* If you want to glimpse what could’ve been if NBC5 and WGN didn’t cave to the GOP gubernatorial candidates and move forward with holding two separate “debates” tonight, you should watch the Daily Herald editorial board’s virtual debate of all the candidates. There was some good back and forth and Richard Irvin held his own. Click here.
For instance, at one point Sen. Darren Bailey claimed that Caterpillar closed down its Aurora plant “because of regulations and taxes.” Irvin quickly countered that Caterpillar did not leave Aurora. It actually left nearby Montgomery. “So,” Irvin retorted, “you might want to get your facts straight.”
Bailey talked about how Irvin supported COVID mandates, but Irvin shot back that Bailey mandated mask-wearing on his megafarm. Bailey later claimed that, despite his son signing a federal pledge under oath to mandate masks, he didn’t actually do it.
Jesse Sullivan talked at one point about how he felt “betrayed” by former Gov. Bruce Rauner and noted that much of Irvin’s team ran Rauner’s 2014 campaign. Irvin replied that Sullivan was living in California at the time, so if he was betrayed by a governor, it was a whole different governor. Not a bad zinger. Irvin prevented Sullivan from responding immediately and then noted correctly that Rauner’s 2018 campaign was helmed by the same guy who’s at the top of Bailey’s campaign food chain. Bailey accused Irvin of lying, and Irvin said the response meant “You know how to tell a lie yourself,” and chuckled. Bailey eventually just smiled and laughed at that one.
And when Gary Rabine brought up a Crain’s Chicago Business story headlined “Aurora homeowners are taxed at the highest effective rate among 53 U.S. cities included in a new study,” Irvin claimed the Illinois Department of Revenue’s figures show Aurora isn’t even in the top 50 in Illinois.
Anyway, it’s worth a look. Bailey and Sullivan could’ve easily called Irvin’s bluff and appeared on the Channel 5 debate with the frontrunner. They didn’t, and that may have been for good reason.
One year later, Irvin refuses to answer for his corrupt comments. Instead, he openly contested the police report, telling the Tribune the report was “actually incorrect” in its characterization of his comments.
Looks like the “law-and-order candidate” only backs the blue when it works for him.
“While Irvin parades around as the ‘law-and-order’ candidate who’s ‘tough on crime,’ the truth is clear: he only cares when it’s politically convenient,” said DGA Senior Communications Advisor Christina Amestoy. “Mayor Irvin’s corruption runs deep — and a Governor Irvin would be no different. Illinoisans deserve better.”
* Valencia…
Democratic Secretary of State candidate Anna Valencia announced today that she has earned the endorsement of the Illinois National Organization for Women (NOW) PAC, a major endorsement that highlights Valencia’s unwavering commitment to protecting and advancing women’s rights, especially access to abortion and reproductive justice. The endorsement comes as extreme politicians across the country are passing laws undermining a woman’s right to reproductive health and just weeks before a U.S. Supreme Court decision that is expected to undermine these rights in a significant way.
“Illinois NOW PAC is pleased to endorse Anna Valencia for Illinois Secretary of State,” said Laura Welch, President of IL NOW PAC. “Especially now, Illinois must elect leaders like Anna who fully support women and our rights to privacy. She has a proven track record of uplifting those most often disenfranchised in our state—women, people of color and people whose voices aren’t always heard by our elected officials.”
* CD1…
This evening at an Indivisible Chicago candidate forum, Karin Norington-Reaves condemned Jonathan Jackson’s support of defunding the police amid our city and nation’s crime epidemic.
Jackson touted his endorsement from “Our Revolution,” in a release just last week, an organization that supports defunding the police. “Jonathan checks all of the boxes,” an Our Revolution spokesperson confirmed of his positions being consistent with their priorities. Jackson said, “The issues the organization espouses… are in alignment with my beliefs about the type of policies that will deliver the best long-term benefits to the 1st Congressional District.”
“At a time when our District is grappling with almost unprecedented gun violence and crime, defunding the police is an incredibly dangerous proposition,” said Norington-Reaves spokeswoman Samantha Keitt. “We need candidates who will invest in real solutions to our crime problem, not create more opportunities for violence.”
* CD3…
Today, Alderman Gilbert Villegas received endorsements from Sheet Metal Workers Local 73 and IBEW Local 134 in his race for Illinois’ 3rd Congressional Seat.
President and Business Manager of Sheet Metal Workers Local 73, Raymond Suggs, expressed the union’s support for Villegas.
“The members of Sheet Workers Local 73 are proud to endorse a fellow brother Teamster who is running to represent working people in the US Congress. We are confident that Gil Villegas will serve the workers of this district and the country well, as he understand what it means to work hard and fight for fairness in the workplace,” said Raymond Suggs, President & Business Manager for Local 73.
Don Finn, Business Manager and Financial Secretary for IBEW Local 134, spoke in support of Alderman Villegas.
“Experience, leadership, professionalism and integrity are all important aspects in a candidate, but the shared values and dedication to protecting Workers’ Rights (including the right to collectively bargain conditions of employment, especially for those employees’ seeking representation in their workplace), preserving area standard wages, and ensuring workplace safety are what distinguishes his candidacy and solidifies our endorsement,” said Business Manager & Financial Secretary Don Finn.
Villegas reacted to the support.
“Driving a bakery truck as a Teamster was one of the proudest experiences of my life, and having support from two strong organizations of the Chicagoland labor movement is especially important to me. This campaign is about getting things done for ordinary working people and their families, and with this support, I know we’ll be successful in this race for Congress” said Alderman Gilbert Villegas.
…Adding… Pritzker campaign…
Tonight, the Republican candidates for governor will finally meet to answer questions from the public and reporters––but not on the same stage. Throughout the messy and divisive primary contest, the GOP candidates have lobbed brutal attacks at each other but have spent little time discussing their policies and records. Although the candidates are unwilling to actually meet on the same debate stage, tonight’s two “debates” will be a long-awaited opportunity to demand answers from those running for office who have spent the primary ducking, dodging, and running away from tough questions.
