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Caption contest!

Monday, Aug 21, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Senate President Don Harmon, Chicago FOP Lodge 7 President John Catanzara and House Speaker Chris Welch…

This photo was taken by a subscriber at the Operating Engineers Union Local 150 charity golf outing for the Navy Seals Family Foundation.

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Afternoon roundup

Monday, Aug 21, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Hollywood Reporter

Broadcast and cable networks made up less than half of all TV use in July — the first time linear TV viewing has fallen below 50 percent in Nielsen’s two-plus years of tracking viewing time by platform.

While overall TV use in July edged up from the previous month, the growth came in streaming — which hit an all-time high of 38.7 percent of all TV usage — and the “other use” category, which includes video games played on a TV screen and physical media playback, among other things. That made up 11.6 percent of usage.

Streaming was up from 37.7 percent of TV viewing in June, marking its third consecutive month of an increased share of viewers’ time. July was also the third straight month that streaming’s share of TV use hit a high.

…Adding… Access the full project list and more from the press release by clicking here

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) Director John J. Kim is announcing the issuance of more than $571 million in water infrastructure loans to local governments and water districts for the fourth quarter of Fiscal Year 2023 (April – June 2023). The Illinois EPA State Revolving Fund (SRF) Program provides low-interest loans which fund wastewater, stormwater, and drinking water projects. More than $53 million in loan forgiveness was also provided to those recipients meeting the loan rules for either the Small Community Rate or Hardship Rate. In total for fiscal year 2023, Illinois EPA issued over $803 million in low-interest loans for water infrastructure. In addition to the SRF loans, Illinois provided nearly $54 million in funding for lead service line replacement over the last 12 months.

…Adding… I missed this one earlier…

Samantha McClain has been hired as chief of staff for the Illinois AFL-CIO, working to advance the organization’s strategic vision to support working families across Illinois.

“We are excited to have Samantha join our team at the Illinois AFL-CIO,” remarked President Tim Drea. “Samantha is one of the most talented strategists that I have worked with, demonstrating her expertise when she managed the Workers’ Rights Amendment campaign. Samantha understands the diverse needs of working families fighting for equitable wages, safety conditions and the ability to bargain and will bring a unique perspective to the table to advance the needs of working people in our state.”

McClain is a political veteran and most recently served as State Director to successfully pass the Workers’ Rights Amendment in Illinois. The ballot measure added the right to collectively bargain to the state constitution and was the first of its kind in the nation. Prior to that campaign, Samantha served as Research Director at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) in the 2020 election cycle, helping Democrats hold the House majority. Samantha was also Deputy Research Director in the historic 2018 cycle, and Southern Regional Research Director in 2014.

Samantha’s previous experience also includes Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and the campaigns of Senators Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan. She is a native Michigander and graduated from the University of Michigan with a bachelor’s in economics and communications.

* The fellows are getting together…

The Edgar Fellows Program is having its second annual fundraiser dinner at the Sheraton Grand in downtown Chicago on August 31. Gov. Jim Edgar started the program in 2012 to foster relationships and understanding between people involved in public policy from all corners of the state, ethnicities and political backgrounds. It promotes bi-partisanship and compromise over political expediency.

The keynote speaker for the 2023 event is David Axelrod, founder of the Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago. This event is not just for Fellows; all are welcome. For more information and to reserve your place at this special event, go to https://givebutter.com/EFChicago23. The RSVP deadline is August 24.

* The State Board of Education has been leaning on CPS to clean up its act on physical restraint. From a press release…

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) announced today that all District-run schools have met the first-day-of-school benchmark for training staff on physical restraint and time out (PRTO), as agreed upon with the Illinois State Board of Education. Over the past several months, CPS prioritized PRTO training to ensure personnel at every school were properly trained by August 21, 2023, a deadline that was set in collaboration with ISBE. This marks the first milestone in the District’s efforts to reduce incidents of physical restraint or time-out procedures, and build a sustainable plan for training and support.

“I appreciate the partnership on the part of CEO Martinez and his team at Chicago Public Schools since April to meet the goal of training staff at every school in the safe and appropriate use of restraint and time out. Having appropriately trained staff is critical in the rare situations when a student’s behavior puts them or others in imminent danger,” said State Superintendent of Education Dr. Tony Sanders. “The Illinois State Board of Education will continue to work with CPS to provide additional support and to maintain this level of training on an annual basis.”

