Potential Measles Exposure at Chicago Midway Airport and Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital
On February 22, 2019, an Illinois resident with a now confirmed diagnosis of measles was on a flight that arrived in Concourse B at Chicago Midway Airport. The passenger was unvaccinated and infectious on that day. IDPH, along with local health departments, is investigating this isolated case.
People may have been exposed to measles if they were at Midway Airport on February 22, 2019 between 9 pm and midnight. This individual also sought treatment in the emergency department at Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital on February 24, 2019. People who were in the emergency department between 11:45 am and 2:15 pm also may have been exposed, as well as individuals who were in Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital from 4:00-6:15 pm on February 24, 2019 and from 10:00 am - 1:00 pm on February 25, 2019. These are the only known public locations in Illinois where exposures occurred.
Most people are vaccinated routinely in childhood and are not at high risk. Of most concern are people who have not been vaccinated. Individuals who think they have been exposed should check with their health care provider about protection through prior vaccination or the need for vaccination.
If infected, you could develop symptoms as late as March 20, 2019. Symptoms of measles include rash, high fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes. If you develop symptoms of measles, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) recommends you call or email a health care provider BEFORE going to a medical office or emergency department. Special arrangements can be made for your evaluation while also protecting other patients and medical staff from possible infection. Local health departments are working to notify Illinois residents who were identified as being potentially exposed on the affected person’s flights.
“Measles is highly contagious. However, two doses of measles vaccine are about 97 percent effective in preventing measles,” reminds IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “We urge everyone to make sure they and their family members are up-to-date on measles/mumps/rubella (MMR) vaccine and all other age-appropriate immunizations, especially if you are traveling to other countries where measles is regularly found. Getting vaccinated not only protects you, it protects others around you who are too young to get the vaccine or cannot receive it for medical reasons.”
Measles can cause serious complications such as pneumonia and encephalitis (swelling of the brain). Measles is easily spread through the air when someone coughs or sneezes. People can also get sick when they come in contact with mucus or saliva from an infected person.
This most recent case is not related to the four cases reported in Champaign County earlier this month. This unvaccinated individual traveled overseas to countries where measles is regularly found.
Turning the page to a new era of transparency and accountability, Governor JB Pritzker signed SB 1298 and appointed a new board of highly talented and experienced professionals to lead the Illinois Toll Highway Authority into the future.
“It is a new day for the Illinois Tollway,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Our new leadership will uphold the highest ethical standards, deliver the value to taxpayers and serve Illinoisans in every corner of our state. I’m proud to usher in a new wave of transparency and accountability at this critical agency.”
Will Evans will serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Illinois Toll Highway Authority.* Evans has nearly 40 years of experience in strategic planning, operations, engineering, construction, large infrastructure projects and major IT system implementations and has been in senior leadership for over 20 years. He is the former President of Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas, regulated natural gas utilities now owned by WEC Energy Group. Since retirement from Peoples Gas, Evans has been an energy and engineering consultant, serves as president of the Northwestern University Black Alumni Association and chairs the Chicago Commons board of directors and Skokie Board of Fire and Police Commissioners. He received his Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Northwestern University.
Jim Connolly will serve on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Toll Highway Authority.* Connolly has been a proud member of the Laborers’ International Union of North America (“LiUNA”) for over 48 years. He currently serves as the business manager of the Chicago & Vicinity Laborers’ District Council and has held that position since he was first elected in March 2000. Connolly proudly serves and fights to improve the lives of the 20,000 men and women who comprise the membership of the District Council’s 15 affiliated LiUNA Locals. He has worked with all levels of government, including serving on an advisory panel charged with overseeing the potential privatization of Midway International Airport. Connolly strives to bring Labor and Management together to promote the industries represented by the members of the Laborers’ District Council and the signatory contractors who employ them.
Stephen L. Davis will serve on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Toll Highway Authority.* Davis is the Founder and Chairman of The Will Group, a firm overseeing several construction, manufacturing, technology, lighting, and energy industry companies. Since 2010, The Will Group has been recognized by Black Enterprise Magazine as one of the country’s Top 100 Black businesses. Davis has a passion for economic development and has been an active member of Chicago’s business community for several decades. He currently serves as the Commissioner of Aviation (Board Chair) of the DuPage Airport Authority and on the boards of the Trust Company of Illinois, PMI Energy Solutions, and Inland Real Estate Trust, specifically on Inland’s Audit and Compensation committees. He is also a member of the Business Leadership Council’s executive committee and the Chicago Regional Growth Corporation’s board of directors. Davis is the founder of the Tuskegee Next Foundation, whose goal is to graduate 100 pilots from at-risk communities. As of August 2018, the program has successfully graduated 33 cadets and 27 licensed pilots. Stephen and his wife Tanya have raised 8 children. Davis received his bachelor’s degree in Transportation and Materials from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.
Alice Gallagher will serve on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Toll Highway Authority.* Gallagher has served as president of the Village of Western Springs since May 2017 after serving four years as a village trustee. Since becoming village president, she has served on the West Central Municipal Conference, as director of the executive committee, co-chair of the transportation committee and chair of the central council. Gallagher is an attorney by trade and served on the Western Springs School District 101 Board of Education. She received her Juris Doctor from the Seattle University School of Law and Bachelor of Arts from Miami University.
Karen McConnaughay will serve on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Toll Highway Authority.* McConnaughay served two terms as state senator of the 33rd District, where she was the Republican Minority Whip and the minority spokesperson for the Senate Transportation Committee. She also served on the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Executive Board and International Relations Task Force. Prior to her election to the state senate, McConnaughay served as the County Board Chairman of Kane County from 2004 to 2012 where she achieved remarkable fiscal success by lowering spending and reducing the size of government while bolstering accountability, efficiency and transparency, resulting in significant bond rating increases. Under her leadership, Kane County invested in major expansion and upgrades of county bridge and road systems, public transportation, 911 public safety and criminal justice facilities.
Scott Paddock will serve on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Toll Highway Authority.* Paddock has more than 20 years of industry experience in sales, marketing and general management. Since 2011, he has served as the president of the Chicagoland Speedway and Route 66 Raceway, the largest sports facility in the state of Illinois. In that role, he revamped their organizational structure, authoring strategic plan and cultural transformation to reposition enterprise for long-term success and year round relevance in the Chicago sports and entertainment landscape. Prior to joining Chicagoland Speedway, Paddock spent 12 years in marketing leadership positions at PepsiCo, including serving as the Director of Sports Marketing for Gatorade. He also currently serves on the board of the Illinois Special Olympics, Silver Cross Health Systems, Will County Center for Economic Development and Chicago Sports Commission. He received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Notre Dame.
Gary Perinar will serve on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Toll Highway Authority.* Perinar currently serves as executive secretary-treasurer for the over 30,000 members of the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters. Perinar is a third-generation business representative of the union and a 40-year member of Carpenters Local 174 where he served his apprenticeship. At age 32, he became a full-time business representative and later an assistant to the president/EST. Perinar was twice elected as the second vice president of the Regional Council and has served under four ESTs. He has also served as a delegate for 25 years and held the position of trustee on various committees and boards including health and welfare and pension funds during this period. Perinar was the 2018 recipient of the esteemed George Meany Award which is a National Recognition by the Boy Scouts of America Pathway to Adventure Council. The award is presented to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the youth of the community.
Cesar Santoy will serve on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Toll Highway Authority.* Santoy is the principal of Studio ARQ, LLC and ARQ Design Build, Inc., architecture and construction firms that serve public and private sector clients as well as individual home and business owners. He has over 20 years of progressively responsible experience in architectural design, construction management and civic engagement. Santoy also serves as 5th Ward Alderman for the City of Berwyn and is active in a variety of professional and community organizations. He received his Bachelor of Architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology and is a registered Architect in several states.
Jim Sweeney will serve on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Toll Highway Authority.* Sweeney is the president-business manager of International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150. He joined the union in 1978 and worked for contractors on sewer, slag, paving and deep tunnel projects. Since Sweeney joined Local 150 in 1987, the union’s membership doubled from less than 10,000 to more than 23,000. He has been president-business manager since 2008 and steered Local 150 through the recession while maintaining wage and benefit levels and implementing temporary healthcare subsidies and the Local 150 Food Bank to offer assistance to members in need. Sweeney served on the tollway board under Gov. Quinn from 2011 to 2015 where he advocated for the efficient modernization of the nation’s most advanced network of toll roads.
