In addition to any other transfers that may be provided for by law, at a time or times during Fiscal Year 2023 as directed by the Governor, the State Comptroller shall direct and the State Treasurer shall transfer up to a total of $400,000,000 from the General Revenue Fund to the Large Business Attraction Fund.
But with Illinois not yet luring big facilities such as those recently announced in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and other states, Illinois could use a big deal-closing fund, Pritzker said—essentially a pot of money the governor is empowered to dip into to sweeten economic development deals when the competition with other states is tight. “Michigan has, I believe, a $1 billion fund. They can just write a check,” he said. “It would be great if we had a closing fund in Illinois.”
Pritzker’s apparent reference was to Michigan’s Strategic Outreach & Attraction Reserve Fund, which can provide grants or loans for “infrastructure improvements, capital investments, acquisition of machinery and job training.” Officials there say the fund has been a major success.
The fund, proposed by the Governor, would allow the state of Illinois to be competitive with other states in attracting large businesses with many employees to the state of Illinois, especially in emerging technologies such as electronic vehicles, batteries, semiconductors, those kinds of things
I think there’ll be some enabling legislation coming along in which this is defined, in which there will be some guardrails and reporting on how this would be [implemented]. It’s a program that does not exist yet.
Asked when the House will see that enabling legislation, Harris said, “Hopefully, before the sun rises tomorrow.” House Exec then passed the bill on a partisan roll call.
The Dobbs Working Group has filed HAM1 to SB3799, the Patient & Provider Protection Act (PAPPA) to protect patients, providers, families & supporters who access reproductive or gender affirming care from criminal & civil penalties from hostile states. https://t.co/CoLSVdLQkQ
Reproductive Health & Dobbs Working Group Agenda
Patients and Providers Protection Act
January 5, 2023
Article 1 - Plan B Vending Machines at Colleges: Requires public colleges, community colleges, and universities to each make emergency contraception accessible for purchase in at least one vending machine on each campus at a cost no greater than $40. This is similar to HB 4247 (B. Hernandez) of the 102nd, but adds community colleges back into the bill.
Article 2 - Insurance Coverage For Abortifacients, Gender-affirming health care medications, And PEP/PrEP and Advance Provision: Requires abortifacients (i.e., medications administered to terminate a pregnancy), gender-affirming health care medications, and PEP/PrEP medication (i.e., HIV treatment) to be covered by insurers at no-cost. This applies to health insurance governed by the Accident and Health Insurance Article of the Insurance Code, State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971, the Counties Code, the Municipal Code, the Health Maintenance Organization Act, the School Code, and the Voluntary Health Services Act. Additionally, this requires abortion care coverage to include medications prescribed for the purpose of producing an abortion without proof of pregnancy. This is effective January 1, 2024.
Article 3 - Birth Center Expansion for Reproductive Health Care: Expands access to reproductive health care by permitting birth centers in Illinois to provide full spectrum reproductive health care and sexual health care, instead of only childbirth-related needs of pregnant persons and their newborns. This is accomplished by stating that nothing in the Act prohibits birth centers from providing sexual health care and reproductive health care in accordance with applicable rules, regulations and licensing requirements.
Article 5 - Hormonal Birth Control Standing Order: Allows patients to receive hormonal birth control over the counter from a pharmacist pursuant to a standing order from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). Currently, a patient may only receive hormonal birth control from a pharmacist pursuant to a valid prescription or a standing order by a licensed physician or local health department, not IDPH. This also limits an employee of IDPH issuing a standing order from liability for merely issuing the standing order.
Article 6 - Fetal Homicide Laws: Clarifies that no person is subject to civil liability for receiving an abortion under the Wrongful Death Act, clarifies that no hospital personnel shall report an abortion to law enforcement agencies; and clarifies that the statute of limitations under the RHA is 2 years
Article 7 - Parentage Act Amendments: Amends the Parentage Act to:
1. Allow intended parents or parents to dispose of any cryopreserved fertilized ovum to be governed by the intended parent’s or parent’s most recent informed consent or under a marital settlement agreement;
2. Allow for the establishment of a parent-child relationship in the event of gestational surrogacy in the event that an intended parent dies; and
3. Clarify that a certifying physician in the event of gestational surrogacy may be licensed in the state that the transfer or insemination took place, not just in Illinois.
The statutes collectively referred to as the Illinois Parentage Act of 2015 apply to the establishment of a parent-child relationship in Illinois.
Article 8 - Clarifying that Assisted Reproduction is Protected under the Reproductive Health Ac (RHA) and Permitting Advanced Practice Clinicians To Provide Abortions: Adds “assisted reproduction” to the definition of reproductive health care in the Reproductive Health Act. “Assisted Reproduction” means a method of achieving a pregnancy through the handling of human oocytes, sperm, zygotes, or embryos for the purpose of establishing a pregnancy. Amends the RHA to allow advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants to perform aspiration abortions that do not require general anesthesia. This language is agreed between ISMS, the Nurses Association and abortion providers.
Article 9 - Disciplinary Protections For Professional Licenses: Prevents the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (DFPR) from taking disciplinary action against any health care professional licensed under the Division of Professional Regulation Acts governed by DFPR based solely upon the license of the professional being disciplined by any state for providing or participating in any health care that is legal in Illinois, regardless of whether it is legal in the other state. This is an expansion of HB 1464 (Hirschauer) from the 102nd which applied only protected physicians, physician assistants (PAs), nurses, and advanced practice registered nurses. This bill protects, physicians, PAs, clinical psychologists, clinical social workers and social workers, licensed marriage and family therapists, licensed certified professional midwives, registered nurses, advanced practice registered nurses, pharmacists, professional counselors and clinical professional counselors, genetic counselors, and registered surgical assistants and registered surgical technologists. Provides the department with rulemaking authority.
Article 10 - Two-Year Temporary Licenses for Out-of-State Medical Professionals: Allows the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to grant out-of-state physicians, physicians assistants, and advanced practice registered nurses a 2-year temporary license to authorize the practice of health care in Illinois under certain circumstances. Also makes a technical change to address the consolidation of the Medical Licensing Board and the Medical Disciplinary Board into one board, the Illinois State Medical Board. The intent behind this provision is to create an expedited process for health care providers to obtain a license in Illinois on a temporary basis. This would help Illinois continue to meet the needs of Illinois residents and out-of-state patients given the increased demand for abortion care services post Dobbs. This is modeled after the IDFPR Proclamation during COVID granting temporary licensure for licensed out-of-state professionals to meet COVID demands in Illinois.
Article 11 - Protections for Patients and Providers (“Shield Laws”): Intends to protect patients, providers, and those assisting patients and providers, from aggressive litigation from states targeting abortion and other lawful health care activity intended to impact lawful health care activity in Illinois. The bill does the following:
1. Protects information about lawful health care activity in Illinois from becoming subject to subpoenas issued from other states;
2. Protects witnesses from being compelled to testify in criminal proceedings in another state in a charge related to lawful health care activity in Illinois;
3. Creates the Lawful Health Care Activity Act to prohibit state courts from applying another state’s law in Illinois cases related to lawful health care activity and prohibits courts from enforcing foreign judgments issued in connection with litigation concerning lawful health care activity; and
4. Cabins the Governor’s discretion in complying with an extradition order from another state stemming from a charge based on conduct that involves lawful health care activity.
Article 13 - Parental Notice Of Abortion Act Repeal Clean-Up: As of June 2022, the Parental Notice of Abortion Act (PNA) was repealed and minors are no longer required to notify an adult family member in order to access an abortion in Illinois. However, the bill did not strike references to PNA throughout different Illinois laws. This bill would strike references to PNA in all other Illinois laws.
…Adding… I’m told an amendment filed earlier today by Senate President Don Harmon, and which is taking some heat from advocates, was designed to further discussions. A new amendment is pending.
…Adding… When asked about a competing Senate bill, Rep. Cassidy just said in committee that her intention was to run her bill and wouldn’t comment or commit to the Senate bill.
…Adding… As expected, the House Exec Committee sent the bill to the floor on a partisan roll call.
*** UPDATE 1 *** OK, let’s back up for a second…
Illinois Senate President Don Harmon filed an abortion expansion bill as an amendment to House Bill 4664. It would allow nurses to perform in-clinic abortions in addition to medication abortions, and grant temp licenses to out-of-state providers. https://t.co/28FvSVUld5
Brigid Leahy, the Vice President of Public Policy at Planned Parenthood of Illinois said during a press conference tonight that she didn’t see Harmon’s bill until about 11 o’clock last night. Leahy continued…
We’ve had a preliminary conversation with the Senate sponsor [Sen. Celina Villanueva]. There are some differences, and we believe that this [House] bill may be stronger in some areas. We are still looking at the Senate version. I hope that we can come to an agreement so that we can get legislation that, as Rep. Cassidy said, does what the stakeholders needed to do. […]
We did months ago provide some language to staff over in the Senate, but we had not seen the language until it was filed last night. So we are we are kind of still digging through it and figuring out. There are many parts of the bills that are exactly the same. And then there are parts that are different and that’s what we’re trying to figure out right now.
Leahy also said the House version “actually does accomplish a lot of what we need,” but also said proponents “will be coming back with certain issues that were very complex and need some more work.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** Large majority…
Democratic Reps. Mary Flowers, Thaddeus Jones, Stephanie Kifowit, Joyce Mason and Lamont Robinson all did not vote. Jones, Kifowit and Mason all had excused absences today. Robinson was recorded as absent on another roll call today.
…Adding… The governor went to the floor after the vote…
* House Speaker Chris Welch has filed an amendment to SB2226 containing the assault weapons ban, etc. language. The bill is now on 2nd Reading. Working on getting you a one-pager, but take a look for yourself in the meantime.
[Deleted some excerpts because the one-pager below explains it better than I did on the fly.]
…Adding… As I told subscribers earlier this week, this provision was doomed…
Gun control advocates had hoped to increase the age a person can purchase a gun/obtain a FOID card to 21 (with exceptions for active duty military/National Guard). But this provision made many moderate Dems uneasy. So it's out. #twillhttps://t.co/MXDG67lUtS
…Adding… The House Executive Committee will take up the amendment soon. Click here to watch.
*** UPDATE 1 *** One-pager…
• Assault Weapons Ban (prohibits manufacture, possession, delivery, sales, and purchase)
o Immediately ends the manufacture, sale, and purchase of assault weapons (unless exempted below)
o Allows possession and legal use of existing assault weapons by a person who possessed them before the effective date, so long as the weapon is endorsed with ISP within 300 days of the law taking effect
o Exemptions: The following are not affected by the endorsement affidavit requirement:
• Active-duty and retired peace officers (ISP, sheriff’s deputies, municipal police)
• 10 or more years of service
• Retired or separated in good standing
• Local law enforcement acquiring and possessing for the purpose of equipping peace officers
• Wardens, superintendents, and keepers of prisons, penitentiaries, jails, etc.
• U.S. military and Illinois National Guard and Reserve Forces
• Manufacture, transportation, or sale of weapons, attachments, or ammunition to the persons listed above (manufacture, transportation, or sale is only allowed in state in this circumstance, except that existing contracts may be performed)
• Nonresidents transporting a banned weapon through this State within 24 hours if the weapon is broken down and unloaded.
• Possession and travel of a weapon while at an event held at the World Shooting Complex in Sparta. The weapon must be broken down and unloaded during transport
• Blank-firing versions possessed by authorized or permitted individuals
• Large Capacity Magazines Ban (immediately prohibits delivery, sales, purchases)
o Immediately bans devices with a capacity of, or that can be readily restored or converted to accept, more 12 rounds of ammunition; or any combination of parts from which such a device can be assembled
o 90-day grace period for modification, personal destruction, or surrender to law enforcement
o Does not affect the same people/entities as the AWB
Rapid-fire Devices Ban (prohibits manufacture, possession, sale; offers to purchase, import, transfer)
o Immediately bans devices that increase the rate of fire of a semiautomatic firearm
FRO
• Increases the duration of a Firearm Restraining Order (“FRO”) from 6 months to up to 1 year, including renewed FROs
• Includes a representative from an association of court circuit clerks to be appointed to the FRO Commission
ISP Firearms Anti-Trafficking Unit: Establishes within the duties and powers of ISP that the Criminal Division shall also investigate illegal firearm trafficking
…Adding… Press release…
Today, mayors and village presidents from across the state are calling on legislators to pass the Protect Illinois Communities Act, as they conclude the current legislative session. In a new letter signed by 27 mayors and village presidents who are encouraging swift passage of common sense legislation that includes bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and other steps to protect residents of their communities.
Mayors are often on the front lines of working with local law enforcement to combat gun violence and coordinating with health care officials in the aftermath of shootings that leave families and communities shattered by their impact.
Among the mayors who signed on to today’s letter are:
“We need urgent action to reduce gun violence that tears entire communities apart. It’s our obligation as mayors to fight and advocate to pass laws to keep guns out of the wrong hands so no other city experiences the pain that we know all too well. I urge lawmakers to safeguard our communities by voting yes on the Protect Illinois Communities Act,” said Matteson Mayor Sheila Y. Chalmers-Currin.
“I am proud to join fellow mayors and leaders across Illinois in urging the General Assembly to pass this critically needed, common-sense, and lifesaving legislation,” said Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot. “The flow of illegal guns is an inherently cross-jurisdictional challenge that requires collaboration and decisive action from both the State and Federal government to alleviate the scourge of senseless gun violence which threatens our communities. The Protect Illinois Communities Act will absolutely make a marked, positive difference when it comes to safeguarding Illinois residents and families.”
“Gun violence poses a pervasive threat to each of our communities, and now is the time to step up and take action to prevent more senseless deaths. We need to get weapons of war off of our streets so that each of our cities is a safe place for all. Our legislators must pass the Protect Illinois Communities Act now,” said Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara.
“I have long advocated for gun reform and hope to see lawmakers pass the Protect Illinois Communities Act as the next step in making our state safer,” said Urbana Mayor Diane Wolfe Marlin. “Assault weapons and high capacity magazines are too deadly to serve any purpose but to injure and kill. Lawmakers must stand up to the NRA and pass this commonsense legislation as soon as possible.”
…Adding… The bill was sent to the House floor on a partisan roll call.
*** UPDATE 2 *** The bill was amended to take out criminal penalties that were inadvertently left in the bill…
Sentence. A person who knowingly delivers, sells purchases, or causes to be delivered, sold, or purchased in violation of this Section a large capacity ammunition feeding device capable of holding more than 12 rounds of ammunition commits a petty offense with a fine of $1,000 for each violation.
Durkin has been open to these sorts of bills in the past…
Outgoing House GOP Leader Jim Durkin quoted the late conservative Republican US Rep. Henry Hyde, who voted for an assault weapons ban, by saying "Enough is Enough." So, the bill could get at least one Republican vote.
…Adding… From Rep. Cassidy: “This language reflects the work of the advocates on these issues who spent 6 months researching and drafting language.” The Senate has not yet signed on…
The Dobbs Working Group has filed HAM1 to SB3799, the Patient & Provider Protection Act (PAPPA) to protect patients, providers, families & supporters who access reproductive or gender affirming care from criminal & civil penalties from hostile states. https://t.co/CoLSVdLQkQ
* Walgreen’s helped drive the crime theme last year, but now the company says “Nevermind”…
A top Walgreens
executive on Thursday acknowledged the company may have overblown concerns about thefts in their stores after shrinkage stabilized over the last year.
During an earnings call, the company’s chief financial officer, James Kehoe, said shrinkage was about 3.5% of sales last year but that number is now closer to the “mid twos.” He also said the company would consider moving away from hiring private security guards.
“Maybe we cried too much last year,” Kehoe said. “We’re stabilized,” he added, saying the company is “quite happy with where we are.”
The Illinois Legislative Black Caucus elected state Rep. Carol Ammons, D-Urbana, to become the next Joint Chairwoman.
