A Logan County Circuit Court judge handed Gov. J.B. Pritzker his latest loss in a challenge to the governor’s executive authority.
Judge Jonathan C. Wright ruled Monday morning that Pritzker’s order that temporarily halted county jails from moving prisoners to state-run facilities ran afoul of state law.
The Illinois Department of Corrections must accept an inmate within 14 days of a transfer, but Pritzker’s order struck that language for the duration of his emergency orders amid the COVID-19 pandemic. There are about 36,000 inmates housed in IDOC facilities.
“The governor, nor the director of the [Department of Corrections], has independent discretion to determine what inmates they’re going to take or if they’re not going to take any,” said Jim Kaitschuck, director of the Illinois Sheriffs Association. “They just can’t have that unilateral ability to suspend or stop accepting inmates or parameters for who they would accept moving forward.”
He estimated there are about 2,000 inmates awaiting transfer to state facilities.
The ISA filed a lawsuit in late May, naming Pritzker, Illinois Department of Corrections Acting Director Rob Jeffreys, and wardens from four state prisons. The association sought not only to force the state prisons to accept transfers but also to compensate the counties for housing the inmates.
Attorneys representing the state requested a stay of the ruling while they ready an appeal. Another hearing is scheduled for Friday.
Meanwhile, a hearing in the governor’s lawsuit against some school districts over the mask requirement has been postponed.
* The governor was asked several times today about a fine for not wearing masks. He said locals should consider doing it…
In May, Pritzker asked a bipartisan legislative rule-making panel to consider a controversial rule change that would have businesses face a misdemeanor criminal charge, punishable by a $2,500 fine or 364 days in jail, for opening in violation of his stay-at-home order.
Amid complaints the penalties in that emergency rule proposal were too harsh, and when it appeared the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules may have been poised to block it, Pritzker backed off.
Pritzker on Monday said his administration is exploring another rule related to mask wearing.
“I asked JCAR to consider a rule that would impose fines when people are not requiring masks to be worn. They didn’t want to do that, they wanted to consider legislation and then didn’t bring up that legislation,” Pritzker said Monday of the four-day special General Assembly session in May. “We certainly are considering what rule we could put in place that JCAR would approve.”
The problem, of course, is that any new rule has to be based on state law, and the law currently imposes a misdemeanor, not a lower-level punishment like a business offense. As we’ve already discussed, the rule he submitted in May was also poorly drafted. Maybe he could just tighten it up and resubmit it. But because the GA didn’t act, the new rule would still have to include a misdemeanor penalty, which means a successful prosecution of a business for not requiring masks could include jail time if a state’s attorney and a judge ever agreed to go that far.
* The Question: Should the governor revamp and resubmit his emergency rule? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please…
…Adding… An example of the local enforcement Pritzker was talking about today…
Inspectors from the Sangamon County Department of Public Health cited two restaurants over the weekend for employees not wearing face coverings.
Chatham Café, 414 N. Main St., and The Main Gate Bar & Grill, 2143 N. 11th St., were each fined $250 for first-time violations, said director Gail O’Neill Monday.
It has been a comforting refrain in the national conversation about reopening schools: Young children are mostly spared by the coronavirus and don’t seem to spread it to others, at least not very often.
But Thursday, a study [led by the Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago] introduced an unwelcome wrinkle into this smooth narrative.
Infected children have at least as much of the coronavirus in their noses and throats as infected adults, according to the research. Indeed, children younger than age 5 may host up to 100 times as much of the virus in the upper respiratory tract as adults, the authors found.
That measurement does not necessarily prove that children are passing the virus to others. Still, the findings should influence the debate over reopening schools, several experts said.
Some suburban and rural leaders got their wish when their counties were separated from Chicago’s for purposes of monitoring the coronavirus. But now officials warn that many collar counties are seeing higher rates of positive tests than the city, which could prompt tighter restrictions.
