* If they had to hire extra staff, rent more jail space, etc., then I can see how this would be an actual cost. But the jail is there already. Staff is there. This seems to be a bit of fun with numbers…
Inmates not being transferred as expected to Illinois Department of Corrections’ facilities after being sentenced to prison has cost the taxpayers of Kankakee County $648,000 in seven months, says Sheriff Mike Downey.
Downey discussed the problem at a recent Kankakee County Board criminal justice committee meeting. He said the county is currently waiting for IDOC to take 33 inmates into state custody.
While they wait, the county is paying the tab for housing and medical, Downey said, adding that the state does not reimburse.
Using the $90 per diem the county receives for housing federal prisoners, Downey said that between Aug. 1, 2020, and March 3, the cost of housing state inmates was $648,000.
And if it does cost them some extra money, that’s exactly the sort of thing the federal relief programs were set up to pay for.
* Anyway, I checked with the governor’s office on this and was told…
IDOC is scheduling appointments to transfer people from county jails to corrections facilities in accordance with health and safety guidance. The department has implemented protocols with the goal of protecting those who are incarcerated, the staff inside the facilities and the communities where these facilities are located.
Transferred inmates have to be quarantined and single-celled for two weeks, per CDC guidance. From the relevant Pritzker EO…
The Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) will resume accepting the transfer of individuals from Illinois county jails. The scheduling of the arrival of individuals from county jails and the intake process to ensure the health and safety of the transferring individuals, as well as all individuals and staff at IDOC, shall be within the sole discretion of the Director of IDOC. In determining the timing of the arrival of individuals from county jails and the specific process for transfers to IDOC, the Director shall take into account several health and safety factors including (a) the capacity and safety of IDOC reception centers, and (b) whether the individuals to be transferred have been quarantined for 14 days and, following that quarantine period, have tested negative for COVID-19 before their transfer to IDOC. All approved transfers to IDOC shall follow the protocol established by IDOC in conjunction with the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), available at https://www2.illinois.gov/idoc/facilities/Pages/Covid19Response.aspx. The Director of IDOC will work closely with county sheriffs and other partners in the criminal justice system to determine whether transfer from specific county jails is feasible and to ensure that the guidelines will be implemented.
* Rep. Terra Costa Howard (D-Glen Ellyn) on today’s House passage of a leadership term limits bill…
From the day I was elected in 2018, I have pledged to stand up for my constituents against political corruption and entrenched power. Over this past year, I have held firm to my principles, first by calling for Speaker Madigan to step down, then by joining my colleagues in ending an outdated political era and electing a new Speaker of the House.
Today, we reached another milestone in our journey to end the political status quo in Springfield with the unanimous passage of HB 642, which puts a 10-year term limit on the General Assembly’s top leadership posts, including Speaker of the House.
We still have a great deal of work ahead of us. But today, I am proud to stand as a co-sponsor of HB 642, and I look forward to the day when this bill is passed by the Senate and signed into law by Governor Pritzker.
* The Question: Do you think leadership term limits are enough, or should they go further and term limit all legislators, or do you oppose all term limits? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please…
Executive Order 2021-07 Paves the Way for Emergency Utility Bill Relief for Nearly 80,000 Families
Executive Order 2021-08 Starts Transition to Low-Emission and Zero-Emission State-owned Vehicles
SPRINGFIELD—Recognizing Earth Day, Governor JB Pritzker signed two Executive Orders that put consumers and climate first, further advancing the administration’s commitment to transition to clean energy economy and protect the health, safety, and well-being of Illinois communities and consumers. The orders pave the way for a new Utility Disconnection Avoidance Program to provide $80 million in assistance to households to avoid disconnections, and a State Fleet Working Group that will move the state towards low-emission and zero-emission vehicles for future purchases and leases.
As a member of the U.S. Climate Alliance, Illinois continues to work toward meeting Paris Climate Agreement targets by implementing policies and programing that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 26-28 percent by 2025. Under the leadership of Governor Pritzker, the administration is taking concrete steps to protect Illinois’ natural resources and prepare the state’s workers and economy for the transition to a clean energy economy.
“The urgent need to address climate change, revitalize our state, and create jobs means that now is the time to transition to a clean energy economy, and this Earth Day, I’m taking action to protect our residents and the environment,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “By expanding assistance for Illinois utility customers, we’re making a difference in the lives of tens of thousands of customers at risk for disconnection right now – and by redirecting Illinois’ fleet of vehicles to prioritize low-emission and zero-emission vehicles, we’re setting the next generation of residents up for a better future. My administration is committed to making Illinois a leader in a clean energy and an equitable economy, and I’m proud to take another step toward fulfilling that mission.”
Executive Order 2021-07
Governor JB Pritzker today signed Executive Order 2021-07, which temporarily suspends two provisions of the Illinois Energy Assistance Act, expanding the use of available emergency relief dollars for Illinois utility customers currently at risk of service disconnections following the end of the winter moratorium, and maximizing the number of households eligible for relief. The Governor’s Executive Order paves the way for a new Utility Disconnection Avoidance Program (UDAP), allocating an estimated $80 million to help households in crisis. The expanded assistance measures will grant billing relief for nearly 80,000 current and former Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) customers currently at risk for disconnection and prevent service shutoffs due to a consumer’s inability to pay.
Illinoisans eligible for UDAP may receive a one-time credit of at least $250 up to a maximum of $5,000 for each eligible utility account. Families eligible for UDAP benefits include those who are currently on a utility disconnection list based on arrearages, as well as those who have received state energy assistance through LIHEAP or PIPP between October 1, 2018 and June 30, 2021.
Upon the filing of UDAP Emergency Rules, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) will move to immediately mobilize state and federal LIHEAP funding to help clients enrolled in the program be removed from the utilities’ shutoff lists. The Department will work with utility companies and local agencies to process invoices and credit customer accounts as soon as next month.
“While the State of Illinois has helped over 180,000 families with utility and other basic household costs since the pandemic first hit, we know that there are many more in need of our help,” said DCEO Acting Director Sylvia Garcia. “For Illinois customers still facing service shutoffs, expanded safety net measures brought forward by the State, local agencies, and our utility partners will ensure those who can least afford to pay their utility bills aren’t continuously penalized as a result of the current economic challenges. For residents who continue to face difficulty paying their bills, it’s not too late to enroll to receive LIHEAP benefits through our ongoing Help Illinois Families program.”
The expanded safety net measures are available for all residents qualifying based on prior LIHEAP enrollment, regardless of provider. To conduct outreach to eligible customers, the State of Illinois is working with the six largest regulated gas and electric utilities in the state: ComEd, Ameren, Nicor Gas, Peoples Gas, North Shore Gas, and MidAmerican Energy. To reach additional customers beyond these service areas, the State is working with local agencies who assist with distributing LIHEAP benefits on an annual basis.
Families interested in applying for the UDAP program should contact their local LIHEAP agency. To find your local agency, please call DCEO’s dedicated Help Illinois Families hotline at 1-833-711-0374 or visit www.helpillinoisfamilies.com.
This program builds on the Help for Illinois Families program, created by the Governor last year to expand emergency utility assistance to help reach an unprecedented number of families who have fallen behind on bills due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since June 2020, Help for Illinois Families has provided support to over 180,000 families across the state. The program is currently offering assistance to new and returning customers. Additional information can be found online at www.helpillinoisfamilies.com.
Executive Order 2021-08
Governor Pritzker today signed Executive Order 2021-08 to ensure future vehicles purchased or leased by the State of Illinois, to the extent possible, will be low-emission and zero-emission vehicles. The order also establishes a State Fleet Working Group comprised of representatives from different agencies within the administration that will lead the effort and take steps to procure and encourage the use of electric vehicles for state employees and the general public.
The State Fleet Working Group will be led by the Illinois Department of Central Management Services (CMS) and will include the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA), and Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC). In the coming months, the working group will begin efforts to reduce emissions from the transportation sector by establishing a plan to finance the purchase of low-emission and zero-emission vehicles for state use. The group will also develop a plan for the installation of electric vehicle chargers in support of State-owned electric vehicles and create a guide to ensure the vehicles receive proper maintenance and care.
