Question of the day
Monday, Mar 18, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The parking garage at 4th and Washington has long been an eyesore…
The $56 million project would include the construction of a 95-room hotel, 17 luxury apartment units, ground level and rooftop retail space, a “one of a kind” rooftop bar facing the state Capitol, about 200 public parking spaces and an entertainment center that would include bowling, billiards, a lounge and outdoor TV screen.
The site, 300-320 E. Washington St., is now occupied by a city-owned parking ramp and a privately-owned building now occupied by Club Station House nightclub, both of which would be razed.
Ward 5 Ald. Andrew Proctor called it a “dream project” for downtown.
“The garage has kind of turned into a liability and this has turned it into an asset for the city,” Proctor said. “So it’s going to be a great thing for downtown because this project has all the things that downtown has been looking for.”
That rooftop bar sounds kinda cool.
* SJ-R editorial…
Most, if not all, of the construction work is expected to be done by local labor, with O’Shea Builders the main subcontractor on the ground. Developers have signed a letter of commitment to work with Laborers Local 477, which should create 400 to 600 construction jobs and then 130 to 150 permanent positions. The property will eventually generate sales and property taxes.
This project is poised to be the catalyst for additional development downtown. The confidence and investment by the developer and ownership group should cause others to also look at downtown for their projects. The excitement and cooperation from city officials over the project hopefully helps quash the perception that Springfield is too difficult to work with on development projects.
I’m a bit wary that this is all coming out right before a mayoral election, but I’m still hopeful.
* The Question: What other big-city amenities would you like to see in this proposed Springfield complex? Wildest dreams encouraged.
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* According to the governor’s office, this money ($29+ million) has been held in an escrow account…
The State of Illinois and SEIU Healthcare Illinois reached an agreement to implement rate increases and release previously withheld increases for more than 40,000 Department of Human Services low-wage home care and child care providers that had been withheld under the former Rauner administration.
SEIU Healthcare Illinois and the Pritzker administration released the following statement announcing the agreement:
“Today marks a significant and long-anticipated step in repairing the years of damage and devastation that occurred under former Gov. Bruce Rauner’s leadership. This administration has shown that it will operate in compliance with court orders and the laws of the state. In that spirit, this agreement carries out a law passed by the General Assembly that Governor Rauner refused to comply with – on which the courts ruled against the State – regarding a wage increase for Home Services Program workers. The agreement also implements and ends litigation over a similar law providing a wage increase for child care providers.
“For 20 months, 28,000 Personal Assistants in the Department of Human Services’ Home Services Program have been denied a 48-cent raise. That’s because even after it became law, Governor Rauner refused to pay it, resulting in costly litigation and courts ruling that it must be paid. For eight months, 14,000 child care providers in the Child Care Assistance Program have been denied a 4.26% rate increase, even though it was also law. These caregivers provide valuable services to their communities, supporting independent living for people with disabilities and delivering quality child care so low-income working parents can remain in the workforce.
“Our agreement establishes a timeline for implementation of the mandated raises and for the release of back pay that is owed, ensuring the funding for these already approved increases finally gets into the pocketbooks of those it was intended for.
“Today, we are putting the State of Illinois back on the side of working families, and rebuilding the vital services and the workforces that deliver them to people with disabilities, working parents, and kids in every corner of our state. We look forward to continuing to stabilize these programs together, and we share a commitment to fixing other harmful Rauner policies through the bargaining process. We are committed to ensuring that our child care and home care workers have the stability and training they need to provide child care for working families and to support people with disabilities across the state.”
The governor’s office also says the workers will receive the increased pay beginning April 1 and should receive the back pay by the fall, once all the accounting is finalized.
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What do you do with all that money?
Monday, Mar 18, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This is definitely an issue…
Supporters of legalized marijuana in Illinois have launched efforts aimed at making it easier for legitimate businesses that sell the product to have bank accounts and accept credit card transactions.
State Treasurer Michael Frerichs, a Democrat, said Monday he supports legislation in the General Assembly that would prohibit state banking regulators for punishing banks or credit unions that provide basic banking services to legitimate cannabis-related businesses. […]
“Prior to last year, about 85 percent of our cannabis industry was banked with a single bank in the state of Illinois,” Rep. Kelly Cassidy, a Chicago Democrat, said during the news conference. “As the Trump administration ramped up threats towards the legal cannabis industry, that bank got nervous about potential backlash and informed all of these businesses that they would cease to have a banking relationship with them”
Frerichs said the result of that has been to move the finances of the legal cannabis industry into a kind of underground cash-based economy.
* Also…
Separately, Frerichs also seeks to create a program to deposit state funds into banks that could be used for loans for marijuana businesses. It would be similar to a program that has provided more than $1 billion in reduced-interest loans to Illinois farmers since 1983.
“This is not a question of if, but when,” he said. “We have medical cannabis in Illinois. I think that recreational is most likely coming.”
* But Americans being Americans, I think the problem will be solved. One Illinois has a story about one alternative…
CannaCard basically creates what Gavin called a “closed loop” in the financial world. The money goes in, and it comes out. He said it’s based on Starbucks’s successful loyalty program, which uses both hard cards that can have their value replenished or a smartphone app that can be restocked online.
“We looked at that and we tried to figure out what would be the easiest for the consumer to relate to, and they’re already using that,” he said. “We kind of took that and ran with it. So I guess you can say we kind of replaced coffee with cannabis.”
Sounds easy, but it’s not. Their system places the same initial demands on customers and dispensaries that banks do, in order to ensure financial transparency. “We are doing basically what the bank has to do to open an account,” Gavin said. “We don’t want any problems, you know, we don’t it to be used as another alternative for money laundering. That’s exactly what we’re trying to get around. We want to be able to offer these businesses full transparency, no different than any other business that’s out there.”
Interesting.
* Related…
* If recreational cannabis becomes legal in Illinois, how the industry could grow: Colorado had issued 38,000 licenses for industry employees as of March 2018, according to the report, with roughly half of license-holders actively working in the field. The industry employs roughly 17,821 full-time-equivalent positions — an encouraging statistic to those who would like to see more cannabis jobs created here.
* Cannabis field ‘uncharted territory’ for lawyers if legalization occurs: But before lawyers can help would-be entrepreneurs interpret adult-use cannabis laws, the state legislature would need to consider and approve a new bill for legalization.
* How one accountant persuaded his firm to get into the cannabis business
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The other pension bomb
Monday, Mar 18, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Illinois News Network…
State Rep. Robert Martwick, D-Chicago, held a hearing in Springfield to get testimony from various pension boards for police, fire, local government employees and teachers.
The issues, he said, could lead the state’s Tier II pensions to be found by the federal government to be insufficient for retirees. He equated it to a “landmine.”
“If that happens, it could create an instant and massive debt to the state of Illinois,” Martwick said.