Voters are still waiting for answers to major questions such as:
• Do you support the nationwide abortion ban proposed by Republicans?
• Do you think Roe v. Wade should be overturned?
• Did you vote for Donald Trump?
• Will you support Donald Trump in 2024?
• Do you support background checks for gun purchases and the FOID card?
• Did Joe Biden win a free and fair election in 2020?
• Do you consider the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol an insurrection?
• Do you support a $15 minimum wage?
• Do you support the Workers’ Rights Amendment?
• Do you support the Black Lives Matter movement?
• What would you do as governor to protect Illinoisans from the COVID-19 pandemic?
• Do you support LGBTQ+ Illinoisans’ constitutionally-protected right to marry?
During the 2018 primary, Governor JB Pritzker had already participated in more than 36 forums, six televised debates and 10 editorial board sessions with his Democratic primary opponents. Republicans have made it clear that political points and sneaky campaign tactics are more important than sharing the same debate stage to publicly discuss the issues most important to Illinois families.
*** UPDATE *** A new IE for Karin Norington-Reaves…
* In May of 1997, after more than 20 years of Republican Illinois governors, the US Census Bureau laid out its predictions of the states that would have the highest net loss of population due to interstate migration in the 30-year period between 1995 and 2025 per 1,000 people…
California -4
Massachusetts -4
Illinois -5
New York -9
DC -10
While Americans frequently move among the states… Florida, Texas, and North Carolina will each gain 1 million or more persons over the 30-year period through net interstate migration, with Florida gaining nearly 4 million. Georgia and Washington will each gain slightly less than 1 million. Four states will have a net loss of at least 1 million persons to other states. New York will lose 5.0 million; California, 4.4 million; Illinois, 1.7 million; and Michigan, 1.1 million. Over the 1995-2025 period, nearly one-quarter billion people are projected to move from one state to another. […]
California is projected to add the largest number of international migrants (more than 8 million). … Other states projected to have gains of 1 million or more from immigration are New York, Florida, New Jersey, Illinois, and Texas.
International immigration slowed way down under President Trump and then because of COVID, which has obviously hurt Illinois, and that may have been partly why the 1997 projection was off by about a hundred thousand people when the Census estimated Illinois’ 2020 population to be 13.121 million. As you know, the latest corrected Census number has Illinois right around 13 million.
* Point being, the fundamentals have been against Illinois for a very long time. This ain’t a new issue. And maybe some folks in Massachusetts should take a look at that 1997 report as well.
*** UPDATE 1 *** From the governor’s office…
Governor Pritzker today urged President Joe Biden and the federal government to ensure that Illinois receives federal funding that reflects its growth of 250,000 residents, lifting the state’s population to more than 13 million for the first time in its history.
Illinois’s population was undercounted by roughly 2% in the 2020 census. The adjusted Census results show an increase in Illinois’ population as people move to the state in pursuit of expanded economic and employment opportunities.
“Illinois is growing, and our federal funding should reflect that reality,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Nearly 250,000 Illinoisans—the majority of whom are from historically disenfranchised and underserved communities—were not represented in the Census results. That’s why I have urged President Biden and the federal government to ensure that the local communities of Illinois receive the federal dollars they are entitled to—and deserve. I thank the President for his commitment to an accurate Census count, and I look forward to working with him to guarantee that our state secures its fair share of federal funding.”
Governor Pritzker’s letter to President Biden calls for adjusted population counts to be considered when allocating over $1.5 trillion in federal funds for Medicare, affordable housing, homeland security, and other essential programs. Census undercounts often disservice Black, Latino, and minority residents who are historically underserved by federal resources such as these, making the correct appropriation of these funds even more important. The letter requests that President Biden support any efforts to factor the new data into equitable funding allocations.
The Census Bureau’s Post Enumeration Survey (PES) is a follow-up survey to the census count meant to examine the results for accuracy through additional statistical sampling. The original census count, which inaccurately showed a population decline, resulted in Illinois losing one congressional seat, making accurate appropriation of funds even more essential to ensure Illinoisans can access the resources they need over the next decade.
This updated count reflects Illinois’s rising status in the region and the country as a site of innovation and opportunity. Increased investment by the Pritzker administration in training and apprenticeship programs in manufacturing and aviation have created jobs and attracted new residents across the state.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Monique Garcia on behalf of the Illinois Municipal League…
Hi Rich,
As you continue to cover what the Census undercount means for Illinois, I wanted to bring your attention to this letter from the Illinois Municipal League to Gov. JB Pritzker seeking clarification about whether the administration intends to ensure municipalities are made whole for the purposes of state-shared revenues. The letter also raises the need to address the pending loss of population-established home rule authority in several communities across the state, which could be resolved if corrections to undercounts are made.
But there is an early example of Irvin trying to be all things to everyone. It came in his successful 2017 run for the nonpartisan position of mayor of Aurora, through a pair of near identically designed mailings — one sent to Democrats and another sent to Republican households.
Each mailer is labeled, “The Choice is Yours” with the words appearing atop a donkey representing Democrats and an elephant representing Republicans.
In the mailer sent to Republicans, an arrow points to the donkey with the words, “Rick Guzman is endorsed by entrenched Chicago Democrats like Dick Durbin.” The arrow pointing to the elephant says, “Richard C. Irvin is endorsed by Local Elected Officials who actually have a stake in Aurora’s future.”
The reverse side touts GOP endorsements he received and says, “The reasons are clear. Richard C. Irvin has a solid conservative record.”
But in the mailer that went to Democrats, the arrow pointing to the elephant warns Guzman, a former mayoral chief of staff, is “endorsed by Tea Party Republicans.” Under the donkey arrow appear the words: “Richard C. Irvin is endorsed by Local Elected Officials who actually have a stake in Aurora’s future.”
On the opposite side, appears a list of Democratic elected officials and groups supporting him for mayor — but there was no mention of his “solid conservative record.”
