A former Illinois state representative and longtime supervisor of Worth Township was charged Friday in a plot to pay bribes to a relative of an Oak Lawn trustee in 2017 to get lucrative red-light cameras installed there.
John O’Sullivan, 53, of Oak Lawn, was charged in a criminal information filed in U.S. District Court with one count of bribery conspiracy.
Defendants charged via an information, rather than by grand jury indictment, typically intend to plead guilty. O’Sullivan’s attorney was not immediately available for comment.
O’Sullivan was accused of conspiring with longtime political operative Patrick Doherty and an executive representing red-light camera company SafeSpeed LCC to pay $4,000 in bribes in exchange for the official support of an Oak Lawn trustee to add red-light cameras at additional intersections.
* Ben Szalinski at the State Journal-Register has a good roundup piece that hits many of the high points of today’s House action, so click here when you get a chance. Topics include…
The Senate mostly dealt with lesser or bipartisan bills. Click here.
* It feels so good to be back in session, meeting new people, seeing people I haven’t seen in over a year, having a bit of fun after hours all while trying to do my job the way it ought to be done. But, man…
Josina Morita was the first commissioner on Chicago’s Metropolitan Water Reclamation District to have a baby while in office and was told, at one point, to use an empty tech support office when she needed to pump breastmilk.
State Rep. Margaret Croke had a 2-month-old son during the 12th House District primary race and brought her son to work every day because Illinois, unlike several other states, doesn’t consider child care an allowable campaign expense. […]
The four women have joined forces, along with 18 other bipartisan elected officials — aldermen, county commissioners, state representatives — to form an Illinois Mamas Caucus. Their goal is to turn Illinois into the most mom-friendly state in the nation, through policies that support working families, protect female and maternal health, provide high-quality public education and make it easier for women to run for elected office.
“Women, especially mothers, are the ones who don’t crack under pressure,” Conyears-Ervin said. “We know how to have the baby on one hip and stand up to the microphone on the House floor, Senate floor, talk about our legislation, nurse our babies on Zoom calls, you name it. That’s why we’re doing this. Is it difficult? Yes. Do we have time for it? No. But it is so very important.”
The founding members of the Mamas Caucus are hosting a virtual town hall, where they’re inviting the public to share their stories of living and working and parenting through a pandemic.
* The Question: Your parenting/career stories? And since the above story is about the Mamas Caucus, let’s keep the responses to stories about moms and their careers. Thanks.
And I’m sorry this was posted so late on a Friday.
* Rep. Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston) rose on the floor this afternoon to explain House Bill 347. The bill, she said, does two things. First, it creates a database of all immunizations to help the Illinois Department of Public Health track immunizations across the state and said people can opt out if they don’t want to be in the registry. Second, the bill would increase vaccine reimbursement to pediatricians for vaccinating children from the current $6.40 to $16.
Intense opposition to the bill was whipped up by at least one so-called “vaccine awareness” group and thousands of electronic witness slips were filed against it.
* Norine Hammond (R-Macomb) rose to say (inaccurately) that 15,000 witness slips had been filed in opposition to the bill and that she had received several emails about this as well.
“People are very concerned about having this information based in a data registry,” Hammond said, and asked the sponsor “Who is going to hold those records and how they will be disseminated?”
Rep. Gabel replied that the records are “only for the Department of Health” and are not disseminated with identifying data. “They’re used in the aggregate to be able to check immunization rates across the state to identify areas that have low immunizations and to target services for those areas.”
Gabel also stressed that there is an opt-out process “in current law.” Rep. Hammond said the opt-out was a concern of many who had contacted her. Even so, Hammond said she wouldn’t be voting for the bill.
* Rep. Andrew Chesney (R-Freeport) then asked to be recognized to speak. “I recommend my colleagues vote ‘No,’” Chesney said. “My body, my choice.” Some of you may recognize that saying as an anti-vaxxer slogan used to troll liberals.