In a region where nursing homes once accounted for the majority of cases, health officials say now large gatherings of young people without proper precautions are sparking outbreaks. Positivity rates have been rising in the counties surrounding Chicago, prompting Gov. J.B. Pritzker to ask local officials to start tightening the leash on COVID-19 restrictions. […]
Officials from DuPage County called for freedom from those restrictions, saying they shouldn’t be lumped together with the high caseload in Chicago. Sheriffs from Kane and Kendall counties declared that they wouldn’t enforce the governor’s orders. […]
While Chicago had a positivity rate of 4.5% as of July 25, Lake County’s rate stood at 5%, suburban Cook and McHenry each were at 5.4%, DuPage 4%, Kane 5.8%, Will 5.9% and Kendall ― the highest in the area ― was at 6.8%.
More than a century ago, as the 1918 influenza pandemic raged in the United States, masks of gauze and cheesecloth became the facial front lines in the battle against the virus. But as they have now, the masks also stoked political division. Then, as now, medical authorities urged the wearing of masks to help slow the spread of disease. And then, as now, some people resisted.
In 1918 and 1919, as bars, saloons, restaurants, theaters and schools were closed, masks became a scapegoat, a symbol of government overreach, inspiring protests, petitions and defiant bare-face gatherings. All the while, thousands of Americans were dying in a deadly pandemic.
Forty-seven new COVID-19 cases were confirmed Monday in La Salle County — the highest single-day total since the beginning of the pandemic.
Additionally, the health department confirmed a man in his 80s and a woman in her 80s died from complications related to COVID-19, increasing the number of deaths related to COVID-19 in La Salle County to 20.
The new cases are two boys younger than 13, a teenager, a man in his 20s, eight women in their 20s, two men in their 30s, a woman in her 30s, two men in their 40s, three women in their 40s, three men in their 50s, five women in their 50s, two men in their 60s, two women in their 60s, a man in his 70s, two men in their 80s, eight women in their 80s, two men in their 90s and two women in their 90s.
Big Star restaurant closes after employee tests positive for COVID-19
South Siders revel in Jeremiah Collier’s ‘uplifting’ porch session music jams
Teachers, activists rally to keep CPS schools closed during COVID-19 pandemic
We continue to fail to protect the elderly in nursing homes and their caretakers from COVID-19
*** UPDATE *** DeVore goes fishing for more clients…
I need a parent with kids in each school district within each of these counties who is dissatisfied with their district following the face mask mandate to message me please.
Q: Republicans are talking [at a press conference today] about campaign finances and Madigan … They’re essentially saying [Democrats] shouldn’t take Madigan’s campaign money. Do you plan on making a similar type of pledge? And do you plan on not giving campaign funds to funds that Madigan controls?
A: Yes, I will continue to not take money from others for my campaign [extended laughter]. And, and, and [speaking over laughter] and I will [cross talk] support, yeah, I have and I will, you can look and see. I support candidates, state Senators, state House members and others who are running and I will continue to do that.
Q: But will you be giving funds to Madigan campaign funds that he controls?
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 1,298 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 10 additional confirmed deaths.
- Adams County: 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s
- Cook County: 1 male 40s, 1 female 50s, 1 male 70s, 1 male 90s
- LaSalle County: 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s
- Peoria County: 1 female 70s
- Winnebago County: 1 male 80s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 183,241 cases, including 7,526 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 28,475 specimens for a total of 2,806,797. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from July 27 –August 2 is 4.0% As of last night, 1,418 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 347 patients were in the ICU and 132 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
Following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, IDPH is now reporting both confirmed and probable cases and deaths on its website. Reporting probable cases will help show the potential burden of COVID-19 illness and efficacy of population-based non-pharmaceutical interventions. IDPH will update these data once a week.
*All data are provisional and will change. In order to rapidly report COVID-19 information to the public, data are being reported in real-time. Information is constantly being entered into an electronic system and the number of cases and deaths can change as additional information is gathered. Information for deaths previously reported has changed, therefore, today’s numbers have been adjusted. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.
* Sunday…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 1,467 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 14 additional confirmed deaths.
Adams County: 1 female 90s
Cook County: 1 female 60s, 2 males 60s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 90s
Kane County: 1 male 60s
Madison County: 1 male 70s
McHenry County: 1 male 50s
Montgomery County: 1 female 90s
Rock Island County: 1 male 90s
Winnebago County: 2 females 80s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 181,943 cases, including 7,517 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 38,945 specimens for a total of 2,778,322. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from July 26–August 1 is 3.9%. As of last night, 1,407 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 339 patients were in the ICU and 126 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
* Saturday…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 1,639 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 8 additional confirmed deaths.
