* Just a quick roundup today because there are so many stories…
* Ban on public sex-harassment payouts moves to House: Rep. David McSweeney says staff members for the House and Senate have told him they’re not aware of any such instances in Illinois. But the Barrington Hills Republican says “I want to make sure it doesn’t happen in the future.”
* Editorial: In fixing one problem, Legislature shouldn’t create bigger one: But, as written, the bill would delete the requirement that an individual’s name be on the front of a summons in every kind of civil proceeding, not just foreclosures. If a person is handed a legal document in which their name appears only on an attachment, it would be tempting to unwittingly just toss it out. Some lawyers worry all kinds of people could lose judgments in court without ever knowing they were sued.
* Illinois lawmakers push to allow 18, 19, and 20-year-olds to be tried as juveniles: In a committee hearing Tuesday, Fine said this age group is unique, considering that studies have shown their brains aren’t fully developed until around age 26. “The goal of this legislation is to make this age group learn from their mistakes to change their trajectory in life instead of paying for the mistakes for the rest of their life,” she said.
* Suggested bills address teacher shortage: A recent survey, done by the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools, reveals how the shortage has a rippling effect on substitute teachers. It shows, of 400 school districts, schools cannot find subs to cover more than 3,000 absences each week.
* House approves school funding reform cleanup: Rep. Peter Breen, R-Lombard, said the bill appeared to favor the Chicago school system with some of the changes. However, Davis said all of the changes were recommended by the state Board of Education. Rep. Avery Bourne, R-Raymond, also said the bill is necessary to address issues raised by state education officials.
* Beekeepers work on legislation protecting from lawsuits: Leedle and her husband Doug run Leedle Houme Bees in Mulkeytown. She said the increasing popularity of beekeeping has given rise to a new problem. People have began complaining to beekeepers about bees on their property.
* A swarm of citizens has industry has sprung up on Twitter over the past several months to expose this candidate. Their work is finally paying off after a couple of fawning profiles in other publications failed to check into the guy…
Benjamin Thomas Wolf’s congressional campaign office in Chicago’s Ukrainian Village neighborhood is adorned with framed news stories, touting his service in the FBI.
A Newsweek article features a portrait of Wolf holding a lit marijuana blunt and asks, “Who is Benjamin Thomas Wolf? Former FBI agent smokes weed in Illinois congressional campaign ad.” A Vice story declares, “This former FBI agent is running for Congress to legalize weed.” The Times of Israel says, “Jewish ex-FBI agent makes blunt bid for Congress.”
In a news release last week, the Wolf campaign identified him as a “former FBI agent.”
But the news release and articles got one detail wrong: Wolf was never an FBI agent.
Oops.
* Wolf is running against Congressman Mike Quigley. And he has a dark background…
Katarina Coates, a former girlfriend who interned for his campaign, told POLITICO that Wolf was frequently physically and emotionally abusive, and “doxxed” her by revealing her name and home address on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
“He actually hit me, threw me to the ground, put his foot on my chest. He was really angry. He grabbed my face,” said Coates, who described at least six incidents of physical abuse. […]
In one instance, Coates directly complained to DePaul campus security that she was fearful of him. In a separate instance, in April 2017, she corresponded over email with a security officer who reassured her that Wolf, who was not a student there, had actually been banned from the campus. […]
When he first announced his candidacy, Wolf described himself as an “Iraq veteran.” And on Veterans Day, he responded to a tweet from Quigley saying: “Wolf served multiple terms in Africa and Iraq. Wolf for Congress.”
* The best way for any candidate to get quoted by a reporter these days is to take a verbal potshot at Speaker Madigan. The more outrageous the better…
Shots fired by @Drury4IL "Mike Madigan is the type of evil you can't even imagine" regarding sexual harassment problem. pic.twitter.com/kcNJOp8wGT
The Illinois Democratic machine has unleashed a wave of attacks on fellow Democrats in local races, with state party chair Michael Madigan funding mailers knocking several progressive candidates as Donald Trump stooges and foot soldiers in the tea party.
Madigan’s campaign committee has spent nearly $19,000 on mailers attacking two Our Revolution-backed candidates in State Central Democratic Committee elections, Elizabeth Lindquist and Art Bardsley. The postcards say Lindquist and Bardsley are Trump supporters and “members of a group supported by Tea Party activists.” The group referenced by the mailers is Represent.Us, which advocates for politicians on all sides of the political spectrum who support an end to gerrymandering, open primaries, transparency in campaign financing, and rooting out corruption from politics. […]
Steve Brown, Madigan’s press secretary, defended the mailers. “I would assume the mailers are in districts where we’re supporting incumbents, which tends to be our general philosophy,” Brown said in a phone interview with The Intercept. […]
“I’ve been an FDR-style Democrat my entire adult life, I’m 67 and current second vice-chair for the Winnebago County Democratic Party and never have I been called a ‘fake’ Democrat until the ‘leader’ of my state party attempted to smear me as such by spending at least $16K on not one, but two full-color, front-and-back, full-page flyers accusing me of being everything I have stood against for as long as I can remember,” Bardsley said in an interview. “Madigan knows if I’m elected that I will cast a vote against him for party chairman.”
And that last sentence is why Madigan is spending money in the race. If you click here you’ll see Friends of Michael J Madigan has spent over $51K on a few races, with $13K expended against Bardsley.
In the election for state House District 38, Madigan’s committee spent nearly $3,800 last week on mailers against each of the Democratic Primary candidates Cecil Matthews and Max Solomon. A week before, Madigan spent almost $2,500 on opposition mailers against both candidates, and more than $3,900 a few days earlier. Matthews has pledged not to accept any donations greater than $500 from any individual or corporation per election cycle. The other two candidates in the race are Olympia Fields Village President Debbie Meyers-Martin and Assistant State Attorney David Bonner. They are competing for the open seat vacated by State Rep. Al Riley, who is retiring and has endorsed Bonner.
Asked about Madigan’s intervention in the 38th District, where there is no incumbent candidate, Brown said, “We are working with new candidates who we believe would make better representatives or members of the state central committee.”
Those candidates, like others, have been compared to Trump and Rauner. As subscribers know, he’s doing this in other Democratic primaries as well.
In late 2017, Rauner defended himself to the Chicago Press Corp saying, “I am not in charge…”
Edgar County Watchdogs, Kirk Allen and John Kraft, published an authenticated internal email from First Lady Diana Rauner that suggests Gov. Rauner is correct. He’s not in charge. His wife is.
According to the story, the Watchdogs filed a FOIA inquiry about “protocols” involving Diana Rauner when it came to policy decisions and communications emanating from the Governor’s office. The response from the Governor’s office was that there are no such protocols.
However, in an email from Diana Rauner to the administration’s state communication staff several months before the legislation enacting taxpayer-funding of abortion-on-demand (HB 40) was signed into law by the governor, Diana Rauner clearly indicates she expects to sign off “per protocol”.
Dianna Rauner made it clear August 10th, 2017, at 7:18 pm, several months before HB 40 abortion bill was signed into law, that she will, in fact, sign off on the final version, per protocol.
Per Protocol?
“Happy to discuss further but per protocol I expect to sign off on the final version. Thanks”
While the topic of killing babies in the womb has been a heated debate for years in this country, we find that the Governor’s signing of the Abortion-on-demand bill, with taxpayers picking up the tab, may be the true tipping point in Illinois politics and the Republican Party.
Compound the signing of the bill with the fact his unelected wife affirmed she would sign off on the final version months before it was signed into law, it’s clear there is more to the story as to who is in charge.
The e-mail’s subject was “Statement on HB40.” She sent the e-mail to two press staffers, the governor’s chief of staff and her own chief of staff…
I would suggest:
Governor Rauner is committed to protecting women’s reproductive rights and has a consistent record of standing up for women’s rights. He won’t comment further on a bill that has not been sent to his desk.
Happy to discuss further, but per protocol I expect to sign off on final version. Thanks.
