* To think this man was at one point just months away from owning a racino…
The Illinois Gaming Board has moved to strip video gambling operator Rick Heidner of his license after accusing him of offering a $5 million “illegal inducement” to the owner of a chain of gambling parlors, records show.
State officials filed the action Tuesday, saying they had learned that Heidner, who operates Gold Rush Amusements, had offered the money after the owners of Laredo Hospitality told him they were moving to pull his video gambling machines from 44 of their gambling parlors, according to the complaint for disciplinary action filed with the board by its staff. The Tribune obtained the complaint through an open records request.
During a Nov. 16, 2018, meeting at a Rosemont steakhouse between Heidner and the CEO of Laredo, the executive told Heidner that after a recent ownership change, Laredo would be severing its relationship with Gold Rush, according to the complaint.
Two weeks later, Heidner met with Laredo’s new owner, Daniel Fischer, and offered to buy Laredo for $5 million more than Fischer had just paid for the company, according to the complaint. Fischer declined the offer, according to the complaint.
Heidner then sent a series of text messages to Laredo’s former CEO, Gary Leff, detailing the offer, the Gaming Board says.
Man, that is a huge video gaming empire which just went kerplop. Go read the rest.
*** UPDATE *** The Tribune has updated its story…
[Heidner spokesman Randall Samborn] called the allegations against Heidner “an orchestrated smear campaign,” describing Heidner as the victim of an “illegal inducement” paid by one of his competitors to replace Gold Rush at Laredo’s locations. He said they are related to an ongoing lawsuit.
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* Press release…
Co-Chairs State Senator Elgie R. Sims, Jr. and State Representative Greg Harris have called the first hearing of the New Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform for Monday, December 23 at 10 a.m. in Room 16-503 of the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago. At the hearing, the Joint Commission will discuss the framework including the rules, protocols, and future meetings.
During the recent veto session, the General Assembly passed legislation to form the Joint Commission for the purpose of recommending reforms to ethics laws after recent allegations concerning state and local officials and lobbyists.
Who: Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform
What: Hearing to establish Commission framework
When: 10:00 a.m., Monday, Dec. 23
Where: James R. Thompson Center, 100 W Randolph St., Chicago, Room 16-503
“I look forward to this bipartisan, bicameral discussion to address ethics issues at all levels of government,” Sims said. “Together we can find serious solutions to help make it clear to the public that their state leaders are being held to the highest standard of the law.”
“We need to rebuild trust with the people of Illinois, and this commission is a strong step in repairing that relationship,” Harris said. “It’s time for Democrats and Republicans to come together and show those who elected us that we can set aside politics and begin to find solutions.”
Yeah, I’m thinking I won’t be covering that.
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* Today’s Jason Meisner story about Amit Gauri is a really interesting read. Gauri and his fuel business, Black Dog Petroleum, were both named in a federal search warrant of the Lyons Village Hall. He has ties to the so-called “Asphalt King” Michael Vondra, Sen. Martin Sandoval, Ald. Ed Burke, Cook County Commissioner Jeffrey Tobolski, former Rep. Luis Arroyo, etc.
Gauri was just awarded a big City of Chicago contract, but one of his companies recently filed for bankruptcy and Meisner took a look at the transcripts…
In recent sworn testimony as part of the bankruptcy proceeding, Gauri acknowledged that he was subpoenaed in late October by a federal grand jury, saying it was “in relation to a list of things in Lyons, relationships with senators and the mayor of Lyons.”
Gauri also revealed in his testimony that Black Dog recently went into business with Vondra refining recycled asphalt shingles for use in road construction, a controversial practice that was championed by Sandoval in Springfield and has caught federal investigators’ attention.
Gauri testified he’d met with Sandoval over the years, but his bankruptcy attorney cut off the questioning when he was asked about the subject of those talks.
