* Greg Hinz told us earlier this week that the feds were “examining business deals” involving Ald. Austin. Here’s Mary Ann Ahern…
A day after federal agents raided the offices of Chicago Ald. Carrie Austin, new details are beginning to emerge over what exactly it was they were looking for.
On Thursday, NBC 5 learned about questions surrounding the home Austin built three years ago. The home is in an area where the alderman requested a zoning change, and it was also part of a TIF district, according to sources.
Documents show that Austin requested a zoning change in April 2016 for the land where her home, as well as a group of condominiums, were built.
The developers building the project received a $3.6 million TIF for six single family homes and 80 condos, according to the documents.
Just four months after the zoning upgrade on the land, Austin received a building permit to build a $300,000 home on the site. The land she owns in the area, a total of 70,000 square feet, is valued at nearly $900,000.
Ald. Austin’s most recent economic disclosure statement claims she had no outside income above $1,000.
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Question of the day
Friday, Jun 21, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Amanda Vinicky…
Recreational marijuana is all but a done deal in Illinois. Late last month, Illinois became the first state in the nation to approve such a measure via a legislative body, rather than a referendum.
But on Tuesday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker is expected to make it final.
Multiple sources tell WTTW News that the governor, who campaigned on legalizing recreational adult use cannabis, is scheduled to sign that law June 25.
Legal weed is still about six months away, as the law won’t actually take effect until Jan. 1, 2020.
That signing date is confirmed.
* The Question: Your mood next Tuesday?
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* Press release…
Governor JB Pritzker signed two pieces of bipartisan legislation today to impose the strictest limits in the nation on ethylene oxide emissions from ethylene oxide sterilization facilities and other companies that use ethylene oxide.
“Protecting the health and well-being of the people of Illinois has always been my top priority, and I’m proud that this legislation keeps dangerous pollutants out of our communities,” said Gov. JB Pritzker. “Families in affected areas can breathe easy. Illinois now has the strictest safeguards in the nation, and I appreciate the hard work of the General Assembly in developing this bipartisan legislation and bringing it to my desk.”
“As Attorney General, I am pleased that, with Gov. Pritzker’s signature, Illinois will lead the nation in enacting stronger regulations of facilities that emit ethylene oxide,” said Attorney General Kwame Raoul. “I appreciate the General Assembly’s work to craft new, stringent regulations of ethylene oxide, which my office will work with the Illinois EPA to enforce.”
“Protecting Illinois residents from the threat of ethylene oxide was a bipartisan effort and I would like to thank everyone, including Governor Pritzker and his staff, who worked on this legislation that ensures proper protections are in place when it comes to this dangerous chemical,” said Leader Jim Durkin. “The tragic situation which unfolded in Willowbrook at the Sterigenics facility should have never happened. This law will help make sure that it never will again.”
“This new law creates the strongest ethylene oxide sterilization regulations in the nation,” said Senator John Curran (R-Downers Grove). “I would like to thank Governor Pritzker for swiftly signing this bill into law.”
“It is vital that once a public health crisis is identified, it is dealt with as quickly and aggressively as possible,” said Senator Melinda Bush (D-Grayslake). “As soon as I learned that Lake County had two companies that were emitting Ethylene Oxide into our air, I started to work on what is now the strictest set of regulations of Ethylene Oxide emissions in the United States. Today Governor Pritzker is signing into law two very important bills – bills that both set the highest emissions standards and ensure constant monitoring of those that use Ethylene Oxide. Our residents deserve nothing less than clean air to breathe.”
* The first new law…
Senate Bill 1852
Under Senate Bill 1852, ethylene oxide sterilization facilities would be prohibited from operating in Illinois unless:
The facility captures 100 percent of all fugitive ethylene oxide emissions within the facility.
The facility reduces ethylene oxide emissions to the atmosphere from each exhaust point by at least 99.9 percent or to 0.2 parts per million.
