Here's background on what can expect to happen today:https://t.co/3DvBLu4yCQ This vacancy was indirectly triggered by the retirement of Senate President John Cullerton. Feigenholtz was appointed to fill his senate seat, meaning her rep seat now needs to be filled.
46th Ward committeeperson Sean Tenner is asking for a temporary appointment, just til the primary, so he conveyed his voting power over to @lucymoog. That means the weighted vote breakdown today is: Tunney: 45.09% Moog: 45.93% 2nd Ward committeeperson Tim Egan: 7.73%
UPDATE: Tenner has pulled his name from consideration. He says he now no longer believes he's "the right fit" for the position. Coke and her allies had supported Tenner's "caretaker" proposition, so signs now point to @yonipizer being appointed today.
Croke says she’s pulling her name from consideration for the appointment. “I think everyone knows the appointment has been decided.” Tunney: “Just because it’s in the media does not mean it’s decided.” pic.twitter.com/BmWoW2t0g6
Burnett votes Pizer. Egan votes Pizer. Moog votes (with Tenner's proxy) for Eastwood. Tunney votes Pizer. This gives Pizer ~54% of the vote, enough for the appointment.
This Sunday, 38 days before voters have the opportunity to vote for the next State Representative for Illinois’ 12th House District, Chicago Democratic Party insiders rubber stamped the appointment of Jonathan Pizer in an attempt to boost his chances in the March primary election. Margaret Croke attended the forum but did not seek the appointment, citing a lack of transparency and accountability to voters in the process.
“This decision deprives voters of a voice in our democratic process and it is exactly what’s wrong with politics in Illinois. At a time when legal, ethical, and moral scandals have shaken the foundation of our state, transparency, and accountability to the people of Illinois is paramount. People have lost faith in our state legislature and this only adds to that cynicism and discontent.
Appointing a candidate who is unelected and running for election in a month is undemocratic. This decision should be left to the voters on March 17th.
I stand with the hundreds of people who have come out to volunteer for these campaigns and the thousands of voters in this district who signed petitions to get six candidates on the ballot.
Simply put, the voters of this district deserve a vote.”
Margaret attended to address the committeemen and committeewomen in the room. She wanted to take the opportunity to speak against the process and when asked directly if she was seeking the appointment she said no. She was then asked to leave. She did not speak on behalf of her candidacy or present her credentials.
From Margaret:
“At the appointment session, I emphatically did not seek the appointment and that is exactly what I said to the committee. I believe that the voters of the district should decide their next representative and object to the appointment of any candidate currently on the ballot for an election only weeks away.”
Everyone go out and have a cocktail tonight. The port has been removed. 44 for 44. Done. Kaput.
Thanks to my oncologist. The nurses and nurses aids. Thanks to the American Cancer Society volunteers who always offered encouragement, a warm blanket and treats. You will always be in my prayers. Thanks to Mrs Blue and those who took a day out of their lives to drive me.
Special thanks to CapFax and commentators. You made the days and nights go by much better. You’re always just a ’say it’ away. It is priceless.
Thanks.(I am looking forward to a cold Bud and some pork rinds soon). Love ya’ll.
A search warrant was recently served on the Statehouse offices of House Speaker Michael Madigan, prompting questions from the press corps on whether the state should rethink its FOIA law which allows for exemptions for the General Assembly.
“I think that’s something worthy of being looked into. I haven’t, I have not personally thought about the differences and why there should be a difference between the Legislature and the executive branch with regard to the revelation of internal documents,” Pritzker said. “You know, the legislators themselves operate differently. Each individual legislator operates differently than agencies in terms of record-keeping. … It’s done very differently in the Legislature. So I would say you’re raising something that probably ought to be looked into.”
* The Question: Should members of the General Assembly be subjected to the same Freedom of Information Act disclosure regulations that already apply to the executive branch? Make sure to explain your answer, please. Thanks.
* From the secretary of state’s executive counsel…
Dear Mr. Miller:
This email is to acknowledge the receipt of and to respond to your FOIA request dated February 3, 2020. In that request, you ask the Secretary of State to provide you with the following documents:
“Under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, 5 ILCS 140, I am requesting the list of people who are currently banned from entering the Illinois Statehouse and/or the Statehouse complex. An electronic copy can be delivered as a reply to this email or separately to capitolfax@gmail.com.”
