TikTok’s rise as a discovery tool is part of a broader transformation in digital search. While Google remains the world’s dominant search engine, people are turning to Amazon to search for products, Instagram to stay updated on trends and Snapchat’s Snap Maps to find local businesses. As the digital world continues growing, the universe of ways to find information in it is expanding.
Google has noticed TikTok edging into its domain. While the Silicon Valley company disputed that young people were using TikTok as a replacement for its search engine, at least one Google executive has publicly remarked on the rival video app’s search capabilities.
“In our studies, something like almost 40% of young people, when they’re looking for a place for lunch, they don’t go to Google Maps or Search. They go to TikTok or Instagram,” Prabhakar Raghavan, a Google senior vice president, said at a technology conference in July.
* The Question: Other than this blog, of course, what’s your social media of choice?
Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso on Wednesday demanded an apology from Gov. J.B. Pritzker over the migrant issue.
Last week, Pritzker’s office suggested village officials showed “xenophobia” in reaction to the arrival of migrants.
On Sept. 7, Burr Ridge officials received vague reports that an unknown number of refugees were headed to Burr Ridge from Chicago, Grasso said. They were part of the hundreds of migrants sent by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
I appreciate your commitment to be more welcoming to these asylum seekers than your initial comments suggest. I certainly would have preferred for my administration to be in contact with your office earlier, and I apologize for the inadvertent delay in contacting your office while my team was scrambling to find a place for these 64 people – mostly women and children – to sleep.
As we move forward constructively together, I also hope you reflect on the negative environment you created for these asylum seekers with your public comments and take this opportunity to apologize to them for creating such an unwelcoming reception.
I would like to share a few examples of statements that these migrants could have heard from you:
• You said that they were “supposedly” here legally. They are actually here legally, under a process established for decades.
• You threatened the business license of the hotel that is contracted by the state for emergency housing. This attempt at fear-mongering has a chilling effect on businesses and raises community concerns.
• You said that no additional asylum seekers would be welcome “without Village consent and planning – if at all.” The state has a contract with the hotel to provide emergency rooms. We used this contract for Afghan refugees in February and March of 2022.
My administration will continue to be in touch with you and your office to help address any questions that you have. In fact, my office called twice on Thursday, Sept. 8 and then put you in direct contact with an official at the Illinois of Emergency Management Agency who can quickly answer most of your questions. As one of the state’s lead agencies, they have the best ability to provide accurate and timely information, and track down any additional information you seek.
However, I note for the record that your initial questions focused on the asylum seekers’ legal status, not the obligations of your municipality or desire to help them.
As you are well aware, the State of Illinois has significantly more responsibilities to these asylum seekers than the Town of Burr Ridge, but I am pleased to see that you believe we all share the moral responsibility to be more welcoming.
* Meanwhile, the Tribune asked a group of asylum-seekers if they felt they’d been coerced to board the buses from Texas…
But in Elk Grove Village, the Navarro family and other migrants — all sitting outside the hotel where they have been placed for temporary housing by city and state efforts — said they didn’t feel coerced to board the buses that were made available to them. But they agreed that with the lack of comprehensive help or options to travel to different cities, they felt forced to take whatever route was presented to them after their monthlong journey to safety.
“They (immigration authorities) didn’t force us to get on the bus, but they didn’t give us other options to go elsewhere,” Navarro said. “We were told that at least once we arrived at New York, there would be people that could help us get to Chicago.”
One Venezuelan migrant who arrived at Martha’s Vineyard identified himself as Luis, 27, and said he and nine relatives were promised a flight to Massachusetts, along with shelter, support for 90 days, help with work permits and English lessons. He said they were surprised when their flight landed on an island.
He said the promises came from a woman who gave her name as “Perla” who approached his family on the street outside a San Antonio shelter after they crossed from Mexico and U.S. border authorities released them with an immigration court date.
He said the woman, who also put them up in a hotel, did not provide a last name or any affiliation, but asked them to sign a liability waiver.
“We are scared,” he said, adding he and others felt they were lied to. “I hope they give us help.” […]
Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins said at a news conference her office would be “looking into that case” and speaking with the Justice Department.
* More…
* Countryside Mayor Sean McDermott: Texas Gov. Abbott sends asylum seekers here to sow chaos, but Illinois is better than that: The busloads of people sent from Texas are legal asylum seekers, with every right to temporarily reside in our country while they apply for more permanent refuge. The border agencies have done their work and provided these refugees with legal entry into this country with a future court date to present their asylum claims. Let me repeat: These people are correctly following a legal process that has been in place for decades. When my grandparents emigrated from Ireland, they followed a similar path of uncertainty and turmoil before finally making the United States their home. It’s one of the proudest American traditions — the idea that anyone can become part of this great country if they work hard, play by the rules and take the necessary steps to become part of our larger community.
…Adding… Grasso’s response…
September 16, 2022
Governor Pritzker
Your September 15th response, although addressed to me, was forwarded to me from a local Patch reporter who had received it directly from your press secretary last evening. I only received the letter late this morning from your staff. Upon reading the letter, had it ended where it began - with appreciation of my commitment to be welcoming to the refugees and your apology for your office’s “inadvertent delay” in contacting the Village I would have accepted them as sincere, and moved on. But the rest of your letter contained a different tone. So, here are a few replies:
• The IDHS employee who has continually been present and engaging on site this morning (during my third visit to the hotel since Saturday to check on the refugees) volunteered, without prompting, that the Village really “came through” in welcoming the refugees; so it’s apparent that your comments about us not having welcomed the refugees is wrong - I can produce a volume of emails (not to mention a list of callers) who have offered food, clothing and jobs to the refugees without hesitation;
• Of course, as we discovered the hotel had a contract with the State that was the apparent reason it had agreed to house the refugees for the State for at least 30 days, I emphatically told the hotel that long-term housing of refugees should be cleared with the Village and Board and I want to know the basic information your office wanted to know about them in order to inform the residents and make decisions based on that information - long term housing of refugees for the State is not customary hotel business, as you no doubt know;
• You state this action was done “… while my team was scrambling to find a place for these 64 people - mostly women and children - to sleep.. .” through a contract with the hotel”.. . to provide emergency rooms”. The State should not be scrambling and should have had a plan to handle a few hundred intermittently received refugees - it’s an emergency because there was no plan;
• Of course, my initial questions - after learning they were already checked into the hotel - included their legal status - I learned of their asylum status only then - being here legally is a fundamental, initial piece of important information to anyone in my position;
• The two calls you mention came only after I discovered from a friend in the DuPage Board of Health that there was a conference call of state, county, and city officials - but again, not including my staff at which I made my displeasure with the process abundantly clear.
Finally, i too note for the record that your press secretary has not apologized for the disparaging characterization of our community. Given your heritage (not too dissimilar to mine) - such a comment should never be lodged against a community, and here quickly retracted.
Governor, I wish you the best in a difficult time, but must state in closing that the significant responsibilities you men^ep that th^tate has to the refugees cannot eclipse the rights of the municipal communities and citi^fer^fe of lllin^s/A/ho are your first priority.
The NRA says it casts a blind eye to party affiliation, but of course all the Democrats were given F’s (and one D).
Top of the gun class: Two Republicans, Congressman Darin LaHood and Congresswoman Mary Miller, received A’s. And Congressman Mike Bost earned an A-, of all things. Republican challengers who filled out the questionnaires received AQ’s (A on questionnaire).
Worth noting: In a year that’s been plagued by mass shootings, including in Highland Park, there are some Republican candidates who didn’t fill out the questionnaire at all.
One Republican candidate who did answer is Chris Dargis, who’s running in the 8th Congressional District against Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (He got an F from the NRA.). Krishnamoorthi’s campaign has written a letter urging Dargis to publicly release the questionnaire so voters know why he got the A. Dargis’ campaign dismissed the letter as a “political ploy.”
Today, pro-gun extremist Darren Bailey received an A rating from the National Rifle Association––an organization that is bankrupt both morally and literally. Whether he is raffling off AR-15s at campaign events, or telling mass shooting victims to “move on and celebrate,” it is clear Bailey’s radical positions are out of touch with a vast majority of Illinoisians.