“I am honored to be chosen by my fellow colleagues to lead the Illinois Black Caucus into the future,” Ammons said. “Our Caucus’ mandate is to make the lives, livelihoods, and opportunities for the African-American community better. I’m confident that under my leadership, we will make more progress in undoing the unjust and institutional racism black Illinoisans often find themselves facing.”
An analysis by Pew Charitable Trusts shows that Illinois is one of only two states in the country with total tax revenue shortfalls exceeding 5% of total expenses, and the only ones with annual deficits in each of the past 15 years. The other state is New Jersey.
Pew state fiscal health manager Joanna Biernacka-Lievestro said Illinois is in select company.
“Nine states failed to collect enough revenue to cover their long-term expenses over the 15 years ending in fiscal 2020,” Biernacka-Lievestro said.
Also not mentioned in the story, but which is mentioned in the Pew analysis, is that Illinois is still on a pension payment ramp, which is what drives a lot of those “expense” numbers.
* Delia Ramirez is supporting Brandon Johnson for mayor instead of Chuy Garcia. Others formerly allied with Garcia, including Rep. Lilian Jimenez, who used to work for Garcia and replaced Ramirez in the Illinois House, are also with Johnson. Nevertheless…
Neighboring districts, neighboring offices.
When we organize in Chicago, we bring change to DC!
A proud day to stand alongside Representative Delia Ramirez — the first Latina to represent the Midwest in Congress. pic.twitter.com/B43HOXDFCd
Secretary of State Jesse White announced today that the state’s organ/tissue donor registry reached 7.5 million registrants.
“I am so proud that Illinoisans have shown their giving and caring spirit by signing up for this lifesaving program,” said White. “Our mission over the past 24 years has been to strengthen the Organ/Tissue Donor Program through outreach and registration initiatives. We have worked to end the waiting for the approximately 4,000 people statewide. Each year, unfortunately, about 300 people die waiting for a transplant in Illinois.”
Of the more than 12.8 million people living in Illinois, 10,146,583 qualify to become organ/tissue donors. Of those, 74% have registered as organ/tissue donors.
In addition, more than 270,000 16- and 17-year-olds have registered with the program since 2018, when Secretary White initiated a law allowing them to register as organ and tissue donors.
“I believe our public awareness campaign, including television, radio and social media ads have helped encourage people to register,” said White. “It takes less than a minute to register and one person can improve the quality of life for up to 25 people.”
Secretary White has headed the state’s Organ/Tissue Donor Registry since 1999. He has visited countless hospitals, schools, libraries, Driver Service facilities as well as other venues to promote and register Illinoisans for the donor program. Secretary White has a personal connection to organ donation because his sister, Doris Ivy, received a kidney transplant from an anonymous donor that extended her life for 28 years.
Illinoisans can register with the Secretary of State’s Organ/Tissue Donor Registry at www.LifeGoesOn.com or by calling 800-210-2106.
* Isabel’s roundup…
* Crain’s | Illinois car dealers lose lawsuit to halt Rivian direct sales: Rivian Automotive, which assembles its high-end electric vehicles in central Illinois, can continue to sell directly to consumers in the state after a judge dismissed a lawsuit by the Illinois Automobile Dealers Association that also challenged sales by EV startup Lucid Group.
* Journal & Topics | Transition Plans In Place To Move Venezuelan Asylum Seekers To Chicago By Month’s End: State Sen. Laura Murphy (D-28th) of Des Plaines, the deputy state senate majority leader, representing parts of both Elk Grove Village and Des Plaines, said she attended a meeting late Tuesday with heads of the Illinois Dept. of Homeland Security, Illinois Dept. of Human Services, deputy governor, members of the Latino Caucus of the Illinois General Assembly, and other “interested parties” to discuss plans for longer-term housing for the Venezuelan asylum seekers.
* Daily Herald | Nicor takes first step toward rate hike that could add $9 a month to average bill: The request, filed with the Illinois Commerce Commission, comes on the heels of a $240 million rate increase Nicor implemented in late 2021. The Naperville-based utility is the largest natural gas distribution company in Illinois, serving more than two million customers and encompassing most of suburban Chicago.
* Crain’s | A call for commonsense gun legislation: Health care providers see the devastating and far-reaching impact of gun violence every day. Beyond the horrors of shootings themselves, we see survivors, their families and the families of fatal victims devastated as they begin their journey down the long road to recovery—physically and emotionally.
* Daily Herald | Kane County poised to ease campaign contribution limits: The ordinance arose as board members, at that time, decried the possible influence of campaign contributions on the awarding of valuable county contracts. A Daily Herald investigation that year showed more than $17.5 million in county funds went to 43 companies and firms that donated nearly $43,000 to former county board Chairman Karen McConnaughay’s political war chest in 2009.
* Crain’s | Former federal judge joins Latham & Watkins’ Chicago office: Before joining the firm, Feinerman served 12 years on the bench in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, leaving his post Dec. 31. He also served five years as solicitor general for the state of Illinois.
* The Atlantic | Biden’s Blue-Collar Bet: Biden also touched on another theme that will likely become an even more central component of his economic and political strategy over the next two years: He repeatedly noted how many of the jobs created by his economic agenda are not expected to require a four-year college degree.
Our downward [Illinois population] trajectory has often been demoralizing, but even more so during the past decade as professional naysayers trumpeted annual Census estimates that showed huge, six-figure population losses.
By December 2020, those annual Census estimates showed Illinois had lost about 240,000 people, or 2% of its population.
“Illinois is a deepening population sinkhole flanked by states that are adding people, businesses, jobs,” the Chicago Tribune editorial board opined. “The estimated Illinois population is 12,587,530, down more than 240,000 since the 2010 census. That’s more than Waukegan and Naperville, combined.” […]
When the official 2020 Census count showed those previous estimates were wildly wrong and Illinois’ net population loss was “only” 18,000 people, those same folks either changed the subject or harrumphed that, whatever the case, Illinois was still a net loser and had fallen to the rank of sixth-largest state behind Pennsylvania. […]
As you probably know by now, the Census Bureau admitted last week that it had screwed up Illinois’ decennial headcount, and the state actually grew by about 250,000 people – that’s almost a 500,000-person swing from the December 2020 estimate.
* Those wildly wrong annual estimates in the past should’ve injected some skepticism into the Census Bureau’s latest numbers dump. But some news media outlets are buying the recently released annual numbers hook line and sinker. SJ-R…
New estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show Illinois lost a population the near equivalent of Springfield in 2022, continuing a nine-year population slide in the Land of Lincoln.
The report found Illinois subtracted more than 104,000 from its ranks this year going from 12.6 million to 12.5 million residents. The population loss of 0.8% was the third-highest behind New York and California and was among the 18 states that lost population this year. Driving that loss primarily was the 141,656 people migrating out of the state.
Wirepoints’ Ted Dabrowski joins the Steve Cochran Show to talk about what caused 104,000 people to leave Illinois in 2021, how the “Workers’ Right Amendment” may deter businesses from coming to Illinois, and what will make people stay in Illinois.
Illinois’ population shrunk for the 9th year in a row from 2021 to 2022, according to new estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The report said that the Land of Lincoln lost more than 104,000 residents this year, according to the Journal Star. That brought the state’s population from 12.6 million to 12.5 million, the third-highest drop behind New York and California. Illinois was one of only 18 states that lost population this year.
Just dumb.
* US Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi has repeatedly called on the US Census Bureau to reexamine its methodology and get its act together. Raja did it again today…
Robert Santos
Director
U.S. Census Bureau
4600 Silver Hill Road
Washington, DC 20233
Dear Director Santos:
In light of last month’s Census Bureau announcement concerning population estimates, I’m writing to express my ongoing concerns surrounding the repeated undercounting of the population of Illinois in the American Community Survey (ACS) and the 2020 Census, as assessed by the Post-Enumeration Survey (PES). Fundamentally, this latest release’s claim that Illinois lost a substantial number of residents in 2022 appears to closely echo the previous ACS and Census results that fueled misleading rhetoric surrounding purported population losses in Illinois which were later revealed to be unfounded by the PES.
In my repeated letters sent last year, I requested information on the ACS and Census data which showed Illinois population losses of substantially different orders, only for the May PES to conclude that 14 states had an undercount or overcount in the Census and that Illinois was among them with an undercount of hundreds of thousands of people. Beyond discrediting years of false rhetoric about Illinois population losses driven by Census Bureau products, these findings also raise serious public questions in my state over the credibility of the Census Bureau’s results more broadly because of the substantially different conclusions of its recent releases regarding our state. Census Bureau undercounting of our state poses potentially enormous financial consequences for Illinois because over the next decade, Census Bureau data will be utilized to allocate roughly $1.5 trillion through approximately 100 programs, including Medicaid, SNAP, Medicare, Highway Planning and Construction, and Pell grants.
In your June response to my letters with colleagues on this matter, you wrote that regarding incorporating PES findings into data products that inform funding allocations that, “the Census Bureau has established a team of experts tasked with researching the feasibility of taking coverage measures from the Demographic Analysis and Post-Enumeration Survey into account in the development of the official population estimates.” Additionally, in response to the question of whether the Bureau would commit to utilizing the PES in deriving Population Estimates from the Decennial Census, you wrote, “While too early to commit to incorporating PES into the population estimates, the Census Bureau is researching the feasibility of taking coverage measures from both the Demographic Analysis and Post-Enumeration Survey into account in the development of the official population estimates.”
Last month, I wrote to request clarity on the implementation of PES findings into population estimates, the timeline for doing so, and related efforts to address the repeated undercounting of Illinois. In addition to renewing my request for that information, I request answers to these additional questions by January 20th:
1. Were coverage measures from the May 2022 Demographic Analysis and Post-Enumeration Survey results which showed Illinois’ population growth accounted for in the December 2022 population estimates, or did the methodology omit these considerations while following the previous ACS and Census approaches. which led to the undercounting of Illinois’ population?
2. If coverage measures from last year’s Demographic Analysis and Post-Enumeration Survey have not yet been incorporated into annual population estimates, when will they be?
3. Were any other new efforts undertaken to address the consistent undercounting of the population of Illinois in producing the December 2022 population estimates?
4. Have any new factors been identified as contributing to the repeated undercounting of Illinois?
…Adding… From the governor’s office…
For the last decade, the narrative that Illinois is losing population was fed, by what turned out to be, inaccurate annual preliminary estimates. As the last official census count proved, Illinois’ population remained stable. When the official census results were studied further and corrected, Illinois’ population actually grew. While we will study these preliminary numbers, the context regarding their accuracy is important.
Illinois remains one of the most populous states in the nation and long term trends remain encouraging. In 2022, Illinois’ international migration nearly tripled from 2021 and the state also experienced growth due to natural changes. Illinois is on a positive trajectory by reaching $1 trillion GDP for the first time, creating more business start-ups than any other populous state. Looking ahead the state remains focused on providing long-term, meaningful support for residents and communities through unparalleled infrastructure investments, support for our workforce, and businesses that call Illinois home.
* The Question: Illinois went through its own House leadership drama a couple of years ago, so I wonder if y’all have any advice for US Rep. Kevin McCarthy and the House GOP caucus? Snark is not particularly encouraged, but allowed.
Black Caucus legislators Senator Robert Peters (D-Chicago) and Leader Marcus Evans (D-Chicago) together with Rep. Edgar Gonzalez (D-Chicago), Local 150 and Pastor Scott Onque of Faith in Place called for the passage of Rust Belt to Green Belt legislation to jumpstart offshore wind in Lake Michigan.
“Bringing offshore wind to Illinois is an economic issue just as much as it is an environmental issue,” said Sen. Peters, Chair of the Senate Black Caucus. “The green economy hasn’t reached the Southeast Side of Chicago, where the ruins of abandoned steel mills cast long shadows. This pilot project alone would create thousands of jobs during the building phase and 50-100 long-term jobs. And that’s from only a handful of turbines.”
Leader Marcus Evans (D-Chicago), House Sponsor of the bill was absent due to a family emergency, but issued the following statement: “Illinois will miss out on a once-in-a-generation opportunity to take advantage of federal dollars available from the Biden administration to jumpstart offshore wind projects. Other states are competing for this fundings, and if Illinois doesn’t pass this legislation now, it sends the wrong message both to the Black and Brown communities that are looking to Democrats to create the jobs they need, as well as to D.C.”
HB4543 allows Illinois to begin the process of making offshore wind in Lake Michigan a reality. Specifically, the legislation:
• Allows the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) to seek federal funding to build an offshore wind port
• Directs the Illinois Power Agency to procure power from an offshore wind pilot project. Legislative action must happen for these initial steps to take place.
• Once passed, DCEO would be able to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) to find private companies capable of building the necessary wind infrastructure.
Crucially, the legislation contains provisions to ensure that the jobs generated from the project go towards the Black and Brown communities that need them the most.
• In order to win the RFP, wind developers will need to submit a rigorous proposal that will be scored in three categories: price, overall viability of the applicant, and equity & inclusion.
• The developer’s equity plan, which must detail how they will create opportunities and invest in underrepresented communities, is given the most weight when scoring each proposal.
• Learn more at rustbelttogreenbelt.com
“Offshore wind is a huge opportunity for Illinois,” said Marc Poulus, Executive Director of the Indiana, Illinois, Iowa Foundation for Fair Contracting. “The passage of this legislation means a green light for unions to start creating pipelines of diverse laborers to do the work specifically required to equip the port and build the turbines. Not only will there be a class of laborers trained to do this work, but wind represents an entry point to the trades for a new generation of skilled workers.”
“Environmental justice and economic justice go hand in hand for our communities,” said Pastor Scott Onque, Faith in Place. “Offshore wind will diversify Illinois’ renewable energy sources and make us less reliant on fossil fuels, which have created a disproportionate amount of pollution in predominantly Black and Brown communities. At the same time, environmental justice is incomplete without economic justice. The jobs offshore wind creates will help right historical wrongs and support communities that battle chronic disinvestment.”
“Offshore wind has a coalition of support, from labor, to environmental advocates, to the Chicago Chamber of Commerce,” said State Rep. Edgar Gonzalez (D-Chicago). “This is a diverse coalition because offshore wind accomplishes so much for so many. During these times of inflation and an unstable energy market, creating stability and economic security for families is essential, especially when we can do it while protecting the planet at the same time.”
“My colleagues and I helped pass the most comprehensive clean energy legislation in the country, but that cannot be the ceiling for Illinois,” said State Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago). “Environmental justice and sustainability is an existential issue that needs a dedicated plan, innovative thinking, and bold solutions – like offshore wind.”
But key details are not yet available, such as the total cost of the project. And one top environmental leader immediately raised significant concerns about the proposal, among them whether state ratepayers would end up footing the bill, whether the development would violate the “public use” doctrine that generally limits Lake Michigan uses for public purposes and whether such a project even would be feasible given that the lake regularly freezes and thaws.
“These questions have not been fully addressed,” said Environmental Law & Policy Center Executive Director Howard Learner, who nonetheless stopped short of opposing the bill. […]
According to Learner, the state subsidy for the wind farm would be considerable. As now drafted, he says, the bill would require the Illinois Power Agency to spend $34 million in taxpayer money for 20 years purchasing the development’s output. That’s $680 million over term, and Learner believes the eventual subsidy could be much larger.
Except, won’t the IPA then turn around and sell the electricity? Not sure I get this ELPC analysis.
Anyway, your thoughts?
…Adding… From the Illinois Power Agency…
Hi Rich, hope you’re well.
Quick clarification on the offshore wind bill: under HB 4543, neither the IPA nor any Illinois electric utility would be taking title to the power from the project; instead, Illinois electric utilities would take title to the renewable energy credits(RECs) generated by the offshore wind project through a procurement process developed and administered by the IPA, with the sale of those RECs providing financial support back to that offshore wind project at an aggregate value capped at approximately $34 million annually (for a contract term of 20 years after project energization).
OK, now I get it.
…Adding… Also, this is ratepayer money, not taxpayer money.
