* Senate President Don Harmon did an impromptu gaggle with reporters tonight on his way to a caucus meeting…
Reporter: Will there be any votes on budget bills tonight?
President Harmon: I doubt that but we’re going to caucus right now to discuss the schedule for today and tomorrow.
Reporter: So you will be here tomorrow, in session?
Harmon: We’re planning to be here tomorrow in session.
Reporter: Any plan beyond that? Sunday, Monday, Tuesday?
Harmon: I’m hoping the Senate will be able to wrap up its business tomorrow.
Reporter: What are the sticking points right now?
Harmon: Time.
Reporter: An amendment hasn’t dropped yet, what is the..?
Harmon: We agreed from the start that the House and the Senate would agree to every word and every number in the budget before filing. We are very close to that with the next amendment. We’re talking to both of our caucuses and we’ll move forward after that.
Reporter: What is the situation with the transit money coming out of the Road Fund? Local 150 is opposed to this, they seem to believe that they have been able to stall the budget over this. Do you think that can be overcome?
Harmon: I do. I do. I think it’s important to remember that a significant chunk of the Road Fund is dedicated to mass transit. We’d like to emphasize that the money going to the RTA for mass transit is coming from the portion of the Road Fund that supports mass transit, and not taking money away from the roads.
Reporter: The House is down like 10 people. I guess they’re going back up tomorrow. Do you see any need to run the bonding authority bill in the Senate before it goes to the House?
Harmon: We’re going to coordinate with the House, we’ll make sure that both chambers are in full agreement on which Bill starts where. We’ve worked very well in collaboration with the House through this whole process. We’re going to continue that to the bitter end.
Reporter: Will the Senate take up that prisoner review board measure?
Harmon: I expect so but I haven’t talked to the caucus.
Reporter: What about the Chicago School Board bill? There’s been some pushback.
Harmon: I need to talk to the caucus about that as well. Let me get the caucus since we’re late already. Thank you all appreciate it.
*** Adding ***
* The paper release…
House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch released the following statement Saturday:
“The House and Senate are very close to an agreement on a final budget. Procedurally, the earliest an agreement could pass both chamber is next week. To let members and staff rest and spend time with family, we are adjourning for the holiday weekend and will return to complete this work.”
Miller (no relation): Thank you, Madam Speaker. I would like to speak to this bill.
Leader Barbara Hernandez: Would you like her to yield sir?
Miller (no relation): No, I just want to talk about this bill.
Leader Hernandez: To the bill.
Miller (no relation): Thank you, Madame Speaker. You know, I think that one of the things that I’ve done over the last 50 years is I’m a farmer, and I raise cattle. And when we’re raising cattle, I raise a lot of bulls, you know, and after listening to all this stuff, my ol’ BS meter’s going, DING, DING, DING, DING, DING, DING, DING! Because what we’re seeing here is a myth about climate change…
Saturday, May 25, 2024 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Current merchant point of sales and card processors systems can’t separate tax from a purchase when applying processing fees and it may take several years for these systems to get updated. The proposed budget deal that would require separation of interchange fees on the sales tax portion of electronic transactions could mean consumers will have to swipe a credit or debit card twice for a purchase or worse, pay the tax portion in cash. In no uncertain terms – it would be a major disruption to the current electronic payments system in place today.
This proposal and disruption to the current system would undoubtedly affect Illinois consumers and beyond. How will constituents, tourists coming to the state this summer, and attendees at the DNC in August react to an overhaul in the way they conduct transactions? This could create a huge embarrassment to Illinois and require immediate retraction. Why take the risk? In the past 17 years there’s been 58 bills in other states trying to remove interchange fees from the state and local sales tax portion of debit and credit card purchases…none have passed because it’s a bad idea. Although this proposal is included in a potential budget deal, there is NO impact to the state budget based upon this component. It simply puts more money in the pockets of Illinois retailers.
The current interchange system in Illinois works. Illinois legislators should reject budget deals that increase profit to big box retailers.
