* I’m not yet sure what’s going to happen next week as far as the blog goes. I will probably post on Monday and Tuesday. We’ll see.
Politics is one of the only businesses where you can work harder than you’ve ever worked and totally dedicate yourself to the task at hand every single day and still come up short. This song is for the folks who busted their humps and didn’t win last week…
The past is gone
It went by, like dusk to dawn
Isn’t that the way
Everybody’s got the dues in life to pay
I know nobody knows
Where it comes and where it goes
I know it’s everybody’s sin
You got to lose to know how to win
Friday, Nov 16, 2018 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
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We tried to fill as many of the races as we could. In many counties, where there were all Republicans on the county board, now they’ve got a couple of Democrats because we ran people.
I asked the Pritzker campaign for a list of those types of winners. They didn’t have one, but said they were working on building one.
* So, I turned to the Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association, which handled the Blue Wave effort for Pritzker in Downstate counties. I was told it would take at least another week before they could pull together a full list…
There are obviously places where our successes mirror the successes of higher-level Democrats. In the west suburban regions, of course, we had strong victories.
In other areas, Champaign and Lake Counties for example, the results included significant takeovers of offices by the Democrats.
Obviously though, there are wide regions where Democrats continued to struggle, as they have for many election cycles.
The Pritzker campaign effort was instrumental in helping to boost a County Democratic Party presence all over the state - especially in areas where visibility and activity has needed support. Through the Pritzker campaign and allies, such as organized labor, many downstate county parties were able to push against Republicans. For example, the Pritzker support ensured that many counties had the first legitimate and organized GOTV effort in decades. It was critical.
So, 2018 was largely a benchmark and a testing ground for the IDCCA and our partners. You already understand all the dynamics the further south you get - a very unpopular GOP Governor, a President with a solid, vocal following, and all the other factors combined.
We’re still trying determine all the lessons we should learn. What we’re excited about is knowing that Governor-elect Pritzker and his team also want to learn from the campaign so he can govern to improve life for every Illinoisan, regardless of where they live.
* OK, but what about Pritzker’s contention to the NYT that the Democrats were able to pick up a seat or two on some previously all-GOP county boards?
I mean, that’s all close to what he said, but it’s not what he said. And “many” counties? Hmm.
If they ever do manage to find a way to show Pritzker wasn’t just pulling stuff out of thin air, I’ll let you know.
* Related…
* Bernie: Zahorik seeks to continue building blue wave: The new president of the Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association, hopes to extend her party’s gains, evidenced in the Nov. 6 election, to more parts of the state
A proposed bill that could give McHenry County residents the power to abolish townships with a majority vote at the polls cleared another hurdle this week in Springfield to make it to the Senate floor.
After a second reading Tuesday, House Bill 4637 passed the Senate Executive Committee, 11-6. Now in the hands of sponsor state Sen. Terry Link, D-Vernon Hills, the bill has advanced to the floor.
House co-sponsor state Rep. David McSweeney, R-Barrington Hills, said Link could call the bill on the floor for a vote as early as the week after Thanksgiving.
“I feel very good about where things stand,” McSweeney said. “And I think we’re going to pass it.”
The controversial effort to make it easier for private companies to take over public water systems, which Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into law about three months ago, was thrown into doubt on Thursday.
It came down to a missed deadline.
In August, Rauner signed an amendment extending a 2013 law that allows private companies such as Illinois American Water and Aqua Illinois to buy water utilities and spread the costs across their existing ratepayers. The amendment to the Illinois Water Systems Viability Act removed a limit on the size of water systems that private companies can buy and extended the act for another 10 years.
But the original act’s expiration date was June 1 of this year, two months before Rauner signed the amendment. That missed deadline led supporters back to the floor of the statehouse on Thursday to change the date of the law’s expiration to Aug. 9.
When several legislators critical of the law and the amendments spoke against both, the bill was pulled.
Counties would have more flexibility with sales tax dollars meant for public safety under a bill that has been sent to the Illinois House.
In counties were voters had previously approved tax hikes to fund public safety, the bill would give local officials the ability to use that revenue for other purposes, including to address mental health and substance abuse issues.
An Illinois teen won’t face felony eavesdropping charges for recording a talk with a school principal after prosecutors decided to drop the matter Thursday after the case got national attention.
