* I have some errands to run that couldn’t be accomplished over the weekend. Judging from the large number of subscriber e-mail bounce-backs this morning and the texts (with photos) I’ve received from southern Florida, Puerto Rico and an undisclosed location on a beach somewhere in the Caribbean, I’m guessing that not a lot of you really care one way or the other.
Here are some stories that could help fuel the thread. Or you could just talk about the Bears. I’ll be back in the early afternoon…
* Downtown jobs keep soaring as mayoral race closes in: Downtown Chicago has added the jobs equivalent of almost three Amazon HQ2s in just eight years, even as growth in other neighborhoods and some suburbs turns negative
* Number of Illinois ‘gun sanctuary’ counties has increased though new gun laws haven’t advanced: The 39 counties that have passed resolutions in one form or another are: Brown, Calhoun, Christian, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Cumberland, Douglas, Edgar, Effingham, Fayette, Ford, Greene, Hamilton, Hardin, Henderson, Henry, Iroquois, Jasper, Jefferson, Lawrence, Livingston, Macon, Madison, Marion, McDonough, Mercer, Monroe, Montgomery, Perry, Pope, Saline, Shelby, Stark, Tazewell, Washington, Wayne, White and Woodford.
* With Pritzker and Madigan on board, Dems push again for pot legalization: While many details are still being hashed out, the plan would legalize the sale and use of cannabis for people over 21 years old and include a six-month period for officials to create rules and issue licenses should it be passed into law.
* Illinois marijuana legalization push gets huge boost with Pritzker win: “To me that is not the way we should deal with problems, to rely upon weed to be the guiding light to fix all the problems we are experiencing in Springfield,” said State Rep. Jim Durkin, House Republican Leader.
Attorneys for Democratic Gov.-elect J.B. Pritzker on Friday called a federal lawsuit alleging racial discrimination in his campaign “long on accusations and short on factual allegations” and asked a judge to dismiss it. […]
The governor-elect’s attorneys made note of the lawsuit’s timing in their request for it be dismissed.
“Plaintiffs filed this suit on the eve of a hotly contested election and provided it to the press before serving it on the campaign,” the attorneys wrote. “Indeed, plaintiffs have still not served the campaign.”
Pritzker’s lawyers argued that the suit included “mischaracterizations, distortions, and outright falsehoods.”
“Everyone has the right to file a lawsuit, but everyone must plead plausible claims for relief. The Complaint is notably full of sweeping legal conclusions, overheated rhetoric, and rank speculation,” lawyers for Pritzker’s campaign wrote in the U.S. District Court filing.
“But what is most notable is what the Complaint does not contain — factual allegations demonstrating that Plaintiffs’ claims for relief are plausible,” the filing says.
The filing calls the accusations “baseless,” saying there are no facts to back up allegations of an adverse employment action because of race; being fired, demoted or paid less because of race; having a race-based hostile work environment; or anyone being subjected to “severe or pervasive harassment because of his or her race.” […]
The filing goes piece by piece in dissecting some of the allegations, while calling them “bald conclusions” and “a hodgepodge of irrelevant or vague statements.”
* Remember the staffer who claimed she’d been placed in a hotel in an “unsafe” part of Peoria? The campaign produced receipts showing they’d tried to accommodate her with other rooms. From the recent campaign filing…
In any event, Ms. Calhoun’s claim appears to be premised on her view that the hotel the Campaign paid for was not in a sufficiently swanky neighborhood.
With regard to Celia Colón, Plaintiffs allege that during a “mandatory cultural sensitivity training on September 12, 2018,” … “[w]hen Celia tried to ask a question, the training director instructed the person with the microphone not to give it to her.” No further details are provided. Plaintiffs do not allege that this had anything to do with Ms. Colón’s race as opposed to, by way of example, that the presentation had already been extended by an hour and it was necessary to move to the next training session.
I had the pleasure of meeting several Democratic women candidates from Lake County during the Illinois State Fair last summer. State Sen. Melinda Bush, D-Grayslake, was showing them around town and brought them to a reception I was attending. We chatted for a while before they went on their merry way.
“Merry” is actually an understatement. Those candidates were positively joyful. They seemed genuinely thrilled to be running for office. Only one had ever run for something before. The rest felt compelled to get involved after the 2016 election.