“Under the leadership of Governor Pritzker, IDOT is committed to supporting and expanding green transportation practices in all facets of the work we do,” said Acting Illinois Transportation Secretary Omer Osman. “This initiative with our partner agencies will put us on the path toward using cleaner, more efficient vehicles for the services we provide the people of Illinois.”
“Illinois EPA looks forward to collaborating with fellow Agencies as we work to identify improvements in the State Fleet while prioritizing renewable and clean energy,” said Illinois EPA Director John Kim. “This effort further represents Governor Pritzker’s commitment to clean energy and a cleaner environment for the future of Illinois.”
“The transportation sector is the largest emitting sector in the state, and widespread adoption of electric vehicles is a necessary step to fight climate change. Illinois is poised to be a leader in expanding the growth of electric vehicles on our roads and highways, and today’s Executive Order shows Illinois’s commitment to decarbonizing the transportation sector,” said Illinois Commerce Commission Chairman Carrie K. Zalewski.
In addition to leading the State Fleet Working Group, CMS will develop a plan to install electric vehicle chargers on State property for employees and public-use. CMS will utilize existing funds from Governor Pritzker’s bipartisan Rebuild Illinois capital plan to facilitate the buildout of electric vehicle chargers at State-leased buildings.
“Illinois continues to be a leader in finding innovative ways to meet our transportation needs while protecting the environment,” said Janel L. Forde, Director of the Illinois Department of Central Management Services (CMS). “Expanding the use of electric vehicles recognizes the need to transition our fleet to high-quality, low-emission vehicles.”
To reduce local air pollutants, the Illinois State Board of Education will also work in coordination with IDOT and IEPA to provide information about low-emission and zero-emission school bus options for local school districts.
Governor Pritzker’s executive actions build on past efforts and reflect his commitments to address climate and environmental matters in Illinois. In February, Governor Pritzker called on the Illinois Finance Authority (IFA) to create a $15 million low-interest loan program to assist municipalities across central and southern Illinois who were financially impacted by record high natural gas prices resulting from extreme cold in Texas. To date, IFA has closed 14 low-interest, three-year loans to Illinois local governments hurt by the Texas freeze.
Illinois approved more than 25,000 new wind and solar projects in a few years before the state’s program went over the funding cliff in 2020.
Now thousands of Illinois residents and businesses are lined up to invest in renewable energy, but our state policy has put everything on hold.
The Illinois Power Agency ran out of funding to approve new renewable energy projects in December. With state incentives in limbo, many solar businesses across the state haven’t sold a new system all year. That puts thousands of jobs at risk unless we pass legislation to fix this.
Customers are ready to invest, solar installers are desperate to get to work and our clean energy goals are slipping further out of reach. The General Assembly needs to act before it’s too late. Take action at www.pathto100.net
Despite the past documented evidence of Illinois’ Democrat leaders, including Governor JB Pritzker and new House Speaker Chris Welch, stating support for a fair, transparent and non-partisan redistricting process, they continue to press on with the current partisan process. Today, Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs), Assistant Minority Leader Tim Butler (R-Springfield) and Assistant Minority Leader Ryan Spain (R-Peoria) again laid bare the hollowness of Democrat leaders’ past promises and pointed to how it further exacerbates the cloud of corruption and public mistrust in the state.
“Democrats have claimed to be in support of fair maps for years, but when it comes to real action they always go back on their word,” Durkin said. “Every opportunity to implement fair maps has been met with rejection by the Democrats. Their record speaks for itself.”
In 2016, then State Representative Chris Welch, co-sponsored HJRCA 58 to create an independent redistricting commission, which later passed the House with 105 YES votes. He even published an op-ed supporting the measure and stated, “The redistricting, or ‘remap,’ of state legislative districts that’s mandated by law to occur after the U.S. Census every 10 years is very important. Unfortunately, the process has often been criticized as too political and one where voters are left without a voice.
“To address these issues, I’m supporting House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 58 (HJRCA 58), which is a comprehensive, bipartisan measure that will put an independent commission in charge of drawing state legislative district boundaries and protect minority representation.”
Before the current partisan redistricting process began this spring, Republicans filed the People’s Independent Maps Act, Senate Bill 1325, using identical language from SJRCA 4, a constitutional amendment for an independent redistricting commission introduced by Sen. Julie Morrison (D-Deerfield) in 2019. That resolution garnered 37 co-sponsors in the Senate including 18 Democrats and was nearly identical to the 2016 HJRCA 58 that Welch co-sponsored.
In the Senate, numerous Democratic incumbents have signed onto or sponsored bills in recent years supporting remap reform, including Sens. Scott Bennett of Champaign, Melinda Bush of Grayslake, Rachelle Crowe of Glen Carbon, Bill Cunningham of Chicago, Laura Ellman of Naperville, Laura Fine of Glenview, Ann Gillespie of Arlington Heights, Suzy Glowiak Hilton of Western Springs, David Koehler of Peoria, Julie Morrison of Lake Forest, Laura Murphy of Des Plaines and Steve Stadelman of Rockford.
Their party holds a supermajority in the Senate. Don’t let them get away with more empty rhetoric on why there is no independent commission, and why their party leaders are now behind closed doors drawing a map with districts drawn to protect their incumbency.
“They are absolutely dead silent on this issue,” House GOP Leader Jim Durkin tells us. “This is an extension of the Madigan playbook.”
Springfield Republicans are turning up the heat on how Democrats are handling remap, calling on Gov. J.B. Pritzker to stand by his vow to veto an “unfair” map, and suggesting that new House Speaker Chris Welch is beginning to govern in the style of predecessor Mike Madigan. […]
At a news conference, House GOP Leader Jim Durkin and colleagues repeatedly accused Democrats of “hypocrisy” in how they’ve handling remap, the short-hand term for decennial reapportionment of congressional, legislative and local government districts.
“The hypocrisy is at the highest level I’ve ever observed. . . .It’s a continuation of the old business model which has put Illinois in peril, both financially and ethically,” said the Western Springs Republican, referring in part to the Commonwealth Edison bribery scandal that brought down Madigan.
* The response from Speaker Welch’s spokesperson Jaclyn Driscoll was truncated in the above piece, so I asked for the entire thing. It’s a doozy…
Speaker Welch has never suggested that maps will be drawn solely using ACS data. As he’s reiterated numerous times, it is one of the alternative sources of data suggested by the National Conference of State Legislatures. It is one of the aggregated data sets the committee is using, just like several other states, including Oklahoma and Colorado.
But, to suggest that we are not considering all voices throughout Illinois is a lie. House Democrats have held 27 public hearings to listen to people in every part of this state about what their communities look like to them. Republicans provided no witnesses for the hearings and are choosing to dismiss the public’s input because their only goal is to rig the process for their own political benefit – just like their right-wing allies are doing across the country with no regard to public input.
In fact, the top Republican on the state’s Redistricting Committee is on record saying his criteria for a fair map is one that elects more Republicans. This political posturing by Republicans is nothing more than an attempt to disregard constitutional deadlines in a desperate hope that a single Republican appointee, who is accountable to no one, can draw the map. That is not democracy and it’s a disservice to the people of this state.
Few people showed up to the hearings, which could lead some to think that maybe not many care about this despite the polling.
…Adding… Press release…
Illinois Senate Republican Redistricting Caucus Chair Jason Barickman (R-Bloomington) is calling on Senate leadership to stop blocking redistricting reform legislation from advancing and to hold a hearing on his independent redistricting legislation.
“Everyone from the Senate President to the Governor has repeatedly expressed their support for redistricting reform,” Barickman said. “We have a proposal that has had bipartisan support in both chambers. The only reason to block attempts at reform is to allow one party to produce a purely partisan map. Why else would they would be hiding from this legislation now?”
Senate Bill 1325, filed by Barickman, uses identical language from SJRCA 0004, a constitutional amendment for an independent redistricting commission that was introduced by Sen. Julie Morrison (D-Deerfield) in 2019. That resolution garnered 37 co-sponsors in the Senate including 18 Democrats. A similar independent commission amendment co-sponsored by Speaker of the House Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch (D-Hillside) passed the House in 2016 with 105 YES votes.
Unfortunately for the people of Illinois, the independent redistricting legislation is being held in the Senate assignments committee, blocking it from being heard in a public committee, despite the urgent timing of the issue.
