Today’s number: 19
Thursday, Jan 26, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Rep. Cassidy was an outspoken member of “The 19″ - the House Democrats who banded together to prevent Speaker Michael Madigan’s reelection. The Senate’s license plate numbers are their district numbers. The House plates are numbered based on seniority. So, this is a fitting coincidence…
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Afternoon roundup
Thursday, Jan 26, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* IDES…
Jobs increased over-the-year in all fourteen Illinois metropolitan areas in December according to preliminary data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES). The unemployment rate decreased in thirteen metropolitan areas and increased in one.
“For nearly two years, Illinois has seen consistent job growth across the state throughout industry sectors,”said Deputy Governor Andy Manar. IDES continues to help jobseekers and employers connect with one another as more people enter the labor force and look to take advantage of newly created and expanded job opportunities in the labor market.
The metro areas which had the largest over-the-year percentage increases in total nonfarm jobs were the Lake-Kenosha IL/WI Metro (+3.8%, +15,700), the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island IA-IL MSA (+3.5%, +6,400), the Rockford MSA (+3.1%, +4,500) and the Chicago Metro Division (+2.9%, +108,800). Industries that saw job growth in a majority of metro areas included: Manufacturing and Leisure and Hospitality (thirteen areas each); Other Services (twelve areas); Mining and Construction and Education and Health Services (eleven areas each); Government (ten areas); and Wholesale Trade (nine areas).
The metro areas with the largest unemployment rate decreases were in the Rockford MSA (-1.3 points to 5.4%) and the Decatur MSA (-1.0 point to 5.1%). The Chicago Metro Division unemployment rate increased +0.1 point to 4.3%. The unemployment rate decreased over-the-year in 47 counties, increased in 43, and was unchanged in 12.
* From Gov. Pritzker’s interview by CBS News…
Q: So you have no doubt that [President Biden] should run for reelection?
Pritzker: Yeah. I mean, look, I, again, he’s got an awful lot that he’s gotten done, and I expect that he will get done over the next well, six years.
Q: And if for some reason he takes a pass us, you still ready to pull the plug and do it yourself?
Pritzker: What do you mean ’still ready’? I just got reelected as governor of Illinois. I intend to serve out four years and, frankly, I intend to help renominate Joe Biden in a convention in Chicago in 2024.
* Speaking of which…
* The Tribune is all-in on its attempt to connect Chuy Garcia with former Speaker Madigan. That’s fine and justifiable, except it’s using nothingburger stories to do it instead of citing actual evidence that’s been in plain view for years…
As Chicago mayoral candidate Jesús “Chuy” García fends off efforts by political opponents trying to tie him to indicted former House Speaker Michael Madigan, his campaign is calling on a Southwest Side aldermanic candidate who briefly worked for Madigan’s political organization to stop using a picture of García on political flyers.
The campaign brochures focus mostly on the race for alderman of the 23rd Ward near Midway Airport. But the mailers — a well-worn tool for typically parochial races — could have broader implications in the mayoral race and particularly for García, a congressman who is one of eight challengers looking to upend Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s efforts for a second term.
It’s been common in that part of the world for candidates Chuy doesn’t support to try to tie themselves to the guy because he’s so popular. Simple math. Garcia asked the candidate to stop, yet this is somehow a bad thing for Garcia? Bizarre. The coverage is starting to remind me of the New York Times Pitchbot.
* Back to that story…
Guillen says his decision to run has nothing to do with the simmering feud between Madigan and Tabares on the Southwest Side.
Sure, Jan.
* Lightfoot campaign…
At the WCPT mayoral forum, Paul Vallas floated the very same lofty claims about public safety that his toothless ads push, offering zero specifics or concrete steps to explain how he would actually tackle crime. Ultimately, beneath his rehearsed, “tough on crime” surface, Vallas is nothing but a fear-mongering gadfly who lacks the experience and the ideas to keep Chicagoans safe.
Here’s the truth:
* Paul Vallas is supported by notoriously bigoted FOP President John Catanzara. Catanzara, a Donald Trump acolyte, was forced to resign from CPD two years ago after facing termination for calling Muslims “savages,” sharing Transphobic social media content, and being named in 50 police misconduct complaints.
* Paul Vallas is lying about his crime bonafides. While Vallas was City Hall Budget Director, the homicide rate climbed every year.
* Paul Vallas’ “original strategy” to tackle crime is nothing but recycled material from Mayor Lightfoot’s ongoing plan to reduce violence. His calls to put more officers on our streets and utilize a community-driven, proactive approach to preventing violence are all already happening — under Mayor Lightfoot.
* Another one on the mayor’s race…
* Good news for Rockford…
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is visiting Rockford on Thursday to announce funding for an estimated $58 million state project to reconstruct South Alpine Road and a $2.6 million grant to expand aviation mechanics training.
South Alpine is an unmarked state route that has fallen into severe disrepair. Plans are to reconstruct a 2.5-mile stretch of Alpine from Linden Road to Charles Street. But the massive project is expected to take several years to engineer and plan, beginning in 2027.
Illinois has agreed as a stop-gap to do a $1.5 million resurfacing of part of the road to make it drivable until the rest of the project can proceed, city officials have said.
* Isabel’s roundup…
* Center Square | Illinois State Police look to consolidate federal gun ban challenges: Thursday, Illinois State Police motioned to consolidate Langley et al v. Kelly et al. with three other cases filed in federal court: Illinois State Rifle Association’s case Harrel, et al. v. Raoul, et al.; Illinois Gun Rights Alliance’s Federal Firearms Licensees of Illinois, et al. v. Pritzker, et al; and the National Shoot Sports Foundations’ Barnett, et al. v. Raoul, et al.
* ABC | Meet Illinois’ newest congressional representative, Nikki Budzinski: Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Ill., talks about her top priorities heading into her first term in the House of Representatives, from the war in Ukraine to gun control.
