* Tomorrow is a state holiday, so I’m shutting the blog down for a day. Until then, here’s an 1860 campaign song written for the person we’re honoring tomorrow…
Our David’s good sling is unerring,
The Slaveocrats’ giant he slew;
Then shout for the Freedom-preferring—
For Lincoln and Liberty too!
Argosy Casino in Alton has announced it will be opening its new sportsbook in March and is planning to open in time for the NCAA ‘March Madness’ basketball tournament later that month.
The sportsbook is set to feature more than 25 big screen TV’s with betting windows and self-service kiosks.
Argosy will host a job fair on Wednesday, February 12 from 3-6 p.m. at the casino to hire additional staff for the new addition.
“We are excited to be the first to introduce sports betting to the region,” Steve Peate, Argosy Casino Alton Vice President and General Manager said. “Our all new Sportsbook integrated with our Hops House Restaurant & Bar will provide a unique experience for our guests to dine, bet and enjoy all the action.”
Rivers Casino is also gearing up.
* The Question: Do you bet on sports, and, if so, why? If not, why not?
Illinoisans give public schools a poor grade, according to the Illinois Education Association’s second annual State of Education report released Tuesday.
A poll of 1,000 Illinoisans gave public schools a grade “C-,” though more than half of respondents would give their local public schools an “A” or “B” grade.
That’s almost always the case. Schools or whatever are much better where you live than other places.
More than half of those polled indicated that teachers are paid too little despite changes made to make the teaching profession more attractive, including enacting the $40,000 minimum salary law. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation in August upping the pay for teachers, reaching the $40,000 mark by the 2023-24 school year.
Many respondents would not advise family members to become teachers. Illinois’ education job bank Tuesday showed some 2,563 openings.
Despite the propaganda, people generally like and respect teachers.
* Press release excerpt…
Seventy-one percent of Illinois residents believe funding for our schools should increase. More than 80 percent of the public believes our education support staff, like paraprofessionals and classroom aides, are paid too little. […]
The poll, conducted by Normington-Petts and We Ask America, surveyed 1,000 Illinoisans between Nov. 13 and 21. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percent with 95 percent confidence.
“This poll is the only bi-partisan look at the state of public schools in Illinois. We sampled people from all across the state and from many different communities. It’s clear that what unites Illinoisans is the importance of having quality public schools for all Illinois children,” Normington-Petts’ Jill Normington said.
“We worked collaboratively to make sure this poll was done without bias, so we could truly get an honest look at the state of education in Illinois,” We Ask America’s Andrew Weissert said.
Please keep that Weissert quote in mind as you read this post. I would’ve written this post a lot differently if it had not been for the way the poll was constructed.
* Respondents were then asked to rate how important each one of these priorities was to them on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most important. Here are the percentages of those who rated them a 10, followed by the percentages of those who rated them an 8, 9 or 10…
Having high quality public schools 59% … 81%
Cleaning up corruption in state government 69% … 85%
Lowering taxes 52% … 68%
Reforming the state pension systems 35% … 53%
Balancing the state budget 51% … 77%
Reducing crime 58% … 77%
The corruption message is really hitting home big-time, and I gotta bet it’s even higher now because the poll was taken last November. A whole lot of stuff has happened since then. Also, any issue polling in the 80s can really move numbers in a campaign, so legislators need to beware. Pension reform? Not so much. It finished last in the priorities list.
As you may know, teachers in Illinois do not pay into and therefore do not collect Social Security when they retire. Do you think that Illinois teachers should receive their full pension, see their pensions cut some or see their pensions eliminated?
FULL PENSION 75%
CUT SOME 11%
ELIMINATED 6%
(DON’T KNOW) 9%
Right now, teachers hired after the year 2011 in Illinois must work in a classroom until age 67 in order to be eligible to receive their pensions, no matter how many years they have been teaching. Do you strongly oppose, somewhat oppose, somewhat support or strongly support recently hired teachers being able to receive their pensions at age 60 instead of waiting until 67?
STRONGLY OPPOSE 19%
SOMEWHAT OPPOSE 14%
SOMEWHAT SUPPORT 24%
STRONGLY SUPPORT 38%
(DON’T KNOW) 6%
Even with more tax revenue in hand, Illinois’ financial position deteriorated in the last fiscal year due to spending growth and a rising pension tab [according to an “interim comprehensive annual financial report” published by Comptroller Mendoza]. […]
The state’s net position based on governmental activities which takes into account long-term liabilities and assets worsened to a negative net position of $193.1 billion for fiscal 2019 ending last June 30, from a negative $189.1 billion for fiscal 2018.
Over time, increases and decreases in net position measure whether the state’s financial position is improving or deteriorating and the figure provides a more sweeping view of state assets and obligations because it counts liabilities such as bonded debt and pension obligations against assets such as cash, investments, and other state holdings.
At $4 billion, the erosion was less than the $6 billion recorded in the previous year. […]
“The bleeding has slowed but we are still bleeding,” said Richard Ciccarone, the Illinois-based president of Merritt Research Services, which tracks audit timing.
Thomas was up for a retention election this year, but now his replacement, Michael J. Burke will serve a term that expires in 2022, when an election for a full ten-year term will be held. Thomas nominated Burke to be his replacement, and the court approved the choice, said Chris Bonjean, a spokesman for the Illinois Supreme Court.
For local Republicans, the timing of Thomas’ retirement is not ideal. Marty Keller, chairman of the DuPage County Republican Central Committee, said he does not think a Republican is guaranteed to retain the seat in a future election, especially given the timing of Thomas’ retirement.
“I kind of wish it was immediate,” Keller said. “I think a Republican would have a better chance in a presidential year, but I recognize it won’t be until 2022.”
Keller said Republicans need more representation on the Supreme Court, and added he hopes newly drawn districts will make for a fair, and more friendly Republican race in the Second District.
* I’ve seen this same political analysis elsewhere, but it’s demonstrably wrong-headed.
