Ja n UaRy 20, 2 0 2 1 Vol . 6 5 i ss U e 13
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news from plainfield Joliet shorewood lockport crest hill bolingbrook Romeoville downers grove Westmont Woodridge lisle niles morton grove park Ridge & more
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Plainfield students honored at the Lewis Art Invitational Student artists from Plainfield High School – Central Campus, and Plainfield East and South high schools were honored at the fourth annual Lewis University Art Invitational on Monday, January 11, 2021. Lewis held the competition virtually due to ongoing COVID-19 safety concerns. Illinois high school art teachers could submit up to five pieces of student artwork for the competition. PHSCC senior Millie Rodriguez won the Best in Show award, and a $50 Amazon gift card. PEHS sophomore Monique Klepk received an Honorable Mention and a $25 Amazon gift card. These District 202 students participated in the virtual competition and received awards as indicated: Plainfield Central • Emily Guardado, sophomore, pen on paper artwork • Leo Zabel, junior, colored pencil on paper artwork • Millie Rodriguez, senior, oil on
canvas artwork (Best in Show, winner of $50 Amazon gift card) • Autumn Heipp, senior, colored pencil artwork • Montserrat (Monse) Villegas, senior, pen and marker on paper artwork Plainfield East • Monique Klepk, sophomore, ink artwork (Honorable mention, winner of $25 Amazon gift card) • Malika Syed, sophomore, digital photography artwork • Kendall Haupt, junior, colored pencil artwork • Paige Randall, senior, digital illustration artwork • David Enriquez, senior, digital photography artwork Plainfield South • Marisa Marino, junior, polymer clay and epoxy resin sculpture artwork • Vivianne Angulo, junior, Earthenware clay sculpture artwork To view the online art gallery, visit https://spark.adobe.com/ video/HylcQTDLdLeEV
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Oakton Community College faculty and staff recognized for excellence Demonstrating Oakton Community College’s commitment to faculty and staff excellence, President Joianne L. Smith, Ph.D., recognized individuals who’ve made outstanding contributions to the college community throughout the past year. Awards were presented during a virtual event on Jan. 11. Megan Klein, associate professor of anthropology and sociology, and Jennifer Dadivas Hong, ESL faculty member, are the recipients
of the 2020 Ray Hartstein Excellence in Teaching Awards. Named for the Oakton Community College Board of Trustees’ founding chair, the accolade epitomizes “excellence in teaching and respect for students and peers.” Nominations for the Ray Hartstein Excellence in Teaching Awards are made by Oakton students to the Student Government Association’s (SGA) Excellence in Teaching Selection Committee.
Finalists are then forwarded to the Oakton Educational Foundation Board with an SGA representative participating in the interviews and final determination. Klein, a full-time faculty member from Evanston, earned her Ph.D. in sociology at Loyola University Chicago. She has been teaching at Oakton since 2006 and was acknowledged for making sociology relevant to her students’
see ‘oaKton’ page 10
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state
Vote by mail, ‘decoupling’, remote voting bills fail in lame duck session The 101st Illinois General Assembly took historic action by passing legislation to end cash bail prior to electing a Black House Speaker for the first time in the 102nd General Assembly. But lawmakers ran out of time on several consequential measures — including bills that would have expanded vote-by-mail, allowed lawmakers to conduct business remotely during the pandemic and eliminated newly expanded income tax deductions for business owners. Another bill relating to the state’s rollout of legalization of adult-use marijuana also failed to pass, as did a measure that was part of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus’ health care agenda. House Democrats fell 10 votes
short of passing a bill, endorsed by Gov. JB Pritzker, that would have eliminated certain tax deductions for Illinois business owners that were created under the federal CARES Act. Pritzker has argued this change by the legislature is needed to prevent revenues from shrinking by more than $500 million during the current fiscal year, thus enlarging the state’s $3.9 billion budget deficit. Specifically, the bill would end the CARES Act amendments that expanded income deductions business owners can claim as net operating losses, carryback losses or excess business losses. In a Jan. 8 news release, Pritzker encouraged the General Assembly to “decouple” Illinois’ tax law from
the federal tax amendments under the CARES Act, an action that would have kept the state tax code consistent with previous years. Pritzker claimed those changes would have preserved $500 million in state tax revenue from noncorporate taxpayers and owners of pass-through entities, such as limited liability companies and partnerships. During House floor debate in the early hours of Jan. 13, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle described the bill as preserving up to $1 billion in state revenue. Democratic Rep. Michael Zalewski, the bill’s sponsor, said the proposed changes would impact about 440,000 taxpayers statewide. Zalewski, of Riverside, tried to appeal to his caucus, but 10 House Democrats voted present while another eight did not vote on the bill,
including former House Speaker Michael Madigan, of Chicago, and the newly elected Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, of Hillside. At least a dozen Republicans condemned the proposal as a last minute “tax hike” on small business owners already crushed by the pandemic. During the House floor debate, Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield, said the bill amounts to the tax increase that Republican lawmakers anticipated would come up during the lame duck session. “This is the textbook definition of a late night, no one is watching, lame duck, back door tax increase. This is exactly what people hate,” he said. Zalewski characterized the proposal as an effort to prevent loss of revenue, rather than an effort to raise new revenue. House Republicans were also
