MOLINE, Ill. —
Iowa Headlines
Earlier this year, Iowa legislators signed multiple laws regarding LGBTQ+ representation in schools.
Senate File 482, known as the "Bathroom Bill", was signed on March 22. The bill bans transgender students from using restrooms and changing rooms that conflict with their sex assigned at birth. This law also requires school officials to address perceived violations within three business days after receiving a written notice. If a school does not comply, Iowans can file complaints with the Attorney General's Office.
Senate File 538 was also signed on March 22. This law prohibits gender-affirming healthcare for people under the age of 18. This law also affects doctors caring for children, prohibiting doctors from prescribing puberty blockers or hormone replacement therapy to minors.
Several other related bills were passed this year, with the largest one being Senate File 496, an overarching bill outlining the censorship of LGBTQ+ content in health-related classes, implementing policies for teachers to publish course materials, and giving parents more control over their children's education.
Opposition to these laws soon followed. In November, organizations like Iowa Safe Schools and the ACLU joined with local families to present lawsuits against the bills, claiming these laws forbid educators from highlighting LGBTQ+ issues and placing teachers in stressful situations regarding a student's gender identity.
"The First Amendment does not allow our state or our schools to remove books or issue blanket bans on discussion and materials simply because a group of politicians or parents find them offensive," ACLU Attorney Thomas Story said.
Barring any decision from the Iowa Supreme Court, these laws are slated to take effect Jan. 1, 2024.
In March, administrative officials at Iowa Wesleyan University announced that the 181-year-old school would shut down for good.
“It is with deep sadness that we announce the Board of Trustees has made the heartbreaking decision to close our beloved Iowa Wesleyan after 181 years as an educational pillar in this community,” said Christine Plunkett, president of Iowa Wesleyan University. “Our focus is now on assuring our over 850 students have a smooth transition to another educational opportunity.”
For the 878 students enrolled at the time of the announcement, this decision came as quite a shock.
"It's really stressful because it was such short notice and it's not a lot of time to do full recruiting and talk to coaches and do all this while also still going to school," student Marcus Christion said. "It's just really difficult with that in the back of your head that your school is closing. It's just a lot of stress, and there's emotions attached to it."
Before the announcement this year the administration in 2018 had raised concerns over having to close the university. They were able to remain open by raising $2 million from the community.
"This college is great and I like it here, but I definitely made a lot of memories and a lot of friends here that I'm definitely going to miss," Christion said. "It's going to be difficult."
During the university's May graduation ceremony, it hit many in attendance hard, from the seniors walking across the stage for the last time under the Iowa Wesleyan name to the many alumni who attended the ceremony. Afterward, school officials announced property at the university would be auctioned off.
In February, former Central DeWitt Superintendent Dan Peterson was found to have violated Iowa's open meetings law. During a meeting on Feb. 7, the school board voted to enter a closed session, which bars the public and press from attending. What board members discussed during this closed session pertained to gender and sexuality issues, instructional material review and administrative realignment.
The local paper and its parent company Sycamore Media later sued the district for their breach of Iowa's open meetings law. A judge decided to rule in favor of the paper, charging the district $18,500 in fees and requiring the district to provide the recording of the meeting after the closed session began.
Despite this ruling, the school board posted this statement on their Facebook account:
"The Board maintains that the individual Board members acted appropriately leading up to and during the closed session. The Board entered into the closed session with the correct intentions – to evaluate the Superintendent. During the closed session, the conversation flowed into current issues with the intention of providing the Superintendent feedback on how he was handling these issues. As a Board, we recognize that during the course of the closed session, the conversation inadvertently strayed from the intended purpose. While the conversation was relevant and thoughtful, it should have occurred in an open meeting."
Families also had their chance to speak at a meeting on July 13. Resident Jared Coury was the first to speak when the meeting opened up the floor to public comments.
"For the trust broken in this community and commitment to bring about rebuilding, there is only one path forward — resign."
At the end of the meeting, News 8's Jonathan Fong asked the school board about the future of the superintendent's employment with the district. At that time, the board did not comment on the matter.
In May 2022, workers at Case New Holland Industrial went on strike to demand better pay and more flexible scheduling.
Roughly 400 workers in Burlington walked off the job and onto picket lines during the strike.
"I've been with the company for over 10 years, I kind of thought they would have cared a little bit more about getting me back in there and help me provide for my family," Dustin Spiker said. “I can’t go back to the job that I want to do because they keep offering it to scabs that are willing to do the job."
Workers remained on strike for eight months before reaching an agreement on Jan. 21, 2023. Tracey Chew, a longtime CNH Industrial worker and UAW bargaining team member, laid out what went into the new contract.