Giffords, the gun violence prevention group founded by former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, says its polling shows views on assault weapons fall along party lines, with Democrats supporting a ban and many Republicans opposing it. Some questions in the poll might indicate the challenges lawmakers are facing as they consider the legislation.
Dozens of faith community leaders came together Wednesday morning to share their support and perspectives on proposed state legislation aimed at addressing one of the biggest problems to plague Chicago — gun violence.
Pastors, reverends, rabbis and imams, including the Rev. Michael Pfleger and Pastor Cornelius Parks, filled the stage of Good Hope Free Will Baptist Church in East Garfield Park — just blocks from where a deadly mass shooting took place on Halloween — to voice their concerns on gun violence across the city. They used the rally as a call for action to support House Bill 5855, or the Protect Illinois Communities Act.
The legislation would ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, help to further implement Illinois’ Firearm Restraining Order law and address illegal gun trafficking in the state and is a response to the mass shooting at the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, where seven people were killed and dozens of others injured by a shooter using an assault-style rifle and high-capacity magazines.
Rep. Bob Morgan, a Democrat from Deerfield who was marching in the parade when the shooting occurred, introduced the bill in December after months of work by the Illinois House Firearm Safety and Reform working group, which he chairs. The group was formed in July with a goal of creating legislation that the General Assembly could pass to reduce gun violence in Illinois, he said.
The act would do a number of things, including banning the sale or purchase of assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines. It would also raise the minimum age to purchase a firearm to 21.
It would even extend the duration of a firearm restraining order from six months to one year. […]
The bill had two committee hearings last month. Legislators are returning to the Capitol Wednesday for a lame-duck session.
Currently, no hearing is scheduled in the session for this bill.
As of midday Wednesday, 35 state representatives, all Democrats, had signed on to Morgan’s bill as co-sponsors. It will still need to win approval in the state Senate, where similar measures have stalled in the past.
Democrats have supermajorities in both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly, which rewrote the state’s gun laws in 2013, but they have never called a floor vote on the issue of an assault weapons ban and it remains to be seen if it will called for a vote this time.
Gun owner advocacy groups have opposed the bill and pledged to fight it in court if it passes. The National Rifle Association, Guns Save Life and the Illinois State Rifle Association have called for their members to lobby lawmakers to vote against the bill.
Rallies in support of the bill are planned for Thursday in Springfield.
Gun-rights advocate Todd Vandermyde says they won’t negotiate despite hearing there could be amendments.
“They’re looking to modify the magazine limits,” Vandermyde told WMAY Wednesday. “We hear the number they’re kicking around now is 12. Not a big jump from 10 to 12. And we think that they’re having some discussions about the age limit stuff. I think reality is setting in with some people that they have constitutional issues with what they’re proposing.”
Vandermyde and others promise lawsuits will be filed challenging the various aspects of the proposed bill if it were to be approved and enacted.
Opposition continues to mount. Before the Christmas holiday, the Madison County Board voted to denounce House Bill 5855.
Data obtained by NBC 5 Investigates shows that more than 73,000 residents filed applications for FOID cards in Illinois during the five months after the Highland Park shooting, marking a 19% increase over the months prior to the attack.
Those individuals who currently own weapons that are deemed “assault weapons” under the proposed legislation would have the option of registering those guns with the Illinois State Police, according to bill sponsors.
* Three buses filled with gun violence survivors and advocates will be arriving in Springfield to rally and meet with legislators. ABC 7…
This grassroots effort is being led mostly by moms, as some call it a personal crusade. […]
Ashley Beasley is a parade survivor.
She will be on the buses with other moms Thursday morning to rally and meet with legislators in Springfield.
“For me, activism has been a huge part of therapy. Getting involved in trying to make change has been something that has helped me to take control,” Beasley said.
Legislators held a hearing on the bill in mid-December, when critics questioned its cost and constitutionality and supporters recounted the trauma of the year’s mass shootings.
There are enough Democrats in both state chambers to pass the bill without Republican support, but conservative, downstate Democrats have been wary of supporting similar bills in the past
In 2018, after the Parkland, Florida, school shooting that killed 17 people, Illinois tried to increase the age minimum to buy an assault weapon to 21. But the bill was vetoed by then-Gov. Bruce Rauner, who had called for the bill to expand the purchase wait period for all guns to 72 hours and to institute a death penalty for cop killers.
In 2005, after a federal ban on assault weapons ended a year earlier, state Rep. Edward Acevedo, D-Chicago, sponsored a bill to ban semiautomatic assault weapons, assault weapon attachments, .50-caliber rifles and cap magazines at 10 rounds, similar to this year’s bill. But the bill failed after getting only 57 of the 60 votes needed.
* Capitol News | Bills target pawnbrokers for tighter rate limits: Members of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus are pushing legislation to put pawnbrokers under the same interest rate caps as payday lenders and other small-dollar, short-term lenders, but the pawn shop industry says the proposed caps would effectively put them out of business.
* Tribune | Gen Z in the House: Two young lawmakers joining Illinois General Assembly: Syed, a Democrat from Chicago’s suburbs, and Fritts, a Republican from Dixon, don’t share the same positions on many issues. She’s for abortion access; he opposes it. He stands against gun rights restrictions; she supports a ban on high-capacity guns and new regulations.
* Illinois Times | Mike Coffey to fill Butler’s House seat: “Saputo’s is a special place. It’s the only place where you could have the speaker of the House, the president of the Senate, the minority leader, the majority leader and every statewide official, all in the same building at the same time,” he said. “So, we’ve been very fortunate to have all different kinds of politicians and every walk of life come in. That’s always been our forte, to welcome anybody that wants to come into the restaurant.”
* WCIA | Legislators, union push for house visit reform on anniversary of fatal DCFS caseworker stabbing: In the past year, the Illinois General Assembly has pushed for more protections for DCFS workers. They passed a law allowing caseworkers to carry pepper spray while on duty and offered continuing insurance coverage for the families of seven case workers who died while on the job. But many Illinois lawmakers don’t think those steps are enough.
* Crain’s | A wind farm in Lake Michigan? A bill in Springfield proposes it.: Under the measure sponsored by Sen. Robert Peters, D-Chicago, the state would authorize construction of a pilot wind farm several miles from shore that would be capable of producing 150 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 75,000 homes. The House sponsor of the bill is Rep. Marcus Evans, D-Chicago.
* WREX | Illinois Supreme Court won’t have final ruling on Pretrial Fairness Act until March at the earliest: Here are the dates that were laid out in the filing: Record on appeal: Friday, January 20, 2023. Defendants-appellants’ opening brief: Thursday, January 26, 2023. Plaintiffs-appellees’ response brief: Friday, February 17, 2023. Defendants-appellants’ reply brief: Monday, February 27, 2023. Oral argument: In the March 2023 calendar.
* Shaw Local | Voters lose say in General Assembly appointments: Not all legislative vacancies are created equally. Wednesday’s column examined the process of replacing state Sen. Jason Barickman, R-Bloomington, who won reelection but then announced a retirement, opening his 53rd District seat for two years. There’s a chance his replacement is a sitting House member, potentially triggering another appointment process.
* Triibe | The Chicago lien system is freezing my mother out of her home: Liens are like getting parking tickets from the city and not being able to renew your registration. The difference is, instead of not being able to renew her registration, she cannot get a loan to fix her house — specifically, the heat. There are some old fines for things like uncut weeds on a vacant lot she owns and other repairs on her current house that have long since been fixed.
* Crain’s | How will Illinois spend its opioid settlement windfall?: Illinois is set to collect about $760 million from some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors over their role in the devastating opioid crisis, an influx of cash that will likely spark debates over how and where to spend it in years to come.
Champaign County Democratic Party Chair Mike Ingram said his desire to be appointed to a vacant Illinois Senate seat is his “dream.”
But the wife-and-husband political team of Carol and Aaron Ammons contend that he and others are trying to deny a “strong Black woman” what she’s due.
That’s the latest in the increasingly incendiary back-and-forth among the people who are seeking to fill the vacancy for the 52nd District seat created by the recent death of Democratic Sen. Scott Bennett. […]
In a statement issued Monday night, Carol Ammons said denying her the post would be an insult to “African-American women” who “are the base of the Democratic Party and are disrespected and disregarded by the Democratic Party on a regular basis.”
Meanwhile, Aaron Ammons, Champaign County’s clerk and recorder, issued a separate statement Tuesday that contends that the appointment issue is a matter of race. He said the community will “find out soon if we have real allies in our movements” or whether “we have to battle this new generation of whites for the same reasons our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents battled before us.”
Dey also mentioned that Rep. Ammons filed paperwork with the state converting her House campaign committee to a Senate committee, which I told subscribers about earlier today.
Ahead of tonight’s meeting to discuss her late husband’s successor, Stacy Bennett today weighed in on the field of 10.
While making clear she’s not endorsing a single candidate, Bennett mentioned four candidates that her late husband would have liked for the “integrity, and valuable experience and perspectives” they’d bring to the senate “while also listening to and representing the entire district.”
Rep. Carol Ammons was not on the list. Two, however, were Black women, but only one of those was an applicant: Gianina Baker.
For the first time, retail pharmacies, from corner drugstores to major chains like CVS and Walgreens, will be allowed to offer abortion pills in the United States under a regulatory change made Tuesday by the Food and Drug Administration. The action could significantly expand access to abortion through medication.
Until now, mifepristone — the first pill used in the two-drug medication abortion regimen — could be dispensed only by a few mail-order pharmacies or by specially certified doctors or clinics. Under the new F.D.A. rules, patients will still need a prescription from a certified health care provider, but any pharmacy that agrees to accept those prescriptions and abide by certain other criteria can dispense the pills in its stores and by mail order.
The Food and Drug Administration just broadened access to abortion pills, but a patchwork of state laws after Roe v. Wade was overturned could limit its availability to some women.
A limited availability of the medication isn’t an issue in Illinois, however, where abortion remains legal even after Roe v. Wade was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court last summer. Illinois lawmakers – including Gov. J.B. Pritzker have vowed to protect reproductive rights for women intact. In 2019, state lawmakers enacted abortion rights legislation and the Illinois State Supreme Court recognized a woman’s right to have an abortion as a constitutional right under state guidelines. […]
Planned Parenthood of Illinois began offering the abortion pill by mail last May, which means women can now access the care they need. The Planned Parenthood of Illinois website says that the abortion pill is a safe and effective way of ending an early pregnancy up to 10 weeks.
To qualify for the abortion pill-by-mail, patients must be 10 weeks pregnant or less. Patients must also have an Illinois address and be physically in Illinois at the time of their telehealth appointment.
CVS Health and Walgreens are determining how to navigate the FDA’s rule change.
“We’re reviewing the FDA’s updated Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) drug safety program for mifepristone to determine the requirements to dispense in states that do not restrict the dispensing of medications prescribed for elective termination of pregnancy,” a CVS spokesperson said.
Walgreens also emphasized it would align with state and federal laws.
Walmart did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
* Related…
* Illinois News Bureau | Implicit bias prevents women from obtaining prompt treatment for health problems: Those in the study described prolonged struggles to obtain emotional support, diagnosis and treatment for a variety of serious, often-painful health conditions – including cancer, endometriosis, multiple sclerosis and Crohn’s disease, as well as mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety that were exacerbated by others’ negative reactions, said Charee Thompson, the first author of the study and a professor of communication at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
* NPR | Many ERs offer minimal care for miscarriage. One group wants that to change: In many emergency departments, expectant management has long been the only option made available. But now, amid the legal uncertainty unleashed by the fall of Roe, Prager and colleagues say they’ve been inundated with inquiries from emergency departments across the country. Doctors in states that have since criminalized abortion face stiff penalties, including felony charges, prison time, and the loss of their medical license and livelihoods.
* WaPo | Corporate America Thrives Where Abortion Is Protected: “Healthy workers are more productive,” Raimondo said during a Zoom interview after accompanying President Joe Biden to the building site in Phoenix last week for a new computer chip plant for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. “They show up every day, on time, ready to work - so I think states that provide better access to health care enable a more productive workforce.”
* Six months to the day after the Highland Park massacre, the Daily Herald reports at length on some of the shooting victims. Here’s a very small excerpt…
Liz Turnipseed and her husband, Ian, had been hyping the Highland Park parade for weeks to their 3-year-old daughter, Sonia, who’d spent much of her life in lockdown because of the pandemic.
Their excitement, though, quickly turned to horror on the parade route.
In a moment that “felt like a sonic boom,” Liz Turnipseed, 41, was spun around and thrown to the ground as a bullet struck her in the pelvis.
“I wasn’t knocked out, but I was on the ground and trying to get up,” she said. “And then there was unbearable, sharp, burning pain.”
She immediately looked for her daughter but saw only an overturned stroller. It’s an image that still haunts her.
Her panic eased when she saw her husband holding Sonia. Unable to walk, and with gunfire still raging, Turnipseed told her husband to leave her behind and get Sonia to safety.
…Adding… Protect Illinois Communities has a new TV ad on the assault weapons ban…
Script…
We can save lives right now. But to make a real difference, a new gun safety law must include three things. First, ban the sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Second, require assault weapons to be certified to reduce gun violence. And third, reduce the number of high-capacity magazines in circulation to prevent mass shootings. Tell your legislators: it’s time to take a stand. Pass the Protect Illinois Communities Act now.
* Giannoulias release…
CHICAGO,IL - Illinois Secretary of State-Elect Alexi Giannoulias today announced several senior staff members who will assist in leading his administration.
“I’m proud to announce an executive team that brings immense talent, strong experience and diverse perspectives from both the public and private sectors,” Giannoulias said. “These individuals represent an exemplary group of leaders who will assist in implementing an ambitious agenda that Illinoisans elected me to accomplish.”
In December, Giannoulias announced that Hanah Jubeh and Scott Burnham will both hold the title of Deputy Secretary of State when he takes office on January 9.
The latest appointments include:
Kathleen Nelson, Chief of Staff
Kathleen has spent her career in senior level private industry and public sector positions in law, finance, real estate and government. Most recently, she was employed at Cushman & Wakefield representing clients on industrial, office and retail assignments. Prior to joining Cushman, Kathleen served as the Managing Director, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Ziegler Capital Management. The bulk of Kathleen’s career was spent with the City of Chicago, Department of Planning and Development where she held mayoral appointed positions, including First Deputy Commissioner and Managing Deputy Commissioner. Prior to working with the City, Kathleen worked as a litigation attorney specializing in tort and contract law.
Sheleda Doss, Chief Deputy/Downstate Operations
Sheleda serves as chief of staff for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) where she develops the agency’s long- and short-term plans and goals and acts as an advisor to the Secretary. Previously, Sheleda was the Chief Operating Officer for the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and acted as the principal agency-wide policy advisor and provided oversight for the operations and strategy integration. She also held the title of Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs under State Treasurer Mike Frerichs from 2015 to 2019. A Springfield native, Sheleda began her public service career as legislative liaison in the office of then State Treasurer Giannoulias in 2008.
Aileen Kim, Chief Deputy/Public Programs
Aileen most recently served as a Special Advisor to the Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Education, where she oversaw the execution of priority projects and initiatives that advanced the goals of the Biden-Harris Administration. Prior to her work at the Department, Aileen worked at Tusk Philanthropies/Tusk Strategies and Civitas Public Affairs Group where she developed and managed advocacy and electoral campaigns for Fortune 500 companies, early-stage tech startups, foundations and philanthropists, and non-profit organizations in states across the country. She returns to public service in Illinois after having begun her career as District Director for State Representative John D’Amico.
Aimee Pine, Chief Deputy/Administrative Operations
Aimee is an executive level human resources and operations professional with over 20 years of experience in government, political and non-profit sectors. From 2014 through 2022, Aimee served as the Chief Operating Officer for Illinois Treasurer Mike Frerichs. Prior to that, she worked as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief of Staff for Illinois Lieutenant Governor Sheila Simon. Aimee also worked as the Director of External Affairs, Scheduling and Special Projects when Giannoulias served as Treasurer from 2007 to 2011. She is skilled in strategic planning, and can integrate policy positions involving employee, operational, community, and political issues.
