* Viral infections have shot up among children across the country. The shelter in question was supposed to hold 1,000 people, but more than twice that many are housed there now, possibly creating what we called during the pandemic a super-spreader environment. The city has emptied the police stations, but in doing so may have created a new problem by packing humans into shelters like sardines…
* Tribune…
Abhishek Dhar, a physician who helped migrants staying at police stations, said he is concerned about migrants living in close quarters contracting communicable diseases. Many migrants at the stations didn’t know the appropriate procedures for calling an ambulance or seeking medical care, he said. […]
The boy’s parents said their son had been sick for the past two to three days with a fever and was complaining of pain in his left leg. The day before he died, he took children’s Tylenol and a pill believed to be ibuprofen, according to a police report obtained by the Tribune.
Police said on Sunday morning he woke up hungry, and his family went out to beg for money. Juan Carlos complained that he wanted to go back to the shelter because he wasn’t feeling well. His father gave him electrolytes, and noticed he had vomited.
Juan Carlos’ lips turned purple when his family returned to the shelter, the report said. His father went upstairs to request an ambulance. Family members later told police that staff said the discoloration was “probably because of the cold,” the report said.
Go read the rest. Lots of disturbing details.
* Sun-Times…
The shelter is a converted warehouse that opened in early October and has since become the most crowded shelter in the city, holding more than 2,000 people.
It is run by Favorite Healthcare Staffing, a Kansas-based contractor the city has awarded close to $100 million to run shelters since September 2022, shortly after the first buses carrying migrants began arriving.
[Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford] said the fire department sent a district chief to the shelter Monday “to see what’s happening,” and is awaiting his report.
* Press release…
Today, Congresswoman Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03) released the following statement after a 5-year-old boy died on Sunday after becoming ill at a shelter for migrants in Chicago.
“The death of 5-year-old Jean Carlos Martinez Rivero is unacceptable and devastating. My heart and prayers are with his family. It is heartbreaking that substandard care, under-resourcing, and years of political inaction continue to steal bright futures and rob families and our communities of possibilities.
“Every shelter should be a safe, healthy space for families. Any facility that falls short of fulfilling that responsibility must be held accountable. I have spoken with the City of Chicago and we agree there must be a full investigation into whether Favorite Staffing can fulfill the important responsibility of providing safe and adequate temporary shelter for migrants and asylum seekers.
The Federal Government, including leadership at the Department of Homeland Security and the Administration, must grapple with the deadly consequences of inaction. The insufficient funding for cities like Chicago, which are actually welcoming and supporting asylum seekers, puts children at risk. Instead of negotiating and doubling down on ineffective draconian, Trump-era border policies, we must work together to secure adequate resources, improve intergovernmental cooperation, and expedite work permits for all. We all have a responsibility to ensure this never happens again, and we can and must do better.”
* The mayor’s response was mainly deflection and devoid of empathy for the dead child…
When asked about the situation, Johnson said that the matter is being complicated by the actions of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, whose busing program has led to nearly 26,000 asylum seekers being transported to Chicago.
“They’re showing up sick,” he said. “The issue is not just how we respond in the city of Chicago. It’s the fact we have a governor, an elected official in the state of Texas, that is placing families on buses without shoes, cold, wet, tired, hungry, afraid, traumatized, and then they come to the city of Chicago, where we have homelessness, mental health clinics that have been shut down and closed. We have people who are seeking employment. The governor of Texas needs to take a look in the mirror, with the chaos he’s causing for the people of this country.”
I mean, I get the mayor’s frustration, but at some point you have to start figuring this out.
* Meanwhile…
The site at 115th and Halsted streets set to become a so-called “winterized base camp” for migrants may be contaminated with pollutants from an underground fuel oil tank as well as from a defunct dry cleaners and a shuttered gas station, according to an environmental study released Monday by Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office.
The report from Lisle-based A3E Consulting, dated Oct. 31, recommends “additional investigation” of the 6.5 acres of land surrounding a vacant Jewel-Osco grocery store on the border between Morgan Park and West Roseland once known as the Halsted Indoor Mall before it is used to shelter migrants. […]
[21st Ward Ald. Ronnie Mosley] said he was confused about why he just saw the environmental study Monday, if it was completed by the end of October.