So, yeah, she definitely had some control over the governor’s messaging, but not the content of the legislation. At least, not that we know of.
As for protocols, they don’t have to be written down. Sometimes, you just know.
On March 20th Illinois voters will choose their candidates to run for the office of Governor this November. I am writing today to ask you to join me in voting for my husband, Bruce Rauner. […]
He can win a pivotal second term, but only with your help and support. Bruce will never stop fighting for Illinois, and I am proud to join him. Please vote for Bruce Rauner and join our movement to save Illinois!
Thank you for joining us in this important election!
Women Working for Change (WW4C) is a coalition of women from across the state of Illinois.
We are Democrats, Republicans, independents, doctors, teachers, moms and CEOs.
We joined together on the core principle that if we listen to each other and elevate the conversation above the constant political fighting we can reach real solutions to the problems we face in our state.
WHOIS lists the site’s creation date as November 15, 2017. The first story (the First Lady loves stories) was posted on December 7th. I’m guessing this “group” will get a whole lot more visible after the primary is over in a couple of weeks, assuming Rep. Ives is safely dispatched to the sidelines.
*** UPDATE *** The Illinois Review has picked up on the story. Headline…
Rauner campaign funds non-partisan, pro-abortion women’s group website
In August 2016, John Bambenek, a former Republican state senate candidate in Illinois, launched his own clandestine investigation of Guccifer 2.0, the public face of the Russian cyber break-in at the Democratic National Committee. What Bambenek found was that the Guccifer 2.0 persona — believed to be a cover for Russia’s military intelligence arm — reflected a more slapdash chapter in the operation to sow U.S. election chaos than usually presented.
Why it matters: In transcripts of Twitter messages that Bambenek shared with Axios, Guccifer 2.0 seemed to be either careless or indiscriminate, apparently failing to do even a cursory check on Bambenek, and with only a vague understanding of what he was sharing.
How it happened: In June 2016, the DNC told the Washington Post that hackers apparently working for the Russian government had penetrated its computer networks. The day after, Guccifer 2.0 surfaced with the first of a trove of stolen DNC documents, including a 231-page dossier on Donald Trump, the start of a drumbeat of leaks that would dog Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign until she ultimately lost in November.
Not long after, Bambenek approached Guccifer 2.0, asking for documents to help the Republican cause. “I knew I had a good chance of passing the Google test for being a Republican, and it came at a time when Guccifer was probably receiving many inquiries from the press,” he told Axios. […]
The catch: Bambenek wasn’t wearing a GOP hat while conducting the conversation. Instead, he was an executive at Fidelis, a Bethesda, MD, cybersecurity firm that, along with CrowdStrike, had quickly attributed the attack to Russia. Bambenek was more or less just continuing the investigation out of curiosity.
The FBI was in the loop: “Every [direct message] I sent, every [one] I received was turned over to the FBI immediately. I assumed they would have been monitoring the account to begin with,” Bambenek said.
Though Guccifer 2.0 provided him exclusive documents, they focused on almost comedically non-competitive races.
“JB Pritzker has demonstrated time and again that he’s unwilling or unable to stand up to the powers that be in the Democratic Party. He refuses to call out corruption, whether in the office of Mike Madigan or Joe Berrios. That’s not leadership. It’s more of the same self-dealing that has held Illinois back for decades and benefitted the insiders who profit on the backs of hardworking families.” - Rauner Campaign Communications Director Will Allison
Yet another Berrios scandal emerged on Wednesday highlighting a tax break worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and the next in a long series of conflicts of interest for the Cook County Assessor. Altria, a tobacco producer represented by Berrios’ lobbying firm (separate from his role as Assessor and Cook County Democratic Party Chair), received an assesment from Berrios’ Assessor’s office that reduced their property tax bill by $370,000.
It seems everyone in Cook County has seen and made note of the corruption that runs rampant in the Assessor’s Office.
Everyone except JB Pritzker that is.
In December, Pritzker made it clear he wouldn’t be criticizing Berrios: “I don’t think it’s my job to foment a war between Democrats”
A month later, in January, he still couldn’t muster the courage to condemn Berrios: “Calling people out individually for their failures is, you know, not productive, and I’m involved in my own primary, not other people’s.”
JB Pritzker has avoided criticizing corruption in Illinois, whether it be Madigan or Berrios. His silence shows that he is part of the same, broken status quo.
Tobacco giant Altria won a lucrative property tax break last year on a Franklin Park factory from the office of Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios, who also is the co-owner of a lobbying firm that counts Altria among its longtime clients.
In September, Berrios’ office slashed the real estate assessment on a 500,000-square-foot chewing tobacco warehouse and manufacturing facility owned by the U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company, part of the Altria Group which is best known for its Philip Morris cigarette brand.
The action shaved about $370,000 off the factory’s 2017 property tax bill. And the value of the break could potentially be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars more. Records show the warehouse was under contract to sell for double the value that Berrios’ office assigned, despite the legal requirement that the standard for such determination is 100 percent of fair market value.
The Berrios lobbying firm, B-P Consultants, has represented the interests of Altria and its subsidiaries in Springfield since 2009, state lobbyist registration records show.
In a brief telephone interview, Berrios told the Better Government Association he “wasn’t involved” in the Altria tax appeal. At the same time, Berrios said he believed the assessment reduction granted to Altria was justified.
U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today once again urgently requested Governor Bruce Rauner’s detailed plan of action for ensuring the safety of residents, family, and staff at the Illinois Veterans’ Home (IVH) Quincy. They also pressed Rauner’s Administration to accept the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) offer of technical assistance—including a site visit to IVH Quincy—in tandem with ongoing VA financial support as well as expert assistance that has been provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) recently confirmed four additional cases of Legionnaires’ disease among residents of IVH Quincy—bringing the total number of confirmed legionellosis cases at IVH Quincy to 67 since 2015. According to the CDC, it is rare and worrisome that cases of Legionnaires’ disease are being found at this time of year, when the weather trends colder.
“While recent reports indicate you are considering options—from replacing piping to constructing new buildings on campus—we still do not yet have a detailed plan of action for ensuring the safety of residents, family, and staff at the facility going forward. Once again, we urge you to finalize such a plan without delay,” the members wrote in a letter to Gov. Rauner. “We hope you will uphold your responsibility as Governor and finally provide leadership on this crisis that has tragically resulted in the deaths of 13 residents at IVH Quincy over the past three years. Our veterans, their families, and the excellent staff there deserve nothing less.”
On March 1, 2018, members of the National Infectious Diseases Service at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) communicated with IDVA Director Jeffries. They offered additional technical assistance in the efforts to mitigate and prevent Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks at IVH Quincy, in addition to the ongoing substantial financial assistance provided by the VA. We urge your Administration to accept the VA’s offer of expert assistance—to include a site visit to IVH Quincy—in tandem with ongoing expert assistance that has been provided by the CDC.
Vague assurances that next steps are forthcoming “in the near future” are quite simply inexcusable, particularly as it took you three years before finally appointing an advisor to coordinate and oversee efforts for improvements at IVH Quincy. Moreover, claims that a final plan of action to make improvements at IVH Quincy will be presented to the Illinois General Assembly as late as May and that construction of new buildings on campus could take up to five years are insufficient given how long your Administration has already delayed in addressing this public health crisis.
Rauner says his administration is considering replacing old plumbing systems, as well as demolishing residence halls. He says another option could be transferring the existing residents to another facility.
“The challenge with that is they’re very vulnerable– very frail. They’re very elderly and this is their home,” Rauner said. “This is like a family for them. And so you don’t just rip people out of their home and put them in a completely different place. The health risks of doing that are very substantial.”
The state director of Veterans’ Affairs says there are plans to raze residence halls where there have been cases of Legionnaires’ since 2015. That plan is estimated to take three to five years–but there’s no estimate yet for how much it would cost.
