* An Illinois Review editorial on the Senate’s bipartisan passage of a constitutional amendment banning so-called “right to work” laws and ordinances…
Illinois Review is firmly grounded in the viewpoint that businesses and industries are the heart and soul of a state’s economy. The weaker the heart and soul of an entity, the less healthy and prosperous that state will be. A state’s key source of energy and bounty is healthy businesses - not the state’s tax-funded system itself. It’s a basic conservative, free market principle.
And one that 11 Illinois Republicans either do not believe or purposely ignored last Friday. And in our opinion here at Illinois Review, their votes to promote a constitutional amendment that would strangle any effort to allow businesses to operate without union bondage demand they be publicly challenged.
Thus this editorial.
First, we want to congratulate and thank the seven Republican senators that stood firm for business freedom, despite making tough votes that could cost them union-funded political challenges in 2022. Those seven Republican senators are: Darren Bailey, Jason Barickman, Dan McConchie, Jason Plummer, Brian Stewart, Jil Tracy, and Sally Turner. Conservatives from throughout Illinois should call each of these folks this week, and offer their help in 2022. They deserve it.
However, we are disappointed that the GOP Senate floor leader Jason Barickman did not say a word in defense of businesses. And evidently, Sen. Barickman either is a weak whip or he didn’t see the importance of the vote, because insiders tell us Barickman lifted not one finger to influence his caucus to vote as Republicans - and as conservatives. We will stand corrected if something to the opposite happened - but thus far, our sources confirm that Barickman was inactive and/or impotent in his leadership position on this issue. That is inexcusable - even IF Senator Barickman wants to run for governor next year.
We are also disappointed that announced gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey did not publicly explain his position on the debate floor of the Illinois Senate on this issue. He does want to be governor. Why didn’t he express his opinion on this important issue if he’s serious about gaining the Illinois business community’s support?
But ultimately, folks, the weight of this devastating failure of leadership lies with Senate Minority Leader Dan McConchie. He failed to emphasize the importance of this issue to his caucus. He failed to push his floor leader to whip the votes for Republicans to stand arm-in- arm as a line against providing complete public and private sector union control of the state. It is unexplainable. It is embarrassing. It is inexcusable.
We at Illinois Review are calling for Senator McConchie to resign and make way for a more committed, strong, and brave leader. Without such leadership in the Illinois Senate, there is no hope for the already weak and feckless Republican Party.
It’s so odd that folks spent decades slamming Mike Madigan for being dictatorial but also want their leadership to be even harsher toward members. McConchie voted against the proposal, as did Barickman. What’s he supposed to do, kick the “yes” votes out of his tiny 18-member caucus?
There was a time when many Illinois Republican legislators supported organized labor and then Bruce Rauner won the governor’s race. Well, Bruce Rauner lost. And that vote was as much about putting Rauner in the rear-view mirror as it was about the issue itself. You can’t get bigger by getting smaller.
As the Commonwealth Edison lobbying scandal has rocked state government, much of the focus has been on laws that resulted in customers paying more for a smart grid and a bailout of nuclear power plants.
But there’s a third, lesser-known measure that also has had a big impact on customers’ wallets: a 2013 law that allowed ComEd to use a trio of accounting techniques to help its bottom line.
The Illinois Public Interest Research Group is out with a new analysis contending the law cost electricity users more than $600 million over the last seven years — a figure ComEd disputes. […]
ComEd maintained the average residential customer monthly bill has dropped by $6 a month since 2011, but PIRG argued that much of that drop is attributable to a lower cost of power that ComEd distributes. Scarr argued ComEd bills could be lower if the company’s distribution costs hadn’t sharply risen.
Aldermen unanimously advanced a measure Tuesday that would pave the way for the sale of the much beloved and equally loathed James R. Thompson Center in the heart of the Loop.
With the endorsement of the City Council’s Zoning Committee, the full City Council will consider on Wednesday the measure introduced by Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd Ward) at the request of Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
The “rather simple” measure was designed to change the rules that determine what city officials would allow to be built at 100 W. Randolph St., Reilly said. The rules were changed by former Ald. Burt Natarus (42nd Ward) while the Helmut Jahn-designed building was under construction, Reilly said.
Rules for the Thompson Center site currently restrict what size building could be erected there. Reily’s proposal loosens those rules to meet those now in place on most other Loop properties, in order to speed the sale.
* The Question: Your “favorite” Thompson Center story?
The country’s declining covid-19 case rates present an unrealistically optimistic perspective for half of the nation — the half that is still not vaccinated.
As more people receive vaccines, covid-19 cases are occurring mostly in the increasingly narrow slice of the unprotected population. So The Washington Post adjusted its case, death and hospitalization rates to account for that — and found that in some places, the virus continues to rage among those who haven’t received a shot.
The rosy national figures showing declining case numbers led the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to loosen mask recommendations last week and President Biden to advise people to take off their masks and smile.
But adjustments for vaccinations show the rate among susceptible, unvaccinated people is 69 percent higher than the standard figures being publicized. With that adjustment, the national death rate is roughly the same as it was two months ago and is barely inching down. The adjusted hospitalization rate is as high as it was three months ago. The case rate is still declining after the adjustment.
* WaPo calculated average new daily deaths per 1 million Illinois residents. The all Illinois residents rate is the black line, the Illinois rate adjusted for vaccinations (defined as anyone who has received at least one shot) is the solid purple line. The adjusted US rate is the dotted purple line…
Illinois had a 7-day average of about 50 deaths per day on February 16. That’s about double what the 7-day average is right now.
There are about 3.5 million totally unvaxed adults in Illinois out of about 9.5 million adults. WaPo reduced the number of fully or partially vaccinated adults by 15 percent to account for “breakthrough” cases to calculate the deaths per million. That’s way too much, but whatever.
Beth Ouimet thought she had lucked out in the summer of 2019 when her father got a placement in the state-run LaSalle Veterans’ Home after an episode of PTSD made it clear that living on his own wasn’t an option for the immediate future.
And even after COVID-19 hit Illinois and locked down the facility, Ouimet still was grateful her dad was there.
“I actually thought I was saving his life by keeping him at LaSalle,” Ouimet said.
