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Wednesday, Sep 9, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Question of the day

Wednesday, Sep 9, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Pantagraph

Gov. J.B. Pritzker stressed the importance of the 2020 census during an appearance in Normal on Wednesday morning.

“Redbirds, I want to make sure you know the stakes could not be higher,” Pritker said, encouraging everyone who has not completed the census to do so.

Pritzker was joined by Illinois Department of Human Services Secretary Grace B. Hou, Illinois State University President Larry Dietz, state Sen. Bill Brady, state Rep. Dan Brady, Normal Mayor Chris Koos and Bloomington-Normal NAACP President Linda Foster.

Just a 1% undercount could result in the state losing over $195 million in federal funds each year, he said.

* The Question: Do you know anyone who hasn’t yet filled out their Census form? If you do, explain what you think is up with that.

  34 Comments      


Durbin, Pritzker warn about consequences if DC fails to act

Wednesday, Sep 9, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Tribune

As he was preparing to return to the nation’s capital, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said in Chicago today that he’s focused on working with lawmakers to put together a new COVID-19 relief package - an effort that’s been stalled for months amid a partisan standoff.

The domino effect, he says, is that with the expiration of federal paycheck protection and unemployment subsidies, more businesses will close and people simply won’t have the purchasing power to maintain sales and other tax revenues needed to keep governments functioning. […]

But a short time after Durbin’s downtown Chicago news conference, McConnell announced what the Washington Post called a slimmed-down COVID-19 bill that does not include help for state and local governments. […]

“We’ve seen state and local governments all across the United States take an inventory of where they are today and the news is not good. Whether it’s the state of Illinois or the city of Chicago, there’s been a dramatic loss of revenue for obvious reason,” Durbin told reporters this morning. “… And so governors and mayors are facing some of the most difficult choices, whether it’s Gov. Pritzker or Mayor Lightfoot, they’re in a situation where they don’t have the revenues to continue the service levels that they have traditionally provided. What that means is if Congress does not act and act soon, many of them will face cutbacks in critical employees. We’re talking about police, firefighters, teachers, health care workers, the list goes on and on.”

* WJOL

Illinois’ governor says state and local government workers could lose their jobs without a federal bailout. Governor JB Pritzker yesterday predicted that first responders and social service providers would feel the brunt of the coming economic impact of the coronavirus. Pritzker is pushing for a federal bailout for Illinois, but many Republicans on Capitol Hill say that looks very unlikely.

* Fox 32

The Republican proposal would add $300 a week to unemployment checks, down from the $600 boost that expired last month. Democrat Bernie Sanders tweeted that it also included $161 million “corporate welfare to the coal industry.” But for many Democrats, the biggest objection is that Republicans offer nothing to local governments, such as the state of Illinois, which is warning of layoffs without at least $5 billion.

“Big corporations all across the nation have received billions and billions and billion of dollars of aid. But now when it comes to the very social services, the very education, the frontline, you know, first responders–our police, our firefighters–now they’re gonna fall short?” Pritzker said.

* Center Square

As members of Congress get back to work, some are looking for another COVID-19 aid package. President Donald Trump said he doesn’t support bailing out what he called “badly run” Democratic cities and states, “whether it’s New York or Illinois.” […]

U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, said Illinois should not get a bailout for years of policymakers neglecting the state’s finances before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“No one is going to bail out the structural debt and deficit that Illinois has,” Davis said. “That’s not a pandemic expense, that’s not something that’s caused by the pandemic.” […]

U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Naperville, said Illinois’ structural debt is from years of Illinois paying more than it gets back in federal taxes.

“So until that problem is fixed, this mischaracterization of this as a bailout is just way off base,” Foster said. […]

Foster said a deal for additional COVID-19 relief may be wrapped in with an end-of-year spending plan to get passed the presidential inauguration in January. He said that would be to avoid making things more turbulent with threats of a government shutdown. Davis said he would support allowing local governments to cover COVID-related costs with money congress has already approved. […]

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Tuesday it’s up to Congress to “step up.” He said he is “very, very” concerned that social services will be diminished if Congress doesn’t take action.