* Hoo boy…
The concern, however, is that Illinois teachers do not participate in Social Security. Federal law allows state and municipal governments to do that, as long as the benefits they pay out are at least equal to what Social Security pays, a law known as the “safe harbor” provision.
But Andrew Bodewes, TRS’ legislative director, told the panel that because of the small cost-of-living increases built into Tier 2, those pensions soon are likely to fail to meet the federal adequacy test.
“So that means once the Tier 2 teachers are retiring, each and every school district will have to perform a test on that member to see if they get a benefit at least as good as Social Security,” he said. “And if they don’t, they (the school districts) will have to enroll in Social Security. They’ll have to enroll going backwards.”
That means school districts would have to make as much as 10 years’ worth of back payments into Social Security.
And that bomb could start detonating in two short years.
The future always has a nasty habit of arriving.
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* Poll taken for group supporting graduated income tax finds support for graduated income tax…
Global Strategy Group recently conducted a poll on behalf of Think Big Illinois among 800 Illinois registered voters March 8-12, finding broad support for Governor Pritzker’s fair tax plan, with little public opposition to it.
* From the pollster…
• Despite the opposition’s best efforts to activate the public against the fair tax, voters are not paying attention to this debate right now. Just 14% of voters say they have head “a lot” about proposed new changes to Illinois’ tax system, while six out of ten voters have heard little to nothing about it (62% heard “a little” or “nothing”). As a result, when we ask whether voters support or oppose “Governor Pritzker’s fair tax plan” generically with no additional description, a plurality of voters (42%) do not know enough to say, while more support it (33%) than oppose it (25%).
Looks like Pritzker’s name alone isn’t enough to give the plan a huge boost.
* Back to the memo…
• But it’s clear that the idea behind Governor Pritzker’s fair tax is incredibly popular. Support skyrockets – and opposition stays flat – when the public hears a basic explanation of the plan. Six in ten voters (64%) support the plan after hearing a basic description of it (+31 from initial support), while opposition stays flat at 27% (just +2). Importantly, intensity is on the plan’s side with 37% strong support and just 17% strong opposition. The following is the description of the plan voters heard:
Under Governor Pritzker’s fair tax plan, 97% of Illinois residents would not see a state income tax increase. Only those making $250,000 a year or more will see their taxes go up with the largest increases going to those making more than $1 million.
64 percent is actually lower than the 72 percent who supported a generic progressive income tax in last year’s Paul Simon Public Policy Institute poll. The lower number could be because this new poll actually let people know who would pay more, but it could also be partly because the governor’s name was attached to it. There might be a ceiling of support when Pritzker’s name is used.
* Pollster…
• Support is strong across the state, while opposition only exists at the fringes. Support spans across the state at 67% in the city of Chicago, 66% in suburban Cook County, 66% in the Collar Counties, and 60% Downstate. The Democratic base is fully supportive of it (83% support), while the Republican base is fractured, with even four in ten GOP voters in favor of it (41% support/49% oppose).
You can bet your house that those supportive GOP voters will be targeted heavily by the opposition. Partisanship is their best first move to undercut overall support. Pritzker will likely continue talking about bipartisanship right through election day to help counter this.
* Pollster…
• Individual elements of the plan are incredibly popular with 70%+ support. Consider that:
o 79% say they are more favorable to the plan when learning that “the plan would help the state meet its obligation to fund schools”
o 78% say so when learning “97% of taxpayers will have their taxes remain the same or be reduced”
o 76% say so when learning “it would provide $3.4 billion to fix the state budget crisis”
o 70% say so when learning “only people making more than $250,000 dollars will see a tax increase”
Keep in mind that Pritzker will have plenty of money to spend on these positive messages. No way is he going to passively allow this to go down in flames if it makes it onto the ballot. He’ll be branded a loser just as he pivots toward reelection. And his entire fiscal plan will be in ruins. He’s gonna spend money like he did last year.
* Pollster…
• Opposition arguments have been ineffective, and will continue to be ineffective, because they are weak and do not resonate with the public. After voters hear both positive and negative arguments about the plan, including many of the arguments made by opponents in recent weeks, support does not budge – 63% support (off just one point from where voters are when they hear an initial description of the plan) and 31% oppose (just four points higher). Intensity remains on the support side of the issue (34% strongly support vs. just 21% strongly oppose).
Notice they didn’t say what those negative arguments were. I can’t help but wonder if they tested the “Because… Madigan will eventually raise your taxes!” line.
Also, keep in mind that the opponents only have to keep the “Yes” votes under 60 percent to win at the ballot box (assuming it gets there), or under 50 percent of all people voting in the 2020 election. 63 percent is awful close.
* Methodology…
Global Strategy Group conducted a statewide telephone survey between March 8th and March 12, 2019 among 800 registered voters. The survey had a margin of error of +/-3.5%. Care has been taken to ensure the geographic and demographic divisions of the population of registered voters are properly represented.
* Related…
I put the accompanying press release for that event in the live coverage post.
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* Major flooding in Freeport…
“We have people standing by to help,” [Freeport City Manager Lowell Crow] said. “We expect the river to possibly rise to a record level or at least to a level we haven’t seen in 50 years.” […]
The Pecatonica River in Freeport inched closer to major flood stage at 16 feet Saturday evening. The National Weather Service predicts the river will rise another foot by Monday evening or early Tuesday.
The Pecatonica River near Shirland has reached major flood stage and is expected to rise another foot before cresting Monday or Tuesday.
Numerous streets in Freeport and Stephenson County are closed because of flooding, Stephenson County Sheriff’s Sgt. Michael Backus said.
* Same in the Rockford area…
Have your “go bag” packed and be ready to evacuate your residence if necessary.
That was the advice from village, county and state officials who gathered Sunday afternoon at the Village Hall to give an update on flooding along the Rock River.
“You might want to have a plan to evacuate and leave,” Winnebago County Sheriff Gary Caruana said of residents in low-lying areas. “If you see water on the road, turn around. Don’t drown. Do not try to wade through the water.” […]
“The rain event of last Wednesday combined with snow melt has caused the Rock River within Winnebago County to rise to historic levels,” he said. “The river is currently 14.3 feet at the Latham (Park) gauge. It is predicted to crest on Tuesday at 14.5 feet. Initial damage assessment indicate hundreds of homes throughout Winnebago County have been impacted and numerous roads are under water and impassable.”
The list of road closures is here.
* And it will apparently get worse…
Farther east, the Mississippi River saw moderate flooding in Illinois from Rock Island south to Gladstone. Meteorologist Brian Pierce with the National Weather Service’s Quad Cities office in Davenport, Iowa, said flooding on the Mississippi could get worse in a few weeks as more snow melts in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
“What we’re having now is the dress rehearsal for the main event that’s going to happen in early April,” he said of the flooding on the Mississippi.
* Related…
* Record Flooding in Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois Follows Snowmelt, Bomb Cyclone: Over 40 locations set new record river levels, mainly in Nebraska and Iowa.
