Federal prosecutors filed long-anticipated criminal charges Friday against former Cook County Commissioner Jeffrey Tobolski, accusing him of a conspiracy to commit extortion.
The feds also accused Tobolski of filing a false income tax return. The charges against Tobolski appeared in a document known as an information, which typically signals a defendant intends to plead guilty.
Tobolski resigned in March from his posts on the Cook County Board and in McCook, where he’d been mayor, months after federal agents searched his offices at McCook’s Village Hall. Agents also seized $55,205 in cash from Tobolski’s home at that time, including $51,611 taken “from within a safe,” according to records obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.
According to the bare-bones charges, Tobolski allegedly conspired with an unnamed McCook official to extort a victim identified only as Individual A. He also allegedly filed a falsified income tax return for 2018, according the the paperwork.
Defendants charged by criminal information typically intend to plead guilty.
To lessen my troubles
I stopped hanging out with vultures
And empty saviors like you
Oh I wish I had a nickel for every miracle
That you easily tricked me into
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration is replacing two top Illinois Department of Public Health officials in charge of the state’s efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19 through nursing homes, WBEZ has learned.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is announcing a top to bottom, independent review of its Bureau of Long-Term Care in the Office of Health Care Regulation, in response to a delay in the investigation of abuse and neglect complaints during the COVID-19 pandemic. Manatt Health Strategies, LLC, has been hired to conduct a top to bottom review of the division, with a focus on recommending best practices to ensure proper licensure and oversight activities by the Bureau of Long-Term Care. IDPH has also hired a former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, A. Courtney Cox, to take a closer look at specific investigations IDPH conducted into complaints made concerning long-term care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. This review will inform IDPH’s efforts to improve existing procedures.
The independent reviews are being launched in response to IDPH’s recent discovery that the Bureau of Long-Term Care was not properly processing and investigating complaints of abuse and neglect at long-term care facilities from approximately March 15 to June 30, 2020. IDPH took immediate action to ensure all of the complaints received during this time period have been investigated. IDPH also took appropriate personnel action. […]
As soon as IDPH leadership identified that some abuse and neglect complaints had been improperly classified and not investigated in a timely manner, surveyors were directed to investigate all complaints of abuse and neglect that had not yet been investigated. Investigations for all of complaints of abuse and neglect that were received during that time period have now been completed. These investigations include an on-site visit, interviews with necessary individuals, review of relevant facility documents, and, where appropriate, confirmation that law enforcement had also been notified at the time of the incident alleged in the complaint.
* Jim Prescott has been speaking for Gov. Jim Thompson’s family this week, so I’ve been in contact with him almost every day. This is from an email he sent me today…
I’ve said this before, and it’s not really a new concept, but there are three parts to being governor: politics, process and policy. He was the best at all three. Other governors may have been better at one of the three, but nobody was as good across the board as JRT. Actually, he was probably better in all three than anybody.
Thompson was equally at ease working with Dr. Leon Lederman, Nobel Prize winner in physics and director of Fermilab. In response to Illinois losing its bid for the Superconductor Super Collider, Thompson and Lederman brought together Illinois’ leading research universities, national laboratories and corporate executives and created a state-funded program to compete for federal grants for science and technology projects.
During the controversy surrounding the proposed closure of the Native American burial ground at Dickson Mounds Museum, Thompson met with Native American activists. He also dropped by beauty shops in Lewistown to hear what local women thought.
Thompson listened to disparate views and made well-informed decisions. He relied on staff to prepare comprehensive bill reviews and position papers before acting on bills passed by the legislature and making other decisions. He factored in the policy issues, budgetary impacts, political implications and kept track of who were proponents and opponents.
Thompson’s environmental record earned him respect from the environmental community. He expanded funding for open space and included funding for natural areas and the environment in his large Build Illinois infrastructure program. He agreed to listen to presentations by the Illinois Environmental Council about major policy issues; this memorable meeting lasted five hours. His administration was responsible for significant environmental legislation, including the Solid Waste Management Act and Groundwater Protection Act.
Thompson was an advocate for the arts and cultural organizations. He created the Historic Preservation Agency. Thompson had a personal interest in art and antiques and hosted antique shows on the grounds of the governor’s mansion. When the Thompson Center was built in the Chicago Loop, an Illinois Art Gallery and Illinois Artisans Shop graced the second floor, thanks to Thompson. He created the Illinois Artisans Program within the Illinois State Museum to raise the visibility of the state’s talented artisans. He led many trade missions, and the gifts he gave to foreign leaders were often handcrafted items made by Illinois artisans. He requested the Illinois State Museum Society operate a second artisans shop in the Executive Mansion. A few weeks prior to leaving office, Thompson cut the ribbon opening the Southern Illinois Art and Artisans Center at Rend Lake. The center, which sadly is now closed, has a colorful history connected to wrangling votes for the White Sox Stadium.
During his four terms as Illinois Governor, Jim Thompson acquired a deserved reputation as a builder. His legacy includes scores of crucial roads, bridges and buildings, in every part of the state, that were constructed or restored under his leadership.
But nothing Jim Thompson built, no legislation he signed into law, has had greater impact on the quality of life for millions of Illinoisans than the collective bargaining legislation he signed into law in the 1980s.
Prior to collective bargaining, public school teachers and support staff professionals were routinely treated as second-class citizens by local school boards. The boards would often dictate the terms of the employee contracts, which established not only compensation but also the teaching and learning conditions in the schools, including class size. […]
In the seven years before collective bargaining, there were, on average, 25 teacher strikes each year. This constant turmoil was bad for the teaching profession, bad for the students and bad for the communities served by public schools.
Governor Thompson realized this and told the Illinois Education Association that, if we could convince the General Assembly to pass a collective bargaining bill, he would sign it.
* He was also a proud father…
* Related…
* Here’s the plunger from which Jim Thompson drank at a WIU football game. Allegedly.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and her City Council allies stalled an effort led by political rivals on Friday to declare a state of emergency in Chicago and ask the governor to send the National Guard into the city.
A handful of aldermen, including Raymond Lopez, Anthony Beale and Anthony Napolitano, invoked a rarely used state law on Wednesday to force the City Council into a special meeting. Only 26 members were needed to hold a meeting, but nearly the entire council roster was present for the virtual meeting.
