Oak Lawn resident Rob Cruz is expected to formally announce his candidacy for the 6th Illinois Congressional District at a political fundraiser set for Friday, Dec. 3, at Cork and Kerry, 10614 S. Western Ave., in Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood. Cruz is running for the Republican nomination in the new IL-06 in the upcoming gubernatorial primary June 28, 2022.
“Join us, on December 3, as we hold the line with Sheriff David Clarke and our men and women in blue,” the invitation said. “Now, more than ever, we need to show our support for those who work tirelessly to keep us safe. It’s time for us to show them how we can support them! And we can do this by pushing through the right candidates who will get the right policies passed.”
He just got some bigtime local publicity for that campaign.
The Oak Lawn High School District 229 Board voted Wednesday to remove Robert Cruz from the board, claiming he violating his oath of office and board policy by twice filing a lawsuit against Gov. J.B. Pritzker objecting to the statewide mask mandate in schools.
The lawsuits cost the district $25,000 and Cruz sought to recoup his own legal fees from the district, said Burt Odelson, the board’s attorney. […]
Former school board member Joseph Amado spoke on behalf of Cruz.
“If you don’t wake up, you’ll all be in the camps together,” Amado told the audience.
Cruz had come under fire by his peers on the board and District 229 administrators for filing a lawsuit against Gov. J.B. Pritzker and state schools Superintendent Carmen Ayala in August over the state’s mask order. The suit, filed in Cook County circuit court, noted Cruz was acting “in his official capacity as a Member of the Oak Lawn Community High School District 229 School Board.”
Under state law, school board members cannot take action on their own or on behalf of the board or district. The school board has formally said it doesn’t support litigation against Pritzker or Ayala and that District 229 will follow directives from the state.
The first lawsuit was dismissed. Cruz filed a second lawsuit in early September that added District 229 as a defendant. That case, filed in Sangamon County, has cost the district more than $25,000 to defend, documents indicate.
The second suit [which was dismissed] also violated a state law that states board members should protect their districts from lawsuits, District 229 officials said. The lawsuit created a conflict of interest for Cruz, too, officials alleged.
…Adding… From Cruz…
On Wednesday, January 12th, at a special meeting was called for the censure of
Robert Cruz. A resolution to have Cruz removed from the board for filing a lawsuit against
Governor Pritzker, on August 19th, 2021, was passed.
“I want to thank the all of the people who came out in support of me last night, your kind
words did not go unnoticed”, said Rob Cruz, after the vote.
“I am saddened that my right to due process was circumvented by the members of district 229
resolution to declare my seat vacant. I will be pursuing my rights as an elected official under
the Illinois constitution for due process”. he continued.
“Removing elected officials because you disagree with their methods is simply an act of cancel
culture and has no place in American government. All options including appeal of my lawsuit
are now on the table”. he said. “This is not twitter, this is a dulv elected position on a school
board, if we allow abuse of power at this level, we have breeched our democracy “, he said
during a Fox tv segment this morning.
“The lawsuit has been about retrieving local control as the Legislature has failed to pass laws,
during this time of emergency, to quide the people of IL through this time. Instead we have
allowed unchecked executive authority, by the office of the governor, to advance a one-size.
fits-all approach”, stated Cruz.
“Across the state, we have had more children die of suicide than Covid-19!”, claimed Cruz.
“let us tell the truth on what is going on here… I am being cancelled because I refuse to accept
government overreach in America, especially in our state of Illinois.” said Cruz.
Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Director Marc Smith was held in contempt of court again on Thursday for violating the rights of a teenage boy.
This is the third contempt of court order issued against Smith recently.
In this case, the order involved a 17-year-old who has been locked in a psychiatric hospital more than four months after being ready to be released. If the youth is not properly placed, $1,000-per-day fine will start racking up starting on Tuesday.
In court Thursday, it was stated that wrongly keeping the youth in a psychiatric facility is costing taxpayers $1,000 a day, or $30,000 a month. He has been locked up for more than four months.
Three $1,000 a day contempt orders is over a million a year.
The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked the Biden administration from enforcing its sweeping vaccine-or-test requirements for large private companies, but allowed a vaccine mandate to stand for medical facilities that take Medicare or Medicaid payments.
The rulings came three days after the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s emergency measure started to take effect.
That mandate required that workers at businesses with 100 or more employees must get vaccinated or submit a negative Covid test weekly to enter the workplace. It also required unvaccinated workers to wear masks indoors at work.
“Although Congress has indisputably given OSHA the power to regulate occupational dangers, it has not given that agency the power to regulate public health more broadly,” the court wrote in an unsigned opinion. […]
In a separate, simultaneously released ruling on the administration’s vaccination rules for health-care workers, a 5-4 majority sided with the Biden administration.
After the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Thursday against the Biden administration’s vaccine or testing mandate on employers of more than 100 employees, it’s expected the Illinois Department of Labor’s COVID-19 vaccine or testing mandate will be withdrawn.
According to preliminary data compiled by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF), as of December 31, 2021, 458 federal, state, tribal and local law enforcement officers died in the line-of-duty in 2021. This is an increase of 55% from the 295 officers killed during the same period last year, and is the highest total line-of-duty officer deaths since 1930 when there were 312 fatalities. […]
Preliminary data shows that some 301 officer fatalities have been identified as caused by Covid this year, and this number appears to increase almost daily. Covid-19 related fatalities continue to be the single highest cause of law enforcement deaths occurring in 2021.
New cases of COVID-19 reached 37,048 Thursday with 142 more people dying from the respiratory disease, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported.
Patients in the hospital with COVID-19 came to 7,380 as of Wednesday night, the highest count since the pandemic began.
On Wednesday, 58,899 more COVID-19 shots were administered. The seven-day average is 51,776.
The state’s positivity rate for COVID-19 cases is 11.5% based on a seven-day average.
Today’s report brings the 7-day rolling average hospitalization increase number to 0.57 percent, slightly up from yesterday’s 0.24 percent. The 14-day rolling average hospitalization increase is now 1.71 percent, slightly down from 1.9 percent yesterday.
…Adding… Press release…
Out of an abundance of caution and due to the continued high numbers of new COVID-19 cases statewide, Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White is announcing that all Secretary of State departments – including Driver Services facilities – will resume conducting in-person transactions Monday, Jan. 24. The Secretary of State offices and facilities first closed on Jan. 3, due to the surge in COVID-19 cases statewide. Driver Services facilities operating on a Tuesday – Saturday schedule will reopen on Tuesday, Jan. 25.
“The Supreme Court confirmed today what we have known all along - that the Biden Administration’s vaccine mandate was a massive and unconstitutional government overreach. I am proud to have led the charge with Job Creators Network fighting this unconstitutional dictate through the lower courts and ultimately to a resounding victory today in the United States Supreme Court.”
“As your next governor and a freedom loving American, I will work tirelessly for the people of Illinois to make sure that the government doesn’t step on your freedom to make a living, raise your children or make health care decisions. It’s time for big-government liberals like failed Governor JB Pritzker to be voted out of office and replaced with new leadership that respects the basic and fundamental rights of all citizens of Illinois. We need to put an end to top down, big brother knows best government.”
But one of my very smart readers did go through it and reached out to me yesterday…
Hi Rich,
Long time follower, first time writer. In full disclosure, I recently retired from the [redacted] after more than [redacted] years. I just read the COGFA article today and was encouraged about the State’s finances yet again.
