* We’re entering parody territory here, or Tobin’s just saying the quiet part out loud that others including the Tribune are too polite to utter…
As the U.S. Senate considers whether to pass a $1.9 billion stimulus package, an Illinois nonprofit is urging a no vote.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said despite a $120 million surplus in his proposed budget, the state needs an estimated $7.5 billion.
“This is a budget that is the result of a crisis that we had facing the state and the country,” Pritzker said.
Pritzker has also blamed the state’s dire fiscal condition on voters’ rejection of his progressive tax amendment and on Congress’ failure to provide unrestricted state bailouts earlier.
Jim Tobin, the founder of the Taxpayer Education Foundation, is opposed to any kind of federal bailout and said the Illinois state government needs to fail to change its irresponsible spending habits.
Kill it in order to save it. That worked so well for the Confederacy’s approach to the United States, and Tobin fancies himself an expert on that bit of history, believing the Civil War was fought over tax revenues.
First, both state and local governments should refill and reopen small-business grant programs that have to date only provided assistance to a fraction of the businesses that have been dealt a blow from COVID-19-related closures and restrictions. The highly touted Business Interruption Grant program, for example, awarded grants to just 20% of the businesses that applied. Many businesses are also struggling to pay their crushingly high property tax bills from a year in which they may have seen their property closed or restricted a majority of the time — a property tax relief program could go a long way in reducing that burden. And further mortgage and rental assistance to families who have seen their income drop because of COVID-19 closures would help reduce foreclosures and housing insecurity.
Second, the current state budget relies heavily on borrowing more than $3 billion from the Federal Reserve. All of that is due to be repaid within the next 2½ years. Carrying a short-term debt load like that will put further strain on the state budget, even after the pandemic. An influx of federal aid should be used to immediately pay off that short-term debt and avoid a repayment problem that is right around the corner.
Third, Illinois is notorious for carrying billions of dollars in unpaid bills. By paying our bills and reducing the current $5 billion backlog, we put cash in the pockets of Illinois service providers and vendors who are waiting to be paid — and we also reduce our overall debt load. As businesses fight to stay afloat during the pandemic, we shouldn’t add to their problems by making them wait and wait for the state to pay its bills. Further, when the state pays Medicaid bills — which is one of the largest programs in the state budget — we get matching funds from the federal government. During the pandemic, the matching rate has been temporarily enhanced for all states, meaning that Illinois can stretch every dollar even further.
The debt and backlog ideas are already on the table, as is more relief to businesses.
The most cynical actors in Washington have portrayed pleas for aid as an undeserved “bailout” for states that don’t share their politics. The opposite is true. States don’t seek funds for legacy costs. While both Illinois and Connecticut have been addressing long-standing fiscal challenges and legacy costs within our respective state budgets in recent years, both also act as donor states, contributing more in the form of federal taxes than we receive back in federal aid.
This year, we do this dutifully, to proudly support our fellow states as they face identical challenges of their own. This crisis has provided a clear example that we are one nation, meeting a common challenge together. The federal government’s response should reflect that, and not leave anyone behind. Our states, our residents and small businesses can’t wait.
Tuesday, Mar 2, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Representative democracy works best when people actively engage in policy discussions and elections, ensuring that communities of color, long disenfranchised, are prioritized. Historically, Illinois’ redistricting process favors incumbents and is dominated by partisan, rather than community, objectives.
In 2021, we can create a fair map for Illinoisans that puts their interests first with a process that:
● Invites broad, meaningful public input through at least 35 public hearings for community members
● Requires fairness standards that prioritize people of color through the Federal Voting Rights Act, the Illinois Voting Rights Act, and communities of interest
● Allows for the public to weigh in on a map proposal through a public hearing and responses to suggestions before a final vote
● Is transparent, with a centralized website including all remap records and discussions and a compliance report detailing how the map meets these standards
Spring is the new Christmas for marketers preparing to unleash media spending in anticipation of an explosive sales uptick as the weather warms and consumers rush to resume their everyday lives. From retailers to airlines and hospitality, special-occasion brands and media vendors, the marketing industry is looking to spring, typically a time of rebirth and renewal, to reconnect with customers eager to get out and spend as COVID-19 vaccines roll out and the threat of the coronavirus diminishes.
Consumer sentiment is switching from “hesitation to hope,” as Marriott International’s Brian Povinelli, senior VP, brand loyalty and portfolio marketing puts it. That’s fueling an anticipated spending surge from consumers releasing their pent-up shopping demand—which marketers are looking to help along. […]
The National Retail Federation is forecasting the highest growth in retail spending in 17 years—a jump between 6.5% and 8.2% to as much as $4.4 trillion this year. Much of the growth may come from high-income households. In a recent survey conducted late last month by Ad Age-Harris Poll, 30% of households making $100,000 or more a year said they’ll spend more this spring compared to last; the majority of this group said the vaccine rollout has influenced this decision.
And shopping will extend beyond ecommerce to brick-and-mortar stores as well as consumers get comfortable again with in-person experiences. Some 62% of consumers say they plan to shop in stores this spring at least once a week, the Ad Age-Harris Poll found.
* The Question: How will your life change when you are fully vaccinated?
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 1,577 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 47 additional deaths.
IDPH anticipates that the state of Illinois will receive 83,000 doses of the newly authorized Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine by Wednesday. Unlike the currently available Pfizer and Moderna doses, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires only one shot and can be stored at much higher temperatures. Like Pfizer and Moderna, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is 100% effective in protecting recipients against death and hospitalization.
The vast majority of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine – more than 90% – will be distributed to mass vaccination sites throughout the state. The remaining doses will be shipped to other providers across the state.
These doses are in addition to the approximate 288,000 doses the federal government allocated to Illinois this week. This total does not include doses for the city of Chicago, which will receive its own allocation.
“As Dr. Fauci and many medical experts have pointed out time and again, we are so fortunate to have three effective vaccines that are proven to fully protect against death and hospitalization,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “The new Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be distributed for use at mass vaccination sites across the state, so that we are maximizing their capacity and getting as many eligible Illinoisans vaccinated as possible so that we can win the race against the new virus variants and end this pandemic.”
