* Press release…
Governor JB Pritzker today announced his support for SB 3070 in the General Assembly that will increase penalties for individuals who commit crimes against Illinois Department of Childhood and Family Services (DCFS) employees. The legislation, known as the Knight-Silas Bill, comes in response to the tragic deaths of two DCFS caseworkers, Deidre Silas and Pam Knight, who were killed while on the job.
“Our DCFS workers dedicate their careers to our most vulnerable children, living in pursuit of the belief that every child should have a safe place to call home,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “These professionals do everything in their power to protect children, so it’s time for the legal system to treat them like the first responders they are. I’m working with the General Assembly to enhance the penalties for adults who harm DCFS workers to align with the protections for other first responders – in honor of Deidre Silas, in honor of Pam Knight, in honor of all our DCFS employees, and in honor of all who live in service to others.”
Under the proposed legislation, DCFS employees would be granted the same protections as police, firemen, private security employees, correctional officers, and community policing volunteers. The legislation allows for a person who causes great bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement to a DCFS employee to be charged with a more serious Class 1 felony as opposed to a Class 3. Just like other first responders, it is not the extent of the harm or injury that allows the aggravated battery charge to be brought, but rather the status of the victim as a DCFS employee.
“The hard work and commitment of the employees of the Department of Children and Family Services help keep children safe, provide brighter futures for many families and strengthen communities across our state,” said DCFS Director Marc Smith. “They deserve the same support and protection as other frontline workers in Illinois. Our workers are sometimes called upon to enter challenging situations, and we believe this legislation will help ensure their safety and deter acts of violence against those who have dedicated their lives to helping others.”
Currently, individuals who commit physical crimes against a DCFS employee are only charged with aggravated battery if they cause great bodily harm, permanent disability, or disfigurement, or if the battery occurred publicly. Aggravated battery in those circumstances is a Class 3 felony.
“The senseless death of Deidre Silas, a DCFS investigator who dedicated her career to helping at-risk youth, is devastating,” said State Senator Doris Turner (D-Springfield). “My heart goes out to all who love her during this difficult time. This line of work is challenging and can clearly be dangerous. The legislation we’re proposing today sends a clear message – acts of violence against social workers will not be tolerated in our state. We all deserve to work in peace, freedom and under safe circumstances, and I am committed to protecting those who work in this field.”
“As we mourn the senseless death of Deidre Silas, a DCFS caseworker and a hero, it is our responsibility as legislators to look at ways to make certain that this does not happen again to another DCFS worker who is putting their life on the line every day to protect children around our state,” said Leader LaToya Greenwood (D-East St. Louis). “I look forward to sponsoring legislation that would ensure the protection of DCFS employees the same way that police, firemen, private security employees, correctional officers, and community policing volunteers are protected under the law.”
“Each day, social workers, caseworkers and DCFS employees put their lives on the line to protect our state’s most vulnerable youth. These children need a guardian angel in their lives to make sure they’re being kept out of danger – and that guardian angel is often a compassionate DCFS employee,” said State Senator Julie Morrison (D-Lake Forest), Chair of the bipartisan DCFS Working Group. “Yet, without greater protections and a more complete workforce, DCFS employees will continue to be put in helpless deadly situations. Tragedies against employees whose main goal is to help our at-risk youth must come to an end – and I am hopeful this legislation is the start.”
“My heart goes out to the family of Deidre Silas, a courageous and dedicated front line worker who lost her life, making sure children were safe,” said State Senator Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago). “I will continue to fight to ensure that our kids in child welfare system and the workers responsible for their welfare are kept out of harm’s way.”
“We have to make it clear that we will not tolerate any kind of violence against the people who are working to protect kids and families,” said State Senator Steve McClure (R-Springfield). “I am proud to be a chief co-sponsor of this legislation, as I was honored to be a chief co-sponsor of similar legislation in the past, including HB 1482 in the 101st General Assembly. I am hopeful that we can finally advance this idea, particularly to honor the memory of Deidre Silas and her public service to our state’s most vulnerable children and families.”
“We are proud to co-sponsor legislation that values our Department of Children and Family Services staff. As a caucus, we have been fighting for this legislation since the murder of DCFS social worker Pam Knight in 2018. This bill is the first step to provide justice for those that serve to protect the most vulnerable amongst us. We grieve for the friends and family of Pam Knight and Deidre Silas and pray that we will work together for meaningful change within the department to better protect our front line,” said State Representatives Tony McCombie (R- Sterling) and Dan Caulkins (R- Decatur).
Progressive Democrats like Pritzker don’t usually support penalty enhancement bills.
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Another record day for hospitalizations
Thursday, Jan 6, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Jake Griffin…
State health officials today reported 7,098 COVID-19 patients were being treated in Illinois hospitals, 256 more than the previous day.
Of those hospitalized, 1,119 are in the ICU, a 10.8% increase from a week ago, according to Illinois Department of Public Health figures.
IDPH officials also reported 104 more COVID-19 deaths, along with 44,089 new cases of the respiratory disease.
It’s the first time more than 100 COVID-19 deaths have been recorded in a single day since Feb. 11, 2021. It’s also the highest number of new cases reported in a single day.
The 7-day rolling average case positivity rate is 14.7 percent. It’s 18.6 percent for the average test positivity rate.
Did you get your booster yet?
* Meanwhile…
The number of children needing hospitalization for COVID-19 has roughly tripled over the last month at Advocate Children’s Hospital, doctors said Thursday, as Illinois continues to see record numbers of cases.
Since mid-December the children’s hospital, which has campuses in Park Ridge and Oak Lawn, has had about 25 to 38 kids in the hospital on a daily basis because of COVID-19 or COVID-19-related issues, said Dr. Frank Belmonte, the hospital’s chief medical officer, during a news conference. About one-fourth of those children are in the intensive unit, he said.
About 94% of the kids are unvaccinated, with many coming from homes where no one is vaccinated.
About half of the children hospitalized at Advocate for COVID-19 or COVID-19-related issues are younger than 5, he said. Children under the age of 5 are not yet eligible for COVID-19 vaccines.
* Speaking of kids…
CPS reported record new daily case numbers on Tuesday — 422 students and 274 adults. That was part of the first data to emerge from the two days of school that took place after the two-week winter break and before the cancellations.
Those figures are double the number of cases CPS was reporting when students and staff members started their holiday vacation last month.
As of Wednesday evening, about 9,000 students and a record 2,300 staff members were in isolation because they tested positive for COVID-19 or quarantine because they had come in close contact with an infected person.
…Adding… Plainfield SD 202…
Due to logistical transportation and staffing issues related to a rise in COVID related cases, we will be using an emergency day tomorrow (Friday, January 7th).
It will be a day of non-attendance for students and staff. There will not be remote learning tomorrow.
The day of attendance for January 7th will be made up on May 27, 2022, as part of our 5 emergency days budgeted into the 2021-22 school year.
* The Southern…
Southern Illinois University Carbondale is delaying the start of most in-person classes for the spring semester, opting for a week of remote instruction.
The university announced the plan in an email to the campus community Thursday morning. The spring semester is scheduled to begin Monday, Jan. 10.
In the announcement Chancellor Austin A. Lane said the delay of on-campus instruction will allow students and faculty to undergo COVID-19 testing prior to beginning in-person classes.
* WCIA…
The University of Illinois released updates for their spring coronavirus guidelines. They’re remaining virtual for the first week of class
* WCIA…
University of Illinois officials said they are now requiring students, staff and faculty to get a COVID-19 booster shot when they are eligible.
* Rockford Register-Star…
The Winnebago County Health Department announced 588 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday, the highest number of cases reported in a single day since the start of the pandemic.
The rolling 7-day test positivity rate has climbed to 16.6%. To date, there have been over 645 deaths in Winnebago County attributed to COVID-19.
Additionally, this week, Rockford hospitals — Mercyhealth, OSF HealthCare Saint Anthony Medical Center and UW Health SwedishAmerican Hospital — are providing in-patient care for over 200 patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 and persons suspected of being COVID-19 positive.
All local emergency departments are operating at peak capacity. As a result, the hospitals have voluntarily postponed some elective surgeries and procedures to preserve critical resources, including staff.
* Peoria Journal Star…
Faced with a record number of COVID-19 cases, area hospitals are limiting and suspending elective surgeries.
On Wednesday morning, UnityPoint Health announced that it was indefinitely suspending all elective surgeries at its central Illinois hospitals. Later in the day, OSF HealthCare announced that it, too, was temporarily delaying elective procedures – but on a case-by-case basis.
While officials at UnityPoint Health had been managing elective procedures since early December and temporarily postponing them as needed, the total suspension came suddenly when the number of hospitalized patients rose significantly this week, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Samer Sader said.
