Bugle Newspapers 3-7-24

Cruise the County with Forest Preserve’s springtime challenge

The Forest Preserve District of Will County’s 2024 Cruise the County biking challenge is underway.

Participants are being challenged to ride four designated trails from March 1 through May 31, record the routes on a smartphone fitness app, and submit the proof to the Forest Preserve’s website via an online submission page at ReconnectWithNature.org

Those who complete all four rides will earn a multi-functional survival/bike tool. The free challenge is for ages 12 or older.

The Cruise the County challenge is designed to get people out into nature and show them how our communities are connected, said Em Wilcher, the Forest Preserve District’s recreation coordinator. Ride destinations highlight Vermont Cemetery in Naperville, Lake Renwick Preserve in Plainfield, downtown Frankfort and U.S. Forest Service-owned Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie south of Joliet.

“We know how much folks love biking in the preserves, and how much they have enjoyed past spring challenges, including the Triple

Crown Challenge and the Spring 95er,” Wilcher said. “So, this year, we wanted to offer another challenge with some longer biking distances to showcase both the beauty of our natural resources and how the trail systems connect our preserves with other areas of Will County.

The four trails that have been selected for Cruise the County are:

• Lake Renwick Bikeway: Turtle Lake Access (5 miles round trip)

• Hickory Creek Bikeway and Old Plank Road Trail: Hickory Creek Barrens to Prairie Park in Frankfort (13.4 miles round trip)

• DuPage River Trail: Whalon Lake to Vermont Cemetery (17.6 miles round trip)

• Wauponsee Glacial Trail: Sugar Creek Preserve to Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie (15.2 miles round trip)

From 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 27, there will be a Celebrate Trails Day group ride for those who want to bike the Wauponsee Glacial Trail ride together. The program includes a presentation by Midewin’s prairie archaeologist, Joe Wheeler. Attendance at the

program is not required for those participating in Cruise the County. Registration is required for the group ride. Registration is not required for

the Cruise the County challenge, just the online submissions starting March 1.

After submitting proof of all four rides, participants will receive an

email asking them to select a visitor center where they can pick up their giveaway.

Items will be available at the sites between May 1 and June 16.

Six Associate Judge finalists announced

Circuit Court of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans and the court’s Nominating Committee today announced the names of the six candidates who will be on the ballot for circuit judges to vote to fill three associate judge vacancies. “I am pleased to submit the names of these candidates for consideration to join the bench of the Circuit Court of Cook County,” Chief Judge Evans said. “I am grateful for the hard work of the Nominating Committee in putting together this list of capable and talented candidates. The candidates received positive ratings from all bar associations.”The Circuit Court of Cook County is operating with a shortage of judges. To address that shortage, the Nominating Committee met as soon as it received the results of the Bar Associations evaluations of applicants for the pending three vacancies in the Office of Associate Judge. The Nominating Committee is made up of the following circuit judges:

Honorable Timothy C. Evans, Chief Judge

Honorable Erica L. Reddick, Presiding Judge, Criminal Division

Honorable Sophia H. Hall, Administrative Presiding Judge, Juvenile Justice and Child Protection Resource Section and Interim Acting Presiding Judge, Chancery Division

Honorable Sanjay T. Tailor, Justice, Illinois 1st District Appellate Court

Honorable Jill C. Marisie, Presiding Judge, Third Municipal District

Honorable Shelley Sutker-Dermer, Presiding Judge, Second Municipal District

Honorable E. Kenneth Wright, Jr., Presiding Judge, First Municipal District

Chief Judge Evans said the Nominating Committee interviewed 65 applicants. A total of 81 attorneys originally submitted applications for consideration, and 17 applicants withdrew from the process, one after being interviewed.

Below is the list of the six candidates that was forwarded to the Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts:

David Charles Adams

Kenya Alicia Jenkins-Wright

Gina Angela Piemonte

Antara Nath Rivera

Federico Martin Rodriguez

Torrick Alan Ward

The 247 circuit judges have the constitutional authority to fill associate judge vacancies, using the procedures outlined in Illinois Supreme Court Rule 39. Under Rule 39, the Nominating Committee must select twice as many qualified

candidates as there are vacancies to be filled; in this case, six candidates were selected for three vacancies.