The newly reported deaths include the following:
- Alexander County: 1 female 70s
- Clay County: 1 male 70s
- Cook County: 2 teens, 2 males 50s, 2 males 60s, 4 females 70s, 8 males 70s, 2 females 80s, 4 males 80s, 4 females 90s, 3 males 90s
- DuPage County: 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s
- Jefferson County: 1 male 40s
- Jersey County: 1 male 60s
- Kane County: 1 male 80s, 1 male 90s
- Lake County: 1 male 90s
- McLean County: 1 female 90s
- St. Clair County: 1 male 50s
- Union County: 1 male 70s
- Vermilion County: 1 male 50s, 1 male 60s
- Wayne County: 1 male 70s
- Will County: 1 female 70s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,189,416 cases, including 20,583 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 56,181 specimens for a total of 18,234,668. As of last night, 1,231 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 281 patients were in the ICU and 148 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from February 23–March 1, 2021 is 2.4%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from February 23–March 1, 2021 is 2.8%.
A total of doses of 3,186,385 vaccine have been delivered to providers in Illinois, including Chicago. In addition, approximately 443,700 doses total have been allocated to the federal government’s Pharmacy Partnership Program for long-term care facilities. This brings the total Illinois doses to 3,630,085. A total of 2,817,892 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight, including 324,827 for long-term care facilities. The 7-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 80,416 doses; the highest 7-day rolling average to date. Yesterday, 61,061 doses were administered in Illinois.
*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.
State to get 83,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine
Chicago bars and restaurants can stay open until 1 a.m., boost capacity to 50%, Lightfoot announces
Parents tear into Naperville District 203 School Board for not reopening schools full time: ‘You will all be replaced’: Many in attendance Monday argued it’s now safe to return all students to full-time, in-person classes, and used the meeting to not only criticize the board but also to castigate district Superintendent Dan Bridges, the current return-to-learn plan and the social distancing restrictions that kept several people from being allowed into the meeting.
Indiana makes COVID-19 vaccine available to residents 55 and older
Merck will help produce rival Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, Biden official says
Brookfield Zoo reopens with new polar bear, Mexican gray wolves making their debut
Schools in Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 to reopen schools for full-time in-person learning
Two big annual trade shows canceled — again — at McCormick Place
A new report underscores just how much small hospitals on Chicago’s South and West sides struggle financially, and what can be done to prevent them from closing.
These small so-called “safety net” hospitals tend to be staples in their communities. They typically treat low-income and elderly Black and Latino patients, and often don’t have enough money flowing in to make ends meet.
A new study commissioned by the Health Care Council of Chicago estimates that by 2024, a dozen of these hospitals could lose at least $1.8 billion combined. And that doesn’t even account for money hospitals lost during the COVID-19 pandemic, as they suspended money-generating surgeries and shifted patients to video and phone visits to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.
“We cannot do this for another three or four years and expect that we are not going to see the threat of more hospital closures, more job loss, while health does not get better,” said David Smith, CEO of Third Horizon Strategies and lead author of the paper. “This does not have to be our future.”
The report comes as one safety net, Mercy Hospital in Bronzeville on the Near South Side, recently filed for bankruptcy protection and has been preparing to close this spring.
* House Speaker Chris Welch was asked by Greg Hinz the other day what issue was personally important to him to address this session and he talked about hospital closures…
Welch: You and I have talked a number of times, because you personally witnessed my fight to save Westlake Hospital out here in my area, and to watch and see what’s going on with Mercy Hospital. I was warning people back then that this was just the tip of the iceberg. We really need to do something about hospitals closing, particularly in black and brown communities. The disparities already are so wide, you can drive a Mack truck through them. They’re only going to grow if we continue to allow hospitals to close in poor communities. How does a hospital like Mercy post 6$05 million profits in a quarter and then file bankruptcy? It’s crazy. Allowing these hospitals to close is something that we need to take a good long look at and protect communities like the one that I serve and like the one that Rep. Lamont Robinson serves out on the South Side where now Mercy Hospital is threatening to close his doors. This is something that I really want to take a look at. And we can address it this session that would be great.
Hinz: Is the problem that there was not adequate public help for these facilities to keep them open or is the problem that people who operate some of these hospitals are not acting in the public interest, or is it both?
Welch: I think there’s a combination. I certainly think government can do do better. As I told you earlier, our budget is a moral document. I think on the federal level on the state level, we can probably do more to help these these hospital systems. But I certainly think that the hospital industry has changed. Healthcare shouldn’t be a for-profit industry. Unfortunately, it’s become a for-profit industry. And it should be about care and compassionate, compassion, and healing. And unfortunately now it’s about dollars and cents. That’s really unfortunate. And to leave poor communities with gaping holes for access to healthcare has been the byproduct of the healthcare industry becoming a for-profit industry. We have to correct that. That’s a serious issue that has to be corrected.
Hinz: There’s already laws on the books as you know that says before you close a hospital facility have to go to a board, and the board has to sign off on it and the board usually goes along that way. What more should the state be doing?
Welch: I think we have to give that board some more teeth to the law. Because right now it’s more like a ratification a check the box type of process. You talk about an entire community, heartbreaking. That process that we went through at Westlake Hospital was demoralizing and heartbreaking. And people really loved that community hospital. It provided care to folks who otherwise otherwise aren’t getting it. There’s a hole now that they’re not getting that care. And so, watching, I was in Bolingbrook when the board met. And you know, it was more like checking the box because there was really nothing they can do other than grant the application. […] The last thing I want to see is another hospital closing in a low income community. I want to see them opening up, not closing.
* Some of the news coverage of yesterday’s developments wasn’t exactly clear on how big the news actually was. One headline…
Dueling Memos Raise Questions in Race for New Chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois, 2 Days Before Vote
Um, the memos actually say the exact same thing: If elected, Robin Kelly can’t be involved with raising or spending non-federal “soft money.” That’s huge. Beyond that, it’s just spin, some more clever than others.
The race for the reins of the Democratic Party of Illinois heated up on Monday with the release of a legal opinion contending that U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly may be ineligible to serve in the top state party post.
The congresswoman’s team called that “suggestion” both “false and offensive.”
Kelly released her own legal opinion conceding that, as a federal elected official, she would be barred from raising or spending money for state or local campaigns, something the Matteson Democrat suggested would empower other party leaders.
* Illinois Democrats always snipe at their party’s governors, so this is just another level added to the mix…
It’s unusual that Illinois Democrats are haggling like this. In many states and even for the national Democratic Party, the person at the top of the ticket gets to choose who leads the party operations. President Joe Biden, for example, gave the nod for Jaime Harrison to lead the Democratic National Committee.
