TO: State Agency Directors
FROM: Dan Hynes, Deputy Governor
DATE: November 22, 2019
RE: Merit Compensation
Our employees are integral to ensuring that state government meets the needs of those we serve. Day in and day out, state workers provide vital services to people, businesses, and communities across Illinois. We have a responsibility to ensure that we attract the best talent to these roles and fairly compensate the public servants who make our state run.
To that end, shortly after taking office, Governor Pritzker asked me to evaluate the pay structure for merit compensation employees. These employees have not received a cost of living adjustment in more than a decade (since July 1, 2009). Over that same period, inflation has increased the cost of living by 19.5 percent. This disparity has operationally hamstrung state agencies, with some managers unfairly penalized in their compensation and in some cases, paid less than those they supervise. This undermines the state’s ability to recruit and retain managers and devalues the work of those overseeing critical work within state government.
In order to begin to address these issues, we are moving forward with a two-year merit compensation plan. The plan includes the following:
Fiscal Year 2020
• Rebuild salaries for bargaining unit employees who left their bargaining unit position to take a merit compensation position. Employees with a current salary less than what it would have been with the step increases will receive an increase to match the value of the post-step adjustment level. This level will be determined by what the level would have been when the employee left to take the merit compensation position. Adjusted salaries will be effective retroactive to September 1, 2019.
• Issue a one-time stipend for all eligible merit compensation employees. To be eligible, a merit compensation employee must have been in active status as of December 31, 2018, and not had a special salary adjustment in the last 12 months (since November 1, 2018). The stipend will be pro-rated based on years of service as of November 1, 2019 ($2,500 for four or more years of service; $1875 for more than 3 years of service; $1,250 for more than 2 years of service; $625 for more than 1 year of service).
• Provide a cost of living adjustment of 1.5 percent effective January 1, 2020 for eligible merit compensation employees (in line with the 1.5 percent cost of living adjustment that AFSCME employees will receive). To be eligible, merit compensation employees must have been in active status as of December 31, 2018.
Fiscal Year 2021
• Provide a cost of living adjustment of 2.1 percent effective July 1, 2020 for all merit compensation employees (in line with the 2.1 percent cost of living adjustment that AFSCME employees will receive).
• Begin to align salary ranges for merit compensation position classifications with salary ranges for identical bargaining unit position classifications. Employees in these merit compensation positions who are earning less than the minimum salary of the corresponding bargaining salary range will receive salary increases to a new minimum salary over the next three years. Salaries for merit compensation Public Service Administrators who make less than the bargaining unit minimum will begin to be addressed over five years.
Looking ahead, I have also directed the Department of Central Management Services (CMS) to put together a proposal for a permanent merit compensation pay structure for FY22 and beyond.
In the coming days, CMS and the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget will send further guidance to state agencies to ensure proper implementation of this plan.
We sincerely value the hard work of our merit compensation employees, and we hope that this plan will provide long overdue relief and stability to state workers.
Back in the day, when the state had money to spend because it wasn’t making its full pension payments, merit comp workers would receive the same raises as union employees. The lack of raises is a big reason why so many employees have clamored to join a union.
* Oscar was born on Thanksgiving Day in 2012, so today is his 7th birthday. Here he is after a long celebratory walk…
* From earlier this week…
According to archived posts, I found out on this day 10 years ago I would be moving to Springfield to intern for @capitolfax. Of course, nothing significant happened afterwards. /s
The operator of a Summit bar that’s come under scrutiny as part of a political corruption investigation in the southwest suburbs is an associate of a top political operative for Ald. Edward Burke and state Sen. Martin Sandoval, both facing their own problems with federal investigators.
Mariano “Mario” Martinez — who runs Mars Bar, 6030 S. Harlem Ave. — has personal and professional connections to Rudy Acosta Sr., a Burke precinct captain and Sandoval pal, according to records and interviews.
Martinez, 50, was charged earlier this year with possessing and distributing a kilo of heroin.
Court papers filed in March by his lawyer identify Acosta’s nephew as the “cooperating witness” who helped federal authorities ensnare Martinez.
Martinez’s name surfaced after federal agents visited Summit on Sept. 26 as part of the ongoing corruption probe and questioned Mayor Sergio Rodriguez on matters including whether political pressure was applied to get Mars Bar a late-hours liquor license, sources told the Chicago Sun-Times.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle on Thursday said she’s not sure whether she’ll call for Commissioner Jeff Tobolski to resign from his elected position, despite his absence from three important board meetings.
Preckwinkle, who is chair of the Cook County Democratic Party, recently called on Tobolski, who is also mayor in McCook, to step down from his committee leadership posts.
“I’m not sure how this is going to play out. I don’t want to speculate now on what actions I may take in the future,” she said. “I think it was clear to me anyway that we needed to make some changes in leadership as a result of his continued absence, and we’re in the process of doing that. We’ll have some recommendations for the December meeting.”
A south suburban developer is in the early stages of a deal that could bring horse racing back to Balmoral Park near south suburban Crete as part of a project that would include casino-style gambling. […]
But before Goldberg’s plan for Balmoral can be realized, state lawmakers would have to amend the gambling expansion bill Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law this summer. The law permitted a horse track and casino to operate in any of six south suburban Cook County townships, and Balmoral is in Will County. […]
A proposal for a new “racino” in Tinley Park was derailed after Pritzker stepped in to quash a sale of state land for the project. The governor’s action came after the Tribune reported the developer’s longstanding business ties to a banking family with reputed mob connections.