Gauri, who has not been charged with any wrongdoing, declined to speak recently with a Tribune reporter at Black Dog’s main office, located next door to the Lyons Village Hall in a building that he rents from Vondra. […]
At the Black Dog bankruptcy hearing, Gauri acknowledged to lawyers for Parent Petroleum that he had met with Sandoval to discuss state contracts. He started to explain that the meetings were about minority business enterprise rules before being cut off by his attorney.
“I’m gonna stop this right now because you’re getting into questions that the grand jury subpoena would possibly be asking,” said the attorney, Scott Clar.
Go read the rest.
* Meanwhile, Commissioner Tobolski finally showed up for work…
Commissioner Jeff Tobolski returned to county business after a monthslong absence he blamed on health issues.
Tobolski, who doubles as mayor of McCook, attend a meeting Tuesday of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. It was his first appearance at a county meeting since his McCook Village Hall offices were searched by federal agents in September. […]
In part of an email exchange from November obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times, Commissioner Sean Morrison, R-Palos Park, told Tobolski it was “good to hear your back in the saddle.”
Tobolski responded Nov. 6 with: “Post FBI Heart related issues. Released by Phy 10/31!!!!”
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“Duck up at the Hut”
Wednesday, Dec 18, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Kevin Sronce at the Butternut Hut in Springfield accidentally sent me an email the other day entitled “Butternut Hut Duck proof”…
Any chance it will be ready soon…… I could stop by and review?
He explained later that he meant to send the email to Capitol Blueprint. Oops. But what’s a “duck proof”? I asked…
Every year we raise $$ for a needy infant and St. John’s Children’s Hospital for kids’ medical wagons. We’ve always used the theme “Duck up at the Hut”….. selling rubber ducks that customers buy and hang from the ceiling.
It’s just a fun way to help some child in need.
I’ll send you a copy of the poster after it’s done.
The medical wagons, Kevin said, are…
decorated and are able to carry the kids’ IV’s as they travel to their procedures and therapy. It makes it more kid-friendly for the children for their procedures.
* The poster…
Definitely head on over to the Hut if you can. You can also follow the little guy’s progress at the #ToughLikeTy Facebook page.
* Meanwhile, y’all donated over a thousand dollars since yesterday to Lutheran Social Services of Illinois. As I write this, contributions stand at $9,395.
Can we make it an even $10K by the end of the week? Please, click here if you haven’t yet donated. And if you have already contributed, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
By the way, do you have a favorite charity?
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* Carol Marin and Don Moseley at NBC 5…
Frank Olivo, the former 13th Ward Chicago alderman, is a registered lobbyist for Commonwealth Edison, city records show.
Eight months after leaving office in 2011, Olivo signed on to lobby the mayor’s office and his former city council colleagues for the public utility, which has come under intense scrutiny in recent months following a series of federal raids in Chicago and Springfield.
Olivo served as alderman of the 13th Ward, controlled by House Speaker Mike Madigan, from 1994 until he retired in 2011. The Chicago Board of Ethics website shows in 2012, Olivo was paid $24,000 for the first six months of that year by the company.
Olivo remains a lobbyist for ComEd, according to the latest records on file. For almost all of his time representing the utility giant, Olivo has been paid $4,000 a month. The payments, which are listed quarterly, show Olivo received $12,000 for the first quarter of 2019, but only $4,000 in the second quarter. For the time period of July through September he received no compensation.
That’s some interesting timing on his compensation cut-off. Or, as we used to say here, what a coinkydink.
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Question of the day: Golden Horseshoe Awards
Wednesday, Dec 18, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The 2019 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Legislative Liaison goes to one of the crowd’s favorites Carter Harms…
Carter Harms is the best. I got to work with him on an issue this session, it was one of the best experiences I’ve had working with a state agency. He’s smart, kind, and a pleasure to work with.
You can’t get a much stronger recommendation than that.
* The 2019 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best “Do-Gooder” lobbyist goes to Kathy Drea…
I think strong consideration has to be given to Kathy Drea of the American Lung Association. She’s been on the front lines of the anti-tobacco effort for decades. And her cause just came off the best legislative session in a generation: Tobacco 21, cigarette tax Increase, and registration of all e-cigarette retailers passed during the Spring session. And then, they came back and got important changes to the marijuana legalization bill in veto that clarified how the law works with the Smoke Free Illinois Act.