Moments into it, and after a brief debate, Lightfoot allies maneuvered the National Guard proposal into a committee — delaying the matter for possible future consideration.
Public safety chairman Ald. Chris Taliaferro, 29th, accused the aldermen who pushed the measure of being anti-democratic for circumventing the normal system where proposals are introduced and debated in committee before heading to the full City Council. Taliaferro then called for a vote to send the matter to committee
Just another example of grandstanders rarely doing the work required to actually accomplish their stated goals.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 20 counties in Illinois are considered to be at a warning level for novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). A county enters a warning level when two or more COVID-19 risk indicators that measure the amount of COVID-19 increase.
Twenty counties are currently reported at a warning level – Bureau, Cass, Clay, Clinton, Franklin, Greene, Grundy, Hancock, Henderson, Jefferson, Logan, Madison, Monroe, Moultrie, Randolph, St. Clair, Union, Whiteside, Will, and Williamson.
These counties saw cases or outbreaks associated with weddings, businesses, neighborhood gatherings, parties, long-term care facilities and other congregate settings, travel to neighboring states, bars, sports camps, and spread among members of the same household who are not isolating at home. Cases connected to schools are also beginning to be reported.
Public health officials are observing people not social distancing or using face coverings. Additionally, there are reports of individuals who are ill attributing their symptoms to allergies or other illnesses, or not being forthcoming about their symptoms or close contacts.
Several counties are taking swift action and implementing mitigation measures to help slow spread of the virus, including working to increase testing in their communities and launching mask campaigns such as “Masks on Faces Keeps Places Open.”
IDPH uses numerous indicators when determining if a county is experiencing stable COVID-19 activity, or if there are warning signs of increased COVID-19 risk in the county.
• New cases per 100,000 people. If there are more than 50 new cases per 100,000 people in the county, this triggers a warning.
• Number of deaths. This metric indicates a warning when the weekly number of deaths increases more than 20% for two consecutive weeks.
• Weekly test positivity. This metric indicates a warning when the 7-day test positivity rate rises above 8%.
• ICU availability. If there are fewer than 20% of intensive care units available in the region, this triggers a warning.
• Weekly emergency department visits. This metric indicates a warning when the weekly percent of COVID-19-like-illness emergency department visits increase by more than 20% for two consecutive weeks.
• Weekly hospital admissions. A warning is triggered when the weekly number of hospital admissions for COVID-19-like-illness increases by more than 20% for two consecutive weeks.
• Tests perform. This metric is used to provide context and indicate if more testing is needed in the county.
• Clusters. This metric looks at the percent of COVID-19 cases associated with clusters or outbreaks and is used to understand large increase in cases.
These metrics are intended to be used for local level awareness to help local leaders, businesses, local health departments, and the public make informed decisions about personal and family gatherings, as well as what activities they choose to do. The metrics are updated weekly, from the Sunday-Saturday of the prior week.
A map and information of each county’s status can be found on the IDPH website at https://www.dph.illinois.gov/countymetrics.
Clay County, of course, has been where Rep. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) and Tom DeVore have filed several COVID-related lawsuits, which have now been moved to Sangamon County (which is not on the warning list).
Apparently, when you don’t play ball with the governor’s office, other people suffer. In this ballgame of politics, the victims are the minority-owned small businesses in Illinois.
The Illinois State Black Chamber of Commerce is a 23-year-old institution and one of the largest and most active voices for African American businesses in Illinois. Ninety percent of our members are small businesses, and as the head of this organization it’s my job to promote and advance their interests.
With an extensive business background and as an expert on small businesses, I was asked by Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office to be a key panelist with Groupon during an Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity webinar to celebrate August as National Black Business Month.
The event was Thursday. Unexpectedly, Wednesday morning I was notified by the governor’s office that I was no longer on the panel.
Why? The ILBCC dared to express a concern in opposition to the administration. On Monday, I was mentioned in the media speaking out against the governor’s proposed graduated-rate income tax amendment, which is to appear on the November ballot.
“They told me it was because I disagreed on the ‘fair tax,’ ” Ivory said, using Pritzker’s preferred terminology. “The panel had nothing to do with the fair tax. It had to do with National Black Business Month. I’ve never seen something as petty, in my opinion, as that. I think we can agree to disagree. At any point in time, the governor could have said, ‘I want you to understand what we’re trying to accomplish here.’ ”
* I checked in with Jordan Abudayyeh…
This situation was the result of a mistake. The Governor has never shied away from talking with people who oppose initiatives he is pursuing and hearing their views.
She did not say what that “mistake” was, however.
* Marine Corps veteran Ivory’s Illinois Black Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1997. It’s a legit group. And it has decidedly Republican leanings. There’s certainly nothing wrong with that, but Ivory was all-in for Bruce Rauner…
Speaking at the Illinois Black Chamber of Commerce’s (ILBCC) annual gathering on Aug. 8, Gov. Bruce Rauner said he was honored to be the recipient of the 2018 Alfred A. Fletcher Lifetime Achievement Award, which he received earlier this summer.
“There is no better governor as far as we are concerned,” ILBCC President and CEO Larry Ivory said in introducing Rauner.
Last fiscal year, Walker’s Decatur branch received a $220,000 incubator grant from DCEO. But the statewide BCCI’s Facebook page and website are both currently inactive.
* Anyway, that’s a deep dive into the weeds to say I doubt the governor’s office would’ve intentionally invited Ivory. But I doubt a soul would’ve noticed had Ivory spoken out about the “Fair Tax” during an obscure webinar. Now, he’s getting a bunch of press.
The original invite might’ve been a mistake, but the real mistake was disinviting Ivory. Next time, just bite the darned bullet.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 2,208 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 24 additional confirmed deaths.
- Cook County: 1 male 30s, 2 males 40s, 2 female 60s, 1 male 60s, 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s,1 female 80s
- DuPage County: 1 male 50s
- Iroquois County: 1 male 80s
- Knox County: 1 female 80s
- Lake County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s
- LaSalle County: 1 female 70s
- Macon County: 1 female 80s
- Madison County: 1 male 60s, 1 female 90s
- Mason County: 1 male 50s
- Perry County: 1 male 90s
- Rock Island County: 1 female 80s
- Sangamon County: 1 female 90s
- Will County: 1 male 60s
- Williamson County: 1 male 70s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 215,929 cases, including 7,857 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 51,736 specimens for a total of 3,592,919. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from August 14 – August 20 is 4.3%. As of last night, 1,526 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 351 patients were in the ICU and 121 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. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration is proposing a series of “accountability” measures for utility companies as part of an energy policy agenda unveiled Friday, a month after federal prosecutors said the state’s largest utility, Commonwealth Edison, engaged in a “yearslong bribery scheme” while seeking political favors in Springfield.