  16 Comments      


*** UPDATED x1 *** #Winning

Wednesday, Sep 9, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Madison County Times-Tribune

Attorney Thomas DeVore, who has gained fame during the COVID-19 shutdowns for directly questioning and winning suits against Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s Executive Orders and shutdowns of restaurants, bars, and small businesses gave a presentation at Bella Vista Winery in Maryville on Wednesday afternoon about what the new mitigation measures mean to restaurants and bars and what they can do about it.

He’s winning suits? And since when is the state shutting down local bars and restaurants?

* Let’s continue

The basis for [DeVore’s] advice to the restaurant and bar owners came from the Department of Public Health Act (20 ILCS 2305/2(c)) which states “no place may be ordered to be closed and made off limits to the public except with the consent of the person or owner of the place or upon the prior order of a court of competent jurisdiction…In the event of an immediate order issued without prior consent or court order, the Department shall, as soon as practical, within 48 hours after issuing the order, obtain the consent of the person or owner or file a petition requesting a court order authorizing the isolation or quarantine or closure.”

That’s… not great advice. Those businesses could be hit with a misdemeanor charge and a possibly hefty fine for their defiance. It’s not about closing businesses, or pulling their licenses - something the governor has repeatedly said he doesn’t want to do.

* More

DeVore informed business owners “I’m not advocating for social disobedience, I’m asking for business owners to stand up.” The crowd erupted in applause when DeVore said “If enough of you stay open, this is over.

The majority of restaurant and bar owners in attendance, as well as dozens that had contacted DeVore before today’s educational presentation from across the area, said they plan on keeping their indoor dining open this time. DeVore said the owners are not looking to be defiant of anything, and have not come by their decisions to stay open lightly. Many of the owners stated that if they shut down inside dining, they will never reopen. One owner of an establishment outside of Madison County said that last week he did a poll on Facebook asking his customers if he should stay open. Of the 300 responses he received, 297 said to stay open and he is going to do so.

DeVore encouraged each owner to speak with their own legal counsel about their decision since each business has its own unique needs.

As a reminder, the region has a 9.9 percent positivity rate.

* From DeVore’s Facebook page


Posted by Thomas DeVore on Tuesday, September 8, 2020

Sheesh.

* He also showed off his new tattoos

…Adding… We went to the Sangamo Club for dinner last night (outside, of course) and I think the sign on its front door puts the whole mask issue into proper context…

Also, if establishments are listening to lawyers like DeVore instead of public health officials when it comes to things like masks, you gotta wonder what they’re doing in the kitchen. If I live to be 100, I will never again go to restaurants that flout these simple, basic public health rules. And I may compile a list before veto session.

*** UPDATE *** Illinois Supreme Court today

IT IS ORDERED that the motion for clarification is allowed. This court’s order of August 5, 2020, transferring cases from Edgar, Bond, Clinton, and Richland Counties to Sangamon County to be consolidated with Sangamon County No. 20 MR 589, is hereby corrected, nunc pro tunc, to specify that these cases and the cases that were transferred to and consolidated in Sangamon County in case Nos. 126232 and 126261, shall be heard by the same judge, Judge Grischow, who was assigned to preside over Riley Craig et al. v. Governor Jay Robert Pritzker, etc., Sangamon County No. 20 MR 589, and Governor J.B. Pritzker, etc., et al. v. Board of Education of Hutsonville CUSD #1 et al., etc., Sangamon County No. 20 MR 557.