* CBS Chicago | University of Illinois board increases in-state tuition for incoming freshmen: The University of Illinois Board of Trustees approved what the school called a “modest” tuition increase for in-state freshman who will start school next fall at the Urbana-Champaign and Chicago campuses. Incoming freshman from Illinois will see a 1.9% increase in their tuition, the school said in news release.
* Sun-Times | City leaders should promote public transit, more shared streets: A plan to tax suburban Metra riders is a bad idea. Instead, discourage driving, especially for short trips. Instead, Chicago needs a system of shared streets to promote walking and biking.
* Economic Times | Chicago is trying to lure foreign workers laid off by American tech giants: More than 35 firms in the Chicago region are willing to hire workers on H-1B visas, given to foreign employees in specialty occupations such as software engineering. The companies have teamed up with the city and P33, a nonprofit organization founded by former Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, to build a job-listing website that debuts on Wednesday.
* Chalkbeat | Chicago’s school board renews charter schools for shorter periods: The process reflects an ongoing shift in the district’s relationship with its charters. Until this year, the overwhelming majority of these schools had reliably gotten five-year renewals, in some cases for more than two decades. But at the school board’s Wednesday meeting, most got much shorter contracts. Almost half landed only two-year extensions and only two schools got the full five years.
* Tribune | Kenwood high-rise where fatal fire occurred had multiple fire-related code violations, city records show: The Chicago Fire Department said it took 300 firefighters and over 80 pieces of equipment to put out the blaze at 4850 S. Lake Park Ave. after they had responded to reports of smoke in the high-rise shortly after 10 a.m. Flames engulfed a unit on the 15th floor of the building and spread vertically to upper floors, officials said.
* Block Club | The Chainsmokers, Miranda Lambert To Headline Chicago’s 1st NASCAR Street Race In July: Chicago’s first NASCAR street race will span two days and feature performances from The Chainsmokers, Miranda Lambert, The Black Crowes and Charley Crockett, officials announced Thursday.
* Sun-Times | Some restaurants are still adding surcharges of up to 20% to your bill. Should they?: Nearly 11% of eateries taking part in Restaurant Week are adding surcharges to checks. The fees that started during the pandemic are illegal in New York.
* 25 News Now | Illinois State University fraternity suspended due to code of conduct violations: Illinois State University Spokesman Eric Jome says the suspension for the Kappa Sigma Fraternity is related to a vandalism last fall, violating numerous parts of the code of conduct.
* Crain’s | This is the restaurant replacing Tavern on Rush—and it’s not a steakhouse: The new restaurant will be called The Bellevue, named for the cross street at which it sits on Rush Street. Serving contemporary American cuisine, it will go in a decidedly different direction than Tavern on Rush.
* WSIU | Remembering longtime Chicago radio host Lin Brehmer: Radio host Lin Brehmer was a Chicago institution. He died earlier this week.
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* The appeal is 59 pages long. I’ve excerpted some of the highlights, but there’s a lot more so click here to read it all…
This appeal concerns a facial constitutional challenge to the Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today (“SAFE-T”) Act, a statute passed in 2021 by the General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Pritzker. […]
Plaintiffs are the state’s attorneys (and, in some cases, the sheriffs) of 64 Illinois counties. […]
The circuit court issued an opinion rejecting plaintiffs’ challenges to the Act as a whole but declaring the pretrial release provisions facially unconstitutional. […]
ISSUES PRESENTED FOR REVIEW
1. Whether the Illinois Constitution prevents the General Assembly from eliminating monetary bail, because monetary bail is required by either (a) article I, section 9 (which makes criminal defendants “bailable,” subject to certain exceptions), or (b) article I, section 8.1 (which guarantees certain rights to crime victims).
2. Whether the Constitution prevents the General Assembly from enacting statutes governing the circumstances under which courts may detain individuals pending trial. […]
(T)he proper reference point for the meaning of the bail clause is the early nineteenth century, when the [constitutional text as essentially remains today] was drafted. […]
And in the early nineteenth century, “bail” did not mean monetary bail—i.e., the practice of allowing a defendant to be released pretrial only upon payment. Rather, the term “bail” referred to pretrial release more generally, granted on conditions designed to ensure the defendant’s appearance at future court appearances—i.e., “sufficient sureties.” Indeed, monetary bail was all but unknown at the time the 1818 Constitution was drafted. At that time, as one court has explained, “‘bail’ in criminal cases relied on personal sureties”— individual guarantors, including friends or relatives, who agreed to “guarantee the defendant’s appearance at trial and, in the event of nonappearance, a sum of money.” … “In the English tradition of bail that influenced early American practice, the pledge did not require any upfront payment” at all. Holland, 895 F.3d at 290. Today’s system of monetary bail “appear[s] to have emerged in the mid-to-late Nineteenth Century,” id. at 293; accord Nat’l Inst. of Corrections, Fundamentals of Bail 26 (2014), 12 decades after the bail clause was enacted as part of the 1818 Constitution. […]
Dictionaries from this era further refute the claim that “bail” means monetary bail specifically. Samuel Johnson’s dictionary of 1755 defines “bail” as “the freeing or setting at liberty [of] one arrested or imprisoned . . . , under security taken for his appearance,” 1 Samuel Johnson, A Dictionary of the English Language (1755),13 a definition reprised in the 1818 version, published the year the bail clause was enacted … Even later dictionaries preserve this basic meaning, defining bail as “the means of procuring the release from custody of a person charged with a criminal offense . . . by assuring his future appearance in court,” James A. Ballentine, Ballentine’s Law Dictionary 119 (William S. Anderson ed., 3d ed. 1969),16 or even “the process by which a person is released from custody,” 1 Webster’s Third New Int’l Dictionary 163 (1971) (def. e).