Kankakee County State’s Attorney Jim Rowe dismissed the charges against 14-year-old Paul Boron. When Boron was 13, he was called into Manteno Middle School Principal David Conrad’s office. Boron told Conrad that he had been recording with his phone. The principal told Boron that he was committing a felony and ended the meeting. Two months later, Boron was charged with eavesdropping, which is a Class 4 felony in Illinois. […]
Illinois is what’s known as a two-party consent state, meaning that recording someone without permission in even a semi-private area is a Class 4 felony. The key term in the law is a “reasonable expectation of privacy.” Recording a phone call, for instance, would likely be a felony. […]
“The school district made the right decision by dismissing its charges against Paul. Paul spent a summer no 13 year old should have had to endure, with a felony hanging over his head simply because he recorded a conversation with his principals,” said Austin Berg, director of content strategy for the institute. “Supporters from around the nation rallied around Paul to share their concerns over how extreme the charge was. We’re grateful to those who jumped in to support Paul’s great legal defense and helped him get this happy ending.”
After hearing of the charges, advocates for the state’s existing consent rules said officials should not have weaponized the law in this case.
“To criminalize this young man and make a felon out of him is something we can unequivocally say is the wrong thing to do,” ACLU of Illinois attorney Ben Ruddell said.
Kankakee County’ State’s Attorney Jim Rowe said the law in its current state needs to be modified.
“I hope Springfield addresses this statute, as well as passing an updated cyberbullying statute,” he said. “Law enforcement needs clarity as they are tasked with making decisions on the front lines; it is easy to second guess prosecutors and police, but all state laws come from Springfield and they need to clean this one up.”
True, but in the meantime, state’s attorneys (and school districts) can try to use a little common sense. That obviously didn’t happen in this case until much damage was already done.
Mayoral candidate Bill Daley wants to create a Cabinet-level crime-fighting post and invest $50 million per year to staff a new City Hall department dedicated to reducing violence, he said Thursday. […]
A new deputy mayor for violence prevention who reports to the mayor is needed in order to put Chicago’s crime epidemic on the front burner, Daley said. “I want a deputy mayor every day in my face talking about what’s getting done to address this,” he said.
Create a redundant bureaucracy and fill it with bureaucrats. Brilliant!
* Instead of dumping money into a press-pop, maybe he should use it for this sort of stuff…
• [Daley] will work with local funders to raise additional money each year to scale promising diversion programs like Chicago CRED and Heartland Alliance’s READI program that put at-risk youth on a path to legitimate work through training and intensive counseling.
• Get ahead of the consent decree by requiring 40 hours of annual training for all police officers starting in 2019 in areas such as the use of force, de-escalation tactics, implicit bias, and understanding reasonable suspicion. […]
• Allocate additional funds to fully staff gang units with talented officers skilled in gathering intelligence. […]
• De-politicize and make transparent the promotion process within the Police Department, providing regular opportunities for good officers to build new skills and move into leadership positions.
But the only mental health approach is for police, not the community at large.
* This isn’t really “new” news because he said it during the campaign on several occasions…
Billionaire Gov.-elect J.B. Pritzker — who pumped a record $171.5 million of his personal fortune into his winning campaign for Illinois governor — will forgo his state salary, his staff said.
Considering state government’s annual spending is nearly $38.5 billion, the $177,412 annual salary Illinois pays its governor is a drop in the bucket. But the Hyatt hotel heir takes office next year facing steep financial challenges — the state’s sitting on at least $7.5 billion in unpaid bills — and refusing a salary sends a message to lawmakers and voters as he starts addressing them. […]
To forgo their salary, governors just fill out paperwork through the state comptroller’s office, which is in charge of the state’s checkbook.
“That’s the way it works with Gov. Rauner, he just doesn’t get a check,” said Jamey Dunn, a spokeswoman for the comptroller’s office.
* The Question: What other symbolic gestures should the incoming governor make? And since it’s Friday, I’ve decided that snark should be strongly encouraged.
Friday, Nov 16, 2018 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Members of the Senate did the right thing by voting to override Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of SB2641.
Under this bill, car rental platforms would no longer be allowed to skirt safety regulations designed to keep unsafe vehicles off the road. Legislators on both sides of the aisle should be applauded for being proactive in preventing tragedy.
They also deserve praise for recognizing the unfair nature of letting car rental platforms operate tax free, even though the vehicles they profit from contribute to both airport and neighborhood parking congestion as well as roadway wear and tear. This bill will help ensure public roads, bridges and airports are maintained safely, while guaranteeing fair competition and protections for all consumers.
Friday, Nov 16, 2018 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Illinois consumers can choose from several different natural gas plans from more than 30 competitors. When shopping for the best plan, it’s important to understand the plan options. Below are 5 of the most common types.
1. Fixed Price: Most popular option. Locks in unchanging price per unit for contract duration, usually from 3 months to 2 years.
