* Unbelievable…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is reporting the first human case of rabies in Illinois since 1954. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today confirmed the diagnosis after testing at its lab.
In mid-August, a Lake County resident in his 80s awoke to a bat on his neck. The bat was captured and tested positive for rabies. The individual was advised he needed to start postexposure rabies treatment but declined. One month later, the individual began experiencing symptoms consistent with rabies, including neck pain, headache, difficulty controlling his arms, finger numbness, and difficulty speaking. The individual subsequently died. People who had contact with secretions from the individual were assessed and given rabies preventive treatment as needed.
“Rabies has the highest mortality rate of any disease,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “However, there is life-saving treatment for individuals who quickly seek care after being exposed to an animal with rabies. If you think you may have been exposed to rabies, immediately seek medical attention and follow the recommendations of health care providers and public health officials.”
While cases of human rabies in the United States are rare with only 1 to 3 cases reported each year, rabies exposures are still common with an estimated 60,000 Americans receiving the post-exposure vaccination series each year. The rabies virus infects the central nervous system, ultimately causing disease in the brain and death. Without preventive treatment, rabies is typically fatal.
“Sadly, this case underscores the importance of raising public awareness about the risk of rabies exposure in the United States,” said Lake County Health Department Executive Director Mark Pfister. “Rabies infections in people are rare in the United States; however, once symptoms begin, rabies is almost always fatal, making it vital that an exposed person receive appropriate treatment to prevent the onset of rabies as soon as possible.”
Bats are the most commonly identified species with rabies in Illinois. Wildlife experts did find a bat colony in the home of the individual who died.
People usually know when they have been bitten by a bat, but bats have very small teeth and the bite mark may not be easy to see. If you find yourself in close proximity to a bat and are not sure if you were exposed, (e.g., you wake up and find a bat in your room), do not release the bat as it should be appropriately captured for rabies testing. Call your doctor or local health department to help determine if you could have been exposed to rabies and if you need preventive treatment. Call your local animal care and control to safely remove the bat.
If the bat is available for testing and the results are negative, preventive treatment is not needed. The only way rabies can be confirmed in a bat is through laboratory testing. You cannot tell just by looking at a bat if it has rabies.
So far this year, 30 bats have tested positive for rabies in Illinois. More than 1,000 bats are tested for rabies each year in Illinois due to a possible exposure. Approximately 3% of tested bats are positive for rabies.
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Question of the day
Tuesday, Sep 28, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Groundbreaking today at the Obama Presidential Center site…
* The Question: Caption?
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* Press release…
The Illinois House and Senate Redistricting Committees have relaunched an online map making portal which will allow residents to draw and submit proposed congressional boundaries for lawmakers to consider as redistricting efforts continue.
The map making portal can be accessed at www.ilsenateredistricting.com and www.ilhousedems.com/redistricting. Returning users that have previously used the portal do not need to create a new account.
The relaunch of the portal comes ahead of a series of public hearings the committees will hold in October to gather input on the makeup of new congressional districts. Additional details about hearings will be announced in the coming days as Democrats remain committed to a redistricting process centered on public participation with more accessibility than ever before. Members of the public may also submit written testimony or draft congressional maps at any time at redistrictingcommittee@senatedem.ilga.gov and redistrictingcommittee@hds.ilga.gov.
“It’s never been more important that every resident of Illinois has a strong voice in Congress, and that starts with ensuring everyone has a voice in the mapmaking process,” said Rep. Elizabeth Hernandez, D-Cicero, Chairperson of the House Redistricting Committee. “This mapmaking tool gives everyone the opportunity to share their thoughts and help us create districts that reflect our state.”
“Now is the time for residents across Illinois to make their voices heard to ensure our state has strong representation in Washington,” said Sen. Omar Aquino, D-Chicago, Chair of the Senate Redistricting Committee. “We encourage residents to take advantage of these opportunities to directly participate in the map making process, as the best map is one that reflects the diverse voices across our state.”
* Lynn Sweet asked Senate President Don Harmon about the congressional remap process last week. Some of Sweet’s questions are paraphrased here…
LS: Will the congressional remap be passed in the veto session?
DH: Yes. We will be returning to Springfield in October, and the first priority is to pass a congressional map.
LS: Do you have a draft already, or drafts?
DH: We do not. We are just beginning the process, we’re beginning to schedule the public hearings. We want to take testimony from Illinoisans from the top to the bottom, from the east to the west, and make sure that all that public input is factored in to any map that we produce.
LS: Have you had meetings with any of the delegation members to get their views, or when does that happen?
DH: I expect that we will be having subsequent conversations going forward. There have been no formal sit-downs with any members to talk about redistricting.
LS: We have to lose a district, where do you think it will come from?
DH: This is a great question and I wanted to remind folks, in reapportionment, we went from 18 districts to 17 districts. That doesn’t mean that the district disappears so much as all the other districts get a little bit larger, and everybody in Illinois, including the entire congressional district, lives in one district or another. We’re going to follow the population shifts, we’re going to try to draw districts that are fair and reflect the diversity of the state of Illinois, we’re going to follow the Federal Voting Rights Act as well as the Illinois Voting Rights Act, and try to build districts that best represent all of Illinois.
LS: Have you looked at the maps drawn by Cook Political Report US House editor Dave Wasserman?
DH: I have not. I don’t know him. I know that the map caused a fair amount of controversy, but I also knew that nobody in charge of passing the maps, participated in drawing it.
Please pardon all transcription errors.
