* Last week…
Commonwealth Edison has agreed to participate in next week’s meeting of a special Illinois House committee investigating Speaker Michael Madigan’s alleged role in a bribery scheme involving the utility.
House Republican Leader Jim Durkin informed the committee by letter Thursday that he intends to question ComEd representatives about the company’s deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Durkin also planned to give an opening statement.
* Committee Chairman Rep. Chris Welch press release…
“Today, in a letter sent to counsel for Leader Durkin, I addressed points raised in his Sept. 24, 2020 letter regarding the administration of Tuesday’s Special Investigating Committee hearing. My letter informed Leader Durkin that as a signatory to the petition creating this Committee, he is not eligible to participate in the investigation process, as signatories to the petition are prohibited from serving on the Special Investing Committee under House rules. Granting his requests to make statements and question witnesses would therefore be inappropriate and in violation of the process he invoked.
“Leader Durkin was further informed that the Committee may choose to call him as a witness, due to his significant involvement in the energy legislation referenced in his petition.”
* That last bit is explained in this 2016 press release…
Addressing gatherings at nuclear power plants in Cordova and Clinton, Gov. Bruce Rauner today celebrated the jobs saved and gains made one year in to the state’s tenure with the Future Energy Jobs Act.
“Today we are here to celebrate the bright future of energy jobs in Illinois,” Rauner said. “Thanks to the Future Energy Jobs Act, Illinois is poised to compete head-to-head with any state in the nation to attract energy investment and jobs, while still protecting ratepayers and taxpayers.”
On Dec. 7, 2016, legislators, industry stakeholders and members of the Rauner Administration came together for the signing of FEJA. The landmark piece of legislation prevented the Quad Cities and Clinton power plants from closing, saving 800 jobs in the Quad Cities and 700 in Clinton while ushering in the addition of 100 more permanent Exelon jobs plus 400 construction jobs while capital improvements are under way. […]
“The Future Energy Jobs Act preserved our nuclear plants and protected thousands of jobs for Illinois working families,” said Mitchell, noting that Rauner and House Republican Leader Jim Durkin worked tirelessly on its passage. “This was not an easy bill to pass and they moved mountains to help get it done.”
Whew.
Things are getting seriously ugly, campers.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Leader Durkin…
It is clear that Chairman Welch is not well-versed on the proceedings of an investigatory committee, as he needed a phone call and two letters from U.S. Attorney Lausch after repeatedly misinterpreting his guidance. Furthermore, Rep. Manley was already allowed to question me on the veracity of the petition and the charges in the previous committee hearing. Under my rights as not only the petitioner but also as a member of the General Assembly, I will be making an opening statement tomorrow and questioning the confirmed witness, Commonwealth Edison, on the admitted facts laid out in the petition against Michael J. Madigan. See you there!
*** UPDATE 2 *** According to Chairman Welch, ComEd has “confirmed that David Glockner will be in Springfield to testify tomorrow and he will be accompanied by their attorney Reid Schar.” Glockner is Executive Vice President, Compliance and Audit, for Exelon Corporation.
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The great hayride caper
Monday, Sep 28, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Center Square…
In a matter of hours, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration changed it’s guidance on hayrides amid concerns over COVID-19, but haunted houses are still prohibited. A state representative says the decision is not based on science and data.
Thursday’s updated document had initially said: “Amusement rides such as train rides, hay rides, and inflatables must remain closed.”
The guidance document was updated late Friday with different language that said hayrides and haunted hayrides were permitted with capacity limits.
“Hayrides/haunted can operate at 50% capacity, with parties spaced at least six feet apart and wearing masks, with the best practice to limit hayrides to members of the same household,” Friday’s update said.
The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity didn’t immediately respond to why the guidelines changed.
* From DCEO’s guidance issued in June…
Are pumpkin patches permitted?
Generally, yes. However, amusement rides such as train rides, hay rides, and inflatables must remain closed.
* What happened last week? Here’s Jordan Abudayyeh…
The FAQ is updated regularly. On 9/24 they updated it regarding haunted houses. On 9/25 they updated it with the hay rides.