Lashaunna D. Sims-Davis (Shaunna), Chief Deputy/External Affairs
Shaunna previously held the role of Director of Community Development Initiatives for the University of Chicago where she was responsible for community economic development efforts near campus. Shaunna was also the Deputy Procurement Officer at the City of Chicago, developing relationships through targeted outreach and increasing awareness of various incentives and programs. In addition, she served as the Political Director to Mayor Rahm Emanuel, worked in the Mayor’s Office of Legislative Counsel and Government Affairs, serving as a primary contact between the City Council and the administration, assisting in legislative affairs and working with the elected officials.
Vanessa Uribe, Chief Deputy/Driver’s-Vehicles Services
Vanessa most recently served as Chief of Staff for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the state’s lead economic development agency, playing an integral role in the execution of pandemic- relief small business grants and the inaugural launch of the state’s cannabis social equity loan program. As Deputy Director of the Office of Minority Economic Empowerment, she led efforts to increase access to resources and opportunities for an inclusive and equitable business ecosystem. Prior to DCEO, Vanessa managed strategic initiatives for Cook County’s Bureau of Economic Development, including nationally recognized public-private partnerships and special programs like the 2020 Census, and oversaw the national affiliate network for Unidos US.
A measure that Illinois winemakers are looking to get passed in the lame-duck session of the Illinois General Assembly is designed to reduce the annual wine manufacturers’ fee back to the pre-COVID amount.
Senate Bill 1001 would reduce the wine manufacturers’ fee from $1,250 to its previous amount of $750 annually, which was in place before the COVID-19 pandemic. The measure passed the Illinois Senate last year but has yet to pass the House. Lame duck session begins Wednesday and ends Jan. 10.
State Rep. Michael Zalewski, D-Riverside, told The Center Square that lawmakers are working to provide winemakers some relief.
“The winegrowers got swept up in something they did not mean to get swept up in,” Zalewski said. “This is meant to ease the burden on them a little bit. I think we increased fees for a broad range of alcohol growers, and we did not mean for that to be the case.”
* Press release…
Today, Governor JB Pritzker visited the Carole Robertson Center for Learning in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago to highlight historic investments in early childhood education under his administration. The Governor was joined by Senator Cristina Pacione-Zayas, Senator Celina Villanueva, and Representative Camille Lilly.
“Since day one of my administration, one of my top priorities has been making Illinois the best place to live and raise a family,” said Governor Pritzker. “The expansion of our childhood care and education programs is honoring that pledge and setting up our youngest Illinoisans for a successful lifetime of learning. One of the most fiscally responsible investments that we can make is to focus our dollars on our youngest children. This leads to higher graduation rates, higher college attendance rates, greater lifetime earnings, and greater overall wellbeing.”
During his administration, Governor Pritzker has committed the largest amount in Illinois history to expanding and improving early childhood education across Illinois. Throughout the last year, Illinois has expanded its continued investments in the state’s early childhood care and education system in the following ways:
• Extending and expanding the Strengthen and Grow Child Care (SGCC) grant program through July 2023. These grants provide funding for eligible childcare centers and homes.
• Extending the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) eligibility for job seekers through June 2023.
• Enabling more families to access Child Care Assistance Program Benefits than ever before by lowering income thresholds and expanding benefits.
• Launching the “I Got Love/¡Siento Amor!”—a statewide enrollment campaign for childcare and early education services.
• Increasing access to healthy food options in schools across the state, providing Illinois children with the well-rounded, nutritious meals vital to a healthy learning environment.
• Enacting the Children’s Behavioral Health Transformation Initiative to evaluate and redesign the delivery of behavioral health services for children and adolescents throughout Illinois.
Increasing access to healthy food options in schools across the state, providing Illinois children with the well-rounded, nutritious meals vital to a healthy learning environment.
Enacting the Children’s Behavioral Health Transformation Initiative to evaluate and redesign the delivery of behavioral health services for children and adolescents throughout Illinois.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Wednesday that he is “comfortable and confident” a state law ending cash bail that was set to take effect New Year’s Day is constitutional despite a court ruling to the contrary, but that supporters will “come back at it” if the lower court ruling stands. […]
Pritzker on Wednesday said he anticipates a decision “sometime in the next few months.”
While the governor said he and the lawmakers who voted for the law believe it is constitutional, they will “come back at it” if the high court rules otherwise.
* Crain’s | Chicago, suburbs will combine economic development pitch: In an unusual display of regional unity, top elected officials from the metropolitan area today are scheduled to announce a new, joint effort to spur economic development in the Chicago metro area. Officials including Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and DuPage County Board Chair Deb Conroy are unveiling what’s being billed as an initiative to improve the region’s global competitiveness by presenting a common pitch to the outside world, rather than competing with each other.
* Daily Herald opinion | If only there were more like Jesse White in Illinois government: To refer to Jesse White as Illinois’ longest-running secretary of state feels like a disservice to a man who has lived more lives and done more things than many of us could dream of. His 24 years as secretary of state is but the latest chapter in a remarkable life — but certainly not the last.
* Tribune | Twitter says it will relax ban on political advertising: “We also plan to expand the political advertising we permit in the coming weeks,” the company said from its Twitter Safety account. Twitter banned all political advertising in 2019, reacting to growing concern about misinformation spreading on social media.
* Vox | The ultrarich are getting cozy in America’s tax havens at everyone else’s expense: Illinois’ flat income tax is one example of a regressive state tax system, in which the tax burden decreases the richer someone is. They are designed for the benefit of the wealthy — and sometimes by the wealthy — at the expense of low- and middle-income taxpayers.
* Tribune | Former mayor candidate Ray Lopez throws support behind Willie Wilson for Chicago’s top job: “He will be a mayor that respects and unites ethnic neighborhoods all across Chicago,” Lopez said. Lopez had announced his own bid for mayor but was unable to match some of his rivals in fundraising and ended up filing to run for reelection to the Southwest Side 15th Ward seat he’s held for two terms. Lopez is a loud supporter of Chicago Police and has been criticized for harsh rhetoric on crime.
* Daily Herald | Bears subsidy critic tossed from Arlington Heights ballot: An Arlington Heights village board candidate who is a critic of possible public subsidies for the Chicago Bears was tossed from the ballot Tuesday, making the April 4 trustee race uncontested. Martin Bauer didn’t have the required number of signatures on his nominating petitions to run in the spring election, the village’s electoral board ruled, after three separate but similar objections to Bauer’s candidacy were filed.
* Daily Journal | Daily Journal alters daily service: Beginning the week of Jan. 9, the Journal will publish and provide a printed newspaper for its readers on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, meaning the newspaper will provide an e-edition-only newspaper on Tuesday and Thursday.
* Patch | At Least 6 Tornadoes Hit Central Illinois Tuesday: The National Weather Service on Tuesday evening issued tornado warnings throughout Central Illinois, where winds reached speeds of more than 40 mph and produced penny-sized hail in some areas. Reports indicated that tornadoes started moving through the Decatur area shortly after 5 p.m. and several nearby communities were expected to be affected in rapid succession.
* Crain’s | This brash real estate investor helped convict Tony Rezko. Now, he’s in bankruptcy.: The filing represents a new low in the roller-coaster life of a fast-talking dealmaker who bragged last year that he had amassed a net worth of $150 million since his 2017 release from federal prison. But some of his real estate investments have soured over the past year or so, including a former hospital in Elgin and an apartment development in St. Paul, Minn.
* Chicago Tribune story earlier this year about a University of Chicago Crime Lab analysis done for the Chicago Police Department…
Patrol officer counts included a table that showed how many patrol officers in each district responded to 15 or more calls in one month that was examined. A response was counted when an officer reported that they were answering a 911 call or other dispatched events, such as a ShotSpotter alert.
For all districts combined, the number of officers responding to 15 or more calls per month was 3,000. There are 11,500 sworn officers in the department, with most assigned to patrol.
So, if that’s accurate, about 74 percent of all CPD officers are responding to 14 or fewer 911 calls per month.
Citywide, the wait for an officer to be dispatched topped an hour for more than 21,000 calls [in 2022], according to the city’s data. That was roughly 1 of every 24 high-priority calls.
So, that means there were 504,000 priority 911 calls in 2022, which works out to roughly 44 for each Chicago police officer, on average. And yet, there were massive wait times for some high-priority 911 calls.
The basic premise of both Tribune stories is that CPD isn’t properly allocating personnel, an argument echoed elsewhere…
The interim commission that oversees the Chicago Police Department released an analysis [in November] that found the department is not using its $1.94 billion budget “effectively or equitably” because it lacks “a long-term, data-driven strategy to reduce violence.”
The 16-page report was the first action of the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability after it finally launched at the end of August, more than eight months behind schedule. […]
“Our spending on public safety is not delivering the results our communities need,” wrote commission President Anthony Driver in a letter to the City Council. “We need to spend better and more strategically. Workforce allocation problems also create untenable and unacceptable work conditions for Chicago police officers. They deserve better.”
Busloads of people were getting ready Tuesday night to head to the Illinois State Capitol this week.
They want to urge lawmakers to take action on a bill that would ban semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity magazines. But those fighting against that bill are already promising legal action.
As CBS 2 Political Investigator Dana Kozlov reported, this is the latest version of a bill that went nowhere for years. Another bill banning so-called assault-style weapons languished in the Rules Committee for a year.
But the Highland Park July 4th parade massacre renewed a push to pass the law. And now, hundreds of doctors from hospitals, including Northwestern Memorial Hospital, are involved in the fight.
“We don’t want to see this anymore,” said Dr. Selwyn Rogers.
Dr. Rogers is the leading trauma surgeon at the University of Chicago Medical Center emergency room. He is one of more than 300 Chicago area doctors who have signed a letter urging state lawmakers to pass the Protect Illinois Communities Act. […]
“I think the fact that physicians are actually willing to sign this letter is a strong testament to the fact that we’ve had enough as physicians,” Rogers said.
— FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Physicians and faith leaders are calling on Illinois legislators to pass the Protect Illinois Communities Act, which would ban assault weapons. “We have witnessed firsthand the trauma that gun violence inflicts on communities and families across our state,” some 350 doctors said in a signed letter to lawmakers who are meeting this week in Springfield for a lame duck session addressing the assault weapons legislation. “We do not have to live like this,” the letter continues.
Sigh.
* Anyway, from a press release…
Today, dozens of multi-denominational faith leaders congregated at the Good Hope Free Will Baptist Church to express their support for a ban on both assault weapons and high capacity magazines and urge legislators to vote yes on the Protect Illinois Communities Act. The Good Hope Free Will Baptist Church, located in East Garfield Park, is just a few blocks from where a mass shooting took place in October 2022, when 14 people were wounded and one died.
“Bright futures and innocent lives are continuously being gunned down,” said Reverend Ira Acree, pastor of Greater St. John Bible Church in Austin. “Rifles, AK-47s and combat weapons should not be in the hands of ordinary citizens.”
At the press conference, Pastor Cornelius Parks of the Good Hope Free Will Baptist Church, Reverend Ira Acree of Greater St. John Bible Church, Reverend Marshall Hatch of New Mount Pilgrim Church, Reverend Janette Wilson of Rainbow PUSH, Rabbi Ike Serotta of Lakeside Congregation of Reform Judaism, Pastor John Edgerton of the First United Church of Oak Park, Bishop Simon Gordon of the Triedstone Church of Chicago, Imam Abdullah Madhyun of Masjid Al Ihsan, and Father Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina Catholic Church all spoke about the urgency of passing the Protect Illinois Communities Act to save lives.
“High capacity magazines have no use but as weapons of war—they make our streets a battleground and have no place in our state,” stated Pastor John Edgerton, the president of the Community of Congregation and Pastor of First United Church of Oak Park.
Additionally today, over 75 faith leaders released a letter calling on legislators to pass the Protect Illinois Communities Act. In the letter, they write, “While we may practice different faiths, we are united in keeping our communities free and safe from weapons of war that have no place in our schools, houses of worship, movie theaters, playgrounds, or streets.” […]
A poll released by Everytown for Gun Safety last month demonstrated that these gun safety measures have widespread support across the state. Overall, 52% of Illinoisans believe gun laws in Illinois should be stronger, including nearly three quarters of Black voters and 56% of Hispanic voters. A ban on assault weapons has the support of 58% of Illinoisans.
Todd Vandermyde, a long time gun-owner rights advocate, said on his YouTube channel opponents of the measure don’t plan to negotiate on what kinds of guns to ban.
“You’re just educating them on how to build a better mousetrap,” Vandermyde said. “The broader it is, the more heinous it is, the more all-encompassing it is, the easier it’s going to be to kill in court.”
In the fight against climate change, national goals are facing local resistance. [Piatt County, Illinois] scheduled 19 nights of meetings to debate one wind farm [in Monticello]. […]
In the fight against global warming, the federal government is pumping a record $370 billion into clean energy, President Biden wants the nation’s electricity to be 100 percent carbon-free by 2035, and many states and utilities plan to ramp up wind and solar power.
But while policymakers may set lofty goals, the future of the American power grid is in fact being determined in town halls, county courthouses and community buildings across the country. […]
In Piatt County, population 16,000, the project at issue is Goose Creek Wind, which has been proposed by Apex Clean Energy, a developer of wind and solar farms based in Virginia. Apex spent years negotiating leases with 151 local landowners and trying to win over the community, donating to the 4-H Club and a mental health center. […]
The website of a group called Save Piatt County!, which opposes the project, is rife with fallacies about renewable energy and inaccuracies about climate science. On Facebook pages, residents opposed to the project shared negative stories about wind power, following a playbook that has been honed in recent years by anti-wind activists, some of whom have ties to the fossil fuel industry. The organizers of the website and Facebook groups did not reply to requests for comment. […]
A few miles down the road is Gallagher Farms, another multigenerational operation. Like Mr. Bragg, Ms. Gallagher, 34, believes in climate change. She has invested in cover crops, which absorb carbon and lock it away in the soil, and other regenerative agriculture practices.
But Ms. Gallagher is opposed to the project. The aerial seeding of cover crops will cost more with wind turbines nearby and make it harder for her to sustainably farm. The use of heavy equipment to install turbines can disrupt drainage patterns in agricultural land, and Ms. Gallagher believes her farm will suffer.
The General Assembly must take swift legislative action to defend CEJA and stop these bad-faith attack campaigns before it’s too late. There is a bill before the legislature during this “lame duck” session, which starts today.
Please help us build support to end these bans by asking your legislators to support legislation that does the following:
• removes overburdensome local bans and siting regulations
• keeps intact and prioritizes protections for endangered species and natural areas
• encourages good conservation practices at utility-scale clean energy sites
At Least 15 Counties have Effectively Banned or Significantly Hindered Renwables
This ordinance adopted by the Moultrie County Board on May 12, 2022 killed at least two wind projects in the planning stages and prevents others from even being contemplated.
A letter from a Moultrie County farm owner in support is here.
* The Question: Regardless of this particular bill, should there be statewide siting standards for wind and solar farms?
“Crime is out of control, and combative leadership is failing us.”
Paul Vallas will put crime and your safety first.
“I’ll work with every community in every part of our city to confront our crime problem. Hold department leadership accountable, put more police on our streets and public transportation, open schools after hours to ensure young Chicagoans have safe alternatives to gangs and violence. And I’ll bring people together to get it done.”
Paul Vallas, crime and your safety is his top priority.
Crime is Chicago’s biggest problem, and Paul Vallas is a lifelong Democrat who puts crime and your safety first. As city budget director he made public safety a priority, helping grow the police department to record levels. Crime came down. Later, Vallas advised President Obama’s Department of Justice on needed criminal justice reforms. And when Mayor Lightfoot and our police were at odds, Vallas led negotiations that got an agreement no one thought possible. Paul Vallas. The difference? He puts crime and you’re safety first.