* From Rich: Click here for our end of session cheat sheet. This live coverage software is not automated like the old one was, and today is Isabel’s first time handling these duties. She’s good at everything she does, but help her out in comments, please. Thanks…
Saturday, May 25, 2024 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Protect Illinois Hospitality is a coalition of tipped workers, chambers of commerce, service operators, and local small businesses who strongly support keeping the tip credit available for Illinois businesses.
CLAIM: An Illinois bill would change how individuals who committed criminal offenses are referred to under state law, replacing “offender” with “justice-impacted individual.”
AP’S ASSESSMENT: Missing context. The bill, HB 4409, would not relabel all people who commit crimes as justice-impacted individuals — just those in the state’s Adult Redeploy Illinois program. Adult Redeploy Illinois is intended to reduce incarceration, in part, by placing individuals with any probation-eligible offense in community corrections programs rather than in prison. […]
“HB4409 represents a small change to an incredibly successful diversion program that simply seeks to better reflect the program’s intention,” State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, a Democrat who co-sponsored the bill, wrote in an email to The Associated Press. “Those who choose to fan the flames of misinformation and fearmongering do all of us a disservice. Focusing on semantics rather than substance is an insult to everyone’s intelligence.” […]
HB 4409 was passed by the Illinois state Senate on Tuesday after passing the House on April 16. In addition to the name change, it stipulates that an oversight board for Adult Redeploy Illinois will include two individuals who participated in programs funded by the initiative and adjusts how funding for Adult Redeploy Illinois is allocated.
Illinois could soon join a handful of states with digital IDs and driver’s licenses.
House Bill 4592, introduced by Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago), passed by a unanimous vote in the state senate Friday. The bill cleared the state House of Representatives earlier this week and now heads to Gov. JB Pritzker for his signature.
The legislation would not eliminate physical driver’s licenses but would allow the state to offer them as a companion to a physical card. […]
Some Transportation Security Administration security checkpoints are equipped to accept digital IDs, with support expanding.
State lawmakers are sending a plan to the governor’s office to create new funeral home regulations in response to the mishandling of human remains at the Heinz Funeral Home in Carlinville.
The Integrity in Death Care Act would create an identification system for all human remains to ensure funeral homes never mishandle human remains again.
Anyone intentionally violating preparation room procedures and rules could face a Class 4 felony. People engaging in funeral directing or embalming without a license would be charged with a Class A misdemeanor. […]
Senate Bill 2643 passed unanimously out of the Senate Friday and previously gained unanimous support in the House.
A bill heading to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk could help make schools safer through new student discipline procedures.
The Illinois House passed legislation Friday to require the Illinois State Board of Education to draft and publish guidance for development of reciprocal reporting systems between schools and law enforcement.
This measure also calls on ISBE to publish guidance for re-engagement of students suspended, expelled or returning from an alternative school setting. […]
Senate Bill 1400 passed out of the House on a 106-5 vote. It previously passed out of the Senate on a 54-2 vote.
* Rep. Angie Guerrero-Cuellar…
State Rep. Angie Guerrero-Cuellar, D-Chicago, is expanding career opportunities for mental health professionals by passing legislation eliminating non-compete agreements for those who serve veterans and first responders.
Guerrero-Cuellar championed Senate Bill 2737 which prohibits non-compete and non-solicitation agreements for mental health services that support veterans and first responders. Current agreements would be void if they result in an undue burden on veterans or first responders seeking mental health services from licensed mental health professionals.
“Ensuring our communities have the personnel ready to aid and save lives is critical, but often you have competing organizations cornering the market and preventing employed personnel from doing their jobs. This puts everyday Illinoisans in danger,” Guerrero-Cuellar said. “Barring non-compete, non-solicitation agreements means more of our professionals can remain in the field, responding to emergencies and protecting us. While it’s unfortunate that some organizations have stifled emergency response, this legislation will make sure these personnel are there when we need them.”
The Illinois State Senate passed a bill to phase out fluorescent lighting on May 24th.
The switch to LEDs will save Illinois consumers more than $1.5 billion on utility bills, avoid 2.2M metric tons of CO2 emissions by cutting energy waste and prevent 419 pounds of mercury pollution by 2050, according to the Appliance Standards Awareness Project. […]
Illinois will become the 10th state to pass clean lighting policies after Minnesota passed similar legislation last week.
