Pritzker defends “citizen legislature” concept
Thursday, Jan 23, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Gov. Pritzker was asked today by a reporter in Edwardsville if “more leaders in Springfield” should follow Senate President Don Harmon’s lead and quit their outside jobs. His response…
Well, you know, we have a citizen legislature. And so what we demand of our legislators is that they bring with them the experience of being a lawyer, or being a doctor, you know, working in business, being a farmer. We in Illinois, we chose long ago to have a legislature made up of people from vastly different experiences. So I don’t think there’s any requirement for people to step aside from their jobs.
What is important is that when they’re voting on issues that they’re abstaining from voting on things that directly impact or benefit them. And as you know, I’m working very hard with legislators to pass ethics legislation in Springfield so that we don’t have to worry anymore about what’s happening about legislators getting in trouble as they have been over the last few months.
It’s very important to me that we bring transparency so that we know what the conflicts of interest are, and that we let you the members of the press and the public be able to look up and see how much power is a company wielding upon a legislator. How much money are they really giving? How many lobbyists do they have that are working over that legislator? So I think the more transparency there is about that, the less likely it is that we’re going to have problems going forward.
Thoughts?
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Corruption roundup
Thursday, Jan 23, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sun-Times…
State Sen. Thomas Cullerton’s lawyer is apparently finalizing a deal with federal prosecutors over key evidence in the indicted politician’s embezzlement case.
Cullerton’s attorney last month asked U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman to order the disclosure of crucial details about ex-Teamsters boss John Coli, who pleaded guilty in July in an extortion case and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. A grand jury hit Cullerton with an indictment a few days after Coli’s plea.
But at a hearing set Thursday to deal with the disagreement, Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu told Gettleman the two sides were nearing a deal and asked for more time to complete it. Cullerton attorney Daniel Collins said, “It’s all correct judge.” […]
When he asked for the Coli evidence last month, Collins wrote that “information about Coli’s credibility is central to the validity of the government’s case against Cullerton and is vital for Cullerton’s defense.”
* A statement was promised yesterday, but nothing emerged…
A federal and local investigation into the actions of Bloomingdale Township Highway Commissioner Robert Czernek is continuing, but authorities remain tight-lipped about the details.
Township officials on Tuesday issued a statement saying the township supervisor’s office is “fully cooperating with the investigation into the road district commissioner.” But due to the nature and stage of the investigation, they said they will not release any further information. […]
“Mr. Czernek is really a wonderful man who has spent his life helping the township of Bloomingdale,” attorney Michael Monico said.
Monico declined to comment further but said he may have more to say on Thursday.
* Tribune…
After serving more than her four-year term [as chair of the Cook County Board of Ethics], Margaret “Peggy” Daley is being asked to leave the volunteer role, she said in an email. Although Daley’s term officially expired in July, her transition came as a surprise and she only learned she was being replaced through an email she was sent on Tuesday, she said. […]
The turnover comes just as the ethics board is expected to vote on proposed changes to the County Code of Ethics despite objections from Preckwinkle’s office.
In a letter, an attorney representing the president’s office asked the board to delay voting on the proposed changes, which have not yet been made public. But the board decided to move forward anyway, officials said.
The personnel change also comes about a year after it was revealed that Daley and two other board members donated to Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s campaign when she was competing with Preckwinkle for the city’s top seat.
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Scammers allegedly spoofing ISP phone numbers
Thursday, Jan 23, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Press release…
Illinois State Police (ISP) officials have received multiple calls from the public concerning suspected scam calls. Various ISP districts throughout the state have received reports from citizens stating they have received calls from individuals with a foreign accent claiming to be members of the Illinois State Police seeking their personal information. It has also been reported the callers claim there is some police matter that needs to be resolved which requires the would-be-victims’ personal information (full name, date of birth, social security number, etc.). Concerned citizens have also reported the telephone number where the call originated, matched the ISP District telephone number.
This type of scam is a common technique known as “spoofing.” Spoofing occurs when a telephone number is manipulated and disguised to look like an alternate telephone number of a person’s choosing. Usually the number is disguised to match the telephone number of a government agency that would typically gather personal information in the performance of their duties.
A few factors to consider:
· Always ask the caller to identify himself/herself by name.
· If an ISP Trooper needs to collect personal information from you, they will usually collect the information during an in-person interview.
· Although there are certainly times when an incident will require a follow up telephone call by an ISP Trooper to gather additional information, e.g. a traffic crash investigation, an ISP Trooper will never ask for your social security number over the phone. The Trooper will also have knowledge of the incident you were involved in and your specific role in that incident.
· Scammers can be very aggressive in their techniques. One of their most common used techniques is to create a sense of urgency and fear in their potential victims in order to gain their personal information.