Improving transparency and ethics is the first of eight principles in Pritzker’s agenda, which also includes a number of clean energy proposals. […]
The agenda also calls for an additional disclosure requirement for elected and appointed officials if they have relatives who work for regulated utilities. […]
In a statement issued Friday morning, ComEd spokeswoman Shannon Breymaier said company officials are reviewing Pritzker’s energy proposals. She also said that past infrastructure investments “have been fully vetted in a transparent process” and have benefited customers.
“ComEd has already moved aggressively to implement comprehensive ethics reforms to ensure that the unacceptable conduct outlined in the agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office never happens again,” Breymaier said in a statement. “However, we recognize the importance and challenge of rebuilding the trust of the public, regulators and elected officials, and look forward to working with these stakeholders to achieve the state’s ambitious clean energy goals.”
Declaring that utilities “can no longer write the state’s energy policies behind closed doors,” Pritzker’s office issued a set of proposals Friday that include getting rid of the state’s formula rate system, banning utilities from making charitable contributions and requiring elected officials to report any relatives who work for a regulated utility company in their ethics filings.
The proposal (click here) doesn’t outright ban charitable contributions. It bans utilities from using ratepayer money for contributions (which often go to charities favored by elected officials). That money would have to come from profits if Pritzker has his way.
...Adding… I’ll put the full press release on the live coverage post, but here are his 8 principles…
1. Strengthen Utility Company Transparency and Ethics Requirements
2. Expand Consumer Affordability Protections
3. Make Illinois a Renewable Energy Leader and Phase Out Dirty Power
4. Implement a Market-Based Solution That Supports Clean Power and Clean Air
5. Electrify and Decarbonize Illinois’ Transportation Sector
6. Support Communities Transitioning to Clean Energy
7. Advance Equity in the Growing Clean Energy Economy
8. Enhance Energy Efficiency in Illinois
Tops on the governor’s wish list is an immediate repeal of so-called formula rates, which ComEd won in 2011 through a bill that former Gov. Pat Quinn vetoed. His veto later was overridden by the General Assembly.
That rate structure enabled ComEd to automatically get increases to cover any operating losses, which essentially guaranteed the company a profit every year. The law limited the role of the Illinois Commerce Commission in setting rates.
The rate structure is due to expire in 2022, but the company has actively pushed for an extension. […]
Pritzker’s demands also include the elimination of deposits and late fees for low-income residential ratepayers and an end to fees assessed for the online payment of bills.
Additionally, the governor is seeking beefed-up disclosure of shut-offs and reconnections to state utility regulators, which were not consistently reported before Pritzker’s COVID-19 moratorium on shutoffs.
Pritzker also is “highly skeptical” of Exelon’s proposal, mirrored in the environmentalist-supported Clean Energy Jobs Act, to have the state take over from a federally chartered regional power administrator the task of setting prices reflected in electric bills paid to power plants to promise to deliver during high-demand periods, Mitchell says. The state would be directed to have consumers pay more to carbon-free power sources like Exelon’s nuclear plants than coal- and natural gas-fired plants emitting heat-trapping gases.
“The first step in that (policy) is to annually pay each of Exelon’s nuclear plants an amount equal to three times the current taxpayer subsidy that two Exelon plants already receive without any strings attached and without Exelon showing us their math as to why this is necessary,” according to a document laying out the governor’s principles. […]
Instead, the governor supports setting a price on carbon emissions from power plants and then letting the market determine which plants survive or not. Such a method would probably mean more revenue for Exelon’s financially ailing nukes. But not nearly as much.
Any extra support for Exelon plants—the company has warned that without ratepayer help it will have to close three of its four nuke stations not currently subsidized—would require the company to open its books to the state on a plant-by-plant basis. Exelon wasn’t required to do that the last time it asked for subsidies.
A carbon fee would be controversial, since it would likely mean higher costs for many consumers. But it’s not without precedent, and there are advocates for that approach from both the left and right sides of the political spectrum. A multi-state carbon market has been in place in the Northeast for 15 years. Mitchell says Pritzker is open to a regional market in the Midwest as well if other states are interested.
Pritzker’s market-based approach has been hotly opposed by Exelon/ComEd and the enviros. The environmentalists are “highly skeptical that a carbon market can meet equity concerns.”
The problem with Pritzker’s approach, as I see it, is he wants to toss out existing plans and doesn’t really have a concrete alternative, just a concept…
Some advocates have concerns that a market-based approach to carbon pricing will result in more-polluting plants being able to operate longer because they will be able to pay their way out, and will allow them to continue polluting communities that are already disproportionately experiencing the impacts of climate change.
However, we know that there are ways to structure a carbon pricing program to make sure that this does not happen, and we are committed to achieving that principle in any program that we design and implement. Coal-fired power plants that do not capture carbon are on their way out in Illinois and nationally. It is our goal to design a program that accelerates closures, while re- directing revenue to other clean energy pursuits.
They’ve essentially punted the issue to the working groups. That’s probably where it belongs, though.
“We applaud Gov. Pritzker for standing up for Illinois against corruption with this thoughtful, serious energy plan,” said Illinois Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Todd Maisch.
“By ruling out another Exelon bailout, the governor has saved ratepayers in Illinois, including residential customers and small businesses, an estimated $414 million.”
“A well-crafted plan made up of diverse and reliable sources of energy that considers both environmental, and ratepayer needs is critical to Illinois’ economic future. The Chamber has long supported these goals and worked with Illinois Senate President Pro Tempore Bill Cunningham to propose a balanced approach to these issues, that prioritizes the needs of energy consumers and provides thousands of jobs for Illinois workers.
“We appreciate the Governor’s Office’s thorough review of Illinois energy policies and are energized to see some of these initiatives included in their initial plan. We look forward to working with him, Sen. Cunningham and other legislators, staff and stakeholders to continue to develop balanced energy polices for Illinois.”
