People Who Play By The Rules PAC has launched a new ad, “UN**** ILLINOIS” featuring an exchange from a segment on the #1 Podcast in America, The Joe Rogan Experience between Rogan and Illinois native Will Harris.
America’s #1 Podcaster and Bernie Sanders Supporter
Joe Rogan Discusses THE PRITZKER PURGE LAW
HARRIS: Didn’t Illinois just pass some new law?
ROGAN: They’re essentially eliminating cash bail for almost everything dangerous. Second degree murder. Arson! So you light a guy’s house on fire? Get right out of jail. Drug induced homicide. Robbery. Kidnapping. Aggravated battery. Burglary. Intimidation. Aggravated driving under the influence. Fleeing and eluding drug offenses, and threatening a public official. NO BAIL.
In the governor’s race, Pritzker holds a commanding lead in the poll, picking up 49.7% of the vote. State Sen. Darren Bailey, the Republican nominee in the race, trails by 22 points at 27.7%, while Libertarian candidate Scott Schluter is at 6.3%. […]
The story was similar in two other statewide races, according to the poll. Incumbent Attorney General Kwame Raoul holds a 42.6-to-25.2% lead over Republican contender Thomas DeVore, while Libertarian candidate Dan Robin is polling at 5.7%.
A large chunk of voters, 22.3%, are undecided in the race, while 4.2% say they won’t vote for any of the candidates on the board.
In the race for Illinois’ Senate seat, incumbent Sen. Tammy Duckworth holds a 48.2-to-28.5% lead over Republican challenger Kathy Salvi. Libertarian Bill Redpath received 5.5% of the vote, while 14.2% of voters are undecided in the race.
According to the story, this Research America, Inc. poll of 1,000 registered voters has a 3.1 percent margin of error. No dates were mentioned in the piece.
*** UPDATE *** Toplines are here. (Hat tip to MrJM)
* I just now saw this on Twitter, but a few days ago Dave McKinney at WBEZ took a deeper look at that new PPP poll conducted with the Sun-Times. Check it out…
As reported, Pritzker is doing well in Chicago and suburban Cook, is narrowly ahead in the collars and playing Bailey to a draw downstate. It’s Chicago: 78-12% Pritzker; suburban Cook: 47-36% Pritzker; collars: 43-40% Pritzker; and downstate: a 40-40% tie.
Given how red Illinois’ political map is south of I-80, there was a broad feeling Bailey would do well downstate - like ahead by double-digits there. But this snapshot of where things stand is bad news for Bailey. One GOP source said: “He’s basically a south of I-64 candidate.”
On the other hand, Pritzker’s collar county numbers — 43% — are under his 2018 performance, when he got 48% of the votes cast in DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties to help beat Republican Bruce Rauner. In that election, Pritzker won those counties except for McHenry.
There’s also a longstanding rule of thumb when it comes to Chicago for statewide GOP hopefuls. At least 20% of the vote is needed to win. Bailey’s 12% won’t cut it. In the last 20 years, the only Republican to win the governorship was Rauner. In 2014, he got 21% of the city vote.
For reference, here’s the Chicago vote percentage that the losing GOP gubernatorial candidates got in the other four cycles since 2002. Rauner in 2018: 15%; Bill Brady in 2010: 17%; Judy Baar Topinka in 2006: 16%; and Jim Ryan in 2002: 19%. Bailey is underperforming all of them.
Bailey’s city numbers per the poll make one wonder whether there’s fallout from his frequent “hellhole” references for Chicago and whether his tough-on-crime talk is truly moving any voters here despite the surges in car-jackings and armed robberies.
By race, Pritzker is up in all categories: Hispanic/Latino 49-43% Pritzker, white 41-40% Pritzker, African-American 85-4% Pritzker and other 59-18% Pritzker.
Same is true with gender. Pritzker is ahead of Bailey with women 55-30%, which is one of the largest gaps I remember seeing in Illinois and no doubt attributable in large part to where both candidates are on the issue of abortion. Among men, Pritzker is ahead of Bailey 44-38%.
By party, the numbers are interesting and perhaps reflective of Bailey’s struggles to get the GOP to unify around him after the primary. Among Republican voters, 73% support Bailey, compared to 12% for Pritzker. By contrast, Pritzker is ahead of Bailey with Dem voters 91-3%.
Something a bit hard to interpret involves where 2020 Trump and Biden voters land in the 2022 governor’s race. Pritzker has 86% of Biden voters, but Bailey has 77% of Trump voters. Why that Trump support isn’t higher, given how Bailey has courted Trump, is a bit of a curveball.
By education, Pritzker leads Bailey in most categories. High school diploma or less: 41-38% Pritzker; some college but didn’t finish: 50-35% Pritzker; 2-yr college degree: 44-37% Bailey; 4-yr college degree: 58-27% Pritzker; post-graduate degree: Pritzker 63-23%. […]
One closing thought before shutting down tonight. The down-ballot statewide races are regarded as generic ballot barometers. So let’s look at the attorney general’s race. Incumbent Democrat, Kwame Raoul, is up over Republican 44-35% statewide. But Devore is leading Raoul in the collar counties 43-41%, essentially a dead heat. Why does that matter? Because the collar counties are ground zero for the two contested state Supreme Court seats. Republicans need to take both seats to gain control of the court for the first time since 1969.
The data in this poll is one snapshot, and it could be off. But if the Raoul-DeVore collar county numbers are reflective of reality, it’s even more reason to keep an eye on those Supreme Court races. They could be competitive.
Just a note of caution that small data subsets have very high margins of error. Still, it obviously ain’t all unicorns and rainbows for the Democrats here.
* I asked both the Democratic Party of Illinois and the Illinois Republican Party this morning whether they’d been contacted by the FBI about this and never heard back…
Chinese government hackers are scanning U.S. political party domains ahead of next month’s midterm elections, looking for vulnerable systems as a potential precursor to hacking operations, and the FBI is making a big push to alert potential victims to batten down the hatches.
Over the past week, FBI agents in field offices across the country have notified some Republican and Democratic state party headquarters they might be targets of the Chinese hackers, according to party and U.S. officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity.
None of the potential targets were hacked or breached, the officials said.
* This means next to nothing. Most of Pritzker’s money is sheltered off-shore, so we don’t really know how much he’s making…
Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Illinois first lady M.K. Pritzker reported earning more than $18.5 million in adjusted gross income last year - a hefty bump from the $5.1 million the billionaire couple reported in 2020.
Pritzker’s campaign on Friday released partial 2021 state and federal tax returns, which also show the Pritzkers paid $4,733,028 in federal taxes and $883,780 in state taxes. […]
The campaign also said trusts benefitting Pritzker paid $14.6 million in Illinois taxes and $68.6 million in federal taxes in 2021. The Pritzkers also made $1.07 million in personal charitable donations last year.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker TRIPLED his income to $18.5m in 2021: Democrat billionaire heir to Hyatt hotels with plush property portfolio doesn’t take salary from his gubernatorial role - and already pumped $145m into his midterms campaign
Republican nominee for Attorney General Tom DeVore has called on Democratic AG Kwame Raoul to return the $1 million campaign donation he received in 2018 from the Friends of Michael J. Madigan committee. DeVore describes Madigan as “the poster child for political corruption in Illinois,” according to a statement.
Raoul responded: “That money was donated by the former head of the Democratic Party of Illinois four years ago, and it was spent four years ago. Since then, I’ve accepted donations from the new chairwoman of the party and other supporters, and I’m certainly not going to hand over those donations to someone who is under federal indictment,” Raoul said in a statement.
There was a scuffle Thursday night on State Street and two CTA patrol volunteers were arrested.
Police say the group had parked illegally up and down the center of the street, right outside the ABC7 studios. […]
After being asked to move their vehicles, police say one of the volunteers hit a patrol car.
A second person was taken into custody for trying to stop the arrest.
If you watch the video, the “volunteers” appear to be from Ex-Cons for Community and Social Change (ECCSC). If you walked between the Statehouse and the Stratton Building in April, you likely caught sight of at least one of those cars. Also, click here to watch ECCSC leader Tyrone Muhammad smash the windows of a business he accused of being racist. And, of course, Muhammad disrupted a trans rights event in Chicago. And this is from July…
Just sayin, but sometimes folks get into “violence prevention” in order to project their own power onto others.
Anyway, Tom DeVore announced a couple days after the State Street police scuffle that he’d be hanging out with ECCSC…
Watch for us tomorrow night. These men have offered to allow me to tag along and witness their efforts to try and keep…
A nine-time convicted felon who was on felony bail for allegedly battering an Illinois State trooper during a protest that featured Chicago’s “Dreadhead Cowboy,” accidentally shot himself in the butt at a Bucktown gas station, and then lied about what happened, prosecutors said Thursday.
Gregory Sherman, 43, works full-time as an anti-violence worker, “out there on the street, trying to lower the criminal and dangerous issues that are going on in our community,” his private defense attorney said. […]
But Sherman won’t be able to go home right away. Beach also ordered him held without bail for violating the bond conditions in the pending aggravated battery of a peace officer case, which is a story in itself.
In May 2021, Sherman, Adam “Dreadhead Cowboy” Hollingsworth, and three others were arrested after allegedly obstructing traffic on the Dan Ryan Expressway to raise awareness of violence against children.
* Illinois early vote totals…
The @illinoissbe has updated early vote totals (10/17/22): Total VBM requested: 729,600 Total VBM returned: 139,977 Total VBM outstanding: 589,623 Return Rate: 19% Total Early Vote: 37,619 Total Grace Period: 285 Total Already Voted: 177,881https://t.co/44ga6AxRbY
The Early Vote total stands at 2,037 ballots cast.
