Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s drive to get major city pension relief from Springfield has stalled, potentially upping the size of local tax hikes she’ll have to include when she unveils her proposed 2020 city budget next month.
The mayor in recent months has floated a variety of “help us” proposals, the most viable of which is to have the state assume unfunded Chicago pension liabilities as part of a package in which it also would help underfunded plans in numerous municipalities around the state. She’s facing a projected $823 million budget hole.
But a wide range of Springfield insiders say that’s not going to happen, at least not in the General Assembly’s fall veto session. Instead, a more limited plan that excludes help for Chicago is being teed up for consideration. […]
“Consolidation (of downstate and suburban pension funds) seems to be the one common theme I’m hearing,” said one top legislative insider who asked not to be named. “Lori’s between a rock and a hard place.”
Taking on Chicago’s unfunded pension liabilities was actually the least viable state option of all her floated proposals. No way was that ever happening.
There’s still potential revenue from a Chicago casino, however. And there are other things that the state might be able to do.
* The governor’s office sent Greg and myself this statement about the pension task force…
Addressing the challenges with downstate and suburban police and fire pensions would be a monumental accomplishment. For decades, these 650 unique operations have underperformed because they’re individually too small to participate in the highest-performing funds, and they pay substantially higher investment fees than their larger peers. However, if their investment resources were pooled together and they performed like their peers, they would have significantly better returns and at a lower cost. Right after taking office, the Governor asked a group of experts and stakeholders to come together on a potential agreement and solution, and he’s pleased that they’ve made significant progress. He looks forward to reviewing their findings.
The statement doesn’t mention Chicago, but the city was not part of the task force’s mandate. But there could be some future action. From a few weeks ago…
“The pension consolidation task force has been working hard since the winter to develop recommendations to address problems specific to the financial challenges of small downstate police and fire pensions,” Pritzker spokeswoman Emily Bittner said.
“We expect that they will submit recommendations for action this fall based on their mandate, but after we receive those initial recommendations, the task force could explore additional proposals related to pensions, including the city of Chicago funds.”
* The Question: What assistance, if any, should the state give to Chicago’s pension funds? Make sure to explain your answer, please. Thanks.
The ordinance which would allow recreational marijuana to be sold in the city has passed 10-0. There will be a 3 percent tax imposed. Conley amended it to add language about the money going toward pensions. It will add money to the pension fund.
Champaign City Council members, unanimously signaling their support for a 3 percent tax on recreational cannabis, took the first steps Tuesday toward regulating its use and sales ahead of legalization Jan. 1. […]
“This is something people have been doing for a long time anyway,” [council member Matt Gladney] said. “It’s just that now it’s being legalized.”
He said that much like alcohol and cigarettes, cannabis “is a vice that people should be able to consume within certain parameters,” and thought perhaps the state is “overthinking it,” with the opinion that restrictions will likely be loosened in coming years.
Gladney finds that disallowing public consumption is “particularly ridiculous.”
[Martin Lyons, Aurora’s chief financial officer] said Aurora wants a competitive sales tax rate to attract “quality” dispensaries.
“We want someone that’s going to provide a great operation that is operated in a safe and responsible manner,” he said.
A lower sales tax rate also would give a dispensary owner “a chance to put dollars into the operation.”
If Aurora allows recreational marijuana sales, it’s estimated the city could collect $200,000 to $600,000 a year in additional tax revenue, officials said.
Beginning Jan. 1, it will be legal with a state-issued license for a business to sell recreational marijuana in East Peoria. […]
“I have a personal opinion and I have a job as mayor,” [Mayor John Kahl] said. “Whether we accept this or not, marijuana is going to be here and we have to deal with that.”
One way to deal with it, is to tax it. Commissioner Seth Mingus likened the legalization of marijuana to the legalization of gambling that brought a casino to East Peoria 25 years ago.
“No matter what we decide, we can’t stop it,” Mingus said. “People have urged us to vote no and I respect that. East Peoria has always been open to alternative means of revenue and in the past there were concerns the (gambling) boat would bring crime and the concerns with pot are the same. $100 million (in tax revenue) later we have not had to raise our property tax rate because we have the boat.”
* I read four local news stories on the Danville City Council’s vote last night to approve the sale of adult-use cannabis, but only one of those four stories had what could be considered a positive quote. The rest were either jammed with reefer madness quotes or didn’t have any at all…
[Ald. Bob Iverson] said cannabis is “already here and it’s going to be everywhere.” He feels the city should try to control it and get something good out of it.
* Rock Island County cashing in on cannabis: “Any non property tax based revenue opportunity for the county is, is a good one,” said Rock Island County Board Chairperson Richard Brunk.
* Buffalo Grove Establishes New Tax For Possible Recreational Marijuana: A medical cannabis dispensary is currently located at 1623 Barclay Blvd. in Buffalo Grove. Village staff conservatively estimates the village could generate $300,000-$400,000 annually from the sale of recreational marijuana, in addition to the 1% home rule sales tax.
* Grassroots ‘Preparing Very Quickly’ for Illinois Cannabis Legalization, Says COO: “As is commonplace in the cannabis industry, the implementation of these adult-use laws oftentimes are not without hurdles. So I think [in] Illinois there’ll be some of those as well, but I think we’re all preparing very quickly to get ready to be open for January 1st.”
* My old buddy Scott Reeder’s recent column was too good to just post an excerpt, so I asked him to send me the whole thing. Read it all…
No good deed goes unpunished.
As least that’s how Jessica Barron feels these days.
She lives with her partner of 18 years, Kenny Wylie, and their three children on a quiet residential street in Granite City, a blue-collar Illinois community not far from St. Louis.
In July, they heard a pounding on the door and someone shouting, “Police. Open up.”
When Jessica answered her door, she found a group of police officers on her porch with an eviction notice.
But here’s the rub: neither Jessica nor her family have broken any laws and their landlord wants them to remain tenants. But the city says they must go.
Why? Because of a friend of her son’s, who had been their houseguest for a few nights the previous winter.
“He told me his mother was dead and his father was in prison,” Jessica Barron said. “He was 19 years old and it was below zero outside. I told him he could sleep on our sofa that night. I also told him our door was always open to him.”
Jessica said she was raised to help others.
“I may only have three biological children. But lots of kids call me, ‘Mom.’ “
The friend of their son stayed in their home occasionally until Jessica learned that his mother was very much alive and then her family experienced a theft. She told him he was no longer welcome.
The erstwhile houseguest was later convicted of burglarizing a neighborhood tavern.
Like about 50 other Illinois communities, Granite City has a compulsory-eviction ordinance, which allows police to force landlords to evict an entire household after anyone who has stayed in the house—even a house guest—commits a crime.
It’s the sort of “mother knows best” mindset that’s all too common in government.
“No one should be punished for a crime someone else committed,” said Robert McNamara, a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice, which is representing Jessica’s family. “That simple notion is at the heart of our criminal justice system—that we are all innocent until proven guilty. And yet Granite City is punishing an innocent family for a crime committed by someone they barely knew.”
Under Granite City’s “crime-free housing” ordinance, private landlords are required (on pain of fines or revocation of their rental license) to evict an entire household of tenants if police believe any member—even a house guest—committed a crime. There is no requirement that the tenants participated in or even knew about the crime. If one member of the household is a criminal, the whole household can automatically be punished for their crime.
“We want to stay in this house,” Jessica said. “Buying a home isn’t an option for us, and with an eviction on our record, it’ll be nearly impossible to find another place to rent. I cannot believe we could end up homeless because we choose to open our home to someone in need—someone we trusted, but who was not the person he claimed to be.”
At the end of the day, ordinances like the one in Granite City have little to do with punishing criminals and everything to do with punishing renters who happen to be friends, family or just roommates with a person who commits a crime.
Institute for Justice attorney Sam Gedge said he is seeking a federal court order to block the city from evicting the family.
“What Granite City is doing is not just wrong, it is plainly unconstitutional. The Constitution does not allow the government to punish people for who their roommates are or for crimes other people have committed. The government cannot take away your home—whether you own it or rent it—because of something someone else did somewhere else,” he said.
* We’ve talked about this story before, so here’s an update. From the Anchorage Daily News…
Donna Arduin is no longer in charge of the state budget for [Alaska] Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration, effective today.
Dunleavy’s chief of staff, Ben Stevens, announced the change in leadership in the state Office of Management and Budget in a Monday call with reporters. He said the decision was “made unanimously within the leadership of the governor’s office.”
The massive cuts to Alaska’s budget that Arduin pushed earlier this year — affecting everything from a ferry service linking isolated coastal towns to the University of Alaska to Medicaid — prompted fierce backlash.
A recall effort targeting Dunleavy was announced shortly after he used his line-item veto to slash more than $400 million from the state’s budget, adding to hundreds of millions in earlier cuts approved by the legislature.
And though the governor eventually walked back some of the vetoed line items in August, the recall has gained steam.
As a buddy of mine noted this morning, people say they hate taxes but they really, really, really hate major budget cuts. Gov. Rauner’s tenure, of which Arduin was a part, made that pretty clear to Illinoisans. Now, Alaskans are learning the same lesson.
…Adding… As I explained in comments, the budget cuts were made so the governor could fulfill a campaign promise and increase the amount of annual oil royalty payments to individual Alaskans. So, Alaskans are actually furious that the governor was trying to give put more money in their own pockets by slashing state spending. Whew.
The only person who pulled this off and grew his popularity was former California Gov. Jerry Brown, who cut spending to the bone in order to build public support for additional revenues. Brown’s cuts weren’t an end in themselves like they were in Alaska. They were a means to an end. He is the best US governor of my lifetime by far.
A task force comprised of 88 state lawmakers with seven subcommittees has started meeting to discuss the complex issues that have pushed property taxes in Illinois to among the highest in the nation, but the group has faced criticism from the outset. […]
The task force met several times last week to talk about school funding and government consolidation. State Rep. Mike Murphy, R-Springfield, said a subcommittee he’s on met Monday to discuss the state’s property tax caps.
“Some counties that have no tax caps is actually holding down a little bit better,” Murphy said. “McLean County, for example, has for a period of time had increases lower than Sangamon County.”
People talked about this happening way back when the tax caps first passed. Local governments would tax all the way up to the cap just to be on the safe side.
Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau found a supportive audience Tuesday during a town hall on the state’s proposal to switch to a graduated income-tax system from a flat rate on everyone. […]
“The state of Illinois has a spending problem, not a revenue problem,” Pekau told an audience of more than 50 community members during the forum at the Orland Park Civic Center. […]
The state promised to return 10% of income-tax revenues to municipalities through the Local Government Distributive Fund, Pekau said.
