Question of the day
Monday, Aug 9, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Illinois State Fair starts back up again this Thursday. We didn’t get a State Fair last year, of course, so I was wondering about your thoughts ahead of this year’s event?
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New laws
Monday, Aug 9, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Crain’s…
Now that he’s a member of the Illinois General Assembly, Nick Smith isn’t embarrassed to say he struggled early in college. As he bounced back and forth between classes and his job, he spent little time on campus.
It wasn’t until Smith got a work-study job at Olive-Harvey College, a Far South Side community college, that things changed. “I started to feel immersed in the academic setting. I started to feel focused,” he recalls. After completing the two-year program, Smith went on to get a bachelor’s degree from nearby Chicago State University, and since 2019 he has represented the 34th District in the State Assembly.
With his personal experience in mind, Smith introduced legislation in Springfield this year that allows community colleges to add student housing for the first time. Signed into law July 9 by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, the measure allows for residential projects to begin on or near campuses throughout the state starting in January. […]
“Retention, retention, retention” is the goal of the new law, said Thomas Saban, interim president of Prairie State College, a community college in south suburban Chicago Heights. Saban isn’t planning to become a developer of dorms: The law requires community colleges to partner with their local affordable housing agency to build student housing.
* Crain’s…
When former Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner signed the Freedom to Work Act, or FWA, into law in 2016, the circumstances weren’t all that controversial. The measure, prompted by a Jimmy John’s policy that barred employees from getting hired at rival sandwich shops, would protect low-wage workers from noncompete agreements that stifled their earning potential. Even Rauner, a politician reviled by organized labor groups, got on board with the idea after the Illinois Attorney General’s Office sued the chain known for its “freaky fast” delivery
Now the FWA, originally limited in scope, is set to become much more expansive.
Under a bill passed unanimously by lawmakers this spring, and which Gov. J.B. Pritzker still must sign, employers are prohibited from imposing noncompetes on workers earning below $75,000 and from using nonsolicitation agreements on those making below $45,000. Advocates laud the move as a victory for economic mobility—especially as employees re-evaluate their priorities and job preferences during the pandemic. But some local businesses worry the changes are coming at a time of monumental uncertainty. With President Joe Biden recently directing the Federal Trade Commission to rein in the “unfair use” of noncompetes, the rules could continue shifting, and companies fear more restrictions will put their proprietary information, client lists and employee retention efforts at risk.
* Press release…
Legislation sponsored by State Senator Donald DeWitte (R-St. Charles) that provides units of government with greater opportunities to obtain more favorable returns on invested reserve funds has been signed into law. The new provisions apply to all units of government, from the State of Illinois, down to counties, municipalities, townships, and smaller local units such as schools, park districts, and libraries.
Senate Bill 273, signed by Gov. Pritzker on Friday, provides units of government with a wider variety of investment tools for reserve funds. The legislation was negotiated between the Illinois Association of Park district and the Illinois Treasurer’s Office.
“This legislation gives those who oversee units of government greater flexibility when they invest public funds,” said Sen. DeWitte. “I want to thank Treasurer Frerichs and his staff for their assistance in helping craft language that ensures governmental units have the widest level of choices possible for their investments, while also protecting taxpayers for overly-aggressive and risky investments.”
Specifically, through SB 273, public agencies can invest in up to 1/3 of their reserve funds in specific corporate investments and an additional 1/3 in other corporate investments that meet prescribed parameters.
“This is one small way that we can help units of government grow their revenues internally without having to go to taxpayers,” added Sen. DeWitte.
SB 273 received unanimous approval in the Senate and House, and its provisions take effect immediately.
* Other stuff…
* Pritzker Signs Surplus Property Act, McClure Hopes It Paves the Way for Eventual Sale of JDC Grounds
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* One thing that has almost completely gotten lost in the shuffle about this Exelon bailout plan is that the company is planning to spin off its power generation unit later this year and is naturally hoping to juice up the potential stock price. A state deal would most definitely help them do that. Here’s Steve Daniels…
Exelon has struck an $885 million deal to buy out its nuclear partnership with a French utility giant, removing one impediment to quickly separating into two companies.
But the deal with EDF adds $880 million in debt to Exelon’s balance sheet, all of which will be shifted to the financially weaker power-generation business once the company spins it off from its regulated utilities, including Chicago’s Commonwealth Edison. […]
British banking giant Barclays is providing Exelon with an $880 million 364-day term loan to finance the EDF transaction, according to a Securities & Exchange Commission filing. The loan is being made to Exelon Generation, the company’s power-plant unit, rather than the holding company.
