Evening news roundup
Thursday, May 18, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This post is for those folks who are still working at the Statehouse or who are keeping an eye on the House and Senate. Make sure to monitor the live coverage post tonight. From Crain’s…
The Illinois State Chamber of Commerce is confirming that Todd Maisch, who joined the chamber in 1994 and later became its president and CEO, has handed over his duties. […]
Asked if Maisch, 59, will be returning, [Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel Lori Poppe Hiltabrand] said, “We hope so.”
Same.
* AG Raoul…
Attorney General Kwame Raoul today applauded the Senate’s passage of his Firearm Industry Responsibility Act to hold the gun industry accountable for unlawful sales and marketing tactics.
House Bill 218, sponsored by Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, will next go to the governor for approval.
“No single industry should be given a free pass to engage in unlawful, unfair or deceptive conduct,” Attorney General Raoul said. “The Firearms Industry Responsibility Act clarifies my office’s ability to use the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, which is a tool to hold businesses accountable for fraudulent or deceptive practices through civil litigation. It is how my office has protected the public from opioid manufacturers, vaping companies, tobacco companies and predatory lenders. I want to thank Illinois Senate President Don Harmon and members of the Senate for passing this important legislation to protect consumers and increase public safety.”
Raoul’s legislation amends the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act to clarify that businesses in the firearms industry are and have always been subject to civil liability if they engage in unlawful business and marketing practices.
The proposal clarifies that manufacturers, marketers, retailers and others in the industry face potential action under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, including monetary damages and injunctive relief, should they violate the act. The legislation expressly excludes communications or promotional materials for lawful firearms safety programs, instructional courses, hunting activities or sport shooting events.
“At its core, this is to protect consumers and prevent firearm companies from marketing to children and promoting illegal militia activities,” said Senate President Harmon. “These are reasonable, manageable steps we can take to help curb the scourge of gun violence in our state.”
Others issued press releases praising the bill’s passage, including Gov. Pritzker, Senate President Harmon and G-PAC.
From the AP story…
Republican lawmakers objected to the proposal during Thursday’s Senate vote, saying it was too broad and would lead to court challenges.
* Sen. Villa…
Following findings of testing bias in social worker licensure exams, State Senator Karina Villa advanced a bill out of the Senate on Wednesday to provide social workers with a more equitable avenue for obtaining a license. This is the first bill of its kind in the nation, and many states are expected to follow suit.
“Social workers have dedicated their careers to assisting others, and make our communities a better place to live in,” said Villa (D-West Chicago). “In Illinois, we have social work graduates who have earned a master’s degree, completed intense clinical supervision hours and are currently working in the field, yet they are barred from a path forward, due to a biased exam that is failing them. This initiative will help those who are already helping us.”
House Bill 2365 provides clinical social workers who failed the initial Association of Social Work Boards license exam with an alternative route to obtain a license. To become licensed, a clinical social worker must complete 3,000 hours of supervised clinical social work within 10 years of the applicant receiving their degree. The bill will not only increase diversity in the field, but also help address the current shortage of social workers.
This bill was an initiative of a group of concerned social workers along with the National Association of Social Workers after a study found that people of color, older adults, and people with disabilities fail the licensure exam at dramatically higher rates than their counterparts, indicating unfair bias on the exam. Specifically, this data shows that first time pass rates for the LCSW in Illinois include:
· White individuals pass at 82.5%
· Asian individuals pass at 70%
· Hispanic individuals pass at 59.6%
· Black individuals pass at 42.4%
Social workers must pay a fee of $260 for every exam. These high costs and unfair testing practices discourage workers who cannot afford to keep retaking the exam. For current LCSW’s, this legislation changes nothing. But for the next generation of social workers looking to pursue an LCSW, this alternative path creates an opportunity for Illinois to bring in social workers from all backgrounds, to reflect the diverse communities they are trying to serve.
“As a social worker, our Code of Ethics requires us as a profession to act, and live out our values if we are truly willing to address the difficult and very real inequities within our own profession,” Villa said. “Illinois has been a pioneer for progress within the social work profession and with the passing of this legislation, Illinois is setting the precedent for equitable social work licensure across the nation.”
House Bill 2365 passed the Senate on Wednesday.
* Sen. Rezin…
Illinois State Senator Sue Rezin (R-Morris) and Illinois State Representative Lance Yednock (D-Ottawa) are excited to announce that the Illinois House of Representatives has passed Senate Bill 76, which would lift the state’s moratorium on building new nuclear reactors, with an 84-22 vote.
“We are now officially one step closer to finally ending our state’s arbitrary moratorium on the construction of new nuclear reactors and power plants,” said Sen. Rezin. “I would like to thank all of the stakeholders who helped get this bill called and passed in the House, especially Representative Lance Yednock who carried the bill and helped work the roll call. I look forward to calling Senate Bill 76 as soon as possible in the Senate, so we can get this critically important piece of legislation to the Governor’s desk.”
“This bill simply removes our state’s moratorium on new nuclear energy and allows us to start making plans to develop small modular and advanced nuclear reactors in the near future,” said Rep. Yednock. “If we really want to move forward with a carbon-free United States, we have to invest in new and advanced nuclear reactors in the state of Illinois.”
Since Senate Bill 76 was slightly amended in the House, it now must return to the Senate for a concurrence vote.
* ITLA…
Illinois Trial Lawyers Association President Pat Salvi II statement on the passage of HB219:
We all can agree that no Illinoisan should ever lose his or her life due to the reckless or intentional conduct of others. Today the Illinois legislature sent a clear message to corporate executives that the lives of Illinoisans will not be devalued as a mere figure on a balance sheet, and that reckless behavior that takes the lives of our citizens comes with a price. The prospect of punitive damages has been a powerful tool in deterring would-be bad actors from injuring our citizens for decades; the application of that tool to instances where victims lose their lives is appropriate, logical and long overdue.
We thank our sponsors Senate President Don Harmon and Leader Jay Hoffman, Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, Representative LaShawn Ford and the many co-sponsors and supporters in the legislature that stood up to powerful corporate interests and lobbyists to protect all Illinoisans by correcting this glaring inequity in the law; the passage of this bill is an important step in helping make Illinois a safer place to live and work.
* Chicago Community Trust…
A coalition of community developers, affordable housing advocates and tax policy experts led by The Chicago Community Trust today applauded the Illinois House for passing legislation will increase investment in historically disinvested communities across the state.
Senate Bill 1675 Amendment 1 reforms the Illinois Property Tax Sale system by closing loopholes that prevent blighted properties from redevelopment and allows local governments to intervene to save abandoned properties after only one failed delinquent tax sale rather than allow them to cycle through the tax sale system for years while the property deteriorates, requiring taxpayer-funded maintenance and eventually demolition. The measure is supported by cities with high concentrations of vacant properties across Illinois, including Chicago, Peoria, Rockford, Decatur and Kankakee.
These common-sense reforms would empower local governments to work with community developers and residents to restore vacant homes and return them to viable properties. In Cook County alone, an estimated 50,000 vacant or abandoned properties are concentrated in its Black and Latinx neighborhoods on Chicago’s South and West sides and in the south suburbs.
“Over the past two generations, the tax sale system has evolved — whether intentionally or not — into a vehicle to strip wealth and drive inequality in some of our most vulnerable communities,” said sponsor Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago). “The process discourages development, gives out-of-state investors an edge over community developers and residents, and puts a virtual stranglehold on distressed neighborhoods where most vacancies are concentrated. This bill seeks to rebalance the tax sale system in the interest of local governments, residents and community developers who actually want to reinvest in their neighborhoods from the ground up.”