Additionally, 11,817 Vote By Mail ballots have been returned to the Board – total VBM applications stands at 181,234.
The grand total is 13,854 ballots cast so far in Chicago for the November 8th General Election.
* IL FOP…
The Illinois Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) State Lodge, representing more than 34,000 active duty and retired law enforcement officers, has asked Third District Supreme Court Justice candidate Mary Kay O’Brien to stop using campaign literature that claims she has the FOP’s endorsement. The FOP has, in fact, officially endorsed the incumbent in the race, Justice Michael Burke.
“Whether O’Brien’s FOP endorsement claim is a mistake or is deliberate, the simple fact is that it’s not true and is misleading to Third District voters,” said Illinois FOP State Lodge President Chris Southwood. “We hereby call on the O’Brien campaign to cease and desist the use of any FOP logos or endorsement claims in its printed material, on-line postings and in-person events.”
A recent mailer sent by the O’Brien campaign to the residents of the new Third Supreme Court District displays an FOP logo among other logos under the heading “Proudly Endorsed by.” The Illinois FOP State Lodge unanimously endorsed her opponent, Justice Michael Burke, and only Burke is authorized to use an FOP logo for his campaign.
“As an officer of the court, O’Brien certainly knows that it is wrong to misrepresent the facts,” Southwood said. “We hope it was an honest mistake, but either way she needs to let voters know the truth.”
MKO campaign’s response…
Justice Mary Kay O’Brien received the endorsement of the Joliet Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council. The mail piece includes the logo used by the Joliet FOP on their own public pages.
Justice O’Brien is also proudly endorsed by the Coalition of Frontline Police Officers made up of the Illinois Police Benevolent & Protective Association (“PBPA”), Metropolitan Alliance of Police (“MAP”), Illinois Council of Police and Sheriffs (“ICOPS”), and Association of Professional Police Officers (“APPO”) which represents over 20,000 active and retired law enforcement professionals across the state of Illinois.
Today, Representative Morgan, Chair of the Illinois House Jewish Caucus reacted to former President Donald Trump’s recent statements. Trump, who has a history of proliferating harmful, anti-Semitic tropes, told American Jews to “get their act together” and accused Jews of having dual loyalty to America and Israel. Unsurprisingly, Republicans met these dangerous comments with silence, and yet again failed to call out anti-Semititsm within their own ranks. Darren Bailey, who has his own history of making problematic comments about the Jewish community, was among those who remained silent.
Rep. Morgan reacted to the former president’s comments and GOP Gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey’s silence:
“Telling American Jews to “get their act together…before it is too late” is nothing short of a bigoted, antisemitic threat. Donald Trump is taking a page right out of the authoritarian playbook, and Darren Bailey’s silence on his comments speak volumes. These remarks, as well as Bailey’s continued comparison of abortion to the Holocaust, lend credence to existing harmful tropes about Jewish people and add fuel to lies espoused by extremist hate groups. Any elected official who doesn’t understand this, can’t be trusted to lead our state”, said Rep. Bob Morgan.
* Roundup from Isabel…
* Final gubernatorial debate: What do Pritzker, Bailey need to say to gain support: A dominant theme in the first debate, held at Illinois State University, were claims that each candidate’s respective opponents were lying or spreading mistruths. The frequency of these claims were so high that Pritzker, when asked during a post-debate presser, said a fact check was likely in order regarding statements from Bailey.
* New Madigan charge casts a shadow on the upcoming election: Illinois Republicans are trying. The charges “will absolutely be used in House races to highlight how the web of Democratic corruption continues to grow,” said Eleni Demertzis, spokeswoman for House GOP Leader Jim Durkin. Illinois Democrats have done little to clean up their mess, even as other Democratic lawmakers continue to be charged with corruption, Demertzis said. “Nothing has actually changed in the Democratic Party of Illinois and you will certainly be seeing that narrative in the next few weeks.”
* Campaign rhetoric in Illinois Supreme Court races belies vows of impartiality: Allies attack the Republicans for being supported by anti-abortion rights groups and warn they are aggressively anti-abortion rights. A recent TV ad features a doctor who claims Curran and Burke “are too extreme” for the Illinois Supreme Court. “Pregnancies are complicated, and every situation is different,” the doctor asserts. “My job is to do what’s best for my patients.”
* Abortion rights at the forefront of Supreme Court race: It’s a race that’s become more visible on the airwaves in recent days, with Gov. J.B. Pritzker chipping $500,000 into the Rochford campaign war chest. Her backers have aired ads that highlight Curran’s long history of anti-abortion rhetoric. Rochford, meanwhile, has support from abortion rights advocacy groups and her campaign website bills her as a champion of women’s rights.
* Voters to decide on Carbondale’s ‘home rule’ status: A confusingly-worded referendum on the Nov. 8 ballot will ask Carbondale residents if they want to the retain status as a home rule community, and voters are hearing from advocates on both sides. […] “Home rule gives a city council and local administration the ability to do things much more independently of the state government,” explained longtime Southern Illinois University Carbondale political scientist John Jackson. “In essence, if the state government doesn’t prohibit something, the city can do it in home rule cities, whereas there are more constraints in non-home rule cities.”
* Editorial: Toni Preckwinkle for Cook County Board president: Fioretti, 69, who ran for mayor in 2015 and 2019 is a perennially unsuccessful candidate who also finished dead last in the 2020 primary race for state’s attorney, a race won by Foxx. We also don’t see Libertarian candidate Thea Tsatsos as offering a viable alternative. Preckwinkle isn’t likely to change much at the age of 75. But we think she has done the work to deserve voters’ support for an additional term.
* Stava-Murray, Leong both favor gun control, but issue remains contentious in 81st House race: Leong also questioned the dedication of Democratic state legislators such as Stava-Murray. “They have failed to pass legislation even though they are in the supermajority,” Leong said. “So if that’s really your passion and if it’s really your sincere desire, I think you could have done it by now.” Stava-Murray detailed her support for strengthening “red flag” laws, universal background checks, a modernization of the Firearm Owner’s Identification card system and increasing focus on mental health.
* Coming a bit late to this, but a conversation in today’s open thread reminded me. Here’s CBS…
Railroad giant BNSF has been found guilty of violating the privacy of 45,000 drivers.
In U.S. District Court in Chicago Wednesday, a jury awarded a $228 million verdict to the truck drivers who filed a class-action suit. BNSF was found guilty of violating Illinois the Biometric Privacy Act (BIPA).
The state law basically says you can collect iris scans, fingerprints, voiceprints, facial geometry scans, but you have to get [informed] written consent to do so.
The Rogers v. BNSF Railway Company lawsuit accused BNSF of using a fingerprint system that allowed drivers to access railyards for pickups and drop-offs, but did not obtain written consent from drivers that complied with BIPA requirements, according to a news release from the law firm Honigman LLP.
The jury determined BNSF violated BIPA 45,600 times and entered a verdict of $228 million – awarding the maximum of a $5,000 penalty per occurrence, according to the law firm.
This is the first jury award in Illinois’ BIPA history. Everything else has been settled.
The law, passed in 2008, is one of the toughest biometric privacy laws in the country, requiring companies to obtain written consent before collecting any biometric data.
Many companies have been sued under the law, including Amazon.com, Microsoft Inc and Facebook, which in 2020 agreed to pay $650 million to settle a class action accusing it of violating the law by storing users’ facial geometry for a feature that automatically recognized people in photographs.
Fort Worth, Texas-based BNSF is owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. It operates one of the largest freight rail networks in the United States.
The case is Rogers v. BNSF Railway Company, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, No. 1:19-cv-03083.
* RelaDyne employee finger scan $121K class action settlement: RelaDyne allegedly fails to provide the required BIPA disclosures and fails to get written consent before collecting employee fingerprints. The plaintiff in the case argues that he and other RelaDyne employees were entitled to BIPA damages of thousands of dollars for every time their information was collected without proper consent and disclosures. RelaDyne hasn’t admitted any wrongdoing but agreed to resolve these allegations with a $120,900 class action settlement.
* Envoy Air to Pay $300K to Settle Biometric Privacy Lawsuit: Plaintiffs Maysoun Abudayyeh and Chelsea Burrow alleged in the lawsuit that Envoy, an American Airlines Group subsidiary, violated the BIPA by collecting their biometric information for its timekeeping system without obtaining written consent.
* Papa John’s class action lawsuit accuses company of biometric privacy violations: Pope — who argues consumers can suffer privacy violations if their biometric data falls into the wrong hands — claims Papa John’s also fails to provide any “data retention or destruction policies to Plaintiff and other customers whose biometric data Defendants possessed.” “Voiceprints and related biometric information may be used to glean copious amounts of sensitive information about those who are subject to their collection,” the Papa John’s class action says.
* Another big court decision in US litigation. Jury finds for biometric privacy rights: The line of BIPA cases continues Preliminary approval was granted this month for the $3.5 million settlement of a class action that accuses vendor Ceridian of violating BIPA with its time and attendance tracking products, according to the Record. And old cases continue to rattle around. Like White Castle, a case involving the statute of limitations for BIPA violations (Tims vs. Black Horse Carriers case 127801) could greatly affect payouts. Is the statute of limitations one or five years?