But the state only shares 5.757% of individual income tax collections and 6.5% of corporate income tax collections through the LGDF, according to a fact sheet by the Illinois Municipal League.
So, Mayor Pekau first complains about too much state spending, then complains that the state doesn’t spend enough on local governments. Thanks. Drive through.
Illinois’ Department of Children and Family Services plans to put all 16,000 children in its custody on Medicaid health insurance. But at a hearing Tuesday, state lawmakers expressed skepticism, saying they’re worried those kids may fall through the cracks.
If you’ve ever moved from one insurance plan to another, you know it can be complicated. Now try doing that for thousands of foster care children at once.
That’s what DCFS, alongside the state’s Department of Healthcare and Family Services, is trying to manage for all the kids who are considered wards of the state. It wants to move them all to Illinois’ Medicaid plan, known as IlliniCare. […]
DCFS is planning to move the kids in its care to Medicaid by November 1.
The Child Welfare Medicaid Managed Care Implementation Advisory Workgroup is established to advise the Department on the transition and implementation of managed care for children. The Director of Children and Family Services and the Director of Healthcare and Family Services shall serve as co-chairpersons of the Workgroup. The Directors shall jointly appoint members to the Workgroup who are stakeholders from the child welfare community […]
Prior to transitioning any child to managed care, the Department of Children and Family Services and the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, in consultation with the Workgroup, must develop and post publicly, a transition plan for the provision of health care services to children enrolled in Medicaid managed care plans.
[Rep. Mary Flowers] said she was more concerned with another body that was written into the law codifying the transfer of foster care children into Medicaid managed care: the Child Welfare Medicaid Managed Care Implementation Advisory Group, which was supposed to have been formed “effective upon becoming law,” Flowers said.
Flowers asked DCFS officials at last week’s hearing why that group had not yet gotten off the ground, and accused them of being “blatantly in violation of basically the entire law.”
DCFS spokesperson Jassen Strokosch told The Daily Line that the agency is finally moving forward on the Child Welfare Medicaid Managed Care Implementation Advisory Group, and said officials are “reach[ing] back out to the people who were appointed.”
“We’re scheduling meetings as quickly as we can,” he said.
Great. Just great. By law, DCFS cannot transition a single child into Medicaid managed care until the agency has developed and published a transition plan with a working group that hasn’t even met. And the deadline is November 1, which is only 44 days from now.
The future of 16,000 kids is at stake and they’re throwing together a working group at the last minute. Yeah, that report won’t be rushed at all. Nope. And I’m so sure its members won’t be pressured into rubber-stamping whatever plan the state has already come up with.
Governor, you have a lot of extra time on your hands these days since you’re not attending many events. How about you spend some of those precious moments making absolutely sure DCFS is doing this right? And if they’re not, then put this thing on hold.
State regulators suggested Tuesday they might refuse to allow horse racing next year at Arlington International Racecourse if the track’s corporate owner doesn’t reconsider a decision to pass on adding a casino. […]
Board member Thomas McCauley peppered Arlington Park President Tony Petrillo with questions he said he could not answer about the decision-making of Churchill Downs executives in Louisville, Kentucky. Racetracks have been lobbying for casino licenses for years, McCauley said, and now that they have access to them, Arlington is balking.
“I don’t get it. This wasn’t a big surprise when this gaming act passed. It was a cause for a celebration,” McCauley told Petrillo. Other track owners and regulators “were all thrilled with what we anticipated what was going to happen … up to now, where’s the flagship in all of this. I want to know what’s an acceptable financial return.”
Petrillo noted that Arlington had voiced opposition to the gambling expansion law as legislators wrote it in the spring. The track preferred that legalizing sports betting be kept separate from an expansion of casino licenses.
Arlington was the number one proponent of slots at tracks for decades. And then its parent company bought Rivers Casino just down the road.
[Racing Board member Thomas McCauley] suggested Churchill is trying to gain leverage over Springfield lawmakers in negotiations for more a more favorable tax structure during the fall veto session — and that the company is seeking to protect their other major Illinois gambling operation: Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, the highest-grossing casino in Illinois. […]
But the board opted to delay their vote on the licenses and dates for one week, instead passing a resolution to give Churchill time “to duly discern whether to maintain its current position going forward” and “reject the very activity it has pleaded for for so many years” — and to decide if it “really wants to signal to the world at once and for all it’s only a gaming software company, and no longer a horse racing enterprise,” McCauley said. […]
Churchill has said it will apply for a sports betting license — which Petrillo said will allow Arlington “to be sustainable for more years to come” — while otherwise exploring “longer-term alternatives.” They’ve refused to commit to live horse racing beyond 2021 and suggested they could move their racing license, a threat flatly rejected by Racing Board commissioners.
“I’ve never read a more preposterous statement in my life,” McCauley said. “Does Churchill think that it owns this license? Because if they do, I’d encourage you to call them up and let them know that the state of Illinois owns that license, and we as the agents of the state of Illinois have the authority and responsibility to grant a privilege to those who earn it.”
McCauley said the one-week window gives CDI an opportunity to show “whether it really wants to signal to the world, once and for all, that it’s only a gaming and software company and no longer a horse racing enterprise, whether it wants to jeopardize its racing license and all the revenue which the privilege associated with that license will generate. That will be up to Churchill …
“However, if there is no modification of the Churchill-Arlington position on gaming during the adjournment period, it may be that there will be no organization license for Arlington and, hence, no racing. That will cause disruption. But it’s the protection of Rivers and the bottom line that will have caused that disruption,” McCauley added.
Even though the 2020 primaries and general elections are months away, some big political donations are being made and Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan has blown the statutory limit off of his campaign.
Madigan filed a “notification of self funding” on Aug. 23, indicating that the $100,001 donation he had made to himself removed the state limitations on campaign contributions in what is so far an uncontested race. Madigan, who also serves as chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois, has faced election challenges in the past, but has never been defeated in his own district, which he has represented continuously since 1971. So far, no candidate has announced plans to challenge Madigan in the 22nd District. […]
The self-funding rules in Illinois’ campaign finance laws are rooted in freedom of speech, but some point to potential pitfalls of the practice.
“You can take campaign donations, in an unlimited way, from anyone,” said Aaron McKean, legal counsel for the Washington-based Campaign Legal Center. “When I’m a candidate and I take a large contribution from someone, that’s where that appearance of corruption really starts to take hold.”
Illinois’ self-funding law was originally rooted in self-protection. The courts say rich people can spend as much of their own money as they want on campaigns, so the Illinois law automatically allows their opponents to compete by letting them raise unlimited amounts.
Madigan, however, has taken it to the next level by proactively busting the caps on his own fund and then raising as much money as humanly possible. The caps aren’t automatically lifted for the House Republican Leader when the House Speaker does this, so the GOP is put at an even worse disadvantage.
Lawyer Daniel Epstein is the first out of the gate with a TV ad set to begin airing Wednesday in the hotly contested race for a seat on the Illinois Supreme Court, six months before the candidates face off in the March primary.
The 30-second TV spot is an effort to make sure people recognize the former Jenner & Block attorney as the candidate “who wants to fix the system and who has ideas to fix it” — and to build name recognition, he said.
Anyway, Comcast usually sends out political buys as they come in, but the guy in charge was out of town and didn’t get a chance to send the deets until yesterday afternoon. The total Epstein buy from September 11 through September 22 was a grand total of just $7,572.50. I kid you not.
Recreational marijuana dispensaries would be blocked from opening in parts of downtown Chicago, including the Magnificent Mile, under Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s proposed zoning rules for when the sale of the plant becomes legal next year.
Lightfoot on Tuesday unveiled proposed zoning rules for recreational marijuana dispensaries in the city that would create seven zones across the city. Each zone would have a cap on the number of dispensaries allowed in each. […]
The reason for excluding downtown’s central business district is due to the area’s density and number of tourists, Mayekar said.
“From a public safety standpoint as the industry develops, it was best to exclude that from operations,” Mayekar said. “But there’s plenty of areas within a short walk of the area.”
Trying. To. Stay. Positive. 😬😬😬
* Boundaries from the mayor’s press release…
Oak Street to the north, Lake Michigan to the east, Ida B. Wells Drive to the south and LaSalle in River North and Chicago River in the Loop to the west.
OK, well, there’s plenty of stuff happening west of LaSalle in River North and west of the river further south. And they can even put a shop near the Viagra Triangle north of Oak. There are all sorts of opportunities south of Ida B. Wells as well. So, yeah, not having something handy for the downtown tourists is a bit of a bummer, but I’m really trying to look on the bright side these days. 😐😐😐
* The area’s alderman, however, wants dispensaries downtown, with some limits…
Downtown Ald. Brendan Reilly wants “some limited number of dispensaries to be in the central core where the bulk of our commuters work and our visitors and tourists spend their time and money." Maximize $$$.
But no dispensaries on the Magnificent Mile or State Street strip.
Because public consumption will still be prohibited and most hotels will likely ban it as well, the new rules will leave tourists in the Loop searching for an acceptable place to spark up their legal weed next year.
* I asked the mayor’s office specifically about “social use” provisions and was told this…
In the coming weeks, we will work with the City Council to develop clear guidelines around enforcement as well as onsite consumption.
Mayor Lightfoot’s Sun-Times op-ed references her “licensing for consumption sites” plan, so onsite consumption appears to be a go. That’s a good thing because banning public use means people need places to consume their legal products. 🙂🙂🙂
Furthermore, we are working with the Chicago Police Department to deter overly aggressive enforcement of minor cannabis possession violations, preventing an increase in tickets, fines and arrests.
Let’s hope that works, but I’m not holding my breath. 😶😶😶
Moody’s has released its adjusted net pension liabilities (ANPL) for U.S. states for Fiscal Year 2018 (states report their pending funding positions with a one-year lag, so this year includes the strong market performance of FY 2017). Total state ANPL was $1.56 trillion in FY18, a 3.6% drop from FY17. The median state ANPL for FY18 was $12.2 billion, which represents 91.5% of state revenues.
The five states with the highest ANPL were Illinois ($240.8 billion/505.1% of revenue), Kentucky ($45.9 billion/308.7% of revenue), Connecticut ($62.1 billion/285.8% of revenue), New Jersey ($113.8 billion/274.9% of revenue), and Maryland ($59.3 billion/236.5% of revenue). The five states with the lowest ANPL were North Carolina ($9.4 billion/31.4% of revenue), Tennessee ($6.4 billion/32.3% of revenue), North Dakota ($1.8 billion/32.6% of revenue), New York ($39.2 billion/40.2% of revenue), and Iowa ($4.8 billion/43% of revenue).