* So, maybe wait to learn some facts from a legit news outlet before launching on somebody’s kid?…
State Rep. Charlie Meier, R-Okawville, is a hay farmer. He said hayrides are a big tradition. […]
“Maybe his daughter wants to go on hayrides and that’s what’s happened,” Meier said. “She’s been allowed to go out of state and go to her horse competitions, so maybe she wants to go on a hayride in Illinois and that’s why we’re going to have them, but at least some people are going to enjoy hayrides and for that I’m happy.”
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Define “new”
Monday, Sep 28, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Tribune editorial…
It looks like Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s warning that Illinois will have to cut spending if voters reject his “fair tax” amendment wasn’t persuading anyone. And why would it? After years of busted budgets, rising debts and tax increases, millions of Illinois voters want state government to stop spending so much.
So Team Pritzker on Thursday dispatched Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton to issue a new threat: Approve our amendment or, she said, “lawmakers will be forced to consider raising income taxes on all Illinois residents by at least 20% regardless of their level of income.” […]
We’ll see if Team Pritzker finds new ways to say, “Vote our way — or else.” But we hope nobody asks Lt. Gov. Stratton to be the one issuing future warnings. This was a message the governor should have delivered. This is his amendment, his campaign push, his threat to raise taxes on even the lowest of earners by a whopping 20%. How does the squeeze feel, Illinois?
* Ted Cox cranks up the Wayback Machine…
Here’s the thing, though: Gov. Pritzker first warned of a potential 20 percent tax hike in his very first budget address, a month after taking office, in February 2019. In the very same speech, he spoke of “a fair income tax” as a solution. Two weeks later, he laid out his proposal for a progressive income tax, with brackets that have basically held true to that initial vision: a higher tax rate only for those making more than $250,000 a year, with 97 percent of Illinois taxpayers paying the same or less than they are now under the current 4.95 percent flat tax.
The General Assembly approved a graduated income tax that spring, sending it on to voters in the general election this fall with Pritzker’s initial brackets only slightly altered up to a top tax rate of just under 8 percent for those making more than $1 million a year. The actual Fair Tax Amendment, however, only changes the state constitution to allow a graduated income tax.
None of that has changed over the last year and a half.
Now, journalists have notoriously poor memories. Dealing with news on a daily basis tends to leave old facts and information buried under the new — especially in these turbulent times. But one might well expect better from the Tribune Editorial Board — or Republican politicians.
* From the 2019 budget address, which can be found on the Tribune’s own website…
First, we could choose only to cut state government spending and raise no revenue. To do that, we have to recognize that out of this year’s $39 billion budget, approximately $20 billion is required payments on our debt, on our pensions, on our court-ordered obligations or federally protected programs. That leaves approximately $19 billion dollars. That’s the money we spend educating our children, running our colleges and universities, keeping our streets safe, preserving our natural resources, getting people to and from work efficiently and caring for our veterans. We’ll call that “discretionary spending.” To balance the budget by simply cutting government, we would have to reduce discretionary spending on all these direct services our jobs, our families and our businesses rely on by approximately 15%. That’s 15% fewer state police, 15% fewer students going to college, 15% fewer working parents receiving child care assistance, and 15% less money for your local schools – which likely also means your local property taxes will increase. I should point out that this option was tried in the prior administration, and it failed - because nearly no one thinks it’s a good idea to force our most talented kids to leave the state by diminishing Illinois colleges and universities, drive families away by defunding local schools, make our communities less safe by reducing public safety, and increase poverty by cutting badly needed human services.
Our second option is to raise revenue with our current regressive flat income tax system and impose more flat taxes which fall disproportionately on the working poor and the middle class. This option could require imposing sales taxes on services, implementing a retirement tax, or raising the income tax overall by around 20%. Or all of the above. For a family earning $100,000, that means paying almost a thousand dollars more in income taxes, and their property taxes will continue their upward march as they always have.
Our third option is to reject imposing additional income, retirement and sales taxes on the middle class and instead enact a fair income tax. This would lift some of the tax burden off of middle income earners and instead ask the wealthiest to pay a little more. Just for clarity, a fair tax is what three quarters of states with income taxes have. We can accomplish this with a more competitive rate structure than Wisconsin and Iowa, both of which are outpacing Illinois in job creation and economic growth. We can also implement a fair tax system that’s lower than our metropolitan competitors on the east and west coasts.
