* Roll call..
Democrats voting No: Davis, Deluca, Scherer, Walsh, Yednock, Zalewski.
Democrats voting Present: Burke, Crespo, Hurley.
Democrats not voting: Moylan, Tarver.
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* More later…
Democrats voting No: Ammons, Burke, D’Amico, Deluca, Flowers, Hurley, Kifowit.
Democrats voting Present: Guerrero-Cuellar, Mayfield.
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* Amanda with the scoop…
More when I know more.
*** UPDATE *** Partisan analysis…
And…
The House Redistricting Committee on Wednesday released an updated version of the proposed congressional map that accounts for public feedback while improving minority influence.
“I am extraordinarily proud of the passion and dedication that has been present throughout this redistricting process,” said Rep. Lisa Hernandez, Chair of the House Redistricting Committee. “I want to thank my colleagues on the bipartisan redistricting committee, as well as the members of the public, advocacy groups and grassroots organizations that have helped provide the crucial testimony needed to ensure we have diverse representation in Washington. I am confident these proposed congressional boundaries will maintain our status as a leader in the nation for minority representation.”
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Question of the day
Wednesday, Oct 27, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* SJ-R…
With MLBplayoffs underway, the college footballand NFL seasons in full swing and NBA and NHL action just getting started, people across Illinois will have plenty of opportunities to cash in over the next few months.
The state’s sports betting handle — the amount of money wagered — has ranked in the top three with New Jersey and Nevada in each of the last seven monthly reports released by the Illinois Gaming Board.
* The Question: Have you bet on sports since it was legalized? Tell us about it, or tell us why not.
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* The governor was asked today for his thoughts on the deliberations over the new congressional map. Pritzker said he wants to wait to see what the final drawing looks like before commenting. When pressed a bit, he said…
But to be clear, I do want to say one thing, which is, as you know, the basic principle here is making sure that we end up with representation that is truly diverse, that represents the diversity of the state of Illinois. And so that’s something that I look strongly at whenever I’m looking at any of these maps. And, you know, I think it’s moving in the right direction, but I know that the legislature will be making adjustments or at least, I think they may be and so again, we’ll wait until the final version.
Not much there.
* The BND has a good story about what happened to what has been known as the East St. Louis House district…
A map approved by the Illinois General Assembly and Gov. J.B. Pritzker in September carves out a chunk of state House District 114 represented by Democratic Rep. LaToya Greenwood, who is Black. The map takes thousands of Black voters from the East St. Louis area and puts them into District 113, pushing another chunk of Black voters into District 112. White Democrats represent both.
A fifth of Black voters were moved out of East St. Louis, and thousands of white voters were moved in, a lawsuit challenging the map alleges. In the current map, Black residents of voting age represent 37.1% of the population, but only 33.4% in the new map, according to the suit. […]
“I thought that Texas was passing a racist law on voter suppression,” [Frank Smith, chair of the East St. Louis Democratic Central Committee] said, referencing a recent voting restrictions law in the state, “but when I looked here at home, I saw the same thing in just a different way.” […]
“There has been a lot of misinformation about the intent and impact of the recent redistricting on the 114th District,” [Rep. LaToya Greenwood, D-East St. Louis] said in a prepared statement. “For the past forty years, persons of all racial and ethnic backgrounds have come together to elect an African-American legislator in this district, despite the fact that the district was not a majority African-American district. Under the new map, I believe the 114th District will remain a strong district for African-American representation in Springfield, and I would not have supported the map if I believed otherwise.”
* Chair Hernandez admits the obvious…
The latest draft of a new congressional district map for Illinois met with much of the same criticism as the first draft during a House committee hearing Tuesday.
The latest proposal from legislative Democratic leaders was released Saturday. It divides the state into 17 congressional districts, one fewer than the state currently has due to its population loss since the 2010 U.S. Census. […]
During the hearing, Republican Rep. Tom Demmer, of Dixon, asked Democratic committee Chairwoman Lisa Hernandez, of Cicero, directly whether the maps were drawn to increase Democrats’ partisan advantage.
“I would say politics plays a part,” Hernandez said.
* This practice is as old as the republic itself, but it’s a fair hit…
State Sen. Omar Aquino, D-Chicago, chairman of the Senate Redistricting Committee, told WBEZ he hasn’t ruled out running for a second Latino-leaning congressional seat that would be created in the Democrats’ map.
That situation, [Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield] said, is an example of the ethical conflicts that can occur when politicians draw maps.
A spokeswoman for Senate Democrats didn’t respond to a request for comment on Butler’s statement.
* On to campaigns. A Republican declares for Supreme Court…
Judge Daniel B. Shanes today announced his candidacy for the open Illinois Supreme Court Second District seat. He was joined by current and former public officials who emphasised Judge Shanes’s fair and impartial record, his experience as a judge and prosecutor, and his commitment to the Constitution as key reasons for their support for his candidacy. Quotes from each of these officials endorsing Judge Shanes can be found below and photos and video from today’s event are available upon request.
Endorsements of Judge Shanes
Fred Foreman, former United States Attorney & Chief Judge for Lake County - “Judge Dan Shanes is an ideal candidate for the Illinois Supreme Court. His commitment to our Constitution and the Rule of Law is exactly what we should expect from someone on the highest court in our state. Through his service as an assistant State’s Attorney coupled with over 14 years as a judge, he has the necessary experience, knowledge, and commitment to the law, and I’m proud to support Judge Shanes.”
Joe McMahon, former Kane County State’s Attorney - “When I consider the importance of our Supreme Court, I think that someone like Judge Dan Shanes is exactly who we need to set our state on the right path. A fierce defender of the law, an unerring commitment to the rights of the individual, and a fair and impartial record of rulings make him the right person for the job of Supreme Court justice. Judge Shanes will be a judge to make all of Illinois proud, and I encourage everyone in the Second District to support him.”
Patrick Kenneally, McHenry County State’s Attorney - “Judge Shanes is an upstanding judge and someone who will rule with integrity on the Supreme Court bench. His record speaks for itself, displaying a years-long commitment to the rule of law and balance in his rulings that will benefit our state from the Supreme Court. Judge Shanes has always shown great deference to our Constitution and the rights imbued in it, and it will benefit all Illinoisans knowing they have someone as committed to their rights as Judge Shanes on the Supreme Court.”