All appointments are pending confirmation by the Illinois Senate.
Chairman Evans and Davis are African-Americans. But except for Santoy, the rest are Anglos. Also, two women, seven men.
Normally, I wouldn’t do a count like that, and I don’t have a problem with any of these members, but the governor is the one who made such a big deal about diversity. Also too, Local 150 wins again.
The incoming directors include three union officials in construction trades, two civic leaders, business executives and people with expertise in engineering and architecture.
Thursday was the deadline for Pritzker to act on a bill enacted in January ending the terms of board members after reports of cronyism at the agency. […]
Tollway Executive Director Elizabeth Gorman is still at the agency, but usually an incoming governor will nudge the board to hire a successor. […]
Directors are paid about $31,426 a year and the chairman receives $36,077.
Tens of thousands of downtown Chicago workers may need to find a new way home this evening because of an ongoing Amtrak signal problem.
Metra is advising people who leave out of Union Station to consider alternate commutes, since an Amtrak signal problem that disrupted morning travel was still not fixed as of early this afternoon.
Every rail line operating out of Union Station is affected, including Metra’s BNSF, Milwaukee District West and Milwaukee District North, the Heritage Corridor, North Central and SouthWest. Amtrak trains out of Chicago have also been delayed. […]
Some passengers on trains this morning saw delays of more than two hours. […]
Thursday’s delays come on top of multiple other Metra delays in recent months, including weather-related breakdowns during two days of unusually cold weather, equipment problems, overcrowding and air conditioning breakdowns on the BNSF during the summer, and issues with Positive Train Control, a new system designed to prevent crashes.
We need a federal/state/local summit on this problem. Stat.
* And remember that progressive income tax hike Rep. Martwick introduced a couple of years ago?…
A progressive income tax proposal introduced by state Rep. Robert Martwick, D-Chicago, would constitute a tax hike for a vast majority of Illinois taxpayers, starting with individuals earning as little as $17,300 (for a single filer with no dependents).
The “green” area on Guzzardi’s map - where neither candidate did well - lines up pretty well with areas won by Susana Mendoza, Gary Chico and Jerry Joyce.
* Let’s set aside Joyce’s wins for now and focus on the two Latinx candidates. From the Center for Illinois Politics…
(E)ight wards in heavily Hispanic areas all voted overwhelmingly for Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza or former Illinois Board of Education Chairman Gery Chico in Tuesday’s election, putting at least 49,000 of votes up for grabs in the April election. Historical data trends show that more of Chicago’s 1.6 million registered voters tend to turn out in runoff mayoral elections, compared to general elections. […]
A new analysis by the Center for Illinois Politics finds the 10th ward on the city’s Southeast Side, the 12th, 14th, 15th and 22nd wards on its Southwest Side and the 30th, 31st and 36th wards on the Northwest Side gave comparatively little support to Lightfoot and Preckwinkle on Tuesday. That makes them prime areas for both candidates to pick up much needed votes in April if they can find a way to resonate with those residents. […]
By the numbers, those heavily Hispanic wards averaged 30 percent turnout in the February 2015 regular municipal election, dropping to 27 percent this year. Across the city, turnout was 34 percent in both the 2015 and 2019 regular elections. In the 2015 runoff, turnout increased to 40 percent citywide and averaged 39 percent in those eight wards. […]
Former city clerk, state senator and 2011 mayoral contender Miguel del Valle, who lives in the 36th ward on the Northwest side, said he saw very little evidence of either Preckwinkle’s or Lightfoot’s campaign in his neighborhood in recent months.
At the same time, he said, votes for Mendoza and Chico were comparatively high due to high name recognition and regular interviews with Hispanic media outlets, such as Univision.
We can’t be totally sure, but since Mendoza and Lightfoot teamed together to bash Preckwinkle right before the first round, the comptroller may wind up endorsing Lightfoot. I don’t know about Chico, though.
* Within an otherwise interesting story on whether ranked choice voting would be a good thing for Chicago is this little nugget…
Robert Middlekauff, an influential organizer at the nonpartisan FairVote Illinois, recently endorsed ranked choice for the city on Chicago’s NPR affiliate. A Florida native, Mr. Middlekauff said: “I’ve become more frustrated with politics. Moving to Illinois, I realized, I’ve lost a lot of political power.” He went on, “You don’t have a lot of choices. Things are decided by money.”
Um, there were 14 candidates for mayor and a kabillion aldermanic candidates. The mayoral candidate who finished first, Lori Lightfoot, raised less money than everyone else in the top tier (except Willie Wilson, who reported raising just slightly less than her).
And then there’s Ald. Proco “Joe” Moreno, who lost by 22 points, even though he out-raised his opponent by well over 10-1.
If you listen to some of these reformers, you’d never want to run for office because they believe you have zero chance of winning. That’s just not true. I mean, for crying out loud, Ald. Pat O’Connor himself was forced into a runoff.
Does the machine always have gigantic built-in advantages? Of course it does. Should some laws that benefit the machine be changed? You bet they should.
New legislation introduced today in Illinois would bring in billions of dollars in clean energy investments, while providing quality jobs and economic opportunities for communities throughout the state. An alliance of environmental, healthcare, consumer, business and faith leaders, known as the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, gathered today to introduce the bold clean energy legislation. The Clean Energy Jobs Act would move Illinois to 100 percent renewable energy by 2050, eliminate carbon pollution from the state’s power sector by 2030 and create steps to electrify the transportation sector. The bill also includes provisions to advance equity, such as preferences for companies that implement actions to ensure equitable representation in Illinois’ clean energy workforce.
“These ambitious clean energy initiatives will help Illinois drastically cut carbon pollution and improve air quality. Moreover, the Clean Energy Jobs Act places an unprecedented focus on equity. It will spur economic development and create solid jobs in the communities that are often left out of the conversation, especially those impacted by coal-plant closures.”
State lawmakers could continue to require law enforcement agencies to track data on the race of people they pull over and pedestrians they stop.
For the past 15 years, the state has been collecting data about police traffic and pedestrian stops. The ACLU of Illinois has compiled similar statistics in reports that show in some areas of the state, police stop a disproportionate number of minorities, raising questions of police bias and racial profiling.
Springfield resident Ken Page, who once served as president of the Springfield NAACP and now serves as the president of the Springfield ACLU, said he had been targeted because of the color of his skin.
“When I asked why I was being stopped, the officer commented on the fact that I had a nice car and he said that the light over my license plate was out,” Page said. “I didn’t even bother to look at the light. I knew from friends that this is just how it worked in Springfield.”
State Rep. Justin Slaughter, D-Chicago, sponsored House Bill 1613 to remove a July 1, 2019, sunset of the traffic and pedestrian stop statistical study. He said collecting such data is important for police to fine-tune best practices.
The Oregon Legislature passed this week the first statewide rent control law in the country.
“It is phenomenal what is happening in Oregon. We’re looking forward to having a similar celebration very, very soon,” said Jawanza Malone, a rent control organizer in Chicago.
Chicago doesn’t have rent control. No municipality in Illinois has it. Since 1997, Illinois law has forbidden rent control.
On Tuesday, voters in several Chicago precincts approved a nonbinding measure to lift a state ban on rent control. Voters gave overwhelming support to the ballot question in precincts from the 1st, 26th, 45th and 50th wards. A similar measure was on the ballot last year and received support.
Thursday, Feb 28, 2019 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
In his Feb. 20 budget address, Gov. Pritzker pointed to Iowa and Wisconsin’s progressive income tax rates as models for a progressive income tax hike in Illinois.
But what would the average Illinoisan’s tax bill look like under those rates?
While Pritzker has said his progressive income tax would only hike taxes on the “rich,” the median Illinois family making $79,168 would see a $516 income tax hike if Illinois adopted Wisconsin’s rates and a $610 tax hike if Illinois adopted Iowa’s rates – 15 percent and 17 percent increases, respectively.
Pritzker specifically said in his budget address that Illinois “can accomplish” a progressive income tax with “a more competitive rate structure than Wisconsin and Iowa.” But what he means by competition is entirely unclear. In fact, a recent Tax Foundation study on Wisconsin’s tax code recommended exchanging its progressive income tax for a flat income tax as one way to make the state more competitive. Both North Carolina and Kentucky have swapped their progressive income taxes for a flat income tax in recent years.