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Chicago eases COVID-19 restrictions
Monday, Sep 28, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Press release…
Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot, the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) and the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) today announced that Chicago has made sufficient progress in the fight against COVID-19 to ease certain restrictions on businesses. Effective Thursday, October 1st, new guidelines for businesses will come into effect that will expand indoor capacity to 40% for certain businesses, reopen bars for indoor service, allow restaurants and bars to serve alcohol until 1:00 am, increase maximum group sizes for fitness classes and after-school programming and allow personal services that require the removal of masks. These changes build on Chicago’s status as one of the most open large cities in America and are possible due to continued improvement on crucial COVID health metrics, including a declining number of new daily cases, a test positivity rate now below 5% and the lowest rates of hospitalization and death in months.
“Over the past six months, we have asked so much of our business community. But each time, our businesses have stepped up to the plate,” said Mayor Lightfoot. “Thanks to this cooperation, we have met this challenging moment with grace, commitment and resilience, and the sacrifices made by our businesses, workers and residents have saved countless lives. This next step in our reopening is good news for business owners as well as the communities they serve and the thousands of residents that work for them.”
Chicago is now seeing around 300 new COVID cases per day whereas in late August the city was over 350 cases per day and rising. Test positivity (the percentage of COVID tests with a positive result) has fallen to 4.5% and severe outcomes have also improved, with hospitalizations from COVID lower than they’ve been since March and deaths at an average of 2-3 per day, when they were around 50 per day at the peak of the pandemic.
The outbreak continues to have a disproportionate impact on Black and, particularly of late, Latinx communities, but we are seeing improvement there, as well, and declines in the Latinx community outpace the overall averages. As we gradually ease our reopening guidelines, we will continue to watch trends closely, particularly among essential workers and People of Color.
“Overall, we are heading in the right direction, and this affords us an opportunity to further re-open the city and to do so gradually and safely,” said CDPH Commissioner Allison Arwady, M.D. “But I can’t emphasize this enough: Chicagoans need to continue to follow the public health guidance – wearing masks, social distancing, frequent hand washing and staying home when sick – or we risk falling back and experiencing another rise in cases.”
Effective Thursday, October 1st, at 5:00am, the following guidelines will come into effect:
• Increased Indoor Capacity: Restaurants, health and fitness centers, personal services, non-essential retail and all other establishments that have been limited to 25% indoor capacity will now be able to increase their maximum indoor capacity to 40%. The limit of 50 total customers within one room or space at restaurants, venues and other establishments will remain in place, as will the limit of no more than six people per table.
• Reopening of Bars: Breweries, taverns, bars and other establishments that serve alcohol without a food license may reopen with indoor seating, at 25% capacity or 50 people, whichever is fewer. Service remains limited to no more than two hours per party, and customers must be seated when eating, drinking or ordering – patrons cannot walk up to the bar to order.
• Extended Hours for Bars and Restaurants:Bars, restaurants and other establishments that serve alcohol will now be able to sell alcohol for on-site or off-site consumption until 1:00 am and may remain open until 1:30 am. Liquor stores, grocery stores and other establishments that sell alcohol to-go through a Packaged Goods license must continue to cease alcohol sales at 9:00 p.m.
• Increased Group Size:Maximum group size for health and fitness classes and after-school programming will increase from 10 to 15 people.
• Expanded Personal Services: Facials, shaves and other personal services that require the removal of face coverings will be allowed.
Updated reopening guidelines can be found at chicago.gov/reopening.
“The last six months have brought unprecedented challenges for everyone, especially the small businesses that form the pillars of so many of our neighborhoods,” said BACP Commissioner Rosa Escareno. “I want to thank the many businesses that have shown their dedication to their employees and patrons throughout this crisis by strictly following our guidelines. While this crisis has brought extraordinary pain, our recovery has outpaced peer cities and I am confident that this next step will bring much-needed economic support for thousands of businesses and workers while still prioritizing the health of our community.”