Bailey is so pro-gun that teachers at his private school, Full Armor Christian Academy, were armed with guns with signs at the school’s entrance reading: “Staff heavily armed and trained. Any attempt to harm children will be met with deadly force.”
Bailey has consistently used violent and callous rhetoric when discussing firearms, even in the face of devastating tragedy. While speaking at the Illinois Gun Lobby Day in 2019, Bailey riled the crowd by saying, “I promise you, when that line is drawn on the sand, we are going to be one of the first ones there…because I will never, ever, give up my AR-15, or any other gun.” In 2021, Bailey proclaimed, “I will die on my porch before I give up my guns.”
Rather than express sympathy and mourning after a shooter killed seven and wounded dozens at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Bailey was unsympathetic, calling for everyone to “move on and celebrate” a mere 90 minutes after the shooting.
As a legislator, Bailey has repeatedly pushed reckless legislation that would have made it easier to acquire firearms in Illinois while eliminating key safeguards. Bailey has led efforts to repeal the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act, which requires Illinois residents to have a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification Card in order to possess or purchase guns or ammunition. He again sponsored a bill to accomplish this goal in 2021, claiming that the cards “serve absolutely no purpose.” Bailey has even supported efforts to lower the age required to purchase a gun.
“Darren Bailey would rather shoot down the budget than pass a balanced one,” said Pritzker Campaign Spokeswoman Natalie Edelstein. “Bailey should be ashamed of his A rating from the NRA, an organization that has consistently blocked common sense gun legislation that is supported by the overwhelming majority of Americans.”
* Allow an unnamed “political insider” to accuse a state legislator of committing an illegal act on the slimmest of reeds. Just another day in the Proft paper world…
State Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth (D-Peoria) is being accused of offering jobs for political support as she faces GOP challenger in the 92 House District.
Gordon-Booth is the Deputy Majority Leader of the Illinois House of Representatives.
“This is an example of how Illinois Democrats have learned to operate after decades without accountability,” a political insider said of the tape.
Tape of the robocall by Gordon-Booth is being used an example of how the political playing ground in the state is controlled by Democrat interests given applicants were asked to obtain more information at Gordon-Booth’s campaign headquarters.
“One day, one day only I am partnering with IDOT to host a hiring pop-up open house at my community headquarters in Campus Town, suite 7 this Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. – this Sunday 1 to 3 pm. IDOT is hiring for the highway maintainer position,” Gordon-Booth said in a message to voters.
“Of individuals in this region, to be eligible for this job, you have to have a valid driver’s license and a CDL. It is an amazing opportunity for someone who’s always wanted to get one of those big jobs working for IDOT. It’s a great way to get you foot in the door.”
Gordon-Booth invited WMBD-TZV into her headquarters to promote the event.
IDOT personnel were on command to process applicants.
Brandon Higgins told WMBD he felt the event was geared towards minority hiring.
We first showed video of a woman being attacked on a North Center community sidewalk because the robbers were wanted for a dozen other attacks.
But then, the video went to another level when the woman became the center of a political ad. And we have now learned the woman was never contacted to be a part of the advertisement. […]
Kozlov: “I’m here to talk to you about if you feel that it was the right thing to do ethically to use that video in an ad without getting the victim’s permission, considering victims’ advocates…”
Proft: “I don’t need their permission.”
Kozlov: “I know you don’t need it legally, but ethically – considering victims’ advocates also say that its use – the use of that video – was abhorrent in this purpose.”
Proft: “Like I said, when everybody’s sensibilities are such that they’re not going to broadcast acts of violence, then you can come back and talk to me. But until then, nope.”
* ABATE…
ABATE of Illinois Political Action Committee (ABATE PAC) announced their endorsements of candidates in the November 2022 General Elections today. ABATE PAC grades candidates and makes endorsements based on candidate responses to surveys, existing relationships with ABATE of Illinois members, voting record, and advocacy on behalf of motorcyclists and off-road riders in Illinois. The full ABATE PAC voters guide including grades for all candidates will be posted on the ABATE of Illinois website at www.abate-il.org in the next few days.
Kwame Raoul has been endorsed for another term as Attorney General alongside Susana Mendoza for Comptroller and Michael Frerichs for Treasurer. All three candidates have a long legislative history of working with ABATE and being responsive to issues affecting motorcyclists in their current roles. Attorney General Raoul has shown interest in protecting the civil liberties of motorcyclists, while Comptroller Mendoza and Treasurer Frerichs have been responsive to ABATE concerns surrounding the Cycle Rider Safety Training, and Off Highway Vehicles Trail funds.
In the race for Secretary of State, ABATE PAC has endorsed Dan Brady. Representative Brady met with ABATE several times demonstrating a nonpartisan, service-oriented approach to running the office of Secretary of State. His knowledge of the office, combined with previous experience in advocacy for modernizing similar offices, along with a campaign focused solely on issues related to the Secretary of State’s office leads ABATE PAC to believe that he would be a great Secretary of State.
ABATE PAC did not make an endorsement recommendation in the race for Governor. Senator Darren Bailey is a rider who has been an advocate for motorcyclists ever since joining the General Assembly as a Representative with a spotless voting record on ABATE supported bills. Governor JB Pritzker has signed every ABATE supported bill presented to him into law, along with working to get motorcycle safety classes restarted during the pandemic, and having ABATE represented on autonomous vehicle issues. ABATE PAC had concerns with statements attributed to the Pritzker administration regarding motorcycles not being a primary mode of transportation, but recent moves to include electric motorcycles in infrastructure and incentives programs along with improved communication are seen as a positive step. Both Candidates are rated A by ABATE PAC.
* Press release…
Besides featuring the Party’s first-ever Spanish-language ads, a new Democratic Party of Illinois ad campaign launched this week targets Black and downstate voters in over 230 zip codes across the state ahead of the November election.
“As Chair, one of my top priorities is to ensure that we’re connecting with diverse, often-underrepresented communities across Illinois,” said Chair Lisa Hernandez. “Our new ad campaign, which is reaching Black and downstate voters in over 230 zip codes, is just one of the many ways that we’ll continue to engage with voters in every corner of our state ahead of November and beyond.”
The campaign, focused on minimum wage and support for working families, consists of six 16-second digital videos running on YouTube. The campaign includes variations on each piece of creative to separately highlight the following candidates: Susana Mendoza, Kwame Raoul, Mike Frerichs, and Alexi Giannoulias.
“I’m proud to see the Democratic Party of Illinois’ bold investment in reaching Black communities across Illinois,” said State Representative and State Central Committeeperson Maurice West. “Every day, Democrats are working to uplift and support working families. It’s critically important that we share our message, our progress, and our vision with voters in every corner of our state — especially those who are too often left out of the conversation. That’s what we’re doing with initiatives like this targeted ad campaign, and it’s what we’ll continue to do with more programs to come.”
“With this new ad campaign, the Democratic Party of Illinois is speaking directly to our downstate communities on the issues that matter,” said State Central Committeeperson Vivian Robinson. “I’m glad to see this investment in downstate Illinoisans, and I look forward to our continued work to engage and mobilize voters in every part of the state ahead of November.”
With two months to go until the election, the Democratic Party of Illinois is making bold investments in traditionally underrepresented communities across the state. The Party will continue to invest in creative, innovative initiatives like these to reach and mobilize diverse voters ahead of November.
Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie L. Mosser: The first thing that I do want to say is that I am absolutely in favor of eliminating cash bail, because it has caused problems within our criminal justice system. So I’m a proponent of the criminal justice reform. The problem that we’re having with this is it limits who we can ask to be detained as state’s attorneys and who judges can detain. In the example you just gave, they talk about forcible felonies, but there’s also provision that specifically says that it has to be forcible felonies that are non-probationable… So the ones that we can hold are people who are going to go to DOC if they’re found guilty of the crime. But there are many forcible felonies that are probationable. That includes robbery, second degree murder, kidnapping, aggravated battery, arson, burglary, intimidation, threatening a public official. And when you go outside of the realm of forcible felonies, there’s so many other offenses that because of the way the SAFE-T Act is drafted, we can’t ask to be held. Any drug offense, including our Super X amounts where people are dealing fentanyl that is killing people, they can’t be detained. People who have done a drug induced homicide who have dealt a drug to somebody else, and that person has lost their life cannot be detained because of the way it’s drafted. […]
Cook County Public Defender Sharone Mitchell: There are multiple paths that a prosecutor can pursue when it comes to detention or petitioning for detention. So what we’ve talked about is safety, but prosecutors can also ask for detention on the grounds of flight. And prosecutors can also ask for attention on the grounds of violation of release. So we will see people after January 1, that are charged with those offenses, where prosecutors can make the petition who are on detention. […]
Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis): Ms. Mosser and Mr. Mitchell were both correct in what they said. But I would say one thing to distributional is point rather, willful flight is supposed to be applied in a very limited fashion. In fact, the prosecutor has to learn more than just simply a past failure to appear in court. Prosecutors have to demonstrate that this person from out of state and they have a plane ticket to leave with a passport. It’s going to be very limited and very rare. Of course, the prosecutor can also ask for someone to have their pretrial release revoked when they commit another crime, but we shouldn’t have to wait for a second crime to be committed when somebody’s committed a burglary or robbery or an arson. That should be enough for them to be held pretrial and the disposition of the case. […]
Cook County Public Defender Sharone Mitchell was asked about flight risk: Well, we know that there are a whole states that only have flight as a reason for detention. So for instance, New York, they don’t have a public safety exception for detention. Flight is the only reason why a person shouldn’t be detained. So I don’t think the prosecutors will have that difficult of a job. And with that said, I think it’s also important to note that we are talking about individuals that are accused of innocence. And we know that here in Cook County, only about, I think it was 2019, only about 60% of people who are accused of a felony were actually found guilty. There were people who were dismissed. There were people who were found not guilty. And that’s a flawed system. That’s the way the system is supposed to work. These are allegations. And we are before trial. That’s supposed to be the exception to the rule. We know that from a conservative Supreme Court. It’s actually Justice William Rehnquist, who said that detention is supposed to be the exception to the rule and not the rule.
All persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, except for the following offenses where the proof is evident or the presumption great: capital offenses; offenses for which a sentence of life imprisonment may be imposed as a consequence of conviction; and felony offenses for which a sentence of imprisonment, without conditional and revocable release, shall be imposed by law as a consequence of conviction, when the court, after a hearing, determines that release of the offender would pose a real and present threat to the physical safety of any person.
Bail: The process of releasing a defendant from custody with conditions set to reasonably assure public safety and court appearance. […]
“Bail” is often used to refer to the amount of cash that a defendant must post as a condition of release. “Bond” is sometimes treated as a synonym of “bail.” Understood properly, “bail” – which literally means, “release” – is a process of releasing a defendant from custody on conditions designed to assure both public safety and the person’s appearance in court. A “bond” occurs whenever a defendant enters an agreement with the court. The agreement may, but need not necessarily, include a financial condition, but can also or instead include a variety of other conditions such as electronic monitoring, curfews, supervised visits or appointments, etc.
* Related…
* More political pressure mounts to amend Safe-T Act which will end cash bail in Illinois: Republican nominee for Illinois attorney general Tom DeVore, along with other political leaders, are calling on changes to be made to the Safe-T Act. DeVore joins a list of other nominees and politicians pushing for the law to be amended before it takes effect come January 1, 2023.
* Cash bond reforms will make Illinois more fair: I saw this firsthand when I attended bond court hearings a few weeks ago along with community advocates and other elected officials. The judges heard from the prosecutor about the charges but didn’t ask for additional details or background information.It really did just come down to whether they could pay bail.What I saw was disappointing and only reaffirmed my support to eliminate money bond in Illinois.
* Funding anti-violence efforts across Illinois: Ten months ago, in the midst of a pandemic-era crime surge, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker declared gun violence a public health crisis and pledged $250 million over three years to reduce shootings. The legislature was followed by the creation of the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention. State Senator Roberts Peters sponsored the bill. “We’re going to target areas where violence is at its worst, where people have to deal with violence on a regular basis and we’re not going to get bogged down in talking in conjecture about what’s happening,” Peters said.
* The conservative backlash to the SAFE-T Act is nothing new: Cook County Public Defender Sharone Mitchell Jr. witnesses the impact of cash bail on Black communities daily. He routinely sits down with families, most often a mother, grandmother, aunt, or woman partner, he said, and negotiates what he calls a “ransom.” Essentially, that’s the amount of money families need to come up with to bond their loved ones out of jail. “Having a conversation of, ‘do you have $1,000? Do you have $5,000 or $10,000? Can you save a few checks up? Can you not pay a bill?’” he said.
* Illinois’ SAFE-T Act explained: Changes to bail policy have been implemented in smaller doses around the country, including the county in Texas that covers Houston. A University of Pennsylvania study found earlier this year that the jail time and repeat offenses both decreased, since that policy was put into place. Researchers at Loyola University Chicago will be tasked with studying the ongoing impact of the SAFE-T act here in Illinois.
* Bamani Obadele: Darren Bailey Needs to Stop Using the City for Political Rhetoric
* 2 Police Officers Charged After Shooting Unarmed Man In Pilsen, Prosecutors Say: ‘Unprovoked Violence’: The officers have been charged with three felonies. They shot an unarmed man and then lied to prosecutors by saying they’d been fired upon first, Kim Foxx said. … The officers told authorities they’d been shot at first — but videotape of the incident directly contradicts that, and neither of the wounded people fired shots at the officers, Foxx said. The two officers were relieved of their duties by the Police Department, as well.
* There’s no ‘Purge Law’: Debunking right-wing propaganda about the SAFE-T Act: The SAFE-T Act doesn’t explicitly address what will happen to people currently incarcerated on money bonds on Jan. 1. But prosecutors have the ability under the law to petition for people charged with murder and other violent crimes to be jailed pretrial. Currently, those people would already be released if they came up with the money for bail. Also, under the current law, prosecutors such as Glasgow could have filed motions for people charged with serious violent crimes to be detained without bail, said Sharlyn Grace, a senior policy adviser for the Cook County public defender’s office. In Cook County, prosecutors, public defenders, and judges are working together to plan for the transition to an “in-or-out” system starting Jan. 1, Grace said.
It’s a scenario that Republicans hope will sway voters in November’s midterm elections.
A new ad by the GOP Senate nominee in Illinois is capitalizing on the GOP’s messaging this summer to warn voters that new Internal Revenue Service funding approved by Democrats will lead to overzealous IRS agents targeting middle class Americans over their taxes.
“We love the new house, but we have a little problem with the agent. All of them,” say actors portraying a couple sitting on the couch, as their home is invaded by IRS agents, in the first general election TV commercial by Kathy Salvi. […]
The commercial shows the actors portraying the IRS agents combing through the couple’s, searching for unreported income, including finding 64 cents under a couch cushion and two dollars in winning lottery tickets.
“At least we have the election to fire Tammy Duckworth,” the actors say.
Salvi, an attorney and former Lake County assistant public defender, faces a steep climb in her long shot bid in the blue state of Illinois to upset Duckworth, a first term senator and former congresswoman who lost both of her legs while serving in combat as a U.S. Army helicopter pilot in the Iraq War. Salvi’s campaign says that the spot, which it shared first with Fox News on Friday, will run statewide in Illinois, and is backed by a high six-figures ad buy.
Following the introduction of a national abortion ban this week by GOP Senator Lindsey Graham, Kathy Salvi — the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate seat held by Tammy Duckworth — has refused to reveal where she stands on the proposal that could rip bodily autonomy from millions of women in Illinois.
In the past, Salvi has come out in favor of a total abortion ban with no exceptions for rape, incest, or the life of the mother. She’s even gone so far as to call these instances “hypotheticals.” But now, she refuses to let Illinoisans know where she stands on a very real proposal to establish the ban she previously supported.
Senator Duckworth, a champion for women’s rights both in Washington and here in Illinois, is working to enshrine reproductive rights into federal law and came out in forceful opposition to the ban immediately after it was introduced.