*Sigh*
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Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Monday, Dec 18, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Sun-Times…
A 5-year-old boy died Sunday after becoming ill at an overcrowded shelter in Pilsen that has been the subject of repeated complaints about unsanitary conditions.
Jean Carlos Martinez was transported from the shelter at Cermak Road and Halsted Street to Comer’s Children’s Hospital just before 3 p.m. Sunday, police said. He was pronounced dead at 3:47 p.m. An autopsy is scheduled for Monday.
Police said detectives were investigating. Migrant advocates say the boy died in a bathroom after staff refused to call an ambulance, but this could not be confirmed with police.
“My heart and my prayers go out to the Martinez family,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a statement released Monday morning. “The city will continue to provide resources and support to them during this difficult time,” Johnson said in the statement.
Borderless Magazine…
On Sunday night, a Venezuelan migrant living at the shelter told Borderless the boy had a more than a 100-degree fever and was convulsing in the bathroom before emergency medical technicians and firefighters were called.
The death happened just three days after Borderless Magazine published an investigation revealing inhumane conditions inside the shelter, including a lack of medical care and the rationing of water. Interviews with those living at the shelter and videos Borderless reviewed of conditions inside the building show that the shelter fails to meet the basic standards for emergency shelter laid out by the U.N. Refugee Agency.
More here.
From Rich: Both Borderless articles rely mainly on reports from shelter residents, but a top city official says that Cook County Health is the health care provider for shelter residents.
* Press release…
The Johnson Administration has successfully transitioned nearly 4,000 asylum-seekers from emergency staging areas into temporary shelters in recent weeks. As of December 14, all police stations have been decompressed and retired as emergency staging areas. […]
The Chicago City Council implemented a bus safety ordinance on November 18 to ensure the orderly and safe intake of new arrivals to Chicago. The ordinance was amended on December 13 by the Council, enacting additional penalties, including the impoundment and towing of buses that refuse to comply with safety protocols set by the City. The safety protocols mandate that bus companies dropping off individuals in the City of Chicago must unload at the designated landing zone and must fill out the requisite paperwork to ensure an orderly process for intaking new arrivals. […]
The City has successfully resettled or reunited over 10,000 asylum seekers while providing shelter, food and wraparound services for more than 15,000 others.
* Jon Seidel…
* Mike Pries…
* Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias…
Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias announced several new laws initiated by his office that will take effect at the start of the new year. The initiatives were passed earlier this year by the Illinois General Assembly and signed into law. They include:
Combating Distracted Driving
Giannoulias drafted this legislation to increase road safety by making it illegal to Zoom, watch or stream videos, or access social media sites while driving. […]
Expanding Voter Registration for Teens
Under this measure, teens obtaining their driver’s license or ID card may preregister to vote at a Secretary of State DMV.
Giannoulias’ office initiated a measure to expand voter participation by allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to preregister to vote, so that, when they turn 18 and are officially eligible to vote, they are already registered to do so. [..]
Protecting Motorists’ Privacy
This first-in-the-nation legislation limits the use of automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) to protect individuals seeking abortion care. It also prohibits this data from being used to criminalize a person’s immigration status.
* More…
*
Illinois Answers Project | ‘Heartbreaking’ trial in Peoria highlights failures of Illinois DCFS: Brandon Walker, 42, of Peoria, could face life in prison after a Peoria County jury found him guilty of murdering Navin in a “brutal and heinous manner, indicative of wanton cruelty.” The jury, made up of eight men and four women, took about 45 minutes to deliberate the verdict. Walker will be sentenced Feb. 28.
* Daily Herald | Why some congressional candidates could get kicked off the March primary ballot: Two of the targeted candidates are Democrats running in the 5th District, where they hope to unseat Democratic U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley of Chicago. Two are Republicans running for the 14th District seat now held by U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood, a Naperville Democrat. The fifth is a Democrat who filed to run for the 9th District seat held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Evanston. That candidate said last week he will suspend his campaign because of the objection.
* Chalkbeat | How much school are Illinois students in foster care missing? The state doesn’t track: Both the Illinois State Board of Education and the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) responded to open records requests from Chalkbeat seeking that information by saying they had no applicable records. In follow-up emails, department officials said that data exists for individual school districts.