But this past fall, the LaSalle Veterans’ Home became the site of one of the largest COVID outbreaks in any congregate care facility in Illinois. In the months that followed, multiple third-party inquiries into what went wrong at the LaSalle home found damning evidence of lapses in responsibility. High-level personnel were fired or forced to resign. Gov. JB Pritzker has promised changes at the facility and the state’s Department of Veterans Affairs.
None of it will bring back Ouimet’s father, a Navy veteran who served as a chief petty officer and hospital corpsman during the Vietnam War.
On Jan. 1, George Ouimet died at age 83 after battling COVID all of November and December. He was the last of 36 LaSalle residents who died after being diagnosed with the virus — more than a quarter of the facility’s population.
* Click here for background if you need it. Press release…
The Senate and House Redistricting Committees today released a proposed map of new Illinois Supreme Court boundaries to bring them into compliance with the Illinois Constitution by reflecting population shifts over the nearly 60 years since the map was last drawn in 1963.
“This map is about equal representation in the state’s most important court,” said Rep. Lisa Hernandez, Chair of the House Redistricting Committee. “As we strive for all to be equal before the law, we must ensure we all have an equal voice in choosing those who uphold it.”
Under this proposal, the number of residents in the Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Supreme Court districts will be substantially equalized to better reflect the population and demographic shifts that have occurred in the state of Illinois over the course of the last sixty years. Currently, population fluctuates greatly between districts. For instance, the Second District contains 3.2 million people, while the Fourth and Fifth Districts contain under 1.3 million people.
“The boundaries for Illinois Supreme Court districts have not been updated for several decades, it’s time we make changes in recognition of the population changes and demographic shifts that have taken place since the 1960s,” said Sen. Omar Aquino, Chair of the Senate Redistricting Committee. “Illinois is a very different state than it was sixty years ago, and the voters of Illinois deserve to elect members to our state’s highest court that reflect their values.”
This new map will not impact the tenure of the current Appellate and Supreme Court justices. All justices running for retention will have the right to do so in their current districts. Further, this map avoids disruption to the Judicial Branch by ensuring that the Appellate Courts can remain where they currently reside and avoid changing the compositions or boundaries of the Judicial Circuits.
Consistent with the proposed legislative maps, this proposed map was drafted using population information from the American Community Survey’s (ACS) 5-year estimate for 2019. The ACS estimate varies by just 0.3 percent from the state’s official population count released by the U.S. Census Bureau in April.
The public has the opportunity to provide input on this proposed map at four scheduled redistricting committee hearings between the House and the Senate this week. To view the proposed map, visit www.ilsenateredistricting.com or www.ilhousedems.com/redistricting.
…Adding… Either they have a typo, or this was written last Friday and not sent…
Tonight, following the legislature’s release of a new map for the Illinois Supreme Court, the first time this has happened in 50 years, Chairman of Citizens for Judicial Fairness Jim Nowlan released the following statement:
“Forget Congress. Forget the legislature. The one issue that sends shivers up the spines of Cook County Democrats is loss of their unbroken, six-decade long control of the partisan Illinois Supreme Court. Not even Mike Madigan can claim that record.
And now that their control is threatened, Democrats in Springfield displayed a breathtakingly cynical effort to retain that control, when they unveiled a new gerrymandering of Illinois Supreme Court districts days before the end of the legislative session with no public hearings or input to date.
If this thus-far secret map, long rumored in the back alleys of Springfield Democratic circles, goes through this coming week, indeed this year, it will strongly suggest the new Democratic regime in the state capitol may be even worse than the old one.”
…Adding… ILGOP…
Moments ago and just a couple hours before sham redistricting hearings are set to begin in Springfield, Democrats have released their new district map for the Illinois Supreme Court. Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Joe Hackler released the following statement in response:
“Today’s announcement of the redrawing of the Illinois Supreme Court map is the latest example of the extraordinary lengths the corrupt political class will go to keep control of power. For the first time in the state’s history, a Supreme Court justice was removed from the Court because of his ties to the Democrat machine. Now, in an effort to maintain their stranglehold on the Supreme Court and thwart much needed reform, that same corrupt political class is rigging the maps to stay in power, redrawing the map for the first time in fifty years. This is a brazen abuse of our judicial system and nothing more than political gamesmanship with what should be an independent court, free of corrupt influence.”
The most significant changes are in the two districts coving the Chicago metropolitan area outside of Cook County.
One of the new districts covers the northern and western suburbs and a bit of rural territory, running north to the Wisconsin state line and west past DeKalb. Excluded is GOP territory further west that is in the current district.
The other, largely remade district covers the southern suburbs and the Joliet area, but extends to largely rural and lightly populated areas south of Kankakee and west to central Illinois. Democrats presumably think that can win that area, too.
…Adding… Press release…
Statement from John Pastuovic, President of the Illinois Civil Justice League, on Judicial Remap Proposal
“It is clear to me that the Democrats have initiated this first in 50-year judicial remap in reaction to their third district retention loss in 2020 and concern that they could lose that seat to the Republicans in 2022. For example, when looking a party identification voting data, the current third district gives Republicans about a 55 to 45 percent advantage while the new map gives the Republicans a slight 51 to 49 percent advantage.
Additionally, the new second district is a 50-50 toss-up using the same voting data. Since the Democrats only have to win one of those seats to maintain their majority on the court, Las Vegas would probably like their odds.
Calling for a new Supreme Court maps because of a population disparity is a convenient narrative. It is also disingenuous.”
Additional Observations:
The population changes in the new map bring the judicial districts within the threshold of substantially equal, with a total average deviation from the mean of 4.425 percent.
The map drawers paid particular attention to the historic nature of the Mt. Vernon, Springfield, and Ottawa appellate court locations, as well as keeping the original circuit breakdowns from the 1897 reapportionment whole, with just the divisions in circuits over the 125-history of the circuit map.
Newly appointed Second District Justice Michael Burke will likely run in the Third District in 2022, his home is in DuPage County and makes up roughly 48 percent of the new Third District. Will County is now 35 percent of the Third District, whereas before it represented almost 39 percent.
The tough job politically is managing the retentions in 2022, where longtime Third District Justices Tom Lytton (D-Rock Island) and Daniel Schmidt (R-Peoria) are up and live a long way from their district.
