Chicago Sun-Times: All posts by Max Rust2016-06-24T11:31:00-05:00https://chicago.suntimes.com/authors/max-rust/rss2016-06-24T11:31:00-05:002019-04-17T20:46:58-05:00INTERACTIVE DATA: Illinois lawmakers’ pay among highest in nation
<p>Although multi-millionaire Bruce Rauner will <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/7/71/153752/gov-quinn-could-collect-healthy-pension-on-way-out-the-door/" target="_blank" >not be accepting a salary in his new post as the state’s new governor</a>, other Illinois lawmakers are compensated relatively well compared to their counterparts in other states, according to the <a class="Link" href="http://www.ncsl.org/research/about-state-legislatures/2014-ncsl-legislator-salary-and-per-diem-table.aspx" target="_blank" >National Conference of State Legislatures.</a></p><p>Based on the data, Illinois state legislators had the fifth-highest paycheck among state legislators nationwide in 2014. Scroll through the chart below to see how the state compared in annual base salary and in per-diem rates:</p><p><i>Note: Figures shown are for states where annual salary figures were comparable; states that pay out a daily rate while in session were excluded. (In many cases, per diem rates shown are for the highest end of a range a state pays to legislators depending on their specific travel costs.)</i><br></p>
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2016/6/24/18447812/interactive-data-illinois-lawmakers-pay-among-highest-in-nationMax Rust2016-06-24T11:29:00-05:002019-04-17T18:43:01-05:00DATA: Congress gets richer, U.S. households get poorer
<p>While the median net worth of U.S. House Representatives and U.S. Senators grew by 21.7 percent and 19 percent, respectively, from 2007 to 2013, the average U.S. household’s net worth declined by 43 percent, according to a new analysis from the <a class="Link" href="http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2015/01/one-member-of-congress-18-american-households-lawmakers-personal-finances-far-from-average/" target="_blank" >Center for Responsive Politics.</a></p><p>According to the center, the average Senator’s net worth in 2013 reached $2.8 million, nearly 50 times the net worth of an average household:</p><p>Though Senators’ median net worth is higher than that of House members,’ when it comes to the wealthiest lawmakers, the House wins:<br></p>
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2016/6/24/18421562/data-congress-gets-richer-u-s-households-get-poorerMax Rust2016-06-24T11:27:00-05:002019-04-17T21:36:43-05:00Study: Latest migration numbers a bad sign for Illinois
<p>A recent report from the <a class="Link" href="http://www.illinoispolicy.org/illinois-had-record-mass-exodus-in-2014/" target="_blank" >Illinois Policy Institute</a> think tank uses Census migration data to show what the group calls an “inflection point in its economic crisis.”</p><p>In 2014 the state had the second largest net loss of people moving to other states in the nation, behind New York. This trend, which recorded a “mass exodus” of 95,000 residents to other states last year, makes it crucial for newly elected governor Bruce Rauner to push for <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/7/71/301007/5-things-business-leaders-wish-list-rauner" target="_blank" >doing away with the 2011 tax hikes</a>. Other states that had big losses in domestic migration included New Jersey, California and Pennsylvania.</p><p>States with the largest increases tended to be in the south:<br></p>
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2016/6/24/18458407/study-latest-migration-numbers-a-bad-sign-for-illinoisMax Rust2016-06-24T11:23:00-05:002019-04-17T20:20:36-05:00Divvy biking in the blizzard – breaking down the data
<p>“Insane” is the adjective most people use to describe people who ride bicycles during blizzard conditions (and the author of this post has heard it many times). But if recent data provided to the Sun-Times from Chicago’s <a class="Link" href="http://www.divvybikes.com" target="_blank" >bike sharing program Divvy</a> is any indication, Sunday’s storm was no big deal for dozens of city cyclists.</p><p>According to Divvy, 139 trips were taken Sunday, ranging in times from a couple of minutes to over a half an hour, most taking place as <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/news-chicago/7/71/338524/timelapse-video-shows-just-much-snow-chicago-got" target="_blank" >19.3 inches of snow</a> fell on city streets.</p><p>Here are some totals and a map of stations Divvy riders departed from on Sunday:</p><p>10:30<b>(MINUTES:SECONDS)</b></p><p>Average length of trips made Sunday</p><p>121<b>(SECONDS)</b></p><p>Shortest trip taken Sunday: Damen & Division to Wood & Division</p><p>36<b>(MINUTES)</b></p><p>Longest trip taken Sunday: (Lake and Ashland to Damen and Chicago<br></p>
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2016/6/24/18442242/divvy-biking-in-the-blizzard-breaking-down-the-dataMax Rust2016-06-24T11:22:00-05:002019-04-16T06:34:40-05:00Animation: Mapping Chicago snow plows during the blizzard
<p>The recent Sun-Times article about how Chicago snow plows <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-politics/7/71/341993/snowplows-hit-ald-burkes-street-five-times" target="_blank" >cleared 14th Ward Alderman Ed Burke’s street five times </a>during the recent blizzard while his neighbors waited for plow service was based on the city’s Plow Tracker data obtained and parsed by the team at <a class="Link" href="http://clearstreets.org" target="_blank" >clearstreets.org</a>.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<blockquote><p>RELATED: Snowplow tracking apps hold cities accountable</p></blockquote>