“This bill does not mandate anybody get a vaccine for anything,” an exasperated Gabel retorted.
Their Facebook page is one long paean to Donald Trump, complete with an invite to take the bus to Washington, D.C., and participate in a “March to Save America” at the Capitol. Not to mention the “Trump’s back” speech at the March CPAC conference.
Their No. 2 official has tweeted in recent days about the “stupid diapers” “Tony Fraudci & Co.” want you wear on your face, how “over one third of Americans” are “rejecting” Coca-Cola because the company “interfered in Georgia politics and voter integrity,” and how people can contribute to the Florida congressman who is under investigation for allegedly paying a 17-year-old for sex trips. Not to mention the pic a few weeks back of her schmoozing with a National Rifle Association board hopeful.
Then there’s the double-endorsed candidate who threw a fundraiser with the group’s help without disclosing that a good chunk of the proceeds were going to her consulting company.
Conservative, far-southern Illinois? Or maybe the southwest suburbs? Nope, this group is from an unexpected locale. Its name: the New Trier Township Republican Organization.
Yes, New Trier. As in the tony North Shore, between Evanston and Highland Park, long the unofficial headquarters of business wing of the Illinois GOP, the place where such leaders as onetime White House Chief of Staff Donald Rumsfeld, U.S. Sens. Chuck Percy and Mark Kirk, U.S. Reps. Bob Dold and John Porter, and even Gov. Bruce Rauner grew up or were based.
Gold Rush Amusements, Inc., the third largest video gaming terminal operator in Illinois, announced today a settlement with the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB), including dismissal of a 2019 disciplinary complaint without any finding of wrongdoing. The IGB unanimously approved the agreement at its meeting this morning in Chicago. The agreement provides for renewal of Gold Rush’s license retroactive to February of this year, continuing Gold Rush’s consistent good standing.
“After 18 months of denying false accusations from adversaries and fighting to protect my business, my family, and my reputation, I’m grateful that the IGB closely reviewed and considered the facts and evidence demonstrating that I did not offer an illegal inducement as the disciplinary complaint alleged,” said Rick Heidner, Gold Rush’s founder.
According to the settlement agreement, Gold Rush and Mr. Heidner fully cooperated during the IGB’s investigation. In addition to dismissing the disciplinary complaint, the agreement calls for Gold Rush and Mr. Heidner to dismiss two lawsuits they filed last year against the IGB. Gold Rush will pay the IGB $45,000 to cover its administrative and investigative costs associated with the disciplinary complaint. The company will also pay a $30,000 fine for disparaging text messages unrelated to the disciplinary complaint that Mr. Heidner sent in July 2019 to an adversary in litigation.
Gold Rush denied the allegations made in the disciplinary complaint and contested the request to revoke Gold Rush’s terminal operator license. The complaint alleged that Mr. Heidner violated state law and IGB rules by offering to help arrange a purchase of certain video gaming establishments for $5 million more than a recent purchaser had paid for them in a November 2018 transaction.
That transaction, or series of transactions, on Nov. 16, 2018, among three other Illinois video gaming licensees – Laredo Hospitality Ventures, LLC, Illinois Café and Service Company, LLC (ICSC), and Midwest SRO, LLC – resulted in ICSC’s purported purchase of Laredo and its more than 60 Stella’s and Shelby’s gaming establishments. At the time, Gold Rush had contracts to serve as the terminal operator for 44 of the owned establishments and was being forced out. Mr. Heidner, who was suspicious but unaware of the transaction details at the time, contends that he was merely attempting to elicit the financial details of the deal when he engaged in conversation later that same month with Dan Fischer, principal of ICSC, which owns and operates the Dotty’s chain of video gaming cafes.
“The settlement vindicates Gold Rush and Mr. Heidner on the allegations that were charged in the disciplinary complaint,” said Patrick M. Collins, of King & Spalding, an attorney for Gold Rush and Mr. Heidner. “We believe the disciplinary complaint was issued in reaction to misleading media reports, but we are grateful that the IGB ultimately was persuaded by the facts to dismiss the complaint and approve a fair and reasonable settlement.”