As of today, all 517 District-run schools are in full compliance with having at least two staff members trained to de-escalate and manage student safety.

Two doesn’t seem like a lot.

…Adding… NASW IL…


* Politico

— Rep. Eric Sorensen is getting support from high-profile Democratic donor Fred Eychaner in his reelection bid. Eychaner, a huge donor to Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid, is headlining a fundraiser for Sorensen on Tuesday. Details here.

— Rep. Lauren Underwood headlines a fundraiser tonight for her reelection bid. Details here

— Chicago Ald. Jessie Fuentes is running for committeeperson in the 26th Ward. She’s holding a fundraiser Wednesday.

* PCC…

The Partnership for College Completion (PCC) applauds Governor Pritzker for signing HB2898 into law. We are grateful for the Governor’s and the legislature’s leadership for this step toward holding for-profit colleges accountable for practices that harm students. The bill requires for-profit colleges with a final judgment or determination against them for operating with unfair or deceptive practices to reimburse the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) for the Monetary Award Program (MAP) funding they received during the period of their deceptive practices.

“We were proud to work alongside Representative Maurice West and Senator Celina Villanueva this past legislative session to get this bill passed,” Government Affairs Manager Danielle Stanley said. “Now that Governor Pritzker has signed it into law, for-profit colleges will finally be held accountable for their deceptive practices, but our work won’t stop there. We look forward to continuing to work with the legislature and the Governor to create and pass legislation that will protect Illinois students and make higher education more accessible for all who seek it.”

In the last 15 years, Illinois has given more than $255 million of MAP funding from taxpayers to these institutions. Four of the ten for-profit institutions that received MAP in 2017 have since closed, leaving many former students with unmanageable debt and limited options to complete their college degrees.

* Speaking of higher ed…

Today, Governor JB Pritzker visited the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) to welcome students back for a new school year. He was joined by state officials, Chancellor Robert Jones, students, and faculty to celebrate the back-to-school season and wish students, teachers, and families across Illinois a successful year ahead.

“It’s been my mission as governor to make higher education more affordable for every Illinoisan, no matter their background. And I couldn’t be prouder to say we’re doing exactly that,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “By restoring public funding directly to our universities, we’re eliminating the need for major tuition hikes, so students know what to expect semester after semester.”

During the event, Gov. Pritzker shared his administration’s recent FY24 budget investments to improve college affordability. This includes increasing funding for the Monetary Award Program (MAP) to an all-time high, ensuring awards for all eligible applicants. With these new investments, every student at or below median income will be able to attend community college for free in Illinois. The budget also included an additional $115 million to in-state scholarship funding, bringing the total amount to a record-breaking $750 million.
Gov. Pritzker also highlighted notable investments that will directly impact students attending institutions within the University of Illinois system, including a total state investment of $632 million ($41 million more than FY23). Other public universities across Illinois will also see funding increases, as the investments for higher education institutions grew by 7%, the largest increase in more than 20 years.

The Pritzker Administration is also investing in higher education infrastructure through the historic Rebuild Illinois Capital Plan. Campuses across Illinois will see nearly $2.8 billion dedicated to public universities and community colleges. The U of I system specifically will receive $504 million of those allocated funds.

Upcoming renovation projects in progress at UIUC include:

    • New science and data analysis research facilities to support the Department of Mathematics and Statistics
    • Repairs to lab infrastructure, including masonry and chimneys at Wohler Hall, Madigan Laboratory, and Noyes Laboratory
    • Replacement of approximately 11,000 square feet of roofing on the Armory building

As affirmative action in higher education takes a national spotlight following June’s Supreme Court decision, Governor Pritzker ensured students of his intentions to support diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in Illinois.

“Here in the Land of Lincoln, our institutions will continue to be inclusive of all students, including those who have been historically left out of or locked out of postsecondary education,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “To every single student: you are among the best of the best. And as your Governor, I’ll continue to have your back. I can’t wait to see all that you will accomplish.”

* LG Stratton…

Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton celebrates the newly signed Senate Bill 646 that creates the Healing Centered Task Force, signed by Governor JB Pritzker. The Lieutenant Governor will chair the Task Force as a driver of transformative change and help create a more equitable Illinois.