- Benefits of the new contract included:
- Pay raises between 28% to 38%
- Reducing waiting time for bonus vacation time to 12 years
- Increasing the amount of paid absence allowance to 40 hours
- Increasing flexibility for workers using paid time off to 15 minutes before their shift
- Decreasing the amount of time to receive a ratification bonus to 30 calendar days
- Workers will be reimbursed for footwear purchased for work
"They know that we're the skilled labor and they know that we mean business. And they know that we own those jobs. And so we're anxious to get America building again, we really are," Chew said.
This strike was one of the longest to arise since the pandemic.
Illinois Headlines
On Sept. 18, the SAFE-T Act, one of the most contested pieces of legislation in Illinois history, effectively made Illinois the first state to eliminate cash bail.
This law is a sweeping reform of the state's criminal justice system focusing on the conduct of police in the field, establishes a risk assessment for defendants in custody and modifies some of the records taken by the state's Department of Corrections once someone has been incarcerated.
The bill was passed in January 2021 but could not be fully implemented due to the Pretrial Fairness Act, which eliminates cash bail.
Justices in the Illinois Supreme Court barred this portion of the SAFE-T Act from taking effect in 2021, claiming pretrial procedures need to remain consistent throughout the state of Illinois. The court later allowed the block on the Pretrial Fairness Act to be lifted in September, overturning a previous ruling by a Kankakee County judge.
“I’m pleased that the Illinois Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the SAFE-T Act and the elimination of cash bail. We can now move forward with historic reform to ensure pre-trial detainment is determined by the danger an individual poses to the community instead of by their ability to pay their way out of jail," Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said.
According to the US Commission on Civil Rights, more than 60% of defendants, or roughly 500,000 people, in jails across the US are eligible for release but are kept incarcerated due to being unable to post bail.
State Sen. Robert Peters, D-Chicago, whose negotiations on the law made him a national figure – and a lightning rod for criticism – said at the time he knows the public debate over bail reform isn’t over, even if the legal battle is.
“Let me be clear: Cash bail delegitimizes criminal justice systems and transforms them into systems that violate public safety instead of upholding it,” Peters said in a news release. “Illinois will not go back. We will only move forward with our goal of ensuring public safety for all Illinoisans, regardless of their background or financial position.”
This new system allows judges to evaluate a defendant and determine whether or not the person is a danger to the public or a flight risk. It also allows people arrested for non-violent crimes to be released before trial.
In one two-hour span, Illinois State Police troopers issued 17 speeding citations for drivers going over 20 miles per hour (mph) over the 55 mph speed limit. The highest speed tracked at 99 mph. Five troopers ran the detail along with an aerial patrol unit.
The plane monitors the speed of cars going across the bridge by measuring a time distance from when a car hits one painted dash line to the next painted dash. That car gets reported to troopers on the ground who issue the citation. ISP is looking for cars going at excessive speeds.
"There have been many complaints from the general motoring public about the speed problem that has been taking place on the bridge," Trooper John Wilson said.
Wilson said speeding has been worse on the current bridge compared to the old one.
According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, the amount of daily traffic on the bridge has also increased compared to the old one. In 2018, the last time the old I-74 Bridge was fully open to traffic, the average daily traffic was 69,700 vehicles. In 2022, the average daily traffic across the current I-74 Bridge was 77,300 vehicles.
"There's a lot more space to maneuver, so there are individuals out there that prefer to see how fast they can go over the bridge and to see how many vehicles they can pass and weave through," Wilson said. "It is very easy to pull over nothing but 20 miles per hour or more over the speed limit."
ISP has cited people for going 120 to 130 miles per hour over the bridge — more than double the posted speed limit.
Wilson warned drivers about the dangers of speeding, especially excessive speeding. Thirty percent of all fatal crashes in the U.S. are from speeding. The faster you drive, the longer it takes you to stop and the less time you have to react.
"We're getting ready to mark up to almost 46,000 fatal crashes across the country," Wilson said. "That's more than the population of the city we're standing in right now, so basically, the entire city of Moline is wiped off the map every year in traffic crashes. So we really need to put it into context as to how serious it is and how much we have to respect what we're doing when we get behind the wheel."
Going 35 mph over the speed limit in Illinois is a Class A misdemeanor, which is the same classification as a DUI arrest. That's punishable by up to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine.
The April 4 storm left some buildings QC partially damaged, while others were too far gone to repair. For the Belgrade in Moline, the building was no match for the high winds that blew through the Quad Cities.
The bar was shut down after the storm ripped off the roof. Roads around the bar were also closed in the meantime to keep people away from the structure.
"I had my first legal drink in the state of Illinois at that bar," Moline resident Jackie Reid said. "I even remember it when it wasn't the Belgrade, it was Fitzpatrick's."
"I remember coming here as a kid just sitting with friends and eating tacos most of the time," Hanna Rusk said. Rusk's family is friends with the Belgrade owner.
"He was just saying how part of it he worked on last summer," Rusk said. "So after putting so much work into it, and then just now it all been demolished, It's crazy."
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