People are getting turned away at the Illinois State Capitol after at least 3,600 people gathered in the first floor rotunda for a pro-life rally. Officials say it’s too dangerous to let anyone else in. #twillpic.twitter.com/X1t0St9iNd
The entire main staircase was clogged when I tried to get up to the second floor. Between a pro-life rally and a @MomsDemand rally, I've rarely seen the building so full. https://t.co/V5KLHwpMPD
In this case, plaintiffs challenged the passage of Public Act 100-538 (eff. Jan. 1, 2018), which amended the Illinois Public Aid Code to reverse the prohibition on funding of elective abortions by the State of Illinois’s Medicaid system. Plaintiffs argued that the appropriation of funds in furtherance of Public Act 100-538 violated section 2(b) of article VIII of the Illinois Constitution (Ill. Const. 1970, art. VIII, § 2(b)), as well as section 4(a) of the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability Act (the Act) (25 ILCS 155/4(a) (West 2016)), because the General Assembly did not adopt a revenue estimate that covered the costs of the services proposed by the bill that became Public Act 100-538. The appellate court affirmed dismissal of the plaintiffs claim, finding that it was a “political question” that was not justiciable. 2018 IL App (4th) 180005-U, ii 49. A majority of this court denies plaintiffs petition for leave to appeal before this court.
The issue of what constitutes the parameters of the political-question doctrine is of such vital importance that it should be resolved by the Supreme Court of Illinois and not simply left to the appellate court to grapple with. In the leading case describing the doctrine, the United States Supreme Court observed that the political-question doctrine is “one of ‘political questions,’ not one of ‘political cases,’ “and “[t]he courts cannot reject as ‘no law suit’ a bona fide controversy as to whether some action denominated ‘political’ exceeds constitutional authority.” Here, the appellate court concluded that the legislature’s compliance with section 2(b) of article VIII of our constitution and section 4(a) of the Act is a political question and therefore not justiciable. That conclusion is undoubtedly of sufficient importance to the people of the state of Illinois as to compel this court’s review. I would therefore grant the petition.
Urges lawmakers to slow the process of legalizing recreational marijuana in Illinois, so that lawmakers, stakeholders, and experts alike have the chance to consider the societal impact of legalization and examine all the data from other states that have passed similar legislation.
* He’s now one co-sponsor shy of having enough to pass it…
Rep. Marty Moylan (D-Des Plaines) tells me he has secured 59 votes in the House to pass a resolution urging @GovPritzker to slow down the push to legalize recreational marijuana for adult use. He just got Reps. Bourne, Wheeler, & Jones, He needs one more vote to pass it.
Some of these folks may be signing on just so they can say that they pushed to slow the process down. It’s not a resolution against legalization. But it’s still gotta be worrisome to proponents, even if there’s some gamesmanship here (like with minimum wage).
Marijuana legalization will be particularly destructive for our youth. Recently, more than a dozen children consumed marijuana-laced gummy bears at an elementary school in Ohio. The youngest child treated was just 5 years old. And that follows another incident from late last year when children at a Florida middle school were given similar marijuana-laced gummies from a 12-year-old classmate. […]
Proponents argue that legalizing marijuana is a social justice movement. Illinois recently decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana, which means that those who possess less than 10 grams face a fine similar to a speeding ticket and are not subject to arrest. Decriminalization allows the user of marijuana to avoid a criminal record without the dangerous, unintended consequences of full legalization.
1) Cannabis is currently illegal in Ohio and Florida, so I don’t understand his point.
2) Decriminalization deliberately keeps in place the often violent criminal networks behind its production and distribution. I prefer to stand against that element. Also, under decrim, you can possess pot-laced gummy bears. He’s contradicting himself here.
* Pot growers who want to keep their monopolies decide to pay for study that shows - surprise! - they should keep their monopolies…
Existing growers of Illinois’ medical marijuana crop would be able to meet demand for recreational pot in Illinois for up to four years after legalization, but the state would need more than 400 new dispensaries to handle distribution, according to a study released Tuesday from a group that represents about two dozen state licensed marijuana growers and sellers.
The study contradicts a report released last month that suggested existing growers could meet recreational pot demand for only about two years. That study was commissioned by lawmakers drafting a bill to legalize recreational marijuana, which is a priority for Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
One of the central questions facing lawmakers is how many licenses should be created for growers and sellers of recreational pot. There are 17 companies licensed to grow and 55 dispensaries in this state’s medical marijuana pilot program. […]
The alliance’s study, prepared by the Marijuana Policy Group, a Colorado-based consulting firm, says the earlier projections overestimated the demand by about 200,000 pounds per year and underestimated how much current growers can supply. The new study says the previous report overestimated demand by not accounting for Illinois’ smaller population of heavy marijuana users compared with other states and by counting intrastate travelers when calculating the impact of tourism, among other issues.
Grassroots Cannabis raised $90 million to expand its operations in Illinois and across the country, becoming the latest Chicago-based marijuana company to bring in a sizable round of funding.
The money will be used to further develop Grassroots’ cultivation facility in Litchfield, about 210 miles southwest of Chicago, said CEO Mitch Kahn.
Grassroots also plans to expand its cultivation facilities in Maryland and Pennsylvania, states with growing medical cannabis programs, and build dispensaries in other states where the company recently won licenses. The bulk of the funds, though, will be put toward mergers and acquisitions of other cannabis operations, Kahn said. […]
Last week, a company based in Phoenix agreed to pay $850 million for Chicago-based cannabis operator Verano Holdings. Chicago-based Cresco Labs announced Monday that it would pay $120 million for a Florida marijuana company. Last year, national operator MedMen bought Oak Park’s PharmaCann for about $680 million.
And when he did show up, Pawar voted for the largest property tax hike in Chicago history. But Melissa Conyears-Ervin shows up for us every day.
As State Rep, Melissa protected child care for Chicago families. Her plan will make the Treasurer’s Office more independent from politicians. And ensure we invest in every Chicago neighborhood, not just downtown.
Secretary of State Jesse White: She’s ready for this.