Packed room at AT&T center opening on North Side. Mayor Emanuel and Gov. Rauner here. Mayor expected to deliver a letter to Gov urging him to sign gun bill. #twillpic.twitter.com/vWlS0GegA1
He did reiterate his support for “safer schools,” a bump stock ban, a generic call to “support law enforcement” and “do a better job keeping guns out of the hands of criminals and mentally ill.” He ignored a follow up question about whether or not he’ll act before the primary.
Rauner says he has been “clear” on guns (he hasn’t though). He speaks in generalities: supports a conversation, making schools safer, banning bump sticks, more support for police. Gov has not given explicit answers on his position on bills; his conversations about them unclear. pic.twitter.com/7o6iJWVcRw
Saying he “supports a conversation” is a common @GovRauner tactic that buys him more time, and helps him to not get pinned down on an issue. But delaying staking a side has consequences, and it’s bitten him before. (And no doubt Dems have and will use this habit against him) https://t.co/RygCgJzWlj
Also Tuesday, Raoul said that House Speaker Michael Madigan should step down as head of the Democratic Party of Illinois as a way to “refresh” the party leadership.
But Frerichs declined to take a similar position.
“Today I’m here to talk about supporting Sen. Kwame Raoul and how he reflects the new generation here,” Frerichs said.
Raoul, however, was eager to address the issue, equating Madigan’s 20 years as head of the state Democratic Party with the long political history of Pat Quinn, his chief opponent for attorney general. […]
“I think it’s a healthy thing for us to refresh leadership whether it’s the Democratic Party or Republican Party,” Raoul said. “I’m running against somebody who has run for office every cycle since (Democrat Michael) Dukakis was running for president (in 1988). There’s something wrong with that, and I think we’re in a relay race. I think advocating for people and fighting for good policy is a relay race. And in a relay race you pass the baton.”
This morning Quinn, a Democrat who wants to succeed Madigan’s daughter Lisa as Illinois Attorney General, told “The Big John and Ramblin’ Ray Show” that Madigan should step down as party chairman.
“Well, I don’t think he should be the chairman of the Democratic Party”, said Quinn. ” As a matter of fact I think the voters in the primary ought to have a chance to vote for the chairman of the Democratic Party. I believe it term limits. I’ve been passing petitions for that over the years. I think reasonable term limits are needed for everybody and that includes running for Governor and Attorney General.”
Fairley took issue with Cullerton’s financial support for state Sen. Ira Silverstein, who was cleared of sexual harassment allegations by the legislative inspector general but was found to have behaved in conduct “unbecoming of a legislator.”
“If elected, Senator Raoul would be indebted to one of the most powerful politicians in Illinois on Day One of his administration,” Fairley said in a statement. Fairley helped establish the city’s new Civilian Office of Police Accountability, an agency created in response to the scandal surrounding the shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald by a white police officer.
A Raoul campaign spokesman dismissed the attack, noting Fairley has put more than $420,000 into the contest.
“We’re not going to take campaign finance advice from someone who has donated nearly a half-million dollars to her own campaign,” said spokesman Ron Holmes.
* Related…
* Ald Sawyer: Look at term limit for Speaker Madigan: After getting a question at the City Club asking why Democrats don’t stand up to Madigan, Sawyer said “People have a concern about 40 years or 80 years combined in the same thing to be a problem. We need occasional breadth of leadership. I don’t have a personal problem with Speaker Madigan. I just follow my own tune. I vote based on my own conscience and I support people based on how I work and not necessarily on someone telling me I have to do that.”
* Jim Dey: In like Quinn? That’s the fear of younger generation: If Quinn gets in, the Democrats’ geezer generation will further cement itself in control, leaving a younger generation of party politicos angry, frustrated and, most importantly, powerless.
* VIDEO: Attorney General Candidate (D) Kwame Raoul
* Grasso says he is GOP’s best AG candidate: And he does not support the legalization of marijuana, saying it would require “heavy bureaucracy.” “We can’t afford it at this time,” he said. “If we’re going to talk about drugs, let’s solve the heroin and opioid problem first. We have way too many problems to take care of first.”
* Click here for background if you need it on yesterday’s memo from Speaker Madigan to his members warning them against sexually harassing or having sexual relations with staff along with Alaina Hampton’s response. Sun-Times…
“He’s had two meetings with women, staff and lobbyists. One in Chicago and one in Springfield and he came with a sense and thought that it would be prudent to express that to the caucus,” Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said of Tuesday’s statement.
Madigan’s message to members — which he also released to the media — came about a week after he released a list of nine misconduct complaints that he said demonstrated his office had been there for potential harassment victims and has handled cases “according to protocol.”
And it came after he met with directors of four units of his office — the clerk’s office, issues, research and technical review divisions. Those directors are now speaking with staff on a weekly basis about whether there are any staffing issues, according to a source with close knowledge of the speaker’s office.
It also comes after Madigan met with some House Democratic women in the two private meetings. The group has been talking to lobbyists and staff members to try to both tackle sexual harassment in politics, and empower women to seek higher positions.
As for any pending legislation, Brown said the speaker is “waiting to see what kind of ideas” come from both a group headed by Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago, and State Rep. Sara Wojcicki Jimenez, R-Leland Grove – and the group of women Democratic members who have been meeting.
[Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago] said she wasn’t sure what prompted Madigan’s latest message, saying, “he just read it to us in that measured, deliberate tone of his.”
Others said they interpreted it as a stern warning from Madigan as he tries to move ahead on the issue. Madigan repeatedly has said he has no intentions to step aside.
Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, a Chicago Democrat who serves on Madigan’s leadership team, said the comments were “a very strong statement about a level of professionalism that he expects.”
“I believe it is a step in the right direction, a clarion call, if you will,” Feigenholtz said.
Still, Feigenholtz called the issue a “work in progress.” “I believe there is a commitment to reframe things around here,” Feigenholtz said.
Meanwhile, the House’s sexual harassment task force Tuesday discussed a draft of a bill authored by House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago, and the committee’s minority spokesperson Sara Wojcicki Jimenez, R-Leland Grove, to reform state ethics and human rights law with new regulations in an attempt to decrease instances of sexual harassment and allow for a better pathway to justice for victims.
The proposals include extending the period for reporting after a rights violation from 180 days to one year, allowing anonymous reporting and creating an investigator position in more government offices.
Lobbyists and legislators debated parts of the draft, including the statute of limitation clause. As written, it would cover more than just sexual harassment allegations, a concern for an already overstretched complaint system at the Illinois Department of Human Rights and the Human Rights Commission, according to Jay Shattuck, a lobbyist for the Illinois Chamber of Commerce.
“There is a tremendous backlog … that is unfortunately detrimental … to the individuals who have been discriminated against but certainly employers who are stuck in the process for as many as six, seven years before there’s a resolution of a human rights act charge,” he said. “We think we need to address the backlog as well.”
Aren’t you getting tired of Chris Kennedy attacking other candidates for governor while refusing to be accountable for his own record?
Chris Kennedy was the real estate developer of a high-rise condo building in downtown Chicago, but he did it in a way to avoid affordable housing requirements designed to let people on fixed incomes have access to new apartments. Kennedy said people who couldn’t afford to live in his building could work in nearby restaurants, and Kennedy hasn’t only hurt our community as a businessman.
When he ran the board of trustees at the University of Illinois, Chris Kennedy voted five times to raise tuition, while at the same time giving million-dollar contracts and raises for coaches and administrators. Kennedy’s votes to raise tuition led African-American enrollment to drop by over 16 percent, depriving many young people of a chance for a better future.
Chris Kennedy. Shouldn’t we judge him by his record?
* Kennedy campaign response…
JB Pritzker is doing everything he can to try and slow Chris Kennedy’s surge among voters. Pritzker’s just-released negative 60-second radio ad squeezes in four misleading points about Kennedy — because you lob whatever lies you can when you’re as desperate as he and his spiraling campaign are right now.
Pritzker has spent $63 million on his campaign, more than $30 million of which has gone to scripted ads, and he still can’t get his facts straight. We’ll clear up his lies for him:
JB Pritzker: Chris Kennedy developed Wolf Point in a way to avoid affordable housing requirements.
