* Background is here if you need it. Gov. JB Pritzker was asked today at an unrelated event about the apparent murder of 2-year-old Ja’hir Gibbons by her mother’s boyfriend. The child was supposed to be under the protection of DCFS…
First, let me say that this is a tragedy. A tragedy that could be prevented. But, as you have seen, when you don’t invest in caseworkers, when you don’t invest in reducing the case load, when you don’t invest in the social services that are so necessary for the families, and you’re not recruiting foster parents enough, then you’ve got a system that’s overloaded and where children can fall through the cracks.
Now, the additional issue here is that there’s an individual and an agency that have made gross mistakes. And the investigation that’s ongoing now is intended to make transparent what those challenges were and how we should address them.
In terms of how I am going forward, not just on this case and on the previous case that were a result of this underfunding and the terrible condition that the state agencies have been left in, hollowed out, is I’ve tried to put back into the budget in the coming year 126 new DCFS case workers, so that we can reduce the case backlog and we can make sure we’ve got fewer cases being handled by any individual in DCFS.
And then we’ve got to look into the agencies that are being handed cases to follow to make sure that there’s oversight and that we don’t have contracts with agencies that are not following through on their responsibilities.
The safety and security of children under the care of the state of Illinois is paramount to me. These are the most at-risk of the most at-risk kids. The kids who need us to watch everything for them, to keep them safe. And that’s going to be my responsibility, that is what my responsibility is today.
I spent 20 years, more than that now, in early childhood focused on at-risk kids. And I just feel that the state for too many years, with 12 agency heads over 10 years, the turnover has been terrible. And add to that the underfunding, the lack of resources that came from two years of a budget crisis and two more budgets that really didn’t put it back. We have got to make a big change in the way state government treats our children. And it’s not just those kids who need foster care and who need to be watched by DCFS, but also in everything that effects the families. Job availability, skills training, the social services that they need. And that’s what I’m focused on.
* Pritzker was then asked how these ongoing DCFS tragedies made him feel as a father, or as a person…
I’m outraged. I’m outraged first that the children have this situation where they have no parent who can responsibly care for them. Then the situation of they’re left in the care of the state of Illinois and for years, neglected.
And here we have people who are responsible being irresponsible. Maybe even filing false reports.
These children are our children, they are our state’s children. And we should be standing up for them like we do for our own children.
He talks a very good talk. Better than any governor I’ve ever covered when it comes to this particular topic. But talking is just… talk. We’ll see how he governs as the months go by.
I have met with caseworkers just in the last couple of weeks. They are inundated. They have got cases that they almost can’t manage. They are doing the very best that they can. The people that I spoke with are working overtime, they’re doing everything that they can with fewer resources than ever before.
* He said other governors tell him this is the most challenging thing that governors do and said the private agency that handled Ja’hir Gibbons’ case is now “under review”…
Agencies that are not fulfilling on their responsibility, on their contractual responsibility, on their moral responsibility, on their legal responsibility will not get contracts with DCFS going forward. […]
It is intolerable to me that someone is able to file a false report, is able to change a report after they’ve already reported on a situation to go back and try and change it, to cover their tracks. And that’s something that we’ve got to go back and look at all of the files to make sure we’re finding where anybody has ever done that… We have got to make changes in the way we oversee these agencies, these outside agencies.
* Meanwhile, DCFS issued a timeline about its own involvement in the case. Click here for that.
A Lake County judge blocked north suburban Deerfield’s ban on assault weapons with a ruling on Friday.
Last April, the Deerfield Village Board voted unanimously to ban some semi-automatic firearms. The amendment to the village’s gun ordinance would restrict firearms that village leaders define as assault weapons, such as AR-15s. The ordinance would also prohibits high-capacity magazines.
Citing a spate of recent mass shootings with high death counts, Deerfield trustees voted in April 2018 to ban possession of certain firearms such as the AR-15, AK-47 and Uzi under their home rule authority to protect public health, safety, morals and welfare.
Local gun owners and gun-rights groups were quick to file lawsuits claiming the village had missed its opportunity to ban assault weapons in 2013. The Illinois legislature had given municipalities until July 19 of that year to regulate assault weapons before a new Illinois Concealed Carry Act and an amended Firearm Owner’s Identification Card Act eliminated their ability to do so.
Deerfield officials said their 2018 ban was an amendment to an ordinance pertaining to assault weapons enacted within the permitted time frame. That ordinance defined assault weapons and required safe storage and transportation within the village.
In the ruling, Berrones found Deerfield’s measure to be a new ordinance and therefore preempted by state statute.
* Illinois State Rifle Association Executive Director Richard Pearson…
“This is a big win for the 2nd Amendment,” Pearson said. “The Village of Deerfield had an opportunity to pass a ban in 2013 and failed to do so. Their ordinance is a clear violation of Illinois’ concealed carry law which was passed into law precisely because of the Supreme Court’s ruling on what municipalities could and could not do in terms of establishing their own gun laws. Today’s ruling reaffirms the US Supreme Court’s ruling and makes it clear that communities do not have the authority to enact more onerous gun laws than what is already codified in state statute. This is a very good day for those of us who put a premium on the 2nd Amendment freedoms afforded to us in the Constitution.”
* NRA…
“The NRA is proud to have supported this challenge to Deerfield’s ban on commonly owned firearms and magazines,” said Chris W. Cox, executive director of NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action. “This ruling affirms that every law-abiding Deerfield resident has the right to protect themselves, their homes, and their loved ones with the firearm that best suits their needs.”
The court found that Deerfield’s attempt to amend an existing firearm ordinance was a violation of state law. The ordinance would have allowed local authorities to confiscate and destroy semi-automatic rifles and standard capacity magazines possessed within village limits.
The challenge was originally filed in 2018 by Guns Save Life with support from the NRA.
“Deerfield’s senseless ban on popular firearms and magazines imposed a major burden on the right of law-abiding Illinois citizens to defend themselves but did nothing to disarm criminals,” said John Boch, Executive Director of Guns Save Life. “We are relieved that under today’s ruling, Deerfield residents will continue to be able to keep their firearms and magazines at home.”
“The Illinois General Assembly was very clear that it would not allow local governments to adopt a confusing patchwork of gun regulations under the guise of banning so-called ‘assault weapons,’ ” said David H. Thompson of Cooper & Kirk, PLLC, an attorney for the plaintiffs. “Deerfield’s ordinance plainly violates Illinois law, and we are pleased that the Court agreed.”
The Village of Deerfield and our legal team are closely reviewing the ruling entered today and all options available, including the right to appeal the decision to the Illinois Appellate Court. On the positive side, the judge denied the plaintiff’s claims of a takings violation and of a wildlife statute violation.
With respect to the remainder of the decision, it appears that the judge focused less on Deerfield’s actions and more on the actions of the Illinois State Legislature back in 2013. The judge took issue with the way in which the State Legislature drafted the State statute, and he read into the statute a complete preemption of home rule authority to regulate assault weapons. This unprecedented interpretation of State legislative action and intent make this case ripe for appeal.
* Do you think Illinois marijuana legalization is moving too fast, too slow or just about right? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please…
The SIU Board of Trustees will see five new faces after Gov. JB Pritzker chose to not reappoint trustees Randal Thomas, Shirley Portwood and Joel Sambursky. Pritzker has also dismissed trustees Marsha Ryan and Tom Britton, who were never formally approved through the Illinois Senate.
Filling the five trustee positions, upon Senate confirmation, are Subhash Sharma, Roger Tedrick, Edgar J. Curtis, Ed Hightower and John Simmons. […]
Simmons is a chairman of the national law firm Simmons Hanly Conroy. He is a 1991 graduate of SIUE, receiving his degree in political science. The namesake for SIUE’s Simmons Baseball Complex, Simmons worked to send SIUE Athletics to full NCAA Division I status. He previously served as a member of the SIU Board of Trustees from 2004 to 2013.
Hightower’s and Simmons’ appointment raises concerns to some after Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Collinsville, introduced legislation in 2013 attempting to split the system.
Then-president Glenn Poshard said then-Gov. Pat Quinn’s choice to not reappoint three Metro East trustees – John Simmons, Ed Hightower and Mark Hinrichs, “caused the feelings of separation to reignite, saying SIU Edwardsville is well loved and some feel the campus is not getting the respect it deserves.”
Tedrick, an SIU Carbondale graduate, is the president of Tedrick Insurance, based in Mount Vernon. He was raised in Carbondale and has served on the boards of the SIUC Alumni Association and SIU Foundation. He served on the board of trustees from 2004 to 2011, including as board chairman. […]
Ed Curtis, a newcomer to the board, is the president and chief executive officer of Memorial Health System of Springfield, a network of Springfield-area hospitals that works closely with the SIU School of Medicine.
Curtis received his Bachelor of Science in Nursing from SIU Edwardsville, and began his career as a registered nurse, according to his executive biography. […]
Another newcomer to the board, Subash Sharma received his doctorate degree in statistics from the University of Kentucky in 1983, then began a long career as a professor in the SIU Carbondale Department of Economics. He became chair of the department in 2010 and is now listed as an emeritus faculty member on the department’s website.
