* I’ll post the press release when I get it…
…Adding… More…
The one-page criminal information filed in U.S. District Court accused Link, of Vernon Hills, of failing to report income on his 2016 tax return to the IRS.
Defendants are typically charged via an information if they intend to eventually plead guilty.
* And…
*** UPDATE 1 *** From John Patterson…
President Harmon has accepted Senator Link’s resignation as a member of the Legislative Ethics Commission.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Coverage roundup…
* State Sen. Terry Link charged with federal income tax evasion: Also involved in Arroyo’s alleged scheme was businessman James Weiss, the son-in-law of former Cook County assessor and county Democratic Party boss Joseph Berrios, whose house was raided by the FBI shortly before the charges against Arroyo were unsealed, the Tribune has reported.
* Illinois Sen. Terry Link Charged With Felony Income Tax Fraud: Thursday’s filing makes Link the latest Illinois politician to be charged in a widespread criminal corruption probe in the state. He is the third Democratic Illinois senator to face federal charges in just over a year.
* Federal Prosecutors Charge Illinois State Sen. Terry Link With Tax Fraud: On Thursday, Republicans quickly seized on Link’s legal troubles. “Another member of the IL Democrat Crime Ring bites the dust,” the state Republican Party posted on its Twitter account. “In unsurprising news, Sen. Link is a member of the ‘Ethics Commission.’ Go figure.”
* State Sen. Terry Link charged with felony tax evasion: Link is now the third state senator to be charged with a federal crime in a little more than a year.
* Longtime lawmaker Terry Link hit with federal tax charge: Following the charges against Arroyo, Link denied he was the unnamed senator. He first denied it to WBEZ, and then again to reporters in Springfield the next day while helping pass bills in the legislature. “I said, what’s your source? You answer me. You’re a reporter,” Link said that day when asked if he wore a wire on Arroyo. “I answered the question yesterday. I’m not going to continually answer this every day of my life. I’m down here to do a job that I was elected to do, and that’s what I’m gonna do.”
*** UPDATE 3 *** Daily Herald…
A day after he was charged with federal tax evasion, state Sen. Terry Link remained publicly silent on the matter Friday, refusing to respond to interview requests or issue a statement.
Meanwhile, the chorus of voices from the Lake County political community criticizing Link or calling for his resignation has grown.
“He owes an immediate explanation to the people of the district,” said state Rep. David McSweeney, a Barrington Hills Republican. “And if he doesn’t provide a comment, he should resign.” […]
Shortly after the charge against Link was filed Thursday, state Sen. Melinda Bush, a Grayslake Democrat, suggested Link step down. So did state Sen. Dan McConchie, a Hawthorn Woods Republican, and state Rep. Daniel Didech, a Buffalo Grove Democrat, among others.
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* Press release…
In the rush to reopen college campuses nationwide and in Illinois, the safety of students, faculty, and staff who teach and learn in our institutions is being overlooked. This is particularly true at Western and Eastern Illinois Universities, where the administrations have moved forward with plans for in-person learning without having adequate safety precautions in place or bargaining in good faith such plans with the union, as required by law.
“We have filed Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charges with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board requesting an injunction against the administrations of both Eastern and Western Illinois Universities,” said University Professionals of Illinois (Local 4100) President John Miller. “We had hoped to avoid taking such action, but their unwillingness to faithfully bargain with us to develop comprehensive safety plans on these campuses left us with no other choice.
“The safety of our students, faculty, staff and their families must be the top priority, and these universities are showing a blatant disregard for our well-being and that of the communities they serve,” Miller said.
The disregard for safety is particularly concerning in Coles County, where Eastern Illinois University is located. This week, the county was put on the IDPH warning list due to rising numbers of cases. Bringing students to live on campus will undoubtedly worsen the situation.
With that in mind, Jeannie Ludlow, president of the Eastern Illinois University Chapter of Local 4100, explained that EIU’s so-called safety plan is not comprehensive. “EIU’s return to campus plan focuses on individual actions like mask wearing but does not address larger safety considerations like systematic testing or air purification,” she said. “In other words, EIU’s plan puts the responsibility for safety on our students, faculty, and staff and not on the institution. We want to give our students the best possible chance for success this school year, and that means reducing potential COVID exposure and allowing everyone involved to determine what safe work and learning looks like for them.”
Bill Thompson, president of the Western Illinois University Chapter of Local 4100, said the situation is just as concerning at WIU. “The university has asked me to pledge to wear a mask, maintain social distancing, and clean frequently used surfaces, but in return they haven’t pledged to provide students and employees with safe places and ways to work, to test everyone adequately, and to provide a metric so that we can see whether WIU’s plan is working. That gives me no confidence in how my students, myself, and my colleagues will be kept safe.”
The IELRB will now review the charges in the ULPs. The universities will be given time to respond; the union remains hopeful that the administrations will choose to bargain an acceptable plan with the faculty for a gradual and safe return to in-person instruction. If not, the IELRB can request the Attorney General seek an injunction requiring the universities to continue remote learning until they have bargained in good faith with the union or until an arbitrator has resolved the issue of whether the universities’ reopening plans violate their duty to provide a safe workplace.
“We are hopeful that WIU and EIU administrations will sit down with us to negotiate in good faith a truly safe path forward for the start of the upcoming semester. Short of that, our union stands ready to take whatever steps are necessary to ensure the safety of our members, their students, and the communities surrounding these campuses,” Miller said.
“Our lives are not a social or laboratory experiment, and even one death would be an unacceptable outcome.”