A former vice chancellor at City Colleges of Chicago and seven others have been indicted on federal charges alleging they ran a $350,000 kickback scheme that awarded college contracts to a series of companies with ties to the administrator’s relatives and associates.
In some cases, no work was even performed, the charges alleged.
Sharod Gordon, 45, of Oak Park, was charged in an indictment made public Wednesday with 16 counts of wire fraud. At the time of the alleged scheme, Gordon served as City Colleges’ associate vice chancellor for community relations and recruitment and later the vice chancellor of legislative and community affairs.
Also charged was Gordon’s ex-wife, Angelique Orr, 49, and two former employees of City Colleges who worked under Gordon, Krystal Stokes, 39, and Marva Smith 37. Katheryn Hayes, a spokeswoman for City Colleges, said Stokes worked as a project director and Smith as a liaison for local government agencies, both since November 2011. Stokes left in February 2018, while Smith’s last day was Wednesday, she said.
Stefanik has been a breakout star for the Republicans at these hearings. This impeachment proceeding is awash with partisan rancor — but not between Stefanik and Krishnamoorthi.
Krishnamoorthi, as a new member of the committee, has always been the last of 22 members to get his five-minute turn to quiz a witness. That means he shows up with a lot of potential questions and needs to keep juggling because he may need to be reacting to some testimony or that his questions have been asked.
When Stefanik approached, “I was in the middle of my preparation,” Krishnamoorthi said. “I think she came over and she may have just said, ‘Hello, how long is the break?’ or something like that. And then she walked away, and I was focused on my work.” […]
Krishnamoorthi said he told her, “I don’t know what happened. I didn’t intend anything.”
Stefanik told me, “We were chitchatting about our coffee or our water. It was general chitchat. I consider Raja a friend.”
Job growth in metropolitan Chicago suddenly has come to a dead halt, according to newly released state data, raising questions about how Illinois as a whole can thrive if its economic engine is idling.
The data is from the latest edition of Where Workers Work, a publication of the Illinois Department of Employment Security. Unlike most jobs numbers, it is based not on surveys and estimates but on an actual hard count of private-sector jobs covered by unemployment insurance that is considered highly reliable.
According to the report, the total number of jobs in the six-county metro area in the year ended March 31 grew just 1,361, to 3,598,232. That’s not even a tenth of a percent, and far and away is the lowest annual rise since the city and state began recovering from the subprime mortgage recession a decade ago. […]
[Thomas Walstrum, senior business economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said via email] “My best explanation is that this slowdown in jobs growth in Chicago appears to be in line with a slowdown in jobs growth in the Midwest and U.S. as a whole. . . .Because Chicago and the Midwest have been growing slower than the country throughout the recovery from the Great Recession, a slowdown in jobs growth everywhere looks worse here. I wouldn’t interpret these numbers as a sign that the Chicago economy is tanking while everywhere is doing well, but as a reflection of the fact that Chicago is the economic capital of a slow-growing region.”
A long-awaited review of the state’s troubled child abuse hotline has found the 24-hour call center needs to hire more staff, revamp its online reporting system and overhaul other procedures so people trying to report maltreatment of a minor don’t have to leave a message and wait for a callback.
The report, released Thursday by the state Department of Children and Family Services, examined hotlines in seven other states and found that Illinois had the only one that could not handle its call volume. During busy periods, callers to the Illinois hotline must leave a message with a worker, and it can take hours, and in some cases days, to receive a response from DCFS.
In the new report, researchers from the University of Illinois’ School of Social Work concluded that “inefficient processes and insufficient technology have limited the ability of Hotline staff to handle the high volume of calls that they receive. … Given the critical importance of the Hotline in protecting the safety of children in Illinois, fixing the identified problems must be considered a high priority and the Department should be given adequate resources to implement potential solutions.” […]
The hotline, which is based in Springfield, is considered the “front door” of DCFS because it’s where all child abuse and neglect investigations begin — with call takers who receive the initial report, assess the allegation and send the information to a local field office for follow-up. During peak times, the hotline receives more than 100 calls an hour and it handled a total of 268,406 calls in the last fiscal year. With call volume rising in recent years, hotline staff has resorted to taking more messages and is struggling to promptly respond to all reports.
Though the review was initially called an “audit,” internal emails between DCFS officials and U of I researchers obtained by The Daily Line show that during the months the report was being researched, written and prepared for release, the terminology switched to “report” and “review.” Additionally, top officials at DCFS and Gov. JB Pritzker’s office were able to review and make edits to the review before it was published — something that would not have been done to an official audit. […]
DCFS officials knew about the results of the report for nearly two months before it was released to certain lawmakers Wednesday and released to the public Thursday. [DCFS Director Marc Smith] himself was copied on several emails in a 213-page packet of emails obtained by The Daily Line between DCFS top brass and the U of I researchers conducting the hotline review.
The emails begin in early June when the partnership between the Children and Family Research Center and the agency was just underway, and conclude a few weeks ago. While the emails show the report was supposed to have been published in early October, the date was pushed back so that DCFS and the governor’s office could provide feedback, including edits.
“These emails say to me that DCFS put a very heavy thumb on the scale,” said Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert. […]
“If DCFS got to edit in rewrites, and the PR people at DCFS was involved, and the Governor’s office got to edit, it was not independent,” Golbert said.
“It makes it seem like they had a lot more influence on it than they should have, which again, I think they should have had nothing to do with the process,” said Leyda Garcia Greenawalt.
Greenawalt leads the Foster Care Alumni Network in Illinois. She said the big loser when government removes independent investigators are the kids who rely on that hotline.
