Duckworth said Salvi opposes abortion even in cases of rape, incest, and if the mother’s life is threatened.
When asked about her stance on these cases, Salvi said she would not get into hypotheticals.
“I don’t know [about] the 6,000 rape cases a year…if those folks would consider rape to be hypotheticals,” Duckworth said.
* Public radio story on Republican CD17 nominee Esther Joy King…
King said she’s for the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson overturning the nearly half-century old Roe v. Wade precedent that shielded abortion access rights on a national scale.
“I do support what the Supreme Court did and returning the decision back to the states, to the people, really,” she said. “It’s closer to us, the people. So our voice matters more in this conversation.”
King said she believes Illinois has some of the most extreme abortion laws in the country, citing the Illinois General Assembly’s decision to scrap a law requiring parental notification for minors seeking an abortion.
She said she is “pro-life,” but does support exceptions in cases of rape, incest, and to protect the life of the mother. She said abortion access should ultimately be left up to individual states to decide.
* Pioneer Press story entitled “Sex-Ed bill, ‘progressive’ school curriculum the focus of DuPage County Republicans ahead of midterm elections”…
On Wednesday, [Rep. Deanne Mazzochi, R-Elmhurst] was joined on stage by representative Amy Grant of District 42 and Republican House candidates E. Dale Litney and Paul Leong, who reiterated the need for full curriculum transparency and parental involvement in what children are being taught.
Leong, Naperville councilman, former school board member, and candidate for House District 81, said the “role of family in academic success cannot be underestimated.”
“We have allowed bureaucrats, not educators, nor parents, to structure educational programs and issue mandates and standards that have no bearing on academic success,” he said. Leong, along with Mazzochi, recommended school districts create parent committees to conduct in-depth reviews of controversial classes or pieces of curriculum.
Mazzochi touched on a couple of other issues during her 30-minute speech, including “left-wing political ideologies” that she said are one of the root causes of Illinois’ teacher shortage.
A 30-minute speech?
* ILGOP…
Illinois State Treasurer Mike Frerichs’ office failed to provide proper accounting for more than $1.6 billion in state fund deposits according to a report by the Office of the Illinois Auditor General.
On page 142 the report states:
“The Office of the Treasurer (the Office) had inadequate internal controls over the Office’s Fiscal Officer Responsibilities financial statement adjustment process. During testing of the Statements of Assets and Other Debits, Liabilities and Accountabilities (financial statements), it was determined the Clearing Account Deposits and Deposits in Transit as well as the Agencies’ Deposits Outside the State Treasury accounts were each understated by $1,635,711,097.”
Rather than taking responsibility and addressing the mistake head on, Frerichs’ office said the finding was because of ‘incomplete information given to our office,’ according to Center Square.
“Treasurer Frerichs continues to blame other people for his offices’ mistakes proving that he is not the leader we need to bring financial accountability to Illinois’ reckless tax-and-spend government,” said Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy. “Frerichs has proven that not only is he a reliable lapdog for J.B. Pritzker’s tax-and-spend agenda, but that he can’t be trusted to manage public tax dollars. Republican Candidate for Treasurer Rep. Tom Demmer is the true financial watchdog Illinois families need and deserve.”
This is not the office’s first financial mishap under Treasurer Frerichs’ watch. As families face rampant inflation and record gas prices, they’ve also been hit hard from Frerichs’ mismanagement of the State’s college savings programs - which have lost millions of dollars in student college savings this year.
Mayoral challenger Willie Wilson on Monday asked a federal judge to block a $2 million precinct consolidation plan tied to redistricting that will eliminate 779 of Chicago’s 2,069 precincts.
In a lawsuit filed in federal district court, Wilson argues that the cost-saving plan to create 1,290 new precincts — down from 2,069 — will confuse Chicago voters, depress turnout in the Nov. 28 general and Feb. 28 mayoral and aldermanic elections and “disparately impact racial and/or ethnic voting blocs.”
If precinct consolidation is needed, it should not be done in “mid-election cycle” without public hearings, the lawsuit states. To do so and to require voters to “travel much further distances to reach a polling location” and face “longer lines and wait times to vote” violates First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, the lawsuit states.
Stunt drivers and spectators flooded Chicago streets for a second straight weekend night, disturbing residents, attacking cops and damaging police cars during some of the unsanctioned events that allegedly drew participants from across the country.
Chicago police officials couldn’t immediately provide details about the latest round of so-called street takeovers early Sunday. But in a statement, the department said some officers “were assaulted with bricks and bottles.” […]
A mayoral candidate and vocal critic of Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Lopez claimed she and Chicago Police Supt. David Brown are “failing completely” in addressing the street takeovers and have effectively allowed participants to target officers and destroy police vehicles “without consequence.”
Lopez said members of the National Guard should be called in to cover for officers being pulled away from places like “the Bean” and the Magnificent Mile to respond to the drag racing events.“They can do the babysitting there,” he said of the National Guard.
Here’s an additional point about pensions that has been missed. In terms of % of our budget our total pension payment is past the hump and decreasing. We peaked at 29.4% in 2017. We are at 23.2% this year and scheduled to be at 22.9% next year.
Also switching employees to Social Security and a 401K style retirement plan would be MORE expensive than what Tier 2 costs the state. Why would we do that? It’s popular dogma where the actual numbers do not make sense.
There is more work to be done on local pensions I’ll admit. But it’s best to work with real data not talking points.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the Keeping Youth Safe and Healthy Act into law in August 2021, making Illinois the first state in the U.S. to formally pass legislation codifying new national sex education standards developed by SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change. […]
Now, as students return to classrooms where most pandemic virus restrictions including masking have been lifted, the revival of a so-called normal school year is riven with dissent at some districts over the new sex ed standards, which have prompted both pushback and praise. […]
In some cases, the dissent is mingled with upset over efforts to add literature to school libraries that some parents feel is inappropriate for children. In Barrington, police were called to investigate after a recent dust-up over the addition of the book “Gender Queer” to a school library prompted threats against school board members. […]
In Illinois, passage of the new law does not override local decision-making granted to school districts, which are not mandated to teach sex education. Parents can also opt their children out of sex education lessons and review the curriculum before it is taught in the classroom. […]
The majority of school districts in Illinois are unaffected by the new law, which only applies to those teaching comprehensive health and sex education. A recent ISBE survey found that during the 2021-2022 school year, 218 Illinois school districts offered such instruction and 480 districts did not.