The numbers simply don’t add up for Illinois to pay down billions in debt, fund new programs and still cut taxes for the majority of Illinoisans with a progressive tax.
Whether or not Pritzker calls it “fair,” Illinois families cannot afford another tax hike.
Last spring, inspectors found the Des Plaines River bridge on I-80 in Joliet in such bad shape, it may need to close.
Several months later, nothing has been done to repair the issues.
More than 42,000 drivers drive across Des Plaines River bridge everyday, and the most recent inspection reports reveal serious safety concerns. […]
An inspection in April confirmed their fears.
The westbound bridge was found structurally “intolerable” and the bridge’s span was listed in “critical condition and may require closure.” The bridge earned a sufficiency rating of 6 out of 100.
Anything below 80 is considered “deficient.”
Sheesh. This state, man.
* Local 150 has erected signage by the bridge to advocate for a capital bill…
“We’ve let this go too long and now we’re paying the price,” said James Sweeney, president and business manager of the Operating Engineers Local 150. “But the price should not be lives.”
The group took out two billboards that can be spotted by drivers as they approach from either direction.
The billboards read, “Bridge Ahead in Critical Condition” and “Cross Bridge at Your Own Risk.” The intention is to highlight the fact that it has one of the lowest sufficiency ratings in the state.
“The reason we’re making this and screaming as loudly as they are is because it is that dangerous,” Sweeney said.
IDOT told CBS 2 they are working on some short term structural maintenance, and they have plans to rebuild this bridge eventually. But funding for the long term is an issue.
One of the other benefits of this story is that we now have Sweeney on record admitting that his union controls the dark money Fight Back Fund. /s
High on a combination of Norco and Fentanyl, prescribed by a pain clinic, my mother began to throw dishes onto the kitchen floor.
It was inexplicable. And the only way to stop the madness was to call 911.
My sister told the operator my mother was suicidal, which wasn’t true. But it led to a stay for our mother in the psychiatric ward of a nearby hospital.
There, I watched as a doctor who had prescribed my mother opioids for more than 20 years looked at her with a combination of shame and disgust. I’ll never forget that look.
The man who had persistently written prescriptions for Vicodin, Oxycodone and Norco somehow couldn’t understand how such powerful drugs could take over my mother’s life. Or he didn’t want to understand.
That was in 2012. Twenty-nine years earlier — in 1983, the year I was born — my mother, Elizabeth, had been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. The painful disease ate up the cartilage in her body. It forced her to get a replacement shoulder when she was in her 30s. It later led to a second shoulder surgery. To this day, my mother can’t lift her left arm above her shoulder. […]
When we made our fourth effort to detox her off opioids, her doctors refused to go along, saying she would be in too much pain. When she applied for a state medical cannabis card two years ago, she was rejected because her doctor had failed to provide a letter in support.
We called the doctor about that, several times, but he never called back.
The national media and the national Democratic Party will feel pressure to support Lightfoot. How can feminists and liberal Beltway media not support her?
And how could liberal pundits not punish Chicago Democrats, particularly African-American Christian ministers, if any of them dare make Lightfoot’s sexual orientation an issue?
African-American voters are socially conservative, particularly the churchgoers, a secret that most Democratic Party hierarchs and many in the national media are loath to mention.
Some black clergy will be compelled to speak out. And how local and national media respond will form another story arc.
And we will witness the Democrats, the party of identity politics, hoisted with its own petard.
Anybody care to explain this?
* Related…
* Dahleen Glanton: As an African-American woman, I am particularly proud that our city will finally have a black woman at its helm. Of the 14 candidates in the race, Lori Lightfoot, a former federal prosecutor, and Toni Preckwinkle, the longtime president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, were the cream of the crop. Both women are smart, politically astute and undeniably competent. I voted for one of them but at this point, it doesn’t matter which. Either would make an excellent mayor.
* Sun-Times editorial: Two good candidates, Lori Lightfoot and Toni Preckwinkle, will face off on April 2 to be the next mayor of Chicago. Both are qualified. Both are thinkers. Both have the ability, and now the opportunity, to engage in a substantive debate about the best solutions to the biggest problems facing our city.
Thursday, Feb 28, 2019 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
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If their success on Tuesday carries over to the April runoff elections, there could be as many as five card-carrying democratic socialists on the City Council this Spring — which would be the most on the Chicago governing body in more than a century.
Members’ victories in two aldermanic races and ballot success putting them in three runoff contests have already led to talk of an incoming socialist caucus. […]
[Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa] is one of the members of the Chicago Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) who won outright on Tuesday: New member Daniel La Spata upset Ald. Proco “Joe” Moreno in the Near Northwest Side’s 1st Ward. […]
Socialist Rosanna Rodríguez-Sánchez will head to April’s runoff against incumbent Ald. Deb Mell in the 33rd Ward. Rodríguez-Sánchez broke into tears of joy several times at her watch party at Chief O’Neils in Avondale after hearing she’d earned the most votes in the three-way race. […]
Byron Sigcho-Lopez, who heads the Pilsen Alliance, credited the party for helping him in the race for the seat vacated by retiring Ald. Danny Solis (25th). Sigcho-Lopez will face Alex Acevado in April.
* Sigcho-Lopez faced allegations of shenanigans in the closing days. From Friday…
Byron Sigcho Lopez, a candidate for 25th Ward alderman, denounced allegations that his supporters engaged in ballot theft at a Chinatown senior center.
Earlier this week, candidate Hilario Dominguez, a former teacher and activist, along with State Rep. Theresa Mah, whose 2nd District seat includes Chinatown and Pilsen, leveled the allegations at Sigcho Lopez’s supporters.
They alleged his supporters took incomplete vote-by-mail ballots from seniors at the Chinatown Elderly Apartments, 300 W. 23rd St. They were then told their ballots would be filled out for Sigcho Lopez because they had previously received a free meal at Phoenix Restaurant from Sigcho Lopez’s campaign, the state representative and the aldermanic challenger alleged.
The Illinois Attorney General’s office and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office are investigating a complaint that alleges supporters of candidate Byron Sigcho Lopez were buying votes in the 25th Ward Tuesday.
A complaint was filed with the agencies after voters were seen requesting gift cards after casting ballots at Barbara Jean Wright Court Apartments, 1354 S. Morgan St., in the 25th Ward’s 4th precinct.
Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, which staffs a hotline where voters can report electoral abuse, initially sent poll watchers to the site after receiving complaints that the precinct was refusing to let people register to vote, said Ami Gandhi, an attorney with Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights.
During the visit, poll watchers observed what they described as “strange” behavior — voters entering one room, casting their ballot and then entering a separate room across the hall where they allegedly received $20 gift cards in exchange for a vote for Sigcho Lopez, said Matt Owens, an attorney and field captain for election protection with Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights.
* Hours after historic election, Lori Lightfoot and Toni Preckwinkle each argue they’re more progressive than the other: Preckwinkle attempted to take what has been a political weakness — her ties to party establishment amid strong calls for change at City Hall — and turn it on its head by noting that Mayor Rahm Emanuel and former Mayor Richard M. Daley had appointed Lightfoot to positions. “While my opponent was taking multiple appointments in the Daley and Emanuel administrations, I fought the power elite who have been trying to hold this city back,” Preckwinkle said during her election night speech.
State Sen. Don Harmon, an Oak Park Democrat who is carrying the [progressive income tax] amendment in the Senate, said he expects the Legislature to begin its role in the process soon – and he expects a fight.
“I’m hoping to start talking about this in earnest when we’re back in Springfield next week,” Harmon said. “This is certainly going to require a full-fledged campaign to convince voters to ratify the amendment. I expect we’ll be joined on both sides of the debate with vigor and resources.”
Illinois House Republicans are signing on to a resolution opposing a graduated income tax in Illinois.
Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker campaigned on implementing a graduated income tax in Illinois to replace the current flat income tax, and made getting the measure passed in 2020 a lynchpin of his wider fiscal plan for the state.
All 44 House Republicans are co-sponsoring House Resolution 153, which opposes any shift to a graduated income tax.
“If my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are serious about helping the middle class, we need to take a serious look at our regressive property tax system. Property taxes are rising year after year, making it more difficult for working families to make ends meet and further driving jobs and opportunity across the border,” said state Rep. Tony McCombie (R-Savanna).