* Illinois Residents Have Less Than a Month Left to Submit a Claim in the Class-Action Snapchat Settlement: At the center of the allegations is Snapchat’s Lenses features, which allows users to take a “Snap,” and then select a particular lens and modify their facial features with special effects, according to court documents. The lawsuit claims Lenses involves the use of technology to create a face scan and “creating, obtaining and storing” a user’s unique biometric identifiers. The feature obtained the plaintiffs’ biometric information without obtaining informed written consent each time it scanned their faces, the suit alleges.
* Biometric data privacy settlement to set high bar for payouts even as lawyers claim a third: Tinder and parent company Match Group Inc. are facing a potential class action under BIPA for the use of face biometrics in identity verification, the Cook County Record separately reports. Tinder began trialing selfie biometrics and liveness checks from FaceTec earlier this year. Turing Video has had a motion to dismiss a BIPA suit against it rejected by a federal judge, according to another article in the Record. The ruling states that the company has sufficient ties to Illinois to be liable, with dozens of customers for its contactless temperature screening scanners used to detect COVID-19, and labor laws do not pre-empt the allegation, as they could only protect the plaintiff’s employer. Training software provider Brainshark Inc. will likewise face a complaint under BIPA, after a federal judge rejected arguments that the events at issue were not sufficiently shown to have occurred in Illinois, and that BIPA violates the First Amendment of the Constitution, Law360 writes. BIPA lawsuits have also been filed against summer camp photo platform Bunk1.com, according to ClassAction.org.
* From a lawn maintenance company called Lawn Love, which usually blogs about things like the cost of fire pits, stump removal, etc.…
Do you feel most alive at night, detest garlic, and have a habit of lurking in the shadows?
Whether you wear a cape daily or just once a year for Halloween, you can fang Lawn Love for ranking 2022’s Best Cities for Vampires.
We looked for cities with plenty of warm bodies, blood centers, and vampire-friendly dwellings — aka casket suppliers and homes with basements. We also considered deterrents like garlic festivals and sunshine, as well as community and entertainment factors, such as vampire groups, nightlife options, and vampire tours. […]
Sunless Northern cities crept to the top, with New York leading the way as our vampire empire.
NYC is the ideal city for vampires, thanks to having the most potential victims. It also has the most slaughterhouses and vampire groups out of all the cities in our ranking. It doesn’t hurt that the MTA runs 24/7, and eccentric styles are so common that vampires can easily blend right in.
Big cities like New York, Chicago (No. 2), and Seattle (No. 13) have plenty of fresh blood, nightlife options, and casket suppliers.
It’s no surprise that Surprise, Arizona, came in dead last and other sunny Southern cities fell in our ranking, with other Arizona cities plus Nevada and California taking up the bottom 10. While fewer layers of clothing might make it easier to sneak a drink through all four seasons, it’s hard to avoid the sun’s rays with maximum sunshine, minimal cloud cover, few homes with basements, and scarce casket suppliers (especially in California).
* If you want to delve into their rankings, here you go…
Best Cities for Vampires:
1 New York, NY
2 Chicago, IL
3 Philadelphia, PA
4 Los Angeles, CA
5 San Francisco, CA
6 Pittsburgh, PA
7 Omaha, NE
8 Portland, OR
9 Madison, WI
10 Baltimore, MD
Worst Cities for Vampires:
1 Surprise, AZ
2 Peoria, AZ
3 North Las Vegas, NV
4 Glendale, AZ
5 Chandler, AZ
6 Henderson, NV
7 Mesa, AZ
8 Tempe, AZ
9 Lancaster, CA
10 Huntington Beach, CA
* I don’t know whether it’s because the polling is so bad for Darren Bailey or what, but this astonishing position by a gubernatorial nominee has received zero MSM notice outside one buried paragraph in a Crain’s Chicago Business article…
Bailey did offer one surprise: He said the state needs to cut spending on grade and high school education, suggesting at one point that many children in regions of the state, such as his area, head for the military or factory jobs and do not need the broader curriculum mandated by state law.
The state should be paying less money. The state should be pulling back, letting the local school boards determine how they want to educate their children, offering school choice. […]
What is good for New Trier is not good for Clay County, Illinois. Most, many of our children are, some of our children are going to go to the military. They’re going to go right into the workforce. There’s welders, pipe fitters, linemen. So that’s what public education needs to be.
* I asked the Pritzker campaign for a response…
Darren Bailey would spell disaster for public education in Illinois. His stunning admission that we should cut funding from downstate schools is further proof that he is incapable of being a governor for all. If Bailey had his way, billions of dollars would be drained from public education and pumped into private institutions, including his own Christian academy where they teach students that women are inferior to men. Governor Pritzker knows every student deserves equal access to a quality education––regardless of their zip code. That’s why he has spent his time in office investing in public education and increasing opportunities for students everywhere.
Sections of the Mississippi River are approaching low water levels not seen in more than three decades, disrupting a vital supply lane for agriculture, oil and building materials and threatening businesses including barge and towboat operators, farmers and factories.
The low water, caused by a lack of rain in the Ohio River Valley and the Upper Mississippi, has halted commercial traffic and river boat cruises at numerous spots below Illinois. Prices to ship goods have more than doubled in a matter of weeks. Barges are grounding on sandbars in unprecedented numbers and many ports and docks no longer have water deep enough for commercial boats to safely reach them. […]
Historically, shipping along the Mississippi River and its tributaries has been less expensive than other forms of transportation, but with fewer boats and barges able to transport goods, prices have skyrocketed. The cost of sending a ton of corn, soybeans or other grains southbound from St. Louis to southern Louisiana reached $105.85 on Oct. 11, according to data compiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. On Sept. 27, the cost was $49.88. On Oct. 5, 2021, it was $28.45.
Farmers and factories in the central U.S. are rushing to secure the shrinking number of spots or find alternate supply routes. Rail, the other main option for crops and dry goods, is usually costlier and difficult to secure as railroads haven’t been able to hire enough workers to meet demand.
The water in the Mississippi River has dropped so low that barges are getting stuck, leading to expensive dredging and at least one recent traffic jam of more than 2,000 vessels backed up.
The Mississippi River Basin produces nearly all – 92% – of US agricultural exports, and 78% of the global exports of feed grains and soybeans. The recent drought has dropped water levels to alarmingly low levels that are causing shipping delays, and seeing the costs of alternative transport, such as rail, rise. […]
Last Friday, the US Coast Guard said that there was a backup of more than 2,000 barges at various points, Bloomberg reported. The halted barges were carrying recently harvested corn and soybeans.
“When the water gets low enough, commerce starts to slow – commerce is restricted, and it turns into an extremely difficult environment to operate,” Austin Golding, president of Golding Barge Line, told WAPT-TV.
Plummeting water levels in the lower Mississippi River are projected to drop even further in the weeks ahead, a projection shows, dampening the region’s economic activity and potentially threatening jobs in one of the country’s poorest states.
In Vicksburg, on the Mississippi river’s east bank near the Louisiana line, the water is approaching its lowest level since 2012. The river’s level near that Mississippi city on Thursday was 4.3 feet (1.3 meters), and it is projected to drop to 3 feet (0.9 meters) by Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.
A dearth of rainfall in recent weeks has left the Mississippi River approaching record low levels in some areas across several states. Nearly all of the Mississippi River basin, from Minnesota through Louisiana, has seen below-normal rainfall since late August. The low levels have caused barges to get stuck in mud and sand, disrupting river travel for shippers, recreational boaters and passengers on a cruise line.
The lower portion of a Vicksburg bridge, normally submerged in the river, has been exposed to sunlight in recent days. The American Heritage, a paddlewheeler cruise ship, navigated the river with caution.
The transportation industry says the intervention is needed to maintain a flow of exports that is central to the country’s agriculture industry. About 60 percent of U.S. corn and soybean exports move down the Mississippi, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and the Arkansas, Illinois, Ohio and Tennessee rivers, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“Commerce is moving, albeit very slowly,” said Deb Calhoun, a senior vice president for the Waterways Council, a transportation industry group. “Ultimately, we need rain, and lots of it.”
[…]
The Mississippi has changed so much from its natural state, it has become “a volatile system,” said Robert Criss, a professor emeritus of earth and planetary sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. Though that volatility is often most evident during floods, Criss said his research shows it can affect the river on a day-to-day basis.
“You don’t want things being unpredictable, and that’s what we have,” he said. “We have an unpredictable river.”
Tower Rock – a massive island in the middle of the Mississippi River south of St. Louis – is typically surrounded by water and only accessible by boat. But as severe drought spreads across the Midwest and pushes river levels to record lows, people can now reach the rock formation on foot.
“The river has dropped low enough that you can walk over to Tower Rock and not get your feet wet or muddy,” Missouri resident Jeff Miget told CNN. “I only remember being able to do this one other time in my life.”
Lake Mead water crisis is exposing volcanic rock from eruptions 12 million years ago
Photos taken by Miget show people hiking across the rocky river bed to the island tower, a trek posing little risk in the near-term as water levels are expected to continue to drop for at least the next two weeks.
Tower Rock can be reached on foot when the water level is below 1.5 feet at the Chester, Illinois, river gauge, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation. The gauge dropped to around zero on Thursday and shows no sign of significant recovery in the forecast.