Pritzker spokesperson Jordan Abudayyeh told The Daily Line that the governor’s office was involved in asking for edits to the report throughout the fall with the explicit goal of getting more specific recommendations from researchers.
“The administration sought specific, actionable feedback through the audit. Requests focused on getting an additional level of specificity about auditors’ recommendations, particularly in regard to staffing,” Abudayyeh said. “The Governor is working diligently with leadership at DCFS to improve frontline processes in order to better serve the state’s most vulnerable children…The department will work to implement all 11 recommendations and will continue to engage with stakeholders to ensure vulnerable children across the state are getting the services they deserve.”
And then there’s the issue of America’s longest-serving Speaker of a State legislator, Michael Madigan.
“I’ve got a good relationship with the Speaker. I actually respect him as a legislator. He’s done an amazing job over what 40 years or more? You can’t take it away from him, he’s a political genius,” Lightford said. “But that doesn’t intimidate me. It allows me an opportunity to work with the speaker. I have excellent negotiation skills and I would love to shake up the table a little bit. … Power is in the imagination. It’s what you give him. I’ll have power too as the Senate president so we can balance our power out. “
Thoughts?
*** UPDATE *** Some of the “thoughts” in comments are clearly lacking on this topic. A legislator pal just texted me this: He has the power you allow him to have over you. Operate from there.
That’s at the heart of what Lightford said, not your own fantasy worlds.
Madigan gets into peoples’ heads. Look at Bruce Rauner, who let Madigan reside rent free in his cranium for four long years.
The best way to deal with Madigan is, first and foremost, not let him get into your head.
Of all the new tax programs Pritzker is using to balance his budget, Fitch noted that “the most significant” one is the nearly $400 million from a new assessment fee levied on managed care organizations, or MCOs.
Pritzker called it an “insurance tax” in his budget address last week. His administration has projected it will bring in $390 million.
Davesurance.com insurance broker David Castillo said consumers can expect to pay more if the tax is implemented.
Earlier this year, credit rating agency Fitch said the proposed insurance tax is “the most significant” recurring revenue stream proposed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, which could bring in $400 million. Pritzker’s administration earlier this year said it would bring in $390 million.
Davesurance.com insurance broker Dave Castillo said consumers can expect to pay more if such a tax passes, but that money will be matched dollar for dollar by the federal government.
“So I think it might be a reliable source of revenue,” Castillo said. “I don’t think it’s enough to cause major discontent in the marketplace.”
However, questions about how the tax on managed care organizations will work remain. MCOs are organizations that handle both taxpayer-funded Medicaid and traditional insurance claims. Lawmakers approved a tiered tax on MCOs beginning in 2020 as part of the budget that was passed with bipartisan support in the final days of the legislative session last month. That revenue would then be matched by federal funding as a way to pay the state’s Medicaid bills.
Davesurance.com insurance broker Dave Castillo said it’s like using the same tax dollar twice.
Asked Tuesday if the Medicaid buy-in plan in one expansion he’s eyeing, the governor said: “that’s one area to do it, yeah.”
Davesurance.com insurance broker Dave Castillo said although he doesn’t know the details of the possible plan, he sees some problems, including putting more stress on an already stressed Medicaid system.
When asked this summer if the Medicaid buy-in plan is one expansion he’s eyeing, the governor said: “That’s one area to do it, yeah.”
Davesurance.com insurance broker Dave Castillo said although he doesn’t know the details of the possible plan, he sees some problems, including putting more stress on an already stressed Medicaid system.
Davesurance.com insurance broker Dave Castillo said a proposal could come up during the 2020 election cycle as some presidential candidates have proposed Medicaid-for-all programs. Castillo said a state-specific Medicaid buy-in program could have unintended consequences, such as specialist rationing or higher costs for other insurance plans.
Davesurance.com insurance broker Dave Castillo said there’s no question the high cost of insulin has hurt many with diabetes. But capping the price could have some unintended consequences.
That priority to medical marijuana dispensaries means the first waves of Chicago’s pot shops are all white-owned, according to Black Caucus Chairman Ald. Jason Ervin.
“We are concerned about the lack of African American participation, which stands currently at zero. And we’ve not heard any plan from the state or from anyone to change that … so I think as a city that is a majority minority, to see that a half a billion dollar industry has no participation from two of the city’s largest communities I just think is wrong,” Ervin said. “The reality is that today I think that the state should create a system that would ensure African American ownership from the start … They want us to participate in the consumption but don’t want us to participate in the growing and the distribution of it.”
Ron Holmes and Kareem Kenyatta established their business, The Majority-Minority Group, to help applicants navigate the complicated – and expensive – process.
“Social equity kind of a buzzword that’s floating all over the country. Everyone’s going to have a different definition. For me it just means that the black corner boy can have the same opportunity that the white VC guy with the corner office can have,” Holmes said. “We want to make sure that we’re providing not just an equal amount of licenses to folks but also trying to repair and restore communities that have been disproportionally impacted by the war on drugs.”
Two social equity groups are pushing to get minority business owners involved in recreational marijuana sales in Illinois.
Neffer-Oduntunde Kerr is one of 30 people chosen Sunday as part of a 6 weeks’ long training process sponsored by two organizations aiming to add diversity to the upcoming Illinois’ marijuana industry.
Kerr is a single mother currently working multiple jobs while attending graduate school. She said this new opportunity presents promise and equity that she hasn’t seen very much of in her own community. […]
The [people] chosen on Sunday will now move on to the competitive process to apply for state-issued adult-use licenses, with both 4th MVMT and Majority-Minority helping them along the way.