Moody’s uses a lower discount rate than others who monitor state debt, which tends to increase the size of Illinois’ hole. Ergo, according to the bond-rating firm, Illinois’ adjusted net pension liability as of June 30, 2018, stood at a cool $240.8 billion.
That’s more than any other state, with California coming in second—its population is more than three times ours—at $230.8 billion and Texas coming in third at $132.8 billion.
Difficult as it is to fathom, Illinois’ figure actually was a little worse this time a year ago, topping $250 billion in unfunded liabilities. But according to Moody’s, the whole reason for the decline was the market, which was really hot but lately has been pretty flat. With Illinois putting in only about two-thirds of what we need to hold even—Moody’s so-called “tread water” line—the hole probably already has resumed growing, it says.
And it will continue to grow because that’s the Edgar pension ramp. The state will gradually work its way up to “tread water” status and then beyond. Candidate and Governor-elect Pritzker pledged to put money into the system up front to get ahead of the ramp, but Gov. Pritzker has stopped talking about that idea.
By the way, Moody’s says the state’s Adjusted Net Pension Liability per capita in Illinois is $18,896. The national median is $2,903 per capita. Mean is $4,883.
The Illinois Gaming Board said Monday that state lawmakers need to change a law they enacted earlier this year if they ever hope to see a casino developed in the city of Chicago.
That vote came in response to a feasibility study released in August that said such a casino would not be feasible given the “onerous tax and fee structure” that lawmakers imposed.
At its regular monthly meeting in Chicago, the board voted unanimously to adopt a resolution stating that, “based on results of the study as required by the Illinois Gambling Act, the board recommends that the General Assembly consider making modifications to the terms of the Chicago casino license authorized under the Illinois Gambling Act.”
* The Question: Should the Illinois General Assembly lower the tax rate for the Chicago casino or should the city try to bid out the license with the current rates? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please…
Staff at all levels of the Illinois’ beleaguered Department of Children and Family Services is not responsive to calls, several stakeholders have told The Daily Line, pointing to major communications issues as one reason for the agency’s troubles in recent years.
But some say the slowness to respond has gotten worse in the months since new agency Director Marc Smith was appointed by Gov. JB Pritzker in March. Smith came to DCFS from the state’s largest nonprofit provider of services to families in crisis and worked for the department from 1993-2000. […]
DCFS spokesperson Jassen Strokosch said the agency’s mid- and high-level staff has seen a lot of reorganization in the last few months, which may explain why those on the outside are having issues getting in touch with the right people. […]
[Jill Glick, a physician with the University of Chicago and founder of its Child Advocacy and Protective Services team] said issues within DCFS — especially communication — is “probably the worst it’s been.”
“Cases are getting reassigned between workers a lot,” Glick said. “They’re so understaffed because of changeovers. The reality is, many workers I’ve worked with for over 10 years, who were rapid-fire responders, are not answering their phones.” […]
“I don’t know if [Smith] is aware of it,” Glick said. “It’s crucial they know the phone is not getting answered right now. I work my behind off. They all have our personal cell phone numbers…Mark Smith needs to be answering his phone and listening to this stuff.”
And when stakeholders tried to speak with Director Smith after a recent legislative hearing, he blew them off.
State Senator Andy Manar (D-Bunker Hill) gathered with fellow state lawmakers and diabetes health advocates in Springfield Tuesday to urge support for new a new measure aimed at reducing the skyrocketing price of insulin.
“There are people in this state who have to choose between buying their prescription insulin and paying for groceries or making their mortgage payment,” Manar said. “These prices are absolutely out of control and we have a responsibility as lawmakers to take immediate action to ensure that every person has access to the care they need.”
Senate Bill 667, introduced by Manar, would cap out of pocket insulin expenses at $100 for a 30-day supply.
Manar was joined by State Rep. Sue Scherer (D-Decatur) to push for the legislation’s passage and hear from individuals who have been directly impacted by rising insulin costs.
“It’s been 10 years since the insulin I need to survive was only $800. Now it cost $1800,” said Megan Blair, a single mother who has experienced firsthand the consequences of rising insulin costs. “Something needs to change. Something has to be done about this.”
According to the American Diabetes Association, there are over 30 million Americans who have diabetes, 7.4 million of which require prescription insulin every day to survive. However, the increasing costs associated with the medication have led many patients to ration their supply or seek care outside of the country.
The legislation would make Illinois just the second state in the country to cap out of pocket insulin expenses. Colorado became the first to do so earlier this year.
“We cannot continue to sit back and allow drug companies to charge exorbitant prices on lifesaving medication that people depend on every day,” said Rep. Will Guzzardi, the bill’s lead sponsor in the House. “Instead of crushing Illinois consumers to pad corporate profits, let’s take real action to prioritize the actual health and well-being of Illinois residents who rely on insulin.”
The legislation has also garnered the support of several advocacy organizations, including the American Diabetes Association, Illinois State Medical Society, Illinois Pharmacists Association and AARP.
“AARP Illinois supports this measure on behalf of our 1.7 million members, many of whom have told us about the hardships they face in paying for their prescription drugs,” said State Director Bob Gallow. “We commend Sen. Manar, Rep. Guzzardi, and other legislators for recognizing that everyday Illinois residents are having to make heartbreaking choices about whether to pay for medicine or other basic necessities with their fixed incomes. And we hope that SB 667 will be a stepping stone to getting further reforms that will lower the cost of prescription drugs for everyone.”
Opponents include the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois, Eli Lilly and Company, the Illinois Insurance Association, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and others.
* More from AARP…
Lori Hendren with @aarpillinois: an aging population has to deal with the cost of insulin on a fixed income, an issue for our members as costs skyrocket. In Illinois, 28% of people with diabetes stopped taking #insulin as prescribed by their doctor because of cost. pic.twitter.com/vWjAVTv9ZG
Manar was joined by state Sen. Dave Koehler (D-Peoria), state Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth (D-Peoria), two people with diabetes, and local health care professionals. Gordon-Booth said it’s important to remember African-Americans are twice as likely to deal with diabetes than non-Hispanic whites.
“If we’re talking about ensuring the ability of people to live safe and healthy lives, they have to have access to insulin. It’s not optional. It’s mandatory,” she said.
She said several members of her family have struggled with this issue, and mentioned she struggles with high blood pressure despite maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle.
Because she struggles to pay for insulin, Megan Blair has been hospitalized multiple times in the 10 years since she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 18. […]
“It turned into a game for me. How much insulin could get me through the day? If I don’t give myself all the insulin I need in one day, I would have leftovers for the next day and maybe I could learn how to turn this 30-day supply into a 60-day supply,” she said. “Well, this worked for a little bit, until my body couldn’t keep functioning … I ended up in the hospital several times.” […]
“The total cost of care of patients with diabetes goes up when you don’t take care of diabetes, making them at increased risk for heart attacks and strokes. Who pays for that? Everybody who pays taxes pays for that, and everyone that has private insurance pays for that through increased insurance costs,” said [Dr. Gregg Stoner, the medical director for the Heartland Clinic]. “So while patients suffer from the physical consequences of diabetes, we all share in the cost.” […]
“In Colorado, where they have already passed a similar bill, it has not raised any costs of insurance on anybody else,” said Koehler. “If you think about it, making sure people have insulin when they need it probably prevents a lot of ER visits, and a lot of other medical costs that could have been avoided.”
Illinois taxpayers who incurred tax liabilities between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2018 may be eligible for the one-time tax amnesty program. Beginning October 1, 2019, eligible taxpayers who pay their eligible tax liabilities in full will have associated penalties and interest waived. Taxpayers have until November 15, 2019 to make a full payment on their liabilities and file the required paperwork with the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR).
“Now is an excellent opportunity for taxpayers with tax liabilities to pay what they owe and come into compliance with the law,” said David Harris, Illinois Department of Revenue Acting Director. “By taking advantage of this amnesty program, taxpayers can eliminate any eligible tax debts owed, without penalty or interest. This allows them to have a clean tax slate with the State of Illinois. The Department of Revenue is committed to achieving a tax system where everyone pays their fair share and citizens can trust they are treated equitably. This one-time amnesty program helps us achieve that goal.”
During budget negotiations this year, Governor Pritzker proposed a tax amnesty program for taxpayers who have state tax liabilities, and the General Assembly agreed to include the program as part of this year’s fiscal budget. The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget estimates the tax amnesty program will recover $175 million in outstanding tax liabilities.
To participate in Illinois’ Tax Amnesty Program, taxpayers must pay all outstanding tax on an amnesty qualifying period in order to have eligible penalties and interest waived. Taxpayers who failed to file during the original filing period will need to file an original return in addition to making full payment of tax due. For taxpayers who want to report changes to previously filed returns, an amended tax return and full payment of tax due are required. The tax amnesty program includes most types of tax liabilities and penalties, but excludes taxes not collected by IDOR, such as property or local government taxes, and some fees, such as bad check fees and outside collection agency fees.
A similar tax amnesty program in 2010 brought in nearly $332 million for the state, exceeding the $250 million then-Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration anticipated.
The Revenue Department is mailing notifications to eligible taxpayers. More information on the amnesty program is available at tax.illinois.gov.
In the grip of a national opioid crisis that has been destroying families and driving up the cost of health care, controversy over an addiction facility is unfolding in west suburban Itasca.
Residents of the 8,600-plus village are aggressively fighting a proposal to allow a drug treatment center to open in an up-for-sale Holiday Inn. The hotel is confined within a business park off Interstate 290, away from residences. Introduced by Haymarket Center, which is headquartered in Chicago’s West Loop, the facility would provide in-patient treatment for drug addiction aimed at suburban residents on Medicaid.
Opposition in Itasca has been pronounced. But the “No Haymarket” signs poking from lawns around town are symbols of fear, not fact. Residents worry the facility will damage their community. The reality is, the opioid epidemic already has. […]
Rosecrance, another in-patient drug treatment facility network, faced similar backlash when it opened a location in Lakeview, one of Chicago’s more upscale neighborhoods, in 2016. Residents resisted fiercely. But the treatment center opened anyway, and the bulk of complaints since then have been about cigarette smoking near the building. That’s it.
It sometimes feels like fear and loathing is our national pastime.
*** UPDATE 1 *** From Rep. Deb Conroy (D-Villa Park)…
Thank you for your support of Haymarket in Itasca. It is time that state and local leaders come together to support this desperately needed facility and the location in Itasca. Between state and county officials we can come together to help address the loss of tax revenue. This will take away the opposition and leave only the hate. We can not let hate win when we have so many people dying from the disease of addiction. Addiction is a disease, not a crime and it does not discriminate.