Melissa Conyears-Ervin: Oh, you bet I am.
Announcer: Melissa Conyears-Ervin for Treasurer.
She won the first round 44-42.
Her contributions have been picking up lately. and you gotta figure that at least some of those Toni Preckwinkle backers will be switching their cash over to Rep. Conyears-Ervin.
* Gov. Pritzker is in the Rockford area today surveying flood damage. The Register-Star explains how the flood happened…
The [Rock River] remained at elevated levels because of flooding late last year and the water wasn’t able to fall fast enough before the Rock River basin in Wisconsin and Illinois were socked with snowfall and rain, [W. Scott Lincoln, senior service hydrologist with the National Weather Service in Romeoville] said. Then the polar vortices hit, and that moisture froze in place in the soil.
The soil was wetter than 99 percent of previous months of March, Lincoln said.
The major factor in this flooding was the equivalent of 2 to 4 inches of water from snowmelt between March 12 and March 14 from Wisconsin, Lincoln said. In addition, half an inch to 1 inch of rainwater came down from Wisconsin.
During that same time period, “1 to 2 inches of snow water equivalent” entered [the river] from the Rockford area, he said.
State Rep. Karina Villa is a 40-year-old Democrat representing West Chicago. She’s one of dozens of fresh faces at the Illinois State Capitol this year and also one of seven lawmakers in the House of Representatives whose election flipped a red seat blue — from Republican to Democrat.
Villa was a school social worker for 15 years — and said that’s actually what prompted her to make a run for the state legislature. Instead of just complaining, she wanted to be a part of “the solution.” […]
Her first piece of legislation, introduced early last month, would require schools to specifically discuss mental health within the health curriculum for all students. The idea is to help children and teens recognize the signs of conditions like depression or anxiety. […]
Those who are opposed to the legislation don’t have a problem with the idea of it, but want to be sure this will not be another unfunded mandate for public schools.
“The way that her bill is written, it’s more goals for what mental health curriculum is doing and we think that will be better placed in the Illinois learning standards,” said Zach Messersmith with the Illinois Statewide School Management Alliance. He said if this particular goal is placed within the health curriculum, he’s concerned schools may be forced to purchase new textbooks or other tools.
Villa, who has spent years working in schools, said she appreciated the concern but she did not want this to become a burden on schools and did not have any specific curriculum in mind. The example given with the TIME magazine article would be a sufficient tool for educators.
I’m hearing this a lot about the new freshman class. Very sincere, but not willing to amend their bills to address objections. However, the bill passed yesterday with 107 votes. We’ll see what happens in the Senate.
A state lawmaker is looking to give voters the authority to force their locally-elected school boards into resource-sharing agreements with other districts for certain administration offices and functions.
While the bill allows for districts to share superintendents, other administrators and services, it exempts principals and assistant principals.
Currently, local school districts have the power to enter into resource-sharing agreements with other districts through the passage of a resolution. State Sen. Sue Rezin’s Senate Bill 1287, which passed by a 9-1 vote out of the Senate Education Committee on Tuesday, would allow another avenue to force resource-sharing: approval by the voters via a binding referendum.
Rezin said shared services might not be appropriate for every district, but the bill would be particularly relevant to communities with a K-8 school district feeding into a separate high school district with its own administration.
* Related…
* School Funding Left Out A Few Thousand Kids: But after more than a dozen meetings, that Professional Review Panel’s committee on ROE funding hasn’t been able to find a way to fit most of those alternative schools into the plan. “And so where that leaves us is having to seek assistance directly from legislators as they craft the bill or bills around this topic that we hopefully can get consideration from them,” Popp says, “just as we did on our supplemental appropriation last year.”
* Illinois Medicaid officials vow to improve services: Eagleson, a former executive director of the Office of Medicaid Innovation at the University of Illinois system, acknowledged earlier in her testimony the agency was “deeply aware” of concerns about denial rates, late payments and other issues in the program. But she also said there are indications managed care is achieving some of its goals. “… We’re seeing anecdotally things like increased assessments of behavioral health needs, decreased hospital admissions, decreased (emergency room) utilization,” she said. “So we do think that the statistics are going in the right direction in most cases, but we’d like to bring more transparency to you around those issues as well.”
Illinois Democrats are one step closer to repealing legislation requiring that a minor talk to her parent or guardian before getting an abortion.
The bill, sponsored by Chicago Sen. Elgie Sims, Jr., passed out of a Senate committee Tuesday without Republican support after about an hour of testimonies and debate. […]
[Proponents of repealing the existing law], such as Hannah Baity, call the law “extremely dangerous.” Baity is a youth organizer with the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health and testified in the Senate committee Tuesday.
She told lawmakers not every teenager has a secure relationship with her parent, and they “cannot legislate healthy parent-child communications.”
The existing state law requires parental notification, but not parental approval. It also allows minors to bypass the notification requirement by going before a judge. Sims said the judicial bypass option was not a reasonable alternative.
“You’re asking [teenagers] to go in front of the court and represent themselves in a judicial forum,” he said. “We are putting demands on young people that we should not be.” […]
Sen. Jason Plummer, R-Edwardsville, opposed the measure. He said he understood the concerns those who want to get rid of the notification requirement. However, he said the procedure warranted notification.
“For there to be maybe a hurdle or two there, I don’t think that as a society that’s necessarily a worse thing because at the end of the day we are talking about the termination of a heartbeat,” Plummer said.
Democratic Senator Elgie Sims of Chicago is sponsoring the proposal that would get rid of any notification requirement.
“Healthy family communication can’t be legislated, and if a young woman makes the decision to have a child she doesn’t have notify her parents. She only has to notify her parents if she plans to have an abortion. There’s something fundamentally wrong with that.”
Anti-abortion advocates expressed outrage after a Senate Committee today senators approved the bill to go to the full Senate.
Dawn Fitzpatrick of the Catholic Conference of Illinois says parents should always be involved with such decisions as terminating a pregnancy.
“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 side 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?” said the Catholic Conference of Illinois in a statement.