As of June 30, Exelon Generation had $1.2 billion in debt due within a year, according to a different SEC filing, so this amount nearly doubles that total. In addition, ExGen has $4.6 billion in long-term debt.
* Meanwhile, here’s the governor’s chief of staff…
* More…
* The infrastructure bill could boost utility stocks, and these are Bank of America’s top picks
* Springfield Dems have to risk upsetting allies to pass energy bill - Organized labor and environmentalists remain bitterly opposed on issues keeping Pritzker’s green-energy bill from enactment. Legislators know now they will have to, well, legislate.
* Pritzker urges lawmakers to act on energy bill
* Joyce: ‘Closing our nuclear plants is something our communities cannot afford or survive’
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Get your shots, please
Monday, Aug 9, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Legit health concerns are apparently overcoming some resistance…
* Not horrible, but not nearly good enough…
Nearly half of the Illinois children who are currently eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine (meaning those aged 12-17) have already received at least one dose, according to new state data.
Meanwhile, more than a third – 37.6 percent – were fully vaccinated as of Wednesday, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported.
The numbers for kids ages 12 to 17 were encouraging, said Dr. Anita Chandra-Puri, a Chicago pediatrician and a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics. “That’s fantastic news if that’s the case. I would love that,” she said in an interview. […]
While comparable data wasn’t immediately available for other states, Illinois ranks high nationally in terms of percentage of all children who have been vaccinated.
Nearly a fifth (19.3 percent) of all Illinois children (aged 0-17, including those not currently eligible for the vaccine) have received at least one dose of the vaccine. At that rate, Illinois is in a three-way tie for ninth place among states, according to data published by the Mayo Clinic. Vermont, which had the highest share of kids with at least one dose, had a rate of 25 percent.
Illinois fares a little worse among states when it comes to the percentage of all kids (newborn to age 18) with full vaccinations. Again, Vermont led the pack, with a rate of 21.4 percent. Illinois trailed behind with a rate of 12.4 percent, putting it in a tie for 15th overall.
* Press release…
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago will require that all employees, students, contractors, badged vendors, and volunteers be vaccinated against COVID-19 by October 18, 2021. The requirement applies to Lurie Children’s workforce of more than 7,500 to stop the spread of the virus and keep all patients and their families, staff, colleagues, and the community safe.
Lurie Children’s will require proof of COVID-19 vaccination, as it does other vaccines, and health precautions (Flu Shot, TDAP, etc.), as a condition of employment noting that exemptions may be made for approved medical or religious reasons.
“Vaccination continues to be the most effective safeguard against coronavirus. As the nation and Illinois experiences a resurgence of cases, we feel that the best way to keep our patients, families, and workforce safe is to continue to follow the proven mitigation protocols and safety precautions including masks, social distancing, hand hygiene and our daily self-screening by employees,” said Thomas Shanley, MD, President & CEO, Lurie Children’s. “The safety of our patients, many of whom are too young to receive the vaccination, and our workforce is our top priority. This vaccination requirement stresses our commitment to the community to help slow and stop the spread of COVID-19.”
The vaccination requirement comes on the heels of rising hospitalizations and COVID-19 cases – particularly of the highly transmissible Delta variant.
Early research is showing that current COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective against disease and hospitalization for the Delta variant, and in general, can prevent serious illness or death. Lurie Children’s is a clinical trial site for the Moderna vaccine.
For several years, Lurie Children’s has required vaccination for seasonal flu vaccination and other contagious diseases. “As healthcare professionals caring for children and adolescents, this COVID vaccine requirement is the responsible thing to do and will provide reassurance to the patients and families we serve. We must do everything we can to end this pandemic and save lives,” said Shanley.
* Inside Higher Ed…
A poll of the public by Quinnipiac University has found that 48 percent of those responding favor mandatory vaccines for college students, while 48 percent are opposed. The poll found support for mandatory vaccinations by only 18 percent of Republicans, and 86 percent of Democrats. The poll also found that women and those with a four-year college degree are more likely to support mandatory vaccinations than are men and those who did not earn a four-year degree.
* More…
* Pentagon to require COVID vaccine for all troops by Sept. 15
* Covid vaccine mandates sweep across corporate America as delta variant spurs action
* Vaccinations, Unions and the Law
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COVID-19 roundup
Monday, Aug 9, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Washington Post story on the delta variant…
Then came delta — B.1.617.2. It had spread rapidly in India, but in the United States, it sat there for months, doing little as the alpha advanced. As recently as May 8, delta caused only about 1 percent of new infections nationally.