[Tara Frost] works for the state at Northern Illinois University. She says in May she got a notice from NIU telling her an IDES employee had called to check on her unemployment claim, but Frost never stopped working. […]
“My payroll department assured me that they let them know and that would be the end of it, but then two weeks later I got money deposited directly into my account from unemployment,” Frost said.
It was about $2,000. That is when she began calling IDES to report the fraud and to try to give the money back.
“Then she stated to me that, ‘Unemployment is a mess right now. We really don’t know what to do. Call back towards the end of the year, and pay it back then,’” Frost said.
Frost said she set aside the money in savings, but then there was another twist. Her pay stub showed the state was garnishing her wages for the money she owed and charging her a $100 administrative fee to boot.
Southern Illinois University officials on Thursday began publicly reporting a running total of COVID-19 cases on campus after facing backlash for a previously announced decision not to do so.
SIU’s COVID-19 dashboard will report total cases as it relates to on-campus students, off-campus students and faculty/staff. Currently, the university is reporting three total cases involving students who are living off campus.
Chancellor Austin Lane notes disclosure of an affiliation with the university is optional, but encourages individuals to provide that information if they are asked by the health department. Jackson County Health Department Administrator Bart Hagston said that the vast majority of people who test positive for COVID-19 fully cooperate in reporting their affiliated schools and employers.
SIU plans to report total active COVID-19 cases weekly. The information will come from the health department. Ben Newman, SIU’s director of public safety and chief of police, said they currently do not have a number to share of how many university-affiliates are in quarantine after being exposed to the virus, but notes there are nuances with quarantine directives.
I’m guessing the weekly reporting idea is also going to come in for some criticism.
If Springfield is freed from the constitutional constraints of a flat tax rate, soon enough middle-class earners also will get hit with a rate increase.
Yes, because the General Assembly and the governor spent all that time and energy getting the graduated income tax amendment on the ballot and the governor is now spending at minimum $50 million so the state can… raise taxes on everyone?
The idea here is to make it possible to raise taxes on upper income earners.
Does that mean a tax hike on middle income earners will never happen? Of course it could. But it won’t be nearly as easy to do that as raising taxes again on the top 3 percent. This is why the opposition is so up in arms. Billionaires and multi-millionaires ain’t about to spend a fortune to prevent tax hikes on folks making $50,000 a year.
Also, make no mistake here, if the “Fair Tax” proposition fails, the flat tax the Tribune prefers is surely going to be increased on everyone, not just the top 3 percent.
I asked Pritzker’s press secretary, Jordan Abudayyeh, if the governor would appoint himself to the Senate.
“The answer is no,” Abudayyeh said.
Can we move along now, please? Sheesh. I mean, we had 16 years of columns about how, any day now, Speaker Madigan was gonna engineer a pathway to the governor’s office for his attorney general daughter. In the end, she quit the game because her father wouldn’t step aside.
JB Pritzker didn’t spend a zillion dollars to be elected governor to get himself a back bench seat in the Senate.
Within thirty days after a vacancy occurs, it shall be filled by appointment as provided by law. If the vacancy is in a Senatorial office with more than twenty-eight months remaining in the term, the appointed Senator shall serve until the next general election, at which time a Senator shall be elected to serve for the remainder of the term.
Sen. Terry Link (D-Waukegan) is currently just a bit over 28 months from the end of his four-year term. So, if he quit today, a special election would be triggered for November.
State Sen. Terry Link announced Thursday that he’s stepping down as head of the Lake County Democratic Party effective Sept. 15. The move came after party members emailed him Wednesday saying if he didn’t resign immediately, they’d vote to push him out.
Link, who has been charged by the feds with tax evasion, is also expected to step down from his seat in the General Assembly sometime before Sept. 15.
That little window, in which he’d be out of the Senate but still running the Lake County party, would allow Link to name his successor. It’s a point that’s infuriating Lake County Dems who say Link has been promising he’d step down for weeks. […]
If Link resigns before Sept. 12, that would trigger a special election for the Nov. 3 ballot. Then each party would put a candidate forward.
If Link resigns his Senate seat after Sept. 11, the cut-off date for a 2020 election is missed and his successor is appointed and would serve out the remainder of Link’s term, through 2022. And Link could have a hand in the selection.
Committee members are calling the move an “egregious” abuse of power and are pushing for a special meeting to confirm new leadership. “Enough is enough,” said one committee member. “It’s time for him to move along with his life.”
He wouldn’t just have a “hand” in his replacement. As county party chair, he’d be able to make the replacement on his own.
*** UPDATE *** Press release…
State Representative Bob Morgan and State Representative Sam Yingling, joined by the below co-signers, released the following statement:
“November’s election is so important and so consequential that we must put 100% of our energies into the campaigns of every Democratic candidate up and down the ballot.
We can’t afford any distractions or delays, which is why we are demanding that Terry Link step down immediately as Chair of Lake County Democrats.”
The below are co-signers to this statement:
Congressman Brad Schneider (IL-10)
State Senator Julie Morrison (IL-29)
State Representative Mary Edly-Allen (IL-51) State Representative Jonathan Carroll (IL-57) State Representative Bob Morgan (IL-58) State Representative Dan Didech (IL-59) State Representative Joyce Mason (IL-61) State Representative Sam Yingling (IL-62)
Lake County Sheriff John Idelburg Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim
Lake County Board Chair Sandy Hart (District 13)
Lake County Board Member Mary Ross-Cunningham (District 9) Lake County Board Member Paul Frank (District 11)
Lake County Board Member Julie Simpson (District 18)
Lake County Board Member Marah Altenberg (District 20)
Lawyers for indicted Chicago Ald. Edward Burke alleged in a court filing Thursday that federal investigators bungled the wiretap of Burke’s phones and improperly tried to set him up in a scheme involving the Old Main Post Office that forms the backbone of the case.
The allegations came in a motion to suppress the evidence gleaned from the wiretap on Burke’s cell phone and City Hall office, which allowed the FBI to monitor thousands of conversations the alderman made and received over the course of nearly a year.
The 71-page motion accuses prosecutors of directing then-Ald. Daniel Solis to have “scripted interactions” with Burke and lie about the Post Office deal in an effort to curry favor w/the government. At the time, Solis had himself been recorded “committing a number of different crimes,” the motion stated.
Burke’s lawyer wants those wiretaps suppressed.