Hillary Clinton won the 2nd Supreme Court District 702,489 to President Trump’s 587,088, mainly due to her strong performance in DuPage and Lake counties. You’d think Keller would know that, since he chairs the DuPage County GOP.
Yes, Gov. Pritzker also won the 2nd District two years ago, but that was by a much more narrow 513,387 to 512,891 margin.
* It’s pretty safe to say that having that “R” attached to his name was not going to do Justice Thomas any favors this November as he sought the 60 percent needed to be retained - particularly if some groups (trial lawyers, labor, Madigan, etc.) spent big bucks against him.
But, if President Trump loses reelection, the Republicans will then have a Supreme Court candidate running in a 2022 Democratic presidential midterm, which, if history is any guide, may give them a strong favorable wind at their backs. If Trump wins, the midterm is still probably a better bet, considering Pritzker’s 2018 numbers.
Thomas’ decision to retire when he did may or may not have been political to him, but it was still a very smart political move for his party, regardless of what a party boss thinks. He helped his party kick the can to a potentially safer political year.
* Also, they don’t redistrict Supreme Court seats. Per the constitution, district boundaries are based on contiguous county lines and there is no constitutional requirement for decennial redistricting.
Representing a significant voting bloc, 33 Democratic state lawmakers – 20 in the Illinois House of Representatives and 13 in the Senate – introduced a bill today in a renewed effort to strike a compromise with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and advocates working to address the budget deficit while also creating major dedicated funding to address homelessness in Chicago.
The legislation, SB 3243 (with a companion House Bill to be filed later today), preserves all of the money that Lightfoot is seeking to trim the city’s budget deficit while generating a projected $79 million to curb homelessness, which now afflicts more than 86,000 Chicagoans. The legislation would modify Lightfoot’s quest to increase the Chicago’s Real Estate Transfer Tax (RETT), adjusting proposed rates assessed on the properties sold for more than $3 million, while extending a tax cut to 96 percent of average annual property sales in the city.
The bill largely parallels a concept championed by a group of Illinois Senators during last fall’s veto session, when Lightfoot’s bid for General Assembly approval of the tax increase faltered due, in part, to the qualms of legislators who want the measure to fund affordable and supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness in concert with reducing the budget gap.
Lightfoot, herself, embraced a proposed RETT increase to unleash new funding to combat homelessness while campaigning for mayor. This is one reason state legislators believe a compromise could be possible with her administration.
“We can’t emphasize enough that this legislation will produce a win-win outcome that would significantly reduce homelessness in our city and help address the city’s budget deficit,” said State Senator Ram Villivalam (D-8th). “Along with several of my colleagues and the Bring Chicago Home coalition, I look forward to collaborating with both the Mayor and the Governor to get this done.”
The legislation is estimated to yield $88 million that would be pledged to deficit reduction and $79 million dedicated to shrinking homelessness. To amass those revenues, the bill would honor the core integrity of Lightfoot’s proposal to charge a transfer tax on a graduated scale, adjusting the rates applying to only two tiers of high-end property sales. For sales over $3 million, it would increase the rate from 2 percent to 2.8 percent, applying only to the portion of the transaction between $3 million and $10 million. For sales over $10 million, it would increase the rate from 2.55 percent to four percent, applying only to the portion of the transaction exceeding $10 million.
For all other sales tiers, the rates would remain identical to Lightfoot’s proposal, ensuring a tax cut for properties purchased for less than $1 million – equivalent to 96 percent of the city’s average annual real estate transactions.
Conversations between legislators, advocates, and the mayor’s office are ongoing, but no agreement has been reached. State legislators hope the introduction of the bill will be an impetus to bring the two sides closer together.
“If passed, this bill will create resources for affordable housing that will help shrink the shortage of 120,000 affordable units in the City of Chicago and have a significant impact on reducing homelessness,” said State Representative Delia Ramirez (D-4th), the lead sponsor of the bill in the House. “At the same time, it will give a tax cut to 96 percent of property transactions in the city and preserve the mayor’s progressive tax structure. Now is the time to come together to get this done.”
While aid to the homeless has increased marginally during the Lightfoot administration, it still ranks near the bottom among the 10 U.S. cities with the largest homeless populations, accounting for only .08 percent of what New York City allocates to the problem and 6 percent of what Los Angeles spends.
Meanwhile, homelessness in Chicago continues unchecked, affecting nearly 14,000 people who are currently working, more than 18,000 who have some college education, and more than 20,000 children, many of them struggling to stay in school, according to a 2019 analysis compiled by the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.
I’ve asked Mayor Lightfoot’s spokesperson for comment and I’ll let you know what they say. Lightfoot has rejected past attempts at doing a deal, but she needs that money.
* It may just be me, but I think we’re seeing more and more candidates like this in both parties…
The two Democrats hoping to take Republican Congressman Rodney Davis’ 13th District seat this fall squared off Monday at the Champaign County Democratic primary forum. […]
The candidates were also asked whether they’d fully support their primary opponent in the general election if they became the Democratic nominee against Davis.
[Stefanie Smith of Urbana] wouldn’t commit to that.
“Why would that be your business? That’s not an appropriate question to ask somebody who they vote for. That’s private,” Smith said.
Um, the question was about whether she’d publicly support Londrigan if and/or (more likely) when she loses. It’s a standard question asked of primary candidates in both parties. Smith appears to belong to the left-wing version of the Eastern Bloc.
* The NRCC had a bit of fun with the forum…
Hey there -
Last night Betsy Dirksen Londrigan and Stefanie Smith dueled it out in a socialist battle for their far-left base.
Smith was a crowd favorite, given her unabashed support for socialized medicine and the Green New Deal.
In fact, Democrats were so upset with Betsy’s non-answers that they regularly interrupted her to chant “Medicare for all!”
So will Betsy be strong-armed by her primary opponent and give into her rabid base’s demands?