· If you receive a call from and ISP Trooper claiming to be calling from an ISP District, request the name of the caller and advise the caller you will call them back. Look up the ISP District phone number they claim to be calling from, then call the number and ask to speak to the Trooper whose name you were given. If there is not a Trooper by that name, please advise the call taker of the incident that just occurred. ISP District telephone numbers can be found on the ISP website: www.isp.state.il.us
An older relative of mine was recently harangued into giving up his Social Security Number by a nasty scammer claiming to be from the IRS. What a mess that is.
I installed the Hiya app and it’s helped weed out some scam calls. But spoofing actual ISP phone numbers is a new one on me and I imagine Hiya would confirm the call is from the police. I shudder to think.
The phone companies and Google and everyone else involved really need to step up their games. No excuse for allowing or enabling this stuff.
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Question of the day
Thursday, Jan 23, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Sun-Times’ candidate questionnaire asks a couple of unusual questions. Here’s one question with the response from Chicago-based House candidate Nidia Carranza…
What’s your favorite TV, streaming or web-based show of all time. Why?
Breaking Bad: The story of what happens when a teacher has poor healthcare and not a big enough salary to afford paying medical bills after an unexpected illness. A problem I can relate to, though my solution is a little less drastic - running for public office!
Um. OK. Also, did the CTU not negotiate a decent healthcare benefits package? (Hat tip: Hillman.)
* But here’s the question we’ll be concerned with today. Same respondent…
What historical figure from Illinois, other than Abraham Lincoln (because everybody’s big on Abe), do you most admire or draw inspiration from? Please explain.
Mother Jones: One of the first women to lead organized labor in this country, Mother Jones helped make Illinois the birthplace of rank-and-file organizing. She understood that justice for working families depended on fair working conditions, and was willing to fight powerful corporate interests - often putting her body on the line - in order to bring attention to the issues. I am proud of the legacy Illinois and Chicago has built around union organizing, and we would not be where we are today without her.
Mother Jones’ grave in Union Miners Cemetery is Mt. Olive’s only tourist attraction. Mt. Olive is about 50 miles south of Springfield, so if she wins her Democratic primary against appointed Rep. Eva Dina Delgado (D-Chicago) and Joaquin Vazquez, it’s an easy drive.
Anyway…
* The Question: What historical figure from Illinois, other than former presidents, do you most admire or draw inspiration from? Please explain.
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Another Lincoln “artifact” called into question
Thursday, Jan 23, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* We all know by now that the dubious Lincoln stovepipe hat was part of the $23 million purchase of the Louise Taper Lincoln “collection.” There’s another, less-known issue with that collection. A clock that was alleged to have been in Lincoln’s law office. Bruce Rushton at the Illinois Times did a bit of digging…
The most solid proof appears to be a 1968 affidavit prepared by James Hickey, the same fellow who sold the hat to former foundation board member Louise Taper, who sold the hat, the clock, the fan and more than 1,000 other artifacts to the foundation. According to the affidavit, Hickey in 1967 bought three clocks from a descendant of William Herndon, Lincoln’s law partner. The affidavit, also signed by the seller, contains little detail: “3 clocks, property of William H. Herndon and used by him in his home and law office of Lincoln & Herndon.” That’s it – no physical descriptions, photographs or word on which clock, or clocks, were in Herndon’s office as opposed to his house, or when.
The clock in question is neither rare nor, when it was manufactured, expensive. Thousands were made in Connecticut. Despite its commonness and a paucity of provenance particulars in ALPLM files, former Lincoln curator James Cornelius, fired in 2018 for insubordination, told a cool story in 2011, when the clock was named Artifact of the Month by the museum. The foundation issued a press release. “Lincoln sometimes took his bumptious boys along when he played chess in his office on Sundays, to give Mary a rest,” the press release reads. ” ‘It seems that one of the boys rubbed off some of the artwork on the glass front of the clock,’ said Cornelius.”
Here’s what he says now.
“I learned, after the 2011 article, that the application of those decorations on the glass was done with a chemical that had naturally flaked off over time,” Cornelius says in a voicemail. He also says that the clock in question was made in England, given a depiction of Westminster Abbey on the front. However, ALPLM files, and a Google search, show that thousands of such clocks were manufactured in Connecticut. “There isn’t much dispute to its provenance, as far as I know,” Cornelius says. “It had an owner or two before Louise Taper got it.”
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It’s just a bill
Thursday, Jan 23, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Press release…
State Representative Stephanie Kifowit (D-Oswego), the only US Marine Corps female Veteran in the IL House of Representatives, has filed legislation that will mandate Memorial Day be recognized in the Illinois House of Representatives. House Bill 4214 and its companion House Resolution 671, amends the General Assembly Operations Act and creates a new House Rule 9.5 to mandate that the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall not convene the House of Representatives in regular of perfunctory session after 4:00 pm on the day before Memorial Day or before 4:00 pm on Memorial Day. It further mandates that the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall include in the business on the Daily Calendar for the House of Representatives for that session a remembrance ceremony for Memorial Day.