In the Fourth District, Justice Rita Garman’s home is now in the new Fifth District and she will need to move west to qualify for her 2022 retention. Fourth District Appellate Justice John Turner lives in his revised district and is eligible for a third term on the retention ballot.
There is now an open Supreme Court seat in the new Second District, which was 50-50 in the Attorney General’s race in 2018, and now gives Democrats an opportunity to elect a Democrat from the north and west suburbs. Remapped out of the Second District are Appellate Justices Joe Birkett, who is up for retention, and newly appointed Justice Liam Brennan, who are both from DuPage.
Additionally, several assigned circuit judges, who sit on the appellate courts by assignment, find themselves from circuits outside of the districts, including Winnebago County judge Kathryn Zenoff (Second) and Vermilion County judge Craig DeArmond (Fourth).
* I’ve been telling subscribers about this bill for a couple weeks or so…
A bill passed the House that would amend the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act to allow Chicago Public Schools principals to unionize.
House Bill 3496 passed through the [Senate] Executive Committee by way of a 9 to 5 vote and has been scheduled for a second reading. […]
The bill would amend a state labor law that prohibits any person in a managerial position from joining a union. President of the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association Troy LaRaviere said passage of the bill was important because policymakers usually miss things principals will see at the bargaining table.
“When school district officials create policies they often can not see unintended negative consequences that Principals could see if they were at the table. In Chicago however, Principals are not at that table,” LaRaviere said.
Mayor Lightfoot isn’t having a great session so far.
* Excerpt from tweet thread…
For the past 20 years @CPMsofIL and Illinois friends and families of/for midwifery have diligently, every session, filed a bill, and worked for support needed to pass. In 2007, the bill passed in the senate. In 2011, it failed in the house 2/x
— Illinois Friends of Midwives (@IL4Midwives) May 25, 2021
And now we are in the Senate. We have passed our committee, but due to a single, non-healthcare or consumer "stakeholder", it appears the Senate lacks the will to complete the task that is so overwhelmingly supported by legislators and stakeholders. 8/x
— Illinois Friends of Midwives (@IL4Midwives) May 25, 2021
I asked about the recalcitrant stakeholder and the group claims it’s the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association.
* Almost a law…
Today, the Illinois Senate voted to approve House Bill 1063, which would end criminal penalties against people living with HIV (PLWH). Under current law, PLWH face the threat of arrest, prosecution, and incarceration even if they do not transmit HIV to another person. Additionally, PLWH may face longer sentences simply because of their HIV status.
“We are thrilled the Illinois Senate took decisive action and voted to end criminal penalties against people living with HIV in Illinois. Thank you to lead sponsor Senator Robert Peters for his steadfast dedication and leadership to this important issue.
HB 1063 has now passed both chambers with bipartisan support, and now it is time for Governor Pritzker to sign this bill and repeal this outdated and dangerous law. The truth is HIV criminalization never improved safety or public health in Illinois - instead, it has only caused suffering to people living with HIV, their families, and their communities. It has promoted stigma and discrimination, and it has discouraged testing, treatment, and disclosure for decades.
We urge Governor Pritzker to sign HB 1063 into law as soon as he can.”
* Wirepoints on the proposed constitutional amendment prohibiting “right to work” laws and ordinances…
State lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are preparing to enshrine the extensive power of Illinois unions into the state constitution.
The Illinois Senate has passed, and the House is preparing to vote on, a resolution for a constitutional amendment creating a new “fundamental right to organize and to bargain collectively” for matters that include workers’ “economic welfare.” The resolution further prohibits the state and local governments from passing any law that “interferes with, negates, or diminishes the right of employees to organize and bargain collectively.” The recent Senate vote was bipartisan, with 11 of the Senate’s 18 Republicans voting for the resolution. No Senate Democrats opposed the measure.
If the House passes the resolution – and voters approve the amendment in November 2022 – essential labor reforms Illinois needs will be blocked. With both pensions and labor union powers protected by the state constitution, it’s unlikely the state can be turned around without falling into some form of chaos first.
I see they haven’t lost their deft touch for understatement. /s
…Adding… Press release…
As Asian American History Month comes to a close, the Illinois State Senate unanimously passed the Teaching Equitable Asian American Community History Act (TEAACH Act), which will require K-12 public schools across the state to include Asian American history in all curriculum. The bill, which passed the Illinois State House in April, will now go to Governor Pritzker to be signed into law, paving the way for Illinois to become the first state in the nation to prioritize Asian American history in such a way.
“Illinois is making Asian American history by recognizing Asian American history,” said Asian American Caucus Co-Chair and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Commissioner Josina Morita. “Over the last year, we’ve seen a startling rise in anti-Asian hate, making the importance of learning Asian American history even more crucial. With the passage of this legislation, our next generation of Illinoisans will have a better understanding of the Asian American community, helping us become a more equitable and inclusive state where all students can thrive.”
Introduced by State Senator Ram Villivalam and State Representative Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, the TEAACH Act will paint a more complete picture of the state’s shared history by amending Illinois School Code to include an Asian American History Curriculum in every public school in Illinois.
“In unanimously passing the TEAACH Act today, the State Senate sent a strong message across this state that Asian American history is valued in Illinois,” said State Senator Ram Villivalam. “Future generations will learn about our Asian American history, and Illinois will be a better, safer state because of it.”
The TEAACH Act will ensure that crucial stories and lessons are elevated, and also pairs the five-hour PBS film series and K-12 curricula, compliant with Common Core and National Standards, designed to be easily adopted into lesson plans and curricula.
*** UPDATE *** Press release…
Illinois’ retail cannabis industry would diversify under a bill passed today by state Rep. La Shawn K. Ford, D-Chicago, that aims to correct a flawed license lottery system that has prevented minority residents from being able to open businesses.
“Like the War on Drugs, the rollout of cannabis licenses has disproportionately impacted communities of color,” Ford said. “We now have an opportunity to correct the missteps of the original lottery process by refocusing on the intent of the legalization bill. Instead of allowing the wealthy few to maintain control of this new industry, let’s give people in areas that have been left behind a real opportunity to start a local business that is owned and operated by members of the community.”