Another report that came out in late December that received no coverage was the State Actuary Report (see link below). The unheralded news in this report was that there were several State pension systems that passed the “Tread Water” point in FY21; meaning we are now paying in more than we owe and reducing the liability for those systems.
One of the persistent sources of the increase in unfunded actuarial liability [UAL] is due to actual contributions to the System being less than the tread water contribution (the amount needed to prevent the unfunded actuarial liability from increasing if all assumptions are met). Actual contributions have been significantly less than the tread water cost. Each year that total contributions remain below the tread water cost, the unfunded actuarial liability is expected to grow. […]
Contributions that are less than the tread water contribution causes the UAL to increase. The tread water contribution consists of two components: the normal cost, which is the cost of benefits earned in a given year, and the interest on the unfunded actuarial liability. This sum is referred to as the tread water contribution because it is the contribution necessary so that the UAL will remain constant, or “tread water” (absent experience gains or losses). The difference between actual contributions and the tread water contributions have increased the UAL by $4.71 billion [between June 30, 2011 to June 30, 2021].
Get that? It’s like paying the minimum balance on a credit card.
* From the section on the State Employees Retirement System: “As the chart below shows, actual contributions have been significantly less than the tread water cost, however this trend has reversed this year. When the total contributions are above the tread water cost (blue line), the UAL is expected to decline”…
Cool.
* I called the Auditor General’s office yesterday and asked for the SERS chart’s underlying numbers. They sent along a spread sheet and I plugged in the net above/below numbers…
Future results may differ significantly from the projections presented here due to such factors as the following: plan experience differing from that anticipated by the assumptions; changes in assumptions; and changes in plan provisions or applicable law.
* Back to the report. Here’s where the other state pension funds stand in relation to breaking through the “tread water” mark…
General Assembly Retirement System: 2017
Judges Retirement System: 2021
State Universities Retirement System: 2025
Teachers Retirement System: 2028
* TRS, by far the largest state pension fund, is really close right now…
With Republicans hammering the statewide spike in crime as their top election year issue, Democratic state legislators are being forced to defend last year’s sweeping criminal justice legislation and have opened the door to adding crime-fighting proposals to the agenda of this year’s condensed session in Springfield.
Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch was vague about what measures could be under consideration, but acknowledged a need to address increases in crimes like carjackings and organized retail theft.
“I can’t talk to you about specifics 11 days into session. But I can tell you that conversations are already taking place on, you know, a possible crime package, anti-crime package,” the Hillside Democrat said in a telephone interview this week to mark his first year as the General Assembly’s first Black House speaker.
“It’s being done with all stakeholders involved. And we’re just getting started. But that’s certainly something that’s high on our priority list,” Welch said.
I took a really quick look around Twitter this morning to see what some of Welch’s caucus members are saying.
* Strong ally of the governor…
The uptick in violent crime is unsettling and IL safety is my top priority. I’m supportive of legislation to restrict those charged with egregious violent crimes from being released on electronic monitoring. It’s a commonsense step in the right direction to help curb violence.
…Adding… Rep. Croke introduced this bill yesterday…
Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Adds as “excluded offenses” attempted first degree murder, reckless homicide, aggravated vehicular hijacking in which the defendant was armed with a firearm or other dangerous weapon, being an armed habitual criminal, and any offense that requires the defendant to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration Act. Effective immediately.
Co-sponsors so far include Democratic Reps. Ann Williams, Eva Dina Delgado, Jaime M. Andrade, Jr. and Angelica Guerrero-Cuellar.
In addition to funding more first responders, we need to fund community organizations that know how to disrupt and prevent violence before it spreads further.
— State Representative Dagmara Avelar (@repdagmara) January 3, 2022
As we begin the new year, I am hopeful that 2022 will be better and brighter – and bring some resolution to the many significant challenges we face as a city, state and nation.
At the top of the list is the surge in violent crime - the issue I hear most about from constituents. The past year was one of the most violent on record in Chicago, and almost 800 homicides were recorded by CPD – the most in 25 years. I stand with you, as both a representative and resident, and am committed to doing whatever I can to keep our communities safe.
Toward that end, I am working with local aldermen, colleagues at the state level, and the law enforcement community to identify and implement solutions, including directing additional resources and tools to address surges in criminal activity such as shootings and carjackings and ensuring we have policies in place to hold violent gun offenders accountable.
…Adding… But Welch is so far shooting down any suggestions of reversing course on things like cash bail…
Welch said he remained a supporter of cash bail elimination and cautioned against tying a measure that hasn’t yet taken effect to the rise in violence.
* Campaign operative FOIAs emails between an elected opponent and her spouse, who has reported making a whopping $39,000 since 2017 as a lobbyist. Opponent’s city office says they’ve found 612 emails (including calendar invites) and it would be unduly burdensome to go through them all and redact the personal stuff, so the operative is asked to narrow the search. Juicy “What is she hiding?” story then appears in Crain’s…
As a candidate for Illinois secretary of state, Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia has been arguing that she and not former State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias has the reputation and record to hang onto a seat Democrats have owned for nearly three decades.
So why did Valencia write or receive more than 600 emails on her official Chicago city email account referencing her husband, one of his lobbyist clients, or both? And why has Valencia so far refused to release copies of those emails? […]
In a series of Freedom of Information Act requests, a Giannoulias ally asked for and passed on to his campaign requests for copies of all emails to or from Valencia that also included the key words “Monterrey,” “Reyahd” or “Kazmi.”
Those are a reference to Valencia’s husband, Reyahd Kazmi, and the company for whom he has worked as a lobbyist, Chicago-based Monterrey Security.
Looks like more sizzle than steak. But, hey, maybe Valencia and her husband were indeed concocting nefarious plots over a FOIA-able government email account when they could just talk to each other every evening at home. Dumber things have happened, I suppose.
In the meantime, it’ll make for a tough advertising hit.
* Press release…
It’s no surprise that Alexi Giannoulias has turned to the Republican playbook of “what about her emails?” in a desperate attempt to cover up for his own misdeeds—a failed bank, mob connections and losing working families’ hard-earned college savings. To suggest that scheduling-related emails between spouses are in the same league as his corrupt history is absurd.
In other campaign-related news, Chicago Cubs co-owner Laura Ricketts announced her support for Anna today and will also now serve as her campaign co-chair. See below for the statement from Laura:
There is far too much at stake this year for the Democratic Party—we need the right candidate on the ballot in the general election. Anna Valencia has a proven record and history of showing up for Democrats when it’s mattered most. I encourage voters to join me in supporting Anna in her bid to become the first woman elected as Illinois Secretary of State.
Giannoulias has such a huge head start that Ms. Ricketts had better start pumping money.
*** UPDATE 1 *** The Giannoulias campaign called and insisted that there’s more to this story than is posted here. I have since been sent a file of emails that the campaign obtained through FOIA from when Valencia ran Rahm Emanuel’s intergovernmental relations shop. Here are some bullet points from the oppo report…
* Valencia facilitated a municipal board appointment for a Monterrey VP: Patricia Gaytan Perez is Vice President of Administration at Monterrey Security. She also donated to Valencia in both 2017 and 2021. Records released through FOIA show that, on April 2, 2016, Valencia emailed Perez, saying they had spoken in the past about possible nominations and “a great opportunity” had possible come up. A staffer from Mayor’s office then got in touch about necessary forms, which Perez then sent along. Perez formally joined to the Chicago Public Library board in June 2016.