Illinoisans have made clear their strong support for protecting abortion access, so Salvi’s trying desperately to dodge her own extremist anti-choice views. But voters deserve an answer as to whether she would support this new proposal, which would strip women of their access to critical reproductive care — and which could become law if Republicans take back the Senate.
As a U.S. Senator, would Kathy Salvi vote in favor of Republicans’ national abortion ban? Illinoisans deserve to know.
* The Champaign County Clerk’s office has had more than its share of problems since Aaron Ammons was elected. But instead of nominating someone who could fix the problems, the Republicans went with this guy…
GOP county clerk candidate Terrence Stuber told The News-Gazette in August, “I don’t know,” when asked if Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election.
After that remark, Aaron Ammons, a Democrat and the incumbent clerk, accused Stuber of being “unqualified, ill-informed, and unprepared to serve.” […]
However, [Stuber] remains skeptical about the 2020 election process.
“We know they stopped counting in Georgia, we know they stopped counting in Arizona,” Stuber said. “These are all different places and they may not even be…all of them. Who knows? I wasn’t in the Brookens building (the administrative building for Champaign County government) or in the election center. Champaign County may have stopped counting. I don’t know.”
David Becker, election security expert for CBS News, called Stuber’s claim “completely false.”
“It’s documented that they kept counting votes diligently until all were counted, in those states and every other one,” Becker, who founded the Center for Election Innovation and Research, a non-partisan group that works with and supports election officials, said. “And that’s how they’ve always done it, including in 2016.”
Anybody know of any other deniers running for county clerk in this state?
Social media posts are sounding the alarm about a change in Illinois law that they suggest will radically undermine public safety.
“Things are gonna get crazy on January, 1, 2023,” read a Facebook post on Sept. 9. “The state of Illinois passed a bill that will go into effect on January 1, 2023, these following crimes would be considered non-detainable. Burglary, robbery, arson, kidnapping, DUI offenses, even DUI involving a fatality, most drug offenses, and even 2nd degree murder.”
But before Illinoisans start packing their bags, we advise taking a closer look at the law these posts are talking about.
In February 2021, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law a sweeping 764-page criminal justice bill called the Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity Act, or Safe-T Act. The law makes changes to police and court practices and detainee rights, among other things.
Part of that law, known as the Pretrial Fairness Act, will change bond court practices across the state. It would eliminate cash bail, or money paid by a defendant to get out of jail while awaiting trial. That change goes into effect Jan. 1 and will make Illinois the first state to completely do away with cash bail.
But these posts mislead by suggesting that people charged with the crimes listed cannot be detained under any circumstance.
So, please, spare me the pat on the back, Politifact. You busted a smallish fake news site, but left intact basically the same post on a site with millions of followers.
* Rep. Gonzalez asked if this photo of himself and Speaker Welch at a Legislative Latino Caucus event last night could be a caption contest. So, blame him…
As part of his continuing plan to carefully unwind the state’s COVID-19 executive orders, Governor Pritzker today updated testing requirements for school and childcare personnel, rescinding the requirement that unvaccinated employees in these sectors test twice weekly. This change goes into effect Friday and is made on the advice of medical experts, based on their careful consideration of the current conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic and is in line with Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidance.
“Vaccination continues to be the most effective tool we have against COVID-19, and I’m proud that millions of Illinoisans have taken advantage of these life-saving vaccines – they have given us the ability to adjust these requirements,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “I continue to urge everyone in the state to stay up to date on vaccines and boosters, including getting the recently released bivalent booster shot. Although the current state of the pandemic is very different than it was two years ago, we still need to protect the most vulnerable members of our community as we continue to be responsive to the changing challenges and evolutions of this virus.”
“As our approach to the pandemic continues to evolve, we are easing some COVID-19 restrictions in our schools and daycare centers,” said Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Director Dr. Sameer Vohra. “It remains our continued goal to address the health risks of COVID-19, but current conditions of the pandemic are different from those of the last two years. There are now many tools available for protecting our students, teachers and the general public, including the latest updated bivalent vaccines and effective treatment options for children and adults. It continues to be important to remain home if you have COVID-19 symptoms, per CDC recommendations. Broad access to COVID-19 testing will remain a critical part of our strategy. To ensure ready access to testing, IDPH has offered one million rapid COVID-19 tests to schools for use by students and staff at home.”
The CDC no longer requires routine testing in schools or childcare settings regardless of the vaccination status of the staff member. However, they continue to recommend schools and other congregate educational settings consider instituting testing at times of high risk in the community, such as upon return from breaks or after large indoor events. Illinois schools and childcare centers are urged to consider these suggestions when planning testing and prevention strategies.
Free and accessible testing options are widely available to school staff. IDPH made 1 million free rapid tests available to schools earlier this year. 160 school districts have opted into the SHIELD testing program, performing regular surveillance testing for schools at no cost to the district. Almost 50,000 tests have been performed by SHIELD since the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year.
Vaccines continue to be the strongest protection against COVID-19 for all ages. Students, teachers, and staff are all strongly encouraged to stay up to date on vaccines and boosters to prevent serious illness and even death. Information on finding vaccines and booster shots can be found at www.vaccines.gov.
“We have said all along that we should be following the science. Unlike earlier in the pandemic, we now have vaccines, vaccines to combat the newest variants, treatments and our hospitals are no longer overloaded,” said Illinois Education Association President Kathi Griffin. “Because of all of this, we agree with the governor’s decision to lift the vaccine or test mandate. The safety of students, and all those who work with them in our schools across the state, has always been our number one concern. We are glad to see so many smiling faces as we begin the 2022-23 school year.”
“Throughout the pandemic, Governor Pritzker has made the tough decisions necessary to keep all Illinoisans healthy and safe,” said Illinois Federation of Teachers President Dan Montgomery. “By extending the emergency proclamation and eliminating the “vaccine or test” mandate, he is continuing to prioritize safety while ensuring our state adapts to changing circumstances and continues down the road to recovery.”
“Educators across Illinois have spent the past two years prioritizing students’ learning and well-being. Their dedication brought students safely back to the classroom,” said State Superintendent of Education Dr. Carmen I. Ayala. “With the knowledge and insights we have gained about COVID-19 and how to prevent its spread, Illinois can now safely lift the requirement for school personnel to be vaccinated or tested weekly. We are so grateful to reach yet another milestone in pandemic recovery and thank all of our educators, administrators, and other school personnel for the vital role they continue to play in keeping our communities safe.”
Two people were killed and seven injured in a mass shooting in Chicago’s Washington Park on Tuesday night. With at least 43 shell casings recovered at the scene, police said an automatic weapon was likely used in the attack. The public is being urged to help find the shooter.
This week’s incident is the 30th mass shooting to take place in the state of Illinois since Memorial Day of this year, which in total have taken 23 lives and injured 146 people according to the Gun Violence Archive.
“Mass shootings have taken place in Illinois once every four days since Memorial Day — a horrible reality that we must not accept. Legislative support has grown for a ban on weapons of war like the ones likely used in the shooting at Washington Park — assault weapons and large-capacity magazines, which make instances of violence exponentially more deadly,” said Kathleen Sances, President and CEO of the Gun Violence Prevention PAC.
“G-PAC continues to push state leaders to pass these common-sense policies at their earliest opportunity. In order to do so, we must also work to protect and expand the gun safety majorities in the Illinois General Assembly so that this legislation and other violence prevention measures can be passed and signed into law. We are encouraged by the support of state leaders and lawmakers thus far and will continue our direct advocacy to make Illinois a safer state.”
Q: There are claims that the bill prevents police officers from forcibly removing a trespasser from one’s property. … Is that claim true or false?
Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis): Well, I think it’s at least partially true, if not completely true. That relates to a trespasser on property, not inside the residence, but on property. And it says that that person is not subject to arrest unless they are presenting a risk of the safety of an individual or the community. So if an individual is simply on property without authorization or trespass. The police are simply to cite and then leave. […]
Cook County Public Defender Sharone Mitchell: I think that Representative Windhorst is right that part of that legislation says that law enforcement should not arrest for the lowest level offenses. But the next line gives law enforcement the sole authority to make that decision. And it’s also important to note that that piece of legislation was actually taken from recommendations from a group of states attorneys, court system actors and prosecutors in a report that was released in April 2020. So that gives law enforcement the flexibility to actually make that decision themselves.