Brandon Johnson has a plan to make Chicago safer. Grow Chicago businesses and create jobs. Brandon’s plan will improve public schools for all of our kids. For mayor, Brandon Johnson is better for Chicago.
What do we really know about Chuy Garcia? Chuy secretly talked with this crypto crook who stole his customer’s life savings. Then spent a fortune to reelect Garcia. Chuy cut deals to help himself with the since-indicted Mike Madigan. Even while the disgraced speaker faced a federal corruption investigation. And Chuy took money from a red light camera company just hours before he delivered the deciding vote that made the company millions. Crypto crooks, indicted pals and pay to play profiteers. The more you know, the worse it gets.
* Crain’s | Here’s who gets more than $300 million in local congressional earmarks: The biggest chunk of funding was secured by the state’s two senators, Democrats Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, who released a joint list of accomplishments. “This appropriations package makes significant investments in the future of Illinois,” Durbin said in a statement. “Our state and nation are stronger when we invest in our communities and families—and that’s what this bipartisan funding agreement does.”
* WTAX | Raoul v fake reviews: If we’re talking about fake product reviews, the Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul says, “Zero Stars – Would Not Recommend.” Raoul says the Federal Trade Commission and attorneys general around the country are taking some online sellers to court. One would be Roomster, a web site which charges a fee for access to rentals and other housing-related listings. Raoul says people rely on such reviews to make online buying decisions.
* Crain’s | Reilly to run unopposed, again, after challenger withdraws: Reilly’s lone opponent in the race, Chris Cleary, withdrew from the ballot amid a petition challenge in late December, according to the Chicago Board of Ethics. Cleary did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
* WCIA | Life expectancy rate in Illinois ranks in middle among other states : Illinois’s life expectancy rate is 76.8 years in 2020, down from 79 years in 2019 and 78.8 in 2018. The state falls in a similar range to a few other states, including Texas, Florida, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Alaska, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland.
Today, the Pritzker-Stratton Inaugural Committee announced the charitable partner organizations that will receive the proceeds from ticket sales and contributions made to the inaugural committee: the Jesse White Foundation and the Central Illinois Foodbank.
The inaugural committee is proud to partner with the foundation of one of our greatest statesmen—Jesse White, who has built a legacy of service and leadership in Illinois. Donations will support his foundation’s extensive programming, which benefits at-risk youth and provides educational opportunities for low-income students in the state. Additionally, contributions will help reinforce the critical work of the Central Illinois Foodbank, where the governor will also attend a community service volunteer event during Inauguration Weekend, to provide food to central and southern Illinois families experiencing food insecurity.
Governor JB Pritzker and Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton also announced the broad coalition of members of their 2023 inaugural committee, who will organize a weekend of events in Springfield for Illinois families to come together to celebrate their inaugural swearing-in ceremony and more.
“We look forward to joining together with families from every corner of our great state to celebrate Governor Pritzker and Lt. Governor Stratton’s historic reelection and inauguration,” said JB Inauguration Committee 2023 President Mike Ollen. “The governor and lieutenant governor have shown how to be strong leaders during difficult times, and Illinoisans’ lives and livelihoods will be better with another four years under their leadership.
Inaugural events will take place Jan. 7-9 in Springfield, including a community service volunteer event, open house, and interfaith service, followed by the inaugural swearing-in ceremony and inaugural celebration. Event details will continue to be updated on the inaugural committee’s website at ilinauguration23.com.
Still nothing publicly posted about tickets to the ball.
* About the Jesse White Foundation…
The Jesse White Foundation’s mission is to support programs benefiting at-risk youth and to provide educational opportunities for low-income students and families. The Jesse White Foundation supports the Jesse White Tumbling Team, which since its inception 63 years ago has helped more than 18,500 kids stay away from gangs and drugs while staying in school and getting good grades. The Jesse White Tumbling Team has a strong track record of helping guide at-risk youth onto the path to a lifetime of success.
In addition, the Jesse White Foundation operates the Jesse White Scholarship Program and the Jesse White Tutoring Program to help kids obtain the funding and tutoring necessary to enroll and flourish in college. More than $1 million in college scholarships have been awarded to members of the Jesse White Tumbling Team, allowing dozens each year to attend college.
The Jesse White Foundation also serves as a driving force to provide job opportunities to the unemployed and help feed low-income families, including the annual sponsoring of large-scale ham and turkey giveaways during the holiday season.
The Jesse White Foundation has launched these programs in a concerted effort to better position low-income families and at-risk youth to achieve and sustain success at home, in school, and at work.
The spotlight will be on Springfield this week as the Legislature returns for its pre-inaugural lame-duck session with a pair of key business-related measures now reportedly on a fast track.
The first is the proposed package of electric vehicle incentives, including a huge “deal-closing fund,” that Gov. J.B. Pritzker wants. Team Pritzker hopes that will be enough to convince Stellantis and partners to invest in converting the soon-to-be-shuttered Belvidere assembly plant to EV production.
As of Monday, multiple capitol sources said the measure appears to be in good shape, with lawmakers fine-tuning what type of oversight they’d have on the fund, which could hit $1 billion. Sources say the governor and aides have been regularly meeting with Stellantis and that Pritzker recently sat down with the local United Auto Workers union.
Also percolating: a measure that would give workers statewide seven paid days off a year for sick leave, family emergencies, etc. Business groups supported the measure because, as originally drafted, it would have preempted even stronger requirements elsewhere, like in Chicago, which could raise its current five-day mandate. But the latest word is the preemption clause is out at the request of organized labor but over the opposition of business.
Labor unions, progressives and Chicago’s mayor killed that paid sick leave bill last year because of the preemption clause.
* Rep. Carol Ammons (D-Urbana) announced a couple of weeks ago that she wants to be appointed to the seat once held by the late Sen. Scott Bennett…
Three applicants have made their interest in the seat public — state Rep. Carol Ammons, D-Urbana, City of Champaign Township Supervisor Andy Quarnstrom and Cindy Cunningham, who ran unsuccessfully for the Illinois House seat currently held by state Rep. Mike Marron, R-Fithian.
Ammons and her supporters, including Cunningham Township Supervisor Danielle Chynoweth, argue Ammons is the vastly superior choice. But while she has strong supporters in the local Democratic Party, she also has virulent critics.
Commenting on The News-Gazette’s Facebook page, former Champaign City Council member Clarissa Fourman said of Ammons’ interest, “No. Just NO.”
The decision over who replaces Bennett falls to the Democratic Party Chairs of Champaign and Vermillion County, but Champaign’s Democratic Party will ultimately have way more weight in the decision. […]
If Ammons is chosen, then the Champaign Democratic Party would also need to appoint a replacement to her seat in the House of Representatives, but the 30-day counter would start over.
Rep. Ammons has plastered her Instagram account with testimonials…
I have decided to submit my name for the vacancy in the Illinois 52nd Senate District.
The decision was clearly not an easy one to make. But I’m confident in my vice chair and the advisory committee we’ve convened. I will recuse myself from the process and let my vice chair run the process. She has a wealth of experience and has been an active supporter of other candidates who have submitted their names. I am confident that she will do a wonderful job.
I want to be the senator from the 52nd State Senate District, and I will be doing everything I can to convince both chairs that I would be a good choice: with knowledge of both counties, a desire to honor Scott’s legacy, and a track record of winning elections and delivering on campaign promises. Whoever is chosen will have my support.
…Adding… With a hat tip to a commenter, here’s the list of applicants…
Andrew Quarnstrom
Carol Ammons
Cristina M Manuel
Cynthia Cunningham
David Palmer
Gianina Baker
Kyle Patterson
Matthew Sullard
Mickensy Ellis-White
Mike Ingram
Paul Faraci
* New member…
Rep. Huffman will serve until Jan. 11. The two-year term former Rep. Butler was elected to in November, which begins that day, is expected to be filled by Saputo’s owner Mike Coffey. #twillhttps://t.co/0kl9TltMUF
Illinois is set to receive $354.6 million in federal funding for four state programs to help small businesses, the U.S. Treasury announced.
The money will help Illinois small businesses attract more capital investment and expand or launch business operations, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration said in a statement.
Todd Maisch, president and CEO of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, welcomes the funding but has reservations about the Pritzker administration’s overall commitment to small business.
“If the governor renews his effort to bring back the graduated income tax or steps up the timetable for increasing the minimum wage, he will completely erase $350 million and probably increase costs to small businesses by at least a billion dollars,” Maisch told The Center Square.
* Sun-Times | Durbin pushing through historic diversity on federal bench: “I’m pretty proud of what we’ve been able to achieve,” said Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, who starts a second term as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee when the new 118th Congress kicks off on Tuesday.
* Sun-Times | Madigan’s downfall sparks new career for former aide: Selling weed in Michigan: Last summer, Noonan began what he hopes will be a mellower, second career as an owner of an organic marijuana farm and certified “ganjier” in this small city in southwest Michigan. Noonan, 54, says he’s done with politics in Illinois and is dedicating himself to fighting for “the craft weed revolution” in his new home on the other side of Lake Michigan.
* Crain’s | Bears interview Big Ten commish Kevin Warren for top job: report: The Chicago Bears have interviewed Big Ten conference Commissioner Kevin Warren, who is considered a finalist for the team’s soon-to-be vacant president and CEO position, the Chicago Sun-Times reports, citing an unnamed source.
* Tribune | Inflation won’t stop 2023 auto sales growth amid chip recovery: Two years of semiconductor shortages and supply problems have kept vehicle production low and inventories lean. With factories picking up pace again, consumers will buy more vehicles this year even if automakers have to help them manage rising interest rates by cutting today’s lofty prices.
* Crain’s | ‘Battery Belt’ will be a new kind of job magnet: In 2022 we saw industrial policy passed by Congress intersect with investment plans from major manufacturers and startups, all emphasizing the future need for batteries for energy storage.
* Sun-Times | Howard Brown Health workers begin three-day strike: Workers on a three-day strike demonstrated outside a Howard Brown Health center Tuesday to denounce the organization’s decision to layoff a group of 61 union workers in the midst of contract negotiations.
* Crain’s | Chicago’s most famous chef was also a lousy businessman: In a new documentary film about Chicago’s Charlie Trotter, the superstar chef declares in archival footage, “Basically, I hate people.” A constantly frustrated perfectionist in the kitchen, he was talking about customers, employees and suppliers.
* Tribune | Lawmakers in New York get pay raise making them nation’s best-paid: Just in time for the New Year, New York lawmakers have become the highest paid state legislators in the nation under a bill signed Saturday. Members of both houses are getting a pay raise of $32,000, for a base salary of $142,000, under a bill Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a day before her inauguration Sunday. That’s a 29% raise over their previous salary of $110,000.
* Crain’s | Exelon to stay based in Chicago: Calvin Butler, who with the new year takes the reins as CEO of the giant utility holding company, is moving back to Chicago, and the company “is and will remain” headquartered here, a spokeswoman said this morning.
* WTTW | ‘Surviving R.Kelly’: Final Installment Examines Trial and More Details: “Surviving R. Kelly Part III: The Final Chapter” is a two-part look at the legal fallout Kelly has faced. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison in June following his 2021 conviction on federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges, stemming from his efforts over decades to use his fame as a top-selling recording artist and songwriter to ensnare victims he sexually abused.
* Crain’s | Developers pitch $1.2 billion of LaSalle Street residential conversions: Some of Chicago’s best-known developers are collectively pitching more than $1.2 billion-worth of projects to turn outdated office buildings on and near LaSalle Street into places to live, a key step toward what could be a historic transformation of the vacancy-ridden Loop thoroughfare.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is asking Illinois state legislators for $54 million to help fund emergency services to asylum-seeking individuals and migrants.
Lightfoot made the request in a letter to state legislators from Chicago, obtained by the Tribune. She noted that Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration sent a letter to the city saying the state is “out of funds and will no longer be able to support city migrant services efforts as of February 1, 2023.”
Now, scroll all the way to the end of the article…
A letter to city officials signed by Alicia Tate-Nadeau, the director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, and Grace Hou, secretary of the Illinois Department of Human Services, said the state has spent more than $120 million and helped provide shelter and services to 3,700 people. But the state agencies “have exhausted all available fiscal resources for the operation of the asylum seeker mission,” said the letter, obtained by the Tribune.
The $120 million figure is incorrect, but it’s not off by much. From the governor’s office…
• The state has spent or committed to an estimated $116.4M to date on the asylum seeker emergency response.
o $61.6M for contracted staff who provided on site case management and other services at multiple locations including management for both city and state operations.
o $8.0M committed for Interim Housing
o $3.9M for health screenings for asylum seekers
o $29.4M for hotel, transportation and housing costs
o $13.5M for DHS provided assistance (legal, rental, shelters)
It should come as no surprise the state’s well is about to run dry. The state doesn’t have unlimited cash. Nor does the city, which in December alone spent $7 million on migrant services. And as one lawmaker told us, budget priorities have to be set. As he put it, “What about the people living in tents who are already here?”
Yep. The state and the city got dumped on by a Texas governor and the state and city both had robust reactions to the stunt-based influx, but that spending is just not sustainable. Meanwhile, here’s what the state is spending on our own homeless problem…
• In FY23, 16 State agencies participating in the Interagency Commission on Homelessness will manage $564.8M in programs that are homeless dedicated or where homeless households are prioritized for assistance.
o Federal - $256.1M
o State - $211.6M
o Federal Stimulus - $98.1M
The asylum seekers were thrust upon the state and the city, so I have zero problems with their rescues being heavily prioritized. It would, however, be nice to see the same enthusiasm and sense of purpose infused into helping homeless people all over this state.
* Fortunately, the recently passed federal appropriations ominbus has about $800 million in grants available for the asylum seekers in all the states which are being dumped on. And the state is finally changing its approach to the problem because the past spending pattern can’t continue this way…
In a statement, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office noted the state has already spent $120 million to support asylum-seekers but said state officials are working with the Lightfoot administration to “transition from emergency operations” to building a capacity “to handle these critical operations in a streamlined and efficient manner.” […]
“Our administration is pleased that additional federal funds were included in the latest spending bill signed by President (Joe) Biden and the state will apply for those dollars as soon as possible,” said Jordan Abudayyeh, a Pritzker spokeswoman. […]
Jaclyn Driscoll, a spokeswoman for Democratic House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, said in a text message that “we are reviewing” the mayor’s request, while Illinois Senate President Don Harmon’s spokeswoman, Liz Mitchell, said Harmon “will be discussing it with members of the caucus.”
The city has been renovating the vacant Wadsworth Elementary School to house the asylum seekers starting as early as this week, which should cut down on daily out of pocket costs.
A week after three days-worth of testimonial hearings took place on House Bill 5855 — legislation aiming to put an assault weapons ban in place in Illinois — an anti-gun violence group continues to advocate for the bill’s passing.
‘Protect Illinois Communities’ has bought time on Chicago TV, cable streaming and digital with a mother’s emotional plea to pass the ban on assault-style weapons.
“No parent should ever lose their child to gun violence,” said Mary Dieudonne-Hill. “So the way I honor her is to stand up and speak out. We have to all wake up and protect our children.”
Dieudonne-Hill’s 19-year-old daughter was away at North Carolina A&T working toward earning a degree in computer science when a gunman opened fire at a house party near campus, killing her daughter. Since that day in 2016, Dieudonne-Hill has been on a mission to keep her daughter’s memory alive through advocacy.
But the House bill needs to do a better job of addressing the dangers of high-capacity magazines. For example, it would make all high-capacity magazines illegal the minute the bill is enacted into law. Does Illinois really want to make criminals of people who legally bought the magazines in the past and may not even have heard about a new law? […]
Among other provisions that should be in the final bill are banning the manufacture and sale of assault weapons in Illinois and requiring existing assault weapons in the state to be registered. There are too many such weapons in the wrong hands now. At a hearing on Tuesday, Elena Gottreich, deputy mayor for public safety for Chicago, testified that 1,025 assault weapons were seized in the city last year and as of Tuesday, 1,156 were seized this year.