With that in mind, Pritzker would be calling the shots on party leadership ahead of the 2022 election where he and Sen. Tammy Duckworth will be the Democrats’ marquee candidates. Duckworth also backs Harris.
Some Democrats, however, have a nagging concern about Pritzker’s control over the party’s checkbook. The billionaire governor’s deep pockets would allow him to dictate which races get more attention than others.
Yes, but isn’t that the case already?
* From Robin Kelly…
Dear Fellow Central Committee Members:
Change isn’t easy. And it’s clear some are resistant to opening up the party and being inclusive. From the beginning, I’ve been committed to a positive and transparent vision for Chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois. If you’re afraid, don’t be. Help is on the way at 6:00 pm this Wednesday.
What we have seen over the course of the last 48 hours should not be what our party is about. Democrats unite and come together. You know me. I have always told you the truth, I have always been inclusive, and we can do this as long as we keep working together. Stay with me.
Together, we will build a party apparatus that acts collaboratively, not unilaterally - that includes raising the funds and resources to elect Democrats up and down the ballot. We’re about to make history together. Thank you, Robin
I’ve known Robin Kelly for years and have always had a high regard for her, but she was not up front about her inability to raise and spend soft money if she was elected and has not yet explained how she intends to get around that and who would be making those major multi-million-dollar decisions in her stead.
Endorsement of Robin Kelly for Chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois
- - - - -
We are about six months from the start of the 2022 election cycle, and the Democratic Party of Illinois needs to start rolling up its sleeves and getting to work on earning the vote of all Illinoisans. They say that it is the responsibility of Local Democratic Parties, but most local Democratic Parties don’t get all the resources that they need to be effective. They never have the funds they need because their economies do not even support small dollar donations. Let me see, “Do I put food on the table this week or donate $10 to the local Democratic Party or a local candidate who probably has no chance of winning?” Tough choice, right?
The Democratic Party needs to understand and value the needs of ALL of Illinois. This starts by finding and supporting good Democratic candidates for all offices across the entire state. We need to give all Illinois Democrats and independents a reason to vote.
From South Beloit to Cairo
From Quincy to Danville
From East Dubuque to Mt. Carmel
From Winthrop Harbor to East St. Louis
It is no secret that voters outside of Chicago feel that the Democratic Party of Illinois picks the winners and losers, only supporting Democratic candidates of their choosing. They won’t support candidates in a red district, claiming it would just be a waste of resources. Because of this, few Democrats step forward to run for office, leaving few or no local Democratic candidates on the ballot. Democratic voters stay home, and these districts stay red. It hurts statewide candidates on the ballot like the Governor and our two US Senators, but I am told not to worry; we have enough votes in the blue areas of Illinois.
This is our first opportunity in decades to break from underneath the thumb of the Chicago machine. We must avoid a continuation of the old. It is time for us to finally live up to what we say we are - The Democratic Party of ILLINOIS.
I believe Robin Kelly has the personal commitment and skills to lead us there.
Peter Janko
Democratic State Central Committeeman
14th Congressional District of Illinois
* Latest tally…
My chart of the race for Democratic Party of Illinois @demsforillinois chair is updated with 14th District Committeeman Peter Janko endorsing Robin Kelly (https://t.co/kXGUxp5FbQ)
Look, we as reform groups tried to pass redistricting reform. The Supreme Court led by Democrats threw that out. There was a pension reform bill passed, some years ago. Supreme Court threw that one out, led by Democrats.
The pension decision was unanimous, but I digress. Back to Andy…
So these things have been tried. I’ll tell you, the most interesting election in 2022 may not be for governor, or Attorney General or legislative seats, it may be for an open Supreme Court seat. You know, James Kilbride, he wasn’t retained, he lost his retention fight in November. And now, if the Republicans can win that seat, they take over the majority in the General Assembly [I think he meant Supreme Court]. And even though I’m nonpartisan, I’m not, I don’t want Republicans in just because they’re Republicans. But they would be in support of pension reform and term limits, and income tax reform, there’s a lot of reforms that they would approve of that the Democrats didn’t. And so that will be an interesting one to watch to see how that plays, a lot of money will be spent to either protect the seat for Democrats, or turn it over to Republicans. And that could be one of the most important things that happens in 2022, regardless of who the governor is.
STATE SENATOR MICHAEL E. HASTINGS TO ANNOUNCE RACE FOR SECRETARY OF STATE
Elk Grove Village, IL — State Senator Michael E. Hastings to announce bid for Secretary of State. Hastings wins a major endorsement from the Carpenters union, which represents 30,000 Illinois working families.
WHO: Senator Michael E. Hastings (D-19) and Gary Perinar, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters
WHAT: Press conference to announce bid for Secretary of State
WHERE: The Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters Apprentices and Training Program, 1256 Estes Ave, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007
Illinois House Democrats have introduced a resolution condemning state Rep. Chris Miller, R-Oakland, after a decal of a far-right wing militia group was displayed on the back of his pickup truck as it was parked near the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection.
The resolution, filed Monday, states that Miller “violated his oath to the Constitution of the United States of America and the Constitution of the State of Illinois by actively and publicly promoting the actions of an internationally recognized para-military hate group.”
The resolution, introduced by state Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Highland Park, has already garnered more than two dozen co-sponsors, including House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch and members of his leadership team. No Republicans have signed on so far. […]
“Supporting and participating in insurrection against the government is way beyond the pale and violates our oath of office,” Morgan wrote in an email. “The State of Illinois deserves to know what role Rep. Miller had in the riot of January 6 in Washington D.C., and that is why I referred this matter to the Legislative Inspector General for proper investigation.”
I reached out to Rep. Miller’s spokesperson yesterday and didn’t hear back. From Speaker Welch’s spokesperson…
The insurrection on January 6 at the U.S. Capitol was sickening. It was deliberately planned and orchestrated by white supremacists. The fact that Rep. Chris Miller was involved amounts to a violation of his oath of office. Speaker Welch strongly condemns his actions and wants accountability.
With the U.S. Senate preparing to take up a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, the Illinois Municipal League wants local governments, not the governor, to control dollars local governments are meant to get. […]
The federal spending plan the U.S. Senate could take up this week could include $7.5 billion for the Illinois state budget and an additional $5.7 billion for local budgets. [Illinois Municipal League Executive Director Brad Cole] doesn’t want Gov. J.B. Pritzker to capture dollars meant for local governments as was done last year.