This is not a message for those of you fighting for your lives in this broken system. This is a message for the complicit: You don’t get to abuse us without a reckoning. I’m exercising my “No,” I do not consent to this violence.
You are Blue No Matter Who-ing people to literal death sentences at the hands of the State. Negligence IS violence, poverty IS violence, and state sanctioned rape, torture, and murder are still rape, torture, and murder.
And call it naïveté if you want, but I didn’t realize until I entered this race that the simple act of acknowledging bipartisan complicity in Trump’s bloated defense budget as well as expanded powers of censorship and surveillance would result in censorship from the local county Democrats. They stripped everyone’s website links because of my anti-imperialist stance. We aren’t going to meaningfully oppose tyranny by avoiding accountability. It’s undemocratic. It’s an act of suppression and an abuse of power that undermines trust.
It goes on like that for a while, but you get the idea.
Smith ended the year with $1,036.17 in her campaign account. So I’m guessing there will be no TV buys about acts of suppression and abuses of power by the local county party.
* Heidi Dalenberg, Director of the Institutional Reform Project, ACLU of Illinois…
We learned that yesterday another foster child was shackled during a DCFS transport. This is a clear violation of the child’s rights and DCFS’ promise to us, to the Court in B.H., and to all youth in care.
This is not a question of policy – this is about common decency. People should not need training or elaborate approval protocols to know that you don’t shackle children.
Just a few weeks ago – after previous, outrageous reports that children were being transported in shackles – DCFS agreed they would only use soft restraints in the rare circumstance when restraints were absolutely necessary, and they made the same promised to a federal court. Yet here we are again.
Anyone in the DCFS chain of command who either signed off on this transport knowing that shackles would be used, or who saw that occur, should step down from their position. No such person can be trusted to care for our children.
As for DCFS’ process and forms for approving restraints during transports, it’s clear that DCFS has to be taken out of that picture altogether. From here forward, we will be demanding that DCFS only use medical transport companies who are trained to properly handle children when there is a concern they might hurt themselves or others during a transport.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Jassen Strokosch with DCFS…
On February 10, a youth in our care was transported to an out-of-state facility. During the trip, the youth was unacceptably restrained with hard ankle restraints by a transportation contractor. The use of hard restraints on any child is completely unacceptable and violates the Department’s ban on ever using hard restraints. No one in our care should ever be mistreated like this.
We will be terminating our contract with the transport company and immediately notified the Office of the Inspector General of the incident to request a full investigation. The Department is conducting a thorough review of what took place and staff involved will be suspended from their role approving these transports. Based on the results of this review, staff will be held fully accountable. All relevant staff will also receive an immediate retraining to ensure protocols are followed moving forward. DCFS is deeply committed to ensuring every child in our care is treated with the utmost dignity and respect and that this never happens again.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Jordan Abudayyeh…
Traumatizing a child is unacceptable, and Gov. Pritzker is furious that a child has once again been subjected to these hard restraints, which are degrading and violate DCFS policy. From the moment he learned about this late Monday, the Governor charged DCFS with taking swift disciplinary action and stronger steps to prevent any inappropriate use of restraints. The Governor has instructed DCFS to fire the transportation company that violated this rule and directed DCFS to hold every employee who has violated its policy fully accountable.
Dr. Chuck Ellington (R-Camargo) released his first campaign ad in his bid to replace the retiring John Shimkus in the March Republican Primary. Dr. Chuck’s ad promotes that it takes real strength to overhaul Obamacare and support our farmers. Dr. Chuck will bring that real strength with him to Washington DC.
Ellington is one of four GOP candidates vying to replace Shimkus. According to his campaign website, he’s a “practicing family physician, licensed attorney, health policy expert, and assistant professor of Family and Community Medicine.”
E-PAC, the leadership committee of Rep. Elise Stefanik (NY-21), has officially endorsed conservative Republican Mary Miller, Candidate for Congress in the 15th District and named her a ‘Rising Star’ female candidate.
Stefanik posted the following statement on Twitter: “Mary Miller in Illinois 15 is a farmer, mother, grandmother, business manager, and teacher. She is running on conservative values of lowering taxes, supporting the 2nd Amendment, and pro-life issues.”
Rep. Stefanik and her leadership committee, E-PAC, are committed to helping strong Republican women get elected to Congress. Rep. Stefanik serves on the House Intelligence Committee, where she was one of President Trump’s strongest defenders and one of the House Democrats’ sharpest critics during the sham impeachment trial.
“It is an honor to be endorsed as one of E-PAC’s 2020 “Rising Star” Republican women. I am humbled to have the support of Rep. Elise Stefanik in this race,” Miller said. “Anyone who watched the impeachment trial saw how effective she was in defending our president. She is fearless and she continues to lead the charge to elect more Republican women to Congress. I look forward to joining her!”
Tuesday, Feb 11, 2020 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
We know we need to fix our broken immigration system. But Trump’s cruelty and incompetence have increased (rather than deterred) illegal immigration, needlessly punished asylum seekers and deported those who have long made their homes here.
The Trump strategy has failed.
Mike Bloomberg will change how the White House treats immigrants.
Mike’s plan will modernize ports of entry and implement sensible enforcement priorities that welcomes immigrants and protects national security. His plan opens America’s doors to the immigrants who are woven into the fabric of our community economies and gives new Americans and their neighbors the tools they need to thrive.
Caging children, breaking apart families, and rescinding DREAMER protections is wasteful and ineffective. Most of all, it’s not who we are as Americans.
Read more about Mike’s sensible, effective, and humane immigration policy platform here.
Alicia Elena Martinez interned in Ald. Ed Burke’s 14th Ward office and then worked for the Burke-controlled City Council Finance Committee in 2016.
She also helped Burke’s re-election campaign last year and shares petition circulators with the veteran alderman and 15th Ward Ald. Ray Lopez, a Burke ally.