* Background is here if you need it. Federal District Court for the Northeastern District, Judge John J. Tharp, Jr. presiding…
The plaintiffs challenge two recently enacted provisions of the Illinois Election Code as violative of their First Amendment rights to free speech. Both provisions regulate campaign financing during state judicial elections. The first prohibits judicial candidate committees from receiving any contributions from an out-of-state person. The second caps the amount that any independent expenditure committee established to support or oppose a judicial candidate can receive from any single source during an election cycle at $500,000. The plaintiffs seek to preliminarily enjoin the defendants from enforcing these two provisions during the upcoming November 8, 2022, election, a permanent injunction to the same effect for future election cycles, and a declaratory judgment that these two provisions are unconstitutional. Defendant Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has moved to dismiss the plaintiffs’ complaint for failure to state a claim and opposed the plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary injunction. For the reasons set forth below, the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction is granted, and the motion to dismiss is denied because the plaintiffs, having shown they have some likelihood of success on the merits, necessarily have also demonstrated that they have stated a plausible claim for relief. […]
To succeed on the merits, the plaintiffs first need to show that Illinois has burdened their speech. They have made such a showing, and the defendants do not dispute it. […]
Whatever its intent, the ban on out-of-state contributions will likely be more effective in preserving the status quo of the state’s judiciary than in enhancing its appearance of integrity. Accordingly, the Court concludes that plaintiff Chancey has shown “some likelihood” that he will prevail on the merits of his constitutional claim. […]
In sum, the State has not sufficiently explained how the $500,000 limit on [Independent Expenditure Committee] contributions accomplishes anything other than imposing some burden on plaintiffs’ exercise of their speech and associational rights. Admittedly, given the myriad ways a well-heeled donor can work around the IEC restrictions, the burden is not great. But even if that burden is minimal, “something … outweighs nothing every time.” […]
Accordingly, it is hereby ordered that Illinois is, pending further order of this Court, enjoined from enforcing subsections 10 ILCS 5/9- 8.5(b-5)(1)(B) and 10 ILCS 5/9-8.5(b-5)(1.2).
Except, the reality is the Republicans had an advantage because Ken Griffin contributed $6.25 million to Citizens for Judicial Fairness, an independent expenditure committee, before the bill was signed into law.
But, for now at least, contributions to IE committees are no longer capped. And that means Gov. Pritzker and others can go all-in if they choose.
Two-thirds said Pritzker shouldn’t get involved in presidential campaigning two years from now, with another 21% saying they weren’t sure. Only 13% embraced the idea of Pritzker trying to become the second Illinoisan in the past four presidential elections to sit in the Oval Office. […]
In the Sun-Times/WBEZ Poll, 63% of Illinois voters said they didn’t think Biden should run for re-election two years from now, while another 18% were unsure. Only 19% said they favored Biden for a second term. […]
The Sun-Times/WBEZ Poll found 46% of respondents viewed [Biden] favorably, while 47% viewed him unfavorably, with 7% unsure. It’s an improvement from the national numbers but hardly a ringing endorsement. […]
Biden was leading Trump among Illinois voters, 51% to 42%, with 7% undecided.
Those numbers are identical if Pritzker secured the Democratic nomination. In a potential matchup with Trump, 51% of Illinois voters would favor the incumbent Illinois governor compared to 42% for Trump with 7% undecided.
Still no crosstabs posted online. Biden defeated Trump 57.5-40.55 two years ago. Trump is up a tiny notch (although that could just be noise) and Biden is clearly down, but still far ahead.
The political action committee affiliated with the Illinois Network of Charter Schools is always well-funded, well-organized, well-run and often quite successful at electing legislative candidates who support their cause.
But unlike, say, Personal PAC, which focuses almost solely on the issue of abortion in its ubiquitous direct mailers, you don’t often see charter schools even mentioned in the cash-rich INCS Action’s mailers. And “INCS” is the only identifier on its mailers. They don’t mention the full name of the group itself.
There’s nothing illegal or even particularly wrong about that. The group wants more allies at the Statehouse, so they use polling to shape their campaign messaging, instead of using their own core issues, which may not move enough voters. And because they’re an independent expenditure committee, campaign contribution caps do not apply. So they can spend big. And they do.
This year, though, INCS broached an issue that caused them some Statehouse trouble.
“Repeal the dangerous SAFE-T Act,” blares one dot-point in a mailer on behalf of Rep. Chris Bos (R-Lake Zurich). “Violent Criminals shouldn’t be allowed out on the streets with no cash bail.” It’s the top item in what INCS claims is “Chris Bos’ plan to reduce crime and make our communities safer.”
There’s probably not a huge overlap between staunch charter school proponents and enthusiastic criminal justice reform advocates, but the latter group does have quite a bit of influence in both legislative chambers, which is how the SAFE-T Act was passed in the first place.
Sen. Robert Peters, D-Chicago, who has been one of the SAFE-T Act’s most vocal proponents since the massive pushback against the criminal justice reform law began, issued a statement last week about the INCS mailer.
“It’s disappointing to see this from the charter school industry especially since their own website says they serve 92% of students of color,” Peters’ statement read. “They should support the elimination of cash bail given 87% students are on free and reduced price lunch and are profoundly impacted by the issue. I hope they reconsider their position especially for the families their schools serve.”
Peters was described by the Chicago Teachers Union earlier this year as being a “staunch CTU supporter,” and that union is perhaps the most vocal opponent of the charter school system.
I’ve since been told INCS Action will no longer use the issue in future mailers. Somebody over there just wasn’t thinking things through. It’s one thing to help a super-minority party candidate win, it’s quite another if how you aid that person winds up damaging your core issue with the super-majority party. I figure they’ll find a way to patch things up. They’re usually pretty good at this stuff.
According to disclosures filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections, INCS has, as of this writing, sent three mailers on Bos’ behalf, at $11,400 a pop. It reported having $1.9 million cash on hand at the end of September.
Bos definitely needs the help. He ended June with just $10,000 in the bank and has since reported raising just $19,000. INCS has already reported spending more money on Bos than the incumbent has available.
Bos is up against Nabeela Syed, a hard-charging opponent who has reported raising about $372,000 between the beginning of July and Oct. 14. Bos isn’t yet a Tier One target, but Syed walks a lot of precincts and convincingly won a Democratic primary, which undoubtedly boosted her name recognition. So, unless the bottom drops out on the Democrats, she could make it a close race, particularly if the House Democrats put her cable ads on Chicago broadcast TV.
What money has been spent by the Republicans has focused mainly on the crime issue, which INCS evidently picked up on. The Republicans have been criticized, however, for using a photoshopped image of Syed that falsely makes her look like she’s holding a sign saying “Defund the police.” The Democrats have been known to do this sort of thing, too, of course.
The House Dems are running two cable TV ads for Syed. One mixes economic issues with abortion.
“Rising prices hurt everyone,” the 15-second ad begins. “I’m Nabeela Syed. I’m fighting to cut property taxes and prescription costs. Extreme politician Chris Bos opposes a woman’s right to choose, no exceptions. I’m Nabeela Syed. I’ll protect your pocketbook and your rights.”
The other 15-second spot focuses solely on Bos, claiming he will “outlaw a woman’s right to choose, even in cases of rape and incest.”
According to Illinois Right to Life Action, Bos is “fully pro-life.”
* Prodded by Pritzker to step down, Southland Sen. Michael Hastings faces first general election foe in a decade: The last time Hastings faced an opponent in a general election was in 2012, when he defeated Republican Edgar Montalvo. Hastings is involved in a divorce proceeding which has brought a lawsuit by him alleging authorities released personal information that he claims has been damaging to his campaign for reelection. … Sheehan’s campaign, at the end of the April-June quarter, showed donations of nearly $30,000 and just under $18,000 in cash on hand. In recent weeks, however, campaign disclosures show more than $100,000 in cash and in-kind contributions flowing to his campaign, much of it from Illinois GOP organizations.
* Battle between Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Thomas DeVore shifts from courtroom to polling booth: [Raoul’s] campaign said it plans to spend $2.8 million to run the ad online and on broadcast and cable television in the Chicago and Champaign-Springfield-Decatur markets, evidence of the wide funding gap between Raoul and DeVore, whose campaign has an active social media presence but hasn’t done any broadcast advertising.
* Illinois Supreme Court Race could impact abortion, gun rights: Republicans last held control of the state’s highest court in 1969. Any potential shift could impact major social issues like abortion and gun rights. Political Science Professor Constance Mixon is Director of the Urban Studies Program at Elmhurst University. “If the partisan make up of the court changes, we might get different interpretations of the law of the state constitution and different decisions,” said Mixon. “Beyond abortion and guns, a new partisan make up of the Illinois Supreme Court could have broad reaching impact on numerous issues like unions, public pensions, climate change, redistricting the list goes on.”
* Stuart, Korte vie for 112th House District seat: “As a student at SIUE, I volunteered with a local sexual assault victims advocacy center,” Korte said. “During this volunteer experience, I would meet with survivors of sexual assault in the Emergency Department to offer them advocacy, support, and resources. “I also have served as a volunteer at a local pregnancy care center, at my children’s schools and our church,” she added. “Most recently, I have worked as an advocate for parental rights and, in August 2021, I joined Speak for Students as a leader.”
* Sen. Tammy Duckworth holds giant fundraising lead over GOP challenger Kathy Salvi: Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., seeking a second term, holds a giant fundraising lead over Republican challenger Kathy Salvi — about $18 million to some $1 million — according to the new Federal Election Commission reports posted Sunday. FEC campaign fundraising figures through Sept. 30 reveal that national Republicans have abandoned Salvi when it comes to sending substantial campaign cash her way, the result of brutal political triage whereby meaningful financial help only flows to candidates deemed to be within striking distance of winning.
* Crime, SAFE-T Act loom large in attorney general race: During the hourlong debate organized by the Illinois Associated Press Media Editors and Capitol News Illinois, DeVore stated his opposition to the Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity Today Act — better known as the SAFE-T Act — saying he believes it is unconstitutional. […] Raoul acknowledged that components of the law need clarification. Legislators are in touch with state’s attorneys, chiefs of police and others, he said, and “there could be some language changes to people who may be a threat to the public at large or to an individual.”