* Valencia facilitated municipal youth mentorship participation for Monterrey: Records released through FOIA show that Valencia connected a Monterrey VP with Mayor Emmanuel’s Director for Youth and Education Policy, Sarah Stockdale, about the One Summer Chicago Youth Programs; Valencia suggested she had already spoken to the VP about the program the previous evening. Valencia told Stockdale that Monterrey was “a very successful Latino private security firm” and “It would be a great partnership and a unique opportunity for our youth to have such a successful Latino business as mentors.” Both Stockdale and the Monterrey VP thanked Valencia for the introduction and implied that they would discuss Monterrey’s involvement in the program.
* Valencia sought invite for husband’s fellow board member, noted it was for “a donor”: In September 2016, newly-elected London Mayor Sadiq Khan visited Chicago and met with Mayor Emanuel.34 Ahead of the visit, Valencia was sent a list of attendees and asked “to cut it down to 10-15 people (not including guests)” due to capacity issues. After making cuts, Valencia then wrote that her husband served on the Human Relations board with a Muslim woman and asked to see if she was invited. Valencia noted, “I need to get her name but I believe she is a donor too.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** Valencia campaign…
We understand the mentality of “where there’s smoke, there’s fire” when you are a politician with as shady of a history as Alexi Giannoulias, but facts are important. His research must be as inaccurate as he is corrupt. Anna’s husband, Reyahd Kazmi, was not a lobbyist during her time in the mayor’s office and did not register as a lobbyist for Monterrey Security until 2017, a year after the emails referenced here were sent—at which point Anna was no longer in that office.
Unvaccinated City of Springfield employees will now have to use their paid time off if they test positive with COVID-19.
According to Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder, the change is to reward the workers who are doing what is asked of them by getting vaccinated and boosted. […]
Under the new policy, all city workers who test positive for COVID-19 and are required to quarantine, but have both vaccine shots and their booster will be allotted five reimbursement sick days from the city.
Others who test positive but have not received their vaccination and booster will have to use their paid time off.
Good for the mayor. And this is one reason why HB2778 can be considered unwise and expensive public policy.
The bill, which is still awaiting gubernatorial action, requires all school districts and colleges to pay for unlimited, fully compensated covid leave for teachers and staff regardless of their vaccination status. It also requires the districts to restore all sick days for covid-related illness back to the beginning of the school year regardless of vax status.
*** UPDATE *** Bridget Shanahan at the Illinois Education Association…
HB 2778 specifies the benefit and wage protection provided by the bill only applies to education employees who are following the Governor’s executive order, which means it would pertain to those who are vaccinated and those who are testing.
We know school districts are sending people home, forcing them to take unpaid time off, because they’re out of sick time and need to quarantine. We are in the middle of an education employee shortage. We don’t have enough adults in our schools. Who is going to want to work in schools when they’re forced to take unpaid days off to keep students safe?
Further, there is $7 billion ESSER dollars available to help school districts cover the costs of the COVID administrative days provided in HB 2778 that would be used instead of employees exhausting their sick leave time to quarantine. The ESSER money is intended to help school districts keep students and staff safe. The bottom line is quarantining helps stop the spread of COVID.
Take a look at this page on ISBE’s website – all school districts are supposed to be posting their plans for how they’re spending their ESSER dollars. If you look at the list, you can see that fewer than half of the districts in the state have done so. We did a spot check of 40, or so, of the districts that provided information and found that some districts are in fact posting those plans, but there are others who have not posted anything at all or link to the school district webpage where no information on spending can be found.
As you may be aware, Triad is one of many school district defendants in two different lawsuits regarding COVID mitigations. The first lawsuit, Austin v. Pritzker, was brought by parents across the state against 145 school districts and the State regarding the mask mandate and the requirement that districts exclude close contacts from school. The second lawsuit, Allen v. Pritzker, was brought by staff members across the state against 21 school districts and the State regarding the testing mandate for staff and the requirement that staff wear masks in schools. Both lawsuits ask for class certification. In other words, they ask that the Court apply whatever the outcome of the case is to all students or staff in a school district instead of applying the outcome to only the named Defendants.
These two lawsuits will be heard in Court next week on motions for temporary restraining order. It is possible that the judge in these cases will determine as early as next week that Triad cannot enforce the use of masks in school for students or staff members, at least on a temporary basis. If that happens, we will have to make some quick decisions about how to conduct school until the lawsuits are resolved. We wanted to give you as much notice as possible regarding the options we are considering.
• Even if the mask mandate is lifted for some or all students or staff, due to the current high transmission rates in our area, Triad will continue to strongly encourage our students, staff, and community to wear masks in schools and in many cases will make additional efforts to create more physical distance between students and staff members not wearing masks in order to prevent additional spread.
• Depending on the transmission rate in our area at the time the decision of the court is released, if we cannot employ COVID mitigations, we may have to move to remote learning. We will work to find other options before we make this decision, but we want you to know that it is a possibility.
We will keep you informed as to mitigations and the outcome of the lawsuits as soon as we have additional information.
Triad is in Madison County.
* Attorney Tom DeVore, by the way, is against the concept of public schools…
* He’s also busy spreading goofy “resist” propaganda when he isn’t working to maybe shut down schools by prohibiting statewide mitigations…
* But he’s not the only one. Jesse Sullivan is out there with the resisters…
If you don’t know who Emma Woodhouse is, well, count your lucky stars.
A respected attorney, former advisor to Gov. Jim Edgar and son of immigrants, Steve Kim today launched his campaign for Illinois Attorney General, a position that is critical to repairing the state’s reputation as a haven for crime and public corruption.
“Under J.B. Pritzker and Mike Madigan, Springfield remains a cesspool run for the benefit of the politicians and insiders and not the people of Illinois,” said Kim. “Illinois is in dire need of leaders who will stand up for the rule of law, fight public corruption on behalf of the people, and curtail the crime that seems to be getting worse with every passing day. For too long our state has had career politicians in positions of power, including critical offices like Attorney General, that ignore the crime and corruption that plagues our state. That will end when I’m Attorney General.”
Kim understands that the Attorney General plays a special role in assisting state’s attorneys and federal prosecutors in any cases of corruption and will always stand ready to help in rooting out corruption throughout Illinois.
Chicago and Illinois have become synonymous with crime in recent years, as the homicide and violent crime rates have skyrocketed. Chicago just experienced its deadliest year since 1996, recording more homicides than any other city in America. Violent crime isn’t only a problem in Chicago however, as the statewide crime rate is 6.9% higher than the national rate and increasing.
Following Gov. Pritzker’s signing of the disastrous crime bill and push to weaken our police, Kim believes Illinois needs an Attorney General who will stand with law enforcement and ensure safety for families and help victims of crime.
“Crime is spiraling out of control throughout Illinois, and our leaders continue turning a blind eye, pushing to defund our law enforcement,” said Kim. “As Attorney General, I will work with our law enforcement to tackle our growing crime problem.”
Steve Kim is a father, husband, and an American success story. Born in South Korea and the son and grandson of immigrants, his expansive knowledge and experience has influenced all levels of Illinois government and benefited the United States nationally and abroad.