“Energy efficiency is the foundation of the clean energy transition. The cheapest, cleanest energy is the energy we don’t use,” said Illinois PIRG State Director Abe Scarr. “We thank Senator Johnson and Representative Nicholas Smith for their leadership on this important policy.”
* Sen. Rachel Ventura…
State Senator Rachel Ventura advanced legislation that passed both chambers on Friday to address surplus state-owned properties by curating a report on its condition.
“We have an obligation to address the numerous state-owned properties that have either been vacant or unused, which in turn wastes taxpayer dollars through maintenance and security costs,” said Ventura (D-Joliet). “This legislation will give us insight into each property’s maintenance and demolition costs to consider what to do with them in the future.”
Senate Bill 381 would require the Director of the Department of Central Management Services to assess surplus real property held by the State and determine whether or not the property is unsellable in its current condition.
Additionally, the director is required to submit a report, beginning on Feb. 1, 2025 and every other year, detailing the assessment to the governor and General Assembly. The report will include the annual state maintenance costs for said properties and attempts to sell the properties as well as the estimated demolition and remediation costs at the time of the last attempted sale. […]
The Senate concurred to Senate Bill 381 on Friday. It now heads to the governor for further consideration.
The Illinois House voted unanimously Friday to pass a plan requiring DCFS caseworkers to develop hair care plans with youth in care and their foster parents.
Members of the DCFS Youth Advisory Board worked with lawmakers to make this recommendation into legislation. They stressed that Black children are often placed with families or in residential settings where they aren’t allowed to wear their hair in ways that represent their cultural background. […]
The plan would allow DCFS to adopt rules to facilitate implementation of the changes, including responsibilities of caseworkers and placement plan specialists in developing the hair care plan, engaging parents regarding the hair care needs of youth and procedures to follow if the parents cannot be contacted, and factors to consider in granting children increased autonomy over hair care decisions.
House Bill 5097 passed unanimously out of the House Friday. It previously passed out of the Senate on a 49-9 vote. The proposal now heads to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk for his signature of approval.
* Sen. Mike Porfirio And Rep. Stephanie Kifowit…
To protect our nation’s veterans from predatory business practices, State Senator Mike Porfirio and State Representative Stephanie Kifowit championed legislation through the General Assembly aimed at combating unaccredited companies that target veterans by offering benefits in exchange for financial compensation. […]
Common predatory practices include guaranteeing an increased disability rating or percentage increase, advertising expedited VA claims decisions, requesting login credentials to access a veteran’s personal information through secure VA websites and more. Senate Bill 3479 would combat deceptive business practices by ensuring transparency regarding these businesses’ lack of VA accreditation. To offer better consumer transparency, Porfirio’s legislation requires these entities to disclose that their businesses are neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Under the measure, which is a legislative priority of Veterans of Foreign Wars at both the state and federal level, veterans would be better informed about the services offered to them, reducing the risk of misleading or fraudulent advice. The goal is to protect veterans from these deceptive practices and establish a more secure environment when they are seeking assistance related to their veteran or military benefits. […]
Carbon capture and sequestration projects have been hot button issues in Central Illinois for years, and now lawmakers in the state capitol are trying to address it.
Proposed pipeline projects like the Navigator pipeline through Sangamon County and the Wolf/ADM pipeline ending near Decatur faced major backlash from residents due to the lack of regulations. Legislators believe they have the fix.
Some of the components of the bill include companies needing to prove their project will catch the carbon and not store it underground. It also creates more stringent rules carbon dioxide pipeline projects, versus other carbon sequestration projects. Finally, the bill puts in place a moratorium on all multi-state pipelines. […]
Not everyone is on board with the bill. The Illinois Farm Bureau still opposes the bill, as companies can use a version of eminent domain, even though companies would have to complete multiple steps first before claiming a farmer’s land.
The bill passed out of the committee Friday afternoon 21-7-1. It now heads to the House floor.
The Illinois hemp industry is in a frenzy over new legislation moving forward in Springfield that business owners say will put popular products out of reach and push the THC lounges and CBD shops that dot Chicago-area neighborhoods out of business. […]
[P]roducts like CBD lotions and infused drinks and treats made with THC derived from hemp are seemingly in a legal gray area under which businesses using hemp-derived THC have proliferated.