…Adding… React…
State Representative Tim Butler (R-Springfield) issued the following statement today in response to House and Senate Democrats announcing the relaunch of their much-maligned public map-making portal for new congressional boundaries:
“The sad truth is that this is just another attempt by Democrats to act like this is a free and fair process, but the facts have proven otherwise,” said Butler. “The relaunching of a portal that included a multitude of malfunctions that went unaddressed by them before, I don’t expect much to be different this time around.”
*** UPDATE *** Press release…
The Latino Policy Forum is gravely disappointed in the Illinois legislative maps that were signed into law last week, which do not provide equitable opportunities for Latinos to elect the representatives of their choice. These maps do not accurately reflect the state’s Latino population, nor its true diversity within the halls of government, and they do not bode well for a more equitable future of our election systems.
“Despite Illinois adding 309,832 Latinos to its overall population according to 2020 census data, the state did not add any Latino-majority districts. In fact, we lost one Latino-majority House district, from 14 to 13,” says Latino Policy Forum President and CEO Sylvia Puente. “This is not fair, just, or equitable.”
“The map signed into law by the Governor, after having had a second opportunity to get it right and after an increase in the state Latino population that should result in an increase in Latino-majority districts, falls very short,” says former State Senator and former Chicago City Clerk Miguel del Valle, who testified alongside the Forum in hearings on redistricting this year. “I’m very disappointed that the general assembly and the Latino caucus voted for this inequitable map, which is an injustice to Latinos statewide.”
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* CNBC…
• A Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that 71% percent of unvaccinated respondents said boosters are a sign that vaccines are not working.
• The split in attitudes toward Covid vaccines broadly continues to be a largely partisan one, the survey data shows.
• Some 90% of respondents who are Democrats said they have received at least one coronavirus vaccine dose compared with 58% of Republicans.
Results are here…
Overall, the booster discussion seems to have increased rather than decreased the public’s confidence in the COVID-19 vaccines, though the opposite is true for those who remain unvaccinated. More than six in ten adults overall (62%) say the news that some people might need boosters “shows that scientists are continuing to find ways to make vaccines more effective” while one-third say it “shows that the vaccines are not working as well as promised.” Among those who are unvaccinated however, seven in ten (71%) say news about boosters is a sign that the vaccines aren’t working, including 69% of those in the “wait and see” group and 82% of those in the “definitely not” camp. Views on this topic also diverge by partisanship, with eight in ten Democrats (82%) seeing the booster discussion as a sign that scientists are continuing to find ways to make vaccines more effective and Republicans more evenly divided between this view (44%) and believing that boosters show the vaccines aren’t working well (52%).
* I’m pretty sure people would say the polio vaccine worked…
Also, I get a flu vaccine every year.
…Adding… Well, they know their audience…
When President Joe Biden announced his administration would require vaccines or weekly COVID tests for federal workers and businesses with 100 or more employees, Republicans pounced—as the saying goes—into fundraising mode.
The day after the announcement, the Republican National Committee began blasting out emails and text messages asking supporters to reach into their pockets to help fund a coming legal challenge against the supposedly “authoritarian” mandate. […]
The solicitations went out almost daily for the next two weeks, and grew increasingly Orwellian in tenor. Texts attacked Biden as “UN-AMERICAN” and a “TYRANT,” and emails played up fears of “fascist” overreach.
“You MUST step up RIGHT NOW and fund our efforts against Biden to end this EVIL vaccine mandate or all will be lost!” read an email sent Sunday, Sept. 12. Another sent around the same time reminded recipients that “lawsuits like this are expensive,” and again suggested a $45 contribution would be sufficient to back the effort.
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* Press release…
The 2021 Illinois State Fair saw over 472,000 visitors walk through the gates making it the second highest attended fair since the department began tracking formal attendance numbers in 2014. Attendance at this year’s fair was surpassed only by the historic records set in 2019. The first weekend of the 2021 fair also saw attendance numbers increase by over 15,000 people compared to 2019.
“The record attendance at this year’s state fair marks not only a successful return to the fairgrounds but a return to treasured traditions, community competition, and family fun after a difficult year,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Most importantly, the Department of Agriculture and the organizers of this year’s fair were able to welcome us back safely with strong COVID protocols in place – making sure the health of fairgoers came first as we enjoyed all the fair has to offer.”
“We were happy to be able to hold the 2021 Illinois State Fair after it was canceled in 2020 and now seeing how many people came out to enjoy it with us is really special,” said Illinois State Fair Manager Kevin Gordon. “Obviously this being the first fair after 2019’s near record setting year for attendance, the bar was set pretty high. I think being able to overcome the challenges brought on by the pandemic and safely bring back so many families to the fairgrounds is a great accomplishment.”
Grandstand ticket sales and revenue saw over 44,500 tickets, generating over $1.5 million in revenue. Overall revenue numbers are not final, but the 2021 Illinois State Fair is estimating an overall revenue slightly over $5 million, ranking ninth for total revenue out of the last 20 years.
Lot of optimistic spin in that release.
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COVID-19 roundup
Tuesday, Sep 28, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* WICS…
A month ago, Pritzker said that while also announcing an indoor mask mandate along with vaccine requirements for P-12 teachers, healthcare workers, and higher education students.
Since that announcement, Illinois COVID-19 cases have significantly declined from a high of nearly 6,000 on September 3 to just a little more than 2,000 on September 27. […]
“It’s a combination of vaccination, masking and the mitigation strategies that we have,” Dr. Vidya Sundareshan, SIU school of Medicine infectious disease doctor, said. […]
Statewide, a massive spike in administered vaccine doses happened in the days following Pritzker’s announcement.
* WTTW…
[Ameri Klafeta, director of the ACLU of Illinois’ Women’s and Reproductive Rights Project] says workers relying on the [Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act] is a stretch.