Early in his career, Kim advised former Gov. Jim Edgar on international trade, economic development, and Asian affairs issues. Kim has gone on to become one of the most respected international business attorneys in Illinois. Currently a partner at a boutique international law firm, Steve works with companies across the globe where he has developed a deep understanding of the importance of anti-corruption policies, the rule of law, and public safety.
Kim was appointed to the Illinois Human Rights Commission with bipartisan approval by the Illinois State Senate where he adjudicated hundreds of civil rights cases. He has also serves as a member of the Rules Committee of the Illinois Supreme Court, and previously as an International Trade Specialist at the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, Director of Export and International Trade for the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce and on former Senator Mark Kirk’s Small Business Advisory Board.
Learn more about Steve Kim at KimForAG.com.
Lost twice statewide. I dunno. In 2010, Pat Quinn won by less than a point, but Lisa Madigan thumped Kim by 33. [Typo in original. More coffee needed.]
Kim is a familiar name on the political scene, having challenged Democratic AG Lisa Madigan when she ran for reelection in 2010. Kim was also the running mate to Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Rutherford in the 2014 primary contest that ultimately went to Bruce Rauner.
A source close to Kim’s campaign said he would be part of a slate that includes state Rep. Tom Demmer for treasurer, former U.S. Attorney John Milhiser for secretary of state, and McHenry County Auditor Shannon Teresi for comptroller, who announced yesterday. Don’t be surprised if Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin leads the slate as the gubernatorial candidate. These candidates aren’t the only Republicans running for statewide offices, but by teaming up they hope to have an advantage securing a statewide seat (or seats) that are now controlled by Democrats.
Does anybody do a live launch anymore?
*** UPDATE 1 *** Press release…
Attorney General Kwame Raoul today released the following statement about the 2022 campaign for Illinois Attorney General.
“I look forward to debating the issues and challenges that matter most to voters across Illinois. This election comes at a critical time for our state as we continue to combat Republican attacks on our democracy, our access to health care and reproductive rights, and our right to vote.
“As the people’s lawyer and champion, I have:
• Worked in a bipartisan manner with prosecutors and police chiefs across Illinois to fight crime and develop criminal justice policy;
• Partnered with federal and local law enforcement to prosecute murder, violent crimes, crimes of sexual violence and gun trafficking;
• Fought organized retail crime that has contributed to smash-and-grab crimes across the state;
• Investigated and prosecuted child predators for preying on children online;
• Worked in partnership with the U.S. Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center to conduct trainings to avoid mass shooting threats in schools, places of worship, and other public places;
• Pushed for stronger federal regulation of “ghost” guns that criminals, carjackers and domestic abusers prohibited from buying a gun access without important safety measures;
• Protected access to health care and fought to uphold reproductive rights in Roe v. Wade for women in the Midwest and surrounding states;
• Fought for women’s equality to ensure the Equal Rights Amendment is recognized as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution; and
• Protected the right to vote in free and fair elections against Republican attempts to suppress voters.
“The global pandemic and Trump presidency have shown us how important state attorneys general are to preserve the fundamentals of our democracy, protect the public’s safety, and uphold our rights. I have been honored to serve as Illinois’ 42nd Attorney General and look forward to asking voters for the opportunity to serve a second term.”
…Adding… ILGOP…
ILGOP Spokesman Joe Hackler released the following statement:
“Chicago just had its deadliest year since 1996. The Illinois crime rate continues to outpace the national average. The dirty corrupt secrets of politicians across the state are coming to light in multiple federal investigations. And what is Kwame Raoul doing as the state’s top law enforcement officer? Failing and keeping quiet.”
…Adding… DPI…
Democratic Party of Illinois Deputy Director Jake Lewis released the following statement regarding the latest candidate announcement from the Ken Griffin slate:
“Another day, another Griffin candidate. Today it’s Steve Kim, who has apparently been tapped by Ken Griffin to join his handpicked Rauner Reboot slate as the Attorney General nominee. And who better to continue Rauner’s legacy of destruction than Kim, himself a Rauner appointee and twice-failed statewide candidate. Unfortunately for the Griffin ticket, voters have no interest in going back to the Rauner days of dysfunction and chaos.
“As we close in on the unveiling of the full Rauner Reboot ticket, it’s clear that Illinois Republicans are unwilling to make a peep about this corrupt process. They’ve stood by as one man anoints the entire Republican slate — no matter what the voters think. For the Illinois Republican Party, apparently only Ken Griffin’s opinion counts.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** I told you yesterday that the campaigns for comptroller candidate Shannon Teresi and SoS candidate John Milhiser were both using Peter Fitzgerald’s Chain Bridge Bank and had the same treasurer, Les Williamson of The Larrison Group. So is Kim.
* Mayor Lori Lightfoot and CPS CEO Pedro Martinez…
We are pleased we have come to an agreement that guarantees predictability and stability for the rest of the school year. We all agree we must prioritize the health and well-being of everyone in our school communities including our kids, families, and staff. The science tells us that the safest place for our students is to be in the classroom, which is why, in addition to the over $100 million already spent on COVID mitigation, CPS is providing KN95 masks, augmenting its every school-every week testing program, and strengthening its contact tracing approach. CPS principals will continue to work with their school-based safety teams to make data-informed decisions in the best interests of students and families. We encourage families to get their children vaccinated and to consent to regular testing. We look forward to our continued collaboration with the entire school community
An upswing in positive COVID-19 test results has forced one area school district to cancel classes and another warning it may do the same because of staff shortages.
With nearly one-fourth of its student population out, Galatia Community Unit School District No. 1 has cancelled all classes, extra-curricular activities and sporting events until Tuesday, Jan. 18 and Herrin Superintendent Nathaniel Wilson has said that closures may be coming to his district.
In a letter to parents posted on social media yesterday, Galatia Superintendent Shain Crank said the district had almost 100 students absent Tuesday and with several staff members testing positive for the virus, the district’s ability to staff buildings and serve bus routes has been impacted. […]
Also in a social media post to families Tuesday, Herrin Community Unit School District No. 4 Superintendent Nathaniel Wilson conveyed challenges facing the district because of COVID-19.
Urbana Middle School opted for remote learning through the end of the week, amid an ongoing staff shortage.
“As of this morning, there is still a high number of staff unable to attend in-person for various reasons, this includes COVID and non-COVID absences,” said Urbana District Superintendent Jennifer Ivory-Tatum in a message to families. “We anticipate students returning to in-person learning on Tuesday, January 18, following the MLK Holiday, which was already a non-student attendance day.”
Amid record-breaking hospitalizations during the omicron wave, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced today that 2,048 health care workers have been deployed across the state; 919 are on-site supporting hospitals hit hard by COVID. Another 552 will arrive at hospitals by next Friday. Another 577 are part of “reaction teams” that will respond quickly to overwhelmed hospitals this week and next.
“Even more personnel are being made available to individual hospitals” asking for federal assistance. FEMA-provided personnel are helping hospitals in Rockford. “The vast majority of serious illnesses and deaths are among the unvaccinated,” Pritzker said.
Health workers from out of state will continue to be allowed to work in Illinois hospitals, Pritzker said at a press conference today. He announced initiatives to ease the strain at Illinois hospitals: Doctors who received medical training in another country will be allowed to provide assistance to licensed physicians. And out-of-state physicians, nurses and mental-health providers will be allowed to perform telehealth work if there is a pre-existing relationship between the provider and the patient.
Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, said the state would pay a premium for the additional workers under contracts in place to ensure that hospitals have adequate staff.
Many health care workers have quit, exhausted by a pandemic that is on the verge of entering its third year, while others are in isolation because they contracted COVID-19, Ezike said.
“We are pulling on every lever,” Ezike said. “Records have been smashed.”
* More…
"It's too soon to tell" if we've reached the peak of the omicron surge, IDPH Commissioner Ngozi Ezike says. "Unfortunately, right now, today, the hospitals are bearing the brunt." 9% of hospital ICU beds are available right now.
To declare if we've moved past the peak of omicron, there need to be consistent days of declines. Dr. Ezike says she's "crossing her fingers and toes" and she'd let the public know when we've surpassed the peak.
A significant number of healthcare staff "have left the profession" Ezike said, discussing a call with hospital leaders across IL. In addition, many staff have to isolate or quarantine, reducing the number of staffed beds.
Currently in Region 5, most of southern Illinois, 5 ICU beds of a total 74 staffed beds are available. Region 5 has seen 9 days of COVID-19 patient increases, with 147 individuals currently hospitalized.
Rep. Kathleen Willis, chairwoman of the House Adoption and Child Welfare Committee, was more blunt [about DCFS Director Marc Smith’s contempt charges].
“We’re gonna have to probably blow up this thing to get it right,” the Northlake Democrat said. “I hate to say that, but what we’re doing is not working, throwing money at it isn’t solving the problem.”
One issue she’s pursuing is an overall accounting and cost-analysis study, similar to a private consultant’s top-to-bottom review several years ago of services for the intellectual and developmentally disabled and what the state should be paying for those services.
“When they (DCFS wards) are in transition before they get permanently placed, they’re not in anybody’s books,” Willis told The Associated Press. “I put in a request for a deeper dive into … where these children are, how long they’re in various locations and what services they’re being offered.”
Under another plan, Willis would create a Child Welfare Commission to oversee DCFS and discuss its needs and problems quarterly. “I don’t want to have the General Assembly only responding when a tragedy happens, or when we see an annual report or when they come before us asking for more money.”
* I asked Kyle Hillman at the National Association of Social Workers for comment on Rep. Willis’ ideas…
While Rep. Willis is not wrong in her analysis that DCFS is broken and that reforms are long overdue, we are not sure what changes an audit or yet another group to oversee the department’s deficiencies will materialize. The issues regarding BMN youth-in-care are well documented, and the solutions are known.
The reality is that the leadership in the department doesn’t have the expertise or the willpower to get this done. Not every hire works out, just as we saw in the Department of Veterans Affairs. We are hitting that point where the best solution may be for our Governor to change directions and bring in someone else to fix this department charged with care of our state’s most vulnerable.
Or if the Governor is unwilling, the next commission the General Assembly should create is one empowered to reform the department for him.
Tired of Baby Boomers’ stories of the “good ol’ days,” of Millennials’ tiny attention spans or the fatuous complaints of Zoomers?
You must be part of the “forgotten” Generation X, and the Illinois State Museum wants to hear from you.
The museum’s Springfield facility will open an exhibition entitled “Growing Up X” in October, dedicated to those born generally from 1965 to 1980, described by the museum as “the last generation to have had an analog childhood.”
“We think it’s time Gen X got some love,” said Illinois State Museum Curator of History Erika Holst.
State agencies and local governments in Illinois would be barred from entering into economic development deals where the terms cannot be revealed publicly because of nondisclosure provisions, under a bill that a state lawmaker there filed this week.
Lawmakers in Florida and New York have introduced similar legislation in the past year or so. State Sen. Robert Peters, a Chicago Democrat, is the lead sponsor on the Illinois bill. In an announcement, he said it is meant to curtail practices that enable businesses to reach favorable arrangements with governments without the public knowing the details.
“Public money deserves public scrutiny,” Peters said in a statement. “Keeping the government contracts that our governments enter into a secret allows states and local governments to be played against one another. Taxpayers deserve basic transparency from their economic development agencies.”
* People need to get their bills filed and assigned to committees…
The widespread cancellations were quite something, but I suppose nobody is accustomed to the early timeline.
* This bill has been filed, but it hasn’t even been assigned to committee yet. Still, an early start to kill it isn’t a bad plan…
Illinois residents could be paying more taxes at the pump according to newly introduced legislation that the Illinois Fuel and Retail Association is calling on lawmakers to reject.
House Bill 4424, sponsored by Representative Mike Zalewski (D-Riverside), would allow all municipalities in Illinois to impose their own local gas tax. Taxes continue to increase the high price of motor fuel in Illinois, which according to the Tax Foundation, already has the second highest gas taxes in the country.
“There is never a good time to increase the cost of gasoline for working families, but this is especially true during a period of record inflation,” said Josh Sharp, CEO of the Illinois Fuel and Retail Association. “Given what is happening nationally right now, raising taxes on motor fuel is a terrible idea. Illinois citizens are already facing a huge tax hike come July 1, 2022, when the state’s gas tax will automatically be adjusted for inflation. We strongly urge lawmakers to reject this legislation.
Not only will this measure increase the cost of motor fuel in Illinois beyond what it already is, but it also will create a logistical nightmare for gas stations. This ill-conceived legislation comes at the worst possible time as consumers are struggling to keep up with rising prices due to inflation and supply chain disruptions. We don’t need more gas taxes. Illinois motorists are taxed enough.”
House Bill 4424 has been filed and awaits assignment to a legislative committee.
* Some committees have met…
With a quorum present, #SenMentalHealth is called to order by Chair @SenatorFine. The first measure up today is SB 2945 creating the Statewide 9-8-8 Trust Fund in the State Treasury.
SB 2945, sponsored by @SenatorFine, creates the Statewide 9-8-8 Trust Fund to establish and maintain a statewide 9-8-8 suicide prevention and mental health crisis system pursuant to the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020.
On Tuesday, State Representative Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) filed legislation that would require the randomization of the order of candidate names on Illinois ballots in primary, general, and consolidated elections. House Bill 4467 would require candidate names to be randomly ordered within each election district or precinct.
“Candidates should not win close elections simply because they won a lottery to be first on the ballot,” said Rep. Batinick. “This occurs often, especially in races where voters vote for more than one candidate, including county, village, and school board elections. I’m proud to file House Bill 4467 to address this issue and increase fairness in elections.”
This legislation also requires the State Board of Elections to choose a vendor for a computer software program to be used by election authorities and the Board would conduct the randomization for elections. It also requires—to the extent that is mathematically possible—each random order is different between all the precincts or election districts that are electing the name or names contained in each race on the ballot.
Rep. Batinick has released additional election integrity legislation in the 102nd General Assembly. This includes House Bill 1920, which would amend the Election Code to require a county clerk or board of election commissioners to cross-check voter registration rolls with the National Change of Address System. He also introduced House Bill 4137 to establish an automatic voter registration program for individuals filing a change-of-address form, renewal application, or application for a FOID card or CCL.
Amends the Election Code. Provides that each petition or certificate of nomination shall include a statement that the person is not affiliated with any socialist organization.