2. Capped Price: Similar to a fixed price but allows for a price reduction if the market price of natural gas drops.
3. Monthly Variable Price: The price per unit changes each month based on the market price and the supplier’s plan details.
4. Seasonal Price: Provides a fixed price for the winter with a variable price in the summer.
5. Flat Bill: Provides a fixed total cost each month regardless of usage, and typically set for a year.
Once you know the basic types of plans, you look at other variables such as contract length. More than 36,000 Illinois residents have found their natural gas solution from Direct Energy, a natural gas and electric retail energy company.
* We talked a bit yesterday about Governor-elect Pritzker’s new health-related transition committee. Stephanie Goldberg at Crain’s interviewed one of the co-chairs, Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago). Steans chairs the Senate Appropriations 1 Committee and has been very active on this issue…
Another focus area for the committee is the social service sector, particularly mental health and substance use treatment, which Steans says has been “decimated” over the last several years.
“We have been underinvesting in those (areas) and really need to determine how we can get people access to those services when they need them,” she said.
That’s very true. But it’s going to cost real money to heal these programs after years of neglect and deliberate undermining. It’s all part of the “hollowing out” of government that goes back to the Rod Blagojevich days. RRB always wanted to create new programs, but he wouldn’t ever propose a realistic revenue source. So, what was in place was often disregarded and allowed to whither and/or die on the vine. And then Rauner came along and all heck broke loose.
Governors generally win plaudits for coming up with new ideas. For once, I’d like to see a governor sort out what works and what doesn’t and fully fund what works and de-fund or fix what doesn’t.
Rauner’s HealthChoice Illinois, the state’s overhauled Medicaid managed care program, is another initiative the industry is watching closely. The program, in which private insurers administer Medicaid benefits, has received mixed reviews since it launched in January, with detractors citing proposed rate cuts to medical suppliers and insurers not providing adequate access for members in certain areas.
“There are ways to improve (the program) without undermining the care coordination work that’s been done,” Steans said. It’s about “moving away from trying to control costs to saying, we need to get people the right care at the right time in the right setting. That way, you can provide much more preventive (services) and make sure you’re holding accountable the (Medicaid managed care organizations) and the providers for quality outcomes . . . which, long-term, does reduce costs.”
Sen. Steans is right that preventive care does save money in the long-term. But it costs more in the short-term.
* Back in 1998, Sen. Chris Lauzen (R-Aurora) ran for comptroller. He won the primary, but lost the general to Dan Hynes. His Republican primary opponent ran a radio ad claiming Lauzen wasn’t a certified CPA, and after the election was over he attempted to have his named changed to “Christopher J. Lauzen, CPA.” He didn’t succeed.
Lauzen chose to run for reelection in 2002 rather than run for comptroller again. He ran for Congress and lost and then ran successfully for Kane County Board Chairman, where he is today.
* But should Comptroller Susana Mendoza win her Chicago mayor’s race, Gov. Pritzker would appoint her replacement and a special election would be held in 2020. So, Lauzen has apparently decided to plan ahead. He filed this paperwork earlier in the week…
* It’s not “illegal” to delete somebody’s Facebook comment, particularly the two highlighted here. What a weird thing to say…
Commenters on state Rep.-elect Anne Stava-Murray‘s Facebook page have for weeks been disparaging House Speaker Mike Madigan. That’s no surprise given Democrat Stava-Murray campaigned saying she wouldn’t vote to re-elect Madigan as speaker. But some of the social-media rhetoric has gone over the top, including inciting violence. Of Madigan, one commenter wrote, “Can’t we just drag him out into the street and beat him within an inch of his life…” Another said “Throw the b*st*rd out through a window about six floors up maybe he will get the hint it’s time to go.”
Stava-Murray told POLITICO she doesn’t delete comments because “it’s illegal to do so” if they’re from constituents. She didn’t push back to condemn the comments either because she said she didn’t see them. Stava-Murray, who is manager of the Facebook page, said she only looks at the comments at the top of the feed when she logs on. It wasn’t until after talking to POLITICO that she responded to the “beat him” comment, writing, “Let’s try to keep it peaceful. Not trying to invite violence here, just phone calls to reps.”
That may be enough to calm concerns by anyone who saw the posts that Stava-Murray takes her social-media messaging seriously.
The newly elected Rep has been calling lawmakers and encouraging them to vote against Madigan as speaker. Stava-Murray says it’s what her constituents want. She sending a message that a change in leadership is necessary given complaints last year about sexual harassment on Capitol Hill.
Today, Governor-elect JB Pritzker announced the formation and members of the Healthy Children and Families Committee of the transition team at Children’s Home and Aid, the first social service agency JB visited while considering his run for governor.