“Today’s vote puts us on a more equitable path forward, and I want to thank Representative Ford and everyone involved for their hard work to implement a fair process open to every community,” said Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch. “It’s important that the legislature monitors the progress of this industry in Illinois, and continue to be prepared to act as necessary.”
Under Ford’s House Bill 1443, 110 new cannabis licenses would be awarded through two lotteries targeted toward Black, Hispanic and other minority residents of disproportionately impacted areas. As part of the qualifying criteria, one of the lotteries would prioritize those previously arrested or convicted of previous cannabis-related offenses. The new licenses would be in addition to a batch of 75 licenses intended to have been released in 2020 that have been delayed due to litigation and issues with the selection process’ scoring system.
Along with guiding the new selection process, Ford’s bill helps to clean up the state’s cannabis legalization law by expanding diversity on the state’s Restore, Reinvest and Renew (R3) oversight board and increasing medical cannabis purchase access for patients, among other fixes to rollout concerns.
“As expected, the cannabis industry has been and will continue to be very lucrative,” Ford said. “It’s important as we continue to distribute licenses that we keep track of ownership data and ensure nobody is left behind. I’m hopeful that this proposal will put us on a more equitable path this year.”
House Bill 1443 now heads to the Senate for consideration.
* Everything is still trending down. Get your shots…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 808 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 17 additional deaths. In addition, 65% of Illinois adults have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose and 49% of Illinois adults are fully vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Cook County: 1 male 30s, 1 male 50s, 2 females 60s, 1 male 60s, 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s, 2 males 80s, 2 males 90s
- Fulton County: 1 female 50s
- Lake County: 1 male 70s
- Livingston County: 1 female 60s
- Logan County: 1 female 80s
- Will County: 1 male 60s, 1 male 80s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,377,249 cases, including 22,650 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 42,841 specimens for a total of 24,309,118. As of last night, 1,419 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 350 patients were in the ICU and 180 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from May 18-24, 2021 is 2.1%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from May 18-24, 2021 is 2.7%.
A total of 10,990,171 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 79,485 doses. Yesterday, 49,402 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-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.
Drawing new district lines for state and federal elections is the main focus for lawmakers when they begin the redistricting process every 10 years.
But Illinois Democrats, who control all three branches of government, have some incentive to redraw the boundaries for the five Illinois Supreme Court districts this year as well after a Democratic justice was defeated in a retention bid in the 3rd Judicial District in November.
House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, of Western Springs, said Monday he expects the Democrats in the General Assembly will seek to redraw at least the 3rd District in the northwestern part of the state, spanning from Joliet to the Quad Cities.
“Quite frankly, if they don’t change (the 3rd) district, Republicans win and the balance of power would go to Republicans,” Durkin said at a virtual news conference. “That’s why there is going to be, I imagine, within the next few weeks, some type of map — and it could be this week — that is going to redraw that 3rd Supreme Court District to make it more appealing to Democrat voters.”
They’re gonna redraw more than that. The 2nd District based in the suburbs is ripe for the plucking.
* It looks like it’s coming…
Just remember that redistricting the judicial districts also means big changes for the makeup of the appellate courts AND the administration of the courts throughout Illinois. It determines which precedents apply to which areas of the state, etc. https://t.co/Ss6B5VcnO0
The State is divided into five Judicial Districts for the selection of Supreme and Appellate Court Judges. The First Judicial District consists of Cook County. The remainder of the State shall be divided by law into four Judicial Districts of substantially equal population, each of which shall be compact and composed of contiguous counties.
New state legislative boundaries proposed by Democrats would further cement the party’s dominance in Springfield by using a declining downstate population to pit House Republicans against each other in several areas.
“Make no mistake, these maps were drawn solely for the Democrats to maintain their political power in the state of Illinois,” House Republican leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs said during a news conference Monday in which he ripped the Democratic map proposal.
Democrats already hold a 73-45 advantage over Republicans in the 118-member Illinois House. Under details emerging from a proposed legislative map unveiled by Democrats on Friday evening, the new boundaries would pit Republican incumbents against each other in eight House districts. In east-central and southern Illinois, the homes of four House Republicans are packed into a single district. […]
“What we’ve seen here today is the lowest of lows for the House Democrats, which quite frankly, I did not think was possible after Mike Madigan disappeared. But as Speaker (Emanuel “Chris”) Welch said in January, it is a new day, and that new day is worse than what we witnessed under Madigan,” Durkin said.
I think this map may mess with individual Republicans more than any map I’ve seen since the Republicans won the right to draw the new map in 1991.
Back in 1990, Speaker Madigan won a veto-proof majority in the House. The backlash within the House Republican Caucus against Minority Leader Lee Daniels was fierce and a group of a little more than a dozen launched a subsequent coup attempt. The uprising was tamped down by former House Speaker and newly elected Secretary of State George Ryan and the Illinois State Medical Society. Daniels prevailed.
And then Gov. Jim Edgar vetoed the Democratic remap and the Democrats couldn’t muster enough votes in both chambers to override him and it was sent to the bipartisan commission, which, of course, deadlocked. The Republicans won the drawing for the right to create the new map and several House Republican members who had only recently fought Lee Daniels tooth and nail were suddenly at his mercy and Daniels wasn’t exactly known for being overly merciful.
As a result of the new map, most of the HGOP coup-plotters had to leave, either for the Senate or for other elected offices. One of those who stayed, Rep. Jack Kubik, had to move to a new house.
In a separate news conference Monday, Republicans blasted the proposed maps as a blatant attempt to ensure Democrats retain their supermajorities while undercounting minority populations.
“This is Gerrymandering 101,” said House Republican Leader Jim Durkin, of Western Springs. “And it’s impossible to determine whether or not minority interest will be protected.
“But we do know that when you use ACS data, we know for a fact that minorities will be underrepresented using that information.”
Frankly, I think it’s more like a 400-level course than an intro class. It’s really quite something, particularly considering that both chamber leaders are newbies.
Also, if the Republicans know for a fact that minorities are underrepresented, it would be nice if they used some of their prodigious state budget allocation to prove it.
Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield, said the ACS data was inadequate to draw new maps.