“The new Healing Centered Task Force will ensure Illinoisians who have experienced trauma can get the support that they need,” said Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton. “Overseeing the Justice, Opportunity, and Equity Initiative housed in my office, I am committed to the collaborative work to foster healing mechanisms for communities to thrive. Senate Bill 646 is a testament to our mission of joining forces to repair intergenerational harm, and I thank Governor Pritzker and the General Assembly for their support to create this Task Force that will benefit all residents.”

The Healing Centered Task Force in Illinois created by SB 646 will develop recommendations to bring more cohesion, coordination, and consistency to this important and transformative work. The Task Force will be a driver of diversity and equity within Illinois, composed of expert trauma informed stakeholders and people who have experienced trauma. This Task Force is a result of the collaborative work of Governor JB Pritzker, the General Assembly, and advocacy groups such as the Illinois ACEs Response Collaborative, Health and Medicine Policy Research Group, Illinois Childhood Trauma Coalition, and the Center for Childhood Resilience, among others.

The goal of the Task Force will be to design a state-level comprehensive and equitable strategy for addressing and supporting communities who have experienced trauma. This will be a significant step forward, with a trauma-informed and healing-centered lens that will support Illinoisians across our state.

* WCIA

Earlier this year, the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute released its 2023 County Health Rankings and Roadmaps report, which is meant to raise awareness about factors that can impact health outcomes and disparities nationwide. […]

In Illinois, just 15% of adults reported excessive drinking, which is smaller than the U.S. average of 19%. However, a handful of Illinois counties reported 19% of adults excessively drinking. Those include Calhoun, Clark, Clinton, DuPage, Greene, Grundy, Henry, Jersey, Jo Daviess, Menard, Mercer, Monroe, Moultrie, Putnam, Tazewell, Washington, and Woodford Counties.

The University of Wisconsin also reviewed the number of alcohol-impaired driving deaths per state and county.

Even though Illinois reported a below-average rate of adults drinking excessively (15%), the state still reported almost 30% of motor vehicle crash deaths involved alcohol between 2016 and 2020.

* Isabel’s roundup…

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Fundraiser list

Monday, Aug 21, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Meanwhile… In Opposite Land

Monday, Aug 21, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Indiana

The Indiana Supreme Court has denied the rehearing request by abortion advocates after the Supreme Court ruled in June that the pending abortion ban is constitutional. […]

With this move, Indiana is likely days away from the abortion restrictions passed in August 2022 from taking effect. The ban will take effect as soon as their June 30 ruling is certified by the Appellate Clerk. […]

Under the new law, there are four abortion exceptions — rape, incest, life and physical health of the mother, and lethal fetal anomalies.

Rape or incest exemptions will need to be performed 10 weeks before post-fertilization. In the case of the life of a mother or lethal fetal anomalies, women will have up to 20 weeks post-fertilization for an abortion.

* Idaho’s loss is Illinois’ gain

When Karen Lauritzen was named the 2023 Idaho Teacher of the Year last September, she was hoping it would be her best school year yet. Instead, she said, it turned out to be one of the worst in her two decades teaching — and, she decided by the summer, her last.

Despite her selection by a Republican administration after a rigorous application process, her nomination was met with attacks on her character from conservative outlets in the state, accusing her of “promoting transgenderism” and being a “left-wing activist,” smears that carried into her fourth-grade classroom in the form of sudden suspicions about her from parents in her school.

Lauritzen, 44, is still the reigning teacher of the year, but she is no longer teaching elementary school or even living in Idaho. Instead she is taking her talents to a university in Illinois, a long-considered career move hastened by the experience. […]

The day after she was announced as Idaho Teacher of the Year, Lauritzen was accused by conservative outlets in her state of being a “left-wing activist” because she had expressed support for the LGBTQ+ community and Black Lives Matter on her personal social media accounts. Though the outlets offered no evidence linking her personal views to her classroom instruction, parents in her rural western Idaho community began emailing and confronting her with questions. Some accused her of teaching fourth-graders inappropriate content, even though no discussion of sexuality was in her curriculum and was already prohibited by her school district. Her own global interests often inspired her teaching, but Lauritzen said she faced complaints from parents about a lesson on some worldwide cultures who eat insects, and even objections to students learning about the United Nations.