To help keep communities safe while supporting the neighborhood economy, the City today also today announced a partnership with homegrown technology company Tock to provide free technology solutions for restaurants and bars in low-income communities. Through this partnership, Tock will offer a free set-up and six-month subscription to Tock Plus Litefor restaurants and bars without a reservation system in areas of the city below 60% of the Area Median Income. This one-of-a-kind program will provide these establishments with the ability to manage reservations, takeout, delivery and events all through one unified system. This program, which is also available at a low cost citywide, can be used by businesses to retain cell phone numbers and email addresses to support contact tracing for reservations and when seating walk-ins.
“As a locally-grown Chicago business, we are thrilled to partner with the City to help expand safe dining and help restaurants build a bridge to the future,” said Brian Fitzpatrick, Tock’s co-founder and CTO. “For many restaurants and bars, especially those in historically disinvested areas, technology can make all the difference. Access to reservation systems during this critical time will help businesses keep pace while ensuring that they comply with regulations to keep their employees and patrons safe.”
While enough progress has been made to ease certain restrictions, Chicago remains in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and calls on all businesses and customers to continue following the phase four guidelines. In order to continue the significant progress, the following additional guidelines will also come into effect on Thursday, October 1st:
• When dining out at a food service establishment or bar, customers must always wear face coverings while seated, except when actively eating or drinking. This protects employees that may interact closely with patrons.
• Patrons at indoor bars, taverns and breweries must order from their seats – they cannot walk up to the bar to order.
• Bars, taverns and breweries that are reopening indoors must partner with a food establishment so that food is available to patrons at all times (e.g., making menus available and allowing delivery, allowing patrons to order from third-party delivery services).
• When taking reservations and seating walk-in customers, restaurants and bars should retain an email and/or phone number for possible contact tracing.
• Personal services that require the removal of face coverings are recommended to be kept under 15 minutes, and the employee conducting the service must always wear a face covering.
• All places of business should provide hand sanitizer for patrons and employees to use upon entry.
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* Finke…
Illinois has made good on a promise to remove statues from the Capitol grounds of people associated with slavery.
Statues of Stephen Douglas and Pierre Menard have been removed from the grounds and taken to a secure storage area. On Monday, workers were removing the pedestals that the statues rested on prior to the state sodding the area.
In August, the board of the Office of the Architect of the Capitol voted unanimously to remove the statues from the grounds. House Speaker Michael Madigan asked that the statues be removed because both men were slave holders and Douglas had a history of making racist comments.
Madigan also said he would sponsor a resolution in the House to remove a portrait of Douglas that hangs in the chamber. Madigan said it should be replaced with the portrait of someone who reflects the modern positions of the Democratic Party such as former President Barack Obama.
* Pics…
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[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Cleaner, greener energy. Fewer emissions. More jobs. That’s what Springfield lawmakers can deliver, thanks to Gov. Pritzker’s leadership in reviving clean energy legislation and putting forward thoughtful, ambitious principles to guide its progress.
As one of Illinois’ diverse energy providers, bp applauds Gov. Pritzker’s vision for a clean, renewable economy and urges state legislators to seize the moment for a comprehensive climate bill that includes a price on carbon.
Why? Because as Gov. Pritzker points out, “implementing a carbon price makes dirty energy less competitive, reduces emissions, creates room for renewable energy development, and raises revenue for the state.”
It’s fair to ask: why is an integrated energy company like bp advocating for carbon pricing? Because it aligns with our own low carbon ambition. Because we see business opportunity. Most of all, because we believe this is the right thing to do.
Read more about the Governor’s clean energy plan in our op-ed: https://thesouthern.com/opinion
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Question of the day
Monday, Sep 28, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The setup…
The baton is officially being passed from Mitchell Trubisky to Nick Foles.
During his Monday press conference, Bears Head Coach Matt Nagy confirmed Foles would get the start at quarterback for Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts after he led the Bears to comeback win against the Falcons yesterday.
And this isn’t a play-to-play, week-by-week thing. This is Foles’ job until further notice
* The Question: Agree or disagree with Nagy? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please…
online polls
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* Press release…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 1,709 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 13 additional confirmed deaths.