“We reached our peak numbers in the last 48 hours,” he said. “Over the last two days, we’ve broken our record from the previous wave (in December 2020 through March 2021).”
Current intensive care unit capacity is nearly exhausted, and about 80% of those beds are filled with COVID patients, Sader said.
* Headlines from the NBC5 live blog…
Bears Add Justin Fields to COVID-19 List
IDPH Follows CDC Recommendation, Urges Boosters for Kids Ages 12-15
* From a story in The Atlantic entitled “Should I Just Get Omicron Over With?”…
The problem, though, is that none of this is assured, especially when factoring in the thorny variable of time. Viruses that linger too long in the body could exact a punishing cost—transmission, disease, death. But if they’re cleared out too fast, they might not have enough time to teach the body something new. And those dynamics depend partly on when someone got their last immunological boost. Someone who’s very recently received a vaccine, for instance, might still be flush with antibodies that could swiftly sweep out the virus. Ellebedy, who was exposed to his COVID-sickened wife about a month after boosting and had pretty minor symptoms, thinks that’s what happened to him, which is great from a disease-severity standpoint, and potentially a transmission one. But a truncated infection might also cut short the immune system’s review session on the virus itself. Bodies will sometimes try to calibrate their defense to match the opponent’s offense, and trifling infections aren’t always worth a massive reinvestment in protection. A later encounter with the virus might spur cells to react more dramatically and squirrel away another slew of safeguards—but at the risk of a longer, more dangerous, and more contagious infection.
A bevy of other factors, too, can influence the magnitude of protection that’s tickled out by a breakthrough: age and health status; vaccine brand, dosing, and timing; the genetic makeup of the variant. (Most people have no way of knowing for certain whether they caught Delta, Omicron, or another SARS-CoV-2 flavor.) And while each dose of a particular vaccine offers essentially identical amounts of immunity-titillating stuff, actual infections don’t serve up the same dose to every person they hit. “The amount of heterogeneity in people’s immune responses is just incredible,” Taia Wang, an immunologist at Stanford, told me. Some recently infected people might experience only a modest bump in protection—which might not be enough to meaningfully stave off another infection in the not-so-distant future.
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Question of the day
Thursday, Jan 6, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Let’s lighten things up a little…
* The Question: What other folks should have their own official Illinois days? Explain.
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* From this past June…
House GOP Leader Jim Durkin, of Western Springs, said he believes in local control, but not when the Chicago Teachers Union is part of the equation.
* Press release…
As Chicago Public Schools remain closed for a second day, with no end in sight, House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) is calling on Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker to intervene.
“The current crisis with Chicago’s public education system is causing incredible hardship and trauma for students and families, who have become pawns in this power struggle. Evidence has shown that the last three wasted school years have had a long-term impact on our children and their future, and we cannot let this go on any longer. Just as he ignores the escalating crime plaguing the city, Governor Pritzker has turned a blind eye to all the Chicago students and families he represents. He must immediately intervene in this emergency to get schools open safely and students back in the classrooms where they belong.”
* I followed up by asking what specific action Durkin wants Pritzker to take. Response…
The Governor has all the resources of the state available to him and instead of leading on an issue impacting hundreds of thousands of Illinois families, he’s sitting on his hands.
* Jordan Abudayyeh…
Leader Durkin and his party have tried to undermine proven COVID mitigations at every turn, particularly as they stand with those who are attempting to overturn the mask mandate in schools right now. Meanwhile, the Governor has worked tirelessly to get students back to the classroom safely. The Governor has taken numerous effective steps, including instituting a mask mandate because masks work, supplying ongoing help to every school district in the state with testing, masks and on-site vaccine clinics. The Governor is hopeful that the parties can resolve their differences in students’ best interest, because like parents around the state, the Governor’s top priority is to make sure students are in classrooms, learning safely.
I’m really not sure what he could do except to offer to intervene and, frankly, if nobody wants to listen, intervention is worthless.
* Also, not trying to single out Paul here, but I’ve seen several statements like this in the past couple of days…
I asked Vallas four hours ago what directive he was talking about. No answer.
* From ISBE’s communication with school districts…
In general, an adaptive pause should not be necessary if the school is following all appropriate mitigation strategies. If the school is following guidance regarding masking, testing, and identifying and excluding COVID-19 cases and their close contacts, then an adaptive pause should not be necessary to mitigate an outbreak, and students are best served by continuing to provide in-person instruction.
Please note that an adaptive pause means a temporary shift to remote learning for attendance days. A school or school district may only enter into an adaptive pause with remote learning in consultation with the local health department and consistent with guidance or requirements from such local health department.
Alternatively, schools may choose to take nonattendance days at any time for any reason and make up those attendance days later in the year or use one of their five Emergency Days, which do not need to be made up.
So, there really is no state directive to remain open, as long as they make up the days or use their five emergency days.
Click here for the different types of remote options currently allowed in Illinois law.
…Adding… From the latest CPS statement…
CPS is not authorized under state law to satisfy the union’s demand for District-wide remote learning.
That’s not true. See above. They can transition to remote if Dr. Arwady approves, like other local public health departments have done elsewhere in Illinois. But Arwady opposes remote learning.
A few examples…
This week, school district U-46 in Elgin announced that five of its schools — Highland Elementary, Huff Elementary, Independence Early Learning Center, Parkwood Elementary and Ridge Circle Elementary — will be closed due to staffing shortages. In addition, Lincoln-Way District 210 announced Monday that all of its schools will be in remote learning due to staffing shortages. West Chicago District 33 also has its students in remote learning due to covid cases among students and staff, as more than 10 percent of the entire district workforce is out with covid.
Niles School District 219 moved to remote learning for the next two weeks. District 300 in suburban Chicago announced that they would be closing their schools. In a statement, the district superintendent noted, “District staff will use January 3rd to better understand the Omicron Variant’s full impact on staffing and student attendance. Additionally, we hope to receive clarification on the updated quarantine guidelines from the Illinois Department of Health (IDPH) and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) based upon the latest CDC quarantine guidelines. ”
Buffalo Tri-City School District in central Illinois has gone to remote learning through at least Jan. 10.
Virginia School District in central Illinois has announced it will go to remote learning as well, as schools in that district have 32.9 percent of students testing positive for covid or having had close exposure to someone with the virus.
In addition, Pike County’s Pleasant Hill School district in central Illinois is also going remote, due to an outbreak of cases of both covid and the flu.
…Adding… ILGOP…
This week the Chicago Teacher’s Union (CTU) - a political arm of the Democratic party - voted to refuse to show up for in-person work until their “conditions” are met, leaving Chicago students locked out of school to fend for themselves.
Despite Chicago Public Schools receiving (and spending) more than $100 million in federal aid specifically for school re-opening, the CTU has once again put their agenda ahead of students. ILGOP Chairman Don Tracy has released the following statement calling on Governor JB Pritzker to stand up to his political friends:
“When it comes to standing up to political allies, the Governor conveniently forgets that he is the leader of this state with influence and power. Previously, the Governor actively funded the Madigan machine and then later stood by silently while the former Speaker was under investigation. Now those being directly harmed by the Governor’s silence are the children of Chicago Public Schools who desperately need in-person instruction so they don’t continue falling further and further behind. It’s time for Pritzker to finally be a leader and stop favoring teacher union bosses over school children.”
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Campaign notebook
Thursday, Jan 6, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Zero surprise…
Leading Trump critic U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., who in October said he would not seek another term in the House but left open the potential of running for senator or governor, on Wednesday said he will, in his next chapter, devote himself “full time” to working against the extremism that led to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Kinzinger closed the door to a statewide Illinois run the day before the first anniversary of the Capitol insurrection, where a Trump-supporting mob tried to prevent Congress from formalizing the election of Joe Biden as president.
* Some “plausible deniability” in Politico…
Chicago CEO and Illinois political donor Ken Griffin wants to set the record straight. He hasn’t backed, endorsed or funded any candidate for statewide office yet, according to a source close to him. “Ken is watching and waiting to see how things unfold.” The only thing Griffin stands by right now is wanting to see Gov. JB Pritzker defeated, the source said.
Call it misplaced speculation. Griffin has been linked to some potential and current GOP candidates for statewide offices because of their connection to GOP campaign consultant Mike Zolnierowicz, known as Mike Z. (He’s the former chief of staff to Gov. Bruce Rauner.) Griffin’s name has become connected to Mike Z in recent weeks in part because the Citadel CEO largely funded the opposition campaign that Mike Z led to defeat the graduated income tax measure in 2020. Griffin philosophically supports Mike Z’s work to identify potential candidates for various races, but that’s it — for now.