critical that the Pritzker administration and the Illinois Department of Revenue did not notify taxpayers or the legislature sooner of the state’s plans to decouple from the federal changes that were made in March. During a news conference on Friday, Pritzker said he expects the legislature will bring the proposal back in the 102nd General Assembly. “Although it didn’t happen in the short lame duck session, I have a commitment from the leaders that it will be brought up in the regular session,” Pritzker said on Friday in response to a question about the failed decoupling bill. “I’m anticipating that it will get brought up soon in the new session of the General Assembly.” Remote voting, more The remote voting bill, which passed the Senate unanimously, would have permitted the House and Senate to convene remotely and cast votes during a public health emergency where “in-person participation poses a significant risk to the health and safety,” of lawmakers, their staff or the public. It would have required both chambers to create rules for remote participation in session and committees, and it would have applied to the boards of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability and Legislative Audit Commission. The Senate changed its rules during the brief May session to allow for remote hearings but the House failed to pass similar changes. Two lawmakers voted remotely in the lame duck session. Both chambers released tentative calendars last week showing they are scheduled to meet in-person several days each month through May. Since the pandemic hit Illinois in March of 2020, members of the House met briefly the following May
see ‘bills’ page 10
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Help Wanted
Shipping & Receiving Assistant: Computer Skills Required (Romeoville) Shipping & receiving assistant works under the direction and reports to our Operations Managers to process Records Storage tasks and duties F/T M-F some OT, benefits/wage commensurate with skill set/ experience. Must be able to pass a complete security background screening and pre-employment drug test. Send resume to Mr. Dale Pundsack email at hr@citadelim.com or by fax to 630-323-1737. Please type in the subject box: Bugle / RS Dept January 2021 Requirements: • 3-5 years past experience in similar warehouse position • Competent computer skills required: Microsoft Office / Must learn and use industry software • Work skills: Accuracy, efficiency, attention to details • Honest character, positive Attitude, team player, reliable • Strong communication skills verbally, phone, email • Good attendance record, punctual • Adheres to all safety processes • Manage physical boxes, climb stairs, lift up to 70 lbs. • Operate warehouse equipment, RF scanner, forklift - order picker experience a plus • Speak and write in English, Spanish a plus • Reliable transportation • All other duties as assigned Visit us at www.citadelim.com Citadel Information Management is an Equal Opportunity Employer
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‘OA KTON’ from page 3 daily lives by incorporating current examples from social media, memes, videos and other resources. Dadivas Hong, a part-time faculty member from Arlington Heights, earned her master’s degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Teaching at Oakton since 2005, she was praised for building relationships of trust with her students that enable them to feel comfortable reaching out for help and allowing them to
‘BILLS’ from page 4 and earlier this month at the Bank of Springfield Center, while the Senate continued at the Capitol for those brief sessions. Multiple people that attended last week’s lame duck session – includ-
reach their goal of improving their English skills. Anna Shipulina, a Skokie resident, received the Staff Excellence Award. This honor is presented annually to a staff member who goes “above and beyond” their job responsibilities, using creativity and compassion to serve students and the community. Oakton’s Staff Excellence Award Committee reviews the nominees and then narrows the pool to three candidates before selecting the winner. Shipulina, who serves in the role of curriculum navigator, started at Oakton in 2000 as a student em-
ployee. She played an integral role in moving the college course catalog to an online format, streamlining the process for approving new programs and courses and facilitating the publication of over 80 premajors and pathways. During the pandemic, she moved swiftly to organize an emergency curriculum committee meeting to ensure newly designed courses and programs were available to students in time for the fall semester. This year’s Living Diversity Award winner is Stephanie Herrera, learning specialist. To make Oakton a
more inclusive, diverse, and antibiased institution, Oakton’s Diversity Council awards a colleague who demonstrates a commitment to promoting equity, inclusion, care, compassion and respect for people of diverse backgrounds and abilities. The Chicago resident came to Oakton in 2018 and is renowned by her colleagues for her infectious enthusiasm and commitment to supporting students from diverse backgrounds, especially Latinx students. In her role, Herrera coordinates one-on-one tutoring for stu-
dents and strives to build rapport to ensure students receive additional support needed. Since arriving at Oakton, Herrera has played a prime role in planning and executing Latinx Heritage Month programming. She earned her bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies and her master’s degree in higher education leadership and development from Northeastern Illinois University. The Oakton Educational Foundation generously underwrites a monetary recognition for award recipients.
ing the chief of staff to the House speaker’s office – have tested positive for COVID-19. The governor said last week he would not prioritize lawmakers in the next phase of vaccination. The vote-by-mail bill, which passed the Senate by a vote of 40-18, would have made permanent some changes
that were implemented in response to the pandemic for the 2020 general election. This would have included the use of drop-box sites to collect ballots without postage and curbside voting during early voting or on Election Day. It also would have required the
State Board of Elections to provide guidance, rather than rules, for securing collection sites. Neither bill was taken up for a vote by the full House on Wednesday. Meanwhile, House Bill 122, which would have added another round of 75 marijuana dispensary licenses
among other actions, passed the Senate but did not receive a vote in the House as well. Senate Bill 558, which was a wideranging bill consisting of several health care reforms backed by the Black Caucus, passed the House but did not receive a vote in the Senate.
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