Judge Daniel B. Shanes announced his candidacy for the Illinois Supreme Court Second District seat today in Lake County. Judge Shanes has more than 14 years of experience as a judge, first as an Associate Judge and for the last 11 years as a full Circuit Judge, having been appointed in 2010, then elected in 2012, and retained by the voters for another full term in 2018. He currently serves as the Chair of the Illinois Judicial College Board of Trustees by Illinois Supreme Court appointment, teaching judges to better serve people across Illinois. Prior to becoming a judge, Judge Shanes served as an Assistant State’s Attorney and Division Chief in Lake County, leading some of the County’s most challenging cases and spearheading reform efforts such as establishing Lake County’s Drug Court, a program of comprehensive treatment for non-violent repeat felony offenders driven by substance addiction.
* Something to consider when thinking about the upcoming Republican primaries. Here are the “Yes, definitely” responses from a Morning Consult poll taken October 22-October 24 of 1,999 registered voters, with “Yes, probably” results added to the final total in parentheses…
Do you think the results of the 2020 presidential election should be overturned?
Republican: 42% (60%)
Republican women: 49% (66%)
Republican men: 32% (51%)
Conservative: 40% (57%)
Homemaker: 40% (53%)
Rural: 30% (44%)
Biden Job Strongly Disapprove: 45% (64%)
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COVID-19 roundup
Wednesday, Oct 27, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Daily Herald…
New cases of COVID-19 among Illinois children ages 5 to 11 reached 277 Tuesday, the same day a federal panel of experts recommended use of Pfizer’s vaccine for that age group.
New infections in children age 4 and younger came to 73, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported. Combined, the tally of 350 represents 15.8% of the 2,213 total new COVID-19 cases announced Tuesday.
* Press release excerpt…
Governor JB Pritzker today announced that $505 million of the initial tranche of Illinois’ 2021 emergency rental assistance from the federal government has been distributed, as Illinois leads the nation in getting this funding out the door faster than any other state. More than 57,000 households have now received assistance through the Illinois Rental Payment Program (ILRPP). With Illinois’ initial 2021 allocation of rental relief funds fully paid out, IHDA will open a new round of assistance funded by a separate federal bill on Monday, November 8, 2021.
According to the latest report from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Illinois is a national leader in providing critical emergency rental assistance to vulnerable households. Illinois leads all other states in disbursing this initial emergency rental assistance with 84 percent of all funds allocated to the State as well as directly to other municipalities, and now in the hands of eligible renters and landlords as they regain their financial footing. This compares to the national rate of just 23 percent of federal dollars making it into the hands of renters and landlords in September. The deadline for states to disburse 65 percent of the money they received under the first batch of funding was September 30. […]
ILRPP builds on the state’s comprehensive rental assistance programs launched by the Pritzker administration in 2020. The current statewide program provides up to $25,000 in emergency rental assistance to cover up to 15 months of past due rent and up to three months of future rent payments for tenants suffering a financial hardship related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Grant payments were made directly to the landlord on behalf of the tenant as long as the landlord agreed to forgo an eviction.
* Last I checked, Chicago was still within the boundaries of the state of Illinois, which has a mask mandate…
Chicago’s top doctor said Tuesday that she hopes Chicago’s mask mandate will end “soon” and provided a metric for when the city could remove the requirement.
Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said in a Facebook Live event that, per U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, the city would need to be below 200 cases per day to remove the mask mandate.
“Our numbers are going down,” Arwady said. “When we get below 200 per day with good testing, per the CDC, moving out of that ’substantial transmission’ risk, that’s what [the mask mandate] would be coming off.”
* I told subscribers about this yesterday morning and then Crain’s ran its own little blurb later in the day without attribution…
Rep. Flowers’ claim sent me on a hunt today for how crack and the the vaccine are made. Yeah, OK, I was a little bored.
Basically, cocaine and baking soda or ammonia are heated with water to make crack. The only active ingredient in the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines is messenger ribonucleic acid. Lipids give it a “greasy” exterior, salts balance the acidity and table sugar keeps it stable when frozen.
So, I’m not quite sure where that conspiracy theory came from (I even Googled it several different ways to no avail), but it’s definitely quite weird.
* Daily Journal…
While five employees were granted a court-issued extension in regard to receiving the COVID-19 vaccination to continue working for Riverside Healthcare, that same extension does not cover any other employee.
The hospital, in a Tuesday email message to its staff, noted the Oct. 31 deadline regarding being vaccinated remains in effect.
“The court ruling does not apply to any other Riverside employees,” the statement read.
Of the organization’s 2,913 employees, 90 percent have been vaccinated. Employees not vaccinated by Oct. 31 face a two-week unpaid suspension. If they are not vaccinated following the suspension, they will be terminated.
* Related…
* CPS enrollment continues to plummet: ‘I would have never imagined seeing this steep of a decline’: Enrollment is down 3% compared to the 340,658 students counted in the last school year — when the COVID-19 pandemic was well underway — and 7% versus the 355,156 students in the 2019-20 year. The figures cover more than 600 schools, which include district-run, charter, contract and SAFE schools.
* Former hotel workers sue Swissotel Chicago, accused it of violating ‘Right to Return to Work’ ordinance
* Gov. JB Pritzker works with doctors, schools to offer COVID-19 vaccines to kids ages 5-11
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* Press release…
Governor JB Pritzker will travel to London and Glasgow to tout Illinois’ climate leadership and economic development opportunities from November 2 to November 9, 2021.
“Illinois is leading the Midwest on climate action and building a green energy economy and I am eager to tout our success abroad,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Our historic clean energy legislation, talented workforce, and role as a transportation hub for the nation makes our state a top destination for international companies looking to do business in the U.S. I look forward to visiting London and Glasgow to encourage companies to come to Illinois and promote the international action needed to combat the climate crisis.”
The Governor and top staff will arrive in London, England on Nov. 2 and spend two days meeting with business leaders, discussing Illinois’ economic development opportunities and prospects for investment within our burgeoning green economy.