“When it’s, ‘My kid can’t do this because it’s propaganda,’ and ‘My kid can’t do that because we don’t believe in United Nations,’ it’s like, what? It’s not Santa Claus, what do you mean you don’t believe in it?” Lauritzen said. “Even if I have certain beliefs myself, that does not mean that I teach kids. It’s not my job to ‘indoctrinate’ or make kids little versions of myself. It’s to make kids into the best versions of themselves.”

* Arkansas

The six Arkansas schools that planned to offer an Advanced Placement (AP) course on African American studies say they will continue to do so despite state officials saying the class will not count toward a student’s graduation credit.

The North Little Rock and Jacksonville North Pulaski school districts and eStem charter schools said on Thursday they would offer the course as a “local elective” despite the Arkansas education department saying it is not considered a state-approved course. They join two other school districts that have said they will continue offering the class. […]

The state, however, has said that schools can still offer the course and it can count toward a student’s grade-point average. […]

The Little Rock school district on Wednesday said it planned to continue teaching the course at Central high, site of the historic 1957 racial desegregation crisis. Central is one of six schools in the state that had been slated to offer the course this year. The Jonesboro school district told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette it also planned to continue offering the course.

* Missouri

The Missouri Supreme Court upheld a state law requiring school attendance after two Lebanon, Missouri, parents were sentenced to jail following excessive absences by their children.

Court documents indicated that during the 2021-2022 academic year, a first-grade student missed nine days of school, while a kindergartner missed seven days without any explanation. […]

The two mothers, Caitlyn Williams and Tamarae Larue, took their case to the Supreme Court, arguing that the state law mandating “regular” attendance lacks clarity. […]

Williams received a one-week jail sentence for her first grader’s attendance, while Tamarae Larue was sentenced to 15 days in jail for her kindergartner’s attendance. Larue later agreed to serve on a two-year probation. […]

“I don’t know that jailing parents — and these were both single moms, I want to point out — taking them out of their households and away from their children, when the issue is the children attending school,” [Family law attorney Susan Guthrie] said. “I think the ends are not justified by the needs.”

* Texas

The Justice Department scoffed Thursday at Texas’ assertion it’s free to install anti-migrant buoys in the Rio Grande, regardless of treaties and federal law, because “Texas purportedly is being ‘invaded’” by migrants.

“Whether and when an `invasion’ occurs is a matter of foreign policy and national defense, which the Constitution specifically commits to the federal government,” the Justice Department argued.

A federal judge in Austin will hear arguments Tuesday as the Biden administration tries to force Gov. Greg Abbott to remove the $850,000 floating barrier deployed near Eagle Pass last month. […]

The evidence includes a survey showing that Texas put most of the buoys on the wrong side of the border, and excerpts from the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed in 1848, where Mexico gave up its claims to Texas three years after statehood.

* North Carolina

Transgender youth in North Carolina lost access Wednesday to gender-affirming medical treatments after the Republican-led General Assembly overrode the governor’s vetoes of that legislation and other bills touching on gender in sports and LGBTQ+ instruction in the classroom.

GOP supermajorities in the House and Senate enacted — over Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s opposition — a bill barring medical professionals from providing hormone therapy, puberty-blocking drugs and surgical gender-transition procedures to anyone under 18, with limited exceptions.

The law takes effect immediately. But minors who had begun treatment before Aug. 1 may continue receiving that care if their doctors deem it medically necessary and their parents consent.

North Carolina becomes the 22nd state to enact legislation restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors. But most face legal challenges, and local LGBTQ+ rights advocates vow to take the ban to court. The Senate voted 27-18 to complete the veto override after the House voted 74-45 earlier. Two House Democrats joined all present Republicans in supporting the override bid.

* Florida

This year, Florida lawmakers made national headlines for approving anti-LGBTQ+ measures. And as those laws went into effect, they have pushed a majority of transgender Floridians to consider leaving the state, according to results of a survey released Thursday morning.

The survey, co-sponsored and released by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, found that four of five transgender people wanted — or were planning — to leave Florida for another state or country because of gender-affirming care bans. More than 93% stated that they feel less safe now than they did before the laws. […]

Almost 80% of trans people — and 45% of other LGBTQ+ adults — reported that bans on gender-affirming care affect their or their loved ones’ physical or mental health.