State Sen. Kim Lightford, D-Maywood, said that’s harming Illinois’ tightly-regulated cannabis industry and undermining the state’s goals to use the law to lift up people of color disproportionally harmed by the war on drugs. To be part of the legal marijuana industry, businesses had to compete for coveted – and expensive – licenses, with priority going to social equity applicants. […]
Lightford, the sponsor of the measure (House Bill 4293), which passed out of a Senate committee Thursday night, asks of the businesses: “Why did you go into the hemp business if you wanted to sell weed?”
Illinois lawmakers are addressing a growing form of cyberbullying in schools involving artificial intelligence.
The House passed House Bill 299 that would amend the Illinois school code to include sexually explicit digital depictions of students under the definition of cyberbullying.
State Rep. Janet Yang Rohr, D-Naperville, said the images generated by AI could have lasting effects on a young person. […]
A state bill that would prevent changes to Chicago’s selective enrollment schools and block the district from closing schools until 2027 appears to have stalled in the final scheduled hours of the legislative session.
The lack of movement comes after Mayor Brandon Johnson sent a letter to Illinois Senate President Don Harmon asking him not to call the bill for a final vote, arguing it “seeks to solve problems that do not exist.”
The situation is a win so far for Johnson, whose appointed Board of Education is mulling changes to the district’s school choice system and recently rolled out a new budget formula.
State Rep. Margaret Croke, a Democrat representing Chicago’s north side neighborhoods, filed the bill earlier this year that would prevent the board from making changes to admission requirements or cutting funding for selective enrollment schools until a fully elected school board is in place in 2027. She later added an amendment that would extend the moratorium on school closures and prevent any school from shuttering until 2027.
One lawmaker believes she can get everyone on board with her bill to make reforms to the Prisoner Review Board.
The proposal has already passed the Illinois House of Representatives with strong bipartisan support. […]
State Representative Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago) said she’s worked with both sides of the aisle to come up with a bill she believes everyone can agree on. […]
The bill would make several reforms, including mandatory domestic violence training for board members every year, with focuses on areas like the legal process regarding orders of protection and the dynamics of gender based violence.
* ICYMI: Illinois Senate pitches budget, but talks continue into holiday weekend as Democrats struggle to reach consensus. Tribune…
- Senate Democrats filed a 3,374-page plan about 5 p.m. Friday but hours later hadn’t held a committee hearing or floor vote.
- Flagship spending proposals the governor laid out in his February budget address were part of the Senate measure released Friday, which Pritzker spokesman Alex Gough said reflected “an agreement in principal” among the governor, Harmon and House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch
- Despite ongoing uncertainty, a few details emerged Friday on the discussions between Pritzker and Democratic legislative leaders.
* WAND | Legislative session helps pick up business in Springfield: “Typically when session is going on we see higher occupancy rates through the city of Springfield,” said Darin Dame, the President of the Springfield Hotel and Lodging Association. “We always want to see if they can stay another night to go visit the visitor sites or have a convention here.” Dame said the goal is to connect with legislators so they come back for a future vacation, or stay there when they return for legislative work.
* WBEZ | CPS selective enrollment bill dead in Springfield after Johnson letter to Senate president: Johnson sent a letter to Illinois Senate President Don Harmon on Thursday asking him to hold House Bill 303, which had already passed the Illinois House and needed a final vote in the Senate. The mayor’s public pledge that he would not close or otherwise harm selective enrollment schools meant the bill would no longer be called in the Senate as the spring legislative session ends, according to two sources who were granted anonymity to share details about the legislative process. The bill could be revived in the fall veto session if the mayor reneges on his promises.
* Tribune | Lawmakers angry about NRG plan to only cap Waukegan plant’s ponds; ‘They’re hypocrites, and … don’t want to be held accountable’: Now required by the EPA to deal with a Coal Combustion Residuals Management Unit at the Waukegan site known as the grassy area, state Rep. Rita Mayfield, D-Gurnee, hoped NRG would remove two coal ash ponds rather than the utility’s previously announced plan to cap one and remove the other. […] NRG disclosed in an email Thursday it is developing an application to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to approve its plan to cap both coal ash ponds at its Waukegan generating station now used only for backup purposes.