The committee is the third of several working groups of the transition made up of subject-matter experts who will advise and guide the incoming Pritzker-Stratton administration. The Healthy Children and Families Committee will be chaired by state Sen. Heather Steans, Howard Brown Health President and CEO David Munar, and Children’s Home and Aid President and CEO Nancy Ronquillo and consist of 36 members.
“Our transition’s Healthy Children and Families Committee will focus on how we should rebuild social services, identify ways we can help children and families build better lives, and expand health care in this state,” said Governor-elect JB Pritzker. “Over the last few years, state funding for community organizations was cut and families were no longer receiving the services they needed to thrive, but we’re going to reverse course. As governor, I’ll be their partner, and together, we’ll confront challenges head on so families and children can thrive.”
HEALTHY CHILDREN AND FAMILIES COMMITTEE MEMBERS
State Senator Heather Steans co-chairs the transition’s Healthy Children and Families Committee and has represented the 7th district in the Senate since 2008. Steans chairs the Appropriations I Committee and the Special Committee on Oversight of Medicaid Managed Care, vice chairs the Appropriations II Committee and serves on the Executive, Environment and Conservation, Government Reform and Human Services committees. She has passed legislation to bring marriage equality to Illinois, reform the state’s Medicaid program, enact significant nursing home reform and improve the environment by reducing mercury waste, creating commercial composting capabilities and banning microbeads. She also passed the Equal Rights Amendment in 2018, making Illinois the 37th state to ratify it and secured the passage of legislation that ensures Illinois remains a state where women can safely and legally exercise their right to choose.
David Munar co-chairs the transition’s Healthy Children and Families Committee and has served as president and CEO of Howard Brown Health since 2014. Munar has focused on ensuring the delivery of excellent patient services, strengthening finances and operations, and positioning the Midwest’s largest LGBTQ organization for long-term sustainability and growth. Prior to Howard Brown, Munar honed his career at the AIDS Foundation of Chicago where he held several positions, including president and CEO. He serves on the boards of the Cook County Health and Hospital System, the Illinois Primary Health Care Association, AllianceChicago, AIDS United, and the Black AIDS Institute. In 2007, he helped launch a national coalition that led to the National HIV/AIDS Strategy unveiled by President Obama in July 2010.
Nancy Ronquillo co-chairs the transition’s Healthy Children and Families Committee and has served as president and CEO of Children’s Home & Aid since 2001. Ronquillo has been a leader in the human services field for over four decades. She has served as the founding chair of Children’s Home Society of America and Illinois Partners for Human Service, an 800+ member statewide advocacy organization. Ronquillo was named American Business Woman of the Year and received the Woman of Distinction Award. She serves on both national and local boards, including the Children’s Home Society of America and National Veterans Arts Museum (NVAM). Ronquillo serves on the local boards of Chicago Thrive Leadership Council, Chicago Alliance for Collaborative Effort, Axelson Center for Nonprofit Management and Advisory Board and the Chicago Horse Center. She is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago.
Lisa Morrison Butler, Commissioner, Chicago Department of Family and Support Services
Pat Comstock, Executive Director, The Health Care Council of Illinois
Deb Conroy, State Representative, Illinois General Assembly
Esther Corpuz, CEO, Alivio Medical Center
Chris Cox, Executive Director, Hoyleton Youth and Family Services
Ryan Croke, Executive Director, Illinois Centers for Independent Living
Risa Davis, Vice President of Corporate Development, United Way of Metropolitan Chicago
Andrea Durbin, President, Illinois Collaboration on Youth
Theresa Eagleson, Executive Director, University of Illinois, Office of Medicaid Innovation
Sara Feigenholtz, State Representative, Illinois General Assembly
When Colorado voted in 2012 to legalize recreational marijuana, Gov. John Hickenlooper was against it.
To do something no other state had, in opposition of federal law, was a daunting task. Fast-forward six years and his perspective has changed.
“The things we most feared — a peak in teenage consumption, a peak in overall consumption, people driving while high — we haven’t seen,” Hickenlooper said Wednesday, speaking at a lunchtime event of the Economic Club of Chicago. “I’m not quite there to say this is a great success, but the old system was awful.” […]
He also recommended putting strict limits on edibles, going as far as restricting in each dose the allotted concentration of THC, the chemical that gets users high. He warned against overtaxing the drug and driving users back to the black market.
J.B. Pritzker says he supports legalizing recreational marijuana in Illinois, but the state of Iowa has no intention of doing the same right now. If Illinois legalizes it in the future, some in the Quad Cities worry about the drug making its way across the river into Iowa.