More than 80% of trans people — and more than 76% of other LGBTQ+ adults — felt that bans on gender-affirming care worsen stereotypes, discrimination, hate and stigma.

* Oklahoma

After two failed efforts in the state legislature to define a woman and a man based on their sex assigned at birth, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed an executive order limiting those definitions, the latest blow to transgender rights in the state.

The order, which along with government agencies applies to schools and state institutions, stipulates definitions for certain terms, like “man,” “boy,” “woman,” “girl,” “father,” and “mother.” The narrow definitions in the so-called “Women’s Bill of Rights” exclude trans and nonbinary people or anyone whose gender does not fit into the binary categories of woman or man. The order’s language does not make room for those with chromosomal variations, like intersex people. […]

Nicole McAfee, executive director of Freedom Oklahoma, an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, said the directive is “neither about rights, nor is it about protecting women.”

It “instead opens the door for further civil rights violations that open all women to being harassed and targeted as they have their femininity assessed and judged by a public who feels increased permission to police gender,” they said.

* Kentucky, Mississippi and Virginia

Voters in the South will elect dozens of local prosecutors this November. But the proceedings are overshadowed by Southern state governments’ escalating maneuvers to undercut the will of voters in prosecutor races—fueled in part by Republican anger against some prosecutors’ policies of not enforcing low-level charges and new abortion bans.

Mississippi this year removed predominantly white sections of Hinds County, the majority-Black county that’s home to Jackson, from the control of its Black district attorney. Georgia reacted similarly to recent wins by DAs of color: It cut off a white county from a circuit that had elected a Black prosecutor, and also set up a new state agency with the power to fire DAs. Last week, Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis suspended Orlando’s elected Democratic prosecutor, citing disagreements with her office’s approach to prosecution, one year after he similarly replaced Tampa’s Democratic prosecutor with a member of the Federalist Society. […]

Still, the electoral cycle churns on. There will be 123 local prosecutor races across Kentucky, Mississippi, and Virginia—the only three Southern states voting on this office in 2023.

The lion’s share is in Virginia, a state that may soon experience its own version of this dynamic. Republican officials have wanted to crack down on reform prosecutors but have not been able to push their proposals through so far; they may try again in 2024 if they gain the legislature. In the meantime, these policy debates are playing out in a more usual place—the electoral arena. […]

Mississippi also features challenges to three Democratic prosecutors who have, to varying degrees, implemented some priorities of criminal justice reformers, such as expanding alternatives to incarceration or vowing to not prosecute abortion cases. Their opponents have indicated that they wish to reel back some of these efforts.

* Georgia

A Georgia school board voted along party lines Thursday to fire a teacher after officials said she improperly read a book on gender fluidity to her fifth grade class.

The Cobb County School Board in suburban Atlanta voted 4-3 to fire Katie Rinderle, overriding the recommendation of a panel of three retired educators. The panel found after a two-day hearing that Rinderle had violated district policies, but said she should not be fired.

She had been a teacher for 10 years when she got into trouble in March for reading the picture book “My Shadow Is Purple” by Scott Stuart at Due West Elementary School, after which some parents complained. […]

Cobb County adopted a rule barring teaching on controversial issues in 2022, after Georgia lawmakers earlier that year enacted laws barring the teaching of “divisive concepts” and creating a parents’ bill of rights. The divisive concepts law, although it addresses teaching on race, bars teachers from “espousing personal political beliefs.” The bill of rights guarantees that parents have “the right to direct the upbringing and the moral or religious training of his or her minor child.”

Rinderle is believed to be the first public school teacher in Georgia to be fired because of the laws. None of the board members discussed the decision, but school district lawyer Sherry Culves said at the hearing that discussing gender identity and gender fluidity was inappropriate.

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Always read the bill

Monday, Aug 21, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From WGLT

Joshua Livingston has been indicted on — but pleaded not guilty to — three counts of first-degree murder and one count of homicidal death related to [Melissa] Ostrom’s disappearance […]

A domestic battery complaint filed March 22 against Livingston points to the volatile relationship he had with his girlfriend. The 42-year-old was accused of grabbing and throwing his 39-year-old partner to the ground 10 days earlier, on March 12. Livingston was released March 27 after posting $200, the required 10% of his $2,000 bond.