With a little over 100 days until recreational marijuana becomes legal in Illinois, Oglesby licensed cannabis grower is expanding and adding new jobs.
Monday, Oglesby Mayor Dom Rivara announced that Green Thumb Industries plans to launch a $1.5 million expansion of its operations in the next 30 days. Rivara termed it “an elaborate kind of operation” that, once completed, would create 40-50 jobs.
Rivara said he has “mixed emotions” about legalization — Oglesby, he said, would not modify its drug testing policy for city employees — but not at all conflicted about the economic development opportunity at hand.
City Manager Bill Nicklas said the city is already being approached by interested parties looking to set up a marijuana shop in DeKalb, as city staff and the council move forward to set policy for allowing dispensaries on Jan. 1.
“In the last month and a half, we’ve had four or five different entities,” Nicklas said Friday. “So I think once we can define the standards and parameters, we’ll have people approaching us for formal consideration.”
The City Council has already expressed strong support for recreational marijuana dispensaries in DeKalb, with a desire to impose a full 3% tax on sales. On Monday, the council will consider revisions to medical cannabis dispensary regulations, and begin developing a framework for local zoning and permits in the hopes that, come Jan. 1, sellers will begin eyeing DeKalb as a spot to set up shop.
The Sycamore City Council is going to wait to hear public input before it makes any decisions, but several council members seemed favorable to the idea of allowing recreational marijuana sales in the city.
At Monday’s meeting, members compared sales of recreational marijuana to previous decisions the council has made on video gambling or alcohol sales in the city. First Ward Alderman Alan Bauer said that he had voted against many of those measures in town.
“What I’ve seen over those votes is we’ve properly regulated those things,” Bauer said. “Even though I was pretty pessimistic, it turned out OK. I guess I’m OK with this.” […]
Sycamore City Manager Brian Gregory told the City Council Monday that there were several taxes that would benefit the city.
“I read all of these horrible things that are going to happen, without a shred of evidence,” [Village President Ben Sells] said. “If you want to say it’s against my values, I personally don’t want it here, absolutely. But don’t try to bootstrap that into some kind of quasi-scientific argument that there’s support for, because there isn’t.”
* The proprietors of legalized and regulated adult use cannabis dispensaries will not interrupt your shopping experience by trying to rob you at gunpoint…
A woman was attacked early Monday morning and robbed at gunpoint by two men with whom she was discussing buying drugs, police said.
The 59-year-old woman was beaten and her cash was stolen shortly after 12:30 a.m. in the 500 block of Cherry Street, according to police. She was taken to a Rockford hospital for treatment of minor injuries. Police spokeswoman Christie Castillo said one of the men was armed with a gun. The amount of money stolen was not released.
A drafting error in the law legalizing recreational marijuana in Illinois starting in January may mean counties and towns have to wait an extra nine months before gathering their share of potential revenue bonanza.
The delay has been attributed to a drafting glitch in the municipal cannabis retailers’ occupation tax (MCROT) that will prevent municipalities from collecting taxes until Sept. 1, 2020. MCROT was a prominent feature of H.B. 1438, which made Illinois the 11th state to legalize recreational marijuana.
Even so, a change is probably coming during veto session.
As Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration makes its first moves into regulating the recreational marijuana industry, it is releasing guidelines on where the new businesses can locate—and they’re all outside the city’s central business district.
The state will grant as many as 91 licenses to Chicago sellers, which will be divided among seven zones in the city. Initially, no zone will be allowed to have more than seven locations. Eventually, that number will climb to 14. […]
The central business district exclusion area will include Oak Street to the north, Lake Michigan to the east and Ida B. Wells Drive to the south, with the western boundary being LaSalle Street in River North and the Chicago River in the Loop. Lightfoot will introduce the restrictions at tomorrow’s City Council meeting.
“The frame of this is to really focus on equity and making sure we use an equity lens as this industry grows,” Mayekar said, adding that the city’s regulations nudge market outcomes but do not force them. “I think this is a pretty nuanced regulation that takes into account the demand of the market. The real design principle here is to ensure we don’t have over-saturation in a particular zone. . . .The seven zones were created in a way that they have more or less the same population. The goal is to have equal distribution per capita of dispensaries.”
* A Bloomington Pantagraph story about a legislative breakfast this morning with the McLean County Board…
Republicans in the Legislature called for some kind of regional conditions on the minimum wage bill, but that was not included in what lawmakers approved and Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law in February. The rate will increase statewide to $9.25 on Jan. 1, $10 in 2020 and by a dollar each year to 2025. […]
“I hear comments … saying, ‘Please reconvene the discussion on the minimum wage and how that may be worked in, particularly for downstate,’” said state Rep. Keith Sommer of Morton during a legislative breakfast with the McLean County Board. “This issue isn’t going away.” […]
“I’ve got an 800-employee factory in my district that’s now looking to potentially move out of state. That is a huge problem,” [Sen. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet] said. […]
“That 5 percent increase (universities) got will be very quickly eaten up by payroll cost,” Rose said. “Superintendents have told me the minimum wage increase will wipe away the entire gains that have been received under that… monumental work (of a new funding formula). For what?”
[Illinois Petroleum Marketers Association Executive Vice President Bill Fleischli ] said there were other factors in Illinois that will make convenience stores in border communities less competitive than those in neighboring states.
“We forget to mention the minimum wage [increase],” Fleischli said. […]
“You have to pay more for your wholesale price, you have to raise it at retail, so your volume goes away and your inside sales go away and you have to pay more of your help,” Fleischli said. “It makes the border go from a five-mile border to a 50-mile border. I’ve said it before. We’ve put the small business petroleum worker under the endangered species anymore.”
A New York hedge fund and the CEO of a well-funded conservative think tank are suing the state of Illinois to cancel $14.3 billion in bond debt, arguing that it’s unconstitutional for state lawmakers to borrow money to pay down “unspecified” old bills.
In 2017, in a maneuver to escape the state’s historic budget impasse and to avoid from plunging into junk bond status, Illinois issued $6 billion in bonds and used the cash infusion to pay down late bills that were accruing late payment interest penalties at a rate of 12 percent. The interest on those bonds is scheduled to cost Illinois taxpayers 5 percent interest. […]
Comptroller Susana Mendoza, a Democrat whose office pays the state’s bills, defended the 2017 bond sale as “a great deal for taxpayers,” and criticized the plaintiffs for “essentially trying to bankrupt the state” in order “to make a killing off of killing the state’s finances.”
* John Tillman’s response…
“It is shameful that Comptroller Mendoza is lying to the public about my role in this lawsuit. I have nothing to gain financially from this lawsuit. I do not now, nor have I ever owned any Illinois debt or related securities.
“As I’ve made clear repeatedly, my motivation is to prevent the state of Illinois from bankrupting its citizens by taking on excessive debt, including that which is unconstitutional.
“Comptroller Mendoza is skirting the real issue: The state broke the law. That hurts everyone. Politicians continue to borrow money and drive the state deeper into debt, and they hit people with higher taxes year after year. Illinois’ failing credit rating has been long in the making. This is the result of decades worth of fiscal mismanagement enabled by issuances of unconstitutional debt, as I point out in my complaint. Someone has to do something. That’s why I sued: in an attempt to stop the madness.
“Comptroller Mendoza’s office is desperately trying to trick Illinoisans into thinking this immoral and unconstitutional borrowing is for their own good. She is confused as to both this lawsuit and the finances of the state. If successful, my lawsuit would take billions of dollars in debt off the balance sheet of the state of Illinois. It would improve the state’s financial position, not drive it into financial ruin.
“It’s obvious to every Illinoisan that you shouldn’t take out a home equity loan to pay off your credit card bill. The Illinois Constitution wisely includes protections against this kind of reckless behavior. This is why I am suing the state.”
Setting aside his odd claim that the lawsuit would “improve the state’s financial position,” and the very shaky legal foundation of his suit which we’ve discussed several times already, did Mendoza actually claim that Tillman would reap personal financial rewards from the legal action?
* Maxwell helpfully sent me the Mendoza interview transcript which you can read by clicking here. She didn’t explicitly say Tillman would profit, but she did imply it. For instance…
I kept saying [in 2017], I think there’s people who are connected to Governor Rauner who stand to make a killing off of killing the state’s finances.
This lawsuit just goes to show that exactly what I was saying was right.
The fact that you would have John Tillman, who pretends to be fiscally responsible, who leads this organization called the Illinois Policy Institute — which you’d like to believe is supposed to be a non-partisan organization or a think tank that provides good recommendations and fiscal policies to the stat — their director, John Tillman, whose entire administration almost went to work for the Rauner administration right after they had that massive purge of their employees, so they were essentially running the state during the time that bond deal finally got done.
MM: I have not yet asked Mr. Tillman about his suit. We hope to do that. We hope to speak with him about it. But if you take him or his allies in good faith about their intentions, they say that they want to re-train the state from its propensity to borrow money in the bond market, and restrain spending. That’s their argument.
SM: It’s 100% nonsense.
MM: How do you know that?
SM: Their only argument here is that the state should go bankrupt. And why? It’s because they stand to make a ton of money in the process.
Not this election. Erika Harold, the downstate republican who ran for AG will not be a candidate in 2020 per her spokesman. She was rumored to be a possible candidate for John Shimkus’ 15th Congressional seat after he announced he would not seek re-election @ABC7Chicago pic.twitter.com/RsugDCEEwm
GOP insiders expect @JasonPlummerUSA to launch a campaign soon. A primary contest in a deep red downstate district in a presidential election year would've likely been a loyalty contest to see which candidate was most aligned with @realDonaldTrump.
* After weeks of no public appearances because of his fractured leg, Gov. Pritzker appears to be slowly ramping up his schedule. Greg Hinz yesterday…
Mike Quigley probably has as safe a seat in Congress as any Illinois incumbent, but it pays to never assume anything in politics these days—not when you’re a relative moderate at a time when the political left is flexing its muscle.
The Chicago Democrat is holding a lunchtime fundraiser starring Gov. J.B. Pritzker today. Sources say the event is expected to bring in about $50,000 for Quigley’s re-election campaign. At the moment the congressman has only one re-election foe, progressive Brian Burns.
* Also yesterday…
I appreciate the faith leaders who met with @LtGovStratton and me today as we work to make our state a better place for all families to live and thrive. pic.twitter.com/j47I49Yj8W
What: Gov. Pritzker to attend the China General Chamber of Commerce – Midwest Chapter dinner.
Where: Hyatt Regency, 151 East Wacker Drive, Chicago
When: 6:30 p.m.