Illinois and Iowa are only 5 to 10 minute drives from one to the other if you live in or near the Quad Cities, so Scott County Sheriff Tim Lane thinks it is reasonable to assume the drug will make its way to his home state.
The case for treating pot like alcohol, with licensed retailers and minimum age requirements, has a good deal of logic behind it. But what’s the hurry?
The hurry is people like me have been waiting for this moment all of their adult lives. But, either way, it’s not like a bill is gonna pass in a day. This is too new for that to happen. If the process is indeed too rushed, then say something. Otherwise, sit down, Tribune.
For politicians, the chief appeals of allowing the legal sale and possession of cannabis for mere enjoyment is that (a) it would bring in revenue from taxes and fees, and (b) it would please an energetic constituency.
How about (c) it’s the right thing to do because it puts illegal drug cartels out of business, and (d) will create legitimate jobs where they do not currently exist? Just stop it, already.
* And Bruce Rushton wants to give Secretary of State Jesse White the responsibility of legalizing marijuana because his office does such a good job with drivers licenses…
Jesse White, master that he is in issuing driver’s licenses and plates at light speed, surely can do better than the legislature. For one thing, folks seem to trust him. For another, he understands customer service. He knows how to collect money. And he also, likely, wouldn’t want the job, given that he’s said he opposes recreational pot, which is all the more reason to appoint him state marijuana czar – never let someone who says they want to be a drug dealer become a drug dealer. So, let’s just hand it over to White and let him figure out the details. We could all be stoned by the Fourth of July, and that wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing.
Responding to concerns over allegations that the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation paid millions for a stovepipe hat that may not have actually belonged to President Abraham Lincoln, State Senator and Legislative Audit Commission Co-Chair Jason Barickman and State Representative Tim Butler (R-Springfield) are calling for an audit to review the financial relationship between the foundation and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (ALPLM).
“The foundation is asking the state for millions of dollars to cover the purchase of artifacts, including the hat that has been heavily scrutinized,” said Sen. Barickman. “Before we can make a decision on that, we need to better understand the financial connection between the foundation and the ALPLM, as well as what agreements are in place governing purchases made by the foundation.”
“Even after the Illinois House hearing, many questions still remain about the relationship of the Foundation with the Presidential Museum and the money which has been raised for this state agency,” said Representative Butler. “This audit will hopefully shed light on the operations of the foundation and help us plan a path forward to the goal we all desire: ensuring the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is a world-class institution.”
Barickman and Butler said that an audit of how state funds were spent will shed light on whether taxpayer money was misspent or mismanaged. The process may help determine if the foundation bought the famed hat from a former member of the board for $6.5 million without first authenticating its true origin.
The audit could also assess the merits of the acquisition of the $25 million Barry and Louise Taper Collection. The foundation secured a loan in order to purchase the pieces; however, a balance of more than $9 million remains. The loan is due in October 2019.
An audit resolution, SR2179 has been introduced in the Senate by Sen. Barickman, and an identical resolution, HR1300, has been filed in the House by Rep. Butler. If either is passed by its chamber, the Auditor General will conduct an audit and report his findings to the Legislative Audit Commission.
I’d also like to see the loan itself looked into. Who provided it? What are the specific terms? How was it negotiated and by whom?
Thursday, Nov 15, 2018 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Illinois’ clean energy economy is here but there’s still more we can, and must, do.
In 2016, the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition championed passage of the bipartisan Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA), the biggest clean energy breakthrough in the state’s history. From Carbondale to Peoria to Chicago and everywhere in between, FEJA is already building a new economy and reshaping Illinois’ energy landscape by reducing pollution, keeping energy bills affordable, and creating new jobs.
But there’s still more the General Assembly can do to make Illinois a leader in clean energy. That’s why earlier this year, the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition launched “Listen. Lead. Share. A Conversation About Winning a Clean, Equitable Energy Future.”
Over the last 10 months, local residents, community leaders and businesses participated in 58 Listen. Lead. Share. events across Illinois to discuss how Illinois can:
• Put Illinois on a path to 100% renewable energy by 2050
• Achieve a carbon-free power sector by 2030
• Create sustainable and equitable job growth
• Reduce pollution from the transportation sector
The time to act is now, and together we must work exhaustively on economic policies that build on the success of FEJA, lift up all of Illinois, enact much-needed climate and health protections, and spur investment and job creation in the communities where they’re needed most.
Well. According to several sources, the bomb threat at the Capitol on Wednesday was prompted by a man named Tom who called the tourism desk to ask about visitors. The woman thought he said “bomb,” not Tom. #twill
* By the way, I asked the secretary of state’s spokesman why only the third and fourth floors were evacuated yesterday. I mean, couldn’t the would-be bomber (or, in this case, the Tomer) have been lying about where he placed the device?