Holmes and Kenyatta could’ve just submitted their own applications and cashed in. Instead, they’re doing this. And, yes, they’re getting paid, but they’re also doing some real good work.
Illinois’ highest court ruled Thursday that it is unconstitutional to ban convicted sex offenders from social media sites.
Conrad Allen Morger was convicted of sexually abusing a minor and sentenced to four years of probation by a court in McLean County. That came with a binding condition he not use specific internet sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
During oral arguments, held in September in Godfrey, Morger’s representative said the ban is a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment fundamental right to freedom of speech. […]
The justices analyzed Illinois’ law by considering whether the mandatory social media ban is “reasonably related” to the goal of probation — which is rehabilitation.
In Packingham, defendant, a registered sex offender who had completed his sentence, was convicted for violating a North Carolina law that barred registered sex offenders from gaining access to commercial social networking websites. The Supreme Court concluded the North Carolina statute impermissibly restricted lawful speech in violation of the first amendment.
* Crain’s takes a look at Senate President hopeful Kimberly Lightford’s history with ComEd and Exelon. Exerpt…
Among those bills was ComEd’s most recent major initiative—a 10-year extension of the generous formula rate that enables it to change rates each year, at a locked-in profit, with little scrutiny from state regulators. Lightford was a chief co-sponsor of that bill when it was introduced last spring. ComEd lobbied hard for the measure before the May adjournment, but uncharacteristically failed to win approval. It later came to light that contract lobbyists for the company had had their homes raided by federal investigators in that month.
Lightford was the primary Senate sponsor of ComEd-backed legislation in 2015 that for the first time allowed the utility to profit on the increasing amounts it invests in promoting energy efficiency, financed through a surcharge on customers’ monthly electric bills. The legislation, as introduced, would have authorized six ComEd-built “microgrids”—dedicated power generators and lines serving discrete areas. ComEd’s bill was rolled into the broader Future Energy Jobs Act, enacted in late 2016, which also bailed out two nuclear plants parent company Exelon had threatened to close, and in the final product authorized just one microgrid, serving the Bronzeville neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side.
According to the Center for Illinois Politics, Lightford raised the sixth most in the Senate from ComEd and Exelon. Senate President Cullerton and Sens. Tony Munoz, Bill Brady, Sue Rezin and Terry Link raised more. Sen. Don Harmon, who is also bidding to replace John Cullerton, raised the eleventh most. Among just ComEd recipients, Lightford ranked third in the Senate behind Senate President Cullerton and Sen. Tony Munoz.
Asked about how fellow senators might view the ComEd issue in light of her bid, she said they don’t want “a leader who was not engaged” in major issues. She’s made stronger ethics rules a key plank of her campaign, which some might view as hard to square with a record of staunch support for ComEd and Exelon’s priorities. But, she said, “I don’t know that Edison has any direct relationship to us changing the ethical things we need to change.”
I think I know what she may have meant to say there, but it surely didn’t come out that way. She’s going to talk herself out of the top job if she isn’t careful.
State Rep. Curtis Tarver II (D-Chicago) was arrested Monday night in the Woodlawn section of Chicago and charged with carrying a weapon with an invalid concealed carry license (CCL), according to Chicago police.
Replying to an inquiry from Chicago City Wire, the CPD Office of Communications said that at approximately 8:32 p.m. on November 18 officers on patrol in the 6500 block of South Stony Island Avenue stopped a vehicle with a broken headlight. They asked the driver, whom they identified as Curtis Tarver, 38, if there were weapons in the vehicle.
“The driver handed officers a weapon that was in the vehicle, as well as a concealed carry license,” a CPD communications officer wrote in an email. “Further investigation revealed the license was revoked. The subject was taken into custody and charged accordingly.”
Tarver was charged with a misdemeanor for the invalid license. He was also cited for the faulty headlight. He was issued an I-bond (a no-cash bond) and released. A court appearance is set for December 27 at 727 E. 111th St., Chicago.
And then it delves into speculation about why his carry license had been revoked.
* From Rep. Tarver…
On November 18, I was the subject of a routine traffic stop, at which time what appears to have been a clerical error regarding my concealed carry license resulted in my arrest. The facts are clear and supported by documents which I have shared with the Chicago Police Department: In August 2019, my concealed carry permit was renewed through August 2024. Upon receiving notice that concealed carry license was revoked because my Firearm Owners Identification Card (FOID) had expired I immediately renewed my FOID. The renewal was effective as of November 16. While I had no way of knowing, this renewal purportedly was not yet reflected in Chicago Police Department records. The department acknowledged that my FOID was valid as of November 16. This was two days prior to the traffic stop, indicating that the concealed carry license should also be valid. I fully expect this case will be resolved quickly and without incident.
Like many people in Chicago, I applied for a concealed carry license in order to keep myself and my daughter safe. I take considerable efforts to ensure that I am always in compliance with our state’s laws and following safe practices for handling a firearm. This commitment to stronger gun laws that promote responsible ownership is why I recently voted for the Fix the FOID Act, which cracks down on illegal gun sales, strengthens background checks and closes unnecessary loopholes. I look forward to continuing this work on behalf of our community and focusing efforts to prevent guns from getting into the wrong hands.
Reached Friday morning, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the misdemeanor charge was due to an expired CCL license and that it was “likely a paperwork issue.”
* I’ve heard about the existence of this “magic lobbyist list,” but I haven’t seen this email sent by Mike McClain to several people last December. Kudos to Dan Mihalopoulos and Dave McKinney at WBEZ…
Shortly before last Christmas, consummate Springfield insider Michael McClain sent an email to what he called the “Magic Lobbyist List.” […]
“There are now a little less than two dozen on the list,” McClain wrote in the email, which WBEZ obtained. “So, I would ask what has been asked in the past.”