* Some heated floor debate in the Senate on a couple of bills…
And…
* Speaking of heated…
This afternoon the Illinois House passed legislation to strip away a long-standing and effective means of protecting Illinois from excessive radiation hazard and abuse when it repealed the 1987 Illinois nuclear construction moratorium. The law simply stated that no new nuclear plants could be constructed in Illinois until the Federal Government provided a permanent disposal solution for the deadly and long-lasting high-level radioactive wastes (HLRW — currently at ~11,000 tons, the most in the Nation, and growing annually) that all reactors produce.
Dog owners are required by law to pick up their pet’s excrement; if they don’t they are often fined. With this Moratorium repeal, the message the House just sent to the nuclear industry is, “You’re doo-dooing just fine; no fines, keep it up, and give us more.”
While the Moratorium law was originally designed to deal with the disposal of HLRW, that topic was barely mentioned let alone dealt with responsibly during the 6 hearings and floor debates that occurred about the repeal. The REAL reason for the repeal was to open up Illinois for the construction of PROPOSED new nuclear reactors designs call “small modular nuclear reactors” – SMNRs.
What did Illinois get in exchange for giving up deserved nuclear safety? Nothing. Absolutely and quite literally — NOTHING. The reason:
SMNRs do not even EXIST yet. And according to both industry websites and testimony during the Legislative hearings they won’t even exist as proof-of-concept demonstrations for the next 7-10 years. Commercialization will take longer – well into the 2030s.
As the joke goes: How are SMNRs and unicorns alike? A.: Neither exists. How are they different: A: Unicorn waste isn’t hazardous for 250,000 years.
Throughout the Spring, a number of issues were raised by legislators in favor of SB76. Among them:
“Illinois needs the jobs!” — What jobs, if the commercialization of SMNRs won’t take place until the 2030s?
“We need to provide adequate power and transmission reliability, especially downstate in the MISO transmission area.” — How do reactors that don’t even exist and won’t until the 2030s – assuming the proposed designs even work — provide power and system reliability?
“We need nuclear power in the climate fight!” – How do non-existent reactors fight climate change? What do legislators know that two former CHAIRS of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) don’t know when they clearly and unambiguously state that SMNRs are NOT a climate solution?
These questions were never responded to when NEIS asked them during the hearings, along with a few others:
Q.: “What is the Legislature’s plan to DISPOSE of – not store – DISPOSE of its current 11,000 tons of HLRW; the 11,000 additional tons that will be produced by extending the operating life of Illinois 11 currently operating reactors, and the as yet uncalculated amounts of HLRW that NEW SMNRs will produce?”
A.: Crickets.
Q.: “If today’s reactors needed more than $3 billion in ratepayer guaranteed nuclear bailouts to stay open because they could not be run economically , how many more bailouts will be required when hundreds of SMNRs are added to Illinois’ nuclear fleet?
A.: Double crickets.
Q.: “What will happen to the lofty renewable energy goals of CEJA when more SMNRs come and compete for market share and scarce transmission access?”
A.: Black hole.
To be sure – opening wide the gate to Illinois’ energy future to a demonstrably corrupt and corrupting nuclear industry by repealing the nuclear construction Moratorium was a Trojan Horse designed to kickstart the potentially lucrative SMNR industry. More nuclear reactors of any kind will mean: more radioactive waste with no disposal, more nuclear power bailouts going to a demonstrably corrupt industry, more nuclear rate hikes, continued accident threat, and LESS renewable energy and efficiency. At its core is the sabotaging of the renewable energy goals in the 2021 CEJA legislation.
We had hopes that the recent ComEd convictions and the discrediting of former House Speaker Michael Madigan’s nuclear “Reign of Error” would result in progress towards a 21st Century energy transformation based on more renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy storage, and a vastly improved transmission system.
The SB76 vote to repeal Illinois nuclear construction moratorium instead sends a much more ominous message:
“Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.”
We sincerely hope that Governor Pritzker will recognize the threat to all the work he and others did to get CEJA passed in 2021, and veto this retrograde motion – before Illinois gets nuked for real.
* On a lighter note…
* Isabel’s roundup…
* Sun-Times | Immigrants, advocates push for expansion of state’s affordable health care program: Illinois legislators hammering out the state budget could expand affordable health care access to noncitizens ages 19 to 41.
* Chalkbeat | Illinois lawmakers to hold hearing on revised draft map for Chicago elected school board ahead of possible vote: Their initial proposal for dividing Chicago into 20 districts for the city’s school board elections that begin in 2024 was met with criticism for underrepresenting Latino families, who make up 46.5% of Chicago Public Schools student population. The new draft tinkers with three districts where no racial or ethnic group has a 50% majority, tilting two of those in favor of Latinos.
* WBEZ | Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart tightens electronic monitoring for apartment dwellers: The revisions follow an Illinois appellate ruling last month that slammed Dart for “ambiguity” on whether residents of multi-unit buildings can be in common spaces for such “activities of daily living.” The three-judge panel threw out an escape conviction of a South Side man imprisoned nearly five years for that felony after sheriff’s investigators did not find him in the apartment where he lived on home detention with an ankle bracelet. The man said he was showering at his sister’s unit — elsewhere in the building — and believed Dart’s electronic monitoring terms allowed it.
* Bond Buyer | Chicago again on the spot for Soldier Field tax shortfall: Chicago hotel taxes pledged to repay Soldier Field renovation bonds will fall $9 million short of what’s needed for debt service this year, leaving the city on the hook for a second year to cover the gap as tax receipts continue to lag pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels. A current refunding is expected next year using existing authority to push out the final maturity by one year to 2033, which would ease some of the pressure on city coffers, but new authority is needed for a more comprehensive solution, says one key official.
* Scott Holland | Bears’ problems not governments’ obligation to solve: The family might not be able to re-sell the land it just bought at top dollar, especially since it hasn’t demolished the existing buildings and infrastructure. But the team itself is worth at least $5 billion – the Washington Commanders just sold for more than $6 billion – with no shortage of buyers willing to take on both the current roster and future land development.
* Center Square | Bill banning Illinois state agencies from using polystyrene food containers advances: The Illinois House has amended a Senate bill to prohibit state agencies from using disposable food containers made of polystyrene foam. If made into law, Senate Bill 58 as amended by the House would go into effect in 2025 and would force state agencies to find recyclable or compostable containers. State Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, D-Glenview, the bill’s sponsor, said state agencies can take a leadership role in reducing the environmental impact of polystyrene foam.
* Press Release | AG Raoul applauds GA passage of legislation increasing oversight of health care market consolidations: “Currently, many health care mergers and acquisitions are not reviewed at the state or federal level. Without proper review, these transactions can lead to diminished options for individuals who are already struggling to access health care services in their communities,” Raoul said. “I appreciate the General Assembly’s passage of this legislation that will give my office more tools to protect Illinoisans from proposed mergers that lessen competition and increase health disparities.”
* Press Release | Villivalam passes legislation to provide kosher and halal food options in public schools and state facilities: Specifically in schools, the bill would require the State Board of Education to enter into a statewide master contract with a vendor and provide districts access to the contract to more efficiently provide the meals to students. The prepackaged meals for schools would be required to meet both the state and federal nutritional guidelines for school lunch programs.
* Tribune | Chicago Plan Commission approves framework for Pilsen affordable housing boost: Hundreds attended the meetings, and most wanted more affordable units on the plot between 18th Street and 16th Street, once an industrial smelting facility, as well as larger units for big families. The city boosted the units called for, from about 250 to a maximum of 432, and will push potential developers to maximize the number of affordable units, including some with three or four bedrooms.
* WBBM | Licensed cannabis transporters sue Illinois over illegal operators: On Thursday, some minority-owned transporters sued the state and claimed regulators aren’t doing enough to keep rogue operators out of their business. Transporters said they haven’t been able to operate for nearly two years, while other transporters have been operating without licenses. Victoria Williams, with ACC of Illinois Transportation, was among them.
