U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today released the following statements after the Senate passed President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, which will provide emergency relief to Illinois:
“President Biden’s American Rescue plan will improve Illinois’ public health and jumpstart our economy by investing billions of federal dollars in our state. I was proud to help secure provisions with Senator Duckworth to ramp up vaccine distribution efforts; provide a lifeline to workers, small businesses, and families;avoid devastating cuts in state and local government operations; get our kids back to school safely; and much more. We are close to finally putting this pandemic behind us,” Durbin said.
“Relief is coming to hardworking families all across Illinois because of President Biden’s American Rescue Plan,” Duckworth said. “Working together, Senator Durbin and I helped secure billions in investments that will boost our state’s vaccination efforts and testing availability while also delivering the support our working families, childcare programs, transportation systems, schools and small businesses need to get through this pandemic. These investments meet the moment and will help end this deadly pandemic.”
In the battle against COVID-19, emergency help is on the way:
• Approximately $275 million in vaccine distribution money for Illinois
• Approximately $1.5 billion in testing and public health money for Illinois health departments
• Hundreds of millions for Illinois community health centers and health workforce.
• Tens of millions for Illinois hospitals
• More than $100 million for mental health and substance abuse treatment efforts in Illinois
• Lowers health premiums on the Affordable Care Act for the average Illinois couple by $1,300
• Nearly 800,000 Illinoisans are claiming unemployment benefits—resulting in many also without health insurance during the pandemic. Many of these individuals and their families will now be able to stay on their employer-sponsored health plans through September, for free via COBRA.
For the hardest hit workers and families:
• Nearly 7.6 million Illinois adults and more than 3 million Illinois children will benefit from another round of relief checks. This is targeted relief that will reach 85 percent of all Illinois adults and 83 percent of all Illinois children.
• Extends federal unemployment programs through September 6, which affects 205,000 Illinoisans claiming Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and 251,000 Illinoisans claiming Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation.
• Up to $10,200 in unemployment benefits will be exempt from federal income taxes for hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans that have claimed unemployment insurance benefits in 2020.
To open our schools safely:
• Around $5 billion for Illinois K-12 schools
• Estimated $1.3 billion for Illinois institutions of higher education
• Estimated $39 million for Illinois Head Start programs
• Estimated $1.3 billion to support child care providers in Illinois
To avoid dramatic budget cuts at every level of government:
• Estimated $13.2 billion in state and local funding for Illinois including $1.8 billion for Chicago.
• The bill provides an estimated $7.5 billion for the state and $5.5 billion for Illinois locals ($2.3 billion for counties; $2.4 billion for larger cities; $681 million for smaller municipalities).
And more:
Transportation:
• Estimated $1.5 billion in transit funding for the Chicago region as part of the $30 billion for transit in the bill, which will help fund operating expenses and payroll for frontline workers of the CTA, Metra, and Pace through 2023.
• Estimated $388 million for Illinois airports as part of the $8 billion for airports and airport concessions in the bill.
• Protects thousands of airline industry jobs in Illinois by providing $15 billion to extend the airline worker payroll support program for six months along with an additional $3 billion for payroll support for aviation manufacturers.
• Protects hundreds of Amtrak jobs in Illinois by restoring furloughs and reversing service cuts as part of the $1.7 billion included in the bill for Amtrak.
Housing:
• Illinois will receive hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for homeowner assistance to provide homeowners with direct help with mortgage payments.
• Illinois, the City of Chicago, and several eligible counties will receive hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for emergency rental assistance to help renters with unpaid rent, utilities, and other housing related costs.
Multiemployer Pension Relief:
• By prolonging the solvency of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), more than 100,000 Illinoisans will have their hard-earned pension benefits preserved.
Agriculture:
• Extends 15 percent SNAP benefit increase through September 30, 2021, which would help 2 million people in Illinois, and increases the WIC benefit.
• Extends the Pandemic-EBT feeding program through next school year, to support one million children in Illinois who are not able to access consistent meals at school.