The Chief Judge must then notify the Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts of the names of the candidates selected by the Committee and request the Director to begin the balloting process. Within 14 days after the Chief Judge’s notification, the Director mails a secret ballot with the names of all candidates to each circuit judge. The judges may vote for as many candidates as there are vacancies to be filled, and must return the ballots to the Director within 14 days of the date the ballots were distributed. The Director then counts the ballots, which are accompanied by a signed card, tabulates the results, and certifies them to the Chief Judge – at all times maintaining the secrecy of the ballots.

Bar evaluations for associate judge applicants were conducted by The Chicago Bar Association and the Alliance of Bar Associations for Judicial Screening, at the request of Chief Judge Evans. The Alliance is made up of the Illinois State Bar Association and the following 12 minority and ethnic bar organizations:

Arab American Bar Association of Illinois, Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Chicago Area, Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater Chicago, Chicago Council of Lawyers, Cook County Bar Association, Decalogue Society of Lawyers, Hellenic Bar Association of Illinois, Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois, Chicago’s LGBTQ+ Bar Association, Puerto Rican Bar Association, and Women’s Bar Association of Illinois. The Alliance was recently expanded to include the Black Men Lawyers’ Association. Each bar association issues its own ratings for all individual associate judge applicants. Chief Judge Evans thanked The Chicago Bar Association and the Alliance for their work in evaluating the associate judge applicants. During the next few weeks, the candidates will present circuit judges with their credentials, including a short video, resume, and one-page biography. Presiding Judges will set up video or in-person meetings to enable circuit judges to meet with all the candidates.

### Follow the court on Twitter@ CookCntyCourt ###law, criticizing the governor for taxing businesses to provide the revenues for his new spending proposals.

Education, human services funding

As he has done in previous years, Pritzker called for sizeable increases in education funding. But those

proposed increases are substantially smaller than many advocates had hoped.

“Every single year I have been governor, we have increased our investments in education, because a quality education is the foundation of a good life and the cornerstone of a strong society,” Pritzker said.

For Pre-K-12 education, Pritzker proposed a roughly $450 million increase, or about 4.3 percent above current year spending. That’s about $200 million less than the Illinois State Board of Education had requested.

Included in Pritzker’s plan is a $350 million increase in EvidenceBased Funding, a program enacted in 2017 that adds new state money each year to the funding formula, focusing that money on the districts that need it most.

His plan also includes an additional $150 million to fund the second year of his “Smart Start Illinois” initiative to expand access to early childhood education. That program helped add more than 5,800 preschool seats in Illinois in its first year, with a goal of increasing by 20,000 over four years.

The budget proposal also includes an additional $10 million for career and technical education programs, as well as $13 million to fund a new state agency for early childhood department.

Noticeably absent from his proposal, however, is the $35 million that ISBE had requested for educational programs that target new migrant students and their families who have been arriving in Illinois.

For higher education, Pritzker’s proposed budget calls for a 2 percent increase, or $30.6 million, in operating expenses for public universities and community colleges, significantly less than the 5 percent increase the Illinois Board of Higher Education had requested.

Pritzker also proposed a $10 million increase in the Monetary Award Program, or MAP grants, the state’s basic needs-based financial aid program. That would bring the total amount available under that program to $711 million. IBHE had requested a $50 million increase.

Funding for homeless prevention programs would grow to $250 million under the plan, a $50 million increase. Funding for the state’s Department of Children and Family Services is slated to increase by $76 million, a sum that will allow the department hire an additional 392 positions aimed at reducing caseloads.

Migrant, noncitizen programs

Pritzker had previously said he would ask lawmakers to dedicate $182 million to address the influx of migrants from border states, particularly Texas. That sum was included in his proposal.

“I won’t pretend any of this is easy, but it would be irresponsible to do anything but come here, lay out the scope of the challenge, tell you what I think we need to do, and then work with you to make it happen,” Pritzker said of the state’s migrant response.