Note: No additional media availability.
We’ve had an exciting few weeks around here. I was honored to get Senator Elizabeth Warren’s endorsement last Monday, and today, I’m just as thrilled to receive an endorsement from Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Her support means a lot. She knows what it’s like to take on the establishment and D.C. insiders — and win. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez proved that you can win tough races by knocking on as many doors as possible and championing your district’s voices and values.
That’s exactly what we’re going to do right here in IL-03, and I couldn’t be more grateful that she’s on my side.
But take a step back for a second and ask yourself why these national progressive leaders are paying close attention to this race. They know, especially right now, we simply can’t afford to have Democrats in office who fail to stand up for our values.
If you agree that it’s time for the Third District to have a leader unbought by corporate special interests — someone who will take on the establishment and machine politics — then I need you with me. Will you chip in to my campaign today?
Lipinski, who opposes abortion rights, is among the more conservative Democrats in the House and defeated Newman in a primary last cycle. Lipinski’s 3rd Congressional District covers the southwest suburbs and a piece of the city of Chicago. […]
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders supported Newman in her 2018 primary bid. […]
By backing a primary opponent to a colleague, Ocasio-Cortez is mounting a campaign strategy that resembles her own political rise last year, when she toppled a House Democratic leader in a stunning primary challenge. It’s a flex of power for the freshman lawmaker but also one that makes colleagues wary.
Newman campaign manager Ben Hardin told the Sun-Times Tuesday that Ocasio-Cortez and Newman talked earlier this month about congressional priorities, Newman’s platform and the potential endorsement.
For a district anchored in Chicago and the southwest suburbs, Ocasio-Cortez decided to announce her backing in the New York Times on Tuesday morning, suggesting the lawmaker was trying to maximize the national fundraising potential of her first endorsement of the cycle.
She told the Times: “Marie Newman is a textbook example of one of the ways that we could be better as a party — to come from a deep blue seat and to be championing all the issues we need to be championing.
“The fact that a deep blue seat is advocating for many parts of the Republican agenda is extremely problematic. We’re not talking about a swing state that is being forced to take tough votes.”
High-profile Democratic primaries are becoming more common, thanks in part to the attention garnered by Ocasio-Cortez and others, although the New York lawmaker herself has not been as quick to support primary challenges as some expected she would.
“We are so proud that Marie Newman is the first Justice Democrat of this cycle to receive an endorsement from Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,” said Alexandra Rojas, the executive director of Justice Democrats, which has supported many of the anti-establishment primary bids. “The momentum is growing in our movement to make the Democratic Party fight for solutions as big as the problems we face and create a party of voters, not corporate donors.”
*** UPDATE *** Response…
Dan Lipinski responds to @AOC endorsing his primary opponent and it's a doozy.
"Ms. Newman is an extreme candidate who is completely out of step with the voters of Illinois’ Third District who do not want to be represented by a fifth member of the 'Squad.'" pic.twitter.com/zewNDe6CfP
“Since taking office, the Governor has worked to protect the health and safety of all Illinoisans, especially our young people. He supports the efforts of state lawmakers to outlaw flavored e-cigarettes and vaping products, and also supports those proposals moving forward during the fall veto session.”
Background
- So far, this administration has worked with the General Assembly to raise the smoking age to 21, including for vaping and e-cigarettes.
- He also imposed the first-ever tax on e-cigarettes and vaping products to make them more difficult for young people to get their hands on.
- The Governor also convened a working group of medical and legal experts to study the scientific evidence so they can develop long-term solutions to keep Illinoisans safe and healthy.
Not sure why it’s necessary to ban a product for adult consumption when it’s already illegal for people under 21, particularly since there is no real connection between these products and the recent reported vaping illnesses. But the public and the media are in a furor, so politicians gonna politic.
SHANE BOUVET, a Stonington man who volunteered on President DONALD TRUMP’s campaign, met Trump several times including the evening before the 2017 inauguration, and received $15,000 from Trump to help his ailing father, has taken to Facebook in what appeared to be an election challenge to U.S. Sen. DICK DURBIN, D-Illinois, of Springfield.
“Mr. Durbin Look me in the eyes,” it says in the post, titled “Bouvet vs. Durbin.” “It’s okay of you’re scared. So am I. … I know what is within me, Even if you can’t see it yet. … I have patience. I will become what I know I am. – Senator Shane Bouvet.”
So, I called Bouvet, who started work last week at a Decatur construction company, after losing a coal-mining job he said ended due to flooding in Hillsboro. He’s 27, he noted, and a person has to be 30 to serve in the Senate.
“I’m trying to let him know,” Bouvet said, “don’t get comfortable, because when I turn 30, he’s definitely in my sight.”
Assuming he wins next year, Sen. Durbin won’t be up for reelection again until 2026, when he will be 82 years old.
“Any challenger [to an incumbent] is challenged themselves,” typically through disputed signatures needed to make it on the ballot.
“There’s a reason we have many uncontested elections in Illinois. The ballot process requires money for election lawyers.”
The petition binding laws and surrounding court cases alone can easily knock candidates off the ballot.
Others, including the Tribune editorial board, say the big reason for so many uncontested races here is gerrymandering…
Often, the loaded dice mean there is no game at all. Of 39 state senators up for election, 20 had no opponent.
OK, but Wisconsin’s gerrymandering process is said to be much more political than Illinois’ and of 17 state Senate seats up for election last year, only four were uncontested.
* The Question: How responsible are Illinois’ ballot access laws for our large number of uncontested legislative races? Don’t forget to explain your answer. Thanks.
* This might possibly help the prospects of a trailer bill during veto. But lowering taxes on the Chicago operator will mean less money for the state and/or the city. The state needs that dough for vertical infrastructure projects and the city needs it for police and fire pensions. And as far as I can tell, there’s no agreement yet about how to do it or even if they will do it. Some folks in high places say Lightfoot should just put the casino license out to bid as-is to see if she gets any takers before fiddling with the tax structure. But the clock is ticking and veto session is approaching fast…
Illinois Gaming Board keeps its poker face, passing resolution asking lawmakers to modify gaming bill in response to Las Vegas feasibility report that portayed Chicago casino tax structure as a losing hand. Motion passed with no debate. @mitchtrout is there.
Mayors from various corners of Illinois agree with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s comments: Illinois’ mandates on pensions are unsustainable.
In an August interview with the editorial board of Crain’s Chicago Business, the freshman Chicago mayor called Illinois’ state-mandated sweeteners to public worker pensions “unsustainable” and called on lawmakers to take action in the coming veto session.
She immediately faced criticism and was forced to clarify her statement, telling Crain’s that “We must secure the retirement of our working people by partnering with our allies from the state to identify progressive revenue streams. Mayor Lightfoot remains opposed to a constitutional amendment on pensions.”
In her initial interview, she said Chicago wasn’t alone in struggling to pay for pension promises mandated by state lawmakers, that cities like Rockford and Peoria are all under pressure.
“She absolutely is right and we’re not talking about a light coming through a tunnel a long ways away,” Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis said. “We’re talking about a freight train that’s just around the block. This isn’t unique to Chicago and Peoria. Literally every municipality in the state is under the same type of pressure.”
“I want to be careful about this obviously, because it raises lots of concerns amongs lots of quarters, not least of which is in organized labor. I think we have to put as many options as we possible can on the table. We know that the circumstances we find ourselves in with the COLA compounded annually is unsustainable, but I also really feel strongly that we cannot undercut the working men and women that are relying on their pensions, and that puts us in a very precarious position, limits the options, I am aware of that.”
Later in the interview (about 20:00), she is asked about her statement that the COLA is “unsustainable” and she backtracks:
“What I said is 3% compounded annually is a tough climb. It means that we have to consistently feed that beast.”
And upon being question on whether this position is fair to the taxpayers who will have to shoulder these burdens, she replies:
“Pensioners are taxpayers. The thing that gets lost in these conversations is that in the city of Chicago people who have public pensions make up the middle class of our neighborhoods. They are our teachers, our workers, and if they leave, if they are treated unfairly, it can have a potentially catastrophic effect on what happens in our neighborhoods.”
And, keep in mind, the 3 percent compounded increase doesn’t apply to police and firefighter pensions in her city, which make up over half the problem.
Either way, for a skilled lawyer, the mayor isn’t very precise in her word usage.
* As we’ve discussed before, Rep. Jaime Andrade has been trying to eliminate the horde of pigeons at the Irving Park Blue Line stop for over a year. This time the pigeons fought back. From CBS 2…
Talk about dumb luck during a Morning Insiders interview – near a very busy Chicago Transit Authority stop nicknamed the “pigeon poop station.”
While we were shooting a follow-up story about the problems at the station, the unthinkable happened. CBS 2’s Lauren Victory was talking with a lawmaker who was fighting to fix the problem, and he fell victim to it right when the cameras were rolling.
That’s right, a pigeon relieved itself on state Rep. Jaime Andrade (D-Chicago) right on cue as he spoke.
Andrade had just been badmouthing the pigeons.
“I’ll just have to go clean up,” he said. “That’s what happens to my constituents. They get s**t on all time.”
A bipartisan coalition of advocacy groups and lawmakers unveiled a bill Friday that would phase out emissions of a cancer-causing gas in densely populated areas and near schools or day care centers by 2022.
The measure, House Bill 3888, was announced at a Chicago news conference and is the latest step in a highly publicized series of legislative and advocacy efforts to regulate or ban the use of ethylene oxide in Illinois. Ethylene oxide is a gas used in sterilization and manufacturing processes that has been linked to higher cancer rates in communities surrounding the companies that use it.
Sponsored by state Rep. Rita Mayfield, D-Waukegan, the bill proposes that by 2021, no sterilization company can use ethylene oxide within 5 miles of a region with a population density of at least 10 residents per square mile, or within the same distance from a school or day care.
Needless to say, if a facility has to be more than 5 miles from a region with a population density of at least 10 people per square mile, the location options are going to be pretty darned limited in Illinois.
Dawn Rex lives a mile from Medline Industries and near Vantage Chemicals, two plants that utilize EtO, in Waukegan. She believes the ethylene oxide emissions from their plants are what caused her 3-year-old son Samuel to get sick with leukemia. […]
“I think these facilities need to be shut down immediately, shut down as they shut down Sterigenics,” she said. […]
State Rep. Rita Mayfield of Waukegan says she thinks legislators can get the bill passed next month in October’s veto session.
“I don’t see how any legislator or any senator can go up on the House or the Senate floor and say, ‘We’re OK with poisoning children; We’re OK with poisoning communities.’ I just don’t see that happening,” she said.