I try to be respectful toward all sides on this topic, but nobody ever got kicked out of their house for getting a tan. I’d like to see the Catholic Conference and other groups address this reality.
Hundreds of protesters are expected to rally at the State Capitol on Wednesday. against two abortion bills moving through the General Assembly. […]
“There is widespread outcry from the people of Illinois against these extreme anti-women and anti-children bills since they were introduced a month ago,” shared Illinois Right to Life Action’s Mary Kate Knorr. “Residents from all corners of Illinois are expressing outrage at this proposed legislation, which disregards the health and safety of women. We intend to bring that outrage to Springfield, where legislators cannot ignore it.”
The Pro-Life Action League, Illinois Right to Life Action, Catholic Conference of Illinois, Silent No More and other groups will be among the ralliers. The rally starts at 1:30 p.m. in the Capitol rotunda.
* Speakers…
· Illinois State Representative Terri Bryant, District 115
· Illinois State Representative Amy Grant, District 42
· Bishop Thomas Paprocki, Catholic Diocese of Springfield
· Nancy Kruezer, Silent No More (post-abortive mother)
· Belinda Guyton, Southside Pregnancy Center
· Rev. James Scudder, Jr., Quentin Road Bible Church
· Mary Kate Knorr, Illinois Right to Life Action
· Eric Scheidler, Pro-Life Action League
* The recent We Ask America poll had Gov. Pritzker at +1 on job approval (37-36 ). The Simon Poll has him +2 (40-38). WAA had President Trump at -15 (41-56), the Simon Poll has him -20 (39-59)…
Illinois’ highest elected officials received mixed job-performance reviews in the poll just released from the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
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.
The voters were asked whether they approved or disapproved of the jobs being done by Governor J. B. Pritzker, President Donald Trump, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, Speaker of the House Michael Madigan, and Senate President John Cullerton.
This was an early test for Governor Pritzker, who just took office in mid-January. Since then the governor has introduced his first budget and embarked on an ambitious plan to deal with the state’s long-term structural deficit. His plan has involved high-profile advocacy for a constitutional amendment that would shift Illinois’ income tax from a flat rate to a graduated rate.
Two months into his new administration, Simon Poll respondents gave Governor Pritzker a 40 percent positive job rating, while 38 percent disapproved, a narrow two-percentage-point positive net. This included 10 percent who strongly approved and 30 percent who somewhat approved, and 14 percent who somewhat disapproved and 24 percent who strongly disapproved. Another 7 percent said they neither approved nor disapproved, and 15 percent had no opinion.
For comparison, at the same point in Bruce Rauner’s term, the March 2015 Simon PollTM showed Governor Rauner at 37 approval vs. 31 percent disapproval, with one-third, or 32, percent who had not decided or had no opinion at that point.
Not surprisingly, Pritzker’s ratings varied significantly according to the voters’ place of residence and partisan affiliation. Fifty percent of voters from the City of Chicago approved of the governor’s job performance, while only 28 percent disapproved. Forty percent of the voters from suburban Cook and the Collar Counties approved and 36 percent disapproved. Downstate, 34 percent approved and 50 percent disapproved.
By party, 65 percent of Democrats endorsed Pritzker’s job performance, while only 12 percent disapproved. Seventy percent of Republicans disapproved of Pritzker’s performance, and 15 percent approved. Independents fell in-between, with 31 percent approving and 41 percent disapproving.
“These partisan and geographic differences in Illinois reflect the deep polarization that exists in the nation, and it shows no signs of getting any better” said John S. Jackson, one of the co-directors of the Simon Poll. “At this point Governor Pritzker is 2 percent above water, so he can go either way depending on how he is perceived to be handling the office of the governor and dealing with the enduring budgetary problems that have faced the state for a generation,” Jackson added.
President Trump’s job approval was 39 percent positive and 59 percent negative — net of 20 points underwater in Illinois. This consisted of 49 percent who strongly disapprove and 10 percent who somewhat disapprove of the president’s performance.
Partisan and geographic differences are on stark display in the varying results for the president. Ninety-three percent of Democrats disapproved and only 6 percent approved of the job Trump is doing as president; 83 percent of Republicans approved and only 16 percent disapproved. Independents were in between, with 35 approval and 60 percent disapproval.
Three quarters (76 percent) of the voters in the City of Chicago disapproved of Trump’s performance and 24 percent approved. In the suburbs, 39 percent approved and 60 percent disapproved. This left downstate as the only region where the president’s approval ratings were not in a net negative range, with 50 percent who approved and 46 percent disapproved.
“Illinois exhibits its own version of the blue-state/red-state divide,” said Charlie Leonard, a co-director of the Simon Poll. “Urban Chicago and its suburbs decidedly disapprove of President Trump, while in the more Republican, less densely populated “red” part of the state, he is about as popular as in a traditionally Republican state like Indiana or Nebraska.”
U. S. Senator Dick Durbin is up for re-election next year and the poll tested his beginning point as he launches a new campaign. The results showed Senator Durbin with a 51 percent approval rating, compared to 41 percent disapproval, 8 percent who either didn’t know or had no opinion.
Sixty-five percent of voters in the City of Chicago approved of the job Durbin is doing, while 29 percent disapproved. In suburban Cook and the Collar Counties, 51 percent approved and 41 percent disapproved, exactly matching the statewide results. Downstate the margins were 42 percent who approved and 48 percent who disapproved.
Durbin fared very well among his fellow Democrats with the results showing that 78 percent approved and 15 percent disapproved of the job he was doing. Republicans gave a 74 percent disapproval to 21 percent approval rating. Fifty-one percent of Independents approved and 41 percent disapproved, again exactly matching the statewide results.
Turning to state legislative leaders, the poll asked about the job performance of Speaker of the House Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton.
Fully 71 percent of voters statewide said they disapproved of Madigan’s job performance, while only 20 percent approved, with 10 percent undecided or neither.
City of Chicago voters gave Madigan a 26 percent approval to 66 percent disapproval rating. Suburban Cook and the Collar Counties gave him a 19 percent approve and 72 percent disapprove rating. Downstate voters were almost identical with the suburban voters with 71 percent disapproving and 19 percent approving.
