Today, The Cook Political Report announced their ratings change of Betsy’s race in Illinois’ 13th Congressional District from Lean Republican to Toss Up. In their write up of the report, Cook cited Betsy’s record of strong fundraising and multiple recent missteps by incumbent Republican Rodney Davis.
This ratings change reflects the continuing momentum behind Betsy’s candidacy. Betsy has received endorsements from EMILY’s List, End Citizens United, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, JStreet PAC, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the United Food and Commercial Workers, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the Illinois Democratic County Chairs Association, and many other local and national organizations.
Cook Political Report IL-13 Write Up:
Londrigan impressed Democratic strategists by coming within 2,058 votes (less than one point) of knocking off GOP Rep. Rodney Davis in 2018. The race wasn’t initially in Democrats’ top tier of targets but the professional non-profit fundraiser raised $4.2 million and outspent the self-styled moderate incumbent. She barely stopped running and had $721,000 in the bank to the incumbent’s $905,000 at the end of September.
Londrigan comes across more crisply and seasoned than she did as a first-time candidate in 2018. She partially blames her narrow loss on unexpectedly long lines to vote at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign she says were caused by a GOP election administrator who has since left office. Driving out a large student vote in this college-heavy district is the key to Londrigan’s chances in 2020.
This race is already engaged: Democrats are hammering Davis for accepting an upgrade to fly first class during the government shutdown, taking corporate PAC checks and telling a Washington Post reporter “I don’t see what the big deal is, frankly” regarding President Trump’s proposed G-7 summit at Doral (Trump carried this seat by just five points in 2016). Davis hopes to be able to tie Londrigan to a more liberal nominee. It’s a Toss Up.
* Mark compares this ranking to the one Cook issued two years ago…
* From an email sent by Speaker Michael Madigan’s chief of staff Jessica Basham to all House Democrats…
There will be a House Democratic Caucus on Monday, October 28, 2019, immediately following session, in Room 114. The topic for caucus will be an overview of items up for potential consideration during the Veto Session.
* The Question: Your predictions for this caucus meeting?
* Labor strikes are serious business, but it’s important that striking workers try to keep morale as high as they can. Most strikers just shout chants on the picket lines, but the CTU has taken this to a whole other level. My personal favorite…
An instant-classic strike cover song from striking teachers in Chicago ♥️🔥♥️ @carlyraejepsen can you show your support for Chicago educators and share this? pic.twitter.com/Du7FoNb4Ny
* But not all of the strike videos are about fun. Some contain serious messages…
From the line: last year, @CTULocal1 social worker Alexandra was responsible for 4 different south side schools. Now, she is the lone social worker for 1500 students in Marquette Park. pic.twitter.com/tmZiXywHwV
A group of 30 Chicago Public Schools athletes and students arrived at City Hall to speak with Mayor Lori Lightfoot shortly after noon on Friday.
The group, led by Simeon football players, announced its intention to show up on Wednesday. They wanted to voice their frustration over the impact the Chicago Teachers Union strike is having on CPS students and athletes.
Lightfoot left City Hall just minutes before they arrived.
“I think she’s afraid,” Simeon senior Khalyl Warren said. “She is showing fear. But it is ok. We assumed she would be here to say a couple words, say something that we wanted to hear. Something for our teachers, something for us. But if she walked away, she walked away.”
A Cook County judge will rule later Friday about whether Jones College Prep cross country teams can participate in a state regional event this weekend.
The case has broad implications for other Chicago Public Schools students who also want to compete in state meets while their teachers and coaches are on strike.
About 100 students attended the hearing at the Daley Center on a complaint filed Thursday by 14 parents of the cross country students against the Illinois High School Association and the Chicago Board of Education that seeks a temporary restraining order to allow the athletes to compete in the state playoff events during the strike, including Saturday morning’s cross country regionals.
Judge Eve M. Reilly said she would issue her decision by 5 p.m.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker has put a hold on appearances by state officials at the City Club of Chicago, directing subordinates and agencies that report to him them not to participate in panels sponsored by the prominent public affairs group.
The order went out in recent days after news broke that federal agents last May had seized computer and paper records at the club’s downtown headquarters, including records of club President Jay Doherty, a lobbyist whose clients include Commonwealth Edison. The U.S. attorney’s office has issued two subpoenas to ComEd in actions linked to a federal probe of state Sen. Martin Sandoval, D-Cicero, as well as other individuals close to House Speaker Michael Madigan. Anne Pramaggiore, former ComEd CEO and most recently head of all utility operations for ComEd parent Exelon, retired suddenly earlier this month without explanation.
The first hint that Pritzker wanted to freeze relations with the club—a bipartisan group whose luncheon forums have included presidents, governors, mayors and other dignitaries—came earlier this week, when an appearance by Illinois Tollway Executive Director Jose Alvarez was abruptly cancelled.