The governor’s office is proposing to cut $110 million in general revenue funding for a pair of health care programs for noncitizens that became a lightning rod last year amid quickly rising costs. But when combined with other funding sources, including a $100 million federal match for emergency services, the total grows to $629 million, outpacing last year’s general revenue allocation of $550 million.

The Health Benefits for Immigrant Seniors and Adults programs provide state-funded health care to low-income noncitizens who are in Illinois without legal permission or who have green cards and are on a waiting period.

That group is separate from

many of the migrants being flown or bused to Illinois from Texas. Individuals seeking asylum in the U.S. more likely qualify for other preexisting state or federal benefits.

Amid controversy last year as cost estimates continued to rise, lawmakers allocated $550 million in general revenue to the programs and gave Pritzker the authority to cap enrollment and put other costsaving measures in place, including copays.

The Healthy Illinois Coalition – a group of health care and immigrant advocates – issued a statement applauding the funding proposal.

“We recognize the real fiscal challenges facing the state, but urge both the General Assembly and the governor to pass a FY25 budget that fully funds the existing HBIA and HBIS programs as they currently exist in statute, with no caps and no co-pays,” Healthy Illinois Campaign Director Tovia Siegel said in a statement.

The programs remain a contention for Republicans including Senate Minority Leader John Curran, of Downers Grove, who referred to Pritzker’s policies as making Illinois a “noncitizen welfare state.”

High court says only Congress can enforce 14th Amendment

By P ete R HANC o C k Capitol News illinois

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that individual states do not have authority to disqualify candidates for federal office based on the insurrection clause of the 14 th Amendment.

The unanimous ruling by the nation’s high court overturned a decision by the Colorado Supreme Court. But it also had implications in Illinois and other states where Trump had been accused of taking part in an insurrection during the events surrounding the assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

“We conclude that States may disqualify persons holding or attempting to hold state office,” the court said in an unsigned opinion. “But States have no power under the Constitution to enforce Section 3 (of the 14 th Amendment) with respect to federal offices, especially the Presidency.”

That clause bars anyone from holding federal or state office if they previously took an oath to defend the Constitution and then later participated in an insurrection or rebellion against the United States or gave aid and comfort to its enemies.

Enacted in the aftermath of the Civil War, it was intended to prevent former Confederates who had served in government before the war from returning to positions of power, but it has rarely been used in the nearly 150 years since the end of Reconstruction.

There was renewed interest in the amendment in the wake of events on Jan. 6, 2021, when throngs of protesters – many of them arguably summoned to action by Trump and his allies – stormed the Capitol in an effort to prevent Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 elections in which Trump was defeated for reelection by Democrat Joe Biden.

When Trump filed to run again in 2024, challenges were filed in several states. In Illinois, a group of voters filed an objection to his candidacy in the March 19 Republican primary, arguing that he was disqualified under the 14 th Amendment.

The Illinois State Board of Elections dismissed the objection , partially on the grounds that it did not have authority to decide constitutional questions. But last week, a Cook County circuit judge reversed that decision and ordered Trump removed from the Illinois primary ballot, although she put her decision on hold pending further appeals in state courts as well as the pending U.S. Supreme Court decision.

When the nation’s high court issued its decision Monday, Ron Fein, legal director of the voting rights group Free Speech for People, which organized the ballot challenge in Illinois, called the ruling “disgraceful.”

“The Supreme Court couldn’t exonerate Trump because the evidence of his guilt was overwhelming, so instead the Justices neutered our Constitution’s builtin defense against insurrectionists and said the facts don’t matter,” he said in a statement.

But Trump, in remarks at his Mar-a-Lago estate that were carried on CBS News , called the decision “important” and “well

crafted.”

“And I think it will go a long way toward bringing our country together which our country needs,” he said.

The unanimous portion of the ruling did not address several questions such as whether Trump’s actions on Jan. 6 constituted an insurrection or whether Section 3 of the 14 th Amendment applies to the office of president. It only held that individual states are not empowered to enforce that provision because allowing them to do so could lead to conflicting opinions and wreak havoc on national elections.