Truth: Chris Kennedy did not develop Wolf Point in a way to avoid affordable housing requirement because there weren’t any affordable housing requirements for him to avoid. Dan Biss tried to tell the same lie.The two of them have been fact-checked by PolitiFact Illinois and the Better Government Association. Like Donald Trump, perhaps JB Pritzker doesn’t trust researchers and media outlets.
JB Prtitzker: Chris voted five times to raise tuition at University of Illinois.
Truth: According to U of I, Chris Kennedy’s leadership while Chairman of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees, “fixed tuition increases at or below the rate of inflation and precipitated a downward trend for the rate of tuition increases that continues.”
While the state failed to fully fund its obligation, leaving the University $500 million short of what it was owed from the state, Chris Kennedy’s leadership generated $100 million in new aid for students who couldn’t afford full tuition.
While Chris Kennedy was leading U of I out a governance crisis and a recession, JB Pritzker was caught on FBI tapes asking Rod Blagojevich for political favors and making disrespectful remarks about African-American leaders.
JB Pritzker: Chris gave contracts and raises to coaches and administrators
Truth: Chris never gave an administrator a pay raise. Also, the coaches were paid by corporate sponsors and athletic department revenue; not through student tuition or taxpayer dollars.
Again, while Chris Kennedy was leading U of I out a governance crisis and a recession, JB Pritzker was caught on FBI tapes asking Rod Blagojevich for political favors and making disrespectful remarks about African-American leaders.
JB Pritzker: There was a drop in African-American enrollment at U of I while Chris was board chair.
Truth: There was a drop in African-American enrollment at universities throughout the state at that time, as cited by the Illinois Board of Higher Education. Chris took over on the tail end of the recession. He committed to including diversity and inclusion at every board meeting at U of I. In fact, during his five years as the chairman of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees, the board stripped patronage from the application process to get qualified students from Chicago Public Schools admitted into the university and worked to move minority professors into tenured positions and made progress toward a more inclusive faculty.
And again, while Chris Kennedy was leading U of I out a governance crisis and a recession, JB Pritzker was caught on FBI tapes asking Rod Blagojevich for political favors and making disrespectful remarks about African-American leaders.
Illinois emergency rooms experienced a 66 percent jump in opioid overdose visits last year, according to a new report that suggests the epidemic of heroin and prescription painkiller abuse is worsening in some states.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released state emergency room data Tuesday in a report that encourages hospitals to do more to combat outbreaks and prevent repeat overdoses.
The report found opioid-related emergency room visits rose an average of 35 percent across 16 states between July 2016 and September 2017. The increase was worst in the Midwest and in large metropolitan areas.
In the Midwest, Wisconsin saw a 109 percent jump in suspected opioid overdose visits. Visits rose 35 percent in Indiana, 28 percent in Ohio and 21 percent in Missouri.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration has filed a lawsuit against the nation’s three largest opioid distributors, alleging they unlawfully circulated the addictive narcotics in Chicago.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court late Monday, is against AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp., Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp., which the city said account for about 90 percent of all revenues from prescription drug distribution and dominate the wholesale market in Chicago.
“These companies have a responsibility under state and federal law to exercise due diligence to prevent the illicit distribution of pharmaceuticals and yet they failed to reject or report suspicious orders and placed profits over public health,” Edward Siskel, the city’s top attorney, said in a statement. “We are filing this suit to hold them accountable.”
Profits can be immense – sales of OxyContin last year totaled a reported $1.8 billion, which was down 50 percent from five years ago. The family that owns Purdue Pharma, the privately held company that invented and sells the drug, was deemed the 16th richest in the United States by Forbes magazine in 2015, with most of an estimated $14 billion fortune based on the exploding popularity of a painkiller blamed for the death and addiction of tens of thousands of Americans. In 2007, the company pleaded guilty to criminal charges for misleading the government, physicians and patients about the dangers of OxyContin. The company was fined $600 million. In addition, three company executives entered guilty pleas as individuals and were hit with an additional $34.5 million in fines. Faced with scores of pending lawsuits, Purdue in February announced that it would end marketing campaigns of OxyContin to doctors.
As part of the supply chain, drug distributors also have fallen under scrutiny, and so H.D. Smith and other wholesalers have been hit with lawsuits and government inquiries, including the letter sent by the House Energy and Commerce Committee in January.
Citing data from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the committee wrote that H.D. Smith in 2008 sold more than 1.1 million hydrocodone doses to Family Discount Pharmacy in Mount Gay-Shamrock, a West Virgina town that is home to 1,800 people – it works out to more than 3,000 pills per day. That same year, H.D. Smith sold more than 1.3 million doses of hydrocodone and oxycodone to Sav-Rite Pharmacy in Kermit, West Virginia, a town of 406. According to the congressional letter of inquiry, that’s five times the amount that such a rural pharmacy would be expected to need. The company between 2007 and 2008 also sold nearly 5 million hydrocodone pills to two small pharmacies in Williamson, West Virginia, where slightly more than 3,000 people live, the committee wrote. The committee based part of its concerns on stories in the Gazette-Mail, which has reported that H.D. Smith distributed more than 18 million doses of oxycodone and hydrocodone in West Virginia between 2007 and 2012.
“Data provided to the committee by the Drug Enforcement Administration raises…questions regarding H.D. Smith’s efforts to monitor for, and mitigate, controlled substance diversion in West Virginia,” representatives from both parties wrote in the eight-page letter.
* The tweet below has a typo. Biss doesn’t say this about teachers, he says it about state employees. “As a matter of politics, I can get away with really offending state employees because I don’t represent that many of them.” He said all legislators have lots of teachers in their districts, so that makes for a heavier lift on pension reform…
Video resurfaces from 2013 when @DanielBiss argued it’s okay to go after teachers’ pensions because there aren’t enough of them to hurt him politically. pic.twitter.com/6M208ESxdz
Illinois voters never know which Daniel Biss they’re going to get on any given day. The Daniel Biss who claims to be the middle class governor or the Daniel Biss who tried to rip pensions away from hard-working retirees.
Daniel Biss led pension reform, an effort funded by JB Pritzker. The two of them ignored the state’s legal obligation to fund teacher and state employee pensions, in favor of their own political interests.
Daniel Biss and JB Pritzker cannot operate with the integrity and the independence needed to fix the broken system in Illinois.
Anyway, the ad has reportedly been sent to the stations, so here it is…
…Adding… Script…
Drury: I’m Scott Drury. I’m a Democrat.
[Buzzer sound.]
Announcer: Really? Let’s follow the money. Drury’s taken $395,000 from Republicans and thousands from Trump’s own donors. And what do they get from Drury? He sided with Republicans and Rauner in the budget fight. He voted against working families. And Drury even voted against a tax on millionaires to improve education.
Drury: I’m a Democrat…
[Buzzer sound, Drury’s face x’d out]
Announcer: Drury. He takes Republican money and votes with them. The last thing we need as attorney general.
State Sen. Kwame Raoul released a new TV commercial Tuesday that leaves no doubt as to who he believes is his prime opponent.
“Pat Quinn’s incompetence in illegal hiring gave us Bruce Rauner,” the ad says. “Quinn failed as governor. Why would we want to make him attorney general?”
Quinn said he doesn’t believe he failed as a governor. “I signed six straight budgets and the guy who came after me didn’t do any. I’ve been a lawyer for everyday people, I’m not a corporate guy, I don’t take campaign contributions from utility companies, or banks, or red light camera operators.”
According to Quinn, Raoul has taken donations from all three.
Pat Quinn’s incompetence and illegal hiring gave us Bruce Rauner. Jobs for friends and family, endless investigations, and now Illinois is a broken mess. Quinn failed as Governor.
Why would we make him Attorney General?
