The Will County Health Department has confirmed an outbreak of mumps, a contagious disease caused by a virus, on Lewis University’s Romeoville campus. According to university, one case has been confirmed and seven more probable cases have been reported among students. As a result of the outbreak, starting Dec. 10, all students, faculty and staff who cannot provide evidence of immunity are barred from the campus by Illinois Health Department mandate.
Lewis announced the outbreak on Tuesday and canceled several events scheduled on campus.
News of Lewis’ mumps outbreak comes as health officials nationwide are confirming the resurgence of measles in 27 states, including Illinois. […]
“The best defense from the mumps is MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccination, which is available at many healthcare facilities, including major pharmacies, clinics, doctor’s offices, immediate care facilities or local health departments,” Lewis said in a press release.
Measles, a childhood disease that was all but wiped out by 2000 due to widespread vaccination, is making a comeback worldwide, including in Illinois. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this week that 220 cases of measles have been confirmed in 26 states and the District of Columbia. […]
The CDC said the rise in measles in the United States can be traced to outbreaks in countries to which Americans often travel — including England, France, Germany, India, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Also, the agency said, measles is spreading in the United States in communities with unvaccinated people. For example: In 2017, 75 people were sickened in a Somali-American community in Minneapolis with poor vaccination coverage. A multi-state measles outbreak in 2015 — 147 cases — was tracked to an amusement park in California and further back to a large measles outbreak in the Philippines in 2014. Unvaccinated Amish communities in Ohio were disproportionately sickened in a 2014 outbreak associated with the outbreak traced to the Philippines.
Measles can be prevented with vaccination. A 1978 goal by the CDC to eliminate measles from the country by 1982 fell short, widespread vaccination programs caused the agency to declare measles eliminated in the United States by 2000.
The Illinois Board of Higher Education has approved a fiscal year 2020 budget that would include $314 million new dollars, or a 16.6 percent increase in funding, for higher education operations in Illinois. “This next fiscal year is beyond critical for the future of higher education in our state,” said Tom Cross, chairman, IBHE. “The board believes that a $2.208 billion budget request will mean reinvestment in higher education, and a commitment to ending the pattern of outmigration of Illinois students.” The board action was taken Tues, Dec. 4.
“For the public universities, we feel that a ten percent increase, or $110 million in additional revenue, is reasonable and will allow those institutions to start to heal after 16 years of budgets below the benchmark of fiscal year 2002,” explained Cross. “Universities still haven’t come close to recovering from the worst blow, which was the stopgap budget of fiscal 2016.” The chart above shows the appropriations for higher education as adjusted for unfunded mandates and inflation.
In the budget request, IBHE is asking for additional money for grant programs. IBHE Executive Director Dr. Al Bowman said, “If Illinois wants more of its high school graduates to attend Illinois colleges and universities, an important incentive is the availability of grants. This budget request will go a long way toward keeping more students here.”
The new or increased grant lines include:
• Monetary Award Program (MAP) $100 million
• AIM HIGH $20 million
• Veterans and National Guard $26 million
• Assistance for Nonpublic Institutions $25 million
“It’s important to note that even with a 16.6 percent increase, next year’s budget would still be lower than the $2.417 billion amount approved by lawmakers for fiscal year 2002,” said Cross.
Bowman told the board that there is a clear connection between tuition increases and the woefully inadequate budgets for higher education. “Revenues for public universities used to come primarily from the state budget, at 72 percent of the total in fiscal 2002. That meant that only 28 percent came from tuition and fees. That ratio has flipped, so that students are largely responsible for almost 65 percent of university revenue.”
* The 2018 Golden Horseshoe Award for best political bar goes to JP Kelly’s…
I recall at one point early in Rauner’s term there were two bottles of Jameson, from Rauner and Cullerton. That’s the kind of crowd it is during session: mixed, but not in a contentious way. As long as you don’t start filming. That’s another good reason it’s my nominee: it produced one of the stranger campaign stories.
* The 2018 Golden Horseshoe Award for best political restaurant goes to Augie’s Front Burner…
If you want to eat and talk I pick Augie’s. Great food, nice atmosphere, and a “How YOU doin’” or two.
* The 2018 Golden Horseshoe Award for best Statehouse-area bartender goes to Dennis at the Sangamo Club…
Might be one of the only bartenders in town that knows your name, drink and when you need another. Takes great care of those that have bizness to do.
* The 2018 Golden Horseshoe Award for best Statehouse-area wait staffer is Tony at the Sangamo Club…
He is retiring at the end of December after 35 years. He knows his customers and always brings me an iced tea when I sit down. Super friendly and all around wonderful person. If all wait staff modeled themselves on Tony they would be successful. Tony! Tony! Tony! I’ll miss him.
Congratulations to everyone.
* OK, let’s move along to today’s categories…
* Best House Secretary/Admin. Assistant/District Office Director
* Best Senate Secretary/Admin. Assistant/District Office Director
I’ve added district office director this year just to see if we get any nominations.