Disaster Relief:
• Allocates $50 billion to replenish FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund, which provides COVID-19 assistance to Illinois at a 100 percent federal cost share.
• Provides $300 million in firefighter grants, including $200 million for SAFER grants to increase emergency personnel staffing, and $100 million for Assistance to Firefighter grants to for fire departments to purchase equipment and resources.
• Provides $400 million for FEMA’s Emergency Food and Shelter Program, which funds nonprofits helping households that are experiencing, or at risk of, food insecurity or homelessness.
Veterans:
• Includes $250 million in one-time emergency, per-diem funding to state veterans homes based on the census of veterans state home residents. According to census data from the end of 2020, Illinois Veterans Homes would receive $7.2 million from this account.
* A bit of context…
The legislation passed 50-49 on a purely party-line vote, with Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) not voting due to a family funeral.
The bill now heads back to the House where a vote is expected as early as Tuesday.
“Our nation has lost more than 520,000 Americans to COVID-19 and we simply can’t wait a minute longer to send urgent relief to Illinoisans and struggling families, small businesses and local governments across this country. We are dealing with a once in a generation public health crisis and the Biden Administration’s American Rescue Plan that my Democratic colleagues and I passed today will help us meet this challenging moment.
“It will immediately put money in the pockets of working families, provide more resources for hard-hit small businesses, help schools safely reopen, boost funding for local municipalities to hire more first responders, extend Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and improve testing as well as vaccine distribution programs so we can get more shots in the arms of Americans. On top of that, this legislation will help cut child poverty nearly in half. When President Biden signs this bill into law, our nation will take yet another important step toward recovering from a pandemic that has upended our country and our world for nearly a year.
“While I’m disappointed that not a single Republican voted for this bill, it’s important to remember that the American Rescue Plan is supported by 76% of Americans—including 60% of Republicans and countless mayors, CEOs, business leaders and economists from both sides of the aisle. Providing our communities with needed resources to recover from this pandemic is common-sense—and it should be above partisan politics.
“It’s clear that we need bold action now to give Americans the resources they need to beat this pandemic, save our economy and start getting us back to our normal, regular lives. I’m proud that our Democratic Caucus is delivering on our promise to the American people to do all we can to get us to the other side of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
…Adding… Press release…
Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) issued the following statement after the Senate passed a $1.9 trillion federal COVID relief package with aid for states and local governments:
“I am glad to see the Biden administration recognize the need states and local governments have for relief in the face of this unprecedented crisis.
“Illinois is receiving millions to distribute vaccines, support local health departments, safely reopen schools and provide direct relief to the hardest hit families.
With this package, we are one step closer to ending this pandemic and coming out stronger on the other side.”
“I think it may be the most significant assistance given to our state, and the states in general, in my political lifetime,” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told reporters at a Zoom Sunday press conference.
Most everything in the EO just extended everything for another month. The only major change was the eviction moratorium, which is amended thusly…
A person or entity may not continue a residential eviction action pursuant to or arising under 735 ILCS 5/9-101 et seq. against a tenant, lessee, sub-lessee, or resident of a residential property if the tenant, lessee, sub-lessee, or resident submits a Declaration pursuant to Section 1 following commencement of a residential eviction action, unless that person poses a direct threat to the health and safety of other tenants or an immediate and severe risk to property.
That’s apparently designed to deal with the worst problem tenants.
*** UPDATE *** From attorney Michael J. Steadman…
Rich-
Great work on the blog.
A clarification as to the effect of the amendment to the EO re: evictions. Thank you by the way for the update- these EO’s do not get much media coverage and the State does not always update right away.
It is a change that benefits tenants. Until now if a tenant did not submit their signed declaration prior to the filing of a case the case could proceed through the system through trial and judgment. Everything would be finished except the enforcement of the order. Now, if I’m reading it correctly, if they submit the declaration at any time in the process the eviction case gets frozen.
Exceptions of course for health and safety situations. This order does not affect cases where a landlord can demonstrate a tenant is posing a “direct threat”.
