* SB0855 passed the Senate unanimously today. The bill is a direct response to the horrific revelations at Choate Developmental Center in Anna. The facility has a very real problem with employees covering up for fellow workers acused of abuse. So, if the bill passes the House and is signed into law, “material obstruction of an investigation” will be on the list of reportable conduct, which means the workers will be out of a job and won’t be allowed back into the system..

In provisions concerning investigative reports issued by the Department of Human Services’ Inspector General that pertain to allegations of resident abuse or neglect at State-operated mental health facilities, expands the list of reportable conduct to include material obstruction of an investigation by a facility employee. Requires the Inspector General to report to the Department of Public Health’s Health Care Worker Registry, the identity and finding of each employee of a facility or agency against whom there is a final investigative report prepared by the Office of the Inspector General containing a substantiated allegation of material obstruction of an investigation. Defines “material obstruction of an investigation” and “presenting untruthful information”. Amends the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Administrative Act. Prohibits mental health facilities or agencies that are licensed, certified, operated, or funded by the Department of Human Services from employing any person identified by the Health Care Worker Registry as having been the subject of a substantiated finding of physical abuse, sexual abuse, financial exploitation, egregious neglect, or material obstruction of an investigation (rather than abuse or neglect of a service recipient). Amends the Health Care Worker Background Check Act. Prohibits health care employers from hiring or retaining any individual in a position with duties involving direct care of clients, patients, or residents who has a finding by the Department of Human Services denoted on the Health Care Worker Registry of material obstruction of an investigation. Effective immediately.

* Ugh…

Appears to be a Three Percenter flag on the left of the screen https://t.co/Y1NdZ6IKCE https://t.co/M03Dv7ltfb

— Capitol Fax (@capitolfax) March 29, 2023

* Press release…

Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza announced a $150 million payment into the State’s Budget Stabilization – also called the Rainy Day Fund – Wednesday, bringing the fund’s balance to a record-high level of $1.22 billion.

After today’s action, three more planned installments by the end of the Fiscal Year ’23 on June 30, will total $850 million as a part of the transfers approved by the General Assembly and Governor Pritzker in January.

Comptroller Mendoza has been a vocal advocate for reviving the Rainy Day Fund, which serves as the state’s main savings account and had been decimated during the 2015-2017 state budget impasse. In April 2018, the reserve account stood at just $48,327.53.  

“As Comptroller, being responsible for managing the daily accounting of paying our state’s bills, it’s important we resist spending all the forecast revenue surplus on new spending. We must instead put as much as we can into the state’s reserves to prepare for economic downturns,” said Comptroller Mendoza.

Illinois has earned eight credit upgrades from the credit rating agencies since June 29, 2021 – the first upgrades in more than two decades. The rating agencies have cited the state’s efforts to build up its Rainy Day Fund.

“Building a robust emergency reserve account is responsible. And the credit rating agencies agree. They cited the state’s infusion into reserves as one reason for recent upgrades. Better credit ratings mean better rates on bonds, and that means more savings for taxpayers and better finances for the state overall,” Comptroller Mendoza said.  

While these transfers into the Rainy Day Fund are a welcome boost, Comptroller Mendoza continues to call for more regular automatic deposits into the fund during strong economies, without having to depend on one-time infusions from future legislatures. 

Comptroller Mendoza will continue to ask the General Assembly to pass provisions contained in HB2515 (Kifowit-McCombie), which has received bipartisan support and would require additional annual contributions into both the Rainy Day Fund and the Pension Stabilization Fund. 

“Further saving and paying down our debts when the state can best afford it will better prepare us for the next fiscal downtown or crisis that may come through no fault of our own,” said Comptroller Mendoza. 

* This most definitely is cool…

Ingersoll Machine Tools’ “Rosenberg Moon Habitat” has won the 2023 Makers Madness contest put on by the Illinois Manufacturers Association.

The bracket-style tournament is used to find the coolest thing made in Illinois. […]

The “Rosenberg Moon Habitat” is a three-story 3D printed living space made to house a crew of two. It was designed by students at the Institut auf dem Rosenberg in St. Gallen, Switzerland and printed by Ingersoll’s MasterPrint 3D printer.

It is the world’s tallest single-piece 3D printed polymer structure, with a height of 23 feet, but a thickness of only 5 millimeters.