On April 21, 2021, Barickman sent a formal request to Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) to extend the Third Reading Deadline on the legislation, along with a request to Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford (D-Chicago) asking that the legislation be released from the Assignments Committee so that it can be heard and debated in the appropriate public committee.
“The people of Illinois have been demanding that the Legislature take the power away from politicians to draw their own maps,” said Barickman. “It’s time that Democratic leaders listen to the people of Illinois and follow their own campaign promises to fix the system.”
House passes a bill creating term limits on legislative leaders to a term of 10 years. Speaker Welch came to the floor to show his support for the historic bill. Speaker Madigan served as speaker for over 30 years #twillpic.twitter.com/gvi8nunJgr
A bill that would lower criminal penalties for possession of drugs like methamphetamine and fentanyl narrowly passed the Illinois House Wednesday.
State Rep. Carol Ammons, D-Urbana, defended her House Bill 3447 that opponents like state Rep. Tony McCombie worried is too expansive.
“Would heroin be included?” McCombie asked.
“Yes,” Ammons acknowledged.
The measure drops the criminal charge from a felony to a misdemeanor for what proponents said is a low level of possession. […]
Ammons said the measure is about ensuring people get medical treatment for drug addiction, rather than a jail cell.
“And give them true opportunity to treatment as opposed to saddling them with felony convictions that unfortunately we have to unravel later,” Ammons said.
She also noted the issue impacts those who may be frozen out of housing, education and job opportunities.
State Rep. Marcus Evans, D-Chicago, supported House Bill 3447 and said it corrects decades of wrongs by offering a path to treatment, rather than jail.
Whenever you see a story that doesn’t have numbers in it, beware. Here’s what the story doesn’t tell you: It’s currently a Class 1 felony to possess a single gram of heroin, cocaine or fentanyl. That’s less than 0.04 ounces. The legislation would impose a Class 4 felony on possession of 3-15 grams of heroin, 3-200 grams of fentanyl and 5-15 grams of cocaine. Below that is a Class A misdemeanor. Above that, the penalties increase. There are other penalty adjustments on other drugs as well, along with some expungement language.
*** UPDATE *** ILGOP…
Yesterday, without any Republicans, the Democrats voted to move the use of heroin, cocaine, meth, and fentanyl from a FELONY to a class A misdemeanor. After a year of releasing prisoners into our communities and passing laws to make the job of law enforcement much more difficult, House Democrats continue to make our neighborhoods more dangerous.
Instead of dealing with the real issues that Illinoisans face every day, the Democrats have prioritized significantly reducing penalties for possession and use of drugs. We need legislators who will fight for us in Springfield, on REAL ISSUES, like fighting corruption, lowering property taxes, and growing our economy.
Rich, we want to hear from YOU! Will you take our quick poll and let the Democrats know which drugs you think should remain a felony? Take the poll >>>
Do you agree that these drugs should remain a felony?
Yes
No
Hurry, this survey link expires in 48 hours! Let the Democrats know what you think RIGHT NOW >>>>
Another bill that passed Wednesday would allow married couples to change the gender designations on their marriage certificate or update them with non-gendered identifiers, creating “uniformity statewide” for county clerks, said state Sen. Sara Feigenholtz, D-Chicago, the bill’s sponsor.
Illinois Republicans have added a new twist to their call for an independent redistricting commission in hopes of overcoming Democrats’ claims that their plan would likely be found unconstitutional.
The new twist, discussed Wednesday during a Statehouse news conference, would be to allow two different commissions – the one they are proposing in legislation, and the one mandated after a certain point under the Illinois Constitution – to work side-by-side to come up with new legislative and congressional district maps.
A bill that would prevent statements and actions made by participants in restorative justice programs from being used in court proceedings passed the Illinois Senate on Wednesday in partisan vote.
Senate Bill 64, introduced by Chicago Democrat Sen. Robert Peters, would make “anything said or done” in the course of a restorative justice practice “privileged,” meaning it cannot be used “in any civil, criminal, juvenile, or administrative proceeding.”
Illinois first began using restorative justice courts in 2017. According to the Illinois State Bar Association, restorative justice is meant to bring together the offenders, victims and communities to “address and repair the harm.” […]
Following a short debate on the Senate floor, the bill passed along partisan lines in a 39-17 vote and advanced to the House floor.
A bill sponsored by state Rep. Will Guzzardi would streamline a commutation process for those imprisoned within the Illinois Department of Corrections who are “medically incapacitated and terminally ill,” allowing the Illinois Prisoner Review Board to make a faster decision on whether or not the person can return home, Guzzardi said.
A new bill would make buying a gun safe less expensive, but a tax expert said carve-outs won’t address issues with the state’s sales tax.
State Rep. Joyce Mason, D-Gurnee, sponsored House Bill 316, which would lower the sales tax on gun safes to 1%. State Rep. Jeff Keicher is a co-sponsor of the bill.
“Republicans and Democrats need to work together more on common-sense measures to keep families safe and reduce the prevalence of tragic incidents when young children get ahold of firearms stored in the home and inadvertently harm themselves or others,” Keicher said in a statement. “I am very pleased to be working with Rep. Mason to pass legislation that will make it more affordable for individuals and families to purchase a gun safe by cutting the sales tax rate to 1%.”
Mason said the bill would encourage responsible gun storage.
* More than half the deaths were people in their 60s or younger. Press release…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 3,170 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 33 additional deaths.
- Cook County: 1 male 30s, 1 female 50s, 1 male 50s, 1 female 60s, 1 male 60s, 1 female 70s, 3 males 70s, 2 females 80s, 2 males 80s
- DuPage County: 1 female 80s
- Effingham County: 1 female 60s
- Kane County: 1 male 50s, 1 female 60s, 1 male 60s
- Lake County: 3 females 60s, 1 male 80s
- LaSalle County: 1 male 40s
- Macon County: 1 male 80s
- Massac County: 1 male 60s
- McHenry County: 1 female 70s
- McLean County: 1 female 80s
- Peoria County: 1 male 80s
- Stephenson County: 1 female 40s
- Vermilion County: 1 male 70s
- Whiteside County: 1 female 60s, 1 male 60s
- Woodford County: 1 female 80s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,312,722 cases, including 21,755 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 88,336 specimens for a total of 22,008,695. As of last night, 2,147 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 511 patients were in the ICU and 238 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from April 15-21, 2021 is 3.8%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from April 15-21, 2021 is 4.4%.
The total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses for Illinois is 10,581,985. A total of 8,473,953 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 123,078 doses. Yesterday, 131,411 doses were reported 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.
It took three decades for city leaders to elbow state lawmakers into authorizing a Chicago casino.
It’s been almost two years since Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office finally hit the jackpot in Springfield.
And it could be another four years before the long-sought big city gambling mecca finally opens — but state regulators better not let the process drag on longer than that, an “impatient” Lightfoot warned this week.
As the first-term mayor prepared to formally invite casino developers to the table on Thursday to submit proposals to build and run Chicago’s first legal gambling house, Lightfoot threw down an early gauntlet to the Illinois Gaming Board, which has the final say on who gets the coveted casino license. […]
“Once we present a proposal to them, we’ve got to move forward expeditiously. And again, I don’t want to prejudge it, but I’m looking at the time, like the time it takes for the Gaming Board to do its work — it’s got to speed up.”
Yeah, what could possibly go wrong?
…Adding… Looks like the Gaming Board may have prevented a real problem in Rockford…
Plans for a temporary casino in Rockford hit a roadblock.
The Illinois Gaming Board has denied Giovanni’s request for a casino suppliers license. The decision came after the restaurant requested to withdraw its application at the last minute. […]
The gaming board’s administrator explained why the application was turned down “based on conduct and associations that would jeopardize the integrity of gaming and discredit or attempt to discredit the state and Illinois gaming.”
If all goes well, the new casino would open in 2025, though there would be slot machines at Chicago airports and likely a temporary casino somewhere in the city much earlier, as the mayor counts on gambling revenue to help close huge police and fire pension shortfalls.
Before then, Lightfoot promised in-depth engagement with “community stakeholders” around the site of a project that will transform whatever neighborhood it occupies.
