The CloutCast

What’s next for Chicago’s hospitality industry?

Arguably no sector of the Chicagoland economy was hit harder by the COVID-19 pandemic than hotels and tourism, and it will likely take years for the hospitality industry to recover to its pre-pandemic strength. The crisis took an especially deep toll on tens of thousands of hotel workers, an economically vulnerable group that’s still mostly out of work. Now that the industry is looking for ways to bounce back this summer, city and state leaders are facing tough debates over questions like how quickly capacity limits should be expanded, how soon hotel workers should be vaccinated and what rehiring in the industry should look like. Alex Nitkin spoke with Michael Jacobson, president of the Illinois Hotel and Lodging Association, and Karen Kent, president of the hospitality union Unite Here Local 1, about how hotel owners and workers envision the industry’s recovery.

Corporate loopholes or tax incentives

On Feb. 17, Gov. JB Pritzker released his proposed $41.6 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2022. To help balance the budget, the governor called for closing an estimated $932 million in what he's calling "corporate loopholes." On this episode of The CloutCast, we examine the loopholes, the governor's pitch for closing them and reactions to the proposal. Guests include the Illinois Manufacturers' Association president Mark Denzler and Niya Kelly from the Responsible Budget Coalition, who offer their perspectives on the governor's proposed budget and call to change some of the state's tax laws. 

How Chicago's racial makeup affects remapping.

Aldermen and city officials are already in disagreement over how the boundaries of Chicago's 50 wards should be redrawn this year. Ald. Roberto Maldonado (26), chair of the City Council Latino Caucus, and Ald. Jason Ervin (28), chair of the Aldermanic Black Caucus, are challenging the proposal from at least two aldermen that the city rely on an independent commission to draw the wards, arguing aldermen, including in majority-Black and majority-Latino wards, are best equipped for the job. We talk with Maldonado, Ervin and former alderman and political science professor Dick Simpson to examine how the boundaries should be drawn and whether the Black and Latino caucuses will be able to hold onto City Council seats with a shifting population.

Lightfoot and Preckwinkle's Springfield agendas

Now that the Illinois General Assembly’s regular session is underway, lobbyists from all corners are scrambling to make sure their interests are being represented in new legislation. Those lobbyists include representatives of Chicago and Cook County, who are respectively whipping legislators in support of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s and county board President Toni Preckwinkle’s policy goals. In this episode, Alex Nitkin talks to Chicago Deputy Mayor for Intergovernmental Affairs Manny Perez and Cook County Director of External Affairs John Roberson to discuss the bills Lightfoot and Preckwinkle want to see become laws in Springfield this year.

Reflecting on the lame duck

The 101st General Assembly of the Illinois legislature wrapped up last week, after passing a comprehensive series of proposals from the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus during an abbreviated lame duck session. On this episode, Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford (D-Maywood), discusses the behind-the-scenes negotiations for the caucus' most controversial legislation, which focused on reforming criminal justice and policing in Illinois. Later, Rep. Tom Demmer (R-Dixon) reflects on the Black Caucus' agenda and how the Illinois House of Representatives could change in a post-Mike Madigan era. 

Redistricting: Cause and Effect

The start of 2021 officially kicks off the beginning of a months-long redistricting process that will lead to the redrawing of boundaries for Illinois’ congressional seats, Chicago’s 50 wards, Cook County’s 17 districts, 59 state Senate and 118 state House seats. To understand redistricting and all that it entails, we sit down with Madeleine Doubek, executive director of CHANGE Illinois, who breaks down the process and efforts to reform it. You’ll also hear from Chicago Ald. Brian Hopkins (2) and Ald. Scott Waguespack (32) about the 2010 redistricting process and the creation of their wards and the aftermath of the choices made a decade ago.