“For many years, I have been forced to be absent from my seat on the Illinois House Floor in order to honor the men and women who lost their lives in service to our country in cemetery visits the morning of Memorial Day. It is time for all members of the Illinois House of Representatives to be able to be in their hometowns and to honor those who gave so much” states Kifowit. “The Illinois House of Representatives should recognize that nothing is more important than honoring those that have lost their lives in defense of our freedom and liberties”.
“The Department of Illinois Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) supports this legislation, which aims to shut down session for a 24-hour period to allow Illinois lawmakers time to convene with the Veterans in their home districts, and to pay tribute and high honor to the Veterans whose lives were lost in combat operations on behalf of a grateful nation” stated Jay Hoffman, Legislative Director of the Department of Illinois Veterans of Foreign Wars. “This would allow our legislators the ability to briefly break from the business of state government to reflect and respect the reason why we are able to have duly elected officials that are able to conduct state business, and that reason is our Veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice”.
Memorial Day, originally Decoration Day, was a day to honor union soldiers who had died in the Civil war. After WWI, it was expanded to honor all men and women who died in any war or military action. WWII, it was formally renamed Memorial Day and was designated in 1971 to be observed on the last Monday in May.
“On this one day of the year, we are to collectively pause in remembrance of the supreme sacrifice made by ordinary Americans in service to our Nation” writes Denise Williams, President, Department of Illinois American Gold Star Mothers, Inc. Proud mother of PFC Andrew Meari, KIA 11/01/10 Afghanistan. “This is a day of somber reflection of their gift to us all, and of joyous appreciation of what they have secured for us with the most selfless sacrifice”.
There is no record of a remembrance ceremony for the fallen service members in the Illinois House of Representatives and committees began meeting at 9:00 am on Memorial Day for 2019. The Illinois State Senate does not indicate Memorial Day as a session day on their calendar for 2020.
This became an issue when the spring session was shortened to the end of May, from the previous end of June deadline. It’s another example of an unintended consequence from a well-meaning change. This year’s Memorial Day is May 25th, so session may not be needed unless they find themselves with a bigtime crunch issue like they did last May.
* WBEZ…
A state lawmaker wants to restrict who can access I-Pass information on drivers who use the pass on the Illinois Tollway.
Last year, WBEZ reported that the Illinois Tollway is regularly subpoenaed by law enforcement agencies and even divorce attorneys for an individual customer’s I-Pass data.
In one troubling instance, the Tollway turned over a customer’s travel information, cell phone number, email address and vehicle information to her ex-boyfriend whom she felt was stalking her. The woman had a restraining order against the man at the time he was able to obtain her personal information by filing a subpoena to the Illinois Tollway for her I-Pass records. The practice raised concerns from privacy advocates.
State Rep. Margo McDermed, R-Mokena, recently introduced a bill that would prohibit the Tollway from releasing such information via subpoena in civil cases — whether it’s for use in a divorce case, a car accident lawsuit or to potentially stalk someone. McDermed’s bill would also require law enforcement to first obtain a warrant from a judge before asking the Tollway to release someone’s I-Pass records.
From her press release…
Rep. McDermed’s legislation, House Bill 4006, would prohibit the Tollway from releasing personally identifiable information, except to a law enforcement agency with a search warrant. The Tollway must notify a person within 5 days that their information has been obtained and must provide them with the name of the law enforcement agency and a copy of the search warrant.
That notification could be a problem.
* Center Square…
An Illinois lawmaker wants to realign Illinois’ tax on inheritance to federal thresholds, something long sought by family farmers.
Currently, Illinois imposes an estate tax, sometimes called a “death tax,” of up to 16 percent. Combined with a top federal rate of 40 percent, some heirs face a tax of up to 56 percent, but the federal estate tax kicks in at just under $12 million while Illinois’ estate tax applies to any inherited value above $4 million.
That’s why state Rep. Mike Murphy said he wants to bring Illinois back to using the same estate value threshold as the federal government.
“The estate tax is one of the reasons we’re losing the family farm,” he said.
Farm families, if they haven’t spent the money on an estate tax attorney, can be forced to sell off a portion of the family farm or take out loans to pay off an estate tax bill. A 500-acre farm valued at $10,000 an acre would, according to the Illinois Attorney General’s calculator, pay an estimated $285,714 in taxes to the state. Because inherited farms often come with other assets such as farm implements and structures that all carry value, the effect would be greater or be triggered at a lower acreage. The average land price for high-productivity soil is more than 10,000 per acre in central Illinois, according to the Illinois Farm Bureau.