* Crain’s | Money starts to flow in transfer tax campaign: The Service Employees International Union Healthcare of Illinois/Indiana, an influential contributor to Mayor Brandon Johnson’s mayoral campaign, contributed $200,000 to the “End Homelessness” campaign committee set up to fund support for passing the referendum question on the March 19 primary ballot.
* Daily Herald | Elk Grove releases video of deadly police shooting: Elk Grove Village police released video and audio recordings Monday depicting the fatal shooting of a 24-year-old man by officers on Dec. 1 and the circumstances leading up to the deadly encounter. The video, compiled from officer body-worn and dashboard cameras, shows Jack Murray walking along a sidewalk near his home while carrying an 11.5-inch knife in his right hand.
* WBEZ | Colleges hand out scholarship money to attract top students — at the expense of kids in need: The number of Black students in Illinois enrolled in college has dropped by more than a third over the past decade, and Black students like Granville often cite money as the biggest hurdle standing between them and a college degree, according to research from Gallup. […] [B]oth public and private colleges have poured money over the last 20 years into so-called merit aid for students with high grade point averages and test scores, who may not need scholarships to get a degree.
* Sun-Times | Controversial West Loop homeless encampment cleared for street cleaning: Workers from Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office and the city’s Department of Family and Social Services coordinated with people to offer them shelter and resources. Seven people were given shelter by the Department of Family and Social Services in the last week, and five more accepted rehousing help Monday. When offered rehousing, 15 people declined, according to Conway.
* Tribune | CPS teacher gave officials the wrong name of boyfriend after video showed him striking a student, records show: Records show the teacher sent an email to her principal shortly after Lancaster’s off-duty altercation and said her friend Craig “Wiliams” grabbed the teen because the boy disregarded her directions to line up and directed inappropriate words at her in response. She also told the principal her friend worked for a computer company, according to a redacted incident report obtained by the Tribune.
* Tribune | Columbia College reaches tentative agreement with part-time faculty, ending historically long strike: The deal will be submitted for a ratification vote this week by the union. If union members approve, classes will proceed as planned for the short January term and the spring 2024 semester. […] Since Oct. 30, 584 adjunct professors have been protesting the administration’s decision to eliminate 53 already-enrolled classes weeks before the fall semester began and 317 course sections for the spring semester while increasing the size of other classes to cut costs.
* CFVI | How 26 Cities are Using SLFRF Dollars to Support Community Violence Interventions: A Look at the Latest Treasury Data: Of the $164 million in planned CVI-CVP spending, cities have spent approximately $33 million (or 20%) as of June 30, 2023. Again, there’s wide variation between cities: Toledo has spent 77% of its budgeted $780,000 for its “Gun Violence Reduction Initiative” whereas Milwaukee reported no expenditures for its planned $4.25 million on violence prevention efforts. The table below lists the 14 cities, how many CVI-CVP projects they have, and planned versus actual spending for those projects as of June 30, 2023.
* Farm Progress | Illinois Soybean awards ag leaders: Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, is recognized by ISA for his work advocating for policy and regulatory issues that affect agriculture. Bost represents 34 counties of Illinois’ 12th District in the U.S. House of Representatives. “Rep. Bost actively advocates for policies that address issues Illinois soybean farmers are facing,” Lumpe says. “Through his work on the House committees on Veterans’ Affairs, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Agriculture, Bost is truly making a difference for Illinois agriculture.”
* CNN | Greyhound bus stops are valuable assets. Here’s who’s cashing in on them: Houston, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Tampa, Louisville, Charlottesville, Portland, Oregon, and other downtown bus depots have shuttered in recent years. Bus terminals in major hubs like Chicago and Dallas are also set to close. Greyhound and other companies have relocated their stops far away from city centers, which are often inaccessible by public transit, switched to curbside service or eliminated routes altogether.
* Bloomberg | U.S. Steel in deal to be bought for $14.1 billion: The deal caps months of uncertainty over the future of US Steel, an icon of American industry, which has been considering potential transactions since it rejected an offer from rival Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. for $7.25 billion in mid-August.