WHEREAS, A move by the General Assembly to amend the constitution to impose a graduated income tax would mean turning our backs on the residents of this State and the spirit of bipartisanship
Um, the General Assembly’s vote is only the first step. Illinoisans of all stripes and political persuasions will have the final word at the ballot box. So, you could say that giving people the opportunity to vote on this isn’t such a horrible idea.
But a retort could be: “OK, then why not let Illinoisans vote on changing the pension clause, or term limits, or redistricting reform?” Agreed, but you gotta pass that stuff through the General Assembly first. And the people who run that place aren’t willing to put those ideas up for floor votes.
So, in the end, I can understand opposing a binding referendum on the income tax until some of those other issues are also put before the voters, even knowing that the other side will never, ever agree to those terms.
* Just have at it. Everybody take their best shots. If the constitutional amendment fails to get out of the General Assembly, such is life. If a referendum is eventually held, engage in a robust debate. See what the voters decide. That’s America.
But try to stay at least a little truthful. This “turning our backs on the residents of this State” stuff is totally unsupported by the facts because Illinoisans will be the ultimate arbiters.
—The Ricketts, who tried to boot Ald. Tom Tunney from the 44th Ward only to see him run away with 64 percent of the vote. He teared up during his victory speech.
— U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, whose aldermanic candidates lost in the 14th Ward (against Burke) and 25th (against the strident Byron Sigcho-Lopez). Garcia also backed Jessica Gutierrez, the daughter of former Congressman Luis Gutierrez, in the 30th Ward. She made it to a runoff against Ariel Reboyras.
The Ricketts spent a bunch of money on that race, bad-mouthed the alderman every chance they could and got their clocks cleaned on election day. Welcome to Chicago.
Chuy’s organization got a very late start against Burke and while Tanya Patino raised about $150K she only received 30 percent of the vote to Burke’s 54. Beating the alderman turned out to be a whole lot more difficult than beating the alderman’s legislator brother.
In the 1st Ward, Daniel La Spata held a commanding early lead against Ald. Proco “Joe” Moreno. La Spata had 61 percent of the vote with 98 percent of precincts reporting.
Meanwhile, in the 45th Ward, Jim Gardiner led Ald. John Arena. Gardiner had 51.8 percent of the vote with 98 percent of precincts reporting.
Chicago Ald. Proco “Joe” Moreno said his car was stolen. He filed a police report last month declaring the alleged theft. Now, Moreno says it was all just a big misunderstanding.
WGN’s Meghan Dwyer spoke to the woman behind the wheel — a single mother who said she was shocked to be arrested after Moreno loaned her the car.
And Arena ginned up some furious backlash in his ward…
Arena is a member of the City Council’s progressive caucus and has faced fierce opposition in his Northwest Side ward for promoting affordable housing, including his support of a planned affordable housing development at 5150 N. Northwest Highway.
The 45th Ward includes Jefferson Park, Gladstone Park, Old Irving Park and parts of Portage Park and Forest Glen on the city’s Northwest Side.
In the Far North Side 49th Ward, Moore, the third-longest tenured council member, trailed Chicago Teachers Union-backed challenger Maria Hadden. With 85 percent of precincts in, Hadden had 64.5 percent of the vote to 35.5 percent for Moore.
Moore said he figured his long career as an alderman was coming to an end.
“I don’t think we can overcome it,” Moore said. “The handwriting is on the wall as the fat lady waits to take the stage.”
Moore, who often opposed former Mayor Richard M. Daley, became a close ally of Emanuel, which lost him a good deal of support in his historically independent-minded ward.
In the 33rd Ward, Ald. Deb Mell was headed to a run-off, as she trailed Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez by 66 votes. Rodriguez-Sanchez had 42 percent of the vote with all the precincts reporting Tuesday.
Ald. Marty Quinn appeared to be headed to an easy victory over David Krupa, election results indicated Tuesday night, poised to defeat the DePaul University freshman in a landslide in Chicago’s 13th Ward.
Quinn won 85 percent of the vote with 75 percent of precincts reporting by 8 p.m., compared to Krupa’s 15 percent of the vote, according to the Chicago Board of elections.
Krupa, a recent Fenwick High School grad and part-time FedEx forklift operator, cashed in savings bonds and used graduation gift money to open a campaign office. But he wasn’t taking on just any alderman - setting his sights set on powerful House Speaker Mike Madigan’s hand-picked alderman. Quinn is perhaps Madigan’s most senior political operative and has represented the 13th Ward on the city’s Southwest Side since 2011.
But, did they really “lose”? I’ve always just assumed this race wasn’t ever about winning, but about making life difficult for Team Madigan with the potential for lawsuits, etc.
As a legislative committee digs into the issue, Illinois House Democrats are pushing a package of bills this spring that aim to make prescription drugs more accessible, affordable and accountable.
Led by state Rep. Will Guzzardi, chairman of the new House Prescription Drug Affordability and Access Committee, several lawmakers discussed their proposals for prescription drug reform Wednesday at a Statehouse news conference.
Among the ideas being championed are:
* House Bill 1441, sponsored by Rep. Anna Moeller, to create a path for Illinois to be a licensed wholesaler of imported drugs from regulated Canadian suppliers
* HB 56 and HB 156, sponsored by Rep. Mary Flowers, to require drug manufacturers to notify health insurers, providers and lawmakers when they plan to increase prescription drug prices, and to require health insurers to disclose to the state where Illinois spends significant health care dollars on prescription drugs and which costs have increased over time
* Legislation from Rep. Guzzardi that would create a new tax on some prescription drugs on price increases beyond inflation that cannot be passed on to consumers (HB 2880); and create a Prescription Drug Affordability Board in state government to regulate prescription drugs similar to how the state now regulates electric utilities through the Illinois Commerce Commission (HB 3493)
* And…
State Representative Allen Skillicorn (R-East Dundee) has filed a workers’ compensation reform package consisting of legislation to address this major area impeding job growth in Illinois.
“Workers’ compensation costs in Illinois are among the highest in the country and it is driving job creators of all sizes out of the state,” said Skillicorn. “A couple of weeks ago, I heard from a small business owner in my district who has been forced to move his business out of Illinois because all the costs from the state are too much. This is another 50 good paying jobs we are losing.”
The workers’ compensation reform package consists of House Bills 2634 and 2635. It focuses on reducing workers’ compensation costs by reforming cost driving rates and fees. HB 2634 targets excessive attorney’s fees by reducing them from 20% to 15%, while HB 2635 targets accident rates and medical fees by lowering them to levels similar to other states and those authorized by Medicare.
“Last week, Gov. Pritzker added more cost to the price of doing business in Illinois by signing Senate Bill 1 into law, but if he is serious about making our state more business friendly, then he seriously needs to take up workers’ compensation reform,” said Skillicorn. “If we don’t reform workers’ compensation and other cost drivers, the small business owner I heard from will only be one of many more to leave Illinois.”
* If you’ve ever been to the 2nd Floor of the Stratton Building, you know that House members’ names are painted on the glass doors of the main hallway outside their respective offices.
For whatever reason, the House clerk’s office has been glacially slow to remove the names of former members and update them with new members. Elaine Nekritz resigned her House seat in October of 2017, but her name is still on her old door.
* These two names, however, are quite problematic. Former Rep. Jerry Long, you will recall, was abandoned by the House Republicans when he was accused of harassing a female staffer and lost his race last November. And former GOP Rep. Nick Sauer resigned in August of 2018 after being accused of using nude photos of a woman to catfish men on the Internet. He’s since been indicted on 12 counts for alleged “nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images.” I took this photo yesterday…
How difficult is it to tell somebody to scrape the names off the doors? It’s embarrassing.
A least one House committee hearing had to be relocated Wednesday morning after a leak in a first floor restroom in the Illinois Capitol spread water through parts of the west wing.
The House Executive Committee was moved from its normal hearing room in 118 because of water on the floor outside of the room. The hearing was moved to 114 in the Capitol’s south wing.
Wisconsin National Guard officials said Tuesday they’re looking into whether to punish an Illinois congressman who belongs to the Wisconsin detachment for criticizing Gov. Tony Evers’ decision to withdraw troops from the U.S. southern border.
Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger is a Wisconsin Air National Guard pilot with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He ripped Evers Monday on Twitter and on Fox News for ordering Wisconsin troops to pull out of Arizona.
Wisconsin statutes state that any commissioned officer who uses “contemptuous words against the president, the vice-president, members of congress, the secretary of defense, the secretary of a military department, the secretary of homeland security, or the governor or legislature of the state of Wisconsin shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.”
Evers is a Democrat. His position as governor automatically makes him the commander-in-chief of the Wisconsin National Guard. Asked if Kinzinger might be disciplined for his remarks, Guard spokesman Capt. Joe Travato said the Guard and Evers’ office are looking into the matter.
A spokeswoman for Kinzinger said the Lieutenant Colonel was off duty when he made his remarks about Evers.
“The Congressman is off-duty and has the right to exercise his freedom of speech as he so chooses, just as he has done when critical of the current President and the President before him,” spokeswoman Maura Gillespie said.
My first reaction to this story yesterday was that the National Guard is for citizen soldiers. Citizens have a fundamental right and duty to speak their minds. If Kinzinger had made his remarks while on duty, that’s one thing. He did not do that. Gov. Evers, I believed, should grow some thicker skin.
University of Wisconsin-Madison law and political science professor Donald Downs, who studies free speech issues, said he knows of no exceptions in state law that would allow off-duty National Guard personnel to criticize the government.
However, it’s unclear whether the First Amendment’s free speech guarantee would trump state statutes in such cases, Downs said. The First Amendment protects an employee’s speech if he or she is speaking as a citizen, not as an employee, but the scales still likely would tilt toward the military if the soldier was criticizing a specific lawful order, he said.
“I doubt that the fact the guardsman was off duty would matter,” Downs said.
Kinzinger did, indeed, criticize a lawful order from his commander in chief.
I do not want this post to devolve into a debate on the wall or whatever, so do your utmost to stick to the topic at hand or I’ll delete you and maybe even ban you.
Daley is the only leading mayoral candidate who talks candidly about the city’s and state’s pension systems. The only way to keep high local and state taxes from skyrocketing and to save pensions for retirees is to amend the Illinois Constitution’s rigid pension clause. That requires action in Springfield. It’s a big lift, but Daley is the only candidate willing to try. “Our pension system is broke,” Daley says. “We cannot tax our way out without making Chicago unaffordable. We can’t cut our way out without compromising our quality of life.”
Daley supports a mix of new taxes to prop up pensions — but he also understands that loosening the language of the Illinois Constitution is the only route to long-term stability. No gimmicks. Real change. We’re hopeful Daley would persuade other leading Democrats, Gov. J.B. Pritzker included, to put pension reform on the ballot.
Daley was by far the best hope for Illinois proponents of an Arizona-style pension reform plan. He supported a similar constitutional amendment to Arizona’s that would ostensibly allow this state to reduce all benefits moving forward. But the plan was never remotely feasible here, and Arizona’s amendments have not yet been tested by the courts. Even so, Daley would’ve been the highest profile mouthpiece for the Tribune, the Illinois Policy Institute, the Civic Committee and others who have been banging the drum on this topic for years.
Now, with Daley’s loss, they’re gonna have to find somebody else.
And, by the way, the pundits can blame Jerry Joyce all they want for Daley’s loss. But Daley got smoked in the wards best known for being populated with city workers and retirees. That was no coincidence.
Daley got clobbered in sections of Northwest and Southwest Side that are home to many police, firefighters and other city workers by attorney Jerry Joyce. Daley should have done well in such areas in the same way that his brother and father did when they ran for mayor, but the pension issue hurt. Ironically, all of those cops will have to live with a new mayor in Lightfoot or Preckwinkle, both of whom strongly back tough police reforms and increased accountability. But in Springfield, where pension reform already is a very tough sell, Tuesday’s totals will make it even tougher. The message will be: don’t fight the unions. You can’t win.
Former GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner never once, as governor, met with the Illinois delegation. And they noticed.
On Monday night, at Pritzker’s request, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., hosted a dinner for Pritzker and delegation members in his Capitol office, signaling a new era in Springfield-Washington cooperation. The office of Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., the dean of the Illinois House Republicans, said he was co-hosting.
You don’t get a medal for just doing your job, but it’s nice that somebody is finally doing at least part of their job.
The last four years were so bizarre on so many levels.
With the strong support of Gov. JB Pritzker, the Illinois State Board of Education today named Dr. Carmen I. Ayala as the 30th State Superintendent of Education, making her the first woman and first person of color to serve as the permanent superintendent.
Dr. Ayala has more than 30 years of education experience, most recently serving as the Superintendent of the Berwyn North School District. She previously served as an Assistant Superintendent in Plainfield District 202, Director in Community Consolidated School District 300, and as an Assistant Superintendent, Director of Bilingual Services, and a teacher at the Aurora East School District. She began her career at Chicago Public Schools, serving as a teacher for five years. Dr. Ayala received her Bachelor of Arts from Mundelein College, her MBA from Dominican University, and her Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy studies from Loyola University of Chicago.
“For decades, Dr. Ayala has worked to ensure her students receive a high-quality public education, and I’m thrilled that families across Illinois will now benefit from her leadership,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “There is nothing more important to the future of our state and our economy than providing a quality public education, and I know that Dr. Ayala will be a strong partner in ensuring students in all of our communities receive the education they deserve. My focus will be continuing to invest in education, even during budget challenges, so that school districts receive the support they deserve, including with the largest-ever increase in early childhood education.”
“I’m honored to serve as our state’s Superintendent of Education and grateful to the board members for placing their trust in me,” said Dr. Ayala. “Governor Pritzker has made it clear that education will be a top priority for the new administration, and I look forward to our work ahead. Together, I know we can break down barriers to opportunity and ensure that students of all races, backgrounds, income levels and zip codes receive a strong education in Illinois.”
In a recently launched digital ad, Ideas Illinois — a conservative 501(c)(4) group — has positioned itself as “on a mission” to put Illinois on a “sustainable” path through job creation, spending cuts and economic growth.
On the other side of the spectrum is Think Big Illinois, a left-leaning 501(c)(4) group which includes Pritzker on its list of donors, according to CEO Quentin Fulks, a former deputy manager of the Pritzker campaign.
Think Big’s recently launched digital ad touts a “fair tax” and equates Ideas Illinois’ “mission” with former Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s “stubborn” leadership. Fulks said Think Big will be closely monitoring the fight for a graduated tax.
“I think we’re going to do whatever it takes to get the job done and to make sure that we’re getting the word out there that the graduated income tax is the best way to solve the problems in Illinois,” he said. “At this moment, we don’t have plans like a TV ad ready to go, but it is something that is in our arsenal if we need to use it. … As long as we’re able to sustain it, we’ll stay up on TV and on digital doing everything we can.”
Interesting that Q decided to go after the other side so early.
The Belvidere Assembly Plant will lay off up to 1,371 workers starting May 2, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said Tuesday.
The company said a slowing global market is causing the reduction.
Starting May 6, the plant will return to a more traditional work schedule, with employees working two shifts. Now, three crews work 10-hour days four days a week.
The company “will make every effort to place indefinitely laid-off hourly employees in open full-time positions as they become available based on seniority,” spokeswoman Jodi Tinson said.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV said on Tuesday it will invest $4.5 billion in five plants to build new models of Jeeps to compete in the lucrative market for full-size, three-row SUVs currently dominated by rivals General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co. […]
The new investments announced on Tuesday will create 6,500 jobs in Michigan, Fiat Chrysler (FCA) said in an announcement about three months after GM said it would not allocate new products to five plants in North America that mostly produce less-popular sedan models. […]
[FCA Chief Executive Officer Mike Manley] added that 60 percent of SUV sales are for three-row models “and we don’t have a three-row offering… and this is a segment that I’ve been very interested in for some time.”
* The SALT deduction was designed to prevent double-taxation. You’re not paying taxes on the taxes you’ve already paid. It also gave people a break if they lived in states that weren’t federal spending freeloaders…
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker wants federal lawmakers to lift a cap on a tax deduction that he said helps lower-income people.
One tax expert said the deduction actually benefits wealthy people.
Pritzker joined with governors from other high-debt, high-tax states like New Jersey and New York on Friday to call for removing the $10,000 cap on the State and Local Tax deduction, or SALT. Lawmakers capped the SALT deduction as part of President Donald Trump’s tax overhaul.