To be sure, defendants released before trial, or “bailed,” historically were released with conditions, both monetary and non-monetary, meant to assure their appearance at trial. But the Act’s pretrial release provisions permit a court to do just that. See 725 ILCS 5/110-5(c), 5/110-10. A court may require a defendant to submit to electronic monitoring to ensure his or her appearance at trial; it may require a defendant to remain at home, with or without the supervision of the Pretrial Services Agency, to ensure that he or she does not flee the State; it may require a defendant to report to the court, or to a third party, as frequently as it deems necessary; and it may impose any other “reasonable conditions” that it believes are needed to ensure the defendant’s appearance. Id. 5/110-10(b). These non-monetary conditions of release, just like monetary bail, allow a court to ensure that a defendant will return, and so constitute “sufficient” sureties within the scope of the clause. […]
The legislative history of the 1970 Convention also refutes plaintiffs’ reading of the clause, which would protect not defendants’ liberty interests but instead the institution of monetary bail. Indeed, the convention drafters expressly discussed the possibility that the General Assembly might at some future point abolish monetary bail, and agreed that doing so would not violate the bail clause. […]
This Court has also considered and rejected a version of plaintiffs’ argument before—namely, that the bail clause requires a particular kind of “surety.” As discussed, supra p. 6, the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 contained provisions designed to eliminate or reduce defendants’ reliance on professional surety companies, an industry the General Assembly viewed as predatory. The statute thus permitted a defendant for whom monetary bail was set to obtain release by furnishing only 10% of the amount, but imposed more onerous burdens on professional surety companies, requiring them to furnish a cash deposit for 100% of the amount. … The Court rejected the defendant’s argument that the bail clause required the State to maintain a particular kind of surety system—there, the prior system under which professional surety companies put up unsecured bonds. … It explained that the legislature had determined that such a method “does not accomplish the purpose of bail”—namely, “to give the accused liberty until he is proved guilty, but yet have some assurance that he will appear for trial”— and the Court would defer to that decision. […]
Even if the circuit court were correct that the bail clause’s reference to “bail” should be read to refer to monetary bail, it would not follow that section 110-1.5, or the pretrial release provisions generally, violate the clause. That is because, no matter how it is read, the bail clause plainly confers a right on criminal defendants only—that is, it establishes a constitutional floor, under which a defendant is entitled to be released at least upon furnishing monetary bail. […]
To start, the text and structure of the bail clause demonstrate that it confers rights on criminal defendants, not on law enforcement officers or on courts. … That the bail clause secures the rights of criminal defendants, and does not confer any entitlement on courts or law enforcement officers, defeats plaintiffs’ claims, no matter the scope of the right the clause confers. For one, it means that plaintiffs lack standing to advance a claim based on an alleged deprivation of rights under the bail clause. […]
B. Section 110-1.5 does not violate the crime victims’ rights clause. […]
First, plaintiffs lack standing to invoke the crime victims’ rights clause, because that clause grants rights only to crime victims, not to law enforcement officers like plaintiffs. […]
Second, and relatedly, the clause cannot be read to require a monetary bail system, as plaintiffs suggest and the circuit court held. See A16. The purpose of the clause, as this Court has explained, was to “serve as a shield to protect the rights of victims,” People v. Richardson, 196 Ill. 2d 225, 231 (2001) (cleaned up), not to enact sweeping changes to the State’s criminal justice system. But under plaintiffs’ account, even if the bail clause does not require the existence of a system of monetary bail, the crime victims’ rights clause independently has that exact same effect. Plaintiffs, in other words, contend that Illinois voters in 2014 agreed to amend the Constitution to mandate the existence of a monetary bail system under the auspices of a provision securing procedural rights to crime victims. But the drafters of proposed constitutional amendments, like legislators, do not “hide elephants in mouseholes,” and plaintiffs identify no evidence that the amendment was understood to make such a monumental change to the State’s criminal justice system. Indeed, courts have repeatedly rejected arguments that the clause made any substantive changes to the criminal justice system that exceed the narrow procedural rights given to crime victims by its plain text.
Finally, and in any event, section 110-1.5, and the pretrial release provisions more broadly, comply with the clause. The clause requires only that courts consider the safety of victims and their families “in denying or fixing the amount of bail, determining whether to release the defendant, and setting conditions of release after arrest and conviction.” Ill. Const. art. I, § 8.1(a)(9). The pretrial release provisions do just that: They require a court to consider the “nature and seriousness of the real and present threat to the safety of any person or persons that would be posed by the defendant’s release,” including crime victims and their family members, “as required under” the Rights of Crime Victims and Witnesses Act. See 725 ILCS 5/110-5(a)(4). Consistent with the clause, the provisions also require the court to give notice to crime victims before holding a pretrial release hearing, before revoking a condition of pretrial release, and in a range of other contexts. See id. 5/110-5(a)(j); 5/110- 6(h); 5/110-6.1(m). The pretrial release provisions thus secure, rather than contravene, the rights guaranteed by the clause, in that they require the court to consider the safety of victims at every stage at which the court determines whether and on what conditions a defendant should be released. […]
The detention provisions do not violate separation-of- powers principles. […]
Although this Court in Hemingway recognized an inherent judicial authority to detain defendants pending trial, the Act’s detention provisions do not unduly infringe upon that authority by regulating the circumstances under which it may be exercised. And even if there were cases under which the detention provisions do infringe upon that authority, plaintiffs cannot show that they do so in every case, as their facial challenge requires. […]
The separation-of-powers clause provides that “[t]he legislative, executive, and judicial branches are separate,” such that “[n]o branch shall exercise powers properly belonging to another.” Ill. Const. art. II, § 1. But the clause “was not designed to achieve a complete divorce among the three branches of government; nor does it prescribe a division of governmental powers into rigid, mutually exclusive compartments.” […]
Hemingway, then, establishes that courts have an inherent authority to detain defendants pending trial under certain circumstances. But Hemingway did not hold, or even suggest, that the legislature was generally precluded from regulating courts’ exercise of that authority. To the contrary, the Court repeatedly emphasized with approval various ways that the Code of Criminal Procedure set out standards for courts to apply in achieving the “appropriate balance . . . between the right of an accused to be free on bail pending trial and the need of the public to be given necessary protection.” […]
In the decades since Hemingway, the General Assembly has repeatedly revised the section of the Code of Criminal Procedure that governs pretrial release, establishing detailed and comprehensive regulations for courts to apply in determining whether and on what conditions to release a defendant pending trial. Indeed, the legislature has amended section 110-5 of the Code over 20 times, setting out an increasingly detailed list of factors that courts are required to consider in “determining the amount of monetary bail or conditions of release” in any given case. […]
Indeed, were the circuit court correct, the bail provisions enacted in 1963 and applied without controversy for decades since would be unconstitutional en masse—a result that cannot be squared with common sense, history, or, for that matter, Hemingway itself, which discusses at length the importance of “the sections of the Code of Criminal Procedure” regulating pretrial release.