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* Pekin Daily Times…
With concerns prevalent about online election meddling in the United States, ensuring cyber-security has become a priority for election officials throughout the country.
“There are threats that are attacking us,” said Tazewell County Clerk John Ackerman. “Iran, China and Russia are hitting counties the size of Tazewell County. Domestically, there are also individuals who have attacked local (election systems). Tazewell County has been attacked since I’ve been in office. We’ve received several (attacks), but ransom attacks seem to be (the most common). The procedures we have in place have stopped every single one of them so far.”
In an effort to enhance security procedures for election officials throughout the state, the Illinois State Board of Elections organized a one-hour webinar on Facebook Elections Integrity and Best Practices Tuesday. The training, tailored specifically toward Illinois election officials and their staffs, covered such topics as safety and security, proper channels for reporting misinformation, and the latest Facebook tools, products and resources election officials can use to keep accounts safe while connecting with voters. […]
“(Changing votes in Illinois) would take such an astronomical amount of work that it’s nearly impossible,” Ackerman said. “You would have to break into 109 separate, independent election authorities throughout the state and manipulate their electronic records all at the same time in order to manipulate the vote. What the Russians wanted to do (in 2016) was not to change the vote, but to change people’s opinions through misinformation. Unrest is what the Russians and other foreign agents want to sow in the United States.”
An election-day ransomware attack would most definitely not be a good thing for a county clerk. Whew. I mean, I shudder to think.
* Speaking of Facebook…
Google, Facebook, Twitter and other major tech companies met with U.S. government officials on Wednesday to discuss their plans to counter disinformation on social media in the run-up to the November election.
In a joint statement, the companies said that this was the latest in a series of meetings “on what we’re seeing on our respective platforms and what we expect to see in the coming months.” The statement said today’s meetings focused on the upcoming political conventions and “scenario planning relating to election results.” […]
In an interview with NPR’s Morning Edition, Facebook’s head of cybersecurity policy, Nathaniel Gleicher, said the company is working harder than ever to combat such efforts, saying the goal is to make sure voters receive accurate information.
“I think I actually want to make the act of trying to tell a lie, or misleading people, more difficult,” Gleicher said.
I’ll believe that when I see it.
However, I did notice that they were blocking some false stories today when I went to look up a local public official who’d allegedly posted something pretty vile on Facebook and also saw this…
That’s from the Marion County coroner’s personal FB page. I’m not on Facebook much any more, so I don’t know if that’s common. Also, if you have the stomach for the vile post, click here.
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* AP
The number of Americans applying for unemployment dropped below 1 million last week for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak took hold in the U.S. five months ago, but layoffs are still running extraordinarily high.
The figures show that the crisis continues to throw people out of work just as the expiration of an extra $600 a week in federal jobless benefits has deepened the hardship for many — and posed another threat to the U.S. economy.
Applications for jobless benefits declined to 963,000, the second straight drop, from 1.2 million the previous week, the government said Thursday. That signals layoffs are slowing, though the weekly figure still far exceeds the pre-outbreak record of just under 700,000, set in 1982.
22,387 filed initial claims in Illinois last week, down 2,887 from the previous week. Another 3,704 filed PUA claims last week, down 811 from the previous week.
* But…
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* Wait. Didn’t Wirepoints just declare that Illinois had “decoupled” hospitalizations and deaths from infections?…
A top federal health official is issuing a dire warning: Follow recommended coronavirus measures or risk having the worst fall in US public health history.
Coronavirus has infected more than 5 million people and killed over 166,000 nationwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. On Wednesday alone, there were 55,910 reported new cases and 1,499 deaths — the highest number of fatalities since May.
“For your country right now and for the war that we’re in against Covid, I’m asking you to do four simple things: wear a mask, social distance, wash your hands and be smart about crowds,” said Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“I’m not asking some of America to do it,” he told WebMD. “We all gotta do it.”
Without following the recommendations, this could be “the worst fall, from a public health perspective, we’ve ever had,” he said. In addition to taking measures to combat the pandemic, people should also get a flu vaccine.
* A big flu outbreak is something that’s really scaring public health types…
Redfield said the CDC is urging people to get a flu shot, and the agency has purchased an extra 10 million doses of the vaccine — compared with the typical 500,000 — to make sure states have enough to cover uninsured adults.
“I’m trying to tell the American public, please don’t leave this important accomplishment of American medicine on the shelf,” Redfield said.
“We’re going to have COVID in the fall, we’re going to have flu in the fall,” he added, saying if people get vaccinated against the flu, they could potentially be freeing up a hospital bed for someone infected with COVID-19.
Redfield said conditions will depend on whether people follow the guidelines: wearing face masks, staying six feet away from others, washing hands often with soap and warm water and avoiding large crowds, especially indoors.
A bad flu outbreak coupled with a spike in COVID hospitalizations would absolutely slam the healthcare system.
* And it’s not just the flu…
Pediatricians are sounding the alarm about a concerning side effect of the coronavirus. They say immunization rates have plunged since the start of the pandemic.
But, yeah, let’s all stand with IPI and spread falsehoods on social media and stick up for businesses that stubbornly refuse to do their part. Rah rah.
…Adding… Maybe we should be more like Tennessee…
…Adding… Former CDC director…
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* Press release…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 1,834 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 24 additional confirmed death.