Yes, Griffin has not yet written a check or issued any formal endorsements. Yet.
But, c’mon.
* Press release…
In the midst of consecutive successful terms as Orland Park’s Mayor, Keith Pekau has built a reputation as a leader who puts people over politics. Mayors from throughout the 6th District and surrounding area believe that reputation is well-deserved, endorsing Pekau’s run for Congress. This group of leaders expressed their support for Pekau’s candidacy this week, highlighting aspects of his qualifications and experience.
• Tim Balderman, Mayor of New Lenox: “In my experience working directly with Keith Pekau as mayor, he makes decisions based on what he believes is best for his community’s safety, economy, and growth first. That’s the type of local leadership we need in Washington.”
• Michael Einhorn, Mayor of Crete: “Under Keith Pekau’s leadership, his community has led the charge in reducing violent crime in neighborhoods. I know he’ll bring those same solutions to Congress which is why he has my full support.”
• John Egofske, Mayor of Lemont: “Over the past four years I have seen firsthand Keith’s work ethic and progress in recruiting and developing new economic development into Orland Park. I am supporting Keith because of his hard work in growing quality businesses along with his fiscally responsible policies. Both of these qualities are much needed in Congress.”
• Frank Fleischer, Mayor of Mokena: “Having worked with Keith Pekau the last four-plus years, I have been very impressed by what he has accomplished in his first term as mayor. His instincts as a successful small businessman have served him well and will continue to do so in Congress.”
• Bob Kolosh, Mayor of Thornton, President of South Suburban Mayors and Managers: “Keith Pekau is a true leader who knows what it takes to grow jobs and bolster the economy. He has my full support as he runs for Congress.”
• Gary L’Heureux, Mayor of Midlothian: “Keith Pekau and I share a deep concern about growing violent crime trends in and around Chicago. That’s why we’ve fought to keep our residents and businesses safe. That’s why I support Keith Pekau for Congress.”
• Steve Streit, Mayor of Lockport: “Keith Pekau is one of those rare political figures that can critically think about a situation, formulate a plan, and then have the courage to act upon it. Keith would be a pragmatic and tireless advocate for the people of the 6th Congressional District.”
• Mary Werner, Mayor of Worth: “Keith Pekau’s approach to fiscal and economic policy is sorely needed to push back against high taxes and runaway inflation. I support his candidacy, and I look forward to seeing what he’ll do to help grow the economy and create good-paying, middle-class jobs.”
• George Yukich, Mayor of Homer Glen: “Keith Pekau simultaneously managed to cut taxes and invest in local infrastructure using his experience as a successful small businessman. He has had a positive impact on our entire region as mayor and will be able to do even more for the region in Congress. We need a man like this and he keeps his word.”
• Ed Zabrocki, Former Mayor of Tinley Park: “With the extremism we’ve seen from many in Washington, a common-sense voice like Keith Pekau’s will be a welcome and necessary change. He’ll fight back against those who put ideological partisanship first—and he’ll put people over politics.”
This list is a “who’s who” of south suburban local leaders, and their endorsement of Keith Pekau reflects a deep belief in his proven track record as an effective leader. For a full list of endorsements and quotes, visit KeithPekau.com/Endorsements.
“I sincerely appreciate the kind words of my colleagues and fellow mayors,” Pekau said. “I look forward to having the opportunity to show that their belief in me is well-founded. By putting people over politics, we can bring a welcome change to Washington.”
Related…
Some municipalities in Cook County have decided they will not enforce the county’s vaccine requirement for citizens to enter indoor businesses.
The vaccine requirement was issued on Dec. 23, 2021, and went into effect on Jan. 3. The COVID-19 mitigation requires indoor businesses to enforce a vaccine requirement for patrons ages five and older. So far leaders from Orland Park, Niles, Morton Grove and Lincolnwood have chosen to not enforce the vaccine mandate in their towns.
The Village of Orland Park and its town officials have been against the enforcement and Mayor Keith Pekau criticized the way Cook County officials have handled the situation.
* Back to Politico…
— Rep. Marie Newman has been endorsed by seven congressional colleagues in her bid to win reelection in the new 6th District: House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), House Small Business Committee Chairwoman Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.), Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Rep. Andre Carson (D-Ind.), Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Rep. Kai Khele (D-Hawaii), Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).
— Rep. Mary Miller has been endorsed by FreedomWorks for America, a conservative advocacy group. Miller is running in the 15th Congressional District.
* Another candidate emerges for Rep. Yingling’s seat…
Local 10th Congressional Democratic State Central Committeeman Thomas Maillard announces today that he is running for the 62nd Illinois State House District. The seat is currently held by Representative Sam Yingling who is running for Illinois Senate. Thomas serves in local government leadership for the City of Waukegan and has experience guiding environmental protections, infrastructure improvements, economic development, and expanding community internet access. Thomas is the youngest Democratic State Party leader, who along with his family of community organizers, has helped Democrats win elected office for over fifteen years.
“I have the proven track record of getting things done to improve the lives of our residents, and I’m just getting started,” said Maillard. “High property taxes are forcing our neighbors to move out of the state or live with less. Hard working families are suffering and need a real fighter. I will relentlessly advocate for the residents in Grayslake, the Round Lakes, Libertyville, Gurnee, Waukegan, Lindenhurst, Hainesville, Old Mill Creek, Gages Lake, Lake Villa, Ingleside, and everywhere in between.”
“I want to ensure we keep our children and future generations in Illinois, and we will do that by pursuing meaningful change. I will help families get through COVID-19 so we can return to normal instead of accepting a new normal, protect our towns from polluters who destroy our communities and precious waterways, support our unions who ensure a quality and dignified workplace for our families, protect a women’s right to choose, fight rising prescription drug prices, and be an advocate for all the people of the 62nd District. There’s so much work to be done, and with my experience and energy, I will hit the ground running.”
…Adding… Missed this one…
A complaint has been filed with the U.S. Department of Defense against Congressional candidate Esther Joy King, accusing King of violating DOD policies by wearing her military uniform in several campaign ads.
King is a Republican candidate for Illinois’ 17th Congressional District and a member of the U.S. Army Reserves.
Jim Garbett of Moline is a veteran of the U.S. Army Reserves and Illinois National Guard. He filed the complaint last week with the DOD Office of Inspector General. […]
“As a member of the military, Esther considers it her duty to hold high standards,” Tuttle said. “Throughout the campaign, she has consulted her ethics officer, her Army commander, legal counsel and members of Congress who also serve in the Reserve.”
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* Press release…
Six months of stalling by legislative Democrats over selecting a new Legislative Inspector General has needlessly left Illinois without an urgently-needed ethics watchdog for state lawmakers, and thus more vulnerable to government corruption, according to State Sen. Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) during a press conference today.
January 6 marks the final day that outgoing Legislative Inspector General (LIG) Carol Pope will be in office to perform her official duties. Following today, the Office and its staff will be empty, leaving complaints of wrongdoing unanswered and uninvestigated. Pope announced on July 14, 2021, that she would resign that post on Dec. 15, 2021, calling the LIG Office a “paper tiger” after a bill passed earlier in 2021 did not create meaningful ethics reform in Illinois. After an impasse within the Legislative Ethics Commission (LEC) to fill the vacant LIG position, Pope agreed to stay on through January 6.
As Chair of the LEC, Sen. Tracy has been working tirelessly for many months to find a replacement for Pope. However, several Democrat members of the LEC left a meeting before a vote was taken in October, saying they did not want to “rush the process,” and have since employed several other stalling tactics to confound the process and push for a candidate that was not recommended by the LEC’s Search Committee.
“Confirming a candidate before LIG Pope left has always been my top priority. It is unfortunate that my goal was not shared by some of the Democrat members of the LEC who did what they could to stall and circumvent the selection process,” Tracy said. “Our Search Committee interviewed multiple candidates and recommended two qualified candidates, and we should have been able to fill this position in a timely manner. But several Democrat members of the LEC did not commit to seeing the process through, and we find ourselves without a qualified LIG to address legislative ethics complaints.”
The 47th District Senator is also working to further empower the LIG – once a replacement is named – to root out corruption in the General Assembly. She is introducing legislation that would make important changes in the way the LEC processes ethics complaints against state lawmakers.\
Sen. Tracy is proposing common-sense reforms, Senate Bill 3030, that will:
· Require LEC meetings to be open to the public, and have the meetings publicly posted;
· No longer allow elected officials to serve as members of the LEC; and
· Provide the LIG with subpoena power to investigate ethics complaints against members of the Illinois General Assembly.