Meanwhile, the IGB continues to investigate ICSC’s purported purchase of Laredo. In pending litigation relating to the November 2018 transaction, it was revealed that a Gold Rush competitor, Midwest SRO, had paid more than $44.5 million to the owners of the Laredo establishments before being awarded contracts with them to replace Gold Rush. At the same time, ICSC paid only $2 million, and possibly much less, to purportedly purchase Laredo and its more than 60 high-end cafes.
Gold Rush contends that the transaction was a “sham” designed to circumvent gaming laws prohibiting inducements and integrated ownership of terminal operators and establishments. In December 2020, a Cook County Circuit Court judge opined that he viewed the transaction as “highly suspect.” Internal IGB documents produced in the litigation likewise disclosed that the agency’s professional staff had grave concerns about the deal before it was completed, but believed they lacked authority to stop the transaction. In June 2020, the IGB advised the Court that it was investigating the transaction, and it recently signaled that the investigation is continuing when it told a judge last month in a different case that: “The Laredo Transaction calls into question whether certain applicants are qualified to be granted a video gaming license.”
“We appreciate the significant time spent by the IGB in resolving this matter in a fair and equitable manner, especially during a period when the IGB is extremely busy and has many demands for its attention, yet is understaffed. Nevertheless, we encourage the IGB to continue to invest the resources necessary to conclude its ongoing investigation and provide the industry with direction on issues that will influence future transactions and relationships,” said Paul T. Jenson, of Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP, an attorney for Gold Rush and Mr. Heidner.
The IGB today also approved a separate agreement providing that the agency will rescind an order directing Gold Rush and its Director of Operations, Ronald Bolger, to economically disassociate. That order was announced by the Board at the same time as the 2019 disciplinary complaint. Mr. Bolger, a widely respected 40-year veteran of the coin-operated amusement and video gaming industries in Illinois, remains Gold Rush’s operations director.
That agency’s administrator, Marcus Fruchter, moved to revoke Heidner’s gambling license in December 2019, claiming Heidner had offered up a $5 million “illegal inducement” to the owner of a gambling parlor chain that planned to remove Heidner’s slots. State gambling law prohibits “giving anything of value to an establishment as an incentive” to use a company’s machines.
But more than a year into the case, new evidence “added clarity and context to the events underlying the disciplinary complaint,” Fruchter said before Gaming Board members unanimously approved the settlement.
Heidner had maintained the allegations were part of an “orchestrated smear campaign” by Dan Fischer, a competitor who remains in a heated legal battle with Heidner. Court records stemming from that ongoing lawsuit show Gaming Board investigators are now considering discipline against Fischer, who’s also the lead investor in a group that has received preliminary approval to break ground on a new casino in Rockford. […]
Heidner was put under the microscope in October 2019 when his name surfaced in a federal search warrant connected to a sweeping public corruption probe that has ensnared several top state lawmakers. That summer, federal agents went looking for items related to Heidner and Gold Rush, among other entities, when they raided the offices of then-state Sen. Martin Sandoval and McCook Mayor Jeff Tobolski. […]
But last summer, Chicago’s top federal prosecutor, U.S. Attorney John Lausch, took the rare step of signing a letter confirming Heidner was “not a target of this investigation.”
* Again, more than half the deaths are people in their 60s or younger. Press release…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 3,369 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 22 additional deaths.
- Bureau County: 1 male 70s
- Champaign County: 1 male 40s
- Cook County: 1 female 40s, 1 male 40s, 2 females 50s, 2 males 50s, 1 male 60s, 2 males 80s
- DuPage County: 1 female 80s
- Kane County: 1 female 50s
- Peoria County: 1 male 60s
- Sangamon County: 1 female 30s
- Tazewell County: 1 female 50s, 1 male 80s
- Vermilion County: 2 females 80s
- Will County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 90s
- Woodford County: 1 female 70s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,316,091 cases, including 21,777 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 104,795 specimens for a total of 22,113,490. As of last night, 2,112 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 506 patients were in the ICU and 230 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from April 16-22, 2021 is 3.6%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from April 16-22, 2021 is 4.3%.