* Illinois border county says Wisconsin is downplaying the potential flood impact from Foxconn
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They can afford to do their own cheerleading
Monday, Mar 18, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Tribune editorial…
Transportation planning experts have told us Chicago isn’t doing enough to ready itself for a driverless future. The [mayor’s mobility task force report] agrees. “Chicago is behind many other cities in (driverless) technology deployment,” the report states, adding, “without active engagement by the city … technology deployment will likely be disjointed, poorly organized.”
The task force suggests setting up a working group that can brainstorm what infrastructure changes the city needs for the advent of a driverless world. It also recommends that the city should consider pilot projects that introduce Chicagoans to driverless vehicles and “help build trust” in the technology.
Cities shouldn’t have to alter their basic infrastructure to accommodate “driverless” technology, which doesn’t even exist yet. As if there’s even room to do that in places like Chicago.
If manufacturers think they can make driverless cars, then they need to work in the real world. If your car can’t be trusted to drive itself down Western Ave. and navigate a school-zone pickup, then don’t put it on the street.
And there is zero reason for state and local governments to “help build trust” in what is now vaporware. Let the for-profit companies which are spending billions on this project handle the public relations.
Assistive driving is great. Don’t get me wrong. Things like automated parking and radar work pretty well in good weather. But there’s always a line like this buried in otherwise breathless stories about these so-called autonomous vehicles…
Two Kroger markets in Houston are rolling out a self-driving car program, in which orders can be placed online and delivered right to your home without a driver. […]
“There will still be safety drivers in them.”
* And the tech is not just around the corner, either…
Many luxury cars now have level two autonomy, as defined by America’s Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE).
It includes partial automation in some situations, but still requires a driver to be in control at all times, something most level two cars warn drivers of.
The dream of full autonomy — known as level five — appears many years away.
Last month BMW and Mercedes-Benz — two of the most advanced manufacturers with driverless technology — announced they would be joining forces on the development of autonomous technologies.
However, the two German automotive giants are only forecasting level four autonomy by 2025.
The goal of having no driver at all appears well beyond that.
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It’s just a bill
Monday, Mar 18, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Steve Daniels at Crain’s…
The House Public Utilities Committee on March 12 approved a bill extending Commonwealth Edison’s authority to set its rates via an annual formula. Apparently, given the 18-0 vote, no one on that panel thought this was a matter deserving much scrutiny.
But what those lawmakers voted to do, perhaps without understanding it, was to subject all 4 million of ComEd’s captive power-delivery customers in northern Illinois to unhedged interest-rate risk for the next 13 years. As it stands, the formula expires in 2022. The bill would continue it until 2032.
It would be as if a bank wrote you a 15-year mortgage at a fixed rate and then failed to hedge its interest-rate risk. No bank in the world would do that. Why should the rates Illinoisans pay for electricity embed that kind of exposure?
Yikes.
* I haven’t talked to any “big pop” lobsters about Charlie’s bill, but this would be the first time a commercial product is listed as an official state something or another…
House Bill 3073 isn’t likely to settle the soda vs. pop debate, but one state representative wants to see if Illinois can make Ski the state’s official drink.
Popcorn is the official snack of the state of Illinois. The state vegetable is sweet corn. Legislators in the Land of Lincoln have even made pumpkin the state’s official pie. State Rep. Charlie Meier, R-Okawville, is looking to make the citrus, cane sugar drink Ski the official state soda.
“It’s a small family business located in Breese, Illinois,” Meier said of Excel Bottling Co. “It’s been in business over 60 years. The family had information on a bank robber, turned him in and they used the reward money and started this soda company.”
Meier said big beverage companies oppose his idea.
“They’re saying that the state of Illinois can’t endorse a specific product and that’s why they don’t want Ski endorsed,” Meier said. “But it’s made in the state of Illinois. It started in the state of Illinois and once you have a Ski, you’re going to want to have one every day.” […]
“We like that people enjoy our product,” Excel’s third generation General Manager William Meier said Friday. He is not related to the state representative.
“Charlie is a great guy and trying to give us credit,” Meier said. “The idea is good to give credit, but I am neutral” on the bill.
“We’re a commercial entity and don’t get into the politics,” Meier said. “Glad Charlie loves our product.”
My late Aunt Janet lived in Aviston for decades, and I remember her giving us Ski when we visited back in the day. It’s good pop.
* I waited for the school bus every day by myself when I was in first and second grade. We lived five miles west of Clifton back then and both my parents worked and my mom would bring my brothers to daycare on her way to her teaching job. I stayed behind and caught the bus.
It was great. Anyone who comes from a big family knows the simple pleasures of alone time, even at such a young age. All those pesky younger brothers and both my parents were gone and I could just get ready for school without any interference or pressure and watch WGN’s great morning TV shows in total peace with my cereal.
One day, I missed the bus because I became so engrossed in one of those morning shows. Oops. So, I set out walking to Clifton. I made it about a mile or so before a neighbor picked me up (I was crying by that point) and drove me to town. Never did that again…
At what age should it be legal for a child to be at home alone, or to be caring for younger siblings?
In Illinois, it’s currently 14, the strictest such law in the nation for more than 25 years.
One Republican lawmaker wants that changed to 12.
“This law came into place decades ago in response to a case where a couple left the country with their two children at home,” said Rep. Joe Sosnowski, of Rockford. “As it sometimes happens with these issues in legislatures, lawmakers overreact and set a precedent that’s too restrictive.”
Sosnowski is sponsoring House Bill 2334, which would lower the state’s legal age limit for leaving children unsupervised to 12. The bill passed unanimously out of the House Judiciary-Criminal Committee in early March.
* Other bills…
* Get behind bills that would further women’s progress in Illinois
* Measure would require minimum number of women on corporate boards: Senate Bill 76 from Sen. Cristina Castro, D-Elgin, would require that by summer 2020 there be at least one women on corporate boards. By the end of 2022, boards would have to have a minimum of three of six board members be women and at least two of five board members be women, depending on the size of the board. It would also require the publication of such information.
* State rep sponsors drone bill
* Bill cracks down on inaccurate reporting of criminal history
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When Illinois women vote, Democrats win
Monday, Mar 18, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Significant…
A new analysis by the Center for Illinois Politics of state election data finds 54 percent of voters who turned out across the state in 2018 were women, up from 52 percent in 2014 and 2016, a difference of about 100,000 women.
That two-point increase is a four percent jump.
* And that turnout increase helped change results all over the place…
In the 2018 midterms, the percentage of Cook County voters who voted Democratic was 75 percent, and its percentage of registered females voting was 55 percent. In traditionally Republican DuPage County, 51 percent voted Democratic, and 53 percent of females voted.
Lake County saw 54 percent of residents vote Democratic, and 53 percent of registered women vote. Downstate, Sangamon County saw 48 percent of voters vote Democrat, and 53 percent of women vote. In St. Clair County, 57 percent voted Democratic, and 54 percent of women turned out.