That process won’t resemble the protracted, litigious fight among Protect Our Parks, Jackson Park residents and the Obama Foundation that has delayed the start of construction on the Obama Presidential Center, Lightfoot said before the casino request for proposal release.
I dunno. Everybody sues about everything in Chicago. We’ll see.
Chicago isn’t limiting operators to a location within the city’s jurisdiction, saying wants the developer to create an entertainment destination that will “enhance the urban fabric” of its surrounding neighborhood.
“I’m not going to put my finger on the location scale, everyone that is a serious bidder knows this inside and out,” Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said during a virtual media briefing Tuesday.
Thursday, Apr 22, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
If lawmakers’ goal is to create a map that ensures representation for communities of color and driven by community input, then why not show the work?
Lawmakers should showcase their redistricting work so all Illinoisans, especially people of color, can see whether the maps are in their best interest.
Let’s start with more notice for public hearings, transparency for map proposals, prioritizing the Federal Voting Rights Act and Illinois Voting Rights Act, and ensuring the public can weigh in and hear back from lawmakers about the final maps before votes are cast.
A compliance report is necessary to show how map-makers used public input and met voting rights acts requirements.
These changes can ensure that constituents in communities across Illinois understand the process.
In a recently released report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (https://itep.org/taxes-and-racial-equity/), Illinois was cited for “vast disparities in income across race and ethnicity” caused in part by “injustices” in the state’s revenue policies.
The Raise Up Illinois coalition will call for addressing these injustices by ending unfair state tax breaks and other advantages for big corporations and wealthy individuals so that Illinois can invest that revenue in housing, childcare, schools and other essential services crucial to an economic recovery from the pandemic that addresses the pre-existing problem of economic inequality in the state.
1) Repeal the Estate Tax Exemption Increase - $98.7 million
IL increased the estate tax exemption from $2 million in 2011 to $4 million after 2013. Expanding a tax benefit to such a small group of the very wealthiest residents cost Illinois $98.7 million in FY 2020– lost revenue that cannot be justified on economic development or equity grounds. The state should repeal this expanded exemption and restore the $2 million exemption.
2) Close the Carried Interest Loophole - $1B
Illinois private equity partnerships and hedge funds earn an estimated $4.8 billion per year in income that is classified as “carried interest” and under-taxed. The Carried Interest Loophole is a federal tax loophole that benefits a small, but very wealthy and well-connected group of billionaires, who charge a fee for investing other peoples’ money – and call it “carried interest” to get a lower tax rate than kindergarten teachers and truck drivers. SB 2124/HB3476 establishes a “privilege tax” that recaptures the revenue lost through this loophole, providing an estimated $1 billion per year for for investment in schools, healthcare, housing, jobs and clean-energy infrastructure
3) Mark to Market (being determined)
Today, people pay taxes on stocks, bonds, and other assets only when they sell them. They do not pay annual taxes on the increased value of these assets, even as they may double or triple over time. The Mark to Market Tax would tax the increase in value of these holdings at the same rate as other income. The tax would apply only to Illinoisans with assets of over $50 million dollars in value. Stock and bond holders will pay it only when they see an increase in the value of their assets, as is currently likely since the stock market continues to rise even in the face of a historically deep recession.
1) Conform to federal GILTI provision and consider 50% of that income as really earned in the US.
The 2017 federal tax overhaul slashed the corporate income tax rate, but also enacted new anti-abuse provisions targeted at corporate tax planning that shifts reported profits to foreign tax havens or other foreign low-tax jurisdictions. One such provision is known as “GILTI,” which stands for Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income. GILTI uses a formula to identify suspiciously high foreign returns, half of which is then subject to tax at the federal level because that income is deemed to have been shifted. 12 states have already conformed to GILTI.
2) Tax income deemed repatriated under the Trump Tax Cuts at taxed at low rates
The 2017 TCJA deemed foreign earnings of US Corporations, which income was supposed to be taxed at 35% when repatriated, at a much lower tax rate. Taxpayers were also permitted to defer payment of this lower tax using a backloaded interest-free payment schedule. And so 75% of the deemed repatriation has not yet been taxed. Since much of these nominally foreign profits were really earned in the United States and shifted abroad, Illinois should tax 50% of the deemed repatriation that is still outstanding.
3) Shift from the Joyce to Finnigan model of combined reporting to combat domestic income shifting
Illinois currently uses the Joyce method of combined reporting, where nexus is determined separately for each member of a corporate group for certain purposes. This means a corporate group that is actually operating as one business could choose to organize its affairs so as to artificially depress the amount of income apportioned to Illinois. The Finnigan method treats the corporate unitary group as a single taxpayer for all purposes, which closes this loophole. 16 states already have the Finnigan method, which is more than half of the states that have combined reporting.
The 2017 Federal Tax & Jobs bill gave individuals and corporations three types of tax breaks if they invest in opportunity zone funds: (1) deferral of any taxes on capital gains invested into OZs until 2026 (2) lower capital gains tax rates if invested for 5+ years, even lower rates for 7+ years (3) no taxes on any capital gains invested for 10+ years. Due to these tax breaks, Illinois uses the capital gain amount left over after these tax breaks for state taxes, so these investors benefit from two tax breaks and the state loses potential revenue.
IL should decouple its own individual and corporate income taxes from the opportunity zone capital gains breaks to avoid subsidizing investments in opportunity zone projects located outside the state. IL should not forgo vitally needed revenue to subsidize out-of-state investments that will provide no benefit to the state’s economy. Decoupling does not eliminate IL’s participation in the opportunity zone program - it just means that the federal government will subsidize investments in IL opportunity zones with capital gains tax breaks, not IL.
Several states, including Alabama, California, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania, do not conform to the opportunity zone tax breaks because their personal or corporate income taxes do not automatically link to the federal provisions. Four states plus the District of Columbia have proactively decoupled, some partially. North Carolina and New York have fully decoupled for both the individual and corporate income tax.
Legislation has been filed dealing with all of these proposals. Bill numbers are in the links. A bit late in the session for this, but here are the groups behind the plan…
Chicago Teachers Union, SEIU HCII, Grassroots Collaborative, The People’s Lobby, Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, Workers’ Center for Racial Justice, Jane Addams Senior Caucus, Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), ONE Northside, Illinois People’s Action, People’s Action, POWER-PAC IL, COFI, Indivisible Chicago, Jewish Council on Urban Affairs (JCUA)
The U.S. Department of Labor estimates 13,142 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of April 12 in Illinois, according to the DOL’s weekly claims report released Thursday. […]
There were 18,986 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of April 5 in Illinois.
There were 16,182 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of March 29 in Illinois.
There were 14,189 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of March 22 in Illinois.
There were 15,595 new unemployment claims were filed in Illinois during the week of March 15.
There were 71,175 new unemployment claims filed in Illinois during the week of March 8.
One year ago during the same period, 102,736 new unemployment claims were filed after reaching a high of 141,160 the week before.
Two years ago, for the week ending April 13, a total of 7,749 new claims were filed in Illinois, which was a drop from 8,876 claims filed the week before. So, we’re nearly back to “normal.”
The number of Americans filing for first-time jobless aid last week fell to its lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic erupted in 2020, a sign layoffs are easing as the economy recovers.
Some 547,000 people applied for unemployment benefits in the week ended April 17, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s 39,000 fewer than the previous week and the lowest weekly number since March 14, 2020. About 133,000 others applied for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a federal program for self-employed and gig workers.
The latest jobless claims figure is far below the roughly 1 million weekly applications the nation saw in January. But it remains more than twice its pre-pandemic level of about 250,000, showing how much further the recovery has to go.
Illinois’ week-to-week reduction represented 15 percent of the national total. Even so, this trend is being almost completely ignored by major media outside of WBBM TV.
Kami Ferguson serves up fare Wednesday, April 21, 2021 to Michelle Johnson, left, Jeff Roth, right, and Tammy Smith at Maquet’s Rail House, 221 Court Street, in Pekin.
Some things are missing right now at Jonah’s Seafood House and Oyster Bar in East Peoria.
Perhaps the most obvious absent element might be the oyster bar. It forms one-third of the restaurant-market complex along the Illinois River.
The oyster bar is closed because of another missing link: There aren’t enough Jonah’s employees available to operate it.