Please explain your nominations. Try to nominate in both categories if you can, but I will understand if you only or mostly deal with just one chamber. Thanks.
Jason Barickman is confident recreational marijuana use will be legal in Illinois in two years — but a lot of details remain undecided.
“It’s rather inevitable that Illinois will (act to) legalize cannabis next year,” said Barickman, a Republican state senator from Bloomington, “and I think it’s incredibly important that, if that be the case, we sit at the table and make sure it’s done in an appropriate way.”
Barickman hopes to let local areas opt out of legalizing marijuana; allow employers to impose zero-tolerance policies for use; direct some sales proceeds to law enforcement; and use revoking driver’s licenses as a deterrent for underage violators under a recreational marijuana law if passed.
The way that local opt-out part is written isn’t what’s actually being discussed, from what I’m told. Local communities will be allowed to opt out of siting dispensaries and grow centers. But if they don’t want those facilities in their areas they won’t qualify for any grants that will come out of legalization. Private use and possession will be legalized throughout the state. You just might have to travel to another town to purchase the products. That’s basically the same route the state took immediately after Prohibition. Those “blue laws” have faded over time.
It’s still somewhat up in the air, but regulated public use ought to be allowed, in my opinion. It should be treated more like alcohol. If you ban it in all public accommodations, people will smoke it in the street and then we’ll have another law enforcement problem. Plus, allowing regulated use in some public accommodations will create more business opportunities and, therefore, more jobs. We need more of both in this state, so let’s not get too nannyish over this.
According to the Illinois State Board of Education, in 2017 state funding comprised 24.4 percent of school funding, with 7.5 percent coming from the federal government, and the majority – 68.1 percent – coming from local sources.
There were 4,635,541 ballots cast this year with a registration of 8,099,372 for a statewide turnout of 57.23%. Turnout was up everywhere but it was highest in Chicago. pic.twitter.com/FcBC87Vjry
Pretty impressive across the board for an off-year election.
* The Republicans have a very real problem in the collars and 2020 isn’t going to be any better for them…
In the last two cycles we've had 8 statewide races. In the combined total of the 5 traditional collar counties (DuPage, Lake, Kane, McHenry & Will) the Democratic statewide candidate finished with more votes than the Republican statewide candidate in 7 of them. pic.twitter.com/qJExKnYKvj
Also, not to belabor the point, but GOP SoS candidate Jason Helland not only got smoked in the collars, he also lost his home county of Grundy, even though he’s the local state’s attorney. And as a commenter pointed out yesterday, he was the only statewide Republican candidate to lose Grundy. Gov. Rauner, Erika Harold, Darlene Senger and Jim Dodge all carried the county. President Trump won Grundy by 23 points two years ago.
The final vote totals for the Nov. 6 midterm elections released Monday by the Illinois State Board of Elections show that Democrats won 61 percent of the votes cast in U.S. House races in the state, yet they won 72 percent of the seats — 13 out of 18, instead of the 11 out of 18 that would have almost exactly reflected the Democrats’ share of the vote. […]
All 118 seats in the Illinois House of Representatives were up for election this year (as they are every two years) and Democrats won 62 percent of those seats with 59.8 percent of the overall popular vote. […]
In the Wisconsin midterm elections, Republicans won just 46 percent of the overall popular vote for the U.S. House, but 63 percent of the seats — 5 out of 8. The weekly Isthmus newspaper based in Madison reports that Democrats won 54 percent of the popular vote for Wisconsin State Assembly but, due to the Republican-friendly map, only 36 percent of the seats.
In the Ohio midterm elections, Republicans won 52 percent of the overall popular vote for the U.S. House, but 75 percent of the seats — 12 out of 16. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that Republicans won 50 percent of the popular vote in state House elections, but 63 percent of the seats.
In the North Carolina midterm elections, Republicans won 50 percent of the overall popular vote for the U.S. House, but 77 percent of the seats — 10 out of 13 — though one apparent Republican victory has yet to be certified due to allegations of fraud. The Washington Post reports that North Carolina Democrats won 51 percent of the popular vote in state House elections, but just 45 percent of the seats.
Keep in mind that the Republicans hold two Illinois congressional seats which were originally drawn for Democrats (Mike Bost and Rodney Davis) and the Democrats picked up two this year in districts that were packed with Republican voters to keep them away from Democratic districts (Peter Roskam and Randy Hultgren).
Zorn’s conclusion is that Gov.-elect Pritzker should abandon his pledge to veto any map that isn’t a “fair” map until the federal government takes some action. I suppose I wouldn’t argue too strenuously about congressional maps because of the national situation, but state legislative maps need to be a lot more fairly drawn.
Cook County commissioners voted to appoint former colleague Edward Moody to serve as the recorder of deeds for the next two years before the office is folded into the county clerk’s operation in what’s been billed as a cost-saving measure.
Moody is a longtime political operative for Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan. The dissolution of the recorder’s office was spurred by a November 2016 referendum in which voters opted to merge the office with the clerk’s by the end of 2020. Karen Yarbrough was sworn in as clerk Monday after running to succeed David Orr, and Moody was appointed Tuesday to fill her vacancy.