Looking at DuPage County, that 51 percent of voters casting ballots for Democrats skyrocketed, up from just 11.5 percent in 1990.
In the 14th Congressional District, Democrat Lauren Underwood of Naperville has been touted as the embodiment of Illinois’ “Year of the Woman” after defeating incumbent Randy Hultgren of Plano. The 14th’s female share of the vote was 52 percent.
In the 6th Congressional District, represented by a Republican since 1975, Republican incumbent Peter Roskam of Wheaton lost in a contentious, high-profile race to Democrat Sean Casten of Downers Grove. There, 52 percent of voters in the contest were female. […]
In the 21st state Senate District, incumbent GOP Sen. Michael Connelly conceded to Democrat Lauren Ellman of Naperville. The Senate Democratic Victory Fund invested more than $1 million in the effort to defeat Connelly, who served in the House since 2009 and Senate since 2013. There, 55 percent of the voters who turned out were female.
African-American women and independent-minded suburban women are the two most influential voting blocs in this state. Democrats generally don’t win without their strong support. Republicans generally win when those votes are down.
…Adding… A handy map…
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A slow return to a semblance of normalcy
Monday, Mar 18, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* October 19, 2015…
Following the closure of the Illinois State Museum system on September 30 due to a state budget stalemate, the Accreditation Commission today voted unanimously to put the Illinois State Museum system on probation. […]
“The actions by the Illinois state government that forced the Illinois State Museum system to close to the public left us no choice but to place this museum on probation pending further information from the museum system. We have grave concerns about the impact of this closure on the long-term viability of the museum, including affecting its ability to retain a professional staff and operate at the highest professional level; impairing the museum’s ability to care for the 13.5 million specimens in its collection; impacting donor support; risking its role as a major educational resource in the state of Illinois; and harming its reputation as a premier international museum and research institution. The Commission will review the museum’s status at its next meeting, and looks forward to a status report from the state of Illinois as to how these concerns are being addressed.”
* June 23, 2016…
In light of the Illinois State Museum’s reopening on July 2, the American Alliance of Museums has approved an accelerated plan for it to receive full accreditation by next year.
The Springfield-based museum’s five sites were put on probation in October after Gov. Bruce Rauner’s decision to close the facility due to the state’s budget impasse. […]
The museum’s Springfield site at 502 S. Spring St. lost approximately half of its staff over the course of its closure and required the approval of a $5 admission fee to reopen.
2017 and 2018 came and went and the museum still wasn’t removed from probation.
* Saturday…
The Illinois State Museum has been re-accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, despite being put on probation by the organization during the state’s budget impasse. […]
When the museum emerged from its nine-month shutdown in July 2016, the facility instituted a new $5 admission charge for adults. (Children age 18 and younger, senior citizens and military veterans are still admitted free.) Also after reopening, the museum experienced a sharp decline in visitors. Attendance is rebounding, however. In 2018, the museum counted 47,156 visitors, which is more than the approximately 40,000 people it attracted in 2017, [Robert Sill, interim director of the Illinois State Museum] said. […]
Staffing levels also have increased. When the museum reopened in summer 2016, its headcount was 28. It is now 39. Before the shutdown it had 62 employees, officials said. Sill says the employee number is going to grow. […]
The biggest new hire will be a permanent director, for which they are now interviewing. Sill, the interim director, said he wants to go back to his role as the museum’s art and history director.
* Meanwhile, reversing yet another petty Rauner action…
After nearly five long years of delays — rooted in both political battles and construction problems — the embattled Chicago Veterans Home will see its doors open come December, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and other elected officials announced Friday. […]
Former Gov. Pat Quinn broke ground on the home in September 2014, only to lose his re-election bid two months later. His successor, former Gov. Bruce Rauner, halted construction of the home during the historic budget impasse.
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* Rep. Sue Scherer (D-Decatur) was a public school teacher for almost 35 years. She’s not a fan of teacher testing and believes it’s contributing to the current teacher shortage…
“So when I went to school, if you go to the early ’70s, my brother and several of my friends that are older — their college was paid for, because there was a severe teacher shortage. So they got free tuition all four years, if they promised to teach for, I don’t know, five or 10 years.
“So then by the time I came along, you know, in the later ’70s, then there was a stack a foot high of applications for one job. So almost everyone came out when I did had to either be an aide or a substitute for a year to get their foot in the door to try to get a job. So now if you look at the history, in order to try to weed it down, they kept adding one test after another after another,” she says. “And then they just, you know, they didn’t do anything with the salaries, and they messed with their pensions and their evaluations and their tenure and all that ’til we’re now we’re in a severe shortage, right?”
There’s certain qualities that teachers need to have that maybe we don’t have a test for, Scherer says.
“You need to have patience; you can’t test for that. You need to have compassion; you can’t test for that. You need to like kids,” she says. “I mean, some people just don’t really like being around children. You need to have a tolerance for things that little kids do, if you’re teaching little kids. Or if you’re going to teach high school, you’ve got to be able to relate to high school students, because high school teachers can’t always teach grade school and vice versa. It’s you know, it’s just whatever way God made you.
“I’m not saying you don’t have to know your academics and be able to teach the subject matter. But… I just, I’m just not a believer in the test situation.”
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A question of trust, or the lack thereof
Monday, Mar 18, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
A bunch of weak political arguments have been used so far against Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s proposed constitutional amendment for a graduated income tax. But there is a clear path to killing it.
My “favorite” argument was the complaint that the governor is trying to impose a “millionaire’s tax.” That’s precisely the sort of “Won’t everyone please think of the rich people?” reaction Team Pritzker wants desperately to provoke.
Another argument I’m seeing developing is that Illinois is too broke to include the governor’s proposed tax cut for 97 percent of taxpayers, no matter how modest that cut may be.
But in an age when the wealthy are receiving massive federal tax breaks and corporations are regularly handed taxpayer-financed gifts at the state and local levels, arguing against a smallish break for families earning $40,000 a year is political nonsense and also plays right into Pritzker’s hand.
The Illinois Policy Institute is trying to assert that the proposal doesn’t raise nearly as much money as Gov. Pritzker is claiming — anywhere from about a third to two-thirds less.
But that argument makes it look like the Pritzker plan would take far less money away from the private sector than the governor has advertised. It seems counter-intuitive.
The claim also undermines the House Republicans’ argument that they stand strongly opposed to a $3.4 billion tax hike. The claim may be useful down the road in another context, however.
Another argument is the tax hike won’t bring in enough money to close the state’s massive structural deficit. But Pritzker’s resistance to calls for even higher taxation will allow him to come off as a moderate, splitting the difference between the left and the right.
I mean, just imagine this press conference scenario. Reporter: “Governor, you’re being criticized for not raising taxes high enough.” Pritzker: “That’s fantastic news!”
