* Rather than try to do a bunch of posts about what I missed last week, I figured I’d just show you Heather Wier Vaught’s excellent lobbyist client roundup from Friday afternoon…

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Schedule: The General Assembly has adjourned, but that doesn’t mean the members are done working – all 177 members return to their districts to handle governmental and constituent issues. Many will begin door-to-door activities in their districts, some in their official capacity and others as candidates because, of course, the June primary campaign season has begun.

Budget Roundup & Credit Upgrade: The Democratic lawmakers continue to focus on the fact they passed a balanced budget for FY23 that puts $1 billion in the state’s reserves, pays overdue bills, and pads pension contributions; whereas, Republican lawmakers believe the state remains ill-prepared and didn’t do enough. (More here and here.) Regardless, credit rating agencies and civic organizations have taken notice and like what they’re seeing. Governor Pritzker signed the FY23 budget, and shortly after that the State received another credit upgrade from Moody’s, the third credit upgrade in a year after going almost 20 years without any upgrades. The upgrade was attributed to revenue growth, fiscal accountability, and increases in pension contributions which demonstrates “increased commitment to paying its single-largest long-term liability.” And others may be on the horizon - according to Eric Kim, the head of U.S. state ratings for Fitch Ratings, Illinois is headed in the right direction. More here, here, here, and here.

Litigation Over Gas Tax Reduction Sticker Requirements: As part of the tax reduction package passed by the General Assembly, the gas tax will be reduced from July 1 – December 31, and gas stations must have signs clearly visible to customers explaining the reduction. Those who fail to display the stickers could be guilty of a petty offense, and the Illinois Fuel and Retail Association, the organization representing gas stations, has a problem with this – they’re taking it to court. More here.

Litigation Over Workers’ Rights Constitutional Amendment: The General Assembly approved a proposed constitutional amendment to appear on the November ballot. The amendment would give workers in Illinois “the fundamental right” to organize and collectively bargain for agreements on wages, hours and working conditions. The Liberty Justice Center and Illinois Policy Institute filed a lawsuit challenging the proposed constitutional amendment, claiming it would conflict with federal labor law and that Illinois doesn’t have the right to pass such a wide reaching law. More here.

EXECUTIVE BRANCH

Governor Drops Masking Requirements: Masks will no longer be required on public transit in Illinois. More here and here.

State Offices Moving: CMS has finished the plans to relocate state agency offices within Chicago. Many of the changes are necessary because of the sale of the Thompson Center. More here.

US Department of Defense New Office in Chicago: The Department of Defense and Governor Pritzker announced that the DoD will have a new office located at the site of the Discovery Partners Institute (DPI). More here.

Grants for Freedom School: The state of Illinois announced a $17 million grant to build the first state-funded network of Freedom Schools in the country. Freedom schools are a nonprofit that dates back to the 1960s, volunteers traveled to the deep south to teach Black students how to read and write. Today, the schools provide summer and after-school enrichment programs with curriculums rich in cultural appreciation and integrated reading to improve literacy skills. The schools also aim to implement strategies that focus on racial justice and equity and help stop the learning gap that occurs over the summer. More here.

JUDICIAL BRANCH

Mask Mandate TRO Overturned: The 4th Appellate District vacated a TRO that prevented the Chicago Public Schools from requiring testing by unvaccinated teachers and staff. More here.

Transportation Lockbox Litigation: The Illinois Supreme Court ruled that Cook County cannot use $250M in transportation funds for other purposes based on a constitutional provision referred to as the Transportation Lockbox. More here.

CAMPAIGN NEWS

Senators Munoz and Landek Withdraw: As expected, Senators Munoz and Landek withdrew their candidacies, leaving their preferred replacements as the only remaining candidates. Javier Loera Cervantes will run for the 1st District and Mike Porfirio will run for the 11th.

State Board of Elections Roundup: The State Board of Elections met on Thursday to decide the fate of numerous ballot challenges, and several likely to result in additional litigation. A few noteworthy:

* Second District Supreme Court: Three candidates were removed, leaving only 2 candidates in each party primary. In the Republican primary, GOP preferred candidate Daniel Shanes will face John Noverini. In the Democratic primary, Elizabeth “Liz” Rochford will face Rene Cruz. The three candidates (Dem Nancy Rotering, GOP Mark Curran, and GOP Susan Hutchinson) were removed based on the number of signatures submitted, and all have indicated they will appeal.

* 1st Congressional District: Two Democrat candidates were removed and one withdrew, leaving an astonishing 17 candidates in the Democratic primary. After 1 withdrawal, there are 3 candidates in the Republican primary.

* A slate of pro-Trump Republicans was removed, including a Senate and gubernatorial candidates. More on the slate here.

Richard Irvin & Ken Griffin: Ken Griffin, Citadel CEO and Illinois’ richest man, has given more than $20M to his preferred Republican gubernatorial candidate, Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin. Aurora has a special meaning to Citadel because it is home to a large data exchange center. While the Chicago Mercantile Exchange is headquartered more than 30 miles away, all the trading happens between computers in the Aurora data center. Because of this Irvin has become a gatekeeper for high-speed traders. This brought on questions about the connection between Griffin and Irvin. More here. Irvin has used much of Griffin’s money to flood Illinois media, spending $11.9M in the last three months on advertising. More here.

Griffin has pumped millions into the state’s gubernatorial race and the national midterm elections, and recently told the Wall Street Journal that he has too much on his plate to consider running for office. More here.

Darren Bailey & Richard Uihlein: Darren Bailey is finding help from Richard Uihlein, founder of the privately held Uline office supply business. This week Uihlein gave Bailey another $2.5M, bringing his total contributions to more than $3.5M. More here.

Congressional Primary: The fight for the Democratic nomination in Chicago’s new Latino-leaning congressional district is getting heated and is one to watch. The new district that extends from progressive neighborhoods to historically conservative towns in DuPage County. More here.

Willie Wilson Runs for Mayor: Millionaire businessman Willie Wilson deposited $5 million into his candidate fund, which will result in blowing caps for all mayoral candidates. If elected Chicago mayor, he will donate the mayor’s $216,210 annual salary to churches and nonprofits. More here. Wilson also announced he will be giving away another $1 million in gas to provide some relief for city motorists; however, this raises questions about Wilson giving things of value to potential voters. More here.

Democratic State Central Committee: At the June primary, Democratic voters will select one female and one male per congressional district to serve on the Democratic Party of Illinois’ State Central Committee (DSCC). An unusually high number of candidates are seeking election to the DSCC. More here. […]

OTHER TIDBITS

Pension Consolidation Behind Schedule: In 2019, the General Assembly passed legislation to consolidate local police and fire funds, with one of the goals being to reduce local costs, and thereby reducing local property taxes. However, a lawsuit and lack of cooperation is delaying the move. More here

WTTW Settlement: Broadcast technicians at WTTW-Channel 11 reached a contract agreement with management yesterday, ending the three-week strike at the PBS Affiliate. Many politicos refused to appear on WTTW shows, such as Chicago Tonight, during the strike. More here.

Covid Mental Health: After two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, people are familiar with the physical effects of COVID. Beyond the physical aspect, Covid has sparked a wide-scale mental health crisis among Chicago area residents. More here.

IN MEMORY

Legendary lobbyist Billy Paige passed away, and the Sun Times has a lovely tribute to her here.