Today, it has nearly wiped out all of its rivals. The coronavirus pandemic in America has become a delta pandemic. By the end of July, it accounted for 93.4 percent of new infections, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. […]
Hospitals in states with low vaccination rates are struggling to cope with a flood of patients. At the same time, vaccination rates are jumping as the reality of the pandemic and the efficacy of the vaccines overcome fear, inertia and disinformation. […]
The flip side is that the delta surge is expected to peak faster. A more contagious virus finds susceptible people quickly and burns through that “fuel” faster. This may explain why the United Kingdom and India have both experienced surprisingly swift drop in cases after recent delta surges.
Hope is not a plan, but keep your fingers crossed anyway.
* Illinois State Fair…
Ticketholders in the grandstand track area (also known as Standing Room Only) will be required to provide a print or digital copy of personal Vaccine Card, Vaccine Record, or Negative COVID-19 test within the 72 hours preceding the concert.
* The Center Square…
Illinois state fair concerts to require vaccine proof or negative test and masks
Grab the mask and your vaccination card, or be ready to prove you don’t have COVID-19, if you plan to attend the concerts at the Illinois State Fair starting Thursday in Springfield.
That’s just a ridiculous over-statement. I sure hope newspapers are actually reading this freely supplied content before publishing it.
* WICS TV…
DCFS not included in state’s new mask requirements
Gov. JB Pritzker announced sweeping mask and vaccine requirements for multiple state agencies Wednesday, but one was notably left off the list: the Department of Children and Family Services.
Yes, DCFS was indeed included in the state’s mask requirements last month. Private organizations run the agency’s congregate care facilities, which probably explains the lack of a vax mandate there.
Do better, teevee.
* WGLT…
Long-term care facilities were among the hardest hit by COVID-19 in McLean County last year. Nursing home employees also were put at the front of the line to receive COVID vaccines when they became available in late 2020.
But many nursing home employees have passed on getting the vaccine.
Records recently posted online by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) show three long-term care facilities in McLean County — Bloomington Rehabilitation and Health Care Center, Luther Oaks and Arcadia Care of Bloomington — have staff vaccination rates of less than 25% as of July 25. […]
An advocate for nursing home residents said facility operators need to figure out why some staff members are reluctant to vaccinate. Angie Baker, regional ombudsman with the East Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging, said unvaccinated staff pose health risks to nursing home residents as the Delta variant fuels a new wave of coronavirus infections.
The data is here.
* Don’t be this guy…
Andy Ray must have repeated it to himself a hundred times, especially in the minutes before caregivers at HSHS St. John’s Hospital leaned his head back and inserted a breathing tube down his windpipe to keep COVID-19 from killing him.
“I kept thinking, ‘If I had gotten that shot, I wouldn’t be here,’” Ray, 52, told The State Journal-Register Thursday. “That’s all I could think of.”
Before going on a ventilator that would help him breathe for five of the 23 days he spent in the Springfield hospital in May and June, the rural Mount Sterling farmer’s thoughts also dwelled on the close family friend who succumbed to COVID-19 in the fall, before vaccines were available.
Once in the hospital, Ray, who lives about 65 miles west of Springfield, asked whether he could get a COVID-19 shot but was told it was too late for the vaccine to do any good. His wife couldn’t be at his side because she, too, had contracted COVID-19 by that time, though she didn’t need to be hospitalized.
* More…
* Vaccination milestone: 70% of Chicago adults have gotten at least one shot, city says
* Will County awards $138,000 in grants to help increase vaccination rate
* An uptick in mild breakthrough COVID infections in Illinois has some feeling they’re no longer ‘untouchable,’ but doctors say the vaccines are working
* CPS, Chicago Teachers Union trade barbs in dueling letters as talks for fall reopening sputter 3 weeks before the start of school: About 82% of CPS teachers have been vaccinated, according to district data. Meanwhile, 52% of Chicago kids aged 12 to 17 — whether they attend CPS or not — had received their first shot as of Wednesday, city data shows.
* Kids sick with Covid are filling up children’s hospitals in areas seeing spikes
* As Delta Variant Spreads, Florida Hospitals Race to Find Open Beds
* Austin warns of ‘catastrophe’ as Texas again becomes center of pandemic
* Pharmacists Fight Off COVID Truthers Demanding Horse Medicine Ivermectin Instead of the Jab
* Anti-Vax Insanity
* 2021 Illinois State Fair: Find out how to get a refund for grandstand concert tickets
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* Rachel Hinton…
Vowing to “ensure access to justice for all, the mayor of Highland Park launched her bid for a seat on the Illinois Supreme Court on Friday, setting the stage for what could be a hotly contested race to represent a newly redrawn district on the state’s top court.