* Governing | Is There a Place for Supermarket Socialism?: It might be called an experiment in supermarket socialism. What could it look like? Well, it’s not hard to imagine a few possibilities. As detailed by Talia Soglin, a diligent Chicago Tribune reporter, the city could own the stores and operate them as a sort of public utility. It could own the properties but contract out the operation to a private company. Or, less dramatically, it could provide generous subsidies to private firms unable to make a profit in low-income territory. The city is conducting a feasibility study and is expected to announce the results early in 2024.
* CNBC | Musk’s X hit with first EU probe under new disinformation rules: The European Commission said it launched the proceedings under the DSA “on the basis of the preliminary investigation conducted so far, including on the basis of an analysis of the risk assessment report submitted by X in September, X’s Transparency report published on 3 November, and X’s replies to a formal request for information, which, among others, concerned the dissemination of illegal content in the context of Hamas’ terrorist attacks against Israel.”
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* Jon Seidel…
The sentencings of four people convicted of a lengthy conspiracy to bribe then-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan for ComEd will not go forward as planned next month, but a judge declined Monday to put all proceedings on hold as defense attorneys hoped.
Meanwhile, a defense attorney for Madigan’s co-defendant said he will be making a similar request to stay proceedings in Madigan’s case, which is set for trial in less than four months.
The developments come in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to take up a corruption case out of Northwest Indiana, in which questions revolve around a law at play in the ComEd and Madigan cases.
Defense attorneys say the Supreme Court’s decision in the Indiana case could prove “fatal” to the verdict last May against the ComEd bribery defendants: Madigan confidant Michael McClain, ex-ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, former ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and onetime City Club President Jay Doherty. […]
U.S. District Judge Manish Shah handled questions in the ComEd case as emergency judge Monday. He declined to enter a stay of proceedings but told attorneys the sentencing dates for the four defendants, which had been set for January, weren’t going to work.
Go read the rest.
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* Two weeks ago today, we discussed my newspaper column about a mid-November revenue and spending forecast from the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget.
The column, based on subscriber-only stories from November 20th and 22nd, talked about how GOMB was forecasting a $422 million net surplus for this fiscal year (even after factoring in the $160 million in new money for asylum seeker care) and an $891 million deficit for next fiscal year, with increased deficits in future years.
The column was partly about how the pandemic had thrown a monkey wrench into budget forecasting, requiring large changes even every few months. The conclusion…
So, again, can the latest projection be trusted? Not completely, but it should still be heeded. After a period of being mostly careful not to drastically increase the state’s base spending, and instead using much of the unexpected revenue bonanzas for one-time items, the legislature and the governor added a ton of money to base spending last spring. If revenues do fall off next fiscal year, base spending will likely have to be cut.
The governor’s budget address is three months away, so the budget-making process is about to begin. We’ve seen countless forecast adjustments during the past few years, so maybe this one will change, too. But, in the meantime, everyone should prepare themselves for some belt-tightening in the months ahead.
* Capitol News Illinois now has a story out that covers pretty much the same ground, but does include some quotes from the governor. You can read that story by clicking here, but this is what the governor said last week…
Well, it’s very hard to project, let’s start with that, any future years. They do their best, they use basically a set percentage increases in spending, a set percentage increase in revenues in order to come up with these numbers for future years, because it’s just so hard to predict.
You’ve even seen during the course of a budget year, where as we get closer to the end of a budget year we’re coming up with new estimates for the following year because things are changing as we go. So just as background. Why are they coming up with deficits projected for future years? Just like in the past years, if you look at the projection for last year, in the year before in the report, nobody projected a billion dollar surplus for this year.
Last year, I think the surplus there was actually a deficit projected for this year. If again, if you go back to that five-year plan, and that’s what you’re looking at.
So that five-year forecast we look at as a guide for how careful do we need to be as we move forward in the budget year Thinking about FY25. Hard to say about the rest of the years that are projected.
But I think it’s a signal to everybody. We need to be careful in Illinois, we have to balance our budget. We have to make sure that we’re making expenditures meet revenues. And so you know if that requires us to reduce the increases that may occur in certain programs, maybe that will be necessary.
But again, I think you’re gonna see different projections as we go forward just because the economy is changing. Heck, yesterday, I think, sorry, maybe this morning, we saw that interest rates have now been halted. At least the uptick of interest rates has been halted by the Fed. That’s already affecting the values on the stock market and affects whether people want to invest in things. You’re going to borrow money to buy a business, borrow money to buy a house. And projections on Wall Street that we’re going to see a down turn of interest rates that will help everybody that’s looking to buy a home I think, again, helps businesses decide that they’re gonna expand etc.
