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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Update to today’s edition (Updated)

Tuesday, Oct 22, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Tuesday, Oct 22, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

A lawyer for ex-House Speaker Michael Madigan’s longtime confidant told a federal jury Tuesday that the allegations of bribery and corruption against the pair attempt to criminalize legal lobbying and relationship building at the center of the state’s politics.

“The evidence will show Mike McClain was a lobbyist, and like all lobbyists, (he) understood if you want to get access to a politician you need to develop a relationship of trust,” defense attorney John Mitchell told the jury in his opening statement.

Mitchell likened lobbying to sales, saying it’s all about the “hope” of getting a meeting, having that relationship. Bribery, he said, is an exchange, an envelope of cash for a vote.

“A good lobbyist builds good positive relationships with elected officials,” Mitchell said. “If you don’t have access to a politician, you have no hope of convincing them.”

* Citizens Utility Board…

The Citizens Utility Board (CUB) pushed back on a recommendation by state regulatory judges that the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) grant Ameren Illinois an electric rate hike of $315 million, saying the judges had overlooked key examples of overspending by the utility.

The Proposed Order, submitted on Oct. 8 by three ICC Administrative Law Judges, granted the utility more than 90 percent of the $334 million Ameren had requested. On Tuesday, CUB planned to file a brief asking the ICC to take a stronger stance to protect customers from unnecessary Ameren spending.

“The Proposed Order is disappointing, given the fact that CUB had identified roughly $100 million in overcharges in the utility’s original request,” CUB Executive Director Sarah Moskowitz said. “We urge the five-member ICC to hold Ameren accountable, remove wasteful spending and slash Ameren’s rate hike.”

The ICC is scheduled to make a final ruling on the case (Docket 24-0238) before the end of the year. The five commissioners can follow the proposed order or adjust the rate hike up or down, as they see fit.

*** Statewide ***

* Sun-Times | Nearly 140,000 Illinois residents sent checks for unclaimed property: ‘It is not a scam,’ treasurer says: Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs on Tuesday reminded residents who receive these unclaimed property checks that it is not a scam. “All you have to do is open that envelope and cash that check.”

*** Chicago ***

The new Chicago school board appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson earlier this month will be sworn in at Thursday's board meeting.

The Rev. Mitchell Johnson is slated to serve as president, and Mary Gardner as vice president.

The seventh board member is Rafael Yáñez.

— Mila Koumpilova (@MilaKoumpilova) October 22, 2024

* ABC Chicago | Man wrongfully imprisoned for over 40 years files lawsuit against CPD, Cook County: lawyer: A man wrongfully imprisoned for over 40 years filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Chicago police, several Cook County prosecutors, Cook County and the city of Chicago, his lawyers said. James Soto was imprisoned for over 42 years for a murder he said he did not commit. […] The suit, which civil rights firm Loevy & Loevy filed, seeks damages from dozens of Chicago police officers, three Cook County assistant state’s attorneys, Cook County and the city of Chicago.

* WBEZ | Ahead of Mayor Johnson’s second budget, we take a look at how far he’s come on his fiscal campaign promises: But “how we pay for that” is a question Johnson may be stumped with now as mayor. He must work to close both a $223 million deficit for this year and a $982.4 million gap for 2025, caused by an underperformance of revenue, a disputed CPS pension payment and rising pension and labor costs. Next year’s gap is the second largest the city has faced since 2002, according to a WBEZ analysis of prior budgets.

* WBEZ | Chicago’s rental crisis: Is an algorithm rigging the system?: RealPage, a Texas-based real estate technology company, allegedly feeds proprietary rent-pricing data into an algorithm that generates daily rent prices for landlords and property managers across the country. […] In the Chicago metropolitan area, tens of thousands of units were priced with RealPage’s price-setting algorithm, according to the company’s own data and a class-action lawsuit filed in federal court last year. Plaintiffs in that lawsuit allege RealPage has harmed tenants and contributed to steep rent increases in the Chicago area. Among the nation’s 10 largest metropolitan areas, metro Chicago has witnessed the second highest growth in rent prices over the past year, according to data from Zillow, the real-estate marketing company.

* Block Club | State Grant Helped Neighborhood Hit Hard By War On Drugs. Now, A Group It Funded Could Close As Money Runs Out: A spokeswoman for Gov. JB Pritzker’s office said the grant was never meant to be the group’s sole source of income. Instead, it was supposed to help the organization grow and become better-positioned to get other funding. But the struggles of the Hermosa Neighborhood Association are part of a broader debate over the effectiveness of the grant program, which was created with the goal of helping communities hit hardest by the war on drugs.

* Chicago Mag | The Hotel for the Homeless: When I moved into the neighborhood in 2022, the Diplomat, still in operation at 5230 North Lincoln Avenue, no longer looked like the kind of building that could be on a novelty postcard. Instead, the motel was a muddy gray, its doors painted green with shocks of red trim. The windows along the sidewalk had been plastered over, a slab of nondescript brown that would press itself into your periphery when you walked past it. […] That was before the city announced, in 2023, that it was going to buy the motel. That it was going to turn the Diplomat into a transitional housing facility called the Haven on Lincoln, a chance to try something new that could maybe, just maybe, address this city’s struggles with homelessness.