Editorial comment- what most folks don’t realize is that once the moratorium is lifted it will still take landlords months to get the cases through the system and litigated where necessary. At least here in Cook. This is a further obstacle to those landlords who have been able to file cases and start moving them forward.
I’m a landlord attorney if that wasn’t already plainly obvious!
The Bottle Rockets, the Festus-born, St. Louis-based band of alt-country stalwarts some 28 years running, have announced today that they have broken up.
The news came via a statement on social media. According to the post, guitarist, frontman and co-bandleader Brian Henneman has decided to retire, and the group simply can’t go on without him.
“Although he’s in good health, he’s been feeling the passage of time and has lost interest in anything that distracts from or takes him away from home,” the post reads. “Unfortunately, this means the Bottle Rockets can’t continue as we know it. This is a difficult and emotional outcome for the band, and we share the sense of loss over this ending, but it can also be framed as an opportunity for new directions.”
Accompanying that post is a statement from Henneman himself that makes clear the decision was not made lightly.
“Been thinkin’ about it this entire time off,” Henneman writes. “I’m more certain of it than anything I’ve ever been certain of before. I’m turning 60 this year. Including my time with Uncle Tupelo, I have been doing this recording/touring thing for 30 years. I don’t consider myself too old to do it anymore, but I do consider myself too old to want to.”
I’d been trying to convince the group’s bassist Keith Voegele to do a European tour so we could all go over there together for a couple of weeks and get weird. Alas, that wish will never be fulfilled.
* Henneman is just a top-notch lyricist. Here’s one example…
Guess I’m gonna have to row
Looks like the Gulf of Mexico, down by the Texaco
Gov. JB Pritzker says he will extend the statewide moratorium on evictions for another 30 days. The moratorium was set to expire on Saturday.
However, Pritzker said he’s also looking at how the state might adjust that moratorium, depending on how much federal aid the state might get from the COVID-19 relief legislation currently being debated in Congress.
The governor first issued a moratorium on evictions on March 20, 2020, and has issued 30-day extensions multiple times since.
In November, Pritzker modified the moratorium to provide new protections for landlords who have complained that some tenants who can afford their rent have been refusing to pay.
* What Pritzker said…
I’m looking very hard at the assistance that will come from the federal government for renters and homeowners that’s in the package that’s being considered by the federal government. And I think that we ought to be considering how to adjust our moratorium on evictions according to the amount of money that is allocated to the state of Illinois for renters and homeowners.
As more Illinoisans become eligible for the vaccine and the supply from the federal government continues to grow, Governor JB Pritzker launched a new public awareness campaign directed especially to residents in the hardest-hit communities who are reluctant to take the vaccine.
The public awareness campaign features Illinoisans who have been personally impacted by COVID-19 and are sharing their stories and belief in the vaccine.
The $10 million campaign will reach Illinoisans statewide in both English and Spanish through a variety of traditional and online media channels, including cable, broadcast and connected TV; streaming audio and radio; billboards and bus shelters; digital display and video; print and social media. Like other coronavirus-related expenses, costs are reimbursable by the federal government.
“This campaign builds on Illinois’ existing messaging which has used data to inform how to get outcomes that emphasize equity,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Vaccine hesitancy is real, and misinformation is rampant, especially on social media. So Illinois is acting proactively to share the message: All three of the approved vaccines were 100% effective in trials for stopping hospitalizations and death. After a year of staying socially distant and staying safe, what a relief it will be to get vaccinated so you can be protected from this virus.”
“I empathize with the Illinoisans who are unsure about whether to take the vaccine, and we’re launching this campaign to speak directly to them,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “I encourage everyone to do your research and listen to the personal stories of real Illinoisans who believe in the vaccine. As a physician myself, I got my shot because I know vaccines work. They have saved millions of lives. And by making the choice to get vaccinated yourself, you can protect yourself from this devastating virus and start getting back to normal.”
As a part of the administration’s data-driven and equity-centric pandemic response, the campaign follows the CDC’s Vaccinate with Confidence Strategy of aiming to reach “the moveable middle” — residents who want to protect their health but are hesitant about getting vaccines. According to research conducted by Civis Analytics, approximately 46 percent of Illinoisans are in this group, a disproportionate number of whom are 18 to 34-year-olds, women, lower-income individuals and Black adults.