*** Statehouse News ***
* Tribune | Lawmakers vote to name Loop high-rise after former Secretary of State Jesse White: Lawmakers voted to name a state-owned Loop office building after Illinois’ longest-serving secretary of state, Jesse White. Set to turn 90 next month, White stood in the House chamber earlier this month before lawmakers voted to name the high-rise at 115 S. LaSalle St. the Jesse White State of Illinois Building. The resolution’s main sponsor, state Rep. Harry Benton, noted the rarity of a state building being named after someone who is still alive.
* Capitol News Illinois | Measure targets ‘legacy’ admission at public universities: Senate Bill 462 would prohibit public higher education institutions from admitting applicants based on “legacy status” or relationships to donors, effective upon becoming law. […] It passed both houses unanimously and needs only a signature from the governor to become law.
* SJ-R | Lawmakers pass 2 bills strengthening child labor laws in Illinois. What you need to know: Senate Bill 3646 introduced by Peters is designed to strengthen up and remodel the general labor laws of the state. The bill includes rules about the number of hours a minor can work during school days and weekends. A minor can’t work more than eight hours on weekends during the school year, and depending on the job they can only work a certain number of hours on a school day. If an employer were to violate the rules they may receive various fines.
*** Statewide ***
* SJ-R | Illinois took in nearly $70M on marijuana sales in the final quarter of 2023: Twenty-three states, along with Washington, D.C., have legalized recreational marijuana and generated more than $3 billion in tax revenue in 2022. In the final quarter of 2023, the states that generated the most revenue took in a combined $457.7 million.
* Press Release | Illinois’ spring turkey hunters harvest record number of wild turkeys: Illinois hunters harvested a preliminary statewide record total of 17,208 wild turkeys during the 2024 Illinois spring turkey season. This year’s total compares with the 2023 statewide harvest of 16,123 and the previous harvest record total of 16,569, set during the spring season in 2006.
*** Chicago ***
* Tribune | Mayor Johnson, CPD announce Chicago’s summer safety plan ahead of Memorial Day weekend: Officials also encouraged parents to be watchful of their children once school lets out. It was unclear if Johnson planned to implement a youth curfew downtown, a tactic employed over the past two summers. In May 2022, a 16-year-old was fatally shot near the Bean, leading to a temporary ban on unaccompanied minors in the Millennium Park after 6 p.m.
* WGN | Citing lack of ‘allies,’ mayor’s nominee to RTA board withdraws from consideration: Still, Acree’s nomination was passed by the committee 14 to 2, with the two no votes coming from Ald. Scott Waguespack of the 32nd Ward and Ald. Andre Vasquez of the 40th Ward. At the time, they said it was because Johnson’s staff had not prepared Acree for the meeting. “Our city is in need of leadership with the expertise and fiscal background to deal with the issues we are facing in this Johnson Administration,” Waguespack told WGN via text message. “There was no discernable vision for public transportation laid out in the appointment process by the appointee or the 5th floor and we have yet to hear one.”
* Sun-Times | ComEd flips the switch on Bronzeville microgrid in latest push for electric power: One of the country’s first solar-powered electric grids of its kind is now operating in Bronzeville, and there are already plans to replicate the project in northern Illinois. City and state leaders as well as officials from the U.S. Department of Energy gathered Friday at the Chicago Housing Authority’s Dearborn Homes to flip the switch on the Bronzeville Community Microgrid, part of a larger push to make Bronzeville one of ComEd’s “smart communities.”
* Crain’s | West Loop assessments show Kaegi’s rosier view of downtown offices: A Crain’s analysis of newly released assessments for more than two dozen prominent West Loop office buildings showed that recent valuations dropped by an average of just under 16% compared with Kaegi’s final estimates in 2021, the last time his office assessed all of downtown.