* Crain’s | Here’s how Fritz Kaegi feels about the Mag Mile: Magnificent Mile hotels have recovered all of their lost value from the COVID-19 pandemic and then some, if you ask Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi. That’s probably hard to buy for hoteliers along one of the city’s biggest tourist destinations. At the InterContinental Chicago hotel at 505 N. Michigan Ave., a comeback from the pain of the public health crisis has pushed the 45-story building’s assessed value to $96.2 million, newly released assessment data shows. That’s a whopping 284% higher than the property’s final assessed value last year after the owner of the 792-room inn appealed to the Cook County Board of Review.

* Northwestern Medill | Writer Underwriting Writer: After the Chicago Tribune didn’t replace retiring architecture critic Blair Kamin, he funded his own successor: Kamin is paying for the Tribune’s next architecture writer out of his own pocket. Why would he do such a thing? “I’m a realist, and I realize that, given who the Tribune is owned by now and given the realities of the business model of journalism having collapsed, either somebody was going to do something, or nothing would get done,” he said.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* News-Sun | Former Lake County clerk challenging incumbent circuit court clerk: Two-term incumbent Erin Cartwright Weinstein, a Democrat, is seeking another four years in office. She is facing Republican challenger Carla Wyckoff, a former Lake County clerk in the Nov. 5 election. During the forum, both agreed that the most important part of being the circuit court clerk is administering the changes to the court system, as they are revised and implemented by the state Supreme Court and the General Assembly. During the forum, Wyckoff criticized Weinstein for a lawsuit that three former circuit court clerk employees filed against Weinstein. The employees, who supported Weinstein’s opponent in the 2016 race, alleged that Weinstein fired them for political reasons.

*** Downstate ***

* SJ-R | Massey Commission requests for review of hiring practices, procedures of sheriff’s office: In one of its first acts, the 14-member Massey Commission voted that a formal request be sent to the U.S. Department of Justice, the Illinois Attorney General and the Illinois State Police requesting they conduct “a full review of the hiring practices (and) procedures” of the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office. The commission, formed after the fatal shooting of Sonya Massey in her home in an unincorporated area of Woodside Township by a now-former sheriff’s deputy on July 6, held its first hearing on Monday.

* WCIA | Decatur leaders going green after approving compost plan: Decatur City leaders are going green after unanimously voting yes on a new plan to help with food diversion. It’s part of their economic development plan. They’re trying to figure out how the City could make better use of green waste and how to create compost from green waste instead of putting it in the landfill.

* SJ-R | ‘Project Capitol’: What we know about the proposed warehouse development in Springfield: The company which will be the end user for the warehouse has not been confirmed yet, but there have been rumors about the mecca of online stores, Amazon, as the end user to the warehouse. Caitlin Tully, the Chicago regional public relations lead at Amazon, could not confirm Amazon would be the end user of the location. “At this time, I cannot comment on our future roadmap,” Tully said. “I cannot talk about the project at all if it is or isn’t Amazon.”

* KSDK | ‘They can’t simply live off this wage’: Hundreds of Eaton B-Line workers on strike in Illinois: More than 400 workers are on strike in the Metro East, bringing production at a power management company to a standstill. Union members for Eaton B-Line have been picketing since midnight, all fighting for better pay. Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Engineers, known as IAM, walked off the job Monday at midnight. They’ve been outside of both Eaton B-Line facilities in Troy and Highland ever since and said they’ll continue all day and all night until they reach an agreement on fair wages.

* WGLT | In a Bloomington district, McLean County Board incumbent faces challenge from advocate of limited government: Stevens said he doesn’t see the need to take any steps to reduce the carbon footprint. “I don’t really see any real problem with the carbon we have in the atmosphere right now,” Stevens said, adding he does not believe global warming is a concern. “I think it’s just a hyped-up problem that a lot of people use just to spend money on certain businesses and make profits.”

* WCIA | Multiple Central IL counties issue burn bans: Multiple counties and cities in Central Illinois have issued burn warnings and burn bans as of Tuesday afternoon because of a high fire danger. The Danville Fire Department said that the City has issued a ban on all opening burning within city limits.

* WCIA | ‘It’s like a family’: Meet the Urbana retirement community taking a bus to every Illini Volleyball game: The group has built up its own “fan club” over the years and always strives to support each woman and coach behind the team. In fact, the Finnertys and Gross agree, they’ve formed their own “family” through Illinois Volleyball.

*** National ***

* WaPo | John Grisham poached material for new book, media outlets say: Prolific author John Grisham has written a nonfiction collection about wrongful convictions, and it looks likely to join his oeuvre of legal thriller novels as another bestseller. But the New York Times and ProPublica now say Grisham went too far in his use of their reporting on a murder case in Texas, and they want changes made to the book.