* Here’s an explainer from the attorney general’s office…

It is a procedural order. The Supreme Court’s earlier orders transferred the cases in other counties to Sangamon, but didn’t specify that they should all be heard by the same judge (Judge Grischow, who had previously been assigned to hear the Craig and Hutsonville cases). Because the earlier orders didn’t specifically say that the cases should go to Judge Grischow, DeVore thought he had the right to move for a substitution of judge. We filed our motions because we thought the court intended that all cases go to Judge Grischow, and the court agreed.

DeVore had moved for a substitution of the judge in the Bailey case, but waited to do so until after Judge Grischow ruled against him in the Hutsonville case. It wasn’t that long ago, you may recall, that DeVore was accusing the governor of judge-shopping.

  67 Comments      


1,337 new cases, 30 additional deaths, 1,580 in hospitals, 3.7 percent positivity rate

Wednesday, Sep 9, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Press release…

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 1,337 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 30 additional confirmed deaths.

    • Adams County: 1 male 90s
    • Christian County: 1 female 90s
    • Coles County: 1 female 80s
    • Cook County: 1 female 50s, 1 male 70s, 1 male 80s, 1 male 90s
    • Jackson County: 1 female 90s
    • Jersey County: 1 female 100+
    • Kane County: 1 male 80s
    • Lake County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s
    • LaSalle County: 1 male 70s
    • Macon County: 1 male 70s
    • Madison County: 1 female 60s, 1 female 70s, 2 males 80s, 1 female 90s
    • Peoria County: 1 male 90s
    • Rock Island County: 1 male 60s, 1 male 70s
    • Sangamon County: 1 female 70s, 1 male 90s
    • St. Clair County: 1 male 80s
    • Will County: 1 male 70s
    • Williamson County: 1 female 80s, 3 females 90s

Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 253,690 cases, including 8,214 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from September 2 – September 8 is 3.7%. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 48,029 specimens for a total of 4,526,739. As of last night, 1,580 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 357 patients were in the ICU and 133 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.

Following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, IDPH is now reporting separately both confirmed and probable cases and deaths on its website. Reporting probable cases will help show the potential burden of COVID-19 illness and efficacy of population-based non-pharmaceutical interventions. IDPH will update these data once a week.

*All data are provisional and will change. In order to rapidly report COVID-19 information to the public, data are being reported in real-time. Information is constantly being entered into an electronic system and the number of cases and deaths can change as additional information is gathered. Information for deaths previously reported has changed, therefore, today’s numbers have been adjusted. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.

The Metro East region has a 9.9 percent positivity rate. They are never getting out of this mess until they start taking this seriously. The Will/Kankakee County region has a 7.4 percent rate.

  6 Comments      


Uproar over dispensary licensing system

Wednesday, Sep 9, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Tribune

Two unsuccessful marijuana dispensary applicants are suing the state, hoping to hit the pause button on its plans to hand out 75 marijuana licenses.

Awarding of the licenses is more than four months behind schedule and last week, the state announced that only 21 of 700 applicants would proceed to a lottery for the 75 licenses.

Some lawmakers and unsuccessful applicants are decrying the state’s process, saying it defeats the stated goals of diversifying the largely white-owned industry. The lawsuit, filed Friday in Chicago federal court, is at least the second formal attempt to pause the process. The Illinois Legislative Black and Latino caucuses are calling on the Pritzker administration to suspend the lottery until the public can learn more about how and why the 21 groups were selected.

Southshore Restore and Heartland Greens, two applicants that will not proceed to the lottery, allege in the suit that the 21 groups are “politically-connected insider companies,” and seek to have the lottery delayed until they can challenge why they didn’t make the cut.

* Sun-Times

A pair of state lawmakers joined a group of losing pot shop applicants Tuesday to call on Gov. J.B. Pritzker to halt an upcoming lottery to determine the winners of the 75 long-delayed licenses and review the application grading process, which they claim was tainted and benefitted clouted firms.

“We are under the weather from this oppressive system, this rigged system, in which the state representatives and the state senators were lied to,” Rickey Hendon, a former Democratic state senator from Chicago, said during a news conference, noting that the “legislative intent” of the legalization law was to increase minority and local participation in the booming weed industry.