Bartenders, servers and kitchen workers separate from Jonah’s main restaurant are required for the oyster bar, according to Dan Ralph, the facility’s general manager. Because of issues related to the coronavirus pandemic, Jonah’s is about one-third below its full complement of 90 to 100 employees. […]
Dickinson, Maquet and Ralph cited extended unemployment benefits as one source of the worker dearth. Additional weekly payments of $300 until early September might make it worthwhile for some lower-wage restaurant workers to remain unemployed.
I get the federal benefits angle, but add that to the fact that most restaurant employees, who tend to be younger, aren’t fully vaccinated, why would they venture forth?
Thursday, Apr 22, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Jack Crowe felt a little something in his neck. When symptoms of a chest cold followed, Crowe and his wife left their cabin in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and started driving home to Chicago.
Was it COVID-19? Crowe made a telehealth appointment with Rush University Medical Center to find out. Still far from home, Crowe told an ABC News affiliate, he was connected to a virtual care provider in five minutes.
That provider, nurse practitioner Nicole Marks, told the ABC affiliate that Crowe’s chest pain and shortness of breath were “red flags.” Crowe needed to be seen by a doctor immediately. Taking Marks’ advice, Crowe sought emergency care at a Wisconsin hospital. There, he was diagnosed with aortic dissection, a rare and serious condition of a tear in the main artery that carries blood from the heart.
“I went against my own instincts, which was to keep driving to Chicago another four hours. And if I had done that, I would have died,” said Crowe, who underwent emergency open-heart surgery.
Most suburbs took it on the chin in this pandemic year, with income millions of dollars lower than usual from taxes on goods, food and beverages, hotel rooms, gasoline and more.
But you wouldn’t expect local leaders to turn around and ask their residents and business owners — who also are hurting — to cough up more.
By the same token, the state of Illinois shouldn’t try to cure its revenue shortfall by hitting up cities and villages.
Yet, that’s what Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s proposed budget would do.
The state has its eye on the Local Government Distributive Fund, which is local governments’ share of income taxes collected by the state. The governor’s budget proposal included another 10 percent reduction in what towns get. […]
While Illinois’ flat income tax is in the state constitution, the amount of the local share unfortunately is not. […]
Lawmakers, when they ultimately vote on a state budget next month, should take further cuts to this local revenue source off the table.
Municipalities are usually very good at getting news coverage and editorial support for their Springfield agendas. Not mentioned, however, is that Illinois’ local governments and schools are receiving $5 billion via the new federal relief law. Also not mentioned is another way to pay for this proposed cut.
However, there is little doubt that cuts to local governments could lead to local tax hikes. And the governor has said more than once that property taxes are a major impediment to economic development here.
…Adding… As a commenter reminded us, the Daily Herald opposed the graduated income tax proposal last year.
* Related…
* Study: American Rescue Plan allocates $2 billion to counties that don’t exist or don’t have fiscal problems
Thursday, Apr 22, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Employers in Illinois provide prescription drug coverage for nearly 6.7 million Illinoisans. In order to help keep care more affordable, employers work with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), who deploy a variety of tools to reduce prescription drug costs and help improve health outcomes. In addition to helping employers, PBMs also work with the Illinois Medicaid program in the same way to help control costs. Over the last five years, PBMs have saved the state and taxpayers nearly $340 million.
Today, Illinois faces a multibillion budget shortfall as more Illinoisans are relying on Medicaid to help meet their health care coverage needs. As legislators work to address these challenges, one way to help ensure continued cost savings is by strengthening the PBM tools that the State and employers use, which are poised to save employers, consumers and the State $39 billion over the next 10 years. These are meaningful savings that will help continue to contain costs, ensure consumer access to medicines and drive savings in public health programs.
Amid a pandemic and economic challenges, now is the time to strengthen, not limit, the tools that employers, consumers and the State rely on to manage costs and ensure consumers can access the medicines they need.
Don Corydon volunteers six mornings a week, six months a year at the Crete Lions Club Recycling Center, rising before dawn most days to operate the loading dock doors and help out as needed on the sorting floor.
During the warmer half of the year you can find him on the golf course instead, except on Saturdays and rainy days when he’s back on duty at the recycling center.
Corydon’s fellow Lions Club members can forgive him for slacking off a little during the summer. After all, he’s 90.
This is National Volunteer Week, when we’re supposed to honor the people who step up to donate their time and effort to making our communities better.
* The Question: Do you volunteer for any charities? Explain.
Labor coalition Climate Jobs Illinois today announced that it will expand the accountability, ethics and transparency reforms in the Climate Union Jobs Act by adding amendments from Rep. Larry Walsh Jr. and Sen. Michael Hastings. The action makes the Climate Union Jobs Act the most comprehensive legislation before the General Assembly this spring to move Illinois toward a clean energy economy.
Among the reforms being added to the Climate Union Jobs Act are:
• Establishing an independent Electric Utility Monitor to oversee ComEd during the deferred prosecution period. ComEd would be required to pay the state for the cost of the monitor. That cost cannot be passed on to customers. The monitor will:
o Conduct annual ethics audits and
o Document any violations and ensure disciplinary action is taken.
• Costs associated with state and federal investigations cannot be passed on to customers.
• Audit of whether the projects authorized under the Energy Infrastructure Modernization Act were prudent and reasonable. Any costs associated with compliance could not be passed on to customers.
• Require that ComEd pay customers an amount equal to the fines paid as a result of its deferred prosecution agreement.
* So I reached out to Rep. Ann Williams (D-Chicago), the chair of the House Energy & Environment Committee ans sponsor of the CEJA bill…
As Chief Sponsor of the Clean Energy Jobs Act, I remain focused on holding utilities accountable and ensuring a robust set of ethics and transparency provisions are the foundation of any clean energy package. I look forward to partnering with my friends in organized labor to make that happen as we work to create equitable jobs. All utilities should be held to the highest ethical standards and adhere to best practices in terms of accountability.
Exempting some utilities from oversight is not in the best interest of Illinois consumers, and returning to a self-policing model after only 2 years is insufficient. The proposals in CEJA would place independent monitors at every utility, require each utility to track interactions with public officials, prevent subcontracting of lobbyists, and provide standards to ensure every contract is on the up-and-up.
* Illinois Department of Agriculture Director Jerry Costello was on Tom Miller’s radio show yesterday and talked up ongoing events at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds, which is booked solid almost every weekend until mid-November…
Costello: So, there’s a lot going on, and we’re just extremely, extremely excited to get back into some sense of normalcy.
And saying that, I do have to give a plug here. I ask anybody, obviously getting vaccinated is a personal decision, but the more people that are vaccinated in the state and the more people in Southern Illinois, the more likelihood that all of these events are going to look more like they used to than maybe what people are expecting right now. So really, from a personal aspect, I’m just hoping that as many people as possible are getting vaccinated.
Miller: You were one of the first people to say ‘We’re doing this’ while everybody else was still kind of huddled up and sucking their thumbs, you were saying, ‘No, we’re going to get back out and we’re gonna get this thing going.’ You were one of the first.
Costello: You know, Tom, a lot, in my opinion, has to do with a positive mental attitude. And if we get things going in the right direction, and we’re talking to people about what we need to do to make things happen… And look, the fairgrounds is a huge place. Car Craft Street Machine Nationals for instance. There’s no reason we can’t spread it out a little more and have it be a safe environment, but still get people outside and bring them to Du Quoin. I mean, these are situations where you could have 45-50,000 people over a three-day period of time. That is a huge economic boost to Southern Illinois, not just Du Quoin, but to Marion, to Carbondale. I mean, the whole area, Christopher. These are major, major events that just bring a ton of revenue into southern Illinois.
Please, go get your shots. And wear a mask indoors and when in crowds to protect others who may not be able to get their shots (people with cancer, for instance, or kids) or haven’t yet been fully vaxed. Hopefully, we can all have a fun summer and I can go see Jamey Johnson at the Du Quoin State Fair.
* I told subscribers some time ago that multiple sources say Ald. Ed Burke has a very bad habit of using racist language in private conversations and that, among a whole lot of other things, could be a real problem for him as his case moves forward…
Ald. Ed Burke on FBI tape, discussing problems with the Old Main Post Office project: “[W]ell, you know as well as I do, Jews are Jews and they’ll deal with Jews to the exclusion of everybody else unless…unless there’s a reason for them to use a Christian.”