* AP | Hospitals’ IV fluid shortage may impact surgeries for weeks: The federal government and medical suppliers have taken several steps to help ease the supply crunch created by Hurricane Helene, which forced Baxter International to close its North Carolina plant late last month. But experts say supplies are still choppy, and improvements will take time.

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In which I try to defend an expansion of a wildly unpopular policy

Tuesday, Oct 22, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I’m fully aware that lots of folks hate speed and red light cams. This is just one reason why they’re superior to human enforcement…

These numbers are insane… automated enforcement basically wipes away racial differences in police stops.

Without enforcement, on roads where half the drivers are Black, they make up about 70% of police stops! Drops to 54% when automatic cameras are in use. https://t.co/22BwGKa4DO

— Jerusalem (@JerusalemDemsas) October 22, 2024

Everyone has a beef. People with some political power or savvy can often talk their way out of tickets, so they hate automated cams. As the study shows, Black people are slightly more likely to speed in the first place, so they have a reason to gripe.

But the number of speeders on expressways and streets is just ridiculous. And it’s not fair to the people who drive by the rules to see these crazies never or rarely held accountable.

* The study is here. From the explainer…

Our findings show that when [Chicago] speed cameras are doing the ticketing, the proportion of tickets issued to Black and white drivers aligns closely with their respective share of roadway users. With human enforcement, in contrast, police officers stop Black drivers at a rate that far outstrips their presence on the road.

For instance, on roads where half of drivers are Black, Black drivers receive approximately 54% of automated camera citations. However, they make up about 70% of police stops.

On roadways where half of the drivers are white, white drivers account for around half of automated citations – and less than 20% of police stops. […]

Over half of police stops in Chicago for 2023 were license plate, registration or equipment related. Automating enforcement of such nonmoving violations would eliminate a major reason for police-driver interaction, reducing the potential for bias and escalation.

This, in turn, would free police resources to focus on nontraffic priorities.

With all of the unsolved crimes in the region, expanding speed and red light cams to free up cops to do actual police work would be a good thing. It would also give law enforcement even more data to solve crimes. Getaway car drives too fast or runs a red light? Well, you now have evidence that could tie a suspect to the scene.

* The cams are derided for being cash cows, but they do their job without bias, as long as their placement locations are not biased. I mean is it really too much to ask to stay within a reasonable margin of the posted speed limit and not brazenly run red lights? We should have more, not less. And if it brings in more money? Have a debate on what it should be used for, like safer roads or property tax rebates.

And as someone who’s been caught by a couple of speed cams, I reject the “Big Brother” notion because there’s one very good way to escape the cams: Don’t violate extremely basic, well-posted and universally understood traffic laws.

Also, if you have questions about the methodology or other details, click here for the study link before popping off in comments. Thanks.

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Energy Storage And Clean Energy!

Tuesday, Oct 22, 2024 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

In the next few years, Illinois can expect increases in demand for electricity not seen in decades. While the state is currently experiencing a clean energy boom, the growth is not enough—which puts families and businesses at risk for higher energy bills and unreliable service.

Luckily, there is legislation that would expand the use of a technology that can capture and store clean, cheap electricity for use when demand peaks during the day -large- and small-scale battery energy storage. Energy storage will help avoid the cost spikes ratepayers may experience due to insufficient energy capacity.

The need to accelerate the adoption of energy storage is urgent. Springfield is faced with a choice: support policy that will build out clean, cost-effective energy storage or allow families and businesses to have to rely on dirty, unreliable, and expensive natural gas plants. Meanwhile, Illinoisans agree: recent polling shows 72% of Illinois residents support incentives for energy storage.

Springfield must pass legislation that will jumpstart building energy storage—learn more about the bill here.

Paid for by Counterspark.

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Push-back against Leader McCombie’s abortion comments (Updated)

Tuesday, Oct 22, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I told subscribers about this earlier today, but I’ve received two responses, so let’s all take a look at House Republican Leader Tony McCombie’s statement…

This Election, Illinoisans Deserve Leadership, Not Divisive Gender Tactics

“As the first female Leader in the Illinois House of Representatives, I proudly stand on the shoulders of many trailblazing women who fought for gender equality in our government. But as we shatter more glass ceilings, we must demand that women be valued for far more than their reproductive capabilities.

“As Republicans, we care deeply about responsible women’s healthcare that goes beyond the narrow confines of abortion. This includes access to vital services such as mammograms, IVF treatments, birth control, mental health care, and preventative care. Democrats claim they want the government out of a woman’s personal choices, yet they consistently inject these issues into the political arena to score points. It’s time we take the politics out of it and work together to find consensus. Our approach is about supporting women holistically, valuing them for far more than just their reproductive choices.

“I’m tired of the terms ‘women’s rights’ and ‘women’s healthcare’ being reduced solely to the decision of whether to continue with pregnancy. This election cycle, Democrats are once again attempting to make abortion the centerpiece of every discussion, flooding mailboxes with scare tactics designed to convince voters that Republicans are anti-woman. This narrative isn’t just false—it’s offensive.

“Illinois already has some of the most expansive abortion laws in the country. Like it or not, it’s the law, and this election cycle will not change that. Here’s the truth: abortion access is not under threat in Illinois.