“If there is a federal relief package, we’re hoping the money will flow directly to communities and without additional restriction put on by the state which was the case with the federal CARES Act last year,” Cole said.
If federal funds are distributed directly to locals, Cole said the state shouldn’t use that as an excuse to cut state funding for local governments.
“That money can’t be in lieu of our regular state-shared resources that provide for the operations of the community just in regular times,” Cole said.
The governor’s proposed state budget has around $152 million in cuts for local governments statewide unless state lawmakers approve ending $930 million in tax incentive programs. Cole said even if those incentives were closed, there’s no guarantee the state would generate that much money.
While the Illinois AFL-CIO remains neutral in the decision of the Democratic Party of Illinois to select a new chair, we would like to bring your attention to the attached memo from the law firm PerkinsCoie regarding the contribution of soft money to an elected federal office holder serving simultaneously as a political party chair.
After reading the memo and receiving questions for our affiliates , we asked IL AFL-CIO General Counsel, Joel D’Alba to review the memo and offer his legal opinion on how Illinois labor unions would be affected when making contributions under such a scenario. His response follows:
Dear Tim,
You have asked me to review the legal issues that have been raised in a legal memorandum prepared by a law firm that has an excellent, national reputation in advising political candidates and officials. The memorandum deals with the issues that would arise if a federal office holder becomes the chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois. The related legal consequences under the federal election laws include control by a federal office holder over political funds that are solicited, received, directed, transferred and spent outside the limits and restrictions established by the Federal Election Commission.
The main point of the memorandum is that federal law, the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, was enacted to bar the use of “soft” money as a means of influencing federal office holders, and the chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois has significant responsibility over the use of such funds. The chair as a federal officer holder according to this memorandum could expose the DPI and possibly its labor donors and labor recipients of solicitations for funds to federal scrutiny by the Federal Election Commission.
Accordingly, it would be prudent for the State Federation and its affiliates to be quite cautious about making such contributions to a political organization that is governed by a federal office holder.
Regards and be safe,
Joel D’Alba
Joel A. D’Alba
Asher, Gittler & D’Alba, Ltd.
Organized labor is the lifeblood of the state party.
*** UPDATE *** From Rep. Kelly’s spokesperson…
Nancy Pelosi asked Robin Kelly to raise 1 million dollars, Robin Kelly raised 3 million. No one can sincerely challenge her ability to raise money for Democrats.
State Senator Sue Rezin (R-Morris) and State Representative David Welter (R-Morris) announced legislation today that would finally implement key recommendations from the Illinois Auditor General’s Performance Audit of the Quincy Veterans Home Legionnaires’ disease outbreak. Both lawmakers said the implementation of the recommendations could have saved lives during the deadly LaSalle Veterans’ Home COVID-19 outbreak.
In March 2019, the Illinois Auditor General released its report outlining a series of recommendations for the Illinois Departments of Public Health (IDPH) and Veteran Affairs (IDVA) to strengthen internal policies and procedures. Those recommendations included:
• Ensuring a timely response for on-site assistance
• Improving communications between IDPH and IDVA personnel, and
• Implementing CDC recommendations following a confirmed outbreak.
During the legislative hearings into the LaSalle Veterans’ Home COVID-19 outbreak, an IDPH official confirmed IDPH still has no policy governing when the agency will make on-site visits. This lack of a clear policy persists even though IDPH has had nearly two years since the Auditor General’s report recommended that IDPH institute such a policy. As an IDPH official noted at a previous hearing, the failure to go on-site in a timely fashion negatively impacted the state’s response to the COVID outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home.
“As with IDVA, IDPH must be held accountable, too. It’s the Pritzker Administration’s responsibility to ensure the safety of our veterans, but key recommendations from the Illinois Auditor General’s report were ignored, which led to fatal errors by the administration in their response to the deadly COVID outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home,” stated Sen. Rezin. “The Pritzker Administration had nine months to implement these recommendations before the pandemic began, yet they failed to do so with devastating consequences. They have had another three months to implement these recommendation since this tragic outbreak, yet again they still have not done so.”
In response to this failure, Sen. Rezin has filed Senate Bill 2251, which would implement the core recommendations from the Auditor General’s report. Senate Bill 2251 would do the following:
• Redefine the definition of an outbreak to include two or more individuals at a Veterans Home who have contracted an infectious disease within 48 hours of the first diagnosis;
• Require the home administrator or administrative staff to notify IDVA and IDPH as soon as an outbreak has occurred;
• Require IDVA and IDPH to conduct an on-site visit within one business day of being notified of an outbreak; and
• Require IDVA to post the findings of the on-site inspection on their website.
Had IDPH developed a policy, as recommended by the Auditor General, state public health officers would not have waited nearly two weeks to respond to the 2020 LaSalle Veterans’ Home outbreak. Sen. Rezin and Rep. Welter said the failure by IDPH to conduct such a visit led to a delay in discovering significant deficiencies and lapses in protocols, including failure to follow CDC guidelines, and the lack of effective supplies to safeguard against COVID spread, including improper hand sanitizer and face masks. By ignoring the Auditor General’s findings, the Pritzker Administration mismanaged the COVID-19 outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home.
“Safeguards must be put in place to ensure that our nation’s heroes are fully protected in any future public health crisis,” said Rep. Welter. “The fact is the tragedy at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home that claimed the lives of 36 veterans in the state’s care could have been prevented had the Administration acted beforehand to implement the recommendations from the Illinois Auditor General’s report on the Quincy Legionnaires’ disease outbreak, and had they not waited 12-days to conduct an on-site visit at LaSalle. By introducing this legislation today, we are putting the full weight of our efforts behind making the reforms we know Illinois needs to put the health and safety of our veterans first.”
In part because of this delayed response, 208 cases occurred with 36 deaths, making this the deadliest outbreak at a state-run facility in Illinois history.
The protocol of notifying the local public health department and leaving it up to those folks to contact the state has got to be changed. If we’ve learned anything from this pandemic, it’s that local public health departments are spotty at best.
* Press release…
Following the recent announcement of its effort to aid in restoring the American people’s confidence in the integrity of their free and fair elections, the Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) today released additional secretaries of state and state legislators who are serving on its Commission on Election Integrity. The RSLC is convening these leading policymakers in order to share and discuss voter-centric current laws and future reforms that make it easier to vote and harder to cheat.
