* Running out of time, so I’m lumping a ton of stuff together…
* As schools battle Omicron, billions of federal relief dollars remain unspent: Some schools are struggling to remain open for in-person learning due to the latest coronavirus surge — but a lack of money isn’t the problem.Much of the $190 billion that Congress authorized for schools earlier in the pandemic has yet to be used. In a majority of states, less than 20% of the federal money had been spent by the end of November, according to the latest US Department of Education data.
* Editorial: Only bold action will keep the momentum going to reform DCFS: State Rep. Maurice West (D-Rockford) plans to introduce legislation to streamline hiring so that DCFS can eventually have two people go out on calls — a good safety measure, in our view. State Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago) has plans for legislation to give DCFS workers benefits in line with emergency responders, such as better pensions.
* Lawmakers call for DCFS review after deaths of 6-year-old boy, caseworker: WGN News reached out to the Governors’ press office for comment regarding criticism directed at Pritzker. In a statement, the Governors’ press office wrote, “Since taking office, the Governor increased DCFS’ budget by over $340 million with DCFS launching aggressive hiring efforts to bring on 860 additional staff. These investments passed without the support of the Republicans in General Assembly.”
* Jonathan Jackson eyes Rep. Bobby Rush’s seat: The scion of a noted Chicago political family is pondering whether to enter the race to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush. If he does, Jonathan Jackson would shake up the contest.
* Mark Brown: With end of Shakman in sight, court monitor burrows in on new Illinois political hiring probe: In a subsequent court filing, the Shakman plaintiffs said they support Pritzker’s efforts to free the state from the consent decree, though not his timetable. They argue that Pritzker could wrap up all of this by April by taking six more steps to reform state employment practices, including completing a switchover to an electronic hiring system.
* Ald. Burke was secretly videotaped inside his City Hall offices as part of federal corruption probe: The document also quotes Burke as allegedly saying, “I am a believer that if you’re making money, that you should share the wealth. So you and I’ll never have . . . we’ll just figure out a way that’s gonna be above board, legal, etc. Because you and I are not gonna . . . get in trouble over this . . . at this stage in the game.”
* To give parents options, Illinois lawmakers should preserve tax credit scholarship program
* Editorial: Apparently, it’s up to the legislature to clarify roles in township government
* This officer is trying to fix the relationship between Chicago police and families of murder victims: But Page’s mission to ease their suffering is a nearly impossible task. Of the city’s 800 homicides in 2021 the department had solved only 179 cases by the end of the year, leaving more than 600 families still hurting for justice. The department’s failure to close murder cases leaves families scared for their safety as killers remain free, undermines public trust that murderers will face justice and convinces some citizens to seek retribution outside of the law, further inflaming violence in the city. These are the dynamics Page and about 20 other police officers are trying to fight against in a new unit tasked with building relationships, and trust, with the families of murder victims.
* Bill would pay $100 for home surveillance video: Representative Mike Zalewski (D-Riverside) filed a House bill that rewards residents $100 if they submit a home surveillance video that helps police prosecute a crime.
* State senators want car insurers to give pandemic refunds: A letter signed by 16 Democratic senators urges the Insurance Department to collect and share data on the excess profits car insurers reaped in 2020 and early 2021 when driving levels plummeted.
* Student Loan Company Reaches $1.85B Settlement With Illinois, Other States: Tens of thousands of borrowers in Illinois and across the country will see their student loan debt canceled following a $1.85 billion settlement between several states and one of the nation’s largest collecting companies.
* Cases are up about 3 percent in the past week, but deaths are up 66 percent. The seven-day rolling average of daily hospitalizations is now +0.32 percent, down slightly from yesterday’s +0.57 percent. We’ve been on a prolonged hospitalization plateau. No sign yet of abatement. IDPH…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 207,203 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including an increase of 738 deaths since January 7, 2022.
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 2,589,640 cases, including 29,099 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Since January 7, 2022, laboratories have reported 1,956,972 specimens for a total of 47,949,094. As of last night, 7,320 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 1,148 patients were in the ICU and 657 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators. Updated data analysis shows almost 90% of COVID-19 hospitalizations in Illinois are unvaccinated.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from January 7 – 13, 2022 is 10.6%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from January 7 – 13, 2022 is 15.6%.
A total of 19,893,424 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 51,070 doses. Since January 7, 2022, 357,487 doses were reported administered in Illinois. Of Illinois’ total population, almost 74% has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, 65% of Illinois’ total population is fully vaccinated, and more than 42% boosted according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
All data are provisional and will change. Additional information and COVID-19 data can be found at https://dph.illinois.gov/covid19.html.
Vaccination is the key to ending this pandemic. To find a COVID-19 vaccination location near you, go to www.vaccines.gov.
What we can say is that the higher a wave crests, the longer and more confusing the path to the bottom will be. We need to prepare for the possibility that this wave could have an uncomfortably long tail—or at least a crooked one. “I do think the decline is unlikely to be as steep as the rise,” Saad Omer, an epidemiologist at Yale, told me. […]
What lies beyond the peak isn’t out of our control either. The decline can be sped up by the same mitigation behaviors that temper the rise, Majumder said. Curves can get flatter. They can also get shorter. And minimizing cases on the wave’s far side will still blunt the impact on the health-care system, and lessen the variant’s social toll. The key here, then, is to avoid seeing “past the peak” as a cue to relapse into riskier behavior. “The start of a decline is not sufficient to think we’re out of the woods,” Georgetown’s Bansal said. Every step we take now will determine how long we stay high up on this curve and, eventually, where we land—as well as what condition we’ll be in when we arrive at the bottom.
Before the new variant reared its head, people were already leaving the service sector in droves. Now the Omicron surge is laying bare how few protections workers have retained from the scant services given to them earlier in the pandemic, and just how little safety and stability this kind of work provides to the people who do it. Omicron is making many of America’s bad jobs even worse.
The Center for COVID Control, a locally based chain of testing sites, is under national scrutiny and has been cited at the highest level by a federal agency as reports come in from across the country of chaos at testing sites and confusion over results.
Amid the heightened scrutiny, the center announced Thursday it will close for a week starting Friday. […]
Again and again, people going to Center for COVID Control sites have reported getting negatives there — only to get a positive elsewhere. Others have never gotten results, or gotten them so late the test was effectively useless. Some people who didn’t even test at the sites were still sent results.
* A Florida TV station was all over the story earlier this week. It’s just crazy…
Finding a COVID-19 test in a short time can be challenging. WINK News met a mom and dad who, while on the hunt for a test, came upon a test site at a Bonita Springs strip mall. They stopped, got in line, and registered for a test, but they got an email saying they were negative before they took it.
WINK News looked into the test site and found out the company that runs this site is racking up complaints, not just in Southwest Florida but nearly everywhere. […]
While they were in line waiting for a test, they got a notification that their results were ready. Results for a test they were still in line to take.
Erin Kates said, “We got an email for each of us all, all five of us, both of us and our and our three kids saying that our rapid test came back negative.”
…Adding… Press release…
Governor JB Pritzker announced today the federal government has granted the state’s request for medical staffing assistance for Javon Bae Hospital-Riverside in Rockford. Under the agreement, a 22-person team including clinical staff from a Healthcare Medical Task Force will be deployed to support Javon Bae doctors and nurses as they treat COVID-19 patients and other patients. This surge staffing will be available for 14-days to help reduce the strain on the hospital’s Emergency Department and help other hospitals in the region who may transfer patients to Javon Bae Hospital-Riverside.