Thirty-four percent of Democratic voters approved and 55 percent disapproved of the Speaker’s job performance. Eighty-seven percent of Republicans disapproved and only 8 percent approved, while Independents showed a 10 percent approval and 78 percent disapproval rating.
The Speaker has long been a high-profile target for Republican attack ads in a variety of campaigns. In the campaigns for governor and in many state house and senate races in November of 2018, Republican candidates from Governor Rauner through state representative races and some local races focused on Madigan. His job approval vs. disapproval ratings show those results as well as his many years as perhaps the most highly recognizable Democrat in Illinois.
By contrast, Senate President John Cullerton keeps a much lower profile and the results show in contrast with the Speaker. Senator Cullerton’s approval ratings were 24 percent approve and 35 percent disapprove, with 6 percent who said neither and more than one-third, 35 percent, who said they did not know enough to rate him.
There were virtually no regional differences on Cullerton’s job approval ratings. By party, the differences were only marginal. Thirty-five percent of the Democrats said they approved of Cullerton’s job performance with 23 percent who disapproved. Forty-eight percent of Republicans said they disapproved and 15 percent approved. This left 37 percent of the Democrats and 36 percent of the Independents saying they did not know enough to rate him with 29 percent of the Republicans who did not want to provide a rating.
Director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, John Shaw, summarized the findings as follows, “Illinois remains a strikingly divided and polarized state. By and large, Illinoisans view their political leaders through profoundly partisan lenses.”
You’d think Pritzker would have a honeymoon period, but nope. Lots of folks are reverting to party or withholding judgment.
And Trump at -21 in the suburbs has got to be giving legislative Republicans serious heartburn. Next year will be a fully nationalized election. And Durbin has to be happy (as long as he avoids a serious primary from his left).
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS - DISCOVERY PARTNERS INSTITUTE
The proposed fiscal year 2020 budget includes a reappropriation of $500 million in spending authority to provide a state match for private donations from individuals, corporations and other entities. The state matching funds will only be released if the corresponding private donations are secured.
The future of a huge research center in the South Loop once again is in grave doubt after the Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration added what appears to be onerous new conditions to state funding for the University of Illinois’ Discovery Partners Institute.
The new governor in January told Crain’s he wanted the research facility to fly even though it originally was proposed by the man he unseated, Bruce Rauner. Pritzker said the university would have to line up private funds rather than merely depending on the $500 million in state cash that Rauner allotted, but suggested that was doable. […]
[Pritzker’s] budget reappropriates the $500 million that was budgeted last year, but describes it not as a grant but a state match for private donations from individuals, corporations or other entities. The budget language adds that “state matching funds will only be released if the corresponding private donations are secured.” […]
But other administration officials go farther, saying that $500 million in private capital will have to be secured before the state considers releasing any its funds. Said one insider, “After the $500 million in private funds have been raised, there would be structured draws against the state’s $500 million, tied to important project milestones and ongoing planning.”
Wednesday, Mar 20, 2019 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
When President Donald Trump released his proposed budget March 11, he was rightfully criticized for projecting outlandish economic growth. Larry Summers, former director of the National Economic Council under President Barack Obama, said Trump’s economists “should be embarrassed” by their estimate.
J.B. Pritzker is relying on a similar growth fantasy in Illinois to sell his tax plan. A one-page summary released by the governor’s office March 15 reveals Pritzker’s tax promises rely on growth estimates that are higher than the state’s five-year average, higher than the state itself projected as recently as November 2018 and far more optimistic than most economists predict.
Because of the governor’s extraordinary growth projections for Illinois’ economy, his expected tax collections are overstated. He would need to increase the size of his tax hike in 2021 by nearly $1 billion simply to cover the difference between his assumptions and a reasonable growth estimate.
Pritzker’s plan won’t deliver on the promises he’s making, meaning it will only serve as a bridge to further tax hikes.
A lawyer for a white Chicago police officer convicted of killing black teenager Laquan McDonald says he’s “extremely pleased” with a decision by the Illinois Supreme Court to let stand a prison sentence of less than seven years for his client.
The Tuesday decision denies a bid by the Illinois attorney general’s office and a special prosecutor to have Jason Van Dyke resentenced. Critics said the sentence was far too lenient. With credit for good behavior, Van Dyke could be freed in three years. […]
Before deciding on a sentence, Gaughan first had to determine if the case fell under the “one act, one crime” doctrine, allowing Van Dyke to be sentenced on only the more serious of the two crimes he was charged with. Van Dyke was convicted of second-degree murder and aggravated battery in a trial last year.
Prosecutors, citing precedent, argued if Van Dyke was sentenced for only one of the two charges, it should be for the aggravated battery charge, which carried a higher sentence.
Defense attorneys countered that second-degree murder was the appropriate charge, despite the possibility of probation. Ultimately, Gaughan chose to sentence Van Dyke for second-degree murder, giving him the 81-month sentence.
No explanation was given for the court’s refusal to hear the case. But the decision fell largely along political lines, with the court’s three Republicans — Rita Garman, Robert Thomas and Chief Justice Lloyd Karmeier — joining Anne Burke, a Democrat who is married to Chicago Ald. Edward Burke, a onetime Chicago police officer who is facing federal corruption charges.
Two of the seven justices on the court, both Democrats, objected to the majority decision in full or in part, saying they believed Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan improperly relied on a previous Supreme Court opinion when he sentenced Van Dyke for a second-degree murder conviction, not the more serious counts of aggravated battery with a firearm.
Another Democratic justice, Mary Jane Theis, did not participate in the decision.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul stopped short of criticizing the court, though he went out of his way several times to note the four justices in the majority didn’t offer a word of explanation for why they ruled as they did.
An appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court doesn’t appear to be an option, including because the core legal issues have to do exclusively with Illinois law. Raoul acknowledged that his office had run out of options.
Asked whether Van Dyke’s comparatively light sentence was an illustration of racial disparities in sentencing, Raoul paused before saying: “Suffice to say that I believe the sentence was inconsistent with the law.”