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* Comment from Amalia…
“Peoria County jail records indicate Massengill was arrested for domestic battery in 2022,” It is past time that law enforcement started connecting the dots between domestic violence and other violent crimes. We spend so much time talking about root causes of violence and domestic violence does not get enough focus. Hurting those close to one, stalking, INCELs, it’s a big root cause.
* This is the story that Amalia quoted, from Fox 2…
The Chillicothe man accused of the Planned Parenthood arson in Peoria on January 15 has an extensive criminal history dating back 20 years, court and jail records show.
Tyler Massengill has been arrested more than 25 times in Peoria County.
Peoria County court records show Massengill is on probation for aggravated assault and criminal trespass to a residence. He also served time in prison for theft in 2016.
Peoria County jail records indicate Massengill was arrested for domestic battery in 2022, criminal damage to property in 2019 and 2016, violent mob action in 2013 and 2011, aggravated domestic battery with strangling in 2012 and residential burglary in 2007, to name a few.
* WTHR, 2021…
Sandra Ziebold is the executive director of Beacon of Hope Crisis Center in Indianapolis, and said she has seen an increase in victims who have been victims of strangulation. […]
“Nonfatal strangulation has been reported in nearly 45 percent of attempted homicides in domestic violence situations against women, and 97 percent of victims are strangled manually,” Ziebold said.
Her organization saw such an increase in reported strangulations, that they began collecting data on their own. What they found aligned with previous reports from researchers and law enforcement professionals concluding nonfatal strangulation is a leading indicator of escalating violence in a relationship, and an important risk factor for homicide.
“That data collected, just time after time, shows that a strangler typically ends up committing other homicides. And oftentimes, just with the gun. Most often, even cop killers, you can typically link them back to having been prior stranglers,” Ziebold said.
* Vox looked into the Gabby Petito case in 2021 and analyzed law enforcement’s handling of cases with intimate partner violence.…
Every domestic violence event may double as an intervention point — a moment when authorities can step in and take action before a relationship escalates into more violence, to get help for the victim, to separate the couple, and/or get assistance and resources for the potentially violent partner. […]
At minimum, training should involve teaching first responders to do a thorough risk assessment to determine who is the vulnerable partner and who is the predominant aggressor — the person at risk of escalating into violence.
According to a 2015 survey by the Police Executive Research Forum, about 42 percent of law enforcement agencies conduct risk assessments in domestic violence situations. Only 39 percent of agencies have a “specific strategy for responding to repeat domestic violence calls.” That number needs to be much higher across the country.
Agencies should also be able to identify intervention points that might allow them to help deescalate situations and prevent later violence from occurring. These might range from a routine home visit from an agency to a 911 call; hospital visits are also prime opportunities to identify domestic violence victims, but assessments in those settings are uncommon. A grounding in the theory of coercive control in relationships — to recognize abuse that may be emotional but not currently physical — can help police and other first responders see past the dominant narrative of a controlling partner. Every domestic violence event may double as an intervention point — a moment when authorities can step in and take action before a relationship escalates into more violence, to get help for the victim, to separate the couple, and/or get assistance and resources for the potentially violent partner.
* FBI press release…
Today, the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) released Mass Attacks in Public Spaces: 2016 - 2020, a comprehensive report examining 173 incidents of targeted violence and highlighting the observable commonalities among the attackers.
The analysis is intended to provide critical information to a cross-sector of community organizations that have a role in preventing these types of tragedies. Among the report’s key findings:
-Most of the attackers had exhibited behavior that elicited concern in family members, friends, neighbors, classmates, co-workers, and others, and in many cases, those individuals feared for the safety of themselves or others.
-Many attackers had a history of physically aggressive or intimidating behaviors, evidenced by prior violent criminal arrests/charges, domestic violence, or other acts of violence toward others. […]
-One-quarter of the attackers subscribed to a belief system involving conspiracies or hateful ideologies, including anti-government, anti-Semitic, and misogynistic views.
* As mass shootings increase, data shows that an overwhelming majority have a connection to domestic violence…
We found that 59.1% of mass shootings between 2014 and 2019 were DV-related and in 68.2% of mass shootings, the perpetrator either killed at least one partner or family member or had a history of DV. We found significant differences in the average number of injuries and fatalities between DV and history of DV shootings and a higher average case fatality rate associated with DV-related mass shootings (83.7%) than non-DV-related (63.1%) or history of DV mass shootings (53.8%). Fifty-five perpetrators died during the shootings; 39 (70.9%) died by firearm suicide, 15 (27.3%) were killed by police, and 1 (1.8%) died from an intentional overdose.
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Bears unveil subsidy bill
Thursday, Jan 26, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Greg Hinz…
The draft of a bill that potentially would entitle the Chicago Bears to millions of dollars in subsidies for their proposed new Arlington Heights stadium complex has surfaced in Springfield—and there are signs it has begun to pick up significant backing.
Under a measure that the Bears have been informally shopping for a while and which has now moved to a new phase, the state could create a new kind of break known as payment in lieu of taxes, or PILT. […]
In a phone interview, CEO Todd Maisch said the chamber is “highly inclined to be in favor of the legislation,” which has been drafted but not yet introduced. Before totally signing off, Maisch said he’d like to see final language and would prefer that some other development breaks be added, such as for the long-blighted south suburbs. […]
Language in the bill guarantees that construction work on any PILT project will be done under a project labor agreement that generally guarantees payment of the union wage to all workers.