• Coles County: 1 female 80s
• Cook County: 1 male 30s, 1 female 50s, 1 male 50s, 1 male 60s, 1 male 70s, 2 males 80s
• Crawford County: 1 male 70s
• DeWitt County: 1 male 80s
• Madison County: 1 female 80s
• Marion County: 1 male 80s
• Richland County: 1 female 90s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 289,639 cases, including 8,614 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 21 – September 27 is 3.7%. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 41,142 specimens for a total of 5,520,652. As of last night, 1,491 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 346 patients were in the ICU and 135 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.
* Sunday…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 1,604 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 14 additional confirmed deaths.
Carroll County: 1 male 80s
Cook County: 1 male 50s, 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s, 2 females 90s
DuPage County: 1 female 60s
Hamilton County: 1 male 60s
Monroe County: 1 female 80s
Peoria County: 1 female 80s
Tazewell County: 1 female 60s, 1 female 90s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 287,930 cases, including 8,601 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 20 – September 26 is 3.7%. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 50,822 specimens for a total of 5,479,510. As of last night, 1,486 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 350 patients were in the ICU and 144 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
* Saturday…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 2,441 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 25 additional confirmed deaths.
Cook County: 1 female 50s, 3 males 60s, 1 male 70s, 2 females 80s, 1 male 80s, 1 male 90s
DuPage County: 1 male 60s, 1 male 70s, 1 male 80s
Effingham County: 1 male 70s, 1 male 80s
Greene County: 1 male 60s
Hamilton County: 1 female 90s
LaSalle County: 1 male 50s
McLean County: 1 male 80s
Rock Island County: 1 female 70s
Sangamon County: 1 female 80s
St. Clair County: 1 female 70s
Tazewell County: 1 female 80s
Wabash County: 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s
Williamson County: 1 male 60s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 286,326 cases, including 8,588 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 19 – September 25 is 3.6%. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 65,217 specimens for a total of 5,428,688. As of last night, 1,597 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 355 patients were in the ICU and 141 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
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* WBEZ…
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan tried to get state jobs last year for a half-dozen people with close ties to the chairman of a new, special House committee investigating Madigan’s links to a Springfield bribery scandal, according to records obtained by WBEZ.
State Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch of Hillside is the chairman of the bipartisan panel, which is scheduled to meet for the second time on Tuesday to begin hearing testimony.
Welch’s relationship to Madigan has come under heavy scrutiny since he was named on Sept. 2 to lead the “Special Investigative Committee” looking into the federal corruption scandal. Illinois Republicans have accused Welch of inhibiting the probe to protect Madigan, who also chairs the state’s Democratic Party.
I mean, he’s chairman of the House Executive Committee. You don’t get that job if you’re even a little bit on the fence about the House Speaker. He also heaped loads of public praise on Madigan during the House Speaker’s last reelection…
Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch (D-Westchester) nominated Madigan, saying he was a great leader who listens to the people.
“That’s the most important quality a leader should have,” Welch said. “Watching Speaker Madigan these last four years has been a real case study in true leadership.”
Welch said with Madigan’s leadership, the House stood strong and protected the heart of Illinois.
There’s no question where Welch stands. It’s not like he makes any bones about it…
Following the recent scandal that appears to implicate Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan, a group of Illinois Democrats announced sweeping ethics reform proposals [last month]. […]
Illinois Rep. Chris Welch said he agrees with many of the proposals, but not the one calling to remove leaders unless proven guilty.
“We’re not sitting here playing judge and jury..that we have fair processes in place and that we don’t put in systems that’s going to create witch hunts,” he said.
Madigan clearly decided that he wanted loyalists on the investigative committee. There’s not a bit of daylight between himself and those three members. The same basically goes for the Republican members and their leader.
* Back to the story…
But Welch may be even closer to Madigan than most in the House Democratic caucus, judging by the job recommendations and resumes that the speaker’s chief of staff sent to Gov. JB Pritzker’s office in early 2019, shortly before the ComEd scandal burst into public view. […]
The records show Madigan recommended more people with connections to Welch than anybody else during the months after Pritzker was sworn in, when the rookie governor was looking to fill many job openings in his administration. […]
Only one of those six people with ties to Welch got what they wanted from the governor, even though 35 of the nearly 80 job seekers who appeared on Madigan’s clout lists ultimately would land on the state-government payroll or on a board.