* The reason I’m posting this story is that McLean County State’s Attorney Erika Reynolds insists she would’ve had to release Livingston if the SAFE-T Act had been in place

Reynolds said she’s concerned about how interpretations of the new law will impact domestic violence situations.

“We may be in a scenario in which there will be no way to hold a misdemeanor defendant, which is typically your domestic violence cases – unless there’s some type of other circumstances that would make it a felony,” Reynolds said.

The way that the court system determines whether a person should be released from jail still includes a person’s potential flight risk and their risk to the safety of the victim and community.

Supporters of the Pretrial Fairness Act stressed those points Friday as they pushed back on Reynolds’ comments. They say domestic violence is, in fact, one of several misdemeanors eligible for detention – and that the new law could ultimately provide more latitude to hold defendants deemed to be a threat, not less. They also note support for the bill came, in part, from organizations like the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Reynolds on Friday doubled down on her interpretation of the law, saying in a statement that her comments are part of “my job to inform the public about what may or may not happen when the SAFE-T Act takes effect.” Reynolds said her opinion stems from arguments made in favor of the SAFE-T Act before the Illinois Supreme Court by the bill’s proponents.

“The proponents of the bill publicly made other suggestions but argued during the litigation that holding a defendant in pretrial detention on misdemeanor offenses, including domestic battery offenses, would violate a defendant’s rights,” the statement read. “Consistent with that theory, as I have stated before, we may find ourselves in a situation in which we will be unable to hold anyone charged with a misdemeanor pretrial, including domestic battery defendants.”

* Reynolds should read the actual law

In determining which conditions of pretrial release, if any, will reasonably ensure the appearance of a defendant as required or the safety of any other person or the community and the likelihood of compliance by the defendant with all the conditions of pretrial release, the court shall, on the basis of available information, take into account such matters as […]

(6) when a person is charged with a violation of a protective order, domestic battery, aggravated domestic battery, kidnapping, aggravated kidnaping, unlawful restraint, aggravated unlawful restraint, cyberstalking, harassment by telephone, harassment through electronic communications, or an attempt to commit first degree murder committed against a spouse or a current or former partner in a cohabitation or dating relationship, regardless of whether an order of protection has been issued against the person, the court may consider the following additional factors:

    (A) whether the alleged incident involved harassment or abuse, as defined in the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986;
    (B) whether the person has a history of domestic violence, as defined in the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986, or a history of other criminal acts;
    (C) the mental health of the person;
    (D) whether the person has a history of violating the orders of any court or governmental entity;
    (E) whether the person has been, or is, potentially a threat to any other person;
    (F) whether the person has access to deadly weapons or a history of using deadly weapons;
    (G) whether the person has a history of abusing alcohol or any controlled substance;
    (H) the severity of the alleged incident that is the basis of the alleged offense, including, but not limited to, the duration of the current incident, and whether the alleged incident involved the use of a weapon, physical injury, sexual assault, strangulation, abuse during the alleged victim’s pregnancy, abuse of pets, or forcible entry to gain access to the alleged victim;
    (I) whether a separation of the person from the victim of abuse or a termination of the relationship between the person and the victim of abuse has recently occurred or is pending;
    (J) whether the person has exhibited obsessive or controlling behaviors toward the victim of abuse, including, but not limited to, stalking, surveillance, or isolation of the victim of abuse or the victim’s family member or members;
    (K) whether the person has expressed suicidal or homicidal ideations; and
    (L) any other factors deemed by the court to have a reasonable bearing upon the defendant’s propensity or reputation for violent, abusive, or assaultive behavior, or lack of that behavior.

Instead of a she-said, he-said, maybe point to the actual law. Or, at the very least, reference this Illinois Supreme Court explainer.

My suspicion is that the state’s attorney is pointing fingers because Livingston was released on such low bond.

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Question of the day

Monday, Aug 21, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Title of a recent Reddit post

Who do you think should be Governor after JB leaves?

Make sure to explain your answer. Thanks.

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Delivery Helps Chicago Restaurants Grow On Uber Eats

Monday, Aug 21, 2023 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

At Uber Eats, local restaurants are the backbone of our communities and delivery continues to help small business owners reach new customers and increase sales.

We recently published the results of the 2022 US Merchant Impact Report—which come directly from a survey of merchant partners. Read More.