She’s compiled an amazing record, and she’s a great person too.
That do-gooder pick was one of the most difficult so far. But Kathy did have one heck of a year.
…Adding… Kathy told me this afternoon that she put in her notice that she’s retiring. So, she’s going out on top.
* On to today’s categories…
* Best US Representative
* Best Elected Statewide Officeholder
Statewides can include US Senators, by the way. Please explain your nominations or they won’t count and please nominate in both categories or I may ignore your opinion. But, most of all, have fun!
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* Molly Parker at the Southern Illinoisan and ProPublica Illinois…
Midday on July 4, Bria Embrey held her 7-month-old son in her arms as she talked to a police officer patrolling the public housing complex where she lives. In the middle of the conversation, the baby’s breathing became labored. With each desperate gasp, Embrey could see the outline of his rib cage.
The police officer called for help, and the baby was taken by ambulance to nearby OSF Saint Francis Medical Center. He spent five days in the intensive care unit as doctors worked their way toward a diagnosis of asthma.
A doctor wanted to know if Embrey had smoked in front of her children. No, she assured him. Then Embrey mentioned the mold and roaches inside her public housing apartment at Taft Homes, which is owned and managed by the Peoria Housing Authority.
When the hospital discharged the child, the doctor instructed Embrey to call Peoria’s code enforcement office and report the conditions in her apartment.
Though Embrey did as instructed, these problems have been documented for years — and little has changed.
Taft Homes has failed three of its five most recent inspections by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Peoria Housing Authority has delayed major repairs at the property even as it has paid hundreds of thousands of dollars over more than a decade to consultants and developers for plans that have yet to materialize, records and interviews reveal.
* As the article states, instead of putting adequate resources into fixing these homes, Peoria has diverted large sums for plans that never came to fruition…
In May 2009, the Peoria Journal Star reported that housing officials planned to hold off on spending a portion of $4.3 million in federal funds earmarked for repairs at Taft and instead direct the money into a redevelopment plan. “We don’t want to spend funds on siding and doors on a development that may not be there in a few years,” the then-director told the paper.
In 2011, a consultant issued a report on the housing authority’s behalf, suggesting that rebuilding Taft Homes as a mixed-income community at its current location near downtown represented a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to reimagine the apartment complex and neighborhood.
Instead, two years later, housing authority officials began exploring the possibility of leveling Taft Homes and leasing or selling the land to support the development of new, smaller apartment complexes throughout the city, with an aim, they said, of better integrating affordable housing into established neighborhoods. Meanwhile, others were eyeing the riverfront property where Taft sits for potential development.
As the housing authority held community meetings in 2014 to gather feedback on the relocation plan, Peoria homeowners by the hundreds, most of them white, packed meetings and voiced strong opposition. Over the months and years that followed, several different plans were created and ultimately abandoned.
Now, more than a decade later, families continue to live in unsafe conditions at Taft Homes. In 2018, the housing authority quietly settled with an Ohio-based developer for more than $500,000 over its dashed redevelopment plan, audit records show. With HUD’s blessing, the company was paid from federal funds awarded to the housing authority to help the city build replacement housing.
* This is a problem throughout the state…
Peoria’s case is extreme. But in many ways, the Taft Homes exemplifies the plight of publicly subsidized housing throughout Illinois. From Chicago to Peoria to Carbondale, some apartments for the state’s lowest-income families are deteriorating at a time when the need for them is rising. […]
Our new analysis shows that problems are widespread across the state of Illinois.
Illinois’ HUD inspection failure rate is among the worst in the nation for the two types of properties that the department funds and inspects: apartments owned by public housing authorities and complexes run by for-profit or nonprofit owners under contract with HUD to house low-income people. (Look up properties in your area using ProPublica’s newly updated HUD Inspect tool.)