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Another first in a newly legalized business
Thursday, Jan 23, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Tribune…
A Springfield marijuana dispensary is the first in the state to get approval to open a spot for people to smoke weed.
Illinois Supply and Provisions plans to connect the space to its marijuana shop in downtown Springfield. The company is still working on the concept and has not set an opening date.
“It’s going to be more than just a big open room where people can smoke cannabis,” said spokesman Chris McCloud. “It’s going to be well done, it’s going to be tastefully done, and it’s going to be an experience.”
Springfield’s city council approved the company’s request Monday night to open the space.
* SJ-R…
Chris Stone, a policy advisor for HCI’s parent company, Ascend Wellness, said on-site consumption could be ready as soon as April. He said the hope is for the operation to serve as a model for future lounges across the state, though acknowledged that it’s very much a “beta test” since the concept has never been tried before in Illinois.
“It’s uncharted territory right now as to what we’re doing, so we’re trying to figure that out and hopefully we can figure that out in the next three to four months and, once again, develop the model by which other lounges are going to be looking to do the same thing,” Stone said.
The state law, which gave people 21 and older the ability to legally possess, use and buy recreational cannabis in Illinois on Jan. 1, also allows on-site consumption at dispensaries, though it also gives municipalities the right to ban on-site consumption. […]
“I think having this lounge there gives people who want to smoke still, which I don’t how many people even do that anymore, but gives them an opportunity to consume what is a legal product in the state of Illinois,” said Ward 8 Ald. Erin Conley, who noted that it could be a prime location for downtown hotel guests to consume the product.
Yep. It’s easy walking distance to the two big downtown hotels and several popular restaurants and taverns.
* A photo from Google Maps…
It has a four-story atrium.
* Related…
* A Tale Of Two Markets: How Illinois Succeeded In Rollout Of Adult-Use Cannabis And Why Massachusetts Floundered
* Weeks into legal marijuana, some south suburban police departments have ‘more questions than answers’ on enforcement: The Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police contends that someone 21 or older who is simply walking around with a plastic bag of pot, provided it’s an ounce or less, is in the clear.
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* AP…
At least three of 16 Illinois residents who cast ballots after being mistakenly registered to vote are U.S. citizens after all, election officials said Wednesday in assessing the damage caused by an error in the state’s automatic voter registration system.
Secretary of State Jesse White’s office, a key player in the system because it oversees driver’s licenses, said the data of 574 people who self-identified as noncitizens was mistakenly forwarded to elections officials to be registered to vote. Election officials said 545 of them were registered and 16 voted in 2018 and 2019 elections.
While those who checked a box on an electronic pad indicating they weren’t U.S. citizens should never have been registered, it turned out at least three from central Illinois counties are citizens. State Board of Elections spokesman Matt Dietrich said it appeared another two — who have long voting histories — were also likely citizens. Elections officials suggested one explanation was that the registrants may have been confused during the process.
Or it was simple (and predictable) human error. We now know that at least some folks who checked a box saying they weren’t citizens made a mistake. These things are actually guaranteed to happen on occasion because the process involves human beings. They can be minimized but never eliminated.
That doesn’t excuse the SoS computer glitch, however. And it doesn’t forgive the people who knew what was going on a month ago and failed to inform the public. That deliberate silence only further undermines their credibility.
…Adding… This all would’ve been long cleared up by now if they had simply disclosed the error and began working to figure out who was accidentally registered and who voted a month ago…
There is no excuse for this delay.
*** UPDATE *** The House Executive Committee has just posted a subject matter hearing on the AVR glitch. The hearing will be held next Thursday, January 30th at 9 o’clock in the morning.
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* What Harmon is doing is the opposite of what usually happens in this state when legislators advance to the top of the food chain. Here’s Amanda Vinicky…
At a time when leading legislators’ private side jobs are increasingly under scrutiny, newly elevated state Senate President Don Harmon will step down as a partner at the law firm Burke Burns & Pinelli, Ltd. to focus full-time on his new leadership position.
Harmon told “Chicago Tonight” on Wednesday he met with the firm’s founding partner Mary Patricia Burns on Tuesday to discuss his exit.
“We began the discussion of me stepping away from the practice in order to devote more time to the Senate presidency,” said Harmon, a Democrat who represents Illinois’ 39th District, which covers parts of Oak Park. “We’re working out all those details but I’ve recognized that I just don’t have the time capacity to be a good senate president and to practice law the way I practiced it.”
…Adding… Sun-Times…
“I was very careful to manage the conflicts, and my firm was incredibly committed to making sure I had the chance to maintain my integrity,” Harmon told WTTW. “The simple fact of the matter is I just don’t have the time to be a good Senate president and live up to my responsibilities to my partners and my clients.”