The tollway declined to explain the move, but since then, a series of other state officials also have scrubbed upcoming appearances, including leaders of the Illinois State Police, Department of Transportation and Illinois State Board of Education and a top tech adviser to Pritzker.
*** UPDATE *** Treasurer Michael Frerichs is scheduled to speak at the City Club next month. His spokesperson told me this afternoon that he plans to keep the engagement.
As the first Asian American elected to the Illinois State Senate and the first Indian American elected to the Illinois General Assembly, I am unfortunately surprised by the accusation that Senator Durbin is anyone short of a champion for ALL immigrant families.
This “Divide and Conquer” strategy, as it relates to the different immigrant communities. by Donald Trump has been a longstanding, deep concern of mine. The notion that the Trump administration and Senate Republicans are pro-immigrant is absurd. They are cynically using this issue to appeal to immigrants, who are rightfully frustrated and who have faced severe injustices, with a flawed solution.
I would ask the immigrant communities who are behind this particular legislation consider the following:
1) Today it is other immigrant communities that Donald Trump and Republicans want to target. Tomorrow it could be you. Wouldn’t you want people to stand together in a way where every community can thrive and prosper?
2) Let’s set the record straight. Senator Durbin has been a staunch supporter of comprehensive immigration reform and ALL immigrant communities throughout his career.
He LED the bipartisan effort for comprehensive immigration reform in 2013, which included lifting the per-country caps and clearing the backlogs for ALL immigrants waiting in line for green cards.
It passed with 68 votes. President Obama made it clear he would sign this legislation. Republican House Speaker John Boehner wouldn’t call it for a vote. Where was Donald Trump at that time? What did Senator Mike Lee do that time (HINT: He voted NO)?
To question Senator Durbin’s record on immigration is to not know the facts.
3) If you are serious about achieving a resolution, let’s sit down and try to work it out. Don’t smear the record of someone who has fought for our communities for decades.
The President and his apologists in Congress have stopped all immigration measures in the Senate. No committee action, and no meaningful floor debate. Join me in calling on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to hold a hearing.
The Fairness for High Skilled Immigrants Act, which would eliminate the per-country cap for employment-based visas, was once again stalled in the Senate Sept. 26.
The authors of S386, Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Kamala Harris, D-California, have asked for unanimous consent on the measure, which has received support from numerous Indian American advocacy groups, including Immigration Voice. Unanimous consent allows a bill to come to the floor on an expedited track, but cannot be used if a single senator objects.
Currently, Indians who have approved green card applications are stuck in a queue with an average wait time of 75 years before they receive a green card, due to per-country caps which state that no country can receive more than 7 percent of all employment-based green cards available that year. S386 — and HR 1044, which passed the House in July — would eliminate the per country cap. In the first of three phases, Indian Americans would be eligible for 85 percent of all green cards available that year, and 90 percent the following year.
“Let’s be clear — lifting green card country caps alone without increasing green cards … will not eliminate the backlog for Indian immigrants,” Durbin said in a Senate session last week.
“And it will dramatically increase backlogs for the rest of the world,” he said.
Durbin’s competing legislation, the Relief Act, vows to clear the entire backlog over a five-year time frame and is endorsed by such organizations as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
But the Cato Institute’s Bier told the Nikkei Asian Review that a proposal to issue more green cards has little chance of being enacted by the Trump administration, which has an antagonistic stance on immigration.
* A group called Immigration Voice placed an ad in the Chicago Tribune slamming Durbin…
The group has also raised about $160,000 online so far to run more ads…
Senator Dick Durbin is trying to trick immigrants into believing that he is not anti-immigrant. However, now everyone knows that Senator Durbin is not at all sincere about the parody bill he is using to attack the Fairness Bill. […]
Senator Durbin falsely claimed that this is a “Republican” bill. In reality, this bill was written by the Democratic Immigration Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren and passed with 224 Democratic votes in the House, including the entire Illinois House Delegation. The companion bill in the Senate has 15 Democratic Cosponsors.
Though Senator Durbin gets furious and red-faced whenever anyone tries to add our kids, who are in danger of losing their legal status once they age out in the backlog, to his Dream act so that they too have legal protection once they age out—he has no trouble or shame sabotaging this bill because he resents the people who it will help, which includes children like Manhitha, Uma Shreya, and Ankitnoor.
The conservative Club for Growth has launched digital advertisements in four key Congressional Districts, including Illinois’ 14th CD. They point is to encourage voters to tell their 2018-elected representatives to “stop supporting the phony impeachment process and instead start solving problems. Part of the reason they picked IL’s 14th CD is it is among four districts nationwide whose seats were flipped from Republican to Democratic in 2018.