* Daily hospitalizations dropped from 7,353 reported yesterday to 7,219 reported today. That reduces the 7-day rolling average increase to 0.24 percent from 1.1 percent yesterday. It was 5.1 percent during the last week of December. The 14-day rolling average increase is currently 1.9 percent. It was 3.7 percent during the last two weeks of December.
“I know that the data is maybe giving you a sense of some potential relief. I am feeling that, but I can’t say for sure that we are flattening or past a peak,” [Dr. Arwady] said. “But what I can say is there is real good news in terms of some of (our) response.”
The governor is holding a covid press conference today at 1:30, so I’ll either do a separate post or update this one, depending.
As Illinois schools struggle to staff classrooms pummeled by the latest COVID-19 surge, state officials said Tuesday they halved the recommended quarantine time for students and teachers from 10 to five days.
Officials with the Illinois Department of Public Health and the state’s board of education said earlier this month the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recently updated isolation and quarantine guidance, which was slashed from 10 to five days, would only apply to the general public, and would not yet impact schools.
But on Tuesday, officials with the Illinois State Board of Education said effective immediately, the state will follow the CDC’s guidance on shortening isolation and quarantine periods. The guidance applies to all public and nonpublic schools that serve students in prekindergarten through 12th grade.
The guidance says students and school employees who test positive for COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status, must “stay home for a minimum of five days and a maximum of 10 days after the first day of symptoms,” or the date from a positive viral test for those who are asymptomatic, according to the ISBE website. […]
“But this new guidance looks extremely difficult to maintain, because there are so many permutations. … It assumes that every mask is good, and that all schools have the ability to maintain 6 feet of distance,” [Dan Montgomery, president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers] said, referring to a slate of directives that accompanies the CDC’s shorter quarantine recommendation.
The patient surge comes as experts pin hopes on spiraling cases peaking this month. However, hospitalizations trail infection rates, which could mean “two to three weeks before we see a decline,” Edward Hospital Dr. Jonathan Pinsky suggested Tuesday.
Edward, like other hospitals, has been hitting admission highs caused by the highly contagious omicron variant of COVID-19. Staff members “are so exhausted and so tired of this,” said Pinsky, medical director of infection control and prevention.
Some COVID-positive patients are unquestionably hospitalized for COVID: They are mostly unvaccinated, have classic respiratory problems, and require supplemental oxygen. Omicron might be less severe than Delta, but that doesn’t make it mild. “If a virus that causes less severe lung disease affects an extraordinarily large proportion of the population, you’ll still get a lot of them in the hospital with severe lung disease,” Sara Murray, a hospitalist at UC San Francisco, told me. The proportion of such patients varies around the country: In areas where Omicron has taken off, it’s lower than in previous surges, but it remains high in communities that still have a lot of Delta infections or low vaccination rates, as The Washington Post has reported. At the University of Nebraska Medical Center, “the vast majority of our COVID-positive cases are at the hospital for reasons related to their COVID infection,” James Lawler, an infectious-disease physician, told me. […]
These patients whose problems were exacerbated by COVID are often misleadingly bundled together with the smaller group whose medical problems are truly unrelated to COVID. In fairness, there’s no easy way to tell, for example, whether a COVID-positive person’s heart attack was triggered by their infection or whether it would have happened anyway. But health problems don’t line up to afflict patients one at a time. They intersect, overlap, and feed off one another. The entire for-COVID-or-with-COVID debate hinges on a false binary. “The health-care system is in crisis and on the verge of collapse,” Spencer said. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s with or for. It’s a pure deluge of numbers.”
Even the truly incidental cases increase the strain. COVID-positive people must be kept apart from other patients, which complicates hospitals’ ability to use the beds they have. These patients need to be monitored in case their infection progresses into something more severe. If they start dying for unrelated reasons, their family won’t be allowed into their room. The health-care workers who treat them need to wear full personal protective equipment. If they need follow-up care, they can’t be discharged to a nursing home or similar facility. They’re taking up space and attention when hospitals are short on both. “If you’re 90 percent full and you suddenly have 10 percent more patients, I don’t care if it’s half COVID, all COVID, incidental COVID—it just matters that you’re full,” Faust said.
It’s kinda like debating whether a massive ongoing forest fire was lit by matches or a Bic. It’s both and the flames are spreading while y’all suck your thumbs. Do something to help or get the heck out of the way.
A senior [Biden] administration official argued an effort to send N95 or KN95 masks to Americans would make little difference because “half the country won’t wear any mask.”
“It may be popular in certain corners of Twitter, but for masking to work as a public health tool, people need to actually wear them,” the official said. “To prevent spread, the focus should be maximizing the number of people simply wearing a mask in the first place, not shifting the goal posts to urge everyone to go above and beyond to use high filtration masks to make it less likely they themselves will inhale particles.”
Plenty of people wear masks, plenty of people are willing to wear masks, all of those people would happily wear *better masks.* Polls show lots of support for wearing masks, and even if there are corners of the country where this is not the majority view, it’s still a substantial minority view and every little bit helps.
Another reason to do it, like many other things, is to signal that it’s important, to model behavior by putting resources behind it. And, sure, you probably aren’t going to convince the MAGAs to wear them, but making them available for the people *who will wear them* helps! Every little bit helps!
Encouraging (not even requiring) mask wearing is the lowest cost intervention there is, even if it involves mailing out millions of the fancy ones!
I love the swipe at *twitter,* which always come from the people whose brains are absolutely the most poisoned by social media, but who are convinced it’s everybody else with that problem.
And, hey, maybe masks are dumb, but you guys are in charge and you better figure something out, aside from yelling at people to go to work sick.
The Illinois General Assembly will cancel in-person action next week and continue remote committee work amid the ongoing Omicron surge, legislative leaders announced.
“With the continuous rise in coronavirus cases and our hospitals nearing capacity, we cannot put lawmakers, staff, the press and members of the public at risk by bringing them back to the Capitol,” said House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch. “We have the capability to complete committee work remotely for the immediate future and we will continue to closely monitor the COVID-19 situation.
“The people’s work will get done, but we must do that work in a safe way that does not overrun our health systems and place more of a burden on our health care employees. In the meantime, I want to encourage everyone to take advantage of the widely available, free vaccine and booster shot so we can end this pandemic together,” Welch said.
“Keeping people safe is our priority. Given the recent COVID-19 numbers, this is not the time to bring hundreds of people together inside the Capitol,” said Senate President Don Harmon. “Through our remote committee process we have proven that we can get work done, protect people’s health and at the same time expand the legislative process to people who might want to testify but wouldn’t have the time or resources to come to Springfield.
“We’ve set the legislative process in motion for this session and will be prepared for final debates and action when we return to Springfield. I would encourage everyone to take advantage of the vaccines and boosters available,” Harmon said.
Acknowledging the ongoing pandemic, state Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield, told The Center Square “it’s unfortunate.”
“This is the schedule that the Democrats put together, the Democrats were the ones that changed the primary date which prompted our schedule to be frontloaded,” Butler said. “And now it looks like, it seems to me, that we’re probably, other than the session day we were in last week, it seems to be going toward we’re probably not going to be in session until after the month is over, maybe into February. I’ve heard rumors we won’t come back until March as well.”