Prosecutors call the recordings of Ed Burke's calls "powerful evidence of Burke's involvement in unlawful activity." They say he's trying to keep them from a jury. pic.twitter.com/h6aqAM2IwT
The following is a statement from Illinois State Senators Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago) and Laura Fine (D-Glenview)–the only two Jewish members of the State Senate–in response to Ald. Ed Burke’s antisemetic comments revealed today:
“When he thought no one was listening Ed Burke revealed his true self. Simply said, Alderman Burke’s remarks smack of blatant anti-semitism and are both ignorant and repugnant.
“For starters, he owes an apology to the Jewish community.”
* Jim Meadows interview with Rep. Darren Bailey last October…
JM: Speaking as a legislator yourself, if this emergency comes before the General Assembly, how do you want the state to address the COVID-19 outbreak?
DB: Well, I’ve been arguing that since day one. Many states never closed. Just about every state around us seems to be open right now. It seems to me that as we keep closing, as we keep restricting people, in every case: this is a virus. It’s not going to disappear. So it’s much like the flu. So we have flu season, every fall, we know this comes around. This is probably something that, from the information that I’m hearing from the doctors that I talked to that, this may rear its head from time to time. So to destroy the local economy over this, the financial pandemic, that’s the true pandemic that’s taking place. The mental health pandemic that’s taking place. Our school children, in many cases are being kept home. The nursing homes are being locked down. So as a representative, I hear this all day long from people across the state. That’s what I’m standing up (and) fighting against.
JM: Is there also a danger that if that approach is taken, that the level of outbreak may go higher than it is already right now?
BAILEY: Obviously. The numbers are spiking again. But so far, when we see the numbers spike, they come back down. But if we continue to pull back in and rein ourselves in, we are preventing what probably is going to have to happen with the virus. Are we waiting on a vaccination or some medications take care of this? I don’t know when that’s going to come. When’s the next strain of another virus going to come? We are not getting the answers from the Illinois Department of Public Health that we are asking for. The data and the information that they tell us they have, they don’t present it. And constantly, their mitigation situations have changed many times. So it’s certainly a situation where, we’re free Americans, and my argument is that we should live like that. Because what’s at stake with the shutdowns is our economy and our mental health situation.
JM: When you said, “what probably has to happen with the virus,” are you talking about herd immunity?
DB: Possibly, yes. If you need to wear a mask, you wear a mask. If you’re concerned, you stay home. But to continue to destroy the economy as is being done, we’re going to see some long-lasting effects that I don’t believe that we’re fully aware of right now.
(“Herd immunity” occurs when enough people become immune to a disease to make its spread unlikely. That can happen when enough people receive a vaccine or survive being infected with the disease. Most health experts say herd immunity to the coronavirus by infection is a dangerous strategy that would likely lead to more deaths. Rep. Bailey’s opinion on herd immunity follows ideas expressed in the Oct. 4 Great Barrington Declaration, written by medical professors Sunetra Gupta, Jay Bhattacharya and Martin Kulldorff, and sponsored by the libertarian American Institute for Economic Research.)
That interview was done just before the virus surged wildly out of control. And opening up nursing homes back then would’ve been an unmitigated disaster.
* Natalia Dagenhart interview with Sen. Darren Bailey last week…
Q. As Illinois governor, would you mandate a coronavirus vaccine?
A. Absolutely not. The government’s role is to educate and advise. When the government starts mandating and forcing people and telling them what to do - we have problems.
Q. Do you think that it would be fair for Illinois employers to request their employees to get vaccinated in order to keep their job? What about schools? Should they mandate a coronavirus vaccine?
A. Absolutely not. I am adamantly opposed to that.
Q. Many states are opening up. Would you open Illinois? Should we open concert halls, opera houses, and other cultural institutions?
A. Yes, I would never have closed them. If the government advises and lets people choose, people have their own choice of where to go and what to do.
The state can’t mandate an experimental vaccine and the shot hasn’t yet been approved for children, but does it sound to you like he was for herd immunity before he was against it?
A number of hospitals in northwest and central Illinois are filling up — and at least one ran out of intensive care unit beds — amid the latest COVID-19 surge.
Recent spikes in cases have been seen across the state, including in the Chicago area where ICU bed availability is also down, though not as severely. Even as some coronavirus metrics in Illinois have improved slightly this week, certain hospitals are continuing to feel squeezed.
About a half dozen Illinois hospitals operated by OSF HealthCare had at least 90% of their beds filled Tuesday, said Dr. Michael Cruz, chief operating officer.
OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria was at 97% occupancy as of Tuesday morning. OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford was at 96%, and OSF St. Joseph Medical Center in Bloomington had no available intensive care unit beds, Cruz said.
Hoping to flex a little Springfield muscle, mayors representing hundreds of municipalities in metropolitan Chicago today launched a campaign to get lawmakers to stop dipping into the share of state income tax receipts meant for cities and villages, with hundreds of millions of dollars a year at stake.
There are distinctly mixed signs as to how the mayors will fare, with Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office standing by its view that if municipalities want help, they ought to get behind his plan to close $900 million in “corporate tax loopholes.” […]
A Pritzker spokeswoman said the solution is simple: back the plan to close loopholes. Because some of those loopholes affect local tax collections, that step would generate $228 million a year for local governments, more than the proposed $152 million cut in the local distributive share.
But Palos Hills Mayor Gerald Bennett likened that to “a shell game.” Instead of “using our money as some sort of leverage,” he said, Pritzker ought to restore the distributive share.
As pot smokers across Illinois celebrated 420 — marijuana’s unofficial high holiday — state Rep. La Shawn Ford quietly filed a long-awaited amendment to a bill that aims to resolve the state’s beleaguered cannabis licensing process and vastly expand the legal weed industry.
“This is driving home the intent of the cannabis law of Illinois,” Ford, a Chicago Democrat, told the Sun-Times on Tuesday. “We want to get to the point of true social equity.”
Ford’s proposal would most notably create up to 120 new pot shop licenses, adding to the 75 dispensary permits that have remained in limbo for nearly a year. Those outstanding licenses were the first prioritized to social equity applicants, a designation created by the law that legalized recreational weed in an effort to diversify Illinois’ white-dominated marijuana industry.
State Sen. Win Stoller, R-Germantown Hills, has Senate Bill 2531 at the statehouse that would change state tax code so businesses can take advantage of a change the IRS approved allowing them to file as an entity, rather than on the individual level.
“The beautiful thing about this is it will cost Illinois nothing,” Stoller said. “It’s completely revenue-neutral to Illinois.”
He said if passed and signed into law, the measure could lower the federal tax burden for more than 400,000 Illinois pass-through businesses, S-corporations and partnerships in Illinois. […]
The measure is also supported by state Sen. Robert Martwick, D-Chicago, especially because it is revenue-neutral.
“And in a time where Illinois continues to face the challenge that we do, being able to provide some relief to our small businesses and help economic growth and job creation is something I think everyone should get on board,” Martwick said.
* More bipartisanship from Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Chicago) and Rep. Tom Demmer (R-Dixon) writing in the Sun-Times…
In House Bill 3123, we are proposing the Build Illinois Homes Tax Credit to build on the federal aid, providing that needed boost to private housing developers ready to go to work. We estimate building 3,500 homes or apartments every year through the program, supporting 17,150 jobs over the next 10 years and creating more than $1 billion in extra income for Illinoisans over a decade.
Illinois would join 20 states now using the tax credit to match more federal funds for building affordable housing, and recent congressional action means there are even more federal aid dollars available for these projects.
The best news? While the tax credit comes with an estimated annual $35 million price tag, Illinois will see zero expenses until the projects are complete and the housing occupied. We will see the direct benefits of today’s investment at no cost to taxpayers until more people have a place to call home. We must credit the leadership of the Illinois Housing Council and its coalition of supporting partners for helping us push for this long-term solution.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 2,765 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 28 additional deaths.