“Restoring the public’s trust in our democracy may be a national debate right now, but the Constitution makes clear that improvements to our election laws need to be enacted by state leaders,” said RSLC President Dee Duncan. “We have assembled a group of strong leaders who offer a variety of perspectives on the best policies to make it easier to vote and harder to cheat, and we look forward to continuing to serve as a hub of communication for them as they guide their colleagues across the country on how to tailor critical reforms to their respective states. While state Democrats defer to the radical federal legislative changes being pushed by liberals in Washington that will do irreparable damage to our elections, state Republicans are leading on this issue and are focused on producing commonsense results for the American people.”
House Republican Leader Jim Durkin is on the commission. It’s priority list is here.
With warmer weather just around the corner, boaters are counting on the state to finally do something about skyrocketing trailer fees.
Lawmakers are doubling down on efforts to reverse a 555 percent increase in license plate registration fees for some small trailers. […]
Borkowski saw our stories in early 2020 about annual license plate fees for small trailers jumping from $18 to $118 due to language in the state’s massive infrastructure bill.
We were assured at that time that lawmakers were working to reverse the hike.
“Our understanding was it was a drafting error, and it was never intended to be,” said state Rep. Jeff Keicher (R-Sycamore).
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 1,143 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 20 additional deaths.
- Cook County: 1 female 60s, 2 males 70s, 6 males 80s, 1 male 90s
- Douglas County: 1 male 70s
- Henry County: 1 female 80s
- Iroquois County: 1 male 90s
- Lake County: 1 male 50s, 1 female 90s
- Sangamon County: 1 female 60s
- St. Clair County: 1 female 60s
- Union County: 1 male 60s
- Will County: 1 female 80s
- Winnebago County: 1 female 70s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,187,839 cases, including 20,536 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 42,234 specimens for a total of 18,178,487. As of last night, 1,288 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 308 patients were in the ICU and 148 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from February 22–28, 2021 is 2.4%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from February 22–28, 2021 is 2.7%.
A total of doses of 2,740,105 vaccine have been delivered to providers in Illinois, including Chicago. In addition, approximately 443,700 doses total have been allocated to the federal government’s Pharmacy Partnership Program for long-term care facilities. This brings the total Illinois doses to 3,183,805. A total of 2,756,831 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight, including 319,393 for long-term care facilities. The 7-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 77,876 doses. Yesterday, 50,897 doses were administered in Illinois.
*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.
The University of Illinois System received emergency use authorization (EUA) today from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for covidSHIELD, its innovative saliva-based COVID-19 test that was used on the U of I campuses to hold the virus in check by utilizing widespread testing with rapid results.
Under FDA guidelines, the EUA allows the U of I System to broadly expand its covidSHIELD testing beyond its universities. […]
The $20 million in federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding released by Pritzker will provide a million tests across the state’s 12 public universities and 48 community colleges, under an agreement between the Illinois Department of Public Health and the U of I System. […]
The million tests will be allocated based on a formula developed by the Illinois Board of Higher Education. Each university has determined how it will handle COVID-19 testing for the spring semester, as was the case during the fall, but SHIELD Illinois provides a proven option.
* Vox interviews Hilda Bastian, who has been consistently prescient on the pandemic for the past year…
I don’t think there’s been a pandemic quite like this because they were either that the thing went through and did its worst and left horrific death in its wake, or the smaller ones in more contained areas that are recent.
But this thing on this scale, while there’s this level of antibody-based treatments out there, and vaccines of different efficacy, and all of this stuff that could play in the favor of variants, this situation has never existed before.
I don’t think that the past tells us where this is going. [But] I believe the people who are saying that we appear to be on a course to eventually get to the point where we get vaccinated against this each year. The path to global eradication — through very high levels of vaccination with a high level of other suppression efforts — seems narrow. That could change, though, and I hope it does.
With millions of residents in Chicago to vaccinate, the city has prioritized restaurant workers in the so-called group 1c — which Chicago officials estimate won’t start getting vaccinated until March 29.
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Meanwhile, indoor dining is accelerating. Restaurants can now seat 40% of their total capacity or up to 50 people, whichever is fewer.
Officials say they may soon allow 50% capacity if COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to decline. As of Wednesday, the rolling 7-day average test positivity in Chicago was 3%.
Restaurant workers who talked to WBEZ said they agree some of the groups ahead of them — which include health care workers, the elderly, and frontline workers like teachers and grocery store workers — should be a priority.
But, they’re frustrated that indoor dining keeps getting expanded, increasing their risk to COVID-19 before they can be vaccinated.
Palmer pointed out that her husband, who works in a brewery, which is considered a manufacturing job, got his first dose — even though he only comes face-to-face with his masked coworkers. She doesn’t think it’s right for most restaurants to open up before workers have a chance to protect themselves.
“I’m angry at both the city and the bigger restaurant corporations because it seems like they are the ones pushing to be open, even without vaccines, and the city is allowing that,” she said. “I’m in the service industry, not the servant industry.”
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You have asked under what circumstances a federal officeholder or candidate may serve as Chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois (“the DPI”). The DPI maintains a federal account that raises and spends funds within the limits, restrictions and reporting requirements of federal campaign finance law. It also maintains a nonfederal account that raises and spends funds outside these same limits, restrictions and reporting requirements in connection with nonfederal elections. Federal law prohibits a federal officeholder or candidate from directly or indirectly establishing, financing, maintaining or controlling an entity that raises and spends funds outside of federal limits and restrictions in connection with nonfederal elections.
For an individual who is now a federal officeholder or candidate to serve as Chair of the DPI, one of the following events would need to occur:
1. The individual would need to resign from federal office and cease to be a federal candidate;
2. The DPI would need to cease raising and spending funds outside federal limits and restrictions; or
3. The DPI would need to curtail the Chair’s duties and powers so that he or she does not “establish, finance, maintain or control” the DPI for purposes of federal campaign finance law. While possible in theory, such action is impractical in fact. It would essentially turn the Chair into a purely honorary role, without power to direct large portions of the DPI’s activities. Because even such a restricted role would almost certainly result in a complaint to, and potentially an investigation by, the Federal Election Commission (“FEC”), we would advise against this approach without an FEC advisory opinion approving the specific arrangement.