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I don’t think I’ll ever understand Mapes’ rationale

Monday, Aug 21, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* My weekly syndicated newspaper column

I don’t think I’ll ever fully understand why Tim Mapes allowed himself to be put into this situation.

Not one of the lies former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan’s former chief of staff is accused of telling a grand jury while under a grant of immunity was about illegal activity. During his two hours on the stand and through 650 questions, he was never once asked if he’d witnessed any sort of crime or suspected wrongdoing by others. And now he’s standing trial on federal charges of perjury and obstruction of justice.

His alleged lies were in response to fairly benign queries, like, for instance: “Did [Madigan’s top lieutenant Mike McClain], after he retired, kind of give you any insight into what his interactions with [Madigan] were that you weren’t privy to personally?”

Mapes’ response: “No, that wouldn’t — that wouldn’t happen.”

But it did happen. And the feds recorded quite a few instances of it happening.

That’s another thing about those questions: The feds didn’t ask Mapes anything they didn’t already know in advance.

And Mapes knew all too well that the government was likely listening in. Mapes testified to the grand jury in February 2021. The Chicago Tribune reported as far back as November 2019 that investigators had tapped McClain’s mobile phone. McClain has since been convicted based in part on those very recordings.

The feds basically set a trap for Mapes with the grand jury. Mapes knew the trap was likely there, but then he jumped right in anyway.

Maybe he was just being a tough guy like in a gangster movie.

But this is real life, not a movie, and the man has a real-life family. And he wasn’t being asked to say anything particularly incriminating of either Madigan or McClain.

The federal government doesn’t usually ask a judge to involuntarily impose immunity on a witness to compel grand jury testimony under oath if that witness has been cooperative during an investigation. I’ve assumed all along Mapes really ticked off government investigators during the interview process.

There are those who say Mapes was so arrogant after decades of amassing power that he couldn’t shake the habit while on the stand. And his strict Madigan gate-keeper status (a sign on his office wall read: “Nobody gets in to see the Wizard”) may have naturally compelled him to mum up under questioning.

His non-answers to simple questions about whether Madigan had “any sort of esteem or regard” for the late Mayor Richard J. Daley or if Madigan ever talked about Daley points to that. Madigan loved to talk about old man Daley, who Madigan used as a model for his entire political and patronage structure.

That Madigan wouldn’t have ever spoken to his highest level employee about his political idol and personal mentor is truly difficult to believe.

Mapes, in the end, just seemed like he wouldn’t cop to anything.

And now he’s looking at up to 20 years in prison for an obstruction of justice charge and another 5 years for perjury.

None of the federal government’s released recordings of Mapes’ conversations show that anyone he spoke with talked about actually committing a crime. The government apparently didn’t have Mapes on anything. I suppose Mapes might have been trying to protect himself about something else, but he probably would’ve received a far better deal if he’d just fessed up then.

Aside from opening statements and cross-examination, we have as of this writing yet to hear Mapes’ full defense. His lawyers have claimed in previous filings that the feds have twisted Mapes’ deliberately careful and cautious answers into lies.

That’s also difficult to believe in its entirety.

“I have no knowledge or recall of that,” Mapes said during his grand jury appearance when asked if McClain had been in contact with a House member whom McClain wanted to push out of the legislature after a very public scandal that was never actually proved to be true.

“But according to the wiretapped calls, [the legislator in question] was a frequent topic of conversation between Mapes and McClain,” Hannah Meisel reported for Capitol News Illinois last week. She then gave her readers some examples.

Mapes was widely considered to have a very detailed memory when he was Madigan’s chief of staff, but maybe he did somehow forget. Even so, he most certainly had “knowledge” of the calls because he was on them.

Other Madigan “made men” have testified for the prosecution in Mapes’ trial, so perhaps Mapes believes he did the honorable thing by not fully cooperating. But those other folks are going home to their families. Mapes may not.

Your thoughts?

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)

Monday, Aug 21, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Open thread

Monday, Aug 21, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* What’s going on in your part of Illinois?…

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Isabel’s morning briefing

Monday, Aug 21, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Here you go…

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Live coverage

Monday, Aug 21, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ScribbleLive is still down. Twitter has stopped allowing people to embed list feeds on websites. So, click here or here to follow breaking news. You can click here to follow the Tim Mapes trial.

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Saturday, Aug 19, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

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