State law offers additional points on applications to groups and individuals deemed social equity applicants for living in an area disproportionately impacted by drug enforcement, having a past cannabis offense or meeting other criteria.

More than 700 groups applied for the next round dispensary licenses but only 21 applicants moved onto the lottery last week after receiving perfect scores on their applications, which were graded by the global accounting firm KPMG. All of the applicants in the lottery are considered social equity candidates, who were given a leg-up in the process in an effort to bolster minority participation in the overwhelmingly white pot industry.

* As of 2019, KPMG had 219,281 employees, so I take this with a big grain of salt

An employee of the global accounting firm that was awarded a no-bid contract to grade applications for the state’s next round of pot shop licenses is also a partner in one of the 21 groups that secured a spot in the upcoming lottery to determine the winners.

Hamd Kamal works as a risk management consultant for KPMG, which is getting nearly $4.2 million through a no-bid contract with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, the agency that oversees dispensaries. All told, more than 700 candidates submitted 1,667 total applications seeking upwards of 4,000 dispensary licenses. […]

KPMG spokesman James McGann said Kamal “is an employee but he was not part of the engagement team that scored the applications.”

He added: “The scoring process was objective, following the state’s criteria, with a blind scoring methodology. The team scoring the applications would have no knowledge of the names or affiliations of applicants. A separate team scored certain aspects of the application, such as social equity.”

* CBS 2

Facing calls from Black and Latino lawmakers to suspend the lottery for 75 new marijuana dispensary licenses, Gov. JB Pritzker said he’s open to minor tweaks to the program, but he said the process needs to move forward before considering sweeping changes. […]

“When we’re done with this process, we will have the largest percentage ownership by people of color anywhere in the nation,” he said.

Hutchinson noted applicants were able to seek up to 10 licenses each, so overall there were more than 4,500 applications for the 75 new dispensary licenses, so “there was bound to be a lot of disappointment for this first round.”

“We knew that this was going to create a thunderstorm,” she said.

Asked if he will consider suspending the lottery for the 75 licenses, Pritzker said that’s not allowed under the current state law governing the program.

The courts might suspend the lottery for him.

* High Times

Part of the frustration stems from the fact that, while more than 700 different groups applied for licenses this time around, only 21 social equity groups are advancing to the lottery round to be considered for business licenses. According to the accounting firm KPMG, those are the groups that received perfect scores on their applications. Thus, many applicants are suspicious about what happened and what was wrong with their application.

Some are definitely disputing their scores

Another application group, Cultivarx, was stunned to find out that it received no points for social equity applicants, despite the fact that its majority owner, Bernard Cobbins, is Black and a lifelong resident of Chicago’s East Garfield Park neighborhood, a Disproportionately Impacted Area from the War on Drugs.

“We provided them with more than ample information, they had five years of Illinois state tax returns, and driver’s license, voter’s registration card, and a map showing he is in a disproportionate area,” said team member Nonna Knapp.

Despite the detailed information provided, Cultivarx received a discrepancy notice asking for additional information to prove Cobbins’ status. The team did so, and still did not receive points.

But as I told subscribers today, the perfect scores of those 21 applicants threw an unexpected wrench into the process because nobody expected it. So, several applicants didn’t do things like attract military veteran investors, which was only five points out of 250, but proved crucial in the end.

* Chicago Crusader

“It makes no sense that again, in 2020, Governor Pritzker, you have a Black lieutenant governor, you have a Black mayor of Chicago, you have a Black drug czar overseeing the marijuana industry here in Illinois, but you don’t have any Black-owned marijuana dispensaries?” said community activist Tio Hardiman.

According to the administration, of the 21 successful applicants, “13 are majority owned and controlled by people of color and 17 have at least one owner who is a person of color.”