Kwame Raoul was called to fill Barack Obama’s seat. Now Kwame’s endorsed by teachers, firefighters, nurses, and the state’s pro-choice group to protect Illinois and serve us. Kwame Raoul – Attorney General
…Adding… Quinn is also running the sound from the TV ad as a radio spot. Click here.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Raoul campaign…
Quote: Pat Quinn’s incompetence and illegal hiring gave us Bruce Rauner
“Audit draft shows more mismanagement in Quinn’s anti-violence program,” Joe Mahr, Ray Long, Chicago Tribune, 4/5/2016.
Republican Bruce Rauner went on to beat Democrat Quinn in 2014 after relentlessly charging that Quinn used the grants as a political slush fund to help win votes in Democratic strongholds. Rauner’s administration declined to comment on the draft audit, citing the confidentiality of the process before an audit is released. But in the administration’s response to auditors, also obtained by the Tribune, the agency’s new leaders blame the Quinn administration for the debacle.
“Jim Dey: Investigation into illegal hiring under Quinn expanded,” Jim Dey, The News-Gazette, 5/4/2017.
Last week, a court-appointed outside monitor released a voluminous report that laid bare all the gory details surrounding five years of illegal patronage hiring at the Illinois Department of Transportation. But that report didn’t close the book on the wide-ranging conspiracy to violate state hiring rules by top officials in former Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration. Indeed, there could be more much forthcoming.
Quote: Jobs for friends and family…
“Watchdog details how top Democrats under ex-Gov. Quinn got state jobs for friends, family,” Monique Garcia, Ray Long, Hal Dardick, Chicago Tribune, 4/25/2017.
A new report issued Monday by a court-appointed watchdog charged with looking into patronage hiring at the Illinois Department of Transportation details how top Democrats clouted relatives and friends into positions under former Gov. Pat Quinn, even as many of those hired had little or no experience. “
Quinn and his administration under yet another FBI investigation!” Kirk Allen, Edgar County Watchdogs, 10/27/2014
Quote: Endless investigations and and now Illinois is a broken mess thanks to Quinn.
“Jim Dey: Investigation into illegal hiring under Quinn expanded,” Jim Dey, The News-Gazette, 5/4/2017.
Last week, a court-appointed outside monitor released a voluminous report that laid bare all the gory details surrounding five years of illegal patronage hiring at the Illinois Department of Transportation. But that report didn’t close the book on the wide-ranging conspiracy to violate state hiring rules by top officials in former Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration. Indeed, there could be more much forthcoming. Why? Federal Magistrate Sidney Schenkier on Monday signed an order directing the court-appointed monitor, Chicago lawyer Noelle Brennan, to conduct a wide-ranging examination of “all positions under the jurisdiction of” Gov. Bruce Rauner’s office and file a “preliminary status report” of her findings by July 31. The question behind all this is: If IDOT became a patronage dumping ground for politically connected job seekers under Quinn, what about the rest of the state’s executive departments and bureaus? “Editorial: Was Pat Quinn running the state of Illinois – or a job fair?” Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 4/28/2017 The OEIG’s 2014 investigation stopped short of blaming the governor’s office for the explosion of exempt “staff assistant” jobs created under Quinn, but Brennan’s report says Quinn staffers were “the driving force.” The report notes that of 154 staff assistants hired from 2009 to 2013, 53 had connections to Quinn’s office and another 56 were sponsored by other elected officials.
“Feds subpoena emails in Quinn anti-violence fund inquiry,” Ray Long & Monique Garcia, Chicago Tribune, 7/4/2014
federal grand jury has issued a subpoena for emails of key players in Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn’s troubled $54.5 million anti-violence program, including the former head of the program and two former ranking members of Quinn’s administration.
“Quinn and his administration under yet another FBI investigation!” Kirk Allen, Edgar County Watchdogs, 10/27/2014
“Watchdog details how top Democrats under ex-Gov. Quinn got state jobs for friends, family,” Monique Garcia, Ray Long, Hal Dardick, Chicago Tribune, 4/25/2017.
Bottom line: Fact’s don’t lie but Pat Quinn and his campaign sure do.
* Democratic Cook County Assessor candidate Fritz Kaegi put another $250K into his own primary race, bringing his self-funding total to just under $1.6 million. Kaegi says he’s a progressive, so the self-funding bit is apparently OK with folks who don’t like rich candidates in other races.
* And The JOBS PAC was just reinvigorated with $300,000 from the Illinois Manufacturers Association and is now making independent expenditures on behalf of two opponents of the Cook County pop tax, commissioners John Fritchey and Richard Boykin.
*** UPDATE 2 *** The Biss campaign just reported $270 in contributions, including $100K from Jonathan Soros, who had earlier agreed to match small donors.
Chris Kennedy, Democratic candidate for governor, called on the state of Illinois to divest from gun and weapon companies today during a news conference outside the James R. Thompson Center.
“Just like a budget is a reflection of an organization’s values, so too is an investment portfolio a reflection of an organization’s morality,” said Kennedy, who was joined by his running mate, Ra Joy. “Investing in gun manufacturers makes the companies more profitable because it drives down their cost of capital making easier for them to make money.
“Our government should not be using one hand to stem the flow of guns into our communities and, at the same time, using the other hand to subsidize the gun businesses by investing in them.”
Kennedy also highlighted the fact that State Sen. Daniel Biss benefits from these pension investments as a member of the Illinois General Assembly.
“Once again, Biss claims this is the moral issue of the day, yet finds a way to flip flop and benefit from being on opposing sides,” Kennedy said. “For Biss, what sets the issue of gun investments apart from earlier issues like pensions is that with the gun issue: there is no separation of time. Biss is on both side simultaneously.
“He speaks about the horrors of guns and benefits from investments in them at the same time.
“Biss has been in Springfield seven years and has done way too little to be a responsible steward of his investments or the investments of the people of the state.”
Sturm, Ruger & Co. and Vista Outdoor are among the gun and weapon companies the companies that the state of Illinois invests in.
* The Question: Your thoughts on this idea?
…Adding… Biss’ campaign calls the premise of the Kennedy press release “absurd” and points to the candidate’s long record on gun control.
They add that Biss called for pension investment divestiture from “dirty energy” companies in January and Kennedy remained silent, perhaps, they suggest, because Kennedy invests in some of those companies.
…Adding… Kennedy campaign…
Chris did divest last year as soon as he learned his index funds included those investments.
As you may have read, in mid-January, the Department of Commerce opted to levy a tariff on Canadian newsprint, which is widely used in the industry. In some cases, that’s adding as much as 10 percent to the cost of newsprint, which is, of course, one of our company’s big expenses.
As if times weren’t tough enough in that industry.
The Chicago Tribune unveiled plans [yesterday] for a sweeping reorganization of its newsroom, aimed at becoming what publisher and editor-in-chief Bruce Dold called “more nimble, more entrepreneurial, more responsive to our readers’ current interests and permanent passions.”
Dold outlined the changes, including the addition of a second managing editor and expansion of the newspaper’s “audience insight team,” in an email to the staff.
“We have to change the way we work and challenge our assumptions about how we create stories and relate to our readers,” Dold wrote. “We must put the audience at the center of what we do. A strategic goal for this newsroom is to produce digital journalism so meaningful, habit-forming and essential that people are willing to buy digital subscriptions.”
* Crain’s media reporter…
Newsroom overhaul @chicagotribune is forcing workers to reapply for jobs in revamped org chart: "This challenge is as great as any generation of Tribune journalists has faced, and we know you are equal to the task."
It appears programming on Chicago’s iconic rock station “The Loop” will come to an end as fast as news broke that the radio station was sold to a Christian broadcaster.
According to a letter to employees from Marv Nyren, vice president of Cumulus-Chicago, WLUP’s programming will end Tuesday, just hours after reports first surfaced on the sale.
According to the Chicago Tribune and a recent filing with the Federal Communications Commission, the Educational Media Foundation has agreed to buy WLUP-97.9 FM from Merlin Media for $21.5 million, planning to covert the legendary station into a “non-commercial educational station.”
