State Rep. Margaret Croke finally prevailed in the Democratic primary for Illinois comptroller as the Associated Press declared her the winner Thursday afternoon.

At a union hall on Chicago’s South Side, a powerful Democratic Party organization decided who to endorse in the March 17 primary in one key statewide race.

“At the end of the day, DCFS is responsible for everything that happens to a child, for making sure the child is safe, for making sure the child has an appropriate placement, for making sure that the child isn’t treated like garbage by giving them garbage bags for their possessions,” said Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert.

Legislation that Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law this month bans physical punishment in private schools while reiterating a prohibition on the practice in public schools implemented 30 years ago.

An increased moratorium on closing Chicago Public Schools – including charters –  easily passed the state House heads to the Senate over the objections of the Chicago Teachers Union and Mayor Brandon Johnson’s appointees to the city’s school board.

The measure would put a moratorium on the closure of selective enrollment schools and prevent CPS from altering its standards for admission to those schools until 2027 when a fully elected school board in Chicago is in place.

Under the new law, voters will elect 10 members in Novembers while Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson will appoint 10 members of his choosing, plus the board president. That leaves the board under mayoral control until 2027, when the city would move to a fully-elected school board.