* Decent points…


* The Cannabis Equity IL Coalition and the Social Equity Empowerment Network want to delay the tie-breaking lottery and offered up some suggested improvements…

1. The Coalition demands that the following be immediately provided to each applicant:

    1. Full Scorecard. Each applicant’s full scorecard with scoring broken down by exhibit.
    2. Disqualification Explanation. Any applicant who was disqualified from the process must be provided with a substantive explanation justifying their disqualification.

2. The Coalition demands that the following be immediately made available to the public:

    1. The full ownership structure of each “tied applicant” (as defined in 68 IAC 1290.10).
    2. KPMG Contract. The KPMG contract and an explanation of the following:
    i. Why were they chosen by the state?
    ii. Why was this a no-bid contract?
    iii. How much money was the contract worth?
    iv. How much additional compensation did KPMG receive for being months late?
    v. Did the State have an administrative review process for KPMG’s scoring?
    3. Scoring Rubric. The scoring rubric that KPMG used to grade the applications.

* Joe Cahill at Crain’s

A better approach would be to remove the cap on licenses while adopting a set of reasonable licensing standards meant to ensure the solvency and integrity of the industry. Anybody who meets those standards should get a license.

Opening up the market would ensure that supply rises to meet demand, spurring price competition, better service and innovation. Unfettered supply and demand allows a market to reach its full potential. Customers and business owners benefit. Fledgling enterprises serving minority communities would get to compete, without having to navigate a complex, costly application process and win a lottery.

Colorado offers a glimpse at the upside for states that don’t limit licenses. Nearly 3,000 marijuana licensees in that state rang up $1.7 billion in sales last year, generating more than $300 million in tax revenue, and employing more than 40,000 people. Imagine the potential in Illinois, with more twice Colorado’s population.

Lifting the cap on marijuana licenses is good economics, and good public policy for a state seeking to advance social equity.

Colorado is not exactly a great social equity example. In Denver, for example, Black residents comprise just 5.6 percent of ownership and 5.9 percent of industry employees.

  14 Comments      


Unclear on the concept

Wednesday, Sep 9, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Center Square

Incumbent state Rep. Blaine Wilhour, R-Beecher City, said taxpayers can send policymakers a message about budget principles.

“Just by simply voting ‘no’ on the progressive income tax,” Wilhour said. “You wanna force a tough conversation on our fiscal situation in Illinois, a conversation we’ve been needing to have for a long, long time, that’s a perfect place to start.”

If you want to force an increase in the state’s flat income tax, there’s no better way to do that than to vote against the progressive income tax. Democratic super-majorities in both chambers and the Democratic governor and the Democratic-leaning electorate in this state are not going to support deep spending cuts.

  43 Comments      


Caption contest!

Wednesday, Sep 9, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Press release…

Libertarian candidate for US Congress in the 6th District, Bill Redpath, personally received an endorsement from his longtime friend and colleague Krist Novoselic, known most notably as the bassist from the Grammy award-winning band Nirvana.

Redpath and Novoselic were both longtime active members of the non-profit organization FairVote, where Redpath was the Treasurer from 1995 - 2019 and Novoselic was the Chair from 2008 - 2019.

FairVote works to reform the electoral process, making elections more fair and accessible for both voters and candidates. They also advocate for Ranked Choice Voting, which gives a citizen’s vote more weight and influence in an election. FairVote.org offers details on how ranked choice voting works.

    “I am proud to receive the endorsement of Krist Noveselic. FairVote is a leading organization trying to change the electoral system in the US and calls for Ranked Choice Voting in both single winner elections and multiple winner elections for legislative seats. That is what is needed, so that so many voters don’t feel boxed into voting for the lesser of two evils.”
    - Bill Redpath

Bill Redpath is the Libertarian candidate for US Congress from the IL 6th Congressional DIstrict. His opponents are Republican Jeanne Ives and Democrat Sean Casten.