“The way this act was written, it was always intended to apply to health care professionals, people who are delivering health care services,” Klafeta said. “What we’re seeing now is a really unprecedented expansion, or attempt to expand, the protections of the law and really turning it on its head.”
She thinks this expansion of the right of conscience law will face legal challenges.
“It seems like the people who are really these mandates that Gov. Pritzker has issued are relying heavily on this law and I wouldn’t be surprised if they proceed through the court and I think that would be up to the courts to determine how broadly to interpret this,” Klafeta said. “It’s always possible that in the meantime the legislature could come back and amend the law, potentially to narrow some of the terms that people are relying on to bring the law back to its original scope.”
* More on the HCRCA from Fox Illinois…
Carl Draper, an employment attorney with Feldman, Wasser, Draper & Cox, says it may be unfortunate from a public health perspective, but from a legal perspective, the timing of this law could challenge the governor’s emergency powers.
“This law was adopted in 1998 after most of that emergency authorization power was already on the books, so the courts will interpret this as modifying and superseding the other emergency preparedness laws,” Draper explained.
Draper says there haven’t been many lawsuits applying vaccination debates to the HCRCA, but there was one in March of 2020, and the decision puts more power in teachers’ hands.
“The appellate court sided with the employee on every argument about the breadth of this,” Draper said. “That’s very powerful for individuals who object to the vaccination requirement, and even so much as the testing.”
* WGN…
Much of Illinois is also seeing signs the summer surge in cases is behind us. New hospital admissions for COVID-related illness have been declining for nearly three weeks and now fewer than 2,000 people are hospitalized with the virus.
In a state with a population of 12.7 million people, COVID-related hospitalizations represent .015 percent of the population. Yet, Governor JB Pritzker’s administration has not said how close we are to lifting the statewide indoor mask mandate that went into effect August 30.
If history repeats itself, we’ll see another surge in the fall and winter as people go back inside.
* Sun-Times…
The mother of a Chicago Public Schools student at Jensen Elementary has passed away after battling COVID-19, according to her family, while hundreds of students, including her own, were ordered to quarantine because they were exposed to several confirmed cases of the virus at the school.
The district, which has faced criticism from the Chicago Teachers Union and some parents over its safety plan as it reopens full-time this fall, has claimed since the start of the pandemic that there has been little, if any, in-school transmission of the virus, and again Monday denied finding any evidence that the eight cases at Jensen were passed on to others in the building or at home.
Before she died late last week, Shenitha “Angel” Curry — described by family as “vibrant and outspoken” — said she was frustrated and angry with the school system’s COVID-19 protocols, particularly the contract tracing program which she said never reached her for an interview. Curry’s sister said Monday that Curry, who was unvaccinated, told her in her final days that she was sure her illness stemmed from the school. Curry’s 44th birthday would have been later this week.
Anxiety was already high at Jensen before parents learned of Curry’s death from teachers and union organizers as they brought their kids to school Monday. Over the past two weeks, 205 students have been sent home after they were identified as close contacts to at least one of eight children or educators who contracted the virus, according to district records. That left 11 of the school’s 17 classrooms in quarantine, with eight classes due to return Monday from their two-week remote learning period. The Lawndale school enrolls 297 students, most of whom are too young to be vaccinated.
Get your shots, folks.
* Sun-Times…
Former Chicago Fraternal Order of Police President Dean Angelo Sr., was in an intensive care unit Monday night due to COVID-19 complications.
Angelo’s son, Dean Angelo Jr., a sergeant with the Chicago Police Department, confirmed Monday evening that his father was taken to the intensive care unit at a local hospital on Sunday and remained there as of Monday night.
COVID-19 has killed more police officers than anything else this year and last.
* NY Magazine…
As we head into the fall, debate over vaccine policy has coalesced around two anchors: the matter of juvenile vaccination and the matter of boosters. On September 22, the FDA authorized booster doses of the Pfizer vaccine for the elderly, high-risk individuals, and those with frequent exposure but not the population as a whole; later in the same week, the CDC director overruled internal advisers to make the same recommendation. To this point, much of the debate around boosters has focused on waning immunity — and it is clear now, in study after study, both that protection does wane and that boosters, already delivered abroad in more than a dozen countries, help significantly. The waning is most visible among the elderly, as many of the studies have shown. But just as important, and much less discussed, is what it would mean to restore that immunity to that group. Because of the age skew, the social impact of elevating protection among the most vulnerable by even a few percentage points would be absolutely enormous. That’s because if vulnerability is hundreds of times higher in one group than another, the impact of that boost is going to be much, much larger too.
* More…
* Childhood COVID-19 cases fall for second week, as experts say student quarantines, testing are curbing virus spread
* Limited childcare options causing problems for Effingham County parents
* Southwestern Illinois teachers file lawsuit over state vaccine, masking requirements
* Six Naperville firefighters suing city, health system, Pritzker over vaccine, testing mandate
* Religious freedom group says Southern Illinois Healthcare is being unlawful
* Teacher placed on unpaid leave after defying COVID-19 vaccination card or testing mandate
* The Nonsensical Loophole in Biden’s Vaccine Mandate: A weather report can’t replace an umbrella, and a coronavirus test can’t replace a shot.