To speak to those residents, the campaign features public health experts and residents who have had Covid themselves, two of the most trusted sources of information on the virus, according to research.
Driven by real-time data, messages will be targeted to high vulnerability areas where vaccine uptake is a challenge. IDPH will analyze local vaccination rates in conjunction with the COVID-19 Community Vulnerability Index. Communities with lower vaccination rates and higher vulnerability scores will receive additional allocations so these critical messages are seen by those who most need to hear them.
The campaign is part of the state’s larger All in Illinois effort, backed by doctors and public health experts, encouraging Illinoisans to protect themselves and their neighbors from COVID-19 by wearing masks in public, practicing social distancing and getting vaccinated.
* Gov. Pritzker was asked today for his thoughts on the past year of the pandemic…
You know, it’s hard, it’s hard to reflect on all of it, because it’s been quite a year. And for many, many people it’s been a devastating year. People have died, people have been sick, there are people with long-hauler syndrome who’ve been sick. And I, you know, I, I guess the first thing that comes to mind for me when I reflect on this year is that it’s the safety and health of the people of Illinois that has weighed on me every day. And that I think about then the financial health of people who’ve lost their jobs. So many people who lost their jobs, frankly, are the people who can least afford to lose their job. That is to say, they’re living paycheck to paycheck, or they’re getting paid minimum wage. And these are the folks who have suffered the most in this pandemic. And so I think a lot about how do we lift them up, how do we make their lives better? So we’re working, as you know that the health aspects of COVID-19, the metrics and everything are all moving in the right direction. Now we need to take care of people’s financial situations. And fortunately, we have a president who cares deeply about that, and hopefully a congress that will be able to get something passed. And so help is on the way.
* The Question: Your own thoughts on the past year of the pandemic?
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 1,442 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 33 additional deaths.
- Carroll County: 1 male 60s
- Cook County: 1 male 40s, 1 female 50s, 1 male 50s, 1 male 60s, 2 females 70s, 2 males 70s, 1 female 80s, 3 males 80s
- DeKalb County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 90s
- DuPage County: 1 female 80s
- Kendall County: 1 male 60s
- Knox County: 1 male 60s
- Lake County: 1 male 30s, 1 male 50s
- LaSalle County: 1 female 80s
- Madison County: 1 female 80s
- Massac County: 1 male 80s
- Monroe County: 1 female 70s, 1 male 90s
- Montgomery County: 1 female 80s
- Ogle County: 1 female 80s
- Peoria County: 1 female 70s
- Sangamon County: 1 male 80s
- St. Clair County: 1 female 60s
- Whiteside County: 1 male 70s
- Will County: 1 female 90s, 1 male 90s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,194,702 cases, including 20,700 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 103,336 specimens for a total of 18,492,848. As of last night, 1,166 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 263 patients were in the ICU and 121 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from February 26–March 4, 2021 is 2.2%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from February 26–March 4, 2021 is 2.8%.
A total of doses of 3,780,305 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 4,224,005. A total of 3,125,425 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight, including 336,911 for long-term care facilities. The 7-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 83,115 doses. Yesterday, a record 131,882 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. 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.
I went back and looked at the seven-day average of administered doses on January 20th: 21,869.
Stimulus check updates: Democrats trim emergency jobless benefits as Senate debates $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill
City shuts down makeshift club in a home in Old Town, cites 6 businesses for COVID-19 violations
St. Clair County Jail inmates should have had masks before January, Gov. Pritzker, lawmakers say after newspaper investigation
With COVID-19 shots in short supply, some people are getting vaccinated with leftover doses that might otherwise be wasted: “Better in your arm than in the trash.”
After initial glitches, thousands register for COVID-19 mass vaccination site at United Center, officials say.
CPS proposes starting classes in August, citing “learning loss” from COVID-19 disruptions, as district also begins union talks to bring high school students back.