“We need the decennial census data that won’t be out until August to be able to draw these maps,” said Butler. The process will go to a bipartisan commission if it continues beyond June 30.
Not mentioned in the story is what happens if that bipartisan commission fails to come to consensus.
Suburban House Republicans could see some losses in the next election based on the proposed Illinois legislative map, which would pit some incumbent lawmakers against one another.
Six Republicans live in three of the proposed districts, potentially whittling down GOP representation and expanding Democrats’ control of the General Assembly. Another suburban Republican would be drawn into the same district as an incumbent Democrat.
“Every one of these districts is unfair,” House Minority Leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs said Monday.
A Democrat snarked last night that truly fair maps don’t take into account legislators’ residences.
But, yeah, this map is definitely in partisan overdrive when it comes to clustering Republicans. Whew. I would not want to be one of them.
“We are focusing on and looking forward to good-faith discussions in our bipartisan redistricting committees this week,” [Jaclyn Driscoll, spokesperson for House Speaker Chris Welch] said.
Today Cindy and I traveled with our friend Pastor Willie Love to attend a Pastors Coalition hosted by Dr. Willie Wilson. We are building a movement to win and together, we will restore Illinois! #standingwithyouin2022
— Darren Bailey for Governor (@DarrenBaileyIL) May 24, 2021
Zooming in…
…Adding… From a reader…
Interesting that Bailey opposed House and Senate remote legislating rules he’s now abusing. I think the Senate contemplated remote voting because of the pandemic, not so a Senator can be in another part of the state campaigning for a different office.
*** UPDATE *** It’s kinda tough to see, but here is Sen. Bailey voting remotely during floor action yesterday. If you go to the 1:00:40 mark of the BlueRoomstream video, you can hear what sounds like helicopter noise in the background…
The Senate definitely needs a rules change. No way was remote voting intended to be used this way.
* Subscribers know that the Democratic governor has had serious problems dealing with the Senate Executive Appointments Committee for a long while now. I think that can explain some of this Center Square article…
For two years, Gov. J.B. Pritzker has used a loophole in Illinois’ political appointment law to shield his picks for the state’s prison review board from legislative scrutiny.
That’s the accusation from a Republican member of the Illinois Senate Executive Appointments Committee.
In their Monday news conference from Springfield, Bryant and Sens. Steve McClure and Jason Plummer said the governor’s office appoints members of the review board and allows them to serve in an acting capacity. Once their two-year time limit nears where they must be considered for approval by lawmakers, they said Pritzker withdraws their nomination and reappoints them, restarting their tenure as acting board members.
“This isn’t OK, it isn’t responsible,” said Sen. Terri Bryant, R-Murphysboro. “It’s a little maneuver that isn’t what our Constitution was designed to allow.”
Pritzker’s office didn’t respond to a request for comment.
“This is a clear and intentional manipulation of the process by the governor of the state of Illinois,” said Plummer, an Edwardsville Republican. “What we have here is an intentional tactic to skirt the process in an effort to hide these individuals from the public and the people of Illinois.”
According to the report released yesterday, the Illinois Prison Review Board has made the controversial decision to parole the following prisoners over the last two years: 68 year old Johnny Veal who was convicted in the murder of Chicago Police officers in 1970; 77 year old Joseph Hurst who was convicted of killing Chicago Police Officer Herman Stallworth and wounding another in 1967 while on parole for armed robbery; the former Theodore Parsons 63, who was convicted of murdering two Mahomet, IL teens in 1977; 82 year old Charles Weger, who was convicted of raping and murdering a woman at Starved Rock State Park in 1961; and 71 year old George Peter who was convicted of rape and murder of a 14 year old girl in 1967 in Chicago. The report specifically called out the Parsons case due to his release in March of this year with the State of Illinois failing to notify family members of the victims that Parsons was set to have a parole hearing.
As a result of these findings, Senate Republicans have filed an amendment to Senate Bill 1475, an ethics omnibus bill. The amendment to the bill would aim to speed up the prison review board confirmation process, requiring the appointments to be confirmed within 90 days of appointment. Failure to confirm or reject within that time period would be an automatic rejection. Additionally, the bill prohibits the governor from withdrawing a member appointment and reappointing them within a span of 2 years.
I haven’t given that deadline idea much thought, but at first blush it might not be horrible. It would definitely put pressure on both the governor and the Senate to get on the same page.
* Response from Jordan Abudayyeh…
For the Prisoner Review Board to be able to undertake its difficult and complex mission, members must be able to make parole determinations entirely independently. Subjecting members to political grandstanding sets a new and dangerous precedent for this constitutional function.
The members’ appointments and votes are transparent, and their meetings are open to the public. Additionally, the Senate Executive Appointments Committee sets the schedule for confirming gubernatorial appointees, and it is routine practice for appointees to be withdrawn so that the Senate has more time to consider the appointments.
Background…
The Prisoner Review Board considers the age and length of time served when making parole determinations.
Appointments
• Joe Ruggiero was appointed by Governor Rauner in July of 2018, but was not confirmed prior to his term’s expiration in early 2021, at which point Governor Pritzker re-appointed him to a new term, similarly only a few days prior to the March hearing.
• Aurthur Mae Perkins was confirmed unanimously by the Senate after her appointment by Rauner in March of 2015, and had a term expire at the start of 2021, which resulted in a re-appointment by Governor Pritzker a few days prior to the originally-scheduled hearing in March of this year.
• Oreal James and Eleanor Kaye Wilson were both appointed in April 2019 and then withdrawn and reappointed, so the Senate committee had more time to review their appointments.
For states with the lowest taxes, an average of four people moved in from other parts of the country for every one person who left over the last eight years. The trend is reversed in high-tax states, where an average of 2.5 people left for every one person who moved in. […]
On the other end of the spectrum, states with high taxes tend to lose residents. New York, which lost more residents than any other state from 2013 through 2020 (for every eight people who left, just one person moved in) has the sixth-highest tax rate in the U.S. Note that recent data from the U.S. Census shows that the population of New York state unexpectedly grew over the last decade, based on births, deaths, immigration and domestic migration. The estimated data in this report is based only on domestic migration.
Illinois and New Jersey are both among the top four states in the country in terms of both taxes and the number of people moving away.
