Question of the day
Friday, Jul 26, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Heh…
* The Question: The new gaming law allows the city to put slots at Midway and O’Hare behind the security. Are you in favor of that? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please…
survey solutions
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Unclear on the concept
Friday, Jul 26, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the Boycott Du Quoin State Fair Facebook page…
WSIL Tv just said Pritzger and his wife are expected to be at the fair for the parade…well isn’t that just wonderful 😕
* A sampling of the react…
David Mestel is right. The hotheads appear to be unaware that the parade route is wholly within the fairgrounds (click here for the map). So the only way they can attend is to abandon their boycott.
Also, the executive protection folks might want to take a look at some of those comments.
* Meanwhile, the Illinois Times reported on a bit of state history this week…
Twenty-two years before Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, he won an Illinois State Supreme Court case that freed Nance Legins-Costley.
Legins-Costley was an indentured servant in the eyes of the law, but, by all rights, she was a slave. She’d never been free. Neither she nor anyone else ever signed paperwork giving up her liberty. Nonetheless, she was bought and sold, first while still in the womb, when an Illinois state senator bought her parents. But the state Supreme Court ruled her a free woman after Lincoln took up her cause as a lawyer.
“It is a presumption of law, in the state of Illinois, that every person is free, without regard to color,” the court ruled. “The sale of a free person is illegal.”
Carl Adams, a former Alton resident who’s written a book about Legins-Costley, has been looking for her grave since the 1990s. Finally, he says he’s found it, thanks to help from a cast of amateur historians, a librarian and a dedicated genealogist. Legins-Costley, it turns out, may be beneath a Peoria parking lot, next to a muffler shop, alongside Civil War veterans and others whose graves were forgotten over the years.
* And…
* Blood in the Streets: A hundred years ago, Chicago experienced the worst spasm of racial violence in the city’s history. Here’s how the riot unfolded, in the words of those who lived it.
* It’s Been 100 Years: Is Chicago Finally Ready To Reckon With the City’s 1919 Race Riots?: Not talking about the 1919 race riots has been the Chicago Way for 100 years, but ignoring one of the ugliest periods in the city’s history is hampering its present and future.
* Editorial: Chicago’s race riots of 1919 and the epilogue that resonates today
* Segregation among issues Chicago faces 100 years after riots
* Before Chicago erupted into race riots in 1919, Carl Sandburg reported on the fissures
* Mapping Chicago’s 1919 race riots
* Chicago Organizations Commemorate 100th Anniversary of Race Riots
* Chicago’s Red Summer
* 1919 Race Riots bike tour travels 100 years back to city’s most violent week
…Adding… Despicable…
A vandalized Mississippi memorial to civil-rights activist Emmett Till will be replaced by a new bulletproof sign, the Emmett Till Memorial Commission said on Friday. The move comes one day after it was announced that three University of Mississippi students had been suspended from their fraternity for posing with guns in front of the bullet-riddled sign, which marks where murdered 14-year-old Till’s body was found in 1955.
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* Senate Bill 2026 was somewhat of a delayed reaction to fears that former Gov. Bruce Rauner would apply for a federal waiver to reduce health insurance coverage, including narrowing pre-existing conditions. Legislators wanted to make sure no governor would do that in the future…
Prohibits the State from applying for any federal waiver that would reduce or eliminate any protection or coverage required under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) that was in effect on January 1, 2017, including, but not limited to, any protection for persons with pre-existing conditions and coverage for services identified as essential health benefits under the ACA. Provides that the State or an agency of the executive branch may apply for such a waiver only if granted authorization by the General Assembly through joint resolution. Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Prohibits the State from applying for any federal waiver that would permit an individual or group health insurance plan to reduce or eliminate any protection or coverage required under the ACA that was in effect on January 1, 2017, including, but not limited to, any protection for persons with pre-existing conditions and coverage for services identified as essential health benefits under the ACA. Provides that the State or an agency of the executive branch may apply for such a waiver only if granted authorization by the General Assembly through joint resolution. Amends the Illinois Public Aid Code. Prohibits the State or an agency of the executive branch from applying for any federal Medicaid waiver that would result in more restrictive standards, methodologies, procedures, or other requirements than those that were in effect in Illinois as of January 1, 2017 for the Medical Assistance Program, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or any other medical assistance program in Illinois operating under any existing federal waiver authorized by specified provisions of the Social Security Act. Provides that the State or an agency of the executive branch may apply for such a waiver only if granted authorization by the General Assembly through joint resolution.