* WTTW | Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin’s Girlfriend, Ex-Business Partners and City Employee’s Husband Awarded Thousands in Taxpayer-Funded Grants: The council OK’d a $10,000 grant last week to Laura’s Furniture, owned by Laura Ayala-Clarke. Sources have described her as Irvin’s girlfriend, and the two are frequently pictured together on her social media. She’s the same woman who was at the center of a scuffle in a cannabis dispensary where Irvin intervened on her behalf and said charges against her would be “taken care of”, the Chicago Tribune and Aurora Beacon-News reported last year.
* Fox Chicago | Former Kane County Circuit Clerk found dead in his Palatine law office: state’s attorney: Last month, Hartwell was indicted by a grand jury on one count of theft by deception greater than $100,000, seven counts of official misconduct, six counts of wire fraud, one count of money laundering, three counts of income tax fraud and one count of misapplying funds as a government employee.
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Afternoon roundup
Thursday, May 18, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Isabel also reached out to one of the House staffers attempting to organize a union and was told, “Further action is off the table until we pass a budget”…
Session rumors, man.
* The decision is here…
* According to the mapmakers and using current voting-age population, the revised Chicago Elected School Board District map has 5 White-majority districts, 7 Black-majority districts and 5 Latino-majority districts. The other districts are split, with Latinos having a slight plurality in two…
The Illinois Senate and House Democratic caucuses today released an updated Chicago Elected School Board District map proposal and have scheduled additional hearings to gather further input from the public.
The updated map is available for review at www.ilsenateredistricting.com and www.ilhousedems.com/redistricting. The proposal incorporates suggestions put forth through online map making portals and public hearings, including requests to keep communities of interest as whole as possible and to ensure the maps reflect the diversity of Chicago. The proposal consists of 20 potential districts. Current law requires that one member be elected and one member be appointed by the mayor from each of ten districts. Lawmakers are seeking guidance on whether current law should remain the same and, if so, guidance on the best way to pair the 20 districts into 10 districts.
The Senate Special Committee on the Chicago Elected Representative School Board will hold a virtual hearing regarding the updated map at 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 18 at www.ilga.gov. Additional opportunities to provide comment can be accessed online at www.ilsenateredistricting.com or through email at ChicagoERSBCommittee@senatedem.ilga.gov.
The House will hold a hearing on the proposed map on Friday, May 19th. Hearing information can be found at www.ilga.gov. Feedback can also be emailed at any time to RedistrictingCommittee@hds.ilga.gov. […]
The General Assembly faces a July 1 deadline to draw Chicago school board districts, which must be consistent with the Illinois Voting Rights Act. That law ensures districts are crafted in a way that preserves clusters of minority voters if they are of size or cohesion to exert collective electoral power.
Currently appointed by the mayor, the Chicago Board of Education will transition to become fully-elected over the course of a two-year hybrid period.
* IDES…
The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that the unemployment rate fell -0.2 percentage point to 4.2 percent, while nonfarm payrolls increased by +8,500 in April, based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and released by IDES. The March monthly change in payrolls was revised from the preliminary report, from +7,900 to +6,400 jobs. The March revised unemployment rate was 4.4 percent, unchanged from the preliminary March unemployment rate. The April payroll jobs estimate and unemployment rate reflect activity for the week including the 12th.
In April, the industry sectors with the largest over-the-month job gains included: Manufacturing (+3,000), Construction (+2,700), Financial Activities (+2,700), and Educational and Health Services (+2,700). The industry sectors with the largest monthly payroll job declines included: Other Services (-2,000), Government (-900), and Leisure and Hospitality (-700). […]
The state’s unemployment rate was +0.8 percentage point higher than the national unemployment rate reported for April, which was 3.4 percent, down -0.1 percentage point from the previous month. The Illinois unemployment rate was down -0.3 percentage point from a year ago when it was at 4.5 percent.
Compared to a year ago, nonfarm payroll jobs increased by +131,800 jobs, with gains across nearly all major industries. The industry groups with the largest jobs increases included: Educational and Health Services (+38,100), Leisure and Hospitality (+37,200) and Government (+29,700). Information was the only industry group to report a decline in payroll jobs, down -2,100 from a year ago. In April, total nonfarm payrolls were up +2.2 percent over-the-year in Illinois and up +2.6 percent in the nation.
The number of unemployed workers was 275,000, down -3.1 percent from the prior month, and -5.0 percent over the same month one year ago. The labor force was up +0.1% over-the-month and down -0.1 percent over-the-year. The unemployment rate identifies those individuals who are out of work and seeking employment. An individual who exhausts or is ineligible for benefits is still reflected in the unemployment rate if they actively seek work.
* Man, this release is so full of bureaucratic-speak…
Today, Mayor Brandon Johnson; Deputy Mayor of Education, Youth, & Human Services Jennifer Johnson; the Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS); and All Chicago Making Homelessness History announced a partnership with the White House and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) to participate in ALL INside, a first-of-its-kind initiative to address unsheltered homelessness.
As part of ALL INside, the City will partner with USICH and its 19 federal member agencies for up to two years to strengthen and accelerate local efforts to move unsheltered people off the streets and into homes where they can rebuild their lives. […]
To accelerate ongoing efforts by local leaders, the Biden-Harris Administration will offer innovative and tailored support to participating communities for up to two years, including:
• Embedding a dedicated federal official in each community to accelerate locally driven strategies and enact system-level changes to reduce unsheltered homelessness.
• Deploying dedicated teams across the federal government to identify opportunities for regulatory relief and flexibilities, navigate federal funding streams, and facilitate a peer learning network across the communities; and
• Convening philanthropy, the private sector, and other communities to identify opportunities for follow-on support and collaboration.
Hooray, we get some new federal employees. How about giving the city money to put people in homes?
* The Chicago news media is kinda flipping out over that list of tax hikes issued by a couple of groups which supported Brandon Johnson’s mayoral campaign. But Lavin is right to try to calm things down…
“Let’s take a step back and see what the mayor’s plan actually is,” said Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce CEO Jack Lavin
And this looks more like a rejection than mere “distancing”…
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration on Wednesday distanced itself from a new proposal to raise up to $12 billion in annual revenue […]
“We put out a plan that we had to [argue about internally] a hundred different times. It was about $800 million. This is $12 billion. So it has nothing to do with what we’re trying to do,” Johnson’s senior adviser Jason Lee told the Sun-Times.
The final amount was “based on our kind of sober analysis of what might be feasible. … Their employee head tax is proposed to raise $100 million a year. Our head tax was proposed to raise $20 million a year. … They raise $2 billion off the income tax alone. We didn’t have an income tax in our plan. We didn’t think that was the right thing to do. They have a wealth tax. We don’t have a wealth tax.” […]
“His plan does not include a city income tax. He doesn’t plan to cut one penny from the CPD budget. Springfield has no appetite for a financial transaction tax. So we need to wait and see what the mayor’s proposals are before we react, then see how the mayor’s proposals address things like current obligations,” [Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce CEO Jack Lavin] said of the $37 billion pension crisis and the $700 million “funding cliff” for mass transit.
* Press release…
State Senator Ram Villivalam, State Representative Dagmara Avelar, and stakeholders announce an agreement on continuing medical education required for licensure of healthcare professionals. The initiative has been introduced as Senate Floor Amendment 3 to House Bill 2450.
State Sen. Ram Villivalam, D–Chicago
I am proud to have worked with Rep. Avelar, the Illinois State Medical Society, Equality Illinois, and a coalition of labor, civil rights, and community service organizations. The agreement ensures that healthcare providers will have the tools and knowledge to effectively serve their diverse communities while at the same time providing healthcare professionals with the flexibility they need in order to fulfill their continuing education requirements.