The same material Greg and I received from the PR firm boosting this proposal was given to the legislative leaders yesterday. We’ll see what they say going forward.
* From the background material…
What is a Mega Project PILOT Incentive?
• A Mega Project Payment In Lieu Of Taxes (“PILOT”) is a temporary freeze of assessed value for purposes of calculating property taxes. In return for the frozen assessed value, a PILOT recipient commits to developing a mega project that benefits the community, but that would not occur without the PILOT incentive.
• Under a PILOT structure, the entity that receives the frozen assessed value agrees to make annual payments to the local government in lieu of real estate taxes (PILOT payments).
• The local government that receives the annual PILOT payments distributes the payments to all the applicable taxing districts.
• A mega project PILOT program will provide significant economic benefits to the state and there are no general tax increases associated with enacting such legislation and/or implementing PILOT agreements.
• The amount of the PILOT payments is a negotiated amount that would exceed the amount of taxes currently generated by the property without the mega project.
• PILOT incentives are extended to for-profit and non-profit corporations, developers, and other investors to induce mega projects during the negotiation and/or bidding process and are used by state and local governments in more than 35 states (other than Illinois).
Why is a Mega Project PILOT incentive necessary?
• Illinois’ property tax system disproportionately discourages large-scale projects that generate significant economic activity relative to their burden on taxing districts, placing Illinois at a competitive disadvantage to other states in the region and nationally.
• Illinois has competed for a number of mega projects from manufacturers looking to invest billions of dollars which have gone to other states—according to a recent Crain’s Chicago Business article, Illinois’ record is 0-18 for luring battery plant projects.
• Mega project PILOT incentives allow local governments to lure companies and beneficial projects with major capital investment, to create more jobs, and to better satisfy the business/labor coalition frustrated with missed opportunities of recent years.
Key points for consideration
• Mega project PILOT incentives are focused and targeted. In the proposed legislation, only projects exceeding $500M in capital investment are eligible for the incentive. Projects of such scale are certain to produce significant economic and community benefits.
• At a time when re-shoring and onshoring of major businesses are increasing, a mega project incentive will make Illinois much more competitive in attracting and retaining investment.
• Mega project incentive legislation will enable Illinois to compete with dozens of states for the next generation of American manufacturing plants and other major capital investments, and secure thousands of high-paying jobs.
There’s more, particularly about manufacturing. It might make sense for that. But Illinois isn’t competing with other states for the Bears. Chicago is competing with Arlington Heights . And there are a lot more Chicago legislators than Arlington Heights legislators. This might actually zoom through if existing Illinois professional sports teams were specifically excluded /s.
The draft bill is here.
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DeVore loses bizarro election case in Normal
Thursday, Jan 26, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* WGLT in December…
A candidate running for an office that does not currently exist within the Town of Normal government said he was recruited for the job.
Robert Shoraga was one of three Normal residents who filed petitions Nov. 21 for candidacy for offices that either are nonexistent or have historically been an appointed position: Shoraga filed for Town Supervisor (nonexistent); Charles Sila filed for Town Collector (nonexistent) and Amy Conklin filed for Town Clerk (an appointed position). […]
(C)andidate for Town Collector and accounting firm owner Charles Sila said he, too, believes Normal should have the position he is seeking, according to state law. Sila continued to refer to Normal as a “village,” despite Kording’s September ruling that Normal is a town, as its charter states. […]
WGLT reached out to Illinois State Board of Elections spokesperson Matt Dietrich to see how often people file petitions of candidacy for offices that do not exist at the time of filing.
“I’ve never heard of that happening,” Dietrich wrote in an email reply.
* WGLT on January 13…
The matter of whether three people can run for offices in Normal that are currently non-elective is now in the hands of the McLean County Circuit Court.
Former Republican state attorney general candidate Tom DeVore filed a lawsuit against the Town of Normal and Clerk Angie Huonker earlier this month on behalf of three residents — two of whom filed nominating petitions for nonexistent offices, and one of whom filed to run for a non-elected office.
* WGLT yesterday afternoon…
Three people attempting to run for nonelective offices in Normal do not have an “unequivocal right” to have their candidacy petitions certified by the town clerk — and their names placed on the April election ballot — according to a McLean County judge’s ruling.
11th Judicial Circuit Court Judge Mark Fellheimer on Wednesday dismissed legal action filed against Normal Clerk Angie Huonker, saying his interpretation of state and municipal law does not indicate she was legally obligated to approve candidate petitions for offices that were either appointed or nonexistent at the time of filing. […]
“The court finds here that … the petitioners did not have an unequivocal right to have their nominating petitions certified … and then secondly, the clerk did not have an unequivocal duty to certify those petitions for offices that are not in existence in the Town of Normal,” Fellheimer said from the bench. […]
Chicago-based Michael Kasper of Kasper and Nottage in Chicago, as well as Allen Wall and Jason Guisinger of Klein, Thorpe and Jenkins, represented Normal.
…Adding… With a hat tip to a commenter, here’s a post from a local blog that supported the effort…
Unfortunately people who filed petitions now owe Tom Devore $8,544.40 more than the $5000.00 they already paid. To appeal Fellheimer’s decision would cost another $10,000.
Devore’s bills:
Nobody expected Devore’s bills to get this high, no discount was given for losing either although the billing did not include yesterday’s hearing.
Statute…
Incorporated town officers. For the general municipal election to be held in the year 1985 in every incorporated town with a population of 25,000 or more by the last official census, and every 4 years thereafter, the municipal clerk shall certify the names of the candidates to the proper election authority as provided by the general election law. A president, a clerk, an assessor, a collector, and a supervisor shall be elected for a term of 4 years and until their successors are elected and have qualified.
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* Illinois Review…
On Wednesday morning, in a hearing to discuss Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker’s assault weapons ban, White County Judge T. Scott Webb heard arguments from representatives of Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office, and from Tom DeVore, who is representing over 1,600 plaintiffs, including former Illinois State Senator and Republican nominee for governor Darren Bailey; 68 federal firearms dealers and 92 counties, saying the case is “under advisement” and that a ruling would follow after further review.