* IL District 76 candidates Yednock, Haskell sound off on abortion, union amendment, SAFE-T Act: Both candidates used the forum to share what’s motivating them to run for elected office. “Springfield, it’s a mess right now,” Haskell said. “We’ve been doing the same thing over and over and over again for decades, and it’s proven not to work. We haven’t had people in office that wanted to take on the elephant in the room, which is our pension crisis.” Yednock said he believes more bipartisanship could help move the state forward.
* Budzinski, Deering face off in Illinois’ 13th Congressional District: Though the party twice came exasperatingly close — 1,002 votes in 2012 and 2,058 votes in 2018 — to defeating Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, in the neighboring Central Illinois-based 13th Congressional District, that effort proved futile amid a shifting political terrain. But after a decade of tough losses, false starts and unfulfilled hopes, Democrats believe 2022 is the year and Nikki Budzinski is the candidate to finally return a downstate Illinois congressional seat to the blue column.
* Isabel and I drove together last Sunday to see our Uncle Kenny (her great uncle) and she was killing some time scrolling through Twitter. All of a sudden she exclaimed that Wilco was playing that very night at Carol’s Pub in Chicago. Alas, we couldn’t score any tickets. But here’s a Grateful Dead cover from one of the shows…
Gimme five, I’m still alive
Ain’t no luck, I learned to duck.
Will County State’s Attorney and Democrat James Glasgow was on Chicago’s Morning Answer with Dan Proft & Amy Jacobson Friday morning and discussed the latest updates on the status of the “SAFE-T Act,” the notoriously unpopular and controversial Illinois law set to take effect statewide on January 1st, 2023.
Among those updates are that there are now 56 County State’s Attorney’s who have filed suit seeking declaration the law is unconstitutional, and that it should be enjoined from implementation on Jan. 1st. Only 2 of Illinois’ 102 State’s Attorneys support the law.
Consolidation of all of the cases into a single case is currently pending.
Glasgow also refuted two of fellow Democrat Governor JB Pritzker’s recent public defenses of the law, namely that the SAFE-T Act addresses “poor women who need to steal diapers for their babies, but can’t afford to post bail,” and also the notion that “there are no non-detainable offenses.”
Glasgow: “Obviously, that is not the truth…The non-detainables are not listed in the statute but you figure them out, because the ones that are detainable are listed.”
“As to the diaper example, we don’t have any such people in our jail either, and also Dan, the law’s been amended: On the low-level offenses, a person gets $30 credit for every day they served in jail, so if the bond is $3,000 they wouldn’t do more than 10 days [$300, or 10% of bail] so it’s shocking that they don’t know that.”
Glasgow had a dire conclusion: “I was running around here with my hair on fire back in July because nobody was talking about the fact of releasing these prisoners in the jails. The reason that I have peace and quiet in Will County is because I’m able to restrain the violent offenders. When Chicago gang members come to Will County, they usually don’t leave, they’re in the Will County jail, and the word gets to Chicago, and they don’t come here anymore. I lose that ability [on Jan 1 when SAFE-T ACT takes effect statewide] and then the violent predators who are terrorizing Chicago, they’re gonna branch out. It’s always the path of least resistance, but we give a maximum resistance in Will County. I’ll lose all that with this new law.”
* I asked the governor’s office for a response. Here’s Jordan Abudayyeh…
The current cash bond system that State’s Attorney Glasgow is so vehemently defending allows those “violent offenders and gang members” to buy their way out of jail. You’d think State’s Attorney Glasgow would understand the shortcomings of cash bail since prisoners in his own jail ran an alleged scam to get cash and were then released. The offenders in that scam were charged with felonies for weapon and drug offenses, but were able to buy their way out of jail. If the State’s Attorney is concerned with public safety in his community, then he should focus more time on building cases to keep violent offenders in jail instead of spreading misinformation. Once the SAFE-T Act is in place, violent offenders will no longer be able to buy their way out of jail because detention will be based on risk, not wealth, and State’s Attorneys will be able to present evidence in front of a judge – as they do now – to detain the alleged offender.
Bailey did offer one surprise: He said the state needs to cut spending on grade and high school education, suggesting at one point that many children in regions of the state, such as his area, head for the military or factory jobs and do not need the broader curriculum mandated by state law.
The state should be paying less money. The state should be pulling back, letting the local school boards determine how they want to educate their children, offering school choice. […]
What is good for New Trier is not good for Clay County, Illinois. Most, many of our children are, some of our children are going to go to the military. They’re going to go right into the workforce. There’s welders, pipe fitters, linemen. So that’s what public education needs to be.
“I’m pro-life,” he said, adding, “I couldn’t change anything if I wanted to.”
That might appease some independent voters worried that Bailey would scrap abortion laws in the state if he were elected governor. He knows that as long as Democrats control the General Assembly, that won’t happen. Democratic insiders, meanwhile, worry that electing a Republican to the governor’s mansion would be the beginning of a chipping-away at such rights – or so they say.
The real question is, if Bailey knows he doesn’t have the power to end abortion rights, why does he think he can repeal criminal justice reform laws that the General Assembly passed and Gov. JB Pritzker signed?
Bailey sees an opening: Where abortion is an impenetrable issue in Illinois, he says there are enough concerned Democrats to support a repeal of the SAFE-T Act.
In a statement to Playbook: The SAFE-T Act legislation “narrowly passed in the middle of the night, and there is an appetite for change on this policy,” Bailey spokesman Joe DeBose said in a statement. “Darren will work with all stakeholders to repeal it and replace it.”
Teachers aren’t teaching today because of the regulations that state government has put on them. I’ve experienced that. When we all went to school - probably not you, young man, but some of the rest of us - teachers went home and sometimes they worked on homework, they graded homework. You know what they do now? They spend their time filling out discipline reports. They spend their time filling out progress reports so they can send back to the state. And it’s not working.
* Because… Madigan! in CD13…
While struggling to connect with voters or talk substantively about anything besides abortion at a recent debate, Nikki Budzinski asked her opponent Regan Deering what she had been doing in Central Illinois all these years.
Today is a great day to address that question, and the answer is: working for organizations in her community and NOT with Mike Madigan.
Not surprisingly, after spending her entire career working for politicians and special interest groups, Budzinski is tied to multiple corruption investigations, especially those involving disgraced former Illinois Speaker of the House Mike Madigan.
Budzinski was at the center of the Madigan List scandal. After Gov. Pritzker’s election, Madigan’s office sent Budzinski and Anne Caprara a list of people he wanted placed into permanent positions. Budzinski then helped place at least 35 people from the list into prime spots in state government who would go on to receive more than $2.5 million a year in state salaries. Among those placed was Carrie Zalewski as head of the Illinois Commerce Commission that regulates public utilities such as Comed, the company that would help lead to Madigan’s indictment.
Budzinski’s connections to the Comed bribery indictments don’t stop there. She went on to help Speaker Madigan in a new way, by hedging the Clean Energy Jobs Coalition that sent billions of bailout dollars to Comed AFTER the company admitted to participating in a years-long patronage scheme to stay in Madigan’s good graces.
Budzinski also testified before a federal grand jury in the corruption case against former Rep. Luis Arroyo, who pled guilty and was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison for a bribery scheme in which he offered another politician monthly payments to support legislation to legalize sweepstakes machines.
Budzinski was also named multiple times in the case against Jenny Thornley who was indicted by a Sangamon County grand jury in September for allegedly cheating the state out of up to $100,000 in overtime she allegedly never worked.
“We know from her ads that Nikki is looking to boost her name ID, but someone should tell her that being listed in indictments is probably not the best way to do it,” said Regan 4 Congress Campaign Manager Melanie Meyers. “Nikki Budzinski is part of the Madigan Machine that Regan Deering is running to disassemble. A vote for Nikki is a vote for corrupt pay-to-play politics, and a vote for Regan is a vote for change.”
* Press release…
ILAFL-CIO President Tim Drea issued the following response to Cornell University ILR Review study.
“This week’s study from Cornell University demonstrates that union workers’ will make a million dollars more over the course of their career when compared to non-union counterparts. This is good news for Illinoisans.
Illinois has some of the strongest worker protection and prevailing wage laws in the country, yet there is still work ahead. Today, workers of all stripes are demanding better conditions, pay and benefits.
As Illinoisans, we can seize this momentum by passing the Workers’ Rights Amendment to protect union jobs for future generations that provide stability and prosperity for all, no matter their zip code, race, ethnicity, or education level.
Unions are critical to fostering a just economy where all workers’ have a seat at the table.”
Please attached for the most up-to-date Early Vote and Vote By Mail totals in Chicago, night of Thursday, October 13, 2022.
The Early Vote total stands at 1,525 ballots cast.
Additionally, 7,444 Vote By Mail ballots have been returned to the Board – total VBM applications stands at 173,071.
The grand total is 8,969 ballots cast so far in Chicago for the November 8th General Election.
* Vote Yes For Clean Air, Clean Water & Wildlife TV ad 1…
Vote Yes For Clean Air, Clean Water & Wildlife TV ad 2…
* Somebody I know who’s not directly connected to any campaigns and who wishes to remain anonymous spoofed Dan Proft’s ads that feature Charles Thomas…
* Isabel’s roundup…
* ‘Sickened, but not surprised’: What lawmakers are saying about new charges against Madigan: Suburban lawmakers expressed anger, frustration and other emotions following the announcement of new charges against disgraced former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. “(I) am of course sickened but not surprised,” said Democratic state Sen. Melinda Bush of Grayslake, a long-standing critic of Madigan and one of the first legislators to call for his eventual resignation.