With Moody as the new recorder and Yarbrough as the new clerk, Madigan allies are now in charge of streamlining the two offices and eliminating highly paid but duplicative administrative jobs. Yarbrough once served in the House under Madigan’s leadership and is currently vice chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party that Madigan leads.
The Moody brothers, Ed and Fred, are two of Madigan’s best captains. They could talk a dog out of a meat truck.
It didn’t take long for former Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios’ sister and one of his close friends to land new government jobs, though they did have to take a major pay cut.
Carmen Berrios and Victoria LaCalamita started work Monday with the Illinois secretary of state. That office is led by Jesse White, who cut a campaign radio ad for Berrios, the former chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party and an unabashed defender of old-school patronage politics.
The secretary of state’s office, which has around 3,700 jobs, has long been known as a patronage haven under both Democrats and Republicans. The two women will each make $37,992 a year as public service supervisors in the Vehicle Services Department, said Dave Druker, White’s spokesman.
Druker said the two were hired to fill open positions after going through an application process and were “graded based on experience and training.”
Both were making six figures at the assessor’s office, so it wasn’t all great.
Ed Burke has not yet officially landed on the feds’ “naughty” list, but Santa Claus himself joined over a thousand others bearing gifts Tuesday to support Chicago’s most powerful alderman despite the cloud of a federal investigation.
The St. Nick lookalike rode past the Sheraton Grand atop a firetruck bearing a sign declaring “I’m for Ald. Ed Burke,” as the Friends of Edward M. Burke showed themselves to be friends indeed.
They turned out in mass for Burke’s annual holiday fundraiser supporting one of his political committees, just five days after federal investigators raided the alderman’s City Hall and 14th Ward offices.
Hundreds arrived at the ritzy hotel more than a half hour early to wait in a long receiving line to demonstrate their support for Burke, who already has more than $12 million in the three campaign funds he controls.
* A little video…
Here it is: The "I'm For Ald. Ed Burke" Christmas fire truck with "Run Rudolph Run" blasting & Santa Claus waving, which drove past his annual holiday fundraiser tonight at the Sheraton.
* And, finally, if you click here you’ll see a Chicago Teachers’ Union notice that its executive board is recommending 13th Ward Alderman Marty Quinn for a formal endorsement by the union’s House of Delegates, which meets today. That’s Speaker Madigan’s ward and that’s the alderman whose brother is alleged to have sexually harassed a campaign worker in Madigan’s office. Ald. Quinn is known as “The General” in Madiganland.
The CTU’s executive committee is also recommending the endorsement of Toni Preckwinkle for mayor. Preckwinkle, as you know, chairs the Cook County Democratic Party.
* Secretary of State Jesse White won reelection this year by a margin of 1,784,128 votes. Yes, you read that right. White scored 3,120,207 votes to Republican Jason Helland’s 1,336,079 and Libertarian Steve Dutner’s 114,556. That was good enough for a 68-29-2.5 win for White.
Whew.
The only county Helland won with at least 10,000 votes on his side of the table was Adams County, in western Illinois. Otherwise, they were all smalls…
It looks like Wayne County may have been Helland’s best. The Republican scored 68 percent in the southern Illinois county. But, again, that’s a small county and Helland only came out of it with a 2,200-vote margin over White.
By contrast, White received a whopping 82.1 percent of the vote in Cook County (including Chicago) and emerged with a 1,176,491-vote margin over Helland.
Bryce Anderson, chief agriculture meteorologist for DTN, said influences from two different oceans came together to create the storm system.
“This latest event that we had featured a real strong surge of spring-type moisture and warmth out of the Gulf of Mexico,” he told the RFD Radio Network®.
An upper-air pattern led to energy coming out of the Pacific Ocean, which helped bring in moisture, warmth and, ultimately, 22 reported tornadoes throughout central Illinois on Saturday.
“The reason why we had the circumstances we had was because we had this kind of unseasonable round of warmth and the moisture flow with the seasonal chill that led to this kind of severe weather outbreaks,” Anderson said. […]
“There’s just been a lot of volatility, obviously, in our late-fall and early-winter trends,” Anderson said.
* Yikes!…
Falling ice outside Chicago’s Willis Tower smashed this rear windshield on Franklin, just east of the Tower. pic.twitter.com/VAGeDTxtkk
For several days after one of Chicago’s worst November snowstorms, downtown workers were on the lookout for melting snow and ice falling from buildings across the area, with what seemed like more ice than usual falling from skyscrapers and offices. […]
David Kristovich, a scientist with the Illinois State Water Survey at U of I’s Prairie Research Institute, said the Chicago area experienced a bit of a warm-up on Nov. 29 after several days of post-snowstorm coldness, low clouds and periods of precipitation. He said temperatures briefly rose above the melting point.
“The abundant moisture in the air and temperatures near and below freezing may have allowed ice to form and remain on the sides of buildings,” Kristovich said.