AG Raoul replied “No comment,” when asked directly if he thought the Supreme Court ruling was politically motivated.
* Raoul’s press release…
We initiated this motion in conjunction with the Special Prosecutor based on the trial judge’s sentencing decision because it was inconsistent with Illinois law and Illinois Supreme Court precedent. We sought the Supreme Court’s review via a motion for leave to file a mandamus petition.
The Supreme Court majority, without explanation, denied that motion. However, two justices wrote separately to dissent from the denial, recognizing that the sentence was inconsistent with Supreme Court precedent and that the Court could and should grant the requested relief by exercising its supervisory authority.
The majority’s denial, without explanation, does not confirm whether Judge Gaughan’s sentence is consistent with Illinois law. Nonetheless, we recognize and respect the Court’s authority, which it can exercise without a specific request.
I would like to recognize the Special Prosecutor’s work throughout this case, as well as his office’s partnership with mine to bring this matter before the Court.
* Illinois Legislative Black Caucus Chairman Kimberly Lightford spoke for the caucus yesterday…
We are disappointed by the Illinois Supreme Court’s decision. The sentencing Van Dyke received earlier this year contradicts state law and the high court’s precedent.
It is frustrating that the Supreme Court rejected this motion without explanation and saddening to know that law enforcement officers are not being held accountable for their actions.
The Illinois Legislative Black Caucus respects the Illinois Supreme Court’s decision, but will continue to fight to fix our broken justice system.
* The Tribune reports that Toni Preckwinkle has pulled all her TV ads off the air…
Preckwinkle, who is the Cook County Democratic Party chair, has reported raising nearly $1.6 million to rival Lori Lightfoot’s $1.9 million since the first-round election, records show. Those sums include fundraising in the past week, during which Preckwinkle has reported raising nearly $360,000 to Lightfoot’s $1.1 million.
“We’re making strategic decisions to put us in the best place to win this campaign,” Preckwinkle said Tuesday during an endorsement event with U.S. Rep. Danny Davis when asked to explain why her campaign has gone off the air.
Asked whether her campaign had run out of money, Preckwinkle said: “We’re making strategic decisions to put us in the best place to win this campaign. Thank you.”
Preckwinkle spokesman Chris Meagher acknowledged her campaign is “not currently on the air” but “should be back up soon.” Meagher did not have specifics as to when.
You almost never see this, unless a campaign is imploding. I mean, you go dark two weeks out? Just about every outlet in town picked up on this story…
The Sun-Times first reported on Monday that the Preckwinkle campaign will be “totally dark” for the crucial home stretch of the historic race.
To some, abandoning the airwaves so late in a campaign is akin to throwing in the towel. Either that or a campaign is out of money.
On Tuesday, Preckwinkle refused to pinpoint her reasons for yanking her commercials just as her opponent Lori Lightfoot purchased $300,000 in TV time through Thursday alone to air a closing ad featuring her 11-year-old daughter.
The story above is about broadcast, but Comcast has not reported any Preckwinkle cable TV buys since March 5th, when her campaign purchased $42K in ads. Lightfoot has been regularly buying cable ads. Preckwinkle still has a smallish presence on Facebook, however.
Meanwhile, her opponent, Lori Lightfoot, launched her closing ad — a lighthearted one featuring her 13-year-old daughter waving and dancing and being goofy in the background.
Lightfoot said it was actually her daughter’s suggestion because she was disappointed she wasn’t in any earlier ads. “I’m Lori Lightfoot and I’m running for mayor for our daughter’s future and all Chicago’s children,” she says in the commercial.
“Look, I just think we wanted to have a little bit of a light touch in these closing days, there’s been a lot of rancor that happened since President Preckwinkle gave her election night speech,” Preckwinkle said.
* Illinois News Network on a bill to hike the tax on vaping products to make it equal to tobacco products…
Danne Reinke, from the Smoke Free Alternatives Coalition of Illinois, testified in opposition to the bill Tuesday. He said the measure would tax vaping products at 36 percent. He said consumers can use vaping products to help quit smoking cigarettes.
A spokesman for the Illinois Department of Revenue said: “E-cigarettes and vapor products are currently assessed the general merchandise rate of 6.25 percent.”
“It’s bad public policy,” Reinke said. “[Vaping is] the leading cessation product.”
State Sen. Toi Hutchinson, D-Olympia Fields, also had concerns about the measure.
“My biggest problem is taxing it as something it’s not,” Hutchinson said. “At its core, they’re not tobacco products. To tax them as something they’re not, it misses the opportunity. I’m not opposed to taxation, but we need to tax it as it actually is.”
Link said he’s open to continued conversation about the issue, but said there are real concerns.
“We have an epidemic going on,” Link said. “In our schools, we’re having a total epidemic with it. We’ve got to look at this in a different manner.”
“I’ve seen plenty of people who do stop smoking with vape products, but I also know we have a fear of the rising use among kids, so it’s complicated and I get that, but they’re not tobacco products so it’s hard for me to make that jump,” Hutchinson said.
* The Question: Should vaping products be taxed at the same level as tobacco products? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please…
* The latest uproar in the Chicago mayoral race has given us an interesting insight into how much attitudes can change. As you may already know, some disgusting fliers are being distributed outside some South Side churches…
On one side of the flyer is a picture of Lightfoot and her wife, Amy Eshelman, with a sign beneath the couple that reads, “The Gay Equality Act !!! It’s our turn.”
Beneath that is a line in red print: “1st openly gay woman in City Hall.” Above the couple is another line in red that says, “The Feminist and Gay Movement Have Come Full Circle.”
The flip side of the flyer says, among other things, “ALL CONTRACTS, JOBS AND EMPLOYMENT NEWLY ASSIGNED EXCLUSIVELY TO GAY PEOPLE!”
“The black community… does not support same-sex marriage,” Wilson told me. “I believe marriage is between a man and women. I’ll die going to grave believing that.”