Ideas Illinois, the dark money group fronted by former Illinois Manufacturers Association President Greg Baise, has probably the best argument right now against the Pritzker tax plan.
The latest We Ask America poll found that only 23 percent of Illinois voters believe the state is heading in the right direction while 65 percent say it’s on the wrong track. The idea is to feed into that anger by telling people what they already know.
“We really can’t trust J.B. Pritzker or the other Springfield politicians, the same people who in the last eight years have raised taxes twice, to really not take this as a blank check,” Baise said on WGN Radio not long ago. “And if you believe the rates that J.B. Pritzker talked about last week will be what the Springfield folks, Mike Madigan and John Cullerton, ultimately implement, then I might have a bridge to sell you, too.”
In other words, this tax plan is just an attractive placeholder that will be replaced by a much more harmful plan as soon as House Speaker Michael Madigan can muster the votes.
The truth is, income taxes are historically difficult to increase here. The tax has been raised just twice since 1989 (thirty years ago). And one of those increases was a partial restoration of an automatic tax cut. But some of that tax may not be so difficult to increase if a graduated tax is allowed by the Illinois Constitution. Temporary fiscal downturn? Pension payments rise? Just slap another percentage point or two of taxation on the rich people.
This is the biggest reason why the wealthy are so opposed to a graduated income tax here. And it’s also why a graduated tax would likely protect the middle class from significantly higher rates, no matter what Baise says.
However, because Illinois government is so thoroughly distrusted, the opponents may very well be able to convince enough of the electorate that while the governor may be urging them to vote to tax the rich, they’re really voting to give the hugely unpopular Mike Madigan carte blanche to raise taxes on the middle class. Remember, they just have to stop Pritzker from reaching 60 percent voter approval to kill a constitutional amendment.
In that context, using the argument that the tax hike on the rich won’t raise as much money as advertised and the claim that even if the tax hike brings in all the money Pritzker projects, it still won’t be nearly enough to balance the state’s books would serve a useful end: You’re taxing the rich today, but, one way or another, you’re taxing yourself tomorrow.
I don’t believe that prediction is true, but I do believe it could be a very potent argument.
* Meanwhile, the Wall St. Journal editorial board said the quiet part out loud over the weekend…
Illinois has been a fiscal mess for years, but a saving grace has been that the state Constitution mandates a flat tax rate that is now 4.95% on personal income. This makes it harder to raise taxes because politicians have to include the middle class. Now Governor J.B. Pritzker is bidding to blow up that safety valve with a progressive tax that would drive even more taxpayers out of the state.
That “safety valve” they worry about is for the top 3 percent, in case you didn’t quite get it.
This is the clearest, most forthright explanation yet of what the opposition is really up to.
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* US Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Illinois…
The owner of a debt collection company spent tens of thousands of dollars in an effort to corruptly influence and obtain business from court clerks in Florida and Illinois, including the Cook County Circuit Court Clerk, according to a federal indictment returned in Chicago.
DONALD DONAGHER, JR., 67, of Mechanicsburg, Pa., and Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., was the owner and Chief Executive Officer of Harrisburg, Pa.-based PENN CREDIT CORPORATION. From 2009 to 2016, Donagher and Penn Credit provided money and services to benefit the court clerks and related individuals and entities, corruptly seeking favorable treatment in the awarding of the courts’ debt collection work, the indictment states. The efforts included payments to certain clerks’ campaign committees, donations to charities supported by certain clerks, financial sponsorship of events hosted by certain clerks, and free or discounted “robocalls” made by Penn Credit on behalf of certain clerks’ campaigns, according to the indictment.
The indictment was returned Thursday in U.S. District Court in Chicago. It charges Donagher and Penn Credit with one count of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery, and five counts of federal program bribery. Arraignment in federal court in Chicago has not yet been scheduled.
The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Jeffrey S. Sallet, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Gabriel L. Grchan, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago; and Patrick M. Blanchard, Cook County Inspector General. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Heather K. McShain and Ankur Srivastava.
According to the charges, Donagher in June 2011 caused Penn Credit to pay $5,000 to a scholarship fund named for the Cook County Circuit Court Clerk. Later that summer, Penn Credit began collecting debt for the Clerk’s Office, the indictment states. On Aug. 19, 2011 – less than three weeks after Penn Credit began its work for Cook County – Donagher sent an email to Penn Credit employees and an Illinois lobbyist, advising that Donagher had promised the Cook County Clerk “10k of ‘early’ money,” the indictment states. The following month, Donagher caused a $10,000 contribution to be made in his name “towards the fundraising efforts of Contributions to Friends of [the Cook County Circuit Court Clerk],” the indictment states. The indictment further states that, several months later, Penn Credit made hundreds of thousands of phone calls on behalf of the Cook County Circuit Court Clerk without invoicing or receiving payment from the Clerk’s campaign.
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The conspiracy charge is punishable by up to five years in prison, while the maximum sentence for federal program bribery is ten years. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
The indictment is here.
*** UPDATE *** Press release…
STATEMENT BY PENN CREDIT AND DON DONAGHER
DENYING ALL CHARGES IN FEDERAL INDICTMENT
CHICAGO, IL (March 15, 2019): The allegations against Don Donagher and Penn Credit are false and the Department of Justice should not have brought this case. Mr. Donagher and Penn Credit acted legally and in good faith, and we will prove that in court.
The indictment presents a novel and meritless theory based on conduct that allegedly occurred long ago. First, the government has charged Mr. Donagher with bribery related offenses, but it has not charged any public official or even claim that a public official was a supposed co-conspirator. Second, unlike the long line of corruption cases that have been prosecuted in Chicago, this case has none of the standard hallmarks of bribery and corruption. There are no allegations of secret cash payments. There are no allegations of concealed payments to shell companies. There are no allegations of lavish gifts or free vacations. In fact, there are no allegations that Mr. Donagher did anything to personally enrich any public official. Simply put, none of the usual indicia of corrupt activity are present in this case. Instead, the Department of Justice is attempting to criminalize entirely lawful, publicly-disclosed campaign contributions and laudatory donations to various charities, a scholarship fund and the partial sponsoring of a Women’s History Month event.
Moreover, Penn Credit never sought and never received any improper benefit from any public official. Indeed, the contracts Penn Credit received from Cook County and other government entities were awarded to it purely on the merits.
For example, regarding the Cook County contract, a county-wide committee, which included members of the State’s Attorney’s Office, objectively rated the proposals submitted by Penn Credit and its competitors, and that county-wide committee rated Penn Credit to be the most qualified company for the contract. And that superior rating was borne out by Penn Credit’s documented performance on behalf of Cook County — Penn Credit significantly increased collections and revenue for the county and dramatically outperformed its competitors by every objective measure. Thus, Penn Credit consistently received “excellent” marks for its debt collection work, not just for the Clerk’s Office, but for its superior services to all County Departments under the contract.