McClain then directed the remaining members of the list to help him arrange for any new, potential clients in Springfield to hire the right lobbyists for the upcoming, 2019 legislative session at the Illinois Capitol. […]
“A Friend of ours and myself have gone through the ‘magic list’ and frankly culled quite a few names from the list,” McClain told the surviving members of the group.
He asked them to do “what has been asked in the past” — to help him coordinate who would get lobbying deals with companies that needed their interests represented in Springfield.
“If you have a potential client come up to you and seek you as a lobbyist but you cannot for whatever reason please engage him/her and try to get him or her to consider a recommendation from you,” McClain wrote. “Please call me then and I will have a conversation with someone and get back to you asap.”
(T)he group email about the magic lobbyist list and interviews with Democratic insiders indicate McClain worked alongside Madigan in a much broader effort to arrange for trusted lobbyist allies to enrich themselves by representing powerful private interests in Springfield.
The email also offers the first evidence suggesting the speaker himself had a role in connecting lobbyists with clients whose fortunes rely heavily on his favor.
I think the best way to describe this list is to compare it to “made men” in the Outfit. He even used the phrase “A Friend of ours” in the email.
…Adding… Let’s go back to the Tribune’s story from earlier today. This was buried at the bottom…
The [October 2018 McClain] email thanks an undisclosed list of recipients for help on a “secret” project involving campaign fundraising for House Democrats in targeted contests on the November 2018 ballot. […]
“We always called you the ‘Most Trusted of the Trusted,” McClain wrote. “So, again, on behalf of Himself, I thank you for ALL your work to help him and the Caucus.” […]
In the email, McClain goes on to say he’s reviewed a “magic Excel sheet,” and makes a request [for more contributions]. […]
“Remember either the checks themselves have to be tendered to Mary or copies of them in order to be placed on the excel sheet as tendered,” said McClain, a reference to Mary Morrissey, the executive director of the Democratic Party of Illinois.
So, the party was tracking contributions from McClain’s “Most Trusted of the Trusted” list.
* I told you in October that retired lobbyist Dick Lockhart was very ill. He was flooded with calls, texts, emails and visits from his old friends after that. His son sent me a text a little over a week later saying he was still going strong and at home.
I received a call from a friend of his a couple of hours ago and then received this email with the same basic message…
Rich! I am sending this on behalf of Dick’s family.
It is with heavy hearts that Dick Lockhart’s family is notifying friends of his peaceful passing this a.m. at his home.
* I was content to ignore this story because Bourne’s district is so overwhelmingly Republican that the dude basically has no chance…
A Democrat from Coffeen says he plans to run for a seat in the Illinois House against Rep. Avery Bourne, R-Raymond.
Chase Wilhelm, 35, will be making his first run for elected office. […]
Wilhelm is currently a member of the Army Reserve. Until recently, he was on active duty most recently stationed at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa with the Special Operations Command.
Wilhelm said he has a master’s degree in religion and society from Princeton Theological Seminary and a doctorate in ethics from Garrett-Evangelical in Evanston. He took a job as a chaplain with the Department of Corrections in October, where he makes $79,488 a year.
President Trump won the district by 37 points. The only statewide Democrat to win it has been Secretary of State Jesse White (of course).
* But then this overkill press release arrived and I figured I’d post it…
“This week, Democrat Chase Wilhelm announced his candidacy for state representative in the 95th House District, but it didn’t take him long to dodge the Madigan question and hedge his position on abortion. The people of the 95th District want a conservative leader who will stand up to Madigan and oppose the Democrats’ radical, pro-abortion agenda. They have that in Avery Bourne. That’s why clear majorities of voters have elected her twice.
“Don’t let Wilhelm fool you. He will accept campaign support from Madigan, and, if elected, will vote for Madigan and stand idly by while he pushes his radical agenda. If Wilhelm won’t stand up to Madigan or the Democrats on abortion, what else will he let them get away with?” - Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Joe Hackler
Chase Wilhelm, a Democrat from Montgomery County, announced his intention to run for state representative in the 95th House District, which is currently held by Republican State Rep. and Pro-Life leader Avery Bourne.
Almost immediately, Wilhelm hedged his views on abortion, saying, “While I recognize where I am at, I also definitely recognize a woman’s right to defend and protect her body.”
Would Wilhelm have opposed taxpayer-funded abortion in House Bill 40 or late-term abortions in the Reproductive Health Act? Based on Wilhelm’s vague platitudes, we don’t know.
And then, Wilhelm refused to answer whether or not he would support Mike Madigan for another term as Speaker of the Illinois House: “Wilhelm did not commit to either supporting or rejecting Michael Madigan as House speaker.
“‘The bottom line is going to be what’s best for my district,” [Wilhelm] said. “Like a lot of things, the conversation is bigger than a yes or a no.’”
Don’t let him fool you - Wilhelm will accept campaign support from Madigan, and, if elected, will vote for Madigan and stand idly by while the Democrats push their radical agenda on the people of Illinois.
What else will Wilhelm let the Democrats get away with?
To be clear, Rep. Bourne could jet to Paris for the next year, post her expensive purchases and scrumptious dinners on Facebook and still win. Seems odd the ILGOP would get this fired up, but, whatevs. It’s still a free country.
* The Illinois State Board of Education’s new emergency rules are here. I’ve skipped over a few things, so if you have a question, you should first click on the link to see if you can find it addressed in the new rules.