“In Illinois, it affects nearly 2 million people in a very negative way and 85 percent of those people make $200,000 or less a year,” Pritzker said.
Jared Walczak, with the nonpartisan Tax Foundation, said the unlimited SALT deduction benefited high-income earners the most. The cap included in the overhaul limited the savings for wealthy homeowners in states with high property taxes.
“It is subsidizing high-income people in high-tax states,” Walczak said. “What it’s really doing is subsidizing the higher taxes in those states.”
Yes, it does subsidize higher taxes in those states. And most of those states were already net federal tax exporters.
Illinois U.S. Representative Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, said it is unlikely the SALT cap will be lifted as he said his constituents are now paying less to the federal government because of tax changes he said Republicans brought together.
Davis said SALT incentivizes the states like Illinois to raise taxes on its citizens.
“That’s wrong,” Davis said. “We took that incentive away. Illinois Democrats need to learn to live within their means.”
Dude who voted for tax breaks that caused huge federal deficits telling Illinois to live within its means. That’s super-duper rich, Rodney.
And, by the way, Davis probably has more state facilities/universities in his district than any other member of the delegation. Wanna tell the state which ones to close, Congressman?
The fiscal 2020 executive budget plan recently introduced by Illinois’ governor would not materially address the state’s structural budget issues in the current fiscal year or the next, says Fitch Ratings.
Illinois’ ‘BBB’ Issuer Default Rating (IDR) reflects an ongoing pattern of weak operating performance and irresolute fiscal decision-making. The Negative Rating Outlook reflects our assessment that near-term fiscal challenges will pressure the rating.
Fitch has indicated that we would lower the state’s IDR if Illinois returned to a pattern of deferring payments for near-term budget balancing. Elements of the governor’s proposal, including a $1.5 billion GO bill backlog borrowing that reduces but leaves largely unresolved the 2019 deficit and numerous one-time measures in fiscal 2020, appear to do that without a clear path toward long-term balance. The legislature will take up the executive budget, a multi-part pension proposal, and a possible capital improvements bill over the next several months, with the goal of enacting a final budget by June 30. Fitch plans to review the state’s rating and Negative Outlook following passage of a final budget for fiscal 2020.
A return to single-party control could ease the legislature’s budget review and adoption process this year, but unified control is not a panacea for Illinois. It also would not mean the end of the state’s credit challenges, which have persisted regardless of the political make-up of the state government. Illinois faces significant fiscal problems that will likely take multiple years to fully address, but the executive budget does not provide enough clarity on how the state will deal with them.
The governor’s fiscal 2020 budget plan relies heavily on non-recurring revenues and large savings from an uncertain pension proposal that poses risks for the state. The budget plan could also be challenged from the start if the sizable fiscal 2019 gap is not adequately addressed. The governor framed the $38.7 billion general funds ($77 billion all funds) plan as a bridge budget that would buy time until the state is able to implement his proposed graduated income tax and then achieve more substantive fiscal progress. This new tax requires a state constitutional amendment that must be approved by legislative super-majorities (which Democrats have in both chambers) and then by voters, also by a super-majority. Fitch estimates the earliest it could be approved would be in the November 2020 general election and notes that prospects for passage at both levels are uncertain.
Fiscal 2019’s gap, estimated at $1.1 billion in the general funds, poses a particular challenge for the state, and the administration’s budget plan leaves it largely unresolved. The governor proposes a $1.5 billion general obligation (GO) bond sale to reduce backlogged bills. $600 million of the proceeds would be deposited directly in the general revenue fund to pay down remaining interest accruing bills. After accounting for other adjustments to the budget, the general funds deficit declines modestly to an estimated $900 million. The remaining $900 million from the GO sale would be deposited in the Health Insurance Reserve Fund (outside of the general funds) to cover unpaid employee health insurance bills.
While potentially beneficial economically by trading high-interest backlogged bills for likely lower-cost GO debt, the state’s liability profile would be essentially unchanged with the proposed GO sale. The administration’s $1.1 billion fiscal 2019 deficit estimate reflects elimination of several items from the enacted budget that Fitch previously noted as questionable, including the sale of the Thompson Center and savings from pension buyouts.
Fitch anticipates the administration will continue working with agencies and the legislature to seek additional measures to address the fiscal 2019 general funds deficit. But those measures have not been articulated, and only four months remain in the year.
For fiscal 2020, the executive budget includes an estimated $1.1 billion in new revenues, with roughly one-third ($370 million) coming from non-recurring sources. Initial licensing fees from legalization of cannabis ($170 million) and sports wagering ($200 million) are assumed to accelerate into fiscal 2020 supported by related tax credits included in the budget plan. Separately, the governor also proposes a delinquent tax payment incentive (amnesty) plan estimated to generate $175 million in one-time revenue.
On a recurring basis, the most significant revenue source proposed by the governor is nearly $400 million from a new assessment fee levied on healthcare managed care organizations that should generate additional federal matching revenues under Medicaid. The combined revenues would be deposited outside of the general fund into the Healthcare Provider Relief Fund and used for Medicaid, thereby reducing the general funds support of Medicaid. The governor noted that other states including California and Ohio use similar fees.
Separately, the governor estimates sports wagering could generate between $77 million and $136 million annually in future years from a 20% tax on gross wagers - only $12 million of tax revenue is included in the fiscal 2020 budget. The governor did not provide an estimate of ongoing cannabis tax revenue.
The only material expenditure reduction is in the state’s pension contributions which the governor proposes to decrease from the current year by $400 million to a general funds total of $7.1 billion, by implementing a five-part pension proposal outlined earlier this month (see “Fitch Ratings: IL Pension Plan Frames the Rating Picture; Budget Details Still Key,” Feb. 19, 2019). This would also be $1.1 billion below the required contribution based on the 26-year closed amortization to 90% funding set out in current law.
$878 million in savings comes from a potentially costly extension of the pension amortization by seven years to 2052, while maintaining the comparatively weak 90% funding target. Without committing to full actuarially determined contributions, the re-amortization could cost the state more over time by perpetuating an already inadequate funding approach. $125 million derives from the administration’s estimate of savings by extending the pension buyout programs permanently.
Over the long term, Fitch considers the proposed open-ended buyouts as indirect pension benefit changes that could gradually reduce the long-term pension liability but would require an ongoing funding source. The enacted fiscal 2019 budget anticipated issuance of up to $1 billion in GO bonds to fund pension buyouts and the governor proposes issuing the first tranche of $300 million by April. Absent a constitutional amendment, Illinois’ ability to more directly reduce already-accrued retiree benefits appears sharply limited.
Education funding is a key area of growth in the governor’s budget plan. K-12 funding under the evidence-based formula increases by $375 million (a robust 5.5%) to $7.2 billion. The minimum wage increase recently signed into law by the governor drives more than $100 million in proposed spending growth (combined state and federal) for providers paid through the state’s Departments of Human Services and Aging. Like Pennsylvania’s executive budget, Illinois’ assumes $25 million in individual income tax revenue growth tied to increased economic activity supported by the higher minimum wage.
The governor also called for a capital improvements bill to fund new infrastructure projects but did not offer a specific plan or revenues to support new issuance. The state maintains between $3 billion and $4 billion in unused GO authorization for various capital projects, and the governor proposes using $1.1 billion over the next year. Illinois also has roughly $370 million in remaining authorization for the Build Illinois sales tax-backed bonding program.
The budget plan also does not make material progress on reducing liabilities as it trades accounts payable for GO debt to repay bills. By the end of fiscal 2020, the governor projects reducing year-end general funds accounts payable by 10% from fiscal 2018, or $900 million over two years, while issuing $1.5 billion in GO bonds to repay bills.
Fitch currently rates Illinois two notches above junk status, so the state has a tiny bit of breathing room, but not much.
Chicago Board of Elections says turnout is extremely low so far for Election Day… on pace to have 30% turnout which would beat the previous low record set in 2007. Still time to vote. Polls open until 7p. @cbschicago#municipal
Going out on a limb to predict that once all of the mail ballots are counted Chicago's turnout for today's election will be higher than the 34.03% from Feb 2015.https://t.co/C1p06ntoXl
* Seniors dominating morning vote [updated with noon totals]…
Turnout numbers as of noon. Age-group-based stats reflect Election Day, Early Voting, and received Vote by Mail ballots. Hourly results reflect only Election Day. pic.twitter.com/0rrStRvpSa
So far the 19th Ward on the South Side has seen the highest turnout, with 26 percent of voters turning in a ballot. That’s followed by the 41st Ward (23 percent), the 47th Ward (22 percent) and the 13th Ward (20 percent).