“One of the major issues our Caucus focused on last year was attacking government corruption, and we took a major step toward rooting out the kind of unethical behavior and deception that plagues the Capitol. More common-sense reforms are needed, however. Illinoisans deserve an accountable and transparent government,” Tracy said. “The LEC should conduct its business in a public forum, and its members should not be elected officials. We are also seeking to give the LIG the tools to independently and effectively investigate allegations of ethical misconduct against state lawmakers.”
Sen. Tracy also serves as Chair of the Senate Ethics Commission, and a member of the Senate Ethics Committee.
*** UPDATE 1 *** From Sen. Cristina Castro, a Democratic member of the Legislative Ethics Commission…
I’m disappointed that Senator Tracy continues to politicize a process that was intentionally set up to try to keep politics out. The fact is the Ethics Commission has been prepared to send names to the General Assembly but Senator Tracy and other Republicans blocked those votes. If not for those actions, we could have had a new inspector general in place
*** UPDATE 2 *** Sen. Tracy…
Using your supermajority to hand pick a candidate by going around the independent search committee is politicizing the process. The search committee dedicated many hours and thoroughly vetted each candidate. To completely disregard their recommendation is insulting and a disgrace to the people of Illinois who are demanding a corrupt-free government.
*** UPDATE 3 *** LEC Republican member Rep. Avery Bourne…
Republicans on the commission have all voted consistently to appoint to the office of LIG the unanimous selection of the independent and bipartisan search committee appointed by the four legislative leaders. We’re not playing politics, but the Democrats sure make it easy to point out their insincerity in calling for ethics reform. The last democratic chair of the LEC was indicted. Dem majorities passed a bill that further disempowered the LIG’s office forcing the resignation of LIG Pope. Democrats have voted against the unanimous selection of the search committee forcing a vacancy in the office. It’s more evidence Illinois Democrats are not serious about true anti corruption reforms.
*** UPDATE 4 *** LEC Democratic member Rep. Kelly Burke…
Senator Tracy’s claims today are wildly mischaracterizing the situation. Democrats have sought to advance two candidates for final selection, both of whom have been deemed qualified by the search committee and the LEC. Republicans have blocked that effort, insisting on only advancing their preferred candidate—even though both candidates have worked for former Governor Rauner and have demonstrated nonpartisan, professional expertise. In fact, both are also former federal prosecutors.
As we’ve said all along, this should be a straightforward process and we must end the political theater so we can fill this critical position. Senator Tracy is right on one thing, the people of Illinois deserve better.
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* Center Square…
State Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield, said there’s been virtually no input from anyone in the judiciary he’s spoken to.
“This is politics at its worst form,” Butler said during the hearing. “This is a complete power grab by you, the supermajority, and by the governor to completely redo the court system in your little progressive ways and it’s really a shame that this is how you’re conducting it.” […]
Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, said the measure won’t create more judges. It will create a more diverse judiciary. He also said there were other considerations.
“Certainly partisanship is a component that is considered when evaluating the constructing of subcircuits,” Harmon said.
There’s the admission. Plain as day.
* Capitol News Illinois…
The same would be true for Lake County, where the proposal would double the number of subcircuits from six to 12.
In the 17th Circuit, which covers Winnebago and Boone counties, the bill calls for consolidating four subcircuits into two.
The bill also would create subcircuits for the first time in DuPage County, the state’s second-largest county, while establishing a “resident judge” model in Champaign, Peoria and Rock Island counties, which are all part of multicounty circuits. That means judges in those counties would be elected from within the county rather than from the entire circuit.
Similar changes are proposed for the 3rd Circuit, which includes Madison and Bond counties, and the 7th Circuit, which includes Sangamon County and five surrounding counties.
* SJ-R…
The 7th Circuit bench is entirely white and always has been. There has never been a Black or Hispanic judge elected in the 7th Circuit.
Now, whether or not that will happen under this remap is anyone’s guess…
Data released by Democrats in the Illinois Senate show that the first proposed subcircuit, containing the urban core of Springfield, is 22.22% Black and 3.31% Hispanic and has a population of 104,435. This subdistrict would have a significantly higher number of minority residents than the other proposed subdistricts.
The other subdistricts would range in population from 91,908 to 4,949.
Democrats said the legislation wouldn’t increase the number of judges but give people in minority communities more of a chance to elect judges who look like them.
The other subcircuits are here.
Of the six counties in the 7th Circuit, four have Black and Brown populations of less than 1 percent. Morgan was 6 percent Black in the 2010 census, and Sangamon was 11.8 percent Black.
But, again, this looks like more about electing Democratic judges. Same for Champaign, Peoria and Rock Island counties, which are surrounded by Republican counties.
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* Tribune…
They came from the city, the suburbs and from deep Downstate. Some allegedly conducted themselves like brawlers, others wandered around like tourists. All have come under the federal hammer.
Nineteen people from Illinois have been charged so far for allegedly taking part in the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Six have pleaded guilty. One has received a short jail sentence. […]
Robert Pape, a University of Chicago political scientist who just published an analysis of the more than 700 people charged in the incursion, said the variety of the Illinois defendants matches the national profile. His research found that those arrested are much closer to the average voter than they are to violent, right-wing extremists.
Such ordinariness, he said, is worrying.
“It shows us that this is not part of the fringe — this is part of mainstream America,” he said. “That means we have to be very concerned about the 2022 election season as a tinderbox. … There’s a big change that’s happened, and that is that political violence is now coming from the mainstream.”
Go read the rest if you can.
* Press releases are crowding my inbox. Let’s start with the governor…
Today, on the one-year anniversary of the January 6 Insurrection, Governor JB Pritzker released the following statement.
“One year ago, a vicious attack on American democracy left five police officers dead and scores of others severely injured. A violent mob of Trump supporters, fueled by the Big Lie and Trump’s allies, stormed the United States Capitol in an attempt to sabotage the transition of power––a transition that for centuries had been peaceful. Even after these insurrectionists were removed, most Republican lawmakers voted to thwart the will of the majority of voters.
As Americans, we have a sacred responsibility to stand up for democracy and hold accountable those who incited and carried out this attempted coup. We must not allow the Republican Party to rewrite history and sweep the events of January 6 under the rug. The preservation of democracy is not a guarantee, and our 245-year-old experiment in self-governance depends upon our ability to restore respect for our institutions and protect the will of the people as expressed by their votes.
Anyone seeking public office today should be able to forcefully denounce the actions of those who attacked the Capitol and, in no uncertain terms, proclaim that Joe Biden was the legitimate winner of the 2020 Presidential election, and that they will accept as legitimate the results of the 2022 midterm elections when all the votes are counted. Responding affirmatively to these questions must be a prerequisite for holding public office. Failing to do so puts the future of our great nation in grave jeopardy.
MK and I send our deepest condolences to the families of the Capitol Police Officers who lost their lives while defending our democracy on January 6. I promise to do everything in my power to ensure their sacrifices were not in vain.”
* DPI…
One year ago, our state and our nation witnessed one of the darkest days in American history as a coup attempt unfolded at the U.S. Capitol. It is unquestionable that Donald Trump and Republicans incited the violent siege after working to sow doubt in the results of the 2020 Presidential Election, spurring extreme distrust in our elections among angry Trump supporters, and allegedly helping to coordinate the “Stop the Steal” rally that sparked the violent riot.
In the year since, Republicans, including Republicans here in Illinois, have repeatedly failed to denounce the insurrectionists and extremism in their own ranks:
“Again and again, Illinois Republicans have demonstrated they just don’t care about what happened on January 6,” said Democratic Party of Illinois Executive Director Abby Witt. “They don’t care about the attack on our free and fair elections, they don’t care about the police officers who died or were injured on that day, and they don’t care about getting to the bottom of what really happened. What they do care about is demonstrating their undying loyalty to Donald Trump.”
* US Rep. Schneider…
Today, Congressman Brad Schneider (IL-10) released the following statement:
“January 6th is a day seared into my memory. From escaping the House Gallery as a violent crowd tried to break through the chamber doors to defiantly returning later that evening to fulfill our job and certify the count of electoral ballots, the day for me represented the steely resilience of our democratic institutions. Despite the siege of the Capitol, the insurrection, orchestrated by some at our government’s highest levels, failed at the end of the day, Congress completed its constitutional duties and two weeks later we witnessed a peaceful transition of power to a new administration.
“We rightly celebrate the victory of democracy over violence last year. But we must also recognize that, one year later, many of the underlying causes of the tragedy of January 6th remain – including continued disinformation campaigns, hyperpartisanship, and emboldened extremists willing to circumvent our electoral system.