Sen. Bush brought 10 women with her to Springfield and she said four of them went on to win their respective races. Well, maybe three, but Bush is optimistic that Mary Edly-Allen will wind up defeating appointed Rep. Helene Miller Walsh (R-Mundelein). Edly-Allen is ahead by two votes as I write this, with more to count.
Joyce Mason, the only candidate who’d run for office before and who defeated Rep. Sheri Jesiel by more than 1,000 votes, was also at the event, as were two county board candidates who appear to have won, Jessica Vealitzek and Julie Simpson. The county board flipped from Republican to Democratic control for the first time ever, and those two candidates were crucial to that effort. Two other women candidates who didn’t make the trip to Springfield both won countywide races, Robin O’Connor (clerk) and Holly Kim (treasurer).
Sen. Bush helped found an organization called the Lake County Democratic Independent Women on Oct. 30 of 2017. She said she sent out some e-mails and started a Facebook page.
Women came out of the woodwork after the 2016 election and Bush wanted to help them focus their enthusiasm on actually winning races and then holding on to those seats down the road.
The group has an office and a field director and members meet once a month. A “pink wave” garden party fund-raiser pulled in $15,000, and Bush said people told her at the event that it felt like “coming to a wedding, everyone is so happy.”
When Bush first won her own Senate seat in 2012, her district and both of its attached House districts were held by Republicans. Now, with Rep. Jesiel’s defeat, all three legislators are Democratic.
Things are definitely changing in Lake County, but they didn’t necessarily change on their own. The House Democrats did their part by pumping in tons of money and staff over the months, but Mason was also helped by that independent women’s group. The House Democrats got into the Miller Walsh race late, but Edly-Allen had taken the group’s training and had already been walking precincts for months. “These were areas where we weren’t supposed to win,” Bush said.
Sen. Bush said that while House Speaker Michael Madigan is likely pleased that he has two more Democratic seats, she cautioned that both women are independent Democrats. In other words, they’re not the usual ducklings who will quietly follow orders traditionally given to targeted members.
Bush said she doesn’t just want to help people win elections, “I want to help them be really good representatives.” She said her advice to all candidates is that they shouldn’t be thinking how their voting record in Springfield or on the county board would get them reelected. Hard work back in the district will pay greater dividends. “The harder you work, the luckier you get,” she said. “I want to see people work really hard and do what they think is right.”
Bush should know. I jokingly chided her during her freshman year in office for having such a liberal voting record while representing an area not known for its liberalism. But she won her last election by nine percentage points and is encouraging others to do what she does: Vote your conscience and work your tail off back home. So, even if you wind up losing, you can go out with no policy regrets.
That’s a refreshing attitude in the suburbs, where Democratic candidates are generally cautioned to steer a far more moderate, poll-tested course. But it’s not like the House Democrats need those two seats to retain their hold on Statehouse power. If nothing else, it could be an interesting experiment.
And Bush isn’t finished. She said 13 women have signed up for training in the upcoming municipal elections. “I’d like to see more of these in both parties,” she said of her organization.
To portray an accomplished, savvy woman with 20 years in politics as the Frankenstein monster love child of two men is as sexist as it gets. […]
Every woman in this race will be dogged by such tropes.
Women can’t get anywhere, or do anything, without the men, or so it goes. The men give the orders. The men tell them when to start and where to go.
Yes, Mendoza and all the other women in this race have been supported and aided by men. Men in politics, especially white men, still control the vast majority of power and institutions here and most everywhere else.
To get things done, women leaders must, and should, work with men. And then out-work them.
* A Pritzker transition spokesperson says the governor-elect was in attendance…
Several of the nation’s newly elected governors, including Colorado’s Jared Polis, were gathered over the weekend at The Broadmoor hotel in Colorado Springs at a National Governors Association meeting.
The “Seminar for New Governors” was off-limits to the press and public. […]
The weekend-long gathering was intended to be a “boot camp” to help incoming state chief executives to prepare for their new jobs.
“This is an attempt to give them a little bit more … practical exposure to some of the challenges and opportunities that past governors have dealt with as they’ve taken office,” James Nash, a spokesman for the NGA, told KRCC.