The 22nd Ward (8 percent) and the 24th Ward (8.1 percent) have seen the lightest turnout so far.
* Early voting stats as of yesterday…
Unofficial total of 25,705 used Early Voting (EV) today, pushing total to 125,600 for this election. That's up 40% from the Feb 2015 EV total of 89,869. Onward to Election Day. Polls open 6 am to 7 pm on Tues., Feb 26. Find your precinct polling place at https://t.co/KcbxuSY02V
* Magnanimity (or total indecision, or a very large and diverse family) in the 19th Ward…
In a mayoral race this wide open, no Chicagoan can guarantee they have the next mayor’s campaign sign on their lawn. No one except the owners of this Beverly bungalow https://t.co/knmjMH8SlBpic.twitter.com/TCUVNzNvFG
And while universities are receiving a 5 percent increase in operating assistance, the total appropriation is still just 96.4 percent of what they were appropriated in the Fiscal Year 2015 budget – the last one approved before the two-year impasse began.
But Illinois’ investment in higher education is even more inadequate when viewed over the long term. Even with the Governor’s proposed increase in funding, Illinois would be providing less support for higher education in FY2020 than it did in FY2000 in both nominal and inflation-adjusted terms. In fact, the proposed FY2020 appropriation is just over half of the inflation-adjusted appropriation two decades earlier.
Some of the communities hit hardest by the opioid epidemic and a related methamphetamine spike also are facing another health crisis: a steep rise in syphilis.
It isn’t a coincidence.
Many opioid users have started to use meth, either in combination with opioids or as a cheaper, more accessible alternative. Stimulants such as meth are even more likely than opioids to promote risky sexual behavior that increases the likelihood of contracting syphilis and other sexually transmitted diseases.
Women are increasingly susceptible as their drug use continues to rise, and more of them are passing on the disease to their infants — with deadly results.
Many addicted pregnant women forgo prenatal visits for fear of being drug tested and losing custody of their babies, doctors say. And mothers with untreated syphilis have an 80 percent chance of infecting their unborn babies, contributing to a growing crisis that many states have tried to combat in recent years.
In adults, syphilis can be cured with a course of antibiotics. But syphilis among newborns, called congenital syphilis, can cause deformities, severe anemia, an enlarged liver and spleen, jaundice or brain and nerve problems such as blindness or deafness.
Up to 40 percent of babies born to women with untreated syphilis may be stillborn or die as a newborn, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The number of congenital syphilis cases climbed by 154 percent between 2013 and 2017. More than 900 cases were reported in 37 states in 2017 — the highest number of cases in the past two decades.
* This was released late yesterday afternoon, just hours before today’s ISBE board meeting…
Gov. Pritzker Appoints New Members of Illinois State Board of Education
Springfield, Ill. — Building on a strong team of diverse experts in their fields, Governor JB Pritzker announced his appointments serve on the Illinois State Board of Education:
Darren Reisberg will serve as chair of the Illinois State Board of Education.* Reisberg currently serves as the vice president for strategic initiatives and deputy provost at the University of Chicago. He served the university as vice president and secretary, and the first executive director of the university’s Institute of Politics, where he currently serves on the Institute’s Board of Advisors. Prior, Reisberg served as general counsel and deputy superintendent of the Illinois State Board of Education. In those roles, he counseled the State Superintendent of Education and State Board of Education on legal, policy, and operational matters. He also was an employment and labor attorney at the Chicago law firm Sidley Austin LLP and worked as a judicial law clerk for U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer. Reisberg received his Juris Doctor from Yale Law School and his Bachelor of Arts in political science at Duke University.
Christine Benson will serve as a member of the Illinois State Board of Education.* Benson has 35 years of teaching and administrative experience in Illinois public schools ranging from elementary, middle and high school. She served as central office administrator for seven years, focusing on budget management, curriculum development and grants. Benson served as superintendent for six years at Mendota High School, five years at Ottawa Elementary School District and six years at Streator Elementary School District. She received her Doctor of Education from Northern Illinois University and her Master of Science in education administration and Bachelor of Music Education from Illinois State University.
Cynthia Latimer will serve as a member of the Illinois State Board of Education.* Latimer has over 33 years of administrative and classroom experience in Aurora school districts. Beginning her career as a special education teacher at East Aurora District 131 and later West Aurora School District 129 for 10 years, Latimer went on to serve as principal of W.S. Beaupre Elementary School from 1990 to 1993 and Abraham Lincoln Elementary School from 1993 to 2000. She then served as chief officer for special populations at District 129, working closely with social workers, psychologists, speech and language pathologists, teachers and nurses throughout the district. In 2006, Latimer was promoted to Assistant Superintendent in the Division of Student Services, and in 2008, she became the Assistant Superintendent in the Division of Teaching & Learning, which included oversight of all aspects of PK-12 instruction including those of the former Student Services Division. She held this role until her retirement in 2014. Latimer received her Master of Science in educational leadership and policy study from Northern Illinois University and her Bachelor of Science in special education from Illinois State University.
Donna Simpson Leak will serve as a member of the Illinois State Board of Education.* Leak currently serves as superintendent of Community Consolidated Schools District 168. She has trained thousands of teachers and presented at more than 200 conferences worldwide. Previously, Leak served as assistant superintendent and superintendent of schools in Rich Township High School District 227, where she oversaw all functions of the district including curriculum and instruction, federal and state grants, district improvement, and campus restructuring initiatives. During her tenure in Rich Township, the district’s high schools received the distinction of Best High Schools in America from U.S. News & World Report. Leak has been a member of the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics Board for several years and is a lead instructor with the Professional Learning Community academies. Leak has also been an active member of the American Association of School Administrators for the past decade, recently receiving her National Certification Certificate. Leak received her PhD in administration and supervision from Loyola University, Master of Arts in educational administration from Governor’s State University and Bachelor of Science in mathematics from University of Illinois at Chicago.
David Lett will serve as a member of the Illinois State Board of Education.* Lett has spent more than 35 years teaching and leading K-12 school and in higher education. He currently is an adjunct professor on the Education Leadership Department at the University of Illinois at Springfield. From 2001 to 2017, Lett served as superintendent for Pana Community Unit School District 8. Prior, he serves as the middle school principal at Seneca Grade School and assistant principal at Ottawa Township High School. He taught social sciences at Seneca, Morrison High School and Reddick Junior High/High School at the beginning of his career. Lett received his Doctor of Education and Master of Education Administration from Illinois State University and his Bachelor of Science in economics from Illinois Wesleyan University.
Susan Morrison will serve as a member of the Illinois State Board of Education.* Morrison has worked as an Illinois educator and advocate for children for almost 40 years. She began her career as a social studies teacher, working for 10 years in Homer and Girard. Morrison taught middle and high school social studies and had administrative experience as a building principal and director of curriculum and instruction. She was also selected as the first state director for AdvancED at the University of Illinois. Morrison’s statewide leadership responsibilities have included positions as state director of School Improvement, state director of Gifted Education, state director of Education to Careers, and program director for many state and federal programs. She had oversight for state accountability, standards and assessment, teaching and learning, educator effectiveness, special education, early childhood education, bilingual education, and career and technical education prior to retiring as deputy superintendent/chief education officer at ISBE in June 2015. Morrison received her Master of Arts in educational administration from the University of Illinois Springfield, her bachelor’s degree from Cornell College, and a specialist degree in superintendency from Eastern Illinois University. She holds a Professional Educator License endorsed for teacher, principal and superintendent. Two of Morrison’s four children are public school teachers in Illinois. Morrison was appointed to the Illinois State Board of Education in July 2017 by Governor Bruce Rauner.