The bill requires facilities to conduct an initial emissions test within 180 days and yearly tests thereafter, and the results must be submitted to the Illinois EPA. Upon receiving a failed emissions test, a facility must:
Immediately cease operations.
Notify the Illinois EPA within 24 hours.
Within 60 days, conduct a root cause analysis of the failed emission test, take corresponding corrective actions, and seek IEPA approval prior to restart of operations.
The measure also requires EtO sterilization facilities to conduct quarterly ambient air testing and to obtain construction permits from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency before making the modifications required to comply with the emissions limits in the legislation. After January 1, 2020, any new facility seeking a permit to sterilize with EtO must comply with setback requirements mandating that the facility be located at least 10 miles from schools or parks.
The measure prohibits facilities that have previously been subject to a Seal Order from the Illinois EPA relating to EtO emissions from using the substance unless the facility can certify to the Illinois EPA that EtO is the only available sterilization method for the medical instruments or other products and that the facility’s emissions control system uses technology that produces the greatest possible reduction in EtO emissions.
As Leader Durkin explained this to me recently, previous state law allowed companies subjected to a Seal Order to either use the only available method or install the best available emissions control system. Now they have to do both.
* The other new law…
Senate Bill 1854
Senate Bill 1854 applies emission limits on non-sterilization facilities that emit ethylene oxide. Beginning in 180 days, any such EtO facility would be required to obtain a permit from IEPA, which must include a site-specific cap on the facility’s EtO emissions. Hospitals are specifically excluded from the requirements of this bill.
The Illinois EPA will also be required to conduct at least one unannounced inspection of all EtO sterilization sources per year and air testing to determine the ambient levels of EtO throughout the state.
Both bills have immediate effective dates. We’ll see how long that hospital loophole lasts.
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Pritzker signs immigration bills
Friday, Jun 21, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Press release…
Making good on his promise to make Illinois a welcoming state for all, Governor JB Pritzker signed three pieces of legislation Friday to protect Illinois’ immigrant community amid growing attacks from the federal government.
“Illinois is and always will be a welcoming state,” said Gov. JB Pritzker. “Let me be perfectly clear: the state of Illinois stands as a firewall against Donald Trump’s attacks on our immigrant communities. In the face of attempts to stoke fear, exploit division, and force families into the shadows, we are taking action. We will not allow private entities to profit off of the intolerance of this president. We will not allow local police departments act as an extension of ICE. And we will ensure that every student in this state who wants to go to college should be able to do so without saddling themselves with debt for the rest of their lives.”
Among the bills he signed was HB2040, the Private Detention Facility Moratorium Act…
HB 2040 bans immigrant detention centers in the state of Illinois, halting the proposed federally-run center in Dwight, Ill. Specifically, the bill prohibits state, county and local governments from entering any agreement or making any financial transactions with a private detention facility, with an exception for contracts with providers of ancillary services such as medical or food services.
This makes Illinois the first state in the nation to ban private civil detention centers, after the state already banned private criminal detention centers. HB 2040 takes effect immediately.
And HB2691…
HB 2691 allows undocumented and transgender students to received MAP grants and institutional aid at public institutions. The Illinois Student Assistance Commission estimates that approximately 3,500 additional students will qualify for a MAP grant as a result of this new law.
While citizenship status and registration in selective service are required for federal financial aid, any Illinois resident is now qualified for state financial aid. The bill also allows students who used MAP grants to help pay for at least 75 credit hours to continue receiving scholarships rather than cut them off until they attain junior status. HB 2691 takes effect immediately.
* He also signed HB1637, the Keep Illinois Families Together Act…
HB 1637 prohibits local law enforcement agencies from engaging in federal immigration enforcement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
While local law enforcement agencies in 21 states, including Wisconsin, participate in the 287(g) Program — an ICE program that allows local law enforcement officials to identify and remove undocumented residents from the U.S. — Illinois now statutorily prohibits participation.