The total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses for Illinois is 10,802,075. A total of 8,610,478 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 118,741 doses. Yesterday, 136,525 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.
A measure advancing at the statehouse would require Illinoisans to submit fingerprints to get a Firearm Owner Identification Card and increase the costs, among other changes.
House Floor Amendment 1 to House Bill 1091 would bring about many changes, including what proponents say are efforts to modernize the state’s FOID and Concealed Carry License system.
Currently, there are tens of thousands of backlogs of individuals who have paid for their application to be processed, but are waiting months longer than the law allows. The system faces multiple lawsuits in state and federal courts.
Illinois State Rifle Association’s Ed Sullivan said while they support better firearm disposition policies to get guns from prohibited persons whose FOID cards are revoked, they don’t support the proposal of mandating fingerprints for people to exercise constitutional rights.
The proposals backed by GPAC also include mandatory universal background checks for private gun sales or transfers unless it’s between immediate family members. Willis described those private sales as a “loophole,” and said her legislation would make it mandatory to go to a federal firearms licensed dealer who can perform a universal background check in order to make a private sale.
But Todd Vandermyde of the Federal Firearms Licensees of Illinois pointed out there are no such gun dealers in the city of Chicago due to local ordinances, and compared that situation with disenfranchising of Black voters.
“What would it be like if we said we’re going to have early voting in the state but there was not a single polling place inside the city limits of Chicago, and all those voters had to go outside to Cook County or elsewhere to vote?” Vandermyde asked. “We wouldn’t accept it. This is a Jim Crow law.”
House Judiciary - Criminal committee chair State Rep. Justin Slaughter (D-Chicago), who is Black, chided Vandermyde for his comparison.
“What we’re not going to do is associate this with Jim Crow laws,” Slaughter said.
I’m opposed to Illinois House Bill 1356, which would require anyone who runs for the Board of Review to be a lawyer.
Our property tax system needs ongoing reform. But this bill would discourage reformers and real estate professionals from running for public office.
Right now, all three Cook County Board of Review commissioners are lawyers. We don’t need a law to make this possible. This bill would not apply to any other counties in Illinois. We should ask ourselves why this bill needs to be passed and who will benefit from it.
No other office in Cook County’s property tax system has a law like this.
Appeals from the Board of Review go to the Property Tax Appeals Board. There is no requirement to have a law degree to serve on the Property Tax Appeals Board.
This bill is also not the standard elsewhere in the country. In other large jurisdictions around the country, including New York City, Dallas, Seattle, Miami, D.C. and Los Angeles, there is no requirement that board members must be attorneys.
In many other property tax jurisdictions, real estate professionals outnumber lawyers on the boards that hear assessment appeals.
Finally, in the suburbs of Cook County, Township Assessors serve as ex-officio deputies of our office. This bill would prevent many of them from putting their knowledge to work at the Board of Review in service of taxpayers.
Township Assessors are some of the most knowledgeable people in the county when it comes to property assessments and appeals thanks to decades of skills and training. It’s a mistake to block them from running for this office if they aren’t a lawyer.
It’s a step backward if we don’t continue to allow real estate professionals and others from the private sector to serve in this capacity merely because they are not lawyers.
HB 1356 won’t serve the goal of a more fair and accurate property tax system. I urge @HouseDemsIL and @ilhousegop legislators to vote no.
I talked with some Cook County Democratic House members yesterday who were up in arms about the bill. Stay tuned.