Due to the weather, the hearing was held over zoom.
The lawsuit raises the same claims as the one filed last week in Effingham County and names Gov. JB Pritzker, State Senate President Don Harmon, D, Illinois House Speaker Christopher Welch, D, and Attorney General Kwame Raoul, D, as defendants.
* From April of 2021…
A White County Circuit Court judge has again ruled Illinois’ Firearm Owner Identification Card is unconstitutional, setting the stage for the Illinois Supreme Court to reexamine the issue.
In 2017, Vivian Brown, an elderly resident of White County, was charged with violating the FOID card law for owning a rifle without possessing a FOID card.
In February 2018, the White County Circuit Court sided with Brown and found the FOID card law unconstitutional when applied to her case. The state appealed directly to the Illinois Supreme Court a few months later.
Last April, the Illinois Supreme Court didn’t make a decision on the case, calling into question the process the circuit court used.
On Tuesday, White County Judge T. Scott Webb dismissed the charges against Brown and ruled the FOID card law was unconstitutional, saying it makes the Second Amendment a “facade,” turning a right into a privilege.
Maybe ask a lobbyist about the fees and regulations and reporting requirements they have to follow for the privilege of exercising their First Amendment rights. Or ask political candidates about the myriad state and federal regulations put on them. And then ask people who want to demonstrate about the public permitting process.
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* Tina Sfondeles…
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is going to battle with the national College Board over what he calls “political grandstanding” by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The Chicago Democrat is warning the nonprofit that oversees the Advanced Placement program that Illinois will reject a revised African American Studies course if it doesn’t include “a factual accounting of history, including the role played by black queer Americans.”
Pritzker sent a sharply worded letter to the board over its decision to revise the Advanced Placement course in African American Studies after the Florida governor — and likely GOP presidential candidate — blocked Florida high schools from offering the course because it included segments on “queer theory” and “abolishing prisons,” among other topics.
It’s unclear how the course will be changed or if the revisions stem from Florida’s rejection, but the College Board said the new framework would be released on Feb. 1.
Pritzker objected to any change “in order to fit Florida’s racist and homophobic laws.”
* The course is a College Board pilot project with 60 high schools nationwide. As with all pilot projects, it’s under review before the board rolls it out nationally and won’t be required. Yet, the Florida Department of Education tried to take credit for any changes and all heck has broken loose…
We are glad the College Board has recognized that the originally submitted course curriculum is problematic, and we are encouraged to see the College Board express a willingness to amend. AP courses are standardized nationwide, and as a result of Florida’s strong stance against identity politics and indoctrination, students across the country will consequentially have access to an historically accurate, unbiased course.
As Governor DeSantis said, African American History is American History, and we will not allow any organization to use an academic course as a gateway for indoctrination and a political agenda. We look forward to reviewing the College Board’s changes and expect the removal of content on Critical Race Theory, Black Queer Studies, Intersectionality and other topics that violate our laws.
But…
But some people think the governor is just trying to shift the focus from his original statement.
“I think that it is a total distraction from their original statement. Their original statement was that African American studies bring no value to education,” said State Senator Shevrin Jones.
* Here’s the full Pritzker letter…
January 25th, 2023
To Mr. David Coleman,
As Governor of the great state of Illinois, I have spent every day of the last four years fighting to ensure that every Illinoisan has the same opportunities regardless of the color of their skin, the zip code they live in, or the school they attend. That fight includes the opportunity to learn without the threat of bigotry and hatred guiding lessons plans. I am writing to you today to urge the College Board to preserve the fundamental right to an education that does not follow the political grandstanding of Governor DeSantis and the whims of Republicans in Florida.
Advanced Placement courses are a core part of the high school experience for students wishing to push themselves academically and prepare themselves for college. Each year, over 115,000 public school students in Illinois take AP exams. In 2020, our state ranked number one in the country for largest year-over-year increase of students scoring a 3 or higher on these exams. These passing scores translated into credit at public universities across Illinois and the country, resulting in thousands of dollars in tuition saved, often for those students most in-need of financial assistance. We value Advanced Placement courses in this state and have no doubt as to the efficacy of the program. However, I am extremely troubled by recent news reports that claim Governor DeSantis is pressuring the College Board to change the AP African American Studies course in order to fit Florida’s racist and homophobic laws.
Illinois expects any AP course offered on African American Studies to include a factual accounting of history, including the role played by black queer Americans. Illinois will closely examine the official coursework to ensure it includes all necessary history, starting with this nation’s foundation built on slavery, the Civil War where this nation reckoned with that history and the decades of rebuilding and efforts of black Americans to continue their fight for equality and equity to this day.
Black history is American History. Many students who will take this class encounter racism on a personal and systemic level long before they reach high school and take their first AP class. For some, a course such as this may be one of the first times they see their own faces and experiences reflected back to them on the page. They deserve the opportunity, alongside their classmates, to learn the honest and accurate history of the nation they live in now. It’s often said that we study history so that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past. This cannot be achieved when a misleading version of history is taught. If we refuse to teach our next generation honestly we are bound to repeat old cycles and reopen old wounds—fueling the animus that Governor DeSantis uses to score attention and divisive headlines.
Regardless of some leaders’ efforts, ignoring and censoring the accurate reporting of history will not change the realities of the country in which we live. In Illinois, we will not accept this watering down of history. I urge you to maintain your reputation as an academic institution dedicated to the advancement of students and refuse to bow to political pressure that would ask you to rewrite our nation’s true, if sometimes unpleasant, history. One Governor should not have the power to dictate the facts of U.S. history. In Illinois, we reject any curriculum modifications designed to appease extremists like the Florida Governor and his allies.
Sincerely,
Governor JB Pritzker
* Washington Post…
The latest controversy in Florida education policies began this month, when the DeSantis administration said a pilot Advanced Placement course on Black history would not be approved by the state Department of Education because it violated state law and “lacks educational value.”
The state Education Department listed “concerns” in the curriculum, including topics covering “Intersectionality and Activism,” “Black Feminist Literary Theory” and “Black Queer Studies.”