This bill ensures witnesses of all backgrounds can come forward and report crime to their local police. HB 1637 takes effect immediately.
The bill also provides that “nothing shall preclude a law enforcement official from otherwise executing that official’s duties in ensuring public safety.”
The 287(g) Program allows Homeland Security to “deputize selected state and local law enforcement officers to enforce federal immigration law.” None of those deputizing programs currently exist in Illinois.
* These early provisions were eliminated from the bill via an amendment…
It would also prohibit law enforcement officials from asking anyone who has been arrested or detained about their citizenship or immigration status, or their place of birth. That prohibition also would apply to people who submit to questioning, crime victims, witnesses and any person who contacts law enforcement seeking assistance.
Additionally, it would call on the state attorney general to propose rules limiting how much assistance certain public agencies could provide to immigration officials. Those rules would apply specifically to public schools and higher education institutions, state-funded health care facilities, public libraries, facilities operated by the secretary of state and courthouses.
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* WTTW…
Chicago is finally set to get a much-anticipated casino. And it’s not just any casino, but one that could rival Las Vegas mega-casinos in size and scope.
Unlike previous proposals, this will not be a city-owned venture (though Chicago is set to get a third of the casino’s adjusted gross receipts, so it’s in the city’s interests for any eventual operator to succeed). Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Tuesday that’s at the city’s request [Emphasis added.]
* Neil Bluhm was likely pleased with the mayor’s request…
Consider the new mayor’s ties to the owners of Rivers Casino in Des Plaines — who include billionaire real estate developer and casino operator Neil Bluhm, Bluhm’s family and Kentucky horse-track operator Churchill Downs. A spokesman says they are considering applying to operate the Chicago casino.
The final decision on where that casino would go lies with the Illinois Gaming Board. But Lightfoot is expected to play a big role in determining the best site, as well as who would run the casino.
Lightfoot says campaign contributions won’t influence her, noting “the worst thing” anybody could do is try to sway her by giving her campaign money. “I’m always going to look after the best interests of the city . . . I’m going to play by the book,” she says.
Lightfoot attended law school at the University of Chicago with Bluhm’s daughter Leslie Bluhm, and they remain close friends.
Leslie Bluhm and her sister Meredith Bluhm-Wolf, who have a financial stake in Rivers, gave a total of $212,500 to Lightfoot’s mayoral campaign fund, records show. Leslie Bluhm also co-hosted a fundraiser for Lightfoot.
There’s more, so go read the whole thing.
* More background…
Among Lori Lightfoot’s early boosters are a posse of girlfriends she’s known since law school and college. Leslie Bluhm, Hilary Krane, Margaret Dale and Judy Gold graduated from the University of Chicago Law School in 1989 with Lightfoot. Bluhm, Gold and Lightfoot also knew each other before that—when they attended University of Michigan. Like Barack Obama, who received early and critical support from his law school classmates, these girlfriends lent their advice and fundraised. Dale is a New York attorney at Proskauer Rose, where she’s co-chair of the litigation department. Gold is a partner at Perkins Coie in Chicago and expert in government and business law. Crane is general counsel at Nike. And Bluhm is a founder of the Chicago Cares nonprofit that connects volunteers to nonprofit projects across the city. Bluhm, whose father is billionaire Neil Bluhm, donated $212,000 to Lightfoot’s campaign.
Judith Gold is the only registered exclusive lobbyist for Perkins Coie. The firm has just two Statehouse clients. One is Neil Bluhm’s Rush Street Gaming. The other is Bluhm’s Midwest Gaming.
Mayor Lightfoot’s former law firm is Mayer Brown. The firm is also a registered lobbyist for both Rush Street Gaming and Midwest Gaming, among others.
Keep in mind that Bluhm did not oppose a city casino, even though Rivers is just outside city limits. Perhaps he’s confident for a reason.