And now she’s trying to win the state House seat held by state Rep. Aaron Ortiz, who ousted Burke’s brother two years ago. Martinez and Ortiz are also both running for 14th Ward Democratic committeeperson, a party post Burke has held for more than half a century. […]
Martinez says she finds any suggestion that she’d been picked to run by Burke or others in his political organization to divide the Latino vote was “offensive.”
A new bill proposed by a Northern Illinois lawmaker bans pumping your own fuel at all gas stations.
Illinois House Democrat Camille Y. Lilly who represents Oak Park near Chicago filed HB4571 with the Illinois General Assembly on February 5, 2020.
The synopsis for HB4571 states, “Creates the Gas Station Attendant Act. Provides that no gas may be pumped at a gas station in this State unless it is pumped by a gas station attendant employed at the gas station. Effective January 1, 2021.”
WGEM’s Illinois Capital Bureau Chief Mike Miletich spoke with Rep. Lilly Monday afternoon. She says the bill will not ban pumping your own gas.
Lilly said the bill language will be amended to give people an option when they go to gas stations.
She said customers could ask for help from an attendant or pump the gas themselves.
Lilly says she saw this idea is working in Atlanta. She says it’s especially valuable for families with small children or people with disabilities. It also could help create local jobs.
It’s just so weird that she went ahead and filed a bill like that even though she doesn’t apparently support its basic concept.
Currently, Illinois Medicaid is not guaranteed to cover clinical cancer treatment.
That would change is Senator Andy Manar’s bill gets passed into law. The bill would require the state to cover approved experimental treatment.
The bill passed out of committee on Wednesday, and now will head to the Senate floor. If it passes through both the House and Senate, Illinois will become the 14th state to make the change.
* Press release…
In an effort to reduce property taxes in Illinois, State Representative Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) has filed six bills to provide necessary property tax relief for Illinois taxpayers and businesses.
Rep. Ugaste’s legislation will allow taxpayers to consolidate government entities that are too expensive and to ease the high property tax burden weighing on residents in his 65th community and statewide.
“The Democrat controlled Property Tax Relief Task Force failed to produce any solutions to help our taxpayers,” Ugaste said. “Our high property taxes are forcing too many families and businesses to leave, and residents are fed up. The bills that I have filed are a step forward to provide the real relief the task force failed to do.”
Rep. Ugaste’s 2020 agenda includes the following bills:
· HB4493: Requires elementary and high school districts to form new unit districts together, instead of having separate school districts for each.
· HB 4494: Limits local units of government and their ability to continue bonds.
· HB4495: For redevelopment projects, “blighted areas” must have a household median income of 100% or less of the area median income, as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
· HB4496: Allows voters to consolidate townships if other units of government can operate more efficiently.
· HB4498: Limits tax increment financing (TIF) to 15 years.
· HB4762: Prohibits taxing districts from holding more than 150% of the previous levy year’s property tax collections and requires excess amounts to be refunded to taxpayers.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot is scheduled to be back in Springfield next week — this time to meet with Illinois House Republicans — after state lawmakers failed to deliver on either item on her legislative wish list during their brief fall session, House Republican leader Jim Durkin said Monday.
Lightfoot visited the State Capitol in November as she pushed for the Democratic-controlled legislature to revamp the tax structure for a long-proposed Chicago casino and authorize a graduated tax on real estate sales. Neither issue went anywhere, and the first-year mayor faced criticism in Springfield for only spending time with House Democrats. […]
During her stop in Springfield, Lightfoot has also scheduled a meeting with Senate Democrats, according to John Patterson, spokesman for Senate President Don Harmon. […]
“We have been having ongoing productive conversations with state leaders and appreciate the opportunity to work with the governor’s office and the General Assembly this session,” [Lightfoot] spokeswoman Anel Ruiz said in a statement. “We look forward to meeting with leadership and will be working with them closely to prioritize the casino and other opportunities to generate new revenues and opportunities that will move Chicago forward.”
Monday, Feb 10, 2020 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
While Democratic Candidates attack each other in New Hampshire and fight over results in Iowa, Mike’s campaign is laying roots on every corner in cities and towns across the nation building support, spreading his message, and taking the fight to Donald Trump’s doorstep.
Here in Illinois, the campaign has opened five field offices and hired 80 staff members, with more on the way. During the Mike Bloomberg 2020 Weekend of Action, dedicated staff and volunteers reached out to nearly 10,000 voters and held 34 events across the state.
From Belleville to Chicago’s South Side, volunteers and organizers met with some special guests including State Senate President Don Harmon, Ariel Investments CEO John Rodgers, and Mike endorser and National Co-Chair Congressman Bobby Rush.
This effort was replicated in a nationwide show of strength for Mike with over 1,200 events - in every state Trump is competing in, including all the Super Tuesday states.
Monday, Feb 10, 2020 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Kidney failure devastates people emotionally and financially as well as physically. Those with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) have only two options for survival: dialysis or a kidney transplant. They suffer from symptoms that can include fluid retention, swelling, shortness of breath, fatigue, confusion, nausea, and weakness. Faced with these challenges, they must navigate treatment options and insurance challenges. – dialysis can take place at home or at a dialysis center, for example – and access to insurance options is important to reduce financial stress. Many patients are too sick to work, and with dialysis sessions taking four hours each three times a week, it’s tantamount to having a part-time job.
Currently, more than 650,000 Americans suffer from kidney failure – including more than 30,000 Illinoisans. Of these, about 70 percent are on life-sustaining dialysis, while the rest are able to survive with a functioning kidney transplant. The Illinois Kidney Care Alliance (IKCA) has formed with community groups and advocates, health professionals, and businesses from across Illinois to educate the public about the challenges faced by ESRD patients. To sign up for more information, visit our website.
* Someone sent me a recording of Rep. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) over the weekend. You can hear the Eastern Bloc member and candidate for Illinois Senate talking about the push to separate Chicago from Illinois…
I am a co-sponsor of the bill. And that is a way to, kinda like what I acknowledge, you know, you have your boyfriend or girlfriend, husband and wife, get kind of mad, you know, and you say ‘Hey, I’ve got problems here and I’m tired of this.’