State Rep. Dagmara Avelar, D–Bolingbrook
As Illinois becomes more diverse, our health care needs to do the same. Culturally competent health care leads to more compassionate treatment and better health outcomes for some of our most vulnerable communities. This agreement is the result of extensive negotiations among advocates, legislators, and other stakeholders.
Illinois State Medical Society
We are pleased to support House Bill 2450 as amended as the new proposal will provide Illinois health professionals enhanced flexibility in taking continuing education coursework required for licensure. In addition to general continuing education hours, all licensed health professionals must take courses in specific areas to maintain licensure. We appreciate the efforts of Senator Ram Villivalam and our supporters in the House to provide much need flexibility and scheduling relief for thousands of healthcare heroes while keeping them educated on important matters related to patient care.
Healthcare Cultural Competency Coalition
We are a coalition of civil rights, community healthcare, and labor organizations. Thanks to the leadership of State Sen. Ram Villivalam and State Rep. Dagmara Avelar, this legislative agreement with the state’s medical community will ensure that healthcare providers are equipped with critical information and tools to deliver culturally competent care for the diverse communities they serve. We appreciate the leadership of Sen. Villivalam and Rep. Avelar and urge the Illinois General Assembly to pass this important legislation.
* DPI…
Today, the Democratic Party of Illinois (DPI) announced recent additions to its staff as part of Chair Lisa Hernandez’s Party Building Directive. DPI continues to build its staff to effectively implement the vision of Chair Hernandez and the Democratic State Central Committee (DSCC), expanding and strengthening the Party’s presence throughout the state and serving as a resource for all Democrats.
• Madeline Doctor will head the Party’s fundraising efforts as DPI Finance Director, expanding grassroots donor engagement and managing high level donor relationships. She previously served as Illinois Finance Director for Senator Tammy Duckworth and as Finance Director at Betsy Dirksen Londrigan for Congress.
• Jarae Hines will lead electoral strategy as DPI Field Director, working with DPI’s Regional Political Organizers to expand year-round voter engagement. He comes to DPI from Brandon Johnson’s mayoral campaign, where he was a field consultant and Operations Director on the transition team. He was previously Organizing Director for Congresswoman Lauren Underwood.
• Randall Webster is DPI Data Director. He will drive the strategic use of data for Democratic campaigns at all levels in Illinois and work to modernize the party’s data infrastructure. He previously worked as the New Hampshire Data Director in the Independent Expenditure for America Votes.
• Jessica Genova is now DPI Deputy Political Director. She came to DPI as a Regional Political Organizer after previously serving as Chief of Staff for State Representative Lindsey LaPointe.
• Allison Janowski is DPI Press Secretary. She was previously the Deputy Director for Protect Illinois Communities and a Communications Associate on Governor JB Pritzker’s reelection campaign.
• Alex Lineberry will serve as DPI Voter File Manager. She was previously a Data Associate at the Democratic Party of Wisconsin and a Field Organizer at the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor-Party.
* Isabel’s roundup…
* Crain’s | Illinois biz leaders in uproar over last-second lawsuit bill that’s set to pass: Patrick Salvi II, president of the state trial lawyers group, disputed that. By the association’s count, 34 states allow for punitive damages on wrongful-death judgments. About 25 of those don’t limit the amounts, he said in an interview. … In Cook County over the past decade, he said, there were just 18 cases where punitive damages over $10,000 were imposed.
* Tribune | Native American history would be latest public schools requirement under bill Gov. J.B. Pritzker expected to sign: “The Native American history is in our DNA,” Democratic state Rep. Maurice West of Rockford, the bill’s sponsor, said in an interview. “It’s our obligation to truly know our history as a state.”
* Daily Herald | Rolling Meadows, Palatine mayors fear Bears-related costs will be passed to their towns: “The bill as written does not take into account the full scope of the Bears development. The Bears don’t even know the full scope of the Bears development at this time,” Sanoica said of the proposed $5 billion project.
* Daily Herald | How might Bears advance subsidy bill downfield? By giving Chicago a bigger cut: Legislation put forward by state Rep. Marty Moylan would also add a $3-per-ticket tax on every admission to a new Bears stadium to help pay down Chicago’s debt from the 2002 renovation of the old lakefront stadium. The legislation will not get full General Assembly consideration until at least the next legislative session; the current session ends Friday.
* Sun-Times | Johnson’s City Council floor leader portrays Lightfoot as sore loser undermining smooth transition: “Mayor Lightfoot, in her final days, really worked to harm this incoming administration. It’s sad. It’s unfortunate. But we now have to come together as a city and clean up the mess that she left us,” Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, the mayor’s City Council floor leader, told the Sun-Times.
* Block Club | Satanists Sue Chicago For Not Allowing Them To Say ‘Hail Satan’ At City Council Meetings: The lawsuit — filed this month by the Satanic Temple — says the city violated the religious group’s First Amendment rights by “excluding disfavored minority faiths” from giving an invocation at the start of City Council meetings.
* Illinois Answers | Mayor Brandon Johnson says he’ll reopen the city’s mental health clinics. It won’t be as easy as it sounds.: “Of course we want [to reopen] the mental health clinics, but I think we also need to reimagine what those clinics can look like,” said Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez (33rd), a close ally of the new mayor and the likely next chair of the City Council Committee on Health & Human Services. “At this point, we have to assess: where is the biggest need?” Rodriguez-Sanchez said. “It might not be the exact same six buildings — or it might. That’s something we’re going to need to study.”
* Chalkbeat | Illinois lawmakers to hold hearing on revised draft map for Chicago elected school board ahead of possible vote: The new draft tinkers with three districts where no racial or ethnic group has a 50% majority, tilting two of those in favor of Latinos.
* Illinois Times | A controversial purchase: “It’s too tall to fit under the Capitol Avenue underpass. So, anytime we have to go west from downtown, we can’t go that way. Normally, that’s OK – unless there’s a train – and then we either have to go all the way down to Stanford or all the way up to Sangamon,” said Kainan Rinaberger, who heads Springfield Fire Fighters Local 37.
* Crain’s | Chicago-area home prices dip for the first time in 12½ years: The median price of a home sold in the nine-county metropolitan area in April was $320,000, according to data released this morning by Illinois Realtors, a statewide professional group. That’s down 1.5% from the same time a year ago.
* Bloomberg | Stunted wheat crops are turning blue in drought-ravaged Kansas: Crop scouts set out this week to analyze yield prospects in Oklahoma, Nebraska and Kansas, the biggest US grower. What they found underscores why the government is predicting that farmers across the nation will likely abandon their wheat crops at the highest rates since 1917. The signs of drought are everywhere, and many plants are too scrawny and damaged to be worth reaping.
* Crain’s | Sam Zell dies at 81: Known for his savvy in finding undervalued properties and companies, Zell built a sprawling empire that at times included the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Cubs, cruise ships, energy companies and Chinese and Mexican homebuilders. In his first entrepreneurial venture in 1953, a teenage Zell bought Playboy magazines in Chicago and resold them at a markup to his friends in Highland Park, where he grew up.
* NCSL | Human-Driven Physical Threats to Energy Infrastructure: In 2022, at least 25 reports were filed under the “actual physical attacks” criteria—as opposed to threats or suspicious behavior—compared to only six in 2021, but this can cover a range of activity. Additionally, while it is important to track all physical security incidents, it is important to note that not all incidents filed under the “actual physical attack” criteria resulted in customer impacts.
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Support Renewable Energy Credits for Illinois’ public universities to help offset the cost of solar power on campus, help fight climate change and create good-paying union jobs.
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Meanwhile, in Opposite Land…
Thursday, May 18, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Montana…
Montana has become the first state to ban the popular social media app TikTok.
Gov. Greg Gianforte signed Senate Bill 419 on Wednesday, saying he wants to protect the state’s residents’ private information from being compromised. He pointed to the Chinese government as a potential threat.