The vast majority of money raised by DPI is under non-federal rules.
I’ll be asking for responses.
…Adding… My favorite comment so far is from somebody who said he was more interested in what Speaker Pelosi’s attorneys say. Um, Perkins Coie works for the DCCC. That firm represents basically everybody in national Democratic politics, including Sen. Durbin.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Response…
“A suggestion Congresswoman Robin Kelly is ineligible to be the Chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois is false and offensive. Federal and state elected officials follow all applicable election laws. Congresswoman Robin Kelly can be and would be the best person to lead the Democratic Party of Illinois as its next chair.”
“Illinois Democrats watched Georgia Democrats execute a winning strategy in November - led by their Chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia, Congresswoman Nikema Williams. Georgia Democrats were energized, mobilized and followed the law to big wins. Illinois Democrats can too. But it starts with new ethical and transparent leadership for a new day for Illinois Democrats — that’s with Robin Kelly as our next Chair.”
Pointing to someone else who might also be in violation is not a solid defense, but OK.
*** UPDATE 2 *** US Rep. Kelly has released a letter from attorney Michael C. Dorf. Most important part…
In its most basic interpretation, Section 300.62 would prevent you from raising or spending soft money in state and local elections. In addition, the DPI would be prohibited from spending soft money to the extent that you directly or indirectly “controlled” DPI. […]
I believe that policies and procedures can be constructed to permit you to serve as Chair within the provisions of federal law. These will include the delegation by you to others of certain spending authority as well as the erection of firewalls for designated activities to ensure that you are not directly or indirectly controlling decision making in those activities. Your ability to raise funds for use in state and local elections will be limited, but your ability to ascend the “bully pulpit” to advocate for Democratic policies, principles, and candidates on behalf of DPI should not be impinged.
So, a party chair who can’t raise or spend money. Pure figurehead.
Education researchers in Illinois say the reasons for the teacher shortage are numerous and complex, but it boils down to the fact that there are more veteran teachers around the state retiring or leaving the profession than there are new teachers coming out of university schools of education.
James Anderson, dean of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s College of Education, said in an interview that for a variety of reasons, including the cost of a college education and the salaries teachers earn after graduating, teaching has become a less attractive career than many other professions.
“You graduate from high school, you come to college to become a teacher, you borrow a significant amount of money along the way, then you go into the profession with a very low salary,” he said. “And then you try to pay off your student debt and perform your job as a teacher. And that’s a very difficult invitation to accept.”
The minimum wage for a teacher in Illinois is $34,576 for the 2021-2022 school year and is scheduled to increase under state law to $40,000 by the 2023-2024 school year.
An analysis of the survey results showed a strong correlation between the severity of the shortage and the average teacher salary in a given district. As teacher salaries increase, superintendents report less of a problem with teacher shortages.
In other words, treat your people well and make sure they can earn a decent living.
Golden Apple, an Illinois nonprofit committed to preparing, supporting, and mentoring aspiring teachers, is working to resolve this crisis. Golden Apple prepares future teachers to serve in schools and communities in need, resulting in not only adding more teachers to our classrooms, but also increasing diversity within the profession. Over half of Golden Apple’s Scholars are teachers of color, compared to only 15% of Illinois teachers statewide.
Golden Apple President Alan Mather released the following statement re the report:
“Today’s report is sadly no surprise to those of us who work every day to support and prepare future teachers to serve in schools- and districts-of-need. Over the past few years, there’s been a series of taking two steps forward and then one step back; the shortage continues despite programs like our Scholars and Accelerators that are boosting the number of teachers, especially teachers of color, entering Illinois classrooms. We have willing partners in State government who recognize the teacher shortage cliff we face, but Illinois can’t go it alone; the federal government needs to join in this critically important fight for our children’s futures.”
The February University of Illinois Flash Index rose to 96.6 from its 96.3 level in January. Last year’s February 2020 reading of 105.7 was the last reading above the 100-dividing line that indicates growth before the COVID-19 crisis caused the index to plummet to 92.8.
“Although the Flash Index does not predict the future, most signs suggest that both Illinois and the nation are on the verge of a strong economic expansion,” said University of Illinois economist J. Fred Giertz, who compiles the monthly index for the University of Illinois System’s Institute of Government and Public Affairs (IGPA). “The shutdowns and the threat of the virus suppressed demand. The return to near-normal anticipated in the next few months with the availability of various vaccines and the likelihood of additional federal stimulus spending are expected to unleash some of that pent-up demand.”
Like last month, the indicators for Illinois were mixed, with unemployment increasing while tax revenues remained strong. All three components of the index (corporate, individual income and sales tax receipts) exceeded the levels of the same month in 2020 after adjusting for inflation even though last year’s numbers were not impacted by the health emergency.
The Flash Index is normally a weighted average of Illinois growth rates in corporate earnings, consumer spending and personal income as estimated from receipts for corporate income, individual income, and retail sales taxes. These are adjusted for inflation before growth rates are calculated. The growth rate for each component is then calculated for the 12-month period using data through February 28, 2021. Ad hoc adjustments have been made to deal with the timing of the tax receipts resulting from state and Federal changes in payment dates beginning in March.
Personal information of nearly 9,000 Illinois families was sent by the state to the wrong mailing address in November and December last year. The state says they’re working to ensure the error doesn’t happen again.
The Illinois Department of Central Management Services said Friday that a change of address registry from the USPS was matched with an out-of-date client file by a state employee.
“The resulting file was loaded into IES, the State’s eligibility system, and incorrectly changed the address for 8,848 [Health and Family Services] and [Illinois Department of Human Services] households,” according to a news release. “As a result of the error, in late November and December 2020, notices were mailed to 8,848 households at incorrect addresses. Notices were sent to the right customer name at the wrong customer address.”
Those notices may have included names, case numbers, names of dependents, birth dates and even confidential medical information.
“Of the 8,848 notices that were mailed, one notice included a complete Social Security number, and five notices included a complete bank account number,” the agency said. “To date, the Departments are unaware of any actual or attempted misuse of personal information as a result of the incident.”
I checked with the state and was told “The data matching error occurred during a National Change of Address process executed by a DoIT employee.
Several Illinois county GOP organizations and the Chicago Republican Party have censured Kinzinger in the wake of his impeachment vote. The Chicago GOP party vote on Feb. 23 was among 34 ward committeemen; the organization has 16 of those 50 ward spots unfilled.