Chicagoans, Rep. Bailey is heard saying, “wouldn’t really acknowledge southern Illinois,” so, he said, “We are doing things that will eventually get their attention.”
But if you’re a representative, represent the desires and wants of the people. So, fifty years ago, Chicago wanted to separate from Illinois. So every year, every year, someone introduces one of these bills and it’s kind of a, you know, maybe a media pop or whatever. But realistically, the House and the Senate, the state would have to pass it by a two-thirds margin and then it has to go to the federal, I mean, so it’s not gonna happen.
You find out sometimes when… you’re being a legislator that sometimes you can introduce a bill, then you get some attention.
* I reached out this morning for comment and here’s Rep. Bailey’s response…
While I do not appreciate having my conversation surreptitiously taped and leaked to the media, I stand by what I said.
I am a co-sponsor of the legislation to create a New Illinois. I, like so many of my constituents, am concerned about the direction our state is headed. We have to live under rules and laws we do not support and are not reflective of our priorities and values. The District boundaries are drawn in a such a way to maximize the power and influence of the City of Chicago in our state politics and there simply is not enough votes to defeat the bad policies the Chicago majority supports.
Those of us in rural Illinois have different values and a very different way of life. The New Illinois movement is intended to accomplish two things. One, it is hoped that legislators from Chicago will see the support this legislation has in downstate precincts and stop going out of their way to force their policies on us. Two, it is hoped that in time, there will be enough support to form a New Illinois.
What is happening in Illinois is similar to efforts in California and now Virginia.
I know that in the world of media, there is always a desire to have a “Gotcha” moment. My comments about the viability of the New Illinois movement is based on the political realities in Illinois. We are a long way away from getting the support that is needed to create a new state. Accepting the political realities of our state is hardly a “Gotcha” moment. I support the New Illinois effort but in the short term, the real value of this movement is to show Chicago legislators the harm they are doing to rural communities with their bad policies. This is the message I have consistently been communicating to my constituents.
By the way, I checked with an attorney before posting this.
US Senator Ted Cruz has officially endorsed Conservative Republican Mary Miller for Congress in the March 17th Primary Election in the 15th Congressional District.
Cruz posted the following statement on his Facebook page: “In Illinois, I am proud to offer my endorsement and support to Mary Miller for Congress in her campaign for Congressional District 15! I hope you join me in supporting her today.”
Senator Ted Cruz is one of the leading voices of conservatism in the US Senate. A recently launched podcast featuring Senator Cruz (https://www.iheart.com/podcast/867-verdict-with-ted-cruz-56253661/) is one of the most downloaded podcast in the nation.
“I am truly honored and humbled to have the support of Senator Ted Cruz in this race,” Miller said. “Ted Cruz is a principled conservative who is not afraid to stand up for his convictions. I look forward to being able to work with Senator Cruz as a member of Congress.”
Mary Miller is running for Congress in the 15th Congressional District, which includes all of 29 counties and parts of four counties. The District is almost 52 percent rural.
* Press release…
Patrick Pfingsten, spokesman for the Darren Duncan for Congress campaign, released the following statement on recent reports on Ted Cruz’s endorsement in the 15th Congressional District:
“Apparently Washington politics and Chicago politics aren’t that different. Mary Miller hires Ted Cruz’s campaign manager and Ted Cruz then endorses Mary Miller. Quite the coincidence. Like Donald Trump, Darren Duncan doesn’t play by the Chicago and DC politics game. He’s not paid for by any special interest and won’t hire any fancy political consultant for tens of thousands of dollars just to get an endorsement.
Mary Miller should disavow Ted Cruz’s endorsement, break her ties with Jeff Roe, and denounce Ted Cruz for his failure to endorse Donald Trump in 2016 and his obstruction to Trump in the Senate.”
The 15th Congressional District covers all or parts of 33 counties in central and southern Illinois. It stretches from Champaign and Ford Counties to the north, all the way south to the Ohio River and across to Madison County, just outside of St. Louis. The district includes Danville, Mattoon-Charleston, Effingham, Harrisburg, Metropolis, and Collinsville. The current Congressman, John Shimkus, is not seeking re-election.
* The Question: Do you think a Ted Cruz endorsement can move the needle in a GOP congressional primary in that part of Illinois? Explain.
Illinois’ private school scholarship program’s largest facilitator of grants sent more students to schools of their choice despite a $10 million slump in donations statewide compared to the year before.
The Illinois Department of Revenue has yet to finalize the total amount donated, but Empower Illinois, the state’s largest scholarship-granting organization, estimated all scholarship-granting organizations brought in about $50 million, down from $61 million in the first year of the program. The Invest in Kids private school scholarship program offers a 75 percent state tax rebate in exchange for a donation to help a student go to the school of their choice tuition-free. In 2019, more than 46,000 students applied.
“That potential cut and cap threat to the program in the budgetary process really chilled donors,” Empower Illinois Director Anthony Holter said. “Many of the donors we’ve reached out to subsequent of that say ‘we thought the program was over.’ ”
Gov. J.B. Pritzker had proposed to halve the amount that the Invest in Kids Program could raise and to stop accepting new members instead of letting the program live out its five-year lifespan. However, Pritzker backed down after facing pressure from parents.
Empower raised $41 million, down from $45 million in 2018, according to its annual report from the 2019 school year.
Despite raising less, the organization sent 5,858 students to private schools at no cost, 400 more students than the year prior.
Holter said the reason is that schools in central and southern Illinois saw activity through the program in 2019 and tuition for those schools is cheaper compared to private school tuition in Cook County or the Chicago suburbs.