* Unvaccinated United Airlines’ Staff Faces Firings as Early as Today as Deadline for Covid Shots Passes
* COVID Booster Shots: What Illinois Residents Should Know as Extra Doses Begin
* Traveling nurses help rural hospitals during the pandemic, but they come with a high price tag
* Kankakee earmarks $1.35 million in federal COVID funding
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* WBEZ…
Christopher Knox already had a long history of living with mental illness when he was sentenced to time in an Illinois prison. He has had a litany of diagnoses, including bipolar disorder and PTSD, and a history of self-harm going back to when he was just 7 years old. When he was locked inside prison at age 19, his mental health deteriorated. He lashed out at a fellow prisoner and he said he was sent to solitary where he was in a cell 23 hours a day, seven days a week.
“It caused me to go into the dark places that I never want to ever go again,” Knox said. “It put me in a mind frame where I didn’t care about anyone or anything. I just gave up. I had lost all hope.”
In solitary, Knox mutilated himself and attempted suicide multiple times. Other times he’d yell or throw things at staff. That too, he said, was a kind of self-harm. If he provoked staff, they may rush into his cell and violently drag him out. Those interactions gave him the painful sensations he craved, and he hoped maybe one day an officer might kill him so it could be over.
During 17 years in solitary, Knox was criminally charged for spitting on an officer and was sentenced to an extra five years behind bars. His conviction for kicking a guard added four more years. A conviction for throwing liquid soap at a guard’s face landed him another six. As he continued to get in trouble, what started out as an anticipated 11 years in prison turned into a projected 41 years behind bars, according to data from the Illinois Prison Project, an advocacy organization.
More…
Jennifer Soble, executive director of the Prison Project, said she can’t imagine that Knox would have been charged with new offenses behind bars, let alone multiple cases, if he hadn’t spent so many years in solitary with little to no mental health treatment.
The project currently represents 43 clients it says have similar stories to Knox. They were all convicted of staff assaults, many for spitting or throwing urine on staff. According to Soble, all their clients have mental illness, and about 60% were on suicide watch at the time of the crime.
Soble said the prison environment, especially solitary, exacerbates people’s mental illnesses, and then the prison system punishes them for it. The punishments can be severe. The prison project said its clients have had an average of 15 additional years added to the time they expect to serve in prison — collectively, an additional 842 years.
This week the prison project plans to file 43 petitions for commutation that, if approved by the governor, would move up their release dates.
* Related…
* Some lawmakers, advocates want to restore voting rights to those in prison: Matt Dietrich, spokesman for the state’s election authority, said the board members’ opposition isn’t “philosophical,” but based on the bill’s constitutionality, which they believe is “problematic.” “What we have said is ‘change the constitution first, and then let’s do this,’” Dietrich said.
* State Partners With Legal Aid Network To Expunge Cannabis-Related Records: State Rep. La Shawn Ford, a Democrat from the West Side of Chicago, believes more outreach is needed.
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* Derrick Blakly…
Edgar’s governorship coincided with the early years of Mayor Richard M. Daley’s twenty-year reign on the fifth floor of Chicago’s City Hall. Republican governor. Democrat mayor. It was a bumpy ride.
“I didn’t have a big problem with Rich Daley. I think he had more of a problem with me,” said Edgar. “Richie had been mayor about two years when I came in. That’s when they increased the income tax, giving an additional amount to the cities. So he got a big boost there. They did Navy Pier, too. All this happened as Jim Thompson was going out the door. When I came in, we were in the midst of a recession, and we had a huge deficit. I had to cut a lot of things, which means I had to say no. He always referred to me as ‘Governor No.’”
Daley and Edgar had other flash points as well. Daley wanted the state to pay for a Soldier Field rehab for the Bears but Edgar refused, preferring a multi-purpose facility at McCormick Place. Daley wanted to close Meigs Field (which he eventually did after Edgar left office) but Edgar fought to keep it open. After the infamous Loop flood, Daley wanted Edgar to promise to pay half the repair costs. Not knowing what the costs were and unwilling to sign a blank check with the state practically broke, Edgar refused. And Daley wanted Edgar to sign off on a bill rushed through the statehouse limiting the power of rebellious City Treasurer Miriam Santos. Edgar again declined.
“Daley told me, I really need you to sign this bill,” Edgar said. “I said, Mayor, I got all the Hispanic leaders leaning on me. They feel like this bill is an attack against them. I got half the Hispanic votes in a close election. I felt pretty close to the Hispanic community. I vetoed the bill. He thought it was a personal slap. From then on, things were pretty tense.”
Go read the rest.
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* WTAX…
Illinois lawmakers have yet to draw up the every-ten-years redistricting map for congressional seats. Until they do, U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Taylorville) will be waiting.
Davis, who now represents the 13th District, says 2022 will be a Republican year regardless of whether he runs for Congress or governor.
“I think Gov. (JB) Pritzker is going to be a one-term governor,” said Davis Monday. “I think we Republicans will nominate a candidate that will rally Illinoisans around him or her and be able to change Illinois. Change the way things are going in Illinois. And you do not have to look too far to see what corruption in Illinois means. Look at (former Illinois House Speaker) Mike Madigan and his henchmen that have run this Capitol for decades, and many in the news media turned a blind eye to it.”
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* Press release…
Today, State Representative Margaret Croke (IL-12) introduced HB4156, a bill to protect Illinoisans from gun violence and hold those putting more guns onto our streets accountable. The Protecting Heartbeats Act will allow Illinois residents to take civil action against gun manufacturers, importers, and dealers whose firearms are responsible for injury or death in the state.
“Too many Illinoisans die each year from senseless gun violence and we need to be doing everything in our power to keep people safe and prevent more guns from flooding into our communities,” said State Representative Margaret Croke. “In its ruling in Texas, the Supreme Court allowed citizens to take civil action against anyone in violation of the law. Our state has the opportunity to employ this same logic to hold gun manufacturers, importers, and dealers accountable for their actions and stop preventable tragedies from taking the lives of more Illinoisans.”