Mary Pat Burns, the majority owner of the firm, said in an emailed statement that she and Harmon agreed he could “best serve Illinois by devoting all of his time to his new role in the Senate.”
“It’s been wonderful to practice law with him at Burke Burns & Pinelli for the last 15 years,” she said. “And I take pride in knowing that a WBE firm played such a central role in the life of the new President of the Illinois Senate.”
The headline of that article was nonsense, by the way. “Illinois Senate President Don Harmon ‘stepping away’ from law firm job amid conflict of interest scrutiny.” Somebody does the right thing for a change and that’s the response? Yeah, that’ll encourage more of this sort of behavior.
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* Rep. Chris Welch chairs the House Executive Committee…
As any mistakes affecting voter registration are very serious, I am calling representatives from the Secretary of State’s office to come before the House Executive Committee next week in order to provide legislators with answers on how this occurred and clarify what steps are being taken to ensure it will never happen again. The Secretary’s office has pledged full and transparent cooperation with lawmakers on this issue.
While we’ve seen Republican-led efforts in states like Wisconsin and Georgia that would suppress voter turnout—particularly among minority voters—in Illinois, Republicans and Democrats have worked together to ensure that all who are legally eligible can exercise their right to vote. Now we will work together again to ensure the automatic voter registration system is properly implemented.”
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Question of the day
Wednesday, Jan 22, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Greg Hinz…
Hoping to nail shut a door that former Gov. Bruce Rauner tried to pry open, a major state labor group is moving to put Illinois permanently off limits to efforts to ban so-called union shops in the state.
The move is being led by International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150, a large, well-funded building-trades group with considerable influence on both sides of the aisle in Springfield.
IUOE specifically wants the Legislature this spring to approve—and send to voters for final action on the November ballot—a proposed constitutional amendment banning right-to-work laws in the state. While political conservatives strongly favor such laws, arguing that workers should not be required to join a union and/or pay dues as a condition of employment, labor groups assert right-to-work laws are an effort to disempower working people. […]
“Lawmakers need to focus on policies that grow jobs and investment in Illinois, not drive employers away,” IMA President Mark Denzler said in a statement.
And, as Greg notes, it could help drive turnout, which might help the governor’s graduated income tax proposal.
* The Question: Should Illinois amend its constitution to ban so-called “right to work” laws? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please…
survey solutions
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Pritzker favors hearings after AVR “glitch”
Wednesday, Jan 22, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Press conference today…
* Gov. JB Pritzker said today that he supports legislative hearings into what went wrong at the secretary of state’s office and what has actually been done to fix it and prevent it from happening again. But he was also asked by a reporter if he had “ordered them to put [AVR] on hold?” The reporter didn’t specify who “them” would be. Pritzker’s response…
I don’t have the legal ability to order them to put it on hold.
Yep.
That may be a question for the secretary of state, but he’s under a statutory mandate to operate the program and he claims the glitch was fixed a month ago.
The problem I have today is the lack of transparency from the SoS, the Board of Elections and the local election authorities who all knew about this “glitch” and didn’t speak up. Were they never going to tell us about it?
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* Daily Herald…
Federal investigators are looking into the actions of Bloomingdale Township Highway Commissioner Robert Czernek, township officials confirmed Tuesday, but they remained mum about exactly what the probe entails.
Township Supervisor Michael Hovde issued a one-sentence statement saying, “The township supervisor’s office is fully cooperating with the investigation into the road district commissioner and due to the nature and stage of the investigation, no further information can be released at this time.”
Hovde would not say if federal authorities were in any township offices on Tuesday. He said officials plan to say more Wednesday.
The FBI told ABC 7 it conducted court-authorized law enforcement activities in the Bloomingdale area, but was not specific.
I’ll let you know if there are any updates.
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City claims it now has more magic money
Wednesday, Jan 22, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Greg Hinz…
Due to some highly advantageous market conditions, a big refinancing of $1.5 billion in city debt last week will end up saving the city an extra $100 million in finance costs in coming years, according to Chief Financial Officer Jeannie Huang Bennett.
All the savings on debt that in some cases will extend for decades will be booked in 2021, Bennett said.
Though some would prefer that income be spread over the term of the debt rather than taken in a lump sum upfront, there’s no question the windfall will give Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration a big leg up when it moves late this year to fill what undoubtedly will be large pension-related holes in the mayor’s 2021 budget.
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It’s just a bill
Wednesday, Jan 22, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Cabello is a police officer…
State Rep. John Cabello, R-Machesney Park, has filed a bill to require all elected officials in the state to wear a body camera while conducting public business.
“Let’s look at some of the headlines throughout the last few months,” Cabello said. “All we hear about is corruption with certain lawmakers. And tell me, if they had a body camera on, do you think this would have happened?”