A photo is here.

* Isabel’s roundup…

* WTTW | Owner of Bakery Targeted for Hosting Drag Shows Plans to Stay Open in a New Location: The owner of a suburban bakery targeted for hosting drag performances said she’s planning to stay in operation — and find a new home for her business within McHenry County. Earlier this month, UpRising Bakery and Cafe owner Corinna Sac announced she’d close down her Lake in the Hills business after months of harassment, protests and threats. The attacks came after the cafe announced plans last July to hold two family-friendly drag shows as part of an event series.

* ABC Chicago | Illinois to vote on Vietnam Veterans Day resolution on 50th anniversary of troops withdrawn: Down in Springfield, the House is expected to vote on a resolution, officially making Wednesday, March 29 “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day” in Illinois. […] Wednesday marks the 50th anniversary of when the last combat troops were withdrawn from Vietnam in 1973. Nearly 3,000 of those killed in Vietnam were from Illinois.

* CNN | Illinois took action after the Highland Park shooting. But the assault weapon ban there still faces legal hurdles: As Nashville police left a news conference Monday, Ashbey Beasley unexpectedly moved in front of the still-live microphones and television cameras. Beasley then told her story: She and her son survived the Fourth of July parade mass shooting in her hometown of Highland Park, Illinois, last year, in which a gunman used an assault-style rifle to kill seven and injure dozens more people.

* WCBU | Some Peoria councilmembers call for a moratorium on development of carbon capture pipeline on the South Side: First District councilmember Denise Jackson, whose district includes the South Side, said she’s opposed to the project. “I have some grave concerns. It’s not just the South Side. But a project like this, with the potential for any type of problems could affect not only the South Side, but we’ve got East Peoria, we’ve got we’ve got downtown Peoria. It just depends upon the weather, and things of that nature,” she said.

* Shaw Local | What makes a politician ‘do the right thing’?: Does the name Bradley Tusk ring a bell? […] He’s been entirely off my radar, but on Thursday popped up as a guest on Mike Pesca’s “The Gist” podcast to discuss his work supporting anti-hunger advocacy. Tusk presents as someone who knows how government operates while bristling against those conventions, often finding himself at odds with people espousing policy goals because he isn’t a strict doctrinaire or partisan.

* Intelligencer | Trustees approve body cams for Glen Carbon police officers: Sometime in the next 12 months or so, Glen Carbon police will receive 28 body cams to equip all of the department’s sworn officers with the devices soon to be required in Illinois.

* WSJ | It’s Northwestern vs. Evanston Neighbors Over a New $800 Million Stadium That Will Host Concerts and Serve Booze: “You’ll have people spilling out of concerts drunk at 10:30, 11 o’clock, walking around your neighborhood. There will be crimes of opportunity,” said John Sorensen, who lives across the street from Ryan Field. “We’re usually asleep by then.”

* WCIA | ‘Expect delays’, $63.5M IDOT project on I-74 begins next week near Danville: The $63.5 million project includes pavement and shoulder replacement, resurfacing and rehabilitation of multiple structures, pavement patching, drainage improvements, lighting upgrades, guardrail, and collateral work. The project will also require intermittent lane and ramp closures, and traffic flow modifications on I-74 during the project.

* Crain’s | These Chicago restaurants are James Beard Award finalists: Obelix, a new French spot in River North, was nominated for Best New Restaurant; Damarr Brown, chef de cuisine at Virtue in Hyde Park was nominated for Emerging Chef; and Sepia, a fine-dining spot in the West Loop neighborhood, was nominated for Outstanding Hospitality. Chicago has two nominees in the Best Chef in Great Lakes Region category: Tim Flores and Genie Kwon at Kasama, and Diana Dávila at Mi Tocaya Antojería.

* Vice | The ‘Insanely Broad’ RESTRICT Act Could Ban Much More Than Just TikTok: Digital rights experts told Motherboard the RESTRICT Act, which may be used to ban TikTok, could impact many other types of services too, including VPNs.

* Brownfield AG News | Illinois Ag Day celebrated at State Capitol: House Ag Committee Minority Leader and Okawville Farmer Charlie Meier tells Brownfield it’s about celebrating the state’s number one industry. “We’re here to highlight it and let it be the backbone of Illinois the way it’s been the last 200 years.”