The temperatures recorded at O’Hare International Airport were a high of 25 degrees and a low of 19 degrees on Nov. 27, compared with a high of 38 degrees and a low of 27 degrees on Nov. 29, according to the Midwestern Regional Climate Center.
Teachers for the Acero charter schools network began picketing Tuesday morning, canceling classes for thousands of students, and marking a historic event that charter founders believed they’d never have to face: the nation’s first-ever strike by charter school educators.
Picket lines shut down 15 government-funded campuses operated by the privately-managed Acero, which used to be known as the UNO Charter School Network. Acero teachers were bolstered by support from the Chicago Teachers Union and national labor leader Randi Weingarten.
“We’re going to stay on strike until we get educational justice for the people who work in Acero charter schools,” Jesse Sharkey, president of the Chicago Teachers Union, said during a press conference ahead of the early-morning picket line. “Our teachers are here to do the right thing by their students.”
In all, some 550 teachers and paraprofessionals aren’t showing up for classes at one of the largest charter networks in Chicago, forcing Acero’s management to close its doors to the 7,500 students enrolled.
Bargaining ended without a deal shortly after midnight, CTU said in a statement, with teachers and paraprofessionals saying management has “failed to move” on isses including class sizes, special education staff, resources and more.
The union wants a contract that supports a higher wage for paraprofessionals, with CTU leaders saying they make about $13,000 less per year than the union’s members at Chicago Public Schools.
The teachers also want additional resources for their classrooms and students, claiming that the school network spent $1 million less in staff salary costs for program services than in 2017, wants to keep class sizes at 32 students, and won’t provide educators with more lesson planning time, among other issues.
Acero schools CEO Richard Rodriguez posted a Youtube video after the bargaining was over expressing his disappointment in the decision.
“The sad fact is that interests from outside our community are using our students and our schools as a means to advance their national anti-charter school platform,” Rodriguez said. “They don’t want our schools to succeed because it doesn’t serve their agenda.”
In a statement, Helena Stangle, chief external affairs officer of Acero, told Chalkbeat that the company would do its best to avoid a strike: “We have worked in earnest to reach an agreement that provides a reasonable and competitive compensation package to our teachers and staff, while maintaining the best possible educational outcomes for our students.”
The Illinois Network of Charter Schools released a statement saying that it was “disappointed with the breakdown of contract negotiations, prompting charter public school teachers who are unionized to strike.” It also said that the organization has “always honored the contribution of charter teachers, who work daily to create safe and productive learning environments for all students,” but it went on to attack the Chicago Teachers Union for failing to partner with the charter community.
Acero officials have argued that any proposal to reduce classroom size will take away educational opportunities from students.
In the final stages of negotiations, union leaders said they received financial documents detailing Acero revenue increases in 2018. That revenue, union leaders say, should go into classrooms instead of higher salaries for top school administrators.
Acero officials have said the increase in funding is the result of a change in Illinois law that modified the formula used to calculate charter schools funding. Those funds, Acero officials say, have been going toward hiring and costs for facilities. The funds were also going to the proposed new contract with the union, Acero said.
Management has been denying resources from its schools, and ended 2018 spending $1 million LESS in staff salary costs for program services than in 2017, according to an audit that management provided Friday morning—months after educators first began asking for it. As of June 2018, ACERO had $24 million in unrestricted cash in its accounts, plus a separate reserve of $4 million in cash as part of its requirements to its bond holders.
Yet they remain unwilling to provide a penny more in compensation to paraprofessionals, their lowest wage workers. Management has also refused to move on a host of other critical issues that would improve the quality of education for students and reduce staff turnover rates, which are currently averaging over 30% in a two-year cycle. […]
Overall, ACERO’s cash position increased by $10.6 million in just one fiscal year—yet they have said that they cannot give paraprofessionals ANY wage increase—even an increase that allows their wages to keep pace with inflation. Management also tendered a salary ‘increase’ for teachers so paltry that CTU members describe it as laughable. That move, say bargaining team members, was designed to pit teachers against paraprofessionals—a strategy educators reject.
* Toni Preckwinkle…
As a former schoolteacher, I know how important it is for educators to have access to the resources necessary to give all children a bright future and the best possible education. Today, I stand in support of the more than 500 Chicago Teachers Union members on their historic strike at UNO/Acero schools in Chicago.
In my campaign for Mayor, ensuring students from every community has the resources to succeed is one of my core values. I will ensure the voices of all educators are heard and work towards ending the bad practices of the charter school industry. I support these educators in their fight for fair wages, smaller class sizes and the inclusion of sanctuary school language in their contracts.
After years of growth, Chicago’s charter school movement is facing growing turbulence.
Illinois’ new governor has pledged to hold off on charter expansion, citing “challenges” the independently operated campuses have brought to the education ecosystem.
Chicago’s pro-charter mayor is stepping down, raising the prospect of a new direction for the city’s enormous school district. The Chicago Board of Education is expected to deny three new charter applications and close two low-performing schools this week.