The EPA is no longer planning to propose toxic air pollution limits for carcinogenic ethylene oxide releases from medical sterilizer facilities this summer, as promised earlier.
Instead, the Environmental Protection Agency quietly announced Sept. 13 it would take a series of steps that will delay any action until later, including the release of an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking next month. This notice, on which the agency will take public comment, will “outline the potential approaches that EPA could take in its upcoming rule, along with the technologies available for controlling ethylene oxide emissions.”
The agency said it plans to issue the actual proposed rule “in the coming months,” according to a separate statement.
The FDA warned last week about the potential for more medical device shortages, this time due to the temporary shutdown of a Sterigenics ethylene oxide (EO) plant outside Atlanta, Ga. […]
The Illinois EPA shut down the Willowbrook plant in February, citing excess EO emissions. Last week, a DuPage County judge approved an agreement that the state attorney general and Sterigenics reached in July that would allow Sterigenics to reopen the Willowbrook plant if it complies with a stringent new state law on EO emissions.
The Willowbrook plant sterilized 594 types of devices, including sutures, clamps, knives, stents and needles. Its closure prompted the FDA to warn of possible device shortages and sent medtech companies large and small scrambling to find other sterilization facilities. Some larger companies were able to take the task in-house or farm it out to other contract sterilization plants. Others were not so lucky.
In April, officials from Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH), and Guerbet (EPA:GBT) advised customers that certain devices were already in short supply or may experience shortages. Teleflex Medical OEM, which had seven million devices sterilized per year at the Willowbrook plant, warned of shortages as well.
Ric Ocasek was one of the all-time great American songwriters: the spirit of Buddy Holly in the body and mind of Mr. Spock, a new wave eccentric who always wanted to brush your rock & roll hair. That’s why the world is in mourning at the news of his death yesterday, at the age of 75. With the Cars, the Boston legend scored hit after hit, yet he also wrote vulnerable ballads about teen angst with his own distinctive blend of compassion and humor, plus his authentic geek-gulp of a voice. Who else could sing the line “alienation is the craze” and still sound cool? Nobody.
* I will never forget the night that I arrived at a bonfire party just outside the Landstuhl military base where my family lived. This song was playing on somebody’s boom box…
I had heard the song before, but I hadn’t really “heard” it. You know what I mean? The song just seemed perfect that night in that setting with those people (my high school friends). There were so many great tracks on that album…
“It’s funny, but when I wasn’t a so-called star, I still used to get recognized a lot, although for other reasons. I’ve felt rather like an outcast for most of my life, and I became comfortable with it at a young age. But it’s not easy sometimes telling yourself that there’s hope for your future, there’s a reason to go on.” Ocasek sits quietly for several seconds, staring down at his long, bony hands. “I used to think about how it would be turned around someday.”
New research shows crime rates dropped substantially in areas with marijuana dispensaries, running counter to fears that pot shops drum up crime.
The study, published this month in the journal of Regional Science and Urban Economics, analyzed crime data from Denver between January 2013 and December 2016. Colorado, which legalized medical marijuana nearly two decades ago, kicked off sales of recreational pot in 2014.
”The results imply that an additional dispensary in a neighborhood leads to a reduction of 17 crimes per month per 10,000 residents, which corresponds to roughly a 19 percent decline relative to the average crime rate over the sample period,” the study states.
While those findings are highly localized, Illinois State University criminology professor Ralph Weisheit said the results could be “magnified in Illinois.” That’s because the state’s 610-page pot law prioritizes criminal justice and social equity and encourages the hiring of people from “economically-impoverished neighborhoods,” Weisheit said.
* New state-created industries should have new rules, including these…
When Illinois’ new law legalizing recreational marijuana takes effect Jan. 1, growers will face some of the strongest energy efficiency and reporting requirements in the country.
Marijuana can be an energy intensive crop. The new electricity load to power lighting, heating and ventilation for indoor grow facilities has strained the grid and even caused blackouts in other places after it was legalized.
The Illinois law seeks to avoid those problems by mandating efficiency standards and capping the amount of power used per square foot. Clean energy advocates said they were hopeful the law would lead other states to follow suit, though more work is needed between utilities and growers to manage power demand. […]
In Denver, public health officials in 2018 reported almost 4% of the city’s total electricity use was from cannabis, up from 1.5% in 2012. In the six months after recreational marijuana became legal in Oregon in 2015, Portland-based Pacific Power reported seven blackouts in its service territory from indoor growing operations.
As U.S health officials scramble to identify the root cause of hundreds of severe lung illnesses tied to vaping, one possible culprit identified so far is a line of illicit marijuana vape products sold under the brand names “Dank Vapes” and “Chronic Carts.”
A study published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine found that more than half of patients with the lung illness – 24 of 41 – who were extensively interviewed in Wisconsin and Illinois reported having used the “Dank Vapes” brand. […]
The “Dank Vapes” brand is an illicit product that uses diluted THC oil, Downs said.
Drug dealers, looking to make as much money as possible, cut THC oil with Vitamin E acetate to dilute it but make it still appear pure to consumers, Downs said. “It can cut THC oil while keeping it thick.”
[Wisconsin state Rep. Shelia Stubbs] grew up in Beloit and said she saw the impact of state policy on the border community. People would flitter between states depending on what was available in one state and not the other. She predicted the same will happen with cannabis, with Wisconsin money, tax revenue, and business flowing into Illinois.
“You’re going to see a boon in traffic, you’re going to see communities grow even faster, the economy is going to go there. If you ever go to South Beloit and Beloit … there’s more crime than there is employment. And so I know the state of Illinois, they need the economy. Do you think the state of Wisconsin doesn’t?”
Phil Armer said he sees the benefits of decriminalization as keeping businesses flowing between the two states, and one day that it might not even be an issue.
Armer said, “Illinois is reaping great financial benefits from the medical cannabis and soon to be recreational and I want to be part of the movement to get my city and state to start reaping those same financial benefits.”
Decriminalize Davenport said they working to have their idea considered by the beginning of the year.
* Planning for pot: Rock Falls working out where marijuana shops can be located
* ‘Budtenders’ wanting to sell adult-use cannabis in Illinois must get training by Nov. 30: “There’s going to be so many new consumers entering this industry, people that haven’t used cannabis before, people that haven’t used it in 20 years, and the first point of contact is going to be that budtender,” Cresco Labs Spokesman Jason Erkes said. “It’s important for them to know the rules and regulations and all those things but also really educate themselves on the different products and the industry as a whole to make sure that first consumer touchpoint experience is a positive one.”
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court disappointed Americans who yearn for an end to partisan gerrymandering — the drawing of legislative and congressional district lines to favor the party in power. The court admitted that these maps “are incompatible with democratic principles.” But it said it had no right to interfere.
The decision seemed to close off judicial remedies for a problem that politicians are not likely to solve — because they don’t see it as a problem. But a state court in North Carolina has given new hope that elections can be made to enhance the interests of voters rather than the self-serving priorities of the pols.
This decision has some relevance to Illinois, where Democrats in Springfield have gone to great lengths to keep themselves in power. In 2018, Democrats got 61% of the votes in U.S. House races but 72% of the seats. Often, the loaded dice mean there is no game at all. Of 39 state senators up for election, 20 had no opponent.
North Carolina had a similar map, but designed to bolster Republicans. They hold 10 of 13 congressional seats thanks to a map that a GOP lawmaker confessed was the best he could do — “because I don’t believe it’s possible to draw a map with 11 Republicans and two Democrats.”
North Carolina Republicans hold 77 percent of the congressional seats despite winning only about half the congressional votes cast statewide.
In fact, [North Carolina Democrats] didn’t stand a chance of picking up a fourth seat unless they could net 52.5 percent of the statewide vote, something they achieved only once since 2000, in the 2008 election.
And four seats would still leave the NC Dems in a 9-4 deficit.
* The Illinois Republicans lost two congressional seats last year that few thought they could possibly lose when the map was drawn in 2011. President Obama lost the 6th Congressional District by 8 points in 2012 and he lost the 14th by 10. Democratic congressional candidates lost the 6th and 14th by about 18 points in 2012 and then won them by 5 and 8 points, respectively, last year. That’s a huge turnaround and had way more to do with President Trump’s lack of suburban appeal (to say the least) and the poor campaigns the GOP incumbents ran than the way the maps were drawn.
Those two races last year were also relatively close. The equivalent to flipping about a half percentage point of the statewide congressional vote would’ve done the trick for the GOPs. And then the Democrats would’ve won 60.5 percent of the statewide vote for 61 percent of the seats.
* Look, there’s no doubt that the Illinois maps are gerrymandered. I wouldn’t argue otherwise and I am all for independent, non-partisan redistricting. But saying Illinois’ district maps are “similar” to North Carolina’s is just whataboutism.
Disgraced former Chicago Ald. Daniel Solis collects a nearly $95,000 annual city taxpayer-funded pension, despite his role as a central figure in an ongoing public corruption scandal at City Hall, records show. […]
Retired city workers can lose their pensions if they’re convicted of a felony crime connected to their municipal service. Solis’ retirement took effect on May 21, the day after he left office, records show.
Barring a criminal conviction, the former alderman could keep his taxpayer-funded pension for life. […]
The idea of Solis keeping his pension is “a painful pill for taxpayers to swallow,” said Alisa Kaplan, policy director of the Reform for Illinois watchdog group.
He hasn’t yet been charged with anything, let alone convicted, and he has been actively working with federal investigators. So, how, exactly, is the General Assembly supposed to write a viable bill that stops someone like Solis from receiving his constitutionally protected pension benefits? “No pensions for federal stool pigeons,” perhaps? Come to think of it, that might actually pass, so let’s not give them any ideas.
* WGLT has a long and very good story about the state’s new “red flag” law. You should read the whole thing, but here’s an excerpt…
Normal Police successfully asked a judge to take away a 74-year-old man’s guns in March after officers became concerned his hallucinations could pose a public safety risk, as WGLT first reported. The man “admitted that there (was) a possibility that the medication he (was) taking (for a hip injury) is causing him to hallucinate,” officers wrote in their request for the firearm restraining order. […]
“It turned out as well as you could hope for,” Normal Police Chief Rick Bleichner said. “It worked how it was intended to work.” […]
“He’s OK with it,” said [the man’s attorney Helen Ogar]. She said the episode “brought (the 74-year-old’s situation) to everyone’s attention” in his family.
“He’s lovely,” Ogar said. “He was just having some health issues. He went on some medications that maybe made him not as sound as he could be. We’re dealing with those as an underlying issue. And we treated it more like a social work issue than a quasi-criminal case.”