- Adams County: 1 female 100+
- Cook County: 1 female 50s, 1 female 60s, 1 male 60s, 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s, 2 females 80s, 2 males 80s
- DuPage County: 1 female 90s
- Lake County: 1 female 90s
- LaSalle County: 1 female 80s, 2 female 90s
- Madison County: 1 female 60s
- Peoria County: 1 female 40s
- Shelby County: 1 female 80s
- Tazewell County: 1 male 80s
- Washington County: 1 male 80s
- Will County: 1 male 80s
- Winnebago County: 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s, 1 male 80s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 200,427 cases, including 7,696 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 46,006 specimens for a total of 3,235,807. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from August 6 – August 12 is 4.0%. As of last night, 1,628 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 383 patients were in the ICU and 127 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.
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* Press release…
In the wake of the numerous, ongoing federal investigations involving bribery, influence peddling and insider-trading impacting state government officials and lobbyists, a broad coalition of lawmakers gathered today to announce their support for nine specific ethics reform measures that they believe could receive bi-partisan support in the upcoming veto session.
* The specific proposals…
Lobbying Reform
1. Prohibit legislator-lobbyists. We would prohibit any sitting legislator from simultaneously lobbying other units of government, including city, county or federal entities. This ban should apply to lobbying elected officials; performing legal or regulatory work should still be allowed.
2. Stop the legislator-lobbyist revolving-door. We would establish at least a one-year prohibition on legislators and senior management within each caucus (those who file statements of economic interest) leaving their offices and immediately going to work as lobbyists.
3. Better define who is a lobbyist. We urge the Joint Commission to consider changing the current definition of what constitutes a lobbyist to cover additional individuals or consulting firms. Consultants and lawyers should not be able to use loopholes to perform lobbying and skirt registration as a lobbyist.
Legislative Reform:
4. Fuller disclosure of outside income. We would expand current requirements for legislators to disclose the sources and amounts of their outside income and increase penalties for those who refuse to comply in full. This must be done in a way that protects confidentiality rules of professional conduct, and avoids disproportionately impacting legislators and candidates who are not independently wealthy.
5. Initiate an official censure. We would establish a process to officially censure a legislator who has violated ethics laws, similar to that which is practiced in the United States Congress.
6. Strengthen the Legislative IG. We encourage changes to the Legislative Inspector General’s Office to increase its independence, such as allowing the IG to self-initiate investigations and making it an independent agency for the purposes of budgets and hiring.
7. End exemption from Human Rights Act. We would remove the current exemption of legislators’ direct employees from the state’s Human Rights Act, so those employees receive the same protections afforded to other employees.
Leadership Reform:
8. Term-limits for leaders. Establish term-limits for the period that legislators can serve in leadership positions, including the Speaker and Minority Leader of the House and the President and Minority Leader of the Senate.
9. Removal of leaders and committee chairs. We urge creation of a policy calling for the temporary removal of a legislative leader or committee chair during any criminal investigation relevant to job duties involving that member or an actual charge/indictment. The individual can be reinstated upon completion of said investigation or upon their acquittal.
Most of these aren’t new except maybe the censure idea and removing leaders and chairs during a criminal probe. That last one would seem to apply to House Speaker Michael Madigan, but I was told by two legislators at the presser today that it would depend on how the legislation was actually written. However, Sen. Melinda Bush said it would apply to MJM.
…Adding… Sen. Andy Manar…
Strict interpretation yes provided there is an affirmative communication from the investigatory authority. What if there isn’t? How that then sets the temporary removal (via automatic/resolution etc) is another question. Like many of these, these details are very important and the impact will be determined by the final language. This one will be a challenge to draft if the commission recommends. At least that’s my take. Others may disagree.
* List of legislators…
Senator Melinda Bush
Representative Lindsey LaPointe
Representative Kelly Cassidy
Senator Kimberly Lightford
Representative Daniel Didech
Senator Andy Manar
Representative Mary Edly-Allen
Senator Iris Martinez
Senator Sara Feigenholtz
Representative Bob Morgan
Senator Laura Fine
Representative Jonathan “Yoni” Pizer
Representative Robyn Gabel
Representative Delia Ramirez
Representative Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz
Senator Heather Steans
Of the Democratic House members, Reps. Didech, Edly-Allen, Morgan, Gabel and Ramirez have not yet called on Madigan to immediately step down.
The House members were asked about whether Madigan should step down at the presser today. Rep. Morgan avoided the specific question, saying he preferred to talk about the larger issue. Sens. Bush and Martinez then stepped in to stress that the proposed reforms aren’t about one person.
…Adding… Press release…
State Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, issued the following statement on ethics reform:
“While I agree the legislature must take action on ethics reforms, we need to evaluate each proposal carefully and objectively. Any proposal that flies in the face of due process for anyone sets a dangerous precedent. I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass a strong ethics package.”
*** UPDATE 1 *** From the Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform…
Today, a coalition of legislators laid out suggestions for the Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform to consider in their final report. In response, Co-Chairs of the Joint Commission, Senator Elgie R. Sims, Jr. and state Representative Greg Harris and commission members Senator Cristina Castro and state Representative Kelly Burke released the following statement:
“We received recommendations from a group of members of the General Assembly that included ideas and suggestions to be considered in the final report of the commission. Many of these ideas have already been discussed over the course of the commission’s hearings, and they will be included in the list of items we’ve heard throughout the year and submitted as part of the commission’s report.
“The commission’s charge is to come up with ideas and suggestions. After conducting multiple public hearings and getting input from many stakeholders, including our fellow legislators, the commission will submit a final report. However, the commission cannot file legislation. Only members of the General Assembly can do that. We look forward to working with our colleagues on their suggestions as we work together to develop a strong package of ethics reforms.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** Press release…
State Representatives Grant Wehrli (R-Naperville) and Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis), who serve on the Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform, are offering their reaction to a press conference held by Illinois State Senate and House Democrats today touting a “new” package of ethics reform legislation.