I have been directed to deny your request.
There is no list of people who are banned from entering the Illinois Statehouse and/or Statehouse Complex that complies with your request. There are General Orders that are issued by the Secretary of State Police/Capitol Police that are provided to Capitol Police to advise Capitol Police that a certain individual(s) is/are not permitted access to the Capitol Building and/or any other building within the Capitol Complex without an escort, as the facts/situations warrant. The General Order includes the digital photo of the banned individual (taken from Secretary of State electronic files), the banned individual’s name, the possible reason for the ban and the name and/or location within the Capitol Building/Capitol Complex of any alleged victim where the banned individual is prohibited from visiting without escort.
With respect to the release of digital photos to the news media, the Secretary of State is statutorily prohibited from releasing digital photos unless the requester falls within the categories provided in Section 6-110.1 of the Illinois Vehicle Code [625 ILCS 5/6-110.1]. The section provides that digital photos captured by the Secretary of State are considered confidential and are not to be released except to (1) the individual who is the subject of the request; (2) Secretary of State employees who have a need to access the photos; (3) law enforcement for a lawful civil or criminal law enforcement investigation; and (4) the State Board of Elections for the sole purpose of providing signatures for voter registration purposes. There is no exception for members of the news media.
Banning individuals from the State Capitol and/or Capitol Complex unless escorted is a serious matter. Not only do the Secretary of State Police/Capitol Police take seriously the safety and security of all who enter the Capitol Building/Capitol complex, the Secretary of State Police/Capitol Police also take seriously the privacy rights of the alleged victim, the banned individual and any witnesses who may be affected. It is in balancing the interests of the alleged victim, the interests of banned individual and/or any witnesses, with the public’s interest in disclosure, that the Secretary of State rejects your request to provide copies of these General Orders, whether for past years or for the current year. The Secretary of State asserts that the release of the requested information, even with redactions, will lead to the disclosure of the identity of the alleged victim, the banned individual and potentially any witnesses. Disclosing the identities of the victim, banned individual and/or witnesses will result in an unwarranted invasion of their respective personal privacy and may ultimately endanger their respective lives.
In balancing the privacy rights of the alleged victim, the banned individual and any witnesses, with the public interest in disclosure, the Office of the Secretary of State respectfully declines to invade the personal privacy of, or expose the victim, the banned individual and any witnesses to, potential harm either personally or professionally by revealing their identities through the release of the requested information. Accordingly, your request is denied pursuant to Sections 7(1)(a), 7(1)(c), 7(1)(d)(iv) and 7(1)(d)(vi) of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. [5 ILCS 140/7(1)(a); 5 ILCS 140/7(1)(c ); 5 ILCS 140/7(1)(d)(iv); 5 ILCS 140/7(1)(d)(vi)].
Should you wish to do so, you may request a review of our denial with the Office of the Illinois Attorney General, Public Access Bureau, 500 S. Second Street, Springfield, Illinois 62706 or you may avail yourself of the remedies provided in Section 11 of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. [5 ILCS 140/11].
Friday, Feb 7, 2020 - Posted by Advertising Department
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Eighteen state attorneys general have joined in an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court supporting a Second Amendment Foundation petition for writ of certiorari seeking high court review in the case of Culp v. Raoul, which challenges the refusal by Illinois to take applications from non-residents for an Illinois carry license.
Plaintiffs are asking the Court to determine “Whether the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms requires that the State of Illinois allow qualified non-residents to apply for an Illinois concealed carry license.” SAF is joined by the Illinois State Rifle Association, Illinois Carry and several private citizens. They are represented by attorney David G. Sigale of Wheaton.
The amicus brief, submitted by Missouri Attorney General Eric S. Schmitt, is joined by attorneys general from Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.
While Illinois statute says the State Police “shall by rule allow for nonresident license applications from any state or territory of the United States with laws related to firearm ownership, possession, and carrying, that are substantially similar to the requirements to obtain a license” in Illinois.
“However,” the petition for review says, “that right to concealed carry is denied, in a discriminatory and arbitrary manner, to the law-abiding and qualified persons in 45 states, who are prohibited from even applying for an Illinois concealed carry license (“CCL”), regardless of their qualifications. Therefore, Illinois’s prohibition on virtually all non-residents obtaining a concealed carry license for self-defense violates the Petitioners’ rights under the Second Amendment.”