Everytown for Gun Violence, a leading gun violence prevention organization, estimates that 1,363 Illinoisans die of gun violence every year. From 2009 to 2018, the rate of gun deaths in Illinois increased by 32%, compared to 18% in the same time period nationwide. Illinois has the 9th highest rate of gun homicides in the country, and Black people are 34 times as likely to die by gun homicide as white people, compared to just 10 times nationwide. Everytown also says that firearms are the number one leading cause of death among children and teens in Illinois.
A recent report from the Chicago Tribune, which found that one single gun was responsible for 27 shootings and an untold amount of damage to Chicagoans and their loved ones in just a 20 month period, includes research that estimates the cost of just one gunshot injury is over $1 million. These costs include medical expenses, the earning power of a victim, the loss of business to the affected community, and more.
Under the Protecting Heartbeats Act, any Illinois resident other than a state or local government officer or employee may bring a civil action against a gun manufacturer, importer or dealer whose gun is responsible for bodily injury or death. If the claimant wins the suit, the court will award injunctive relief and damages of no less than $10,000 for each person injured or killed by the firearm manufactured, imported or dealt by the liable party.
The bill is here.
…Adding… Sun-Times…
But Richard Pearson, the head of the Illinois State Rifle Association, doesn’t think going after manufacturers is the way to curb the gun violence the state is seeing.
Pearson called the measure a “terrible bill” because the state “can’t control” what people do with guns or anything else.
He equated the measure to people suing farmers for accidents after agronomists sell their corn to an elevator that in turn sells the grain to a company that makes alcohol, which is “ridiculous.”
None of the gun laws already on the books in the U.S. will “stop criminal activity, no matter what you do, because criminals want to be criminals,” Pearson said.
“The only thing that has worked in the past is — when you get crime rates to drop — you put more police on the streets, you take the criminals who get caught, and you convict them and you put them in jail for a long time and people decide to stop doing bad stuff, but, until you do that, right now it’s just going the opposite way, like a revolving door,” Pearson said. “It’s a pretty terrible system right now.”
More react at the link.
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* AP…
R. Kelly, the R&B superstar known for his anthem “I Believe I Can Fly,” was convicted Monday in a sex trafficking trial after decades of avoiding criminal responsibility for numerous allegations of misconduct with young women and children.
A jury of seven men and five women found Kelly, 54, guilty of all nine counts, including racketeering, on their second day of deliberations. Kelly wore a face mask below black-rimmed glasses, remaining motionless with eyes downcast, as the verdict was read in federal court in Brooklyn.
Prosecutors alleged that the entourage of managers and aides who helped Kelly meet girls — and keep them obedient and quiet — amounted to a criminal enterprise. Two people have been charged with Kelly in a separate federal case pending in Chicago.
He faces the possibility of decades in prison for crimes including violating the Mann Act, an anti-sex trafficking law that prohibits taking anyone across state lines “for any immoral purpose.” Sentencing is scheduled for May 4. […]
Several accusers testified in lurid detail during the trial, alleging that Kelly subjected them to perverse and sadistic whims when they were underage.
* US Rep. Danny Davis, who is facing a primary challenge backed by Justice Democrats, was asked by TMZ if R. Kelly would be “welcomed back in Chicago” when his sentence is finished…
Well, let me tell you, as an artist, one who’s gifted, and is gifted, I think he’ll be welcomed back into Chicago as a person who can be redeemed.
You know, I’m a big believer in what is called ’second chances.’ And I actually have a bill that we got passed called The Second Chance Act, which gives individuals the opportunities to to be redeemed and to redeem themselves. So it will really all depend on him.
Davis was then asked what he would tell R. Kelly what he should do during his time in prison…
Try and find peace with his maker and peace with himself and reconcile with the universe for the acts that he may have committed.
The convicted felon faces federal charges in Chicago, as well as charges in Cook County and Minnesota.
*** UPDATE *** From Davis’ Democratic primary opponent Kina Collins…
“Congressman Davis’ statement today was thoughtless, distasteful, and incredibly disappointing for a man charged with representing thousands of Black women and girls in our district.
“I’m shocked that my Congressman would choose today of all days to focus on second chances for a serial abuser rather than uplifting survivors. Second chances for those reentering communities from prison are critical. But by holding R. Kelly — a man who leveraged his wealth and power to evade justice and harm Black girls — as an example of what second chances look like, Davis is undermining the broader fight for justice.
“It took years of activism — led by Black women — to hold R. Kelly accountable. He has caused immeasurable harm to so many women in our district and across Chicago. He hasn’t even been sentenced, let alone begun to serve his time. When so many survivors are just now finally able to begin their healing process, Congressman Davis’ statement shows just how out of touch he is with the community he claims to represent.
“My heart goes out to survivors in IL-07 and across the country today. Our district deserves better than thoughtless leadership.”
* Related…
* R. Kelly: The history of allegations against him
* R. Kelly Is Found Guilty on All Counts, Twenty-five Years Too Late
* R. Kelly’s conviction a victory, especially for Black women, in a battle we can never stop fighting
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COVID-19 roundup
Monday, Sep 27, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Mark Maxwell…
All hospitals and health care facilities in Illinois must begin keeping records that monitor vaccination status and Coronavirus test results for all of their staff, according to a new emergency rule issued by the state on Friday.
The Illinois Department of Public Health quietly filed the emergency rules with the Secretary of State’s office at the close of the first week under Governor Pritzker’s new vaccine mandate for health care workers. Pritzker’s mandate would require all workers at health care facilities and schools to be fully vaccinated or submit to weekly testing. The new reporting and record-keeping rules apply to hospitals, assisted living centers, skilled nursing facilities, sheltered care facilities, veterans homes, and a variety of other health care facilities licensed with the state, and go into effect immediately.