The bill passed the Senate 56-0 and the House 75-41.
* Gov. Pritzker vetoed the bill today, his first. If you can’t read his veto message, click the pic for a better view…
His Medicaid buy-in idea, which he talked about a lot during the campaign, might possibly require some federal waivers.
Thoughts?
…Adding… Center Square…
State Rep. David McSweeney, R-Barrington Hills, voted against the bill, but had a mixed reaction to the veto message.
“Great decision by the governor, bad bill, and he’s exactly right that we have to keep that flexibility,” McSweeney said. “The place that I disagree with him is that he says he’s not going to actively seek those waivers. He should be seeking those.”
McSweeney has for years urged the state to seek waivers for ways to save taxpayers money. He said the state could file waivers with the federal government to shore up eligibility for certain programs, or to find innovative ways to capture more federal tax dollars to offset the state taxpayer cost.
“Ways that we can look at improving our access to federal funding, ways to address vouchers, ways to address tightening up eligibility, that should all be on the table,” McSweeney said. “Now I want to be clear, the governor is saying none of that.”
*** UPDATE *** GOP Sen. Sue Rezin, the chief Senate sponsor…
As I am driving to my brother’s funeral today the irony of the Governor’s first veto is not lost. My brother drove a semi truck his entire life. He was a hard worker but like many people lived paycheck to paycheck. Often times he made just enough to get by but too much to be covered by Medicaid. His entire life he struggled to access the healthcare system because of his preexisting conditions and his inability to afford health insurance. Jim did not go to the doctor when he was having symptoms because he couldn’t afford to. This bill was passed unanimously in the Senate and would have guaranteed health insurance coverage for hard working people, such as my brother, who have preexisting conditions.
Jim was 58 years old.
She was not given a heads up before the veto was announced. Bad form.
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* WTTW…
Mayor Lori Lightfoot says she will seek public input on possible locations for a Chicago casino in a survey her office plans to release Friday.
“This is going to be a robust survey that is really the first step in thinking about where a casino should be in Chicago,” Lightfoot said during an appearance Thursday on “Chicago Tonight.” “That’s part of what the feasibility study is going to study: where is the best location.”
Last week, the mayor named five potential sites on the South and West sides for an outside group to study, but two aldermen have already nixed sites in their wards. Lightfoot said those sites aren’t the only possibilities – a casino could ultimately land elsewhere in the city. But she says a casino might not even be financially viable, with a structure that calls for a private operator to keep only a third of the revenue, with a third going to the city and a third to the state.
“But really, can we finance a casino based upon this tax structure that the General Assembly has put in place so far. We’re concerned about it. We think it takes too much money out of the pockets of a potential casino operator before the doors would even open. So that’s what we’re concerned about: Can we even finance this deal in the first instance,” she said.
She has mentioned the topic of potential Chicago casino profits, or the lack thereof, several times, going back to when the bill was still being drafted. The revenues will be divided three ways, with the city, the state and the owner all getting a third.
* From the new state law…
Within 45 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly, the consultant shall prepare and deliver to the Board a study concerning the feasibility of, and the ability to finance, a casino in the City of Chicago.
I asked Sen. Terry Link, the bill’s co-sponsor, about a similar statement from Mayor Lightfoot late last month. His reply…
I think the mayor, with all due respect, is getting a little ahead of herself. Let’s see what the report comes back in… it may say ‘This is a great investment, you’re gonna make a lot of money,’ it may say something else. We don’t know.
If that study finds that the casino wouldn’t make enough money, legislators have pledged to alter the law during the veto session.
* Some casino interests have also expressed doubt about the profit split and up-front fees…
Tim Wilmott, chief executive officer of Penn National Gaming Inc., said a high tax rate and other conditions laid down by Illinois legislators could make a casino project in downtown Chicago a bad bet. […]
[W]hichever operator builds the sole Chicago project, including the airport rights, will have to pay $120 million for licensing and fees, and hand over up to two-thirds of the revenue to the city and state, according to Wilmott. Slot machines in airports are less profitable, making those a tougher proposition, he said. […]
A spokesman for Las Vegas Sands Corp. said his company, which specializes in large, convention-oriented resorts, isn’t interested in Chicago. Caesars Entertainment Corp., another Illinois operator, hasn’t taken a public position. Matt Maddox, the CEO of Wynn Resorts Ltd., which this month opened a $2.6 billion resort near Boston, said that property could serve as a model for other big-city casinos. […]
“I’ve always had the mindset that if I had a choice of a great suburban location or a great urban, city location, I would always take the suburban location first,” Wilmott said.