* Kankakee schools to extend remote, hybrid learning options: Kankakee School District 111 will extend its remote and hybrid learning options through Jan. 28 instead of returning to fully in-person learning next week as previously planned, Superintendent Genevra Walters said Thursday.
Petition-gathering at the doors went pretty well today—I filled two 20-line sheets. Only thing was I suffered a mishap. Tripped up a step (who does that?) and landed all sprawled on the ground. I’m ok except for a possibly sprained wrist and took quite a jolt to my bag of bones.
Be careful out there.
* The Question: What’s your best story about going door-to-door?
Smith: Because of all those challenges, I’m asking people ‘Just do your block.’ It’s a thousand signatures. If I get 50 people to do a sheet, there you go. Because people are more hesitant, even before the pandemic and not in the bitter cold. We’ve been doing this a long time. We’ve been knocking doors for decades now. And it’s not the same as it was 20 years ago. People do not answer their doors. ‘Ring’ doorbells, you know, cameras, … I don’t answer my door, typically, if I’m not expecting anybody. Now, I was thinking, maybe I should ride around in a FedEx truck. And people will answer their doors because they think they have a package coming. And that’s the only reason people are answering their doors right now. They’re looking for a package.
Zalewski: It’s the ultimate organization election cycle and there’s no more organizations. That’s the thing I keep saying to myself. Twenty years ago, I had the 23rd Ward, the 13th Ward, the 10th, the 8th Ward Organization and we don’t have that.
Smith: It’s a very small number of ward organizations that still exist. And then you know, you have suburbs, I have suburbs. Township organizations are nothing like it used to be. I mean, Thornton Township was one of the strongest in the state, top vote getter in the state in terms of townships. And now with the leader [Frank Zuccarelli] gone, I don’t know what to expect. So, I have to take things in my own hands and talk to the folks that we have relationships with individually, and hope that they can help us out. But it’s an interesting time, Mike, and I just, you know, I just want to get it over with. [Laughs]
Last July, Republican candidate for governor Darren Bailey took to Facebook to denounce both the extension of federally-enhanced state jobless benefits and Democratic President Joe Biden’s visit to Crystal Lake to promote his coronavirus relief agenda.
“Here’s the dangerous slope that we are on in America,” the state senator and farmer from downstate Xenia said, while discussing Biden’s visit. “That’s exactly what we heard: Free stuff. Handouts. Don’t worry about it, the government’s going to take care of you.”
“Friends,” he said, “that’s socialism.”
But only months before, on Feb. 26, Bailey received the latest of a series of payments from the federal government’s coronavirus business relief Paycheck Protection Program under the Small Business Administration — $231,475 to support 11 jobs at the family farm he owns with his sons.
Less than a month later, on March 22, Bailey reported a personal loan of $150,000 to his campaign for governor, listing “Self-Employed (Bailey Family Farms)” as his employer on the required state campaign finance disclosure form. […]
All told, records compiled in a database produced by investigative news agency ProPublica show Bailey’s family farm and two other entities he owns, Bailey Family Freight and the Virtue House Ministries Christian school run by his wife, received $569,045 in so-called PPP loans from April 2020 to February 2021.
Bailey’s campaign says they abided by all the rules.
* Jeremy Gorner at the Chicago Tribune on the new Statehouse remodeling project…
It will be the second major construction project on the building in a decade and will force some legislative sessions to find new locations for the next few years, while also being a temporary inconvenience for school groups and other tourists who won’t get to see the historic structure’s full grandeur.
The project also presents a hefty price tag for Illinois taxpayers: $224.3 million.
The renovation is focused on the building’s north wing and will include an underground parking garage and an underground conference center, and a two-level welcome center for visitors.
In addition, there will be updates of everything from heating and cooling systems to plumbing and ventilation.
I looked around a bit for renderings and couldn’t find anything. If you have some, please send them to me. Thanks. Kinda curious about that conference center and the welcome center.
But [Capitol architect Andrea Aggertt] said the public needs to keep in mind that the north wing renovations, which will employ hundreds of construction workers over the 2 1/2 year life of the project, will include historical details costing much more than a typical home or building renovation.
“We don’t have a retail building or a hospital,” she said. “We have a statehouse that we need to be proud of, and therefore the quality of the materials that we put into our one and only statehouse need to reflect the quality and the craftsmanship that happened in the late 1880s, when the building was built.”
A State Journal-Register columnist’s story in 2013 about $670,000 spent on copper-clad wooden doors at three west entrance doorways resulted in a wave of attention from the news media and the public. In response, then-Gov. Pat Quinn called the work “excessive” and compared it to the Palace of Versailles in France.
State Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield, wasn’t in the General Assembly at that time but said the west wing project is necessary and will contribute to the tourism industry in Springfield and central Illinois.
Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) today announced $9.6 million in grant funding to support construction pre-apprenticeship programs, which will help create a qualified talent pipeline of diverse candidates as part of the groundbreaking Illinois Works initiative. This grant is being awarded to 23 organizations that will provide pre-apprenticeship training and wraparound supportive services to more than 1,000 participants, the vast majority of whom are underrepresented in the construction industry.
Comprehensive pre-apprenticeship programs can help participants gain admission to apprenticeship programs, which provide a greater opportunity to obtain employment in the construction trades. According to a 2020 report from the Illinois Department of Labor, only four percent of Illinois apprentices are women and only 29 percent are people of color. By supporting pre-apprenticeship training programs that primarily serve these groups - while also providing the needed wraparound supports for participants to succeed - these grants will help participants break barriers to enter into apprenticeships while simultaneously creating a sustainable pipeline of qualified, diverse candidates for the future economy.
Bethel Family Resource Center, Chicago Heights $400,000
Chicago Women in Trades, Chicago $500,437
Children First Fund, Chicago $250,000
Community Assistance Programs, Chicago $493,794
Community Development Institute, Chicago $500,000
EDDR Foundation Chicago, Chicago $500,000
EDDR Foundation Rockford, Rockford $400,000
Evanston Rebuilding Warehouse, Evanston $535,514
HIRE 360, Chicago $550,000
Hispanic American Construction Industry Association, Chicago $500,000
IL Foundation of SkillsUSA-VICA, Pekin $500,000
Lumity, Chicago $170,673
Macon County, Decatur $499,832
Metropolitan Family Services, Chicago $500,000
Quad County Urban League, Aurora $397,978
Revolution Workshop, Chicago $400,777
Safer Foundation, Chicago $500,000
Sista Girls & Friends, Inc, Decatur $500,000
South Suburban Community Services, South Holland $436,000
Southwestern Illinois College, Belleville $240,000
St. Paul Church of God in Christ Community Ministries, Chicago $250,000
Tools Up Foundation, Chicago $326,587
YBLC, Inc, North Chicago $250,000
*** UPDATE *** I should’ve included this Cook County Record story since we’re talking about infrastructure…
With potentially billions of tax dollars every year on the line, the Illinois Supreme Court will soon decide whether Illinois’ so-called transportation lockbox constitutional amendment can be used to force Cook County and other local governments in Illinois to spend money from local transportation-related taxes on actual transportation projects, or if the money can still be used to fund county operations.