The legislative fixes suggested by Senate and House Democrats include multiple ideas already introduced and sponsored by House Republican Caucus members. These include legislative fixes under three categories: lobbying reform, legislative reform, and leadership reform. Specific items include:
* No legislator lobbyists
* Revolving door prohibitions
* Clearer definitions of “lobbyist”
* Fuller disclosure of outside income for legislators
* Establishing an official censure process
* Strengthening the office of the legislative inspector general
* Ending the exemption for GA Employees from State Human Rights Act
* Establishing term limits for legislative leaders
* Allowing for temporary removal of leaders from leadership positions or committee chairs if they are indicted
“Senator Manar actually said the Joint Commission on Lobbying & Ethics Reform is working hard, when in truth, we haven’t met since March 5th! We haven’t met in person and we haven’t met on Zoom. Other state committees, commissions and panels have met multiple times since early March, but the Joint Commission on Lobbying & Ethics Reform has not. We did not finalize our work and we did not finalize our report,” said Rep. Wehrli. “Today’s press conference was completely out of touch with the reality on the ground. Every House member that took part in today’s press conference voted to put Mike Madigan in the Speaker’s chair and voted to accept his Rules of his House. While I applaud those who went on the record again today saying the Speaker should resign, this is merely political theater and window dressing. Until these members demand that the Governor call a special session to address ethics legislation and take real steps to remove Mike Madigan as Speaker, this is all just political cover.”
State Rep. Patrick Windhorst says he led an effort to send a letter to Ethics Commission Co-Chairs Senator Elgie Sims and State Rep. Greg Harris, both Chicago Democrats.
“I think Rep. Wehrli and I were well ahead of our colleagues in asking for the Ethics Commission to resume its work. We haven’t met since March,” Windhorst said. “Many of the legislative fixes proposed by House and Senate Democrats today have been introduced in bill form since November 2019. I just wonder where they have been. Corruption in Springfield has been rampant, and the House Speaker is implicated in a serious scheme involving bribery for taking official action. I believe we should return to Springfield in a Special Session to address the state’s serious plague of public corruption.”
On July 24, the Republican members of the General Assembly serving on the Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform issued a letter to the co-chairs of the Commission requesting to meet to finish its work and finalize its report that was due at the end of March.
*** UPDATE 3 *** Gov. Pritzker…
I commend lawmakers for taking the initiative to propose a strong set of ethics reforms, including many of measures that I have prioritized since January. We need to restore faith in government, which is why I have worked hard to achieve important ethics reforms like stringent lobbyist transparency to end the practice of hiding influence from the public. And it’s why I have laid out priorities like closing the revolving door, expanding disclosure and ending the practice of lawmakers acting as paid lobbyists, among other proposals. I look forward to the report of the Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform, as well as working with members of the General Assembly to ensure public servants live up to their obligation to represent the interests of the people of Illinois, and not their own interests. I believe we should accomplish these important objectives during this fall’s veto session.
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Another day, another lawsuit
Thursday, Aug 13, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Background is here if you need it. Center Square…
An attorney suing the governor on behalf of businesses impacted by COVID-19 executive orders that shut down parts of the economy said when the government takes something, it must pay just compensation and he wants a jury to determine what the compensation should be.
Attorney Alan Bruggeman of Mokena represents businesses impacted by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay-at-home orders and subsequent COVID-19 restrictions. He said it’s about fairness.
The federal lawsuit includes restaurateurs, salon owners, vehicle maintenance shops and others who claim they were negatively impacted by the COVID-19 executive orders in Illinois. Bruggeman said the case is important because the state can’t just decide what business is and isn’t essential as the orders did. […]
The state through the Illinois Attorney General motioned to have the case dismissed. In one count in the motion to dismiss, the Illinois Attorney General said “Plaintiffs’ claims are barred by the Eleventh Amendment as Plaintiffs cannot seek damages in Federal Court against the State or the Governor in his official capacity.”
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* Forbes…
Matt Wolking, the Trump campaign’s rapid deputy communications director, slammed Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) for disparaging QAnon, signaling the Republican establishment’s increasing willingness to accommodate the fringe conspiracy as its adherents have multiplied and even emerged victorious in GOP congressional primaries. […]
The exchange comes a day after Marjorie Taylor Greene – a vocal QAnon believer condemned by GOP leaders for Facebook videos disparaging Muslims, repeating anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and comparing Black Lives Matter to neo-nazis – won the GOP primary runoff in Georgia’s 14th Congressional district.
Shortly after winning her primary, Greene was welcomed by party leaders, with Trump calling her a “future Republican Star” and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) saying in a statement “we look forward” to Greene joining Congress – a likely scenario given that her district gave for Trump more than 75% of the vote in 2016. […]
The FBI has labelled QAnon a domestic terrorist threat, according to a report from Yahoo News in August 2019. A document from the Bureau’s Phoenix field office reportedly describes “conspiracy theory-driven domestic extremists,” as a growing danger, specifically referencing QAnon.
* The exchange…
* USA Today…
QAnon is a baseless conspiracy theory that alleges that there is a “deep state” run by political elites, business leaders and Hollywood celebrities with ties to a child sex trafficking ring. In addition to claiming that “deep state” members are pedophiles, the theory insists that they are actively working against President Donald Trump.