Tweets about that Barrington Board of Education meeting…
@libsoftiktok I’m the first to criticize the insanity out there, but this is a gross misrepresentation. The teacher sent a letter with SUGGESTED books and warned parents to preview the books since sone had mature content. This book was on a list of award winners- not assigned.
Democratic lawmakers passed a bill that aligned the state’s standards with a national model. School districts were given the option to opt-out, and they have in droves.
According to the website Awake-Illinois, only 20 school districts have decided to fully follow the standards, with 534 opting out.
Rockford, Mundelein and East. St. Louis are three of the largest school districts to adopt the standards, while Normal schools in McLean County did so for 8th and 9th grades only.
In accordance with the National Sex Education Standards, the Illinois State Board of Education said elementary students, including kindergartners, will learn about consent, gender identity, hormone blockers and healthy relationships. Middle schoolers will learn about dating violence prevention, different types of sex and sexual harassment. High schoolers will learn more about their bodies, pregnancy and sexual health.
Another 298 school districts apparently did not respond to Awake Illinois’ survey. More about the group from the Tribune…
On one day last week, Republican governor candidate Darren Bailey of Xenia spoke at an event sponsored by Awake Illinois, an organization rooted in the suburbs and born from the anti-mask, anti-vaccine fervor of the COVID-19 pandemic. The group, which gathered in front of the Abraham Lincoln statue at the statehouse, has in the past year shifted some of its focus to oppose school sex education standards and has used inflammatory rhetoric in opposing LGBTQ+ rights, in particular those involving the transgender community.
* Hinsdale’s superintendent said lessons won’t be “instruction on lifestyle.” Patch…
A top Hinsdale High School District 86 official on Thursday explained the district’s plans for sex education, with some parents and at least one board member expressing disapproval.
Earlier this year, the board voted unanimously to go with the latest update of the national sex education standards. Superintendent Tammy Prentiss said the district has been doing so for nearly a decade.
“Many K-through-8 (school districts) are choosing to opt out, but that’s a different conversation and that is their business,” Prentiss told the school board. “High school is different. As always, there is a process. The parent can reach out to any department when they would like to opt out of curriculum materials. That has not changed in District 86.”
The district, Prentiss said, is making no substantial changes to its sex education curriculum. One change is for students to understand the definition of different terms, she said.
* From Rep. Adam Niemerg’s op-ed to the Sun Times…
Meanwhile, parents are asking how schools can justify teaching a radical sex education curriculum when so many of our students, across the state, are not meeting basic standards of learning in core subjects.
According to the most recent Illinois Assessment of Readiness text scores, fewer than one in five Chicago third-graders met or exceeded state standards in reading and math. And it is not just Chicago — school districts across the state have similar problems with low scores.
The focus in our schools should be on giving children the building blocks they need to learn — how to read, write, add, subtract and have a basic understanding of science and history. It is not the job of schools to teach graphic sexual content, especially when our kids are not meeting our state’s basic academic standards of learning.
My colleagues and I worked to stop the National Sex Education Standards from becoming a part of our state’s school curriculum, but we fell just short of defeating the legislation. The battleground now moves to parents and local school boards to opt out of teaching these standards. It is a battle we can and will win, as long as parents stay engaged.
[Nora Gelperin, the director of sex education and training at Advocates for Youth] was one of the writers of the National Sex Education Standards, which Illinois has adopted. The national standards also influenced New Jersey’s guidelines. […]
Sex education advocates linked this resistance to the anti-LGBTQ legislation that at least 15 states have considered or passed this legislative session. The most well-known of these laws, Florida’s, prevents teachers from instructing K-3 students about gender or sexuality. Other proposed legislation would limit how teachers can use students’ pronouns, restrict use of materials featuring LGBTQ characters or themes, or regulate clubs for LGBTQ students.
And the outrage about sex education has once again put a spotlight on schools’ instructional choices, a situation that some advocates fear could make educators hesitant to address certain topics altogether.
“I have no problem with someone deciding for their own child, but when you get out there and start hijacking the narrative for everyone else’s kid, that’s dangerous,” said LoBianco.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey on Tuesday said he’d prioritize eliminating “critical race theory” and “egregious” sex education standards from Illinois schools if elected to replace Gov. JB Pritzker in November, courting a relatively new coalition of voters radicalized during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bailey made those comments to a small rally outside the state Capitol building in Springfield organized by activist group Awake IL, which in recent weeks has come under fire for its social media posts, including a tweet in June that called Pritzker a “groomer” for signing new sex education standards into law. […]
Bailey, however, leaned into the group’s messaging on Tuesday, telling a crowd of about 40 that Pritzker has “stripped away” decision-making powers from Illinois parents. Bailey referenced last fall’s repeal of Illinois’ Parental Notice of Abortion Act, but also alluded to state-mandated curriculum standards, which in recent years have grown to include the history and contributions of Asian Americans, LGBT individuals and an overhaul for sex education.
“Children are our most valuable asset,” Bailey told the few dozen gathered for the lengthy program that began more than an hour late. “But our children and our rights as parents are being stripped from us.”
State Sen. Ram Villivalam, a Democrat from Chicago and one of the law’s sponsors, says the new standards are “age and developmentally appropriate, medically accurate, and inclusive.”
“There’s been a rise in child sex abuse scandals, sexual harassment in the workplace, sexual assault on college campuses, and bullying of LGBTQ students and people of color,” Villivalam said. “Our youth … need medically and factually accurate information, as well as a safe environment to develop the skills they need to navigate our modern world.” […]
But Villivalam says the focus for younger grades, for example, is topics like “personal safety, what it means to be a good friend, good touch and bad touch, being able to talk to parents and trusted adults.”
Parents can still opt their children out of sex education, and districts that don’t teach it won’t have to follow the new standards.