* This is from the April 2020 Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Pretrial Practices Final Report, mentioned by Mitchell, on the trespassing language…
Law enforcement shall issue a citation in lieu of custodial arrest, upon proper identification, for those accused of Class B and C traffic and criminal misdemeanor offenses, or of petty and business offenses, who pose no obvious threat to the community or any person, or who have no obvious medical or mental health issues that pose a risk to their own safety. Those released on citation shall be scheduled into court within 21 days. Subsequent court reminder notification shall be provided via mail, electronically, text or telephone.
(a-1) Law enforcement shall issue a citation in lieu of custodial arrest, upon proper identification, for those accused of traffic and Class B and C criminal misdemeanor offenses, or of petty and business offenses, who pose no obvious threat to the community or any person, or who have no obvious medical or mental health issues that pose a risk to 25 their own safety. Those released on citation shall be scheduled in to court within 21 days.
Mitchell says the statute gives law enforcement officers discretion to interpret what an “obvious threat” is. Somebody camped out on a person’s porch and won’t leave after being ordered to by the police could easily be declared a threat, in other words.
But even Democrats have told me they are looking for ways to tighten up the language in the fall veto session. We’ll see.
Whatever we have to change we will change. I want to again say that we have committed to making sure that this will make Illinois safe and also furthers justice in this state. We’ve got to get it right and it will take some tweaking over time. We’ve already tweaked some, we’ll continue to do that where it’s necessary.
* Anyway, back to the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Pretrial Practices Final Report on this topic…
Arrest is an essential and integral function of effective policing. However, the practice is far more intrusive to individual freedom, subjecting a person to potential pretrial detention or unnecessary conditions of pretrial release. Citation in lieu of arrest authorizes law enforcement to release a subject, in appropriate non-violent cases, with a date to appear in court, rather than being subjected to formalized arrest and booking procedures.
The American Bar Association and International Association of Chiefs of Police foster a policy favoring issuance of citations. “It should be the policy of every law enforcement agency to issue citations in lieu of arrest or continued custody to the maximum extent consistent with the effective enforcement of the law.” Nationwide, law enforcement departments utilize some form of citation in lieu of arrest. Approximately 87% of police agencies participate in this form of policing with 80% of these jurisdictions having ten (10) years or more experience using this arrest alternative.
Republican Sen. John Curran and Republican Rep. Dan Ugaste were on that commission, as was a representative of the Illinois Association Chiefs of Police and former US Attorney Rodger Heaton.
* I asked Jordan Abudayyeh at the governor’s office for comment…
Under the SAFE-T Act, law enforcement officers can continue to use their judgement to arrest a person that is a threat to the community.
The statute clearly states, “law enforcement shall issue a citation in lieu of custodial arrest, upon proper identification, for those accused of traffic and Class B and C criminal misdemeanor offenses, or of petty and business offenses, who pose no obvious threat to the community or any person, or who have no obvious medical or mental health issues that pose a risk to their own safety.”
If the law enforcement community needs more clarity regarding their ability to arrest people who are posing a threat to other people or themselves then our administration is happy to work with them and lawmakers to make that even more clear.
* The reason I asked for some clarification is because the trespassing issue has become a hot topic of discussion. Sen. Darren Bailey said this on Dan Proft’s WIND show last week…
The simple offense of trespassing in your house, on your yard, in your business. The law enforcement can only stand there, by this SAFE-T Act and write a warning. That’s all that they can do. They cannot forcefully remove these people. So we’ve got a pretty dire situation on our hands
Law enforcement do have discretion to remove the person from the location of the alleged criminal activity, and then cite and release the person from another location.
Illinois should aim to build up a now $1 billion rainy-day fund by more than $2 billion to manage through future economic crises, state Comptroller Susana Mendoza said in pressing for passage this fall of legislation that would funnel more revenue to the once-barren fund.
States on average hold reserves that would allow them to manage for 35 days. Illinois only this year tipped the scales over the $1 billion mark — reaching $1.039 billion — but that equates to just one week worth of operations, Mendoza said.
A target of $3.25 billion would still fall short of the 35-day mark, but Mendoza — whose office manages state bill, debt, and pension payments — said it would provide sufficient cushion to manage paying obligations during future economic downturns.
“Really, that money needs to be there in case of another economic collapse through no fault of our own,” Mendoza said during an address to the Chicago City Club Wednesday. That level would allow the office to reasonably manage bill payments. “I’m not going to feel comfortable until we are at about 7.5% in reserves.”
Comptroller Susana Mendoza told a crowd at The City Club of Chicago that Illinois has cut its backlog of unpaid bills from $16.7 billion in 2017 to just a fraction of that today. […]
She also bragged about Illinois’ rainy day fund.
“It’s about $1.039 billion as compared to the less than $60,000 that I inherited,” Mendoza said. “[But] even a billion-dollars sound like a lot, but that’s a week’s worth of reserves.”
By comparison, Wisconsin’s rainy day fund is nearly four billion-dollars.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that the unemployment rate rose +0.1 percentage point to 4.5 percent, while nonfarm payrolls increased by +4,100 in August, based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and released by IDES. The July monthly change in payrolls was revised from the preliminary report, from +31,200 to +35,000 jobs. The July unemployment rate was unchanged from the preliminary report, remaining at 4.4 percent. The August payroll jobs estimate and unemployment rate reflect activity for the week including the 12th.
In August, the industry sectors with the largest over-the-month gains in employment include: Trade, Transportation and Utilities (+4,500), Construction (+3,500), and Government (+1,500). The industry sectors that reported the largest monthly payroll declines include: Manufacturing (-3,200), Professional and Business Services (-2,600), and Information (-500). […]
The state’s unemployment rate was +0.8 percentage point higher than the national unemployment rate reported for August, which was 3.7 percent, up +0.2 percentage point from the previous month. The Illinois unemployment rate was down -1.5 percentage points from a year ago when it was at 6.0 percent.
Compared to a year ago, nonfarm payroll employment increased by +239,700 jobs, with gains across nearly all major industries. The industry groups with the largest jobs increases include: Leisure and Hospitality (+58,600), Professional and Business Services (+51,900), and Trade, Transportation and Utilities (+50,800). The Mining sector reported no change in payroll employment over-the-year. In August, total nonfarm payrolls were up +4.1 percent over-the-year in Illinois and up +4.0 percent in the nation.
The number of unemployed workers was up from the prior month, a +1.1 percent increase to 290,200 and was down -23.0 percent over the same month one year ago. The labor force was almost unchanged (0.0 percent) over-the-month and up +2.0 percent over-the-year. The unemployment rate identifies those individuals who are out of work and seeking employment. An individual who exhausts or is ineligible for benefits is still reflected in the unemployment rate if they actively seek work.
In Illinois last year, 7% of residents — about 875,000 people — lacked health insurance coverage, according to U.S. Census data released Thursday. […]
Nationally, about 8.6% of people were uninsured last year, according to data from the Census’ American Community Survey. […]
The percentages of Black and Latino people in Illinois without insurance were much higher than the percentage of white people lacking coverage. About 7.9% of Black Illinois residents and 15.8% of Hispanic or Latino people didn’t have insurance in 2021, compared with only 4.3% of white people. […]
In Illinois, the percentage of people uninsured, by income, was highest among those who had household incomes of $25,000 to $49,999. About 10.8% of people in that income group in Illinois were uninsured.
* Related…
* Education advocate Jitu Brown learned the fight for equity in Chicago: Brown started KOCO’s youth development and youth leadership programs. As he worked with the students, schools began to take an interest. They wanted, in particular, Black men to bring their experience and knowledge into the classrooms. So Brown did. And as he did, the inequity in the schools became quite clear. “You’re working with these young people, but you’re noticing that at this school, there’s one computer in the entire class and there’s no air conditioning,” he recalled. “Then I’m also going to schools and other communities and I’m working with student councils. You walk in and the school is bright. The classrooms are small. They got world language. They have counselors. They have teacher aides in every class.”