* Old rule…
Isolated time out and physical restraint as defined in this Section shall be used only as means of maintaining discipline in schools (that is, as a means of maintaining a safe and orderly environment for learning) and only to the extent that they are necessary to preserve the safety of students and others. Neither isolated time out nor physical restraint shall be used in administering discipline to individual students, i.e., as a form of punishment.
New rule…
Time out and physical restraint as defined in this Section shall be used only for therapeutic purposes, or to the extent necessary to preserve the safety of students and others. Neither time out nor physical restraint shall be used as a form of punishment.
* Old rule…
“Isolated time out” means the confinement of a student in a time-out room or some other enclosure, whether within or outside the classroom, from which the student’s egress is restricted.
New rule…
“Time out” means a behavior management technique that involves the monitored separation of a student from classmates with a trained adult for part of the school day, usually for a brief time, in a non-locked setting
* Old rule…
If an enclosure used for isolated time out is fitted with a door, either a steel door or a wooden door of solid-core construction shall be used. If the door includes a viewing panel, the panel shall be unbreakable.
New rule…
If an enclosure used for time out is fitted with a door, the door shall not be locked at any time during the time out.
* Old rule…
An adult who is responsible for supervising the student shall remain within two feet of the enclosure.
New rule…
An adult trained under this Section who is responsible for supervising the student must remain with the student at all times during the time out
* Old rule…
The adult responsible for supervising the student must be able to see the student at all times. If a locking mechanism is used on the enclosure, the mechanism shall be constructed so that it will engage only when a key, handle, knob, or other similar device is being held in position by a person, unless the mechanism is an electrically or electronically controlled one that is automatically released when the building’s fire alarm system is triggered. Upon release of the locking mechanism by the supervising adult, the door must be able to be opened readily.
The new rule deletes all of that language.
* Old rule…
“Physical restraint” as permitted pursuant to this Section includes only the use of specific, planned techniques (e.g., the “basket hold” and “team control”).
New rule…
“Physical restraint” as permitted pursuant to this Section includes only the use of specific, planned techniques (e.g., the “basket hold” and “team control”). A physical restraint shall not impair a student’s ability to breath or speak normally. Prone or supine physical restraint shall not be permitted.
* Old rule…
A student shall not be kept in isolated time out for longer than is therapeutically necessary which shall not be for more than 30 minutes after he or she ceases presenting the specific behavior for which isolated time out was imposed or any other behavior for which it would be an appropriate intervention.
New rule…
A student shall not be kept in time out for longer than is therapeutically necessary. No less than once every 15 minutes, the trained adult must assess whether the student has ceased presenting the specific behavior for which the time out was imposed
* Old rule…
A written record of each episode of isolated time out or physical restraint shall be maintained in the student’s temporary record.
New rule…
In a form and manner prescribed by the State Superintendent, a written record of each episode of time out or physical restraint shall be maintained in the student’s temporary record.
* Old rule…
Each district, cooperative, or joint agreement whose policy permits the use of isolated time out shall provide orientation to its staff members covering at least the written procedure established pursuant to Section 1.280(c)(2) of this Part.
New rule…
Each district, cooperative, or joint agreement whose policy permits the use of time out shall provide training.
* Newly added rules…
No later than 48 hours after any use of time out or physical restraint, the school district or other entity serving the student shall, in a form and manner prescribed by the State Superintendent, submit the information required under subsection (f)(1) to the State Superintendent.
The State Superintendent reserve the authority to require districts to submit the information required under subsection (f)(1) for previous school years. […]
Any adult who is supervising a student in time out or applying physical restraint shall be trained in de-escalation, restorative practices, and behavior management practices. […]
Any use of time out or physical restraint permitted by a board’s policy shall include:
1) the circumstances under which time out or physical restrain will be applied;
2) a written procedure to be followed by staff in cases of time out or physical restraint;
3) designation of a school official who will be informed of incidents and maintain the documentation required under this Section when time out or physical restraint is used;
4) the process the district or other entity serving public school students will use to evaluate any incident that results in an injury to the affected student;
5) a description of the district’s or other entity’s annual review of the use of time out or physical restraint, which shall include at least:
A) the number of incidents involving the use of these interventions;
B) the location and duration of each incident;
C) identification of the staff members who were involved;
D) any injuries or property damage that occurred; and
E) the timeliness of parental notification, timelines of agency notification, and administrative review.
k) Complaint Procedures
1) Any parent, individual, organization, or advocate may file a signed, written complaint with the State Superintendent alleging that a local school district or other entity serving the student has violated this Section. The complaint shall include the facts on which the complaint is based; the signature and contact information for the complainant; the names and addresses of the students involved (and the name of the school of attendance), if known; a description of the nature of the problem, including any facts relating to the problem; and a proposed resolution of the problem to the extent known.
2) The State Superintendent shall only consider a complaint if it alleges a violation occurring not more than one year prior to the data on which the complaint is received.
3) The State Superintendent must issue a written decision to the complainant that addresses each allegation in the complaint and contains findings of fact and conclusion; the reasons for the State Board of Education’s final decision; and orders for any action, including technical assistance.
4) The complaint procedure under this Section does not limit, diminish, or otherwise deny the federal and State rights and procedural safeguards afforded to students with disabilities.
* Meanwhile, Rep. Jonathan Carroll’s bill is now online…
Prohibits a school district employee or volunteer or an independent contractor of a school district from placing a student in seclusion; defines seclusion. Provides that this prohibition does not apply to the use of seclusion in a court-ordered placement, other than a placement in an educational program of a school district, or in a placement or facility to which other laws or rules apply. Requires State Board of Education rulemaking. Effective immediately.