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* This is insane and evil…
A lawsuit claims the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and Chicago Lakeshore Hospital “turned a blind eye” to sexual and physical abuse inflicted upon children at the psychiatric hospital.
The 16-count suit, filed in federal court Tuesday by Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert, lists DCFS overseers as well as former Lakeshore administrators and nurses among its defendants. Lakeshore’s parent company, Signature Healthcare Services, LLC, is also included as a defendant. […]
In the 40-page lawsuit, Golbert testifies on behalf of several minors who were “subjected to or witnessed unspeakable acts of sexual abuse by staff and peers” in 2017 and 2018.
One example that Golbert sets forth details an alleged incident in which a nurse showed lesbian pornography to a 14-year-old girl before repeatedly sexually assaulting her. The nurse allegedly allowed the girl and others to fill out their own medical paperwork and the “confidential and highly-sensitive paperwork of other patients,”as well as use her vaping device. […]
The 14-year-old eventually “escaped” from the hospital, along with a number of other juveniles. The children were missing for months, according to the lawsuit, because the Lakeshore staff and administration attempted to cover it up rather than report it. […]
According to Golbert’s suit, DCFS ignored the rampant abuse going on at Lakeshore because it was the only psychiatric hospital in the area that would accept their wards. Many of the children who were abused had already completed their treatment, but remained at the hospital because they had nowhere else to go.
And, according to the lawsuit, it was the only psychiatric hospital in the area willing to accept those kids because the state has been such a deadbeat in paying its bills.
Go read the whole thing. Disgusting.
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An Illinois analogy?
Wednesday, Dec 18, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Rebecca Anzel at Capitol News Illinois…
A Capitol dome study conducted earlier this month revealed “some obvious flaws on the exterior of the dome,” a state employee said Tuesday.
Inspectors also found cracks inside the structure and changes made over the years that have altered the Statehouse’s historical profile. The flagpole atop the Capitol needs to be replaced and the holiday lights will probably need to be hung in a different manner, Harl Ray, senior project manager for the secretary of state’s Department of Physical Services, said at a Capitol Architect board meeting. […]
Inspectors also “discovered a crack on all four compass points” of the bracket structures supporting the stone columns visible outside the Capitol.
“They are not worried. There is no structural failure. They’re just wanting to know what happened and why,” Ray said. “Those cracks look like they’ve been there for decades — a long, long time.”
Assessors will reexamine those areas to determine whether additional support is needed, he added. They will be aided by a set of architectural drawings from 1870, which were donated from the Springfield Lincoln Library’s Sangamon Valley Collection last summer.
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“Plan C” seems more likely
Wednesday, Dec 18, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Jim Nowlan on the graduated income tax proposal…
What happens if the constitutional amendment fails? Fiscal chaos. Since there won’t be enough revenue to pay basic bills, bond houses will declare Illinois state and local debt to be “junk.” This will make the state and its 7,000 governments, which often need debt to fund long-term projects, a pariah among the states.
That is why “No” voters like me have a responsibility to be ready with Plan B. In our book “Fixing Illinois” (U. of I. Press, 2014), co-author Tom Johnson and I call instead for broadening the sales tax to remove scores of exemptions (semen for artificial insemination of livestock, for example, is among many) and extend the tax to services, as Iowa does. And also tax some retirement income, as most states that have an income tax do.
Pundits say the political barriers to Nowlan-Johnson are insuperable, because taxes would increase on all of us, not just the rich, and voters wouldn’t stand for it. So, as I say, chaos.
OK, but increasing the flat tax by a point or two is far more likely than either taxing retirement income (the most unpopular tax proposal bar none) or creating a new sales tax (scores of lobbyists will be picking services off one by one).
One way or another, taxes are going up or the budget will be slashed, and this governor ain’t gonna slash the budget. So, either upper-income residents will pay more or everybody will.
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A needed reform
Wednesday, Dec 18, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Finke…
That Rep. DAVID MCSWEENEY, R-Barrington Hills, is no fan of House Republican Leader JIM DURKIN of Western Springs is no secret. It appears you can add Senate Republican Leader BILL BRADY of Bloomington to his unwelcome wagon list.