So it just kind of tries to tell you that you can look at the five year projections more as an indicator of how careful do we need to be, not as an exact number that we need to follow.
Please pardon all transcription errors.
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* The 2023 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best State Agency Director goes to Heidi Mueller with the Department of Juvenile Justice…
She has the toughest job in the state! She is constantly advocating for youth and seeks to eliminate biases surrounding youth. She does not back down! She is surrounded by an amazing team that works to push policies and programs that are trauma informed and evidence based.
Heidi maintains an open-door policy between her Juvenile Security Staff and is always present at the facilities. She ultimately seeks peace between DJJs opponents - she brings everyone to the table!
She has brought DJJ from the bottom and made them a national leader in trauma informed care
* The 2023 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Statewide Staffer is a tie. Emily Miller in the governor’s office…
She’s a do gooder actually doing good from the inside. She comes with principles but knows how to get to yes on some of the toughest issues. I’m glad to see her still on the Gov’s team after educating us on what the Rauner years meant.
* And Andy Manar in the governor’s office…
From Chinese mega corporations to tiny central Illinois villages, he works hard to make sure everyone can get what they need from state government. And while he doesn’t have time for everyone, he sure tries to find it.
Congrats to all!
We’re going to skip a few categories because we are quickly running out of time.
* On to today’s category…
Make sure to explain your nomination or it won’t count. Thanks.
* As I write this, several of you have stepped up and contributed a grand total of $54,198 to help Lutheran Social Services of Illinois purchase Christmas presents for foster kids. That’s pretty darned amazing. But in case you haven’t contributed yet or you think you might be able to give just a little bit more, please click here. Thanks to everyone!
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Meet the new boss, same as the old boss
Monday, Dec 18, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* A.D. Quig…
Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Iris Martinez’s bid for reelection is being helped by political contributions from dozens of her government employees, many of whom donated within months of receiving raises from Martinez in their publicly funded jobs.
The first-term clerk won the office in 2020 after pledging to “adhere to the highest ethical standards” in replacing a scandal-scarred outgoing clerk, Dorothy Brown, whose tenure was marked by various controversies that included criticism she took campaign cash from her employees.
But a Tribune analysis of campaign finance and county payroll records shows Martinez repeating that same political fundraising tactic.
Since Martinez became clerk, 52 circuit court clerk employees have contributed more than $45,000 to Martinez’s three campaign funds. Of those employees, 22 received promotions or significant raises in their clerk jobs just months — sometimes days — before or after making those political contributions. Nearly all the raises were $10,000 or more, the payroll records show.
What’s more, 29 of the employees who contributed to her campaign funds also circulated petitions this fall that helped Martinez secure a spot on the March 19 primary ballot. A total of 86 clerk employees passed petitions for Martinez’s reelection campaign, collecting 831 pages, or 45% of the total signature petition sheets she turned in earlier this month. […]
Two of those petition circulators now work in the clerk’s inspector general’s office, whose mission is to “detect, deter and prevent corruption, fraud, waste, mismanagement, and misconduct.” The inspector general employees are hired by Martinez and her administration.
That last graf is wild.
* On to the state angle. Martinez is supporting appointed Sen. Natalie Toro (D-Chicago) in the Democratic primary. From one of Toro’s opponents…
20th District Senate candidate Graciela Guzmán issued the following statement in reaction to the recent Chicago Tribune investigation into the activity of public employees funding and staffing political campaigns for Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Iris Martinez and her proteges, including State Senator Natalie Toro. Martinez had previously backed Natalie Toro’s unsuccessful 2022 campaign for Cook County Commissioner, and led the effort to appoint Toro as 20th district State Senator. Guzmán shares:
“A recent Chicago Tribune article highlighted the troubling overlap between Iris Martinez’s government staff and her political campaign operations. The Tribune uncovered multiple instances of employees receiving promotions or significant raises shortly before or after contributing financially to Clerk Martinez’s campaign committees and/or performing political work for her. Fifty-two employees contributed a total of $45,000 to Martinez’s campaign funds, and 45% of petition sheets circulated by Martinez to put her on the ballot were circulated by employees of the public office she oversees.