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It’s just a bill
Friday, Jul 26, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Center Square…
An Illinois lawmaker has filed legislation that would allow legislators to turn down any new salary increases after he saw the backlash over the raise they voted themselves in June coinciding with a number of tax hikes, including a doubling of the state’s gas tax.
Rep. Maurice West, a Democrat from Rockford, says accepting a raise while taking more money from constituents sends the wrong message.
“This is the time that we should focus on ensuring that funds spent are for the benefit of the people that we represent, not ourselves,” he said. “Now is the wrong time and timing is everything.”
His legislation would allow lawmakers to opt-out of their annual cost-of-living increase, sending it to pay down the state’s pension debt instead. State law currently says lawmakers have to accept those pay hikes.
Turning away the pay hike is all the more important, West said, since his district consists of blue-collar workers who are going to feel the effects of things like the doubling of the state’s motor fuel tax to 38 cents a gallon, which he voted for.
* But one member didn’t wait for a law…
Illinois lawmakers are getting the bigger paychecks they voted for themselves in June, but one state representative has sent his back to the state’s coffers.
Illinois lawmakers have received their cost-of-living adjustments that were included in a fiscal year 2019 budget bill.
State Rep. David McSweeney, R-Barrington Hills, worked with Comptroller Susana Mendoza to have his raise returned to the state. […]
It’s not legal for lawmakers or constitutional officers to outright refuse their pay. McSweeney said he had been working with Mendoza’s office on sending the raise that he objected to back into the state’s coffers.
“The law says ‘should’ so you have to actually take it,” McSweeney said. […]
“The state’s coffers are happy to accept any little bit of help folks can spare so if anyone wants to donate their cost-of-living adjustment back to the General Revenue Fund, we will be happy to work with them on it,” said Abdon Pallasch, spokesman for Comptroller Susana Mendoza.
No other state lawmakers have inquired about returning raises, Pallasch said.
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* This sound reasoning is why legislators in 1998 voted to ban people from using their campaign funds as their own personal bank accounts…
Campaign funds, after all, primarily come from money given by special interests who contribute based on a desire to influence those in power. When campaign money is treated as personal funds, then every contribution is a prospective bribe.
A freshman state Senator by the name of Barack Obama was a co-sponsor of that bill and labeled the practice “legalized bribery.” Click here for background.
But since the law took effect on July 1, 1998, they decided to grandfathered in all campaign account balances as of June 30.
Some of the more brazen types took out loans as the deadline approached to beef up their campaign account balances. Not everyone on this list did so for nefarious purposes, however.
* Mark Brown counted at least 55 people who took money out of their campaign accounts for personal use after the law took effect for a total of more than $5 million…
Sen. James Clayborne Jr., D-Belleville (2019) $42,204
Chicago Ald. Margaret Laurino (39th) (2019) $27,789
Sen. Emil Jones, D-Chicago (2014-19) $210,613
Chicago Ald. William J.P. Banks (36th) (2018) $291,708
Sen. Christine Radogno, R-Lemont (2018) $36,157
Rep. Dan Burke, D-Chicago (2016) $94,450
Schiller Park Mayor Anna Montana (2016) $45,534
Cook County Commissioner Bobbie Steele (2016) $28,000
Chicago Ridge President Eugene Siegel (2015) $12,022
Rep. Carolyn Krause, R-Mount Prospect (2011-2014) $55,464
Sen. James DeLeo, D-Chicago (2013) $271,681
Rep. Angelo “Skip” Saviano, R-Elmwood Park (2012-13) $219,093
Sen. George Shadid, D-Edwards (2012-13) $152,546
Rep. Maggie Crotty, D-Oak Forest (2013) $6,444