On Wednesday, Jan. 12, attorneys for a coalition of road and transportation contractors squared off against attorneys for Cook County, presenting oral arguments over how best to interpret and apply the language of the Illinois constitution’s Safe Roads Amendment to money raised under certain taxes imposed by Cook County and other local governments.
On one hand, a coalition of road construction contractors assert the amendment, formally known as the Safe Roads Amendment, states plainly that transportation-related tax money raised by Illinois governments must be actually used to pay for roads, bridges, mass transit, passenger railroads, airports and other transportation infrastructure. […]
On the other side, Cook County says the amendment’s language is not as clear as the road builders let on, and should be read to apply to Illinois state government alone, and not units of local home rule government, like Cook County.
Two churches sued the Governor of Illinois after he issued an executive order limiting to ten the number of persons who could attend any particular religious service during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The district court denied the churches’ motion for a preliminary injunction. By the time the appeal was argued in June 2020, the Governor had rescinded his order and there was no longer any limit on the number of persons who could participate in religious ceremonies. We held that the possibility of restoring the original order, should the pandemic become more serious, meant that the case is not moot, but that the order did not violate the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.
Plaintiffs asked the district court to issue a permanent injunction notwithstanding our decision. They observed that the Supreme Court recently has made the law more favorable to them by concluding that states must treat religious bodies at least as well as any secular comparator, not just as well as the most similar secular organization. The district court did not reach the merits, ruling instead that the litigation is moot. The judge expressed confidence that limits on attendance will not be reinstated. The churches have filed a second appeal.
The district court’s decision is questionable because it is inconsistent with our opinion, plus the further reason that the Governor continues to say that orders may be amended as the pandemic continues. With the Omicron variant spreading, more people have COVID-19 now than ever before. Trying to predict what executive orders may be adopted in response to which potential changes in the course of the disease is a mug’s game and not a firm ground for resolving this case.
Still, it does not follow that plaintiffs are entitled to an injunction. More than 19 months have passed since they were last subject to an attendance limit, and the Governor has not suggested that another is likely. A legal conclusion that a rescinded order violated the Constitution would not entitle anyone to an injunction. So we held in Cassell v. Snyders, 990 F.3d 539 (7th Cir. 2021), about the very subject now before us - whether churches are entitled to an injunction forbidding the Governor of Illinois to reinstate the sort of capacity limit that was in force for about ten weeks ending in spring 2020. In addition to stressing that an injunction is a discretionary remedy, which new developments may make unnecessary (if not imprudent), we observed that the Governor likely will take account of legal developments when issuing any new orders. A federal court ought to give state officials the respect of predicting that they will accept and follow the Supreme Court’s analysis. Just as in Cassell, we hold that the district court did not abuse its discretion in turning down plaintiffs’ request for injunctive relief.
The complaint requests damages, but that prospect does not keep this case alive. The only defendant is the Governor, in his official capacity. Will v. Michigan Department of State Police holds that 42 U.S.C. §1983, on which this suit is based, does not allow awards of damages against states-and that official-capacity suits against state agents are suits against the states themselves. It follows that damages are unavailable.
And if we were to ignore the “official capacity” language that the complaints used to describe Governor Pritzker’s status, the churches still could not obtain damages, because the Governor would be entitled to qualified immunity. Recall that the Governor won on the merits on the first appeal, which makes it impossible to describe as “clearly established” in the spring of 2020 a rule that a capacity limit on religious services during a pandemic violates the Constitution. Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn was not decided until November 25, 2020, six months after the Governor rescinded the order imposing capacity limits on in-person religious events, and Tandon, decided on April 9, 2021, shows that there were (and are) still debatable issues about how public officials may regulate religious gatherings during a pandemic.
If Illinois imposes an objectionable order in response to new developments in the pandemic, the churches may file a new suit. But this suit is over.
* Here we go again. Capitol News Illinois last month…
New estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau suggest Illinois is continuing to lose population.
The latest estimates, released Tuesday, pegged the state’s population at 12,671,469 as of July 1, 2021, down by 113,776, or 0.9 percent, from the official 2020 census. […]
The Census Bureau routinely estimates national, state and county populations each year following a decennial census using a variety of data sources. But those estimates have been off in the past.
In 2019, for example, the Census Bureau estimated that Illinois had lost more than 51,000 people since the 2010 census while the official 2020 census showed the state had lost about only 18,000.
This was from the American Community Survey, which has been wrong about Illinois’ population for a decade. The General Assembly used ACS numbers in its first legislative remap, but that was tossed out by the courts for being woefully unconstitutional. The GA had, by that time, already passed a new map using decennial Census data, and that map was upheld.
In light of the statistical gaps between the 2019 American Community Survey (ACS) and 2020 Census results, I’m writing to ask that you expand the Census Bureau’s review of the 2020 ACS methodology beyond the impact of the coronavirus pandemic to a broader review of modernizing, updating, and improving the ACS to provide data more reflective of reality on the ground and more closely aligned with the decennial census.
As you know, the ACS is crucial for collecting yearly information on the American public to help local governments make policy decisions to best improve communities across the country and to help businesses adequately serve their customers while planning for the future. I know the U.S. Census Bureau is committed to the integrity and accuracy of both the ACS and the decennial Census and had that belief reaffirmed through the agency’s difficult decision last year to delay the release of 2020 ACS data before releasing it in an “experimental form” and announcing plans for a methodological review to ensure that “the resulting data meet our quality standards.”
In the interests of reaffirming that longstanding commitment to data quality, I am writing to request that you extend your agency’s methodological review of the ACS beyond the COVID-19 pandemic-impacted results to the general practices employed in generating the ACS. As you know, your work is vitally important to our country and while perfect data is impossible, even small errors and margins of error can carry enormous consequences, demanding an aggressive, continuous pursuit of improvement.
The impact of ACS data on public understanding and policymaking is significant, and in recent years, the challenges of inconsistencies between those projections and the Census have sown doubt, confusion, and overreaction. For example, over the course of the last decade, my home state of Illinois’ population decline has been a major story, driving a range of policy debates and disagreements based on ACS projections. However, 2020 Census results suggested that those reports of population decline may have been notably overstated.
Last month, your agency again reported that Illinois’ population was in a state of decline, but the experience of the previous ten years of reports followed by the census has led this result to be met with a degree of skepticism and some diminishment of trust in ACS data. While statistical projections carry the inevitable margins of error and those populations also vary substantially month to month and year to year across the country, your agency’s data is essential to the function of our democracy and economy and so is public trust in that data.
A new methodological review that can address potential shortcomings in general ACS function, analysis, and collection would not only strengthen the quality of ACS data but also highlight areas of need or investment by which Congress can help the Census Bureau meet the data needs of this century. In this interest, I request that the U.S. Census Bureau conduct such a review beyond the scope of the challenges of this pandemic while highlighting avenues through which the agency can improve, and Congress can help it improve, to ensure Americans have access to the highest quality data about our nation.
The Republican gubernatorial primary field is about to get a new entrant who could potentially have hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign cash to spend.
Multiple sources tell WTTW News that Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin is currently planning to announce his candidacy for governor on Jan. 17, Martin Luther King Jr. Day. According to previous media reports, Irvin could have the financial backing of the state’s wealthiest resident, Citadel founder and CEO Ken Griffin.