I was told that these threats are taken on a case-by-case basis and it was “determined early on in this process that it was not a viable threat,” but that they nonetheless completed their due diligence.
I’m betting Tom asked about tours of the third and fourth floors.
* Back in high school, I was once put in charge of publicity for the annual school musical. I worked part-time at the town’s only radio station, so that was easy to deal with (and probably why I was handed the task). I met with the town’s newspaper publisher/editor and explained what I was doing and what I’d like and he said, “Where’s my ad?”
What?
“My newspaper ad. You want me to run a story you have to buy an ad.”
This is Chicago, after all, so even a billionaire’s campaign had to contend with a shakedown of sorts. A steady flow of vendors came knocking at the campaign’s doors, sometimes with outrageous offers, said Quentin Fulks, who oversaw the Pritzker campaign budget.
In one case, Fulks said an owner of a local publication, which he would not name, asked that the Pritzker campaign pay $300,000 to bankroll the individual’s personal book project that had nothing to do with the campaign or Pritzker.
“We told them ‘no’ for the book and they got mad. The same person owns a newspaper publication and ran some pretty negative stuff against us when we didn’t agree to publish,” Fulks said. “You can make a lot of political enemies when people think you have an unlimited budget and you have to tell them ‘no.’ People take that really personally, they feel offended.”
The Senate has voted to override a veto of legislation encouraging immigrants who are victims of crime to cooperate with police.
Senate President John Cullerton’s plan was approved 40-12 Wednesday. It would set a 90-day deadline for law enforcement officials to complete paperwork immigrants need for visas to stay in this country.
The Chicago Democrat says it’s prompted by an illegal sex trade which lures or forces girls and women from other countries to come to the U.S.
Federal law established the visas for cooperative victims. Cullerton says some law enforcement agencies delay completion or ignore it.
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoed the proposal in August. He says setting a deadline could result in mistakes or perjury.
That was a pretty silly excuse by the governor to cover his politically motivated veto.
* The GOP was all about immigration this year and while it backfired in most of the suburbs, it did do the trick in some areas…
Voters in more than a dozen counties recently approved measures urging the state not to pass further gun control measures. And in several counties, the proposals added immigration to the mix.
Some of these ballot questions asked if their county should become a “sanctuary county” for gun owners. This language evokes the term “sanctuary cities,” including Chicago, which have immigration policies that clash with federal guidelines.
In Logan County, in the central part of the state, the ballot question linked immigration and gun control in an even more direct way. The question was a mouthful:
Shall Logan become a ’sanctuary county’ for all firearms unconstitutionally prohibited by the government of the State of Illinois, for everyone except for undocumented immigrants, in that Logan County will prohibit its employees from enforcing the unconstitutional actions of the state government.
Senate President John Cullerton said the legislative push, Senate Bill 34, is necessary because of complaints from immigration advocates that certain local state’s attorneys failed to ever fill out the forms, thus denying immigrants a chance at the visas. Cullerton was unable, however, to cite a specific instance.
“If the authorities don’t think the person qualifies because (they) didn’t cooperate they can say that in the report,” Cullerton said. “All this does is set a 90-day deadline for finishing the report … it closes a loophole in the process.”
Cullerton said Rauner rejected the proposal “over the summer, in the heat of an election campaign with immigration being a political buzzword.”
In his veto message, Rauner called the plan an “unfunded mandate” that would put additional strain on already-stressed law enforcement agencies, subjecting them to “significant liability, even for good faith efforts to certify. Requiring certification within a tight timeline but also subjecting law enforcement to perjury if a mistake is made is an unacceptably risky position to put law enforcement in.”
The bill gained steam from May, when it passed the Senate with 37 votes. The override motion succeeded yesterday with 40 votes.
“Just as lawmakers have come together to raise awareness and fight back against human trafficking, we came together to make sure the existing process works for these victims,” Cullerton said in a statement after the override. “This system was created to empower victims to come forward knowing they’ll be protected if they help us bring to justice the people behind these horrible crimes.”
The federal government in 2000 created special immigration visas for victims of human trafficking and other crimes — such as abduction, kidnapping, female genital mutilation, incest, murder, sexual assault and slave trade — who work with police.
“Immigrants should not be living in fear or hiding in the shadows. Teachers, business owners, social workers, childcare givers, police officers, firefighters, communities depend on them,” state Rep. Juliana Stratton, D-Chicago, said at a press conference prior to the Senate override. “We have to ensure that victims of crime feel safe reporting those crimes to the appropriate authorities regardless of citizenship and when crimes go unreported, the perpetrators of those crimes go unsolved, making communities less safe for the victims and less safe for everyone else.”