Bishop Larry Trotter, the senior pastor of Sweet Holy Spirit Church, who lobbied against the same sex marriage act in Illinois, now is supporting Lightfoot and denouncing the anti-gay fliers. Trotter says “I think the church at large is beyond that.” He also adds “I’m not voting for her because of her lifestyle, that has nothing to do with it.”
“When Mayor Daley and [Cook County Clerk] David Orr said they’d love to allow this, they opened this city up to another legion of demonic experiences,” Trotter told the audience.
When LGBT activists fought to legalize same-sex marriage, opponents believed the sky would fall and the earth would be torn asunder. Again, the sky didn’t fall and the earth kept right on spinning.
With each step toward equality, fewer people have the capacity to hate. That’s because we start to understand differences, and we stop fearing them.
Most of us, anyway.
Hatred eventually reaches a tipping point where it becomes more broadly rejected. Are those anti-Lightfoot flyers hateful? Yes. But they’re also almost comically feeble, a voice from the past screeching into a present that no longer cares.
* Last word goes to Rev. Ira Acree, a Lightfoot supporter and pastor of the Greater St. John Bible Church in the Austin neighborhood…
“Black people, at the end of the day, are like any other ethnic group,” Acree said. “They have their biases, but when they go inside the booth they vote their interests. We are against adultery and extramarital affairs, but we still supported Bill Clinton. We know how to support our interests. Lightfoot benefits our interests. Regular people don’t benefit from machine politics. We need someone to advocate for the little guy.”
More than a year ago, Illinois lawmakers approved a total overhaul of the way the state funds schools. That landmark legislation, known as “evidence-based funding,” got a lot of media attention. But at the same time, something else happened that went totally unreported: The state also changed the number of instructional hours required in a school day from five to zero.
Let’s be clear: The new law didn’t force any changes, so most districts carried on with their usual schedules. And as soon teachers unions noticed the five-hour requirement had been dropped, they began to lobby to reinstate it.
But by that time, a few districts had embraced the new flexibility, and didn’t want to give it up. That left the Illinois State Board of Education caught in the middle. […]
“We found that many districts were primarily using flexibility this winter for e-learning days for students,” [Amanda Elliott is director of legislative affairs for the ISBE] says. “We heard from districts that they saw this as an opportunity to allow more use of dual credit classes, internships, career based learning experiences, and so there’s a lot of excitement about what this could mean for schools and students in Illinois.”
But now there’s legislation that’s going to restore the clock hours. It’s contained in an amendment that’s been negotiated by the state’s largest teachers union and a representative from a group of the most well-financed school districts — the kind most ready to take advantage of all this flexibility.
The amendment, however, contains some exemptions. Go read the rest for more info.
In his first major legislative initiative, new Illinois Manufacturing Association President Mark Denzler says his top legislative priority is a bill that would waive tuition and other fees (including on-campus housing) at the University of Illinois and other state colleges and universities for students studying science, technology engineering or math who agree to teach in a state high school for at least three years after graduation, or a state institute of higher education for at least five years. […]
“If you talk to people in community colleges, they’ll tell you them they have plenty of classrooms available. What they lack is qualified staff”—instructors capable of teaching in the so-called STEM disciplines, he added.
The bill involved passed the Senate last year but stalled in the House. It is sponsored again this year by Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill. Denzler said he’s been discussing the proposal with House leaders and officials in Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration, and is hopeful of getting them to go along.
School labor unions have not yet signed on to the bill, but the measure comes amid the rising number of Illinois high school graduates who end up attending college out of state, with many never returning here. The estimated first-year cost is about $1.5 million, Denzler said, though that figure could multiply quickly in the future if the program works.
Eastern Illinois University, the Illinois Community College Board and the Illinois Statewide School Management Alliance have signed on as proponents.
The staff of the state charter commission has recommended that two charter schools rejected by Chicago have another chance to open their doors to students.
On Tuesday, the Illinois State Charter School Commission will consider those recommendations to approve a new citywide school run by Intrinsic, which wants to replicate its Level 1-plus campus, and to keep open a school by Urban Prep West, whose school was ordered closed.
On another appeal, the commission’s staff sided with the Chicago district in recommending that Chicago Education Partnership’s proposal for a second campus for its Moving Everest elementary school in Austin be rejected. The fourth school, Kwame Nkrumah, withdrew its appeal.
Earlier this year, the Chicago school board denied all new charter applications for the next school year, and announced plans to shutter two currently operating charter schools.
A state senator wants to give all Illinois high school students the opportunity to walk across the graduation stage with an associate degree to complement their diploma.
Senate Minority Leader Bill Brady, a Bloomington Republican, told the Senate Education Committee this week he is still fine-tuning the proposal, Senate Bill 2046, but the general premise is to quicken the pace at which young adults can enter the workforce.
“What some states have done, is they have offered or mandated high schools to provide an equivalent that would give people three choices: traditional education, or leave high school with an associate degree with either a path to a vocation or a path to a baccalaureate degree where they would be able to enter college as a junior,” Brady told Capitol News Illinois on Thursday.
As it stands now, Brady’s bill would require high schools to prove there is a path for students to achieve an associate degree by the time they leave high school, but there are no penalties written into the bill for districts that don’t offer such courses.
Zach Messersmith, representing school boards and administrators through the Illinois Statewide School Management Alliance, testified Wednesday as an opponent to the bill as written, but said he discussed it with Brady and planned to work out some disagreements in the legislation. Brady said he is open to negotiation as well, and he was “less than thrilled” with the initial draft of the bill.
* Related…
* Report on Illinois School for the Deaf points out flaws: The state’s $18-million-a-year school for about 220 deaf and hard-of-hearing children and young adults from across Illinois hasn’t done enough to update its mission or involve the local and statewide deaf community, a study by a group that evaluates deaf schools says.
Tuesday, Mar 19, 2019 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
• Money for new renewable energy projects will be unavailable starting in 2020 as all FEJA funds will have been fully obligated
• Hundreds of renewable energy installations currently planned by communities, businesses, consumers and nonprofits will be unable to move forward
Path to 100 Act Gets Illinois Renewables Back on Track!