Griffin, who has not publically confirmed his chosen candidate, previously said he would “go all in” on financing someone who could defeat the incumbent Democratic governor, adding that he believes Pritzker “doesn’t deserve to be governor of our state.” Griffin has been particularly critical of Pritzker’s handling of rising crime numbers in Chicago and throughout Illinois.
Although a spokesperson for Irvin did not respond to multiple requests for comment, sources say the current plan has the Aurora mayor announcing his candidacy alongside state Rep. Avery Bourne (R-Morrisonville) for lieutenant governor. Bourne did not return a request for comment.
Former Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady said a slate venture is a “very risky strategy.”
“It’s very odd for a group to try and present a slate. Republicans don’t do slates, and Republican activists don’t like being told what to do or who to vote for,” Brady said.
Brady is an informal adviser to another Republican candidate for governor, businessman Gary Rabine.
So, Rabine is being advised by a never-Trumper? Interesting.
* It seems doubtful that the legislature will ultimately be in session that day, but, yeah, this was a mistake…
Frerichs campaign: “This is an annual fundraiser that we have been doing for years, and since the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act was updated, we are canceling the event.”
Retiring Rep. Bobby Rush has endorsed Karin Norington-Reaves in the Dem primary for his House seat: “Rush and Norington-Reaves first met in 2014, after a local teacher, Betty Howard, was killed by ‘random gunfire’ in Chatham, her campaign said. Norington-Reaves worked with Rush in establishing the Chatham Education and Workforce Center,” by Sun-Times’ Lynn Sweet. […]
State Sen. Jacqueline Collins has officially joined the race. “I have a record of activism and legislative accomplishments that most mirror the 1st Congressional District’s progressive profile of civic engagement,” she told Playbook in a text.
But, but, but… Along with gathering signatures for the IL-01 seat, Collins will also pass out petitions for the state Senate seat she holds. She told Playbook she’d have “a formal announcement in the near future” about which contest she’ll ultimately pursue in the primary.
State Sen. Robert Peters, who considered running for Rush’s seat, is running for reelection instead. “I really didn’t want to risk it to go to D.C. right now, where there’s a risk of being in the minority party,” he said,” he told Hyde Park Herald’s Aaron Gettinger
*** UPDATE *** From the Kane County Democrats…
Following the news that Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin plans to run as a Republican for governor with the backing of billionaire Ken Griffin and Bruce Rauner’s campaign team, local Aurora leaders are expressing their disappointment in the mayor and standing firmly behind Governor JB Prtizker.
“As a lifelong resident of Aurora, I’ve experienced some of the highest highs and lowest lows right here in our city,” said Casey Cuevas, a 40-year-resident of Aurora who was appointed by Irvin to serve on the City of Aurora Hispanic Heritage Advisory Board. “I appreciate Governor Pritzker’s support and commitment to our people. I remember what Aurora was like when Bruce Rauner was governor. I cannot support Mayor Irvin’s bid for our state’s highest office, particularly if he is financed by the very folks that brought us some of the worst days in Illinois history.”
“Bruce Rauner disinvested in, and overlooked Aurora,” said Brooke Shanley, a local Spanish teacher and vice chair of her teacher’s union.“Social services were cut and our most vulnerable neighbors were left with nowhere to turn. To align yourself with the people that brought our communities that much hurt is contrary to everything I believe in. I am disappointed in Mayor Irvin’s decision and will support Governor Prtizker next fall.”
“JB’s leadership has been invaluable for Aurora,” said Regina Brent, lifelong activist and founder and president of Unity Partnership. “I am proud to support the governor in his bid for reelection and reject any candidate, like Richard Irvin, who would seek to drag Illinois backwards. Republicans have shown us their true priorities for Illinois and we cannot allow them to enact their anti-choice, anti-worker, anti-science agenda.”
“I’m disappointed to see Mayor Irvin compromising his values for a blank check from Ken Griffin,” said Gautam Bhatia, who was appointed by Irvin to serve on the Indian American Outreach Advisory Board and served on the Aurora Planning and Zoning Commission during Irvin’s tenure. “I vividly remember the pain of the Rauner years, and a real leader would denounce anyone who supported his time in office, not cozy up to them.”
“My community remembers the destruction and devastation Bruce Rauner’s administration left us in,” said Eddie Bedford, Naperville Township Supervisor. “We cannot afford to go backwards like that again, and I cannot support any candidate who aligns themself with budget stalemates and painful cuts to critical services.”
The Aurora community has made clear they do not want to see Bruce Rauner and Ken Griffin’s leadership return to Springfield.
* More…
* Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin to announce run for governor Monday, sources say: According to multiple sources, Griffin picked Irvin, a moderate in his second term as mayor of the state’s second largest city. Griffin also wants downstate conservative Republican state representative Avery Bourne to be Irvin’s running mate, the sources said. She did not return calls seeking comment. Griffin spent more than $50 million of his own money to defeat Pritzker’s progressive income tax referendum, and pledged earlier this year to do whatever it takes to defeat the governor in the next election.
* Pritzker, Stratton kick off ballot petitioning with Chicago supporters: Illinois Governor JB Pritzker visited a CTA Red Line stop on Chicago’s South Side Thursday morning to collect signatures. His running mate, Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton, and supporters were also at his side at the 95th/Dan Ryan stop collecting petition signatures to get Democrats on the ballot.
* Republican Steve Kim launches bid for Illinois attorney general, vowing to battle crime, corruption, Pritzker and Madigan: Launching his campaign on the first day candidates can start gathering signatures for nominating petitions, Kim became the third Republican in as many days to announce a run for statewide office in the June primary. Like the other two, he made former House speaker Mike Madigan a chief campaign target. … Democrats too have raised a name repeatedly, and it’s that of billionaire hedge fund founder Ken Griffin, who is widely believed to be building a slate of Republican candidates that Democrats say includes Demmer, Teresi and former U.S. Attorney John Milhiser, who is running for Illinois secretary of state.
* GOP candidate for Illinois AG hits law and order as his big theme: With Kim announcing for AG—following state Rep. Tom Demmer for treasurer, McHenry County Auditor Shannon Teresi for comptroller and ex-prosecutor John Milhiser for secretary of state—Republicans are awaiting only the official word that Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin is running for governor to complete a slate that is expected to get huge financial backing from Chicago hedge-fund mogul Ken Griffin.
* Press release: Former Illinois Lieutenant Governor Evelyn Sanguinetti has officially launched her campaign for DuPage County Clerk. Evelyn’s professional background as an attorney, Human Rights Activist, Assistant Attorney General, Wheaton City Councilwoman and Illinois Lieutenant Governor gives her the experience needed to effectively run the Clerk’s Office. Evelyn’s bipartisan track record makes her the ideal candidate to lead the Clerk’s Office and safeguard DuPage County’s elections.
* Jim Dey: Can indicted officials tap campaign funds to pay lawyers?: “Allegations of misconduct in the discharge of an officeholder’s official duties would not exist independent of the individual’s status as an elected official,” wrote appellate Justice Thomas Hoffman.
* ‘Mancow’ Muller Running For Illinois Governor, Vows More Freedoms: Muller said he is yet to officially file paperwork to get his name on the ballot and understands the process of making himself a viable candidate. Muller said Thursday night he has not spent “one penny” on his efforts to run and declined to specify how he will fund his campaign until the necessary paperwork is filed.