* Crain’s initially ran with the story, then took a look at its methodology and retracted…
Crain’s has delved into a new report on outmigration data collected by Redfin and determined that the underlying methodology reflected in a news story published earlier today is flawed.
Redfin, an online real estate marketplace, compared one year’s worth of inbound moves to Illinois with eight years of outbound moves and reached a misleading conclusion. The methodology Redfin used didn’t only apply to Illinois; it was applied to the company’s analysis of 48 states.
Tuesday, May 25, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
We can’t have fair maps if those maps aren’t drawn using the full set of detailed Census data. But, due to census delays, Illinois politicians are planning to use outdated, estimated numbers to draw election maps that will last for a decade.
We know those estimates missed tens of thousands of us. We need the next set of election district maps to fully reflect our communities, and the only way that can happen is if those maps are drawn with current, complete Census data to give all our communities accurate and fair representation.
Call Governor Pritzker’s office today to ask that he push lawmakers to seek court permission to delay the process so that the next set of election maps are drawn with COMPLETE Census data, NOT old estimates.
* I told subscribers about this yesterday. Politico’s take…
There’s real talk now that the 2022 primary could be delayed.
Without detailed census data, Democratic leaders recognize they could face added legal challenges in drawing congressional maps. There’s already the likelihood of court fights as the legislative maps are being drawn with census estimates, instead of hard numbers still months away. Drawing congressional maps without census data would give critics even more legal hooks.
There’s also some pressure from the national Democratic Party to delay the primary to avoid legal battles. […]
Waiting for data throws a curve ball in the election process as candidates start gathering petition signatures at the beginning of September.
It’s a dilemma other states have too. Democrats across the country are particularly concerned about their slim 10-seat majority in the U.S. House, knowing that midterm elections usually don’t go well for the president’s political party.
Still, there are some positives in delaying the Illinois primary. Illinois has one of the earliest elections anywhere, so delaying it will make campaigning for the general election less grueling. Even better, candidates will be able to campaign in spring instead of winter — and in-person voting could be in warm(er) weather, too.
The national Democrats don’t want a judge drawing the Illinois congressional maps.
And while moving the primary to June does have its advantages, legislators are in Springfield until the end of May, making it much more difficult to campaign at home. And legislators with primary opponents will have to face voters shortly after making what could be controversial votes.
* This is important because the union has a multitude of Black and Brown members and deep campaign pockets. From an Alexi Giannoulias fundraising email…
We just received its biggest endorsement of the campaign so far!
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) State Council, representing more than 150,000 Illinois workers, announced their support for our campaign for Secretary of State.
The endorsement is important because it marks the earliest that the labor union has ever announced support for a candidate for statewide office in Illinois. In addition, SEIU Local 73 represents 2,600 workers, or more than half of all Secretary of State’s office employees.
“We’re proud to stand with Alexi who will champion the needs of working families and won’t back down when it comes to advocating for fair wages and benefits for all Illinoisans,” said SEIU Local 73 President Dian Palmer. “Our members understand the importance of continuing Jesse White’s legacy under Alexi’s leadership and that we cannot afford to sit this election out.”
“Alexi understands what critical issues are most important to the hard-working families across our state,” said SEIU Local 1 President Tom Balanoff. “His demonstrated support for worker rights and his clear understanding of the Secretary of State’s office make him the undisputed choice for Illinois’ working families. The janitors, security officers and thousands of others united in SEIU Local 1 look forward to working with him to achieve a more equitable and progressive future for our state.”
I’m honored by this historic endorsement. Middle-class families will have an ally in the Secretary of State’s office who will fight to empower workers and fight on their behalf!
The SEIU support adds to the other endorsements that we’ve worked hard to earn. Earlier this year, we received the endorsement of two locals of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) International Union, Local 881 and Local 1546. In addition, 14 locals from International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) have endorsed our bid.
And earlier this month, the Southern Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association, representing 22 downstate counties, voted to endorse us.
Tuesday, May 25, 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.
* We reached the $39,000 mark for Matt yesterday. Great work! If you haven’t contributed yet, please try to do so today. Thanks! Click here…
Matt Jones is one of those folks who can disagree without ever being disagreeable. @peoriajones has a rare form of malignant brain cancer and he and his family really need our help right now, so please do what you can. Thanks! https://t.co/A4GJrGnHl9
Most states have laws penalizing catalytic-converter robbers even as legitimate metals’ buyers already abide by the rules. But with the amount of money involved, even with the tiny bits of precious metals inside the devices, many junkyards ignore the laws, turning them into black-market buyers.
There is a measure winding its way through the Illinois legislature, House Bill 0106, which would require licensed scrap dealers, parts recyclers and processors, among others, to keep records related to the acquisition or disposal of catalytic converters, including dates of sales, names and addresses of sellers.
Illinois legislators need to get behind that proposed law to make thefts of catalytic converters more punitive and increase penalties on scrap dealers who willingly accept stolen devices. Until then, motorists who are lawmakers’ constituents may become unwilling victims of the converter crooks among us cruising for easy scores.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 933 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 10 additional deaths. In addition, 65% of Illinois adults have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose and 48% of Illinois adults are fully vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,376,411 cases, including 22,633 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 33,010 specimens for a total of 24,266,277. As of last night, 1,393 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 334 patients were in the ICU and 180 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from May 17-23, 2021 is 2.2%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from May 17-23, 2021 is 2.7%.
A total of 10,940,769 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 76,133 doses. Yesterday, 36,358 doses were reported administered in Illinois. Doses administered at CVS pharmacies over the weekend have not yet been reported and will be added in the coming days.
*All data are provisional and will change. In order to rapidly report COVID-19 information to the public, data are being reported in-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.
ICYMI: Speaker Welch stabs 2016 Rep. Welch in the back
Last Friday at 7:30 PM, Illinois Democrats unveiled the Microsoft Paint version of their proposed remake of our state legislative maps. Late Sunday, they released a Google Map version with more detail. Still missing is any shred of data that could help the public understand why the maps look as ridiculous as they do.
The idea of an independent map commission determining new redistricting lines - a proposal previously championed by dozens of Democrat legislators - has been abandoned. Instead, this wholly partisan process conducted behind locked doors in the Stratton Building has been led by a former independent map commission supporter, new Speaker Chris Welch.