McSweeney took to Twitter last week, posting a photograph of Brady and a link to a recent WCIA-TV story about the dispute between Brady and Sen. JASON PLUMMER, R-Edwardsville. Plummer said Brady offered to appoint him to a newly formed commission to revise ethics laws if Plummer promised to drop legislation prohibiting lawmakers from profiting off of gambling companies. Brady has a business relationship with a company that places video gaming terminals. Brady denied Plummer’s allegation.
Safe to say, McSweeney is backing Plummer on this.
“It’s time to reform Illinois,” he said in his Tweet accompanying the photo and WCIA story. “I’m fighting corruption in both parties!”
* A Proft paper named Prairie State Wire also followed up…
The dispute emphasizes yet again the need for ethics reform in general and full disclosure of the extent of a lawmaker’s financial interests, Jay Young, executive director of Common Cause Illinois, said.
“I can’t speak to the dispute over what he (Brady) and Senator Plummer actually said to one another,” Young told Prairie State Wire. “However, Senator Brady’s failure to adequately disclose his financial interests in a video gaming concern presents a clear challenge to our democracy.”
He added that Brady appears to be in compliance with the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act, but the act doesn’t require him to disclose third-party money paid into Brady Ventures.
“There’s nothing inherently illegal about receiving money from a gaming company, but the public and his colleagues should have known that his judgment could be clouded by those payments,” Young said. “Here in Illinois, the Statements of Economic Interests that our legislators are asked to file fall well short of what is needed to hold them accountable.”
As long as legislators can earn unlimited income from almost any outside source, they ought to be reporting a whole lot more on their Statements of Economic Interests than they are now.
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Did Syverson’s guest violate Senate rules?
Wednesday, Dec 18, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Mark Maxwell at WCIA…
In a brazen move that violated Senate rules, state Senator Dave Syverson (R-Rockford) brought Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musician Rick Nielsen, the guitarist for Cheap Trick, onto the chamber floor in May during a sensitive time when his colleagues were considering whether or not to approve a Rockford casino and when Nielsen was lobbying support for one.
Nielsen stands to gain significant personal wealth if the Illinois Gaming Board approves the Hard Rock casino bid because his wife invested in the project. Nielsen is also in business with Syverson through the Stockholm Inn in Rockford.
On May 15th, Nielsen visited the statehouse to build support for the Rockford casino project. During his visit, he staged a public press conference from the statehouse press room, sought an audience with the governor, and passed out guitar picks to legislators on the floor in the House and Senate, all in support of approving a Rockford casino.
“I’m trying to help in the gaming industry,” Nielsen told TV cameras during his visit. “I came down here to see if I could kick it in the butt a little bit.” […]
According to Senate rules, “No person who is directly or indirectly interested in defeating or promoting any pending legislative measure, if required to be registered as a lobbyist, is allowed access to the floor of the Senate at any time during the session.”
According to the Illinois Secretary of State’s office, Nielsen never registered as a lobbyist. Had Nielsen registered as a lobbyist, he certainly would have been banned from entering the chamber. A Senate spokesman said, “The Secretary of the Senate was not aware of any reason he should not be a guest on the Senate floor.”
You could make an argument that Nielsen should’ve registered as a lobbyist. A press conference is not lobbying. But handing out those guitar picks thing could’ve been over the line. Still, I’m not sure there was a brazen violation of the Senate’s rules if that is an open question.
Either way, another day, another Syverson story. Not good.
…Adding… The Senator never should’ve allowed his floor guest to hand out these guitar picks…
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* Politico…
Turns out Ald. Jason Ervin and some members of the Black Caucus may not be the only ones supporting a delay in selling recreational marijuana in Chicago. Lobbyists for two white-owned cannabis companies would benefit if Chicago held off on selling cannabis.