Pritzker attended Friday through Sunday, I’m told.
Our last few governors tended to avoid these sorts of seminars, so I take this as a decent sign.
Tim Mapes, who was ousted as Speaker Mike Madigan’s Chief of Staff earlier this year, has landed a new job in the state capital. […]
NBC 5 has learned Mapes has been hired as a Principal Consultant for On Point Consultants, and he was spotted this week at the State Capitol during the veto session.
While he was removed from his powerful positions tied to Speaker Madigan, political observers note Mapes will now be allowed to use those same connections and resources that he acquired after years of experience to help get things done in Springfield for his clients.
Mapes told NBC 5 he was not commenting on his new position.
* Press release…
In response to reports that Tim Mapes, former chief of staff to House Speaker Michael J. Madigan and executive director of the Democratic Party of Illinois, has returned to work as a consultant in Springfield, Sherri Garrett, the statehouse employee who in June came forward with sexual harassment allegations against Mr. Mapes, issued the following statement on Friday:
“I was alarmed to learn that Mr. Mapes is apparently mounting a comeback in Springfield. Men who have been serially abusive in the workplace should not be able to simply take on a new job–in this case, ‘consulting’–and reenter that same workplace. Now, no longer a government employee, Mr. Mapes has even less accountability than he did before. He answers to no one.
“Unfortunately, Mr. Mapes isn’t the only harasser who has attempted to salvage his career by returning to Springfield as a ‘consultant,’ in some cases making even more money with even less recourse for bad behavior than before. We’re seeing a pattern emerge where these men are, in effect, rewarded for their abuse with lucrative contracts and little oversight. Victims of sexual misconduct everywhere should find this pattern alarming.
“We should all take issue with anyone who, even in this midst of the #MeToo movement, still happily hires known harassers or abusers as ‘consultants’ for their businesses in Springfield.”
Monday, Nov 19, 2018 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
With transportation expenses on the rise, Illinoisans are looking to car sharing to help them earn extra income and save costs on transportation.
Yet, legislation that lawmakers are considering, SB 2641, would deny Illinoisans from an opportunity to make money while their cars sit idle and unfairly double tax car owners.
Car sharing is not the same as car rental, and the two industries cannot be treated the same. With car sharing, car owners can benefit financially while they aren’t using their cars. When regular Illinoisans buy a car, they pay sales tax. Rental car companies don’t because they have a sales tax waiver. But, this bill would force a car owner who has already paid sales tax to pay twice if they want to earn extra money sharing their car.
Legislators should VOTE NO on the SB 2641 override.
Today, Governor-elect JB Pritzker and Lieutenant Governor-elect Juliana Stratton announced the formation and members of the transition’s Committee on Equality, Equity, and Opportunity.
The committee is the fourth of several working groups of the transition made up of subject-matter experts who will advise and guide the incoming Pritzker-Stratton administration. The Committee on Equality, Equity, and Opportunity will be chaired by Access Living President and CEO Marca Bristo, Casa Central interim President and CEO Marty Castro, and Pride Action Tank Executive Director Kim Hunt and consist of 25 members.
“JB and I are committed to building an inclusive administration that’s representative of the state we serve, and our transition team will start by listening to the communities across Illinois who haven’t been heard or who’ve experienced systemic disinvestment,” said Lieutenant Governor-elect Juliana Stratton. “The Committee on Equality, Equity, and Opportunity will tackle civil rights issues in our state and work to ensure Illinois can protect children and families from dangerous policies from the federal government. Illinois is a welcoming state for all, and JB and I are committed to making sure every resident has access to opportunity and the tools they need to thrive.”
COMMITTEE ON EQUALITY, EQUITY, AND OPPORTUNITY MEMBERS
Marca Bristo co-chairs the transition’s Committee on Equality, Equity, and Opportunity and is president and CEO of Access Living, one of the first 10 federally-funded centers for independent living in the United States. As the former president of the National Council on Independent Living, she worked with the broader civil rights community on the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Bristo served as the Presidentially-appointed chairperson of the National Council on Disability from 1994-2002. She is the most recent emeritus President of the United States International Council on Disabilities and is a member of Human Rights Watch Disability Advisory Committee and Obama Foundation Inclusion Council. Bristo serves on the Boards of Rush University Medical Center, Forefront, and the RIC Foundation.