So, SIUC loyalists appear to be Sharma and Tedrick. SIUE folks are Simmons and Hightower. Curtis is a SIU Springfield person from SIUE.
* The Tribune editorial board recently expressed some disappointment that Elon Musk’s O’Hare to downtown tunnel project appeared doomed…
From the start, skepticism has hounded Elon Musk’s bid to build a subterranean superhighway that would connect downtown Chicago with O’Hare International Airport. A vision dismissed by many as a pipe dream now appears to be a dashed dream.
Neither contender in the April 2 mayoral runoff election, former federal prosecutor Lori Lightfoot nor Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, is a fan of Musk’s $1 billion plan to create a high-speed transit link between the Loop and O’Hare. We’ll admit, the idea has some eye-catching sparkle. The billionaire innovator said he could develop technology that would send passenger pods zooming through tunnels at speeds of up to 150 mph. A one-way trip would take as little as 12 minutes. […]
The ride, which would be called “the X,” would be pitched to business travelers willing to pay a bit more to get to O’Hare faster and more comfortably. The anticipated price would be $20 to $25, about the cost of a ride-share cab. The Blue Line gets you from downtown to O’Hare on a $2.50 fare, and from O’Hare to downtown for $5. Would enough travelers switch over to “the X” to make it worthwhile?
With Mayor Lightfoot or Mayor Preckwinkle, maybe we’ll never know. We like the bold spirit of innovation that suffuses Musk’s vision. In this cutthroat global economy, cities that distinguish themselves by making business easier to conduct — travel improvements included — stand to profit.
Virginia transit officials flew out to California earlier this year to check out a tunnel dug by Elon Musk’s Boring Company and, well, they think the state should stick with traditional railways and roads for now.
“It’s a car in a very small tunnel,” Michael McLaughlin, Virginia’s chief of rail transportation, told members of the Commonwealth Transportation Board’s public transit subcommittee on Wednesday. […]
“I think there’s a lot of show going on here,” said Scott Kasprowicz, a Commonwealth Transportation Board member who made the trip with McLaughlin and public transit chief Jennifer Mitchell.
“I don’t mean to suggest that they don’t have a serious plan in mind, but I don’t consider the steps they’ve taken to date to be substantive. They’ve purchased a used boring machine. They’ve put a bore in the neighborhood where they developed the SpaceX product, and they’ve taken a Model 3 and put guidewheels on it and they’re running it through the tunnel at 60 miles per hour.
“None of that, I think, is really significant from a standpoint of moving this process forward.”
It’s a car in a very small tunnel is both a rote, factually accurate description of what the tunnel is and also one of the sickest burns of the entire Boring Company hubris to date.
Here’s the critical question: What will the rest of us do? Will we follow in the footsteps of the average German citizen during WWII? Most of them shut their eyes, closed their ears, and sang a little louder in church when the cattle cars full of Jews on their way to the concentration camps rolled by. Will we do the same? Will we simply allow this to blow over in a few weeks, or will we learn something from history and resist?
The Democrats have crossed a terrible line. They should hear us roar. Will they?
Quote ‘o’ the Day from lesbian and feticidal maniac State Rep. Kelly Cassidy in response to an IFA article suggesting some points of correspondence between the Democrat-endorsed holocaust and the Nazi Holocaust:
“[IFI]is a group promoting violence and hate speech and they have people on the payroll wearing badges bypassing security [at the Capitol] walking in and out of this building every day. And I think that should be examined.”
A maniac is “a person who has an excessive enthusiasm or desire for something.” Cassidy has a clearly demonstrated and arguably excessive enthusiasm and desire to promote the legal right of women to exterminate their unborn children (i.e., feticide) without restriction.
I checked with the Secretary of State’s office and was told they have no legal authority to force a registered lobbyist to pass through Statehouse metal detectors. And the statute doesn’t appear to address this sort of thing.
…Adding… Actually, they do have the authority to search anyone they want. From the Illinois Register…
All persons and vehicles entering into the Capitol Complex and its buildings may be subject to search, including, but not limited to, inspection of vehicles, trunks, parcels and packages, metal detector screening, X-Ray scans and inspection of bulky personal items brought into the Capitol Complex. […]
Public access to any building or area of the grounds may be restricted, if it is determined by the Director of the Department of Police that a situation has arisen that threatens the security of persons and buildings within the Capitol Complex.
* Press release…
Members of the Illinois Legislature’s Jewish caucus are demanding action in response to a pattern of hate speech and imagery posted by Illinois Family Action and its parent organization, Illinois Family Institute, on its website and social media pages.
On March 20th, Illinois Family Action posted an article comparing Democrats to Nazis. Under pressure to remove the post from its website, a second post appeared the next day, with even more hateful language comparing reproductive rights to the Holocaust. A third social media post unleashed a vicious attack on state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, a member of the Jewish caucus, and an openly gay state representative who is a strong supporter of a women’s right to choose.
“We consider an attempt to use Nazi imagery and a genocidal equation on matters regarding a legal right to health care service, clear cut hate speech,” said state Rep. Sara Feigenholtz. “This pattern of hateful actions are exactly what ignites a call to action for violence.”
“We call on the Illinois State Police to do a full investigation of these incidents,” said state Rep. Jonathan Carroll. “These two organizations maintain full credentials as lobbyists to freely move throughout the Capitol complex.”
“We can’t ignore the horrors of recent synagogue and mosque shootings. They are fresh in our minds,” said state Sen. Laura Fine. “Words matter. Words such as these incite hate speech and lead to violence.”
“Dr. Barnett Slepian was murdered in cold blood in his home by sniper fire while celebrating the Sabbath with his children and wife,” said state Rep. Yehiel Kalish. “He was gunned down because he provided a full range of reproductive health care to his patients.”
The Jewish caucus will be filing a joint resolution to make clear the Illinois General Assembly objection to this hate speech and encourage an investigation.
The members of the Jewish caucus in the House are Jonathan Carroll, Kelly Cassidy, Daniel Didech, Sara Feigenholtz, Robyn Gabel, Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, Will Guzzardi, Yehiel Kalish, and Bob Morgan. The caucus also includes state Senator Laura Fine.
The group’s executive director David Smith called Cassidy’s reaction “predictable,” while accusing progressive of using “unethical efforts to enjoin the force of government – to silence the expression of political views and moral assumptions with which they agree.”
Smith called calls for the Illinois State Police to investigate “nothing short of intimidation and harassment.” Smith said the group’s freedom of speech is guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.
Last weekend, a caseworker visited Brittany Hyc to make sure her two small boys were doing all right in a home where there had been repeated allegations of abuse and neglect.
The worker, on contract with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, reported back that 2-year-old Ja’hir Gibbons and his 5-year-old brother were both safe, according to the agency.
Two days later, Ja’hir was brutally beaten to death. The following day, the worker filed another report saying only the older brother was at the Chicago home at the time of the visit and that the worker never saw the 2-year-old at all, the agency disclosed late Thursday.
The caseworker has been barred from having any contact with children or families the agency serves as the conflicting reports are investigated.
“Falsifying records will not be tolerated,” DCFS Interim Director Debra Dyer-Webster said in a statement. “DCFS will pursue all available discipline, including termination, if records were falsified.” [Emphasis added.]
“The victim’s abdomen, torso and arms were covered in new and old bruises,” said Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy. “The victim’s face was covered with bruises and abrasions. The victim also had bruising on his forehead, hindquarters, and legs. ” […]
“He got mad at the victim and struck him multiple times with his hands and a rolled up shirt,” Murphy said. “Defendant Waters said that after striking the victim, the victim began foaming at the mouth.” […]
“There are certainly a lot of red flags in this case,” said Charles Golbert, the acting Cook County Public Guardian. “They were not doing a very thorough or aggressive job.”
The toddler’s body was covered with new and old bruises when he was brought to Comer Children’s Hospital on Monday, according to authorities. […]
An autopsy found Ja’hir had rib fractures that were at various stages of healing and a new wrist fracture, Murphy said. Ja’hir had also suffered lacerations to his liver and a contusion to the lung. To suffer those injuries, the boy would have been subjected to “significant blunt force trauma,” Murphy added. […]
DCFS has been involved with the family since 2010 due to allegations of neglect and abuse of Ja’hir siblings, according to agency spokesman Jimmie Whitelow. Prosecutors said DCFS was most recently in contact with the family following an incident in August.
Hyc had taken Ja’hir to a doctor for a possible bite mark to his abdomen and doctors found additional bruising on the boy, which Hyc blamed on the boy’s daycare facility. In October, a DCFS worker went to the home and heard what they believed was Waters striking the boy. The worker called the Child Abuse Hotline and another agency employee was assigned to follow up, prosecutors said.