Lawmakers must be careful how they define assault weapons. It’s a complicated process, full of technical details. And once new rules are in place, gun manufacturers will start working on designing weapons that still act like assault weapons while staying just inside the law.
For years, people unfortunately felt the only answer to the widespread possession of powerful guns by criminals was to keep an eye out for escape exits when they were in public places. Now, the pendulum is swinging the other way, and people are coming to realize the right reforms can make everyone safer.
The Madison County Board has overwhelmingly approved a resolution opposing a proposed “assault weapon” ban being considered by the Illinois General Assembly.
At its most recent meeting the Madison County Board voted 22-4 for a resolution opposing the bill. Those voting against it were Democrats Michael “Doc” Holliday and Bill Stoutenborough, both of Alton, and Victor Valentine and Alison Lamothe, both of Edwardsville.
Prior to the vote Stoutenborough suggested referring the issue to the Public Safety Committee and holding a non-binding referendum in the spring, but others said that would be too late.
Lamothe said she was voting against the resolution in honor of those killed during a mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park this year that left seven people dead and dozens injured.
Madison County Board Member Michael Turner, R-Godfrey, said he wanted unanimous support for the resolution.
“It turns law-abiding citizens into felons,” he said of the bill, adding there is no evidence that such bans “solve any problems.”
* Mayor of Highland Park recalls the July 4 shooting during Q&A with the Daily Herald…
Time has passed — six months on Wednesday — but the pain is very much still there for Rotering and others affected by the senseless violence of that terrible day. [Highland Park Mayor Nancy] Rotering spoke with the Daily Herald about her memories of the shooting, how she’s coped with the tragedy and the action she’s taken to prevent other communities from experiencing similar suffering. […]
“I have spoken with President Biden several times. We are encouraged by his frequent public statements that he stands with us in our effort to federally ban assault weapons and large-capacity magazines. He, too, believes that these weapons of war have no place in our communities.
In the wake of the massacre, President Biden called to share his absolute grief at what had happened to our community and to offer words of support and his deepest condolences. At that time, he invited me to join him, and others impacted by gun violence in Washington. On Monday, July 11th, I traveled to the White House for an event to mark the historic signing of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. The act is a common-sense, bipartisan proposal to protect America’s children, keep our schools safe and reduce the threat of violence across our country.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Highland Park police Cmdr. Chris O’Neill and I had the opportunity to speak one-on-one with President Biden before the event. President Biden agreed with us that the act is a first step to reducing the carnage, diminishing the fear, and alleviating the suffering of the American public — but we need to do more. Around the same time, he unveiled his Safer America Plan that, among other things, includes steps to keep firearms out of dangerous hands as well as a federal assault weapons and large-capacity magazine ban. We are deeply appreciative of his continued support and work toward getting these high-powered weapons out of our communities.”
In principle, there’s a desire by a majority of lawmakers to ban assault weapons, but the details are yet to be worked out. House sponsors of the legislation are confident they have the votes, but they haven’t taken a roll call on the bill. They’re still talking to lawmakers about tweaks and clarifications. And then they have to confer with senators.
Devil in the details: They’re haggling over defining what capacity magazines to ban, what the timeline for enforcement would be and age limits for owning a gun.
* Sun-Times Letters to the Editor | My son was killed by gun violence. Pass Protect Illinois Communities Act to stop more deaths. : I take no issue with responsible gun ownership. I am a member of a family who used guns to hunt when we were children. My friends are responsible gun owners, and I know fellow survivors who are members of the NRA. However, as an advocate who witnesses the daily devastation of gun violence in our communities, and a mother who has experienced it first-hand, I stand unequivocally on the side of common-sense legislation like the Protect Illinois Communities Act under consideration in the Illinois General Assembly.
* The Center Square | Illinois Has a Gun Trafficking Problem : According to 2021 data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, 53.0% of traced guns in Illinois were sold by an out-of-state retailer - the seventh largest share in the country. Firearms traced by the ATF typically have been used, or are suspected to have been used, to commit a crime.
* ABC Chicago | These are the gun control laws passed in 2022 : President Joe Biden in June signed into law the first major gun safety legislation passed in decades. The measure failed to ban any weapons, but it includes funding for school safety and state crisis intervention programs. Many states — including California, Delaware and New York — have also passed new laws to help curb gun violence, such as regulating untraceable ghost guns and strengthening background check systems.
I told subscribers more than a month ago about the possibility that Darren Bailey could run for Mike Bost’s congressional seat in 2024. Bost has a nothing-burger race, but he’s up on broadcast TV and his campaign told me they’ve also made “hundreds of thousands of grassroots voter contacts to ensure folks understand all Mike Bost is doing to fight for our conservative values in Congress.”
The Main Street Caucus today penned an official letter to their congressional colleagues in support of Kevin McCarthy for Speaker of the House.
“We are confident the gavel will only elevate his ability to effectively champion and communicate our Members’ policies and priorities. With the solid leadership team our Conference has already nominated, we will advance initiatives by finding common ground rooted in our principles– not by simply compromising beliefs,” wrote the Caucus. “Americans on ‘Main Street’ and throughout our nation have experienced a striking decline in their quality of life under divisive, unresponsive Democrat rule in Congress. This upcoming speakership election is our opportunity to gather together and light the right path for America.”
The Main Street Caucus is a group comprised of Members focused on governing and delivering common-sense, conservative solutions on the kitchen-table issues facing Americans. The current Co-Chairs of the Main Street Caucus are Representatives Pete Stauber, Don Bacon, and Mike Bost.
The IL Congressional delegation has an opportunity to set a new direction in Washington. One that puts working families first. Will they vote for reform, or will they vote for the same leadership as before with Kevin McCarthy? Pay attention and hold them accountable. #Twillhttps://t.co/ytuZGJTbvx
Illinois House Deputy Majority Leader Jehan Gordon-Booth, D-Peoria, headed up her chamber’s efforts to amend the controversial SAFE-T Act this year. The day before the bill came up for a vote, I asked her what were, in her opinion, the largest misconceptions about the 2021 social justice reform law.
Gordon-Booth pointed to the trespassing issue. “I don’t care if you live in rural, urban, suburban. The trespassing [issue] was one that just made a lot of folks incredibly uncomfortable.”
Gordon-Booth got a taste for that last summer, she said, when she sat down with a young, millennial police officer she described as a “cop’s cop.” She also met with her local Peoria police chief and the chief’s top brass.
Their top concern was the perceived inability for police to make trespassing arrests under the existing provisions of the SAFE-T Act. Some of her fellow legislators also expressed that concern, so, Gordon-Booth decided, “we just needed to be far more clear about what our intent was.” That intent, she said, “was obviously not as it was framed,” by opponents. “We just had to be more clear about how we wanted the language to read so that it was interpreted the same way by everybody, by all parties.”
So, changes were made that now make it explicitly clear that arrests can be made.
I also asked Gordon-Booth to reflect a bit on the opposition to the new law. She said she’d witnessed some major national backlashes throughout her life, so the fact that people would try to gin up another one on this law didn’t surprise her.
She said she had no illusions “that the SAFE-T Act was going to be used as a tool to fear-monger, to try to get Illinoisans to believe that somehow those of us that are elected officials, many of us who live and represent communities that are also plagued by the violence that we all find abhorrent, many of us also being crime victims. I wasn’t surprised that they used the fear tactic and used the SAFE-T Act as the tool to try to drive the fear.” But, she said, “It still punches you in the gut when you see it play out.”
Even so, Gordon-Booth said, “We knew that we put together a strong body of work that we could stand behind, stand on and not run from,” adding, “it’s a great feeling to know that those fear-mongering tactics did not work.”
The tactics may not have worked politically, but Rep. Maurice West, D-Rockford, wrote a powerful op-ed for the Rockford Register Star about how SAFE-T Act misinformation caused harm.
West, the “only Black legislator in the northern Illinois region,” wrote in his op-ed that the misinformation spread about the legislation, “strategically led people down a path to think of dark-skinned people being let out of jail to destroy our community. Once that bell is rung,” he wrote, “you can’t un-ring it.”
And that, he wrote, is why he is having trouble accepting an attempted walk-back from his local Republican State’s Attorney J. Hanley, who was recently quoted as saying he regretted helping spread that misinformation, which West claimed, “led to confusion and anger in our community and threats to me and my family personally.”
“Because of this misinformation,” West, a church pastor, wrote, “my faith was questioned, my life threatened, and the N-word was used so expressively and easily by some. All while my fellow local elected leaders, on both sides of the aisle, threw me under the bus for their political survival.”
I reached out to West to talk to him directly about his experiences. He said much of the harassment involved calls to his legislative office, “with a quick hang-up after using racist remarks.”
The one that really shook up West and his family was, “a guy who called our office looking to see if the ‘N-word’ was there,” West said. “My office assistant tries to calm him down and tell him that I wasn’t there, but she’s willing to talk to him about the legislation. He calls her a lying c**t and said he doesn’t believe her and he’s coming to the office regardless.” West said he shut the office down for the day.
Legislators’ home addresses are easily accessible online, and because the harassment and threats caused his family so much angst and fear, West said he is now “working on legislation to hide the personal address of each candidate, and the only way to see it is to request copies of the petitions and leave your address as well.”
* The Question: Do you agree or disagree with Rep. West’s idea to conceal the personal home addresses of political candidates? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
The Illinois Supreme Court has issued an order staying the PFA until further order of the Court. This is being done to maintain consistent pretrial procedures in Illinois until the Court can hear the appeal, which will be heard on an expedited basis. https://t.co/kawpAYPb8x
Regardless of who is ultimately bound by the decision of the circuit court and the propriety of the decision on the merits, it is inevitable that on 12:01 a.m., January 1, 2023, there will be disparate methods of pretrial procedures occurring in jurisdictions across the State. Some jurisdictions consider themselves bound by the order of the Kankakee Circuit Court and proceed pursuant to current cash bail provisions; others will not and will proceed pursuant to the provisions of the Pretrial Fairness Act.
Movants are particularly sensitive to this problem as they have under their jurisdiction municipalities that span jurisdictions. For example, Naperville spans DuPage and Will Counties. Will County was a party to the lawsuit in Kankakee County, DuPage County was not. It is reasonable to anticipate that the counties will proceed differently on January 1, 2023. And Aurora spans four counties – DuPage, Kane, Kendall and Will – two of which were parties to the lawsuit and two of which were not. It is not an overstatement to describe the situation as chaotic.
Upon information and belief, at least three temporary restraining orders from counties not parties to the lawsuit have been granted.
These orders maintain the current status quo and do not allow the Pretrial Fairness Act to go into effect in those counties. […]
This Court should exercise its supervisory authority to enter an order sufficient to maintain consistent pretrial procedures because without such an order, defendants in different jurisdictions will be subject to different treatment upon arrest and throughout pretrial proceedings, creating an equal protection problem for citizens across the state.
Kankakee County State’s Attorney James Rowe argued the law was too broad to meet so-called “single subject rule “of the Illinois Constitution. He said it also violated a constitutional provision that says “all persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties,” insisting that Illinois judges should be allowed to set cash bail.
“The legislature, again, has put their hands on your gavel,” Rowe told Judge Thomas Cunnington.
Supporters of the SAFE-T Act are confident the Illinois Supreme Court will overturn the ruling, and cash bail will eventually be eliminated.
“While I am disappointed in the decision by the plaintiffs’ preferred trial court, I remain confident we will ultimately prevail on appeal,” House Speaker Emmanuel “Chris” Welch (D-Hillside) said in a statement.
The appeal process could take some time, and in the mean time, the ruling is causing confusion for the 37 counties that were not involved in the suit.
Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart, who supports the elimination of cash bail, said he was disappointed in Cunnington’s decision but said he understands why the Supreme Court ruled that uniformity in Illinois must exist. He’s argued that while the bail system can keep poor, nonviolent defendants locked up because they can’t afford to make bail, the system allows dangerous criminals to be released pending trial if they have the financial means.
“Lake County was ready to start arguing (Sunday) that violent offenders shouldn’t be able to use cash to buy their way out,” he said in a text message to the Tribune. “A few days ago, one of our defendants charged with possessing dozens of weapons and resisting law enforcement posted $75,000.
“Illinois will be safer when we join the federal courts in eliminating access to money as a factor in determining who is released,” Rinehart continued. “We were ready and will be ready when the Supreme Court reinstates (these provisions) later this year.”
In Cook County, officials were prepared to move ahead with the reform measures Sunday, even as the legal wrangling persisted.
“It wasn’t surprising,” [Cook County Public Defender Sharone Mitchell Jr.] said. “There is a real value in ensuring the entire state is working off the same playbook.” […]
“It would not make sense with one courtroom over here, they were using cash bond – and another courtroom over there, they weren’t,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell calls the statewide playbook critical. So until the state Supreme Court reviews the law, it is as if the law never existed – and cash bond continues.
After a six-month election-year reprieve, drivers will see taxes go up at the pump twice in 2023.
The first hike, on New Year’s Day, will be an increase of 3.1 cents, to 42.3 cents per gallon.
Under a 2019 measure that doubled the gas tax to help pay for Pritzker’s $45 billion Rebuild Illinois construction program, the tax is supposed to increase each July based on the rate of inflation.
But faced with soaring prices for gas and other necessities during what was expected to be a tough election year, Pritzker and the Democratic-controlled legislature pushed off last July’s gas tax hike until after the November balloting.
Advocated fighting domestic violence applaud a law (SB3667) that gives domestic violence survivors more flexibility in seeking court protections, by allowing for the online filing of petitions for protective orders.
In the nine counties with populations of 250,000 residents or more (Cook, DuPage, Lake, Will, Kane, McHenry, Winnebago and Madison counties) courts must also offer the option of remote proceedings. […]
In 2023, employees can take a maximum of 10 working days of leave due to an unsuccessful IVF procedure, failed adoption, stillbirth or miscarriage (Senate Bill 3120 / Public Act 102-1050). […]
The statewide minimum wage will notch up in 2023 to $13 an hour. State law provides that it will go up by another dollar the next two years, until it reaches $15 in 2025.
If you hold an Illinois driver’s license, several new driving laws in effect for 2023 may impact you.
According to Chicago personal injury attorney Lance D. Northcutt, one of the bigger changes is a shift in language for a number of laws related to traffic collisions. The change replaces the word “accident” with “crash.” […]
As carjackings continue to rise across Illinois, lawmakers approved a bill in the spring that makes it so “a person shall not be liable for violations, fees, fines, or penalties during the period in which the motor vehicle was reported to the appropriate law enforcement agency as stolen or hijacked.” […]
This new law will add community service as a penalty for failing to stop for a school bus that is “receiving or discharging pupils and has displayed visual signals,” or for speeding in excess of 20 miles per hour or more in a school zone or while traveling on a roadway on public school property or where children pass to go to and from school.
Beginning in the 2023-2024 school year, in addition to at least four hours of required leadership training and professional development in education labor law, financial oversight and accountability, and fiducial responsibility of a school board member, this new law states that school board members and superintendents must also complete a State Board of Education course in trauma-informed practices for students and staff.
According to the bill, the training may include, but is not limited to, the recognition of and care for trauma among students and staff, the effects of trauma on student behavior and learning, the prevalence of trauma among students and those at higher risk of experiencing trauma, and more. […]
HB3296 states that school boards must, no later than July 1, 2025, establish a career and technical education pathway program for students in grades 6 through 12.
The bill goes on to say that that the framework must “prepare students enrolled in grades 6 through 12 to make informed plans and decisions about their future education and career goals, including possible participation in a career and technical education pathway, by providing students with opportunities to explore a wide variety of high-skill, high-wage, and in-demand career fields.”