“The latest surge certainly poses many challenges for the legislature, but the Senate Republican Caucus is committed to ensuring the people’s business is accomplished,” said Ellie Leonard, spokesperson for Senate Minority Leader Dan McConchie’s office. “In an effort to mitigate exposure of the latest variant, the Senate Republican Caucus will continue its testing regimen for staff and limit in person interactions as needed to mitigate exposure and ensure safety of all involved.”
I’ve also heard that March rumor, but I don’t think anyone has thought that far ahead. Stuff changes fast in a pandemic.
McHenry County Auditor Shannon Teresi today launched her campaign for Illinois Comptroller. Teresi’s extensive experience in forensic auditing, creating transparency for taxpayers, and fighting corruption give her a sterling background to draw from to help right the ship of Illinois’ disastrous finances.
“Throughout my career, I have seen firsthand how important transparency is in the process of managing taxpayer dollars,” Teresi said. “That’s what I promise to bring to the office of Comptroller: open communication with the taxpayers and an eagle eye to root out the waste, fraud, and abuse our state is plagued by thanks to decades of Madigan Machine politics. Illinois needs a Comptroller with real financial experience, not a career politician controlled by the special interests. As an experienced CPA, auditor, and Certified Fraud Examiner, I have the experience to manage the state’s finances and crush corruption where and when it starts.”
Teresi has served McHenry County as Auditor since 2018 when she was appointed and subsequently elected twice, most recently in 2020 receiving nearly 75% of the vote.
As Auditor, Teresi led the charge to make good government reforms on behalf of the taxpayers. In addition to modernizing the audit process, making it accessible online to taxpayers and creating a system of accountability, she also implemented paperless systems for greater efficiency and cost savings. Teresi also instituted processes ensuring taxpayer dollars are being spent for the good of the county, not the personal benefit of its political leaders.
Prior to becoming McHenry County Auditor, Teresi worked in the Auditor’s office, tackling challenges to save time for county employees and ensuring taxpayer dollars were being spent wisely. She oversaw the County’s financial statements and government accounting. Teresi saw firsthand the amount of waste and inefficiency in county government and set out to correct that on becoming the county’s Auditor.
Teresi is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Fraud Examiner, and a Certified Internal Auditor. Teresi brings years of private sector audit and tax experience having worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers. That time spent working with Fortune 500 companies on their auditing, financial reporting, and taxes helped inform Teresi’s work as County Auditor, where she successfully applied many of the practices to cut out waste from the county’s spending.
Teresi is a life-long McHenry County resident, where she currently resides with her husband, two sons, and dog.
With a reported push from hedge-fund mogul Ken Griffin, signs are growing that a statewide slate of GOP candidates that the party’s big funders are willing to back finally is close to coming together.
One development is state Rep. Tom Demmer, R-Dixon, announcing [yesterday] his candidacy for Illinois treasurer against incumbent Democrat Mike Frerichs.
The bigger news could occur any time, with multiple party sources saying they’ve heard that Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin will be getting into the governor’s race, with Griffin’s support. […]
Griffin’s spokeswoman said she is not aware of any pending big announcements.
* And while we’re on this topic, here’s Marni Pyke…
Suburban Republicans are taking starring roles in what’s shaping up to be a bruising and boisterous primary election for a standard-bearer to challenge Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
For starters, Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin is expected to announce his candidacy for governor in the coming days.
Palatine Township Highway Commissioner Aaron Del Mar is running as lieutenant governor with Gary Rabine of McHenry County, a Schaumburg business owner who is seeking to be the next governor.
And, McHenry County Board Vice Chairwoman Carolyn Schofield will team with gubernatorial hopeful and former state Sen. Paul Schimpf of Monroe County as a candidate for lieutenant governor.
*** UPDATE *** Comptroller Mendoza…
I welcome all candidates and look forward to talking about my lengthy and historic record of accomplishments as Comptroller on behalf of taxpayers with voters in all 102 counties of our great state of Illinois. Through smart financial management and fiscal discipline coupled with tenacious perseverance, I’ve successfully navigated our state through unprecedented fiscal challenges.
As Illinois’ fiscal watchdog, I’ve implemented historic transparency reforms, led our state to its first credit upgrades in decades, delivered the fastest vendor payment cycle in over 20 years, and paid down our bill backlog by over 75% without using federal stimulus funds - in the middle of a global pandemic.
When Illinois voters chose me in 2016 and 2018, they elected a strong, battle tested, proven leader who knows how to get things done. There is no challenge that I will not rise up to for Illinois. I will continue working hard to earn the votes and confidence of every voter across the state, regardless of their political party, and I look forward to the work that has yet to be done
…Adding… Teresi and Milhiser are both using Chain Bridge Bank, which was founded by former US Sen. Peter Fitzgerald and is favored by GOP types in DC. They also both have the same campaign treasurer, Les Williamson of The Larrison Group, a “boutique political consulting firm” in Georgetown that does GOP fundraising.
…Adding… DPI…
Democratic Party of Illinois Executive Director Abby Witt released the following statement regarding the latest candidate announcement from the Ken Griffin ticket:
“We’ve seen this before, haven’t we? In 2016, Bruce Rauner‘s handpicked comptroller candidate was roundly rejected by voters after helping the ‘worst Republican governor in America’ drive the state’s finances into a ditch. Now, Ken Griffin is running the Rauner Reboot, revealing his slate of puppets in a desperate bid to pull Illinois back to the Rauner days of budget impasses and months-long bill backlogs.
“Thankfully, Illinois voters elected Susana Mendoza to fight the Rauner agenda during his disastrous term in office and re-elected her to help clean up the financial mess Rauner left behind. Now, we’re balancing our budget, actually paying our bills on time, and upgrading our credit for the first time in decades.
“No matter who Ken Griffin picks for his latest political game, Illinois voters won’t be fooled — the Rauner Reboot is destined to be a flop.”
…Adding… ILGOP’s Joe Hackler…
“Susanna Mendoza has never been qualified to be comptroller, just to be another corrupt insider politician capitalizing on her relationships with the Machine to advance herself at the expense of Illinois families. Mendoza received huge contributions from Danny Solis (indicted), got married at the home of Ed Burke (indicted), and has been repaid her debts to Mike Madigan (resigned in disgrace, indictment looming) for advancing her career by endorsing JB Pritzker. Mendoza is just another part of the corrupt circle of politicians Illinois Democrats have elevated to state office, and exactly why we need a competent, qualified comptroller to take her place”
Through the first half of FY 2022, overall base receipts are up $918 million. When removing the federal dollars from the equation, receipts are up a strong $1.266 billion. This growth is even more impressive when factoring in the remarkable performance of income tax receipts this fiscal year. In the first six months, income tax receipts are up a combined $266 million. As detailed in earlier briefings, what makes this increase so impressive is that the revenue totals of FY 2022 are compared to FY 2021 receipts that benefitted from last year’s final payment delay, valued at approximately $1.3 billion. Net sales tax also continues to perform well, now up $643 million through the first six months of the fiscal year. All other sources are trailing last year’s levels by a combined $40 million.
Overall transfers are ahead of last year’s pace by $397 million through the first half of the fiscal year. Those gains reflect strong miscellaneous transfers, particularly from the Capital Projects Fund, as well as the return of riverboat transfers. After performing quite well through much of the fiscal year, Federal sources are now down $348 million after factoring in the December 2020 activity, as discussed above.