* St. Louis had the highest per capital murder rate in the country in 2019. So, this is good news…
St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones is crediting an intervention program known as Cure Violence for helping to reduce the city’s homicides by more than 25% in 2021.
“We all want to feel safe in our neighborhoods,” Jones said Thursday at a press conference trumpeting the program. “The Missouri Legislature prevents our city from making common-sense gun laws. So we have to look at other tools at our disposal to prevent violent crime.”
Despite the big drop, at least 195 people were still killed in the city, a number that Jones acknowledged is unacceptable.
“Cure Violence isn’t a silver bullet. It was never built to be a silver bullet,” she said. “But it is one piece of a larger holistic strategy.”
The Chicago-based program trains people who live in areas with high crime rates to intervene in conflicts. The goal is to prevent disagreements from escalating to violent crime, and to provide social services such as job training to neighborhood residents. […]
Overall, homicides were down 26% in the city from 2020 to 2021. In four of the five Cure Violence locations, homicides dropped at a rate higher than the overall decrease: 42% in Hamilton Heights, 70 percent in Wells-Goodfellow, 50% in Walnut Park East and 80% in Walnut Park West.
At the end of a year that saw at least 800 homicides in Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot last month wrote to the Cook County chief judge with a request: Judges should immediately stop ordering certain defendants to await trial at home with an electronic-monitoring ankle bracelet.
It would be a sweeping policy change intended to keep violent offenders securely behind bars, albeit with implications for thousands of people who would likely be kept in custody as their cases took months if not years to proceed.
But many of the claims and statistics related in her letter and repeated at a press conference earlier this month are misleading — and some are simply inaccurate, the Tribune has found after examining the cases highlighted by the mayor.
Her letter cites data showing that 15 people were arrested and charged with murder last year while they were on electronic monitoring, commonly known as EM. But in at least five of those cases, the homicides actually occurred before the defendant was on an ankle bracelet, according to the Tribune’s review. And in at least one of the 15 cases, the defendant was not actually charged with murder at all.
* Civic Federation: What the Data Tell us about Bail Reform and Crime in Cook County: Electronic monitoring should not be used as a replacement for high money bond amounts. In current practice, judges across the United States use high dollar amounts as a barrier to a criminal defendant’s pretrial release. In the new cashless system that takes effect in Illinois next year, there may be a potential for overreliance on imposing home electronic monitoring in cases where judges feel reluctant to release a defendant. However, based on the mixed research and lack of evidence of the effectiveness or appropriateness of electronic monitoring programs, electronic monitoring orders should be limited to only those cases that warrant close monitoring. Instead, judges should use other options available, such as pretrial supervision (periodic check-ins with a pretrial officer), which have been linked to more positive outcomes on defendants’ court appearances and not committing new crimes while on release.
Oak Lawn resident Rob Cruz is expected to formally announce his candidacy for the 6th Illinois Congressional District at a political fundraiser set for Friday, Dec. 3, at Cork and Kerry, 10614 S. Western Ave., in Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood. Cruz is running for the Republican nomination in the new IL-06 in the upcoming gubernatorial primary June 28, 2022.
“Join us, on December 3, as we hold the line with Sheriff David Clarke and our men and women in blue,” the invitation said. “Now, more than ever, we need to show our support for those who work tirelessly to keep us safe. It’s time for us to show them how we can support them! And we can do this by pushing through the right candidates who will get the right policies passed.”
He just got some bigtime local publicity for that campaign.
The Oak Lawn High School District 229 Board voted Wednesday to remove Robert Cruz from the board, claiming he violating his oath of office and board policy by twice filing a lawsuit against Gov. J.B. Pritzker objecting to the statewide mask mandate in schools.
The lawsuits cost the district $25,000 and Cruz sought to recoup his own legal fees from the district, said Burt Odelson, the board’s attorney. […]
Former school board member Joseph Amado spoke on behalf of Cruz.
“If you don’t wake up, you’ll all be in the camps together,” Amado told the audience.
Cruz had come under fire by his peers on the board and District 229 administrators for filing a lawsuit against Gov. J.B. Pritzker and state schools Superintendent Carmen Ayala in August over the state’s mask order. The suit, filed in Cook County circuit court, noted Cruz was acting “in his official capacity as a Member of the Oak Lawn Community High School District 229 School Board.”
Under state law, school board members cannot take action on their own or on behalf of the board or district. The school board has formally said it doesn’t support litigation against Pritzker or Ayala and that District 229 will follow directives from the state.
The first lawsuit was dismissed. Cruz filed a second lawsuit in early September that added District 229 as a defendant. That case, filed in Sangamon County, has cost the district more than $25,000 to defend, documents indicate.
The second suit [which was dismissed] also violated a state law that states board members should protect their districts from lawsuits, District 229 officials said. The lawsuit created a conflict of interest for Cruz, too, officials alleged.
…Adding… From Cruz…
On Wednesday, January 12th, at a special meeting was called for the censure of
Robert Cruz. A resolution to have Cruz removed from the board for filing a lawsuit against
Governor Pritzker, on August 19th, 2021, was passed.
“I want to thank the all of the people who came out in support of me last night, your kind
words did not go unnoticed”, said Rob Cruz, after the vote.
“I am saddened that my right to due process was circumvented by the members of district 229
resolution to declare my seat vacant. I will be pursuing my rights as an elected official under
the Illinois constitution for due process”. he continued.
“Removing elected officials because you disagree with their methods is simply an act of cancel
culture and has no place in American government. All options including appeal of my lawsuit
are now on the table”. he said. “This is not twitter, this is a dulv elected position on a school
board, if we allow abuse of power at this level, we have breeched our democracy “, he said
during a Fox tv segment this morning.
“The lawsuit has been about retrieving local control as the Legislature has failed to pass laws,
during this time of emergency, to quide the people of IL through this time. Instead we have
allowed unchecked executive authority, by the office of the governor, to advance a one-size.
fits-all approach”, stated Cruz.
“Across the state, we have had more children die of suicide than Covid-19!”, claimed Cruz.
“let us tell the truth on what is going on here… I am being cancelled because I refuse to accept
government overreach in America, especially in our state of Illinois.” said Cruz.
Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Director Marc Smith was held in contempt of court again on Thursday for violating the rights of a teenage boy.
This is the third contempt of court order issued against Smith recently.
In this case, the order involved a 17-year-old who has been locked in a psychiatric hospital more than four months after being ready to be released. If the youth is not properly placed, $1,000-per-day fine will start racking up starting on Tuesday.
In court Thursday, it was stated that wrongly keeping the youth in a psychiatric facility is costing taxpayers $1,000 a day, or $30,000 a month. He has been locked up for more than four months.
Three $1,000 a day contempt orders is over a million a year.
The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked the Biden administration from enforcing its sweeping vaccine-or-test requirements for large private companies, but allowed a vaccine mandate to stand for medical facilities that take Medicare or Medicaid payments.
The rulings came three days after the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s emergency measure started to take effect.
That mandate required that workers at businesses with 100 or more employees must get vaccinated or submit a negative Covid test weekly to enter the workplace. It also required unvaccinated workers to wear masks indoors at work.
“Although Congress has indisputably given OSHA the power to regulate occupational dangers, it has not given that agency the power to regulate public health more broadly,” the court wrote in an unsigned opinion. […]
In a separate, simultaneously released ruling on the administration’s vaccination rules for health-care workers, a 5-4 majority sided with the Biden administration.