The online movement started in the fall of 2017 on internet message boards, with posts from a self-proclaimed government insider who calls himself “Q,” presumably who Kinzinger was referring to. […]
The Washington Post reported this month that the Trump campaign has been courting QAnon followers more explicitly.
* Related…
* Is QAnon the Most Dangerous Conspiracy Theory of the 21st Century? - “It’s a collaborative fiction built on wild speculation that hardens into reality.”
* How three conspiracy theorists took ‘Q’ and sparked Qanon - Pushing the theory on to bigger platforms proved to be the key to Qanon’s spread — and the originators’ financial gain.
* Facebook Finds Millions of QAnon Supporters on Site, NBC Says
* QAnon Followers Are Hijacking the #SaveTheChildren Movement - Fans of the pro-Trump conspiracy theory are clogging anti-trafficking hotlines, infiltrating Facebook groups and raising false fears about child exploitation.
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* Tribune…
After statements by some Black Lives Matter Chicago leaders in support of looting, Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday tried to separate illegal acts from support for the movement’s larger goal of restorative justice.
* There have been a lot of statements from various folks, but here’s BLM organizer Ariel Atkins via WBEZ…
A lot of people are really attacking our pages. They’re like, ‘Oh, you support the looters.’ And yeah, we do, 100%. That’s reparations. And like however people choose to protest, especially if it was definitely in line with what happened with the shooting, which would be powerful to see people reacting … without organizers just being like, ‘We’re angry and this is what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna take the power back.’
I feel like these stores, these Macy’s, these Guccis, the PNC Banks, they’re not here for us. The city puts way more money and investment into spending time and protecting their spaces and making sure that they exist. And yet our people are constantly being pushed out of the city. … Unemployment is incredibly high, like we are in an incredible situation, and the fact that anybody gives a s*** about these businesses over what is happening in this city right now and the pain that people are in and the suffering that is taking place, I don’t care. I will support the looters ‘till the end of the day. If that’s what they need to do in order to eat, then that’s what you’ve got to do to eat.
* Gov. Pritzker’s quote…
First of all, anybody who is looting, or shooting or breaking the law should be held responsible. Period. End of sentence. So, let’s set that as a baseline.
People who are protesting, and voicing their concerns and standing up for people’s rights and doing it in a peaceful fashion, they have every right to do that, but those are two very different things.
And we need to at least recognize that all of us who have stood up for Black Lives Matter, who care deeply about the city are standing up for the right to peacefully protest and standing up for the fact that Black communities, frankly, all communities of color have been disinvested from, and that it’s time for us to step up and do the right thing. This is part of what you’re hearing us do here with the BIG program.
More info on the referenced program is here.
* Back to the Tribune story…
Black Lives Matter Chicago has held several demonstrations in recent days, with leaders saying the weekend’s downtown looting was a reaction to a police-involved shooting in Englewood.
Latrell Allen, 20, was shot and wounded by police in Englewood on Sunday after he allegedly shot at officers investigating a report of a man with a gun at a playground where children were playing, according to prosecutors. Allen is being held on $1 million bond.
There was no body-camera footage of the shooting, which Black Lives Matter Chicago has pointed to while questioning the details provided by police.
* You may have read about a confrontation in Englewood earlier this week when groups dominated by younger people (like BLM) were shouted down by Englewood-based activists and told to leave their neighborhood. Click here for a good explainer by Will Lee. And this is from Block Club Chicago’s coverage…
With news cameras rolling, they didn’t want the protesters to be the only ones speaking for the people of Englewood. And when outside protesters get the police upset, they leave neighborhood residents to deal with angry police, [Darryl Smith, Englewood Political Task Force president] said.
“Y’all see the riot gear? This the s— we gotta deal when y’all leave,” he said. […]
They think Englewood residents are being largely blamed for the Downtown looting that took place overnight Sunday, noting Police Supt. David Brown said the first reported incident of looting happened at 87th and the Dan Ryan, outside of Englewood.
“Why would a person from Englewood, from 63rd Street, go to 87th Street and start a caravan to go Downtown? We would just get on the expressway and go downtown.” Smith said.
Good point.
* There is definitely a generational thing happening here…
West Side political elders on Wednesday condemned recent looting — even though they understand the pain behind it — and warned it would only hurt the quest to rebuild impoverished neighborhoods.
U.S. Rep. Danny Davis said he feels every bit as much “anger,” “frustration” and “rage” about “what the country has done to my ancestors — to me, to my neighbors to my friends” as the young people who answered a social media call to start looting downtown Chicago, fueled by erroneous details about a police shooting in Englewood.
Stacy Davis Gates of the CTU responds to the article…
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* Background is here if you need it. Press release…
State Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, is calling on Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul to take enforcement action against Medicaid providers for failing to meet fair contracting goals for minority- and women-owned businesses.
“It is unacceptable that most partners in the Illinois Medicaid program, the largest health insurance program in Illinois, fail to meet fair contracting standards for equity and inclusion by minorities and women,” Welch said. “As the chief legal officer of our state, Attorney General Kwame Raoul must take enforcement action to ensure that fair contracting agreements are followed and respected.”
Welch sent a letter to Raoul demanding that he enforce fair contracting agreements between the state and its Medicaid providers by suing the providers to recover taxpayer funds or by fining the providers. Data from the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS), which manages the Illinois Medicaid program, indicates that its six partners met just 52% of their combined fair contracting goals. Only one of the six providers, IlliniCare, met or exceeded fair contracting goals. Without the inclusion of IlliniCare, the other five providers, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, CountyCare, IlliniCare, Meridian, Molina, and Next Level, met less than 40% of their combined fair contracting goals.