Mr. Donagher has a well-earned reputation for philanthropy and generosity, having donated millions of dollars to a wide variety of charitable causes around the country. The company has an unblemished record as a corporate citizen and leading employer in its community.
Theodore T. Poulos, counsel to Don Donagher and Penn Credit, said, “Donating to political campaigns and charities hoping to engender good will is not a crime. That happens every day in this country.”
Mr. Donagher and Penn Credit will enter pleas of not guilty and will vigorously defend themselves against these unsupported charges. We look forward to our day in court.
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Question of the day
Friday, Mar 15, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Steve Lord at the Aurora Beacon-News…
The Fermi National Accelerator broke ground Friday on a project that takes it into the future as one of the world’s premier particle physics laboratories.
The Proton Improvement Plan II, known as PIP-II, is a brand new leading-edge superconducting linear accelerator.
“It’s a new heart for Fermilab,” said Mike Weis, the Fermilab site office manager for the U.S. Department of Energy. “That’s really what we’re doing here.”
Weis was one of 19 speakers Friday at a groundbreaking for PIP-II which included a host of dignitaries, scientists and International representatives of participants in the project.
The governor was in attendance…
* The Question: Caption?
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* Civic Federation…
The Governor said the new [graduated income tax] would bring in an additional $3.4 billion per year. That is exactly enough to cover an annual operating deficit estimated at $3.2 billion plus an extra $200 million—the amount recently proposed by the administration to bolster the State’s severely underfunded retirement systems. However, the Civic Federation has not been able to replicate the $3.4 billion number and the Governor’s Office has not yet provided information about the methodology used to arrive at the figure.
* I asked what result the group had come up with and was told today that their numbers crunchers hadn’t yet completed the calculations…
The Civic Federation has not published a revenue estimate because we are still working to gather complete information. We plan to complete our analysis and update our blog when we have additional information.
They were apparently waiting on the same info I was.
The Illinois Policy Institute is claiming that its own numbers crunchers found the graduated tax would yield $2.4 billion in the first full fiscal year. The group has FOIA’d the methodology info, but the governor’s office said yesterday it would need five more days to respond.
* As I noted above, I’ve been asking for the same information, and the governor’s office just sent this to me…
The Governor’s Office of Budget and Management worked with the Department of Revenue to arrive at a realistic projection for the amount generated by the fair income tax.
The team includes longtime respected experts like Deputy Governor Dan Hynes, who served as the state’s comptroller for 12 years; Department of Revenue Director David Harris, a former Republican lawmaker who served in a leadership role for many years on both the revenue and appropriations committees; GOMB Director Alexis Sturm, who has worked in government finance for more than 20 years; and GOMB Chief of Staff Cameron Mock, who has worked in government finance for nearly a decade.
A breakdown of how many tax filers are in each income bracket can be found below.
To reach the 2021 projection, the team used data from the 2016 tax year, the most recent year for which complete data is available. They assumed filers’ income for 2021 would have grown at the most recent respective 5-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR), and to ensure the estimate was conservative, included a one-year income stagnation in the event of a slowing economy.
The team assumed that local governments would receive 6 percent of the new revenue through LGDF and that $230 million of the new revenue would be used for property tax relief and child tax credits.
The team assumed that 10 percent of filers with net income more than $1 million and less than $2 million would try to capture a lower marginal rate. This is an extremely conservative assumption. In reality, only filers who have a net income between $1,000,000 and $1,009,305 would pay more in taxes than they would receive in income above $1,000,000 when the 7.95 percent rate is applied to all their income.
* Click the pic for a larger image…
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* From the Illinois Human Rights Act…
Freedom from Unlawful Discrimination. To secure for all individuals within Illinois the freedom from discrimination against any individual because of his or her race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, order of protection status, marital status, physical or mental disability, military status, sexual orientation, pregnancy, or unfavorable discharge from military service in connection with employment, real estate transactions, access to financial credit, and the availability of public accommodations.
* HB 246…
Amends the School Code. With regard to the textbook block grant program, provides that the textbooks authorized to be purchased must include the roles and contributions of all people protected under the Illinois Human Rights Act and must be non-discriminatory as to any of the characteristics under the Act. Provides that textbooks purchased with grant funds must be non-discriminatory.
The Human Rights Act is a hugely important, hard-won law that’s been slowly expanded over the years. In my opinion, students ought to learn about the people covered by this law (and about the law itself, for that matter).
* Except…
But it is unlikely that the bill would have any immediate impact, even if it is signed into law. That’s because it only applies to textbooks purchased through the state’s textbook block grant program, which has not received any funding for the last five years, and which the State Board of Education has not requested funding for in the upcoming budget.
So much for that.
* This sentence is what set so many people off…
Provides that in public schools only, the teaching of history of the United States shall include a study of the roles and contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in the history of this country and this State.
That part has nothing to do with the textbook grant program, so it has to be taught one way or another.
* WICS…
Rep. Anna Moeller, an Elgin Democrat who’s sponsoring the bill, said the measure would help depict an accurate understanding of LGBTQ figures in the classroom.
“This exclusion has denied students the opportunity to obtain a greater and more accurate understanding of world history,” Moeller said. “It also has denied LGBT people their identity and reflection in our school curriculum.” […]
Those opposed to this bill are worried how schools would pay for another curriculum requirement.
They said school districts are already required to do too much without enough state funding.
* Um, that’s not all they said…
State Representative Darren Bailey (R-Louisville), voted no today on House Bill 246 that will mandate school books must include the teaching of the sexual identity of historical figures and that the sexual identities of lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender (LGBT) must be identified.
“I am opposed to yet another mandate on our teachers,” said Rep. Darren Bailey, a former school board member. “There is nothing that prevents the teaching of the lives of historical figures including if they were known to have been homosexuals. But forcing that information on 5 year olds and elementary school children is more of an effort of indoctrination than of learning history about individuals who accomplished important discoveries in science or created great works of art.” […]
Rep. Bailey added, “I also opposed this legislation because it does not provide an ‘opt out’ option for parents who do not wish their children exposed to this kind of information for religious reasons or because their child may not be of a mature enough age to fully understand the meaning and implications of what LGBT actually is.”
* This is the current statute, except for the addition of the words “or she”…
No pupils shall be graduated from the eighth grade of any public school unless he or she has received such instruction in the history of the United States and gives evidence of having a comprehensive knowledge thereof.
It should be interesting to see how the more conservative Downstate school districts approach this if/when it becomes the law of the land.
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Today’s number: 1.4 days in reserve, if that
Friday, Mar 15, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Illinois News Network…
A lesser-mentioned consequence of the budget battle between Democrats in the General Assembly and then-Gov. Bruce Rauner was the depletion of Illinois’ rainy day fund, which still sits nearly empty.
A state’s rainy day fund is used to avoid having to make cuts or tax hikes in the event of a sudden drop in revenue like what many states saw during the recession. In 2017, Illinois lawmakers voted to drain the state’s Budget Stabilization Fund and include the hundreds of millions of dollars that were in it to keep services going during the budget battle. Today, there’s less than a percentage of Illinois’ annual budget in that fund.