Cook County: 1 male 70s, 1 male 80s
Kane County: 1 female 60s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s, 1 female 90s
McHenry County: 1 female 70s
St. Clair County: 1 male 70s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 180,476 cases, including 7,503 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 39,809 specimens for a total of 2,739,377. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from July 25 –July 31 is 3.9%. As of last night, 1,347 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 334 patients were in the ICU and 148 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
Over the 35 years Speaker Madigan has presided over the lower chamber, Democrats have increasingly voted more liberally, according to new analysis from the American Conservative Union Foundation (ACUF), host of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). This new radical Left regime has since passed Governor J.B. Pritzker’s “soak the rich” progressive income tax regime which Illinoisans will consider on the November 2020 ballot.
In 2012 when ACUF first began analyzing the voting records of the General Assembly, House Democrats earned an average conservative score of 35%. However, as Speaker Madigan began turning in scores of 16%, 6% and 5% over the next few sessions, House Democrats followed suit and earned average scores of 19%, 14% and 11%.
“While Speaker Madigan’s near-five-decade reign appears to be coming to a disgraceful end, the Illinois Democrats he helped convert into socialists have so far survived his criminal scandal,” said ACU Chairman Matt Schlapp. “Throughout his 47 years in power, Illinois has earned the lowest credit rating in the country, weathered the most severe pension crisis in U.S. history and suffered the worst population decline in the last 10 years. Is there a more damning indictment of liberalism than Madigan’s tenure in government?”
On average, lawmakers of the House of Representatives voted more liberally than their counterparts in the Senate. House Democrats (17.92% average) proved more liberal than Senate Democrats (14.09%). A greater share of senators (10%) earned awards for conservative voting records than representatives (7%). The Illinois General Assembly matched its overall average score compared to the previous session (35.6%).
ACUF’s Ratings of Congress and Ratings of the States are initiatives of ACUF’s Center for Legislative Accountability (CLA). These ratings are designed to reflect how over 8,000 elected officials across the nation view the role of government while illustrating the differences between chambers of the legislature and revealing lawmakers’ positions on a wide variety of issues that directly affect citizens.
ACU Foundation reviewed each piece of legislation voted on in both chambers of the legislature to produce average scores of each chamber as well as individual scores for each sitting member.
Click Here to view the 2019 Ratings of Illinois online and Click Here to visit our website.
I would suggest that Bruce Rauner did far more to “radicalize” House Democrats than Madigan did, but whatevs.
* Meanwhile, perhaps now some folks will realize why the Democrats in power here are so reluctant to embrace this concept…
The Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) today released its latest web advertisement warning Americans about Democrats’ true motives behind their unprecedented spending in state legislative races in 2020: liberal gerrymandering.
Though this may come with great shock to much of the left-wing media, who for years have bought into Democrats’ faux campaigns for ‘fair maps,’ liberal activists and their allies in Congress have been plotting a socialist takeover of the United States and have identified the 2020 redistricting cycle as its best opportunity to bring their rigged maps to battleground states where they’ve yet to successfully silence conservative voices and shut-out accurate representation. Disguised as a ‘fight for fairness,’ these efforts are overtly partisan and blatantly hypocritical. In fact, one far-Left group led by Barack Obama and Eric Holder state in IRS filings its purpose is to “favorably position Democrats for the redistricting process.” The RSLC, the national political organization leading the fight to defeat coordinated efforts to rig maps in favor of Democrats, exposes hypocrisies like these and more in the video below.
On August 2, 2020, at approximately 2:10 a.m., Illinois State Police (ISP) District Chicago Troopers were on the scene of a jackknifed commercial motor vehicle traffic crash with lane closures on Interstate 94 northbound at 95th Street in Cook County.
During the initial traffic crash investigation, as a Trooper was seated inside of his fully marked stationary squad car with the emergency lights activated, his squad car was struck. A 2000 Silver Honda, drove through the lane closures, failed to yield to authorized emergency vehicles, and sideswiped the driver’s side of the Trooper’s squad car. The Trooper did not sustain any injuries. The driver of the Honda, who was identified as Shante T. Newson, 31-year-old female of Chicago, Illinois, was arrested for Resisting Arrest, Aggravated Driving Under the Influence and cited for a violation of Scott’s Law; other charges pending. The Investigation is still open and ongoing. No further information is available at this time.