I’d bet a dollar that Madigan passed along pretty much every recommendation from his members. According to the story, Rep. Sue Scherer (D-Decatur) was also mentioned as much as Welch was on the lists Madigan sent to the governor’s office.
Welch recommended his wife, an attorney, for an appointment to the Illinois Liquor Control Commission. She didn’t get it. He also recommended his mom for a job, which she didn’t get.
* It turns out all of the people recommended by Welch were Black women. From Welch…
My entire life in elected office I have fought for diversity, equity and inclusion for Black people, especially Black women. My fight is for everyone, people I know and those that I don’t know personally. I, just like other legislators, Republicans and Democrats, recommended several well qualified Black women to the new administration in 2019 as they had requested. I had hoped all were chosen, but I am pleased that at least Dr. Andrea Evans was chosen to serve at IBHE, the only Black Woman on IBHE today. I will continue my fight to diversify boards. As Ruth Bader Ginsburg once said, Women belong in all rooms where decisions are made.
That would probably be a far better argument if two out of his six recommendations weren’t immediate family members, but OK.
Your thoughts?
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* Perhaps one of the most under-reported stories about the job of being a state legislator is what they do for constituents. This is mainly done quietly, away from Springfield, so it’s usually almost always invisible. But many are quite conscientious at it and kudos to Mark Brown for sharing this story, which also shows us that the problems people were facing at the beginning of this pandemic are still with us today…
The calls come daily to state Rep. Lindsey LaPointe’s office on the Northwest Side from people who need help navigating the state bureaucracy.
They call about unemployment benefits, housing assistance and food stamps. They call about utility bills, problems with state licenses and support for their small businesses.
Many of the callers these days are in tears, not knowing where to turn. Some can’t pay the rent. Others are worried about feeding their families.
Yet what’s striking to LaPointe’s chief of staff, Jessica Genova, is how apologetic many of the callers are, as if they’re feeling guilty about their predicament and needing help.
“I’ve never done this before,” they say.
Millions of people across the country have found themselves unemployed and needing assistance for the first time in their lives. And then they are faced with state systems that are antiquated, over-loaded and inaccessible.
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* This happened Friday…
Nowlan’s newspaper column has been distributed by Capitol News Illinois.
* Politico…
Dark money is helping to fund opposition to Illinois Supreme Court Justice Thomas Kilbride, who is up for retention in November. Judicial Fairness Project just gave $200,000 to the similarly named Citizens for Judicial Fairness to pursue its anti-Kilbride campaign.
The dark money group is listed under the same address as Chicago attorney John Fogerty, who is general counsel to the Illinois Republican Party. Fogerty did not immediately return a request for comment.
Citizens for Judicial Fairness, meanwhile, is headed by Jim Nowlan, a former Republican state legislator and GOP consultant who is president of Stark County Communications newspaper publishing company in central Illinois. Last week, Nowlan accused Kilbride of being “a puppet” of House Speaker and state Democratic Party leader Michael Madigan.
Kilbride is a Democratic judge in a district that’s leaning more Republican than when he was retained a decade ago. Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton 50 percent to 44 percent in the district that includes Kankakee, LaSalle, Peoria, Rock Island and Will counties. Numbers like that show Kilbride could be in trouble given he needs 60 percent to be retained.
The best thing Kilbride has going for him is that his party affiliation is not on the ballot. He also has several GOP endorsements.
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* Associated Press, September 18th…
Two weeks after a federal judge prohibited the U.S. Census Bureau from winding down the 2020 census, a manager in Illinois instructed employees to get started with layoffs, according to an audio of the conversation obtained by The Associated Press.
During a conference call Thursday, the Chicago area manager told supervisors who report to him that they should track down census takers who don’t currently have any cases, collect the iPhones they use to record information, and bid them goodbye. The manager did not respond to an email from the AP.
“I would really like to get a head start on terminating these people,” he said. “All of these inactives that we have, we need to get rid of them. So hunt down your inactives, collect their devices, get them terminated and off of our lists.”
It was unclear whether such actions would violate U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh’s temporary restraining order prohibiting the Census Bureau from winding down field operations while she considers a request to extend the head count by a month.
The judge took further action late last week.