Marty Castro co-chairs the transition’s Committee on Equality, Equity, and Opportunity and is the interim CEO of Casa Central, one of the largest Latino social service agencies in the Midwest, and CEO of Castro Synergies, a social impact consulting firm. Castro was appointed chair of the United States Commission on Civil Rights by President Barack Obama and was the first Latino in U.S. history to hold that post. He also served as Chairperson of the Illinois Human Rights Commission during the Quinn Administration. Castro is active locally and globally on issues of social justice and is on the Board of Directors of the National Museum of Mexican Art, the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance and the Global Diplomacy Lab, and he is a member of the BMW Foundation’s Responsible Leaders Network.
Kim Hunt co-chairs the transition’s Committee on Equality, Equity, and Opportunity and is the executive director of the Pride Action Tank, a project of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, where she also serves as the senior director of Policy and Advocacy Operations. Hunt’s career spans the public, private, and nonprofit sectors with a focus on advocacy, community and organizational development, and leadership. She is the former executive director of Affinity Community Services, a social justice organization that works with and on behalf of Black LGBTQ people and queer youth. Prior to Affinity, she co-founded and served as managing partner of O-H Community Partners, a management and strategy consulting firm. Hunt has been inducted into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame.
Jaquie Algee, Board Member, Women’s March Chicago
Tom Balanoff, President, SEIU Local 1
Lawrence Benito, CEO, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
John Bouman, President, National Sargeant Shriver Center on Poverty Law
Terry Cosgrove, President and CEO, Personal PAC
Ami Ghandi, Director of Voting Rights and Civic Empowerment, Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for
Civil Rights
Teresa Haley, President, Illinois State Conference NAACP
Chris Harris, Senior Pastor, Bright Star Church
Brian Johnson, CEO, Equality Illinois
Andy Kang, Executive Director, Asian Americans Advancing Justice
Theresa Mah, State Representative, Illinois General Assembly
T. Ray McJunkins, Senior Pastor, Union Baptist Church
William McNary, Co-Executive Director, Citizen Action
Ronald E. Powell, President, UFCW Local 881
Jan Schakowsky, Congresswoman, U.S. House of Representatives
Rebecca Shi, Executive Director, Illinois Business Immigration Coalition
Rabbi Michael Siegel, Senior Rabbi, Anshe Emet Synagogue
K. Sujata, President and CEO, Chicago Foundation for Women
* I’m not yet sure what’s going to happen next week as far as the blog goes. I will probably post on Monday and Tuesday. We’ll see.
Politics is one of the only businesses where you can work harder than you’ve ever worked and totally dedicate yourself to the task at hand every single day and still come up short. This song is for the folks who busted their humps and didn’t win last week…
The past is gone
It went by, like dusk to dawn
Isn’t that the way
Everybody’s got the dues in life to pay
I know nobody knows
Where it comes and where it goes
I know it’s everybody’s sin
You got to lose to know how to win
Friday, Nov 16, 2018 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Credit unions exist to help people, not make a profit. It is this motto of ‘People Helping People’ that sets credit unions apart. Credit unions exist as member owned, not-for- profit financial institutions that have a strong sense of community. Credit union staff collaborate with civic and local organizations and volunteer their time and talents to give back to their communities. In 2017, credit union staff across Illinois volunteered over *16,500 hours (*CU Social Good). If you are not yet a credit union member, go to ASmarterChoice.org to discover all the advantages that membership holds. Help to strengthen our communities from the inside out by becoming a credit union member today!
We tried to fill as many of the races as we could. In many counties, where there were all Republicans on the county board, now they’ve got a couple of Democrats because we ran people.
I asked the Pritzker campaign for a list of those types of winners. They didn’t have one, but said they were working on building one.
* So, I turned to the Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association, which handled the Blue Wave effort for Pritzker in Downstate counties. I was told it would take at least another week before they could pull together a full list…
There are obviously places where our successes mirror the successes of higher-level Democrats. In the west suburban regions, of course, we had strong victories.