Specifically, Welch wrote an op-ed in support of such a commission and stated the following:
1. An independent map commission would “protect minority representation.” And that it would “ensure that Illinois meets federal requirements under the Voting Rights Act to protect minority representation.”
2. “[T]his measure will make the redistricting process more transparent and take the process out of the hands of elected officials, which many of my constituents and residents across Illinois strongly support.”
At any point since becoming Speaker of the House, Chris Welch could have followed through on what is clear were hollow words of politician-speak.
ILGOP Spokesman Joe Hackler responded, saying, “When given the opportunity to protect minority representation and take the mapmaking process out of the hands of partisan politicians, Speaker Welch crumbled. His word meant nothing in 2016 and it certainly means nothing now. The only Democrat left who has the opportunity to live up to their promises, is Governor JB Pritzker. The people of Illinois demand that the Governor follow through on his pledge to veto any new map drawn by politicians.”
I asked Speaker Welch’s campaign spokesperson for comment.
*** UPDATE *** Alexandra Sims…
We don’t need to take advice from a party that knows nothing about diversity. Let’s compare the Speaker’s leadership team versus Leader Durkin’s leadership team and Candace Owens doesn’t count.
* You’d think that since both Matt and his wife Sandy have good jobs with good insurance, they wouldn’t need anything but our friendship at a time like this. But paid family and medical leave is temporary, and insurance doesn’t always cover things, so their need is all too real. Please, help them out…
Matt Jones is one of those folks who can disagree without ever being disagreeable. @peoriajones has a rare form of malignant brain cancer and he and his family really need our help right now, so please do what you can. Thanks! https://t.co/A4GJrGnHl9
Last day of radiation. My willpower bear has be powered up. And as a warning to all springfield types, don’t count me out, Mr. Bill and I still know how a bill becomes a law, at least I hope and prayer that he will… well ya’ll know the rest. pic.twitter.com/rJySIYjhmV
* Seeing a lot of this out there already, so listen to Hannah…
Not saying shapes aren't a consideration in whether a district is gerrymandered, but it's not the ONLY consideration and freaking out about ~crazy shapes~ only does your audience a disservice. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
Please don't take this as me defending the proposed maps or saying there's no gerrymandering (see below https://t.co/0pvJcFwx5z) I'm merely asking people to look beyond the "wacky shapes" and dig deeper. The Voting Rights Act makes strange shapes are inevitable in many districts. https://t.co/orjFb0WQUN
If I had told you during the brief legislative session last May, while the state was still under a stay at home order and everything appeared to be collapsing, that Illinois would have an extra $2 billion laying around to pay off the remainder of a $3.2 billion federal loan, you might have thought I was insane.
But here we are.
A couple of weeks ago, the federal government declared that states could not use any of the billions of dollars they’re receiving from the American Rescue Plan to pay off loans. That caused severe consternation in Illinois, which had planned to use part of its $8 billion federal aid package to eliminate what was left of the loans it received from the Federal Reserve’s Municipal Liquidity Facility.
However, the General Assembly’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability revised its revenue estimate for the current fiscal year the same week. The new forecast moved COGFA’s March projections upward by about $2 billion. The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget revised its own forecast upward by about $1.5 billion the same day.
And then last week, the governor, the Democratic legislative leaders and the comptroller announced the state will use its own revenues to pay back the federal government instead of relying on American Rescue Plan money.
The loan repayment will save the state about $100 million in interest, but it also frees up $1 billion in Fiscal Year 2023 that otherwise would’ve had to go to the federal government if the state had remained on the original repayment timeline. “This sets us up for the future,” a legislative budgeteer explained.
The repayment move was also deemed prudent by some because the newly “found” money was prompting a horde of spending requests from members, even though COGFA and the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget both stressed that most of this revenue spike was one-time and would not recur in Fiscal Year 2022, which begins July 1.
Using the increased revenue to repay the federal loan, therefore, has the effect of short-circuiting that flood of new spending demands. It’s a fiscally smart move, which is not something that one can usually say about Illinois.
But it’s not a done deal yet because quite a few Democratic legislators will be upset that they can’t tap into the new revenues to fund what they consider to be crucial programs.
Some are worried that immediate spending pressures will win out in the end and cause Democratic leadership to cave. House Higher Education Appropriations Committee Chair La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, was pretty firm last week, however, when asked his opinion about using state revenues to pay off federal debt.
Ford warned about both the state’s projected $1.3 billion deficit in the coming fiscal year and the absolute requirement to pay off the federal debt. He said both of those need to be addressed while also finding a way to “protect human services, public safety, education, and general services,” adding, “There is a path to fulfill all our obligations before the end of session.”
As far as next fiscal year goes, the House’s top budget negotiator, Majority Leader Greg Harris, declared last week that new revenues were needed to prevent “severe” cuts to pretty much everything. Nothing, he said, will be left unscathed unless that projected $1.3 billion deficit is closed.
The governor has proposed closing almost a billion dollars in “corporate loopholes” to prevent severe cost reductions, and there is supreme reluctance to using one-time federal aid to patch holes in recurring state spending. Doing that would simply kick the can down the road and not allow the state to finally get its fiscal house on a path to a semblance of stability.
The chair of the Senate’s lone appropriations committee, Elgie Sims, D-Chicago, has been telling me for several days that he hopes the budget produced this spring will result in an actual credit upgrade for the state.
Illinois has hovered just a tiny click or two above junk bond status for a very long time, so an upgrade would be a highly unusual and much-welcomed occurrence.
Comptroller Susana Mendoza has already argued for such an upgrade, but you gotta figure the New York raters will wait to see how the final week of session plays out before venturing into that territory.
The motto on the Illinois state flag is “State Sovereignty, National Union.” But these days, a more relevant one might be in order: “Fiscal Wreckage, State and Local.”