Cabello said he was inspired by another recent public policy push under discussion in Springfield.
“It came about with the uproar of law enforcement must have a body cam,” Cabello said, “the folks that want law enforcement to wear a body cam from the time they start work until the time they end work. You know what, if it’s good enough for law enforcement, then it’s good enough for elected officials as well.” […]
“I’d be more likely to win the lottery than have these bills see the light of day, but we’re still going to try,” Cabello said.
* Another bill that probably ain’t gonna pass…
A bill filed in Springfield could allow local libraries to get a cut of the taxes on recreational cannabis sales, but it would come at the potential expense of county-level taxes.
House Bill 4135 would allow the state’s more than 600 libraries to impose a 1 percent tax on recreational cannabis sales in their jurisdictions.
State Rep. Dan Didech, D-Buffalo Grove, said the idea for his legislation came from a conversation with a local library official. […]
In exchange for the 1 percent tax, the county that the library is in would be limited to taxing cannabis sales in the library district at up to 2 percent. Under existing law, counties can tax local recreational cannabis sales up to 3 percent. Didech’s bill would essentially redirect 1 percent of that to libraries.
* If I was your king, I’d consider doing this, but I’m not and it’s not happening…
Saying they have years, and, in some cases, decades of experience selling marijuana, a group of black citizens say they cannot wait on delayed government bureaucracy to establish policy for them to land jobs in the lucrative new legalized cannabis industry. They need and want jobs now.
The men and women, some ex-felons, have turned to Tio “Mr. Ceasefire” Hardiman, executive director of Violence Interrupters, to assist them in their quest to secure permits, just like food vendors, to distribute and sell marijuana legally in their neighborhoods. For those who have felonies from illegal drug sales, they are requesting that Governor J.B. Pritzker clears the road for amnesty as soon as possible.
Hardiman and those seeking permits and amnesty will hold a rally and press conference outside The Herbal Care Center, 1301 S. Western Ave., on Wednesday, January 22, 2020, at 10:30 AM, calling on Governor Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot to assist them in getting permits.
* This one, though, is a pretty good bet…
Within the Capitol Complex are reserved parking spaces for electric vehicles and disabled drivers, but Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, wants to add reserved spots for women expecting birth and parents with a newborn child.
Parents would not need a permit to hang from their interior mirror. Rather, Stuart assumes that people, “in the good nature of human beings wouldn’t take advantage of something like this.”
“A lot of these exist outside grocery stores and doctors’ offices and other buildings where people who, for whatever reason in their pregnancy, maybe need to park a little closer to access the buildings,” Stuart said. “A lot of times it’s a safety consideration, making sure that if something happens inside the building, they can get to their own vehicle quickly enough.” […]
“It’s a concept that we think is a very good idea,” said Dave Druker, a spokesman for White’s office. “It’s something we would like very much to work with Rep. Stuart on and some of the other governmental agencies involved.”
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* Golden Horseshoe winner…
* Zooming in…
Discuss.
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Southern Illinois gets Pritzker focus
Wednesday, Jan 22, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Setting the stage…
The Illinois Senate on Sunday confirmed Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s appointees to the Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees.
In March, Prizker appointed Edgar Curtis, Ed Hightower, Subhash Sharma, John Simmons and Roger Tedrick. They have been serving as board members since then, pending Senate confirmation.
The appointees were confirmed with no dissenting votes on a legislative day dominated by the selection of a new Senate president.
* And then the governor traveled to the region for a National Guard ceremony…
Pam Maxey, of Texico, had tears streaming down her face as she embraced her son, Spec. Drake Hess, on Tuesday afternoon in Banterra Center at Southern Illinois University Carbondale during a mobilization ceremony for Illinois National Guard soldiers with the 2nd Battalion, 130th Infantry Regiment, headquartered in Marion. […]
The soldiers are being mobilized in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel and will deploy to the U.S. Central Command Area of Responsibility in spring 2020 after they complete additional training at Fort Bliss in Texas. […]
During the ceremony, state and military officials spoke, including Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Brig. Gen. Richard Neely, adjutant general; Maj. Gen. Michael Zerbonia, assistant adjutant general; and Lt. Col. Greg Settle, battalion commander. […]
“You have all the strength of the people of Illinois standing with you,” Pritzker said. “Godspeed, soldiers.”
More on that operation here.
* And he wrapped it up with a media-friendly project announcement…
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the release of $8.3 million in funding to SIUC for renovations to the communications building at a press conference while visiting campus Tuesday.
The communications building is currently home to multiple programs at the university, including journalism, radio/television/digital media, cinema and photography, communications studies and theatre.
There were plans in place to renovate the communications building in 2015, but the process was stalled due to the lack of a state budget for the [next] two years.