Police were called to the home in February after a neighbor reported a possible domestic disturbance. Hyc told officers at that time that everything was fine, but the same neighbor later noticed Ja’hir walking with a limp, prosecutors said. [Emphasis added.]
Um, why does a DCFS worker have to call a child abuse hotline?
* Related…
* On Camera: Governor responds to DCFS deaths: “Governor, kids are dying in DCFS care. What are you doing to stop it, governor? Governor, kids are dying in DCFS care, what are you going to do to stop that governor,” Reporter Ana Espinosa asked. “We have to work hard to not only change the leadership at DCFS but also to focus on the safety and security of these children. That’s our job in the state government,” Governor Pritzker said. “What are 126 caseworkers going to do?” Espinosa asked. “We have to go,” said Governor Pritzker’s press secretary, Jordan Abudayyeh. “It is just the beginning. It’s absolutely just a beginning,” Governor Pritzker said. “Can you promise me there is going to be change for these children?” Espinosa asked.
Local government leaders testified Thursday in favor of legislation that would help them raise money through a variety of sources, including a tax on streaming and satellite services.
Conrad Kiebles, village administrator of suburban Orland Hills, appeared before the House Revenue and Finance Committee in support of House Bill 3359, which would impose a tax on video services delivered through the internet and satellites, much like how local governments already get a piece of residents’ television cable bills.
The tax would amount to 5 percent of a video provider’s gross revenues from its subscribers.
“It offers the most equitable way to add an additional $200 million in revenue into our coffers and adds parity to competing services in our local communities,” Kiebles said. “With a 50-50 split between local governments and the state, we could each collect $100 million for charging a fee for these three competitive services.”
A measure one Illinois lawmaker says will give non-home rule communities the ability to pay for storm sewer maintenance is being called a rain tax by another.
State Rep. Anthony DeLuca, D-Chicago Heights, said House Bill 825 is a natural extension of existing state law.
“What it would allow is non-home rule municipalities the ability to charge a fee to maintain their stormwater sewer system,” DeLuca said.
The measure passed a House committee this week.
State Rep. Allen Skillicorn, R-East Dundee, said the measure would allow rain to be taxed by, as the bill states, allowing “stormwater utility charges to offset the cost of owning, maintaining, and improving local stormwater infrastructure.”
“And it’s a fee, so it’s not tax deductible,” Skillicorn said. “It’s also something a church would have to pay, businesses; it’s also unlimited, so this theoretically, ten, fifteen years from now could be the biggest tax hike Illinois has ever seen.” […]
DeLuca said Skillicorn misrepresented the bill. He said that right now home-rule municipalities can charge a fee to maintain stormwater sewer systems. He said his bill would allow non-home rule governments to do the same.
State Rep Theresa Mah is pushing a plan to end sub-minimum wage pay for disabled workers in the state. Mah said about a dozen other states have already made the change.
“It’s important that we take a proactive step,” Mah said. “Rather than be forced to do it under a consent decree or some kind of lawsuit.”
State law allows some companies to pay disabled workers less as a way to get more disabled people working.
But advocates say that law, which allows for 14(c) certificate, sometimes pays disabled workers less than a dollar-per-hour.
* Illinois lawmakers debate consolidating downstate pensions: IMRF Executive Director Brian Collins also urged lawmakers proceed with caution. “IMRF is one of the highest funded plans in the country,” he said. “It got that way for a lot of reasons. There’s a very delicate balance. When I think of a large consolidation that would happen, I immediately worry we could throw any of those things out of balance.”
It will cost an estimated $501 million to bail out what at the end of the day was a relatively small-scale effort, begun in the late 1990s, to help parents pay for college at what was designed to be no cost to taxpayers, according to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, which has administered the program since its inception. ISAC officials have struck a deal with state lawmakers to bail out the program while closing it to future participants.
More than 73,000 have been or are beneficiaries of contracts to attend state schools since College Illinois was launched, according to ISAC documents.
The $727 million fund backing the contracts is projected to begin running out of money in 2026. Without taxpayer help, more than 2,000 contract beneficiaries would be at risk of being stiffed.
Technically, the bills don’t start coming due for the state until then. But, ISAC spokeswoman Lynne Baker emails, “We have suggested to policymakers that it would be best to start funding the obligation sooner rather than later.”
What had been a $308 million unfunded liability now has mushroomed to more than $500 million thanks to the decision to end the program for all but existing contract holders. The need to more quickly liquidate the fund will reduce the return ISAC can hope to achieve from its investments, draining the fund more quickly, according to a December actuarial update.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker pledged during a visit Thursday at Richland Community College in Decatur that his proposed budget will lead to more funding for Illinois career technical education programs like the ones offered at the college.
More investment in higher education was a key aspect of the budget plan he proposed in February. He said faculty members have left Illinois universities for other states because of a 10-year lack of proper funding and students worry about uncertain financial aid.
“My grandfather once said ‘It takes a lifetime to build a reputation and about five minutes to screw it up,’” said Pritzker during a meeting with The Pantagraph’s editorial board. “In the last four years in Illinois, I would argue that our colleges’ and universities’ reputations got damaged significantly … If you want to fix that problem, you’ve got to make the investment in universities and community colleges.”
Pritzker’s proposed budget unveiled Feb. 20 calls for adding $375 million to the school funding formula — $25 million more than the state is required to fund. It also proposes a 5 percent increase in funding for public universities and community colleges and a boost to the Monetary Award Program that assists low- and moderate-income students.
New testing by the U.S EPA shows there’s been a rapid drop in a cancer-causing chemical days after the closure of the Sterigenics plant in DuPage County.
The medical supply sterilization company, which has been in Willowbrook since 1984, was forced to shut down last month after testing showed dangerous levels of ethylene oxide in the air in a radius around the Sterigenics plant. […]
Since then, the most recent tests show ethylene oxide levels were at least 50 to 90 percent lower after the shutdown.
Thursday, Sterigenics released a statement claiming the results also prove there are other sources emitting ethylene oxide besides its facility. […]
However, Congressman Dan Lipinski’s (IL-3) office also issued a release Thursday stating “Sterigenics is clearly the culprit,” and persists the plant remain shut down.
Average levels of ethylene oxide after the shutdown were at least 50 percent lower at each of the 10 monitors, the documents show, and more than 90 percent lower at the testing locations closest to Sterigenics.
“We’re seeing a pretty rapid drop since the seal order,” Lewis Weinstock, an EPA official overseeing the agency’s testing, told residents Thursday during an online seminar, referring to the legal term for the action taken by the Pritzker administration.
Federal officials plan to keep collecting samples through the end of March, in part because unexplained concentrations of ethylene oxide continue to be detected at some locations even though Sterigenics isn’t releasing it into the air. Possible sources include other upwind facilities or lingering emissions from Sterigenics, Mike Koerber, associate director for policy at the EPA’s Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, said during the seminar.
Based on information the agency already has collected, Koerber said, EPA scientists are conducting a more detailed evaluation of cancer risks in Willowbrook and surrounding suburbs — a document expected to be released to the public before a community forum in late May.
* As the Tribune reports today, Rep. Marty Moylan’s resolution calling on the General Assembly to “slow the process of legalizing recreational marijuana in Illinois” now has 60 sponsors and co-sponsor, giving it a majority…
Tim McAnarney, lobbyist for Healthy & Productive Illinois, a nonprofit group opposed to legalization, said sponsors thought they could rush it through while potential tax revenue from marijuana is already being “promised 10 times over.”
“They thought it was a slam-dunk, but it’s not,” McAnarney said. “They need to slow down.”
But state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, a Chicago Democrat and chief sponsor of legalization in the chamber, said the issue has been debated for years, with four public hearings, 11 town hall meetings, more than 100 stakeholder meetings, with many more to come. Sponsors recently began meeting with the staff of Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who supports legalization, to hash out details of the issue.
“There’s nothing rushed about this at all,” Cassidy said. “This has gotten way more attention and scrutiny than pretty much anything I’ve ever seen worked on here.”
In reality, McAnarney doesn’t want it slowed down, he wants it stopped, as do many of Moylan’s co-sponsors.
The opposition is using a “go slow” argument when nothing whatsoever has been fast about this bill’s process.
The state of Illinois is not a left-leaning state. It just happens that we have Chicago, who mixes in with our votes when it comes to statewide elections. This state is middle- to right-leaning.
I’m not trying to pick on Bryant here because this is a common thing said by others.
But the reality is that Downstate, particularly the southern region, is now the outlier in Illinois. They are the odd ducks, if you will, who are skewing the state’s politics.
* Take a look at the poll results released so far by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute. The poll found that 81 percent of Chicagoans support a $15 minimum wage, as did 71 percent of suburbanites, while just 48 of Downstaters supported the plan.
President Donald Trump’s job disapproval rating is 76 percent in Chicago and 60 percent in the suburbs, but more Downstaters approve than disapprove, 50-46.
Sen. Dick Durbin’s job approval numbers are above water in Chicago and the suburbs, but he’s underwater Downstate, 42-48.