* Sophie Sherry at the Tribune on Friday…
Despite assurances from U.S. Census Bureau officials that there would be a final push to reach people this month, the latest data shows the Chicago region employed around 3,000 fewer people the week of Sept. 6-12 compared with the previous week. The move raises more questions about the reliability and completeness of a count that will determine Illinois’ representation in Congress and the state’s and city’s share of billions of dollars in federal aid over the next 10 years.
Late Thursday, a federal judge ordered the Census Bureau to extend its deadline from Sept. 30 to Oct. 31. The Trump administration is expected to appeal, but the judge’s order prohibits the agency from winding down operations until the case is resolved
The Chicago field office would not comment on the recent cutback of workers, but an official in Washington, D.C., said one reason might be that the Chicago area is actually faring very well in the census, with much of its population already counted, contrary to what every local official has been saying. […]
Olson said Cook County is about 90% counted when you combine responses from households and visits by census workers to homes that didn’t respond. But experts say that’s still not good enough.
Sherrie Taylor, interim head of the State Data Center Network, which works with the bureau, said the agency should not be satisfied with anything less than 99%. “Until there is 99% in every single tract, there’s questions about the reliability of the data,” she said. “In a sample survey, you’re happy to get a 20% response and that’s really good, but this is much more serious than that.”
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Another day, another lawsuit
Monday, Sep 28, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From Governor Pritzker’s Friday press conference…
Q: Will you put it to rest? Are your doctors at IDPH talking with IHSA and their doctors about somehow bringing back soccer, football, volleyball this fall?
A: There is not an ongoing discussion about that. We have talked in the past. And then of course, we’ve put forward our, these are the rules that doctors have put forward about high, medium and low risk sports. So no, there’s not any ongoing dialogue right now. And again, it is doctors and epidemiologists that are leading the way here. It’s what I’ve done all along in this pandemic. I think it’s one of the reasons we have one of the lowest positivity rates in the Midwest, and one of the lowest in the nation. Now, I will also say that if you look at the list of states that, remember, we’ve allowed many, many sports, I want to be clear with people, we have a lot of fall sports that are being played. But if you look at just football, for example, many of the states that do not allow football today are the ones with the lowest positivity. Let’s take a look at that. New York, Massachusetts, etc. Right? They’re the ones who have the lowest positivity rates. So I think we should be striving to get to where they are. We’re not anywhere near there, by the way. We need to get there. And you know, obviously, we’re all concerned to get people back on the field. Right now, they’re able to practice, they’re able to scrimmage, they’re able to do a lot of things. They’re not able to play regular tournaments, for example, or games.
* Yesterday…
* CBS 2…
This week, a group plans to level the playing field for students who depend on showcasing their skills on the field to score a college scholarship.
“Student athletes, especially those from the poorest neighborhoods, have virtually no chance to be seen in game action, and are therefore at an extreme disadvantage compared to all neighboring states with kids playing in the fall,” said plaintiff Dave Ruggles. “Scholarships will simply go to players college coaches can actually see in action, and that won’t include kids in Illinois.” […]
Ruggles and others plan to file a legal action against the Illinois High School Association on Monday.
* NBC 5…
The suit will be filed in DuPage County, according to a press release, and will list the IHSA as the primary defendant. The suit is expected to be filed this week.
A total of 20 students are expected to be listed as plaintiffs in the suit, which will seek a temporary restraining order ordering the state to allow fall sports to get underway.
The suit alleges that prohibitions on some fall sports, including football and volleyball, violates the IHSA’s constitution and bylaws, and has “caused mental health issues and financial hardships” for athletes and their families, according to the press release.
Specifically, the suit alleges that the decision to postpone fall sports will have negative financial impacts on both students and parents, as they will fall behind in their ability to compete for athletic scholarships to make college more affordable.
* Meanwhile…
…Adding… Jordan Abudayyeh…
As the Governor has said many times, his top education priority is resuming in-person learning for students across the state. In order to make that a reality for our students and teachers, we must do everything possible to keep positivity rates down and reduce the risk of spreading the virus at events outside the classroom. The courts have repeatedly sided with the public health experts who have created guidance that protects the health of people across this state.
* Related…
* Wisconsin Is on the Brink of a Major Outbreak - The state’s coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are at an all-time high
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* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
Another snippet has been leaked of a now-infamous recorded fundraising call made by state Rep. Amy Grant, R-Wheaton, in late August. And it’s a doozy.