Making her third run for higher office in five years, Nancy Rotering, a Democrat in her third term as mayor of the North Shore suburb, joins Democratic and Republican judges in Lake County who are also vying for the seat formerly held by Justice Robert Thomas. […]
Kicking off her run for the state’s top court, Rotering announced a slew of endorsements, including Democratic U.S. Rep. Marie Newman, the mayors of Deerfield, Buffalo Grove and Fox Lake as well as Democratic state Representatives Bob Morgan of Deerfield, Dan Didech of Buffalo Grove, Sam Yingling of Grayslake and Joyce Mason of Gurnee.
Elizabeth Rochford, an associate judge in Lake County, is also running as a Democrat for the Supreme Court seat, which now covers Lake, McHenry, Kane, DeKalb and Kendall counties.
Daniel Shanes, a Lake County judge, plans to run as a Republican for the Second District seat in next year’s June 28 primary.
* Press release from Gary Rabine…
In response to the tragic death of a police officer Saturday night in Chicago and the severe wounding of another officer, Gary Rabine, a candidate for Governor, is calling on Gov. Pritzker to stop ignoring the wave of violent crime in the City of Chicago.
“How many police officers and innocent civilians have to die before Gov. Pritzker takes what is happening in the City of Chicago seriously?” Rabine said. “Where are you Governor? Show us you are not partnered with Kim Fox! A great leader doesn’t sleep as tragedies like this in our state continue because of terrible policies and terrible leadership. JB needs to wake up and hold Kim Fox accountable for violating her professional code of ethics daily when she refuses to enforce the Illinois law she agreed to under oath.”
Rabine said the Governor could put pressure on Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to address the rise in violent crime. He could withhold various state funds to the City to force the mayor to solve the problems. He could call a Special Session of the General Assembly to deal with the violence and, as a last resort, he could deploy the National Guard.
“There are ways the Governor could step up and protect the lives of innocent people and the lives of police officers, but instead he has chosen to ignore what is happening in Chicago,” Rabine said. “Chicago’s best – our police officer – show their passion and their bravery as they serve us every single day. A great governor would respond by serving our police and our communities by using his executive powers to retract the bad policies that have handcuffed our police and take bold action to protect the citizens of this state. Unfortunately, we do not ave a great governor. We have a weak, self-serving leader whose policies are benefitting politically connected insiders at the expense of the people.”
Rabine is asking Illinois residents to pray for this heroic young woman’s 2-month-old baby now without a mother, the other officer fighting for his life, and their families.
“My prayers are also for the many innocent families who have lost loved ones in one of the most violent summers in Chicago history,” Rabine said. “I am also praying for our governor, to find the strength to get his hands dirty and the courage to retract bad policy and protect the people in every community of our state.”
I asked what Rabine would have the General Assembly do in a special session…
The point here is to make this issue a priority and use the bully pulpit that is the Governor’s office to bring about meaningful changes.
Um, OK, but if you bring the GA back into special session, you gotta give them something to do.
Also, as I’ve already told you, Officer French had no child. Rabine bought into yet another right-wing online myth.
* Speaking of which, these folks claim Rabine signed an affidavit demanding an audit of Illinois’ 2020 vote…
More on these kooky “affidavits of maladministration” here. I know of one state Senator who has received one.
…Adding… Rabine’s Facebook post is even wackier…
A great governor will show his passion and bravery to serve our police and our communities by using his executive powers to retract the bad policies that have handcuffed our police. Retract his signature on these horrific bills and FIRE Kim Foxx!
Retract his signature? Fire an elected state’s attorney? Does he have even the slightest clue what a governor does?
* News-Gazette…
Few people can say their spouse encouraged them to go into politics.
But when David Palmer, a local former pro basketballer turned youth-development coach turned financial adviser, couldn’t stop chatting at weekly Illini football tailgates, his wife, Chelsea, took notice.
“You’re not the mayor,” she told him. “You know you can just walk out and leave, right?”
Then November 2020 came around, and politics dominated their conversations. Election buzz lit a fire under the couple, and Chelsea chimed in again:
“We talk about this so often, we’re going to have to get off the couch and do something about it,” she said.
Nine months later, Palmer is booting up his campaign for Illinois’ 13th Congressional District, in hopes to unseat five-term U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville.
He has a great story, but nobody has a good handle on what the new districts will look like. We’re losing a seat, so the new map will be drastically different, particularly Downstate.
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HGOPs: “Don’t force kids to mask-up”
Monday, Aug 9, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Illinois House Republicans…
Have you had enough of government by executive order? Tell JB Pritzker…drop your school mask mandate and work with the…
Posted by Illinois House Republicans on Friday, August 6, 2021
I was told the post doesn’t mean the caucus is “anti-mask.” Um, ok.