* Tribune | Chicago White Sox suffer another loss to Baltimore Orioles, falling 6-4 to drop 22 games under .500: The Chicago White Sox first baseman on Thursday was ruled out on an interference call near second base, part of a controversial ending in a loss. On Friday, he hit a solo home run to even the score in the seventh inning. “(Orioles reliever Yennier Cano has) got a demon sinker, it’s really good,” Vaughn said. “Just tried to go up there and make a good swing on a good pitch.”
*** Cook County and Suburbs ***
* Daily Southtown | Cook County program to fund infrastructure, projects throughout south suburbs: The Build Up Cook program “aims to extend a helping hand to municipalities most in need,” according to the county. The county identified 46 projects in 22 communities, primarily in the south and west suburbs, for funding. With a $30.5 million total budget from American Rescue Plan Act Funds, the county said construction on projects can begin immediately and is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
* Daily Herald | Accountability, education keys to stemming campus antisemitism, say suburban undergraduates: The Highland Park Democrat opened the forum defending a person’s right to speak freely “no matter how much I disagree … But when it crosses the line to intimidation, harassment, isolation, exclusion,” he said, the administration has an obligation to speak out. University of Michigan student Hannah Dalinka agreed. “People have a right to free speech, but a lot of what’s happening on our college campuses is beyond free speech.”
* Crain’s | ‘Home Alone’ house for sale in Winnetka: This is only the second time the house has been on the market since the movie was shot in the late 1980s. It joins another North Shore home with a cinematic past that went up for sale in recent weeks. The Kenilworth house that appeared in the Steve Martin and John Candy movie “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” is on the market at just under $2.5 million.
*** Downstate ***
* News-Gazette | County board votes to censure Danos: After at least a month of discussion on the subject, the Champaign County Board has voted to censure county auditor George Danos for alleged failure to act as an “independent watchdog” of taxpayer funds and actions “unbecoming an elected official.” The Champaign County Board voted Thursday night to approve the censure resolution.
* WIFR | Winnebago Co. Board considers area-wide license plate readers: On Thursday, the Winnebago County Board votes on a five-year agreement bringing license plate readers across the area. The expansion in law enforcement technology arrives as the city of Rockford, Loves Park and Machesney Park have used them for years. “We put that in, if it goes through one of these LPRs, it flags immediately real-time, immediately,” says Winnebago County Sheriff Gary Caruana.
* QC | Mississippi River at Rock Island expected to exceed 13-foot action stage by Friday: Due to the recent heavy rains the Mississippi River at Lock and Dam 15, Rock Island, is expected to exceed its 13-foot action stage by next Friday, said Meteorologist Andy Ervin of the National Weather Service, Davenport. […] However, that forecast did not account for the observed rainfall that fell Friday, May 24, or the predicted rainfall that is expected to fall Saturday night into Sunday. An updated forecast will be available on Saturday.
* WAND | I-57 SB near Pesotum reopens after crash that caused 4 deaths: Illinois State Police Troop 7 was on the scene around milepost 212 where a truck-tractor semi-trailer was traveling northbound and crossed the median into southbound traffic. At least four people have been confirmed dead and one has been seriously injured.
One issue on which there appears to be broad agreement is repealing the 1% statewide sales tax on groceries. Ditching the tax won’t affect the state’s bottom line because the money all goes to local governments. […]
To make up for the lost revenue, municipalities — both those with broader home rule powers to raise taxes on their own and non-home-rule communities — would be granted the ability to levy their own 1% tax on groceries. Towns without home rule would be given the ability to tack on an additional 1 percentage point tax on general retail sales.
Along with other concessions, the proposal on the table was enough to win the support of the Illinois Municipal League, which represents local governments across the state.
“We are pleased with the overall framework of the issues affecting municipalities,” Brad Cole, CEO of the Illinois Municipal League, said in a statement. “Local leaders have long advocated for greater authority to provide for the programs and services their residents rely on every day, which they will be granted under this budget agreement.”
The locals will also receive tons of money from a variety of other sources.
I really didn’t think Pritzker would actually achieve this. The tax will go away in January of 2026.
* Subscribers were also told about this win. Sun-Times…
Another politically thorny Pritzker provision is also expected to be in the revenue measure — capping the discount that retailers receive for collecting sales tax at $1,000 per month. The governor’s office contends it would mostly impact larger retailers and generate another $101 million for state coffers.
