* Press release…

Today, 27th Ward Democratic Committeeperson and Chair Walter Burnett announced the date, time, and location for the Democratic Party’s Fifth District Illinois State Senate Committee meeting. The Committee will conduct in-person interviews at Plumbers Local 130, 1340 W Washington, Basement, Chicago, IL 60607 to fill the vacancy in the 5th District of the Illinois State Senate created by the resignation of Senator Patricia Van Pelt. Doors will open at 12:30pm and the meeting will begin promptly at 1:00pm. The meeting will conclude upon the completion of the candidate interviews, committee deliberations, and an appointment to fill the vacancy by a majority of the entire weighted vote of the Committeepersons.

Candidates who would like to apply for the position of 5th District State Senator will need to send their cover letter and resume to this email address: wbj863@gmail.com by August 11, 2023.

The members of the 5th District’s election committee include Committeeperson Daniel LaSpata (1st Ward), Committeeperson Tim Egan (2nd Ward), Comitteeperson John Daley (11th Ward), Committeeperson George Cardenas (12th Ward), Committeeperson Mike Rodriguez (22nd Ward), VACANT (24th Ward), Committeperson Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th Ward), Committeeperson Walter Burnett (27th Ward), Committeeperson Jason Ervin (28th Ward), Committeeperson Chris Taliaferro (29th Ward), Committeeperson Scott Waguespack (32nd Ward), Committeeperson Emma Mitts (37th), Committeeperson Brendan Reilly (42nd Ward), and Committeeperson Lucy Moog (43rd Township).

What:

Democratic Committee Meeting to fill the vacancy in the office of the Illinois State Senate for the 5th District

When:

Tuesday, August 15, 2023
12:30pm - Doors open to public and press
1:00pm - Meeting and interviews begin

The apparently vacant 24th Ward Committeeperson slot can only be filled by the central committee, per party bylaws.

* Daily Southtown…

Residents of Robbins looked up at their town’s water tower last week and watched as hundreds of gallons of water cascaded down from the top.

When a water main broke July 28 and increased the flow of water into the tower, it triggered the emergency overflow system used to prevent the water tower from bursting. It also resurfaced questions about why the state’s leadership isn’t doing more to upgrade the community’s infrastructure.

“If the governor really cared about the people, he’s a billionaire. He could fix all of Illinois himself,” said Robbins Mayor Darren Bryant, who is asking lawmakers for $40 million for his town to conduct infrastructure upgrades. “Put a billion to it, governor, if you want to run for president.”

Yeah, that’ll work.

* Meanwhile, here’s Fox 32…

Community leaders are calling for a meeting with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker saying violence is a disease and civility is the cure.

The purpose of the proposed meeting with the governor is to lay out the Illinois Plan of Civility. […]

State Rep. La Shawn Ford said civility involves kindness, empathy, and understanding while promoting respectful and polite behavior.

Rep. Ford should teach a class in how to regularly get TV news coverage.

* Rick Pearson…

When the Will County Board decided to send four of its members to the National Association of Counties’ legislative conference in Washington this past February, the contingent included new Republican board member Daniel Butler of Frankfort. […]

Little more than two years earlier, prior to being elected to office, Butler was in Washington attending then-President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally. Butler joined the march to the U.S. Capitol but he was not charged and he said he did not enter the building as insurgents staged a deadly insurrection in a failed attempt to stop the counting of Electoral College votes that made Biden the nation’s president.

Displaying a long history on social media of propagating elaborate and widely debunked conspiracy theories — ranging from pandemic vaccines linked with computer chip technology to a QAnon-backed tale contending Italian satellites were used in 2020 to switch votes from Trump to Biden — Butler won a seat on the Will County Board on Nov. 8. […]

Butler said he still has doubts that Biden’s vote total in defeating Trump exceeded that of President Barack Obama and said he recalls hearing that “some satellite in Rome that the Vatican has” was used to switch votes from Trump to Biden and “they traced stuff that went to a server in Germany.” […]

Butler’s election was assisted by more than $3,300 worth of campaign mailings paid by the Illinois Republican Party, campaign records show. The Illinois GOP did not respond to a request for comment.

Um, wait. Butler claims the Pope’s satellite was used to defeat Trump? Are there no Catholic voters in that guy’s district or in the ILGOP who might be just a wee bit upset about this? Sheesh.

* The task force report isn’t due until next March, which will be too late to implement RCV for the presidential primary cycle…

Governor Pritzker signed SB2123 into law [last week] , greenlighting a task force to evaluate the implementation of Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) in presidential primaries and to analyze the necessary modernization of Illinois’ elections equipment and systems. The Ranked Choice and Voting Systems Task Force will begin convening to analyze the state’s capacity for implementation of RCV and will release a comprehensive report in March, 2024.