Thank you for your follow-up FOIA request from earlier this afternoon. The Secretary of State response follows:
In your request, you ask the Secretary of State to provide you with redacted copies of all photos of every individual currently subject to the General Orders that were referenced in the Secretary of State response to your initial FOIA request sent to you at 11:46 A.M., February 7, 2020. The Secretary of State is unsure what you mean by redacted copies of all photos, photos taken from Secretary of State drivers’ license or state identification files are exempt from production under the Illinois Vehicle Code and therefore, Section 7(1)(a) of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act [5 ILCS 140/7(1)(a)] as explained in my previous email. If, however, you mean that you seek all but the digital photos, the Secretary of State response is the same as in the email sent to you yesterday-the information is exempt from production under the same sections of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act as I stated in the second to last paragraph of the email sent to you at 11:46 A.M., yesterday. Your request is therefore denied.
Should you wish to do so, you may file a request for review with the Office of the Illinois Attorney General, Public Access Bureau, 500 S. Second St., Springfield, Illinois 62706 or you may seek whatever remedy that may be available to you under Section 11 of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act.[5 ILCS 140/11].
Donna M. Leonard
Executive Counsel
Illinois Secretary of State
Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Saturday endorsed Marie Newman in her bid to unseat U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski, D-Ill., giving Newman’s campaign a key progressive boost ahead of the Chicago area’s biggest Democratic primary contest next month.
Lightfoot previously signaled her support for the challenger last month, declaring it was Lipinski’s “time to leave” after the eight-term, anti-abortion incumbent co-signed a legal brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit the Roe V. Wade decision.
But after declining to name her candidate, Chicago’s first black female and openly gay mayor formally announced she was “proud to endorse Marie Newman” in the heated 3rd Congressional District primary. […]
The Newman backing helps Lightfoot burnish her progressive credentials, but it also puts her at odds with state House Speaker Mike Madigan, a strong Lipinski backer whose support Ligthfoot will need in her efforts to secure a Chicago casino.
I wouldn’t be too certain that Madigan is still a super-strong Lipinski backer. Madigan was a big supporter of Dan’s father, but the son is a different matter. He’s not big on listening.
Their much younger political opponents say they are out of touch, aren’t visible enough in their districts and, after spending decades in office, miss important meetings and votes in Washington. The challengers say this shows it’s simply time for newer, younger energy.
But U.S. Reps. Danny Davis and Bobby Rush, two titans of Chicago’s Democratic political scene who have outlasted presidents, mayors and aldermen, say there’s more for them to do.
Davis and his South Side colleague, Rush, each have three challengers in the March 17 primary election.
Ives said Casten “demanded the impeachment of the Republican President before the Mueller report was even released.”
Mueller’s report was released on April 18, 2019. Casten called for an impeachment inquiry on June 20, 2019, and announced publicly he would vote in favor of impeachment on Dec. 12, 2019. So Ives’ timeline doesn’t track.
In the ongoing ComEd corruption probe, federal prosecutors are now zeroing in on lobbyist Michael McClain who wrote the bombshell ‘Rape In Champaign’ email.
McClain, a close confidant of Michael Madigan, is also one of Betsy Dirksen Londrigan’s donors.
So far Betsy’s been silent as to why she accepts money from corrupt ComEd lobbyists who cover up rape.
As suburban police tout the crime-fighting benefits of striking deals for access to video from Amazon’s Ring doorbell cameras, several critics, including a prominent civil-rights organization, are raising concerns about privacy and about law enforcement helping a private company build a surveillance network.
In nearly 1½ years, Ring, with its associated Neighbors app, has gained relationships with at least 90 police departments in Illinois — many clustered in the suburbs, according to a company map. Aurora was the first Illinois department to link with Ring in September 2018, and Palatine, Schaumburg, Barrington and Libertyville are among this year’s newcomers.
But those deals could be troubling to residents who don’t support police teaming with Amazon’s subsidiary, said Ed Yohnka, spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois. Elected officials should place the Ring contracts on an agenda for debate and public approval, he said, even though no money is involved.
“When law enforcement is making these agreements, I think elected officials ought to be responsible for them,” Yohnka said. “Building out this kind of system isn’t simply a law enforcement decision. It’s a community decision. It’s the kind of community one wants to live in.”
Rolling Meadows Police Chief John Nowacki, whose department was the second in Illinois to forge an agreement with Ring and the Neighbors app, countered that the deal with his town — just like in other communities — was a standard administrative function that didn’t need city council approval.
Susnjara has written an insightful story that I really think you should read from beginning to end. So, please, click here.
Chicago has turned around its perennially dismal rate at solving murders, according to statistics released Tuesday.
The city’s murder clearance rate in 2019 was about 53%, according to Chicago Police Department figures. In 2016, the clearance rate was just 29% — an improvement of more than 50% in three years, the department’s figures show.
The police said that in 2019 they “cleared more murders than in any of the past 10 years, with 263 murders cleared.” […]
Anthony Guglielmi, chief spokesman for the police, said the increase in the clearance rate is “the result of hiring more detectives and giving them technology to help with their investigations. The investments we are making in detectives are already showing gains.”
But, of the 261 murders that the police signed off on as having been cleared last year, 152 were closed “exceptionally” — what the department labels “CCX” for “cleared, closed exceptionally,” meaning no one was charged.
That means there was no arrest in 58% of the cleared homicide investigations.
The number of murder cases that were CCXed has gone up every year since 2016, police department figures show. After the department cleared 70 murders exceptionally in 2015, the number dropped to 39 in 2016, then rose to 87 the following year and 111 in 2018.
The vaunted improvement in the murder clearance rate obscures an important fact: The number of murder cases in Chicago that result in an arrest has gone down, the Sun-Times found.
BREAKING: Mayor Lori Lightfoot endorses Eva Dina Delgado in the race to replace former State Rep. Luis Arroyo, over the @CTULocal1-backed @Nidia4StateRep Carranza. Delgado faces 2 challenges to her qualifications since @Ald_Reboyras used Arroyo's votes to appoint her pic.twitter.com/ID5KnpPCr4
Delgado is backed by Mayor Lightfoot’s city council floor leader, Ald. Gil Villegas.