* Editorial: For Illinois attorney general, the clear choice is Kwame Raoul: DeVore has chosen to not take part in the Tribune’s endorsement process, but that doesn’t really matter. Too often his response to critics is to simply sue them. We find him unqualified for the job. […] Raoul pledges to expand the attorney general’s jurisdiction over corruption cases, and Illinoisans should hold him to that pledge. In this important race, he is clearly the best qualified candidate.
* Darren Bailey skirts questions about PAC cash being used on his campaign: On the Uihlein cash? “I’m grateful for Mr. Uihlein, for what he’s done to help us. What he does through the [PAC] I have absolutely no knowledge or discretion of what they do.” He added later, “I’m in the driver’s seat of my campaign… I have no input on that.” And what does he think of those nasty TV ads? “I don’t watch TV,” he said, laughing. (Meanwhile, the Pritzker campaign asserts Bailey discussed the ads with Proft on his TV show.)
* Ballot error in Schuyler County, Illinois, results in early votes being tossed: An error on the 2022 general election ballot in Schuyler County, Illinois, has resulted in dozens of early votes being thrown out, according to the county clerk. Schuyler County Clerk and Recorder Mindy Garrett said 45 people had voted before the mistake was noticed on Wednesday. She said her office had also sent out 307 vote-by-mail ballots and volunteers were working Friday to resend updated ballots.
* Candidates make their case for how they would represent sprawling, Latino-centric district: With less than a month until Election Day, Democratic state Rep. Delia Ramirez points voters to the historic nature of her candidacy in a new congressional district that runs from Chicago’s Northwest Side about 30 miles west into DuPage County. “This moment allows for the constituents of the 3rd Congressional District to elect the first Latina in the entire Midwest to go to Congress,” Ramirez said.
* ACLU: Pretrial Fairness Act needs reform, not complete overhaul: Ben Ruddell, criminal justice attorney at the ACLU of Illinois, said reform attempts regarding the PFA will likely come during next month’s veto session in the Illinois General Assembly. The last two years of conversations among Illinois Supreme Court working groups revealed that further change is needed, he said, mainly in terms of clarifying language.
* Why sheriffs and prosecutors are so concerned about the Safe-T Act in Illinois: Tazewell County Sheriff Jeff Lower minced no words, saying “You have our leaders in Chicago saying that we are giving all the control to the judges and that’s a blatant lie. If you look at the statute, this is a total gamechanger of how we do our jobs.” To him, no-cash bail will put more work on his deputies and on judges. Moreover, he’s upset there’s only a few months until Jan. 1 and he doesn’t know yet how this will look within Tazewell County.
* Illinois’ 1st Congressional District Candidates: General Election 2022: The Republican side of June’s Primary Election was much closer, as Carlson secured the nomination with 40.5 percent of the votes. Challenger Jeff Regnier tallied 39.1 percent of votes. Only around 350 votes separated the two. […] Patch sent each of the candidates questionnaires to give each the opportunity to allow voters to get to know more about them. Carlson submitted his responses to the questionnaire, while Jackson has not.
Club For Growth Action out with the first general election independent expenditure in #IL11, dropping $471K on ads supporting Republican Catalina Lauf and opposing Bill Foster. https://t.co/IloQhIgOA9pic.twitter.com/1NF2j8Dtln
While liberal @Foster4Congress has been a rubber stamp for Joe Biden’s agenda that has led to soaring inflation, conservative @CatalinaLauf will shake up Washington and stop Democrats’ reckless spending.
Did you know radical liberal @Foster4Congress is endorsed by groups that want to defund the police and voted with Nancy Pelosi to make Illinois safer for criminals? Learn the truth about Bill Foster: pic.twitter.com/kTC6DhftKK
Timothy Mapes, the former chief of staff to then-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, walked into the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on Thursday morning for a status hearing on charges he lied to a federal grand jury investigating the alleged ComEd scheme. […]
Kness set a hearing for Mapes for Nov. 29, when he will hear arguments on pending motions and likely set a new trial date.
Mapes, 67, of Springfield, is free on a recognizance bond. He entered the courthouse Thursday with his attorneys and did not speak during the 15-minute hearing.
An indictment filed last year alleged Mapes repeatedly lied during a March 31, 2021, appearance before the grand jury when asked about Madigan’s relationship with his longtime confidant Michael McClain, who was charged in 2020 with orchestrating a bribery scheme by Commonwealth Edison to shower money on Madigan’s associates in exchange for the speaker’s help with legislation in Springfield.
Federal prosecutors are asking for 19 months in prison for former Teamsters union boss John Coli Sr., who pleaded guilty to extorting a Chicago film studio boss and helped federal investigators secure a ghost payrolling conviction against state Sen. Thomas Cullerton.
Coli, for years a politically connected and nationally known fixture in the Teamsters, pleaded guilty in July 2019 to one count each of receiving illegal payments and filing a false income tax return, admitting he extorted a total of $325,000 from Cinespace Chicago Film Studio President Alex Pissios. […]
In a sentencing memo filed late Wednesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu wrote that Coli’s extortion was “prolonged, calculated and deliberate,” involving regular bribe payments in “envelopes bursting with wads” of $25,000 in cash. […]
Federal sentencing guidelines called for up to about three years behind bars. Coli should be given a significant break, however, because of his cooperation against Cullerton, according to the filing.
In making his request to U.S. District Chief Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer, Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu wrote that Coli “has accepted responsibility for his criminal conduct.”
“Experience in this courthouse teaches this is not an easy thing for a prominent local leader to do,” Bhachu wrote. “It is easy to assemble a busload of public figures similarly situated to Coli in this district who could not bring themselves to accept responsibility.” […]
Though plenty of public corruption cases followed, the only one Coli is known to have a hand in is the embezzlement case that put Cullerton in prison. A federal grand jury indicted Cullerton just days after Coli’s guilty plea in 2019. Cullerton entered his own guilty plea this year, and he was sentenced to one year behind bars. […]
The former labor leader’s sentencing hearing is set for Oct. 26.
* And Sen. Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago) says she intends to introduce anti-bullying legislation. From Ray Long and Dan Petrella at the Tribune…
On addressing the lingering issues of harassment and bad behavior in Springfield, one veteran Chicago Democrat said this week she’s pushing for an anti-bullying law that would be added to the ban on sexual harassment and mandated training for lawmakers, staff and lobbyists that were put in place following the #MeToo scandals that began in 2017.
State Sen. Sara Feigenholtz said she intends to propose legislation as soon as the lame-duck period before a new legislative session begins in mid-January. She said bullying “happens as much — if not more” than sexual harassment in Springfield, and that more needs to be done to address the statehouse atmosphere and workplaces throughout Illinois. […]
Another Democratic senator said that — since the #MeToo reckoning at the state Capitol — there seems to be less “actual sexual kind of aggression.” But there is still “bullying behavior,” said the lawmaker, who asked not to be named. “It’s aggressive power behavior, and that definitely is directed more at women than it is at men.” […]
[Sen. Michael Hastings] also has received criticism from longtime Springfield lobbyist Jennifer Walling, executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council. She told the Tribune that during negotiations on several occasions over the last five years Hastings became “extremely hostile” and flashed “hair-trigger anger.” […]
Hastings’ spokesman Ray Hanania said the senator denies such behavior with women, adding that the accusations are a “cheap shot” and that the use of allegations arising from his divorce proceedings amounted to “playing politics.”
In a separate interview in July on the “Public Affairs” show hosted by Jeff Berkowitz and published on the Illinois Channel YouTube page, he said he believed “there’s no question there’s a deep state,” and it was aligned against him in the GOP primary.
In his interview with Capitol News Illinois, he said he didn’t recall the post-primary interview and didn’t directly define “deep state” or answer as to whether he believes in one, but he said he believes “most Republicans” are now on board with his candidacy.
Q: You made a comment that you thought there was a deep state lining up against you within the primary and I wonder what that means.
Curran: A deep state in the primary?
Q: Yeah. There is a deep state lining up against you.
Curran: No, I mean, yeah. I mean, when you’re running for a legislative office, it’s far different than when you’re running for a judicial. And the reality is that I think a lot of people have seen this that, that the Republicans are in a super minority, and that one of the problems, I think, is that the leadership has stayed too long in many instances, and they’re way too friendly with the Democratic Party. And only the only reason I say that is because oftentimes it seems as though they vote in a rule when they legislate in a way that’s maybe good for them and not their constituents. And I think that we need to I think we’re better served by having a to a truly a two party system and you know, not not one that just kind of sits back, rubber stamps and make sure that they can get reelected, regardless of what happens to the rest of the people that represent their party.
Q: Okay, so…
Curran: I was kind of a bowling ball in a china shop at times, you know, if I didn’t like something, I said it.
Q: Yeah. So this was actually in July, I think, when this interview was posted. I mean…
Curran: So it would’ve been after the primary, yeah.
Q: Right. So any, I mean, is there a deep state?
Curran: Oh, in, for me? In this, in this race are you talking about?
Q: Yeah, I found an interview with you on Illinois channel that was posted in July after this primary in which you said…
Curran: I don’t remember that interview, I’ll be honest with you.
And while Curran’s Facebook page circulated claims about voter fraud in the 2020 election in a Jan. 3, 2021, post, he said other people had access to that page and he hasn’t posted about the election.
“I’ve said Joe Biden won, and I absolutely believe that,” he said.