Will the world ever really get over COVID-19? What we learned from Dr. Anthony Fauci’s Chicago talk.
Universal masking and avoiding nonessential indoor spaces are recommended to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
What is added by this report?
Mandating masks was associated with a decrease in daily COVID-19 case and death growth rates within 20 days of implementation. Allowing on-premises restaurant dining was associated with an increase in daily COVID-19 case growth rates 41–100 days after implementation and an increase in daily death growth rates 61–100 days after implementation.
What are the implications for public health practice?
Mask mandates and restricting any on-premises dining at restaurants can help limit community transmission of COVID-19 and reduce case and death growth rates. These findings can inform public policies to reduce community spread of COVID-19.
* I’m coming a day late to this. Sorry. Here’s the New York Times…
Even as the economy shows signs of rebounding, employers continue to lay off large numbers of workers, a sign of how long it will take for the job market to recover fully from the pandemic.
The pressure was evident Thursday with a new report from the Labor Department showing a rise in initial jobless claims last week after a big drop the previous week. […]
A jump in claims after the devastating winter storms in Texas contributed to the increase last week, but the weakness was broad-based. […]
A total of 748,000 workers filed first-time claims for unemployment benefits in the week that ended Saturday, 32,000 higher than the week before. In addition, 437,000 new claims were filed for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a federal program covering freelancers, part-timers and others who do not routinely qualify for state benefits, a rise of 9,000.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) reported 68,111 new unemployment claims were filed last week, only a slight decrease from the previous week, when 68,383 people filed.
However, it’s still a huge spike from the same timeframe last year, when 8,980 people filed claims in Illinois. That’s a 658% increase.
The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending February 13 were in Pennsylvania (6.3), Alaska (5.7), Nevada (5.4), Rhode Island (5.1), Connecticut (4.9), New York (4.9), the Virgin Islands (4.9), California (4.7), Illinois (4.7), and New Mexico (4.6).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending February 20 were in Illinois (+6,014), Missouri (+5,624), Tennessee (+3,987), Mississippi (+3,266), and Colorado (+2,842), while the largest decreases were in California (-49,138), Ohio (-45,189), New York (-9,117), Idaho (-5,111), and Michigan (-3,942).
Rep. Will Davis (D-Hazel Crest) emphasized the department clearly needs more employees answering calls and IDES should look into recruiting people desperate to get back to work.
“I mean, we have people who are waiting or looking for jobs because they’re unemployed,” Davis said. “How many of those people were given the opportunity to work at one of these call centers?”
“I would have to honestly ask the recruitment teams the extent to which they’re recruiting that out to the unemployment population,” Richards answered. “But, these are jobs that are out there that are available.”
However, Richards also noted IDES can’t circumvent state and federal hiring guidelines. For example, when the department posted call center vacancies in April, officials didn’t bring those new employees into the call center until September. Still, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle stressed their staff haven’t received calls back or answers from IDES in a proper manner.
OK, so it takes 5 months to put people on the job, apparently. But this crisis has lasted a year. A larger, quicker ramp-up could’ve been done.
* Related…
* Senate Democrats Agree To Extend Unemployment Benefits Through September: The version of the legislation that passed the House would have increased the payments to $400 per week through the end of August. The change is a compromise between progressive members who wanted enhanced benefits for several more months and moderate Democrats who wanted to curb the weekly payments. The updated version of the bill would make the first $10,200 of unemployment benefits received in 2020 nontaxable.
* Some filing for extended benefits have trouble reaching IDES: “Unfortunately, when this law was passed, Congress enacted the bill on Dec. 21. But President Trump delayed signing law until Dec. 27, which allowed those benefits to lapse and it’s not as easy to reinstate those programs, especially once people exhaust benefits. It’s not as easy as flipping a switch, it can take weeks of coding,” explained Alexa Tapia of the National Employment Law Project. She says most states are having this problem.