…Adding… Press release…
The following is a statement from Commissioners of the Cook County Board of Review, Larry Rogers, Jr. and Michael Cabonargi on why they are championing HB1356, a good government bill in Springfield that would require Commissioners of the Cook County Board of Review to be licensed attorneys:
“This is a good government bill that will further professionalize the Board of Review. As a quasi-judicial body that sits as an appellate tribunal, the courts have established that filing a complaint with the Board is the practice of law. It is only appropriate that the Commissioners who lead the Board and all its work be licensed attorneys.
“As licensed attorneys, Commissioners are held to a higher ethical standard and subject to discipline by the Illinois Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission, another safeguard that voters clearly value since they’ve now elected three licensed attorneys as Commissioners of the Board.
“While others have contended that this bill will close the door to real estate professionals becoming Commissioners, it’s fundamental that the Board is an independent legal review of the Assessor’s work, as explicitly defined in the Illinois Property Tax Code and relevant case law.
“Finally, the notion that licensed attorneys can’t be reformers is patently ridiculous. Please see the ACLU.”
Late on Friday, we heard there’s talk now of rewriting the bill, which did not meet a deadline for third readings but is far from dead. It can be revived. The rewrite would allow at least some non-lawyers with good assessment credentials to run for the board, which would beat the current bad proposal.
But better yet, there should be no such restrictions.
Not unless somebody can come up with better arguments than we’ve heard so far.
On the same day a Minnesota jury found Derek Chauvin guilty of murdering George Floyd, a push to end qualified immunity stalled in the Illinois House.
Democrats narrowly reached a deal on police reform during a “lame duck” session in January. The original provision would have ended qualified immunity, the legal shield that often protects police officers from liability in civil courts; however, that controversial proposal was removed in order to calm the nerves of some legislators who were uncomfortable with the idea.
“I was someone who, internally and publicly, was very adamant that qualified immunity should stay in the criminal justice pillars,” Rep. Curtis Tarver said Thursday. “I think that to not have it in there is somewhat of a disservice to the overall purpose of the pillar.”
“Individuals who either don’t come in contact with law enforcement in the same way that a lot of Black and Brown individuals do, or don’t know anyone who’s had those same type of interactions, I think it could be difficult for them,” Tarver said.
For police trying to crack a tough case, one tool in the arsenal is deception — letting suspects think there’s strong evidence against them, even when there’s none, in hopes of getting a confession.
But an effort in Springfield this month aims to ban that kind of trickery when it comes to juveniles.
Senate Bill 2122, which has been working its way through the upper house of the General Assembly this week, would prohibit police from lying to a juvenile suspect about evidence in a case, or making unauthorized statements about any leniency that might come with an admission of guilt.
A growing number of state senators are advocating for a ranked choice voting system where voters could rank their candidates in order of preference. Advocates say it would result in electing politicians who appeal to a broader portion of the electorate.
Public polling data from Gallup and Pew Research have shown an increasing drift towards polarization and away from a moderate consensus in recent years. Several legislative districts in Illinois are very non-competitive, and often see candidates who wind up running unopposed in the general election. But in a crowded primary field, the most polarizing or controversial candidate can sometimes win the most attention, and coast through to an easy seat in the legislature without facing a challenge from across the aisle, or without winning wide support from the voters in their district.
“The problem that we see is that the primary becomes the entire election,” state Senator Scott Bennett (D-Champaign) said.
Reforming elections to include a ranked choice format would require county clerks to tabulate votes for each race and determine if any candidate had reached a 50% threshold. If no one reached a simple majority, the candidate with the least votes would be eliminated from contention, and the clerk would count up all of the second preferences of that candidate’s voters, adding those second alternative choices to the total vote counts for candidates still remaining in the field. The process would continue until one candidate had won at least half of the total votes.
A bill that would add some interesting new strings to tax-increment financing projects has picked up a surprisingly big head of steam in Springfield and is nearing final approval by the General Assembly.