On Nov. 5, the Illinois mission led by Gov. Pritzker will attend the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland. The Governor will share how Illinois is becoming the leading state in the Midwest on climate action and clean energy. He’ll also urge other governments, business leaders, and organizations to take further action to combat the climate crisis.
More information on specific events will follow.
I’m told the two Democratic legislative leaders have been invited, but no decisions have been made as of today.
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Organizations Call For Repeal of PNA
Wednesday, Oct 27, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Dear members of the Illinois General Assembly:
As organizations, we support the repeal of Illinois’ Parental Notice of Abortion Act, and urge the General Assembly to take up legislation to get rid of this dangerous law during the current veto session.
Decades of research and experience demonstrate that such forced parental involvement laws hurt young people and serve no valid purpose. Most young people will involve a parent or other adult family member in their decision about having an abortion voluntarily regardless of what the law says. The minority of young people who do not talk to their parents in this situation have grave concerns such as: fear of physical or emotional abuse, loss of financial support, or homelessness; fear of being forced to give birth against their will; or serious family problems such as a parent who is sick or imprisoned.
This law has been in effect and putting young people in our state in harm’s way for over eight years, and the time for the General Assembly to protect youth and repeal this law is now. The urgency of eliminating this dangerous barrier to abortion access is all the more apparent with a case to overturn Roe v. Wade pending in the U.S. Supreme Court, and a new radical law in Texas that authorizes individual bounty hunters to enforce a ban on abortion.
Read the full list of organizations here.
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* Amendment 3 to SB1169…
Violations related to COVID-19 requirements. It is not a violation of this Act for any person or public official, or for any public or private association, agency, corporation, entity, institution, or employer, to take any measures or impose any requirements, including, but not limited to, any measures or requirements that involve provision of services by a physician or health care personnel, intended to prevent contraction or transmission of COVID-19 or any pathogens that result in COVID-19 or any of its subsequent iterations.
It is not a violation of this Act to enforce such measures or requirements. This Section is a declaration of existing law and shall not be construed as a new enactment. Accordingly, this Section shall apply to all actions commenced or pending on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly. Nothing in this Section is intended to affect any right or remedy under federal law.
* Compare that to the original version…
The Health Care Right of Conscience Act is amended by adding Section 13.5 as follows:
Violations related to COVID-19 requirements. It is not a violation of this Act for any person or public official, or for any public or private association, agency, corporation, entity, institution, or employer, to take any measures or impose any requirements, including, but not limited to, any measures or requirements that involve provision of services by a physician or health care personnel, intended to prevent contraction or transmission of COVID-19 or any pathogens that result in COVID-19 or any of its subsequent iterations.
It is not a violation of this Act to enforce such measures or requirements, including by terminating employment or excluding individuals from a school, a place of employment, or public or private premises in response to noncompliance. This Section is a declaration of existing law and shall not be construed as a new enactment. Accordingly, this Section shall apply to all actions commenced or pending on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly. Nothing in this Section is intended to affect any right or remedy under federal law.
The highlighted words were removed from the newly revised version.
Thoughts?
…Adding… Very good point from a commenter…
Also deleted was the immediate effective date.
That means it’ll only need 60 votes. Subscribers know what the next option could be.
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* Hannah Meisel…
So far, employing Illinois’ HCRCA has proven an effective legal strategy for a small group of nurses at a Kankakee hospital, who this week won temporary protection from getting fired over their refusal to get their COVID shots. It’s also worked for employees at a trio of medical groups in Quincy, who were spared from terminations over their workplaces’ vaccine mandates earlier this month.
Other lawsuits, including those filed on behalf of teachers, go even further in trying to use the law to get out of regular COVID testing — offered as an alternative to getting vaccinated — and mask wearing at school. […]
It’s unclear how many lawsuits have been filed in Illinois so far using the HCRCA as a legal rationale to beat employers’ vaccine mandates; litigation has been initiated in many of Illinois’ 102 county circuit courts, in addition to federal courts. But since Pritzker is often named as a defendant in the suits, the eight cases the Attorney General’s office is defending the governor in is a decent gauge for the trend.
And Ashley Wright, chief of legislative affairs at the Attorney General’s office, said there’s reason to believe the spigot of litigation is just getting started. Wright told lawmakers Tuesday afternoon that the only way to stem the wave of lawsuits is to approve an amendment to the HCRCA this week, and warned that failure to do so could mean the functional collapse of Pritzker’s many COVID mitigation orders.
“To be clear, if we leave Springfield doing nothing on this issue, we’ll be walking back from all the progress that we’ve made so far…on all the mitigation efforts that we’ve made,” Wright said. “And that includes masks and testing. Not passing this bill ultimately means that the state cannot keep people safe.”
* Mark Maxwell…
Catholic bishops opposed weakening the law, criticizing government desire for “expediency,” but Bishop Thomas John Paprocki from the Springfield Diocese said employers who mandate Coronavirus tests as an alternative to vaccines are “reasonable.”
“The Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act was not intended to cover things like testing or taking precautions like wearing a mask,” Paprocki said. “I think that’s just common sense.”
Several Facebook groups that have rallied supporters to oppose vaccine mandates recruited their followers to fill out witness slips on the General Assembly’s website. Within 24 hours, nearly 50,000 witness slips appeared online from people claiming they opposed the House amendment to the Health Care Right of Conscience Act.
“It’s an organized effort of misinformation, and it’s very concerning to me,” Rep. Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston) said on Tuesday night after the committee approved her bill.
Some of the critics who opposed vaccine mandates also sent menacing threats to her office. In a Facebook message Gabel’s office sent to law enforcement, one man from the Rockford area referred to her bill as “rape by needle,” and threatened to force a medical procedure on Gabel against her consent. Others leveled vile, sexist insults, or referred to her as “Satan,” or a “witch.”
“I think it’s unfair,” she said. “I think it’s unreasonable, and it’s scary.”
Legal experts say federal law and established case law protect an employer’s right to enforce vaccine mandates. Gabel argues her proposal wouldn’t change the existing power to enforce mandates, it would simply remove an illegitimate excuse people have used to try and skirt the vaccine or testing requirements.