…Adding… The latest Irvin campaign mailer…
* Also, Irvin has now changed his story from March of 2020, when he claimed he had “spoken” with Gov. Pritzker. Now, he says he spoke to Pritzker’s staff because Pritzker wouldn’t return his calls.
When I asked, the governor’s spokesperson said Pritzker called Irvin around March 12, 2020 to check in and see how it was going in Aurora and to say his office was monitoring the situation and working to keep people safe. Then, I was told, Pritzker called Irin to check in on him in April when Irvin tested positive for the virus. And Pritzker talked to him again around the middle of July. The governor called Irvin again on November 14 and got his voicemail, but Irvin called him back. Pritzker called again on Dec. 10 and got Irvin’s voicemail. More documentation is here.
* But, to be fair, in the spring of 2020 just about everyone was on board the mitigation train. Even Darren Bailey was telling his Facebook followers on March 21 to stay safe...
Please just, just take this serious. I’m, as I compare what we’re doing here in Illinois, and then I watched President Trump with many of his recommendations. We just we really need to take this serious so we don’t get to the point where Italy and other countries are at. […]
We really need to take this serious so we don’t get to the point where italy and other countries are at. […]
And you know, there is reason to be concerned. So I am satisfied with what the governor is doing as we watch what he is suggesting and compare that with what President Trump is doing.
I wanted to ask everyone to please stay home from church tomorrow. If your church is considering having services, please call your pastor and, and talk about it, you know. For the next few weeks, we need to take this serious.
And then in May of 2020, Bailey offered up his own mitigation plan, including for places of worship…
Places of Worship
All staff and worship leaders shall have temperature checks when arriving to work.
Occupancy allowed at 25% capacity ensure not less than six feet distance between attendees
Distancing between family members is at their discretion
Avoid contact with common items (items open to use by all attendees)
Disposable hymn handouts
Avoid physical contact between attendees
No greeters/No physical contact
No Offering Baskets passed among attendees
No waiting area
All surfaces touched by attendees shall be sanitized between each use
Continued Virtual worship is recommended
Self-Contained communion practices are acceptable
Organized dismissal should be implemented
…Adding… Irvin says in the article that his support for mitigations waned over time, but he declared a special day for Dr. Ezike when she was in Aurora this past October for a vaccine event.
The leaked draft decision on Roe V. Wade sent a shockwave across our country, reminding us that elections have consequences, especially in the newly drawn 3rd Congressional District that is densely populated by Latinas, who will be severely impacted by Roe V. Wade being overturned. Alderman Gil Villegas’ record on abortion and reproductive rights has raised serious concerns about his ability to represent women and trans, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming people who seek abortion access and reproductive healthcare.
Below is a statement by one hundred women in the 3rd Congressional District, including State Senator Karina Villa, State Senator Cristina Pacione-Zayas, Representative Maura Hirschauer, and Alderwoman Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez, condemning Alderman Gil Villegas’ anti-abortion record and cautioning voters.
“This election is especially critical because the candidate we send to Congress has to be an unapologetic fighter for reproductive, abortion, and LGBTQ+ rights. Unfortunately, Alderman Gil Villegas has demonstrated that he is not a committed partner in protecting reproductive rights. His ties to anti-choice Republicans are troubling.
“In 2017, Alderman Gil Villegas voted to give $5.5 million of taxpayer’s money to subsidize clinics that banned women from obtaining abortions and access to birth control. It is reprehensible that he voted to use public dollars to fund inadequate healthcare access, knowing that Black and Brown women in the 3rd Congressional District would be severely impacted.
“Additionally, Alderman Gil Villegas has taken campaign contributions from anti-choice Republicans, including Gubernatorial Candidate Gary Rabine and Dan Cronin.
“The 3rd Congressional District can not afford to send a tepid Democrat to Congress when our freedoms are under attack by Republicans, so it is essential that we send someone to Congress who we trust will fight at all costs to ensure that Roe V. Wade is codified. We ask voters to support Delia Ramirez, a real progressive and champion for reproductive and abortion rights in this race.”
Today, IEA - NEA and SEIU Local 73 announced their endorsement of State Representative Delia Ramirez in her campaign for Congress in the newly drawn 3rd Congressional District of Illinois. Illinois Education Association represents 3,000 educators in the 3rd District; SEIU Local 73 represents more than 3,100 frontline, essential workers in the 3rd Congressional district.
“We are proud to endorse Delia Ramirez for Congress. As a state representative, Delia was instrumental in finally bringing an elected school board to the City of Chicago,” said Dian Palmer, President of SEIU Local 73. “Delia has dedicated her life and career advocating for working families. As an accomplished community leader and coalition
builder, we know we can count on her to fight for our members in Congress.”
“It is an honor to receive the endorsement of SEIU Local 73. Their commitment to fight for dignified, fair wages and working conditions for the thousands of frontline workers they represent is inspiring. I am proud to receive their support and look forward to working with them to continue this fight in Congress” stated Leader Ramirez.
Leader Ramirez is running in the newly drawn 3rd Congressional seat. The Democratic Primary takes place June 28th. She has been endorsed by Senator Elizabeth Warren, Congresswoman Schakowsky, Congressman Chuy Garcia, Congresswoman Lauren Underwood, SEIU Healthcare, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Congressional Progressive Caucus, PODER PAC, Mijente, End Citizens United, EMILY’s List and the United Working Families and Working Families Party.
* Judge Rochford…
Today, Teamsters Joint Council 25 announced its endorsement of Judge Elizabeth Rochford for the Illinois Supreme Court’s Second District. Teamsters Joint Council 25 represents over 100,000 working men and women in Illinois and Northwest Indiana. The endorsement builds on Judge Rochford’s strong labor support, including the Illinois State AFL-CIO, Local 881 UFCW, Plumbers Local Union 130 United Association (UA), and the Lake County and McHenry County Building & Construction Trades Councils and their affiliates, which together include 44 local affiliate trade unions. […]
Recently, the Illinois State Bar Association released their rating of Judge Rochford as “highly recommended.” Judge Rochford is the only candidate in the Democratic primary for the Second District seat to be rated “highly recommended.”