Speaker Michael J. Madigan issued the following statement Tuesday:
“Over the past several weeks, I have had meetings with members, staff and lobbyists to discuss issues of sexual harassment. Due to my recent meetings with staff, I felt it necessary to address some of the concerns they raised directly with the members of the House Democratic Caucus. The statement below was delivered to the caucus this afternoon:
“A handout you received during last week’s caucus detailed complaints brought to the chief of staff, directors, supervisors and the ethics officer over the last five years, including sexual harassment complaints made by staff against members. I want to be crystal clear - it is inappropriate for members to make sexual comments or sexual advances to, or engage in sexual relationships with, staff, whether that person is employed directly by you, the Office of the Speaker, or another caucus. This applies to both male and female legislators.
“It is clear from my discussions that staff view you as their superiors or supervisors, and with that you are in positions of power over them. This dynamic is ripe for potential harassment. I expect each of you to treat staff with respect and keep your relationships strictly professional. If I become aware of any complaints against a member by staff, or another member, I will personally get involved to put an end to it.”
*** UPDATE *** Alaina Hampton press release…
“Speaker Madigan now says he is committed to getting ‘personally involved’ in preventing sexual harassment. That may prove to be a step forward–but today, it rings hollow. The Speaker had three months to get ‘personally involved’ in my case, but took no action until he knew the story was about to come out.
“Perhaps my telling my own story publicly, combined with the EEOC’s notification of my right to sue last week, has caused the Speaker to have a revelation about his ethical and moral obligation to those who have been harassed and even assaulted in his own organization. More likely, he’s being driven to action by the threat of losing his grip on power–not by any personal concern for the well being of the women in the House Democratic Caucus or the Democratic Party of Illinois.
“I, and countless other victims and survivors, will be watching the Speaker’s next moves closely. We are hopeful that he will back up his words with meaningful and swift action.”
Dan Caulkins says the Democratic Victory Fund’s recent decision to contribute $55,400 to the campaign fund of Sen. Ira Silverstein (D-Chicago) should be seen as a slap in the face to women everywhere.
“It’s beyond shameful, when you consider that they portray themselves as the party of female voters,” Caulkins told the Chambana Sun. “It sends a terrible message and outweighs any statement claiming to have regard for the victims. It’s like they are trying to buy their way out of this.”
Darren Bailey views the Democratic Victory Fund’s recent move to contribute over $55,000 to the re-election campaign of Sen. Ira Silverstein (D-Chicago) as just another example of just how much Illinois politicians are intent on maintaining the status quo in Springfield.
“I think politics has easily become the biggest industry in the state,” Bailey told the SE Illinois News. “So many people involved now are just there for self-seeking reasons. They’ve entrenched themselves in telling voters whatever they need to keep things moving along.”
Dwight Kay says the State Democratic Victory Fund’s recent decision to provide more than $55,000 in campaign funds to the re-election effort of Sen. Ira Silverstein (D-Chicago) sends a clear and dangerous message to voters.
“That kind of money is not just given out because you like someone,” Kay told the East Central Reporter. “It sends the horrible message that if someone is willing to spend that kind of money on a candidate that’s not putting in that much for themselves, that candidate is essentially bought and paid for.”
Rep. Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton) thinks the “good ol’ boy network” is alive and well in Springfield, as evidenced by the Democratic Victory Fund’s recent decision to contribute more than $55,000 to the re-election campaign of Sen. Ira Silverstein (D-Chicago).
“Democrats are only interested in maintaining power so it is no surprise they are supporting Sen. Silverstein, a longtime incumbent with plenty of name recognition,” Ives told the Prairie State Wire.
“The Democratic Victory Fund would support Silverstein after all the controversy because he has held a position of leadership for a long time, and kept his mouth shut, while he alone took the fall for the wrongdoings in Springfield that could have brought down other legislators, namely Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago),” Rotheimer told the Lake County Gazette on March 1. “Unless the Democrats demand that the $55,400 in campaign funds that Sen. Ira Silverstein received from the State Democratic Victory Fund are returned, the Democratic Party in Illinois consents to a Democratic senator’s unlawful behavior that was found to be in violation of the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act and conduct that is unbecoming to a legislator.”
* Today at the Statehouse…
Denise Rotheimer, a lobbyist-turned-candidate who accused Sen Ira Silverstein of sexually harassing her, says @JeanneIves is the “only champion” for her and “stood with me since the beginning.” Both pushing for HB4840, which would expand access to info from Leg Inspector General pic.twitter.com/lvrq1PkJei
A letter to Chicago Firefighters Union Local 2 members from its president, James Tracy, is sparking backlash from the Northwest Side GOP Club and some union members for Tracy’s endorsement of Democratic State Central Committee candidates Cynthia Santos and John Cullerton.
In his letter to Local 2 members, Tracy encourages members to support Santos and Cullerton in the upcoming Democratic primary, writing “they support the right to choose and will stand with Democrats at the state and federal level to protect funding for Planned Parenthood, stop extreme cuts to women’s health and demand equal pay for women.”
A recent post on the Northwest Side GOP Club Facebook page showing a snapshot of Tracy’s letter to union members is calling out the union president for using his post to take on issues such as Planned Parenthood funding and a “progressive” tax.
“This is insane,” the Northwest Side GOP Club’s Facebook post reads. “So the Local 2 Firefighters Union now takes positions on abortion? They are pro-abortion?”
Illinois residents have picked “The Blues Brothers” as the top movie in state history, making it the first item on a list of Illinois’ top 200 people, places and things.
The list is being compiled as part of Illinois’ bicentennial celebration. Every two weeks, people may cast votes online for their favorites in a new category. By early December voters will have selected 10 favorites in 20 categories.
More than 1,500 people voted on the first category, selecting the movie featuring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd. The next movies selected were “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and “A League of Their Own.”
OK, I’m finally on board with this bicentennial thing.
* To me, “The Blues Brothers” is an art film. The camera’s framing of Elwood as he sits next to his SRO’s window while the L train passes by is one of my favorites in any movie…
For one of the most memorable comedy films of the late 20th century, The Blues Brothers starts grimly enough, with an arresting aerial shot of industrial Chicago, as the smoke from dark satanic chimneys smear the sunset. It’s as if director John Landis is tipping us off that what follows, a film of madcap fun and action rampage, is comic escapism from the bleak modern American life.
To obtain the seven limousines for the wedding party, my father used up his last favor with Mad Pete Trullo.
And…
Jake: You traded the Bluesmobile for this?
Elwood: No, for a microphone.
Jake: A microphone?
[pause]
Jake: Okay I can see that.
* Some of my friends have memorized the entire script…
Four fried chickens and a Coke.
I hate Illinois Nazis!
* Plus the great music and by-then-forgotten African-American stars (who even knew that Cab Calloway was still alive?), a car chase under the L tracks, SWAT teams…
No, sir, Mayor Daley no longer dines here. He’s dead, sir.
Every frame, every song, every sentence of that movie is something I hold dear. Plus it’s about a couple of misfit musicians trying to do a good deed for once. I’ve known people like that most of my adult life…
Jake, you get wise. You get to church.
The film’s back-story was even fascinating. Anyway, I have lots of work to do today and I wish I had more time, so I’ll close with this…
Monday’s hearing was called after the administration released an August 2016 report from Belleville-based consulting engineer BRiC Partnership suggesting steps to mitigate the problem, including replacing the underground water-distribution system and plumbing inside 15 campus buildings where the most susceptible residents live for $8 million.
[Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs Director Erica Jeffries] said in December that plumbing replacement could cost $500 million or more; in January, she told lawmakers about the BRiC report and said it put the price tag at $25 million to $30 million. She has never explained why she used estimates that at a minimum were more than four times higher than the actual number.
BRiC’s 2016 report, which cost $20,000, listed about a dozen ideas for a total of $17 million. The administration paid BRiC another $40,000 to update and expand its 2016 report. That update released last month indicated plumbing replacement for the entire campus would be $11 million; expanded options for the other ideas combined would cost no more than $24 million.