After the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Thursday against the Biden administration’s vaccine or testing mandate on employers of more than 100 employees, it’s expected the Illinois Department of Labor’s COVID-19 vaccine or testing mandate will be withdrawn.
According to preliminary data compiled by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF), as of December 31, 2021, 458 federal, state, tribal and local law enforcement officers died in the line-of-duty in 2021. This is an increase of 55% from the 295 officers killed during the same period last year, and is the highest total line-of-duty officer deaths since 1930 when there were 312 fatalities. […]
Preliminary data shows that some 301 officer fatalities have been identified as caused by Covid this year, and this number appears to increase almost daily. Covid-19 related fatalities continue to be the single highest cause of law enforcement deaths occurring in 2021.
New cases of COVID-19 reached 37,048 Thursday with 142 more people dying from the respiratory disease, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported.
Patients in the hospital with COVID-19 came to 7,380 as of Wednesday night, the highest count since the pandemic began.
On Wednesday, 58,899 more COVID-19 shots were administered. The seven-day average is 51,776.
The state’s positivity rate for COVID-19 cases is 11.5% based on a seven-day average.
Today’s report brings the 7-day rolling average hospitalization increase number to 0.57 percent, slightly up from yesterday’s 0.24 percent. The 14-day rolling average hospitalization increase is now 1.71 percent, slightly down from 1.9 percent yesterday.
…Adding… Press release…
Out of an abundance of caution and due to the continued high numbers of new COVID-19 cases statewide, Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White is announcing that all Secretary of State departments – including Driver Services facilities – will resume conducting in-person transactions Monday, Jan. 24. The Secretary of State offices and facilities first closed on Jan. 3, due to the surge in COVID-19 cases statewide. Driver Services facilities operating on a Tuesday – Saturday schedule will reopen on Tuesday, Jan. 25.
“The Supreme Court confirmed today what we have known all along - that the Biden Administration’s vaccine mandate was a massive and unconstitutional government overreach. I am proud to have led the charge with Job Creators Network fighting this unconstitutional dictate through the lower courts and ultimately to a resounding victory today in the United States Supreme Court.”
“As your next governor and a freedom loving American, I will work tirelessly for the people of Illinois to make sure that the government doesn’t step on your freedom to make a living, raise your children or make health care decisions. It’s time for big-government liberals like failed Governor JB Pritzker to be voted out of office and replaced with new leadership that respects the basic and fundamental rights of all citizens of Illinois. We need to put an end to top down, big brother knows best government.”
But one of my very smart readers did go through it and reached out to me yesterday…
Hi Rich,
Long time follower, first time writer. In full disclosure, I recently retired from the [redacted] after more than [redacted] years. I just read the COGFA article today and was encouraged about the State’s finances yet again.
Another report that came out in late December that received no coverage was the State Actuary Report (see link below). The unheralded news in this report was that there were several State pension systems that passed the “Tread Water” point in FY21; meaning we are now paying in more than we owe and reducing the liability for those systems.
One of the persistent sources of the increase in unfunded actuarial liability [UAL] is due to actual contributions to the System being less than the tread water contribution (the amount needed to prevent the unfunded actuarial liability from increasing if all assumptions are met). Actual contributions have been significantly less than the tread water cost. Each year that total contributions remain below the tread water cost, the unfunded actuarial liability is expected to grow. […]
Contributions that are less than the tread water contribution causes the UAL to increase. The tread water contribution consists of two components: the normal cost, which is the cost of benefits earned in a given year, and the interest on the unfunded actuarial liability. This sum is referred to as the tread water contribution because it is the contribution necessary so that the UAL will remain constant, or “tread water” (absent experience gains or losses). The difference between actual contributions and the tread water contributions have increased the UAL by $4.71 billion [between June 30, 2011 to June 30, 2021].
Get that? It’s like paying the minimum balance on a credit card.
* From the section on the State Employees Retirement System: “As the chart below shows, actual contributions have been significantly less than the tread water cost, however this trend has reversed this year. When the total contributions are above the tread water cost (blue line), the UAL is expected to decline”…
Cool.
* I called the Auditor General’s office yesterday and asked for the SERS chart’s underlying numbers. They sent along a spread sheet and I plugged in the net above/below numbers…
Future results may differ significantly from the projections presented here due to such factors as the following: plan experience differing from that anticipated by the assumptions; changes in assumptions; and changes in plan provisions or applicable law.
* Back to the report. Here’s where the other state pension funds stand in relation to breaking through the “tread water” mark…
General Assembly Retirement System: 2017
Judges Retirement System: 2021
State Universities Retirement System: 2025
Teachers Retirement System: 2028
* TRS, by far the largest state pension fund, is really close right now…
With Republicans hammering the statewide spike in crime as their top election year issue, Democratic state legislators are being forced to defend last year’s sweeping criminal justice legislation and have opened the door to adding crime-fighting proposals to the agenda of this year’s condensed session in Springfield.
Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch was vague about what measures could be under consideration, but acknowledged a need to address increases in crimes like carjackings and organized retail theft.
“I can’t talk to you about specifics 11 days into session. But I can tell you that conversations are already taking place on, you know, a possible crime package, anti-crime package,” the Hillside Democrat said in a telephone interview this week to mark his first year as the General Assembly’s first Black House speaker.
“It’s being done with all stakeholders involved. And we’re just getting started. But that’s certainly something that’s high on our priority list,” Welch said.
I took a really quick look around Twitter this morning to see what some of Welch’s caucus members are saying.
* Strong ally of the governor…
The uptick in violent crime is unsettling and IL safety is my top priority. I’m supportive of legislation to restrict those charged with egregious violent crimes from being released on electronic monitoring. It’s a commonsense step in the right direction to help curb violence.
…Adding… Rep. Croke introduced this bill yesterday…
Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Adds as “excluded offenses” attempted first degree murder, reckless homicide, aggravated vehicular hijacking in which the defendant was armed with a firearm or other dangerous weapon, being an armed habitual criminal, and any offense that requires the defendant to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration Act. Effective immediately.
Co-sponsors so far include Democratic Reps. Ann Williams, Eva Dina Delgado, Jaime M. Andrade, Jr. and Angelica Guerrero-Cuellar.
In addition to funding more first responders, we need to fund community organizations that know how to disrupt and prevent violence before it spreads further.
— State Representative Dagmara Avelar (@repdagmara) January 3, 2022
As we begin the new year, I am hopeful that 2022 will be better and brighter – and bring some resolution to the many significant challenges we face as a city, state and nation.
At the top of the list is the surge in violent crime - the issue I hear most about from constituents. The past year was one of the most violent on record in Chicago, and almost 800 homicides were recorded by CPD – the most in 25 years. I stand with you, as both a representative and resident, and am committed to doing whatever I can to keep our communities safe.
Toward that end, I am working with local aldermen, colleagues at the state level, and the law enforcement community to identify and implement solutions, including directing additional resources and tools to address surges in criminal activity such as shootings and carjackings and ensuring we have policies in place to hold violent gun offenders accountable.
…Adding… But Welch is so far shooting down any suggestions of reversing course on things like cash bail…
Welch said he remained a supporter of cash bail elimination and cautioned against tying a measure that hasn’t yet taken effect to the rise in violence.