Justin Theal, an officer with Pew Charitable Trusts, said that goes against the national trend. Most other states have been bolstering their funds during times of higher revenue.
“The state had about $10 million in its rainy day fund, or the equivalent of just one-tenth of one day’s worth of operating cost,” he said. “Fiscal Year 2018 saw thirty-two states add nearly $10 billion to their rainy day funds. That’s largely the result of a healthy economy, robust stock market returns, specific state policy actions, and at least a portion of that was due to tax revenue growth from the recent federal tax reform package.”
Illinois also relies on its end-of-year balance, which Pew reports would cover 1.3 days, hence the headline.
Daily operating costs are based on a 365-day year.
* From Pew…
States use reserves and balances to manage budgetary uncertainty, including revenue forecasting errors, budget shortfalls during economic downturns, and other unforeseen emergencies, such as natural disasters. This financial cushion can soften the need for severe spending cuts or tax increases when states need to balance their budgets.
Because reserves and balances are vital to managing unexpected changes and maintaining fiscal health, their levels are tracked closely by bond rating agencies. For example, S&P Global Ratings downgraded Massachusetts’ debt rating in June 2017, citing its “failure to follow through on rebuilding its reserves.” A year later, Massachusetts deposited more than $492 million into its reserve fund. If left unaddressed, credit downgrades can lead to increased state borrowing costs for years to come.
Building up reserves is a sign of fiscal recovery, but there is no one-size-fits-all rule on when, how, and how much to save. States with a history of significant economic or revenue volatility may desire larger cushions. According to a report by The Pew Charitable Trusts, the optimal savings target of state rainy day funds depends on three factors: the defined purpose of funds, the volatility of a state’s tax revenue, and the level of coverage—similar to an insurance policy—that the state seeks to provide for its budget.
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It’s just a bill
Friday, Mar 15, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Jerry Nowicki at Capitol News Illinois…
According to a report from the Illinois Department of Public Health, an average of 73 women in Illinois died each year from 2008 to 2016 within one year of pregnancy, 72 percent of those deaths were preventable, and 93 percent of violent pregnancy-associated deaths were preventable.
Per the report, African-American women were six times more likely to die of a pregnancy-related condition during that span.
“For African-American women in particular, we’re dying at six times the rate amongst American women, which means we’re dying at Third-World country rates,” state Sen. Toi Hutchinson, D-Olympia Fields, said.
Hutchinson and Castro have introduced, among other reforms, Senate Bill 1909, which would continue Medicaid coverage for new mothers for 12 months after giving birth – currently a mother is covered for only 60 days after a birth.
That bill would also create a pilot program to provide voluntary in-home nursing visits to low-income, first-time pregnant women; mandate quality control guidelines and hemorrhage protocols for birthing facilities; and require insurance plans to cover medically necessary treatment for postpartum complications.
* This bill has gone nowhere in the past…
Supporters are making a case for instituting a new tax on financial transactions in the state of Illinois.
The legislation would require a $1 fee on any financial transaction done in the state with the exception of securities held in a retirement account or a transaction involving a mutual fund.
“Beginning January 1, 2020, a tax is imposed on the privilege of engaging in a financial transaction on any of the following exchanges or boards of trade: the Chicago Stock Exchange; the Chicago Mercantile Exchange; the Chicago Board of Trade; or the Chicago Board Options Exchange,” according to the text of the bill. “The tax is imposed at a rate of $1 for each transaction for which the underlying asset is an agricultural product, a financial instruments contract, or an options contract. The tax shall be paid by the trading facility or, in any other case, by the purchaser involved in the transaction.”
Illinois state Rep. Mary Flowers, D-Chicago, has been the standard bearer for a state-based financial transactions tax for a number of years. She brought Matt Harrington, a self-described financial expert, to explain how the financial transactions tax “could help bring prosperity to our economy.”
* From the Anna Gazette-Democrat…
A Southern Illinois legislator earned unanimous approval from the Illinois House Judiciary Criminal Law Committee on two separate, but related pieces of legislation last week. […]
HB 2308 ensures that a defendant is prohibited from contacting victims or witnesses from jail while awaiting trial.
Windhorst says inmates awaiting trial sometimes use their phone privileges to harass victims while waiting for their court date.
“This is a victims’ rights piece of legislation,” [Rep. Patrick Windhorst, R-Metropolis] said. “HB 2308 will keep incarcerated offenders from being able to contact their victims while awaiting trial.”
HB 2309 also passed the House Judiciary Criminal Law Committee with unanimous support.
Windhorst says the legislation provides that when a petition for an emergency stalking no contact order, a civil no contact order, or an emergency order of protection is filed, the petition shall not be publicly available until the petition is served on the offending individual.
* Other bills…
* Opponents say bill could make Illinois college campuses less safe: Illinois State University receives about 20,000 applications in a given year. In 2018, Woodruff said about 150 potential students disclosed a criminal history. Of those, six were denied entry. Most of those were because of a past sex offense.
* Childcare facilities would have to hold active shooter drills under new bill: The bill was heard in committee Thursday. Committee members raised concerns about the effect such a measure would have on childcare businesses’ insurance costs, regardless of the size of the operation. Mussman promised changes to address those concerns.
* Bill would require single-occupancy bathrooms in Illinois be gender neutral: Bush said she’d bring back an amendment to change the language to clarify some aspects.
* Measure would require minimum number of women on corporate boards: The measure was heard in committee, but the committee didn’t vote on it.
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Stop narrowing the tax base
Friday, Mar 15, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* When you freeze assessments for one favored group of taxpayers, everybody else has to pick up the slack. So, if you want to help young homeowners, stop doing stuff like this…
The Illinois Senate is poised to take up a bill that would make it easier for some seniors to access a state program that limits property tax increases on their homes.
Under current law, people age 65 and older with incomes up to $65,000 can claim the Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption, which effectively freezes the taxable valuation of their homes so that their tax bills cannot go up simply because the market value of their home rises.
Senate Bill 1346, which cleared the Senate Revenue Committee on Wednesday, would expand that slightly, starting in the 2019 tax year, by allowing seniors to deduct from their income whatever money they spend on Medicare premiums. That would allow some people with incomes just above the $65,000 cap to claim the exemption.
Sen. Laura Ellman, a Naperville Democrat and lead sponsor of the bill, said it would benefit seniors who are “on the cusp” of the income limit, but she said she couldn’t estimate how many seniors it would benefit.
* Here’s what happened the last time the General Assembly got carried away with helping seniors on their property taxes…
When state lawmakers pushed through a trio of tax breaks in spring 2017, the idea was to ease some of the financial pain caused by Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s series of major property tax hikes on Chicago homeowners, especially senior citizens.