“Illinois needs to put Medicaid providers on notice that they will be held accountable for their failure to live up to fair contracting agreements,” Welch said. “Enforcement action from the Attorney General will not only help show the state is serious about advancing economic and racial justice, but it will also protect taxpayers from unreliable business partners who don’t honor contracts with the state.”
Asked if AG Raoul can sue to enforce these goals, Rep. Welch replied with three basic points: 1) The MCOs all signed contracts containing clear minority and female-owned contractor goals, with acknowledged consequences for failure; 2) Raoul represents the state; 3) The MCOs are in breach.
The letter is here.
…Adding… Meanwhile…
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Durbin finds a way around the Madigan question
Thursday, Aug 13, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Bernie…
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, said Wednesday that he’s not sure that Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, can do his job leading the House and the Democratic Party of Illinois, given an ongoing federal investigation. […]
Asked if the investigation hurts the party, Durbin said, “Of course, the cloud of suspicion is going to be raised, as you just did.”
“You start with the presumption of innocence,” Durbin added. “Then comes other questions. Can you do your job? What impact does your legal problem have on other people, innocent people in the process? That’s why I think, as this progresses, if it progresses before the election, other questions will be raised.”
Asked if Madigan can now do the jobs of speaker and party leader, Durbin said, “I don’t know the answer about that at this moment.”
Go read the rest.
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First, get a handle on this virus
Wednesday, Aug 12, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Wirepoints…
Six months into COVID-19, the media and Illinois’ political elite continue to push cases and the case positivity rate as the key statistics of the pandemic. So much so, that Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot have threatened shut downs all over again if the case numbers continue to go up.
The persistent reporting of rising cases and high positivity rates invoke fear, but the public should know that cases alone don’t matter. What really matters are hospitalizations and deaths. And those have yet to rise in Illinois, even if cases have risen significantly for more than a month and a half. […]
We’re not implying that more hospitalizations and deaths won’t follow the increase in cases, as has happened in states like Texas, Florida and Arizona recently. A rise is inevitable in Illinois as the state loosens its strict and protracted shutdown.
What’s clear, however, is that cases in Illinois are currently decoupled from hospitalizations and deaths.
*Facepalm*
* First of all, case numbers have zero to do with the state’s phased mitigation plan (although Chicago does look at cases). The state’s regional plan is based on a sustained increase in positivity rates above 8 percent (which, despite what they’re claiming, is an all too real danger zone), or a sustained increase in positivity rates along with a sustained increase in hospitalizations or pending bed shortages.
Also, ignoring what happened in Illinois and now in Florida, etc. is kinda mind-boggling.
* Illinois Policy Institute headline today…
Pritzker gets OK to treat businesses as criminals for failing to enforce his COVID-19 mask order
From mid-April…
“As an owner of 2 small businesses, one essential (radon mitigation), one a restaurant … nothing I can say will express the absolute disdain I have for this man or his policies,” a commenter complained about Pritzker.
A Policy Institute staffer replied to her comment asking if she would be open to speaking to a member of the IPI team. “We’ve been doing our best to give our community a voice on our site and pressure JB to reopen the state’s economy.”
Another commenter predicted that Pritzker “and his boss lori lightfoot will kill Illinois.” An IPI staffer replied with the same request to speak with her about her story. “We’ve been featuring small business owners on our site to try to pressure the governor to reopen the state’s economy.”
I originally told subscribers about this on April 10th. On that day, Illinois reported 596 total deaths from COVID-19. Exactly a month later, Illinois reported 3,406 deaths. Two months later, Illinois was reporting 6,095 deaths.
…Adding… The IPI is also falsely claiming business owners face jail time, when that’s clearly not what the IDPH rules say…
* Want to open up? Deal with the virus. Encourage businesses to follow common sense guidelines and then we can hopefully get to where New York is…
* Meanwhile…
First it was Seattle. Then New York City. Then the novel coronavirus hit Arizona, Texas, and Florida with a vengeance, infecting hundreds of thousands of people and leading to backlogs of bodies in morgues that are still growing today.
The big question, as the weather begins to turn cold, flu season approaches, and schools reopen across the nation, is a simple one: Which city is next?
The modelers at PolicyLab, the think tank at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) whose projections are often used by the White House Coronavirus Task Force, think they have an answer: Baltimore, Chicago, and Boston. The reasons range from density to climate to behavior to demographic factors. But, cumulatively, they have created a dangerous and swelling disease burden within the cities and in their immediate environs, according to PolicyLab models and interviews with a slew of public health experts.
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* Andrew Maloney at the Daily Law Bulletin…
A federal appeals court greeted the Illinois Republican Party’s challenge to the governor’s limit on public gatherings with skepticism this week.
A 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel had a barrage of questions Tuesday for the lawyer representing the state GOP, which claims it should be allowed to hold gatherings of more than 50 despite Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s pandemic guidelines to the contrary.
The Illinois Republicans and other Republican organizations claimed the Democratic governor’s orders violate the First Amendment because they carve out an exemption for churches. The plaintiffs also claim Pritzker created another exemption by endorsing protests against racial injustice.
But if the governor didn’t draw constitutional lines in his executive orders, the three judges asked, where should they be drawn?
Judge Diane P. Wood said if the Republican Party is exempt from the regulations, “I see no logical stopping point.”