* Campaign operative FOIAs emails between an elected opponent and her spouse, who has reported making a whopping $39,000 since 2017 as a lobbyist. Opponent’s city office says they’ve found 612 emails (including calendar invites) and it would be unduly burdensome to go through them all and redact the personal stuff, so the operative is asked to narrow the search. Juicy “What is she hiding?” story then appears in Crain’s…
As a candidate for Illinois secretary of state, Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia has been arguing that she and not former State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias has the reputation and record to hang onto a seat Democrats have owned for nearly three decades.
So why did Valencia write or receive more than 600 emails on her official Chicago city email account referencing her husband, one of his lobbyist clients, or both? And why has Valencia so far refused to release copies of those emails? […]
In a series of Freedom of Information Act requests, a Giannoulias ally asked for and passed on to his campaign requests for copies of all emails to or from Valencia that also included the key words “Monterrey,” “Reyahd” or “Kazmi.”
Those are a reference to Valencia’s husband, Reyahd Kazmi, and the company for whom he has worked as a lobbyist, Chicago-based Monterrey Security.
Looks like more sizzle than steak. But, hey, maybe Valencia and her husband were indeed concocting nefarious plots over a FOIA-able government email account when they could just talk to each other every evening at home. Dumber things have happened, I suppose.
In the meantime, it’ll make for a tough advertising hit.
* Press release…
It’s no surprise that Alexi Giannoulias has turned to the Republican playbook of “what about her emails?” in a desperate attempt to cover up for his own misdeeds—a failed bank, mob connections and losing working families’ hard-earned college savings. To suggest that scheduling-related emails between spouses are in the same league as his corrupt history is absurd.
In other campaign-related news, Chicago Cubs co-owner Laura Ricketts announced her support for Anna today and will also now serve as her campaign co-chair. See below for the statement from Laura:
There is far too much at stake this year for the Democratic Party—we need the right candidate on the ballot in the general election. Anna Valencia has a proven record and history of showing up for Democrats when it’s mattered most. I encourage voters to join me in supporting Anna in her bid to become the first woman elected as Illinois Secretary of State.
Giannoulias has such a huge head start that Ms. Ricketts had better start pumping money.
*** UPDATE 1 *** The Giannoulias campaign called and insisted that there’s more to this story than is posted here. I have since been sent a file of emails that the campaign obtained through FOIA from when Valencia ran Rahm Emanuel’s intergovernmental relations shop. Here are some bullet points from the oppo report…
* Valencia facilitated a municipal board appointment for a Monterrey VP: Patricia Gaytan Perez is Vice President of Administration at Monterrey Security. She also donated to Valencia in both 2017 and 2021. Records released through FOIA show that, on April 2, 2016, Valencia emailed Perez, saying they had spoken in the past about possible nominations and “a great opportunity” had possible come up. A staffer from Mayor’s office then got in touch about necessary forms, which Perez then sent along. Perez formally joined to the Chicago Public Library board in June 2016.
* Valencia facilitated municipal youth mentorship participation for Monterrey: Records released through FOIA show that Valencia connected a Monterrey VP with Mayor Emmanuel’s Director for Youth and Education Policy, Sarah Stockdale, about the One Summer Chicago Youth Programs; Valencia suggested she had already spoken to the VP about the program the previous evening. Valencia told Stockdale that Monterrey was “a very successful Latino private security firm” and “It would be a great partnership and a unique opportunity for our youth to have such a successful Latino business as mentors.” Both Stockdale and the Monterrey VP thanked Valencia for the introduction and implied that they would discuss Monterrey’s involvement in the program.
* Valencia sought invite for husband’s fellow board member, noted it was for “a donor”: In September 2016, newly-elected London Mayor Sadiq Khan visited Chicago and met with Mayor Emanuel.34 Ahead of the visit, Valencia was sent a list of attendees and asked “to cut it down to 10-15 people (not including guests)” due to capacity issues. After making cuts, Valencia then wrote that her husband served on the Human Relations board with a Muslim woman and asked to see if she was invited. Valencia noted, “I need to get her name but I believe she is a donor too.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** Valencia campaign…
We understand the mentality of “where there’s smoke, there’s fire” when you are a politician with as shady of a history as Alexi Giannoulias, but facts are important. His research must be as inaccurate as he is corrupt. Anna’s husband, Reyahd Kazmi, was not a lobbyist during her time in the mayor’s office and did not register as a lobbyist for Monterrey Security until 2017, a year after the emails referenced here were sent—at which point Anna was no longer in that office.
Unvaccinated City of Springfield employees will now have to use their paid time off if they test positive with COVID-19.
According to Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder, the change is to reward the workers who are doing what is asked of them by getting vaccinated and boosted. […]
Under the new policy, all city workers who test positive for COVID-19 and are required to quarantine, but have both vaccine shots and their booster will be allotted five reimbursement sick days from the city.
Others who test positive but have not received their vaccination and booster will have to use their paid time off.
Good for the mayor. And this is one reason why HB2778 can be considered unwise and expensive public policy.
The bill, which is still awaiting gubernatorial action, requires all school districts and colleges to pay for unlimited, fully compensated covid leave for teachers and staff regardless of their vaccination status. It also requires the districts to restore all sick days for covid-related illness back to the beginning of the school year regardless of vax status.
*** UPDATE *** Bridget Shanahan at the Illinois Education Association…
HB 2778 specifies the benefit and wage protection provided by the bill only applies to education employees who are following the Governor’s executive order, which means it would pertain to those who are vaccinated and those who are testing.
We know school districts are sending people home, forcing them to take unpaid time off, because they’re out of sick time and need to quarantine. We are in the middle of an education employee shortage. We don’t have enough adults in our schools. Who is going to want to work in schools when they’re forced to take unpaid days off to keep students safe?
Further, there is $7 billion ESSER dollars available to help school districts cover the costs of the COVID administrative days provided in HB 2778 that would be used instead of employees exhausting their sick leave time to quarantine. The ESSER money is intended to help school districts keep students and staff safe. The bottom line is quarantining helps stop the spread of COVID.
Take a look at this page on ISBE’s website – all school districts are supposed to be posting their plans for how they’re spending their ESSER dollars. If you look at the list, you can see that fewer than half of the districts in the state have done so. We did a spot check of 40, or so, of the districts that provided information and found that some districts are in fact posting those plans, but there are others who have not posted anything at all or link to the school district webpage where no information on spending can be found.
As you may be aware, Triad is one of many school district defendants in two different lawsuits regarding COVID mitigations. The first lawsuit, Austin v. Pritzker, was brought by parents across the state against 145 school districts and the State regarding the mask mandate and the requirement that districts exclude close contacts from school. The second lawsuit, Allen v. Pritzker, was brought by staff members across the state against 21 school districts and the State regarding the testing mandate for staff and the requirement that staff wear masks in schools. Both lawsuits ask for class certification. In other words, they ask that the Court apply whatever the outcome of the case is to all students or staff in a school district instead of applying the outcome to only the named Defendants.
These two lawsuits will be heard in Court next week on motions for temporary restraining order. It is possible that the judge in these cases will determine as early as next week that Triad cannot enforce the use of masks in school for students or staff members, at least on a temporary basis. If that happens, we will have to make some quick decisions about how to conduct school until the lawsuits are resolved. We wanted to give you as much notice as possible regarding the options we are considering.