The convening of this task force will be the first time in Illinois history that there will be a concerted state-led effort to review RCV and the state’s capacity for implementation. The task force’s work will give lawmakers and election officials a better understanding of RCV, while also facilitating an accounting for how the state certifies certain election systems and equipment, many of which are outdated and less secure.

“Ranked Choice Voting helps ensure everyone’s vote counts” said Patrick Hanley at FairVote Illinois. “Modernizing election equipment is not only critical to implementing Ranked Choice Voting, but it will also ensure election integrity and security at a time when election workers and the systems they use are under increased threat.”

Right now, more than 30% of Illinois’ counties are utilizing outdated voting machines and systems. The RCV Task Force’s report will provide details about the costs of updating these machines to process RCV ballots and make elections more fair and more secure. […]

RCV in presidential primaries is an elegant solution to many of the problems facing our electoral system today. It solves the wasted vote problem that happens now in our current system where voters who vote early can select a candidate who later drops out before the Illinois contest, rendering their vote wasted and their voice silenced.

In 2020, 70,000 Democratic votes were wasted in the presidential primary. Likewise, 30,000 Republican votes were wasted in Illinois’ 2016 presidential primary.

Our current system allows people to vote early for presidential candidates in primaries, even if they are no longer in the race

“Too many votes are wasted in presidential primaries because our current system allows people to vote early for candidates who eventually drop out before the primary day,” State Representative and State Central Committeeman Maurice West (D-Rockford) said. “Ranked Choice Voting ensures voters’ voices are heard and helps solve that problem. It’s a common-sense solution to address a flaw in our system, and I’m grateful for the Governor’s support in exploring this important issue.”

RCV gives voters the option to rank candidates in order of preference – first, second, third, and so on. If their first choice is not viable, their vote counts for their highest-ranked candidate who is. The ability to rank backup choices ensures voters’ voices are heard and rewards candidates with the broadest appeal.

Currently Maine and Alaska have adopted RCV statewide, including for presidential primaries, and over 60 cities and counties have adopted RCV for local elections.

* Press release…

State Representative Tony McCombie (Savanna) was successful in spearheading five legislative initiatives through the Illinois House, all of which passed with bipartisan support and were recently signed into law by Governor JB Pritzker.

“These bills are common sense solutions for Illinois and will help make communities across our state safer, streamline certain government processes, and celebrate those who fight for our nation,” said McCombie. “For me, this is about solving problems and making life better for residents.”

The bills signed by the Governor include:

House Bill 3203: Works to curb the fentanyl epidemic affecting communities across the state by allowing a pharmacist or retailer (rather than only a pharmacist) to sell fentanyl test strips over-the-counter to the public to test for the presence of fentanyl.

House Bill 3206: Beginning July 1, 2024, the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation shall supplement all paper-based certificates and licenses (rather than certificates, licenses, and authorities) with a digitally verified electronic credential.

House Bill 3436: Allows the issuance of the Thank a Line Worker license plate decal by the Illinois Department of Education and creates the Thank a Line Worker Scholarship Fund through the purchase of the decals, which shall be paid as grants in support of scholarships for students studying electrical distribution at an Illinois college or university.

House Bill 1465: Increases competitive bidding threshold to $30,000 for Road Districts as had been done for townships.

Senate Bill 1072: Designates the Honor and Remember flag as the specific symbol to acknowledge American servicemen and women who lost their lives in the line of duty.

* Press release…

Today, Governor JB Pritzker signed SB 2195, also known as the “So Kids Can Move” initiative, which will allow thousands of children and youth with limb loss or limb difference to afford prosthetic care that enables them to participate in physical activities. This legislation makes Illinois just the fourth state in the nation to pass this act. […]

The legislation requires insurance coverage for medically necessary prosthetic or custom orthotic devices to maximize the patient’s whole-body health and function. It amends the Accident and Health Article of the Illinois Insurance Code and codifies that with respect to an enrollee at any age, coverage of a prosthetic or custom orthotic device shall be provided.

* I would’ve guessed Washington, DC /s…

Field Museum: 33 (+ 5 heads)
Oriental Institute Museum: 5
Art Institute of Chicago: 2

Evanston - 1
Naperville - 1 (Naperville Central High School, Late Ptolemaic pd - one of the only HS in the world with its own mummy)

Urbana-Champaign - 1

Source: https://t.co/umcix2geNk

— Wonder City Studio (@wonder_city_) August 6, 2023

* Isabel’s roundup…

* Tribune | After long delays, new cannabis businesses are opening in Illinois with a vow to help others along the way: Existing medical cannabis growers and dispensaries were allowed to begin recreational sales in 2020. Since then, startups had to wait through multiple delays until 192 initial new licenses were issued with preference for veterans and social equity applicants, generally defined as those coming from poor areas with high arrest rates, or with prior minor cannabis convictions. As of mid-July, just 27 of those new social equity businesses have opened, due mainly to license holders being unable to get financing.