- Champaign County: 1 female 100+
- Cook County: 1 male 40s, 2 females 50s, 1 male 60s, 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s, 2 females 80s
- DuPage County: 1 male 70s
- Greene County: 1 female 70s
- Kankakee County: 1 male 30s, 1 female 60s, 1 male 80s
- McDonough County: 1 male 70s
- McLean County: 1 female 60s, 1 female 70s
- Peoria County: 1 male 70s
- Rock Island: 1 male 70s, 1 female 90s
- Tazewell County: 1 male 60s, 1 female 70s
- Wayne County: 1 male 90s
- Whiteside County: 1 male 50s
- Will County: 1 female 50s, 1 male 90s
- Winnebago County: 1 male 60s
- Woodford County: 1 female 60s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,309,552 cases, including 21,722 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 81,133 specimens for a total of 21,920,359. As of last night, 2,191 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 521 patients were in the ICU and 237 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from April 14-20, 2021 is 3.8%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from April 14-20, 2021 is 4.4%.
The total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses for Illinois is 10,358,875. A total of 8,342,542 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 122,842 doses. Yesterday, 140,712 doses were reported 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.
* ILGOP Chair Don Tracy in a recent email to party members…
Pritzker fights to cut taxes for the rich, himself
It was revealed recently that Governor JB Pritzker joined with six other Governors from high-tax Democrat-led states in penning a letter to President Joe Biden asking him to eliminate the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions (SALT cap) - a provision of the 2017 Republican tax cuts.
A study from the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that if Governor Pritzker - champion of the so-called “Fair Tax” - were to get his way and the SALT cap was lifted, 62% of the resulting benefits would go to the top 1% of income earners. And 86% of the benefits would go to the richest 5% of Americans. Governor Pritzker is in the top 1%.
The 2017 Republican tax law was a tremendous boon to the middle class because it nearly doubled the standard deduction for single and joint filers, while the SALT cap is not applicable for the vast majority. Governor Pritzker is begging Biden to end the SALT cap that primarily targets the richest Americans, including himself.
Governor Pritzker begging Biden to lower his tax bill and that of his billionaire buddies is not surprising given his history of trying to avoid taxes. But this time, instead of writing a work order for a contractor to rip out the toilets in his mansion, he wrote a letter to the President. JB needs to answer how many thousands of dollars he stands to save if Biden grants his wish.
Pritzker bucks Lightfoot to force property tax hike
A Chicago public employee pension bill was just signed into law that Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and business groups opposed, “arguing that the cost to taxpayers would be too high.”
Dan Petrella of the Chicago Tribune reports…
Lightfoot sent a letter to aldermen on April 1 urging them to oppose the bill. She said it would double pension costs by $18 million to $30 million each year.
“If the governor does not veto this bill, the city will have to find a means to address the increased cost since the legislation does not provide a way to pay for these increase costs,” Lightfoot wrote.
“During the 2022 budget season, it will then fall on the members of the City Council to make difficult decisions to pay for these additional costs.”
She said “the obvious revenue solution, another property tax increase…”
The bill passed in Springfield was signed by the Governor and Tax-Avoider-In-Chief himself, JB Pritzker. As a Chicago resident, Governor Pritzker should be sensitive to the ever-growing tax burden the city inflicts on its residents, but since he has a history of dodging taxes that others have to pay (stashing his fortune away in offshore accounts, ripping out toilets of his Gold Coast mansion to lower his property tax bill, begging Biden to lift SALT cap), Pritzker likely doesn’t mind because he’ll just find a way to avoid paying it.
The Governor’s lifestyle is so far removed from the average working family in Chicago he may be under the assumption everyone has a second mansion they can rip toilets out of to lessen their tax burden. Well, he’s wrong. At a time when the pandemic has hit small businesses and workers the hardest, the last thing Chicagoans need is the Governor stepping in to hike their property taxes. Take it from Mayor Lightfoot, Pritzker’s legislation will raise property taxes.
* Meanwhile, GOP Rep. Joe Sosnowski has introduced HR121…
Urges the Governor and the Illinois Department of Revenue to explore administrative or legislative options that will allow Illinois residents to voluntarily contribute any amount in excess of what they are required to pay the State of Illinois under Illinois income tax laws.
Illinois’ climate is swiftly changing, becoming warmer and wetter and signaling long-term shifts that could push people, cities and ecosystems to the brink. If the planet fails to curb greenhouse gas emissions, what’s ahead could be more worrisome.
In an extensive new report released Tuesday, the Nature Conservancy details how Illinois’ climate has transformed and looks forward to what more change might mean for the state’s agriculture, human health and already-stressed ecosystems. […]
Even after curbing carbon emissions to meet certain bench marks, the changes in Illinois by 2100 could be stark: average annual temperatures warming 4 to 9 degrees, a month of 95-degree or higher temperatures, 3 more inches of spring rain, more flooding, and compounding health risks from heat, waterborne pathogens and diseases carried by mosquitoes and ticks. Not to mention the mental strain of living through it all. […]
Increased carbon dioxide levels may benefit soybean crops in the short term, but as drought and heat intensify, elevated levels may make things worse. Corn yields are likely to be reduced by 2050 and may be particularly vulnerable to warming nighttime temperatures. Some planting zones may shift north.
With increasing precipitation, a wet spring could delay planting. In 2019, among the wettest years on record , about 1.2 million acres of corn and soybeans went unplanted, the assessment notes. Wetter weather can also cause erosion, which can make soil less resilient to extreme weather.
Nuisances — weeds, pests and disease — may also become greater problems, requiring more applications of control measures, including pesticides.
Climate change in the form of increased precipitation and rainfall intensity tend to increase nutrient loads in rivers. However, other factors (e.g., wetland restoration) can also influence riverine nutrient loads. Combined sewer outflows (CSOs) affect water quality in urban streams and rivers and Lake Michigan in the Chicago region. Both CSOs and increased overland flooding cause environmental damage and public health hazards, such as increased exposure to infectious diseases and contaminated drinking water.As surface water supply is often limited by low streamflow, unless it is augmented by in-channel or off-channel storages, climate change may increase risks of inadequate surface water supply in drought conditions. Projected increases in precipitation would increase recharge to shallow aquifers. This could result in higher water tables during springtime conditions, increasing basement flooding and necessitating more tile drainage in row crop areas. Conversely, more intense summer droughts could result in lower water tables during peak pumping conditions in the summer, potentially impacting the sustainability of the groundwater resource used in water supply.
Native prairie plants that can tolerate drought, including big bluestem, prairie milkweed, Illinois bundleflower and rough blazing star, will likely fare better than other species. Invasives may take the place of plants that wither under warming temperatures. The common, pesky weed Johnsongrass, which can grow to be 8 feet tall, may be one of the species that benefits from warming, going on to overrun grasslands further north. Warming may additionally offset the timing of blooms — a particular threat for butterflies that rely on nectar for food.
As the cost of federal elections rises almost every year, just 12 megadonors from both sides of the aisle — at least eight of whom are billionaires — made up a combined $3.4 billion in contributions to federal candidates and political groups in the past decade, a new report shows.
This means that the top dozen donors — six of whom largely supported Democrats and six of whom generally supported Republicans — accounted for 7.5% of the $45 billion donated to federal political causes between January 2009 and December 2020, according to the analysis by Washington-based good-government group Issue One, based on campaign finance data compiled by the nonpartisan research group Center for Responsive Politics. […]
Other Republican megadonors were shipping industry executive Richard Uihlein, hedge fund manager Ken Griffin, Pan Am Systems Chairman Timothy Mellon, former TD Ameritrade CEO and Chicago Cubs co-owner Joe Ricketts, and hedge fund manager Paul Singer, the report said.
The lede’s $3.4 billion figure is kinda misleading because Michael Bloomberg and Tom Steyer spent a combined $1.3 billion on their own federal campaigns.
But, according to the group, Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein contributed $138 million, Ken Griffin gave $107 million and Joe and Marlene Ricketts kicked in $66 million. Democrat Fred Eychaner gave $92 million.
* I did a quick search of the Illinois State Board of Elections website to see how much those folks contributed to Illinois committees since January of 2009…
Industry-connected political appointees in the Trump administration blocked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from investigating ethylene oxide polluters and prevented career staff from warning thousands of Americans who live near sources of the cancer-causing gas, according to a scathing new report from the agency’s inspector general.