…Adding… I asked Rep. Carroll for his take on the new ISBE rules…
I think it’s a start. I think there’s more work that has to be done. And I’m frustrated that we have to go through these pounds of cures instead of ounces of prevention. We have to make sure that there’s a lot more accountability and at this point ISBE has not shown much of that.
The Illinois Chamber of Commerce has once again collected the results from its annual paid Holiday Survey which indicates how Illinois employers and their employees will be handling paid holidays in 2020.
The Chamber’s Annual Holiday Survey is an instrumental tool for many Illinois businesses in helping them to make a decision on holiday benefits for employees. It has, for many years, been regarded as the standard to follow. The results provide a good indicator of what employers will be doing in 2020 and are provided by a good cross-section of businesses from across Illinois. […]
Compiled from hundreds of responses from Illinois businesses of all size and industries, the survey indicated that the average number of paid holidays for Illinois workers is 8.2 days, up very slightly from 2019. The average number of paid personal days is 2.9 days, identical to 2019.
* Holidays and percentage of firms providing a paid holiday…
New Year’s Day 2017 - Wednesday, January 1 - 96.0%
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (observed) - Monday, January 20, 22.7%
Lincoln’s Birthday - Wednesday, February 12 - 4.2%
President’s Day (Washington/Lincoln Day) - Monday, February 17 - 21.3%
Casimir Pulaski’s Birthday (observed) - Monday, March 2 - <1%
Good Friday - Friday, April 10 - 32.4%
Memorial Day - Monday, May 25 - 94.5%
Independence Day - Saturday, July 4 (30% of noted observe on Friday, July 3) - 95.6%
Labor Day - Monday, September 7 - 94.8%
Columbus Day - Monday, October 12 - 12.5%
Election Day - Tuesday, November 3 - <1%
Veterans Day - Wednesday, November 11 - 18.5%
Thanksgiving
Wednesday, November 25 - 6.5%
Thursday, November 26 - 96.5%
Friday, November 27 - 68.9%
Christmas
Thursday, December 24 - 50.9%
Friday, December 25 - 96.0%
New Year’s Eve
Thursday, December 31 - 30.7%
Employees Birthday - 2%
Floating Holiday (1 or more days) - 5.2%
Jewish Holidays (1 or more days) - About 1%
Average number of paid holidays - 8.2; Average number of paid personal days - 2.9
Number of firms responding - 351
* Percentage of firms from each industry classification responding…
Manufacturing - 22.7%
Services - 13.1%
Finance/Banking - 2.2%
Retail Trade - 4.5%
Wholesale Trade - 3.4%
Insurance/Real Estate - 5.4%
Utility/Transport/Communications - 3.7%
Construction - 3.9%
Non-Profit/Association/Chamber of Commerce - 18.8%
Government - 7.1%
Other - 14.8%
Another outside group is advertising in the 13th Congressional District and featuring pictures of U.S. Rep. RODNEY DAVIS, R-Taylorville. But this time, the group agrees with Davis on impeachment.
American Action Network, a Washington, D.C.-based group, is running TV ads in the district thanking Davis for “standing against impeachment and focusing on the issues that matter to us.”
This comes even as ads have continued to run this week from a group called Defend American Democracy, featuring a Marine veteran from New Jersey who served in Afghanistan and who calls on Davis to “hold the president accountable for risking our national security and abusing his office to benefit himself.”
Economic Club of Chicago Chairwoman Debra Cafaro asked Pritzker why lawmakers shouldn’t let voters change the state’s pension protection clause to control the growing cost of public sector pensions.
“To even working-class me, that seems like a fair way to address the shared sacrifice that we all have to make to get Illinois on the right track,” Cafaro said.
Ventas Chairman and CEO Debra Cafaro received more than $25 million in total pay [in 2017], more than double what she earned in 2016, as the company switched to a new compensation system for its top executives.
Ventas, a Chicago-based real estate investment trust that specializes in senior housing and medical properties, paid Cafaro $25.3 million in 2017, including stock awards totaling $17.4 million, up from total compensation of $9.7 million in 2016, according to a company proxy filed yesterday.
People do rise from the working class to high positions of power and wealth (as Cafaro most certainly did) and they may still consider themselves working class at heart. But, c’mon, they’re no longer working class when they make $25 million in a single year. A person making the median income would have to work about 397 years to earn what she raked in during just one.
So, with respect, maybe it’s not all that believable for a successful CEO to advocate cutting retirement benefits for people who worked for modest pay their entire lives by claiming to currently be one of them.
* I’m taking Oscar to the groomer and then I may run a couple of errands. Please keep the conversation Illinois-centric and be nice to each other. Thanks.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Heading back to pick him up, so you’re on your own again. Previous rules apply.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Yeah, he’s not happy with me at the moment for putting him through that experience, but I think it’s a nice haircut…
The watchdog overseeing the Chicago Public Schools has received nearly three complaints per school day since last year of sexual misconduct by adults against students.
And out of all 535 cases reported since the start of October 2018, there are 239 that are still open and under investigation, according to the watchdog.
Those new numbers were released Wednesday by CPS Inspector General Nicholas Schuler as he detailed his office’s investigative work at the Board of Education’s monthly meeting.
Among those new cases in the past year, 228 involved a teacher while 81 involved a security guard — meaning 4.7% of security guards were the subject of an allegation.
That’s a darned high percentage of security guards. Sounds like it’s time to revamp the vetting process.