* Related…
* Cullerton: Trafficking victims deserve our help, not hateful rhetoric
The Senate has overturned a veto by Gov. Bruce Rauner on a measure that would regulate so-called peer-to-peer car-rental businesses.
The vote Wednesday was 39-12 to require the companies to comply with the same safety standards and pay the same taxes as traditional rental-car companies.
Turo and Getaround are examples of businesses that provide online apps for people to rent cars from other people.
Republican Rauner says the measure is too restrictive and could “smother” growth of an innovative new industry. He suggested a rewrite of the regulations.
Illinois lawmakers are set to consider legislation this week that would limit the use of antibiotics in food-producing animals, a practice that has been shown to fuel drug-resistant bacteria that can be dangerous to humans.
On Thursday, the Illinois Senate’s Agriculture and Public Health committees are scheduled to hold subject matter hearings on a bill introduced earlier this year by state Sen. Daniel Biss that would further restrict antibiotic use on the nearly 20,000 Illinois farms with beef cattle, hogs or pigs.
Experts from the World Health Organization have for years warned that the routine use of antibiotics on animals that aren’t sick leads to drug-resistant bacteria that can have deadly consequences for humans.
Each year, millions of Americans get sick with antibiotic-resistant infections, and at least 23,000 of them die as a result, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A recent study estimates that by 2050, drug-resistant bacteria could kill more people worldwide than cancer kills today.
…Adding… The hearing was postponed due to weather.
Meanwhile, lawmakers started moving a bill aimed at the Chicago mayoral race. A plan that cleared a House committee would open a special election for Cook County board president to more people if Toni Preckwinkle is elected mayor. Now, only Cook County commissioners could run for president if she won and left the board president job.
Also, lawmakers are trying to negotiate a compromise on dueling proposals aimed at companies such as Sterigenics in west suburban Willowbrook that emit dangerous ethylene oxide gas.
Separate bills from House Republican leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs and Democratic state Rep. Carol Sente of Vernon Hills would limit and eventually ban use of the chemical in Illinois. Lawmakers say they’re trying to come up with legislation by the end of the month.
Also on Wednesday, the Senate failed to override the governor’s veto of a measure that would remove the state from the Crosscheck voter registration system. But senators are expected to try again for an override. Democrats say the measure would help protect voter information, but Republicans say the extra check is needed to make sure voters aren’t also registered elsewhere.
Four years after an expert found that the Illinois Department of Corrections failed to provide adequate medical care to prisoners across the state, conditions are “either no better or in fact worse in 2018.” Most disturbing, the medical professionals who conducted a new examination in 2018 finds that the poor care is resulting in deaths that could be prevented. Dr. Mike Puisis and his team – in a damning report filed in federal court today – examined 33 deaths in IDOC facilities. They found that one-third – 12 deaths – were preventable. Another 7 were possibly preventable and the record-keeping in 5 cases were so poor or had missing documents so that the experts could not determine if the death was preventable.
The stories of the preventable deaths are heart-breaking. In one instance, a 24-year-old with mental illness swallowed two plastic utensils (two sporks). Despite being seen by medical personnel for symptoms including abdominal pain and the inability to eat, he went untreated. The patient lost more than 50 pounds and was hospitalized only after being found unresponsive, where he died. The utensils were discovered during an autopsy.
“We knew four years ago that prisoners in Illinois were subject to needless pain and suffering,” said Camille Bennett, staff counsel at the ACLU of Illinois. “This latest report shows that the lack of adequate care is lethal. Illinois must fix this problem.”
The report by Dr. Mike Pusis and a team of court-appointed experts was filed today in federal court as part of on-going litigation in Lippert v. Godinez, a lawsuit challenging medical care in the IDOC system. It builds on a report filed in 2015 (conducted in 2014) by Dr. Ronald Shansky and a team of medical experts.
“This report tells a remarkably ugly story,” added Harold Hirshman, Senior Counsel at the Dentons law firm and counsel in the case. “Once again, a carefully-drafted, professional report concludes that the quality of care provided to Illinois prisoners is atrocious and leads to death.”
Among other detailed findings, the new expert report criticizes DOC for not having enough qualified physicians. At Dixon Correctional Center, for example, 20% of the healthcare positions at the facility are vacant. Staffing shortages exist in every facility operated by IDOC.
The filing of the expert report is the latest development in Lippert, et. al, v. Ghosh.