…Adding… More…
After Burke recommended a certain wrecking company, investigators "directed Ald. Solis to begin engaging in conversations with Ald. Burke surrounding the Post Office project and record the conversations," according to the defense motion.
Burke’s team insisted that Solis told prosecutors “he had never been involved in any criminal wrongdoing with Ald. Burke — with whom he had served in the City Council for almost twenty-five years.” […]
Burke’s lawyers say he was targeted by the feds, and that Solis wasn’t the first government cooperator to work against him. They said that, from Feb. 2, 2015, until Aug. 13, 2015, an unnamed cooperator from another federal case in Chicago was “contacting Ald. Burke regularly in an attempt to develop evidence against him.”
“Here, again, the government came up empty-handed, and yet it zealously pressed on,” Burke’s lawyers wrote.
Facing a federal tax evasion charge, state Sen. Terry Link has announced he will resign as leader of the Lake County Democratic Party effective Sept. 15.
But some prominent Democrats — including Lauren Beth Gash, a former state representative who’s the first vice chair of the party in Lake County and in line to succeed Link — aren’t pleased with that timetable as campaigns for the Nov. 3 presidential election are heating up.
“We are working hard to elect Democrats who share our values in the fall. We don’t want distractions,” said Gash, of Highland Park. “We are communicating with Terry about an earlier resignation or a special meeting to accomplish that.” […]
“While some of you might assume my resignation is related to what you may have read in the news, those who truly know me and know my character and loyalty to the Democratic Party know there has to be more to the story,” [Link] wrote. “I can assure you that there is a lot more to the story. Unfortunately, at this time I am unable to comment on any of this.”
He won’t be able to appoint his own Senate replacement if he doesn’t resign his legislative seat pronto. No word yet on that.
*** UPDATE *** Press release…
Fifty percent of Lake County Democratic precinct committeepersons call for a special meeting
Today, more than 50% of Lake County Democratic precinct committeepersons called for a special meeting of the Lake County Democratic Party to confirm new leadership.
In order to call a special meeting, only 25% of precinct committeepersons are needed, according to Lake County Democratic Party rules. In less than 24 hours, already more than 50% percent of the committeepersons united to call for the meeting.
Lake County Democrats will be setting a meeting shortly to ratify this transition.
Lauren Nichols has been sick with COVID-19 since March 10, shortly before Tom Hanks announced his diagnosis and the NBA temporarily canceled its season. She has lived through one month of hand tremors, three of fever, and four of night sweats. When we spoke on day 150, she was on her fifth month of gastrointestinal problems and severe morning nausea. She still has extreme fatigue, bulging veins, excessive bruising, an erratic heartbeat, short-term memory loss, gynecological problems, sensitivity to light and sounds, and brain fog. Even writing an email can be hard, she told me, “because the words I think I’m writing are not the words coming out.” She wakes up gasping for air twice a month. It still hurts to inhale.
Tens of thousands of people, collectively known as “long-haulers,” have similar stories. I first wrote about them in early June. Since then, I’ve received hundreds of messages from people who have been suffering for months—alone, unheard, and pummeled by unrelenting and unpredictable symptoms. “It’s like every day, you reach your hand into a bucket of symptoms, throw some on the table, and say, ‘This is you for today,’” says David Putrino, a neuroscientist and a rehabilitation specialist at Mount Sinai Hospital who has cared for many long-haulers.
Of the long-haulers Putrino has surveyed, most are women. Their average age is 44. Most were formerly fit and healthy. They look very different from the typical portrait of a COVID-19 patient—an elderly person with preexisting health problems. “It’s scary because in the states that are surging, we have all these young people going out thinking they’re invincible, and this could easily knock them out for months,” Putrino told me. And for some, months of illness could turn into years of disability.
Our understanding of COVID-19 has accreted around the idea that it kills a few and is “mild” for the rest. That caricature was sketched before the new coronavirus even had a name; instead of shifting in the light of fresh data, it calcified. It affected the questions scientists sought to ask, the stories journalists sought to tell, and the patients doctors sought to treat. It excluded long-haulers from help and answers. Nichols’s initial symptoms were so unlike the official description of COVID-19 that her first doctor told her she had acid reflux and refused to get her tested. “Even if you did have COVID-19, you’re 32, you’re healthy, and you’re not going to die,” she remembers him saying. (She has since tested positive.) […]
A few formal studies have hinted at the lingering damage that COVID-19 can inflict. In an Italian study, 87 percent of hospitalized patients still had symptoms after two months; a British study found similar trends. A German study that included many patients who recovered at home found that 78 percent had heart abnormalities after two or three months. A team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that a third of 270 nonhospitalized patients hadn’t returned to their usual state of health after two weeks. (For comparison, roughly 90 percent of people who get the flu recover within that time frame.)
These findings, though limited, are galling. They suggest that in the United States alone, which has more than 5 million confirmed COVID-19 cases, there are probably hundreds of thousands of long-haulers.
* The 7th Circuit US Court of Appeals has affirmed Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer’s preliminary injunction allowing for far fewer petition signatures for third party and independent candidates…
The eight members of the Illinois State Board of Elections (the “Board”) appeal from the district court’s preliminary injunction and its partial denial of the Board’s motion to reconsider. The Board argues that the district court had no authority to rewrite Illinois’s statutory requirements governing ballot access and deadlines, but ignores the specific circumstances leading to the preliminary injunction. We conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion when it entered a preliminary injunction drafted by the Board and agreed to by the parties or when it granted reconsideration in part. […]
Once again in its appellate briefs the Board asks this court to reverse the district court’s decisions and permit the Board to determine the best options for balancing the plaintiffs’ interests with the statutory ballot access requirements in Illinois.
In doing so, the Board devotes not a word to addressing the harm this would cause to candidates and parties who have relied on the agreed preliminary injunction order. Nor does the Board explain how it would make the relevant determinations regarding ballot access, but any change made now, after the deadline for submitting signatures has passed, is certain to severely limit or prevent third-party or independent candidates from accessing the November ballot. The Supreme Court has instructed that federal courts should refrain from changing state election rules as an election approaches.
In reviewing the claims before us, we decline to allow the Board to change the ballot-access requirements on the eve of the deadline for certifying the final contents of the ballot. Indeed, the Purcell principle takes on added force where, as here, the Board seeks to challenge injunctive relief that it initially agreed was necessary and proper. And only after engaging in meaningful delay, including in pursuing this appeal, did the Board change course and put at risk the reliance the plaintiffs have placed in the orders entered by the district court. [Emphasis added.]