* Downstate no longer has a powerful suburban ally like it did when DuPage County’s Chicago-bashing conservative Pate Philip ran the Illinois Senate. DuPage now has just one Republican state Senator. Few suburban Republican legislators openly bash Chicago these days.
Lake County’s board has a Democratic majority for the first time ever.
An African-American woman named Lauren Underwood not only defeated incumbent Republican Congressman Randy Hultgren, but beat Hultgren in McHenry County, of all places.
Since this law went into effect, the incidence of abortions among minors has dropped 57 percent in Illinois.
Why would anybody vote for legislation that effectively removes parents and guardians of minors from a major decision that is known to have significant physical and mental after effects?
Current law makes it illegal for minors in Illinois to use an indoor tanning bed; buy cigarettes, alcohol or lottery tickets; or vote in an election. Are we to believe abortion is somehow less consequential than getting a tan?
Supporters of the law often point out that parental consent is required for most major medical procedures performed on minors, from appendectomies to nose jobs. And that abortion is a more profound procedure than routine surgeries.
But childbirth is also profound, and it’s about 14 times riskier than abortion. Yet minors aren’t required to inform their parents when receiving obstetric care.
Sexual activity is also profound. Yet, as I’ve noted, minors aren’t required to inform their parents when obtaining birth control.
Supporters also point out that when girls with unwanted pregnancies come from dysfunctional or abusive families, the law allows them to petition a judge to waive the notification requirement. […]
What’s particularly telling is that of the 400 pregnant girls who have petitioned for the waiver in Illinois since 2013, only one has been denied, according to the ACLU, which cited attorney-client confidentiality in declining to disclose details of that case.
Discuss, but be respectful of others or you’ll be banned for life or worse. I’m not gonna tolerate any over the top nonsense today like we had earlier this week.
* So, the Preckwinkle campaign itself ginned up the possibility of an Obama endorsement without knowing for sure it was going to happen? Oh, man, that’s silly…
After pulling one rabbit out of the hat — from Chance the Rapper — Toni Preckwinkle was trying desperately to secure two more endorsements that could have been game-changers: Barack and Michelle Obama.
But the former president and first lady decided to remain on the sidelines and avoid alienating a mayor whose support they need to deliver the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park.
Thursday’s announcement by Obama’s office is another blow to Preckwinkle, who yanked her television commercials off the air for at least part of the crucial home stretch. […]
On Thursday, before the Obamas declared their intention to stay out of it, a Preckwinkle strategist was asked whether he considered the Chance the Rapper endorsement to be a game-changer.
“No. But the next two will be.” Asked if he was referring to the Obamas, the strategist said: “I hope so.”
For her part, Preckwinkle used Chance’s endorsement to deflect questions about her campaign’s viability as it has stopped airing television ads during the final two weeks before the April 2 runoff election.
Moderator Phil Ponce opened the debate by asking Preckwinkle about her lack of presence on the airwaves.
“This has been a really good day,” Preckwinkle said, immediately changing the subject. “I’m grateful for the support that I received from Chance this morning.”
Preckwinkle ducked the question when Ponce asked it once more, noting she’s received endorsements from West Side aldermen, including Walter Burnett and Jason Ervin. Asked about it a third time, she said, “TV ads aren’t all there are to campaigns. We’re working hard to meet voters at their doors and in their homes” to talk about important issues.
When Phil decides to press a topic, Phil does not easily give up.
…Adding… I didn’t realize that Preckwinkle wasn’t even at the Chance presser. How does that even happen?…
At the end of the presser, someone asks where's Toni Preckwinkle. She's not present at the presser. Why isn't she by your side.
"I don't know where she is."@chancetherapper says he hasn't talked to her yet, but plans to this week.
* Lightfoot, Preckwinkle Clash on Campaign Cash: The back-and-forth was the latest in a series of contentious public appearances between the two runoff candidates, though the tone Thursday was more civil. Both candidates agreed on many policy points, including a push to create a civilian police oversight agency that would have the power to hire and fire the police superintendent. Both said they support a version of the Grassroots Alliance for Police Accountability (GAPA) ordinance that would create such a commission.
* Lightfoot to Preckwinkle: Put donors’ money where your mouth is: “President Preckwinkle, I’m really surprised you keep going down this path,” Lightfoot said on WTTW’s “Chicago Tonight” program, noting that Preckwinkle’s campaign has accepted $19,000 in donations from Lightfoot’s law partners, as well as $1,000 from Lightfoot herself. “If you’re so offended by that, give the money back. Give it back. I’ll give you the address,” said Lightfoot, then gave an address as the two candidates started shouting over each other. “Give the money back.”
A national adult film actress known for alleging an affair with the president of the United States will be in the state’s capital city Friday, when she’s expected to protest a surcharge on strip club entries.
Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, will be at adult entertainment venue Deja Vu in Springfield to sign books Friday afternoon, and she is expected to perform that evening.
Before that Daniels’ is expected to take part in an event at the state capitol protesting the Live Adult Entertainment Facility Surcharge Act.
The originator of the tax in 2014, state Sen. Toi Hutchinson, said the revenue is meant to help centers for battered women. Hutchinson, D-Olympia Fields, said it doesn’t suppose that everyone going to a strip club abuses women, just as everyone who goes to a casino doesn’t have a gambling problem. […]
Duane Patterson, general manager of Deja Vu in Springfield, said he fears the money that is being collected isn’t being appropriated correctly, worrying most is going into administration costs.
“It’s a good cause but it was not done the right way,” Patterson said.
* As often happens with these state taxes/fees, the law allows for a small two-percent skim of the tax revenues for administration, but that’s hardly “most” of the money.
The Department of Human Services distributes money collected from the tax. I reached out to DHS yesterday and asked if any of the money is used for administration purposes. The department’s response…
IDHS has a $600,000 appropriation from the Sexual Assault Services and Prevention Fund and all of the appropriation goes directly to the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault (ICASA). None of these funds are used for IDHS administrative costs.
But what about ICASA?
* From Carrie Ward at the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault…
ICASA’s DHS contract includes $600,000 from fees resulting from the Live Adult Entertainment Facility Surcharge Act. The Act was effective 1/1/13; however, it took some time for funds to begin to accumulate in the account. ICASA began allocating funds in FY15. Contrary to Mr. Patterson’s statement, the funds are being appropriated correctly and are not used predominately for administration. Approximately 85% of contracted funds are allocated to ICASA rape crisis centers throughout the state of Illinois for the purpose of providing prevention and crisis intervention services; 15% is retained by the ICASA Administrative Office for training and administration.
Though there will be $600,000 in the fund to meet this year’s budget, this has not been the case every year. While ICASA is contracted to receive a maximum of $600,000 each year, the actual amount we receive is dependent on funds collected. If less than $600,000 is collected, we receive the lesser amount.
These funds are essential to ICASA’s provision of statewide rape crisis services and are consistently used as designated in the act for the purpose of providing community-based assistance to victims of sexual assault and for activities concerning the prevention of sexual assault.
We reached out to Stormy Daniels’ representatives earlier this week in hopes of providing information on how funds are used in Illinois to support rape crisis centers, but we were unable to connect with them.
*** UPDATE *** The tax is an entrance tax, not a tax on performers…
Today I'm protesting at the state capitol in Springfield, Illinois, against the "pole tax" that unjustly targets strippers. We support funding rape crisis centers. We oppose a tax that foists the responsibility to fund them solely on the hardworking adult entertainers of Illinois
AARON MERREIGHN of Riverton, who ran for lieutenant governor last year under the Conservative Party banner, says he’ll run as a Republican next year for state representative in the 87th House District, now represented by Rep. TIM BUTLER, R-Springfield.
“Our Republican Party’s still falling apart,” said Merreighn, 36, who works in human resources for the Illinois Department of Revenue. […]
Butler said Merreighn “needs to make up his mind on which party he wants to be in.”
Merreighn said he “left the Republican Party last year” when he became running mate to then-state Sen. SAM McCANN. Their ticket got 4.2 percent of the statewide vote in November.
Merreighn ran as a Democrat for precinct committeeman in 2014 and was listed on a Libertarian Party of Illinois news release when he ran for Riverton village trustee in 2015. He was not elected in either race.
If he loses maybe he’ll run on the Green Party’s ticket.
* Bet you never thought you’d see that headline, eh? Anyway, I thought for sure this was a political prank on Toni Preckwinkle when I heard about it, but she has fully embraced an endorsement by Todd Stroger…
The former County Board president, who lost an ugly 2010 campaign to Preckwinkle, is now backing her, he tells The Spin.