Cristina Pacione-Zayas will serve as a member of the Illinois State Board of Education.* Pacione-Zayas currently serves as the director of policy at Erikson Institute where she generates systemic solutions leading to equitable opportunities and positive outcomes for young children, families, and communities. Her work is informed by over a decade of experience leading education policy and community education initiatives in Illinois’s Latinx communities. Previously, Pacione-Zayas led the Latino Policy Forum’s Education Department with a focus on improving education policy in the birth-to-third-grade continuum that will produce positive outcomes for Latinx and immigrant children. During her two years as the culture of calm coordinator for Roberto Clemente Community Academy, a public high school in Chicago, she cultivated a 29 percent reduction in serious disciplinary infractions. As the community schools director at Enlace Chicago, she managed a network of eight community schools in the Little Village neighborhood, representing more than 1,500 youths and 650 adults. She received her doctorate in educational policy studies, Master of Education in educational policy studies and dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in sociology and Spanish from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Jane Quinlan will serve as a member of the Illinois State Board of Education.* Quinlan currently is regional superintendent for the Champaign-Ford Regional Office of Education 9, where she previously was the assistant regional superintendent. She served as the vice president of the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools from 2011-13. She previously served as director of ROE SchoolWorks, the professional development division of Champaign-Ford ROE and Vermilion ROE. Quinlan also has worked as a reading and language arts specialist at Education Service Center 13, where she later became assistant director and director. She received her Ph.D. in educational organization and leadership and her M.Ed. in reading from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her B.S.Ed. in elementary education from Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.
Jacqueline Robbins will serve as a member of the Illinois State Board of Education.* Robbins served as UniServ Director for Region 53 and 35 at Illinois Education Association from 2007 to 2017. She previously taught at Dunlap High School, served as community relations manager and instructor of 28 programs at Hult Health Education Center and as program coordinator and instructor at Illinois Central College. She received her Master of Arts from Bradley University and Bachelor of Arts from Millikin University.
All appointments are pending confirmation by the Illinois Senate.
Tuesday, Feb 26, 2019 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
State Rep. Marcus Evans, D-Chicago, just showed Springfield what real leadership looks like.
State lawmakers are often criticized for not listening to voters. But the reality is most voters assume lawmakers don’t listen, and never contact them.
That wasn’t the case for House Bill 2864, which would have established a pilot program for a per-mile driving tax in Illinois. More than 30,000 Illinoisans in one week signed a petition opposing the tax.
“If people don’t like a bill, you stop it and you go back to the drawing board,” Rep. Evans said. He tabled HB 2864.
Not only did Rep. Evans listen to his constituents and taxpayers across the state, he took action. That’s leadership.
Flooding along the Ohio River forced crews to close roads in Hardin County Tuesday. They shut down Route 1 where the road is submerged.
“The last couple days, the water really started coming up on both side of Route 1,” said Hardin County Deputy Sheriff Joe Jenkins. “It’s completely over the road.” […]
The high water levels along the Ohio River are expected to last at least through the rest of the week.
Senator Dale Fowler said a meeting between lawmakers, first responders, IEMA, and the Army Corps of Engineers will take place Wednesday. They’ll be working to figure out if and when state resources can be deployed to help with damage.
* The governor apparently decided not to wait for Wednesday’s meeting…
Daily Public Schedule: Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019
What: Gov. Pritzker to hold media availability after surveying flooding and receiving an emergency response briefing in Metropolis. The governor will then depart to Cairo to survey flooding.
Where: Metropolis Fire Department, 213 West 7th Street, Metropolis
When: 11:30 a.m.
* Harrah’s Casino closed on the 18th. The governor’s folks sent me this pic today…
* And here’s one of Pritzker with Sen. Fowler and others…
More often than I care to remember, I’ve brow-beaten governors into traveling to flood zones. I didn’t even know about this flood until today.
*** UPDATE *** Press release…
Governor JB Pritzker has directed the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) in Springfield to monitor flood conditions in southern Illinois and quickly deploy state assets and personnel if local officials request assistance as they battle floodwaters.
Gov. Pritzker and Illinois Emergency Management Agency Acting Director Alicia Tate-Nadeau met with local officials and emergency management officials in Massac and Alexander County today as the communities continue to prepare for significant river crests this weekend.
“I want all of our communities that have been impacted by recent flooding, from northern Illinois to southern Illinois, to know we are taking this very seriously,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “The state will do everything we can to help communities experiencing these extreme conditions this upcoming weekend and beyond. It’s important we work together in the days and weeks ahead to keep families safe and protect our communities.”
On Tuesday, a crew from the Illinois Department of Correction’s Shawnee Correctional Center began sandbag operations to aid the flood fight in Alexander County. Additional sandbags and pumps have also been deployed to Massac County and Alexander County. IEMA staff have been deployed to southern Illinois to help local emergency management officials assess the need for state assets or personnel. The American Red Cross is also working throughout the area assisting residents and attending to the needs of volunteers.
Public safety officials also want to take this time to remind motorists to be on the lookout for road closure postings. Residents are urged to avoid areas already flooded and never cross any barriers that are put in place by local emergency officials.
“Each year, more deaths occur due to flooding than from any other thunderstorm related hazard,” said IEMA Director Alicia Tate-Nadeau. “Over half of all flood-related drownings occur when a vehicle is driven into hazardous flood waters. Please heed the warning from your local officials. Turn around, don’t drown. It is never safe to drive or walk into flood waters.”
Nearly 100 Illinois children who died within the last two years were involved with the state’s Department of Children and Family Services. That’s according to a recent Inspector General report. […]
Past Inspector General reports reveal the seemingly-high number to be average by comparison. Within the last 10 years, between 84 and 113 children have died while being supervised in some capacity by DCFS.
* But that’s not the most worrisome number, as Hannah Meisel points out today…
However, the number of children who died after a DCFS caseworker investigated a claim of abuse or neglect, but was not able to substantiate the claim, continued to rise in 2018, as in years past.
Thirty-seven children died after a caseworker had investigated either their parent, guardian, home or other situation related to the child but classified the complaint as “unfounded,” according to the report.
[Inspector General Meryl Paniak] pointed to a memo sent anonymously from the agency’s Joliet field office to Gov. JB Pritzker, Paniak, the agency’s former acting director, Beverly “BJ” Walker, several other administration officials and members of the Chicago news media describing a severe understaffing in the office.
The unsigned two-page letter, which is dated “February 2019,” describes the Joliet field office as in a “major crisis,” and says caseworkers who live within miles of the Joliet office are so “stressed and overwhelmed” with their jobs, they’ve found other jobs much further from their homes.
The letter says the Joliet office should have 30 child protection investigators, but in reality has “less than half” the staff needed.
“We are continuing to lose investigators weekly,” according to the letter. “This is a safety concern and unfair to the current staff.”
* This isn’t the first time the Joliet office has been in the news. From 2017…
As state child welfare investigators probed allegations of abuse in the Joliet Township home where 17-month-old Semaj Crosby would later be found dead, their supervisor was launching a contest that awarded $100 gift cards to the two workers who closed the most cases in a month, according to agency interviews and internal emails examined by the Tribune.
The 3rd place winner would get a $50 gift card.
Evidence of the Joliet office contest emerged as the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services faces mounting criticism from state lawmakers that it is quickly closing abuse and neglect investigations even when basic information has not been gathered and children are left in harm’s way.
If you promote an atmosphere like this, then you can’t be surprised when more kids die every year after their cases were deemed unfounded.
…Adding… More from Hannah…
9/11) Another huge thing about DCFS: Since Gov. Blagojevich's first year in office, 2003, the agency has had 11 directors in 16 years. @GovPritzker is conducting a nationwide search for the next one. The names are below. 2 under Blago, 5 under Quinn, 4 under Rauner (some overlap) pic.twitter.com/Uf2WogjVLQ
The budget would raise $1.1 billion of fresh revenue from a new tax on plastic bags, license fees from legalized cannabis and sports betting, closing a corporate tax loophole, taxing e-cigarettes, raising the existing cigarette tax, assessing a tax on Medicaid, changing the existing tax structure on video gambling and capping a retailers’ discount.
About one-third of the new revenue is one-shots, Fitch analyst Eric Kim said.
Another $175 million would be raised from a delinquent tax amnesty and while there’s no new interfund borrowing from non-general fund accounts the budget defers repayment of $320 million previously borrowed. Both are one-shots.
A projected $155 million end-of-year balance would go to pay down the now $8.3 billion backlog of the state’s unpaid bills. A $1.5 billion borrowing to pay down the backlog would generate an estimated $110 million of savings for fiscal 2020.