• Even if the mask mandate is lifted for some or all students or staff, due to the current high transmission rates in our area, Triad will continue to strongly encourage our students, staff, and community to wear masks in schools and in many cases will make additional efforts to create more physical distance between students and staff members not wearing masks in order to prevent additional spread.
• Depending on the transmission rate in our area at the time the decision of the court is released, if we cannot employ COVID mitigations, we may have to move to remote learning. We will work to find other options before we make this decision, but we want you to know that it is a possibility.
We will keep you informed as to mitigations and the outcome of the lawsuits as soon as we have additional information.
Triad is in Madison County.
* Attorney Tom DeVore, by the way, is against the concept of public schools…
* He’s also busy spreading goofy “resist” propaganda when he isn’t working to maybe shut down schools by prohibiting statewide mitigations…
* But he’s not the only one. Jesse Sullivan is out there with the resisters…
If you don’t know who Emma Woodhouse is, well, count your lucky stars.
A respected attorney, former advisor to Gov. Jim Edgar and son of immigrants, Steve Kim today launched his campaign for Illinois Attorney General, a position that is critical to repairing the state’s reputation as a haven for crime and public corruption.
“Under J.B. Pritzker and Mike Madigan, Springfield remains a cesspool run for the benefit of the politicians and insiders and not the people of Illinois,” said Kim. “Illinois is in dire need of leaders who will stand up for the rule of law, fight public corruption on behalf of the people, and curtail the crime that seems to be getting worse with every passing day. For too long our state has had career politicians in positions of power, including critical offices like Attorney General, that ignore the crime and corruption that plagues our state. That will end when I’m Attorney General.”
Kim understands that the Attorney General plays a special role in assisting state’s attorneys and federal prosecutors in any cases of corruption and will always stand ready to help in rooting out corruption throughout Illinois.
Chicago and Illinois have become synonymous with crime in recent years, as the homicide and violent crime rates have skyrocketed. Chicago just experienced its deadliest year since 1996, recording more homicides than any other city in America. Violent crime isn’t only a problem in Chicago however, as the statewide crime rate is 6.9% higher than the national rate and increasing.
Following Gov. Pritzker’s signing of the disastrous crime bill and push to weaken our police, Kim believes Illinois needs an Attorney General who will stand with law enforcement and ensure safety for families and help victims of crime.
“Crime is spiraling out of control throughout Illinois, and our leaders continue turning a blind eye, pushing to defund our law enforcement,” said Kim. “As Attorney General, I will work with our law enforcement to tackle our growing crime problem.”
Steve Kim is a father, husband, and an American success story. Born in South Korea and the son and grandson of immigrants, his expansive knowledge and experience has influenced all levels of Illinois government and benefited the United States nationally and abroad.
Early in his career, Kim advised former Gov. Jim Edgar on international trade, economic development, and Asian affairs issues. Kim has gone on to become one of the most respected international business attorneys in Illinois. Currently a partner at a boutique international law firm, Steve works with companies across the globe where he has developed a deep understanding of the importance of anti-corruption policies, the rule of law, and public safety.
Kim was appointed to the Illinois Human Rights Commission with bipartisan approval by the Illinois State Senate where he adjudicated hundreds of civil rights cases. He has also serves as a member of the Rules Committee of the Illinois Supreme Court, and previously as an International Trade Specialist at the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, Director of Export and International Trade for the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce and on former Senator Mark Kirk’s Small Business Advisory Board.
Learn more about Steve Kim at KimForAG.com.
Lost twice statewide. I dunno. In 2010, Pat Quinn won by less than a point, but Lisa Madigan thumped Kim by 33. [Typo in original. More coffee needed.]
Kim is a familiar name on the political scene, having challenged Democratic AG Lisa Madigan when she ran for reelection in 2010. Kim was also the running mate to Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Rutherford in the 2014 primary contest that ultimately went to Bruce Rauner.
A source close to Kim’s campaign said he would be part of a slate that includes state Rep. Tom Demmer for treasurer, former U.S. Attorney John Milhiser for secretary of state, and McHenry County Auditor Shannon Teresi for comptroller, who announced yesterday. Don’t be surprised if Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin leads the slate as the gubernatorial candidate. These candidates aren’t the only Republicans running for statewide offices, but by teaming up they hope to have an advantage securing a statewide seat (or seats) that are now controlled by Democrats.
Does anybody do a live launch anymore?
*** UPDATE 1 *** Press release…
Attorney General Kwame Raoul today released the following statement about the 2022 campaign for Illinois Attorney General.
“I look forward to debating the issues and challenges that matter most to voters across Illinois. This election comes at a critical time for our state as we continue to combat Republican attacks on our democracy, our access to health care and reproductive rights, and our right to vote.
“As the people’s lawyer and champion, I have:
• Worked in a bipartisan manner with prosecutors and police chiefs across Illinois to fight crime and develop criminal justice policy;
• Partnered with federal and local law enforcement to prosecute murder, violent crimes, crimes of sexual violence and gun trafficking;
• Fought organized retail crime that has contributed to smash-and-grab crimes across the state;
• Investigated and prosecuted child predators for preying on children online;
• Worked in partnership with the U.S. Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center to conduct trainings to avoid mass shooting threats in schools, places of worship, and other public places;
• Pushed for stronger federal regulation of “ghost” guns that criminals, carjackers and domestic abusers prohibited from buying a gun access without important safety measures;
• Protected access to health care and fought to uphold reproductive rights in Roe v. Wade for women in the Midwest and surrounding states;
• Fought for women’s equality to ensure the Equal Rights Amendment is recognized as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution; and
• Protected the right to vote in free and fair elections against Republican attempts to suppress voters.
“The global pandemic and Trump presidency have shown us how important state attorneys general are to preserve the fundamentals of our democracy, protect the public’s safety, and uphold our rights. I have been honored to serve as Illinois’ 42nd Attorney General and look forward to asking voters for the opportunity to serve a second term.”
…Adding… ILGOP…
ILGOP Spokesman Joe Hackler released the following statement:
“Chicago just had its deadliest year since 1996. The Illinois crime rate continues to outpace the national average. The dirty corrupt secrets of politicians across the state are coming to light in multiple federal investigations. And what is Kwame Raoul doing as the state’s top law enforcement officer? Failing and keeping quiet.”
…Adding… DPI…
Democratic Party of Illinois Deputy Director Jake Lewis released the following statement regarding the latest candidate announcement from the Ken Griffin slate:
“Another day, another Griffin candidate. Today it’s Steve Kim, who has apparently been tapped by Ken Griffin to join his handpicked Rauner Reboot slate as the Attorney General nominee. And who better to continue Rauner’s legacy of destruction than Kim, himself a Rauner appointee and twice-failed statewide candidate. Unfortunately for the Griffin ticket, voters have no interest in going back to the Rauner days of dysfunction and chaos.
“As we close in on the unveiling of the full Rauner Reboot ticket, it’s clear that Illinois Republicans are unwilling to make a peep about this corrupt process. They’ve stood by as one man anoints the entire Republican slate — no matter what the voters think. For the Illinois Republican Party, apparently only Ken Griffin’s opinion counts.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** I told you yesterday that the campaigns for comptroller candidate Shannon Teresi and SoS candidate John Milhiser were both using Peter Fitzgerald’s Chain Bridge Bank and had the same treasurer, Les Williamson of The Larrison Group. So is Kim.