In other areas, Champaign and Lake Counties for example, the results included significant takeovers of offices by the Democrats.
Obviously though, there are wide regions where Democrats continued to struggle, as they have for many election cycles.
The Pritzker campaign effort was instrumental in helping to boost a County Democratic Party presence all over the state - especially in areas where visibility and activity has needed support. Through the Pritzker campaign and allies, such as organized labor, many downstate county parties were able to push against Republicans. For example, the Pritzker support ensured that many counties had the first legitimate and organized GOTV effort in decades. It was critical.
So, 2018 was largely a benchmark and a testing ground for the IDCCA and our partners. You already understand all the dynamics the further south you get - a very unpopular GOP Governor, a President with a solid, vocal following, and all the other factors combined.
We’re still trying determine all the lessons we should learn. What we’re excited about is knowing that Governor-elect Pritzker and his team also want to learn from the campaign so he can govern to improve life for every Illinoisan, regardless of where they live.
* OK, but what about Pritzker’s contention to the NYT that the Democrats were able to pick up a seat or two on some previously all-GOP county boards?
I mean, that’s all close to what he said, but it’s not what he said. And “many” counties? Hmm.
If they ever do manage to find a way to show Pritzker wasn’t just pulling stuff out of thin air, I’ll let you know.
* Related…
* Bernie: Zahorik seeks to continue building blue wave: The new president of the Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association, hopes to extend her party’s gains, evidenced in the Nov. 6 election, to more parts of the state
A proposed bill that could give McHenry County residents the power to abolish townships with a majority vote at the polls cleared another hurdle this week in Springfield to make it to the Senate floor.
After a second reading Tuesday, House Bill 4637 passed the Senate Executive Committee, 11-6. Now in the hands of sponsor state Sen. Terry Link, D-Vernon Hills, the bill has advanced to the floor.
House co-sponsor state Rep. David McSweeney, R-Barrington Hills, said Link could call the bill on the floor for a vote as early as the week after Thanksgiving.
“I feel very good about where things stand,” McSweeney said. “And I think we’re going to pass it.”
The controversial effort to make it easier for private companies to take over public water systems, which Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into law about three months ago, was thrown into doubt on Thursday.
It came down to a missed deadline.
In August, Rauner signed an amendment extending a 2013 law that allows private companies such as Illinois American Water and Aqua Illinois to buy water utilities and spread the costs across their existing ratepayers. The amendment to the Illinois Water Systems Viability Act removed a limit on the size of water systems that private companies can buy and extended the act for another 10 years.
But the original act’s expiration date was June 1 of this year, two months before Rauner signed the amendment. That missed deadline led supporters back to the floor of the statehouse on Thursday to change the date of the law’s expiration to Aug. 9.
When several legislators critical of the law and the amendments spoke against both, the bill was pulled.
Counties would have more flexibility with sales tax dollars meant for public safety under a bill that has been sent to the Illinois House.
In counties were voters had previously approved tax hikes to fund public safety, the bill would give local officials the ability to use that revenue for other purposes, including to address mental health and substance abuse issues.
An Illinois teen won’t face felony eavesdropping charges for recording a talk with a school principal after prosecutors decided to drop the matter Thursday after the case got national attention.
Kankakee County State’s Attorney Jim Rowe dismissed the charges against 14-year-old Paul Boron. When Boron was 13, he was called into Manteno Middle School Principal David Conrad’s office. Boron told Conrad that he had been recording with his phone. The principal told Boron that he was committing a felony and ended the meeting. Two months later, Boron was charged with eavesdropping, which is a Class 4 felony in Illinois. […]
Illinois is what’s known as a two-party consent state, meaning that recording someone without permission in even a semi-private area is a Class 4 felony. The key term in the law is a “reasonable expectation of privacy.” Recording a phone call, for instance, would likely be a felony. […]
“The school district made the right decision by dismissing its charges against Paul. Paul spent a summer no 13 year old should have had to endure, with a felony hanging over his head simply because he recorded a conversation with his principals,” said Austin Berg, director of content strategy for the institute. “Supporters from around the nation rallied around Paul to share their concerns over how extreme the charge was. We’re grateful to those who jumped in to support Paul’s great legal defense and helped him get this happy ending.”