* I told subscribers last week that it seemed possible the House could punt the two qualifications challenges until after the primary, when it could be a moot point either way. And then the House unexpectedly canceled a couple of perfunctory session days scheduled for this week, which had the apparent impact of pushing back the appointment deadline of a special committee that will take up the challenges.
Anyway, bottom line is that if Speaker Madigan sticks to the schedule in the rules, the House will have just two weeks to conduct an investigation, hold hearings and then bring it to the floor before March 5th, the final day of spring session ahead of the March 17th primary. He could always decide to appoint the committee ahead of schedule, however, so stay tuned.
…Adding… A commenter made a point that I’ve also made in the past. Delgado’s opponent is Nidia Carranza, a public schools teacher and a CTU activist who went on a hunger strike during last year’s labor battle. So, this can be seen as a proxy battle between Lightfoot and the CTU.
The tally of former Chicago Housing Authority employees in positions paying $85,000 to $195,000 at the Illinois tollway is growing, and that concerns some lawmakers given the top tollway executive also is a CHA alumnus.
Tollway leaders dismissed questions of nepotism when asked about nine ex-CHA staffers who were hired from August through December and are paid more than $1.3 million collectively, state records show. Executive Director Jose Alvarez, the former CHA chief operating officer, joined the tollway in April.
“Taken together, all nine of these employees have decades of experience at a number of different organizations in human resources, talent recruitment, procurement and compliance,” tollway spokesman Dan Rozek said. […]
Democratic state Sen. Laura Murphy of Des Plaines, a tollway reform advocate, said, “I find this information troubling. I am interested in getting a full and complete explanation.” […]
“I understand the need to hire people you trust, but I hope that Mr. Alvarez will cast a wider net when looking for employees in the future,” [Sen. Cristina Castro, D-Elgin] added.
Justice Robert R. Thomas has announced his retirement from the Illinois Supreme Court effective Feb. 29, 2020. Justice Thomas, 67, became the first Chief Justice from DuPage County when he was elected to that post from 2005-2008. One of the major accomplishments during Justice Thomas’ tenure as Chief was the establishment of the Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism, an outgrowth of the Special Supreme Court Committee on Civility, which was formed in 2001. […]
Justice Thomas will join the Power Rogers law firm where he will practice with his son, Jonathan. Justice Thomas was represented by firm co-founder Joe Power in a successful 2006 defamation case against the Kane County Chronicle. […]
The Supreme Court has constitutional authority to fill interim judicial vacancies and has appointed Appellate Justice Michael J. Burke to fill Justice Thomas’ seat effective March 1 through Dec. 5, 2022. Justice Burke has been a member of the Second District Appellate Court since 2008. DuPage County Circuit Judge Liam Brennan has been assigned to the Second District Appellate Court, effective March 2 through Dec. 5, 2022. […]
Following his graduation from Notre Dame, Justice Thomas played 12 seasons in the National Football League, 10 of them with the Chicago Bears. In the 1977 season, Justice Thomas kicked a 28-yard overtime field goal that sent the Bears to the playoffs for the first time in 14 years, and he remains the fourth leading scorer in Chicago Bears history.
The Kane County Chronicle has agreed to apologize for publishing defamatory statements about Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Thomas and to pay a reduced damage award to settle a case playing out in state and federal courts.
In a joint statement given to the Tribune Thursday, Thomas affirmed the importance of a free press and equal treatment of all under a court system he heads — issues that the paper insisted were at stake.
The statement was attributed to Thomas and Tom Shaw, the Chronicle’s president and chief executive officer, and included the name of former columnist Bill Page. His allegations in 2003 of high court politicking by Thomas were found by a jury to be false and defamatory.
Page, in a phone interview from Florida where he now lives, said he would not have agreed to a settlement and stands by his work.
“I will never back down from what I wrote,” Page said. “It was based on what I had from confidential sources.”
Attorneys for both sides declined to disclose the settlement sum, but Page said the paper agreed to pay $3 million in order to halt court battles that could drag on for years and cost millions.
…Adding… Justice Thomas was up for retention this year, but his district has shifted toward the Democratic Party in past years, so this may have been the smart move. The timing of his announcement means Thomas’ successor will not have to run until 2022 and will face actual opponents.
As part of their sprawling public corruption probe, federal prosecutors in Chicago are now scrutinizing a 2012 email in which a powerful Illinois lobbyist lauded a state worker who “kept his mouth shut” about an unspecified “rape in Champaign,” WBEZ has learned.
The bombshell email was written by Michael McClain, a long-time confidant to Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. McClain is now a central figure in the ongoing probe into utility Commonwealth Edison’s Springfield lobbying activities. WBEZ first reported on the email last month after obtaining it through an open-records request, prompting immediate calls for criminal investigations from elected officials.
In the 2012 email, McClain wrote to two aides for then-Gov. Pat Quinn to seek leniency for a state worker facing discipline. McClain praised the worker because he “kept his mouth shut on Jones’ ghost workers, the rape in Champaign and other items.” […]
It’s still unclear what McClain was referring to. WBEZ has not been able to verify the facts underlying his statements in the email, including whether a rape occurred, its alleged perpetrator or whether Forrest Ashby, the worker facing discipline, had actual knowledge of the crime, as McClain contended.
But a law enforcement source with knowledge of the federal investigation says the feds are interested in several aspects of the email, including the mention of the rape and the apparent reference to ghost payrollers. The source requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the ongoing criminal probe.
* Hannah Meisel’s Daily Line story is chock full of interesting stuff today, but I want to focus on this part for now…
One major area the Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform is studying in the weeks leading up to the deadline for its March 31 report is conflicts of interest — a subject the commission spent nearly five hours on during its Jan. 30 meeting.
[Legislative Inspector General Carol Pope] said the legislative inspector general is put in an awkward position by current state law, which prohibits her from using statements of economic disclosure filed by lawmakers as evidence of wrongdoing that could lead to discipline.
Pope told The Daily Line that “several” investigations of possible conflicts of interests have been hamstrung by seemingly competing responsibilities both to investigate possible wrongdoing and the language of the statute.