“There are no guarantees that our nation will persist as the kind of representative democracy our founders envisioned 250 years ago. If we want to continue pursuing the American experiment, fundamentally, every American today should be working to ensure that every ballot can be cast safely, that it will be counted fairly, and that the outcome of our elections will reflect the true will of the people. To secure faith in our elections, I urge the Senate to pass the Freedom to Vote Act. To combat rising extremism, I urge my colleagues to pass the bipartisan Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act introduced last year with my Senate colleague Dick Durbin
“Let us also always remember that our survival last January 6th did not come without costs. The U.S. Capitol Police and D.C. Metro Police suffered a terrible burden in defending the Capitol: more than 140 officers were injured, Officer Brian Sicknick died following the violence, and Officers Howard Liebengood, Jeffrey Smith, Kyle DeFreytag, and Gunther Hashida were all lost to suicide. Each of them bravely defended the Capitol. Their absence is keenly felt by their family and friends; their memories will forever be a blessing for our nation.
“Responsibility for the blood shed and lives lost on January 6th lies firmly in the hands of the rally’s organizers. The deaths of Kevin Greeson, Benjamin Phillips, Rosanne Boyland, and Ashli Babbitt were all tragic, and wholly avoidable. The fact that so much remains unknown about those responsible for the day’s carnage only underscores the importance of the work of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.”
* US Rep. Newman…
Today, U.S. Representative Marie Newman (D-IL-03) released the following statement on the one-year anniversary of the January 6th insurrection:
“One year removed from this deadly insurrection, I still remain in disbelief from the events that took place. Three days into being sworn in, I found myself sheltering my staff in our office away from violent domestic terrorists, who vandalized, desecrated and forced their way into the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to stop lawmakers from holding up the will of the American people.
“January 6th, 2021 was undoubtedly one of the darkest days in modern American history, one that illustrated just how fragile our democracy can be. It showed us first-hand what happens when inciteful, dangerous rhetoric from our public leaders goes unchecked. And yet, even with the violence and trauma endured that day, I know our nation will prevail. It’s the same reason why at the late hours of that same night, we did not go home but instead, reconvened to certify the election of Joe Biden as the next President of the United States.
“Without the Washington, D.C. and Capitol Police officers protecting us that day, this act of democracy would never have been possible. More than 140 officers were physically harmed while defending our democracy that day. Officers like Daniel Hodges, who was violently attacked and nearly crushed to death while attempting to block hundreds of insurrectionists from entering the Capitol. We also tragically saw several officers lose their lives in its aftermath, including Capitol Police Officers Brian Sicknick and Howie Liebengood, and Metropolitan Police Officers Jeffrey Smith, Gunther Hashida and Kyle DeFreytag. They were heroes. Today, I encourage all members of the public to take a moment of silence to remember the courage, bravery and sacrifice those officers and many others demonstrated during that tragic day.
“We are forever in debt to the hundreds of officers who risked their lives to protect members of Congress, staffers, cafeteria workers, custodians and everyone at the Capitol campus on January 6th. Today and every day, we must continue to honor their legacy by protecting the very democracy they fought to defend.”
I’ll post others as they come in. So far, my inbox is devoid of Illinois Republican statements.
* Related…
* A year after controversy, Mary and Chris Miller look to hang on
…Adding… Congressional candidate Villegas…
Today, Alderman Gilbert Villegas released the following statement on the 1st Anniversary of the January 6th Capitol Insurrection:
“I took an oath 34 years ago as a United States Marine to defend our country against all enemies foreign and domestic. Today is a reminder that the perpetrators of the January 6th insurrection against our Capitol savagely and viciously attacked our law enforcement community, our elected representatives, and our democracy. My oath has no expiration date and as the next member of Congress from the 3rd District of Illinois, I will protect and defend this country from anyone, anytime, no matter the cost,” said Alderman Gil Villegas.
…Adding… Comptroller Susana Mendoza…
Today we honor the sacrifices of our law enforcement heroes like Capitol Hill Police Officer Brian Sicknick who defended the U.S. Capitol and our elected representatives of all parties during a violent attempted insurrection a year ago today. In total, about 150 police officers were injured defending our democracy. Let us never take for granted our democratic way of life so many have fought for and died to preserve.
* Illinois Democratic County Chairs Association President Kristina Zahorik…
“We cannot forget the death and destruction caused by the Pro-Trump insurrectionists on January 6, 2021, and as Americans we all have a responsibility to speak out against what happened that day, as well as condemn the type of political violence January 6 has inspired. As President Biden said this morning, “You can’t love your country only when you win. You can’t obey the law only when it is convenient. You can’t be patriotic when you embrace and enable lies.””
“Illinoisans should not forget Representatives Mary Miller and Mike Bost bowed to the demands of insurrectionists when they voted against counting electoral college votes. Nor should we forget Representative Darin LaHood would not support a bi-partisan commission to even investigate the insurrection.”
“I hope all Illinois Republicans, including Mary Miller, Mike Bost, and Darin LaHood, show that they love their country even though their candidate lost, that they support and believe in the rule of law by denouncing the Big Lie, and will be patriotic by publicly condemning the type of political violence we witnessed January 6, including telling their supporters political violence of any type is never justified in America.”
* Senate President Don Harmon…
It has been one year since a violent mob attacked the United States Capitol, seeking to overturn a democratic election.
I will never forget watching the horrible scenes unfold that day.
January 6 was a reminder that the democracy we hold dear is only as strong as we make it.
We must never deny or diminish the truth of what happened that day. We must unequivocally condemn those who attacked our Capitol.
And we must continue to work with anyone, no matter their political party, who shares a willingness to uphold our democracy.
* Senator Durbin…
On the first anniversary of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke on the Senate floor regarding the anniversary of the insurrection and the continued threat to our democracy posed by Donald Trump’s “Big Lie.” During his speech, Durbin paid his respects to the law enforcement officers who defended the Capitol on that day.
“The videos don’t lie. The facts are the facts. Individuals are paying a criminal price and their lives will be changed because of their bad decision to leave a Trump rally and follow his instructions to come up to this building. That is the reality of what happened that day. But the grimmest reality was the death of five of our law enforcement officials who have been named and should be named every time we stand on this floor: Officer Brian Sicknick, Officer Howard Liebengood, Officer Jeffrey Smith, Officer Gunther Hashida, and Officer Kyle DeFreytag—and 140 other law enforcement officials who were assaulted, many of them seriously and still paying a price for that day in their lives when they stood in defense of us and defense of this building. That is the reality.”
Durbin continued, “If nothing more comes of this speech and commemoration today, I hope that all of us, regardless of our political persuasion—the most conservative Republican to the most progressive Democrat, independents in between, Black, white, and brown, men and women, rural, urban, across America—will finally come to an agreement on one thing: violence has no place in a democracy.”
Durbin concluded, “This is a sacred place. It is not sacred because I serve here or anyone else does. It’s sacred because it was built to be a symbol of this great nation. It was during the administration of a man from Illinois named Lincoln who completed the Capitol dome in the midst of the Civil War so that this building would always be a symbol of the unity of our nation and the promise of our nation. That symbol was desecrated on January 6. And now the question rises – will we summon the courage to come together and lead, to extend the opportunity to vote to more and more Americans, to make this democracy more complete and more just? Or will we step back and accept the verdict of history that we are going to go back in time instead of forward as a nation? I trust we’ll move forward… We are blessed to live in this country and we each bear a responsibility to its future.”
* Close enough, I suppose…
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* CBS 2…
A war zone. That’s how a state lawmaker describes a North Side neighborhood where bullets flew through a family’s window—narrowly missing a 7-year-old girl.
Morning Insider Tim McNicholas is searching for solutions to the violence in Albany Park.
Dario Agudo says his daughter was finishing homework Sunday night when a bullet missed her by inches. […]
[Rep. Jaime Andrade, (D-Chicago] pointed out that if no people are hit, Chicago police often classify shootings as “criminal damage to property” as they did Sunday.
He plans on introducing legislation to change that.
“This should be classified as damage to personal property by gunfire. There has to be a difference, because this gets lumped to just as if someone threw a rock through a window, and it can’t be,” he said.
Agudo’s daughter wound up taking an extra day off school.
“They didn’t rest enough,” Agudo said.
He’s just happy he’s dealing with broken glass—and not a broken heart.
Thoughts?
Also, keep in mind before you comment that no single idea should ever be considered a panacea. You may think other things should be done. That’s fine. I’m asking you what you think of this idea.