Lawmakers will be back at work for veto session on Monday. One of the first things they plan to look into are proposals to ban flavored e-cigarettes and tobacco products.
Several Republicans, Democrats and the governor have all voiced support behind the idea.
Owners of vaping stores from around the state came to the capitol to remind lawmakers of the devastating impact a ban would have on their business. Managers said if a flavor e-cig ban passes, they will not be able to sell more than 90 percent of the items in their stores.
While convenience stores would not be hit as hard, because they have other items to sell, leaders in their industry say a ban is not the answer to keep the products away from children.
In a hearing set for Monday, lawmakers will discuss House Bill 3883, which would ban flavored products for vaping.
Dan Reinke, owner of 3D Vapor, which has shops in the Metro East area, said that will affect adults who use flavored e-cigarettes to kick tobacco.
“What we have that got into the situation that we’re in today is a black market problem and banning flavored vaping products is only going to create a worse black market problem,” Reinke said.
The proposed flavor ban won’t just impact e-cigarettes. Josh Sharp, executive vice president of the Illinois Petroleum Marketers Association and the Illinois Association of Convenience Stores, said it would also ban flavored tobacco products such as menthol. That will affect gas stations in border communities he said.
“All you’re going to do is disperse these consumers,” Sharp said. “They’re still going to get the product. So this bill doesn’t at all solved the problem that it’s intended to, or that it seeks to.”
The original bill excluded menthol, the current amended version removed the exclusion. That is creating quite a bit of controversy. The sponsor, Rep. Deb Conroy, told me today they are currently “working through” that aspect of the legislation. Without a tobacco menthol ban, she said, “we are sending people back to cigarettes” with the favored vaping ban.
* The Illinois Association of Convenience Stores claims that flavored tobacco cigarette products, including menthol, make up 38 percent of all sales. Last fiscal year, the tobacco tax on cigarettes brought in $739 million, so menthol and other flavored products brought in about $282.5 million. Other tobacco product revenues totaled $36.7 million last year, opponents say and 79 percent of those products are flavored, they claim, for a total of $28.9 million. Vaping brought in $13 million last year. 82 percent of that is supposedly flavored, so that’s $10.7 million for a grand total of about $322 million.
Now, all menthol smokers and flavored vapers are not gonna go total cold turkey. Nor will all of them head out of state or to the black market. Many will start smoking regular cigarettes or tobacco flavored vapes. All of that state revenue will not disappear, but a chunk of it will.
About $160 million a year is expected from new taxes on cigarettes and e-cigs to fund the state’s vertical infrastructure program. Using the same formula from above, that works out to about $65 million in revenue from favored products. Again, all that revenue won’t disappear, but some will.
* Whenever a government completely completely bans something addictive or habit-forming or, in the case of cannabis, pleasurable, it risks creating or enlarging an underground market. And those markets are often run by not so nice people. Just sayin…
In 2016, Kim Foxx unseated an incumbent in Cook County, Illinois, vowing to transform the nation’s second-largest local prosecutor’s office and to bring more accountability to shootings by police while also reducing unnecessary prosecutions for low-level, non-violent crimes.
One year into her term, Foxx did something no other state’s attorney had ever done: she released six years of data outlining what happened in every felony brought to her office, offering an unprecedented view into the decision-making of prosecutors and its impact.
Our analysis of this data provides the first detailed look at the more than 35,000 cases that flow through Foxx’s office every year. We found that since she took office she turned away more than 5,000 cases that would have been pursued by previous State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez, mostly by declining to prosecute low-level shoplifting and drug offenses and by diverting more cases to alternative treatment programs. Foxx has not finished her term, so these trends could yet change.
Foxx declined to pursue criminal charges in 2,850 potential felony cases, many of them involving shoplifting. Before Foxx took office, about 300 felony shoplifting cases were filed each month. Under Foxx, that number has fallen to 70 cases.
Foxx’s office dismissed 2,300 drug cases that Alvarez likely would have pursued. Often, the accused individual was sent to treatment and counseling instead of court. […]
Violent crime in Chicago and Cook County is on the decline. Murders and shootings in Chicago are at their lowest level in four years. Robberies, burglaries and vehicle thefts in the city are at 20-year lows. Crime in Cook County has been trending down for longer than that.
The Marshall Project study emphasizes that it’s impossible to credit Foxx’s approach to prosecutions for any of this. We just don’t know. Crime rates go up and down for all kinds of complicated and interrelated reasons.
But it is equally true that Foxx’s critics can’t point to a single piece of empirical evidence, other than the random anecdote, to make the case that her policies have made the people of Cook County any less safe.
According to the Marshall Project, the Chicago police have increased arrests for unlawful use of a weapon by 40 percent. And, despite all the garment-rending by a certain class of pundits, lots of offenders are still being charged.