Mark Jones with [the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence] praised examples like that.
“It’s a public health tool. It’s not a criminal tool,” Jones said.
* Mark Brown interviewed House Majority Leader Greg Harris about his struggles with addiction and overcoming AIDS. It’s definitely a must-read column…
“And what started out as something fun and social got worse and darker as the years went by to the point that I wasn’t even able to stay permanently housed, went through a bunch of different treatment programs, psych hospitalizations, suicide attempts, in and out of recovery for years and years and years.”
Even now after 19 years being clean and sober, Harris, 63, seems as much aware of his fragility as his strength.
“I consider it something that every day is like a new start,” he said. “I’m still very involved every single week in a program of recovery.”
The governor’s top budget people sent a memo last week to agency directors giving them a heads up about what will be required in their annual budget request submissions. They are not easy-peasy asks.
This fiscal year’s budget was originally supposed to be austere, but then a $1.5 billion flood of unexpected revenue poured in during April and eliminated the need for drastic cuts. Even so, as the recent memo from Deputy Gov. Dan Hynes and Budget Director Alexis Sturm pointed out, billions of dollars in unpaid bills left over from Bruce Rauner’s administration still need to be addressed. Left unsaid was any mention of a possible national recession in the coming year - which some economists have been warning about for months and which could cause serious problems for a state budget that is so precariously “balanced.”
Anyway, the memo includes three directives. The first is that the agencies give the budget office an “actionable scenario” which includes a 6.5 percent cut in their operations during the upcoming fiscal year “across all appropriated funds.”
Gov. J.B. Pritzker ordered much the same thing earlier this year before the April revenue surprise. A bipartisan group of legislators was also working on cuts in the House, but the April cash bump made those cuts unpalatable to enough Democrats that the effort was abandoned.
Not all agencies will be able to come up with the full amount of cuts. The cash-strapped Department of Children and Family Services springs immediately to mind. Cutting that budget could endanger vulnerable kids at a time when Gov. Pritzker has been trying to hire new staff to prevent more tragedies.
But even if some or most of the cuts are never implemented, the exercise at least gets agency directors thinking about ways to save money. Despite that April revenue surprise, costs for next fiscal year will definitely go up and, barring another surprise gift from the revenue gods, will very likely outstrip the available cash to pay for them. It’s simply better management to have cost-cutting plans at the ready rather than leave it up to the General Assembly to find ways to reduce spending during a potential crisis.
Next fiscal year starts on July 1st. Pritzker is hoping voters will approve a constitutional amendment four months later in November that would allow for a graduated tax system. If that happens, tax hikes on upper-income earners would automatically take effect and generate over $3 billion a year in revenues. He cannot legally build that money into his proposed budget, but if voters reject the change, you can bet there will be serious budgetary stress.
The second directive in the memo is to reduce statutorily created boards and commissions under their purviews to allow the governor to reduce them overall by 10% in the upcoming budget. Some commissions haven’t met in years. But this is more about show business than actual savings. If a commission hasn’t met, it’s unlikely that shutting it down would save much money. Former Gov. Rauner, by the way, closed several boards and commissions.
And the third directive is to identify “at least two significant efficiency and savings ideas for consideration in the fiscal year 2021 budget.” Those could include things like eliminating or consolidating duplicative programs, reducing funding for underutilized or inefficient services and improvements in service delivery to streamline costs.
Pritzker was criticized last February for not proposing any significant cuts during his budget address. So, he’s apparently looking for some splashy savings that he can highlight next year. And lots of folks will want to see evidence that the governor is at least trying to save money before agreeing to give the government even more to spend.
And, as noted above, the state absolutely needs to finish paying down its bill backlog, particularly if the economy turns sour and revenues dry up. As of last Friday, the backlog stood at $6.61 billion. This needs to be fixed even if the economy continues to hum along. The state’s social service provider and private vendor systems were horribly damaged during the previous administration, and they are nowhere near back to normal.
Forcing providers and vendors to wait endless months to be paid hurts their operations and undermines the state’s ability to retain them and recruit new groups and companies. Paying down the backlog to get the state back to a 4-week payment cycle would also help the state’s much-maligned credit rating. But cutting their funding going forward won’t help providers and vendors, either. This process has to be a careful balancing act to work.
Weeks after a former inspector general blamed former Mike Madigan chief of staff Tim Mapes for ruling through a culture of fear and intimidation, the powerful speaker has told his staff and Democratic primary candidates “no person should be pressured” into volunteering for a campaign. […]
“I am writing to remind you that no person should be pressured into or made to feel as if they are required to engage in political activities or that their public employment may be contingent upon assisting a candidate or political committee,” Madigan wrote Thursday in an email to Democratic primary candidates. […]
The letter comes weeks after former inspector general Maggie Hickey issued a scathing report about workplace culture in the speaker’s office with a very large focus on Mapes, who also served as the executive director of the state Democratic party and clerk of the House.
Most of those interviewed, Hickey wrote, “agreed that Mr. Mapes commonly threatened people’s jobs or reminded them that they were dispensable.”
In keeping with the Democratic Party’s goal of ensuring safe and supportive workplaces, our political committees have implemented many changes since the last election cycle. […]
Every staff member and volunteer serving in a supervisory role will be required to participate in a training program prior to receiving an assignment, and resources will be available for all staff and volunteers throughout the campaign cycle.
In addition, every candidate receiving assistance from the Democratic Party of Illinois, Democratic Majority, or Friends of Michael J. Madigan will be required to participate in a training program and adopt workplace harassment policies.
The goal is to create a culture where staff and volunteers feel comfortable to work issues out among themselves, knowing there is a supportive and fair system in place when they cannot. Whether you are an employee or a volunteer, you are entitled to a working environment free of coercion, discrimination, harassment, or intimidation, and I am committed to providing that environment for all persons working with our campaigns.
* From a letter Madigan sent to all Democratic primary candidates this week…
With the 2020 election season approaching, candidates and political committees will be actively seeking volunteers and paid staff to perform political activities. I am writing to remind you that no person should be pressured into or made to feel as if they are required to engage in political activities or that their public employment may be contingent upon assisting a candidate or political committee. […]
(E)very candidate receiving resources from the Democratic Party of Illinois, Democratic Majority or Friends of Michael J. Madigan will be required to take training on workplace harassment and have their own policies in place. The goal is to create a culture where candidates, staff and volunteers feel comfortable to work issues out among themselves, knowing there is a supportive and fair system in place when they cannot.
That should be the policy in both parties and all four caucuses, IMHO.
With the 2020 election season approaching, candidates and political committees will be actively recruiting volunteers and paid staff to perform political activities. As we work together to improve our workplace, I want to remind you that you should not be pressured into or made to feel as if you are required to engage in any political activity, or that your role within the Office of the Speaker is influenced by your political participation.
Those who chose to take time off work or volunteer for a candidate or political committee should do so only if it is their personal choice. You have a First Amendment right to engage in political speech, but it should be your decision whether to participate in political activities on your own time.
As a reminder, you are expressly prohibited from engaging in prohibited political activities while on State time or using State resources, and members of the General Assembly are prohibited from requiring you to engage in such activities. […]
I want to reiterate that your personal decision regarding participating in political activities will have no impact whatsoever on your role within the Office of the Speaker.
It took five years and three governors, but Chicago Rockford International Airport finally has the check it was promised from the state of Illinois.
Mike Dunn, executive director of the airport, confirmed last week that the $14.7 million check was in hand.
A big thank you to Gov. JB Pritzker for delivering. Pritzker has been bullish on Rockford. It’s not just the airport. He helped the city get its long-sought-after casino, money for rail, and more money for Rockford University, Rock Valley College, RAMP and the Boys & Girls Clubs. Rockford Mass Transit District did well in the state budget and there was $250,000 for the Rockford Art Museum.
Other governors have talked about how critical Rockford is to the state’s overall economy and did little or nothing to help. Pritzker has shown us that Rockford’s future is more than a campaign talking point. He has acted.
Not only has he come through with much-needed dollars, he’s visited the Forest City a number of times and has been to the airport at least three times. Rauner never visited the airport, according to Dunn.
Thumbs up to the success of the 2019 Du Quoin State Fair. According to figures released by the fair, Grandstand ticket sales were up 26 percent from 2018. The State of Illinois reports that overall revenue was up 37 percent. About $350,000 was generated by Grandstand attractions this year, an increase of $90,000. In more good news, state officials reported attendance at this year’s fair was 124,000, up from 100,000 in 2018. And, in a related thumbs Up, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has pledged continued support of the fair. “My administration has invested in improving the Du Quoin fairgrounds, and I’m committed to making this historic fair successful for decades to come, so that this economic engine can continue to benefit not only Du Quoin, but all of Southern Illinois,” Pritzker said. After the fair and fairgrounds have been neglected for so many years, real support from Springfield would be a definite plus.
Pursuant to House Rule 13.5, today I am establishing the House Firearm Public Awareness Task Force, which will review the issue of gun violence and make recommendations designed to reduce violence. The number of majority and minority appointments for the task force is indicated below. These majority appointments are effective immediately.
Each caucus will be allowed to appoint ten members. It’s not as big as the property tax task force, but it ain’t small, either.
Representative La Shawn K. Ford, Chair
Representative Monica Bristow
Representative Sonya M. Harper
Representative Barbara Hernandez
Representative Yehiel Kalish
Representative Stephanie A. Kifowit
Representative Theresa Mah
Representative Martin J. Moylan
Representative Aaron M. Ortiz
Representative Kathleen Willis
Rep. Ford said he requested the task force be created.
* From the House Republicans…
We look forward to appointing members to this task force and working in a bipartisan manner to address this issue.
The state of Illinois will commence the sale of cannabis on January 1, 2020 and the City of Highwood is working to be proactive in the early implementation. […]
“Highwood’s innovative entertainment district is thriving and this newly legal industry is an opportunity to continue retail growth. Being an early adopter would have advantages including identifying the best business partner for the community and giving Highwood early market share,” says Scott Coren, Highwood City Manager. “We look forward to welcoming a business to Highwood that is equally invested in this opportunity.”
* This will be a relatively short drive from my house…
While Springfield city leaders debate whether or not to allow recreational marijuana sales and cultivation within city limits, the capital city’s lone medical marijuana dispensary is closing in on a second location for recreational pot sales on the city’s East Side.
Chris Stone, the founder and CEO of HCI Alternatives, confirmed Thursday that the company is “in the final negotiations” to lease the former Outback Steakhouse, 3201 Horizon Drive, nestled between Dirksen Parkway and Interstate 55 near the Crowne Plaza. […]
Stone said the site, which has been vacant since the Australian-themed restaurant relocated last year to the city’s West Side, offered the company several advantages: easy highway access, a strong transient customer base with its proximity to several major hotels and an opportunity to provide jobs to an economically struggling side of town.