*** UPDATE *** An eagle-eyed reader noted that this is already a Class 1 felony…
(a) A person commits aggravated discharge of a firearm when he or she knowingly or intentionally:
…Adding… Good point in comments…
Some commenters are confusing reporting and charging. In this type of situation, all you have is a bullet through a wall. No other evidence, no one in custody. You have no evidence to support an aggravated discharge (i.e. that the weapon was discharged “knowingly or intentionally”), aggravated assault (i.e. shooter was shooting at a person on the street but missed and the bullet went through the wall unintentionally), reckless discharge (i.e. recklessly endangers the bodily safety of an individual, such as by firing the gun on the public way), etc.
Andrade’s idea will allow these shooting incidents to be more accurately documented, allowing a more accurate picture of the crime and safety conditions of a given area.
…Adding… Seeing a lot of “but the state’s attorney!” in comments, so here are some numbers from today’s Sun-Times…
Meanwhile, arrests have fallen significantly.
Through December of last year, less than 12% of 203,530 reported crimes resulted in an arrest, according to city data analyzed by the Sun-Times. That’s way down from the numbers from 2019 that were presented during the meeting. That year, arrests were made in more than 21% of the 260,889 reported crimes.
Note also that reported crimes were down 22 percent from 2019.
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January, 2022 one-day session cheat sheet
Wednesday, Jan 5, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Let’s start with a resolution requiring only House action…
* HR595: House rules change to allow remote voting. *Passed*
* Senate resolution…
* SR701: Declares January 17, 2022 as “Betty White Day” and mourns her passing.
* Bills passed both chambers…
* HB3138: Judicial redistricting
* HB1953: Elections bill cleanup
* HB3512: Criminal justice trailer bill
As always, if you see something I missed, please speak up in comments. Thanks.
…Adding… If you were wondering why that judicial remap bill took so long…
Rep. Jonathan Carroll (Northbrook), Rep. Daniel Didech (Buffalo Grove), Rep. Joyce Mason (Gurnee), Rep. Rita Mayfield (Waukegan), Rep. Bob Morgan (Deerfield), and Rep. Sam Yingling (Grayslake) released the following statement:
The Lake County Democratic House Delegation is proud to announce that we successfully negotiated historic judicial maps that will for the first time bring real diversity to the Lake County courts. For too long, our community has been deprived of truly equitable representation at the judicial branch of government. As soon as this year, we expect to see the first two minority judges elected in Lake County history. This only happened because of our dedication to building productive working relationships with all of our colleagues in Springfield, and our commitment to ensuring that every single person in Lake County had a voice in our state’s Capitol.
…Adding… The House has canceled next week’s session. Senate President Harmon told members earlier to not expect to return next week.
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* Press release…
Following close contact Tuesday with a state employee who tested positive for COVID-19, Governor JB Pritzker will work remotely out of an abundance of caution. Experts recommend limiting contact after exposure if possible. With the Omicron variant spreading across the state, the governor is taking extra precautions to prevent the spread of the virus.
The governor tested negative for COVID-19 as recently as this morning and is fully vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19. The state continues to urge residents stay home when sick or after close contact with someone with COVID-19.
The governor will be taking meetings remotely through Sunday.
Individuals can visit http://www.vaccines.gov to find a nearby location to receive a vaccine or booster dose. Testing locations can be found at https://dph.illinois.gov/covid19/testing.html, including information on the days and hours for free Community-based Testing Sites.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not require quarantine for individuals who are vaccinated and boosted, but does encourage limiting interactions when possible and practicable. The CDC also recommends those who are a close contact to remain vigilant with mask wearing in public settings.
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* Subscribers have been watching this play out for hours…
I’ve been asking for a statement from Leader McConchie explaining why he’s doing this for well over an hour.
* Just before noon, after hearing multiple rumors of a lack of a quorum, I asked the Senate Republicans how many of their members were at the Capitol and their spokesperson said this…
Right now, only Leader McConchie is in the Capitol.
The Senate Democrats were clearly short on their attendance. The chamber was supposed to convene at 11 o’clock, but that was moved back to 2 o’clcock while they tried to convince members to get their rears to town. As long as the Republicans stayed out of the building, they could stop a quorum.
* It seems clear that the Republicans are quite upset with the way the subcircuit remap bill is being jammed through. And Leader McConchie had this to say after the bill was debated in Senate Executive Committee this afternoon…
I will just say that I’m, again deeply disappointed at the redistricting process on a number of levels. I will say mostly in regards to the lack of transparency in regards to this process, and I mean, this is something that not only have I raised, but also the courts have raised, also government groups have raised on multiple levels. I just think it is counterproductive to I’ll say small d democratic process. At the end of the day, our goal needs to be for the people of this state to have faith in government. And I would say that the manner in which this has been done, as well as many other things, seems to cause people to not have that faith. And so, at some point, I hope that we’ll be able to figure out the mechanism and the majority will actually welcome a robust debate and full transparency in regards to anything that we do here in this building.
Anyway, the Senate Democrats are holding a caucus meeting at 2 o’clock, so we should know more soon.
There’s also been a delay in getting SHIELD covid test results back for several members, I’m told (but that was from a House member).
*** UPDATE 1 *** Senate President Don Harmon just told his members during caucus that they have 29 Democrats in Springfield, with a couple more driving down. That would give them a quorum, but two members have issues and can’t be on the floor (you can probably guess what that is). So, we’ll see what happens next.
*** UPDATE 2 *** I guess he doesn’t believe what Harmon told his members…
The current situation indicates that the Senate Democrats do not have of a quorum of their own members at this time. While the situation unfolds, here is a statement from Leader McConchie:
“Senate Republicans continue to stand up for democracy as they have throughout the entire redistricting process. Unfortunately, Democrats have clearly had only one thing in mind and that is power at all costs, even at the expense of democracy. As was stated today in committee, partisanship was a factor in drawing the sub circuit maps. Our caucus will not assist in any effort to corrupt our judicial system through partisan gerrymandering. If the Democrats want a power grab of our courts, they can do it on their own. The judicial branch, above all, should be held to a higher standard than this sort of politicization.”
*** UPDATE 3 *** The House Republicans were off the floor during the attendance roll call. But the Democrats had 62 votes. They have a quorum…
Republican Rep. Mark Batinick then walked onto the floor and requested a Republican caucus for an hour. They’ll be back in action sometime after 4 o’clock.
*** UPDATE 4 *** Senate now has a quorum. Several members were also allowed to participate remotely, including Sen. Bailey.
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* Darren Bailey’s morning Facebook address today…
Right now, even as we speak, factions of the Republican Party are trying to handpick the ‘yes people’ that they want to put into office. There’s a lot of good people out there that have decided to run and they’re being discouraged, borderline bribed, whatever you want to call it, not to run. And this has got to be exposed and talked about as well because these days of Illinois governance where we’ve came from, where we’ve been, what we’ve been doing and why we are here has got to end.
We keep hearing the talk about a slate coming up of Republican governor, lieutenant governor and all the way down the line. Friends, this is nonsense. And you’re going to be able to see right through it. Whenever you see a liberal-minded governor candidate pop up from the Illinois Republican Party and then you see maybe someone to the right or to the left of them. That’s why I chose Stephanie Trussell to be my running mate. Because Stephanie Trussell is rock solid. She stands up, she speaks out for what she believes in and she will not waver. These people coming up from this slate, they’re going to be bought and paid for candidates and friends we cannot allow that anymore in the state of Illinois. So make sure to speak with your voice now when you see these people and make sure to speak up with your vote later. Please join our team.
Just sayin’ but Trussell most definitely wavered on Donald Trump, going from 110 percent opposition to support.
…Adding… Yep…
* Speaking of the slate, here’s Politico’s take on the SoS race…
On the Republican side, a political action committee with support from billionaire Ken Griffin is reportedly backing former U.S. attorney John Milhiser. […]
Griffin’s potential involvement has little to do with the secretary of state office. Griffin wants to defeat Gov. JB Pritzker, and if he can’t do it this year, the Citadel CEO may want to put Milhiser in a strong position to run for governor in four years.
For now, Giannoulias and Milhiser face primary contests, so fundraising is far from over. Their opponents all have uphill battles to beef up their campaign accounts.
Um, “little to do with the secretary of state office”? One could say that about other candidates, too. Anybody think Giannoulias will be content to be SoS for 20 years? Team Grif may indeed be setting up Milhiser for a future bid for even higher office, but that would require winning the race in November. And, more to the point, the people running this experiment despise Giannoulias from their time running the Mark Kirk US Senate campaign. They were obviously very intent on finding a candidate to make a stark contrast with their planned attack on Giannoulias.
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* Mark Maxwell at WCIA…
A 36-year-old child protection specialist with the Department of Children and Family Services was stabbed to death while performing a home visit in Thayer on Tuesday afternoon. The Sangamon County Coroner’s office performed an autopsy on Wednesday morning, and plans to identify the woman after completing the autopsy.