Illinois moved closer to raising the minimum age to buy cigarettes, vaping devices and other tobacco products to 21 after the state Senate on Wednesday voted to override Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of the plan. […]
Under the tobacco legislation, it would be illegal to sell tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes and vaping devices, to anyone under the age of 21. Retailers who violate the law could be fined, but the state would no longer penalize those caught possessing tobacco while underage.
Chicago boosted the minimum legal tobacco age from 18 to 21 in 2016. Rauner this summer vetoed the plan to do the same thing statewide, but the Senate voted 36-19 on Wednesday to override him, sending the legislation to the House for final review. The 36-vote tally was the bare minimum supporters needed to override Rauner, and their success in the House is far from guaranteed.
The measure, which also raised the age to purchase vaping devices, would make Illinois the sixth state in the country to raise the age, which supporters believe will reduce the number of high school students who use tobacco products.
* One bit thing grand juries do is issue subpoenas. So this was bound to happen…
A downstate grand jury has subpoenaed records from Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner’s office and at least two more state agencies as part of a criminal investigation into fatal Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks at the Quincy veterans’ home, WBEZ learned Wednesday.
Rauner’s administration surrendered copies of the Adams County grand jury subpoenas in response to a series of open-records requests.
The grand jury’s demand for Legionnaires’-related records tied to outbreaks at the Illinois Veterans Home went to the governor’s office and to the Illinois Departments of Veterans’ Affairs and Labor. Last week, WBEZ reported that the grand jury had also subpoenaed the state public health department.
The subpoenas, which went out Oct. 25, demand that Rauner’s administration turn over the documents by Thursday. No one has been charged with any wrongdoing relating to the outbreaks.
The subpoena sought a sweeping array of public health records about Legionnaires’ cases at the Illinois Veterans Home, where nearly 70 residents and staff have been sickened since 2015, with 14 deaths linked to the illness.
The query for records also sought information about, among other things, agency procedures for providing notice about Legionnaires’ at the facility and any communications by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration and officials in other locales that have experienced big Legionnaires’ outbreaks, including Flint, Mich.
Illinois senators have rejected Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of legislation allowing for larger damage awards in lawsuits against the state.
Sen. Michael Hastings is the sponsor of the measure which would raise the $100,000 limit on damage awards to $2 million. The Orland Park Democrat and military veteran noted the Legionnaires’ disease outbreak at the Quincy veterans’ home where 14 residents have died in the past three years. Families of several deceased victims have filed lawsuits against the state.
Hastings contended that the administration fell short in preventing the problem and notifying the public about what was happening. Rauner has repeatedly said his staff did everything it could and followed national experts’ advice.
Rauner rewrote the bill in an amendatory veto and suggested a $300,000 limit.
The silliest lament we’ve heard this week, from the editorial page of the other big Chicago paper, is that the failure of Chicago and Illinois to win Amazon HQ2 was a repeat of the state’s failure to win Foxconn, the electronics manufacturer now building a plant across the border in Wisconsin.
As if any sensible person cannot see by now what a bad deal Wisconsin struck to get Foxconn — and how lucky Illinois was to lose that bidding war.
The real lesson of Foxconn, worth remembering as we consider what else Chicago and Illinois could have done to win Amazon HQ2, is that there’s a limit to how much a community or state should give away in return. At some point, all those tax breaks and financial incentives become a burden on the local taxpayer, a drag on the local economy and cancel out the value of whatever jobs are gained.
We don’t yet know why Amazon took a pass on Chicago, though it’s pretty clear one big negative was our state’s dysfunctional government during the tenure of Gov. Bruce Rauner. It is telling that the last big question Amazon executives put to officials in New York — the governor and the mayor — before awarding Queens a part of the HQ2 prize was whether they could stop bickering long enough to see the project through.
But to the extent that this was about money, with the subsidies of $2.25 billion offered by Illinois and Chicago falling short, so be it. A prudent city and state, confident in their many strengths — excellent universities, a top international airport, a superb workforce and the like — can’t just write bigger and bigger checks.
The taxpayer costs of these two deals is high, both in absolute terms and on a per-job basis, contrary to Amazon’s artful spin. Together, we believe they exceed $4.6 billion and the cost per job in New York is at least $112,000, not the $48,000 the company used in a selective and incomplete press release calculation.
Amazon’s statement contains a classic example of cost-benefit apples and oranges. Citing only one New York State incentive, it says the sum ‘equates to $48,000 per job for 25,000 jobs with an average wage of over $150,000…’ Of course, wages cannot be compared to tax breaks since employees pay only a small percentage of their salaries as taxes to offset the tax breaks. And the cost per job in New York is actually at least $112,000 but that is not a full accounting.