Rep. Jerry Mitchell, R-Sterling (2013) $23,232
Mark Morrissey (Comm for Good Govt) (2011) $55,139
Committeeman James Battista (R-36th) (2010) $17,574
Chicago City Clerk James Laski (2008-10) $130,977
Rep. Ralph Capparelli, D-Chicago (2006-10) $583,357
Rep. Margaret Parcells, R-Northfield (2009) $15,671
Harwood Heights Mayor Ray Willas (2009) $25,526
Cook County Cmsr. William Beavers, D-Chicago (2005-09) $87,149
Rep. Kurt Granberg, D-Carlyle (2009) $50,000
Country Club Hills Mayor Dwight Welch (2008-09). $11,586
DuPage County Judge Cary Pierce (2008) $18,542
Rep. Anne Zickus, R-Palos Hills (2003-08) $18,513
Rep. Robert Bugielski, D-Chicago (2005-07) $15,899
Sen. James “Pate” Philip, R-Wood Dale (2003-06) $274,964
Lt. Gov. Corinne Wood (2006) $72,227
Sen. Kathleen Parker, R-Northbrook (2005) $26,301
Rep. Steve Davis, D-Bethalto (2005) $40,835
Rep. N. Duane Noland, R-Blue Mound (2005) $7,953
Sen. Laura Kent Donahue, R-Quincy (2005) $15,114
Sen. Robert Madigan, R-Lincoln (2001-05) $264,519
Sen. Walter Dudycz, R-Chicago (2004) $136,700
Sen. William Marovitz, D-Chicago (2004) $65,728
Rep. Charles Hartke, D-Teutopolis (2004) $9,100
Sen. Aldo DeAngelis, R-Olympia Fields (2002-04) $194,001
Rep. J. Philip Novak, D-Bradle (2003-04) $99,120
Rep. Bruce Farley, D-Chicago (2003) $53,033
Harvey Mayor Nick Graves (2003) $35,000
McHenry County Sheriff George Hendle (2003) $31,922
Rep. Harold Murphy, D-Markham (2003) $26,987
Sen. Doris Karpiel, R-Carol Stream (2003) $24,153
Rep. Terry Steczo, D-Oak Forest (2003) $15,226
Rep. Vincent Persico, R-Glen Ellyn (2003) $10,000
Comptroller Loleta Didrickson (2000-02) $310,411
Rep. Joel Brunsvold, D-Milan (2002) $150,475
Rep. Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs (2002) $40,000
Sen. Howard Carroll, D-Chicago (2001) $61,841
Cook County Judge Thomas Zafiratos (2001) $39,969
Calumet City Mayor Jerry Genova (2001) $21,163
Melrose Park Mayor C. August Taddeo (2000) $235,723
Sen. William Laurino, D-Chicago (2000) $85,000
Sen. James Rea, D-Christopher (1999-2000) $127,500
Click here for Mark’s take.
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The case of Thomas J. Franzen
Friday, Jul 26, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* June 6…
A suburban man who, according to his defense attorney, bought over 40 pounds of drug-infused candy to self-medicate as he battled cancer, was sentenced to four years in prison.
Thomas J. Franzen, 37, pleaded guilty to marijuana possession in exchange for the sentence, the Kane County state’s attorney’s office said.
In a statement, prosecutors said they dropped the more serious charge of drug trafficking that carries a minimum sentence of 12 years in “recognition of the seriousness of Mr. Franzen’s medical condition.” […]
In 2014, authorities found a 42 pounds of THC-infused chocolate in a package shipped from California to Franzen’s home in west suburban Montgomery, prosecutors said.
Officers later searched Franzen’s home and found cocaine, over 100 additional grams of marijuana and other items used for drug dealing, prosecutors said. They allegedly found a digital scale, $2,000 in cash, ledgers used to track drug sales and packaging materials.
* Same date…
Franzen has stage four cancer and was using the chocolates to “self-medicate” and relieve himself from symptoms, such as nausea, [defense attorney David Camic] said.
According to an August 2018 court petition for an expert to evaluate whether Franzen was fit to stand trial, Franzen was suffering from testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and abdominal cavity.
According to the motion, Franzen also had a reoccurrence of renal cell cancer in one of his kidneys, and Camic was concerned Franzen could not assist in his defense by providing an “accurate recitation of the facts” of the case. It was unclear whether a judge heard from an expert before Franzen’s guilty plea late last week.
Franzen gets credit for seven days served at the Kane County jail before he could post bond. He also can have his prison term cut in half for good behavior.