Six children, ages 1 to 7 years old, were present in the home in the 300 block of West Elm Street, according to Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell. Officers investigated the stabbing in the small rural town just after 4 p.m. on Tuesday.
Police officers from Pawnee, Divernon, Auburn, and deputies from the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office all responded to the scene and had to force their way inside the home where they found the victim’s body, but no sign of the suspect.
Later that night, Decatur police took 32-year-old Benjamin Reed into custody in connection with the stabbing. Officers located him at a hospital in Decatur where he was seeking medical treatment for a minor wound. Sangamon county detectives traveled to Decatur and interviewed Reed about the incident. Reed was due in court for a bond hearing Wednesday morning.
This post will be updated.
* WICS…
Approximately 15 minutes later arriving officers noticed something that appeared to be blood near the door of the home.
Once they were inside they found the body of a 36-year-old woman.
A search of the home helped authorities identify Reed as the possible suspect.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Marc D. Smith, Director of DCFS…
The Department of Children and Family Services is deeply saddened by the tragic death of our colleague, Deidre Silas. Our most heartfelt condolences, thoughts and prayers are with her family during this very difficult time. Social work is more than just a job, it is a calling. Deidre responded to this call and dedicated herself to the children, families and communities she served, and we will be forever grateful for her work. She was an incredible person, and her brightness and positivity will be missed not only by her family and friends, but also her second family at DCFS.
*** UPDATE 2 *** AFSCME Council 31 Executive Director Roberta Lynch…
“We are heartbroken at the loss of Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) investigator and AFSCME member Deidre Silas of Springfield, murdered Tuesday while responding to a report of children in danger.
“The perpetrator of this unspeakable crime must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
“Deidre dedicated her career to helping young people. Prior to joining DCFS in August 2021 she worked in behavioral health and for more than seven years with the Department of Juvenile Justice where she was a union steward.
“This tragedy is a stark reminder that frontline DCFS employees like Deidre do demanding, dangerous and essential jobs every day, often despite inadequate resources and tremendous stress.
“AFSCME will carefully study the facts of this incident as they emerge and press for any necessary changes to DCFS operations. One death in the line of service is too many.
“Our union is providing support to Deidre’s coworkers to help them process this trauma and aid their grieving.
“The hearts and thoughts of every AFSCME member are with Deidre’s loved ones, especially her children, in the wake of their profound and senseless loss. In her name we rededicate ourselves to our vigilant advocacy to improve workplace safety for all.”
*** UPDATE 3 *** Gov. JB Pritzker…
“Today, the State of Illinois mourns the loss of Deidre Silas, a DCFS caseworker and a hero, taken from us in the line of duty. There is no higher calling than the work to keep children and families safe and Deidre lived that value every single day,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Our most vulnerable are safer because she chose to serve. I can think of no more profound legacy. MK and I send our deepest condolences to her colleagues at DCFS, her family, and all who loved her.”
* Illinois Collaboration on Youth…
The entire child welfare community mourns the tragic death of Diedra Silas, who was killed yesterday while trying to protect children at risk. We are heartbroken that her commitment to children’s safety has cost her life, and left her own two children motherless. We will keep Ms. Silas and all who loved her in our hearts and thoughts.
* Comptroller Susana Mendoza…
Today is a day for everyone in Illinois to stand with the selfless workers at the Department of Children and Family Services who give so much of themselves to keep our children safe. My deepest sympathies and prayers go out to the family, friends and co-workers of Deidre Silas, killed as she checked in on children who she cared so deeply about. She gave voice to children who needed a hero to protect them. May she rest in peace in all of God’s glory.
* Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton…
“Today, our Illinois family mourns the loss of DCFS caseworker Deidre Silas, who was killed on the job while trying to make a difference. She was a brave, essential worker dedicated to helping children, their families, and their communities,” said Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton. “Our state is a better place because of Deidre Silas. My family and I are sending our prayers and condolences to her family, DCFS coworkers, and everyone whose life she touched.”
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* Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie watched in horror as events unfolded on January 6th last year. He was moved to write an op-ed that was published in the Sun-Times the following day under the headline “The Republican Party must find its way back home.” Here it is…
Along with the rest of our nation, today the Republican Party stands at a crossroads. There is no denying that the GOP that opposed slavery, sent President Abraham Lincoln to the White House and was the catalyst for granting women the right to vote has lost its way.
On Wednesday, I watched in horror as domestic terrorists stormed our nation’s Capitol, threatened the lives of our democratically elected representatives and vandalized our sacred ground. I was devastated to see the most striking symbol of division — the Confederate flag — paraded through our Capitol’s hallowed halls.
In helping foment current national divisions, there is no longer any doubt that our Republican president has abdicated the principles of freedom, law and order and a democratic process that has for so long enabled the United States to be the leader of the free world. We have never seen such a breach of law and order in the seat of our hallowed republic.
Unlike so many citizens of other countries, I have never before had to question whether my president was inciting violence or sedition. It is up to us to defend our country against lawlessness and those who would tear down the core values upon which our democracy has been built.
This riotous activity could understandably cause an instinctual reaction to abandon the party claimed by the president and the people who put him in the position to abuse his power and encourage this chaos. But, to those who want to write the Republicans off forever, I implore you to reconsider.
Wednesday’s attack vividly illustrates that what America needs most right now is reunification around the principles and values that have made us the leader of the free world. And we are not now, nor should we ever be, a single-party system. We require the checks, balances and discourse of a two-party system to be a strong and free nation.
While we should never abandon our values, beliefs or advocacy, we must stop perceiving the opposition party as our enemy. We are all equals, dedicated to participating in the political process that is essential to maintaining our status as a great nation.
And our state needs the millions of Illinoisans who voted for President Donald Trump in November, just as we need the millions who voted for President-elect Joe Biden, to work together for the common good. We need every citizen, from every corner of the state, and every background to work together to solve our state’s problems by empowering the people rather than the political elite or the well-connected.
Now is not the time to tear down — it is the time to rebuild. The Republican party is not, and has never been, one person. It is a collection of values such as liberty, freedom of expression, freedom of worship and economic opportunity for all. Here in Illinois, the GOP is centered around rooting out the corruption that festers in the halls of our government and restoring the public’s faith in our representative democracy. It is this shared value system and dedication that will be the cornerstone of our renewal.
As with all sorrowful crises, this moment carries with it an opportunity of tremendous magnitude for our nation and the Republican Party. But the opportunity is meaningless unless we seize it.
Let’s come together as a new GOP that has learned from its past and seeks to build a brighter future for all of those we hold so dear.
* McConchie has released this statement ahead of tomorrow’s one-year anniversary…
In the year since the devastating attack on our nation’s Capitol, I am sadly reminded of the divisive political culture that Americans have come to expect. However, we can once again become the American people that respect and value one another, no matter our differences.
As I stated following last year’s attack, ‘We need every citizen, from every corner of the state, and every background to work together to solve our state’s problems by empowering the people rather than the political elite or the well-connected.’
I still believe that strongly today and will continue to work to ensure our democratic system operates in a manner that values all perspectives and ensures all voices are heard.
…Adding… US Rep. Kinzinger…
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* NBC 5 on Monday…
With cases across the state and within the district surging, CPS reported 35,590 tests were completed between Dec. 26 and Jan. 1, but 24,843 were ruled “invalid,” according to data posted on the district’s website. […]
CPS has encouraged parents to get their students tested for COVID-19 over winter break, with the district distributing about 150,000 take-home test kits to schools in communities hit hard by the pandemic. […]
The deadline to return those kits was originally set for Dec. 28, but was extended to Dec. 30 after parents and the Chicago Teachers Union reported overflowing drop boxes that left some families scrambling.
So, out of 150,000 tests, CPS winds up with just 10,747 valid results? That’s about 7 percent. CPS non-charter enrollment is 290,000 kids. So, those valid results represented about 3.7 percent of all CPS students.
* Yet many people still wonder why teachers don’t trust the CPS plan…
Chicago Public Schools classes are canceled Wednesday as the Chicago Teachers Union voted to refuse in-person work, defying district plans because of post-holidays COVID-19 concerns.
The cancellation came despite a last-minute proposal from city leaders that introduced improved testing and safety measures but wasn’t enough to avoid upending in-person schooling for about 290,000 students at non-charter schools exactly 12 months after another CPS-CTU fight over pandemic safety measures left families in limbo for weeks.
* Meanwhile, in the suburbs…
Even remote learning is not an option for some students at a growing number of suburban schools, where the spike in COVID-19 cases this week has sidelined teachers and staff, suspending classroom instruction amid a critical statewide shortfall of school employees.