Also, the board couldn’t make the changes even if it wanted to. It had already argued that only the General Assembly can do things like change deadlines, etc.
The State Board of Elections meets tomorrow to certify the ballot.
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart urged Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday to extend the state’s eviction moratorium that’s been in place during the coronavirus pandemic, citing concerns that households need more time to catch up with rent while assistance fund applications are pending.
In a letter to Pritzker and Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans, Dart urged the current Saturday expiration date be postponed until all city and county rent relief grants are dispersed.
“Like you, I have been tremendously concerned about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, not just on the health and safety of residents, but on the economic future of the entire community,” Dart wrote. “Obviously, it would be incredibly harmful to proceed with evictions when these funds are on their way to rescue so many tenants and landlords.”
Dart, whose office is in charge of enforcing evictions in Cook County, said while the current pause in evictions has helped, struggling renters remain anxious that the looming deadline on the moratorium is too soon. He wrote that waiting until the money is paid out will stop hundreds of thousands of Cook County residents from being pushed out of their apartments.
* I asked the governor’s office for a response. Here’s Jordan Abudayyeh…
The moratorium will be extended at the end of this disaster proclamation.
…Adding… Press release…
Many families are suffering a COVID-related loss of income but so are many of the people who provide them with their homes. In this COVID era, the cost of providing housing has increased while rental income has declined due to the inability of many tenants to pay their rent.
Michael Glasser, president of the Neighborhood Building Owners Alliance (NBOA), said, “Chicago’s housing market is fragile right now, and housing providers need support. In order for tenants to be secure, housing needs to be stable and we need the federal government to increase relief for struggling renters and housing providers working to keep people in their homes.”
Springfield School District 186 will offer to families two plans–hybrid/blended in-person and remote learning only–as part of its 33-page “Return to Learn” document. […]
“The plan is doable,” [Superintendent Jennifer Gill ] said. “As a parent and as a mom, if my kids were in school, I would send mine because I would never want to vote for something that I also didn’t have my kids participating in.”
Gill and other school superintendents have been meeting with members of the local medical community, including a lengthy meeting Saturday. She said nine of the 11 medical members recommended that schools start the academic year with remote learning.
“My heart goes to both conversations,” Gill said of the choices.
“It will not work,” said board member Micah Miller about the hybrid/blended plan. “If we were truly listening to the Sangamon County Department of Public Health’s guidance, we would have listened on July 23 when they said this was unprecedented and extremely dangerous and our focus needs to shift to our younger population in social settings.
“We’re not listening to anybody in this. We’ve become a hot spot in Sangamon County.”
The head of the Springfield Education Association said he doesn’t think School District 186 has put into place a complete plan “for the safe return of students and staff.”
Gill said that because of the lower number of students, bus capacity shouldn’t be a problem. The “Return to Learn” plan allows for 50 students on a bus.
Springfield Superintendent Jennifer Gill said a rising positivity rate of COVID-19 tests in the county is one reason for the decision. The positivity rate was 6.2% for last week, according to numbers tracked by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
“Although we have a strong plan in place to offer the hybrid model for those families who wish to return, we must also consider the impact that this might likely have on our community spread,” Gill said.
She also worried that having students and teachers attend in-person, be screened for COVID-19 symptoms and possibly need to get tested might “drain” testing resources in the county.
District 186 Superintendent Jennifer Gill learned she was COVID-positive on Wednesday night, according to a statement. Gill and family were tested after having “mild coughs.” Gill worked from home on Wednesday, and last worked at the administrative office on Tuesday.
On Monday, Gill and other board members convened in-person for the school board meeting. Meetings had previously been conducted via Zoom over past months.
After all that, why did they convene an in-person meeting?
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 1,832 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 27 additional confirmed deaths.
- Champaign County: 1 male 50s
- Cook County: 1 male 50s, 1 female 70s, 2 males 90s
- DeWitt County: 1 male 80s
- DuPage County: 1 male 70s
- Jefferson County: 1 female 70s, 1 female 80s, 2 females 90s, 1 male 90s
- Kane County: 1 male 80s
- Lake County: 1 male 60s
- LaSalle County: 1 female 90s
- Madison County: 1 male 90s
- Montgomery County: 1 female 90s
- Morgan County: 1 female 70s, 1 female 90s
- Peoria County: 1 female 80s
- Perry County: 1 female 80s
- Richland County: 1 male 80s
- Rock Island County: 1 male 90s
- St. Clair County: 1 male 60s
- Whiteside County: 1 male 90s
- Williamson County: 1 female 50s
- Winnebago County: 1 male 70s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 213,721 cases, including 7,833 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 51,612 specimens for a total of 3,541,183. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from August 13 – August 19 is 4.4%. As of last night, 1,519 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 357 patients were in the ICU and 124 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. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.
Region 7, which includes Will and Kankakee counties, is getting very close to the 8 percent rate that will trigger mitigation. Right now, the region is at 7.5 percent.
Wear a mask, wash your hands and keep your distance.
Illinois Republicans plan to send three delegates to their party’s presidential nominating convention next week, but there will be no delegation brunches, news conferences — or just about anything else beyond nominating Donald Trump, apparently.
“No other media advised events organized by the ILGOP are taking place next week,” state GOP spokesman Joe Hackler said in an email to reporters.
The state GOP’s move is the complete opposite of their Democratic counterparts, who were told to stay home, but have streamed state caucus meetings and news conferences for the media and others to follow along. […]
Republicans plan to have 336 delegates at the Charlotte Convention Center, six from each state and territory, according the convention website.
So, the state GOP is sending half its allotted delegates?
* So far, media coverage on Illinois Democrats during their convention week has focused mainly on Speaker Madigan…
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan has kept a low profile at the virtual Democratic National Convention underway this week, but he was more vocal Wednesday evening.
As Illinois’ Chairman of the Democratic Party Michael Madigan leads Illinois’ delegation to the convention, but is somewhat implicated in an alleged bribery scheme with Commonwealth Edison, he has avoided the spotlight recently. But Wednesday night at an online delegation discussion on racial and economic justice, Speaker Madigan gave more than a welcome.
He said Democrats this week have laid out the case for removing Donald Trump from office, including his assault on the rights of women and workers.