Jeffries explained Monday that the August 2016 delivery of the BRiC report was just two months after the June completion of a $6.5 million water-treatment facility and wanted to test its effectiveness before taking any more actions. But Public Health officials had confirmed two more cases of Legionnaires’ in late July, just days before BRiC’s arrival on campus.
Emphasis added for obvious reasons.
Director Jefferies, you’ll recall, said yesterday that she prefers “to speak with journalists who have journalistic integrity.” Hmm.
…Adding… Pritzker campaign…
At a hearing yesterday, Bruce Rauner’s administration announced that the Legionnaires crisis that has already lasted nearly three years and taken 13 lives will continue for at least another “three to five” years.
After 13 residents died on Rauner’s watch, the failed governor has struggled to deal with the health crisis, desperately resorting to press stunts and cover ups instead of real action to fix the problem. Now, as Rauner feels political pressure for his nearly three years of inaction, his administration is taking a page out of the Trump playbook and attacking the press instead of solving the crisis.
“Bruce Rauner has fatally mismanaged the Quincy Veterans’ home, and now he is attacking the press and covering up information instead of taking real action to fix the problem,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “Our state’s heroes can’t wait three to five years for this failed governor to address a crisis he has let spiral out of control.”
A yearlong study offers rigorous new evidence against using prescription opioids for chronic pain.
In patients with stubborn back aches or hip or knee arthritis, opioids worked no better than over-the-counter drugs or other nonopioids at reducing problems with walking or sleeping. And they provided slightly less pain relief,
Opioids tested included generic Vicodin, oxycodone or fentanyl patches although few patients needed the most potent opioids. Nonopioids included generic Tylenol, ibuprofen and prescription pills for nerve or muscle pain. The study randomly assigned patients to take opioids or other painkillers. That’s the gold standard design for research.
If they don’t work better than less risky drugs, there’s no reason to use opioids given “their really nasty side effects — death and addiction,” said lead author Dr. Erin Krebs, a physician and researcher with the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Health Care System. […]
About 42,000 drug overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2016 involved opioids, including prescription painkillers, heroin and fentanyl. Many people get hooked while taking opioids prescribed for injuries or other short-term pain and move on to cheaper, more accessible illicit drugs like heroin.
Krebs said the strongest evidence from other studies shows that physical therapy, exercise or rehabilitation therapy works best for chronic pain. And she said noted that there are a variety of nonopioid drugs to try if one type doesn’t work.
Would having access to the correspondence of House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, shed light on his handling of sexual harassment allegations by associates?
We don’t know — and it’s designed that way because the documents of Madigan, like all Illinois lawmakers, are exempt from the state Freedom of Information Act.
The legislation, enacted in 1984, is a critical tool to ensure our public bodies are transparent and that, to quote the act, “all persons are entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts and policies of those who represent them as public officials and public employees.”
That sounds good, but the General Assembly has elected to exclude one noteworthy group from disclosure rules — lawmakers themselves. The argument is legislators deal with sensitive constituent issues and share draft legislation that are negotiating documents. (Congress has a similar exemption and cites similar logic.)
That means a citizen can get, say, five years’ worth of internal emails of the local township cemetery board, the calendar of Gov. Bruce Rauner and any other documents related public business, but can’t see any paperwork for our elected citizen legislature.
For Madigan, that also means all correspondence is exempt for his two high-profile positions — as speaker, which he’s held since 1983, and as head of the state Democratic party, his position since 1998.
* It’s certainly true that the GA exempted itself. Here’s the law…
Preliminary drafts, notes, recommendations, memoranda and other records in which opinions are expressed, or policies or actions are formulated, except that a specific record or relevant portion of a record shall not be exempt when the record is publicly cited and identified by the head of the public body. The exemption provided in this paragraph (f) extends to all those records of officers and agencies of the General Assembly that pertain to the preparation of legislative documents. […]
A person whose request to inspect or copy a public record is denied by a public body, except the General Assembly and committees, commissions, and agencies thereof, may file a request for review with the Public Access Counselor established in the Office of the Attorney General not later than 60 days after the date of the final denial.
Reports and records of the obligation, receipt and use of public funds of the State, units of local government and school districts are public records available for inspection by the public according to law.
All officers of the Executive Branch shall keep accounts and shall make such reports as may be required by law. They shall provide the Governor with information relating to their respective offices, either in writing under oath, or otherwise, as the Governor may require.
There is no such language in the Legislature’s article, which is an argument legislators use when they say they were meant to be exempted. The same goes for the judicial article. The courts have also ruled that because the GA didn’t include the judiciary in the FOIA statute, the judicial branch was exempted. So, I highly doubt the folks in black robes will ever open that Pandora’s Box by prying open GA records.
Also, I have no idea how a state government could legally subject a political campaign committee to the FOIA laws.
* Look, I’d love to see the GA covered by FOIA. But unless somebody wants to go out and gather enough petition signatures to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot (and that could work because it may fall under the “Amendments shall be limited to structural and procedural subjects contained in Article IV” language) not much can be done unless GA members voluntarily do it themselves.
Fat chance of that happening.
…Adding… From an attorney…
If you look on the GA website, both the House and Senate have memos with categories of items available under FOIA. What isn’t available is personal correspondence (e.g. letters constituents send to their members). Also, the draft exemption applies to all units of government, not just the GA.
• Quorum calls for meetings of the House and House Committees
• Legislation and motions filed by members of the House, including roll call of voting
• Reports and fiscal notes filed with the Clerk
• Documents filed in House Committee hearings (roll calls, witness slips, notices of
action)
• Transcripts and audio recordings of House floor debate
• Video of House floor debate (2005 to present)
• Audio recordings of House Committee hearings
• Vouchers and documents detailing District Office expenditures
• Vouchers and documents detailing House Operations and Leadership expenditures
• Official Journals of the House
• District Office leases
• Personnel Rules adopted by each member for their District Offices
• Name, title, start date and salary for employees of the House
• Property inventories for House Operations, Leadership, and District Offices
Don’t look for much action from the Illinois Capitol this month. In fact, don’t look for much of anything, lawmakers from both parties said, because the General Assembly is pretty much taking the month of March off.
Both the Illinois House and Senate are scheduled for just four days of sessions this month, and they could cancel some of them.
State Rep. Tom Bennett, R-Gibson City, said Illinois lawmakers haven’t done much all year.
“If you look at the calendar, in January we were here just a few days. In February it was about the same. In March we’re in four days, that’s it for the House,” Bennett said.
State Rep. Will Davis, D-Homewood, said while lawmakers haven’t done much so far, he noted that the real action always comes in late April and May. […]
On key issues – such as property tax reform, pension reform and workers compensation reform – there’s no expectation that lawmakers will do much of anything about them.
“For this year, with the elections, with the primary election, with the general election, no one wants to give the other side a win,” Bennett said. “They just don’t.”
I don’t expect much to happen, either. But, hey, one never knows.
* Along those lines…
After several gun bills were passed in the Illinois House last week, several legislators telling me there's more work to do and there won't be votes this week. Also, a busy schedule ahead of primary means some candidates (Drury, Raoul) won't be present to vote.
Sale or possession of a backpack that has been manufactured or designed to include Kevlar or any other imilar material or metal, fiberglass, plastic, or nylon plates with the intended purpose of stopping not only missile fragmentation from mines, grenades, mortar shells, and artillery fire but also fire from rifles, machine guns, and small arms; or a removable backpack insert made of Kevlar or any other similar material or metal, fiberglass, plastic, or nylon plates with the intended purpose of stopping not only missile fragmentation from mines, grenades, mortar shells, and artillery fire but also fire from rifles, machine guns, and small arms that have been manufactured or designed to be included in a backpack.
Since the [Florida schooil] shooting, bulletproof backpacks have been selling out across the country. With names like BulletBlocker and Guard Dog - parents are snapping them up.
“I guess that’s just the harsh reality of the world we live in today,” said parent Nick Barnett.