Second, the myth relies on narrow assumptions about the appropriate indicators of fiscal need. While on average state and local revenues have fared better than initial expectations due to the combination of an economic rebound and extensive federal stimulus, revenues are only half of the equation. What’s missing is a focus on the spending needs created and exacerbated by the pandemic that cannot be addressed even if revenues return to their pre-pandemic baseline.
State and local budgets account only for planned spending and do not capture the amount necessary to meet the full demand and needs of their respective communities. The number of people experiencing homelessness or at risk for eviction has increased, for example, but spending on emergency housing and relief programs is based on the number of people the programs can support, not on how many people actually need assistance. Yet even analyses by supporters of additional aid note that they cannot account for spending needed to “help people and businesses facing extreme hardship,” ongoing costs tied to combating the disease itself or “the added costs of providing services effectively and safely during a pandemic.”
Determining the full scope of spending needs is challenging, and hinges on subjective decisions around what constitutes a COVID-related expenditure and what should be prioritized. Yet few analyses consider whether the pre-COVID status quo for state and local governments was acceptable.
For years, governments have deferred maintenance on existing infrastructure and facilities and underinvested in an array of programs and services. While the pandemic placed unprecedented strains on state unemployment insurance systems, their pre-COVID baseline was unacceptable. State UI systems were riddled with administrative burdens and outdated technical infrastructures. In 2019, for example, only 9 percent of Mississippians who were eligible for UI actually received benefits.
Schools provide another example. According to Government Accountability Office estimates, in 2019 about 41 percent of school districts needed “to update or replace HVAC systems in at least half their schools.” Although deferred maintenance is quantified and recorded in financial reports, the consequences of austerity have long been displaced onto already marginalized, predominantly minority communities. While COVID-19 has made a wider swath of society feel the effects of disinvestment, the crisis has exacerbated racial inequities, which is why the issue of spending and whose needs are not being met is so central.
The Great Recession should provide federal policymakers with a powerful lesson: Limited support for state and local governments slows economic recovery. But political pressure for fiscal austerity often re-emerges before the economy is out of the woods and before adequate stock is taken of state and local needs.
The U.S. Senate voted Thursday to begin debate on President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill, after drafting a number of revisions that, among other changes, tweak the aid intended for state and local governments.
The legislation approved in the House outlines $350 billion in direct aid to state, local governments, territories and tribes. Of that figure, $195 billion would go to states and the District of Columbia, and $130 billion would be divided among cities and counties.
Under the Senate version, the size of the state aid would remain the same, but the share for local governments would go down to $120 billion. The $10 billion difference would be set aside for states’ infrastructure projects, like improving broadband access.
It also would set limits on how the money can be used, barring cities and states from using the dollars to pay down pension costs or to pay for new attempts to cut taxes. And it would ensure that states get at least as much as they received under the last aid package.
Based on the details emerging Thursday, [Philip Rocco of Marquette University] finds that history might be about to repeat itself. Under the Senate rewrite, “the rest of the aid is going to be subject to fairly tight restrictions and requirements,” he says — which could slow funds from getting out where they could re-energize the economy.
“If we listen to state and local officials about the difficulties they experienced with these programs, the restrictions are the biggest hurdle,” Rocco says — a hurdle that looms once again.
“I think that it’s unfortunate,” Rocco says, “because I think what happens is when these restrictions are in there, and you make it harder for state local governments to use the money, it can perpetuate the myth that we don’t need it.”
Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza said she is hopeful outdoor events can return as early as this summer with large indoor events such as conventions and trade shows beginning in the fall.
Speaking during a Senate Tourism and Hospitality Committee hearing, Mendoza said that the return to holding events would be gradual and based on a number of factors, including COVID-19 transmission and vaccination rates. […]
Some business leaders told the committee that they have been set back by the state’s current cap of 50 people for event gatherings under Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois guidelines. Phase 5 of the reopening plan would allow for a return of large-scale events with the necessary safety precautions, pending the widespread availability of a COVID-19 vaccine or treatment.
As a result of the federal government moving up projections that a vaccine could be available to the entire population by the end of May, business leaders asked the committee for a “ramp” approach to reopening under Phase 5 to allow events to resume in some capacity as soon as possible.