“Among the worst of Donald Trump’s actions is his deliberate efforts to fan the flames of hatred and racial and ethnic division for his own political purposes,” Madigan said.
Pinning down Democratic congressional nominee Marie Newman’s position on state House Speaker Mike Madigan during the Democratic National Convention is not quite as difficult as tracking down the powerful party leader himself — but it’s close.
Two years ago, Newman said the powerful speaker should immediately step down as state party chief because he failed in his handling of sexual harassment complaints in his political organization.
“Anything less would put the Democrats’ political prospects at risk in November,” the La Grange businesswoman said then, before she lost her 2018 primary bid against Madigan ally Dan Lipinski.
But after vanquishing Lipinski in a bitter rematch earlier this year — and after Madigan was implicated in federal investigation — Newman on Wednesday sidestepped a question on whether she would join the growing list of Democrats calling for Madigan’s immediate resignation over the ComEd criminal case, calling it a distraction ahead of a critical election.
Meanwhile, the leader of the Democratic Party in Illinois, House Speaker Michael Madigan, is embroiled in controversy amid alleged ties to a ComEd bribery scheme.
“I’m not going to sit here right now and say that we should decide that someone is guilty for political reasons,” Casten said. “The allegations are extremely concerning. We should make sure we go through, find out what the truth is.”
If the allegations are true, Casten said Madigan should resign. Kelly agrees.
“If he is guilty I think that he should resign, and that’s my bottom line,” Kelly said. “But right now, to be honest, the number one thing I’m focused on is getting Joe Biden and Kamala Harris elected, flipping the Senate and helping the down ballot races.”
ISU on Monday began surveillance testing for asymptomatic students at two sites on campus. There were 259 tests administered on campus on Monday and Tuesday. There were three positive results from Monday’s testing, with Tuesday’s full results still pending as of Wednesday afternoon, spokesman Eric Jome said.
The UI saliva test uses a small amount of saliva drooled into a sterile test tube that yields results in hours, even at high-testing volumes, the UI said.
The university has performed more than 50,000 of these saliva tests since making walk-up testing available to faculty, staff and students in July, and expects to ramp up to 20,00 tests a day when the fall semester starts Monday.
Illinois State University and Southern Illinois University are providing free COVID-19 testing on campus. Other universities, such as Northern Illinois University, are requiring their students to pay for their tests.
NIU wants its students to go to Illinois community-based testing sites to get their tests.
SIU refuses to release the numbers of COVID-19 cases on campus and student employees in housing have been told they could lose their jobs if they tell anyone about cases, according to resident assistants.
University spokeswoman Rae Goldsmith said any positive cases associated with the university are reported by the Jackson County Health Department. The university will not report these cases independently, she said.
No federal or state law prevents the university from releasing the information, experts say, and other Illinois and national universities are releasing their case counts.
When the Jackson County Health Department sends out a release regarding the case count for the day, it does not specify location or whether the person attends SIU or lives in the dorms.
[WIU Interim President Martin Abraham] says WIU is planning a testing protocol for all students and staff.
“So that students will get tested. Faculty and staff will get testing as well on some sort of regular basis. But, if we do have an outbreak it all depends on where it is. It depends on who that student has been in contact with. Clearly, if a student develops symptoms, is tested as positive that student will go into isolation.”
7.5% positivity rate; 45.2 recent average daily cases per 100,000. The school’s website says it is offering free testing to new students beginning Wednesday; and then for returning students starting next Monday, Aug. 24 – the day that students begin classes.
Governor JB Pritzker issued a proclamation [yesterday] declaring a statewide day of remembrance in honor of the passing of former Governor James ‘Big Jim’ Thompson and the launch of a virtual guidebook for Illinois residents to electronically sign and share their favorite memory of Illinois longest serving governor. The virtual guestbook can be found online here.
“Today, as a state, we mourn the passing of former Governor Jim Thompson and I invite residents across the state to sign the virtual guestbook with their favorite memory of Governor Thompson,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “’Big Jim’ lived a big life and got big things done for Illinois. But perhaps most importantly, he was a kind and decent man who set the standard for what public service can and should look like in our state. May his memory be for a blessing.”
Governor Pritzker also ordered all persons or entities governed by the Illinois Flag Display Act to lower flags in honor and remembrance of Gov. James R. Thompson.
* Gov. Thompson’s family held a small funeral yesterday at the Cathedral of St. James in Chicago. A family spokesperson supplied a photo…
All rise.
* Mark DePue interviewed Thompson in 2015 for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library. Here’s an excerpt that illuminates some challenges facing the current governor…
DePue: You start off January also with signing a piece of legislation requiring people in Illinois, citizens of Illinois, to wear seatbelts.
Thompson: Yeah. Boy, today nobody would blink an eye at that. Today, 99.9 percent of the people automatically buckle up. They’ve been persuaded that it saves lives, and they want to save their life. And unless they’re drunk or stupid, they do that. But boy, at the time, it was a hot item. Very controversial. People looked at it as a government intrusion on their lives.
One time I was in southern Illinois where the opposition was the hottest. I was at the Giant City State Park Lodge, and I think we were there either for an occasion or it was Sunday chicken dinner. As I generally did, I walked through the kitchen to say “hi” to the workers in the kitchen. And this old lady was washing dishes in there. She must have been, God, eighty, eighty-five years old. I walked up to her, and she said, “You’re the one!” I said, “I’m the one, what?” “You’re the one with that goddamned seatbelt law! I’ll never vote for you,” and she just went on and on and on. So I said, “Well, thank you very much; I hope you’ll reconsider.” [I] got out of there, and the restaurant manager, who was a dear friend of mine, was apologizing for her. I said, “Why? She’s entitled to her opinion.” But boy, that was typical down there. They didn’t like this intrusion.
Same thing with legislation requiring motorcycle drivers to wear helmets, which still hasn’t passed. Same feeling. But yeah, I signed it, and it’s one of the best things I ever did, I think. And it’s the law today, and it’s the law everywhere. Finally, I believe it was required by federal law, as most of those driving things are. You either follow the federal law or you lose your highway funds. And I can’t remember now whether it was because of the federal law that I signed the state one, or I signed the state one apart from the federal law. But I remember it was really controversial, and I got a lot of complaints and letters and stuff like that about it. I’ll never forget the lady in the kitchen in southern Illinois. And she had to be eighty-five, if she was a day.