“You get to the point where you say to yourself, ‘Okay the taxpayers are paying me, am I going to spend hours, days investigating a conflict of interest?’” Pope said. “Even if there is a conflict and it’s not disclosed because disclosure is not mandated, where’s it going ultimately? I have to think about, ultimately, so I, you know, if I know that even if I make a founded report it’s not going to be published or go anywhere because of the conflicts legislation, it seems not a good use of resources to pursue it.”
Moreover, as the laws are written, the IG has a much broader authority to investigate various types of transgressions than the commission has the authority to do anything about. The commission is restricted to acting on such misconduct as doing political work on state time, promising something of value in exchange for a political contribution, accepting certain positions after state employments ends, sexual harassment and similar violations.
That leaves a world of mischief that the IG might uncover but for which the commission can’t impose penalties, such as fines.
So for example, if the IG gets a tip that a legislator is working for a company that’s going to get a huge financial windfall as a result of a bill the legislator is pushing, the inspector general can check it out and write up a report. But there is no way for the commission to impose a punishment.
And, of course, if the commission isn’t pleased, the report will never see the light of day.
Strengthening the legislative inspector general’s authority should not wait until a March 31 deadline Pritzker set for his ethics task force to make recommendations. The legislature reconvenes Feb. 18. Make it priority No. 1, Gov. Pritzker. And then get about making public whatever “founded” allegations involving elected officials are being kept secret. Voters deserve to know. […]
The hearing also exposed the wariness of lawmakers to empower the watchdog, even now when ethics is top-of-mind for voters.
To Porter and other experts who testified, lawmakers tossed out numerous hypothetical questions about what could be considered investigation-worthy. What about political retribution, false claims, personal matters? Would divorces be off limits? Relationships? Financial conflicts? Stocks and investments? What about showing up drunk to work? Really. It came up. As a hypothetical, of course. […]
Pritzker cannot leave this inadequate setup for House and Senate leaders to overhaul on their own. They have proved they won’t do it, or they’ll only hang some window dressing. Pritzker needs to lead on this, and he needs to lead hard.
Elections have consequences and the voters did not elect someone who would wage all-out war with the General Assembly. That guy lost.
I’ve read and heard a lot of commentary about what Gov. J.B. Pritzker didn’t say in his State of the State address last month. Some folks are still quite angry that he didn’t address their pet causes.
And the previous day’s guilty plea by former Sen. Martin Sandoval prompted the news media to focus mainly on the anti-corruption portion of the governor’s speech. Behind his strong, quote-worthy rhetoric, however, were three concrete proposals: 1) A ban on legislators being paid to lobby; 2) Disclosure of conflicts of interests and punishment for non-compliance; and 3) Forbidding legislators from becoming lobbyists immediately after leaving office.
The House Republicans are already on record in favor of a legislator lobbying ban, and House Republican Leader Jim Durkin has introduced a conflict of interest bill (HB 3954) that would even require attorneys to disclose clients who could pose potential conflicts. Senate President Don Harmon offered support of the lobbying revolving door provision. Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady said he supports the conflicts of interest disclosure bit.
House Speaker Michael Madigan did not indicate support for anything. The chairman he appointed to head an ethics commission, however, supported all three.
But beyond what Pritzker didn’t say, and beyond the corruption angle, the governor did get into some other substance which was lost in the shuffle.
On the subject of property taxes, Pritzker complained about the “perverse incentives in state law” that encourage local governments to “max out” their property tax levies “even when they don’t need to.” He was referring to an unintended consequence of the state’s Property Tax Extension Limitation Law that essentially encourages units of government to tax to the cap every year for fear of forever losing that revenue. What Pritzker wants to do is not yet known.
Pritzker also proposed allowing citizens to initiate consolidating or eliminating units of local government. The General Assembly has passed some limited, highly localized legislation on this topic. Pritzker wants to take it statewide.
Other governors have talked about ethics, property taxes and consolidation and ended up accomplishing little. Pritzker will have to use all of his considerable persuasive powers to move his agenda to the goal line. He spent a whole lot of his political capital on last year’s mega-agenda and a governor’s second year is never as “easy” as the first. There is generally an eagerness to help a brand-new governor achieve his goals, but that can wear off.
Pritzker’s clean energy proposals included legislation “that reduces carbon pollution, promotes renewable energy, and accelerates electrification of our transportation sector.”
That matches up with the three “pillars” of the Illinois Clean Jobs coalition. Pritzker also made clear that ComEd’s hegemonic days are over: “I’m not going to sign an energy bill written by the utility companies.”
Harmon told Public Television’s Jak Tichenor after the speech that he didn’t believe anyone was suggesting that Exelon and ComEd shouldn’t be at the bargaining table. “What is encouraging to me,” Harmon said, “is that they won’t be the loudest voice in the room now. The governor made it very clear that he’s going to amplify the voices of other people.”
On the social justice front, the governor said he wants to start phasing out cash bail. He also wants to follow “many of the recommendations made by the bipartisan criminal justice reform commission created by my predecessor, most of whose ideas were never adopted because of the rancor and dysfunction.” Gov. Bruce Rauner drew widespread praise for his criminal justice reforms, but the issue got lost in his never-ending battles with Democrats.
Pritzker did have a pointed response to those who have been pushing him hard to hire more Democratic patronage workers.
Democratic insiders have been grumbling for a full year that their people have to go through the same hiring practice as everyone else and often don’t wind up being picked.
In response, people within the administration have complained about how party bosses have been trying to shove an inordinate number of politically connected and unqualified or under-qualified white men down their throats.
Pritzker insisted that his way of hiring has made the state better: “The old patronage system needs to die…finally and completely. The input of women and people of color needs to be treated as essential to decision making — not as some token show of diversity.”
It was a well-written speech, but the really hard part comes soon when he introduces his next budget, which, at last check, was projected to be $1.8 billion out of balance.