State Sen. Suzy Glowiack Hilton, D-Western Springs, said the difference of Phase 4 with a cap of 50 people and Phase 5 with no restrictions is too great.
“It’s all or small and we need an in-between piece to kind of ramp us up and plan and give us some predictability for the folks who really need it because we’ve got to get our people back to work,” Glowiack Hilston said. […]
State Sen. Sara Feigenholtz, D-Chicago, said meetings expected in about 10 days aren’t going to cut it compared to other states.
“That is the same week that Connecticut, Nevada and New York are actually already going to be implementing their 100-150 capacity, but we’re still in these internal conversations,” Feigenholtz said.
150 people ain’t gonna help the convention industry much.
And while Texas is fully reopening soon and abandoning its mask mandate, it has a 10 percent positivity rate, which is five times higher than Illinois’ rate. Texas’ daily new case rate is 25 per 100,000. Illinois’ rate is 14.2. But no prominent Democrat in this state is arguing for such a drastic move.
Friday, Mar 5, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
The Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board recently urged legislators to finally pass the Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA, HB804, SB1718). Here are a few excerpts:
“It’s time for the Legislature to get charged up about passing a comprehensive energy bill that would help the environment, assist ratepayers, benefit communities that need jobs and help workers displaced by the shift from fossil fuels.”
“Here’s just one reason: Illinois has not only gone over the so-called “solar cliff,” but it has also crashed on the ground like Wile E. Coyote. Because CEJA was not enacted in time, payments will be yanked away for solar installations that have already been started around the state. Others won’t begin. Fossil fuels will be burned unnecessarily.”
“Here’s another reason: Illinois has missed the window to protect ratepayers from unnecessarily paying higher power bills to support fossil fuel companies. The Trump administration is the culprit, but it will take years to unwind that on the federal level. CEJA would throw ratepayers a lifeline more quickly.”
We must pass the Clean Energy Jobs Act to create equitable jobs, lower electric bills, and hold utilities accountable. Read the full editorial here and learn more at ilcleanjobs.org.
* I told subscribers about this controversy yesterday. Here’s Lynn Sweet…
Duckworth and Durbin had both called early on for Madigan to step down as state House Speaker and DPI chair. Madigan announced his party resignation on Feb. 22.
Before that, Duckworth launched conversations with Durbin and Pritzker about who should replace Madigan. Duckworth wanted a unity candidate. There was agreement it was time for a woman of color to be the chair.
The three agreed on Harris not realizing that Kelly would be interested. Kelly told me she held back because there was no official vacancy. She jumped in immediately after Madigan stepped down. Durbin ended up backing Kelly.
The election of U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly of Matteson as Illinois Democratic chairman represented the party’s growing effort to move beyond the one-man control exercised by embattled former House Speaker Michael Madigan over 23 years.
Kelly’s election over Chicago Ald. Michelle Harris, 8th, by the Illinois Democratic State Central Committee also revealed another fault line in the political operation of Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who had backed Harris and is seeking reelection in 2022. […]
Instead, the wealthy heir to the Hyatt Hotels fortune, who has the ability to bankroll Democrats, found a committee more interested in a future of decentralized leadership as it seeks to grow in Republican areas through the participation of activists spawned by Donald Trump’s 2016 election as president.
Heading into a critical reelection year, Pritzker has sustained losses in his push for a graduated-rate income tax, an effort to dictate a new state Senate president and now in his choice for the Democratic chairmanship.
Kelly is beginning to form a post-election transition team to work on her promised revamp of the party organization. Some names already on that team: Board of Review Commissioner Michael Cabonargi, state Sen. Cristina Castro and political consultant Scott Kennedy.
Cook County and other “home rule” units of local government in Illinois are not obligated to spend transportation tax money on actual transportation projects, despite a state constitutional amendment intended to lock away transportation funding from being spent elsewhere, a state appeals panel has ruled.
In the ruling, the appellate justices said they believed the limits within the so-called Safe Roads Amendment applies only to taxes levied by the state government itself, or governed by state law.