Martinez has put this old-fashioned patronage machine to work on not only her own re-election bid, but on the campaigns of her hand-picked State Senate appointee Natalie Toro. Until just one week ago, Toro’s campaign committee was chaired by a Deputy Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County making a six-figure salary working under Martinez. At least three other Clerk’s office employees under Martinez have circulated petitions for Toro’s current campaign for State Senate and her 2022 campaign for Cook County Commissioner, and Martinez has funneled money from her own campaign funds to Toro’s.
The undemocratic appointment process Clerk Martinez used to elevate Natalie Toro to office over community objections is one and the same with the patronage scheme she uses to fund and staff her political projects. I am dismayed but unsurprised by these latest betrayals of the public trust from the Martinez-Toro machine. Despite appointed Senator Toro’s efforts to distance herself publicly from Clerk Martinez, her political mentor and ally, the evidence tells a different story. We trust the voters of the 20th District to reject machine politics once again.”
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* Background is here if you need it. From Ishan Daya, now a former candidate for 32nd Ward Democratic Committeeperson…
“After internal deliberation, we have decided that we’ll be sunsetting the campaign today. We were able to do in 15 days what those already in power weren’t able to do over 3 months – get signatures from over 2,000 people that wanted to see change for a more progressive and democratic ward. I’m wishing the best of luck to the candidates that file for their write-in candidacy for the March 19th election, and will continue to organize our neighbors to drive pressure towards our electeds on building a more inclusive ward.”
I was told that the basis of the petition challenge against Daya was that he didn’t number his sheets.
*** UPDATE *** Ald. Scott Waguespack…
“I am pleased that Mr. Daya has decided not to pursue this effort further. I am running a write-in campaign for re-election as 32nd Ward Committeeman on the March 19, 2024 Democratic primary election ballot. I’m proud to have the continued support of residents of our community to keep building a vibrant and strong local Democratic Party that supports progressive candidates up and down the ballot.”
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Upcoming test for Eastern Bloc
Monday, Dec 18, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
A group of ultra-conservative Illinois House members known as the Eastern Bloc has been stirring up trouble with the establishment in both parties for years.
The Republican districts they represent stretch from north of Decatur, over to Tuscola and down to Mattoon, Shelbyville, Effingham and Vandalia.
They are the fellas (they’re all men) who demanded Chicago be kicked out of Illinois.
The most famous member you’d likely know of is Darren Bailey, who served in both the Illinois House and the Senate then ran for governor last year and is now running for Congress against fellow Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Bost.
Those folks were so steadfast against pandemic mitigations they sometimes came off as almost pro-COVID. They love guns, they think abortion is an abomination, they’re up in arms about a Chinese company opening a huge electric vehicle battery factory in Kankakee County, and they rarely if ever pass any substantive legislation.
There are now a handful of primary races in that region that could tell us a lot about the future of the Republican Party in this state. Bailey vs. Bost is one of them. The race to replace retiring Rep. Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur, is another. The father of the kick-Chicago-out-of-Illinois “movement” is Rep. Brad Halbrook, R-Shelbyville, and he’s being challenged by an equally right-wing opponent because Halbrook broke his term-limit pledge.
The Eastern Bloc rebranded themselves as the Illinois Freedom Caucus and is gearing up to challenge Rep. Dave Severin, R-Benton, with one of their own. Severin is conservative but not sufficiently pure for them. He’s accepted a few union contributions, for instance.
The race we’re going to talk about today is related to the Severin battle. It’s in the 110th House District, which is currently held by Rep. Blaine Wilhour, R-Beecher City. He’s every bit of the fire breather that Bailey is but without the burning desire (so far) to seek higher office.
Wilhour has been fighting a behind-the-scenes war with House Republican Leader Tony McCombie all year. He’s also taken on the teachers’ unions, which are trying to reestablish ties to Republican legislators now that their wealthy anti-union benefactors like Bruce Rauner and Ken Griffin have fled to Florida.
Back in September, Reps. Wilhour and Chris Miller (who is married to U.S. Rep. Mary Miller) demanded the Illinois Republican Party change its rules to declare that Republican candidates who solicit money from teachers’ unions or refuse to return their contributions “shall be condemned and automatically disassociated from the Republican Party.”