* Photo…

  34 Comments      


More than 350,000 VBM applications received in Chicago so far, state tops 1 million as robocalls try to discourage Black participation

Wednesday, Sep 9, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Tribune

The Chicago Board of Elections has received more than 350,000 vote-by-mail applications for the general election, up from about 250,000 in mid-August, and that number could grow to a third of all city voters by Election Day, the board’s chair said Tuesday. […]

The number of vote-by-mail applications the city has received so far is more than triple the board’s all-time record of 118,000, reached during this year’s primary, according to Marisel Hernandez, chairwoman of the Chicago Board of Elections.

Given the current rate, Hernandez said in an interview later, the city “could easily reach 500,000” vote-by-mail applications out of about 1.52 million registered voters.

* WBEZ

More than 1 million Illinoisans have applied to vote by mail for the November election, roughly triple the number of the last presidential contest in 2016. […]

In southwestern Illinois, St. Clair County Clerk Thomas Holbrook said the office has received more than 25,000 mail ballot requests. That’s compared with roughly 9,200 people who cast ballots by mail in 2016. He said his office will hire more people to handle the influx. […]

A pending federal lawsuit against the [state’s vote by mail] expansion could further complicate things. Cook County Republicans allege expanded mail voting is a partisan scheme.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee intervened, accusing Republicans of “playing politics and risking the lives of Illinoisans by forcing them to choose between exercising their right to vote or the health and safety of themselves and their families.”

The judge has indicated he’ll rule before ballots go out this month.

* Meanwhile

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is warning the public about robocalls trying to discourage people from voting by mail.

According to Raoul’s office, some voters have reported receiving robocalls warning them that voting by mail could result in their private information being provided to third parties.

According to Raoul, calls can involve an automated recording claiming that information belonging to people who vote by mail will be shared with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to track people for mandatory vaccines, police departments and law enforcement in order to locate individuals who have outstanding warrants, and creditors to help find people who owe outstanding debt.

Raoul is urging individuals to disregard any messages containing such false claims, saying in part, “I am urging voters to be aware that Illinois law does not permit election authorities to share personal information, regardless of the voting method you choose. If you receive a call, email or text trying to convince you otherwise, please report the contact to my office or the Illinois State Board of Elections.”

* More

When it comes to voter turnout, Chicago’s 3rd Ward, which includes Bronzeville, is one of the biggest.

But some voters, including Alderman Pat Dowell, were recently targets of robocalls discouraging vote by mail.

“The message was ‘don’t vote by mail because the information you’ve given the Board of Elections is going to go to a national data base for credit card companies to come after you,’” Dowell said.

She said the message also relayed that her private information will be given to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the police.

While the voice was an African American-sounding woman, Dowell said the caller ID came up as Jack Burkman, an ultra-conservative conspiracy theorist.

* These calls are not confined to Illinois

Michigan authorities are investigating a robocall that is targeting voters in Detroit by providing false information about mail-in voting.

The audio of the phone call in question:

    This is [unintelligible] 1699, a civil rights organization founded by Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl. Mail-in voting sounds great. But did you know that if you vote by mail, your personal information will be part of a public database that will be used by police departments to track down old warrants, and be used by credit card companies to collect outstanding debt? The CDC is even pushing to give preference for mail in voting to track people for mandatory vaccines Don’t be [unintelligible] into giving your private information to the man. Stay safe, and beware of vote by mail.


* More

The recording alleges the call was made on behalf of Project 1599, a project spearheaded by conservative social media personality Jacob Wohl and GOP lobbyist Jack Burkman. The actual source of the call remains unknown, but Wohl and Burkman have a “known reputation for spreading misinformation in an effort to gain notoriety,” Benson and Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement. Wohl denied involvement when contacted by The Detroit News on Thursday and said he and Burkman,while “not fans of mail-in voting,” were “puzzled” by the call.