During the press conference, Pritzker mentioned all the upgrades the new facility will have, including updated equipment, better auditorium space, media labs, digital post-production suites and a combined broadcast-print newsroom.
“Students who learn in this facility won’t just be prepared to meet the needs of the media industry of the future,” Pritzker said. “They’ll be prepared to lead it in its next phase.”
* More…
Mackenzie Rosario is a junior at SIU. She won’t get to benefit from that major upgrade on the Carbondale campus, but she’s excited about what it could mean to future students.
“SIU is a very special school that a lot of people just don’t know about. So maybe if we have an up to date facility and a lot of students can come and actually check out what we have. They’ll decide to come, and hopefully, it will help them in their careers,” Rosario said.
The communications building was built in 1964. […]
Local representatives from both sides of the political aisle say the governor’s visit shows the needs of the region are not going unnoticed.
“Exciting day for SIU and the people of southern Illinois. To see the state of Illinois sees the needs of the university of SIU and the people of southern Illinois. So it is an exciting day for us,” said Representative Dave Severin (R-117th District).
* Heh…
Republican State Senator Dale Fowler of Harrisburg said at a recent lunch with members of the SIU Foundation, the group produced a new phrase to highlight the great things happening at SIU-Carbondale.
“Somebody said, ‘absolutely!’ But, we came up with a new name, AbSaluki! So, we’re going to start using that every now and then if that’s alright.”
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Advocates push for CEJA, Chamber pushes back
Wednesday, Jan 22, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Ted Cox at One Illinois…
Lead sponsors of the Clean Energy Jobs Act touted the measure Tuesday as a way to halt an $846 million hike in Illinois electricity rates brought on by the Trump administration as “a massive bailout of the fossil-fuel industry.”
At a news conference at the Thompson Center, state Rep. Ann Williams of Chicago blamed two appointees of President Trump for a ruling last month by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that would potentially force Illinois to pay $846 million more for coal-powered energy rather than invest in its own renewable energy sources.
Pointing out that “market forces” had already prompted the announced closure of four Illinois coal-powered energy plants last year, Williams said, “It makes no sense to pay these dirty, out-of-date plants millions and millions of dollars a year when we could be developing a renewable-energy future right here in Illinois.”
Basically, the Trump appointees backed a proposal that would force Illinois to buy its energy through a federal market auction that has been weighted to prioritize fossil fuels. One of the key proposals of CEJA, Williams pointed out, is that it would assign the Illinois Power Agency the duty to buy energy to fill the capacity for Illinois consumers, independent of that federal auction. If passed, she added, the act would also set an “ironclad” reduction of 5 percent in electricity rates.
* Jerry Nowicki at Capitol News Illinois..
Illinois is part of the federally regulated PJM grid, which purchases capacity from electricity generators on behalf of all or portions of 13 states and Washington, D.C., at an auction every year.
Capacity procurement is not the purchase of actual energy, but the guarantee that the generator will be able to supply a certain amount of energy at any time — especially during the grid’s highest usage times — over a specified period of time. Customers pay for these capacity costs through the supply charge on their electric bills.
On Dec. 19, FERC voted 2-1 to change the PJM rules regarding the minimum offer price a generator can bid, noting in a news release the action was taken to “address the impact of state subsidies on the wholesale capacity market.” […]
The Clean Energy Jobs Coalition also said the ruling “directly undermines” Illinois’ 2016 passage of the Future Energy Jobs Act, which created renewable energy credits and zero emissions credits for wind, solar and nuclear power generators.
* Dan Petrella at the Tribune…
The state’s last major overhaul of energy policy — the Future Energy Jobs Act in 2016 — was the result of long negotiations and compromise among ComEd and Exelon, environmental groups, consumer advocates and others. The law subsidizes a pair of Exelon’s Illinois nuclear plants while also investing in solar and wind power.
With the federal investigation of ComEd looming, it’s unclear what lawmakers’ appetite will be for taking on major energy legislation this spring. But Williams and Castro said they want to move ahead, regardless of what happens with the federal probe.
“ComEd has to provide power — that’s how we get our power. The generation that Exelon provides is necessary to turn the lights on,” Williams said. “But in terms of setting the foundation and laying the groundwork and establishing how we want our future to look, our renewable energy future in Illinois, I don’t think they are going to be part of that broader conversation.”
* Illinois Chamber…
It’s disingenuous for Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA) advocates to claim with any certainty that the decision from federal energy regulators on the operation of a regional electricity market that impacts northern Illinois will significantly raise electricity rates on consumers. That true impact is still unknown and the figures being used today have been refuted. CEJA advocates should stop trying to panic the Legislature and Governor into action. We should not risk electric reliability and unnecessarily increase costs on Illinois consumers before this process plays out and we fully understand the impact on electricity prices and the competitive market.