“What is under threat? The economic future of our families. As I travel across the state, I hear the real concerns of Illinoisans—the skyrocketing cost of living, high taxes, illegal immigration, and the lack of good opportunities. These are the issues that keep families up at night, and under Democratic control, they’ve only gotten worse.

“Yet, the Democrats are stuck on a single issue—abortion—ignoring the broader struggles women face every day. Women are concerned about far more than just one issue. We manage household finances, stretching every dollar as grocery prices, healthcare costs, childcare, housing, and taxes climb. We’re business owners, entrepreneurs, and breadwinners. To reduce women’s concerns to a single talking point demeans EVERY woman in this state.

“I’m proud that our Republican candidates in Illinois offer diverse, thoughtful perspectives on many issues, including abortion access. What unites us isn’t uniformity of opinion—it’s a shared commitment to solving the real problems that affect every Illinoisan. We’re focused on rebuilding our state’s economy, ensuring safety in our communities, and improving quality of life for all.

“As the first female Illinois House Leader, I call on my Democratic colleagues to stop using fear and reductive gender tactics as political weapons. It’s time to address the issues that truly matter to voters. Women, like all Illinoisans, deserve leadership that listens to their concerns and works to solve them. Let’s move beyond the politics of fear and give the people of Illinois the leadership they deserve.”

* Personal PAC CEO Sarah Garza Resnick…

“Illinois’ House Minority Leader claimed that abortion isn’t under threat for Illinoisans, even as we face activist courts blocking emergency health care, threats of prosecution for abortion patients and providers, and a national abortion ban. Her statement lays bare how disconnected from reality that party’s candidates are on this issue.

“McCombie wants us to focus on economic issues. We agree. Abortion is an economic issue. It’s disingenuous and dehumanizing for her party not to connect reproductive freedom and financial impact. One recent study showed more than 70 percent of those denied abortion care end up living in poverty.

“McCombie wants to shut down talk of abortion because the Republicans in these contested races are universally anti-choice, and, thereby, out of touch with the electorate. They know their extreme views are unpopular–that’s why you won’t see any mention of abortion on most of their campaign materials or websites. But they can’t distance themselves from Donald Trump, his radical anti-choice Supreme Court, or the Project 2025 agenda and its extreme abortion restrictions.

“Personal PAC welcomes conversations about abortion with Republicans. We’ve backed Republicans in the past, and we are ready to do it again—as soon as they reject this harmful and unpopular anti-abortion politics that risk sinking their candidates, and put their own women voters in danger.”

Some suggested follow up reading for Leader McCombie and all others who may be interested:

Institute for Women’s Policy Research: The Economic Fallout of Reproductive Rights Restrictions on Women’s Futures

NPR: Abortion has huge financial consequences in a woman’s life — and in the economy

The 19th: How abortion restrictions like Texas’ push pregnant people into poverty

University of California San Francisco Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH): The Turnaway Study

* Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago)…

Leader McCombie’s comments about abortion are honestly sad. The Republican Party’s obsession with women’s uterii has been clear for decades. Because they don’t just vote to restrict access to abortion, they were also nowhere to be found when we expanded access to free-standing birthing centers to bring care to areas without maternity wards, voted against increasing access to Medicaid for post-partum care to combat maternal and infant mortality, and famously want nothing to do with making sure that families can afford to feed, house, and clothe babies once they’re born.

To borrow a phrase from my childhood, a hit dog gonna holler. Bottom line: it’s working. Keep talking about abortion and the full spectrum of reproductive care. The only reason she can say that access to abortion isn’t under attack here is because the people of Illinois have repeatedly expressed their belief that government interference in health care decisions is a non-starter with their votes for pro-choice Democrats.

Discuss.

…Adding… Gov. JB Pritzker…

Leader McCombie’s comments are the latest in a line of increasingly tired and desperate attempts by the Republican Party to distract from the radical, extremist policies that have alienated so much of their base in recent years. It was Illinois Republicans who claimed we didn’t need the Reproductive Health Act or other protections for reproductive healthcare that I enshrined in Illinois law—the same Republicans who then celebrated the ending of Roe and the attacks on IVF that would have spread to Illinois without those very same protections. It is Leader McCombie who demeans and reduces women by presuming that their bodily autonomy is a political talking point and not an existential threat to their autonomy and their political and economic freedom, and by presuming that women are not capable of caring deeply about more than one issue and making informed decisions on how to vote to protect themselves, their families, and their communities. While extremist Republicans are busy trying to strip rights from Illinois families, my administration not only protected reproductive freedom but increased funding to birth centers, worked to reduce maternal mortality, invested in early intervention and home visiting programs, and made healthcare more accessible for millions of Illinoisans—actual pro-family policies that go beyond empty rhetoric to make everyday people’s lives better.

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Fundraiser list

Tuesday, Oct 22, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Final arguments filed in challenge to Illinois’ assault weapons ban

Tuesday, Oct 22, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Background is here if you need it. Center Square…

In their final briefs before an expected ruling, plaintiffs in the challenge to Illinois’ gun and magazine ban argue the Protect Illinois Communities Act should be struck down by a federal district judge.