“The Chinese Communist Party using TikTok to spy on Americans, violate their privacy, and collect their personal, private, and sensitive information is well-documented,” Gov. Gianforte said.
There is no direct evidence that the Chinese government has ever accessed TikTok user data. However, TikTok’s critics point to laws in China that allow the government access to a company’s customer records.
* North Carolina…
North Carolina Rep. Tricia Cotham cast a pivotal vote Tuesday to pass new restrictions on abortion. State lawmakers voted Tuesday to override Cooper’s veto of the abortion bill, making the new 12-week abortion restrictions law. Every Republican, including Cotham, voted to support the override. […]
Cotham, a former Democrat from Mecklenburg County, changed her party affiliation to Republican in April, drawing backlash from her constituents and Democrats.
Republicans announced their new abortion bill in mid-May, and many wondered if Cotham would vote for it, as she had campaigned as a Democrat who supported Roe v. Wade. […]
The abortion bill passed into law Tuesday prohibits abortions after 12 weeks, with exceptions up to 20 weeks for rape and incest, up to 24 weeks for “life-limiting” fetal anomalies, and no limit if a physician determines that the life of the mother is in danger due to a medical emergency.
* South Carolina…
The South Carolina House of Representatives approved a ban on most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy on Tuesday night, setting up a repeat fight in a red state that has become an unexpected battleground over abortion. The vote came after roughly 24 hours of often rancorous debate in a rare special session called by the governor, and fell largely along party lines, 82 to 33.
Because the House amended a bill passed earlier by the Senate, the bill now goes back to the Senate for another vote.
* Disney vs DeSantis…
Florida legislation that was designed to hamstring Disney could end up helping the company, at least in relation to a lawsuit in state court over development at Walt Disney World near Orlando.
Gov. Ron DeSantis and Disney have been sparring for more than a year over a special tax district that encompasses Disney World. The fight started when the company criticized a Florida education law labeled by opponents as “Don’t Say Gay” — angering Mr. DeSantis.
On Tuesday, Disney filed a motion to dismiss the state court case. As a matter of legal maneuvering, the filing was routine: Disney wants to shut down the state case and focus on the federal one.
But the company’s argument about why the district’s case should be tossed was less expected: Mr. DeSantis and his allies in the Legislature rendered the lawsuit moot with their subsequent actions, the filing said. By prohibiting the district from complying with the contracts, Mr. DeSantis and the Legislature made “any order this court could issue — in either party’s favor — legally irrelevant.”
* Disney is also pulling out of a billion dollar development in Florida…
In March, Disney called Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida “anti-business” for his scorched-earth attempt to tighten oversight of the company’s theme park resort near Orlando. Last month, when Disney sued the governor and his allies for what it called “a targeted campaign of government retaliation,” the company made clear that $17 billion in planned investment in Walt Disney World was on the line.
“Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people, and pay more taxes, or not?” Robert A. Iger, Disney’s chief executive, said on an earnings-related conference call with analysts last week.
On Thursday, Mr. Iger and Josh D’Amaro, Disney’s theme park and consumer products chairman, showed that they were not bluffing, pulling the plug on a nearly $1 billion office complex that was scheduled for construction in Orlando. It would have brought more than 2,000 jobs to the region, with $120,000 as the average salary, according to an estimate from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.
The project, known as the Lake Nona Town Center, was supposed to involve the relocation of more than 1,000 employees from Southern California, including most of a department known as Imagineering, which works with Disney’s movie studios to develop theme park attractions. Most of the affected employees complained bitterly about having to move — some quit — but Disney largely held firm, partly because of a Florida tax credit that would have allowed the company to recoup as much as $570 million over 20 years for building and occupying the complex.
* Texas…
Over the opposition of Democrats and the loud protests at the Capitol this month, the Texas Legislature voted on Wednesday to approve a bill banning hormone and puberty blocking treatments, as well as surgeries for transgender children. The state is poised to become the largest state to ban transition medical care for minors.
The final version of the bill included a limited exemption for those transgender children who were already receiving medical treatment before the bill’s passage, though it also required those patients to “wean” themselves off the medications over an unspecified period of time.
The bill would prohibit a doctor from performing mastectomies or surgeries that would sterilize a child or remove otherwise healthy tissue or body parts, or from prescribing drugs that would induce transient or permanent infertility. It now heads to the governor’s desk.
The legislation was one of several proposals aimed at regulating the lives of transgender people being considered this year by the Republican-dominated Legislature: On Wednesday, the State House voted to advance a measure requiring athletes in public colleges to compete based on the sex inscribed on their birth certificate at the time of their birth.
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Question of the day
Thursday, May 18, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* HJR23 supports building, via a public/private partnership, two additional express toll lanes in each direction on Interstate 55 between I-294 and I-90/94, and one additional express toll lane in each direction from I-355 to I-294. It zipped through a committee 15-0.
* From the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150…
SUPPORT HJR23 I-55 MANAGED LANES
THE NEED
I-55 has faced severe congestion for many years.
• Daily traffic has grown over 250% since 1980 between I-355 and I-294, 130% between I-294 and IL 171, and 94% between IL 171 and Cicero.
• Average weekday travel times have shown travel speeds consistently around 30 MPH for several hours each day on portions of I-55 both northbound and southbound.
• Historical data has shown that travel times on I-55 can exceed 60 minutes during peak hours in both directions; under congested conditions, travel times can almost triple.
While I-55 already experiences congestion, it is only expected to get worse as the southwestern suburbs continue to see significant growth.
• Population in Will County is expected to grow 67% between 2010 and 2040 and employment is expected to grow 110%, contributing to commuting demands on I-55 and further degradation of travel and reliability.
• Overall, daily traffic is estimated to increase between 33% and 74% along I-55 by the year 2040.
• The percent of truck traffic on I-55 ranges from 10% to 14% overall, accounting for 6-13% of
traffic during peak hours; these figures are only expected to grow.
THE BENEFIT
CMAP currently has the I-55 managed lanes project listed in their long-range plan.
It would include the addition of managed lanes within the existing median of I-55 between I-90/94 and I- 355. The corridor would include Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS).
The I-55 managed lanes project ranks as one of the best expressway projects in the Chicago region to reduce congestion, improve access to jobs, and create a safer transportation system.
• It is estimated to provide amongst the best traffic congestion improvements of any project in the region by 2050; it ranks 1st in reducing Chicago region congestion, compared to all other proposed expressway projects considered by CMAP.
• It will improve travel speeds by 12% on the general purpose lanes in each direction.
• It will improve job accessibility by 47,800.
• It will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 34.1 metric tons per day.
• It will increase regional economic activity by $79 million as a result of improved travel times
leading to enhanced business-to-business interaction and access to a larger labor pool.
SOURCES
* NRDC…
Adding lanes to our state’s highways would increase greenhouse gas emissions, undermining the state’s goals to protect our climate. Highway expansions also put already overburdened environmental justice communities that live alongside them at risk.
In the fever dream of a film, Field of Dreams, Kevin Costner hears a whisper in a cornfield: “If you build it, he will come.” Well, that’s basically what happens when we add lanes to a highway—instead of reducing commute times and easing congestion, more people end up on the roads. Study after study show that highway expansions entice more people to drive and don’t reduce congestion in the long-term. Instead, they increase the overall number of miles people are traveling using vehicles, leaving communities with dirtier air.
Neighborhoods on the Southwest Side of Chicago, bisected by I-55, already face some of the worst air pollution in the country. What’s more, these communities were not meaningfully engaged or consulted on this project that would directly impact their lives, and the environmental analysis for this project is years old and arguably obsolete.