[Note from Rich Miller: Proponents of the original bill fought against the governor’s ultimately successful efforts to allow school districts to opt-out, predicting that doing so would spark hot-tempered local culture wars. They turned out to be right. Whether their alternative proposal would’ve been better can probably never be known, however.]
Attorney General Kwame Raoul today issued the following statement in response to an opinion by the 4th District Appellate Court in Sarah Sachen v. Illinois State Board of Elections. The opinion affirmed a lower court’s decision rejecting a lawsuit that sought to remove a proposed constitutional amendment from the November 2022 ballot.
“I am pleased with the 4th District’s decision, which will allow voters to decide whether Illinois’ constitution should be amended to include a ‘Workers’ Rights Amendment.’ We argued that the plaintiffs’ claims failed because the decision of whether to amend the constitution should be made by the voters, not the courts. I am happy the court agreed.
“Voters should decide whether workers’ rights to organize and collectively bargain should be enshrined in our constitution. This opinion means that, in a few short months, voters will have the ultimate say.”
Petitioners asked the trial court to find that there was a reasonable ground for the filing of their complaint and to order it filed. They attached a copy of their complaint to their petition, alleging Amendment 1 was preempted by the [National Labor Relations Act] and in violation of the supremacy clause and seeking both declaratory relief and injunctive relief. Specifically, petitioners asked the court to (1) declare that Amendment 1 was preempted by the NLRA and in violation of the supremacy clause and (2) preliminarily and permanently enjoin respondents from disbursing or using public funds to place Amendment 1 on the November 2022 general election ballot. […]
Following a hearing the same month, the trial court entered a written order denying petitioners leave to file their complaint and agreeing with respondents that reasonable grounds did not exist for the filing of their proposed action. […]
On appeal, petitioners challenge the trial court’s denial of their petition for leave to file a taxpayer action. They argue that as taxpayers, they have standing to seek to enjoin the use of public funds for any unconstitutional purpose, including the placement of a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot when the amendment itself is unconstitutional. Further, they contend that, even if they are not entitled to injunctive relief, they still have standing to obtain declaratory relief with respect to the constitutionality of the proposed amendment. Finally, petitioners maintain the court erred in finding their constitutional claim—that Amendment 1 violates the supremacy clause because it is preempted by the NLRA—lacked merit. […]
Here, because petitioners do not claim a violation of article XIV, their proposed action would seek judicial interference with a legislative process that is constitutionally authorized. Such interference is improper as expressed in Fletcher, and ultimately, there is no waste of public funds caused by the carrying out of an election that conforms to constitutional requirements. Further, petitioners’ challenge to the validity of Amendment 1 is premature until such time as it becomes effective. We note petitioners argue on appeal that even if their claim for injunctive relief may not be maintained, they could still successfully pursue declaratory relief. However, as respondents point out, Slack specifically applied its holding to a request for a declaratory judgment. Thus, like petitioners’ claim for injunctive relief, their request for declaratory relief is also premature.
For the reasons stated, we find the trial court was correct in finding petitioners’ claims failed as a matter of law. The court’s determination that reasonable grounds did not exist for the filing of petitioners’ taxpayer action was not an abuse of discretion.
C. Preemption
As stated, the trial court further found that no reasonable grounds existed for the proposed taxpayer action because (1) Amendment 1 could have some valid applications that would not be subject to preemption and (2) preemption could only render Amendment 1 “dormant, not invalid.” Given our holding above, we find it unnecessary to address this additional basis for denying petitioners leave to file their action.
* Craig Dellimore interviewed Rep. Dan Brady about his GOP campaign for secretary of state…
Dellimore: The top of the GOP ticket is state senator Darren Bailey, who has sometimes been a bit of a lightning rod with his comments about abortion and the Holocaust and calling Chicago a hellhole. How does that kind of rhetoric play out? Does it excite the base and help you, or can it be a distraction to your race?
Brady: Well, I think that on both sides, Democrats and Republicans, you have that, unfortunately. But I believe that the conservative Republican policies are better than the Democrat tax and spending policies that we presently have. But I think more so than anything, laying out the foundation of what you’re going to do for an office or not. I’m a Republican. I’m supporting a Republican ticket. But I also wish that some of the rhetoric would be toned down, and the focus would simply be what are we going to do for the people of Illinois? Because in my travels, Craig, that’s what people [are talking about]
Dellimore: But sometimes it seems that for whatever reason, bipartisanship and talking about working together is a sign of weakness to some. How do you overcome that kind of an attitude in this atmosphere of politics?
Brady: I think you do and I’ve done it. You work hard. You win the Republican nomination and you show people that I’m Republican enough. Or if Democrats think I’m too Republican, Republicans think I’m not Republican enough, you have to prove that, you have to show that. And the Secretary of State’s office is a unique situation to be in. And that is that people want services. They don’t come in asking where I stand in the Republican line, that Democrat line or any other line. They just want the services and so I can control one thing in my campaign: my message, what I say, what I do. And certainly some of the other rhetoric, rhetoric that’s out there, I wish that would not be the case and it should be toned down. I think it could hurt people statewide. But both sides have a problem. And I think that it’s just a matter of convincing the electorate, he’s somebody I had that faith in, he’s somebody I trust, and he’s somebody I think would do a good job. That’s my charge.
I’m not sure who on the statewide Democratic ticket regularly resorts to Darren Bailey-style rhetoric, but whatevs.
* OK, let’s go back to Darren Bailey’s Q&A at the Farm Bureau’s candidate forum last week…
Q: In the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, there was a provision that would allow the use of eminent domain to take private property for a project that is not a public utility. Do you support giving private companies that are not a public utility the right to use or to take private property?
Bailey: I do not. I have two counties in my Senate district that are affected by that. And I stood on the Senate floor and I said there was a lot of things wrong with this bill. Number one, it forces coal out too early. And number two, it forces natural gas out too early. And number four, it makes our dependency on wind and solar too soon. But I said all that aside, if there’s one reason and one reason alone why I would vote no on this bill, it would be because of the eminent domain clause.