The consolidated lawsuits in the Southern District of Illinois were filed shortly after Illinois banned the sale and possession of more than 170 semi-automatic firearms and magazines over certain capacities. The Protect Illinois Communities Act was enacted in January 2023.

Preliminary actions, which included a six-day injunction against the law in late April 2023, went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which denied taking the case because it wasn’t on final judgment.

“Plaintiffs are not entitled to a permanent injunction because they have not prevailed on their claims,” one filing from the state says. “If the Court disagrees, however, any injunction it enters must be limited in scope and should be stayed pending review by appellate courts.”

Click here and here for the final briefs.

* From the state’s filing…

Plaintiffs are not entitled to a permanent injunction because they have not prevailed on their claims. If the Court disagrees, however, any injunction it enters must be limited in scope and should be stayed pending review by appellate courts.

A permanent “injunction issues ‘only as necessary to protect against otherwise irremediable harm.’” Therefore, enjoining defendants from enforcing a provision of the Act against a plaintiff who has not challenged that provision, or who lacks standing to challenge it, “would violate the rule requiring courts to tailor injunctive
relief to the scope of the violation found.”

Any injunction must address each plaintiff individually—and may provide only
the specific relief that plaintiff has proven an entitlement to.

In other words, the injunction may enjoin enforcement of only the specific provisions of the Act that the plaintiff has proven are causing an Article III injury. The injunction cannot simply enjoin defendants from enforcing the entirety of the Act against the plaintiffs as a group, irrespective of their standing.

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Opening statements begin in Madigan trial

Tuesday, Oct 22, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Courthouse News…

Opening arguments began Monday in the corruption trial of former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan, who faces 23 bribery, fraud, racketeering and conspiracy charges related to five “episodes” over the last 14 years.

The former speaker wore a charcoal suit with a red tie, watching dispassionately and taking notes as federal prosecutor Sarah Streicker laid out the government’s case against him.

“Madigan abused his power and used the organizations he led to engage in a pattern of corrupt conduct over and over and over again,” she told the jurors. […]

The biggest issue that the expected 11-week trial will examine is Madigan’s purported efforts to help pass legislation benefitting Illinois’ largest energy utility Commonwealth Edison between 2011 and 2019. In exchange for help getting those laws passed, prosecutors say the company helped arrange jobs, contracts and kickbacks for those in Madigan’s network. Streicker said that whether or not ComEd’s favored laws benefitted Illinoisans is irrelevant to how they were passed.

“The crime here is the means that was used to get this legislation passed, which was bribes,” Streicker said.

* AP…

Over two hours, Streicker gave an overview of the government’s case, presenting slides with photos and flow charts of key players accused in the schemes, handwritten Madigan documents and quotes from wiretapped conversations.

Madigan’s defense attorneys quickly batted down the accusations in their opening statement.

“She is relying on bad information. She is relying on unreliable sources. And she is relying on guess work and speculation,” said defense attorney Tom Breen. “You are going to hear some out-and-out lies.”

Instead, defense attorneys painted a picture of Madigan, who resigned in 2021, as devoted to his working-class legislative district on the city’s Southwest Side near Midway International Airport.

“He was in fact, incorruptible,” Breen said.

* WTTW…

Ultimately, Streicker alleged, Madigan arranged for $1.3 million in contracts for his “political cronies” who did little or no work.

“This was the defendant’s racket,” Streicker said. “The corruption of public office for private gain.”

Madigan attorney Tom Breen disputed that, claiming instead that the government’s case was built around “some out-and-out lies.”

“(Streicker) is relying on bad information,” Breen said. “She is relying on unreliable sources and she is relying on guesswork and speculation. The evidence will not support a finding of guilty.”

Breen said Madigan wasn’t some “all-powerful individual,” but instead came from humble beginnings and a blue-collar family following the Great Depression, and only became interested in politics because he wanted to help those around him.

Yes, he was so very altruistic /s

* Tribune…

Decrying the government’s cooperating witnesses as liars with an “axe to grind” who were operating without the speaker’s knowledge or authorization, attorney Tom Breen urged jurors to focus on what Madigan’s intentions were, “not what somebody else says” on some 200 wiretapped audio and video recordings that will dominate the 11-week trial.

What they’ll find, Breen said, is a man trying to provide jobs and opportunities for his constituents following in the footsteps of his father, a 13th Ward superintendent.

“What you will see is that his intention, like his daddy taught him, was to protect the Democratic agenda. The working stiff,” Breen said. He said that while others may have been scheming behind Madigan’s back, “He doesn’t act that way.”

“He has never made a demand on anybody,” Breen said, at one point slapping the lectern for effect. “If someone says he did, that’s bull. That’s just bull.”

Madigan made plenty of demands. But he also didn’t need to always make those demands because people could see what had happened to those who didn’t follow the program. Also, he could pull a million strings on you if you stepped out of line. Others would make the demands for him.