“Each establishment shall maintain a record of fully vaccinated staff, unvaccinated staff, and weekly testing,” the rules say, though they offer no specific instructions on how facilities should report that information to the state.
“The emergency rule is silent on how they are going to collect,” Danny Chun with the Illinois Health and Hospital Association said in a phone call on Monday. “You can’t just turn on a light switch and start a new reporting system ‘effective immediately.’”
The new emergency rules don’t appear to allow any room for unvaccinated health care workers to decline a Coronavirus test.
“Staff who are not fully vaccinated may be permitted to enter or work at the establishment while they are waiting to receive the results of their weekly test,” the rules say. Otherwise, the state rules mandate that any workers who refuse the vaccine for religious or medical reasons “shall undergo the testing requirements.”
The Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act says, “It is the public policy of the State of Illinois to respect and protect the right of conscience of all persons who refuse to obtain, receive or accept…health care services and medical care…and to prohibit all forms of discrimination, disqualification, coercion, disability or imposition of liability upon such persons or entities by reason of their refusing to act contrary to their conscience or conscientious convictions in providing, paying for, or refusing to obtain, receive, accept, deliver, pay for, or arrange for the payment of health care services and medical care.”
* Getting slightly better…
Also, 65.92 percent of eligible Illinois voters are now fully vaccinated.
* Daily Herald…
A Kane County judge has denied a request for a temporary restraining order in a case filed by four employees from St. Charles Unit District 303 and Geneva Unit District 304 who are challenging COVID-19 vaccination and testing requirements.
District 303 teachers Nicole Cournaya and Jeffrey Otterby; a District 303 administrative assistant, Christine White; and a District 304 bus driver instructor, Terry Todd, are seeking an injunction. They want a judge to prevent their employers from enforcing an order from Gov. J.B. Pritzker banning school workers from buildings if they are unvaccinated against COVID-19 and refuse to be tested weekly.
* Daily Herald…
Park Ridge parents who were forced to pull their three children from school because the kids hadn’t quarantined after a trip abroad are suing over the matter.
Lucas and Daniela Fuksa filed a petition for relief and for an injunction against Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 and Superintendent Eric Olson on Monday in Cook County circuit court. […]
“The district and Defendant Olson have infringed upon the lawful right of the Children and their Parents to be free to choose for themselves what health and safety measures they feel are appropriate for the Children,” the petition states.
* Speaking of lawsuits, Tom DeVore’s Facebook page is now visible again. Videos are not available, however, unless maybe if you’re one of his FB friends. Remember that live video urging his followers to “Bring this state to its knees”? This is what happens when you click on the link…
* Good points…
As COVID rights lawyer Tom DeVore shuts down his Facebook account because he, “needs a break” from all the messages, my…
Posted by Marc Ayers on Friday, September 24, 2021
* Another good point…
* WICS…
More than a dozen Illinois schools and districts are still not requiring face coverings, even though they risk losing funding and state recognition. […]
Four are public school districts and nine are private schools. […]
The public districts are all in or near Central Illinois–Nauvoo-Colusa CUSD 325, Cowden-Herrick CUSD 3A, Beecher City CUSD 20, and Hutsonville CUSD 1. […]
The [Beecher City] school board voted to hire attorney Tom DeVore and the Silver Lake Group to represent them on any legal issues regarding the mask mandate, but it’s unclear if any lawsuits have been filed.
* More…
* Biden receives coronavirus booster shot on camera
* Heavy drinking on the rise amid pandemic-related stress, new survey reveals
* FBI: Killings soared nearly 30 percent in 2020, with more slayings caused by guns
* Chicago Public Schools Enrollment Nosedives Again: Chicago Public Schools enrollment is down by at least 10,000 students this fall. It has dropped by more than 24,000 since the pandemic began.
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* This is the only notice I received that Davis and Pelosi were doing a thing together yesterday…
Pat Dowell Candidate for Secretary of State Sunday Schedule includes 47th Ward Kickball and House Speaker Pelosi & Congressman Davis […]
4;00 pm Pat Dowell will attend with US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi & Congressman Danny K Davis a reception at The Chicago South Loop Hotel 11 West 26th Street, Chicago, Illinois
I’m told that Speaker Pelosi leaves it up to members to publicize joint events like that. Davis is a notoriously poor fundraiser, despite serving on the powerful House Ways & Means Committee. He had less than $300K in his account at the end of June, for instance. So, you’d think he’d want to try and boost attendance. Nope. We’ll see how much cash the soiree brought in, but here’s Politico with the only publicity the event received…
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, facing an extraordinarily busy week in Congress, made a trip to Illinois on Sunday to champion Rep. Danny Davis’ re-election campaign — and voice her support for state lawmakers as they embark on drawing congressional maps.
“She gave a real message of party unity,” Rep. Kam Buckner, chair of the Illinois House Black Caucus, told Playbook. “She was very congratulatory of the work we’ve done here in Illinois and she was staunchly supportive of Congressman Davis and the status and stature he holds in the House. She said we need to send him back because these next two years are going to be pivotal.”
Davis, the longtime rep of the 7th Congressional District, has been targeted by the Justice Democrats who are ostensibly working to replace centrist Dems with liberal candidates. The organization is backing activist Kina Collins, who lost to Davis by 46 points last year in a four-way primary.