Darren Bailey is lying to you about a few things. There’s nothing in the [Climate and Equitable Jobs Act] that makes it easier to impose eminent domain. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Democratic lawmakers at the time said the language, included on page 673 of the public act, applies to the Grain Belt Express, a transmission line owned by the private company Invenergy. The language in the bill states that a project of Grain Belt’s magnitude “shall be deemed” a public use line, giving the company the ability to invoke eminent domain if needed.
* My associate Isabel Miller asked Pritzker Friday evening if he regretted saying Bailey lied. The governor’s response…
Darren Bailey did not tell the truth about eminent domain. Darren Bailey said that there is a massive change in statewide ability of the state to declare eminent domain. That’s just false.
Bailey said no such thing.
I mean, the governor’s likely gonna win. There’s no need for this stuff.
Back in early July, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the two Democratic legislative leaders, House Speaker Chris Welch and Senate President Don Harmon, issued a joint statement, which in part said: “We plan to work closely together for the remainder of the summer to assess every possibility of what we can do and convene a special session in the coming months.”
But the fine print of the rest of that statement has slowed things down: “As we build on Illinois’ nation-leading abortion protections and access, it is essential to bring lawmakers and advocates into the room to continue to work together. In the coming weeks, as the ripples of the decision to overturn Roe are felt throughout the nation, we expect to get an acute sense of our needs and how Illinois can play an even more vital role in standing up for reproductive freedom.”
Lawmakers and advocates have been brought together for talks ever since that special session statement was issued, but, as always, the devil is in the details.
Advocates and several legislators appear to only want to pass bills with immediate effective dates. And that means each chamber would have to come up with three-fifths super majorities if anything is passed before the end of this calendar year. The voting threshold for immediate effective dates drops to simple majorities starting Jan. 1. Until then, per the state constitution, the earliest a bill passed with a simple majority can become law is next June 1.
And it almost seems like every few days brings a new legal twist from another anti-abortion state legislature. Just the other day, for instance, a federal judge temporarily blocked part of Idaho’s near-total abortion ban because it appears to violate a federal law mandating the provision of emergency health care. The suit was brought by the U.S. Attorney General. Indiana’s sweeping new anti-abortion law takes effect in September. Iowa’s supreme court flip-flopped in June and ruled that the state’s constitution does not protect abortion rights after all. And new bans took effect last week in Tennessee, Texas and North Dakota, according to NPR.
Also, new ideas are popping up with frequency as laws from other states are being analyzed. An idea from Democratic secretary of state candidate Alexi Giannoulias’ campaign to block anti-abortion states from using Illinois traffic camera images to track their residents who travel here for abortions is just one of them.
Giannoulias’ proposal would prohibit data gathered by automatic license plate readers from being used to assist other states track their residents while they’re in Illinois for possible violations of abortion laws in their home states. “Illinois must enact protections to ensure that data is not used to target women seeking access to abortion services or employing it as any type of surveillance system to track them,” Giannoulias told WBBM Radio.
His Republican opponent Rep. Dan Brady has responded by saying he’ll stick to improving services and cutting wait times and not involve himself in policy. Giannoulias replied that he could “walk and chew gum” at the same time.
It was a clever move to tie the mostly ministerial secretary of state office to actual public policy that’s in the headlines every day and driving the nation’s political dialogue. And that’s clearly a sign of a strong campaign.
Along those lines, one of the measures that the legislative leaders and the governor hoped to pass in a special session was an advisory referendum on this November’s ballot asking if voters wanted a constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights.
These sorts of referenda were a favored tool of former House Speaker Michael Madigan, who would use issues like a tax surcharge on millionaires to drive up Democratic election-day turnout and, to a lesser extent, provide a boost to future legislative initiatives on the topic, or provide an excuse for not doing anything further.
A referendum has been rejected by many advocates and pro-choice legislators alike, who want to see actual results, not symbolism for obvious political gain.
The bottom line here is that a special session on abortion rights is not looking all that likely any longer.
And the same thing goes for gun law reforms. There are a lot of moving parts to this issue and some legislators, particularly Downstaters, would rather not poke the gun lobby before Election Day.
The centennial DuQuoin State Fair kicks off today.
Illinois Director of Agriculture Jerry Costello tells Brownfield the department is celebrating 100 years in several ways throughout the fair, but he will personally celebrate the same way he has every year since he was a kid.
“My great-grandmother would always get Malone’s Taffy and she passed away over a decade ago. So, every year that I am at the DuQuoin State Fair I buy Malone’s Taffy and put a piece on her grave after the fair, because that is something we always did together.”
Costello says the fair is a great economic driver for southern Illinois and another exhibition opportunity for ag youth.
* Press Release…
The Du Quoin State Fair along with Governor JB Pritzker announced today that members of the Hayes family will serve as the Grand Marshals for the Du Quoin State Fair Twilight Parade. Carole Hayes Hill and Jane Hayes Rader will represent the family.
The Fair started back in the spring of 1923 when a group of successful and ambitious Du Quoin business leaders under the leadership of horse breeder William R. Hayes came up with an idea to sponsor an event that would attract people from all over Southern Illinois. Several of the business leaders also owned horses and needed a convenient place for them to compete. Not shy about making big claims even from the very start, the group called it “The Du Quoin State Fair” because they wanted it to become as nice, as attractive, and as well accepted in the area as the Illinois State Fair in Springfield. And that happened quickly — crowds were estimated at 50,000 to 60,000 in the first few years of the Fair during the 1920s.
“Southern Illinois has a long history of visionaries marketing the uniqueness of the region,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “In celebrating 100 years of the Du Quoin State Fair, we are recognizing the foresight of William R. Hayes in the creation of these historic grounds. I’m proud to continue investing in this Southern Illinois treasure.”
“We are thrilled to highlight 100 years of the Du Quoin State Fair,” said Josh Gross, Du Quoin State Fair Manager. “Without the initial support and investment by the Hayes family, we would not be Celebrating a Century today.”
The Grandstand entertainment this year features several well-known names in country music headlining shows, as well as the “I Love The 90’s Tour” featuring Montell Jordan, Tone Loc, Young MC and Rob Base. Jeff Foxworthy is also scheduled to appear and there will be two nights of dirtcar racing.