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Union drives ahead for cannabis industry
Friday, Jun 21, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Hannah Meisel…
Organized labor helped push the bill to legalize recreational marijuana across the finish line in the closing days of the spring legislative session last month, but unions’ involvement in the marijuana industry is likely only just budding. […]
Hundreds, if not thousands of jobs could be created in the emerging industry, sponsors and proponents of legalization have said repeatedly. Unions like the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 881 and Service Employees International Union Local 1 had been at the negotiating table for months working on the marijuana legalization bill. […]
“They missed opportunities to really fix some wrongs,” [Beniamino Capellupo, the executive director of SEIU Local 1] said of other states. “The sort of failed war on drugs. Who’s that affected? We got into this with the understanding that this bill needed to come from a social equity and expungement point of view first and foremost. If that wasn’t included in the bill, we would not have been a supporter of it.”
SEIU Local 1, which represents more than 50,000 service workers like custodians and security officers in states all over the Midwest, also stands to represent future workers in the recreational marijuana industry. Already, Local 1 represents approximately 8,000 security officers in the Chicagoland area, according to the union’s communications director Izabela Miltko. […]
(U)nionized security officers also offer an added benefit to recreational cannabis dispensaries, Miltko said, in the form of less employee turnover.
“If security officers are allowed to join in unions, not only are they fighting for better wages, healthcare and benefits, they’re able to really lift the industry standard,” she said.
* Accompanying graphic…
[Hat tip: Jake]
I want one of those.
* Bloomberg…
Organized labor will have strong opportunities for organizing those workers under the licensing requirements laid out in H.B. 1438, Koutsky said. Companies seeking operating licenses would be given credit for adhering to “labor peace agreements,” by which the licensee couldn’t interfere with a union’s efforts to organize and represent workers’ interests.
“You have seen this emerging as a standard approach in the states where this is happening,” said Koutsky, who worked with lawmakers drafting the bill. “So Illinois is in line with what’s happening elsewhere, but this is a significant step that Illinois is taking because it is the first state where this happened through a legislative process rather than a rulemaking or administrative approach.”
Koutsky said the UFCW would take a lead role organizing Illinois workers engaged in the cultivation, testing, and sales of cannabis products. That effort meshes with the UFCW’s national goals under its Cannabis Workers Rising campaign, which has organized more than 10,000 cannabis workers in states with medical and recreational marijuana programs.
As a jurisdictional matter, Koutsky said the SEIU would likely have authority to try to represent security personnel hired in cannabis facilities. The Teamsters would have jurisdiction for workers transporting cannabis products and driving armored trucks, he said.
* Other stuff…
* Marijuana legalization poses real questions for employers
* New book a radical retelling of labor movement collapse
* Illinois governor could soon consider watered-down corporate diversity bill
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Census roundup
Friday, Jun 21, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Tribune…
With the 2020 census nine months away, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed an executive order Thursday creating an office designated to help with statewide outreach efforts.
The order will allow Pritzker to appoint two coordinators for the office, which will be housed under the Illinois Department of Human Services, and create a 12-person advisory panel. The office and panel will divvy up funds for local groups to do census outreach, particularly in hard-to-count communities. The operating budget for fiscal year 2020 allocated $29 million to the Department of Human Services for census outreach.
At stake for the state are billions of dollars in federal funding directly tied to population figures determined by the census, according to a study by the George Washington University Institute for Public Policy. The population figures are also used for redistricting and Illinois could lose one or two congressional seats after the 2020 census, experts have previously said. Census data released this month showed the metro Chicago area lost an estimated 22,000 residents from 2017 to 2018 — marking the fourth consecutive year of population loss.
Pritzker didn’t detail how quickly the office will be put together or when groups could start applying for grants to do census outreach.
“We need to get these funds out the door as soon as possible,” Pritzker said.