What’s noteworthy is that the Illinois Republican Party is not pursuing a Kinzinger censure.
According to the GOP party spokesman, the view of the new state GOP party chair, Don Tracy, is that the state party “will not be censuring Congressman Kinzinger. His goal is to unite the party and stop the circular firing squad.”
“Darkness has replaced light. Conspiracy has replaced truth. Division has replaced unity and worst of all, courage is fading and fear is rising,” Kinzinger said in a new video on behalf of his anti-Trump PAC.
“Rather than dispel the fear, most of our leaders stoke it. Gone are the days of inspiration. Now they amplify fear for their own selfish gain. Yet what’s good for them is bad for the nation,” said Kinzinger, who turned 43 on Saturday. “Division is widening. Anger is growing. Fear creates more fear, and it leads to the conflict that will tear America apart. Enough is enough.”
Kinzinger’s vote to impeach Trump and subsequent actions to take on Trump supporters have earned him a sanction of disapproval from the Illinois GOP and censure motions by county GOP organizations within his 16th Congressional District. He also now has an announced 2022 primary opponent, Catalina Lauf of Woodstock, who finished third in an unsuccessful bid last year for the GOP nomination in the 14th Congressional District.
Of Lauf, Kinzinger said that anyone declaring their candidacy against him now, so early in the campaign cycle and before new congressional district boundaries are drawn reflecting the 2020 federal census, are “making it clear that they have no interest in representing the people they live with. They’re more interested in representing the interests of a man.”
Earlier this week, at a Zoom meeting of the Chicago Republican Party Central Committee, a resolution to censure Illinois Congressional Rep. Adam Kinzinger was presented, discussed and voted upon. The resolution passed and is presented below.
RESOLUTION OF THE CHICAGO REPUBLICAN CENTRAL COMMITTEE
WHEREAS, President Donald J. Trump was impeached by the United States House of Representatives without justification as there was not a proper investigation of the causes of the January 6, 2021 riot at the United States Capitol; and, Whereas President Trump was denied basic due process rights at the hasty and hyper-partisan impeachment proceedings conducted in the House of Representatives; and,
WHEREAS, subsequent and ongoing investigations of the riot have established that many of the unlawful activities were premeditated having been planned in advance of January 6, 2021 and therefore were not incited by President Trump’s speech delivered on that date; and,
WHEREAS, the resulting impeachment trial in the United States Senate was unconstitutional as the Senate lacked proper jurisdiction over a former President; and,
WHEREAS President Donald J. Trump was nonetheless acquitted by the Senate despite the unethical conduct of the House Managers throughout the trial; and,
WHEREAS, United States Representative Adam Kinzinger from the 16th Congressional District of Illinois has repeatedly engaged in conduct injurious to Republican Party harmony and unity in terms of his wholly unwarranted criticisms and defamatory attacks upon President Trump throughout the impeachment hearings and the trial before the United States Senate;
IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED BY THE CHICAGO REPUBLICAN CENTRAL COMMITTEE:
RESOLVED, that Congressman Adam Kinzinger shall be and hereby is censured by this Committee; and
FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chair is directed to transmit this Resolution to Representative Kinzinger and publicize the Resolution by means of an official press release to Illinois media outlets.
I certify that the above resolution was approved by affirmative vote of the Ward Committeepersons of the Chicago Republican Central Committee of the City of Chicago on February 23, 2021.
Stephen F. Boulton
Chair of the Committee
…Adding… The Chicago GOP is inconsequential in local races, but it has an important place in statewide bids…
President Trump received almost as many Chicago votes as he did in DuPage. 181,234 in Chicago, 193,611 in DuPage https://t.co/wqZzrnYdG9
One veteran is celebrating after donating his 50th gallon of blood.
Don Schaefer has been donating pints since he was on tour in Germany back in the 1950s.
As of today, he’s donated blood 402 times. The Red Cross in Charleston honored Schaefer with his very own plaque and banner, but Schaefer says the most rewarding thing is knowing his blood could be saving a person’s life.
* Mr. Schaefer has actually upped his game this century. Flashback to 2009…
Donald Schaefer’s family gathered around him Sunday afternoon to celebrate a special milestone.
This milestone was not a birthday, anniversary or retirement; it was the Charleston resident’s 200th donation of blood to the American Red Cross. […]
[American Red Cross District Recruiting Manager Garry Allison] said a unit of blood is equivalent to a pint, so Schaefer has given the equivalent of 25 gallons of blood over the years to the Red Cross. He said each unit is divided into red blood cells, platelets and plasma, so Schaefer’s 200 donations could have helped save the lives of up to 600 people.
The average donor gives blood once a year, although they can give blood every 56 days, Allison said.
“It is people like (Schaefer) that make what I do each and every day worthwhile,” Allison said.
The contest for Illinois Democratic Party chairman is down to two candidates after state Sen. Cristina Castro dropped her bid Sunday and her supporters sided with U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly over Ald. Michelle Harris. […]
Despite Sunday’s shift, Harris still holds the early lead over Kelly in securing the votes needed to replace Madigan, who resigned the post last week.
With Gov. J.B. Pritzker in her corner, the veteran 8th Ward alderman so far has public support from party leaders who represent about 44% of the weighted vote, while Kelly of Matteson has nearly 19%, including the 5% Castro had collected.
It’s not just a race between these two candidates. It’s also a race to 50 percent plus one weighted vote…
I changed the format of my chart so that you can easily see which candidate each committeeperson is supporting.
* The Kelly folks were demanding a vote this coming Saturday, but the acting DPI chair, a Harris supporter, is calling a meeting instead for this Wednesday night. Just saying, but you usually call the vote when you have the votes rounded up…
The Sun-Times has learned the vote will be held during a virtual meeting of the state central committee members at 6 p.m. Chicago time on Wednesday.
According to a notice sent to members on Sunday night by party executive director Mary Morrissey, “the meeting will also be livestreamed so that Democrats across the state can be present for the meeting.”
* Not a bad question…
I genuinely want to know the conversation that led to releasing Mike Madigan supports her candidacy. #Twillhttps://t.co/0WQWE2mIqG
Kelly, you will recall, demanded a probe last week of some transfers Madigan did with the party’s federal money before his resignation took effect.