In May of this year, for example, the CPD made 487 UUW arrests and Foxx’s office filed felony charges against 442 of the alleged offenders, or about 91 percent.
In May of 2016, Anita Alvarez’s last full year in office, the CPD made 321 UUW arrests and Alvarez’s office filed felony charges against 288 of them, or about 90 percent.
* Rush Darwish hasn’t received much publicity in his Democratic primary bid against Congressman Dan Lipinski and second-time challenger Marie Newman. Until today, that is…
At a campaign kick-off event in June, Darwish in a speech incorrectly said Lipinski got $15,000 from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel influential lobbying group. However, AIPAC is not a political action committee, does not endorse and does not donate to campaigns. AIPAC members and allies, like anyone, can contribute as individuals and use their personal networks to raise money for candidates.
Darwish provided no details to back up his $15,000 assertion when the Sun-Times asked him about it, saying “what I can do at this stage” is “take a closer look. … So if I technically said it wrong, then, I would have to look into that.”
Also at that kick-off event, Darwish turned to Newman, who ran for the seat in 2018.
Darwish said Newman “flipped” her position on the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement targeting Israel and “opposes the right of return, opposes equal rights for all and supports a two-state solution,” which Darwish said no longer “works.”
Darwish then said that Newman, when “asked by key members in the community, our community, ‘Marie, why the change of heart?’ she admitted, ‘I want to attract more Jewish donors.’”
Newman told the Sun-Times the Darwish tale is “an absolute lie.” Go read the rest because there’s more from Lynn Sweet.
Several southwest suburbs that federal agents recently visited as part of a wide-ranging corruption investigation have been using an insurance company that employs Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s son.
Alliant/Mesirow Insurance Services and company executive Andrew Madigan — neither of which has been accused of any crime — add an intriguing link to people federal authorities appear to be interested in.
Among them: Cook County Commissioner Jeff Tobolski, who doubles as the mayor of McCook and whose office was raided Sept. 26. McCook village records show Tobolski invited Andrew Madigan in 2011 “to submit a proposal” to help secure liability coverage.
“Due to the sensitive nature of insurance, I have been very cautious about switching our program in the past,” Tobolski wrote. “However, I trust that you will be direct with the Village regarding our insurance options and potential cost savings and would like you to assist the Village.”
A year later, Tobolski wrote to the underwriting branch of another insurance firm to say the village had hired Alliant/Mesirow — then called Mesirow — as its “exclusive insurance brokers” for property, general liability and auto insurance, records show.
The search warrant served on McCook contains no references to insurance and Alliant/Mesirow does a lot of business in the suburbs. So, it could be an intriguing coincidence.
But, I mean, who really knows for sure about anything with this probe?
A wide-ranging federal corruption investigation has apparently not yet reached the Illinois House of Representatives.
WGN Investigates sent a Freedom of Information Act request to the clerk of the Illinois house. The request was for copies of law enforcement subpoenas sent since January 1. But the clerk said the Illinois House has not been subpoenaed.
Today I am announcing that I will not seek a 6th term in the November 2020 election. I plan to complete my current 2-year term which ends in January 2021.
I am eternally grateful to the people of the 91st District for the opportunity to serve as their State Representative for the past 9 years. It has been a special experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life. By far, the most rewarding part of my position has been the ability to make positive differences in the lives of many throughout the district.
In spite of serving in the super minority, my work in Springfield has been very productive. I am proud to say that I have been among the most active legislators in the Illinois House, passing many pieces of impactful legislation into law. From helping those with special needs, to advocating for fairness for seniors in downstate long term care facilities, to providing protections for children who have been sexually abused, to supporting our veterans who have given the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedom, I have taken your voice with me to Springfield to fight with passion for the betterment of our area and our state.
I have given this job the very best that I have every day, and that will continue as I complete my final term. I can proudly say that I have done so without changing who I am and what I believe in. I am a better person because of the work I have been able to do and the people that I have worked alongside. I am also very proud to have poured my heart into constituent service work over the past decade.
Above all, I am thankful to have a loving family that has been my rock through the ups and downs. Right now, I’m excited to spend more time supporting them as they have supported me.
From the bottom of my heart, I thank the many thousands of supporters that have given me the opportunity to represent the 91st District in Springfield. I will forever cherish the opportunity that has been lent to me. I wish for many blessings for you and our great State well into the future.
This could be a competitive district for the Democrats, but it wasn’t with Unes in the seat.
Rep. Unes voted for the 2017 tax hike and then lost his leadership slot at the start of this year. His East Peoria riverboat was given permission to move to Peoria in the gaming bill.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is reporting the death of a second Illinois individual who had recently vaped and been hospitalized with a severe lung injury. At this time, a total of 153 people in Illinois, ranging in age from 13 to 66 years old, with a median age of 22, have experienced lung injuries after using e-cigarettes or vaping.