Curran: Yeah, I mean, let’s put it this way. You guys are never going to catch me lying. I, I don’t, I, other people posted on my Facebook page. I did not. I’ve never posted anything about the election. So I’ve never, you know, some stuff that’s been attributed to me, other people had access to my page and posted, you know, with regards to the election. I’ve said before Joe Biden won and I absolutely believe that.
Curran spoke more directly to the role of partisanship on the high court, stating that while he wouldn’t rule in a partisan manner, he’d rule in a manner “that is a balance to the governor.”
“Let’s say Darren Bailey wins – he is behind in the polls and everything but, you know, I hope Darren Bailey wins,” Curran said when asked what’s at stake in the Supreme Court election. “Even if he wins, chances are he’s going to be totally ineffective in many regards, because of the fact that the General Assembly has enough votes to override any veto by the governor. So the state will continue to be run by one party, that party being the Democrats. And there’s no check and balance or anything in the state.”
“Lake County is not purple, it’s blue, folks,” Curran said. “You know, the wrong people moved in, what have you. We need to change that and we will.”
Curran said later that he was saying that “it was a Republican county and then Democrats moved in,” and the “wrong people” comment had nothing to do with race. “The ethnic groups haven’t changed,” he said. “We’re the same percentages.”
* In the full interview, Curran was also asked about the All For Justice TV ads which claim he is anti-abortion, including being opposed to exceptions for rape and incest…
I’m Catholic, and I’m, I’m sort of pro-life. I don’t remember ever saying anything about rape or incest or anything else.
This is from that very same 2019 Bernie Schoenburg story…
He also said Durbin is “not really a Catholic,” noting that Durbin, who is Catholic, has been denied communion in his home diocese in Springfield because he backs legal abortion.
Curran said he is pro-life and would only allow abortion to save the life of the mother.
In the open race to succeed retiring Secretary of State Jesse White, former Democratic state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias leads Republican state Rep. Dan Brady 43% to 32%, with Libertarian Jon Stewart poised to play the role of spoiler with 8%. […]
In the race to become the state’s chief legal officer, first-term Democratic Attorney General Kwame Raoul is ahead of Republican Thomas G. DeVore by a 44% to 35% spread. Libertarian Daniel K. Robin drew support from 8% of those polled. […]
In other statewide races, second-term Democratic state Comptroller Susana Mendoza holds a 46% to 32% lead over Republican Shannon L. Teresi. Libertarian Deirdre McCloskey trails far behind at 7%. Undecideds total 15%.
And in the race for state treasurer, two-term Democratic incumbent Michael W. Frerichs has a 43% to 35% lead over state Rep. Tom Demmer, R-Dixon, who also is a member of Durkin’s House GOP leadership team and a five-term House member. Libertarian Preston Nelson has 6%, with another 16% undecided.
Public Policy Polling surveyed 770 likely voters in Illinois on Monday and Tuesday. The margin of error for the poll is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Half of the surveys were conducted via telephone, while the other half were conducted via text message.
* AT&T’s alleged motive to play ball, from today’s federal indictment of AT&T Illinois’ former president Paul La Schiazza…
Between in or around 2010 and continuing until in or around 2015, AT&T Illinois unsuccessfully worked to enact legislation in the Illinois General Assembly that would have made it easier to terminate its obligation to provide landline telephone services to all Illinois residents, which was commonly referred to as the carrier of last resort (“COLR”) obligation. AT&T Illinois projected that it would save millions of dollars through the passage of COLR legislation and the elimination of its obligation to provide landline services to all Illinois residents.
In or around 2017, AT&T Illinois continued to advocate for the passage of COLR legislation by the Illinois General Assembly. The General Assembly passed AT&T Illinois’s COLR legislation, contained in Senate Bill 1839, on or about May 31, 2017, but it was vetoed by the Governor of Illinois. Another version of the COLR legislation, contained in House Bill 1811, was passed by the General Assembly, and it was vetoed by the Governor again. The veto was overridden in the House and Senate on or about July 1, 2017, and the COLR legislation became law. Madigan voted in favor of House Bill 1811, and voted to override the Governor’s veto of House Bill 1811.
Beginning no later than in or around February 2017, and continuing through in or around January 2018, in the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, and elsewhere, PAUL LA SCHIAZZA, defendant herein, did conspire with Michael J. Madigan, Michael F. McClain, and others known and unknown to the Grand Jury:
a. to corruptly solicit and demand, and to accept and agree to accept from another person things of value, namely, monetary payments to Individual FR-1 [Ed Acevedo], for the benefit of Madigan and Individual FR-1, intending that Madigan, an agent of the State of Illinois, be influenced and rewarded in connection with any business, transaction, and series of transactions of the State of Illinois involving things of value of $5,000 or more, namely, COLR legislation, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 666(a)(1)(B)
The carrier of last resort language was inserted into the bill, the feds allege, by then-Speaker Madigan and Mike McClain. Their alleged motive was some money for Ed Acevedo, who left the House and was apparently looking for income.
a. On or about February 14, 2017, McClain sent an email to Individual ATT-1 asking for “a small contract” for [Ed Acevedo].
b. On or about February 16, 2017, LA SCHIAZZA informed AT&T Illinois employees that McClain had been assigned by Madigan to work on AT&T Illinois’s legislation as a “Special Project.”
c. On or about March 28, 2017, LA SCHIAZZA sent an email to Individual ATT-1 and Individual ATT-3 in which he indicated that McClain had called to ask if AT&T Illinois had $2,500 or $3,000 per month for a “small contract” for [Ed Acevedo].
d. On or about March 28, 2017, LA SCHIAZZA advised Individual ATT-1 and Individual ATT-3 that AT&T Illinois had received a “GO order” to hire [Ed Acevedo].
e. On or about March 31, 2017, LA SCHIAZZA wrote an email in which he advised Individual ATT-1, Individual ATT-2, and Individual ATT-3 that he had no objection to paying [Ed Acevedo] through an intermediary as a consultant, instead of directly as a lobbyist, “as long as you are sure we will get credit and the box checked.”
f. On or about March 31, 2017, Individual ATT-3 wrote an email in which Individual ATT-3 asked Individual ATT-1 and Individual ATT-2 the following about hiring [Ed Acevedo] through an intermediary as a consultant: “[A]re we 100% certain that we will get credit for being responsive?”
g. On or about March 31, 2017, Individual ATT-3 wrote an email to Individual ATT-1 and Individual ATT-2, in which he added, “I think remaining question is if we would get credit from the powers that be.”
h. On or about March 31, 2017, Individual ATT-2 wrote an email responding to the email referenced in paragraph 17(g) above, “I would hope that as long as we explain the approach to McClain and [Ed Acevedo] gets the money then the ultimate objective is reached.”
i. On or about March 31, 2017, Individual ATT-3 wrote an email responding to the email referenced in paragraph 17(h) above, “I don’t think Paul [LA SCHIAZZA] wants this based on ‘hope.’ We need to confirm prior to executing this strategy.”
j. On or about April 2, 2017, Individual ATT-1 texted McClain that he wanted to discuss a “consulting issue.”
k. On or about April 5, 2017, in connection with the payment of [Ed Acevedo], Individual ATT-3 submitted a false justification via email to a fellow AT&T Illinois employee in support of increasing the monthly payment made to Intermediary 4, so that Intermediary 4 could in turn pay [Ed Acevedo] $2,500 a month for the remainder of 2017.
l. On or about April 20, 2017, LA SCHIAZZA signed a contract amendment on behalf of AT&T Illinois that increased compensation to Intermediary 4 by $2,500 per month for April 2017 through December 2017.
m. On or about April 26, 2017, after Intermediary 4’s contract had been amended so that AT&T Illinois could make indirect payments through Intermediary 4 to [Ed Acevedo], Individual ATT-2, Individual ATT-3, and the owner of Intermediary 4 met with [Ed Acevedo] for the first time to discuss paying [Ed Acevedo] $2,500 per month to prepare a report on the political dynamics of the General Assembly’s and the City of Chicago’s Latino Caucus.
n. On or about April 28, 2017, after [Ed Acevedo] had rejected the proposal to indirectly pay him $2,500 a month as being insufficient, Individual ATT-1 contacted McClain and confirmed that $2,500 per month was sufficient.
o. On or about May 26, 2017, the Speaker’s office requested a complete roll call on Senate Bill 1839, which included the COLR legislation.
p. On or about May 31, 2017, Madigan voted in favor of Senate Bill 1839.
q. On or about June 29, 2017, after the COLR legislation had been added as an amendment to House Bill 1811, Madigan voted in favor of the amendment to House Bill 1811.
r. On or about July 1, 2017, Madigan voted to override the Governor’s veto of House Bill 1811.
s. On or about each date set forth below, the conspirators caused payments to be made to Intermediary 4 in the approximate amount set forth below, with a substantial portion of each payment intended for Individual FR-1:
t. On or about each date set forth below, Intermediary 4 caused a check to be made to a company designated by Individual FR-1 in the approximate amount set forth below, for payments totaling approximately $22,500:
* High numbers for a third party candidate generally means that voters are looking for an alternative to the two main candidates. Here’s Tina Sfondeles and Dave McKinney…
In the governor’s race, the poll found Pritzker leading Bailey 49% to 34%, with Libertarian Scott Schluter boasting 8% — with 9% of those polled still undecided. When it comes to offering their opinions of the candidates, 46% of those surveyed held favorable views of Pritzker, 46% unfavorable and 9% were unsure. […]
Pritzker and Bailey were tied among downstate voters with 40% each, while Pritzker was leading the downstate farmer in Chicago 78% to 12%. The spreads were closer in suburban Cook and the collar counties, but the Democratic governor still held the edge. […]
The poll also found U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth leading her Republican opponent, Kathy Salvi, 50% to 36%, with 5% supporting Libertarian Bill Redpath and another 9% undecided.