What we do know is the passage of CEJA would result in significant increases in electricity bills for Illinois residents and businesses. CEJA’s 600-plus pages include a host of unfunded initiatives that lack budgets or cost caps. Not to mention, the bill’s solution to modify how Illinois acquires “capacity” – the issue at the center of calls to pass CEJA – could spike northern Illinois electricity prices by $414 million annually. This is not a choice between seeking lower emissions and keeping costs down. Both are necessary, achievable, and proven through innovation and competition.
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* Bernie…
Politicians from both major parties sought assurances Tuesday that there would be no repeat of a programming error in the Illinois secretary of state’s office that yielded more than 500 possible non-U.S. citizens being inadvertently registered to vote.
Of those people, registered under an automatic voter registration system for people who apply for driver’s licenses or state identification cards, 16 ended up voting, including one who voted in three elections and another who voted in two, according to State Board of Elections spokesman Matt Dietrich. Combined, 19 ballots were cast statewide in the general election of 2018, the consolidated primary of spring 2019 and the consolidated election of spring 2019. None of the votes were cast in Sangamon County, where the one registration that resulted from the glitch has been suspended.
Secretary of State Jesse White’s office discovered last month that between July 2, 2018, and Dec. 13, 2019, registration information of 574 people was “improperly forwarded” to local election authorities to be registered, even though those people had indicated while at secretary of state facilities that they were not citizens. That yielded a call Monday from some House Republicans for a legislative hearing, and that was echoed Tuesday by Democratic state Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, who sponsored the automatic registration bill, which was signed into law by GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner in August 2017.
* Mark Maxwell at WCIA…
In at least once case, a voter who checked a box to declare they were not an American citizen appears to have done so in error. The Macon County Clerk’s Office confirmed that voter has a Social Security number and has previously attested they are an American citizen. The State Board of Elections says that individual has voted in multiple elections dating back to 1988. […]
The Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider called for a temporary suspension of the automatic voter registration program because it “compromises the integrity of our entire election system.”
“Mistakes are made, but when it comes to voting, it simply is inexcusable that non-citizens voted in Illinois and potentially affected the outcome of elections across the state,” Schneider said. “Those in the Secretary of State’s Office who allowed this to happen should be terminated from their employment with the State. Public hearings in the General Assembly should commence immediately, and the AVR program should be temporarily suspended until we get answers.”
* Jamie Munks at the Tribune…
Those who were inadvertently registered received a Dec. 20 letter from the secretary of state’s office telling them, “The Secretary of State’s Office made the mistake in this matter, not you.”
The letter tells the people if they have received a voter registration card they should destroy it or return it to the election authority that issued it.
“Most importantly, you should not vote in any elections,” the letter states.
Pritzker said securing elections is a priority for his administration and “we want to fully investigate.”
* Hannah Meisel at the Daily Line…
The Just Democracy Coalition, which includes organizations that pushed for the law in both 2016 — when Rauner ultimately vetoed the bill that first passed the General Assembly — and for the 2017 version that became law, put blame on the Secretary of State’s office Tuesday, calling the possibility that those who voted may be arrested and deported “sickeningly real.”
“Let’s be clear: Automatic Voter Registration or AVR isn’t the problem — the Secretary of State’s office is the problem,” the coalition said in a statement. “The agency’s massively delayed and error-riddled implementation of AVR has undermined the law’s intended purpose to make Illinois’ voting rolls more fair, accurate, and secure — a mission shared by lawmakers of both parties who passed AVR on a bipartisan and unanimous basis in 2017.”
The coalition has repeatedly criticized the Secretary of State’s efforts to implement the automatic voter registration program during the past two years. White’s office blamed old technology for missed deadlines as his office also began issuing identification cards and drivers’ licenses that meet federal standards in March. […]
Lawrence Benito, the CEO and executive director of Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights — a key member of the coalition that pushed for automatic voter registration, characterized the Secretary of State’s office’s actions as a “careless and needless set of circumstances has put so many of our neighbors at risk.”
“The Secretary of State’s office has largely declined to take up our repeated offers to improve AVR implementation through direct assistance, community forums, and outside expertise,” Benito said in a statement Tuesday.
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* Brian Mackey at Illinois Public Radio…
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s personal lawyers are seeking to keep him from having to sit for a deposition in a racial discrimination lawsuit against his campaign.
The lawsuit accuses Pritzker’s campaign organization of sidelining minority workers.
Pritzker has denied wrongdoing, and in a court filing, says he delegated day-to-day campaign operations to staff.
Indeed, the governor was dismissed from the case months ago, and his lawyers say defendants just want to question Pritzker in order to “pull him back into litigation.”
The filing is here.
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