* Sun-Times…

Madigan was elected speaker “because the people who voted for him trusted him” and then went on to build consensus in the Legislature, Breen said. He claimed that Madigan’s aversion to confrontation led to a “tic in his speaking” where it sounds like he is agreeing with people.

But mostly, Breen said, Madigan was driven by the brief period in the 1990s when Republicans controlled the Illinois House of Representatives. Breen leaned heavily into the perception that Republican leadership would be especially damaging.

A decision was made, he said, that “we don’t want the Republicans to be the majority here. We can’t take it. Because they’re … going to blow a hole in our constituents.” So, he said, Madigan “doubled down, tripled down, quadrupled down” on building political war chests.

This all amounted to new context through which jurors might view the feds’ evidence. Madigan is accused of five different schemes. In two of them, Madigan is accused of seeking and accepting bribes from ComEd and AT&T Illinois while the utilities were seeking favorable action from Madigan.

ComEd and AT&T were not gigantic campaign contributors. What MJM wanted was “jobs” for his people so they had plenty of free time to work and manage campaigns, or perks (like ComEd internships) so that he could entice others into “volunteering.” He saw nothing wrong with squeezing a big corporation. The feds begged to differ. And here we are.

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Today’s quotable

Tuesday, Oct 22, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The Chicago Tribune ran a story this week entitled “Mayor Brandon Johnson faces political headwinds from his progressive base.” The whole thing is definitely worth a read because the mayor comes under some sharp criticism from his left base. But check this out…

One of Johnson’s most loyal surrogates amid the swirling negativity has been Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th.

Throughout the storm clouds over CPS, Sigcho-Lopez has been on the offensive and hurling back some of the friendly fire coming at the mayor from the Progressive Caucus. He charged “pseudo-progressives” with abandoning their vision of robustly funding public education and challenged them to come up with a better solution to CPS’ finances that don’t include layoffs.

“We hear some of these elected officials and so-called progressives — I don’t understand some of them, how they can call themselves progressives when they are using very corporate language,” Sigcho-Lopez said in an Instagram video posted this month. “For instance, this ‘fiscally responsible,’ that we have to be fiscally responsible. Well, let me start by explaining how fiscally irresponsible it will be to allow (cuts) in our Chicago Public Schools.”

Calling lifelong, committed lefties “pseudo-progressives” ain’t gonna get him and his ever-shrinking cadre anywhere. Nobody takes these taunts and threats seriously because the mayor is so fabulously unpopular.

* Maybe take a minute to read the room. Plenty of folks want to help. But the people in charge refuse to see that while they’re in bunker mode. And they’ve opened the door for folks like the Illinois Policy Institute and their ilk to step in. And if the other side win a bunch of school board seats, it’s only gonna get worse for the mayor…

39 Comments

Open thread

Tuesday, Oct 22, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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

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Isabel’s morning briefing

Tuesday, Oct 22, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: Mayor Brandon Johnson to shut down migrant shelters, combine with existing homeless system in 2025. Tribune…

* Related stories…

∙ NBC Chicago: Mayor Johnson announces major transition: the end of Chicago’s migrant mission
∙ Axios: City cracks down on migrant shelter eligibility
∙ Block Club Chicago: City Shutting Down Migrant Shelter System By End Of The Year

Governor Pritzker will be at Maryville Academy at 11 am for a ribbon cutting for new DCFS facility. Click here to watch.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Sun-Times | Illinois House races to watch, where suburban challenges could affect Springfield power balance: State Rep. Martin McLaughlin, R-Barrington Hills, faces a deep-pocketed challenge from Democratic nominee Maria Peterson as he vies for a third term at the helm of this far northwest suburban district that stretches north to Wauconda.

* The Grist | The nation’s first commercial carbon sequestration plant is in Illinois. It leaks.: The emerging technology has become a cornerstone of government strategies to slash fossil fuel emissions and meet climate goals. Meanwhile, the Biden administration’s signature climate legislation, the Inflation Reduction Act, has supercharged industry subsidies and tax credits and set off a CCS gold rush. There are now only four carbon sequestration wells operating in the United States — two each in Illinois and Indiana — but many more are on the way. Three proposed pipelines and 22 wells are up for review by state and federal regulators in Illinois, where the geography makes the landscape especially well suited for CCS. Nationwide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is reviewing 150 different applications.

*** Statewide ***

* Sun-Times | Illinois launches push to combat distracted driving: Under the new program, starting in January, teens applying for their instruction permit will have to watch a video that explains the consequences of distracted driving. In addition, the Secretary of State’s Office will partner with the state Department of Transportation to erect signs to remind drivers to pay attention to the road in areas with high rates of distracted-driving crashes.

*** Chicago ***

* Crain’s | Johnson’s deputy mayor for education steps aside amid CPS fight: Jen Johnson, deputy mayor for education, youth and human services, is taking an indefinite leave of absence from the Fifth Floor. […] Johnson’s leave of absence is due to health issues, according to a senior aide to the mayor, who is not permitted to speak publicly about personnel decisions. The mayor’s office did not comment on her departure.