“Yeah — what’s the saying? ‘There are no permanent friends, no permanent enemies, just permanent interests.’ And my interest is in seeing things get done in the neighborhoods that are typically overlooked. If I can bend the ear of the mayor to get something done, then so be it,” Stroger, who lives on the city’s South Side and works for South Side Chicago Ald. Howard Brookins, 21st, said Wednesday. […]
The two have “spoken about three times in the last week and a half — about the campaign and what my role could be. And I gave her some unsolicited advice, of course. What I told her was I thought that the campaign should start focusing more on the future, not on the past — we know who she is, (time to tell people) what is her plan. There’s no use sitting and fighting with your opponent.” […]
“Toni is proud to have the support of Todd Stroger because of their shared commitment to the community. He joins a growing coalition of community members who know she has the experience and vision to lead the city as the next mayor of Chicago,” campaign spokesman Chris Meagher said in an emailed statement.
Stroger is absolutely right about the need to focus on the future instead of constantly talking about her and her opponent’s pasts. Check out this debate story with that frame in mind…
Lightfoot then posed a question to Preckwinkle, noting how one of them will become the first African-American female elected mayor of Chicago and asking her to discuss the race’s significance.
Preckwinkle took her answer in a different direction, again trying to draw a distinction between her long career in public service as a teacher, alderman and county board president and Lightfoot’s background as a City Hall appointee and corporate attorney.
“You know, I think it’s true that this is a historic time. But it’s also true that we took very different paths to get where we are,” Preckwinkle said. “I worked to bring change, to actualize change, to transform the institutions I represented and the communities I represented. And let me just say, that’s hard work. Resolve isn’t good enough. It takes patience and courage to do this work.”
She went on to criticize Lightfoot for her work at Mayer Brown saying, “While I was transforming our health care system, increasing access and improving the quality of care, my opponent was working for a law firm that defends tobacco companies and polluters.” […]
“Well, I will actually answer the question,” Lightfoot said. “I hope this campaign and the fact that one of us as African-American women is going to be the next mayor of the city really gives hope to young girls that are out there and young men that are out there to know what my parents taught me: that anything is possible if you actually have the opportunity and take advantage of it and use it as a ladder up.”
Flanked by black activists with whom he consulted before making the endorsement, Chance said, “The resounding voice has been that they don’t necessarily feel comfortable or safe going into a city where Lori Lightfoot sits on the fifth floor” of City Hall.
“Her past record as a prosecutor has not been in the best interest of young black people in Chicago, hasn’t been entirely truthful. And even her campaign and the image that she’s created since the February election has been … very untrue,” he said.
Those same activists — from groups like Black Lives Matter and Assata’s Daughters who have rallied around the #NoCopAcademy label — “appreciate Toni Preckwinkle,” Chance said. […]
“The truth is that the most qualified person in terms of somebody who’s gonna look out for all the people of Chicago [and] account for the police, victims of gun crime, victims of economic crime is Toni Preckwinkle. So, I’m fully behind her,” he said.
This isn’t his first entry into the mayor’s race. He and rapper Kanye West poured hundreds of thousands of dollars and ample hype into former candidate Amara Enyia’s campaign.
Chance may have given Enyia a $400,000 contribution in January, but said he wasn’t planning to open his wallet again.
“I don’t have any more money for Chicago politics,” Chance said, when asked if he would bring fresh cash to Preckwinkle’s campaign.
…Adding… Lori Lightfoot…
I have great respect for Chance and the community activists and organizers across the city who are fighting for social justice,” said Lightfoot. “I share their passion and commitment to pursuing true police accountability because we have not had nearly enough progress to date. That’s why I’ve fought for police reform throughout my career. As mayor, I will take my efforts to the next level by working with stakeholders who’ve been engaging in this fight from the get-go. My campaign is about delivering change, which means working together to enact new paradigms and new policies. I would create a robust youth committee to incorporate the perspectives and policy ideas of these activists into our city government. Young people have a voice, we just need to listen.
* I’ve been telling subscribers about this for days…
There’s a $2 billion gas tax increase on the table at the statehouse to pay for infrastructure projects, but some warn such a move will hurt lower-income families the hardest. There’s also an effort to give municipalities more ability to impose their own gas taxes.
State Sen. Martin Sandoval, D-Chicago, said motorists should expect a push to double the state’s gas tax from .19 cents a gallon to .38 cents heading into the home stretch of spring session. An amendment to Senate Bill 103 would also increase the annual vehicle registration fee by $50, and $130 more for electric vehicles.
A fact sheet from the International Union of Operating Engineers says those increases along with doubling the fee on drivers’ licenses and increasing truck registration fees by $100 would raise an additional $2 billion.
State Rep. Joe Sosnowski, R-Rockford, said increasing the motor fuel tax will hit working families.
There’s lots more to this bill, but you either gotta subscribe or wait for somebody else to write about it.
* Meanwhile, a spokesperson says this bill may be called for a vote next week in the House Revenue Committee. From a press release…
Legislation under consideration in Springfield that would allow municipalities to impose their own local, .03¢ per gallon gas tax is being welcomed as a tool for struggling communities to rebuilding their local economies.
The legislation, House Bill 102, would require municipalities to register a responsible bidder ordinance with the Illinois Department of Transportation to allow them to impose a local motor fuel tax of up to .03¢ per gallon, a tax which would be administered and enforced by the Illinois Department of Revenue.
“With towns, villages, and cities throughout Illinois struggling to pay police and fire pension costs while straining to preserve core services, local leaders need additional revenue to fund community capital construction projects ,” said long-time local municipal attorney Michael Del Galdo, managing partner of the Berwyn-based Del Galdo Law Group, LLC., who serves as general counsel for multiple suburban Cook County communities. […]
“By including a responsible bidder provision in the bill, municipalities will be assured that a qualified workforce will be employed on behalf of projects supported by a local gas tax,” said Marc Poulos, Executive Director, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa Foundation for Fair Contracting. “More broadly, this bill will help local communities rebuild their finances and revive their local workforce after the damage inflicted on their budgets and economies due to the Rauner Administration’s historic mismanagement.”
[Orphe Divounguy, chief economist for the Illinois Policy Institute] said the state should eliminate waste and investigate corruption before raising more taxes.
A week ago Sunday, over 1500 like-minded downstate Illinoisans filled to overflowing the Effingham Performance Center to hear the latest about how Chicago Leftists in the State Capitol are ramming through radical gun control and abortion policies, forcing public school children to study historic figures based on their sexual orientation, and taking money out of their wallets while stealing basic Constitutional rights.
The frustration and resentment of Chicago political powers forcing their Leftist worldview on voters that supported Donald Trump in 2016 was palpable among the 1500 gathered as speaker after speaker tackled the issues.
That was especially true when State Rep. Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville) asked the crowd midway into the program, “Who wants to separate from Chicago and Cook County?” The crowd stood and cheered in response. […]
“Everything that matters to the people in my district is under attack,” Halbrook told Illinois Review this week. “The issue of life, the issue of marriage, the school curriculum. Everything these people hold near and dear to their hearts - our hearts - is under attack by far left legislators from the city.”
Three downstate freshman state legislators - Rep. Darren Bailey, Chris Miller & Blaine Wilhour - rented the Center for a town hall, and within two weeks, over 1500 people gathered on a Sunday afternoon to hear what was going on in Springfield. Halbrook was invited to address the crowd.
Halbrook said he introduced the resolution at the urging of Gina Merritt of New Illinois - a separation group from the northern part of Illinois that has been working with Paul Preston of New California. The movement is catching on downstate under the leadership of Effingham County Board member Dave Campbell, who first introduced the Second Amendment Sanctuary county resolution last April.
On the same day hundreds of pro-life supporters rallied inside the state’s Capitol to protest abortion bills, the Illinois Family Institute quietly deleted a Facebook post and website article which compared Democrats to Nazis.
Despite the backlash and its decision to take down the post, the group’s executive director is defending its content.
“You cannot help but connect the torturous ways that human beings were treated in Nazi camps in the way that pre-born babies are being treated in the women’s womb,” David Smith told the Sun-Times Thursday.
Smith told the Sun-Times he took down the post “because people aren’t getting past the headline.”
“It’s becoming a distraction so I took it down, until we can come up with a better headline or flesh it out,” Smith said.
“It asked the question, Democratic politicians and Nazis, is there a difference? And considering the abortion holocaust that our country is going through and the push for extreme late abortion legislation, we were asking the question,” Smith said.
During his Effingham speech, Smith said “Southern Illinois has to be heard,” then quoted anti-Nazi minister Dietrich Bonhoeffer “who stood up to Hitler” and who said, “Silence in the face of evil is evil itself.”
* Related…
* Jettisoning Chicago has always been a dubious proposition: Cook County - where Chicago is located - gets back just 80 cents for every dollar it sends the state, according to the study. But Halbrook’s own Shelby County gets back $1.44 for every dollar it sends. Clay County, where Bailey is based, gets back $1.84.
In an effort to kick-start discussions on sports betting, state Rep. Mike Zalewski has filed four different proposals to bring sports betting to Illinois.
The Riverside Democrat said the proposals will be discussed at a hearing of the House Revenue Committee next week.
“What we have learned the last few months is there is great interest and agreement in the gaming industry to bring sports betting and its economic benefits to Illinois and little agreement yet on now to best do it,” Zalewski said in a statement.