“We’re grateful to the 18 attorneys general for joining the amicus, on behalf of the residents of their respective states,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “The right to bear arms does not end at the Illinois state line, and untold numbers of citizens from other states have occasion to travel to or through Illinois and they should not be expected to leave their right of self- defense at the border.”
An Illinois lawmaker is proposing to change the Illinois Constitution to protect Firearm Owners Identification card fee revenue from being swept into the state’s general fund.
The proposal filed Wednesday would require that proceeds from the issuance and renewal of the Firearm Owners Identification card and concealed carry permits go solely toward facilitating the program or other firearm-related activities, akin to the 2016 “lockbox amendment” that altered the state’s guiding charter to protect road funds from being used for other purposes.
“What this does is put all of our money into a lockbox, so to speak, dedicated solely for the purpose of processing our applications or renewing or reviewing someone’s application that got turned down that they filed an appeal on,” state Rep. Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur, said of his proposal.
He plans to gather support from Democrats who have already said the program is underfunded and proposed higher fees for cards over shorter periods of time.
No charges will be filed in the shooting that wounded an employee last month at the John Boos Factory Showroom and Outlet, according to authorities.
Effingham Police Chief Jason McFarland said the shooter was a 60-year-old man from Michigan who had a semi-automatic handgun and a valid concealed-carry permit. He was not required to have a FOID card because Michigan state law does not require one, McFarland said. […]
A preliminary investigation into the incident determined that the shooting to be accidental, and police turned the case over to Effingham County State’s Attorney Bryan Kibler for review.
Kibler said Thursday he agreed that it was all just an accident and no criminal charges are warranted. He said it is his understanding that Nick Nichols does not want to pursue charges.
“We need to show that we’re doing something about property taxes during the spring session”
The article’s focus was Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi’s revised legislation…
Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi and his allies in the Illinois House of Representatives are poised to introduce a revised version of a bill he says is designed to improve how the county’s millions of commercial properties are assessed.
However, many of the same interest groups that blocked the bill last year are gearing up for another fight.
SB1379, which Kaegi has dubbed the Data Modernization Bill, would require owners of large commercial properties to submit their rental income and expense data to their county assessor’s office. Assessors would use that information to determine the taxable values of properties.
The bill would automatically apply to Cook County, but governing boards of the state’s other 101 counties could opt in.
The head of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce warned that shifting Cook County’s property tax burden to businesses could shock the entire state of Illinois into an economic downturn.
Is Mayor Lori Lightfoot quietly plotting an end-run around the City Council to deliver on her signature campaign promise to end aldermanic prerogative over zoning?
Or is a DuPage County Republican state lawmaker acting on her own to target the unwritten rule at the heart of the racketeering indictment against Ald. Edward Burke (14th) and virtually every other aldermanic indictment over the years?
That’s the question Chicago aldermen have been asking themselves after learning about the Chicago-only bill introduced this week by state Rep. Deanne Mazzochi (R-Westmont).
By the way, this is what Rep. Mazzochi told the Daily Line…
Mazzochi said she was moved to act by the 14-count indictment of Ald. Ed Burke (14), which alleges that Burke repeatedly — and brazenly — used his powerful position at City Hall to force those doing business with the city to hire his private law firm. Burke has pleaded not guilty.
The sort of “shady back room deals” Burke is accused of must be stopped, Mazzochi said.
She and her husband own rental properties. They did development and renovation work in Chicago. They know first-hand the chilling effect of giving local aldermen iron-fisted control over zoning in their wards.
“There’s a lot of people that, when the allegations came out about Alderman Burke, were not surprised because this sort of thing happens behind the scenes all the time. I’ve actually divested most of my interests in the city of Chicago because of that toxic climate,” she said.
The sponsor of a measure that would give local governments the ability to tack on a municipal gas tax on top of state and federal gas taxes said it was designed to level the playing field inside the state’s boundaries, but a group representing convenience stores said it would make Illinois even more of an outlier compared to neighboring states.
Senate Bill 2978, filed earlier this month, would open up the ability for all municipal governments to tack on an extra 3 percent gas tax to the state and federal gas tax.