Increased highway capacity will lead to more harmful emissions in an area already overburdened by high asthma rates and other chronic health problems, doubling down on the shameful history of prioritizing harmful transportation infrastructure over the health and safety of communities of color living nearby.
State leaders should be working to reduce the amount of vehicular traffic generating harmful air pollution, not expand it.
…Adding… Another analysis from the Metropolitan Planning Council and several environmental/transportation groups…
The I-55 Expansion Would Increase Pollution and Make Vulnerable People Sick
● Residents of neighborhoods on the Southwest Side of Chicago face some of the greatest impacts of pollution in the country. Expanding highway capacity will incentivize more driving and more harmful emissions in an area already burdened by high asthma rates and other chronic health problems1.
● New lanes on I-55 – even managed lanes – will double down on the shameful history of prioritizing harmful transportation infrastructure over the health and safety of communities of color living nearby.
The I-55 Expansion Would Worsen Climate Change and Environmental Injustice
● This project will increase carbon pollution, directly contradicting Illinois’ commitment to achieving the Paris Climate Agreement2 targets.
● This project would set back Chicago and Illinois’ progress towards addressing a long history of civil rights violations from harmful land use, zoning and transportation infrastructure decisions that have decimated communities of color.
The I-55 Expansion Would Add More Cars and Leave Us With Congested Roads
● Study after study has shown we can’t build our way out of congestion. Adding new highway lanes results in more driving due to the urban planning principle of “induced demand,” and new roadway capacity will inevitably be filled within a few years.
● This project would add an estimated 80 lane-miles to I-55, which could generate the equivalent of more than 50,000 added vehicles a year to our roads.
Communities Were Not Consulted On the I-55 Highway Expansion and Its Environmental Analysis Is Obsolete
● Environmental analysis for this project, including its assumptions about health and climate impacts, is several years old and obsolete.
● Neighborhoods affected by this project have not been appropriately consulted or engaged in discussions of a project that will critically impact their lives.
The I-55 Highway Expansion Is Expensive; Other Projects Offer More Job Opportunities
● Highway construction costs have gone up 50% in two years due to major inflation in cost of materials.5 Even if this were built via a public-private partnership, very high tolls would be needed – similar projects’ tolls have exceeded $40 per trip at times6.
● Investments in public transit and highway maintenance produce more jobs per dollar than highway expansion.
The I-55 Highw ay Expansion Is a Repackaged Bruce Rauner Priority
Former Gov. Rauner tried throughout his term to authorize the expansion of I-55. The General Assembly stood firm and refused to sign off on an expensive project that will harm our environment and communities. They should do it again.
* The Question: Build the lanes or no? Please make sure to explain your answer. Thanks.
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It’s almost a law
Thursday, May 18, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* NBC Chicago…
Supports of the long-debated South Suburban Airport notched a legislative victory this week, as the General Assembly passed a bill that would require the Illinois Department of Transportation to take steps toward developing the facility.
The airport, which would be located in Peotone, some 40 miles south of Chicago, would serve commercial and cargo planes, according to lawmakers, and has been the subject of heated debate for decades.
The new legislation, sponsored by State Sens. Napoleon Harris III, Michael E. Hastings and Patrick Joyce in the Senate, passed by a 33-20 vote on Wednesday.
The bill’s language requires the Department of Transportation to enter into public-private agreements and to establish a prequalification process for vendors to participate in the development, financing, construction, management and operation of the new airport.
* WQAD…
Under current Illinois law, schools can decide whether or not to accept credits towards majors or electives. If accepted as electives, students find themselves retaking classes to meet their university’s requirements. […]
Back in February, Senate Bill 2288 was introduced to the state of Illinois. The bill aims to help Illinois community college students by assuring class credits related to their major will be transferable to all public colleges and universities in the state.
“If you take a class as a major level, it will count as a major level at any 4-year public institution in Illinois,” Castree said. “I think ultimately it helps 4-year universities and it’ll be nice to see 2-year schools work alongside them to ensure transferring students do well at their next journey.”
The bill has been passed by the state house and senate. Once signed by Governor JB Pritzker, it will go into effect next year.
* Brenden Moore…
* Sen. Laura Fine…
A new initiative from State Senator Laura Fine will require the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services to maintain a database on the safety of consumer products, making safety information much more accessible to protect Illinois children. […]
Currently, families and caregivers do not have a clear resource to check if a product or toy is safe for their child to use, or if there were any recalls of the product. DCFS is currently only required by state law to contact childcare facilities without internet access about relevant product recalls. Those facilities with internet access must research recalls through their own means.
House Bill 3363 requires DCFS to establish and maintain a public database on their website on the safety of consumer products regulated by the department. Additionally, the bill changes the definition of children’s products to include products intended for the use of a child under age 12. This puts DCFS in compliance with the federal Consumer Product Safety Act.
* Chicago Tribune…
Illinois could be on a path toward getting a new state flag after lawmakers sent Gov. J.B. Pritzker a bill that would establish a commission to decide if the emblem needs a makeover and, if so, what it should look like.
The bill establishes the Illinois Flag Commission, which will have the responsibility of not only recommending if a new flag is needed but also submitting up to 10 possible redesigns.
During the House floor debate, Democratic Rep. Kam Buckner of Chicago emphasized that the commission will consider the cost of replacing existing state flags when making its recommendation. […]
The bill was passed by the House by a 72-40 vote, after being approved by the Senate in March in a 39-16 vote. It now awaits the governor’s signature. His office on Wednesday offered no hint on where he stands.
* WICS…
A State Senator is trying to lower the annual fee for fishing licenses to $5 for Illinois residents who have not purchased a license in 10 or more years.
In Illinois, fishing licenses are currently $15. Non-residents would pay $10.
“Growing up near a river in Illinois, one of my favorite memories is fishing with my family in the summer,” said State Senator Julie Morrison (D-Lake Forest). “Over the past few years, we have grown a greater appreciation for the outdoors, and I want to make sure people have easy access to grow that appreciation and love even more.”
House Bill 2317 passed the Senate Wednesday.
* Sen. Doris Turner…
To promote community gardening, State Senator Doris Turner championed a measure that would provide incentives for affordable housing projects that incorporate urban and suburban gardening.
“Gardening can help households cut down on food costs,” said Turner (D-Springfield). “Providing affordable housing units an incentive to garden allows residents to have access to nutritional foods right outside their doors.”
House Bill 3892 would allow the Illinois Housing Development Authority to develop a program that provides incentives for affordable housing projects that incorporate urban and suburban gardening.
Turner’s measure would require IHDA to consult with the University of Illinois on the program, work with the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to facilitate the distribution of produce from the garden, and provide all necessary tools for the garden. […]
House Bill 3892 passed the Senate and now heads to the governor’s desk.
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It’s just a bill
Thursday, May 18, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Illinois Times…
On May 9 the Public Utilities Committee approved an amendment to a bill which would lift the moratorium on nuclear power plant construction. That amendment to SB 79 would exempt “relicensure” of nuclear power plants from the requirement that they use “advanced nuclear reactor” technology, which would be required for new construction. The proposal, submitted by Rep. Lance Yednock, D-Ottawa, passed the committee unanimously. The bill currently has a May 19 deadline for passage.
David Kraft, director of the Nuclear Energy Information Service, a Chicago-based organization opposed to the proliferation of nuclear power, called the new amendment a “bait and switch” tactic because all discussion of the bill until the May 9 hearing was about Small Modular Nuclear Reactors, while no mention was made during hearings of applying more liberal rules to existing nuclear plants. Kraft’s organization is joined in its opposition to the measure by the Illinois Sierra Club, Illinois Environmental Council, Environmental Law and Policy Center, and Physicians for Social Responsibility.
Under current law, no nuclear power plants may be constructed in Illinois unless there is a method for permanent disposal of high-level nuclear waste approved by either the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or the Illinois legislature. SB 76 would eliminate that restriction. The measure has widespread bipartisan support.