Judge overrules Cook County Electoral Board, says rival to Sheriff Tom Dart should be put back on ballot: “Carmen Navarro Gercone’s successful appeal of a decision by the Cook County Electoral Board comes with little more than a month to go before the June 28 primary. Dart’s campaign had argued that she was ineligible to run under a controversial new state law that requires sheriff’s candidates to be registered law enforcement officers,” by Tribune’s Jeremy Gorner. […]
— OPEN SEAT SCRAMBLE: The Democratic group VoteVets is launching a $360,000 buy supporting Chicago Ald. Gil Villegas in the open Democratic primary in IL-03. The ad, which will start airing today, highlights Villegas’ service in the Marines and his work on the city council. It is set to air for two weeks. The district is open after redistricting turned it into a Latino opportunity district in the city. […]
— Gov. JB Pritzker has endorsed Eileen Dordek in her bid for the 13th state House District seat now held by retiring Majority Leader Greg Harris. Four other Democrats, all men, are also in the race. […]
— Charise Williams has been endorsed by state Rep. Rita Mayfield and Dixmoor Mayor Fitzgerald Roberts in the IL-01 Democratic primary.
* Press release…
SEIU Healthcare Illinois is proud to announce the union’s endorsement of Illinois Senator Jacqueline Collins for the 1st Congressional Seat.
“The over 90,000 home care, child care, nursing home and hospital workers joined together in our union have benefitted from Jacqueline Collins’ dedicated advocacy on behalf of healthcare workers, care recipients and the communities within our state most in need of and dependent upon care,” said SEIU Healthcare Illinois President Greg Kelley. “Nearly 12,000 of our members live in the 1st Congressional District and would directly benefit from Collins’ advocacy in the nation’s capital. Additionally, her leadership in areas of concern to working families would have a positive impact for all the union’s membership, and for struggling low-wage earners across the state.
“Collins has shown exemplary leadership in Springfield standing up for nursing home reform—both in calling for safe staffing in long term care facilities backed by real consequences for owners who fall short and in advocating for living and sustainable wages and working conditions for workers.”
Frontline healthcare workers appreciate Collins’ grasp of the importance both of their work and of increased investment in wages and benefits. “Senator Collins gets that our working conditions are the care conditions of residents and patients,” said Francine Rico, a certified nursing assistant at Villa at Windsor Park, a long-term care facility. “She also understands that when we fight for higher wages and a voice on the job, we’re fighting for racial and gender equity. Like me, most nursing home and frontline care workers are women of color and our work has been devalued for too long.”
“Too often, our elected leaders will say the right thing when it comes to lifting wage and working standards but fail to act,” said Kelley. “But in Collins, we have a leader who has proven she has the courage and integrity to do the right thing, by fighting for real accountability for staffing levels in Illinois nursing homes—and for all of the issues that matter the most to working families. Her election to Congress would be a real win for frontline caregivers and for all those who receive care in the state and beyond.”
…Adding… Litesa Wallace…
First-term Galesburg Mayor Peter Schwartzman on Tuesday announced his endorsement of former state Rep. Litesa Wallace for the 17th Congressional District Democratic nomination, citing Wallace’s history of advocacy and willingness to stand up to the establishment on behalf of everyday Illinoisans.
Schwartzman said he did not easily give out endorsements, but was drawn to do so for Wallace after hearing her personal story, her record of progressive advocacy and seeing her intent to focus on “real challenges,” ones that face all of us.
In an endorsement statement Tuesday, Schwartzman, a Knox College environmental studies professor, said:
“I don’t give out endorsements lightly or frequently, but Litesa has impressed me with her background, with her personal history and with her values. She’s not part of the Democratic establishment, but she has a strong sense of the everyday things we should do for each other. She understands that economic growth is true when it includes everyone. She’s a real person with a very high level of integrity.”
“We need people like her who are fighting for us, and not just for the special interests. This is a very important race and we’re at risk of losing this seat, so we need to put forward the best candidate–and that’s why Litesa Wallace has my endorsement.”
Rep. Wallace previously served three terms in Springfield as the State Representative from Rockford’s 67th District. She gained national attention in 2018 when she ran for Lt. Governor alongside Daniel Biss in the Democratic primary for Governor.
She previously has been endorsed by Indivisible, Our Revolution Illinois, SEIU Illinois, Winnebago County Citizens for Choice, the Collective PAC, Democracy for America, and a long list of elected officials in the 17th District and across Illinois.
Rep. Wallace is running to represent the newly drawn 17th District, which includes most of Peoria, Rockford, Freeport, the Quad Cities, Bloomington-Normal, Macomb, and Galesburg.
Former Gov. Pat Quinn has a poll out asking about term limits and referendums and also includes a question about a Quinn mayoral candidacy. File that under kicking the tires
And, yes, rumors have been flying for a few days about a possible Quinn run for mayor. Frankly, I was kinda surprised that he didn’t run for secretary of state.
However, Citizens for Judicial Fairness (which spent millions to defeat Supreme Court Justice Tom Kilbride in 2020) busted the caps in those two statewide races with some independent expenditures.
First, billionaire Ken Griffin (who has given Irvin $45 million) contributed $6.25 million to Citizens for Judicial Fairness in April. The committee had only $45K in the bank at the end of March.
* And speaking of independent expenditures, Dan Proft’s People Who Play By The Rules PAC filed a B-1 on Friday with a list of TV buys throughout the state.
The long delay in issuing new retail Illinois marijuana licenses might soon end.
The attorney who filed the lawsuit that resulted in a Cook County judge prohibiting the state from issuing 185 new licenses requested today that the ruling be lifted. And attorneys from the state indicated that a deal to lift the judge’s stay could be worked out in the coming days. […]
The stay preventing the state from issuing the licenses was issued last summer by Cook County Judge Moshe Jacobius, who retired in January. The applicant who filed suit, WAH Group, received a perfect score after the state rescored disputed applications, and it won lotteries for two licenses. However, the stay remained in place.