IDPH is working with local health departments to investigate another 41 possible cases. Affected individuals have experienced respiratory symptoms including cough, shortness of breath, and fatigue. Many have also experienced gastrointestinal symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea. Symptoms worsened over a period of days or weeks before admission to the hospital. […]
More than 80% of the cases in Illinois report recent use of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-containing products, primarily obtaining them from informal sources such as friends or on the street. Additionally, almost half have also used nicotine-based products. IDPH has submitted 54 products and devices to the FDA for testing since August and has received preliminary results for 17 samples. Initial results from the FDA for Illinois are similar to information previously reported nationwide. Of the samples submitted, vitamin E acetate was found in two of the samples with THC. The FDA continues to perform additional testing. […]
At this time, health officials have not identified the cause or causes of the lung injuries with the only commonality among all cases being patients report the use of vaping products, including e-cigarettes. No one device, compound, or ingredient has emerged as the cause of these illnesses to date; and it may be that there is more than one cause of this lung injury.
With Illinois’ financial future looking grim, more organizations are advocating for a tax on retirement income.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office released its five-year plan, claiming that even with what his office described as “modest growth,” the state will need billions of dollars more than what it currently brings in.
Marie Dillon, director of policy with the Better Government Association, said Illinois’ budget mess was largely due to its pension debt that was caused by many who have retired and won’t pay taxes on their income.
“Illinois doesn’t tax your pension, it doesn’t tax your 401(k), it doesn’t tax your Social Security, and yet the state is broke,” she said. “The generation that is about to age out from state income taxes is responsible for the pension debt and would be leaving it to this younger generation.”
Illinois is one of three states that has an income tax that excludes retirement or pension income.
The BGA joins the Civic Federation, the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability and others in calling for a tax on retirement income.
The BGA has supported a tax on retirement income since 2016. This isn’t some growing movement.
Also, the Civic Committee only came out in favor of the retirement tax as a way to stave off the governor’s graduated income tax. It obviously didn’t work. And the CTBA loves them some taxes, so of course they’re for it.
But do they really leave over taxes? That’s hard to prove or disprove. Florida is 60 degrees in February and has no income tax, period, so if you don’t already live there it’s probably not because Illinois isn’t taxing your pension checks. Maybe it’s because Florida is steamy from April to October and the cockroaches can fly. Maybe Illinois is home.
Florida used to be mine. But I wouldn’t move back to avoid paying income taxes, because I have too many reasons to stay in Illinois. Reason No. 1 is my son, a first-year public school teacher. Illinois should be more worried about keeping him than me.
Four Central Illinois coal plants and a southern Illinois coal mine are slated to close by year’s end.
Environmental advocates say the Clean Energy Jobs Act would create new programs to help workers and communities impacted by the coal facility closures. And they say movement on the legislation is needed now.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said earlier this month he does not expect action on the legislation during this year’s veto session.
But State Rep. Rita Mayfield (D-Waukegan) says that is unacceptable.
“We cannot hold this bill up while ComEd and Exelon work out their legal troubles. That is not fair to the citizens of the state of Illinois,” she said.
Exelon has pinned its hopes on the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, an organization made up of environmental and consumer groups that often opposed the big power company but became allies in pushing for the 2016 Future Energy Jobs Act. That law bailed out two Exelon nuclear plants while setting higher targets and providing more ratepayer money for renewable energy in Illinois.
That coalition now backs a bill that would have the state take over power-market functions in northern Illinois now performed by PJM Interconnection, which oversees markets in a multistate region from Chicago to Washington, D.C. Customers would pay more for power from carbon-free sources like nuclear plants and windmills, while buying less electricity in total than PJM does today. The measure would largely sideline the remaining coal-fired plants here and channel more money to Exelon’s nukes. Advocates say the bill wouldn’t raise overall rates.
If a bill benefits Exelon, it’s a no-go for the foreseeable future in Springfield.
In 2016, Illinois passed the Future Energy Jobs Act, requiring Illinois ratepayers to pay Exelon, a profitable company projected to make nearly $1 billion in Illinois over the next three years, to support two of its nuclear facilities. Because of these unnecessary subsidies, the capacity auction process has been distorted and federal energy regulators must now rethink the process in order to support competitive electricity costs and ensure state policy goals are respected.
There is a false narrative being promoted by the nuclear community and environmental advocates that uses a set of figures presented by an independent energy market monitor during this regulatory proceeding as the basis for saying electricity prices in Illinois will increase significantly. Those numbers are wildly mischaracterized and being used as fear-mongering to scare legislators and the public into rash decisions that will have costly consequences.
Proponents are not just conveniently ignoring the fact that, if either of the two proposed bills passes, electricity rates are guaranteed to increase, but they are actively saying the opposite.