Grant already is reeling badly from the backlash to other comments she made during the call. She has insisted that she is neither a racist nor a homophobe and has tried to claim her words were taken out of context, without explaining how.
You may have seen the news about this. Grant is running against Ken Mejia-Beal, a gay Black Democrat. In the call, Grant dismissed Mejia-Beal to someone she believed to be a potential campaign contributor by saying, “That’s all we need is another person in the Black Caucus.” She mocked “the way he talks,” saying “He’s all LGBTQ. He wants to work for the chronically ill. He just gives us, like crazy, and every week it’s a different reason for why he wants to get into the race.”
In the latest clip, Grant is heard telling the potential contributor how groups like Planned Parenthood would be attacking her for opposing abortion even in cases of rape and incest.
“Well, of course, you know, people don’t want to hear that,” Grant admitted about her position on the issue.
But Grant went on to explain why she continues to stick by her beliefs. “For starters, the percentage of incest,” she said. “Peter Breen, who said, ‘Amy, don’t worry about that; the percentage of incest is so small it’s ridiculous. And in the case of rape it’s even small.’”
Breen is a former Republican state representative who is campaigning to regain the seat he lost in 2018 to Terra Costa Howard, D-Glen Ellyn. He’s also vice president and chief counsel at the staunchly anti-abortion Thomas More Society.
The House Republicans turned down an opportunity to respond.
Grant’s opponent Ken Mejia-Beal pointed to a series of recent Republican attack mailers that essentially accused him of helping cover up a rape. “It really is the height of hypocrisy,” he said of Grant’s recorded comments.
Similar mailers apparently have been used against Democratic House candidates this cycle. The front of one of the mailers has the words (in all capital letters) “Rape, Cover-Up, Mike Madigan” and the candidate’s name. The headline on the other side was: “Ken Mejia-Beal: Silent When It Mattered.”
“When Mike Madigan’s political organization was implicated in a rape cover-up, top Democrats called for him to step down. What did Ken Mejia-Beal have to say? Nothing.”
The mailer referred to an emailed comment made by House Speaker Michael Madigan’s former consigliere Mike McClain, who was trying to protect a state worker’s job by claiming the guy had kept his mouth shut about “the rape in Champaign.” The explosive story broke in January of this year, less than two months after Mejia-Beal had filed his nominating petitions.
Mejia-Beal said the mailers were particularly hurtful because he’s been a mentor for sexual assault survivors. He issued a press release at the time saying he had no knowledge of the issue and called the attack “pathetic” because Grant was “using the unfortunate story of someone else’s abuse to earn political points for her own campaign.”
After the latest audio clip was leaked, Mejia-Beal issued a formal statement: “While millions of women in the U.S. have become pregnant as a result of rape or incest, Rep. Grant’s heartless and disgusting remarks are a reminder of how out of touch she is with reality. These comments from Rep. Grant also serve as a reflection of her extreme record against women’s health care and victims of abuse.”
Terry Cosgrove, who runs the pro-choice Personal PAC, also weighed in: “It’s the height of cruelty that Peter Breen and Amy Grant are so callous to victims of rape and incest… I would like to see Breen and Grant look into the eyes of a 15-year-old girl who has been victimized repeatedly by a relative or neighbor and tell her ‘it’s ridiculous.’”
One other thing: Grant has some trouble saying what she means during the recording. For instance, she claims, “You know, life is going to come after me, Planned Parenthood.” And “They’re going to say, oh, Amy Grant supports abortion even in case of incest and rape.”
Obviously, what she meant was pro-choice groups were coming after her for opposing abortion even in cases of incest and rape, because it wouldn’t make any sense otherwise.
* The audio…
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Open thread
Monday, Sep 28, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Let’s keep it Illinois-centric and be polite to each other, please.
Also, best wishes to Rep. Bryant!…
Members of my family have had these attacks and they’re not fun at all. I had mine checked out as part of this summer’s long list of routine medical checkups and it came back negative. Everything else was fine, too, by the way. I hope I’m not jinxing myself, but as of this moment I have no more medical appointments scheduled for at least six months.
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