The ISP would like to remind the public of the requirements of Scott’s Law, otherwise known as the “Move Over” law. When approaching an emergency vehicle, or any vehicle with their hazard lights activated, drivers are required to slow down, and move over and change lanes if possible.
“Please avoid an unnecessary tragedy by making responsible choices when behind the wheel,” stated ISP District Chicago Captain, Angelo Mollo. “Emergency personnel risk their lives daily to protect others. We would like to remind the motoring public to please obey all traffic laws, including the “Move Over” (Scott’s) Law, in order to protect the lives of our Troopers, other first responders and all members of the public,” he concluded.
Governor JB Pritzker launched a new $5 million awareness campaign today to encourage Illinois residents to wear a face covering every time they’re in public — because it only works if you wear it. Following the data-driven approach that has guided Illinois’ coronavirus response, the campaign uses local information to advertise on broadcast and cable television, radio, billboards and social media to the communities with the greatest risk from COVID-19.
The Governor launched the campaign from the State Emergency Operations Center in Springfield with those who are helping to lead the state’s response: Dr. Ngozi Ezike, Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, and Alicia Tate-Nadeau, Director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. As of Friday, 11 counties have now reached IDPH’s “warning level” for virus spread, including here in Sangamon County.
“I’m proud to launch a new public awareness campaign today that has a straightforward message for Illinoisans: A mask is like anything that keeps us safe. It only works if you wear it,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “We’ve made so much progress since the beginning of this pandemic. Let’s protect that progress. This is our moment to pull together as families, friends and neighbors. We’re all safer and stronger when we go all in, Illinois.”
“This campaign connects the dots between daily actions we take to keep ourselves safe and one the best things we can do to fight COVID-19: wearing a mask,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. When you get in a car, you buckle your seatbelt to protect yourself in case you get into an accident. When you play football or ride your bike, you put on a helmet to reduce your risk of seriously injuring your head or brain. When you’re on the water, you put on a life jacket so you don’t drown. And when you’re in the bedroom, you use a condom to protect against STIs. A mask is no different. It only works when you wear it.”
“Governor Pritzker, Dr. Ezike and I spend each and every day poring over the numbers, making decisions to keep people safe and planning for what’s ahead,” said IEMA Director Alicia Tate-Nadeau. “If we continue on the track we’re on, we’ll need to look at bringing back some restrictions that we’ve seen over the last few months. Nobody wants that. We haven’t seen enough people wearing face coverings and following the rule we put in place on May 1. If more people do their part by wearing a mask in public, we can move forward, not backward. Let’s go all in, Illinois.”
Governor Pritzker introduced Illinois’ mask-wearing requirement on May 1, the same day Illinois moved into Phase 2, and called for a national mask mandate during testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives on July 8.
Building on decades of public health campaigns that have helped the public adopt safety precautions as daily practices, the campaign reminds Illinoisans that wearing a mask is just like wearing a seatbelt, a helmet or lifejacket, tools used every day to prevent serious injury or even death. Research has found that highlighting these commonsense comparisons is the most effective messaging to change behavior and increase mask usage. Research also demonstrates that wearing a face covering is one of the most effective ways of decreasing the spread of the virus, and new research indicates it could also provide important protection to the wearer.
The $5 million campaign will reach residents statewide in both English and Spanish through a variety of traditional and online media channels, including broadcast, cable and connected TV; streaming audio and radio; billboards; digital display and video; and social media. Like other coronavirus-related expenses, costs are reimbursable by the federal government.
Driven by real-time data, the awareness effort will respond to the latest trends in cases and mobility at the county level, following the evolving on-the-ground conditions in communities across the state. For example, if both cases and mobility are high in a county, platforms in that county would receive the maximum amount of funding, while counties with lower cases and mobility would receive baseline funding. The funding model was built to ensure all counties have ample coverage of this vital public health messaging.
‘It only works if you wear it’ was developed by Illinois-based ad agency OKRP, directed by world-renowned photographer Sandro and produced with SAG-AFTRA talent. The campaign is supported by TimeZoneOne and Spurrier Group and guided by data insights from the state’s COVID-19 modeling team and Civis Analytics.