* They’re such pleasant folks…
Ugh.
* People would still be able to apply for and even obtain a religious exemption, but employers wouldn’t be punished under state law for denying one. This is a misunderstanding of what’s going on now…
Democratic state Rep. LaShawn Ford said the amendment isn’t ready and may be the wrong approach to encourage vaccination.
“We have to make sure that we convince people that taking the vaccine is the right thing to do and make sure that they still have that option to have their doctor give the exemption and to make sure they get the religious exemption,” Ford said. “So those are important for me that we maintain the right to.”
* Meanwhile…
Operators of licensed day cares in Illinois say the governor’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate on the industry will make a staffing crisis even more acute. […]
Sarah Stoliker with Illinois Directors and Owners of Childcare Centers agreed.
“We’re not opposed to public health measures that will help bring this pandemic to an end, but there has to be a balance,” Stoliker said in an interview.
Yeah, very reasonable person…
I asked her group’s spokesperson for a comment on that post yesterday and it has since apparently been removed.
* Related…
* Editorial: Illinois should end moral, religious exemptions to COVID-19 vaccination and testing: “In multiple cases, ostensibly religious reasons to decline immunization actually reflected concerns about vaccine safety or personal beliefs among a social network of people organized around a faith community, rather than theologically based objections per se,” the report states.
* Judge ‘Puzzled’ by Chicago Firefighters’ Vaccine Lawsuit: During Tuesday’s 45-minute hearing, which was held by videoconference, Lee asked several pointed questions to plaintiffs’ attorney Jonathan Lubin, including why forcing employees to disclose their vaccination status was even a constitutional issue at all. “I look puzzled because I am puzzled,” Lee said. “Because don’t we have to disclose medical information for all sorts of different jobs? Why is this any different?” In his response, Lubin started to argue that the “political nature” of the vaccine debate with COVID-19 could not be divorced from the legal issues — but the judge cut him off. “I don’t care about the political,” Lee said. “This is a court of law.”
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A little EV stuff for your perusal
Wednesday, Oct 27, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* ABATE Illinois brought the Zero SR/S motorcycle to the Statehouse yesterday and parked it next to the R1T, which was brought to town by the Rivian folks…
* The Batman was looking good…
More pics here.
…Adding… A young Batinick…
* ABATE is trying to get language on electric motorcycles into the Reimagining Electric Vehicles in Illinois Act. From a press release…
The newly introduced act continues to share the exact same language that was contained in the Illinois Energy Transition Act which excludes motorcycles from Illinois’ plans to electrify the transportation grid.
We were especially disappointed to see this language continue to be used after Governor Pritzker’s press conference at heartland college last Thursday. When the Governor was asked about the exclusion of motorcycles from the Illinois Energy Transition Act and of the potential of being excluded from this Act as well, the Governor stated “There’s no intentionality to exclude”.
ABATE of Illinois is calling on Governor Pritzker to stand behind those comments and work with ABATE to remove this exclusionary language from both the Reimagining Electric Vehicles in Illinois Act & the recently passed Energy Transition Act.
Simply put, if the goal of this legislation is to encourage the manufacturing and adoption of electric transportation in Illinois, it must include all transportation in Illinois, not just certain sectors. Many Illinoisans use motorcycles as their primary mode of transportation, racking up thousands more miles on two wheels vs four wheels. For the last few weeks a beta of Illinois members have been posting pictures online with the hashtag #motorcyclesareprimary to bring awareness to this fact.
ABATE encourages members of the General Assembly and the Governor’s staff to work together on making the future of transportation equal to all modes of transportation.
* Chandra Brown and Brad Henderson writing in Crain’s…
The nation needs to know that Rivian’s first electric truck is being made not in Detroit, not in Silicon Valley—but in Normal, Ill.
The nation needs to know that MotorTrend has described that truck, which hits 60 miles per hour in about 3 seconds, as “the most remarkable pickup we’ve ever driven.”
The nation needs to know that Gov. J.B. Pritzker has introduced a sweeping piece of legislation—a set of policies to encourage the burgeoning electric vehicle industry to invest more here.
The nation needs to know that the state has awarded $7.5 million to Normal’s Heartland Community College to launch a program to train electric vehicle technicians, so that Rivian and its suppliers have the skilled labor they need.
And it goes on like that. But, they gotta pass a bill first. And that’s not yet a guarantee.
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[Bumped up to Wednesday morning for visibility.]
* Sun-Times…
Illinois moved closer on Tuesday to no longer requiring a parent or other adult family member to be notified before a minor child receives an abortion, as the state Senate approved overturning a 26-year-old law that took nearly two decades to go into effect.
State Sen. Elgie Sims, D-Chicago, said the repeal of the Parental Notice of Abortion Act and the creation of the youth health and safety working group is a “necessary proposal to move our state forward to protect our young people — often those who cannot protect themselves.”
But one downstate Republican called the measure a slap in the face to families, arguing “this body is being used to take away the rights of parents.”
Along with repealing the parental notice law, the measure Sims sponsored also creates the Youth Health and Safety Act, which establishes the working group to ensure “full and equitable access to reproductive health care for all persons” statewide regardless of such factors as race or ethnicity, immigration status, age, education level or economic means.
* Tribune…
The Democratic-controlled Senate voted 32-22 to repeal the parental notification requirement, with four members of the majority party joining Republicans in opposition. Five other Democrats did not vote.
The proposal, which has the support of Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, now goes to the Democratic-controlled House, where its prospects remain uncertain. […]
“This is a necessary proposal to move our state forward to protect our young people, often those who cannot protect themselves,” said Democratic state Sen. Elgie Sims of Chicago, the measure’s sponsor.
Opponents of repeal — largely Republican lawmakers, religious leaders and anti-abortion groups — have sought to frame the debate as one about parental rights rather than about abortion access.
Democrats voting No: Crowe, Cunningham, Joyce, Loughran Cappel.
Democrats not voting: Belt, Cullerton, Harris, Hastings, Landek.