SB 76 and its companion bill HB 1079 were introduced in January at the beginning of the legislative session and in the next four hearings proponents of the bill presented evidence that focused on a new technology currently in development called Small Modular Nuclear Reactors. Their claim is that SMNRs are safer, cleaner, more portable and less expensive than traditional nuclear power plants. However, the technology will not be ready in the United States at least until 2029 and it could be years after that before production reaches a scale large enough to have an impact on energy production. Critics of SMNRs argue that not only is the technology immature but SMNRs are actually dirtier, more expensive and more susceptible to terrorist attack and other proliferation risks.
* Fox Chicago…
A state Senate Committee late Wednesday approved a bill limiting the way guns are marketed.
The proposal would punish any gun maker or gun seller who “knowingly endanger the public by failing to establish reasonable controls.”
Over 1,100 pro-gun rights activists registered their opposition, which also makes it illegal to run marketing campaigns to Illinoisans under the age of 18 or to those engaging in unlawful paramilitary or private militia activity.
The Republican leader of the state Senate objected to the vagueness of some of that language.
* Center Square…
Attorney General Kwame Raoul supports House Bill 218, which among other things allows lawsuits for marketing firearms to children.
“We’ve seen an Illinois manufacturer remove their previous advertisement for the ‘JR-15, own one just like mom and dad’s’ after coming under national pressure,” Raoul told the Illinois Senate Executive Committee Wednesday.
“We’ve seen an Illinois manufacturer remove their previous advertisement for the ‘JR-15, own one just like mom and dad’s’ after coming under national pressure,” Raoul told the Illinois Senate Executive Committee Wednesday. […]
Another provision makes it unlawful for the gun industry to advertise what could appear to support “unlawful paramilitary or private militia activity.” Aurora Sportsmen’s Club board member Todd Vandermyde asked who makes the call on whether sponsoring self-defense training crosses over to paramilitary training.
* Journal Courier…
The Illinois Senate is preparing for the third reading of a bill that would require feminine hygiene products to be provided free in any public toilet facility that is available to women, or any that are not gender-specific.
An amendment to House Bill 3093 is scheduled to be heard today by the Senate’s Executive Committee before it is sent to the floor for a third reading. The General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn Friday.
“I think it is government overreach,” said state Sen. Jil Tracy, R-Quincy, who serves on the Executive Committee. “What will happen is private businesses will simply close their restrooms to the public. Asking them to carry these products is a cost-barrier to businesses. I certainly don’t support it.” […]
“I have been fighting for fair access to reproductive hygiene products for years now because every person deserves to have their vital health care needs met,” Hernandez said. “This measure is a big step toward fulfilling that right by guaranteeing products to people who menstruate that they cannot live without.
* WGEM…
The CDC reports over 100,000 Americans died of a drug overdose in 2022, with fentanyl being a factor in 67% of those.
Illinois House lawmakers continue to debate House Bill 0002 bill which would allow the Illinois Department of Health and Human Services to establish overdose prevention sites in cities. For those not familiar with them, overdose prevention sites offer drug users a place to do drugs, and revived by staff if they overdose, and offer them resources or help for them to get clean.
Local law enforcement and the state attorney are concerned about this legislation, as they don’t think it’ll help.
Adams County Sheriff Anthony Grootens said methadone clinics were offered to heroine addicts back in the 70s to help them get clean, but they failed to help get users off the drugs. He said while the sites can help prevent overdoses at the location, it won’t stop someone from overdosing outside of the clinic hours later, a sight they have seen before.
* WAND…
The Illinois House unanimously passed a bill Wednesday to make the popular AIM HIGH grant pilot program permanent for college students.
This grant was specifically designed to help Illinois keep the “best and brightest” high school students in the state after years of declining enrollment when many of those students chose colleges in other states that offer attractive merit based scholarships.
Sponsors said many students from middle class families do not qualify for MAP and Pell grants, but they still deserve an opportunity to receive financial aid. […]
The plan now heads to the Senate for further consideration. Sponsors hope the measure can pass out of the Senate before the scheduled adjournment on Friday.
* WAND…
Sangamon County could soon have a rescue squad to help law enforcement, firefighters, and other first responders.
A bill moving to the Illinois House floor would allow the Sangamon County Board to form, manage, fund, and operate the volunteer rescue squad. Sponsors explained Wednesday the volunteers may help locate missing people and drowning victims, support in fighting fires, and extricate people from unsafe conditions.
The Sangamon County Board would be responsible for providing benefits for rescue squad volunteers who suffer disease, injuries, or death in the line of duty. […]
The rescue squad plan was a bipartisan initiative from Senators Steve McClure (R-Springfield) and Doris Turner (D-Springfield) and Representatives Sue Scherer (D-Decatur) and Wayne Rosenthal (R-Morrisonville). Didech included their bill language in a completely separate proposal regarding community mental health services to ensure their plan could be approved before the spring session ends.
* Herald-Review…
A bill that would reform Illinois’ arcane tax sale system is working through the legislature in the waning days of spring session as lawmakers seek to close loopholes that often leave properties languishing down the path to blight and, ultimately, demolition.
The legislation, sponsored by state Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, aims to essentially get these properties out of a limbo status by making it easier for homeowners and business owners to pay back their delinquent taxes or, if the property has been abandoned, allowing local governments to intervene and take possession earlier than is allowed under current state law.
Delinquent property taxes are put up for auction annually. Once they are sold, a lien is placed on the property and the owner has three years to pay back the tax buyer with interest. This gives people time to pay what they owe while ensuring that local units of government receive the tax revenue they levied for. […]
The legislation was approved in House committee Wednesday morning.
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* Here we go again. Tribune…
People constantly come and go, but new estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show that Chicago lost about 81,000 people, or just under 3% of its population, from 2020 to 2022. Despite the decline, the city retained its position as the nation’s third most populous city, after New York City and Los Angeles, in 2022. Houston was ranked fourth.
Chicago’s population as of July 1, 2022, was estimated at 2,665,039, with changes calculated from the estimated base of April 1, 2020. […]
Census figures have come into question recently, particularly since the agency estimated in 2020 that Illinois lost population — but a follow-up survey released last year concluded the state instead gained 250,000 people, a significant flip-flop.
* US Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi…
I’m extremely disappointed to see another Census Bureau population update arrive without the agency implementing the methodological changes it has been reviewing since it found last year that the 2020 Census had undercounted Illinois and that the state’s population had actually grown to an all-time high.
While the Census Bureau has begun efforts to address these undercounts through expanding outreach to hard-to-count communities and working to cover frequently undercounted populations such as children under the age of four, we need the Census Bureau to immediately implement these and the other necessary changes it has had a year to evaluate to improve the accuracy of its data.
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Know Mpox campaign launched
Thursday, May 18, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Illinois Public Health Association…
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and health departments across Illinois are closely monitoring a resurgence of Mpox, formerly monkeypox, cases, particularly in patients who have previously received a vaccination.
The newest spike comes just days after the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the end of the Mpox international public health emergency, but it highlights the importance of staying vigilant against the disease. Federal and state authorities have opened access to JYNNEOS vaccine doses to public health departments throughout Illinois. While vaccinated individuals are less likely to contract Mpox, breakthrough cases have occurred. According to the CDC, the JYNNEOS vaccine is nearly 70% effective at reducing the risk of Mpox.
“This dangerous virus is still a threat across the State of Illinois, particularly our central and southern regions,” said Jeffery Erdman, IPHA’s associate executive director. “The Illinois Public Health Association is keeping a close eye on the situation and reminds healthcare providers of the resources IPHA has available to help fight back against the virus.”