Zalewski said the proposals that will be discussed were modeled on sports betting in effect in other states like New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania. He said each proposal will “generate hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue and other economic benefits with varying rates and fees.”
Zalewski’s plan is to legalize sports betting by the end of this session, but Illinois has a history of resistance to gambling expansion, so the question of whether or not mobile sports wagering will be front and center is one that is currently unanswered.
“I think it may be in-person sports betting to start and then mobile will roll out,” Zalewski told Sports Handle. “The brick and mortars in this state are going to say, ‘We’ve been here the longest, we’ve vetted, we’ve tested, we’ve been here before, why would you wait here for the online guys, when we’re show ready right now?’
“That may be appealing to us as a policy piece. It’s a hybrid, so I think slow beginnings are probably preferred over going too fast. “
Zalewski’s four options for legalized sports betting all take different approaches. One amendment would allow the Illinois Lottery to take on the responsibilities for sports betting, rather than the Illinois Gaming Board. It would also allow people to make their bets anywhere Illinois lottery tickets are already sold, like a gas stations or convenience stores. […]
Another amendment would allow professional sports leagues to get a cut of sales from sports betting in Illinois. Zalewski acknowledged that this idea isn’t universally popular because not everyone thinks that leagues should share in the revenue. But, Zalewski pointed out that Illinois is the home to many pro teams. […]
The New Jersey model would allow operator licenses for all riverboats and organizational licensees, and allow for bets both online and in person.
The Mississippi model would empower the Illinois Gaming Board to do more, though online betting in that model would not be allowed from a better’s own home. Rather, a person would have to be physically in a brick-and-mortar casino or racetrack to place bets online.
Also looming in the background are perennial issues — such as creating new casino licenses and allowing slot machines at horse tracks — that have derailed negotiations over gambling expansion for the past decade. Pritzker has said he wants sports betting to be dealt with separately from other gambling issues.
Casinos, horse tracks and video gambling operators are “all very interested in sports betting as an option, and they’re all still very much interested in what they want separately,” Zalewski said.
“Among lawmakers, we’re very cognizant that it’s hard to keep this issue separated,” he said. “That being said, if you get bogged down on this topic because people insist on getting … a hundred percent of what they want, then we won’t get it done.”
If lawmakers are able to get a bill to Pritzker’s desk this spring, Illinois could be the first Midwestern state to legalize sports betting after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year overturned a prohibition on state-sanctioned wagering on sporting events.
[Headline changed because I had a brain freeze or something.]
* OK, this is gonna get a little complicated, but stay with me here. From the Illinois Policy Institute…
Pritzker’s [graduated income tax] plan assumes Illinois will see average annual income growth of 3.61 percent. His administration claims this “conservative” estimate is both consistent with the state’s recent performance and accounts for a one-year stagnation in income growth to account for a slowing economy. But Pritzker is wrong on both counts.
According to the IRS, the average annual growth rate of Illinois’ adjusted gross income over the past five years of available data has been 3.37 percent, meaning the administration fails to correctly account for the past. The governor also alleges that a one-year stagnation of income growth in his assumption is “conservative” and accounts for an economic slowdown. But Illinois’ total income has not only stagnated, but declined in two out of the past four years on record.
* First of all, Pritzker’s office says they’re using net income for their five-year projection, while the IPI is using adjusted gross income. What’s the dif? From the governor’s office…
Net Income vs. AGI
We used net income because this is the taxable base upon which the tax rate is applied. Federal AGI is only a part of the picture, and is insufficient to create a realistic projection. When individuals file income taxes in Illinois, the state modifies the Federal AGI and then applies its own exemptions and deductions to come to the net income value.
* And the governor’s office looked at compounded annual growth instead of just simple growth. Team Pritzker…
The advantage of using a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) versus a simple annual average growth rate is that it provides a more realistic measure of growth. CAGR smooths year-to-year volatility, providing a more accurate way to—in the case of investments—measure actual fund performance over a given period of time. We need a 5-year forecast of incomes, because our most recent available data is for the 2016 tax year and the year the fair tax would take effect is 2021. Because we’re relying on a 5-year forecast, it’s far more important to know the likely values of income at the point in time five years in the future (2021), not what is happening in any given year between 2016 and 2021.
A CAGR is the compound average of a single year of growth. The annualized figure takes into account that we used the CAGR for 4 years of growth, and no growth for the fifth year [to reflect an expected national economic downturn]. So, the annualized value is effective 4/5ths of the 5 year GAGR.
* Now, click here to see the governor’s chart. My own impression when I first read the IPI’s report was that the group was looking at growth in all income levels, but I was more curious about people who earn higher incomes because they’re gonna get hit with the higher rates. From the governor’s office…
The growth in upper income brackets in Illinois is dramatically outpacing growth in lower income brackets.
That certainly makes sense and was what I expected.
* According to the governor’s office, the five-year 2011-2015 compounded annual growth rate for Illinoisans making $50,001-$100,000 was 0 percent. The same growth rate for Illinoisans making $25,001-$50,000 was 1 percent. The governor’s projected five-year growth (2016-2021), including a year of a national slowdown, is 0 percent for both. It’s -1 percent for incomes under $25K.
But the 2011-2015 growth rate for people making between $101K and $500K was 5 percent and it was 7 percent for those making over $500K. Those are projected to be 4 percent and 6 percent, respectively, for the 2016-2021 forecast.
Higher tax rates kick in at $250K.
…Adding… From the Illinois Policy Institute…
1) They used the preliminary 2016 income number from IDOR when a final number is available. The final number is lower by $3 billion, which maybe explains why they didn’t use it. This is artificially inflated, meaning the one-pager is artificially inflated too.
2) The numbers they gave you don’t match the total 2016 income number they released initially in the one-pager. The reason is that the one-pager added non-Illinois-resident filer income to the total (a highly volatile revenue source). Doing this makes their taxable income estimate rosier in 2021. Recall that the 97% tax cut claim is based on the one-pager.
In other words, they took growth in a number that doesn’t include an income source and applied it to a number that does include that income source (roughly $31 billion in 2016). They are flying by the seat of their pants here.
This also means they’re including 560,000 non-Illinois-resident returns in their 97% tax cut talking point.
3) Despite these inaccuracies, taking the info from the one-pager — 15.22% total growth from 2016-2021 — we backed out what the 4-year annual growth rate was. We use AGI because this reflects actual changes in income whereas net income can reflect changes to the state tax code. Predicting based on net income means you have to estimate size of deductions, etc. We checked IDOR data on net income and that still doesn’t reflect Pritzker’s assumed growth on the one-pager.
4) Economic growth should not be expected to increase at the tail-end of an economic expansion, even if their numbers were legit. They say it’s exactly the same for four years and then in one year it doesn’t grow. That’s irresponsible.
* Unanimous statement by the Teachers’ Retirement System Board of Trustees…
The Teachers’ Retirement System is currently 40 percent funded. The system is at a growing risk of insolvency in the event of an economic downturn. This danger is the direct result of eight decades of state contributions that always have fallen far short of actuarially based funding. TRS long-term investment returns consistently exceed the System’s expectations; but investment income alone will not be enough to prevent insolvency.
The TRS Board’s fiduciary duty to its 417,000 members is its paramount concern. The payment of future TRS benefits are jeopardized without a credible plan to address the System’s long-term sustainability. The TRS Board and staff unanimously adopts the following positions and will actively pursue their realization as a state government budget is developed for fiscal year 2020:
* TRS opposes any Fiscal 2020 budget for the state of Illinois that will appropriate to the System less than $4,813,577,696, the contribution calculated under state pension funding law and certified by the System on January 14, 2019.
* TRS opposes any extension of the target date currently in statute for the System to reach 90 percent funding. The target should remain no later than fiscal year 2045.
* TRS repeats its long-standing warning that the state’s current pension funding law perpetually locks in underfunding for the system. A “full funding” state contribution for TRS in FY 2020 is $7,878,670,709, as certified in January of this year.
* TRS opposes any expansion of the current member “buyout” program if an expanded program does not fund the buyouts with monies other than from System assets. At a funding level of 40 percent, TRS is not accumulating any assets to pay the future benefits of active members and could not afford to buy them out.
* We respectfully request that, as in recent years, TRS and our system actuaries participate in the fiscal analysis and evaluation of any proposals that would impact the system and its members.
We stand ready to work with anyone on solutions to these important issues.
I’ve asked the governor’s office for a response.
*** UPDATE *** And here’s the governor’s office response, such as it is…
Illinois is facing enormous fiscal challenges, with multi-billion dollar deficits projected for years to come. Governor Pritzker has proposed a bridge budget and a plan that will put Illinois on a path to firmer fiscal footing through the fair income tax.
Thursday, Mar 21, 2019 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s tax plan assumes Illinois will see average annual income growth of 3.61 percent. His administration claims this “conservative” estimate is both consistent with the state’s recent performance and accounts for a one-year stagnation in income growth to account for a slowing economy.