Bill sponsor, state Sen. Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago, said the bill wasn’t going to move anytime soon, but it could come up before the end of the legislative session. He said it would open up local control of local gas taxes.
“If people in those towns are complaining about side streets for instances not being repaired, not being repaved, potholes not being fixed, this would be a way for the local municipalities to address that,” Cunningham said.
To put Illinois back on firm fiscal footing, we must make some hard choices among three feasible options: 1) raise income tax rates on everyone by raising the flat tax; 2) cut schools, universities, public safety, mental health and addiction treatment drastically; or 3) raise tax rates only on the wealthy while giving the middle class a tax break. I choose option 3, the fair tax.
Let me explain why I support a constitutional amendment to change our tax structure to protect the middle class.
The fair tax is what a vast majority of states and the federal government use. But in Illinois, we don’t. Our wealthiest residents have enjoyed 50 years of the middle class and working class paying a higher tax burden while the richest pay a much lower tax burden. In fact, today in Illinois, the lowest earners in our state pay 14 percent of their income in taxes while the wealthiest people in our state pay only about 7 percent.
The bulk of homeowners’ local property taxes—nearly 60 percent on average—goes to fund local schools. If the state does more to pick up its share of school funding, property taxes can go down. So I began to make that shift by increasing the state’s share of school funding.
The next-largest property tax driver is municipal and first responder pension funds—which is why I insisted on passing landmark pension reform to consolidate police and firefighter pensions. This will improve investment returns and lower costs, and that means a lower property tax burden for homeowners.
Lastly, our bipartisan Rebuild Illinois capital program provides hundreds of millions of dollars directly to local governments for transportation infrastructure and buildings that otherwise would be paid for by property taxes.
* This one camera has produced $2.5 million in revenues over three years…
The red light camera at a designated right turn lane in Rosemont has raked in millions of dollars. Critics and motorists said it’s a trick to make drivers turn right on red without stopping.
The busy intersection in the heart of Rosemont is near the convention center, popular restaurants, hotels and a casino.
“Are you really giving people tickets on technicalities, or are you trying to put things in place to protect safety?” asked ticketed driver Scott Albrecht.
He and others are fuming over one camera facing a right turn lane, going northbound at the intersection of River and Higgins roads. Critics say it’s confusing and call it a red light camera trap for two reasons.
The Illinois Department of Transportation explained to the I-Team that it does not physically place cameras; law enforcement does that. IDOT said it only makes sure cameras are positioned in a way that does not interfere with traffic controls or obstruct traffic lanes and sidewalks.
Gov. Pritzker needs to do something about this lackadaisical attitude by IDOT. As I mentioned yesterday, IDOT’s rules need to be tightened up to focus placement on safety and not revenues.
*** UPDATE *** From Emily Bittner at the governor’s office…
The administration believes that it is critical that red light cameras meet communities’ documented safety needs. IDOT will be reviewing its approval process to ensure that the rationale for installing and keeping these devices in place is about residents’ safety
All three people who have held the position of legislative inspector general in Illinois told a joint ethics panel Thursday the office needs more independence to police the General Assembly and maintain the public’s confidence in the process.
Carol Pope, the current officeholder, and former Inspectors General Julie Porter and Tom Homer appeared before the Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform, a group that is to make recommendations for governmental ethics reform in the state by the end of March. […]
“The legislative inspector general cannot be independent, and having a legislative inspector general is a waste of resources, if a Legislative Ethics Commission staffed by legislators — all appointed by the House and Senate leaders — presides over her investigations and has the power to kill them,” Porter said in written testimony submitted to the panel. “That is precisely the system we have now in Illinois: The fox is guarding the henhouse.” […]
“Number one, the statute says that the legislative inspector general is an independent office. And I think the public thinks I’m an independent office, but I ask you if I have to go to eight legislators over whom I have jurisdiction to investigate, to ask for permission to open an investigation, how independent am I?” Pope asked.
* Hannah Meisel at the Daily Line has this bit about a legal loophole…
The legislative inspector general has jurisdiction over both lawmakers and staff members employed by each of the four caucuses. While the mandatory release of a report is fairly uniform across the inspectors general and ethics commissions across state government — any punishment of a suspension of three days or more means a founded summary report is automatically released.