It’s an unusual fight for Justice Democrats to pick. They helped oust Dan Lipinski last year, one of the last Democrats in Congress opposed to abortion rights. But Davis is a progressive in his own right who most recently was a co-sponsor of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, and the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. Davis also voted for same-sex marriage in 2015 and against the Iraq War in 2002. And he co-sponsored the Green New Deal bill.
Pelosi’s visit to Chicago indicates Democrats are taking the challenge to Davis seriously, who she said was an important player in Congress as chairman of a House Ways and Means subcommittee and “a partner” in Biden’s Build Back Better plan.
Davis just turned 80 and has been in Congress for 24 years. He’s an institution, but Justice Democrats clearly have their sites set on him.
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Rules for thee…
Monday, Sep 27, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Cook County press release…
Aug. 20, 2021 – The Cook County Department of Public Health today announced that all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, will be required to wear a mask indoors, beginning on Monday, Aug. 23. The order (below) requires that all people above age two who can medically tolerate a mask to wear one in multi-unit residential buildings and public places, such as restaurants, movie theaters, retail establishments, fitness clubs, and on public transportation.
“We are in a dangerous period, with the Delta variant surging, during which we must return to previous remediation measures,” said Dr. Rachel Rubin, Co-Lead and Senior Medical Officer of Cook County Department of Public Health. “We have no choice but to mandate that people wear masks indoors to help contain this spread of the virus.”
* There was a vaccine/testing requirement to attend the recent Cook County Democratic Party fundraiser, but the local and state masking requirements don’t differentiate…
The Cook County Democratic Party event tonight was a lot of fun! Having so many friends in one room was awesome! So great to be with everyone!
Posted by Jim Gleffe for Judge on Thursday, September 23, 2021
More pics are here. Not exactly a sea of compliance.
Also, Gov. Pritzker was there. I’m so old I remember a time in August when he skipped the state county party chairs’ brunch because it was indoors.
…Adding… Maskless indoors with unvaccinated kids…
…Adding… The above pic is from the 2018 campaign. But still. This is a self-own.
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Today’s quotable
Monday, Sep 27, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Politico…
President Joe Biden has been sending a steady stream of emissaries to Illinois in person and virtually to showcase efforts to address climate change, education policies and child care initiatives. And Biden himself will be in Illinois Wednesday highlighting Covid-19 mandates that work.
“I think there is a certain part of the Biden administration that looks at Illinois and says ‘Here are a lot of things we’d like to accomplish that are getting done at the state level and they’re popular and successful.’ So it’s a good place to go and point out that the pieces of our agenda that the White House is trying to get passed actually work,” Anne Caprara, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s chief of staff, told Playbook.
Thoughts?
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Remap roundup
Monday, Sep 27, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Background is here if you need it. AP…
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday signed off on new electoral maps the Legislature will use for the next decade, despite concerns from certain groups, including some Black and Latino voters, that they weren’t able to weigh in and wouldn’t be fairly represented.
It was the second time Pritzker approved maps drawn up by his fellow Democrats despite promising as a candidate in 2018 that he would veto any made by politicians. He also signed an earlier version that Democrats approved in May but that critics said were flawed because they were based on population estimates. Democrats redrew them last month based on newly released census data and approved them along a straight party-line vote during a one-day special session Aug. 31.
“Gov. Pritzker’s signing of the legislative maps sends a clear picture of the severity of his ‘retrograde amnesia’ and efforts to deceive Illinois citizens,” House Republican Leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs said in a statement Friday. “The governor now joins the multitude of Democratic legislators who lied to voters by campaigning for and promising ‘fair maps.’”
Republicans and a Latino civil rights group, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, have lawsuits pending in federal court in Chicago that seek to block the new maps from being used in elections. Lawyers for MALDEF say the maps violate the federal Voting Rights Act because they created fewer districts where Latinos of voting age make up a majority, despite Latinos making up a greater percentage of the state’s population than they did a decade ago.
* Sun-Times…
But the Democratic governor insisted the maps drawn up by his party “align with the landmark Voting Rights Act and will help ensure Illinois’ diversity is reflected in the halls of government.” […]
Pritzker’s office said the new state House and Senate district maps “reflect Illinois’ diversity and preserve minority representation” because they’re “crafted in a way that preserves clusters of minority voters if they are of size or cohesion to exert collective electoral power.” […]
But leaders at the anti-corruption group CHANGE Illinois called the Democrats’ new maps “utterly undemocratic,” saying they “steal representation from Latino, Black and other Illinoisans who have repeatedly pleaded for equitable representation.”
“Many major groups agree the new maps reduce the numbers of majority Black voting age population districts and majority Latino voting age population districts,” a statement from CHANGE Illinois reads.
* Capitol News Illinois…
Republican leaders, as well as the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, or MALDEF, quickly filed a federal lawsuit in Chicago arguing that they were unconstitutional because they were based on population estimates from survey data rather than official census numbers.
When the official numbers finally came out in mid-August, they did in fact show that population variances between districts were far outside what is allowed under U.S. constitutional law, prompting Democratic leaders to call a special session to adjust the new maps.
Republicans argue, however, that those maps were passed well after the state constitution’s June 30 deadline and, therefore, the task should be given to a bipartisan commission, a process in which Republicans would have a 50-50 chance of gaining a partisan advantage.
That decision will ultimately be up to the courts.
* Leader McConchie probably had the best quote of all last week…
Republican state legislative leaders following the bill signing on Friday reiterated their criticism of Pritzker for failing to follow his original commitment to veto partisan-drawn maps.
“The governor has now twice chosen to actively betray the people he said he was elected to protect. This choice again proves he is more concerned with protecting the political elite than the people of Illinois,” Senate GOP leader Dan McConchie of Hawthorn Woods said.