Click the link, take a look around and tell us what you think.
*** UPDATE *** I do love this country…
Chicago designer Borris Powell is making it work through these tough times with his innovative ideas and now he has created a mask that lets the wearer enjoy their favorite drink while still staying protected. https://t.co/hGNqP7U7DO
The University of Illinois Flash Index in July continued its gradual climb up from the COVID-19 shock that left the index at 92.8 in May. The July index increased to 93.9 from its 93.1 level in June.
“Despite some recovery in the last two months, the index is still below the 100-dividing line between economic growth and decline,” said University of Illinois economist J. Fred Giertz, who compiles the monthly index for the Institute of Government and Public Affairs. “The renewed prevalence of the virus in some areas indicates a slow, uncertain path for the economy unless an effective vaccine emerges.”
The Illinois unemployed rate also fell to 14.6% from 15.3% the previous month, more than 10 percentage points above the same month last year. The Illinois rate is now 3.5 percentage points above the national level prior to the crisis. This suggests that the Illinois economy has been impacted more severely than the rest of the nation.
In July, individual income and corporate tax receipts were up considerably after adjusting for inflation compared to last year while sales tax receipts were down slightly. Unfortunately, the increase in the two sources was likely the result of the change in the tax filing date to July 15 from April 15.
The Flash Index is normally a weighted average of Illinois growth rates in corporate earnings, consumer spending and personal income as estimated from receipts for corporate income, individual income and retail sales taxes. These are adjusted for inflation before growth rates are calculated. See the full Flash Index Archive.
The growth rate for each component is then calculated for the 12-month period using data through July 31, 2020. For the last five months, several ad hoc adjustments were made to deal with the timing of the tax receipts resulting from state and Federal changes in payment dates that were made to lessen the impact of the closures.
Leaders of the unions representing SIUC graduate assistants (Graduate Assistants United) and tenured and tenure-track faculty (the SIUC Faculty Association) called today for SIUC to commit to remote learning, teaching, and working this fall semester, with exceptions only for those courses and other university functions that absolutely must take place on campus.
With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to worsen across the United States, Illinois, southern Illinois, and Jackson County, union leaders believe the time has come to put safety first. Only those courses that absolutely must be offered on-campus should be offered on-campus, they believe. And students should be encouraged to remain off-campus if they have a safe place where they can effectively continue their studies off-campus.
“If we encourage students to congregate in Carbondale, we will not only endanger their health and safety, but that of SIUC instructors and staff, and others in the Carbondale area,” said Dave Johnson, president of the SIUC Faculty Association.
The unions are negotiating with the university in an effort to reduce risks in the classroom, and report that both sides are negotiating in good faith, and that progress has been made. The university is taking steps to reduce risk on campus. But these measures can’t address the issue of transmission outside of classrooms and dorms. Most students don’t live in dorms, and the average student spends no more than fifteen hours a week in the classroom.
“Masks and social distancing on campus are essential,” Johnson noted, “but the university can do very little to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 outside of on-campus housing and classrooms. We are already seeing far too many cases among the college-age population in Jackson County. We’ve seen all over the country that increased cases lead to hospitalization and deaths. We have to listen to what the scientists are telling us, rather than just hoping for the best.”
If students need to come to Carbondale for classes that can only be offered in person, or if Carbondale is a safer and more practical place for them to pursue their studies, they should be welcomed back to the safest conditions the university can provide, the groups believe. But many students may be in a safer and more productive learning environment if they remain outside of Carbondale.
Leaders of both unions also worry that the on-campus experience would not meet students’ expectations, due to the constraints posed by the pandemic. Even under the current reopening plan, most courses would be partially or completely online, and campus services and activities would be limited. This compromised on-campus experience could hurt SIUC’s reputation in the long run, they point out.
“Students and families should make the decisions that are right for them,” Johnson noted. “The on-campus experience simply isn’t going resemble what it’s been like in years past, and we shouldn’t be asking students to return to campus just to fill dorms and pay fees.”
Another issue of concern for the groups is transparency about COVID-19 cases on campus. While the university quickly reported COVID-19 cases this spring, there has been no clear public reporting about the cases that have occurred on campus since then. This makes it impossible for students, families, and others to make informed decisions about safety on campus.