DePue: God bless her, she had strong opinions at eighty-five.
Thompson: Yes, she did. Well, they all do down there, southern Illinois, western Illinois…land of strong opinions.
The number of laid-off workers seeking U.S. unemployment benefits rose to 1.1 million last week after two weeks of declines, evidence that many employers are still slashing jobs as the coronavirus bedevils the U.S. economy.
The latest figures, released Thursday by the Labor Department, suggest that more than five months after the viral outbreak erupted the economy is still weak, despite recent gains as some businesses reopen and some sectors like housing and manufacturing have rebounded. Jobless claims had fallen last week below 1 million for the first time since March, to 971,000. A rising number of people who have lost jobs say they consider their loss to be permanent.
The total number of people receiving unemployment aid declined last week from 15.5 million to 14.8 million, the government said Thursday. Those recipients are now receiving far less aid because a $600-a-week federal benefit has expired, which means the unemployed must now get by solely on much smaller aid from their states. The loss of the federal benefit has deepened the struggles for many, including a higher risk of eviction from their homes.
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to provide $300 a week in federal unemployment aid, with money drawn from a disaster relief fund. Twenty-five states have said they will apply for the federal money, though they would need to revamp their computer systems to do so. Other states are still considering whether to take that step; two have said they won’t.
The U.S. Department of Labor estimates 21,956 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of August 10 in Illinois, according to the DOL’s weekly claims report released Thursday. […]
The U.S. Department of Labor estimates 22,387 new claims in Illinois new unemployment claims were filed during the week of August 3 in Illinois.
The U.S. Department of Labor estimates 24,712 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of July 27 in Illinois.
The U.S. Department of Labor estimated 32,465 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of July 20 in Illinois.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security reported 36,435 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of July 13 in Illinois.
The Illinois unemployment system may not be doing enough to protect benefits recipients from scammers who hijack their accounts and move money in their own accounts.
Some believe the Illinois Department of Employment Security could have prevented this if they had taken one more simple security step: two factor authentication.
Two factor authentication is a text or email sent to a device you possess to confirm you made a change to an account. The text or email includes a code which is used to confirm the change. It’s often used for social media, credit cards and bank accounts, among other things. […]
“It never gives you the opportunity to put in a numbers where you can get an SMS text,” said scam victim Russel McFeely.
McFeely lost $1,800 when a criminal hacked his IDES account and moved the benefits into another account.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that the unemployment rate fell -3.2 percentage points to 11.3 percent, while nonfarm payrolls added +93,200 jobs in July, based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and released by IDES. The June monthly change in payrolls was revised downward from the preliminary report, from +142,800 to +142,300 jobs. The June unemployment rate was revised downward from the preliminary report, from 14.6 percent to 14.5 percent.
The July payroll jobs estimate and unemployment rate reflects activity for the week including the 12th. The BLS has published FAQs for the July payroll jobs and the unemployment rate.
The state’s unemployment rate was +1.1 percentage points higher than the national unemployment rate reported for July, which was 10.2 percent, down -0.9 percentage points from the previous month. The Illinois unemployment rate was up +7.4 percentage points from a year ago when it was 3.9 percent.
In July, the three industry sectors with the largest over-the-month gains in employment were: Leisure and Hospitality (+65,300), Education and Health Services (+14,100) and Professional and Business Services (+8,400). The industry sectors with the largest payroll declines were: Manufacturing (-4,600), Construction (-3,300) and Information (-1,200).
“While we’re happy to see the unemployment rate and payrolls moving in the right direction, IDES remains committed to serving our claimants’ needs during this continued unprecedented time,” said Acting Director Kristin Richards. “As we move through this period of uncertainty, the Department is working as vigilantly as possible to rise to the challenge and provide benefits and employment services to those who need them.”
“While data from July demonstrate continued progress in the face of extraordinarily challenging economic times, it’s clear the pandemic is continuing to have an unprecedented effect on our economy. Evidence from other states has shown that ensuring public health is the quickest way to an economic recovery,” said Michael Negron, Acting Director of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO). “With that in mind, DCEO remains committed to investments that will support Illinois businesses and residents facing the most acute effects of this crisis, while making continued progress under Governor Pritzker’s Restore Illinois plan to safely reopen our state economy.”
Compared to a year ago, nonfarm payroll employment decreased by -508,000 jobs, with losses across all major industries. The industry groups with the largest jobs decreases were: Leisure and Hospitality (-164,000), Professional and Business Services (-81,300) and Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (-62,900). Illinois nonfarm payrolls were down -8.3 percent over-the-year as compared to the nation’s -7.5 percent over-the-year decline in July.
The number of unemployed workers fell sharply from the prior month, a -25.2 percent decrease to 705,600 but was up +179.8 percent over the same month for the prior year. The labor force was down -3.9 percent over-the-month and -3.2 percent over-the-year. The unemployment rate identifies those individuals who are out of work and seeking employment. An individual who exhausts or is ineligible for benefits is still reflected in the unemployment rate if they actively seek work. [Emphasis added.]
Today, Vote Yes For Fairness released its first television ad on why Illinoisans need to pass the Fair Tax in this election. The ad, “Lived In,” highlights how our current tax system is unfair, forcing Illinoisans, including our essential workers, to pay the same tax rate as millionaires. The Fair Tax would set things right, while keeping taxes the same or less for at least 97% of Illinoisans and only asking those making more than $250,000 a year to pay more.
“Illinois has one of the most unfair tax systems in the country, forcing our working families to pay the same tax rate as millionaires and billionaires,” said Quentin Fulks, Chairman of Vote Yes For Fairness. “Illinoisans don’t have to accept the status quo any longer, and can bring fairness to our tax system in this election by voting yes on the Fair Tax. With only 75 days until Election Day, we’re committed to ensuring Illinoisans know the truth about the Fair Tax and how it will help our families, our communities, and our state.”
Vote Yes For Fairness is funded by Gov. JB Pritzker.
If you’re not a billionaire, why are you taxed like one?
You didn’t mismanage the state budget. Why should fixing it fall on you?
The flat tax we have is hurting Illinois workers and families. And it’s not fixing the budget. New tax money has got to come from somewhere, so why not from the people with the most?
Vote “Yes” on the graduated income tax to raise taxes on the top 3 percent, generate almost $3 billion a year and protect your retirement income. That’s the fair way to fix this.