“Now who would say that an important part of Black history is queer theory?” DeSantis said at a news conference this week. “That is somebody pushing an agenda on our kids.”
But critics of the governor, who has made eliminating what he calls “woke indoctrination” from schools and businesses a key part of his platform, say he is unfairly targeting Black history by not allowing the course to be taught in Florida. Other Advanced Placement classes, such as European history, have not been scrutinized by the DeSantis administration.
* AP…
The state [of Florida] criticizes the section’s inclusion of a reading by Leslie Kay Jones, an assistant sociology professor at Rutgers University. It cites her quote, “Black people produce an unquantifiable amount of content for the same social media corporations that reproduce the white supremacist superstructure that suppresses us.”
Jones said she found no indication that the Movement for Black Lives has ever advocated for prison abolition. She is surprised DeSantis’ staff attacked her for criticizing social media companies, as he does the same.
She said this is why students should have the ability “to come to their own conclusions through an evaluation of primary and secondary texts.”
“Is Ron DeSantis claiming that Florida students are unable to formulate their own opinions?” she said.
* From last year…
A federal judge in Florida partially blocked a law championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis designed to limit the discussion of racism and privilege in schools and workplace training. […]
“The State of Florida’s decision to choose which viewpoints are worthy of illumination and which must remain in the shadows has implications for us all,” Walker wrote. “But the First Amendment does not permit the State of Florida to muzzle its university professors, impose its own orthodoxy of viewpoints, and cast us all into the dark.” […]
In his order, Judge Walker, an Obama appointee, opened by reciting the first sentence of 1984, George Orwell’s novel about life under a futuristic totalitarian government.
“‘It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen,’ and the powers in charge of Florida’s public university system have declared the State has unfettered authority to muzzle its professors in the name of ‘freedom,’” the judge wrote. “This is positively dystopian.”
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* I do not think I have ever seen this from a governor before. Your thoughts?…
Today, on the first day of early voting, Governor JB Pritzker announced his endorsements across several Chicago City Council races.
“With early voting beginning today, I am pleased to offer my strong endorsement of these local leaders,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “I am confident in their abilities to guide their communities with tenacity and deliver for their constituents. I look forward to working with each and every one of these leaders to continue improving the lives of working families across Chicago.”
Chicago City Council Endorsements
3rd Ward - Pat Dowell
4th Ward - Lamont Robinson
6th Ward - William E. Hall
8th Ward - Michelle A. Harris
9th Ward - Anthony A. Beale
11th Ward - Nicole Lee
16th Ward - Stephanie D. Coleman
21st Ward - Ronnie L. Mosley
22nd Ward - Michael D. Rodriguez
24th Ward - Monique L. Scott
27th Ward - Walter Burnett, Jr
28th Ward - Jason C. Ervin
29th Ward - Chris Taliaferro
33rd Ward - Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez
34th Ward - Bill Conway
35th Ward - Carlos Ramirez-Rosa
37th Ward - Emma M. Mitts
39th Ward - Samantha Nugent
44th Ward - Bennett R. Lawson
46th Ward - Kim Walz
49th Ward - Maria Hadden
50th Ward - Debra Silverstein
* Politico…
“Conversations are ongoing,” according to a person familiar with the governor’s political endeavors. “He’s endorsing a diverse slate of candidates who share his Democratic values and who he can partner with at the local level.”
With that in mind. Missing from the endorsement list are right-leaning aldermanic incumbents, including Raymond Lopez (15th), Nick Sposato (38th) and Anthony Napolitano (41st). And Ald. Derrick Curtis didn’t make it on the list either. Those recent headlines about accidental shootings didn’t do him any favors.
*** UPDATE *** CBS News interviewed the governor a couple of days ago, and he said he wasn’t getting involved in the first round of the mayor’s race…
…Adding… Greg Hinz…
It’s unclear if Pritzker will follow up his City Council endorsements with campaign cash, but the governor has not been shy in past cycles about throwing his billions to candidates he supports.
In a statement, a spokeswoman for Pritzker said no contributions “as of today” and “conversations are still ongoing” with other potential City Council Candidates.
Kim Walz trumpeted her endorsement this afternoon.
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Isabel’s morning roundup
Thursday, Jan 26, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Two years ago, Tyler W. Massengill, the man who allegedly confessed to committing arson at the Peoria Planned Parenthood, posted this on his facebook page…
* Here’s your morning roundup…
* PJ-S | Chillicothe man charged in fire at Planned Parenthood clinic: It was ‘all worth it’: Tyler W. Massengill, 32, told officials investigating the case that if his “actions the night of January 15, 2023, caused ‘a little delay’ in a person receiving services at the PHC, his conduct may have been ‘all worth it,’” according to federal court records filed Wednesday.
* Sun-Times | Pritzker: Don’t change high school AP course to appease DeSantis and ‘Florida’s racist and homophobic laws’: In a letter, Pritzker told the nonprofit College Board that Illinois will reject a revised African American Studies course if it doesn’t include “a factual accounting of history, including the role played by black queer Americans.”
* WCIA | Illinois pays off final part of pandemic unemployment debt: In November, Governor J.B. Pritzker announced a bill that would eliminate the rest of the pandemic unemployment debt by using the state’s surplus in revenue to pay it off. The bill was supported by Democrats, Republicans, as well as labor unions and business groups, before being signed into law by Pritzker Monday.
* The Center Square | GOP senators oppose prospect of another progressive income tax proposal in Illinois: The Illinois Constitution requires a flat income tax. The progressive income tax proposal in 2020 would have brought a tiered income tax structure with increased taxes on higher income earners, but voters rejected the idea. State Sen. Robert Martwick, D-Chicago, said he plans to offer the measure in the coming weeks.
* Cap Times | Wisconsin Republicans finally found something to like about Illinois: Suddenly, the state of Illinois — the place Wisconsin Republicans have demonized for decades and GOP Gov. Scott Walker mocked with billboards at the state line — has become one of our Republican legislators’ favorite places.