Capacity charges account for 21 percent of your electricity bill. The capacity market reforms championed by Exelon would ultimately make Illinois acquire its own capacity, increasing those charges. As seen in other states, capacity charges would be double or more compared to what is acquired through the competitive market.
Take 21 percent of your bill and double it. That’s the size of the impact you can expect.
The enviros say rates will almost surely go up without their bill and they’ve pushed back hard against the Chamber’s analysis, claiming their bill would lower costs.
* The Clean Energy Jobs Act folks also say their bill would greatly benefit the solar and wind energy sector. But the actual alt-energy companies, particularly those involved with solar energy production, have their own bill. Let’s go back to Steve Daniels…
The nascent solar-energy industry says inaction could halt further development of solar farms in Illinois. Under the 2016 law, Illinois won’t have money to buy solar power next year, advocates say. Their proposals to free up cash for such purchases include limited fixes that wouldn’t raise rates for consumers and bigger changes that would.
So, maybe the solution here is for the clean energy activists to craft a new package with the clean energy businesses without involving the nuclear-fueled and political hot potato Exelon.
If they don’t, then the governor isn’t going anywhere near their bill and I kinda doubt that Speaker Madigan will do something benefiting Exelon in these trying times. 60-30-1, folks.
Some Florida Republicans are nudging state Sen. Jim Oberweis to run for the congressional seat in the Sunshine state now held by Rep. Francis Rooney, who announced his retirement over the weekend.
Oberweis has a home in Florida, so while far-fetched, the idea isn’t totally impossible.
“There’s a push from Republicans in that district. All he’d have to do is move down there and he’d win,” Oberweis’ spokesman Travis Akin said.
But Oberweis is focused on the Republican nomination for Illinois’ 14th Congressional District, the seat now held by Democratic Rep. Lauren Underwood.
Rooney lives in Naples. Oberweis has a place in Bonita Springs.
Florida law requires congressional candidates to be a “resident of the state when elected.”
And even though an Oberweis congressional bid in Florida is apparently not gonna happen, we can still have some fun with it.
* The Question: Your suggested Jim Oberweis in Florida campaign slogans?
Despite being in the minority party, Illinois House Republicans are getting more infrastructure money for roads and bridges than majority Democrats, according to an analysis of the newly released multi-year $23.5 billion plan.
The district of Elwood Democratic state Rep. Larry Walsh Jr. is set to get the most capital money of all House members, at $1.52 billion. The second most, $1.1 billion, is headed for the district of Morris Republican state Rep. David Welter.
House Democrats will get $9.9 billion combined while House Republicans, who are in the super minority, will get a combined $12.1 billion.
Welter said a likely reason was that Republicans have larger districts with more miles of road. He said the spending breakdown was a good sign the spending plan was fair.
“I think when you have a large capital bill like this there are going to be things in it that were probably put in it due to political influence, obviously, but I think that’s a good sign at least that hopefully it’s been diverted to where the largest needs were,” Welter said.
The one district not getting any money is represented by Naperville Democratic state Rep. Anne Stava-Murray. The page for her district spending doesn’t have any breakdown. Instead, it says: “No projects were planned for this legislative district for the current Proposed Six Year Highway Improvement Program.”
Stava-Murray didn’t return messages seeking comment. IDOT said road construction projects in that district were already underway.
“The only interstates are under the jurisdiction of the Illinois Tollway, which is separate from IDOT and not part of our agency’s multi-year planning process,” Illinois Department of Transportation spokesman Guy Tridgell said. “There are just two IDOT routes in House District 81 and pretty small stretches at that: Illinois 53 and U.S. 34. Both of these are currently under construction. U.S. 34 from Ivanhoe Avenue to Kingery Avenue is being resurfaced this year and next. Illinois 53 from south of I-88 to 59th Street also is being resurfaced, with work wrapping up later this fall.”
* OK, so the House Democrats are receiving $9.9 billion, which works out to an average of $133.7 million per district (including Stava-Murray’s district, which actually receives nothing). Republicans are receiving $12.1 billion for 44 districts, which is an average of $275 million per district.
Discuss.
…Adding… From comments…
I’d really like to hear from Eastern bloc members to get their take on this.
To those who criticize lawmakers who voted against the tax increases to pay for infrastructure with their districts set to get more than a billion dollars, state Rep. Brad Halbrook, R-Shelbyville, said even those who vote “no” have to pay increased taxes.
“The bill passed, I voted no, but we still have citizens that are paying the gas tax,” Hallbrooke said. “They should be the recipients of these improvement projects.”
Halbrook’s legislative districts gets $208.7 million, according to an individual district breakout for House Dist. 102.