• Expands successful programs encouraging a diverse & equitable workforce
• Supported by LiUNA and nearly 60 wind, solar and storage companies and associations
Former SIU President Randy J. Dunn improperly hired late Chancellor Carlo Montemagno’s daughter and son-in-law as well as SIU’s vice president for academic affairs, according to an Illinois Office of the Executive Inspector General report, the findings of which were obtained by the Daily Egyptian.
Dunn entered a separation agreement with the Board of Trustees last July after it was discovered he coordinated with SIU Edwardsville administrators and legislators in an attempt to dissolve the university system.
The agreement stated Dunn would be entitled to a visiting professor position at SIUE for at least 18 months unless an external agency made a finding of his wrongdoing.
The agreement also stated Dunn’s employment would cease immediately and automatically upon the issuance of any findings showing he violated SIU System or Illinois policy.
The Office of the Executive Inspector General recommended Dunn not be rehired within the SIU system due to the violation of his contract.
Go read the whole thing. Dunn and Montemagno did a whole lot of damage to the SIUC campus, IMHO.
So one by one, elected officials within over 60 Illinois counties have agreed to stand up against state lawmakers restrictions by resolving not to enforce any laws that would infringe on American citizens’ constitutional right to keep and bear arms.
HB 3553, sponsored by freshman Democrat Terra Costa Howard, is a measure to stop the Second Amendment movement from building steam against the Leftist Progressive at the State Capitol - although many say it’s too late. The movement is big and growing.
The bill is scheduled to be heard in the Illinois House’s Judiciary - Criminal Committee Tuesday, March 19, at 5:00 PM. It says that a county or municipality “may not pass an ordinance or resolution restricting enforcement of any State law or regulation concerning the ownership or use of firearms unless permitted to do so under the express provisions of the law or regulation.”
Effingham County board member Dave Campbell, who has been at the forefront of protecting Second Amendment rights with county resolutions, worked with his state’s attorney to put together their county’s Second Amendment resolution. Campbell was aware of the legislation being proposed to stop the resolutions, and was curious just how lawmakers would address Howard’s bill.
“Will state lawmakers vote to uphold Second Amendment rights? Or will they vote against locals declaring sanctuaries against state policies while Chicago and Cook County oppose federal laws concerning illegal immigration?” Campbell asked Illinois Review.
Campbell must’ve never heard about federalism. The state can indeed place limits on local government ordinances. And state and local police are under no statutory mandate to work hand-in-glove with federal immigration authorities.
* From an Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health action alert…
While we do have support in the senate for SB 1594, the Repeal of Parental Notice of Abortion, many senators are still on the fence, saying that though they “understand” that not all youth have healthy or safe relationships with their parents, but they are still conflicted.
Before retiring last year, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Susan Fox Gillis heard some of these cases, known as judicial bypass. She heard different reasons why girls couldn’t turn to their parents.
Many of the girls, she found, lived in volatile homes and reasonably feared being thrown out. Some girls had been sexually abused by family members.
“If the girls had been found out,” Judge Gillis told us, “there could have been serious repercussions.”
We strongly support parental rights, but we equally support the rights of minors to be safe.
It is sometimes said, rather glibly, that if a girl must by law tell her parents when she’s going to get her ears pierced, she should have to tell them when she’s going to get an abortion.
But nobody throws a kid into the street, or worse, for getting her ears pierced.
The Illinois Parental Notice of Abortion Act fails to protect. It only punishes.
Two abortion bills have been scheduled for a hearing in the Illinois House’s Informed Consent Subcommittee — bills which 93rd District State Rep. Norine Hammond, R-Macomb, refers to as “extreme.“
House Bill’s 2495 and 2467 are collectively referred to as the Reproductive Health Act. But, according to Hammond, the act has little to do with informing women about their reproductive choices.
“The bills are a way to ensure that the abortion industry grows and that — if there were a reversal of Roe v. Wade — it would have no effect on that very lucrative business in Illinois,” Hammond said. “In 2017, abortion numbers continued to increase with 39,329 performed here. If these bills pass, that number will increase, and Illinois will become a third-trimester abortion destination.“
Tuesday, Mar 19, 2019 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
There is a lot of incorrect information designed to distract and scare you about the Reproductive Health Act (HB2495). Let’s set the record straight.
* The RHA affirms the fundamental right of all people in Illinois to access contraceptives, maternal care and abortion care. It makes it clear this is health care – not criminal activity. With the looming threat of attacks on fundamental rights to reproductive health care poised to go to the US Supreme Court, it is time to remove criminal penalties for health care in Illinois law.
* The RHA codifies current standards of medical practice on who can perform abortions. An amendment to the RHA provides that while doctors perform surgical abortions, those with authority to prescribe medications (such as advance practice nurses and physician assistants) can prescribe abortion-related medications. With this amendment, the law on who can perform an abortion remains unchanged.
* The RHA continues to regulate clinics that perform abortions – just like any other medical clinic. It is simply false to claim the law would eliminate any regulation. The bill writes into law the current practice in Illinois for decades – that we should regulate all health care facilities by science and fact-based needs, not ideology.
* I told subscribers about this a couple of weeks ago. Illinois Review…
Friday night at DuPage County Chairman Dan Cronin’s annual Corned Beef & Cabbage bash, Lieutenant Governor Evelyn Sanguinetti wasn’t shy about her intentions to run for the 6th CD in 2020. “I’m seriously thinking that I will run,” she said, and nodded her head yes when asked if that information could be shared with Illinois Review readers.
Sanguinetti - sporting a cast on her shin after a bout with a treadmill - successfully kept herself ideologically kept herself separated from Governor Bruce Rauner during her term and during the re-election campaign. She always made it clear she held her own opinions on issues that would hold up in her home district - despite her “good soldier” efforts to campaign on the team’s behalf.
Sanguinetti said she’d spoken with Roskam’s people and that they thought it was unlikely Roskam would seek re-election, so she was planning to move forward to regain the 6th for the Republicans.
Democrat Sean Casten defeated the incumbent Peter Roskam by 7.2 points last November.