The elimination of carbon-emitting power plants in Illinois over the next 20 years will leave the Chicago area without enough generating capacity to meet its needs, forcing the region to import electricity from other states for the first time in modern memory.
That’s the conclusion of a new report by PJM Interconnection, the power-grid manager for a multistate region from northern Illinois to the mid-Atlantic. PJM blames the closing of fossil fuel plants—which to date has been driven by poor economics but soon will be mandated by the state’s year-old Climate & Equitable Jobs Act, or CEJA—for a projected capacity gap that will force the area to look elsewhere for power by 2030 at the latest. PJM further concludes that billions in spending on new and upgraded power transmission lines will be required to bring power to Chicago from Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. […]
“The [Pritzker] administration finds this study incredibly myopic and is confident that as we work to implement the goals of CEJA over the next two decades there will be enough clean energy options for consumers and the grid—it’s exactly why the bill incentivizes the production of clean energy and the market has already moved away from fossil fuel options on its own,” spokeswoman Jordan Abuddayeh says in an email. […]
“Based on the additional clean, renewable energy expected to come online as a result of CEJA and the amount of power nuclear plants in northern Illinois can produce, we project that there will be enough generation at nearly all times of the year to continue to reliably meet our customers’ needs without importing power from other regions,” ComEd spokesman Paul Elsberg says in an email. “While it’s possible there will be times in future years when some generation will need to be imported to meet demand when it’s at its highest, this will depend on many factors—among them, how much solar energy, wind energy and battery storage is added to the power grid, and when.”
* And that’s not all. Earlier this week, Sangamon County Judge Raylene Grischow issued a preminary injunction against the Illinois EPA to stop its enforcement of an annual emissions cap that predated the actual implementation of the rules. The retroactive rule meant that Elwood Energy LLC did not have “fair notice” of “how its 2021 conduct was regulated until IEPA issued its rules in January 2022.” The company was asked to generate more electricity than normal in the fall of last year and that generation had left precious little space under the retroactive cap imposed in January. The company claimed it was losing millions of dollars because it could not operate. The ruling is here.
“By requiring compliance four months in the past,” Grischow wrote, “the rule penalizes Elwood and harms its business, in violation of the Federal and Illinois Due Process Clauses.”
React from the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition…
We’re not surprised that fossil fuel companies would challenge Illinois’ new clean energy direction. The Climate and Equitable Jobs Act’s steady path to eliminating pollution from gas and coal plants is gradual, achievable, good for public health, and essential to becoming a leader in the clean energy economy.
These provisions were rigorously reviewed by experts. The preliminary injunction would allow a 1,700-MW methane gas plant to flout CEJA’s emissions limitations because JPower’s Elwood gas plant has claimed it cannot accurately calculate how much nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and other harmful pollutants it emits.
We are confident the provisions will ultimately be upheld by the judicial system and thwart Elwood’s efforts to avoid compliance. We look forward to achieving CEJA’s bold goals of decarbonizing our electric sector and creating good, equitable jobs and economic opportunities in the clean energy sources that will power Illinois in the future.
…Adding… On a related note, here’s a press release…
The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) approved the Dakota Access Pipeline and Energy Transfer Crude Oil Pipeline expansion in the Prairie State today.
The approval comes after a court decision vacating the previous approval, because the prior approval did not demonstrate how the expansion benefited Illinoisians and the ICC failed to consider the troubling record of the pipeline operator.
In January 2022, the Illinois 4th District Appellate Court vacated the approval of the pipeline expansion and remanded it back to the ICC. The suit was brought by Save Our Illinois Land (SOIL), the Sierra Club, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), and area landowner William Klingele.
Following are quotes from the litigants:
“This decision shows the ICC’s continued favoritism toward business interests at the expense of Illinois citizens. It endangers us all,” said Deni Mathews, chairperson of Save Our Illinois Land. “Instead of evaluating the full impact of such projects, we are left to grapple with the continued effect of carbon pollution on our air, water, and soil. Carbon emissions increase while our earth’s climate systems are providing clear evidence that we must stop.”
“In signing off yet again on this reckless expansion of the Dakota Access pipeline, the ICC is putting critical water resources at even greater risk,” said Catherine Collentine, Director of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Dirty Fuels campaign. “From the beginning, DAPL has threatened clean drinking water and trampled on Indigenous rights. Allowing even more dirty oil to run through it could be disastrous for communities along its route. We will continue to work to shut down this dangerous oil pipeline altogether.”
“This pipeline expansion threatens our health, our climate, and Illinois’ waters,” said J.C. Kibbey, IL clean energy advocate at NRDC. “There are few, if any, benefits to the people of this state, but the massive risks to Illinois are clear. While we bear the risk, big out-of-state fossil fuel companies reap the profits.”
* I heard this morning that ABC7 and WGN had followed the lead of NBC5 and stopped airing the “Scream” ad paid for by the People Who Play By The Rules PAC. I asked the committee if this was true and they confirmed it today. Here’s Dan Proft…
All the network affiliates approved the ad. Then came the push back from the targets the ‘news’ stations serve, Gov. Pritzker and Mayor Lightfoot, and other enthusiasts of lawlessness and unchecked violence and down came my ad. It began with NBC and, since all these network affiliate executives share a brain, the rest of the stations, with one notable exception, followed. The video of the attack is perfectly fine for use by the ‘news’ stations if it’s in furtherance of their salacious ‘if it bleeds it leads’ coda. But if someone takes the attack in question, same video, and connects the dots to the people who’ve abdicated their responsibilities for providing public safety, well, then down it must come. It’s indicative of the lengths the Chicago Democrat Media Complex will go to protect their own–and I’m not talking about their viewers.
Discuss.
Also, as we’ve discussed before, the video does appear to have been altered.
*** UPDATE *** From the victim’s attorney…
Rich – I represent the victim in the Scream Ad that Dan Proft has been running and I just wanted to note that the victim was never asked or consulted by them regarding the use of that video. Not that she would have agreed to allow it, but at least she should have been given a heads up that it was coming out. She wishes to remain anonymous and heal from this whole ordeal and the Scream ad isn’t helping. All the best. Tom
Thomas More Leinenweber
Leinenweber Baroni & Daffada, LLC
* Darren Bailey was on WMAY yesterday and in a wide-ranging interview with host Jim Leach talked about how school districts are “plagued with a lot of unfunded mandates from state government. He was asked for examples. “CRT and the sex ed. Those are the two of the newest ones,” he replied.
When asked if CRT was actually a state mandate, Bailey claimed it was being taught as a result of a state rule. He was then asked to define Critical Race Theory…
The best definition I have of it is it simply un-American and it actually teaches racism. That’s exactly what we’re pinpointing instead of focusing on teaching our children to read and write and do the things that public education is supposed to do. We are supposed to educate our children, not indoctrinate them. And, and through Gov. Pritzker’s reign for the last three and a half years, our schools have become indoctrination centers and that has gotta stop.
He could not name a single school district when pressed, but did say he would get the host a list.
* Asked if elections in this state are secure, Bailey said “No”…
It’s interesting because the last four years that I observed, two years in the House and two years in the Senate, when we talk about election integrity laws, my Democrat friends on the other side of the aisle, they’ll stand up and laugh and just, you know, it’s all it’s, and, and, and a couple of them have said in the past, there’s, there’s always been cheating, get used to it.
Um, OK. I’m pretty sure that would’ve been news if someone had said that on the House or Senate floor, but maybe I just missed it.
Bailey said that his campaign is targeting 2,000 “high risk precincts,” which, again, seems like a goofy waste of resources, but whatevs.
Q: Senator, one last question for you, because I know we’re out of time. You were quoted by the Center Square this week as saying common sense tells us to repeal everything that JB Pritzker signed into law. That’s why we’re having these problems. So I gotta ask on a couple of specifics, would you wanna roll back the minimum wage the governor signed into law? Do you wanna see that minimum wage lowered in Illinois?