Of the closed cases, investigators have substantiated 67 allegations against adults, mostly involving “concerning” behavior and not rising to the level of sexual abuse or assault. Seven substantiated cases involved a sexual act or abuse and another 12 were about improper touching that was deemed less than sexual abuse.
As a result of those substantiated cases, 57 adults were fired, resigned or retired after the completion of the investigations while another 96 have been pulled from their job while the inspector general examines the cases. Seventeen cases have involved police and criminal prosecution.
As the battle rages over who will take criminally charged former state Rep. Luis Arroyo’s House seat, Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday said a new ethics task force should place a top priority on whether Democratic ward committeemen are “picking replacements properly.”
“I made it clear from the beginning that I want to make sure that the people of the district get represented properly,” the governor said. “There’s no air of corruption around the person who gets appointed and also be elected.” […]
“I think this is something that the new ethics commission that’s been created should look at,” Pritzker said at a Chicago State University event. “Among the very first things they should look at is are we picking replacements properly so that we avoid problems.”
Legislators last week passed a resolution to create the Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform to take up the many issues unearthed by federal investigations into Arroyo, state Sen. Tom Cullerton, D-Villa Park, and state Sen. Martin Sandoval, D-Chicago.
Under House rules, any member of the House or voter in the 3rd District has 90 days to file a petition challenging whether Delgado’s appointment was legal. A petition would trigger an investigation by a House committee that could ultimately lead to Delgado being removed. That would require approval from a three-fifths majority of the full chamber.
Brown said that, as of Wednesday afternoon, no challenge petition had been filed with the clerk’s office. He declined to say whether Madigan would file the challenge himself after his warning was ignored.
Cook County’s Public Guardian is urging a federal judge to accelerate a lawsuit that challenges the Department of Children and Family Services practice of allowing foster children to languish in psychiatric hospitals beyond medical need if the agency can’t find a place for a child, saying the situation has gotten worse.
Even though the suit was filed a year ago, the judge has yet to decide whether to dismiss the class action lawsuit. Lawyers for the state have repeatedly won extensions to offer additional information to support its efforts to dismiss the case.
The case could affect hundreds of foster children, but a ruling earlier this year by U.S. District Judge John Lee has also stymied efforts to allow the public guardian and state officials to begin collecting evidence to prove their arguments by issuing subpoenas.
“Over the past year since Plaintiffs filed suit, the problem has objectively worsened,” according to Wednesday’s filing. “Children are spending more time locked in psychiatric hospitals; Plaintiffs are at risk of being stuck [beyond medical need] under the same practices and policies that caused them to be class members, and the potential class size grows by the day.” […]
While DCFS officials said at a September hearing that they had added beds through state contractors in order to alleviate the problem, sources tell The Daily Line those beds are mostly considered shelter beds — beds not meant for a permanent placement.
Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx is pleased to share the endorsements of Illinois Democratic Leaders:
Governor JB Pritzker
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle
Senator Dick Durbin
Senator Tammy Duckworth
Congressman Bobby Rush
Congressman Danny Davis
Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky
Congresswoman Robin Kelly
“Today, we couldn’t be more proud to come together to endorse Kim Foxx for re-election as Cook County State’s Attorney.
Under Kim’s leadership, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office has blocked the Trump administration’s discriminatory attempt to threaten immigrants who seek public health services, which would have created a crisis for both families and our public health. She has taken on the gun lobby – and won, defeating a challenge to the county’s assault weapons ban. Kim is a leader who stands up to a man in the Oval Office who uses our city as a punching bag and isn’t afraid of the NRA, which is hellbent on letting guns flood our streets.
Kim Foxx has brought reform to Cook County, and her leadership has inspired reform across this country. Kim represents the future of our Democratic Party, standing for justice while rejecting the fear-mongering of those who are set on reversing the progress we’ve made.
We are confident and ready to hit the ground running to re-elect Kim Foxx.”
* This Tribune story by Ray Long and Jason Meisner is fascinating because it includes emails from Mike McClain to his inner circle of friends and allies…
For months, federal authorities have been looking into payments made to a former political operative for Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan as part of a sweeping investigation into ComEd’s lobbying practices.
Now, newly obtained emails show that Michael McClain, a close confidant of Madigan, orchestrated the contracts that saw money flow from current and former ComEd lobbyists to the ex-aide.
All told, more than $30,000 went to Kevin Quinn, who had been ousted by Madigan in early 2018 after being accused of sexually harassing a female campaign worker. At the time, Madigan called the campaign worker “courageous” for making him aware of the unwanted advances and inappropriate text messages.
* But the story is also interesting because it explains something I’ve been wondering about: Why do federal prosecutors even care about these payments?…
The Tribune has reported that federal authorities are zeroing in on payments made through ComEd’s vast network of consultants to some individuals who seemed to have done little actual work. The payments were aimed at currying favor with certain lawmakers while circumventing lobbying disclosure rules, the source added. Authorities believe the payments to Quinn, which the Tribune first disclosed in July, are an example of this, a source has said.
So, apparently, the G believes the payments to Quinn, the brother of Madigan’s alderman Marty Quinn, were designed to curry favor with a lawmaker. Would that lawmaker be Speaker Madigan? His spokesman had this to say…
“If a group of people were attempting to help Kevin Quinn, the speaker was not a part of it.”
…Adding… Rep. Margo McDermed (R-Mokena)…
This confirms that the Speaker’s response to the harassment of his employees was nothing more than window dressing while he continued to put political victories and fundraising ahead of his staff and the people of Illinois. As a female legislator, I find this insulting and hope my Democrat colleagues start to confront this disgraceful behavior in their caucus.