After hearing of the charges, advocates for the state’s existing consent rules said officials should not have weaponized the law in this case.
“To criminalize this young man and make a felon out of him is something we can unequivocally say is the wrong thing to do,” ACLU of Illinois attorney Ben Ruddell said.
Kankakee County’ State’s Attorney Jim Rowe said the law in its current state needs to be modified.
“I hope Springfield addresses this statute, as well as passing an updated cyberbullying statute,” he said. “Law enforcement needs clarity as they are tasked with making decisions on the front lines; it is easy to second guess prosecutors and police, but all state laws come from Springfield and they need to clean this one up.”
True, but in the meantime, state’s attorneys (and school districts) can try to use a little common sense. That obviously didn’t happen in this case until much damage was already done.
Mayoral candidate Bill Daley wants to create a Cabinet-level crime-fighting post and invest $50 million per year to staff a new City Hall department dedicated to reducing violence, he said Thursday. […]
A new deputy mayor for violence prevention who reports to the mayor is needed in order to put Chicago’s crime epidemic on the front burner, Daley said. “I want a deputy mayor every day in my face talking about what’s getting done to address this,” he said.
Create a redundant bureaucracy and fill it with bureaucrats. Brilliant!
* Instead of dumping money into a press-pop, maybe he should use it for this sort of stuff…
• [Daley] will work with local funders to raise additional money each year to scale promising diversion programs like Chicago CRED and Heartland Alliance’s READI program that put at-risk youth on a path to legitimate work through training and intensive counseling.
• Get ahead of the consent decree by requiring 40 hours of annual training for all police officers starting in 2019 in areas such as the use of force, de-escalation tactics, implicit bias, and understanding reasonable suspicion. […]
• Allocate additional funds to fully staff gang units with talented officers skilled in gathering intelligence. […]
• De-politicize and make transparent the promotion process within the Police Department, providing regular opportunities for good officers to build new skills and move into leadership positions.
But the only mental health approach is for police, not the community at large.
* This isn’t really “new” news because he said it during the campaign on several occasions…
Billionaire Gov.-elect J.B. Pritzker — who pumped a record $171.5 million of his personal fortune into his winning campaign for Illinois governor — will forgo his state salary, his staff said.
Considering state government’s annual spending is nearly $38.5 billion, the $177,412 annual salary Illinois pays its governor is a drop in the bucket. But the Hyatt hotel heir takes office next year facing steep financial challenges — the state’s sitting on at least $7.5 billion in unpaid bills — and refusing a salary sends a message to lawmakers and voters as he starts addressing them. […]
To forgo their salary, governors just fill out paperwork through the state comptroller’s office, which is in charge of the state’s checkbook.
“That’s the way it works with Gov. Rauner, he just doesn’t get a check,” said Jamey Dunn, a spokeswoman for the comptroller’s office.
* The Question: What other symbolic gestures should the incoming governor make? And since it’s Friday, I’ve decided that snark should be strongly encouraged.
Friday, Nov 16, 2018 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Members of the Senate did the right thing by voting to override Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of SB2641.
Under this bill, car rental platforms would no longer be allowed to skirt safety regulations designed to keep unsafe vehicles off the road. Legislators on both sides of the aisle should be applauded for being proactive in preventing tragedy.
They also deserve praise for recognizing the unfair nature of letting car rental platforms operate tax free, even though the vehicles they profit from contribute to both airport and neighborhood parking congestion as well as roadway wear and tear. This bill will help ensure public roads, bridges and airports are maintained safely, while guaranteeing fair competition and protections for all consumers.
Friday, Nov 16, 2018 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Illinois consumers can choose from several different natural gas plans from more than 30 competitors. When shopping for the best plan, it’s important to understand the plan options. Below are 5 of the most common types.
1. Fixed Price: Most popular option. Locks in unchanging price per unit for contract duration, usually from 3 months to 2 years.
2. Capped Price: Similar to a fixed price but allows for a price reduction if the market price of natural gas drops.
3. Monthly Variable Price: The price per unit changes each month based on the market price and the supplier’s plan details.