Now hundreds of educators at the city’s Acero charter school network walked off the job Tuesday, halting classes for 7,500 predominantly Latino students and launching the nation’s first strike over a contract at the publicly funded schools.
The charter school strike offers a vivid illustration of how growing union influence and new political leadership might signal big changes for how charter schools operate in Chicago.
The action is the latest mass teacher protest in a year when educators have closed ranks in places where organized labor has historically been weak — first in six conservative or swing states where teachers walked out of classrooms, and now in the charter school sector, where unionization is sparse.
All of the picket lines have formed out of a dispute over public dollars — whether education funding is adequate, and what percentage of the money should go toward educator pay and classroom resources versus other costs.
* Yesterday’s voting was very light, so please click here and register your choices because I don’t have quite enough responses to declare a winner. Those two particular categories (bartender and wait staff) have been dropping off over the past couple years, so maybe this will be the last year if we don’t see more voting.
Our next category…
* Best political bar in Springfield
* Best political restaurant in Springfield
Please nominate in both categories if you can and don’t forget to explain your vote. This is more about intensity than raw numbers. Thanks!
* The Illinois State Board of Elections has posted the election’s final totals online. Click here. And click here to see the races by county if you so desire.
McCann didn’t make it to the coveted 5 percent threshold, but the Conservative Party will be an established political party in a whole lot of counties and likely in a bunch of legislative districts.
Today, Governor-elect JB Pritzker and Lieutenant Governor-elect Juliana Stratton announced the formation and members of the transition’s Restoring Illinois’ Infrastructure Committee.
The committee is the tenth of several working groups of the transition made up of subject-matter experts who will advise and guide the incoming Pritzker-Stratton administration. The Restoring Illinois’ Infrastructure Committee will be chaired by Congresswoman Cheri Bustos, Congressman Dan Lipinski, Congressman-elect Jesús “Chuy” Garcia, state Sen. Martin A. Sandoval, and state Rep. Jay Hoffman and consists of 45 members.
“Illinois’ role as a transportation hub for the nation is a critical component of our economy,” said Governor-elect JB Pritzker. “My administration will prioritize a comprehensive 21st Century Capital Bill to build the infrastructure we need to restore Illinois’ place as an economic leader.”
“The Restoring Illinois’ Infrastructure Committee will focus on the surface, rail, water, broadband and community infrastructure improvements that will benefit every corner of the state,” said Lieutenant Governor-elect Juliana Stratton. “It is time to capitalize on the boundless potential of our state and move forward.”
“We may be in the 21st Century, but some parts of Illinois still don’t have access to broadband internet that businesses and entrepreneurs need to succeed,” said Congresswoman Cheri Bustos. “This committee will make sure the incoming administration can start building up our high-speed broadband infrastructure and make access throughout the entire state a priority.”
“Roads and bridges across Illinois are in desperate need of attention, and this committee will take a serious look at how to leverage federal dollars to repair our crumbling infrastructure,” said Congressman Dan Lipinski. “As Illinois’ senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I know investments in our roads, public transit, and airports pay dividends, and I’m ready to get to work.”
“Transportation is critically important to the country and to industry, and that’s why I campaigned on securing more federal funding for public transit,” said Congressman-elect Jesús “Chuy” Garcia. “Rebuilding our infrastructure, especially investing in public transit projects, is essential for urban economic development and to ensure minorities have access to jobs and services.”
“As the chair of the Senate Special Committee on Supplier Diversity, I work to ensure public and private sector institutions offer opportunities for business and job growth for minority-, women- and Veteran-owned businesses, and I’ll do the same on this transition committee,” said state Sen. Martin A. Sandoval. “This work will build on the incoming administration’s commitment to building a state government that is representative of the people of Illinois, and I can’t wait to get started.”
“Illinois hasn’t passed a comprehensive capital bill in almost a decade, so it’s time we looked at investing in horizontal and vertical infrastructure improvements that will help our state thrive,” said state Rep. Jay Hoffman. “I’m excited to get to work on this committee to start identifying the infrastructure needs of communities across Illinois and crafting a bipartisan plan to rebuild our state.”
RESTORING ILLINOIS’ INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Congresswoman Cheri Bustos co-chairs the transition’s Restoring Illinois’ Infrastructure Committee and represents Illinois’ 17th district in the U.S. House of Representatives. Bustos serves as a co-chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee and was just elected to head the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. She also serves as a Senior Whip in the Democratic Caucus and on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Bustos helped lead The Broadband Connections for Rural Opportunities Act, which seeks to close the digital divide by awarding grants for rural broadband projects. She also worked with members of both parties to pass the first long-term highway bill in more than a decade.
Congressman Dan Lipinski co-chairs the transition’s Restoring Illinois’ Infrastructure Committee and represents Illinois’ 3rd district in the U.S. House of Representatives. Lipinski is the most senior member from Illinois on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, serving on three subcommittees: Aviation; Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials; and Highways and Transit. During his first term, he secured $100 million in federal funding to initiate the CREATE rail modernization program, a public-private partnership that is easing congestion on the road and rails in northeastern Illinois. Over the past few years, he has authored important provisions in critical bills covering all aspects of transportation, including the long-term federal funding bill to fix our roads and bridges, the Water Resources Reform and Development Act, and the most recent FAA reauthorization.