SIUC faculty and graduate assistants believe that the best way for SIUC to ensure a safe and productive teaching and learning environment this fall is to take the following steps:
1. Offer all courses remotely unless they can only be offered face to face and are required for students to advance in their programs and graduate.
2. Encourage students to return to Carbondale only if they are registered for courses that must be offered face to face or can only safely and effectively continue their studies by returning.
3. Focus planning and resources on ensuring the safety of students and staff who do need to study and work on campus.
4. Work urgently to address the digital divide by providing all off-campus students with reliable access to the internet.
5. Repurpose fees to address the digital divide and refund other on-campus fees for students who remain off-campus.
6. Work with unions to advocate for state and federal funding to make universities whole for economic losses suffered due to the COVID-19 crisis.
7. Work with unions to get the state and federal government to provide extended unemployment benefits for any workers who are laid off or cannot work safely on campus.
“We all want to return to the classroom as soon as we can do so safely,” said Anna Wilcoxen, president of Graduate Assistants United. “But it’s just not safe yet, physically or psychologically, and an unsafe learning environment does not lead to a quality education. If we act now to switch to remote learning, we can provide students with a high-quality educational experience while protecting our communities against the deadly threat of COVID-19.”
Illinois Rising Action launched a new television and digital ad calling for Governor Pritzker to take immediate action on ethics reforms. Amid the bribery investigations into Speaker Madigan and the ongoing investigation into Governor Pritzker’s property tax scheme, it has never been clearer that ethics reforms are needed.
“When it comes to standing up against corruption, Governor Pritzker chooses political rhetoric over real action on much-needed ethics reforms,” said Kayleen Carlson, executive director of Illinois Rising Action. “Governor Pritzker continues to protect his political ally, Mike Madigan, by refusing to call for a special session to address ethics reforms even as Madigan and Pritzker himself are under federal investigation. The time has come to put an end to the cronyism and corruption that has plagued Springfield for decades.”
* I have no info on a broadcast purchase, if any, but Comcast reports Illinois Rising Action is spending $102,530 on this ad over the next week in Chicago and $8,706 in the Champaign/Springfield/Decatur zone…
Leaders in education, politics and other areas gathered in suburban Evanston Sunday to ask that the Illinois State Board of Education change the history curriculum at schools statewide, and temporarily halt instruction until an alternative is decided upon.
At a news conference, State Rep. LaShawn K. Ford said current history teachings lead to a racist society and overlook the contributions of women and minorities.
John Oliver ran a segment last night on this very topic. Click here to watch it, but just know beforehand there’s some naughty words that your coworkers might not wanna hear.
That segment got me to thinking about the tremendous amount of crud that was taught to me in high school - and none of it was in math class, or science, or English. Almost all history. Thank goodness I had parents who were both interested in the topic and strongly urged their kids to seek out more than what we were spoon-fed in school.
Little by little, Gov. J.B. Pritzker is being nudged in the direction of a possibly epic confrontation with Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan—one the governor has been trying to avoid for years.
Pritzker resisted the calls for Madigan to step down as House speaker and Democratic Party of Illinois chairman during the House’s 2018 sexual harassment crisis. He’s been similarly reluctant for the past year, amid the Commonwealth Edison fallout, and then for the past few weeks since ComEd’s admission that it bribed lawmakers to get what it wanted out of Springfield.
And it’s pretty obvious why: Pritzker still wants to get things done with the General Assembly.
From what I know, the mindset in Pritzker’s office is that Madigan would never heed his call to step down anyway. Instead, the only thing such a demand would accomplish is to make Madigan so angry that nothing would ever get done. There’s no doubt Madigan helped Pritzker line up the support he needed, particularly from organized labor, to win a contested 2018 Democratic primary. So there may be some residual loyalty at play here as well.
As the ComEd scandal and other embarrassing disclosures increased in number and volume, Pritzker began saying last year that a law enforcement raid, a prosecutorial indictment or similar action would trigger his call for Madigan to step aside. So far, as I write this, none of that has happened.
When I pressed him in January during a one-on-one interview, the governor told me that “clear” evidence of targeting by criminal investigators would be “the point at which folks should step aside.”