* AP…
But with a 32-22 tally in favor of repeal, the count fell short of approval of all who make up the Democrats’ 41-18 advantage, showing the reticence among moderate Democrats on a law whose proposed repeal now moves to the House with two days left in the General Assembly’s fall session.
Republicans repeatedly point out that notification has the support of nearly three-quarters of Illinoisans responding to a poll conducted last spring. And they publicized the nearly 50,000 notices of opposition to the legislation that were filed electronically before the vote.
“It’s the most basic human relationship that we know and it is a precious bond for a lifetime, most critical during a young girl’s, a minor’s, formative years….” said Republican Sen. Jil Tracy of Quincy. “We have enough problems in the state without creating more wedges between children and their parents.”
Pro-notice advocates note that the 48-hour alert to a parent or guardian the law requires involves only notification, not consent. According to the Guttmacher Institute, of 38 states requiring parental involvement in a minor’s abortion decision, 21 require parental consent — in three of those, both parents must consent.
* WTTW…
The repeal’s sponsor, Sen. Elgie Sims, D-Chicago said young people make up less than 10% of abortions in Illinois.
He said there is no legal obligation for parents know of other medical decisions surrounding a pregnancy, such as having the child or getting a C-section.
“The only decision when it relates to pregnancy, the only decision that a parent has to be involved in, is required to be involved in, is if the child choses to have an abortion,” Sims said.
He called the notion raised by critics that repealing the notification law is a slap in the face to parents “offensive.”
* ACLU Illinois…
Tonight’s action by the Illinois Senate to pass the Youth Health and Safety Act HB 370 moves Illinois a step closer to ending enforcement of the dangerous Parental Notice of Abortion Act. The measure approved tonight also helps identify resources for pregnant and parenting youth.
Over the last eight years, we have represented more than 575 young people who have been forced by this law to go to court seeking a judicial bypass because they knew they could not share their abortion decision with any of the designated family members. Ending this barrier for young people in Illinois is critical.
We are especially pleased that a majority of senators saw through the argument that PNA is not about abortion, only about parental “rights.” This is a fallacy. After all, the law only requires that young people share their decision about an abortion, not the decision to parent or place a baby for adoption. This has always been about deterring young people from access to abortion care, and nothing else.
We look forward to this bill moving through the Illinois House and being signed into law by the Governor. Many thanks to chief sponsor Senator Elgie Sims, chief-co-sponsor, Senator Melinda Bush, and all those who voted for the measure. Your leadership will help protect the wellbeing of young people in our state for years to come. This is public policy-making at its best.
* Sen. Rezin…
Senate Republican Deputy Leader Sue Rezin (R-Morris) issued the following statement after the Senate passed House Bill 370, which repeals the Parental Notice of Abortion (PNA) Act of 1995 with a 32-22 vote:
“Today’s vote is yet another attack on the rights of parents by the Democrat majority that will deny parents the opportunity to provide their daughters with the help and support that they need during one of the most difficult times in their life.
“By repealing the Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 1995, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle sent a clear message to the parents across the state that they believe parents have no right to know about their child’s health or health care decisions.”
* WCIA…
Paprocki predicted Illinois would see “drastically” more abortions if the law is repealed. He joined with other pastors from the Chicago region who traveled to Springfield on a bus to rally against the push to repeal the law.
“The number of minors getting an abortion has gone down since the notification law went into effect,” he said. “Now, isn’t that a good thing?”
Many of the pastors support further restrictions on abortions. Pastor Calvin Lindstrom of Christian Liberty in Arlington Heights said he supports the recent abortion restrictions passed in Texas, and would like to see Illinois move in that direction. “I support it,” Lindstrom said. “I think it could go further to be honest with you.” He said he supports banning abortion even in cases of rape or incest.
* SJ-R…
Sen. Terri Bryant, R-Murphysboro, blamed Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, for the repeal.
“Time and time again, this governor has spit in the faces of families in this state,” she said. “He has shown his total and complete disregard for the rights of the family unit, and now he’s at it again, but he’s using this body.”
* Capitol News Illinois…
Emily Werth, a staff attorney at ACLU of Illinois, responded that in Illinois, a minor who is pregnant no longer has to receive parental consent for any medical care. The pregnant minor could undergo a caesarian section, receive a vaccine or get any other medical care without parental notice or consent.
“And that is because the General Assembly has made the policy decision that when a young person is pregnant, it is in their best interests and all of our best interest that they have access to whatever medical care they need, without delay, without being put in harm’s way,” Werth said. “Abortion is one kind of medical care that they may need when they are pregnant. And it should be treated the same as any other kind of medical care.”
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COVID-19 roundup
Tuesday, Oct 26, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sen. Darren Bailey was interviewed at the recent Illinois Conservative Union conference…
Q: Why do you think the governor is pushing so hard for this vaccination mandate and doing away or at least amending the right of conscience act?
Bailey: I’ve said from day one, follow the money. I think it has a lot to do with the money. Big pharma money. I can’t prove that. But all the actions lead to that when we see each and every day the proof of even of even, you know, vaccinated people still dying from COVID, still catching it again. We’re not seeing the numbers and proof and the data and the facts that they say that they have.
Q: I’m thinking that money is a big part of this, probably the biggest part of this. But isn’t there a sense of we have the power to do this and this is a way we can control you?
Bailey: Again, we said it earlier. Marxism. Just how do you destroy a constitutional republic? This seems to be a pretty plausible roadmap to do that.
Whew. The drama is strong in that one.
* I’m assuming he wants his unvaccinated members to be paid in full by the city if they catch the virus and have to quarantine for 14 days…
Police union President John Catanzara said Tuesday his union members would agree to testing every day, but he’s still encouraging members to defy the city’s vaccine mandate.
“We will be OK with our members getting a rapid test every day they report to work, before they walk into roll call so they know if you’re contagious or not. Your vaccine status shouldn’t matter at that point,” Catanzara said.
Catanzara said officers who test negative would go to work.
“If you’re positive, you go home, go onto medical (leave) and quarantine for 14 days. It’s the simplest solution to stop the spread, if that’s what they really wanted to do,” he said.
Paying the unvaxed to stay home doesn’t seem fiscally prudent. If they take the risk, they should pay for the consequences.