The changes, however, also had an unintended consequence: Thousands of homes in south suburbs such as Harvey and Park Forest fell off the tax rolls, meaning those homeowners no longer pay any property taxes at all, and an even greater number are paying less.
While that’s good news for many, it’s also resulted in tens of millions of dollars in property taxes being shifted onto remaining homeowners and businesses. They are now being hit with even higher bills in an impoverished, long-struggling, largely African-American region where an outsized property tax burden already made it difficult to attract the retail shops and industry needed to reverse economic woes made worse by the Great Recession.
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Chamber president still has hope for Pritzker
Friday, Mar 15, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Dan Petrella…
With a new governor in office, Democratic lawmakers are charging ahead on legislation Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner blocked as he pursued his pro-business, union-weakening agenda. […]
With Democrats trying again on many issues Rauner prevented from becoming law, some in the business community are on edge as Pritzker also advocates for a graduated income tax plan that would raise rates on the wealthy and on corporations.
“I unfortunately do think that (the votes) are an indication of what the next four years are going to look like,” said Todd Maisch, president and CEO of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, which was closely aligned with Rauner and opposed legislation on the smoking age, salary history and the minimum wage. “It doesn’t mean every anti-business bill is going to go ahead and pass. I do think that Gov. Pritzker really does want to be seen by the business community as somebody who understands their issues.”
However, Maisch added, “it looks like we’re going to take a few beatings.”
Hang in there, Todd. /s
On a more serious note, it’s interesting to see that Maisch retains some optimism about Gov. Pritzker’s relationship with the business community. I should probably follow up with him on that soon.
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* Peoria Journal Star letters to the editor…
I know very little of JB Pritzker’s personal history but I believe I read during the recent election campaign that he is of the Jewish faith. Consequently, it seems incongruous to me that he could support the right to an abortion.
He is too young to have firsthand remembrance of the World War II holocaust but I am not. Horrific photographs of murdered, innocent Jewish men, women and children are firmly etched in my mind. […]
It is ironic that Hitler is, rightfully so, branded for all time as a monster for the extermination of millions of Jews, Christians and others for being enemies of the Third Reich. Yet Pritzker and other proponents of the extermination of millions of unborn babies are hailed as heroes under the banner of “women’s rights” or “women’s healthcare.”
How sad that abortion rights advocates now legalize extermination at any stage of the baby’s development.
You gotta wonder what goes through an editor’s mind when deciding whether to publish letters like these.
I mean, the governor helped found a Holocaust Museum, for crying out loud.
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PBMs Save Illinois Patients & Payers Nearly $26 Billion
Friday, Mar 15, 2019 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) are the primary advocate for consumers and health plans in the fight to keep prescription drugs accessible and affordable. By leveraging competition among drugmakers and drugstores, PBMs help 266 million Americans every year access needed medications. PBMs will save patients and payers $123 per brand prescription, negotiate prescription costs down nearly $26 billion in Illinois, and help prevent 100 million medication errors nationwide. That means better care for more people at a lower cost.
Think of PBMs as your advocates—they’re in your corner, clamping down on prescription drug hikes because your health is non-negotiable. Learn more at OnYourRxSide.org
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* The Tennessean…
Authorities in Illinois have charged the father of the suspect in the deadly Nashville Waffle House shooting, accusing him of illegally giving his son the gun used to kill four people at the restaurant.
Jeffrey Reinking was charged Thursday with unlawful delivery of a firearm. Prosecutors said he gave his son Travis Reinking a gun — despite the fact that his son had recently been hospitalized for mental health issues.
Travis Reinking is schizophrenic, according to a medical expert who evaluated him and testified in court. Illinois prosecutors said he had been treated at the mental health unit of Methodist Medical Center of Illinois.
Illinois state law forbids people from selling or giving guns to anyone who has “been a patient in a mental institution within the past five years.”
* NBC 5…
“Mass shootings have raised public awareness regarding the need to keep firearms out of the hands of persons afflicted with mental illness,” [Tazewell County State’s Attorney Stewart Umholtz] said, noting that doing so in Illinois is a criminal offense. “While I strongly support citizens’ rights under the Second Amendment, I also strongly support holding individuals accountable for the commission of criminal offenses related to firearms.”
The older Reinking has posted bond and is scheduled for arraignment on April 25. He faces up to three years in prison and a fine, if convicted. Telephone calls to his lawyer weren’t immediately returned. […]
Travis Reinking was a onetime crane operator who moved across multiple states and suffered from delusions, sometimes talking about plans to marry singer Taylor Swift, friends and relatives told authorities. He was detained by the Secret Service in July 2017 after venturing into a forbidden area on the White House grounds and demanding to meet President Donald Trump.
* WEEK TV…
Reinking’s attorney disputed the charges.
“Jeff Reinking has not committed a criminal offense. He has been charged under an Illinois statute that prohibits the sale or gift of firearms to someone who has been in a mental institution. But Jeff didn’t sell or gift Travis the guns,” said Joel E. Brown, Reinking’s attorney in a statement to WKRN in Nashville. “The district attorney wants to pound a round peg into a square hole because of the terrible events that happened months after Travis’s weapons were returned to him. Returning Travis’s guns to Travis is not a criminal offense and we will fight it in court.”
* Peoria Journal Star…
In May 2016, a Tazewell County sheriff’s deputy met with Travis Reinking and members of his family, including his father. Travis Reinking said he believed singer Taylor Swift had been stalking him and hacking into his cellphone and Netflix account. Further, the younger Reinking said Swift had arranged to meet him at the Dairy Queen in Morton, but she only yelled at him from across the street before climbing up the side of a building and onto the roof before disappearing. Also in the meeting with the deputy, the family said Travis Reinking had been suicidal. At the end of that meeting, which also was attended by a representative of the Tazewell County Emergency Response Services, Travis Reinking agreed to go into Methodist’s Behavior Health Unit. He was there from May 26 to June 3 of 2016.
In August 2017, after Travis Reinking became a resident of Colorado, the state of Illinois revoked his Firearm Owner’s Identification Card because he was no longer a resident of Illinois. Further, a representative from the Illinois State Police confiscated the card from Travis Reinking and transferred his firearms — including a Bushmaster AR-15 — into the possession of his father. The complaint alleges a county Sheriff’s Department officer “advised” Reinking that the weapons confiscated from Travis in August 2017 and “transferred” to him “were to be kept secured and away from Travis.” […]
Jeffrey Reinking’s attorney said after the charge was filed that the statute defining the crime of giving a firearm to a person whose mental state makes him potentially dangerous does not apply in Reinking’s case.
The weapons “were neither his to sell or give. He never owned the weapons, they were his son’s” who, at the time, had a legal right to have them, said Peoria attorney Joel Brown. “The term ‘give’ is not defined in the statute.”
Jeffrey Reinking “did some research” and concluded his son was entitled to their return, Brown said.
Sheesh. What a mess. Why weren’t his guns confiscated and his FOID card revoked when he was hospitalized?
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