* Jordan Abudayyeh at the governor’s office…
While the administration continues to welcome input from the General Assembly, community stakeholders and public health experts, there is no debate on the effectiveness of masks. Masks prevent the spread of coronavirus and the CDC has recommended their use indoors regardless of vaccination status. Insinuating that science is up for debate is reckless and puts the public’s health at risk.
* Jaclyn Driscoll at the House Speaker’s office…
The CDC says students should wear masks indoors. The American Academy of Pediatrics says students should wear masks indoors. Doctors and our most trusted health professionals say students should wear masks indoors. I’m not sure why Republicans don’t trust doctors.
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* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
When Gov. J.B. Pritzker recently announced that state employees who work in congregate facilities would have to be vaccinated by Oct. 4, the largest state employee union, AFSCME, released a statement chiding the governor.
“We strongly oppose any effort to define them as part of the problem,” the powerful union claimed on behalf of those workers.
But Pritzker also said that about 80% of new COVID-19 cases in those congregate facilities “have been due to infection among employees.”
“Our most vulnerable residents, such as veterans who can’t live on their own, and adults living with developmental disabilities have no choice but to live amongst these workers,” Pritzker said. “It’s a breach of safety, it’s fundamentally wrong and, in Illinois, it’s going to stop.”
Aside from the danger posed to residents or inmates, outbreaks can also result in potentially exposed unvaccinated workers getting very sick or worse; or being sent home for several days to make sure they haven’t contracted the virus. Most every state facility is under-staffed, so outbreaks have the potential to crush the system, particularly with the highly virulent delta variant spreading like wildfire.
By far, the least vaccinated state agency is the Illinois Department of Corrections, which is infamous for being chronically under-staffed for decades.
Of IDOC’s 34 facilities, only seven had a staff vaccination rate above 50% by late July, which is still too low.
Two IDOC facilities had staff vaccination rates in the single digits: an abysmal 7% at Lawrence Correctional Center and 9% at Vienna Correctional Center. Vandalia CC was not much better at a mere 10%. Pontiac CC was at 14%, Robinson CC was at 18% and Graham CC and its reception and classification center were at 21%, as was Shawnee CC. Six prisons had staff vax percentage rates in the 20s, ten were in the 30s, five were in the 40s, three were in the 50s and just four were in the 60s.
Taken as a whole, 44% of IDOC staff were fully vaccinated at that point in time. Just 45% of the state’s Development Center staff at the Department of Human Services are vaccinated. At the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, 64% of veterans’ home employees are vaccinated, but just 50% at the Anna Home are vaxed and 58% are vaxed at the Manteno facility.
By comparison, as of Aug. 5, 61% of all Illinois adults were fully vaccinated.
“The government has resorted to ‘vaccine shaming’ its public safety employees rather than convincing them that getting an immunization is the best course of action,” said Terry Trueblood, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Illinois Secretary of State Lodge 95, after Secretary of State Jesse White announced that employees must either be vaccinated or tested every two weeks.
But, according to the state, about 70% of prison inmates who are in or who have moved through the system have been fully vaccinated. Eight-two percent of all patients and residents in Department of Human Services facilities are vaccinated. Between 96 and 100 percent of Department of Veterans’ Affairs home residents are vaccinated, depending on the facility. And 62% of young people currently in the Department of Juvenile Justice system have been vaccinated.
It’s time the state stopped waiting on front-line workers to come to their senses while drawing a government paycheck. Too many of AFSCME’s members are not part of the solution, they’re “part of the problem.”
And the FOP can complain about “vaccine shaming” all it wants, but logic and reasoning haven’t worked nearly enough. Not even money has worked. The state rolled out a special cash-and-prizes lottery program just for workers in those four agencies to try to increase vaccination rates. On-site clinics were set up to make it more convenient for employees to get their shots. The union also admirably tried to help convince its members to vax up. The carrots didn’t work. The stick is what’s left.
Pritzker gave the workers two months to comply, likely because he wants to talk details with union leaders at the bargaining table. But AFSCME would do well to remember what the late AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said just last month when explaining why the AFL-CIO supports vaccine mandates: “You have to know what’s around you.”
AFSCME and other unions face a choice between preserving the life and health of their members or standing up for the imagined “rights” of those who would knowingly spread a fatal or debilitating disease to those around them. Something has got to change.
* Meanwhile…
* Related…
* United will require its U.S. employees to be vaccinated, a first for country’s major airlines
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MLB open thread
Monday, Aug 9, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sweet sweep…
…Adding… They coulda used him yesterday for sure…
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