CTU in its latest statement on the strike: "We will learn from the tactics that ended Jim Crow and stopped the Vietnam War." pic.twitter.com/Vi9PLnxIyw
The Chicago Teachers Union and city negotiators have reached more than 80 tentative agreements on various issues as of Wednesday night, according to CPS Chief Education Officer LaTanya McDade. But the district is still waiting on counter proposals from the union on “top priorities” like class sizes, staffing and prep time. […]
Already the school district has postponed PSAT and SAT assessments until next week. If students aren’t able to take the PSAT before Nov. 1, they may miss out on applying for National Merit Scholarships, McDade said. […]
Speaking at a separate event Thursday morning, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she’s concerned about students planning to apply for Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) before the end of this month. […]
But the union says the two sides have gotten “nowhere” on enforcement language for capping class sizes or setting staffing levels.”
[CPS Chief Education Officer LaTanya McDade] said the district is waiting for counterproposals from the CTU team on class size and staffing levels — two major sticking points. If those are favorable, McDade said, “We can get some real strong movement.”
As the days without pay add up for striking teachers, security guards and other school workers, many say they are starting to feel the pinch in their pocketbooks. […]
What’s more, Chicago Public Schools could stop contributing to teachers’ health insurance premiums as early as next week when the month ends.
* The CTU and SEIU represent more than 30,000 CPS employees, so 400 crossing the picket lines would be 1.3 percent…
CPS CEO says nearly 400 CTU and SEIU members have crossed picket lines and reported to work, frustrations high #CTUstrikehttps://t.co/JPRSFp3YGr
This breaks my heart. As a Chicago Public League student who was only able to attain a college degree based on getting an athletic scholarship, it sucks to see these student-athletes lose these once in a lifetime opportunities https://t.co/PgKpBEzVhT
* Several Chicago legislators including House Majority Leader Greg Harris are openly supporting the striking workers, which could be problematic for CPS and the city if this strike lasts until veto session…
Click here for a longish thread on the contract negotiations by Rep. Will Guzzardi (D-Chicago).
*** UPDATE *** Hmm…
NOW: Law firm files emergency injunction on behalf of CPS student-athletes against @IHSA_IL for not letting them play state games during @CTULocal1 strike. CPS says IHSA rule is to blame. Student-athletes gathering NOW speak to us. IHSA statement response below: @nbcchicagopic.twitter.com/Upak2Mp2dU
In the Chicago area, O’Hare is adding 915,000 feet of cargo capacity, and Rockford’s airport is establishing itself as freight nexus. The fastest-growing cargo airport anywhere, Chicago Rockford International recently expanded to 200,000 square feet of cargo space. Amazon has designated Rockford as a gateway for its Prime Air logistics network.
What’s left for Peotone? Not much. Yet Pritzker wants to spend $200 million on a persistent folly.
Illinois taxpayers deserve better fiscal stewardship, especially with Pritzker digging deep into their pockets. He doubled the state’s gasoline tax to fund his infrastructure construction campaign, and wants voters to approve a constitutional amendment authorizing income tax hikes.
If he’s going to squeeze taxpayers so hard, the least he can do is spend their money wisely. Only essential projects with clear demand deserve taxpayer funding. That doesn’t include an airport nobody needs.
The Environmental Law & Policy Center’s Howard Learner told [Greg Hinz], “Illinois has a huge backlog of vital transit, rail, highway and bridge projects that improve community mobility. . . .Unfortunately, IDOT is allocating even more public funds than the Legislature appropriated in order to support the Peotone airport project that is opposed by the leading commercial airlines and doesn’t have a viable financial plan. Illinois has higher priorities.”
Indeed, why is the state planning to burn almost a quarter of a billion dollars on this boondoggle, other than to score some political points? Think of how much good that money could do if applied to relatively affordable sustainable transportation, such as creating rapid bus corridors. Heck, that cash would have been more than enough than the $160 million needed to build the first 5.6 miles of the proposed Ashland Avenue bus rapid transit corridor, including the purchase of new buses.
* Daily Southtown columnist Ted Slowik has long been a staunch opponent of the “boondoggle” project until recently, when he looked at an old chart about regional job concentration that he said airport supporters have used for years…
In 1960, shortly after the opening of O’Hare, jobs were fairly evenly distributed among the northern, western and southern suburbs surrounding Chicago. By 1980, however, there was a surplus of tens of thousands of jobs around O’Hare.
Within 20 years of O’Hare’s opening, the south suburbs lost more than 100,000 jobs and the northern and western suburbs gained more than 100,000 jobs. […]
With the commercial tax base decimated [in the southern suburbs], residential property tax rates skyrocketed. The tax rate in Park Forest is 34%. A cascading series of events has made it nearly impossible for businesses or homeowners to relocate to or remain in the south suburbs. […]
Amazon has declined comment on whether it would use the proposed South Suburban Airport. Again, there are no guarantees with the airport, only risk.