The first set of paired House incumbents. First # is new district; (X-##) are current party/district: 46: Conroy (D-46) and Mazzochi (R-47) 47: Grant (R-42) and Lewis (R-45) 50: Wheeler (R-50) and Ugaste (R-65) 51: Bos (R-51) and Morrison (R-54) 87: Sommer (R-88) and Luft (R-91)
Additionally, these Senate incumbents have been paired: 23: Thomas Cullerton (D-23) and Suzanne Glowiak (D-24) 55: Jason Plummer (R-54) and Darren Bailey (R-55)
* But not all Republicans were on the losing end. Politico…
Stephens gains ground: Republican Rep. Brad Stephens (20th) was an exception among GOP House lawmakers. His seat gained ground in Chicago (from the 41st and 38th Wards) and Rosemont, where he is mayor.
Relief for McConchie: The redraw of Senate Minority Leader Dan McConchie puts primary competitor Casey Urlacher in a different district.
…Adding… More on the packing…
From my analysis, Brad Halbrook and Blaine Wilhour each represent ~30% of the new HD-107, ensuring a heated primary battle. In contrast, Dan Caulkins and Adam Niemerg represent very small portions of the new district, making it unlikely that they will survive a contested primary.
Illinois politicians introduced the set of maps that they have been working on behind closed doors for weeks. These maps use 5-year sampling data that we know undercounts Illinoisans by 41,877 people.
We know this undercount likely has a great effect on people of color. It’s beyond alarming and disappointing. For too long, Black communities have historically been underrepresented, under-resourced, and targeted by large-scale misinformation campaigns designed to further disenfranchise them.
These maps are just another example of this disenfranchisement.
I asked if they could show specifically how people of color would be disenfranchised by the new maps, but I wasn’t given any specific examples.
* Press release…
Good government groups and community advocates strongly reject the attempt by Illinois lawmakers to introduce and pass maps that are built on an undercount of Illinoisans across the state. The proposed maps use American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year sampling data as the foundation, which undercounts Illinoisans by 41,877 people.
To exclude those people would be equivalent to excluding cities the size of Oak Park, Buffalo Grove, Quincy, or Rock Island.
The undercount is likely to have a greater effect on people of color. Black communities have historically been underrepresented, under-resourced, and targeted by large-scale misinformation campaigns designed to further disenfranchise them. The ACS data collection did not have the benefit of the historic, people-powered effort and state funding that the census did to ensure communities were counted, particularly Black communities. The ACS sampling process lacks the trusted community partnerships that are needed for an accurate count in historically disenfranchised communities.
Our state’s fastest growing populations, Asian American and Latinx communities, as well as the fastest growing counties of Kendall, Kane, Champaign, and Monroe, also are highly likely to be undercounted in the ACS sampling.
While the delay from the U.S. Census Bureau was unprecedented, the current predicament is manufactured by lawmakers for partisan advantage. Using ACS data was not lawmakers’ only option. The U.S. Census Bureau made the delays known more than a year ago when operations were severely hampered due to pandemic lockdowns, civil unrest and natural disasters in the West. In response, California and Oregon sought and were granted relief from constitutional redistricting deadlines by their state supreme courts. In Illinois, despite being given advice and options to do the same by National Conference of State Legislatures’ experts, lawmakers rejected the recommendation and even attempted to drum up fears of an undercount to discredit arguments to wait for census data.
Instead, due to the extraordinary investment by the state and efforts of hundreds of organizations, Illinois’ 2020 census count — and actual population — was much higher than the projected population from the ACS. Illinois was a leader in the nation, investing $47.5 million dollars for an accurate count and engaged more than 400 organizations to ensure residents were counted and represented.
The decisions by our current lawmakers will disenfranchise tens of thousands of voices for a decade by creating representative maps that do not include them. How is this equity for Illinois? We owe it to the people of this state and the community organizations that overcame incredible challenges to ensure an accurate Census count to wait for the census results. We owe it to vulnerable people who were hesitant to fill out the census and did so, despite concerns for their personal safety, to make sure they are counted. We owe it to the taxpayers who made a $47.5 million investment to secure an accurate count and accurate representation. Lawmakers should not settle for using the very undercount they railed against months earlier.
Everyone should count. Everyone deserves representation. Illinois deserves equitable redistricting.
We urge Illinois lawmakers to seek relief from the courts and halt current attempts to pass maps that erase thousands of Illinoisans. We urge Gov. J.B. Pritzker to fulfill his repeated pledges to veto any partisan map, but especially one built from an undercount of Illinoisans. It’s time to live up to your pledge to veto a partisan map, Governor. As repeated scientific surveys have shown, Illinoisans want independent mapping and fair representation. Illinoisans deserve better than to be erased by politicians who refuse to keep their campaign promises.
Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago
Better Government Association
Blackroots Alliance
CHANGE Illinois
Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community
Common Cause Illinois
Cook County Black Chamber of Commerce
Garfield Park Chamber of Commerce
Illinois Black Chamber of Commerce
Illinois Chamber of Commerce
Illinois Muslim Civic Coalition
IVI-IPO
Latino Policy Forum
League of Women Voters Illinois
League of Women Voters Chicago
NAACP South Side Branch
NWSOFA-Indivisible
One Health Englewood
Reform for Illinois
RepresentUs - Illinois
The Decalogue Society of Lawyers
The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) North Shore
Monday, May 24, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Telehealth use has increased among children to seniors, with every demographic quickly growing accustomed to virtual care as a result of COVID-19. Over one in four Medicare beneficiaries had a telehealth visit between the summer and fall of 2020. Similarly, one in five children had a telehealth visit during the pandemic.
The Coalition to Protect Telehealth advocates for patient-centered virtual care that’s high-quality, accessible and safe. The Coalition urges Illinois senators to vote “YES” on House Bill 3498 to preserve access to telehealth.
Coverage of telehealth services by traditional Medicare expanded during the pandemic, with 64% (33.6 million) of beneficiaries saying their providers offered telehealth during the pandemic vs. 18% pre-pandemic. Medicare beneficiaries more likely to utilize telehealth were:
• Those under age 65 with long-term disabilities;
• Black and Hispanic beneficiaries;
• Those enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid; and
• Beneficiaries with multiple chronic conditions.
Among children’s virtual visits, one in three parents chose telehealth primarily for its convenience. Parents said they preferred telehealth for minor illnesses and mental health, and 90% who used telehealth for the first time were satisfied with the visit.
