust.

One man, who said he was visiting from Virginia, glanced up at Trump Tower as he passed by on the Riverwalk. “It’s always been a witch hunt,” said the man, who identified himself only as “Brodie.”

Although the conviction will not prevent Trump from running as the GOP nominee, the man said he was worried Trump wouldn’t be able to run in November.

“It makes me sick,” he said. “This country ain’t the same anymore.”

Another supporter of the former president said he stopped by the Trump Tower’s bar after hearing the verdict.

“I got a beer to show my support for him,” said the man, who only identified himself as “Jon.” Calling the verdict “a gross miscarriage of justice,” he blamed Biden for being behind the case, though it was a local trial and not a federal one.

“If someone were to have written this out on a script, and gone into Hollywood and tried to sell it, they wouldn’t buy it. It’s too unbelievable,” the man said.