* Lauraann Wood at Law360…
Counsel for the Illinois Republican Party urged a three-judge panel during oral argument to revive its bid to hold gatherings larger than the 50-person limit set in the latest coronavirus safety order, arguing the exemption for religious gatherings should apply to all protected First Amendment expression. But U.S. Circuit Judge Amy Coney Barrett said the party seems to be comparing its asserted speech rights to a group that has “an additional interest” under the amendment, which is the right to freely exercise religion. […]
Daniel Suhr of the Liberty Justice Center argued the party should receive the same exemption as religious groups because both religious and political speech rights “live at the heart of the First Amendment.” But Judge Barrett pushed back on that stance, saying the amendment itself treats free speech and free religious exercise “a little bit as apples and oranges” since they’re separated into two distinct categories. […]
U.S. Circuit Judge Amy St. Eve said the party’s argument leaves the court wondering where it would draw a line distinguishing First Amendment rights about political speech from First Amendment rights “about some other cause.”
Suhr argued in response that “it’s the governor’s job” to draw that line. But U.S. Circuit Judge Diane Wood quickly rebuffed that stance, saying it was the party’s job, “since you’re the one who’s attacking the governor’s executive order for not drawling the line that you think should have been drawn.”
“You should have some theory of relief,” she said.
There’s more in both stories, so click those linkies.
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Public Health Officials Announce 1,645 New Confirmed Cases of Coronavirus Disease
State reports more than 42,000 tests in one day
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 1,645 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 16 additional confirmed death.
- Cook County: 1 male 60s, 1 male 70s
- DeKalb County: 1 female 70s
- Douglas Count; 1 male 50s
- Iroquois County: 1 female 80s
- Jefferson County: 1 female 80s
- Lake County: 1 male 70s, 1 male 80s
- LaSalle County: 1 male 80s
- Madison County: 1 female 70s, 1 female 80s
- Perry County: 1 female 90s
- Rock Island County: 1 male 80s, 1 male 90s
- St. Clair County: 1 female 90s
- Williamson County: 1 male 80s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 198,593 cases, including 7,672 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 42,098 specimens for a total of 3,189,801. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from August 5 – August 11 is 4.1%. As of last night, 1,525 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 357 patients were in the ICU and 129 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 a death 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.
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* Center Square…
Most students in Illinois will be learning remotely this fall, according to results from an Illinois State Board of Education survey.
Parents and students wondering what their school district’s plans for the fall semester are amid COVID-19 concerns can find out through a new portal from the Illinois State Board of Education.
ISBE has been surveying the state’s more than 850 school districts on reopening plans and it published a dashboard on the department’s website that allows everyone to see which options districts are planning to offer this fall.
Of the more than 850 districts, 671 that cover more than 1.6 million students had responded as of Wednesday.
Most of the districts, or 319, plan to offer a blended model. That will cover more than 525,000 students.
About 200 districts serving 153,000 students will be doing in-person instruction.
About 150 districts serving about 921,000 students will offer only remote instruction.
Some of that could change as districts get closer to their start date.
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Mask rule roundup
Wednesday, Aug 12, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a reader on the new mask and gathering size rule…
Are folks who oppose the DPH rule actually serious in saying enforcement should be on individuals, not businesses? I get why businesses would argue that- to avoid legal responsibility. But they actually want enforcement at the individual level? They want businesses and customers to call police on the people in their communities, overload their local police and be responsible for having their customers hit with a misdemeanor? Or is it just something to argue?
It’s a good question.
* Capitol News Illinois…
On Tuesday, several members of the panel, particularly Republicans, said they continued to hear concerns from local businesses in their districts about why they were being held liable for enforcing the public health rules, but their customers who refuse to wear masks or keep a 6-foot distance from others were not.
Among those was Rep. Keith Wheeler, R-Oswego, who said callers to his office were concerned about actions of individuals leading to fines and potential misdemeanor charges for businesses.
But Sen. Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago, a cochair of JCAR, said the graduated nature of the enforcement rules means businesses that genuinely are trying to comply should have nothing to fear.
“And I think it’s really important to understand what that points to is this rule is going to be enforced against rogue operators,” Cunningham said. “This is not something that is going to be easily applied even by the most zealous law enforcement agency or public health department against someone — a business that slips up once or twice. There’s just not an ability to do that based on the framework of this rule.”
I think Cunningham is right. The businesses will get a reminder and a warning. If and only if a business is ignoring those public health warnings, then the matter goes to the state’s attorney, who will have the authority to decide whether to proceed.
* Joliet Herald-News…
“As small business owners and residents across the state spoke out against this blatant attempt to shut down the Illinois economy again, Democrat state lawmakers are silent,” the party said in a news release.
The Will County GOP urged its supporters to call members of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules to “hold the Governor accountable.” Republicans asked citizens to “rise up again to combat yet another wrong done by this Governor,” according to the release.
The party also provided potential callers with talking points to argue it was “wrong to fine a business for a customer’s actions,” and that the rule would “hurt Illinois businesses and Illinois’ fragile economy.”
Again, a business would get a warning and then a threat of action before the state’s attorney would have to press charges…
The graduated enforcement of the emergency rules begins with education of the business and hopeful voluntary compliance. A written warning will follow additional violations and some or all patrons may be asked to leave the premises. The third and final consequence could include a Class A misdemeanor [with] a fine ranging from $75 to $2,500.
County health departments and local law enforcement agencies will issue the warnings and fines, while only a State’s Attorney is able to issue a misdemeanor.
The rules apply to businesses, schools, and childcare facilities, but not to individuals.