Congressman-elect Jesús “Chuy” Garcia co-chairs the transition’s Restoring Illinois’ Infrastructure Committee and will represent Illinois’ 4th district in the U.S. House of Representatives. Garcia campaigned on securing more federal funding for public transit. He previously served as Commissioner for the 7th District on the Cook County Board, a legislative body that allocates the county’s $3.5 billion budget. He was named floor leader by Board President Toni Preckwinkle and helped enact legislation that protects low income families, Veterans, and people with disabilities.
State Senator Martin A. Sandoval co-chairs the transition’s Restoring Illinois’ Infrastructure Committee and represents Illinois’ 11th Senate district in the Illinois General Assembly. Since 2009, Sandoval has served as chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, where he has brought federal transportation dollars to Illinois, and a first-in-the-nation bipartisan Special Committee on Supplier Diversity. He has worked to leverage federal stimulus funds to repair bridges and roads and is working to expand public transportation systems such as Amtrak. Sandoval has also focused on developing high speed rail and bring much-needed infrastructure improvements to areas around the state.
State Representative Jay Hoffman co-chairs the transition’s Restoring Illinois’ Infrastructure Committee and represents Illinois’ 113th House district in the Illinois General Assembly. He serves as an assistant majority leader in the House and as the chair of the Labor and Commerce Committee. Hoffman worked on Illinois’ previous infrastructure bill and has fought for capital construction projects, bringing back much needed state funding to build new roads, schools and the new McKinley and Mississippi River Bridges in the past. Hoffman is a former prosecutor, law enforcement official, state legislator, small businessman and public policy advocate.
Ralph Affrunti, President, Chicago Building Trades
Jimmy Akintonde, President and CEO, UJAMAA Construction
Luis Arroyo, State Representative, Illinois General Assembly
MarySue Barrett, President, Metropolitan Planning Council
Dave Bender, President and CEO, American Council of Engineering Companies
Tom Benigno, Chief of Staff, Office of Secretary of State Jesse White
Hardik Bhatt, Leader of Digital Government, Amazon Web Services
Tom Carper, Board Chair, Amtrak
Dorval Carter, President, Chicago Transit Authority
Leslie Darling, Executive Director, Chicago Infrastructure Trust
* Daniel Cain and Patrick Murphy were two of the FBI agents who arrrested Rod Blagojevich ten years ago this coming Saturday. Their Chicago Magazine article about that arrest is an absolute must-read. Excerpts…
That afternoon, we went over the plan step by step. We would arrest the governor — whom we had code-named Elvis because of his fascination with the King — and Harris early in the morning at their homes, then dispatch agents to conduct interviews with 10 other people who we determined would be key to the investigation. Other agents would conduct searches of Blagojevich’s campaign office on the North Side and Deputy Governor Bob Greenlee’s office at the Thompson Center downtown. Surveillance teams had photographed the homes of Blagojevich and Harris so that we could get a sense of their layouts. We also had agents drive by to get a firsthand look. Members of the interview teams had reviewed witnesses’ files and gone over what questions to ask. We knew preparation was key to this operation going down without a hitch.
A tech-savvy agent provided the arrest and interview teams with audio clips of some of the “greatest hits” of conversations captured on the wiretaps. These were put on agents’ smartphones. Our hope was that those being approached would cooperate once they heard what we had. These included Robert Blagojevich, the governor’s brother; Tom Balanoff, head of the local Service Employees International Union; Deputy Governor Greenlee; Blagojevich’s friend and adviser Doug Scofield; and road construction executive Gerald Krozel. […]
At 4 a.m., we met Rob, the special agent in charge, in the basement parking lot of the Chicago office. We all got into Rob’s car and headed to a downtown hotel. There, waiting outside for us, was Chuck Brueggemann, a trusted high-ranking member of the Illinois State Police, the agency in charge of the governor’s security detail. The officers assigned to protect Blagojevich had no idea what was about to happen. Chuck had already been briefed and would serve as our liaison with them. This was critical. The last thing we needed was a standoff with the governor’s security detail in front of his house. […]
The governor picked out a blue Nike jogging suit, white socks, and running shoes to wear. As we prepared to leave, he turned and asked: “How does my hair look?”
“You look fine,” we told him, astonished by the question. It was as if he were preparing for a press conference.
A giant Christmas tree, nativity scene and menorah have been fixtures in the rotunda at holiday time for years. More recently, the Statehouse has become host to a few less conventional displays.
A pole commemorating the holiday Festivus, invented by the character Frank Costanza in a 1997 episode of “Seinfeld,” now is part of the display. Considering that the main activity of Festivus is the “airing of grievances,” perhaps it’s appropriate that this made-for-TV holiday is recognized in the seat of Illinois government. If you’re not familiar with the Festivus tradition, here’s all you need to know:
Also among the decorations is a placard from the Freedom From Religion Society. It’s not exactly in keeping with the spirit of the season. It “celebrates” the winter solstice by informing onlookers that, “Religion is but a myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.”