Under the measure, sponsored by Rep. Jonathan Carroll, D-Northbrook at the request of Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, TIF developers would have to begin reporting annually to Mendoza how well their projects are doing in terms of creating jobs and new property tax revenue, or increment. That way, voters would know whether a project in line for TIF subsidies is as productive as developers promised.
Today marks 100 days since House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch was sworn in to serve as Illinois’ first Black Speaker of the House. In just under four months, Speaker Welch has worked tirelessly to ensure his promises to address our state’s toughest issues are being kept.
“In my inaugural address, I vowed that I would work with all members of the Illinois House to make this state better,” said Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch. “While I understand we are one of the most diverse states in the country, we are all here to represent the people of Illinois and make their lives better.”
In an effort to restore the public’s trust in government, Speaker Welch ushered in a new set of House rules that included a 10-year term limit for leadership positions in the General Assembly. He then supported further codifying these limits by the working to pass House Bill 642, which was unanimously passed in the House on Thursday. The Speaker also continues to work on an ethics reform package, something he’s vowed since he earned the speakership.
“We know we need to strengthen the trust Illinoisans have in their elected officials. We will do that through reform, with a renewed focus on transparency, prohibitions on conflicts of interest and a renewed commitment to work in the best interest of the people of Illinois,” said Speaker Welch.
To ensure we’re producing tangible solutions that will have a positive effect on families and children, here is a sample of legislation we’ve passed:
· HB 25, led by Representative Gong-Gershowitz, which paves the way for legal representation for people facing immigration proceedings;
· HB 374, led by Representative Smith, which enables the creation of affordable housing on community college campuses;
· HB 3418, led Representative Carroll, which prohibits employers from requiring nondisclosure agreements in sexual harassment cases;
· HB 576, led by Representative LaPointe, which allow kids to take sick days to aid their mental health; and
· HB 376, also led by Representative Gong- Gershowitz, which incorporates Asian American history into our schools’ curricula.
When it comes to a critical kitchen table issue, Leader Delia Ramirez championed legislation that helps to remove barriers to housing for families that have been devastated by COVID-19. In addition to pausing foreclosures, it helps expand access to assistance for renters and provides relief for homeowners.
To build on the racial equity platform pushed by the Black Caucus, Rep. Camille Lilly put Illinois on the path toward health equity by passing House Bill 158.. This legislation creates an Anti-Racism Commission to eliminate systemic racism prevalent in health care and requires implicit bias training for all medical professionals.
Prior to joining the General Assembly, Speaker Welch served 12 years on the Proviso Township High School Board of Education. He has always placed an importance on education and better serving our state’s youth. That was also highlighted with the passage of legislation that would create an elected school board in Chicago, which will divide Chicago into 20 electoral districts as determined by the General Assembly for seats on the Chicago Board of Education. The 21st seat is a city-wide election for the board’s president.
“This is another excellent bill by Leader Ramirez and I’m so proud of the entire caucus for getting it through the chamber,” said Speaker Welch. “We have been working for years to help create a more equitable Board of Education in Chicago and this is one step closer.”
Speaker Welch has placed an importance on a new style of leadership, one that is more inclusive and represents the diversity throughout the state. This starts with his leadership team, which is the most diverse in the state’s history. He hired the first Black Communications Director and the first female Press Spokesperson, in addition to appointing some of the most diverse committee chairs and vice chairs.
“Members of the General Assembly have noticed a more open, decentralized leadership style that allows everyone to advocate for their communities and work their bills as peers,” said Speaker Pro Tempore Jehan Gordon-Booth. “Between the substance of legislation and the availability of grief counselors after the death of Adam Toledo, we see the positive effects of having a more inclusive leadership team and staff.”
As today marks the deadline for 3rd reading, a number of other critical bills are expected to pass the House and head to the Illinois Senate. Concurrently, the House will consider Senate-passed bills as Democratic leaders in both chambers work in the interests of women, working-class families and communities of color up and down the state.
Your thoughts on the new House Speaker’s first 100 days?