“The ‘patchwork’ that would likely result from state enforcement would ‘sever the direct link that the Framers found so critical between the National Government and the people of the United States’ as a whole,” the court said, quoting from an earlier Supreme Court decision.

Although the court was unanimous in saying states do not have authority to enforce Section 3 of the 14 th Amendment, it was more divided on the question of

how that provision could be enforced.

A majority on the court cited Section 5 of the amendment and said only Congress could enforce that provision through “appropriate legislation.” But three justices who were nominated to their seats by Democratic presidents – Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson – wrote a concurring opinion saying it was unnecessary to address Congress’ powers or duties.

“Today, the majority goes beyond the necessities of this case to limit how Section 3 can bar an oathbreaking insurrectionist from becoming President,” they wrote. “Although we agree that Colorado cannot enforce Section 3, we protest the majority’s effort to use this case to define the limits of federal enforcement of that provision.”

A fourth justice, Amy Coney Barrett, wrote separately that the opinion should have been limited to reversing the Colorado Supreme Court decision.

Answering questions at an unrelated event in Urbana Monday,

Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker said he believed Trump remaining on the ballot would be a net positive for Democrats in Illinois.

“We’re going to win here in Illinois and beat Donald Trump and, I think I said yesterday or the day before, I think it will help Democrats that he’s on the ballot,” Pritzker said.

David Becker, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research, said the decision effectively put an end to state-level challenges to Trump’s candidacy based on the 14 th Amendment. But he said the issue will almost certainly come up again if Trump wins the general election in November.

“The one place where I think this is likely to come up is on Jan. 6, (2025),” he said. “If Donald Trump wins, I think we can absolutely expect that there will be members of Congress who will object to his electoral votes – perhaps in many, many states – on the basis that he’s not a qualified candidate, because he violated section three of the 14th amendment.”

Maddie & tae to play Joliet’s Rialto

It was just announced that Maddie & Tae will be at Rialto Square Theatre on Thursday, June 6. Tickets go on sale Friday, March 8 at 10 AM.

Award-winning duo Maddie & Tae channel their unbreakable bond and “some of the tightest harmonies on Music Row” (Rolling Stone) into their new single “Heart They Didn’t Break,” out now. Together as longtime friends and music collaborators, Maddie Font and Taylor Kerr co-wrote each track on their latest 1-2 punch project Through The Madness Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. The pair previously drew praise for their No. 1 debuting The Way It Feels album, including the 3X Platinum-certified No. 1 hit, “Die From A Broken Heart.” With “Die From A Broken Heart” topping the country airplay charts, Maddie & Tae became the first and only female twosome with multiple No. 1s.

Maddie & Tae first broke out in 2013 with their brilliant counter to bro-country, the Platinum-selling smash, “Girl In A Country Song,” which took Country radio by storm, skyrocketing to the top of the charts and establishing them as only the third female duo in 70 years to top the Country Airplay charts. They took home Group/

Duo Video of the Year (“Woman

You Got”) at the 2022 CMT Music Awards, and were recently nominated for Vocal Duo of the Year at the 57th CMA Awards. They have earned trophies from the Radio Disney Music Awards and CMA Awards, along with multiple ACM, Billboard and CMT Music Award nominations. Maddie & Tae have received widespread praise from Associated Press, Billboard, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, The Tennessean, The Washington Post, Glamour and others. The celebrated duo has toured with country music’s hottest stars including Carrie Underwood, Dierks Bentley, and Brad Paisley. Their headlining

ON SALE:

FRIDAY, MARCH 8 @ 10:00 AM

EVENT :

MADDIE & TAE

DATE & TIME:

THURSDAY, JUNE 6 @ 7:30 PM

WHERE:

RIALTO SQUARE THEATRE

TICKET PRICES:

$49, $39, $29 (additional fees may apply)

Tickets are available online at Ticketmaster.com.

More info at: www.rialtosquare. com.