Bailey: We need to have that conversation because it’s, we need to do a study. You know, I was one of the first ones out with Jason Plummer that sat down with the University of Illinois when they started asking for more money because of the impact of minimum wage on ‘em. So, need to make sure that it’s not driving business out. And, [inaudible because his phone kept breaking up] the small business for the next three years.
Q: And would you want to make marijuana illegal again in Illinois? The governor signed recreational marijuana into law. Would you seek to repeal that?
Bailey: I don’t see that changing in Illinois, don’t see the minimum wage changing either. Because all of this stuff requires this, the legislature, uh, you know, wrapping their minds around this and, and presenting that to me.
As always, please pardon all transcription errors.
Renae Eze, press secretary for Abbott, told Fox News Digital that Lightfoot and Pritzker are “absolute hypocrites.”
“So much for Chicago’s ‘Welcoming City Ordinance.’ These Democrat elites are absolute hypocrites, and now their hypocrisy is on full display for the entire nation. Governor Pritzker and Mayor Lightfoot have been complaining about a few hundred migrants being bused into self-declared sanctuary city Chicago, then turn around and dump them in the suburbs for Republican mayors to deal with. Instead of complaining about fulfilling their ‘welcoming city’ promises, these Democrat hypocrites should call on President Biden to do his job and secure the border—something the President continues failing to do,” she said.
Texas is literally dumping asylum seekers at Union Station, often in the middle of the night with no real notice. Illinois, Chicago and Cook County then have to scramble to put those folks in hotels or other shelters and provide them with services. The suburban mayors don’t have to “deal with” a single thing, just like they wouldn’t if somebody booked a wedding at a hotel in their towns. And on that point, here’s IDHS Director Grace Hou-Ovnik yesterday…
There have been many questions about how we’ve identified hotel rooms. Well, I would say to anyone who has had the privilege of planning or hosting a large wedding or a conference, you will know that finding of block of rooms for 100 people usually takes over a year. And as the governor said, sometimes we have three hours, sometimes we have 12 hours. So in addition to just plain availability, we want to assure that those regions also have the access to support services. And we’ve also returned to hotels that have previously welcomed Afghans earlier this year. With support from the National Guard we can work ahead more strategically in built up shelter capacity and other types of settings.
* And Mayor Lightfoot conceded yesterday that suburban mayors should be informed and would be…
I also want to make sure that we continue to talk to, as I have, with our suburban mayors and village town presidents, I think we’ve had some productive conversations over the last few days. And we need to make sure that they are in the loop. No one No mayor wants folks coming to other city without advance notice, to be able to ask all the questions, and frankly, be in a position to answer the questions of the residents. That is right. And it’s fair. And we’re going to do our part to make sure that that happens.
I hope they keep that promise because it’s only right, even though local mayors don’t have to do anything unless they want to help. Countryside Mayor Sean McDermott, for example, has really stepped up and is helping coordinate donations for folks in local hotel rooms.
* This is the old game of Own the Libs and is designed to provoke the exact sort of outrage that Gov. Pritzker and Mayor Lightfoot and others are displaying. They should probably just calm down because this Texas dude is clearly enjoying his time in the limelight. I mean, just check this out. Abbott appears to have coordinated with the local media, but not local officials…
Outside the naval observatory where Texas just dropped off two bus loads of migrants outside the VP’s residence. pic.twitter.com/vmUmduFZrT
* And I’m not sayin’, but just sayin’ this does indeed remind some folks about another “Own the Libs” stunt during a prior era…
To embarrass Northern liberals and humiliate Black people, southern White Citizens Councils started their so-called "Reverse Freedom Rides," giving Black people one-way tickets to northern cities with false promises of jobs, housing, and better lives.https://t.co/xLpTjxG0PDpic.twitter.com/voiPBbwRuN
* Back to Abbott’s point that the governor and the mayor should be putting pressure on the Biden administration. Here’s Mayor Lightfoot again…
I was in Washington DC last week, talking to members of Customs and Border Patrol, national FEMA, ICE and DHS. And we made it very clear, I made it very clear that our expectation is that they were going to have a plan that features communication and collaboration with interior cities. And they must do that, and they must do that soon. I know that they are under enormous pressures. This is not a new challenge at the border, but this is a new challenge for us. And we need federal support, resources, communication and collaboration and that has to come in short order.
What I will also say as I said there, any dollar that goes to the state of Texas, or the state of Arizona, or any other state that is abdicating its responsibility and manufacturing this crisis in our cities, every single one of those dollars needs to be re-committed to cities like Chicago, New York, and Washington DC. We should not, and taxpayer dollars should not be used to pay for this kind of callous, inhumane treatment on the part of someone who is racing to the bottom for a political stunt. Those monies need to be reprogrammed and come to us to help support the efforts that we are engaged in to support the migrants who are coming to our cities.
McDonald’s is planning to open a new innovation lab at its West Loop headquarters.
The lab will focus on creating restaurant solutions and technologies, McDonald’s said today in a news release. The roughly 120 employees from the burger giant’s Innovation Center in Romeoville, which opened in 1995, will be given the option to relocate to the city. McDonald’s will exit the Romeoville lease at the end of 2023. […]
In the news release, Mayor Lori Lightfoot lauded the company for “continuing to bet on Chicago.” McDonald’s said it is not receiving financial incentives for the move.
McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski railed on Chicago and its crime issues this afternoon, in an effort to rally the city and its business leaders to improve the place their companies call home. […]
“There’s a general sense out there that our city is in crisis,” he said. “The truth is, it’s more difficult today for me to convince (a McDonald’s executive) to relocate to Chicago from one of our other offices than it was just a few years ago. It’s more difficult for me to recruit a new employee to McDonald’s to join us in Chicago than it was in the past.” […]
There needs to be better collaboration between the public and private sectors, he said. Improving public safety should be the first priority. Kempczinski said he knows the city is focused on the issue, but business leaders don’t know what the city’s plan is.
“Let us know the plan so we can support it,” he said. “It’s going to take partnership.”
Today marks the day that Indiana’s near-total ban on abortion takes effect. Gov. Eric Holcomb signed the new policy into law in early August after the Indiana General Assembly passed the measure during a two-week special session. […]
The new law bans abortion in most instances at zero weeks of life. The only exceptions are in the case of fatal fetal anomalies, if the life or serious health of the mother is at risk and in cases of rape and incest. Victims of rape or incest may have an abortion up to 10 weeks post-fertilization. In those instances, the physician performing the abortion will have to certify in writing that the pregnancy being terminated was the result of rape or incest. […]
Abortion care providers say it’s difficult to predict how many abortions will performed in Indiana under the new law
Last year, 8,414 abortions occurred in Indiana, according to the Indiana Department of Health’s annual pregnancy termination report. The report does not include information on how many of those abortions were performed for any of the instances allowed under the new law.
* Planned Parenthood of Illinois press release…
On the day the Indiana abortion ban goes into effect, Planned Parenthood of Illinois (PPIL) is proud to announce the expansion of abortion care options at its existing Champaign Health Center, 302 E. Stoughton. PPIL has renovated the health center in order to add in-clinic abortion services for the first time to its options for patients. The Champaign expansion is doubling in-clinic abortion access for Central Illinois and is providing abortion care options in closer proximity to people traveling from Indiana and SW Ohio. PPIL is working with providers from Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee and Ohio to adequately staff the increase in abortion care.
“We anticipated Indiana residents losing access to abortion care, so we decided to expand our care in Champaign” said Jennifer Welch, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Illinois. “Indiana’s draconian abortion ban does not stop people from having abortions, it only makes it more difficult for people to access abortion in a safe and timely manner. PPIL is dedicated to serving the patients who face the most barriers to accessing care and to ensuring that all people, regardless of their financial situation, have access to high-quality, confidential reproductive health services.”
The expansion also increases the health center’s footprint by 5,000 square feet, adding additional procedure rooms, waiting rooms, education/consultation rooms, ultrasound rooms, a recovery room, a lab, and a clinician’s office.