…Adding… Back when Mike Madigan and Gary LaPaille took the state party away from Vince Demuzio, Vince sent out a lot of press releases announcing endorsements of his candidacy by people who didn’t have a vote on the state central committee. Kelly has been doing much the same thing the past week…
Today, Congressman Sean Casten, Congressman Mike Quigley, Congressman Brad Schneider, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky and Congressman Bill Foster announced their endorsement of Congresswoman Robin Kelly for Chair of the Illinois Democratic Party.
Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch gave his standard reply to a question about redistricting reform last week when queried at the Chicago Economic Club, saying different people have different opinions about what a “fair map” actually is.
But then the new House speaker leaned a bit harder into the concept of protecting minority rights when redrawing the new legislative district maps than I’ve heard him do in the past.
“I think a fair map is a map that reflects the diversity of our state,” Welch said. “Diversity is the strength of Illinois. Look at the Democratic Caucus, for instance. Diversity is the strength of our caucus. If you look at a map and it doesn’t reflect the diversity of the state, I don’t know how anyone can call that a fair map.”
While former House Speaker Michael Madigan’s folks often talked about that very issue, the media tended to ignore their argument because it was emanating from the widely proclaimed Gerrymanderer in Chief. Illinois now has its first ever Black House speaker with Welch, and that likely will mean much more focus on this particular topic.
The House Black Caucus did quite well with the 2011 remap, considering Black population loss in the previous decade, and undoubtedly it will do whatever it can to hold onto its position during the coming map-drawing process, whatever that process entails. The chamber’s Latinx Caucus made some gains a decade ago, but it and the Asian American/Pacific Islander/Native American demographic still have a long ways to go before they reach any sort of parity with their U.S. Census numbers.
As a whole, the Illinois House is somewhat more diverse than the state. The House is 69.5% white, while the state is 76.8% white. The House is 18.6% Black, which is more than the state’s 14.6% Black population. But the House is just 8.5% Latino, including last week’s addition of new Rep. Angie Guerrero Cuellar, which is less than half of Illinois’ 18.5%. And though 6.6% of Illinois is AAPI/Native American, just 3.4% of House members are in that demographic.
And since Welch mentioned the diversity of his party’s caucus, it’s now 50.7% white, while the 2016 demographic Census estimates of House districts his Democrats represent shows 48% of those residents are white. That’s pretty close.
However, 30.1% of the House Democratic Caucus is Black, even though Black residents make up just 20% of the population in districts represented by House Democrats, according to Census estimates.
Compare that to the 13.7% of the House Democratic Caucus that is Latino — much less than the actual Latino population of 23% in House districts represented by Democrats. And while 5.5% of the House Democratic Caucus is AAPI/Native American, that demographic comprises 9% of the population in House Democrat districts.
To be fair, making nearly a quarter of House Democratic seats into Latino-led districts and almost one in ten AAPI/Native American-led districts probably will not be possible because of population concentration or the lack thereof. But whatever the final number, Speaker Welch has quite a delicate balancing act ahead of him.
While we’re on the topic of reform, Welch also said last week that the required economic interest disclosure statement for legislators and others in government is “a worthless piece of document.”
Responding to a question about ethics reforms he supports, the new House speaker said the legislature’s Commission on Ethics Reform was a “good start,” though the group has barely got started. He also said Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s proposals were a “good start,” adding, “We need to take a look at many of those things and go from there.”
That’s when he mentioned the Statement of Economic Interest. “You know, it confuses us,” he said of those who have to file the statement every year, disclosing some forms of outside income. “So imagine what it does to the layperson.”
Some legislators have claimed to have been confused about what they should disclose after stories were written about income they didn’t disclose. While some of that was just excuse-making, there are some legitimate gripes about the vagueness of the law. On the other hand, the public might wonder why the recently retired Senate Republican leader didn’t legally have to disclose an interest in a video gaming company.
Welch also said the General Assembly should take a look at other things like legislators working as lobbyists and revolving-door prohibitions. We’ll see if he pulls any of this off.
The Biden White House said Sunday that John Lausch will continue as the U.S. Attorney based in Chicago, confirming the Chicago Sun-Times report last week that he won’t be forced to resign.
President Joe Biden’s team wanted all top federal prosecutors to resign as of Sunday, with only two exceptions. Lausch became the third, with the Biden White House reversal.
“In very limited exceptions, including the Northern District of Illinois, the administration has opted not to seek new candidates for U.S. Attorney positions at this time,” said a White House official Sunday who did not want to named.
Lausch’s office is investigating Commonwealth Edison’s alleged bribery scheme to funnel money and do-nothing jobs to then-House Speaker Michael Madigan’s loyalists in exchange for his help with state legislation. Madigan has not been charged with wrongdoing, but the scandal helped topple him from power.
The White House statement Sunday was the first official comment by the Biden administration on the situation. The White House did not elaborate on the reason for the change of heart and stopped short of confirming that Lausch would stay on until a new U.S. attorney is installed.
*** UPDATE *** Seems pleased…
JUST IN: Statement from U.S. Attorney John Lausch, who was nearly forced out of his job last month as Chicago's top federal prosecutor. Lausch says, "I am humbled by the support I have received" and "we look forward to continue working with our partners to pursue justice." pic.twitter.com/C04PYHO7yj
An internal document seen by the Guardian shows that at least 14% of Uline’s corporate workforce has tested positive for Covid-19 since last April, compared to 8.7% of the population in Kenosha county, where the company’s corporate office is located.
Nearly 19% of the company’s Illinois workplace has tested positive, 23% of its California-based workforce, and nearly 27% of its workforce in Texas.
One complaint filed to federal worker safety regulators, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which was received in July 2020, described workplace hazards including: social distancing guidance not being enforced; lax mask-wearing inside the office; symptomatic employees being allowed to continue to work without face coverings; and employees being forced to return to work in close contact with others even when they could feasibly work from home. […]
Workers at Uline’s corporate offices are also made to follow strict rules on attire, including, for women, making sure their suit jacket is closed when walking through the building, and wearing pantyhose with skirts from November to April.
Richard Uihlein has nearly single-handedly financed an Illinois-based political action committee with a $24.5m donation in the 2020 election cycle. The group, called Restoration Pac, spent nearly $19m attacking Democratic candidates in the last election cycle – in eight races. Seven of the eight Democrats the group attacked, including Joe Biden, Jon Ossoff, and Raphael Warnock, won their races.