* WBEZ | With Ed Burke off the ballot, 14th Ward residents make wish lists for their next alderman: Burke’s political shadow is still shaping the race between the candidates vying to replace him. And residents who say they’ve felt neglected by the once-powerful alderman are making long wish lists for their next representative.
* Sun-Times | ‘Nobody just goes to your house and starts killing people.’ Father struggles to understand attack that killed daughter and her mother: A law enforcement source told the Sun-Times that Olmo’s boyfriend and two other transgender women survived the attack.
* Sun-Times | Public safety training facility, once center of controversy, opens its doors: Mayor Lori Lightfoot slammed the project before launching her first mayoral campaign, but did an about-face once in office, making the facility even bigger and more expensive.
* Tribune | Mayor, police superintendent, fire commissioner hold ribbon-cutting for controversial $170 million training facility: The Chicago Joint Public Safety Training Campus, 4433 W. Chicago Ave., is on the 30.4-acre site of a former railroad yard. The facility will be used by members of CPD, CFD and the Office of Emergency Management and Communications. The “modern training campus” will include community spaces, computer labs, classrooms, scenario training and an indoor shooting range, according to the Public Building Commission.
* Crain’s | Lightfoot to back effective ban on natural gas in new buildings: It would echo a similar statute signed into law a little over a year ago in New York City by then-Mayor Bill de Blasio. Cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco have taken matters further and outright banned gas in new buildings as America’s largest cities attempt to do their part in response to climate change.
* NBC Chicago | 311 Calling Concerns: Water Leaks and City Calls For Service Initially Met With Silence: In the Edgewater case, 311 call records show since April 13, 2022, Vita and her neighbors called to report the leak at least 15 times, and online, more than half of those calls were “closed” just hours after they came in, despite the incomplete job.
* Southtown | Dolton disciplined union head who asked about money missing from pension account, complaint says: The dispute raises fresh concerns about how the administration of Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard is handling money and treating employees perceived as insufficiently loyal. Henyard also serves in a $277,000-a-year post as supervisor of Thornton Township, where she recently fired nearly a dozen employees.
* Highland Park News | Dad of alleged Highland Park shooter to appear in court on charge he acted recklessly in vouching for son’s FOID card: Robert Crimo Jr. was charged in December with seven felony counts for vouching for his son on state forms in 2019 that cleared Crimo III to obtain his firearm owners identification card. At the time, Crimo III was 19, and, as an underage applicant, needed the signature of a parent to get a FOID card. Crimo III is charged in the shooting deaths of seven people and with several other crimes.
* Tribune | Judge slaps ex-Chicago college student who spied for China with 8 years in federal prison: A federal judge on Wednesday sentenced a former Chicago college student to eight years in federal prison for spying on behalf of the Chinese government, saying it was clear that his ultimate goal was to become a “sleeper agent” and infiltrate some of the United States’ most sensitive operations.
* Sun-Times | CPS to consider science, social studies marks instead of standardized tests for advancing to the next grade: The district didn’t hold any students back the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, citing the unprecedented circumstances kids faced academically and socially in remote learning. Officials have since been reviewing their grade retention and promotion policy and presented an updated one Wednesday to the Board of Education, which approved the new rules.
* Block Club | Ald. Silvana Tabares And Southwest Side Community Activist — Both With Madigan Ties — Face Off In 23rd Ward Race: Tabares is facing a challenge from Eddie Guillen as she seeks a second term representing parts of West Lawn, Garfield Ridge and Archer Heights. Both candidates have past ties to indicted former House Speaker Mike Madigan.
* NBC Chicago | Chicago flexes its labor muscle in the fight for the 2024 Democratic convention: The Chicago Federation of Labor is releasing a new digital ad campaign on Wednesday, first made available to NBC News, laying out a case that it’s the home of the labor movement and has a plentiful cast of union members ready to work, particularly at hotels, if the White House places the convention in Chicago.
* Tribune | Mayoral challenger ‘Chuy’ García asks aldermanic candidate with ties to Michael Madigan to stop using his image on political mailers: The campaign brochures focus mostly on the race for alderman of the 23rd Ward near Midway Airport. But the mailers — a well-worn tool for typically parochial races — could have broader implications in the mayoral race and particularly for García, a congressman who is one of eight challengers looking to upend Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s efforts for a second term.
* Pensions & Investments | State treasurers warn of pension fund, 401(k) damage if debt ceiling breached: “We are concerned that the United States government will be forced to default on its debt which would have severe consequences for the states and municipalities we serve, the U.S. economy and the day-to-day lives of the American people,” the fiscal stewards of typically blue states and cities said in a letter sent Tuesday to Mr. McCarthy.
* WTTW | Push to Reopen Public Mental Health Clinics Closed 11 Years Ago Defines Another Chicago Mayor’s Race: That 2011 decision rippled through not only Emanuel’s 2015 bid for reelection, but also the 2019 contest to elect his successor. In 2023, the issue is once again center stage during the race for Chicago mayor, fueled in part by the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic, which shone a harsh spotlight on the citywide need for robust and affordable mental health care, as well as continuing concerns about the violence that can erupt when people in crisis call Chicago police for help.
* Jewish Insider | Chuy García’s record on Israel comes under scrutiny in Chicago mayoral race: Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-IL), a leading Democratic challenger to Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, faced a tough line of questioning over his congressional record on Israel in a candidate interview with the editorial board of The Chicago Tribune on Monday, according to audio of the exchange obtained by Jewish Insider.
* Tribune | CTU brings demand for ‘equitable’ parental leave to Chicago Board of Education: ‘We deserve that’: “I bring you urgency from the workers who are making it happen every day. … How do we honor their commitment?” Gates said, with the union again highlighting the discrepancy between the maximum two weeks of paid parental leave that Chicago Public Schools employees receive and the three months granted to city employees as of Jan. 1.
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Open thread
Thursday, Jan 26, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* What’s going on in your Illinois-centric minds today?
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Live coverage
Thursday, Jan 26, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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