The Illinois Supreme Court on Tuesday denied a bid to resentence former Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke in the murder of Laquan McDonald.
Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Special Prosecutor Joseph McMahon filed a petition with the court in February seeking a new sentencing hearing for Van Dyke.
Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan gave Van Dyke 81 months behind bars in January. A jury in October found Van Dyke guilty of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm.
The judge chose to sentence Van Dyke only on the second-degree murder count, finding it to be the more serious crime. Raoul and McMahon challenged that decision in their petition. […]
Meanwhile, Van Dyke’s lawyers filed a notice of appeal in anticipation of the petition from Raoul and McMahon. His lawyers later suggested they would drop it if the high court declined to get involved. If it did get involved, it would “open a Pandora’s box” of legal issues that Van Dyke could raise in an appeal of trial decisions, his conviction and the sentence.
Fundamentally, this matter involves a dispute on discretionary sentencing issues that are not suitable for resolution in an action seeking mandamus or prohibition relief. Consequently, petitioners’ motion seeking leave to file a petition for writ of mandamus or prohibition should be denied. See People ex rel. Birkett v. Konetski (recognizing that the extraordinary remedy of mandamus relief is not available for discretionary matters).
In my opinion, however, the controversy here presents an important issue that warrants the exercise of this court’s supervisory authority. Notably, respondent, the trial judge, expressly relied on an argument made by a dissenting justice in People v. Lee. Without question, that dissent does not represent the law in Illinois. […]
Under these circumstances, I believe this court should enter a supervisory order directing the trial court to vacate its final sentencing judgment and resentence Van Dyke in accordance with the applicable sentencing law, including this court’s relevant decisions.
The Journal Star often gets calls and emails from readers asking: How can you have printed that?
Last Friday we got one from a staff member of Gov. JB Pritzker. The staff member had a legitimate gripe. Actually it was more than a gripe, and the governor should have been mad. We made a decision that was a mistake, and we apologize.
We published a letter from Larry Tadie of Chillicothe, who in making an impassioned point against abortion, compared the governor to Hitler. Tadie wrote that because of his Jewish faith, the governor should not support abortion, ending the letter: “How sad that abortion rights advocates now legitimize extermination at any stage of the baby’s development.”
Since the U.S. Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, few issues have generated more letters to the editor than abortion. Some letter writers deal with the issue as policy, others get graphic, or tell personal stories. We strive to share all letters to give readers a fair understanding of the debate and what your neighbors think about the issue. The purpose of the editorial page is to allow readers to express their views and opinions. But publishing this letter crossed a line. […]
No matter which side you stand on the issue of abortion, or how passionate that position is, making the link between abortion and the Holocaust is not right. Reckless references to abominable history are part and parcel to the astonishing decline of public discourse in our country, and in this case we should have known better.
After publishing several letters from white supremacist Matthew Hale, maybe they’re finally learning. Giving hateful people unchallenged public platforms normalizes them and encourages more such behavior.
* Yesterday’s Quincy Herald-Whig editorial twice used the word “wise” to describe Gov. JB Pritzker’s personnel choices (plus one more in the headline), scolded those who say he’s not hiring or appointing fast enough (tell that to the people overwhelmed with work because of the lack of hiring) and claimed the governor has a “genuine concern” for the local veterans home and the region. The editorial board’s conclusion…
There are a number of much-needed projects on the horizon, and we will need the governor’s support to make them happen.
A new bridge at Quincy, four-laning Ill. 57 south from Quincy to the Interstate 172 interchange, finishing the remaining two lanes for the Macomb Bypass and work on the Mid-America Intermodal Authority Port all are key to the region’s economic success, and support from the new governor would be invaluable.
Pritzker in our meetings seems to think differently than some previous governors. A true entrepreneur, he does not appear to be the party-first-variety Democrat, but rather one who balances his progressive stances with a practical approach.
The state’s future will be rocky with problems and rightly pitted with intense policy debates. While we do not see eye-to-eye with the governor on some policies, we think Pritzker’s wisdom in proceeding cautiously and selectively has set up both his administration and the state for success.
We welcome in good faith the debates ahead, and we look forward to more capable, professional selections to help lead the Land of Lincoln forward.
It’s taking a little longer to sell a home this winter, and real estate agents say one of the causes may be uncertainty over how last year’s revisions in the federal tax code will affect what individual buyers can afford to spend. […]
In Chicago and in Cook, Lake and Will counties, the average time a home is on the market before selling has been longer in the first two months of 2019 than during the same period in 2018, according to monthly data posted by the Chicago Association of Realtors on March 18.
Only in DuPage County is the average time on the market shorter than last year. The difference there is three days, to an average market time of 97 days.
The lengthening of market times has not been dramatic. In Chicago, at an average of 104 days, it’s taking six days longer to sell. In Will County, it’s taking five days longer, to an average of 90 days. But the housing market has been in delicate condition in recent months, with sales volume dropping and home prices slowing, which puts a spotlight on negative movement in any indicator.
The Washington, Dallas, New York and Chicago metro areas are experiencing increases in both new home construction and maintenance spending, according to a report by property data provider BuildFax.
“It’s yet to be seen whether housing activity in these cities will eventually slow as it has on a national level or if these will be key metros to watch as the U.S. potentially heads toward an economic slowdown,” wrote BuildFax CEO Holly Tachovsky in the report published Monday.
Chicago saw the most housing activity among the 10 largest metro areas with a 19.5 percent increase in maintenance spending and 60.2 percent climb in new construction. The growth might be related to the city’s strategic five-year housing plan to fight affordability concerns in the region, according to the report.
On a nationwide level, housing data shows a different story. Single-family housing authorizations fell 5.8 percent in February from the same time period last year. Repeat declines for this metric confirm the housing market slowdown is persisting, the report said. Existing housing maintenance and remodeling volumes also continued to decline at 5.5 percent and 10.1 percent, respectively.
Maybe it’s taking longer to sell homes because of all the new construction? I dunno. But I’m not sure you can look at these two stories and make a broad judgment.