* Many laws address issues in education. Daily Herald…
To address a shortage of substitute teachers throughout the state, House Bill 4798, signed April 27, allows students enrolled in approved teacher training programs who have earned at least 90 credit hours to obtain a substitute teaching license. Before, applicants had to hold a bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited institution.
House Bill 4716, signed May 27, calls on the Illinois State Board of Education to adopt “rigorous learning standards” for classroom and laboratory phases of driver education programs for teens. Those will include, at a minimum, the Novice Teen Driver Education and Training Administrative Standards developed by the Association of National Stakeholders in Traffic Safety Education in association with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.
In an effort to get more people to pursue careers in human services, Senate Bill 3925, signed June 10, establishes a student loan repayment program. Subject to appropriations, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission will award loan repayment grants to qualified individuals with an associate degree or higher who work for a human services agency that contracts with or is grant-funded by a state agency that provides “direct or indirect services that ensure that individuals have essential elements to build and maintain physical, emotional, and economic well-being at every phase of life.”
Awards can be made for a maximum of four years. Maximum amounts are $3,000 per year for someone with an associate degree, $15,000 per year for a person with a bachelor’s degree and $25,000 per year for a person with a master’s degree or higher, with a $5,000 per-year add-on if the applicant holds certain professional licenses.
Passed in May, the Student Confidential Reporting Act, establishes a program where officials from schools, the state and Illinois State Police can receive reports and other information regarding the potential harm or self-harm of students or school employees.
The Safe2Help helpline will involve a toll-free telephone number and other means of communication allowing messages and information to be given to operators. […]
The Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair Act, also known as the CROWN Act, is an amendment to the Illinois Human Rights Act and aims to further combat discrimination in the state. According to the General Assembly, the bill “provides that ‘race,’ as used in the Employment Article, includes traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles such as braids, locks, and twists.”
Several new criminal laws will go into effect Jan. 1, including three that deal with sex offenses.
One of those prevents people who solicit sex from a minor or a person with a severe or profound intellectual disability from asserting a defense that they simply did not know the person was underage or intellectually disabled.
House Bill 4593, signed into law May 27, puts the burden of proof on the defendant that they did not know the age or disability status of the other person, rather than the other way around.
Another new law changes the definition of when a person is “unable to give knowing consent.” Under current law, a person cannot give knowing consent when the accused person “administers any intoxicating or anesthetic substance or any controlled substance” that causes the victim to lose consciousness of the nature of the act.
House Bill 5441, signed June 16, broadens that definition to include when the victim has taken any intoxicating or controlled substance causing them to lose consciousness of the nature of the act, even if the substances were administered by someone else.
Another bill expands certain employment restrictions that apply to convicted child sex offenders. Currently, they are prohibited from being employed by, or even being present at, child day care centers, schools that provide before- and after-school programs for children or any facility that provides programs or services exclusively for people under age 18.
Senate Bill 3707, signed May 27, requires all employees and people who work for agencies that contract with the Illinois Department on Aging who provide direct services to individuals participating in its Community Care Program to receive at least two hours of training in Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, as well as safety risks, communication and behavior associated with the disease.
Starting Jan. 1, deer hunters in Illinois will have a new option for the type of firearm they use. House Bill 4386, signed May 27, authorizes the use of single-shot centerfire rifles — guns that can fire only a single round of ammunition that contains primer in the center of the cartridge and not in the rim of the cartridge. Before, only shotguns, handguns and muzzleloading rifles were allowed.
Illinois will have two new official state symbols effective Jan. 1. House Bill 4821 establishes the eastern milksnake as the official state snake. That was an initiative of Gentry Heiple, a snake enthusiast and Carterville Junior High School seventh grader. And House Bill 4261 establishes dolostone as the official state rock. That was an initiative of a group of students from Pleasantdale Middle School and Maplebrook Elementary School.
People who own vehicles that were manufactured in Illinois will be able to apply for a slight break on their registration fees starting Jan. 1. Senate Bill 3609 allows those drivers to apply for a one-time $25 rebate “if the vehicle is manufactured in this state and the application for title is made no more than one year after the month in which the vehicle was manufactured.”
Two children were accidentally shot over the New Year’s weekend – 9-year-old Jarvis Watts was killed in what family said was an accidental shooting inside a house in the South Side’s Brainerd neighborhood, while a 10-year-old boy as also shot in the face in Back of the Yards.
As CBS 2 Investigator Megan Hickey reported Monday, this happened as two different laws impacting guns storage just went into effect in Illinois.
One of the laws requires the state to develop a public awareness campaign on how to safely store your gun. Lurie Children’s Hospital and the Illinois Department of Public Health are leading the charge - because they don’t want to see any more children accidentally ending up in the crosshairs. […]
Sen. Villivalam was a sponsor of that second bill. It requires safe gun storage be added to the safety education lessons taught in Illinois schools. […]
Both lawmakers said the events of this weekend underscore the timeliness of both of these news laws. Rep. Willis is hoping we will start seeing commercials and social media campaigns on safe gun storage in the next few months.
* Gov. Pritzker told the Tribune that his plans for his second term revolve around budget stability. When pressed, however, he said this…
Pritzker said he intends to make improving education, from early childhood through college, and expanding access to child care major priorities of the coming term. That includes proposals to make public colleges tuition-free for students whose families earn at or below the median income and to raise the income cutoff for families to qualify state child care assistance. He also wants to expand the availability of child care statewide and of mental health and substance abuse treatment, particularly downstate. […]
“If we can continue to run surpluses, then surpluses no longer become an extraordinary item,” he said. “Surpluses become a regular part of a budget that allows you either to invest in education or to cut taxes or to invest in maintaining human services in Illinois.”
Pritzker, however, wouldn’t commit to providing during his second term the level of additional money advocates have said is necessary each year to meet the state’s funding target for elementary and secondary schools.
But Pritzker put the onus to deliver relief largely on local governments, which levy property taxes and receive the revenue, by pointing to increases in state funding for schools and local governments during his first term, as well as spending on infrastructure under his Rebuild Illinois capital construction plan.
“Local governments have the ability to do it right now — and should,” Pritzker said.
Thoughts?
*** UPDATE *** From the governor’s office…
Since Governor Pritzker took office, over $1.1 billion annually has been allocated to local governments to assist with costs over and above what they were previously receiving from the state. This is on top of the 49% increase in revenue sharing to local governments over Governor Pritzker’s first term.
Background…
OVERALL LOCAL GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
Income tax revenue sharing with locals increased 49% over the last 4 years. In FY19 LGDF was $1.342B. In FY22, LGDF was $2.00B – an increase of $658M or 49%.
Support for locals enacted since Governor Pritzker took office includes:
• An additional $200 million a year in sales taxes from the passage of internet sales tax language following the Wayfair decision, including the Leveling the Playing Field for Illinois Retail Act, to help ensure compliance with state tax laws on internet sales.
• Over $600 million annually in additional motor fuel taxes directed to local governments and transit districts to support needed transportation projects through the passage of Rebuild Illinois.
• Granting $1.5 billion in state transportation bond funds directly to local governments for road and highway project expenditures, saving local governments $110 million annually in debt service costs from not issuing local bonds.
• Authorization of adult-use cannabis, generating an estimated $91 million in additional revenues for local governments.
• Increased allocations through the Local Government Distributive Fund process totaling $46 million annually from business loophole closures included in Public Act 102-16.
• Increased tax rates and positions for video gaming operations is expected to generate an additional $70 million a year for local governments.
• Anticipated additional local revenues from the opening of new casinos authorized under the Rebuild Illinois plan.
State Rep. Kam Buckner issued the following statement in regards to the Chicago Bears reported plans to pursue a state subsidy to build a new stadium.
The demands the Bears are making boil down to a $6 billion privately held company that doesn’t want to pay taxes.
As more and more Chicagoans and Illinoisans struggle to pay their bills and make ends meet, the Chicago Bears are hatching a plan to put their profits over the people.
I was a high school student working part-time at Soldier Field in January 2002 when Chicago taxpayers gave the Bears $432 million to upgrade the Stadium, at a time when the team was worth $550 million.
I remember just how quickly the wrecking balls began to swing the moment the game against the Philadelphia Eagles was over. I was literally still in the stadium as the crew began work. Twenty years later, profits have ballooned for the Bears, but Chicago taxpayers still owe over $640 million on that 2002 Soldier Field renovation even as the Bears prepare to ask for more public funding to leave Chicago.
Springfield has done the tough work of moving the State to financial solvency and dealing with the issues that affect the everyday lives of our 12.8 million residents. Giving the Bears another gift-wrapped subsidy should not be on our list of priorities. Are the Bears ready to look taxpayers in the face and say why they deserve funding that could be going toward public safety, education, and essential services? They wouldn’t dare, so they should stop asking for it behind closed doors.
I do not yet see a way that the the Bears can convince Chicago-area Democrats (and pretty much anyone else) to vote for a tax break proposal which helps move the team out of the city and into the suburbs.
* Crain’s | State legislature starts 2023 with a pair of big business bills: The spotlight will be on Springfield this week as the Legislature returns for its pre-inaugural lame-duck session with a pair of key business-related measures now reportedly on a fast track. The first is the proposed package of electric vehicle incentives, including a huge “deal-closing fund,” that Gov. J. B. Pritzker wants. Team Pritzker hopes that will be enough to convince Stellantis and partners to invest in converting the soon-to-be-shuttered Belvidere assembly plant to EV production.
* Daily Herald | How racism, reform and grace shaped Jesse White’s long career: White was a young child when his family moved from downstate Alton to a multicultural neighborhood on Chicago’s North Side. A diligent student, he drummed for his high school band and was a tumbling, baseball and basketball standout.
* Sun-Times | Bail reforms are still the right move: No one wants violent suspects who are likely to harm others released to the street. But no one should want a system that allows them to buy their freedom, leaving others to languish in jail solely for lack of cash.
* WGEM |: Mandated reporters can play a big role in recognizing when kids are hurting and now the list of Illinois mandated reporters is growing. A new law in effect adds occupational therapists and assistants, physical therapists and assistants, and athletic trainers to the list of people required to report suspicions of child abuse.
* MSN | Businesses feel effects of Illinois minimum wage increase: With the minimum wage increasing Jan. 1, some small business owners fear for the future of their companies. The new wage could mean having fewer employees in one shift to raising prices.
* Tribune | Gov. J.B. Pritzker ran a cautious reelection campaign. Will he play it safe in second term?: Pritzker said he intends to make improving education, from early childhood through college, and expanding access to child care major priorities of the coming term. That includes proposals to make public colleges tuition-free for students whose families earn at or below the median income and to raise the income cutoff for families to qualify state child care assistance. He also wants to expand the availability of child care statewide and of mental health and substance abuse treatment, particularly downstate.
* Shaw Local | State’s House delegation officially down to 17 today: Today marks the beginning of the 118th U.S. Congress, and with it a notable shakeup in Illinois. There’s nothing surprising, as shaping a Congressional delegation takes many months, but it’s worth running the numbers at the outset of a new decade with only 17 districts and four new members.
* Sun-Times | Emmett Till and his mother honored with congressional medal: The bill, which passed the Senate in January, is meant to honor Till and his mother — who had insisted on an open casket funeral to demonstrate the brutality of his killing — with the highest civilian honor that Congress awards. The medal will be given to the National Museum of African American History where it will be displayed near the casket Till was buried in.
* Tribune | Illinois marijuana industry leads to higher hopes for the new year: But newcomers trying to break into the industry in Illinois kept running into obstacles — mainly, a lack of funding. As a result, most Black and Latino entrepreneurs were shut out, prices for consumers remained among the highest in the nation, and the black market continued to thrive. Efforts to change the laws fizzled, and more concerns were raised about the connection between cannabis and psychosis.
* Dennis Culloton | 20 years after George Ryan’s clearing of death row, Illinois still has a lot to learn:It’s nearing the 20th anniversary of then-Gov. George Ryan’s mass commuting of Illinois death row inmates’ sentences to life in prison, which earned him praise from global human rights leaders such as Nelson Mandela and condemnation from other politicians and victims’ families. The discordant lessons of that day — and how we got there — should inform today’s government and criminal justice system leaders seeking to stem Chicago’s rising crime.
* Tribune | Kara Casten, wife of US Rep. Sean Casten, joins crowded field in Downers Grove school board race: While some DuPage County school boards are going begging for candidates in next year’s election, the campaign in Downers Grove’s Community High School District 99 promises to be lively, with six candidates — including one with a familiar name — going after three open seats. Kara Casten, an insurance executive who is the wife of Democratic U.S. Rep. Sean Casten, has formed a slate with tax attorney Don Renner, who was on the board from 2015 to 2019, and customer experience professional Ken Dawson.
* WSJ | Big Nonprofit Hospitals Expand in Wealthier Areas, Shun Poorer Ones: Many of the nation’s largest nonprofit hospital systems, which give aid to poorer communities to earn tax breaks, have been leaving those areas and moving into wealthier ones as they have added and shed hospitals in the last two decades. As nonprofits, these regional and national giants reap $8.8 billion from tax breaks annually, by one Johns Hopkins University researcher’s estimate. Among their obligations, they are expected to provide free medical care to those least able to afford it.
* Vanity Fair | Mega-Billionaire Ken Griffin Has Moved His Masterpieces to the Beach: In 2015, the hedge fund titan Kenneth C. Griffin became the first person to spend half a billion dollars on art in a single transaction. David Geffen made a deal with Griffin to sell him Willem de Kooning’s boldly colored abstract masterpiece Interchange for $300 million, and Jackson Pollock’s Number 17A—the splatter painting Life magazine plastered in its pages in 1949, minting Jack the Dripper an American celebrity—for $200 million.
* SJR | The state’s suspended gas tax increase ended Sunday: What you need to know: A six-month pause on a scheduled gas tax increase in Illinois ended New Year’s Day, but multiple pieces of legislation introduced in the General Assembly could counter the hike. The pause stopped a 2.2-cent per gallon increase originally slated for last July 1 when the tax was set to rise to 41.4 cents per gallon. Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature on the state budget, however, paused that tax increase until the new year and also included a yearlong suspension of the 1% grocery tax.
* St. Louis Post Dispatch | Data shows conservative policies on health, guns and more increase mortality: Warning: Republican politics may be hazardous to your health. New data shows pandemic mortality was higher in Republican-controlled states than in Democratic ones. It confirms common sense: Vaccines, masking and other pandemic precautions saved lives. And the bizarre refusal on the political right to embrace those precautions cost them.
* Happy New Year! I hope your holidays were relaxing and none of your flights were cancelled. We’re going into Lame Duck Session tomorrow and I’m excited to get back to Springfield!
A Kankakee County judge has found that a key provision of Illinois’ sweeping criminal justice law violates the state constitution, potentially rolling back a controversial measure that would eliminate cash bail as of New Year’s Day, according to a copy of the judge’s ruling.
The judge’s ruling affects only the pretrial release provisions of the law, leaving all other measures of what is known as the SAFE-T Act intact.
* Most of the plaintiffs’ case was tossed out, including the alleged violations of the “single subject rule” and the three readings requirement, vagueness, etc. The dispute over the meaning of “sufficient sureties” was key and that’s what will be appealed…
The court finds under the Act, that “persons are no longer bailable with sufficient sureties” pursuant to the pretrial release provisions of the Act because ‘sufficient sureties’ does involve monetary bail as one of the conditions of bail which is abolished with the Act. See Article I, Sec. 9 of the Illinois Constitution. The court also finds with regard to the Separation of Powers challenge, that the passage of the Act also violates the separation of powers clause of the Illinois Constitution found at Article II, Sec. 1. Summary judgment is entered in favor of plaintiffs and against defendants as to Counts III and V only as they relate to the pretrial provisions of the Act.