“In sum, all of the extrinsic information that might inform us of the Amendment’s intent points to the same conclusion that struck us as the most reasonable as well,” the justices wrote.
“The Amendment protects from diversion those revenues from transportation-related taxes whose expenditure is authorized by statute. The Amendment does not sequester revenues from transportation-related taxes spent by home-rule units pursuant to their independent constitutional spending power.” […]
The road builder associations said, by diverting the money away from transportation construction and maintenance, the county was balancing its budgets on the backs of its member workers, businesses and unions. […]
The county cautioned that allowing the road builders’ interpretation would not only be opposed to the actual language of the amendment, but would open units of Illinois local governments to a six-lane freeway of lawsuits from “transportation contractors and the like with an appetite for more construction contracts who will demand a ‘line-item accounting’ of how they spend their money…,” the county wrote in a brief filed in Cook County court in 2018.
*** UPDATE *** Ed Maher of the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 150…
Typically in constitutional jurisprudence, a strategy is employed to define the contours of constitutional limitations in a case of first impressions. The plaintiffs in this case clearly employed no such strategy.
We are disappointed by the decision, not least because we worked closely with home rule communities and advocates in the eleventh hour of crafting this amendment, and all were in agreement that the lockbox would include home rule units.
We will work – legally and legislatively – to fix the damage that has been done to this important policy. Illinoisans have come to demand that transportation revenue be used for transportation purposes, and this decision places local governments at a crossroads of whether to build taxpayers’ confidence in them or dispense with it completely.
Christina M. Shutt, the director of the African American history and culture museum in Arkansas, has been selected to lead the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, the ALPLM’s Board of Trustees announced Friday.
Shutt has been executive director of the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center in Little Rock since 2016 and guided it through the complex process of earning national accreditation, making it only the ninth Black culture museum in the United States to earn such a designation.
She previously served as Associate Librarian for Special Collections and Instruction at Hendrix College and has worked in a variety of special collections, including the Center for the History of Medicine at Harvard University. Shutt holds two master’s degrees, one in history and the other in library science/archives management, from Simmons University.
She will be the fifth executive director at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum and the first person of color to hold the title.
“Christina Shutt brings tremendous expertise to the job, as well as new perspectives on how to interpret the life, legacy and lessons of Abraham Lincoln,” said Ray LaHood, chairman of the ALPLM Board of Trustees. “We are thrilled to have her guiding a great institution dedicated to an even greater man.”
Shutt, 34, was unanimously selected Friday by the board after a nationwide search. Her appointment requires approval by the Illinois Senate.
She called her selection a tremendous honor.
“You can’t truly understand America without understanding Abraham Lincoln’s impact on the nation,” Shutt said. “I’m excited to help share Lincoln’s enduring legacy and his relevancy for today.”
“Museums play an important, often overlooked, role in the community. The ALPLM’s path forward must include cultivating partnerships with our neighbors in Springfield and central Illinois,” Shutt added. “We should also step forward in the larger community of institutions that are exploring new ways to share history and ensure it includes all voices.”
Governor JB Pritzker praised Shutt’s selection.
“After a nationwide search for the best candidate to shape the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum’s 21st century legacy, Illinois is elated to welcome Christina Shutt and her family to Springfield,” Pritzker said. ”A barrier-breaker in her own right, Christina comes to the ALPLM with formidable experience in lifting up historically marginalized voices and ensuring they are heard and understood in the greater American narrative – and in turn, the American present. Abraham Lincoln’s legacy is not only a critical piece of comprehending our nation’s past; but also in understanding how to navigate our future. I have every faith in Christina as the best person to guide ALPLM forward and help make the life and legacy of Lincoln more accessible to all Illinoisans. We are proud that she has chosen to call Illinois home.”
Shutt is scheduled to start the new job in early June.
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum uses a combination of rigorous scholarship and high-tech showmanship to immerse visitors in Lincoln’s life and times. The library holds an unparalleled collection of Lincoln books, documents, photographs, artifacts and art, as well as some 12 million items pertaining to all aspects of Illinois history.