  14 Comments      


TRS says investments have rebounded

Wednesday, Sep 9, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Teachers’ Retirement System

In the wake of the economy-crippling COVID-19 pandemic, Teachers’ Retirement System assets experienced a $4.9 billion rebound between March and July, climbing to a total of $53.4 billion.

The worldwide effect of the coronavirus impacted TRS investments between January and the end of fiscal year 2020 (FY2020) on June 30. The preliminary TRS investment return for FY2020 hovered close to the break-even mark at +0.52 percent, net of fees, on June 30. By comparison, on December 31, 2019, the half-way mark in FY2020, the TRS rate of return was +13.41 percent.

The System began calendar year 2020 with $54.2 billion in assets. The effects of the pandemic caused total assets to drop to $48.5 billion at the end of March. On June 30, assets totaled $51.6 billion. At the end of July, TRS assets totaled $53.4 billion, a 10.1 percent increase since March.

“Everyone took a hit during the pandemic,” said TRS Interim Executive Director Stan Rupnik. “But the investment strategies we have in place limited losses and have allowed us to prudently rebuild the portfolio’s value.”

During the January-March quarter of FY2020, the TRS investment return was -9.95 percent, net of fees. During the previous quarter, October to December, the System’s return was +4.28 percent. The System’s return during the April to June quarter was +5.94 percent.

The TRS return between January and March, however, stood favorably compared to other economic measurements of the same period.

The Northern Trust Corporation’s analysis of the 300 largest U.S. institutional investors indicated that the median return for public pension plans between January and March was -12.6 percent. A similar analysis of public pension systems by Wilshire Associates found that the median quarterly return was -12.8 percent.

In general, the negative investment returns for various stock market measurements indicate that the TRS portfolio held up comparatively well. For instance, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index returned -19.6 percent during the January–March quarter.

Long-term, TRS investment returns continue to exceed the System’s long-term assumed return rate of 7 percent. For FY2020, the 40-year TRS return was +9.0 percent.

“The long-term investment returns are the most important numbers for our members,” Rupnik said. “These timeframes reflect the long-term relationship that TRS has with its members, both as active educators and as retirees. The long-term returns also indicate a successful investment program that values steady growth and strong risk management over several generations.”

  11 Comments      


Rate the new Rodney Davis ad

Wednesday, Sep 9, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Press release…

Today, Rodney Davis’ campaign for Congress released a new ad titled “Madigan Machine,” which highlights Betsy Londrigan’s close ties to Speaker Mike Madigan’s corrupt political machine. The ad will be running on TV stations across IL-13 as well as online and digital platforms.

* Ad

* Script…

llinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is facing intense scrutiny after being subpoenaed in connection with a bribery investigation.

Mike Madigan is the most corrupt politician in Illinois and Betsy Londrigan is part of Madigan’s Machine.

Londrigan raises money for Madigan and his corrupt machine while her campaign is bankrolled by Madigan and his henchmen.

Now Londrigan is refusing to call for Madigan’s resignation.

Betsy Londrigan would make Washington more corrupt.

…Adding… Press release…

In response to Congressman Rodney Davis’ first TV ad that airs a misleading attack on his opponent rather than focusing on any accomplishments of his own, Betsy Dirksen Londrigan’s campaign released the following statement:

“After nearly a decade in Washington, Rodney Davis still can’t come up with a single positive reason for people to vote for him so he’s resorted to launching desperate and misleading attacks instead,” said campaign spokeswoman Eliza Glezer. “Davis doesn’t want Central Illinois families to know his real record of voting 11 times to repeal the Affordable Care Act without a replacement, voting to gut protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and voting against lowering the cost of prescription drugs. If Davis doesn’t have a record he can win on, he shouldn’t be running.”

  31 Comments      


Open thread

Wednesday, Sep 9, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Keep it Illinois-centric and be polite to each other. Thanks.

  5 Comments      


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Wednesday, Sep 9, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax

Wednesday, Sep 9, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Wednesday, Sep 9, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller

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