* Capitol News Illinois…
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton said the stakes include billions of dollars in federal funding, as Illinois could lose $120 million annually for each 1% of the population that is undercounted – about $1.2 billion over the 10-year period between each census.
Stratton said nearly 42% of the state’s African-American population, 33% of the Latino population and 20T of children under the age of 5 live in communities classified as hard to count. Undercounts in minority communities could be “disastrous” not only for those communities but to the entire state, she said.
“The census is about equity and representation and how much money for critical services is distributed to communities in need,” she said.
Executive Order 19-10 creates a census office as part of the Illinois Department of Human Services to coordinate the state’s census turnout efforts, and allows the governor to appoint two “census co-coordinators” to direct the census office. It also creates a census advisory panel made up of 12 members appointed by the governor and legislative leaders of each party.
* Centrar Cuadrado…
The Census is more than just a tally of everyone who lives in the United States.
Billions of dollars for roads, schools, and health care are on the line. As is the state’s representation in Washington D.C.
“Our representation in the United States of Representatives is on the line,” Pritzker said Thursday. “Illinois has lost six congressional seats since 1960. And there are experts who predict that we will lose one, or even two, after the 2020 Census.”
* Public Radio…
While signing an executive order Thursday laying out plans, Pritzker criticized former Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration for being slow to support census activities. He was also critical of President Donald Trump.
“We certainly can’t count on the federal government to be a good partner. The Trump administration is doing everything in its power to ensure an undercount,” he said. “It’s a multi-pronged approach to slash funding and force communities into the shadows.”
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* Tribune…
Homeowners and commercial property owners on Chicago’s North Side and the city’s central core could be hit with much steeper property taxes this year, according to calculations issued by the Cook County clerk’s office Thursday.
A northward shift in the city’s tax burden, though, means many South Side property owners will be spared significant hikes.
That fact may offer minimal comfort to owners of property in segments of the city that are booming.
A North Sider who owns a single-family home with an average market value of $298,250 will pay an average of $5,213 in property taxes this year, according to Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough’s office. That’s an increase of about $536, or nearly 11.5% from last year.
A commercial property owner in the central portion of the city will see an average property tax bill bump of $11,616, if their site has the average estimated market value of roughy $2.7 million.
If you look at the charts Clerk Yarbrough released, you’ll see tax rates actually went down as property values soared. The average North Side home value jumped almost 19 percent, from $251K in 2017 to over $298K in 2018. Central business district commercial property values rose almost 20 percent. The corresponding tax rates fell by 6.61 percent.
* Sun-Times…
The average South Side homeowner, however, will likely see a property tax hike of just $23.37 — about 1%. […]
On the South Side, the average commercial tax bill will go down by about $10.68, or 0.08%, according to the report.
Property values increased less in that region. Combine that with the overall lower rate and the result was smaller payment increases or a reduction even with a levy increase.
* Greg Hinz…
But with the city of Chicago facing a $700-million-plus hole in its 2020 budget, the new figures could pose a real political dilemma for newly installed Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
Lightfoot will be tempted to fill part of the hole by tapping property taxes, a reliable revenue source. But if she does, much of the burden could fall on neighborhoods like Wicker Park, Lake View, Edgewater and North Center, where homeowners already may be in revolt once they see today’s new bills, which do not include any increase Lightfoot may order.
Former Assessor Joe Berrios was sharply criticized for favoring wealthier areas of the city while pushing up property taxes in poorer areas. The wealthier folks were the driving force behind Berrios’ ouster. Now they’re gonna pay more, but it’s what they voted for.
* Related…
* Cook County Assessor’s Office asks commissioners to lend staff — and is told, yeah, we’re pretty busy
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* Radio Television Digital News Association…
[Marilyn Hite Ross] was appointed the Winnebago County, Ill., state’s attorney in November, to complete the unexpired term of her predecessor, who’d just been elected to a judgeship. She had been the previous state’s attorney’s criminal bureau chief. Shortly after taking office in December, she issued a new policy governing her interactions with journalists.