As I’ve told you several times before, the Illinois Supreme Court’s Commission on Pretrial Practices defined bail this way in its final report…
Bail: The process of releasing a defendant from custody with conditions set to reasonably assure public safety and court appearance. […]
“Bail” is often used to refer to the amount of cash that a defendant must post as a condition of release. “Bond” is sometimes treated as a synonym of “bail.” Understood properly, “bail” – which literally means, “release” – is a process of releasing a defendant from custody on conditions designed to assure both public safety and the person’s appearance in court. A “bond” occurs whenever a defendant enters an agreement with the court. The agreement may, but need not necessarily, include a financial condition, but can also or instead include a variety of other conditions such as electronic monitoring, curfews, supervised visits or appointments, etc.
In Count VIII, Plaintiffs are seeking a preliminary injunction against defendants to prevent the enforcement of the bail provisions in Public Act, 101–652 and Public Act 102-1104 until all of the plaintiffs’ claims in this case can be fully litigated. […]
The court finds that a preliminary injunction is not appropriate at this juncture of the case. A preliminary injunction is a provisional remedy granted to preserve the status quo until the case can be decided on the merits.” Hensley Construction, LLC., The Pulte Home Corporation v. Del Webb Communications Of Illinois, Inc.. 399 Ill. App., 3d 184, 190. We are well past the beginning stage of this suit where a preliminary injunction might be warranted. The case is being decided on the merits, by way of cross motions for summary judgment. This will result in a final appealable decision by the trial court. Therefore, the Court grants summary judgment in favor of defendants and against plaintiffs on Count VIII.
The state will appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court, according to a statement late Wednesday from Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul. His office noted that the ruling only applies to jurisdictions that fall under the 64 lawsuits against Raoul, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and other state officials. The ruling does not apply to Cook County.
Peoria County State’s Attorney Jodi Hoos says though her office did not participate in the ruling, they are required to follow it.
In a release, she said that when a statute is unconstitutional, the statute becomes invalid and has no force or effect on anyone.
“As a result, and until the Illinois Supreme Court provides further clarification, we will abide by this ruling and not implement the new bail reform,” she said. “This office remains committed to following the law and is hopeful the Supreme Court will bring finality to this topic in the near future.”
Last night, Kankakee County State’s Attorney Jim Roe said in a release that the pre-trial provisions and bail reform will not go into effect in the 65 counties that were party to the lawsuit.
Clear as mud.
* On to react. AG Raoul…
Attorney General Kwame Raoul today issued the following statement in response to Kankakee County Circuit Court Judge Thomas W. Cunnington’s opinion that the pretrial release portions of the Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today (SAFE-T) Act violate Illinois’ Constitution. The court’s opinion does not disturb other portions of the SAFE-T Act that have been in effect for more than a year.
“Although the court’s decision is binding in the 64 cases that were consolidated in Kankakee County, it is important to note that it is not binding in any other case, including those involving criminal defendants in any of the state’s 102 counties. To definitively resolve this challenge to the pretrial release portions of the SAFE-T Act, Governor Pritzker, the legislative leaders named in the consolidated cases and I intend to appeal the circuit court’s decision directly to the Illinois Supreme Court, where we will ask the court to reverse the circuit court’s decision.
“Most of the SAFE-T Act’s provisions have been in effect for more than a year, and regardless of today’s circuit court decision, all parts of the SAFE-T Act, including the pretrial release portions addressed in the court’s decision, will go into effect Jan 1. For instance, the right of individuals awaiting criminal trials – people who have not been convicted of a crime and are presumed innocent – to seek release from jail without having to pay cash bail will go into effect in a few short days, despite the court’s ruling against those provisions. Illinois residents in all counties should be aware that the circuit court’s decision has no effect on their ability to exercise their rights that are protected by the SAFE-T Act and the Illinois Constitution.”
* Gov. Pritzker…
Following Kankakee County Circuit Court Judge Thomas W. Cunnington’s ruling that the pretrial release provisions of the SAFE-T Act are unconstitutional, Governor JB Pritzker released the following statement.
“Today’s ruling is a setback for the principles we fought to protect through the passage of the SAFE-T Act. The General Assembly and advocates worked to replace an antiquated criminal justice system with a system rooted in equity and fairness. We cannot and should not defend a system that fails to keep people safe by allowing those who are a threat to their community the ability to simply buy their way out of jail. I thank the Attorney General for his work on this case and look forward to the Illinois Supreme Court taking up the appeal as soon as possible.”
* Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice…
The following is a statement from the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice on the SAFE-T Act lawsuit ruling:
“Today, a Kankakee County judge sided with the 58 State’s Attorneys and sheriffs suing Illinois over the SAFE-T Act. This disappointing ruling is as political as the frivolous lawsuits that spurred it. The decision from Judge Thomas W. Cunnington could delay justice in counties across the state but will not deny it. The court did not issue an injunction and the Pretrial Fairness Act will still be the law in Illinois on January 1st. We anticipate that this poorly reasoned decision will be swiftly corrected by the Illinois Supreme Court.
“In the nearly two years since the Pretrial Fairness Act was passed into law as part of the SAFE-T Act, some members of law enforcement have been trying to undermine it. Their efforts have not been about justice or public safety; they are simply about preserving the power to jail people because they’re poor.
“Delaying the implementation of the Pretrial Fairness Act harms marginalized communities and survivors of violence. The current money bond system prioritizes access to wealth over public safety. Every year, thousands of people lose their jobs, housing, and custody of their children—not because a judge believes they’re dangerous, but only because they don’t have the money to buy their freedom. By protecting the status quo, the State’s Attorneys and sheriffs behind this lawsuit are making our communities less safe.
“Not all members of law enforcement have participated in these efforts to deny justice and undermine historic racial justice reforms. Some members of law enforcement have worked diligently to prepare for successful implementation on January 1st either in their own counties or as part of working groups led by the Administrative Office of Illinois Courts. Others participated in negotiations throughout the summer and fall to develop clarifying amendments to the law, which were passed earlier this month. Notably, the State’s Attorneys representing two of Illinois’ largest counties and a combined 47% of the population of the state, Cook and Lake, have championed the reforms included in the Pretrial Fairness Act long before they even became law. State’s Attorneys representing the second and fifth largest counties, DuPage and Kane respectively, were active participants in legislative negotiations and the Champaign County State’s Attorney testified in favor of the amendments made just weeks ago.
“While many counties have diligently worked to prepare for the end of money bond, the State’s Attorneys behind these lawsuits have been working to preserve one of the greatest racial and economic injustices in our legal system.
“The Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice stands by the Pretrial Fairness Act and is ready to work with the stakeholders in all counties to ensure that the law is successfully implemented after the Supreme Court responds to today’s ruling.”
The Champaign SA was neutral on the bill.
* Leader Durkin…
After today’s court ruling declaring the SAFE-T Act’s provision ending cash bail as unconstitutional, Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) issued the following statement.
“Today’s ruling is a victory for the often neglected victims of crime and the men and women of law enforcement who wear the badge every day. Legislation of this magnitude must not only be judged on substance, but also on process. In that regard, the Illinois Democrats failed Illinoisans.
“In order to fix this one-sided, anti-law enforcement, and anti-victim act, it is imperative to have a transparent and substantive negotiation with all interested parties, not just a few stakeholders and political insiders. The people of the State of Illinois deserve nothing less.”
Not sure what that process argument is about.
* Leader-elect McCombie…
State Representative and House Republican Leader-elect Tony McCombie issued the following statement tonight following a Kankakee County Circuit Court ruling declaring the cashless bail provisions unconstitutional:
“Today’s ruling by Circuit Judge Thomas Cunnington was the correct one,” said House Republican Leader-Elect Tony McCombie. “Republicans have loudly and consistently voiced the many concerns with the SAFE-T Act since its passage during the lame-duck session nearly two years ago. Many provisions within the act put victims, law enforcement and communities throughout Illinois at-risk for disastrous outcomes. I am grateful the courts have ruled on the side of common-sense and am hopeful that any appeal will be upheld to protect Illinois families and the most vulnerable throughout the state.”
* ILGOP…
This morning, Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy issued the following statement celebrating the court decision striking down the cashless bail provision in the [Un] SAFE-T Act:
“Cashless bail was slated to go into effect across Illinois this Sunday. This law would have severely limited the ability of judges and prosecutors to keep dangerous criminals off of the streets thereby exporting the epidemic of lawlessness we’ve seen in certain parts of Chicago throughout the rest of our state. The Circuit Court ruling which rightly declared it unconstitutional is a win for public safety, and the businesses and residents of Illinois, if upheld by the Illinois Supreme Court. For now, it should serve as a message to Governor Pritzker and Democrat legislators that they can’t subvert our constitutional process by ramming their unpopular and dangerous soft-on-crime policies through the legislature in the dark of night.”
* Leader McConchie…
Following the December 28 ruling by a Kankakee County Circuit Judge, who declared the pretrial release portion of the SAFE-T Act unconstitutional, Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie (R-Hawthorn Woods) released the below statement:
“The creation of the SAFE-T Act has been a colossal failure from the beginning. The sloppy, rushed, poorly drafted law not only disregarded the opinions of citizens, law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges, but more dangerously has threated public safety here in Illinois. And on top of this, the central component has now been ruled unconstitutional. This ruling is just another example of the failure of this law.
“While the ‘no cash bail’ provision will continue to work its way through the court system, I will continue to advocate for a system that is fair, puts victims ahead of criminals, and gives judges the discretion they need to ensure violent offenders are not let back out on the streets.”
* Speaker Welch…
Speaker Welch’s Statement on SAFE-T Act Lawsuit
“While I am disappointed in the decision by the plaintiffs’ preferred trial court, I remain confident we will ultimately prevail on appeal.”
* Senate President Harmon…
Senate President Don Harmon issued the following statement in response to a Kankakee County circuit court judge’s ruling on the pretrial release portions of the SAFE-T Act:
“We knew this legal fight was inevitable and look forward to the Illinois Supreme Court’s review and more statewide perspective.”
*** UPDATE 1 *** Click here for the notice of appeal. I’m told that the AG’s office plans to request an expedited appeal schedule early next week.
Also…
Reitz said she is hoping that @illinoiscourts offers clarity in the coming days: "The Supreme Court could stay the order pending their review or they could stay the implementation of the (Pretrial Fairness Act). Hopefully, they will do one or the other of those things." #twill
– Attorney General Kwame Raoul today issued the following statement in response to improperly entered temporary restraining orders sought today by some state’s attorneys who, after more than a year of inaction, are now seeking to prevent enforcement of the SAFE-T Act.
“Beginning this morning, the Attorney General’s office received new complaints and motions for temporary restraining orders (TROs) from state’s attorneys and sheriffs throughout Illinois who are seeking to prevent the SAFE-T Act from going into effect. To be clear, these motions were filed on the last business day before Jan. 1, when the SAFE-T Act will go into effect.
“In some of these TRO motions, plaintiffs are asking that the Attorney General’s office be enjoined from enforcing any provision of the SAFE-T Act, not just the pretrial release provisions. Many of these provisions have been in effect for more than a year; however, my office received less than one hour’s notice of hearings in some counties and no notice at all in others. Throughout the day, we continued to learn of plaintiffs having obtained TROs without giving our office notice or providing copies of the complaints or TRO motions. To say that this is an abuse of the judicial process is an understatement. The SAFE-T Act has been the law in Illinois since January 2021, giving these plaintiffs nearly two years to raise challenges. In fact, the plaintiffs have had since October to join the lawsuits consolidated in Kankakee County. It is outrageous that the plaintiffs instead chose to sit on their hands until the last business day before the SAFE-T Act is to go into effect, and then seek to enjoin it from going into effect.
“It goes without saying that there is an appropriate way to challenge a new law. In fact, as their colleagues were engaging in 11th hour theatrics, the state’s attorneys of DuPage and Kane counties filed an emergency motion with the Illinois Supreme Court in which they ask the court to provide some clarity regarding the SAFE-T Act, so that there will be consistent pretrial proceedings throughout Illinois beginning Jan. 1. And because my office has already appealed Judge Cunnington’s order, the appropriate process for seeking a ruling that will apply to all 102 counties is now underway.”
*** UPDATE 3 *** This will stop the chaos for now…
The Illinois Supreme Court has issued an order staying the PFA until further order of the Court. This is being done to maintain consistent pretrial procedures in Illinois until the Court can hear the appeal, which will be heard on an expedited basis. https://t.co/kawpAYPb8x
On Saturday, December 31, 2022, hours before Lake County was to begin following the SAFE-T Act, eliminating cash bail, the Illinois Supreme Court issued a stay statewide in a Motion for Supervisory Order Kankakee County Circuit Court 22CH16.
As a result, the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit Court will act in accordance with the Illinois Supreme Court and any amendments or orders entered by or associated with the Pretrial Fairness Act that would become effective on January 1, 2023, are hereby stayed until further order of the Illinois Supreme Court.
* Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice…
“Today, the Illinois Supreme Court issued an order directing counties across our state to delay implementation of the Pretrial Fairness Act until the court has had a chance to review the Kankakee County decision finding the law unconstitutional. While we are disappointed that the Pretrial Fairness Act will not be taking effect as scheduled on January 1, 2023, we are thankful that the Supreme Court has stepped in to provide guidance to courts and communities across the state. We remain confident that the Court will swiftly correct the poorly reasoned decision made by Judge Cunnington.
“The frivolous lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Pretrial Fairness Act is just the latest of many attempts by conservatives to prevent progress and preserve wealth-based jailing in Illinois. They know their actions were taken on weak legal grounds, at the last minute despite the law passing 23 months ago, and were simply intended to delay the inevitable implementation of the Pretrial Fairness Act. With every passing day that money bond remains in place, Illinois will continue to punish people for being poor. It is essential that the Supreme Court moves quickly to ensure the law’s full implementation and prevent any more Illinoisans from being forced to pay a ransom to free their loved ones from jail while they await trial.
“It is a common refrain that the darkest hour comes before dawn. If you look closely towards the horizon, you’ll see a new day is quickly approaching in Illinois. While those looking to preserve the racist system of wealth-based jailing may delay progress, they will not prevent it.”
* Cook County Public Defender…
The Illinois Supreme Court today issued an order suspending implementation of the Pretrial Fairness Act while it reviews a lower court opinion that found the law unconstitutional.
The Cook County Public Defender’s Office is disappointed that this historic and transformative law will not take effect as planned tomorrow, Jan. 1.
We are confident that the Supreme Court will swiftly reverse the lower court finding and confirm the constitutionality of the Pretrial Fairness Act. In the meantime, we are grateful that the court is providing uniform guidance to courts across the state.
Money bond is a deplorable practice, and it is high time that Illinois abolish a system that punishes people – most of them Black and Brown – for being poor. We decry the frivolous lawsuit that was brought against the Pretrial Fairness Act almost two years after it was signed into law.
We continue to look forward to a day in the near future when Illinois will move forward as a beacon for our nation, reforming our inequitable pretrial legal system.
Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart, who supports the elimination of cash bail, said he was disappointed in Cunnington’s decision but said he understands why the Supreme Court ruled that uniformity in Illinois must exist. He’s argued that while the bail system can keep poor, nonviolent defendants locked up because they can’t afford to make bail, the system allows dangerous criminals to be released pending trial if they have the financial means.
“Lake County was ready to start arguing (Sunday) that violent offenders shouldn’t be able to use cash to buy their way out,” he said in a text message to the Tribune. “A few days ago, one of our defendants charged with possessing dozens of weapons and resisting law enforcement posted $75,000.
*** UPDATE 4 *** AG Raoul with what could very well be the last Illinois government press release of 2022…
Attorney General Kwame Raoul today issued the following statement in response to an Illinois Supreme Court stay of the SAFE-T Act’s Jan. 1, 2023 effective date.
“As we have stated previously, my office filed an appeal with the Illinois Supreme Court because in this matter, only the Supreme Court’s final decision on the merits will be binding on all Illinois courts. It is important to note that the order issued today by the court is not a decision on the merits of the constitutionality of the SAFE-T Act, and I appreciate the court’s interest in expediting the appeal. We look forward to mounting a robust defense of the constitutionality of the law and ensuring that it goes into effect across the state.”