¬CASE NO. 2024TX000027

FILED January 18, 2024

TAKE NOTICE

TO: FLORDELIZA G FRANCIA, JESUS

ASUNCION, JP MORGAN CHASE BANK, NA, WILL COUNTY CLERK; OCCUPANTS, PARTIES IN OCCUPANCY OR ACTUAL POSSESSION OF SAID PROPERTY; AND UNKNOWN OWNERS or PARTIES INTERESTED IN SAID LAND OR LOTS AND UNKNOWN OCCUPANTS

This is NOTICE of the filing of the petition for Tax Deed on the following described property:

Property located at: 14139 S HILLSDALE LN, PLAINFIELD, ILLINOIS

Property Index Number: 06-03-01-416-0020000

On August 1, 2024 at 9:00 AM, in the Circuit Court of Will County, Will County Courthouse, 100 West Jefferson Street, Courtroom 905, Joliet, Illinois, the Petitioner intends to make an application for an order on the petition that a Tax Deed be issued. The real estate was sold on January 10, 2022, for delinquent real estate taxes and/or special assessments for the year 2020. Certificate No. 20-00260. The period of redemption will expire on July 17, 2024.

PRAIRIE LOCK, LLC PETITIONER

8131-939957

Published 3/6/2024, 3/13/2024, 3/20/2024

CASE NO. 2024TX000028

FILED January 18, 2024

TAKE NOTICE

TO: JAVIER TORRES, SHAWNA TORRES, HANNAH TORRES, WILL COUNTY CLERK; OCCUPANTS, PARTIES IN OCCUPANCY OR ACTUAL POSSESSION OF SAID PROPERTY; AND UNKNOWN OWNERS or PARTIES INTERESTED IN SAID LAND OR LOTS AND UNKNOWN OCCUPANTS

This is NOTICE of the filing of the petition for Tax Deed on the following described property:

Property located at: 13902 S WELLER DR, PLAINFIELD, ILLINOIS

Property Index Number: 06-03-03-402-0250000

On August 1, 2024 at 9:00 AM, in the Circuit Court of Will County, Will County Courthouse, 100 West Jefferson Street, Courtroom 905, Joliet, Illinois, the Petitioner intends to make an application for an order on the petition that a Tax Deed be issued. The real estate was sold on January 10, 2022, for delinquent real estate taxes and/or special assessments for the year 2020. Certificate No. 20-00262. The period of redemption will expire on July 17, 2024.

PRAIRIE LOCK, LLC PETITIONER 8131-939959

Published 3/6/2024, 3/13/2024, 3/20/2024

CASE NO. 2024TX000029

FILED January 18, 2024 TAKE NOTICE

TO: CAROL MOLITOR AKA CAROL KRUPKA, JOSEPH KRUPKA, ILLINOIS ATTORNEY GENERAL KWAME RAOUL, ILLINOIS DEPT OF REVENUE C/O DIRECTOR DAVID HARRIS, DISTRICT DIRECTOR OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, US ATTORNEY GENERAL MERRICK B GARLAND, WILL COUNTY CLERK; OCCUPANTS, PARTIES IN OCCUPANCY OR ACTUAL POSSESSION OF SAID PROPERTY; AND UNKNOWN OWNERS or PARTIES INTERESTED IN SAID LAND OR LOTS AND UNKNOWN OCCUPANTS

This is NOTICE of the filing of the petition for Tax Deed on the following described property: Property located at: 213 DIANE LN, BOLINGBROOK, ILLINOIS

Property Index Number: 12-02-02-311-0460000

On August 1, 2024 at 9:00 AM, in the Circuit Court of Will County, Will County Courthouse, 100 West Jefferson Street, Courtroom 905, Joliet, Illinois, the Petitioner intends to make an application for an order on the petition that a Tax Deed be issued. The real estate was sold on January 10, 2022, for delinquent real estate taxes and/or special assessments for the year 2020. Certificate No. 20-00837. The period of redemption will expire on July 17, 2024. PRAIRIE LOCK, LLC PETITIONER 8147-939960

Published 3/6/2024, 3/13/2024, 3/20/2024