Several weeks ago, Illinois Department of Corrections employee Matt Hall started quietly circulating petitions to run against Wilhour in the Republican primary.
The Illinois Education Association confirmed it had been looking for a candidate to challenge Wilhour. A union spokesperson said the IEA did not recruit Hall but said, “We are excited about his candidacy and believe our members who live in the district will be as well.”
Asked if he would accept union contributions, Hall said, “I will accept everyone’s support, and I expect to get everyone’s support.” He said he decided to run because Wilhour “quit doing what I think a state representative needs to do,” including being responsive to constituents.
“He just doesn’t do anything,” Hall said. “In my opinion, all he does is kick and scream and doesn’t get anything passed.”
Wilhour also hasn’t stopped any Democratic bills, Hall claimed. “We need to learn how to work together and get things done and care about this district.”
In response, Rep. Wilhour said: “A primary fight with the teachers’ union has been a foregone conclusion. It’s always been about them finding their tool willing to carry their woke agenda.”
People on Wilhour’s side are convinced House GOP Leader McCombie is somehow behind Hall’s race.
“I prefer not to speak of who I’ve had contact with,” Hall said when asked if he’d spoken with McCombie about his candidacy. A McCombie aide said the leader was focused on holding and picking up seats.
Hall ended up filing his petitions. They were solid, and he had help from the IEA.
Interestingly enough, a formal objection was filed against Rep. Wilhour’s petitions. “It looks like a concerned citizen filed the complaint, and we’re interested to see what comes of it,” said an IEA spokesperson.
Sure.
Anyway, if Hall manages to beat Wilhour, a shockwave will reverberate through the far right of the party. But, if nothing else, a barrage of union money aimed at Wilhour could divert Eastern Bloc resources away from their hoped-for battle against Rep. Severin.
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Open thread
Monday, Dec 18, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* What’s going on in your part of Illinois?…
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Monday, Dec 18, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* ICYMI: No migrants living in Chicago police stations for the first time since spring. Sun-Times…
- There are around 190 new arrivals were still awaiting shelter placement at O’Hare Airport.
- In mid-October, a peak of about 3,300 asylum seekers were living inside or outside police stations.
- Nearly 14,000 migrants from the southern U.S. border are being housed at 27 city-run shelters.
* Related stories…
* Isabel’s top picks…
* Sun-Times | Feds close corruption case against Ed Burke by telling jurors his words on secret recordings are ‘absolutely devastating’: Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker said the words of the former 14th Ward alderperson are more significant than any testimony jurors would have heard if prosecutors called FBI mole Danny Solis to the witness stand. “Think about what’s the best evidence of defendant Burke’s intent?” Streicker said. “The words that came out of his mouth. … Those words were captured on recordings. That is why we didn’t need to call Mr. Solis to tell you what Mr. Burke was thinking.
* Illinois Times | Haley suspended by NAACP: The news release also said NAACP branch presidents from throughout Illinois met Dec. 13 and “unanimously supported Haley’s quintessential leadership skills.” But the national NAACP, based in Baltimore, said in a statement Dec. 15 that it suspended Haley Dec. 13.
* Sun-Times | Fermilab’s ‘muon shot’ could see suburban lab become site of revolutionary particle collider: They also called for exploring the possibility of building a revolutionary new particle collider more powerful than any ever created — a groundbreaking device they said would fit perfectly on the Fermilab campus. The P5 report also noted the critical computing might of Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, reinforcing the Chicago area as a hub for the future of particle physics.
* Here’s the rest of your morning roundup…
* WSJ | Illinois Concedes on Pregnancy Centers: Illinois has been trying to use its fraud laws to target pro-life pregnancy help centers, and Gov. J.B. Pritzker declared this summer that he was “confident” the law was constitutional. If he still believes that, then Mr. Pritzker ought to explain why the state is backing down in federal court, unless he’s too embarrassed now by his role in this cautionary tale of Democratic overreach.
* Patch | Committee To Appoint Replacement For 82nd District Representative: “John Egofske is a tremendous leader in the community, and we thank him for his continued service as Mayor of Lemont,” DuPage Republican Chairman Jim Zay said in a release from the House Republican Organization. “Our committee looks forward to a transparent and thorough process to fill this important position.”