* Meanwhile, the comptroller is announcing a new weekly report. Here’s the first one…
An average bill payment cycle of just 13.2 working days is just such a foreign concept to this longtime Illinoisan. Wow.
* Press release…
Today, Illinois Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza unveiled a new weekly report that shares key financial data with the public.
“This continues and builds upon my transparency revolution,” said Comptroller Mendoza. “Illinois taxpayers and businesses that work with the state deserve to have easy access to these numbers, which reflect how government is operating and managing their hard-earned tax dollars.”
Each week an updated graphic will be shared via Comptroller Mendoza’s social media accounts. It will highlight the following:
• The General Funds bill backlog. Under Comptroller Mendoza, the bill backlog has shrunk nearly 75%, from $16.7 billion during the worst of the 2015-2017 budget impasse to less than $4.4 billion at the end of the day Tuesday, without using federal stimulus funds. The measure is a snapshot in time, subject to daily fluctuations as bills land at the Comptroller’s office and are paid out.
• The General Funds bill payment cycle. This is a key data point the Office of Comptroller focuses on. Included in the devastation of the budget impasse, some vouchers languished for more than 200 working days. Now, bills are being paid on time, well within the regular 30-day window, the fastest payment cycle for the Comptroller’s office in over 20 years.
• Rainy Day Fund. The state’s savings fund, frankly, leaves much to be desired. That’s why the Comptroller is championing House Bill 4118 that would bolster the fund when the backlog of bills is below $3 billion. For now, the fund includes enough savings to keep the state running for a little more than an hour. That’s not much, but it’s up from less than 30 seconds a year ago.
• Unfunded pension liabilities. This number reported by the state’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, based on the market value of assets, reflects the additional amount that would be needed to pay all retirement benefits earned by employees. While the Comptroller’s Office does not determine how pensions are funded, this number is an important piece of the state’s overall fiscal health.
• Aggregate funded ratio of pension liabilities. This shows the aggregate percentage at which the State’s five pension systems are funded as of the end of the most recent fiscal year.
The bill backlog and bill payment cycle numbers will be updated weekly. The Rainy Day Fund numbers will be updated monthly. The pension numbers will be included in the weekly graphic and updated on an annual basis, based on the release of government reports. Anyone can keep up to date with the numbers by checking the Comptroller’s social media accounts, Facebook and Twitter. Further information is available at illinoiscomptroller.gov.
“Transparency breeds accountability. That is why it’s important to consistently keep these numbers in the public eye,” said Comptroller Mendoza.
…Adding… Rockford’s new temporary casino is taking off…
Rockford casino nets $8.4M in first two months of being open […]
In the months of November and December, the casino netted $8,467,105.01 in revenue, according to the Illinois Gaming Board. The temporary casino generated $4,145,967.91 in revenue in the first 22 days it was open.
The temporary casino must pay $1,008,722.48 in state taxes and pay $504,361.28 in local taxes, according to IGB documents.
Daily Public Schedule: Wednesday, January 12, 2022
What: Gov. Pritzker to give an update on the latest COVID-19 surge.
Where: James R. Thompson Center, 15th Floor, Blue Room, Chicago
When: 1:30 p.m.
Watch live: https://www.Illinois.gov/LiveVideo
On the crime issue, the Hillside Democrat didn’t divulge details of what would be in the measure but said his party intends to push back against GOP portrayals that Democrats have been soft on crime.
“We’re early in the session, but I anticipate before we leave, you’re going to see some action on an anti-crime package,” Welch said.
“One of the messages that we’re going to send out loud and clear this session is that we believe that if you do the crime, you should do the time,” he said. “We believe that police should be properly funded and trained and educated. But it’s going to take us all working together to make sure that we bring this violence down.” […]
Welch said he has been in contact with the Illinois Retail Merchants Association about how to confront the rising prevalence of organized retail theft, but neither he nor the organization would divulge specifics of possible legislation. […]
Welch said he is not open to delaying an end to cash bail as part of any anti-crime initiatives this spring.
“I don’t know how we take a look at something that hasn’t even gone into effect yet,” Welch said. “There’s no data on that at all other than fear-mongering by folks on the other side of the aisle. That law doesn’t take effect till 2023 so it clearly hasn’t had any impact on the crime that has taken place last year or the crime that is taking place in the first few days of this year.”
But in mid-term elections the party in power very often loses seats.
“We’re certainly aware of the political climate as we enter election season here in 2022. And what we have to do as Democrats is we have to do the work,” said Welch.
Welch said Democrats can tout to voters successes on the climate and equitable jobs act, and legislation to protect voting rights and women’s reproductive rights.
Welch said he’ll work hard to keep his super-majority, but for now is focused on the upcoming legislative session.
“I think if you talk to folks in this space, they will tell you that it’s been a big difference,” Welch said. “First of all, my style is more collective and working with everyone in a team approach.”
House Republican Leader Jim Durkin views Welch’s first year differently. He says his party’s bills rarely see the light of day.
“The speaker, his predecessor at least, would give us a few bites at the apple and we’re just not getting there,” Durkin said.
“So you had more to eat as a party under Mike Madigan than Chris Welch?” WGN News asked.
“That’s correct,” Durkin answered.
*** UPDATE *** The numbers tell a different story than Leader Durkin’s…
By my count, in 2019 we saw 89 bills with a House Republican sponsor become law. In 2021, 97 bills with a House Republican sponsor became law. That works out to about 15% of the total for either year. https://t.co/cLekjIQvaSpic.twitter.com/TumJHnpsZe
“It’s a very time intensive job,” he said when asked what he’d learned in his first year. “And literally, you’re working seven days a week no-stop. …A lot of work involved. It takes cooperation from your friends from your family, from your employers.”
During his first year, Welch worked to put his own imprint on the speaker’s office, setting a much different tone than Madigan, who seldom gave media interviews and shunned the use of email or social media.
“I certainly think that it’s a new day in Springfield,” he said. “I think Democrats up and down our ranks would agree with that. I think if you get past Republican leadership, the rank-and-file Republicans would agree that it’s a new day.”
“The office of the speaker has been open more than it ever has, I believe in the last 36 to 40 years,” he continued. “Many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle came into the office of speaker and said they had never been in there before. They came in to meet with me about ideas they were proposing last year in the Legislature, ideas that got out of Rules (Committee), got out of the House, got out of the Senate, and hit the governor’s desk and became law. Many of those rank-and-file Republicans were able to go home and talk about victories that we actually had in the General Assembly. I think they’ll tell you that that’s a new thing for them.”
The Hillside Democrat said lawmakers should continue to work on a path toward financial stability, help people keep a roof over their heads and provide lifelines for businesses struggling during the pandemic. Welch would also like to see the House address the rise in crime with more investments included in the state budget and new policies to curb carjacking and organized retail theft.
Both chambers are starting the first month of session with most of their work done remotely due to the resurgence of COVID-19. However, Welch says that won’t prevent lawmakers from getting important work done this spring.
“Our number one goal is to keep everyone as safe as possible,” Welch said. “We proved last year that we can do the legislative work in a hybrid model. It just turns out that with this surge of COVID-19, we’re going back to doing our committee work virtually. If we were in Springfield in person, all we would be doing is going from committee room to committee room having meetings.”
Welch hopes to see the House and Senate return to Springfield once the number of new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations start to decrease and move in a better direction.