The Know Mpox campaign, launched earlier this month, is designed to help health directors and other public health officials in Illinois prepare for an outbreak of Mpox. IPHA encourages gay and bisexual Illinois residents, those with immunocompromising conditions or anybody exposed to the virus to get vaccinated.
Additionally, KnowMpox.org provides a comprehensive digital tool kit, to help residents, LGBTQ+ resource centers, and Community Health Workers statewide locate nearby Mpox treatments and preventative services.
“These resources play a critical role in our work against the Mpox virus. In addition to vaccinations, knowledge is our biggest tool in the fight against this disease,” Erdman said.
Finding JYNNEOS vaccine doses and getting people to them can cause significant burdens in impoverished, sparsely populated areas. IPHA’s Community Health Workers help close that gap by providing resources in their own communities.
Mpox, or MPV, is a viral infection transmitted through direct, physical contact. During the 3 to 17-day incubation period, a person typically does not notice any symptoms, but those with Mpox typically experience a rash on their hands, feet, chest, face, or mouth or near the genitals. Some other side effects include fever, chills, swollen lymph nodes, muscle aches, headaches and respiratory symptoms.
Funding for Know Mpox is possible through a grant from the Illinois Dept. of Public Health (IDPH).
* Illinois Times…
The vast majority of cases diagnosed in Illinois have been among gay and bisexual men who are not in monogamous relationships. A disproportionate number of cases have been detected among Black and Hispanic people, state and federal health officials said.
People at risk also include people with moderate to severe conditions that compromise their immune systems, such as those with the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV.
People who have been infected with mpox usually don’t notice any symptoms during an incubation period of three to 17 days, the association says. After that, people typically experience a rash on their hands, feet, chest, face or near their genitals.
Other side effects can include fever, chills, swollen lymph nodes, muscle aches, headaches and respiratory symptoms. It’s believed that not all mpox cases are being diagnosed, because its symptoms can mirror the flu and other ailments, according to Jeffery Erdman, associate executive director of the Illinois Public Health Association.
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[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Just as Illinois hospitals face difficult spending decisions—due to dramatically higher costs—legislators face similar challenges allocating limited resources. As you balance competing requests, Illinois hospitals implore you to consider the critical role of hospitals and the dire financial distress they face due to inflation, supply chain and staffing shortages, and rising labor costs.
Last week, Gov. JB Pritzker declared May 11 “Illinois Public Health & Health Care Hero Day,” recognizing the tremendous sacrifice and dedication of healthcare professionals in treating patients during the pandemic. As you consider legislation in the final days of session, Illinois hospitals need your support. Our healthcare heroes need it, too.
Invest in Illinois healthcare by passing Senate Bill 1763 for the first General Revenue Fund (GRF) Medicaid hospital rate increase in 28 years.
GRF funds less than 18% of hospital Medicaid spending, while hospitals fund over 22% through an almost $2 billion assessment tax. Increasing the GRF portion of Medicaid hospital rates can help preserve patient access to care and will allow hospitals to continue investing in patient care and preventive services—while helping prevent hospital closures and service line cuts.
Vote YES on SB 1763 for a much-needed 20% across-the-board increase to hospital Medicaid base rates. Discover the facts to learn more.
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Thursday, May 18, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Here you go…
* Capitol News Illinois | As budget negotiations continue, Pritzker announces launch of stalled tax incentive program: The major unfinished item as of Wednesday night was the state’s operating budget. No bill language had been filed and neither chamber moved an appropriations bill that could contain the budget plan. That meant session is likely to continue past Friday’s scheduled adjournment date, due to the state constitution’s requirement that bills be read three times on the floor before passage.
* WAND | Illinois lawmakers could include funding for free college test prep in FY24 budget: Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-Chicago) told WAND News Wednesday that Illinois should have a program to help students prepare for licensure exams to become teachers, nurses, social workers and lawyers.
* Tribune | Legislators OK putting Illinois on path toward a new state flag: “I really want people to get excited about Illinois again,” state Sen. Doris Turner, a Springfield Democrat who’s sponsoring the bill, said in an interview after the bill passed the House on Wednesday. “This is an opportunity for us to engage with the electorate.”
* WBEZ | Tax breaks for Bears punted to state legislature’s fall veto session: Moylan’s bill would freeze property values, which means the Bears would not pay more taxes as the Racecourse property value increases. The measure sets up an oversight committee composed of local and state officials. Every year they will negotiate what the team should pay surrounding communities to offset the loss to schools, road maintenance and other services reliant on property tax revenue.
* Sun-Times | Bears finding it’ll take more than two-minute offense to win Springfield help for new stadium in Arlington Heights: State Rep. Marty Moylan, D-Des Plaines, told lawmakers he needs more time — and more support — to clinch a deal that he says would freeze a property tax assessment for up to 40 years for the Arlington Heights stadium and create a $3 admission tax on all events held there.
* Daily Herald | As session end nears, state legislators consider range of environmental bills: Environmental advocates have cited a dust storm earlier this month that led to a chain of car crashes and eight deaths in central Illinois. It was loose soil from freshly plowed farm fields, combined with dry conditions and high winds, that created the plumes of dust and near-zero visibility that led to the crashes, weather experts said.
* Sun-Times | Eighth person dies in I-55 pileup crash caused by dust storm: Ruth Rau, 81, of downstate Sorento, died Tuesday night at a hospital, Illinois State Police said.
* WBEZ | Ten years later, more than half of Chicago’s closed schools remain unused: Over six months, reporters from the Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ have visited each of the shuttered buildings. The closings of 50 schools, including four that shared facilities, left 46 buildings empty. Reporters spoke with dozens of neighbors and reviewed thousands of public documents to learn what has become of the schools spread across 21 wards that were closed by Emanuel’s chosen schools CEO and school board.
* Sun-Times | Johnson administration distances itself from $12 billion tax plan co-written by member of transition team: The plan by the Action Center on Race & the Economy and the People’s Unity Platform “has nothing to do with what we’re trying to do,” said Jason Lee, a senior adviser to Mayor Brandon Johnson. The mayor’s approach, Lee said, involves “sober analysis of what might be feasible.”
* Tribune | Ex-Mayor Lori Lightfoot warned about email electioneering 10 months before campaign tried to recruit CPS students: When it came to light in January, Lightfoot’s camp first defended but then quickly denounced the practice of sending emails to public workers soliciting campaign help. Now it’s emerged that her campaign had been warned by the city Board of Ethics in March 2022 to cease sending political communications to public employee emails.
* Toni Preckwinkle | Lawmakers must make county’s pension code change permanent: My office’s proposed reform is to ensure that the county is consistent with federal Safe Harbor guidance — where pension benefits provided to an employee instead of Social Security must be comparable to the value of Social Security benefits. We want to make sure employees are not receiving less than what they would get under Social Security.
* NBC Chicago | Long-Debated South Suburban Airport a Step Closer to Reality After General Assembly Passes New Bill: The airport, which would be located in Peotone, some 40 miles south of Chicago, would serve commercial and cargo planes, according to lawmakers, and has been the subject of heated debate for decades.
* Tribune | CTA is rolling out more electric buses: With the expansion, CTA will have 25 electric buses serving passengers. Most of those will continue to run on the Chicago Avenue route, but two will begin running on the 63rd Street route. CTA has equipped three of its seven bus garages to handle all-electric buses.
* Fox Chicago | Chicago suburb approves first recreational cannabis lounge in Cook County: To ensure compliance, patrons will be required to adhere to a strict set of rules, including making mandatory reservations and consuming only cannabis purchased from the dispensary on the same day.
* Tribune | Chicago Tribune to buy Daily Herald plant, move printing operations to Schaumburg in coming months: The deal, announced Wednesday, is expected to close within days, with printing operations and production employees moving to the new facility in the northwest suburbs over the coming months, sources said.
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Thursday, May 18, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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