The latest findings by the independent watchdog add more details to reporting by the Chicago Tribune since August 2018, when the Trump EPA released the latest National Air Toxics Assessment without notice and left it up to state and local officials to decide for themselves whether to draw attention to elevated cancer risks in their communities.
On multiple occasions, the inspector general found, Trump political appointees in Washington ordered staff in the EPA’s Chicago office to dramatically scale back efforts to understand the dangers of ethylene oxide in the Midwest, most notably in west suburban Willowbrook and two north suburbs, Gurnee and Waukegan in Lake County.
Repeated political interference and a woeful lack of public education about the dangerous gas ran counter to the EPA’s mission of protecting human health and the environment, the report concluded.
* This press release was issued late yesterday afternoon…
Joint Statement from Leader Jim Durkin, Rep. Deanne Mazzochi and Sen. John Curran:
“In a comprehensive audit that was conducted between March of 2019 and February of 2021, the OIG found that the US EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation delayed communicating known health risks to community members in and around the Sterigenics plant in Willowbrook. Through the investigation, the OIG’s office also found a complete lack of policy requirements and protocols to help ensure the public would be notified in a timely manner when a potential health risk was identified at an ethylene oxide emitting facility.
While the findings in the audit should come as no surprise to those of us who fought the Sterigenics battle back in 2018, they are nonetheless alarming. The US EPA’s own mission and risk communication principles stress the importance of communicating accurate health and environmental risks to the public and involving them as legitimate partners. The US EPA and Office of Air and Radiation failed at every turn, and instead placed thousands of area residents in danger. This matter needs to be further investigated to determine whether the acts constitute negligence or even worse, collusion with the company.
Our decision to shut down this polluter was the right thing to do for our constituents and our communities. This should never happen at any level of government, including state and local government.”
* Also from yesterday…
Today, U.S. Reps. Brad Schneider (IL-10), Bill Foster (IL-11), Lauren Underwood (IL-15), and Marie Newman (IL-03) released a joint statement in response to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of the Inspector General’s report that Trump political officials blocked ethylene oxide (EtO) monitoring in Illinois:
“The Trump Administration ignored our calls – and cries from our communities – for help when we knew the profound threat posed by EtO. The Trump-appointed leadership at EPA actively stood in the way of meaningful action in Lake County when they should have been making sure that Americans were safe from this known carcinogen. We look forward to working with the Biden Administration to guarantee appropriate federal monitoring of EtO under the law—and the proper engagement of affected communities in addressing the issue.”
The OIG report outlines how the Trump Administration’s “then-senior leader in the Office of Air and Radiation, who was a political appointee, instructed Region 5 to not conduct inspections at ethylene oxide-emitting facilities unless invited by the state to conduct a joint inspection,” and that the EPA “did not conduct public meetings with residents either near the Medline facility in Waukegan, Illinois, or the Vantage facility in Gurnee, Illinois.”
Stop Sterigenics, an organization dedicated to protecting public health through exposing and educating the public of the dangers of ethylene oxide (EtO), is calling for the US EPA to take immediate steps to mitigate the harm caused by EtO and the misconduct in which their predecessors engaged. The US EPA prevented the notification to communities nationwide about the cancer risk they face due to EtO exposure. Stop Sterigenics demands that, as outlined below, the US EPA immediately notify affected communities nationwide, conduct inspections, and create risk assessments based on perimeter testing at all facilities known to emit EtO.
Stop Sterigenics and the community around Willowbrook, IL was thrust back into the news last week after the US EPA Office of Inspector General released a report finding that Trump appointees knowingly and willfully hid the truth about the dangers of EtO. Career EPA employees have characterized the situation as another “Flint-level” crisis. Political appointees instructed US EPA employees not to conduct testing or inspections, to remove critical information from public view, and prohibited the notification of communities about their risks.
Ethylene oxide, which is slightly heavier than air, can persist in the air for weeks; is constantly emitted by facilities that use it for 24/7 operations; can be more concentrated indoors and at lower levels of buildings; and is particularly dangerous for children. The area around Willowbrook, IL, a suburban community about 20 miles from downtown Chicago, has suffered a staggeringly high rate of cancer which has been connected to the release of tens of thousands of pounds of EtO by Sterigenics, a sterilization facility located in a residential community, for over thirty years.
“Communities across America are breathing in this dangerous chemical and people are getting sick and dying. It is clear that the US EPA was protecting the profits of these companies while sacrificing our health. These officials need to be held accountable and trust must be regained by taking the steps necessary to protect public health,” said Gabriela Tejeda, a resident whose home is less than half of a mile away from the former Willowbrook Sterigenics facility.
“After several Congressional requests from myself, Senator Durbin, Senator Carper, Representative Richmond and Representative Foster, the EPA Office of Inspector General revealed what we unfortunately expected: the Trump Administration chose corporate profits over the safety of our communities. They refused to take a public health crisis seriously and put Illinoisans at risk when they knew the impact ethylene oxide’s carcinogenic emissions could have on communities like Willowbrook and Waukegan.
“Since 2018 I’ve called for an investigation into the wrongdoing by Trump’s EPA, and I’m glad these communities finally have the answers they deserve, but the fact remains that they should never have had to experience this. It’s unacceptable that civil servants were instructed by senior Trump political appointees to not conduct inspections of toxic emissions, delay public notifications of dangerous levels of emissions and refuse to hold public meetings with residents impacted by this harmful cancer-causing chemical.
“EPA is supposed to ensure that everyone has access to accurate information to effectively manage health and environmental risks, and that communities have the right to participate in decision-making processes that affect their lives and livelihoods. Trump’s EPA failed that mission and our state. I will continue to work with EPA, Region 5 and Illinois to ensure that protocols are in place so that this abuse of power never happens again.”
Wednesday, Apr 21, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
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As we get closer to May 31st, profit-hungry utilities are getting more aggressive. Missouri-based Ameren spent more than $40,000 on Facebook ads alone in just the last few weeks as they try to pass a bill that would drastically increase electric formula rates and expand them to gas customers.
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Central and southern Illinoisans told lawmakers Monday they’re concerned about transparency and fairness as Democrats aim to redraw legislative and congressional maps in the state.
Democrats invited the public to share their thoughts on redistricting at two dozen hearings statewide, including one Monday evening in East St. Louis.
Stanley Franklin, president of the NAACP’s East St. Louis chapter, said he is concerned about racial gerrymandering suppressing Black voters. He asked for a comment period before lawmakers vote on a map so the public could have a chance to weigh in.
Democrats, who control redistricting, must approve a map by June 30 per the state constitution. But 2020 was not a traditional year, and the COVID-19 pandemic will delay United States Census Bureau data by months. Complete data won’t be available until the end of August at the earliest.
It means that the maps could be drawn without the benefit of a full census. […]
[Republican] legislation (SB1325) would empower the Illinois Supreme Court to appoint a 16-member commission composed of seven Democrats, seven Republicans and two independents.
During the hearing Monday night, Sen. Christopher Belt (D-Belleville) reminded lawmakers that the Illinois constitution doesn’t require census data for redistricting. The state won’t receive that critical data until the middle of August or early September. He stressed the General Assembly must have new maps completed by June 30.
“This means we cannot put off this process until census data is released as some have argued we should,” Belt explained. “If the General Assembly misses the June 30 deadline, mapmaking will be turned over to a commission of political insiders. The public would be cut out of the process entirely. This is not an independent commission as some have wrongly claimed. It is a commission of political appointees named by legislative leaders.”
Belt argued moving to that process is a “disservice” to the people of Illinois. Sen. Rachelle Crowe (D-Glen Carbon) later called the Republican proposal a false choice.
“Republicans know that this bill is nothing but a smokescreen. A bill cannot trump the constitution. There’s no ifs, ands, or buts about that. A bill cannot trump the constitution,” Crowe said. “We have a June 30 deadline to draw a map. If we fail to meet that deadline, we – Democrats and Republicans – have failed.”
* This all reminded me of a 2001 quip by the late Sen. Vince Demuzio (D-Carlinville) highlighted by John Oliver’s show a few years ago. The Democrats had won the lottery which gave them the right to draw the new map after the Senate spent 10 years under Republican rule. So, Vince was naturally a bit exhuberant at the time…