* Tribune…
Fourteen employees of NorthShore University HealthSystem are suing the hospital system, alleging that NorthShore won’t let them keep their jobs because of their religious objections to getting COVID-19 vaccines.
Liberty Counsel, which describes itself as a Christian ministry that advocates for religious freedom, is representing the 14 NorthShore employees in the lawsuit, which it filed on Monday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The lawsuit seeks class-action status.
Background on Liberty Counsel…
Liberty Counsel—an evangelical nonprofit legal foundation—has been offering pro bono representation for clients in pursuit of religious exemption. The group previously focused on more traditional culture-war issues like anti-abortion suits and cases seeking to deny LGBTQ Americans their rights but Liberty’s founder, Mathew Staver, shares many of his clients conspiratorial views about vaccines and likes to air them in public. In speeches, he’s called COVID-19 shots part of a “depopulation” conspiracy to force the world to “have a tracking mechanism to determine whether or not you’ve had one of these particular injections.”
Just recently, one of Liberty Counsel’s most prominent cases involved health-care workers in Maine with a suit aimed at overturning the state’s vaccine mandate for hospital and nursing home employees. Last week, the Supreme Court declined to grant an emergency injunction as the case plays out in lower courts.
* More…
* COVID-19 update: 2,213 new cases, 34 more deaths, 1,230 hospitalizations: The state’s positivity rate for COVID-19 cases is 1.9% based on a seven-day average.
* Illinois expecting 500,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses initially for kids, with pediatricians expected to play a big role
* Four Measures That Are Helping Germany Beat COVID: Ensure That Mass Events Don’t Facilitate Mass Transmission; Make Testing Cheap and Easy; Throw Out Those Cloth Masks (in favor of KN95 masks); Figure Out Contact Tracing
* Meatpacker Tyson: Mandate led 96% of workers to get vaccine
* Lawsuit by Chicago workers challenging vaccine mandates heads to federal court today
* Effort to Roll Back Vaccine Mandate Blocked as Police Union President Vows Retribution
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PNA repeal bill surfaces in Senate
Tuesday, Oct 26, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sen. Elgie Sims’ Senate Amendment 1 to HB370 will be heard in the Senate Executive Committee.
Aside from brief language at the very bottom repealing the Parental Notification of Abortion law, the amendment creates the Youth Health and Safety Act…
The Youth Health and Safety Act seeks to restate Illinois’ commitment to full and equitable access to reproductive health care for all persons across the State, without barriers based on race or ethnicity, immigration status, age, geographic location, economic means, education level, or other categories of identity. The Act confirms that Illinois will not move backwards and will continue to assure that reproductive rights are protected and recognized.
It also creates the Youth Health and Safety Advisory Working Group and specifies duties and responsibilities, including…
The Youth Health and Safety Advisory Working Group is created for the purpose of identifying and reviewing laws and regulations that impact pregnant and parenting youth and youth that may become pregnant or a parent. The working group shall identify existing and needed resources for pregnant and parenting youth, and youth seeking reproductive healthcare. In this Act, “youth” means an individual under 18 years of age. The working group shall prepare and make public a report that details available information and makes recommendations as necessary.
The act would sunset in 2024.
Discuss.
…Adding… Very small rally today opposing the bill…
Thanks to Mike Miletich for the pic.
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Careful what you wish for
Tuesday, Oct 26, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Lynn Sweet is right. The newly drawn 3rd CD could easily be won by a non-Latino if credible and capable Latino candidates battle it out in the primary…
It’s different for the new 3rd — with only a 43.75% Hispanic voting age population, it is barely a minority district. One estimate from a Democratic political operative — discounting for folks who can’t vote and youths who don’t vote — put the number of Hispanics who will actually vote in the new 3rd at 37%.
A Democratic primary with multiple Hispanics will divide the Hispanic vote, leaving the door wide open for a non-Hispanic candidate to claim the seat.
Three candidates are already mulling bids.
Ald. Gilbert Villegas, (36th) told Sun-Times City Hall reporter Fran Spielman on Monday he is “seriously considering” a bid.
Sun-Times politics writer Rachel Hinton reports that Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Chicago, said in a statement she’s “carefully” considering a run for Congress. State Sen. Omar Aquino, D-Chicago, the chair of the Senate Redistricting Committee, is also expected to look at a run.
More are expected to jump in once the map is finalized. This could be a once-in-a-generation opportunity.
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Support Regulated Pet Stores And Defeat Puppy Mills
Tuesday, Oct 26, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Illinois families will soon be losing their opportunity to purchase dogs and cats from safe, highly-regulated local pet retailers, such as Petland, who offer their customers the choice of a pet that best fits their needs and provide health warranties. This change is coming because the state’s Animal Welfare Act has been updated through HB 1711 which bans the retail sales of dogs and cats obtained from licensed and regulated professional breeders.
But HB 1711 needs fixing, because while singularly blocking retail pet sales, it fails to strengthen any animal standards or protections at unregulated puppy mills across the state. Consumers looking for particular breeds will have no choice but to purchase dogs from unregulated breeders or dog auctions – thus perpetuating puppy mills. Responsible breeders and retailers will be heavily penalized while HB 1711 does nothing to address the issue of substandard breeders across the state.
Petland is dedicated to improving animal welfare and we have publicly demonstrated this commitment; in fact, we support the Humane Society’s petition effort to improve standards of care. Petland’s breeder pledge is a commitment to provide more space, more exercise, and more socialization for their pets plus numerous other improvements to standards of care.
Home - Protect Our Pets Illinois
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Illinois: Tell Congress To Count All Copays
Tuesday, Oct 26, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Many patients in Illinois rely on copay assistance to access and afford their prescription medications, often in instances when no generic option exists. Recognizing the important role copay assistance plays for patients, Illinois took legislative action to prohibit health plans from instituting “copay accumulator” policies that don’t apply copay assistance towards patient out-of-pocket costs.
Illinois stood with patients then – and must do so again.
Illinois can show leadership by ensuring patients are protected from these policies and have the guarantee that their copay assistance will count. At a time when Illinoisans are struggling financially from COVID-19, the state should protect the broadest set of patients to help them access critical medications for conditions like cancer and HIV.