MedMen Enterprises, which has an Oak Park dispensary, and Green Thumb Industries (GTI,) with dispensaries in Joliet and Naperville, have a heavy lobbyist contingent in City Hall this week as aldermen debate whether to push back the sale of recreational weed until July 1 in an effort to ensure diversity among dispensary ownership.
MedMen and GTI don’t have an immediate stake in a Jan. 1 opening in Chicago. So why should they care when sales begin?
The two companies are in line to open secondary dispensary locations in Chicago in mid-2020. They’re currently going through the zoning and start-up process, which takes months. By delaying Chicago’s start-date for recreational sales, MedMen and GTI would be able to open at the same time as the current dispensary owners — Cresco Labs, Columbia Care and 4Front.
OK, that may well be true, but it misses the point that Oak Park is on Chicago’s border. If the city’s implementation is delayed, MedMen’s Oak Park dispensary is gonna do blockbuster business.
* Sun-Times…
Chicago sales of recreational marijuana would be pushed back until July 1 under an ordinance that squeaked through a City Council committee Tuesday at the behest of black aldermen demanding diversity among dispensary ownership.
The 10 to 9 vote by the City Council’s Committee on Contract Oversight and Equity was a political embarrassment to Mayor Lori Lightfoot, whose administration tried desperately to appease the Black Caucus during negotiations that continued during the meeting. […]
Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th), the mayor’s floor leader, was asked whether there are 26 votes in the full City Council to approve the six-month delay.
“Looking at the roll calls, I think right now the votes are there to have a delay, yes,” Villegas said.
* Tribune…
After the vote, Lightfoot released a statement saying her administration’s been working with the Black Caucus to make changes and criticized them for the vote. Delaying sales, Lightfoot said, “will have a multitude of unintended consequences, including fueling illegal sales, placing the start of a new industry at the same time when our full public safety resources must be dedicated to combatting summer violence, and most importantly, stripping money from the social equity funds intended to benefit Black and Brown entrepreneurs.”
“I have repeatedly asked the members of the Black Caucus to devise a strategy that addresses equity. Instead, we have primarily been met with a litany of complaints, but no tangible solutions. Crossing our arms and walking away is a tactic, not a strategy and is not only unacceptable but irresponsible,” Lightfoot added. “We have a tremendous opportunity to come together to do the work necessary to fulfill our vision of truly equitable legalization. Cannabis will be legalized across the State of Illinois starting on Jan. 1, and I have no intention of Chicago being left behind. It is unfortunate that the Black Caucus has chosen to remain on the sidelines.” […]
In particular, they are upset that the 11 medicinal cannabis dispensaries that get to immediately expand to recreational sales on Jan. 1 under state law are overwhelmingly white-owned establishments. And the early returns on other applicants for recreational licenses in Chicago show few minority owners.
“We would never, as a body, allow anything to pass through this with this magnitude of economic impact, and not have (minority) participation,” [Black Caucus Chairman Jason Ervin] said during an earlier hearing on his ordinance. “Every bond deal that goes through here, we’re hawks on if there’s African American, Latino participation. Every other type of financial transaction that comes through this body, we have these same questions, and this same question needs to be asked about … adult-use cannabis here in the city of Chicago.”
* Um, alderman, do you remember this 2017 story?…
A strip club owner and trucking executive plans to open a medical marijuana dispensary soon just south of the Illinois Medical District.
After nixing plans to open in Fulton Market, businessman Perry Mandera plans to open The Herbal Care Center, or THC Center for short, at 1301 S. Western Ave. in Chicago. […]
Ald. Jason Ervin (28th), whose ward includes the site, said he doesn’t have any objection to the dispensary opening there. […]
But under pressure from neighbors, Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. (27th) said in March 2015 the plan for a Fulton Market dispensary would be “very hard” to support, effectively killing it.
That dispensary, which Ervin approved in his ward after Burnett rejected it, is set to begin adult-use sales on January 1.
*** UPDATE *** Maybe cooler heads can eventually prevail…
*** UPDATE 2 *** Hmm…
*** UPDATE 3 *** This debate is really over the top…
*** UPDATE 4 *** Sales will commence on January 1st…
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