Other special events include the queen contest, lip sync battle, beard contest, washer and cornhole tournaments, not-so-newlywed show, backseat driving contest, and much more.
A variety of other attractions include the twilight parade, high school marching band contest, various carnival rides, craft vendors and food vendors.
* The Question: Have you ever been to the Du Quoin State Fair? If so, tell us about it. If not, maybe tell us why.
* Last week, Darren Bailey reported raising just $1,000. This week, he’s reported $26,000 in contributions, including $1K from state GOP Chair Don Tracy and his spouse. If Bailey keeps up that blistering pace, he’ll raise another $300,000 by election day. By contrast, state House Democratic candidate Sharon Chung reported $119,800 in cash receipts this week.
Republican Mark Curran faces Democratic Judge Elizabeth Rochford in the race. As you know, a lawsuit has been filed to strike down the Illinois statute barring out of state and dark money contributions to judicial races. But it’s always possible, I guess, that Leonard Leo could take some of that $1.6 billion from Chicago businessperson Barre Seid and spend it on independent expenditures here. Leo has displayed a keen interest in state court races.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker visited Charleston on Thursday at the Charleston Carnegie Public Library on his way down to the DuQuoin State Fair.
While Pritzker was at the library, an event hosted by the Coles County Democrats, Pritzker urged Democrats in Coles County to vote in the upcoming general election because of what the future may look like for Democrats following the election.
“I’m so excited for this election because I know we can win, but it’s going to be a fight,” Pritzker said. “… Hate is on the ballot in Illinois this year. Hate has no place in Illinois.”
Charleston native Kim Miller, who was among the Bailey supporters, said she was motivated to turn out in protest by several concerns, including her opposition to abortion and to school sex education programs that promote gender transition medical measures to students. She added, “Those young people are vulnerable at that stage in life.”
Miller said she also has safety concerns about the criminal justice reform SAFE-T Act, particularly a provision that limits officers responding to criminal trespass incidents to issuing citations instead of being able to remove the trespasser. In addition, Miller said she disagrees with Pritzker’s COVID-19 closures of schools and the subsequent masking requirements for returning students.
“If we don’t stand up for our kids, what kind of nation are we leaving them,” Miller said.
Frustration with the state’s COVID-19 response was also voiced by The Body Club owner James Di Naso from Charleston when he stood up from his chair inside the banquet hall and shouted, “You shut down my gym during COVID,” as Pritzker began his remarks at the Coles County Democrats gathering. Di Naso was then removed from the banquet hall by some of the attendees around him.
* From Dan Proft’s PAC…
IL State Rep. La Shawn Ford (D) joined Dan & Amy’s Chicago radio show this morning with an interesting perspective on the People Who Play By The Rules PAC “Summer Of Joy” ad controversy: the most offensive thing of all was Lightfoot’s comments on the ad, specifically regarding “darker” skin being somehow “bad.”
..
Transcript beginning at ~8:43AM CST 8/25/2022 on AM 560 WIND Chicago:
Proft: “So what about that, what about the assertion that Lightfoot made?”
Ford: “Well I mean of course we live in America, people can make assertions all they want. I’ve been in politics for over 15 years and it’s the job of the opponent to put out ads that they see and as a candidate, I mean, you have to have tough skin if you’re in politics especially if you’re playing at the level of mayor. And I really really think that you have to pick your battles and this is not the battle that I think we need to be focusing on as a negative. I don’t need anybody saying the darker you look, the more dangerous you are. That’s bad. And so I find it offensive that we focus on saying that that’s an ugly vision of a person because that person is darker.
Proft: That’s what Lori Lightfoot said.
Ford: ”Yeah, that’s what I mean. I find…it takes us back. You know, in America where you have images of black people that have, you know…people have been discriminated because of darker skin, and so even if you had intentions on whatever, you pick your battles, and to say that because you made me [Lightfoot] darker, that means ‘I’m scary to white people.’ That’s not right. And so what we need to do is embrace all colors.
“You can’t expect your opponent to put you in the best light when they’re trying to defeat you. I know this. You know, so you’re not going to give her best image for ads that you’re trying to convey a message. Now, if you’re trying to convey a message that she’s darker than she is, and that makes her bad, then that’s your prerogative, but I don’t see how being darker makes the Mayor of the city of Chicago threatening to white suburbia.”
Proft: “It’s also so ridiculous because it’s like, everybody knows who she is and what her skin color is, this is not like a controversy, it’s not the topic of discussion which is why I can never even conceive of this allegation being made. This is like JB Pritzker arguing about being presented as ‘fat’ on screen, like ‘Oh no you know you got me from the wrong angle, you made me look fat’ I mean it’s just…everybody knows the physical characteristics of people who have been omnipresent in our lives particularly because of the every other day press conferences we had for two years during the pandemic, so it’s just silliness to suggest that I’m now I’m introducing a figure that people don’t know anything about in order to ’scare’ people.”
Ford: “Right. Let me tell you, and this is the truth, whether you’re a white person or black person, when you go into your Secretary of State office, go take a passport picture, and go do anything, everyone wants their picture to look pretty accurate and even in hands to make them look better. But you don’t come out against the color of your skin when it could really make a person that color be offended. I mean, the color you had her in, is just a little shade darker than me, and so we cannot play…even if you are offended you have to have thicker skin to avoid that issue, I mean, you just can’t do it.”
Amy: “Do you think the black community is upset at all with this ad?”
Ford: “You know, I don’t think so. So I don’t think the black community is upset, I mean we’ve seen, when I think about ads that have been put forth, I’ve seen ads of white people darkened too…I’ve seen it happen. Now, we know that there is such thing as racism, and there’s such thing as you know in society that you want to make people look scary…you know I mean just gotta have tough skin and pick your battles and this is not one that you go into to highlight, to make it you [Lightfoot] as a person confirming that ‘because I’m darker, I’m scarier’…that’s her confirming that because she’s darker, she’s scarier. She validated…even if you had intentions on making that assumption, she validated it. And that’s offensive.”
…
They went on to debate the merits of the highly controversial SAFE-T Act through the top of the hour.