The poll of 770 likely general election voters, conducted by Public Policy Polling, was taken on October 10 and 11 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5%. Of those polled, 38% said they were Democrats, 32% said they were Republicans and 30% were independents. The geographic breakdown was 35% downstate, 26% collar counties, 20% Chicago and 19% in suburban Cook County.
Bruce Rauner got 15 percent of Chicago’s vote in 2018, and 21 percent in 2014, so some slippage for Bailey. The big surprise there is Downstate. That’s the second media poll in a row showing some surprising Downstate strength for Pritzker. Wish we had suburban numbers, though.
And if the Libertarians manage to get major party ballot status with a big showing this year, that’ll be one more of many hurdles for the Illinois GOP.
AT&T Illinois has agreed to pay a $23 million fine as part of a federal criminal investigation into the company’s illegal efforts to influence former House Speaker Michael Madigan.
The investigation of AT&T Illinois, which was previously reported by the Tribune earlier this year, is being resolved with a deferred prosecution agreement under which the company admitted it arranged for payments to be made to an ally of Madigan to influence the powerful speaker’s efforts to assist with legislation sought by the company in Springfield.
In exchange for admitting guilt and paying a $23 million fine, the charge will be dropped by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in two years. […]
The payments to [former state Rep. Edward Acevedo] were made via a lobbying contract between AT&T and Thomas Cullen, a former Madigan staffer and longtime political strategist aligned with the speaker, two sources told the newspaper.
Acevedo was a registered lobbyist at the time, state records show, but not for AT&T, and the sources said the amount of work Acevedo actually did for AT&T is in question.
Whew. Stay tuned because this post will be updated.
*** UPDATE 1 *** AT&T’s response…
AT&T has issued this response to news of its involvement in the Springfield/Madigan corruption scandal pic.twitter.com/EQKq5LgjGq
The former president of Illinois Bell Telephone Company, which does business as AT&T Illinois, has been charged in federal court with participating in a conspiracy to unlawfully influence the former Illinois Speaker of the House of Representatives involving the company’s efforts to advance legislation in the Illinois General Assembly.
PAUL LA SCHIAZZA conspired in 2017 with former Speaker Michael J. Madigan, Madigan’s close friend, Michael McClain, and others, to corruptly arrange for $22,500 to be paid to a Madigan ally, according to a five-count indictment unsealed today in U.S. District Court in Chicago. AT&T Illinois caused the payments to be made through an intermediary – a lobbying firm that performed services for AT&T Illinois – to conceal the true nature of the payments, which was to influence and reward Madigan’s efforts as Speaker to assist the company with respect to certain legislation, the indictment alleges. Although the members of the conspiracy formulated a pretextual assignment for Madigan’s ally to disguise why the ally was being paid, the ally performed no actual work for AT&T Illinois and had no role in advancing the legislation, the indictment states.
La Schiazza, 65, is charged with one count of conspiracy, one count of corruptly giving something of value to reward a public official, and three counts of using a facility in interstate commerce to promote unlawful activity. Arraignment in federal court in Chicago has not yet been scheduled.
The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Ashley T. Johnson, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; and Justin Campbell, Special Agent-in-Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amarjeet S. Bhachu, Diane MacArthur, Timothy J. Chapman, Sarah E. Streicker, Michelle Kramer, and Julia Schwartz.
Also today, the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a one-count criminal information charging AT&T Illinois with using an interstate facility to promote unlawful activity.
The public is reminded that charges are not evidence of guilt. Defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
Illinois Bell Telephone Company, LLC, which does business as AT&T Illinois, today agreed to pay $23 million to resolve a federal criminal investigation into alleged misconduct involving the company’s efforts to unlawfully influence former Illinois Speaker of the House Michael J. Madigan.
The investigation of AT&T Illinois is being resolved with a deferred prosecution agreement under which the company admitted it arranged for payments to be made to an ally of Madigan to influence and reward Madigan’s efforts to assist AT&T Illinois with respect to legislation sought by the company. The U.S. Attorney’s Office today filed a one-count criminal information in U.S. District Court in Chicago charging AT&T Illinois with using an interstate facility to promote legislative misconduct. Under the agreement, the government will defer prosecution on the charge for two years and then seek to dismiss it if AT&T Illinois abides by certain conditions, including continuing to cooperate with any investigation related to the misconduct alleged in the information.
The deferred prosecution agreement requires AT&T Illinois to pay $23 million to the federal Crime Victims Fund. Arraignment in federal court in Chicago has not yet been scheduled.
The charge and the deferred prosecution agreement were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Ashley T. Johnson, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; and Justin Campbell, Special Agent-in-Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amarjeet S. Bhachu, Diane MacArthur, Timothy J. Chapman, Sarah E. Streicker, Michelle Kramer, and Julia Schwartz.
AT&T Illinois’s admissions regarding the charged conduct are contained in a Statement of Facts attached to the deferred prosecution agreement. AT&T Illinois admitted that in 2017 it arranged for an ally of Madigan to indirectly receive $22,500 in payments from the company. The company paid the money through an intermediary – a lobbying firm that performed services for AT&T Illinois. Although AT&T Illinois employees formulated a pretextual assignment for Madigan’s ally to disguise why the ally was being paid, the ally performed no actual work for AT&T Illinois and the company made no effort to ensure any work was performed. AT&T Illinois acknowledged in the agreement that AT&T Illinois’s then-president used an interstate facility to facilitate Madigan’s indirect receipt of a thing of value, namely the payments made to his ally, in exchange for Madigan’s vote and influence over a bill.
In addition to the monetary penalty and its continued cooperation with the government, AT&T Illinois’s obligations under the agreement include implementing a new compliance and ethics program and providing annual reports to the government regarding remediation and implementation of the program. If AT&T Illinois fails to completely fulfill each of its obligations under the agreement during the two-year term, the U.S. Attorney’s Office can initiate prosecution of the charged offense.
The deferred prosecution agreement is here. The “information” is here.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Gonna be a busy Friday…
Madigan and longtime confidant Michael McClain now face an additional conspiracy count alleging the corrupt scheme with AT&T Illinois.
“Indicted former House Speaker Mike Madigan’s legacy continues to haunt Illinois as he now faces additional corruption-related charges. Since 2019, nine Chicago Democratic Aldermen & women, three Democratic State Representatives, and four Democratic State Senators have been indicted or convicted on corruption-related charges, including Madigan himself.
While these additional charges, as well as AT&T’s settlement, is another step towards justice, with Ilinois Democrats and their corruption charges, it’s like the “Never Ending Story”. This sad saga hasn’t ended with Madigan. It will only end when Democratic leaders like Speaker Welch and Senate President Harmon stop turning a blind eye to Madiganesque behavior in their caucuses.”
- Mega donor Uihlein kicks in millions to help elect Republicans who question election results: “More than nine of every 10 dollars mega donors Dick Uihlein and his wife Liz have contributed directly to congressional candidates running in the midterms have gone to Republicans who cast doubt on President Joe Biden’s victory in 2020,” reports Sun-Times’ Tina Sfondeles
- In IL-10, Republican Joseph Severino says his new poll by Victory Research shows he’s still in the hunt. Though POLITICO’s Forecast 2022 has the race as going solid Democrat for Rep. Brad Schneider.
* Democrats defend the SAFE-T Act as opposition grows: A recent panel discussion was held to “dispel myths on ending money bonds” in the state, organizers said. One of the architects of the law, state Sen. Robert Peters, D-Chicago, said the crime wave is a byproduct of the current judicial system.
* Daily Herald Endorsement: Kwame Raoul for attorney general: four years ago, we endorsed Raoul based on his depth of understanding of the law, his experience and his passion on behalf of public service. He has not disappointed. He has been an activist attorney general who has upheld the energetic decadeslong consumer-focused traditions of the attorney general’s office. Raoul has earned another term.
* Daily Herald opinion: Mike Frerichs endorsed for another term as state treasurer: In his two terms as Illinois’ chief investment officer, the state has topped $1.2 billion in investment gains while cutting investment fees by more than $100 million. Frerichs accelerated and increased repayments of unclaimed property by modernizing this once paper-based program.
* Race could determine partisan makeup of state’s high court: It’s a race that’s become more visible on the airwaves in recent days, with Gov. JB Pritzker chipping $500,000 into the Rochford campaign war chest. Her backers have aired ads that highlight Curran’s long history of antiabortion rhetoric. Rochford, meanwhile, has support from abortion rights advocacy groups and her campaign website bills her as a champion of women’s rights.
* Senate District 31 candidates have different views on SAFE-T Act, other issues: Listening to former state Rep. Mary Edly-Allen, D-Libertyville, and Republican Adam Solano of Third Lake, talk about the SAFE-T Act, a voter might think the two Illinois state Senate candidates are speaking about two different pieces of legislation. “It needs to be repealed or heavily fixed,” Solano said. “It’s wrong to keep people in jail just because they don’t have money, but let violent people walk free because they do,” Edly-Allen said.
* Candidates make their case for election to state House in Districts 51 and 52: Both Syed and Bos want to see a reduction in gun violence, but they have different approaches. Syed said she will support legislation to ban military assault weapons and wants to find ways to stem the flow of weapons arriving in Illinois from other states with laxer laws.