* Tribune | Chicago Public Schools halts board meetings until December amid board and mayor’s office shake-ups: CPS did not immediately respond to requests for comment about its plans in light of the canceled meeting. The district has not released how the canceled meeting will affect the activities of the newly appointed board. Chicagoans will vote for their district’s elected school board member in just two weeks, which will replace Johnson’s appointed board. The other half of the new 21-member board, plus the board president, will still be appointed by Mayor Johnson. The new board will assume their positions in January.

* Sun-Times | Mayor Johnson urged to fire Chicago cops tied to Oath Keepers after ’sham’ investigation: A leading national civil rights group, more than a dozen local activist organizations and 10 elected officials sent a letter Monday to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson urging him to fire police officers with ties to what they called “hate and extremist groups.” The letter from Color of Change and the others came one year after WBEZ and the Sun-Times identified officers whose names appeared on the membership list of the Oath Keepers, a group involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

* Sun-Times | Lowering city speed limit to 25 mph gets committee OK — but final Council vote slowed down: The ordinance to lower speed limits on all city-owned roads was approved 8-5 by the Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety, with its chairman, 1st Ward Ald. Daniel La Spata, saying the measure “sets us on the pathway to save hundreds of lives in the next decade.” Though the full Council meets Tuesday, the proposal won’t be voted on at that meeting, La Spata said, to allow time for more public conversation. He told reporters after Monday’s meeting that he plans to bring it for a vote before the end of the year.

* WGEM | Gov. Pritzker celebrates Illinois’ quantum future at Chicago summit: Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) spoke at the summit Monday morning. He has a lot to celebrate as he works to transform the state into a quantum hub. “Here in the Midwest, we believe that quantum science and research are on an accelerating timeline, and as governor, I want to make sure that we are focused on bringing opportunity and history-making innovations to the people of the United States and the world as soon as we can,” he said.

* Crain’s | How Chicago got ahead of the curve on quantum computing: “The University of Chicago’s previous president came to see me. I had just become governor, and we’re passing a capital bill to invest in roads and bridges and other big capital investments, including things at universities,” Pritzker told a crowd at the University of Chicago’s annual quantum summit this morning in Hyde Park. “He said: ‘This is an opportunity for Illinois and for Chicago, not just the University of Chicago, to lead. If the state can help us, it will spark more investment from the federal government and private investors. Seeing the state step up will give people faith.’”

* NBC Chicago | Chicago reigns as ‘America’s Rattiest City’ for 10th straight year: Chicago’s decade-long stint atop the rankings of America’s Rattiest Cities remains intact according to new research released by Orkin. […] According to the company, Chicago’s “infrastructure and environment” are appealing to rats, along with the prevalence of alleys, which allow rodents plenty of hiding places and plenty of garbage that they can eat.

* Crain’s | These are Chicago’s Most Innovative Companies for 2024:
A model showed off a Stella McCartney handbag made with a new leather substitute from The Fynder Group, a Chicago-based company best known for a fermented protein used to make its Nature’s Fynd dairy-free yogurt and meatless breakfast patties. “This is where innovation can take you,” says CEO Thomas Jonas. “We found this microbe in the volcanic springs of Yellowstone. Now it’s on the shelf at Whole Foods and in space and on the runway. It’s like ‘Where’s Waldo?’ It’s fun.”

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Tribune | Democrats looking for another clean sweep of Cook County races: The down-ballot races for Cook County clerk and Circuit Court clerk could spell big changes to the county’s administrative hinterlands. Each office is known either for its paper pushing, its reputation for political patronage hiring, or some combination of both. In the court clerk race, three candidates are vying to become the next head of the massive office that serves as the records manager for one of the largest court systems in the nation. The winner will succeed outgoing Clerk Iris Martinez, who lost in the Democratic primary in March.

* Daily Herald | Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin to face at least two challengers in 2025 election: It’s official now: Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin is seeking a third term and will face at least two opponents in the 2025 election. He and Alderman-at-Large John Laesch and 3rd Ward Alderman Ted Mesiacos filed their petitions for the position on Monday morning, the first day candidates could submit them.

* WGN | Dolton drama: Judge sides with trustees over Henyard in meeting squabble: Henyard filed a complaint after a majority of trustees moved the meetings to a Dolton Park District building to accommodate large—and sometimes raucous—crowds. […] Henyard asked a judge to invalidate decisions made at the meetings and force them to gather at village hall. The trustees say the judge has sided with them and agreed that their meetings do not violate the Open Meetings Act.

* Daily Herald | DuPage County clerk countersues county officials in ongoing bill saga: DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek is suing the DuPage County Board, Auditor Bill White and county board Chair Deborah Conroy in a move to assert her right to control how she runs the clerk’s office. The lawsuit was filed earlier this month in response to a lawsuit filed in September by DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin, who is seeking a judge’s order to compel Kaczmarek to comply with county regulations regarding the payment of bills.