* Tribune | Cook County court clerk getting boost in reelection bid from her government employees: The first-term clerk won the office in 2020 after pledging to “adhere to the highest ethical standards” in replacing a scandal-scarred outgoing clerk, Dorothy Brown, whose tenure was marked by various controversies that included criticism she took campaign cash from her employees.
* Jim Dey | High court action puts ComEd bribery case back in the news: Stop the sentencing hearings! So say the lawyers for the ComEd Four. They argue a case accepted last week for review by the U.S. Supreme Court could undermine legal ground on which their clients were convicted.
* Patch | 2 Run For Elmhurst State House Seat: Elmhurst Alderman Marti Deuter is running as a Democrat to succeed Jenn Ladisch-Douglass, a Democrat who decided not to run again after one term. The Republican candidate is Elmhurst resident Dennis Reboletti, who is the elected supervisor of Addison Township.
* Sun-Times | Ex-Cook County Land Bank Authority official gets a year in prison over secret land deals: Mustafaa Saleh, 37, resigned from the county government agency in June 2019 and pleaded guilty to wire fraud last March. In May 2021, a federal grand jury subpoenaed records from the agency on 24 properties, including an abandoned hotel in Harvey and other properties overseen by Saleh, and land bank contractors he secretly owned.
Chi
* Tribune | City to remove West Loop homeless encampment in order to clean area: The encampments near Union and Ogilvie stations are the subject of an ongoing debate between Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office and Ald. Bill Conway, 34th. Conway previously told the Tribune that a top Johnson adviser tied an offer to address safety concerns there to the alderman’s votes on two key City Council ordinances.
* WaPo | Dozens of assisted-living residents died after wandering away unnoticed: Since 2018, more than 2,000 people have wandered away from assisted-living and memory-care facilities unnoticed or been left unattended for hours outside. Nearly 100 have died, and state inspectors frequently found evidence of neglect.
* Rolling Stone | Elon Musk’s Big Lie About Tesla Is Finally Exposed: Out of all the scandals over the last decade or so of venture capital-fueled excess, Tesla’s dangerous and hype-happy approach to driving automation technology has been one of the most important but also one of the most hidden in plain sight. Just like the Mechanical Turk of 1770, everyone has been so focused on the technology itself that they’ve missed the human factors that power the entire spectacle. Just as worryingly, regulators have missed that forcing humans to babysit incomplete systems introduces entirely new risks to public roads.
* Sun-Times | Richard Hunt, iconic Chicago sculptor, dies at 88: Abstract sculptor Richard Hunt, a lifelong Chicagoan who in 1971 became the first African American artist to receive a solo retrospective at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, died Saturday at age 88. Hunt “passed away peacefully” at his Chicago home, according to a statement posted to his website. A cause wasn’t released.
* CBS Chicago | Chicago photographer Barry Butler captures beauty of city in new calendar, book: Renowned photographer Barry Butler’s 2024 calendar is available now. Images include a breathtaking winter sunrise at the Lincoln Park lagoon from January, Navy Pier fireworks taken from the Willis Tower in June, and for July, a bird on cue in the center of a glorious sunset.
* NYT | With a Deadline Looming, the United Methodist Church Breaks Up: Until July, White’s Chapel was the second-largest United Methodist congregation in the country. The conservative-leaning church lost its status this year not because it shrank — it is growing, leaders say — but because it left the denomination.
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Live coverage
Monday, Dec 18, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Live coverage is back, sorta. This will be different than the old Scribble Live feed because Twitter broke itself and almost everything else it touched. These new feeds do not update instantly. There’s a bit of posting lagtime, but it’s much better than nothing. We are also limited to just 20 Twitter sources. The service may also not last long. We just can’t give you any guarantees about this. You can still click here or here to follow breaking news the way we’ve done since Twitter stopped Scribble Live from working…
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Live Ed Burke Trial Coverage
Monday, Dec 18, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* These new feeds do not update instantly. There’s a bit of a lagtime and you have to refresh the page every now and then. The service we’re using may also not last long. We just can’t give you any guarantees. You can still click here to follow the Ed Burke trial on Twitter. Posts without a Twitter author name below them are from online news sources via Bing…
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