However, Homer pointed out that it’s not so with lawmakers.
“Legislators can’t be suspended,” Homer said. “Ergo, there is no mandatory release of a report.”
* The commission should’ve asked Porter about her written testimony…
Former Legislative Inspector General Julie Porter on Thursday planned to testify in front of a newly formed ethics commission that legislators quashed — and hid from the public — an investigation into another sitting lawmaker, which Porter said involved “serious wrongdoing.”
Porter shared her prepared testimony with reporters ahead of the meeting with the Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform, but she never got the chance to publicly discuss the thwarted investigation. Commission members — themselves state legislators — did not ask her or others testifying to read their prepared statements, although the legislators promised to enter them into the record and publish them all on the panel’s website.
That meant Porter was not questioned about the past investigation that members of the Legislative Ethics Commission — a separate body that handles complaints against state lawmakers — effectively made sure went nowhere.
All three inspectors general said they believe it’s improper that the Legislative Ethics Commission can refuse to publish investigations when members voting on whether to publish reach a 4-4 deadlock along partisan lines.
“What has happened is the four legislative leaders, over time, have put their surrogates on there to protect the interests of the caucus and of the caucus members, and that’s really not the commission’s role,” Homer said.
He and Pope both suggested the addition of a nonpartisan citizen member to break ties.
Better yet, Pope said, the inspector general should be given the authority to initiate investigations and publish reports without seeking permission.
“There’s really no reason why the LIG should report to people whom she is charged with investigating,” Porter said. “This is a great opportunity for this joint commission to make this change. It is absolutely critical to the independence of the LIG.”
“I’ve heard from colleagues that, you know, you don’t want an inspector general going rogue or running roughshod,” said State Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago). “You don’t see that happening around the country. I don’t think that’s a real risk. What is a real risk is people losing confidence in who we are as a body and what we do.”
And lawmakers called on Governor JB Pritzker to be involved.
“He has to lead on this issue of corruption, it’s not going to get done without the governor being active,” Rep. McSweeney said.
“With nearly 7,000 units of government in Illinois, it’s time to empower local taxpayers and voters to consolidate them or eliminate them,” the governor said.
Illinois Municipal League Executive Director Brad Cole said it was time to take a look at the idea.
“And it doesn’t have to be radical,” Cole said. “I think any change, any positive movement, would be worthwhile so it doesn’t have to mean that everything gets eliminated, everything gets consolidated, but some common-sense approach would be good.”
Cole said lawmakers could either go back to previous task forces on consolidation for ideas, or come up with new ones. But he said he anticipated some snags.
“Well the barriers are obviously that everybody wants to protect their area, their piece of the pie, or if they’re an elected official or their particular unit of government, there’s a natural tendency to try and protect that,” Cole said.
(A) new report Thursday from a court-appointed watchdog suggests since Pritzker took office in January 2019 his administration has taken steps that have made it more difficult for those charged with monitoring state hiring practices to ensure political considerations aren’t influencing who gets government jobs.
Court monitor Noelle Brennan wrote in a court filing that her communication with the governor’s office and other state agencies, which “had been very productive over the years,” “has been diminished by new restrictions placed on the (court monitor’s) ability to communicate freely with agency personnel.”
“We believe these new restrictions imposed by the Governor’s Office are unproductive to the previously cooperative efforts of the parties to eliminate unlawful patronage, reform state employment practices and implement lasting improvements,” Brennan writes in the court filing.
Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh said the assertion that there are new restrictions on communication is “false.”
“There are no new restrictions, and the state will be responding in court shortly,” Abudayyeh said in a statement.
Mired in delays for seven years, President Donald Trump’s appeal for a refund of at least $1 million on his Chicago skyscraper is now the subject of two state of Illinois investigations that center on whether a Republican state official pressured his staff to cut the president a break.
Trump’s appeal of the 2012 property taxes he paid for Trump International Hotel & Tower has come under scrutiny by the state’s executive inspector general’s office and then Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.
Those are the result of an anonymous complaint the inspector general’s office received last fall that Mauro Glorioso, the executive director of the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board, pressured his staff to rule in the president’s favor, rejecting the staff’s decision to deny Trump any refund.
Glorioso is a Republican attorney from Westchester the Democratic governor appointed as the state property tax agency’s executive director last summer.