* Background is here if you need it. I’ve talked to a Black legislator this week who said he isn’t using his legislative plates in Springfield because of this case. I can’t say I blame him…
A New Berlin man pleaded not guilty yesterday to criminal charges that allege he pointed a loaded handgun at a state senator to threaten the Chicago-based lawmaker as the two were driving cars March 15 in Springfield.
Michael L. Hoyle, 54, who is free after posting $15,000 bail the day after the alleged incident, entered the plea in front of Sangamon County Circuit Judge Ryan Cadagin. A trial was scheduled for July.
Hoyle, the president and owner of Kwik-Wall Co. of Springfield, was arrested the night of the incident involving Sen. Elgie Sims Jr., D-Chicago. […]
In March, Sims told The State Journal-Register that he feared for his life when he was threatened by Hoyle, someone he didn’t know, as Sims drove alone from the Capitol Complex to his home on Springfield’s west side, where he lives during legislative sessions.
Sims, 50, has said he thinks the legislative license plates on his car may have played a role in sparking the apparent incident of road rage. But Springfield Police Deputy Chief Joshua Stuenkel said police haven’t found evidence to support that theory and were unaware of a motive behind Hoyle’s alleged behavior.
*** UPDATE *** Hoyle attempted to change his bond conditions during a hearing today. He wanted to be able to travel freely in the continental United States. Instead, he got limited travel privileges, a psych evaluation, was ordered to turn over his guns to the sheriff and can have no contact with Sen. Sims…
Cause comes on for hearing on Defendant’s Motion to Modify Conditions of Bond and the People’s Motion to Modify Conditions of Bond and the Court having reviewed the pleading and considered the arguments of counsel, ORDERS as follows:
A. Defendant is ordered to comply with all standard Conditions of Bond Release set forth on Exhibit A;
B. Defendant shall surrender all firearms and ammunition to the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office on or before April 26, 2021;
C. Defendant shall not possess firearms or ammunition; Defendant shall complete a psychiatric evaluation by a provider designated by Pretrial Services and comply with any treatment recommendations made by Pretrial Services;
D. Defendant shall have no contact with Elgie Sims or any of the following addresses [redacted by me]
E. Defendant is not permitted to leave the State of Illinois absent further order of the Court, with the following exceptions:
a. Defendant shall be permitted to travel to his residence in the State of Florida; and
b. Defendant is permitted to attend a military graduation ceremony for his son in the State of Kentucky and return to Springfield.
Several of Sen. Sims’ colleagues joined Sims at the hearing, including Senate President Harmon and Sens. Murphy, Gillespie, Villivalam, Feigenholtz, Villenuava, Peters, Aquino, Hunter, Johnson, Morrison, Bush, Fine, Belt and Simmons, among others. It was a nice touch.
* Tanking for labor when you’re about to run statewide is a good idea. But positioning yourself as the sponsor of a more generous than perhaps needed Exelon/ComEd bailout? I suppose we’re gonna find out…
State lawmakers sponsoring a union-backed proposal that could raise ComEd customers’ bills sought to poke holes Thursday in a study commissioned by Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office that argues for smaller subsidies for two nuclear plants owned by the utility’s parent company.
During a Senate committee hearing Thursday, Democratic Sen. Michael Hastings of Frankfort and Republican Sen. Sue Rezin of Morris, both sponsors of the labor-backed energy bill, questioned the assumptions in the governor’s audit and the credibility of the outside experts hired to prepare it. […]
Deputy Gov. Christian Mitchell, who is leading energy talks for the governor’s office, told lawmakers that Pritzker fully supports releasing the full report and has asked Exelon for permission to do so. Pritzker also supports taking steps to keep nuclear plants in operation, Mitchell said. […]
But Mitchell said customers should “pay no more than is necessary to keep the fleet viable.” The audit recommends only providing subsidies in years Exelon demonstrates the financial need.
“For those who would want to pay more than that, I would simply ask, ‘Why?’ ” he said.