The state conducted three lotteries for 185 licenses last July and August, but none of those licenses has been awarded because of the stay. The legal limbo has frustrated applicants who have been unable to open stores. A handful have begun the zoning process in the city and suburbs, but many have been unable to move ahead as long as the licenses were on hold.
Dispensary license applicants have been waiting a long time for these licenses. Applications were first filed in January 2020, with awards originally supposed to be made in late April, but delays due to Covid, poor government planning, and then lawsuits kept adding delays to the process.
“The first thing I’m gonna do is have a drink and probably take a puff or two after thanking the good Lord that it’s finally over,” said dispensary license holder and activist Rickey Hendon when asked what he plans to do on Friday. “And then work on our location. My partners and I are looking at two places, and now that’ll accelerate.”
As voting begins in the Democratic Primary in Illinois 6th Congressional District, new polling shows U.S. Congressman Sean Casten (D-IL) with a robust 9-point lead – prior to his campaign spending a single dollar on television advertisements.
Key highlights from the poll:
• Overall, Sean Casten has opened up a nine-point advantage over Marie Newman since January when the race was a dead heat.
• Casten leads Newman among progressives (+7), liberals (+11), and moderates/conservatives (+10).
• Casten is ahead of Newman with women (+5) and men (+14).
• Casten has a significant lead among voters citing abortion as their top issue (+15).
No information was provided about any candidate prior to the questions related to this data.
On behalf of Casten for Congress, the Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group conducted a district-wide telephone survey (including both cell and landline interviewing) among a representative cross section of 402 likely June 2022 Democratic primary voters. The survey was conducted May 12 to 16, 2022, and has an overall margin of error of ±4.9.
Jeanne Ives chased Richard Irvin out the door: Ives, a conservative Republican who got thisclose to defeating Bruce Rauner in the GOP primary for governor four years ago, asks Irvin who he voted for president in 2016. Irvin stuck by his guns and wouldn’t say. Ives can be heard chasing Irvin out the door for an answer. Via AM560 and Dan Proft, who is behind the “People Who Play By the Rules PAC” that opposes Irvin.
In the space of just a couple-two-three seconds, Irvin said a version of “Hold on a second” eight times while attempting to interrupt Ives.
Keep watching the video and you’ll see Amy Jacobson describe how Irvin was “shucking and jiving” while attempting to avoid her.
Despite continuing to court Republican voters ahead of the June 28 primary election, Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin again refused to say whether he voted for former President Donald Trump in the 2016 and 2020 elections.
Irvin, considered a frontrunner for the Illinois GOP gubernatorial nomination, briefly met with reporters following a Saturday morning campaign event in Springfield. It was one of the final stops of a three-day, 16-event campaign swing across the state to promote early voting, which started Thursday.
Asked point blank whether he voted for Trump, who was GOP’s presidential candidate in 2016 and 2020 and is widely considered the favorite to win the nomination in 2024 if he runs, Irvin deflected, saying that “in general elections, I’m a Republican. I always vote for Republicans.”
The audience roundly applauded anyone who supported Trump, those who support a single day of voting, speakers who wanted laws banning critical race theory from being taught in schools, and any mention that 2020 election was fraudulent.
* Mary Miller…
Conservative Congresswoman Mary Miller received a perfect “A” rating from the National Rifle Association today, after previously receiving an “A” rating from Gun Owners of America for her perfect record of support for the Second Amendment.
Miller’s opponent, RINO Rodney Davis, was scored lower by the NRA and Gun Owners of America because Rodney Davis has embraced “red-flag” gun confiscation and voted to allow the federal government to seize firearms from American citizens.
“I am honored to receive a perfect A rating from the National Rifle Association, and I will always defend the Second Amendment from Joe Biden and JB Pritzker,” said Miller, who is a member of the House Second Amendment Caucus. “Some RINO Republicans like my opponent Rodney Davis have betrayed conservative voters by embracing red-flag gun confiscation and voting to allow the federal government to seize firearms. President Trump endorsed me because I will never back down under pressure from the liberal media or leftist politicians. I am 100% pro-Second Amendment, and I will always defend our right to keep and bear arms.”
Mary Miller is the only member of Congress from Illinois in both the House Second Amendment Caucus and the House Freedom Caucus, where she has been a strong opponent of Joe Biden’s efforts to ban firearms, seize firearms, and create a national gun registry.
Her opponent, RINO Rodney Davis, has been endorsed and funded by Joe Biden’s major Super PAC, the United Union of Plumbers and Pipefitters, based on his liberal record supporting the Biden-Pelosi agenda. Rodney Davis has an “F” rating from the American Conservative Union and an “F” Liberty Score from the Conservative Review. You can read about RINO Rodney Davis’ support for red-flag gun confiscation below:
Davis scored an A- from the NRA.
* From a longtime reader…
Hi Rich,
We’ve begun to wallpaper our newsroom with the mailers we get for Illinois Governor and the Miller-Davis race.
We recently got a mailer for an anti-Miller ad from The Governing Majority Fund attacking Miller’s vote on [the National Defense Authorization Act].
I did some research on the Super-PAC sending out the mailer. They are based in Tampa, Florida. Nancy Watkins is the Treasurer for them. She seems to be a go-to CPA for Republican campaigns around the country.
Miller has been going after Rodney for not being Trumpy enough. Here’s something interesting on Nancy Watkins’ biography I found doing some googling online:
“Watkins’ firm also oversees the legal defense fund for Roger Stone, the GOP strategist and Donald Trump confidante who was convicted on charges related to special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation but was later pardoned by Trump.”
Democratic State Central Committeewoman Lauren Beth Gash (10th Congressional District) has been endorsed by 10th District Congressman Brad Schneider, Democratic Party of Illinois Chair Congresswoman Robin Kelly, and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky for re-election to the Democratic State Central Committee. These Congressional leaders and more than 100 other prominent Democrats are supporting Gash because of her tireless dedication to electing Democrats in the 10th Congressional District and throughout Illinois.
Chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois Congresswoman Robin Kelly said of Lauren Beth Gash: “I know a true political organizer when I see one.” That’s only one of the reasons so many prominent Illinois Democrats in the 10th Congressional District and beyond have endorsed Lauren for re-election.
* More…
* Stacy Davis Gates becomes CTU president as leadership wins reelection: The incumbent leadership group, part of the Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators, also known as CORE, won 56% of the votes — CTU did not say how many ballots were cast. Members First, which called for the union to focus solely on basic working conditions for teachers, received 27%. The other challenger, the Respect, Educate, Advocate and Lead caucus, or REAL, got 17%.
Deputy Mayor for Public Safety John O’Malley and Chicago Police Department Lt. Michael Kapustianyk told alderpeople the expansion and extension of the curfew would give officials another tool to fight crime.
O’Malley was repeatedly pressed by members of the City Council’s Progressive Caucus to share evidence backed up by data that teen curfew laws had been effective in reducing violence or crime. O’Malley acknowledged he had no evidence to show that the proposal has worked in other cities and states.
O’Malley told Martin that he was not familiar with a study of the impact of the decision by Washington, D.C., officials to move its teen curfew from midnight to 11 p.m. in 2015. That change increased gun incidents by 150% during the additional hour of curfew, according to the study.
A systematic review of research literature on juvenile curfew programs was published in 2016 by the Campbell Collaboration, a nonprofit that synthesizes research studies for policy-makers. Campbell examined over 7,000 studies on juvenile curfews and synthesized the 12 most rigorous studies. The report stated that, “evidence suggests that juvenile curfews are ineffective at reducing crime and victimization. The average effect on juvenile crime during curfew hours was slightly positive — that is a slight increase in crime — and close to zero for crime during all hours. Similarly, juvenile victimization also appeared unaffected by the imposition of a curfew ordinance.”
The Campbell findings followed a systematic review of juvenile curfew literature published in 2003 by the National Criminal Justice Reference Service. That review found that “empirical studies of the impact of curfew laws failed to support the argument that curfews reduce crime and criminal victimization.”
Why are juvenile curfew laws ineffective? For one thing, the studies found that they damage already-strained relationships between police and youth of color and in some instances have “blowback” effects, increasing juvenile victimization or overall crime.
Another factor is that on empty streets there are no witnesses. Urban activist Jane Jacobs theorized that well-populated streets are safe streets; deserted streets invite crime.
A study published in 2015 tested the effect of Washington D.C.’s juvenile curfew on gun violence. Using ShotSpotter audio sensor data, the authors found that gunfire incidents were significantly more frequent when the curfew was in effect. Curfews remove bystanders and witnesses from the streets, reducing their deterrent effects on street crime.
* From one of the co-authors of that ShotSpotter study…
Curfews incentivize law-abiding citizens to be at home instead of out on the streets.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s executive order turning back the clock and age of Chicago’s seldom-enforced curfew law — from 11 p.m. to 10 p.m., for minors younger than 18 instead of under 17 — will not have the weight of law behind it. At least not for a few days.
Two mayoral allies — Emma Mitts (37th) and Nick Sposato (38th) — made certain of it on Monday by using a parliamentary maneuver to postpone a final vote on the mayor’s curfew ordinance after a barrage of criticism from all sides. That sets the stage for a final vote on Wednesday.
Aldermanic allies and enemies alike have condemned the crackdown as a toothless and desperate response to a deadly outbreak of youth violence in the downtown area that prompted a mass shooting outside a McDonald’s at Chicago Avenue and State Street and the fatal shooting of a teenager at Millennium Park.
Ald. Ray Lopez (15th), a mayoral challenger and Lightfoot’s most outspoken critic on the council, has further warned that demoralized, inundated and overworked Chicago police officers will, once again, be yanked out of neighborhood CPD districts “so we can have the curfew patrol downtown.”
In the 2018 elections, 53% of the Illinois statewide vote came from women, with 28% of the total votes cast from suburban women.
“It’s white suburban women who need to take this issue very, very seriously when they cast a ballot. Which means them, their friends, their daughters their nieces and everyone else,” said Terry Cosgrove, executive director of Personal PAC, which supports pro-choice candidates.
Both sides in the abortion debate are using the prospect of overturning Roe v. Wade as a rallying cry for their voters.
“For those of us who are pro-life in Illinois, I think its a two-fold reaction,” said Mary Malone Rumley of Illinois Right to Life. “We’re absolutely thrilled that it’s looking like Roe is finally going to be overturned after 50 years. But we also know that this will impact Illinois greatly. We know that there are plenty on the pro-choice side who would like to see Illinois become an abortion oasis for the entire Midwest.”
The final Supreme Court decision is expected before the Nov. 8 general election. [Kent Redfield, emeritus professor of political science at University of Illinois Springfield] said the abortion debate could further energize a Republican base that generally supports abortion restrictions and is capitalizing on voter frustration with President Joe Biden and inflation.
Democratic politicians, whose base isn’t as enthusiastic, have more to gain if Roe falls and pro-choice voters want to prevent restrictions on abortion at the state and federal level, Redfield said.
In Illinois, where Democrats control state government, concern about preserving abortion rights could mitigate voters’ concerns about crime, he said.
“It will have a more positive effect overall, and it will affect Democratic turnout,” he said. “This is something that motivates younger voters, who are more likely to be pro-choice.”
Vice President Kamala Harris met Thursday with abortion providers from some of the most restrictive states in the country, including Missouri, to learn how the Biden administration can help protect access to abortion amid a looming U.S. Supreme Court decision that could end the constitutional right to the procedure. […]
The St. Louis region is unique in that it straddles the two states — Republican-led Missouri, which has moved to restrict abortion access, and Democrat-led Illinois, which has worked to expand access.
Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region in 2019 opened an abortion clinic in Fairview Heights — just 15 minutes from its Missouri clinic. Over the years, the St. Louis clinic has become the only abortion provider in Missouri.