Patient advocates are calling for our leaders in Springfield to stand with patients. We hope they answer that call. Tell Congress to count all copays. Stand with patients and support HR 516.
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Organizations Call For Repeal of PNA
Tuesday, Oct 26, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Dear members of the Illinois General Assembly:
As organizations, we support the repeal of Illinois’ Parental Notice of Abortion Act, and urge the General Assembly to take up legislation to get rid of this dangerous law during the current veto session.
Decades of research and experience demonstrate that such forced parental involvement laws hurt young people and serve no valid purpose. Most young people will involve a parent or other adult family member in their decision about having an abortion voluntarily regardless of what the law says. The minority of young people who do not talk to their parents in this situation have grave concerns such as: fear of physical or emotional abuse, loss of financial support, or homelessness; fear of being forced to give birth against their will; or serious family problems such as a parent who is sick or imprisoned.
This law has been in effect and putting young people in our state in harm’s way for over eight years, and the time for the General Assembly to protect youth and repeal this law is now. The urgency of eliminating this dangerous barrier to abortion access is all the more apparent with a case to overturn Roe v. Wade pending in the U.S. Supreme Court, and a new radical law in Texas that authorizes individual bounty hunters to enforce a ban on abortion.
Read the full list of organizations here.
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Facebook violence roundup
Tuesday, Oct 26, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Reporter with the Marshall Project…
* CBS 2 recently aired a story about young carjackers. Here’s an excerpt from their talk with “David” who is 14 years old…
He says getting the gun was also simple.
‘David’: “People on Facebook and stuff. They sell guns.”
Sargent: “So you were able to buy a weapon off Facebook?”
‘David’: “Yes.”
Sargent: “And do you find a lot of kids your age do that?”
‘David’: “Yes.”
* Sun-Times…
A St. Louis-to-Chicago gun trafficking network began with a relationship that was kindled on an online sneaker marketplace, federal authorities say.
Two men who met on a Facebook specialty sneaker group started trading guns for marijuana about a year ago, authorities say.
Over the past week, Chicago police and ATF agents arrested those men and their supplier, a 71-year-old Missouri retiree who’d traveled the country to buy weapons at gun shows, according to affidavits filed in federal court by an agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
* Washington Post…
Behind the scenes, Facebook programmed the algorithm that decides what people see in their news feeds to use the reaction emoji as signals to push more emotional and provocative content — including content likely to make them angry. Starting in 2017, Facebook’s ranking algorithm treated emoji reactions as five times more valuable than “likes,” internal documents reveal. The theory was simple: Posts that prompted lots of reaction emoji tended to keep users more engaged, and keeping users engaged was the key to Facebook’s business.
Facebook’s own researchers were quick to suspect a critical flaw. Favoring “controversial” posts — including those that make users angry — could open “the door to more spam/abuse/clickbait inadvertently,” a staffer, whose name was redacted, wrote in one of the internal documents. A colleague responded, “It’s possible.”
The warning proved prescient. The company’s data scientists confirmed in 2019 that posts that sparked angry reaction emoji were disproportionately likely to include misinformation, toxicity and low-quality news.
That means Facebook for three years systematically amped up some of the worst of its platform, making it more prominent in users’ feeds and spreading it to a much wider audience. The power of the algorithmic promotion undermined the efforts of Facebook’s content moderators and integrity teams, who were fighting an uphill battle against toxic and harmful content. […]
When Facebook finally set the weight on the angry reaction to zero, users began to get less misinformation, less “disturbing” content and less “graphic violence,” company data scientists found. As it turned out, after years of advocacy and pushback, there wasn’t a trade-off after all. According to one of the documents, users’ level of activity on Facebook was unaffected.
* Related…
* Misinformation, violence and social media: Five things we learned from the Facebook files
* Facebook’s misinformation and violence problems are worse in India
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Tribune can’t confirm Ives’ claim
Tuesday, Oct 26, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Press release…
Former state representative and Breakthrough Ideas’ CEO Jeanne Ives presented evidence today that 1,343 DuPage County registered voters no longer lived at their registered DuPage County address when they voted on Nov. 3, 2020.
Watch the full press conference here.
By law, these votes are fraudulent and invalid, as one cannot vote from an address where one does not reside.
Ives said the 1,343 voters were identified by comparing county voter records to the National Change of Address database; they each filled out forms attesting to the federal government that they had moved prior to September 1, 2020, so the Post Office would forward their mail.
Ives was joined by lead analyst John Morrissey of Elmhurst (?), who explained the process by which his team produced the analysis. […]
Here is an example:
State Voter ID 2J7HR72Y changed addresses in March 2020 from Hinsdale to Naples Florida according to the NCOA. We verified through the County Treasurer’s office that property owned by that individual for which the individual was registered to vote from, was sold in March 2020. We have a match with the NCOA that the voter moved and a match from the Treasurer’s office that the voter sold the home. Voter records show that the voter, though, voted by mail using the Hinsdale address in November 2020. This voter remains on the latest voter list.
Morrissey is the Vice-Chair of the York Township Republican Party.
* The Tribune followed up on Ives’ example…
Adam Johnson, spokesman for DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek, said in a statement the office follows federal law in maintaining its voter rolls, using everything from death certificates to undeliverable mail to biannual change of address notifications to keep the list up to date.
He said the one voter Ives highlighted at her news conference — a person who allegedly moved to Florida from Hinsdale but still listed the old address while voting by mail — notified the clerk’s office months before the election that they had moved elsewhere within DuPage County and cast the proper ballot.
Snowbirds often have their mail forwarded.
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In other business before the House and Senate…
Tuesday, Oct 26, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This was a compromise with the mayor’s office that would also allow for an immediate moratorium on school closures…
Another measure that could be considered is a change to a legislation that passed this spring and was subsequently signed into law by Pritzker that would put a fully elected school board in place in Chicago in January 2027.
Under a proposed amendment to the law, Chicago’s mayor would be able to make 10 appointments to the board and choose its president without having to seek City Council approval. Previously, the bill required her appointments to be approved by aldermen, which Lightfoot opposed.