Good question, although knocking heads with a pretty powerful Democratic Senator also has distinct disadvantages in the short term.
Hastings wants to run for secretary of state. His top Democratic opponent so far is Alexi Giannoulias, who has raised $1.5 million since the beginning of the year, including a $100K A-1 filed just this week. At this rate, he’ll have more than enough money to dirty Hastings up. Hastings has raised $264K so far this year, but had $604K in the bank.
Rezin has nuke plants in her district, so her position is strictly local.
…Adding… IL Chamber…
Following [yesterday’s] Senate Energy and Public Utilities subject matter hearing on the Exelon audit prepared by Synapse Energy Economics at the direction of the Pritzker Administration, Illinois Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Todd Maisch provides the following statement:
Today’s hearing provided a very important opportunity to shed light on some of the questions legislators must consider as Exelon comes back to the General Assembly with hat in hand asking for a second massive bailout in only five years. As Illinois’ citizens and businesses only begin to recover from the harsh economic realities brought on by the Covid19 pandemic, the last thing ratepayers need is to fund a bailout totalling hundreds of millions of dollars for a profitable company through higher electricity prices. The Illinois Chamber encourages a release of the redacted audit, and urges legislators to continue asking the important questions, which the Exelon audit and today’s hearing only began to address. Those questions include:
· Will Exelon acquiesce to legislators’ concerns about transparency and release Illinois EPA and the report’s authors from the non-disclosure agreement, allowing the General Assembly and taxpayers access to the full report?
· Before the State agrees to a second massive subsidy, shouldn’t it request and obtain a financial audit of Exelon’s currently subsidized plants that already cost ratepayers $235 million a year? Shouldn’t we first determine whether or not that first subsidy is greater than what is necessary to maintain their economic viability?
· Are legislators committed to the notion that there should be no subsidy if there is no financial need? And would they support an “annual true-up” of costs with refund provisions to protect Illinois ratepayers?
· Why would legislators support any energy proposal that contains an Exelon subsidy that has not been subjected to an independent third-party audit to determine the true impact to ratepayers?
* Considering all the extended secrecy from the Illinois State Board of Elections, you could be forgiven for thinking that this little scandal was a whole lot worse than it actually turned out to be…
Illinois’ top elections official told board members he became the victim of an internet extortion scheme after he exchanged “flirtatious” messages and sent a picture to a person he met online.
Steven Sandvoss, who is on administrative leave until his resignation takes effect at the end of June, detailed his encounters in a letter to the State Board of Elections in which he said a threat was made to “ruin” him if he didn’t pay $3,000.
Sandvoss said he did not make any payments and the online threats stopped, according to the letter, which the Tribune obtained. […]
Sandvoss told board members that “at no time did I indicate (to the person online) that I worked” for the elections board.
A Republican lawmaker from Springfield pounded his fist, screamed and threw a paper calendar across the Illinois House chamber Thursday night, saying he was frustrated Democrats won’t call a House vote on his bill to allow a referendum on a Capital Township merger with Sangamon County government.
“I’ve got a bill that is important to my community that the leadership will not call,” state Rep. Tim Butler said, referring to House Bill 2994.
In a three-minute speech shortly before 9 p.m., Butler accused Democrats who control the House of “putting your thumb” on the bill “for political reasons.”
Butler and House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, said House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, who was elected to lead the House in January, isn’t fulfilling his promise to bring a “new day” to the chamber. Butler said Welch promised to allow more Republican-sponsored bills to be debated than his predecessor, Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, and ease the strict control over House business that Madigan exercised for 38 years.
Welch’s promise “is a bunch of BS right now,” Butler said, looking to the Democratic side of the aisle. “… listen. Listen to your own words,” he said. “Listen to the speaker’s words.”
Rep. Butler’s bill zoomed out of committee with unanimous support and he has more than enough votes to pass it on the floor. But the Democrats have put a brick on it without explanation and he’s right to be upset.
Friday, Apr 23, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department
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