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<p>Now the team has transformed the data into a visualization using a recently developed tool from mapping service <a class="Link" href="https://cartodb.com" target="_blank" >CartoDB</a>. To create the visual, ClearStreets.org “scraped” data on where the city’s 300 plows were located over the duration of the snowstorm from about 7 pm Feb. 1 to 10 pm Feb. 2. The locations were then colorized and sped up to create a heatmap that plays back the paths that plows took over that time period. The result is a vibrant animation showing snow plow activity during and after some of the heaviest snowfall:</p><p>Get the data used to create the animation <a class="Link" href="http://clearstreets.org/data" target="_blank" >here</a>.</p><p>And <a class="Link" href="http://clearstreets.cartodb.com/viz/1137ee9e-ad91-11e4-bca6-0e4fddd5de28/embed_map" target="_blank" >here is a link</a> to a full screen version. <br></p>
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2016/6/24/18394140/animation-mapping-chicago-snow-plows-during-the-blizzardMax Rust2016-06-24T11:22:00-05:002019-04-17T19:54:29-05:00Report: Illinois worst state for job recovery after Great Recession
<p>Just ahead of <a class="Link" href="http://www.bls.gov/home.htm" target="_blank" >Friday’s employment report</a> from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, local think tank <a class="Link" href="http://www.illinoispolicy.org" target="_blank" >Illinois Policy</a> earlier this week released a report showing that despite the two best months of job growth in 9 years, the state lags far behind in recovering from the Great Recession.</p><p>The <a class="Link" href="https://www.illinoispolicy.org/after-2-historic-months-of-jobs-growth-illinois-still-lagging/" target="_blank" >report</a> points out that in November and December, the state had it’s best consecutive 2 month period of job growth since 2006:</p><p>From the report:</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<blockquote><p>This is welcome news in a state where economic opportunity has been severely lacking. However, even if this two-month success is the result of regime confidence, Illinois’ sudden job-creation steam will run out without a healthy fuel of economic-reform policies.</p></blockquote>
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<p>The report then points out that since January of 2008, Illinois has the most negative change in the number of jobs of any state.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<blockquote><p>Furthermore, Illinois still lays claim to the worst recession recovery in the nation. According to the BLS household survey, there are still 216,000 fewer Illinoisans working than when the Great Recession began, the worst of any state and one of only 22 states that still have fewer people working than when the recession started.</p></blockquote>
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<p>Use this map to see how Illinois compares in the change in jobs from January 2008 through December:<br></p>
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2016/6/24/18436851/report-illinois-worst-state-for-job-recovery-after-great-recessionMax Rust2016-06-24T11:20:00-05:002019-04-17T21:10:46-05:00Interactive: Timeline of the Jackie Robinson West controversy
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https://chicago.suntimes.com/2016/6/24/18452875/interactive-timeline-of-the-jackie-robinson-west-controversyMax Rust2016-06-24T11:16:00-05:002019-04-17T21:55:25-05:00Interactive: Mayoral race margin of victory in each precinct
<p>According to overnight tallies from the <a class="Link" href="http://www.chicagoelections.com/en/home.html" target="_blank" >Chicago Board of Elections,</a> Rahm Emanuel won the overwhelming majority (1,484) of the city’s 2,069 precincts, followed by Jesus Garcia, who claimed victory in 517. Willie Wilson won 29.</p><p>But a closer look at Emanuel and Garcia’s margin of victory in each precinct (measured as the winner’s votes minus the second place finisher’s votes) reveals distinct patterns in each candidate’s strength in gaining votes across the city.</p><p>While Emanuel found his strongest support along the lakefront and in pockets on the South Side, Garcia was most successful in the near Southwest and Northwest sides, two areas with relatively large Hispanic voting populations.</p><p>As they strategize ahead of April’s runoff, the candidates will likely assess these patterns and how to maximize their advantages. The map below shows the margin of victory in each precinct following Tuesday’s election. Roll over a precinct for details:<br></p>
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2016/6/24/18462431/interactive-mayoral-race-margin-of-victory-in-each-precinctMax Rust2016-06-24T11:16:00-05:002019-04-16T08:38:11-05:00MAP: Mayoral wins by ward
<p>This map will update as ward-by-ward data becomes more complete.</p><p>Here is a look at which mayoral candidate won the following wards.</p><p>Roll over a ward for details:<br></p>
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2016/6/24/18408971/map-mayoral-wins-by-wardMax Rust2016-06-24T11:16:00-05:002019-04-17T22:33:06-05:00CHART: Election day temperatures and voter turnout
<p>If the past five Chicago municipal elections are any indication, temperatures forecast for Tuesday likely won’t play a major role in turnout, which has remained somewhere near between 33 and 43 percent over that period.</p><p>With an average of 16 degrees predicted, Tuesday’s election would be the coldest since 2003, when 33.7 percent of registered voters cast a ballot. Then-mayor Richard M. Daley won nearly 80 percent of the vote.<br></p>
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2016/6/24/18470364/chart-election-day-temperatures-and-voter-turnoutMax Rust