Since Roe fell, the Champaign health center has seen abortion patients from 11 states outside of Illinois with the largest number of patients coming from Indiana because of the close proximity to the state. Currently, 11 percent of the abortion patients seen at the Champaign health center are from Indiana. This number is expected to increase now that the Indiana abortion ban is in effect. In addition to abortion care, patients coming from Indiana are also seeking gender-affirming care and other reproductive and family planning services.
By expanding the centrally located Champaign health center to offer in-clinic abortion options, PPIL now offers in-clinic abortions at seven of its 17 health centers, all of which offer medication abortion. The Champaign Health Center continues to offer medication abortion and provides cancer screenings, birth control, STI testing and treatment, gender-affirming health care, and other essential reproductive health care.
The new Indiana abortion law is forcing doctors to leave the state, including an Indianapolis OB-GYN who says she can’t continue to provide essential care for her patients.
Beginning Thursday September 15th, residents in Indiana cannot get an abortion except for cases of rape, incest or the life of the mother. The procedure is only allowed to be performed in hospitals as well.
Indianapolis OB-GYN Dr. Katie McGugh is a born and raised Hoosier. She’s been practicing obstetrics and gynecology for several years in Indiana. She also perfors abortions. When the Indiana abortion restrictions go into effect Thursday, she is planning to move her practice to Illinois.
According to a survey at the IU School of Medicine, 80% of trainees said they were less likely to stay and practice in Indiana after the near-total abortion ban goes into effect. Many doctors say they don’t feel like they can give patients the healthcare they need without being able to perform abortions legally.
“With the ban on abortion access in Indiana, it has become impossible for me to practice my chosen profession which is OB-GYN. That inherently includes abortion care because we know part of a woman’s reproductive life span includes abortions,” McHugh said.
Abortion providers in Illinois believe this will bring more people into the state for the procedure, putting even more pressure on abortion providers, who are already dealing with higher demand.
“We in Illinois have been anticipating this move by the Indiana legislature and governor for weeks. We have been preparing and we are ready to meet the needs of Indianans,” said Brigid Leahy, with Planned Parenthood of Illinois Action.
Abortion providers are now expecting even more out-of-state patients coming from Indiana.
“I’m sure that adjustments are going to have to be made and it does put additional stress on the capacity of our reproductive healthcare system. We will be continuing to ramp up our capacity,” Leahy said.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed two lawsuits in the past two weeks seeking to stop the ban from taking effect.
One argues that the ban violates the Indiana Constitution by infringing on the right to privacy and the guarantee of equal privileges. The other claims the ban conflicts with the state’s religious freedom law that Indiana Republicans passed in 2015 and that sparked a widespread backlash from critics who said it allowed discrimination against gay people.
The question of whether the state constitution protects abortion rights is undecided. A state appeals court ruled in 2004 that privacy is a core value under the state constitution that extends to all residents, including women seeking an abortion. But the Indiana Supreme Court later upheld a law requiring an 18-hour waiting period before a woman could get an abortion, though it didn’t decide whether the state constitution included the right to privacy or abortion.
Indiana University law professor Daniel Conkle said bringing the lawsuits so soon before the ban was set to effect made it hard to get an injunction blocking it, but that it taking effect won’t end the court fight.
Over a hundred people gathered closely together in the lawn of the Monroe County Courthouse to hear a modified version of the Jewish ceremony Havdalah. As one member spoke a Hebrew prayer, another carefully guarded a braided candle against intruding winds.
In Jewish tradition, the ceremony separates the holy day of Shabbat from an average day. It separates rest and work, lightness and darkness, Hoosier Jews for Choice member Sue Swartz explained. On Wednesday night, vigil organizers marked this as a separation between having abortion rights and not having them.
“Through this ritual, we mark the end of an era of full rights and a transition into a darker time,” Swartz said. […]
Jess Marchbank, state programs manager at All-Options Pregnancy Resource Center, noted she was tired and sad as she stepped up to the crowd of demonstrators at the Monroe County Courthouse. In the final few days before the law was to take effect, Marchbank had fielded calls from people seeking to terminate their pregnancy before access was heavily restricted across the state. Marchbank shared some anecdotes about what it was like.
“We know that most people who need abortion are already parents. They may be suddenly struggling to provide enough diapers for their little ones or unable to afford the exorbitant cost of rent, health insurance or child care,” Marchbank said. “They’re also just people who aren’t ready to have a child for a multitude of reasons, and those reasons don’t matter. What matters is honoring their bodily autonomy.”
* “Vote No on Amendment 1,” a ballot initiative committee formed recently by Illinois Policy Institute execs John Tillman and Matt Paprocki, has received its first contribution.
Proponents have raised $13.5 million for their Vote Yes for Workers Rights ballot initiative committee and are have been running TV ads for a while now.
* A bit of coverage…
* What the Proposed Workers’ Rights Amendment Could Mean for Illinois: The so-called Workers’ Rights Amendment would guarantee Illinois workers the constitutional right to collectively bargain for things like wages, hours and working conditions. “By giving unions power, you give workers power,” said Marc Poulos, executive director of the Indiana, Illinois and Iowa Foundation for Fair Contracting. “Unions are one of the single-most democratic institutions in the country.”
* Illinois Chamber of Commerce opposes workers’ rights amendment: Maisch said union leaders don’t want to go in front of state lawmakers, the public or their own workers to explain why right-to-work is good or bad. He feels the state’s top labor organizations want to have indefinite control.
Hours after the White House announced a tentative railway labor agreement had been reached and a potential freight railroad strike averted, Metra and Amtrak said they were restoring canceled trains.
Metra trains Thursday night on the BNSF and Union Pacific North, Northwest and West lines will run as scheduled, the commuter rail agency said. The trains had previously been canceled, as the BNSF and Union Pacific freight railroads that own and operate those lines said they would begin cutting back service in preparation for a potential work stoppage.
Amtrak said it was “working to quickly restore canceled trains and reaching out to impacted customers to accommodate on first available departures.” The passengers train service had previously canceled all long-distance routes beginning Thursday and some local service beginning Thursday night, including routes between Chicago and downstate Illinois, St. Louis and cities in Michigan.
Under federal law, a freight railroad strike or lockout could have begun as soon as Friday, shutting down rail lines across the country and halting shipments of food, fuel and goods. But railroad and union representatives spent 20 hours in negotiations at the Labor Department Wednesday hammering out a tentative agreement that will go to union members for a vote.
The president was personally involved in the talks, calling into negotiations convened by Labor Secretary Marty Walsh in Washington around 9 p.m. on Wednesday, and pressing both the carriers and the unions to come to an agreement in phone calls this week. Biden had grown animated in recent days about the lack of scheduling flexibility for workers, expressing a mixture of confusion and anger that management was refusing to budge on that point, according to two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share details of private conversations with the president.
The political consequences of a rail strike less than two months before the midterm elections would have been monumental for Democrats, with Republican lawmakers blaming the administration for not securing a deal. Three of Biden’s Cabinet secretaries, his top economic adviser and his chief of staff were involved in the talks on an hourly basis, and White House aides drafted contingency plans for protecting the nation’s drinking water and energy systems if a deal had fallen through.
“These rail workers will get better pay, improved working conditions, and peace of mind around their health care costs: all hard-earned,” Biden said in a statement announcing the deal. “I thank the unions and rail companies for negotiating in good faith and reaching a tentative agreement that will keep our critical rail system working and avoid disruption of our economy.”
The railroad industry slashed almost 30% of its workforce over the last six years, cutting pay and other costs as they increased profits, stock buybacks and dividends for investors. Profits at billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, (BRKa.N) which owns BNSF, rose 9.2% in the most recent quarter to $1.7 billion.
The number of U.S. railway workers has dropped from over 600,000 in 1970 to about 150,000 in 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, due technology and cost-cutting. The result is that many industry workers are on call at all hours, waiting to respond at short notice to work for days at a time. […]
The president is not yet out of the woods when it comes to supply-chain labor issues. Some 22,000 union workers at 29 West Coast ports that handle almost 40% of U.S. imports are also in high-stakes labor contract negotiations.