* The Daily Herald looks at campaign contributions made by Richard Uihlein this cycle…
• State Sen. Dan McConchie of Hawthorn Woods, whose campaign received $277,137.
• Kane County treasurer candidate Chris Lauzen of Aurora, who received $15,000.
• DuPage County Board candidate Annette Corrigan of Wheaton, whose campaign received $2,500.
• Lake County sheriff candidate Mark Vice II of Round Lake, who got $3,000.
A recent audit of the Illinois Treasurer’s office shows several accounts understated $1.6 billion.
The report from the Auditor General for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2021, said testing of financial statements show uncorrected duplicate deposits between the treasurer’s office and the office of the Illinois Comptroller.
“It was determined only the duplicate deposit portion of the reconciling items would have been double counted in the available cash balance reported by the [comptroller],” the report said.
The report was released in June and said state law requires financial reporting to be “properly recorded and accounted for to permit the preparation of accounts and reliable financial and statistical reports to maintain accountability over the State’s resources.” […]
State Rep. Tom Demmer, R-Dixon, who is challenging Frerichs in the November election, advocates to combine the treasurer and comptroller offices.
“But one thing that’s concerning with this I think is that after the auditor general has laid out, again, a repeat audit finding, repeated from last year, we only get a cursory explanation,” Demmer told The Center Square.
* Ma’am, it’s Du Quoin, not DeQuoin….
Illinois Republican U.S. Senate nominee Kathy Salvi will attend the following upcoming public events as she campaigns throughout Illinois. […]
Tuesday, August 30:
12:00pm CT: Kathy Salvi will participate in Republican Day at the DeQuoin State Fair.
Location:
DeQuoin State Fairgrounds
655 Executive Drive
DeQuoin, IL
…Adding… MISO says there have been no brownouts anywhere in its territory this summer, contrary to Darren Bailey’s claims of a brownout in his district…
The Midcontinent Independent System Operator, or MISO, is the federally-regulated regional transmission organization that serves 15 states including most of Illinois outside of the Chicago area.
The grid operator told me they had no knowledge of any “brownouts,” which is a term it does not use.
“As of Friday, August 26, MISO has been in normal operating conditions for the entire month,” a spokesperson said. “None of our emergency operating conditions this summer have resulted in power interruptions.”
* More…
* Pritzker preaches policy priorities to packed UI crowd: “They want to distract us into believing that gay marriage, and Black history, Disney World, and library books are somehow more of a threat to our lives than AR-15s and ghost guns,” Pritzker said. “We are not going to let anyone put the LGBTQ+ community back into a closet. We won’t let anyone take away the civil rights and economic rights owed to our Black and Brown citizens. And we are never, ever going back on a woman’s right to choose.”
* The Sun-Times has been constantly hyping tiny increases in hospitalizations and ignoring smallish dips during a long and relatively flat period, but now they’re clearly down, so we’ll see what the paper does with this…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 24,297 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 82 deaths since August 19, 2022.
According to the CDC, 33 counties are now rated at High Community Level for COVID-19. An additional 48 counties in Illinois are now rated at Medium Community Level.
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 3,670,258 cases, including 34,677 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois since the beginning of the pandemic.
As of last night, 1,310 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19 [1,434 reported last Friday]. Of those, 158 patients were in the ICU and 59 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators. The preliminary seven-day statewide case rate is 191 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 Illinoisans.
IDPH Director Sameer Vohra is urging all Illinoisans to get up to date on vaccinations and booster shots as the best defense against hospitalization and more serious outcomes from COVID-19. A second booster shot is recommended for all individuals over the age of 50 four months after they have received their first booster. In addition, he is reminding parents and guardians to get children vaccinated. IDPH is supporting an education and outreach campaign by the Illinois Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics to educate healthcare providers and parents about the effectiveness and safety of the newly authorized vaccines for children under 5. Click HERE to view the resources for families
The counties in Illinois listed at High Community Level are Adams, Boone, Carroll, Champaign, Clark, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, Douglas, Edgar, Franklin, Gallatin, Hardin, Henderson, Jackson, Jo Daviess, Johnson, Lawrence, Lee, Marion, Marshall, Massac, Perry, Pike, Pope, Saline, Stephenson, Vermilion, Wabash, Washington, Whiteside, Williamson, and Winnebago.
The CDC recommends the following measures for people in areas that are rated at High Community Level for COVID-19 transmission:
• Wear a well-fitting mask indoors in public, regardless of vaccination status (including in K-12 schools and other indoor community settings)
• If you are immunocompromised or high risk for severe disease
o Wear a mask or respirator that provides you with greater protection
o Consider avoiding non-essential indoor activities in public where you could be exposed
o Talk to your healthcare provider about whether you need to take other precautions
o Have a plan for rapid testing if needed (e.g., having home tests or access to testing)
o IF YOU TEST POSITIVE: Talk to your healthcare provider about whether you are a candidate for treatments like oral antivirals, and monoclonal antibodies
• If you have household or social contact with someone at high risk for severe disease
o consider self-testing to detect infection before contact
o consider wearing a mask when indoors with them
• Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and boosters
• Maintain improved ventilation throughout indoor spaces when possible
• Follow CDC recommendations for isolation and quarantine, including getting tested if you are exposed to COVID-19 or have symptoms of COVID-19
At the Medium Community Level, persons who are elderly or immunocompromised (at risk of severe outcomes) are advised to wear a mask in indoor public places. In addition, they should make sure to get up to date on their COVID-19 vaccines or get their 2nd booster, if eligible.
IDPH has been supporting pharmacies and healthcare providers in efforts to increase their inventories of the various FDA-authorized treatments. There are over 1,200 treatment locations in Illinois - including all the major retail pharmacies. More than 96.7% of the state’s population is within a 10-mile radius of one of these locations.
A total of 23,213,858 vaccines have been administered in Illinois. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 6,728 doses. Since August 19, 47,094 doses were reported administered in Illinois. Of Illinois’ total population, more than 77% has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, more than 69% of Illinois’ total population is fully vaccinated, and more than 54% of the vaccinated population has an initial booster according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Data indicates that the risk of hospitalization and severe outcomes from COVID-19 is much higher for unvaccinated people than for those who are up to date on their vaccinations. All data are provisional and are subject to change. Additional information and COVID-19 data can be found at https://dph.illinois.gov/covid19.html.