4. Seasonal Price: Provides a fixed price for the winter with a variable price in the summer.
5. Flat Bill: Provides a fixed total cost each month regardless of usage, and typically set for a year.
Once you know the basic types of plans, you look at other variables such as contract length. More than 36,000 Illinois residents have found their natural gas solution from Direct Energy, a natural gas and electric retail energy company.
* We talked a bit yesterday about Governor-elect Pritzker’s new health-related transition committee. Stephanie Goldberg at Crain’s interviewed one of the co-chairs, Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago). Steans chairs the Senate Appropriations 1 Committee and has been very active on this issue…
Another focus area for the committee is the social service sector, particularly mental health and substance use treatment, which Steans says has been “decimated” over the last several years.
“We have been underinvesting in those (areas) and really need to determine how we can get people access to those services when they need them,” she said.
That’s very true. But it’s going to cost real money to heal these programs after years of neglect and deliberate undermining. It’s all part of the “hollowing out” of government that goes back to the Rod Blagojevich days. RRB always wanted to create new programs, but he wouldn’t ever propose a realistic revenue source. So, what was in place was often disregarded and allowed to whither and/or die on the vine. And then Rauner came along and all heck broke loose.
Governors generally win plaudits for coming up with new ideas. For once, I’d like to see a governor sort out what works and what doesn’t and fully fund what works and de-fund or fix what doesn’t.
Rauner’s HealthChoice Illinois, the state’s overhauled Medicaid managed care program, is another initiative the industry is watching closely. The program, in which private insurers administer Medicaid benefits, has received mixed reviews since it launched in January, with detractors citing proposed rate cuts to medical suppliers and insurers not providing adequate access for members in certain areas.
“There are ways to improve (the program) without undermining the care coordination work that’s been done,” Steans said. It’s about “moving away from trying to control costs to saying, we need to get people the right care at the right time in the right setting. That way, you can provide much more preventive (services) and make sure you’re holding accountable the (Medicaid managed care organizations) and the providers for quality outcomes . . . which, long-term, does reduce costs.”
Sen. Steans is right that preventive care does save money in the long-term. But it costs more in the short-term.
* Back in 1998, Sen. Chris Lauzen (R-Aurora) ran for comptroller. He won the primary, but lost the general to Dan Hynes. His Republican primary opponent ran a radio ad claiming Lauzen wasn’t a certified CPA, and after the election was over he attempted to have his named changed to “Christopher J. Lauzen, CPA.” He didn’t succeed.
Lauzen chose to run for reelection in 2002 rather than run for comptroller again. He ran for Congress and lost and then ran successfully for Kane County Board Chairman, where he is today.
* But should Comptroller Susana Mendoza win her Chicago mayor’s race, Gov. Pritzker would appoint her replacement and a special election would be held in 2020. So, Lauzen has apparently decided to plan ahead. He filed this paperwork earlier in the week…
* It’s not “illegal” to delete somebody’s Facebook comment, particularly the two highlighted here. What a weird thing to say…
Commenters on state Rep.-elect Anne Stava-Murray‘s Facebook page have for weeks been disparaging House Speaker Mike Madigan. That’s no surprise given Democrat Stava-Murray campaigned saying she wouldn’t vote to re-elect Madigan as speaker. But some of the social-media rhetoric has gone over the top, including inciting violence. Of Madigan, one commenter wrote, “Can’t we just drag him out into the street and beat him within an inch of his life…” Another said “Throw the b*st*rd out through a window about six floors up maybe he will get the hint it’s time to go.”
Stava-Murray told POLITICO she doesn’t delete comments because “it’s illegal to do so” if they’re from constituents. She didn’t push back to condemn the comments either because she said she didn’t see them. Stava-Murray, who is manager of the Facebook page, said she only looks at the comments at the top of the feed when she logs on. It wasn’t until after talking to POLITICO that she responded to the “beat him” comment, writing, “Let’s try to keep it peaceful. Not trying to invite violence here, just phone calls to reps.”
That may be enough to calm concerns by anyone who saw the posts that Stava-Murray takes her social-media messaging seriously.
The newly elected Rep has been calling lawmakers and encouraging them to vote against Madigan as speaker. Stava-Murray says it’s what her constituents want. She sending a message that a change in leadership is necessary given complaints last year about sexual harassment on Capitol Hill.