* The ad begins with part of this Robert Kennedy quote, who is pictured: “Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total; of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.” The rest…
Chris Kennedy’s father fought for civil rights, equality and fairness. Today, the fight lives on in Chris’ campaign for governor to take on a broken political system. Endorsed by newspapers across the state as authentic and independent. Kennedy will be an anti-establishment governor with a progressive agenda and the vision to reshape Illinois.
The best thing he’s got going for him is his family heritage. Pritzker inherited money, Kennedy inherited his last name. You go with what you have in this business.
* According to the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute’s latest poll, the federal tax reform law isn’t yet helping the Republicans. “Do you support or oppose the tax reform plan passed last December by the Republican Congressional majorities?”…
Well over a majority, 53% of Illinois voters say they opposed the tax cut with 15% strongly opposed and 38% who opposed and 2% who said “neither”. The state is deeply polarized on this issue with 80% of Democrats opposed while 75% of Republicans supported the tax cuts. Independents were in the middle with 36% who supported and 48% who opposed the cuts.
Central city Chicago voters opposed the tax cuts by a margin of 63% who opposed and 28% who supported. Downstate voters were more closely divided over the tax cuts with 40% who supported and 41% who opposed. 33% of suburban Chicago and the collar counties voters supported and 55% opposed the tax cuts.
Illinois voters were asked whether the tax cuts would make them more or less likely to vote for Republican congressional candidates in November. 33% of the respondents said the tax cuts would make them more likely to vote Republican in the fall while 56% said less likely with 6% choosing neither.
85% of Democrats said less likely; 80% of Republicans said more likely while 29% of Independents said more likely and 49% said less likely.
Downstate voters chose more likely over less likely by a margin of 48% to 42%. Chicago voters chose less likely by 70% to 19%. Suburban Chicago and the collar counties voters chose less likely over more likely by a margin of 58% to 31%.
The question of which party “best represents your interest in the U. S. Congress” produced a solid advantage for the Democrats. 43% of the respondents overall chose the Democrats; 28% chose the Republicans while 2% chose the Green Party, 6% the Libertarians, and 12% chose some other party.
40% of downstate chose the Republicans and 31% chose the Democrats while 2% chose the Greens and 7% the Libertarians. In Chicago, 55% favored the Democrats and 15% favored the Republicans. 6% took the Libertarians and 3% the Greens in Chicago. 45% of Chicago suburban and collar counties voters chose the Democrats and 25% the Republicans while 2% chose the Greens and 5% the Libertarians.
Keep in mind that these are registered voters, not likely voters. And more men were polled than women. Both of those things are not at all optimal.
* Methodology…
The margin of error of the entire sample of 1,001 voters is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. […]
Live telephone interviews were conducted by Customer Research International of San Marcos, Texas using the random digit dialing method. The telephone sample was provided to Customer Research International by Scientific Telephone Samples. Potential interviewees were screened based on whether they were registered voters and quotas based on area code and sex (<60% female). The sample obtained 51% male and 49% female respondents. Interviewers asked to speak to the youngest registered voter at home at the time of the call. Cell phone interviews accounted for 60 percent of the sample. A Spanish language version of the questionnaire and a Spanish-speaking interviewer were made available.
Field work was conducted from February 19 through February 25. No auto-dial or “robo” polling is included. Customer Research International reports no Illinois political clients. The survey was paid for with non-tax dollars from the Institute’s endowment fund. The data were not weighted in any way. Crosstabs for the referenced questions will be on the Institute’s polling web site, simonpoll.org.
Generally speaking, do you think things in our country are going in the right direction, or are they off track and heading in the wrong direction?
Right direction 27%
Wrong direction 64%
Don’t know 9%
And what about the direction of the State of Illinois? Generally speaking, are things in Illinois going in the right direction, or are they off track and heading in the wrong direction?
Right direction 9%
Wrong direction 84%
Don’t know 7%
And how are things [in your local area? Are they] going in the right direction, or are they off track and heading in the wrong direction?
Right direction 54%
Wrong direction 37%
Don’t know 10%
* From the Institute…
“Voters have been more negative about the state of Illinois than the rest of the country since the inception of our poll in 2008,” said Charlie Leonard, an Institute visiting professor and one of the designers of the poll. “It is notable that the state ratings are still 20 percentage points more negative than the national ratings and there is an 18% gap between Illinois and the nation on the ‘right direction’ option.”
So, maybe if we legalized it the public might be happier with the way things are going here? Just sayin.
* Back to the press release…
Two-thirds (66%) of Illinois voters said they favored this measure compared to nearly one-third (32% who opposed. Those favoring were 46% who strongly favored and 20% who favored legalization compared to 24% who strongly opposed and 8% who opposed and 3% were unsure.
Downstate voters favored legalization by a 58% to 40% margin; Chicago favored by 77% to 22% and suburban Chicago and the collar counties favored by 66% to 31%. Democrats favored by 78% to 20%; Republicans were evenly divided at 49% favor and 49% opposed and Independents favored by 62% to 36%.
A new Public Policy Polling survey shows political newcomer Marie Newman in a statistical dead heat with longtime Congressman Dan Lipinski. The poll, made available first to POLITICO, showed 43 percent of those surveyed supported Lipinski and 41 percent backed Newman — the two percentage points were within the margin of error. The automated poll of 648 likely Democratic primary voters was taken Feb. 27-28. […]
The numbers reflect a huge jump in Newman’s name recognition since October, when she only logged 18 percent in a Normington Petts poll. Since then, various groups, including NARAL, Planned Parenthood and SEIU have backed Newman, and a superPAC targeting Lipinski has helped drive up her name ID and his negatives. While Lipinski has more money in his account than Newman, over the last few weeks, the Citizens for a Better Illinois political action committee spent nearly $700,000 on ads attacking Lipinski. Newman had the help of veteran Democrats U.S. Reps. Jan Schakowsky and Luis Gutierrez who publicly rejected Lipinski, calling his views opposing abortion rights and votes on immigration too conservative for his district. The AFL-CIO has backed Lipinski and he has the support from dozens of mayors and village presidents in the 3rd Congressional District.
The survey was conducted from February 27-28, 2018. PPP surveyed 648 IL-03 likely Democratic primary voters. The margin of error is +/- 3.9%. This poll was conducted by automated telephone interviews.
* The breakdown of those who participated in the survey are:
o 55% women, 45% men
o 16% Hispanic or Latino, 71% white, 7% African-American, 6% other
o 31% aged 18-45, 46% aged 46-65, 23% older than age 65
During the last Census, the district was 66 percent white, 25 percent Latino and 5 percent African-American. However, that’s probably not how the actual voting breaks down.
United for Progress, Inc., has launched a new television ad, “Don’t Be Fooled,” which highlights Marie Newman’s record of fly-by-night campaign exaggerations, misstatements, poor management, and policies that will hurt Illinois workers.
“A member of Congress can’t deliver progressive change in Washington without character and experience. And Marie Newman unfortunately has neither,” said United For Progress, Inc. Treasurer Bruce Goren. “She claims to fight for workers and yet took a stand against 14,000 airline workers in her own district. She shamelessly lied about her record as a nonprofit leader and business owner. She claims to be a progressive and yet has no record of fighting for progressive change. We ran this ad because voters in the 3rd District deserve to know the truth: Marie Newman would be a disastrous choice for Congress.”
If Marie Newman has her way, subsidized foreign airlines will take away U.S. jobs. But that’s not the only thing fly-by-night with Marie Newman. She says she set up a charity for bullied children. But the IRS has no record of it. The restaurant she ran was cited for over a dozen health code violations. Her experience for public office? Dropping out of the race for Library Board. Don’t be fooled by the flimflam. Send Marie Newman and her out-of-state attack dogs packing.
* This is yet another pre-primary week when one chamber is in session while the other takes a break. It’s the House’s turn to work this week, but after its scheduled adjournment on Thursday it won’t return until April 9th. The Senate is off this week, comes back to town next week and then leaves until April 10th. Watch all the action with ScribbleLive…