* Finke…
[Pritzker’s general counsel Ann Spillane] said the administration heard from law enforcement agencies that said a rule like this would be a help when officers are asked to break up large gatherings or address mask wearing.
The new version of the rule also makes it clear that different establishments face different circumstances, she said. A tiny story with one clerk on duty can’t do the same kind of enforcement as a larger store. Also, the earlier version made it appear that full compliance was required.
“Businesses are not expected to achieve 100% compliance,” she said.
* IRMA is right to be reticent to confront customers…
Illinois Retail Merchants Association’s Rob Karr, whose group was among the first months ago to put out public service announcements about the importance of masks, said the rule requires businesses employees to stick their neck out for the mandate.
“This rule requires us now to have that interaction,” Karr said. “It is clearly putting employees and retailers at risk and the [Pritzker] administration now owns that responsibility.”
But somebody’s gotta do it. And, as noted at the top, somebody would still have to call the cops on recalcitrant customers.
* More…
State Sen. Paul Schimpf, R-Waterloo, said the governor circumvented the legislature by filing the rule and creating a tiered approach that could lead to criminal charges.
“This is not going to make more people wear masks,” Schimpf said. “In fact, I think this is going to cause people to dig in their heels a little bit more.”
Schimpf said the governor should get the consent of the people and call a special session to deal with pandemic-related issues instead of issuing unilateral mandates.
State law, approved by the General Assembly, requires IDPH to promulgate rules in the event of unusual things like novel virus pandemics. It’s set up that way because the legislature is not exactly a quick responder.
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* A mask mandate wasn’t the only JCAR agenda item yesterday. Press release…
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) announced today that permanent rules have been adopted for adult use cannabis dispensary licensees to be selected when there are two or more applicants in the same Bureau of Labor Statistics Regions with tied high scores. The rules, which were filed in June, may be found here.
The approval of these rules allows IDFPR to move forward in awarding the 75 conditional adult use cannabis dispensary licenses that were authorized by the 2019 Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act. Consistent with the new rules, IDFPR will provide a public notice announcing the applicants with tied high scores who, if they meet the requirements in the rules, may participate in the selection process for a conditional license.
“We are pleased that these rules have been adopted, and we remain unwavering in our commitment to ensuring these licenses are issued in a fair and objective way that implements Illinois’ equity-centric law,” said Toi Hutchinson, Senior Advisor for Cannabis Control to Gov. Pritzker. “Additional licenses will be made available in the coming years and these rules will help ensure a strong foundation is established for the licensing process in the future.”
Once IDFPR awards a conditional license, the licensee will have 180 days to find a location within its BLS Region to operate. A license to operate cannot be issued if the location is within 1,500 feet of an existing licensed dispensing organization. More about the awarding of the conditional adult use dispensing organization licenses may be found under 410 ILCS 705/15-25 and 15-30 of the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act.
In addition, application scoring for craft grower, infuser and transporter licenses is being finalized, and the Illinois Department of Agriculture will announce award dates in the near future.
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Deep in the weeds with Tom DeVore
Wednesday, Aug 12, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Rep. Darren Bailey’s attorney Tom DeVore explained yesterday’s JCAR actions to his Facebook audience late Tuesday afternoon…
The main reason that the General Assembly was never convened in my opinion is because the governor’s office and the Illinois Department of Public Health were working with those JCAR members - probably the Democrats, it’s just reality of the times we find ourselves in - to try to put a rule together through all of them working together in concert that would be able to get through the JCAR process.
That was much easier for them than going to the General Assembly and having the General Assembly pass comprehensive legislation and the voice of all of you be heard. No, no, no we can’t do that. They admitted on that transcript, over and over again that the Illinois Department of Health and the governor’s office was working with this JCAR group of committee members - and again I would suggest you working with it you know could they have talked to the Republicans too, you could’ve if but if you saw the vote, and I’ll tell you about that in a second, there was no Republican in favor of this rule - I would suggest to you humbly that that’s how government works, it’s not out in the front for all the people to watch, because you know what we haven’t been watching. Why would they care?
It was done in these backdoor conversations to get this new rule put together, that they knew, they knew before they walked in the door today that they had the votes they needed. If you heard one of the Republican senators I believe a senator, or a Republican member of the committee, said that the governor called him today and he talked to the governor about it. So the governor, by admission of this member, has been lobbying these people, didn’t have to lobby the whole General Assembly just had to lobby twelve people, really only had to get two of them. […]
And there was efforts by the administrative, body being the Department of Health and the governor’s office, to work with JCAR. Why is an administrative body in the governor’s office working with the oversight committee? Independent! You bring us a rule we’ll vet it and we’ll decide whether it passes muster, not work with us and let us give you our thoughts on what kind of rule you can present, and then we might pass it. Does anybody find that inappropriate but me? They admitted that on the record today, and they weren’t even bashful about it. And shame on all of us, for letting it get this far. Shame on us. Because I listened to that and I was like are you kidding, independent body is supposed to be an oversight, worked and gave their recommendations it seems on how this rule could be amended to get past them and not suffer from eight votes against it. I found that horrific.
Whew. A whole lot to unpack there. The GA wasn’t convened because of the pandemic. It had to eventually be convened one way or another to pass a budget and move some other necessary bills.
And, yes, how terrible that JCAR members worked with the administration to craft a better emergency rule. Just shameful.
That video, by the way, was viewed 8,400 times and shared 109 times. 321 comments were posted.
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MLB open thread
Wednesday, Aug 12, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Something to get you started…
Maybe more than three, but the general concept seems sound.
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