And why are all these displays allowed? Another placard explains that the First Amendment requires the state to allow “temporary, public displays in the state capitol so long as these displays are not paid for by taxpayer dollars.”
* The Festivus pole wasn’t around when I was there during the veto session. But we do have something new…
A display from The Satanic Temple-Chicago has been placed in the Statehouse rotunda, joining the Nativity scene to mark the Christmas season and the Menorah to mark Hanukkah.
According to the Satanic group’s application to the secretary of state’s office to allow the display, the sculpture is called “Knowledge is the Greatest Gift,” and it depicts the forearm of a young woman extended, with her hand holding an apple.
The whole structure, including the base, is about 4 1/2 feet tall, and the arm and apple statue is about 18 inches long. […]
According to the group’s application, it is “a non-theistic organization, the mission of which is to encourage benevolence and empathy among all people, reject tyrannical authority, advocate practical common sense and justice, and be directed by the human conscience to undertake noble pursuits guided by the individual will.”
Of the more than 8,000 bills set to expire at the close of the 100th General Assembly, more than half will die in House Speaker Michael Madigan’s Rules Committee.
The 100th General Assembly has two more days of lame-duck session in 2019 before the next class is seated. In the past two years, lawmakers in the House and Senate filed more than 9,300 bills. They passed nearly 1,300 bills.
Of the 9,300 bills filed, nearly 5,400 are set to expire in the Rules Committee. Madigan is expected to continue in as House Speaker next year. The position affords him broad powers to control which bills advance, who votes on them and when they are called for a vote.
Outgoing Republican state Rep. Jeanne Ives, R-Wheaton, said lawmakers passed many bills but failed to address “the big stuff that needs to be accomplished in the state of Illinois.”
* Reality check…
~2,300 of these were filed as shell bills, the overwhelming majority of which never had substantive language attached.
Whether *that* is good process is another question but the raw numbers don't tell you much. https://t.co/YuNsl6DzQ1
And a whole lot of those shell bills were filed by Speaker Madigan himself. Click here for that list and click here for the list of all bills that are now in Rules.
* Politico interviewed Kwame Raoul’s campaign manager Joe Duffy, who is now on Raoul’s transition team…
RAOUL’s COMPELLING STORY. “His family has lived the American dream,” Duffy said of Raoul’s immigrant parents building a life on the South Side. Fast forward to Raoul being named to the state Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama when he was elected to the U.S. Senate. “We focused on that story whenever we could. It resonated with voters.”
THE ERIKA FACTOR. Facing Republican Erika Harold in the general election proved a greater-than-expected challenge. She join the race with little name recognition but also offered a compelling story—entering a beauty pageant to use the cash award to pay for her Harvard Law School education. She’s a poised speaker and tough debater.
THE JUICE. For every $10,000 plugged in to Raoul’s race by J.B. Pritzker or billionaire Neil Bluhm, Harold got her own infusion of cash from Gov. Bruce Rauner and billionaire Ken Griffin. In the end, Raoul more than doubled Harold in fundraising. Raoul took in $13 million to Harold’s $5.5 million. Republicans say a better funded GOP campaign could have swung the race Harold’s way. Maybe.
MEDIA MATTERS. Buzz grew in the media and in some political circles that this was the race to watch—in part because of the successful messaging from Republicans who saw the seat within reach. Or maybe it was just more interesting than the governor’s race. Harold also found a perfect talking point: that electing Raoul would create an all-Democrat leadership in Springfield.
RESOURCES. Unlike the hundreds employed for Pritzker’s statewide race, Raoul had three staffers in the primary and six in the general election. “People were saying this is closer than it is. Or that Kwame is in trouble,” said Duffy, who continued to rely on inside polling that showed otherwise. “We had a plan and stuck to it. We blocked out the noise.”
The inaccurate “buzz” probably helped him and the rest of the Democratic ticket by motivating voters. In the end, Raoul narrowly out-polled Pritzker, although Harold out-performed Rauner (keep in mind, those are preliminary results, before mail-in and provisional ballots were fully counted).
Also, while Harold is a good debater, she failed at provoking any sort of anger from Raoul. The big question about him was always whether he’d become angry during a debate and she poked and prodded him at every one, to no avail. If anything, she came off looking more angry than he did.
Hundreds of Chicago murder cases from as far back as 2014 have DNA evidence from the crime scene: it just hasn’t been processed yet by Illinois’ Forensic Science Lab. State senators met in Chicago on Monday to find out why.
An investigative report from a Chicago TV station revealed about 750 DNA samples had been sent to the state crime lab, but were never touched. That’s led to delays in solving murder cases from as far back as 2014.
Carmia Tang of Chicago is with The Sisterhood, a gun violence advocacy group. She told the Senate Public Health committee about her son Jeremy, who was murdered in September 2017. More than a year later, the DNA in his case is still sitting in a crime lab.