Yet, the risk of spending public funds for airport infrastructure is likely to pay huge dividends in future private investment.
Illinois doctors were ecstatic in July when Gov. JB Pritzker made it easier for some low-income children to get vaccinated.
Pritzker reversed a state rule that required physicians to pay up front for expensive vaccines for their patients who are part of the state-run Children’s Health Insurance Program, known as CHIP. Doctors had sounded the alarm for years that shouldering that financial burden forced them to turn away patients on CHIP, leaving those kids potentially unvaccinated. […]
But now that CHIP vaccinations are free to doctors again, the state is running out of them. On the cusp of flu season, doctors are worried about flu shots in particular.
“I have no flu vaccine for CHIP,” said Dr. Jihad Shoshara, president of west suburban Pediatric Health Associates, a large provider in DuPage County for low-income children. “Flu season is coming and we have a subset of our pediatric population that we can’t vaccinate.”
Civic Federation President Laurence Msall said $30 million of that amount is expected to come from increasing ambulance fees for patients with private health insurance.
The remaining $133 million will come from reimbursements administered by the state for ambulance transports for low-income patients on Medicaid, Msall said.
According to the city, Chicago now provides about 260,000 ambulance rides a year for low-income patients, but gets only about 8% to 36% of those costs reimbursed. Going forward, that amount is expected to grow to about 50%.
“It sounds like they have an agreement with the state to get $133 million for previously un-reimbursed ambulance service for Medicaid patients taken to hospitals,” Msall said.
“It doesn’t sound risky. They’re saying they have an agreement. The risk is whether or not the state will approve the graduated real estate transfer tax and the casino [gambling] fix.”
“There isn’t a great appetite for (the real estate transfer tax) during the fall veto session,” said downtown Ald. Brendan Reilly, 42nd, but he added, “The mayor’s team hasn’t really gone down there and started advocating in force. It’s not too late, but time is running out.”
“I just don’t know if there’s the political will heading into primary season to ‘do Chicago a favor,’” Reilly continued. “If the transfer tax is rejected by Springfield, that leaves another $50 million hole in the mayor’s budget that would need to be filled. . . .If the Legislature doesn’t allow it in the next year, that does the city a great disservice in years two, three and four of the budget,” when the city would miss out on $100 million in annual revenue. […]
Northwest Side Ald. Nick Sposato, 38th, was more optimistic. “All the Chicago state reps and senators are on board,” he said, “but those aren’t the people we need to talk to.” The trick will be convincing downstaters. Lightfoot expects aldermen to lobby their local Springfield representatives in the days leading up to the veto session, which begins Oct. 28.
Ald. Anthony Beale, 9th, who has become one of the mayor’s chief antagonists, said he’s hearing a different story: that legislators on the city’s South Side “haven’t had any communication whatsoever” from the mayor’s team. “I do not have a high confidence level in Springfield,” he said, rating the mayor’s chances of success at 30 percent.
“I think that’s an unknown right now,” [Ald. Roderick Sawyer] said. “I want to make sure we can balance a budget on our own accord and not have to rely too much on Springfield because I’m not sure that’s going to come, especially in the form of a transfer tax or the casino assist.” […]
“We have not received any contact or any information from the mayor’s office, but we would look at whatever they send,” said Jason Gerwig, a spokesman for Senate GOP leader Bill Brady of Bloomington. […]
[House Republican leader Jim Durkin’s] spokeswoman Eleni Demertzis said it’s unlikely the transfer tax will have support from House Republicans.
Amanda Kass, associate director of the Government Finance Research Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said one of the budget’s risks is that it requires action from Springfield to balance.
*** UPDATE *** Text from Sen. Cristina Castro (D-Elgin)…
Mayor Lightfoot needs to understand that there are 59 members of the Senate plus 118 in the House. We all DO NOT live in Chicago and some of us have casinos and others are about to get one. They had a chance to negotiate during session, they could have asked for what they needed. If they open the bill for Chicago, there should be a discussion on other parts of the bill as well. I will not vote for a bill that is solely set up on helping just Chicago.
Elgin’s Grand Victoria Casino is one of her city’s largest employers.
Emanuel during his two terms experienced uneven success at getting the legislature to approve his initiatives. Lawmakers reluctantly approved his speed camera program in 2011, for example, but he struggled to get help with pension relief and Chicago Public Schools funding.
Why? State lawmakers think big city mayors should figure out how to solve their own problems.
Lawmakers do often believe that Chicago should solve its own problems, but that wasn’t the case for the police and fire pension “relief” plan (basically just helping him kick the can into the future which is now) and CPS funding. The pushback there was mainly from Gov. Bruce Rauner. Remember all those vetoes and his claims of a “Chicago bailout”? The Trib apparently does not.