Budgeteers tried to appease opponents from the retail industry by prohibiting processing fees on the sales tax portion of electronic transactions. Currently, financial companies can charge fees on the entire transaction, which includes the goods purchased as well as the tax.
A plan pushed by state Sen. Cristina Castro, D-Elgin, is also expected to be included in the revenue measure. Castro requested a tax on third-party entities that resell large blocks of hotel rooms but avoid paying the standard hotel operator’s room occupation tax. Her initiative is expected to bring in about $50 million.
The retailers also received some concessions in exchange for the agreement. The elimination of processing fees on taxes has received big pushback (you may have caught an ad on here yesterday), but it’s part of the deal. Again, I’d have bet against the governor on that.
Also, Sen. Castro’s re-renters tax will generate millions for local governments. And, as you saw yesterday, negotiators agreed to a graduated tax on sports betting companies.
A [now] former DuPage County prosecutor [Samuel Cundari] has been charged with threatening two state lawmakers and several gun control groups, and suggesting a bomb could go off at a downstate LGBTQ festival. […]
None of the victims was identified in the complaint, but state Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, who was the chief sponsor of Illinois’ assault weapons ban, confirmed to the Sun-Times that he was tagged in the post.
Another social media post on May 15 that prosecutors say Cundari made from a different X account with the user handle @jastownsends suggested a bomb threat at the Springfield PrideFest, which was held last week.
“I sure hope NOBODY leaves a pressure cooker filled with ball bearings, glass and nails, filled with diesel fuel and fertilizer, with the over pressure safety valve disabled, near a natural gas line. That would be VERY sad and VERY unfortunate,” read the post, which was made in reply to a separate post by an anti-LGBTQ organization, according to the complaint.
Springfield PrideFest was sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield. The insurance company’s X profile received a similar bomb threat post May 16 from the same @jastownsends account, prosecutors said […]
Cundari, a Wheaton resident, met with an FBI agent the next day and admitted to making the social media posts but insisted the comments were made as a “joke,” the complaint says.
The complaint alleges that on March 17, 2024, the Illinois State Police were contacted by two Illinois State Representatives about a threat that they had received via the social media company X, formerly known as Twitter. The social media post stated, “Our patience grows short with you. The day we put your kids’ feet first into a woodchipper so we can enjoy their last few screams is coming.” Besides the two state representatives, five other individuals or groups were “tagged” with the post to include the Illinois Attorney General. As a result, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Division began an investigation.
The complaint further alleges that on May 15, 2024, the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center received an online tip regarding a post on X that seemed to be in response to an advertisement about the Springfield PrideFest which occurred on May 18, 2024. In the post, it states: “I sure hope NOBODY leaves a pressure cooker filled with bail bearings, glass, and nails, filled with diesel fuel and fertilizer, with the over pressure safety valve disabled, near a natural gas line line [sic]. That would be VERY sad and VERY unfortunate.”
The complaint also alleges that law enforcement traced the two social media posts to Samuel Cundari of DuPage County, Illinois who used the internet to communicate the threats. At the time the posts were made, Cundari was an Assistant State’s Attorney in DuPage County. If convicted of communicating an interstate threat, Cundari faces a maximum sentence of imprisonment of no more than five years. The charge also carries up to three years of supervised release and a possible fine of up to $250,000.
The investigation was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Springfield Field Office with assistance by multiple law enforcement agencies including: FBI Chicago and FBI Indianapolis Field Offices, the Illinois Secretary of State Police, the Illinois State Police, the Springfield Police Department, the Pierceton Police Department (Indiana), United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office, DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Investigations Unit, and the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Seberger.
* Cundari’s Springfield PrideFest tweet was apparently in response to this post from Awake Illinois…
The Illinois Freedom Caucus focused on Blue Cross, which Cundari also threatened, in its press release about PrideFest…
The Illinois Freedom Caucus is urging Blue Cross Blue Shield to pull its sponsorship of the Family Area at this weekend’s Springfield Pridefest in light of the blatant sexualization of kids as young as 10 years old with the Teen Drag Show.
Not sayin’, just sayin’. But when you gin people up with that sort of heated language, there’s no telling what could happen.