Since the Fairview Heights facility opened, abortions have become nearly nonexistent in Missouri. Patients can drive a bit farther to Illinois and avoid Missouri’s 72-hour mandatory waiting period, which requires two appointments three days apart for those seeking an abortion.
At the Hope Clinic for Women in Granite City, the day starts early. Before the doors open at 7:30 a.m., clinic escorts and protesters take positions on opposite ends of the parking lot.
“You’ll remember this for the rest of your life!” one of the protesters shouts at the escorts. “Is it glorious to you [that] you’re participating in the death and destruction of babies?”
The escorts, volunteers from the activist group Pro-Choice Missouri, have started seeing a lot of patients who have traveled far to get to the Metro East clinic.
“I can see a Mississippi plate behind you right now,” escort Justine Collum said. Like the others, she’s clad in a rainbow vest and sometimes carries a large umbrella to shield patients from view.“
“I would say we’ve been seeing a lot of out-of-state plates lately,” she said. “There always have been some. But I would say it’s been an increase.”
Between 2014 and 2020, the state saw a more than 200% rise in abortion patients coming from out of state, a total of more than 9,000 abortions, according to data from the Illinois Department of Public Health.
In 2020, about two-thirds of those patients came from Missouri. They also come from other states that have also increased abortion restrictions in the past decade.
* Planned Parenthood press release…
Planned Parenthood of Illinois (PPIL) is proud to offer abortion pills through the mail to qualifying patients with an Illinois address. The FDA permanently removed in-person dispensing requirement for Mifepristone, also known as the abortion pill, in December 2021, allowing PPIL to launch this new program. With the Supreme Court expected to dismantle the legal protections afforded by Roe v. Wade this summer, this service is one more way PPIL is advancing health equity, breaking down unnecessary barriers to health care, and expanding access to underserved areas of the state.
“Now more than ever it’s crucial that our patients can access the care they need, when and where they need it,” said Dr. Amy Whitaker, Chief Medical Officer for PPIL. “There are over 20 years of data demonstrating the safety and effectiveness of medication abortion using Mifepristone. Not only is this a safe method, but it also increases access to care, especially for people of color, people living in rural areas, and people with low incomes who already face barriers to care.”
PPIL has been offering medication abortion via telehealth since 2021, however, patients needed to visit a physical health center to pick up the prescription. Starting mid-April 2022, patients can have the medication mailed to an Illinois address after they meet with a clinician via telehealth to determine whether they qualify. Mailing prescriptions directly to qualifying patients allows PPIL to expand capacity for patients who still require in-person services and for those who are forced to travel here from other states.
Out-of-state patients can still access medication abortion via telehealth, as long as they are traveling to Illinois for their video visit. They can then pick-up the medication in person at a PPIL health center.
* And Jesse Sullivan is fully embracing the abortion issue. Click the pic for a larger image…
* Related…
* Illinois rejoins federal Title X family planning program: Pritzker announced in August 2019, shortly after the policy took effect, that the state health department would no longer participate in the program while a number of other family planning service providers, including Planned Parenthood of Illinois and Aunt Martha’s Health and Wellness, said they would not comply with the new requirements. For the rest of that fiscal year, the state health department used General Revenue Fund money to fill in what was previously paid for by the federal government. The following year, the agency expanded the program with $5.8 million to fund Planned Parenthood, which had previously gotten its Title X money on its own, and other providers that weren’t previously part of the state’s Title X program.
Republican candidate for governor Richard Irvin has shifted $800,000 from his Ken Griffin-funded campaign to two members of his slate of GOP candidates a little more than one month before the June 28 primary.
Secretary of state candidate John Milhiser received $500,000 from the Irvin for Illinois Fund on Friday, while Steve Kim, a candidate for attorney general, got $300,000 from the Irvin fund, state campaign records show. Both men are part of a slate of Republicans seeking statewide offices put together by Irvin’s campaign and backed by Griffin, Illinois’ wealthiest individual and the billionaire founder and CEO of the Citadel hedge fund.
Griffin has already given Irvin, who is mayor of Aurora, $45 million to help Irvin secure the Republican nomination for governor and challenge Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker in November.
Irvin, during a campaign stop on Saturday, said more money would be coming for Milhiser, Kim and other members of the Griffin-backed slate.
Today, Secretary of State Candidate John Milhiser is launching a new ad as early voting is getting underway. The ad, titled ‘Competence,’ highlights exactly why Illinois needs a career prosecutor who has put corrupt public officials behind bars as our next Secretary of State.
Even today, we learned more about how deeply Madigan corruption has permeated this state. The Sun-Times reported today on a recording of Madigan discussing a plan to provide secret payments to a disgraced former aide, a scheme Madigan has consistently denied having knowledge of.
The Democrats in this race have shown they are more of the same Madigan Machines politicians, and are pointing fingers over who is more corrupt. In contrast, the Irvin-Bourne slate is laser-focused on ending the Madigan-style corruption that has eroded competence in state government and held Illinois back. We must restore trust in government in Illinois, and with John Milhiser in charge of the state government office more Illinoisans interact with than any other, they can have faith that government is working for them, not the special interests and corrupt insiders.
Madigan-style politics permeating every government office, and we pay the price.
I’m John Milhiser. As a federal prosecutor and state’s attorney, I put criminals and corrupt politicians behind bars.
As Secretary of State, I’ll root out corruption and modernize government services, saving millions in taxpayer dollars to make government work for you, not just the chosen few.
Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan was recorded on a wiretapped phone call in 2018 discussing with lobbyist confidant Michael McClain a plan to arrange secret payments to a close political ally who had been implicated in a sexual harassment scandal, newly released court documents show.
Madigan has always denied any involvement in the scheme in which McClain allegedly arranged with a group of other lobbyists allied with the speaker to make monthly payments to Kevin Quinn, brother of Ald. Marty Quinn and a key member of Madigan’s political organization who had been ousted over his inappropriate treatment of a female co-worker, Alaina Hampton.
But in the call from Madigan to McClain on Aug. 29, 2018, McClain is quoted as telling Madigan he had put “four or five people together” who were willing to make monthly payments to Quinn for a six-month period to tide him over until he could find a job.