The policy dictates that reporters wishing to interview Hite Ross must submit their questions in advance. If the interview is granted, any reporter who asks about something not on the pre-approved list will have his or her questioning terminated immediately.
Local news organizations in Rockford, the county seat, have tried to get Hite Ross to rescind the policy, but she has steadfastly refused. She even took her policy an ominous step forward, having a reporter removed from a news conference because the journalist asked a question not related to the event’s stated topic.
I’ve never heard of a reporter being forcefully removed from a press conference for asking an off-topic question.
The association’s letter to Hite Ross is here.
* Also…
Hite Ross has offered the board even more questionable advice, [board member Jean Crosby] said. County employee and personnel issues “should not be discussed in public, or with the media, to avoid potential liability for the county,” Hite Ross wrote in a Feb. 13 memo to the board.
That correspondence followed a guest column in the Register Star written by board member Dan Fellars, D-19, in which Fellars criticized County Administrator Carla Paschal’s job performance and called for her to resign.
“We still have the First Amendment the last time I checked,” Crosby said.
* The sheriff is suing the board…
Winnebago County Board Chairman Frank Haney, municipal leaders of Loves Park, Machesney Park and Winnebago and even a few County Board members are blasting State’s Attorney Marilyn Hite Ross for advising the board to keep mum about how the county spends its public safety sales tax revenue. […]
Hite Ross has advised the board in an April 1 memo to discuss the public safety tax only behind closed doors because of a lawsuit filed in March against the county by Sheriff Gary Caruana, who alleges that the board hasn’t provided his department sufficient funds to do its job, which includes oversight of 911 services. Additionally, the sheriff’s suit claims that the board has misspent proceeds of the public safety tax, which supplements the county’s public safety services. Any public discussion of the tax, especially in the context of the ongoing 911 talks, “risks jeopardizing our ability to defend the lawsuit,” Hite Ross said in an April 18 memo to Haney.
“If the state’s attorney is telling the County Board that they can only talk in closed session about the public safety tax as it relates to 911, then how are we ever going to work this out?” Jury said.
* So is the county board chairman…
Chairman Frank Haney will sue the Winnebago County Board within 30 days in an effort to reclaim the executive power that the board stripped from him in recent months.
Haney’s ability to file a complaint in circuit court to reclaim his power was made possible by Judge Donna Honzel’s decision on Wednesday to appoint Haney’s personal lawyer, Ken Florey, as the chairman’s special state’s attorney. Haney’s basis for such a lawsuit: The County Board, by approving a series of ordinances that have diminished Haney’s power, has violated his rights and subverted the will of the voters who elected him chairman.
* And…
Winnebago County Chairman Frank Haney violated at least half a dozen conditions of the county’s vehicle policy after crashing his county-owned vehicle on June 8, according to a policy review conducted by Auditor Bill Crowley.
Haney was driving on an expired driver’s license at the time of the crash and his vehicle registration and license plate sticker had expired more than a year before the accident, Crowley noted in a four-page memo to the County Board on Tuesday.
Haney’s relationship with the board has deteriorated since his election in November 2016. Board member Fred Wescott, R-17, was among those who called on Haney to step down in December, asserting that the chairman lacks leadership skills and is unable or unwilling to listen to the board’s concerns. Haney’s four-year term ends in December 2020, and he announced in April that he won’t run for re-election.
Wescott renewed his call for Haney to resign last Thursday, stating that Haney was using his county vehicle for personal business — a flagrant violation of the county vehicle policy.
* Related…
* Our View: No, Marilyn, you’re not going to muzzle us
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Open thread
Friday, Jun 21, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I’ve burned through the last hour dealing with a spam attack on one of my posts and looking for interesting and fresh stories. Success on the first front, not so much on the second. So, I’m turning it over to you. As always, keep it Illinois-centric and be kind to each other.
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