According to the IRS, the average annual growth rate of Illinois’ adjusted gross income over the past five years of available data has been 3.37 percent, meaning the administration fails to correctly account for the past. The governor also alleges that a one-year stagnation of income growth in his assumption accounts for an economic slowdown. But Illinois’ total income has not only stagnated, but declined in two out of the past four years on record.
Not only are the governor’s assumptions wrong given the state’s recent performance (which he states are the basis for his claims), but they are wrong given the anticipated growth trajectory of Illinois and the U.S. economy as a whole. The governor’s estimates don’t account for the possibility of a slowdown or even a recession, which two-thirds of business economists in the U.S. expect before 2021, according to polling from the National Association for Business Economics.
Pritzker’s plan won’t deliver on the promises he’s making, meaning it will only serve as a bridge to further tax hikes.
At first, hearing that six in ten Illinois voters think the country is headed in the wrong direction, and that two-thirds think the state is headed in the wrong direction, would seem like bad news. However, both numbers—particularly regarding the state of Illinois’ direction—are improvements over last spring’s numbers, according to the latest Simon PollTM, conducted by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
While 67 percent said they thought things in the state of Illinois were off track and moving in the wrong direction, that was significantly below the 84 percent who gave “wrong direction” responses in Spring 2018. More than one in five (22 percent) in this year’s survey said things in Illinois were moving in the right direction, compared to just 9 percent last Spring.
About six in ten (61 percent) surveyed this year said things in the United States were off track and moving in the wrong direction, compared with 64 percent in the spring 2018 poll. Three in ten (30%) said things were moving in the right direction, compared with 27 percent a year ago.
The Simon PollTM was based on a statewide sample of 1,000 registered voters conducted March 11 through March 17. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percent.
“Thinking back to a year ago, what changed in Illinois to cause more than one in eight voters to change their minds about the direction of the state?” asked Charlie Leonard, one of the directors of the Simon Poll. “While there has been good economic news here and there, we have to think that a change in state leadership—the decisive victory of Governor J.B. Pritzker over the unpopular former governor, Bruce Rauner—has a lot to do with it, even though Governor Pritzker’s lukewarm approval rating doesn’t look like he’s received much of a ‘honeymoon’ period.”
Significant regional differences surfaced regarding direction of the State of Illinois, with 27 percent of City of Chicago respondents saying the state is headed in the right direction, compared with 22 percent in the Chicago suburbs and 17 percent downstate.
Perhaps representing partisan enthusiasm with the election of a new governor, Democratic respondents were more optimistic about the direction of the state (36 percent “right direction”) than were Independents (14 percent) or Republicans (10 percent).
Regarding the state of the country, “right direction” responses topped 35 percent in Downstate Illinois, followed by 30 percent in the Chicago suburbs and 25 percent in the City of Chicago.
Partisan differences on the direction of the country may also reflect the partisan makeup of executive leadership, with Republicans far more likely to give “right direction” responses (60 percent) than were Independents (27 percent) or Democrats (10 percent).
Typically, respondents are more optimistic about their local communities than they are regarding their state or the country as a whole. In this year’s survey, 56 percent said things in their city or area of the state were moving in the right direction and 35 percent said they were moving in the wrong direction, very similar to last year’s result.
Reform Issues
As in past Simon Institute surveys, support for legislative term limits tops eight voters in ten. This year, 84 percent supported “a proposal limiting the number of years state legislators can serve in the House of Representatives, the State Senate, or a combination of the two,” and 61 percent strongly supported term limits. By contrast, only 13 percent opposed term limits.
Similarly, 85 percent supported leadership term limits, limiting how long legislators could serve in positions such as Speaker of the House or President of the Senate, with 65 percent strongly favoring the proposal. Just one in eight (12 percent) opposed leadership term limits.
Partisan and regional differences on both term limit proposals were minimal, with large majorities in all categories supporting the reforms.
Again, as in past surveys, a proposed constitutional amendment to have legislative district maps created by an independent commission rather than the legislature received two-thirds (67 percent) support, with almost four in ten (38 percent) strongly favoring the reform. Fewer than one in four voters (22 percent) opposed the redistricting proposal.
Whether in Chicago, its suburbs, or downstate, more than six in ten respondents supported the independent redistricting commission. However, while still a solid majority, fewer Republicans supported the redistricting reform (63 percent) than did Independents (70 percent) or Democrats (72 percent).
Minimum Wage Increase
Interviewers asked respondents whether they “support or oppose incremental increases in the state’s minimum wage, with is currently $8.25 an hour, up to $15 per hour, by January 1, 2025.” While minimum wage hikes usually spark controversy, two-thirds (66 percent) of Illinois voters in the Simon Poll sample supported the minimum wage increase—with 49 percent strongly favoring it. About a third (32 percent) opposed the increase in the minimum wage.
Regional differences in support for the minimum wage hike appear, with support highest in Chicago (81 percent), followed by the Chicago suburbs (71 percent) and Downstate Illinois (48 percent). Even stronger partisan differences appear, with nine in ten Democrats (91 percent) supporting the wage increase, as opposed to four in ten Republicans (39 percent). Fifty nine percent of Republicans opposed the minimum wage increase. A solid majority of Independents (58 percent) support the gradual minimum wage increase.
John S. Jackson, one of the directors of the poll, summarized the debate over this issue, “The minimum wage bill was passed by the Illinois General Assembly with strong support from Governor Pritzker. The opposition was led by the Republicans, some business groups, and legislators from downstate. They argued that the increases would cost jobs and that downstate living expenses were less than those in metropolitan Chicago, and thus there should be a two- tiered minimum wage. Supporters argued that the requirements for a ‘living wage’ downstate were often well above what this bill would provide and thus workers there also needed a wage increase to meet those requirements. In addition, supporters pointed out that there is very mixed evidence over whether minimum wage increases lead to job losses. These divisions represent the usual polarization in Illinois and the nation at this point in our history.”
The margin of error for the entire sample of 1,000 voters is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. This means that if we conducted the survey 100 times, in 95 of those instances, the population proportion would be within plus or minus the reported margin of error for each subsample. For subsamples, the margin of error increases as the sample size goes down. The margin of error was not adjusted for design effects.
Live telephone interviews were conducted by Customer Research International of San Marcos, Texas using the random digit dialing method. The telephone sample was provided to Customer Research International by Scientific Telephone Samples. Potential interviewees were screened based on whether they were registered voters and quotas based on area code and sex (<60 percent female). The sample obtained 54 percent male and 46 percent female respondents. Interviewers asked to speak to the youngest registered voter at home at the time of the call. Cell phone interviews accounted for 60 percent of the sample. A Spanish language version of the questionnaire and a Spanish-speaking interviewer were made available.
Field work was conducted from March 11 to 17. No auto-dial or “robo” polling is included. Customer Research International reports no Illinois political clients. The survey was paid for with non-tax dollars from the Institute’s endowment fund. The data were not weighted in any way.
That’s pretty high on the male end, which is actually good news for Pritzker on the $15 minimum wage question because 73 percent of women support the plan while 59 percent of men back it. If that universe more accurately reflected the usual electorate, the 66 percent overall support would be higher.
Also, while all Downstate Republicans and some Downstate House Democrats opposed the plan, the region was split 48-49 on the new law. And 64 percent of people making over $100K backed the plan as well as 68 percent of those who are age 66 and over. Even 40 percent of conservatives support it.
Trustees of a small village near Chicago are moving closer to allowing a private immigration detention center to be built in the area, despite pushback from activists and communities.
Dwight trustees last week voted to annex and rezone 88 acres (36 hectares) where Virginia-based Immigration Centers of America could build a detention center. The company must now secure a contract with the federal government by September 2020.
Village Board President Jared Anderson says the project could help stimulate the region’s economy by creating about 300 jobs. Dwight is about 80 miles southwest of downtown Chicago.
[Jared Anderson, the Dwight village board president] said pushback against the project has largely come from outside of Dwight. He estimates that he received about 100 emails about the project, but only five to seven of them were from Dwight residents. […]
Sonny Garcia, of Bloomington, Ill., who organized actions against the proposal, said area activists only learned about the plan in February from a local newspaper story. He said some Dwight residents told organizers they felt intimidated to voice their opinion in public.
About 300 people attended the [Dwight village board] meeting, which was moved to Dwight High School to accommodate the crowd. The audience included several opponents who gathered at the Amtrak station and marched to the high school.
While village President Jared Anderson previously spoke of economic benefits for the village, opponents spoke at the meeting against federal immigration policy and the role such a facility would play in it.
After the vote, opponents of the project shouted down the board, causing Anderson to abruptly call an end to the meeting.
They shouted obscenities at the board and several even approached board members. They were rebuffed by the increased police presence at the meeting.
* Press release…
State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, advanced legislation to ban for-profit prisons today out of the House Labor and Commerce Committee, in an effort to block private immigration centers that have recently been approved in Illinois.