“Just to know that my child wasn’t even worth processing his DNA is an insult to me as a taxpayer,” she fumed.
Representatives from the Illinois State Police, which runs the crime lab, say staff shortages and changes in how DNA samples from sexual assault cases are processed is to blame. They say Illinois’ nearly three year budget impasse also played a small role; a few private vendors that help process DNA samples no longer do business with the state. Still, gun violence advocacy groups have called that answer “unacceptable.”
Lt. Colonel Sean Cormiere, with the Division of Forensic Sciences, said the problem started in 2010, when a new law was passed that requires quicker processing of DNA for sexual assault cases.
So, the problem isn’t the backlog, the problem is the law requiring quicker processing. Right. Stick with that.
Crime lab officials said it could take up to five years to reduce the current backlog of over 13,000 cases. […]
State police told Senator Patricia Van Pelt that the latest crime lab numbers statewide show an overall backlog of 13,390. Those are cases which have been at the lab for over 30 days. Three-thousand-six-hundred and ninety-one of those are waiting for DNA analysis. The others include drugs or weapons analysis.
Last Fall, when FOX 32’s Mike Flannery raised questions about the backlog, state police downplayed the problem. On Monday, they admitted that budget and hiring issues have helped create the backlog.
“We did have a period of time with the budget impasse that made it a little more challenging to get things done. Vendors did shut off. We found ways around it. We had to work very closely with vendors. Did we have any vendors that did shut us off? Yes,” said Col. Sean Cormier.
After answering questions from the committee for more than an hour, Cormier said he wanted to make it clear that the State Police was not trying to pass the buck.
“This is not an effort to make an excuse for where we are right now,” he said. “We are absolutely not happy with the backlog and turnaround time.”
This problem is not new. It goes back many years. It’s part of the hollowing out of Illinois government and, like every other fiscal problem, was exacerbated by the impasse.
Last month, Carmia Tang said her son Jeremy’s case has still not been processed. He was murdered in September 2017 and she said that the “The DNA may give justice.”
On Monday, she echoed those concerns to state leaders.
“It started about Jeremey and I wanted to fight for Jeremy but it’s so much bigger than that now. It’s about everybody,” Tang testified.
Reginice McBride lost her son, 36-year-old Ronald James, last year. The father of five was shot in the head during a robbery near the United Center while he was in his car.
“They told me they have the DNA from a mask a young man wore,” McBride said through tears. “I want justice for my child. I want justice for my grandchildren.”
During his campaign for governor, J.B. Pritzker said Illinois' minimum wage should be raised to $15 an hour. On Monday he stopped short of saying just how much wages should increase, @alexarriaga__ reports. https://t.co/tuVZqm6kMz
Reporter: How about a higher minimum wage? When do you see that happening? First five months?
Pritzker: That’s very important to me. I think it’s probably something, since it passed in the last legislature, it’s probably something we’ll be able to get done in the first six months in office.
Reporter: And to $15 an hour?
Pritzker: Yeah. We’re going to work with all of the - again, we’ve got the various constituents and stakeholders that are at the table, the Illinois Retail Merchants, the entrepreneurs, and the labor unions, all at the table - and we’re trying to make sure we implement a raise in the minimum wage while also making sure there are small businesses who are not ill-effected by it and that large businesses are implementing it in as rapid fashion as we can make happen
As I told subscribers earlier today, I confirmed with the Pritzker transition team that the governor-elect still supports a $15 an hour minimum wage. I was also told to expect that the increase up to $15 will not be all at once.
Just weeks after spewing insults at each other during a divisive election, Gov. Bruce Rauner and Gov.-elect J.B. Pritzker thanked each other and voiced optimism for Illinois Monday evening during what was dubbed a “joint appearance” at the state’s bicentennial celebration in Chicago.
While both were in attendance, Pritzker and Rauner did not appear on stage together during the Navy Pier show. And both left before the event concluded.
The event celebrating Illinois’ 200th birthday marked the first time both appeared at the same event since the contentious election nearly four weeks ago.
Rauner spokeswoman Patty Schuh said both attended a veterans and VIP reception prior to the event. They chatted during the meeting with veterans, she said.
Democratic Gov.-elect J.B. Pritzker on Monday thanked Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner for his service and tried to sound an optimistic tone at Illinois’ 200th birthday party.
“On this occasion, I want to express all of our deep gratitude to Gov. Bruce Rauner, to Lt. Gov. (Evelyn) Sanguinetti and first lady Diana Rauner. Thank you,” Pritzker said.
“We should all celebrate the 200 years of progress that we’ve made,” Pritzker said. “But I want to say how important it is for us to look forward in this state. Our best days are yet to come in Illinois.” […]
On Monday night, Rauner acknowledged Pritzker from the birthday celebration’s stage and said it’s been a humbling honor to be governor.
“Never will we give up trying to serve the people and make our system work for all of us so our children and our grandchildren can have a better future,” he said.