* Fox Chicago | Suburban Chicago school district cracks down on reckless drivers with new tech: This school year, one district is gearing up to get more drivers to stop when students are getting on and off buses. Their approach is similar to using a red-light camera, but this time it’s on a school bus. […] This new camera, which sits right next to the school bus stop arm, recorded the violation of the suburban Chicago student who was nearly struck. All buses transporting District 204 students have one this year.

* Sun-Times | Benet star Daniel Pauliukonis commits to Southern Illinois: Even while putting up modest numbers last season, Benet’s Daniel Pauliukonis had the look of a blossoming prospect. He emerged over the course of the spring and summer, garnering recruiting attention along the way. Now the ultra-skilled 6-9 Pauliukonis is one of the fast-rising prospects in the senior class — and one of the City/Suburban Hoops Report’s top 10 prospects in the state.

*** Downstate ***

* Capitol News Illinois | 17th District looms large in tight battle for U.S. House: The seat is currently held by first-term Democrat Eric Sorensen, of Moline, a former TV weatherman for a local station in Rockford. First elected in 2022, he serves on the House Agriculture Committee and the Science, Space and Technology Committee. He faces Republican Joe McGraw, of Rockford, a retired judge in the 17th Judicial Circuit. A graduate of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the Northern Illinois University College of Law, he spent nearly 20 years as presiding judge in the criminal division of the circuit court.

* TSPR | Daughter seeks damages in McDonough County jail beating death: The lawsuit, filed Oct. 16 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois in Rock Island, also claims Darrell Hocker’s constitutional and civil rights were violated when he was housed in a cell with a man known to be violent and mentally ill — a man who had not undergone a mental evaluation before he was removed from isolation. Hocker, 51, died in the early morning hours of Nov. 8, 2023, after an altercation with Timothy Smith, now 41, in a locked cell. Hocker was repeatedly struck in the head, neck and chest during the altercation.

* Pantagraph | Rivian to start construction on logistics facilities near Normal plant: The Normal Town Council on Monday approved site plans for the electric vehicle maker’s proposed $200 million development that includes two buildings spanning a total of roughly 2.4 million square feet. In September, the council approved a preliminary subdivision plan called “NN2 WH” for 381 acres the company bought in 2021 across Rivian Motorway from the plant in west Normal. At the time, the plan designated two 90-acre parcels for future development.

* The Southern | Congressman discusses CTE Funding Impact Expansion at JALC: Illinois Democrat congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi participated in a roundtable discussion on workforce development Monday morning at John A. Logan College. Krishnamoorthi, a key proponent of CTE, emphasized the significance of visiting communities in person to see firsthand how federal funding impacts them. […] John A. Logan College is growing its Career and Technical Education Center with help from a $4.2 million grant from the Economic Development Administration.

* Herald-Whig | ‘We need vocational trades’: Tracy learns about vocational programs in QAVTC tour: alton Tournear made one thing clear to the visitors to his diesel technology class. “You learn more hands-on than you do sitting in a classroom,” Tournear said. State Sen. Jil Tracy, R-Quincy, included in his audience, readily agreed. Tracy toured Quincy Area Vocational Technical Center on Monday, hearing about available programs from students and staff.

* Labor Tribune | Illinois AFL-CIO’s Devaney upbeat in Belleville appearance: Unionists at the annual awards banquet of the Southwestern Illinois Central Labor Council were urged to turn out for Democrats in the general election and told about efforts being made on workers’ behalf in the state Capital in a speech by one of Labor’s strongest proponents, Pat Devaney, secretary-treasurer of the Illinois AFL-CIO. Devaney reported that the legislature had approved a $45 billion economic development package, the biggest in the state’s history, with Labor’s support.

* WSIL | Marion team wins International Lineman’s Rodeo competition: A Marion, Illinois, team finished first in the International Lineman’s Rodeo over the weekend. Ameren Illinois stated a trio of journeymen linemen, as part of the Marion Operating Center, finished first overall in the 40th International Lineman’s Rodeo in Overland Park, Kansas. They also placed second in a couple of individual competitions.

*** National ***

* WaPo | Elon Musk targets Michigan with voter misinformation: Two weeks before the presidential election, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) accused billionaire Elon Musk of spreading “dangerous disinformation” about voting in her state after Musk, owner of X and Tesla, shared a post suggesting falsely that the state’s voter rolls, swelled by large numbers of inactive voters, were likely to result in widespread fraud.

* The Atlantic | The Invasion That Wasn’t: The Haitians had come to Sylacauga by bus. Two buses—possibly even three. But certainly more than one; of this, one resident was sure. As he explained on Facebook, he’d been told by someone who’d spotted them unloading in the Walmart parking lot. The federal government had chartered their transport, locals were saying—an effort to cripple the welfare state of this small Alabama town as punishment for voting red.

* Vanity Fair | Inside the Bungled Bird Flu Response, Where Profits Collide With Public Health: When dairy cows in Texas began falling ill with H5N1, alarmed veterinarians expected a fierce response to contain an outbreak with pandemic-sparking potential. Then politics—and, critics say, a key agency’s mandate to protect dairy-industry revenues—intervened.

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