* June 14…
After Franzen’s guilty plea, Kane County State’s Attorney Joe McMahon said members of the North Central Narcotics Task Force, a unit of the state police, searched Franzen’s home after his arrest and found “evidence of drug dealing,” such as ledgers, more than $2,000, a digital scale, hashish oil, paraphernalia, and receipts for packages he mailed across the country and Canada. […]
Camic disagreed with McMahon’s assessment, arguing Franzen was reselling items on eBay and other online sites.
“My client was not selling drugs,” Camic said. “What he was selling was sneakers, vintage clothing, vintage toys and sporting goods.”
* Yesterday…
A Montgomery cancer patient sentenced to four years in prison for having 42 pounds of THC-infused chocolates mailed to his home in 2014 has petitioned Gov. Pritzker for a pardon or to have the sentence commuted so he can receive treatment at home.
Since he was sent to prison last month, Thomas J. Franzen, 37, has lost 20 pounds and is not getting the medical care he was promised, according to his petition filed by attorney David Camic. […]
In the petition, Camic details his client’s turbulent childhood and history of fighting various forms of cancer, which began with testicular cancer that now has spread to his lungs and other organs. The petition also notes Franzen was one of the first Illinois residents to receive a medical marijuana card in 2016 and this was his first conviction of any kind. […]
“His crime was motivated by an attempt to mitigate his pain and symptoms through the use of cannabis. His medical need to use cannabis is verified and supported by the fact he was granted a medical use card,” read part of the petition.
The petition also included letters and other documentation from his doctor, along with 19 letters of support from friends, his employer and relatives, including his uncle Chuck Nelson, who also serves as Aurora deputy mayor.
* Sun-Times…
On Thursday, Pritzker’s press secretary Jordan Abudayyeh confirmed that the governor will “review the request.” David Camic, Franzen’s attorney, said he and his client are “gratified that the governor is reviewing our petition.”
“If he gives it the careful consideration we know he will that he will at minimum commute Mr. Franzen’s sentence,” said Camic, who submitted the petition on behalf of Franzen.
Thoughts?
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* Robert Herguth at the Sun-Times…
Rosemont and the Stephens family who have run the northwest suburb since its founding are again under scrutiny, with the FBI questioning current and former village employees, sources have told the Chicago Sun-Times. […]
In 2015, Rosemont officials awarded a contract to Monterrey Security Consultants, Inc., to oversee security at public venues including Allstate Arena, the Rosemont Theatre and the village-owned Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. Records show Monterrey has been paid roughly $5 million for the work, which was awarded without Rosemont officials seeking competitive bids from other security firms. […]
They said the FBI’s interest appeared to be wide-ranging and included questions about whether members of the department — made up of cross-trained police officers and firefighters — illegally used and distributed narcotic painkillers.
The sources described a raucous, at times violent culture within the public safety department, with off-duty fights, steroid use and excessive-force incidents that yielded no punishment. […]
“Like anything, you’re going to have a few bad apples,” said [Mayor Brad Stephens], whose father, Rosemont’s founding mayor, Donald E. Stephens Sr., was dogged by allegations of organized-crime ties and repeatedly investigated by federal authorities before his 2007 death.
Lots more there, so click here.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Rosemont spokesperson Ryan McLaughlin…
The FBI has not contacted the Mayor of Rosemont, nor any current Village employees regarding the Monterrey Security contract or the public safety department. The Chicago Sun-Times story is fraught with uncorroborated sources and unsubstantiated charges and includes inaccuracies. They appear to originate from disgruntled former employees of the Village. Rosemont takes any and all allegations of misconduct seriously. The Sun-Times story appears to be nothing more than hearsay.
I asked them to tell me what’s inaccurate about the story.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Gary Mack for Rosemont this time…
The allegations against Rosemont are “all” inaccurate. They are baseless charges founded on hearsay of nameless sources. There is no investigation into Rosemont that we know of or have ever even remotely heard about. As to the culture of the police department, the Sun-Times description is patently wrong. Rosemont’s Police Department is one of best, most professionally run in the state. Indeed, for six months now the department has been getting ready to launch a random drug testing program.
As to the contract with Monterrey, Rosemont did not competitively bid it, true, but anyone who knows the village knows that typically we do not bid contracts. We review credentials and make informed decisions. Rosemont is under absolutely no obligation to bid contracts. The current system has served the village well, making Rosemont the envy of municipal government everywhere.
Rosemont’s attorneys are reviewing the irresponsible Sun-Times story and we are weighing our options.
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