* WTVO | Pritzker signs Racism Free Schools Act into law: The Illinois Department of Human Rights is required to model a training program to prevent discrimination and harassment in elementary and high schools. The law would also make the failure of a school to take disciplinary action against a harassing student a civil rights violation and applies to public, private, and charter schools in Illinois.

* John T. Shaw | Finding candor, compassion and fun in politics: It’s a curious sign of our times that one of the best places that I’ve found to witness candor, compassion, and fun in American politics is the Illinois State Archives’ website. I suspect it is not the first place that most people would go to feel good about politics.

* Crain’s | This federal push is spawning green shoots of innovation in the Midwest: The U.S. CHIPS and Science Act and other recent federal legislation aimed at reinvigorating innovation and high-tech production leadership includes funding to support science, R&D, manufacturing, technology commercialization and workforce development to help the United States better compete globally in advanced technologies as well as reclaim leadership in the crucial semiconductor industry.

* Daily Herald | It’s not just O’Hare: Suburban airports pumping billions into the economy: At the DuPage Airport, “business is booming,” Executive Director Mark Doles said. “The corporate and business traffic is extremely strong — as is flight training.”Diversification is one reason the state’s public-use airports generate $95.5 billion dollars in total annual economic activity, the Illinois Department of Transportation reported.

* Crain’s | Citigroup slashing suburban office space, relocating to Schaumburg: The move is in line with the trend of companies shrinking their office footprints in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which set off a remote work movement that has driven up the suburban office vacancy rate to almost 29%, a record-high. The Chicago suburbs have collectively lost 3 million square feet of tenants since the beginning of 2020, according to data from brokerage Jones Lang LaSalle, a wave of attrition that is pushing some landlords to the financial brink and others into foreclosure.

* Sun-Times | Gunman fatally shot 8-year-old girl after complaining about her being too loud, neighbors say: “Just little kids playing, he would come out just yelling about the noise. It just didn’t make sense, none of it made sense,” Kelley said. “Everybody in the community would just tell him they are just kids having fun playing, just let them be.”

* Austin Weekly | Want to improve public safety? Beat facilitators needed: Beat facilitators are residents or business owners of a specific police beat who volunteer to be the liaison between the community and the police. They work closely with each district’s office of community policing, also known as Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy to co-chair and help facilitate beat meetings. Beat facilitators represent the residents’ interests, identify community needs and communicate with residents, business owners and police officers in their beat. Thus, beat facilitators often reside or work in the beat they represent.

* NYT | How a Sexual Assault in a School Bathroom Became a Political Weapon: “Look, the kid is not transgender,” [Scott Ziegler, interim superintendent] recalled [Tim Flynn, the Stone Bridge principal] saying. “He runs with the drama crowd, and you know how the drama crowd can be. They’re attention-seeking. And he’s been experimenting with different looks.” He wore skirts on occasion, “but he has never come out to the school as either nonbinary or transgender.” (Flynn did not respond to requests for comment.) The boy’s mother described her son similarly. “He had presented to me this desire to explore a different lifestyle,” she said, which involved sometimes wearing women’s clothes. But he was “absolutely not” transgender, she said, and “he did not identify as fluid or anything like that.” If the boy had never to anyone’s knowledge identified as anything other than a boy, Ziegler reasoned, then he would not have been allowed in the girls’ bathroom under Policy 8040 any more than he would have been under the existing rules.

* Tribune News Service | Heidi Stevens: Combatting FOPO (Fear of Other People’s Opinions) and other tips for navigating middle school with grace: “Tweens operate in a complex social system and must solve problems in the absence of life experience or perspective, all while in the throes of puberty and with brains that aren’t yet fully developed,” Fagell writes.

* The Hill | America’s white majority is aging out: “Race is the most complicated variable in the census, and it’s the one that draws people like moths to the flame,” said Dowell Myers, a professor of policy, planning and demography at the University of Southern California.

* WICS | Illinois State Fair introduces affordable ‘Small Plates, Big Tastes’ food program to delight every tastebud: The Illinois State Fair created Small Plates, Big Tastes. For just $3, you can get sample-size portions from any Village of Cultures vendor. “There are so many tasty options all around the fairgrounds, especially in the Village of Cultures, that we came up with a great way for fairgoers to travel around the world without breaking the bank,” said Illinois State Fair Manager Rebecca Clark.

* NBC Chicago | Illinois State Fair to get underway this week. Details on tickets, concerts and more: Festivities will officially kick off on Thursday at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, with the agricultural and entertainment spectacle starting at 7 a.m. Carnival rides won’t be up and running until noon, however. The fair’s popular opening event — the longtime Twilight Parade — will get underway at 5:30 p.m.