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* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
After well over a year of successfully fending off every legal challenge to his executive powers during the pandemic, it now appears that Gov. J.B. Pritzker might have reached the limits of his authority.
The brick wall is Illinois’ decades-old Health Care Right of Conscience Act, which originally was designed to protect doctors and other health care workers from any repercussions if they refused to participate in abortions or other medical procedures/treatments they opposed.
“The biggest source of frustration and the biggest challenge right now related to the vaccine [mandate] issue is the Health Care Right of Conscience Act and how to manage that in this environment,” Tom Bertrand, the executive director of the Illinois Association of School Boards, told me.
The statute is so broadly written that it’s being seized upon by folks who are attempting to evade the state’s vaccination/testing mandates.
Statute excerpt: “It shall be unlawful for any public official, guardian, agency, institution or entity to deny any form of aid, assistance or benefits or to condition the reception in any way of any form of aid, assistance or benefits, or in any other manner to coerce, disqualify or discriminate against any person, otherwise entitled to such aid, assistance or benefits, because that person refuses to obtain, receive, accept, perform, assist, counsel, suggest, recommend, refer or participate in any way in any form of health care services contrary to his or her conscience.”
“Conscience” is defined as “a sincerely held set of moral convictions arising from belief in and relation to God, or which, though not so derived, arises from a place in the life of its possessor parallel to that filled by God among adherents to religious faiths.” Pretty darned broad. Democrats wouldn’t ever pass that bill today, considering the climate.
The law’s definition of “health care” includes the word “testing.” And Nauvoo-Colusa School District teachers who’ve refused vaccines have convinced the school board to exempt them from the weekly mandatory testing opt-out, citing the HCRCA. The school system already is under Illinois State Board of Education probation for not enforcing the state mask mandate. The school is in Hancock County, which has a mind-numbing positivity rate of 17.6%, and just 33.4% of residents are fully vaccinated.
Nobody at the IASB or the Illinois Association of School Administrators knows yet how widespread the use of this law is, but, said one official, “It’s the most chaotic period I’ve ever seen in Illinois schools.”
“It’s really difficult right now because there’s just no clarity,” said the IASB’s Bertrand.
There is talk of attempting to require HCRCA refusers to somehow prove their beliefs are “sincerely held.” But that could be fraught with problems.
Both teachers’ unions supported the governor’s vax/test mandate. But several of their members are now raising money to hire attorneys. And that means the unions are caught in the middle.
Sarah Antonacci, the Illinois Education Association’s director of communications, said, “At this time, we are unaware of any court that has found that the law provides a basis of objection for education employees who oppose the mandates set forth in the governor’s Executive Order.”
Antonacci also admitted that the issue had created a rift between those who support the mandate “and those who believe the government may have overstepped its bounds in mandating any of these things”
Illinois Federation of Teachers President Dan Montgomery said the existing law “did not contemplate a global health pandemic,” but said it “could take a long time” to settle legal questions in the judicial branch.
I asked both politically powerful unions if they would support a legislative fix to clarify that the law does not apply in these cases. Only the IFT’s Montgomery answered, saying the union “would consider supporting” a change.
Beyond a general support for the governor’s COVID response, the Democratic super majority in the General Assembly has shied away from legislation because an intense backlash can so easily be ginned up on Facebook nowadays. Since there was no real need to step in as long as the courts were siding with Pritzker, members would just as soon let that sleeping dog lie.
But there may be no choice now. The governor’s people say they need an amendment to the current law if there’s any hope of enforcement. I think there could be a way to press hard on the “sincerely held” beliefs angle but, barring that, if legislative Democrats want to see this thing through, then they may have to finally stick their political necks out.
* The Illinois FOP released this statement on Sunday…
Statement from Fraternal Order of Police State Lodge President Chris Southwood regarding contemplated changes to the Health Care Right of Conscience Act:
“As we have previously stated, we are not opposed to the COVID-19 vaccine, we are opposed to being forced to take it. Furthermore, the ILFOP is vehemently opposed to any proposed changes to the Health Care Right of Conscience Act that would diminish any individual’s right to their religious liberties and choose what is or is not injected into their body.”
“We also decry the state’s attempt to force targeted groups of citizens, such as law enforcement officers, first responders, correctional officers, teachers and others, to a forced vaccine as a condition of employment. In America, the land of the free, laws shouldn’t be changed just because they don’t fit the current political agenda of our elected politicians who sometimes forget the rights of ‘we the people’ who elected them.”
“Conscience is an individual’s most sacred right, and the Constitutional right of religious freedom prevents the government from imposing the beliefs of one segment of the population onto another.”
*** UPDATE *** Center Square…
At Jacksonville public schools, school Superintendent Steve Ptacek published a letter they sent the governor and Illinois State Board of Education saying that the district won’t be excluding staff without more clarity. Ptacek outlined the dilemma: “If we exclude staff that are not complying with Executive Order 2021-20, we assume substantial legal risk, but if we do not exclude employees, we are in defiance of an executive order.”
Defying the governor’s orders could lead to the Illinois State Board of Education putting the district on probation, and possibly impacting state funding to the district.
Ptacek’s letter said it can’t risk taxpayer resources on lengthy lawsuits challenging the governor’s mandate under the HCRCA that could come with tens of thousands in legal liabilities.
“For a $50,000/year employee, the penalties and costs could very realistically cost the taxpayers $500,000 per incident,” he said of potential legal liability if someone wins a case under the HCRCA.
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Open thread
Monday, Sep 27, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* If you’re too bummed to talk about football, you can always talk about other Illinois-centric topics. Have at it.
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