Canton’s medical marijuana dispensary, which is one of the first businesses in the state to receive both state and city approval to sell recreational marijuana, will start selling to all adults first thing on New Year’s Day.
Scott Miller of Salveo Health & Wellness Dispensary said Salveo will be ready to sell recreational marijuana at 7 a.m. Jan. 1, the day it will become legal in Illinois.
He said Salveo is being expanded into a 4,000-square-foot facility that will feature state of the art technology.
The Elgin City Council had its first discussion about whether to allow recreational marijuana sales in town, and a majority of members said they are inclined to say “yes.”
City staff members will draft ordinance proposals addressing zoning, regulations and taxes regarding the sale of marijuana. The process will entail a public hearing before the planning and zoning commission and a final vote by the city council. […]
Councilman Terry Gavin said he read a lot about marijuana legalization across the country, in addition to the extensive research done by city staff members, and agreed that allowing marijuana shops is reasonable.
“We’ve been fighting this war on drugs for decades. It’s not working very well,” he said.
The new cannabis course at Oakton Community College is far from the blow-off class one might imagine. Students don’t touch marijuana inside the classroom in Des Plaines. No one grows a plant, rolls a joint or smokes a bong. Instead, they learn about molecular biology, drug laws and treating terminal illness. […]
Students who complete the seven-course curriculum will be trained as cannabis dispensary and patient care specialists, designed to qualify them to work in either medical or recreational settings. Of the first 100 students taking the course, about 20 hope to complete it this semester, in time to start working in the field when commercial marijuana sales become legal under state law in Illinois on Jan. 1, 2020. […]
Budtender jobs average around $14 per hour in Illinois, while a dispensary manager averages around $53,000, according to job site Indeed.com. Reese hopes that hourly workers will become salaried employees as the field expands and professionalizes.
* Marijuana at the airport: That part of your packing list might not fly: The city has plenty of examples to consider when crafting its own policy. At some airports, police won’t interfere as long as travelers are of legal age and in compliance with quantity limits. But other airports say even a legally purchased stash doesn’t fly.
[Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago] should follow Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s lead and call for a change to the constitution to end the pension-protection clause.
Chicago mayoral candidate Lori Lightfoot released the following statement in response to Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s proposal to amend the the state constitution on pensions.
“I disagree with Mayor Emanuel’s attack on working families and retirees because pensions are a promise—no exceptions,” said Lightfoot. “I grew up in a steel town, and when the steel industry failed, workers and retirees lost their pensions. From that experience, I know how Chicago families, just like families in my town, plan their lives and budgets around the pension promises we’ve made. These families have already paid their fair share—we’ve got to honor that commitment as well.”
One proposed solution is to amend the Illinois Constitution to revamp the current pension clause, which the courts have ruled protects the 3 percent compounded annual increase in pension benefits many non-police/fire government workers receive even though inflation lately has been running around 1 percent a year.
Not only labor unions, but Gov. J.B. Pritzker opposes doing that, and Lightfoot—who in other settings has said workers should not have their benefits reduced—said today that “I’m not advocating for a constitutional amendment.” […]
But a few minutes later, Lightfoot said that even if such efforts succeed, the current COLA is “unsustainable.” Asked if she’d like the constitution to be amended, Lightfoot replied, “I’d like to put as many options as possible on the table.” […]
2:15 p.m. update: It looks like Lightfoot caught some heat since her comments went live. Her office now has issued what it calls a “clarifying” statement: “As the mayor has repeatedly made clear, she believes that our pension obligations are not optional. This administration is committed to finding ways to shore up the sustainability of our pension funds—including the COLA. We must secure the retirement of our working people by partnering with our allies from the state to identify progressive revenue streams. Mayor Lightfoot remains opposed to a constitutional amendment on pensions.”
A national group that lobbied against legislative efforts to legalize adult use of marijuana is seeking to keep its funding sources confidential.
The state Joint Commission on Public Ethics is scheduled to hear a disclosure exemption request Tuesday from the New York chapter of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), which contends its donors could be harassed and their livelihoods adversely affected if they are publicly identified.
The group spent more than $84,000 on lobbying during the recent legislative session, according to financial disclosures with the state. […]
In New York, social welfare organizations that engage in lobbying are required to disclose their sources of funding unless they can prove there is a “substantial likelihood” of harm or reprisals for publicly revealed donors. The requirement is to ensure the public is informed about efforts to influence governmental decisions, according to JCOPE.
* The Question: Should Illinois also require 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations to disclose their funding sources if they lobby? Make sure to explain your answer.
* The Tribune editorialized today against a CTU strike. Here’s part of it…
We understand Chicago Teachers Union leadership is pushing to codify into the contract staffing increases for school nurses, social workers and case managers. You need more of them in your schools. No dispute there. But Lightfoot needs flexibility to phase in those expenses and keep the positions outside the terms of a contract, as the independent fact-finder also recommended. She publicly has committed to adding 250 nurses and at least 200 social workers during the next five years, and adding caseworkers during the next three. That’s reasonable.
* I reached out to Kyle Hillman with the National Association of Social Workers to ask about the cost of the CTU demand for more social workers. His reply…
I am not at the negotiating table, so I can’t speak to where CTU is at this point. I am not even sure if there is an additional cost but rather a desire to see it in writing so it actually happens. For example, last year CPS committed to hiring 160 social workers, by the end of March they still hadn’t hired 125 of them. They are also one of the first staff to go (if they aren’t locked to IEP [individualized education program] mandated hours) – so in writing – is the only assurances that social workers won’t be CPS’s easy chopping block. When you consider the level of trauma experienced by CPS students – it is shocking social workers would even be considered discretionary.
If CPS even filled the slots they have already promised in the media, that would get them only half way to the recommended standard. The district needs about 1200 social workers to address the size of the school district - they have roughly 410 (they have committed in the media to get to 671 over 5 years). I would be shocked if they even met their media commitment of 671.
A Peru Republican is entering the 76th District primary for a chance to compete for the seat held by state Rep. Lance Yednock, D-Ottawa, in the 2020 election.
Jason Haskell, a Peru resident who works as a project manager for a construction company, plans to vie for the Republican nomination against Travis Breeden, R-Utica, who announced his plans in August to run. […]
Haskell also believes the state needs to freeze public-sector hiring until the state workforce shrinks by 11.5%.
“Shrinking the payroll by 11.5% saves taxpayers at least $839 million in payroll cost, allowing Illinois to start working down the size of the unfunded pension liability,” Haskell said in a news release.
That all sounds nice until you actually look at what you’re cutting. Eliminating 313 current DCFS jobs can be done, of course, but the agency is already sorely under-staffed. So, if you think DCFS will be able to adequately perform its mission with even more payroll cuts, you’re dreaming.
State agencies are getting a warning from Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s budget office: Be prepared to make significant cuts next year.
A memo orders agencies to include a scenario in which 6.5 percent of current year funding would go away. They’re to find the savings through “operational efficiencies.”
The document was issued under the names of Deputy Gov. Dan Hynes and Budget Director Alexis Sturm, who say the current-year budget is still balanced. […]
“I understand the fiscal realities, but to be thinking about taking this backwards step when we’re still trying to get out of the danger zone is discouraging,” [the Illinois Collaboration on Youth’s Andrea Durbin] says. “And I hope the General Assembly and this administration are able to come together and find ways to avoid that.”
To: All Governor’s Cabinet Directors
From: Dan Hynes, Deputy Governor, Budget & Economy
Alexis Sturm, Director, Governor’s Office of Management and Budget
Subject: Fiscal Year 2021 Spending Efficiencies Proposals
Date: September 9, 2019
Although the spring legislative session produced a successful balanced budget for fiscal year 2020, Illinois continues to face significant financial challenges, and we must continue to be wise fiscal stewards of the limited resources of State government. The State’s backlog of unpaid general funds bills that were left behind by the previous administration remained in excess of $7 billion as of June 30, 2019, and the extensive bill payment delays continue to strain the State’s network of providers and translate into millions of dollars of unnecessary interest costs.
In that context, it remains essential that agency leadership continue to evaluate current operations and procedures and set parameters for operational expenses in all agencies. Directions regarding submissions of fiscal year 2021 budget requests will be forthcoming in a few weeks from GOMB; however, even now, agency directors – working in conjunction with their Deputy Governor and GOMB staff – should be prepared to:
1) Propose in your annual submission to GOMB an actionable scenario that includes operational efficiencies reflecting a 6.5% reduction from an estimated maintenance level of fiscal year 2021 operations funding across all appropriated funds (additional details will be forthcoming in GOMB’s budget submission request forms);
2) Conduct a review of boards and commissions within your agency’s purview and propose elimination of statutorily created boards and commissions that would lead to a 10% reduction of them;
3) Identify at least two significant efficiency and savings ideas for consideration in the fiscal year 2021 budget. Ideas could include (but are not limited to) items such as elimination or consolidation of duplicative programs, reduction in funding for underutilized or inefficient services, or improvements in service delivery that streamline costs. Reviews of agency audits from the last few years can provide ideas for cost savings for fiscal year 2021.
Your proposal will need to be submitted with your fiscal year 2021 budget request to GOMB. Agency directors should be prepared to implement any ideas submitted in the fiscal year 2021 budget requests. We and our staffs are available to discuss this memo and answer any questions you may have.
In a sharp break with City Hall convention, two Chicago aldermen fronted measures for now-indicted Ald. Edward Burke that steered millions of dollars in property tax breaks for Burke’s law clients in his Southwest Side ward.
The half-dozen measures found by the Better Government Association allowed Burke to skirt city conflict-of-interest rules. And some of the resulting tax break measures came even as federal agents quietly built their abuse-of-power case against him, the longest-sitting alderman in Chicago history.
In two instances, Burke’s name and ward number were scratched off official city resolutions and the other aldermen’s names and ward numbers were penciled in as sponsors of the measures.
Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson, 11th, and Ald. Michael R. Zalewski, who represented the 23rd Ward until he retired last year, sponsored the six tax break resolutions since 2011. The measures were for industrial businesses in Burke’s 14th Ward whose owners also were clients of Burke’s property tax law firm, Klafter & Burke.
Aldermen rarely sponsor resolutions that don’t involve their own wards, especially tax breaks for businesses. Of the 123 industrial tax incentive resolutions filed since 2011, all of them were sponsored by the local alderman except the ones identified by the BGA in Burke’s ward.