Vaccination is the key to ending this pandemic. To find a COVID-19 vaccination location near you, go to www.vaccines.gov. The federal government has established a new website that provides an all-purpose toolkit with information on how to obtain masks, treatment, vaccines and testing resources for all areas of the country at: https://www.covid.gov/.
The median U.S. pension fund lost 9.7% in the second quarter, according to the Pensions & Investments trade book, and the first quarter was weak as well. Though markets have staged a modest summer comeback, 2022 is shaping up as a reminder of the time bomb embedded in state finances.
The bottom line: Illinois’ major pension systems have nowhere near the money needed to pay promised benefits, despite booking a decade of positive investment results. […]
Governor, where is your grand plan to fix this slow-motion [pension] disaster? As of now, nowhere.
Frank Manzo III had a sound response to the editorial. Click here. And Crain’s has a piece up this week about how to improve the state’s investment returns. Click here.
The State of Illinois HAS taken action to address the state’s pension funding challenges. In 1994, the State passed a 50 year funding plan to bring the systems to 90% funded by 2045, and it has stuck to this plan. There have been steadily increasing payments to the system as Illinois moved further into the plan, adjusting to market swings and actuarial assumption changes by the boards of the systems. Gov. Pritzker also worked with the General Assembly to ensure the state used part of the surplus to pay an additional $500 million into the pension system. Meanwhile, there have been essentially no increases in benefits affecting the liability of the five systems since fiscal year 2003, and payroll costs have fallen far below actuarial expectations. At this point in the funding plan, the state’s annual pension contribution to follow the 1994 plan is expected to remain flat as a percent of the State’s budget before falling off drastically in 2046. The pension payment, while it is a significant percent of the state’s budget, is not expected to grow faster than the rest of the budget. Below from last year’s budget book
* More…
In 2010, the State reduced the pension package offered to new hires. The creation of Tier 2, modifying pension benefits for public employees hired January 1, 2011, and after, significantly lowered the baseline costs of the pensions offered to employees. As of today, nearly HALF of active state employees are Tier 2. Tier 2 also impacted other public sector employees in Illinois, bringing cost savings to local governments as well. Also of note — The ‘normal cost’ for Tier 2 is significantly lower than for Tier 1 employees and is lower than the cost the state would incur to move teachers and university staff into Social Security.
* More…
The Pritzker administration continues to take additional steps to address the State’s unfunded pension liabilities. The State budget committed an additional $300 million to the systems in fiscal year 2022 and another $200 million in fiscal year 2023 in addition to the systems’ certified amounts. This will be the first time since the 1994 funding plan was implemented that additional state revenues will be provided above the certified amounts. These contributions will help pay down the state’s pension debt more quickly and will save taxpayers an estimated $1.8 billion by fiscal year 2045.
In fiscal year 2018, the General Assembly authorized a then three-year plan to reduce the liabilities of the systems by allowing retiring members to sell a portion of the value of their post-retirement cost of living adjustments and allowing inactive employees to buy out of the systems. In 2019, the Governor and the General Assembly extended the sunset date of the program to fiscal year 2024 and extended it again to 2026 in this past spring session. Significant interest in the pilot program has already led to some liability reductions and reductions in needed annual contributions to the systems. The estimated value of the liability reductions for the retirement systems totals $1.4 billion already.
Looking at one quarter of investment returns and declaring ‘the good times are over’ doesn’t make sense. We know markets go up and go down and fluctuations are normal. We have adapted and made our payments. See below for year by year for 10 years of data. A one-quarter low return is hardly a ‘time bomb’
* More…
The State of Illinois retirement systems have more conservative rate of return assumptions than most public pension systems – with rates of return as of the end of FY21 assumed between 6.5%-7%. The systems have moved towards a more conservative portfolio as well to reduce the volatility in the systems’ rates of returns when the market underperforms. Again, one quarter of poor broad market performance is hardly a ‘time bomb’.
* More…
As for the already debunked point that public employees are not part of the Social Security system, for the three major state systems (SERS, SURS and TRS), most SERS employees DO participate in Social Security. However, teachers and university staff do not participate in Social Security. Which means that not only are these employees not paying the 6.2% from their paychecks into Social Security (and in fact, are paying a higher number directly to TRS or SURS), the state/employer is not making the employer contribution of 6.2% to Social Security either. The cost to the state/school districts/universities to have Tier 2 employees join Social Security would be a cost greater than the normal cost of a year of service for these employees (the marginal value of an extra year of service). Together employees and employers would have to contribute 12.4% of salary to Social Security, payments that are not being paid now.
* The Illinois Public Safety and Violence Prevention task force met yesterday to share information and discuss strategies to prevent hate crimes. State Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-Chicago) said the meeting comes after many of those groups requested help from the state. WGEM…
The Illinois Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes is looking into the possibility of creating a statewide hate crimes and bias incident hotline. Illinois Human Rights Director Jim Bennett said Thursday that the hotline would be separate from reporting to law enforcement.
Bennett explained the new hotline could help victims of hate crimes and bias incidents talk with an expert on the other phone line. He also believes it could be a great opportunity to get people connected with agencies and local groups that people turn to when they are facing a crisis. […]
The commission is also recommending that the state create a grant program to help organizations connect with the helpline and develop more services to assist victims of hate crimes. They would also like to educate law enforcement about how to respond to hate crimes and create a continuing education course for state attorneys, public defenders, and judges.
Bennett told the Illinois House Public Safety and Violence Prevention Task Force that commission members would like to see a data collection and analysis hub for hate crimes and bias incidents. Experts across the country know hate crimes are underreported, even in Illinois.
* Anti-Defamation League Director David Goldenberg told lawmakers antisemitic incidents in Illinois have increased by 430 percent since 2016…
* Equality Illinois’ Director of Public Policy Mike Ziri said there has been an increase of Illinois LGBTQ students reporting harassment in school over the past year…
State Rep. Patrick Windhorst, R-Metropolis, a member of the task force, told The Center Square that the state needs to address past policies and reforms and increase the penalties on offenders if they hope to stop hate crimes.