“We recently saw a resurgence of municipalities and local governments attempting to approve new for-profit and privately operated detention centers that would target immigrants,” Cassidy said. “Detention centers only confine those detained and cause more suffering to people who are going through one of the difficult times they will face in their life. The holding of a person, whether for a crime or for their immigration status, in a facility that will earn money for holding them is financially and morally irresponsible. For-profit detention centers focus on exactly the opposite of what we should be doing in our state, which is putting profits over the well- being, care, and basic rights of decency of people.”
Cassidy’s House Bill 2040 would prohibit the state or any unit of local government from operating private detention facilities, like those recently proposed to hold detained immigrants. Private, for-profit immigration centers have been attempted in four locations in Illinois. The legislation would also prohibit the entering of contracts, receiving payment or providing payment to a facility owned, managed or operated by a private company or person.
“Stopping these kinds of centers is about ensuring common dignity and humanity to people,” said state Rep. Elizabeth ‘Lisa’ Hernandez, D-Cicero. “There is no evidence that these types of facilities save any money, and often provide no oversight or specialized care to those held there. This bill is a major step in the right direction when it comes to protecting immigrants and providing the proper care that every person deserves.”
The legislation represents initiatives of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. It passed out of the House Labor and Commerce Committee Wednesday and awaits approval from the House as a whole.
Illinois State Police (ISP) District 11 Commander William Guard announces the fourteenth ISP squad car to be struck statewide in 2019 as a result of a Scott’s Law violation.
On Wednesday, March 21, 2019 at approximately 10:54 p.m., an ISP Trooper was struck while assisting in the investigation of a traffic crash on Interstate 55 northbound at milepost 9.4, St. Clair County. The initial crash, reported at 10:29 p.m., involved a vehicle that left the roadway and struck a light pole. The pole fell across the lanes of traffic and seven additional vehicles struck the downed pole prior to ISP Troopers arriving. The first ISP squad car arrived at approximately 10:39 p.m. to stop traffic and move vehicles around the downed pole.
When the third ISP squad car arrived at approximately 10:42 p.m., the Trooper positioned himself further back away from the scene to slow the approaching vehicles prior to them arriving at the initial scene of the downed pole. The Trooper was on foot, outside of his marked squad car with lights activated, when both he and his squad car were struck by a passing truck tractor, semi-trailer combination. The Trooper was transported by ambulance to a local hospital with serious, but stable injuries.
The Illinois State Police Traffic Crash Reconstruction Unit and Zone 6 Investigations are continuing the investigation into this incident. No additional information will be released at this time.
Thousands of people from groups including Illinois Right to Life Action, the Pro-Life Action League and Illinois Family Institute, held a rally on Wednesday to protest the bills.
In fact, the mass of people from the anti-abortion-related groups and another rally in favor of gun control — along with the normal crowd of lawmakers, lobbyists, staffers and others on a session day — grew so thick inside the Capitol, police temporarily closed the building to new visitors.
The crowd was estimated to be as large as 4,000 people at one point, the Secretary of State’s office said. According to a news release, people were brought to the Capitol by bus from across the state. […]
Capitol Police said they believe the building has been temporarily closed due to large crowds five times in the last 10 years.
According to a news release, people were brought to the Capitol by bus from across the state.
“Friends, I believe there’s a sleeping giant that’s been awoken and it’s called the Church of Illinois,” Republican Rep. Darren Bailey, from Xenia, said to a cheering crowd.
Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, although never commenting on whether he supports this specific legislation, has vowed to “make Illinois the most progressive state in the nation for access to reproductive health care.”
State Rep. Terri Bryant, R-Murphysboro, said the bills being advanced by Democrats go beyond just keeping abortion legal in Illinois. One measure, she said, would allow for abortions at any stage in the pregnancy.
Bryant said Gov. J.B. Pritzker doesn’t have a mandate to make the state, as he said, the most progressive state in the nation for reproductive rights.
“Not everyone votes, but I promise you on this issue, you’ll find that if you look at the witness slips in opposition of these bills both in the House and in the Senate, we’re talking about tens of thousands,” Bryant said.
* Related…
* Thousands of pro-life supporters rally against abortion legislation at the state capitol: Though pro-life groups may believe they will not see eye-to-eye with lawmakers backing the bill, some co-sponsors of the proposal said they agreed that aspects of the bill need to be reexamined. “There’s a provision of the bill currently that would allow non-medical meaning non-doctors to perform some aspect of an abortion service. I have problems with that portion, I have shared that with the sponsor of the bill. There are certain things we have to have for public safety,” said Champaign democrat Carol Ammons.
Ideas Illinois launches digital ad asking voters if they trust Madigan & Pritzker with a blank check
Ad comes as Pritzker & Madigan seek passage of massive Jobs Tax on middle class families & jobs creators
Ideas Illinois today launched a digital ad asking voters if they trust Speaker Madigan & Governor Pritzker with a blank check when it comes to their taxes.
“The bottom line is we simply cannot trust Speaker Madigan and Governor Pritzker with a blank check when it comes to raising taxes,” Ideas Illinois Chairman Greg Baise said.
Announcer: There’s a debate going on about Illinois’ tax system.
The latest sales pitch from Springfield insiders?
Pritzker and Madigan want to change the constitution to allow a permanent jobs tax on middle class families.
‘Trust us,’ they say: we’ll use your money to fund our schools, fix our roads, shore up pensions and cut property taxes.
Do you trust them?
In the last 8 years these same Springfield insiders handed us two of the largest tax hikes in history.
…promising these tax hikes would solve all problems. But nothing changed.
We’re still burdened with debt – schools are underfunded – roads and bridges, crumbling – property taxes, still sky-rocketing.
But here they go again, asking you to pay more.
They’re putting a constitutional amendment on your 2020 ballot, paving the way for their jobs tax on the middle class.
It won’t say how much you’ll pay: a blank check for Springfield. Pritzker and Madigan want you to trust them to do the right thing.
But they broke their promise before… and they’ll do it again, if we trust them again.
Not this time.
Visit ideas Illinois.org/broken promises to learn more.
*** UPDATE *** Think Big Illinois…
Today, Ideas Illinois released a new digital ad in their latest attempt to mislead Illinoisans about a fair tax. The only problem is, they actually told the truth for a few seconds of it, and in doing so, detailed exactly why a fair tax is needed to help Illinois fix its $3.2 billion budget crisis and fund critical priorities in our state.
The ad details what the revenue from a fair tax would go to – addressing the $3.2 billion state budget deficit, funding schools, fixing roads, protecting pensions and cutting property taxes.
“In their latest effort to keep our current unfair tax system in place, Ideas Illinois actually showed exactly why we need to implement a fair tax,” said Quentin Fulks, Executive Director of Think Big Illinois. “Not only will a fair tax bring in $3.4 billion of much-needed revenue that will go to fund critical priorities like our schools, but it will do so while lifting the burden off middle and working-class families. That’s why Think Big Illinois is committed to fighting for a fair tax.”
Today, Think Big Illinois released its first television ad advocating for Governor Pritzker’s fair tax plan. The ad details the $3.2 billion deficit the previous administration’s brand of irresponsible governance and mismanagement left the state in, and how Governor Pritzker’s fair tax plan will put Illinois back on track.
Under Governor Pritzker’s fair tax plan, 97% of Illinoisans will see no state income tax increase, with only those making above $250,000 paying more. A fair tax will bring in $3.4 billion in much-needed revenue each year, which will help solve Illinois’ budget crisis and fund critical programs, including our schools.
“Governor Pritzker’s fair tax plan will bring much-needed revenue into the state, while lifting the burden off middle and working-class families who are disproportionately hurt by our current tax system,” said Quentin Fulks, Executive Director for Think Big Illinois. “Think Big Illinois is committed to standing alongside our working families as we fight to implement a tax structure that works for all Illinoisans.”
* I talked about the ad with subscribers earlier this morning, so I’ll just let that be and monitor your own reaction…
And after years of ignoring it, we can’t keep doing more of the same.
Under Governor Pritzker’s fair tax, 97% of Illinoisans will not see an income tax increase.
Only those making above $250,000 a year would pay more.
The governor’s fair tax puts the middle class first, while making the wealthy pay their fair share.
Let’s do what’s right for Illinois’ future.
*** UPDATE *** ILGOP…
“It’s been two short weeks since J.B. Pritzker unveiled his jobs tax, and he has already broken his promise to middle class families. Pritzker called his plan ‘tax relief’ for the middle class, but now he says it’s ‘not…an income tax increase.’ Tomorrow it will be a tax hike on all Illinoisans.
“Pritzker’s change in rhetoric is further proof that his jobs tax proposal is nothing more than a blank check for Pritzker and Madigan to raise taxes on anyone, at any time, for any reason. J.B. Pritzker and Mike Madigan cannot be trusted with a blank check to spend more of your hard-earned taxpayer dollars.” - Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Aaron DeGroot