NBC 5 reporter Mary Ann Ahern asked the governor on my behalf at a July 29 Chicago press conference if he didn’t see clear evidence of targeting by the feds in the deferred prosecution agreement that alleged bribery by ComEd to obtain legislative favors from Madigan.
“Well I have been clear that, you know, when there is a raid, when there is an indictment, you know, I have called for people to step down from their positions, or to resign,” the governor stuttered.
“By the way,” Pritzker said, “that’s the same thing that the Republican caucus leaders in the General Assembly said when they responded.”
Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady did release a statement saying that “if” the allegations proved true, then Madigan should resign. But his entire caucus (including him) issued a statement days later saying Madigan should resign. And the day after Pritzker used GOP leaders as a human shield, House Republican Leader Jim Durkin said Madigan should immediately resign.
The calls were mostly brief and to the point, recipients said. House Speaker Michael Madigan just wanted to know where his members stood last week after two of his members demanded that he step aside as House speaker and Democratic Party of Illinois chairman.
Did they agree with their fellow Democratic state representatives Terra Costa Howard and Stephanie Kifowit, he asked, that he should resign?
Enough said they did not agree that Madigan issued a statement hours later saying the feedback he received was positive and that he had “no plans to resign.”
The House Black Caucus, for one, appears to be mostly sticking with Madigan. That’s really no surprise. He’s been loyal to African American members for years — killing or altering bills they opposed, protecting their districts even after Chicago lost almost 200,000 African-Americans in the last census, etc.
But it goes deeper than that. Black legislators, like most Black people, all know someone who’s been falsely accused of a crime, be it family, friends or constituents. Most are strong backers of social justice reforms. Several told me it would be counter to what they stood for to turn on Madigan now. The same goes for many Latinx legislators. If those two caucuses ever turn on him, though, the party is over. And Madigan surely knows that.
Most “regular” and Downstate Democrats also appear to still be with Madigan. He’s been good to them as well, and the next speaker might be far more liberal than they’d prefer.
And then there’s organized labor, which has long supported Madigan, but then welded themselves to him during the Bruce Rauner years when the Republican governor was trying to kill them off. Labor is the largest source of campaign cash and precinct workers in the state. Cross the unions and you have few other places to turn to for help. Few Democrats will risk this.
Many of the House Democrats I spoke with last week made a “stability” argument. They complained that the people demanding that Madigan resign haven’t presented an alternative to Madigan.
Who, for instance, would handle the fundraising and the precinct work and everything else involved with winning elections this fall if Madigan suddenly departed? Who would lay the groundwork for the fall veto session? Creating a sudden void with no alternative just didn’t make sense to them at this moment, although that may very well change if any of his close associates are indicted, some admitted.
Black Caucus members with whom I spoke almost uniformly pointed to their own internal confusion and stagnation since May when their caucus chair Kimberly Lightford abruptly resigned. They and other Democrats also talked about the brutal infighting within the Senate Democratic caucus after Senate President John Cullerton unexpectedly retired last year. A Madigan departure would be 10, 20 or 50 times worse than any of that, they said, and they’re probably right.
In my conversations with Black Caucus members, I was told that they hadn’t received a single constituent phone call about Madigan since the ComEd deferred prosecution agreement was revealed. Their constituents, I was told, are totally focused on things like crime, unemployment benefits and navigating through everything else wrought by the pandemic. In other words, they’re preoccupied with life during particularly hard times and just don’t care about MJM.
I’m not trying to defend or justify any of this, by the way. I despise treating politics like a one-dimensional cartoon. There’s more going on than may meet the eye with a cursory glance at the headlines.
On the other side of the spectrum, first-term suburban women have their own issues to deal with.
Many of their constituents are indeed making angry calls about Madigan. The speaker’s money and talent may not be enough to save some of them in the face of all this scandal with ComEd and maybe other companies which have more recently been subpoenaed. And as I’ve told you before, the system Madigan built works only as long as his members believe he can protect them from their opponents. Once that confidence is gone, he serves no purpose.
More importantly, this situation is most definitely not why they signed up for a political run. A lot of these folks were activated after Hillary Clinton’s 2016 loss. So, being connected in any way to an alleged bribery scheme likely makes their skin crawl.
It appears that Madigan has bought himself some time, for now. But if more people are charged and the feds get even closer to him, that may not turn out to be enough.
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