The call was referenced in an affidavit sworn out by an FBI agent May 13, 2019, as the feds sought permission from a judge to search McClain’s home in Quincy. A redacted version of the document was unsealed Friday in federal court in Springfield.
The full affidavit is here. Tell us what you find.
[Fidel Marquez, a former ComEd executive who pleaded guilty separately to a bribery conspiracy in September 2020] later told the feds he “was not aware of any action by Madigan to defeat or advance a bill ComEd either opposed or supported, respectively. Marquez knew of no ‘obvious’ influence by Madigan to defeat a bill.”
Illinois peaked at 27 U.S. House seats after the 1910 Census and subsequent reapportionment. That lasted until the 1940 Census, when Illinois dropped to 26 seats.
We’ve been steadily losing ground ever since. It’s not that we lost population, it’s that other states in the West and the South grew much faster. California had just 11 congressional districts as a result of the 1910 Census. It now has 53.
Our downward trajectory has often been demoralizing, but even more so during the past decade as professional naysayers trumpeted annual Census estimates that showed huge, six-figure population losses.
By December 2020, those annual Census estimates showed Illinois had lost about 240,000 people, or 2% of its population.
“Illinois is a deepening population sinkhole flanked by states that are adding people, businesses, jobs,” the Chicago Tribune editorial board opined. “The estimated Illinois population is 12,587,530, down more than 240,000 since the 2010 census. That’s more than Waukegan and Naperville, combined.”
The paper went on: “So tell us again, Democratic power brokers who rule Illinois. Tell us what great jobs you’re doing. Tell us that these worsening annual population losses aren’t an indictment of anti-jobs, high-spending policies. Tell us it’s just snowbirds fleeing the weather here. Tell us you need to keep raising taxes.”
When the official 2020 Census count showed those previous estimates were wildly wrong and Illinois’ net population loss was “only” 18,000 people, those same folks either changed the subject or harrumphed that, whatever the case, Illinois was still a net loser and had fallen to the rank of sixth-largest state behind Pennsylvania.
To this day, political candidates and pundits still regularly trumpet our losses as evidence that we are a state in horrific decline while offering simplistic policy prescriptions based on numbers that have, as of last week, turned out to be more inaccurate than we ever knew.
As you probably know by now, the Census Bureau admitted last week that it had screwed up Illinois’ decennial headcount, and the state actually grew by about 250,000 people – that’s almost a 500,000-person swing from the December 2020 estimate.
We’re back to being the fifth-largest state and our population has surpassed 13 million people for the first time ever.
“This is excellent news,” Illinois Senate President Don Harmon said in a statement issued hours after the Census Bureau admitted its blunder. “It confirms what most of us already know: Illinois is a great place to live and work. We need more people cheering for Illinois and fewer spelunking for misery.”
I cannot imagine anyone actually cheering for Illinois. We’re just not that way here. Pessimism is in our collective bones, partly because it has been beaten into our beings for so many years by opinion leaders, and partly because, well, we do indeed suck at so many things.
In reality, more people leave Illinois in search of greater economic opportunities, lower costs of living or even better winter weather than move here. It’s still a problem that must be dealt with.
But this eager acceptance of Illinois’ decline as an overwhelming cold, hard scientific fact needs to be reexamined by the news media, which has repeatedly perpetuated what has apparently turned out to be a widely believed myth.
The Tribune has almost seemed to revel in the stories of Illinois’ population loss. And where the Tribune goes, so goes most of the rest of the state’s news outlets.
You don’t have to cheerlead for Illinois. Nobody would buy that, anyway. But the almost perverse pleasure some get at running down this state’s already bad reputation needs to be called out.
And what about those annual population estimates, which turned out to be almost half a millions Illinoisans below the final number released last week?
U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi sits on the House Oversight and Reform Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Census Bureau. Back in January, Krishnamoorthi asked the Census Bureau for a methodological review of its annual state population estimates.
Last week, Krishnamoorthi again pressed the Census Bureau for answers, this time about why Illinois was so grossly undercounted in the decennial census. The agency owes him, and the rest of us, some answers.
Now.
Meanwhile, the Illinois Policy Institute surmises that the reason for the 2020 undercount is that the 2010 census must’ve been off. Yeah, that’s it. The Census Bureau also took another look at the 2010 count and revised Illinois’ population by half a point.
The census snafu should have given our elected officials and the economic teams who work for them cause to take no more than a five-minute victory lap and perhaps enjoy one round of “I told you so’s.”
Got that? You can be happy for no more than five minutes! After that, we must all return to harrumphing. “I didn’t get a ‘harrumph’ outta that guy,” said Crain’s, probably.
* And after years of finding individual people to tell their anecdotes about why they’re leaving Illinois, the Tribune finally quotes someone who says otherwise…
Brooke Landrum came to Chicago from Cincinnati in 2016 to attend Loyola University, and after graduation she decided to stay and settle into the bustling Lakeview neighborhood.
That put Landrum among the influx of newcomers who helped Illinois’ population grow by about 250,000 between 2010 and 2020, according to updated census figures released Thursday. The new estimate stands in contrast to the oft-expressed belief that the state is hemorrhaging people, and matches what Landrum, a 23-year-old market research analyst, has experienced on the North Side.
“I’m apartment hunting right now and all the decent ones get snapped up in 24 hours,” she said. “It’s so quick. It’s not a sign of people leaving.”
The annual Paul Simon-Jim Edgar Statesmanship Award is presented to a former or current state or local government official in Illinois who has demonstrated a pattern of public service characterized by vision, courage, compassion, effectiveness, civility, and bipartisanship.
Former Governor Jim Edgar and the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute invite you to nominate an Illinois elected official who has displayed this kind of exceptional leadership.
We created the Simon-Edgar Statesmanship Award to shine a spotlight on remarkable public service that is taking place in our state and local communities. Please join us as we celebrate the Prairie State’s best traditions. Nominate an Illinois statesperson by June 1.