“I believe if we are determined to deter these types of crimes, we need to make sure there are significant consequences for those who engage in this type of activity,” Windhorst said.
Windhorst said that the SAFE-T Act and eliminating cash bail will not help the issues.
“With the SAFE-T Act and the Pre Trial Fairness Act, it appears to me that the offense of hate crime is not a detainable offense through trial,” Windhorst said. “If an individual is arrested for a hate crime, they will be released within 48 hours.”
[Added by Rich Miller: Rep. Windhorst did not make his comments during the hearing, when they could have been rebutted.]
* Ryan Green and Austin Berg talk about the messaging behind efforts to stop Gov. Pritzker’s 2020 graduated income tax constitutional amendment…
“What we found was that framing the progressive tax as an attack on retirement incomes — which it would allow for — really moved voters across age demographics and across both political spectrums,” Green says.
“Politicians we don’t trust are going to get this new power. And what are they going to do with it? They might come after your retirement income. That unlocked a very powerful aspect of certainty which combated the fairness message,” Berg says.
Legislators could tax retirement incomes right now if they wanted, so that’s an expectedly disingenuous statement, but it (and other things) worked. And Treasurer Frerichs’ infamous comment surely didn’t help matters much.
On Sunday, Bailey appeared on stage during a service with Pastor Brian Phillips at his church, the Grove Fellowship in Poplar Grove.
“We have officially worshipped with you as much as we’ve worshipped at our home church,” Bailey told Phillips in front of his congregation.
Above the pulpit was a graphic on a screen featuring a line from the Old Testament of the Bible saying “The Lord is a Man of War,” next to a symbol of “The Punisher” — a popular Marvel Comics character that has been appropriated by far-right militia groups like the Proud Boys.
“The Lord is a man of war but he deals with the spirits of evil in heavenly places,” Phillips said during the service, standing next to both Darren Bailey and his wife, Cindy Bailey.
Bailey has appeared at multiple campaign events with Phillips. He sounded similar ominous tones during his presentation Aug. 21.
“We’re at war,” Bailey told the congregants. “But we have everything we need to win, and it’s up to what we say, what we do, where we go, how we interact.”
Phillips was at former President Donald Trump’s [Stop the Steal] rally in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. He is seen in Facebook Live video shot by fellow Rockford-area Pastor Steve Cassell. Both Baileys have also campaigned with Cassell and have delivered a guest sermon at Cassell’s church, called Beloved Church, in Lena, Illinois.
In a statement to Playbook, Bailey said: “I’ve said that Jan. 6 was a dark day for America. It was extremely upsetting and those who broke the law should be held accountable. But questions about it are an effort to inject national politics into a race that should be all about fixing Illinois.”
A person close to Bailey’s campaign said neither of the pastors is employed by the campaign and they weren’t part of the attack, just the protest.
It’s been two steps forward, one step back for Bailey. Like Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican in a Blue state who snagged a Donald Trump endorsement, Bailey has focused his energy on talking about kitchen table issues and not the former president. That proved a winning strategy for Youngkin, who was elected in 2021.
What Youngkin didn’t do was hang out with Jan. 6 minions. Meanwhile, Bailey has more than once aligned himself with “stop-the-steal” acolytes.
I don’t think I agree with the claim that Bailey has focused his energy on kitchen table issues.
Billionaire Ken Griffin revealed in these pages that he pitched Pritzker with a plan to move public employees into the federal Social Security system (they currently don’t participate).
Teachers and university employees don’t participate in Social Security, but most other public employees do, including state employees. We covered this a couple weeks ago.
We’ll have more on this goofy editorial later today.
…Adding… Frank Manzo III in comments…
Problems with the Editorial:
1. Only certain public employees in Illinois don’t receive Social Security, as Rich mentioned.
2. The Editorial Board says the state’s five pension funds “have just 42.4% of the needed funds” but, as the Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability notes, “a more realistic valuation of the true financial position of the State retirement systems would be based upon the market value of the assets” and that was at 46.5%. Not a huge difference, but still a more accurate number which an Editorial Board may be better off using.
https://cgfa.ilga.gov/Upload/1121%20SPECIAL%20PENSION%20BRIEFING.pdf
3. It’s a little shortsighted. The Editorial acknowledges that pensions produced a 7.8% annualized gain from 2011 through 2021. Do they think the market was positive every single year in there? Because the stock market declined in calendar year 2018. It also fell very far in 2020, as we may remember. Then something crazy happened both times: it rebounded. The Editorial’s doom-and-gloom almost acts as if this year’s dip is here to stay forever. But the market will rebound. (If it doesn’t, we have far bigger problems than just public pensions.) And there is no real reason to assume that the long-term annualized rate of return from 2022-2032 will be dramatically lower than the 2011-2021 rate of 7.8%.
4. The Editorial doesn’t mention the $500 million in supplemental contributions that the State is making to pensions. Why? Maybe mention it as a good example of paying down debt and encourage more of it every year after.
5. The point that a “federal bailout” would be “unfair to the rest of the country”… First, there’s no serious proposal to do this as far as I am aware, so it is a canard. Second, our neighbor Kentucky (as an example) has a similar pension problem too, so it’s not like Illinois would be the only state to gain if something like that ever did happen. Third, smaller states like Virginia, Maryland, and Arizona get billions more in Department of Defense spending annually than Illinois. Illinois is the 5th largest economy but gets the 19th most military spending. Does the Tribune think that is “unfair” to its home state? Obviously, that’s just one example, but the “unfair” claim can be made about a lot (but not all) federal policies from which Illinois benefits far less.
https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/2819472/dod-releases-report-on-defense-spending-by-state-in-fiscal-year-2020/
Look, the median age of an Illinois resident is about 38 years old. That means the typical person living in the state was 10 years old when the Pension Ramp was passed in 1994. The majority of people living in the state (and a huge chunk of voters) were either not alive or not old enough to vote back then. We didn’t create the Ramp or the underfunded pensions, but we are the ones who are going to make full pension payments and solve this problem so it doesn’t carry on to our children.