* As subscribers know, this isn’t yet a slam dunk…
The Pritzker administration also is seeking approval of a package of tax credits and incentives to encourage more manufacturing of electric vehicles and their components in the state, following in the wake of the interest in vehicles being produced by Rivian in the former Mitsubishi Motors plant in Normal.
The proposed Reimagining Electric Vehicles in Illinois Act, or the “REV” act, would provide for tax credits for large business development and allow businesses to claim some if not all of income tax withholdings attributable to new employees. It also would provide for construction job credits for building facilities, create a streamlined permitting process and establishes a state government procurement price preference for electric vehicles built in Illinois.
* I don’t think this has progressed very far…
Two years ago, state Rep. Carol Ammons pushed — and came close to passing — legislation opening the way for electing more Democratic judges in downstate counties like Champaign.
Now Ammons’ bill has been re-cast in a plan to create judicial sub-circuits in counties with populations over 150,000. And Champaign County Chief Judge Randy Rosenbaum isn’t happy about it.
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* WBEZ…
Meanwhile, the progress toward getting more of the state workforce vaccinated came as legislation surfaced to tighten a decades-old state law so that it can’t be used to evade state and local vaccination mandates.
The measure sponsored by state Rep. Robyn Gabel, D-Evanston, would amend the state Health Care Right of Conscience Act, which offers liability protections for medical practitioners unwilling to perform abortions or offer contraception on moral grounds.
The law has been cited increasingly by educators and police officers trying to defend against potential job losses over their philosophical objections to being forced to be vaccinated for COVID-19 by their government employers.
Gabel’s amendment would explicitly note that the law does not offer protections for those wanting to invoke it to sidestep mandated COVID-19 vaccinations and empower governments to terminate workers who don’t comply with vaccination orders.
Despite Pritzker’s backing, its prospects this week are hazy, and Gabel did not immediately respond to WBEZ for comment.
A spokeswoman for House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, stopped short of predicting passage Monday but said he “supports getting it done” and is “ready to listen and compromise.”
* Subscribers know much more about this caucus and what happened afterward, but here’s Politico…
If the fireworks that erupted in yesterday’s House Democratic Caucus meeting are any indication, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s amendment to the Health Care Right of Conscience Act is in trouble. […]
During caucus meeting Monday, Rep. Mary Flowers spoke passionately about how the amendment would target the state’s poorest residents.
Flowers said amending the law would primarily affect working-class residents who have to get up and go out every day to their jobs. Employees working in the corporate world or who have office jobs that allow them to work at home aren’t likely to be affected by Pritzker’s amendment, Flowers told caucus members, according to folks in the room.
Lawmakers are also frustrated that they haven’t heard from Pritzker or his “well-paid deputy governors” to better explain why they should vote for the amendment.
Because the measure would take effect immediately, it needs 71 votes to pass, and the buzz is that those votes just aren’t there.
How we’ll know: The bill will only be called if the numbers add up.
This isn’t really about deputy governors. This is about people believing some very weird stuff or being unclear on what the bill is intended to do.
* The opposition is very small, but very well organized and intense…
*** UPDATE 1 *** Another one…
A suburban judge granted a temporary restraining order to a group of nurses who sued Riverside Healthcare over the hospital system’s vaccine mandate.
Kankakee County Judge Nancy Nicholson granted the temporary restraining order until Nov. 19. She will then hold a hearing on a motion for a preliminary injunction requested by the nurses.
Liberty Justice Center Managing Attorney Daniel Suhr said the ruling was a win.
“Today’s ruling marks an important step toward victory for these nurses – and it sends a signal to all Americans about the importance of fighting for your rights,” he said. “Employers and government officials should take note that forcing people to violate their conscience not only is wrong, it’s illegal. No one should be forced to choose between keeping their job and sacrificing their beliefs.”
The nurses sued Riverside Healthcare on Oct. 13 claiming the state’s Health Care Right of Conscience Act gives them the right to refuse the COVID-19 vaccine. The nurses said their religious beliefs conflict with getting the vaccine.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Greg Hinz made some calls…
The blow-up occurred in a caucus of House Democrats when several Black lawmakers came out against the bill, with Rep. Mary Flowers, D-Chicago, alleging at one point that the same “synthetic” ingredients used to produce crack cocaine are used in making COVID vaccinations.
The Black members later met with Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, who tried to convince them the intent of the freedom of conscious act is being abused. I hear different things about whether Raoul’s pitch worked. We’ll find out when and if the bill is called for a vote before the veto session’s scheduled end on Thursday.
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Um, no
Tuesday, Oct 26, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Fox News…
“When he ran for office, Governor Pritzker pledged to veto any congressional map that wasn’t drawn by a fair and independent commission. But now he’s changed his tune in a desperate ploy to help Nancy Pelosi keep the majority in Congress,” Republican Illinois Rep. Mike Bost told Fox News.
* That’s not right. It was my question and it was very specifically worded to apply only to state legislative maps…
This requires only a simple yes or no response: Will you pledge as governor to veto any state legislative redistricting map proposal that is in any way drafted or created by legislators, political party leaders and/or their staffs or allies? The exception, of course, would be the final official draft by LRB.
Emphasis added.
* I suggested that this FiveThirtyEight writer delete this tweet and hilarity ensued…
* While we’re on the topic, here’s some more remap stuff…
* Democrats propose revised congressional map as last week of veto session approaches: U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood no longer would represent parts of Springfield and Sangamon County under the latest proposal for new congressional district boundaries released over the weekend by General Assembly Democrats who control the map-making process.
* Illinois redistricting proposal creates new Hispanic seat, sets up member-vs.-member races
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* Give him credit, Sen. Bailey is always on-brand…
Though the gubernatorial primary isn’t until June 2022, Republican candidates vying for their party’s nomination are already looking for who will be their lieutenant governor. […]
State Sen. Darren Bailey, R-Xenia, said he’s closing in on a selection. His goal, he said, is to return the base of power back to Springfield. To do that, he’s looking for a lieutenant governor to oversee Chicago.
“You know, the ambassador role for the urban areas so they can help hold the Chicago mayor and Chicago politics accountable,” Bailey said.
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