At Elgin-based Community Unit School District 46 — the second largest school district in Illinois — officials announced that five of its 57 schools were closed Tuesday because of staffing shortages, which unlike previous classroom shutdowns, does not include pivoting to online instruction. […]
Staffing shortages due to COVID-19 also forced officials at Niles Township School District 219 to halt their plans to resume in-person, classroom instruction this week, and instead, the district will move to a remote learning, adaptive pause through Jan. 14. […]
Staffing shortages across New Lenox-based Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210 also prompted officials to close buildings, and switch to online instruction through Friday.
* A sampling of Downstate news…
* Danville Schools go remote due to COVID-19
* Southwest Illinois schools adapt to COVID surges, including return to remote learning
* Some Metro East schools return to virtual learning amid COVID surge
* Peoria Public Schools extends winter break amid COVID-19 surge, offering lunches for students
* National…
After a fall semester of relative normalcy across much of the United States, Covid-19 made itself felt on Monday in school districts nationwide.
A vast majority of U.S. public schools appeared to be operating as planned this week, including those in New York City, the country’s largest district. But the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant, along with labor and testing shortages, has led to a growing number of educational disruptions.
Districts in Detroit, Milwaukee, Cleveland and Newark were among those announcing that their schools would switch to remote learning for periods lasting from a few days to several weeks.
*** UPDATE *** Press release…
Senator Darren Bailey Releases Statement in response to Chicago Teachers Union Voting to Not Teach Students in Classrooms
“The Chicago Teachers Union is out of control, and Pritzker needs to stand up and demand in-person education for our children or work with CPS to find teachers who want to teach our kids and ensure they don’t fall behind.”
Bailey continued, “Our children are not political pawns, and their education should not be held hostage by big, politically motivated unions who despise parental involvement in education. When J.B. Pritzker shut our schools down, our students fell behind.
Schools across the nation are attending in-person with masks optional; there is no reason for this. It’s time to end the nonsense and ensure our schools prioritize our children again. As your next Governor, I’ll always stand up for parents and students. I’ll fight to remove the extreme policies from classrooms, and I will remove Pritzker’s mandates and restore local control. We must improve education and prepare our children to chase their dreams and accomplish their next step.”
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* Press release…
Democrat candidate for Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias finished the recent end-of-the-year fundraising quarter strong with more than $4 million in his campaign fund, he campaign announced today.
Giannoulias, the former Illinois State Treasurer who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the statewide office, reported raising more than approximately $655,575 during the fourth quarter that ended December 31, increasing the current total in his campaign fund to approximately $4,025,000 million on hand after expenses.
“I’m proud to have received such a strong showing of support from Illinoisians who want to modernize the office and make it responsive to their needs, health and safety concerns and busy schedules,” Giannoulias said. “Our fundraising total shows that our message is resonating with Illinoisians who share our priorities and expect action when it comes to a government that works better for everyone by improving access and delivering services faster, easier and more conveniently for them.”
In addition to his campaign’s fundraising success, Giannoulias has outlined a series of policy initiatives his administration would undertake that address issues of statewide concern, including: protecting voter rights and making it easier to register and vote; strengthening ethics reforms among government officials and lobbyists; increasing opportunities for women and minority business owners establish and grow their businesses; improving the State’s library system to provide more equity and access; and reducing recidivism by easing the transition for ex-offenders to successfully reintegrate into society.
Since launching his bid for Secretary of State a year ago, Giannoulias has received endorsements from a broad array of Democrats representing more than 200 elected leaders, organized labor and political groups, including the Cook County Democratic Party and the Southern Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association.
* Politico…
Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia has about $820,000 on hand, Ald. David Moore, about $105,000, and Dowell has $520,000. Should she run for federal office, Dowell could return those funds and then see them donated back for a congressional race.
Republican Dan Brady, who’s been endorsed by party leaders across the state, has nearly $300,000 after announcing his bid just six weeks ago.
* Ald. Dowell may drop out of the SoS race…
The surprise decision of Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., to not run for a 16th term sparked a chain reaction Tuesday, with Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd) on the verge of dropping her bid for secretary of state and switching to a House run, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.
Dowell told the Sun-Times she will soon decide — it could come within a day or so — whether she will make the switch.
“I am seriously considering a pivot from the secretary of state race to the congressional seat that would be opened by Bobby Rush’s retirement,” she said.
*** UPDATE *** From Pat Dowell…
First, I want to recognize the numerous contributions of Congressman Bobby Rush in his lifetime of service to further civil rights and protect underserved communities, particularly those of color. Congressman Rush has led the fight for racial justice and inspired many.
After careful consideration and many conversations with family and supporters, I am announcing that I will run for Congress in Illinois’ 1st District. Congressman Rush has created a legacy of fighting for others that I will strive to honor and uphold. I am grateful for the support people have given me in my run for Secretary of State. Recent events, both here in Illinois and across the country, have led me to decide to make this run for Congress.
In Congress, I will work every day to ensure Chicago and all the communities of the 1st district receive their fair share of federal resources, safeguard voting rights and access, be a strong voice for gun control, protect Social Secuirty and Medicare, and provide healthcare for all.
* David Moore…
In less than a week, petitions will start circulating for candidates to get on the ballot for the June 28 primary election. As we see in the secretary of state’s race to replace the retiring Jesse White, nothing is constant except change. Alderman Pat Dowell’s decision to end her bid for secretary of state and run for congress changes the race significantly.
I am the only candidate in the secretary of state’s race who circulated petitions for candidate White to run for secretary of state in 1997. Although he had served as a state legislator and Cook County Recorder of Deeds, he did not receive the party’s endorsement.
I believed then, as now that candidate White was the right person for the job—given the office was mired in scandal and corruption. His long service has underscored the need to keep the secretary of state’s office a “servant’s seat,” driven by service to Illinois constituents and not by political ambition.
My record of standing with working families is unassailable, both as a private citizen and elected official. I will build on White’s rich legacy and run the office with great integrity and character while professionally conducting the business of secretary of state, as I stated in my announcement speech on the campus of Western Illinois University in Macomb nearly eight months ago.
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* Press release…
Two years ahead of schedule, Illinois Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza has made the final $302 million payment on a $2 billion loan the state took out in 2020 to cover COVID-19 expenses. It’s estimated the early pay-back of the loan will save Illinois taxpayers $82 million in interest.
Governor J.B. Pritzker, Comptroller Mendoza, House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch and Senate President Don Harmon announced an agreement in May to use the state’s strong expected revenues to pay off the loan from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s Municipal Liquidity Facility (MLF) early, saving the interest money.
Before the start of this fiscal year, the Comptroller was able to pay half of the loan in June. No federal stimulus money was used for repayment – just regular state revenues.
“With this early repayment, we take another important step toward restoring fiscal stability and predictability to Illinois,” Comptroller Mendoza said. “I can’t stand seeing taxpayer money wasted on interest – that’s why paying off this loan early was so important for me.”
“Illinois used to be known for kicking the can down the road, but today we’re restoring fiscal stability,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Paying back this loan ahead of schedule achieves a level of fiscal prudence not seen in our state for decades. I applaud Comptroller Mendoza and our partners in the General Assembly for not only building fiscal stability, but saving millions of taxpayer dollars along the way.”
“We promised steady stewardship even in uncertain times, and this keeps that promise,” said House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch. “Just a few years ago, we had a bill backlog of $17 billion. Today, we are paying off our debts early, saving taxpayers millions of dollars, receiving our first credit ratings increases in decades and proving we don’t have to balance our budget on the backs of working families.”
“I shudder to think where we would have been without these resources to keep our economy afloat,” said State Senate President Don Harmon. “It’s a testament to the resilience of the people and businesses of Illinois and the responsible financial actions we’ve taken as a state that we have bounced back so quickly and are now able to pay it off early.”
“Fiscal responsibility is absolutely vital for Illinois’ future, and paying our debts early is a strong sign of how seriously we are taking that obligation,” said House Majority Leader and Chief Budgeteer Greg Harris. “However, while we have made significant progress putting Illinois on sound financial footing, there is still work to do. I’m confident steps such as these will build a strong fiscal foundation for years to come.”
The loan was scheduled to be repaid in three installments by December 2023. Illinois’ revenues, especially corporate income tax and sales tax receipts, came in ahead of projections. Comptroller Mendoza used effective cash management strategies to put the state in a position to pay off the debt in its entirety early.
The MLF loan was needed to cover state medical bills during the pandemic. But as of today, the state is caught up on its Medicaid payments with no additional borrowing in the state’s plans. The backlog of bills is down to $4 billion and the state is paying its bills within 15 business days, the quickest payment cycle in over 20 years, signaling the state is in a recovery mode compared to the budget challenges of recent years.
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